Ice and Snow, Mind and Heart

Chapter 20: Connection

Yuki sighed as they pressed on for the third night in a row. It was rare that Sesshomaru kept them moving through the night – usually, he just accepted that there were no new leads for the day and settled them in for the night. However, it seemed this time he was determined to find – and kill – Naraku.

Unfortunately, it was coming at the cost of Rin's comfort and Yuki's sleep. The human child had to sleep on A-Un's back at night, not a very comfortable bed, and on top of that it left her chilled. Not stopping meant no camp fire, and there was little Yuki could do to keep Rin warm enough in the chilly nights.

At least Rin got sleep – Yuki could not afford that luxury when they weren't stopping, and so had gone without a good nights' sleep for days. The most she managed was one or two hours during the day when Rin walked and Yuki could collapse atop poor A-Un.

It was ridiculous. One or two nights on low sleep, she could handle easily, but three? It was starting to push on her limits, and she could feel it. By the third day, she didn't really have the energy or heart to eat, her only desire being sleep. It didn't help that the food was raw and often stone-cold – another downside of no camp fires.

By the fourth day, she was barely coherent she was so exhausted.

That was the evening, she finally put her foot down.

"Sesshomaru."

He barely even glanced her way, not even stopping his long strides, and Yuki was tempted to hit him if she didn't think she'd miss with how blurry her eyes were starting to feel. It was still good eyesight for a human, but for a half-demon, she felt as though she was going blind. Another reason to stop.

"Sesshomaru, stop."

He did as she said, surprisingly, though he turned to her with an expectant look on his face – well, as expectant as a guy with almost no facial expression had. Yuki groaned; he expected her to make a case for herself?

'Can't you see the evidence, you jerk!' Her exhausted mind screamed.

Thankfully, she had slightly more brain power, and a high sense of self-preservation, so she merely said calmly – albeit tiredly: "We need to take a break."

"Silence, foolish girl!" Jaken scolded, though even he would admit he was getting tired. Four days of non-stop walking would be enough to do any demon in, he swore.

Yuki ignored Jaken, keeping her eyes on Sesshomaru as she pointed out: "We've been going for four days. Rin's tired, she can't sleep comfortably and it's starting to get very cold for her. I'm tired too, and at this point I'd be useless in a fight."

"It's your fault for being a weak half-demon!" Jaken huffed, but Yuki added: "Even Jaken's feet are dragging."

"They are not!" Jaken cried, before turning to Sesshomaru as he said quickly: "I am fine, mi lord, and can continue to be in your service as you search for Naraku."

Sesshomaru didn't even look down at the other demon, his eyes still on Yuki though she thought she detected a slight thoughtfulness to them. Fueled by the hope that he would consider her proposal, Yuki pressed: "We need to have a decent rest once in a while if we are to fight Naraku."

"You need not concern yourself." Sesshomaru returned coolly. "I shall be the one to fight and kill Naraku."

Yuki bit back a groan and an eye-roll, choosing instead to change her words to: "Then we need to rest if we are to take on Naraku's followers while you fight him."

Sesshomaru regarded her for a moment, before his eyes flicked back to where Rin was sleepily rubbing her eyes while struggling to remain upright on A-Un's back. Yuki cheered secretly as he examined the child, knowing she'd won.