The guards and concubines looked onwards, both in shock and in fear. They knew of Kojitsu's temper but nobody witnessed a sheer humiliation on his part off hand. Nobody moved as the smoke dissipated into thin air. Sesshomaru dismounted from his stance on the castle and lazily stood back onto the ground. Kojitsu, on the other hand, gritted his teeth back and forth till he could feel himself gnashing at his gums.

The two stared each other down as the guards remained in an offensive stance, ready at Kojitsu's whim to strike. The concubines huddled together, holding themselves and each other. They looked around to find an opportunity to escape but due to their positioning in the center of the room, they had no choice but to wait and watch a weak point to emerge amongst itself.

The elder concubine whom helped Chiho into her robes saw this as a prime chance to capture Chiho's attention.

"Chiho. Chiho, listen to me."

The elder tapped Chiho on the elbow as her heart thumped in her ears. She dug in her tattered robes for a folded piece of paper that she saved for this opportunity.

"Chiho, take this paper. Don't look at me. Keep looking forward."

Chiho could feel the cold, smooth palm of her elder reach in the hem of her kimono skillfully. Unbeknownst to her, the elder ripped a hole in the kimono as she proceeded to get dressed in preparation of Kojitsu's potential rejection. She slipped her a note with carefully written instructions she prayed would reach the correct hands.

"When the time comes, head to the South wing of the castle. When you're far enough away from the castle, only then open the letter."

Chiho looked around to make sure that the guards were not watching her. When the coast was clear, she reached for the letter and clenched her fist tightly to not drop it.

Sesshomaru's eyes never left Kojitsu's. he watched him like an elk who sloppily pranced across the meadow. Jaken, on the other hand, stood in the middle of the two, his enlarged yellow iris bouncing between friend and foe.

Oh heavens, what a mess! What are we to do now!

The silence was too drawn out for Sesshomaru. He took a step forward and in a blink him and his drawn sword were mere inches in front of Kojitsu. Kojitsu caught the blade in his hand, gripping the blade with same bare hands to resist the trembling strength exerted on Sesshomaru's behalf. Screams bellowed across the Great Hall when one concubine noticed the blood from Kojitsu's palm trickling downward down his forearm and even splashing down his cheek.

"Ready to strike on your command, My Lord!" a senior guard spoke. He shakily held his blade in his hand hoping that Kojitsu would call his men down. He witnessed the sheer strength on display and immediately wanted no parts.

"Nonsense," Kojitsu chuckled. His hands still resisted the wanting strike of Sesshomaru's blade. His free hand radiated the same pale green hue to produce another strike of lightning to land on Sesshomaru.

"This battle will be over before you know it!" Kojitsu threw his free hand Sesshomaru's direction, sending a multitude of lightning strikes his path.

Sesshomaru retracted his blade, backflipped a safe distance away from Kojitsu and leaped between the wild shots of lightning. He was disgusted at the sloppy display of his power. When his lightning blindly danced around the room, concubines and guards alike all fled for safety. The adjacent walls were riddled with gaping holes and structures began to crumble in the pathways of his strike. When grey-colored debris cleared the air, other guards could see soldiers and maids alike laying still on the floor where the greatest impact of the blast was felt.

"Keep her out of the way or it will be your neck." Warned Kojitsu. He pushed Chiho and the elder concubine out of the way, pulled his blade from underneath the table and charged full on towards Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru caught the strike, pushed Kojitsu backwards with a thrust of his sword and returned the favor in a blinding charge forward.

The guards and concubines could only see the after affect of their strikes. Their rapid movements could barely be caught onto with the regular eye but the damage began to amplify as monuments, foundations and barring began to give weigh.

There was a loud groaning coming from the roof that made the guards, the concubines, and the two sparring demons stop in their tracks. Looking up, they saw a large wood barring caving in, disconnecting and falling rapidly towards the center of the hall. Everyone ran for cover, shielding themselves from the falling debris and sediment that rained down from above.

When all eyes were focused elsewhere, the elders nodded at each other. Everyone knew a single mistake would be fatal, but it was a sacrifice well worth it.

"Now!" alerted the elder next to Chiho.

Two elders dislodged poison-tipped blades from underneath their kimono. They grabbed the nearest guards and punctured their necks with precision. The elder who accompanied Chiho, grabbed her and proceeded to hurry towards the East wing. It was the only wing that opened out to a man-made bridge that allowed a walkway to the South wing.

With everyone being so distracted by the commotion, the elder sought it to be a perfect opportunity to aide Chiho in fleeing and Kojitsu saw it to be a perfect chance to gain the upper hand in the battle.

With Sesshomaru seemingly distracted, Kojitsu ran full on towards Sesshomaru, his hand a bright, radiant light. He threw his hand at Sesshomaru and was met with his equally detrimental poison claw. He gripped Kojitsu by the throat and ran full speed into another adjoining wall that opened up to another perimeter of the castle. Unbeknownst to Sesshomaru and Kojitsu, it was used as a lecherous/slumber spot that was readily revealed when Kojitsu was thrown into the clearing. Sesshomaru stood in between the ruins of the castle walls and the clearing. His patience was growing thin and by streak of blood that flowed down his cheek, this battle was growing too long for his liking.

