Now

Jessa groaned as she woke up from the cold, hard ground. She sat up and yawned, picking a few leaves from her messy brown hair and flicking them onto the ground. She let out a loud yawn as she stood up, hearing the demon lord land in front of her softly.

"Follow me," he said to her, walking away quickly. Jessa rubbed her head and followed quietly, wishing she had some food with her. She followed him up the mountainous land, dodging trees and roots slowly. Sesshomaru jumped in the air and out of her way, showing her a secluded hot spring.

"Where's the beef?" Jessa asked with a groan. She dropped the remote on the ground, still wondering why she still had it. She also took out her back-up iPod, which used to be her mother's and placed it on the ground. Jessa felt a hand shove her harshly and the next thing she knew, she was submerged in warm water. She stood up out of the spring and glared at Sesshomaru, who looked back down at her blankly.

"You take too long." He finally said after a moment of silent glaring.

"Blah, blah, blah." Jessa spat back grumpily as she took her soaked shirt off, staring at it with slight sadness.

"Are you going to cry over wet clothing?" Sesshomaru asked her with slight disbelief gilding his voice.

"No, but just seeing a Rolling Stones shirt like this is so sad. I'm going to be stuck wearing wet clothes for the next day or so." Jessa replied as Sesshomaru turned around.

"You complain too much." Were his last words before flying away.

"At least I gave you something dry after you fell into my pool, you ungrateful dog!" Jessa shouted back after tossing her wet clothes to the side of the spring and placing her glasses on the wet pile. She cleaned off her body and face, leaving her long, thick brown hair for last. She completely sank under the water and scrubbed every inch of her hair, making sure it was clean of everything.

"Are you finished?" Sesshomaru asked as he landed on the side of the spring. He saw Jessa leaned against the side and stretched out a bit under the water, her face showing content.

"Come on, five more minutes," she said, holding up five fingers lazily.

"We need to leave now. Get out." Sesshomaru growled back.

"Not until my clothes are dry," Jessa growled back. She saw Sesshomaru holding beautiful red robes in his arm.

"Aaww, so you're not a complete asshole after all," Jessa giggled.

"Hmph." Came his usual reply to difficult questions/statements. He placed the robes on the ground and walked away to give her privacy. Jessa climbed out of the water and realized she had now towel.

"Goddamn it." Jessa growled, using her somewhat dry clothes as a towel and deciding that she would have to suffer. She sighed and pulled on the robes after putting her bra on. There was no way in Hell she was letting those things flop around, wet bra or not. Jessa stroked the silky clothing a few times before picking up her wet clothes and devices, walking away. She saw Sesshomaru waiting patiently for her at the end of the path. He looked at her for a moment before leading her back to the patiently waiting followers.

"That looks so pretty on you! Don't you think so, Master Jaken?" Rin asked, looking at Jessa with wide eyes.

"Hah! That hu,"

"If I hear that word come out of your mouth one more time, I'm going to smack you with my shoe!" Jessa interrupted the imp angrily. Jaken clamped his beak-like mouth shut and said nothing else.

Sesshomaru led his group to the beach and looked back at Jessa. The girl was looking around curiously, her eyes scanning over the area carefully. She finally caught the demon lord's gaze and to his amusement, her eyes went hard.

"Who keeps staring at whom now?" she asked him suspiciously.

"Stay here." He said back, flying away and disappearing entirely.

"Damn it, he always flies away when I make a good point! Oh, beach," Jessa chirped, forgetting about everything and stomping around in the sand. She then sat down and relaxed on her back, soaking in the rays.

"Oh my God, why couldn't I be on the beach for the rest of my life?" she whispered.

Jessa rested as she listened to Rin and Jaken bicker about something. She wasn't quite sure what they were talking about, but she figured it was stupid if Jaken was arguing.

"So, what's your name?" Rin asked Jessa, who opened one eye and stared at Rin.

"Jessa," the teen replied.

"I've never heard that name before."

"It's not from around here."

"Where are you from?"

"Uh…not from around here."

"Haha, where then?" Rin giggled.

"The United States of America."

"Where is that?"

"Um…across the ocean, down a little bit…actually, I don't think it exists yet."

