A/N: Hey, I'm back! I haven't updated ina week or two, but I hope that I'll be able to do a lot more soon. This is a good chapter if I say so myself, and I liked writing it. But no more pointless talk. Read!

Disclaimer: A.D.D. doesnt' own Inuyasha. Ok!

Chapter Seven: Friendly Suspicions
And inspirations that we deem our own,
Are some divine foreshadowing and foreseeing
Of things beyond our reason or control.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow from "The Sound of the Sea"

That Saturday, Mai returned to visit the man that didn't belong. Her mind was telling her to be careful; she didn't know a single thing about him, and yet she was still traipsing off to see him, throwing caution to the wind. Her heart had different ideas, however. It screamed to blatantly disregard her mind, and follow wherever it led.

Mai was the kind of girl who believed in something more than luck. She never brushed off an amazing happening as merely "coincidence". To her, everything was planned and predictable. People led lives according to their own choices, but the final destination couldn't be escaped. And she held a firm confidence in her own intuition. Right then, it told her to see him, and so she knew she had to listen.

There wasn't much time for anything other than a brief hello and a couple of short sentences. She had promised her neglected friends that she would spend a few hours shopping with them that afternoon. They would meet at the giant super-mall the city proudly boasted, and spend all the money they had. Mai was not against the prospect, but there was one mission that she had to complete first.

She walked into the inviting entrance, her eyes skillfully searching him out. There were more people there than she was used to; she noticed scores of them mindlessly meandering the winding roads that swirled throughout the park. It amused her to study their faces. Some wore obvious smiles, happy with whatever life had given them. Some were impatient as they tried out the advice that walking could relieve stress, or waited to return to the normal routine they had momentarily broken out of. Or the face she fixed her eyes on was sad and lonely, looking for a release from whatever it was that they didn't want to handle. Those were the most beautiful to Mai, and she felt compelled to wish them find the happiness that they needed.

So absorbed was she in her little game, that she failed to notice the face she was staring at was the one she had come to find. It stood out of any crowd, and it made her heart soar to be given the chance to gaze at it for but a second.

"What are you staring at, girl?" he asked her coolly, walking over to join her. "You," she replied honestly, without pretense. "I was wondering how you would look if you were smiling." All he said, as for a moment they traveled a combined pathway from their separate roads, was "I do not know how to smile."

"I knew that you would come," he told her suddenly. "You have been stalking me for days, and to be practically invited must have tickled your fancy beyond belief." She chuckled a little at his odd use of language, but her mind interrupted her fit with a pleasant thought. 'I knew I was right. He did ask me to come back.'

"I cannot stay long. But I won't deny that I wanted to see you. I enjoy seeing you, whoever you are, but I'm not stalking. I am just satisfying a curiosity." They walked side by side, and it pleased her to see it. He was a veritable giant, and consciously he was shortening his stride to match hers. "I am only humoring you because I feel like I have known you before. Or perhaps you are just another dream I have forgotten to wake up from."

"No," she said, smiling at him. "I am quite real." A few more steps passed in silence. "You had better go," he told her, stopping unexpectedly. "I may not be in such a good mood very much longer." "Alright, but I'll be back to see you again." As they turned their separate ways she swore she heard him say, "That's what I was afraid of."

Three girls stood waving outside a huge structure, finally spotting their wayward friend. "It's so good to see you Mai," Yumi said. "Why have you been avoiding us lately?" "Yeah," Sara agreed, "We haven't seen you in days." Mai smiled sheepishly and said, "Oh, I've just been preoccupied lately. But I'm here now, so let's go!" And she ran in ahead of them, waiting to be followed.

The three girls exchanged glances. They might not have been geniuses, but they weren't stupid. They could tell when something was going on with their friend, and as they ran after her, they made a silent resolution to find out exactly what was up.

There were so many stores, shops, boutiques, and businesses of every nature that one could spend an entire day doing nothing but shopping and still there would be places left unexplored. Mai and her friends decided to limit their ventures to strictly items, which were wearable in nature.

All the girls loved looking through the different shops, finding what suited their four particular tastes. The conversation was pleasant too, and Yumi, Sara and Risa were ecstatic to finally catch up with their elusive friend. She had been acting much stranger than she usually did, and they wanted to know the reason.

While in her favorite store, chosen for just that reason, they decided to corner her. "Okay Mai," Risa said, "you had better come clean. What the hell's been going on with you lately?" "I hope nothing's wrong," Sara said worriedly. "How's your mother doing?"

"It's nothing like that," Mai said, waving the thought away quickly. "It's not my mom or my sister or anything to do with my family." "Then what it is?" Yumi asked. "Is there a reason you've been avoiding us?" The four of them walked down to the next rack in the store. "I haven't been avoiding you, not intentionally at least." Risa looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh, and so why haven't you answered our calls or hung out with us a single day after school for the past week?"

