I'M COMING WITH YOU!

Sesshomaru was on his way to find wherever he had left Jaken, going along the way purely by scent since he honestly couldn't remember the exact location he had made the imp stay behind three days ago. At the time his mind had been far too focused on the intent to go either claim his fathers sword or break it to really even notice if Jaken had followed him or not.

Not that any of his plans had worked out in the end...

Sesshomaru's head was still getting dizzy spells now and then, which he ignored, and although the wounds from the brat Inuyasha had fully healed, his very bones ached from the near death experience.

The memory caused a scowl to briefly cross his face, still not willing to admit to his little mistake, or just how close to death he had been if not for the otherwise useless sword that swayed at his hip while walking.

He couldn't believe that he had been so injured, it had taken a few days to fully recover enough to move, barely having the strength to even sit up in the beginning. Every movement hurt, even breathing, and he was secretly grateful that the only creature to stumble upon his weakened state had been a human child.

Sesshomaru paused mid step as a mental image of those ever curious brown eyes and messy hair came to mind. Yet another human girl that seemed to like him for no logical reason he could find, and had been very intent on trying to help him despite how their first encounter had been him doing his best to frighten her away.

The girl had the nerve to actually pour water on him for some damned reason, and while she did seem frightened of him, she didn't leave him alone.

She came back. Every day, three times a day, each time with different foods and water. No matter how many times he refused her strange offerings, she still came.

Humans never made any sense to him, easily frightened and quick to stab or burn anything they didn't understand, so he left the moment he was able before the child decided to go bring others of her kind who would more then likely attack him just for existing.

Sesshomaru briefly wondered if she would have new bruises today, as he had began to assume she had to be stealing the food she kept bringing. But seeing as how it wasn't his problem, he began walking once more, purposely tossing the thought of her out of his mind.

Human lives were like leaves on the trees, entertaining to watch but short lived and quickly replaced by more, and aside from a passing glance there was no point dwelling on them or their troubles.

There was a fallen tree up ahead that he had to jump over, the action causing his legs to almost give out underneath him, but he ignored the pain with a wince and continued following the feint trace of Jaken's scent flowing in the air ahead. A barely audible sigh of frustration escaped his lips as his bones protested against walking again. To still be feeling the effects of that last fight with the fool Inuyasha was beyond annoying.

First he lost his left arm due to being a little too sure of himself in their first fight over the Tessaiga, and now this brush with death.

Next time though he would be more cautious. Yes, next time he would not make the same mistake. He didn't even care that he couldn't use the damned thing anymore, he just wanted it out of the hands of that ungrateful wretch.

Inuyasha would never be worthy of the Tessaiga, and the blade would be better off left to rot then with someone so unskilled and unrefined. He almost regretted bringing his Fathers sword out of it's holding place, especially since the boy would never have been smart enough to figure out how to get the black pearl on his own, or even care to look for-

Sesshomaru froze then, mid step and mid thought, instincts suddenly making him aware of something behind, far off to the right in the tree line. It was quickly coming closer, and whatever it was seemed to be in a rush, considering the amount of noise it was making.

Fast paced footsteps crunching on the rocky ground, rustling and snapping of bushes as it seemed to be flinging branches out it's way, and heavy breathing he could make out even from here.

Because this thing had been downwind he hadn't noticed until now, curious if it was following him specifically or just happened to be behind. Turning with narrowed eyes, claws cracking in anticipation, the scent hit him full force moments before the source of the noise came into view.

HER scent.

Lotus and wild berries mixed with something he couldn't place, but had yet to forget since meeting her, a scent that hinted she was more then she seemed to be.

Akane Akiha.

That other human female who now traveled with Inuyasha, and always tried to talk to him during their recent encounters. The one he had saved on a whim weeks ago, simply because she had impressed him with how well she protected herself with just a tree branch.

The fact he actually remembered her name bothered him, as normally such things weren't worth the effort, especially when it came to humans. What was she doing all the way out here alone? Not that it concerned him, but he would admit to being curious to her unexpected appearance.

Sesshomaru lowered his hand back down with relaxed claws, watching as the sunny haired human practically tumbled out from the bushes behind him, looking very disheveled and out of breath. Her shoulder length hair was a tangled mess with twigs and leaves sticking out as if she had for some unfathomable reason decided to wrestle a plant. And clearly lost.

