"A proposal?" Reina repeated his words, no really sure what to expect. She has heard these 'proposals' before. Pay her handsomely as their personal doctor and to monetize her or the same thing but take her as a trophy wife. While there was uncertainty in her voice, Nobuo was blatantly more wary. His tail became bushier as he began yipping.
"Don't listen to him, Reina. Whatever he's planning seems devious. I don't like him one bit. I'll bite him!"
"Bite him and then what? It's a blessing to be bitten by a divine being, Nobuo. You're going to bless him with a month's worth of a prospering rice field. You can only inflict curses when you've become tainted. " Reina plucked the fox off the ground by the scruff of his neck and held onto him. While he initially squirmed, his instincts got the better of him as the coziness of burrowing into Reina's sleeves made him sleepy and docile. Once she knew the fox wasn't in risk of angering the demon, who she knew very well was dangerous, she waited for him to speak.
"Are all divine spirits so immature and trivial?" Sesshomaru mused and Jaken nodded in agreement. Reina frowned, not liking his attitude towards Nobuo. But she didn't say anything, not wanting to encourage him to talk further about Nobuo.
"No matter. I am going to hunt down Naraku to pay him back in kind. I want you to accompany me and heal me in case anything happens- not that anything will- but he has some cowardly clever tricks up his sleeves. I'm too prideful to resort to his level. In return, I'll guard you on your expedition."
"...After many years of doing these expeditions on my own, what makes you think I need a guard?" Reina asked.
"I have heard rumours that you had an invincible barrier, the same one from the divine mountain. But it is not truly invincible, is it? Strong, sure, but it can not match the mountain's. That's why your expeditions are longer than they should be - you avoid casualties and avoid healing people in the open battlefield. You have to seek shelter or somewhere safe to evacuate your patients to before healing them. Am I wrong?"
Reina was surprised. Actually, that couldn't embody the shock she felt at all. It's the feeling one gets when a grade schooler pinned a crime on another student only to be caught in the lie, while knowing they would be punished gravely. She broke into a cold sweat. "No, you're not wrong. How did you know?" She asked meekly.
"First of all, no one would be acting as pathetically as you if they had an invincible barrier."
"Social anxiety?"
"You only start trembling when I ooze a bit of intimidation, that's cowardice not anxiety. It's not a bad deal. I don't need to worry about trivial inconveniences such as losing an arm, and you can make your rounds faster as well as ridding you of additional and inconvenient patients."
Losing limbs is a trivial inconvenience? Reina sighed. Truth to be told, the most inconvenient patient she has right now is Sesshomaru - she doesn't like pushy people and those who disregards their own body. That is because in the end, they end up having to be healed the most when they realize that someone can just fix them back again. But with the countless humans, demons, spirits, and occasionally gods that go to the mountain, she was aware of how strong Sesshomaru was. Her expeditions could cover double the area - tending to much more people. The Jewel was also an annoying hazard. While it was possible to undo the effect of the curse, the jewel can just easily find its way to a much more malicious person.
"Sure - if it guarantees that I can perform my duties efficiently and safely then I accept. However I have some conditions."
"Ho, you're going to negotiate with me?" Sesshomaru smiled, intrigued but also slightly menacing.
"One. I'll let you choose the route we take, but if I decide at any point to choose another region for us to go to first, you will have to listen to me. If Naraku and an injured patient are right in front of us, I am prioritizing the patient. Two. I have a final say in what you choose to do with your body - that means you will not be cutting off your arms randomly. Lastly, You may choose to split with me at any point but only until we reach the next Inari shrine, where I am guaranteed safety."
"Hmmm." Sesshomaru contemplated. It was apparent that he didn't like some of these conditions. However, the fact that he could choose to leave her when he doesn't deem here as beneficial anymore, made it easier for him to accept the conditions.
"Alright, I accept. Then let us leave." Sesshomaru turned, immediately decisive on his next action. Flustered, Reina pleaded with him to pause for a moment. She kneeled down and set down Nobuo, handing him a note she had just finished writing.
"As per usual, I'm counting on you to pass the medical prescriptions and the patient records to the others. You can also take longer periods of breaks. I'll be dropping off more records and offerings in makeshift or existing Inari shrines, since Sesshomaru can help provide that."
"Jaken will." Sesshomaru corrected her with a displeased voice, not wanting to become an errand boy.
"Jaken will." Reina repeated obediently, still fearful of the white haired demon. Nobuo stared into the girl's eyes and asked dubiously if she was certain in her choice of action. The girl nodded and Nobuo hesitantly pranced away before disappearing into a stream of white light.
"So where's Naraku?" Reina looked at them expectantly, and Jaken, who was tired of being silent, spoke up. He waved his staff at her and with a mocking expression while screeching: "If we already knew where he was, we wouldn't have taken this long!
Reina stared at him momentarily. She didn't feel the slightest intimidation from him at all, which established a bit of self confidence. "I'm sorry I expected so much from the people who are chasing him - I had assumed your confidence included being able to track the one that cut your master's limbs off."
She paused, feeling Sesshomaru glare on her and quickly apologized. Jaken began shrieking in his shrill voice once again but Sesshomaru gestured to him to shut his mouth. Still somewhat amused by her skills, he stared at where his injury was before replying.
"Naraku, that rat is too sly. However, he enjoys playing puppeteer and endorsing other demons in corrupted power. Any signs of unusual aggressiveness or violence, it is safe to assume that it is caused by one of his victims. We can track them down one by one before reaching him. Besides, if we collect enough of those, one of his more competent subordinates or himself will try to snatch it back." He pointed at her pocket, where she had stored the Jewel.
