Greetings readers and fellow Inuyasha fans, Unknown entity328 here with a new fanfic! I'm going to honest with you all, I love the Inuyasha anime and the adventures they had. Even to this day I love the anime and re-watch it every chance I get and recently finished watching the first season of Yashahime. For a long time, I've wondered whether or not Kagome's decision to stay in the feudal era caused a butterfly effect or not. So, due to the request of a close friend of mine, I decided to write this fanfic.
I put in a lot of thought as I wrote the OC that would be the main character of this fanfic as well as the enemies they will face. It wasn't easy to come up with a plot that wasn't just a copy of canon, but I somehow pulled through with only slight similarities. Please note that any criticism is welcomed to help make this fanfic better, so please don't hold anything back in your reviews.
Also, I have decided to attempt in an AU fanfic with no OC whatsoever. This'll be a first for me as I've only written fanfics with OCs in them. I haven't decided which fanfic I should an AU of, so I'm leaving that to you my readers. After I post this chapter, I will set up a poll for you all to decide which fanfic you want to see an AU of. Once the votes reach a certain percentage, the polls will be closed and a decision will be made. So I hope you'll take part and help me by voting.
With all that out of the way, let the chapter begin!
Chapter One: The Modern Boy That Goes Feudal
The adventures of Kagome Higurashi, a fifteen-year-old middle school girl from modern-day Tokyo and Inuyasha, a dog half-demon, has finally reached its end. Kagome was transported to the Sengoku period after falling into a well in her family shrine, where she meets the half-dog demon, half-human Inuyasha. After the sacred Shikon Jewel re-emerges from deep inside Kagome's body after fifty years, she accidentally shatters it into dozens of fragments that scatter across Japan.
In modern-day Tokyo, Kagome Higurashi lives on the grounds of her family's Shinto shrine with her mother, grandfather, and younger brother. On her fifteenth birthday, while searching for her cat, Kagome is dragged into the enshrined Bone Eater's Well by a centipede demon that emerges from it. But rather than hit the bottom, Kagome finds herself in another universe which is parallel to her universe - but in the past, during Japan's Sengoku period.
The demon was originally defeated fifty years prior by Kikyo, a warrior priestess who was the previous keeper of the Shikon Jewel, a powerfully magical artifact created from the sacrifice of the priestess Midoriko, which grants its holder any wish their heart desires. Kagome is revealed to be the reincarnation of the now-dead Kikyo. The Shikon Jewel was burned along with Kikyo's body to cast it out of this world entirely, in order to keep it safe from the hands of those who would use its power for evil.
Kagome comes across a sleeping boy pinned by a sacred arrow to a tree, learning he is Inuyasha, a half-demon, half-human whom Kikyo pinned to the tree as her final act when he attempted to steal the jewel. Kagome frees Inuyasha to kill the centipede demon, but when he turns on her and tries to steal the jewel again, he is subdued with a magical beaded necklace to keep him in line with Kagome saying "sit" or "sit boy", which causes him to violently fall to the ground.
The Shikon Jewel is extracted from Kagome's body and taken by a crow demon, which Kagome destroys with an arrow, but in doing so, inadvertently shatters the jewel into many shards that scatter across Japan and into the possession of various demons and humans.
Inuyasha and Kagome set out to recover the Jewel's fragments, and through their quest they are joined by the lecherous monk Miroku, the demon slayer Sango, and the fox demon Shippo. Together, they journeyed to restore the Shikon Jewel before it fell into the hands of the evil half-demon Naraku.
They were faced with many hardships and challenging battles. But they pressed on and got stronger along the way. They made allies throughout their journey and defeated many enemies. They eventually reached the end when it was time for the final battle with Naraku when he fully reassembled the Shikon Jewel.
Although being defeated for good by Inuyasha and his allies, realizing that his true desire for the love of Kikyo despite his hatred towards her can never be granted, Naraku uses his wish to trap himself and Kagome inside the Shikon Jewel before dying. Revealing to be sentient, the Shikon Jewel intended for Kagome to make a selfish wish so she and Naraku would be trapped in an eternal conflict, thus prolonging its existence. But with Inuyasha by her side, Kagome wishes for the Shikon Jewel to disappear forever, allowing Kagome to return to her time with the well sealed, and she and Inuyasha lose contact for three years.
