Ok, I know that this will prob get me killed by someone, but I am replacing my last chapter (welcome to Hell) with this one. As I worked on my other chapters I realized that this chapter helped the story flow better then my 1st attempt. Again im sry if this makes everyone upset with me but I really did not like that chapter to begin with. I was rushed to update b/c I didn't want 2 disappoint any of my readers and I ended up w/ a crappy chapter. I promise that I am working hard on the rest of the story, but Im not going to update until it is completely finished. It may take one more chapter it may take five I don't know but I can tell u I am only getting like 3 hrs sleep in order to get it done. Please don't be mad with me, but hey if u r then so b it. Hope u like my 2nd attempt better then the 1st. until next time.
Rekkaboziegirl
"Changes"
A cloaked woman half hidden in shadow quietly watched a shallow, water filled basin as it rotated slowly upon the air before her. The constantly moving light produced by the roaring fire near by flickered violently across the liquid's rippling surface, casting prisms of light onto the woman to reveal her long ebony hair as she leaned forward and casually waved a pale, slender hand over the ceramic bowl. A fierce wind began to blow through the dense forest, momentarily hiding the blood red moon behind thick, gray clouds as a blurry image slowly came into focus within the water's murky depths, revealing a solemn faced group as they slowly made their way back to a nearby village. The young monk seemed to be fading in and out of consciousness as he held fast to the shoulder of the young woman beside him as she helped him into a hut and gently placed him upon a sleeping pallet inside. He gave her a weary smile as she took a seat beside him and gently wiped a tear from her cheek before his eyes finally shut as he let his exhaustion consume him. A grief stricken expression crossed the young woman's face as she tenderly took the monk's hand in her own, carefully raising it to her cheek as she gently placed a damp cloth upon his brow. Outside a raven haired girl quietly sat beside the hut's entrance, her back resting against its rough wooden exterior with her arms wrapped protectively around her knees as several glistening tears made their way down her cheeks. She gently lowered her head into her arms, completely hiding her face from view as her shoulders began to shake with uncontrollable sobs while a young kitsune slowly began to approach her in an attempt to offer what little comfort her could offer. Seemingly satisfied with the scene before her, the cloaked woman once again waved her hand over the bowl, banishing the image back into the water's depth's as a weary sigh escaped her lips. A pale, long fingered hand suddenly emerged from the shadows and stealth fully took hold of the woman's slender shoulder, making her jump slightly in alarm as she quickly turned to face her visitor. Malicious laughter rang through out the clearing as the figure slowly stepped forward from the surrounding forest.
"A bit tense today are we Kikyo?"
The woman's eyes narrowed slightly in disgust as she violently shoved the intruding hand away from her body and replied in an icy, venom filled voice. "I see that you had fun in the mortal realm,Onigumo."
The man's crimson eyes became clouded with fury as he suddenly lunged forward and violently grabbed the young priestess by her slender neck and forcefully slammed her into a nearby tree. "Don't you dare call me by that name!" He snarled as a sardonic laugh escaped Kikyo's lips and a seemingly mocking smile formed on her pale face.
"You think you can frighten me! I'm already dead you fool! What could you possibly do that hasn't already been done?"
A dark expression crossed Naraku's face as he suddenly released the miko, sending her to the ground with a painful thud where she tenderly rubbed her neck as she slowly rose to her feet.
"I would be careful if I were you Naraku.... without me, you will never escape this hellish prison."
"And without me, dear Kikyo," he continued coldly. "You will never have your precious Inuyasha to spend eternity with."
The young woman glared darkly at the crimson-eyed man before settling back down before the ceramic bowl in defeat, trying to ignore the maniacal laughter ringing in her ears as Naraku slowly melted back into the shadows while she once again returned her gaze to the water's depths where the flickering form of the young, silver haired hanyou suddenly began to form. She tenderly ran the tips of her fingers over the edges of the bowl as an almost loving expression began to work its way through her emotionless mask.
"Soon Inuyasha, soon we shall be together just as you promised."
<
At that exact moment, the same image that had appeared with in the ceramic bowl was playing itself before the solemn violet eyes of Inuyasha's mother. As the morbid scene slowly faded back into the glowing depths of the small, crystal sphere before her, Nobara slowly let an exasperated sigh escape her lips.
"Fate never makes things easy does it?"
The young woman jumped slightly as a large clawed hand was gently placed on her slender shoulder, but at finding herself looking into her husband's worried amber eyes she slowly gave him a weary smile and carefully wove her pale finger around his.
"What has happened aisai [1] to cause so much sadness to appear in your eyes?"
A disheartening expression worked its way across Nobara's face as she gently squeezed the demon lord's hand
"The path Inuyasha has taken is proving to be much more difficult then I had originally hoped."
