Me: well here we go everyone, A little treat that is the first chapter.
Zed: that's quite a chunk for them to read, will keep you lovely people busy ey?!
Me: Now I sorry If the Ginta and Hakkaku characters seem a bit OOC, In fact all of them, but I mean I haven't watch the Inuyasha anime in over 2 years and It's to much to be going through it again. But I mean you know if it's good for the story then it's good good for the story right. Take your queue Please.
Zed: Again we do not own either shows that has been used for this fanfiction and we will post up the names of rightful owners in due time, have a fun read guys.
Chapter one: A rock in the field.
The sun is now very high in the skies, marking the hour of noon over Sengoku era Japan. The sun baths the eastern lands in golden light. These bright sunny days were the last that were to be seen before the harsh, cold seasons of winter would set in. The season at the present was autumn. Yes, the trees were starting the shed their leaves and become dormant for a whole three months. Yes, the weather showed signs of soon become cruel and cold. Many animals, youkai (demon) or not had even migrated to parts out of the eastern territories. Still season had its perks as well, why would it be called the harvest season.
Harvest is an odd word for youkai, particularly hunting/ beast youkai. This is maybe due to the fact that it associates easily with humans and their ritual of collecting nature's goods for their own preservation. Winter however is a desperate time for finding food and so such methods are crucial for survival, even for wolves.
It's convenient for the Yoro clan to have a wheat field outside their dens, though no humans reside anywhere near their lands, it has stood here, left for many centuries to grow and thrive. Even with seasons changing for the worst or the better, it withstands time and waits to be picked for hungering villages, nations even. It stretches out for miles and miles. Beyond it, the land goes on even further before meeting with green and rock mountains. It's also grown to nearly surround the eastern territory, making it practically the Yoro clan's property.
The Okami youkai (wolf demon) have been collecting this wheat for a good century now, surviving on every successful harvest. They still hunt and eat meat in the winter times but to go the extra mile, they resort to transferring wheat into better foods.
This has now become the eastern pack's tradition; all take part in the collection of the wheat. Including the young leader, Kouga but on one fateful afternoon, he will now uncover the hidden truth in the pack's success which also leads to a greater ancestry.
The sun is still high. Kouga and his closest pack mates, Ginta and Hakkaku, have been working tirelessly in the nearby wheat field since sun rise. The young alpha has had all his wolves on patrol while he takes responsibility for the packs food stores. They have already hunted a good bit of game for the meat storage leaving harvest as today's main focus. They've cut down most of the field and sorted them into batches to bring home. First after the hard work they decided to take a short break, Ginta is the first to start as soon as he slumps to the ground.
"Aww, this work is exhausting". Ginta (lots of silver) huffs out while sitting on the grassy floor. His skin was pale be still close to the natural color of beige. His eyes were dark, almost black, they didn't frighten anyone. Like his name, his hair was of that same color though duller and with a splash of a darker shade near the top. The overall hair is quite short. His body had a fair build.
"Yeah, I'd have running after a great beast youkai over a mountain any day than doing this". Hakkaku (white horn) agrees while landing next to Ginta less subtly. His skin was slightly duller than normal. Light the other, he lives up to his name with his hair. It closely resembles a punk, side shaved styled with the length of remaining hair pointing up like a horn. His eyes are dark like Ginta's and has a similar build.
"You two will be grateful for it though when you're eating a loaf of what weave collected today, while the lands are frozen over" Kouga (Steel Fang) called out as he was sorting the last of the bundles himself. Kouga's hair is as dark a night. The length of it fell from a high tide ponytail to reach his upper back. Part of his hair was tamed by a furry head band. His eyes wear a staggering blue; one would look at them and stop as they seem to have so much to tell. He had a bigger build to the other two Okami, which made him the strongest among them.
