While doing some research for this fic, I came across a very weird coincidence. Originally, Sakura was going to be named Saki (meaning rare blossoming), but I decided on Sakura and have played with the idea of her nickname being Saki. (I just love nicknames for some reason in this series.) Anyway, as I was researching sacred trees, the tree I came across first was the Sakaki tree. I was like, no way. Sakura. Saki. Sakaki. Sakaki. Saki. Maybe I'm just a loser with no life, but I tripped out over that.
Furthermore, a lot of people have added Scars to their alert list. I don't know why, but Scars has ended. HOWEVER, I will add ONE more chapter to it because there seems to be a demand for one. For those who fit that catagory, stay tuned.
And of course, I don't own InuYasha. By now, you should know who I own and who I don't.
Chapter 2
InuTaisho
"Momoko?" Sakura questioned.
The boy snarled again. "What did you do with your hair? Decided it revealed your black soul to much?"
Sakura's eyes flickered to her bangs. They were just plain dark brown. Her eyes flickered back to the boy.
"Why do you look so confused, Momoko?" He looked over her shoulder and chuckled darkly. "What did you do to the villagers? They look mighty sore."
Sakura risked a glance behind her. A group of men stood, weapons at the ready, at the other end of the thicket. An older woman atop a brown horse bore into her frightened eyes. She wore traditional miko robes.
"Where am I?" She blurted out. She turned back to the boy as he chuckled again.
"Momoko, what is wrong with you? You behave like a village idiot."
Sakura's eyes flashed as anger overpowered her confusion. "My name's not Momoko! It's Sakura!"
The boy's golden eyes blinked in confusion. It quickly melted away and his eyes narrowed. "You have to be! There is no way you could smell…like flowers?" He questioned. He sniffed delicately and frowned. "You're not her…"
Sakura huffed. "I told you. My name is Sakura."
The boy looked intently into her eyes, searching. "Why do you look like her? If only your hair was a shade darker…"
Sakura tilted her head to the side. She opened her mouth to speak when she felt something pull her from behind. She screamed and reached for the boy, who limply lay against the tree where the vines and arrow held him. Arrow? Sakura's fear vanished for a moment as she registered the arrow sticking out from his chest. That should be a fatal wound…
Sakura yelped as she was thrown to the ground roughly. She lay dazed before looking up into the rough faces of the men who threw her down.
"'Tis one of them kitsunes." One man muttered.
"Look at her kimono. I would never allow my little Chou to leave the hut in that." Another grumbled.
Sakura's eyes widened as one held a spear to her throat, pressing it into her soft skin. The others followed suit and pointed their own weapons at her. She was paralyzed.
"Stop!" A strong voice yelled throughout the clearing. The men looked up and removed their weapons. Sakura jerkily crawled into a ball and stroked her tender throat. Through her bangs, she saw the crowd part and the old miko wade through.
She was short and heavy built with long white hair tied loosely back in a ponytail. She had a slight limp and a scar ran the length of her face on the left side, making her once brown left eye a hazy, milky color. A quiver of arrows hung from her back and she held a bow in the right hand tightly. She jerked the bow at Sakura and pointed with it at her. Sakura shrank back.
"Who are ye? Ye come to free InuTaisho?" She demanded in a harsh voice.
Sakura peeked over her shoulder at the boy. He was quietly watching her. "Inu…Taisho?" The name sounded familiar. From one of those dusty old legends, maybe?
Sakura was jerked back around by the miko who now was kneeled before her. She grabbed her chin roughly and turned her face to the side. "You did a well job, kitsune. Got the hair wrong; too light." She grumbled.
Sakura wrenched her face away. "I am not a kitsune. I'm not an animal. I'm not Momoko –whoever she is. I am Kobayashi Sakura." She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.
The old miko's eyes flashed up at InuTaisho. "How did you wake up InuTaisho then, young Sakura-chan. That spell was meant to last forever." Her aged eyes flickered back to Sakura.
Sakura shrugged. "I don-"
A shout rang out through the thicket. The group quickly turned around and gasps and shouts filled the thicket. The moth yokai from the well had returned and now held one of the village men in his hands. The man was struggling to escape, but it seemed to not even go noticed by the yokai.
"Bobu!" Called one of the men standing over Sakura.
