Chapter 46: Training Again
Kaori found herself on the bed wrapped up by the covers. Her legs were entwined with Sesshomaru's and her hair was fanned out around her on Sesshomaru's chest. How that felt! It had been so long since they had been like that. It was at first awkward, since some memories of Naraku were surfacing, but by the end of that, almost everything about Naraku's doing was erased. It was the best medicine ever.
Kaori turned to see some blood on the carpet. She was worried. Had Sesshomaru hurt her? But a cramp that shook her body made her think otherwise. Oh, Sesshomaru probably knew, so it was no wonder he had to close his eyes halfway through and paused. She felt Sesshomaru tangle his fingers in her hair and looked up at him. His eyes opened and he looked down at her.
"Can you get something on?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Why?" Kaori asked, slightly confused why Sesshomaru wanted her to change.
"Your blood is running down my legs," Sesshomaru said simply.
Kaori's eyes went wide and she quickly leaped out of the bed and ran to her backpack. She rushed through it, throwing almost everything out, looking for something in particular. She found it and roughly told Sesshomaru to look away. Sesshomaru was confused, but closed his eyes and turned to look at the wall. When he was allowed to look again, Kaori was dressed and cursing under her breath.
"Why are you so upset?" Sesshomaru asked, sitting up. "I'm the one with blood on my legs."
"You really don't understand. I prefer living in my time. And not being with you the nights I'm on this. It's hard to explain," Kaori said, quickly putting the box into her backpack. "I'm just glad I had some."
"Some what?" Sesshomaru asked, swinging his legs on the side of the bed.
"It's a future thing for girls. It doesn't really concern you," Kaori said.
"If it concerns you, it concerns me," Sesshomaru said.
"No, it doesn't concern you. I'm sorry, Sesshomaru. Just forget it," Kaori said. Though she told him not to, he put it in his mind never to forget it.
Kaori looked at his legs and laughed. "Yes, I know I need a bath," Sesshomaru said.
"I'll do mine later," Kaori said. "I'll see you later. I'm going for something to eat."
Sesshomaru headed to the spring that was attached to their room and quickly washed and dressed, joining Kaori downstairs. He found her talking to some servants. He heard her saying thank you and then smiled at him.
"Going somewhere?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Yeah. There's a study around here and I'd like to find it. I'll see you later," Kaori said with a smile and a kiss. She left up the steps. He looked around for something to do. Remembering the training grounds, he went there and trained for a while. He saw something at the corner of his eye in the palace and looked up at it. He found Kaori smiling down at him and then disappearing from the window. He raised an eyebrow and continued training.
Kaori just laughed in the chair she was at. The story was funny. She caught the attention of a servant who was dusting the books.
"Something funny, princess?" A servant asked.
"Who, me?" Kaori asked, looking up from her book. The servant nodded. "Oh, not really. This book, that's all."
"You can read? Many do not," the servant said, turning back to her dusting.
"Yes, I've heard. I must be unique then," Kaori sighed. She place a bookmark that was in her pocket and set the book aside.
"Do you like reading?" The servant asked.
"Yeah, especially out loud," Kaori said with a smile, remembering the times she read to Sesshomaru. The romance novels were becoming one of his favourites.
"Very interesting, princess," the servant sighed.
"May I ask your name?" Kaori asked.
"Mie," the servant answered.
"Very nice name," Kaori said.
"Thank you, princess," the servant said.
"I'm flattered you continuously call me princess, but just call me by name. It's Kaori," Kaori said.
"Nice name, Kaori," Mie whispered. None of her owners had ever told her they could call them by name, let alone talk to her like this.
"Well, Sesshomaru should be almost done. I hope I can see you later," Kaori said, leaving the study.
"Yes, me too, Kaori. Farewell," Mie said, reluctantly waving. Kaori waved back with a smile and left the room.
Kaori accidentally banged into Sesshomaru turning a corner. He helped her up with a playful shake of his head and asked where she was going.
"Well, I was looking for you, actually," Kaori said. "You?"
"Same," Sesshomaru answered.
Kaori laughed. "You were looking for yourself?"
"Very funny, Kaori. I can tell you are in a good mood," Sesshomaru sighed with a roll of his eyes.
"Well, I had a great night sleep last night," Kaori said, walking down the hallway with Sesshomaru. She held his arm with a smile.