In that time, the Sengoku period changes drastically: Sango and Miroku marry and have three children together; Kohaku resumes his journey to become a strong demon slayer with Kirara as his companion; and Shippo trains to make his demon magic stronger. Back in the present, eighteen-year-old Kagome graduates from high school before finally managing to get the Bone Eater's Well in her backyard to work again. Kagome returns to the Sengoku period, where she reunites with Inuyasha, marries him, and continues to train with Kaede to become a topmost-level priestess.
Unbeknownst by them, because of Kagome's decision, a butterfly effect occurred. This butterfly effect results in the existence of a new individual. An individual that has an adventure of their own to look forward to.
"On your mark!" a man wearing a blue tracksuit called out, standing on one end of a track field with a stopwatch in one hand and a clipboard in the other.
Standing on the other end of the track behind a white line was a teenage boy with short black hair and hazel eyes. He is wearing a blue sports cap, a white short sleeved shirt with blue lines along the collar and sleeves, black shorts with a blue line down the sides, and white sneakers. He placed his left foot behind the line with his right foot behind his left. He then moved his left foot and crouched down so his left knee was adjacent with his right ankle and turned the toe of his left foot under. He placed his fingers behind the line, being sure his thumbs were pointing towards each other, and positioned his head and neck to be in line with his spine as his shoulders were above the line.
"Get set!" the man held up the stopwatch as the boy raised his hips to be slightly higher than his shoulders and remained motionless. The man's thumb hovered over the start button as he carefully eyed the teenage boy's stance for a moment before pressing it. "Go!" At the signal to start, the teenage boy bolted past the line and sprinted down the track with incredible speed. When the teenage boy ran past him, the man pressed a button to halt the stopwatch and smiled at what showed on the screen. "5.1 seconds, very impressive, Nichiya."
"Thanks, coach." the boy, Nichiya, said as he approached the man, not even the least bit exhausted. He watched as other boys his age stretched and did warm-ups around the track before looking at the stopwatch in the coach's hand. "I think I just beat my personal best."
"You did." The coach nodded, writing something down on his clipboard before raising his head to look at Nichiya. "By a whole three seconds."
"He's not our school's track star for nothing!" One of the boys with brown hair called out, the other boys beside him nodding in agreement. "Nichiya is so fast, I sometimes wonder if he's even human."
"Yeah." Another boy reached down to touch his toes before hopping from one foot to the other. "He just ran a hundred meters in five seconds flat and he's not even out of breath."
"With him on the team, the next track meet will be a breeze." Nichiya lowered the bill of his cap to hopefully cover the small blush on his cheeks.
"Alright, everyone!" The coach called out, clapping his hands to get the attention of everyone in the track field. "That's enough practice for today, go to the showers and get ready to head home!"
"Yes, coach!" The boys replied, giving the coach a small bow before walking over to a school building chatting with one another.
"I'll just head home, guys." Nichiya said, giving a small wave to those he walks by before lightly jogging to the building ahead of everyone else.
"I wonder why he always does that." The brown haired boy from before said to the boy next to him as they entered the school building. "He either takes his shower after everyone else or just goes home."
"Not to mention he always wears that cap." The other boy added, looking up in thought as they walked down the halls of the school. "Now that I think about it, he always gets defensive whenever someone tries to take it off."
"Do you think Sakurai might know?" The brown haired asked curiously, taking off his sweat soaked gym uniform before entering a shower stall as his body's cascaded with hot water from the shower head. "She has known Nichiya since they were kids."
"Maybe." The other shrugged his shoulders as he entered the stall next to the brown haired boy. "But I doubt you'll get anything out of her, though."
"True." The brown haired boy nodded in agreement. "She's pretty good at keeping secrets."
Meanwhile, in an empty classroom standing in front of one of the many desks inside, Nichiya was removing his gym clothes with his cap still on before putting on a pair of black pants and a white button up shirt. He adjusted the cap on his head before moving on to putting on and buttoning up the black jacket that completed his uniform when the door slid open. Standing just outside the door with her arms crossed was a girl with mid-back length brown hair and blue eyes. She wore a green and white sailor uniform with a red ribbon tied in the front and laced through a loop attached to the blouse. In her right hand was her school bag with a key charm of a pink bear with white wings hanging on the handle.
"Please tell me you didn't change with your cap still on." The girl said, letting out an exasperated sigh as she already knew the answer.
"Should I lie?" Nichiya asked jokingly, tilting his head in faux confusion as he finished buttoning his uniform before reaching into a desk to pull out a bag and stuff his gym clothes in it. "You know why I never take it off in school, Rin."
