Greetings, fellow readers and writers alike and welcome to my newest creation! Now, with that aside, let me just say a few words and you can be on your way. First, know that this merely started as an idea born from the spur of the moment, so please bear with it. I´m not sure if it really is worth continuing or not, who knows, maybe you can tell me if that is true or not. I just posted this little chapter for those who would like to see something different from the usual stereotype. As usual, senseless flamers will be ignored and comments/reviews appreciated, but that is entirely in your hands.
I don´t own Inuyasha or any of its elements, I respect the series enough as they are. Now, enjoy the story!
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There was no escape from it, no option of avoiding it. With a rather loud thud, several arrows pierced the flesh and wood underneath, pinning their rather unfortunate victim to the tree. The one that fired them, a black haired woman in the clothing of a priestess, lowered her bow, finally being able to fully gaze upon the one that she was pursuing. His body was covered from head to toe with a long baboon pelt, with only the lower half of his face being recognizable. But his appearances were not really needed to recognize him, she knew who or what exactly was hiding underneath. The potent demonic aura was shining like a beacon, at least to her trained senses.
Carefully approaching the being that was struggling hard to get free, her eyes widened slightly in recognition. So it was him after all. She had some doubts before, but being so close to him, it was pretty clear to her. Now it all made sense.
"So it was you after all. I cannot believe that you would try such trickery on me, knowing who I was Onigumo. Or is it Naraku now? You change shapes and faces so often these days."
Although appearing calm on the outside, the one recognized as Naraku was in truth furious, seething with anger. How could his plan have failed? He thought out every aspect of this little scheme, yet the one crucial moment it all came apart. Disguised as that fool of a half-demon, Inuyasha, he sneaked up on the sleeping priestess, ready to fatally injure her and then flee with his coveted prize, the Shikon Jewel.
Yet in that one crucial moment, something inside of him refused to strike the woman down, preventing him from executing his plan. That insufferable human heart of that mortal fool Onigumo desired her more than anything and even if he locked his essence deep within his soul, it apparently still could exercise some amount of control over him.
Unfortunately, the priestess woke up just as he was about to overcome this momentary weakness and immediately struck him with her purification powers, forcing his body to drop the borrowed appearance. Realizing that his plan failed, Naraku escaped, leaving even the Jewel behind, but the woman would not let him get away so easily. And here he was, bound to a tree like a helpless insect, his powers sealed by the blessed arrows that were holding him to the wood. This was not how it was supposed to happen.
"Yes, I imagine that meeting me again after all those years must feel quite nostalgic. So what will you do now Kikyo? You know that this will not hold me forever, but you seem somewhat reluctant to do the finishing blow. Why is that", asked Naraku, trying to stall for time.
Although his powers were greatly suppressed by those arrows, he already began to corrupt the holy power in them and given enough time, they would crumble underneath his subtle yet potent poison, thus ending their effect on him. He would never admit it aloud, but at this moment, all he could do was wait and wish for the best. To his surprise, the human priestess only walked up to him, not reaching for another arrow already. What was she thinking? When the pelt covering his form was removed, his red eyes met her black ones in a defiant look, his luxurious dark hair adorning Naraku´s face like a curtain of the finest silk.
With a sad sigh, the woman stepped back once again, giving him a look of pity. Pity that he neither wanted nor cared about. All that mattered was breaking free and hopefully salvage the situation. As if oblivious to his thoughts, Kikyo finally spoke up again.
"That was the question I should be giving you Naraku. You had a great chance to end my life, greater than any other yokai could possibly ask for…..and yet you hesitated. Even now, helpless as you are, I sense conflict coming from you. Who exactly are you? Onigumo the criminal, or Naraku the demon?"
Gritting his teeth, Naraku had to do his best to keep his calm. This woman was so infuriating that it was almost unbearable. How dare she suggest that he had anything to do with that simpering mortal fool that dwelled inside of his form? As if he was a mere pathetic human. Never! Regaining his composure, he answered with a tone that left no room for argument.