"Did you enjoy last night?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Oh, yes. A lot. But I'm afraid we woke a lot of people last night," Kaori whispered with a blush.
"We? You were the one screaming," Sesshomaru joked.
"Excuse me! It was both our work! And plus, it had been too long." Kaori mumbled the last part with a darker blush.
Sesshomaru wrapped his arm around her waist with a smile. "I'm just teasing, you know."
"Yeah, I know," Kaori said, leaning her head on his arm. Kaori stopped when she realized they had just passed the library. "Want to be read a book?"
"Why not? We have a lot of free time," Sesshomaru said, turning around with Kaori and opening the door to the library. Kaori walked in and looked at a shelf. What book today?
She picked one off the shelf and flipped to the middle of the book. Love, love, love. She smiled. A love story, just by looking at the first paragraph on that page.
"Hmm, what about this one?" Kaori asked Sesshomaru. She turned to him and he was relaxed in the chair, waiting for Kaori to sit down.
"Don't care, just as long as it's our type," Sesshomaru said.
"It's rated M, just by looking at this page," Kaori sighed, reading the page completely. She closed her eyes and shook her head. They were going to be busy again that night. Sesshomaru smiled and patted his leg, indicating Kaori should sit down. She sat down, turning to the first page and started reading out loud.
Two servants nearby were listening while dusting and were fascinated this woman could read. They tried to drown out the voice, but it was hard, since there was no other sound. They exited out another door, not wanting to interrupt the woman's reading.
Later that night, Kaori rolled her eyes as Sesshomaru rubbed her back for the sixteenth time that day. She had hit an interesting part and he always either twitched his hand or rubbed her back to indicate his interest. She just wished he could keep still. She was only halfway through the book and his other leg was fidgeting. She sighed and folding a corner on that page, closing the book.
"Can you stop?" Kaori asked for the fifth time that night.
"Stop what?" Sesshomaru asked, looking at Kaori with confusion. His leg stopped, along with his hand.
"Just stop. It's getting annoying," Kaori snapped.
"Well, if you would stop reading, I could stop," Sesshomaru whispered into her ear.
"Sesshomaru, not tonight," Kaori sighed, placing the book aside. She tried to get up, but Sesshomaru pulled her back into his lap.
"Why not?" Sesshomaru asked in a whisper.
"I'm not in the mood," Kaori said, turning her head away.
"I could make you into the mood," Sesshomaru said, softly turning her head so she faced him. A hand travelled up to her chest. Her back arched into the touch, but she shook her head and backed away a little.
"Please, not tonight," Kaori asked in a whisper. She would love to continue, but she really didn't want to give Sesshomaru the biggest surprise of his life.
"What about tomorrow? One o'clock in the morning, maybe?" Sesshomaru asked, pulling her close to his body. She moaned and sighed, turning to him with a look of pain, like trying to resist.
"Uh, this is so hard," Kaori mumbled.
"Why are you resisting me?" Sesshomaru asked with a concerned face.
"It's not that, Sesshomaru. I loved to, but it's just, um, I can't. Last night was a mistake, but I'm just glad... Never mind," Kaori said quickly.
"Explain to me," Sesshomaru said. "Then I'll understand and then we can continue."
"Oh, Sesshomaru. I would love to, just it'll be so hard. So embarrassing. Sorry, Sesshomaru. I just can't," Kaori said. "Plus, if I do, you'll probably make me stop."
"Why do you think I would make you stop? Are you doing something wrong?" Sesshomaru asked forcefully. He didn't seem too much in the mood anymore.
"No, it's not wrong. Just you wouldn't understand," Kaori sighed. "Please, in a week. I'll re-read that story and we'll do this."
"No, we're doing it now. Just explain it to me. Let me understand," Sesshomaru said, her chin in his hand. "Please."
"Oh, Sesshomaru," Kaori sighed, leaning into him. "This will be so hard."
"Just tell me," Sesshomaru said.
"Well, um, you know about my heats and when I bleed?" Kaori asked. He nodded. She moved so she could face him. "Well, we use something to stop the blood from staining our clothes."
"What is it?" Sesshomaru asked. "And how exactly does it stop it? How does this concern our moods?"
"Let me explain. Well, it's a tampon and we insert it and it soaks up the blood. We have to replace it about every four hours during our bleeding times. This concerns us because, well, you know. Understand?"
