Chapter Five

Em opened the glass door, shoved Sesshomaru into the shower and tuned the water to hot. 'Make sure he stays in there,' she said to Sara. 'I'll go get some towels.'

Sara smiled and Em exited, closing the door. Sara turned away from Sesshomaru, but still looked at him via the mirror.

'How long must I stay in here?' asked Sesshomaru.

'Until Em says. Um, can you stand for it to be warmer?' asked Sara.

'Yes, I suppose.'

Sara opened the door to the shower and twiddles the handle. She blushed heatedly as she was so near him. Her eyes fell on the shampoo and conditioner bottles on the shower floor. 'D'you want to wash your hair?' she asked.

Sesshomaru looked around. 'With what?'

'Shampoo.'

'Alright. What's shampoo?'

Sara's cheeks glowed brighter as she picked up a bottle of shampoo and poured some into her hand.

Sesshomaru's brow knitted in confusion as he surveyed the gel-like substance.

'It's okay,' said Sara. 'I'll do it.'

Sesshomaru knelt obediently so that Sara could properly wash his hair. Sara leaned into the shower, getting wet herself, and massaged the shampoo into his gorgeous hair. She was shuddering so much with suppressed joy and biting her lip so she wouldn't giggle that she was too distracted to notice that her white school blouse was soaked through thoroughly enough to be see-through.

As Sara put his head back into the spray, Sesshomaru glanced at her and discerned that underneath her shirt, there was something pink.

He was curious about what it was, since, in feudal times, women wore kimonos and robes.

Sara noticed him looking at her pink bra and crossed her arms over her chest. 'Hey!'

Sesshomaru looked away. 'My apologies. I didn't realise.'

'It's okay.' Sara washed the shampoo out of Sesshomaru's hair. 'Close your eyes.' He did so.

Unbidden to Sesshomaru's mind came a memory. A memory of Princess Sara. She was beautiful in her bright gown, smiling and laughing at something he had said. He felt her warm touch again on his hand. He screwed up his eyes against the emotions he felt.

'What's wrong?' asked Sara. 'Did I get soap in your eyes?'

Sesshomaru didn't answer.

'I'm sorry,' Sara said softly. She picked up the conditioner bottle. 'This will get the knots our of your hair.'

Sesshomaru didn't open his eyes but he nodded.

Sara squeezed some of the clear conditioner into her palm and smoothed it into Sesshomaru's silver mane, gently teasing out the knots and straightening the kinks.

Suddenly, Sara heard a high whistling sound in her ears. It exploded into a roar and her sight darkened. Sesshomaru sensed Sara's pause and looked up at her. Her eyes had gone stark white, even her pupils.

An image appeared in Sara's mind, sharp as day: it was Sesshomaru riding a powerful midnight-black war stallion, his silver hair rippling behind him like a flag. Sara herself and Em rode behind him; Sara on a dapple-grey and Em on a white mare. They were cantering across a rolling green meadow.

Then the images were gone. Sara's eyes went back to blue and she gasped as, disoriented by her vision, she lost her balance. She fell into the shower and Sesshomaru caught her. The glass door swung shut with a snick.

'Oooh,' groaned Sara.

Sesshomaru stood up and righted Sara. 'Are you-'

He was interrupted when Em opened the bathroom door. Her eyebrows rose up so far in surprise that they disappeared into her fringe.

'I leave you alone for a second and you're already having a shower with a guy you met an hour ago when he tried to kill you!'

'It's not like that!' cried Sara.

Sesshomaru predicted that this argument would take a while so he washed the conditioner out of his hair.

'And what happened to you?' retaliated Sara. 'Did you get lost on the way to your own linen cupboard?'

'That's nice! I take my time so you can spend a few minutes alone with the man of your dreams and you take a dig at me!' cried Em.

'Well…'

'Sara.'

'What?' asked Sara.

'Get out of the shower.'

Sara reluctantly got out of the glass shower.

'Sesshomaru, you can get out too,' said Em. He got out of the shower and Sara turned the water off. They both stood dripping on the tiled bathroom floor. Em chucked a few towels at them.

'Sara, you'd better come out with me so you can get your pyjamas on,' said Em. 'I'm sure that dear Sesshomaru would like some privacy.'

The girls left and Sesshomaru preceded to dry himself.

Sara got changed in Em's room and explained to Em about her vision. Em waited in the hall.

'You saw the three of us riding horses? Was it in feudal times?' Em asked the door.

'I dunno,' said Sara when she emerged with her sodden uniform under her arm.

The girls went to the bathroom door. Sara knocked.

'Sesshomaru? Are you okay in there?'

'Did you find me anything to wear?' asked the dog demon.

'No, sorry,' said Em. 'Just come out in a towel and we can wrap you in a blanket.'

'I can't do that!' exclaimed Sesshomaru.

'Hey!' shouted Em, still testy after her disastrous day at school. 'You wanna die? If you don't stay warm you'll get sick!'

There was a grumble from inside the bathroom. It sounded like subtle threats.

Em shook her head and went to the cupboard to get a blanket for Sesshomaru. She returned just as he opened the door.

