Hello everyone! Well, first off, let me apologize for the lateness of this chapter. The reason why I didn't post last week was due that I fell terribly behind in my writing due that I've been extremely busy in real life. A few weeks ago, I helped my dad in the hayfields and finally got done there, only to have work pick up and really get me busy. I spent some evenings at work, trying desperately to finish up some of it so I could write. Then when I got home, I had a million reasons or things to do. I would either spend time with my mate (alone time also, hehe), not be in the mood to write, want to play a game, or have other stuff to do, so I got hardly nothing done there. That's not really an excuse though, but that's how it turned out. Again, I apologize for falling so far behind on schedule. I'm unsure if I can keep up the pace of one chapter a week due that I'm still working hard on my project at work, but it ends in the next week or two, in which afterwards, I intend to possibly take some time off to try and work off all the stress that has built up over the last month or two, and possibly get some writing done also. Again, I apologize for not getting this chapter out to everyone sooner. I just finished it this morning honestly, so I'm sorry. Time is just fleeting anymore, sadly. Honestly, I'm unsure how the schedule will go for me posting. It maybe every two weeks, but I'm not sure. I may get more done than I think. This story, along with my other, Minutes to Midnight, have both been suffering due to my inability to multitask. Until further notice, I think I will post every two weeks, if not before the mark if I happen to finish a chapter. I'm truly sorry that it has come down to this, but it has due to life, so I'm once more sorry. Like I always say, real life comes first, and truthfully, lately, it has had to happen that way with me. If this angers some people, I'm sorry, but it's just the way things will be for a while. I may get back ahead like I once was, but we'll see.
Anyways, enough of that. It's time to move on and do the reviews.
reanbff: Lol, it's cool to not know what to say. Heh, when is this going to end? Date wise, I'm unsure. I had hoped to be done by now to be truthful, but this story seems to keep growing in size and length. I would say, if all goes well, and I do mean well, maybe, just maybe, by Christmas this story will end. That all depends though on if I get to writing a lot again. Realistically, I began this story thinking it would be only 50 chapters. As I'm sure you already saw, this is chapter 51, lol. I'm now thinking this story may go another 25 chapters, at the most, I hope. It should be at least 10 more, but possibly at most 25 chapters. I would like to end it at 75 or less chapters, but again, we'll see. I'm glad you don't want it to end at the least, hehe. Thanks for the review!
kattana: Yes, I agree, Ichimaru shouldn't toy with Sesshomaru like that. He will tear that snake a new one if he continues to play with him like that. Yeah, Rin is fully devoted to helping Kohaku out of his mess, plus Kohaku wants to protect Rin. Heh, young love you say, most likely, lol. Yep, the other two mages have figured things out at the least. Lol, you mean that Tsunade and Ryo will hook up? Never know. She may be happy just staying independent. True, Jiraiya probably wouldn't like it if Ryo and Tsunade hooked up, hehe. Hmm, true, Sesshomaru could use a strong woman himself, lol. LOL! I got the image of Sesshomaru having to do the dishes when I read your comment. The look on his face would be priceless. True, hopefully the other mages will arrive before Sesshomaru, Kohaku, and Rin kill the other two mages. Mmm, roasted snake demons… Thanks for the review!
Dark Hichigo Shirosaki: Thanks about the 50 chapters thing. I didn't even notice till I got your review, plus I had to create a new file for my writing. I usually split this story into 25 chapter files, then create single ones for each chapter. I had not noticed it till then, so thanks for reminding me. Heh, don't kill Ichimaru, eh, but kill Orochimaru. Man, that's a tall order, especially since Sesshomaru is fighting Ichimaru. Lol, I don't think you can kill him at the moment. Hmm, three things Byakuya is up to, eh? (/Reads list\) Well, the Philosophers Stone, well, doubtful. Doubtful he wants Soiyaku or Sounga. As for being manipulated, nah, he's his own demon, much like how in Bleach he does as he pleases, so long as the law doesn't get in his way, hehe. Lol, better be careful there, looks like Byakuya might have your number and is after you. Thanks for the review, and I'll get back to you soon on the PM you sent.
