A\N

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P.S. This chapter was not reviewed thoroughly, be aware =)

Chapter 6

She pictured his unforeseen words, as an imaginational caress warmly stroking her heart with a balmy touch of emotion. Probably, he hadn't intended to give his words such calibre, but then again Yuutsuki was immensely contented to experience a little sign of the great demon's affection.

It had been quite worrisome, Sesshoumaru had kept quiet since then, standing like a stone monument, unmovable in any away. The girl really desired to hear that Tarou's words had been false, facing the sadness of Rin's death was just unthinkable.

Yuutsuki threw another look at Sesshoumaru's apathetic face. One would expect his face to appear distraught or harsh, on the contrary, the expression was comparable to the usual one, just his golden eyes seemed to have lost something from their previous sparkle.

The girl could almost taste his bitter mood, it was like the air between them, existent, but invisible.

Darkness surrounding them seemed to be sucking out his energy. The cold penetrated her body, causing repetitive shivers, awaiting Sesshoumaru's words her feet froze slightly. Slowly, the demon turned towards Yuutsuki, giving her a gaze she had never seen on him before. The golden eyes were distinctly looking for consolation and she had no idea how to comfort him. Things got even poorer when he said:

"I shall take you back."

Yuutsuki honestly didn't comprehend it, apparently he had desired to see her, and after spending few minutes together he had chosen to take her back.

"Why?" Simple as it was, the question included a hearable tension and Yuutsuki's lip trembled. She had been bafflingly drawn to him. So much, that the possibility of losing his sight for a longer time was equivalent to a dog's unwillingness to leave its master.

He had apparently sensed it, otherwise he would not say:

"Humans are a weakness."

Yuutsuki put the right hand on the sword resting on her hip. The girl's upright posture met a strong blow of the cold wind, dispersing her hair. She did not tremble though. On the contrary, she stood proudly, drawing Sesshoumaru's look.

The wind abated, making Yuutsuki's hair fall softly on her shoulders.

"Nonetheless you came. To me, a human."

Sesshoumaru kept silent, letting his eyes wander on the girl. His gaze was impenetrable, but it only made her more curious about his thoughts. In the least expected moment he spoke and the girl stirred at his words.

"Foolish, cease your whining and let me conclude." Sesshoumaru admonished her. His attitude had changed, became his usual self.

Taking her silence for a tacit acceptance of his demand, he continued.

"You are a weak human, but your sword isn't. I have comprehended the method to make it tractable. From now on you shall sword practise."

Yuutsuki had been awaiting such opportunity, but the strong sense of obligation kept on her shoulders.

"For what I must do, it's relevant for me to stay with Kagome."

"I have already foreknown it. Your training is of a great importance, consequently I shall go with you."

The girl smirked in disbelief.

"I doubt it will work out."

"Wherein lies the difficulty?"

"You are surely not gregarious, there might be certain… Issues…"

"While I, the great demon, am among others, they instantly become my subjects. Whoever dares to repudiate will regret it." Hissing loudly, he took a big step towards the girl, leaving only few centimetres between them.

"It applies to you as well."

"What happened to Tarou?"

He certainly didn't expect the enquiry, the sudden topic change brought back the lacking sparkle in the golden eyes. The sharp jaw tightened, as if the name of the black haired demon had recalled a feeling of annoyance.

"So you are cognizant of the situation."

"I have met him four days ago…" The demon kept silent awaiting details. "He told me about the death of ..."

He interrupted abruptly:

"Do not utter her name." The voice carried a tone of solitude, also a warning.

"… Rin." Yuutsuki had always considered that painful memories needed to be reminisced; disremembering them was merely an illusionary distraction leading to more pain.

His eyes narrowed and darkened, yet he said nothing. She had been expecting a rebuke or even an attack. She continued.

"Tarou was on his way to meet you… Did he?"

"Yes." The girl wanted to hear more, being curious by nature, however Sesshoumaru was reluctant to say more. She supposed the topic was like treading on thin ice, nevertheless decided to ask for more facts.

"Sesshoumaru…Did you fight him?"

"There is nothing else you need to know. I will take you back and at dawn we begin your teaching."

He would not tolerate any more disobedience or answer any questions.

