So here's the second chapter. Just thought I'd point out the obvious and let you know that I do not own InuYasha or the characters. Amaya is the only character I own. I mean if I owned InuYasha do you really think I'd be here writing about Sesshomaru? No. I'd be poking him with a stick.
Sesshomaru: I wouldn't allow you to poke me with : You would if I threatened to erase you from existence.
Amaya:…She got you there Sesshomaru.
Sesshomaru: Silence. Both of you.
Sorry this took me so long! Bad writers block and a case of Uncooperative Muse.
Her eyes had darkened to almost an emerald green and Sesshomaru could smell her unease and her frustration. He felt the corner of his mouth turn up into a smirk. He waited, masked by the shadows, to see if she would drop her sword and turn away. But she didn't. She waited for him to step forward, her hold on her blade never faltering. Her face was a blank mask as cold as granite, her eyes were two dark jewels, narrowed and unblinking. He had to admit, she was strong, both mentally and physically.
They stood for several more minutes, locked in silent combat with each other. Neither moving. Neither wanting to give up and lose.
Come now Sesshomaru. Whispered a voice with in the back of his mind, a voice of reason. I think you've made her suffer long enough. Look, her arm is shaking. Sure enough, when Sesshomaru looked at Amaya's arm he could see the muscles twitching under her skin. This amused him slightly, but he composed himself and decided to let her win this once. And with that decision made he stepped from the shadows of the trees above and into the moonlight. With amber eyes he watched as her body relaxed and her arm dropped to her side. With a relived sigh she sheathed her sword, he face twisting in discomfort when she moved her arm.
"I was afraid I scared you off." She said simply. Sesshomaru just snorted in response, not amused that she thought she could scare him off. "Are you following me again?"
"Not in the slightest." He said lowly. She smiled then, obviously amused by something. This irritated him more than it should of, and he found himself narrowing his eyes in her direction. She laughed at this and turned her head to grab a red ribbon off of one of the rocks.
"Come now Sesshomaru. You don't frighten-" She turned her attention back to the male demon only to find that he know stood directly in front of her, his amber colored eyes were hard, emotionless. She let out a small yelp of surprise and stepped back.
"You were saying?" For a moment his mask vanished and she could see the dark amusement in those cold eyes. Her lips pulled back over her teeth and she snarled with irritation. The amusement was gone then and she stepped around Sesshomaru, tying her thick black hair back with the ribbon.
"I was informing you to the fact that you don't frighten me. Surprise? Yes. Irritate? Of course, but you have never frightened me." She said, turning her silver-green orbs to his face. He said nothing then and Amaya decided to take her leave. She scanned her surroundings carefully. There was a village of demon slayers a few miles to the east, so she had to make sure she kept away as her body could not take on any demon slayers right now. She sighed and decided she would take her chances.
"Irritate? How is it that this Sesshomaru irritates you?" Amaya stopped and looked over her shoulder to see Sesshomaru was still standing by the hot spring. He had one eyebrow arched in slight confusion, though his eyes showed no emotion. Amaya turned swiftly on her heels, her hair fanning out and landing over her shoulder. Sesshomaru felt something strange in the pit of his stomach, but he chose to ignore it. Amaya watched him closely for a moment.
"You irritate me by just being you." She said with out hesitation. Sesshomaru felt his eyes widen in surprise at the statement, as no one dared speak to him in that manor. "And that's all there is to it." Her eyes were blazing brightly and Sesshomaru was aware that she was recovering from what ever had weakened her body. She smiled then, and it wasn't a pleasant smile either. "Now. If you'll excuse me." She turned again and this time vanished into the shadows. It was nearly impossible for Sesshomaru to fight the urge to follow her, but some how he managed to turn and walk in the opposite direction.
Amaya stepped through the darkness cautiously, eyeing her surroundings. The last time she had ventured to this side of the mountain she was frustrated by the fact that she had lost a battle with another demon and had been humiliated beyond belief. So she took her anger out on the villagers, slaughtering over a dozen people for no reason. Ever since the demon slayers had been on the look out for her so that they could rid the world of her for good. Amaya found herself grinning at this thought. They may have been well trained, but she had been around for over a century. She could crush them like they were bugs.
She felt her sword, Hou-ou, begin to tremble on her hip. She heard the rattling of a chain before she saw the blade of a Kusarigama flying her way. She jumped back, drawing her sword and blocking the blade quickly. The blade was pulled back and it vanished into the tree tops. Amaya scanned the shadows, cursing herself. If only she had been paying attention! She could smell them now, the four demon slayers that lurked in the trees. They kept moving, trying to confuse her. With an irritated snarl Amaya closed her eyes and listened. She had to admit, these ones were good at what they did, unlike others she had come in contact with. There was a sharp in take of breath to her right, about thirty feet behind her. There! Her mind screamed.
Sheathing her sword, Amaya pushed off the ground with the heel of her foot, spinning in mid air. The demon slayer had only a second to act, and he didn't act fast enough. Amaya's clawed fingers wrapped around his throat and with a snarl she whipped him out of the tree, sending him crashing into the ground below. She heard his weak bones snap under the force but she knew he wasn't dead, for she could still hear his heart beat. From across the way an arrow shot out of the trees, but she sliced it in half before it got to her body. She grinned to herself, as this would be the first time she would face a demon slayer who was trained with a bow and arrow. While lost in her thoughts another arrow had been fired. She jumped up to a higher tree branch, cursing herself.
