Chapter 2

Sesshoumaru awoke in the morning later than usual. He ran his pointed fingers through his knee length silver-white hair, and looked at the sun rising in front of the cave. His body seemed to rush with almost no adrenaline, which was not normal. He sighed deeply. He had been up most of the night in awe of that woman's cleansing wounds. As soon as the violet petals had touched her skin, the festering sores closed with speed not known to humankind. He had watched, as the skin seemed to stitch itself back together, to see the tendons unite once more, and the cracked bones meld. He had witnessed the miracle that holy abbot had predicted. What a foolish man. He could have given those flowers to someone who needed them for someone important. If he was so holy and wise, didn't he know that the woman he would use them on was a ruthless killer? She had almost mercilessly slaughtered an entire village of able-bodied men, and had completely demoralized everyone left. Only the little girl was not completely damaged by the scars. She had liked her fathers' killer, mayhap. But with so many variables, it was almost impossible to understand why she still loved this woman. Almost impossible. He had never felt love for anyone before in his life. He didn't even believe in love. Nothing good came from emotions.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and breathed in the smells of morning. The grass was still fragrant with dew, and there was a slight breeze that cooled his mind of what seemed to plague him. His ears perked on their own accord. Was someone singing? Well it wasn't Jaken. This was a female voice. Sesshoumaru had never heard something so faint, yet so beautiful. His body ached all over. It seemed that everything that popped into his head was telling him to wake that girl up. He didn't want to go near her. He never wanted to put himself in the risky position he had put himself in last night ever again. But because of the constant prodding from his unconscious mind, he complied. But something was wrong.

Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped open with confusion. His hand was alone. The stone table was empty. The stone seemed to freeze him to that spot. He never believed she would be well enough to leave in one night. This woman was extraordinary! He had to know her secrets. He had to know how she did what she did.

As he stood to his full height, he noticed that standing wasn't as heavy as it had been yesterday. Or as hard as it had been for the past few hundred years. What was so different? Then it hit him. He had never been cold, but it crept upon him with vigor and anticipation. His pelt was gone! Sesshoumaru's fists clenched in anger. How could that woman think she could have stolen it and gotten away? But that wasn't his only feeling. Shame. He had never felt so much shame. How could he have let her get away with his pelt? The pelt that turned him into a brooding Youkai. A dog demon.

Once again, in the distance, he heard singing. It seemed to be closing in on the field next to the cave. But he didn't care. When he found that girl, he was going to rip open her throat with his fingernails. But she could be miles away from the cave. How was he to find her? It was easier than he thought.

She had been the one singing. Sesshoumaru stopped at the cave entrance as he saw her. His mouth fell open, and he couldn't think of the words to say. She did have his pelt. Though surprisingly, she wasn't trying to run away with it. She was dancing.

The pelt decorated her shoulders like a boa with feathers. She twisted and turned in little pirouettes and plies. Her hair flew over the pelt, and her arms moved in graceful figures and shapes. Everything about this dance made him shaky. Except for the words. They didn't seem to make sense. If anything, he dreaded trying to ask advice from a human, but more so, from a human who can't understand you!

Sesshoumaru regained the stony expression he always wore, and glided over to her in the least paces his legs would allow. She still seemed to be dancing, though now he realized she looked rather ridiculous. But her face held the same joy it had when he had found her. As she turned into a twirl, Sesshoumaru put his hand on her shoulder with a look of pure indifference.

"May I have my pelt returned to me now?" he asked in his deep voice that usually was commanding and overpowering, but now seemed as though he was gently scolding a child.

She seemed to stare at the large, fluffy object, and then with a sigh, surrendered it from her neck. She held it in her hands for a second, seeming to rethink giving it back, but then handed it to him. No words had come from her mouth. The only thing that decorated her face was a small pout.

"Can you understand this language?" asked Sesshoumaru huskily.

She turned her green eyes up to him, and he stood almost breathless. They were so alive. They were so deep. She smiled a little, which turned into a grin.

