Disclaimer
: ::takes out megaphone:: I wish I did, but I don't own it!! ::sqeeeeeaaaakkk:: O 0 …Ow… X.xA/N
: Konniciwa, minna-san! I'm Pegacorn, but you already knew that, nee? ;) I know I shouldn't be starting a new fic again so soon, but it's just that… I had this rabid plot-bunny that refused to stop jumping around in my mind until it got written. So I complied with its wishes and voila! "Shards of Memories" is born! I've actually had this idea for over two months now, it's just that I hadn't figured out the plot so much until this month. XD I really need to write more for my Yu Yu fic, "Awakening Spirits", but wouldn't you know it? I got hit by the dreaded disease known as…dun dun dun! WRITER'S BLOCK! O O; Run for your lives!! Before it gets you! …Uh…don't mind me; I'm a bit high on sugar right now from too much hot cocoa. XD So I'll just let you read the fic, now…Enjoy!
Shards of Memories
Ch1: Encounter
The flames were raging, devouring everything in their path…
Smoke filled the air --choking the lungs; burning the eyes--, numbing the senses…
"Suiren!" A male voice called out in desperation.
Where was she? Could it be that she had…
'No!' He shook his head, abruptly cutting off that thought. He didn't want to believe that. He
refused to believe that…Quickening the speed of his gait, the male continuously fought through the billows of clouds in his search.
"Suiren! …Suirennnn!!"
A pair of orbs snapped open at an approaching noise.
"Kagome, are you sure it's this way?" There was a voice, masculine in tone.
"I'm positive." Another voice – a female this time – answered the first. "One shard; and it's not too far ahead."
The figure's relaxed form tensed into a crouch on the branch he was lounging on.
He could sense it. A group of travelers…headed in his direction! A hand reached up to rest upon the crystal sliver hanging from his throat. Did they know about his shard?
'…But how…?'
He could not help but grow wary as the approaching group grew closer.
Readying himself, he prepared to make his move, keeping his hands within reach of his blades should he need to draw. Without knowing what he'd come across, it was best to keep apprehensive of anything. Perhaps he should try to assess their number before they got too close…? If it proved too overwhelming, he'd best flee. Until he knew, though…
He decided he'd wait a few moments, listening as the travelers steadily came nearer.
SMACK!
He flinched at that, the sound of flesh hitting flesh meeting his ears, followed by the yelling of "Hentai!" in a feminine voice – a voice completely different from the first female. That brought the number up to three…
"You letch! Why can't you ever keep your hands to yourself?!"
A male answered her, "But, my dear Sango, this cursed hand has a mind of its own. I can't always control it!" making the tally become four…
"Then learn to, Monk!"
"Keh. It'll be a cold day in hell before he does." The first male spoke again in slight amusement.
"I think I actually agree with Inuyasha on this one…"
He blinked in perplexity. Was that…a child?
He heard the second male sigh in defeat.
But…a child? He did not want to have to fight if there were children present. If he'd ended up hurting them, he could never forgive himself.
With a silent sigh, the figure relaxed his hands, dropping them away from his weapons.
Looked like he'd be playing neutral this time.
With that in mind, he tensed his legs, preparing to spring from the branch and head off.
At least…that was the plan…
"Oi, Kagome, how much farther is that shard?"
Alighting cat-like on his feet upon the ground, he silently jogged along the forest floor, away from the oncoming group. He was hoping to make a quick getaway, so as to not be seen by the strangers.
"It's in the clearing up ahead – no, wait! Now, it's moving!"
He had to sigh in frustration after hearing that, hastening his jogging to a sprint… They were persistent, weren't they?
"WHAT?! Well, which way is it!? Quick – before it gets away!"
"It's straight ahead!"
One of the pairs of footsteps broke away from the rest, sprinting at incredible speed. And they were headed right for him! How did they know where he was? They hadn't seem him, yet…had they?
But, now he had no choice. He had to stand and fight; there was no way he'd be able to outrun his pursuer at the rate they were moving. He mentally groaned. He really didn't want to do this…but they'd left him no other option.