"Is that all that you wish to know? Then I shall tell you. That human died the very moment he gave in to his desires, only to be reborn as myself. Does it bother you Kikyo, to kill the very same heart that longs for your very presence so much that it´s disgusting? He is still a part of me, remember that" spoke Naraku in a low tone, trying not to give away that his aura was clawing at the binding arrows more and more with every passing moment. However the black haired woman didn´t seem to pay attention to him anymore.
Looking down slightly, the priestess took out another arrow, avoiding eye contact. She really did not wish for this to happen, but the man whom she took care of years ago was now nothing more than another demon and as such, her duty was clear.
"I see. May you find piece in death. Farewell…..Naraku."
And just as the binding arrows were about to give way, the black haired half-demon felt something piercing his chest and the world went black. And that was supposed to be the end of him. Or so it seemed.
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For what seemed like eternity, he knew only darkness, its deep embrace feeling strangely peaceful, like an unseen lover that made you forget that everything else existed. Then, after who knows how long, something changed. It was subtle, barely recognizable as it existed at the very edge of his senses, but slowly it grew more and more noticeable. Thoughts were appearing in his head once again, along with a calm flow of memories that made him stir in his dreamless sleep. Who was he? Where was he? And why did it any of it matter?
As the answers were starting to emerge, so did his general awareness. Why were his eyes closed? Why he could not move a single muscle of his body? But he was starting to feel his surroundings, bit by bit. And although his mind wondered how it was possible that he survived a normally fatal blow, he was nonetheless grateful for it. He would break free from this comatose and helpless state no matter what, even if it were to take him decades. And when he did, both Kikyo and that pitiful half-breed would feel his revenge….and not even his currently helpless state would be able to stop his ambition.
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Fifty years later
Walking through the forest was a pair of monks, one of an advanced age and the other clearly a young man, both dressed in slightly ragged but nonetheless clean robes. Both were also carrying wooden Shakujo staffs with the top part being metal, although it was debatable if they were for fighting purposes or merely to help them walk. Strangely enough, there was another thing they both had in common: A symbol of a sun (with numerous rays of light surrounding it) tailored on to the back of their robes, split in half so that one part was purely white in color while the second half was colored in a pitch black color, both halves connected to each other and being a part of the whole circle that composed the sun itself.
As they were progressing through the woods, the elder continued with his lesson, with his younger companion eagerly listening, hanging on his every word like nothing else in the world mattered. Oh well, being fanatical about something does that to you.
"…..and it was within these forests that the grand priestess Kikyo, the founder of our order, defeated a fearsome and treacherous demon whose name shall forever remain unspoken. For he was once a mere mortal man, who out of lust for power sold his own soul to demons, betraying his very humanity.
Learn from this lesson, my young apprentice. We who are tasked with protecting the innocent must remain pure of such earthly temptations; otherwise we might become even worse than the very creatures that taint the earth by their very presence."
Nodding in understanding, the younger monk silently wondered just how terrifying that demon was to have his name erased from the records. Over the past two decades, the order was responsible for purifying thousands upon thousands of demons if not perhaps even more, some of them quite powerful as well, so what made this one so special? Nonetheless, he was glad that he would never have to meet in person, since it was dead and all that. Looking forward, the village where they traveled to being visible in the distance, just beyond the edge of the woods. It seemed as if their shortcut has paid off, since it would take twice the time to get there by road.
All in all, the younger monk was grateful that the journey proved to be uneventful, since they barely encountered any trouble on the way here, no demons, no bandits, simply an easy journey. True, they were here on a simple delivery to the honorable priestess Kaede, but one could never know what might go wrong. But it seemed as if his worries were unfounded, since after all, if they made it this far, what could possibly happen?
