Blood Stained

Blood Stained

Chapter 11: Apprehension

Two days, or was it three?

For the past couple of days, Sesshomaru had locked himself inside his personal library. It had now become obvious to him that his beast was out of control, and he had decided to dedicate his time, trying to find a solution to his problem. He would expose his current complication to anyone, which meant he had to find an answer on his own. Sesshomaru did not require any sleep, or barely, and had spent hours skimming through scrolls. His amber eyes should have been exhausted from the effort, but he still felt extremely refresh.

On his left side, there was a mountain of scrolls, slowly falling apart, leaving his library almost empty. Not one of them contained information that was useful to him, and his irritability was growing. It was impossible for him to be the only one affected by such troubles. All these worthless youkais did not possess 1/3 of this power, yet none of them struggled with their beast? It made absolutely no sense to him. Aggravated, Sesshomaru threw his latest scroll against the wall, creating a loud thump, and causing the wall to shake.

The only positive thing he could reckon at the moment was the peace and quiet he had managed to obtain. Neither the miko, Rin nor Jaken had entered his library to bother him with useless matter. Even more surprising, was the silence coming from his beast. It felt as if Sesshomaru could not even recall the last time his beast hadn’t taken over at least once a day. He would not complain; it had created distance between him and the Miko, and he had not seen her in over two days. It was almost shocking that his beast wasn’t trying to break out of its cage to see her.

The last time he had caught a glimpse of her was after their encounter with Rin, and he didn’t mind. She was extremely emotional, loud mouth, stubborn, and impolite. He could not help but wonder if all females from the future were as badly raised as her. How did they lose all their manners? Until now, he hadn’t given much thought to her time period, but now, he couldn’t help the questions that came to his mind. He knew she had very little knowledge about youkais, which lead him to believe the youkais population wasn’t high in her time. What happened to his kind?

Sesshomaru had no desire to see her at the moment, especially since it might trigger his beast, hence why he decided to keep his questions to himself for the moment. He would get answers out of her eventually; she had to be of some use. He rubbed the side of his head, using his index, as he tried to get his focus back on his research.

The more he read, the more time he was wasting. Sesshomaru knew that one of the few solutions left was to seek for a dark miko’s help, and try to find a way to seal his beast away. He wasn’t sure such thing was possible since his beast was apart of him in every way, but it was worth a try. He put the last scroll down, before getting up, which he hadn’t done in days, and straightening himself. Sesshomaru did not even have the time to make it to the door that burst open.

“MILORD!” screamed Jaken before throwing himself at Sesshomaru’s feet.

For days now, Jaken had been standing beside the door, not moving an inch, while waiting for his lord to immerge from the room. As usual, Sesshomaru had not share his business with him, leaving Jaken to worry. After the event that had occurred the day the hanyou came, he had an idea what was happening to his beloved lord.

Sesshomaru’s expression remained unchanged as he walked over Jaken, exiting the room. He had been aware of the toad’s presence by his door, which had been a nagging feeling the whole time, and had assumed Rin had spent her time with the miko. He wasn’t concerned with Rin, since he knew nothing would occur while they were inside his own castle. Sesshomaru kept walking down the hall, until he reached the miko’s room. He could sense that she was there, by herself. Without another thought about her, he walked off, somewhat satisfied with the fact that she was still alive.

“Sesshomaru-sama?”

Rin dared to poke her head in the hall to see if her father figure was there. She hadn’t seen him in a while, and everything she asked Jaken about it, he told her that Sesshomaru could not be bothered. Her features were sad, hey eyes missing their usual sparkle.

Sesshomaru stopped, and looked at her, expecting her to explain what the matter was. Rin approached him, fidgeting with her hands. “Rin thinks Kagome is sick.”

For a split second, Sesshomaru was almost taken back by her words. The miko was sick? Nothing had occurred for her to catch a disease, she had been everywhere Rin had, and the little girl seemed healthy. As he remained silent, Rin grew more worried. “She doesn’t come out of her room, and she never eats her food. Rin sees them bring her trays still filled with food.”

Sesshomaru stared at his worried ward, almost cursing the miko. She had brought nothing but trouble, and now, Rin was worried over her health. He felt a headache coming, and he sighed silently. “Hn,” was his only answer for Rin.