Mitsukai – Lady of Gryffindor: Yep, very interesting, hehe. True, silly Ichimaru shouldn't be pushing his luck with Sesshomaru. Lol, true, he might as well kiss his butt goodbye, hehe. Thanks for the review!
Lily887787: My guess on the number of chapters, lol, well, it's complicated. The high number would be 25 more chapters, but the low number would be 10-15. I think it'll be more like 20, but I'm just not sure. At this point, I'm just unsure. I apparently suck at guessing story lengths, since this has happened to me a few times already, hehe. Thanks for the review!
Thank you, all five of you, for your reviews. I'm happy that all of you appreciated the last chapter and took the time to express your thoughts on it. It's always helpful to read these reviews, so thank you again. Also, thank you to the person who added my story to their favorites. Sadly, I still suck at finding out who it was, lol. I glance at the profile always, then close it and delete the email to keep from cluttering up my account. I apologize for not looking closer. But thank you nonetheless for add to your favs. This story has almost beat one of my earlier stories in the amount of favs, which is a big boost to me in thinking I'm doing something right with this story, hehe. Again, thank you, all of you, for your continuous support. I do truly appreciate it, and hope I didn't anger some of you by not posting last week. Again, I will do what I can with posting, but until further notice, this story will update every two weeks, possibly, unless I get some writing done.
For now though, I'm done. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Later!
Chapter 51
Letting out an evil cackle while hunching over, Orochimaru smugly asked "Are you children going to come for me, or must I come for you?"
Lightly growling at the snake mage's words, the half fire demon readied himself for an attack, but took one quick glance at the half wolf demon to his left. Seeing she was ready to spring into action herself with her sword drawn a few inches out of it's sheath on her back, the half fire demon smiled to himself and returned his full attention to the snake mage.
"Fine then, I'll come for you!" the mage shouted while charging Rin and Kohaku.
Drawing her sword out fully, Rin slipped back into a ready stance with Aiko pointed towards the charging mage. Vanishing in a flash, she raced towards the mage and reappeared with only a few feet between the two of them. Gracefully, she slashed out at the mage, who threw his body out of the way of her attack at the last moment, with Aiko only whistling through the wind instead of hitting anything.
Making it around Rin, Orochimaru sped past her on towards Kohaku. Seeing the mage coming, Kohaku quickly began spinning his scythe by the chain and launched it at the mage. Jerking it towards the head of the mage, Kohaku watched in shock when the mage managed to twist his body around and dodged the blade completely.
Unable to recall his chain scythe fast enough, the half fire demon was left wide open to the mage, who smiled evilly and punched the half fire demon square in the right jaw with all his might, sending him flying backwards while his chain scythe fell to the ground out of his grip.
"Kohaku!" Rin shouted with worry while racing back towards her friend. "I can't let him take Kohaku, no matter what! Lord Sesshomaru told us to work together and stop this mage, but more than that, I just can't let him be taken away!"
Hearing the approaching half wolf demon, the snake mage quickly spun around and growled out "You will not interfere!"
Upon him saying his words, he began a series of hand signs. Finishing, he cried out "Earth Style, Smashing Ground Quake!" while slamming his fist into the ground.
Immediately, the ground beneath Rin began crumbling away, surprising her and catching her completely off guard. She attempted to leap away from the ground, but the smoke and dust soon began blocking her senses, forcing her to try and retreat the way she had come.
Slowly turning back towards the half fire demon, Orochimaru began a new series of hand signs, but stopped instantly when he realized that his target was no longer laying on the ground where he had left him. He didn't have to wait long to find the half fire demon, for he felt a rush of heat starting to appear to his left side. A fire ball soon came flying in, smacking the mage hard in the left arm, causing the scent of burning flesh to fill the air while he let out a small grunt of pain.
Glaring at the mage while keeping his palm towards the mage with flames licking it, Kohaku harshly said "You will not take me that easily! As I said before, you'll have to kill me before I submit to you!"
Lightly chuckling at the half demon's words, Orochimaru held his scorched left arm out away from his body and placed a hand onto it. Digging his fingers into his arm, he ripped the arm off, catching both of the half demons off guard and making them gasp in shock at the behavior of the mage. Grunting out while holding the remainder of his arm away from his body, the mage grit his teeth and let out a small cry of pain when a new arm covered in dripping light green liquid sprouted out.