"What should we do about the Sacred Jewel?" Reina cocked her head as they began walking to wherever, Reina taking lead as she was primarily focused on continuing her expedition. There were no specific routes she had to take but rather she assigned her tasks by regions.
"What about the Sacred Jewel?" Sesshomaru echoed, with obvious lack of interest. He didn't seem interested in power that he couldn't claim or develop on his own. Either that, or he hated the idea of being a puppet of Naraku's.
"I can't just carry such a foul thing forever. We should at least find a way to purify it, ensure it is in safe hands. While the mountain can protect it, I don't think it belongs there. Everything has somewhere it belongs to. I heard that this was in the possession of a priestess called Kikyo but she had passed away. Perhaps we can find her descendants?"
"Why not just make the mountain it's new location? Not everything goes back to where it belongs." His reply was laced with mockery, not really understanding her perspective. "If humans found another human's possession, most likely they will take it for themselves."
She couldn't dispute. While trying to think of a new reason for Sesshomaru to help her find someone who could keep the jewel safe, the twigs and leaves around them crackled unusually. Sesshomaru raised his arm, stopping their group. Several demons in different monstrous forms approached them from the shadow. They were all different in terms of appearance but they were all chanting the same thing:
"Hand over the Sacred Jewel, give me the Sacred Jewel…" Their eyes glowed with hunger as they eyed Reina, sensing the energy of the Jewel radiating from her. One of them lifted a bony finger and pointed at her as it licked its lips. "Or we will snap your neck."
Instinctively, Reina reached up for her own throat as if it would prevent it from suddenly snapping. She then shuffled a little bit closer to Sesshomaru as she peeked out from behind him and stammered: "I-I don't want to."
Step aside and hand over the human to us. We can leave half of her body for you to eat afterwards." Another squeaky voiced demon negotiated with Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow in amusement. Immediately, he vanished and reappeared at different parts of Reina's vision as he swiftly mutilated all of them. "A small girl like her wouldn't even be filling."
Reina covered her mouth and almost retched. She used her free hands to press against a tree, trying to find a support for her weight. She had avoided such conflicts during her expeditions. Although she was not hemophobic since she was a doctor, the act of killing itself made her feel sick in the stomach. While she was feeling weak to the stomach, Sesshomaru was nonchalant. He shook off the blood on his nails and Jaken hurriedly went over to use a napkin to clean off his lord's nails. As Reina did some breathing and relaxing exercises, she stood on her own two feet. Sesshomaru didn't say anything, and she didn't know if he had noticed how pathetic she looked. He just mentioned them to continue moving. In situations like these, his disinterest in his surroundings helped. Of course, Jaken was not helpful at all.
"Pathetic, you went on expeditions like this? How did you manage to do that? Did you even truly help everyone or did you shirk off some of your responsibilities because you were too scared?"
"I never shirk my responsibilities." Reina gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to roll up her sleeves and pound his head.
The sun set and while Sesshomaru looked refined and elegant as usual, Reina on the other hand was wobbling in exhaustion and was far behind the group. In a single day, there had been numerous attacks which were mainly targeted at her. Her little pendant drove nearby demons crazy and in addition to eating a young, healthy woman would be a package deal. Of course, once you know that you can be nearly immortal with a healer next to you, not many would dare to defy against you.
The group were rather tired and not exactly happy. The attacks increased for Sesshomaru and now he also has to look out for another being who could not put up the slightest bit of a fight. He eyed the girl who was clasping her chest and breathing heavily, stagger then slump down against a log before scoffing. He walked up to her and picked up her bag, waving it in front of her face.
"Do you know or have anything that will give you any sort of protection? I don't like the idea of guarding and protecting you all the time, when I could find Naraku's whereabouts instead." Sesshomaru tossed the bag at Reina and she opened it. Taking out a large book about the pressure points and body structure, she rummaged further into her bag. Looking up sheepishly, Reina shook her head. Sesshomaru inhaled then breathed out slowly and deeply before turning away.
"I mean...I know things that may be helpful?" Reina ended her statement with a question mark at the end.
"Speak with clarity and confidence. I don't like indecisive speeches."
"I know things that MAY be helpful." Reina arched her eyebrow and emphasized the word "may".
"Oh? Try them on me now." Sesshomaru turned away and took off his swords, obviously not believing the girl's capabilities. Reina looked around then pointed down to the earth. "Now?"
"Did I say something different?"
Reina stared at the tall figure, with a blank smile and her inner thoughts going: "I really want to slap that attitude away." Then she began to shake her head, scolding herself quietly that it isn't right to treat and think of a patient like that. She clenched her fists and then walked towards him while outstretching an arm. Immediately Sesshomaru grabbed her wrist and turned it so that it was pinned behind her back.
"Are you seriously going to approach an enemy like this?"
"No...but I thought that this...was to show...you what I have?" Reina winced at the pain and strong grip the demon had and was wriggling to free herself. Of course, this was all for naught. Sesshomaru lets go of her and she hopped on one foot to regain her balance.
"Try again. This time I won't stop you."
Reina looked up at him before circling around him in wariness. Attack him and not straight on? What on earth does that mean? He knows that she will be attacking him from anywhere right now because he can see her and this confused her. It's evident that she has not seen, nor have any experience at all with combat. Giving up, the girl approached him from the back and reached for his arm. She then jabbed her second and third finger onto a certain spot before Sesshomaru blinked and felt his arm went limp. Frowning he was about to ask before Reina began to continuously bow down.
"Oh my goodness I am so sorry! I have temporarily paralyzed your arm. I should have asked for permission I-" She was cut off after Sesshomaru immediately regained his strength and movement. As if challenging what she had just said, he replied: "Hmm?"