I See You [Sesshomaru]

Chapter 18

        The gash was looking better when Akiko woke the next morning, removing the bandage and finding the collected dried blood. Having shredded off another section of what remained of a sleeve and wetting it, when chancing to walk back down to the river, the young woman cleared away the area carefully in case the area was still tender. Even if the demon would never admit it. A grunt escaped Sesshomaru's lips, causing her pause and watch as his eyes opened slowly. "Hey," she spoke softly. He glanced up meeting her gaze, rather confused as to why she was positioned so close to him. "Let's wash your hair."

        And then he remembered the fall. He must have been knocked unconscious as the reincarnation stood and moved away. While she wasn't looking, the demon reached up feeling the area had nearly finished healing, and how the strands of hair were rough and clumped from the dried blood. And then there was the matter of his clothing that had drops of it on the fabric and was caked in mud. The closer they moved towards the bank though he noticed the smear marks running across the ground. She had dragged him out to his mild surprise. He wasn't even aware she'd be strong enough, especially with the condition of her legs.

        The young woman was already knee deep when he arrived, not bothering anymore to stay dry as he sat down on a rock just barely protruding out of the water. She helped him as the birds in the forest around them filled the empty silence. But it wasn't uncomfortable, as the last of the blood was washed away. Unwrapping the bandages around her own legs the wounds were cleaned before leaving the water. There was no possible way to wrap them again, having run out of articles of clothing to shred. Turning to address Sesshomaru, Akiko discovered he was staring at her. It was odd, now knowing that someone was blatantly doing so, and quickly looked away. And then a though occurred to her, was he always staring in the past? It was quickly dashed. Of course not, he was a demon. What part of her involvement in this world would hold his attention?

        "How far are we from your household?" Akiko asked.

        "A day," the lord answered.

        They had a lot of time to make up, having not accounted for their mishap with Naraku's minions. And the trip was a silent one as the young woman rode on his back, arms wrapped around his neck as they raced through the forest. She couldn't help by stare at everything that passed, also on the lookout for any other demons that could try and stop them. But no threat presented itself as she was left to enjoy the sight of the bright green trees, grassy vast fields, and occasional body of water they would pass. She stared in wonder, something Sesshomaru noticed out of the corner of his eyes.

        That night at camp they didn't want to chance starting a fire and drawing attention. So Akiko moved about the small clearing trying to find an area that would be comfortable to sleep on, removing unwanted twigs and rocks only to realize that Sesshomaru had gone missing. Though she wasn't surprised as the sun completely set. And it was the first time since gaining her sight that the young woman was experiencing a calm night. She looked up at the sky through a hole in the surrounding trees and found the darkness lit with an endless amount of stars. There was a time, when Akiko was a child, and asked what the sky looked like at night. She couldn't remember much of anything from the age of five, and her mother explained it to the best of her ability. It was close, but nothing compared to actually seeing it herself. In fact, Akiko became so excited while craning her head back that she lost her balance and fell backwards. Suddenly Sesshomaru was in her line of sight, head having come to rest on top of his feet. In turn he stared back.

        "Enjoying yourself?"

        "Yes, actually... to a point."

        Sitting up she realized he had returned with something to eat. It was only wild berries as she examined the items now in hand and popped it into her mouth. Sweet. Of course the demon wasn't eating anything. "What?" he asked from where he was leaning against the trunk of a tree.