A guilty sort of feeling rose up in the pit of her stomach. Mai thought rapidly for a moment, but quickly decided that the truth would be the best option. "I've been walking every afternoon. I just thought that you guys wouldn't want to come."

Risa looked at her like she was crazy. "You expect us to believe that load of crap? Oh come on Mai. 'I've been walking'? What kind of reason is that to blow off your best friends?"

Yumi gave Risa a look that said "Be nice" and Sara just looked down at the floor. "We really want to know Mai," she said. "If anything's up, you can trust us, you know." Yumi took control of the conversation and said, "Look, we understand that something's going on. You could at least let us in a little bit, Mai. We're not going to laugh at you or anything." "Honestly," Risa huffed. "Don't be so paranoid."

"I'm telling you the truth, guys!" she said in earnest. "I really do just go walking." The tone of voice she used told the others that the conversation was over. They weren't getting anything else out of her.

As the four walked out of the store, the three conspirators let Mai fall slightly ahead. "Well," Yumi said in a whisper quite unlike her usual placid tone, "if all she does is walk, let's find out what's so interesting about that little park of hers." "Wow Yumi," Sara said in awe. "That's a great idea. But, it sounds like something Risa would have thought up." Risa just laughed. "She's right you know; I'm a bad influence." Yumi rolled her eyes.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a cute little boutique that Sara recommended. She put out a suggestion so rarely that the others almost always went along with whatever little idea she had. "Have you heard the news Mai?" Yumi asked her, wanting to steer away from the previous subject. "Risa's got a new boyfriend." "Oh my gosh, really?" she asked excitedly. And for the first time since they had known her, Risa blushed.

"He's not anything special or something like that," she fumbled out. "He's just nice and stuff." Mai and Yumi exchanged knowing glances- obviously Risa was practically in love with him already- and Sara just giggled and told her that her face was turning as red as a cherry.

The four girls talked and shopped for a little while longer, until Sara realized that it was getting late. "Sorry guys," she said, "but I do need to be heading home. I'll see you later!" After she left, Yumi and Risa began to think of a plan as they walked quietly behind their other friend.

"After school Monday," Yumi said, "we should ask her to do something with us again." "Okay," Risa agreed, "but I bet she's going to say no. What's in that park anyway? Nothing could be so interesting that it took up every afternoon." "I know," Yumi said, "but obviously she's found something that's a lot more fun than we are." Risa made a "hmmph," that clearly meant "nothing could be more 'fascinating' than me." Yumi chuckled.

Mai, not really paying attention to the other girls, did not notice their plotting. She was humming to herself, thinking about the homework she had waiting for her at home. Her footsteps took her slowly towards her home, but her eyes weren't really looking. The sun was getting lower in the sky, not quite dark, but not early afternoon either. A beautiful day was coming to an end, but Mai was just glad she had gotten to experience it at all.

Suddenly Risa said, "I'll call you later, okay Mai?" She looked around, snapping herself out of her daydreams, and noticed that they were already at her home. "Alright," she said smiling as she waved the other girls off. "I'll talk to you later, or see you at school." "Bye!"

She walked into the building, and then rode the elevator to her family's apartment. They had lived there ever since she was little, even when her father was still alive. He had been in a wreck when Sakura was just a baby, maybe six months. She didn't remember him, but Mai did, and she missed him a lot.

'I'm just going to depress myself," she thought. 'I haven't thought about that in a long time. I'll just push back in my head before I go in.'

So with a sigh, she pushed the door open and walked inside. Her little sister and her mother were watching a tv show together, and Mai couldn't help but smile at the adorable picture they made.

"How was your walk with your friends?" She asked politely, as Mai came in there with them. "We didn't walk," Mai replied, "we went shopping instead. I got a really cute new shirt." She held up a bag. Her mother smiled. "Alright, honey, I'm glad you had a good time."

The next day passed by, and soon Mai found herself at school again. "There you are Mai," Risa said grumpily, "we were just talking about you." Yumi elbowed her, and she let out an "Ow!" Mai looked at them strangely, but she didn't say anything. Sara smiled and said, "They're just being themselves, Mai, come on and let's go to class." Mai cheerfully nodded and let Sara lead her into the building.

"BRRIIING!" The bell rang, and finally class was over. "The day's over," Risa said happily, stretching her arms out. "Damn, I wish it was the weekend." "You just had a free day yesterday," Yumi told her exasperatedly. "You really need to get over your little "school is hell on earth" attitude. It gets old." Risa just grumbled to herself.

