Chapter 2: Hidden Places
The morning after the new moon was sunny with cool breezes intermittently weaving through the air.
Following the scent trail of the man from the night before, Sesshomaru walked steadily on an untrodden path through a forest. He had lost track of the scent somewhere far back, but he walked on from the vanishing point to see what lay ahead.
Jaken staggered behind, fumbling with his staff.
"Lord Sesshomaru, may I ask where we're going, my lord?"
"Nowhere."
Sesshomaru suddenly stopped.
The air had a different scent, a faint scent resembling his own, but slightly different.
'Father?'
A brief streak of excitement ran down his spine.
"What is it, my lord?" asked Jaken from behind.
"Jaken, move back."
"Yes, My Lord."
When Jaken was out of sight, Sesshomaru leaped forward, spun in mid air, drew the Baksaiga and swung it along with his spin to give the sword more momentum.
As the spin completed -
"BAKSAIGAAA!"
Several streams of energy zigzagged forward, churning the air into violent twisters, rumbling on their paths.
The ground shook. The trees evaporated. A shower of falling leaves swirled around a bloom of the smoke, fogging the area. When the smoke settled, a purple dome barrier revealed itself.
Sesshomaru gazed at it, 'Father's barrier?'
'Did he seal an enemy?'
'Father, why is it that all you did was disabling your enemies.'
Sesshomaru jumped upward, raising his sword.
"I, Sesshomaru, WILL DESTROY THESE VERMIN ONCE - AND - FOR - ALLL !"
The sword came swiftly down on the barrier which wobbled but remained intact.
'Hmph!'
He did that to test his power. Obviously, Totosai had lied about him surpassing his father, an encouraging lie perhaps. It would take far more than obtaining his own sword to surpass his father. Maybe another 700 years of training would Sesshomaru surpass his father.
But he had not been training.
The quest to prolong Rin's life had been his priority for the last 8 years. The answer remained elusive.
Walking around the barrier, he spotted a small strand of his father's hair arching along the base of the dome. Its ends exuded a continuous stream of energy feeding into the barrier.
He reached out, hesitated for a moment, then released his miasma to dissolve the hair. The barrier slowly disappeared from the bottom upward, revealing a verdant garden of herbs. In the middle, a young girl was plucking weeds.
She stood up. A brilliant shine radiated from her sparkling eyes. She giggled.
"Oh, Sesshomaru-sama, you're here."
"RINNNN!" Jaken screamed. He left his protective bush, springing toward the young girl.
"I SAID STAY. BACK. JAKEN!"
Jaken immediately scrambled for a hiding place.
Sesshomaru sprang forward and brought his sword down on the girl, splitting her in half.
A scream ripped through the air.
The disfigured girl dissolved into tiny particles, reassembling into a giant serpent with fluorescent scales. She had three human heads on three flexible long necks, giving her a full circle of vision. She had no arms or legs.
She mocked, "Aww! Toga. You have come to free me? Well, I've missed you."
Sesshomaru just stared at her.
Her tongues slithered out of her mouths.
"You're not Toga?"
Her voice changed to an acrimonious tone.
"Whyyyy, you imposter! Youuuu wretched FOOOOOL!"
She laughed ominously.
"I haven't seen a living creature for centuries. I shall drink your bile to complete my power!"
After the threat, all her three mouths spat out showers of venomous spears in all directions.
With nonstop attacks, the venom spears clouded the air. The trees melted. Spots on the ground where the venom dropped dissolved into small craters.
With swift maneuvers, Sesshomaru dodged the tiny spears that were moving so fast they were almost invisible. Despite his uncanny agility, his mokomoko was hit, a large portion melted, almost eating into his shoulder.
He backed away, anchored himself on a tree and swung his sword. Consecutive waves of Baksaiga energy clashed with the serpent's venomous shower.
Despite his fierce defense, some spears still made it through, heading straight for him.
He jetted upward, disappearing from her sight.
Following his direction with all her heads, she continued to shoot out venomous spears at his him.
As she concentrated her attacks upward, leaving her sides vulnerable, Sesshomaru transformed into his true form and zipped toward her unguarded side. Closing in, he ripped her body in halves, exposing her bile sac. Resuming to his human form, he pierced her bile sac with the Baksaiga.
The liquid inside the sac exploded into small droplets, spilling onto his sword and slowly spreading through its blade.
He jumped backward, allowing a safe distance. He crouched down, preparing for her next attack.
All her heads averted their focus on him, their eyes sending spine chilling glares.
"You IDIOT! You think you can overpower me by such basic combat moves?" she spoke in a throaty voice then released a mocking laughter.
"Your speed is lightning. I'll give you that, but your power is not enough to kill me, Fool!"
The lower half of her body glided a short distance backward. The top half followed and reattached as her malicious laughs resonated through the air.
"Dieeeeee, FOOL!"
She spat out another stream of venom shower.
"HAH?!"
No venom came out.
Her eyes widened, her mouths agape, she shot cutting glares at the Baksaiga that was coated with a dark green viscous liquid.
"My venom!"
The Baksaiga pulsated, exuding a green net around the green liquid, fusing the liquid into its blade before returning to its original shiny splendor.
The scent of terror emanated from the serpent.
'Hmph! In that case - '
"Take your own poison, VERMINNN!"
Sesshomaru swung his sword, sending a dark green veil of venomous spears into the serpent's entire body.
She let out a long terrifying high-pitched howl as she melted.
Jaken came out from hiding. His lower triangular lip was on the floor. His eyes were two terrified orbs.
"Wha! My lord, that attack - "
Sesshomaru's eyes wandered back and forth over his sword. Raising the sword, he ejected a small beam of light green spears into a bush nearby, melting it instantly.
'Hmph! How interesting!'
He sheathed his sword and resumed his walk in the same direction he was heading previously.
...