However, just as they were about to reach the borders of the forest, the elderly monk stopped in his tracks, looking around as if something was bothering him greatly. His disciple, not really sensing anything out of the ordinary decided to voice his questions.
"Is something the matter Sensei? You seem troubled."
Clutching his head with one hand, the older monk responded, although his voice was strained and weary, like something was pressing down on him.
"I feel a great evil nearby, although it seems dormant. But it is quite strong nonetheless…how can that be? Until now there were no reports about of anything of the sort coming from the area."
The second part he said in a low whisper, more talking to himself than anything else, but his companion managed to hear it regardless. Offering his thoughts on the matter, he spoke up, trying to ignore the fact that he could not sense anything no matter how hard he tried.
"Perhaps a demon moved into the area recently? If that were the case, then we should purify it so that it does not threaten the villagers."
Although having his doubts, the older monk nodded in acknowledgement and hastened his steps, marching swiftly towards the demonic aura that he sensed, with his apprentice close behind. Still, several things didn´t make sense to him. For one, how could he not sense such a strong evil aura from a much greater distance? Was something concealing it? Then there was the fact that almost every demon of this area has long since been slain or purified, yet suddenly one appears all of a sudden?
In any case, if it was dormant as he sensed, than it would be a good chance to slay it, since it would not put up a fight. While hardly honorable, anyone in the order would tell you that demons did not know the meaning of such a word, being irreversibly evil from the start so he didn´t really feel bad about killing it, slumbering or not. When they arrived at the place where the aura was at its strongest, they got quite a surprising sight. Instead of some massive demonic creature they were expecting to see, all that was there was a surprisingly human looking body pinned to one of the trees by several arrows.
If one were to go by looks alone, then it was a young man with long wavy black hair and undeniably regal features, almost like he was nobility. The clothing, with dark shades of blue and purple being the predominant colors, only supported that notion. If it wasn´t for the clearly demonic energies that almost radiated from the body, then even the elder monk would believe that he was seeing a human instead of a demon. And on top of his surprise, there was a faint but unmistakable sacred aura about those arrows, the kind only the most skilled priestesses could produce.
Stepping closer, he noticed another blessed arrow that was lodged directly in the man´s chest, right where the heart should be. But what was going on? Such a hit would be fatal for anyone, demon or not. Yet he could clearly sense the tainted energies coming off him, how was this possible?
"Sensei, what is this? He looks like a human, but his aura…..I simply can´t sense it. How can this be?"
Stepping backwards, the older monk looked at his younger companion whose face was a mixture of confusion and bewilderment. It was understandable; the aura that this demon radiated was strong, much stronger than any of the average yokai they usually came across. He was glad that it seemed dormant, since despite all his faith, he was unsure if even both of them could drive out such a mass of evil energies.
Stabbing his staff into the ground, he pulled out several of his blessed sutras, hoping that the creature would stay dormant for just a little longer. When he looked away for a moment, he could swear that the body moved ever so slightly, but when he looked directly at it he saw nothing. That was when he heard his disciple screaming in alarm, averting him from completing his task.
With wide eyes, he watched as a swarm of countless small but nonetheless dangerous demons suddenly appeared between the trees, surrounding them like a living fence made of bodies, before moving forward to attack them. None of the demons were much of a threat, but their numbers were nothing to scoff at. Meanwhile, the eyelids of the motionless body stirred, as if something behind them was moving. Another twitch went through the body, then another, similar to a sleeper that was waking up from a very long dream.
But no one really noticed. The two humans near him were too much focused on their fighting and the demons were too busy trying to kill (and preferably devour) them in turn, mindlessly swarming forward like a swarm of locusts. If anyone were to observe from afar, it would seem strange how the living mass continued its rather futile assault despite everything, almost like a force unseen by everyone was driving them. But no one else was there, just the two humans fighting for survival, a mass of mindless yokai and a being that was forgotten by the world. Not for much longer though.