"Hey Mai!" Sara said suddenly, proud of herself for memorizing her lines so well, "Do you want to go and hang out with us this afternoon?" "Well," Mai said uncertainly, not wanting to hurt her friend's feelings. "I really don't think I'm going to be able to Sara, I'm really sorry though." "It's okay," Sara replied, still looking cheerful. "Maybe another time, alright?" Mai just nodded as the three girls walked off.

'Well that was odd,' she thought to herself. 'Usually Risa would start questioning me and Yumi would roll her eyes, and Sara would sigh. Huh, I wonder what's up.' But she just shrugged, unable to find a suitable answer to her own question, and set off walking towards her next destination.

With the three conspirators--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Move over Sara," Risa said, shoving the other girl. "I'm sorry Risa, but there really isn't that much room. I can't move any more or she'll be able to see me when she walks past." "Well then let her see you! I don't have any room." "Will you two be quiet?" Yumi hissed lowly. "Why?" Sara asked happily. "Do you see her?" "No, but you're giving me a headache." Risa growled, and promptly got smacked. "Ow..."

Just then, they heard something. "I recognize that!" Sara said excitedly. "That's Mai!" Risa rolled her eyes. "We know it's Mai, you moron, we can hear her too." "Oh. Sorry Risa."

Yumi shushed them, and the three peered cautiously over the edge of the bushes they were hiding behind. They saw a few people pass by, but Mai wasn't one of them. "Do either of you see her?" Risa asked, "Because I think that we just imagined that we heard her voice. This was a stupid idea."

"What if she knows that we're here?" Sara wondered fretfully. "Maybe she's avoiding us because she doesn't want us to know what she's doing here so much. We really shouldn't pry." The others exchanged a glance. "I think Sara could be right," Yumi said. "Let's walk around to see if we can spot her." "Whatever," Risa sighed out, standing up. "I just hope she doesn't catch us. You know how pissy Mai can get sometimes." "Don't worry," Yumi assured her as the girls began to walk. "We're just acting on a few... friendly suspicions."

Mai and her new excuse for exercise---------------------------------------------------------------

Though she hadn't wanted to admit it to herself, all through school that day she had been thinking about him. Her mind was occupied with something a long cry away from any type of school work.

That afternoon, she still allowed her feet to carry her towards him, not even thinking or suspecting for a moment that her friends were trying to discover her lovely new secret. She had had a dream about him the night before, and so her mind was set on trying to get something out of him. Thinking about her firm decision, she said to herself, "That cold, lonely man with the beautiful eyes, I wonder why he is so hurt. I still haven't been able to stop thinking about him. I'm going to ask him today. I will confront him, and surely I'll be able to discover the scars he is hiding. I feel like I have to know."

He was, of course, where he could almost always be found. She wondered if he ever even left that tree. The wind blew softly around him, whispering otherwordly secrets to him, making his mind the only key. It was a sight easily overlooked, but Mai decided that it was the perfect opportunity.

Walking over, she said, "Hello," in a would-be upbeat sort of voice. "Good to see you again. What are you doing?" He just looked at her like she was a fool.

"Only being," he replied. I am still here." He sighed. "I can't seem to stop existing." She was a little worried by his reply, but she chose to cover it up with annoyance. "Why do you talk like that? Can't you be more normal? Or something like it at least?"

He didn't even look at her, just raised an eyebrow. "No."

Calmly, and trying not to get too exasperated before she got to finish her self-appointed "mission", she said, "Today might be the last day I'll be coming here. I..." she paused, thinking of a good lie. "I've just gotten very busy lately. All this walking takes up too much free time."

He didn't answer; he hadn't even turned to look at her when she spoke. Truthfully, she had hoping to evoke some sort of response in him, but it did not seem to be working. She wanted him to say that he would miss seeing her, or that he was glad she wouldn't be "stalking" him anymore, or anything really, because she didn't want just his silence.

They both remained there motionless for a few more moments, until Mai began to feel awkward. She shifted her feet a little, and said, "Since we won't see each other anymore, I was hoping you could do me a favor."

His attention was captured at last. "Well that depends on what it is, doesn't it?"

Frustrated, she gave an exaggerated sigh. "I'm not going to ask you for anything difficult. All I want is to ask you a question."

"But you expect an answer."

"Is that too much for you to handle? Isn't the point of a question usually to elicit an answer? You treat me rudely usually, and you ignore me when I try to hold a conversation with you, and my only goal is to try and help you. Please do this one thing. With only a little complaint."

Once again, her words didn't seem to reach him. She was about to decide to walk away forever, when he said, "Why do you want to help me?" A smile crept up on her, though she did not bid it to. The short sentence meant that he was at least slightly interested in her, though only the smallest bit. Mai knew that she was finally making progress.

