Chapter 2: Inuyasha-The Demon King

Sometimes he liked to think about how he'd gotten here, how he'd become the infamous Demon King-The ruler of the Spirit World. Part of it had something to do with his father being the Lord of the Spirit World, feared by demon, human, spirits, goblins, and all creatures alike. Lord InuTaisho, the dog demon, who's title fell into the hands of his first son Sesshomaru who now ruled over a kingdom in another dimension.

The greatest demon the Spirit World had ever known whose heart had been captured by a mere human. The Princess Izayoi had somehow captured InuTaisho's heart, and he hers. But when he fathered another son, his loyal followers became outraged.

A half-demon was above all the most shunned creatures that could ever exist. He could never be accepted. And so Inuyasha, at mere infancy, was banished to the Spirit World; an unruly Kingdom full of demons. His mother took care of him, loving him until she became deathly ill, and passed away. Years had gone by. Inuyasha was the youngest King the Spirit World had, and to top it all off, he was only half-demon! A young, half-demon King of the most disorderly kingdom ever created; as if his life wasn't bad enough.

It was that day, while he was resting in his Castle overlooking the Spirit World, when he heard her. He had heard that lovely, soft voice once again. It sounded like she was telling the story again. Inuyasha felt a warm pulse against his chest, and reached a clawed hand inside his fire-rat robe to find what caused it. It was small, round jewel, or more specifically his jewel. A faint image showed through, and he watched in fascination as the shape of a beautiful woman shown through. Raven black hair, sparkling chocolate-brown eyes, and soft pale skin. Captivated by this human, Inuyasha began to listen.

'But what no one knew was that the Demon King had secretly fallen in love with the girl.'

The Demon King? So she was telling her brother the story of the Demon King again? He smiled as he listened to her beautiful voice; he loved listening to her stories.

'No one had ever been that kind to him before, and she had been the only person to treat him as a living creature, since his own beloved mother. When the girl realized that the Demon King was watching over her, she would often leave and meet him beneath the tree where they first met. One night, when the brother had grown particularly sick, she turned to the Demon King for help.'

"Say the right words," the Demon King said. "And I'll take the boy away with me, and you can be free." Ah! But the girl knew that the Demon King would keep her brother in his castle forever and ever, and turn him into a demon. So she held her mouth. But one night, when the girl was tired from housework, hurt by her mother's ignorance, and tired of having the village men asking for her hand in marriage, she could stand it no longer."

"Yeah? Keep going!" said the boy. Inuyasha silently agreed. He wanted to continue to listen to her story.

He watched as his sister glowered at her younger brother. "I want to get a glass of water!"

"You can get a glass of water after you finished the story."

With a flourish, Kagome stood up, arms outstretched and eyes flashing. Her voice thundered as she cried, "Demon King! Demon King! Wherever you may be! Take this child far away from me!" Inuyasha had to hold back a laugh. Did she really think that old rubbish was going to work? If she wanted him to take the kid away, she just needed to wish for it. None of that rhyming crap. As he chuckled over this, he decided to make the mood more… interesting, and called forth a thunderstorm. He saw the lighting flashed outside the window, and a thunderous BOOM had erupted, that caused them both to jump. He also decided to make the power go out, and he left them in the darkness. He smiled as he saw the little boy shake slightly.

"Creepy," he heard Sota say.

"It's only a power out, Sota," said Kagome softly, trying to comfort him. "There's nothing to be worried about. That's strange. The weather man didn't say anything about rain tonight."

"When is the weather man ever right?"

'You're right about that one kid,' thought Inuyasha.

"You make a good point. Listen, I'm gonna get a drink now, alright Sota?"

"Yeah… whatever… just hurry back."

