Chapter 8
Several minutes of screaming and crashing noises echoed throughout the forest before the sound of pounding feet on the earth reached their ears. Suddenly a purple blur dashed right past both demon brothers and headed straight for the tallest tree in the clearing. Sesshomaru blinked slowly, he had never thought that a human could move that fast before, but the monk had just proven him wrong that humans could move fast when sufficiently motivated. Turning towards his brother, Sesshomaru inquired curiously, "Why is he climbing the tree?"
Inu-Yasha smirked and replied, "You'll see in just a minute...just watch, this is going to be good. Man, I wish I had some of that pop-stuff that Kagome brought." With those last few words, Inu-Yasha turned his attention in the direction that the monk had come from and waited.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Sesshomaru cocked his head and murmured, "Pop-stuff? What is pop-stuff and why are you watching the forest and not the monk..." Deciding to test a hunch, Sesshomaru sniffed the air and immediately detected the scent of two angry females, "Oh. Never mind. This Sesshomaru understands." Turning towards his brother, the western lord continued, "What this Sesshomaru does not understand is why he does it if he keeps getting beat up by the females? All youkai know not to make the females angry or they will kill them."
Grumbling at his older brother's lack of knowledge in human females, not that he was an expert on them either, Inu-Yasha decided to explain, "That pop-stuff is something to eat and it's good, but it gets stuck in your fangs."
Sesshomaru nodded in understanding and muttered a reply, "Hnn, Continue."
"It's like this...Miroku has a curse and part of it is to be a lecher, Kagome and Sango both know it and tolerate it up to a certain point. Besides, youkai females are much stronger than humans anyway and it's the reverse in humans because it's the male that's the strongest, but Kagome and Sango are different from most human females since they're very strong when pissed off." Glancing at his older brother, Inu-Yasha saw his nod of acknowledgment before relaxing and turning his attention back towards the forest where he now could hear growling noises and the stomping of angry feet heading their way, "Anyway, he's going to get it now, so I think we should sit back and watch the entertainment."
"Does this always happen?" Sesshomaru inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. It happens every time they take a bath," Inu-Yasha nodded while crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaning back against a tree trunk for a more comfortable position. Just as he was about to mention something to Sesshomaru, both girls came storming into the clearing with murderous expressions on their faces.
"WHERE IS HE!" both Kagome and Sango growled menacingly. Both of their eyes had taken on a reddish tint as they scanned the clearing for the perverted monk. Spotting Rin in the clearing watching them, Kagome and Sango called her over, "Rin! Come here. We'll show you the proper way of how to deal with perverts."
"Hai! Rin is coming!" the little demon pup replied as she scrambled her way over towards the females of the group.
Sesshomaru twitched as he readied himself to intervene, but froze instinctively as two sets of red eyes snapped in his direction. Somehow, the demon lord knew not to draw their attention. "Inu-Yasha, why are they like this?" he whispered.
Being extremely quiet, Inu-Yasha whispered under his breath so only Sesshomaru could hear him, "Don't move...if you move they'll turn their attention on you and you really don't want to be their target. I swear, they're like demon females on a rampage when they're this mad" Taking a tentative sniff to catch the scent of both girls, Inu-Yasha grimaced and replied quietly, "Shit! It's going to get messy."
"What are you talking about?" Sesshomaru inquired as his interest in seeing human blood being spilt, piqued.
"Because they're just about to start their heat cycle," Inu-Yasha explained. "I think you should let them teach Rin how to deal with a pervert, it'll be a good lessen."
Not knowing how to respond to the hanyou's comments and suggestion, Sesshomaru silently agreed with his brother and muttered,"Hn, This Sesshomaru thinks that it might be a good thing for Rin to learn." Sitting very still, he watched as all three girls stalked towards the tree where the monk had hidden himself and proceeded to glare up into the branches.
Sango glared and growled," Miroku! If you don't come down from there, I'll cut you down!" When she received no answer, Sango reached back and grasped her bone boomerang with one hand, crouched and then threw it into the branches literally cutting off the top of the tree.
"Ieeeeeeee!" Miroku screeched as he just missed being decapitated by the boomerang. "Hey! Watch where you're throwing...uh, oh!" The monk froze in mid sentence as his gaze met with the menacing glares of three females.
"Miroku! If you don't get down here and take your punishment like a man, I'll shoot you down!" Kagome growled as she picked-up her bow and strung an arrow to aim directly at the monks position.
Rin stood below the tree deeply puzzled by the events happening, but she decided to ask what she could do to help," Kagome-onechan? What should Rin do?"
Kagome smiled evilly and replied,"Rin, you will climb the tree and flush him out. If he refuses to move, you have my permission to toss him out of the tree."
