A/N: Here's another chapter for you. Enjoy and don't forget to review please. Arigato!
A Hanyou's Fate
It had been just over a year since 'that night' and the now 10 year old Inuyasha sat contently on the branch of a tree; leaning against it's trunk with his arms folded over his chest and his legs crossed in front of him. There wasn't a single person around for miles and the only even remotely close to it was a few birds that fluttered and sang above him while the wind whistled gently. It was another peaceful day in the forest and nothing could have made him happier.I
No. That wasn't exactly true. What would have made him really happy would have been sitting, not in a tree, but in his home with is mother happily sitting beside him. Smiling her brilliant smile as she server him his favorite meal, always prepared with love. He sighed heavily. He couldn't get her out of his head. No matter what he did, he couldn't forget her.
But he knew he didn't want to forget her. She was the only one who truly cared for him and now that she was gone…
'Stop it.' He scolded himself. 'Stop bringing her up!' He knew he had to move on with his life, but still refused to let go of her memory. Sighing in defeat, he decided to do something to get his mind off it. What could be more fun then a quick hot spring soak? Deciding that it would do him good, he began to race through the trees to get to his destination. Where was the fun in running along the ground when you could do it this way?
Within a few minutes of arriving, Inuyasha had stripped down, hid his clothes in a little 'cave' he had found near the spring and jumped in. Sitting down on a rock, he soaked in the warmth with a pleasured grin on his face. His wet hair was plastered to his forehead, covering his eyes, so he ran his claws back across is scalp, making his smiled broaden. Closing his eyes, he leaned back and let his body slip down into the water until it reached his neck, just under his chin.
"Nothing beats a nice hot spring soaking." He murmured to himself. Sadly, this bliss was short lived. The scent of angry men, steel and blood was rapidly approaching. His ears twitched from the shouting. His nose took in the strong smells which caused him to jerk out of his present state of happiness and leap to his feet. Looking around, his amber eyes focused on the direction where the men would, any minute now, come crashing through the brush and charge him. By the time the men got there, Inuyasha had already jumped from the spring, tossed his clothes on and leapt up into a near by tree.
"Where is he?" One man demanded. He was rather short with a haori the color of blood and a long spear in his left hand. His hair hung loosely on his head, covering a good portion of his face. Only his cold eyes could really be seen. The way the other 4 kept a slight distance and only murmured their responses, anyone could tell that he was their leader. Each man, apart from carrying some sort of weapon, ore a pendant that bore the kanji for youkai on either side of it and a lighting bolt between them. Around the outside of them was the inscription 'Life is reserved for the strong'.
"He was just here, sir." One man responded, careful not to speak too openly.
"Then why isn't he still h ere?" The leader shouted in response.
"I…I don't know, sir." The man answered, slowly backing away and out of the leaders reach.
"Well, he couldn't have gotten far. Find him!" The leader ordered, pointing his spear at his followers threateningly.
"Hai." They replied in unison and each took off in a different direction. The leader remained standing beside the hot spring, glancing around suspiciously. Inuyasha dared not move from his hiding place Even though he knew he could easily slice the man in two, his mother's smiling face suddenly flashed before his eyes, causing his thoughts to change.
'Iie,' he told himself, 'she wouldn't want you to.' So with a silent sigh, he continued to watch the man as he slowly walked around the spring, poking his spear into a bush or the leaves of a tree every so often. Inuyasha's wet clothes clung to his body, making him feel very uncomfortable and the fact that these men were obviously looking for him didn't help.
'Can't he just get out of here so I can dry off?' He thought bitterly.
"We can't find him, sir." One man said as the group finally returned, empty handed.
"How hard could it be to find a stupid youkai?" The leader shouted. The grip on his spear tightened and his hands began to shake with anger.
"Keh." Inuyasha spat to himself. 'Stupid youkai? I'm twice as strong as these guys and probably 10 times as smart!' "Who's he calling stupid?" He asked aloud, although he didn't realize it until it was too late. Taking in a quick breath, he prayed to the gods that the men didn't hear him. Unfortunately, the gods were not with him at the time because before h e knew it, there were shouts and spears being thrown at him. Jumping from branch to branch, he raced through the trees, knowing there was no way that those 'humans' would be able to catch him.
Suddenly, something nit into the back of his right leg, just under his knee. The pain seared though his leg, which buckled under the weight of his body. Grabbing onto the nearest branch, Inuyasha dug his claws into the thick wood, stopping him before he plummeted to the ground. Heaving himself up onto the branch, Inuyasha examined his injury.
"Damn! What the hall was that?" He asked himself, peering into the hold his haori pants now held so that he could examine him injury. Something had but him, leaving a nasty gash about 3 inches long just below his knee. The area surrounding the wound was already beginning to change color, a sign on poison. "Damn it." He swore again. His mind was so focused on what had just cut him, he completely forgot about men who were pursuing him, the ones who had down this to him.
He watched the color of his skin quickly change from a healthy light tan, to a dark, sickening gray. He could feel whatever it was coursing through his body. It burned in hid veins and Inuyasha could feel himself slowly sub coming to the poison.
