Chapter 1: The Hitsusenshyou

700 years ago. Feudal Japan

"My, you've been busy," a calm elderly voice greeted. The voice belonged to an aged man who tranquilly reclined on his favorite chair and licked his finger as he turned the page of a frail old book. A foreign script ran along its delicate pages. Waruimaru barely picked his eyes off the text to acknowledge the being standing in his doorway.

A tall youthful man decked in armor with a strong chin, piercing eyes, and fine white hair agitatedly waited for the ancient human to put down his reading material. As he stood, a fine trail of blood leaked from his armor and dripped on the floor. He stared at Waruimaru.

"Take a seat, please. Make yourself at home," Waruimaru offered.

"Tell me where she is," the young man spoke. He had a deep grave voice.

"If you'll pardon me saying, it is rather late and you really should tend your wounds. You are welcome to stay here. We'll have a night cap," Waruimaru smiled cheerily.

"Don't toy with me, Wariumaru," his voice was commanding, "I have no time. Where is she?"

"Where is who?" Wariumaru looked up into the dog general's face for the first time that night.

The great dog demon stepped further inside the room. His armor clanked and fresh blood leaked out of the pockets in his attire, but most profusely from his left arm. His fiery saffron eyes became clear in the candlelight by Waruimaru's book. He gazed down at the old man.

"Where is she?" The dog demon said each word individually. His crisp eyes were demanding.

"Is that a dying request?" Waruimaru's cheeks puckered in a tainted curious grin. His old eyes wandered over the warrior's dripping wound. The dog general's hand was pure red from all the blood. Just as Waruimaru stared so intently at the bloodied appendage, it contracted into a fist.

"What is it that you want, Waruimaru?" He seemed pained in asking.

The old man smiled and dropped his eyes from the demon. He turned in his chair to a small table next to him. He picked up a small plant, placed it in a mortar with an accompanying powder, and ground it down with the pestle. Then he emptied the smashed particles into his tea cup and mixed it all together. He smiled again as he complacently stirred his immortality potion.

"I want what you want," he looked up at the dog general and sipped his tea, "preservation... for eternity. A place to rest my soul beyond this world."

"You mean the sacred place, I assume? You think I know how to get in there?"

"My boy, I know you do," Waruimaru chuckled and stirred his tea again, "that sword around your waist is proof enough." Waruimaru nodded at the collection swords tied to his waist, the smallest of which was the Tensaiga. "So what do you want?" Waruimaru's eyes flashed with an eerie light. He stirred his tea. The dog demon irritably watched the tea swirl when something caught his eye in the steaming concoction. Izayoi. Her face was clear in the brew for but a moment. The dog demon lurched forward as though enamored by the mere sight of her. A chuckle rang in his ears. He lifted his sharp eyes to see the old man watching his reaction. He relaxed his muscles and breathed. A cool complexion washed over him and his eyes faded into something of indifference.

"I see," the dog general paused. "For you to ensure the purification of your soul to enter the sacred place, you must be killed by a purifying power and also strike down that same power." The demon's eyes narrowed with impatience.

"Ah yes, I have heard of this before. But you fail to mention, should one attempt this unsuccessfully, the consequences would be... grave. Straight to the ninth circle of hell, I've been told." He smiled. "There is another way. This is what I want to hear from you."

The dog general's face twitched.

"In order to reach the sacred place," Waruimaru's eyes lifted with interest as he was surprised how willingly the dog general began, "the soul must ascend. Presumably this is because the being's doings in life were worthy of such an honor. The soul is near weightless and therefore ascends. However, it is said that when a soul is destroyed it reverts to its original components. These components are rumored to originate from the sacred place itself, and once scattered apart, they should return to their origin. And should one come upon these pieces, one can ride them to their destination..."

"I see..." Waruimaru grinned evilly. "So that is the Hitsusenshyou."

The dog general's eyes flashed. Waruimaru smirked and put down his book. He turned again in his chair to the small table. Upon it rested an item under a strange cloth. Waruimaru's old bony fingers nimbly extracted the cloth to reveal a small crystal ball. The dog general stepped determinedly forward. The mist in the ball swirled and stormed about at his presence.

Waruimaru's face revealed something of mischievous contemplation. He grinned at the dog general.

"Oh my... You have been busy..."

The crystal cleared enough to see a young beautiful woman with sweat plastering her face. She was breathing hard. Her face tightened with pain. She squeezed her eyes shut and dropped her jaw as though screaming. The orb was mute and would not reveal whatever sound carried off her lips. Then another woman beside her came into view carrying a small bundle. She was holding a baby, a bran new baby covered in blood and waving his small fists while crying, presumably.

"Congratulations," Waruimaru smiled, "it's a boy."

"Where is she, old man? Tell me now."

"She's in a hidden castle, in the southwestern lands. The castle is contained in a forest called the forest of forbidden love. Quite fitting, wouldn't you say?" The dog demon glared at him. "I'd hurry if I were you," Waruimaru avoided his wrath, "there seems to be a formidable army approaching the castle." Waruimaru lazy whisked his hand over the orb and its light went out. Izayoi disappeared from view. The great dog demon was already out the door when Waruimaru went to pick up his tea again. He grasped his book, The Afterlife.

Awh... Young love...

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Author's Note: As promised, here is the first chapter of the sequel to Follow Me. I hope you all enjoyed it. I was very pleased with all the reviews I received at the end of my previous story. Thank you all for taking your time to give me your thoughts. I really appreciate it. And I am also delighted that so many are interested in a sequel. I can't help myself either. ;) I love playing these characters off each other. Hope you all stay tuned and keep voicing your opinions. I'll keep writing as long as you do. :) Till next time.