Dark Guardian
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.
Summary: A princess with no memory of her past finds herself kidnapped by the king of thieves. That's just the tip of the ice burg… now her memories are crawling back with a vengeance. Determined to piece together her past, she relies on a group of unfamiliar demons to restore what she'd lost. What lies at the end of her journey can only result in death and sorrow but will a few new friends help her change this dismal future?
A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you enjoy my newest fic! Just a little side note: I'd like to point out to all of you that these stories are FAN fictions. Created by fans of the animes and they are indeed FICTIONAL stories. So if I decide to make a character all powerful and unbeatable, then I will. If you have a problem with my writing style, story lines, or the way my fics turn out then don't read and move on to a different fic. I accept and appreciate constructive criticism but reviews that straight out state that my fics are 'unrealistic' or 'cliché'? Lol really? Did you forget that you're reading fictional stories about fiction characters and events? Do you not remember entering this website where FANS write their own stories rooted from their favorite animes and twist and turn the plots as they please because it is THEIR fic? So for those of you that read my fics and think them 'lame', screw off and go find a hobby. As for my faithful reviewers I LOVE AND VALUE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. Sorry for the little outburst. It just bothers me to see people write a review (which excites the author to see the email notification that there is a new review, only to find it's a flame) just to bring someone down. Telling me about grammar errors? Very helpful and I look back and make corrections. Thank you all for that help. Pointing out mess ups in my plot because I write more than one fic at a time and sometimes accidently cross plots? That's super helpful too. But comment and say the fic is lame and unrealistic because a character has too much power? Yea, I don't give a flying chipmunk about what you think. Alright… I'm done with my little outburst lol ENJOY!
Chapter One: Valuable Loss
"Princess, your father requests your presence for supper this evening." A tall man dressed in dark blue clothing announced as he approached a woman with long ebony hair that reached her hips. She wore a long dark blue kimono with purple designs swirling around the material as if the color was painted across the cloth. The woman turned from admiring the roses in her father's garden and focused her blue eyes on the man that had spoken to her.
"Alright, thank you Tien." She murmured before standing from her kneeled stance and moved to follow the servant through the garden and back into the castle. "Are we expecting guests?"
"I believe so my lady, the Lord of the Western lands if I recall." Tien answered.
She sighed. "Why must father arrange such events and fail to inform me in advance?"
Tien smiled and held back his laughter. "You know how Lord Rahu is Lady Kagome; irrational as always." He murmured as he continued down the hall toward the princess's sleeping chambers.
Kagome turned her icy blue eyes to the servant with a barely noticeable smirk. "Are you insulting my father Tien?"
The servant's eyes widened as he turned sharply, his shoulder length black hair fanning out around him as he spun to face the princess and drop on one knee. "Certainly not my Lady, please forgive me if that is how it may have sounded." He spoke quickly as sweat began to form along his hairline. His brown eyes glued to the ground, he awaited the princess's reaction.
Kagome giggled, amusement flooding over the offended expression she managed to make look realistic. "Relax Tien, I'm only joking."
The tall man sighed in relief and slowly stood. He glared at her playfully. "Why must you play such pranks? You know we all fear your father's rage. You remember what happened to the last servant that insulted Lord Rahu…" He trailed off, recalling the young woman that was foolish enough to speak negatively of the Lord while one of his guards happened to pass and overheard her dark words. No one truly knows what happened to the woman but they hadn't seen her since. Tien shivered before he continued making his way through the castle.
Kagome rolled her eyes. "You're all overreacting. Father isn't that bad… he just has a bad temper sometimes."
"He never takes his anger out on you Princess; we witness his fury on a regular basis. We're just relieved that majority of the time, his rage isn't focused on us in particular."
"He's not in that bad of a mood all the time." Kagome murmured, unsure of her statement. What could her father possibly be so worried about all the time? She didn't rile him up that often.
Tien sighed and glanced back at her for a moment. "You're father has far more to worry about other than you disobeying his orders or trying to sneak out of the castle without a guard."
