A/N: Hiya! I'm back with yet *another* story (I hear groaning but I am
gonna ignore it completely!). Yeah, two new stories, all posted on the same
day! Yeah! Go me!
Anyway, this story is my new romance flick, since my first fic and major project is almost over. Oh my, I can't believe my first fic is almost complete!
So, here it is. I hope you guys like it... Please review! Thanks! Enjoy~
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company.
-----/---@
ENCHANTED DAWN
The Sun's Curse
-----/---@
The sun blared down on the plain, hot and heavy upon those who tilled the fields. The rolling hillside, with its lush trees and tall green grass swaying in the steady breeze, filled the air with the fresh scent of morning, and the occasional chirps of the early birds filled in the echoing melody of joy that lacked from the calming view.
The farmers down on the farmlands wiped their sweaty brows with the backs of their hands, squinting up at the bright morning star with tired smiles on their lips. They had been working since the predawn hours, planting and watering their crops, and the vibrant rays were the last step to complete their morning's work.
They each trudged back to their homes as the full wave of the sun hit them, all but one.
Inuyasha stood in the center of the field, his bright golden eyes intent on the clear blue sky. His long silver hair gently flew about his shoulders as he clutched his scythe in his left hand. His right hand clutched a small round pendant that he wore on a necklace around his neck. His brows were drawn together, and he looked deep in thought, barely hearing the soft call of his 'grandmother' to go back into the house.
"Inuyasha!" Kaede called for perhaps the fifth time. "Inuyasha! Do you want to get sun damage, boy? Get in here and eat your breakfast before it gets cold!"
The hanyou nearly rolled his eyes at the old woman's call. It was like this everyday! "Hai, baabaa! I'm coming!" he answered as he grudgingly trudged back into the hut. Before stepping into the house, he turned one last time to look at the scenery, a soft smile on his lips, his mind on one person who was most probably staring up at the same blue sky...
'Kagome...'
He wiped the smile from his face as he entered the hut, pasting on his all- too usual scowl. "I was enjoying the scenery, Kaede. I don't want to get sun damage. And I won't get sun damage! I'm a damn hanyou, as you well know!"
Kaede smiled through his antics. She had been taking care of him since he was a kid, since the death of both his parents, and she knew the boy better than she knew the back of her hand. "Well," she began. "I know you won't, but you also know that I won't let you go off to HER house until you've had your breakfast!"
Inuyasha looked at her blankly as he sat down before his breakfast of bread, soup and water. He tried to snarl, but he couldn't help the good- natured grin that slipped. "You wound me, Kaede-baabaa," he said jokingly, picking up his food and practically inhaling it. He rose to his feet in a moment, dusting off his red hakama. "Ok, I'm leaving. Bye Kaede." He said hurriedly.
Kaede stopped him. "Aren't you even going to change your clothes? You smell like soil, Inuyasha!"
He grinned. "Nah... she likes me this way," he declared, before lifting aside the shoji door and heading for the home of his love, which was down the other side of the village.
"Be careful!" Kaede called from inside the hut.
"You too! Don't break your back, ne, baabaa?! Call for help when you need it!"
-----/---@
Kagome stared out at the beautiful fields, drinking in the scent of fresh dew as it wafted by her window. She lifted her gaze to the sky before turning again to stare expectantly at the stairs that led up to the shrine and at the village pathway. She unconsciously clutched the small round pendant that hung from a necklace around her neck, and she smiled fondly.
HE had given her that pendant the day she agreed to be his girl... and he wore an exact same pendant around his own neck...
"Kagome-chan? Your breakfast is going cold," her mother called. Kagome hastily turned to her family, and grinned as she watched her jiichan pop his shoulders.
"Ah! Field work gets harder everyday!" the old man complained. Kagome laughed.
"Come on, jiichan! I told you to ask help from Inuyasha if the work is too much for you!" she said laughingly as she sat down before her meal. She blew on her vegetable soup before slowly sipping it. Her grandfather huffed.
"I am the town priest! I will not ask assistance from a hanyou!" he exclaimed indignantly. Kagome giggled as her mother proceeded to scold her grandfather.
Souta, her brother, who had been sitting up on a higher stool, suddenly cheered. "Kagome-neechan! Inu-no-niichan is here!" he yelled, and Kagome immediately ran for the window to see if he was honest.
