Authoress's Note: Yep. Another story. Argh, I know I'm a horrible authoress for not updating my other fics. But you'll have to get used to it.
Disclaimer: Je ne possède rien faire avec Inuyasha. Que tout appartient à Rumiko Takahashi.
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A single, lonesome soul drifted aimlessly across the sky. Against the velvet blackness of the night it glowed a faint red mixed with flashes of silver. The orb dropped from the sky to rest on the hard wood of a balcony. It flared once, and then was sucked into itself. In its place stood the creature that had stalked the dreams of mortals for over a century.
A cold wind tugged at long silver hair, lifting it away from the fire-rat cloth the man wore. His molten amber eyes showed no hate or coldness, in fact they showed nothing at all, if not a slight hint of loneliness. The balcony door was slid open by clawed hands, and the creature stepped silently inside.
He moved to stand beside the bed, regarding the inhabitant with an impassive yet slightly fascinated gaze. As if sensing he was being watched, the child opened his eyes slowly. "Who – who are you?" He asked sleepily.
"Go back to sleep." The creature said quietly. "You shouldn't be awake for this." He gripped the boy's face with one hand, digging his claws in slightly for traction. The child's scream of terror was silenced as a shimmering multi-coloured bubble drifted out of his mouth, absorbing itself into the creature's skin.
There was a fleeting glimpse of something in the creature's eyes as he looked at the blood on his claws, some sort of emotion that resembled remorse. As the bubble became part of his body, images of the child's life wound their way into his mind. Images of laughter, warmth, and above all else, love.
The creature remembered when he had felt like that. But that was a long time ago, and the memories were very faint; dying embers from a fire that burned out over a century ago. So the creature wasn't pleased with his work; he didn't know what pleasure was, after all.
He used to know what love felt like, but that was so long ago that he wasn't sure if it even was love. He had buried it away in the furthest recesses of his mind, to be left alone until the time called for it to resurface itself.
However, there was a certain sense of completion he got from taking good, happy energy and filling himself with it. It created a temporary link back to his past life, where he could pretend once again that he was safe, that he was loved. But like all the other times, the feeling didn't last long, and all too soon he had moved on towards another house, and to another waiting soul.
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"You have failed me one too many times, Jaken." Eyes slightly narrowed, the Lord of the Western Lands regarded his vassal with contempt. "If you do not succeed in locating my brother I will be forced to dispose of you. Do not mistake my patience for compassion, for I have no use for someone in your situation." Rising, Sesshoumaru turned on his heel and left the throne room.
"Y – yes, m'lord! I will not fail you!" The small, reptilian youkai bowed his head in shame and scuttled after his master. "However, am I permitted to ask why it is so important to find Inuyasha?"
Sesshoumaru stopped. "You are not permitted, Jaken. It is not your place to question something that is strictly family business."
"Oh, of c – course, Sesshoumaru-sama! Please, forgive me! I meant no disrespect."
Resuming his stride, Sesshoumaru made no attempt to acknowledge the toad youkai at all. Jaken sighed, repositioned his grip on his staff and hurried after him.
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Kagome smiled in her sleep, gripping her fluffy pink coverlet and snuggling deeper into her bed. For the first time in weeks, she wasn't having unsettling dreams about monsters murdering her family. It was a cold night, and her window was open, but she was having an extraordinarily pleasant dream about a boy named Hojo and wasn't willing to let herself wake up.
Slowly, the air around her turned colder; until she was shivering so badly it jolted her awake. With her face pressed into her pillow, Kagome could only see a mass of pink, but she could hear the soft footsteps of someone who was deliberately trying not to be heard.
She felt a hand grasp her shoulder and roll her over, face-up. The darkness of her room prevented her from seeing much of the intruder's face, but she caught a glimpse of silver hair, fangs, and hollow amber eyes that seemed to stare into her soul.
"Who are you?" Kagome cried, backing up against the headboard and clutching her duvet to her chest. "If you're a burglar, just – just go away! I know self-defence!" It wasn't really a lie. She had been taught a bit of it at school, but she hardly remembered any of it. Hopefully the trespasser wouldn't figure that out.
Inuyasha raised his hand until it was several inches away from her face. "It won't hurt. Not for long." Pale moonlight filtered through the curtains, reflecting off blood-tipped claws that almost touched her skin. A sudden chill came over Kagome's body, and she instinctively threw her arms in front of her face, shielding herself.
There was a flash of vivid purple light, and Inuyasha was thrown back against the wall. Kagome squeaked, hugging her pillow. "How'd I do that how'd I do that how'd I do that?" She took a deep breath. 'Okay, relax Kagome. This is no time to freak out. Ummm…' She scanned the room, setting her eyes on the alarm clock on her bedside table.
Holding it like a weapon above her head, she stepped cautiously towards the figure that was now lying against her wall. "Er, excuse me? But if you'd maybe like to leave? If you go now, I won't have to call the police. I have a clock, and I'm not afraid to use it."
Inuyasha's eyes flew open and he got to his feet in one fluid movement. "Your light." He said softly. "Give it to me." He reached out and seized her throat, lifting her off the ground. She struggled and gasped for air, but was soon overcome. As her vision blurred, all Kagome could manage was a strangled cry.
The same purple light she had created before flared again, slamming Inuyasha through the glass balcony doors. Kagome dropped to the ground, catching a glimpse of the hanyou lying on her balcony before she closed her eyes and succumbed to darkness.
Hurt and confused, Inuyasha sat up, rubbing one of his fuzzy white ears. He didn't understand what had happened, but he knew it hurt him, and he didn't particularly like things he didn't know hurting him. So he did the best thing he could think of – he leapt back into the sky, returning to his own world to lick his wounds.
