InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The truth beneath the rose ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Here I am, once again, with a new story. But do not fret, readers of my other, unfinished ones. This one will be around three chapters long, and I have the next one already handwritten, so it shouldn't take too long to be done, thus I'll be back to `Priestess of the shinobi' and `Hanyous may not be all the same' soon enough.

 

I don't own Inuyasha or Yu-Yu Hakusho

 

The truth beneath the rose

 

Chapter one

 

Kagome was walking, alone, through the snow covered forest of the Sengoku Jidai. When the wind picked up around her, she felt eternally grateful for the items she had brought from her own time. The trekking boots and waterproof thermal clothes kept her warm in the chilly weather, something not even the thickest clothes from the Feudal Era would ever dream of achieving.

 

It was already nearing dusk, and so she was looking for a place to stay for the night. Since there were no villages nearby, she'd have to search for a cave or something along the lines, for the chill of the night and the risk of snow ruled out the option of just sleeping outside.

 

As she walked on to the mountain side she had seen before, she came across a rather wide stream that flowed downhill.

 

`Might as well follow it, there will be less trees on my way by the riverside' she thought. Being mindful of the slippery path, she trekked alongside the silent current.

 

Half an hour went by and she still was walking by the stream. Her legs felt heavy from the effort of treading on the snow, and she swore she couldn't feel her nose. What she wouldn't give for a nice, long, hot shower in her time! Still lost in those pleasant musings, she nearly missed the slightly red tint the water of the stream was acquiring.

 

“What the hell?!” she swore as she broke into a run, her previous fatigue forgotten in a moment.

 

Little more than half a mile further she spotted the first signs of battle: trees ripped from their roots, patches of ground where the snow had been melted… Soon enough she found a lifeless youkai. His dead eyes were nearly popping out of their sockets, his face swollen and a purplish colour. The sickening scent of blood and body waste clung to him, and spread nearby despite the biting cold. He hung from a vine that wrapped around his neck, high on a tree branch.

 

Wrinkling her nose, Kagome walked on, only to find more youkai corpses. They had been killed in different manners, but they had one thing in common: all of them seemed to have been slaughtered by the plants.

 

`Oh, Gods, please don't tell me I have gotten into some kind of enchanted, bloodthirsty forest…' she whined `As if youkai, ningen and animals weren't murderous enough, now the plants have decided to join the club?'

 

Sighing in defeat, she started searching the area for survivors. As a miko, it was her duty to help, be it youkai or human, she didn't really care. Well, as long as they didn't try to harm her or her loved ones, as she could be quite vicious herself when it came to defending those she held dear, and she didn't give a damn about which race they belonged to, in that case.

 

She had just finished checking the corpse of a youkai, whose chest had been ripped open by what seemed to be a thorny vine, for any sign of life, when she spotted another body floating on the stream. Only that the supposed corpse was moving a little too much for the flowing water to be the only responsible for its movement.

 

`That one's alive!'

 

She hurried to the riverside, grimacing when the ice cold water slipped through the openings on her clothes and bit the skin beneath. Ignoring the pain it caused her, she waded into the stream, which turned out to be waist deep, until she was close enough that she could reach out for the stranger's white tunic and drag him back to the riverside.

 

Once she had him on the shore, she checked him for any signs of life, wondering if it had been her imagination that had made her think he was alive. Alas, he did have a pulse, albeit a weak and irregular one. He also sported several gashes, and seemed on the verge of hypothermia.

 

“All right, buddy, let's get the both of us to a warmer place” she told his unconscious form. Hooking an arm under both of his, she hauled him up the best she could and started dragging him towards the mountain, in hopes to find a cave before it was too late.

 

A couple of hours later

 

Kagome was ready to just lie down and let Death claim her when finally all of her prayers were answered. In front of her stood the entrance to a cave, just a small hole on the rocky side of the mountain, but big enough that she and her unconscious companion could spend the night quite comfortably.

