Lone Scarlet Lily, Hidden in the World of Snow: Waiting for the Spring.
Chapter 12: Claws of Ice
The monk had a hole in his hand.
The human monk had a hole in his hand, and anything in front of where he pointed his palm was being sucked into the vortex his hand had somehow been hiding this whole time. Currently, that was the giant ogre (which the imp was on) and Sesshōmaru, who had sensed the danger and jumped back before digging the Tessaiga into the ground to act as an anchor.
To be honest, it looked ridiculous.
This human, only an ant compared to the giant ogre, had created a vortex powerful enough to force said ogre to cling to the mountain with his claws and feet to resist its pull. But, even such drastic measures weren't enough: half of the ogre's arm had already been sucked into the man's hand… and because the monk seemed unfazed by such a thing, the vortex probably couldn't be plugged by large quantities of materials. With every second that passed, the ogre's face got closer and closer to the man's palm: the hulking beast unable to pull himself away. Even Sesshōmaru seemed to be struggling with holding his footing…
"N-no! Stop!"
…But, seeing as the imp was the only one in danger so far, I felt no need to step in and stop the monk's attack just yet. Though, I did make sure to move some of my energy into the ground beneath the monk, as well as coating the ground in a thin layer of energy as an added precaution. I would be enough to draw on some protective measures, should the humans get too close too fast, or if I needed to make a quick attack and wasn't close enough to strike with the energy within my body. I wasn't planning on using Misdirection for this band of humans, so it was much easier to spread my energy across my Range when I didn't need a lot of it stockpiled to form the sphere of Misdirection.
Before the imp was sucked in and my interference was necessary, Sesshōmaru reached into his kimono and retrieved an orange sphere that had black markings on it. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long to see what the object did, as Sesshōmaru threw it up into the air. After a moment, when it reached the height of its arc and started falling back towards the ground, the object spawned several… wasps? They had red eyes, which was usually an indicator for the demonic energy that resided in demons, black pincers and three legs for each side of its body. The off-white coloured head section turned into a purple section, where a long and short set of leathery wings sprouted, and then the body of the wasp turned yellow as it curved into the large red stinger.
The horrible buzzing sound of the wings beating the air rapidly (though it looked like they were only vibrating) only multiplied as more and more wasps came from what I assumed to be the nest of the creatures. Strangely enough, the bugs flew directly into the vortex-palm of the monk. While my eyebrow rose in confusion, I noted that when there seemed to be a good swarm of them buzzing in the air (which seemed to be around a hundred or so) the hive stopped producing more demons. But since they were flying into the vortex and full-speed now, the hive had its work cut out for it by just replenishing the bugs lost.
After a minute of this strange display, the monk closed his vortex-palm (which he did by wrapping prayer beads around the hole) and wobbled backwards before falling down to his knee.
Poison.
The wasps were poisonous, and it seemed that even being sucked into a wind vortex didn't stop the poison from entering the human's body.
…Now where did Sesshōmaru get such a thing?
With such a dangerous technique, if Sesshōmaru had known about it beforehand, he would've deployed the wasps first to prevent the monk from using it. And if the imp knew about it, there was no way he would volunteer to face the human. Since I had been travelling with the great demon for a few days beforehand, I knew for certain that he hadn't acquired the hive in that time: we never stopped walking unless it was to deal with foolish bandits who tried to attack us. Even then, Sesshōmaru dispatched them quickly.
So, the hive had to have come from before he arrived with the human arm… had the same person who gave him that arm and jewel shard also given him the hive? It was only speculation, and though I had a feeling that the jewel shard and the hive had come from the same person, I would have to think about what that meant some other time.
With the monk's wind quieted, his voice reached my ears, "Inuyasha, I leave it to you…!"
"Miroku!"
"What's wrong, Miroku?!"
The young woman and Inuyasha's concerned cries went unanswered as the wasps continued to close in. The half-demon jumped in front of the incapacitated monk to cut a few of the wasps down with his claws as the ogre's carcass fell to the ground. The tremor that accompanied the fall of such a beast failed to imbalance all of us, besides the human woman, and to my dismay, the imp seemed to have survived the monk's vortex as he jumped off the dead demon's head.
