Title: Demonheart
Author: Celyia (ladycelyia@aol.com)
Rating: R
Genre: Romance/Adventure
Pairing: Kagome/Sesshoumaru
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Distribution: Feel free. Just let me know where it goes :- )
Notes: Geesh. I can't seem to write a long chapter for the life of me! Oh, well. :-) I'll flesh them out later. This one is a little boring... Unfortunately, I can't write fight scenes! *pouts big time* Hope you can hang in there! Thanks!
Chapter Three: To The Victor...
He stood there quietly, his body prepared for the force of upcoming impact as he waited for the water demon to strike.
Low level youkai, Sesshoumaru decided as his golden eyes flickered over the bulbous, translucent head of the tentacled beast. Odd, he thought, his fingers arching instinctively in a claw-like fashion, that kind of youkai tends to be rather the peaceful sort.
And normally unable to speak, Sesshoumaru frowned as he listened to the threatening snarl that emerged from the towering body. It's either under the control of another youkai or of a Shikon no Tama shard, the demon lord deduced as silently cursed his brother and the wench for shattering the jewel.
The damn thing had been nothing but trouble ever since.
How many times had he come across dimwitted creatures with more brawn than brain whose little insignificant lives had been boosted by the effect of having a shard? In disgust, he stared down the creature that moved slowly before him. Those who searched for the Shikon no Tama were not worth his time and those who insisted bothering him in their search for power deserved their doom.
Like this creature here.
Water demon, Sesshoumaru repeated silently as he relaxed his fingers. Its weaknesses would undoubtedly be an aversion to fire and the need to be in a body of water. Perhaps I don't possess the strength I had last night, but I don't need it to destroy a simpleton.
"Give me the demonheart and I just might spare the life of you and the child," the oozing mass slurred, its tones confident and unyielding.
Not bothering to decipher the meaning of the youkai's demands, Sesshoumaru stood silently, his eyes hard and focused as he stared indifferently at his aggressor. With an arrogant incline of his head, the former demon dared the trembling mass of youkai to do its worst.
Enraged by Sesshoumaru's casual indifference to the challenge, the youkai lashed a vicious tentacle at the demon lord's head, only to snarl in anger as Sesshoumaru dodged the attack effortlessly.
"Sesshie-sama?" a young girl's voice asked, the sweet tone that still stumbled over his name a startling difference from the sounds of battle.
Instinctively, he turned his head to look at the little girl, only to wince in pain as the demon's tentacle punched the very breath from his lungs. Collapsing to his knees, Sesshoumaru stared menacingly at the water demon even as he tried to regain his composure.
"No! Don't hurt him!" Rin screamed, her arms outstretched protectively as she stood in front of her guardian's body. Her eyes, still misted from sleep, were squeezed nearly shut as she anticipated the lash of a tentacle against her fragile body. Yet, the little girl nonetheless stood her ground.
"Child, don't interfere. This is not your fight," the demon lord growled, his breath slowly coming back.
The girl ignored him, her pretty mouth pulled into a frown as she glared at the water demon.
She's going to get herself killed, Sesshoumaru realised, his heart falling to his feet.
"Rin. Move to the side," he started again, his voice filled with a firmness the girl had rarely heard directed towards her. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to impress her much. "Please. Just move."
The little girl shook her head violently, the small black pigtail bouncing chaotically with the movement. Glaring at the monster that hovered over her little form, Rin wrinkled her nose.
"Forcing children to fight your battles for you?" the youkai taunted, its pulsating body slithering out of the water and towards the fallen lord. "Ah, your methods are your own. Just give me the demonheart and I'll allow you to continue."
"Rin. This shall be the last time I tell you. Move to the side and move now," Sesshoumaru demanded, his voice leaving no room for debate. For the first time, Rin's wide eyes flickered with a bout of uncertainty. Her lip pushed out in a pout as she silently looked down at the demon-come-man who was currently fighting to regain his balance. Wincing with regret, she turned her head away and held her position between them.
"Very well," the youkai said, its tone sounding completely unrepentant. "I guess I'll just kill you both… starting with the girl."
Ruthlessly, the demon lord grabbed the girl by her shoulder and pulled her down behind him. Even with his inferior human nose, he could still smell the blood Rin shed as her knees scraped against the rocky ground. Pushing thoughts of remorse out of his head, Sesshoumaru carefully appraised his opponent.
It had left the safety of the river, Sesshoumaru realised, killing the smile before it had the opportunity to usurp his normally stoic expression. The fool had left the safety of the river in order to press its advantage over what it considered a weak human.
Foolish indeed. Heartened by the realisation, Sesshoumaru was determined to make the youkai feel the burn of what would soon be a mortal mistake.
Nearly smiling with anticipation, Sesshoumaru stepped neatly away from the weeping child, his mind so busy with planning his strategies that he could see nothing but the towering youkai. Savouring the opportunity to test his new human body, the demon lord subtly bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited for the youkai to strike.
Which is precisely why he grunted in outrage when he saw the wooden shaft of an arrow pierce a writhing tentacle. Silently, he threw himself at the pulsing mass, clawing at the soft, jellied head as he tried to force the creature away from the water and towards the darkened forest. Wincing slightly as the youkai's screams of pain pierced his eardrums, Sesshoumaru yanked the shaft from the tentacle and slammed it into one of the water demon's huge eyes.
Viscous grey liquid wept from the wounded eye, burning a track down the bulbous mass and upon the demon lord's white silk pants. Even as they trembled in pain, mottled tentacles pushed and prodded until Sesshoumaru's strong body was flung far from its own.
"Get away from them!" a voice called out.
The human priestess, Sesshoumaru barely kept himself from groaning as he spared a glance for the interfering woman. She stood, thigh-deep in the flowing water, arrow nocked and ready as she aimed the sharp projectile point directly at the youkai's remaining eye.
"You better do it fast," the girl threatened, her soft voice steeled with resolve. "Now. Before my fingers 'accidentally' slip."
The youkai, its tentacles thrashing wildly as it focused its eye upon the diminutive figure, snarled as it backed slowly away. Suddenly, it threw a tentacle towards Rin, enveloping the child in its moist form. Carelessly, oblivious to the small fists that beat against the translucent mass, the water demon dangled the child before it as a shield.
Sesshoumaru stopped, stunned into inaction as he watched Rin's face turn a ghastly shade of white as her wide eyes beseeched him to rescue her. Instinctively, he drew the sword that dangled innocuously at his side, taking comfort in the steel's cold, hard mass as he swung it experimentally.
"Demonheart or the girl. Take your pick. You will find me at Shadowfalls in the north territory in three days," the youkai intoned, its voice caustic and smug. Confidently, it stepped back into the river, the child gripped roughly between the tentacles. With more grace than Sesshoumaru would have thought possible, the youkai disappeared from sight, the only clue as to its presence was the lingering echo of its garish voice. "Three days."
Shaking his head slowly as his eyes fell upon the young priestess whose cheeks were filled with rosy exertion as she touted the bow in hand, the demon lord felt all of his tenuously restrained anger burst in a sudden flood.
"This," Sesshoumaru whispered, aghast at the emotion tangible in his normally inflectionless voice but unable to help himself. "This is all your fault."
The girl regarded him strangely, her black pupils so wide that the lovely brown of her eyes was hidden. Had he not known better, he would have thought she was the one who had just been attacked from the shock in her eyes. "Sesshoumaru?"
