Before delving into the thick of things, I thought you faithful readers might find it interesting that this little story has been nominated and seconded on the IYfanguild as the Best Characterization of Sesshomaru for the Second Quarter of 2007. Voting is open from August 13 through August 26. Which is kind of ironic since this actually started out as more of an exploration of Kagome's thoughts. I am truly humbled by this recognition and overjoyed at the same time that someone would find my mental ramblings worthy. Thank you very much!
Now, back to Sesshomaru!
Chapter 13 Little Dog Lost
Sesshomaru was still peeved that Kagome had seen the results of his attempt to escape the tunnel. He had sworn that the cave ceiling was stable enough that the blast from Tokijin would have opened up a nice sized exit in the rock. Possibly he had used a bit too much energy in his eagerness to leave this hell hole. It was rare for him to make such miscalculations so that fact angered him even further.
As he mentally berated himself, he remembered the look of shocked realization on her face as she understood that he had collapsed that section of tunnel. He could not have stayed in the cave to face such accusation even if he had wanted to. So, he proceeded with his plan to explore the options of the other tunnel.
As he walked out of the light cast from the opening in the cave ceiling, he plunged into the almost pitch darkness of the tunnel. He knew he'd have to be more careful about assaulting the ceiling. If he collapsed the tunnel from this direction, it might impair the fresh air flowing back to Kagome. Before he tried that little experiment again, he would have to be one hundred percent positive that it would succeed.
He left the drifting dust behind with the light from the cave, and could smell distinct scents more clearly. The overwhelming scent of decomposing vegetation and primordial layers of dirt covered every surface. This was definitely the musk of the mole demon. Yet, buried in with the putrid animal's scent were the faint traces of something reptilian.
Farther into the tunnels, he smelled the clear odor of bat droppings. Some were quite old, and others were very fresh. Even though it was quite disgusting to be treading through bat guano, it gave him an extra boost of confidence in finding at least an opening large enough for the bat colony to exit into the night to hunt. He felt a sense of gratification that he was civilized enough to wear boots to protect his feet. Inuyasha would be dragging his barbaric bare feet through the feces. It was a thought that made him smile.
Yet, with the overlaying stink from the mole demon, he could not identify if these particular bats were fruit eating bats, or the rarer blood-sucking bats. He could also not detect if there were any bat demons among the lower animals. It was not that unusual to find a large collection of animals being directed and lead by a demon of the same nature. Like Koga and his wolves.
Sesshomaru was always up for a good fight, but he didn't think encountering an aggressive bat demon in such an enclosed area was such a good idea. His attacks were mostly long-range attacks that could easily collapse the rest of this miserable tunnel. His acid and poison could be effective in close range, but he had to wonder if the residue would somehow be carried back towards Kagome in the air current. He could always use his whip in close quarters and then there were always his trusty claws and swordsmanship. When all else failed, go back to the basics, his dreaded Father had always preached in practice. Usually after beating him senseless when he had tried to get too fancy.
His thoughts fled as he approached what appeared to be an intersection of this tunnel with a second tunnel. Standing in the intersection, he lifted his head to sniff the air from all directions in search of currents that would travel to the surface. It was quite confusing to experience the maelstrom of winds flowing in all directions. There was no particularly strong indication of what lay beyond the reach of the darkness in any direction.
As he hesitated and formulated plan after plan, he wondered if he should return for the girl. He had not been gone for very long. She would still be busy attending to her injuries, and whatever else human females occupied themselves with. He had ordered her to stay, and like Rin, he expected to be obeyed without question or hesitation. It never even entered his formulations to think that she would disobey. He was not thinking about her stubborn tendencies that he had witnessed in her dealings with his brother. For, he was the great Lord Sesshomaru, and not his brother. And with that moment of arrogance, he dismissed her from his mind, knowing that he had left Rin alone for longer periods of time, and expected Kagome to be able to endure even more on her own.
Being a wanderer by nature, his instinct was just to travel a certain distance down each pathway, then return to the crossroads, and try another. The only pressing question was, how far should he travel before circling back? Not having any real benchmarks to measure by in these uniformly dark tunnels, he decided on a random number of strides to mark his progress.
Now, which tunnel to travel first? He looked closely at the mounds of dirt the mole demon had scrabbled aside in his trek. His current tunnel's cast-off dirt spilled out into this new intersecting tunnel where they crossed. To his sharp mind, this indicated that his current tunnel was newer than the other. If he continued forward in the newer tunnel, he was more likely to encounter the annoying mound of mole that had fled from their cave encounter. Not only did he not feel like confronting that simpleton, but the mole was making this tunnel as it went. So if he killed the mole that would be the end of the tunnel. With that in mind, Sesshomaru veered off to the intersecting tunnel on the left. There was no real reason he chose the left hand tunnel over the right hand tunnel. He just did.
