InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Spirit Forlorn ❯ a new arrival... ( Prologue )

PROLOGUE:

She strode purposefully; a single figure in the winter wonderland of the forest. Winter had arrived at last, the cold winds chilled from dawn till dusk leaving not a single person untouched. Not a trace of green could be found under all of the white coating that the trees remained hidden beneath.

 

She hugged herself as another breath of wind blew across her body sending chills down her spine. She had never witnessed such a cold before and if she had not been wearing thick clothes her skin probably would have frozen, toes turned to icicles and spit frozen in mid air.

 

A loose pack hung around her shoulder and her head and ears were covered with five layers of demon snakeskin. The hat had been made from the skin of some minor snake demons that had attacked her earlier on.

 

`Foolish, demons! They'd actually thought that they had a chance against me in battle?'

 

A smile crept onto her face as she recalled exactly how easily she had dismantled their bodies, only stopping when she had received enough skin for her hat. Their screams and pleas for mercy had echoed so loudly that she had had no further interruptions.

 

`Pity,' she thought `I really could have used something to cover my feet too.'

 

Her gaze swept over the land before her. Night was fast approaching and the forest seemed to go on forever without giving her a single clue to where she was.

 

`How frustrating! Grr, where am I meant to go now?'

 

She was too far from any neighbouring caves or abandoned villages and she could sense no youkai tribes around who could possibly give her a place to stay.

 

An idea suddenly came to mind as she remembered a situation she had been in, quite like her predicament now. Rubbing her two hands together she blew some hot breath onto her claws and palms preparing them for the task ahead. Without uttering a single sound she started to dig open a hole in the snow.

 

Her strokes were quick and vibrant; the movements of someone with a lot of life and energy inside, just waiting to get out.

 

After a little while, her self-made cave was ready. She stood back to admire her handiwork.

 

`I'm so good!' she thought happily, slinging her sac inside the hole.

 

She gently lowered herself inside, cringing at the freezing temperature. It was small and comfy, with only just enough space for her to sit down. The hole was still open though, so she quickly sealed the empty space with fallen snow from around her.

`Finally! I can get some decent sleep!'

 

Moving herself into a more comfortable position, she lay down and began her well-earned sleep.

 

 

Night had fallen in the forest and the small group trudged on wearily. They had been travelling for thirty hours non-stop, in waist deep snow without any rest and needed food and water.

 

Three of the group were walking with a glazed look in their eyes, while their shoulders sagged as if struggling to carry a heavy burden. The fourth member however, was already asleep, snuggling deeper into the soft fur of an exhausted fire neko.

 

Their pack leader was the only one showing no sign of being tired. He strode ahead with long even strides, turning back every once in a while to see how his pack mates were doing.

One of them he saw had already fallen asleep and was snoring softly. He looked so peaceful lying there, completely unaware that he alone was given the privilege to sleep.

 

And only, the hanyou told himself angrily, only because he was a kid. That was the only reason that he wasn't awake, battling it out with the rest of the group.

 

He chanced a glance back towards the other three, one male and two females.

 

For a moment, their stony eyes and hard unseeing stares unnerved him a little bit. A spark of sympathy burst out from him, but he ignored it stubbornly.

 

He could not let them rest. They still had more walking to do.

 

It was his youkai side telling him to do it, to keep pushing them on until they reached their destination.

It would not accept failure; they had to find the shards.

`But why are we walking?' he wondered `there really is nowhere to go. I can't even tell where the youkai we've been following is anymore.'

 

It was the sad and painful truth.

 

A few days ago, just after the snow had begun to fall, kagome had sensed some shards. They had quickly found the demon with two shards embedded in it's face; one in each eye. It's sight had been strengthened but it was huge and made slow bumbling movements. Basically, it was a piece of cake for the inu gang.

 

Things hadn't been as simple as they'd hoped though, when they'd been interrupted by the truly unique presence of his full demon half brother, Sesshomaru.

 

He felt a growl coming on, as he thought of the bastard. Sesshomaru.

 

The idiot had gone up to him, looking as bored as usual and started attacking him with that stupid sword of his, tokijin.