The woman crouched beside the monk as the little kitsune joined Inuyasha in slaying some wasps with foxfire. Luckily, my kimono could now help me against such weak flames… But the skin that the red silk failed to cover would still be highly susceptible to the fox's fire. Though, the demon accompanying Inuyasha was quick to flee, as when many wasps replaced the two that his fire had taken out, he dropped to all fours and started running from the relatively slow nuisances.
"Shippo!" The monk called out, his body impulsively moving towards the little demon before stopping as he winced in pain.
"Miroku, wait here, I'll look for an antidote!" The strangely dressed woman ran towards the large building at the top of the stairs and called out over her shoulder, "Inuyasha! Help Miroku!"
After slicing up a few more wasps, the younger silver-haired brother looked back to the human, "Hey, Miroku! Do your share!"
With the monk's silence answering his words, the half-demon finally seemed to recognize that his companion had been incapacitated. It seemed that when Inuyasha fought, his blood rushed to his head and cancelled out all the senses that were supposed to help him – common sense included. The only reason he was surviving this long was because Sesshōmaru was only fighting him with the bare minimum required to beat the half-demon, and the same could probably be said for their last fight as well if this is the level of skill Inuyasha used in his battles.
My blue eyes flickered towards the stairs, watching as the human woman disappeared into the large home, before they returned to Sesshōmaru. The wasp nest had stopped producing more demons, and a whole swarm of dead insects lay in between the two brothers: some of the leathery wings were still twitching as if the carcass had not yet fully processed that its life had ended.
Did the hive sense that the monk's vortex was no longer in effect…?
"That's enough."
The elder brother stepped forward, raising the mighty Tessaiga in his borrowed hand just as Inuyasha's claws dug into his own flesh. As the younger brother used the blood to convey his energy into a ranged claw attack, forcing Sesshōmaru to block with the Tessaiga instead of attack, he grabbed onto the monk and pulled him behind the carcass of the ogre as the kitsune joined them.
"Tch. Pointless." The lord stepped forwards, his golden eyes meeting mine for an instant and I shrugged delicately in response before he faced his foe again.
The great demon walked right up to the ogre, in no hurry to finish the fight, and I trailed behind him carefully. I was unable to see the trio hiding behind the ogre, but now that the monk had been taken care of and Inuyasha was clearly marked as Sesshōmaru's quarry (and killing him myself would probably be dishonouring the will I had promised to upkeep) the only one left that was a threat was the kitsune. But, having seen him run more than fight, I doubt it would take much to scare him off or end his life. Seeing as how the little demon didn't look to have any training in battle, it would be easy.
So, I kept my gaze on the house and slowly made my way in the direction I had seen the woman running off in.
She had made no effort to help against the insects and seemed useless in a fight, but the strange clothes she wore stood out in my mind. Priestesses didn't wear such things, unless I had missed out on an incredible amount of changes during my years removed from human civilization. And even if I had, she would've used her spiritual powers by now. Perhaps she was simply an apothecary or healer and was with the group to treat the human monk. Potion-makers were always a little… weird. That would explain the odd garments she wore, and she did mention getting an antidote for him… Had they encountered the wasp-demons before?
…No, they couldn't have. They had all looked surprised by the appearance and behaviour of the insects. So, the girl probably knew of several different remedies that treated the symptoms of similar poisons, and she figured a suitable antidote was among them. While the poison of a wasp-demon was more lethal than a regular wasp, there was a high chance of the poison affecting the same systems, and therefore the same remedy would be required… though with a larger dosage and needed to be quickly applied.
A flash of light drew my attention away from the human woman, and I refocused my attention on the silver-haired demon.
Tessaiga's power ripped through the ogre's carcass, leaving only a steaming mound of unidentifiable flesh in the slash's wake. As the intense concentration of energy Tessaiga unleashed at its wielder's command faded, the cause of the bright light, the moon softly glinted off the blade's steel as Sesshōmaru looked on. The slight hue that the moonlight granted the land made the shredded remains of the ogre blend into the ground's grey appearance, and if not for the veins that coiled around the raised pile like unearthed roots, I would mistake it for upturned earth.
In the morning, it would have a very different look, I mused.
Red cloth emerged from the fleshy rubble, the white hair of Inuyasha following soon after as clumps of ogre flesh peeled away from his body. While I had figured that the strike had been unavoidable, it seemed Inuyasha's feral instincts had allowed him to escape the attack, dodging into the gaps between the multiple fatal slashes that radiated out from the Tessaiga Sesshōmaru wielded. The half-demon's friends had yet to appear from the aftermath of Tessaiga's strike, and while I was tempted to believe that they had perished, Inuyasha's survival likely meant the survival of the others as well.
