A/N - Sorry, this took me so long. Life had gotten really, really interesting since my last update. (Interesting is putting it mildly!) Hopefully, I can get back on track and start to update on a regular basis again.


Chapter Eight – Into the Darkness …

Sango felt tired, very tired. She fought to free herself of the invisible chains that held her immobile. She screamed in frustration and the sound that came from her throat came out subdued. She tried to shut her mind from the memories that flooded her senses and found that she could not do so. Sango paused, and took a deep breath, she knew that what was before her was not real, yet the pain that the images brought out, was; and it was intense pain. Her chest felt constricted, as though chains weighing hundreds of pounds had bound her tightly. She could feel tears sliding down her face and upon reflection, realized that she should not have been able to feel anything. 'How could she feel her tears if she was in fact locked in a dream?' For half a second, she thought that maybe this could be a trap set by Naraku. As soon as she thought that, images of the heinous vile monstrosity came into play in her mind. Memories of battles with him flooded her abused mind. Instead of cringing with fear or pain, she found strength that she did not think she had left as the memories flashed by her. She felt adrenaline surging through her. The memories of Naraku made her feel hatred. Moreover, that hatred made her feel alive. By some unknown will of strength, she fought against the invisible subconscious chains that had bound her. She wanted revenge. Revenge for her village, revenge for her father, revenge for her brother, and revenge for herself. Because as long as Naraku remained alive, she would live out her days, hunting him down to avenge those he had murdered and stolen from her. She lunged forward toward her visions, wanting to destroy any aspect of the evil monster even if it was only a memory. She reached for her Hiraikotsu, forgetting that she was only in a memory, so intense was her hatred toward the beast. Sango screamed in hatred-filled frustration, and it filled the void all around.

Sesshomaru seemed to be in a dark place. There was no up. There was no down. He could not tell how far the horizon was in any direction. He was in some type of 'void' as far as he could tell. He did not dream and if he did, he could not recall the last time. "Where am I?" he said to himself. The sound came out muted. He arched one eyebrow. "Interesting." He attempted to walk and found that action was fruitless, as he did not seem to move. 'Now, this is rather annoying.' He thought to himself. He seemed suspended in nothingness. He could not sense a malicious aura; instead, he felt a growing wave of emotion. An emotion he could not place his finger on; however, he knew that somehow, a long time ago, he knew this emotion at one time. "So, this is not Naraku's doing then." He stated as a fact to himself. It was at that moment that Sesshomaru heard a scream of rage somewhere in the darkness. The raw emotion that the sound carried quickened his pulse. He turned his head quickly to survey the surrounding area, realizing at the same moment of action, that what he was doing would be fruitless. However, he found himself being drawn towards the sound. Sesshomaru found himself mesmerized by the aura surrounding him. He did not think to prepare to defend himself, and he felt pressure building up towards him. He continued forward, as an unknown power propelled him toward the origin of the scream.

Sango continued to rage as she allowed her emotions to take control. She wanted to destroy Naraku. She wanted him dead, and she wanted to be the one to do it. Her tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Each drop, once freed, suspended motionless around her. As she allowed her emotions to control her, the tears began to glow with an eerie white light. Soon the air around her began to glow with a bluish tint. The teardrops acting like tiny white stars floating around her. Sango remained immune to the spectacle surrounding her as her fury intensified. She did not realize that the images that brought out her rage had faded.

Sesshomaru continued toward the sounds. As the screams grew louder, he began to see a faint pinpoint of light ahead of him. He could feel the emotion embedded within the sound, as it reacted like a physical force pushing against him, yet at the same time a force just a bit greater pushed him against the resistance. He felt the conflict, and his forehead began to pulse with a weird sensation. It was not painful, he noticed. It was a sensation that he, the Great Sesshomaru had never encountered. 'What is this power?' He thought and his expression hardened. "Sesshomaru is not a toy to be played with." He stated towards the unseen forces pushing against his body. He tensed, willing his body to overcome the pressures applied to his body. It was not uncomfortable, nor painful. He, Sesshomaru did not often experience pain, at least not in a conventional way. It took a lot of punishment to his body to get him to feel anything similar to pain. The most recent moment of pain, had been when his damnable half brother had severed his arm. Even then, most of the pain had been mental in nature, as his perfect body had been marred. He was in fact becoming displeased. He was not a being accustomed to being hurled around. He was the one who did the 'hurling', and it was usually lethal.

Sango paused in her outbreak of wrath. She had begun to feel another presence. It was faint, and somehow familiar, and it was coming steadily towards her. This surprised her. In all of her delirium memories not once did she feel a presence. 'Well, that's not entirely true.' She thought, remembering that for a moment she had felt that yokai presence that had reminded her of Inuyasha. 'Come to think of it, this power coming towards me feels like that same aura that I felt earlier.' It was then she noticed the tiny beads of light shining around her and the soft glow that she was also emitting. "Are these my tears?" She stated to herself softly and reached out to touch one. The tiny bead of moisture quivered as she touched it but the light it emitted did not fade. It now seemed to draw on it's own source of energy. The floating tears pulsed rhythmically, and as she watched mesmerized by the tiny delicate balls of light, she summarized that the tears were in fact pulsing in time with her own heart.

Sesshomaru felt Sango's presence and recognized it. 'So, it's the human female.' He thought and anger surged through him. His expression became dark and menacing. 'If this is her doing, she will pay.'

Sango felt Sesshomaru's swell of anger. Instinctively, she tensed becoming battle ready. She did not know the physical source of the rage coming towards her, yet she somehow knew it. She felt that she had come into contact with this other awareness. Her breathing quickened as a new wave of adrenalin washed over her, renewing her senses. She waited.

Sesshomaru continued to move towards Sango. He started to speed up, the light in front of him became brighter and it began to take on a bluish hue. He observed the illumination, watching it pulse. 'Like a heartbeat.' He thought. He noticed pinpoints of light scattered throughout the bluish haze brighter than the surrounding glow. They too, pulsed with the same rhythm. The pulsing intensified as he moved closer. 'As thought the source of the radiance knew he was coming. Interesting.' He thought. He turned his gaze towards the center of the light attempting to fathom the origin of the luminosity.

End of Chapter 8.