Hey everyone. I'm finally back, and I'm really sorry this took so long. I've got two jobs and school is about to start. I'm really never home anymore, lol. Please review and show me that you like the chapter…or don't like the chapter…whatever. I just love to hear what ya'll have to say.
Oh, and can someone tell me what is up with all the fucking blue highlighted words?? I really don't appreciate that…Someone clue me in please.
Chapter Twenty: Sango and Sesshoumaru K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Or, Consumed by the Enchanted Spring.
It was three days later when they finally made it to Bokusenou. Sango was only a little shocked at seeing a talking tree. She had learned on the way over here, after she woke up on the first day of the journey, that it was from this tree's wood that the sheathes for the great swords had been made.
She had been more surprised, however, when she discovered that she was riding Ah and Un with no memory of having gotten on. She remembered being carried, and later she realized that Sesshoumaru must have put her there himself. She had sat in front of him the entire day. In that time she had thought up ways to keep her distracted from the closeness.
She could have rode on Kirara, but she looked so peaceful sleeping in Rin's arms that Sango didn't have the heart to wake her. Besides, Kirara had been working very hard lately just like herself, so she deserved a good day's rest. Sesshoumaru had been silent throughout most of the journey. He barely even looked in Sango's direction. It was as if he were making it a mission to avoid her.
Not that she minded, of course. They were on official business and Sango remembered quite clearly what happened the last time they were alone together in the woods. It had been anything but business, that was for sure. Taking a breath, Sango brought herself back to reality.
She realized that Sesshoumaru had stopped walking, and they were now facing a very old looking tree. Sango kept herself from jumping when the tree revealed it's face to them. "Lord Sesshoumaru…What brings you here?"
Sesshoumaru gazed intently at Bokusenou, "There is something troubling me about the northern borders of my land." He paused an snuck a glance at Sango, "There are reports of Toukai terrorizing the area-a race of demons that has long been believed dead."
Bokusenou sighed, "Yes, this is true. It was one of their own kind, Akogi, but he has been killed, has he not?"
"Yes. It is true that he had been dead for months now," Sesshoumaru assured. "This is the reason for my concern. How can a dead race continue to terrorize. Have I been deceived?"
"It is possible that your father concealed for some reason. It is also possible that they concealed themselves. I do not have the answers you are looking for."
Sesshoumaru furrowed his brows, 'Damn it,' he thought to himself. 'What is going on?' He was brought out of his thoughts when Bokusenou spoke again, "If you need answers…why not ask the creatures?"
"I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. They aren't the most intelligent demons…"
"No…Oni like that never are. Sorry I can not be of more help, Sesshoumaru."
Sesshoumaru nodded his response as he turned to face the others, "We're leaving." He knew Bokusenou was hiding something, but he failed to see the half-smile planted on the face of the old tree. It was true that he didn't know the whole truth, but he did know a little bit. Bokusenou knew why the Toukai were here-why they were summoned here by Sesshoumaru's father, but unless he wanted to jeopardize everything, he couldn't tell Sesshoumaru.
The reason being, that the young Lord would be sure to try and prevent it from happening. As if he had a choice…still, it's annoying to watch a destiny be delayed by stubbornness. Letting out a sigh, Bokusenou watched them leave, observing the distance Sesshoumaru put between himself and the exterminator, "He'll figure it out sooner or later…'
xoxoxoxoxo
Sango stretched out against a large tree, "Well, that was almost pointless…"
Sesshoumaru's gaze was placid, as usual, "Not entirely."
"So you think so too," Sango leaned forward. Sesshoumaru gave her a confused look, "You know…that he's hiding something."
He let out a sigh, "Possibly. He's a wisdom tree, though. So, if he were hiding something it's because he thinks it's for the best that he does so."
"I see," Sango paused then spoke about another issue that had been plaguing her, "Are we actually going to attempt to question the Toukai?"
Sesshoumaru met her gaze, "We are heading North, yes."
"And you think they'll actually give us a straight answer?"
"They will answer me correctly, or I really will kill them all."
Sango raised an eyebrow, "And what is the correct answer?"
"The truth," Sesshoumaru answered flatly. Sango was about to open her mouth to ask another question, but he cut her off, "If that is another question, then you had better think twice. You have tried my patience enough this week. Do not push it."
Sango shut her mouth then stood up, "Fine. Goodnight, Sesshoumaru." She turned on her heel and walked in the opposite direction-hell any direction to get away from him. A few minutes later, she found herself walking right into a stream. When her feet came in contact with the water she snapped back to reality.
She took a quick glimpse to see that she hadn't been followed and the she was alone. She followed the stream until she found what she was looking for: a spring. With a smile, she kicked off her sandals and took off her kimono. It was time to relax. She had been so tense around Sesshoumaru lately that her entire body was wracked with frustration. Tonight had been the first time that he had actually spoken more than two words to her in a setting-like she cared.
She shook her head. The problem was, that he was a cruel, careless bastard. The problem was his attitude and hostility. Sango let out a sigh as she sat on the floor of the spring. The real problem, was that she did care. Her head became a bit cloudy as she thought. She cared too much and thought of him too fondly.
Every time she talked to him, looked at him, got close to him, or even thought about him, her heartbeat quickened tenfold. Her blood surged forth in her veins and her entire body awoke to some unknown need. Sango let out a low moan of inner anguish as she raked her hands over her face. What was she thinking? It had to be the heat.
Deciding that was the problem, Sango made her way back to shore. She had gone into relax, but instead, she had ended up three times as tense and more frustrated than she had ever been. The best remedy, she declared, was to just avoid him at all costs when they weren't fighting off any demons. Sango was halfway out of the spring when she spotted him. Her eyes widened and her arms immediately flew up to cover her breasts, "What the hell are you doing??"
