All Inuyasha characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi and all objects related to the manga/anime. Any original characters, should they appear, are property of OMG Lord Zed.
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King Inutaisho of Illyria sat in the throne room of his castle after Prince Inuyasha announced he was leaving for his adventure. It worried him that his youngest son was going to venture outside the kindgom for so long alone. His oldest son, Lord Sesshomaru, thought he was overreacting. Sesshomaru said that even though his brother was a half-breed, he was still a dog demon and that would be enough for him to survive out there. Inutaisho was worried about the other kingdoms that weren't allies. If they found out that the Prince of Illyria was walking around without a royal escort, there could be trouble. Luckily, Inuyasha had asked his human friend, Sango, to accompany him. Even better, Inutaisho had personally spent the last couple of years training Sango in human and demon combat, unaware to Inuyasha. He had even given Sango a specialized weapon to carry with her. What appeared to be nothing more than a simple boomerang at first glance was actually a mystical and ancient weapon that Inutaisho enchanted to work for Sango's touch alone. When the need arose, Sango need only to chant the weapon's name and the weapon revealed it's true form. A seven foot boomerang that could cut through any material as cleanly as a katana if used correctly, and only Sango could lift the gargantuan boomerang.
Inutaisho stood from his throne and proceeded to walk to the armory room. The armory room was filled with sacred weapons he had collected over the centuries from various places throughout the land. He had even discovered the legendary bow of Midoriko. A Miko who lived long ago and fought in the war that led to the coexistence of demons and humans, and although many demons weren't fond of the end result, they agreed. But the most precious things in the armory, locked beneath a special enchantment that only Inutaisho could break, were two swords forged of his own fangs. Sesshomaru's sword, Tenseiga, and Inuyasha's sword, Tetsusaiga. He was the only one that knew of their true abilities since they looked like ordinary katanas. He had decided earlier that he would reveal the swords to their rightful owners upon Inuyasha's return to the kingdom. He exited the room and strode down the corridor towards the main entrance of the castle.
Inutaisho walked through the massive front doors of his castle into the courtyard where the winter breeze attacked his skin, causing him to smile in return. He slowly strode through the courtyard, looking up at the clear sky. It had been decades since he had left the kingdom, but it was rare that he was given an opportunity to leave. His Queen, Izayoi, always told him that he was welcome to leave and she would handle everything in his absence but he couldn't leave his wife to that kind of responsibility. His ears twitched as he heard soft footsteps approaching from the castle. He turned and his heart pounded in his chest at the view of his beautiful wife. Her jet black cascaded down her back in beautiful black waves, her pale face seemed to glow against the sunlight and her violet eyes lit up at the sight of her husband.
"Inutaisho." Her words were a lovely whisper that sent chills down the King's spine. The effect this woman had on his body was surreal.
"Izayoi." He walked up to her with open arms, quickly enveloping her in his arms once she was close enough. The sweet smell of cherry blossoms instantly filled his nose and he let out a soft sigh. "I missed you." Izayoi smiled against his chest until she pulled back to lean up and kiss him.
"I missed you too." She said as she pulled away. "How's your day been my love?"
Inutaisho shrugged, "Just another day. Nothing spectacular, just business. Did you get a chance to speak with Inuyasha before he left?"
"Yes. Do you think he'll be okay out there?"
"Sesshomaru seems to think so, and he's rarely ever wrong. Besides, we have allies in most of the other kingdoms, and they'll easily recognize him. I think he'll be perfectly fine." Inutaisho grinned at his wife. "I have a bit of free time right now."
Izayoi smiled at him seductively. She knew exactly where he was going with this, "Yes?"
"What do you say we go up to my chambers and I show you why dog demons are the best?" He licked his lips and pulled Izayoi tightly against him. He could smell her arousal spike, which caused him to growl in return.
"You read my mind." Izayoi pushed her lips against his roughly and before she knew it, Inutaisho had already lifted her from the ground and was dashing towards their room with extraordinary speed.