"You could at least take it off when you change." The girl, Rin, let out another sigh as she uncrossed her arms to rest her free hand on her hip and gave Nichiya a scolding look. "You can easily tell if someone's coming and quickly put it back on, Inuhiko."
"Not taking any chances." Nichiya, Inuhiko, replied, picking up his school bag from the desk and walked over to Rin. "Ready to head home?"
"You don't have to escort me home every day." Rin said as the two walked down the hall side by side. She raised a hand and clenched it into a tight fist and punched forward and gave Inuhiko a confident smirk. "I can easily defend myself."
"I know you can." Inuhiko let out an amused chuckle as the two left the school building and walked out the gates. He tilted the bill of his cap up slightly with a thumb and pointed to his temple. "Don't forget who was your practice dummy since you joined the karate club."
"I said I was sorry." Rin playfully smacked Inuhiko in the arm and the teenage boy let out a faux cry of pain before the two started to laugh. "Besides, you're the one who volunteered to be my sparring partner."
"Because I knew no one else could stand your monstrous strength." Inuhiko jokes, getting himself a slight side glare from Rin and he raised his hands in a placating manner. "Kidding, kidding."
"You need to work on your jokes, Inuhiko." Rin said flatly as they continued to walk, enjoying each other's company. A large apartment building soon came into view and they stopped at the entrance. "Well, this is my stop."
"Yup, see you tomorrow, Rin." Inuhiko said with a small wave before beginning to jog away from the apartment building and his female friend.
As he jogged through the bustling streets of Tokyo, trying to avoid running into people, Inuhiko eventually found himself running past a flight of concrete steps that lead up to a red torii gate. It was at that moment that a powerful gust of wind blew the teenage boy's cap off his head and into the air. Inuhiko quickly covered the top of his head with his hands and looked around in panic for anyone nearby and for his cap. When he looked up, he saw his cap flying up the steps and past the torii gate.
"My cap!" Inuhiko exclaimed, running up the steps after his cap with his hands still on top of his head.
Once Inuhiko had reached the top of the steps, there was another red torii gate and he looked around to see that he was at a shrine. He saw that there were two other red torii gates, one on the left and right sides of the shrine. Inuhiko looked to the side and saw a large tree with shimenawa wrapped around it.
"I guess this is a shrine." Inuhiko said thoughtfully, keeping his hands on his head as he looked around. "I never knew that there was a shrine around here." He shook his head and tapped his right foot impatiently. "Never mind that, I gotta find my cap, it can't have gone very far."
He continued to look around the shrine, occasionally checking if anyone climbed up the steps. After searching for a few minutes, Inuhiko contemplated just going home until he saw his cap flying into one of the buildings and ran after it. Upon reaching the doorway, Inuhiko saw his cap resting on an old well.
"There it is." Inuhiko looked over his shoulder and sighed in relief when he saw no one around. 'Better grab my cap fast and get out of here.'
He headed inside towards the well to retrieve his cap before anyone could show up. He slowly walked down each step, growing nervous the closer he got to the well. The well then suddenly explodes in a flash of blue light, getting a startled shout from Inuhiko. He was so startled, Inuhiko slipped on the last step, consequently falling into the well. Instead of plummeting, Inuhiko had the sensation of slowly descending as small lights went past him.
'What's going on?' Inuhiko was so confused as to what was happening, he barely registered his feet had touched down at the bottom of the well as the lights vanished. 'Okay, that was weird.' He found his cap next to his feet and picked it up before putting it on. He looked up at the top of the well as he adjusted his cap. "Hello, can anyone hear me?!"
When he heard no response, Inuhiko looked around the stone walls of the well for a way to climb out. He found that the walls were covered in vines and experimentally tugged on them. After he found vines that were strong, Inuhiko began to carefully climb himself out of the well. Once Inuhiko reached the top of the well, he saw that the building as well as the shrine were gone. In their place was a clearing surrounded by trees and the view of a mountain.
"There was a shrine here, right?" Inuhiko asked himself, looking around for any sign of the shrine. "Where am I?"
Deciding that just standing around wasn't going to get him anywhere, Inuhiko left the well to look for any signs of life. Inuhiko walked through the woods, hoping to find help. His hand occasionally reached up to his cap to make sure it was still on his head. Inuhiko's search eventually led him to a giant tree. A flock of birds sat on its branches and chirped as the wind made the leaves rustle. The scene before him was breathtaking with the surrounding greenery, the blue sky, and the white clouds floating overhead making the giant tree stand out.
