17. Atsuko

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Groping through the dark of the night, Hana soon found the rushing waters of a nearby river.   Right at the edge, she fell tiredly onto her knees.  

Something was awfully wrong.  

She had never in her entire life felt as sick as she did now.  

She felt queasy, her head was spinning, and cold sweat was beginning to form all over her body. She was in no way flustered, yet her heart raced uncontrollably.  

Was it even possible for a demon to feel this sick?  

Her breathing slightly heavy, she looked at her reflection in the water of the river, the large moon behind her. Her eyes were swollen and her cheeks, along with her nose, were unusually flushed.  

She’d been fine just a while ago, lying next to a sleeping Rin and Jaken.  

She was about to reach into the river to splash some water onto her face when, suddenly, her eyes began to close, and she soon began to feel herself falling over. She wondered what could have possibly been causing her sudden state of sickness. But before she could even begin to think of any logical reason, Hana felt her body suddenly immersed in an icy coldness. It hadn’t been until she felt the stinging of water in her nose and lungs that she realized she’d fallen into the river. Normally she was a good enough swimmer, but she eventually found that she was too weak to even try to fight the violent current of the water that was quickly taking her downstream.   And somewhere among Hana’s wondering what in the world was happening, she lost consciousness.    

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He didn’t remember the last time he’d been this calm.  

Stopping in the middle of the trail that he’d been walking down, he looked up at the bright moon. Much time had passed since he’d gotten Rin and Jaken and had left the village of the old miko (weeks, maybe), and, as of recent, Sesshomaru had been discovering that he was starting to show Hana much more affection than he once had. He supposed he really was in love with her.
At the thought of Hana, he suddenly found himself beginning to think even more of her. Her image suddenly appeared in his mind.  

With her long white hair that seemed to be constantly growing, large hazel eyes which, compared to his, held so much emotion, her pale skin that stood out so much to him and her small body that had, over time, developed curves in the right places –   He loved her.  

Never before had he ever thought that he’d be having such thoughts about a woman. And no longer did he question his feelings towards the wolf demon. She was his, and he made sure that she knew that almost every other night.  

At some point, Sesshomaru thought he’d caught Hana’s scent floating about in the midnight air. That scent – which he could pick up from miles away – was unmistakable. The amount of times she’d been in his arms had made sure of that.  

But he’d left Hana with Rin and Jaken somewhere a great distance from there. She couldn’t possibly be where he was now.  

Was he missing her already, even when he hadn’t been gone for that long? Had he become that soft?  

It couldn’t be that.  

Narrowing his eyes, and turning away from the moon, Sesshomaru decided to follow the cherry blossom scent.   He’d followed it all the way to a river whose waters rushed rapidly and violently.   That was where Hana’s scent disappeared.  Perplexed, Sesshomaru looked down at the river. 

  Her scent had been so prominent in the air up until he’d gotten here. How could it possibly just vanish? He knew he wasn’t hallucinating – he’d convinced himself of that a while ago – so where could she have possibly gone?

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