Wow… 40 chapters… sure is a hell of a lot.
Well, it's an ongoing tradition of mine to thank my readers and reviewers so…
Thank you for enjoying my fanfiction thus far!
Chapter 40: Someone Terrible
The fire grew larger around them. People went up in flames and were whipped. The raid continued, but Hanako and Bo's glance did not waver. His eyes looked so different than how she had remembered: older, like they had witnessed a thousand deaths.
"Hanako…" he said again, "…I…it's nice to see you again…" He did not know what else to say. What would she think of him now, after seeing his people slaughtering innocent humans like herself? She would have been killed if she had not been brought to him.
"Y-yeah…" she responded, completely surprised to see him again. He outstretched his hand to help her up. She took it and grasped it tightly. He tugged her upward, their eyes never leaving their gaze. She stood up straight before him. He didn't let go of her hand.
Sesshomaru watched the scene with narrowed eyes. He could even feel the growing chemistry between them. Old forgotten feelings of darkened envy flew through his mind. He clenched his fists through the painful uneasiness in his chest. No one was allowed to touch her hand. No one.
Her face was slightly flushed. It was her who broke their gaze by looked down at her feet, hiding her reddened face.
"Huh?" the fatter demon said with confusion, "You guys know each other…?"
"Yes," Bo said with a lighter tone, "We know each other quite well…" His eyes softened. He had given up hope looking for her, the maiden who had stolen his heart with just one glance. How he had longed to see her face again; maybe even just once. He had seen her many times in his dreams, but had unfortunately awoken from them.
Sesshomaru had granted them enough time together. He walked with a faster pace than usual over to them. He grabbed Hanako by the back of her kimono and dragged her away from him. Her hands slipped out of Bo's.
"That's enough now, Hanako. We are leaving," he growled loud enough to be heard. She turned her head, taking notice to the anger in his voice. She knew why, too. Sesshomaru had always been jealous of Bo because she paid less attention to him when he was around. She would never let that happen again.
Bo eyed Sesshomaru. How he remembered him as well. He could feel Sesshomaru's hatred for him rising once more. A tension filled the air, but Bo would not lose Hanako again.
"Lord Sesshomaru…" Hanako whispered to him quite loudly, "I don't want to be rude…"
Sesshomaru sent a glare back at her. She knew exactly what he was trying to say to her. A part of her wanted to listen to him, but the kinder, more polite side of her wanted to greet Bo and talk with him. She made her way out of Sesshomaru's grasp. Sesshomaru was surprised by her actions.
She walked back over to him. His heart beat faster as he watched her. She managed a weak smile. She bowed to him, as a sign of politeness that she had always been well known for.
"It's very nice to see you again Bo-chan."
He stared at her for a few moments before bowing to her as well. She bent back upward. He took her hands and gazed straight into her vast golden eyes. Her gaze softened. Sesshomaru fumed.
"I… have missed you so much, Hanako. More than… you could ever imagine." The pain in his eyes greatened. "I really need to clear things up with you. Can we talk?"
She turned to Sesshomaru, who did not look too pleased. His arms were straight at his sides, and he stood stiff. He felt completely uncomfortable, and it was obvious.
"…Only for a moment…" she said quietly, trying to be kind to Bo and respect Sesshomaru's feelings at the same time, "I'm afraid that my lord is feeling impatient today…"
"That's okay," he said, his eyes falling on Sesshomaru again. He knew. Bo could tell that Sesshomaru had feelings for Hanako, his own slave, which was absolutely disgusting. He should know better than to chase after women he could not have. Hanako should be Bo's for the taking, but Sesshomaru had not allowed it all that time ago. He returned Sesshomaru's feelings of hatred, but did not show it. If he did, Sesshomaru would most likely kill him. He would probably already be dead if it were not for Hanako being there. He turned around and signaled for Hanako to follow. She reluctantly began to move forward.
They walked away from the fires and people. Some demons turned to look at them as they passed.
One girl whispered, "Hey… isn't that Bo's girl? The one he couldn't have 'cause her lord was too greedy?"
"I think so…" said another, "I hope she didn't live in this village that we're torchin' right now… Bo would sure give us hell…"
Hanako followed Bo to a bush halfway up a hill. It was darker and away from the fire. Everything, aside from some background noise, was silent.
"I just want to clarify this for you," he said in a whispery tone, "…I'm sorry."
She looked at him. "…why?"
"I made things between us go to fast…" He looked down at the ground in shame. "I was just so caught up in the way you made me feel… I'm so sorry…"
Hanako was shocked at his sudden maturity. He had changed so much since they had last talked. "…Bo-chan…"
He laughed lightly. "Even looking back on those times, you didn't truly love me back… did you?" He looked back at her skeptically. She did not respond. He knew what that meant.
"I should have waited instead of being so… foolish…" he sighed. "I just… really needed to get that off of my chest."
She stared at him. He had changed so much. Even just the way he looked before her now, he looked so different.
"Can I just ask you something?" she said. He nodded, almost looking embarrassed.
"Why are you doing this… attacking this village I mean?"
Bo looked down at the ground. His face cringed slightly, as if remembering something terrible.
"My brother… Awane. I believe you met him before." He closed his eyes. "…He died. And his friend took over the clan, even though I was supposed to be his heir. He decided that our pack needed more land to call our own. And so… we have been attacking many villages… and I have not been taking part."
