Danzaemon and Gituku

They had not moved on, in fact, he had been sent back to see if Sesshomaru had returned. Gituku felt they should go on to his master's territory and have him take over as lord; it was his birthright after all.

Gituku moved through the trees without fear. He was a chameleon demon blending in with his surroundings so well that even the animals never noticed him. Gituku was by all accounts a weak demon but his abilities came in handy to others, it was why he'd become Danzaemon's servant. Of course Danzaemon was unusual in the demon world too but he was important – heir to a vast amount of land and lord over his people. Gituku was going to be at his side, important by association.

As he got closer to the spot where the human girl had been slain, Gituku thought this was a waste of time. He'd already killed the girl and gotten his revenge on this Sesshomaru, it was time to go claim his land before this other demon came after him.

Finally Gituku reached the spot. The girl was gone but the two headed dragon was still there and it lived! Looking around Gituku couldn't see what had happened to the human.

"Hmph! You'd think Lord Sesshomaru would at least come by and tell us of Rin." Jaken came back carrying some fish over his shoulder. "Do you think you'll be able to move tomorrow Ah-Un?" Jaken began to make a fire. "Maybe we can catch up to them and take down the demon that hurt you two." Jaken shivered. "That demon's going to be torn to shreds when my lord catches up to him. What Naraku did was bad but this – was worse."

Ah-Un suddenly looked up; one head looked directly at the tree Gituku was hiding in. Neither head could see nor smell anything but something was – off. Ah-Un growled.

"What? What is it?" Jaken hurried to the dragon thinking it was in pain but noticed Ah-Un was focused on a tree behind him. Grabbing the Staff of Two Heads, Jaken called out. "Who's there?" He was scared and trembling. Had the demon come back?

Gituku became a statue. How had the dragon sensed him? He knew he couldn't be seen and gave off no scent but still the dragon's four eyes had honed in on his location.

After a moment Jaken calmed down when he didn't see anything but he dragon was still on alert. "I don't see anything!" Jaken even went closer to the tree but when he still found nothing he went back to the fire. "You're probably on edge from being attacked." He continued fixing their dinner.

Gituku thought it best he leave and quickly scrambled away. He knew that the only reason the dragon hadn't attacked was because it was still injured. Fate was on his side this time plus he learned that the girl still lived or was alive when she was found and that Sesshomaru was looking for them. Hurriedly Gituku made his way back to his master with the news.

Nothing! He'd found nothing! Sesshomaru had gone back to the scene of the attack, unnoticed by Jaken and Ah-Un. He'd searched the surrounding area and even gone towards the Moth's territory but there was no sign of Danzaemon . If Danzaemon had come back to take his land, he wasn't going straight home. Was he playing some sort of game?

Rin. That bastard had attacked Rin and left her for dead! Naraku had kidnapped her and used her to make his escape but even he hadn't been stupid enough to actually hurt her. Naraku would still pay for that but Danzaemon – Sesshomaru's mind pictured the many different ways he could kill him. He usually enjoyed a straight fight but now he was thinking of torture and dragging Danzaemon's death on for days.

And there was Rin. He'd left her with his brother and that was not something he liked either but he knew Inuyasha would die before letting the girl be harmed. Sesshomaru let out a short humorless laugh, his brother had inherited a sense of honor from their father.

He would search a bit more. Danzaemon was up to something, hiding. Once he learned that Rin lived he would surely attack again and Sesshomaru wanted to find him before that.

"So the child lived to tell of me?" Danzaemon was surprised but pleased when Gituku returned to him with the news. Sesshomaru now knew who hunted him and who would take his life. He hoped he suffered over the loss of the human. He'd been surprised to smell that scent after all these years and on a human no less- something he would never had expected of Sesshomaru, hater of all other living life forms.

Finally he would show Sesshomaru his worth. Danzaemon had been unable to show his father how he'd grown into his power but starting with Sesshomaru he would show his people and they would have no doubts that he could lead them.

"Lord Danzaemon, why don't we go to your people and enlist their help? After all as their leader you can command them to defeat this Sesshomaru for you. You need not sully your hands on that dog." Gituku was remembering the little imp's words and had a feeling that this Sesshomaru was a powerful demon. Gituku didn't fight, couldn't fight, he only wanted a life of luxury and privilege.

"No, no, I want to do this myself." Danzaemon smiled, his face now appearing human. "I enjoyed the feeling of my claws entering that tender, young flesh. Maybe there are more people who Sesshomaru values. I can kill them all and watch him suffer before covering my hands in his blood." Danzaemon started to laugh, a blood lust overcoming him.

As he laughed, Danzaemon remembered what happened this morning. He'd caught the dragon's scent first, then the human's. Danzaemon figured the dragon had found a morning meal and then with the wind came a scent so familiar and so hated that he'd stopped dead.

Turning he stepped into the field of flowers – following his noise and the sound of childish laughter. Almost directly in the center, he'd found them. The child was placing a wreath of flowers over one of the dragon's heads and telling him how handsome he'd look for when Lord Sesshomaru returned.

Danzaemon, as a panther demon, stiffened at hearing that name spoken. Just then the dragon became aware of him and stood, moving before the child. A cruel smile bloomed on his face. "So you two are companions to Sesshomaru, the dog. I never thought to meet up with him so soon." His smile was feral as lightning crackled about him. From his hand a bolt of light attacked the dragon.

The girl screamed and hid behind the dragon. The dragon returned the fire but it was too late as Danzaemon stepped lightly to one side and attacked again. Two more flashes of light – both hit knocking the dragon down. Enjoying the battle, he decided to make it even more fun and use his claws as well. The child's screams delighted him; she rushed to the dragon but it pushed her away and dragged its body up from the ground. It lunged – attacking from both heads but Danzaemon was too fast for it.

Around and around he moved, attacking from all sides until the dragon fell and there were clouds of dust, the smell of burning flesh and petals. At last the dust settled and he walked forward. Danzaemon was surprised the dragon was still alive but the fight was gone out of it and then a few yards away, lay the child.

She was filthy covering her head, coughing and crying. Danzaemon picked her up by the neck of her kimono. A human – Sesshomaru and a human, together. Maybe he'd gotten soft over the years; in any case he was going to kill this child simply because she carried his scent!

Huge eyes leaked tears and Danzaemon could feel her trembling, he smiled. "Little human, if you live long enough, pass on this message to Sesshomaru. Tell him Danzaemon has returned and we will finally find out just who is the better, more deserving heir!"

She'd pleaded with him as he raised his hand and from the right of the little neck, down to the left of the child's waist, Danzaemon imbedded his claws and took away some of her flesh and exposed her blood. He let her fall to the ground with a thud. Turning he changed and took on the appearance of a moth demon and licked his claws, enjoying the taste of the human's blood. The child's whimpers continued to give him pleasure as he left the field of flowers.

Danzaemon was most satisfied with the memory and couldn't wait until he faced Sesshomaru. Yes, he would destroy the dog before returning home to claim his rightful place in the clan. Victory over his enemy would start his rein off nicely. He looked over at Gituku, "Come let's see if we can find more delicious prey and totally destroy Sesshomaru's world."

Gituku shivered. There was no talking Danzaemon out this now. Gituku just hoped he survived the battle. He would pledge his allegiance to the winner, if he survived that is.