The demon touched her shoulder and their location changed. Before she could judge the surroundings he quietly said:

"At dawn, here." Yuutsuki wanted to ask more, but the moment she'd turned to face him, he vanished in the darkness, still leaving the massive, powerful demon aura. The girl quickly recognized the place. It was the same one where Sesshoumaru had suddenly attacked Inuyasha. She slowly dragged her feet to the camp.

Sesshoumaru had changed. Rin's death had wounded him, causing irrational actions like losing himself in rage. Was he calmer already? It was all inscrutable to her.

Reaching the fire took her less than five minutes, how surprised she was to see that everyone had been awake.

"Yuutsuki!" Sango shouted, noticing her.

"Thank god you are safe! Sesshoumaru attacked Inuyasha and took you away. We were so worried!" Kagome assumed things wrongly. The dog demon got up and angrily said:

"Where is that bastard?"

Yuutsuki didn't expect such a scene. Sesshoumaru had attacked him, but probably hadn't assumed the real situation.

"I don't think he wanted to cause any harm…" The girl said quietly while warming her hands above the dancing flames of fire.

"That's why he knocked me unconscious? Why are you protecting him? Aren't you a part of our group?" Boldness in the demon's blood took over, Inuyasha was clearly attacking her.

"Inuyasha, don't be mean to Yuutsuki. For sure she has her reasons…" Despite the words Miroku seemed to doubt her as well.

"I apologise to have you worried. There is a reason why Sesshoumaru behaved like this, shamefully I cannot help you understand, I do not understand it myself completely and it pesters me."

"Inuyasha is a bit right, you promised to help us, yet you don't want to share such an important fact…" Yuutsuki didn't expect such a reaction, apparently they had assumed that secretly she was betraying them behind their back. Kagome had joined the assumption.

Sango got up and looked straight into her eyes.

"We can't trust you if you don't trust us."

The atmosphere became heavier, their intense glare, not a friendly one, allowed her to feel how inapt her presence in the group was.

"It will be troublesome if Sesshoumaru turns out to be an enemy. He is really powerful." Said the monk, observing the girl thoroughly.

"Sesshoumaru is not an enemy. Our enemy is Naraku."

"Why so certain?" Inuyasha kept attacking her, Kagome added: "You must know something!"

Yuutsuki found herself irritated. Their complaining about a minor incident had annoyed her greatly. Nobody had gotten hurt, much ado about nothing.

"I do not see the reason to prove my loyalty in such a manner."

The group was surprised by her words, Yuutsuki continued while getting away from the fire:

"Even if I do know something, it doesn't matter. Sesshoumaru is not an enemy and you will have a chance to confirm it. If you want my help you will have to bear his presence nearby for a while. He's going to train me."

"Yuu, why would he train you? He hates people, he cares only for Rin, the little girl that…" Kagome's curiosity was the same as always, but her words provoked second thoughts.

"I know. Think among yourself if you need my help. I will come back tomorrow." Yuutsuki interrupted her decidedly. She wanted to leave them and think things over. Not minding them calling her back, she advanced in the forest, regretting it shortly, for the night was cold and unpleasant.

The girl sat down, supporting her back against a tree, remembering not to fall asleep. She estimated the dawn wouldn't come anytime soon. Rubbing the numb hands wasn't enough to warm them up.

Blows of the wind seemed like piercing daggers of ice, provoking pain and shivers. Closing her eyes only for a second, she sensed a familiar aura. Before the girl had almost dozed off she heard Sesshoumaru's voice:

"Falling asleep here is a mistake."

Yuutsuki was really sleepy, she only managed to smile and say:

"I know."

"Irrational human, should have stayed with the others."

Yuutsuki couldn´t stop the overwhelming shivers, she really wanted to be next to a warming fire with a thick cover over her shoulders. Was it really necessary to stay with Kagome and the rest to fulfil her promise? Was it impossible to aid her from afar? So many questions and doubts had been hounding the girl.

"Return before you freeze."

"Tell me about Rin." Her gibberish was barely audible, but the great demon had no troubles understanding.

Sesshoumaru had been all the time behind her, so his expression remained unknown, as Yuutsuki could imagine, he became foreseeably angry.

"So forthright again. Very well, I shall tell you." She didn't expect such an answer, yet again Sesshoumaru had shown his other face. Deciding to keep quiet, not to discourage him by chance, she awaited his words.

"Rin is gone… She was… murdered by Naraku while my house was under attack." He stopped for a second. Yuutsuki heard him move and she assumed he had supported himself on the other side of the same tree she had.