Sakura looked over her shoulder. The group was focusing on the yokai. She could escape. Flipping over on her hands and knees she started crawling away from the group. She heard something tear sickenly and Bobu gurglingly scream. She shuddered. Once she cleared the group, she jumped up and started running.
"The girl is getting away!"
"Forget her! The yokai must be exterminated!"
"Leaving so soon, wench?"
The last voice made her stop. She slid to a stop and looked up at the tree. InuTaisho was watching her intently. Sakura frowned and opened her mouth to retort when more screams sounded. She whipped around and saw that two more of the villagers had been killed by the yokai. Adrenaline coursed through her veins.
The men, who had charged the yokai, now cowered back behind the miko. The miko held her bow at the ready, her aged hands not shaking as she aimed. She fired and the glowing arrow was easily dodged by the yokai. He pointed a clawed, furry finger at Sakura.
"Give me the jewel, girl." It hissed out in its raspy voice.
The group turned to stare at her. InuTaisho struggled against his bonds. The miko pushed towards her.
"What jewel do ye have?" She demanded.
Sakura shrank into herself. "I…I don't have any jewel."
The moth yokai roared. The men jumped out of the way –one grabbing the aged miko- as it stormed towards Sakura.
"You woke me up! You restored me! You have the Shikon no Tetsu! I can feel its power!" It thundered. Sakura stepped back and tripped on a root, landing at InuTaisho's feet.
"I don't have the Shikon no Tetsu!" Sakura cried; glad that at least some of Higurashi-sama's lectures actually paid off.
The miko pushed the trembling men aside and stared hard at Sakura. The moth raised one of its arms and brought it down hard on Sakura's side. Sakura screamed out as she felt its claws dig into her flesh and rip something out of her. Blood squirted from her side as the yokai brought his hand to his face, lustingly staring at the blood covered amethyst jewel it held between its fingers.
"Miko-sama! The Shikon no Tetsu came from that girl's body!" Someone cried out.
Sakura's vision became blurry as white hot pain filled her. She slumped back against InuTaisho's legs.
'I…I can't…die…like this…'
InuTaisho struggled harder now that the jewel had appeared. The yokai made to swallow the jewel and InuTaisho shouted, "No! It's mine!"
The moth chuckled and shoved the jewel in its mouth and swallowed hard. InuTaisho cried out in rage. The gathered village people cried out in surprise. The moth's flesh seemed to shed away as he grew bigger and his looks turned darker and meaner. Sakura's consciousness began to waver in and out. A sharp knock to her back by InuTaisho's knees allowed her to jolt awake. She weakly looked up, her eyes half-lidded.
InuTaisho spoke softly to her. "Girl, can you remove this arrow?"
Sakura's eyes swam before resting on the arrow in his chest. She nodded meekly. She pulled herself up using InuTaisho's red robes. She leaned heavily against him and grasped the arrow. It tingled in her weak grasp.
"No! Child! Ye must not remove the arrow!" Sakura turned and saw the miko watching her frantically.
InuTaisho growled. "Do you want to be eaten by that moth?"
The groups' eyes all flickered to the transforming moth. The silence that followed was their answer. Sakura turned back to InuTaisho, staring into his eyes. He met her eyes fervently.
"What about you, girl? Do you want to die here with me?" He whispered; his eyes were hypnotic.
"No…I want to go home…" Sakura answered, equally quiet. Tugging on the arrow, she cried out, "Live again, InuTaisho!"
The arrow glowed and dispersed. InuTaisho pushed her back onto the ground and jumped into the air, laughing freely. Sakura landed on her back on the ground and watched everything unfold up side down.
The moth's transformation was complete. It was at least eight feet tall and bigger than any wrestler. InuTaisho's claws glowed red as he slashed at the moth. With a scream, it broke apart.
'He's so…powerful.' Sakura thought. InuTaisho twirled back around and searched with his eyes through the moth debris. The miko walked towards Sakura. Sakura rolled onto her stomach and sat up with help from the miko.
"Child, can you see the jewel?" The miko whispered.
Sakura raised her eyebrow at the miko. "See the jewel?"
"You must look upon the remains of the moth and find the glowing flesh. If you do not remove the jewel, the moth will regenerate itself."
Sakura's breathing stop. She turned to the debris. Some of them began to move together…starting with the glowing piece in the middle. Sakura crawled towards it. She winced as she reluctantly reached for it. Frowning, she plucked the jewel from the bloody flesh. She held it up to her face to examine it. She placed her other hand on her throbbing side.
