White Baboon

The days dragged by slowly. Each rise and fall of the sun began to blur together and my grasp on time faded. I want to say that I had been here in the place or time for at least a month, if not more. Not long after I defeated that forest demon, I had constant attacks from other demons. Each one after the same thing, the little shard that lay in my pocket. They all referred to it as the "Sacred Jewel Shard" and my guess was that it granted them power.

Not once have I thought of using it. I was strong enough on my own, killing each and every demon that crossed my path. Not many, maybe five out of all, gave me any kind of issue. Most that came after the shard were weak and perhaps wanted the little thing for boosted power to rule their territory. That was one thing I had noticed, they all claimed territory and were highly protective of it. Not much different than the beasts of the land.

Today was dreary as rain threatened to fall. With my sensitive ears I could hear thunder far into the distance. I sat at a river washing my hand and cloak sleeve in the river, cleansing myself of the last victims blood. Even though I did take baths, I still felt filthy. With no modern commodities here I could smell my own body odor and it was beginning to grind on my nerves.

My mind thought through other ways to bathe. I know in a lot of stories I had read years ago that people used salt to wash themselves with but that still would not get rid of my stench. The blood from my cloak washed down the river and the stain came free of my sleeve. When the red all disappeared and the blue of my cloak was all that was left I stood up and rung out the excess water. Satisfied with the results I slipped my arms through the sleeves and zipped up the outer piece of clothing.

The path before me was endless. I had no destination and no purpose. My heart still ached at the loss of my spirit and the thought of loneliness slowed me down most days. A lot of times it actually did distract me from my battles. With my mind wandering I didn't notice the small patch of trees I came up on. Forests around here didn't scare me anymore. My senses hadn't dulled at all and I could sense anyone coming up on me. Demon, human, animal, anything. I could tell.

These senses of mine came in handy, especially now. A dark aura crossed me, faint, but there. I stopped in the middle of a clearing feeling out this essence. A shiver ran violently up my spine, this presence, whoever it was, was evil. There was nothing pure about it, not even a hint. Buzzing came up behind me to which I turned to gaze upon a hoard of wasps. I was never a fan of flying insects but these things creeped me out.

They were huge with a deadly red stinger. Those giant red eyes were unsettling as well, just floating there watching me. I watched closely letting them know I was well aware of their presence. A few of them suddenly flew towards me to which I stiffened my hand and punched through their tough exoskeleton. Purple gas came from them and immediately jumped away from them. Even from here I could tell that they gave off a poisonous fume from death. I gritted my teeth.

I have to be careful...these things could prove deadly. Then, all around me, there was this echoic chuckle. The laugh belonged to a man. A gust of wind came through and I finally caught onto his scent and I could tell that the aura from earlier belonged to him. Calmly I collected myself and waited for this...it wasn't necessarily demon but not human either, to show himself. The laughing died down and everything around grew stiff.

My eyes darted one way then turned to the other. This thing wasn't going to get the best of me. The wind blew once more creating a slight vortex to which a white baboon slowly merged into sight. I watched closely, sniffing the air. It's this creature that I smelled not too long ago. My only question though, was this thing really a baboon? Again he laughed.

"You are strong, little demon." I really wanted to chort back at him and correct his language. At this point I'm really glad I didn't go into that village. They were probably all human and would be scared to see someone like me. "But are you strong enough?" His last words broke me out of my reverie. Again those insect came at me which I dodged without any effort. Surprisingly, they tried shooting their stingers at me.

If they emit a poisonous gas after I break their bodies open, I bet their stingers are just as bad if not deadlier from concentration. Without another breath, I moved again. Their movements were slow and predictable. I began to realize this man was toying with me. Swatting the bugs back and killing them by their own body weight slamming the ground I turned back to the baboon man.

"Why are you attacking me?" My voice was cold and direct. I wanted to waste no more time or energy on this mongrel. His laughter echoed again and my agitation grew. For once I was going to thoroughly enjoy ripping this demon apart...or whatever he happened to be.

"Isn't it obvious? You've destroyed every demon I've sent your way." So all those demons that tried to take the jewel shard were his? What a coward. I wasn't going to enjoy ripping him to shreds. Scoffing I turned away from him.

"Leave me. I refuse to waste time on someone who cowers behind others." My mind went back to Kore and Kaiman. Kore always hid behind the young boy; using him as my rival. That man was the only one who really ever pissed me off and got under my skin.

"You think you can just turn your back to me? You wench." The buzzing of those insects grew louder as the whole swarm came at me. Just like earlier, I swatted them back at the baboon jerk and avoiding any gas sent my way. When his insects were nearly gone he started morphing.

His main body rose into the air and from below came fleshy branches. So this guy was a demon. I gave him my coldest glare, purely annoyed and ready to move on from this. The arrogant bastard laughed once more, cocky and believing that he had me cornered. How wrong I'd prove him. I drove off the last few insects and dodged a slamming branch.

Not missing a beat, I launched forward as soon as my foot hit the ground. My body hopped up avoiding another attack and landing on one of the many fleshy limbs. The wind whipped past my face as I ran up the body of this demon. As I neared the main body my senses caught onto two familiar auras. It was the little demon I believe was Jaken and his master. They must've caught on to this demon's scent.

Another attack flew my way and I easily maneuvered around the limb. Finally at my destination, I reeled my hand back and landed a devastating blow squarely in his chest. I felt bone break and something popped within. He grunted and fell back landing heavily shaking the poor earth. I landed gracefully away from him watching the dust settle. Suddenly a root came up and shot at me blindingly fast. Thankfully my reaction time was deadly fast and caught the branch by looping my arm around it.

