Sesshomaru's Euphoria

31

As Sesshomaru and Naomi traveled through the forest, no other words were said about the encounter with her father and brother, the sun setting through the trees, night falling over them. They had chosen a spot to rest for the night, near a shallow river for fresh water and fish, even though Sesshomaru didn't eat human food, he knew Naomi did, and she would need her strength to complete the task given to her by Tōtōsai. Sesshomaru stayed by the fire that was made by Naomi as she went to catch fish, not caring if her kimono would get wet because it was going to dry anyway. The dog demon knew she could protect herself, one less thing he needed to worry about, but he was still on high alert, his eyes closed, looking as if he was asleep, but it was the exact opposite.

Naomi let out a low sigh through her nose, grabbing another fish from the water and putting it in the small basket she had made, deciding that it was enough for her, walking out of the water and picking up her catch, holding the basket on her right hip. But she stopped in her tracks, her ears twitched slightly,

"Following me?" Naomi asked "it's not the smartest thing you could do"

". . . You must forgive him" Shouto said softly, standing on the other side of the river "he only wanted to protect you and your mother"

"And yet she now rots in a hole" Naomi said, turning around to face him

"It was not his doing" he replied

"Why are you here?" She asked, getting to the point

Shouto looked at her for a moment, letting out a small breath through his nose before reaching behind his back, pulling out an object wrapped in a thin cloth, looking at it before throwing it across the river, toward Naomi. The fox demon kept ahold of the basket with her right hand, using her left as she caught it easily, looking at it, then back to him,

"I found those in his bag" he explained "years ago. They aren't meant for me, that's for sure. I wish to know you, Naomi. The pain you feel, it's been long enough. I say it's time to let go of the past and focus - "

"I'll let go of the past as soon as Naraku is dead" Naomi replied simply

He looked at her, a small sigh emitting from his nose, giving her a small nod,

". . . They'll help harness your power" he informed "if you ever need me, for any reason, call my name into a fire"

With that said, Shouto turned around and walked away, leaving Naomi alone in next to the river. She looked down at the object in her hand, instantly noting that the cloth was old because of some of its fibers coming out at the ends, but the cloth itself was black, it looked taken care of apart from the falling fibers, but it was still old. A small sigh emitted from her nose, setting the wrapped object in the basket, turning around and walking back toward their little camp, where she noticed Sesshomaru, who hadn't moved from his spot. Naomi worked on getting the fish skewered with sticks and putting them over the fire, looking at the wrapped object that still lay inside the basket, reaching for it, picking it up and bringing it to her lap.

"You don't have a plan" Sesshomaru stated

". . No one ever does" Naomi said softly "I don't know what he has up his sleeve. I don't know if I'll be ready to face what he has planned, but I will. I have to be"

She sat there in the grass, in front of the fire as she looked down at the object in her lap, hesitating to unwrap it, not knowing what lays inside. Sesshomaru looked at the fox demon, knowing what she said was correct, no one really has a plan for what's to come, and most of the time, they end up falling through. But he knew that she would be ready to face whatever lay ahead, even without enough training. A small sigh emitted from her nose as she rotated the fish above the fire, making sure they didn't burn, her mind drifting off to Akio and Shouto. She remembered seeing Akio's eyes when she was a child, watching her from the shadows of the trees, unseen by anyone else except for her. Naomi couldn't forget the way he looked at her, as if she were the most precious thing in the world to him, wanting to protect her from all of the bad things in the world.

But she knew he couldn't.

Now that her power is soon to completely manifest itself, other demons of a higher power would seek to challenge Naomi and possibly kill her while lesser demons would run away in fear. As soon as her task from Tōtōsai was complete, Sesshomaru would restart her training, teaching her how to control her power, and someday, she will no longer need the necklace he had given her. He knew that she was already skilled in combat, learning all that she could from her mother, but because of her lineage, she needed to be the best. Akio fought alongside InuTaisho since before Sesshomaru was born, having been best friends and partners in battle, fighting together as one with equal strengths and weaknesses. So it made sense that Naomi befriended Sesshomaru, without knowing.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as her gaze trailed back down to the cloth in her lap, trailing her hand over it, wondering why Shouto would give them to her, even if they were made for her. She hadn't accepted the training Akio had offered or accepted them as her family. Another small sigh emitted from her nose, grasping one end of the twine that kept the cloth together, pulling at it and untying it, unwrapping the object, which turned out to be two, her eyes turning to the fire as it suddenly rose to a great height.