I was really hoping to get reviews so that someone could tell me if Sessho should become human or hanyou, but I chose for myself...please review. Flame if you want, though I may have a smart-arse remark to shoot at ya. Btw, just to close arguments, I believe Sessh's fluff is a tail. My friend says she heard Takahashi-sama announce it herself. So lets not debate it. I also know for myself that Takahashi-sama said that Sessho is 19 in demon years. I know this for a fact.

Ch. 2

Sesshoumaru was glad to be off the boat. He strode stoically through the many restaurants lined up along the road to Yubaba's bathhouse. He masked his 19 demon-year-old nature, but he could calm his roaring stomach.

Shut up, he thought sharply, but it was no use. He was rightly famished.

His pace quickened as more scents reached his powerful nose. He was salivating rather heavily, licking his lips as he separated certain foods; beef, chicken, bamboo shoots.

Keep it together. You can get the food at the bathhouse…but…soo hungry…no! Resist the temptation. Shit!

Sesshoumaru sat at one of the restaurants and staved of his hunger's edge with some beef before continuing towards the bathhouse. Now he was more desperate than ever, being hungry and dirty as he was.

As he reached the bridge, Sesshoumaru's stomach fluttered a tiny bit. He could taste his small snack, and he hoped to gods that Yubaba forgave his ancestor…

Without any indication to his actual apprehension, Sesshoumaru crossed the bridge.

"Welcome," said a froglike creature. "Enjoy your stay."

He nodded curtly and his eyes sharpened. This bathhouse had a glorious reputation for making customers happy. He had even heard the rumor of how a young human girl had saved the establishment from a Noh-Face.

Sesshoumaru soon reached the foreman.

"May I help you?"
"I would like a cleansing salt bath and I would like to spend a night here," Sesshoumaru said, holding out some gold.

"Right away, sir. Rin, take him to the bath."

Sesshoumaru's ears perked. Rin?

"Come this way, sir."

He exhaled. Ah, just an employee here. Her brown hair flowed down in two forelocks over her shoulder, her plain beauty reminding Sesshoumaru of his young ward. He followed Rin for a while, until she asked him a question.

"Would you like to be in your human form while you bathe, or you spirit form?"

"I am not a spirit. I am a demon," he told her.

"Spirit form, demon form, whatever," she muttered. "Which one?"

"I would prefer to be in human form."

"Okay. Right this way."
Rin led him to a smallish tub that was not yet filled.

"Please go to that end of the tub. I'll fill it from the opposite end of you," she told him.

Sesshoumaru stripped off his clothes and did as instructed; he was soon rewarded with soothing and warm herbal water. He sighed and let his muscles unwind in the healing bath. He could feel the charmed salts ease his stress and pain from the fight with Inuyasha and sighed as it all melted away.

"I'll bring you your food, sir," Rin said.

"Thank you," he said, submerging his head under the opaque water.

Yubaba growled.

"Another Inu-Youkai. Pah. That's the last thing I need in my bathhouse!"

She counted her many jewels and tinkered with them, pausing to sign all sorts of documents.

"I never did get a crack at that demon. Perhaps I should wreak havoc on this one?"

She cackled evilly, waving her wrinkled hand over a miniature she had of the many parts of the bathhouse. Rin appeared and enlarged—she was holding a plate of luscious foods for Sesshoumaru.

"Just a little of this should be enough," the witch said, pouring a drop of potion onto the food. No one would know she had done it.

Unbeknownst to her, a white and green dragon was peering into her window…

By the time Rin had arrived, Sesshoumaru was so relaxed he could have fallen asleep before she even arrived. Luckily he didn't.

"Here is your food sir," she said.

"Thank you. Hand me my haori."

Rin fetched the clothing and gave it to Sesshoumaru, who rooted through it and pulled a pouch of money forth. He gave Rin a generous gratuity.

"Arigato, sir!"

"My name is Sesshoumaru, not sir," he corrected curtly.

"Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin repeated, pocketing the several pieces of gold she had received.

However, Sesshoumaru was ignoring her, finding his meal more of a priority now. He ate politely, albeit over the bath. The ornate chopsticks brought chunks of rice, meat, and sushi to his mouth in rhythmic motions.

After finishing the meal, he sunk back into his bath, very full and content for once in his life.

"Sesshoumaru-sama…are you done?" Rin asked him after a half an hour had passed.

"Yes. I am done."

"Good. Here are your towels and complimentary sleeping kimono. I'll come back in a few minutes to show you to your room."

After Rin left, Sesshoumaru came out of the tub, shaking himself like a dog before toweling himself completely dry. His hair came next, then his tail, which he rubbed until it was warm, fuzzy, and quivering. Rin showed up not too long after to lead him to his room. It was a nice sort of setup, like a tatami room, with a futon in the corner.

"This'll be your room. I hope you feel comfortable. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask any of us workers. We're here to serve."

Sesshoumaru nodded and Rin left him to his own devices.

The taiyoukai brushed his hair with his claws until all the tangles were out and stroked his tail into its normal state. He felt very sluggish from that meal—spirit food was the supplement for high-class demons as well as spirits, and he hadn't eaten a full meal like that for a few years. It made him feel fat, even. He eased himself onto the futon and relaxed himself. His body was more tired than he would care to admit normally. In several minutes, his eyelids grew heavy and he was giving in to sleep…

When his entire body exploded in pain.

He bit back a scream as his bones, muscles, and even his soul seemed to burn away as he convulsed on the futon. Tears streamed from his golden eyes as he tried to override the immense pain.

And he began to feel his fangs shorten.

"Wha…no! No…my f-fangs…"

Painfully, his claws began to retract and dull into normal fingernails and he could no longer feel that his tail was attached to his body. He felt as if he were suffocating as his senses dulled horribly.

After mere minutes, the pain receded, leaving a very shaky, feverish Sesshoumaru behind, leaning over his futon. His chest rose and fell with his haggard breath. His former tail draped over his body and he was bathed in sweat. Yes, a dog was sweating. But he was no longer a dog. His rounded ears were further proof of it.

He was human.

R and R please!