Chapter 3

Shayan was stubborn too stubborn for her own good. She had tested Sesshoumaru's patience to it's maximum and now she was forbidden to eat unless it was at his table with him there watching.

A day and a half later, 'Damn' She thought to herself. 'I can't win with this guy. They wont even let me have something to drink. This is ridiculous I can't go on like this.' She finally relented and told the servant what his master most wanted to hear. She had given up.

Sesshoumaru came to the table and sat down. "So you have decided you wish to eat after all."

She ignored him. He may have won this battle but the war was far from over. She ate and drank in silence and when she was done she left to her room.

Sesshoumaru thought quietly for a moment. That girl needs a good beating but I will attend to that later. For now I have other concerns.

Sesshoumaru always resented his brother's very existence. But when their father awarded the great Tetsusaiga to Inuyasha instead of him, he swore he would kill the miserable pup and take the sword for himself. It was one of those attempts that had injured him the day Shayan found him.

He had a plan. If he couldn't get the Tetsusaiga for himself then he would make another sword just as powerful. He called to a servant. "Ready my dragon I will leave for Totosai's mountain this hour." The servants scurried off to do their master's bidding.

Shayan decided a few days before to sew herself some suitable clothing. She had taken a couple of the plain colored kimonos and cut out a pattern for some pants and a top. She had to hide what she was doing from the servants or else they would tell. Sesshoumaru would likely have a fit if he knew what she was up to. Now she was finished.

Later that evening she appeared at the table for the evening meal. To her surprise Sesshoumaru was nowhere to be seen. "I thought he wanted to sit with me all the time. Where is he?"

Before anyone could stop him Jeken blurted out. "The master has left for the mountain of Totosai the sword maker."

"Oh? After all that fuss he made over me eating with him, he decides to leave." Shayan tried not to let her face show it but she was thrilled. Here was her chance. Who knows how long he would be gone. She would take her chance and leave tonight.

She ate the meal and quietly returned to her room to wait for nightfall. About midnight Shayan put on her creations and tiptoed out of her room trying not to make a sound. The servants it seemed were all eyes and ears. They always seemed to know where she was and what she was doing. She moved quietly through the palace and into the kitchen. She took a small bag and filled it with a small amount of food and a flask of water. She hated the idea of taking them but then again he had taken her hard earned stuff. So perhaps this was fair after all.

She carefully snuck out the back of the house and into the garden. She looked around. Not a servant insight, good. Shayan crossed the garden to the far corner where a large fir tree stood. Its branches reached all the way to ground and would be easy to climb. She strapped the bag to her back and started the accent. She got to the top of wall and looked down. It was a long way down but there was nothing for it. She either jumped or returned to the palace and became Sesshoumaru's pet human. She shuddered at the thought then jumped. She hit the ground and rolled. Amazingly she wasn't hurt.

Shayan ran as fast as she could away from the palace. She thought that someone must have heard the thump of her hitting the ground and didn't want them to raise the alarm. She ran for about an hour and then slowed to a walk. Every once in a while she would look around for signs of pursuit, there was none. She was still walking as the sun began to rise on the second day. She had been going steady and only stopped briefly to grab a bit to eat and drink. She was beginning to get sleepy and thought that she might be far enough away to risk a nap. She came to a clearing and found it was occupied. A small group of men and women were just waking up and getting something to eat themselves.

One man had long silver hair. He had been up in a tree when she first saw him. He looked her way and jumped down. Shayan stopped cold. Him? It couldn't be, could it? She ducked behind a tree. Too late, the man had smelt her and was coming at her at an alarming rate. Shayan tried to run but he was too fast. He had her in his arms. 'Arms? It couldn't be him then. He only had one arm.' She thought.

"Let me go, you beast. Let go!" She kicked furiously. Several women warned her that in this time period being caught by a man out in the woods could be the death of her. Women out alone were targets in any era but especially this one.

"Let her go Inuyasha." One of the young women called to the man. "I mean it, put her down." She approached and spoke. "Hi I'm Kagome who are you?"