Setting the last demon ablaze with a thrown sutra, both monks breathed in relief, happy to be alive. Gathering their bearings, their thoughts could sum up to ´What the hell just happened?´ And they were correct to be suspicious, this province was supposed to be one of those that had its demon population completely decimated long ago, but if that was the case, how did this explained the several dozen yokai that just attacked them?
Looking around, the older monk gasped upon noticing that the demonic cadaver he wanted to purify earlier was no longer there! But how was that possible? It was there just moments ago! The village, and most importantly the order, had to be warned of what has transpired here, that much was certain.
"Quickly Sannosuke, we must warn Kaede-sama about this!"
But his young apprentice didn´t respond. Turning around to see what was wrong, the older monk noticed his student standing nearby with a strangely blank look in his eyes. Then, a small drip of blood passed the man´s lips and his body collapsed onto the ground in a lifeless heap, with a crimson puddle of blood slowly forming beneath his body.
However, the attention of his peer was focused solely on the figure standing above him. It was the same man that he wanted to purify before he was interrupted, arrows and all, standing above his dying comrade with a hand utterly stained with blood from the elbow down and with a gleeful and utterly satisfied expression on his face.
"Ah, to feel the blood of a human running down my skin is a feeling that one can never forget, would you not agree monk" asked the demon as if he was talking about the weather, mocking the holy man in front of him with obvious amusement as the blood dripped down his arm like a sickly red stream.
Stepping back in shock and readying his staff, the elder´s mind was riddled with questions. Who was this demon? How was he able to tear himself free from the tree without them noticing? When they found him he seemed dormant with no indication of waking up anytime soon. The wounds where the arrows pierced his flesh were still there, although they did not seem to bleed as they should. Just what was this creature before him?
"Who are you demon? No demon should be able to survive a direct hit with a blessed arrow, let alone break free from its hold…."
Smirking at the man´s obvious confusion, the black haired demon chuckled slightly. While it was true that it was impossible to break free from dormancy in such a short time, he spent more than a few decades trying to rise from his forced slumber, at least if his calculations were correct. Time seemed like such a vague perception when one was almost oblivious to the world. Unfortunately, the mortal fool was right in the regard that he broke off too quickly, though not in the way he had in mind.
It was bound to happen eventually, but the rather unexpected arrival of these two humans forced him to take drastic steps. After spending so much time regenerating his lost demonic energy, it was only inevitable that some of it would leak out beyond his control. However, he hoped that the rather remote location of these woods would discourage any potential monk or demon slayer from entering. But in retrospective it was only inevitable that someone would pick up his slowly returning aura, no matter how unfortunate that was for him. Luckily, his body still hosted enough subdued lesser demons that he could use as his means of defense before regaining consciousness.
He was up and moving again, though he paid a high cost for being resurrected earlier, like a coyote chewing off his own leg in order to escape death. So he was back in the world of the living, forced to leave quite a bit of his power behind as a price, not to mention being forced to use most of his absorbed demon parts to distract those monks long enough to escape the binding.
But in his eyes it was better than to be purified in his helpless (even if temporary) state, since that would equal to immediate destruction and just would not do. But for forcing him to resort to such a desperate measure, both humans have signed their death warrants, his only regret being that he did not have enough power to toy with them for a while before their deaths, since he was at his weakest right now and could not afford to underestimate anyone.
Seeing the monk drawing another pair of sutras, he sprung into action and released a cloud of miasma, effectively hiding him from the monk´s view. The bald elder tightened his grasp on his staff while trying to cover his nose and mouth with his other hand. This cloud of poison seemed troubling, but it was nowhere near strong enough to kill or incapacitate him, given all his past training to resist such tricks.
That was when his eyes glimpsed movement to his right, half obscured by the smokescreen. Quickly throwing one of the sacred blessings, he watched as the hardened paper hit the partially concealed humanoid shape, only for his target to disperse as if it was never there in the first place. A dark, mocking laughter echoed throughout the small clearing, seemingly coming from every direction at once.