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Kagome awoke from her slumber when the door to her room slid open and Miroku stepped inside. She was completely surprised to see him in casual clothes. In all these years of being on the ship together, she had never seen Miroku wear anything other than his uniform. He was currently wearing khaki short with a white tanktop, showing off his perfectly sculpted arms. He kept his hair pulled back into a small rat's tail. Kagome stared at him for a moment, until he cleared his throat to reinstate her attention. "Sleep well, Captain?"
Kagome groaned as she stretched her limbs, "Miroku, cut it with the 'Captain' horsepiss. I already told you to stop calling me that a year ago."
"Sorry. It's a habit." He took a seat at Kagome's desk but kept his eyes on her. "We've arrived at the Docking Station of Siris. I would suggest dressing lightly. Siris is mostly a tropical climate planet, so it's usually hot."
Kagome raised her brow at him, "And you know this how?"
Miroku grinned at her and turned on her monitor. He pushed the monitor so Kagome could see it from her bed. Pictures of the planet Siris popped up on the screen and a narration of each picture followed. "The computer knows all."
"Of course it does. It always does." Kagome finally sat up and swung her legs over her bed. "Is the rest of the crew ready?"
Miroku nodded, "Yes. They've been ready since the moment we announced our stop." He stood from his seat at the desk, "I'll leave you to get dressed. I'll be waiting on the bridge. See you soon." Kagome nodded and Miroku left the room. She stood from her bed and staggered to her closet. Like Miroku, most of her clothes were uniforms. She rarely had a need for normal clothes since she spent most of her time on the ship. Quickly, she undressed and slipped on the only set of clothes she had. A black pair of shorts that were far too short to be considered decent and a grey tanktop that barely covered her breasts.
She studied herself in the full length mirror attached to her closet door and snickered. "Miroku's going to have a ball with this outfit." She pulled on her shorts in hopes that the effort would make them a little longer, but it was hopeless. She sighed and shut her closet before exiting her room. The bright florescent lights of the hallway attacked her eyes causing her to squint against them. Most of the crew had already left the ship, most likely, leaving herself and Miroku the only ones on board. She continued her walk to the bridge, stopping as she neared it. She heard Miroku talking to himself, but she couldn't quite make out the words. She entered the bridge slowly, seeing Miroku staring out at the Docking Station through the bridge windows. "Who were you talking to?"
Miroku kept his back to her, "Nobody. I just-" He words became caught in his throat as he turned to face her. "I-I-I-I." He eyed her carefully. He had never seen his captain dress so provactively, and quite frankly, he loved it. "Wow."
Under the ferocity of his stare, Kagome blushed heavily. "Stop it, Miroku. It was the only thing I had to wear."
"It looks good!" He recovered quickly, realizing that he hadn't stopped staring since he spotted her. "Are you ready to go?"
Kagome nodded, "I believe so."
Miroku smiled, "Let us go and join the festivities then."
"What festivities?" Kagome slipped her arm through the hoop that Miroku had made with his arm as they made their way off the ship.
Miroku chuckled, "You know how on Earth, certain countries have a variety of celebrations, like America has Mardi Gras and Italy has Carnivale?" Kagome nodded. "Okay, well. Every year around this time, the entire planet goes into a sort of Carnivale celebration. So, we picked a great time to land here."
"Sounds like the crew is going to have loads of fun." Kagome said, opening the cargo hatch to release the ramp so they could exit the ship.
"Don't worry. I selected a quiet place for us to stay. I know how you are." Miroku stated as they left their docking bay and straight into the midst of the celebration. Loud fireworks were popping and cracking in every direction, people were wearing masks resembling plague doctors, Their eyes hidden behind the shadows of their masks. The beaks of the masks moving tauntingly as if they were laughing at her. Kagome's sweat ran cold, her heart pounded in her chest and her throat constricted causing to have long, ragged breaths.
