A/N: I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS MY REGRET! ...I haven't updated in a while. But I hope this is enjoyable. OOH! I love this chapter. Honestly, could I have put more fluff in it? Hmm, only if I had made it longer. I'm sorry it's so short, but don't worry. Now that school's out (and has been for months... heh heh) I shall finish this before September! Now... YOU MUST READ! thank you... Oh, and THANK YOU MY DARLING REVIEWERS!

Disclaimer: i don't own inuyasha. but man... it would be really neat if i did.
Chapter Fourteen: Melted
"Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all."
-Simple and Clean

So they spent the remainder of the day together, doing all the enjoyable things they could find to do. They were silent and a bit somber, and though both had a good time, only one would have ever dared to admit it. Equally, they shared the heavy burden of the future, a weight bearing down on their hearts, because it was inevitable that things were going to change.

When at last the sun began to fall below the pale horizon, and the world was well on its way to evening, the time had come for the pair to return to their lives. "Wow," Mai said cheerfully, "that was a great day. Didn't you have a fun time? Come on; admit it."

"I suppose I could have thought of worse ways to spend my time. And... I don't seem to have suffered any real, permanent damage."

"Well good. Do you know what? I know that this isn't the best time to bring this up, but I've been wondering all this time. What do you think could have possible opened up this door for you?" She looked a little sheepish. "Well, what I mean is, why are you suddenly free of the old woman's curse? Have you been doing more good deeds you haven't told me about?"

He sighed, and his stride gradually fell to a stop. "Didn't you hear what she told me? You were there after all."

She turned to face him, looking down with a blush. "I don't know if that's really true. I mean, when you think about it, I didn't do anything. Except, of course, bother you constantly, but that was selfish- only to fulfill the strange need I have to help people."

"Perhaps you were bestowed with that need simply because you were destined to meet me. You told me that you were sure- sure- that I was part of your destiny. All the events leading up to now certainly seem to point to that being true. A weight has been lifted from me." He looked at her with a smirk in his eyes. "Maybe you've finally melted me, Mai."

She was so happy she thought she might burst. Truly she couldn't be certain, but for a moment, she thought she saw happiness reflected in his gaze. Could he really be happy? Could it be because of her? The idea was almost too extraordinary to even be conceived. A tempest of feelings raged within her own heart, and sure that he would see it through her eyes- often called windows to the soul- she had to turn away.

"What is the matter now?" he asked impatiently, only just able to hide any real concern he may have felt.

Mai smiled sadly. "Oh nothing. I'm just happy for you. Maybe a little jealous too, that you've finally found and come to terms with your destiny."

"You're lying," he said simply, well enough versed in her speech and actions to be able to always tell. "Tell me why you seem upset. Now. Have I done something to inadvertently hurt you?"

"Oh no, you've actually been much kinder lately. And if you ever hurt me, it certainly wouldn't be inadvertent. I have gotten used to your harshness."

"But... it is because of me that you are unhappy." His skills of perception were remarkable- amazing even, and she should have known better than to try and deceive him. Of course, when faced with the truth, she found deception infinitely safer.

"Not really. Maybe a bit indirectly, but you certainly haven't made me unhappy."

"Oh? And what- indirectly- did I do?"

She shook her head. "No, it isn't important. Silly, really. I don't know why you're pretending to be interested."

"Mai, I'm not going to just push it aside, and I do not appreciate being lied to in the least. Tell me, before I must force it out of you."

"Fine." Her mind immediately sought after a good, quick lie. She was all set to tell him her neat little fabrication, when she happened to sneak a glance at him, and her resolve for falsehood collapsed at the foundations. She just couldn't bring herself to out-and-out lie to him.

"I'm entertaining a selfish wish that can never be realized. It is foolish, and to be honest, it is best forgotten. So don't think about it. I..." She saw the look on his face. He was going to make her tell him. "Stop it! Don't make me say."

