Chapter 9

Three samurai goons sat by the bank of a stream taking it easy after a long day's walk. They had recently been discharged from the local Daimyo's service and now they were free agents. Only they had gained a liking for blood and killing during their service and now the life of bandits suited them best. "So what do ya think? Should we gather more guys in the next town and start a raiding party?" said one.

"Yeah that's a good idea, that way we'll be able to get our hands on some more women and the best sake you could ever drink." Another replied roaring with laughter. The other men responded with their own laughter at the thought of women, sake, pillaging, and the good times they were sure was just around the corner for them. As they were laughing none of them notice a particularly large spider drag away one of their knapsacks.

"Gaw haw haw man I can't wait! Why just the thought of… Hey where'd my bag go?" The third one queried after he got a hold of himself.

The other two looked around, "I dunno it was here a moment ago..." one of his buddies replied.

Then a voice came from behind them, "Excuse me gentlemen... I couldn't help but overhear and I believe I have the answer to your question sir..." The samurai leapt up and faced the owner of the voice. Before them they saw a man wearing a white baboon pelt that completely covered his features. They stood there staring at the strange newcomer. Underneath his blue mask the stranger wore a cruel smile...

What was she still doing here… she wish she knew… Seishi had traveled back to the western coast of Japan… and stared out over the sea… but she found herself turning around and heading back inland. Why did she feel like she still had something more to find here. She really needed to get her act together… but what would wandering Japan a few more months hurt? It wasn't like she was in a hurry to be anywhere else.

With these thoughts she paused, lifting her head and sniffing the air… familiar scents reached her nose. Rin… Sesshoumaru… and that toad too… they were nearby. Seishi turned her silvery gaze the way she felt they were, debating on if she should swing by and say hello, but no. She decided against it, she couldn't handle another sad goodbye with little Rin.

She turned to be on her way, with another strong scent hit her… blood… lots of human blood. This sent her heart into a faster rhythm… before she knew it she had turned and in a blur she cut across the Japanese landscape toward the scent and where she had sensed Sesshoumaru and his group.

A gruff looking samurai was sitting on his ass in front of a very pissed looking Sesshoumaru. What was left of his comrades were in pieces all around him. His eyes were filled with terror, "No please... I... I'm sorry I-" He did not have time to finish his plea as Sesshoumaru's poison claws pierce the skin of his neck and severed his vocal cords. Sesshoumaru flicked his wrists and the samurai's head neatly popped off landing a short distance away. Sesshoumaru stared down coldly at the remains of the five samurai that had been unfortunate enough to incur his wrath. His golden eyes traveled over to Ah-Un who was standing at the edge of the battlefield, an unconscious Rin was draped over his back. Rin had various cuts and bruises most notable of which was a bruise developing around her eye.

Now that fighting was over Jaken ran over his master's side, "Splendid my lord. You slaughtered them all with only the smallest amount of effort. It is truly a testament to your grace and power."

Sesshoumaru didn't even hear Jaken's brown nosing as his attention was focused elsewhere. Sesshoumaru's gaze was directed towards the edge of the clearing where the dog demoness Seishi had just emerged. His eyes remained focused on her, while his body remained loose but ready to react instantly if he needed to.

Seishi met Sesshoumaru's eyes, before turning them to the blood splattered ground at his feet. "…" she had been close enough to over hear the last mans pleas, but obviously he wasn't shown mercy… If there was something Seishi hated most in the world, it was senseless killing. Now she wasn't dim enough not to realize those five bodies were armed and probably anything but innocent villagers, but against Sesshoumaru they would have been lambs to the slaughter. Seeing Sesshoumaru standing so emotionless over the lives he had just ended… no concern at all that they could have been someone's father, brother, uncle, lover…

She couldn't help but recall some of the things the one named Naraku had said… But… she didn't want to believe her impressions of the demon lord had been wrong and that Naraku had been right… She found herself moving forward… he had to ask… Sesshoumaru had to have had a reason for this… she just couldn't picture him killing for the sake of killing…

Sesshoumaru gazed at Seishi for a few moments watching her eyes as she took in the whole scene. Once her eyes returned to his he turned and started to walk towards Ah-Un.

