InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kotone ❯ The Memory and The Broken Seal ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Kotone watched fireflies dance though her meadow. Above her the crescent moon and stars shone brightly, as they had years ago when she first came to the meadow. A warm breeze caressed her fur, bringing back the memory of what had happened so many years ago...

Kotone danced through the meadow, twirling among the fireflies while the breeze made the flowers sway at her feet. She laughed, her fox tail swinging playfully as she twirled, her long golden red hair shining in the moonlight.

Then the breeze brought to her the scent of blood and she stilled. From the forest came a man, running scared from a serpent twice his size.

Kotone rushed to him, catching him in her arms as he fell into the meadow. The great snake reared it’s ugly head, hissing at her past it’s venomous fangs.

“That man is my prey,” hissed the snake. Kotone’s grip on the injured man tightened and she glared. She could feel his blood soaking into her Kimono and knew that, even if she killed the snake, the man had no hope to live.

“This is my meadow, you’re not welcome here. Now go,” She snapped back at him, barring her fangs. She watched as the snake swayed a little, around her small flashes of her fox fire began to alight. The hebi youkai hissed once more at her and then slithered away into the forest, not wanting to fight her.

“Maiden...” said the man in her arms. Kotone looked down at him, her golden eyes soft and sad. “...thank you...” His breathing was harsh, pained and Kotone looked to the wound in his side. The broken skin was tainted, turning purple and green.

“Peace now,” she whispered to him. “The pain will pass.” The man’s eyes closed as his breathing hitched and he groaned softly. She could hear the faint sound of more men approaching, and smelled their burning torches. She thought to herself that she should leave the man to his own kind, but they had no cures for the poison of the snake demon.

The man was in great pain, and his death was being drawn out from the poison in the serpents fangs. She pitied him, watching him twist in her arms from his agonizing wounds. She sighed and caressed the side of his face before she dug her claws into the mans throat.
She waited, watching as his eyes fluttered open to look at her before he sputtered, spraying her face with a little blood as he died. Kotone looked up to were the burning torches could been seen through the woods and she moved the man’s head from her lap so that she could stand and leave him to his fellow villagers.

“Foul Creature!” spat a man she hadn’t noticed a moment before. Kotone tensed, seeing the prayer beads around the monk’s neck and she turned from him to dart away into the safety of the forest.

Kotone barely heard the words the monk spoke as he placed a barrier around the meadow, trapping her inside. She turned back to him, not willing to fight him but hoping for some chance to escape still.

“Old man! You don’t-“ Her voice caught in her throat and she felt a searing pain through her body, and that was the last she knew of herself.

Kotone padded carefully through the meadow. The fireflies reflected in her eyes as she came to stand on a patch of red soil where no grass had grown since the day the foolish monk has sealed away her powers and trapped her inside her own meadow.

She sniffed the ground delicately and sat down imagining the man who had once lain there. Had she never helped him she wouldn’t be trapped as she was now. She pawed the earth, her claws making lines in the red soil.

“There you are!” sang a young girl as she came running out of the forest.

Kotone tensed, and readied herself to run until she saw that the girl was the same one who had been forbidden to return to the meadow. She wondered why the girl had gone against her lord’s wishes and come back to the meadow.

“I begged and begged and finally Lord Sesshomaru said that I could thank you for saving me,” Rin said. She dropped to her knees before her and presented her with a bouquet of wild flowers that grew in the forest.

Kotone felt her heart tighten in her chest and she bowed her head to the little girl in gratitude.

“You there! Girl!” Kotone’s ears perked and she looked up to see a man coming towards them through the meadow. He was one of the villagers that guarded her meadow and while he was waving a wooden stick she was certain he meant the girl no harm. She looked at Rin one last time, wishing that she was able to express her gratitude then darted off into the high grass.

“Wait!” Rin called after her, climbing to her feet.

“Girl! Do you want to be devoured by the demon?” The man asked. Rin looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
“What demon?” she asked. The man sighed and shook his head at her.