"Wait." Inuhiko looked back in the direction he walked then back to the tree. "I think that's the same tree from the shrine." He got closer to the tree and placed a hand against it. "But why's it here, and where's the shrine?" Inuhiko's nose twitched slightly when it picked up a very peculiar scent. Curious, he got closer to the tree and sniffed it. 'This scent, it's…'
"You there!" Inuhiko jumped at the sudden voice and turned to see the tips of a pair of spears inches from his face. "What brings you here?"
"What the, are those real?!" Inuhiko's eyes widened in shock and fear as the light from the sun made the spear tip glint. He felt his face go pale as the tips of the spears inched closer. 'Yup, they're real! What the hell's going on?!'
His eyes drifted from the spear tips to see who was holding them. What he saw was not what Inuhiko was expecting. Threatening him were two men wearing their hair in topknots. The articles of clothing they wore reminded the teenage boy of what villagers in the Sengoku period would wear.
"Answer us." the spears inched closer as Inuhiko pressed his back against the tree as much as he could. "What brings you here?"
"Um, well, you see…" Inuhiko stammered, trying to find the right words to explain his situation. He gulped nervously as his eyes looked around for a possible escape route. 'Are they doing a live reenactment of feudal Japan or something?' The glinting of the spear tips quickly put an end to that theory. 'Idiot, if that was the case, then they wouldn't need real spears!'
"He might be a spy." One of the men theorized, lowering his spear slightly much to Inuhiko's relief. "We should restrain him and take him to the village."
"Right." The other man nodded, his eyes never leaving Inuhiko as his companion reached into his robes and took out some rope.
"J… j…" Inuhiko could only watch nervously as the two men approached him with the rope. "Just what the hell's going on?!"
Before he knew it, Inuhiko was tied up with his hands behind his back as the man led him though the woods. The other of the two men went ahead of them to inform a person they called lady Kaede. They eventually made it to what looked like a primitive village to Inuhiko. The villagers all looked at Inuhiko curiously as he was guided to the center of the village. The stares he was receiving made him feel uneasy. He saw that they were talking softly to one another, but couldn't make out what they were saying as their words overlapped each other.
They eventually stopped in the center of the village and Inuhiko was forced to his knees. No matter where he looked, Inuhiko was met with wary stares from the villagers. A few children attempted to get a closer look, but the women pulled them back. Inuhiko gulped nervously when a few of the men held up various weapons from spears to bows and arrows.
'Okay, recap time.' Inuhiko thought, not sure why the villagers were giving wary looks and the weapons pointed at him. 'First there was the track team, I walked home with Rin, jogged home, wind blew my cap off, fell in a well, and now I'm here.' If he could, Inuhiko would have ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. 'Everything but the last three was the usual, can someone please tell me what's going on!'
"Make way for high priestess Kaede!" A villager called out, effectively dispersing some of the crowd.
Walking through the crowd was a short statured old woman with long grayed hair tied behind her in a long ponytail and her face dons various aged creases and wrinkles, fair skin, and dark brown eyes. Inuhiko quickly took notice that she was dressed as a traditional priestess and had an iron sword guard as an eye-patch over her right eye.
'Did that guy say high priestess?' Inuhiko watched in confusion as the villagers lowered their heads in a bow to the old woman. His head began to spin with each new question he had and the behavior of the villagers. 'I'm seriously lost here.'
"This be the one ye have found?" The old woman, Kaede, asked, getting nods from the man Inuhiko recognized as one of the men that attacked him. She looked at the teenage boy from head to toe, her focus being the clothes he wore. 'The clothes he wears, they look familiar.'
"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Inuhiko asked, trying not to move too much to avoid rope burn. "I was just minding my own business when these guys just attacked me!"
"Be calm, child." Kaede said as she firmly held his face and turned it to the sides to get a good look. "Tell me, why were ye found in the forest of Inuyasha?"
"I don't know." Inuhiko replied, feeling mildly irritated at being examined like some pet waiting to be adopted. "I just wound up there after falling in a well."
"Fall in a well, ye say?" Kaede released Inuhiko, looking contemplative as she once again looked over the teenage boy in front of her. 'Could it be?'
"Yeah, fall in a well." Inuhiko repeated, shaking his head free from her hold. "One moment I was at a shrine, the next I'm in some random forest."
