Demons Eyes

Chapter 34

After a fulfilling dinner of roasted crustaceans and tubers, the night was quiet.

Noro sat back, and glanced at the softly snoring figure of Rin. The small girl was practically comatose after eating her fill of crayfish and roots. Noro felt that tonight was one of the largest meals that the orphan had eaten in a long time.

"That stream was practically crawling with these little morsels," Noro held up an empty shell. "We practically feasted tonight."

The dai-yokai sitting across from her said nothing.

"Yes, I do believe, that today was a good day indeed," Noro concluded.

Late night conversations such as this one had become most habitual for the two travelers. At first, Noro would be practically talking to herself. But later on, usually during the moment of silence after a question, the demon lord would answer her. Then he would begin to hold a conversation with her. Noro was still the more talkative of the two of course, but both of them felt that the atmosphere was comfortable, and the company was adequate.

"...and I have never blindly accepted allies since," Sesshomaru concluded.

Noro nodded. "That makes sense," she replied. "However, I wouldn't be too upset with Inuyasha. He was under a spell at the time. If he hadn't been tethered to that Tree of Ages, I'm sure that he would've helped out."

She chuckled. "He definitely would've complained a lot, and I have no doubt that you two would've bickered many times, but I don't think that he would've abandoned you."

Sesshomaru glared at her. "Is that what you believe I think? That he abandoned me?"

The sharp tone in his voice alerted the woman. Realizing that he had misinterpreted her poorly strung sentence as an incursion on his pride, she was quick to amend her words.

"Of course not! Only that he abandoned his duty to his father. You may not have liked that you had to honor your fathers memory by protecting the West from the resurgence of the Panther Tribe, but you respected your father, and fulfilled your duty as his son, and heir to the Western Lands."

The demon lord only replied with a hum, and Noro fell silent.

She took a deep breath before steering the topic of conversation to what she had been, in truth, dreading his reply to.

"Sesshomaru, in all honesty, what would you think if I cut my hair short?"

It was clear that the question had caught the dai-yokai off guard. He blinked, the motion only taking an instant before he recovered himself.

"Why would you cut your hair?"

Noro shifted in place, as the dog demons gaze was direct and strong.

"If we were attacked, my hair would no longer give me a disadvantage while fighting."

Up until then, Noro had looked directly at Sesshomaru, but suddenly her reasons sounded more like excuses in her ears, and she could no longer meet his eyes. However, the woman knew that her logic was sound.

Sesshomaru frowned. "You seem intent on insulting me this evening. Do you not think that I will slay any enemy?"

Noro shrugged. "Sometimes you aren't around."

The dai-yokai eyebrow twitched. "Then this Sesshomaru orders that you will not cut your hair, and is insulted that you would suggest to do so."

This was ridiculous, Noro thought. She had expected him to be upset, but ordering her like that? No. She pursed her lips.

"It's my hair," she reminded him harshly, "not yours. I can do what I like with it."

"Then do not ask this one such idiotic things. If you wish to disgrace yourself, then do so. This one does not care."

Noro rolled her eyes and got up, wondering how such a powerful demon could be so damn petulant. "The length of my hair, or your opinion, isn't that important to me. What's important is protecting Rin and the others. You would do well to keep that in mind. Good night."

*****

Long after Noro had gone to sleep, the demon lord was still awake and staring into the fire. This was not an unusual occurrence, but his thoughts were uncommon to him.

His eyes narrowed, and an image of Noro flashed across his mind. He payed no mind as to why this was so, but he was certain that he did not want Noro to shorten her hair. And why should she, when it was so clear that there was no need too? Did the woman truly think so little of herself? Did she care so little for his thoughts?

Sesshomaru clenched his jaw. No, the woman wouldn't cut her hair, he forbade it. The human wouldn't degrade herself, not while she traveled with him.

The dai-yokai closed his eyes for a moment, and let a breath escape him. He took a deep breath, focusing in on Noros scent, and calmed his mind.

He preferred the woman the way she was, and the idea of her head bearing short hair upset him.

That thought in itself frustrated him greatly. Why should he care what she looked like? Why should he care about her at all?

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Uh oh! Looks like someone's catching a bad case of feelings! Whatever will the emotionally constipated dog boi do? 😂😆

In any case, shout out to @Reagan761 ! They have voted on every single one of my chapters thus far! Thank you for your support, I really appreciate it. 🥰🥰🥰

Ciao!