Chapter Two – The Duelists

Standing in the clearing with his sword drawn and ready for battle was Sesshomaru. His amber-colored eyes stared indifferently at a formidable demon that stood opposite of him about ten yards away. This demon walked upright and had long, sloping arms that almost touched the ground. His spine was lined with a column of sharp spikes and his bottom jaw jutted out to accommodate two large, pointed incisors. His eyes glowed an ominous red as he peered down at Sesshomaru. A couple of large trees lay uprooted on their sides not far off in the distance; Rin could only suppose that the large demon must have done the damage. The big demon began to speak in a low, gruff voice.

"Why must you prolong your inevitable demise?" the demon hissed as he glowered over Sesshomaru. "Stop this hesitation and let me end your life quickly. Naraku commands it!"

Sesshomaru stood his ground and observed the demon nonchalantly. "Who is it that you think you are dealing with? Naraku is a fool if he thinks another one of his pitiful incarnations is enough to take me down. Do us both a favor and run back to your master...unless you'd like to end up like your brother, Goshinki." Sesshomaru motioned to his sword, the tokijin, without breaking his cold gaze on the demon.

The large demon sniggered at this remark and stared directly into Sesshomaru's eyes. "You talk as if it was you who killed Goshinki…but he died at the hands of your brother, Inuyasha, did he not?"

Sesshomaru winced at the sound of his half-brother's name. "How did you know that?"

"I possess the ability to read minds, as my late brother Goshinki did," the big demon surmised, "but you will soon learn that I, Eichi, am much stronger than he ever was. Allow me to demonstrate my true power." Eichi glanced about his surroundings in search for the perfect victim on which to test his abilities. The only other living creature caught in his sights was a small squirrel that had poked its head timidly from a group of bushes nearby. Eichi crooked a vicious smile as a red beam of light shot from his eyes and encased the squirrel, immediately stunning it mid-step. The poor woodland creature trembled violently as its fur began to gray with age, until it eventually rotted where it stood, leaving a dried-up carcass in its place. Sesshomaru observed this display calmly, although he was admittedly impressed by this demon's power.

Eichi chuckled and faced Sesshomaru again. "You are impressed with my power, as I knew you would be. Now then, enough time has been wasted…it's time for you to die!"

Sesshomaru barely had time to act as Eichi cast a fiery beam in his direction. Rather than dodge it, Sesshomaru raised the tokijin quickly, allowing the beam to ricochet off the blade. The beam hit a nearby tree, causing a limb to split and fall. A slight curl came to Sesshomaru's lips as he eyed the dumbfounded demon and the withered tree limb in the distance. "It would seem that Goshinki's fangs are able to withstand your power," Sesshomaru said in an arrogant tone. "Pity. I had expected more of a challenge from you."

A rustling sound in the woods nearby caught the attention of the duelists. The burly demon sniffed at the air and chuckled in delight. "A mortal girl is watching us from behind those trees. She smells deliciously afraid."

At that moment, Sesshomaru's blank expression gave way to that of concern, and his heart leapt into his throat as he realized that the mortal girl watching them was Rin.

Eichi sensed the sudden change in Sesshomaru's demeanor and observed him thoughtfully. "You…care for this girl. I can sense it. How absurd, a demon caring for a mortal. And to think that I had initially sensed no warm feelings in your heart…you're even more pathetic than I thought!"

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and tightened the grip around his sword handle. "Leave the girl out of this. Your fight is with me."

Eichi laughed sadistically and licked his lips with a long, snakelike tongue as he stared unblinkingly Rin. "She knows we are aware of her presence now, but refuses to run because she does not want to leave you. How sweet. Then I suppose it's only fitting that you should die together!"

Eichi diverted his attention from Sesshomaru to Rin and took a giant leap in her direction. Sesshomaru gritted his teeth and trailed directly behind him with his sword prepared to strike. Although his concentration was firmly set on obliterating this meddlesome demon from existence, a brief sensation of fear came over him as Rin's tiny figure came more clearly into view. She stood paralyzed in fright as the two giant teeth of Naraku's incarnation approached her at lightening speed. She looked as if she was trying to scream, but couldn't. Sesshomaru had just begun to make a motion to warn Rin to take cover; at the last moment, the demon whirled around and struck at Sesshomaru with his claws. Sesshomaru barely dodged the attack and his kosode ripped in several places where the claws grazed him. He fell to his feet several yards away from Rin, and clutched at his torn kosode sleeve in shock. "Of course…that demon can predict my every move…"

"A clever observation," Eichi said, quickly pinning Rin beneath his giant hand. Rin emitted a frightened squeak as she struggled against her attacker. "Lord Sesshomaru!" she shrieked.

"You were so sure that my attack would be focused on the girl that you fell right into my trap. Apparently you aren't as smart as I thought," the demon remarked. Sesshomaru could hear Rin struggling beneath the weight of the big demon's hand. Try as she might, no amount of wriggling would free her from his grasp.

Sesshomaru detested this demon with every fiber of his being, and he detested this predicament even more. Such a lowly demon gaining the upperhand by using Rin...and because Eichi could read his mind, there seemed to be little hope that he could make it to Rin in time before she was mercilessly killed. Even in this trying situation, Sesshomaru did not distress. If need be, he could always use tensaiga to resurrect Rin if she was killed by this demon. "Since you can read minds, you must know that I possess a sword that will heal the girl with a single stroke. Your efforts to intimidate me with her possible death are rendered useless."