"Hmm." Kaede hummed in thought as she took in Inuhiko's words. She motioned towards Inuhiko and the man behind the teen used his spear to cut the ropes. "The sun will set soon, ye shall spend the night with me."
'I just want to go home.' Inuhiko thought, rubbing the soreness out of his wrists as he followed Kaede. "Can you at least tell me where I am?"
"I'm afraid that where ye are will not be familiar." Kaede replied, looking over her shoulder to make sure the teen was following her. "All I can tell ye is that ye are far from the land ye originate from."
"Seriously?" Inuhiko muttered, kicking a rock that was in his way in mild frustration not getting a straight answer. "I guess that's as good an answer as I'm going to get." Inuhiko adjusted his cap and ignored the looks he was getting from the passing villagers. 'And what's with the old way this old lady's speaking?'
"We are here." Kaede said, stopping in front of a small hut next to a red torii gate. She opened the screen in the doorway and held it in place. "Ye must be hungry by now, come and I will make something."
"Thanks, but I'm not-'' Inuhiko was interrupted when a low growl was heard and a small blush on his cheeks. He placed his hands over his stomach in hope of silencing the sound. 'Stupid high motabolism.'
"Ye were saying?" Kaede gave the teen a blank stare before gesturing him inside. Reluctantly, Inuhiko stepped into the hut with Kaede close behind. "Get comfortable, I will get started with dinner."
'What are the chances of making a successful escape?' Inuhiko took a seat by the fire pit and looked around the hut. 'Considering I saw a few men with bows and arrows, pretty slim.' He sighed as he realized that he's stuck unless he wanted arrows in his back. 'What did I do to deserve this?'
While Kaede prepared the ingredients she would cook, she occasionally eyed Inuhiko. She watched as he seemed preoccupied with his own thoughts. He eventually got to his feet and started stretching. She started a fire in the fire pit and began to cook when the low growl was heard again. She looked up at Inuhiko to see he was blushing again and had his hands over his stomach.
"Here, child." Kaede held out a slice of daikon radish to the obviously hungry teen. "Eat this while we wait."
Inuhiko warily eyed the offered radish, looking between it and the old priestess before cautiously taking it. He flipped the slice over to check both sides and sniffed it before taking a small bite. He chewed it for a moment before his eyes widened slightly and took another bite. While he nibbled at the radish, he kept his eyes on Kaede as she returned to her cooking.
"Ye needn't be wary of me." Kaede said reassuringly, stirring what was most likely stew as Inuhiko took a seat across from her. "I have no intention of harming ye."
"Yeah, not the first time someone told me that." Inuhiko muttered bitterly to himself, adjusting his cap for the third time that day.
"Bear us no ill will, child." Kaede poured some of the stew into a bowl and offered it to Inuhiko. Inuhiko took the bowl and lightly bowed in appreciation. "We are still in the midst of getting over some troubling times, which is why the villagers showed distrust when you arrived."
"That makes sense, I suppose." Inuhiko nodded, taking a sip of the stew and savoring the taste. He had a look of contemplation as he lowered his bowl. "I guess I'm not in Tokyo anymore."
'It be as I thought.' Kaede began to eat her own stew as she watched Inuhiko fiddle with his cap again. "Child, if ye are uncomfortable, why don't ye remove it?"
"I'd rather not." Inuhiko replied, letting go of his cap and went back to eating.
"There is no need to conceal what's hidden underneath." Kaede said, holding out a hand for Inuhiko's bowl once she saw it was empty. "As I said before, I have no intention of harming ye."
"Pardon my skepticism," Inuhiko said, handing the old priestess his bowl for her to refill. His eyes not losing their wariness as he watched Kaede's every move. "but how do I know you won't hurt me?"
"Ye have my word as a priestess." Kaede replied, handing Inuhiko his bowl before refilling her own. "I will not harm ye in any way, shape, or form."
Inuhiko was still skeptical, but he had to remind himself that she hasn't hurt him since his arrival in the village. She was even feeding him and giving him a place to sleep for the night. He thought it over for a while longer as he ate his fill. Finally, he reluctantly reached up to his cap and took it off. Like a spring loaded trap, a pair of black, pointed, dog-like ears pop up on his head.
"Much better." Inuhiko sighed in relief, his ears twitching excitedly from being free from their confinement. "Wearing that cap for long periods of time really makes my ears sore."