Her heart nearly pumped out of her chest as she took in the sight of him making his way up the shrine steps. He had pulled up his wide red sleeves, exposing his muscular arms to all those who cared to look. He was panting lightly with exertion, and she knew from the mud in his clothes that he had gone straight from work to see her. Her heart swelled at the thought that he couldn't wait long enough to take a short rest from planting to see her.
She rushed to the water basin in the corner of the house, trying to scrub off the non-existent dirt. She heard her mother giggle at her actions, and she warned Souta to shut his mouth once Inuyasha got there. She grabbed a broom from its place in the corner of the house and rushed to the wooden door, slowing once she reached out to open it.
She tried to act calm as she opened the door and stepped out into the sun. She pretended not to know he was here and set out to 'sweep' the grounds, knowing full well that he could see her. She made a show out of brushing her bangs back from her face as she smiled at the sky. She tried to calm her pounding heart as she felt him come near.
"Kagome!" he called, and she whirled about in 'surprise'.
"Inuyasha! You're here!" she said in delight, leaning her broom against a wall of the house as she walked over to the approaching man. She smiled brightly as she reached him, then wiped a smudge of dirt off his cheek. "Mou, you ran over right after working, didn't you?"
"Hai," Inuyasha fibbed. "I wanted to see you. So sue me," he joked lightly as he took her hand in his and lightly kissed her palm. "I missed you."
Kagome blushed heavily. "We just saw each other yesterday."
"Well, I missed you as I worked this morning!" Inuyasha smiled at the pretty blush that covered her cheeks. "What are you up to today?"
Kagome shook her head. "I don't have any plans for today, but I do have to finish sweeping the shrine..."
"I can help with that," Inuyasha said quickly.
"No, really! I can handle it!" Kagome said. "Mou. I'm not a helpless child."
"Keh," Inuyasha replied. Kagome punched his arm playfully.
"What was that supposed to mean?" she asked mock-angrily.
"Nothing!"
"Hmmph!"
Before neither could speak again, a small voice piped up. "Look, why don't *I* sweep the shrine and *you* lovebirds can go on a walk or whatever thing you two do when you're alone?"
Both looked down to find Souta looking at them impatiently as he held Kagome's broom. Inuyasha grinned at the child before nodding gratefully, then taking Kagome's hand in his. "What do you want this time, brat?" Inuyasha asked with a smirk.
"Oh, nothing..." Souta said, earning himself disbelieving looks from the lovers. "Ok! So I want some more sword lessons... you are so cool with your Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha-niichan!"
Inuyasha grinned smugly. "Ok. Lessons tomorrow brat. Get ready, coz I won't go easy on you!"
"Alright!!! Arigatou, Inu-no-niichan!" Souta yelled, pumping his fists into the air and sweeping the grounds with enthusiasm.
Inuyasha grinned at Kagome, a slight smile that sent her heart somersaulting in her chest, before steering her towards her house to say a quick goodbye to her mom and grandfather.
"We'll be back by lunch!"
Little did they know.
-----/---@
Naraku sat up straight on his horse as he heard faint voices in the forest. He narrowed his eyes as he realized who they may belong to.
'Of course. Who else could it be,' he growled mentally. There were only two people, aside from himself, who roamed the hillside forests at a nearly daily basis. It was that bastard... and HER.
Since the day those two met, they had been inseparable, and it was driving him crazy with jealousy. He wanted to be the one with her, to be the one kissing her deep in the woods as he held her soft hands in his.
And for this he was repulsed by the very thought of the peasant hanyou's name. The last time he and Inuyasha clashed, it was his sword against Inuyasha's. Both had gotten wounded, and Kagome made him look like dung when she immediately ran for Inuyasha's side, throwing Naraku a dirty glare.
That day, he decided... if he can't have Kagome, no one else will. Especially not the bastard hanyou.
He urged his steed to go faster, wishing to speak to the lady. Excitement raced through his veins as their voices became clearer as he approached them.
-----/---@
"Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped in shock.
"Honestly! He really did that!" Inuyasha said with a grin.
"You're kidding!" she replied laughingly.
"No! I'm perfectly serious!"
"I can't believe it! I never thought that Koru-kun would do something so dirty!"
"Well, you'd better believe it!"
They walked in a bit of comfortable silence after that, only pausing as they came across a large tree in the middle of a clearing.
"The Goshinboku..." both murmured softly to themselves.
"This is where we met, ne, Inuyasha?" Kagome said, not tearing her gaze from its thick brush of leaves.