One green towel was wrapped around his waist and he carried the other in his hand. He did not look impressed. He tossed the extra towel uncaringly at Em and grabbed the blanket, swishing it around his shoulders like a cloak.

Sara looked like she had been frozen at the happiest moment of her life. She was still staring at where Sesshomaru's chiselled torso had been exposed. Em poked her in the head.

'Breathe, breathe,' she instructed. 'Why don't you take our guest here into the lounge room and put on a movie?' Em took Sara's wet uniform from her and gave her Sesshomaru's second towel.

Sara lead Sesshomaru into the living room, hatching a plan to steal the towel that he was using after he took it off and have it framed.

Em gathered up his clothes from the bathroom floor and paused at his boots. Ooh, I love his boots. Maybe he'll lend them to me…

In the living room, Sara picked up the discarded and container of melted ice cream. 'We wouldn't have finished it anyway,' she explained to Sesshomaru before she put it back in the freezer. 'There's been to much ice tonight.'

Em came into the living room and laid her bundle of clothes out on the floor. 'I'll dry them in a moment,' she explained.

Sara threw Em a towel. They grinned at each other and leapt at Sesshomaru. Since his arms were pinned to his sides by the blanket, Sesshomaru couldn't fight the girls off as they rubbed the water out of his hair.

When his hair was completely dry, Sara took her brush out of her school bag and began to brush it out.

'Do you mind?' Sesshomaru asked irritably.

'No, I don't. In fact, it's my pleasure,' said Sara.

'That's not what I meant.'

Em put a movie on and sat down on the floor near the wet clothes. She channelled the power of fire through her hand and used the heat to dry the clothes. It wasn't all that effective.

When Sara had transformed Sesshomaru's hair into waves of silky smoothness, she put her right hand on Em's shoulder. 'Let's try and join our powers,' she suggested.

Hot air blew from Em's hand, sucking the moisture from the clothes and drying then in less than one minute.

'That is so wicked!' said Em.

Sesshomaru collected his white underclothes, thinking it pure stupidity to put all of is ceremonial robes on, and went into the bathroom to put them on. While he was in there he fluffed up his tail so it didn't look quite so bedraggled.

He returned to the living room and Em and Sara took seats on either side of him.

'Sesshomaru,' began Em.

'Can we style your hair?' finished Sara.

'Style?' asked Sesshomaru.

'Oh, yes, it's really big here,' said Sara.

'Fine.'

Sara and Em grabbed a dozen hair bands and commenced work. The movie was halfway finished when the girls leaned back in their seats and rested their aching fingers. Sesshomaru looked quite similar to a golliwog; the girls had plaited his hair to tightly that it nearly stood up by itself.

'This is big here?' asked Sesshomaru.

'Yeah… It'll make your hair all wavy,' said Em and Sara looked like all her Christmases had come at once.

Sara went to put her now dry uniform in her bag.

'Wait a second,' called Em.

Sara waited.

'Your bed's almost ready,' said Em slyly. 'All you have to do is pump up the air mattress.'

'But that'll take ages!'

'Sara, you have the power of wind.'

Sara blinked. 'Right.' She went into Em's room.

Em folded up the rest of Sesshomaru's clothes. 'I'll go to bed soon,' she said to Sesshomaru. 'Will you sleep tonight or would you rather… do something else?'

'I shall sleep.'

'Okay,' said Em, standing up and handing the clothes to Sesshomaru. 'My mother is out tonight so you can sleep in her bed. Just come with me.'

She led the demon to her mother's room and made the bed quickly. There was an awkward moment where Em stood expectantly and Sesshomaru wondered what she was waiting for.

'Right, then. Uh, you're welcome and call me if you need anything and if you wake up early you can… do whatever,' babbled Em uncertainly. 'Night.'

Em practically ran out of the room and into the bathroom where she picked up the blanket and the towel that Sesshomaru had discarded. She put the blanket back into its cupboard and folded the towel. Then she went into her bedroom.

Sara was already in her bed. 'Did you say anything about me to him?' she asked.

'No,' said Em. 'I'm going to put on my pyjamas, aren't you going to tell Sesshy goodnight?'

Sara bolted out of the room.

Em rolled her eyes and put on her nightclothes.

Sara returned in a daze. 'He wasn't wearing his shirt…'

Em laughed. 'Okay, Miss Obsessed. I have something for you.' Em handed her the towel.

'A towel?'

'Whose towel?' asked Em impishly.

Sara squealed. 'Sesshy's towel!' She flung herself onto her bed and clutched the towel to her face.

Em got into her own bed and hugged her stuffed Jack from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. 'Don't suffocate on it.'

Sara sighed. 'I love his hair.'

'And everything else about him,' supplied Em.

'Yeah. But where will he stay? My grandparents' house is full as it is and, still, they wouldn't let me keep him.'

Em thought a moment. 'If I tell mum that he's been kicked out of home, she'll let him stay.'

'Lucky you.'

Em laughed at her friend's jealously and switched off the light.

'I'm glad you're feeling happier,' said Sara.

Em hugged Jack tighter. 'Thankyou for caring so much.'