The little girl nodded, a tiny smile appearing on her face. Even though Sesshomaru hadn’t said much, Rin knew he would check up on Kagome, and it made her feel better. He had taken such good care of her, and she knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to Kagome. “Thank you,” she whispered, before moving out of his way. Rin watched him walk away, happiness filling her child heart.

Sesshomaru was walking in direction of the kitchen where he found the servants who had been taking care of the miko. He did believe Rin’s words, but he did not think the miko was sick, it had to be something else. Surely the ones who were assigned to look after her needs would know what the situation with her was. He wanted to get this done quickly; he had wasted enough time on her.

***

The light was trying to enter the dark room, but Kagome had made sure the curtains were tightly closed, leaving the room in a completely darkness. After she had collected flowers with Rin, she had ran straight for her room, and hide herself inside of it ever since. Rin hadn’t stop talking the whole time, and had clearly been excited about her and Sesshomaru. Kagome hadn’t been able to do anything but nod her head once in a while, her mind working over time. She hated the way her true relationship with Sesshomaru was hidden from her, but she would never taint the image Rin had of Sesshomaru. He had been a good father to her, and that was the only thing Kagome wanted Rin to see him as.

But for her, it was hard to see Sesshomaru as a good person, no matter which side she was facing. One of his personalities was cold, heartless, and for the most part despised humans, while the other one claimed to love her, yet, abused her psychologically and physically. Plus, the same person did both actions, so it mattered very little who was talking to her. With every day that passed, he made it harder for her to continue, but she refused to give up.

Since she had been locked up in the same room for over two days, it could feel as if she was giving in, but she wasn’t. She needed this because it was the first time she had been able to let everything out without being interrupted. For almost a whole day straight, she had shed tears, until her body had been out of water. The action hadn’t done much, except relieve her of some of the stress she had been put through. She was currently buried under mountains of blankets and pillows, and she had absolutely no intention of coming out anytime soon.

Kagome had a feeling though that someone would come and break through her quietness. The neko youkais were growing more pushy, and they had become somewhat forceful ever since she had started to refuse their food. Kagome knew it was not because they cared about her, but because they might suffer Sesshomaru’s wrath if something happened to her. As if. She would be happy if he just decided to leave her there to die. She didn’t need his pity nor his false caring.

Although, the absence of food had started to affect her slightly. Kagome was feeling light headed sometimes, and the lack of food had even made her nauseous, although that might have been cause by her stress. Sometimes during the night, since she couldn’t sleep, Kagome had counted the days until her period, only to realize she should have had them, about two to three days ago. Obviously, the idea of pregnancy had jumped to her mind, and it had been hard to keep her stress level down. At the moment she was trying hard to convince herself that her lateness was caused by the recent events. She had read in the past that high stress, and nervousness cause delay periods, and the recent occurrence were more than reasons enough for that to happen.

Kagome wasn’t sure if she believed her own lies or not, but she hung on to it. It was not as if she disliked the idea of a baby, or that she would hate the child, but she had no desire to have it in such circumstances. She dragged her hands over to her stomach, and caress it slightly. If she was indeed pregnant, the lack of food was bad for the child, but she felt so weak at the moment, she didn’t even have the energy to get out of the bed. Tears threatened to fall, as the possibility that there was a child, her child, growing inside of her, became more prominent.

Even if the child was going to have this monster as its father, she would love it with all her soul, and protect it with everything she had. Rape wasn’t the situation in which she had wished to create life, but if it were meant to happen like this, she would cherish the baby. A child did not have to be punished for Sesshomaru’s actions, and she would never take it out on the baby. This time, there was no stopping the tears that fell down her cheeks, and once again, she welcomed them.

Kagome jumped slightly when she heard the door of her bedroom opened, and she immediately tried to completely cover herself. She hated the fact that she couldn’t tell who was coming, or when. She tried to remain as still as possible, and she simply observed as someone walk over to her bed, and put down a tray of food beside her. She was barely breathing, trying not to make a sound when the blankets were lifted from her body. Her eyes widen as she found herself starting at Sesshomaru, his amber eyes reflecting his usual coldness.

Her mouth was slightly opened, as no sound escaped her throat. Sesshomaru watched her, growing more annoyed by the second; he couldn’t comprehend why she had to make everything so difficult. “Miko, you will not starve to death while you are under this Sesshomaru’s care.”