"Oh," Rin replied, obviously confused. Jessa figured that was better than actually knowing what was going on.

"Human!" Jaken called out as he ran up to her.

"Do you like getting beat or something?" Jessa asked as she sat up.

"I was talking to her!" Jaken replied, pointing at Rin. Jessa threw sand in his eyes and chuckled.

"She has a name, use it." Jessa yawned, laying back down and folding her arms behind her head. She frowned when she felt the earth tremble beneath her. She sat up and looked at Rin, who was playing with the two-headed demon.

"Don't tell me," Jessa whispered under her breath, looking out at the waves and seeing something disturb the water. She stood up and walked over to Rin and squatted down.

"Hey, can either of you fight?" Jessa asked, knowing very well they couldn't.

"Why?" Jaken asked back defensively and suddenly, the ground trembled even more violently as a huge, red demon erupted from the waves. Jessa stared at it with more disbelief than fear. She saw the pincers and the long whiskers.

"No fucking way! A lobster? Really? A fucking lobster is going to kill me? Fuck life and fuck my death while you're at it!" Jessa barked with disbelief. She saw Jaken get Rin onto the dragon and shout orders at her.

"Find Lord Sesshomaru and tell him to come quickly!" Jaken hollered.

"Yeah and tell him to melt the butter and bring out the bibs, because Jaken is serving this lobster on a silver platter whether he wants to or not! Get your green ass over here!" Jessa insisted, picking the green imp up and holding him to the lobster.

"Stop, stop, stop! Put me down!" Jaken squealed.

"Dear Lobster God, please accept this annoying ass imp as a token of my love and sacrifice for all that is seafood…thank you!" Jessa called out, still holding the squirming and screaming imp in her hands. The lobster roared as its claws reached out for Jaken.

"Haha, you're on your own, bitch!" Jessa laughed, tossing him at the lobster and sprinting away down the beach. She heard Jaken still screeching as the demon picked him up and staring after Jessa before running for the human girl.

"I hope it kills you!" Jaken screamed out.

"I hope it does too! I'm getting tired of this shiiiiiiiiiit!" Jessa called back breathlessly as she continued running. She felt something whip by over her head and land behind her.

"Ah, Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken cried out with relief. Sesshomaru swung his hand and effortlessly sliced the lobster's claw off, releasing Jaken instantly. Next the demon lord killed the demon with another slice of his whip, standing still and looking flawless as usual while doing so. Ah-Un landed next to him with Rin sitting on its back, smiling widely.

"My lord, you looked so dashing," Rin cheered.

"You are…eight years old…quit using…such…descriptive…vocabulary!" Jessa barked out in breaths as she bent over, feeling her lungs constrict.

"I believe that is the fastest I've ever seen a human run." Sesshomaru commented while looking at Jessa.

"You know…I'd tell a lobster joke…but I don't…know any…oh fuck!" Jessa huffed, pressing her hand to her chest and trying to slow her breathing down a bit. She felt a hand rest on her lower back while another pressed on her chest, forcing her to stand up straight.

"In through your nose and out through your mouth," Sesshomaru said to her, taking his hands away from her and watching her try his suggestion. She seemed to choke on air at first, but after a few tries, she was finally able to control it, instantly becoming sleepy while doing so.

"Hot damn," she exhaled with annoyance.

Sesshomaru led his group down the beach, mostly for relaxation reasons than anything else. He had been tense and had to loosen up before doing much else. Jessa had jumped on the back of the dragon with Rin, avoiding answering the little girl's questions as much as possible, not to be a bitch, but because the questions were so difficult to avoid.

"So, if you're from a place that doesn't exist yet, how are you here?" Rin asked curiously.

"Uh…sea turtles." Jessa answered back with an all-knowing smile, acting as if it were the most obvious answer on the planet. Sesshomaru, being ahead of the group, felt free to make an actual facial expression and it was the famous, "What the fuck" face. The demon lord didn't dare turn around to show it.

"How did sea turtles help?" Rin asked.

"I strapped them together and rode them over here."

"But where were you born?"

"In America."

"Which doesn't exist yet, so how did you get here?"

