Someone to protect

Chapter 5

The next few days went in a weird pattern that formed. In the morning, we all had breakfast prepared by the priestess. Rin loved her cooking and if I was to say so myself, it wasn't half bad for human food, even though I never used to eat it. I don't need it for nutrients, but the taste is exquisite. After the meal we continued in our travels. What I noticed though was that the priestess preferred to walk besides Rin and talk to the little girl over being carried by Ah-Un like Rin was. For a first couple of days this seemed rather difficult for the priestess but after a few days her condition changed and she grew used to the long distance traveling demons do during the day. At lunch time this Sesshomaru went hunting for some food while the humans went to bathe in hot springs they sought out. After that there was another meal prepared by the priestess from the kills of the hunt and then there was a whole more traveling to do. At night time the priestess disappeared though. She always sneaked out while the dinner was cooking leaving Rin in charge of the meal and wondered off into the woods. She was always in reach of my demonic energy, so I could still feel her presence, but always far away for me to hear what she was up to.

At first, I paid no mind to such a behavior, maybe it was something she was used to doing. However, when this Sesshomaru caught the scent of her blood when she returned back one night, my interest was piqued. Was the priestess harming herself? What was she doing when she was away? And why was it just her fingers that seemed to be covered in some weird type of bandages? This was all rather strange.

One night, after the moon rose high into the sky and the priestess left for her night absence, this Sesshomaru followed. Her scent was something that was easily tracked and with the time we spent together traveling, it grew on me and was rather comforting to have around. I followed her into a little clearing, where the moon shone through the trees and illuminated the female figure standing in a battle posture with the long bow in one of her hands and an arrow in the other, ready to shoot at something. She fired the arrow with rather impressive accuracy at a rather distant tree with a purple glow of her spiritual power surrounding it. Instead of a satisfied nod I expected she just huffed in frustration and drew another arrow. Now I understand the bloody fingers. She fired another arrow which landed right to her first one clicking her tongue in frustration.

"How long do you intend to watch me Sesshomaru?" She said without once again giving me a glance. I knew hiding from her was useless by this point. I walked right to her watching her fire another sacred arrow at the tree that was surely her target.

"What are you doing here, priestess?"

"I'm practicing archery," was her obvious answer and I just narrowed my eyes. I did know what she was doing. But what was she really trying to do? That was my real question but I didn't bother to ask again. I watched her draw another arrow and place the end on the chord pulling as hard as she could and for a moment I saw her close her eyes before she fired. That was strange. Why would someone close their eyes before firing an arrow? The curiosity got the better of me again. This female was something this Sesshomaru could not understand by watching, so I asked again.

"What are you really doing here, priestess?"

She stopped in mid motion trying to place another arrow to the chord, her hand slid to her side clutching the arrow.

"I'm trying to get stronger. I don't want to be protected all my life. I want to fight."

The priestess finally looked at me with her chocolate eyes and I almost flinched as I saw her gaze. She was suffering from something I could not see. She was fighting inside herself with some kind of an invisible demon trying desperately to win. She slowly lowered her gaze to the arrow in her hand trying to explain herself.

"All this time, the fighting I've done in this era, I've always been protected by someone. Always hid when the fight got too intense for a human to be in, yet Kikyo manages to fight, even though she's a human as well. Then why am I so pathetic? Why can't I do things like a priestess should if I truly am one?"

She slid to her knees and a scent of salt and water hit my nose. I gazed down at the crying priestess white her silent tears ran down her cheeks suddenly feeling like I wanted to help her. It wasn't an urgent need, but feelings like that were something this Sesshomaru admired.

"If you truly feel that way priestess, then you're already a better warrior than half demons I know of. All you need is a bit of practice and someone to guide your hand."

She looked at me with her watery eyes and nodded her head standing back up. I stood behind her watching her aim and concentrate on the power slowly surrounding the arrow.

"Don't concentrate on the tree. You have the technique down by now. What you have to imagine is your power and increase it. Imagine you don't have an arrow and you have to shoot something. Try forming an arrow from your own power."

She nodded her head closing her eyes again and taking a deep breath. I felt the energy swirl around the arrow in a mas of power more resembling a ball then an arrow. The priestess huffed and lowered the bow. She looked exhausted from her first big try but after a short break she went and pulled the chord back again giving it another try.

The night was slowly passing and I had to physically drag the priestess back to camp to get some rest. After quite the struggle she went with me after I gave her my word to help her with her practice again the next night. And that sort of became our night routine as well. Every night we both went and I helped her with controlling her power. It was quite similar to my own in nature, which I found fascinating. We focused on the control more than the actual combat first. We sat down and I made her do exercises I remembered my father taught me.

"Sesshomaru, the aura surrounding you is not just some inanimate object. It's a living breathing thing, a representation of your life force. That is why it will bend to your will if you learn how to use it properly."

Those were the same words I found myself saying to the priestess as we sat at the fire back at the camp for the night right before I ushered her to sleep. She looked so much like me when I was younger, eager to learn, hanging on my every word like I was hanging on everything my father said to me. I wanted to get stronger just like him. I wanted to beat him. The flames of the fire brought back a picture of my father fighting that human in the burning palace far away in the East and I had to look away. My father's death was a pathetic end for a warrior like him and that was something I could not ever forgive him, nor his human wench. Yet here I was, sitting in a camp with two human females, one sleeping soundly, resting her head in the lap of the other, while the priestess caressed her hair trying to be strong. I could see myself in the priestess, at least my younger self, that wasn't full of hatred towards humans, the me that embraced my father when he came home from a meeting of the lords, the me that used to bring flowers to my mother from our gardens just so she would kiss the moon on my forehead.

I looked up to the stars after I saw the priestesses head slip to the side, the slumber taking her over and I watched the glimmering light that they provided. Are you really there, in the stars, father? Are you still watching over your lands, your sons or was that just a fairytale? I didn't even know which one I wanted it to be.