Chapter 28:

"Inuyasha?" Shaya called.

Glancing down he could see the woman underneath the Goshinboku he had almost been napping in. Kagome was busy with Kaede tending to a man whose leg had been injured with a scythe anyway—the heat was dreadful. "What are you doing here?"

"Could you help me with something?"

"Help you with what? Weren't you just here a few days ago?" Usually they didn't show up but once every week or so and for that he was grateful. It meant that he didn't have to smell Sesshomaru's stink.

"Will you help me practice defending myself? I really want to show Sesshomaru that I can do it." She was beaming up at him like this was supposed to be the punchline or something.

"Why do you wanna do that?"

"Because he's been trying to teach me how to defend myself and I'm terrible." Shaya winced. "Please? I'd really appreciate it if you'd just let me…Please Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru was trying to teach her how to defend herself? It really didn't surprise him really. She was his woman, and he wouldn't want anybody messing with her, not that she could really be that skilled of a fighter. She just didn't have the mentality.

"Keh. Fine." Jumping down he stretched his back out, coming a little closer to where she was under the tree.

"Oh thank you Inuyasha!" It was making him uncomfortable with how widely she was beaming at him.

"Yeah yeah whatever." He snorted. "What is it that you want me to do wench?"

"Well…if you'd kind of attack me you know?" She wasn't even sure of what she wanted and it showed on her face. "I've been attacked by bandits and things before and it's not pleasant, but—"

"Oi, I got it." He chased her for a minute before managing to hook her arms behind her back, twisting them sufficiently to give her cause to fight. He was confused for a minute before realizing that she was fighting against him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I…" she was trying to twist out of his arms. Completely wrong.

"Look, hook your ankle back behind mine, or my knee…put me off balance." She threw a look over her shoulder before he felt her doing as he'd ordered, and he felt a deliberate sharp pull on his knee that knocked him forward. Shaya took it from there and twisted her shoulders and even though he had been expecting it his back hit the grass and the woman let out a laugh.

"What are you laughin' at?" Had this been some game? He sat up quickly in case it had been.

"I've never done that before!" Oh. She was excited. Grinning at him she dropped to her knees and nearly strangled him with how tightly she hugged him around the neck. Stunned, it took him a moment to wriggle out of her grip.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rolling to his feet Shaya stood too with a smile on her face.

"Can we do that again?"

Sesshomaru returned a few hours later to bear witness to a very odd sight. Inuyasha had Shaya by the arms and was speaking to her, to which she nodded. Within a moment Inuyasha had sailed forward over her shoulder to land on the grass in front of her and Shaya clapped her hands to her mouth.

How had he done it? Sesshomaru felt himself grow irritated.

"See? You got it." Inuyasha got to his feet once more, the first to take notice of himself. He nudged Shaya's shoulder with his forearm and the onna looked back to where she was being prompted.

"Sessomaru," Shaya smiled. How had Inuyasha managed to teach her, at least something? "Inuyasha's been helping me with everything, and I think I'm improving!" So it would seem. Behind her Inuyasha folded his arms into his sleeves, glancing between him and Shaya. Why did Shaya respond better to his instruction than to that of her own mate's? What an infuriating circumstance.

"How, Inuyasha?" It would madden him until he knew.

"How what?" Inuyasha fixed him with his eyes. He could not admit to Inuyasha that—perhaps—he had succeeded in teaching Shaya a bit about fighting whereas he had not.

"He's been teaching me how to get away." Shaya injected into the silence that had grown between them all. "Did you see any of it?" She must be aware that he had, yet she was inviting him to answer. He did not understand her.

"Hai."

"Are we leaving now or something?"

He returned his eyes to Inuyasha's. "Continue." Ignoring the startled looks on both their faces he moved to stand more beneath the shadow of a nearby tree to watch. Somehow Inuyasha was reaching her mind whilst he could not. After a moment Inuyasha's frame turned towards Shaya and their "practice" began once more.

Inuyasha blatantly instructed her how to do what it was that he intended for her to do, and then after a few times Shaya would throw in her own ideas, for good or worse. Why did she believe that jerking on his hair would do any damage? Although, he could not help but to find her tirelessly amusing at how very sweet she was, trying to invent ways to supersede Inuyasha's own experience. A little short of breath Shaya stood triumphantly over Inuyasha once more, glancing over to meet his eyes. He…He was proud of her, somehow, for this immature attempts at trying her strength against Inuyasha's.

