I do not own IY-Rumiko Takahashi, I do own Yume, who's full name means "Beloved Dream"

~*~Sweet Dreams~*~

Ch. 4

Yume blinked as light shown in through the blinds. Rin was already awake and smiling at her.

"What?" she blinked more and then tried to get up but then felt a weight on her.

She looked down and Sesshoumaru had somehow laid his head on her lap as his arms wrapped around her waist. She blushed furiously.

'Do I wake him up and upset him or embarrass him or do I just let him sleep and then be mad at me?' she wondered.

A bit of perspiration caught her eyes. He was drenched in sweat as he clung to her as though he was afraid of something. She couldn't let him go on like that and suffer through his nightmare or whatever.

She put her hand over his forehead and lifted his wet hair. "Sesshoumaru? Sesshoumaru?" she said over and over and then shook his shoulder some.

Rin just sat there and blinked, "Why is Lord Sesshoumaru wet?"

"I don't know." Yume said and then shook him once more. That…was a mistake.

His grasp tightened and his nails turned into claws, ripping her skin. She cried out in pain and he got up quickly. Looking at her as though she was insane, he lifted a brow. "What is your problem?" and then he caught the sent of it. Blood.

She wrapped her arms around her stomach and felt wetness. She brought her hands around and looked at the blood dripping. "Oh…dear?" she blinked and swallowed hard. "That…is not good."

Sesshoumaru, for a moment wondered what happened and then remembered someone calling his name in his dream. He took her hands in his and brought her up, turning her around.

"Ow!" she cried as he lifted up her shirt and touched around the claw marks.

He turned to see Rin who had just gasped. "Yume hurt!" Rin cried and jumped up to look at her back too.

Sesshoumaru put Yume's shirt back down and told Rin to go get Kagome and Sango. Rin nodded and ran out the door.

Rin ran down the steps and to the living room where she saw Inuyasha clinging to Kagome's middle and Miroku and Sango with their hands entwined.

She ran over to Kagome and tripped over Inuyasha. Inuyasha sprung into the air and looked around. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" he yelled and looked down at the little girl who was crawling over to Kagome, who was rubbing her eyes.

"Hmm?" Kagome blinked and looked at Rin, "Hey Rin, what's the matter? You look scared."

Rin was out of breath but tugged at Kagome's hand, "Come on! Yume need your help!"

Kagome's attention ignited as she got up and ran up the stairs. Rin woke Sango up and told her that Yume needed help.

By the time Kagome got into the room, she was amazed at what she saw.

Sesshoumaru had made Yume lay down on her stomach and had taken her bloody shirt off. She had a blanket around her upper back as he looked at the marks. He turned to Kagome, "I need some medical items. Where do you keep them?"

Kagome blinked and then put her finger up as she ran out and into the bathroom. She grabbed the first aid kit from the medicine cabinet and ran back in the room, almost falling over Sango.

Sango took the kit and handed it to Sesshoumaru who was kneeling by Yume. Yume was wincing as he took a swab and alcohol to her back.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! THAT HURTS!!!!" was what made Miroku and Inuyasha run up to the room.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!" Inuyasha yelled at his brother who had just cleansed the injuries.

Miroku peered over Sesshoumaru's shoulder and said, "It seems he stabbed her about…10 times."

"I did not stab her…with a knife." Sesshoumaru said and took out the gauze. Kagome had gotten some warm water and he wetted it. "Get on your knees and hold the blanket." he said firmly.

Yume whined as she did what she was told. Clinging to the cloth, he put the gauze on her and wrapped the bandage around her. He would reach in front of her, grab the bandage with the other hand and repeat it.

Yume would be blushing right now had she not hurt so much. He knew this was beyond personal space but he couldn't just let someone else do it. It had been his bloody fault! Literally bloody! He growled as he stretched out more and then took a clip and fastened the bandage.

He looked around, "Do you have another shirt?"

Yume nodded and grabbed her bag. She had to go out of the room and into the bathroom to change as Miroku's hand drifted towards her. She backed away quickly as the sight of his hand came into vision, knocking into Sesshoumaru. He caught her and set her right up with his hands on her shoulders, careful of not hurting her more.

She nodded her thanks and Sango restrained Miroku for a while Yume passed. She closed the door and took the blanket off, replacing it with a black shirt that had an angel in fire that read, "Oops? I went to hell." (I once actually had that shirt…cept I 'outgrew' parts of it lol, it sucked--my fave shirt too)

She looked at herself in the mirror and threw cold water over her face. She breathed heavily and then winced. 'Note to self…don't breathe.' she thought and walked out, meeting the others in the room.