Her strange looking black clothing was torn and dirty, and as his eyes quickly trailed her body, he noted the little bruises and scrapes here and there peeking thought the torn fabrics.

What in the seven hells had this female been doing?

The girl took a few more wobbly steps out onto the path in a tired and dazed state before noticing him ahead and freezing like a statue at the sight. Her expression of bewildered shock had to mirror the one he was attempting to keep off his face while taking in the rather amusing state she was in. The two simply stared at one another for a moment as she caught her breath, the girl gasping in a rather comical way, especially with how she looked at the moment. And he honestly didn't know how to react.

She obviously posed no threat to him, and he sensed no anger from her. So she wasn't here to fight him despite their past few encounters of being on opposing sides.

But had she… followed after him? And if so, WHY?

About to ask this very thing, she of course beat him to speaking by asking her own barrage of questions, completely taking him by surprise.

"Why in the HELL are you so obsessed with that gawd damn stupid sword huh? FIRST you team up with Naraku, of all people, and just now you almost fucking DIED! Do you get it? Died! At this rate you're going to give me a heart attack at sixteen just from stress! Please tell me after that last fiasco that you're done with trying to take the Tessaiga now. You ARE done right?"

Sesshomaru blinked at the oddly frustrated tone in her voice, and how she was pointing at him for no apparent reason while saying all this in a single impressive breath.

When he didn't answer, other then to blink, she huffed out a breath that sent her bangs flying before dropping her pointed finger in order to rake her hand through her sunny hair. This causing some twigs and leaves to fall, making the female suddenly notice the mess that was her hair, and her blue eyes went wide.

"I must look like total shit right now, fantastic, just how I wanted to present myself to him again…" She muttered while now attempting to untangle it with her fingers, avoiding his eyes with the dusting of a blush on her cheeks.

Sesshomaru watched in amused silence, face as stoic as ever as the girl somehow missed half of it, the golden tangles less messy now but still had leaves weaving throughout like some kind of tree spirit.

She appeared to have given up on the leaves, satisfied with it at least only looking half wild, and dropped her arms to her sides. Now focusing on him again as if just remembering he was there, the blush gone and replaced with a serious expression as she huffed yet again.

"Look, I get it, I kinda do. Yasha is sorta a loud mouthed idiot, but he's a GOOD loud mouth idiot, and I'm sure-"

"Yasha?" He couldn't help but muse curiously, wondering what possessed her to call the boy that.

She batted her eyes and seemed to catch on a second later what he was meaning, the delayed reaction and look of sudden realization amusing to see.

"OH! Umm, yeah, I give most of my friends nicknames. You know, shorter, sometimes cuter versions of their real names. It's a sign of affection."

"This Sesshomaru knows very well what a nickname is, I was merely curious as to why." He said with a bored sigh, slightly offended that she assumed him ignorant.

The girl frowned a little, staring with open curiosity.

"Okaaay… then why did you ask? Were you curious if I liked him or not?"

THAT caught him off guard, making him frown down at her as he pondered this. He had indeed been curious if this girl was affectionate towards Inuyasha, they traveled together after all, but he honestly didn't know why it mattered to him. So truly, asking the question was somewhat pointless on his part. So why had he?

His frown increased to a scowl, and he chose to ignore this strange thing he couldn't find an answer for, face going back to the calm and empty expression.

"You were saying what about him before?" Sesshomaru pointedly asked, getting the girl off the subject and back to the beginning so she'd stop staring at him like that.

With a puzzled look, she huffed at her bangs again, annoyed at his dismissal but going along with it.

"I was saying that Inuyasha could easily be worthy of your Fathers sword, with a little more maturing of course, he's had moments that show he's not a complete idiot. Plus YOU can't even touch it without hurting yourself, so how is that logical? So just let him keep it, you don't need it, I get why you want it, but you don't NEED it."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, bristling at her words, anger slowly boiling at the audacity this human had.

"You know nothing." Was his cold response, wondering what the point of her appearance and sudden nerve to lecture him was even about.

Now she blinked up at him, watching, studying his response as if sensing his anger despite his calm expression.