"Why would such a thing be created if it would cause so much trouble?" Sakura muttered to herself.
A shadow fell over her. She looked up into the harsh golden eyes of InuTaisho. He cracked his raised fingers fiercely; his claws shining in the dull light of the thicket.
"That's why humans shouldn't have it. So, just give it to me, girl." He purred nastily.
Sakura shrank back. Was he one of the bad guys? She clutched the jewel to her chest. She could feel her heart pounding. Had she released a monster? InuTaisho frowned.
"Do you think I am too kind, wench? Let me simplify. Give me the jewel or feel the caress of my claws."
Sakura shrank further herself; her eyes wide as she stared up at him. Something told her to not give it to him. A small prickle of courage welled in her heart. She set her lips and shook her head. InuTaisho snarled.
InuTaisho raised his hand higher. Sakura turned to the side and protected the jewel with her body. Her eyes clenched tightly close. She would rather die than give him the jewel. She waited for the attack, but instead she heard the miko cry out: "Run, child!"
Something in Sakura pulled her to her feet and she narrowly missed being killed by InuTaisho. She jumped back, turned, and ran. Gramma's words from earlier ran through her head. She could almost laugh at the irony. Now, she ran like a human from a yokai. Perhaps InuTaisho –the yokai- ran from some personal hell. She heard him close behind her, but she pushed herself harder.
She didn't see the small cliff before her and ran over it, falling the five or so feet to the ground below. She cried out in pain and her side bled more. When she blinked open her eyes, InuTaisho stood before her. Sakura gasped and backed up against the raised earth. She was trapped.
She heard someone running and muttering. Then, glowing black and white beads surrounded InuTaisho's throat to form a necklace of black beads and white bones. He barely glanced at them as he stepped closer to her.
"Sakura! Utter a subduing spell! Quickly!" The miko called.
"Subduing spell? I don't know any spells!" Sakura cried back.
InuTaisho paused and laughed. "You subdue me?"
"Any word, child! Just pick one!" The miko shouted.
Sakura raked through her brain for a word. She thought back to this morning when she had been at home. She wished she could have stayed there. She then thought back to when she first saw InuTaisho; to his passionate golden eyes. She also wished they could have stay together like that for eternity. She wished InuTaisho had stayed a good guy. She wished she had stay in bed this morning.
"Uh…Stay!" She screamed.
InuTaisho's eyes widened as he was thrown to the ground. Sakura jumped a little. The miko slid down the cliff next to her. She helped Sakura stand.
"Anytime you say the word 'stay,' InuTaisho will be subdued." The miko informed her.
Sakura nodded numbly. The miko pulled Sakura's once white shirt up to examine the wound. Sakura trembled. She didn't hear the miko telling her she needed to come with them to the village. She only saw InuTaisho raise his head and stare directly into her eyes. The hatred brewing there was her limit. She eyes slipped closed and she dropped to the ground.
X
InuTaisho sat in the corner of the small hut that belonged to the old miko. She had practically forced him to carry the brat here and now forced him to baby sit. He grumbled to himself. She was sleeping on a futon. The miko had removed the girl's weird gi and now she only wore her tiny green hakama, white tabi, and some sort of pink cloth around her breasts.
InuTaisho scoffed. Momoko would have never dressed so scandalously. Even when she bathed, she wore a long white kimono. He blushed as he remembered her catching him while he was "protecting" her one time. She did not raise her voice or hand. She merely frowned and that had been enough to make him apologize –something he rarely did.
His eyes darted back to the girl. How could she look so much like Momoko? Everything –except her lighter hair- was an exact match. They could be sisters. He frowned as he tried to remember what Momoko's sister looked like. She had been maybe seven the last time he had seen her. If this was Akira, then, how long had he been under Momoko's spell?
But, it couldn't be Akira. She had made a big deal about how her name was Sakura. What was this girl? He crawled closer to her. He hovered over her and looked onto her face.
She was beautiful, he had to admit. Her lips were bow shaped and looked so soft. Her long lashes brushed her high cheek bones. He carefully reached his hand up to brush away her unruly bangs.
His mother had been a human. His aunt had been a human at one time. He knew his family had a curse of chasing human woman. He had had his own experience with Momoko. He would refuse to let this silly mortal girl be his undoing. Grandfather and Father had both been undone by human girls. His lip pulled back at the thought of his father.
