Sesshomaru felt stronger the next morning. He watched Sango bottle her elixir and pack it in Ah and Un's saddle. He drew the line, however, at riding on that dragon horse. She insisted until she was blue in the face, but he denied her every time.
Rin, on the other hand, looked radiant. Her hair was pulled up at the crown of her head, the unruly strands being the only thing that kept him from being reminded of Sango. If not for the hair he was sure that she could be mistaken for his biological daughter.
The thought nearly made him smile.
"What are you so happy about?"
Sango was playing tough with him today, but he could clearly see the smile she held back. With little warning, he gripped her chin, whispering into her lips, "you're beautiful,"
Her cheeks warmed under his fingers and she did smile that time, "you're still getting on that dragon thing."
He followed after her, watching her walk in her new slayer outfit. He noticed that the pads on her joints were golden now, "I will not be complying with your terroristic demands, but feel free to take my place. We could be walking a while." Sango shifted her weapon, efficiently blocking his view.
"When you get tired the seat will be open."
A mile in and both he and InuYasha were lagging behind. InuYasha's wounds had been dangerously deep, however, when he could smell fresh blood he realized their masculinity was going to kill them.
"InuYasha, take the empty place on A-Un." Sesshomaru spoke just loudly enough for Sango to turn and glare at him.
"Sesshomaru stop trying to give away your se-," she smelled the blood as her sentence came to a close, "InuYasha, let me see your wounds. It smells like they've opened again. If this is too much for you then say so."
Sesshomaru snickered to himself, amused at how Kagome and Sango accounted for his greater strength by working as a team. The very idea of working with someone else to achieve a common goal sickened him, but it was cute for them. Sango dragged his brother to the ground, holding his arms behind his back. Kagome cleaned and redressed the wound as he cursed and then Sango covered his mouth with her hand.
He watched, mildly entertained at his fiancee's newest power. Sleeping spores. Cool.
Kagome, who had her back to Sesshomaru, mouthed, 'him next?' Sango nodded as they both hoisted InuYasha's limp body up and onto Kirara's back. He was cute when he slept like that. She should really have Sango drug him more often.
Sango wasted no time approaching Sesshomaru, "last chance. Get on the dragon horse."
"I'd rather die."
Kagome kicked him in the knees, giving Sango the chance she needed to cover his nose and mouth with his hand. He tried to pry her off gently, but his body suddenly felt like lead. Kagome watched as he slumped into Sango, muttering something as he lost consciousness. Sango pushed him into Kagome so she could lift his legs off of the ground. He was heavier than InuYasha, somehow, and they both vowed to knock him out closer to the dragon next time.
Miroku, in an act of mercy, shooed Sango to the other side and took the legs. Both women were surprised at his involvement, especially considering how he refused to speak to anyone, but resolved not to look a gift horse in the mouth. They got him onto A-Un and Sango took a moment to braid up his hair. If it got dirty or tangled then he'd cry about it for hours.
It was only Shippo that noticed the small smile that tugged at Miroku's lips as he watched Sango care for her fiance.
XxXxX
Late that same night, when the spores had worn off, Inuyasha woke up groggy and enraged. He remembered the wound on his stomach opening and then Sango pitched a fit. She and Kagome had tag teamed him and put him to sleep somehow. Sesshomaru was sitting up, grimacing as he drank something from a bamboo container.
"Did they get you too?"
Sesshomaru climbed off of the dragon, "unfortunately." Neither of them would admit to feeling better after a bit more rest. Without another word Sesshomaru hopped into a tree, actively pouting away from the public eye. Sango had used her powers against him and, even if it was for his own good, he didn't appreciate it.
He laid on his stomach, peering down at the humans that had curled around the dying embers. Sango was probably cold.
And while he was angry, he wasn't 'let his fiancée be uncomfortable angry.
Sesshomaru floated down from the tree, trying not to crunch the snow beneath his boots. He'd collect Sango and wrap her in his mokomoko, but he would not cease his pouting.
It was a compromise and he was proud of his reasoning skills.
InuYasha lay on the mat with his wife, feet tucked close to her and he tried in vain to share her warmth.
"Brother?"
"What, Sesshomaru?" InuYasha sat up a bit and he wondered why the man didn't wear shoes.
"Are you cold?"
"It's snowing. What do you expect?"
Sesshomaru seemed to be thinking over something, "what if i transformed? Sango always says I'm warm."
"Sango is going to poison you again if you do that." InuYasha was usually happy to see other people get beaten up by Sango, but because his brother seemed genuine, he refrained.
"It takes no energy. Flying is the hard part."
He took a few steps backwards, gently nudging Sango awake. She peered up at the giant dog bopping her with his nose and groaned, "you should be asleep."
'You looked cold. Tell your silly human friends to climb on.'
She couldn't deny that he radiated heat. The temptation was too much to bear, especially as the snow seemed to seep through her mat.
"This isn't an everyday thing. Do you understand me?" She rubbed his nose fondly, kissing the side of his snout, "but thank you very much."
'This is easier than appearing human, anyways.'
When everyone was cuddled into his fur, their little bodies trembling as she cuddled closer, he rolled his eyes. Humans were so fragile.
