For the past few days, they were heading southwest going around the wolf tribe's gorge. Sesshomaru sometimes walked with them, sometimes left for a few hours or a whole day following something on his own. Hotaru didn't know what he was searching for and she didn't really care enough to ask him. It gave her time to collect herbs and most of her attention was reserved for Rin and her new found voice. Once Rin relaxed around Sesshomaru, she could rival Jaken with her almost non-stop chattering and questions. Sesshomaru sometimes answered her curious questions and Hotaru gladly amused her and indulged in the childish word games. It gave her an excuse to let go of her own issues and never ending questions.
"Ah!" Rin stopped as a sudden thought struck her and turned to Sesshomaru, who was for a change walking at the tail of the group. "What's his name, Sesshomaru-sama?" Rin pointed at the dragon.
"He doesn't have a name." Jaken replied in Sesshomaru's stead.
"Eh? Really?" She blinked and the dragon let out a snorting sound, confirming the answer. "Hmmm. But that's sad, isn't it?" She glanced at Hotaru for support.
Hotaru's smile was crooked and a little bit sad. "I suppose."
Rin pouted. "Everyone should have a name. Even Sesshomaru-sama's sword has a name."
"Don't be stupid. It's a beast of burden, not a pet."
"Aren't you a servant too, Jaken-sama?" Rin asked innocently, which took wind out of his sails.
"That's different!" He huffed. "I've been named by my terrifying mother. And I've been serving Sesshomaru-sama for over 50 years. Of course I have a name. But him," he pointed at the dragon, "he is a tool."
Hotaru frowned. "Isn't he with Sesshomaru longer than you?" She sighed and looked at Sesshomaru at the back. "Sesshomaru! Does the dragon truly have no name?"
Sesshomaru inaudibly sighed. "Name him if you want." He confirmed the lack of the dragon's name and gave them another topic to discuss.
"Yay!" Rin jumped in joy and clapped. "Now, what name would you like?" She looked at the dragon, "or maybe two names? One for each head?"
The dragon snorted again and nodded. Each head in a different tempo.
"Two names! Okay!" The girl thought deeply about it. She wanted something simple and something the dragon would like. The heads were making different sounds and had different powers as she'd learnt. So two names… She looked towards the setting sun ahead. Hmmmm.
"Hmmm… What about, A and Un?"
The dragon seemed to be evaluating the names, then it snorted in agreement.
"You," she pointed at the left head, "will be A, and you," she pointed at the right head, "will be Un."
A-Un frowned and shook both heads.
"The other way around?" Rin asked.
That was met with an agreement from the creature.
"Okay. So A, will be you," she patted the right head, "and Un will be you." She patted the left. "And we'll call you A-Un."
"Well that was fast." Hotaru chuckled and ruffled the dragon's mane. "I think he likes it."
It huffed, and if it wasn't wearing muzzles, they'd see him grin. He was fond of the two humans and after centuries, someone finally gave him a name.
"Huh? So quickly?!" Jaken was annoyed. "Have you asked Sesshomaru-sama if he agreed with that silly name?! The audacity!"
"But Jaken-sama, Sesshomaru-sama allowed us to choose the name. If he had a preference, I think A-Un would have already had a name." Rin countered.
"How did you even choose the name so quickly?"
"Don't you know? It's obvious, isn't it?" She looked at Hotaru.
Hotaru grinned. "You don't have to explain to me."
"Jaken-sama, you weren't listening! Hotaru-sama talked about them the other day. The komainu temple guardians: A and Un that ward off evil spirits. It's just like what A-Un does for us when Sesshomaru-sama goes away. He's a guardian."
"What nonsense are you teaching the kid?"
"Don't worry, I won't teach her how to purify you, Jaken-sama~"
Jaken shrieked in horror. "Purify? Me?! The servant of the great Sesshomaru-sama? The prime minister of his empire?"
Hotaru and Rin laughed.
