Summary: After being defeated by Inuyasha, Hiten is pulled into modern times by a dark sorceress. Mentally distraught and physically unequipped to escape Hiten is forced to choose between trusting another demon to help and making a tentative pact or face his soul being eternally enslaved to the dark sorceress. Possibly a Hiten/OC later on.

Disclaimer: Hiten and the world of Inuyasha are creations of Rumiko Takahashi.

AN: This is my first fanfiction I've come out and published. I would really appreciate some advice and criticism. Well then... on with the fanfiction...

Staring at the Sky (revised 9-26-05)
by: FireCatRich

Chapter One: Torn

Life all but drained from his injured body, Hiten's eyes stared out at the world. The earth and sky were nothing more than smears of color to his unfocused gaze. The darkness that clung to his mind did little to prevent his memories from rifling by. Tears welled behind his eyes, he knew the end was near. The air, heavy with moisture, chilled his skin. The jutting edges of rocks that stab uncomfortably into side, made it difficult to accept not being able to rise. A slosh of liquid accompanied the rise of blood into his mouth as his lungs began to fill. Despite his youkai heritage he would drown in his own red fluid. Drown in an inch of water, or so the phrase went. Swallowing the mass in his throat, his stomach knotted as he chocked down it down in an attempt to save his last bit of dignity and avoid the throes brought on by suffocation.

The hanyou which had delivered him to death's door had long since left. The last bit of mockery, leaving before he was dead. Totally denying him any chance his chocking cry for a mercy stroke would be heard. Left for dead, he languished in the humility of defeat and slow death which brought him to pitiful wishes of the nothingness which merely hung over him as though taunting him.

The tears spilled over as the growing fear of what he would face took hold. The emptiness he felt after his brothers death had stripped his defenses and left his soul wounded, open to emotional infection. The festering of the astral flesh would follow him even when his corpse would not. He had damned himself, utterly and completely to this fate. Not accepting it did little to stem the flow of fate.

Still he lingered. The ruby sheen of the blood dulled as it thickened and solidified. His vision, not much more than black swirls, worsened until even the sense of light or dark vanished. The first drops of rain hit his bare shoulder, prickling his skin to goose flesh. He grappled with the impending doom he felt upon himself. Even youkai could not survive the loss of so much blood, why did he still remain contained within his flesh vessel? What had started as a light rain, swelled to a down pour. What had remained clean of blood became sodden with water. The wet material clung to his skin. A curl of his raven hair plastered to his forehead diverted the flow of water down across the bridge of his nose to snake down his cheek and finally to the rocky earth which he lay upon.

A sharp pain lanced though his consciousness. His body stirred of its own accord, his arms dragged up as though pulled along by invisable bonds. The rain, now icy needles, stung his face as his head lolled back. The throbbing behind his eyes spread until it consumed his thoughts. Standing on legs that could not support his weight made his stomach reel. Vertigo stirred the liquid with in his gut. The bitter taste of bile coming up into his mouth.

As though stab though the chest, his heart came to sudden stillness. Reality came into a sharp focus, clarity restored for a brief moment before being ripped away. The bleak darkness finally laying claim, drawing him in with its shadowed claws.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

A faint flicker of heat drew Hiten out of his dark slumber. Forcing his weighted eye lids to open, he found himself curled up like a small animal. His legs were pulled up nearly to his chest, his arms crossed, hugging his shoulders. The dim iridescent glow that radiated from the floor brought back the throbbing to Hiten's muddled mind. The smooth surface which he lay upon held translucent scribed lines upon its black lusterless surface. The sharp contracts of his hair upon the floor made it appear as a glossy serpent stretched to bask in the fading glow. His rolled out of his compact form to lay face down upon the floor. He could feel a twinge of a sore neck work its way along his spine.

His demon sight drew in his surroundings even as the light diminished to little more than an after image in the field of his vision. Finding he was unable to see more than monochromatic walls and a low ceiling from his current angle, he slow drew his arms underneath him, propping himself up on elbows. The silence was disrupted only the slight scrap of his armored fore arms against the floor and the sigh of his hair as it was dragged up with him. The eerie quiet sat uneasily in his mind.

Finding his body with some degree of strength, Hiten pushed himself up until was able to bring his feet under him. He stood, his splayed feet turned in to balance his distraught form. The effort had already shortened him of breath and made his vision swirling again. His senses prickled, the warning automatically tensing his muscled form as his body shifted to a heightened alertness. He strained his senses. There was an almost sound. Something that one is not sure they hear even if they are focused upon it. A numbing weakness began to intrude into his mind as the tingling crept into his extremities.

The shifting of clothing betrayed the figure which watched him from the deep shadows. Jerking his head to the side, his braid lashed the air like a taut whip. He forced his knees lock to remain standing, he would not fall to the ground while anyone was around to observe his state of weakness. A tremor which shot up though his legs threatened to drop him to the floor. Scanning the room, Hiten could feel his nerves twisting. There was a demon here, although he was unable to pin point its location.

"Who's there?" The dry rasp of his voice sounded sickeningly pathetic to his ears as he called into the darkness.

A rush of air whipped past him. His apt senses identified the entrance of a demon into his midst. The air crackled with spent power. A robed from emerged from the shadows to reveil itself as the small figure suggested a young women in her late teens. The aroma of dried spices mingled with the distinct sent of human.

"I trust you slept well," The melodious voice sent warning spikes up his spine. Something was very wrong here. Not trusting his legs enough to unlock his knees, Hiten remained as he was as he tried to identify the dangers around him. The walls which enclosed the room began to shift. The seemingly solid barriers split into dark ribbons that caved in on themselves. Lightheaded, Hiten started to collapse as the taut ligaments in his knees gave out. The sickening plunge to the ground came to an abrupt halt as he head struck the floor.

To be continued...

AN: Please review! Thank you for reading!