Ohio! Sofia Dragon here, ready for the first portion of the original writing in this challenge fan fiction! I have translation notes just below. If I get lots of reviews (I'm thinking 15 for the first then + 5 per chapter) I might do some from Kagome's point of view. I haven't planned on doing anything from Kagome's point of view at all; she doesn't come back until the end of this plot.
Okasan: Mom
Haha-ue: Mother
Oyajii: Dad
Chichi-ue: Father
Otouto (san): Little brother
Oniisan: Elder Brother
Jiisan: Grandfather
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Time Trip: Side EffectsInuyasha's head hurt. There was a sharp pain in his back and shoulder and his haori clung to him as if it was wet there. He let his blurry mind absorb what his ears and nose were telling him slowly, ignoring the tugging on his memory in favor of getting a hold on the now. The clean, dusty scent of a well-kept cave was mingled with the scents of those who had passed through recently. He counted them off as his ears flicked around, taking in the echoes of the morning birdsong. Without moving an inch he could smell a frog demon, a dragon, two… no three lesser dog demons, a snake demon, a human… no wait. There was more then one human scent and one of them was…
"Okasan?" Inuyasha mumbled as he pried himself off the floor. He looked around at the huge cave tunnel. He was just inside, and he was sure that he could smell his Okasan's scent leading into the cave. He sniffed around in a little circle, picking up quite a few dog scents. Mostly lesser demons, nothing more then bigger-then-average dogs, but then he hit them. A strong scent, like an off balance mix of honey, poison, and moonlight. It was Sesshoumaru. Beside it, as if they had been walking together, was a deeper scent. It was also a bit like honey, but more like trees and earth and very different from Sesshoumaru's wispy, otherworldly scent. Inuyasha checked it twice, following it to the opening of the cave, before admitting defeat. He didn't remember the scent.
"I never knew him then. I never forget a scent…" Forget? Kagome! I almost forgot Kagome! Where is she? Where am I? Why are Okasan, Sesshoumaru, and Oyajii's scents here? Is that even his scent? What was that portal?
"Who are you?" A female voice shattered Inuyasha's frantic thoughts. He spun around to face the woman who stood deeper in the cave. It wasn't his Okasan, but someone else he didn't know. She was no servant, as she wore a rich black silk kimono with a brilliant blue dragon winding from her feet to her shoulders. Inuyasha found he had lost the ability to speak.
"I asked you a question, and expect an answer." She paused, and Inuyasha dropped into his natural doggie crouch under her sharp gaze. "I am the Lady Futomi, a good friend of the lord of this Den, and you will answer."
"I am… lost." Inuyasha felt like a pup caught chewing a slipper. "There was a portal, and she screamed. I told her to stay back but she was already too close. Then everything started spinning and went black. I woke up and there are familiar scents, but unfamiliar ones too. I am … I think I'm bleeding but I can't tell."
Lady Futomi walked over to the still dizzy hanyou and gave him a thorough once-over. She touched his shoulder gently, and then moved his hair away from his back to look below it. He sniffed her, and recognized her as the dragon he smelled before. Somehow he knew he had nothing to fear as long as he didn't lose his composure.
"You are badly injured. What is your name?"
"I don't think I should tell you. I might not be welcome here, and I guess I should leave. I need to find her. She could be hurt too, but I can't smell her anywhere."
"I want to know your name, young man. Lord Nishi does not take to spies well."
"Nishi…" Inuyasha echoed in awe. "So that's his name, I had wondered."
"Perhaps you've struck your head. Do you know your name or have you lost your senses? You should not try to cover things like that up when help may be obtained."
"How do I know I can find help here? All I know of this place is fear and hatred, faded memories of things I'd like to forget but can't. I don't think I am welcome in this house, now or ever. I need to find my way back."
"Faded memories?" It was Lady Futomi's turn to play echo in the large cave opening. "You don't seem old enough to have faded memories…"
"Hanyou age strangely. I haven't aged a day since I turned fifty-one."
"You looked that old at fifty?" Futomi was shocked "I would have placed you at seventeen decades."
"I'm over a hundred." The flat statement hung in the air. "Though I was sealed to a tree for half a century."
"That complicates things. Come in and rest, your wound is still bleeding. The blood is beginning to drip and you could be easily tracked."
"I suppose you will stay here questioning me until I agree. I have no choice, so alright."
"You speak simply, but you certainly are not. Let me help you rise." Inuyasha took the hand she offered since he was starting to feel lightheaded from the blood loss. "What is this girl you speak of? Lord Nishi might agree to send a search party out."
"She is human, and she smells like this." Inuyasha handed a torn scrap of what was once a pink handkerchief to Futomi as she lead him into the cavern. "I don't know why, but I trust you."
"Can I have your name then young man?"
"Just call me Inu-otouto and I'll be comfortable."
"May I ask why?"
"No, but Sesshoumaru might know."
"How do you know the young Lord?" Futomi asked, but Inuyasha chose that moment to pass out.