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When Kagome awoke, she was no longer in her bedroom. By the looks of it, she wasn't in her own time, either. She was lying on a simply-made futon in what looked like a simply-made hut. There weren't many furnishings, only a low table and a wood stove in the corner.
Kagome had seen pictures of these huts in textbooks at school. She was pretty sure they were from the feudal period. This made the fact that she was in one impossible.
"Ah, child, ye be awake." The kindly voice startled Kagome out of her reverie. It came from a hunched old woman sitting against one of the wooden walls. Her thin grey hair was tied loosely back, and her face was heavily wrinkled and weathered by the sun. She also wore a patch over one eye. The whole effect made her look like some sort of freakish witch-doctor-pirate from a badly choreographed sci-fi movie.
"W – who are you?" It was then that Kagome realised how badly her head ached, and that her throat felt bruised. She wondered where it came from, because as far as she knew the previous night had been nothing out of the usual.
"I be Kaede, child. I am this village's miko, but as ye can see I am getting on in my years. And ye be Kagome, a girl from the other side."
"Other side? Of what? And how do you know my name? And what am I doing here? What about school? I have a huge history assignment due today!"
The old woman chuckled. "Enough with the questions, child. They will all be answered in due time." She moved to carefully place more logs on the fire. "This world that ye are in is over five centuries before yours. I brought ye here several hours ago." She paused, turning back to Kagome. "In ye time, is there an old tale about a creature that seeks out young souls?"
Kagome thought. There was a story like that. A children's tale, or something. About a monster that stalked the dreams of naughty children, and then visited them to steal their souls. It was used to scare little kids into behaving properly.
"Yeah," she answered, still not sure if she could trust this woman. "Something like that. But it's only a story, nothing real."
Kaede frowned. "It is much more than a story, child. There be a creature from this world, who last night came to ye house to draw ye positive energy into himself. However, he did not succeed. I believe this to be because ye have a special power inside of ye. I believe ye are a miko."
"A – a miko? That can't be true. I'm not a priestess; I only live at a shrine. And are you sure you're not crazy? 'Draw out my positive energy?' What's that about?"
"Stop ye blabbering, Kagome. It be not fake. He does not seek out negative souls, only bright, happy ones, like the one that resides within ye heart. The victims do not die; they merely are not able to show any happy emotions." Kaede's eyes were pained as she spoke. "They become only shells of their former selves. That is why it be surprising that ye were able to fend him off."
Kagome sighed, rubbing her aching head. She wished the pain would go away. And not just from the bruising. She was having a hard time taking all this information in. "Okay, so let's say you're right here. I'm 500 years in the past, and some weirdo monster tried to suck out my soul last night?"
"That be correct. Nobody knows much about the creature, but the most common theory be that he is a hanyou. That be, a hybrid of a human and a youkai. Don't give me that look child, the youkai do exist. Supposedly, he was shunned from both youkai and humans for being an outcast. His human mother's protection was the only thing keeping him safe. That is, until she died."
Curious, Kagome unconsciously leaning forward to hear more. She had all but forgotten about the pain in her forehead and neck.
"When his mother passed away, many attempts were made on the hanyou's life. Several such attempts were made by his own brother. Since then, he has lived on his own as an outcast. People say the reason he takes happy souls be because he has no happiness left in him." Kaede nodded gravely. "Of course, this be only a wide-spread rumour. No-one knows what he looks like, what his name be, or anything else. Does that satisfy ye?"
Kagome nodded numbly. "It sounds horrible," she whispered. Then she thought of something. "But why can't I remember what happened? All I remember was going to sleep and then waking up here. Also, why do I have to stay here? I want to go home."
"I know not why ye are unable to remember. Perhaps it be a side-effect from ye powers surfacing. However, Kagome, ye must stay here. It is not safe for ye in ye own time, for once this creature has chosen a victim, he will keep hunting it, and in the end the victim will die a long, painful death. If ye stay here, we be able to protect ye."
"No!" Kagome got to her feet angrily. "You can't force me to stay here! That must come under kidnapping, or something!"
Kaede regarded her calmly, almost as if she expected this would happen. "Ye are welcome to return home, child. But I wager ye will not survive to see tomorrow morning."
Kagome abruptly sat back down again, tears forming in her eyes. She knew it would be foolish to go home, but she needed her family. "I'll stay…' she whispered, brushing back tears. "As long as my family's okay."
"Aye, child. Ye family be fine."
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Perched in one of his favourite trees, Inuyasha rubbed his ear. It was torn, and bleeding a rather large and slightly disturbing amount. He wasn't exactly sure as to how he had received this particular injury; but he assumed it had something to do with his night wanderings.
He never knew what happened during the night, as when he awoke he was always back in one of his trees or in a nice meadow somewhere with no memory whatsoever of what he had done.
Some mornings Inuyasha felt like not much at all had happened, and some made him feel even more alone and detached from his world. This was one of them. He couldn't shake the nasty feeling he had. It was as if he had tried to do something horribly wrong, but he wasn't entirely certain what it was.
Oh well. Best not to worry about those sorts of things. Complex thinking for an extended amount of time usually only ended up giving him a headache rather than coming to any life-changing conclusion. The more important matter at hand was where he was going to get his breakfast from.
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Yay, first chapter done. That didn't take as long as I originally thought. This style's way different from what I normally write…but who cares?
Does a frighteningly bad attempt at looking hypnotic
You shall now review…you shall now review…you shall now review…you shall now review…
Miko