(-) "Sesshoumaru" – 'The Path to Destiny' (-)
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Chapter 103 : Fight to Exist
Mortal enemies. Cats and dogs. It was a natural instinct to view the other as an adversary. An animalistic urge to crush the other.
And as Sesshoumaru and the black panther eyed each other, neither moving a muscle, but ready to attack at a moment's notice, they carefully studied their opponent for any signs of weakness.
It was the Prince of the West that immediately noticed the injury on the Panther's back left leg and that it was bleeding from its wound. He was starting to get used to the smell of blood and the information scents could infer. Careful analysis of the cat's expression and stance gave Sesshoumaru the suspicion that his enemy was not an adult and was more than likely a young cub. He began to realize that they were both not used to battle, but the cub, that was a good head taller than him and as big as a horse, seemed to have the aura of having experienced many more near death experiences than he had.
The panther cub for its part was in pain and it was hungry. It had barely escaped from a creature that had attacked it. It needed to feed to replenish its energy and heal its wounds, however it had not been able to do so for nearly 3 days. And as chance would have it, it came upon this weak looking prey. It simply had to bring down this demon and eat, or it would surely not survive.
Beneath the canopy of the trees, surrounded by the dimly lit forest, a battle, a fight to the death, was about to unfold between these two demons. Different circumstances led these two to meet here as young demons, trying their best to survive in a cruel and merciless world, where the strong rule and the weak die. Where right and wrong depended on who was left standing.
A firefly landed on the tree bark between them, unaware of the fight for survival that was about to take place. And as it took off, the two demons rushed at each other.
It was said that almost all living things had a fight or flight response when in danger. Demons did as well. However, there was another dimension to this response in demons. And that was the ability to, once experienced, consciously allow the fighting response to take over instead of the flight. In this state their demonic instincts were given reign over their body while their minds took a back seat. If not properly controlled, the demons would become mindless killing machines, but when controlled, it was a powerful weapon that could bring about a chance for victory where there was none.
Sesshoumaru had never had to experience something like this, to this degree, where his safety and survival depended completely and utterly on his decisions and will to survive. Neither his mother nor his father, nor the armies of the West were here to help him. It did not matter that he had just been through a harrowing experience.
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Life does not wait for anyone. It is a continuous flow of time where individuals had to make their best effort to deal with the uncertainties that it brought with it.
To presume that one's situation in life, whether less than ideal or perfect, could be attributed to be merely a consequence of those around them, is a weak line of thought that would surely lead to one's own destruction. It did not matter who one's parents were, who was responsible for them, how much safety or security one had, or even how much power or wealth they amassed. It could all be taken away in an instant and without warning. So, to survive and to be, better, was to keep moving forward, regardless of the pain, the regret, the idea that the world was unfair and that there was no hope and no point to it all anyway.
Every moment lived, is your victory. Every thought that you have, regardless of what kind, when you are alive, is proof that you exist and that you have a stronger existence in this moment than the one before. Though many claim to, none could truly ever measure the value of another life. Your value is yours to claim. And that value rises every moment that you are alive.
So remember, always move forward. If you are going to lose yourself to anything, lose it to the fight to exist, and give it your all, despite your circumstances. And then you will have won and you will always keep winning, a victory that no one else can claim or devalue.
The soft orange hues of the sky over sunset drifted quietly above as Sesshoumaru sat next to his mother, listening intently to her every word. She did not coddle him as she usually would when having such deep conversations with him, maybe because he was older and he liked to be thought of as a demon with a will of his own and someone who was not dependant on his mother's care and attention anymore. Or maybe it was because she felt this was an important lesson to remember and should not be from a place of parental bias but rather a place of reasoning.
"Remember, Sesshoumaru," she pressed, with a smile and a meaningful look towards him. "The natural end is just another beginning. So keep moving forward, and new beginnings will always, always come your way. Do not stop for anything else."
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Low growls filled the night air as the two young demons, a pup and a cub, tried to best the other. Inflicting deep scratches on each other, they began to be covered in their own blood as well as the blood of the other as the fight raged on. They were both moving forward, because there was no turning back. They were both trying to exist in the times.
Sesshoumaru was more dextrous and varied in his attacks while the panther cub was fast and powerful.
As they fought, they started to understand the desperation in each other. They began to see themselves in the other.
But despite their similarities, for one to survive, the other had to die.
Or did they?
As they broke apart for a brief pause, breathing heavily, the panther cub more than Sesshoumaru as it had lost more blood from the previous injury on its leg, they both suddenly became aware that they were being watched.
A large snake demon broke out into the small clearing with a loud hiss. Despite its massive size, it was fast. It was instantly upon Sesshoumaru who leapt out of the way, just bared avoiding its fanged jaws as it devoured the earth beneath him. Without pause, it slithered its way directly towards the panther cub.
