Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters except Mara.
Summary: A familiar black ominous cloud covers the land of Japan as a great demon rises from the depths of hell. Sesshomaru's back and this time he's got different plans for his ex-prisoners. No more will his heart feel remorse to the woman he once loved, he's come back for one thing only; the taste and satisfaction of another's death. Accompanied by a new enemy, will Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango and Miroku have the will to slay this demon once again or will their lives be in too much danger to carry on?
Chapter 1: A Dark Being
"Remind me why again that you're leaving?" Inuyasha whined in a very frustrated voice, his hands tucked underneath his arms. Kagome was going home once again having only stayed four days with him in the feudal era. He narrowed his eyebrows and sat down heavily a top the edge of the old well.
Kagome could only smile at his pouty expression and strapped her yellow bag over her shoulders. "This is the third time I've had to tell you already Inuyasha." She laughed, hopping over the ledge beside him. "I've got a major test to study for."
Inuyasha sighed and looked sadly up to the red painted sky. It had been a month since Sesshomaru's complete inhalation and everything seemed to quickly go back to normal again. Miroku was back out womanizing, not being able to resist an opportunity to grope an unexpecting girl's ass and as usual, Sango was out watching him with a jealous heart, Kilala by her side. And now this, Kagome's uncompromised departure to her own era. He frowned at the thought and stared down at the blowing grass on the ground. "And how long will that take?" He asked, avoiding any eye contact with her at all.
"I'd say about…" She paused and counted the days on her fingers. "Well, I need two days to cram in all the studying and then the third day to take the actual test. So I'll return on the evening of the third day ok?" No response came from the obviously ticked hanyou beside her and she sighed lightly, a smile still on her face. Leaning into his shoulder, she planted a soft kiss on his cheek and lifted herself from the edge. "I'll be back before you know it. See you soon Inuyasha." With her goodbye said, she dropped herself down the well and disappeared from that era of time.
He groaned, her scent now faded and hardly there even to his sensitive nose and he lifted himself off of the well. The darkening forest ahead of him called to his wandering mind and he slowly entered past the first wall of trees, his eyes staring at his feet as he walked. The orange rays of light from the large setting sun pierced through the green leaves, colouring his body in its beauty. He hated when Kagome went home. She seemed to do it more frequently after Sesshomaru's death. Was it that she was afraid that he couldn't protect her enough? The question saddened him of course but there was always that possibility. At the last battle against the demon lord he wasn't even there for its finish, Kagome got hurt and she ended up saving his life in the end. So, he couldn't really blame her if she was scared. "I swear, from this day foreword Kagome, I will always protect you." He whispered to himself, clenching his hands into a fist as he did. This was his promise to her, though she never heard it, he meant every word said. His head lowered to his chest as memories of her loving face that day he was brought back to life appeared. He shut his eyelids tightly together, holding back the tears that he had shed once before because of the pain she had experienced without him by her side. "That'll never happen again." He mumbled through grit fangs and mixed emotions of sadness and of anger towards himself.
From high above, hidden in the shadows of the tree tops, a pair of shimmering emerald eyes gazed between the branches, their vision piercing the half demon below. Their hand pushed aside a branch that blocked their view and the sunlight invaded the dark area to reveal crimson lips twisted into a crooked smile. "How pathetic." They mumbled softly. "Might as well make my introduction now." Releasing the branches, their rustle disturbing the peace of the forest, the stranger leapt up into the air, their eyes still focused on the hanyou and quickly landed on the dirt ground, a short distance behind.
Inuyasha gasped and spun on his heels to stare in shock and surprise at the person who had so quickly and without warning appeared at his back side. 'Just a woman?' He said to himself, confused by the speed in which she had arrived. Her long black hair covered her hung head and blocked out all view of her face. She sat kneeled on one leg and held her body weight with her hand placed firmly on the ground. "Um, do you need help?" He asked, wondering if maybe she had fallen but a quiet chuckle turned his thoughts away from anything so accidental and he watched her slowly begin to stand.
The woman straightened her body up and pushed her hair over her shoulder, exposing those eyes and an evil grin to the hanyou before her. "I am in no need of help. You are more foolish than I had anticipated…Inuyasha." She snickered.
