Chapter 44:
"Urk! Please, let this be the last…!" Arisa pleaded as she handed over the empty cup to Sesshomaru.
"This will teach you a lesson to not get sick again." He replied sharply, and it made her fume.
"Excuse me? If I remember correctly, I didn't ask you to—"
Just then, she was interrupted by familiar voices from outside.
'We came to visit Arisa. She's been absent for a while and we're worried about her…'
It's Yukino and Mari…!
'How lovely of you to come! Go right ahead, you two. She's in her room upstairs.' Her mother said and once she heard the door close, she quickly got up of her bed and pushed Sesshomaru towards her window.
"What are you doing?" he irritably asked.
"Go and hide somewhere! I can't let my friends see you!"
He only lifted an eyebrow at her as it seemed like she was chasing him out unnecessarily.
"What are you waiting for? Get out of here…!"
Arisa's door opened a second later, so she immediately went and gave them a sudden, forceful hug that made them trample on the floor. She secretly looked back to see if her previous guest was still there and to her relief, he was gone. Her window was open.
"H-hey Arisa! What was that for?" Yukino complained as the three of them sat up, to which Arisa only cackled nervously.
"W-well, I was really glad you came to visit me. Sorry."
"O-kay…?" she replied dubiously, but Arisa chose to ignore it.
Arisa was catching up with Yukino and Mari, and soon, her room was filled with laughter. Sesshomaru, on the other hand…was sitting at their roof, and was actually listening to what the girls were talking about. He didn't understand a single thing though, because they were all related to the modern world.
Noticing that Arisa's friends already left for some time, he entered her room through the window once again. However, he was baffled to see her uptight and serious, while skimming through a lot of books and papers.
"What are you doing?" he simply asked, but it made her flinch vigorously.
"Gya! You surprised me, Sesshomaru…"
"All I did was ask."
"Yes, but you were awfully stealthy I didn't even notice you were there."
"No. You were too focused on those books so you didn't mind my presence."
"Right…"
He found it odd that she just straight up agreed with his statement. He studied her for a bit, and she really was concentrated on reading and scribbling.
"Is that something important?"
"Yes. I totally forgot about our midterm exams tomorrow so I need to prepare."
"Midterm exams?"
"Uh…it's kind of like a challenge that we definitely have to pass."
Though he didn't respond, she didn't mind as well because her attention quickly went back to her books.
After a few hours of reading, she took a quick break and that's when she took note of Sesshomaru still being there; who was now busy looking at stuff from her middle and high school days, including photos.
"H-hey! Who gave you permission to look at those…" she screamed, out of embarrassment.
"What? You want me to just sit still and do nothing?"
"Umm, you could've gone outside…or go back…just like you always do."
"No. I'm fine being in this room."
"Are you sure…?"
"Do not make me reiterate my words. Finish what you're doing so you can rest early."
"…okay then. Thanks."
It almost seems like…he's secretly keeping me company. Ah…! But I still feel flippant about him viewing my pictures and touching my things. I wonder what he thinks about it…
The moment Arisa thought that, her heart skipped a beat and she panicked. Sesshomaru seemed to notice her frantic actions, as he glanced towards her.
"What's wrong?"
"N-nothing!" she quickly protested, and covered her face with the book she was reading.
This isn't the time to be love struck! I'll have all the time for it once this exam is over, so please…be calm, my heart!
Arisa was flabbergasted to know that it was already past midnight. If Sesshomaru didn't speak up at all, she would've totally been absorbed by the books until morning.
"It's already late. Why don't you go to sleep?"
"I know. But I'm not yet done with this."
"Your recovery will go to waste."
"Stop talking. You're ruining my concentration."
All of a sudden, she felt Sesshomaru behind her and on the next minute, he lifted her over his shoulders and then tossed her to bed.
"What do you think you're doing!?"
"I cannot afford to be stuck on your whims all the time. Hurry up and get better. " He demanded, and strode out of the room with a disgruntled expression.
She was frustrated at his behavior, but at the same time, she felt guilty about it. It really was even a miracle that Sesshomaru stayed with her for that long. Also, he had a point about her recovery going to waste, so she decided to let it pass and just had to make do with her short review session.
Hold on. I haven't even had the chance to ask him about that incident. And strangely, Sesshomaru has been accompanying me ever since. Could it be…?
She shifted to a more comfortable sleeping position, but her mind continued to be filled with nothing but Sesshomaru.
Oh no, I'm thinking about it too much and now it's making my heart race. How am I supposed to sleep when it's like this?
Sesshomaru sat down under the big tree, his usual spot at this residence.
Arisa, that stubborn woman.
He was busy calming himself down, when another presence came and distracted him.
"Ah, Sesshomaru-san!"
He eyed at the person with disinterest, and then quickly averted them.
"So it's the younger brother this time."
Jin laughed nervously. "You don't have to be so rude and uptight…"
"What do you want?"
"It's nothing, really. I was just curious about you being here this late."
"Same to you."
Jin gave him a troubled grin. "Aha, right…about that. Actually, I was on my way to get some water and then, I happened to hear your conversation earlier with my sister, Arisa."
Sesshomaru stayed silent, waiting for Jin to continue.
"Please try to understand her. She was consistently an achiever ever since she was young, so when it comes to her studies…she always gives it her all, no matter what her situation is. And now that she's living a double life…she may not admit it, but I know she is having a hard time-"
He was at least familiar about her studies. But, he really didn't get what he meant by 'an achiever'. Still, he had a hunch that it was something of a status that she tried to have and maintain, and that she had given so much effort for it.
"Do not give me such gibberish. It was easy for her to just abandon going into the well."
For the first time in his life, he regretted about saying something like that and it surprised him.
"Let me finish, Sesshomaru-san."
"…"
"Despite that, she is definitely doing her best to cope up with it. To me, it looks like she found someone important over there, that's why she couldn't just give it up."
"It is none of my concern."
Jin looked at Sesshomaru, and though he sounded monotonous, his eyes gleamed with softness but at the same time…anxiety. It's like he was holding himself back for some reason; yet, he didn't have any idea about it.
"I thought I wanted you to know."
"…"
"Then, I'll head inside first. You should too, Sesshomaru-san." Jin said, and walked off without any more words from the dog demon.
Someone important that she couldn't give up, is it.
Sesshomaru stared at the night sky, wondering about the stirring in his heart as he continued to think about who that important person might be.
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