Immediately Kagome turned her head away from him, trying to push away her tears. Why did it matter to him if she ate or not, if she lived or die? He raped her, abused her, and threw her around as if she was nothing but a doll void of any type of feelings? “I’m not hungry,” she said, her voice extremely quiet. She hadn’t spoken in so long, she felt as if the words were burning her throat.

“This Sesshomaru does not repeat himself.” He was not going to feed her, and he wasn’t going to tend to her need, but she needed to eat something. He had been prepared for her stubbornness, and had come with servants. He signaled for them to come in, which they immediately did. One of them walked over to where Kagome was lying, lifting her up, while the other one took the tray. Panicked, Kagome started to struggle against one of them, but the neko youkai managed to keep her in place without any difficulties.

As one of the females held up something for Kagome to eat, the other one pinched the miko’s nose, so that eventually Kagome would have to open her mouth. Kagome was trying to keep her mouth close as long as possible, but eventually, she needed air, and it opened. Quickly, the youkai stuffed the food in her mouth, barely stopping, forcing Kagome to chew, or she would choke. Her eyes became watery, as they continued their actions; they were feeding her, as if she was a child. She didn’t need to be force to eat, or treated like this.

Kagome refused to be degraded any longer, and slapped one of their hands away. “I can do it myself,” she said, her tone extremely dangerous. She quickly took the tray away from the neko youkai, and slowly began to eat. Kagome refused to look at Sesshomaru, but she assumed he was proud of himself at the moment.

“Struggling is useless,” he said before turning around, ready to leave her room. The miko had eaten something, and he had no more reason to remain in her company. Without another though, he walked out, causing Kagome to breathe out in relief.

She kept chewing her food with extremely low speed, as if every movement was taking her whole energy. She wished he wouldn’t even bother to fulfill his obligations towards her, having to deal with him was the worst, especially when he was his real self. Somehow, it made it harder to know he did not care what his beast had done to her, but then again, to care, you needed a heart, something he did not possess.

***

Mate is hurting.

Sesshomaru almost felt like sighing; he knew that the miko’s presence around him would bring back his beast. He was seriously thinking about building an extra wing, or a smaller house for her, so he wouldn’t cross her path again. His beast was stubborn, and only had her in mind, which made it extremely difficult to deal with. How could it have taken a liking in the miko, when he was supposed to be the most powerful youkai?

It is none of this Sesshomaru’s concern.

He was well aware that his answer would only bring more anger to his beast, but it was the plain truth. As long as she remained alive, he couldn’t care less about the rest. Her feelings, and all those useless emotions weren’t something important to him, so even if she was hurting, it didn’t affect him. Plus, she was most likely the reason of her own suffering.

She is ours mate. We need to comfort her.

This Sesshomaru believes your comfort has only brought the miko more pain.

He didn’t comprehend how his beast could not see her feelings. It was very obvious the miko only had hatred towards him, her who was apparently so pure. Yet, she couldn’t even stop those dark feelings from taking a hold of her heart.

Mate does not understand. She does not know how much we love her. It is because of the hanyou.

Perhaps you shouldn’t have taken her as our mate if she cannot understand youkais ways.

A human had no business getting involved with a youkai in such a way. Sesshomaru wouldn’t stray from that path; it only brought trouble. They weren’t made to mate with each other and produce children. It was ruining and diluting strong, important blood, and it was disgusting.

She will learn, and we will take what she gives us. If the pups are from mate, it does not matter if they are hanyou. There is little you can do, since she is probably already pupped.

This Sesshomaru refused to have a hanyou as an heir.

It is not your decision. You cannot get rid of me; I am you. You are wasting your time, reading while she suffers.

Sesshomaru refused to believe he could not control his own beast. After all, if this thing were truly him, it would not have picked her as a mate. He still maintained his idea to find a way to seal him away.

We need to comfort mate. We need to hold her.

This Sesshomaru will do nothing of the sort. Your childish behavior has set us behind, we have things to do.

Mate comes first.

He was growing tired of his attitude, and the way he always took over. Sesshomaru decided it was time to play it his way, so he could obtain what he desired. The miko had wasted enough of his time as it was.

There are still evil forces running around, would you have them endanger her? Beings like Naraku are still free, and they are a threat to her. We have things to deal with.