Seishi narrowed her eyes at him walking away… she wasn't leaving until she got an answer… if he didn't put her doubts to rest on this subject, she wasn't sure if she could stand the idea of leaving Rin to… whatever unkind fate may await her. "Sesshoumaru…" her voice had a hard tone, which was unlike her… she had always had a teasing or mocking tone with the demon lord, but right now she was totally serious. "I only want to know this, did you have a ligament reason for ending these men's lives?" She knew that in reality, it was none of her business… but a part of her just had to know the answer…

Sesshoumaru looked over his shoulder at Seishi. What business was it of hers why he killed them? His initial instincts were to tell her his reason but his pride would not allow it. He was Sesshoumaru and this was his dominion. He did not have to justify himself to anyone, least of all her. "My reasons are my own."

The she-dogs silvery gaze narrowed farther. "Or you had no reason at all other then to kill for the sake of killing?"

Sesshoumaru did not respond to her comment. She was being over emotional over the deaths of humans that most likely spent their lives preying on the weak. In his opinion he had done a good deed getting rid of them, but he knew Seishi would not agree to that. He took Ah-Un's reigns in his hand. "If that is what you want to believe."

Seishi growled… bastard… instead of putting her doubts in him to rest he only made Naraku's words seem more plausible. She glanced at Ah-Un… she had known Rin was there, and guilt hit her now when she realized the girl was hurt and she had not noticed because she had been to focused on Sesshoumaru, "… if you will not tell me your reasons, at least tell me what happened to Rin… "

Sesshoumaru was about to turn around to respond to Seishi but then his nose caught a familiar stench and his teeth gnashed together, "...him" Sesshoumaru lifted up into the air cause Ah-Un to do the same. "Rin will be fine. What do you care anyway? Were you not leaving Japan for good?" With that Sesshoumaru and Ah-Un sailed gracefully through the sky heading out of sight.

Seishi growled low in her throat but didn't follow… even if her anger and annoyance wanted her to go up there and give Sesshoumaru a good smack across the face. His asking what she would care hurt for some reason... Though her doubts in the demon lord had grown, she still couldn't bring herself to believe Sesshoumaru would harm Rin.

As Seishi stood there lost in her thoughts a voice came from behind her, "So he was once again compelled to satisfy his bloodlust..."

Seishi blinked, and then narrowed her eyes, turning to look at Naraku... or rather another of his puppets.

Naraku crotched down on his knees and examined the bodies, "These men did not die a quick death. If he had merely wished to obliterate them he could have used his sword and they would have been instantly vaporized. No, he wished for these men to suffer in death.

Seishi did not reply… she merely watched the baboon-cloaked figure as he examined the dead.

Naraku rose to his feet, "Lady Seishi, I realize this is sudden but I need your help."

Seishi drew up her arms, crossing them lightly about her waist. "Help? In what manner?" She had a habit of not being able to turn down someone asking for help if what they were asking was within her morals and sense of integrity.

Naraku smiled, "Although I am a demon I also have a lordship over some lands in this area. Recently there have been reports of a serial killer in the area with highly advanced fighting skills. The mercenaries I have hired have not been able to track the culprit down so I was wonder if I could ask you to help. You would be well compensated for you efforts.

Seishi said nothing a moment, her gaze shifting to the side in thought... then she looked back at Naraku... she still had the feeling he wasn't to be trusted... but... "A serial killer... How would I help if none you have hired before could stop this killer?"

"You see although this killer is highly skill those who have caught glimpses of him say he is human. He has made the mistake of leaving a few personal effects behind. Surely with your keen nose you will be able to get his scent from them and then track him down…" he explained.

Seishi eyed the puppet a moment… wishing she could see through it to its real master whom was the one really speaking to her… She sighed, "Very well… but I don't want your money…"

Naraku nodded, "As you wish..." he then threw a blue sash at her. "At the scene for his last murder, the killer left that behind. I believe the yellow powder on it was placed there by the killer to mask his scent. But it will surly not be a match for your sharp sense of smell"

Seishi reached out and easily caught the sash in her hand... she drew it in, glancing at it, then at him. "I see... and where was he last seen?" she took a slight sniff of the sash...

Naraku pointed over Seishi's shoulder into the forest, "Not far in that direction is a village called Yungtsu. It is a village on the edge of my territory and is also the place where he has been seen repeatedly. Some believe he may be operating out of that village."

"I see… once I've apprehended him, where should I take him? Or his body, depending on the turn out…" then she added, "I choose not to kill if I can avoid it; I'd rather leave it to you and your people to give judgment and punishment."

"If you can catch him without killing him, bring him to the village headman and he will see to it that he is dealt with, but if you should be forced to kill him then it is acceptable. The only fate that awaits him in our custody is execution anyway."