"Sh-Shayan." She said nervously as she looked around at her captor. He wasn't as tall as Sesshoumaru but he was still much taller that her and he was definitely a demon. The gold eyes and strange doglike ears gave that away. "Let me go. I haven't done anything."

"Well Shayan if you weren't doing anything why are you sneaking around." Inuyasha's tone was hard it scared her a little.

"I wasn't sneaking I was…" She hung her head. She couldn't tell him the truth, he might insist on taking her back to 'him'. But she wasn't a very good liar and didn't want to get caught in it.

Inuyasha grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. He looked at her intently. "Just what were you doing then, hummm?"

Shayan struggled and finally pulled herself away from him. "Leave me alone!" She screamed at him and ran off. As she ran she was suddenly scooped up by a streak of white and red.

"Put me down! Stop it. I don't want to go. Put me down, Sesshoumaru." She shouted and struggled to free herself. He had her in an iron-like grip. Sesshoumaru had gone to the mountain of Totosai the sword master to have a new sword made for himself. One that would be just as powerful as the Tetsusaiga his brother had. But when the demon lord returned he found the woman had run away. He was furious.

He didn't know why, but he wanted this woman. There was something about her that called to the great lord. Ordinarily he never bothered with the humans who dwelt in his territory. He at best would ignore them and if they troubled him then he would destroy them. But when he was injured this woman insisted on helping him and did so without any fear. Even now he could tell she wasn't afraid of him.

Sesshoumaru flew off to the palace with the struggling girl tucked neatly under his arm. He landed in the courtyard and stood the girl on her feet. He pulled her close and demanded. "What were you doing with my brother?"

"I wasn't doing anything with him a all. He was accusing me of sneaking around. All I was doing was walking along and he grabbed me. What is wrong with you two? Why can't either of you leave me alone? Why did you bring me back here?"

He pulled her close and as he did he caught her scent. She smelt so good. Desire woke in him. What was this feeling? Was he actually jealous of his half-wit, half-breed brother? He made his decision he would claim this girl as his mate. "I want you." His voice was a bit strange

"What do you mean?" she said,a little afraid of the answer.

"Come." Sesshoumaru took the girl into his chamber his eyes were changing from their usual warm golden color to an intense deep crimson.

"What? What are you doing? Why are your eyes changing color?" She struggled to get away.

"I intend to take you as my mate."

"What? Oh no you don't." She pulled herself out of his grasp. He wasn't holding on very tightly. "I'm not ready to marry anyone I just met you a few days ago. That sort of thing may be done in this time period but not where I, mean when I come from. I hardly know you and you don't know me at all."

"I know what I need to know girl." He started to cross the room to her. "The rest I will find out later. Come to me. I won't hurt you."

"No, that's not the way it's supposed to work. Your supposed to get to know the person first then get married. I don't know you. I shouldn't even be here at all. I can't…" She tried to scoot passed him. He caught her as she passed. "Let go Sesshoumaru. I can't marry you. Not until I know you better."

"I don't understand you girl. Why do you wish to delay this? We will have a lifetime to get to know each other." Sesshoumaru knew that this girl's culture was different but he didn't understand her reluctance. Any woman would kill for the opportunity to mate with such a powerful lord. Why was she resisting him? He sniffed the air. 'Fear, she is afraid. She must be a virgin and afraid of what I will do to her.' He thought."Are you afraid that I'll hurt you, little one?"

"No, well yes, a little but that's not it. I just don't think that this is not the right time for us to… well you know. I just need more time. I'm not ready for this."

He released her arm. "Very well. I shall wait for you. But I won't wait long."

Shayan scooted from his room and ran to her own. 'Man that was close, I can't believe he wanted…' He thoughts raced. 'How am I going to get out of this? At least now I know why he is keeping me here. I had no idea that being nice to him would make me a good candidate for marriage. I wish I were home. This place is so strange. I can't believe he thought I'd go to bed with him just like that. I've only known the guy for a week or so.' She needed to think. She was filthy from being outside for all that time. She poked her head out of the room and asked one of the servants if she could have a bath, and then she got herself ready. Soon a soft knock came on the door her bath was ready.

