After the Mask (Secret of the cursed mask game sequel)

Part 11

"It's a sick thought isn't it? Naraku reproducing?" Keita starts. My eyes widen considerably and my struggling falters. Sesshomaru who is on his knees glares hard at Keita. "Naraku's legacy they call him. He's said to be even worse than his father, even though he's hardly an adult. He wants you Kaname, and I'll deliver you to him. In return I get paid plenty. I'll also get the chance to kill Sesshomaru in the process, leaving his lands free for the taking. Guess who gets that."

My eyes widen in horror. "No!" I yell and blast a Shikigami attack in his face. He drops me and I crumble to the ground.

"Bitch. You'll pay for that." Keita growls. He reaches for me but I pull out my tanto and slash his hand. He growls grow louder. "He wants you alive, but he never said in what state." he threatens.

As he goes for me again, he is stopped by Sesshomaru slashing his sword near his face, making Keita lose some strands of hair. "Run!" he yells before he's punched in the face, making fly across the room. I scream, get to my feet and run out the room.

"Be patient Sesshomaru, I'll deal with you later. First things first." I hear Keita laugh before his footsteps follow me.

I try the door, but it's bolted shut. Seeing Keita approaching, I look around in panic. I make for the stairs and run up them as quick as I can, considering my drowsiness. "Now where do you think you're going?" he chuckles as he raises his hand, sending a blast at the stairs. I jump just in time to avoid going down with the crumbling part of it.

He follows after me, sending blasts at me that I barely dodge. He has no trouble making his way up through the rubble and gaps he's leaving behind. Meanwhile I stumble every step of the way. Another blast hits just above my head, making me yell out in fright.

After what feels like forever I've reached the top and look down to see Keita still approaching steadily. On the bottom I can barely see Sesshomaru emerging into the hall, still stumbling. Keita is taking it easy though, knowing it's only a matter of time. He's just playing with me. I glare at him through foggy eyes. I've never been so wrong about someone before. Keita is nothing but a monster.

"You're at the end of the line, where will you go now?" he taunts. I look around me and rush to the window. Looking outside I see the rain coming down hard as the wind blow ferociously. I decide to take a shot and grab onto the stones on the side. I can hear a growl as I disappear out the window, "Silly girl."

I climb up onto the roof with some effort as wearing a kimono is not helping at all. But once I take a look around I see that coming here wasn't such a good idea. There is nowhere I can go. I'm stuck here.

I'm startled as Keita reaches the roof, making me back up in fright. "Trapped like a mouse." he grins sadistically.

I grit my teeth and throw an attack at him, not ready to give up, "Chaotic flame!"

I gasp as he just deflects it. "That won't do you any good." He steps closer and I back up further, gasping as I almost stumble off the edge. As a last resort I throw a barrage of attacks at him, but it doesn't do much. "I admire your effort. You sure don't give up easily do you? Too bad for you, I've had enough."

He yells out and stomps on the roof leaving a growing crack. "Last chance missy." he warns. I glare at him and shake my head stubbornly. There is no way I'm giving up. "Suit yourself." He stomps again. This time the roof splits apart making me wobble, trying hard to find good footing. I scream as I make a wrong step and fall through the crack, but manage to hang onto a piece of wood at the last second. I look down into the depth of it all. It sure is a heck of a long way down. I wouldn't survive that.

I scream as the wood cracks under my weight, making me drop a foot. I look up to see Keita looking down at me. "I'm sure he wouldn't be too sore about things if I tell him how you died. Flattened like a bug that got stepped on. Blood and bone all around. And the best thing is, Sesshomaru gets to watch." he laughs.

I look down again to see Sesshomaru looking up at me from halfway up the stairs. His eyes are red in anger.

I gasp when one of my fingers gets lifted from the beam I'm holding onto for dear life. Soon Keita pulls another one lose, with such force that it breaks. I scream in pain, "Stop!!" As he goes for the next finger I release that hand, pull out my tanto swiftly and throw it at his head. I watch him try to dodge, but it slices his neck pretty deeply.

"Ahh!" he yells out grasping at the cut flesh. Before I can do anything else though, the wood cracks entirely. I scream at the top of my lungs as a sick feeling enters my entire body as I fall to my death. "Sesshomaru!!"

All of a sudden the wind stops rushing past me as I make my landing sooner than expected. I open my eyes to see lots of white, and it's soft, almost like a cloud. Did dying go that fast and painless? I realize soon though that it's not a cloud I'm on as I slowly rise up and down. Lifting my head I realize I'm buried in fur.

I gasp in amazement as large ears flutter past me and a large head befitting the ears turn towards me. Dark red eyes are glaring deep into my soul. "S-sesshomaru?" The large head turns away before his entire body lurches up, bursting through what's left of the roof. I hold on tightly, squeezing my eyes shut. We drop all the way to the ground and make a surprisingly soft landing. I look back up over his head to see Keita jumping after us.

Sesshomaru growls deeply, sending tremors through my body. "You fool. You drugged me with a dose for a dozen horses, but you didn't take my demon form into account. Your plan just became useless."

Keita glares back at him, "We'll see." he says before sending blasts towards us. Sesshomaru jumps out of the way and rolls sideways a bit, making me slide off his back. I watch as he rushes towards Keita, not stopping as he gets shot at. Keita's eyes widen as Sesshomaru keeps running. He jumps away with only a second to spare as Sesshomaru crashes into the wall he was standing beside.

The wall tumbles down on Sesshomaru, but he easily shakes it off. His saliva drips on the stone making it sizzle and dissolve slowly. Keita breathes hard as he's losing blood from his neck wound. Knowing he can't win anymore he tries to escape but is blocked as Sesshomaru jumps over him and in his path. Keita now tries another direction, but is almost snapped in half as Sesshomaru meets him halfway. Swiping his paw, he makes Keita fly the distance back to the castle where he slams into another wall. His body carries a large scratch across his torso.

Keita looks up fearfully at Sesshomaru as he approaches. He stands up shakily before crouching. Suddenly he jumps up high and runs up the wall only to scream loudly as Sesshomaru has jumped up after him, grabbing him between his teeth. He lands back on the ground, Keita still clasped firmly in his jaws.

Keita screams as some of his flesh dissolves from the acid saliva. Sesshomaru throws him in the air before catching him between his teeth again in a swinging motion. Keita's body is torn in half, his screaming stopping short while I cover my eyes from the sight. Then everything is silent apart from my panting.

I only look up again when I hear a shuffle in front of me. Through blurry eyes I look up at Sesshomaru as he turns back to his normal form. A sob escapes me before I stand up quickly, running towards him the last few feet before throwing my arms around him, burying my face in his haori.

Another sob escapes my mouth and tears leak from my eyes, mingling with the rain. My legs are shaky from the adrenaline. I'm so happy though, so happy that we both survived. I feel a hand rest on my soaked head and another on my back. I've come so close to death just minutes before, but I've never felt so save as at this moment. "Let's go home." hums his deep voice.