As he made his way over loose rocks and debris, part of his mind counted each stride. He had arbitrarily chosen 1000 as a good number. It was a fair distance that he could cover relatively easily. Hopefully, it would be far enough to lead him to some discovery that would allow him out.
Every 100 or so paces, he would stop and ascend on his cloud to inspect the geologic structure of the ceiling. Surely, there would come a point that this sedimentary rock and shale that made up the roof would give way to a more stable, blast-tolerant rock. This country side was subjected to earth movement and storms. How could such fragile structures resist the onslaught?
On one of his closer inspections, Sesshomaru noticed something a little different about the ceiling composition. He had expected to uncover some sections that were nothing more than compressed dirt. He had walked over a mole burrow in the forest floor, and it had compacted back in to create a furrow. But this was different. There seemed to be some type of binding agent creating a thin crust holding the dirt together. Was this a by-product of the mole demon's passage? Did it secrete some type of fluid that strengthened the ceiling to prevent the inevitable cave in? It made sense, and also explained why his blast had collapsed that unfortunate tunnel. It was like breaking through an eggshell. Once the protective crust was broken, the shifting rock and dirt cascaded through.
His trek down this tunnel provided no other insights. When he reached his 1000 pace limit, he stopped and stretched his senses to penetrate the darkness beyond him. With the less potent smell of demon mole, he could distinguish several creatures inhabiting these tunnels. He could clearly smell bats, and a large number of bat demons. There were also some nasty smelling snake demons and some other small fry demons. Laced among the putrid smells of these lower class demons was the rancid scent of decaying flesh; some of which was human.
His sense of curiosity was pushing him to travel on, while his rational mind wanted to stick with the plan of returning to the crossroads, and traveling down another path the chosen distance. With a surprising show of self-control, he pivoted on his heel and returned the way he had come. If the other two tunnels proved worthless, he could always return to explore farther into this puzzle.
It took no time to cover the same distance on the return trip, since he didn't have to stop and inspect the ceiling. It had not changed in the past few moments. When he reached the intersection, he didn't even pause as he crossed over the original tunnel. He simply continued his routine of walk 100 paces, check the ceiling and continue. The same glaze of mole residue was evident on the ceiling, strengthening the weak building material above.
As his intelligent mind grew complacent with this physical routine, he returned to his previous pondering from the night before. He had read about Kagome's impressions and recollections of their first interactions. It had not been good. Still, hadn't his other dealings with the group changed her opinions about him?
Then there was the startling revelation that Inuyasha probably truly hated him. How could the boy not? Sesshomaru had never exposed his true feelings and motivations to his brother. From a completely objective point of view, it would appear that Sesshomaru had done everything he could to humiliate and kill his little brother. Didn't Inuyasha realize that the attacks and taunting had ceased? There was little point to antagonize him to fight harder, when his own experiences had taught him that lesson. He, Sesshomaru, had witnessed the increase in the boy's attacks during their last battle in Father's tomb against Naraku. The boy had mastered attacks that even their own Father had never achieved.
Sesshomaru remembered the same training method being used in his youth by their Father. And, if he thought back far enough, he could also remember thinking his Father hated him and was trying to kill him. As a small pup, he had thought his Father had not truly wanted children, and that was why his litter-mates had perished in the midst of in-fighting and training. It had not been until well after his Father had died that he realized that his siblings had perished because of their inherent weakness of character and body. Being so young, and so powerful, it was easy to lose control and kill one another in childish anger. So, the training had begun quite early.
Such was the curse of powerful demons. Weak demons proliferated and filled the land because they didn't have to worry about controlling enormous power. Medium status demons were not quite as numerous, but their young were almost powerless until they began to mature. They might have been more susceptible to attack from others, but they did not die from childish play. The wolves and foxes were examples of this. As long as there were able bodied adults to protect the young, their litters flourished and survived to repopulate their numbers.
Unfortunately, dog demons were among the strongest still residing in the land. As such, their young were quite vulnerable to dying from their own strength. Even something as mundane as the frustration of fighting over a coveted toy could result in transformation and death. As harsh as it seemed, it truly was survival of the fittest. It was rare for dog demon pups to survive into adulthood. Therefore, they were practically non-existent anymore. Sesshomaru had not seen another dog demon other than his Mother, Father and Inuyasha since his last sibling died on the battlefield. As proud of his pure bloodline as Sesshomaru was, he knew that it would end with him.
