Soft morning light illuminated the world below, causing the diurnal creatures to stir. A slight mist hung in the air, growing thicker as the group walked over a fallen log. A river rushed below, and Nazoki held Rin to ensure the girl did not fall. The entire morning, Rin asked if Nazoki was okay. The vixen always insisted she was fine, yet it was obvious she was not. When Rin inquired about the bite mark near her collarbone, Nazoki made the lame excuse of a giant mosquito. While it was obvious that was not true, the girl refrained from asking again.
Vines covered the ground as the group emerged from the forest. Sesshomaru came to a halt, and the vixen placed Rin on the ground. The girl walked to Sesshomaru's side, about ten meters ahead of the vixen. Heavy footsteps approached the group and Sesshomaru peered in the direction of the noise. An old man pushed through the foliage clothed in a dark robe. He stopped and stared at the group grimly. Not a single word was exchanged, as the group watched him, and he them.
"You... Mine is what you seek. In the shadows of the land, resting on the mountain's peak. It could single-handedly suck the life from you all..." The words were spoken in a hollow tone and seemed to echo in the surrounding trees, as if the leaves clung to the oddly phrased statement. The old man started to eerily chuckle, and as he raised his hand to his mouth as if to stifle his laughter, his sleeve fell back and revealed his lack of said hand. With a strong gust of breeze, the man seemed to blow away. All but Sesshomaru seemed startled. The lord simple stared at the spot the man once stood; unimpressed.
"Lord Sesshomaru, who was that?" Rin asked, peering up at the man from behind his leg. The man gazed down at the girl and offered a nearly invisible smile.
"A crazy man. He is not important." Leaving it at that, the man started away. Nazoki stared at the ground and waited for Sesshomaru to reach a distance of five meters before continuing. Ahead of her, Jaken was pulling A-Un by the reins, leading the two-headed dragon behind the lord and Rin. The group walked for another two hours before stopping again. The air was stagnant, and the forest was alarmingly silent. Every breath that was drawn seemed to be a scream compared to the heavy silence. This time, a near skeleton laid at Sesshomaru's feet, and the man studied it. Dust clung together, revealing what was skin at some point. On the ribs, what could only have been a laceration remained.
Some sort of thin sword of spear had pierced the person. Rin had moved backwards, towards Jaken. Though he did not comment, Sesshomaru was thankful for that fact. The child did not need to see anything like that.
"Nazoki." Sesshomaru's calm voice slightly startled the vixen, and she nearly jumped. Internally sighing, Sesshomaru opted to ignore the reaction.
"Yes, M'lord?" She softly asked, shifting her weight to her left leg.
"Come here."
The woman uncomfortably stared into the forest, and all watched her. After a short moment, she hesitantly skulked towards the lord. To his annoyance, she stopped after covering three of the five meters between them. Rin and Jaken watched her slightly confused.
"How dare you! Do as the Lord says!" Jaken scolded, and Nazoki shifted her weight again. Sesshomaru sternly watched her, and the look was enough to make Nazoki shuffle towards him a bit more. Instead of walking to his side, she circled around the remains at his feet and stopped opposite of the man.
A short moment of silence passed before the man spoke.
"Are you able to recreate this scene?"
Slowly nodding, Nazoki stared down at the corpse. The woman knelt at its side, and her ears twitched. Before she did anything she peered up at Rin.
"Please, do not watch."
The girl offered a slight nod, and Sesshomaru glanced at her as Jaken ushered her on the two-headed dragon's back. The Toad pulled Ah-Un's reins away, allowing the reanimation of the past to commence.
Standing up, Nazoki gazed past Sesshomaru. Despite her uneasy expression, the woman's gaze grew empty, and soon an illusion was weaved. The lord studied the brighter world around him, as the body at his feet faded. A human man was walking through the forest, holding a bow. He knelt down, aiming at a young deer only a few meters away. Before the man could release his arrow, a crash sounded. A demon landed only a few feet away, tightly grasping a staff.
The man stared at the demon, as it pushed itself up. Soon a familiar figure came into view.
"Resistance is futile." The words came from none other than Naraku. He was after the rabbit demon. The whole time, the human was watching, but soon attention was set on him. The blond youkai focused his gaze on the human and desperately smirked.
"Give me your power! I need more!" He panted before shoving the end of his staff into the man's ribs.
The end, which rested on the ground, was a spear. The top of the staff had a single hand holding a green diamond shaped crystal. The human screamed, and dropped his bow, but something was different about this staff. The man grew old; withered away within a matter of seconds. Naraku started towards the youkai, and it shot a bolt of energy at the man in the baboon suit. With that burst of energy, the human collapsed to the ground and turned to dust. Panicking the demon stared at the staff.
"Y- You'll never take Zouo's Bane from me!" The blond youkai declared, yanking his staff up, and shoving the spear tip into the ground. An unmatched force wildly blew his short hair around, as a beam of green light shot towards Naraku. All color from the ground drained, and the surrounding plants died. Grayness covered everything in the form of large circle, which was quickly spreading. The attack came in contact with Naraku, and after seconds of sustaining the blow, he disappeared.
Panting, the rabbit cut his attack off, and pulled the staff from the ground. A second of exhaustion passed him and he stared down at the body of the human. Surprisingly, he laughed. Insanity seemed to have taken him, and he shouted to the trees and no one in particular that he needed more. Plunging the edge of the staff back into the dull ground, he drained everything. All that he could. The green gem on the edge of the staff glowed as it stored the power from the forest, and soon the man was on his way.
All that could possible remain was demon life. This corner of the forest was cursed, and Sesshomaru knew it. When the illusion faded, Nazoki returned to herself, and carefully moved away, not even so much as glancing at Sesshomaru. A loud snap could be heard, and the two immediately gazed into the dark forest surrounding them. Though it was the middle of the day, the sun refused to shine where they were. A dull gray light barely reached them, but the trees were black.
"Rin, leave." Sesshomaru barely glanced at his wards as he spoke. They readily agreed and soon they were fleeing. The man did not even acknowledge the fact that Nazoki was still near. Roots shot out of the ground, and Sesshomaru sliced through them with Tokijin. The vixen was also occupied, burning roots, and large bees. A voice interrupted them, yet Sesshomaru seemed to pay it no mind.
"Hn, what is that smell, western lord?" The smoldering tone belonged to Naraku, and the lord knew it. It was also clear that the man was not presently in the same location. Most likely, he was just manipulating it. With a burst of blue flames, Sesshomaru eliminated one of the demonic trees. What he did not realize, was that when he used the fire, Nazoki's dwindled. She stared at her hands, slightly panicked. The man also did not notice the worried glance he received, as he pushed into the dark forest to destroy more.
Nazoki could not force any more flames from herself. She had been drained, in a sense. With almost nothing left to do, the woman knew she had to resort to physical defense, yet that was not her strong suit. Fighting in itself was not her forte. Almost as quickly as she began, vines snaked around her ankle and wrists. As she was pulled to the ground, her breath escaped her in a sharp cry. The roots were dragging her into the darkness.