Author's Notes: My new wallpapers are up at my website! YAY! My logo is also on them so if you wish to use them on your website, please give me proper credit and it's all good! We're all fans of Inuyasha, right? Now, on with the tragic feudal fairytale!
Darkness From the PastThe surrounding trees and bushes, with its wildlife and unique aura was soothing to the miko's senses, but that didn't mean she let her guard down any. Evil came in all shapes and sizes and because her two children traveled with her, Kagome had every reason to fear for their safety.
Presently she, along with Inuyasha, decided to take their children on an important picnic to Inuyasha Forest. There they would explain a few things to their hanyou children that until now had been kept secret.
"Where we goin' daddy?" Shiori asked from her father's back. Although she was pretty much healed up, Inuyasha – along with Kagome – had insisted that she not push herself.
Glancing back, the golden eyed dog demon smiled gently. "Well, where's a comfy spot to sit?" He asked.
Looking around, her serene blue eyes glanced back and forth until they spotted a clearing. "Over there in the shade!" She said as she pointed.
Shaoran smiled from his mother's side. He was happy to see her smiling again, even though he had a pretty good notion that this wasn't entirely for vacation purposes. Something was up.
Shaoran watched from around the corner as his father talked with Miroku. Both adults looked very worried and serious. Even his mother, who sat next to his twin sister back inside the hut, seemed upset.
But just before they left, it was all smiles.
"Have a good time!" Sango waved goodbye with Kirara in her arms.
"We'll stay here and help the villagers clean up!" Miroku said with a wave as well.
"We will! And we'll be back before sundown!" Kagome added as they left.
Shaoran thought that was weird to say…
Why would it matter when we return? Unless trouble was a possibility that might delay them…
"Come on Kirara! I saw some of the bark that we need right over here!" Shippo urged the kitten on. The bark they were looking for made a good paste for the roofs of the huts they were trying to repair.
Kirara mewed in agreement, but sniffed the air again. Something was nearby. "Meew!"
Shippo turned around and took a few quick sniffs. "Hmmm, you're right." That's when they heard it. A feint crying that sounded like the creature was in pain. "It's this way!"
Running towards the sound, the two youkai found another of their kind – this one a kitsune cub just like Shippo – twisting and writhing in pain on the ground. Strangely its eyes were closed as if it was sleeping.
Creeping up slowly, Shippo tapped the fox youkai on the side. "Hey – are you okay? Do you need help?" It was a stupid question, but what was he supposed to say?
"Mew?" Kirara rubbed her head gently against the other and it seemed to relax.
Looking closer, Shippo saw it was actually female, and its coat was just a shade lighter that his. She's so pretty… He thought. When she stopped moving completely and opened her eyes – he saw her eyes were a majestic purple. Wow…
She saw she wasn't alone and backed up against the nearest tree in fear. "W-who are you and what do you want!?" She demanded.
Holding his arms out to the side, Shippo replied, "We're not gonna hurt you. We're here to help."
Caught off guard, she stopped and looked shocked. "Help?" Then she closed her eyes again and passed out.
Inuyasha popped another grape into his mouth and leaned back against a tree casually. "Go ahead, Kagome. You start."
Rolling her eyes, Kagome smirked, "Thanks a bunch." She replied sarcastically. Where to start? "Well, you see, there was a jewel that was created by a very powerful priestess named Midoriko. This jewel was called the Shikon no Tama."
"Kaede-sama told us about that." Shiori curled up in her father's lap. "She said her sister used to protect it, Kikyou-sama."
"That's right. She did." The present miko agreed. Then she remembered. What should I say next? So much happened back then…
"When Kikyou passed away, the jewel was brought back to this world by your mother. You see, Midoriko choose your mother to be its next protector." Inuyasha jumped in.
Going wide eyed, Shaoran turned to his mom. "Really? But I've never seen it."
Sighing with relief and thankful for the help, Kagome continued, "The safest place for the jewel was right here." She put a hand to her heart. "There are youkai and people with evil in their hearts who want to use the jewel and become more powerful for their own ends."
Shiori looked up at Inuyasha. "Daddy doesn't need that because he's already strong enough!"
Smirking, Inuyasha replied, "Well, there was one time, right when I met your mother that I tried to take the Shikon no Tama."
