CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sesshomaru
When I had finally woken up, I felt something bound around my middle, constricting me. I was laying on something soft, instead of the hard ground. I had to admit, that felt good.
I sat up, feeling my hair brush against my back. Being able to feel that made me realize that I was shirtless, and heavily bound with bandages. I was sitting on a futon in an area I didn't recognize. However, when I tried to get up to explore my surroundings, a sharp pain shot up through both of my sides. I remembered then. Everything that had happened up until that point.
I recognized the surroundings now. It was Father's palace. I was in my old room. Sighing, I lay back onto the futon, looking up at the ceiling. The wood was slightly comforting. I began to fall back asleep, when suddenly, an unmistakable scent filled my nose. It couldn't be... I turned to the door, just as the all-too-familiar face ran in. She was carrying a tray, and was wearing one of my old kimonos that was still too large for her.
"Mikage?" I asked, feeling genuine shock. She was back from the dead, and wasn't injured at all. How, though? I had returned to a seated position when she had entered. How was this possible? Did this mean that I was dead? She sat down beside me, her soft brown hair falling around her. She had this wide grin on her face, as she set the tray down next to me.
"Are you feeling better? You had your Papa and I worried for a while," she murmured quietly, tilting her head. "You were sleeping for a really long time..."
"How are you alive?" I blurted out, still surprised. She looked taken aback, before looking down.
"U-um well... Lord Inu no Taisho brought me back... And he's letting me um... Cook for you and Lord Jaken... O-oh...! Are your bandages too tight? I wrapped them..." She ran her hand along them, gently inserting her finger beneath it to test. I shook my head, and pushed her hand away. This was all quite a bit to take in at once.
Quickly, she withdrew her hand and held it against her chest. The sleeve of the kimono was so big, that it covered her hand completely, not that she seemed to mind. "I-I'm sorry... I should have asked before testing... U-um... Are you hungry...? I made you meat buns and rice... Um..." She was now fidgeting with the tray, making sure to place everything perfectly. It was getting annoying quickly. She looked up, and saw the look I was giving her before stopping. "S-sorry..."
"Mikage. Why are you being so antsy...? It's getting irritating." All of a sudden, she became flushed, her cheeks going completely red. Groaning, I looked at her. "What is it?"
"W-well... Um... It's just that... You're using my name now... And-"
"Why does that matter to you?" I asked, feeling my patience dwindling. She was now fiddling with the kimono, looking everywhere else besides at me. She muttered something very quiet under her breath, inaudible even to me. "What did you say?" I pressed, glaring at her.
"I-it's just that... I think of you as... Um... A friend... Even though you don't think of me that way..."
She looked as though she were ready to leave, but didn't want to risk it. Yet again she had brought up that pathetic friendship subject. How long was she going to persist with that? Still, though... At least she was bothering me with this instead of being dead. I looked up for a while.
"I see," I said, closing my eyes. Quietly, she picked up the tray again, and lay it upon my lap. She bowed after getting up.
"Please eat, Lord Sesshomaru... You need it," she told me. I frowned. She had gone to so much trouble for nothing. Didn't she realize that I didn't eat food that I didn't get myself? I looked at her, and she smiled. She walked out of the room, just barely getting out without tripping over the kimono.
I was rather hungry... Seeing as she's a full-demon... Perhaps it wouldn't harm me just this once.
I ate slowly, knowing that any faster may harm my healing in some way. She was decent at cooking. The meat buns warm and smooth against my tongue, the rice perfect and firm. She must have worked on it for a long time. Though I would consider it a waste, she probably thought otherwise. I could hear her and Father talking, but surprisingly no Jaken... She did say that she was tending to Jaken as well. Perhaps something happened to him. I would have to punish him later for not following orders.
Setting the tray aside, I forced myself to my feet. I knew that it wouldn't take long for me to heal, as I had already started. There was some pain in my sides, but I chose to ignore it. That girl had seriously injured me. Just the thought of it annoyed me to no end. And the fact that she had died soon after, yet not from my doing. I uttered a growl. Perchance she would provide me a powerful foe later in life. As soon as I thought that, though, I realized how many things were wrong with it. One, she would never even learn how to fight. And two, she would never face me in a fight. That girl. So full of nonsense was she, and that I had the time of day for her... Gah!
I slashed at the wall in anger, watching as my claws left deep gashes in the wood. What was this girl, and what was she doing to me? My mouth drew back in a snarl. Just thinking of such things was enough to infuriate me. Why was she capable of surfacing such weak feelings in me? It was unreal! Such a foolish, frail little girl was weakening me. Ridiculous! Absurdity, is what it was. Yet the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was right. I sunk back down onto the floor, sighing as I did. I lay back, not caring about how hard the floor was.
I blame Mother for bringing her to me. She had no right taking Mikage from that flower field. She could have just shooed her away. But no. She had to bring her in, speaking of the whole mate idea. She must have done it just to try to injure my pride. That was the whole reason. I closed my eyes, reliving the incident in my mind. Jaken, Mother, Father, and that girl... They all just stood in my way. Especially the girl. I began to drift off, thinking of it all over and over.