Sesshōmaru's laughter, which I thought I'd never hear, briefly broke the quiet nighttime air with its cold and condescending tone, "You can run and hide… That would be expected from someone like you. But living in this world only adds to your disgrace."
"Will you shut up?!" Inuyasha stood, freeing himself from the giant ogre as he faced his half-brother yet again, "Getting a hold of one sword sure loosened your mouth!"
A mischievous smirk crossed over my face at the half-demon's observation. He wasn't wrong. The lord seemed to be quite happy to speak his mind when facing his younger brother, even if most of what he said had such an air of superiority laced through them that it was hard to stop myself from rolling my eyes at the pettiness of it all. While I regarded Sesshōmaru to be quite the effective fighter, making no unnecessary movements and always aiming to end the fight (which would be a generous term to describe the one-sided massacre of bandits I witnessed before), it seemed that his brother was an exception to this. The reason was clear: the elder brother wished to make an example of his kin, and therefore prove his superiority. And against his brother, who his father had gifted Tessaiga, proving how inferior the half-demon was compared to himself was probably just as important as getting the actual Tessaiga.
…I'm glad I was a single child.
"And lemme tell you something… I'm not that easy to kill!" Inuyasha leapt towards the older dog demon, slashing at him with claws that were easily blocked by the Tessaiga.
Sesshōmaru retaliated in kind, jumping upwards while raising the Tessaiga high into the air before swinging the blade down harshly. His body followed the strike, and with the added strength of having his weight behind the blow, if Inuyasha didn't dodge in the few seconds before the metal contacted his skin, he would die.
Surprisingly, he didn't move, and instead seemed to be waiting to intercept the incoming attack.
At the last possible moment, Inuyasha's hands went to his waist. Releasing a black sheath from its place in the folds of the Fire-Rat Robe, Inuyasha brought it up over his head just in time to protect him from his stolen sword. Even with the power behind the blade, it failed to cut through the sheath, and therefore, was unable to cut through the half-demon.
"Heesh! My lord wastes nothing on sentiment, that's for sure!"
The movement of the ogre-rubble drew my gaze away from the duel between brothers, and the smirk instantly left my face as the sight of a green imp breaking out of the flesh pile registered. Cursing my rotten luck at the imp's survival, my blue eyes hardened into a glare as I stared down the demon.
"Even more than the monk's power… Lord Sesshōmaru's disregard for ally or foe when he kills is a hundred-fold more frightening." The imp sighed, "I fear for the future…"
My eyebrows curved into an arc at the imp's words, for once not showering his beloved lord with praise… especially since he was in earshot of said lord. But, as the great demon was occupied with fighting his brother, the imp probably felt that he would be far too distracted to hear his remarks. With a glance towards the two brothers, the younger now having a defence against the elder's expertly guided swings, it seemed to be true. Or, at least, the lord seemed too preoccupied to punish his vassal for such blithe comments.
"You…!"
Turning back to the sound of the imp's shrill voice, I found the forms of the monk and the kitsune emerging from the rubble. Said monk had the little demon's head in his hand, squishing him down into the flesh as he sent a heated glare into the back of the imp's head. Little green fingers clawed uselessly into the slick remains, unable to look back at the human and unable to escape… And so, his frantic gaze caught my own.
"H-hey! Half-breed!" He struggled to form the words as the monk pressed his weight onto the demon, and I sent a wicked grin the imp's way before removing my eyes from the scene casually, "How dare-mmghf!"
"Something really bothers me." The monk had effectively silenced the imp and his voice dipped into a threateningly low pitch, "We've never met, yet it's as though you had those insects just to trap me. Now how could that be?"
"Well… err…" Sesshōmaru's vassal seemed to have been given back his voice – a poor decision if there ever was one.
"Miroku!"
Fire blazed in the corner of my vision, and I reluctantly returned my gaze to the imp's direction as the monk yelled out in surprise. The kitsune darted from my vision, disappearing down the slope made from a combination of the ogre's remains and the flow of the land. The monk was nowhere to be seen.
The imp soon followed, laughing loudly as the staff with two heads held in his hands, "A weak monk and a puny fox-child… I, Jaken, can handle you alone!"