Seeing the new arm, both Rin and Kohaku took a nervous step backwards. "What the…" Kohaku mumbled under his breath.
"He grew his arm back in a matter of seconds…" Rin whispered to herself.
Darkly chuckling, the mage cast a glance at both half demons and smirked evilly. "Do I scare you, children?" he asked in a dark voice.
Gathering up his courage, Kohaku scanned the area for his chain scythe. Finding it near the feet of the snake mage, he let out a low grunt. "Great, it's so close to him. I need it to win, and to keep my demon blood in check. If I lose control…"
"No, I can't lose control!" he growled back. "Too much is riding on this fight for me to let my demonic side to get the better of me. I've done well so far in not losing my scythe, but now that I have, I'll have to just get it back. I can do this, I know it. I have to remember, if I beat this guy, I'll be free again. No matter what, I can't lose control of myself."
Taking a calming breath, the half fire demon eyed the mage, who smiled heinously at him. With an evil smile, the mage slid his purple tongue out of his mouth and licked his lips with his elongated tongue.
Without warning, the tongue shot forward at Kohaku. Before he could react, the half fire demon found himself wrapped up in the snake demon's rubbery tongue. Struggling to free himself, he quickly found that the tongue was constricting tighter and tighter and slowly cutting off his precious oxygen supply.
Watching her friend being squeezed to death, Rin snapped out of her daze and charged forward towards the mage with Aiko whistling through the wind. Reaching the mage, she slashed out at the elongated tongue of the mage, only to miss when the mage leapt away into the air and dragged the half fire demon along with him. Not about to give up, the half wolf demon used her heightened speed to leap high into the air and get ahead of the mage, surprising him a bit. Swinging out with her sword, the half wolf was shocked when a snake came out of the mage's throat and pushed a sword out of it's own throat that clashed with her own sword, sending a small shower of sparks into the air.
Letting his body quickly drop back towards the ground with his captive still wrapped tightly in his tongue, the mage fell back to the ground and reached up to his mouth and took hold of the hilt of his sword and pulled it the remainder of the way out of the snake's mouth. The snake instantly retreated back into the mage's throat while the mage readied himself with the sword in hand.
Taking a glance at Kohaku, Rin bit her lower lip when she noticed that that half fire demon's face was beginning to turn a shade of blue. "He won't last too much longer! I have to find a way to separate the two of them."
Contemplating her options, the half wolf worriedly looked at the half fire demon once more. He was gasping already for air while his face was turning bluer and bluer. About to growl, she stopped when an idea struck her. Deciding to put it into action, she began charging towards the mage, only to vanish into thin air while dust trailed her form.
Smiling cruelly, the snake mage's eyes darted to and fro while watching the dust trail being kicked up around the area. Without warning the dust suddenly vanished, making the snake demon frown heavily. Before he could react, the half wolf demon reappeared before him and slammed the hilt of her sword into his stomach. The mage let out a loud gasp and felt his tongue loosen around his prized half fire demon. Seeing the mage had loosened his hold on the half fire demon, the female half demon spun her sword around and slashed out at the mage's head.
Realizing he was in danger of being beheaded, the mage began falling backwards to avoid the contact, but raised his tongue into the path of the half demon's blade. The blade sliced cleanly through the rubbery purple tongue, sending blood and saliva flying into the air along with a cry of pain from the mage.
Recoiling from the loss of his tongue, Orochimaru backed away about twenty feet, allowing Rin to run up to Kohaku. Using Aiko carefully, she sliced the thick rubbery tongue off of the half fire demon, who fell forward into her while gasping and coughing.
Looking up at the half wolf demon, the half fire demon weakly said "Thanks…"
"Don't mention it. I'm just glad you're still alive." the half wolf softly commented back.
Pulling away from the half wolf, but wobbling a bit, the half fire demon managed to regain his balance and spotted his chain scythe not too far away. Walking slowly to it, he picked it up and returned his vision to the pained cries of the snake demon.
Examining his injured tongue, Orochimaru let out a low feral growl and angrily said with some difficulty "YOU BITCH, HOW DARE YOU CUT MY TONGUE!"
