A/N: This is a 2017-revised chapter. Thanks for the support!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I merely write to entertain myself, and hopefully my readers as well.
Fukai Mori
2. Duel in the Mist
Thick mist clung stubbornly to the foothills of Mount Hakurei. Sesshoumaru, Rin and Jaken were walking on a bridge when Sesshoumaru detected an unwelcoming scent in the wind.
"They're coming," he said, eyes narrowed in annoyance.
Quick as lightning he leapt into the forest, thick canopies surrounding him in a swirl of green. Still mid-air, he caught a flash from the corner of his eye. His hand shot for the Toukijin and whipped it out, deflecting an incoming blade so it flew back in the direction of the attacker.
Jakotsu of the Shichinintai was forced out of hiding. Purple stripes on his cheeks wrinkled when his facial muscles pulled back to form a red-lipped grin. He swayed a little in his violet robes while gliding towards Sesshoumaru.
He admired Sesshoumaru's towering figure. What imposing eyes! - not so unrefined as a glare but no less daunting to stare at. He shone silver from his perfect mane to his perfect silk robes. The fire of his warrior spirit clashed with the elegance he held as a lord. A perfect youkai prince. Jakotsu couldn't help but lick his dry lips, trying to quench the thirst.
He wanted to taste him.
Sesshoumaru had enough, releasing a wave of energy from the Toukijin, only to have Jakotsu somersault above the attack. Jakotsu's smile widened so much that it seemed to occupy his entire face. He unleashed multiple segments of his sword that slithered forth like a snake, all the while drooling in delight. Sesshoumaru intercepted with the Toukijin. Jakotsu withdrew his blades with a flick of his wrist.
Jakotsu pattered away before Sesshoumaru's next attacks could meet, steps soft as sakura petals fluttering onto water. His irritating smile remained while he dodged each strike by millimeters, taunting Sesshoumaru to increase pace. He hacked his blade at Jakotsu, swearing to wipe the smile away from his ugly face, but Jakotsu made a solid block with his sword that caused a loud metallic clang upon impact. Rin covered her ears from the deafening echo and the subsequent scream of blades sliding in stalemate.
"Take Rin to a safe place, Jaken," Sesshoumaru commanded. Jaken hopped along the bridge tugging on Rin's hand, but just when they were halfway across, someone blocked their way from the other side.
The mist cleared to reveal jet black hair and polished armour glimmering under sunlight, reflected rays dancing on smooth skin only marked by jagged green stripes. The man snickered. He raised his hands, silver blades protruding from his fingers. He was Suikotsu.
"Don't look away, Pretty Dog-man!" Jakotsu screeched. The momentary lapse of concentration was enough for Jakotsu to tug the Toukijin away from Sesshoumaru's grasp, sending it flying into the rocks above. Sesshoumaru readied his claws. This measly insect would die for that big mouth.
Meanwhile, Jaken pushed Rin behind him and held out his wooden staff. Don't look at the monster. Concentrate. Stop shaking. His hands were not doing what they were told and it took him every last ounce of strength to steady himself. Suikotsu laughed while moving closer for the kill, but just before he could bring down his iron-clad claws, Jaken summoned enough courage to send a blast of fire towards him.
The burst of fire faded and left nothing behind.
The monster had been burnt away, right?
Jaken was about to wipe sweat off his brows, but he was thrown off-balance. The bridge rocked. Hard.
"Run quick!" Jaken yelled, shoving Rin forward. Rin nodded and started to sprint, but suddenly, the wood beneath her blasted apart. Suikotsu clawed through the hole, his laughter booming from below.
"He…he…survived?" Jaken whispered, his legs becoming jelly. Suikotsu gave a twisted smile and kept clawing at the bridge. The hole widened. Wood was being snapped and gouged out of the structure to fall to the river below with sickening splashes. Rin stopped, the road ahead lost. She was cornered.
"Run back, Rin!" Jaken cried, but it was too late. The bridge collapsed and the three of them fell.
Sesshoumaru glimpsed what happened and leapt after them. Jakotsu did not expect Sesshoumaru to run, but he didn't let the surprise pause his chase. Sesshoumaru did not suppress a glare this time. This rotten bag of flesh was in his way. He twisted away from the Jakotsutou that blocked his descent, landing onto the face of the cliff where the Toukijin had stabbed. He flew up the cliff as though it was flat ground, reaching for his sword.
"Got him!"
Jakotsu caught Sesshoumaru in his trap. The Jakotsutou looped around Sesshoumaru the moment he reached for the Toukijin. All that was left was to dig the blades into his sweet flesh...
But Jakotsu was met with resistance.
A blue glow blinded him. It was an exploding cocoon of light, and with its blast, the Jakotsutou was flung back towards Jakotsu. The first blade tip sliced air above his jugular, the remaining whipped past his shoulder, nearly reducing it to shreds.
Jakotsu gulped. He couldn't move. Then he lost all strength in his knees and just fell.
There was wetness between his pants. His jaws dropped, and saliva dripped from his hanging mouth.
But.
He started chuckling. The chuckles turned to laughter, laughter that was not hearty but filled with longing desire. His body was boiling with it too. So hot. So sexy.
Fuck...he was shaking from pleasure just imagining what could've been thrust into him.
It reminded him of another silver-haired youkai and his very big, very long, hard sword.
"How can I bear to live afterlife alone if I got killed by your brother before I can kill you, Inuyasha?" He moaned into the wind of Sesshoumaru's departure.
