Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha... But this story is mine...

This is my third story out... So far- if I am not mistaken- all of my stories have been completely, 100% original. Here is a better summary for you:

This story begins at the start of the second episode. Inuyasha is trying to claim the Shikon no Tama and Kagome will not give it up. Kaede had thought the seal her sister cast to be unbreakable, thus no rosary was created. This assumption could prove fatal, for everyone... Is fate non-existent or are there other ways to the same end?

I am not sure that made it clearer, but I cannot summarize it any better than that. Sorry...

Translations for this chapter are as follows:

Ano: Well...(used mostly during thoughts)
Arigato: Thank you
Goshinboku: Sacred tree
Hanyou: Half demon
-Oneesama: older sister (informal)
Onegai: Please
-Sama: Mr., Mrs., Ms., Master
Youkai: Demon
Yameru: stop
Youki: Demon powers, demon aura

Well, I think that is about it. On with the story! Enjoy! ^_^



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Author: Sakura-chan88
Title: Taking the Long Way
Chapter: A Different Beginning

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It would be nice if we could put away and throw out
everything except what really mattered...

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She stood frozen in the spot. This boy, this hanyou that had just saved her life was threatening her and all over a jewel. The Shikon no Tama, which had come from inside her body... 'What is going on...? He... He's not on our side?'

"If you don't want to die from my claws, hand over the Shikon no Tama," he stated, flexing his claws. Inuyasha, whom she had just released from a seal, stood there snarling.

"Kagome," called the elderly woman named Kaede. She stood in front of her, watching the hanyou with a critical eye. "You should never give up that jewel."

Kagome looked to the glowing ball in her hand. 'The Shikon no Tama is a mysterious jewel that can increase a youkai's power...?' She didn't exactly understand the reason that this jewel was important, but what she had witnessed with the centipede was more than enough to convince her that Kaede knew what she spoke of.

"I won't go easy on anyone," Inuyasha growled, charging forward. Kagome sprinted away from the man as fast as her feet would allow. "Especially a woman who stinks of the smell I hate!"

She could only pray that something would distract him or that he would change his mind, though she seriously doubted either one. 'Where am I supposed to go...? The well! I'll get there in time, won't I?' She was still running with the hanyou mere inches behind her when her foot hooked itself on one of the centipede youkai's remaining bones. A rush of air blew against her neck as she watched locks of her hair fall before her eyes.

Inuyasha skidded to a halt, flexing his claws with a smirk. "Next time, I'll cut you in half!"

"Hey, you are really trying to kill me!" She shouted, looking at him in disbelief.

"Shoot!"

The villagers loosed their bows and their arrows flew. Inuyasha spun around, breaking the arrows as he bound toward the men. With this distraction, Kagome made a run for it. Judging by the where she came from when she had first encountered him, she made a vague guess to the well's whereabouts.

Behind her, the sound of men screaming and a tree -or two- falling were heard. "Who do you think I am?" he asked arrogantly. "Don't you dare think I am like that dead wimpy youkai!"

******

"Ka-Kaede-sama," one of the villagers stuttered, "breaking Inuyasha's seal really wasn't such a good idea, after all!"

Kaede watched as the hanyou leapt from his place on the tree trunk, having noticed the girls disappearance. "Well, well... He hasn't changed at all," she mumbled. 'This is most troubling... No one but Kikyo-oneesama should have been able to break that spell,' she thought. "I was not prepared for this. The seal... Please be safe, Kagome."

******

"Did you think you could escape so easily, wench?" a voice sneered from overhead.

'Onegai, I'm almost there... I can make it, I can!' Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she took in a pain filled breath. It was so close! As the voice called down to her again, she looked back.

"Give up! You are really trying my patience," he yelled. He was too close for her to do anymore when he attempted to strike her again. She dropped to the ground in hope of throwing him off. It worked. He lost balance, landing on the ground face-first.

Hope flooded the girl as she ran, but it didn't last as she noticed that, now, she was heading straight back to Goshinboku. In one last desperate attempt, she yelled for help. "Somebody, anybody, onegai HELP!"

******

"Somebody, anybody, onegai HELP!"

The plea was heard by a stranger, miles away(A/N: wow that was loud. ^_^). He merely listened, uncaring. Yet, curiosity engulfed him as the wind carried a scent to him. The scent of the pursuer.

"So... He has awakened..."

******

"Keh! Do you really think anyone will help you?" Inuyasha asked with a snort.

"Well, it was worth a try!" She screamed, looking back again. He had stopped, a smirk planted on his face. In confusion, she stopped to look at him questioningly.

"It's time that I end this game," he stated and with little effort he shot forward at a speed that dazed the girl. She turned to run again and thought better to change direction and run through the wood instead of the straight-away path. "That's not going to help you. Give up!"

The sound of a few more trees hitting the ground were heard. Kagome's heart sped up and she swore that it would have burst right then and there, especially since she had risked another backward glance. She barely saw the hanyou as she hit a solid barrier head first, flying a few feet back. The jewel flew from her grasp, directly between Inuyasha and herself.

To her surprise, he did not attempt to get it. He stood, snarling at something over her shoulder. She looked behind her, trying to locate his distraction, which was not a hard thing to do.

