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(Short Chapters. Do excuse me. I never claimed to be the best writer in the world.)

Chapter 2: Candy on a stick.

Months. It had to have been five... no, six months since he had arrived here. Kaida's brain was a mess. He had resorted to keeping track of time by notching a stick, but he was sure he was wrong. After all, time here passed without any records. No event judged what day it was--there was no Christmas, birthdays, or Halloween. These things were foolish, perhaps not only to the Youkai population. Nippon. The name of feudal Japan was Nippon. Kaida was learning the language differences slowly, and soon he'd be able to communicate without slipping up on words that made Ren giggle and his Sesshoumaru-sama lift an eyebrow... Though, one must admit, his Sesshoumaru-sama looked gorgeous when he was quizzical.

Ren and Kaida had become fast friends, and through her, meeting with Sesshoumaru's younger brother had not been so bad. He was an obnoxious brat, as far as the young Kaida was concerned. (He was not about to admit that this opinion might have stemmed unfairly from the fact that the boy annoyed Sesshoumaru)

Kaida had, since the incident with the serpent in the river, taken to sleeping closer to Sesshoumaru. To his delight, he was not turned away--though he was given that adorable quizzical look the first few times. Sometimes, he could even get close enough to press his face into the boa, and those were the nights he slept the soundest.

Sesshoumaru had noticed Kaida's behavior and wrote it off as simple human emotion, but those big blue eyes were beginning to become too familiar. Unlike Ren, the boy was looking at him much more longingly--much less like a small pup and more like ... well, what was it that humans regarded it as? Love. His father had thought such a thing worth his time, and it had killed him.

Somehow, though, he found himself less and less appalled by the boy's constant proximity. Like Ren, the young boy was beginning to grow on him, and, like Ren, he was finding more and more ways to push his boundaries. It did cross Sesshoumaru's mind to show him where the line was, but the boy was fragile, and somehow, that kept the demon lord from needing--or even wanting--to establish some sense of authority. Kaida laying his head upon the boa was something Sesshoumaru began to grow accustomed to.

When his gold eyes opened each morning, there was often a swell of brown curls near his right leg with accents of pink where the hair became thin enough to reveal the haori sleeve beneath it. He'd sit and watch for a time, rarely eager to move away and startle the creature, until the coal black eyelashes rose up around those blue eyes. And, each morning this happened, he'd be greeted with a string of apologies as Kaida sat up. The boy's hands would be combing through his hair anxiously, and each time, he'd reach into the sleeve of that haori and pull out a little white stick with a ball on the end that was wrapped. After he felt comfortable again, Sesshoumaru could mark it when that light-colored ball settled behind Kaida's lips, leaving only the white stick visible. He had seen the girl that travelled with his brother have some of these things, so he could only imagine that Kaida got his endless supply from running into his younger brother's troupe while Sesshoumaru was out.

There would be a time soon when he would have to return home to his portion of the country instead of leaving the poor idiots there to run it, or else one of the other lords would surely attempt takeover and he would need to diplomatically reestablish his authority. He had very little worries over the North and South lords, but the East lord, Naraku, was a greedy miser, and he did not like the idea of the country going out of... order. When his father ruled, all of Nippon was united, but he did not leave the power to Sesshoumaru required to keep the country in one piece.

The full moon came out that night while he was rested against the tree. The young ball of pink and brown had again curled itself beside him, and the chill of the night was making him shiver. Sesshoumaru looked up at Ren to note that she had been injinuitive enough to curl up next to the sleeping Aaun. He gave enough heat to the both of them, but the human beside him had chosen to catch chill rather than excuse himself for one night from Sesshoumaru's proximity. Kaida's elegant fingers were tangled gently in the fur of the boa, gripping it as if squeezing might bring warmth to his ill-clad body. Sesshoumaru slid the boa off of his own shoulder and wrapped Kaida in it, ceasing the shivering from continuation. He didn't need a sneezing, coughing boy in the morning.

For once, when those blue eyes opened, Sesshoumaru was unaware. The soft coo of the wind hid the change in breath and his eyes were not on the human boy's face this time, but on his feet, which he was wrapping in fur. Kaida stared up at Sesshoumaru through thick lashes and bit his lower lip. He dared to hope that this small show of kindness meant he had some chance, even if he didn't deserve it. He closed his eyes and pulled his body a bit tighter, rousing Sesshoumaru's eyes to his face though he did not know it. The smile there made the youkai blink. The boy was so effeminate he could confuse the man's nose.



"Are you and Sesshoumaru-sama getting along better, Kaida-san?" Ren's pretty brown eyes found Kaida's blue ones as she sat upon the rock above the hotspring. Kaida was startled from his reverie by her voice as he looked up at her, once again remembering that she had accompanied him to the spring for light chat and for the fact that Sesshoumaru had gone off again--probably to get food.

"I suppose so. Were we not getting along?"

The smile on Kaida's face had told Ren that something had been going well, and she liked it when Kaida smiled that way. Something in Sesshoumaru was changing, too. He almost looked happier sometimes, even if he never showed it with the curve of his lips, "Well, you seemed almost sad at first, but you smile more now."

Kaida tilted his head back and dipped his brown tresses in the water, going beneath it for a moment so his body was submerged. He was having to be a little careful with Ren around--he didn't want to show her any more of him naked than he had to. Even if he felt like a woman, his anatomy proved different.

He wondered if it was okay to fall in love with someone as snow white as Sesshoumaru. He had probably never had sex before, and Kaida had done everything but lose his virginity in his former profession. When one sells love, does one deserve to get any love for free? It was a bit depressing, but he had to think of these things now. After all, he shouldn't hope for something that he would have to refuse in the end, right? He wanted to talk to someone, but Ren was not the person. It made Kaida feel almost ... dirty. The worst part is, the girl would probably comprehend what he was saying.

"Kaida-san, you haven't lifted your head to breathe for a bit."

Kaida was submerged up to the bridge of his nose in the water, and Ren was right--he was forgetting to breathe. Funny, he never thought he could be caught so deep in thought that he forgot the necessities of living. He rose his head up and took a breath. "Sorry for worrying you--I was just thinking."

"About what?" Ren's little feet were kicking back and forth in the water. Kaida heard the low grumble of Aaun's snore as it lay behind the rock patiently.

"Love." Kaida put a finger to his lips to quiet the girl with a smile, and finally begun his bath carefree.