"Hai! Rin understands!" the inu-pup replied as she scurried up the tree and proceeded to toss the monk to the ground.
Sesshomaru, Inu-Yasha, Shippou and Jaken watched as all three of the females in their group got the cornered monk down from the tree and proceeded to beat him to a bloody pulp. Each time the monk screamed, he hit a high note, all four male demons winced both in pain and sympathy since it was a place that all males dreaded being hit in. They pitied him and prayed that he could still have pups in the future, but secretly they were enjoying the entertainment. By the time Kagome, Sango and Rin were done with the monk, he was so battered and broken that he'd need considerable medical care and rest in order to recover. Sesshomaru was suitably impressed at the level of violence that the human females were capable of, he thought,"This Sesshomaru thinks that the monk had it coming and Rin did learn an good lesson." Seeing Rin trotting her way over towards him with a big smile on her face, Sesshomaru placed his good hand on top of her head and murmured, "You did well, Rin."
Beaming at her guardian, Rin yipped, "Arigoto, Sesshomaru-sama! Rin had fun!"
Nodding his head, Sesshomaru glanced at the injured human and sighed, "We will be further delayed until he recovers."
"Feh!" Inu-Yasha replied as he stood up and stretched."I wouldn't worry about it, the pervert will recover in about two hours, we'll just have to tie him to Kiara's back."
With those words said, Inu-Yasha grabbed the comatose monk by the back of his robes and slung him over the transformed fire cat's back. Turning around, Inu-Yasha gestured for his brother to lead the way and replied, "Well, I thought we were going to see Bouksano? Since I have no idea where he lives, you're leading."
"Hn," Sesshomaru replied as he walked off into the forest with the group following him. He knew that they would reach his fathers friend by nightfall if they hurried. Lengthening his stride, the demon lord barked out a command, "Do not fall behind because this Sesshomaru will not wait for you."
Night had fallen by the time the group had reached Bouksano's forest and everyone was extremely tired, but they refused to say anything since they were so close to their goal. Sesshomaru suddenly stopped walking in front of a massive tree and waited.
"Hey! Why'd you stop?" Inu-Yasha growled, crankily.
Sesshomaru turned and glared at his brother, but before he could form a retort the forest echoed with the deep voice of their father's old time friend,"Ah, Sesshomaru and Inu-Yasha. Welcome! What brings you here to my forest?"
Sesshomaru watched with great amusement as his half brother jumped in surprise; ears swiveling every which way as he tried to detect the origin of the voice. Suddenly, Inu-Yasha's jaw dropped as he saw a face appear in the bark of the tree they were standing in front of,"What?...Who the hell is that!"
"That, little brother, is Bouksano. Now, shut-up so this Sesshomaru can ask his question," the western lord replied, smugly. Turning around Sesshomaru inclined his head in a sign of respect and replied, "Bouksano-sama, this Sesshomaru would like to know about the Forbidden Youkai Forest and its effects on humans."
"I have heard that..." Bouksano's voice boomed throughout the forest. "..your ward, Rin, has been turned into a demon." The tree demon's eyes sought out the little inu-pup before returning his gaze to the Western lord. "The Youkai Forest is ancient even to my knowledge and has been around for over ten thousand years. As you have heard from your father, it is a very dangerous place and no demon or human has managed to come out alive...until you."
"Yes. This Sesshomaru barely escaped with his life intact. Whatever it was that attacked this Sesshomaru..." he paused briefly, hesitant to reveal his weakness to his brother, but then forced himself to continue," I...admit to being afraid since it seemed determined to kill me and recapture Rin. This Sesshomaru was determined to never give up and to protect Rin with his life. I do not think it mattered to the creature if I was alive or dead," the western lord finished his reply, frowning. Glancing back towards Bouksano, Sesshomaru asked, "Do you know what it was and how Rin was turned into a demon?"
The tree demon frowned while trying to remember the stories told to him by demons long gone from this world. Inu-Yasha shifted impatiently and growled. Kagome glared at the hanyou and hissed, "Be quiet Inu-Yasha and let him think."
The hanyou crossed his arms over his chest, stuck his nose in the air and muttered a quiet, "Feh!"
"There have been stories from long, long ago. They were told to me by demons that were ancient when I was young to the world. The Youkai Forest was forbidden in that time as well since it was known to consume demons and human kind alike. It was known that if a human or demon entered the forest, they would never return because the Ashinka demon would devour them alive."
"Ashinka? What is that?" Shippou interrupted as his curiosity got the better of him.
Everyone in the group nodded in agreement and several murmurs confirmed their curiosity, while Miroku spoke up, "Yes. We would like to know, please tell us great Bouksano."
"Hn," Sesshomaru quietly murmured in agreement.