“Where are your parents child? They should know better than to leave you wander the forest at this time a night.” The man looked around, peering through the grass for some sign of the demon he had spoken of.

“I’m not alone. Lord Sesshomaru is here... somewhere. And the fox,” she murmured.

“That demon would lure you deep into her meadow and devour your soul child. Now come with me to the village until your parents come to claim you,” the man said, taking her by the hand. Rin stood fast, pulling her hand against his grip.

“No!” Rin shouted. Kotone began to circle around them. The man yanked her arm to drag her along behind. “Lord Sesshomaru!”

Kotone ran towards the man, opening her jaws with full intent to bite him. Rin screamed as the man picked her up to carry her away and Kotone sank her teeth into his leg.

Rin fell to the ground, and scurried to get away from the man. She watched in wide eyed fear as the man swiped at her with his stick. She released im in time to avoid the attack and placed herself between the man and Rin.

She bristled her fur and bared her fangs at him, waiting for him to come at her again. The man took a step forwards and swung widely, attempting to keep her at bay. She lunged at the man, withdrew as he tried to strike her and then lunged again. This time she caught hold of his arm as he tried to block her attack and she growled menacingly while chewing his arm in his teeth.

“Lord Sesshomaru!” Rin cried and Kotone caught the taiyoukai’s scent. She released the mans arm, sure that now the man would run off when he caught sight of the demon. But the man didn’t seem to take notice and instead, while Kotone was distracted, struck her with the stick.

Kotone rolled several feet through the grass until she came to a stop, her limp body unable to move.

The man turned back to the child only to face Sesshomaru’s claws. With a final, anguished cry the man died, half melted away from Sesshomaru’s poison talons.

Rin was still for a moment before she rushed to Sesshomaru throwing her arms around one of his legs.

“He killed the fox!” she wailed through tear filled eyes. Sesshomaru watched her cry for a moment, his uncaring eyes betraying nothing of what he truly felt to she the girl so terribly upset.

“It’s not dead.” He pulled her off his leg and directed her towards the fox’s body. Rin dashed over, dropping own to her knees next to Kotone.
“It’s hurt!” Rin said, placing a hand on the fox’s head. There was a gash from where the stick had struck her and. “Lord Sesshomaru, the fox tried to save me. Please, can I take care of it?”

Sesshomaru set his jaw as he thought it over. His first thought was no, but that had been what he thought when Rin fist began to tag along with him. He also knew that the villagers would be coming to look for their missing villager soon. If they found the fox they would likely finish it off. The small thing seemed to be protective over Rin and had proved itself against a snake demon already. It might even be a better keeper for her than Jaken.

He could just hear Jaken’s whining about the new tag along.

“Please?” she asked again, already holding the limp fox in her arms. Sesshomaru hated to admit it, and tried hard not to, but it was difficult for him to deny the young girl something as simple as a small, and perhaps useful companion.

“The fox will be your responsibility, Rin.” He waited to see the wide smile that crossed her face and then turned to leave the meadow. Rin hurried to catch up to him, cradling the injured fox. Sesshomaru stopped at the edge of the meadow, suddenly able to sense a barrier between himself and the forest beyond. He looked down at his side and saw that Rin seemed to be having trouble taking another step forwards.

He reached down, casually taking hold of Kotone by the scruff of her neck and raising her out of Rin’s arms. Now the girl moved easily forwards. Sesshomaru held the fox against his chest armor with one arm and took a step forwards.

The barrier’s energy began to crackle against him but he paid it no mind. He, the great Lord Sesshomaru would not be stopped by a mere barrier meant for a little fox demon.

His own demonic energy began to clash against the barrier, and it gave way, but he could still feel something holding him back in the meadow. Sesshomaru’s eyes narrowed, he set his jaw and pushed onwards. He thought for a moment he heard the sound of breaking but dismissed it as the barrier opened to him.

He moved forwards, through the barrier and suddenly felt something much heavier than the tiny fox leaned against his body. Rin gasped in surprise and awe as Sesshomaru looked down at the maiden he held against his chest.