Chapter 22:
Tenseiga suddenly pulsated, as if sensing that its owner's life was in danger.
The ball of bright light landed into the deeper part of the forest. Despite the possibility of demons lurking around, Arisa continued to search for him.
"Sesshomaru! Where are you? Please answer me, or give me a sign…!" she shouted, but there was no response.
Finally, after a dreadful search, she found him lying on a certain hidden area of the forest. She was panting, but as soon as she saw that he was only partly conscious and had deep wounds all over his body, she went pale.
Arisa quickly went to his side, trying her best to calm herself and assess him carefully. Sesshomaru seemed to sense her, and soon, he slowly faced her.
"…I thought I told you to wait for me with Jaken." He said in a raspy voice; still with a hint of nastiness.
"I…I'm sorry. But this is not the time for that!" Arisa replied, her voice trembling.
"What were you thinking!? Did you really think you could take something like that as usual!? That was a powerful attack, for heaven's sake! Didn't I tell you? Everyone has their own limits! Even demons like you…!" she continued to cry out, tears starting to form on her eyes.
Sesshomaru's eyes flickered with appreciative curiosity towards her. Also, he was surprised at how her statement before turned out to be currently on-point.
I do not understand. Why does she always concern herself over me?
Emotions began swirling inside of him, and it made him look away.
After a period of silence, Arisa was able to regain her composure and started concentrating.
"I'll heal you right away, so don't you dare resist. Even with your demonic powers, it will take you quite some time to fully recover." She said in an intense tone.
"…hurry and get it over with." He mumbled.
Her eyes crinkled at the corners.
"…good."
She gently placed her hands first on areas containing his deepest wounds. After a few seconds, there was a pure glow of light coming out of her hands. Slowly, one after another, his wounds started closing.
Sesshomaru gazed at the young lady beside him who she was very focused on healing him. After staring at her for some time, a corner of his mouth lifted; but disappeared eventually.
You really do not fail to surprise me every time.
Arisa heaved a sigh of relief after an hour of medical service.
"Phew! I think you're okay, for now." She said enthusiastically.
Sesshomaru shifted to his side. "Are you not…tired?"
"Hmm...not really. More importantly, you need to rest. I'll be on guard."
He quietly smirked. "Says the woman who was easily attacked by a weak demon."
"Oh, do not even bring that up. And besides, this place seems secluded, so…no demons for a while."
"I'll look for some medicinal herbs nearby—"she added as she slowly stood up, only to be cut off.
"No need. I'm already fine, so you should stay here." He said, his voice quiet and low. She was utterly shocked at his words.
"What…?"
There was no answer, and she took that opportunity to peek a little closer at him. He was already fast asleep, looking a lot better. She softly smiled, thinking about how he trusted her for the first time.
I don't know what he really meant by that, but…thank goodness he's alright.
She then adjusted herself to a more comfortable position, still sitting beside him. She glanced up to the small opening in the forest, and saw the sunset hue of the sky.
Come to think of it, this is my third time tending to Sesshomaru's wounds. Geez, how many more times does this man intend to injure himself? I'm seriously starting to think that I probably entered this era just to be this dog demon's apothecary servant.
Despite whining low-key, she was really glad that Sesshomaru survived. Naturally, she wouldn't expect him to thank her when he would wake up, as it was just him to not show any gratitude. Although, it really didn't matter if she was sent there for that sole reason. But, somewhere along the line, she still hoped that there would be something more.
Not long after, Arisa could hear the familiar voice of someone worriedly looking for his precious master, heading their way.
"Sesshomaru-sama!"
She scoffed as quietly as possible to not disturb Sesshomaru's sleep. She then went to greet Jaken.
Ignoring her, he continued to call out. "Ah! Sessho—"
"Sshhh!"
Arisa gestured quickly, and his forehead creased.
"What is wrong with you?"
"Can't you see? He's having a good sleep...!"
"Eh? But why? What exactly happened back there?"
Arisa sighed and made Jaken sit down. She told him a short story of how Sesshomaru almost lost his life.
Suddenly, Jaken was moved to tears. "Ooohh…! Thank goodness he made it out in time…!"
"I know. I desperately tried to catch up with him, and I healed him right away."
"Hah. For once, you finally made yourself useful."
Her eyebrows twitched. "Excuse me? If you only knew, I healed him thrice, you ignorant demon!"
"Oh really? Stop making stories!"
"I am not, though!"
Seeing that neither of them would back down, they both decided to drop the argument down and just ignored each other.
After a while, Arisa was the first one to speak up.
"You know, Jaken?"
"What?" he replied, glancing at her with one eye open.
"Can't we just peace out…?"
"...only when the situation requires us to."
"Suit yourself, then." She said, as she stood up and went back to Sesshomaru's side. She casually pulled his scarf until it was enough for her. After that, she lied down with her back against him, much to Jaken's disbelief.
Ahhh…Sesshomaru's furry sash is much softer than I thought…
"What do you think you're doing, Arisa!?"
"…wow. For once, you finally called me by name." she replied, grinning.
"Heh…!"
"Can you take my place for a while and be on guard? Just give me an hour to sleep…"
Jaken scowled at her proposition. But before he could even protest, Arisa already drifted herself to sleep. It was now evident that she was indeed, tired.
He sighed. "I cannot believe this…" he complained softly as he settled down and watched over them.
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