When I walked up to the front door of the house and turned the key it was already unlocked. Dad's car was gone because it was a weekday and he had work, and Mom and Grandma appeared to be out. There was no noise coming from inside and Mom wasn't the kind of person to leave the house unguarded like this. We had a break in once that scarred her for life. Since then she always double locks every door and window before bed and when she left. This was like her to be so careless. I could feel my nerves beginning to heighten at the thought of something being inside of my house that didn't belong there. Or worse, something that followed me here.
"Is something the matter?", Sesshomaru asked walking up from behind me. I jumped at the sudden sound of his deep voice and clutched my chest to sooth my racing heart beat.
"I thought I told you to stay in the shrine until I came to get you!", I barked at him.
"I will not take orders from a human, even if it is coming from you. Why have you not gone inside yet?", he questioned further. Even he could tell there was something making me nervous besides his sudden appearance. The look on his face became stern and serious as he gazed at the door.
"There is something in there that is not of this world. I can smell it", he said with his nose in the air.
"What should I do? What if my Mom and Grandma are in there with it?", I asked in a panic.
"They are not here, I can guarantee that much. Whatever it is, it reeks of Naraku", he said. "You wait here while I go inside. Do not move from this spot. Do you understand?"
I nodded weakly and he headed through the cracked door. Up until now Sesshomaru had been very light hearted with me, even smiling and making jokes. However, this was the version of him that I had seen before. His words were no longer sweet. Even though I knew he was trying to protect me, I couldn't help but wince at his delivery. The demanding and biting tone he now had was all too familiar and I hoped there was nothing in there so it could go away quickly.
A loud pop of thunder cut through the air. The sky was darkening with the threat of oncoming rain and my pulse picked up in pace. Being alone out here without Sesshomaru was already concerning. I was becoming so attached to him that I couldn't be alone in situations like this without him next to me. The extent of my dependency was shocking, even to myself. I had never been that type of girl. My instincts were always to fend for myself and be strong in every circumstance, but the longer I stayed with Sesshomaru, the more that wall of confidence crumbled at my feet.
"Whomever was here has left", I heard his voice call from the living room. He re-emerged in the doorway and firmly grabbed my hand. "That does not mean that they will not return. I feel their presence still lingering here, which means they have just now departed. I can only assume they sensed me here and fled. If you would have traveled alone it would not have been this way."
"Then, I'm glad you came with me, Sesshomaru. You're like a good luck charm", I said.
The words came out of my mouth so awkwardly that I strongly resented myself for even saying them out loud. He wasn't in the mood for jokes anymore and I could tell. He didn't respond to my remark and only led me into the house in silence.
When we walked into the living room, it appeared to be normal. Everything was in the right place and clean. The kitchen was fine as well. Nothing in the house appeared disheveled from the intruder, that is, until we got to my room. It was a mess to say the very least. All of the drawers in my dresser had been pulled out and strung all over the floor along with their contents. My mattress was flipped up against the wall and the window at the corner of the room was thrown open. I fell to my knees with a loud groan.
"Why did they have to come to my room? I just cleaned it up before I left. Now, I'll have to do it all over again", I whined.
"You're room? At a time like this, after a demon has ranstacked your home you're worried about the state of your room? How foolish could you be", he asked harshly. "He came here searching for you and the jewel of course. You are the only person who has possession of it. That is why you can never be alone again. A weak girl like you would have surely been overpowered by the most harmless of demons, let alone Naraku."
"I've defended myself before, you know? This isn't the first time I've been in danger and it won't be the last. You're the one who left me, Sesshomaru! Unless you forgotten that fast already", I mocked him. "If I'm such a weak human then go! I won't force you to stay here with me if you don't want to. I can protect myself."
I ripped my arms from his grasp and marched over to the corner of the room, closing the open window. He hadn't said a word in response so I assumed he had disappeared somewhere. That is pretty much what I told him to do. Irrationally, I had gotten worked up over his words, that were honestly true, and pushed him away. Now, I felt horrible for it.
"I hope you are finished with your tantrum", he suddenly said from the doorway.
His long arms were crossed over his chest and he leaned lazily against the frame. His body was so large that his head barely avoided touching the ceiling. A guy like him was completely out of sorts in a place like this.
My temper flared back up again. I bent down to grab a handful of dirty clothes and threw them in an empty laundry basket. "Excuse me", I said pushing past him.
"Where are you going", he asked with concern.
"To wash my clothes", I said.
He offered to carry my heavy basket for me and I declined. I needed to revert back to my old habits of doing things for myself. He was good at everything, except not being an asshole, and I had to stop relying on his perfect nonhuman qualities.