"What happened?" Shaoran leaned forward with interest.
Looking up at his mate, Inuyasha replied, "She was too good for me."
Giggling, Kagome blushed, "Actually, that was when Kaede-sama gave me daddy's "special" necklace and I said Osuwari for the first time…"
SMACK!
Shiori looked over with a confused expression. "Daddy?"
Peeling his face from the dirt, he glared at Kagome. "Dammit, would you be more careful with that!"
All three laughed at once at poor Inuyasha's expense. "Sorry." Kagome replied with a shy grin.
Unfortunately, Inuyasha knew she probably enjoyed it more than she regretted it.
The kitsune sat down on the floor and stared at her feet sadly. "They rounded up all the other youkai in the forest and took us all underground." She explained. "It was me and my big brother for a while – but then the experiments began."
"Experiments?" Miroku asked. He, along with Sango, sat down with the young fox that Shippo and Kirara brought back with them.
Nodding nervously, the youkai – named Yuuki – continued, "They started with my brother. Then they tried it on me."
"Tried it on you?" Sango asked. "Tried what?"
"He had black pearls – he called them defiled jewels. He said once we swallowed them we wouldn't be able to disobey him. But a lot of the other youkai went insane, running around like they were living their worse nightmares. My brother, he didn't make it. When we had the chance – and our sanity – we made a break for it. My brother stayed behind so I could get away." Yuuki continued. She had tears in her eyes at the memory. "I managed to cough up mine and left it somewhere in the forest but…"
"But?" Shippo asked from her side.
"The nightmares haven't stopped." She looked up sadly.
The jewel she lost was undoubtedly the one Shiori found just the other day. This would also explain the bear youkai Inuyasha fought too. Miroku put a hand to his chin in thought. "So this person was trying to use the replication of the Shikon no Tama to control other youkai – but why?"
"For his army." Yuuki answered darkly.
"This person, you kept saying he, do you know his name?" Sango asked.
Nodding, Yuuki half hid behind Shippo as if uttering the word would summon the manifestation of evil to that very hut. "Yamatsu."
Taking a deep breath before continuing on, Kagome said, "Now there was a great evil – a demon named Naraku – who believed that the jewel was much more powerful when it was defiled."
"Defiled?" Shaoran blinked. "You mean black?"
"Sort of. If the person who has the jewel has good intentions it stays pure. If that person has bad intentions it becomes defiled." The miko explained.
"Naraku hurt a lot of people to defile the jewel before we caught up to him." Inuyasha added.
"What did you do?" His son asked.
Raising a fist, Inuyasha smirked. "We kicked major youkai ass!"
"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded.
"All right!" Shaoran raised a hand and high fived his dad.
A loud clapping sound came from the trees, causing everyone to go on alert. Inuyasha shoved everyone behind him and Kagome pulled Shiori into her arms. "Who's there!?"
"My, my, what a beautiful story, Inuyasha."
That voice! "Come out where we can see you, Yamatsu!" Inuyasha growled and pulled Tetsusaiga from its sheath.
Stepping onto a branch where Inuyasha could see him, Yamatsu stopped his clapping. "Why leave out all the juicy details, Inuyasha? There's so much more to tell!"
"What the hell are you talking about!?"
Narrowing his eyes on the hanyou brats, Yamatsu smirked, "Why not tell them about why you tried to steal the jewel. How you wanted to become a full demon instead of a dirty-blooded half breed."
Shaoran stepped forward with a fist. "Hey, you take that back!"
"But its true, isn't it?"
"Shut up! Just shut up already! What the hell do you want?" Inuyasha demanded.
Casually leaning against the trunk of the tree, Yamatsu replied, "Why stop there? Becoming a full demon would make you even more powerful than even your father was, wouldn't it?"
"I have no wish to be a full demon anymore, so your trickery won't work on me!" Inuyasha glared at Yamatsu. "And for all that you've done to my family," He jumped into the air, "I'll rip you to shreds!"
Easily avoiding the attack, Yamatsu landed on the clearing floor. "I am not the one you will be fighting." Stepping aside, red eyes glowed behind him as the hidden creature revealed itself – fangs and all. "He is."
Inuyasha's eyes widened when he saw a duplicate of himself, except evil and warped.