Sesshoumaru landed softly on wet pebbles lining the river. Jaken was lying a short distance away, unmoving.
He kicked his retainer to life.
"We're going to find Rin."
Rin awoke in a running man's arms. Her eyes shot completely open to see what was going on. She was met with the man's warm smile. He tightened his grip securely around her small body and nodded ahead. Following his gaze, Rin saw that they were approaching a small village.
Children greeted them as they made their way through the village road into a cottage at its end. A low fire was burning in the center hearth, embers lending a soft crimson glow to the surroundings. The man put Rin down on a colourful wool blanket and drew it over her shoulders.
"You are to wait here until your friends pick you up, okay?" The man said in a low voice.
He didn't wait for her reply before taking leave. She was left alone inside.
She could run. There was nothing stopping her.
But what of the man who tried to kill Jaken and herself? What if he were waiting outside the village?
She had to stay, but for some reason, she intuitively knew she had to go.
It made no sense, but something felt very, very wrong.
Clean is dirty, as dirty is clean
Good is evil, as evil is good...
Outside the cottage, the man greeted the children around him.
"I'm home."
"Suikotsu-sama!"
"Sorry I've been away for so long."
A little boy walked up to him and stared, not with curiosity, but with fear.
"Are you really Suikotsu-sama?"
The man looked back at the boy questioningly. What did he mean?
"Of course! What is the matter?"
The boy shook his head and smiled, caught between the wish to come closer or back away. This was Suikotsu-sama, their village's saviour. He had returned to them. All was good.
Suikotsu nodded. Yes. Nothing was wrong. Nothing could be wrong.
And so they dismissed their previous conversation, settling down to talking about their new guest, Rin - how the doctor had found her on the riverbed and rescued her, how they should learn to get along till Rin's friends came to pick her up.
That was until the adults interrupted.
"Please leave, Suikotsu-sama. You and the Shichinintai have killed enough of our people!"
Why did they have to break the illusion?
He couldn't go back anymore.
He remembered.
The Shichinintai.
He was one of the Shichinintai.
Blood.
Not enough.
Not enough blood.
Hahahahahahahaha...
A wind swept up the leaves around him, caressing his face, mopping back his dark hair. With the change in the wind came a change of his heart.
Jagged green stripes returned along the razors of his claws.
He slashed madly around him, the villagers, the children, the horses. Meat. Fresh meat, all around. Blood flying, bones chipping. Crimson and ivory lining veins of blue and arteries of purple...nets of nerves long as intestines ripped out open bellies.
Beautiful.
So beautiful.
He could rip them up forever and never be bored of this mind-blowing sensation.
Screams tore into her rest.
Rin ran out the cottage only to witness a massacre.
She stopped.
Gasped for breath.
She shook, just as she had done when everyone in her village died.
Save me, Sesshoumaru-sama...
"Suikotsu-sama..."
The children pleaded, holding onto a last straw of hope. They couldn't run. They couldn't move. They could only beg for their lives from the man who had saved them.
But it was futile.
Suikotsu was no longer a saviour. He was a predator. He was here to feast.
Rin came to realize this. Pleading with Suikotsu was futile. Waiting for Sesshoumaru-sama was futile. She – they – all had nothing now but their own feet. They had to escape.
"This is not your Suikotsu-sama! The face is the same, but his soul is not! Run quick, everybody!"
She yelled. She shattered every last of the children's hopes, but this was the only way. Even if it were only for a second longer, she wanted to live. Even if it weren't to live for herself, she would live just so a murderer would not have the sadistic joy of savouring each kill at his own pace. She would not die without struggle. Such was the meaning of her existence.
She pounded the blood river that had formed, splattering herself with red.
The ground was disgustingly soft. She felt mush under her feet.
But she kept running, away and away, farther and farther.
Almost at the edge of the clearing. Cold forest was just ahead.
"Which Suikotsu are you now?"
The question came from Rin's side. She wanted to turn her face towards the voice, but couldn't because in the next moment she was yanked up by her hair, swung mid-air, and crushed onto an armoured shoulder.
She couldn't even scream, because her lungs were smashed against metal.
Jakotsu had come for her.
From Jakotsu's shoulder, Rin could see Suikotsu before them. He was a monster. His eyes were dilated. He tried clasping his lips shut but drool kept pouring. This was so good. Killing was so good.
"At first I didn't understand my transformation, but now I do," Suikotsu answered Jakotsu's question in a nearly incomprehensive growl. "Why did I ever regret this? This is the best. This is what it means to be part of the Shichinintai!"
Suikotsu grabbed another child, dug sharp claws into tender flesh by his ribcage. The boy was bleeding instantly, his breathing laboured, but it only aroused Suikotsu. He was burning. Fuck, he was burning hard. He smashed the boy on top a dead body and relished in the way his young eyes froze in terror. Suikotsu raised his claw for the kill.
But he couldn't bring it down.
A memory flashed before his eyes.
A woman.
A miko.
White, beautiful, untainted.
Clean is dirty, as dirty is clean
Good is evil, as evil is good...
Make it stop.
Make it stop.
Make it all fucking stop, damn it!
Screw the woman.
Screw her.
Got-to-rip-her-apart-slowly-painfully-eat-her-bit-by-bit-and-hear-her-scream-my-name!
"Why am I seeing her face now? Why?" He roared, smashing his own pounding forehead.
Little did he know he would meet her again, soon.
End of Chapter - reviews appreciated