Recap: "No, you're right I don't need a nap anymore," she said, facing him. A smile had crept to her lips as she was trying desperately not to laugh, and she was still blushing, which wasn't helping matters. "Well, I think I'll go change for the day." She hopped off the bed, humming Gackt, and left the room.

"I hate mornings..." Sesshoumaru grumbled to himself.

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"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin called, running down the hall to him when he emerged, fully dressed, from his room. "Rin-chan she really likes Angel-sama! Angel-sama helped Rin-chan last night when Rin-chan had a bad dream."

"I know, Rin," Sesshoumaru said placatingly. "Where is Angel?"

"The library," Rin said before skipping off again.

"She's in the library?" he said, talking to himself. He went to the library to find he sitting with three books opened before her, pouring over all of them, cross-referencing this and double-checking that.

"Sesshoumaru, how's you Chinese?" she asked when she noticed him.

"Decent," he responded. "Why?"

"I think found the perfect spell, but it's in Chinese and so are some of the instructions. I got the general idea from the Hiragana translation, but I can't read Chinese, nor can I speak it," she said without looking up. She simply continued flipping pages and jumping from one book to another.

"Show it to me," he said. She handed the book to him and pointed to the spell and its instructions. "Return from whence it came..." He read aloud. "It seems like a good spell for our purposes."

Angel beamed.

"I see only one problem," he said slowly.

"What's that?" she asked, peaking another look at the text as he continued to hold it.

"It says it must be performed by a mate." His voice was almost cautious.

"Those were some important instructions in the Chinese," she said, attempting to play off her shock. In her head she was saying, "What? A mate! Oh my god! What am I gonna do? What if this is the only spell we can find! Oh, shit! Oh, fuck! Oh, crap!"

"No, it's here in Japanese," he indicated with one clawed finger.

"That's Chinese," she said, sounding a bit confused.

"No, it's Japanese," he insisted, his eyebrows raised.

"Oh, I see. It's old-style kanji. How the hell am I supposed to read that?"

"Aside from that, it should suit our purposes..." he hesitated.

"What? Is something wrong?" she questioned, a hint of concern in her voice.

"No, nothing's wring from what I see... But, there is something that doesn't seem quite right," he elaborated. "The spell is meant to be said by a mate, but why would a demon who knows the value of one's mate to oneself write a spell to separate them?"

"Let it see that once more," she said, peaking over the side again. "I see, right here. Hiragana, 'iku' can mean he, she, it, we, they, etc. go/goes. I think it is meant to move both partners. I made a mistake choosing this spell."

For some strange reason, hearing her say that gave Sesshoumaru a funny, hollow feeling in his chest and stomach, as if everything inside him had been sucked out. "I suppose we will just have to keep looking... In the mean time," he tried to hide it. "I believe it is time for breakfast."

"Are you sure you're all right? Maybe Naraku hit you harder than we thought?" she suggested.

"I'm fine," his voice hardened.

"Now, you sound more like the old you. But, I'm not sure if that's a good thing." She gave him a lopsided grin. "You said breakfast, right? Let's go then." She walked out an in the general direction of the dining hall. Sesshoumaru was left standing there for a moment, wondering what she meant before following her. They sat at breakfast avoinding eye contact, glancing at each other occassionally. The uncomfortable silence this time was different from the tension of the two previous meals. This time, both were mulling over the morning's happenings and what was going to happen with any transportation spells. For a moment, each seriously considered doing what it took to perform the only nearly suitable spell they'd found.Then they rememberedthat it would mean bringing Sesshoumaru to Angel's world.

After this thought, Angel's mind strayed to memories of her father. How a man with no identifiable past managed to to become so successful. The story her father had told her had formed a mini-movie in her head. (One that will be posted as a separate chapter if you so wish to read it.) They both finished their food and went back to the library. Both knew they would have to take eventually.

"Thank you, Sesshoumaru," Angel said, making the decision to be the first to break the silence.

"Nani?"

"For bringing me back, I mean," she elaborated. "And for crying for me."

"Nani!" Oh, the humiliation! For this girl to know he shed tears for her. "I was only a child in that dream." He fumbled for an excuse.

She didn't know why she'd said it. She knew it would only create even more tension. And she thanked people about as often as she gave a heartfelt apology. And she usually wound up with her foot in her mouth. This was turning out no different. She'd been expecting Sesshoumaru to deny crying, but she wasn't prepared, nor did she understand why it hurt when he refused to admit he felt even the slightest inkling of affection towards her. "No, I know. I just meant.. thanks," she finished and hid herself behind a stack of 13th century texts.

It turned into yet another day of awkward silence and avoidance. At least this time they were less worried about Naraku, and Sesshoumaru did not even attempt to post a guard at her door when they each went tobed. An hour later, Angel was lying on her bed, flipping through a book in a last futile attempt to find a suitable spell before sleep. She placed the book on the floor and sat up when she heard someone knock on her door. For some strange reaon, her nose could not identify the person's scent.

She stood when she heard Sesshoumaru's voice on the other side of the door. "Angel-san?" Why was he being so formal all of a sudden?

"Come in, Sesshoumaru," she said.

I know it was a short chapter, but it was more of a set up for the next, far more dramatic chapter.