Kaori's face was red and she hid it with her hands. She shook her head, shocked that she told him this. This was so embarrassing.
"Um, weird," Sesshomaru said, his face down. So, Kaori had to... Ugh. It somehow freaked Sesshomaru out.
"Yeah. Are you... Mad?" Kaori asked.
"It is odd, but it's how you deal. So, uh, will you remove it?" Sesshomaru asked.
"In front of you? That's why I told you to turn away this morning!" Kaori exclaimed.
He placed a light kiss on Kaori's lips and made his hand travel down Kaori's body. She gasped when he reached his destination, but he shook his head.
"I'll remove it," Sesshomaru said. "But it will be odd for both of us."
"Later, Sesshomaru. We ought to go to our room for this," Kaori said in a whisper. "We don't want everyone knowing what happened when they see the blood stain, huh?"
Sesshomaru smiled and picked Kaori up. He made his way carefully to their room and closed the door behind him. It was quieter, but if you passed by their room, you could hear small moans.
Kaori woke up with a small pain in her lower back. It was no wonder. Sesshomaru had her in a very different position than usual. She looked around to find Sesshomaru on his knees, scrubbing her blood stains. The first one was gone, so he was working on the second one.
"Mmm, Sesshomaru?" Kaori asked, turning in bed so she could see him better. He dropped the kerchief and smiled at Kaori.
"How did you sleep?" Sesshomaru asked.
"All right," Kaori yawned. "You?"
"Good," Sesshomaru said. He sat up on his knees. "Want a bath?"
"Oh, that would be so good," Kaori sighed, stretching her arms. "I missed yesterday's."
"I'll join you," Sesshomaru said, crawling next to her. He stood and picked her up with the sheets and made his way to the spring.
He removed the sheets and lowered her in. Taking his pants off, since he was shirtless, he dived into the water. Kaori laughed and splashed Sesshomaru when he surfaced. They enjoyed the bath. It was slightly red, because of the blood on both of them, but neither noticed.
Sesshomaru was washing Kaori's back when she gasped. A cramp shook her body and her fingers dug into the dirt at the bank, but then she relaxed into the touches of Sesshomaru.
"Are you all right?" Sesshomaru asked, letting the towel drop and wrapping his arms around her waist. She nodded and bent her head forward.
"I hate this time of the month," Kaori sighed.
"It's only a week and then you are back to normal," Sesshomaru whispered into her neck. "And it's not like you have to stop your usual activities. I didn't even notice when you first had yours around me."
Kaori smiled and turned her head to look at Sesshomaru behind her. "You are so sweet, you know that?"
"Yeah, I know," he said, placing a kiss on her lips. "But so are you."
Kaori smiled and swam around, enjoying Sesshomaru's company and the warmth of the water. Neither wanted to leave the water. It felt so nice to have each other's company and the water. It also helped that both were unclothed.
Sesshomaru kissed Kaori after trapping her between his arms and she smiled.
"This is really romantic, Sesshomaru. You should do it more often," Kaori whispered.
"Yeah, I know. But those candles, some rose petals and without your heat would be so much better," Sesshomaru said with a smile.
"Yeah, I guess I can agree with you there," Kaori sighed. He kissed her cheek and then her lips again.
Sesshomaru turned her head and kissed her neck and she sighed. Oh, this was so nice. They could stay here forever. It wasn't exactly progressing to anything further, and it was so sweet how it was just soft and romantic kisses, but they couldn't stay all day. Eventually the water would get cold and then Kaori would need to get out or get sick. But until then, she was content.
Kaori's body shook again by another cramp and she clenched her eyes. Sesshomaru rubbed her back and licked her neck. Once the experience left, he continued kissing.
"Perhaps I should get out. This will become a blood bath, not a regular bath if I don't," Kaori said, turning her head to face Sesshomaru.
Sesshomaru smiled and nodded, understanding her logic. He also left the bath. He then noticed the hint of blood in the water.
"Will it go away?" Kaori asked.
"Eventually. It'll either dissolve or mix into it. No worries," Sesshomaru said, placing a hand on her lower back and leading her to the door to their room. She dressed quickly and didn't tell Sesshomaru to look away when she inserted another tampon. But Sesshomaru did anyways. He disliked it.