His Father had scoured the entire world looking for a mate to produce a full-blooded dog demon heir. His Mother had been a rare creature that had agreed to the union for the same reason as he; to prevent the extinction of their race. After she left, his Father had found himself desperate to increase the size of their pack, even if it was half-blooded instead of full blooded. His Father had confided in Sesshomaru his hopes that since Sesshomaru had gone through such a difficult childhood, losing siblings to their power, that he would be eager and willing to help protect any additions to the family. His Father had admitted that trying to raise and protect a pack of pups while keeping his borders secure had been a recipe for disaster. With his second mate, his Father had hoped that her human nature of protectiveness and nurturing would guarantee that the pups would stay safe when he was not present. In truth, he was right, it was just unfortunate that she had to protect Inuyasha on her own after his Father died.
Sesshomaru reached his predetermined number of steps and returned to the intersection. His frustration was mounting that he could not find any sturdy rock ceilings that could withstand a blast. How in the world could he be trapped in something so flimsy? He chastised himself, "If only for that human, I would be free by now!" Still, he owed that girl, Kagome, some consideration for saving Rin when he could not. It was simply a matter of perseverance and he would find some natural egress out of this tunnel system. He no longer thought of it as a simple cave.
Finding himself back at the crossing of the old and new tunnel, he turned right into the new tunnel and continued walking. The stink of the mole demon grew to such degree that it almost caused him to gag. Somehow it was even worse than when the vile beast had dug through their little cave.
Upon inspecting the roof in this newer tunnel, he found that the hardening substance was not hard, and even the slightest vibration caused sections of the ceiling to crumble. Before he could have trekked very far down the tunnel, he heard scrabbling noises coming from in front of him. A squeal of upset mole reached his ears, and he realized that the great beast was trying to backtrack out of the tunnel it had just dug.
More sounds of struggle reached his sensitive ears and he tried to make out what was occurring in front of him in the pitch black. The scent of the mole demon changed also, in that it now reeked of distress and fear. It was then that the sounds of other creatures in the tunnel reached his ears; that and the smell of blood. It seemed that the mole demon was under attack.
His sharp mind quickly switched from contemplation to analysis as he tried to determine what could be down here that could mount such an attack or would want to assault an unarmed, defenseless mole demon. He had scented bats, bat demons, and snake demons. Normally, none of these were extremely aggressive unless they were disturbed in their burrows and hives. Is it possible that the lumbering beast had dug his way into the heart of the demons' nests?
With the thrashing of the dying mole demon before him, the unstable roof again collapsed. This time, he was aware enough of the potential that he used his demonic speed to retreat out of harms way. "So much for that path. I will return to where the scent was strongest." And so deciding, he returned to the first tunnel and walked past the point where he had turned around the first time.
The scents grew in potency, but still, there were no additional demon smells present. Just bats, lots of bat demons and snake demons and the overwhelming smell of death and carnage. It seemed he was approaching through the dumping ground for the remains of their meals. How undignified. But, if he wanted to survey the enemy, it was necessary.
He was almost amazed that he had walked three times as far as his original 1000 paces before he came to a change in the tunnel. With the intense smell, he had assumed that the demons were closer than they truly were. This caused only the smallest tickle of worry in the back of his mind that there must be a great deal more demons than he had surmised.
The tunnel seemed to widen a fraction, then connect up with another tunnel. But this wasn't a normal intersection like he had already inspected. This connection joined with another tunnel, and another. After another 50 paces, he was drawn up short by the sight of literally dozens of tunnels coming together to form a strange honeycomb effect. This intersection opened up into an enormous cavern literally filled with carcasses littering the floor and roaming snake and bat demons.
He stood there observing the scene for quite some time. The bustling reminded him of a thriving city, and the stench even reminded him of some human settlements he had avoided. It was almost beautiful the way the workers seemed to move about with military precision as if being directed by a distant general on a battlefield. Shockingly enough, several passed within detection range of the stationary dog demon and did not even so much as acknowledge his presence.
As he stood, studying and analyzing their movements, he was forming plan after plan as to his course of action. He could always turn away and leave this cavern of activity. That would avoid a confrontation, but not lead to an exit. He could attempt to simply walk through the inattentive demons and continue his search for an exit. But what would he do if he found that elusive exit? He could not retrieve Kagome and carry her through this demon infestation. He was sure that her scent alone would be enough to attract attention and rile these seemingly docile demons. Then, his favorite option was to simply attack without warning and wipe these pitiful creatures out of existence.
