"Is that a no, then?", Seshomaru asked with piercing yellow eyes staring down at me.
In the moonlight he was astounding. Every inch of his perfect white skin glistened in the sparkling light. The breeze brushed long strands of hair into his face and I couldn't take my eyes off of him. His hand was still rested on my face, now cupping my cheek softly. This is what I wanted. Him being near me willingly was all I could have ever asked for. When he looked at me, I could sense the intensity of his feelings radiating off of his entire body. Sesshomaru came for me because he wanted to be with me, not for the jewel.
My heart fluttered with every passing second we stared at one another. Our faces were still so close that his lips were almost touching mine. Noses hitting against each other gently every time one of us exhaled. I couldn't open my mouth to answer him no matter how hard I tried. The hot rush of nervousness sat on my cheeks and his touch didn't make it any easier on me.
There was so much I needed to say to him. The words were swelling up in my chest like a volcano ready to erupt, but my lid wasn't budging. Apprehension still weighed heavily on me. The idea that he could be lying to keep me around for his plan haunted my thoughts. However, the emotion in his eyes said differently. Sesshomaru appeared to genuinely care for me. I might even say that he looked like he loved me. He seemed just as nervous as I was while he waited for my reply.
I felt the heavy gaze of his yellow orbs boring into me. It was true that I enjoyed my time with Inuyasha and the others, but this burning sensation inside of me around Sesshomaru was so different. My entire being wanted to cling to his every move and never let go. A piece of my soul was ripped from me each moment we were separated. I'd loathed him to the point of never returning to the Feudal era just a few weeks ago, but that didn't mean I wasn't thinking about him the whole time.
Every night my dreams were overshadowed by visions of his godly face and stoick figure. Even with his hand around my neck, I still yearned for him. It's unhealthy, I know, but I couldn't fight the urge to be with him. The moments we'd shared together were worth it in the end. Even the hurt was worth it to me. It brought us closer to one another. Longing truly does make the heart grow stronger and I think we could both attest to that. This feeling in my chest pushed any other hesitations away. I'd miss my friends very much, they had become like family to me. But I didn't need them to survive. I needed Sesshomaru with my whole being. Yearning for his presence from sunup to sundown. It was no longer possible to ignore it. I loved him.
"No! I mean yes? I think... I don't know what I'm saying right now! I'm sorry. I'm trying to answer you but the words aren't coming out right", I stumbled.
With him staring at me this way I could barely form a coherent sentence. This was like presenting in front of a class in highschool except there were no classmates and my teacher was a ridiculously attractive demon. My hand shot up to my face and I dangled my head in embarrassment. Safe to say, I was overwhelmed. He placed a hand on mine and gently pried it from my face.
"Look at me, Kimmy", he said sweetly.
Raising my head up to him, I gasped at his face. Not because of its beauty, but because of his expression. He was smiling at me. Like, a real smile.
"Will you come be with me? You and I belong with one another. I'm sure you've realised that as well. I need you, Kimmy", he said.
"You need me?", I asked.
The air in my chest wouldn't come out. I could have died right now in peace. If this was a dream then I never wanted to wake up. We could have stayed here forever in this spot and I'd never complain. His words played over and over again in my head and each time they felt more intense than the last.
"Yes, I need you. I've grown to feel more for you than I originally anticipated. My demeanor towards you was cold and withdrawn because I was scared of being overcome with unattainable emotions for a creature like yourself. You are a human after all. Everything about you should disgust me, however it did not. Even upon first meeting you there was something that drew me into your presence. That is why I left you in the woods after our encounter in the pond. I was afraid of you and what I could do to you. But when I felt that you were in trouble, something inside of me burned to come find you. Seeing you hurt crushed me in ways I'd never been accustomed to", he said. Pausing to suck in a long breath, he exhaled and looked down at the ground between us.
"Sesshomaru I-", I started to say before stopping. I wanted to scream out to him how I felt but the words refused to move out of my mouth. "Sesshomaru I need to tell you something."
"Yes", he asked looking back to me.
I took in a large inhale of courage and tried to spit it out. Before I could he covered my mouth and finished my explanation for me.
"You love me", he said calmly. "I know. You do not have to continue."
Our eyes met and tears brimmed at the rim of mine. I longed to say those words for so long, but was scared of rejection. Hearing him say it for me made my heart melt. He'd known all along how I felt.
"I'm sorry. I know you don't feel the same and that's okay. I'm a human and you can't give those feelings back to me. You can't feel love the way that I can, but yes. I do love you, Sesshomaru", I said with a steady voice.
Despite the tears streaming down my face, my tone never faltered. I knew how I felt for him and couldn't hide it anymore. Whether or not he felt the same didn't matter. I just had to say it.
"I love you as well, Kimmy. I always have", he said. "I told you that I could not feel such emotions. Demons are not meant to be as vulnerable as humans. It is considered a weakness. A crippling one for that mattert. My whole life I thought of my father as a fool for falling for Inuyasha's mother. Such an action showed no self control and all respect I had for him diminished. I felt like a hypocrite for loathing him so, when I was traveling the same path as he did. We did not speak for centuries because of our differing beliefs. Yet, here I sit with a human of my own. One that I love as he once did. Father told me we were the same in many ways and I refused to believe this quality was one we shared. But I now know what he meant. I love you, Kimmy. And I can no longer deny that. It is becoming a burden."
"You love me back?", I asked in shock.
I wasn't sure what kind of love he meant. Whether it was friendly or he was in love with me didn't matter. He wanted me to stay with him. Like, forever I think. Putting all of his worries about human kind aside to be seen with me. To walk and share the same space as me. The pang in my chest was becoming so severe. I'm sure Sesshomaru could hear the throb of my heart from where he stood.
