Inuyasha and the Dragon Riders
Chapter 01 the Deal and the Battle
Written by: Azarath DragonRider
It had been a good morning in the Feudal Japan; the date is March 02, 1495. Today a young man could be seen waking in the late hours of mid-morning, he is a shaggy boy with black messy hair and tanned skin. However as sunlight touches him through the trees, it becomes apparent that he is in fact, not human. With black, somewhat mussed Cat ears and a long fluff cat tail flicking lazily on the ground beside him. The claws and at first, golden but darkening to forest green eyes all point to Demon; In this case, Cat Demon.
In this time period one would find life harder and way different then normal life; If Normal is such an animal. Humans stick to their villages and castles, those that stray to far become prey or slave to Demons. There are 3 types of demons to be found; there are the vermin which compress of demons that resemble insects, snakes and lizards that fly, few have even enough intelligence to speak. Then you have the peasant type, they are demons that take on the shape of animals that walk and talk and hold up daily lives like a human would. These types can speak and hold good conversations. And finally there are the Nobles; the nobles are high ranked demons that have a human-ish appearance with animal appendages. They resemble the human opinion of 'Gods' in their beauty. They have deadly combat skills, some even have elemental skills and most carry some kind of magical demonic weapon. Most Nobles have the power to transform into animals, usually animals about the size of a Dinosaur and gain a great boast of demonic power. Intelligence and Wisdom are high in the ranks of Nobles.
This particular Cat Demon happens to be of Noble blood.
He wears black somewhat torn pants and boots with a leather black vest over bare chest. Not the usual wear for a Nobleman, this is because he may be an outcast.
He yawns as he sits up and rubs sleep out of his eyes and stretches popping tired joints and muscles. He rolls to his feet with first thought of water and food to start the day. On his hip is a sword scaberted with a somewhat rotted hilt, the moss on the scabbard suggest a lack of use for the weapon for it hasn't been taken out in years. He stumbles over to a nearby stream and dunks his head under the water, the shock of cool water to get him awake and drinks some down before pulling his face out of the flowing liquid. Water speckled the ground around him as he shook to get some of it out of his ears. Standing he makes his way into the woods he began to search for signs of animal activity and finds the trail to fallow.
Several miles away, in a village are a familiar group of people. Among the humans and demons there are half-breeds or Henyous; Half human and half demon. The only Henyou in the vicinity is a half dog-demon by the name of Inuyasha. Inuyasha is half Noble blood, with a human appearance and long silvery hair and little dog-ears instead of human ears. He wears red robe armor called 'The Robe of the Fire Rat'; passed down from father to mother and from mother to son. His mother had been a beautiful human woman who fell in love with one of the highest ranks in Nobleman by the title of Lord InuTashio of the Western Lands. A pureblood dog demon that ruled his land with an iron grip and gentle gaze. He had two sons, Inuyasha is the son of the woman he fell in love with, and his other is the child of an arranged marriage, Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands.
With Inuyasha is Kagome, a human girl with miko powers. Among the humans some gain purifying powers for Monks and Priestesses. Kagome is a Priestess, and one of a reincarnation of another powerful Priestess who is dead yet walks the living today. Her name was Kikyo, a woman pressured by duty to protect and purify the Sacred Jewel of Four Souls. It had not been until she met Inuyasha and fell in love with him as he her did her life change for the worst.
Then there is the demon slayer, Sango and her companion Kiara who is a demon cat. Miroku who is a monk with a cursed hand used as a valuable weapon against other demons known as the Wind Tunnel. Shippo a Peasant Demon cub who hangs with them as his parents are dead and needs someone to watch over him.
There also are two pureblood demons who are young, about 14 years old. They are Sesshomaru's children, Sly and Slayne. Slayne is a tough kid with a nasty temper on him; he wields a blade on his back called the Su'unga and has the Tensiagia. His Sister Sly looks like their mother but is very short so she wears big plat formed boots to appear taller. She is very pretty and has a hot temper. She has a sword too but not a magical one.