"Aa. Do you remember that day?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome turned to him and gave him a bright, wistful smile that quite clearly said 'how can I ever forget?'.
Inuyasha stroked her cheek with his hand not holding hers, tracing his thumb slowly over her lips. Kagome closed her eyes and sighed softly, and she could feel his hot breath on her face as he slowly leaned down, lowering his lips to hers...
"Ahem!"
The pair abruptly broke apart as someone cleared his throat loudly. Inuyasha glared up at the daimyo who sat on his black horse, smiling smugly at interrupting them.
"What the fuck do you want, Naraku?" Inuyasha seethed. Naraku just shook his head.
"Ku ku ku. Such language!" Then, he turned to Kagome and said in a falsely sweet voice, "Do you really wish to be with someone as foul as him?"
Kagome looked rather angrily up at the daimyo, who for months had persistently sought after her, asking her, pleading with her, even threatening her to be his lady. "As I have repeatedly told you, Lord Naraku, I wish to be with Inuyasha, and there is nothing you could say to change my mind."
"No wish of yours shall come true if you don't go with me!" he roared, and Inuyasha stepped before Kagome to protect her if Naraku proved to be a threat.
"She wishes to be with me, Naraku, and as far as I can see, that wish is more than fulfilled," Inuyasha snarled. "We shall forever be together, Naraku." Kagome nodded from behind him.
Naraku's blood boiled at the sight. "I warned you..." he said in an eerily soft and calm voice. "It is your wish to forever be together, ne? Well I can't help that... but... there are things worse than being apart..."
Kagome cringed as she felt a strange aura around the furious daimyo. "Inuyasha..."
Inuyasha simply backed up, taking her with him. "Let's get away from this loony, Kagome."
Kagome nodded, and both cautiously backed away from the crazed man.
Naraku noticed this, of course, and he said loudly, in an angry voice, "Grant that these souls upon enchanted dawn... Be forever together but eternally apart..."
Inuyasha laughed at his ranting. "You've totally lost it Naraku. We'll be seeing you," he said as both he and Kagome turned their backs at the daimyo. Kagome, however, suddenly felt a chill run down her spine at Naraku's words.
Naraku laughed manically. "Oh, you won't Inuyasha. Neither will you see each other."
"What the fuck are you talking - huh?" Inuyasha turned to find Naraku gone. "Where the hell did he go?"
Kagome tugged on his arm, and Inuyasha looked upon her face to find her eyes wide with worry. "Kagome? Doushite?"
"I have a bad feeling about this, Inuyasha. Please, let's... what is that?" she tried to ask him to back off, but she was distracted by the sight of a slowly spreading mist.
Inuyasha stared at the mist in puzzlement. "This appeared out of nowhere!"
"Come on!" Kagome shouted, and Inuyasha promptly flung her on his back, carrying her as he raced back down the path they had taken. Kagome held on tight, her legs wrapped around his torso as he ran at full speed, but for some reason, the smoke seemed to move much more quickly, and soon they were trapped in the forest, surrounded by the strange mist.
"What the hell is this smoke?" Inuyasha asked rhetorically as he covered his nose. Kagome buried her face against his haori, blocking out the strange smell that the miasma gave out. Inuyasha backed away as the smoke closed in on them, blocking out their exit. It only took some time before the smoke was upon them.
Inuyasha desperately covered his nose while trying to keep the smoke from touching the precious package on his back, but it came to naught when the smell became too strong for his sensitive nose. It simply seeped through no matter how tightly he held his breath. He fell to the ground, panting heavily, and Kagome climbed down from his back and knelt before him.
"Inuyasha!? Daijobu?" she asked, her voice muffled by the hand she held over her nose. Inuyasha blinked heavily. The scent of the smoke was making him incredibly drowsy. He lethargically reached out and pulled Kagome tightly to his chest before collapsing on the ground with her.
"Kagome," he began. "Don't let go..." he instructed, before he fell into unconsciousness.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called in panic when his eyelids fell shut. She took his face in both hands and shook him, not realizing that she had just taken her hand away from covering her nose. Before she even realized, she had inhaled the fatal miasma, and was soon drifting into unconsciousness herself...
"Inuyasha..."
-----/---@
Naraku grinned as he watched the lovers lose consciousness, but he was cringing at the sight of them still holding each other despite the dire situation.
'No matter,' he thought. 'This won't last long.'
