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.

"Do you ever eat?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

Her shoulders shrugged. "I've never... witnessed you eating before."

"The food you eat is suitable for humans, not demons. It would do nothing for me."

"Obviously..." she muttered lowly, returning to her meal.

It wasn't long after Akiko fell asleep. But it wasn't a comfortable one. Towards the early morning, Sesshomaru opened his eyes watched as the young woman began to toss and turn in her sleep, shivering. The temperature had dropped considerably compared to the past few nights. She wouldn't stop anytime soon, which would not allow him to rest in order for the gash on his head to finish healing.

The demon was before the reincarnation moment's later thinking for a moment before realizing there was no other way around it. Sitting once more on the ground he pulled Akiko into his lap, arm and boa wrapping around her and allowing her head to rest against his shoulder. The young woman's breath was caressing the exposed skin around the demon's neck and he nearly shivered, muscles tensing. Why was he reacting in such a way? To a human of all things. It confused him, and wished to push her away as quickly as possible... yet couldn't at the same time. The lord's brows narrowed.

Akiko stopped shivering, settling against him, and he stared at the young woman a while longer before drifting off.

There weren't many things that surprised Akiko. After all, being blind there were a lot of things she couldn't see so that helped. And then there was the fact her sense of hearing was so accurate that if anyone attempted to sneak up on her, she knew. So when waking to find she was no longer lying on the hard ground, but something a bit softer, save for the armor plating pressing against a side, she had a hard time believing this was real. But the young woman was so close to Sesshomaru that she could feel the heat radiating off of him, the soft texture of his boa, feel the inhale and exhale of his chest, and gained a close view of his smooth neck.

The reincarnation blinked, at first thinking she was still sleeping. But then this would be a very weird dream... and one with the dog demon in it, of all things, so she had to be conscious. And she couldn't completely separate herself from the lord either. His one arm grip was firm, as if afraid Naraku would come out of nowhere and whisk her away.

Without far to go, Akiko's attention was on the area his gash was located and reached up. Completely gone. As was expected. He twitched and she quickly pulled away only for his hand to grasp her wrist and hold it still in midair. Their eyes met and for a moment her voice was caught in her throat before gathering her thoughts,

"Does your head hurt?" Akiko asked. Even if nothing was present, there could still be damage under the skin. Sesshomaru didn't answer.

Sitting up a bit straighter the wrist was removed from his grasp as both sets of fingers rested against the temples producing a chilling sensation. And it was comforting, even if unneeded. It lasted for a few minutes and when it was all over, Sesshomaru opened his eyes. When had they closed?

They didn't stay long after.

Both reached the boarders of his estate that morning, coming up on the front gates by that afternoon. Immediately familiar faces greeted them. The pack instantly swarmed their leader, happy to see her well, save for the state of the legs that had Tobi half growling, half whining.

"Are you all right?" Aisu asked.

"I'm fi–"

"She needs a healer," Sesshomaru cut her off.

"We've noticed," Tobi said.

"Naraku wanted to absorb me..." Akiko said. "But to him I wasn't whole yet, so he wanted to wait... but wanted to be sure I wouldn't escape." The wolves were growling. "I'll be all right."

Rin and Jaken then came bolting outside, the imp crying uncontrollably, happy to see his lord home, while the child sported a large grin and hugged his leg. The servant though was a little stunned by the demon's appearance, that wasn't as normally kept together seeing the lingering mud, dirt, and blood stains on the white fabric, but he dared not question it as they moved inside.

Both bathed, cleaning away the dirt and grime from them and Akiko was ordered to stay in bed while the healer oversaw the gashes. A few had become infected as a paste was spread over the scabbing limbs to be rid of any ailment. And the entire time the young woman was stroking Tobi's white fur and seeming to stare at it in wonder, which didn't go unnoticed by the Alpha and Beta. "Are you... staring?" Aisu questioned from where she was sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed.

"I can't help it." The comment made Tobi's head pick up from its spot on the sheets, the two now staring at the reincarnation. And her pupils were following their movements. "It's what Naraku meant by making me 'whole' again. He gave me back the gift of sight." They instantly became alarmed, which was expected.

"Could he take it away?"

"No, he says it's impossible."

"Is it completely there?"

"I think the color is still slightly off, but sunlight is not as painful as before."

But the wolf was still worried as the healer called back Akiko's attention. Naraku wasn't a generous person. There was always a price to pay, and while the half-demon wished to absorb her, there had to be something else. She was aware of Sango's brother, Kohaku, who had fallen under his command and had been used from time to time to re-manifest the man's body when they thought to have defeated him. What if that happened to Akiko? That by gaining her sight again a part of him had been left behind. She shivered at the thought, hoping that this worry was for nothing.

"What else did Naraku say?" the wolf asked when the healer left.

"Besides belonging to him, only that he changed his mind about killing me... for the time being I assume. Because he wants to gain my powers."

"We won't allow it to happen," Tobi stated firmly. He pressed his side firmly against hers, head lowering into her lap.

She smiled down at him, rubbing his head. "Thank you."