A TALE FROM THE PAST
-by Kittymui-
Preface
A long time ago, in a period of time called Sengoku Jidai, this country was divided into four pieces of lands.
The four lords who ruled over each of these lands were always in dispute with each other about defining the borders; hence there was always war.
Here, a tale shall be told.
One that will unravel the truth behind the fall of the Western Lands.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Chapter 1
It was a long, exhaustive battle. Many lives were lost.
Nevertheless, they had succeeded in defending their front lines. And now, they were finally going home.
The battle started in mid-summer and now they were moving forward on a thin layer of snow. The trees, which these lands were filled with, had exchanged all their autumn leaves for a white blanket of snow. And those that remained evergreen, silently waited for the chance to shower the ones who dared to disturb their winter sleep with flocks of cold snow.
As he strode alongside his army of men, he couldn't help but feel great compassion for the ones who had lost their husband or father in this horrible, yet inevitable carnage.
But then one of the soldiers walked closer to him. "InuTaisho-sama, you don't need to blame yourself. They have fought and died bravely in order to protect their home, their families. Just like you."
He could not deny the comfort he felt after hearing these words. It was a mystery to him at first; why humans would join his army and sacrifice their lives for these lands that were under the rule of a youkai.
But in the end, it became obvious. There was no one who wouldn't fight to protect his or her mate and pups.
'I guess youkai and humans don't differ that much...' he thought to himself.
-.-.- meanwhile -.-.-
"Mommy please! I...I c-can't run anymore..." she pleaded through her panting.
They were running through the forest; creating deep footprints in the snow as they dodged every tree and bush that stood in their way.
It was strange. Her mother once told her that it should be cold when you can see your own breathing in the air. But despite the fact she was seeing a thick mist every time she breathed out deeply she wasn't cold at all.
But she was tired. How long have they been running? She did not know.
When she looked down at her own feet, she realized she wasn't wearing anything to protect them. They were red and bruised, but funny enough; she didn't feel any pain coming from them.
After a while, their running came to an end.
She looked at her mother, who was panting at a high pace only slightly slower than hers. "Mommy?"
"Shh...be quiet," she heard her mother whisper to her.
The next thing she knew was being pulled into some thick bush near several trees and then all became quiet as she watched her mother settle herself against a trunk.
Without further thinking, she moved closer and knelt down to lean against her mother's warm chest.
"A-are we...safe...?" she asked after her breathing slowed down a little.
Slowly, she began to feel a stinging sensation coming from her legs and a flaming heat rushing up her cheeks. It was then that she realized how low the temperature was and how serious her feet were bruised.
Before her mother could reply her question, another one was already burning impatiently inside her mind.
"Will...will daddy be okay...?"
"I...don't know..." was her mother's reply.
The answer wasn't satisfying, but when she saw the sad look on her mother's face, she somehow felt she shouldn't ask any more questions.
A short moment of silence passed as the sounds of the forest filled the air.
But the tranquility didn't last long and was ruined by suspicious rustling of leaves nearby.
Before she could even ask what it could be, she felt herself being thrown out of the bush where they were hiding.
"Run Kagome!! Run away!!!" her mother's voice ordered.
Kagome quickly gathered herself from the snowy floor and turned around.
Horror filled her eyes when she saw the pack of brown wolves approaching her mother. "Mommy!!" she screamed with tears in her eyes.
"Quickly! Run away!!" her mother repeated as she stood protectively in the path between her and the wolves.
Knowing her mother's intention, Kagome gritted her teeth and ran into the opposite direction as fast as she could.
Tears stung her eyes as she jumped over rocky areas and ran through the forest.
But as her vision became blurred, she failed to notice a thin root that was sticking out of the snow and tripped over it.
-THUMP-
"Ack!" she squealed as she made contact with the ice floor with her stomach and face down.
For a moment, she felt she couldn't stand up anymore because of the pain.
"Are you okay?" a low voice surprised her.
Kagome immediately sat up and opened her eyes after sweeping some snow off of her face, only to see a pair of leather boots.
As her eyes traveled upward, she couldn't help but notice how tall the person was who was standing before her.
