Authors note: Posting early because I have a work event today. So much love to all of you! So glad you're enjoying it so far. :3
Chapter 18 - Wary
Stillness pervaded. Even the crickets and frogs seemed to be hesitant to sing their songs, perhaps aware of the looming threat of battle. The full moon was beautiful and ominous, hovering so close that it seemed to be breathing onto the lake itself. Lotus and lilypads covered much of the surface of the water, seeming to glow in the moonlight.
Amidst the water, Sesshomaru stood on a small isthmus of land that split the water's surface. It was marshy, underfoot, but gave him perfect access to keep the approaching demon limited in mobility. So he waited. The wind blew his hair and teased the length of his clothing.
A single moth's wings broke the almost spell-like stillness. The scent was what drew his attention. It was no mere moth. Sesshomaru shifted, his gold eyes watching as the seemingly benign creature flitted over the water's surface. Just beyond the moth, two figures suddenly appeared, as if materializing from the air itself. Female demons. They stood gazing at him from their perch on a floating log amidst the water.
So this was it, then. No need to draw it out. Let it be completed.
"What do you want?" Sesshomaru asked, eyeing the duo with little interest.
"Lord Sesshomaru." Spoke the violet haired demon.
"We will have your fang." Completed the azure haired demon.
Sesshomaru's eyes narrow. "My fang?" He looked down at the Tenseiga, it's hilt flashed in the moonlight. Why hunt him down over something of so little value? Likely, neither of them would not even be able to wield it. Unless they were here on behalf of someone else.
The duo spoke no further. The azure demon raced across the water on her toes, spiriting a blue energy naginata from thin air. The violet demon rushed at him, circling from the other direction. Her energy formed two katana's, one in each hand.
Do they truly believe this Sesshomaru is so weak and ill prepared for battle?
Slowly, unhurried, he turned to face them. Unimpressed by their strategy, he raised two fingers. Energy pulsed through his body, resonating in his claws and casting them in a green glow.
The two demons' eyes glowed red as they raced closer, no hesitation in their step.
Very well. Let their fate be sealed.
Raising his hand, Sesshomaru's green energy whip lashed out with blinding light. One smooth movement was all it took. His energy slashed across the pond, the sound cracking the silence with its thunder. It split both the hovering moth, as well as both female demons. Pieces of the dead moth rained onto the pond's reflective surface. The female demons, whose names he never learned, went flying backward through the air.
With a flick of his wrist, Sesshomaru's energy whip recoiled into his body. The weapons of the two demons, landed with soft thuds, in the grass of the isthmus.
Sensing the danger was gone, a bullfrog jumped onto the solid ground, and let out a croak. Following his lead, others chirped from invisible hiding places around the water. Without a backward glance, Sesshomaru walked away from the battle. Behind him, the bodies of the two demons lay sightless, one in the grass, the other half submerged in the water.
Rising into the air, Sesshomaru angled away from the scene, heading back toward the cave at the base of the mountain.
What a strange encounter. Why would anyone want the Tenseiga? It would be useless to anyone who didn't have the power to wield it, or to any demon who the Tenseiga did not choose as its master.
A few moments later, the silver haired yokai landed at the entrance of the cave. As instructed, Jaken had constructed a barrier to prevent ingress to the cave. With a raised hand, Sesshomaru touched the barrier of demonic energy. Reacting to his touch, the energy swirled, and then absorbed into his palm. Once the entrance was cleared, Sesshomaru walked in. His shadow slipped across the stone floor far beyond his feet, cast by the full moon behind hum.
"Back! You will not come any further or you will face the wrath of the staff of two heads!"
Jaken. Could he not smell his master's scent? Sesshomaru scoffed. Well, at the very least, he was protecting Rin.
"Jaken."
"Ahhh my Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken cried, echoed quickly by Rin's eager echo of: "Lord Sesshomaru!"
From the shadows Jaken ran up to Sesshomaru's feet, and fell to his knees. "My Lord you mustn't scare me like that! I thought we were goners!"
Irritation bloomed in his chest. Why did Jaken always question his abilities? Had he not proven his strength and might again and again?
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin repeated, running up beside Jaken. "I knew you would return victorious! What sort of demon was it my Lord? Why were they following us? Did you know the demon?"
For as little faith as Jaken had in him, Rin more than made up the difference, and truly seemed to believe he was invincible. Unfortunately, she was mistaken, but it still filled him with warmth whenever her belief was justified.
"I did not know them." He considered the two female demon faces again in his mind, and could not even pinpoint what demon tribe they'd been from. "I do not know why they were hunting us." Partially true. They'd wanted the Tenseiga. But why they'd wanted it was a mystery.
"We're not going to linger here, let's go."
Though the battle was over, Sesshomaru felt a wariness, a powerful presence looming somewhere beyond. One which he had not felt before. It made him ill at ease.