Traveling with a Dog (XI)

The two were unusually silent throughout the journey.

Unlike their former wordless understanding, this time the atmosphere between them seemed to have abruptly turned cold.

Silence had become a barrier, gradually drawing them apart.

Han did not regret her decision. If she had the chance to do it over, she would still choose to pay the price with her own blood rather than let Sesshomaru shoulder that responsibility.

It had never been his responsibility.

Although she had first joined Sesshomaru to obtain a weapon of her own, what she had acquired so far was Clear Torrent. Sesshomaru probably always thought the weapon I wanted was a sword, the girl thought. But what I really wanted was a bow and arrows. Still, Clear Torrent was already wonderful. Whenever she held it, she could feel a tangible joy and a wordless understanding flowing from its blade. That silent harmony was just like fighting alongside Sesshomaru: they could entrust their backs to each other without fear.

Han did not walk beside Sesshomaru. Instead, she followed a few steps behind, keeping to his path. Even now, Sesshomaru still instinctively slowed his pace so the girl could keep up.

Their months together had changed more than just one of them.

Han lifted her head to look at the tall figure before her: silver hair cascading like a waterfall, a plain white kimono, broad shoulders and a chest and back covered in Demon Armor, and two swords, one long and one short, hanging at his waist. He looked aloof and deadly. Yet only she knew that beneath this demon's cold exterior lay a heart that was quiet, but not without tenderness.

Were they really going to part like this? No!

Remembering Totosai's words before they left, she clenched her fists as a fierce reluctance to part surged within her.

Han suddenly hurried forward and caught Sesshomaru's white sleeve. Sesshomaru lowered his head and looked at the strained smile on her face. Despite the distance between them over the past few days, he did not shake her off. Instead, he silently indulged her boldness. Han walked quietly beside him, her hand clutching the hem of his sleeve as though that alone could strengthen the bond between them.

"Where... are we going?" With her head lowered, she watched their steps move side by side and asked softly.

"Where you came from." Sesshomaru's calm voice came from above her without a moment's hesitation.

Han jerked her head up. "Sesshomaru... are we going back?" She did not dare look at him, and the words caught in her throat.

"Yes." Sesshomaru's answer was as brief as ever, yet it hurt her all the more.

She missed the gentle, kind mikos of Kiyomori Temple. She had been eager to return all along. They had agreed that this would only be a journey together, so why had she become the one who could not bear to part?

The girl said nothing more, merely following beside Sesshomaru in low spirits.

"Once everything is over, come out again." Sesshomaru's voice suddenly sounded above her, as cool as ever.

Han looked up in delighted surprise. Gazing at the graceful line of his jaw, she could imagine his eyes with all their frost melted away.

"Then we'll find your Spirit Bow." Sesshomaru sighed silently, unable to understand why he indulged the girl. Without even realizing it, he had already made a gentle yet unwavering promise.

"All right!" Han answered brightly. All her dejection vanished in an instant, leaving only a soft warmth in her heart.

Sesshomaru did not look down, but he knew what expression the girl probably wore just then.

The curve lifting the corners of his own mouth could perhaps have been called a smile.

After traveling such a long road together, how could he, Sesshomaru, still not know that the girl beside him truly wanted a bow and arrows rather than a sword? Every time he watched her raise her longbow and draw the string, her fighting spirit blazing, he could feel how completely that ordinary wooden bow constrained her power.

She deserved a more powerful weapon.

And once he returned, he would certainly find one for her.

That night, the two stopped beside a nearby tree as usual and quietly sat down.

At some point, a campfire had become part of every night they spent in the open. Its flames swayed in the evening breeze, quietly warming two people who had no fear of the night's chill. At least, when Sesshomaru traveled alone, it had never occurred to him to light a fire at night. As far as he knew, the girl was not human either, so she would neither feel cold nor fear the wild animals in the woods.

That was indeed true, but the girl had once casually remarked that only when she sat around a fire did she feel more human. She seemed deeply resistant to the fact that she was not human, though she did not hate demons. There was simply a faint uneasiness beneath her quiet exterior. And so, at some point, a campfire had begun to burn before them every night.

Now, the girl sat quietly beside the fire, making arrows. The orange firelight shone on her face, lending her usually fair skin a warm blush. With the small bone knife the demon slayers had given her, she whittled branches into arrow shafts, split their ends, and inserted feathers to keep them balanced-usable feathers were scattered everywhere in the woods. Then she lightly roasted the tips over the fire to harden and sharpen them, replacing the arrowheads she had used up.

Although such tips still inflicted little damage, when fighting demons, what truly mattered was not the bow and arrows themselves, but the miko's spiritual power imbued in them. With enough spiritual power, an arrow could even pierce several demons. Midoriko, the once-renowned great miko who had established the standing of mikos above monks and warriors, had possessed the ability to destroy more than a dozen demons with a single stroke of her sword.

Wild animals often possessed keen instincts that warned them of danger, so none had ever attacked the two of them. More often, those that dared ambush or assault them were demons of little strength. Truly powerful demons would presumably challenge them outright.

Of the Great Monsters Sesshomaru had spoken of, Han had only met Totosai so far. As for the demons of the Wolf Demon Tribe they had encountered earlier, perhaps they were stronger than ordinary demons, but they had not reached the level of a Great Monster. Strictly speaking, although the term referred to a demon's strength, demons with immense power usually possessed enormous bodies as well.

Han worked without distraction, arrows taking shape in her hands one after another.

Reddish firelight danced in her eyes, while Sesshomaru quietly watched the peaceful scene beside him.

Han usually retrieved her arrows whenever circumstances allowed. More often, however, they were contaminated by demon blood as they pierced their targets and could no longer be used-demonic power and spiritual power were inherently opposed.

By the time she had finished all the arrows and placed them in her quiver, the night had grown late.

Sesshomaru still sat beside her, gazing steadily at her without closing his eyes to rest.

A little embarrassed, Han rose and walked to the nearby stream to wash in its cold water. They could not find a warm hot spring to bathe in every day, and besides, dust did not cling to either of their nonhuman bodies.

When she returned to Sesshomaru's side, his eyes were already closed, and he seemed to be resting.

Han carefully lay down beside Sesshomaru without removing her clothes and quietly fell asleep to the sound of his faint, almost inaudible breathing.

Far away, in peaceful Kiyomori Temple, the mikos were also thinking of the girl who had been gone for months.

She had only recently arrived at the shrine and knew nothing of this chaotic era of warring states, yet she had decided to travel with a demon. Although her stated purpose was to find a Spirit Bow, such a long absence inevitably left them worried.

Hopefully, Han will return before New Year's Eve.

The mikos prayed silently, hoping that the girl far away would return safely soon.

Beneath the cool moonlight, all slept peacefully, both here and there.