"She was the only one I have ever urged to protect, therefore I will seek revenge. The fastest way to destroy Naraku is to use the ring's ability in order to separate him from Shikon no Tama, attack and kill his weakened form."

Even though Yuutsuki had heard the words, her drowsiness didn't allow her to analyse the situation accurately. The girl's head fell inertly and she dozed off into deep sleep.

Sesshoumaru did notice it, yet he spoke to himself:

"It's possible only if you stay alive, human."

"Wake up."

Sesshoumaru's low voice barged through Yuutsuki's vague dream, blurring the remains of its memories. Yuutsuki opened her eyes instantaneously, realising how troublesome her falling asleep had been. She had left him with a nuisance to deal with; luckily he had not let her freeze outside.

Instead humid, cold ground she was lying down on a pile of hay, surrounded by several streams of light illuminating the place. Sesshoumaru probably had carried her there and had arranged the bedding.

The uncomfortable thought crossed Yuutsuki's mind when she focused her sight on the demon's face. The girl avoided the golden eyes and her cheeks turned rosy, the fact did not escape Sesshoumaru's attention.

"Is there something wrong?" His silver hair slid down on the brown obi as he bent down.

Feeling abashed by his question, she lowered her head in order to recompose herself.

"Food. I forgot humans eat more often. How trivial." The unexpected, contemptuous tone in his voice woke up the rebellious part of her character. Yuutsuki lifted her head abruptly wanting to answer him in a vicious manner, but she couldn't utter a word, for the distance between their faces was not bigger than ten centimetres. A mixed sensation of fear and excitement doomed her chest.

The girl could see each and every detail of the somewhat weary, golden eyes. Holding her breath, she couldn't divert from the sight.

"Sleep, eat, rest, humans have no time to train."

Desires of giving him a vitriolic answer had been forgotten, but his arrogant remarks continued. Yuutsuki really wanted to say something evenly unkind, but as a matter of fact she only clenched her fists and shook her head violently.

A quibble with Sesshoumaru wasn't the brightest idea, therefore asking something totally unrelated seemed the best way to refrain from troubles.

Omitting his inappropriate words, she spoke:

"What about Kagome and the rest? It's probable that they will move soon."

The demon frowned, getting up suddenly. A few seconds passed, before he answered. It looked as if he had been thinking about something unpleasant. His face had changed to a harsh one, the eyes had darkened. Turning his back at her, Yuutsuki heard his rather annoyed voice.

"Do not worry, you will return before nightfall. I can easily locate the half-breed. I need to go somewhere. I won't be long, so be ready by then."

He left hastily, leaving the befuddled girl alone.

Yuutsuki sighed and recomposed her clothing. It would be nice to visit the hot springs after the training. How glad was she, that in reality, she could survive in such conditions. Sleeping outside and washing in freezing water was indeed a big shock to her, although it felt like an amazing experience of nature. A man as an individual was insignificant and powerless.

Deciding to look around Yuutsuki picked up her sword and stretched lazily. The weather remained chilly, but the cold air was quite energising.

Sesshoumaru really had left, there was no sign of him around, the girl sighed one more time and quickly localized a fruit tree, feeling her stomach's demands for food.

Several minutes passed and the demon still had yet to return, which made her really interested in the reasons of his sudden disappearance. She kept on pondering for quite a while, albeit after around an hour of his absence she became worried.

There was nothing to be done though. The girl had no clue, nor trace of him, so the wisest action was indeed to wait patiently.

The wind abated, and that fact alone made the environment change drastically. Cold air became heavier to breathe, birds' screeches echoed ominously around the place. At the moment unsheathing her sword seemed like a good idea, she didn't feel safest alone in such silence.

She stretched her arms forward, grasping the sword tightly. Yuutsuki sensed an unfamiliar aura approaching extremely rapidly in her direction. There was no time to contemplate possible actions, for the intruder was about to attack, leaving almost no time for reactions. The only thing the girl could do, was to evade the attack by sensing it, because the eyes could not follow the speed of the opponent.

'A strong demon' She thought to herself as she dodged it. One of her advantages was speed, but she could not compare herself to the lightning movements of that creature. She had been lucky to avoid the previous strike, next time it could be different.

Yuutsuki's scared mind wasn't sober enough to clearly analyse the situation. Being incapable of forming a plan, she decided to strike the iron while it was hot. Just after the girl had dodged the attack, using as much force as she could, she aimed the blade at the enemy, hoping to take advantage of the moment of exposure.