Sesshomaru waited for a few seconds, but the beast remained silent. Apparently, it had decided to agree with him. None of what Sesshomaru had said was really true; he had no intention of dealing of Naraku or any scum like him. He did not fear the hanyou, and only when he would cross his path, would he deal with him. For the moment, he had to deal with his beast, and that was more important. Hopefully, he would keep him away long enough to seal him, if it was possible.

Without another word, Sesshomaru exited the castle, and left in direction of the dark miko who had previously helped him. He had no time to waste on another one, and the last time, she had done her work properly. Jaken would watch over Rin, and he had made sure that if the miko didn’t want to eat, they would force her like they had done today, even if it displeased her.

He couldn’t wait to be rid of her.

***

Light.

As Kagome pulled the curtains open, the light hurt her eyes, which had a hard time adjusting. Ever since he had came in her room, she knew her moments of peace and quiet were gone, and now, he would make sure someone bother her every time. She didn’t have energy to waste on such silly fights, and decided to go along with it, preserving her strength for more important matters.

She hadn’t changed in two days, and the last time she had taken a bath was the day before he punished her. Her eyes traveled to the bath, and lingered there; how was she craving for it, wishing to be clean from his scent, and touch. Kagome looked around the room; the females weren’t there meaning that for the first time, she’d be able to bath by herself. Kagome removed her kimono, and delicately folded it before putting it on the bed. She tried not to look down at her body, so she wouldn’t have to see the marks and bruises he had left on her, but it was hard. Every now and then, she was dying to catch a glimpse, but she refused to do that to herself.

Slowly, she slipped into the water, the warmth immediately regenerating her tired body. If she weren’t careful, she would probably fall asleep in the bath, since she had been awake for over two days now. Kagome rested her head against the edge, slowly closing her eyes, but promising herself to remain awake. Before she knew, thoughts of her friends filled her mind, and she found herself chocking on a sob. She hated the way she told them to leave, but she had no other choice. She could still feel Sango’s arms around her, and she suddenly found herself very lonely.

She prayed she wasn’t holding them back in their mission; Miroku’s wind tunnel was getting worst by the day, and she didn’t want him to waste any days waiting on her. She wanted them to continue without her; after all, they had Kikyo who could help them. She couldn’t lie, and pretend it didn’t hurt her to think about Inuyasha and Kikyo together, but this was not about her. It was about her friends, their lives, and their own sacrifices; it could not go to waste.

Kagome was brought out of her thoughts by a nauseous feeling taking over her body. She only had the time to turn her head before she threw up right behind the bath. Her head hung over the edge, vomit in her hair, as she tried to take a deep breath. She had been feeling sick those past couple of days, but she hadn’t thrown up. Then again, up until now, she hadn’t eaten anything; maybe her body had a hard time dealing with food at the moment?

It was hard to ignore the little voice in her head that was screaming pregnancy, but she still pushed it aside. Until she had a confirmation of some sort, she refused to believe she was pregnant. Throwing up, and late periods weren’t enough to convince her yet. Maybe she was insane, or trying to hold on to something, which didn’t exist, but she didn’t care. How could she raise her child in this castle with this monster? Sesshomaru despised hanyou so how would he treat their infant?

She feared for the youngster life, and she did not even know if she was indeed pregnant yet. The way Sesshomaru treated Inuyasha could be a reflection of how he would treat the child, and she wouldn’t tolerate that. She would give her life to protect her infant, but once she was gone, who would protect him? She refused to leave it in the hands of someone like Sesshomaru.

Then, it came again.

Before she knew it, she found herself on four, naked, throwing up on the floor. This time, she had the time to get out of the bath before emptying the content of her stomach. Her arms and legs were extremely shaking, as she threw up once more, her body drained of energy. She dropped to the ground, her ass hitting it hard, as she began to feel dizzy, and her vision blurred up. She tried to grab on to something around her, but found nothing, and slowly, her eyes closed.

She could hear her own heartbeat in her head, as she slowly felt like she was losing consciousness. She could barely move her body, and it felt as if she weighted a ton. Her sickness was starting to disappear, but her head was pounding like crazy. She tried to open her mouth, maybe to cry out for someone, but she couldn’t. Her voice was gone, and she couldn’t even open her mouth.