With a slow sigh, I turned my bored ice-blue gaze back to the fight between brothers. Idly wondering if the large house had a different entrance than the one that was in view that the woman could've taken, I listened to the banter exchanged between the dog demons as much as they exchanged blows.
"Do you honestly believe that the scabbard will defeat the blade?" Sesshōmaru was bearing down on said sheath, sparks of energy scattering across the wood as Inuyasha dug into the ground to resist the sword.
"This is no ordinary sheath, you know!" Inuyasha glared up at his brother, pushing the sword from its sheath before swiping at the demon with his claws and then blocking another swipe of the Tessaiga, "I can split your head with it, at least!"
A smirk passed through the impassive face of the great demon, "Then show me!" unleashing of barrage of strikes against Inuyasha that sent him stumbling backwards. With a quick step closing the distance between the brothers, Sesshōmaru took advantage of Inuyasha's imbalance to slide the Tessaiga under the sheath and flick it out of his hands with a quick twist of his wrist. It clattered to the ground, ringing in the last moments of Inuyasha's life, as his only defence was too far to be of use in Sesshōmaru's impending attack. At the half-demon's low growl, Sesshōmaru raised his sword.
"Or must I imagine it… after you've died?"
The hairs on my neck bristled as I sensed sacred energy in my Range. In a flash, my eyes found the strange girl standing on the top of the stairs, gaze locked on Sesshōmaru as the arrow notched to her bow glowed with a soft light. Quickly calculating its path, noting that it was trained not on the great demon himself but the Tessaiga, my breath clouded the air.
Guiding the energy implanted in the ground, I shaped the gathered energy into a thick line a few feet in front of Sesshōmaru. Drawing in as much energy as I could into the area as I waited for the right moment, my hand reached over my shoulder and pulled an arrow from the quiver. When I brought up Katashi's bow, aiming it towards the priestess, my heart clenched as I fitted the arrow onto the bowstring and pulled it taught. The line across my chest seared painfully as the weird priestess gathered her sacred energy at the sharp point of her arrow, and I couldn't stop the flashes of memories that pulled my brow downward in rage.
A pink jewel in one hand, a sword in the other…
I steadied my breath, and even as my hands trembled I knew my aim was true.
The slick sound of several footsteps falling on soft snow, following my silent steps…
Enough energy had been collected, and it swirled inside the perimeter I created, waiting for my next command.
Blood, staining my hands. Ruby drops falling from the sharp curve of ice...
Why had she not fired her arrow yet? What was that foolish woman waiting for- Was she still aiming?
The scabbard of a discarded sword falling quietly, sacred energy pulsing behind me-
Energy rushed to my fingertips, but I ignored the feeling as I released the arrow into the air at the same moment as the human did. At the same time, the energy stored under the earth pushed upwards, changing into ice when it touched the air. Densely packed ice rose swiftly, creating a wall that obscuring the view of the brother's fighting on the other side with its glossy exterior. But, of course, I could see through my own creation clearly. As an afterthought, I commanded my energy to allow Sesshōmaru to do the same.
The sacred arrow shot into the top of the Ice Wall, another of my abilities, and while the force of the impact created cracks to appear in the immediate area the sacred energy had nothing to purify. The few chips of ice that fell from the as a result of the arrow embedding itself into the thick ice did not help the arrow reach any closer to the energy that flowed through the middle of the structure (enabling me to control who could see through my wall, and also helped me move said wall around when necessary). As the arrow's energy dissipated, successfully blocked by my wall, my own arrow found its target.
She had moved slightly, out of surprise for the sudden appearance of my Ice Wall, and as she looked for my presence she had unwittingly saved herself from an arrow to the heart. Blood stained her white garment, and as she cried out in pain, clutching at the arrow embedded in her flesh as she collapsed to the ground. I was halfway up the stairs.
"KAGOME!"
The wall I created sunk back into the ground, returning most of the energy that had been used to create it back into my Range. My sandals clicked against the stone steps, my pace unhurried as I went to finish off my prey. The sound echoed strangely through the air after the half-demon's outcry, and I was keenly aware of how the clashing of sheath and claws against metal hastened. But I ignored it, my mind bent around the wounded priestess as I left Sesshōmaru to deal with the anger of his brother. My energy followed me as I left the area I had initially spread my energy throughout, and it easily kept up with me as I reached the top of the stairs.
