LinNoTai Vs. Sesshomaru 5/5

Part 1

By: Phoenix Ambrose

L-----L

It was a cold, rainy night in feudal Japan. The warlords themselves were too afraid to stay outside in the flash rainstorm that appeared overhead. They hid in a nearby cave, believing that there was nothing in the world that could be worse than being battered by water drops the size of their heads. They couldn't be more wrong.

Within seconds, over half of the brigade was thrown out of the cave with a force that was far more than human. The corpses in the air were spared the unbearable torture that awaited those in the cave. The other half of the regiment could only stand still in confusion and terror at the feet of the monster in front of them. After all the bodies had fallen and the blood settled, the creature spoke.

"In the home of LinNoTai, there will be no vermin such as yourselves. I will torture you for a short while to ease my stomach from the stench of your flesh. Your screams shall be my remedy and your own death bells." At those words, one of the men began running. Even before his first step landed, his insides were torn away and left exposed in a hideous moment of shock and fear. He stood there, this young fighter without organs in his juvenile abdomen, looking at the beast that was now in the entrance to the cave. The other men, more worried about their own lives than the pain the young man must have felt, started to scatter in all directions. Every little shadow or hole that they found they tried desperately to enter, hoping to find another way out of the deathtrap without having to meet their executioner.

The animal that stood on two feet started to smile at their whimpers. He began to chuckle when they started to beg for their lives. His laughter was the only thing louder than their screams as he skinned them alive.

S-----S

Kagome and Inuyasha were fighting. Again. This was never a surprise to the others in their group, since they always argued after a demon was destroyed. It was like they could only relax when they argued. It did sometimes worry Miroku that Inuyasha seemed to fight Kagome with more power than he did the demons. The true worry, however, was that Kagome could – and did – always hold her own. Gratefully, these skirmishes never got to the point of being physical. It would be such a bloodbath, especially with these two. At least this rain would wash it away.

Of course, this isn't what you care about in the story, now, is it? You'd rather know how Sesshomaru works into the scenario. Well, it just so happens that Sesshomaru and company were walking within earshot of the group and decided that it wasn't wise to travel in the same general direction as the tesusaiga. Plans were already in motion to regenerate his lost arm and attack Inuyasha at full strength.

This did not leave the young Rin in the most comfortable of situations. The large raindrops were pounding her tiny body with a force that even Sesshomaru could barely dismiss. When she finally fell from the force of the sky's tears, Sesshomaru turned and noticed that she was not at his side. Almost by instinct, Sesshomaru grabbed Rin and lifted her to his shoulder. Using his very full tail as her hood, they all kept walking through the powerful storm. Every now and then Jaken would mumble a few words that he thought were under his breath.

"Why is it Lord Sesshomaru never did that for me? I have tripped into lava, been struck by lightning, burned by my own staff, and even skewered by objects that I don't wish to ever speak of! He never put me on his shoulder and carried me, not even for an instant! I've never been disloyal or unwilling of his favor. Why do I have to walk through the worst storm of this age and she gets to stay warm and dry out under the Lord's tail? It's not fair." A sigh of sadness left his bill as the last words he whispered caught a new level of understanding for his whole time under servitude to Sesshomaru. Anger built within him that he never knew and his mind filled with thoughts that he himself couldn't believe. The "what if" line began, and he wondered what it would be like without young Rin around, taking all the attention of his Master. After some contemplation, he realized that it wouldn't be much different from how it was at the moment. After a while, a new idea dawned on Jaken that questioned everything he believed. Unfortunately, he started to whisper to himself again.

"If Sesshomaru were to fall by Inuyasha's hand, that would mean I would be free from this life of fealty and could use my wand to do as I please! I could even strike down the human on his shoulder as if a bug! But, why should I, an all-powerful demon, have to wait for a half-demon such as Inuyasha to grant me the power that I probably could gain on my own? Why should I wait for anyone? I could destroy him right now! I could—"

At those words, he felt his face hit by something slightly harder than the raindrops. As Rin stood as tall as she could, she felt her own anger swell inside herself as she lifted the small demon off the ground and whispered in his ear so slowly that it made his throat dry.