His honor would not let him simply attack without provocation. Once provoked, he would attack without mercy, but his Father had drilled some principles into his mind that ruled his every action, whether he wanted them to or not. He had learned as a small child, after watching his litter mates die at each others' hands that one should not attack before being attacked. Although that did give your opponent the advantage of the first strike, it also prevented him from unleashing his mighty temper. Besides, he had grown in power to the point that most enemies could attack him in his dead sleep period, and they still could barely scratch him.
So he decided to use a ploy that was always effective when dealing with Inuyasha; the "appear and taunt" ploy. Truthfully, he doubted he would even have to taunt these lower demons. His appearance enough would be cause for alarm in their orderly lives. So, without another thought, he strode out of his sheltering tunnel and proceeded to walk towards the other end of the cavern where some unnatural formation hung from the ceiling.
The first snake demon to cross his path hissed as it swerved to move around him. The second demon looked more feral and it stopped and barked some type of comment before continuing. Since this was not working, Sesshomaru turned slightly and waded into the thickest gathering of strange demons and simply stood there. How could they not take his presence as a threat?
With his first plan not working as he had hoped, he decided to try simply walking through them and looking for an exit. If they did not attack, he was not justified in exterminating them. It was a fine line his Father had him walk between self defense and pre-emptive strikes.
The cave roof seemed a good bit more study in the large cavern. His mind studied it, looking for a crack or seam that would lend itself to a large blast of his power without collapsing. But then again, if this cavern ceiling collapsed, the chances of it destroying a tunnel also were tiny. This structure seemed to have been augmented by the bat demons to accommodate their hive.
His eyes traveled to the structure that he assumed was the hive of the bat demons. Most that he had encountered lived without any adornment in barren caves. This was something different. Was it possibly a new species of bat demons? Since they were not behaving in the normal manner for bat demons, he could not assume they would attack in the normal manner of bat demons. Most of the bats he had encountered were vicious and enjoyed tearing their prey apart before draining the blood and devouring the souls. Their primary means of attack were fangs, claws and energy blasts from their mouths. He had heard tell through Myoga that one clan even developed the ability to create barriers through their more advanced offspring. And if Myoga were to be believed, even a half-breed daughter of this advanced bat demon had inherited this same ability and more. Maybe what he was witnessing was another evolution in the advancement of bat demons as a whole. Still, they were no where near the evolutionary stage that his own Father represented among upper level demons.
The hive seemed to be constructed of dirt that was combined with a hardening agent similar to that which the mole produced. This was then molded into a rounded building that apparently housed many chambers. Several demons flew in and out of the multiple entrances. Some were carrying items while others approached empty handed.
He noticed that there were some larger and more vicious looking bat demons that seemed to be circling about the structure in set patterns. Were these possibly guards? As he neared the structure, the air currents seemed to flow faster past him, lifting his flowing white hair and pulling it upward. He glanced up at the ceiling hoping to find an exit. What he found was that the hive itself seemed poised on the very edge of an opening wide enough to allow an entire troop of demons to pass at once. This was going to be harder than he assumed at first.
As he stood in the swirling currents, a bat demon the size of a mountain approached him from behind. Sesshomaru's senses alerted him to the looming presence and he turned to size up this new opponent. This giant wore armor and carried an imposing pike that doubled as a long sword. Its hide that showed through the armor was covered in scars. This was definitely not a worker drone. This was a warrior.
As soon as this guard confronted him, a dozen more poured out of the hive to surround them. Sesshomaru sensed some type of communication energy traveling between the bat demons and the hive, but it was not on a level that he could intercept. Not only did the guards appear, but the previously oblivious workers seemed to drop their assigned tasks and swarm to join the fight. Their numbers were staggering. If he were not a great warrior himself, he would be concerned about them simply crushing him with their combined body weight.
The first swipe of a sword did not come from the initial confronting guard. Instead, a concentrated blast of energy was fired as his back from one of the other warriors. And so the battle began. His hands were freed to attack at will in any direction he chose.
He had thought the fight would be a one-sided victory in a short amount of time. Instead, he was loathe to admit, that these bat demons and snake demons attacked with as much military precision as they had performed their various tasks before he had stirred the nest. Using his claws, whip, and sword, he was hard-pressed to keep them from swarming over him like an angry ant mound. Their numbers literally boiled with movement, and none of it wasted. They must have drilled on these attacks for ages to perfect such formations.
Another thing he noticed, to his dismay, was that injured warriors and workers were quickly and efficiently dragged out of harms way when they fell, and carted back to the hive. It took quite a while before he noticed the return of opponents that he had already killed once. Then he would kill them again, and be facing them a third time not long after. Was there something within the hive itself that was regenerating these obnoxious low-lifes? Or were these just undead drones like he faced on the battlefield while fighting Takemaru's forces in the battle against Sounga?