Sesshoumaru had taken her shirt and some stuff he had brought and sat on the bed. He scrubbed at the blood stains and growled. Rin was sitting by him and then looked up, "Yume! Are you okay?!" Rin got up and ran to her.

Yume smiled and picked Rin up, wincing a bit as her injury stretched as she bent down some. "I'm fine." she said with a smile but Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru could smell her pain. It was like an aroma that they knew first hand.

"Rin was so scared!" Rin cried and clung to Yume.

"It's okay." Yume smiled more and nodded to Sesshoumaru, "I'm not hurt anymore. Sesshoumaru took care of that."

Rin sniffed, "I know but you were crying."

Inuyasha and the others saw a flicker and looked over to Sesshoumaru's eyes as he was oh-so-intent on getting the blood out of Yume's light blue shirt. Yume and Rin, however, didn't notice it at all for Yume had started to tell Rin a tale.

"…and then her father had left her and her mother." they all looked back over to her.

Rin's eyes widened, "What happened then?"

Yume sighed softly, "The girl's mother remarried a mean man."

"Why did he do that?" Rin blinked and tugged on Yume's hand.

Yume smiled slightly, "You see, the man was very nice…until they were married. Then he would hit the girl and her mother and he'd insult them and say things that should never have been said."

Rin's eyes widened more, "But…why didn't they know that he was a mean man?"

Yume smiled at the girl's curiosity. "Because looks can be deceiving."

"What's that mean?" Rin asked and the gang, all but Sesshoumaru, Yume, and Rin stayed where they were.

"Deceiving…it means that just because you see something pretty or wonderful, it doesn't mean it is."

Rin tilted her head, "What could ever be like that?"

Yume smiled, "A rose has prickly thorns. They are beautiful to look at but if you don't handle them carefully, you can get hurt." she paused and glanced over to Sesshoumaru, almost sure he'd looked at her at that moment. But when she saw him, he was still trying to get that blood out. "You don't have to do that." she said with a small voice.

Sesshoumaru looked up a moment and paused. "It's my fault, I'll clean it."

Yume shook her head and he was befuddled for a moment until she spoke, "No, Sesshoumaru. It's not your fault you had a nightmare. No one can prevent them."

Rin looked over to Sesshoumaru and then looked at Yume, "Sesshoumaru had a nightmare?"

"Yes." Yume nodded.

Rin smiled at them both and then said, "I'm glad I'm not the only one that has nightmares."

Yume laughed, "No, Rin, everyone has nightmares."

"Do you remember yours?" Rin asked curiously.

Sesshoumaru cleared his throat, "Do not impose on her thoughts, Rin." he said calmly and then went back to cleaning the shirt.

"Sorry." Rin said softly and looked down at her hands.

Yume smiled, "Yes."

Rin looked up, "I'm sorry."

Yume grinned more, "Rin, I do remember some of my nightmares."

"You do?" Rin asked and then was all ears.

"I don't mind at all telling you what my nightmares were. They are just things we are afraid of."

"Fears are worthless." Sesshoumaru grumbled.

Yume looked at him and smiled, "No, not really." she paused and then continued, "It just makes you know what you can't go through."

"Can't is not in Sesshoumaru's dictionary. He told me so." Rin smiled, proud that she had remembered such a thing.

"Can't is in everyone's dictionary, regardless of if you believe in yourself or not. There are just some things you can't do." Yume said and smiled at the girl. "We can't live on the sun, can we now?"

Rin shook her head, "No…not really."

"See? We can't do that so can't is in everyone's dictionary." Yume raised her chin a notch and smiled more.

Sesshoumaru, busy with the shirt, heard the explanation, 'Amusing…I would have not thought of that.' he thought to himself, 'Logical though.'

Rin smiled back, "Would you tell me some of your nightmares?"

"Sure, kid." Yume smiled and sat on the floor, biting her tongue and trying not to wince as she shifted position. Sesshoumaru watched her through hooded eyes to make sure she didn't kill herself.

"Goodie!" Rin sat down in front of Yume and leaned over as Yume leaned towards her.

"Yep!" Yume grinned and then started her story…

~*~

Glass windowed buildings surrounded her. She was with her real dad and her mom--the glass was the walls--there were no bricks, just beams holding the structures together.