"Okay, you're right. I don't know everything, just what your brother told me-"

"Half." He corrected before he could stop himself, causing her to let out a nervous laugh for some reason.

"Heh, yeah, half brother…sorry." The girl offered a look of apology and began to toy with a piece of her messy hair, seeming at a loss for words.

With a deep breath he calmed the anger from her previous comment. After all, the opinion of a random human meant nothing to the likes of him. Taking a step backwards with the intent to turn and leave, he paused. Curiosity got the best of him. Curiosity seemed to be getting the best of him a lot today. Which was not like him at all, yet, he was unable to restrain himself at the moment.

"Why are you here?" He asked, purposely sounding bored, watching her closely. For some reason she went from looking like a wilted flower to happy once again, perking up with wide blue eyes, an odd response to his simple question.

"Eheh… yeah… about that…" Her voice trailed off and she looked away, then glared down at the pendant at her neck as if it said something.

Sesshomaru recalled her looking at that pendant often when they had first met as well, as if it were alive, and telling him of the spirit within… If she wasn't imagining it.

This human was very strange.

Not one for being kept waiting, Sesshomaru discarded his mild curiosity and turned his back to her and began walking. He heard her steps, and went rigid as a slender hand took hold of his arm to stop him. It took everything he had not to toss her away, as that was always his first instinct when being touched. None ever touched him without permission, and he rarely gave it.

She was bold to take hold of him, but at least had the decency to look somewhat nervous as he looked back at her with a death glare. Letting go and raising her hands as if to surrender, he could practically taste how nervous she suddenly was. Those light blue eyes locking onto his, and for some reason his stomach felt like it was twisting in knots when he seen the hint of tears.

"Look, it's hard for me to explain without sounding stupid okay? I- I followed after you the moment Totosai said you weren't dead. I was… worried… about you."

Sesshomaru's glare evaporated as his eyebrows shot up and disappeared under his white bangs.

"WHY?" It made no sense, and he for once couldn't hide how puzzled she was making him feel. The scent of her spike in nervousness only increased his curiosity. They did not know one another. And despite the fact that yes, she had all but told him her life story when they first met, SHE knew very literally nothing about him other then his name.

This human worrying about him was illogical, and the way she was opening and closing her mouth without answering was starting to bother him. He needed to know the meaning, not even sure why he was being so drawn in by this humans odd behavior.

"Why?" He repeated, less loudly then the first time. Sadly though, his attempt to be less demanding about it did nothing to ease the humans nervous state as she shook her head, the tears now falling.

"I don't know why the thought of you dead made my heart feel like it had been shot, and I don't know why I had to come make sure you didn't actually die. I don't understand it myself okay? It's not like you've even tried to speak to me since that day, and you keep attacking my friends over and over again, I shouldn't even LIKE you and I know that but I can't help it!" The girl was completely crying now, but not a single sob left her, only those silent tears. And it wasn't exactly sadness he sensed from her, rather, a mix of frustration and worry blended with something else.

Sesshomaru held a breath as he tried to figure out if he should think her merely crazy and walk away, or snap at her to cease this ridiculous nonsense. Her babbling was irritating him in ways he didn't understand, and while he was used to females declaring they cared for him simply because of his looks alone, what this one was doing seemed different from the others.

Far more confusing.

Deciding on the first option, he once again stepped back from her with full intent on leaving.

"Wait!" Her plea made him pause, and next thing he knew she all but dove at him, quickly wrapping her arms around his armored chest.

She. Was. Touching him!

A low growl escaped him at the unwanted physical contact, but the girl didn't release him, shaking with fear and frustration as she held onto him tight enough if must have hurt her, yet she didn't seem to mind the spikes pressing so close to her face.

Sesshomaru had never been so at a loss a day in his life.

When she moved so suddenly he had raised his claws on instinct to defend, despite sensing no danger, and now his hand hung uselessly in the air just above the human's shoulder. Completely torn between the stunned shock of her boldness and the need to remove her hold.

"It's crazy, but… But even when we first met, I just feel like I've know you before. Which makes no sense even to me, but I was so worried about you, and I knew that if I did find you alive then there was no going back for me."

His eyes went wide while staring down at this brave and strange female, trying to further explain herself to keep him from going, but the words only confused him more. Known him before? What in the seven hells did that even mean? He certainly had never met her previously.