The fight dragged on endlessly and moved all about the great cavern. From time to time, he had flipped up and out of the center of the fight to gain a fresh perspective. Also he tried to move to an unprotected part of the mass that was attacking him, but to no avail. It seemed that no matter where he went, or what he did, the shell of attackers reformed in their perfect formation instantly.
Now, Sesshomaru was normally a demon that enjoyed a good workout, and loved a challenge. But at some point, as the hours dragged on, this moved past a challenge and became simply a bore. There were no new maneuvers being used. There was no tipping of the battle in favor of one side or the other. It was a stalemate; a boring, stalemate that could last into eternity since the fallen were being regenerated.
Growing angry at his inability to deliver a decisive blow against this seemingly pitiful foe, Sesshomaru changed his tactics. Since the hive was the source of their endless supply of antagonists, he was going to attack the hive directly. After clearing a bit of breathing room around him with his whips, he powered up Tokijin and sent a minor blast towards the hive. When the blast connected, the cavern lit up with the blue lightening, temporarily blinding the combatants. In that moment, Sesshomaru took advantage of the lull, and sprang out of the center of the horde towards the area where the hive was suspended from the ceiling.
With all his considerable might, Sesshomaru swung Tokijin and struck the connecting structure of the hive. A mighty gong sound rang through the cavern as the hive vibrated with the force of the strike. Bits of aggregated dirt and rock crumbled from the connection and the sides of the hive and rained down on the stunned horde.
Seconds later, the warrior bats launched themselves at the dog demon that was assaulting their home. The seemingly precise and organized demons attacked with a rabid viciousness that Sesshomaru had not previously experienced. It seemed that all their careful organization went away when they were desperate. An evil smirk crossed the porcelain white face of the dog demon as he jumped away from the circling horde of bats and swung a second blow against the connection.
Below his feet, he could feel the hive begin to sway and groan at his assault. As he kept a close eye on the circling demons, he realized that they could not attack him with any energy blasts without risking hitting their own hive. Now this was getting fun. He loved outsmarting his opponents and discovering their weakness to exploit to his advantage. It was what any intelligent being enjoyed; a challenge.
Just to be aggravating, Sesshomaru took a third swing at the connecting structure and was rewarded with a shriek from the bat demons, and a groan from the structure he was assaulting. While they were regrouping, Sesshomaru launched himself back towards an open area in the center of the cavern so he would have some room to maneuver.
Once there, he watched the workers scramble to intercept him before he could cause any more damage. Unfortunately, they were just a few steps too slow. He infused Tokijin with his considerable aura, and swung the glowing blast at the connecting structure of the hive. As expected, it shattered with a sickening explosion and he smiled in triumph as it crashed into the floor of the cavern.
The hive was obviously built to withstand the forces of gravity pulling down on it, but it was not built to survive a crushing impact with the ground. As such, the previously impenetrable material pancaked down upon itself and deteriorated into a pile of rubble.
The focus of the warrior bat demons shifted away from the white demon in the middle of the cavern, and all the demons converged on the crushed hive. Snakes and lower demons began pulling away chunks of debris. The bat demons flew into any openings into the hive that were accessible. Slowly, the bat demons began emerging carrying white bundles that were as long as Sesshomaru's legs. They looked suspiciously like cocoons.
This confused Sesshomaru since as far as he knew, bat demons bore live young. So, what were they concealing in the cocoons? Was there another breed of demons being harbored in the hive that he had not sensed?
All the activity of his opponents seemed to be focused on evacuating the hive and carrying their cargo down the nearest tunnel. A strange crackling noise erupted from the depths of the ruined hive and the top began to flex. With a roar and a cracking sound, a giant being rose from the rubble.
Sesshomaru was almost shocked to see a giant female bat demon rise amid the dust and noise. She was five times taller than Sesshomaru in his human form, and easily twice as tall as any other demon in the cavern. She was also quite beautiful as far as other demons went. Her face was like a sculpture depicting one of the deities that the silly humans worshipped on foreign shores. Unfortunately, her body was a grotesque combination of bat demon and snake demon. Where she should have had legs, she had two tails of reptile scales. Her wings were black and gold with snakeheads protruding from the joint where hands should be. Overall, she looked quite deadly.
Once this female stepped out from the rubble, the warrior bat demons regrouped in their proper military formations and attacked him again with more conviction. Sesshomaru was hard pressed to defend himself from these reenergized attackers. Again, he had to flip and twist to remove himself from the center of attack, and even once considered diving towards the retreating female. Unfortunately, as soon as the idea crossed his mind, he was faced with a living wall of regular bats and snakes that were covering the retreat of the female down the same tunnel that the cocoons had been carried down.