I stomped to the washing machine and placed the basket on the floor with a thud. The whole time I felt the dog demon watching over my shoulder. I lifted the lid and turn the knob to the right setting. His sharp yellow eyes followed my every movement while I placed the clothes in.
"Why are you staring so hard", I asked. "It's just a washing machine."
"A 'Washing Machine'?", he repeated in confusion. I let out a laugh at his perplexed face as he tried to figure out what those words meant. I took his large hand in mine and traced his way up to the start button.
"Do you see these knobs here? They're settings. You can change them to whatever you want. I put it on normal and put a detergent pod in with the clothes. All you have to do now is press start. You try", I explained letting go of his hand.
"I will not", he huffed, retracting his hand. "Cleaning garments is not something I have or will ever subject myself to. Do it yourself."
All I could respond with was an amused smile and pressed the button on my own. He stiffened slightly at the loud noise of the machine starting up and I let out a roar of laughter. That laughter soon turned into sputtered of coughs and I had to lean myself on the wall for stability. I had forgotten in all of the chaos that I was getting sick.
"You are becoming ill, Kimmy. You should not be stressing yourself with these matters now. Let me take you to bed", he said while reaching for me. I shuddered away from his touch and let out another loud cough.
"I'll be fine. Besides, I still have things to do. My room is a mess", I responded weakly. I began walking to my room when he grabbed me firmly by the arm and ripped me back. "Hey! Let me go! I'll lay down when I finish. You shouldn't care anyway! I'm just a weak and whiny human right?"
"Fine, have it your way. However, if you die from this illness, do not complain to me", he said.
"I couldn't complain to you if I was dead in the first place", I snorted.
"You could do so if you pleased. I have communicated with many a deceased person before. For me, that is not difficult", he explained. The thought of me talking to a dead person made my skin crawl.
I reorganized my bed and tidied the rest of my room fairly quickly. Sesshomaru watched the whole time from the corner in silence. He looked so formal standing in my normal human bedroom. His brightly colored robes hung on his body like silk. The stone armour he wore around his chest with his sword at his side looked so odd in the modern world that he stood out like a sore thumb here. When I traveled my line of sight up to his face, I saw his golden eyes gazing out through my window. Sesshomaru looked like the perfect man out of the perfect fairytale book. His eyes met mine for a moment and he peered down at me with an inquisitive look. Before I knew it, he was right in front of me with his hand under my chin.
"Why are you not in bed", he asked "It has been made already. Why are you not in it yet?"
"I-I was going to make some tea before I got in bed", I stuttered while looking up into his gaze.
My room was dimly lit by the grey rainy day light coming from my window, but even then could I be entranced by his piercing yellow eyes. I hated that I melted so easily around him. One good look into his godly face was enough to send me spiraling out of control. The flutter of my heart had already begun and I was being pulled into him every passing second he touched me like this.
Snapping out of my stupor, I choked out a very fake cough. "I really should be making that tea now. Don't want to get any worse or else I won't be able to go back to the Feudal era and fight off evil with you, you know. I guess I better get to it", I said awkwardly.
I practically ran to the kitchen to get away from him. How much of an idiot could I be? There was no way I had really just said those stupid things in front of him. My mind was so jumbled with confusing emotions that I had to find a way to get out of there. All I had really done was make myself sound like an dufess.
With a groan I rested my head on the counter and waited to die of embarrassment. Suddenly the click of the front door unlocking grabbed my attention. Mom and Grandma waltzed through the door casually unaware that a grown demon was waiting for me in my room.
"Oh, Kimmy! You made it home early. How was your time at Kagome's house?", Mom asked. Grandma shot me a death glare, making sure I knew to answer correctly.
"It was fine", I lied quickly. I hated lying to her like this, but I had no choice. It was either that or death my granny.
"You look pale, Honey. Are you feeling okay? You're starting to sweat", she said walking up and putting her hand on my forehead. "You should lay down. Let me take you to your room and make you some tea."
"I was just about to do that, Mom! You took the thought right out of my head", I hecktacly laughed. "I'll be fine! It's probably just a regular cold. It's nothing!"
"No, no, Young Lady. Grandma told me that the news said the flu was going around and you may have gotten it. Since we moved we haven't been able to get our flu shots. I'll take you to bed and bring you some tea and medicine. This is part of my job after all", she insisted.
I looked over at Grandma for help, but all she did was shrug. Grabbing my hand, Mom drug me to my door that was still wide open. I gasped thinking about her seeing Sesshomaru in there and tried to stop her.
"You are being so strange today, Kimmy. You must really be sick", she said with aggravation tainting her nurturing tone.
"Mom, really! I can take care of myself-", I abruptly cut myself off.
