III. Stranger Land

To the uninitiated, Sesshōmaru might have looked as though he was taking a leisurely stroll. However, an experienced fighter would recognize the perfect balance of his body, poised with complete awareness of his surroundings, the calculated economy of movement. And then, he leapt. Sudden flash of death.

Blood. Scarlet. Liquid glory drenched the earth. Warmth seeped through soil. The world bled crimson… For one glorious instant, instinct ruled him and pure acceptance suffused him, before he allowed himself control again, jerking his focus tightly in place. He knew in this state of mind beyond thought or caring lay his greatest potential as a killing weapon.

Nonetheless, Sesshōmaru thought of himself as a being of words ; words gave insight into one's thoughts and one's mind's inner workings. Words and thoughts were the difference between lesser beings and greater ones. They meant understanding, and knowledge, which in turn beget control. And his control was absolute.

"Halt", ground out the powerful yōkai, frost lacing his voice. The quiet command echoed through the bloody aftermath, instantly carried out by all creatures with any wit left enough to obey the icy fear it invoked. In one glance, Sesshōmaru assessed the situation, golden eyes sweeping across the frozen battleground. To his mild surprise, quickly turning to haughty contentment, allies and enemies alike trembled like trapped rabbits before him. Confirming what he could already scent, most yōkai were injured, too many dead, all strewn haphazardly across the battlefield.

It was a massacre. A needless, wasteful one. His brows quivered slightly in disapprobation, barely registering when the closest yōkai cringed in answer. He could pick out most of his troops, less depleted than he would have believed, but still too crippled for his liking. They had spread out in clusters of ones or threes as customary for solitary creatures more used to dueling than fighting in cohesive cohorts. So had their adversaries, obviously, but his troops had been trained better.

The land was in turmoil and blood flowed freely, 'til streams rand red and the earth seeped, crying rivers of crimson mud. It was a time of battle and despair, where prowess and honour were discarded in favour of survival. Yes, and later when corpses had been delivered to their last rest, when wounds had been bathed and dressed, and the last puppet of this hydra-headed conspiracy disposed of, Sesshōmaru would stop to ponder those mysteries.

Truly, he felt a growing repugnance for this useless squandering of yōkai lives. So few were left. And yet…it seemed they grew desperate to plunge into battle and forget, into the oblivion of glorious gore, the sweet rush of lightning coursing in their veins, deep towards the black abyss… And to his secret horror, he found that he did understand their choice, for even he felt at times the restless urge, the loathsome feeling of a confinement growing ever tight.

Nevertheless, he had had no choice but to accept this position bestowed upon him by the Last Council. It seemed to him now, in retrospective, this must have been the fruition of a long-dormant plot and although he had foiled all the subsequent attempts at unseating or killing him, he knew his path vapid and barren. Little hope was left for this fading world, and his official position as its ambassador, really, a child's excuse to try and seize his lands when he bore his duties to their frontiers.

A ripple marred his brow as an echo floated back to him. This trace of purity he had felt, like a fading melody, had not been wrought by blurring memories pouring in the present. Someone or something still dwelled on the Surface. A menace they could not afford. The left corner of his mouth twisted faintly in distaste.

ﺺ

It is a world of chaos and upheaval, she thinks. The words are obscure, but she enjoys their sonority as they roll around her mind, deep and gravelly like a rock-slide. Landslides are dangerous, too. "14:30", the numbers taunt from her wrist-watch. She knows she should be grateful to the little mechanism ticking away the world ; it keeps her anchored here.

Not that she knows exactly what 'here' is, she muses for the hundredth time. Here, on earth ? Should here stand for a place, or a time, perhaps ? Here, Planet Kagome, year 1 of the Great Mistake. She muttered it a few times to get the ring of it, before squeezing her eyes shut. She could feel herself growing crazy. Kagome was not meant for immobility ; it made her twitchy.

Things had been going as planned. Too good to be true, really. She had snuck around like a pro. Hugging walls, muffling her steps. When her damned curiosity got the better of her. That smooth metal handle glinting at her ! Provoking her ! Of course, she had opened the door. It was too neat. Plus it didn't look like the other service entrances and maintenance doors.

She had smelled a mystery and followed the scent like the worst addict – and of course I always somehow deserve what happens to me – , even taking the risk of crossing the rails. On a closer look at the door, there was no label or indication of what lay behind. And when the handle turned smoothly, she had felt like cheering.

What had happened then ? Her memories seemed hazy. A strong feeling had gripped her, that she had stepped in another world, sluicing through the currents of time. But she knew how that felt, intimately, and this was different. Everything was bare and smooth, the walls unpainted plaster and the ground raw steel.

Her footsteps echoed strangely along the corridor. She had seen two doors, a plastic one on her right and what looked like a vault door all bulging metal. Like an automaton, her feet had taken her to that last door, the one that had given her a whiff of forbidden.

It had called to her, seeming so lonely – right, my excuse for trespassing is now sentient objects – and as out of place as her. She thought she must have opened it and gone beyond, for her next memory was brown. Tunnels upon tunnels of dirt and rock. And then, a wrenching emptiness. Had she hit her head ? Her mind ached...

Sorry for the wait, this story is not abandoned but I am quite busy and will be posting on and off.

As always, I appreciate all feedback – and this being a Fanfiction, all the characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi (unless otherwise stated).

I feel compelled to indicate that this was an extended introduction, and the story format will evolve to reflect the change in pace and action.

Much Love,

~ LittleKatt