It was easy to depict the Okami Youkai tribes with the mixture of armor and fur they would have as their sole wardrobe. In the case of these three, all their fur is brown. One way of distinguishing which pack they formally belong to. Their ways of leaving where simple rather than extravagant like the Inu Daiyoukai (great dog demon) Lord Sesshoumaru (Destruction of Life). Another way of telling them apart is from the wolf like tails they grow, a great agility and speed, typical of wolves. Another trait that is typical of youkai is their elfish like ears.
"Don't start that Kouga" Hakkaku's way of avoiding possible disputes. He lay with his back on the ground and closed his eyes while letting his ears tell him what's going on between the other two.
"We do understand the importance of it but we also find it really tiring when spending nearly half of day doing it." Ginta's complaints were on the border of turning into whining.
"I still think we should get some acknowledgement. I've carved out a good third or so of this field and found the best batches for food stock and that counts for something right?" Hakkaku was so proud of himself for this; his bold posture said it all as he sat back up.
"You may forget this Hakkaku but that's every pack member's result in the field when they work as long as we have. So don't dream on it too much." Ginta's response reaches all ears, accompanied by brutal reality. Hakkaku's response was simply to drop his head with a canine whine come from his mouth. It doesn't take much to bruise a wolf's pride.
"Oh come now, you guys find everything exhausting. When we travel, hunt or even have short arguments with other packs." Kouga stated with a bit of a cackle while seeing the actual truth in this.
"Well please excuse us while not all of us are have shikon jewel shards empowering the rest of our body." Ginta's best retort against the matter that in many ways was true; he depicted this from the many moments of his cub hood when he was with Kouga and Kouga wasn't the strongest demon back then. He then noticed that his tone was harsher and more accusative then he had intended.
"Are you trying to imply that the abilities I use aren't my own?" Kouga doesn't get easily angered by his friends; thou that statement still irritated him. The stirring of his inner beast could be felt all around.
"Uh oh, there's the taboo." Hakkaku couldn't help himself. To anyone else, giving off any suggestion of questioning your superiors in the pack meant you sealed your death. This trio has however been friends from cub hood and so these sorts of subtle tensions were an everyday thing that never ended in a blood bath. Still, Hakkaku made sure to never be a part of these arguments.
"Come now Kouga, we've been friends for how long now and I've never doubted you, I just think it's a little unfair that's all." Ginta speaks as calmly as he can. As much as he doesn't like it, for the sake of maintaining peace, he takes the submissive approach rather than push his views too far on the fellow wolf.
"We'll from where I'm standing; I'd say you and Hakkaku are doing a pretty good job in keeping up with me." The tension ceases in the air, these two always come to a mutual understanding in the end. The two more submissive Okami youkai we're relieved that that small show of respect was well received.
"And there's the usual response." Ginta let out with a sign, they're running through the same conversation over and over again.
"It's too hot out here; I'm going to go find some shade somewhere." Hakkaku stated this loudly enough to bring a halt to the conversation as he pushed himself from the ground to stand up. As hot as the weather is, it seems more of an excuse to get away from a repeating domestic argument.
"The sun is still high, and we're out in the open so I don't think you're going to find much." Ginta felt it was necessary to point that out to his friend. It didn't knock him from his small moment of glee though
"Ah, there's a tree near a rock not far, join me when you two feel sun scorched enough." Hakkaku calls out joyfully as he makes his way away from the pair and towards the tree.
Kouga and Ginta were left on to continue their chatter.
"Speaking of travelling, are you going to 'sis' any time soon." Ginta addressed his alpha quite cheerfully, forgetting the past argument and taking all attention from Hakkaku.
"Kagome?" The sound of his sweet heart's name made him just as chipper. Even without her presence, the young Miko (Priestess) had that affect on everyone. "I can smell her sent from here so she isn't too far so I may do so in the next few sun rises." He started picture her in his head, thinking of what he could do to win her heart over already. He then started envisioning the fantasies of her approval and beyond.
"Doesn't that mean that there could be one of Naraku's followers near the dens or something just as bad?" Ginta loved Kagome in a sibling way even though they don't always see eye to eye but couldn't help see the possible down turn of her presence near the dens.