Yume's attention locked over to a dark alley with a tiny tingle of silver. She begged her parents not to walk any more and to go back.

It was dark and all of a sudden…

BANG! BANG!

Yume stood frozen, seeing her parent's bodies fall to the ground. She peered at them with clouded eyes and tears falling.

"Momma…Papa!" she cried and edged away for she knew if she went any farther, she'd be slain as well. Brutally killed for the fun of it.

She turned and fled.

Alone.

No one was there.

No one cared for the little girl…

~*~

Rin's eyes had grown so big that Yume thought they'd never dilate again. "That was just one of your nightmares?!"

Yume nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

"I thought that you had a happy life. How could you dream of something so…sad." Rin sniffed some.

Yume shrugged, "I don't really know."

Sesshoumaru had stopped and looked at Yume's hooded expression as she had told the story. How her voice became strained as she told of how alone she was. Was that really a nightmare? Or was it just a nightmare…he silently hoped it was a nightmare.

Yume was laughing at Rin's funny face. Rin has tried to cheer Yume up and rolled her eyes up and stretched her face some as her mouth formed an O.

Yume held her sides as Rin told a cute blonde joke that she had learned from a friend of hers.

"A Russian guy said "We were the first in space!" and then an American said, "So what?! We were the first on the moon!" then a blonde girl said, "Well, us blondes will be the first on the sun!" the two looked at her and then one said, "But it's hot and bright! You'll burn up!" and the blonde rolled her eyes and said, "DUH! THAT'S WHY WE'RE GOING AT NIGHT!" Rin giggled.

Yume fell to her side and tried to stop laughing. She was humoring the girl. The joke wasn't that funny but it was okay to keep the girl's hopes up at her own expense.

Sesshoumaru's mouth slanted a bit and then he looked to Rin, "Rin, could you go play with Shippou for a while?"

Rin looked up bewildered and then smiled, "Of course! We have to be at a business meeting!" she grinned.

Sesshoumaru smirked. The way kids played today--business meetings? Sounded like him.

Rin stuck out her tongue in disgust, "But that means we won't be around each other for a long time! You know how that's like! We're never talking no more!"

Sesshoumaru's smirk faded. Sounded like him.

Yume smiled at Rin as the girl waved and pranced out the door. She peeked her head in again and smiled, "Get better, okay?!"

"I will." Yume promised and smiled as Rin closed the door quietly.

Sesshoumaru put the shirt down and came over by Yume. Looking down at her, he lifted a brow.

She couldn't believe how tall he was! Standing by him was bad enough but this guy was like…50 feet tall now! And then some…she snickered, 'Tall…'

His brows made a furrow as he saw her snicker, "What are you thinking about, child?"

Yume glared, "I'm not a child."

Sesshoumaru knelt beside her and she edged away some. "I'm not going to stab you again." he muttered.

"It's not that…" Yume said quietly and he nodded.

"Come on, get up." he said and she took one of his hands. His other had buried itself in the back of her neck, slid down some and touched her shoulder blades.

For such a egotistical rude guy, he was very gentle with her. He had basically lifted her off the floor with one hand. He made her let go of the other hand and slid his hand beneath her knees.

"You really don't have to--" she began and he shot her a glare.

"I do." he muttered and picked her up, looked at the bed that Rin had slept in and then laid her on it.

"But I don't like to be such a burden--"

"Enough." he said calmly and took the sheets and blankets and covered her up neatly.

"Damn you!" she cried and slapped him then gasped, pulling her hand back.

A muscle in his jaw clicked into place and he took her by the shoulders and dragged her into sitting position, glaring daggers in her eyes.

She struggled and tried her damndest to get away but to no prevail. There was no way she could escape his overwhelming masculinity. He was twice her size and pure muscle, like hell she could get away!

He growled and his golden eyes flickered with anger, "What was that for, brat?!"

She closed her eyes and tried to pull away. 'Maybe…just maybe if I close my eyes for a while and then open them, it will prove to be a nightmare…another one…oh please!' she cried out some as his fingers dug into her shoulders.

He growled and threw her down on the bed and stood up. She scurried over to the wall, still on the bed and trembled. She could have been attracted to anyone but an abusive asshole. That's not what she had in mind---

~*~

"Momma! Momma!" a small little girl that resembled Yume ran up and klung to her mother's leg.

"Now now, darling. Don't get all sad. I'll be back in a little while. He is going to watch you." she nodded to her newlywed husband.