The girl had moved back from the top of the stairs, a trail of blood marking her journey to the exterior wall of the private estate. Her back was pressed against the wall, brown eyes widened and glossy with fear as I approached. The arrow had sunk into her frame around the joint of the arm and shoulder, pinning the darkening green fabric of her clothes to her. The red colour of blood slowly stained the remaining white portion of the garment as it slowly made its way to the ground. Her long black hair had already begun to stick together unnaturally as some strands drifted from behind her body to curving down towards her chest as she attempted to ready another arrow.
"I applaud your tenacity, but did you really think I'd let you?"
In a moment, the distance between us disappeared as I ripped the bow from her hands. The arrow she was holding fell uselessly to the floor as I quickly cut the bowstring and watched as the wood sprang free from it's forcibly curved formation. Throwing it to the ground, I then turned my attention back to her. She whimpered, shrinking away from me as my clawed hand approached the string that held the quiver to her back. The sharpened ice that had attached itself to my fingertips, adorning them as the claws I could never have naturally, cut the rope easily and I wrenched the arrows from her body. Throwing the quiver towards the steps, some of the arrows scattering down the stonework as they were jostled from their container… I ensured that my prey was defenseless.
"Now, little priestess…" I pressed my hand against her wounded shoulder and pushed her further into the wall, eliciting a pained cry from her, "I don't think it was a very wise idea to try and get in the middle of a fight between demons. Do you?"
She didn't answer, her body quivering under my fingers. But, to my amusement, the fear in her eyes was quickly disguised with anger as her lips drew themselves into a firm line. Luckily, it seemed that the girl knew she was outmatched, and made no move to escape, though her eyes searched her surroundings rapidly.
What in the world was this girl thinking, trying to interfere with Sesshōmaru… when she was only this scared mess of a human? Did she believe that the great demon would simply let her intrude on his without consequence? Did this little girl believe that she could stand up to demons when she was this weak? What a joke of a priestess.
My hand moved from her shoulder and marked her neck with her own blood. My ice-claws pressed against the soft flesh, and she flinched briefly before her muscles stilled and she looked at me an even gaze. I opened my mouth to taunt her, but I was unable to form any words as I sensed the familiar energy through the girl's spiritual aura.
I released my grasp on her neck, forcing her chin upwards as my eyes traced the beaded necklace that rested against her pale skin. With my free hand, I gingerly lifted the string. It had a weight to it, the cause of it hidden by her strange clothes… but it didn't matter. I knew exactly what was attached to the necklace. I waited to comment on my discovery until the soft pink jewel was revealed from the fabric that covered it. Shards had been stuck back together into what was a pitiful fragment of the jewel. Gripping her jaw tightly, I lowered her face and scoffed at the defiant look that had chased away her fear.
"It seems like you've been busy, priestess." I hummed, eyeing the jewel that now rested above the fabric, "But since you haven't been a lot of fun as my prey, I'll let you go if you answer my question~"
"…What do you want?"
"Oh! She speaks!" I grinned wickedly, "Wonderful."
Before I could answer my question, the approaching energy of the half-demon enraptured my attention. My eyes swivelled to my right, and as I was met with the sight of a furious Inuyasha leaping towards me with his claws outstretched. His golden eyes clashed against my blue ones, and I took a half-step back as I prepared to defend myself against the unexpected foe. I gathered my energy with only seconds to spare and readied myself to stop the half-demons fast advance offensively with Arctic Assault's ice spikes. With the short amount of time to prepare, they'd only be thin spikes, but with a large amount they should be able to-
Such thoughts proved unnecessary, as with a blink I found myself staring at the back of Sesshōmaru. His silver hair flared out behind him as it caught up with the great demon's fast movement, the silk of his kimono acting similarly as it billowed from his body before settling again quickly. The fur wrapped around his right arm didn't seem to be under the same effect. A moment after I my eyes registered his figure, a swift flare of wind swept over me as the lord's movement was noticed by nature itself. My own black strands drifted backwards, with a strange gentle curl that mixed oddly with the moment. The sleeves of my red kimono fluttered briefly before falling still, and the sound of claws scraping against metal brought the elongated seconds to an end.
"I-Inuyasha!"
