The Fox and The Hound (Completed)

Chapter 3: Taken By a Tyrant

Asami P.O.V

As I was drifting in the eternal darkness of death, the only light I could see was the small speck of white above me. Suddenly, I felt my body being pulled upward, the small speck growing bigger and bigger until I could see something moving from the other side. I reached my hand out to it and when I opened my eyes, I was back in the land of the living. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was awake and even pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I wasn't, I was wide awake. My hands moved to grasp my neck, the claw marks were still there but they were slowly fading away.

I looked around and the only thing I could see were trees. I somehow managed to survive. "You are awake..." I heard a voice and the dog demon from before appeared right infront of me. I moved to grab my sword but it was no longer with me. "If you are looking for your sword in order to attack me, I have it right here" he said, raising his other hand to show that he did have my sword. I clenched my teeth and glared at him. "What do you want? Why didn't you kill me?" I asked, my hands clenching around the grass beneath me. "I need you alive. You have put a spell on me. In exchange for your sword, release me from your spell" he replied, his eyes cold and piercing.

"What spell? I did not cast a spell on you. I don't even know who you are! I am not capable of such sorcery, to cast a spell on a demon with your level of power is impossible for me!" I yelled back at him and his eyes widened. His body became a blur and before I could react, his hand was around my throat once again, claws digging into the flesh of my neck. He lifted me from the ground and snarled as his eyes turned red. "Lies! I refuse to believe your words. Remove it or I will kill you!" he growled even louder, tightening his grip around my neck. He could easily break it if he wanted to. "I-I d-did n-no s-such t-thing. I-If you d-don't believe m-me t-then k-kill me..." I struggled to reply as his claws dug into my wind pipe. I could feel the blood rushing out of the open wounds and staining my already red kimono.

Before my eyes could completely roll into the back of my head, he loosened his grip and dropped me onto the ground. I clutched my bleeding neck and coughed as the sudden pressure of oxygen entering my lungs burned me. I looked up to glare at him but my eyes widened as he held my sword in front of him and broke it in two, burning the two pieces until nothing was left. "No!" I screamed as tears brimmed my eyes. My sword, the sword that was given to me by Lady Kaede, was gone. I felt something snap from within me and my body erupted in blue flames. I could feel myself changing as my eyes rolled back into my skull. I was no longer in control.

Sesshomaru P.O.V

Such power, such hatred, such malice. I had never felt anything like it before. Such a small and frail looking woman had transformed into a giant nine tailed beast right before my eyes. She had retained her fur color and the markings on her forehead but whisps of blue fire were floating all around her. Her gaze was fixated on me as she drew her lips back into a snarl. All of her nine tails were pointed right at me, ready to impale me whenever she saw fit. She growled as she sent her tails my way. I attempted to dodge as many as I could but aside from being vastly larger than my body, they were extremely agile. 

One managed to hit me and I was sent flying back. Her power greatly surpassed mine in my present state. My guess is that that sword was what sealed this form away and because I was the one who broke the sword, she was now after me. I had no other choice, if I was going to defeat her, I needed to transform. 

Once I was done, I crossed paws with her but every swipe I took at her, it ended up hurting me as well. I hated this feeling. My body couldn't handle the fact that I was hurting her. I couldn't hurt her. She eventually landed a hit on me and was able to scratch my eye to the point of bleeding, I couldn't open my right eye. I tried to dodge her tails once again but with only one eye, my vision was limited. I couldn't dodge her attacks forever. She finally managed to wrap her tails around my paws, immobilizing me. She growled at me and one of her tails moved to impale me straight through the heart. I struggled but to no avail, I was stuck. I had never felt so helpless.

In my moment of desperation to reach her, I howled and it seemed to catch her attention. She stopped her tail just a few inches from my chest before her grip around my paws loosened. Her eyes rolled back into their sockets and her eyelids dropped. She fell backwards and returned to her other, smaller form. I changed back as well and caught her before she crashed into the ground.

Tears were still falling from her eyes as she mumbled about her sword. It hurt me to see her like that. I had made an error. I had gone too far.

She slowly opened her eyes and upon seeing my face right in front of hers, she pushed me away and crawled up against a tree. "You...you are a monster!" she yelled with such strong hate that I could feel it pierce my soul. She tucked her knees close to her chest and hid her face from me as she sobbed, cradling herself with her now three tails. 

I hated what I was feeling at that moment. I hated how she made me feel. Guilt, remorse, and hatred towards myself and to what I had done. I had never felt this way before. 

She sobbed until she eventually fell asleep. I couldn't leave her, a part of me craved for redemption. The part of me that drew me to her wanted to see her radiant smile and hear her melodious laughter. I couldn't deny that part of me. No matter how small it was, it still cared for her. I carried her in my arms until I was able to find Jaken and my dragon companion. Resting her on the back of my dragon, we continued on our journey to find my father's sword.