Chapter Thirteen

The monks of the Order respectfully waited for their master, adverting their eyes from his meditating form to allow him the peace he needed to track down Haruna. He had his straw hat removed, but he never took off the orange cloth wrapped around his forehead. Not all the monks that were with him on this journey were informed of all his secrets. Katsuo, Rikumaru and Zenshi had only their own guesses about what was hiding underneath that bandana. However, the monks believed firmly that they knew everything they needed to and never tried to find out more. The loyality to the Order was deeply ingrained in each member's heart.

"Haruna is heading back to the sanctuary, her course is mount Fuji," Kodama said to his band of monks after he was done. He got up to his feet and dusted his clothes.

"Perhaps she has reconciled with her duties to the Order?" Jinsei replied.

"Whatever her motive, this could both be in our advantage and to our loss. High priestess Mei reported that the crystal which corresponds to the gate has shattered. Our enemy is on the loose."

The other monks nodded sternly, understanding their dire situation. They had to retrieve the scroll which contained important information needed to effectively fight the Sa'keeth. They trusted in the skills of the other monks who remained at Yamanakako, but the Sa'keeth would surely try to locate their temple and attack.

"We must chase Haruna like hounds."

"Master?" Yuhi said behind him. He turned around to face the middle-aged monk.

"I'm familiar with these mountains, my birth town is not far away. If we want to reach the sanctuary fastest we could go through a tunnel I'm aware of in that mountain over there."

He pointed out which of the three peaks ahead he meant.

"It is a familiar shortcut also used by the townsmen. A priest used to bless it, restraining most demons from being able to enter. It should be as safe as any other path."

"Are you sure about this? How much shorter is it?" Kodama inquired.
"I've used it myself on different occasions, Kodama-sama. The townsfolk used half a day less traveling to get to the town on the other side," Yuhi answered.

Kodama was thinking. If they went around these mountains it would take them more than a day. The terrain was rough and unknown to him. Currently all extra hours possibly gained were a blessing. Perhaps he would be able to intercept Haruna, this would be good fortune indeed. He had to convince her to go through the initiation. If she would survive... she would become a terrible foe to the Sa'keeth. The initiation process deepened the understanding of one's inner-works and the depth of one's spirituality... fragments of the past would be exposed. To some with the right genes, their link to the Sa'keeth become unquestionable. The initiation was quite simple: a candidate would be brought before the highest priest or priestess in rank and be given a concoction to drink. The concoction contained a potent drug that would instantly make the drinker fall into a deep trance. The candidate would travel through the depths of their mind, haunted by hallucinations, suddenly aware they've been given poison if they don't adapt their body to the circumstances. Shinkei seigyo, the nerve control technique, would be a stepping stone giving the candidate the possibility to overcome.If unsuccessful at fighting the alien substance… they would die...

The right genes. Kodama had the right DNA, the blood of centuries of monks ran through his veins, and so did Wakana. In Haruna he expected it to run even thicker. And that's why the Order needed her. That combination of genetic material was the formula to deterring and understanding the Sa'keeth. Wakana, Haruna's mother, had been given the duty of Gatekeeper. She held one of the four artifacts created by the founders of the Order and Inu no Gyakusatsu: the Necklace of Transcendence. It was a hard blow to their organization that the necklace had been lost and Lady Wakana died. The connection they once had established with Inu no Gyakusatsu and his kin had watered down to nothing. The new heir of the Inu-clan had never shown after Inu no Taisho's death. All these ill fortunes raised the necessity to find a suitable member to the Order. Kodama firmly believed Haruna's abilities were needed. He regretted that he didn't prepare a flask of the concoction before going on his quest. Haruna might die from the poison, but it was a risk he was prepared to take... if it could mean sparing the world of a great danger. If the Sa'keeth managed to arrive at the temple before he did it might proof hard to brew it...

'Lady Wakana...'

