Ryoko's eyes narrowed as she glared daggers at the man before her, "And why the hell would I do that?" She growled out, placing her own chopsticks back into the box despite the fact that her meal was only half eaten, Sesshomaru was about to respond when Washu entered the lab.

"I hate to admit it Ryoko dear, but… You may have to give him at least some aid, with the injury he has and the fact that he only has one arm well… It'll be hard for him to properly clean himself." Washu said as seriously as she could, she then decided to finish the rest of the conversation over the mental link. 'Besides this is a way for you to reinforce his trust for you, and at this point…. You're the only one he trusts enough to bathe him.'

Ryoko flinched at this seeing her mother's point, in most aspects it wasn't really that big of a deal to her. She'd proven time and time again that nudity and personal space weren't really that big of issues in her book; her problem in this case was… His attitude, she was afraid that he might take this as an 'I'm more dominant than you' outlook which could lead to her losing all hopes of getting to know him better on equal terms.

After a moment of contemplation she glanced back over at the demon lord trying to hide her resentment for the idea as best she could, "Yeah that's true, wouldn't want ole gimpy to injure himself any further, hmm alright. Come on dirt ball." She said teleporting over to him quickly and grabbing his bento before he could respond.

"Here," She said throwing Washu the two containers, "could you take those back to Sasami? His is empty, but mine still has some in it, tell her she can make less for me at lunch then and just heat that up." Washu nodded trying not to grin as Ryoko grabbed the temperamental man by the hand before whisking him away with a slight hiss.

"Are you sure his scent is going this way Inuyasha? There doesn't seem to be anything over this way…" Kagome said looking at the rather flat area that surrounded them, they'd just a few minutes ago come out into a large clearing. There was a crater off to their left and not far ahead of them the area lead into another, smaller forest, but this forest seemed to lead back up into the mountains.

The hanyou stood up from where he had been sniffing the ground his expression serious, "Yeah, I'm positive, Sesshomaru's scent is very faint…. But Naraku's isn't." He growled, he then glanced up towards the mountains. "Anybody else feel that?" He asked his golden eyes narrowing; he could see the faint outline of a rough path leading up into the forest opposite them.

"Yes, I feel it Inuyasha…. There's a pretty strong aura coming from up there…But it's as if it's being blocked by something." Miroku said his grip tightening on his staff as the ascended the rather rough forest path, Jaken mumbled a line of curses from not far behind them as he tripped over a tree branch and rolled back down the way he'd just come.

Ignoring the small imp's plight they continued onwards until a large, ominous looking cave could be seen looming just beyond the bamboo that surrounded them.

Sesshomaru stiffened as he felt himself being pulled closer to the demoness' warm body, the speed at which they'd been moving just seconds before stopped instantly and he could once again hear properly. He stood still unsure if his feet were actually placed on the ground or not, and the only sound was the soft rushing of water around him. The scent of various minerals and a rough earthy smell assaulted his senses; he remained there taking it all in, the serenity calming him at once.

Ryoko admired his strong body as she kept her arms in place around him despite the fact that they were standing on the wooden planks at the entrance of the Onsen, she'd never been so close to him and had time to admire him before. Even covered with dirt and grime as he was he struck her as a stoic, royal and handsome figure. She could feel her stomach doing flip flops as she took notice to how his lips were slightly parted and how his toned figure could be seen through the tattered remains of what seemed to be a once regal kimono.

Her breath hitched as she noticed his eyes fluttering open, she pushed herself back not wanting him to fall into another distrustful fit. He watched her coolly through calm eyes, the cold amber gaze never once leaving her face despite the fact that she stood before him completely nude.

Keeping her amber eyes averted from his she snapped her fingers, summoning a white towel from thin air. She tossed it to him, still not moving her eyes towards him; not even to check if he'd caught the towel. She then flew over towards where the wooden planks stopped just by a small waterfall, and snapped her fingers a second and third time. This time a wooden bucket appeared with various soaps and shampoos, it was quickly followed by a teal wash cloth.

"Well, you comin' or not?" She growled in a slightly irritated voice, she was shocked when he was suddenly right at her side. She hadn't even heard him approaching let alone moving at all, and he had already discarded the tattered remains of his clothing and donned the towel on his lower half. "Uh, s-sit down will ya?" She said trying to keep her voice as demanding as she could.

Sesshomaru did as he was told calmly setting himself down in front of her, and there he sat patiently waiting for her to begin. He had to admit that the scent of the minerals in the Onsen was taking over most of his senses, but another smell had caught his attention. It was one he hadn't noticed since he'd arrived until just several minutes ago, '…The full moon does draw close, but not all demons are affected by it.' He mused to himself trying to keep that thought from creeping back into his mind he cleared his throat. "Well woman? I'm waiting, you said you'd be cleaning me yet all you are doing is sitting there." He growled, twiddling his claws against the cool wooden planks.