 

“Come on buddy, just hold on a little longer” she encouraged the limp form of the youkai she carried with her.

 

Once she managed to cover the entrance somewhat to guard them from the wind and built a fire, she finally had the chance to take a closer look at the strange youkai she had saved. The ice that had formed on the tips of his silvery white hair was starting to melt, giving it an eerie shine in the dancing light of the flames. The twin furry ears that peaked atop his head got her attention. They were so similar to his…

 

`Could he be a hanyou as well?' she wondered `He's quite handsome… I wonder how he got himself into this mess.'

 

She watched as the triangular appendages tweaked weakly, giving testimony to his poor state of health.

 

Setting her jaw, Kagome set to work on the task at hand. She proceeded to tend to his wounds, stitching the ones that were too deep and applying salves on them so they wouldn't fester. That took her some time, but when she finished patching him up she realized that she still had job to do. He was shivering violently, and the tips of his fingers and toes had started darkening, the ivory skin taking a black tone.

 

“Shit, his hands are frostbitten!”

 

She berated herself for not having noticed earlier. Pulling him as close to the fire as possible, she started rubbing his hands and feet, being careful not to cut herself with his sharp claws. The youkai, however, didn't stop shivering, if anything, Kagome would have sworn that his trembling only got worse.

 

“Hold on, hold on, dammit! Don't you dare die on me, you hear?” she pleaded with him, as she desperately tried to remember what they had taught her to do in those cases. She knew that it was necessary to warm him up, but it was damn difficult to do so in the biting cold and with wet clothes!

 

Quickly, she stripped him of his still wet tunic and wrapped her sleeping bag around him, then started rubbing his limbs again. She watched in dismay as his shivers continued. Worried, she checked again for his pulse only to find that it was weaker than before, and just as irregular.

 

`It's no use; he doesn't have enough heat to warm up on his own. If this goes on he might not make it' she thought grimly.

 

Without a second thought, she stripped down to her undergarments and got into the sleeping bag with him. After twisting herself in the oddest ways to make them both fit in the small bag, she managed to get behind him. Wrapping her arms around him, she rubbed his cold body the best she could. Stretching to reach his feet with hers, she rubbed them too so they wouldn't get too cold, wincing at how cold they were.

 

She spent some time like that, sharing her body heat and doing her best to make his blood flow again through his frozen limbs.

 

After a while, his shivering subsided, making Kagome reach frantically for his neck in search for the pulse that would tell her that he had lived through the ordeal. When she found it to be stronger and steadier than before, she let out a relieved sigh. She let herself relax a little, snuggling up to his soft hair, and felt the exhaustion creep over her, once the adrenaline was gone from her system. It wasn't long before sleep claimed her for a well earned rest.

 

Next morning

 

The first rays of the cold winter Sun had just made their appearance in the Sengoku Jidai sky when Youko's eyes fluttered open.

 

`Wha… What happened? Where am I?' he tried to move, which turned out to be a bad idea, as he pulled the stitches from a wound he had in his stomach. `Ouch!'

 

He looked down and found that he was bare-chested, and had a few bandages wrapped around his stomach, left shoulder and right thigh.

 

`Huh? Who did this?' he wondered, as he tried to get up again, this time more carefully. However, he found himself to be pinned down by a pair of arms that circled his waist. A pair of very warm, very feminine, very human, arms.

 

Suddenly, the events of the previous day came rushing to his mind: him robbing in the palace of a murderous youkai lord, his guards giving chase, the ambush… All he could remember afterwards was being cold.

 

`How did I end up here? Not that I complain…' he mused.

 

He made a move to carefully turn around, so he could face the one that was holding him. He came face to face with a beautiful young human woman. She was sleeping peacefully, her features relaxed as her nearly naked chest rose rhythmically.

 

`Wait, nearly naked?' a lazy grin spread on his face.

 

He raised his hand and caressed the pale skin on the woman's face, pushing aside a raven lock that had fallen on her eyes.