They are surrounding a vermin version of a half-demon called Naraku. He is called vermin cause he was not birthed of a human and a demon as Inuyasha was. He is called vermin cause of a foolish human who sold his soul to the vermin rated demons that devoured his soul and birthed Naraku, Naraku is made up of vermin flesh that can imitate human form, he holds with him the nearly whole Secret Jewel of the Four Souls. There are other shards out there still to be found and some in places where people know where they are.
Off to the side are other men, a person that resembles Sesshomaru, another son of his and a half-brother to Sly and Slayne.
Also a young kitsune girl is being protected by Kagome, she has a shard of the jewel inside her for her health.
"WIND SCAR!" Inuyasha flung his sword down and sent an energy attack based on wind and the combination of two demonic auras towards Naraku who put up a barrier and sent the blast back at them in multiples of itself. Inuyasha pushed Kagome down as others scattered to ovoid the deadly assault.
Miroku could not use his wind tunnel do to the syamioosho or Naraku's poisons insects. So Sango attacked using her Hiraikoos, a demonic weapon made of demon bones from previously slain demons; it is shaped like a huge boomerang. It spins and bounces off of the barrier and she catches it again.
"It is hopeless, I want the rest of the jewel shards, now." Naraku simpered coldly and advanced on them.
"LIKE HELL YOU'LL GET THEM, ADAMANT BARRAGE!" Inuyasha sliced through the air with the newest attack on his blade, a showers of crystal spears pierce the barrier and Naraku, and at the same time Kagome shot a sacred arrow into the pierced barrier and an explosion of purifying energy burst at contact. Naraku's body fell apart in the explosion and parts of his body fell onto Inuyasha and around him. The began to twitch and expand around him and closing in. "Inuyasha, you shall become one with me…" Naraku whispered to him as he closed his flesh around him sealing him inside.
The insects and rotted flesh made inuyasha's skin crawl and a bit ill, "Get your filthy flesh OFF OF ME!" he sliced thru the tenders of demon flesh and jumped away from Naraku. But before he got too far Naraku pierced him with a sharp tentacle and through him around and finally into a hut that collapsed on top of him.
"INUYASHA!" Kagome cried out and ran to the hut, Inuyasha isn't conscious. "Inuyasha! Inuyasha! Wake up! Please!" she begged him and shook him around his injury.
About half a mile away from the battle, a wild boar lay dead with nearly half of its meat torn off to that of the cat demon that hunted it, meat juices smeared his mouth and dipped down his front. He belched to prove a satisfied appetite. He didn't waste the remainder meat however, using his boot knife he began stripping meat out of the carcass and setting them aside, he had already skinned the beast when he caught and killed it. Once he had finished butchering the boar he took the tusks of the boar and perhaps some of its ribs to use as tools. He set aside what he is keeping and dragged what is left to the river to carry it downstream to where ever nature wanted it to be. When he returned he shooed away some vultures but allows a mother fox take some of the meat knowing that she needs all the food she can get to raise her pups healthily. The remainder meat he set a flame just long enough to dry the juices and placed the dried meat into his pack for later, he washed and sharpened the tusks and ribs and added them to his pack and finally cleaned the boar hide and rolled it up, taking up some robe from within his pack and tied it together and to his pack, it will possibly serve as a sleeping nest later as he could sense a rainstorm approaching in perhaps a day or so.
He went to the river to wash his vest and to wash away the grease and blood from his body and face, he had been about to cast a drying spell on his clothes to put them on when he felt a disturbance in the earth, and now that he had washed away all of the animal blood from him and his surroundings…now he can smell blood, human blood and something else like rotted live meat that made him want to gag up his breakfast. He dried his clothes and put them on then cast a ward around his stuff to ward away other animals, humans, and minor demons.
He walked through the woods looking for the source and saw a human village ahead; he could sense a lot of people here and not one of them an 'ordinary' human. His curiosity got the better of him, and he transformed himself, shape shifted himself into that of a raven and fluttered up to a roof, landed and surveyed the scene below.
A group of people, a few humans and demons of Noble blood. It is quite a gathering to him; he would have raised an eyebrow if he were in his normal form. They are all intent on fighting a mass of demon flesh that just formed the tarsal, head and shoulders of a human-ish body…he would wrinkled his nose at the stench coming from him, a combination of rotted vermin and a small hint of rotting human flesh…he suddenly felt the erg to go bathe himself for hours on end. That thing is an abomination of filth, even filth looks better in comparison.