"Of course I can, silly! You think that I'd stay here if I didn't find this place somewhat interesting? You know, you sound so peaceful when you talk in our sleep."

One of his eyes widened just a bit, and an eyebrow arched delicately.

"You know, you learn so much about people when they talk in their sleep. You sounded so sad, you know. It sounded like you were crying. So," she trailed off a moment, "I ran my fingers through your hair until I left. I didn't go far. I just wanted to dance and sing. Your… pelt? It looked so nice, and it was chilly out. I just borrowed it, I swear. So what's your name?"

She seemed good-natured, unlike everything he had expected from her. His brow furrowed in a type of anger. She wasn't anything like he had expected.

"Sesshoumaru," he answered turning his back.

She seemed quiet for a moment until, "Seshahuwatamajig?"

At that moment, Jaken stepped into the cave. His eyes found the girl, and he shook his head in disbelief.

"She can't be alive, Lord Sesshoumaru. That seizure last night was probably enough to give her permanent brain damage."

"Well she is." he answered.

"Hm… well I don't think she should be. Should we kill her, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

He stopped and turned to look at Jaken. "Should I kill you as well?"

Jaken looked completely dumfounded by the edge in Sesshoumaru's voice. His eyes seemed to flash like golden fire, and he could see his fingers were clenched underneath his robe. He knew the youth had a fiery temper, but his face displayed his emotion. For once, Jaken understood Lord Sesshoumaru before he reacted. He had need of this girl, though the process was not entirely conscious. The Youkai was scared for the first time in his life. He was scared of NOT having her. How could a demon allow this? How could Lord Sesshoumaru allow himself to cling to her? He was going to become an Inu-Yasha, with his rag-tag woman following him around until she dies of old age. This wasn't Jaken's idea of a cup of tea. Once this woman died, Sesshoumaru would probably retreat into the mad world of his mind, and slowly decay from the inside out. Jaken didn't want to be around when that happened. The Dog demon could, worse, have a family with her and settle down. He would never be able to surpass his father, the great Dog demon if that happened. How had he overlooked this?

"Well?" asked Sesshoumaru, pulling Jaken from his foreboding thoughts.

"No, Lord Sesshoumaru, have mercy on me!" Jaken begged, clinging to his Lords foot.

"Humph. Stop acting like a human, Jaken!" and kicked him aside.

Jaken peeked open an eye to see if the girl responded to the human joke. She didn't. She stood as pale, and straight as a wall. Her brow was slightly crinkled, as if she were thinking of something she couldn't comprehend.

"Um… I don't like it when people talk about me like I'm not standing in front of them." she quietly reprimanded.

Sesshoumaru looked at her for a moment. "We are not People; we're Demons. So therefore I do believe we are excluded from that bold statement."

The girl crossed her arms and stared at Sesshoumaru's face as if she was going to smack him. Her eyes welled with small tears.

"So, if you could keep your silly human thoughts to yourself, we can get going."

Jaken knew he had just said too much, but he was to slow to reply. The girl walked straight up behind Lord Sesshoumaru, and gave him the biggest smack in the face that he wasn't expecting.

Sesshoumaru seemed paralyzed to the spot where she had smacked him. When he turned his face to hers, full of fury, he almost crumbled. Her eyes were overpowered with clumsy tears, and her hand was shaking. He kept his reign of fury on his face, but when he took a step toward her, she ran out of the front of the cave. He watched her struggle to keep her balance the entire time. For some reason, her body was weakening again. That slap couldn't have killed a fly. But nevertheless, she ran under the shade of a tree, scrunched down so he could barely see her, and began weeping. That was when he knew Jaken was looking at him with a very peculiar expression. He had never seen that look before in the few hundred years he had known the green cretin.

"What is that look supposed to mean?" Sesshoumaru asked, without expecting an answer. But it came swiftly, and like a two-edged katana.

"My Lord, I know you're not going to let us leave without taking her with us. I am not a naïve little demon. I see your liking to this one."