The girl klung more and sniffed, "But I want to go with you!" she trembled as her mother knelt down.

"You can stay here. It will only be a little while." her mother kissed her forehead and then she left in the car.

"Come here." a loud booming voice made the child go rigid as she turned to the man.

'I don't want to…' she thought and shivered in fear.

"Come here." he said again in an order.

She didn't want to. But she knew she had to. If she tried to run, he'd catch her. If she tried to hide, he'd find her. If she tried to scream…he'd do something she didn't like at all…in the privacy of the house, of course.

He was tired of waiting for the small mite and took a few strides, took her by her ear and pulled her with him. She cried out some and followed suit. She wanted to run, to flee but if she tried--the door slammed.

You couldn't hear them outside but the cries to stop were echoing the hollow house. The girl…was trapped.

~*~

She trembled and closed her eyes, a tear that she forbade to fall…fell.

Sesshoumaru caught sight of it and wiped it away with unusually soft hands. She opened her eyes in shock as he took out the medic kit again. He sighed, "Your wounds have opened again because of me."

She didn't even think of it. She blinked and then felt the wetness of blood stream some down her bandage. She whimpered and winced as he pulled her away from the wall and turned around. "Put the cloth on again."

She silently thanked him in her mind for not looking. She hated herself…her scar that would seal any chance of her body making her feel perfect. That stupid scar…she sniffed some and took the shirt off. She then took a sheet and wrapped it around her chest.

He heard her sniff. He didn't turn around because he thought it was just because she was in pain. What he didn't know is really what kind exactly. He didn't know the pain that she harnessed and tried not to show, especially to young Rin. He just…didn't know.

He turned slightly and saw her sitting on the floor, not facing him and clothed as he had instructed. He picked up the kit and knelt behind her. His quick hands were skilled at such tasks so in a matter of seconds, the bloody gauze was gone and he was cleaning the wound again.

She could feel the gentle touch of his fingers as he steadied her by holding her arm. The gentleness was there but she could still feel the strong hold he had on her--and not just her arm, she added to herself.

He then made sure her hair was up in a bun, even though it was messy, and then wrapped more bandages around her small frame.

When he fastened the clasp, he sighed. Sniffing her shirt and getting an odd look from Yume, he threw the shirt on the blue one.

When she reached for it, he stilled her. "Sesshoumaru! Give me back my shirt! What the hell am I gonna wear?!"

Sesshoumaru put his hands over his shoulders and pulled his tank top (wife beater) off and handed it to her.

"OH HELL NO!" Yume fell over as she scurried away, "I AM NOT WEARING YOUR SHIRT!"

"You have no choice." he glared and tugged her back, placing the shirt in her arms.

"I HAVE A CHOICE!" Yume shot back and he glared.

"Just put it on."

"I will not." Yume crossed her arms.

"Don't make me have to put it on you." Sesshoumaru glowered.

"You wouldn't dare." she spit back.

He held her still as he slipped the shirt over her and took the sheet from under the shirt and put it on the bed.

"IT'S HUGE!" Sesshoumaru gave her an amused look and she blushed, "I…meant the shirt…on me…"

Sesshoumaru looked at her and if he enjoyed the view, she couldn't tell by his masked features. Truth be told, he couldn't remember when he saw anything more wonderful. She had tried to bring up the front some and he turned away, smirking.

She didn't catch the smirk though as she turned away from him and closed her eyes. Biting her tongue, she quickly started to make the bed.

Hearing the ruffling of the covers, he turned to see her movements. He strode over in about two to three long strides and then stilled her by placing his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, startled as he pulled her away from the bed.

"You should rest." he said calmly as though when he touched her, he felt nothing. But his pulse was racing…he just hoped she wouldn't notice.

"Sesshoumaru…thank you." she nodded and he looked at her.

'Why am I attracted to a tiny morsel like her…there is something…strange…' he shook the thought out of his head and made her lay down.

"Go to sleep."

"But--"

"Now." he said in a monarchial voice. As though he was king, she nodded and drifted into slumber.

He knelt down beside the bed and took her hand and sighed, 'Something…about you…' he thought and watched over her as though he just forgot he was a demon and became more of her guardian angel.

He would…

Become that angel…

The one that would protect her from everything…

Anything…

Even at the cost of his life--

*******

HMM?! A demon changing it's claws to wings? It's slits for eyes for a halo? What will happen?!

Kage1586

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