Kagome's grip on Miroku's arm became a grasp of unnatural strength as she held onto him to stay upright. She felt Miroku's arm shoot around her waist as she collasped to the ground. She could hear Miroku calling her name, but she couldn't respond. She tried to speak, but no words left her mouth. Miroku pulled Kagome to her feet and picked her up bridal style, then began pushing through the crowd. She felt the world begin to spin as Miroku carried her. She looked at Miroku one last time, thankful to have such an amazing friend, then everything went black.
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Inuyasha and Sango had arrived in Rourkestead the previous night and had found a lodge to bunk in for the night. The sun was just starting to rise over the horizon and Inuyasha was already awake. He left the room quietly, careful not to wake Sango. Most of Rourkestead was still asleep but there were a few people still wandering the streets, and several merchants had already opened their shops. His boots padded against the hard-packed dirt of the road as he wandered between the shops. He stopped when he spotted a shop with strange symbols he had never seen before. He felt a strong attraction to the shop, as if there was an item inside calling out to him. Before he could tell his feet what to do, they were carrying him to the shop. He pushed open the door and stepped inside, followed by the sound of a small bell. Inside, the building was lit by dozens of candles placed in various places.
"Can I help you, sir?" Inuyasha's head snapped in the direction the woman's voice came from. He spotted the beautiful woman standing behind a wooden counter, covered head-to-toe in a hooded robe. Inuyasha's eyes instantly became locked with blue-green hues of her irises. They were probably the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He stepped forward near the counter, dropping his eyes from hers, falling upon two strange metallic items, the likes of which he had never seen before.
"What are these?" He asked the woman, refusing to take his eyes off the strange objects.
The woman smiled, "These are semi-automatic pistols."
"Semi what?" Inuyasha asked confused, his brow twitching at the words.
"Semi-automatic pistols. M9 Berettas to be exact. They're my latest invention."
Inuyasha licked his lips nervously, "What does a pistol do?"
"They fire cylinder shaped objects, called bullets, at a high velocity causing major damage to anything it hits." The woman picked up one of the pistols and pressed a button on it and something popped out of the bottom of it. "This is called a magazine, or clip. It holds the bullets and the bullets slip into the chamber of the pistol after each shot."
"How do they work?" Inuyasha asked, eyeing the pistols closely.
"You slip the clip into the bottom of the grip. Here." The woman tilted the pistol in order to show Inuyasha the hole she was speaking of. She slipped the clip inside and continued her explantion. "Then, you grab this part." She placed her hand on the slide, "And pull back." She pulled back on the slide and Inuyasha could hear something inside the pistol move. "Now, it's ready to fire. All you'd have to do is pull this trigger." She placed her finger beside the trigger and tapped it several times to make sure Inuyasha knew what she was talking about. "That's basically it." She held her thumb on the hammer and squeezed the trigger slowly, letting the hammer down gently.
"That sounds really complicated." Inuyasha replied, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew alot about weaponry but this was something entirely new to him, even the materials of the pistol were foreign to him. "How much do these go for?"
The woman's eyes glistened against the candlelight, "For you, Prince Inuyasha, they're free."
Inuyasha looked up at her surprised, not because she knew his name since that hadn't registered in his mind yet, but because she was willingly to give her invention to him for nothing in exchange. "Excuse me? Why give them to me?"
"Because, they were made for you." The woman lowered her gaze to the pistols. "See here?" She pointed to the side of the pistols to an engraving on the slide of each pistol.
Inuyasha squinted his eyes to get a better view of what she was pointing at, even with his demon eyes it was hard to see the engraving. After straining his eyes for several seconds he managed to read the engravings on the pistols. Fate lies within the heart of the one born of two bloods. "What? That doesn't even make sense! What kind of bad fortune-telling shit is this?"
The woman chuckled, "Just take them. You'll also need these." She lifted a pair of what looked like leather pouches strung together by leather straps. "They're holsters." The woman walked around the counter and stood in front of Inuyasha. "I'll put them on for you." She stated then knelt before him and began to strap the holsters to his thighs.