Sesshoumaru glared at the little demon, and turned his back on him.

Gathering what little things they had, Sesshoumaru planned to set out by mid-morning. They would be at the Funbari mountain range by then. That was their permanent winter establishment. The hot springs inside the walls of the mountain kept the caves warm and almost cozy. The cave was not like this one that any fool could stumble upon easily. Right next to the mouth was a gigantic boulder that only Sesshoumaru could move. When it was positioned over the door, it looked as if it wasn't a cave at all. Though, even if some fool were to stumble upon it, Sesshoumaru would not welcome them. He would allow the death demons to see to such pleasantries. He would leave the girl here. Besides, she had proven to be able to take care of herself very easily.

Without even telling Jaken it was time to depart, Sesshoumaru started walking down the hill. Jaken saw him leaving, and pulled the pack up on his shoulders. As few things there were, he had packed a few extra than normal for the comforts of funbari cave. What other comforts would he have to relish? Lord Sesshoumaru would be off most of the time doing who knows what, while he'd sit alone at the cave. Rin would be returning to the funbari cave in the mid-winter months. Now then, it would be no problem. But up until then, he didn't know what he'd do with himself.

Just as suddenly as he started, Lord Sesshoumaru stopped. He seemed to sigh, and his right ear flicked to a sound somewhere. Just when Jaken thought it was nothing, Lord Sesshoumaru turned on his heels, back to the hill where the cave was. He moved surprising slow up the hill, as if he hesitated. Jaken decided this would probably be the only rest he'd get until they made it to the mountain, so took advantage of the opportunity to relax on the ground by a tree. Just as he began to doze, Jaken's pointy green ear picked up footsteps belonging to Lord Sesshoumaru.

"Try to walk." He said in his deep voice.

Jaken opened his eyes to see Lord Sesshoumaru holding on to that girl to make sure she didn't fall. She moved a few paces, and was fine, so Sesshoumaru started walking. The girl wasn't walking beside Jaken like had done Rin. No, she strode right next to Sesshoumaru and kept up to his long strides. Jaken had never seen something so absurd in all his days. The girl was clearly asking for trouble from Lord Sesshoumaru. Jaken waited for his Lord to tell her to move away from him, but he didn't. He seemed oblivious to the entire thing.

Jaken sighed, and just kept walking. It was so boring back there, that he didn't know what to think. It was as if his world was falling apart. This was worse than when Rin came into the picture. Jaken smiled. He WANTED this girl to meet Rin. Over the past few years, Rin had been falling for Lord Sesshoumaru, but he was completely oblivious to the entire thing. He didn't even know. Jaken was sure he wouldn't WANT to know, either. Lord Sesshoumaru was like a bad father figure to that girl. He was sure he wouldn't want anything more between them. Well, truthfully Jaken just wanted to see Rin's crushed little face when she finds out that her Lord Sesshoumaru was taken with someone else. Well, he didn't know it yet, but slowly, it was coming.

'Ach… It must have been his seven hundred years with no female. He must be yearning for some type of commitment.' Jaken thought to himself sarcastically, 'Doesn't he know that these things are wrong for him? For his entire family? Doesn't he remember the story of his father, Inutaishou and Inu-Yasha's mother, the Lady Izayoi? Can't he take a little hint?'

By the time midday arrived, Jaken was noticing something wrong with the girl. Sesshoumaru seemed to notice it as well. Cold sweat seeped from the pores in her forehead, and her skin had taken on a very sickly pale color. Her walking became more labored, forcing her to walk next to Jaken.

After an hour more of her absurd delicacy, Lord Sesshoumaru turned, and scooped her up in his arms. She didn't complain at all, just shrunk in his arms, and hid her face in his Yukata. Sesshoumaru began to ponder her wild behavior. What could make a girl as strong as herself become as fragile as a child in a matter of a few short hours? Nothing about her made sense. She always seemed to be fine after a few hours of rest, but would she have another seizure? Would he be able to prevent this one?