When he approached the pair, he had been giving Kagome her last chance to choose him over the hanyou. 'She should have just taken me,' he thought in malicious anger. 'It would have saved her a lot of pain.'
He had planned on hurting the lovers if she still rejected him. After all, in his mind, it was either him or no one else for Kagome. So, in anger, he plotted on how to take her away from Inuyasha. And his plot included some very old, dark magic.
True, Naraku seemed like your average snobbish daimyo, but he had been born with a special 'gift'. His powers were great, and it was his main means on how to get whatever it was he wanted. Using his secret skill in sorcery, he gathered his powers and began to weave a complicated spell that he would cast upon them shall she once again reject him. And since she did...
He laughed gleefully, keeping steady watch. It shall be very entertaining to see how they would both react once they realize that they have been cursed.
-----/---@
Consciousness returned to Kagome slowly, and the painful pounding of her head gradually subsided as she fought to open her eyes. She was curled tightly into a fetal pose, with strong arms wrapped around her waist. She knew it was Inuyasha; but whether he was awake or not, she didn't know.
"Kagome... are you ok?" he asked slowly in a strained, hoarse voice. She knew that the smoke must have affected him worse since his sense of smell was sharper.
"Hai," she answered, turning around to face him. She was rather surprised to find his lips twisted into a small grimace of pain, and he was grinding his teeth so tightly, he might have been fracturing them. He was shielding his eyes from her view by his shaggy white bangs,
"Inu-chan? Daijobu? Is there something wrong?" Kagome asked, putting a gentle palm o his face.
Inuyasha was fighting to keep the pain from his face, but to no avail. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to block out the throbbing. The setting sun behind him cast a reddish glow about his figure, and it seemed to Kagome that the darker it got, the more his pain increased. Inuyasha squeezed her more tightly to himself and she felt the shudder that went through his body as his chest rumbled softly.
"Inuyasha, please... are you hurt?" Kagome asked, worry filling her with dread. She somehow felt like this incident had something to do with the furious Naraku. Being born to a family of priests, Kagome was gifted with a special reiryoku, and the daimyo had always invoked the strangest shivers from her.
Inuyasha would have cried from the intensity of the pain, but he knew that seeing him in tears would make Kagome hysterical. 'What the fuck is wrong with me? My body... I feel like I'm literally being burned!' he thought. It was puzzling, to say the least, but he knew that if Kagome didn't make it to the village by sundown, she would be in deep trouble.
Then, quite suddenly, all his thought processes simply ceased as the sun set behind the glowing horizon, blanketing them both in semi-darkness.
Inuyasha let go of Kagome, and with his last shred of conscious thought, he instructed her -
"Run..."
Kagome was confused when he let go of her, but didn't have time to ponder it as Inuyasha gave a strangled, agonized shout of pain. "Inuyasha!" she cried, crawling closer to him and surveying his body, almost afraid to touch him lest she cause him more pain.
He was writhing in agony, his hands desperately trying to clutch the source of the searing pain. But it came to naught, since it felt like his entire body was engulfed in thick flames and large swords seemed to be piercing every part of his anatomy. He yelled out hi pain as he finally opened his tightly clenched golden orbs.
Kagome gasped as she stared into Inuyasha's now blazing scarlet orbs. "Inu- " she began, but was cut off when she saw his body begin to shift. She looked on in fright as Inuyasha glowed brightly just as the sun disappeared below the horizon, and she reached out to touch him just as the glow began to subside.
Kagome gasped at the sight that greeted her. Instead of the muscular form of her love, she was now gazing at a snow-white wolf. The wolf was lying on his side, panting heavily and draped loosely in Inuyasha's red robes. She backed away in confusion as the wolf's breathing slowed, and the nocturnal hunter slowly opened his eyes.
"Inu- Inuyasha?" she asked softly as the wolf stared at her through golden eyes. It stood slowly, and the small pendant that still hung from around the wolf's neck confirmed her suspicions.
"Inuyasha! It's you! How...?" She was startled though, when the wolf growled at her. She backed away further when the hanyou-turned wolf began to advance at her, baring his gleaming white fangs at her, his form crouched down and ready to pounce.
-----/---@
A/N: So, that's it for my first chapter. I know Inuyasha was OOC, but he's gonna be more in character as the story progresses. And about the curse - more about it in the next chapter.
So, like it? Hate it? Please tell me what you think!
