Sesshomaru watched his mate warily as she flitted around the kitchen. Ever since she had returned from wherever she went the other night, she had been acting strange. Well, stranger than usual.

She still put on that infuriating mask of perfection, to be sure. But every once and a while it would drop when she thought he wasn't paying attention. Her expression was always neutral yet he could tell that underneath something dark was brewing. It was like the calm before the storm.

And while Sesshomaru feared nothing even he had to admit that it was starting to get creepy. So he took it out on the only person he could blame.

'Your taste in women is terrible', read the text he sent his mother.

No less than 5 seconds later, he received a response. 'Is this about Izayoi again? For the last time I had no idea her and your father would run off together.'

5 seconds later another text came in.

'You need to stop bringing her up every time InuYasha irritates you. The woman has been dead FOR CENTURIES.'

'This isn't about that woman, he typed back swiftly. It's about Akisame.'

He glanced up at the dark haired woman chopping vegetables furiously and finished his text.

'I think she may try to murder me.'

His mother wasted no time to start. 'She has been stuck up there in the mountains with you for weeks, so I am hardly surprised.'

'This is serious haha-ue.'

'So am I. Akisame spends all her time with your emotionally constipated ass and isn't even getting some dick to make up for it. I would want to kill you too.'

Sesshomaru glared down at the phone in his hand. Honestly he should have known better than to expect anything but snark from his mother.

'Thank you for your help, haha-ue.'

Sesshomaru threw his phone in the seat next to him. Now he really was for a loss. What was he supposed to do with a possibly homicidal mate? One option was to get her before she got him. Of course it was a terrible plan. Sure, they lived in the middle of nowhere surrounded by an inaccessible forest but she had people who would notice if she was gone. Besides, he's changed a bit (enough where slaughter was no longer his default option).

His second option was to wait until she tried something. This was also a bad idea. Someone didn't get the title of the Bronze Fang just because. It was a title won in blood. That, coupled with the fact Sesshomaru has not done any serious training in decades, makes waiting around foolhardy.

So that left trying to talk to her. Which he could do. He may not be a wordsmith but it couldn't be that hard to have a conversation, right?

Decision made, Sesshomaru walked into the kitchen and called out his mate's name only to instantly regret it once her eyes landed on him.

How can anyone's eyes be that grey? He could literally hear the thunder rumbling and the lightning flashing behind her eyes.

Regret, he thought suddenly. I am suddenly full of regret.

His instincts were telling him that he should be ready to head for the hills at the raise of her questioning brow but he never ran from anything. So there he stood, floundering in the kitchen (his kitchen damn it).

"Are you okay?" she asked.

No, he thought bitterly. You actually managed to creep me out and now I will have to sleep with one eye open forever.

Sesshomaru cleared his throat. "Actually I came to see if you needed any help."

A sweet (read: saccharine and eerie) smile graced her face. "Sure, could you rinse the rice for me please?"

Sesshomaru nodded and rushed to grab the rice.

Tomorrow. I will get to the bottom of this… tomorrow.

A/N: Godobo-sama is the troll to end all trolls. Thanks to almondbutter and Chocolover27 for following and reviewing! Also a shout out to my peeps from real life and Tumblr for reading this brain child of mine. Your support has really been appreciated so and it's one of the few incentives for me to update semi-regularly. As always, review and follow at your leisure. Peace and blessings to you always.