"There isn't a place where Naraku hasn't let his filth cause havoc. We've already suffered a good part of it of it anyway."
"That's true." Ginta couldn't help but worry. He looked down to his hands and let his thumbs toy with each other. Kouga now seeing what his own views have done tries to reverse the affect.
"We'll be fine, our warriors are stronger and more prepared now, we also have this good harvest of wheat this year so everyone will be well fed for all of winter, in fact, it's better than before." Kouga reassures his friend in the calmest, surest way he can, though he is not sure of what he say's himself.
In response, He gets his friend's attention momentarily. Ginta then turns his head from his alpha to look over the field and feel the cool breeze caress his face as he is hit by a sudden wave of nostalgia. Kouga follows his trace of view to see in the direction his friend is looking in.
"You're right!" Ginta finally responds. "This field…. I've been here so many times when I was a pup and every time the wheat gets more and more abundant."
Kouga is happy that his friend seems to have a more positive reaction to everything now. Kouga smile's as he gives he words his thoughts.
"I know what you mean, this field seems to respond to our troubles and give us great results every year. If there is a spirit here who is contributing to this then we should thank them when we have the chance."
Ginta wanted to ask Kouga if he was serious about that statement until they heard the third man say something puzzling from a distant tree.
"Hey guys! There's something strange about this rock, you might want to see this." Hakkaku called out from the sole apple which he had wanted to rest under.
Not too soon from hearing this, the young leader and his second in command had used their beast like speed to be with their third companion. The rock in question wasn't far from the apple tree; it was right next to it. The tree itself was centuries old and so very big. The tips of its branches came just above the rock. The rock seems more out of place when contemplated from that angle. It was the blend of brown and orange in color: similar to sand stone or the dry dirt further out of the territory.
"What's got your tail in a twist Hakkaku, have you never seen a boulder this big before." Kouga queried with a hint of a mocking tone on him but still friendly.
"Oh very funny you guys, there just something of about it that's a bit off. Thinking about it now, I don't remember ever seeing this rock here before." Hakkaku replied slightly annoyed. Everyone tunes their gazes momentarily at this 'rock' then back at each other to continue with their conversation.
"Oh sure, it felt like strolling over to this tree, just to scare you out of your fur." Sarcasm was the best approach Kouga had when his friends started getting reeled up about it even more.
"I'm being serious Kouga, come on man." Hakkaku was beginning to get irritated by the fact that his friends disregarded his wariness of the foreign rock. He showed this with his body language of crossing his arms tight against his chest and averting his gaze from them slightly.
"Well that might be true actually. Sometimes the 'Ikite-iru-iwa' ("living rock" according to Google) youkai pass through this region and take a rest temporarily before moving on." Ginta made his input with an 'intellectual statement', which got everyone to be on the same line as him.
"Ha see, Ginta knows. You thought I was crazy didn't you Kouga." Hakkaku declares feeling quite content and victorious.
"Are you being serious Ginta?" Kouga was shocked, astounded even that his friend came up with such a conclusion that could either be very smart or unintentionally stupid. Ginta could have kept this up longer, if not for the small snigger coming out of his mouth.
"Nah, I just made that up to pull your leg." He finally replied with a huge grin on his face.
A low chuckle mounted in Kouga's chest. This wasn't helping Hakkaku's case at all.
"Ikite-iru-Iwa. Good god Ginta." This chuckle soon poured out as a hysterical laughter, He'd never heard anything so ridiculous in his live.
"Seriously?" Hakkaku went back to being a grumpy, irritated guy with the same annoyed body language as before. With all this Kouga and Ginta were still laughing, aiding the situation no more.
"I can see where Hakkaku is coming from, I've been traveling a lot in and out of the territory and I haven't seen it here in the past. It's been here for a good while though, a year or so maybe." Kouga finally broke through his own laughter with this thought that just stumbled on his mind. This to him made the rock all the more intriguing, almost fascinating. Ginta agreed on this his own observation.