At first sight of her face and its pale complexion, a large amount of demonic power hit him like a brick wall and he reached his hand almost instantaneously around the hilt of the Tetseiga. Deep scars on her cheeks stood out the most on her ghostly white face, aside from her eyes. "How the hell do you know my name!" He shouted in defense, sensing danger to come. 'Why is it everyone seems to know my name but I don't know theirs!' His frustrated voice complained through his mind as he stared down this unfamiliar woman dressed in a purple kimono, a sash floating at her arms. Her appearance spelt demon.
The woman snorted quietly and frowned. "Is that the kind of language you use around a woman?" She asked in an unamused tone of voice while staring back at the hostile half demon boy.
"All the time." Inuyasha quickly replied, feeling her anger grow slightly at his harmless vocabulary. "Now just tell me who the fuck you are before things get ugly." Adding another uncalled for curse, he cracked his knuckles and lifted his clawed hand to impose a threat to the demon.
She scowled, a fang slipping over her red lip and her eyes narrowed heavier than before. "You are quite the stubborn one. Sesshomaru was right. But no matter, you are only a mere half demon and wouldn't stand a chance in a fight against me." She lifted her arm, the sleeve of her kimono slipping down to her elbow and outstretched her own clawed hand in front of her.
Inuyasha froze in his spot at the mention of his deceased demon half brother and tried to comprehend what little was said. "Sess…homaru?" His lips moved slowly in pronunciation and his eyes stared blankly at the ground where his new enemy stood.
Her lips curved into a smirk at the hanyou's confused expression and she cracked her fingers. "I am Mara, a powerful sorceress, summoned by the great demon lord Sesshomaru to dispose of you!" She shouted, thrusting her hand through the air in the hanyou's direction.
Suddenly remembering his whereabouts, Inuyasha blinked back his vision and looked at the woman just in time to have a strong gust of demonic power pounded into his chest, forcing him back roughly into a tree. At contact, his body and head hit hard, instantly knocking him into an unconscious state.
Mara dropped her hand back to her side and watched in silence as Inuyasha's body crashed to the ground below. She approached his fallen figure slowly and stopped when she stood just a step away from his head. "Perfect. My lord will be much pleased."
Kagome smiled and dropped her bag as well as herself onto her bed, sighing loudly when her head hit her soft pillow. "It's good to be home." She exclaimed with a smile on her face, pulling her bed sheets closer to her body.
"Well its good to have you back dear." Her mother said, entering her daughter's room almost simultaneously, a sweet smile clearly visible on her face. "Would you like me to start the bath for you?" She asked in her usual kind voice.
Kagome sat up at her appearance and nodded at her question. "That'd be great. Thanks mom." She watched her mother nod back and leave almost as quickly as she had entered, closing the door behind her. Sighing lightly, Kagome moved to the edge of her bed and hung her legs over the side, gazing out her window to the darkening sky. She didn't like having to leave Inuyasha behind and hearing him cover his sadness through anger made it harder for her to go. Unless he came with her though, they'd have to be separated for that short period of time she was gone. "Maybe next time I'll ask him to come with me." She laughed at the thought of it, shaking her head side to side. "There's no way he'd come." Lifting herself from her bed, her legs suddenly went weak and she fell to the floor, her hands holding the rest of her body from collapsing. "Whats-" A sharp pain sparked across her chest and she grabbed for it, allowing herself to fall to her side. She closed her eyes tightly and grit her teeth as the pain increased. 'It feels like…someone's punching my body!' Her legs curled into her chest and she began to pant heavily for air, her lungs begging for relief from the pressure placed against them. Kagome's voice choked in pain and her muscles tightened with every passing second. Was someone trying to kill her? A faint pounding wracked through her ears and grew louder and louder to the point where her hearing was deafened by a sharp ring.
"Kagome, your bath is-" Her mother said as she opened the door to Kagome's room but swallowed back her words as her daughters trembling body, curled into a ball on the floor became of much more importance. "Kagome!" She shouted, running and kneeling by her side." "Kagome are you alright! Tell me what's wrong!" She screamed, holding her hands out to touch her though afraid to cause more pain if doing so.
