I starred wide eyed at where the living nightmare had previously been crouched before me. My heart thumped hard and loud inside my chest that I swore even Rin could hear it. Looking at her I could tell she was equally as terrified as I was. He didn't leave with just an empty threat, but with a promise. He could certainly come back and the mere thought of what he might do sent shivers down my spine.
Taking slow, deep breaths I rose to my feet and helped Rin up as well. Jaken and Ah-Un began to stir symbolizing that they would soon awaken from whatever spell they had been put under. Sesshomaru starred up into the sky probably trying to locate the scent of the demon.
"Another incarnation, Naraku? How pathetic." He spoke aloud to no one in particular. Incarnation? I vaguely remembered Kagome mention something like that when we talked before in Lady Kaede's hut. The demon Naraku apparently was a coward who created these incarnations to do his dirty work for him.
Sesshomaru walked over to Jaken and kicked him, not necessarily hard, but enough to have him fully awake. "Uhh whaa…what happened? Oh that's right! Lord Sesshomaru! Another incarnation of Naraku's has come to…" He paused as he took a look around the camp. Noticing Rin and I with looks of fear on our faces and the annoyed look of Sesshomaru's seemed to fill him in on the past events. "Oh please forgive me my Lord! I had let my guard down for only a moment." He dropped to the ground on his hands and knees.
"We are leaving." Sesshomaru stated coldly heading off into the trees. Jaken quickly grabbed Ah-Un's reigns and followed after him. Rin and I hurried from our spots to follow as well, both of us seeking the comfort of his aura. After what had just happened this morning I didn't want to be more than ten feet away from him. You wanted that before this morning too.
We traveled all day and were completely exhausted when the stars began to come out. Rin and I got comfortable in our usual sleeping positions after we had eaten dinner. Jaken was poking the fire while Sesshomaru sat leaning up against a tree, his eyes closed.
I could tell Rin was in no way ready for sleep and honestly neither was I. How would anyone find sleep after an encounter like that this morning? It may have only been for a moment, but the quick flashbacks from my past had me shaking in fear. I couldn't let that get to me though. I had promised myself a long time ago I wouldn't let it control my life. I wouldn't let HIM control my life.
"Would you like to braid my hair again?" I asked trying to sound cheerful and desperately trying to comfort Rin.
"Hmmm no…" Her voice trailed off as she starred down at her lap. I searched my thoughts for something to do. What were things I did when I was feeling upset? Listen to music! Oh, but I don't have an I-pod…
"I can sing!" I straightened up at my idea. Rin looked up at me and deliberated my idea before her eyes lit up and she shook her head in agreement. "Alright let's see what should I sing?" I racked my brain for songs and found the perfect one.
"I'm gonna walk a hundred miles,
I'm gonna whistle all the while,
if that's what it takes to make me smile,
I'm gonna walk a hundred miles."
I began the song trying to stay on beat. I never thought I was an amazing singer, but I prided myself a little on being able to stay in tune. I liked to stay confident and think that I was pretty good when it came to singing.
"I'm gonna run right up this hill,
Summer sky or winter chill,
If I gotta take a break I will,
But I'm gonna run right up this hill.
I wanna hold the whole wide world,
Right here in my open hands,
And maybe I'm just a little girl,
A little girl with great big plans."
Rin leaned her head against my shoulder with a light smile on her face. Jaken even seemed to be relaxing a little too and went to lay up against a tree himself. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Sesshomaru's eyes open just a bit and look over in my direction. I felt butterflies in my stomach, but ignored them and kept singing. I wondered if maybe he liked my singing. Doubt it.
"I'm gonna go and take a chance,
I'm gonna learn to ballet dance,
Learn a little something bout romance,
I'm gonna go and take a chance.
I'm gonna live a crazy dream,
Impossible as it may seem,
Doesn't matter what the future brings,
I'm gonna live a crazy dream.
I wanna hold the whole wide world,
Right here in my open hands,
And maybe I'm just a little girl,
A little girl with great big plans,
I wanna hold the whole wide world,
Right here in my open hands,
And maybe I'm just a little girl,
A little girl with great big plans."
I hadn't even finished the song when Rin dozed off. I stopped singing and laughed a little before situating her and myself in a more comfortable position. I closed my eyes and tried thinking of anything and everything other than Akumu. It wasn't as hard as I thought since it seemed there was really only one person on my mind right now.
