Thank you, those of you who have given me reviews!I hope that it's entertaining enough.

Ch. 4

Her eyebrow quirked, wondering where that came from. Then she thought to answer the question and came up with nothing. "I have no idea." She had to give up cable and never really saw any movie trailers on the internet. The sadness was leaving her, thanks to his out-of-nowhere question. Sesshoumaru smiled softly, eyes teeming with his own scheme. "Let's go find out." He said while standing up. He turned his commanding gaze to her as she turned to stare up at him. It actually sounded like a good idea; then she remembered her bank account. "I can't. I'm broke."

Sesshoumaru would accept no excuse. "My treat." She stammered and hesitated. He was loaded; she knew that. Still she felt a little bad. He already anticipated this. "I insist." He held his hand out. She still hesitated, but took it none the less, letting him pull her onto her feet. She glanced down, mildly shy. At the same time, she liked the idea. She had enough of grief for now anyway. Sesshoumaru let her hand go and gave her a few steps ahead of him.

She tripped a couple times on tree roots and he was there to keep her from touching the ground, earning a couple of murmured 'thank you's. Once they exited the woods, she decided to start a conversation. "Have you heard from Naraku at all?" she asked, meeting his eyes momentarily. "He left town a while back, and I am getting a little worried." Naraku was both of their close friends. He and Sesshoumaru were good friends in high school. Once Sesshoumaru graduated, being a year and a half younger than him, she and Naraku became good friends as well. Sesshoumaru had a message thread with him, but Naraku stopped replying a month and a half ago. "Not recently." He admitted. She pressed her lips in response. She smiled at him. "At least I have one of my wing-men back," She teased and tossed a light, fake punch at his arm. She still worried for Naraku in the back of her mind.

As they approached the streets, the atmosphere changed. The sweet yet haunting aura of the forest gave way to the busy energy illustrated underneath the street lights. Calm turned into velocity. She thought critically that even with all the lights and excitement one would find in a city, it did not feel nearly as alive and true as the trees and animals scampering around them. Even the graveyard, pushing over a century in age, felt more realistic. She stared at Sesshoumaru when he wasn't aware, wondering if he ever felt that way. Or maybe it was just her. It was possible; throughout her life, she was the 'weird' one. She silently thanked him for being one of the few who did not treat her that way. After all, she couldn't fully explain why these things stood out to her, neither why they never seemed to capture the attention of anyone else.

Sesshoumaru walked diligently, keeping a wary eye for anyone he might know. He led her around a sharp corner before letting her match his stride. Just before them was the Cinema. Once they were in front of it, he paused and looked at the movie titles. She did the same, regretting that Naraku was not here. As a movie buff, he had an uncanny way of knowing what every movie was about, the reviews it received, the movies that had the idea first, who played each role, their life storyand so on. She looked at each title, not recognizing any of them.

"What are you in the mood for?" she asked, peering up at him. He had no clue what to possibly suggest. It might have been easier to throw a dart and pick the one it landed on.

"What would you prefer?"He murmured. Her expression fell as she went, "huh. . ."

"How about Knife's Edge? It sounds bloody." It was a gamble, but what else was there, aside from some that sounded like cheesy chick flicks, overrated comedies, or those too ambiguous to know what they were getting into? Sesshoumaru smirked briefly and stepped up to the ticket booth. "Two for 'Knife's Edge', please." As the man dressed in a white button up complied quickly, she noted how nervous he seemed. Sesshoumaru had an authoritative air about him, but he was no king; he never abused it, at least not that she had ever seen.

Sesshoumaru handed her the ticket just as her neck started to cramp. "Thanks." She said, kneading her fingers over her neck muscles.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, eyeing her neck.

"No," she began, pinching an eye closed. "You just gotta stop being so tall." She could hear him breathe a chuckle. "Sorry. It's a medical condition," His voice sounded amused, and she chortled a little in response. After they got passed an employee that checked their tickets, Sesshoumaru's vision was set on the concession stand. She started to walk where they were directed before realizing that he was not with her, turning on her heel. Sesshoumaru slid a card on the counter as a large cup landed in front of him. She stood back, waiting for him when she was greeted with the soda and a chocolate bar. She blanched. It was always what she would get—when she could afford it of course—when she would go to the movies. She smiled lightly and stabbed the straw in.

As the actor on the screen had his throat slit, inciting a symphony of gasps, she tightened her lips so as to control her laughter. "Come on, I could make that look more real!" she cackled quietly. Sesshoumaru did not react, but enjoyed it. Her spirit seemed to be lifting, lifting his as a result. He flashed back to the past, when he, she, and Naraku would do this. It was a monthly thing. Usually he would watch as the other two would critique the movie quietly or heckle it, sometimes causing the rest of the audience to laugh. They never skipped a beat. Right now it was an hour into the movie. She did nothing but laugh.

"Did you see her face? She's not scared! She looks like she smells something bad!" She commented right before the killer sliced open the girls arm, just the skin. It was that moment that the humor calmed. On the screen, the girl was tied up and outstretched on a metal slab of some sort. The plot was that she was the killer's ex-fiancé who had cheated on him with another guy and got his friends to torture and kill the main character. Before he died, she admitted with sadistic spite that she destroyed their baby instead of miscarried, 'because she didn't want the filthy thing to be from him.' Now, the killer took off his glove and wet his fingers with her blood. He brought it to his face, inhaling deeply. The girl watched in horror, and this time she actually looked terrified.

She could not stop herself from becoming immersed in the visual. She saw it in her mind, placing herself in the killer's perspective. She could feel her pulse storm throughout her body, engulfed in the vengeance that was fueled with sadistic hate. The blade lightly traced the girl's stomach, almost tauntingly, as she cowered. This was before he rushed to her head, clasping her jaw to force her to look at him. "Filthy thing" he said in a hoarse croak and quickly sliced her four times. The camera revealed a square shape that was now bleeding on her abdomen. As he peeled away the flesh and plunged his hand in, she gripped the armrests, but not out of fear. He tore away the muscles and organs until her spine was showing. Sesshoumaru stared vacantly as her shoulders rose and fell. Her breathe sounded strained. Her eyes widened, concentrating as if she wasn't here anymore. He slid his hand on her arm. That's when she was pulled away from the vicarious scenario. She quickly realized how carried away she got; It was like waking up after nearly drowning in a river. Anxiety leaked into her expression as she turned to face Sesshoumaru.

"Are you all right?" He stared deep into her eyes, searching. . . She did not know how to read him—other than concern, but that wasn't it. To make it worse, she felt like a mesmerized fly caught in the spider's web. She closed her mouth and feebly nodded. She felt vulnerable, and that felt strange. All he could see was that she looked flustered, but she gave no other clues or details.

She smiled. "They did a good job with that scene. It bumps up their grade to sixty-five." She meant it to be humorous but he stayed serious. His glare became skeptical. "Really, I'm fine." She assured. She felt so confused and embarrassed. 'What was that?' She scolded herself.

It was not until the end of the movie that she went back to laughing at it.