The pounding proceeded, growing louder and louder as if it would never end. She opened her eyes to darkness and watched the ripples that the constant beating formed in her vision. Far in the distance they seemed to outline the figure of a person that she found unrecognizable. Her hands moved from her chest to her ears and she pushed against her head in an attempt to stop the repetitive noise, shutting her eyes once again. Just as she did so, that figure revealed to be Inuyasha in the state he was in at the fight against Sesshomaru and his body pounded with the same tempo as the noise, as if it resembled his heartbeat. "Inuyasha!" She screamed, throwing herself past the pain and up into a sitting position. The noise as well as the pressure suppressed and she let out a long gasp for air.
"Kagome what's the matter!" Her mother whimpered, tears streaming down her soft rosy cheeks. She placed her hand on Kagome's arm, her eyes begging for the answers to her display just then.
Kagome's head turned quickly to the side in shock of her total unawareness of her mother's presence. "Oh mom." She pulled her into a hug but quickly released it again. "Everything is ok. I just need to go back and see Inuyasha. Something doesn't feel right." Standing to her feet, she grabbed her bow and arrow off the end of her bed and headed to the door. "But don't worry. I'll be home soon. I promise." With a quick smile of reassurance she ran from her room and straight to the well house. Leaping over the edge of the Bone Eaters well, she was swallowed by the darkness below. 'You better be ok Inuyasha. Please be ok.' She pleaded, awaiting her arrival on the other side.
Inuyasha's eyes weakly fluttered open and he slowly lifted his heavy head from his chest. Unfamiliar scents filled his nostrils and he wrinkled his nose from the stench they created. His head ached from something he could not recall and his wrists that were somehow held above his head were burning with pain. "Where am I?" He mumbled, squinting his eyes to clear his blurry vision. A chuckle, followed by footsteps entered his ears and he turned quickly in the direction they had come from. A woman who he recognized immediately appeared in the center of his view. "You!" He growled.
Mara smirked and turned to face the waking hanyou. "Lets call each other by our given names shall we?" She gave him a sarcastic smile before tending to something else that had more importance to her.
His angered glare followed her movement and a low growl rumbled deep inside his chest. "You bitch!" He spat in fury, leaping out to attack her though stopped by shackles bond to his wrists that pinned him to the wall. "Stop acting so innocent and tell me where the hell I am!" His stern voice demanded.
Her smirk fell to a heavy scowl by the offensive name she had just been entitled to. Lifting a sword into her hand, she turned back to the tempered hanyou and glared at him in rage. "You better watch that mouth of yours Inuyasha. I bet its gotten you into trouble once before hasn't it?" She held the sword out in front of her for him to get a good look at it.
Inuyasha went to go speak but found his voice lost as he caught sight of the sword in her hands. "I can't be…The Tokijin…" He gasped, unsure of how to react but his cold running blood told him to fear what she held. "How did you get possession of the Tokijin? I thought we-" He stopped as he remembered the day of Sesshomaru's death. They had the Tenseiga but the Tokijin had somehow disappeared without a trace. The Tenseiga had been destroyed and no fear of the other had arisen till this day. "You stole it didn't you!"
Mara smirked and gripped tightly to the sword. "Indeed I did. How else would I be able to resurrect the great demon lord Sesshomaru?" She laughed out loud in mockery of the fearful half demon before her.
"You will do no such thing!" Inuyasha hollered in panic, trying to release himself from his prison once again to no success. There was no way Sesshomaru could come back now. Not after everything had finally settled to normal again just like before.
She nodded her head and rested the sword against her side. "It's too late Inuyasha. The plan is set. My lord Sesshomaru will live once more and slay everyone who stands in his way. Starting with you first Inuyasha. But no need to worry…" She paused and turned her back on the hanyou, walking slowly away. "…that girl will join you not long after. That is, if she isn't killed first." She laughed hysterically and disappeared into the shadows.
A fang slipped over Inuyasha's bottom lip as he stared at the empty spot where Mara once stood and repeated what she just said through his mind. 'Kagome…'