He was wearing a white hakama and haori underneath a thick armor of gray and brown that was protecting part of his lower body and his torso. There were large spiked shoulder protectors covering both of his shoulders and the edges of a white furry mantle could be seen billowing in the wind behind him. And a silky red sash with long purple ends was tied around his waist to keep his large armor together and two swords close to his waist.
His long silver-white hair was tied into a high ponytail, leaving some rough bangs framing a dark crescent moon mark at the center of his forehead. He had pointy ears and thick eyebrows. And on each side of his face, there was a thick and slightly jagged dark-purple stripe right below his gold-amber eyes.
Without further hesitation, Kagome forced herself to her painful feet and launched herself at the man.
"Please!! Please save my mommy!!" she begged with the remaining strength she had and with tears escaping her eyes.
-.-.-.-
He had ordered his army to stop when he caught some screaming coming from within the forest. After walking for so long, it wouldn't be a bad idea to make a small interruption in their journey back home. Plus it would be wise to find out more about the screaming before going deeper into the woods.
But InuTaisho was quite surprised when a human girl suddenly dashed out of the bushes and fell flat to the earth in front of him.
"Are you okay?" he asked concerned as he looked down at the human.
It was a young child; not much older than five. She was wearing a creamy yellow kimono, which was already smothered in dirt up to her knees before she even made the impact with the floor. Tiny bruises, which were apparently inflicted by branches, could be seen on her bare feet and hands.
He knew he had startled the child with his question as he watched her hastily trying to get up to a sitting position.
The girl had raven-black hair that reached a little below her tiny shoulders. And within seconds, InuTaisho found himself looking into the most innocent pair of dark-brown eyes he had ever seen.
But before he could ask her anything, he suddenly found her leaning against him and clasping his armor.
"Please!! Please save my mommy!!"
He knew the girl was crying when he caught the salty scent coming from her. With much care and gentleness, InuTaisho levitated the small infant from the cold floor until their faces were on the same height.
"Where?" he asked softly, as he didn't want to scare her again. "Where is your mother?"
The girl sobbed while wiping away the tears with the back of her small hands. "T-there..." she pointed with her trembling finger at the direction where she came from. "T-the wolves...they..."
Before finishing her stammering sentence, the child had started to cry again.
InuTaisho frowned and turned around to walk up to one of his men. "Take care of her for me," he ordered as he handed over the infant.
"Yes milord!"
Without hesitation, InuTaisho turned to the given direction and dashed into the woods.
-.-
After a moment, he caught the scent of wolves mixed with blood and decided to track down its origin.
When he arrived at the place where the onslaught took place, the wild animals were already nowhere to be found. All that's left, was the lifeless body of the female victim that was lying on her stomach with her face to the side.
Her hazy navy-blue eyes seemed as they were looking at him, but he knew she was probably looking for her daughter who had ran into him a while ago. Her soft pink kimono was drenched in dark red and shred to pieces at her limbs. Long black tresses were spread out over the white snow and over her back.
'She probably tried to defend herself...' he thought when his eyes caught the thick piece of lumber in one of the woman's hands.
InuTaisho thought about the small helpless child who was going to be broken-hearted if she were to hear about her mother's death and pulled one of his swords out of its sheath.
The sword in his clawed hand pulsated once and immediately the slaves of the underworld hard started to appear before his eyes.
The creatures that gathered around the woman's remnants were bony and wrinkled and each of them was holding some kind of fork-like weapon in their hands. It looked as if they were exploring her body as curiosity filled their big, round eyes.
InuTaisho scowled and raised his sword. 'I'm counting on you...Tenseiga.' he said inwardly before slashing at the hideous beings.
After eliminating every single one of them, he sheathed Tenseiga.
The stains of blood on the woman's body disappeared after a short moment, leaving her garment the only thing damaged.
InuTaisho pulled out a red fabric from behind his armor and wrapped it around her body before gathering her up in his arms.
In his heart he was quite relieved that he was able to fulfill the promise he subconsciously made to the little girl.
-.-
As soon as he entered the small clearing where his army was resting, all of the soldiers stood up to greet him properly.
"InuTaisho-sama."
