InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Double Vision ❯ Chapter 64

Sesshomaru was bold, but he was not suicidal. His first inclination was to charge in and resume the battle that Inutaisho had abandoned, but he knew that taking such action would be rash to say the least. He would not be lured into a trap so easily. The situation called for restraint. Fudo, as it existed now, had been engineered by his father, a legendary tactician. Any battle conducted within its walls would not be a fair fight. Given Inutaisho’s fondness for tactics and trickery, the town was sure to be fraught with hidden dangers. He already knew his powers would not work inside the city gates. There was no telling what other inconvenient surprises lay in wait for any invader foolish enough to charge into the town unthinkingly. Bankotsu and Jakotsu had no doubt been resurrected to fight on Inutaisho’s behalf, and there were sure to be others, as well. Scouting would be required to determine their numbers and level of power.

Flying over would be the most efficient way to gather such intelligence, but would give away his presence immediately, so it was out of the question. Given the circumstances, he judged it best to approach Fudo on foot, from the rugged wilderness to the east. If he used the cover provided by the mountainous terrain, he should be able to get a better idea of the size and layout of the town, and study the behavior of its inhabitants.

He had expected to find the lower elevations of the mountains covered in an old growth mixed forest of evergreen and deciduous trees. Instead he was met with raw earth and exposed bedrock where the trees had been ripped out of the ground. Piles of roots and branches which had been roughly hacked off littered the landscape. Logging trails, heavy with the scent of oni, criss-crossed the devastated mountainside. He made his way through the wasted land, as stealthily as he could given the lack of cover. Each stream and pond he encountered reeked of chemical poisons. He caught the scent of the self-styled “poison master” of the Band of Seven, Mukotsu. Pathetic. Mukotsu had touched Kagome, held her in his filthy arms. He had overcome her with his poison. Kagome, as she had gained in experience, had become capable of counteracting the effects of Naraku’s vile miasma, a form of chemical poison created by the demon’s own malevolent jaki. But her purity held no sway over the poisons concocted by Mukotsu, and she was powerless before him, despite his pitiful stature and weak constitution. The image of such an abomination laying his hands on the beautiful and pure young priestess who had become his mate made Sesshomaru’s stomach turn. There was an upside to Mukotsu’s resurrection, and that was the satisfaction Sesshomaru would take in killing him again. This time would take much longer and involve much more pain, as a tribute to his mate.

Twilight was approaching as he knelt by the side of one of the ruined ponds, which shone in the light given off by the blue-green evening sky. The rising moon and even the large, bright stars which accompanied it were perfectly replicated in the black, oily surface of the water. Idly, he stirred the mirrored surface with his long, elegant fingers. He had no fear of Mukotsu’s poisons. Such held no sway over a being such as Sesshomaru, whose very blood and marrow were permeated with the most potent of toxins, which yet smelled as sweet as a maiden’s bower in summer, clad in wisteria blossoms. On and on he stared, as the color leached from the surface of the pool, to be replaced by pure blackness, and the rippling, reflected white light of the moon.

A small band of wolves watched from the adjacent hillside, taking advantage of the prevailing winds to prevent Sesshomaru from detecting their scent. Their leader was a wolf demon in the guise of a humanoid female, clad in a brief outfit of white fur. Ayame, the princess of the northern wolf tribe, who had once hoped to become Kouga’s mate. Her green eyes narrowed in hatred as her powerful senses took in the demon lord’s scent. His scent was mixed with that of the priestess Kagome. Her enemy, who had bewitched Kouga, leading him to reject her as his rightful mate and side with the filthy humans who were laying waste to this land. She kept watch patiently, as the night grew deeper. Sesshomaru continued to stir the surface of the pool, seeming fascinated by whatever it was he was seeing. After a long time, he seemed to return to himself, as if from a trance. Ayame shivered when the demon lord looked straight at her little pack. “There is no sense in continuing your pathetic attempts to hide yourself from this Sesshomaru.”

Ayame came forward, flanked by her wolves. Sesshomaru far outranked her in status, being a Cardinal Lord. Still, she refused to grant him any obeisance. “What business do you have here, Sesshomaru?” She asked disrespectfully.

Sesshomaru did not like Ayame in the least. Her grandfather, who had served under Inutaisho, had offered her up as a potential mate after she had failed at persuading Kouga to take her. He had briefly considered the offer, but upon meeting the girl, had found her to be unbearably rude, obnoxious, and unfoundedly arrogant. She had further failed to endear herself to him when she had launched into a lengthy and heated diatribe against Kagome, whom she blamed for her own failure to secure a mate.

The demon lord gave Ayame his coldest look, and she could not restrain the involuntary shudder which racked her body. Sesshomaru possessed the strongest and most disturbing demonic aura she had ever encountered. She spoke again, this time more cautiously and politely. “Please, excuse my hasty speech. I was merely surprised to find you so far from the Western Lands, Lord Sesshomaru.”


Sesshomaru knew Ayame was a human-hater, and judging by her breath and that of her wolves, had taken to eating them, as well. He would prefer to deal with Kouga. Despite the wolf’s disgusting cheerfulness and lack of protocol, he had been a solid ally in the fight against Naraku. Though he disliked the thought of needing help to defeat his father, there was just too much at stake in this matter to tolerate any chance of failure. He would do whatever it took to send his father back to Hell, and this time he would make sure he stayed there.

“Where is Kouga?” Sesshomaru asked abruptly. He was not going to waste words on this despicable female.

“He was badly injured in a fight with one of the Band of Seven. They have been resurrected again, and are providing protection for the humans who are ruining this land. His men took him to a safe location to give him a chance to heal.”