As it occurred to the dog demon that these demons and animals were all acting with the same mind, he realized what he had sensed earlier. This giant female hybrid must be controlling these forces. They were too precise to be acting on their own volition. It was beyond the type of communication that bees and ants employed with pheromones and scent signals. This was instantaneous communication and synchronized reactions. To take out all these troops, he would have to destroy the queen.
Then, as quickly as the battle had begun, it ended. The cavern cleared of any other living bodies like water running out of a cracked vessel. The bats, lower demons, bat demons and snake demons all funneled out down that one tunnel after the retreating form of their queen. He stood stunned for a moment as he scanned the area for any sneak attacks that might come his way when he dropped his guard. There was nothing. He couldn't sense another living creature within his range, except the fading horde.
Looking around, he realized that much of the cavern had collapsed with the destruction of the hive. Many of the inbound tunnels had also been destroyed and buried. Yet, the opening in the ceiling still remained, showing a lovely scattering of stars on a nightly backdrop. Had he fought for an entire day? He was sure that it had been early morning when he had begun this little exploration into the heart of the tunnels. An evil smile crossed his face as he imagined the reaction he would face when he returned to retrieve Kagome. He might not have been as acquainted with her as he was with Rin, but he had witnessed some of the epoch battles of dominance between the priestess and his half-brother. When she felt she had been slighted or ignored, she was as vicious as the most rabid, feral demoness…. at least verbally. Other than the subjugation necklace, he had never seen her physically attack Inuyasha, even when he was truly deserving of at least a slap in the face.
So, with the thoughts to retrieve the most likely fuming woman, Sesshomaru turned to retrace his steps back into the tunnel that had carried him here. He sniffed and walked about the edge of the cavern. Even though he had an almost perfect sense of direction, he could not tell from whence he had come. Of the tunnels that were not collapsed, he could not detect her scent, or his scent for that matter. The tunnel he had used should smell slightly of her, and strongly of him. But as it was, he could not detect any scent beyond his that had been spread thoroughly around as the battle moved from one part of the cavern to another.
So, he began surveying the damaged tunnels for any indication of which one had lead him here. Again, there was no indication, only destruction. For once, he wished he were not so efficient at destroying things.
So, the plan to backtrack through the tunnels had to be discarded. As he walked towards the destroyed hive, his mind spun with other alternatives. He couldn't just blast open all the collapsed caves. They would not support such an assault and might start a chain reaction collapse. Stupid shifting subsoil! A low growl began to form in his throat with his frustration.
The only other way he could accurately locate the annoying woman was from the battlefield that had dropped them into the cave in the first place. He was sure he could locate the air hole that had provided them with a modicum of light over the past few days. How he would extract her from there he would have to decide once he arrived. Surely, some solution would present itself on how to dig out the roof of the cave without collapsing it further. He refused to have invested this much time and effort into helping the priestess survive, only to have her die over some such foolishness.
With a quick nod of his head, he looked up at the sky that was visible above, and coiled the muscles of his legs to launch him up through the opening. He kept his sword at the ready, anticipating a collateral attack from above as soon as he emerged. As he landed gracefully on the waving grass, no other beings threatened him. He took his first breath of fresh air in days and simply enjoyed the feeling of the night breeze blowing across his skin. Oh, how he had missed this. Over his long life, he had finally come to realize something his Father had told him repeatedly. It was the little things in life that brought joy.
After a brief indulgence, he lifted his nose to scent the direction in which he needed to travel. He could tell from the surrounding area that he had traveled west of the initial battlefield. It was beneficial that he was intimately familiar with the territory he wandered. He could not be more than an hour or twos walk from his destination.
Although it was late into the night, he set off in that direction. It might be humorous to catch the little priestess sleeping. She did squeak in such a cute way when he startled her. How much more amusing would it be to rouse her from a dead sleep? Of course, the night when he had kept waking her with a nudge of his knee, she had NOT been amusing. She had been down right abrasive. Maybe, he would let her sleep until morning before he attempted to remove her from the cave. He wanted to keep his ears intact on the sides of his head. Her shrieking was enough to melt his pointed appendages.
OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO
Koga was getting annoyed. The direction he had set out in to find Kagome and her group had led him nowhere. When he arrived, they were already gone. And worse than that, he couldn't detect Kagome's luscious scent anywhere. He could smell the other five members of her group, but not her. And on top of that, there were others that had joined their group before they vanished. All he could figure is that they had taken to the air. As such, the scent trail was even harder to follow. Not that following Inuyasha was ever easy. The mutt's smell made Koga sick to his stomach. Only the possibility of meeting Kagome made the suffering worth it.
