Disclaimer: Blah blah I don't own Inuyasha blah blah or any of its characters. Don't sue me 'cause I'm broke ^_^
Hiya! Okay, this is a bit different from the normal. Instead of in the feudal times, this is taking place in the future where people now travel in space. Some of the original idea of the story is the same, a lot has changed. Hehe, I got this idea after watching the 5th element ; p
Kagome was standing by the shrine, watching as people ran back and forth in endless panic. Someone had gotten hold of the Shikon no Tama. The shard that had been inside of her for fifteen years before it suddenly revealed itself. It had been immediately taken to a safer location, so that no one could get its power. But, someone had. Onigumo. Everyone knew that the earth was done for.
She looked at the sky, one arm around her brother's small shoulders. He was scared. He knew that there was no way to escape.
A light began above her, blinding her with its intensity. She shielded her eyes and heard the people around her scream. Her very soul was yelling with them. 'This is all my fault! Why did the Shikon have to come from me?' She silently asked, the light engulfing her. She felt intense pain and felt a small part of her rip loose and fly towards the person causing this chaos. The rest of her cried silently, knowing that this was it. The end. The pain grew too much and she fell forward, finding the darkness reaching out to take her life as its own.
A hundred years later…
The room was dimly lit and smelled heavily of gas fumes. It was located at the base of the ship, where illegal gasses and chemicals poured out. It was an outdated spaceship, old and rickety, filled with so many safety violations that even the police were too afraid to check it, fearing that it'd blow up over their heads. And that was why it was so perfect. No one would expect such a dump carried some of the most advance technology and one of the most brilliant, though deadly, scientists in its cargo hold.
The man was only half-human, the human part of him focusing on a dark spider scar on the base of his back. He hated the ship with all his might--almost as much as he hated the weak lines of his birth. If there was any other way, he'd have a nice, luxurious ship that proclaimed his power and superiority. But, he wasn't one to concentrate on such trivial matters while something so important was on the line.
"Kagura, have you located the signal?" He asked to his 'colleague'. She was actually fully under his control, since he had surgically added a special devise into the center of her heart. If she crossed the line too far, all he'd have to do was press a little button and she would no longer be a nuisance.
"Yes. Naraku." She said dryly.
"Good. Does it have the same vibration patterns as the Shikon?"
"Close. The only thing different is that it was alive and that shard is inanimate." Kagura yawned. "Can I go now? You know I hate all this scientist crap." 'Yes. You had stopped your career to pursue dancing.' Naraku thought to himself. He liked to know exactly what was everyone's weakness. "You said as soon as this is all over, you'd give me that damn device."
"I did, didn't I?" Naraku said threateningly. "But things are far from over."
"Whatever, cliché freak." Kagura sighed as he walked to the monitor. A pulsing light echoed off the screen. He narrowed his eyes, recognizing it as the same frequency that came from the Shikon temple.
'Dead, is it?' He motioned to Kagura. "Bring us down."
"If we do, this load of junk will probably never take off again." Kagura sniffed. "Besides, nothing too important could come from that wasteland of an earth."
"The Shikon did." Naraku said and placed one hand into his robes. Kagura didn't wait for him to take out the devise--she ran out of the room, fearing for the pain that could come.
"Kanna! Bring us down!" He heard a voice call. Kanna was a little girl who was the 'keeper of souls' in a way. She was created by him, an experiment to see if he could make a living creature out of the remains of a powerful artifact. He combined this with the life of a little girl and created Kanna. She wasn't truly alive or dead, but drifted in both worlds, her body in the living, but her mind often with those of the after life. Her mirror called others souls to her, sucking them into an abyss. She was silent in nature with an eerie expression, though followed her orders perfectly and without any hesitations.
The ship began its slow extent down, the outerior groaning as it broke through the atmosphere. It sounded as though it was breaking apart--and that wasn't a good sign. Still, he had to uncover the signal, even if that meant walking along death's edge.