"So, A-Un it is." Sesshomaru hummed quietly in the back. It was a fitting name for a dragon serving an inuyoukai.
In a candle-lit hidden library, Soumei was reading through old scrolls and archives of his clan. In the past weeks it became his begrudged past-time, when he was certain no one would watch him. He wanted to figure out what was happening. The motivation had gotten stronger after the last full moon. The day after he thought he'd die.
~That day~
He was standing watch to keep away from his brother, like usual. He was bored. The tingling feeling in his feathers he'd already gotten used to suddenly intensified. It was pulling him northeast, as if there was something he had to do, something urgent. Vital.
He hesitated. He did not know what it was.
"Do you think you can afford to hesitate?" Sojobo's voice startled him.
"What are you talking about?"
The ancient demon wasn't hiding his wings. His feathers fluttered though there was no wind. "We feel when our feather is about to die. No matter how small or seemingly insignificant."
He frowned, anger and fury bubbling in his heart. Why was it always like this? "If you want to tell me something then just say it! I'm tired of these riddles!"
Sojobo looked at the sky with a longing, sad expression. "Once given, a tengu cannot break his word. I cannot tell you."
"You told Ichijou, didn't you?!"
"No. I only ever gave him riddles."
Soumei's eyes narrowed. "Are you telling me to go?"
"If the little feather dies, we will not find redemption."
"Little feather…" His eyes widened. "The priestess!" Soumei spread his wings and soared towards where his gut was pulling him.
Halfway there, an excruciating pain twisted his wings. It felt as if feathers were being plucked one by one while being burned. Though there was no visible damage, his wings no longer carried him and he plummeted to the ground.
He lost consciousness.
And once he woke up, there was nothing wrong with him. His wings were fine, the wounds from the fall were healed. The feeling of urgency turned back to the tingle he was already used to. 'What on earth happened to me?'
He was searching for possible reasons for what he'd experienced. What could affect a full-fledged tengu enough to make him fall from the sky? Could it really be the priestess he'd saved in the winter? He even sent his messenger crow to check up on that little priestess to make sure she was okay. To his surprise she was now with Sesshomaru. And it made him wonder if it was something she had done, or something that had happened to her that influenced him. He felt a connection to her he couldn't explain. It had no sense or reason. Yet it was the only thing that came to his mind.
He opened another abandoned and forgotten scroll about tengu feathers.
He yawned, but started reading. With each line, he was sitting straighter and straighter. Fatigue left his system. "Eh?! What is this?" His eyes widened. "Feather of protection?"
"I see you finally found the first piece." His father was standing in the entrance to the library.
He spun around, startled. "Why are you sneaking up on me?"
"Close your mind, if you do not wish others to read you."
"Hmph." He took a deep breath. He knew his weaknesses, if he let his emotions run, his mind was left like an open book. "Did anyone else notice?"
"No."
"Did you give it to her?"
"No. I have not granted my feathers to anyone. And I never will."
"Then who? I do not have one yet. Neither does Ichijou. And we are the oldest besides the leaders."
"Even I do not have the answer for that." He sighed and walked in. His finger gently touched the backs of books stacked in one shelf. This stack was something no one remembered how to read anymore. Those to whom it was addressed were long gone.
"Aren't you the godly one who can foresee the future?"
"I am no god." Sojobo's eyes saddened, but he remained looking at the shelf. This was not something he could tell anyone. "I saw glimpses that I cannot place in proper order yet." But they were starting to make sense and he needed Soumei at his best.
Somei sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. This request was going to hurt like hell, but he had no other choice. Zenki had shown him basics which were far from enough. "Will you teach me sealing? The same you taught Ichijou?"
"No."
A vein popped on Soumei's forehead. "Wha-"
"I will teach you better."
Sesshomaru was getting used to their company. For the first time, he had humans by his side. He quickly learnt that they, unlike him, required regular food intakes and regular sleep and rest. They were slowing him down, but he found out he didn't mind the stops and slower pace he set because of them. After all, he had nowhere to rush. Getting a sword, killing Inuyasha, killing Naraku… He had centuries and millennia ahead of him.