So, Koga turned and headed back in an Easterly direction. As he was traveling, his two companions caught up with him and begged for a break. But, Koga being the leader that he was, knew that going easy on his underlings would lead them to be nothing but weak. He had realized this sad fact after the massacre of the majority of their tribe. He had taken up the slack for his weaker pack members, instead of insisting that they continue training hard to make themselves stronger. He was determined not to repeat such a mistake again. So, he made the two younger wolf demons run after him. Yet, he was not heartless enough to use his enhanced speed from the jewel shards. He was naturally fast, and had loved running since he was a cub, so his stamina was greater than any other wolf demon in any of the tribes. This was the strength he was trying to pass on to his subordinates. If they could just get a little stronger, they would be keeping up with him in his fastest normal pace.
So, Koga followed along behind Inuyasha's group not knowing where exactly they were headed and why. He was sure he'd find out soon enough, and it better not involve Kagome being in trouble. It seemed like every time he encountered Inuyasha, Kagome was in trouble, or had just been saved from some trouble. It was like the girl was a magnet for the worst elements of this world. Could it be that evil was drawn to her innocence?
As he ran into the night, he smelled a strange scent that reeked of blood, dog and Kagome. It was a bit farther South than the trail Inuyasha had taken, but it was still intriguing enough to draw the wolf's attention. Without really thinking about it, he turned towards the smell of Kagome since it was not present with Inuyasha. He'd really much rather find and save the girl, then fight with the mutt.
In a clearing a few miles south of where he had left the trail of Inuyasha, Koga came across a strangely dressed Sesshomaru, striding with purpose towards the East. Koga's first thought was, "What is with everyone traveling East?" His second thought was spoken out loud, "What in the Hell are you wearing?"
Sesshomaru spun to greet the wolf demon with a cold glare. He had totally forgotten that he was parading about in the girl's strange futuristic clothes and not his usual pristine trademark silks. He felt almost diminished somehow to be caught in these dark blue, stretchy, form hugging pants and the blue and black plaid fuzzy shirt with the odd pearl fasteners. To counter the embarrassment he felt, Sesshomaru held himself even more rigid and looked down his arrogant nose at the measly wolf demon and commented, "What business is it of yours in what garments this Sesshomaru clothes himself?" With a dismissive air, he pivoted on one foot and strode away.
Koga was not one to be dismissed lightly and took offense at this attitude. "Hey! I was talking to you! Don't turn your back on me!" Then, Koga took a step towards the great demon and sniffed. A look of complete confusion crossed his face. His voice was brittle with anger as he spoke again, "Why do you smell like Kagome? I swear, if you've hurt her I will kill you!"
Sesshomaru stopped without turning around and huffed, "I need not explain myself to the likes of you." But he did not continue walking. It was as if he could feel Koga's need to lash out at something or someone and he simply waited for the attack that was inevitable.
Just as he knew would happen, it was only seconds before the angered wolf launched himself at the dog demon's back shouting, "Why you insolent dog! You better start explaining or I'll make you talk! Kagome's my woman and you have no right to touch her!" A flying kick neared Sesshomaru's head when he simply side-stepped the foot and reached out a hand to grab the passing ankle and yank it. The contact sent Koga sprawling onto his face on the forest floor. Dirt and leaves flew up at the site of the impact. Sesshomaru smirked; it was a glorious landing, almost worthy of Inuyasha's usual fighting style.
Sesshomaru deigned to speak to the heap of twisted wolf and taunted him, "You fight no better than Inuyasha did… two years ago. He is a much more worthy opponent than you. Pitiful!" This taunt did exactly what was expected. Koga was so enraged that he stopped thinking straight and his pitiful attacks became even sloppier. Sesshomaru looked on and thought, "Hmm, maybe since Inuyasha has progressed to a point where our spars are no longer so one-sided, I should start training this lowly wolf to be more of a challenge. I had heard that this one also seeks the demise of Naraku and especially his incarnation Kagura. Besides, Jakken is not very useful for working out my frustrations. Sometimes a good beating can be so therapeutic."
Sesshomaru would have laughed at the anger the wolf was exuding if he were not getting bored with the display. If he spoke, he was sure the wolf would be spitting and foaming at the mouth. It became obvious to Sesshomaru that Inuyasha must hold back his strength when he 'fought' with the wolf. There was no way that this sorry excuse for a wolf leader could even make a dent in his half-brother's defenses. If anyone knew the boy's potential, it was he who had sparred with and tested him over the years. If Inuyasha were truly angry at this wolf, there would be no contest, and nothing left of the wolf, except for a greasy spot and a bit of tail fluff.