Unaffected by the mage's words, Rin sharply replied "It's your own fault, mage. You shouldn't have attacked my friend. Give up while you can before we end up killing you."
Breaking out into maniacal laughter while rearing his head back, the mage released even louder laughter while grabbing his sides. Coming to a stop with his laughing fit, the mage jabbed his sword into the ground and smiled evilly while opening his jaws wide. His mouth suddenly unhinged and opened even wider, to almost the same size of his own body. Without warning, a hand covered in light green slime slid out of the mage's mouth and took hold of the outer part of the mouth to pull itself up. Slowly and seemingly painstakingly, the hand slowly pulled an arm out, only to reveal a second hand and arm. Not long after that, a head of black hair covered in the thick light green slime slid out of the mage's mouth. Throwing his hair back, the black haired creature revealed itself to be the mage with an evil smirk on it's face. With a heavy grunt, he pulled the remainder of his body out of what looked like the original mage. Upon pulling himself out fully, he leapt down to the ground, panting lightly while the original mage seemed to crumble away into dust. Shaking the slime off of himself, the mage evilly chuckled at the two shocked and bewildered half demons.
"What the hell did you do!?" Kohaku asked in complete shock and dismay.
Grinning evilly, Orochimaru smartly replied "I just demonstrated my most powerful spell to you for a second time. It's called Eternal Life. As you know, all demons are immortal, meaning their life spans, if untouched, are eternal. But demons can be killed in battle like anything else, so I developed a spell in which to get around this weakness. It allows me regenerate my body from any blow, so long as there is a piece of me still around somewhere."
"So that's how he regenerated his arm earlier…" Rin mumbled softly.
Once more chuckling, the mage smartly replied "That's right, and I'll continue using that spell till you two are worn down. Now do you understand why you cannot defeat me? You haven't the power to stand against me!"
Tightening his grip on the hilt of his chain scythe, Kohaku cast a fierce glare at the mage. "He's right... If we continue to hack away at him, he'll just regenerate himself."
Staring hard and long at the snake demon, Rin mumbled within her mind "There just has to be a way to take that mage down. He can regenerate his body whenever he is struck, meaning even if I manage to get in a killing blow, he'll be able to recover from it."
Eyeing the mage intently, she noted his light panting and a small bit of sweat trickling down his cheeks. "That's odd, why is he out of breath and sweating? Wait, does that mean that his Eternal Life spell takes a lot out of him? It has to. That means he has a limitation to how many times he can fully regenerate I bet. That's got to be the key to beating him."
"I bet you're thinking that my Eternal Life spell can be defeated." Orochimaru spoke up, breaking the half wolf demon out of her thoughts. "Well, you'd be incorrect in that assumption due that my spell is unique. You see, I cast this spell many years ago on myself, but it had a price. Over time, my body begins to breakdown."
Frowning heavily, the half fire demon asked in confusion "Breakdown?"
"Correct, my slave." the snake mage smartly replied. "The effects of the spell put a tremendous strain on a person's body. Eventually, a person's body will deteriorate to the point that it becomes useless and is so weak that it collapses in on itself."
Seeing bewildered looks on the two half demons' faces, the mage smirked and added "But my spell has a secondary effect. You see, Eternal Life means as it says. So long as a piece of my body remains, I can regenerate. So, to get around the side-effects of my spell, I created another spell, one known as Soul Transference."
"This allows me to take my own soul from my body and transfer it into a new, younger, and much stronger body. In essence, I gain youth by transferring out."
Unable to hold back a gasp, both half demons' stared at the mage in complete and utter shock at his words. Drinking in their expressions, the snake demon added "My bodies can only maintain themselves for three years at a time. After which, the body I'm in becomes far too weak and I must leave it before it dies."
"You monster!" Kohaku growled out angrily. "So you've been living off of the lives of people for all these years just so you won't die in battle!?"
"More or less…" Orochimaru responded with a small shrug and smirk. "And I should let you know, my little slave, you will be my next body, for you see, I must transfer in the next year or so before this body wilts away. But until then, I will enjoy taking you to bed every night and using you to relieve myself of my desires."