"Sea turtles." Jessa replied, knowing she was dragging the poor girl in circles.

"Wench, you will do well to be respectful," Sesshomaru growled, still not turning around.

"Bitch, you will quit ordering me around." Jessa replied.

"You will refer to me as Lord Sesshomaru."

"And you will refer to me as Jessa, otherwise, I don't want to hear it." Jessa replied seriously. Sesshomaru stopped walking and turned to face Jessa, who glared back at him challengingly.

"Fair enough." He said back tonelessly before turning back around and leading on.

Sesshomaru found a safe place to make camp and decided to put Jessa's will to the test. She would go to war to prove someone wrong on petty little things, but would she face a certain fear that the demon lord noticed of her. Jessa would stamp her foot and stand her ground against him, but would she face her fear of heights.

"Come with me," Sesshomaru ordered Jessa after she got dressed in her regular clothes. Jessa cast him a questioning look, but followed him anyway. Jessa frowned when they exited the forest and came out onto a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was at least seventy feet high and a drop off the cliff would end on the rugged rocks below where the waves slammed against them.

"Um…what?" Jessa stuttered. Sesshomaru saw her entire demeanor change. She went from relaxed to tense in seconds. She held her arms around her body, shivered and made sure to stare at the trees instead of the drop off the cliff. Sesshomaru, having the keen senses of a demon, noticed her labored breathing, her heart racing and her blood pumping. It wasn't just a random fear…she was genuinely scared of heights.

"Tell me, why do you fear high places?" Sesshomaru asked, stepping closer to her to see if she would calm down, but she stepped away from him, back towards the forest.

"Just a childhood accident." She replied, her voice soft and fearful, almost that of a child's.

"An accident?"

"Uh, yeah, I have a…scar, on my neck," Jessa explained while pulling her hair up into a ponytail and turning around for the demon lord to see. Sesshomaru stepped forward and saw the gash leading from the back of her neck up to the back of her head.

"You fell from a cliff?" Sesshomaru asked her.

"No, a tree. I was in a tree house and I climbed above it and fell. I had to get a lot of stitches." Jessa said back, pointing to almost the top of her head where the scar ended.

"I see. Time to conquer that fear." Sesshomaru stated, grasping her arm and pulling her with him to the edge. Jessa began pulling back away from him, saying nothing and on the verge of tears. She wished he'd try to conquer her other fears, like germs or something, but not the fear that almost killed her.

"Please, no," Jessa whimpered when he pulled her to the edge. Her eyes immediately screwed shut as she cringed, almost wishing he would just kill her now and save her the stress.

"I will not let go. Just look over the edge." Sesshomaru said, but Jessa's mind was made up minutes ago as she violently shook her head in the negative, still whimpering. Sesshomaru almost took her away from the cliff. She was usually headstrong and confident, but now she was reduced to a pathetic soul.

"Look at me instead," Sesshomaru suggested, wondering if she was even listening to him. Jessa opened her eyes and stared at the ground for a moment before they slowly shifted to the edge. She leaned over slightly and looked down for a moment before latching both hands onto Sesshomaru's sleeve and stepping away.

"Ok, conquered, I'm leaving!" Jessa insisted as she let go and went to walk away. She turned and saw a dark mist speeding straight for her. She felt an arm wrap around her waist tightly before she was heaved into the air, dodging the mist entirely.

"Ahhh! Ahhh! Put me down!" Jessa shrieked, turning around in his grasp and latching onto him pathetically by wrapping her arms around his neck. Sesshomaru let out a quiet groan of irritation at Jessa and when he realized what the mist was. It was Magatsuhi, the demon that could possess anybody it wanted. It almost killed Sesshomaru once, but the demon lord made a serious comeback and now it was time to get even…once Jessa let go of him.

"If I put you down, it is certain death." Sesshomaru warned, pulling out Tenseiga and glaring at the mist as it headed towards him.

"That's fine! As long as I'm on the ground!" Jessa said back fearfully. Sesshomaru let out a growl as he quickly dodged the mist, hearing the demon's malicious chuckle behind him. Sesshomaru flew out over the ocean, one hand gripping Tenseiga and the other trying to peel Jessa from his body.

