There are many things that I own, and while this story is one of them, the
characters in it are not.
Chapter 8: Shatterglass
~.~.~.~.~.Sesshoumaru
Well, well, well. She was getting better. She was leaning things; her reaction time was improving, she knew that you needed to defend as well as attack—a thing that my half-brother can never seem to learn. She still had some to learn about form though. She was going for a half-moon sweep to my right. Easy to block.
She began the routine of swishing the blade up to bring it whistling down in the half-circle on the side and I positioned my sword and hand so that I could block and follow through with my claws. Then she did the most unexpected thing. She completely changed her tactics, going for an angled down sweep of the blade and completely catching me off guard, allowing her to slash me across the cheek before I could block. A few drops of my blood sprayed outward much like hers had to land on her hand. How delightfully unexpected!
The drops shone like the evening star before vanishing, just as her blood had on my skin.
"An eye for an eye," she said calmly as we locked blades above, the blood trickling in identical places on both our cheeks. I brought my sword down and whipped it around, throwing her off me and back about 20 feet where she stood, catching her breath.
I grinned wickedly at her, revealing my fangs, as I used the momentary lull in the battle to recover my bearings.
"Do you think it wise to be crossing blades with a Demon Lord, girl? Do you have the skill? After all, someone could get hurt." I left no room for doubt as to who that someone would be.
That remark annoyed her, seemingly, as her eyes narrowed dramatically and her face hardened as she let her sword flow back into a bow—identical to the first but for the fact that it was strung. Wasting no time, she drew back the string and fired on me.
Her speed shocked me; she was moving as fast as I would—a most impressive feat for a human.
A shimmering bolt flew for my face, getting bigger and bigger by the second as my eyes widened slightly and I began moving to the side.
My world turned white.
~.~.~.~.~.Sango The untina vine grows only in the deep woods on the edges of Japan. If you ever find it, as it is a rather illusive plant, then it is a double-edged blade, much like renisno berries, as all of the plant is poisonous. You have to crush the white-veined leaves and boil them until they make a jelly- like paste and after that strain the gelatinous substance through some coarsely woven cloth to get the last few shreds of leaf out to bring out it's healing properties. There was always a slight element of risk when you use this plant in a healing, say nothing of the initial trouble of finding it. However, if used correctly, it is one of the most potent potions that you can get.
There was some!
"Kirrara!" I yelled over the screaming of the wind as I saw the delicate looking vine wrapped in a strangling hold around a tree just ahead of us. Her huge red eyes danced from one place to another for a few seconds before she saw and bounded to the tree. I slipped from her back once more and, drawing my knife, I slashed some of the fat, emerald-colored leaves from the fine and tossed them into the saddlebags. About to swing back onto my mount I paused and looked at the tree that the vine was climbing up again. It was a willow! Now that was some good luck! I ran back to the trunk and stripped several sizable chunks of the silvery-smooth bark, tossing them too into the the bag with the other plants.
I backed up and looked at how much I had removed. Hmmmmm... maybe a bit more. I had a feeling that we were going to need a lot of this one particular remedy. I slashed another few large strips off the poor tree and threw them into my bag too.
Willow bark tea is good for pain.
~.~.~.~.~.Kagome
Ooooh, Sesshoumaru makes me mad. You have no idea. I just kinda snapped when he made that snide remark about how I wasn't good enough and shot that arrow at him. Now I can see it like it is going in slow motion, moving farther and farther away from me and toward it's intended target. The air all around it was glowing and reflection off of everything, making the air seem white. This, I am rather sorry to report, just made Sesshoumaru look really, really hot (not of course, that I would ever tell anyone this, as he already has a hugely inflated head) because the white in the air was really making the white of his hair and tail look even whiter and made the stark contrast of his eyes and markings show up even more prominently. And here I am having just fired an arrow at this extremely hot guy and could possibly kill him! I am such a dork. I mean is it really any wonder that I don't have better luck with guys?
So I was watching, feeling rather helpless, as my purifying arrow got closer and closer and closer and I felt a bit like screaming, Move you idiot! except then that would make him really, really mad at me, if he did survive, for calling him an idiot. I did not know what to do! And so I stood there like the dork that I am.
Luckily for everyone Sesshoumaru managed to get out of the path of that arrow real fast after he recovered from his initial shock of me moving so fast and didn't get hit my it. Instead it hit the maple tree that had been right behind him. This produced a very strange effect, to say the least.