Youken sighed deeply as he ran his clawed hand through his long, silver hair.
"Our son's life has been nothing but difficult and he's some how been able to manage. Why should this be any different?"
His wife was about to protest when the sudden sound of soft footsteps caught the couple's attention. A few moments later, Inuyasha appeared through the temple's doorway, completely soaked and caked in mud but with a content expression etched across his face.
"I did it." He sighed as he collapsed onto the floor beside his parents and casually slipped his hands inside his sleeves. "I got in contact with Kagome and gave her the pouch. Soon I'll be back on Earth and this will all be just a bad dream." The hanyou sighed deeply once again, unknowingly showing his happiness in the idea of returning home when he suddenly took notice of his parents' solemn expressions. The smile that had worked its way across the youth's face slowly faded into a frown as he sat forward and gave the couple before him a questioning look.
"Something's happened hasn't it."
Nobara bit her lip slightly as her husband lowered his gaze to the floor, unwilling to look into his son's now disappointed eyes and thus giving him the unwanted answer. Inuyasha slowly closed his eyes as he clenched his teeth together in frustration while he unconsciously balled his hands into fists, making blood fall freely from where his claws bit into his palm. A loud cry suddenly forced its way out of the youth's mouth as he, in one swift, fluid motion, forcefully drove his fist into the weak wooden floor beneath him, sending a cloud of splinters flying in his wake.
"God damn it! Why does this keep happening?!" Inuyasha angrily jumped to his feet, ignoring the throbbing pain that was shooting through his hand as he approached his parents. "Does Kami not want me to go back? Does he not want me to be with Kagome? Answer me, damn it!" Another part of the temple fell victim to the young hanyou's anger as he took another step towards his parents only to be flung backwards by a forceful slap from his father. Still in shock from the hit, Inuyasha slowly sat forward, placing his hand on the bruising part of his cheek, and looked into Youken's stern amber eyes as he knelt down before his son.
"You are not a child, Inuyasha, so don't act like one. Now listen closely. When your friends found the hebidoku, something went wrong and it attacked, knocking both the exterminator and the kitsune unconscious while trapping Kagome in a corner. In order to save them, the monk became desperate and....."
"He used the wind tunnel." A disheartening expression worked its way across Inuyasha's face as he completed his father's statement, never shifting his now blank gaze from the shattered floor nearby. Youken sighed deeply and placed a strong hand on the youth's shoulder, forcing him to look him in the eye once again.
"The monk was badly poisoned Inuyasha. If we don't do something soon, he will die. The only thing that can save him now is what's killing him... the hebidoku's venom."
At hearing this, a confused look began to appear on the hanyou's face. "But if it was drawn into the wind tunnel, how am I suppose to get the venom?" An unreadable expression crossed Nobara's face as she joined her family on the floor.
"I recently discovered that your friend's wind tunnel is actually a portal that leads directly into the pits of hell."
Inuyasha sighed heavily and slowly ran a hand through his long silver hair as a half-hearted smile formed on his lips. "Fate has a warped sense of humor." He shook his head softly as he returned his gaze to his parents. "Anything else you think I should know before I make my little excursion into hell?" The youth missed the pained expression that flashed across his mother's face as she shook her head, silently telling her husband to do the same.
"Your father and I will open the gate long enough to let you in without anyone escaping. You must be very careful not let anything you see there get in the way of your mission." Before Inuyasha could ask her what she meant, Nobara had reached inside her robes and pulled out a very worn piece of parchment, tattered and discolored from age and excessive handling, along with a delicate silver mirror. The paper soon found its way into the hanyou's hands as the ebony haired woman continued.
"This may sound odd, but this is a map of hell. Believe it or not, but that realm is a big place." A sad, distant look suddenly flashed through her eyes. "Too big if you ask me. It grows by the day." Inuyasha nodded in understanding as he carefully slipped the parchment inside his haori and wearily eyed the small mirror in his mother's hands. Catching her son's glance, Nobara quickly continued her explanation. "This is called the mirror of change and it has the ability to alter a person's outward appearance. You see...hell is exactly the horrible place it is made out to be, if not worse. If one of the spirits discovered that you are a hanyou, they would shred your soul before you even had the chance to defend yourself." The young woman's face fell slightly at seeing the disconcerted expression her son now wore. "I'm sorry Inuyasha but this is the only way. If you don't look like a demon then..." She let the statement hand in the air as a long, suffering sigh escapes the hanyou's lips.
"I'm only going to look the part right?" He slowly turned his head so that he could gaze upon his mother with worried amber eyes. "I'm not going to become a monster again." It was a statement, not a question, and Nobara knew it so she smiled sadly and gently rested her small hand upon the youth's shoulder.