A pout formed on her beautiful face. "I haven't tried sneaking out for quite some time now."
This time Tien rolled his eyes. "A week is not 'quite some time'."
"I just wanted to go on a walk outside the castle walls for once!" She argued. "Why must I be locked up here like a prisoner?"
Tien sighed as they approached her bedroom door and opened it for her before turning to meet her gaze. "It is dangerous outside these walls Princess."
"Not all demons are dangerous Tien, you know that very well. Father has several demons that work here at the castle!"
"They have earned our trust and therefore have been given the privilege to remain here. Your father is right to be so worried Lady Kagome." Tien tried to explain.
"Explain to me why he's right then Tien." She snapped, her face turning red with anger.
The servant crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the princess with slight pity. "For years, your father has been fighting far harder to remain the Lord of the Eastern Lands than any of the other lords. Since Lord Rahu is currently the only human lord, rebel demons that desire to overthrow one of the lords first target us."
The anger slowly dissipated from Kagome's face as his words sunk in. So that's why her father had such a large army… and why she was required to have at least ten guards whenever she left the castle walls –though she rarely received permission to leave the castle walls… even when she was obeying the rules and taking guards.
"Not only does Lord Rahu have to deal with demons and humans trying to overthrow him, he also has the other lords to worry about. He needs to remain on good standards with the other lords so they don't attempt to pit war against him for control over more land. That is why your father scheduled to have supper with the Western Lord this evening… although the invitation was originally for tomorrow." Tien trailed off, his eyes wandering down the hall when a maid exited from the room that was being prepared for the Western Lord.
"It was supposed to be for tomorrow?" Kagome questioned, wanting to change the subject. She felt bad for getting angry at the servant. There was a lot her father had to deal with that she obviously wasn't aware of.
"Yes, Lord Rahu says that an advisor of Lord Sesshomaru arrived early this morning to inform us that he would be coming tonight instead of tomorrow. For personal reasons I suppose." Tien shrugged, his arms dropping to his sides casually.
Kagome nodded as she wandered into her room. "Alright. Could you send Kara to my room an hour before the lord's expected arrival so she can assist me with preparing for dinner?"
Tien nodded and smiled. "Certainly Princess." He bowed slightly before closing her door.
Youko turned his gaze to Yomi briefly as the demon entered their camp. Kuronue stood from his seat near the fire to greet the young demon before both of them moved to stand before the kitunse and apparition that was lounging high in the branches of the tree Youko leaned against. The kitsune focused his bored golden eyes on the two demons as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I've heard a rumor of a valuable treasure that's within our reach." Yomi reported as Kuronue moved to sit on the ground at the base of a nearby tree and lean his back against it.
"And what treasure would this be?" Youko questioned in boredom.
"The Shikon No Tama." Yomi smirked.
Now even the hybrid high in the tree was listening intently. "The Tama is broken." Kuronue said, now glaring at Yomi.
The demon nodded. "It is but there is a rumor that a large piece of the jewel has been collected and is in possession of the princess of the eastern lands."
"I've also heard that a hanyou has a large portion of the Shikon." Hiei spoke up from his perch high in the tree.
Yomi nodded. "Yes but it would be much easier for us to take the princess's chunk since we know exactly where she is. Apparently the eastern lord arranged supper tonight with the western lord. Everyone's attention is going to be on Sesshomaru because the eastern lord knows very well just how dangerous he is."
Kuronue nodded. "You thought this through quite thoroughly; I'm impressed."
"I wanted to gather as much information as I could before reporting back to you." Yomi announced, his gaze shifting from Kuronue to Hiei, then to Youko.
Youko's golden eyes seemed to stare right through Yomi as he contemplated if it was worth their trouble. The kitsune gracefully pushed away from the tree he was resting against and turned his gaze to his resting bandits. "Pack up. We're making quick haste to the eastern lands." He announced. It was almost dark and they didn't have much time. They needed to make it to the eastern lands quickly if they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. Not only that but they had to be stealthy enough to avoid being seen by border patrol as well as Sesshomaru. If the western lord even caught a whiff of them, the plan would be ruined.
