A fish allowing the current of a river to take it where it may.
A bird, scouting the area, and finding a suitable tree to rest in.
A wisp of flame roaming the forest.
Anything but a fox or a vixen.
Until the urge to sleep grew too strong, that is.
Nazoki was only thankful that Naraku was stupid enough to believe a dead bird disguised as herself was true. When she had created the illusion of foxes, she had concealed herself. Being invisible proved useful, as she was able to easily slip into the forest, and leave a "Dead Nazoki" behind. She had quickly washed herself, but the breath of miasma had irreversible effects. Her wounds had constantly troubled her for the few days of her hiding, and though she knew the best thing to do was dig a burrow and rest, stopping seemed to be a horrible idea. Weary from her nonstop travels, she practically collapsed at the base of a tree. The woman had not even left the forest she had escaped into. There was no chance of her leaving the safety of full concealment, whilst injured so gravely. The river almost came to a standstill in certain areas, and did not seem to leave the forest. As far as Nazoki knew, it ran towards the building she had escaped. Of course, she would not go that way.
How long she remained in place was a mystery. She had only closed her eyes for a few seconds before night had fallen, and all was dark. The only reason she had awoken was the nearby footsteps. The scent of a human. Grasping a leaf, the woman tucked it into her hair, and rid herself of her tail and ears; turning her hair a regular shade of black. She willed herself to stand up, and follow the male's trail. What would a human be doing away from a village so late? Regardless of the answer, she knew what he fate he would meet.
Catching sight of the man, Nazoki leaned against a tree.
"Help..." She murmured, and the man whipped around to face her. He had a small lantern in hand, and held it up to his average features. At first, he did not respond. He simply studied Nazoki, before approaching.
"What happened to you?" The man finally asked, and she motioned to her stomach.
"My group was attacked by a demon... I don't know if they made it away safely, but I ran as quickly as I could manage." She responded, and he nodded. A moment's hesitation passed, before he offered her a hand.
"Let's get you to a village."
Nodding, Nazoki accepted the man's offer. The moment he supported her on his shoulder, she sprang into action.
"Sir..."
Gazing at the woman, the man paused at the sight of her emerald eyes. He was frozen in place. Not a single thought ran through his mind.
"Thank you for your assistance. For your benevolence, I will reward you a kiss." Nazoki stated, feeling the corners of her lips tug up for a split second. When the man slowly nodded, not moving a single inch, she knew she had him. Humans were so weak minded. Wasting no time, the vixen latched onto the man. His life was bland. Too bitter to enjoy. Not even bothering to take half of his strength, Nazoki listlessly shoved the man back. What a bore. She needed to heal, not waste her time on such a weak specimen. There had to be better candidates nearby. Preferably not a human; it would take tens of them to heal a simple cut.
The wounds on her arms barely even tingled, not to mention the gash in her stomach. Time to move on. Whoever the man was, he was so weak minded that when she pushed him away he simply fell to the ground. Still entranced. Well, it would wear off in a few minutes, for now Nazoki would look for more.
The entire night was spent searching for people. The few stray men in the forests were plain. As the sun peaked over the distance, Nazoki found herself unsatisfied. Maybe she should have set to returning to Sesshomaru, but then again, the last they spoke they were not exactly on good terms. She had practically rejected him. Though the man had still attempted to protect her, he had not shown up in time. Of course, whether he even felt the need to find her was questionable. The man had been so infuriated that he would not so much as look at her, let alone care if she had been captured. Nazoki caught sight of a village. She considered the option of shifting into a child. Humans always pitied children. One glimpse of an injured kid and they would not hesitate to take her in. She could feed off them for as long as needed, and leave with the illusion of a mother, perfect
But then again, what if she could not maintain the facade as she slept? Humans did not take kindly to demons. Nursing them back to health was the last thing a village would do. Sighing to herself, she sank back into the forest. Deeper than any human would venture, closer that any demon would remain. The grounds in between the species, was perfect to rest for a while. Not a single soul would bother her unless they had less than honorable intentions. If that was so, she would thoroughly drain them. Her breathing had grown labored, and she wondered if the miasma would ever fade. If it would simply consume her whole.
The moon overhead seemed to be a good idea, but she was hardly in a state to charade herself as a second. Shame crept over the woman as she found herself weak. Too weak to do anything, and unable to truly help herself. If it had not been for the ring, she would never have escaped Naraku. She needed to heal so badly that her body simply refused to shift any more. One hour of sleep. That was all she could allow herself. The hunt for energy would continue, and she would find unsuspecting travelers. Humans were too weak to get excited over, though.
A pitch-black night illuminated by nothing more than the moon, and the dance of fox fire surrounding three beautiful women. The intoxicating music of the gathering filled the air, as Nazoki fabricated more illusions of humans.
"Join us!" The women seemed to cry, and Nazoki remained in the forest, waiting for her first target. It did not take long for a small group of men to step up to the plate. Concealing herself in an illusion, Nazoki slipped into the fake crowd. As the men mingled with her images, she allowed the mist of her aura to cloud her purpose. One by one, she drained the five men, hiding the truth behind more of her false world.
It was barely enough to heal the burns of her arms. Any gashes or cuts remained. Dropping the illusion, Nazoki left the five men on the ground. They would come to in half an hour. Her next scheme was leading nomadic men into the forest with a will-o-wisp. They would assume the light was a town, and she would latch on before they had a chance to realize what was happening. Not enough. It was never enough. She needed a demon, but was hardly in the condition to deceive one. The humans were disgusting, and she found herself washing in a small, dark pond. Such a repulsive taste. But nothing seemed a better option. Her arms had slightly healed. Small scrapes had mended, but large wounds seemed permanently etched on her body. After her short bath, she sunk to the forest ground, and allowed exhaustion to take her.