"Very well… then I will see to it," Seishi turned and started off the way Naraku had motioned.

Naraku did not follow her as she left, "Good luck to you Lady Seishi. We are all counting on your success." He then leapt high up into the tree tops and was gone…

About an hour later, Seishi had sensed the village Naraku had mentioned, and started sniffing around for signs of his murderer… She would rather avoid having to go into the village to look, seeing how most humans didn't care for demons wondering into their towns… But if she could not track the killer in the outskirts, she would have no choice but to try there next.

Just then some villagers carrying pitchforks ran out of the village chasing a young man in a cloak, "Get him! Stop him! It's the serial killer!"

Seishi blinked… well that made things easier… if that was the right guy, this should be easy… of course if the mob took care of him she wouldn't need to do anything. She moved and followed them, staying out of sight.

From underneath the cloak there was flash of metallic then a Kusarigama whipped out and neatly chopped off the heads of all the men that were in pursuit. Back at the entrance of the village there were gasps and cries of horror as the family and friends of the men watched the men get slaughtered. The cloaked figure quickly drew the weapon back into the folds of his cloak and made a break for the forest.

Seishi blinked… a sickle on a chain… interesting, and not a easy weapon to master… That murderer had real warrior training… she would have to keep her guard up… She dashed along side of his path, circling ahead of him and coming to block his path, ready to dodge if he tired that weapon of his on her. She took a moment to take a sniff of the air… yep… this was the right guy… he seemed young… "I'm afraid I have to stop you here…" The cloaked figure did not stop in his mad dash and again the Kusarigama shot out aimed directly at Seishi's vitals.

In a flash, Seishi dodged to the side, drawing Kitoiga from its sheath as she darted forward. Unlike him, she wouldn't go for anything vital, and she was well aware his weapon would come snapping back when he pulled on its chain, so he would not catch her from behind. Her goal would be to render him unconscious, and she merely needed to get close enough to do that.

The young man quickly abandoned his cloak and threw it in Seishi's face to buy himself time to regain his weapon and jump outside of Seishi's attack range. Once he landed about seven feet away from her he dropped down into a defensive stance and prepared himself for whatever attack she might choose to use.

Seishi threw the cloak aside… hmm… she turned her silvery blue gaze to her opponent and hesitated… he was scarcely more then a boy… how could a boy barely entering manhood kill all those villagers so heartlessly and be a serial killer? … Then more disturbing was the almost empty look in his eyes… something wasn't right about this… "Do you speak or are you mute? How does a boy your age become a wanted killer?" she head her sword ready, in case he tried to attack her again, waiting to see if he would answer her.

The boy did not answer but rather rushed at Seishi keeping his weapons in his hands this time. Seishi sighed inwardly… oh well… she pulled up her weapon, then darted forward to meet him, using her sword to block and knock aside his sickle weapon to try and get in close enough and get a chance to knock him out.

The boy's eyes flashed for a second as he heard a voice in the back of his head, "Kohaku... now!" At that point Kohaku's hand darted to his side and he fished out a small hidden dagger. He used his Kusarigama to parry Seishi's blade and he slipped the thin blade of the dagger into Seishi's thigh.

Seishi blinked in surprise, jumping back after the bite of a blade cut into her thigh. Damn sneaky little brat… She growled… oh no he did not just draw her blood… it was on now…

He did not stop the attack and rushed towards throwing the weighted chain portion of his Kusarigama around her blade to prevent her from using it freely. Seishi growled, twisting her blade to try and rid it of the chain. If it came to it, she'd let it go and use her claws to deal with him.

Kohaku slashed at Seishi's features with the scythe portion to hack and slash at her body. This time he did not try to hit anything vital. By now she would begin to feel the effects of the poison that the hidden dagger had been soaked in. It was poison that was slow working but deadly. First she would feel numbness, follow closely by paralysis, and finally death. The poison worked indiscriminately regardless of race and was just as effect on demons as it was on humans.

Seishi blinked, as she moved to avoid the boys' attacks… her leg suddenly failed her… she might have thought it because a dagger had been driven into her thigh, but a burning that soon became a feeling of numbness was now becoming apparent and it was spreading from the wound. Shit… that thing was poisoned, and it had to be a very strong one to affect a demon of her caliber… She went down since her leg gave out, and tried to roll to the side to avoid the boys' weapons. She had to end this quickly else she might very well end up dying here.