And then something came over her face, he saw it. Her eyes lost focus on him, almost going blank as he peripherally took note of Inuyasha brushing himself off, Shaya's eyes rolling back in her head as she fainted dead away. He almost did not feel himself consent as his body moved forward, pushing Inuyasha several feet away as he dropped to his knees in his mad rush. "Shaya." He touched her face, checking the pulse at her neck, finding naught wrong. "Shaya!" he said more insistently.

"What's…" Inuyasha's voice trailed off as he noticed Shaya's closed eyes. "What's wrong with 'er?"

Supporting her with one arm he held her up by the shoulders and slapped her face lightly. "Onna, wake up!" He could feel his chest tightening as she did not immediately obey.

Hey," Inuyasha's voice came, and he felt a hand at his shoulder. Stunned he cast his eyes towards where Inuyasha had leaned down to peer at Shaya over his shoulder. "We'll take her to Kaede, ok? Come on." He would almost say that Inuyasha was trying to be kind to him, if he were not so distracted at the moment.

OoO

She felt something cool on her forehead and opened her eyes to a pair of golden ones. "Shaya," Sesshomaru's breath blew over her in an obvious sign of…relief? Maybe? She was obviously inside a hut of some kind judging by the wood ceiling, the smells inside the place telling her of the owners. Why was she in Kagome and Inuyasha's home?

"Give her some room baka." Was that Inuyasha? She couldn't believe that Sesshomaru might bring her here. He hated Inuyasha, couldn't stand him, and yet they were both inside his home? That Sesshomaru actually leaned away?

Kagome's face came into her line of sight and she blinked. "Shaya? Do you feel any better?" The cold…something was removed from her forehead and as it was she saw that it was a damp rag. Hearing the splash of water she was glad that it was soon returned to her forehead. She did feel warm, but everything was warm in the summer sun.

"Kagome?" She was terribly confused.

"You fainted out in the sun stupid." Inuyasha's snort was distinguishable anywhere. Fainted? "Kaede's busy so Rin's helping her still. I didn't tell 'em why I needed Kagome. Figured it'd be better this way, without the kid."

"I fainted?" Turning her head she saw Sesshomaru clearly now. His jaw was tight and he looked tense enough to kill a whole army of youkai. Searching through his form she could see all the signs of stress. Worry.

"Dropped like a rock." Inuyasha put so eloquently.

"Can you sit up Shaya?" Kagome attempted to assist her but her hands soon gave up as a much stronger, rougher pair took their place on her, assisting her upright with no more effort than picking up a child. Sesshomaru's arm was around her waist and she smiled at him gratefully-apparently he was still too tense to lighten up at all.

"Sesshomaru?" she questioned. "I—"

"What the hell was that about Shaya?" Inuyasha was so…grumpy.

"Inuyasha," Kagome warned. "Why don't you go and wait outside? I think that we could use another bucketful of water don't you agree?" Even as confused as her mind felt she could recognize a busy-task. Inuyasha rose up from the wall quickly, only pausing to grab the half-full bucket, before hurrying from the hut.

"Do you feel sick?" Both of them were watching her closely.

"I've never been sick a day in my life Kagome." Youkai didn't get sick. Hurt, sure, but there was no way that she was actually ill from something. Even most injuries didn't affect her too badly.

"Are you dizzy? Thirsty?" Kagome pressed. Sesshomaru was on his knees on one side of her, Kagome on the other. It was so strange to have them both simply staring at her!

"I don't even remember fainting."

"Answer her Shaya." Sesshomaru's voice was as hard as the lines of his face. Had she really scared him that badly? He was more than serious now and it was impossible for her to talk to him right now about whatever he was feeling, not when he was like this.

"I would like some water." She felt parched from the sun. Thankfully Sesshomaru soon received the cup from Kagome and nearly shoved it into her hands, never ceasing to stare at her. She drank slowly to give her something to do other than meet Sesshomaru's eyes.