Kagome took one fearful step back at the sight. The monster that resembled her love had a blazing red aura that mixed with a darker black one. Then she saw the collar around its neck. Another one? That means…!
Covering his shock with a smirk, Inuyasha got into a defensive position. "Ha, he may look like me, but can he fight like me?" Running forward, Inuyasha pushed off the ground and came down hard on his opponent.
Snarling, the demon dodged to the side and slashed wildly with his claws.
Barely raising an arm to block the attack, the razor sharp claws scratched harmlessly off his fire rat armor. Pulling his arm back, he shoved the dog demon fang straight through his enemy's stomach and out the back.
"All right dad!" Shaoran jumped in victory.
But Inuyasha watched in surprise, when his double raised his head with an evil smirk and his eyes flashed red. "You should know by now that your toy won't work on me!"
His voice was the same as Kagome remembered it being - dark and foreboding. What's going on here!?
Appearing in front of Kagome suddenly, Yamatsu towered at least a foot over the miko. "Now to deal with you three."
Jumping back, Kagome put Shiori down behind her and pulled out her bow and arrow. "Touch me or my children and you'll regret it." She warned.
Seeing the confrontation out of the corner of his eye, Inuyasha gasped, "Kagome!" But then when his double pulled himself off the blade, Inuyasha was too preoccupied blocking the savage beast's rampage to save his kin.
When the demon's black blood splattered everywhere, courtesy of Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha thought the battle would be short, but as the look alike continued coming at him, attacking relentlessly, a horrid thought came to him when he dodged and blocked the attacks completely by instinct. He fights without fear or a care in the world. He doesn't care about the injuries to himself, only about the complete and utter destruction of his enemy. Was I…Was I like this? Sesshoumaru, is this what you saw?
Dodging the last swing, Inuyasha spun around and landed a roundhouse kick to the back of the demon's neck. "Kagome!"
Releasing her arrow, Kagome gasped when Yamatsu's form shifted and he was instantly behind her. Reaching an arm around her neck, he held her in a chokehold, making her drop her weapon to fight off his grip.
"Mom!" Both hanyou pups shouted in surprise.
Reaching into her sleeve, Kagome grabbed her dagger and twisted around – slashing at the demon's face with the blade.
Black blood dripped down the dagger onto her hands, she watched Yamatsu wipe the blood away from the gash in his cheek with the blade of his hand. "Bravo, priestess, you're just full of surprises, hm?"
Growling, Kagome lowered her head and tightened the grip on her weapon. "There's just one problem.
"Oh?"
"You're between me and my children. One place no one wants to find themselves." She jumped forward and slashed with the dagger.
Yamatsu thought it petty to draw his humongous sword to fend off such a little weapon – so when Kagome attacked him, he simply caught her hand and twisted.
Crying out, Kagome dropped her dagger.
"Kagome!" Distracted, and with his back to his enemy, Inuyasha's double was able to land a hit to the dog demon's shoulders with his claws. He followed up with a punch to Inuyasha's jaw when he turned around – throwing the hanyou to the ground. Landing on him, red eyes flashed again in sick pleasure and victory. "You could never defeat me before and you never will."
Inuyasha stretched to try and reach the sword that lay inches from his hand. "Th-that's funny, cause I don't remember asking for your opinion!" He punched his clone in the face, thinking he would ease up – but when the demon turned his head and smirked – Inuyasha's vision went white when the demon head butted him straight on.
Stunned,
Inuyasha couldn't stop as his double straddled him and placed two cold hands on
both sides of his head. What happened
next, Inuyasha wasn't sure, but it reminded him of the pain he felt when
Sesshoumaru sent that demon to impersonate his human mother. As she delved into his very soul in an
attempt to find the location of his father's grave – that feeling of violation
– this creature did the same. But what
did he want?
"J-just who are you…" Inuyasha
cringed as the demon continued to probe.
"You should know. The darkness that once flowed through your veins. The heat, the power, I am all that and more. I am you – but greater."
Kicking the demon off him, Inuyasha got back onto his feet with his sword at hand. "I don't know what trick you're trying to pull…"
"Oh this is no trick." Pulling the sword that laid at his hip, the demon wielded an exact copy of Inuyasha's transformed Tetsusaiga! "I am no longer a lingering memory, a reflection in the mirror…"
Inuyasha gasped. He read my mind! He knows everything about me!
