A Tale of Two Hanyous - Chapter Two of an Inuyasha fanfiction based on the anime
By Sandrock (sandrock@sandrockproductions.com)

Legal Disclaimer
Inuyasha do be the property of one Rumiko Takahashi.

Content Guideline: crude dialogue, violence

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Glossary - for those of you brought up on the CN dub of Inuyasha ^_^;

baka - fool/idiot
goshinboku - The sacred God-Tree
hanyou - half-demon, e.g. Inu-kun
hijin kessou - claws of blood
kaze no kizu - the Wound of the Wind/Cutting Wind
sankon tessou - soul-scattering iron claw/iron-reaver-soul-stealer
shikon no tama - the Shikon jewel/Jewel of Four Souls
youkai - demon
youki - demon energy
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The wind had never felt so cold.

As the bright lights of the Tokyo skyline streaked past with unfamiliar speed, Higurashi Kagome found herself unconsciously tightening her grip on the shoulders of the one speedily making his way through the world she called her own, lost in thought as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop with ease and an almost effortless grace, silver-white locks flowing in the wind.

It seemed different today. Many times had she rode on his back as they traversed the mountains, valleys and forests of feudal Japan, and never would she forget the one time not all that long ago when he had sweetly offered to rush her to school for an important test. Often had she taken refuge in the warm firmness of his form, secure in the knowledge that all would be well, as long as he was around.

None of that seemed to matter at that moment - not with the shikon shards they possessed missing, for the first time in ages and in her own world no less, and not with the knowledge that the one who held them had the ability to mimic, not just the look, but also the scent and just about everything else of the hanyou she had come to care for more deeply than she would like to admit, even to herself. He had grown so, changed so much since their first fateful encounter at the goshinboku - it was hard to imagine him now as the one who had coldly wanted to flay her open, or at least scare her enough to make her believe it so, in his bid to obtain the once-whole shikon no tama.

Her train of thought broke as she found herself startled by the fierce growl rumbling in the throat of the one carrying her. His voice, when he spoke, was low, angry, "I can still smell the bastard. It's faint, but it's definitely there." He paused, brilliant golden eyes scanning the horizon.

"Keh! The asshole's been busy. My... his scent's all over the place but if he thinks that's gonna throw me off track, he's frickin' mistaken."

His fists clenched, the trademark cracking sound resounding in the night, "I'll beat the crap outta him. I'll rip him apart. No. I'll beat the crap outta him, then I'll rip him apart."

Kagome remained silent. Loosening her grip slightly, she steeled herself for what she knew she had to do. Softly, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I I didn't mean to lose the shards again."

His head tilted back, and large golden eyes pierced into her. For a moment, he was quiet, as though studying her, the silence more unnerving than if he had simply yelled as he used to do in such situations. Wordlessly, he turned back, eyes facing front.

The Japanese girl suppressed a flinch. He can't even bring himself to yell at me. Is he that disappointed?

Her answer came almost instantly.

"Oh, quit it with the apology routine already. It's not like it's gonna help or anything"

The hanyou paused again, turning around to look at her. His face looked sullen, with a slight hint of distaste, as it often did when he was about to say something particularly difficult, "besides, I can't blame you. His scent's a perfect match for mine and if he can manage that, he can probably make himself look like me as well"

His expression changed, his glare taking on an air of superiority, " as least well enough to fool your feeble human eyes."

All semblance of guilt fled the girl. Frowning slightly, she smacked him on the head, "Stop talking and watch where you're going. You nearly slammed headfirst into a satellite dish back there."

"Feh."

*****

The smell of the ocean was almost overpowering, the odd blend of seawater and the stench of decaying fish threatening to make the Japanese girl retch as the hanyou crouched down to let her back on solid ground.

Willing herself to ignore the smell, Kagome looked around cautiously, taking in the somewhat-breathtaking sight of the ocean in twilight, with the distant light of ships marking the horizon, and the silent, dark silhouettes of warehouses dotting the bay side.

Turning to her companion, she whispered softly, "Are you sure?"