"Come to think of it, I smell more of the wheat on it then the actual rock, as if it's not a rock at all."
"We are in the middle of a wheat field." Kouga quickly pointed out.
"I know…" Ginta trailed off of his speech. He had to admit to himself that he was intrigued, fascinated by this rock. Giant sand stone in the middle of the field, which smelled more like the wheat around it than the smell of dirty you'd expect it to have. There was another smell that it carried, he couldn't put his paw on it but it was foreign and yet, so familiar. He took a closer look at it. The texture didn't seem quite right from the perspective of his eye. He then looks at the ground beneath him. You'd expect the wheat to be growing around it. In this circumstance, the wheat was being bent by the rock. No, it was being crushed under its weight.
Now Ginta was left completely puzzled and he felt there was only one way to confirm his judgment. There were a couple of hesitant pauses in the path he was letting his hand travel. As soon as there was contact, his troubles on the subject were confirmed. The texture of the oddity in question was past inaccurate. He expected a rough, uneven surface that would also create a small wave of dust if he stroked at it. Instead his hand was greeted with an alarmingly soft feeling. Some of the hairs from this furry surface poked past his fingers. That wasn't even the worst of it. The owner underneath this pelt felt warm and to Ginta's great fair, he felt a strong but subtle heart beat.
After a second or two of this realization, the second in command fell on his back and scurried backwards on his feet and elbows, not bothering to get up. He did this as fast as he could until he was a couple of paces behind his friends who still arguing. At this, the pair of okami youkai still standing look at each inquisitively and then keep that same look when they look to the wolf on the floor.
"You okay there Ginta? You look a little pale." Kouga asked intrigued, not so much as concerned about what Ginta reacted too.
Ginta tried his best to get over the shock panting to answer the alpha.
"That thing is no rock, I-It's alive."
"What?" The other two shout astounded. All of them have their eyes on the rock and they are all alarmed about the rock, two out of three are terrified.
"It's in slumber right now but definitely alive." Ginta states to the others, a little calmer than before. It didn't seem as effective as he was scrabbling quickly of the floor to be at as close a range with his friends.
"I told you two that this thing was strange!" Hakkaku said nervously with a loud voice. Even though the object in question showed no signs of movement or of paying any attention of its surroundings, the wolves were so fear stricken that they didn't dare to move, let alone speak. Eventually with frustration, Kouga broke the silence as quietly as he could.
"How could we have not seen it come here if it's so big?"
The other two wolves were used to this sort of feeling, its shocking from their perspective to see the alpha in this kind of state. Ginta was moving his mouth as if to say something but was interrupted by another voice.
"Wait, if it's alive, how come it's so still? Doesn't it need to breathe when it's… sleeping…?" Hakkaku trailed off his speech. Their worst possible fears were occurring just paces from them. There was a slight tremor, growing less and less subtle. It was followed by a quiet rumble that gradually increased in volume. All three pairs of eyes traced back to the now moving body while wearing the same, horrified look.
Ginta added to this by wording in a panicked scream.
"You want to ask it now?"
They were suddenly feeling very small as they watched this monster starting to rise. All three were petrified by uncertainty of the situation.
Me: Spoooooooooooky Spoooooooooooks
Zed: Ok already stop! cuz you sound stupid right now.
Me:Awww, anyway that's it for now, I can assure you that the second chapter is in progress right now and will be up... eventually. I apologize for any grammatical errors as I have been cramming this in as soon as I could for you lovely's
Zed: I don't have to do it again do I?
Me: Well... I mean... kinda yeah?!
Zed: *sigh* Again we do not own the shows that have been included in the fanfiction and we hope to hear more from you guys.
Me: Now please excuse me while I as you do the flop on the bedroom floor at 2:30 am. *claps*
Zed: . o.o . o.o . O.O Tori Farted! *runs away*