The guards, with their pants down, scrambled to their feet as Kojitsu dusted himself off. His robes were now ripped and dangling off his waist to reveal a toned physique that bore old and new scars. He didn't look over in the direction of his pitiful guards but instead held his hand upwards their direction to send a magnificent burst of lightning their direction, instantly dissolving their bones and flesh in seconds.

"Elder, I don't understand," Chiho fumbled over her robes as the elder pulled her towards the exit. "Where am I to go?" the elder never looked back. She couldn't waste time in explanations. She could hear the guards hustling in the adjoining halls and she knew the slightest misstep would bring the both of them to their knees.

The elder stopped their movements, hid behind a large monument, covered Chiho's mouth, and paused their movements. The guards took to the left as they stood to the right.

"Let's move it you bastards! The Lord needs our help and I will be damned if you lot embarrass me because you chose rice wine over your positions! Now move it!"

"Aye! Follow the sounds, that will take you to him!"

"Be armed, men! This demon is dangerous! Otherwise, be responsible for the castle repairs!"

"Aye!"

When the area was clear and silent, the two moved again across the bridge.

The rumbles, shrieks, screams and crashes from the two battling grew louder and louder. She knew at a point it was going to cause the castle to collapse. She knew Kojitsu to be a demon of vanity and he didn't expect such a glamorous infrastructure to collapse within itself. If she knew the concubines that she tended to and assisted in tending to, she prayed they would use this time to escape but she knew if she could help one, just one, this would have been worth it.

The elder looked onward and saw one of her allies standing at the edge of the south wing. When they made brief eye contact, the elder pulled Chiho behind another monument and held her close.

"Shield your ears, lass."

"Wha- "BOOM! One of her allies set an explosion alongside the walls of the castle, causing a gaping hole to stand between the castle and to freedom.

There was one explosion, then another, and another. It was to the point all corners of t he castles suffered the same fate. This was a planned escape that was set in place upon hearing of Sesshomaru's arrival.

Screams amplified, swords crashed against each other and in seconds a full out war erupted inside of the castle.

"It's an escape! Gather the ones and kill them instantly! Make sure you catch every fleeing concubine! Do it NOW!" time was running out! There was another rumbling and when she looked for the source out leaped Sesshomaru from the ceiling of the castle. She took a moment to admire the graceful prestige emanated from Sesshomaru's disposition, instantly seeing Toga's mannerisms highlighted in his leaps and bounds.

Arrows began to fly towards Sesshomaru and the elder knew instantly that the violence was only going to increase from here.

She removed two of the 3 robes off of Chiho, only leaving her with her lighter, cotton robe to remove any restrictions of her movement. She pulled Chiho across the bridge, made a sharp right turn and dashed with her towards the South wing exit.

"Come on now, the guards are coming!" warned her ally. He was a younger gentleman who wore equally tattered robes as the elder. He guided women, children, and other elders through the hole and into the unknown forest ahead of them. They all had similar crumbled pieces of paper that Chiho remembered the elder to hand to her and it instantly clicked to Chiho that these had to be instructions of some kind.

"Elder, wait!" they stood in the small clearing leading to the exit. Chiho, with a worried crease of her brow, held the elders' arms and looked into her eyes.

"Come with me! I can't do this without you!"

The elder, with her solitary eye, looked into Chiho's. Through her sullen smile radiated a sense of peace that flowed through her at an ever-growing pace.

"Nonsense, child. You have everything in you to go at it on your own. Go back home to your village and- "

The elders' eyes grew big as she felt a cool sensation trickle across her neck. The sensation went from cold to a pulsating heat. Reaching behind her, she felt the shaft of the arrow angled sharply into the air. Moving her hand closer to the base, she felt the base lodged deeply in the back of her neck.

She was hit.

The elder buckled to her knees as another arrow struck her in the back. She could feel the life of her drain with the pools of blood collecting at her feet.

So, this is it... Toga, if Sesshomaru is the same man in his heart as you were... I know Chiho will be in good hands.

Chiho, in shock, stood in front of the elder, her hands still firmly grasped in hers.

"I see some over here!"

"Lass! You must go!" the ally frowned, pulling her towards the hole.

"No! I can't leave he- "

"I'll fight them off as long as I can manage. But avenge us here and go!"

With a final shove, the ally shoved Chiho forward.

"Come back this way and I will strike you!"

Chiho took his warning with heed and, with stumbling feet, pulled herself up and ran into the thicket of the forest. She continued to run, past the screams and past the eruptions building behind her.

"Don't let them escape! Scour the forest!"

Chiho's pace quickened down the path of trees, even when her feet burned and her limbs throbbed, she continued to run. She over-estimated the path in front of her and stumbled down a drop-off, rolling continuously downwards from the path and landing along the edge of the river.

Her body was on fire and she could only lay there in searing pain. She feared herself to be seen but the screams stopped. All she could hear was the water.

Dragging herself behind a large collection of bushes, she hid beneath the shrubbery shield and sobbed. For herself and for the elder.