'They brought this on themselves then…But if the young one with them ends up getting injured…'
He spun around, skidding to a halt in order to face his hunter. 'Then the blame is on them for having a child with them in the first place.' With that thought, he dropped into a defensive stance, hands at the ready to draw his weapons should a battle erupt…---
About to burst through the last few bushes, the red-clad hanyou mentally prepared himself for battle. He expected to face a demon. One with fangs, claws, tentacles, fur, maybe even horns. What he did not expect to find, just as he jumped out from the foliage clutching his katana's handle…
…was what appeared to be…
Barely halting himself from his mad dash via skidding in the dirt and leaves – pointed dog-ears swiveling – , gold eyes landed on the unfamiliar person…
…a male human…
He blinked. 'The…hell??' Inuyasha's mouth gaped open in confusion. And he would have stayed that way, too, until he noticed the pinkish gleam above the other's chest. He lowered his brows, unsure of what to make of the situation. Here this guy was, in possession of a shard – maybe more than one – that the half-demon's group of friends were hunting down, collecting them by any means necessary, which included killing off evil beings. But, the catch was, they didn't kill humans, of which this being appeared to be. The inu-hanyou couldn't even smell if that was true, though! It was too hard to tell at this distance, with the wind blowing away from him. There'd be no way to pick up his scent, so he had to go by his eyes.
Inuyasha shook his head as though to clear it. This situation was so difficult to judge, he couldn't even keep his thoughts straight! …Thinking wasn't his best forte, anyway. He was more into the "attack now, ask questions later" type of strategy… So what if that led to problems more often than not? It got things moving…
"Inuyasha," Kagome appeared at his side, dragging her pink bike along with her with the fox-cub Shippo lounging in the basket, panting a bit after her dash to catch up with him, "what's wrong? Did you find the…" That's when she caught sight of the stranger. "…shard…?" Blinking, she trailed off her statement.
'A human…?'
That's what he appeared to be, at least. In the dappled, shadowed light the forest provided, she could barely make out much detail. From what she could tell, though, he was a blonde-haired boy, looking to be not much older than Kagome herself. His locks were kept tied in a tail ending just below the shoulder with a black strip of cloth, matching his outfit made up of a pair of black hakama pants – though they weren't as baggy as the average pair – and black gi, which seemed to have had the sleeves torn off at the shoulder, turning the jacket-shirt into a vest of sorts. This probably served to improve movement, but she couldn't be sure. He wore a strange belt at his waist, of a golden-brown almost like his hair, and patterned in…leopard spots…? That was just weird. It didn't even seem to hold a purpose, either; it just…was there… Furry, even, as if it were a real tail-turned-fashion-accessory. But she had to admit that even though it was odd, it wasn't nearly as odd as that fluffy thing Sesshoumaru carried… The most eye-catching detail about him, though, had to be his eyes. A brilliant blue, almost as if someone had cut out two pieces of the sky to craft them; even in the poor illumination, she could easily see this. Kagome might've gotten lost in their depths had she not felt the tug on her consciousness, reminding her of the reason she was in this forest in the first place…Her eyes caught the glow just below his throat, and widened in realization. 'The shard!' It seemed their target had been this individual. But…that couldn't be right! …Could it…? It had to be, though, because there was the Shikon shard, clear as day, hanging from a silver chain at the guy's neck. …But…why would a human have one? The only humans who ever obtained them were usually those who planned to use them for evil – they'd come across a few like that before – , those who wished to use them for good – a rarity nowadays – or merely to keep them out of wrongdoers' hands – such as they were doing – , or because they were ignorant of what they really were and simply kept them out of sentimentality.
This man could fit into any one of those categories. They had no way to find out, either, without talking to him. And, by the look of things – the stranger and Inuyasha were locked in a glaring contest, in battle-stances, ready to spring at so much as the word "go" – it didn't seem that'd be happening too soon.
And with the entire group of shard-hunters standing in this small clearing, this could get dangerous for all of them.
---
And…it's a cliffy! XD Evil? Yes. Common of me? Very yes! X) …I don't care that that was bad grammar? Damn straight! XD
Okers. Now, me must go to bed, or else me feel dead in school tomorrow… ::swirly eyes:: Almost 11...I'll only get 6 ½ hours… T T;
Well, ja ne then.
-Peg