A cracking noise that was like the sound when you step on ice that is a bit too thin and it starts caving in began resounding from everything but Sesshoumaru and me. This really freaked me out as once when I was little and I was ice-skating on the pond this happened to me and I almost drowned. So I started looking around for the ice so that I could avoid it but instead I saw all of these glowing hairline cracks spinning their way across everything—and I do mean everything, mist included. Then there was a shattering noise like breaking glass and everything, all of it, just exploded outward. The mist, the tree, the walls, the leaves, everything. It was way strange, because it was like all of a sudden all of this stuff was glass rather than what it started out as being.
I saw this big chunk of tree-glass that had to be a yard wide and was pointed like an arrow ripping toward me through the air, headed straight for my torso, and from all appearances going to cut me in half. There were a bunch of small shards headed for me too, but I was mainly worried about the big one. All that I could think as I watched it get closer and closer was, 'This is it. I am about to die.' And for some reason I was feeling very calm about all of that. I am figuring that it was probably delayed shock or something, as that is the only way that I can explain it.
So I was watching this huge chunk of "tree" fly toward me, and I watched it go right through me, effectively cutting me in half, but it didn't hurt. I was thinking that it had to be another prime example of delayed shock again until I looked down at my middle. There was no blood. There was not even a scratch. I was not injured in any way. This is going to sound really weird, but having that thing go through me was a bit like throwing a rock through a plume of smoke. There is a hole there for a few seconds, but then it is gone and you cannot even tell that anything happened.
And then I started feeling like that plume of smoke when I raised my hand—which was, by the way, see-through—to look at it, these little whisps trailed behind my arm.
I was glowing, I realized, just as I too exploded outward.
Ok, so what do you think? Evil of me to leave you handing like that, no? You know the drill, 2 reviews and you get the next chapter as soon as I can upload it. For those of you who are wondering what happens to Kagome, review. I will put up the next chapter as soon as A. I have two reviews and B. it is written.
Reviewer Responses:
DragonLady4- THANK YOU!!!!!!!! I think that that is one of the most positive comments so far! I am glad that you like my story. How did you like this chapter. Good idea about Sess, but Rin wasn't really going to have any major part...
Crystal Echos- ... I don't really know what you mean about pov... And the rosary, good idea, but no. I am going to force Kagome and Sess to work together to survive, maybe. I mean, what with Sess being so proud and all, it would make it a bit harder for them to fall in love if she had him collared and was holding the leash...
Chapter 8: Shatterglass
~.~.~.~.~.Sesshoumaru
Well, well, well. She was getting better. She was leaning things; her reaction time was improving, she knew that you needed to defend as well as attack—a thing that my half-brother can never seem to learn. She still had some to learn about form though. She was going for a half-moon sweep to my right. Easy to block.
She began the routine of swishing the blade up to bring it whistling down in the half-circle on the side and I positioned my sword and hand so that I could block and follow through with my claws. Then she did the most unexpected thing. She completely changed her tactics, going for an angled down sweep of the blade and completely catching me off guard, allowing her to slash me across the cheek before I could block. A few drops of my blood sprayed outward much like hers had to land on her hand. How delightfully unexpected!
The drops shone like the evening star before vanishing, just as her blood had on my skin.
"An eye for an eye," she said calmly as we locked blades above, the blood trickling in identical places on both our cheeks. I brought my sword down and whipped it around, throwing her off me and back about 20 feet where she stood, catching her breath.
I grinned wickedly at her, revealing my fangs, as I used the momentary lull in the battle to recover my bearings.
"Do you think it wise to be crossing blades with a Demon Lord, girl? Do you have the skill? After all, someone could get hurt." I left no room for doubt as to who that someone would be.
That remark annoyed her, seemingly, as her eyes narrowed dramatically and her face hardened as she let her sword flow back into a bow—identical to the first but for the fact that it was strung. Wasting no time, she drew back the string and fired on me.
Her speed shocked me; she was moving as fast as I would—a most impressive feat for a human.
A shimmering bolt flew for my face, getting bigger and bigger by the second as my eyes widened slightly and I began moving to the side.
My world turned white.
~.~.~.~.~.Sango The untina vine grows only in the deep woods on the edges of Japan. If you ever find it, as it is a rather illusive plant, then it is a double-edged blade, much like renisno berries, as all of the plant is poisonous. You have to crush the white-veined leaves and boil them until they make a jelly- like paste and after that strain the gelatinous substance through some coarsely woven cloth to get the last few shreds of leaf out to bring out it's healing properties. There was always a slight element of risk when you use this plant in a healing, say nothing of the initial trouble of finding it. However, if used correctly, it is one of the most potent potions that you can get.