A bitter taste in his mouth, a tinge of sadness. The burden of the high priest... He quickly tucked away those useless emotions.
Kodama's train of thought only lasted a few minutes. He had decided: he would have to utilize the opportunity of crossing roads with Haruna. They were going to enter the tunnel.

It was the break of dawn and the rain poured down on them. They had crossed the distance of the lake and looking below Sesshomaru spotted some strange markings. He descended and Ah-Un followed him. From fifty yards high with the rain running across her face Haruna could not see what caught his attention. Now, getting closer to the ground, she saw the spots too. It looked like black colored blood. What was even stranger... it didn't wash away with the rain.

Sesshomaru walked closer to the spots. He stood still, observing, taking in his surrounding. The scents here were normal, nothing out of the ordinary. Yet... these spots lay thick and unharmed by the rain on the ground, the grass in direct contact with it brown and dead. Something unfamiliar... unnatural. The drops were each separated by a feet or less, a trail running towards the forest ahead. He tried to distinct the scent unique to the stuff and to his surprise there was none. It was as though the substance had taken over the features of its surrounding, smelling like grass and dirt. Haruna stood next to Sesshomaru. She recognized what she was seeing. These were miniature versions of the puddle in the bear-clan cave.

"The same tarry fluid. The Sa'keeth must be wounded, I'm guessing it was due to the deity's attack," she said to the stoic taiyokai.

"The trail runs into the forest, but it has no scent. I'll follow it nonetheless and see what we are dealing with," he responded.

"I agree, that is a good idea." She hovered with her head above one of the markings.

"Strange how this stuff corresponds to its surrounding. It can't be washed away and it killed the grass. It will be easy to track the wounded one down if everything it touches is damaged like the grass here."

The splashes held no reflection. It was black viscous darkness. She remembered how it ran up her hand when she touched it. She spread her hands above the area.

"I'll purify them."

She emitted spiritual energy through her hands and the splashes diminished in size, bubbling and vanishing into gray smoke. Sesshomaru stared at the process wondering what type of enemy would have blood like this. They continued on foot in silence, Jaken following them on Ah-Un. The forest's growth was thick here. A roof of leaves shielded the light and to their luck also most of the rain. Once a while a drop fell on their heads or it rained through gaps. The air was filled with the scent of wet earth and plants. The mossy ground under them muffled their footsteps. An exotic bird called in the distance hidden in the branches. Sesshomaru outwardly looked calm as ever, but his heightened canine senses caught the details around him: the squirrel that was hiding in the tree, the fox burrow up ahead, the river that coursed through the forest quarter of a mile away from them. A different smell entered his nostrils... metallic and salty... and decaying. A dead animal. They were walking straight towards it. A few minutes later they entered a small clearing, close to the fox burrow.

"Oh... that's so cruel... poor thing," Haruna mumbled.

A fox was lying on her side, tongue hanging from her mouth, her beady light brown eyes unseeing. A large gap had been taken from her ribs, exposing half broken bones and ripped flesh. Flies were sitting on the wound. Laying eggs and eating. A strong rotting smell drifted her way.

"It was killed without use... Just for the heck of it..." she continued, "it's strange... Animals usually don't kill each other off like this."

"Hnn," Sesshomaru responded. Whoever was hungry decided fox meat wasn't eatable. He looked around and spotted the other signs of a passenger. A broken twig, the shallow imprint of a clawed foot in the moss, the black fluid sticking to the leaves of a bush where it had passed.

"It went this way," he told Haruna, pointing at the liquid she could purify.

"This bush is also showing signs of death," she muttered under her breath when she started to remove the smudges. The edges of the leaves were yellowing and brittle.