Jaken didn't even have a moment to ask to stop for lunch. He knew better than that. Sesshoumaru would leave him behind.

"Jaken, do you have any food with you?" Sesshoumaru asked, with a mixture of, was that fear in his voice? (The question of lunch surprised him greatly.)

"Yes Lord Sesshoumaru. What would you like?"

"Anything easy to chew and easy to digest."

"Ooh. Lord Sesshoumaru? I seemed to have only packed cow strips."

Sesshoumaru took a few pieces of the jerky and ripped them into small pieces. He proceeded to lay the girl on the ground, and sat next her with his sword resting on his left shoulder.

"I don't think I can get up to eat, I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Who said it's for you?" asked Sesshoumaru with something like a smile playing in his eyes. She looked at him for a moment, and he dangled a piece of the jerky over her head.

"If your hungry, try to sit up enough to eat this piece of meat. It's not a win, lose situation for me. If you don't get it, I'll eat it right in front of you." He said ripping a good chunk off with his powerful jaws, and snapping his neck hard to the right to make it very impressionable.

The girl began to chew lightly on her bottom lip as if thinking about a way to get it from him. Jaken saw her hand find a stone while Lord Sesshoumaru was to busy taunting her and dangling the meat.

'This must be a game of his own design to try and get her to eat. How amusing. I have never seen him act like this.' Jaken thought quietly.

The girl smiled at Sesshoumaru in a way to make him frown. He didn't like that look. She took the stone she had found and had enough force to throw it as his hand. Fortunately, the Youkai wasn't expecting this, and let go of the piece of meat, which landed perfectly onto her smile. She allowed her teeth to get a good hold of it, looked at Sesshoumaru, and laughed! Sesshoumaru grabbed the piece of meat that was partially in her mouth and tried to pull it out.

"That wasn't right. You cheated. Give me that back." He said pulling lightly.

It became a fun game to watch them by Jaken. He held in his laughter by pursing his beak tightly. The game ended when the piece of meat broke in half. One half went down her throat, and the other half stayed in Sesshoumaru's hand as he shook his head back and forth with a silent rebuke. That sent her into a spur of giggles, which she had to hold her hand on her mouth to keep from laughing.

Sesshoumaru stooped, and picked up the girl whose giggles were wearing off. He turned to start walking again with Jaken a few strides behind him.

"Can you still not pronounce my name?" asked Sesshoumaru to the girl, obviously.

"Sorry, no luck. But I can think up a name I can pronounce for you."

Jaken noticed Lord Sesshoumaru paused for a minute, but then he answered quietly in almost a whisper:

"I'd like that."

By the time they reached the beginning of the Funbari Mountains, the moon was rising and the sun almost set. The girls' skin seemed to have a luminescence to it, and her eyes sparkled even more at night than they did in the day. Not only, but her strength seemed to return with each inch the moon grew. After a few more minutes, she was out of Sesshoumaru's arms and once again walking next to him. Jaken was noticing all types of new strengths as he tried to distinguish her aura, but he could never find it. She seemed to be a human, but a strange one at that. Neither he or Lord Sesshoumaru knew her name, Sesshoumaru didn't even think to ask, and Jaken was convinced it wasn't his place. It wasn't his friend. He didn't bring her home from the woods. So why should he be the one to ask?

Sesshoumaru walked next to the girl for a very long time. He was becoming sick of referring to her as the "girl". But he was scared of himself. He had never been more scared of himself in his entire lifetime. These emotions that kept driving him to do things. Instead of becoming more like his demon father, he became more and more human. He saw the decline in this plight. He saw this happen to his father, as well. He fell in "love" and fostered a hanyou with the human woman, Lady Izayoi. Never would he forget the day his father spoke his last words to him:

"Have you anyone to protect?"