"Lady Kagome, please stand still!" Kara whined as she tried to tighten the strings at the back of the princess's dress. It was one of Kagome's favorite outfits; a long, thin, silky white dress that fell a little past her ankles. The back of the dress was open aside from the strings that Kara was trying to tie to tighten the top half of the dress. It was strapless but sleeves circled around her upper arms, extending to her elbows where the material ended and a long layer of the white silk trailed to the ground.
"If you pull any tighter, I might faint by the time I reach the dining hall." Kagome wheezed out as she tried to finish touching up her hair. Kara always loved doing Kagome's hair and this time the princess was more than satisfied with the servant girl's work. She'd curled the princess's long dark hair and let it fall against her back. The soft curls were complimented by the piece of jewelry the servant had so skillfully wove along her hairline.
She'd laced a beautiful golden chain into her hair to frame her face. The ends of the chain dangled at the sides and draped over her shoulders with the rest of her curls. Several strands of the chain dangled down and rested on her forehead, stopping just a few inches above her eyebrows. What made the chain so much more appealing were the small white roses that were melded into the gold. Roses being Kagome's favorite flower, she had been delighted when Kara turned her to face the mirror once she was finished with her work of art.
Slipping on a pair of flat, comfortable, white shoes, Kagome glanced back at Kara just as she finished tying the bow to her dress. "There! All finished." The servant grinned. "You look perfect!"
Kagome smiled. "Thanks to you Kara."
The servant girl shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Well of course, why else would Lord Rahu keep me around?" She giggled before heading toward the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes to escort you. I'm going to see how everything is going in the kitchen." She said before bowing and leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.
Kagome sighed as she stared at herself in the mirror. She stared at her facial features and tried desperately to find some type of resemblance to her father. She could find not one. Her father, Lord Rahu, was tall with light brown hair and grey eyes. He had a wide forehead and long bridged nose whereas she was completely opposite. His cheekbones were set far higher than hers and his eyes more slanted. The princess often stared into the mirror, pondering that perhaps she took all of her mother's features.
She never asked her father about her mother. The one time she ever did, sorrow filled his usually happy eyes. She didn't like to see such sadness from her father so decided not to bring up the subject again. That didn't keep her from being curious though… She couldn't remember her mother. In fact, she couldn't remember anything from her past. All she knew was her name. A few months ago, she woke up in this castle but could not recall how she got there. Moments after she woke, Lord Rahu, one of his most faithful servants Kara, and his advisor Tien stepped into the room.
They explained to her that she fell and hit her head quiet hard in the garden. She'd been confused at first but after the three of them explained who she was, she fell into the role of who she'd been told she used to be. Now, with help from Kara and Tien, everything felt like routine to her. Kagome sighed and stood from the chair that was set in front of her vanity. Making her way to her dresser, she pulled open the top drawer and sifted through her clothing until she found the little black box she was looking for.
Placing it on top of her dresser, she lifted the top and stared at the tiny jar filled with somehow familiar looking shards of what looked to be a gem of some sort. She brushed her fingers over the jar softly before taking it from the box, studying the odd feeling that rushed through her body. No matter where she was in the castle, she could feel these odd shards. When she woke from unconsciousness, Kara pointed to a pile of clothes in the corner of the room and claimed it was what she'd been wearing during the incident. Kagome found it odd that the clothing that was on that chair was nothing similar to her other clothing, but didn't think on it too hard.
After everyone left her to change, she'd taken the pile of clothes and intended to wash them in the hot spring that Tien told her was connected to her room when this little jar fell from the folds of the clothing in her arms. Once her eyes landed on the small purple shards, she realized that there was some kind of pull… desire to be near the shards. She didn't know how to explain it but they brought her comfort at times. She wasn't sure where she'd gotten the shards from or what they had come from but she figured it was hers seeing as it was hidden in the folds of her own so called clothing.