In the bathing room Shayan soaked in the tub thinking of what had happened to her in the last few months. She had won a vacation to Japan. She was on a tour of the various shrines, monasteries and temples when she fell into a well and ended up in this strange time. Now she was living in a demon's fortress in this strange timeand what is more ishe wants to marry her. What next? She shook her head how could this have happened. She got out of the tub and got into the new outfit she had been given.

She went to the main chamber to have tea with the demon that earlier declared his wish to marry her. She knelt beside him and after serving the tea she asked the questions that were bothering her. "Why were you so angry when you saw me with Inuyasha? Don't you like your brother?"

Sesshoumaru put his cup down and stared straight ahead. "My brother is no concern of yours."

"I don't understand what's going on? Why were you so upset when you saw me with him I just want to know that all. I'm curious." Shayan insisted.

He growled low.

"Growling isn't going to work. You already know I'm not afraid of that."

"Be careful little girl I can cause you a great deal of pain. I may choose to beat you as you suggested I could in the forest."

"Your threatening me isn't going to make it go away. And it won't get rid of your brother either. So you might as well explain it to me, I'm only going to keep asking."

Shayan was a determined girl although one might question her sanity. She was being rather bold and Sesshoumaru was a hard demon to deal with if he had a mind to do something about someone.

Sesshoumaru looked at the strange woman. She wasn't afraid of him. He could smell fear and was used to the scent. He had smelt it many times. His servants, the humans in the nearby villages and even his brother at times, were all afraid of him. But this girl, for whatever reason was unaffected by him. She showed fear only twice, once when flying, and then again just today when he told her he wished to mate with her. Hmmm. It was strange.

"Why don't you fear my wrath girl? Don't you know what danger you are in?"

"Danger? A minute ago you wanted to marry me now I'm in danger. Make up your mind do you like me or not?" Shayan was blunt.

Sesshoumaru picked up his tea and sipped it. "Very well. I shall tell you. Inuyasha is only a half-demon. My father remarried after my mother's death and instead of a demoness he chose a human. My father for whatever reason gifted us both with swords upon his own death. The sword I have, the Tensaiga. Is a healing sword. It is of no value to me in this time of constant war. I need a sword that can cut, in order to defend my lands. My half-breed mutt of a brother was given the Tetsusaiga. This sword can destroy a hundred demons in a single sweep. I need that sword. He has no lands to defend. It's useless in his hands." Sesshoumaru paused and took another sip.

"I tried to take it from him. That's how I lost my arm." He touched his sleeve. "The sword has a magic attached to it. I am prevented from touching the sword. But I will find a way. I need that sword more than that halfwit does."

Shayan thought about this for a moment and was about to tell Sesshoumaru what she thought when a servant came rushing in.

"Master, master please come quickly. Inuyasha has come. He is in the courtyard now." Jeken jumped up and down as he spoke.

Out in the courtyard stood the demon Shayan had met in the clearing. He had a massive sword drawn and he looked as if he was ready to kill.

"Stay here girl." Sesshoumaru ordered as he went forward to face his brother. "Why have you come Inuyasha?"

"I came for the girl. Hand her over. I know you brought her here. Where is she? What have you done with her?

Shayan ran out into the courtyard and stood between the warring factions. "Stop it. I'm here. What do you want?"

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you? I came to rescue you." Inuyasha was a little confused. She looked fine and although he thought he had smelt fear that smell was gone now. Why wasn't she scared? Sesshoumaru had captured her she should be terrified. "He grabbed you and flew off. I thought by the way you yelled that you needed help."

"Rescue me? Oh that… Um that was just a misunderstanding I'm fine. Really."

