Chapter 10
Sesshomaru
It had been three days since I began the travel towards the village. The same village I had come to find Inuyasha had been ensnared to a tree for 50 years. I had asked Jaken and Rin stay and wait for me at a far off river, about 200 miles west. I was unsure of the risks in coming here. The only reason I would consider an encounter with my lowly abomination of a half-brother, and his incessant ego, is if it were of the greatest importance.
There has been talk among the small spirit demon tribes, word of a shift in the atmosphere. They are expecting a great entity to arrive in the known world. They are worried that this could mean another powerful enemy. They have no prophecy yet, about what will enter this world and the effect it will have. 'If it is as great as they have foretold then it is my duty to destroy the wretched thing before it grows strong enough to cause any disarray.'
As I came upon the pathway toward the village, I noticed Inuyasha and that foolish girl of his running off into the forest. They were heading towards where Kinomatsao, a powerful bear demon from the Kiytodase clan, was wrecking havoc. A young demon drunk on the power of a Shikon Jewel shard, 'Those foolish children.' As they disappeared from range, I felt something in the air shift as well and for the moments to come I felt all the static in the air give rise to fallen leaves and twig branches. On the high tree branch where I stood, I watched the objects float, as if they were contorted between the sky and earth. So much so that I could feel my own body rise in the contortion as well, my mane flowing in the river of electricity, it was only when I felt the energy reach close to it climax that a burst of blinding white light exploded from the well in the middle of the field. I inwardly was surprised when, in the explosion, a woman's painful scream was audible. The scream was so loud that I could still hear the ringing long after she had stopped.
Hand on sword, I descended to the ground and approached the well with caution. I could feel the immense heat and energy radiating from the depths of the well; I could also clearly smell the fresh blood. It held the strong smell of chemicals, but unmistakably it smelled of a witch with immense spiritual power. I looked over the edge of the well into its depths. She was awake, I could tell from her breathing, but believably she was unable to move. I jumped to the bottom of the well, and considered the situation. 'If this witch were to become a force for the expansion of life instead of the destruction of it, then she could become a very powerful ally. With my own lands in decline, due to the lack of recent available trading between lands, powerful and noble allies were much needed. Though she, to my knowledge, was not of noble blood she could still become very valuable on the front lines.
I decided, at that moment, to take her to a safer place so she could recover from her wounds. Although the well could prevent an ambush we would be trapped, and with the blood that was flowing from the gash in her head, we would surely have visitors, if they weren't on the way now. Her skin was still too hot, from the explosion, to touch. So I laid my fur across her body and picked her up. I leapt from the well into a nearby tree, and to another repeatedly, until I was a good distance from the well. I ran in the opposite direction of Rin and Jaken to ensure their safety. There was no telling what would happen when she healed herself.
I stopped at a small hut on the edge of a spring, surrounded by vast fields of grass. The house wasn't abandoned it housed a young couple, fast asleep in their bed. I knocked on the front door loud enough to wake them. The young man answered the door bewildered. "You and your wife must leave at once, it's a matter of life and death," I said pulling out a small bag of gold and handing it to them "Return in one month, and speak of this to no one, or I will kill you both." The young man reckoning dawning in his face, took the money, and disappeared with his woman.
I walked in the small doorway and toward their futon where I laid the creature. Removing my fur from her, I noticed her skin glowed with the burning heat, that had ignited her body upon entry into this world, as I took my leave on the opposite side of the hut I could still feel the incinerating heat on my skin. This witch was no doubt some unearthly being, no creature of this earth could survive pain so terrible. I examined her figure from my seated post, she wore no clothing, although there was black smudge on the entirety of her skin where ash had settled. Even with the discoloration of the dirt it was easy to notice her body held no hair, this was something that again confirmed my suspicions of her other worldly existence. No women that I had seen of this land were without blemishes, like this creature, and I had seen plenty of women.
The remembrance of those many occurrences and the visual reinforcement of my current company inspired the idea to cover her body in order to stay focused, and keep my guard up against attack. As soon as she gained consciousness I would decide if I would kill her.