"How is she?" he asked as he walked up to the one to whom he entrusted the infant.
The soldier turned to him with the girl in his arms. "She fell asleep milord," he reported.
InuTaisho's eyes softened upon seeing her calm features.
"What are we going to do now milord?" the same soldier asked.
"Have we rested enough to continue our journey?" InuTaisho inquired, looking at his men.
"Yes milord!"
The demon lord's eyes shifted from the young child to the woman sleeping in his own arms. There was no way these two would be able to survive in this wilderness.
"All right! Let us depart!" he said aloud as he decided inwardly that he would take the two with him back to his fortress.
And so, the group of army had started to move again with their leader walking in the front.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
How did you like this chapter? I hope you liked it as much as I do :). Please tell me with a review okay? Thanks in advance!!
Also, I want to thank Kyia Star for helping me when I was in a writer's block and when I needed some advise with some elements of this story. Thank you!!
Greets,
Kittymui
-.-.-
Italic: thoughts
-- --: locations
"...": spoken words
-.-.-.-: time gap
-CAPSLOCKED WORDS-: noises
-.-.-
Next chapter: Chapter 2
-.-
So what actually happened earlier? What happened to Kagome's father? Why were she and her mother on the run? And most importantly, what are they going to do now? All of this will be told in the next chapter! Please look forward to it!!
-.-
Vocabulary:
Sengoku Jidai: the age of the country at war
InuTaisho: 'Inu no Taisho' means 'the Leader of the Dogs', I think InuTaisho is an abbreviation of it.
youkai: demon
Tenseiga: a sword made using one of InuTaisho's fangs. It is said to be able to heal wounds and bring the dead back to life, although there are times when even the healing ability of this sword is powerless.
-.-.-
REPLIES ON REVIEWS:
Kyia Star: Thanks :)! I'm already thankful that it didn't end up in rubbish because of the writer's block!
Skitzoflame: That's very encouraging to hear, thank you! It's my first attempt in a pairing other than Sess/Kag and Inu/Kag so I hope it would end up well :).
BelleDayNight: Thank you so much! To be honest with you, I like your stories very much and I'm very happy to hear that you liked the first chapter of this story :). Come to think of it, I did encounter Bankotsu/Jakotsu pairings when I was searching for good Bankotsu-stories a long time ago (can't deny that I find Bankotsu very sexy as well :P), but I didn't read them, because I totally agree with you that their just good comrades. I hope you will continue to like this story as it continues!
Wake-Robin: Thanks! I'll try to update as soon as possible if my inspiration allows glares at muses.
girlwhoistoolazytologin: Hahaha, very funny review. I'm glad you like it so far :).
fallen-anqel: Wow, loving it already? Thank you very much :)!
Inukamisashi: Thanks for telling me that! I'll be sure not to remove you from my mailing list whenever I start a new story!
Gerbil: Don't worry, no offense taken. I understand your preference of pairings and your need to voice your opinion but why did you choose to read this story in the first place if it was already made clear that it would be a Bankotsu/Kagome pairing in the summary? But anyhow, this is a fanfic so all kinds of twists are possible as well as the pairings :).
Guardian-of-the-night: Hey there! Thanks for being there to read my new story again! Yeah, I have to admit that it is a very typical summary, but it was really difficult to come up with one that wouldn't reveal too much of the future developments of this story :).
Madam Sorceress: Thanks! I'm glad you love it! I will try to update as soon as I can!
j.curl: Hahaha, yeah, I have to agree with you that there aren't many who choose this pairing to write about. I wish I could wait until I have written 5 or more chapters before posting, but I guess I need more encouragements during the writing than you do, I envy you :).
azn-sakura17: Hehehe I know, I wouldn't be able to pair him up with Kagome if he was in character :), so it's a trade-off. But I'm glad to hear you like the story so far! Thanks for reviewing!
Lots of greets
Kittymui
Posted: 13 December 2004
Last Edited: 13 December 2004
Spelling check: YES
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters of it. And I do not own whatever elements of this story that seem familiar and had already been used by other creative individuals before. But... I do own the idea of mixing all of these elements together into a new story!