Slowly, darkness claimed her, and in her drowsiness, Kagome decided she needed some rest.

***

Masuyo smirked, as she waited for him outside, on the edge of the cliff. She had sensed him coming for a few minutes now, and she could feel he was not happy. She was slightly confused since she knew her bracelet was foolproof and there was no way the miko had been able to remove it. Instead of panicking, she decided to calmly wait for his arrival.

After a few more minutes of waiting, Sesshomaru landed beside her, his expression cold, and emotionless. It appeared the miko had been expecting him. Masuyo turned around, and bowed to him. “Sesshomaru-sama,” she politely greeted. “What may I do for you?”

“I need to seal my beast.”

His words surprised the miko, as she gasped. Seal his beast? She had never heard of anything like this before. “Milord, I’m afraid what you are asking is impossible. The only thing which could temporarily seal your beast would always take away everything youkai about you, leaving you no better than a human.” She knew what he asked couldn’t be done, but her mind couldn’t help but try to come up with an answer. The last thing she wanted to do was to anger him, especially if she wanted to remain alive.

For a split second, anger flashed through his eyes. Seal every youkai about him? His beast was not worth becoming powerless, and transforming himself into something he was not. “It is impossible, or you do not possess the knowledge to do so?” After all, he did not know if she was as powerful as she pretended to be.

“It is impossible.” She fought the urge to wince, as she awaited his reaction.

Sesshomaru was aware that she wouldn’t lie, since he would find out. When he would think about it thoroughly, it wasn’t that surprising that it could not be done. After all, he was extremely powerful, and he could not himself stop it from happening. How could something made by someone inferior cause it to cease? He walked towards Masuyo, his eyes not revealing any emotions.

“I’m terribly sorry Sesshomaru-sama,” she said before bowing. She hoped that groveling to him would spare her life. Surely he could understand it was not her fault, and that it was simply something no one could do.

Using his speed, Sesshomaru sped to her side, grabbing her throat. The dark miko immediately felt the pressure he applied to her neck, preventing air from escaping or entering. She tried to break free from his hold, but Sesshomaru refused to bulge. “You are of no more use to this Sesshomaru,” he said, before snapping her neck, and taking her life at the same time.

He slowly dropped her lifeless body to the ground, before walking away from her cavern. She bothered him, she could not perform what he desired, and frankly, she knew too much. It was not her place to know about his business, and the trouble he was having with his beast. Her death meant nothing, and nobody would care, especially not him. Without even given her one last look, Sesshomaru flew off, ready to head back to the castle.

This whole trip had been a waste of his time, and it irritated him. Everything he had done during the past few days had been useless, and it brought him great rage. His time was precious, and he had other things to deal with. It didn’t help that his beast could come and mess up everything at any desired time. Hopefully the little talk from earlier would keep him satisfied for a little longer. Maybe leaving the miko in his castle while he refused his travel was the best way to go about things. After all, why should she burden him?

It only took him a few more minutes to reach the castle, and as soon as he landed, he noticed one of the servant assigned to the miko was waiting outside of the castle. As soon as she saw him, her eyes widen, and she seemed to fear him. When she reached him, she quickly bowed. “My apology Sesshomaru-sama.”

Not understanding why she apologized, he made a gesture signaling for her to get back on her feet. “The lady, she is sick, milord.”

There it was; they were talking about sickness again, just like Rin had. “Explain yourself,” he asked, demanding more details. He would have been able to sense something if she had a disease, yet he hadn’t.

“We found her unconscious on the floor, she had thrown up numerous times, my lord.” They always remained around her bedroom, and once the disgusting smell of her vomit had reached the noise, they had rushed to her side, only to find her in a deep slumber. At first, they thought she had died, but they had quickly noticed she was still alive.

“Where is she?” asked Sesshomaru, clearly annoyed. Why did she always have to cause trouble for him? She simply couldn’t keep to herself, and act like a normal being. Heck, most humans weren’t as troublesome as her.

“We put her in her bed, Sesshomaru-sama.” The females kept her head down obviously scared of his reaction. His words had been clear; they were to look after the miko, and make sure she remains alive. They had failed at their job, and she was scared to face his wrath.