'Where is that damned bastard?' He wondered. Another person's face filled his mind as his father's hazy one left. Izayio. Where had she been while he was dead?
Below him, Sakura's eyes slowly blinked open. She felt InuTaisho on her bare flesh and then saw him hovering over her. He seemed to be looking at her, but his thoughts were turned inward. Sakura screamed and lift up with her knee. InuTaisho gasped and rolled off of her. Sakura sat up and looked down at her shirtless body. She screamed louder and reached for a nearby coverlet, wrapping it around her body. InuTaisho narrowed his eyes up at her from his place on the ground.
"Stay! Stay! Stay! Stay!" She screamed.
InuTaisho yelled as he was continuously thrown onto the ground. Luckily, not the entire hut had wooden flooring and he only broke the earth.
The door flap was rudely pushed aside as the miko darted in. She saw the scene before her and chuckled.
"Ye have an odd way of thanking InuTaisho, Sakura." She chuckled.
She entered the hut and held out a bundle of folded red and white cloth. Sakura cautiously reached for it, conscious of her shirtlessness. She peaked over at the slowly recovering InuTaisho.
"Thanking?" She asked.
The miko nodded. "InuTaisho –ungraciously- brought ye here and stayed with ye while I was gathering supplies for ye."
Sakura blushed and looked down at the clothes she held in her lap. "Thank you." She whispered. Maybe he was a good guy after all. "I…I'm sorry."
InuTaisho snarled at her and jumped up. He exited the hut. The miko chuckled. Sakura frowned and continued looking down.
"I didn't mean to hurt his feelings. I just woke up and he was…on top of me and I was shirtless…"
The miko kneeled next to her. "'Tis fine. More importantly, 'tis a good thing we got ye here when we did. Ye wounds were rather terrible and ye lost a lot of blood. Fear not, ye are all bandaged up."
The miko reached inside her robe sleeve and pulled out a necklace. She placed it over Sakura's head and it fell to around her throat. Sakura eyed it. It was the jewel attached to a strand of wire.
"Ye are now the protector of the Shikon no Tetsu; the Jewel of Peace. It was gone from this world for fifty years after the death of my dear sister Momoko. Now, it has reappeared again. Ye must protect it from the men and monsters who will certainty seek its powers." The miko explained.
Sakura held it in her slender fingers. "Why me?" She mumbled.
The miko drew in a deep breath. "Ye may be the reincarnation of my sister Momoko."
Sakura shook her head. "I…I'm not a reincarnation. I can't protect this jewel. You have the wrong girl." Sakura looked up at the miko.
The miko's eyes were far away. "Ye could be Momoko's double." She whispered.
Sakura frowned and looked down. "Who's Momoko?"
The miko sighed and sat back against the wall. "Momoko was the protector and miko of this village some fifty years ago. She was asked by the Daimyo Hojo to create the jewel from the souls of the yokai who controlled the Odawara Castle. Momoko did so only to protect the humans who were slaves to the yokai. 'Tis why it 'tis called the Jewel of Peace. Momoko did anything she could to bring peace to humankind.
"When word of how powerful the jewel was spread, yokai and men tried to take the jewel away. Daimyo Hojo protected Momoko because he was the one who had forced her to create the jewel in the first place. Hojo began to fall in love with my sister. He forced her to stay at the place. 'Tis when InuTaisho came along and 'tis where I will leave that story off. I will not sully Momoko's name. I will only say she escaped and returned to the village.
"InuTaisho tried to steal the jewel, however, 'tis was sport. Though," The miko paused and frowned. "One night it became more than sport. InuTaisho killed Momoko and in turn, she sealed him to the tree. The jewel was burned with her body." She looked up at Sakura. "Now, 'tis returned to this world and InuTaisho has been freed."
Sakura blinked her wet eyes. "It sounds like a fairy tale almost. This can't be real. There is no such thing as yokai or magical jewels." She was scared. She wanted to go home. "I'm not in Tokyo anymore, am I?"
The miko tilted her head to the side. "Tokyo? 'Tis your home?"
Sakura nodded weakly.
"Never heard of it." The miko muttered. "Tell me, Sakura, how did you get here?" She spoke louder.
"I…" Sakura blushed. "I came out of the well in the clearing."
The miko gasped and jumped up. She hobbled to the door. She pulled aside the flap and searched around. "InuTaisho!" She called.