His next statement was intentionally brisk and deliberate. "Say what?"

"Are you blind? Are you stupid? Can you really not see what I am sure is so very, very evident? Oh, do not dare do this to me! Don't make me writhe and squirm in more agony. Don't you understand?"

She looked at him with righteous anger in her eyes. The girl's earnestness all but spelled it out for him. Suddenly, he knew, and he realized that he should have known for a long time.

He resisted the urge to back away from her. "No. Mai, that is ridiculous. Impossible. You know that I couldn't..."

She nodded emphatically. "That's why I can't say it! That's why I'm never going to say it. I don't want it to be true. I don't want to be alone, but I know I have to be. It's my destiny, and I accept that. Don't make me tell you this grave, insane secret. Please don't hurt me."

For once, the proud, sarcastic Sesshoumaru seemed to be at a loss for words. He wasn't sure what to say. He had allowed the girl to become close to him- though not initially of his free will- and honestly did have some care for her as well. But she reached a level that was very nearly beyond his understanding. What she herself had always longed for, she had finally found. But what she desired, he could never give. He couldn't ever feel what he could see burning behind her eyes. "There is no other way. I do not intend to cause you pain, but what else would you have me do? I can't, and you know it."

"That's why I do not wish to walk about it! I didn't want it brought up, so I tried to hide it from you. But you can't mind your own business, can you? You had to make me tell you."

Sensing hysterics approaching, he quickly thought of a way to calm the girl down. "I made you tell me nothing. You never told me anything at all, actually. You are getting much too worked up when I only made a guess based on my own inferences. Chances are that I am... I am wrong."

She snorted in dry amusement. "You? Wrong? Do you really believe that?" Her voice got quieter. " Can you say honestly that you do not know what is the truth?"

He wanted to lie to her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. After all, he had his honor. "No. I... I am certain that what I have seen is the truth."

"And I know you're sure but... Do you think that there's any way you could..." She broke off for a hesitant moment. "Because I would like you to stay with me."

She was looking down at the ground. He groaned inwardly, unhappy that the task of comforting her fell upon him. He gently lifted her chin up, forcing her to look straight into his golden eyes. "Where do you think I am going?"

"Won't you leave? There aren't any of you left here, are there? Wouldn't you return to the time you were... the time you were yourself in? I thought that with the transformation the old woman is offering, the past would change as well. But... it would be nicer if you would stay. I want you to stay here."

"I do not think that I will have to leave. You're a very foolish girl you know, prone to ridiculous flights of fancy like that. It's over-reacting really. Though, when I do return to me true form, it is unlikely that we should ever again meet. My range of emotion would not fluctuate as easily as it does now."

She looked at him forlornly for a moment and then sighed.

He was agitated by that. "What is it?"

"You said 'when'. Not if." A determined silence for a moment then, her personality swinging back into positive full-force, "Do you want to know what I think? I think that it would be wrong to change. You may be going back to your old form, but I think that you're in your true form right now."

"No. I cannot be meant to be human. I thought you knew that."

"People change. Likewise, ideas change. Free will is ours; do not think that all things are unalterable. Can't you even imagine that is a possibility?"

"I don't think I can. And I believe I am sorry, Mai."

She wanted to hate him for his close-mindedness, and for the very stubbornness she admired in the first place. But she couldn't. Even if she tried her hardest she would always understand him too well to hate him.

"Then I guess we have no more time left. This was the last day we'll be able to hang out like this, but it was fun."

"You're not going to miss me, are you?" He asked dryly, trying to tease her.

And even though he said it as a joke, intending to lighten her up a little, she found the words ringing in her heart. They did like to tease, but the time wasn't right for anything other than serious exchange.

"Yes, I guess I am."

She smiled up at him. "But don't worry. I don't care if you miss me or not. It was kind of a one-sided friendship anyway. I'll feel better about it if you don't try to be nice."

"I... never really wanted to hurt you," he said again.