To her surprise, it promptly turned out to be a failure for her sword had been deflected, and she had received a strong kick in the stomach, making her lose the grip of the sword's hilt.

Yuutsuki coughed several times while looking at the demon.

"Unexpected, you sensed me. Normally Rens are feeble in that."

The girl met bright, brown eyes of a male demon with glossy, black hair reaching his shoulders. He was dressed in black, only his belt was white, quite matching the colour of his face. There were two red demon marks on the pale complexion of his face. Yuutsuki slowly got up, intensively observing him.

"You don't have the worst endurance ever either and your speed is quite good. But the moment you let go of your sword…" The silky voice stopped and in a blink of an eye his pale hand squeezed Yuutsuki's throat, bringing her closer to him.

"You die." The girl could not breathe, which was apparently amusing to the demon. When she was about to faint, he threw her off on near rocks.

"Starting today, I am your teacher."

She could have done nothing to protect herself from the damage. After the fall she had felt an acute pain on her cheek and left arm. In fear, she quickly got up on her knees and with her palm touched the injured cheek.

Yuutsuki's hands began to shake as she saw the amount of blood coming out from the wounds.

"You will suffer if you don't improve." It didn't sound like a good advice, more like a threat.

His arrogant tone enraged her greatly. He was just a sadistic bastard, happily enjoying beating her up.

"My sword." She tried to wipe the blood from her cheek, but it just kept on flowing.

He laughed out loud and asked:

"And what will you do with it, weakling?"

"Shut up you scum! Do you wish for a fight or not?" Yuutsuki got up tightening her fists.

The ring was burning her finger, just as anger was burning in her heart, leaving no place for fear anymore.

"Helplessly naive…" The unknown demon appeared offended by her words.

But suddenly his eyes widened and he knelt with his face low. Yuutsuki sensed Sesshoumaru's aura at the same moment. He was standing just behind her, his clothes ragged, claws carrying signs of blood. He looked as if he had been taken away from a battlefield.

"Sesshoumaru-sama…" The brown eyed demon whispered.

Sesshoumaru ignored the demon and threw a look at Yuutsuki. He swept away hair that had glued to her bloodied cheek and said quietly:

"Do not worry, there will be no scar." She nodded slightly, still shocked by his appearance.

"Why are you here?" Sesshoumaru's voice changed, he sounded once again like an aggressive dog.

"I was commanded by your mother, Sesshoumaru-sama. She said that the Rens' girl needs training."

In spite of the stranger's position, his voice sounded completely disrespectful.

"She does, yet you granted her a beating. Do not say you were merely testing her abilities."

Sesshoumaru was slowly walking towards the other demon.

"You are reading my mind, Sesshoumaru…-sama."

The two demons kept staring at each other in silence. None of them made a slightest move. It totally looked like a beginning of a fight. The girl was not aware of the actual relation between these two, surely they were not friends.

Yuutsuki bit her lip and decided to speak.

"I would like to know what the current situation is."

Sesshoumaru did not budge when the black haired demon spoke:

"Sesshoumaru-sama, your mother told me to pass you a message…"

Apparently both of them had ignored her, pretending not to hear her previous words. The demon continued.

"She said to tolerate her wishes, otherwise she will need to…"

"Needless to say more. You are allowed to fulfil your order, nevertheless while in here you follow my rules and orders."

Sesshoumaru interrupted, standing just in front of him.

"Your mother will be pleased."

"You are not allowed to injure the human. You are to treat her with respect. Once you break the rules not even my mother will save you."

The great demon picked up Yuutsuki's sword, and hailed the girl with a hand gesture.

"I am aware of the situation, my lord. Be it as you say."

"Come back tomorrow at the same time."

"Yes, my lord."

The second after the strange demon left the place and she was alone with Sesshoumaru.

"I thought you would train me…" Yuutsuki said quietly, while clumsily trying to stop the bleeding from the injured arm. A mixture of feelings in her head had made her unable to say anything else.

"So did I." He reached for her cheek, dipping his fingertip in her blood, later smudging it. The girl stood motionlessly like hypnotized.

The demon lifted his head up to observe the sky and out of nothing said:

"Red does not suit you."

A\N Thank You for reading.

P.S. Sesshoumaru had a fight. With who? You will get to know in the next chapter.