They'd been at it for hours, the two of them training side by side. It had taken several days to get used to the wakizashi, but she could almost draw it cleanly now. Sesshomaru had moved on to teaching her different stances and how to look for clues that would reveal an opponent's next move. It was exhausting work, but she enjoyed it. It meant hours spent at his side learning a useful skill that might save her life someday. It also meant hours spent getting to know him better, peeling back the layers a bit at a time.
"This time, when you dodge, immediately pivot into an attack. It will look like this." Sesshomaru moved with impossible grace, shifting smoothly from one stance to another, while she stood with her hands on her hips to catch her breath.
"Understand?"
She nodded. "I think so." She mimicked his movements as best she could and then they tried it in action.
It always felt like he was moving unnaturally slow when they trained together, but never in a mocking sense. They both understood that no amount of training would ever permit her to move at demon speeds. Learning how to study an opponent and wield her sword correctly was enough.
Sesshomaru seemed tuned-in to her every move, stopping so she could have water before she had to ask, adjusting his speed and the force of his strikes as she grew more tired by the end of their sessions. She supposed it was from a lifetime spent studying his opponents to strategize how best to defeat them, but she appreciated it all the same.
He lowered the Tenseiga and stepped back so she could have a quick break. She drank deeply from her water flask, pausing between gulps to catch her breath.
"What if I encounter a demon?" she wondered. "What techniques should I use then?"
He sent her an incredulous look.
"Maybe it's silly to think I could defend myself against anyone like that..." she said, her voice trailing off.
And besides, Sesshomaru will be there to protect me if it ever comes to that, won't he?
Sesshomaru frowned in thought and eventually said, "Why not try pouring your spiritual power into the blade? It should react to any demonic auras. It might be enough for you to surprise your opponent so you can slip away."
"Do you think that's possible?"
She lifted her sword in front of her and squinted at the gleaming metal. She'd never imagined such a thing could be true. She'd always thought of her spiritual powers as a fairly useless skill, and one that was embarrassingly under-developed. To think she could use that same spiritual power to protect herself had her intrigued.
"Okay. Let's give it a try!"
She focused on her blade and envisioned tapping into the well of spiritual power buried deep within herself. She drew it to the surface, then poured it into the blade. The wakizashi seemed to hum in her hand, the same way Tenseiga had when she'd last held it.
"I think it's working," he said with a hesitant smile. Sesshomaru nodded and waited until she was ready. She got into a proper fighting stance, then abruptly stood upright.
"This won't hurt you, right? If this sword makes contact, you'll be okay, won't you?"
Sesshomaru combed his claws through his long hair and gave a light scoff. "I am a greater demon. You will not harm me."
As if to prove his point, Sesshomaru released the restraints he'd placed on his demonic power and she felt it wash over her in waves. Oh, she thought as the blade hummed to life in her hand, he's been keeping that much power contained all this time? She hadn't realized until that moment just how much he'd reigned in his own demonic aura while the two of them were together, but she felt it now. It was cold and endless, like an open black ocean that wanted to swallow her whole.
She shifted once more into one of the attack stances he'd shown her and waited for his nod. When it came, she ran towards him at full speed, hoping to land at least one strike before he could deflect. He remained motionless until the last moment, then caught the flat edge of her blade in his palm.
She suppose he'd done it to show off, or maybe to reassure her that her spiritual power could not harm him. Instead, a sharp sizzling sound emerged between them, like this hiss of wet meat on a grill, and Sesshomaru abruptly released her sword. The sudden movement sent her awkwardly stumbling backwards.
"What was that?" she demanded, eyeing the reddened spot in the centre of his palm that was suspiciously the same dimension as the flat of her blade. Sesshomaru studied the scorch mark for a moment, then with another wave of his demonic aura, it disappeared.
"I believe your spiritual power left a mark," he commented with a note of surprise.
Her expression blanched. "But you're okay, right?"
He nodded and closed his fingers around his palm, making a loose fist. "Using your spiritual power in such a way could be fatal to a lesser demon, so use it wisely," he cautioned, and she mutely nodded her head.
"Let's take a break from testing out my spiritual powers and go back to the basics for now," she suggested with an uneasy smile. "I like that much better."
He nodded, and she felt his demonic aura retreat until it was barely perceptible. They trained for another hour, running through various drills until she was so exhausted she could barely lift her sword. She was glad for the distraction that kept her from dwelling on the fact that she'd hurt him with her spiritual power, however unintentional it might have been. He seemed to have forgotten the incident as soon as it'd happened, so she convinced herself not to worry about it, but couldn't help feeling a little guilty each time she caught sight of his hand.
When Sesshomaru announced their training was finished for the day, she collapsed onto her back on the ground with a weary sigh. Her arms felt like jelly, and her legs weren't much better off. She would need a few minutes to recover before returning to the house. To her surprise, Sesshomaru laid down next to her and joined her in looking up at the blue sky overhead.
"Your form is improving," he said. "You must have noticed the change for yourself by now."