He stopped near a river for the night. There was a nice grove of trees, where he could comfortably rest. And there was plenty of food for the two humans, be it fish or rabbits or edible wild plants.
"Are we stopping here for the night?" Hotaru looked at him, making sure.
"Yes."
Rin spun around, did her happy dance, laughed, stretched and then hugged Hotaru around her waist.
The young woman laughed too and wrapped the child in a hug. "What are you doing?"
"Nothin'." She rubbed her head against Hotaru's stomach. "Can I catch fish for dinner?"
"Sure. Should I help?"
Rin looked up at her and shook her head. "No. You caught the rabbit yesterday, I want to catch the fish today by myself."
She nodded approvingly. "Okay then, but be careful, there might be undercurrents."
"Haaaai!" She pivoted and ran towards the water, rolling up the hem of her yukata. "Jaken-sama, are you coming? Or are you not eating tonight?" She teased, making the imp run after her immediately.
Hotaru chuckled, shaking her head. "He's like a kid too. How old is he again?"
"We do not count time like you, but Jaken is alive for… 506 years." Sesshomaru answered.
"What?" She spun around with her eyes wide. She didn't really expect him to amuse her. "Really?"
He found a spot for himself and sat on the ground, watching over the two fishing and splashing 'kids' in the river.
"Hmmm… Well then, how old are you, exactly?" She asked curiously, leaning against the tree next to his.
"...428."
So the master's younger than the servant… "...you certainly don't look your age." She teased. He looks 22-25 top… Like many demons, he possessed ageless beauty.
He was sitting on the ground, while she was standing and he still managed to 'look down on her' with a hint of amusement in his golden eyes. "Does that scare you?" As he'd learnt in one of Jakens interrogations, Hotaru was around 21-24 years old; she wasn't sure herself, but that was almost a half of the usual human lifespan. His age must've been an incomprehensible idea for a human.
She paused for a moment, honestly, she wasn't even surprised. "No. Not really. It would've been weird if you were younger than 300."
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow and expected her to elaborate.
"A strength like yours takes time to grow, mature and sharpen. I think you're not exactly old in your demon terms, but if you were young I guess below those 300 you'd be after the cursed jewel like almost every other demon."
"Hn, relying on foreign strength is foolish. I never once sought the jewel or similar enhancing objects."
"..." She was looking at him wonderingly, "but you've employed it once too, right? Why?"
Oh…? They had met then. She'd seen him using the human arm attached by the jewel. But she didn't know the context and since Jaken hadn't told her yet, she had no idea he'd had a pack with Naraku back then.
"Uhm, you don't have to answer. I'm just glad you don't have it anymore." She tugged a loose strand of her hair behind her ear and shifted her weight. His long pauses and silence were making her uncomfortable sometimes. "The jewel only brings bad luck to everyone."
She sat down and observed Rin and Jaken. The river made her wonder when Sesshomaru would request her attendance, because so far he always left and returned in what looked like cleaner clothes. Maybe he doesn't trust me yet. She glanced at him, but his eyes were closed. He was resting.
"I caught one!" Rin exclaimed happily.
"Kyah!" Jaken shrieked as he slipped on rocks and got caught by the river's current. "Nooo!"
"Jaken-sama!" Rin let go of the thrashing fish and leant to grab Jaken's kimono. But he was too far already and she ended up falling in after him. The river was deeper than they'd originally thought.
"You can't be serious." Hotaru muttered and without a second thought she grabbed her staff and jumped into the river after the two. The first she went for was Rin and then Jaken. Securely holding Rin, she stretched out her staff to the imp who managed to grab it and hold onto it. She barely managed to retrieve him as he lost consciousness half-way to her.
With only one free arm, she had a difficult time getting out of the current while dragging their deadweight.