"Hmm, do you really think there's a way to do this that wouldn't cause me pain? I know that you will do what you want to do, and I know that I'll have to deal with that. Our wishes aren't the same, and I realize I'm being selfish. I know that I can live quite well with whatever you decide; it's only right to let you be free."

He started walking again, and she followed closely. "Yes," he said in a voice that was almost a sigh. "All this time in this prison of a body. I don't want to endure it anymore."

"Then I won't be selfish. I won't ask you how you feel about me, and I won't ask you to stay this way on my account. It would be terrible of me to even try and suggest such a thing."

"Well," he said tiredly, "then we shouldn't talk about it anymore."

She nodded. They walked on in an uneasy silence, their destination long-since unknown. They just kept going, step after step, until neither one could take it any longer. "I need to return," he said, "And I want you to come with me."

Confusion radiated off of her. He rolled his eyes. "I have something that I want you to see just follow me." She remained where she was, standing still as a post. "We're going to the park, now stop slowing me down." Suddenly, they both broke into a run, feet pounding against the pavement. Rushing, rushing, trying to get to their destination. She followed him, watching his long hair flail wildly in his wake. Faster they flew, until finally they arrived.

He took her through the park, to an old and familiar spot.

"This is what you wanted me to see- a tree? No, change that, a tree that I have seen countless times before?"

"Don't be a fool. Come here." He led her into the grass and behind the ancient, crackling trunk. Her eyes followed his hand to the sky as he pointed out the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

"Wow," she whispered, "it's amazing."

The sun had just reached the land, in that breath-taking moment when you're no longer sure what is earth and what is sky. The blue had begun to fade to the outermost edges of the sun's golden reach, and left in its place a rainbow array of pinks and peaches. Gold colored clouds swam past the soft streaks of rose, leaving a coral and lavender paintbrush to glob the sky with night. Most sunsets are lovely, but that was one that for surpassed so many others. Mai stood transfixed to the canvas, unable to look away until the last drops of molten color fell, giving the stage to the glittering stars.

"I thought you'd like it," Sesshoumaru said softly, his voice holding reverence for the tremendous occasion. "That is the view I get to see everyday."

She was surprised to hear him speak. She had been so engrossed she had almost forgotten he was standing there with her.

"How can you see that everyday, and not be glad just to be alive? Surely it must help to alleviate some of your pain."

"Not all of them are that grand. Only a few. I knew that this would be one of the ones with magic. Remember me; this is the last vision you'll ever have of the time you spent bothering me." He graced her with a smile, and an expression that was unfit to ever be described with mere words. It took her breath away. "Our time together, as annoying as it may have been, is finally at a close." Slowly, he looked away from her and turned full attention back to the sky. Then so smoothly that she might not even have known had she not felt it, he took her hand in his.

She was so surprised that she almost gasped. She looked down at his snaking fingers as they tenderly threaded through her own. It made the moment absolutely perfect.

Never, ever did she want to leave him. Her heart was so selfish, it wanted nothing more than to have possession of his. She loved him so much; no matter how much she tried to stop it, something inside her kept that desire burning. He scorned her, and he would never return her ridiculous feelings. But the things she felt for him... the yearning to love him was an inexorable pull. She couldn't just toss it away. Suddenly, she was overcome with the urge to tell him everything. To have the words come from her own mouth, and not just from his assumptions.

She wanted to tell him so badly- to yell her feelings out to the world. But she didn't want to ruin the one special time between them. He looked so beautiful, with his hair billowing out in the breathy wind, as he majestically stood beside her. He felt so warm, when she knew him to be so very cold. The contradiction sent shivers up her spine. "Sesshoumaru," she whispered softly, "there's something I need to say."

"What is it Mai? Tell me."

"I'm in love with you."

Alright... you have my official permission to dispise me for that.

A.D.D.
(In my defence, wasn't that chapter sweet? ...not good enough? Heh, then I'm going to post the next chapter tommorrow.)