"The Ashinka were said to be a white tree demon that could move from place to place in search of prey. They had tentacle like limbs tipped with poison barbs that could immobilize anything as well as eat through the prey's flesh if speared." Bouksano paused briefly and took in their rapt expression before continuing, " The only reason this is known is because a hawk demon had watched it happen to a group of demons who had dared to ignore the warnings. Not much is known about the Ashinka, except they are a product of great evil and should be avoided at all costs."
"That is what attacked this Sesshomaru," the western lord whispered; his words caught the attention of Bouksano and the group. "It was a white tree...and yet when this Sesshomaru first came upon it...it seemed like a normal tree and smelled like a normal tree as well." He spun around and faced the setting sun before muttering, "This Sesshomaru was lured into a trap...one that I willingly entered into to save Rin."
Sango stepped forward as her curiosity got the better of her to ask, "Can you tell us what happened, Sesshomaru-sama?"
Sesshomaru frowned as he stared into the sky, he debated if it was worth telling them, but then decided that since they helped him, they deserved to know the full story. Turning, he faced the group, lifting his gaze, he stared up at the first stars in the sky and replied, "We were traveling north and I did not want to go through the human city, so to save time this Sesshomaru chose to travel through that forest. I did not believe fathers tales about the Forbidden Youkai forest and I foolishly entered since it would cut our travel time down by several weeks. From the moment we entered, something felt off and made my instincts go awry. It felt like we were being watched like a hunter stalking its prey." The western lord sighed quietly as he lowed his gaze to meet each individual's eyes in the group and growled, "In truth, we were being hunted every step of the way. I could hear the underbrush rustle softly and brushed it off as the wind. I could not smell anything that hinted of danger. There was no movement that I could see and when we stopped for Rin to eat, I foolishly let down my guard and then...it was too late...Rin had been taken."
"That is the way the Ashinka hunt. First they lull you into thinking there is nothing wrong and when your attention wanders...that is when they strike!" Bouksano paused for effect while his words sunk in, before speaking once more, "Sesshomaru, there is only one way that Rin could have been turned into a demon...did you give the human pup some of your blood before the Ashinka captured her and encased her in its trunk?"
The western lord blinked once as Bouksano's words registered and replied, hesitantly, "Yes. This Sesshomaru gave Rin some of his blood to mark her as his and to protect her from other demons. It had several benefits for my ward as well." he paused before continuing, "After Rin consumed my blood, she became stronger and gained a greater sense of smell that helped her in determining what is safe to eat and what is poisonous."
The tree demon's branches dipped lower as Bouksano heaved a sigh and replied,"That is the reason why Rin is now and forever will remain a demon. When the Ashinka took her, it somehow triggered your blood to take over in order for it to digest her. Ashinka only eat demons and Rin at the time was not a demon, but she did have enough demon blood in her that it took little effort to transform her into one. The Ashinka like to devour their prey within a days time, so you were very lucky to have managed to rescue her in time." With those last words, the tree demon's face faded back into the trunk of the tree and disappeared.
Sesshomaru stood there, completely stunned and relieved at the same time by Bouksano's words. He had been worried that Rin would somehow revert back to being a human and then he'd end up alone again after she died. But, now, it felt like a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders and he could set his sights on the future, his and Rin's future as mates. Inclining his head, Sesshomaru replied, "Thank you old friend. You have eased this Sesshomaru's mind." Turning around, the lord of the west began walking northward once more to continue his search for Naraku with Inu-Yasha and his group not far behind.
Deep within his fortress the hanyou Naraku watched the group with great interest. "Hmmm, so my enemies have decided to join forces? Well, then I will have to do something about it and take the rest of the jewel shards for my own. This information about the Ashinka is most helpful..." Turning his attention back towards the ghostly demon child, Naraku murmured," That's enough, Kanna." Raising his voice, Naraku called out for his other incarnation, "Kargura your are to keep an eye on them and when the opportunity strikes, seize the Miko and Sesshomaru's ward and bring them to me."
The wind demon bowed deeply and replied, "Yes, Naraku." Before standing and making her way towards the door, she was stopped, however, by the cold chilling voice of her master,"Kagura. If you fail me this time, then your life will be forfeit."
"I understand and I will not fail," Kagura replied quietly as she pulled a feather from her hear and in a sudden gust of wind, disappeared from sight. The only thing that followed the wind demon was the sound of her masters laughter as it rang over the moutaintops.
"KUKUKUKUKU!"
AN: "Thank you for reviewing! Wow Almost 100 reviews in such a short time! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. As you can see or read, the scene is now set and ready for Naraku to make his move...what do you think will happen next? I'm open for suggestions..."
Sincerely,
D-Chan3