The girl relaxed her hold and looked up at him in a very shy way, as if apologizing for her actions, the remaining tears starting to dry as she calmed down. For some reason, the way she was looking up from under her bangs, mixed with the leftover tears glistening in those sapphire blue eyes, it had his stomach in knots again.

Sesshomaru didn't like this reaction to her.
The knots in his stomach, how the scent of her skin was causing him to salivate, and the fact he had yet to fling her away despite being touched, all just like the first time the two had met.

He did not like it one bit and needed it to stop quickly.

"And… what do you mean by, no going back? You found me clearly alive, so what now?" He decided to move past her odd feelings towards him and try to bring this far too long conversation to some kind of end, moving his hand down to gently try and remove her from his armor.

At last she allowed him to peel her away without having to use much force, and she thankfully placed some much needed space between them. The girl cleared her throat before wiping away the tracks of her tears and tried to put herself back together, then proceeded to beam a determined smile.

"I'm coming with you of course. What else would I mean by saying there's no going back?" She said it like it was an obvious thing. As if surprised he didn't get it. The mood swing baffled him. If it wasn't for the slightly red eyes, none would be able to tell she had been crying barely seconds ago. Now this was more the face and mood of how he had met her, nervous but bold.

Sesshomaru said nothing as he stared down at this human female like she had lost her mind, and she very well might have at this rate. Not that he cared, if she chose to follow after him, much like the imp, it truly made no difference to him one way or another.

Taking his silence as a bad thing, which it might have been, as he was debating telling her no simply because he had no desire to be around a human, the girl crossed her arms once again and pouted. "After all, I have to repay you for saving my life before, don't think I've forgotten that! And maybe I can keep you from getting yourself killed. You seem to not care about that, so someone has to."

In a way, she had just insulted him, and yet a part of him found her way of wording comical. At any rate, she seemed to be set on this course of action of repaying him, not that he needed it. But it would be dishonorable to reject her wanting to do so, and it truly didn't matter much to him if she could keep up or not.

"If you must…" He managed to say without showing how conflicted she just made him.

Those sapphire eyes sparkled like the jewel as a huge smile came to her face. And there went that odd feeling in his stomach once more, causing him to frown at her. Maybe this wasn't something he should allow after all…

"I'm so glad!" She said excitedly, continuing to beam up at him, uncrossing her arms and toying with her hair until her fingers snagged one of the many leaves still trapped in the golden waves. This causing her to remember the mess of her hair and blush all over again.

"You won't regret this Sesshy-sama!"

He was so focused on watching the leaves fall from her hair that it took longer then it should have for her words to fully sink in. After which, he blinked, frown returning.

"What did you call this Sesshomaru?" He stared blankly.

She blushes a deeper red, but the smile stays as if she found his reaction funny. "Umm, well… I thought to call you… Sesshy-sama…? Your nickname?"

"Hn." Again, he simply blinked at her. She must have sensed his annoyance, and continued on with a nervous stutter, now more along the lines of asking his permission without actually asking.

"I g-give nicknames to all the people I like! You already know Yasha, and Kagome is K-chan. Miroku is Monk, Sango is San-chan, and since Shippo kinda drives me nuts he's just Shrimp. I think that might be one reason Yasha and I get along, we both tease Shippo…"

Her words trailed off when she seen his eyes narrow, and she watched him in silence. The look she was giving him showed she didn't wish to offend him, and was indeed asking his permission.

The fact she had named every single one of them fascinated him to no end. So clearly it meant nothing more then a friendly kind of affection, which was good. If she literally names all the people she likes, then he had no reason to think it meant something deeper, but for some reason this annoyed him. Not the name itself exactly, but something about knowing she considered him one of many bothered him.

As this feeling made no sense, he ignored it.

"I could not care less what you choose to call me." He stated simply, not a trace of emotion.

If possible, her eyes lit up even brighter, that feeling in his stomach increased and he turned away from her to both start to leave and avoid that blue gaze.

"Okay! Thank you, Sesshy-sama!" She grinned at him, following close behind as he released a breath of defeat and began walking once more.

Sesshomaru flinched inwardly at the name she had chosen to call him, just now noticing how unmanly it sounded and feeling instant regret for giving permission.