The earth soon loomed down below them. Dark clouds hid the small planet from his gaze, but he saw quick flashes of hazy blue and frozen white. And interesting color for a dead planet. "We're going to crash!" Kagura suddenly yelled as the ship lurched forward. "This damn hell ship isn't meant for this! Its meant to be decompounded into metal fragments or something!" Naraku heard her sigh when he gave off no reaction to her outburst.
"If it breaks, you and Kanna will fix it." He said calmly. Kagura frowned at him, but didn't comment. Naraku held tightly against the side of the wall as he heard the scratching sounds of the rusted landing gear being let loose. After a moment, the spacecraft made contact with a solid thud that echoed throughout the entire ship. Naraku flipped open a panel and pulled out a tiny monitor that would be keeping track where the signal was emanating from. He pulled out a mask that fit firmly over his head and gestured for Kagura to do the same.
"Why don't I just stay here?" She offered, attempting to look innocent.
"I'm turning off the oxygen. Stay here and you will die." Naraku said softly. Kagura glared at him and took the mask from his hands. He climbed out of the dank room he kept himself cooped up in and approached the main opening of the ship. Kanna was already there, mask on her face and mirror in her hands. Naraku pressed in several buttons and soon they were out of the ship, walking on the once lush world of earth.
Everything was covered in ice. The ground was layered with stones and other debri and a faint hissing sound issued from the small holes in the ground, releasing its toxic breath into the already dead atmosphere. Earth was a dead planet, all life gone except for the strongest that managed to escape the planet and find ways to other worlds.
Naraku studied the screen of his hand held monitor and proceeded to walk, glad that it wasn't too far away. "Kanna, I'll need you to take its soul." He said softly. Only the slight nod of Kanna's head showed that she understood. Kagura simply looked around aloofly. She had no idea what was going on and Naraku wasn't going to be the one to inform her.
After only a few minutes of walking, they reached the spot indicated on the flashing screen. Naraku frowned at the densely iced covered area and pulled out a small gun from his pocket, careful to set it on its lowest temperature. He used it to burn deep into the earth, finally coming to the graveside of the dead creature. Nothing was left of it. There was a small residue of bones and flesh matter, but most had been destroyed by radiation and toxic gases. "Kagura, get me a sample." Kagura frowned a moment and leapt gracefully down the whole, looking as though this was the kind of work far below her. She collected it into a small tube and tossed it up to Naraku. "Kanna…"
The little girl stepped forward, her blank eyes flashing with brief life as she turned her mirror to the grave. A blue light floated out to it, soaking into the reflecting image. It kept pouring into the mirror until the little girl paused. "There is no more room." She breathed.
"Release some of the other souls you have in there then." Naraku said impatiently. Kanna nodded and blue lights flashed around her as they were freed from their captivity. Kanna glowed blue herself and her hair floated gently around her from all the energy. Finally, she had released enough to allow for the powerful soul to enter. "Good. Let's return to the ship." Naraku walked carefully ahead, Kanna following her own, floating pace while Kagura trudged along afterward, glaring intently at the back of Naraku's neck
When they returned to the ship, Naraku motioned for Kanna to get them off of the planet. He went back down to the fume infested room and took the samples from Kagura. He placed them into a machine--the same machine he had used to create Kanna.
Kagura hated this with all her might. She didn't deserve to be treated in this manner. She wasn't something someone could so easily control--yet Naraku had found a way. All she did was go to the doctors for a check up, since she had sprained her ankle while at a dancing competitions. She thought the doctor would give her some pills or use that funny machine that fixed these kind of problems. Instead, she was drugged and when she awoke, Naraku literally took her life in his hands. All he had to do was to press the button and she'd be dead. If he turned the knob of the devise he carried, then she'd be collapsed on the floor in pain. Obviously, she had to work with him--only she didn't really know what she was suppose to do. So far, she had been like a mechanic; fixing a few items here, watching a machine there, nothing really important.
Naraku was busy at that machine again. He kept pressing certain buttons and looking at the result on the computer. It was all really boring. Kagura yawned, when suddenly Naraku snatched her hand. "Hey!" She cried as her arm felt the bite of a needle as he extracted some of her blood. He returned back to his work, not even carrying about her scream. "What was that for?" She demanded.