"So exactly, how many bullets do I have in these things?" Inuyasha asked the woman as he watched her tighten the straps of the first holster.
"Physically, fifteen in each pistol, thirty in all. But magically, you have unlimited bullets." The woman replied, running her fingers over Inuyasha's thigh to make sure the first holster was set correctly.
"How is that possible?" Inuyasha raised his brow at the woman, who was beginning the task of strapping the second holster to his leg.
"It's an enchantment I learned years ago. The enchantment just duplicates the original item and uses the copy. In this instance, it duplicates the bullets and fires the copies. They're just as dangerous as the originals." She pulled the straps of the holster, tightening them on to Inuyasha's thigh. Satisfied with her work, she let out a sigh of relief and stood. "You're all set."
"Uh- Thanks." Inuyasha slipped the two pistols into their respective holsters and turned his attention back to the woman. "I never got your name."
The woman's red lips turned into a smile, "Kagura."
"Well, thank you, Kagura. I should be going now." He bowed to Kagura and made his way to the door. He turned back one last time to look at Kagura then exited the shop.
Behind him, Kagura watched him leave and step away from her shop. So, it's true. My apologies, Prince Inuyasha. I wish I could have told you more. God speed.
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Kagome struggled against the soldier's of Earth's military force as they pulled her away from her home. Tears ran down her eyes as she fought with all her might to break free of their grip. "Mother!" Kagome's tiny voice shrieked for her mother who stared back at her with sad eyes. Her mother's body had become thin over the last several weeks. Her eyes sunk in her head, and her face was deathly pale.
"Kagome, you need to go with them." She called back to her daughter, tears streaming down her face as well. "Everything's going to be fine, baby. I love you."
"No! I want to stay! Let me go!" Kagome continued to scream as she punched and kicked the soldier's attempting to carry her away. "Mother!"
Kagome's mother blew her a kiss, then turned away from her daughter to reenter her home followed by a group of soldiers in HAZMAT suits. Kagome's screams seemed to drown out every other sound in the world. Her heart shattered the second the soldiers managed to get her in the truck. She knew she would never get to see her mother again, or hug her, or even tell her how much she meant to her. Kagome knew her life was never going to be the same.
Kagome shot up from her bed, sweat pouring down her face, her heart pounding in her chest. Beside her sat Miroku, a look of worry plastered across his face from her sudden jolt. Without a word, she threw her arms around Miroku's neck and began to sob into his shoulder. Instinctively, Miroku began to stroke Kagome's hair, hoping it would calm her just a small bit. She held onto Miroku as if her life depended on it. She felt that if she let go of him, her whole world would just crumble.
"Kagome, what's wrong?" Miroku whispered to her, continuing to stroke her hair. Kagome pulled away from Miroku, wiping her eyes as best as she could.
She sniffled several times, and wiped her eyes once more. "What do you know about the planet Earth of the Milky Way Galaxy?"
Miroku shook his head, "Not much." He lowered his eyes and rubbed his neck, "I've been told it is the origin of the human race and it is a beautiful planet."
It was Kagome's turn to shake her head. "Was a beautiful planet. Earth no longer exists." Kagome sniffled once again and struggled to keep her bottom lip from trembling.
"What happened to it?" Miroku asked softly, placing a hand on Kagome's leg.
"Back in the 1330's there was an outbreak of bubonic plague in what was once China. It quickly spread to Europe and it was nearly impossible to stop. Europeans called it "Black Death" because of the black spots it caused on your skin. Nearly one third of Europe's population was wiped out in five years." She took a deep breath, shook her head and continued. "We thought it was contained after that. There was even a vaccine, but it was rarely used. About ten years ago, the plague struck again. This time, it was a stronger strain. None of the vaccines worked against it. The plague spread across the planet in a matter of days. My mother and brother became infected. Earth's military forces did everything they could to secure the uninfected and get them off the planet. Out of the eight billion people on Earth, only ten-thousand got off the planet, and I was one of them."