Once Kohaku sensed the poison was beginning to take effect he leapt back out of Seishi's range but not his own weapon's range. However he stopped his attack. He didn't have to injure her any further now only prevent her from escaping.

Seishi had rolled back to her knees, but she couldn't stand… she couldn't make her injured leg move and her other was already feeling the numbness… She growled, then narrowed her eyes at the boy… what the hell… He stopped attack and was just watching her… If he meant for the poison to stop her so he could escape, why didn't he leave? He was just watching her like he was waiting for the poison to finish its job. He could have easily struck at her again with his chained sickle… She had a sinking feeling she was missing something vital here… "What in bloody hell…" she pushed off the ground with her arms, which was starting to feel the weakness now, but she no more then got half way up before falling again… Crap… she knew her time was running out as her vision started to blur and her thoughts became fuzzy. Her arms gave out from under her and she ended up the rest of the way to the ground, growling at her own stupidity at not realizing the blade had been poisoned and at her having hesitated just because the killer ended up being a young human boy.

Kohaku cautiously approached his weapon still at the ready incase the dog demoness got a final spurt of energy. He walked around to Seishi's side and started to slide his arms around her middle and started to lift her up.

Seishi growled, but at this point that was pretty much all she could do... she couldn't feel her body, let alone make it move. Kitoiga lay on the ground, her unable to grip it anymore. She wasn't really aware of much anymore since her brain was falling under the poison now as well, but she did feel she needed to protest being lifted.

Kohaku proceeded to lift her up further. As he did he tilted his head up and looked straight ahead. Then he stopped lifting Seishi and left her sink back down to the ground. Standing directly in front of Kohaku was the Lord of the Western Lands, Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru looked down at Kohaku with an unreadable expression on his face. "I came here because I caught the scent of the human that was Naraku's pawn, but I did not expect to find this..."

Seishi could hear the voice and found it familiar, but she was past comprehension of the words… She couldn't have moved if she had wanted to and her eyes were open slightly, but they were glazed over and unfocused.

Kohaku raised his weapon and dropped down to a defensive stance, his blank eyes locked on Sesshoumaru, watching him carefully for any sudden movements.

Sesshoumaru gave a small smirk at Kohaku, "Boy do you actually mean to do battle with me? Then I shall oblige you..." Sesshoumaru wrapped his hand around Tokijin's hilt and he drew it out of his belt, his smirk returning to his unreadable expression. He then pointed his blade at Kohaku meaningfully. "I'll free you from Naraku and your pitiful existence!" He suddenly vanished and reappeared next to Kohaku swinging his blade at the moment he reappeared.

If Kohaku's reflexes had been a scant second slower, he would have lost his head. He sidestepped the swipe and leapt back. He was then very surprised to see a blue energy wave follow the sword swipe. He touched off from the ground and landed in the branches of a nearby tree, narrowly escaping getting vaporized by Sesshoumaru's blast.

Seishi's last sensory input were Sesshoumaru's voice and the blurred vision of a white figure, a flash of blue energy, then everything dimmed until it all went black and her eyes closed; her mind shutting down to unconsciousness.

Sesshoumaru watched Kohaku's movements then aimed around blast at the tree Kohaku was in.

Kohaku jumped from tree to tree avoiding Sesshoumaru's blast and was about to swing back into to counter-attack when again Naraku's voice whispered in his ear, "Retreat... Sesshoumaru cannot be defeated at this point. Return to me Kohaku." Upon hearing his master's instructions Kohaku changed course after he landed in the next tree and quickly darted into the forest that was growing darker and darker as a result of nightfall.

Sesshoumaru watched Kohaku leave. He considered going after him as he was most likely returning to Naraku's hideout, but then he looked at Seishi lying unconscious on the ground. A brief thought of Rin's saddened face at that knowledge of Seishi's passing was enough to convince him that Naraku and Kohaku would have to wait for another day.

Sesshoumaru walked over to Seishi and noticed her sword, the Kitoiga, lying on the ground. He reached down and closed his hand around the hilt. A harsh shock of electricity blew his hand away from the hilt. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, he was really getting sick of swords with barriers on them. He pulled Kitoiga's scabbard off of Seishi's belt and carefully slid Kitoiga back into its sheath. Fortunately it seemed safe for him for hold the scabbard and he slid the Kitoiga into his belt along with Tokijin and Tenseiga, and he then scooped Seishi up by one hand and put her over his shoulder. He then rose into the air and set off towards his palace with the unconscious Seishi.

To Be Continued…