Without You | Sesshomaru

Chapter 27

***

Night fell. Rin and Jaken had fallen asleep beside the fire. Lyra sat in front of the small fire with her arms around her knees. She stared into the crackling flame but she wasn't really thinking of anything.

Sesshomaru returned from checking the perimeter to find her daydreaming. He had noticed a change in her. She was quiet, which was extremely odd for her. It was very concerning. She seemed so sombre as she stared at the fire. As he watched her, she did something that utterly surprised him. For some reason, she lifted her hand and reached out to touch the fire. Sesshomaru's eyes widened as he quickly went to her, grabbing her hand and pulling it away from the flame.

Lyra gasped, her own eyes growing large as she saw his hand around hers. She lifted her head up to see him looking down at her with a deep frown on his face.

"What are you doing?" he asked sternly but with a hint of worry in his tone.
Lyra blinked a couple of times, turning to look at the fire. "I-I... I don't know. I just-... I was going to move the sticks around to keep the fire going."

Sesshomaru glanced at the fire to see that it was showing no signs of going out anytime soon. He moved to sit beside her and examined her hand. He wanted to make sure she hadn't harmed herself before trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Does it hurt?"
She shook her head. "No. You stopped me before I could touch it."
He kept hold of her hand, placing it in his lap before looking at her, a soft frown still evident. "What is wrong, Lyra? You have been unlike yourself today."

Lyra knew it would have been the perfect opportunity at that moment to tell him everything that was going on in her heart and mind. It was her chance to voice her fears to him. Something was holding her back though. Every time she tried to speak, something was stopping her. It was as if she had forgotten how to talk. No, that was wrong... She didn't want to talk. She didn't want to tell him anything.

She sighed softly and smiled. "I'm fine, Sesshomaru. There's just a lot going on right now with Naraku and I just can't wait for it to be over." She leaned into him and closed her eyes.

Sesshomaru didn't know whether to believe her or not. However, he decided not to press the matter. He trusted she would eventually tell him whenever she was ready.

"Very well..."

***

Over the next couple of days, Sesshomaru could feel the disconnection between himself and Lyra. She was slowly distancing herself from him. Whenever he would ask her about her thoughts, she would brush it off. Her usual talks and constant chatting had completely disappeared. Those secret kisses she would steal from him and the holding of his hand had stopped as well. She had become a different person. Even Rin had noticed the change in her. She wasn't as talkative or playful as before. The atmosphere of the group as a whole had slowly darkened.

Sesshomaru had to somehow figure out what was wrong with her. But he had no idea what to do. They were slowly but surely making their way to Mount Hakurei and he needed to help her before they got there. If Naraku learned of her state, he would undoubtedly do something to harm or capture her.

They soon came to stop beside a small lake. Sesshomaru turned to Lyra who had already separated herself from the group as she sat by herself on the bank and stared at the water.

"Jaken," Sesshomaru called. "Stay here."
Jaken looked up at him. "Where are you going, my Lord?"
Sesshomaru glanced back at Lyra before turning away again. "Nowhere."

He left with no more of a reason. Jaken whined quietly as he was put back on babysitting duty. Rin went and sat beside Lyra and dipped her feet in the water. She looked up at Lyra and saw that she took no notice of her. She sighed, feeling quite upset at how she had become. She wished everything would just go back to normal.