In a fluid movement, Sesshōmaru traded the blow with one of his own, his poisoned fist impacting the half-demon's cheek with enough force to send him back down the hill and skid across the scarred ground. The lord turned, watching the effect of his punch with an unreadable face. Looking up at Sesshōmaru, I noticed that he had received a scratch on his right cheek: the shallow cut running down across both Great Demon Markings found on his skin. His golden eyes met my gaze, then travelled beyond me for a moment before returning.
"If you have the time to play with your prey, Lord Sesshōmaru," The lord's full name rolled off my tongue strangely, "at least make sure they can't escape."
My unimpressed tone and pointed look were answered with silence. Silence, the narrowing of the lord's eyes, and the hint of a scowl that somehow spoke volumes. He lingered for a moment longer, long enough for him to see the slanted grin that painted my face at getting the lord to express his displeasure – silently or not – yet again.
"Inuyasha! Sesshōmaru has a fragment of the Sacred Jewel in his left arm!" The woman's words had Sesshōmaru sending a sharp glare towards her, his face returning to its usual stoic look that only allowed his eyes to reveal his closely guarded thoughts.
As Inuyasha got back on his feet, Sesshōmaru was drawn back into his battle and flew down the hill again with great speed.
"I thought we were bonding!" I called out to him, my voice dipping into a playful whine that had me chuckling under my breath as the lord gave no indication of hearing me.
With a devious smile splaying across my lips, I returned to my own prey, "So, back to the question that will have your life safely back in your own hands!"
"Call me curious, but I'm just dying to know…" I lifted the necklace with a finger, running my fingertip under the beaded string as I searched her brown eyes, "Are the rumours true? Did a human shatter the jewel?"
There was no such rumour. Or at least, I hadn't heard a single word about how the jewel was shattered. Which, of course, made me insanely curious as to what sort of fool would break such a powerful thing. A human was the safest bet, as no demon would ever consider breaking the jewel and dividing the power they could receive.
Getting the girl to answer that question was more interesting than fighting her, at least. So, I watched her reaction carefully for any hint as to what kind of information she had on such a thing. But, she didn't seem to want to answer my question and instead asked one of her own.
"What does it matter to you?"
Did this girl not realize what sort of danger she was in? Or did she just not care?
"Hmm… Now, something doesn't sound right with that." I tilted my head to the side, pretending to think, "Oh! I know!" My fingers wrapped around her neck again, squeezing enough to make it hard for her to breath, "I don't think you're the one asking the questions here. Too bad!"
Her hands immediately tried to pry my fingers from her throat, and even though my strength wasn't much for a demon, compared to a human… Well, let's just say the girl and her own feeble strength could struggle as much as she wanted.
"Now, answer the question while you still can. Or, better yet, while you can still help that monk." Her eyes widened at the mention of the poisoned human, and her brown orbs flickered over to the left. She strained herself, trying to look over the slope to where the monk and kitsune were supposed to be.
I laughed, "Did you forget already? You're human 'friend' is dying, and if you don't answer my question, I'll make sure your antidote doesn't make it in time."
I loosened my grip on her throat, and the moment I did her chest heaved as she took in big gasps of air.
"I-it was an accident." She stuttered, and I wondered if I had squeezed the human's throat too much, "I shattered the jewel."
A moment passed. Two. The girl's throat slipped from my hand, and I laughed cruelly at the guilty look that flashed across the human's face. I waved her off, shooing her down the hill with the large bag that she scrambled to retrieve while favouring the shoulder with an arrow still protruding from it as I tried to control my laughter. She stumbled over the hill, weaponless, and I found that I couldn't stop the laughter that jostled from my lips. What had started out as simply making fun of the girl, quickly turned into a spiteful sound as anger once again seized my heart. And it made me angrier when I considered that I, perhaps, wasn't as well put together as I hoped. But I ignored the frightening sentiment for now, suppressing it into the deepest reaches of my mind as I let the anger consume me.
"Of course, it would be priestess's fault! They think they can do whateverthey want! And they simply cannot resist dabbling in things that don't concern them at all. How could it not be a priestess's fault?!"
I dispelled the energy around my fingertips, and I plucked the sharpened ice from my fingers with a focus that only frustration could bring out. Short, quick movements that soon rid myself of the foolish things also shattered them into pieces as I threw them harshly at the ground.
