Awkward Circumstances
Sango sat there and just couldn't take it anymore. Turning her head to the side she sent Sesshoumaru a look that said what she was about to say was important and she was going to get her way come hell or high water. "Sesshoumaru...I need a bath."
"You're telling me?" Sesshoumaru commented dryly, more then aware of the fact since his nose was twenty times more sensitive then hers.
"We're chained together which means where I go, you go. Sponging off isn't going to cut in anymore." Sango said, her cheeks red but she'd come to the conclusion that the embarrassment of all this was worth being clean again. She had her towel, one for him and supplies ready, she wasn't giving up till she got her way. "I need to bathe and you need to come with me."
Staring at her for a moment it slowly dawned on Sesshoumaru what she meant. Oh by the gods no. No way in hell. "No." Sesshoumaru said in a definite tone that said he wasn't going to change his mind on this any time soon. He had no wish to see the slayer bathing and he was never going to if he had his way. Of course you will see her minus clothing since you will have pups with her a little voice in his head reminded him but he pushed it away forcefully. He definitely didn't want to think about that. Had he any food in his system he'd have likely thrown it up he was sure.
"Look I don't like the idea any more then you do but if I don't have a bath soon I'm going to start stinking up the neighborhood and demons everywhere are going to come after us just to get rid of the stench permanently. My hair is greasy and disgusting looking, my clothes are dirty and they need to be washed so badly I can't even find words for it. Your sense of smell is fifty times my own..do you really want to be chained to something that smells ten times worse then I do now?"
Just thinking about that was as bad as imagining being stuck watching her bath. "Fine. Let's go." Sesshoumaru said as he got to his feet, looking over to where Rin was playing something called Xs and Os with Shippou. Sure that she'd be fine with Kagome Sesshoumaru allowed Sango to lead the way towards the water, coming across Andrea who was happily floating on the water in the pale moonlit water.
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"How's the water?" Sango called out thinking that they were gonna have to go up river since she had no doubt this was going to be very embarrassing for both Sesshoumaru and herself without adding Andrea to the mix. "Okay for mere human swimming?" Sango added with a smirk to try and relieve some of the tension she was feeling.
"A little cooler then you land demons prefer but it's warm enough. Going to bath huh?" Andrea said as she stopped floating and simply kicked her legs gently to remain with her head above water. "If you go down for about two minutes it gets fairly deep..if you can both swim it would be a good place to go in my opinion. Plus it's murky." Andrea added with a hint of laughter in her voice. "Have fun."
"Thanks." Sango said with a hint of sarcasm as she called out a good bye before heading down as Andrea had suggested. When they were down far enough Sango sighed then looked at the chain then up her arm as she set their towels down on a rock. There was no way to take her clothing off without cutting it off which meant that her clothes would have to be loosened then slid down to rest on the chain between them. Cheeks burning Sango looked up at Sesshoumaru who seemed to be finding the water more then a little interesting. "Uhmmm, do you..uhm need a bath too?" Sango asked nervously before lifting the bag she'd brought with her up. "I have some shampoo and stuff..if you want to use some." Sango added as she released her hair from it's normal high ponytail with a nervous jerk that would have hurt if she'd been paying attention.
"Shampoo?" Sesshoumaru asked with a raised eyebrow as he watched her remove her footwear and her outer robe to reveal the demon hunter's battle attire.
"Oh it's stuff to put in your hair..to make it clean and nice and shiny. I'd imagine it would take a lot to do your hair though since there's so much of it." Sango said with a hint of smile that soon dissolved under the pressure of nerves. "So uhmn...I guess we could..uhm walk till I'm up to my neck and uhm..that okay with you?"
"Whatever." Sesshoumaru said with a shrug and soon the two were wading into the water. When Sango was up to her neck they stopped and Sesshoumaru gave her his back while she undressed as best she could. Trying to close his sensitive ears to the sounds Sesshoumaru decided to take him outer robe off since there was some blood on it from an earlier encounter with a demon that day. Awkwardly working it off since he could only use one hand he soon had it off and hanging off the chain along with Sango's.
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"Here's some soapy stuff that gets clothes cleaned good. Just rub it in." Sango said hesitantly, standing there only in a basically see through shift now that it was wet. At least the water hid that, Sango thought, her cheeks red as she held out a bottle towards Sesshoumaru. He was so pale, Sango thought to herself even though it was only logical since he didn't exactly take the time to sun bath. No matter how hot it was she'd never seen him in less then full battle clothing. Thanks to his superior height Sango could see that there were no battle scars to mar his perfect form though there were two dark purple stripes on either side of his hips to mirror the marks on his cheeks. His arm, where he'd lost his original was the only thing that marred the perfect beauty that was the lord of the west. The area where his shoulder connected with the substitute arm was red and looked a little swollen. Did it hurt she wondered, knowing he would never complain.