"Are you dizzy at all? Do you feel weak in the limbs or anything?" Pausing for a moment she shook her head to Kagome before taking another mouthful of cold water. "When was the last time you ate?"

That question made her pause. When had been the last time she'd eaten? She couldn't remember a whole lot of that week when she'd been in heat, but she doubted that Sesshomaru had fed her. Looking up at him she couldn't help but laugh quietly. She got onto him sometimes for not eating and yet since her heat she had simply been forgetting.

"Shaya," Sesshomaru demanded again.

"I think that's it." She reached up to tuck a piece of his hair behind his ear. "I drank some tea yesterday but I didn't eat." She really had been getting out of the habit living with him as she did. He never brought up eating and it made her forget too.

"When?"

Rolling her eyes she let out a sigh. "Probably like a few days ago ok? I'm sorry for scaring you."

"A few days ago? Isn't your stomach hurting?" Kagome nearly gasped. Of course she was completely unused to the idea of not eating as she had been before she'd met Sesshomaru. And yet, her stomach didn't hurt at all. And Sesshomaru had…what, decades? Decades of not eating?

"No," she shook her head.

"You have to eat Shaya! It's not healthy to starve yourself like that." At least Kagome didn't look so panicked anymore. "I should get you something to eat." Excusing herself Kagome made herself through a flap in the door.

"Why have you not been eating onna?" Sesshomaru's voice was softer now but he definitely wasn't relaxed. Or happy with her. "You have been putting together a garden and yet you forget to eat?"

"It never entered my mind. I'm sorry." She really hadn't even thought about it. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I've been busy and I just never thought about it."

"This cannot happen again." An order.

"It's not like I meant for this to happen." He wasn't seriously angry at her was he? "Sesshomaru-love," she reached up to stroke the side of his face lightly," I'm terribly sorry that you had to worry about me like that, but it won't happen again ok? I promise. I'm going to start remembering to eat again. It was a mistake."

"I will not allow for you to faint, is that understood?" Sesshomaru's eyes were angry, but she knew him well enough to see past the basic outer expression.

"I know that you're worried but," she leaned forward to kiss him gently on the mouth, "I'm perfectly fine." She put a smile on her face to reassure him as best as she could," You can even help me remember. So don't worry like this ok? There's absolutely no need."

Kagome returned with a bowl of broth with plenty of meat in it, that Sesshomaru watched her eat diligently in obedience. She felt more tired than hungry. She had to get him home and ensure that he knew that she was safe. She could only imagine how he'd intimidated the others to take care of her or something like that, with how scary he could be sometimes, nonetheless while he was focused in that steely way of his. "Hey Shaya?" Inuyasha popped his head in. "Rin wants to see you."

Inuyasha came inside to sit against the wall as Rin came in as well and Sesshomaru left Shaya to their care for the moment. Outside he inhaled some of the fresh air that still held remnants of smoke from someone's cooking, and a few moments later he also detected the miko's scent. He waited for her to come around and stand in front of him so that she could speak to him. Presumably.

"Um, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Hn."

"Just, just when you take her home make sure that she gets some rest ok?" As if he needed the miko to tell him that. He had every intention on making sure that Shaya did not cause his chest to feel so strained again. "Is she is as thin as she looks?"

"For what purpose?" he made his voice level and smooth.

"Shaya's probably got a really high metabolism and it makes her really slender. Not in a bad way, but it doesn't really surprise me that a few days of not eating made her faint. I thought that I should tell you, because I don't want her to take it the wrong way. And if she's not even hungry then you should probably watch for that too." Inuyasha's miko was showing concern for his mate? Surprising.

"I am perfectly capable of caring for my own mate." What was "metabolism"?

"That isn't what I meant at all!" she protested. It did not matter. He was finished speaking with her. Turning he made his way back into the miko's house to collect Shaya and to take her back to their house. If she did not consider her own health then it was up to him.

OoO

The rain outside made pleasant sounds on the roof. The room was warm with a fire in the pit and everything was content. Full she glanced over towards where Sesshomaru sat pouring over some scroll of paper with kanji darkening the page before glancing over at the cloth that she was sewing together for Rin. She was sure that Rin would appreciate a blanket with flowers sewn into it even if she weren't a master seamstress. It would pass at least. She stayed where she was by the fire after cleaning up some because of the chill that threatened to find her if she left her spot. Even Sesshomaru was dressed in all but his armor, the boa, and his sword that still rested in the chest.

