Ch 13:

The Serious Chapter

"Damn it, Sesshomaru!" Sky screamed at him. "I loved that bike! Why'd you have to go and destroy it! It's not like I was going to crash into you or anything! I know how to drive!" The demon had caught her, but now dropped her into the dirt, and started walking away. Sky scrambled to her feet and followed him, still shouting. "My dad gave me that bike! It actually meant something to me! And to think that a couple of minutes ago, I had been happy to see you..."

"Are you finished? Walk faster. I left Rin at the tavern to come get you." Sky stopped yelling, her voice became worried, and she walked faster, so that she was walking right next to Sesshomaru. She was getting bad vibes.

"Well, it's not like I asked you to come... why didn't you just bring Rin with you? She's so young, she shouldn't be left at the bar... what if Mara Rose left her to go to the bathroom? She's so young..." Sky was now walking faster then Sesshomaru, then started sprinting. Aggravated with how slow she was, Sesshomaru picked her up and began to run, leaving Jaken in the dust.

They were back at the tavern in a heartbeat. Sky jumped out of Sesshomaru's arms, and ran into the common room.

No sign of Rin or Mara Rose. She raced up the stairs and looked inside Mara Rose's room; empty. Sprinting, she slammed Rin's door open, then stopped. Sesshomaru was standing in the middle of the room, note in hand. Sky slumped against the wall and slid to the floor. "Shit." She whispered.

"This smells like the person you disappeared with." He strode over to where Sky was, and lifted her by her shirt to where she was eye level. "I think you'd better explain." She looked at him, not a trace of her usual brightness or animation in her face.

"I... some woman barged into my room, demanding my death. I went willingly enough; if she was going to kill me, I didn't want her to get all of you too, so I didn't make any noises that might have drawn you here."

"And you didn't even fight her about it? I find that hard to believe."

"Well, I didn't think she'd actually do it. She was such a blundering villainess, I didn't think she actually had it in her to kill me. I still wasn't going to risk your lives on it, though. And apparently, she did; she did shove me out of her little 'cloud' rig, after all. But this... well, I guess she'll just have to be punished." The tears dried in her eyes, which became cold and hard, like granite. "Let me see the damn note." He didn't move to give it to her, so she took it, snatching his arm and prying his hand open. Sesshomaru finally got a glimpse of how strong Sky really was. Putting her hand over the wrist of the hand that was holding her up, she said quietly, "Let go or I'll crush your wrist, Sesshomaru." He let her go, and without a sound her feet dropped to the floor. Quickly, she scanned the note.

'Sky,

Though you have so far escaped your doom, you will not be so lucky next time. I have taken your two comrades to insure that you and I will meet again. See! I AM a good evil person! Anyway, three days west from here, there is a large waterfall. Get there any earlier or any later then noon on the third day, and I will kill them. You must come to the waterfall alone. One sign of your body guard, and off comes their heads. Three days.

-Your Executioner'

Sky folded the note carefully, and went into her own room to get her pouch. After placing the note inside, she returned to Rin's room. Sesshomaru was still there.

"You coming?"

"The note said..."

"So? That doesn't mean you can't come with me. You seem to know this place pretty well. You probably know where the waterfall is, right?" He nodded. "I, on the other hand, don't; so if I'm going to get there in two and a half days, I'll need some help. And who knows if she's put traps in the way to slow me down?" Silence. "Please, Sesshomaru." For a minute, she was sure he would refuse, as he just stood there, staring at her.

Sesshomaru was stunned by the change in her. Banished was her happy smile and sparkling eyes. Instead in their place was this seriousness, this feeling of cold that radiated from her, her eyes like chips of ice in her face. She had lost the visage of the joyful traveler, and had assumed one of a cold-blooded killer. So, when she asked him to come with her, he took a moment to answer.

"Yes. Follow me." He said, and swept from the room. She followed him out into the common room. Everyone in there shrank into their seats, or quickly got out of their way as the two passed. It was quiet in the room for a while after they left, the coldness of their presence lingering in the air like whispers of death.

Once outside the tavern, Sky quickly fell instep with Sesshomaru, and they began the three day trek to the water fall. When they met up with Jaken, the dog demon told the toad to head back to the castle; he didn't want the frog/bird/ugly thing around. Jaken put up a small protest which Sesshomaru promptly ignored. The ugly little demon glared at Sky, suspecting she had something to do with his dismissal, but soon stopped and ran in the opposite direction when she glared back at him. Her eyes had been just as killer-cold as his master's when he smiled right before the first time he had killed him, but the woman's eyes were back lit with anger, hatred, and a touch of insanity (by the way, if you didn't see the episode where Sessho smiled, I suggest it, because he looks evil... and sexy. Great combo). This sent the spineless toad scurrying for home.