"You are fearing a foolish thing! Quit hugging my neck!" Sesshomaru growled, dodging the mist again, now holding Jessa close to him to avoid her being possessed.

"Should I hug the mist instead?" Jessa asked back angrily. Sesshomaru spun around and flew sideways, instantly getting an idea. It wanted Jessa.

"You can have her…let go." Sesshomaru said to her. Jessa's grip loosened on him as she leaned back, looking at him with doubt.

"What're you doing?" she asked him.

"If you will ever once trust me, do it now." Sesshomaru said, keeping his eye on the dark entity, which was coming for them.

"Ok…ahhhhhhh! You lying biiiiiiiiiiiitch!" Jessa screamed half fearfully and half angrily as she fell to the water. Sesshomaru saw the mist dive down after her and so did he. Sesshomaru saw Jessa's eyes flash red when the mist surrounded her and he slashed the real form with his blade, hearing the demon's screech of agony as it disappeared.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Ahhh…I fucking HATE you!" Jessa shouted at the demon lord, who caught her by the wrist right before her body hit the water. He smirked down at her with amusement, flying back to the cliff and gently placing her on her feet. Jessa collapsed onto her hands and knees and let out a quivering breath.

"Laaaaaand! You never betray me!" Jessa stated happily, patting the ground a few times. She looked up and saw the demon lord was walking away, sheathing his sword coolly. She stood up and ran after him hurriedly, thinking the cliff was about to attack her.

"That was a dick-move and you know it! And yes, I am going to bitch at you for the next five minutes! Nag, nag, nag, nag, nag, nag and nag!" Jessa barked loudly and angrily at the demon lord when she finally caught up to him. Sesshomaru stopped walking and turned to her abruptly.

"Uh, what're you doing?" Jessa asked him when he closed the gap between their bodies. He placed his hands on both of her arms and looked down at her blankly.

"Say the word "bitch" one…more…time," Sesshomaru warned through gritted teeth, his golden eyes blazing into Jessa's green ones.

"You and I both know that I can't stop saying that word and I am trying to be a better person and it's not my fault, my mom raised me like this and she's a bitch…oops…ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Jessa's frantic screaming could be heard miles around after Sesshomaru hurled her into the air with all his might. He stood in the same spot, arms crossed and eyes closed as he waited for her to fall back to the ground. She was still screaming when she came back down and Sesshomaru caught her with both arms, placing her back on the ground and holding her away from himself.

"You had quite the hang-time," Sesshomaru said to her, doing all in his power not to smirk. Her face was pale and hair was wild. She finally glared at him and gritted her teeth.

"You…are…a…DICK!" she spat at him heatedly. Sesshomaru stepped back and began walking away. Dick…at least it wasn't "bitch."

"Keep up." Sesshomaru ordered her.

"Suck my dick, bitch!" Jessa's bark came in reply. Sesshomaru stopped walking and felt his eye twitch. Not only did she say, "bitch" again, she told HIM to suck HER dick...confusing human girl.

"You do not…have one…do you?" Sesshomaru said, his statement turning into a question when he saw her angered glare.

"Why, are you interested?" she asked back smugly.

"Hmph." Came his usual reply to questions he could not answer without losing some sort of pride.

"Haaaaah! Sesshomaru's a homo! He's a homo! Homo, homo, homo! Hahahaha!" Jessa laughed loudly, her voice echoing throughout the forest. The next thing Jessa knew was being hurled into the air once more by the annoyed demon lord, who did not stick around to catch her. She fell back to Earth, not seeing Sesshomaru standing there to catch her and Jessa freaked.

"Oh shit! Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! Ahhhh…hi." Jessa screamed when Sesshomaru came from nowhere and caught her by her arm.

"You will refrain from speaking to me in such a manor…understand?" Sesshomaru growled.

"Yeah whatever, just put me back on the ground, please?" Jessa breathed as she was placed on the ground once more. She looked at Sesshomaru, who quickly turned away, but Jessa saw him before he did…he was smirking at her.

"Asshole." Jessa grumbled under her breath. He, Sesshomaru, was laughing at her fear…smirking at her, but he should have been laughing anyway.