The silver-haired hanyou nodded, "He's here. The scent's freshest here."

Without another word, he grabbed her by the hand, silently leading the way past warehouse after warehouse, only to stop a moment later in front of one among their number. Peering into the darkness, Kagome tried to make out what made this one so special, staring past the chain-link fence into the compound.

She frowned, pointing into the distance, "Careful, Inuyasha. There seems to be a security post over there. We can't be caught lurking around-"

The half-demon cut her off in mid-sentence, scoffing as he looked in the direction she indicated, "What's the big deal? Even if they spot me, it's not like they can"

He trailed off, his eyebrows narrowing into a frown, "Something's not right. C'mon, we gotta go look."

Higurashi Kagome barely had time to realise what was happening before Inuyasha leapt into action. Scooping her up in his arms, he crouched down momentarily before springing up and over the fence, landing deftly on the other side as quietly as any cat. In a flash, he was off with her still in tow, sprinting with his trademark speed in the direction of the security post.

Alarm rising within her, Kagome willed herself not to yell, speaking instead with quiet forcefulness, "What are you doing?! I told you that's a security post do you want to get caught?"

He responded with silence, instead sliding to a halt as he reached his destination. He sniffed.

"Just as I thought. Look."

As the hanyou set her down again, Kagome turned cautiously, looking inside the brightly lit room only to stifle a gasp. It was, indeed, a guard post, and it presumably did once act as a base for security personnel guarding the warehouse.

Now, it was simply a morgue. Four bodies, withered and shrivelled, but otherwise intact and still in their uniforms, sat slumped in their seats in front of a large, damaged surveillance console.

The Japanese girl tried to avert her eyes but found them inextricably locked with the ghastly sight that lay before her. Instinctively, she drew closer to her hanyou companion, who was shaking his head in disgust.

"Feh. Looks like their life energy's been sucked right out of them. No soul, no nothing. Not a drop left."

"Did did a youkai do this?"

He raised an eyebrow, giving her a look that said she'd just uttered something stupid, "Do you know any human who could do something like this? Of course it's a youkai, baka!"

Kagome remained silent.

The hanyou muttered something under his breath for a moment, then started walking off, "C'mon. We're just wasting time let's go hunt the bastard down and make him pay."

The Japanese girl watched momentarily as he walked away, watched as the dark of night again shrouded his sleek form. She moved to catch up.

You know, Inuyasha, just as I do.

You know there is one human who could do something like this.

*****

Entry into the warehouse proved easier than expected - the door to a side entrance leading in had been left unlocked. Nimbly stepping past some debris on the floor, Kagome walked carefully, trying not to bump into anything, waiting for her eyes to acclimatise to the darkness.

Squinting, she called out, "Inuyasha, wait up it's too dark for me to see in here."

Sighing, the hanyou whipped around angrily, "Look, we're never gonna get anything done if you keep fumbling around like that!" Crossing the distance between them, he grabbed her hand, muttering as he did, "Just just follow where I go, and you'll be fine!"

As they made their way through the confines of the warehouse, Kagome slowly found herself able to make out more of her surroundings, aided in part by the moonlight streaming in from the glass panels set high in the walls. What that revealed, however, wasn't particularly spectacular - nothing seemed out of the ordinary about the place. For all intents and purposes, it was nothing more than a storage facility, containing row after row of the massive twenty-metre-long cargo containers used to hold goods during sea transport.

Looking to her silver-haired hanyou for reassurance, she squeezed his hand, feeling as he reciprocated her gesture. Softly, she whispered again, "Can you sense anything?"

Inuyasha shook his head. He opened his mouth, as if to speak.

And bumped right into a black-clad human form.

Instantly, the form reacted, screeching out in a high-pitched wail. Whipping around, it fumbled at its side, as though reaching for a weapon.

Inuyasha didn't give it the chance. Clenching a fist, the hanyou slugged the form hard across the face with enough force to send it flying clean across the room and right smack into one of the containers, the impact creating a huge dent in the side of the sturdy metal frame.