A shard rap at the door caused her to jump and drop the jar. It hit the floor with a soft 'pang' and she quickly reached down to pick up the precious shards. Shoving the box into her drawer and pushing the small jar into her cleavage, Kagome turned sharply just as Kara opened the door.
"Ready to go?"
The princess nodded and made her way to the door, cursing Kara's horrible timing. She didn't have time to put the jar back. Somehow, she knew that no one could find out that she had them. She wasn't sure why she thought this but wasn't going to question pure instinct. With her back to Kara, she took a deep breath and rearranging her breasts so the jar was completely concealed before turning a bright smile to the servant girl. "Is the western lord here?"
"I've been told that he is just approaching the front gate. We are to welcome him before leading the way to the dining hall." Kara explained before leading the princess toward the front foyer. Before long, they were walking through the entry hall making their way toward Lord Rahu, who was waiting for them at the front door.
Kagome smiled warmly to her father as she approached him before pulling him into a hug. "Hello father."
He smiled and twirled her around. "You look wonderful my daughter. Well done with her hair Kara." He complimented.
The servant girl grinned happily. "Thank you my Lord!"
Kagome laughed at Kara before turning her bright eyes to her father. "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the western lord yet. Is he similar to the southern lord?"
The smile on his face faded slightly as he shook his head. "Not quite my dear. Lord Sesshomaru is a bit more… cold."
"Cold?"
"Well he's ju-"
"Lord Sesshomaru is just outside the gates my Lord." Tien informed them as he opened the front door completely and stepped aside so the Lord and his daughter could pass. Kagome felt nervous to meet the western lord. She'd been told that he was a dog demon and for some reason, his name sounded familiar to her. She shivered as the guards at the front gates pulled them open. Staring past them, Kagome stared at a demon that oddly looked far too recognizable for her comfort. She shifted from one foot to the other as the lord stepped into the boundaries of their walls.
Suddenly everything began moving far too fast for Kagome to keep up. The western lord, who was most definitely a dog demon, with long silver hair and cold golden eyes abruptly turned into another person all together. And what terrified Kagome was that this person also seemed familiar… but this recognition was coupled with immense fear. Fear that hit her so hard, she stumbled back a step. This demon… with long black hair and menacing red eyes… struck her entire being with such terror that she couldn't stop herself from turning and sprinting back into the safety of the castle.
Behind her, she could hear battle raging. The sound of the dozens of guards that littered the front lawn attacking the intruder. She could hear her father, Kara, and Tien running after her, the two servants purposely remaining between their lord and the intruder. She could hear her father calling her name between yelling orders to Tien and Kiara to alarm the army and call all the guards to the front gate until the imposter was killed. Through all of this, Kagome didn't resist her dyer urge to run for her life. She let her instincts take complete control and take her to safety.
Her sprint finally slowed when she reached the garden.
"Intruder! Quickly, to the front gate!"
Youko, Yomi, Hiei, Kuronue and the rest of the bandits stared over the wall in confusion as every single guard and soldier protecting the back entrance raced out of sight.
"I thought the western lord was arriving for supper?" Kuronue questioned, turning to Yomi.
"That's what I heard… but this just makes things easier." Yomi smirked as he turned his gaze to Youko.
Youko nodded slightly before maneuvering over the wall and landing gracefully on the ground. Kuronue and Yomi followed while Hiei remained with the rest of their group and kept watch. With no one guarding the back entrance, they easily snuck into the castle and stealthily made their way down the hall. They could hear the sounds of battle near the front entrance and decided that the lord wouldn't allow his daughter to be anywhere near danger. So where would she be?
"Perhaps the garden?" Kuronue suggested, just as they were passing said location. Both Yomi and Youko turned their attention to the garden to see a beautiful woman slowing from her fast paced run to an exhausted walk as she entered the garden. She rested her hand on the only sakura tree in the room as she tried to catch her breath.
Youko expanded his aura to cover the entire garden as they watched the terrified looking human reach into her bosom and pull out a tiny bottle. Yomi held back his gasp of surprise as he tore his gaze from the beautiful woman to Youko. "She has the shards."