'As I thought.' Kaede thought as Inuhiko shook his head and rubbed his ears as if to relieve the soreness. 'How peculiar that he originates from the same place as her.' She once again looked over Inuhiko's clothes and had a sense of deja vu. 'Three years have passed since then. It is surprising to come across yet another from that land, especially his kind of all things.'
Meanwhile, in the Forest of Inuyasha, a four-eyed pale woman approached the giant tree. She was completely naked, with long black hair and small pupils and eyebrows like Japanese princesses. She has six arms and wears no clothing to cover her breasts. Her lower torso is that of a centipede, thus giving her least one hundred feet.
"I smell it." she said, sniffing around the tree, lingering on one particular spot as a predatory smile was on her face. "The stench of a half-demon." She then looked in the direction of the village. "That way." She moved through the forest at high speed towards the village cackling. "Let the hunt begin!"
The sound of explosions, screams of the villagers, and the shaking of the ground caught the attention of Kaede and Inuhiko. They quickly left the hut to see what was going on and saw the four-eyed centipede woman. She rapidly spun her body, destroying everything that was in her path. Huts that were in her path were destroyed and debris hurled into the air as the villagers attempted to stop her with their arrows. The arrows, however, were knocked away due to the speed the centipede woman was spinning.
"What is that thing?!" Inuhiko exclaimed, eyes wide in shock at what he was seeing.
"That be a demon." Kaede replied, going back into her hut and coming back out a bow and a quiver full of arrows. "We must quickly dispose of it."
"A demon?" Inuhiko looked at Kaede as if she was crazy. "You mean a demon demon, as in those made up monsters?"
"Aye." Kaede nodded her head as she pulled an arrow out of the quiver and notched it. "Ye best get to safety."
"Where is it?" the centipede woman demanded, stopping her spin to look around for a moment. "Where is my prey?" Her eyes stopped on Kaede and Inuhiko and smiled, revealing a pair of sharp fangs. "Found you!"
'Why do I feel like she's staring at me?' Inuhiko nervously took a step back at the stare the centipede woman was giving him.
He watched as a few villagers tried to shoot her down with arrows only to be crushed by her body. The smell of copper filled his nose as the centipede woman lifted her body to reveal two men lying motionlessly on the ground. The two men were clearly dead with their limbs bent in unnatural ways and exposed bones peeking out. Inuhiko felt sick at seeing the disfigured bodies covered in their own blood and had to fight the urge to vomit. As the smell of blood got stronger with each villager attacked, Inuhiko couldn't think of anything else but to help somehow. Clenching his hands into fists, Inuhiko ran towards the centipede woman, ignoring Kaede's call for him to come back.
"Hey!" Inuhiko shouted, getting the centipede woman's attention. He jabbed a thumb against his chest as he glared at her. "It's me you want, right, try and catch me if you can!"
He then turned his back to the centipede woman and began to sprint as fast as his body would let him. He ran past Kaede and towards the direction of the forest, completely forgetting his cap. He looked over his shoulder to see that the centipede woman was chasing him. Seeing that she was getting closer, he picked up the pace.
"You won't escape!" she yelled as Inuhiko entered the forest while she plowed through the trees. "Make things easier on yourself and give up!"
As inuhiko ran through the forest, the sound of maniacal laughter and falling trees got closer with each passing second. The uneven terrain of the forest messed with his footwork and caused him to trip occasionally. His body began to succumb to exhaustion as it became harder and harder for him to breathe. However, as the laughter got closer again, Inuhiko continued to run through the forest the best he could.
"Oh man, maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Inuhiko could feel his heart pounding harder and harder the closer the centipede woman got. He looked over his shoulder to see that she was a right behind him. "Crap, she already caught up?!" He pushed his body to run faster, ignoring the feeling of his legs and lungs being on fire. Fear begins to rise within him as his thoughts wander to what may happen to him if he gets caught. "Somebody help me!"
On the outskirts of the village, a young man with a lean, wiry frame turned in the direction of the forest. He has a thick mane of waist-length silver-white hair, golden eyes with slit-like pupils, and claws on each digit. His ears are furry and pointed like those of a dog. He wears red robes, a prayer bead necklace, and a sheathed battered katana with the hilt's fabric tearing away.
"Sounds like someone's in trouble." He muttered, his ears twitched to better hear the voice calling for help. He gripped the handle of his katana before jumping high into the air. He raised his head to sniff the air before frowning. "There's a demon too, just what the hell's going on?"