Thank you so much for reading my fic, and please, REVIEW! No flames, please. Ja!
ScarletRaven1001
Anyway, this story is my new romance flick, since my first fic and major project is almost over. Oh my, I can't believe my first fic is almost complete!
So, here it is. I hope you guys like it... Please review! Thanks! Enjoy~
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company.
-----/---@
ENCHANTED DAWN
The Sun's Curse
-----/---@
The sun blared down on the plain, hot and heavy upon those who tilled the fields. The rolling hillside, with its lush trees and tall green grass swaying in the steady breeze, filled the air with the fresh scent of morning, and the occasional chirps of the early birds filled in the echoing melody of joy that lacked from the calming view.
The farmers down on the farmlands wiped their sweaty brows with the backs of their hands, squinting up at the bright morning star with tired smiles on their lips. They had been working since the predawn hours, planting and watering their crops, and the vibrant rays were the last step to complete their morning's work.
They each trudged back to their homes as the full wave of the sun hit them, all but one.
Inuyasha stood in the center of the field, his bright golden eyes intent on the clear blue sky. His long silver hair gently flew about his shoulders as he clutched his scythe in his left hand. His right hand clutched a small round pendant that he wore on a necklace around his neck. His brows were drawn together, and he looked deep in thought, barely hearing the soft call of his 'grandmother' to go back into the house.
"Inuyasha!" Kaede called for perhaps the fifth time. "Inuyasha! Do you want to get sun damage, boy? Get in here and eat your breakfast before it gets cold!"
The hanyou nearly rolled his eyes at the old woman's call. It was like this everyday! "Hai, baabaa! I'm coming!" he answered as he grudgingly trudged back into the hut. Before stepping into the house, he turned one last time to look at the scenery, a soft smile on his lips, his mind on one person who was most probably staring up at the same blue sky...
'Kagome...'
He wiped the smile from his face as he entered the hut, pasting on his all- too usual scowl. "I was enjoying the scenery, Kaede. I don't want to get sun damage. And I won't get sun damage! I'm a damn hanyou, as you well know!"
Kaede smiled through his antics. She had been taking care of him since he was a kid, since the death of both his parents, and she knew the boy better than she knew the back of her hand. "Well," she began. "I know you won't, but you also know that I won't let you go off to HER house until you've had your breakfast!"
Inuyasha looked at her blankly as he sat down before his breakfast of bread, soup and water. He tried to snarl, but he couldn't help the good- natured grin that slipped. "You wound me, Kaede-baabaa," he said jokingly, picking up his food and practically inhaling it. He rose to his feet in a moment, dusting off his red hakama. "Ok, I'm leaving. Bye Kaede." He said hurriedly.
Kaede stopped him. "Aren't you even going to change your clothes? You smell like soil, Inuyasha!"
He grinned. "Nah... she likes me this way," he declared, before lifting aside the shoji door and heading for the home of his love, which was down the other side of the village.
"Be careful!" Kaede called from inside the hut.
"You too! Don't break your back, ne, baabaa?! Call for help when you need it!"
-----/---@
Kagome stared out at the beautiful fields, drinking in the scent of fresh dew as it wafted by her window. She lifted her gaze to the sky before turning again to stare expectantly at the stairs that led up to the shrine and at the village pathway. She unconsciously clutched the small round pendant that hung from a necklace around her neck, and she smiled fondly.
HE had given her that pendant the day she agreed to be his girl... and he wore an exact same pendant around his own neck...
"Kagome-chan? Your breakfast is going cold," her mother called. Kagome hastily turned to her family, and grinned as she watched her jiichan pop his shoulders.
"Ah! Field work gets harder everyday!" the old man complained. Kagome laughed.
"Come on, jiichan! I told you to ask help from Inuyasha if the work is too much for you!" she said laughingly as she sat down before her meal. She blew on her vegetable soup before slowly sipping it. Her grandfather huffed.
"I am the town priest! I will not ask assistance from a hanyou!" he exclaimed indignantly. Kagome giggled as her mother proceeded to scold her grandfather.
Souta, her brother, who had been sitting up on a higher stool, suddenly cheered. "Kagome-neechan! Inu-no-niichan is here!" he yelled, and Kagome immediately ran for the window to see if he was honest.