A sound from far off caught Sesshomaru's attention. A loud crashing. He decided he needed a better view and jumped up the tree branches to get to the top of the forest deck. Haruna jumped back on Ah-Un and flew up together with Jaken. She pushed away the branches that hit her as they flew up before breaking through the canopy. Now Haruna too heard the loud snapping of a breaking tree, groaning before it crashed to the ground. About a mile removed several trees were getting bulldozed by something. They could both feel a weak demonic aura. Sesshomaru jumped forward from tree to tree and Ah-Un followed in the air. He landed on top of a rock formation that sticked out just a few yards above the tree line. The plateau was large enough for Ah-Un to land on and Haruna left the safety of the two-headed dragon's back. Sesshomaru looked ahead, aware of every movement in the thicket. Haruna saw how the treetops gave way and crashed down with an ear deafening drum, but the source of this purposeless rampage was still hidden. Clearly however they were standing in it's path. The sounds died down. A deep quiet fell over the forest. A threatening aura was filling the atmosphere, making the hairs in her neck stand. Sesshomaru could sense she was readying herself for something to happen. He could smell the beast: it reeked of decay, it reeked of... something feral, with the intention to kill. Rustling in the bushes... his eyes focused on it, knowing he was watched back. Two black tentacles shot out of hiding, speeding towards Haruna and Sesshomaru standing on the rock.

'Fast,' Sesshomaru thought, quickly drawing his sword. The tentacles changed course and collided with the rock under their feet, the impact made the ground under them shake. The rock split and crumbled down in big chunks. Sesshomaru seemed unaffected, standing firm on the shifting piece that started to fall down. Haruna and Sesshomaru were separated, she tried to keep standing up using shinkei seigyo but the shocks coursing through the piece of rock were so violent she was unable to. She fell to her knees with her palms on the rock and peered over the ledge. The tentacles were being retracted. Dust rose up from the collapsing rock formation entering her airways when she inhaled, stinging her eyes.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Haruna!" Jaken screamed from above. The moment the tentacles made impact Ah-Un carried him up to a safe distance.

Sesshomaru noticed Haruna was in danger. He quickly made his way to her and grabbed her waist. He pulled her close to him with his free arm while he was holding Bakusaiga with his other.

A shock coursed through Haruna's body when Sesshomaru leaped down and instantly picked her up. Or... was it because she had never been this close to him before? The grip of his arm was strong but not suffocating. Her side was pressed against his hard armor. Always distant and cold... Sesshomaru, Lord of the West... His chest heaved up and down calmly behind that iron plate, he was not at all impressed by the attack. Sesshomaru... came to rescue her again.

Sesshomaru noticed how tensed Haruna was. He perceived the smell of her fear by the sudden fierceness of the attack. But now she was relaxing... the smell of fear faded... the scent of almond oil from her recently washed hair and the rain clinging to her clothes remained. He smoothly landed on the ground and let her down. The tentacles were hanging motionless in mid-air. They bubbled and thick blobs glided down, sometimes falling to the ground, as though they were bleeding. Out of the bushes small dancing tentacles appeared before finally the creature moved into their sight, stepping out in the open. It was a bear yokai, in full form, resembling a six yards high grizzly bear. Two bloodshot eyes stared at them with pupils widened. It's entire body was covered in a deep black slime, bubbling, globs running down the sides of its body and disappearing back into its flesh. Wherever the normal body of the yokai was visible blood seeped out of his fur. The slime vibrated and took the shape of several elongated worms growing out of its back. They twisted and knitted together to form six pair of arms… Hand palms and then fingers appeared out of the ends. A rumbling noise came from deep in the bear yokai's throat and rose to a high pitched screech that made Haruna's ears ring. This creature... was made of darkness... was it one of the Sa'keeth the wise woman had warned them about?

"Hate... I hate... I'm filled with hate... You are living and breathing in the sunlight while I've been in the shadows too long..." a deep growling voice said to them. The tentacles shot forward so fast Haruna's eyes were barely able to keep track. Sesshomaru jumped forward and slashed down Bakusaiga, the sword crackled with green flashes, but the tentacles were not cut. Some blood splatter fell down to the ground, but the viscous material was flexible and strong. Sesshomaru was alarmed. He changed the course of the attack but it didn't have the effect he expected. Ever since acquiring Bakusaiga there hadn't been a living thing in his path able to resist it's devastating power. He regarded it as his strongest weapon, his very own, grown out of his previously lost arm when he matured as a demon. Yet here it had no effect.