He had answered 'No' without hesitation. Now he wasn't so sure. Was his father asking him if he had no one to protect as a good thing, or was he angry with him for not understanding his words clearly? Mayhap his father was trying to tell him that he couldn't be as great as he until he had someone to protect. Mayhap he had been wrong. Thoughts seemed to tumble into Sesshoumaru's consciousness like an unwelcome stream of boulders. Father had died for his "love", for lady Izayoi. Why did he do it? Why did the greatest demon to walk the earth die for such a hateful cause? Why did he just release his hold on life… a life that he would have lived for many more years to come… for a human woman! For Inu-Yasha's mother. He had silently grieved for his father when he had died. All he ever wanted was to duplicate the strength of his father and then double it. His only dream as a boy was to defeat his father in open combat. But what of this girl? She seemed to have no problem with him referring to her in a nameless way, but surely, it bothered her. It had to bother her.

Her thoughts seemed to slide to the same subject every time she had a notion. He never seemed to ask her her name. Was she so lowly? But if she as, why was he like that during mid-day? He had been kind, and almost a comic. How could he just not notice how she was feeling? Her brother had always been good at telling her how she felt. Her mother and father were long gone, and Kioko… oh, Kioko. She was the first to ruin her life. Her only hero was Katsuo. He was her beloved big brother. Strong, gentle, and wise. He was the only one who ever treated her like a person. Her parents were the rulers of a land far away. A tribe of demon lived there… but it was to painful a memory. Kioko had been her best friend. They would sit up for hours and talk of nothing but futures and husbands. They loved chatter and never seemed to be idle. Kioko… her name meant "laughter". Yes, how Kioko did make her laugh. Never before had someone done that other than her brother. But that's how it happened. Slowly, but surely, her brother fell in love with Kioko. She was a strong woman and would make a good queen… but her brother would never talk to her anymore. Kioko never talked to her anymore. They were always together, never apart. The wind bowed to the two, and sometimes she thought she heard their still sweet voices, calling her, beckoning her, pleading her to come to them. She would never go home. After the marriage, she lost sight of them all together, and flew into a depression so profound that the darkness almost overcame her. But on one occasion, she read a story about a land swarming with demons and humans locked in a battle for superiority. But this place was no battle. Humans would destroy anything new that scared them. Including her. She had been very new, and made friends with a small girl in the village. But one day, she fell into a crevice, and she had saved Hotaru. When they went back to the village, Hotaru told everyone about her near death experience… and she was blamed for it. All the able-bodied men from the town came after her when the moon was full. She had destroyed them in self-defense. Why die for vainglory? She sighed as the moon relaxed her tensing muscles. But she felt the shadow of a cloud rising overhead, blocking the stunning majesty. What was that taste in the air?

Sesshoumaru stopped to examine the cloud approaching. He could see she was growing weak again, but that cloud carried some form of a demon. And he did NOT want it to get it's grubby fingers on her. But did he have a claim to her? Why not let them have her if they want? Why did he care? But that was just it. He knew he cared. He had never asked her her name because something grows in meaning when you can call it something. That was why he was glad she couldn't say his name. He didn't want meaning to her, and he didn't want her to have meaning to him. He wanted it to be easy to let her walk off on her own, away from him. Almost glad, he would be if she did that. He would show her the way, or would he? Could he do that? Or not even could he, but was he not strong enough to do that? The callusing against this woman had to start now, before she left a forever impression. That would NOT do.

The cloud covered the moon with an almost green haze. Blue lightning flashed from the oncoming storm, and she grew afraid. She couldn't do anything without the moon. How was she to do anything? The trees seemed to sway of their own accord, and once more, she thought she heard the calls of Katsuo and Kioko. She heard the gentle cries of Hotaru, and felt the regret for impacting so many people with her selfishness. Now, he needed her. Only in her mind could she say his name, but her tongue would not allow it. Why had he saved her?

'Sesshoumaru!' Why had he not left her there to die?

'Sesshoumaru!' Why did he feed her and carry her when she couldn't do so for herself? Why was he about to fight an evil creature, no doubt!