For a moment, it lay motionless. Then, unbelievably, it got back up, shakily walking back in their direction, the high-pitched wail once again emanating from within.

Kagome watched as Inuyasha tensed up, every fibre of his being signalling his readiness to fight. Again, a low growl escaped from his throat.

Why didn't he sense them?

For the briefest of moments, moonlight fell on the face of their opponent, and the Japanese girl found herself instinctively taking a step back, for within the black-clad form, staring back at her, was a face not too dissimilar from the ones they had just seen on the dead guards outside the building.

Her mind raced.

Not human.

And I don't even have my bow.

A slight movement in front caught her attention, and her eyes widened in alarm, "Inuyasha, watch out! There are more of them behind the first one."

The hanyou smiled menacingly as he watched the half-dozen or so forms slowly congregate, "Keh. Brought some friends, did you?"

His claws glinted in the moonlight, as his smile broke into a full grin, "Not that it'll make any difference." He broke into a run, arms outstretched and poised to slice apart all who stood in his way.

The creatures stood their ground. Slowly, as one, they reached to their sides, drawing out dark, metallic objects that shone in the moonlight as much as the hanyou's claws did, moments ago.

For the second time in minutes, Higurashi Kagome's eyes widened in alarm. Dropping to a crouch, she screamed out at the blurred form dashing towards the creatures, "Inuyasha! No! They have gu-"

Her voice was drowned out by what sounded like deafening rapid cracks of thunder. She stared, horrified.

The initial hail of bullets struck the hanyou hard, tearing into his fire-rat cloak and slamming into his chest. Momentarily, he winced, stumbling back as the pain travelled through his body. He could smell the scent of his own blood, slowly seeping through his clothes.

Shit what the hell was that?

Already, he could see another wave of the sharp, piercing objects flying toward him, eager to strike the fatal blow. But the hanyou was a fast learner.

Breaking into a run, Inuyasha swerved erratically, dodging the projectiles that had proven effective in hurting him before leaping high into the air, even as he plunged his claws deep into the wound.

"Hijin kessou!"

His arm lashed out, sending claws of blood flying into the midst of the creatures, instantly rending them and their weapons to shreds. Dropping to the ground, he quickly inspected his handiwork, making sure that none survived. Behind him, he could hear Kagome running to catch up.

A moment later, she was at his side, checking for wounds, the question already on her lips, "Inuyasha, are you oh, god you -are- hurt. I my medical kit"

The hanyou brushed aside her concerns, "Look, you should know me better by now. I'm not gonna die from something like this even if those were very strange weapons."

"But"

The sound of a door opening at the far end of the room stopped Kagome in mid-sentence. Beside her, Inuyasha reached to his waist, his hand grasping Tetsusaiga's hilt.

From the far door, a black mass of the creatures came pouring out, all wailing in the same high-pitched manner, and steadily making their way towards the human girl and the hanyou. In a flash, Inuyasha had Tetsusaiga drawn and at the ready, but his face betrayed an uncharacteristic concern. He shook his head, "I don't get it I can't sense them at all. There's no scent, no smell nothing."

He grinned, "No matter. I'll finish them off with one swing before they can even reach us."

"No, Inuyasha. You can't use Tetsusaiga."

The hanyou's head whipped around to glare at Kagome, "What do you mean I can't use Tetsusaiga?! There's too many of them for me to take down one at a time!"

She shook her head firmly, "You just can't! There could be tons of explosives in some of these containers and who knows how much damage the kaze no kizu will do in here! You could bring down the whole building and kill us both in the process!"

Yelling back, he glared daggers at her, "Well, then how do you expect me to stop that many"

Trailing off, the hanyou paused as something caught his attention. Sheathing his sword, he turned back to her, "Go. Stand far back, as far as you can I think I have a way out of this."

"What what are you planning to do?"

Golden eyes locked with hers. "Just go. Trust me."

Still looking at him, Kagome did as she was told, stepping back and away from the silver-haired hanyou. Don't do anything stupid, Inuyasha.