A man, with silver hair and uncaring, cold, golden eyes that matched Inuyasha's, stood behind her, unphased in the least. A spiked armor plate crossed his left shoulder while fur of some kind hung from his right. The wind stirred the leaves around his feet, circling about him. His gaze never left Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, you have awaken..." The man stated emotionlessly.

"Sesshomaru," he snarled. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to finish what should have ended 50 years ago," he replied, flying toward the man. Kagome scurried out of the way, reaching for the Shikon no Tama as another hand made a grab for it. Inuyasha scooped the jewel up in his clawed hands, holding it tight.

The man named Sesshomaru connected his fist with Inuyasha's stomach, making the hanyou stumble backwards, gasping for breath, yet the jewel remained in his grasp.

"Put the jewel down so that you may fight," came a cold command. Sesshomaru held up a clawed right hand; the index and middle finger glowed a fluorescent green. 'What is he...? A youkai...?' Kagome wondered as she watched the duel unfold in utter amazement and confusion.

"Never!" Inuyasha huffed, lunging at his attacker.

Sesshomaru countered with a whip of sorts. It came from his glowing fingers and was controlled by a mere flick of his wrists. The whip, which Kagome deducted as having been formed from his youki, struck at Inuyasha, who parried with his kimono's sleeve. The whip was deflected, then hit the hanyou again, in the shoulder, causing him to turn sideways.

With a clear chest shoot, the whip snapped its target with enough power to make him stumble back with a grunt. Sesshomaru walked over to the man with expressionless features and Inuyasha watched with caution.

"You still act like a child after all of this time… Have you learned nothing?"

Inuyasha snorted. "I learned that humans can't be trusted," he stated, glaring at the girl… Through her was more like it. 'He's talking about that Kikyo woman he mistook me for, isn't he? What happened...?'

Before she could finish the mentally formed question, Sesshomaru had grabbed Inuyasha around the neck by his right hand, hanging him in the air. His left hand now glowed a deadly forest green. Horror filled the girl. No matter what he had done to her, she didn't want him to die! There were so many questions...

"This will be your end Inuyasha," Sesshomaru vowed. Inuyasha's eyes widened when the man brought the arm to eye level. "DIE!"

" YAMERU!" Kagome yelled. The men looked at her in bafflement. "Onegai... don't kill him..." Inuyasha's eyes widened briefly, then narrowed in an accusing stare.

"Why do you wish to save his pathetic life?" Sesshomaru asked, portraying no thought.

"He saved my life. I'm only returning the favor," she explained. She felt intimidated by this stranger, but didn't let it show. Or she tried to, at least.

"I hope you know what you're doing girl," he said. He clenched his hand, punching the hanyou in the stomach. The blow knocked Inuyasha unconscious and he fell to the ground in a heap to Sesshomaru's feet. "You have only prolonged his suffering. I will strike him down when we next meet."

"Why?"

"You are too nosey for your own good," the man muttered in irritation.

"Ano… Arigato," she whispered.

"For what?" She jumped in surprise, thinking she hadn't said it loud enough for him to hear.

"S-saving me," she stuttered, staring at the man in shock.

"Don't misunderstand," Sesshomaru ordered. "I came to kill my brother." She gasped. 'Brother!?' "What you did was honorable, even if you are a mere human. That is the only reason I slew neither him nor you." He turned around, walking away into the surrounding forest. His voice echoed through the air. "Next time I will not hesitate to do so."

Kagome's knees went out from below her and she slumped to the ground, replaying the days events. It was hard to believe that just this morning she was waking up to the smell of fried eggs and her mother singing in modern day Tokyo. She remembered seeing her grandfather reading a local newspaper and her brother Sota standing in the Shrine well's doorway with a bowl of instant Ramen, whining. Then came a scratching behind her and arms encircling her.

She shivered at the memory of the centipede's touch. She really didn't want to be here and she wasn't staying any longer than need be.

She rose on shaky legs, walking to the fallen hanyou. There she knelt, watching the boy's even breathing. He looked younger by fifteen years from when he was awake. She brushed hair from his face, remembering his look. Whatever it was that had caused her to stop Sesshomaru wasn't just curiosity and she knew that. Yet, whatever it was, she hadn't the faintest idea.

Locating the jewel, which had remained in his hand, she retrieved it with a half-hearted sigh of relief. 'Time to go,' she thought, rising to her feet.

As she headed back toward the time traveling well, she took one last backward glance at Inuyasha. He wasn't someone she would forget easily.


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but reality is just cruel

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A/N: Ano… There you go! What do you think? I bet you are all wondering what happened to Tetsusaiga. Don't worry, it will be included in this story, however, if you think back, Sesshomaru didn't think about Inuyasha having a connection with the sword until Jaken mentioned something… What happened to Jaken, you ask? Read further to see! Muwahahahaha!

Ahem… Anyway! Just for a further note- for those that like learning/seeing Japanese words in dialog- when Sesshomaru say's "DIE!", if I had put the Japanese word- and I originally did- it would have said "SHINE!" For those that don't know how to pronounce Japanese words correctly, it would sound funny. It's pronounced 'Shin'+'eh' not 'shine'. Makes a big difference, huh?

Ano… Good, bad, could be better? Comments, questions, suggestions, anything goes! Readers, review! If you want to, I mean… *gives puppy dog eyes*

Hope you liked it!

Ja ne minna!