Slicing through the foul tendrils of Naraku's demonic body, Sesshomaru released a burst of energy. If the demon really had absorbed Nazoki as he had heard, Naraku would pay. He was already on Sesshomaru's list of priorities. This only further justified the lord's purpose. So much for protecting his ward, or claiming a mate. Naraku would endure every lash of wrath from within Sesshomaru. He would tear him apart, and watch him grovel at his feet. The man would endure horrors, which could only be dreamed and schemed in the depths of Sesshomaru's mind. It was a terrible place to be when he was in such a mood.
The energy disconnected Naraku's form from the blob of demonic flesh beneath him, yet the man still smiled. Leaping out of the way, Sesshomaru narrowly avoided a rush of the flesh. This had been an ongoing war, lasting hours already. Sesshomaru had already been injured. But that was nothing compared to what he would do to Naraku.
"Do you miss her, Sesshomaru?" Snickering the words, Naraku ducked under a swipe of the lord's claws. The red eyes, which met his own, showed that he had indeed struck a sore spot. How entertaining. However, Sesshomaru did not speak a word about the woman. Just relentlessly attacked Naraku. You would think he would settle on just finding the heart and be done with it. Nevertheless, that was not how revenge worked. Killing your opponent was just that; ending their life and pain. Sesshomaru wanted to see Naraku's agony. To inflict it, and bask in the pleasing combination of victory and revenge.
Jumping back, the lord unsheathed his sword once more, and lunged towards Naraku. He slashed, and tore every bit of grotesque flesh. The lord stabbed and sliced the torso, which was Naraku. He annihilated him with his energy and burned him. He broke windows, and sent the glass flying into the man's mass of skin. Everything he did had an effect, but only for a short period of time. Naraku was stunned by the motions, yet continued to come back, mocking and laughing.
It was too much. He could not contain himself any longer. Jumping back, Sesshomaru glared at Naraku. Rage boiled over, seeming to pour from the depths of the lord's soul. Where was Nazoki? She could not have truly been killed. Surely, Kagura had just spoken out of spite. Sesshomaru knew she had a thing for him. She had spent plenty of time, batting her eyelashes at him, trying to seem tough all the while. But where was Nazoki?! His beast took him. The lord changed forms, becoming a large dog of frightening size.
"Do you intent to frighten me? With the form of a crippled mutt?" Naraku calmly chuckled the words, but Sesshomaru was not focusing on him anymore. He would get to him later. Crimson eyes focused on the hut behind Naraku. In a matter of seconds, Sesshomaru had bounded over to the house. A single swipe of his tail was all that was necessary to demolish the wooden walls. Nothing. He found nothing. Nobody was inside.
'She's gone... The wench spoke the truth. You were too late- I told you to let me out!'
'Silence!'
Rampaging through the broken boards of the house, Sesshomaru smashed another room. Naraku was caught in the chaos and splinters below the lord. Every step shook the ground. Every frantic shift of his gaze resulted in more disappointment. Sesshomaru saw nothing but red. Throwing his head back, he released a howl, which pierced the air and rattled every tree. Through the wreckage below, he fixated his eyes on a smirking Naraku. That bastard. He was entertained; enjoyed the show. With a swish of his tail Sesshomaru sent Naraku flying through the air. He caught the man in his teeth, and spit him out. Pinning him in place with his paw, Sesshomaru glared down at him. Kagura had spoken the truth.
The lord bared his teeth at the smug smirk he received.
"Does your heart ache, Western Lord? Did you love her?"
The mocking tone only furthered Sesshomaru's anger. The man would be laughing, and teasing him in such a position. Inching his paw up, Sesshomaru opted to simultaneously crush, and cut Naraku at the same tome. With a snap of his large jaws, the lord severed his head. Obvious panic crossed Naraku, as he was spit back out. Like Sesshomaru would taint his stomach with such trash. The lord shoved his claw through the head, only to find a burst of the flesh he had destroyed plunging through his chest. Damn it. He had gotten carried away. Growling, and snapping at Naraku as he was forced away, Sesshomaru clawed through the skin. Rearing up on his hind legs, the lord bellowed a fearsome death threat. Naraku may not have understood him, to him, it probably only sounded like a roar, and snarling. But it was definitely more than that. Much more.
Before the lord could move back towards his enemy, everything faded into thin air. Dark chuckles mocked the lord as all trace of his battle disappeared. Internally cursing Naraku, Sesshomaru stared at the nothingness before him. No broken boards. No demonic flesh. No Nazoki. Anger still burned within him. He was not satisfied. After that bought of stress relief, he still needed to continue. Sitting down, the lord allowed another call to erupt from within him. Maybe she was still alive. Maybe she would come to him, if he showed her that he was near... Foxes were closely related to dogs, she could understand him even if he spoke in Inu. The pain of his wounds set in and the lord returned to his human state. With nothing but a scowl, Sesshomaru moved to a forest in the distance. He needed to rest. This was a pointless mission. Even after he knew Nazoki was killed, he still found Naraku. But the fact that the only presence there was Naraku himself, spoke loudly enough. Kagura's words had been true. Nazoki's scent hung in the air yet was increasingly faint. Days old. Her blood had mixed with the regular scent, which only deepened the scowl Sesshomaru held. That damn vixen. Always getting hurt, or in trouble.
Maybe her words had been right; she was indeed weak. However, Sesshomaru was not thinking of that when he had marked her. At the time, that did not matter.