Back in the forest, the centipede woman slams her body into the ground just behind Inuhiko. Due to the ground beneath his feet being disturbed, Inuhiko was sent flying and landed in front of the giant tree. Looking around, Inuhiko picked up a fallen tree branch and got back to his feet. He held the tree branch with both hands as the centipede woman caught up to him.
"Now this is amusing." she said, snickering in amusement when she saw what Inuhiko was holding. "Surely you don't think you can defeat me with a twig?"
'Wasn't planning it.' Inuhiko thought, a bead of sweat trailing down his face. He kept his eyes on the centipede woman as he tightened his grip on the branch. 'As soon as you're distracted, I'll make a run for it.' His concentration was temporarily broken when his chest suddenly began to faintly glow. He looked down at his chest in confusion. 'What the, why's my chest glowing?'
"You're wide open!" the centipede woman shouted as she charged at Inuhiko. Just as Inuhiko looked up to see her approaching him, a number of arrows with ropes tied to them struck all over her body. "What?" she looked back to see Kaede and the villagers. "You lot again?"
"Quickly, run child!" Kaede called out to Inuhiko, getting a numb nod as he tossed the branch aside and ran towards her.
"No you don't!" the centipede woman shouted, breaking free of the arrows and chased after Inuhiko again.
Kaede took an arrow out of her quiver before notching it into her bow and steadied her aim. She released the arrow, which was covered in a pink light, and it soared towards the centipede woman. Having seen this, she moved the side to avoid the arrow and grabbed Inuhiko by the leg. She then used her body to knock Kaede and the villagers away.
"Finally caught you." she said, holding Inuhiko upside down by his legs as she revealed her fangs. Inuhiko had a look of terror when he realized what she was going to do with those fangs. "Time for my well deserved meal!"
"Stop, let me go!" Inuhiko screamed, thrusting a hand forward in an attempt to avoid being eaten.
To the shock of Kaede, the villagers, and Inuhiko, a flash of blue light came out of his hand. The light severed four of the centipede woman's six arms, consequently dropping Inuhiko. Kaede had another sense of deja vu of a similar situation that happened three years ago.
'But how can this be?' Kaede thought in confusion as Inuhiko sat up with his arms supporting behind him. 'How can one of his kind have that power and not be affected?'
"You wretched beast!" The centipede woman shouted, smoke rising from the stumps where her arms were. "You have the nerve to remove my arms with that disgusting power?!"
"I did that?" Inuhiko's body was trembling from almost being eaten as he stared at his hand. 'What did I do?'
Inuhiko was once again distracted when his chest glowed faintly, getting the attention of both Kaede and the centipede woman. Seeing this as her chance, she charges at Inuhiko and bites him in the chest. The teen let out a weak cry of pain as the centipede woman raised him into the air and tossed him aside. As Inuhiko falls, a golden jewel flies out of the hole bitten in his chest. The jewel and Inuhiko hit the ground at the same time and the jewel bounced a few times before rolling to a stop.
"What's this?" the centipede woman lowered herself closer to the jewel and appraised the jewel curiously. "I sense remarkable power emanating from this jewel." She then snickered and looked towards Inuhiko who still laid on the ground in a daze. "I don't know why you have it, but a jewel like this is wasted on a pathetic half-breed like you."
"Ye will not have it." Kaede said, notching an arrow before releasing it which was then covered in a pink light. The centipede woman brought a part of her body to block the arrow, destroying it into pieces instead to the old priestess' shock. "What?!"
"Did you think a simple sacred arrow would be enough?" the centipede woman chuckled in amusement as she lowered herself to the jewel again. "With this, not even a thousand of them will be enough." A long tongue left her mouth wrapped around the jewel before swallowing it. Her body pulsated for a moment before her arms and body reattached themselves. Her skin was torn off, revealing purple-pink skin underneath which soon turned grayish black. She no longer has any lip or eyebrows and also her eyes turned bright red. "Ah yes, I can feel the power!"
Inuhiko slowly got over his daze and struggled to push himself into a sitting position. He winced when he felt pain in his chest and brought a hand over it. When removed his hand, Inuhiko saw that his palm and fingers were soaked in blood. He looked down to see that there was a small hole in the center of his chest.
"I'm alive?" Inuhiko muttered in disbelief as the sound of an arrow reached his ears. He looked up to see the centipede woman's new appearance and arrows covering her body again. "What the hell?!" He backed away quickly before getting to his feet. "What happened to her?!"