The two had been walking in absolute silence for almost two hours before it really started to bother Sesshomaru. He snuck a glance at Sky. Her face was still devoid of any emotions, staring directly ahead, gaze unwavering, lost in dark thoughts that he was not privy to. This side of her was new, and, he had to admit, unwelcome. He might even... miss... the happy, if slightly annoying, Sky. Just a day ago, if he had looked at her, he would have seen a(at the time) ever present shadow of a grin, that had hovered around her lips even when she had been yelling at him, which had been a lot. If he really wanted to think about it, he might find that he even missed her yelling at him. He snuck another glance, and this time his eyes collided with hers.

She was looking directly at him, and with a small shock he realized that they had stopped walking.

"Sesshomaru?" Sky was the first to break their long silence. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "Did you hear me? I said it's going to rain soon." A thunderclap boomed directly after her words, as if proving her right. The scent of rain was heavy on the air, but Sesshomaru had been too preoccupied to notice. He scowled. The human's odd behavior was upsetting him more then he had thought. "Hey, don't frown at me; I don't control the weather." A bit of the demon's irritation washed away. Though small and dry, that last sentence had almost been a jab at humor.

"Thankfully. Otherwise half the world would be dead from lightening." He grumbled, and Sky actually smiled slightly.

"Why, Sesshomaru, what a kind and true thing to say." She pulled her pouch off her wrist and began to rummage through it, coming up with a small black box and two pink and white striped sticks. "Here," she said, handing a stick to him. When he didn't move to take it, she frowned and said (sang), "Come on... it's good for you!" He reluctantly took the stick, earning a bigger smile from Sky. "I absolutely love mint candy. It's a great pick-me-up." She stuck one end of her mint in her mouth. "What? You just going to hold it all day? Go ahead, eat it. It's not poisoned." Then she continued looking through her bag. When she had finally found what she wanted, she turned to Sesshomaru, who had small pink stains ringing his mouth.

Sky started to laugh at him. She couldn't help it! He looked so cute with a little candy ring around his mouth. He was pouting too.

"It's sticky." He muttered.

"Well, yeah. It's candy. That's why it makes you feel better, because A, it's good, and B, it makes you laugh just to eat it. Getting all sticky is one of the best parts, along with making a mess." He was looking at her like she was a two year old, but it just made her laugh harder. It felt good to laugh, and Sky immediately felt more optimistic about rescuing Rin and Mara Rose.

As for Sesshomaru, it was a relief to hear her laugh again. You wouldn't think only a couple hours absence would make such a difference... he scowled at her, and tried to clean off the sticky mess. She had been right about one thing, though. The mint had been good.

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W.W. - Hey ya'll! I LOVE mints! When you need a pick-me-up, and no chocolate (or ice cream) is around, grab a handy-dandy mint candy! Let it melt in your mouth, or, if you're angry, crunch that bastard to bits! Also, it freshens your breath!

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Sky watched a few seconds, amused, as he tried to wipe the ring away. Obviously, he had never eaten candy before, or heard about its stubborn nature. The second thing she had pulled out of her pouch had been a couple of moist towellettes (I wasn't able to find the correct spelling for that, so sorry if it's spelled wrong!) A brilliant invention, that had not been changed in the future except to make them never dry, and evaporate into oblivion when you were done. Walking over to him, she pushed his hands away, and grabbed his chin, going to work on the stains.

Sessho: -.-U "What. Are. You. Doing."

"I'm wiping the sticky mess away, since it seems to bother you so much. Now shut up." She didn't look him in the eye once as she said it, totally concentrated on cleaning. "There! All better!" Another rumble of thunder shook the heavens above them, much louder and closer then the first one. The dark path was briefly illuminated by a lightening strike. Sky released his chin, and looked up at the heavens. "It looks like it's going to be a real doozy." She glanced at Sesshomaru. "Did you know rain here smells different then on either my mother or my father's home planets? On Hyincea - my mom's planet - it smells like iron. On Dransorthe, it smells like a burning cranchite. I think it's the atmosphere." She had lost him. Too many strange words. "I like this planet's rain. It's not as sweet smelling as Sconth-ki-kik's, but it's very... comfortable." Sesshomaru rolled his eyes, and Sky pinched him, then held the black box high over her head. Though Sky was tall, it was only a few inches over Sesshomaru's head.

"Sesshomaru, lift this box over your head and push the little red button."

"Why?" He asked, suspicious. Sky hid a smile behind her hand. He looked so cute when he was annoyed, and the sight of him with the candy ring kept popping into her head...