Off to the side he could see a human girl wearing strange clothes drag a Hanyou out of the rubbish of a building. It seemed that judging by what is going on though this vermin appears to show strength and intelligence that ranks him higher then vermin or peasants but he is still vermin, it interests him in some way. However that doesn't mean he means to 'become friends' with it. The mere sight and smells it gives off makes him feel ill to his stomach. He had a half a mind to change back when hands grabbed him from behind, a young cat demon cub holding his wings closed and preventing escape.
"Gotcha, your no ordinary crow! A normal one would have taken flight by now. Who are you!" a young girl snapped, he could sense her health is being held together by a shard of a jewel in her chest. But as he is caught, he may as well change back; and so he did, crouched he proved to be much bigger then her, and his lean muscles prove him to be more then a commoner of the Nobility. She let him go quickly and backed away from him a bit intimidated by his size. He looked at her with a gentle look, "I mean you no harm child." His sincere tone allowed relaxing a bit. "My name is Ashland, who are you mister?" she asked him cautiously and curiously.
"I am Azarath." He answered simply gazing at the scene below. He left the girl on the roof and jumped down and approached the battle. The filth saw him and seemed a bit surprised then curious at the same time and smirked at him, then withdrew his attack on these people and vanished into a spray of miasma. He raised a brow at where the vermin vanished then heard a voice close enough to his ear, "Come meet me at my castle, and I shall give you power…"
The voice disappeared as soon as spoken.
Azarath is not one to ignore a direct invitation to whatever deal may be involved. He figured he will take him up on it but later.
He noticed that some of the other people have noticed him, the watched him warily but went to tend to their injured. He didn't mean anyone here harm. He walked towards them casually and asked the nearest person if they need any help? The demon slayer shook her head, "No thank you." She had been curt with him; he knew that she doesn't trust him being just a stranger. He glanced at the monk then looked around at the injured. There are scrapes and scratches on most but the blood that he smells comes from that Henyou unconscious by the strangely dressed girl. He approached and gazed down at the henyou. A half dog demon boy about perhaps 100 years old in demon years yet about 17 in human years. He has many scrapes and scratched and more so a deep hole in his gut from is squired like a piece of meat being set up for shiscabob.
On his own it would take the henyou a week to heal naturally if he survives. His gaze shifted to the demonic blade he holds tightly in his hand. A powerful blade is what he sensed but said nothing of it. He figured he may as well lend a hand if necessary. He fished through his pockets and found only one last tiny bottle in his left pocket with enough for a mouthful left in it. Healing potion, he can always restock or make more if he finds the correct herbs. Then there is his other healing talents but he isn't about to use his energy to heal a stranger he doesn't know, nor is he going to disgrace himself by attempting to heal him the other way. No he tossed the vile down next to the girl who started and looked at him only now realizing his presence.
He locked gaze with the girl's eyes for a moment before speaking. "Have him drink that, it should help speed up his recovery." He turned and started to leave his duty here done.
"Wait." The girl spoke up, he paused but didn't turn, and she is silent for a minute then, "Thank you."
He shrugged then walked away believing that is one good deed he has done in an age.
Kagome watched the strange youth walk away and out of sight, Sango approached her while watching him walk away. "Kagome? What did he give you?" that jerked her out of her stupor she looked at the small vile of bluish liquid in it and picked it up, there is no label on it and handed it to Sango. Her curiosity leapt when she though of that cat demon, who is he? Why did he lend a helping hand? Inuyasha groaned as he stirred feebly. That will have to wait for later for her to think about and turned her attention back to Inuyasha. He placed her hand over his and leaned in watching him grimace in pain. It isn't the first time he got badly injured but it still pains her to see him in pain. "Inuyasha" she whispered watching him then looked at Sango.
Sango examined the vile of liquid she touched it with her finger and tasted it, like mint then felt a very minor shiver of hot then cold and noticed that her cut on her arm healed a bit. It is a healing potion, but there didn't appear to be too much of it left. She had a feeling that it was the lad's last bottle. Made her want to jog after the youth to thank him but he could be long gone by now. She handed the vile to Kagome, "It is a healing potion, he should drink it." She nodded assuring to Kagome before going off to Miroku and the others pulling out an ointment from within her armor to help them.