Kagome took another deep breath and wiped her eyes, "After that, The Intergalactic Federation ordered the destruction of the planet."
Miroku shook his head, "I'm so sorry, Kagome. I-I had no idea." He pulled Kagome close to him once again.
"Nobody does. We're actually forbidden to speak of it."
"Is that why you freaked out in the crowd?"
Kagome nodded, "The masks with the beaks are called plague masks. They were used by doctors in hopes of keeping the plague at a safe distance."
"We shouldn't be here, Kagome. I'll gather the crew so we can leave." Miroku went to stand from the bed but Kagome held his arm.
"You will do no such thing, Miroku. The crew deserves a few days of relaxation, including you! I will not ruin these days because of something that happened years ago on a planet that no longer exists!" Kagome released his arm and gave him a smile, "Now, would you like to join me for dinner?"
Miroku couldn't help but return the smile. He looped his arm and held it out for Kagome, "After you, Captain Leingod."
"Shut up, Miroku." She giggled and took his arm, as they made their way to the nearest diner, away from the large crowds of people.
.xx.
Inuyasha returned to the lodge to find a very angry Sango waiting for him. If looks could kill, Inuyasha would have died ten times over at that very moment. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" She yelled at him, as he shut the door.
"Sango, calm down. I just went for a walk." He held up his hands in a form of surrender.
"Damnit, Inuyasha. You know damn well, you can't go walking around without me!" Sango was ready to bash Inuyasha over the head with her weapon, which Inuyasha didn't know about yet.
"Sango! I am perfectly capable of handling myself! I don't need a human to protect me!" The second the words slipped from his mouth, he regretted them. Sango was either extremely pissed, or Inuyasha had seriously hurt her feelings. Several tears slid down Sango's cheek. "Sango, I-"
"Save it." Sango muttered as she pushed her way past him, leaving the room and slamming the door behind her. Inuyasha felt like beating himself to a pulp. He had never snapped at Sango like that before, and he didn't understand why he did it now. He plopped onto one of the beds and dropped his head into his hands.
Sango marched out of the lodge, and into the town's roads. The sun was well overhead now and Rourkestead was alive with business. Sango pushed her way through the crowds of people towards the east entrance of the town. East of Rourkestead was a mountain path that led through Boheir caves and eventually to a valley of plains followed by the Kingdom of Hyda. She continued her march out of Rourkestead and up the mountain path. The cold air pierced her clothing, sending shivers down her spine, but still she soldiered on. The mountains were beautiful, but she was in no mood to observe their beauty.
"I can't believe that jerk! He takes off before I wake up and snaps at me for worrying about him! Who does that!?" She clenched her hand around the boomerang, clung to her by her waistband. "I should have bash him over the head with this thing. It would have knocked some sense into him." She continued to walk up the path, unaware of the demon bandits that were watching her hungrily. As she neared the Boheir caves, she spotted yellow eyes watching her from the darkness of the cave. She stopped instantly, quickly grabbing the boomerang and pulling it from her waistband.
"Oh, look at the deliciousssss girl with a cute toy." The eyes slithered out of the cave, revealing a large snake demon. Behind her, demons marched towards her in a group. Not all of them were snake demons, some were cat demons, some were wolf demons and the rest were spider demons.
"Sssshe'll make a ssssuperb ssssnack." A grey cobra snake demon slithered forward, flicking its tongue in Sango's direction.
"Let me take the first bite. My poison will paralyze her, but she'll be able to feel her insides being ripped out of her." It was a spider demon, but he looked human. Fear swallowed Sango's mind, but she refused to let it show. Inutaisho had trained her to battle demons, but never on this scale. There were at least twenty of them. They were stronger than her, faster than her.