"Pull!" A village man commanded as the other villagers tugged on the ropes attached to the arrows.
"It's useless!" The centipede woman easily freed herself from the arrows, causing the villagers to fall back from the loss of resistance. "Now, where was I?" She then saw Inuhiko and he slowly backed away. "Ah yes, I remember, I was about to feast on your flesh."
"How about you don't do that?" Inuhiko nervously suggested, tripping on a rock and falling on his behind. "I'll give you indigestion."
"There's no escape this time!" The centipede woman lunged towards Inuhiko, mouth wide open to bite the teens head off.
"I'll just do what I did again!" Inuhiko threatened, thrusting his hand forward hoping for what he did earlier to work again. When nothing happened, he looked at the palm of his hand with a look of panic. "Come on, please work, I'm begging here!" The teen looked up in fear as the centipede was over him. His body was paralyzed with fear when the centipede woman dove at him and he shut his eyes. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"
"I will enjoy shredding you to bite sized pieces!" she shouted excitedly, laughing maniacally as her six arms reached to rip the dog-eared teen apart.
"Ye will do no such thing." Kaede notched another arrow while the villagers could do nothing but watch what could be the death of a young boy.
"Out of the way!" Kaede looked behind here to see a flash of red go over her and the villagers.
Once she could clearly see who jumped over her, Kaede's eyes widened. "Inuyasha!"
"I can't leave you people alone for one minute, can I?" Inuyasha gripped the battered katana and unsheathed it. As it left the sheath, the katana changed shape into a weapon roughly the size of a car bumper that somewhat resembles a dadao sabre. "Tessaiga!"
Before she could react, the centipede woman was sliced in half. She screamed in agony as her body fell apart and rained onto the ground. When Inuhiko realized he was still alive, he slowly opened his eyes. He looked around and sighed in relief when he didn't see the centipede woman.
"Are ye alright, child?" Kaede asked as she approached Inuhiko and knelt next to him.
"I think so." Inuhiko replied, still shaken from nearly being killed and eaten by a monster. He then noticed numerous mounds of flesh of various shapes and sizes on the ground. "Are those…" He recoiled when the mounds of flesh began to twitch erratically and drag along the ground. "It's still alive!"
"Child, which flesh is glowing?" Kaede asked, getting a confused look from Inuhiko. "That's where the jewel will be." She tightened her grip on her bow. "It must be removed at once or else she will revive."
"Are you serious?!" Inuhiko felt dread well up deep inside him as he frantically looked at each mound of flesh with his eyes. 'Where is it, where is it?!' His eyes landed on a piece of flesh that looked eerily like a tongue and saw it was glowing. "There, that tongue looking one!"
"Good work, child." Kaede walked over to the flesh Inuhiko directed to and reached into it.
Inuhiko had to fight off the urge to gag as he watched Kaede's fingers dig into the flesh. She then pulled out the jewel and the centipede woman's flesh evaporated, leaving only the bones behind. She approached Inuhiko and held the jewel out to the teen. Confused, Inuhiko took the jewel and stared at it. He noticed that it was still covered in the blood of the centipede woman.
"It might be best if ye hold on to that jewel for now." She explained, watching the look of disgust on Inuhiko's face as he held the jewel away from him. 'Could this be an omen, or mere coincidence?'
"I don't get it." Inuhiko said softly, reaching into his pocket and pulled out a blue handkerchief and wiping the left over blood off the jewel. "How was this thing in my body?" Once the jewel was clean, he looked at Kaede. "You'd think I would notice something like this."
"I know not the answer, child." Kaede shook her head and stared at the jewel in the teen's hand. "I do know that this jewel must not fall in the wrong hands."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Inuhiko jumped at the sudden shout and looked over Kaede's shoulder to see Inuyasha sheathing his sword. "You're telling me there's another damn jewel to deal with?"
'Who's that guy?' Inuhiko raised an eyebrow before his eyes widened slightly when his nose twitched. 'This scent.' He looked over at Inuyasha and his attention immediately went up to the dog-like ears on his head like his own. 'Those ears.' Inuyasha clicked his tongue and silently cursed while Inuhiko stared at him in shock. 'They're like mine, what does this mean?'
I hope that you all enjoyed reading this chapter, and if my close friend is reading it right now, I kept my promise. Please leave a review to let me know what you thought about it and any criticism you might have. Also, if you liked it, fav and follow if you want to see more chapters. Until we meet again my cute precious readers.