Kagome lifted Inuyasha up a bit, "Inuyasha drink this." She commanded soothingly and tilted the bottle into his parted lips and into his mouth. He grimaced a bit but swallowed the liquid and shuddered a bit, his cuts and scrapes all healed and the hole healed a bit round the edges, his skin gained more color to it and she sighed with some relief. She knew then that if the vile had been completely full of that liquid then it would have healed him completely. He breathed more easily and the tetsiagia changed back to normal. His life is no longer threatened. She took it and put it back into its scabbard.
Miroku came over and heaved Inuyasha up draping one of his arms over his shoulder and supporting him with the other. "We should go."
Kagome nodded and glanced once more in the direction that youth left in before moving to gather up her bow and arrows and help the others clean up.
The land miles and miles away from that village is dead and filled with miasma that rots plants and kills small animals. A single castle rises above the dead land with demon vermin flourishing around it a huge dome of a barrier surrounds the castle and the place wreaks of dead things. Azarath materialized out of thin air is a swirl of fresh sand that sprayed everywhere and settled on the ground, he almost immediately gagged at the stench in the place. This is where that vermin lives? It shouldn't surprise him considering how the appearance of that vermin is. He composed himself and approached the largest building where he could see a figure in the shape of a man dressed in a white baboons hide with mask on. He stops at the first step to gaze at the creature. It didn't have the full stench of the vermin and he narrowed his eyes a bit, he cast a minor revealing spell to his eyes and saw it to be a demon puppet. "Humph."
"Welcome to my castle, I am Naraku." It spoke.
Azarath smirked and leveled a gaze at the puppet, not even giving it the grace of a bow or an inclination of the head, "Why hide behind a toy? Can we not speak face to face?" He muttered with mild sarcasm.
Naraku laughed, "How very cunning of you to know about my puppet without destroying it…very well." The puppet vanished and the door slid open to reveal the vermin himself with a fuller human appearance with long black flowing hair and wearing a blue kimono. The appearance may be better but the stench is still there.
"I see you are of Noble Blood my friend. May I ask a name?" He bowed with the grace for a higher ranking demon. Azarath raised a brow at him; he indeed possesses intelligence of a higher ranking demon to know the formality of introductions. He inclined his head in acknowledgment of this Naraku. "I am called Azarath of the Cat Demon Tribe." There is no reason to give away anymore information about him then that.
"A pleasure to meet you, Lord Azarath."
Azarath twitched inwardly at the 'lord' part; he never did like being called 'lord' in his life. "Enough of the introductions, you summoned me here. Why?"
Naraku nodded, "Directly to the point, I want you to kill Inuyasha for me and I will grant you power beyond your dreams."
"Inuyasha?" He raised a brow at him, which name meant 'Dog Demon'. Did he mean that henyou he offered help towards earlier? Almost as if he read his mind Naraku nodded, "He is that half-breed I was fighting at that village. Kill him and his companions and bring me their jewel shards, in return I will grant you the power to do so with a few of the shards." He held out a couple shards of a broken jewel. Come to think of it, he has heard of this Jewel of Four Souls, and if that is the so called power that is being offered… "Do you honestly think I will take those shards? That is barrowed power, I am above that. I find to gain power is to surpass your limits and defeat other demons to gain their strength and power as they die. If you want to give me power then I will just kill you and see what I get from filth like you." He sneered sourly.
Naraku chuckled at his proclamation. "Surely you will want to kill Inuyasha, he is far stronger then me, maybe you can gain control of that blade of his. Take him out of my way and I will reward you well." He smirked and gazed at him expectantly.
Azarath snorted, "Fine. But I am not promising anything to you." He turned to leave this filthy place. But paused when he felt a prickle in his arm as Naraku flicked two shards into each of his arms.
"For luck, farewell."
Azarath sighed and Teleported out of there and reappearing in the middle of a forest, a bit of his blood trickled down from the little holes in his arms where the jewel shards embedded in his flesh lie.