A large demon came from that cloud. His Yukata was black with red lettering. Shin guards and a breastplate decorated the Yukata, and his hair fell in long, curly brown locks. His eyes gleamed red and his hand held a huge sword. He seemed to be mad, for his eyes were angry but a huge grin covered his countenance. Never had she seen such long, sharp teeth! His upper dragon teeth must have been at least six inches long and slightly curled around his chin.

"You have entered my dominion! What say you Sesshoumaru, Youkai demon? Fight me and die or leave and I may spare you!"

"Pity, why would I leave and risk losing good entertainment," his deep voice rumbled along with the thunder.

"What do you take me for? A hanyou? Oh, wait! I've forgotten. Your brother is a half ling isn't he? What a pathetic fool!"

"He's not my brother!" Sesshoumaru said, leaving emotion out, but filling his four-worded phrase with vocal triumph.

The demon jerked his chin, and dropped down to attack. Sesshoumaru flew to meet his blade with anticipation flowing off of his sword. His face held a look of indifferent disappointment, like always.

"Hm… Maybe I'll take your woman as a prize when I finish you off, eh doggy? Maybe I'll turn your slave into a footstool while she can massage my feet and whisper love poems in my ears! Wouldn't that be fun, puppy? To bad you won't see it!" The demon antagonized between fiery slashes.

Sesshoumaru's face did not betray the absolute rage that boiled in his veins. He flew with his sword at the demon, who smiled cockily.

"We'll just see who massages your feet and whispers love poems in your ears when you get to hell."

A simple statement, but one that cannot be overlooked. There was no denying who was stronger. Sesshoumaru was the perfect competitor for a demon who played with emotions.

'Sesshoumaru!' her heart beat faster watching the two trying to destroy each other.

The wind began to chill, and she knew who was calling her. She stared up at the sky and saw the moon begin to pull out of the green clutches. Her brother called her, but she knew that he thought he knew her answer. But he was wrong.

'I'm sorry brother. I cannot go back now. Sesshoumaru needs me!'

Almost immediately, the wind calmed and everything was quiet in her mind. He had heard her. Hopefully, he understood her as well.

'Sesshoumaru!'

If only he knew her name! If only he could call out to her for help! But it was pointless. He was to proud.

Sesshoumaru felt a smile stand on his face as he attacked the stupid demon who now understood who was the master of the sword. He knocked away his scratched and torn sword, and put the demon to his knees.

That's when she had it. The perfect name! It was a little silly, but it fit him so well! She knew she'd cheer him on as he prepared for the deathblow!

Sesshoumaru put the sword to the top of the demons scowling head, as to cut him in half, but just as he lifted the blade, he heard something that made his thoughts previously die. She had for him a name!

"Kill him Fluffy! Swipe him down the middle!"

Jaken looked at her with an odd expression.

"F-fluffy?" asked the demon on the ground.

But as soon as the words were out of his mouth, it was over. The body fell in two pieces on either side of Sesshoumaru. But that's not what he was looking at. The girl, who made him not know himself, had found him a name. Now, she could try to take him home, like a nameless stray dog.

"YA! Go Fluffy! I knew you could do it!"

"Fluffy? Are you mad, woman?" Jaken scolded her while Sesshoumaru walked three paces in front of them.

She would prefer to be walking with him, but made a sacrifice to be reprimanded by Jaken.

"How could you be so stupid, dear girl?" Jaken asked with spite in his voice, "By the way… just between you and me, what is your name, foolish mortal?"

She bent down to Jaken and whispered: "Kita Mai Tsuyu, but call me Kit, ok?"

Jaken nodded, and noticed that Lord Sesshoumaru must not have been paying attention.

'Hm… so her name consists of "North" "Brightness" and "Morning Dew". What a lovely name! But what a lovely meaning that fits her so well!'

Sesshoumaru heard her whispering something but decided not to intrude. She had told Jaken her name, he was sure of it!

'Fluffy? What kind of name is Fluffy!?' He thought to himself.