AN: I was unsure if to add this chapter or not, why? I really didn't want to have Sesshomaru in it, but I felt the need to explain the origin of one of my most mysterious characters. That character being Agent Orange, quite a few people have actually like this character, and I figured that I finally give A.O. a origin.
Chapter 2: Bloodied Earth
Sango opened her eyes as she fell down to her knees, clutching her throat, feeling trace amounts of blood on her skin. Almost frightened to look up, she noticed the drops of blood, trailing down on the green blades of grass. She felt as if something had been taken away from her, but she couldn't guess what it was.
"Sango!" shouted a voice.
Sango finally looked up, spotting Inuyasha running at her with tetsusaiga in hand. Her body trembled as she stood back up. A strange feeling began to fall over her as she heard the fading voice of Miroku in the back of her head. It was then that she realized that he wasn't anywhere in sight.
Inuyasha stopped next to Sango, noticing the blood staining her clothes, "Sango, are you all right? What happened?"
"We were attacked by a young man and woman. We have to find Miroku, I don't know why, but I feel a horrible pain deep inside of me."
Inuyasha and Sango made their way through the village. The two reached a small quiet spot, which smelled of blood. Sango slowly walked forward, looking down at Miroku. His body lay there, motionless.
"Miroku…" Sango whispered, as she knelt down next beside him, holding him in her arms, "Miroku, please say something."
Inuyasha placed his hand over Sango's shoulder, "I'm sorry that I didn't get here fast enough."
"Why did this have to happen?" she asked. "I thought that with Naraku dead, everything would finally be okay, but I guess I was wrong to think that."
"We'll find the ones responsible for this, I promise."
Sango carefully released Miroku and lay him down on the grass, "I can never be happy, can I?" Sango whispered.
"What was that?" Inuyasha asked, but Sango remained quiet.
Later that day, a few miles away, Sesshomaru walked steadily ahead of Jaken and Rin. The sun rested between the beautiful horizon. Another day was about to end, when Sesshomaru stopped.
"What is it Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken asked, looking out into the distance, hoping to spy what his master was staring at.
Sesshomaru said nothing, but focused on a large valley of massive rocks and boulders by a river bed. "Take Rin to safety." He calmly said.
"Yes Lord Sesshomaru." Jaken quickly grabbed Rin by the hand and pulled her away.
Behind the countless rocks, hiding amongst the shadows, was a group of men, all wearing the identical uniforms. One of those men placed his hand onto his ear and spoke quietly, "Target confirmed, requesting permission to engage and eliminate."
"Permission granted… and make sure that the lizard creature and human girl are dealt with also." responded a cold voice.
Sesshomaru looked to the rocky field, his hand ready to grasp Tokijin, when he realized that there were no scents in the air. Taking no chances, he stepped forward, and let his eyes examine his surroundings. Sesshomaru felt strangely uneasy. Never had he felt this way in the past.
Sesshomaru stopped inches away from the rocky area, "Show yourselves." he calmly said, but he received no answer.
No more than a few seconds passed and a shadow appeared from behind one of the many boulders. Sesshomaru scowled, moving his hand closer to Tokijin's hilt. The shadow moved slowly, almost as if it was peeking over the boulder, when Jaken ran out from hiding, shouting.
"Lord Sesshomaru! Behind you!" he cried.
Sesshomaru turned, immediately looking at a strange being, hidden behind a mask. The being appeared human, but didn't give off any scents, almost as if it wasn't there. Sesshomaru unsheathed Tokijin, just as the silent being raised its arm, presenting Sesshomaru with a strange device, which dispersed a burst of light. Sesshomaru staggered back, clenching Tokijin's hilt.
"Lord Sesshomaru! Are you alright?" shouted Jaken. Who quickly leapt into action, using his Staff of Heads and casting a massive wall of flames to engulf the lone human.
Sesshomaru regained his balance, finding his vision had become severely blurred and his hearing had a sharp piercing sound. "I thought I told you to stay with Rin." barked Sesshomaru.
Jaken lowered his head in shame, "Please forgive me Lord Sesshomaru…", but before he said another word, he turned around, his ears twitched, as a tall shadow loomed behind him. "Impossib…" he muttered slowly, before a bright flash of light shot at him, knocking him into Sesshomaru.
Sesshomaru caught Jaken, tossing him aside, having regained his sight, he glared at the human being in front of him. His hand moved towards Tokijin and the human being followed his every movement, even as to jump back, instinctively knowing about the attack.
The human being slowly took a few steps back, aiming his strange weapon at Sesshomaru. "Death is the only way out." it said.
"What manner of creature are you?" Sesshomaru asked, but the being tilted its head, and almost instantly numerous identical beings sprang out from behind the rocks and shadows, each with identical weapons and clothing.
"We are soldiers of Chimera. We have no fear. Fear is a mortal emotion."
"If you don't fear, then you won't be afraid to die here." Sesshomaru replied ever so coldly. He leapt at the countless soldiers and swung Tokijin, striking over a dozen of them, shredding their abdomens wide open. Their bodies all staggered back, each falling to the ground.
Sesshomaru paused for a second, starring at a black oily substance seeping from their wounds. "What are these creatures?" he wondered. "Their blood is unlike anything I've seen." His attention quickly returned to the battle and he turned, blocking another strange blast from soldiers.
"Disarm the demon!" cried out one of the soldiers. The numerous soldiers quickly rushed Sesshomaru, each wrapping its arms around him, ensnaring him in their superhuman strength.
