Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of the Inuyasha characters, and my best regards go out to the creators of Inuyasha. I do however own Sakura and would appreciate it if she were not used in any other fanfictions without my permission. I write solely for fun and make no money from these fanfictions, so there's no need to sue me ;;
Chapter 1: A New Companion
Inuyasha and his friends were walking along a dirt path, winding through the woods. The shadows of the trees dappled the ground and a slight breeze ruffled their hair. It had rained hard the other night, and puddles of water littered the ground. The group walked on when suddenly Kagome stopped.
"Inuyasha, look!" Kagome's eyes had landed on a lone form slouched against a tree. Its legs were tucked up under it and its head was bowed. "Who is it?" she asked.
"Beats me," Inuyasha said, perplexed. He unsheathed his sword, cautiously walking up to the figure. "Hey, you need some help?" the silver haired man asked. He peered at the person, seeing that it was a woman and that she was obviously wounded.
The woman made no effort to answer him. She stared expressionlessly ahead of her, not turning to look at him. Her eyes and face showed no emotion and her voice seemed distant when she did speak.
"Inuyasha…" she whispered, still not facing him.
"How do you know my name? Who are you?" Inuyasha questioned.
"It comes as no surprise that you no longer recognize me." The woman said, vacantly. She turned to look at him, her ocher eyes piercing holes into his. A slight sneer curled her lips upward. "I'm an old friend, nothing more." She sighed, raising herself from the ground. She turned and began to walk away when Inuyasha stopped her.
"Sakura?" Inuyasha asked. "Sakura, is that you?"
"It's been a long time, Inuyasha, too long." Sakura said, turning around.
"You're wounded…how? Was is Naraku?" Inuyasha inquired, concern etched in his face.
"No…it wasn't Naraku…"
"Then who? Who did this to you?" He asked, anger flaring in his voice.
"Don't worry…it's not important…." Sakura said, brushing his question off.
"Well, well, what do we have here, Inuyasha?" Said a man in black and purple robes. He sauntered over, looking Sakura up and down.
"Leave her be, Miroku. Sakura's one woman who won't tolerate your wandering hand." Inuyasha said, eyeing the monk suspiciously.
"I had intentions of no such thing."
"Right…."
Sakura looked on in mild amusement. She crossed her arms across her chest, eyeing up the monk.
"My name is Miroku." The monk said pleasantly. He extended his hand to grasp hers in a shake, but Sakura pulled away.
"If you value life, you'll refrain from touching me." She said uncompromisingly.
"Warned you…." Inuyasha said, chuckling slightly. "So, Sakura, what have you been doing all this time?"
"Not all that much. Honing my skills mainly." She said.
"You've strengthened, I can tell."
Sakura smiled. "I should hope so, if not these past fifty years would have been wasted."
"And how's my brother?" Inuyasha asked.
Sakura became instantly silent. Her face went blank and she turned away from Inuyasha's gaze. "It's late…I must go…." She whispered, pain evident in her voice.
"Oh…well, why don't you stay with us for awhile? We can get your wounds taken care of and catch up a bit." Inuyasha suggested. Sakura sighed.
"Inuyasha…I don't think…"
"Aww, c'mon." Inuyasha pleaded.
"…Well…I suppose," Sakura said. "Just keep the monk away from me…for his own good."
Inuyasha laughed. Kagome and Sango caught up with them and they all walked on, looking for a suitable place to camp for the night.
Author's Note: Well? What do you think? The story's going to get a LOT more interesting, believe me, so just keep reading! I love reviews, even if it is constructive criticism so feel free to tell me what you think!
PrisonerofDarkness