The demon laughed heartily at Sesshomaru's words. "That might be true, under normal circumstances. But this is different. I know how your sword, the tensaiga, works. It merely eliminates the messengers from the otherworld so that the soul will stay with the body, does it not? However, my powers allow me to suck the youth from the body, so that even if you could bring this girl back to life, she would be nothing but a haggard old woman, and would die of natural causes soon after! Now you see just how serious I am."

Sesshomaru bared his fangs, expressing his frustration for the first time. "Believe me when I say that if Rin dies, my wrath will be great, and you will regret ever laying eyes on me."

"Is that so? Then let's see you try to stop me."

Rin was quickly encased in a beam of light that was cast from the big demon's eyes. A warm, tingling sensation came over her and slowly developed into a numbing pain. She lay powerless on the ground as her limbs began to ache and swell. She watched in horror as her hands slowly increased in size and her clothes began to feel snug around her body. "Lord—Sesshomaru!" she gasped.

Sesshomaru could not contain his anger any longer. Watching Rin at the mercy of some worthless incarnation drove him wild with rage. He knew what had to be done, and allowed the fury that was stirring inside of him to dominate all of his senses. His eyes deepened into a bloody crimson as a strong wind began to circle at his feet, then quickly rose to envelope his entire body. His hair was sent into a violent wave of silver tresses behind him and his delicate features began to change into that of a dog. It didn't matter to him if the demon knew what he was doing; the demon would not survive the fight, and Rin was not going to die.

The true form of Sesshomaru now towered over the demon; rows of sharp teeth protruded from his doglike snout and his large, red eyes burned with complete loathing as he stared down at his foe. Eichi had expected the change to occur, but did not know what consequences would come with it. Sesshomaru could smell a twinge of fear on the demon, who was now twice as small as he was. Sesshomaru wasted no more time; he lunged at the demon with his teeth bared, prepared to bite him in half.

The demon released his spell on Rin and cast her limp body into the bushes as he dove out of the way of Sesshomaru's menacing teeth. Sesshomaru growled as he eyed the demon, licking his jaws hungrily in his approach. Eichi made a desperate attempt to cast his death-bringing light on Sesshomaru, who jumped out of the way effortlessly.

Eichi walked in slow circles around Sesshomaru, preparing for the dog demon's next attack. He laughed, albeit somewhat nervously, to mask the fear that he felt. "You're a fast one in your true form, I'll give you that," Eichi credited him. "But I'm afraid that won't matter in the end. I can predict your next move exactly. There is nothing you can do. You are powerless." Eichi laughed again, taunting his opponent, while he continued to sidestep in a big arc around him. "I will merely keep him distracted and then I will make my move when he least expects it," Eichi thought to himself, mentally preparing himself for his next attack.

However, Eichi was slowly discovering that it was impossible to hear Sesshomaru's thoughts while he was in his true form. While the typical demon or human brain thinks in words, a dog's brain does not. Instead, Eichi had to assess Sesshomaru's moves by sensing nonverbal cues. And this was an ability that he was not used to using. Why would he be, when he could typically read minds?

Eichi stared unwavering at Sesshomaru and waited for a sign of an attack. Sesshomaru's dog form merely followed him with his eyes and took small steps in place as Eichi circled him. Eichi began sidestepping a little faster now, misstepping and nearly falling as his mind was becoming slowly consumed with the realization that he couldn't calculate when an attack would come. He caught himself and continued moving in his circle, hoping that Sesshomaru didn't catch on.

"If you're trying to intimidate me, it won't work," Eichi shouted frantically. He meant it as a threat, but the tone in his voice revealed he was mostly reassuring himself. "One wrong move and I'll suck the life out of you until you're just a pile of dust."

The dog's visage remained fixed and calm, as he followed Eichi's every step with his burning eyes and quiet panting.

Eichi misstepped again, and regained his composure more clumsily this time. His breathing had become erratic. He was slowly giving way to panic. "I mean it, you cursed mutt," Eichi spat. "Whatever you're planning, it won't work. I can kill you at any second. Any second, do you hear me?"

The dog licked his jaws again but made no motion towards the cowardly incarnation.

"I refuse to play this game any longer!" Eichi screeched in a wavering tone. His body had begun to tremble. "It's time for you to die!" Eichi half-stepped on a rock in his path that he hadn't noticed in his borderline hysteria and stumbled for a third time. This was it.

Sesshomaru lunged forward before the incarnation could steady himself and bit down as hard as he could. He reveled in the delightful sensation of his giant canines sinking into Eichi's flesh. Eichi let out a mangled cry as his insides were effortlessly punctured like rubber balloons. Slowly his torso was torn away from his lower half as Sesshomaru's powerful jaws continued to clamp down. His bowels unraveled onto the ground in a sloppy heap and his black, vile blood drained out of him like thick oil. The glow in his eyes dulled to blackness. And then in an instant, his remains disintegrated into dust.

"That fool…he didn't stand a chance," Sesshomaru thought to himself as he allowed his normal calm to sweep over him and transform him into his former self. Eichi was not so hard to defeat after all. All it required was the wearing of his patience.

After the last of the wind that circled around him died away, Sesshomaru's focus shifted to Rin, who had not emerged from the bushes since she had been thrown there by Eichi. "Rin, you can come out now." He had expected the girl to rustle about the bushes, weakened but unharmed, or call out for him at the very least…but her voice did not call back to him, and the bushes sat completely motionless as he approached them. "Rin, come out from there." He parted the branches aside, searching for a sign of her somewhere, and becoming slightly alarmed after entertaining the notion that Eichi may have succeeded in killing her after all. "This is the last time I'm going to say it-" but he could not finish his sentence once his eyes beheld what they saw next.