In the distance, she watched as he turned back to the approaching horde, watched as he flashed another smug grin.

Then, without warning, he crouched down, digging his hands beneath the nearest cargo container. His body tensed.

Kagome's eyes widened. No

With a loud growl, Inuyasha heaved the massive container clean off the ground, exerting with what seemed to be every iota of his considerable hanyou strength, his whole body quivering with the effort.

Sensing the danger, the approaching horde stopped, readying their weapons.

The growl morphed into a roar as the hanyou lunged forward, sending twenty metres of metal container crashing into the horde and into the wall beyond, the entire building shaking with the force of the impact.

Wordlessly, the hanyou turned, grabbing Kagome and leaping out the way they came.

*****

"What the hell were you thinking, doing something like that?! You could've gotten hurt, especially when you're already wounded!"

The hanyou gave her a long-suffering stare, "You told me not to use the Tetsusaiga. I had to do something."

Kagome glared back at him, her hands busy working the bandage around the wound on his torso, "Yeah, but did you have to do that?! What if that container really did have explosives inside? What then, you moron?"

He turned away, "Feh. I didn't see you coming up with any suggestions."

Standing up abruptly, he stretched a little, easing his cloak back on. Turning to her, he watched her for a moment. He spoke.

"Look I want you to go home. It's getting a little too dangerous, and you don't even have your arrows with you. I'll handle things from here."

Dumping the bandage back inside the medical kit they had found inside the now-abandoned security post, she stood up as well, her face lit with indignation, "There's no way I'm letting you back in there alone!"

"There's no time to argue, Kagome"

"I told you no and I mean-"

"Kagome please. I can handle this."

His quiet urging startled her, dissolving her resolve to argue. She looked down.

He smiled, "Good. Go straight home and don't look back. I'll be back before you know it."

Standing up, he looked at her again, giving her one of his reassuring smiles before he raced off, "I'm prepared for them now. They won't even see me this time."

Silently, Higurashi Kagome watched at the red-cloaked form disappeared into the darkness. Slowly, she stood up, tidying up the medical kit and shutting it tight. She looked in the direction he had run off in.

And followed.

She did not notice the form swiftly catching up with her from behind. She did not see its eyes glinting in the darkness as it trailed her.

But she felt it, when a steely hand grabbed her by the face and dragged her into the twilight.

*****

The hanyou smirked silently, looking down as he hung from the support beams attached to the ceiling of the warehouse, surveying his handiwork. Below, the room lay in ruins, the crumpled remains of the container he had thrown at the horde of creatures smashed against the far wall that was now sporting a huge gaping hole.

Nothing stirred.

Except

There was no mistaking it. In the room beyond the far wall, there was something a hint of energy, of power of some sort.

Youki. It has to be youki.

But there was something not quite right about the feel of the youki. It seemed odd, like

like it had an almost human quality to it.

Swiftly, he made his way across the room, readying himself to drop down and charge into the adjoining room, ready to confront whatever lay beyond. He didn't get the chance.

Arrows of white energy lanced through the broken wall, shattering concrete and sending debris flying everywhere. The energy smashed into the ceiling, slicing through the metal beams as like through butter, sending the hanyou crashing into the ground.

Muttering a string of feudal era curses, Inuyasha coughed, the dust and smoke clogging up his nose. He picked himself up. And found that he couldn't.

*****

Kicking and trying her best to scream past the steely hand clamping down over her mouth, Higurashi Kagome fought like a wildcat against the firm grip that held her at bay. Her efforts, however, proved near futile - her captor, not unexpectedly, seemed inhumanly strong, shrugging off even her wildest blows with the effort one would use to swat a fly.

Inuyasha help

The panic within her was rising steadily, her focus entirely on writhing, squirming and somehow escaping the grasp of the one holding her captive. It took her a while to realise that her would-be captor was, in fact, speaking to her.

"Kagome hey! Stop it! It's me Kagome! It's me!!"

Her eyes snapped open. Turning in disbelief, she stared back at her captor.