Her heart nearly pumped out of her chest as she took in the sight of him making his way up the shrine steps. He had pulled up his wide red sleeves, exposing his muscular arms to all those who cared to look. He was panting lightly with exertion, and she knew from the mud in his clothes that he had gone straight from work to see her. Her heart swelled at the thought that he couldn't wait long enough to take a short rest from planting to see her.
She rushed to the water basin in the corner of the house, trying to scrub off the non-existent dirt. She heard her mother giggle at her actions, and she warned Souta to shut his mouth once Inuyasha got there. She grabbed a broom from its place in the corner of the house and rushed to the wooden door, slowing once she reached out to open it.
She tried to act calm as she opened the door and stepped out into the sun. She pretended not to know he was here and set out to 'sweep' the grounds, knowing full well that he could see her. She made a show out of brushing her bangs back from her face as she smiled at the sky. She tried to calm her pounding heart as she felt him come near.
"Kagome!" he called, and she whirled about in 'surprise'.
"Inuyasha! You're here!" she said in delight, leaning her broom against a wall of the house as she walked over to the approaching man. She smiled brightly as she reached him, then wiped a smudge of dirt off his cheek. "Mou, you ran over right after working, didn't you?"
"Hai," Inuyasha fibbed. "I wanted to see you. So sue me," he joked lightly as he took her hand in his and lightly kissed her palm. "I missed you."
Kagome blushed heavily. "We just saw each other yesterday."
"Well, I missed you as I worked this morning!" Inuyasha smiled at the pretty blush that covered her cheeks. "What are you up to today?"
Kagome shook her head. "I don't have any plans for today, but I do have to finish sweeping the shrine..."
"I can help with that," Inuyasha said quickly.
"No, really! I can handle it!" Kagome said. "Mou. I'm not a helpless child."
"Keh," Inuyasha replied. Kagome punched his arm playfully.
"What was that supposed to mean?" she asked mock-angrily.
"Nothing!"
"Hmmph!"
Before neither could speak again, a small voice piped up. "Look, why don't *I* sweep the shrine and *you* lovebirds can go on a walk or whatever thing you two do when you're alone?"
Both looked down to find Souta looking at them impatiently as he held Kagome's broom. Inuyasha grinned at the child before nodding gratefully, then taking Kagome's hand in his. "What do you want this time, brat?" Inuyasha asked with a smirk.
"Oh, nothing..." Souta said, earning himself disbelieving looks from the lovers. "Ok! So I want some more sword lessons... you are so cool with your Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha-niichan!"
Inuyasha grinned smugly. "Ok. Lessons tomorrow brat. Get ready, coz I won't go easy on you!"
"Alright!!! Arigatou, Inu-no-niichan!" Souta yelled, pumping his fists into the air and sweeping the grounds with enthusiasm.
Inuyasha grinned at Kagome, a slight smile that sent her heart somersaulting in her chest, before steering her towards her house to say a quick goodbye to her mom and grandfather.
"We'll be back by lunch!"
Little did they know.
-----/---@
Naraku sat up straight on his horse as he heard faint voices in the forest. He narrowed his eyes as he realized who they may belong to.
'Of course. Who else could it be,' he growled mentally. There were only two people, aside from himself, who roamed the hillside forests at a nearly daily basis. It was that bastard... and HER.
Since the day those two met, they had been inseparable, and it was driving him crazy with jealousy. He wanted to be the one with her, to be the one kissing her deep in the woods as he held her soft hands in his.
And for this he was repulsed by the very thought of the peasant hanyou's name. The last time he and Inuyasha clashed, it was his sword against Inuyasha's. Both had gotten wounded, and Kagome made him look like dung when she immediately ran for Inuyasha's side, throwing Naraku a dirty glare.
That day, he decided... if he can't have Kagome, no one else will. Especially not the bastard hanyou.
He urged his steed to go faster, wishing to speak to the lady. Excitement raced through his veins as their voices became clearer as he approached them.
-----/---@
"Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped in shock.
"Honestly! He really did that!" Inuyasha said with a grin.
"You're kidding!" she replied laughingly.
"No! I'm perfectly serious!"
"I can't believe it! I never thought that Koru-kun would do something so dirty!"
"Well, you'd better believe it!"
They walked in a bit of comfortable silence after that, only pausing as they came across a large tree in the middle of a clearing.
"The Goshinboku..." both murmured softly to themselves.
"This is where we met, ne, Inuyasha?" Kagome said, not tearing her gaze from its thick brush of leaves.
