Chapter 54 - Recovery

Eventually, Sesshomaru drifted into an energy absorbing slumber. He passed to the place where he neither heard nor saw anything around him. His body was solely focused on re-absorbing the energy it had lost the day before, so that he could be restored. Time no longer existed in the place where he lingered in his mind. He neither dreamt or thought. Years could have passed for all he knew. Slowly, the drain he had felt, was once again replenished. Vitality flowed into his veins, rejuvenating his body to it's full potential.

When finally, Sesshomaru did open his eyes, he found it was daylight. Blinking against the brightness, he glanced around the hut. Rin had obviously been at work, the bed mat was made with fresh blankets - presumably the ones he'd sent Jaken to fetch. An oil lamp stood on the other side of the room, and the food was organized neatly on a low table against the far wall. Much of it was gone, indicating it had been some time - perhaps a few days.

Feeling better, the yokai Lord stood to his feet and restored his hankimono back to where it belonged. Lifting his fingers, his armor reappeared as well, restoring his usual look. Something though, felt different. Shifting, he grasped the length of his hair and pulled it to where he could see it. The tips of his hair had been braided, and interwoven with small crimson colored flowers. Sesshomaru blinked, uncertain how to process such an odd sight. It had to be Rin, since Jaken would not have dared to touch his master without explicit instruction. It was sort of... sweet. In a human kind of way. His lips softened, not quite a smile, but the hint of amusement. For now, he would leave the silly things, they would undoubtedly fall out of their own accord when he flew.

From outside the hut, he heard Jaken and Rin in the cleared area just beyond the engawa. Thoughtful, he turned to the door and stepped out into the daylight. Both of them cried out at once: "Lord Sesshomaru!" They raced to where he stood on the wooden engawa.

"How are you feeling my Lord?" Rin asked, as Jaken simultaneously spoke.

"I told her not to touch your beautiful hair my Lord!"

His gold eyes lifted, gazing at the sun. It had to have been three or four days. Hm. Much longer than usual for energy recovery. But then... I had not stopped to rest for quite some time, before the unexpected battle with Naraku.

Naraku. The thought of the demon's name made him bristle, anger at the filth for his rebellious actions simmering deep in his chest. He was quite certain, that given how much time Sesshomaru had needed to recover from Naraku draining his energy and trying to absorb his body - the other demon certainly would be hiding and recovering himself. Since he was so badly damaged by the Tetsusaiga. The perfect time to hunt him down.

Slowly his gaze returned to Rin and Jaken who stood gazing up at him, waiting for their Lord to speak.

"We will be leaving when the sun sets. Get whatever things needed so we can be off."

"Yes my Lord!" Rin exclaimed eagerly, she jumped up the steps and ran past him into the hut.

Jaken stepped forward. "Am I to assume that we will be hunting down Naraku, Lord Sesshomaru? Where would we start such a search, since we have no idea where he may have gone!?"

Sesshomaru didn't bother to answer. InuYasha was just as motivated to end Naraku, his half brother would be the first logical place to look for clues as to the demon's whereabouts. Slowly, the yokai rose into the air.

"I will be back before dusk."

Jaken spoke, but Sesshomaru was no longer listening. The demon lord cleared the barrier, and paused, turning toward the small local Musashi village, then took off at an amazing rate of speed. Sesshomaru lingered hidden amongst the trees, on the outskirts of the village. There was no reason to permit InuYasha to learn that he had a... well... something of a temporary residence, nearby. He tracked both InuYasha and Kagome's scent to the bone eaters well. However, the scent was not fresh, and there was no indication that they were anywhere around. Returning to the village, Sesshomaru ventured closer, remaining mostly hidden behind buildings, attempting to find any trace of his brother. Eventually, he stumbled on the hut where the monk and the demon slayer were having a conversation with the elderly priestess. The yokai listened for several long moments, before making a sound of disgust and returning to the sky.

Apparently, Kagome had returned to her time for something called 'school', and InuYasha had followed her. It was news to Sesshomaru, to find out that his brother could pass through the well into another time. Interesting, but not relavent. All he'd really learned was that InuYasha, once again, was slacking off. When he should be using every ounce of his energy to track down Naraku. Irritation made his blood hot.

Sesshomaru landed back before the small hut, his boots kicking up a poof of dust around his feet.

No matter. InuYasha will remain busy playing his idiotic games with humans, while I track down and kill Naraku. It will be easier without his interference anyway.