"Yes my son, only on the outside." Relief washed over Inuyasha as he let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and ran a clawed hand through his long silver hair. "Then let's get this over with. The sooner my adventure begins the sooner it will end."
Nobara once again nodded in agreement as she carefully lifted the mirror so that her son's face reflected across the item's surface. Moments later, small hairline fractures appeared upon the glass, separating it into three different sections, each containing the youth's human, demon or hanyou side. Inuyasha quickly tore himself away from the piercing crimson, violet, and amber eyes to gaze upon his mother, silently asking her what should be done next. She smiled softly as she leaned forward and carefully tapped the glass section holding the agitated looking demon making a gentle ripple suddenly emerge from the glass and silently move across the entire mirror until Inuyasha's demonic form completely dominated the glass surface. Crimson eyes widened in shock as Inuyasha slowly brought his hands before his face so that he could gaze upon the long sharp claws he now had. He ran his tongue over the large fangs that now protruded from his mouth as he ghosted his fingers over the jagged purple lines that now ran down his cheeks. He sighed heavily once again as he slowly rose to his feet, never shifting his gaze from his altered hands.
"I had hoped that I would never see these claws again and yet here they are. At least....at least this time I have control over their actions." He smiled sadly at hearing his now rough voice as he dropped his arms back at his sides and looked over at his parents with despondent eyes. "Well let's get this over with shall we?" The couple nodded in agreement as Nobara formed the familiar glowing lotus flower and once again engulfed the group in a bright, white glow. As Inuyasha's eyes adjusted to the normal lighting, he found himself before three enormous doors floating through the thick, gray fog that now surrounded them. Nobara suddenly snapped her fingers, calling forth the large ebony door from in between the golden and pearly white portals as her husband quickly with drew a small black key from with in his robes. Inuyasha took a deep breath as he stepped forward, doing his best to ignore the foreboding feeling the door seemed to give off, when his father's hand suddenly shot out and stopped him.
"Inuyasha, you must promise me that no matter what you may see in there, you will no stray from the path that you have chosen." A confused look flashed through the youth's eyes as he quickly turned to face his parents.
"What do you mean?"
The former demon lord sighed heavily and looked sadly into his son's eyes as he struggled with the right words to say. "As your mother told you before, hell is exactly the horrible place it is made out to be. The spirits there are very vengeful towards everyone, especially those that are able to escape. While you are there, they will attempt to get you to desert your mission by showing your deepest darkest fears."
"You've been there?"
"Unfortunately yes. It's our duty to guard these portals and at one point it was necessary for me to travel into hell so that a broken seal could be repaired....While I was there, many different scenes were played before my eyes....The day I died, the day your mother died, when I had to leave you...over and over I saw them but I knew deep down that they were only images, nothing more and you must do the same." Inuyasha paused slightly before silently nodding his head. "Something else you must know is that it is very likely that you will encounter spirits that you have fought before, many in which it is your fault that they are there." Youken quickly held up his hand to stop his son's protest. "Not that they weren't headed there in the first place but I'm going to tell you now that they will do everything within their power to stop you in order to achieve their revenge." He took another deep breath as he began to walk towards the door with his son, tightly gripping the small key in his hand. "They will attempt to 'kill' you, which means that your soul will be shredded and you will never be able to leave that realm." Inuyasha stopped suddenly before the door, keeping his amber eyes on the large ebony door as it floated before him. Youken sighed deeply as he too approached the door and gently placed the key within the lock engraved upon the portal.
"Are you ready, my son?"
Inuyasha tried to answer but found that his voice had deserted him. He nodded gently, trying desperately not to let his unease show upon his face, as he father slowly turned the key the within the door. The young hanyou took a deep breath and gave one last glance towards his parents before running as fast as he could into the thick gray fog that billowed out from behind the door. As soon as they were sure their son had made it through, Nobara and Youken quickly shut the door, locking it firmly behind them. The young woman suddenly launched herself at her husband, tears of sorrow streaming down her cheeks. The silver haired man smiled sadly as he took his wife in his arms and lightly kissed her upon the top of her head.
""Shhh...It will be alright aisai. He will make it through this."
"I wish I could be as confident as you. I know that he is strong but do you think that even he can over come the horrors that await him?" Youken sighed deeply as he looked down into Nobara's deep violet eyes.
"Only he will be able to answer that. Now come. We must contact his friends so they know that there is still hope." The young woman nodded slightly and took her husband's large clawed hand in hers as she once again formed the lotus flower in her other palm. Moments later, the couple had completely vanished, not noticing the angry crimson glow that had appeared around the ebony portal as it floated about in the sea of gray fog.
TBC..............
[1] aisai means "beloved wife"
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