Bright, golden eyes met hers. He released her.

Anger quickly replaced panic. She frowned, "Inuyasha! What the hell were you thinking, sneaking up on me like that? And where did you come from? I thought you went-"

I thought you went inside.

Concern flooded her again as she took a step back warily from the hanyou in front of her, frantically scrutinising every inch of him, searching for some sign that all was not right.

She froze.

"You're not Inuyasha."

The silver-haired hanyou smirked, raising an eyebrow as he looked back at her. His voice was gentle as he spoke.

"Just because there isn't a charm necklace around my neck, and no Tetsusaiga at my waist?"

Kagome paused, stunned by his frankness. "Well yeah."

And the golden-eyed hanyou laughed. Indignation crept back into her stare, "What's so funny, you you impostor?!"

He still smiled at her, "An impostor, am I? Looks like I'll just have to prove you wrong."

Grabbing her arm, the hanyou dragged her close. Crouching down in front of her, he looked up, his eyes like oceans of gold. His ears twitched.

"Only two people have ever touched my ears with my consent my mother, and you, Kagome. Well there were those incidents with your mother and that little girl, but that's beside the point. What I'm trying to say is only two people can possibly know."

He smiled at her again, "Prove it to yourself, Kagome. I am Inuyasha."

The girl froze. How could he know?

Tentatively, she reached forward, her fingers making contact with the soft, velvety fur of the hanyou's right ear, unsure of what to believe. Probing gently, she found the spot hidden deep inside his ear that would prove her right or wrong. And she looked.

His birthmark. It's there.

She leaned back, her mind awash with uncertainty, "How how is it possible?"

The one who claimed to be Inuyasha smiled. One hand reached forward, gently touching the side of her face, "It is. I am who I say I am. You have to trust me on that."

The hanyou looked into her eyes, "It's it's been so long since I last saw that face."

Frowning, Kagome tried to make sense of his words. It's been so long? What is he

Again, her eyes widened, as the realisation about who this Inuyasha really was struck her.

No it can't be can it?

She looked up at the hanyou, staring at him. His back was to her. And he was undoing the sash at his waist, shrugging off his fire-rat cloak.

Kagome sweatdropped.

A t-shirt and jeans? Sneakers?

His head turned slightly, catching sight of her incredulous gaze with the periphery of his vision. He gave her a defensive look, "Well, what did you expect me to do? I don't go about dressed like that these days, but I needed to convince you, right? And it was hard enough convincing you even while wearing that old thing!"

He paused momentarily, "Would you even have given me the shards four days ago if I'd come to your window dressed like Houjou about to take you on a date?"

For once, the Japanese girl was speechless.

He eyed her, "Well, don't just stand there. It's not safe leaving you alone out here something I really should've realised back then, but there's no time to waste either

"I have to go save myself."

*****

The force binding him to the ground was immense, unlike anything he'd ever felt before. All around, the dark creatures wailed, as though crying for his blood. But none dared move closer to him, as if they were waiting for something.

All of a sudden, the wailing ceased, and a hush fell over the room. The youki he had sensed earlier was becoming more prominent, more powerful.

Fighting the binding power of the spell that held him captive, Inuyasha craned his neck, willing himself to look ahead, to look in the direction of the raw power that was emanating from beyond. And he saw it.

Among the horde of black-clad creatures, one walked forward, a petite form cloaked in white, walking steadily through the thronging mass, headed for him.

The form stopped, less than two feet away from his head.

And laughed, a soft feminine laugh. She spoke.

"Really, Inuyasha. Were you ever really this weak? My binds have never been this effective before."

The hanyou's ears twitched.

A woman

Out loud, however, he merely growled, "Who're you calling weak, bitch?"

As if to prove himself, Inuyasha tensed up, his muscles flexing beneath his robes as he fought against the bindings that were now crackling menacingly. He managed to get to his knees, his body again quivering with effort.