"Now, you listen. As much as Sesshomaru cares for you, I won't let you plan on hurting him. Do what you want to me, but I'm going to pinch you so hard if you try something on him. Didn't you know that he heard every word you said? He didn't want me to see the disappointment in his eyes, but I did. I bet he's disappointed in you for saying that stuff after he saved you with his sword. You should be grateful that he's letting you return the favor one of these days. I wouldn't." Even though she tried not to show any emotions, her tears were still noticeable on her drenched face.

The whole time that the two were quarrelling, Sesshomaru had his attention elsewhere. The words spoken between the two were still remembered, but they were put in his memory just in case he needed them later. At the moment, though, there was something far more dangerous than the threats made by his demon servant.

Out of the trees, LinNoTai appeared. Clad in black leather and wearing no face covering, He seemed an angered ninja from a mission that was far too easy for his skill. As Sesshomaru looked at the thing in front of him, he noticed that, although the creature was very darkly tanned, there was still a deep scar from his chin to his hairline. It seemed to have only healed a few hours ago. His hair was wild, Like Inuyasha's, yet there was a shimmer to it that hair just couldn't have. At least, not human hair.

LS-----SL

"A demon. I feared a larger beast had come across the land, as loud as you were." Sesshomaru almost relaxed as the words left his lips.

"Ah, but I have come here without making a sound. Maybe you're talking about those vermin who have run from me. You know, these people." As if by command, it seemed the whole forest had come to life and released the people as they scurried about, trying their best to get away from the fiend that they thought was behind them. They ran by, only a few noticing that he got in front of them long enough to strike a conversation with a group of others. This didn't really register until they got about halfway through the man-eating section of the woodlands and the thought was soon met inside of their minds by the flesh-devouring bark.

"Well, I guess you don't like humans much. You've handled those pretty well. We'll be going now." And with those words, Sesshomaru started to walk around the leather dressed individual, only to be facing him again. This time, however, he didn't have an expression of any sort on his face. At least he had a smile last time.

"You don't smell human. Nor does the little thing with the stick. The girl is not my concern. She's too young to warrant my hate. But, what are you two?" The genuine curiosity in the scent of their blood was completely apparent, yet Sesshomaru didn't yield to the easier ways of releasing LinNoTai's grip on the situation.

"First, let us your name, newcomer. Who are you, and why do you not know a fellow demon when you see one? Or have you been so busy killing humans that you forgot our smell?" The words shot a smile across the dark individual as quickly as it brought a scowl on Rin's. As she ran at Lin, He disappeared from Sesshomaru's face and was right behind her. With a lift and a heave, she was far above the forest, still heading for the clouds.

"You monster. You'll pay dearly for that!" came bellowing forth from the lips of Sesshomaru as he attempted to unleash his Toukijin. As fast and as merciless as his attack was about to be, it was stopped before he could pull out the blade by the handle of the dark one's own sword! The fact that the creature fast enough to ruin the attack set Sesshomaru in a state of panic. He couldn't move. The only problem was, Lin could. He took the Toukijin straight from the hand of Sesshomaru so expertly that he still thought his hands were holding it. The Tensaiga was free just as quickly. Before the shafts could feel the moistened earth, they were in the brush at the end of the clearing. The short swords that the man carried were cast aside as well, causing a laugh to come from LinNoTai.

"Oh, this will be fun - to fight a demon. Well, I must say, I can't wait to see how this ends up. The human blood won't hold me through the night, so I guess I'll just have yours. I'll be fair and let you try to fight for your life, but it will be useless. I am the vampire LinNoTai."

Yet again, Sesshomaru didn't listen to the rattling of the "vampire," whatever that was. He was more worried about Rin. Her fall from the clouds (how could anyone be that strong?) had reached its half waypoint. Any second now, she would fall in the "dead" center of the man-eating forest. The trees that were there had disposed of the others seconds before and were ready for more.