 

`Are you the one that took care of me, little one?' he silently asked his sleeping companion.

 

His hand continued down her neck and over her shoulder, revelling on the softness of her silken skin. He leaned slightly forward to inhale her scent, fresh but intense at the same time. Enticing.

 

He was about to continue with his explorations when he saw her eyes flutter open, revealing a pair of deep brown orbs, still hazy with sleep. She blinked a couple of times before recognition dawned on her.

 

“Morning… How are you feeling?” she greeted, smiling sweetly.

 

Youko, still confused, decided to make the best of the situation. Sneaking his arms around her narrow waist, he pulled her closer.

 

“I am fine” he whispered into her ear, his soft breath tickling her and making her giggle “I could hardly wish for a better way to wake up”

 

Her musical laughter filled the small cave they shared, and he leaned back to look at her with a cocky grin.

 

“I'm glad you're okay” she answered, amused. “Though I have a feeling that you're a bit too at ease.”

 

Smirking, he pulled her to him again.

 

“It is not everyday that one wakes up to find a beauty such as yourself in his bed, you cannot blame me for being joyous” he whispered, then gave her ear a slight nip.

 

She laughed again, this time pulling away from his embrace.

 

“Oh, let go of me, you charmer. I was just trying to prevent you from freezing to death. Don't you get the wrong idea here” she told him, as she made it out of the sleeping bag and to her back pack.

 

Youko pouted, but when she got out of the bag with just her bra and panties on he had to groan at the sight. Her body was perfection made flesh, slender yet strong, and full of the softest feminine curves. Feeling a wave of heat through his body, he too got out of the sleeping bag and went to her, hardly noticing that he had nothing on but his loincloth. He pulled her to him again, enveloping her in his warm embrace.

 

“Why would it be the wrong idea?” he purred “Am I not handsome enough?”

 

She almost laughed when she saw him giving her the cutest puppy eyes she'd ever seen. However, he would need more that cute eyes and perfection for a body to get her to do something like that.

 

“You're perfectly aware that you're more than handsome enough” she told him, still smiling “However, I don't go sleeping around with every handsome male that crosses my path, you know.”

 

He grinned wickedly.

 

“Don't you now? You know, you just slept with me, beautiful…”

 

“Oh, you know what I meant, now get dressed before you freeze. Again.” she told him, pointing at his now dry tunic before throwing on a T-shit and some pants.

 

Youko seemed to think about it for while.

 

“Hmm… if I freeze do I get to sleep with you again?” he asked in a suggestive tone.

 

She gave him the look she used on Shippo when he was whining about something he couldn't have.

 

“If you freeze again I'll make sure you become a most decorative ice sculpture” she bit back. “Now, come on, get dressed. I'm gonna go get something to eat. You will be staying for breakfast, won't you?”

 

Youko was stunned.

 

`I will not be fed by a female as if I were a pup! I am the great Youko Kurama!' he thought as he pulled on his clothes. Then he turned around to announce that he'd be the one to get the food, but Kagome had already left, assuming that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

 

He was appalled. He hadn't been able to sense her go out of the cave.

 

`I must be losing my touch' he lamented `First I wake up with a GORGEOUS half NAKED female in MY bed and she rejects ME, then she manages to leave the cave without me even noticing…' he shook his head. `It must have been the cold.'

 

Kagome reappeared half an hour later, holding a couple of rabbits that had already been disembowelled. She gave him a shiny smile.

 

“How do you like your meat?” she asked cheerfully, while she speared one of the rabbits with an iron stake she took out of her backpack and put it on the fire.

 

“Raw” he answered shortly, eyeing the roasting rabbit with distaste. In his opinion, it was a waste of perfectly good meat.

 

“Huh? Raw? Okay, suit yourself” she told him, handing over the other rabbit.

 

Once Kagome's meat was cooked enough, they both sat around the fire and began eating. The miko eyed him from over his roasted rabbit. He somehow managed to eat the bloody meat without making a mess of himself. Trying to start some conversation, she asked.