Her eyes softened. "I'm… so sorry, Bo-chan… if there is anything I can do…"
He took her hands again. "Come with me…"
Her eyes widened. "I… I don't know…"
He let them go and looked down sadly. "I'm sorry, I'm doing the same thing all over again… you don't love me, and I understand that. It's just… I have no one left…" He looked away from her. She could see tears gathering in his eyes.
"Bo-chan…" she said softly, trying to comfort him, "…maybe… you could stay with us for a little while… until things die down for you?"
He looked at her with widened eyes. "…You would do that?"
She gave him an expression of sympathy. "Of course."
"But what about Sesshomaru? He would not let me stay…"
Hanako looked away. She had forgotten Sesshomaru for a moment. Bo had a point; Sesshomaru would never let Bo stay. He hated Bo, and he would be angered if Bo were to join them. She sighed lightly.
"…I will try to get it past him…" she said quietly. She turned around and waved her hand. "Come… he is probably already angry with me for talking with you…" She began to walk back into the village, Bo at her side. She could see Sesshomaru in the distance, eyeing them with anger. They grew closer.
"That was more of a moment than I wanted, Hanako," he grumbled.
Hanako glared at him. Now he is just being stupid…
She closed her eyes and concealed any annoyance. "Lord Sesshomaru…" she said, bowing to him, "I need to ask you a very big favor…"
He raised an eyebrow. He looked at Bo for a moment. His eyes pleaded to him as well. He knew exactly what she was going to ask him.
"…Can Bo-chan stay with us for a little while…?" She glanced up to observe his facial expression. Usually when she expected him to be angry, he wasn't. But this time was different.
"No," he said. He turned around and began to walk away. "I expect you to follow, Hanako. Do not think I shall hesitate to leave you behind."
She bent upward, hurt by his words. She laid her head down low. Bo looked at her sympathetically and put an arm around her for comfort.
"You mean… you don't even care if I'm there or not?" She lifted her head to look at him. He stopped walking. His back was facing her.
"… What does that have to do with anything?" he said with fleeting nervousness, "I believe we have different matters on our hands at the moment." He turned his head, seeing her hurt expression. He felt a pang of regret for his previous choice of words, but pretended it was non-existent, and went on speaking.
"Enlighten me," he said to her, "Why is it that I should allow him to stay with you?"
"Because…" she stammered, "He lost his elder brother… he's all alone…"
He could have laughed if he was not so upset with her. "And so you expect me to feel pity? You expect me to have mercy on him? You expect that to make a difference…?" He challenged her. He dared her to talk back to him. He knew her well enough to know she would never do it.
Her face went serious. Her glare deepened.
"…It should make a difference." She spoke with a cold tone, one he was not used to. "The only being it would not make a difference to is someone who… is just terrible."
His eyes widened. He waited for an apology. She never stopped glaring at him. No apology came. She did not regret what she had said to him. He glared back at her. Still, her sudden attitude was unflinching.
…Just terrible… The words rang through his head like bells.
He closed his eyes in disgust and turned away. "…Do what you want. It makes no difference to me…"
Her eyes widened. "…Really?" She pondered what she had done to convince him.
Bo came forward slowly, his eyes at the ground. "…Thank you… Sesshomaru…"
One demon from the tribe looked at Bo with a skeptical face. "Bo… Where're you off to? You goin' somewhere?"
"Go on without me… I'll catch up… eventually…" his voice was far away. His gaze was set on Hanako. He still felt the same. He was still in love with her…
Sesshomaru said nothing and began to walk away. Hanako began to follow, Bo close behind her. They both followed him up the hill, where Jaken was waiting with Aun. Jaken nearly fell over at the sight of Bo.
"We will be walking through the night," Sesshomaru said over his shoulder, eyeing Bo one last time before he completely blocked out everything behind him and looked forward. He sensed bad things coming his way. He loathed him and Hanako together behind him. He grit his teeth and went forward.
Hanako could sense his anger. She felt terrible about calling him terrible. She did feel bad for Bo as well, but she almost felt worse for Sesshomaru. This was all her fault: and it was the last thing that he ever had wanted. Her eyes shifted to Bo for a few moments, and then to Jaken, who was asleep on Aun along with Rin. She looked to Sesshomaru.
Lord Sesshomaru… I wonder… if sometimes you get lonely too…?
She ran up to him, leaving Bo behind her. He stared after her, almost about to say something, but for some reason stopped himself. She ran up to Sesshomaru's side.
He was shocked to see her there. She looked up to him with glittering eyes. She smiled. His eyes widened and he looked away. He could feel his face getting red. Why did she smile at him, when not so long ago she was glaring at him? She was most confusing…
She looked down, a smile still on her face. She couldn't help but think it was cute when he was so surprised. It was an expression that he did not wear often. She wanted to see it again.
She moved her hand over to his and grasped it lightly. She clasped his hand in hers.
He felt her touch. His heart pounded faster and faster. His stomach churned. He looked at her with confusion. He was dumfounded.
She observed his seemingly displeased expression. The reality of what she had done came into her sight, and she pulled her hand away out of humiliation. She looked down at her feet, her face scarlet red.
She suddenly felt him grab her hand back. For a moment, he just clung to her hand. His fingers laced between hers. She looked up at him, returning his confusion. He was staring straight ahead, not even acknowledging her, but there was something about his face. For the first time, he appeared tranquil. His eyes were smiling. He was happy.
Bo walked behind them, burning the image of them holding hands. Why? What was this? What was happening between them? A similar jealousy arose inside of him.
Sesshomaru could feel Bo's tension in back of him. He was now satisfied. He held Hanako's hand tighter, enjoying the feeling of her soft skin against his. For the first time, he did not think about it, for it was what it was.