But so help her if she weren't just sick of deer. And rabbit. And fish. Sesshomaru would hunt it for her if she didn't want to and then glare at her while she simply sat there staring at it. That or he would grab her wrist lightly before growling and telling her that she was indeed "going to eat onna". Not that he wasn't adorable. But she wouldn't mind something green and sweet and well…not meat.

She had a deal with Miroku that she would trade some of her gatherings in return for his trading for them in the first place to harvest in the spring. He was working on it at the moment but his wife and little one came first, and the trading was slow-going. She could probably ask Sesshomaru if he'd find her some cuttings somewhere but she was a little wary about asking him for a lot, since he was hunting for her, and he'd already built her this wonderful house, she just wanted to manage something on her own for once. And he probably didn't know a whole lot about planting or vegetables or anything. At least she'd seen several years of it.

Picking up the cloth she began to finish the blue flower that she'd began on the dark green cloth. Something else that she'd found inside this house via Sesshomaru's generosity. Knitting at it she began to hum to herself a little tune of her own device against the peace of the water dropping outside. It was very cozy indeed.

"Shaya."

"Hai?" she paused for a moment. What was he reading anyway? She'd peeked over his shoulder earlier but she couldn't make heads or tails of it-she'd never learned how to read. She was impressed that Sesshomaru really was a scholar.

"I did not know that you sang."

"I don't." It'd just been a silly little nonsense tune to help pass the time.

"You have just done so."

"So?" Sesshomaru seemed to find this conversation as awkward as she did. What was she to do? It was so pointless to be talking about this. She's just been humming, humming a stupid little tune to herself and now he was making a big deal out of it.

"You have a pleasant voice." She was taken aback at the compliment; she'd certainly never heard it before. Without another word Sesshomaru's hair shifted and he was once more reading his papers. With a slight warmth to her face she ducked her own face back towards what she was doing. He was sweet at times.

She heard the wind pick up quickly before there was the clutter of a bucket falling from outside. Sesshomaru was preparing to get up when she hurried to intervene, setting aside her work to rise quickly in the hopes that he would not be distracted from whatever it was that he was doing. "Don't worry, I'll go get…" Her legs felt weak.

The next time that her eyes opened Sesshomaru was pushing away the hair from her face in an almost obsessive gesture. "You are awake this time. Are you not well?"

"I fainted?" she couldn't believe this was happening again.

"Hai." Sesshomaru spoke softly. He helped her to sit up gently. "You almost woke several minutes ago but it was false. You immediately succumbed once more."

"But I've been eating and everything." She put her hand to her forehead to try to steady her thoughts. "You know that I have." He'd been forcing her to eat at least twice a day, hungry or no.

"I am aware." At least Sesshomaru wasn't taking this one as harshly.

"And Kagome said that if I ate more this wouldn't happen." She wasn't going to cry was she? As a single tear slipped out of her eye she wanted to curse: she was. "She said that it was because I was hungry." Sesshomaru's arms pulled her a little closer and she wrapped her arms around him to gain comfort from the decidedly male scent rising from his skin. "I don't like waking up and having everyone staring at me."

"Do not stress. I am sure that it may be solved easily." He was actually trying to comfort her? She buried her nose into his neck where it was freed from the collar of his clothing. Sesshomaru was so kind to her—he was even stroking her hair. "Do you wish to be taken to the miko Shaya? I will escort you if you do."

He was even offering to go out in this storm—for her. She kissed his shoulder through the silk softly but shook her head. "No, I just want to stay here with you right now. Or go lay down or something." Sesshomaru didn't answer but she didn't hear him say nay either. "Sesshomaru-love?" she knew that he would be listening. "What do you think is wrong? Youkai aren't supposed to get sick."

"It is relatively new." He did not say if it was new to himself or to her. She focused on him stroking her hair in that soft way so slowly. "I want you calm." Closing her eyes she listened to the rain and his steady heartbeat and the sound of her own breathing: she was struggling to maintain her current level of "calm".