Good, Sesshoumaru, thought, this was his chance to escape. In their condition neither of them could take down such a massive demon by themselves. The only option was to retreat.
Landing on the ground with a wince, the Prince of the West did not notice that the tail of the snake demon had another face on it. The tail slammed against his middle and smacked him straight into the trunk of a tree.
Through the ringing in his hears he could hear the panicked yelp of the panther as it tried its best to avoid the attacks of the snake's main head. Rolling over on his side he avoided another attack by the smaller head. The main head of the snake seemed to be more interested in the panther than him probably because it was a larger source of a meal.
The panther slashed at the snake and while it pierced the skin on its long body and drew blood, it did no significant damage, serving only to incense the snake demon.
The smaller head of the snake left Sesshoumaru and also headed in the direction of the panther. The panther, having the same thoughts as Sesshoumaru of making an escape, failed as its back leg gave way, sending it tumbling on the ground. It was limping terribly and began to desperately search for an escape route as it backed away from the encircling snake whose venom eroded the green of the earth as it dripped from its mouth.
As the snake paid no attention to him anymore, Sesshoumaru was now free to make a successful escape. Circumstance and time. Of the two young demons, one would escape through the other's death. It was simply the natural order of things.
Turning away from the imminent demise of the panther cub that had been his opponent only a short while ago, Sesshoumaru darted away into the darkness.
That could have been him, if things had been different. His gold eyes glimmered in the dimness as he resolved himself to feel no pity for the panther. Its unfair disadvantage was simply its circumstance. The natural end was nigh.
In that moment, however, another thought arose in Sesshoumaru. Was this him moving forward? Taking advantage of another's situation to give value to his existence?
A vision of the emotionless face of his father suddenly appeared in the darkness ahead. Sesshoumaru's anger seethed as he blamed his father for many, many things. But would his father look down on him for escaping in such a way?
Sesshoumaru shook his head. It did not matter what his father thought! There was no room for pity. He had to survive to find his mother, and possibly save her. He would not be arrogant enough to believe he could afford pity when he was so weak.
The vision of his father did not disappear from the endless darkness that stretched out before him. A sudden flashback of his mother's face as she was stabbed through sent his instincts flaring. There was no room for emotion for another. He had to get to his mother, damned be everything and everyone else.
And Sesshoumaru, his heart slowly closing more and more, disappeared into the mist of the night.
The wails of the panther cub would soon be drowned out.
The cub looked into the eyes of the snake demon as it struggled to raise its back end from the ground. This was as far as it could move forward. But until that natural end and that endless darkness came, it would stare right into the eyes of death.
It uttered a defiant growl and then the snake demon's jaws, lined with venom, came closing down on it, and on its existence.
Venomous fangs dug into flesh, stabbing its victim and sending poison coursing through its body.
Only, the body was not of the panther, but of Sesshoumaru.
The panther cub watched in surprise as the fangs of the snake dug into Sesshoumaru's shoulder from above, and his right thigh from below.
The air suddenly thrummed with electric strings. The earth began to vibrate like the sound of distant drums.
Sparks of blue Youki escaped Sesshoumaru's small body as he struggled to keep the mouth of the snake from closing on him.
Demon energy of the snake clashed with the sparks from Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru raised his head slowly, staring into the cavern of the snake's mouth. He would not move forward using others. He would move forward while stepping on the bodies of his enemies. Because that was what it would take to save his mother. Survival was not enough! He had to become something other than what he was. He had to move forward. He had to evolve!
The panther cub shook its head as it took in what was happening. Move forward!
Sparks of yellow youki streamed out of its body as the panther forced its back legs up so that it could stand. It roared!
Dashing to the side, it avoided the smaller head and leapt back towards the snake's main head and clamped down with its mouth at the back of its neck.
Startled an in pain, the snake released Sesshoumaru to focus on the cub. It did not matter. The poison would kill Sesshoumaru soon enough.
Sesshoumaru slumped to one knee as the toxins took effect.
The snake swiped at the panther, that avoided a hit again, before turning around to gobble up Sesshoumaru seeing that he was about to collapse. Just as it was about to snap him up, the panther slammed into Sesshoumaru to know him out of its way.
The snake demon hissed in fury!
Before it could focus on bringing down the panther for good, it realized that Sesshoumaru was suddenly standing up. His body sparked and began to smoke.
The snake demon realized with some horror that its venom was being wiped out from Sesshoumaru's body. That could only mean that this demon had a stronger venom than its own!
There was no need for communication. The two young demons charged ahead. Their enemy, not each other, but instead, their circumstances.
They would both move forward!