"I need living cells to make life." Naraku said softly. He suddenly stepped back. "I needed one from a female."
"So, our dead friend was female?" Kagura pried. "And that is why you need my help, right? So, you couldn't do everything on your own, could you?"
"Don't speak that way to me." He said threateningly. Kagura closed her mouth, deciding she didn't feel like dying today. He also took a little of his own blood, though she noticed that he was more careful in doing so.
"Why do you need your blood too?" She asked.
"Because I have youkai in me and youkai's are naturally stronger, so the body should be able to hold out for awhile." He said tonelessly, concentrating entirely on his work.
Kagura couldn't help but find herself rather confused. "So, what exactly are you doing?"
"Turning the dead alive." He said after a moment, and flipped a little switch. The machine sprung to life.
"Making life…you're bringing back the dead?" She questioned. "How is that possible?"
"No, I'm not really bringing back the dead. I'm just making a new body for her and placing her soul into it. The body will only be able to hold its form for one year, and then it begin to deteriorate. I'll only need it until we reach the Shikon temple--then it can be disposed of early." 'How can he speak so calmly of killing others?' Kagura thought bitterly.
"Isn't Kanna made the same way? Why hasn't she 'deteriorated'?" She suddenly thought.
"Because, I used something that was actually living. The little girl was quite alive until she transformed." Kagura winced. 'What a cruel guy.' She thought to herself.
As though on cue, Kanna suddenly walked through the door. "Are we already back into space?" Kagura wondered. She had been so distracted by what Naraku was doing, she hadn't even felt the take off. 'Maybe it isn't as old as it looks.' She thought to herself.
Kanna looked at the machine, and then to a body sized capsule to the side.
"Yes, I'm creating it's body now. You'll be able to return the soul soon." Naraku said absently. Made of bones and flesh. Organs beat within it. It wants back its soul Kagura suddenly stepped back. For a split second, she thought she heard someone talk in her head. It will only find death. Its almost alive. But it will die. That is life. It wants its soul. Again with the voices. 'I think I need to lie down.' Kagura thought, smiling grimly to herself. 'I wonder if the needle he used in my arm was sterilized. Maybe he just gave me some kind of brain disease.'
"The machine needs only a few hours before the body is finished." Naraku murmured. "We'll head to Shikon temple. This is proving to be an easy mission." He left, motioning for the other two to follow. He then sealed the room that held the developing body and went off to, she assumed, contemplate the reason why he existed, or something stupid like that. Kagura decided to go to sleep.
'It would be fun to go and dump that machine off somewhere. Have it float into space. Then what would poor Naraku do without a way to get the Shikon?' Kagura laughed as that thought crossed her. 'He'd probably kill me, though.' She lay down and shut her eyes. 'Sleep…sounds nice.' It wants her soul. 'Yes.' I definitely need some sleep.
No sound was heard. Nothing changed. A brief malfunction in the computer. That was all. Nothing to worry about. All is right. Nothing to worry about.
Naraku sat up as he felt these variety of emotions and words enter him. He wasn't sure why, but he felt that something was off. But, since he couldn't quite place his finger onto it, he simply shook it off. After all, now he was almost to the point where he could get the Shikon from the Shikon shrine. That was reason enough to celebrate.
Faint footsteps came near him. Naraku shifted his eyes, seeing who it was without leaving his view point from the window and the space beyond. It was Kanna and she was holding up her mirror. A narrow crack ran along it.
"It broke." She whispered. Naraku narrowed his eyes. The soul was gone? No…its body being so close, it probably just entered its own shell. Naraku stood up, deciding to check. He opened the closed off room and crawled in. Even though Naraku considered himself rarely surprised, he himself couldn't' believe his eyes. The machine was still in the room, but the capsule for the body was gone.
"Damn." Naraku muttered. "Kagura!!" He hissed. Only she'd be low enough and filled with enough hatred to do this. He silently walked to the room she had claimed as her own. She was lying on her couch, looking to be asleep. Naraku took the device he always kept handy and turned the little knob towards the top. Kagura awoke with an ear piercing scream, clutching her chest with both hands.
"Wh-what…damn…you…" She breathed, her eyes filling with tears of pain.