Youko nodded and wrapped his aura around the sakura tree she was resting against. Ordering it to secure the woman and take the bottle from her, the kitunse was surprised when the tree refused. Studying the tree closely, he huffed when he realized the tree would not obey him… not if his order was to harm or steal from the woman in any way. The tree liked the princess. She must treat it quite well for it to so strongly resist him. He wrapped his aura around the other surrounding plant life and was surprised once more when each and every plant in the garden refused to bend to his will.
"Interesting." Youko mused aloud, his golden eyes watching the princess closely.
"What?" Kuronue questioned, curious as to why they were just standing there and not taking action. They may have been given a little more time to accomplish this mission because of the surprise guest to the castle but it didn't mean they could take their sweet time.
"The plants refuse to assist in her capture."
Now Yomi turned his gaze to Youko as well. "Why?"
"They have grown attached to her. Apparently she is their caretaker. They will not help us steal the shards from her." Youko responded.
"Well this is a surprise. Looks like we're gunna have to sneak up on her then." Kuronue muttered as he turned his gaze back to the woman.
"Let's make this quick. The battle is ending quickly." Youko stated as he quietly made his way around the garden, remaining out of sight.
Kagome could still feel her heart pounding in her chest. Who was that demon? Why did he seem so familiar? Why did the sight of him terrify her so? The princess didn't get an answer to her questions because her instincts were screaming at her again. She quickly pushed the small bottle back into her cleavage before examining her surroundings. She didn't understand what was happening but she wasn't going to question what her body was forcing her to do… so far it's kept her safe. She was also confused as to how her body seemed to know what to do in such a dangerous situation… but her mind was scrambling as it tried to figure out how to escape to safety.
She heard a sound behind her and turned sharply. Her eyes widened for just a moment as her heart leapt into overdrive once more. She didn't have time to analyze the demons sneaking up on her because her legs forced her to begin running again. She didn't complain since she did not recognize the demons at all… and they didn't look friendly. Kagome pushed herself to run faster when she heard them chasing after her. She was thankful now that her favorite dress was made of such light and thin material. It flowed behind her slightly as she raced through the halls, trying to find something or someone that could help her escape these demons.
Rounding a corner, the princess picked up her pace again and spotted a small vase sitting neatly next to the wall. Grabbing it quickly, she turned slightly and threw it with all her might at the demons chasing after her. She nearly cheered in triumph as it knocked directly into the demon with odd horns protruding from the side of his head. Her celebration was cut short when she saw the pure rage drown into the eyes of the demon she'd hit. Gulping, she pushed her legs to move faster as her eyes scanned her surroundings for anything else that she could possibly slow them down with. She suddenly felt her body demand that she swiftly move to the left. Knowing to believe in her instincts, she pushed herself to the left quickly… and just in time to dodge the horned demon from tackling her to the ground.
Kagome's eyes widened a fraction as she tried to focus on escaping with her life. How did she possibly dodge that attack? What was happening to her lately? The princess was curious as to what was occurring but didn't have time to ponder. She would have plenty of time to wonder on these new events at a later time… when she wasn't running for her life from vicious demons that didn't look like they'd just stopped by for a casual visit. But what were they after then? And why were they chasing her?
She suddenly felt her body leap to the side and the princess gasped in shock when she once again spotted the horned demon hit the ground in the exact spot she'd been. Kagome didn't know how her body seemed to know exactly what to do in such a situation but she wasn't going to complain. If it weren't for her instincts, she'd surely be dead by now. Not allowing the demon time to stand and tackle her down as he had recently tried to, Kagome darted off running once more.
Yomi snarled in anger, his eyes glaring at the human running from them. She had the nerve to throw something at them? Not only that but she'd actually hit him. That was the true reason he was so irate at the moment… and he planned to take out his frustration on the pathetic human that somehow thought she could escape them. He'd been slightly shocked that she was able to dodge him when he tried to tackle her down but he decided that she'd gotten lucky. She wouldn't be so lucky next time.
