I ran away from the door, returning to the corner I had deemed safe. My arms quickly wrapped around my waist as I stared at the corner. He stepped into my room and closed the door behind him. My grip on my yukata tightened as my gaze lowered to the where the floor met the wall.

"A storm approaches. We leave tomorrow."

I moved to hold my arms. "I see." I replied.

I let the silence fester as tension weighed the air. He eventually left, letting me breathe again. Turning away from the corner, I abandoned the cramped confines of the room. I quickly made my way outside, paying no heed to the stones that pressed against my feet, the breeze that threatened to uplift my skirt, and the stares that seemed to question my very existence. I walked away from the building and over a hill. I soon found myself staring at the edge of forest. The clear, bright green grass stopped at a clear line before becoming a splotched, darker green lined with trees. I stared at it, not caring to weigh my options, for a minute. I decided to let my feet guide me to where ever they wished to go. I would give no regard as to what the man wanted or did not want me to do.

I walked without a thought until I reached a river. I didn't think of the time that was passing by or the dark clouds that loomed overhead. I rested for a while, drinking a bit of water and cooling my feet in the current before continuing. I'd gotten around half a mile closer to where my feet deemed my next location before a roll of thunder echoed over the trees. I didn't let the noise stop me. Instead, my mind demanded to have a known destination instead of one only my feet understood. My nose switched to its refined form as it searched for anything to serve as my waypoint. The moisture in the air dampened things, but I managed to catch onto the outlier of a scent that was Kagome. Taking the general direction, I walked toward the gray clouds.

The sun was setting when the rain finally started to fall. That was good and bad for me. Tracking me would be hell, but I was stuck having to take refuge in shelter. I'd have to stop eventually for food and rest, so why not now? After a mile in the rain, I found a village, a human one. With a few modifications to my ears, nails, and eyes, I was provided shelter from a generous couple. I thanked them, and accepted the food and clothing they offered.

I'd managed to get a few hours of sleep, though I constantly found myself fidgeting and laying with my eyes open. When dawn broke, I rose from the mat that was lent to me, cleaned the space I had been given, putting on my damp yukata and obi, and wrote a note in English. I handed back the clothes I had borrowed with a bow before handing them the note as well. I told them to hand it to the man with white hair and golden eyes should he ever approach them. They approached me with a worn pair of shoes.

"Answer his questions truthfully." I advised as we exchanged goods.

I shook my head when they inquired about my destination, but thanked them again. I set back onto my eastern trail. I switched between my two forms to quicken the journey and make sure I was on the right track.

The next break I had was at a spring. I splashed it in my face, and drank. Hopefully, this would be my last stop and I would get to them before nightfall. I got up and on my way. It took me the rest of the day before the outskirts of a familiar town appeared. A sigh of relief escaped me. I made it safely, which was a blessing I would not be ungrateful for. After completing the last stretch of the journey, I finally reached the village. Shippo and Kaede were the first to see me. Shippo jumped into my arms, but soon sniffed me.

"Why do you smell like-"

"Kaede-san, will you tell the others that I am here?"

"Of course. They will surely be delighted by that knowledge."

The old woman left to do as I asked. I looked at Shippo.

"Please, don't tell anyone." I told him.

He nodded. "I guess we'll be bathing together." He said.

I smiled at him, and then went over to the river. Some village ladies had given me bathing materials, and I gratefully used them, trying to get every bit of Sesshomaru off of me. I didn't know what to think. He was wrong for attempting what he did, but he didn't see it through. Things could have been a lot worse. My hands ran over the dull red graffiti on my chest. He'd mentioned it, that my words sway him, but not enough to stay him. Did I not blatantly say I wanted no such physical contact? I wonder, which words does he consider great enough to be allowed in his head?

We quickly dried ourselves and put on new clothing, mine were provided by the same friendly villagers who provided bathing material. Shippo tried to shake himself off, but I smothered him with a towel anyway before helping him slip on his clothes. We both returned to Kaede's hut, and found dinner waiting. I thanked Kaede, and ate. This time, my bowl didn't have fish or beef. I didn't even want to eat, but I couldn't be disrespectful.

Once everyone was done eating, and settled down after Kagome and InuYasha's little argument, I sighed. InuYasha kept staring at me. He must have known something was up.

"Spill it. I can only wait for so long." InuYasha said to me bluntly.

"Hey! She just got here! Give her a break!" Kagome demanded on my behalf.

I stared at the ground as I put my bowl down.

"Something's up, and I want to know." InuYasha explained

"What are you talking about?" Sango asked.

"She's usually either spaced out or watching everything we do, but she's not doing either." He pointed out. "One look at her face is and you can tell somethings wrong."

It was suddenly obvious with InuYasha's help. Eyes turned to me, suddenly questioning if I was okay and my sudden, and uncontested, appearance. I was ready to shrink into nothing but wasn't physically capable of doing that. I was silent, not knowing what to say. It was rather embarrassing. What was I supposed to say, that InuYasha's older brother tickled me in the night without my permission?

"Did that bastard do anything to you?" InuYasha asked.

I looked for a way to play off my dissident disposition.

"Are you talking about Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked, prompting me to wonder who else he could have been talking about.

"I can't be quiet for a meal without being questioned?" I asked, trying to spark an argument with InuYasha.

"No, you can't." He replied, standing up and moving over to me and forcing Kagome to move the bowl he almost shattered with his feet.

"And why not?"

"I'm not going to argue with you. What the hell happened between you and him?" He asked.

"Nothing." I replied, trying to spark my temper.

"He did something, and I know it." He insisted, crouching down to stare into my eyes.

I turned my head away without hesitation. I couldn't look into those eyes, not now.

"You came back here on your own rather quickly, and I could have sworn you were the one complaining about safety less than two days ago."

"Don't remind me." I replied, downcast.

"Then you realized that Sesshomaru isn't a man you can trust to protect you. He'll exploit you to get whatever he wants from you, then throw you away. He isn't capable of doing anything other than taking what he wants. And when he can't, he throws a tantrum. And the way you are, there's not a damn thing you can do to keep him in check. A guy like that is nothing but bad news, and it was stupid of you to-"

He stopped dousing my wounds with fire after Kagome elbowed him in the side. I'd apparently made it more than obvious that his words were shoving my cut full salt as my head slowly lowered, getting closer and closer to the ground and my arms wrapped around my stomach in attempt to calm the flurry of emotion that welled there. By the time he actually looked at who he was talking to, I'd already stood up to get a breath of fresh air outside, thanking Kaede before leaving in shame. I needed to throw up.