Sakura stood and quickly slipped her skirt off and slipped on the clothes that matched the miko's; traditional miko robes. She finished tying the obi as InuTaisho quietly slid in.
The miko looked up at him. "InuTaisho, do ye have any clue as to where ye sister Izayio could be?"
Sakura's head jerked up. She knew the name Izayio. Higurashi-sama and other history teachers stressed about the princess who had fallen from grace by become pregnant with a man of an enemy clan. Though, Higurashi-sama had used another word to describe the man: yokai. The yokai InuTaisho. Sakura gasped. The others turned to stare at her. Sakura pointed a finger at InuTaisho.
"You…you're the yokai that knocked up that princess." She stammered.
The raised their brows. "Knocked up? What the hell does that mean?" InuTaisho huffed.
"You…got that princess pregnant. There was a huge fire, many deaths, and…" Sakura paused as her eyes widened. "You should be dead!" She winced and frowned in disgust. "Ew, you knocked up your sister."
The miko pursed her lips. "I believe ye are thinking of InuTaisho's grandparents; InuTaisho-sama and Izayio-sama. His parents, or rather his mother, named him and his sister after them."
InuTaisho growled and stamped his foot. "How do you know me, hag? You act awfully familiar."
The miko blinked her eyes at him. "Then, ye honestly don't remember the younger sister of the woman who enchanted you. Akira."
InuTaisho was taken aback. "If you're Momoko's sister, then Momoko must be more withered than you. You mortals bore me."
Akira smiled sadly. "Momoko is dead. Slain the day she trapped you."
Something flashed in InuTaisho's eyes. Sakura suddenly felt sorry for him. She stepped closer to him, wanting to comfort him. She stopped when she saw the hatred in his eyes.
"Good to finally hear some good news."
Sakura gasped. How could he be so cruel? From the story Akira had told her, she thought he had loved Momoko or at least Akira made it sound that way. Akira shook her head and looked at her.
"I would not start getting excited. There is always the idea of reincarnation. Wouldn't ye agree, Sakura?"
InuTaisho's head whipped towards Sakura. "That twit is not Momoko." He growled.
Sakura shrank back from him. InuTaisho turned away from her and looked back at Akira.
"To answer your question, I don't know where Izayio is. I haven't seen her since the day Momoko killed me."
Akira pursed her lips. "Perhaps she is with Sesshomaru?"
InuTaisho shrugged. "I'll find her eventually." He tried to close the topic.
Akira shook her head. "'Tis in our best interests to find her. After all, there are parts of ye past that only she knows. We need to find her. Her or InuYasha."
InuTaisho stiffened. "We don't need InuYasha." He growled.
Sakura's brows knitted together. "Who's InuYasha? Why do we need him?"
InuTaisho growled again. "We do not need him."
Akira's eyes rested on Sakura. "On the contrary, InuTaisho, if we don't find him, he will find us."
A shiver ran up Sakura's spine.
InuTaisho scoffed. "I know enough about my past. Izayio only knows small little details."
Akira frowned. "Well, then ye should recite the fairy tale InuYasha and Izayio told you."
He rolled his eyes. "Why? It was just a stupid bed time story InuYasha made up to break it to me that Mother was dead. So, what?"
Akira gently placed a hand on his elbow. "InuTaisho, Sakura came out of the well in the clearing." She told him softly.
InuTaisho's eyes widened as he turned to look at Sakura. "The Bone Eater's Well?"
"No, the well in the clearing here; the Sakaki Well." Akira answered.
Sakura crossed her arms. "What is the Bone Eater's Well?"
InuTaisho numbly looked at her. "The well my mother came out of."
Sakura was puzzled. "You mean, another girl came out a well the way I did?"
Akira nodded her head. "This is why we need InuYasha. The miko Kagome came out of a well and freed the hanyou InuYasha. She was the reincarnation of a former miko and also held a powerful jewel inside her." Akira turned to InuTaisho. "Does that not remind you of anything?"
InuTaisho growled. "InuYasha was weak. I will not allow some weak mortal girl to be the end of me the way he did." He turned to leave.
Sakura looked down. "I want to go home." She mumbled softly.
InuTaisho turned and snarled at her. "Fine. Give me the jewel and leave. I don't want you here." He snapped.
Sakura gasped and bit her lip to hold back her tears. She didn't know why, but she wanted to stay in this world too. With InuTaisho.
Review.
~Azarath101