"I do, and I promise to never leave you again as long as you'll have me. Please say that you will you stay with me?", he asked.
Yellow eyes peering into mine, I couldn't say no if I chose to. The longing within those golden irises was more than I could handle. This whole time I thought my feelings were one sided, but he always felt the same way that I did. All I could do was nod in response and throw myself into him. My arms wrapped around his shoulders as I sobbed happy tears. After going through so much the past few weeks, I needed to hear this. I was drained emotionally and craved this exact thing. Now that I had it, I wasn't sure what to do with it. Though, just obtaining it made me feel so warm and safe.
"Let us go now", he said softly in my ear. I hadn't realized through my sobs that he was holding me. His arm wrapped around me protectively as he stroked my hair. Beautiful face laid on top of my head. "Jaken will be waiting for us. Are you all right to move?"
"I'm fine. He didn't hurt me much, just kind of roughed me up a bit", I responded with an awkward chuckle.
I didn't really want to think about what Naraku had just tried to pull with me. He was disgusting for sure, but I didn't think he would stoop that low. Trying to seduce me to get my jewel. This damn thing was becoming more inconvenient than it's worth. I see why Grandma gave it away. At least it brought me to Sesshomaru. That made up for everything else.
"I will carry you. It will be faster that way", he said hauling me onto his back. "Hold on tightly to me. If you fall I won't promise to catch you", he said with a serious tone, but I could hear the smile peeking out of his voice.
"Are you flirting with me, Sesshomaru?", I laughed at him.
"Flirting? What does this phrase mean", he questioned.
"It's something you do when you like someone. You know, trying to get them flustered making jokes. Maybe it's a human thing", I said.
I felt a tiny chuckle ruffle his body and he responded with, "Perhaps."
I felt my heart flutter again and I laid my head on his shoulder. This moment was so perfect. He and I had finally made it over the threshold of uncertainty and I was ready to give my all to him. The soft sound of his breathing made my eyes start to fall. I was comfortable with him in every way. Sleep began to take over until a scream came from the woods. My head shot up to the sound of my name echoing over to us.
"Kimmy! Kimmy! Where are you?", I heard my friends yell out for me.
Kagome came into my line of sight first and when she saw me there was both relief and fear in her eyes. I'm sure she was happy to see I wasn't killed by Naraku, but disappointed at whose arms I now rested in.
"Let her go, Sesshomaru!", she called to him. "She doesn't belong to you, she belongs with us! So, let her go right now!"
"Yeah", Shippo piped in from the low brush. "Kimmy needs to be with us. You're evil and don't even like humans. She needs to come home."
"I am afraid you have the wrong idea of these circumstances", Sesshomaru sliced through the tension. "Kimmy is not being held here without her permission. She has chosen to stay with me. You see, I told her to stay with you all for her protection, and I see I was wrong to assume Inuyasha could protect anything but himself. I am the only one who can truly keep her safe, and there will be no debate on her whereabouts going further."
"Don't let him deceive you this way, Kimmy", Miroku furiously said. "He has hurt you before, yet you still choose to stay with him? Sesshomaru's words are not the truth, he is a demon and will say and do whatever to keep you around until he doesn't need you anymore. You know that, Kimmy. Why are you choosing such a path for yourself?"
Before I could answer Sesshomaru did it for me. "Though your words are admirable, Monk. They are useless. I will not argue further with any of you. She belongs with me and that is all there is to discuss."
"Why don't you let her speak for herself, Sesshomaru", Inuyasha angrily yelled.
I realized the demon slayer was on his back in a deep sleep. He must have spared her in the fight, or the other way around. They already had another person to fill my empty space. My absence most likely wouldn't even be noticed.
"She is tired and needs to rest. We have places to be shortly and have no extra time to quarrel this way. Goodbye, Little Brother. We will see each other again", Sesshomaru said bending his knees and swiftly lifting us into the air.
When I looked down, there was a small cloud under his feet steadily carrying us through the air. I also saw the puzzled and concerned expressions of my companions. They didn't appear upset with me at all. I was happy about that, but I knew all of the blame here would be placed on Sesshomaru and it wasn't all his fault. I really did choose to stay with him and I was too cowardly to say that for myself.
The longer I looked at them, the more I miss them already. Shippo's tiny hands were covering his eyes and he cried for me to come back. I felt my own tears well up at the inner corners of my eyes and one ran down my cheek. Burrowing my face in his warm robes, I let out a few more droplets before sniffing them away.
"They will miss you", the dog demon said quietly. "It seems they have truly grown to love you as well. You have a quality about you that makes such feelings hard to ignore."
"Yeah, I guess they have", I sniffled.
"Do not fret for them. Their objectives will distract from your absence. I promise", he calmly stated. "Rest your eyes. We have a long journey through the night ahead of us"
Sesshomaru was trying to comfort me. The gesture was sweet, but I still felt like shit for leaving them behind. Guilt welled up inside of me, but this moment with Sesshomaru couldn't be ruined. It was too special to collapse that way.
"What about you? Don't you need to sleep?", I asked.
"Very rarely do I truly need to rest. I will be fine to stay awake. You, however, need to sleep. Your body will become weak and fatigued soon if you do not sleep. I will try to make the ride as easy as possible", he explained.
His arm curled behind him and grabbed mine. A strong hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me around to the front of his body. I yelped in fear that he'd drop me, but I knew better. He cradled me on his hip the way he had done the first time we traveled into the sky together. With the moonlight lying over our faces. I felt his head rest against mine and my eyelids fluttered closed.
"I love you too", I said before dozing off to sleep. If he said anything in response to me, I didn't hear it. Truthfully, I didn't need too.