Chapter Text
The monk was fooling no one.
Sesshoumaru wanted to scoff in his face when he'd appeared in the doorway half-dressed. Rin had mentioned his odd affinity for lying about in the nude, but since none of his attention was directed toward her, Sesshoumaru hadn't given him a second look.
He had had half a mind to skin the man when he realized whom he was entertaining, but the lack of participation on her part told him he had nothing to worry about. Not that he was worried in the first place.
The miko had spent many of her teenage years, and some of her adult ones, in the monk's presence, and though he was inclined to offer up his services to produce offspring to anything that walked, the miko had never taken him seriously. Sesshoumaru assumed it was some strange human custom, but the reaction of both the miko and the slayer, even when the offer wasn't made to them directly, told a different story.
The monk had lived with his impending demise his entire life; Sesshoumaru couldn't fault him for wanting to extend his line, though it would mean passing on the curse to his offspring. Humans were good for very few things—procreating being one of them. However, even without the threat of Naraku, the monk still greeted females the same way. Perhaps it was a coping mechanism. Or perhaps he was waiting for one of them to take him seriously.
The miko never had.
It had saved the man's skin during this particular visit, but Sesshoumaru had paid him little mind in the first place. There were far more obvious ways to read someone, humans especially, than visible cues. The miko had yet to control her emotions in the presence of others, and there'd been no shift in her scent in the time it took Sesshoumaru to land in the village and determine her location.
It had, however, shifted the moment he'd stepped into the monk's hut. She'd tried to hide it by avoiding his gaze, but the instant the caramel had hit his nose, he'd known.
She was aware of him.
Her control was commendable, as she gave nothing away to alert the monk, but Sesshoumaru had been around her long enough to notice the differences. The way her hands had tightened, her breath hitching as he stepped closer, had been more than obvious.
Perhaps they would make a stop before reaching the dead miko's shrine. It wouldn't help the investigation if they were distracted.
The monk continued to voice his concerns about the miko's safety, and Sesshoumaru finally cut in, making it plain that she would not be returning to the shrine alone. He seemed surprised by this, but the miko expanded on it, assuring him that his worry was ill-placed.
Her friendship with the monk was odd, to say the least. He was neither brother nor lover, but his concern for her welfare was genuine, as were the others in her pack. Sesshoumaru could understand the need to keep her safe, especially after such a trying ordeal such as the fight with the beast.
She'd claimed to be fine, and though he had his doubts, the blush on her cheeks following her assessment caused saliva to pool in his mouth. He knew exactly what she was insinuating. The rut had been celebratory, so they'd pushed previously established boundaries, but he could still feel her wrapped around him, writhing on top of him. His jaw began to ache with the way his muscles clenched, but he refused to give anything away.
What transpired between him and the miko was no business of anyone else's. And he would keep it that way.
He let them continue their conversation, let her satisfy the monk's curiosity about her plans, then followed her outside. The visit to the monk's home had been an interruption, so she quickened her pace toward the elder miko's abode, claiming to need a few items before they departed. Sesshoumaru would've been content to wait in silence, but it appeared the monk had other plans.
"She pushes herself too hard," he mused, arms lingering above his head when a few of the villagers passed by. If Sesshoumaru had been so inclined, he'd have rolled his eyes. Did he not find it exhausting to 'perform' all the time? Why waste time when the females were only interested in looking? However, it seemed to be second nature, as the monk's gaze never left the miko. "She'll never stop until she finds the answers she needs."
Sesshoumaru's head cocked to the side. "It had done her well before."
"It's almost gotten her killed before." There was an unfamiliar bitterness to his tone, and Sesshoumaru inclined his head more. The monk was usually so easy-going, never taking anything, even his own mortality, seriously.
"She has improved since your first encounter," he replied.
The monk nodded. "Which is why I'm not forcing her to stay."
Sesshoumaru relaxed, one hand on the hilt of Bakusaiga. "You would not succeed."
"True," he said with a shrug, "but the effort would be delightful." His casual smile returned for a moment as he imagined said effort, and if there weren't so many people present, Sesshoumaru might have reminded him that he had no claim to the miko, bound or otherwise. As it was, it quickly disappeared as the monk turned to him. "I meant what I said before, Lord Sesshoumaru. Please take care of her. We still don't know what the beast's true motive was. There could still be lingering effects from the attack."
It wasn't like the thought hadn't crossed his mind as well. The miko was strong, but she had a tendency to focus on everyone else's health instead of her own. The image of her powers coiling through the grass outside the cave resurfaced, and his hand clenched into a fist. "I will watch her carefully," he said.
The monk's stare was scrutinizing, and Sesshoumaru raised his chin in contest before the man shrugged. "Forgive me, my lord. It's not so often a daiyoukai promises to take care of a human."
He was baiting him into something, but Sesshoumaru ignored it, smirking over his shoulder as he stepped off the engawa. "Do not underestimate her solely based on her humanity."
He'd offered to fly them back to the shrine, but the miko had insisted they walk. The beast had had no wings, so there had to be traces of it somewhere—or at least those that controlled it. She hadn't decided if there was someone else pulling the strings, but she didn't want the quick and easy route to cause her to miss something important. Sesshoumaru didn't care how long the trip took, just as long as she stuck to the main paths.