Moving forward to protect the one that was clearly their leader, five of the once-humans grabbed hold of him, only to be instantly ripped apart by the claws of an enraged half-demon who had managed to free himself from the binds of magic. Turning to the woman, the hanyou lunged forward, drawing Tetsusaiga as he swung back, ready to cleave her in two.

He never reached her. Before he could even bring his sword down, the woman in white gestured with her hand, and an arrow of white energy caught the hanyou in mid-stride, lifting him up and impaling him through the shoulder against the nearest wall.

He grimaced as the arrow seared into his flesh, gravity pulling at him even as the arrow kept him aloft. His right hand went numb. Tetsusaiga clattered to the floor, transformation undone.

The woman smiled, already having closed the distance between them. Again, she spoke, "You should've listened to your brother, Inuyasha. He was right, you know - your attacks have always been so predictable."

She laughed again, "It's been so long since I last saw you like this. In fact, as you are now, you're so weak, I could just kill you and save myself a lot of trouble, couldn't I?"

She leaned closer, her face still obscured by the hood of her cloak, "But I won't. There's no honour in that. Besides, the past five hundred years have been fun, to say the least. "

Shivering from the pain, the hanyou grimaced as he tried to force himself to speak, "What are you talking about you b.bitch? How how do you know me?"

The woman laughed again, "Of course I know you, Inuyasha. And of course, you know me. Though not quite as I am now."

She ripped her hood off. His eyes widened. It can't be

But it was, there was no mistaking it. The aura of youki was there, surrounding her, and her hair was silver-white, like his, instead of the jet-black that he knew and loved. And her eyes were red bright, burning red.

But it was her. Impossible as it was.

She smiled, "I've missed you so, Inuyasha."

He stared, "K"

She reached out, her hand caressing his face now contorted both with pain and confusion, "You finally realise. That's good. For as much as I wish to stay around and relish this moment, I fear I do not have the time. Someone will be here soon to rescue you, even if he forgets one very important thing"

" that I know what he knows. And that I don't intend to lose."

For a moment, she leaned close, her lips brushing against his. She whispered, softly.

"My dear Inuyasha we shall meet again."

Pushing herself away, the woman floated up, tendrils of wind catching her cloak as she soared into the sky. Through eyes that were slowly becoming hazy, the hanyou watched helplessly as she soared away, as she performed a series of gestures that culminated in a bright ball of azure blue light, expanding to envelope the entire room as she disappeared into the night.

The hanyou fell to the ground, the arrow that held him to the wall disappearing with its creator. But all was not well. The wailing had resumed.

Inuyasha struggled to stand, his hand already reclaiming his lost sword.

His weakened body refused to obey, instead collapsing to the ground. All around, the wailing once-humans surrounded him. Everything was becoming hazy again.

"Hijin tessou!"

The sound of his own voice, strong and clear, shocked the hanyou back into semi-consciousness.

Hijin tessou?

There was no time for the hanyou to think, however, as claws of white energy ripped hard into the woman's slaves, obliterating them in an instant. In the distance, he could make out the vague form of two people, the shorter one now running to him, crouching over him, her entire self the epitome of concern and fear. He watched as the taller one caught up with the girl, reaching down and picking up his broken form effortlessly.

He looked off into the distance silently, looking to where the woman had disappeared.

It couldn't possibly be

Was that really you

K

Kagome?

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note - I needed to do something to differentiate "future" Inuyasha from "present-day" Inuyasha, hence the different garb and the "new" attack that the future Inuyasha uses. Here, I explain the new attack. ^_^ Essentially, what I did was study the kanji used for 'sankon tessou' and 'hijin tessou', and with my semi-decent knowledge of Chinese, I managed to work out which part means what - i.e. that 'sankon' is the 'soul-scattering' bit and 'tessou' is the 'iron claw' bit, while hijin means 'flying blades' and kessou is 'blood claws'. So, instead of having to play around too much with new kanji, I simply combined the two to make 'hijin tessou' - 'flying blade iron claw' or something like that - one of future Inuyasha's new attacks. Reasons for this will become clear shortly. ^_^