Two of the tentacles retracted while the other four started to whirl around Sesshomaru, trying to entrap him. The other two went after Haruna. She focused her energy on her legs and jumped aside, feeling the wind as they nearly hit her face. Her feet scraped across the ground as she threw a couple of sutra charms at them. They stuck on the arms of the beast. She held her middle and index finger up and formed an 'o' with the others.

"Hikari no Kiyome!" she exclaimed. The letters of the sutra incantation lit up and a white light began to spread through the tentacles, purifying them. The beast simply discarded the part of its arms where Haruna's attack was breaking them down. The stump that remained bubbled and globs splattered down on the earth. Meanwhile Sesshomaru was fending off the four tentacles which came after him, dealing only minor damage. The ground was slowly dotted with splashes of the Sa'keeth's viscous blood, but the beast itself was tireless. He was on the offensive and enjoyed seeing the distress written on the priestess' face and the stoic yokai's mild annoyance.

"All the fear you have inside now cannot compare to what your ancestors did to my family. No pain can ever compare, no death too cruel," he viciously growled.

"Sesshomaru-sama, we have to change strategy!" Haruna exclaimed. He ran forward, dodging the tentacles which crashed down in the ground around him. He jumped and striked the beast on it's forehead with Bakusaiga. The Sa'keeth grunted and the lightning from Bakusaiga started to spread across his body. The viscous slime moved across his back and gathered under the sword in defense. The air was static from the discharge of Sesshomaru's weapon. Their power was equally matched. Sesshomaru frowned lightly as he added more power to his attack. He realized the Sa'keeth tried to avoid him from hitting the bear yokai's body that was covered by slime. With an effort the creature repelled Sesshomaru. The taiyokai soared through the sky and landed close to Haruna.

"Maybe we should combine our attack?" she suggested.

"You may try," he responded, never leaving his eyes off the Sa'keeth. He sped forward without warning. Haruna tried to reach the monster from the left. A black arm shot straight at her. She ducked and slid across the earth. Haruna turned her head to the left... Sesshomaru was already close to the demon, he was about to attack. She quickly grabbed a few sutra charms and tossed them at the demon.

"Hikari no Kiyome!" she yelled another time. The demon shielded it's face with a tentacle before they could hit, but she tried to purify faster than he could discard his arm. The white light was spreading through his arm racing to his body... Sesshomaru lifted Bakusaiga...

The light of purification reached the demon's head at the same time Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga hit. The Sa'keeth screamed in pain. The slime was gathering on the back of the bear and there fell to the ground. It ran away from the body whose flesh was getting torn by the ripping attacks from Bakusaiga, tearing it apart. Only the blob remained. It bubbled... morphing into the shape of an orc's face and chest: the Sa'keeth's true form. Two clawed hands rose from the puddle. He placed them next to his torso as though he was planning to push himself up and out, but he collapsed trying. He fell on his side in the grass. His gray eyes first looked at Sesshomaru and then slowly turned to Haruna. His face twisted into a scowl.

"You! You are... the daughter of traitors... We'll pay you back with your own coin..." he gurgled.

"Traitors, what do you mean?" Haruna asked walking closer.

"All we wanted was to be left in peace... but your kind abandoned us, provoked us... All there is now is hate. We shall drench this world in our hate." He glared up at her. Suddenly his arm elongated and shot up at Haruna's chest. He aimed straight for her heart...

A/N: Thank you for coming so far to read chapter 13!
Is the pace in which things progress alright? Sometimes it's difficult to understand from the writer's POV. If you would be so kind to review and let me know what you think, that'd be great ^_^
~ Demiyah