Knowing the miko, she would need constant reminders of this.
Their chatter had been minimal, choosing instead to inspect the nearby flora and fauna for clues. For the most part, they remained undisturbed, his youki doing enough to deter smaller beasts from venturing too close. She'd tried to do the same, but he'd pinned her with an intense stare, forcing her to recall the tendrils of reiki with a defiant raise of her chin.
"I'm fine," she argued, kicking a pebble into the bushes.
"An unknown beast attacked you," he replied with a scowl. "You need to conserve your strength."
"Isn't that why you're here?" she asked flippantly. "Big bad daiyoukai protecting the poor, pitiful miko?"
"You would not allow such a thing even at your weakest," he retorted.
Glancing over his shoulder, he caught her smug smile. "At least you've learned something since this whole thing began." She flounced past him, dark waves bouncing against her back. She'd forgone the traditional miko garb for something easier to travel in, the slayer's uniform peeking out under a basic yukata.
"That is not something to be proud of," he said, tone hardening. "If you spent half the amount of energy protecting yourself that you do protecting others, people would worry about you less."
The miko waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. It's not like I haven't heard that before." He saw the slight hunch of her shoulders. "Inuyasha made sure to remind me how useless I was during our hunt for the shards."
His claws dug into her wrist as he pulled her to a stop. "That was not meant as a slight, but a warning, miko." A dark brow raised in question, but she didn't try to pull free. "You were close to death, and only you and I know just how close," he emphasized. Her petulant expression disappeared with a sigh of resignation.
"I know," she admitted. "But it's hard to walk on eggshells all the time. I have the power and training to make a difference now." She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I don't want to be the damsel waiting for someone to swoop in and save me. I didn't even want it as a teen!"
The edge of his mouth quirked. "Indeed. I seem to remember an insipid, brash womanchild confronting a daiyoukai in his true form before she had any power to claim as her own."
Her blush bled into a smile, and she twisted her arm enough to squeeze his hand. "Wouldn't change it for anything." And she meant it. It was written all over her face.
Sesshoumaru shook his head in exasperation. "You truly have no prowess for self-preservation—"
The miko yelped in surprise as they were sidelined. Sesshoumaru tucked himself into a ball, one hand pressing against the ground to keep the momentum going so he'd end up on his feet. He'd sensed nothing, instincts immediately on alert as he brandished his claws.
Had there been another beast? Or someone thinking to finish what it had started? He hadn't been present during the fight, so he had no aura to go off of. He blanketed the surrounding area in his youki, panic setting in when she yelped again. Sesshoumaru whirled around, his hand already on the hilt of Bakusaiga. If she'd been hurt in any way—
Her yelp quickly turned to exasperated laughter, and he straightened, focusing on her rather than an impending threat. She crooned as a scaled head slid against her shoulder, another pressing itself against her hands.
Ah-Un.
He hadn't sensed them because they weren't a threat. Dragons also didn't have a discernible aura and tended to blend in with their surroundings. She gave him a guilty smile, then went back to petting the overgrown lizard. They snorted in pleasure, necks winding around her as they checked for injuries.
More laughter erupted as her sleeves got tangled in their manes. "I'm alright, I promise." Ah-Un spent most of their time with Kohaku, but with how long he'd been stationary in Rin's village, it was no wonder they'd left their master behind. They hadn't been present during her visit with the monk, so Sesshoumaru could only surmise that they'd caught wind of the miko's scent and followed them.
A growl escaped as Sesshoumaru got to his feet, Bakusaiga sliding back into its scabbard with an audible click. Worried or not, their behaviour was unacceptable. They may have spent more time with the boy slayer than with himself, but a dragon's loyalty was not so quickly changed. He'd heard Kohaku mention something about them imprinting on the miko, but he hadn't thought it had gone this far.
"I missed you, too," she said, bumping their foreheads together. "I bet it was scary seeing me asleep for so long."
Sesshoumaru pursed his lips. He didn't want to linger on the memory of how weak she'd been, of how frail she'd felt in his arms. Ah-Un had spent just as much time curled around her as he had, but he hadn't realized just how much of an impression she'd made on them.
"Dragons do not feel such emotions," he said, flipping his hair over his shoulder.
The miko rolled her eyes, nuzzling both their faces. "Ignore Mr. Emotionally Constipated. He wouldn't know affection if it hit him in the face." She grinned. "Maybe that's where you should hit him next time." Their heads bobbed as if to agree, and they nudged her along the path, intent on following them further.
He fell in step beside them, and they glanced at Sesshoumaru warily, causing a pale brow to raise in question. They'd never defied him before, content to take care of Rin without being asked. They'd never been this protective of his ward, though. Dust collected around their feet as they trotted along, one head on either side of her, and she continuously patted their heads in reassurance. Sesshoumaru didn't think much of it, but they kept a fair distance between them, nudging the miko to the edge of the path now and then.
The beast had the audacity to hiss at him when he tried to move closer.