My de-clawed hands pressed against my obi, and as I felt the small pouch containing the jewel shard I had managed to keep hidden from the skilled eyes of the priestess, I forced myself to calm down. Eventually, the anger that my features expressed faded. And as I came out of my rage, I was left on top of the hill, my breath coming and going at a closely regulated pace. The moon illuminated my figure and cast a light shadow on the ground before me, alone and not sealed into a world I had to carve out for myself.
This was fine.
And it would continue to be fine, because I was working towards ridding myself of everything that had held me back for so long. My foolish actions, my foolish beliefs, my foolish… 'friendship'… there was nothing that could change what I had done in the past. Right now, all that mattered was leaving it all behind and ensuring that it wouldn't come back: which is what Midoriko seemed to have a knack for.
Taking a deep breath, I turned my attention towards the ongoing battle happening at the bottom of the stairs. The demon-wasps had returned but stayed out of range of the warring brothers. Said brothers were entangled, Inuyasha gripping Sesshōmaru's left arm tightly as the elder brother's hand pierced through the younger's back.
"If you have any last words," Sesshōmaru removed his hand from the half-demon's flesh, and the unnatural convulsion the latter's body had as a response to the motion made my nose wrinkle, "I'll hear them now."
"What, Sesshōmaru? Haven't you realized it yet?" Inuyasha's voice wavered, and it was much quieter than his brother's, "I'm taking my sword back!"
Inuyasha twisted away from Sesshōmaru, taking part of the human arm with him as he distanced himself from the great demon. Throwing the human hand on the ground, the Tessaiga was now back in Inuyasha's hands. And, unfortunately, it seemed that the imp survived his encounter with the monk and kitsune, as he came running up to Sesshōmaru's side. Seeing as Inuyasha seemed to be standing out of sheer willpower alone, I made my way down the stone steps as well.
By the time I approached, Inuyasha had fallen to his knee as the bladed tip of Tessaiga dug into the ground in a defensive position in front of the unconscious half-demon. It was still transformed, and as the foolish imp began to move towards the younger brother, Sesshōmaru's warning stopped him from stepping too close.
"Not another step."
While the imp dumbly looked back towards his lord, Inuyasha's hands clenched around the Tessaiga and the energy that it sent out stopped just short of the imp's body.
"W-what?" The imp backed away, "B-but he didn't even swing the blade!"
It seems that Sesshōmaru would be unable to acquire the Tessaiga this time around.
"You know what, imp? You're right." I came to a stop beside Sesshōmaru, watching as the little demon's head swivelled back towards me, "Try it again: I'm sure it won't happen this time!"
"There's no sense in staying if the Tessaiga is beyond my reach." Sesshōmaru stepped away from Inuyasha, looking up into the air as his potent demonic energy swirled around him. The imp followed close behind.
"Hmm… are you sure? I think your vassal is more than capable of grabbing it in time." My eyes drifted from Inuyasha's form to the imp's, seeing him angrily stomping his foot.
"You! Don't think I've forgotten the way you ignored me!"
"Oh? But I thought a vassal of Lord Sesshōmaru would be able to handle 'a weak monk and a puny fox-child'…" I grinned as the imp recognized the quoted words, "Am I wrong?"
"O-of course not! I, Jaken, could more than handle those two, but what a miserable half-breed like yourself doesn't realize is that-!" Luckily, the imp's lord stopped his pathetic blustering.
"Snow woman."
I glanced over towards the audience waiting just out of earshot, "Yes, Lord Sesshy~?"
He paused at the nickname, almost seeming to contemplate whether or not he wanted to continue speaking, "…Stand closer if you do not wish to be left behind."
Curious, I stepped forward, watching the lord's face closely to see what was 'close enough' to not get left behind. Ignoring the imp's squawking about how grateful I should be as his glorious lord allowed a half-breed such as myself to stand so close to him, I entered the swirling mass of energy surrounding Sesshōmaru. Judging on how far the energy swirled out behind the great demon, there seemed to be little room for moving around in whatever-
We were being lifted off the ground by the energy.
The lord's energy appeared as some sort of cloud-like substance with flecks of energy sometimes revealing itself as sparks. The sparks of visible energy flew from our position down the trail of clouds like fireflies blinking lazily during a foggy night. The impressive feat of being able to fly, even more impressive when Sesshōmaru could do such a thing without even touching us, was ruined immediately when I sensed the imp's smug look and the buzzing of the wasp-demons that followed.