Kaori wore the red rose kimono again, with the pin as well, and was complimented by Mie when she walked down the hall.
"Kaori, that kimono is so flattering on you," Mie said with a lot of enthusiasm. She had talked to the other servants and found it was not unusual for Kaori to be nice.
"Thank you Mie," Kaori said, twirling a little.
"When Sesshomaru, no sorry, Lord Sesshomaru has a banquet or a ball, wear that. It will be so nice," Mie said. Kaori had no idea what Mie was talking about, but nodded and agreed. She excused herself and made her way back to their room. Sesshomaru had just finished scrubbing the blood stain out.
"Do you hold banquets or balls?" Kaori asked demanding.
"Excuse me?" Sesshomaru asked, turning around to see Kaori. "Where did you learn that?"
"A servant told me. Now tell me, do you hold banquets or balls?" Kaori demanded, her hands on her hips.
"I used to. When I actual was in my palace. It has been hundred of years since I've been there, though," Sesshomaru said, standing. "Why do you ask?"
"I didn't know you had those. If I knew, I would have had one for our marriage and daughter and all that stuff," Kaori whined.
"Hey, trust me, you do not want a ball or banquet. Those fancy, stuck up lords and ladies will only put you down. They will not respect you. I've had to deal with it for years. Just trust me on this one," Sesshomaru said, embracing Kaori. "So don't get mad at me, ok? I don't like banquets or balls, so please don't hold one, ok?"
Kaori nodded and pulled away a little. "I was just mad because it was more a shock that this servant knew more about you than I did. About how you held banquets and balls. I didn't mean to sound so angry," Kaori sighed. "Sorry."
"No problem. How about we go have something to eat? You must be hungry," Sesshomaru said, and then remembered the night before. "Or maybe not. You know, with last night and all..."
Kaori whacked his chest, rolled her eyes and shook her head, exiting the room. Sesshomaru rubbed the sore spot a little and then followed Kaori, closing the door behind him.
They saw no one in the dining room, but, to Kaori, it wasn't much of a shock. The servants didn't eat in the dining room and no one else was around, so why would there be anyone in there? Kaori sat down with Sesshomaru across from her and let a few servants lay some food down for her. She just munched and thought perhaps Sesshomaru was right. She didn't eat much, but had almost half of her meal, but Sesshomaru had none. He disliked chicken, which was being served, and the blueberries looked nasty. Kaori didn't even touch the blueberries. They left the dining room and just wandered around, trying to find something to do. Eventually getting bored, Sesshomaru left Kaori so he could train while Kaori went to the study to finish reading the book she had left in there. She didn't see Mie in there dusting this time, but she didn't mind. The silence was needed to finish reading the book.
Sesshomaru destroyed the second dummy of that day by accident. Shooting it with his Poison Whip was ruining them instantly. They would burst into pieces and he always sighed. These dummies were so weak. They could barely take his punches and kicks.
Kaori found the training grounds and Sesshomaru just after finishing her book. She was silent and just stood to watch. Sesshomaru had his back to her and she hoped Sesshomaru wouldn't see her.
But Sesshomaru saw something at the corner of his eye and, thinking it was a dummy, he ran at it. He found it was Kaori, her eyes wide, and he stopped just after grabbing her neck.
"So sorry. Mistaken you for one of these dummies," Sesshomaru said, lowering his hand. She rubbed her neck. He caressed her neck after she was done and apologized once again. "What ever happened to you avoiding those attacks?"
"I haven't trained in a while," Kaori said, walking past Sesshomaru and looking at the dummies. She saw two destroyed ones to the side and raised an eyebrow at Sesshomaru. "In a bad mood or something?"
"No, they're just weak. I shot them with my Poison Whip and they just burst," Sesshomaru told Kaori. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Kaori. "Hey, would you like to train? Is that why you came down here?"
"No, I came to watch you, but now you're not going to concentrate because I'm watching, aren't you?" Kaori asked.
"Oh, how sweet. Maybe you can join me? I won't be as tough as I used to," Sesshomaru whispered into her ear after wrapping her arms around her waist.
"From how you're acting now, you won't be tough at all, will you?" Kaori asked, looking at him from the corner of her eye. He smiled and she knew the answer. "Fine, I'll train. Just please don't hurt me too much. I have to get used to this."