I felt him struggle but my grip was stronger than he anticipated. Smirking lightly, I lifted the baboon by his extended branch, and slammed him back down with unnecessary force. I heard him grunt in pain and growl frustratedly. Something felt off and I kept watch just to make sure he wasn't faking his defeat.

"My Lord! Did you see that?" That shrilly voice distracted me momentarily as I gazed back at the two. Jaken had his mouth agape while his master just watched with disinterested eyes. Rustling caught my attention as the demon swung a desperate attack at me. Suddenly a glowing green whip ripped the appendage apart, leaving the parts to fall to the earth. I glared back at the demon who just came.

"Do not interfere." He didn't flinch but his little servant began to spout something about respect. I snorted at him and dodged another attack shot at me. My movements became smooth as the attacks barraged, trying to bring me down. Once again I leaped to bring down a finishing blow. Instead the demon who tried to attack swung an extra shot to which I cut through the flesh. This time however he managed to shoot poison gas straight into my face.

I growled and pushed back away from his body. Shaking my head I tried to focus but the poison did it's job. The demon managed to temporarily blind me. Gritting my teeth I growled deeply, which came out dragon-like which was received with a shriek of surprise from the little one behind me. Refocusing my brain, I switched from visual sight to feeling the earth. The demon with white hair had came up and passed me confronting the one who attacked.

"Ahhh, Sesshomaru. It's been a while." That was his name, huh? Well, he wasn't going to interfere with my battle. I may have been blinded but I could still win this thing.

"I said, do not interfere. Move Sesshomaru." I stood tall glaring at the white haired demon. There was no mistaking it, he was glaring at me. Probably more out of speaking to him disrespectfully. Tiny footsteps came up quickly and Jaken interfered once more.

"My Lord should kill you for being so disrespectful! Plus, you're human and blinded! What can you do?" Without missing a beat, I kicked him upside the head. Infuriating brat. With that I turned back and took a few steps forward to grab what I could of Sesshomaru. I pulled him back and glared at his figure.

"I don't give a damn who or what you are. This fool attacked me and I'll finish it. Understood." It was less of a question and more of a statement. I didn't know who this guy was or what his standing was. He wasn't going to interfere when I could take care of myself. When the other laughed I glared over at him. "You'll regret touching me." My voice was dark and ominous. Immediately the laughing stopped as I raised my right leg and slammed it down into the ground. There was a path of earth that raised from my kick heading straight towards him.

One large pillar flew out sending the man flying. Listening I jumped up to him finding a spot to roundhouse kick him. I vanished and reappeared behind him, punching his shoulder and repeated the process. After a few rounds I had to end it quickly as I was starting to lose track of him. With my leg straight up, I slammed down, shattering his shoulder blade and what seemed to be part of his spine.

He landed with a satisfying slam into the ground. When I landed, I could see the vibrations again through the earth. It felt far more comforting here than in the air where I relied completely on my nose and ears. I heard grunts and growls and a sudden whirl of air.

"This will not be the end of it wench!" With that the winds violently whirled one last time and suddenly the presence disappeared. It was odd and frustrating that this demon wasted so much time and ran when he was almost dead. I rubbed my eyes in agitation. This poison was frustrating and I would need to find water soon. Another sound caught my ear and instinctually I reached out catching warm flesh. Even through my gloved hand, I could feel Sesshomaru's warmth and the action earned him another glare. My face turned to him and with narrowed eyes I gave warning. I threw his hand off to the side.

"Do not underestimate me." With that I turned away sauntering off. I sniffed trying to catch wind of any body of water. Sadly, nothing came to scent and my world stayed dark for quite a while longer.

\ \ \

The crickets began to chirp and sing. Their songs echoed through the field and I knew either night was quickly approaching or the moon had long risen. The breeze had settled down for the day and I was desperately trying to sniff out some water still.

Finally.

I managed a slight whiff of the liquid I was desperate for. Sprinting off I wasted no time to a nearby stream. My hands dipped into the cool water and splashed it upon my dirty face. The poison from earlier washed out and my vision came back. I gazed about taking in my surroundings. It was a small clearing in sparse woods and a few bushes for density. A few days had passed since my last bath so I decided to chance a quickie.

I discarded my clothing and waded into the chilly stream. My body lowered so that the water sat right at my mouth. Goosebumps traveled along my arms and chest as I adjusted to the cooler temperature. Doing this allowed me to chill and think clearly. The battle I had earlier left me fuzzy headed and frustrated. That bastard blinded me and Sesshomaru kept trying to interfere. Demons think lowly of humans and it was no different with me. I guess it didn't help that my vision was taken from me momentarily. Even still, I beat back the demon that attacked and that's all that matters.

Sesshomaru...

The man was beautiful with that white hair of his and those gorgeous golden eyes. I scoffed at myself, he was nothing more than a nuisance to me and I'm sure he thought the same of me. Though, it is strange that I have ran into him twice now. My blue eyebrows scrunched together in thought. Was he after the shard as well? If so, why didn't he try to kill me when he had the chance? I turned my back on him at least twice and could have probably gotten to me when I was battling the other demon.

Speaking of which, the one I faced today seemed to know Sesshomaru himself. Were they allies? No, Sesshomaru took a stand to the other. The white haired demon was going to fight the baboon as well. What were they to each other then? Enemies? Probably...

I had been in the water long enough and trudged out. Holding my chest I shook my body and rid myself of excess water. With my clothes back on and feeling a little better with my hygiene, I set off for a decent tree to hunker down in for the evening.

My eyes averted to the moon that now sat proudly in the darkness of the night sky. How long would I be here?

Would I ever find purpose again?