 

“So, tell me, what's your name?”

 

Youko looked up from his meal, confused. She didn't know who he was? Then why had she taken care of him?

 

“You don't know who I am?” he asked, suspiciously.

 

Kagome looked at him, cocking her head to the side.

 

“No, I don't. Should I?” she asked, now more interested. Just who had she saved this time?

 

Sensing no lies in her words, he decided to enlighten her, just a little. He still didn't know her reasons for saving him, and wouldn't trust her until he was sure of them. It would've been fine if she wanted riches, he could deal with that. But if she didn't want his money, then what?

 

“My name is Youko Kurama” he said, managing to make a graceful bow despite being sitting on the ground.

 

“My name's Higurashi Kagome, I'm very pleased to meet you!” she responded cheerfully. Then she remembered what he had said earlier. “So, should your name ring a bell or something? Are you a local noble?” she inquired, intrigued.

 

Youko just had to laugh at that. This woman really had absolutely no idea of who he was! Well, all the better, she wouldn't ask for any of his treasures in return for saving him. Though he wouldn't mind repaying her in other ways…

 

He was abruptly snapped out of his musings by a sharp cough from her. Regaining his bearings he answered her question.

 

“I'm sorry to disappoint you, beautiful. There is no way I am a noble. More of a… known collector” he answered, somewhat truthfully.

 

Kagome, however, didn't buy it. In this Era either you were a noble, or you didn't have the time and the funds to collect anything of value. She said nothing, though, she would find out about it later, most probably. She settled for just nodding in feigned understanding. Seeing that she wasn't going to say anything else, Youko went on.

 

“There's been one thing on my mind since I woke, Kagome” he started “If you didn't know who I am, then why did you save me?”

 

Kagome had been expecting the question, so she didn't miss a beat.

 

“Why would I not?” she retorted “Sure, you were floating on the stream, half frozen, in the middle of a slaughter, but you've never done anything to harm me, so why would I let you die?”

 

“Are you trying to tell me that you waded into a freezing stream, brought me all the way here, bandaged my wounds and slept with me nearly naked just because I had never done a thing to harm you?” he asked, just to verify that he had understood correctly.

 

Kagome mentally reviewed the facts, touching her chin with her index.

 

“That's more or less it, yep” she answered. “I also rubbed your hands and feet to counter frostbite” she added, as if it were an everyday task.

 

Youko was at a loss. Why would a human woman bother so much to save the life of a youkai? He could tell she wasn't lying, though, so he had no option but to believe her.

 

“But why?” he asked again.

 

“Just because” she answered. “Why would I let a life go to waste when I can do something to prevent it? If it had been the other way around I most definitely would have wanted you to do the same, so why would I not?”

 

`Either this woman is stupid or far too innocent for her own good' he thought. `And she most definitely does not strike me as stupid.'

 

“I could have killed you this morning, while you were sleeping, you know” he told her.

 

She shrugged it off, as if it were just a minor issue.

 

“I don't think so, I have a knack for knowing which people are to be trusted and which not” she told him “Besides, you had no reason for wanting to kill me; I had just saved your life.”

 

Youko eyed her strangely.

 

“You are too trustful for your own good.”

 

“So I've been told” she retorted “but so far I have had no problems with that. I told you, I've got a knack for knowing.”

 

Youko looked at her in the eye, searching in their depths for any kind of deception. It had to be there, nobody was so generous without wanting a thing in return. However he found nothing of the sort. Beneath the façade of cheerfulness he saw bravery, care, intelligence and sadness, but no deception or malevolence. Surprisingly enough for him, there was no naïveté either; she knew damn well what she was doing. This was not your everyday female.

 

`I like her' he thought. `There are so many things you haven't told me, Kagome, I'm sure there's more to you than you let on. I intend to make sure to know it all.'

 

So that's it for now. How did you like it? Please let me know!