Blinking Ryoko quickly squeezed out some body wash onto the wash cloth before lathering it up, "Jeez chill out, I'll have you all dolled up in no time! Do you want me to redo that make up of yours too?" She asked with a huff as she slapped the sudsy wash cloth rather forcefully into his well toned back.

The demon lord glared at her from over his shoulder, "Make up? What are you implying woman?" He asked in a dangerously low tone, she grinned cattily at him.

"Oh come on! You've got eye shadow on; you're obviously one of those men who likes to look better than the women he's with." She said with a slight snicker, and the fact that his muscles were tightening underneath her fingers only made it more gratifying… Or so she thought.

"This Sesshomaru does not have any need for such trivial things, and as such does not wear anything…" The Tai Youkai said in a rather offended tone, Ryoko blinked before teleporting so that she was in front of him. Her own amber eyes narrowed in concentration. She began to scrub gently around his eyes much to the demon lord's discomfort.

Then with a frown she sat back on her haunches, "…. I guess it isn't make up, they're markings then?" She asked in a much more kind tone as she continued to carefully remove the dirt and grime from his face.

She almost missed his slight nod as she examined his smooth and relatively flawless skin as it was slowly uncovered from beneath the layer of filth that had coated it.

As she continued to clean the demon lord she finally coaxed him into talking a bit about himself, he explained how his father was the head of a great clan that ruled over the western province of feudal Japan. She heard of many glorious battles he and his kinsman had waged against other clans and nations, she learned of the little ward that followed him at his ankles… Well both of them, the imp and a little girl by the name of Rin.

"….Don't you have a brother too?" She asked her hand slowing to a stop

The rest of their time spent together in the onsen seemed to fly by and before Ryoko had even realized it she was done with her job. She sat back and admired her work, he was stunning. She couldn't help but admire his good build, handsome features and long flowing tresses.

Washu's voice suddenly brought her back to her senses, "Ah, good you're done. I came to deliver Sesshomaru's new clothes and to tell you, my forgetful daughter that Tenchi is probably getting pretty hungry about now."

Ryoko's eyes widened at her mothers comment, "SHIT! I've got to go now!" She cried teleporting to the door, now fully clothed she turned her head slightly to gaze back at the demon lord. "That was… Fun, well talk to you later." She said simply before disappearing from view.

Washu shook her head, "Well, Ryoko will be Ryoko. Anyway, here, these clothes aren't exactly what you're used to, but well, they're what your people wear. You're actually not a demon, you come from the Caniscean race." She said in a matter of fact tone, nearly forcing the odd garments into his unwilling hand.

The demon lord stared at the foreign robes, but something also seemed oddly familiar about them…

Ryoko grumbled a thin line of curses as she sped towards the house, her hair flowing wildly out behind her as she did so. She could see Sasami waiting patiently by the back door, "I'm sorry I'm a little late Sasami… Who knew that pompous ass had so much dirt on him." She said with a slight chuckle as she landed lightly several feet in front of the younger girl.

"It's alright Ryoko… To be honest I wasn't expecting to see you here right on time, but anyway… Here, I did what you said with your meal and I gave Tenchi some extras. Good luck!" The little girl said with a smile before she turned and ran back into the house, leaving Ryoko to her thoughts.

"…. Yeah, thanks Sasami…. I'll need all the luck I can get."

A/N: Wooooow sorry for the late update o.o; This freakin' chapter was already typed and everything! I can't believe it… Haha… Oops. Uhm so yeah, it's been awhile. I'm a tad worried to even try to write like this again it seems so much better than a recent attempt at fanfiction I started for Twilight . But I'll do my best 'cuz I really, really liked the idea for this story. As for the questions…

Vi: Sesshomaru does talk in the first person in the Inuyasha series on occasion, in my fic I plan on having him use it when he's being an ass. Once he starts to get used to the Ryoko and the others, and begins building trust and respect for them I plan on having him speak normally.

Francina Gorman: Ryoko can reproduce, her sex drive and most of her other emotions were subdued by Kagato to make her the 'perfect' killer. She had no distractions, no humanity. I'm guessing that's why he also tampered with her senses, she doesn't need to eat or drink because she gets her power from the gems.

Oh, yeah before I forget I wanted to credit another author for one of my descriptions of the girls... Cuz its been a while I dont really have their username or real name all I can remember is the story title x_x The "blunette" term or whatever it was I used for Kiyone was something I saw in the story "Red, Red Roses" Its a KiyoRyo Fic... I believe on Adult fanfiction.

AND since I'm guessing people will have comments about the statement Washu made *points up* about Sesshomaru NOT being a demon? Be patient… It will be explained, and I promise I won't take forever to update x_x BUT I need reviews people! Please??? *puppy eyes*