Grimacing at the thought of Kohaku being forced through such an ordeal, Rin readied Aiko before herself and said in a voice of steel "You won't be taking Kohaku anywhere. He has no desire to go with you."
"Besides, you're going to die right here in this fight with the two of us. Together, Kohaku and I will beat you and your stupid spell! I don't care if you say you can't be killed, we will prevail, no matter what!" Rin added heatedly.
Glancing at the half wolf demon in a bit of shock, Kohaku returned his vision to their opponent, but smiled within his mind. "Thank you Rin. That means more than you'll ever know that you want to help me beat him."
Chuckling lowly, the mage reached out and took hold of the hilt of his sword and pulled it free from the ground. "Well, if you feel that strongly, perhaps I should go against my brother's word and kill you. He has no taste for strong willed slaves. I don't think he would mind if I killed you off for him."
"Just try it." the female hanyou growled out through grit teeth while keeping her aqua colored eyes locked on the snake mage.
Smiling evilly while drawing his sword up into an attack position, the mage smartly replied "I will, with pleasure."
--
Sliding apart about twenty feet, the dog demon and the snake demon stared one another down like they had so many times. Neither was fatigued, but neither had the upper hand in the fight either.
Grinning, the white haired snake mage whimsically said "My, my Lord Sesshomaru, it seems we have a stalemate."
Not bothering to respond to the words of the mage, the dog demon charged towards the white haired mage with his sword held out to his right side and only his right hand holding it. Nearing the mage, he flicked his left hand at the mage, causing a green energy whip to suddenly flare out and lash out at the snake demon.
Seeing the oncoming attack, the mage easily evaded the oncoming whip, only to be surprised by the dog demon increasing his speed and slashing out at him with his sword. Ducking just before the blade was about to take his head off, the mage saw a few hairs fall towards the ground and quickly planted his right hand onto the ground and flipped himself backwards to escape the demon lord.
Noting irritation flickering within the demon lord's normal cold amber eyes, Ichimaru smugly said "You are rather impressive, but I see the irritation building within you. Tell me, is that lowly female half breed really worth all of this trouble?"
Feeling his anger rising, Sesshomaru tamped it down quickly and stoically replied "You shall pay for your transgressions mage. Do not think that you can do as you please within this Sesshomaru's lands without punishment to follow. Nor can you attack servants of that belong to this Sesshomaru."
"The same old answer from you." the mage commented with a smile. "Very well, I shall have to start taking this battle more serious I see."
Drawing his sword up to his right side and pointing it towards the dog demon, the snake mage smiled even wider and charged forward. Lashing out at the demon lord, the dog demon expertly brought his sword up and parried the attack, sending a shower of sparks flying. Again and again, the white haired snake demon struck out at the dog demon, only to be parried time and time again.
Sliding backwards about ten feet, the mage drew his sword in front of his body and placed both hands on the hilt. Smirking like always, the mage's light violet demonic aura began spilling out of his body and filling the air with it's thick feeling. Watching the mage intently, the dog demon readied himself for the mage's next move.
"What is he up to? His demonic aura is quite powerful, but I could easily match it, and he knows that much. So why bother begin flaring it out?"
Smiling broadly like always, the mage called out "Now die!"
Waking from his thoughts upon hearing the mage's words, Sesshomaru saw the mage charging towards him with his aura still flaring. Charging forward himself in a similar manner, the dog demon lord readied himself for the inevitable clash.
The two clashed together in a flash with their clothing flaring wildly around them. The pair quickly split apart, with the pair running a short distance away from one another before coming to a stop. After a moment, the aura of the mage flared out till he glanced at the black sleeve on his left hand, which had a small slash in it, causing his aura to settle.
Turning, the mage met Sesshomaru's incoming attack with a one-handed parry, sending heated sparks into the air. Frowning while eyeing his sleeve still, the mage reached up and took hold of his sword with his second hand and parried more of the dog demon's ferocious onslaught. Again and again, the demon lord slashed out at the mage, only to be parried. At long last, he retreated a short distance, allowing Ichimaru to examine his kimono top once more.