Everything grew still again and she knew the slayers were slowly making their way toward her.
"Oh what to do…what to do?" She whispered, her eyes darting back and forth. She could hear one of the slayers coming around on her right. By the sound of the breathing and the way the weight was thrown from tree to tree she guessed that it was a male, younger and less experienced than the other, for she heard no sound to specify in which direction the other was coming from. The wind shifted and she inhaled deeply. A female was coming in from behind her. "But that's only three…" She mumbled, her eyes widening. The fourth was hiding, waiting for the other two to chase her out before attacking. She smirked. It was a good plan, she had to admit. Good but stupid. Closing her eyes she focused.
They've stopped. She realized with slight surprise. The two slayers had stopped in their tracks while she just stood in the tree waiting. The third was still out cold and the fourth was still hiding. Carefully she drew her sword again. Holding it parallel to the ground she called,
"Wings of the Phoenix!" She swung her blade in an arch, watching as the fire came to life and sailed across the opening between the line of trees, taking the form of a great bird of fire before crashing into the timber it was aimed for. There was a startled gasp from behind her, a good ten feet away. Amaya watched as the trees caught on fire, burning out quickly as the attack subsided. So was the will of Hou-ou. "I know your behind me." She said calmly, knowing very well that the demon slayers could hear her. "And to be quite frank I really don't want to waste any more of my energy on your silly game. Now, I'm going to get down from this tree and walk away. Attempt to attack me and you will be met by the flames of my blade."
"Like Hell you're walking away!" It was the younger male who yelled out to her, before leaping toward her from the tree. Amaya snarled and swung her blade again, severing the hand which gripped the boys Katana. He screamed and crashed to the ground, snapping his neck when he landed. Amaya glared down at the corpse and shook her head as the other slayer let out a scream.
"Brother!" She cried, leaping from her hiding place. She landed beside her fallen sibling, sobbing. But her sobs turned to screams of rage as she turned her eyes to Amaya, drawing back and shooting an arrow. Amaya hissed as the arrow lodged itself into her shoulder. "Evil wretch! I'll kill you for this!" She screamed, launching herself upwards. Amaya stood where she was and waited. As the girl came close enough Amaya grabbed her by her throat, tightening her hold on the girls windpipe. She struggled in vain, clawing at Amaya's hand.
"Now unless you want to end up like your brother I suggest you take your comrades back to your village. Let your people know that Amaya of the Rain will not tolerate weakling mortal attempts to slay her. Do you understand me?" The girl-though still choking- glared at the she demon. Amaya tightened her hold. "I said do you understand me , whelp?" This time the girl nodded and Amaya dropped her to the ground, watching as she choked in oxygen. She stepped out of the tree and around the demon slayers, tearing the arrow out of her flesh and dropping it to the ground. Before walking away she heard the female yell out a threat, but she chose to ignore it. Their mild threats didn't worry her any as they weren't strong enough to take her down.
Once she had traveled far enough away she concealed herself behind a thick tree. Resting her head against the rough bark, touching her bleeding shoulder. The poison used on the arrow tip was nothing her body couldn't handle, but the wound still hurt like Hell.
"Damn…" She muttered, resting her bloodied hand against the tree, pushing herself away. "Another good kimono ruined. I'll have to stop by and see Ayaka to get another one made." She shook her head sadly, stumbling through the forest. Her body had gotten to work fighting the poison that had been launched into her system and it was taking a lot of energy out of her. She made her way to a relatively large mountain stream that ran clear and cold through the mountain. Using her good arm she stripped away her clothing until she was standing beside the water in the thin white kimono she wore under her other layers of clothing. She groaned at the sight of the blood and how it had spread from the initial wound, around her breast and onto her right arm.
Stepping away from her clothing, making her way deep into the forest, as far away from the water as she could. She climbed up a pile of jagged rocks, cursing as the climb caused her shoulder to bleed even more. She found it ironic that, while her body was trying to prevent one thing from killing her it wasn't able to prevent another. She kept climbing until she found what she was looking for. A group of flowers, about three inches tall with gray-white petals set nestled in the rocky soil. Picking herself a generous amount of the plant she made her way back to the stream. Once there she dropped the shoulder of her clothing until the wound was exposed. With careful fingers she plucked the leaves of the plant, one after the other, and popped them into her mouth, chewing them carefully while she rinsed the blood from her wound. When she was satisfied that the wound was cleaned enough, she spit the pulp of the leaves into her hands, gingerly applying it to the wound.
Soon the bleeding stopped and Amaya felt the relief wash over her. Settling in the leaves below her and resting her head and back against a tree she closed her eyes. Her body temperature had spiked while it fought off the demon slayer's poison. She was glad to be rid of the thick fabric of her clothing, glad for the soft breeze that seemed to seep through the thin kimono she wore now. Somewhere behind her, someone was walking through the underbrush. She had half a mind to try to fight, but her body couldn't take it right now.
Let them kill me if they must… She thought darkly, feeling the rest of her energy disappear. The last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was the feeling of someone lifting her from the ground.
In case you're wondering, the plant she used to stop the bleeding of her wound was yarrow. I took some research, but I found a plant for her to use.
:)