"It's to keep the rain off. I'm sure it takes a long time for your tail to dry out." She looked longingly at the tail (I LOVE the tail!). He raised the box over his head and pressed the button. "Better move your hand." Sky warned, and he quickly let go of the box. Immediately, it flattened out and shaped itself into a large circle, using sensing lasers to make sure how big it should be. They heard a small whining noise, then for a second their vision of the world was blurred as a 'veil', of sorts, encircled them. Soon it stopped moving, and their view was crystal clear.

Sesshomaru did not like being closed in, so he tore through the veil into the outside world. It let him pass with no resistance.

"What the hell is that." He demanded to know. She raised an eyebrow.

"It's an umbrella. The shield is to keep splashes off you, and allow you to see better through the rain." He was still suspicious. Sky sighed. "It'll keep you dry... unless you stay outside of it." She walked over toward him, and the umbrella followed her, quickly re-enveloping the demon when she reached him, without him feeling anything but a slight raise of hairs on his arms and neck. "It follows me because I have it's locator in my pouch." She raised the pouch and waved it in his face. "The shield keeps out anything smaller then a fist. That's how come you can pass through it." Another rumble of thunder, and the first few rain drops began to fall. Sky was right: they stayed completely dry, except for their shoes.

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W.W. - Just a bit of useless information. Sky's shoes are made out of metallic fabric: extremely durable, relatively light, comfortable, and they never rust. The material grows on domenterro's... purple, short, and hairy trees.

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Sesshomaru was forced to stay close to Sky or get wet, and Sky once more became silent and brooding. The rain drumming on the umbrella was the only noise in the whole world, it seemed. Well, besides the sound of the mud sucking at their feet.

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W.W.- I know I JUST had an A/N, but I have something important to say. My favorite teacher so far this year just died of a heart attack, and if you wouldn't mind... (All characters of every anime/manga/book/movie I've ever read/seen and liked, all my original characters in every story, my whole school... and you, if you would be so kind, gather in a large room)... I would like a moment of silence for a teacher who was awesome and made Bio II fun (room bows heads, and silence reigns). Thank you.

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Soon they came to a wide river, swollen and fast moving with rain. It was pretty dark, but they were lucky enough to stumble upon a rope bridge that crossed it. It looked unsteady, but Sky approached it anyway.

"Don't cross the bridge." Sesshomaru said sternly, and Sky stopped walking to turn and look at him funny.

"Why not?" She asked. "It's fine."

"Do you not see the river barely an inch below the planks?"

"Sure I do, but come on; how dangerous can a river be?" She took another step, but he did not move. "All right, then. You stay here and get wet and I'll cross the bridge safely and continue on, dry, on the other side." With another step, he was outside the umbrella, and the thick, fast drops began to fall on him. Before stepping onto the bridge, she looked back; he looked wet and miserable, and she had the thought that this wasn't what she wanted her last image of him to look like. Then she rolled her eyes at herself. Of course he looked miserable. He's very wet. But that's his own fault, for not coming with her. And what was she thinking about, 'Last image'? She would see him as soon as he came to his senses and crossed the bridge! Still, her feet were hesitant to step onto the bridge.

But Sky did, and though it creaked alarmingly at times, it continued to hold as she gained the middle.

Sesshomaru stood on the bank, and watched as Sky was eventually swallowed by the fog over the river. Perhaps she had been right... but he just had a bad feeling about the river, and he had lived long enough to know to trust his instincts. Perhaps he should have forcibly restrained her... He was staring at the ropes holding the bridge to the shore when they disappeared.

Just vanished.

There was a short scream, but the water was too loud for any human to have heard it. Of course, Sesshomaru had heard it, but for a second he didn't believe it. The ropes had just seemed to wink out of existence. Then he plunged head first into the icy water, fingers working quickly to get out of his heavy armor before they went numb. Slipping out of it, he surfaced, and looked around for Sky. There! The tip of the umbrella showed above the water, and he dove for it, swimming as fast as he could. The water was think with silt, so he was quite blind, but his fingers soon brushed cold flesh, and he grasped it; he had Sky's wrist in his hand.

Sky had only barely felt the bridge give out before she was plunged into the water, the cold liquid flooding over her head. It was a rather weird feeling, being immersed in water. There was dirt and things clogging her nose, getting in her mouth and eyes. She was slammed into a log, another branch quickly followed, smacking her head and making her rather dizzy, so it took a second for her to realize that her foot was caught on something. But by this point, she was too weak from lack of air to struggle against it. Her mother's people need more air, more frequently then other peoples, and that lovely trait had been passed onto Sky. Blackness began to swirl in her vision, and she just let herself be tugged on by the current, though she still didn't move any further downstream. It was very cold.