Finally weary of the infantile attacks, Sesshomaru threw the wolf into a tree with enough force to stun him into stillness. He turned and spoke over his shoulder as he moved to leave the clearing, "If you wish to continue this training session, you should wait until I have reached my goal. I will not have you hinder me further. I go to retrieve the very one you question me about from her confinement. Also, for your information, the clothes that you disparage were provided by Kagome which is the cause of her scent on my person." And in usual Sesshomaru fashion, he disappeared into the tree line without allowing any time for the wolf to respond.
With a stunned look, Koga picked himself out of the splintered tree, brushed off his armor and tail, and followed after the great white dog. "Although," he thought, "the great white dog is now black and blue and plaid." This made the wolf snicker. Hopefully, he did not laugh loud enough to insult the demon that had just beaten him without even breaking a sweat. "And with only one arm, for that matter. How humiliating." Koga thought sadly. Maybe he just needed to stick to attacking mutt-face. At least he made it fun by swapping insults. It was no fun to just get silently beaten hands down.
OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO
AN: I hope this satisfies your cravings for an update that you have all had to suffer over the last month. I know it satisfied my desire to write the next part.
Next time, we will see Inuyasha and company meet up with Sess and Koga at the crater. How are they going to dig her out, and what will happen when they find she's not where Sess left her? Hmm, 3 canine demons fighting over rescuing the same girl… should be hairy. All puns intended. And, what's going on with Kagome in the dark? Scary things go bump in the night… Oh, I can't wait to start writing it!
Special thanks to the wonderful readers who reviews chapter 12…
jdeppgirl4 – thank you, I'll try to update more regularly
Miss Kagura – you'll have to wait about why Kagome's sneaky bat demon stalker didn't attack her until the explanation in the next chapter.
Melodi Moon – I hope you survived the long dry spell between chapters. Yes, I survived the Bar and really, REALLY hope I don't have to do that again.
CobaltHeart – I hope this chapter explained what happened to our favorite dog. I also hope you didn't have nightmares from the bat demon that popped up behind Kagome. I just had to do that. I personally have an unreasonable fear of dark windows and rooms, and this just seemed like what I always expect to jump out from the dark. Hehe
Millenium Ring and Winchester – I agree, Kagome seems to get in more trouble when she's alone. Now you know where Sesshy went in the missing day. Thanks for the well wishes for the Bar.
Nameless Little Girl –thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope you continue reading. Neat name.
Imuzuok – the official Keeper of the Crickets – I'm glad you are now able to communicate with the crickets. They can be your minions and perform your dirty deeds for you! If I ever start slacking off, or writing sub-standard chapters, feel free to send me a message via carrier-cricket. I'm glad you are still enjoying this story. And I must say you are doing a wonderful job of cricket control!
bluemiko – thank you, and I hope to update more regularly since life has returned to some semblance of normalcy.
Moonflames – I hope this explained where that dog went. I'm sorry to have caused you to go into withdrawal; hopefully this chapter will satisfy your cravings. Thank you for the well wishes for the Bar. I almost wrote Sesshomaru into an answer on the essay part, but my self-preservation gene kicked in and stopped me.
Sesshomaru'sLover911 – I'm trying to keep this story going. I still love it, and get excited just thinking about where I want to end up, and how I can get there. Oh, the things I have in mind. Mwuhuhahaha. Oops, sorry. Like I told someone earlier, sometimes a creative mind is a curse.
Katie33h – I'm glad you enjoyed this story. I hope to update more regularly in the future. About a chapter every week or so. I have 4 stories going, so it's like a round-robin of writing so each story gets the attention it deserves.
Kandy123654 – huh?
Youko's Befuddled Fox – I'll have to look into that story, my bat demon was just a compilation of Shiori's grandfather and a Dracula movie I saw when younger. We won't go into what year it was, because I don't want to feel any older than I already do. Hehe.
TermsOfLIfe – I haven't passed the bar yet. I won't know for 2 months. But I did graduate law school and have this REALLY big piece of paper that says so. ; D I hope this update has satisfied your need for more.
Karin84c – Thank you for the compliment. It does my heart good to hear that people enjoy reading my story, because I really get excited writing it.
Demonlordlover – snort – I liked that line too. And can't you just hear him thinking that? I love delving into the heads of the characters and trying to figure out how things will affect them. His insights into Inuyasha and even Kagome will come in to play later in my Inuverse. Thanks for the well wishes and I'm glad you stuck around for the continuing saga.
Also special thanks to the readers from IYfanguild who upped the hits to this story by almost 500 points over the first weekend it was nominated. WOW!
SQUEAL! I feel so loved!
Please enjoy, review and tell your friends! –wow, I sound like a commercial!