"I am faster, deadlier, and everything you so readily abandoned – I have become." Pulling the sword back, the demon savagely attacked Inuyasha – sword to sword.
Pulling Kagome into a chokehold once more, Yamatsu made her watch the two dog demons fight. "A changling." He said into her ear. "Psychic and very rare to come by. They can read into your life and become as real a version of you as – well you get the idea. Inuyasha thought he was freed of his more demonic side, but now it will be his undoing." Flinching, Yamatsu felt a rock hit the back of his head and turned to see the female hanyou pup with a slingshot in her hand. "Let me mommy go." She released another rock and it hit Yamatsu in the eye.
He yelled out and loosened his grip on Kagome enough that she was able to run her elbow behind her and jam it into his stomach. Doubling over – the demon couldn't stop the miko from gathering her weapons and children and making a run for it. "S-stop them! They mustn't escape!"
Looking Inuyasha right in the eye, the changling smirked and tightened his grip on his sword. Slowly, the winds of kazu no kizu began to form.
Shock was an understatement when Inuyasha spun to shout towards his mate. "Kagome! Look out!"
Swinging the dog fang before Inuyasha could stop him, the changling released the wind scar in Kagome's direction.
"KAGOME!!" Inuyasha ran to move them out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough.
The blast came at her in a giant destructive wave. Thinking fast, the miko raised a hand and she and her children were immediately enveloped in a light pink hued shield. When the attack came, Kagome gritted her teeth trying to hold up her protective barrier against the massive amount of demonic energy pounding its edges.
Inuyasha raised an arm above his face to fend off the debris.
I can't hold it much longer… When she finally thought it was the end – the blast subsided and dissipated away. Breathing heavily and sweat covering her entire body, she looked behind her and saw her children were frightened but both were okay.
She deflected the wind scar? Yamatsu thought in surprise. She is more powerful than I was led to believe. She would make a powerful ally. "Now! Do it now!" He shouted to his puppet.
Digging into his robes, the changling brought out a round black collar with embedded defiled Shikon no Tama – similar to his own – connected to a long metal chain. Twirling it around, he threw the open collar at Inuyasha and it snapped around his neck.
"What the…!?" When Inuyasha touched it to try and take it off, black electricity danced across his body, sending him into excruciating pain. He cried out before falling down to the ground.
"Dad!" Shaoran shouted in worry. Taking one step forward, the hanyou pup was blocked off by Yamatsu.
"I won't allow you to leave my grasp again." Before the boy could run away, he clasped a similar collar – but without the jewels – around Shaoran's neck and held onto the chain.
"Let me go!" Shaoran struggled, but Yamatsu simply pulled and the boy was dragged roughly to the ground.
"Yamatsu-sama, what about the females?" His general came with Shiori struggling under one of his arms, and Kagome's nearly unconscious body thrown over his other shoulder.
"Bring them with us. The children can be raised into my army's commanders. Their father will be the spearhead that leads my victory. And the miko…" He smirked as his warped future began to take shape. "She will be my queen."
Miroku ran through the forest towards where he knew Inuyasha and his family resided. It was not yet sunset, but this could not wait. Inuyasha had to know.
"Miroku look!" Shippo bounded towards one of the trees and found the empty picnic blanket and food.
"Inuyasha! Kagome-sama!" Miroku shouted, looking around.
"Miroku!" Sango came down from the air on Kirara. "I think we're too late. There's the remains of Inuyasha's Kazu no Kizu not too far from here." She reported.
"That means he's already got them!" Shippo exclaimed in worry.
Getting down on one knee, Miroku addressed the kitsune girl. "Can you lead us back to his domain?"
Fearfully, the fox youkai stepped backward.
"Please, Yuuki. We have to get our friends back." Shippo asked. "I promise nothing will happen to you. I'll protect you." He swore.
Looking into his green eyes, Yuuki slowly nodded. "O-okay."
Author's Notes: I've got one more surprise for my faithful readers…The prologue to "To Protect the One I Love" is out! No not the story (DUH), but the Ani-Manga made by yours truly! It's available at my website, or you can click on the link here. E-mail me with your thoughts (or if something isn't working on the website cause I'm a ditz)