It had been a week since the incident with Akumu and it had been two weeks since I found myself in the feudal era. The weather got colder and colder each day to where I ended up wearing the blanket we used to sleep with to keep warm. I figured winter would be upon us soon, maybe in another couple weeks. I couldn't for the life of me understand how this weather wasn't affecting Rin. She seemed perfectly fine and she wasn't even wearing shoes. It made me feel pretty weak. That's because you are. No one asked you!
Sesshomaru was in pursuit of Akumu much to my dismay. The last thing I wanted to do was meet that man again, especially with what his last words to me were. I didn't want to know what it felt like to have my nightmares 'feasted' on and I certainly didn't want that guy anywhere near Rin. I suppose I would just have to trust Sesshomaru like Rin did.
I found it funny how each day I was more and more comfortable around him and also much less afraid. Whenever I would ask a question I would almost always get an answer. It would never be more than two words, but it was something. One day while Rin was napping and Jaken was being depressing I found myself walking right next to him chatting away like no tomorrow.
My ADHD was going in overdrive and I was speaking nonstop about anything and everything. I had told him about one of my crazy tennis coaches I had that loved to condition us and that was probably why I was able to keep up with all this traveling. I talked about how the cold was ridiculous and how his younger brother was a jerk about it. I could tell he was listening because when I first brought up Inuyasha I could feel the irritation in his aura, but once I started telling him how I had pushed Inuyasha into the river after he insulted me I could see the corners of his mouth twitch up. He never said a word in reply to my banter though and I was perfectly fine with that.
It was about lunchtime the day after and Rin was enjoying another one of her naps. That girl could certainly sleep. No wonder she always seemed to have so much energy. I had decided to walk and stretch my legs. Excersise was good! And painful.
I was walking next to Jaken Listening to him ramble like usual. I was trying to keep my cool as he continued to insult the human race. It was always the same thing too about how humans are filthy, greedy, and stupid. I knew for a fact that if I brought something about the Pythagorean Theorem he would be utterly lost, but I held my tongue. Eventually I couldn't stand him anymore and picked up my pace to walk next to Sesshomaru, ignoring Jaken's annoying protests.
His eyes shifted down to me as I matched his pace and he raised his brow slightly. "Jaken's being annoying." Was all I said before he shifted his gaze back in front of him while mine remained on him. I was never any good when it came to understanding my feelings for someone. I never really liked any guys before so had nothing to compare these feelings too. I had only known him for two weeks and in our first encounter he had tried to kill me, but I had always been told that sometimes that's how it all works. Sometimes it just hits you out of nowhere. I shook my head and tried to push the thoughts out of my mind. It didn't really matter what I felt. Jaken made sure to remind me every day that Sesshomaru despises humans and all things weak. Compared to him I was a tiny mouse. Looking back to Rin a spark of hope was left in my mind before dropping the subject entirely.
Suddenly I was knocked to the ground, but now by my own clumsiness. The ground had begun to shake violently as birds flew out of the trees. There was a loud sound that I couldn't quite place. It seemed to be coming from all around us, but Sesshomaru was focused on one direction.
"Jaken, stay here." Sesshomaru commanded before leaping off into the trees while Jaken yelled after him. I watched him from my sitting position until I could no longer see him. I was concerned and a little afraid at being left alone, but again I tried to assure myself that Sesshomaru would handle it. He wouldn't abandon Rin like that anyway.
"Oh why must you leave me to babysit these human, my Lord?" Jaken said sounding dejected. I rolled my eyes as I stood dusting myself off and went to wake Rin who seemed to be unaffected by the loud sound that echoed through the trees.
"Rin? Come on you've slept long enough now." I said shaking her a little. She slowly began to open her eyes and yawned. There was no way she could get anymore adorable.
"Hmmm where's Lord Sesshomaru?" Her tired voice asked as she searched the area for her beloved Lord.
"He had to take care of something so were on our own for now." I wish I knew exactly what was going on, but I suppose I would have to wait until he returned and see if he would tell me. I only prayed it had nothing to do with the nightmare demon.
"I just don't understand it!" Jaken continued to complain. "I should be at your side! Not with these filthy humans!"
"Ya know we aren't that filthy!" I shouted over my shoulder to him. Rin and I had taken a seat next to a nearby tree and she began playing in my hair.