Nodding his head Sesshoumaru took the bottle from her and after looking at it held it in his chained hand to squeeze some of the sweet smelling stuff onto his hand before handing it back to her. Grabbing his robe from the water Sesshoumaru watched in surprise as the liquid became rather bubbly and went about erasing all the stains it was rubbed into. Amazing stuff this liquid goo. Looking over absently he saw that Sango was doing the same looking rather strange since she was only visible from the neck up as she struggled to wash her own in the water. "We can move further into shore if you need to." Sesshoumaru pointed out dryly as he watched with slight amusement. "You have nothing I've never seen before and you look ridiculous."
"True and it's not like you won't be seeing it in the future." Sango shot back, smug when his face went loose with surprise for a moment then turned into one of the most sullen scowls she'd ever seen on his face. Mustering her courage Sango turned and started making her way towards shore, giving the chain hard tug then yelled when she felt herself being pulled under, surfacing quickly then spun around sending water flying.
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Having not expected the move Sesshoumaru hadn't been ready for the tug and had been sent splashing forward, emerging from the water shortly after her, wet from head to toe and not at all pleased about it. Shaking his head like a wet dog he glared at Sango who was laughing her head off, her free arm wrapped around her waist as she doubled over with laughter, the only thing keeping the bag from sinking to the bottom the fact that she'd tied the string to her arm just in case. "Your..your face." Sango gasped out, not even realizing that she was backing up while Sesshoumaru advanced on her with the intention of drowning her for daring to laugh at him. When there was no slack on the chain Sango found herself at a dead halt. Looking at him with merriment in her eyes Sango blinked when she realized he was staring at her with the strangest look in his eyes. "What?" Sango wanted to know, her face bright with laughter at the whole thing. He'd actually yelped when he hit the water, Sango thought, on the edge of breaking out laughing again. But the look in his eyes was draining the laughter out of her somehow though she didn't feel threatened by him at the moment even though he had to be mad at her. "What?" Sango repeated again, completely clueless as she looked over at her shoulder then back at him. "What's wrong? You're looking at me weird. Quit it."
Only vaguely hearing her Sesshoumaru couldn't take his eyes off her. At first blinded by a need to dunk her head under the water and hold her there till she lost consciousness he hadn't realized the significance of her backing away from him. It wasn't until the water only reached the middle of her back and she'd swung around to look at him that he'd forgotten about teaching her a lesson. Her words coming back to him Sesshoumaru could feel heat running through his veins as his icy eyes took in what was apparently to be his. With her battle attire as tight as it was it wasn't that he hadn't been aware that she was reasonably well formed, it was just that the demon hunter's body had never looked like this. With her hair loose and flowing down her back, the off white shift plastered to her form and nearly see through..she looked more like a vision then a flesh and blood woman. At that moment she was the most stunning and desirable creature he'd ever seen.
"If you don't tell me why you're staring I'm going to dunk you again." Sango demanded, her one hand on her hip as she sent him a look of exasperation. Boy the water felt warmer, there must be a hot spring nearby that feeds into it, Sango thought absently as she grew increasingly warmer under his stare, feeling as though every muscle and inch of skin on her body was being studied. Her body. Mouth opening wordlessly Sango looked down then up again then down again. With a muffled yelp of her own Sango's arm came up to shield her barely covered breasts from view, her cheeks burning. He'd been staring at her..wait a minute...he'd been..looking at her? Blinking Sango looked at him in confusion, watching him return her gaze with eyes that were there usual calm blue. But moments ago they hadn't been. They'd been focused and warm when they'd stared at her, at her form. Had he..had he been looking at her as a woman? As his future mate? When she'd made the crack about him seeing her undress in the future..well up until now how right that was hadn't really reached her. Or maybe it had and her mind just hadn't allowed the ideas to dwell. This demon, this man would be...they'd have children together..create children together. This cool, overbearing, beautiful demon would be the man to share not just her life but her bed as well. Eyes unfocusing at the thought Sango felt more then a little light headed, her cheeks going as red as blood at the thoughts slyly passing through her mind.
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"What?" Sesshoumaru wanted to know, getting a little uneasy at the way she was looking at him. Now that he'd snapped out of it he was more then a little mortified by what he'd done and thought. The images and wants that had run through his head. The idea that this woman, human or not would one day be his, belong to him had sent his blood flowing and his calm heart pounding. He was hungry now and the idea that he could and would possess her was both a pleasurable and a painful thought. At least he was beginning to understand his weakness and why he'd lowered himself to making her his permanently. They'd been destined to be chained together for several months which meant many of these little excursions. He was only so strong and it would have been his duty to make her his mate because of their children. Yes, looking at her now he could see how she could lure him into setting aside his standards and principles. Her face was red, likely from embarrassment now that she'd realized how much she'd been showing. And yet her eyes, her eyes never left him as she looked at him, much the way he'd been looking at her, Sesshoumaru realized as he felt himself forced to look away under the barely concealed heat in her eyes. "We should..hurry before the others come looking for you." Sesshoumaru said with his head turned, his voice huskier then normal.