Reaching over and ripping the torn sleeve off, the mage threw it towards the dog demon, who slashed out at the cloth, knocking it away. The cloth obscured his vision for only a moment, but that was all the snake mage needed to charge the demon lord. On the attack, the snake demon lashed out with a series of high speed lunges at the dog demon, who managed to block or evade each of the lunges.
"Well Western Lord, what do you think now? Do you still like your chances?" Ichimaru smartly questioned while still thrusting his sword forward.
Without warning, a green energy whip suddenly wrapped around the snake demon's sword, causing his multiple attacks to come to an end. Brow furrowing deeply, the mage slashed his sword downwards, throwing the green energy whip off of his sword and allowing it to recoil back to the dog demon.
Eyeing the dog demon carefully, the mage said in a tight voice "I see, you are more trouble than I thought you'd be. In that case, it is time to end this little fight."
Pointing his sword straight at the demon lord with one hand, the snake demon coldly called out while opening his squinting eyes to reveal blood red irises "Pierce his flesh, Shinsō."
The sword instantly began lengthening at lightning fast speed, so fast that Sesshomaru could only move his sword up and turn it onto it's broad side and block the tip of the blade. Upon the snake mage's sword striking the dog demon's sword, the dog demon was pushed backwards with his feet skidding.
Irked by the mage's attack, the dog demon planted his feet firmly to the ground, forcing the attack that was pushing him backwards to quickly come to a grinding stop. Feeling the pressure still being exerted onto his sword, the dog demon continued pushing back against the snake mage, who frowned heavily at the demon lord.
The sword of the snake demon slowly retracted away from the demon lord, only to suddenly race forward once more and slam heavily into the blade of the demon lord. Again and again, the snake mage's sword struck the dog demon's sword, sending sparks flying into the air.
"That fang of yours will not be able to withstand the power of my Shinsō. You might as well surrender now, Lord Sesshomaru." Ichimaru remarked with a devilish grin.
Casting his cold amber eyes towards the mage, Sesshomaru stoically replied "A foolish mage like you could never break Bakusaiga."
Angered by the dog demon's words, the mage snarled back "We'll see!"
Pulling back a bit, the blade of the snake demon slammed forward once again into the broad end of Bakusaiga once again, only to send out a shower of sparks like before. The mage repeated the process, over and over, pushing the dog demon backwards a few inches each time.
Irked by the mage's persistence, the dog demon began calling up his demonic aura. Without warning, light blue energy began surging through the dog demon's sword. Waiting for the right opportunity for when the blade of the mage's contacted his own, the demon lord coldly called out "Dragon Strike!"
Light blue lightning instantly formed around the dog demon, with the shape of a light blue electric dragon that had horns on it's head, a beard, and a long snake like body with clawed hands and feet forming. The dragon raced forward with the lightning along side of it.
Seeing the incoming attack, the mage called forth a barrier around his body. The blue lightning streaks struck the barrier, causing no damage while the electric dragon hovered nearby.
"Come now, is that…" the mage began, but suddenly cried out in pain from electricity coursing through his body. Glancing down, the mage saw that his own sword had served as a conductor for the attack, allowing the dog demon to bypass his barrier, which dissolved due to the mage's lack of concentration.
Noting the barrier was down, the electric dragon moved in and wrapped itself around the mage while howling loudly. Electricity poured through the mage's body, making him scream out in tremendous pain. An explosion soon ensued, sending dust and debris flying every which way in the area.
Watching the snake demon's sword retract, the dog demon calmly walked back towards where the mage had been standing. Arriving, he saw the snake demon barely standing with smoke pouring off of his body and his hands singed while still holding his sword.
Looking up at the dog demon, the mage growled lowly to himself, but stopped after a moment and smirked once more.
"This Sesshomaru fails to see what is entertaining. Foolish mage, did you honestly think a weakling like yourself could destroy this Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga?"
Lightly chuckling, the mage drew his sword up and sheathed it, saying "No, I would say I do not have the power to break that sword of yours. Still, to think you are superior to me is more foolish. Observe!"
Upon finishing his words, the mage began a series of high speed hand signs. Finishing, he cried out "Illusion Spell, Kokuangyou!"
Before Sesshomaru could react, the entire area suddenly turned dark, with the dog demon only being able to see his own body and sword. "That foolish mage, what has he done? My senses seem to be compromised. My sense of smell, sight, hearing, and ability to sense demonic auras seems to be dull."