"Oh ya! When was the last time you bathed girl!" He retorted. His statement made me realize that it had been a while since I had taken a bath. An entire week to be exact. I wondered when the last time Rin took a bath was. A light bulb quickly went off in my head.
"We should go take a bath! Since Sesshomaru is gone and were not traveling at the moment. Then our disgusting smell won't bother you too much Jaken." I said the last part sarcastically. Rin got excited at the idea and began begging Jaken to allow us to go to a nearby river.
"Oh alright! There should be some water right past these trees here. Don't go anywhere else!" He warned while Rin and I jumped up thanking him. She ran and retrieved two towels from Ah-Un while I grabbed my backpack before we both darted off into the trees in the direction Jaken told us.
I don't know if I've ever been as happy as I was in that moment. It was a hot spring. Hot. Hot meaning that I wouldn't have to take a bath in frigid cold water. Rin had already stripped down and jumped into the water splashing it everywhere. I laughed and took out a bottle of soap from my backpack setting it on the top of a rock that stuck out of the water. I undressed, folder my clothes and quickly got into the warm water. It felt absolutely amazing.
"Can I ask you something Yuuki-chan?" Rin asked after about ten minutes. We had already washed using the soap and were simply relaxing in the water.
"Sure." I smiled brightly over to her.
"Do you like Lord Sesshomaru?" Her question caught me off guard and I stuttered like a fool starring wide eyed at her. "I think he likes you, because he's always starring at you. I would be really happy if you both ended up liking each other." I'm sure my entire body was turned red by her statement. Did he really stare at me? I thought I was the one who was always staring at him.
Rin smiled at me and then continued to swim around in the water. I was lost in thought thinking over what she said. Of course I would love for her words to be true. That just maybe he had some kind of feelings for me, but I knew it would never be. It least he allows me to travel with him. It least then I can be near him. Aww look who's falling in love. I hate you, ya know that?
"Alright we should get out now before Jaken has a fit." I stood out of the water and picked up a towel. I dried my hair a little first before wrapping it around my body. "Come on Rin!" I called out to her. She pouted, but swam over and picked up her own towel to dry off. She quickly dressed herself back into her kimono, but I took a little longer. I was in the process of reaching for my shirt when I heard a snicker from behind me.
Turning around while holding the towel up to cover my bra clad chest I found a strange looking man. His skin looked greenish and appeared to have scales. He had a dirty brown kimono on and I knife at his hip. "Dinner and a show! I hit the Jackpot!" He laughed.
"Rin, go get Jaken." I whispered to her. She was about to protest, but I glared in her direction. She closed her mouth and hurried off back the way we came.
"Where do you think you're going!?" He started to run after her, but I jumped in his way. "Alright then I'll just have you." He reached out to grab me, but I jumped back. I held my fists up in front of me which only seemed to amuse him. I didn't have to fight him I just had to stay alive long enough until Jaken came with the staff of two heads. "This'll be fun." With that he lunged at me. I dove to my right to doge him and quickly rolled over to get back on my feet. Sadly I wasn't quick enough. He pinned one of my arms down and sat on top of me. "He-he-he where should we start?" He said sadistically.
My eyes searched my surrounding for something, anything that I could use against him. They landed on the knife at his hip which was just in my reach. Glancing up to him I noticed he was too busy starring blatantly at my chest to notice me going for his knife. I sucked in a deep breath and did it. Yanking it off his hip I swiped it across his throat in a manner that was all too familiar. He gasped one last time and fell to the ground next to me, his blood splattering on my face in the process.
I couldn't move as my rapid heartbeat threatened a seizure. The images of him on top of me reappeared, but it wasn't this now dead demon's face that hovered over me with that cruel smile.
Rin and Jaken came bursting through the trees, behind them was Sesshomaru. He must have returned while we were bathing. He glanced around the springs looking to the corpse at my side and then to me. Tears stung my eyes as I ignored Jaken's annoying voice and Rin's concerned one. I looked up to Sesshomaru wanting to find some kind of comfort in his gold eyes before I was overcome with the seizure.
"I did it again." Was the last thing I whispered before closing my eyes.
Authors note: The song I used in this chapter is called Whole Wide World by Mindy Gledhill. It's a really adorable song and if you go and listen to it than imagine Yuuki sounding just like that! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :D
So I just realized that Yuuki now has a backpack that appeared out of nowhere...I had wrote the chapter a little differently at first where she had met back up with kagome and received it from her, but then changed it aaaand apparently forgot...Sorry!