The Black Flame
Chapter 1
Down The Well
"Sango! I'm going to really complain to you about this later!" A silver-haired youth exclaimed to a woman behind him. The young man had long, silver hair that reached halfway down his back with two dog ears protruded from the top of his head. The dog ears almost drew away from his odd, golden eyes. His clothing consisted simply of a red haori, not to mention the beaded necklace around his neck. This silver-haired youth was a half-demon by the name of Inuyasha. "So don't you die!"
"Ku ku ku…" An evil cackle echoed around Inuyasha and the three companions around him. "So you think you can return alive, huh?" Inuyasha watched as black appendages that resembled tentacles surrounded him and his comrades. "This is where you lowlifes die. All of this is because of…Sango's betrayal." Inuyasha looked down at a woman that rested in the arms of a second black haired girl. The black haired girl by the name of Kagome was frustrated at what the voice said.
That's right…It's my fault. Because I stole Inuyasha's Tessaiga, the woman thought to herself as she lay in Kagome's arms.
"Instead of your lives, Sango chose to save her brother's," the same voice insisted. "If your going to hate someone, hate Sango for her shallowness." The black tentacles suddenly struck out towards the four warriors that were huddled in a tight circle.
"Damn!" Inuyasha gripped his crimson haori and swiftly tossed it onto Kagome, shocking the girl. "Put it on! It should be able to keep off some of the miasma!" Inuyasha soon turned his attention back to the oncoming miasma. "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" The half-demon lashed out at the wave of black strands with his claws, cleaving through a chunk of them. The attack didn't help much as Inuyasha was quickly hit by a second wave of miasma.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out to the silver-haired youth, but didn't risk moving even a single inch.
…
"The physical form of what's said to be a gateway from the present to the past…the Bone Eater's Well," A short, young man whispered. He had spiky, black hair with blue outlines and white streaks in it. He had a lean, muscular build for his short stature. The youth wore a white headband around his forehead and had crimson eyes that gave him a sinister look.
"A demon? Be gone!" An elderly man cried out from a few meters behind the figure of the short youth. The old man was Grandpa Higurashi, Kagome's grandfather and maintainer of the shrine grounds.
"Humph. I was already planning on leaving," smirked Hiei as he grabbed the covering of the mystical Bone-Eater's Well.
"Don't touch that, you demon!" The old man shouted as he waved his arms around, but he dear not take a step towards the black-haired demon. The warning proved ineffective as Hiei removed the covering and leapt swiftly down the well, vanishing from sight.
…
"It's no good! We're getting nowhere," A man with short, black hair grumbled as he watched Inuyasha fall to the ground. He wore a purple and black two-piece robe, that was typical of a Japanese Buddhist monk, and woven rice-straw sandals. The only way to make a path…is to open the Air Rip,Miroku thought as he began to unwrap the rosary from around his arm.
"Miroku-sama!" Kagome cried out as soon as she perceived what the monk was planning to do.
"Don't do it! If you do it, you'll die!" A small creature with brown-auburn hair, green eyes, and a fluffy tail exclaimed as he latched onto the man's arm.
"Let go, Shippo!" Miroku ordered, shaking his arm around in an attempt to dislodge the small fox-demon.
"Don't die in vain, Miroku!" Inuyasha shouted, looking back at his selfless ally.
"There's no choice! If I can save everyone here from being killing, then…" The monks words trailed off as Inuyasha delivered a direct strike to his abdomen.
"Ah…" Kagome was taken aback by the half-demon's sudden action.
"You bastard…what are…" Miroku couldn't even finish his question as he drifted into a state of unconsciousness.
"Sheesh. What an idiot," grumbled Inuyasha as he let Miroku slump to the ground. If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have been able to stop him.
"Kukuku. Inuyasha…your naïveté will be the death of you," declared the voice of the hidden foe. "You are unable to hate your betrayer Sango and valued the priest's life, closing your means of escape. Kukuku. Such fools you all are. I thought you might help, and now…" the voice trailed off and then began to speak again. "Because of that, you're going to die. Kukuku…"
"Everything is because of your plotting," Kagome hissed as she took Inuyasha's protective haori off herself and stood up. Naraku…I won't forgive you. Where is he ? He should be nearby…Kagome watched as the miasma slowly crept towards her, Sango, Shippo, Miroku, and Inuyasha. I must hurry! She then noticed something shimmering through the wall of a building to her right. That's the light from a Shikon Fragment? Kagome went from thoughts back to speaking out loud. "Over there!" She directed her partner, Inuyasha.