"Come on, fight it." He ordered himself. "You can't let them get you." But as these thoughts ran through his head, the poison finally reached the part of him that controlled his balance and the poor kid began to tumble from the tree. Landing on the ground with a less-then-graceful 'thud', Inuyasha attempted to get to his feet and continue his escape. Sadly, he found this more difficult then he had expected. Not only did the cut cause him to not be able to put any weight on his leg, but also, the poison was slowing him down completely. His head was feeling heavy and his vision was slowly beginning to blur.
"Got him!" A voice called out. The vibrations of 5 sets of feet running towards him could be felt through the forest floor. Inuyasha dragged himself over to the tree and leaned back against it. Breathing was quickly becoming very difficult. The men had finally caught up and soon had surrounded him. He felt very vulnerable and he hated feeling that way.
"This is the thing that you incompetent idiots had so much trouble catching?" The leader spit at his men, who all bowed their head and muttered replies. The man in red casually strolled over to Inuyasha and glared down at him. Giving him a quick look ever, he laughed a short, cruel laugh.
"He's just a hanyou and a kid no less." This comment was dripping with despise, his words made Inuyasha both enraged and hurt at the same time. Was he never going to be free from the hatred? Was he never going to be able to lice in peace because of his heritage? He wanted nothing more at that moment to lunge at the guy and dig his claws into his chest. Too bad he could hardly lift his arm from the ground, much less attack anyone.
"Not so fast now, are you, little hanyou?" One man leaned over and snarled in the boys face. Bearing his fangs, Inuyasha happily spit right in the guy's eye, who pulled back in surprise. "Why you dirty little…" The man raised him empty hand and brought the back of it down across Inuyasha's cheek. It quickly began to turn red but there was nothing he could do about it. The poison had claimed most of his body, leaving him almost completely analyzed and at the mercy of these men.
"That's enough Taku." The leader said the man quickly backed away.
"Hai, Kanaye-sama." Taku said, averting his gaze and whipping a bit of saliva off of his cheek.
"What the hell do you want with me?" Inuyasha demanded. The one named Taku took a threatening step forward, hand raised to strike Inuyasha again, but Kanaye put his hand up and Taku stopped dead in his tracks.
"Now is that any way for a kid to talk to an adult?" Kanaye asked in a sickening soft voice. "Didn't your parents teach you respect for your elders?" At the mention of his parents, Inuyasha snapped. With what little strength he had left, he heaved himself to his feet, relying on the tree for support, and snarled.
"I'll kill you!" He shouted as he pushed himself off the tree and at the man clad in red. He was going to wipe that smirk right off the guy's ugly face. His body in its current state could hardly support him long enough to make it the 6 feet to the man, but he didn't care. The man, easily seeing the boy's futile attempt at an attack, slyly sidestepped him, allowing him to fall face first into the dirt.
"You best save what energy you have left, little hanyou." The man said sadistically. "Trust me; you'll need every ounce you've got."
"Nani? What do you mean?" Inuyasha inquired, rolling over so that he was now on his side staring up at the man. This took more energy the he had intended and it left him even weaker the before. What did these guys have planned for him?
"Oh, you'll see soon enough." Then, looking at his followers, he added, "Where are the restraints?"
"Here, Kanaye-sama." Another man said, stepping forward and holding up a sack. Whatever was inside of it was obviously made of metal, because as the bad was held up, clinking sounds could easily be heard. This made Inuyasha a bit nervous but had no intention of letting his captors know it.
"Excellent." Kanaye said before turning back to Inuyasha with another sadistic smile. "Now, it's time for your nap, little guy." His voice sent a chill down Inuyasha's spine. As he approached the immobile kid, Kanaye reached into a pouch that hung from his belt and pulled out a small vile and a piece of cloth. Pouring a bit of the liquid from the vile onto the cloth, the replaced the cap and knelt down next to his prisoner.
"Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit." He muttered as he placed the cloth over Inuyasha's sensitive nose and mouth. The boy fought back as best he could, but found it nearly impossible to do anything to prevent the inevitable. Kanaye put his free hand behind Inuyasha's head to keep him steady. After a moment r so, the young boy finally stopped moving completely. His golden eyes fluttered shut and his breathing, though a bit difficult in coming was steady as if he had simply fallen asleep.
"Finally." Taku said through clenched teeth. "I didn't think a kid could be this much trouble.
"You should know better." Kanaye said as he returned the cloth to his pouch and got to his feet. Brushing the loose dirt from his haori pants, he approached him men, who all took a half step back. "Nothing is simple when we are dealing with wild hanyous." Glancing back at the unconscious boy, he smirked. "You have to wait until they are broken. After that…there's nothing to it." The others nodded. "Get him bound. I want to be back at the compound by sunset. Wakarimasuka?" He ordered before stalking off.
"Hai, Kanaye-sama." All four of his companions chorused in unison before heading off to do their hired jobs. Poor Inuyasha wouldn't wake up for another day and when he does, he would wish that he hadn't.
A/N: Oh, poor Inuyasha! What are they going to do with him? Where are they taking him? Well, I know the answer to that, but sadly, you will just have to wait to find out. Please review and tell me what you think. The more reviews I get, the more I'll be inspired to write! Arigato. Ja'mattane!
:: AouraMaiden ::
Japanese Translations:
Hai: Yes
Hanyou: Half-demon
Haori: Japanese outfit
Iie: No
Nani: What?
-Sama: Lord (title of respect)
Wakarimasuka: Understand?
Youkai: Demon