Inuyasha felt himself frown at the boy. He saw her bit her lip and knew that she was fighting to hold back a snarl. She got up and walked briskly to the door. He then watched her, as she swung it open and stepped into the hallway, letting the door click sharply behind her. She leaned against the wood, feeling her temper slowly rise. Spreading her fingers against the doorway, she tilted her head to the left, her mouth near the crack of the door. And he heard her whispered plea,

"Sometimes, I wish demons would come take you away…"

Inuyasha grinned, slightly surprised. This should be interesting.

"As you wish."

Kagome stood in her kitchen, a cup of water in one hand, the counter clutched in the other. How silly she was to let her little brother see an outburst like that. He was probably in fits of laughter over it right now.

Pursing her lips, Kagome looking down, then realized she was still wearing the white dress from earlier. She had to remember to change before she went to bed. 'Well, I suppose it's time to go back up now,' she thought, draining the rest of her water. With a determined look on her face, she marched up the stairs, lifting the bottom of her dress up so that she wouldn't trip, and walked back into her brother's room. She was greeted with insane giggling.

Rolling her eyes, Kagome sat on the edge of his bed, poking her brother's foot through the blanket.

"Ok, Sota, I'm back now. You can stop laughing."

Sota fell silent. With a smile, Kagome continued. "Now, would you like me to continue with the story? Or do you want to go to sleep?"

Silence.

"Sota, don't ignore me. I'm talking to you."

More silence.

"Sota, I'm serious now! I heard you giggling before, so I know you're not sleeping. What's wrong?"

Greeted with even more silence, Kagome began to panic. Why wasn't her brother answering her? What was wrong with him?

His shape underneath the bed shifted suddenly, too suddenly. Narrowing her eyes, Kagome slowly leaned forward, her hand reached to the top of his blanket. Sota's form twitched a couple more times, and then fell still.

Slim fingers grasped the tip of his blanket, and suddenly yanked it back. Where Kagome's little brother once rested, now was nothing. She was alone in the darkness.

Kagome saw something move out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned to look it was gone. There was a sound from behind her, as if someone had opened Sota's dresser drawer then closed it really fast when she spun around. It happened a few more times, confusing the poor girl to no end. She could hear the sounds of giggling, and little footsteps, as if there were at least a dozen little kids running around in the dark.

A brilliant flash of lightening illuminated the room for a brief second, and the windows flew open. Wind and rain poured in, and Kagome briefly covered her face from whatever was coming. When she removed her arms, someone stood at the window.

Kagome had never seen someone more handsome or intimidating. His long silver hair reached below his waist, and he had beautiful golden eyes that seemed to pierce your soul. Talons adorned his hands instead of fingernails, and atop his head were… doggy ears?

For a moment, Kagome completely forgot that her brother was missing in the middle of a blackout and that there was a strange man that had seemingly blown through the window. All she wanted to do was touch those adorable dog ears. Fortunately, she managed to control her urges.

"Who… who are you?" she asked, her brow narrowing. The man smirked.

"You were the one, who called me, wench, you should know."

The nerve! The nerve of him to enter her house just like that and start calling her a wench. Kagome felt steam coming out of her ears and her eyes beginning to blaze and knew her temper was returning.

"Called you? I never called you! I don't even know who you are!"

The man's eyebrows arched up, and he walked closer to her. Kagome felt like taking a few steps back, but at the moment was too riled up to do so.

"Demon King! Demon King! Wherever you may be! Take this child far away from me!'" he mimicked, closing in on her until they were only inches apart. He towered over her, a fact that intimidated her more than she would show. She'd always been on the smaller side for her age.

Kagome felt her face pale. "You… you're the Demon King?" she stuttered, finding it hard to believe that the King of the Spirit World had dog ears.

Or such a good physique…

Kagome was glad for the darkness that hid her blush. Luckily, he seemed a little too insulted to notice.

"Of course I am! Who were you expecting…? Santa Claus?"

"Well, sort of…" Kagome admitted sheepishly. The man rolled his eyes.

"I am Inuyasha, King of the Demons in the Spirit World," he said, his voice raising a few octaves as he spoke. "You wished your brother away, and I answered your request. Now I believe I shall be going."