But that was the least of his problems at the moment.
Why did she desire to follow him? Would she leave if she managed to find a way to repay him for saving her?

When seeing her again after that first time he had assumed she to be on Inuyasha's side, and thus an enemy to him, yet here she was. A neutral party. She best not expect him to go out of his way for her. The strange human would have to keep up and follow orders if she expected him to tolerate her presence…

Wait, her name was Akane. And if this human was to be around him now, it would be best to get used to using her name just as he had done with Jaken.

He glanced back only once as they walked, and she was right there, only a few steps behind. Watching him. And the moment their eyes met she gave a tiny smile and made a point of looking away. She wasn't afraid of him, and he didn't know how to take that. Even Jaken feared him, and that imp had spent the most time with him out of anyone he had known. This would take some getting used to.

…

The two made their way to where Jaken was waiting, the entire walk the girl kept a respectful distance behind him, which he appreciated.

As they grew closer, Sesshomaru could hear the imp complaining about being left behind, irritating him even further then the odd mix of feelings the girl had caused.

When he silently picked up a rock and made solid contact with the back of the imp's head, the human beside him burst out laughing, which almost caused a smile to twitch at his own lips from the sound. After Jaken recovered, he asked point blank if Sesshomaru intended to eat Akane.

Before he could even growl a warning or silence the creature, Akane went to her own diffence and explained the entire situation about repaying Sesshomaru in a huff, but he caught her glancing at him. No doubt wondering if he did eat humans. And he was curious what her reaction would be if she ever got up the courage to ask him about it later.

Jaken was appalled at the thought of a human girl having the nerve to think she could assist his lord, almost mirroring his own previous thoughts out loud. And when she called him Sesshy, the little green imp also voiced his thoughts on how unmanly it sounded, the human and imp beginning to bicker about it.

Comical insults such as Evil Toad, Worthless Mortal, Frog Breath, and Human Snack Food began being tossed about as they argued over the girlish nickname she had the audacity to give a Yokai Lord.

Sesshomaru was finding it somewhat hard to keep his normal stoic expression as his eyes went back and forth between the two, having never seen Jaken so worked up.

Perhaps this Akane girl could provide some amusing entertainment at the very least for a while…

As that thought passed through his mind, a scent came on the wind that caused that same knotting feeling in his stomach, but for a different reason. Both human and imp went silent as they noticed his suddenly rigid stance while focusing on the feint scent.

Blood.

Blood and the scent of wolves.

"I know this blood…" The moment realization dawned the knot twisted in his stomach in a painful way, a clear mental image of the child from before smiling at him despite her wounded face. The child he had left behind.

"Sesshy-sama? Are… you okay?" Akane was at his side, snapping him out of focus as he looked to her.

He had left one human. Only to pick up another.
The first action was like him, the second not so much, and he was about to do something else he normally would never think about. But today had been an odd day.

Without a word he began to float off the ground, knowing he only had enough power to make it halfway before they would have to walk the rest, and before the girl could even react he had scooped her up in his one arm and braced her against his side.

"Hey! H-hey woah! W-what are we doing?!" Akane yelped while clutching at whatever her hands could hold, and fear came off of her in sudden strong waves.

"There is something I need to see, now be silent. This Sesshomaru will not tolerate needless noise." He said with only a hint of annoyance, her yell still ringing in his sensitive ears. To his surprise, not only did she stop squealing, but she had went perfectly still in his hold, although the fear was still very much present in her scent.

Sesshomaru glanced at her while ignoring Jaken's complaints from bellow, the imp had barely managed to take hold of his boot before taking off. Akane had her eyes clamped shut, and her lips were in a tight grimace, but she made no noise whatsoever.

Good girl. He hadn't expected her to be so obedient, and now he could once again focus his attentions on finding the source of this growing scent of blood and wolves.

It didn't take much for him to figure out what most likely had happened to that little girl… because he had left her.

The child had, in her own way, tried to help him.
If his Fathers sword worked the way it was supposed to then he could repay that small kindness. And thanks to Akane, he now had the perfect babysitter if the child followed after him. Which she would, this he knew just by her previous behavior.

In one single day his life had gotten far more complicated then he ever thought possible.