"I don't want to be sick." Reaching up she rubbed a few tears away from her eyes before it turned into a full crying jag. She really didn't want to waste any of her energy on that at the moment.

"You have not been hungry." Sesshomaru stated.

"No." She was so sick of meat. She didn't want to hurt his feelings though.

"Are you fatigued?" Was she tired? She took a moment to consider it. She'd felt fine before she'd stood up to go chase after the bucket except that her body had just happened to betray her.

"Only right before I passed out." Otherwise she felt fine. Silence filled the room as Sesshomaru's questioning seemed to be at an end. Everytime she passed out she became the new centre of attention—which was staring to get on her nerves—it just made her life a little more difficult to do anything. Sooner or later he was just going to put her in a room and lock her in. And she might not blame him.

"I would prefer it if you would go to the miko." Sesshomaru's voice was directly in her ear again.

"I'm not going." Was he going to make this an issue now? So help her, she didn't feel like dealing with his insane mood swings. His arms tightened a little around her waist and she felt his nose skim along her neck for a second.

"I must insist."

"I really don't want to go." The longer she considered going out in that rain the worse she felt. Feeling him tuck more of her hair behind her ear she sensed his minor irritation. Good because she felt it too.

"Something is not well with you and it is in your best interest to obey." Sesshomaru's voice was a little harder this time. Instead of comfortable and adorable he was fast becoming someone that she would like to hiss at. "Shaya?" She pushed away from him and made her way towards their bedroom. Almost silently he was quickly following her as she attempted to simply crawl into their bed. Hopefully he would just leave her alone and let her sleep. "Shaya."

"I want to sleep. I'm not going anywhere."

"Do you know what is happening?" Sesshomaru's weight made the bed dip on her side even as she tried to hide under the covers from him. Couldn't he get a hint? She could feel the weight of his hand on her hip even through the sheets.

"I just want to sleep."

"I demand to know what is amiss with my mate. Do not behave as a child." She could feel tugging on the top of where she was holding trapped the sheets. "Enough of this nonsense Shaya."

"I don't want to go." She could hear how sad her own voice sounded. "Just let me sleep ok? I'm tired."

"You simply do not wish to go into the rain." Sesshomaru finally got a grip on the blanket and pulled down. "I will not put up with this onna." How was she so unhappy so fast? Sesshomaru wasn't glaring at her but he was certainly not happy himself.

"I'm not going."

He let out an annoyed breath. "How many times must you repeat that? I have heard you, and you are wrong." Arms around her pulled her off the bed and she heard herself whine. "Why are you acting this way?"

"Because you won't leave me alone!" Wiping more tears away from her face she felt the tears begin to stream down her cheeks. "I don't want to go and you're going to be mean."

He was bewildered. "You are crying."

"I just want to go to bed and have some rice and maybe cuddle with you but you're being stupid." She sniffed. "I don't want to cuddle with you anymore."

"You are making no sense."

"You don't want me to eat green stuff anyway." His eyes were wide and he looked as if he felt on the losing side of this conversation. "Because you hate my little garden!"

"That has nothing to do with this Shaya!" Taking her by the shoulders he pulled her closer to cup her face, forcing her to look up at him. "Where has this come from onna? We were civil not long ago."

"You don't care."

"Why must you be so difficult? I am attempting to care for you." This insanity was near to breaking his nerves. They had been perfectly content less than an hour ago, much less, and yet now…between her fainting, this utterly unpredictable mood swing that she seemed to have entered, and this nonsense about her garden, he did not have much patience left. The miko had already been incorrect once about Shaya's ailment—he had seen to it that she was not suffering for a meal—yet here she continued to faint and act erratically.

He was suffering.

"No you d-don't." Her hands were fisted into the front of his haori and she buried her face into his chest. "You're a…you know what you are. I don't like you." Had she lost her mind? She had already told him on many occasions that she loved him.

"Very well. You will lie down." Maybe with some sleep she would be better. He would not deal with irrationality. Shaya did not seem to be in any danger so he would allow her to rest. "I will not be so lenient next time."

"You're s-stupid." Shaya repeated.

"Perhaps a nap will return your sanity." Sniffing Shaya turned her face up to his. As she continued to stare and him and yet not speak he was quite uncomfortable. "Onna."