"What´s wrong monk? Too confused to even hit a single demon?"
In truth, Naraku knew that a direct hit with a blessed sutra meant serious trouble even for him, considering his current state, but fortunately most of his natural speed as a demon allowed him to stay out of harm´s way, leaving the monk with nothing but afterimages.
Although he could have ended the fight already, he wanted to humiliate his opponent a little bit, since he was responsible for his forced awakening and after all, it was simply delightful to watch the worm struggle to land even a single hit on him.
If that human had any sense whatsoever, he would either flee or give up, since that was what he considered normal when facing a much stronger adversary. But no, the bald head kept fighting, regardless of the obvious difference between them. He really hated those would be heroic types.
After deciding that he played around long enough, Naraku used his superior speed to appear behind the monk and with a single thrust of his hand tore the man´s throat open, unleashing a torrent of the life carrying liquid and letting the body fall down to the ground.
Moving to more pressing matters, he grunted in pain as he pulled out one of the arrows lodged in his demonic body. Although their holy aura was gone, it was still quite painful, pulling the iron tip through flesh and skin until it was free.
Finally, with a pain filled hiss, the last one was pulled out and the black haired half-demon collapsed onto the grass, watching the wounds slowly close up. What once would take seconds now took minutes if not more, so he simply remained still until he was sure that none of the injuries would open up again. At least he was up and moving again, even if his body nonetheless felt incredibly stiff, being motionless for half a century really did not help things. Fortunately, he was no true human so the limitations weren´t as severe, but nonetheless his form was creaking in protest with every move.
Before, the focus only combat could bring allowed him to ignore this, but no longer. For some time, he simply remained on the ground, utterly unconcerned that there were two corpses nearby. No, at such a moment, there was only Naraku and the world around him.
Most creatures could never appreciate how it felt to be alive again, how every mundane sensation felt like a miracle, how even something as mundane as the open sky looked incredible, compared to the long years spent in darkness. It was rare for him, those moments of weakness where he could freely admit that he was enjoying himself; but that didn´t mean that there were none whatsoever.
After a while, the black haired half-demon stood up and looked around, straining his memory to pinpoint where he was exactly. Oh right, the forest near the village of that little human girl (Kaede or something like that, if he remembered correctly) who followed Kikyo around like a lost puppy. Well, he really did not wish to risk a possible confrontation when he was at his absolute weakest, but at least he could scout out a little, to see how things were.
He would decide on his next course of action after getting to know what the current situation was and after what happened last time, he would have to be extra careful. Focusing, he felt his baboon outfit materialize around his body, concealing his form from any prying eyes. It was good to know that at least his shape shifting skills remained, even if it took him much more energy and concentration than before. Disappearing amidst the tree tops, Naraku moved forward, unknowingly taking his first steps on a long, long journey that would lead him through paths no one could have expected…..
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And so the first chapter ends. So what do you think? Keep in mind that this Naraku is (and most importantly will be) different from the canon one, in more ways than one. Sure, he will still be a cunning and clever bastard (not to mention a bit sadistic towards humans), but unlike in the canon, he will not be afraid to get physical and fight. I always thought that a good villain should be both capable of scheming and fighting in case the former mentioned fails, so my version of Naraku will be just like that.
This time around, he has to start from the very beginning all over again, and this time the sacred jewel will be of no help in this endeavor, since it was never shattered in the first place and is out of reach. It should also be worth mentioning that the world around changed quite a bit, since Inuyasha and Kikyo did not sit idle all those years either, but that will eventually be shown if I decide that this idea is worth continuing. If you will, think of this as a sort of complete reverse, watching the villain rise to power while the good side is currently at its strongest, or at least that was my intention.
In any case, hope you liked this rather little idea of mine and in the meantime let´s hope that FF won´t get any more obsessed with rules any more than it already is.