XxXxXxXxXx
The next morning, when the girls were off relieving themselves and getting ready for the day, Sesshomaru snuck off into the forest. Winter was a hard season for most everything, but he was a skilled hunter. No member of his p-, he scowled at himself, erasing the thought, no one would go hungry in his presence.
When he returned they were contemplating their next move. The Gods were rumored to be buried at the base of Mount Fuji. In a cave where everything was topsy turvy and the stars always glowed.
In that moment they could have used Yuka and her boundless knowledge. Rin was the first to notice that Sesshomaru was carrying a gaggle of white rabbits. Their fur was pristine, but their necks were bent at odd angles.
"You're back! Shippo and I were just about to go and check for some fish or something."
He tucked his white clothed legs beneath him and, using his claws, began skinning the animals. It was times like these when he missed the priestess' time. Pre-peeled animals.
Sango sat beside him, "feeling any better today?"
He hadn't forgotten the grudge he held, "mouth still tastes like mushrooms." There were better ways to handle his foul mood, but he wasn't in the mood to be accommodating.
"You're mad at me?" It was hard to say yes when she was gazing up at him like that. The cold stained her nose and cheeks pink, but he had a right to be frustrated and he wouldn't let it go just because she was exceptionally pretty in the snow.
"Very much so. I don't appreciate you using your weird hand mushrooms against me. You wouldn't like it if I did the same."
She scowled at him, moving away from him, "that's hardly the same. You're built to kill, I'm merely an inconvenience to someone like you."
"That doesn't matter." He ground his teeth, trying to keep his mounting frustration out of his voice, "I am careful to not use my strength against you, I'm asking for you to be considerate and not abuse your new abilities. I'm not asking for anything impossible."
She shuddered in the face of a whipping breeze, "what am I supposed to do? You don't take your injuries seriously. You just keep pushing yourself and it's only making things worse."
"It's my body-,"
"But your well-being affects us all. I can't focus on protecting myself if I'm not sure that you're alright." She grabbed a rabbit, using one of her hidden knives to speed things along.
"I'm only asking that you respect my desire to not be gassed whenever I defy you."
She gave him a withering look, "I don't want to hurt you and I don't want you to be angry with me, but I won't let you overexert yourself either. If you're going to be angry, then fine, but I'm not going to let you hurt yourself just because you're some kind of macho man."
"That's just the issue. I don't need to be taken care of. If anyone attacks you and you've stolen my autonomy there's nothing I can do." He sliced into the rabbit with too much force and growled when the head rolled into the snow, "We have to be able to trust each other. I won't push myself too far, I promise. If I need a break I will take one, but no more with the sleep spores, alright?"
She looked ready to argue, but he was done negotiating with her. She would not put him to sleep again and he would take a break when necessary. He'd adhere to his own standards of exhaustion and that was that.
"I'm just trying to make sure you're okay." He didn't know why she was making such a big deal out of such a small request. She wasn't someone who liked to demonstrate their raw power on another individual, but this little thing was making her so angry and he didn't understand why.
She dropped the rabbit and the knife and stomped off into the woods without another word. He didn't know where she got off acting like the victim here. She betrayed his trust and somehow he was the bad guy when he asked her not to put him to sleep?
"Rin, finish up here."
He followed her smell deep into the woods, "leave me alone, Sesshomaru." She was sitting on a root, her back turned towards him. If he weren't so angry he'd praise her developing senses.
"I will not." He stepped over the root, standing in front of her, "what has you so angry?"
"What's it to you? You won't be compromising."
He rolled his eyes, grabbing her cheek with his bloody claws, "then what do you want? Tell me what counts as a reasonable compromise and I will counter it with my own conditions."
"I'm not trying to be so controlling," she whimpered, "but every time you do what you want you get really hurt and everything gets worse. We are going to die out here trying to take on a God, but it's not like we can just run away, either. He'll hunt us down and he'll kill us no matter where we go." Her tears were coming fast now, her sobbing making her words all mush together.
"Our only chance is to fight back, but- but how could we even stand a chance? I'm so tired of fighting and worrying. All I want is a life with you, but you won't even stay alive long enough for us to get married."
That was a lot to process. He kissed her forehead, all of his indignation and frustration had been released as he watched her cry, "and to make it all worse," she pulled cotton from her pockets, "I'm not pregnant. I should have been, but I'm not and what if I can't have kids? What if it wasn't just a weird demon thing?"
"If you can't have kids then we'll steal some human kids from a village," his expression was kind, "just scoop 'em right up and take them home. I'm not concerned with their heritage. All I care about is making a family with you. Alright?" She nodded, tear filled eyes still aiming downwards.
"Promise?"
"On my life. I know this is a lot, but we will get through this."
"And if we don't?" He could see her getting worked up again, unable to accept death when her life had just started to get good.
"I will search for you endlessly, in every life until the heat death of the universe. And I will always find you," he kissed her forehead, "if we don't make it out of this fight alive it will be because we didn't back down. We fought for each other and that is enough."
She nodded, diving into his embrace. It would be enough.
A.N./ how're y'all doing this fine Friday?