Then a warm hand nabbed her wrist, and gave a great tug. Suddenly she was free of whatever had been holding her down, and she flew through the water, secure in someone's strong arms. Her head broke the surface, and delicious, precious air rushed into her lungs as she choked out muddy water, the grip on her waist so strong that it was actually pumping some water out of her.

Sesshomaru breathed in relief as he realized that Sky was still alive. Swiftly swimming to the nearest shore, he pulled the both of them out of the water, and out of the pounding rain. In the back of his mind, it registered that the umbrella had disappeared, but right now he was more worried about hypothermia. The rain was incredibly cold, and they both were soaked to the bone. Carrying Sky up the beach, he placed her gently at the base of a tree, and went in search of something to burn. Everything was too wet to even start smoking. When he returned, she was still crouched under the tree, shivering, her lips slightly blue.

"Don't you have something to change into?" He asked, exasperated. She looked at him with slightly unfocused eyes, then grasped at her wrist for her pouch. It wasn't there. Sesshomaru groaned silently. Well, that explained the missing 'umbrella'. Sky blinked at the missing pouch, then a light flared in her eyes as she remembered that there were exactly four folded blankets in her sleeve. She hoped they hadn't been washed away, and reached in her sleeve for them. There were there, and she pulled out two fingernail sized cloths, and pulled on a stray corner. They folded out into blankets, but they were also soaked through.

"No." She finally replied to Sesshomaru, then went back to her shivering. "I've never been this cold." Sky whispered, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her head on her arms.

Sesshomaru looked at her silently for a minute. Surely it wasn't that cold. A great shiver wracked her body, and the demon gave in, sitting down next to her.

Sky noticed the air warming slightly, and she turned her head to see what it was. Sesshomaru had sat down next to her, and though he was as wet as she, for some reason he was a lot warmer. The warmth was too much to resist; slowly, she uncurled herself and started to put one arm around Sesshomaru's waist. He didn't move, and she added the other arm. Still no reaction. Sky sighed and dropped her head onto his shoulder, then gave him a tiny hug.

Sesshomaru had to throttle the urge to gasp when she touched him; she was so cold! He hadn't noticed it so much when they had come out of the river, because they had both been about that cold at the time, but the girl hadn't warmed up at all! Then she had put the other arm around him, and it had been like being thrown back into the river all over again. The demon didn't know why she was so cold.

Soon, though, his heat warmed her up, and her grip on him lessened as she fell asleep. 'This is second time she's fallen asleep on me in two days! Do I look that much like a pillow?' But in truth, he didn't mind. He was just about to go to... well, if not sleep, at least doze... himself when he heard,

"Thank you." Sky cleared her throat. "Thanks, Sesshomaru. And thanks for coming with me. I would have died in that river if you hadn't."

"Dying is something only sane people do. I think you're safe."

"I do believe I was just insulted." So she hugged him a little again, but this time she pinched his side a bit too. "Meanie." She said, and he growled lightly.

Sky couldn't believe her ears. Was he... joking with her? Just as importantly, was that his arm draped over her shoulder? As it turns out, Sesshomaru is very comfy, and Sky wasn't even on the side with the tail. And, that was his arm on her shoulder. Sky sighed.

"Should we wait until our clothes are dry, the storm stops, or what?"

"The storm stops. We don't have an... whatever that thing was... now."

"Oh... yeah. Sorry about that. I guess you were right about the river, huh?" He grunted. Sky took a deep breath. She had to do it before she lost her nerve... or her consciousness. But come on, this was a daring feat she was about to perform! "Hey, Sesshomaru?" She turned her face up to look at him, and he looked down at her. As quick as lightening, she planted a little kiss right on his lips, and ducked her head right back down."Thanks." She said again, though she didn't dare look up.

Sesshomaru was stunned, more by this than anything else the strange human had done. Had she just... kissed him? Yes, she had. He didn't know what to do, or what to say... and he didn't want to admit that he wanted her to kiss him again. For longer. And he absolutely wouldn't face the fact that he wanted to kiss her too... So, he did nothing, and soon realized that Sky had passed out anyways, tired from nearly drowning, and then working up enough courage to actually kiss Sesshomaru, even if it had been a tiny, chaste one. After a long while, the rain let up, but Sky did not wake, and she looked so comfortable that the dog demon decided to let her sleep; when she did awake, they would have to walk a lot quicker, but they would be able to meet the deadline...

As long as nothing else went wrong.