"If Shippou had been human he wouldn't have been able to get out of the way as quickly as he did." The rage still burned inside of her as the memory in her eyes, the fear, the hate, the new found determination. She would have done anything for the boy. "He got away with barely a scratch but it was enough. I lost it. As soon as Shippou was out the door it was like something inside me exploded."
She laughed and unlike before, there was a tad bit of humor in it. The look of utter fear on his face still delighted her. "I don't know who was more surprised, him or me. He was able to suppress my purity, just like always but he didn't expect me to jump on him and start swinging."
Inside, Sesshoumaru's beast purred with pleasure. He was pleased the girl had taken the initiative and attacked the man, especially in defense of her pup. The rational part of him wondered why she hadn't done it from the beginning.
"He made sure I paid for it, afterwards, but I gave him a bloody nose and black eye. He thought he'd made it to where I regret it, but I didn't it. He thought he'd squashed my hope again, by he didn't." She looked at him, remembered the pain of the beating she had received that night and thought of the first flicker of conviction he had helped create that night. "He thought I would never leave him, even after that night. But I did."