Youko appeared at his side, as well as Kuronue, and they quickly darted off after the princess that was running rather quickly for a mere human. Youko finally located a plant that he was able to take control of and immediately took action.
Kagome thought she was close to escaping… close to safety… until she felt something wrap securely around her ankle and saw the red carpeted floor approaching her very quickly. She pushed her hands out in front of her to lighten the impact of her fall but at the pace she was running, it didn't help much. Feeling the wind knock out of her, Kagome turned onto her back quickly and stared down at the vine that was wrapped around her ankle.
Feeling panic flood through her, the princess pulled desperately at the vine but it wouldn't budge. She could hear the demons rounding the corner but there was nothing she could do… nowhere she could go. Kagome turned her wide eyes up to the three demons as they appeared, glaring down at her. The princess glared right back.
She wasn't sure why, but once her pursuers came into sight, she no longer felt fear. She felt anger… irritation. The three demons standing before her were definitely not familiar. The horned demon, that she'd gotten a glimpse of before, was actually taller than she thought. There were horns protruding from the sides of his head, above his ears. He had dark hair and eyes to match. The demon to his left was a little more pale skinned. He had long black wings attached to his back and shoulder length black hair. He was dressed in black as well.
The last demon was what caught her by surprise. He was quite attractive. Long silver hair, golden eyes, silver ears and a tail. He was dressed in a white tunic and was standing with his arms crossed over his chest as he glared down at her with his stunning golden eyes. She was snapped out of her stupor when she heard a snarl of irritation. She turned her gaze to the horned demon to see him snarling down at her as he slowly approached her.
"Little bitch, did you honestly think you could escape?" he snapped. She glared at him defiantly but remained silent. The demon growled and took another step toward her and raised his hand as if to strike her. Kagome flinched slightly until she noticed his arm dropping to his side, a smirk appearing on his face. "Don't want to ruin that beautiful face before I defile the body."
Kagome glared up at him angrily as she reached down and tugged at the vine.
"You will not escape princess."
Kagome heard the silver haired demon snort and turned her glare to him. She suddenly realized that she had the peculiar urge to touch his ears… but why?
"Who said you get her first?" The demon with wings argued, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I called dibs."
"Doesn't matter, I'm higher in rank." The winged demon smirked. "And what if Youko wants a piece of her?"
"None of you will ever touch me!" Kagome snapped, gaining their attention once more.
The horned demon smirked and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground. "I'll touch you when and where I want."
Kagome glared down at him for a moment before swiftly kicking him in the balls. The demon dropped her as he fell to the ground in agony. The winged demon laughed. "She's feisty, I like her."
"We must be going." Youko spoke up, his golden gaze still on the princess.
The winged demon nodded as he stepped toward her. Kagome tried desperately to break free of the vine that was holding her in place but it was no use. The winged demon quickly threw her over his shoulder and Kagome tried to kick him as well but the vine was now wrapped around both her ankles. She turned her glare to the silver haired demon as she was carried back toward the garden.
"What do you want with me anyway?!" Kagome yelled, beyond pissed.
The silver haired demon ignored her and turned his gaze to the horned demon. "Yomi, we are leaving."
Kagome tried everything she could to escape the grasp of the winged demon carrying her away but nothing worked. And even if she did get away from him, she wouldn't get far with the vine that was securely wrapped around her ankles. A single tear trailed down her cheek as her kidnappers hauled her toward the back of the property. She gasped when they easily leapt over the wall surrounding the castle and watched with wide eyes as her home disappeared in the distance.
A/N:
There's chapter one of my newest fic! You know, I'm not even sure what inspired this plot either… I was just bored at work and my crazed mind just started piecing together ideas and this was the result. Hope it turns out alright… or I'll be quite disappointed But anywho, R&R please! Let me know what you think I will be posting a new chapter every week!
~*Icyfire*~
Next Chapter – Chapter 2: Bandit Territory