"Naraku!" Inuyasha roared as he rushed forward, wincing as he hacked away at waves of poisonous miasma. "Gah!" Inuyasha rubbed his face with the back of his hand after being grazed by the miasma. Being slightly distracted, he was suddenly hit in the abdomen and chest with another wave of miasma.
"Inuyasha!" Shippou shouted, although he had his small hands covering his mouth so that he didn't unnecessarily inhale any miasma. Inuyasha once again fell to the ground, but this time he was obviously injured.
"Kukuku…how pathetic, eh, Inuyasha?" Naraku's voice suddenly entered into the ears of his panicking victims. "Along with your friends, you will die in pain."
"Ugh," Inuyasha began to grab at the ground in hopes of getting back on his feet.
"For a failure of a half-youkai, it is an appropriate way to die," Naraku stated, but he wasn't expecting a purifying arrow to slam into the castle wall's exterior and leave a gaping hole in it. The broken down wall revealed the figure of a shocked man with a dark blue outfit with a purple vest and flowing black hair. "What?" He asked, looking at where his arm had been completely blown off. Naraku stared open-mouthed at Kagome, who still had her bow aimed straights towards him. That girl…
"Naraku!" Kagome shouted at the black-haired man, who was still slightly hidden from the waist down by the broken down wall. "You really are, absolutely…the worst!"
"The miasma is dissipating," Shippo noticed.
"This is because…Kagome-sama?" Miroku pondered, getting into a kneeling position.
"Kagome…" Inuyasha repeated, still surprised by his ally's sudden outburst.
"You're not getting away!" Kagome declared, glaring at Naraku.
What is it? What is this girl's power? Naraku asked himself as he gripped the spot where his arm had been attached to his body.
…
Hiei found himself in a small forest clearing as he maneuvered out of the Bone-Eater's well and into the feudal era, but he soon realized that this empty field had a strange energy to it. He soon decided to move forward, leaping from tree to tree until he finally reach something peculiar. In front of him, a large tree stood firm.
"This tree…" Hiei touched the wood on the tree, even running his fingers along the odd 'scar' that was imprinted into it. He felt a strong energy resenating from the scar, but simply he blew it off. No longer interested in the tree or its history, he walked away from it. He leapt onto a sturdy tree limb to his right before launching himself to the next tree and disappearing from sight once more.
…
"Don't move!" Kagome warned, her bow unwavering and prepared at any moment to fire the arrow that was nestled in it.
"Girl…you…who are you?" Naraku asked as he clutched his shoulder directly above where his arm was missing completely. To have been able to go through I, Naraku's, body is…he trailed off before speaking aloud. "A long time ago…there was a girl with the same power as you…"
Does he mean Kikyo? Inuyasha asked himself as he knelt a few feet beside the bow-wielding girl.
"You also got Kikyo into a trap and killed her, didn't you?" Kagome spat out, sounding honestly angry with the villain.
"You're Kikyo's…" Reincarnation? Naraku was trying to put the pieces together as he took similarities between the two into account.
"Would you shut up? I'm getting upset!" And with that, Kagome fired her arrow. The shining arrow sailed through the air and pierced right through Naraku's torso, completely destroying his stomach.
"Got him!" Shippo exclaimed.
"A-amazing…" Miroku whispered. Naraku's upper body began to fall to the ground, but Inuyasha noticed something quite odd.
"Watch out!" Inuyasha shouted to Kagome, as Naraku seemed to smirk, despite the fact that he should be dead. In a split second, an enormous wave of miasma gushed from no specific source. "Miasma!" Inuyasha shielded Kagome with his body as miasma pelted against his and Miroku's back, although Inuyasha's Robe of the Fire Rat protected the monk. When the raining poison subsided, the heroes turned back around to see what became of Naraku, but they saw nothing at all.
"The castle's gone…" Shippo stated as he gripped Miroku's shoulder.
"It was a fake castle, huh…" Miroku said as he looked around the battlefield.
Is Naraku dead? Inuyasha asked himself as he sat beside Kagome, who was on her hands and knees looking at something.
"Ah…Inuyasha," she said. The half-demon followed her gaze and noticed his sword planted into the ground, but it was in its rugged and slender form.
Tessaiga... Inuyasha began to stand up to retrieve his weapon, but he felt a cold chill the air, making him look into the sky. Like a shadow, something small and black in appearance leapt silently through the sky above. A demon? After the tiresome encounter with Naraku, Inuyasha decided not to chase after the black-haired figure and instead plucked his sword out of the ground.