"I don't really care, you know," he continued, seeming to know exactly which lines her thoughts were taking. "It just seemed like I deserved a question as well."

"Fine. Your motives are your own. I can look in your eyes, and I see an ancient wound that you still bear. It's so deep that it even hurts to have to watch the pain you carry. That's why I want to help you; I want to see you heal."

For a moment, she saw a faint expression flit across his face. "You want to see me... heal?"

She blushed slightly and said, "Look, I just hate to see people suffer. Kindness is something that everyone deserves. I try to help everybody though, so don't think that you're a special case."

"Of course not. Although it would be my luck to be the only being unlucky enough to have you relentlessly pecking at them."

She could tell he was trying to flare her up. "Actually, most people appreciate the help I give them. Most are grateful for my, what you have termed, 'relentless pecking'.

No reply. He stared off into some great beyond, leaving her in the world of the living while he faded into a dream.

Suddenly she heard a familiar voice. "Do you see her Yumi?" A loud female was saying. "I know that she's here. She's always here." "We'll see her soon," a voice that obviously belonged to Sara returned. "We just need to keep looking."

"Oh no! My friends are here; they must have followed me. If they come here, please don't tell them that you saw me. I don't want them to know about you yet." She looked around, then ducked behind the tree he was casually leaning on.

The girls came around the bend, still searching. "Maybe we should call her," Risa said. "Mai! Are you here?" "Hush Risa," Yumi commanded. "I don't want her to know we're looking for her. It will seem better if we just appear to be walking on our own."

The strange man still stayed motionless at the great trunk's base, unfazed by Mai's flight. They might have said something to him asking if he had seen her, but he was too intimidating.

After they left, following down another path, Mai came out of hiding. "I'm sorry about that. I have really nosy friends."

"Some would say that you are blessed to even have friends, nosy or not."

She was going to reply, but she couldn't think of anything to say. He was right of course, as she had noticed he usually was. Though she had never really considered it before, she was lucky. Upon her silence, he seemed willing to open a little more. "I suppose that's your name then. I heard one of those creatures talking about a 'Mai'. I can only assume that that was in reference to you."

She nodded. "Yes, I am called Mai." She thought for a moment then asked, "What about you? Do you have a name?" He looked thoughtful. "I did have an identity once, but it has faded with the long passing of time. I'm not even sure I know who I am anymore. But yes, my name was Sesshoumaru."

She felt strange suddenly. It surprised her that he had actually told her. She was really unsure of what to do next. So she said, "Well, that's a... nice sort of name." "I don't care if you don't like it, you know."

Mai flushed. "Yeah, I know that. And actually, I do like it." "Oh. As you wish."

"That's a cryptic response. But anyway, can I ask you my question now?" And please answer it." "You already asked. You wanted to know my name, and I told you. Isn't that a normal question and answer scenario?"

She wasn't amused. "That wasn't what I intended to ask you, though. A only thought that since you found out my name, I was entitled to know yours. You didn't really have to answer that one."

"But I did answer it, and I feel I owe you nothing more." He looked at her, and she knew that he was only acting that way to make her even more frustrated. "Please Sesshoumaru, why do you have to be so cynical all of the time?" "I am not being cynical," he answered. "I only want a little from you," she said, "and that's all. You don't understand. I feel compelled to help you, and I think that I've finally found what I've been looking for. I think that you may be part of the destiny I've been so earnestly looking for. Why can't you see that I'm meant to help you?"

She didn't want to appear upset in front of him, but he was just crushing her sincerity under his heel. Her silly conclusions might be true, and she needed to know whether they were or not. She wanted so badly to know if he was meant to be part of her life.

His eyes looked towards her again, and they betrayed a longing. "Don't do that girl. I'm not going to mean anything to you. Soon you'll forget about me, and that is when your true destiny can begin."

"No! I know that this is right. Don't tell my about my life."

"Are you going to keep pestering me until I consent to try to let you help me?" "Of course." She smiled. "You got it." "Fine. Then I will consider the offer. Perhaps you can satisfy this foolishness of yours quickly, and with very little inconvenience to me."

Mai was very happy. "Thank you," she said, and then looking at her watch to see the time, she turned to leave.

"Mai," he yelled out at her, "I have not agreed yet." She smiled again and looked at him knowingly. "Whatever you say." Then she was gone.

End A/N: Okay everybody! I am so glad that this chapter is finished. I think it's the longest one yet.I tried to put more of Mai's friends in the story, because I didn't want the ENTIRE thing to be conversations between Mai and Sesshy. Anyway, thanx for putting up with the story this long. Review please! And then read chapter 8! hee hee.

-A.D.D.