She lifted on the light switch and we stepped into my newly lit room. It was totally empty. No dog demon in sight. I scanned every nook and cranny with bewilderment and waited for him to pop out and scare the hell out of both of us, but he never did.
"No wonder you're getting sick, Kimmy! This window is wide open", she said shutting it. "Get in bed and I'll bring you dinner and meds. Dad will be late getting home tonight, but he'll be so happy so see you. You getting home is all he's been able to talk about the past few days. We all really missed you. Especially after what happened… before. I don't ever want to think of losing you like that ever again", she somberly said.
Way to make me feel completely terrible, Mom. I already snuck a guy in the house and now you're about to cry over something that you hate for have done already, but that I will definitely do again. I slumped into bed and she covered me up with a gentle smile. I could see tears brimming in her eyes as she did so.
When she left I waited for Sesshomaru to return to me. Time passed long enough that I had eaten dinner already and was nodding off. The medicine I'd taken was starting to make me drowsy and my eyelids became increasingly heavy.
"Where is he!?", Grandma yelled abruptly forcing her way into my peaceful room.
"Jesus, Grandma! Where is who? Who is he?", I asked her. She was hovering over me with her frail finger pointed in my face.
"I can smell him. The smell of a good looking man has never deceived me. I may be old, but my nose still works, Kimmy. Where is the demon man", she asked frantically.
"Don't get too worked up. I think he left already", I answered in disappointment.
"Did you scare him off?", she pried.
"No, I didn't. I was getting sick and he offered to accompany me home. I'm here now, so he's no longer needed, I guess", I said. My gaze wandered to the closed window and hoped to see him staring at me, but he wasn't there.
"Aiya! I missed him again", she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Do you know how long it's been since Grandma saw a handsome man like that. A demon no less. Back in my day, I would have been shamed for messing with a guy like him, but you kids these days don't even care! How crazy!", she snorted down at me.
"I'm trying to sleep, Grandma. Can you please get out of here", I begged her. Throwing the comforter over my face, I let out a long sigh.
They must have scared him off from coming back. I didn't blame him, though. He could surely feel Grandma's desperation to see him from a mile away. This was probably all too much for him. It was becoming too much for me. Grandma lifted the covers from my face and peered in.
"He will come back, Kimmy. I know he will. You're too great to leave behind. Get some sleep", she said before placing a peck on my forehead.
"I can't have a germ-y child walking around my house. So gross!", she yelled. Despite the fragile state of her hands, Grandma slammed the door loudly behind her.
I sat in bed in silence for a moment. I couldn't help but wonder if she was right. If he would actually come back for me. Sesshomaru promised to always be by my side and I believed him whole-heartedly.
Throwing my heavy legs over the side of the bed, I got up and walked to the window. Looking out into the distance I could see the city. Even from here it looked beautiful. I'd spent so much time in the Feudal era that I hadn't had an opportunity to explore my new home. Maybe because it didn't really feel like my home. I'd love to say it was because of the sudden move, but truthfully, I think the real answer is even simpler. My body is the most at ease around him. Though he makes my heart race and danger lurks around every corner, I always feel the safest wrapped up into him. Sesshomaru felt like my home. Not wherever we rested for the night or the Feudal era, but Sesshomaru himself.
There was no space left in my mind and heart to explore anything else but him. We still knew very little about each other. I knew his dad was deceased because I wandered around in his corpse, and that his half brother was Inuyasha, but that was all the information I had been given. It was like he didn't want me to know anymore than what I already did. That was Sesshomaru's appeal to most people, I'm sure. He's aloof and mysterious in every way. To some that may make him sexy and cool, but I wanted to know the real Sesshomaru. All of his imperfections and flaws that nobody knows about. Hell, he knows pretty much all of mine because he's seen them in action. But, he never lets his steal guard down long enough for him to truly open up to me.
With a slight struggle, I forced the window open again just in case he wanted to come back. I know that he could do it himself, but this was my way of welcoming him back if he was willing to return to me.
A harsh gust of wind smacked me in the face forcing me backwards. Before I could fall I felt a solid mass coming from behind me. Whoever it was didn't say a word. They just stood over me in silence. After the break in earlier, I was terrified to look behind me. It wasn't above Narkau to send him Saimyosho here to find me, so it could also be assumed that he'd come her himself after scoping out the place.
I reached my hand behind myself to feel the fabric touching my skin. It was soft and familiar. I relaxed until a grumble came from the chest of the individual. The vibration was low and intimidating.
"Sesshomaru?", I asked, still not looking behind myself.
"You should be in bed, Human Girl. In this state someone could easily take advantage of you", he laughed.