"What have you done, mage?" Sesshomaru disdainfully questioned aloud.
Hearing a chuckle from the snake demon, the demon lord heard the mage reply "Nothing much. This spell won't harm you, but it does dull your senses, as I'm sure you've noticed by now. For now, just enjoy the peace and tranquility that I've given you before your death."
Glancing about the area of darkness, the dog demon extended his senses, only to find he could not sense the snake mage at all. Remaining calm, the dog demon patiently waited for some sign to where the mage might be while remaining on guard.
Several minutes passed till finally, the darkness began fading. Sesshomaru's guard was instantly up while he examined the area. Finding the snake mage still nearby, he kept his emotionless mask on and remained quiet.
Taking in the scents of the area, he found a familiar one in the air that was rushing towards his location. Casting his amber eyes in the direction of the scent, he mentally gasped when he saw the familiar half wolf demon rushing towards him. She came to a stop up beside of him, seemingly lightly winded.
"Lord Sesshomaru, I'm glad I managed to make it before you finished him." she panted out.
Not even looking to the young half demon, Sesshomaru emotionlessly asked "Where is Kohaku?"
Looking away, the female half demon lowly said "He's hurt and couldn't come with me. He told me to go ahead and help you."
"What of the other snake mage?" the demon lord asked.
Sighing and still not daring to look up at the dog demon, the female half wolf demon quietly replied "He managed to escape us. He used some kind of spell to dull our senses. Once he was gone, Kohaku told me to move on ahead and help you out."
"Now that I'm here, we can finish this mage off." Rin added with a touch of eagerness in her voice.
"Oh my, two on one? That's not very fair, now is it?" Ichimaru commented with a grin.
Lightly growling, the female half demon prepared to fire back with a harsh comment, only to be silenced with a loud gasp when the sword of the dog demon was buried deeply into her chest. A moment passed before she felt blood running down from her mouth. Looking up at the dog demon with tears in her aqua eyes, she whimpered out "Why Lord Sesshomaru?"
Cold amber eyes met the aqua ones for a brief moment before the dog demon coldly said "You are not my ward. Your scent is like hers, but you are not my ward. She would never leave a comrade behind, especially that half fire demon."
Eyes growing dim, the half wolf demon let out a gurgling sound from her drowning in her own blood. A moment later, the form of the half demon disappeared, revealing the form of the snake mage, but that faded quickly into dry white skin.
Turning back to face the mage, the dog demon disdainfully said "Foolish mage, your illusions will not trick this Sesshomaru a second time. You are too weak to fight this Sesshomaru, thus you must rely on trickery to try and win. This Sesshomaru however cannot be easily deterred."
Growling lowly and angrily to himself, the snake demon's light violet aura flared to life around him while he opened his eyes wide, revealing his red irises. "YOU DARE TO MOCK ME!? I SHALL CRUSH YOU, ONCE AND FOR ALL FOR YOUR ARROGANCE AND DEFIANCE!" the mage bellowed.
Glowing with a brighter aura, the mage's body vanished from view while smoke filled the air. A moment passed before the smoke slowly began pulling back, revealing a large white cobra snake that had a skin hood flapping off of it's head. The snake flicked it's tongue in and out, seemingly taunting the dog demon.
"You will pay for your arrogance!" the snake hissed out at the demon lord.
Racing forward, the snake dived towards the dog demon with it's jaws opened. Seeing the incoming attack, the dog demon leapt into the air, allowing him to easily escape the snake demon's attack. While still in mid-air, the snake demon's tail flicked up and slammed heavily into the dog demon's back, making him grunt out loud while being flung away from the snake, who quickly began racing after the flying dog demon's form with it's jaws snapping open and closed.
--
Panting lightly while glaring at the white skinned snake demon, Kohaku lightly growled when the mage began advancing on him once more. Readying his chain scythe, he flung it in the direction of the mage, only to miss severing the mage's head from his body by a few inches.
Picking up where her friend had left off, Rin went rushing in at the snake mage with Aiko held out at her side. Reaching the mage, she slashed out at the mage, not at all surprised when their blades clashed together and sending out a small shower of sparks.