"Oh. You're right." Just give me five minutes." Sango said as she snapped back to reality. While Sesshoumaru kept his face adverted Sango quickly soaped up her hair and rinsed it out, using the body wash as well so that Sesshoumaru was forced to breath in the appealing scent of apple blossoms while he listened to her bath. Soon she was done and was about to put the shampoo back when she remembered her earlier offer. "Do you want to borrow the shampoo? It will help with all the tangles when Rin insists on brushing your hair." Sango added, well aware that the girl loved to play with Sesshoumaru's hair. "It doesn't smell like apple blossoms or anything like that. That's just the body wash." Sango added, figuring he would refuse if he thought he'd end up smelling like flowers.
"Fine." Sesshoumaru said stiffly, holding out a clawed hand for it while he continued to look away. When it was in his hand he transferred the foresty smelling liquid into his hand then being logical rubbed it into his head, this liquid turning into bubbles as well. Following her example Sesshoumaru dunked his head under water and rinsed the suds out then resurfaced to find her looking away this time. "Shall we go now?" Sesshoumaru wanted to know. he didn't want to remain with her like this. He wanted her annoying friends around them and he wanted them now.
"Uhm ya." Sango said and soon the two were walking towards the shore, both staring straight ahead while covertly stealing glances at the other. Arriving at the shore Sango soon bundled herself up in her towel with their wet clothes still hanging from their chain, unable to be slid off so that they hung there on the make shift clothes line. "I guess...we just leave them there to dry?" Sango said as she turned to look at him, her tongue barely managing not to hang out as she watched him dry off with the towel she'd brought for him having borrowed Kagome's. Oh wow. His face might have been femininely beautiful but his body..his body was pure male perfection. Muscular shoulders, flat and well muscled chest and stomach, narrow hips, firm thighs shown to perfection as his pants were plastered to them. His....oh God. Blushing again Sango looked down at the ground in pure desperation.
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"Nothing else to do with them. You'll get sick if you walk around in wet clothing, especially in this cool weather." Sesshoumaru commented, unaware of the evaluation he'd been given while he'd been toweling off. His towel, or Kagome's towel if the smell was anything to go on, hung limply in his hand. "Here." Sesshoumaru added as he held the damp towel out to her. "You're shivering."
The weather had nothing to do with it but Sango took the towel and used it to towel off her hair then put it loosely back so that it was out of her way. She would have brought clothes to change into but there was no point in it since she'd have to cut the clothing, wrecking it in order to get it on thanks to the stupid chain. "Thanks. Uhm...lets head back then."
"You'll be giving the monk plenty to look at." Sesshoumaru pointed out, the idea occurring to him and not in a good way. If the monk even tried to look at her he'd personally remove the monk's eyes and shove them down the human's skinny little throat.
"Nothing he hasn't seen before. He's snuck up on Kagome and I more then once when we've been bathing." Sango said, quickly explaining since she didn't want him to think that she'd ever..been..with Miroku. "And worse comes to worse I can ask Inu yasha to borrow his robe till my clothing is dry."
"Lord Sesshoumaru?" Came a voice and both turned to see Jakken appear from the shadows. Neither had even realized he was coming, their thoughts too occupied. The small toad sending Sango a you don't deserve to breath the same air as me look the toad quickly made his way over to his master, offering the robe he'd brought. "Inu yasha's mate said you were here bathing so I brought you one of your old robes to wear while yours dries, Master. The sleeve could be removed so that you wouldn't be bothered. "
Taking the robe from Jakken without a thank you, not that it ever had been, Sesshoumaru regarded the garment carefully. It was on the old side, stained with wear though it was still wearable. It was one he wouldn't care overly about wrecking either so that he could actually get it on. All set to slice Sesshoumaru's eyes were caught on the sight of Sango who was glaring at Jakken who was glaring at her, the two busy showing their mutual dislike while Jakken smirked. Sango was also shivering, the cool night air too much for her delicate human flesh, Sesshoumaru decided. Before he'd even really thought about it Sesshoumaru tied the ends of the robe's sleeves together then walked over to Sango. Looping the sleeves around her neck Sesshoumaru tugged on his robe so that they came behind her, forming a shoulder bearing cover that at least provided some warmth "If you get sick you'll slow us down. Tie it around your waist and lets get back." Sesshoumaru said with his cold eyes just daring Jakken to comment.
"Thank you." Sango said softly, surprised by his actions not even beginning to describe. Getting the sash she used for her robe Sango used it to hold Sesshoumaru's robe around her in a make shift dress that covered her from bust to well past her feet.
"Let's go then." Sesshoumaru said and soon the two were on their way, Jakken stuck carrying stuff and cursing the fact that his master had gotten chained to the slayer. How his master must be suffering.