She was almost by the shore, when Jaken regained consciousness and started thrashing in Hotaru's arms. "Let go of me, witch! Let goooo!"
"Hey! Sto-" She wavered and the undercurrent swiped her off her feet and dragged her under. She hit her head against the rocky bottom and for a second, her vision went black. Water filled her nose and lungs as the undercurrent dragged them all down the river.
A strong arm grabbed the ruff of her kimono and pulled her out.
"Hn." Sesshomaru huffed underneath his nose as he easily hauled the three troublemakers out of the water.
Hotaru's lungs and airways were burning as she was coughing and spitting out all the water she inhaled. "Th-thanks." She nodded to Sesshomaru, then she hurriedly tended to Rin, until she opened her eyes and coughed and spit out all the water she swallowed. Hotaru was rubbing her back the whole time.
"Mhm. S-sorry." The girl peeped, crying as she retched one last time.
"It's okay, you're fine now." She hugged her and sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. You're fine."
SMACK!
!
Hotaru spun around just to see as Sesshomaru was getting up from the imp, who now had a huge bump on his head and tears in his eyes.
"Okay?" Hotaru blinked between the two. "I think I am not going to scold you any more for this, Jaken. Just don't do something so stupid again. If you're being pulled out of the water don't panic."
"Humph! I will not be saved by a lowly human. Ah!" He shrunk back under Sesshomaru's glare. "You really are a bothersome child, Rin..."
"You're the one who fell into the river. Rin simply wanted to help."
"I didn't ask for your help." He huffed and turned his back.
Hotaru and Rin exchanged glances and sighed.
"Urgh." Hotaru swayed up to her feet, water dripping from her clothes. "... I'm teaching you how to swim next. You too, Jaken. Sulk all you want, but you will learn how to swim properly."
"What?!" He shrieked. "I know how to swim, you dim-witted woman! I was perfectly fine!"
"Mhm, sure. It looked like you really had it under control. So much that it was Sesshomaru, who had to drag us all out." But he really did help us. She glanced at the dog demon, already back in his previous spot. He looked like he had no worry in the world and it made her grin. He cares… Hm, or he has some strange behaviours for a demon… "I'm gonna catch us dinner. I believe you can get the fire started." She was looking specifically at Jaken.
He wanted to argue, but closed his mouth. He turned and marched towards the trees to gather some firewood.
"I'll help you, Hotaru-sama!"
"Rin." She said in a 'no' voice and stared at the girl.
"Please! I caught one. I can help. And I'm already drenched too." Her eyes widened. "Uhm… Hotaru-sama, you're bleeding."
"Hm?" Her hand instinctively reached towards the back of her head and dived into her hair. There really was blood. "Oh. It's nothing to worry about, just a small laceration."
"It's bleeding a lot." Rin protested. The back of Hotaru's white top was already red from blood.
"What did I tell you about head wounds?"
Her lips turned into a thin line. "... that even shallow head wounds always bleed a lot."
With a sigh and smile she leaned to Rin. "I will stop the bleeding and force the wound to scab while you go catch fish for dinner. I'll come help you, okay?"
A small victory shone in Rin's eyes. "Yes ma'am!"
"And don't fall in again!"
"Haaai!" The child saluted and ran into the river taking her previous spot.
You shouldn't worry about me too much. She thought as she seated herself into a lotus sitting position. Ignoring Sesshomaru's eyes fixed on her back.
######
"You can heal your wounds." Sesshomaru noted when the loud half of the group fell asleep.
Hotaru raised her head from small pots, where she was mixing some herbs. "Yes." Her eyes traced the waning crescent. "It's close enough to the new moon. It helps me heal."
He glanced at the moon too. He liked crescents the most. "What are you making?"
"It relieves pain and fever." She shrugged. "There is a village down the road. I thought of stopping by there if you decided to go away on your own again."
His eyes narrowed.
"We are… we travel together, I am not going to secretly sneak out to help humans. I am a priestess, it is my duty to help if I can… And they pay me." She had an urge to defend herself against those narrowed, judging eyes.
