Chapter two in the revamping process.
*disclaimer* I don't own inuyasha.
The World Above
Chapter Two: Esliad
There was nothing Inuyasha liked better than a good fight. He ran down the shore of Esliad towards the hoard of approaching Youkai. To his left, back towards the base, he could see Miroku lead some of the younger recruits off to fight a different group. He snorted at the few who broke formation when the fight began. He wasn't envious of Miroku's job of training the rookies.
He returned his attention to the youkai that were now upon him and concentrated solely on his fight. He concentrated so much that he didn't notice the silver-haired girl emerge from the water, or her shockingly green eyes watching his fight intently. He didn't notice that the few youkai that attacked her were deflected by a mere flick of her hand.
However, when the youkai he was fighting lost interest in fighting him and instead attacked the girl, Inuyasha noticed. He turned to look at whatever it was that had disrupted his battle and his eyes widened in surprise at the jewel around her neck.
'A guardian?' he thought, 'Why did she leave her temple?' But when he looked closer, the jewel was one he had never seen before. Suddenly the girl turned to him, her green eyes piercing his. At the moment their eyes met, a bright light was emitted from the girl and the entire pack of youkai around them was destroyed.
Inuyasha hardly noticed. She looked so familiar, yet so foreign. Now he noticed her white hair and green eyes, an air about her so clearly otherworldly. They stood staring at each other for several moments, until Inuyasha, unnerved by her bright, piercing gaze, broke eye contact.
He glanced around, noticing for the first time that the entire youkai force had been destroyed. He was impressed, but damned if he was going to show it.
"Who the hell are you? And what do you think you're doing, interrupting my fight like that?"
Kagome glared back at him. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with this angry man, she was only interested in finding answers, but she couldn't just let him be rude like that, now could she? She opened her mouth to retaliate, but before she could, a jovial voice interrupted her.
"Well I don't know about you pal, but I'm impressed!" Miroku threw his arm around Inuyasha's shoulders. "Aren't you going to introduce me to this vision of beauty?" He grinned widely at Kagome, who looked back at him calmly.
"Feh. I don't know her." Inuyasha spat, "and aren't you supposed to be helping the rookies?" Miroku waved his hand dismissively.
"Oh they're fine, I'm sure. There were only a couple of youkai left when I came over here to see if you needed any help, but you, or rather this lovely woman, seem to be doing just fine." He turned towards Kagome, "Now, my dear lady, if you will excuse my socially-illiterate friend here, I'll introduce myself." He waked up and kissed her hand. "I am Miroku, and this here ruffian is Inuyasha. Welcome to Esliad." Kagome bowed her head slightly.
"I am Kagome, princess of the Oceanic World."
* * *
Kagome looked around in wonder as she followed Inuyasha and Miroku away from the ocean. All around her there was light, and she felt as if she weighed nothing at all.
She had learned in school, of course, that it was not natural for humans to be able to breathe under water, but the power of the Shikon allowed them to do so.
She had always wondered why Alereal was underwater if it was so unnatural, and what existed out of the water, but when she had asked her teacher, he had told her there was nothing.
Her clothes and her hair were beginning to dry, something she had never even heard of. She touched the fabric of her clothes in amazement. They felt strange outside of the water.
"Kagome? Are you there?" Miroku tapped her forehead lightly.
Kagome jumped and blushed. She had tuned out Miroku and Inuyasha's conversation, distracted by her new surroundings
"I'm sorry, what were you saying Miroku?"
"I was just asking about your necklace and about where you are from. I thought at first you were a guardian, but I don't recognize you." Miroku supplied. Kagome thought for a moment then replied,
"I come from Alereal, as I said before, which is in the center of the Oceanic World. Earlier today the barrier was broken and my city attacked. My mother sent me here, out of the water because she said I was need in this world. The world above." Here she paused.
"Out of the water?" Inuyasha scoffed, "I suppose there's just a whole city of people swimming around down beneath the ocean." Kagome looked at him strangely.
"Until now I was unaware that this world," she gestured to the scenery around her, "was more than just a fairy tale." She didn't mean to sound so stand offish, but she was still shocked about what had happened in such a short time. She thought painfully of Alereal and wondered how her mother and father were doing. But her mother had sent her here, and despite how much she wanted to help defend Alereal, her mother was very rarely ever wrong, and the only thing she could do now was find out what she had to do.
"How is it that an entire world of people survives under water?" Miroku asked.
"The Shikon no Tama hangs high above Alereal, our protection, our light, and our power. It was once split into four pieces, called the souls of Titania, Alereal, Shonto, and Lentar. However, decades ago a powerful enemy attacked Oceana and the rulers of the four shards decided to merge together and allow the one jewel to protect us all." Kagome fingered the jewel around her neck.
"My necklace is the shard of Titania, which was believed to be lost in the attack on the city. Without it, the Shikon no Tama is still powerful, but not complete. We were hardly able to defeat the enemy then, and I fear that now he has returned."
Miroku and Inuyasha stared at each other for a moment, then Miroku asked,
"This enemy, what was his name?" Kagome's eyes darkened.
"Naraku. His name is never spoken in Alereal, but he is always a threat."
"We should bring her to Hakori." Said Miroku. He wasn't sure what all of this meant, but Hakori might be able to give them all a clue
"If Naraku is after this Shikon jewel and the Jewel of Seven Souls, we've got a bigger problem than we thought." Inuyasha said. Kagome looked at him quizzically.
"Jewel of Seven Souls?" she asked. Miroku nodded.
"The Jewel of Seven Souls, or the Raston Jewel, is similar to your Shikon no Tama, and if I remember correctly, there is a legend which says the two were made together, right before, I would guess, your people entered the sea. But that legend had no truth behind it, or at least I thought.
However, the Raston is what protects the people on land. It is divided into seven shards, similar to your four, the souls of Narkia, Arysis, Esliad, Nalhar, Cryan, Tanli, and Ristanta. Each shard is protected in a temple by a guardian in their respective cities. A few months ago Naraku began attacking the temples, in an attempt to gather the seven shards. According to legend, should Naraku attain both the Shikon and the Raston, he would be unstoppable."
"And this town is Esliad?" Kagome asked. She could see the parallels in the story of the two jewels, but why were they separate? Why did no one in Alereal know about this other world and this other jewel? She looked at Miroku as he continued. Her question would have to wait.
"Yes, this is Esliad, where we have the main base of the resistance against Naraku, lead by the guardian of the Esliad Temple, Hakori. The Guardians rarely ever leave their cities unless their temple is destroyed, when they must take their shard and flee. Naraku has only been successful in getting the shard of Cryan, for their guardian, Kyon, passed away last year, and their young guardian, Shippo, was only a young kitsune. You'll meet him later I'm sure. Now, your arrival is sure to cause quite a commotion, so let's first get you to see Hakori, and we'll go from there." Kagome nodded, deep in thought, and the three continued up the path towards the building towering in the distance.
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