"Aa. Do you remember that day?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome turned to him and gave him a bright, wistful smile that quite clearly said 'how can I ever forget?'.
Inuyasha stroked her cheek with his hand not holding hers, tracing his thumb slowly over her lips. Kagome closed her eyes and sighed softly, and she could feel his hot breath on her face as he slowly leaned down, lowering his lips to hers...
"Ahem!"
The pair abruptly broke apart as someone cleared his throat loudly. Inuyasha glared up at the daimyo who sat on his black horse, smiling smugly at interrupting them.
"What the fuck do you want, Naraku?" Inuyasha seethed. Naraku just shook his head.
"Ku ku ku. Such language!" Then, he turned to Kagome and said in a falsely sweet voice, "Do you really wish to be with someone as foul as him?"
Kagome looked rather angrily up at the daimyo, who for months had persistently sought after her, asking her, pleading with her, even threatening her to be his lady. "As I have repeatedly told you, Lord Naraku, I wish to be with Inuyasha, and there is nothing you could say to change my mind."
"No wish of yours shall come true if you don't go with me!" he roared, and Inuyasha stepped before Kagome to protect her if Naraku proved to be a threat.
"She wishes to be with me, Naraku, and as far as I can see, that wish is more than fulfilled," Inuyasha snarled. "We shall forever be together, Naraku." Kagome nodded from behind him.
Naraku's blood boiled at the sight. "I warned you..." he said in an eerily soft and calm voice. "It is your wish to forever be together, ne? Well I can't help that... but... there are things worse than being apart..."
Kagome cringed as she felt a strange aura around the furious daimyo. "Inuyasha..."
Inuyasha simply backed up, taking her with him. "Let's get away from this loony, Kagome."
Kagome nodded, and both cautiously backed away from the crazed man.
Naraku noticed this, of course, and he said loudly, in an angry voice, "Grant that these souls upon enchanted dawn... Be forever together but eternally apart..."
Inuyasha laughed at his ranting. "You've totally lost it Naraku. We'll be seeing you," he said as both he and Kagome turned their backs at the daimyo. Kagome, however, suddenly felt a chill run down her spine at Naraku's words.
Naraku laughed manically. "Oh, you won't Inuyasha. Neither will you see each other."
"What the fuck are you talking - huh?" Inuyasha turned to find Naraku gone. "Where the hell did he go?"
Kagome tugged on his arm, and Inuyasha looked upon her face to find her eyes wide with worry. "Kagome? Doushite?"
"I have a bad feeling about this, Inuyasha. Please, let's... what is that?" she tried to ask him to back off, but she was distracted by the sight of a slowly spreading mist.
Inuyasha stared at the mist in puzzlement. "This appeared out of nowhere!"
"Come on!" Kagome shouted, and Inuyasha promptly flung her on his back, carrying her as he raced back down the path they had taken. Kagome held on tight, her legs wrapped around his torso as he ran at full speed, but for some reason, the smoke seemed to move much more quickly, and soon they were trapped in the forest, surrounded by the strange mist.
"What the hell is this smoke?" Inuyasha asked rhetorically as he covered his nose. Kagome buried her face against his haori, blocking out the strange smell that the miasma gave out. Inuyasha backed away as the smoke closed in on them, blocking out their exit. It only took some time before the smoke was upon them.
Inuyasha desperately covered his nose while trying to keep the smoke from touching the precious package on his back, but it came to naught when the smell became too strong for his sensitive nose. It simply seeped through no matter how tightly he held his breath. He fell to the ground, panting heavily, and Kagome climbed down from his back and knelt before him.
"Inuyasha!? Daijobu?" she asked, her voice muffled by the hand she held over her nose. Inuyasha blinked heavily. The scent of the smoke was making him incredibly drowsy. He lethargically reached out and pulled Kagome tightly to his chest before collapsing on the ground with her.
"Kagome," he began. "Don't let go..." he instructed, before he fell into unconsciousness.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called in panic when his eyelids fell shut. She took his face in both hands and shook him, not realizing that she had just taken her hand away from covering her nose. Before she even realized, she had inhaled the fatal miasma, and was soon drifting into unconsciousness herself...
"Inuyasha..."
-----/---@
Naraku grinned as he watched the lovers lose consciousness, but he was cringing at the sight of them still holding each other despite the dire situation.
'No matter,' he thought. 'This won't last long.'