Again and again, the pair's swords clashed against one another until at last the rattling of a chain filled the air, causing the pair to split apart while the chain scythe sliced through the air where the snake mage had once stood.
Jerking his scythe back to his right hand, the half fire demon glared towards the mage while the half wolf demon returned to his side. "Damn, that mage is so fast. No matter what I do, I can't catch him off guard and hit him with my chain scythe. It's like he anticipates every move I'm about to make before I make it."
Casting a glance at her friend, Rin returned her vision to the snake mage. "No matter what I do, I can't get past his defenses. The more I try to use my speed, the more he increases his own to keep up with me. Lord Sesshomaru warned me that I most likely can keep up this pace for only an hour, and then I'll start to slow. At this point, I've only got a short period left I think before I lose that speed. That means I only have one choice left."
Once more glancing at Kohaku, she made her decision in her mind. In a low whisper, she softly said "Kohaku, I want you to stay back for a few minutes."
Quickly looking towards Rin to argue, the half fire demon began to say something when the half wolf demon vanished in a flash. She soon reappeared before the snake demon, who smiled evilly at the oncoming attack.
Slashing out at the mage, the half wolf demon wasn't surprised at all when the mage's sword clashed with her sword. Vanishing once more, the female half demon began racing in circles around the snake demon, who watched her with his olive eyes. A trail of dust and debris was the only clue to her position, making it easy for the mage to keep track of her movements.
"That trick won't work, remember?" the mage smugly remarked.
Not answering, the half demon began moving faster, so fast that the dust and debris no longer gave away her position. Instantly, the snake demon found he could no longer track the half demon, so he moved himself into a defensive stance to ready himself for any attack the half wolf might make.
Watching the mage shifting his stance, Rin slightly grinned within her mind. Readying herself, she increased her speed a bit more. Appearing right before the mage, she swung at him, but quickly vanished once more, leaving behind only an afterimage of herself attacking. Taking the bait, the mage slashed out at the image, only to gasp in shock when his sword passed through the image. Finding an opening, the half wolf demon reappeared behind the snake mage and plunged her sword straight through his back, causing a strangled gasp to escape the mage when the blade of Aiko plunged out of his chest.
Pulling Aiko downwards, Rin slashed completely through the mage's body, splitting him into two pieces. Spinning around, she cleanly cut through the mage's neck, beheading him without a sign of being disturbed by the sight of the blood spurting all over the ground.
Retreating a ways away, she glanced at the half fire demon and yelled "Kohaku, now, roast him up before he regenerates!"
Waking from his shock of watching the half wolf demon, the male half demon nodded and turned his attention to the snake mage's remains. Holding his hands out, he shot out a stream of fire from each hand, easily incinerating several pieces of the snake demon's body.
Panting lightly while stopping the flames from his hands, the male half demon examined the burnt chunks of flesh along with the female half demon. Coming to the same conclusion, the two cast a small smile to one another while moving closer to each other.
"I think that did it, Kohaku." Rin warmly remarked while staring at the smoldering remains.
Smiling back, Kohaku replied "I hope so. He was tough, and I'd rather not keep facing him."
"Allow me to break the bad news to you then." a voice spoke up, forcing the two to reexamine the remains of the snake mage.
Slithering out from under a piece of the mage was the very head of the snake demon. Smirking coldly, he lightly chuckled at the bewildered looks he was receiving from the half demons.
"Surprised to see me again? I told you, you can't kill me. I am immortal, and will prevail over both of you!" he smugly remarked.
Before the two could retort or do anything in response, the snake mage grunted out loudly while his neck began spewing out green liquid. Slowly, flesh began sliding out of the neck and slowly took form in the shape of the mage's former body. Bit by bit, the flesh completely reconstructed the form of the snake demon's body. Standing up at long last, the mage evilly chuckled while shaking some of the green liquid off of his body.
"You two seem surprised. Didn't I tell you, my Eternal Life spell would keep me alive? Did you two fools already forget!?" Orochimaru bellowed.
Lightly growling, the two half demons readied themselves for another attack while the mage picked up his sword from nearby.
Before either side could move, a voice cut through the air, saying "Orochimaru, that's enough."
