Author's Note: Worked a while on this one. I have no idea how obvious it is by now, so we'll see what you guys take from it in the reviews. What is happening will all be revealed within the next few chapters!

It had been quite a while since Sesshomaru had been startled awake. Mina had been the cause the last time, so of course it only fit that she was yet again the culprit. The last time, he had awoken to find her completely missing, so naturally his heart raced when he registered that she was not in the bed beside him. However, his tension eased when he found her by the window.

She stood slumped over, her upper body hanging out as she held onto the windowsill for support. With a single fluid motion, Sesshomaru moved from the bed to her side. He effortlessly ignored his instinctual response to her nude body and instead tended to her obvious misery.

"Come back to bed."

"No," she muttered, lifting her head up. She looked rather pale. "I'll just vomit all over that, too."

"You need rest. I will fetch for a bucket if you are so concerned for the sheets."

With a sigh, Mina pulled herself from the window and leaned against her mate. He lifted her up and set her down on the bed, disappearing for only a moment to give instructions to a servant. She didn't complain when breakfast was brought to her in bed with a glass of water. Rin arrived shortly after, kitten in arms.

"Are you sick, Mina-chan?" she asked, concern written all over her face. She climbed into bed and rested the kitten in Minako's lap. "Minaru will make you feel better!"

"I'll be alright." She smiled, petting the little ball of fur. "I don't feel as sick anymore, I'm just really tired."

Rin stayed for a while longer and the two played with the kitten. Sesshomaru watched, eventually telling Rin to go play with Jaken and let Mina rest. Minako argued halfheartedly, but he would not have it.

"Get well soon," he said, giving her a peck on the forehead, "I have business to attend to, and we cannot leave until you are well."

She sighed, leaning back against the pillows. How could he be sweet and selfish at the same time? Was her illness a mere inconvenience to him? But really, she felt better. Just so tired...

And then night had fallen, and Mina realized she had slept without realizing she had even fallen asleep. She refused to eat dinner in bed and instead met Sesshomaru and the others at the table. The meal went on as usual, and Mina went to bed with Sesshomaru at the end of the night.

A servant knocked at Sesshomaru's door early the next morning, risking the wrath of his temper. He threw the door open, sending an icy glare to the small girl. "What is it?"

"I just thought you should know," she stammered. "Your mate got ill again this morning, and she asked me not to tell you."

"And yet you did."

"Yes, my lord."

He nodded, and allowed the servant to leave. So Mina didn't want him knowing that she hadn't recovered? He had to respect the woman for not wishing to deter everyone from leaving the castle, but how frustrating that she would hide something from him. If she wanted to pretend she felt fine, then that was her choice. He would allow it. But he would not show sympathy when she realized how awful being ill in on the road could be.

Minako dressed and met the others at breakfast, which was a hassle to keep down, but she managed. They got their few items together and set out on the road. Being out in the fresh air did wonders for Mina, and she felt better as the day went on. However, she felt so tired and walking made things worse. She was sore from walking within the hour, and opted out for riding on Ah-Un's back.

Rin was kind enough to let Mina hold Minaru, who was now the comfort kitten.

As the day went on, Mina developed a stomach ache that left her feeling full. She lost her appetite, but at least she hadn't puked in a while. Surely this would pass. It was certainly inconvenient to be ill while out traveling, but she couldn't hold Sesshomaru back. It wasn't a big deal; it's not like she felt seriously ill. Mostly just uncomfortable.

And so they just traveled on.

Mina expected to recover quickly, but that didn't seem to be the case. As the days passed, she only felt worse. The nausea passed and she regained her appetite to the full extent, but she began to have terrible nightmares. Ah-Un became her constant companion as she could not manage to find the energy to walk and her ankles became easily swollen.

But Sesshomaru's presence made things better. The comfort from being with her friends seemed to do more than laying in bed all day had. Once they settled down for the night, Sesshomaru was sure to give her the special attention she craved throughout the day. Knowing that she had had a rough week, he lifted Mina off of Ah-Un's back and held her hand as they walked away from camp.

"Are you unwell?" he asked as they walked slowly through the forest.

"I am just tired. It will pass soon, I'm sure."

He stopped by a large tree, staring intently down at her. What did that look mean? Of course, how could she forget! The season had not ended, and it hadn't even crossed her mind. How could she have gone this long without even experiencing the urges of it? Her illness, no doubt. Sesshomaru was indeed a patient man.

"Isn't it dangerous to leave Jaken and Rin alone?" she asked.

"He can adequately protect her with the staff."

"Isn't it dangerous to distract ourselves out here?" she asked.

"You aren't that distracting."

Giving up on deterring him, Mina wrapped her arms loosely around Sesshomaru's shoulders and he leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers. Why would she have wanted to avoid this, anyway? She kissed back, glad that her nausea had passed. Her mark burned in a lovely way as the connection bathed Mina in Sesshomaru's desire. His hand ran through her hair, trailed along her thigh, and reached up to her breast.

She suddenly flinched and pulled back with a gasp, "Ow!"

"Have I hurt you?" he frowned.

"It's nothing," she said quickly. "I am just unusually sore. I'm sorry."

"Do not apologize." With a single movement, he swept Mina up off her feet and began heading back to the camp. They hadn't even made it back before Minako fell asleep, strangely exhausted from their short walk.

She opened her eyes to find a darkness so thick that she couldn't see her own hand when she waved it before her face. A disturbing sound emenating from each corner of the darkness, a sloppy crunching sound, like a messy eater crawled into her ear and munched on their dinner from within her brain. She couldn't escape it. It was everywhere. That horrible squishy wet slopping nose as it ate and ate and ate.

She ran blindly, but red eyes flashed in the way of her path and she fell back. Sharp teeth as it grinned down, descending upon her. Ready to eat. She let out a scream, but she never managed to hit the ground. Instead, Mina jerked awake, an incredible relief flooding in as she realized her stupidity of assuming it had all been real.

But for just a moment, she could swear she still heard that sound.