When he approached the pair, he had been giving Kagome her last chance to choose him over the hanyou. 'She should have just taken me,' he thought in malicious anger. 'It would have saved her a lot of pain.'
He had planned on hurting the lovers if she still rejected him. After all, in his mind, it was either him or no one else for Kagome. So, in anger, he plotted on how to take her away from Inuyasha. And his plot included some very old, dark magic.
True, Naraku seemed like your average snobbish daimyo, but he had been born with a special 'gift'. His powers were great, and it was his main means on how to get whatever it was he wanted. Using his secret skill in sorcery, he gathered his powers and began to weave a complicated spell that he would cast upon them shall she once again reject him. And since she did...
He laughed gleefully, keeping steady watch. It shall be very entertaining to see how they would both react once they realize that they have been cursed.
-----/---@
Consciousness returned to Kagome slowly, and the painful pounding of her head gradually subsided as she fought to open her eyes. She was curled tightly into a fetal pose, with strong arms wrapped around her waist. She knew it was Inuyasha; but whether he was awake or not, she didn't know.
"Kagome... are you ok?" he asked slowly in a strained, hoarse voice. She knew that the smoke must have affected him worse since his sense of smell was sharper.
"Hai," she answered, turning around to face him. She was rather surprised to find his lips twisted into a small grimace of pain, and he was grinding his teeth so tightly, he might have been fracturing them. He was shielding his eyes from her view by his shaggy white bangs,
"Inu-chan? Daijobu? Is there something wrong?" Kagome asked, putting a gentle palm o his face.
Inuyasha was fighting to keep the pain from his face, but to no avail. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to block out the throbbing. The setting sun behind him cast a reddish glow about his figure, and it seemed to Kagome that the darker it got, the more his pain increased. Inuyasha squeezed her more tightly to himself and she felt the shudder that went through his body as his chest rumbled softly.
"Inuyasha, please... are you hurt?" Kagome asked, worry filling her with dread. She somehow felt like this incident had something to do with the furious Naraku. Being born to a family of priests, Kagome was gifted with a special reiryoku, and the daimyo had always invoked the strangest shivers from her.
Inuyasha would have cried from the intensity of the pain, but he knew that seeing him in tears would make Kagome hysterical. 'What the fuck is wrong with me? My body... I feel like I'm literally being burned!' he thought. It was puzzling, to say the least, but he knew that if Kagome didn't make it to the village by sundown, she would be in deep trouble.
Then, quite suddenly, all his thought processes simply ceased as the sun set behind the glowing horizon, blanketing them both in semi-darkness.
Inuyasha let go of Kagome, and with his last shred of conscious thought, he instructed her -
"Run..."
Kagome was confused when he let go of her, but didn't have time to ponder it as Inuyasha gave a strangled, agonized shout of pain. "Inuyasha!" she cried, crawling closer to him and surveying his body, almost afraid to touch him lest she cause him more pain.
He was writhing in agony, his hands desperately trying to clutch the source of the searing pain. But it came to naught, since it felt like his entire body was engulfed in thick flames and large swords seemed to be piercing every part of his anatomy. He yelled out hi pain as he finally opened his tightly clenched golden orbs.
Kagome gasped as she stared into Inuyasha's now blazing scarlet orbs. "Inu- " she began, but was cut off when she saw his body begin to shift. She looked on in fright as Inuyasha glowed brightly just as the sun disappeared below the horizon, and she reached out to touch him just as the glow began to subside.
Kagome gasped at the sight that greeted her. Instead of the muscular form of her love, she was now gazing at a snow-white wolf. The wolf was lying on his side, panting heavily and draped loosely in Inuyasha's red robes. She backed away in confusion as the wolf's breathing slowed, and the nocturnal hunter slowly opened his eyes.
"Inu- Inuyasha?" she asked softly as the wolf stared at her through golden eyes. It stood slowly, and the small pendant that still hung from around the wolf's neck confirmed her suspicions.
"Inuyasha! It's you! How...?" She was startled though, when the wolf growled at her. She backed away further when the hanyou-turned wolf began to advance at her, baring his gleaming white fangs at her, his form crouched down and ready to pounce.
-----/---@
A/N: So, that's it for my first chapter. I know Inuyasha was OOC, but he's gonna be more in character as the story progresses. And about the curse - more about it in the next chapter.
So, like it? Hate it? Please tell me what you think!
Thank you so much for reading my fic, and please, REVIEW! No flames, please. Ja!
ScarletRaven1001