"You didn't sound fine. You had us worried." Kagome stepped forward and spoke with Shayan. "Why is a human girl like you hanging around with a demon like Sesshoumaru?"

"Well… That's kind of a long story."

"I've got time." Inuyasha said suspiciously eyeing his brother. "What have you been dong Sesshoumaru. Why did you capture her and bring her here? Tell me before I take off your other arm." He raised his sword.

Shayan couldn't believe herself. In an istant she had taken a dangerous course of action. Here she was standing there holding on to the business end of this half-demon's sword. In transformed the instant she touched it. Now instead of a massive blade it was this rusted old thin blade that looked like it would have trouble cutting warm butter.

Everyone stared.

"How? How did you do that?" Inuyasha's mouth gaped open.

"I… I don't know. Was the sword magic or something because it was big just a second ago?" Shayan stepped back away from the blade.

Inuyasha tried to get the blade to transform back but he couldn't. "What did you do?" Now he could smell fear. It was the girl. "What are you afraid of I wasn't gonna use this on you?"

Shayan backed up straight into Sesshoumaru's chest. He placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him. "I don't know what happened. I didn't mean to break his sword. I just wanted you two to stop fighting." Then she looked at Inuyasha. "I think you both need to sit down and talk. No more fighting for today. Ok?" Then she looked at Sesshoumaru "OK?"

Sesshoumaru nodded and they followed him into the main room of the house. He ordered fresh tea to be made and some food for his guests.

Shayan sat right beside Sesshoumaru.

Inuyasha and Kagome sat opposite with the monk and the other woman seated to their right. Inuyasha started. "You're no ordinary girl. Where do you come from?"

Shayan explained the whole story of how she came to be in this time but didn't tell them how she met Sesshoumaru. She thought that that might embarrass the demon lord. Since he hated that she had helped him that day in the forest.

"So you came through the bone eaters well. I wonder why? And more importantly why you can't go back?" Kagome was puzzled. She and Inuyasha were supposed to be the only ones to be able to go through the well.

"I don't know. All I know is I'm stuck and here I'll have to stay."

"Speaking of here. Why him? How did you get mixed up with Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha wasn't happy about this.

"We met in the woods one day and I came with him here." She looked at Sesshoumaru. He had an odd look on his face. Relief perhaps?

"I'm not buying it. There's more you're not telling." Inuyasha wasn't going to be put off that easily.

"Well there is more but I leave that to your brother. If he wants you to know he'll tell you." That having been said Shayan thought she might as well cut to the chase. "It seems to me that you two have been fighting a long time. I think it's time to stop. You have a healing sword and you have a sword that works against demons right? Don't you think your father did this for a reason? I bet he wanted you two to stop bickering and work together." She looked from one brother to the other.

"Your sword won't work against humans will it? That's why it changed when I touched it. And your sword, you said it heals. I bet it only heals humans, right? I bet you two are supposed to work together using your swords to help the humans in your territory." She paused. "I think you two have to put aside your differences. Obviously that was what your father wanted. And it is the best way for you to defend your land like you want."

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha sat silent for a moment.

"You know the girl makes a lot of sense." Miroku noted.

Inuyasha stood up. "There is no way I'm working with him."

"Sit boy!" Inuyasha crashed to the ground at Kagome's words.

"Wow, now that's magic." Shayan was amazed.

"Yeah, well it comes in handy sometimes." Kagome smiled.

"You needn't worry Inuyasha I don't wish to work with you either." Sesshoumaru got up from the table. Enjoy your refreshments then leave. I will deal with you another day my brother." With that he left.

Shayan was a little downcast by Sesshoumaru's attitude. "I'm sorry I really thought that you both might be able to mend things."

"No chance of that happening. Sesshoumaru has always hated me. Nothing is gonna change that now. Come on Kagome let's go. Oh and if my creep of a brother ever hurts you. Come and find me, I'll take care of him for you."

(I know it's a bit out of charater but what the hay. I'm having fun. I hope you are enjoying my short story. Ladysesshoumaru41)