"What ssssay you men? Sssshould we let the sssspider paralyze her?" The cobra demon slithered around Sango in a wide circle. A loud cheer of agreement erupted from the rest of the demons.
"I say you let me go and I won't embarrass you terribly." Sango stated, gripping the boomerang even tighter. A burst of laughter came from the bandits, which made Sango more scared.
"That's rich. Let's get her!" The spider demon charged forward, followed by his bandit commrades. Sango shut her eyes, waiting for the right moment to strike, but before it came she heard a familiar voice.
"Blades of blood!" A barrage of red blades assaulted the bandits from overhead. Once Sango opened her eyes, she noticed her demon friend standing before her, protecting her from the demons. "And you say I shouldn't go walking around on my own?" He turned towards her slightly with a smirk on his face. Sango scowled at him then bit her thumb. "So, you think you can just eat my friend?" Inuyasha grinned at the demons then cracked his knuckles and licked his lips, "You'll have to go through me first."
The demons growled, hissed and snarled then reinstated their charge, this time aiming for Inuyasha. Inuyasha charged forward as well, holding his claws at his side then leapt forward. "Iron-Reaver Soul-Stealer!" Inuyasha made contact with the spider demon, disintergrating him instantly before side-stepping a cat demon's slash attack. Inuyasha landed a kick to the cat demon's ribs, sending the demon tumbling backwards. Sango watched on in awe. She had never seen Inuyasha in battle. She knew he'd be a decent combatant because of his demon blood but she never assumed he'd willingly take on this many demons, with ease no less.
"It's been decades since I've been a decent battle." Inuyasha stated and dropped his left hand to his side, brushing it against of of the pistols Kagura had given him earlier that day. "Let's see what these things can do." Quickly, Inuyasha pulled the pistols from their holsters and pulled back the slides on each one.
Sango watched as Inuyasha pulled the strange metal objects from the leather pouches strapped to his thigh. Soon after, loud bangs echoed throughout the mountains, and it didn't register at first that the bangs were coming from the objects Inuyasha was holding. She could see the adrenaline pump through Inuyasha with each finger movement. His eyes flashed with a strange satisfaction with every bang, and with every bang a demon fell to the ground motionless. Her eyes went wide when Inuyasha pointed one of those things at her and another loud bang echoed through the mountains. Her shut themselves tightly, expecting to feel an immense pain run through her body.
"You honestly thought I aimed at you?" Inuyasha's voice brought her to open her eyes, "I thought we were better friends than that. You have no faith in me apparently." Sango turned around and saw the large snake demon lying just behind her with a large gaping hole where it's left eye used to be.
"What are those things?" Sango asked softly, turning back around to face Inuyasha.
"They're called pistols. A lady named Kagura gave them to me when I entered her shop this morning." He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. "What the hell were you thinking, stupid? You could have been killed." Sango remained silent. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't mean it. I need you. You're my best friend, Sango."
"I'm sorry as well, Inuyasha. I shouldn't have blown up on you," She pulled away from him but held a smile on her face. "But you can be a jerk sometimes."
Inuyasha grinned, "I know. Am I forgiven?" Sango put a finger to her lips and received a shove from Inuyasha. "Shut up. Let's get back to the lodge. We need to get our stuff and get going. We're going to be behind schedule now. Thanks to you." This time Inuyasha received a shove from Sango. They walked back to the lodge, teasing each other and making plans for the rest of their day. Their day had barely started and already, it had been an eventful one.
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Well, here's another chapter for you! I literally rewrote this chapter like five different times because I didn't like how it was turning out. I'm still not completely satisfied with it but whatever. I hope you guys will like it. Uhm, let's see here. Always is at a standstill right now. I'm sorry. I'm having a really difficult time trying to decide what I want to do and where I want to go with that story. Please leave a review of any kind. If you're enjoying it so far, leave a follow or a favorite. It really means a lot to me. I think that's all for now!
Sincerely,
Lord Zed
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Bonus Point: Where did the Bubonic Plague get its name from?