There was some!
"Kirrara!" I yelled over the screaming of the wind as I saw the delicate looking vine wrapped in a strangling hold around a tree just ahead of us. Her huge red eyes danced from one place to another for a few seconds before she saw and bounded to the tree. I slipped from her back once more and, drawing my knife, I slashed some of the fat, emerald-colored leaves from the fine and tossed them into the saddlebags. About to swing back onto my mount I paused and looked at the tree that the vine was climbing up again. It was a willow! Now that was some good luck! I ran back to the trunk and stripped several sizable chunks of the silvery-smooth bark, tossing them too into the the bag with the other plants.
I backed up and looked at how much I had removed. Hmmmmm... maybe a bit more. I had a feeling that we were going to need a lot of this one particular remedy. I slashed another few large strips off the poor tree and threw them into my bag too.
Willow bark tea is good for pain.
~.~.~.~.~.Kagome
Ooooh, Sesshoumaru makes me mad. You have no idea. I just kinda snapped when he made that snide remark about how I wasn't good enough and shot that arrow at him. Now I can see it like it is going in slow motion, moving farther and farther away from me and toward it's intended target. The air all around it was glowing and reflection off of everything, making the air seem white. This, I am rather sorry to report, just made Sesshoumaru look really, really hot (not of course, that I would ever tell anyone this, as he already has a hugely inflated head) because the white in the air was really making the white of his hair and tail look even whiter and made the stark contrast of his eyes and markings show up even more prominently. And here I am having just fired an arrow at this extremely hot guy and could possibly kill him! I am such a dork. I mean is it really any wonder that I don't have better luck with guys?
So I was watching, feeling rather helpless, as my purifying arrow got closer and closer and closer and I felt a bit like screaming, Move you idiot! except then that would make him really, really mad at me, if he did survive, for calling him an idiot. I did not know what to do! And so I stood there like the dork that I am.
Luckily for everyone Sesshoumaru managed to get out of the path of that arrow real fast after he recovered from his initial shock of me moving so fast and didn't get hit my it. Instead it hit the maple tree that had been right behind him. This produced a very strange effect, to say the least.
A cracking noise that was like the sound when you step on ice that is a bit too thin and it starts caving in began resounding from everything but Sesshoumaru and me. This really freaked me out as once when I was little and I was ice-skating on the pond this happened to me and I almost drowned. So I started looking around for the ice so that I could avoid it but instead I saw all of these glowing hairline cracks spinning their way across everything—and I do mean everything, mist included. Then there was a shattering noise like breaking glass and everything, all of it, just exploded outward. The mist, the tree, the walls, the leaves, everything. It was way strange, because it was like all of a sudden all of this stuff was glass rather than what it started out as being.
I saw this big chunk of tree-glass that had to be a yard wide and was pointed like an arrow ripping toward me through the air, headed straight for my torso, and from all appearances going to cut me in half. There were a bunch of small shards headed for me too, but I was mainly worried about the big one. All that I could think as I watched it get closer and closer was, 'This is it. I am about to die.' And for some reason I was feeling very calm about all of that. I am figuring that it was probably delayed shock or something, as that is the only way that I can explain it.
So I was watching this huge chunk of "tree" fly toward me, and I watched it go right through me, effectively cutting me in half, but it didn't hurt. I was thinking that it had to be another prime example of delayed shock again until I looked down at my middle. There was no blood. There was not even a scratch. I was not injured in any way. This is going to sound really weird, but having that thing go through me was a bit like throwing a rock through a plume of smoke. There is a hole there for a few seconds, but then it is gone and you cannot even tell that anything happened.
And then I started feeling like that plume of smoke when I raised my hand—which was, by the way, see-through—to look at it, these little whisps trailed behind my arm.
I was glowing, I realized, just as I too exploded outward.
Ok, so what do you think? Evil of me to leave you handing like that, no? You know the drill, 2 reviews and you get the next chapter as soon as I can upload it. For those of you who are wondering what happens to Kagome, review. I will put up the next chapter as soon as A. I have two reviews and B. it is written.
Reviewer Responses:
DragonLady4- THANK YOU!!!!!!!! I think that that is one of the most positive comments so far! I am glad that you like my story. How did you like this chapter. Good idea about Sess, but Rin wasn't really going to have any major part...
Crystal Echos- ... I don't really know what you mean about pov... And the rosary, good idea, but no. I am going to force Kagome and Sess to work together to survive, maybe. I mean, what with Sess being so proud and all, it would make it a bit harder for them to fall in love if she had him collared and was holding the leash...