Sesshomaru did not care though; he blamed the miko for letting herself get in such a state. If she had eaten properly, and gotten some sleep she wouldn’t have found herself in such a situation, so she was the only one to blame for this. He gestured his hand at the female, letting her know she was dismissed, and suddenly, she found herself breathing a lot easier. Her eyes were closed, as her stress level went down; she would live to see another day.

He kept a composed speed as he walked through his castle, acting as usual. After all, he was not worried about the miko, but if she did have a disease, then it needed to be treated, and also, he would make sure Rin didn’t come in contact with her more than she already had. This was another reason why having a human mate was bothersome; they were so weak, they could easily get sick. Of course, being mated to a youkai should make them stronger, but in the miko’s case it appeared it did not do a difference.

Useless.

He calmly opened the door of her bedroom, only to find her in a deep slumber, buried under blankets. The awful scent from her bathing misadventure hit is nose, and he lifted his arms so he could cover it. Disgusting. He walked towards her, and approached her bed, trying to look for any sign of sickness. He removed his arm, trying to catch a sniff of her scent, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She smelled as awful as she always did.

Of course, there was another obvious explanation for her sickness, and he could no longer deny it. Sesshomaru took hold of her blankets and pulled them away from her body, revealing her almost naked figure. The servants had only put on her kimono, not bothering to tie it up, so the bow at the back wouldn’t bother her. It was barely covering her nipple, and her stomach was almost fully exposed. Sesshomaru resisted the urge to look away, not from embarrassment, but from disgust. Although, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen her naked body before.

Slowly he approached his face to her flat stomach, burying his nose in her warm skin. It would be hard to tell if she was pupped since it would be very recent, but he had an excellent nose. It also helped that she had just taken a bath, and he hadn’t touched her while she had wore that kimono. His scent, if it was on her at all, shouldn’t be that strong unless she was carrying his pup. The simple thought of her carrying a hanyou, was enough to repulse him.

At first, nothing caught his nose, but he kept moving around, sniffing at her skin. After a few instants, he lifted his hand, and put it on her lower stomach, while he smelled her. He was about to pull away, when something caught his attention. Sesshomaru needed to make sure he was not mistaken, and tried again. The whole time, his eyes remained the same; emotionless. After a few minutes he pulled away, and stood up straight, looking down at the miko.

“Am I pregnant?”

If Sesshomaru could be surprised or shock, he would have been. His eyes moved to meet hers, coldness obvious in them, as if he was trying to scare her. Kagome stared right back, trying not to give in. She had woken up the instant he had made contact with her body. It was almost a natural reaction that her body had developed at his touch. She might react in pleasure, but her mind knew better, and her senses went in alert as soon as he laid a hand on her.

Sesshomaru titled his head slightly, observing her whole body. Such a pity. She wasn’t even beautiful, nothing about her was appealing. He sighed heavily, his annoyance reaching a whole new level. “Hn.”

For a second, Kagome felt as if the whole world had stopped moving, and she stopped breathing. Had he just confirmed what she had feared? Immediately, her eyes watered, and she could not help herself. He was a monster; he would never have any feelings towards a child that was a hanyou. Before she knew it, Kagome was wrapping her arms around her legs, trying to comfort herself. She dared to look in direction of Sesshomaru, only to notice his back was facing her.

His head was somewhat twitching, and she could seem him crisping his fingers into fists. His breathing was so shallow and sharp, that she could hear it from where she was. A feeling of fear developed itself inside her heart, as she watched him, unable to move, barely able to think. Kagome couldn’t help but think that maybe his anger came from her pregnancy, and it only helped to prove that she was right about him.

But then, he proved her wrong.

Slowly, Sesshomaru turned around, his eyes closed, and his fangs sticking out of his mouth. “Miko, leave this room.”

Kagome rose to her knees, confused. He wanted her to leave her bedroom? She was almost afraid to ask why he wanted her gone, and why he was so damn angry? His tone had been neutral a few seconds ago, what had happened? Kagome dared to make it out of the bed, her whole body shaking in fear. It’s not the room she wanted to leave; it was him, and this whole goddamn era.

Nonetheless, she managed to stand up on her own, and started to walk in his direction, which she had to do to exit the room. It was only when she walked pass him did he open his eyes. Kagome wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t turned his head to look at her. Once again, she found herself froze in place, fear taking control of her whole body, her legs shaking more than ever.

There she was, standing beside Sesshomaru, looking in those too familiar red eyes.

***