"Where is the body?" He asked slowly.
"What?" She gasped. He gave the knob another nudge. She fell off the couch and landed on both her knees. Her hands were placed determinably on the ground, as though convinced that she wouldn't fall over.
"Where is the body?" He repeated.
"I…have no…clue…" She choked. "Hell…stop…" Naraku narrowed his eyes. She seemed to sincerely have no idea what he was talking about. He ran back to the monitor that was keeping track of the signal. The signal…it was at the edge of the screen…and then disappeared as it moved out of range.
"Damn!" Naraku swore. "Kanna, take us after it." Kanna just stood there. "Turn this ship toward this signal and then accelerate toward it." Naraku spelled out contemptuously. Still, she did nothing. "What is wrong, Kanna?"
"No fuel." She said softly. Naraku quickly did a computer check and saw at once she was correct.
"How the hell can you run out of fuel within two days?" He heard the weak laughter of Kagura, who was already recovering from her pain. "Now you can't even go after the body!"
"Yes, how did we run out of fuel so fast?" He murmured, then sighed. The landing and then returning back to space must have taken much of the fuel they had left. If they had a more powerful ship that relied on energy rather than fuel, this wouldn't be a problem.
"Naraku lost what he came for!" Kagura cracked again, obviously enjoying this. She seemed to have finally understood what he meant by 'Where is the body?' "And now you can't even go after it!"
"Shut up, Kagura, unless you want to die." He said evenly. She quickly grew silent, though laughter played in her eyes. "Somehow, the body made it off the ship. That would be impossible without someone's help." He looked at Kagura, his eyes showing his continued suspicion of her. "Either way, you will have to find a way to get this ship moving within five hours. If you don't, I'll throw you into space and you'll have to find it that way." He spun around and left, leaving a very annoyed Kagura.
Miroku laid back into his chair and sighed lazily. His monk's staff laid across his knees and it jingled slightly with his every breath. Sango sat next to him, she of course intent on keeping them on course and making sure that nothing interfered with them. She was the pilot of this small, yet high-tech ship. Miroku was simply the passenger she was taking to a world where he would be useful. The world was known for its ingenious treatments in wounds, phobias, and curses…This world also, if his information was correct, had many available, single, and beautiful women. Of course, being a monk, he'd be extremely popular, and perhaps his most favorite question will be positively answered.
At this thought, he side glanced at Sango. She was very attracted, but made it clear she had no qualms about flying straight into an asteroid if he hit on her again.
There were only two other people aboard. One was a half youkai by the name of Inuyasha. He was a rough guy who appeared tougher that he actually was. Miroku found him quite amusing. He was the weapons manager of the ship and also took care of making sure that none of the passengers tried to highjack the craft.
The last was a small kitsune, Shippou, another passenger who happened to be heading to the same planet as Miroku. He was only a child, but tried to appear older. He and Inuyasha did not get along at all and any fights normally had to do with teeth in a certain hanyou's arm and several bump marks on a particular kitsune's head.
Sango suddenly frowned to herself. "What's wrong?" Miroku asked, then paused. Though he couldn't read what the numbers on the computer meant, he felt a strange presence coming toward them. "What is that?"
"I don't know…it appears to be alive, yet by this, it's well over a hundred years old." Sango said thoughtfully. "It appears to be a small space ship--no a capsule of some sort."
"What the hell is going wrong? Why have we stopped?" Inuyasha called, walking into the room.
"Something is on our sensors. It may need to be helped." Sango told him.
"Come on, all we're suppose to do is get these bastards to that world." Inuyasha grumbled.
"I say we go help whoever it is." Sango told him firmly.
"I agree with Sango." Miroku smiled, knowing that he had just won some points.
"Yah, meanie." A smaller voice piped as it jumped on top of Sango's shoulder. "Where is it?"
"Its out there…Inuyasha, I need you to go out and retrieve it."
"What! Why me?"
"Because I have to pilot." Sango turned back on her seat and directed the ship towards the strange object. "All you have to do is to go out there and put the magnetic rope to it so we can bring it in." She explained. Inuyasha grumbled, but proceeded to put on a space suit. Miroku smiled.