 

The youkai had taken the distraction as a chance to escape, but Sango and Miroku had cornered it and continued their assault. Then, his stupid half brother had gone and attacked them along with Kagome, who had been helping with her miko arrows.

 

He glanced down at his arm and studied the deep gash that was almost healed. He sighed.

 

His injuries had prevented him from aiding his friends, a feat that not only angered him, it embarrassed him too. As pack leader, it was his and only his responsibility to ensure that he looked after his group and took care of their needs. His inability to do so had not only proved him unworthy of the title, it made him look weak. And he definitely was NOT weak.

 

Thankfully, kilala had been around and had whisked them off to safety. His brother had spoken one sentence,' you are truly pathetic.' And then he'd flown away, on his stupid white cloud.

 

`Grrrrr!' He couldn't understand that jerk! What was his deal, anyway? Always showing up uninvited (not that he'd ever consider inviting him) starts to insult him and his pack, beats him to a bloody pulp and then flies off again.

 

If Inuyasha didn't know any better, he would have thought that the guy was toying with him.

 

`Toying?!!' he thought, ` he doesn't toy! That's as likely as if he'd walk up to me and kiss my butt!'

 

The mere thought of his elder brother bending down to lay a chaste kiss upon his rear was enough to make him give a small chuckle.

 

The sudden noise attracted one of his pack, the monk, who raised his head wildly, searching for the source of the sound. He looked haggard and disorientated and huge dark bags encircled his eyes.

 

Inuyasha's mind was pleading with him to stop and let them rest. That they would get sick after walking, for hours on end in the snow. A small sigh escaped his lips. Perhaps, they would rest after all. It would do him no good to have his pack sick and unhealthy. Not to mention his distaste for illness and sick people.

 

He stopped abruptly in his tracks and turned around. None of the others had seen him stop and they carried on walking like corpses.

 

“Hey!”

 

His voice sounded loud in the silence that had drifted into the forest. All heads lifted and Kagome took a sharp draw of breath.

 

He made himself sound softer. “You can rest now, lets make camp.”

 

None of them moved. They stayed still as if in some sort of trance. His eyes twitched nervously when he realised that they were looking at him with something close to hate in their eyes. Finally Kagome spoke:

 

“I'm gonna sleep for days inuyasha. And when I wake up and get my energy back, im gonna `sit' you till you're in middle earth.” She paused for a second to think. “And then I'll drag you back out again so that Sango can have a go at torturing you.” She yawned loudly. “Oh yeah and Miroku too.”

 

Inuyasha flinched at the calmly spoken threats, feeling the truth in her words. She probably would `sit' him to middle earth… whatever middle earth was. He stopped his worries though when the two human females slowly laid out their sleeping bags and blankets.

 

Pity rose up in him as he thought just how cold it would be on the cold snow floor. `They shouldn't be out here' he thought guiltily `they should be resting with other humans in a village.'

 

He sighed again when Miroku stumbled over to where the two girls lay and clambered in beside them. They made no move to shove him off; in fact they probably relished the extra warmth his body provided.

 

A minute later and his sharp hearing could detect their quiet shallow breathing, the only sound in the cold night air. Shippo and Kilala were curled up together, each warming the other with their hot demon blood. Even in the dark, the forest was white.

 

Nothing moved.

 

He jumped up into a large oak tree, cringing when the leaves rustled loudly. He had to be very quiet or else face the wrath of an extremely angry Kagome yelling and cursing at him in strange foreign languages.

 

In fact when he thought about it, his encounter with her could have been so much worse, she didn't even `sit' him once. Lady luck must have been watching over him.

 

He glanced down at her small body, tightly wrapped in the thin blankets. Beside her, Miroku's hand was twitching and edging closer and closer towards her backside. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. Even when he slept the monk couldn't keep his hands away.

 

`Tomorrow' he thought firmly `tomorrow I'll take them to a village where they can rest.'

 

He yawned slowly, only just realising exactly how tired he was. Pushing away, his burning urge to join them in slumber, he sat up straight with his back to the bark of the tree. It was his job to protect them, and this time he definitely wouldn't fail. But even as the words formed in his mind, he felt himself slipping deeper and deeper into sleep, into his sacred dreamlands, full of old childish fantasies, hopes and dreams.

 

The only place where no one could harm him.