"But I'm not tired." He wanted to strangle something.

"That has been your argument for remaining here Shaya." Rapidly his frustration was overwhelming him—why did she make no sense? She was not an illogical woman. "What is your excuse now?"

Shaya's nose wrinkled again. "You're mad at me. What'd I do?" Do? Why was she…It did not matter. Perhaps the fainting had injured her somehow by harming her head, or some other injury that he didn't know about.

"If you will lie down to rest I will lie with you. Is that acceptable?" This insanity needed to end. What had happened to his little sweet onna that she would act this way? The miko would answer for her ineptness.

"Ok," she breathed.

OoO

She resisted him so vehemently that he allowed the matter to pass by. He did not think that it would assist her to simply rouse that fear that he witnessed so easily in her. She did not smell ill if nothing else.

But he was certainly keeping a closer eye on her.

There was an odd prolonging to her trips out to the forest and he was curious. Rising from his place in the main room he walked towards where he would find her. She was not in fact, doing as she had said, but stood with her back to him on the edge of the river away from the house, hidden down inside forest with a cloth in her hand as she leaned against the nearest tree.

"Shaya." She was startled quite badly and glanced back at him—an odd smell reached his nose. "What are you doing?" She hastily made to close her yukata and he was suspicious.

"What? You scared me."

"You are avoiding the question." Reaching forward he caught her wrist that had the cloth fisted.

"What question? Can't I even clean up in peace anymore?" Shaya flustered. "I was sweaty from sleeping last night ok? You're acting like I'm hiding something from you." She was pushing at her arm as her hair swung prettily behind her.

"Are you?" He was frustrated that her looks could distract him even for a second.

"Of course not ok? I just want to get clean." Holding her wrist tightly he pressed down on either side of her hand to force her fingers apart. "Ow, Sesshomaru!" He tugged the cloth that seemed to be the source of her focus out of her grasp and promptly released her to stumble against the tree once more. "You big stupid jerk!"

"What is this onna?" Now he was angry. There was an odd mixture of pink and white liquid on the fabric.

"I just didn't want to tell you ok? It's a female thing." She was lying. This close? Her scent more than told him that she was indeed speaking falsehoods to him. "So just forget about it."

"I want the truth." He could only imagine one place where it might have emerged.

"Why do you have to be such a damn bloodhound?" Rubbing at her wrist Shaya was glaring at him when she was the one in the wrong. "Can't I have any privacy?"

"This is blood." He was not sure what the other might be.

"I always bleed after a heat." Shaya's face flushed pink. "I told you it was personal."

"Your heat was some time ago." He did not like being ignorant.

"I know that Sesshomaru. But it always happens, it's happened for years now. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of certain things on my own." Why was she so angry? "You treat me like a damn child!" Shoving past him she left him there during her return to the house.

"Shaya." He allowed a slow growl of his own to build as he lengthened his stride to catch her. He stopped her before she could disappear inside—tightening her yukata around herself—and allowed her to see his own frustration. "You do not tell me these things."

"Because I would like a few things between us to remain a mystery. Not a whole lot, but a few!" Shaya growled out at him, pink. She was embarrassed?

"I am concerned for you onna."

She played with the edges to the top of her yukata and glanced away from him with her heated cheeks. "I know that. But with everything else that's been going on I knew you would overreact." In his centuries he had been witness to the scents of human women bleeding, unwilling, but a witness. Shaya did not smell that way.

Overreact? He certainly did not.

"What is this?" he offered her cloth back and she took it with her eyes hidden.

"It just comes out for a few days. It's not a big deal." He understood that she was uncomfortable but she was required to tell him or he would discover some other way. He sensed something though.

"You do not wish to ask something of me?" When Shaya did not immediately answer he lifted her chin with his fingers. "Little onna, be certain that there is nothing else."

"I don't know what the white is. I've never seen that before."

"Do you still refuse to-"

"For the…I am not going to bother Kagome everytime you get confused!" Shaya spat at him. Bright-cheeked she turned away from him once more and he caught her before she could stumble. It much lessened her dramatic departure. Giving him a look he could not help but feel a bit amused at her helpless irritation.