"Hn."
"What are you looking for?"
"..." He wasn't used to sharing information. But she was right, they were a group now. "A certain swordsmith, who might make a sword worthy of me."
"A sword?" She tilted her curiously eyeing the Tenseinga.
"I need a usable sword."
"Hmmm…" her lips curled into a teasing spark, "I suppose a human's sword would not be enough."
"Hn." He averted his gaze to chase the clouds.
He is offended. She thought. Her teasing struck the chord and it pleased her. He's not the cold-hearted demon he wants to be…
When she was preoccupied by her herbs, he glanced back at her and her satisfied smile.
######
The world around her was dark red. Everything was dark red, coated in blood. There was only motion surrounding her. Big dark silhouettes she needed to strike down if she wanted to release this rage and pain coiled in her heart. She could hear screams and howling wind all around her. Tears were streaming down her face.
"Help us!"
"Why do you kill us?"
"NOOO!"
Heartbeats. Sound of a sword cutting through flesh and bones. Unimalistic snarling. Flapping wings. Her hands were all wet and sticky.
She couldn't see through the ruby haze clearly.
Stomping feet. Running away… from her.
Her vision cleared. There was a pile of disfigured, mangled bodies in front of her. Men, women, even children. Some were cut, some were torn apart. Their faces were twisted in terrified expressions and agony.
Her hand was wrapped around the hilt of a sword. 'No.' She let go of it. And it clanged on the rocky ground.
She looked down on her bloodied hands. 'I didn't mean to-'
Hotaru jerked awake. Her breathing was shallow and she was covered in cold sweat. A nightmare?
This was the first time a nightmare was so vivid. Her head pulsed with the familiar pain. Or a memory? She squeezed her temples while calming down her breathing and heart rate. She glanced at the remnants of their fire, only the embers were glowing bright orange in the dark night. Rin was curled by her side and Jaken was snoring further away. At least I didn't wake them up.
Then she looked further and met with Sesshomaru's golden eyes. It startled her, she almost forgot he was there. The weak light from the embers made his eyes shine in the darkness. "Sorry. It's nothing." She said quietly.
She wanted to sleep again, but knew she wouldn't so she got up and stretched. Dried clothes dangled from low branches, nearly ready. With a satisfied nod, she flipped them over for even drying. While she wouldn't mind her simple backup yukata, the priestess's garment held a more comforting familiarity. To shake the remnants of the nightmare, she paced around their small campsite. Back and forth and around.
Sesshomaru was observing her. He could smell her fear from before she'd woken up.
She came to an abrupt halt and stared in direction to where the gentle breeze was blowing. A welcomed distraction. Something was happening. It was very faint, but she thought she was feeling Kagome's energy from there. And the jewel. And Naraku? No… She'd felt him in the demon slayer's village, but she'd never met him. It felt like him, but also not like him. It was strange.
"Do you sense it too?" She asked quietly.
Sesshomaru's attention turned in the direction she was pointing. "Sense what?"
"I'm not sure… I thought I felt some fight over there. Naraku, maybe? The jewel too." She cocked her chin in the direction, conveniently omitting it was most likely Inuyasha's group.
Unable to detect the battle by his nose, he frowned. The wind was blowing in the opposite direction, carrying the scents away from them.
"Perhaps it's nothing." She hummed and patted A-Un on both heads. If something happens to Sango, I hope Kirara will come to fetch me…
"We will head that way tomorrow." He decided.
They only found remains of a battlefield and villagers repairing their damaged houses. Based on the scents and tracks, Inuyasha was hit by his wind scar and heavily wounded. They were already gone, hiding.
Sesshomaru decided to follow their track and stay in the vicinity. If Naraku came after them, he would be close enough to kill the demon himself. And it was highly probable it would happen again.
A/N: Let me know what you think but remember, reviews are appreciated but never necessary.
S.