Sesshomaru released her and saw her just stand there. Sesshomaru shook his head and took her wrists. "Remember the position I told you to be in? It's like this," Sesshomaru criticized, moving her hands into position. He also moved her legs into position.
Kaori was very weary with the position and sighed.
"Now, blocking. Remember that?" Sesshomaru asked. He sent slow punches her way and Kaori's mind was working in overdrive as she tried to remember the correct ways to block his punches. She got them all correct, but then all of a sudden, Sesshomaru tripped her and she yelped as she fell on her back. "Rule number one: Never let your guard down."
"Oh shut up," Kaori snapped, accepting his hand to get up. He tripped her again and she grunted as her back hit the ground again. He shook his head with shame.
"You don't listen, do you?" Sesshomaru sighed, offering his hand again. Kaori glared at him and got up herself.
"Shut up," Kaori snapped. "Now I know why I stopped training."
Kaori walked past him with a glare, cursing him under her breath. He felt slightly bad for angering her. He had warned her that he wasn't going to be going as hard on her, but it didn't mean he was going to be easy.
"Hey, Kaori," Sesshomaru called out.
"What?" Kaori snapped, almost entering the palace.
"I'll try to go more easy on you if you return," Sesshomaru called. It was silent and Sesshomaru turned to see if she was coming. She was, but slowly.
"Promise?" Kaori asked.
"Yes. I realized you are slightly sore from last night and that you aren't used to being injured yet, so I shouldn't have been so mean," Sesshomaru said. "I'm sorry."
"Hey, it's ok. Just that was mean," Kaori said, accepting his apologize.
"Ok, so into that position..." Sesshomaru said and taught her all over again. He had gotten far, since he wasn't tripping her all the time like before, and she knew most of the ways already. He smiled at her just as the sun started setting and told her they were finished. She was sweating and sighed when he gave her the news.
"About time," Kaori sighed, wiping her forehead. "I thought I was going to die."
"Hey, how about you go cool down and I'll see you upstairs later?" Sesshomaru suggested.
"Sure. But what are you going to do in the meantime?" Kaori asked curiously.
"Just some training on my own," Sesshomaru answered. Kaori nodded and left him to his own training.
She was relaxing in the spring after the training when he showed up. He was sweating from his own training and smiled when he saw her relaxing in the almost still water. The only reason the water moved was because of her breathing. He stripped and joined her in the water, making almost no movements to the water. He swam over to her silently and caressed her cheek, making Kaori smile. He was suspicious to why she didn't startle, but he didn't question her at the moment. Giving her a kiss, Kaori's eyes opened with fear, but then calmed to kiss him back.
"Why were you afraid?" Sesshomaru asked.
"I was thinking of you when you touched my cheek, but when you kissed me, don't get angry or anything, but Naraku popped into my mind," Kaori said in a whisper.
"I understand. No worries now. It's just me," Sesshomaru said in a whisper, kissing her again. He dived underwater, confusing her greatly, but then she felt his tongue on her feet, she smiled and tilted her head back to the massage.
He splashed up when he was done, flipping his hair back. Kaori caressed his cheek and swam to him for a kiss, but he pushed her right back to the bank, preferring that she didn't go under during the kiss. His hands did some wandering, causing Kaori to smile, but it didn't last long. She moaned and broke away, her face turning away. He saw disgust, not pleasure. He removed his hands from her body and just looked at her with concern.
"Sorry," Kaori whispered, hanging her head.
"Naraku?" Sesshomaru asked. She nodded. "Perhaps I should leave then."
She snapped her head back to look at him. "No, don't. I want you to touch me, Sesshomaru."
"But if these memories keep resurfacing, I don't want to," Sesshomaru said, swimming away.
Kaori sighed, and looked at the water. She hated that Naraku brought her such depression and sadness. If it wasn't for that bastard, she would probably already been carried to the bed by now, Sesshomaru her kissing non-stop. She hit the water with hate, causing Sesshomaru to look at the door leading to the spring. He was drying himself with a towel roughly and was worried about Kaori when he heard the splash. But he sighed and sat on the bed, wondering if what he had done was right. If he didn't leave, she would have those memories resurfacing all the time he was with her. And more than anything, Sesshomaru wanted her seeing him, not that bastard. Sesshomaru sighed and threw the towel away. He just put his pants on and left the room. He needed some time alone.