Sesshoumaru hadn't even noticed she was there. He had simply come down to think, "I didn't know you were-"
"How long have you been standing there!!" Sango demanded.
"I didn't see you-"
"I know your brother can be a pervert sometimes, but you're-" Sango was cut off when suddenly he was right beside her with his hand covering her mouth.
"I did not come here to spy on some human. I simply came here to think for awhile," he rumbled into her ear.
Sango could feel her legs going weak, and only hoped that he wouldn't notice if she fell. Her eyes were closed as he continued to stand closely behind her with his hand covering her lips. 'I have to move…' Sango tried to tell herself. It was the only thought of escape she had as a pleasant scent filled her nostrils. It was unlike anything she had ever smelt before and she closed her eyes as she leaned back against Sesshoumaru.
Sango let her arms drop to her sides as she continued to be lost in the fragrance. Sesshoumaru's own will was fading as he allowed his arm to drop as well. Sango slowly lifted her eyelids as she took in a deep breath. She turned to face the demon behind her. Sesshoumaru was more affected than she was, as his sense of smell was stronger than her own.
She looked up to see his eyes clouded with something she couldn't quite name. She suddenly felt motivated to touch him, and she did so. Reaching out, she allowed her hand to rest on his lower abdomen. She had seen him undo his armor several times, and with her other hand, she unclipped it and it fell into the water. Sesshoumaru remained unmoving.
Sango moved her hands up down his abdomen and chest, but it wasn't good enough. She longed to do more. She couldn't control herself as she moved them to explore the inside of his kimono. She could feel his skin. It was strong, but soft to the touch. Underneath it lie a wall of muscle. It was this action that finally gained a reaction from him.
No longer able to resist, Sesshoumaru pulled Sango to him with extreme force. He bent forward and savagely kissed, nipped, and nibbled at the nape of her neck. He kept thinking that this was wrong. She was below him-nothing more than a pathetic human, but he couldn't control himself. Sango's thoughts were similar to his. There was something strange going on, and neither of them were in control of their actions any longer.
Sango could feel and see herself doing these things-desperately touching him and kissing him-but it was as if she were on the outside looking in. For Sesshoumaru, the sensation was the same. Their desires were being acted upon, but not by their own free will. Something else was pulling the strings. They both realized this, and before they allowed it to go any farther, they realized they needed to put a stop to it.
Through kisses, they tried to speak, "Sesshoumaru? What is going on? I can't control myself."
"We've been enchanted. We must try to resist and move to shore."
"Why is this even happening? I thought you scouted the area?"
Sesshoumaru growled into the nape of her neck, "I did. An enchanted spring is easy to over look."
"An enchanted spring?" Sango's confused eyes me his. It was a look on her that, for some reason-one that he was going to blame on the enchantment-made him want her even more. Instead, Sesshoumaru looked away and tried to explain as they both tried to slowly make their way out of the spring.
"An enchanted spring occurs when, not necessarily evil beings, but mischievous beings cast a spell on a certain location. Most of them do it for entertainment or just to meddle in the lives of others. It doesn't have to be a spring-" Sesshoumaru was interrupted when Sango's mouth began tracing kisses on his neck as her hands stroked his chest. He let out a low growl-she was making this extremely difficult.
"I'm sorry. It's getting harder and harder to resist as we get closer to the shore," Sango tried to explain against his chest.
Sesshoumaru cleared his throat and let out a sigh. The urge to take her was stronger than ever, but he had to resist. Too many things depended on him resisting this sinister urge. He had to fight it, "Don't worry about it, just keep moving."
"What were you saying before? Maybe if you keep talking, it will help me to focus."
He doubted that. If it were true, then she wouldn't have started in again. However, it seemed that talking did help him to focus so he continued, "I was saying, that springs aren't the only places that can be enchanted. There are certain areas in forests, valleys, rivers…" Sesshoumaru continued to list the different areas where enchantment was possible.
"So…any two beings can be enchanted?" Sango asked as they waded closer. "Even complete strangers?"
Because Sesshoumaru was so focused on getting the hell out of the damn enchanted spring, he neglected to edit the truth of his answer, "No. Typically, the enchanted individuals have to each harbor some original attraction to one another."
Sango's eyes widened, "It's based on mutual attraction? Then, that would mean…that we-" Sango was interrupted when she felt herself being shoved abruptly out of the spring and onto dry ground.
Sesshoumaru stepped out of the spring himself and soon loomed over her, "It means nothing."
"But it bases it on mutual-"
"It means nothing. An enchantment can build itself off the smallest of attractions," Sesshoumaru's voice was icy cold.
Sango's eyes fell as her bangs hid them from his view, "I see. So…even mutual respect could trigger the enchantment to take effect?"
Sesshoumaru was already turning to leave, "That's correct. Now, I suggest you get some rest. We leave at dawn."
Sango watched him fade away as she fought the oncoming tears. When she was sure he was far enough away, she let them flow freely. She was such a fool. It was her that had provoked him, and it was her doing that they both acted like such fools. His attraction may be based on respect, but her own was so much more than that.
Over the course of time, Sango had come to respect Sesshoumaru, yes, but she had grown quite attracted to him as well. She found herself thinking and dreaming of him often. She lusted for him, it was true, but that wasn't all. The sad truth was…Sango wanted more from him than he could give or offer.
Sango had his respect, but she wanted more. She wanted his trust, his interest, and friendship. She always felt so bewildered by his constant placid emotional mask. He remained a mystery, one that she desperately sought to solve. Sango wanted many things but above all else, it was his friendship she longed for.
At least, that's what she wanted to believe.
xoxoxoxoxox
Sorry it took so long. I've been working on it for a while. Please drop me a review.
-Pammi