She nodded and turned her head to grin at him. "It must be because I have such an excellent teacher."
If she didn't know better, she would have sworn he'd rolled his eyes, but even so, a faint smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.
"When we were little, Einosuke and I used to lie in the yard just like this and look for shapes in the clouds," she told him as her eyes followed a grouping of fluffy white clouds. "We'd take turns to see who could find the most elaborate ones."
Her heart warmed at the memory, and she turned her face towards his. "Did you ever play that game as a child?"
Sesshomaru responded with a soft grunt. "There was never time for such games."
"Why not try now?" she urged with an encouraging smile. "It's easy! You just look up and find a cloud that resembles a familiar shape."
She reached out her arm and pointed to a small fluffy cloud drifting overhead. "See that one? It looks like a frog sitting on a lily pad."
In her peripheral view, Sesshomaru nodded. He was quiet as the clouds slowly passed overhead, then calmly said, "Owl."
She squinted up at the sky, but couldn't make out which cloud he was referring to. "I don't see it," she admitted.
"There," he said, pointing at a grouping of clouds. "See its wings? It's an owl in flight."
She shifted closer, hoping to see it from his vantage point, but even with a turn of her head she couldn't make out the shape. She turned to tell him as much and realized just how close her body was to his. Close enough to trace the markings on his cheek with the tip of her finger, or kiss him if he turned his head just so. Her face flushed hot at the thought and she discretely inched backwards before he could notice how her heart was pounding like a taiko drum inside her chest.
She focused on the clouds, hoping to distract herself with the search for another shape. "A carp!" she announced excitedly a moment later. "Like the ones in your pond."
"I see it," he replied, and they watched together as the cloud drifted from view.
"It's impossible you did not see the owl," Sesshomaru commented under his breath and she held in a laugh.
Time passed in companionable silence, the two of them side by side, without a care in the world. While not every day had been perfect since their arrival, she couldn't help noticing that they'd shared more perfect days than not in their time here.
She snuck a glance at Sesshomaru and pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. He seemed fully invested in their game now. In unison, they both announced that they'd spotted an ogre-shaped cloud. It was the sort with a terrifying face and great horns protruding from its head.
"See? It's fun, isn't it?" she said with a laugh.
Wearing a faint smile, Sesshomaru conceded it was a pleasant way to pass an afternoon.
She would have stayed there another hour with him, doing nothing more than watching the clouds, but her stomach chose that moment to grumble loudly and demand to be fed. It was well past mid-day and breakfast hadn't been more than leftover rice and fish from her previous night's dinner. With a reluctant sigh, she admitted it was time to return to the house for lunch.
Sesshomaru got to his feet with effortless grace while she struggled to rearrange the hem of her kosode, which had somehow become tangled around her legs. By the time she'd finished untangling it, Sesshomaru had his hand out to help her up. She didn't think twice about placing her hand in his, but once she was on her feet, they were suddenly standing very close. His hand lingered around hers a moment longer than necessary and she felt her heart stutter in her chest.
It was becoming more frequent that she found her heart racing in his presence. He never seemed the least bit ruffled during their long hours spent together, but she was finding it increasingly difficult the control the way her body reacted whenever he was near.
There was the nervous way her heart hammered in her chest, and the embarrassing frequency with which she stumbled over her words. Then there was the awkward way her body moved around him, clumsy and uncertain. She wondered if he'd noticed all the times her breath caught in his presence, especially when the light hit reflected in his eyes just so…
"Is everything alright?" he asked with a slight furrow of his brow.
"Yes, of course!" she assured him and took a much needed step back.
His mouth pressed into a slight frown. "Your heart is racing."
She placed a hand on her chest and felt her heart hammering against her palm. "So it is!" she admitted with a nervous chuckle. "I guess I must have overdone it with our training today."
His eyes settled on her and lingered. The look in them suggested he didn't entirely believe her. "Are you certain that's all it is?"
"Of course," she insisted and backed further down the path. "I feel fine, honest."
It took everything in her power not to run all the way back to the house. She didn't want him to think she was running from him (even though that's exactly what she was doing), so she focused on walking with a natural gait. He remained behind, the sharp whistle of his sword through the air announcing the resumption of his training.
Once the house came into view, she exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. She'd avoided making a complete fool of herself for now, but controlling her emotions around him was becoming more difficult by the day. If she wasn't careful, her body would give away the secrets of her heart and she wasn't prepared to upset the delicate balance they'd created.
These weeks here with him were some of the happiest she'd ever had. There was no sense in needlessly complicating matters with a confession from the heart, especially since she was fairly certain she knew where he stood on the matter of human/demon relationships. Still, it was nice to imagine more moments with his hand reaching for hers, or his arm around her shoulders, holding her tight, or his lips pressed to hers in a knee weakening kiss...
She fumbled the bowl in her hands, sending it tumbling across the kitchen table. Cursing softly at her clumsiness, she set it upright and cast her eyes heavenward in search of a sliver of the inner calm.
Focus, she thought. Focus.
Though with each passing day, it was becoming a more impossible task.