Sesshomaru struggled with the numerous soldiers, hacking apart the closest ones, and crushing the throats of the ones that dared to cling onto him. "Get off of me!" he yelled. Things were beginning to look bleak for the demon, when a wall of fire engulfed over a dozen of the soldiers.
"Lord Sesshomaru! I'll help you." yelled out Jaken.
"I can handle these creatures. Go find Rin and protect h…" Off in the distance, Sesshomaru caught sight of four soldiers dragging Rin out of her hiding spot. Enraged, his pupils dilated, and he let out an ear shattering roar, quickly breaking through the wall of soldiers. Sesshomaru and Jaken tore through the masses. The two tried in vane to reach her, but the soldiers were quick to pursue them, slowing them down.
"Let me go!" shouted the little girl.
One of the four soldiers threw Rin violently against a tree and raised its weapon, pointing it at her. A few yards away, Sesshomaru and Jaken could only watch as the other three soldiers did the same, each aiming at Rin.
Sesshomaru watched as four beams of light exited the weapons and soon after hit Rin. Her eyes almost glazed over as the beams touched her frail body.
"I'll keep these fools occupied Lord Sesshomaru." Jaken turned back around, almost heroically, and created an unbelievable wall of flames from his staff.
Sesshomaru plunged Tokijin into the earth and grabbed the hilt of Tenseiga, unsheathing it. He looked down at Rin, his eyes focusing on the small demons of the underworld. With a quick slash they were gone. Sesshomaru raised Tenseiga, ready to bring Rin back, when a massive explosion knocked him off balance.
"Lord Sesshomaru…" Muttered Jaken, who found himself severely wounded. The small demon dragged itself along the ground. Stopping to look back, realizing that his lower torso was missing. Small chunks of his flesh and organs spilled out of his body, the shock setting in, Jaken remained still. His eyes stared lifelessly at the small army of soldiers quickly advancing on them.
Sesshomaru opened his eyes, unsure of what happened, "Jaken?" His keen sense of smell caught the scent of freshly spilt blood. As his sight finally adjusted again, he found Jaken on the ground, dead. He remained stoic to the sight and stood back up. A feeling of anger began to build deep inside of him.
"Terminate the demon!" commanded a soldier dressed differently then the others.
Sesshomaru counted the soldiers advancing on him. For a minute, Sesshomaru felt strange. Calm fell over him, and he snapped. A rage within him exploded, he felt a bloodlust consume him, as he ripped the soldier's limb from limb. His body was impervious to the pain he was receiving from them. The soldiers fell, one by one, and their black blood soiled the earth, but not one cried out in pain as they fell. Sesshomaru battled for what seemed an eternity, until there were no longer any soldiers left standing.
Sesshomaru staggered back to where Rin and Jaken lay. He looked at his hand and watched the oily blood drip off of his finger tips. Exhausted, he instinctively wanted to rest, but not before reviving Rin and Jaken. He searched the ground feverishly for Tenseiga, which had been knocked out of his hand, until he found it underneath a pile of soldiers.
"What strange beings...", he thought to himself as he lifted the bodies off of Tenseiga, "They don't cry in pain… They don't beg for mercy…They don't show fear in the face of death…They're not demons… And they're not human… what are they?" he asked himself.
Covered in his enemies' blood and his own, he held Tenseiga ready to revive Jaken and Rin, hoping that he wasn't too late, when his body became weak. The smell of his own flesh entered his nose. A beautiful display of light twinkled in front of him. He soon realized that he had been hit from behind by a beam of light.
"…" He then realized that what he was seeing in front of him was Tenseiga and Tokijin; both swords had been destroyed by the powerful beam. Shards of metal scattered everywhere, some even buried themselves deep into Rin's body. Sesshomaru looked at Rin and Jaken. He remained silent, even as the countless soldiers that he thought he had slain stood back up and gathered around him.
"Terminate the demon before he can recover from his wounds", ordered one of the soldiers.
Sesshomaru used his last ounce of strength to crawl over to Rin, placing his hand on hers. A tear rolled down his cheek as he squeezed his eyes shut, just then, he felt a warm sensation transfer from his hand. The soldiers aimed their weapons at Sesshomaru; each squeezed the triggers and fired repeatedly into Sesshomaru's body.
"Target Eliminated." The faceless soldiers each began to walk away, each disappearing into a strange sphere of light.
Minutes passed and the field was peaceful again, the trees rustled in the gentle breeze and the birds returned. With life returning, something extraordinary happened. Rin's heart began to beat once again. The small shards of Tenseiga, along with Sesshomaru's touch, had saved the little girl from death.
"Sesshomaru?" she called out. She looked over to her side, feeling a warm liquid on her hand. Unable to hold back her emotions, she began to cry. Rin was in disbelief. It was the first time in a long time that she felt alone again. Rin remained in that field to bury Sesshomaru and Jaken.
Night came fast and she looked up at the stars in the heavens. She sat there silently, wondering what to do. She knew that Sesshomaru wouldn't want her to cry for him and she knew that he would want to see her live her life to the fullest. She reached over to her side and picked up Jaken's Staff of Heads, keeping it with her, hoping to one day learn how to use it.
End Chapter.
Now, I wasn't really planning on explaining much more about this chapter in the fanfic., since I would have to explain how she became the opposite of what her personality permitted. Rin was my first choice for A.O., but I was considering using Sesshomaru as A.O., but wanted to throw most readers a curve ball. This is a rough chapter to write, since there are tons of things to cover, but oh, well…