"Well? Are you not even more impressed by Lord Sesshōmaru's abilities?" He let out a grating cackle, "For a half-breed like you, such things are far beyond your measly reach! Be grateful for this gracious showing of-"
"Do you know what happened to the last demon who called me a half-breed, imp?"
"What? Of course not! Like my lord, I don't concern myself with half-breeds-!"
"Well, my desire to show you exactly what happened to them is growing." I sent the annoyance a grin that was far too threatening to be misconstrued as anything else, "And while I don't think you'd quite like the sight you'd make, I can assure you that I will."
He swallowed loudly, backing up as far as he could, "Be quiet, half-" he cut himself off, "h-healer! Lord Sesshōmaru has no need for your constant babbling"!
I shrugged, but the grin didn't leave my face.
"Hmph!" The imp was flustered, eyes darting everywhere by my figure until his gaze settled on the demon-wasps, "How far are these damned bugs going to follow us?!"
"Ultimately, they're waiting for me to get rid of this arm. Their goal is the Sacred Jewel fragment."
Sesshōmaru slipped his sleeve from his arm, revealing the left arm that I had attached. The human skin had started to extend towards the great demon's body, the original place I had joined the two arms together had been hidden by the invading flesh. Not only that, but the two energies were visibly colliding with each other: the joint covered in what at first glance looked like flames. But, the flame-like appearance the energy took on was worrisome, as it meant that the energy had to escape the body to fight off the intruding energy instead of just being able to do so within the body… using the arm to transfer his energy to the Tessaiga to force it to transform probably incited this dire conflict of energies.
Well, I did warn him.
"I'm about to be eaten by this arm." He spoke idly, as if it were a thing that didn't concern him at all.
With his other hand, he tore off the arm, the skin that had been wrapping around the rest of his arm falling away easily as a result and threw the human arm in the air. Immediately the wasp-demons lurched forward to collect it, and once it was in the many-armed grasp of a wasp-demon, the swarm lost interest in us and flew off. Fixing his kimono, we changed directions as well, following the path the wasps led us.
It seems I'd find out who this mysterious benefactor is sooner than I thought.
*PLEASE NOTE*
I'm still trying to keep everyone in character~ ;3
O
-Disclaimer-
I do not own the InuYasha movies, manga, or anime. The only thing I own are my characters and the fanfic!
O Reviews O
purple-pygmy-puff16: Thanks! Hopefully he continues to stay in character along with the others!
ficklemagics: Well, hope you didn't mind the surprisingly short wait for the rest of the battle! How Nozo alters the canon timeline is gonna be preeeeetty interesting, if what i have planned out so far goes the way I'm thinking it will! We'll have to wait and see if Jaken and Nozo's relationship simmers down or boils, but now that you mention it, I'm looking forward to seeing how she reacts with Sesshy's mother as well!
Woofie-chan: O-oh my! You're making me blush! It really made my day! I'm so glad that you feel this way about my writing and Nozo's adventures in the world of Inuyasha! I hope I'll continue to give you something you look forward to reading!
roronoacami: Haha, thanks for the concern, Cami, but honestly I'm sooo excited to see where this story'll take Nozo that I just can't stop writing it! Hopefully my excitement doesn't get in the way of the end result (in terms of the overall standard of 'decent' writing I aim to uphold).
Haha, thanks for the vote of confidence in my skills!
Yeah, it's really hard to write such a stoic character into something that will eventually turn into a romance (spoiler alert, I guess? But not really, 'cause I mean, the Sesshy/OC ship is kinda in the description).
I'm glad to hear you're willing to wait for Nozo to explain her backstory further! I'm planning to make it a feels trip-and-a-half, so be prepared!
I had an excellent day, thank you! And, since it looks like we're around the same timezone...
Have a great afternoon, Cami!
O
*phew*. I'm really on a roll with this!
Anywayyyy...
Next time on the LSL, an Inuyasha fanfic...
Nozo finally meets Naraku?!
WILL SESSHY START CALLING HER BY HER NAME?
Will Jaken and Nozo actually call each other by their names? (Pfft. Still not likely)
Will Nozo figure out Naraku's identity?
What will happen as Nozo continues to hang out with Sesshy and his vassal?!
You'll have to tune in next chapter to maybe find out... :3