"I think it is wonderful the way you take authority." He told to Sango. She just looked at him suspiciously.
"Thanks, but don't expect a free feel." She said lowly, then spun her chair around so that she could keep an eye on him. "Are you ready?" She called to Inuyasha
"Yah, but I can't see out of this stupid thing." He grumbled. Everyone looked at him, Miroku smiling and Sango sighing. Shippou on the other hand, began to laugh wildly at him.
"You idiot, you have the helmet on backwards!" He cracked. "Even I know which way it goes." He rolled on the floor, clutching his stomach. Inuyasha's fist tightened threateningly and he quickly turned the helmet around before launching at Shippou. "Owowowowowowo!" The kitsune screeched, clutching his head as Inuyasha pounded him. "Don't get mad at me for your mistake!" He called, running behind Sango.
"Damn you." Inuyasha yelled and stomped out. "I'm ready!" He called through one of the doors.
Sango pulled down a lever, the outer door open. Inuyasha was released into space.
'Why do I have to do all these jobs?' Inuyasha thought to himself as he felt himself freely floating into space. He used the thrusters on his back to pilot him to the unknown object, one hand clutching the magnetic rope. 'Hmph.' He had been working with Sango for a little less than a month. She was an ex-bounty hunter who decided that she wanted a break from searching for the 'bad guys' and instead use her ship as a transporter. 'She just gave up because her brother died while she was on one hunt, being killed by one of the criminals that she had only days later apprehended. She just doesn't want to put anyone else she knows into danger.'
He could see the object clearly now. It was a strange, capsule like thing, spinning in a slow, unhurried circle. Inuyasha frowned as he saw a strange, blue glow surrounding it. Actually, he couldn't exactly see it, he could sense it with his youkai senses. 'Weird.' He thought to himself. He got near enough to it to latch the rope to hit. Luckily, the thing was made of metal, so it readily hooked up to it.
"Done!" He yelled, knowing that they could hear him through the intercom of the suit. Inuyasha felt the rope grow taunt and they began to drift back to the ship. Once they were inside, the outer door was closed and air was forced back into the chamber. Once it was safe, Sango, Miroku and Shippou entered the room.
"I wonder what inside?" Piped the annoying Kitsune. Inuyasha studied the capsule for a moment. It was human sized, almost coffin-like in shape. Sango took a few readings from it, through her hand-held analyzer.
"It appears to be a human female…and she still seems like she is over a hundred years old…" Sango said thoughtfully. Miroku sighed by this information.
"So, she is an ancient human woman? I guess she'd be a little old for me."
"Is that all you think about?" Sango looked at him in disgust.
"I need to keep my options open." Miroku narrowly missed being clobbered by Sango's fist.
"Are we just going to look at it, or can we open it up?" Inuyasha growled impatiently.
"We should open it!" Cried Shippou. Inuyasha, for once in complete agreement with the Kitsune, reached down and opened a small panel to the side, reveal many buttons.
"Um…" 'Which one?' He thought to himself, then decided to press the middle one. It seemed to work…at least a faint clicking sound was heard. The lid to the capsule began to slide down, contracting into itself, and Inuyasha took a step back, just in case. The blue presence he had felt earlier seemed to throb in anticipation, but he seemed to be the only one who sensed it.
The first thing that was revealed was a tumble of black hair, down to a youthful face, down to…um…Inuyasha blushed and turned away, realizing whoever this was wasn't clothed. He quickly took of his red, rat-fir coat and dumped it on top of her.
"I don't believe she is over a hundred." Miroku commented. Sango frowned at him bent down to straighten her impromptu clothes. The girl herself was still and motionless.
"She's alive, right?" Inuyasha asked, then noticed the blue substance pour into the girl's mouth until it was gone. 'Very, very weird.' Inuyasha thought. The girl suddenly took a deep intake of breathe and her eyes snapped opened. She stared at all of them in surprise and opened her mouth to speak.
"Where am I?"
So, what did you think? If you like, please review because I have often writers block when I receive no reviews ^_^
PLEASE REVIEW!!