The whole time that Sesshomaru was looking away, LinNoTai was growing increasingly upset. He was wondering what type of fool would hide their arm in front of another fighter when there was a challenge. He then realized that this one didn't show his arm at all. Maybe there was a problem with it? And what was with the super-fuzzy boa? The huge tuft of fur was drawing more of his curiosity than the limb, so he decided to investigate.

When Lin got his hands on Sesshomaru's tail, the demon couldn't believe it. No one had ever touched his tail!! No one! How dare he touch any part of him, especially that part! And with such cold . . . hands . . .

"Oh, I see. This is your tail. I thought you were . . . you know. I mean, here you are, wearing a woman's fur, and I wasn't supposed to think anything of it? Nonetheless, let's fight. And pull your other hand out!" The first punch landed heavily on the demon's jaw. No one had ever hit him before. Good thing he was tough enough to take the blow. As Sesshomaru wound around for his counterattack, a vampiric elbow landed on the other side of his jaw. Sesshomaru felt the blood from the breaking of his jaw and spit it as hard as he could at LinNoTai. It landed on his face, as his eyes were open. Thinking that the blood would blind him, Sesshomaru started for the death-dealing trees. Lin, having blood on his face, did the only thing a vampire could – he drank it. The intensity in the cursed blood was so much more powerful than he could have ever dreamed! He was satisfied . . . for now.

S-----S

As Sesshomaru was going through the brush that was truly just young meat-eating trees in training, he was listening for Rin's scream. He thought she would have screamed all the way down, but it wasn't so. Somewhere in the clouds, she just fell asleep. The loud screaming and high stress finally got to her and she lost consciousness. She was already caught by a branch and was soon to be devoured.

L-----L

LinNoTai, on the other hand, just didn't care. The blood was running it's course, and it felt good. At that moment, he decided to milk Sesshomaru for all the blood he had. He grabbed all the swords and sprinted after the demon scent that was so alluring to him.

Sesshomaru found Rin, held on a branch high above him. As he jumped from branch to branch, he realized that the climb might have been harder than he thought. Branches were always moving, some were going after him, and even the leaves seemed to try to come after him. Somehow, he made it close enough to hear her heartbeat.

"Rin!" was the only thing he could say before he was viciously pulled from the air and into a branch. At first, the thought that a branch caught him was emerging, but he knew their feel. They were never that cold.

LS-----SL

When Sesshomaru looked up, all he could see was the fanged smile. Genuine fear rose from Sesshomaru as the vampire's jaw popped free and his six fangs plunged into his neck to take the blood from the demon. All Sesshomaru could do was claw at him with his arm and watch as Rin was pulled closer to the tree.

All of a sudden and without warning, a blaze of fire rose from the ground and nearly engulfed Lin's body! LinNoTai leapt from the flame and looked below. There stood a curious little creature that seemed terribly out of breath.

"You, you thing! Step away from my master, or suffer the wrath of the great demon, Jaken! That was not all I can conjure with my 'stick'!" A blast of cold was sent to the branch that the two others were perched. The limb snapped and fell within seconds, yet Lin didn't seem to care. He pulled himself free to watch as the wound on Sesshomaru's neck found it difficult to bleed. He left with the words:

"This is far from over. Rest well today, for tonight, you're mine!" And he dived into the earth. As Sesshomaru lay on the floor, Jaken froze the whole tree and caught Rin on her fast, ungraceful fall. Not that Jaken wanted to, however. The opportunity kind of . . . landed on him. After finally waking up, Rin ran to Sesshomaru and found his sword on the side of his body. The sheath was already partially slid off, so she saw the demons of death once she touched it. Growing angry, she pulled on the blade with all her might, destroying all the demons with one strike. After Sesshomaru lay there for a short while longer, Rin started to cry. Jaken walked toward her, holding her shoulder. Her eyes were so full of tears she couldn't even see the face of the person who held her other shoulder as the sun's rays landed on them all.

Should I keep going? If I do, there's going to be a moral to this story. I'm warning you now, I'll pull out Inuyasha and his gang in the same forest, I swear! I'll even feed off of Inuyasha if you're not careful.

Eh, time to go. Hope you enjoyed reading it. Phoenix Ambrose. LinNoTai Vs. Sesshomaru, Part 1.