Inuyasha turned to leave, when he felt a hand tug on the sleeve of his shirt.

"Wait!" Kagome cried. When he turned to face her, she gulped down her pride, and forced out, "I'd like my brother back, please."

Inuyasha snorted. "What's said is said. You cannot reverse it. In thirteen hours, your brother will turn into a demon, and live in the Spirit World with the others."

"I didn't mean it! I was just angry when I said all that! You have to return him! Please…"

"Kagome…" he faced her again. Kagome never questioned how he knew her name. "Go back to your room… and forget your brother."

"I can't!" Kagome tightened her grip on his shirt to try and persuade him. "Please, Inuyasha, give me my brother back."

Inuyasha smirked again, slipping his hand into his robe and pulling something out. "I have a gift for you."

Confused, Kagome narrowed her eyes. "What is it?"

Opening his palm, Inuyasha revealed a small crystal, the size of a marble, luminous with its own light. Entranced, Kagome reached for the crystal, only to have him pull it away from her. "It's a jewel. The Sacred Jewel. And it's all yours if you forget about him. This jewel has the power to show you things."

"What kind of things?" asked Kagome in a hesitant tone?

Inuyasha merely smiled and said, "Your dreams. This little jewel has the power to show you your dreams. All of your hopes, wishes, and memories… even ones that we seem to have forgotten."

Kagome was startled. What did he mean by the memories that we had forgotten? She didn't know or care right now. Biting her lip, Kagome pushed his hand away. "I don't want your jewel if I can't have my brother. I mean… it's not that I don't appreciate everything you're doing for me… but please give me my brother back."

The Demon King, surprised, smiled slightly. "I admire your determination. Your brother is in my castle, back there. Are you sure you still want him?"

Resolute, Kagome nodded. With a grin, he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him through the window.

Kagome gasped. Instead of seeing the rain-soaked grounds of her family Shrine, she was standing on top of a small hill, overlooking a field of tall grass. The field stretched through hills, mountains, rivers, swamps, forests, and gardens. In the very distance, so far that she could just barely make out the image of a castle.

"'Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered…'" whispered Kagome, in awe. The faint silhouette of a castle could be made out from her vantage point. When she turned around to look back at her house, it was gone. Instead, she saw Inuyasha standing with that infuriatingly smug grin still on his face. One of his fangs, she noticed, poked over his bottom lip.

He has fangs… she thought. I wonder what it would be like to kiss him.

Face burning, Kagome quickly wiped that fleeting thought from her mind and looked back towards the Spirit World.

"Is that your castle?" she asked, one finger extended in that direction. Inuyasha didn't directly answer.

"It's farther than it looks. Turn back now while you still have time."

"It doesn't look that far," scoffed Kagome.

Inuyasha's face became serious. "Remember, in the Spirit World, nothing is what it seems. You can't take anything for granted." He was quiet for a moment before going on saying, "It's not too late. Turn back, Kagome while you still have a chance."

'Can't take anything for granted?' It's just like what Kikyo had once said to her. The day that she gave her the book, 'Not everything is what it seems, you need to look pass the obvious, and be careful what you wish for.' Oh, how she wished that she had listened. Kikyo had been right. You don't appreciate something until it's gone. If she ever got out of this mess, she promised herself that she would always never complain about Sota again.

Kagome sighed. She needed to do this. She needed to find Sota… no matter how far she had to go. "You don't understand," she said quietly. "I need to get my brother back."

With an exasperated groan, Inuyasha gave in. "Fine, wench! You have 13 hours to find your brother, before he becomes one of us. 13!"

Just as Kagome was about to angrily confront him about the whole "wench" business, Inuyasha disappeared. Kagome huffed. "Jerk!" she yelled into the sky, knowing that he probably hadn't heard her anyways.

Kagome looked back at the Spirit World. Surely it wasn't that hard.

"Well, come on feet, let's get going."

(Please tell me what you think of this story and if i should continue it)