InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Along Came You ❯ A Forests Dangers ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters that appear in that Anime / Manga. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Also, the demon that appears belongs to John Whedon, creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. You may see his appearance in the third episode of Season Seven. (Please note I just used their basic outline of this demon / monster, but I changed him a bit so it wouldn’t be so obviously copied.) Thank you and enjoy.

Maybe… if I keep running… then he’ll just fade away like the view of the camp behind me, fade from my memories.
-You’re an idiot. You realize this, right? You’ll never get over him; you’re not strong.
Says who?
-Me, you idiot.


The young miko girl stopped running abruptly, doubling over and gasping for breath while she panted in attempts to recuperate it. Her long, raven hair hung loosely in front of her face that had already collected beads of sweat despite the cool night around her. “Why am I arguing with myself?” She asked as she drew in a sharp breath while her chest heaved. Sure, she was in good shape for a girl her age, and sure, she was a bit athletic from all the fighting she had done since she had entered the feudal era; but she was no demon.


“I’ve barely covered two miles…” Kagome Higurashi said softly to herself as the realization hit her and she straightened her hunched-over figure. “There’s no way I’m going to get far enough away, ever.”
-What makes you think he’ll drag you back? He doesn’t care for you.
No, but he does care for the Shikon No Tama.
-Touché.


“Why doesn’t the voice in my head ever shut up?” The guardian of the jewel asked, running a hand through her hair. The teenage girls breath was starting to come back easier and slower, not in sharp, shallow gasps like before. She would start running again, but first it might do her some good to find her bearings.

How does Inuyasha manage to never get lost in here?
-Because he’s amazing, strong and way smarter than you will ever be.
Kagome winced as the little voice in her head turned on her once again, wondering why even the thought of his name (without being vocalized) caused her so much pain.
-Why did you leave, anyways? You’re just an ungrateful wench.
He’s off with Kikyo.
-Damn whore.
At least there’s one thing we agree about.



The young Higurashi Shrine heiress sighed, shaking her head before walking once more. She was going to have to take things slow if she was going to get far enough away from their camp so Inuyasha wouldn’t be able to find her in the morning by sunrise. I wonder why I ran away, now of all times… The girl asked herself, tilting her head and crossing her arms while looking ahead of her, into the night. She wasn’t exactly afraid of the dark, but it did unsettle her a bit, and she knew the types of- of things that lived in this forest.


Kagome Higurashi was no idiot.


But then how had she managed to fall in love with that damned hanyou in the first place? Love was a mystery, no doubt, a mystery this girl was growing to loathe and dread. “Things most be so easy for people that are cold and distant, evil and cunning, people that don’t love anything at all… why can’t I be like that?” She asked the night, frowning and shaking her head.
-You’re a lover, not a fighter.
I can be tough.

-…Don’t make me laugh!


Of course, it never occurred to the young reincarnation of the priestess Kikyo that while talking in her mind was alright, talking out loud could get her into a spot of trouble with a few of the local demons. Her scent obviously didn’t along, and when she began to talk to herself and ask herself questions, it showed weakness and drew attention to her; not the wisest choice, in other words.


“Hmmm… where the hell am I?” Kagome asked, turning around. She was actually quite calm, despite her current situation. Maybe it was the anger in her heart she reserved for it’s breaker only, the will to leave this place and the obliviousness to the danger in her current position that kept her so calm; but then again, maybe it was stupidity.


“You’re in a forest, dearie. My, my, we haven’t gotten ourselves lost, now, love?”


Kagome shot up at the sound of the taunting, male voice and bit her lip before trying to regain her composure. Oh, why had she left her bow and arrows at the campsite! Her hand instinctively went to the jewel shards around her neck and tucked them under her shirt, hoping the demon hadn’t sensed them or her fear quite yet.


“Aw, poor, poor dearie. She’s so lost in this big forest, why, would you like me to help you out of the big forest, sweet, little girl?” The voice asked, jeering at her and echoing through the forest, which only reinforced the knowledge that she was alone with whatever was causing it.


“N-no!” Kagome shouted, leaning forward and spreading her feet apart, her arms tense and hands balled into tight, clenched fists. She was doing her best to pretend she wasn’t terrified of whatever was taunting her so, but the fact that her voice cracked wasn’t doing her much good.
-See what you’ve gotten yourself into?
Will you just shut up for once!


The defenseless girl swallowed, taking a half-step forward with her left foot only. The position she was in was good for kicking, but in all honesty, she would be taking the flight reflex instead of fight when it came down to it.


And I think we all know the demon knew it too.


Kagome noticed she was shivering about two minutes after she started, putting one hand on her other arm as she realized there were goose bumps making her skin prickle. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she could have sworn she felt a warm breath on the back of her neck, causing the girl to whirl around before gritting her teeth. She looked around carefully, before realizing there was a light, foggy mist (or was it a misty fog?) had seeped into the clearing she was at.


The girl took a step back before bumping into something and yelping when she felt whatever was stalking her shove her forward, into a tree. Kagome hit the tree face-on and slunk down against it. Obviously she was dealing with a demon, and most likely a full-demon who liked a bit of drama, by the looks of the fog.


“What do you want?” She asked, trying to sound brave but instead finding that she sounded like a little girl squeaking at her fearsome nightmares that consumed her during the night. A cold chuckling came before her answer as she felt much, much colder all the sudden and slunk down against the trunk of the tree after she had turned around to face the direction where her push had come from.


“Boo.”



Kagome screamed as she felt four sharp things stab her in her side, two on either side of her stomach right where her rib cage ended, and leaned forward until they slid out. “What- what are you?” She half cried, half exclaimed with a bit of difficulty… why did she feel as if she couldn’t control her words?


The demon cackled and seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the mist, grinning at her maliciously. Kagome noted that his teeth were yellow, few having fallen out, and his breath was disgusting enough for her to want to vomit right then and there. But, of course, there was one problem with that-


She couldn’t move at all.

“I see you’re beginning to realize the effect those four puncture wounds are going to have on you, are you not dearie? Poor, poor birdie… she tried to fly away and fell from the nest.” He cooed, crouching down besides her with a wicked smirk that shook her to the core. “Don’t worry, little birdie, you don’t have to worry about kitties eating you. I’ll make sure you’re devoured properly.” Kagome tried to scream before realizing she couldn’t open her mouth, the most she could stand to do was breathe through her nose- and even that was hard.



“You see, my dear, my claws-“ He paused mid-speech to wave his four incredibly long talons that extended off his fingers, “-have a poison that paralyzes once it comes in contact with the blood stream.” Kagome tried to yell something but it came out muffled and unintelligible due to the fact that she couldn’t part her lips. “No, I’m sorry, love…” He began as if he knew what she was going to say, “-but it doesn’t numb.”


Kagome tried as hard as she could to wriggle out of this thing’s grasp but found that she could barely wiggle her fingers. She took in a sharp breath as she felt the edge of his talon began to make shallow slices in her arm. He began to hum a haunting tune under his breath, though it seemed merry to him, as he worked.


Why is he cutting me up? I’m already paralyzed! Kagome thought in panic, closing her eyes and blinking back tears as the demon made his work of making thin slices down her left fore-arm, each no thicker than a half of an inch. When the demon finished he used the tips of his talons, quite expertly actually, to peel away a strip of flesh and eat it. Oh, that’s why… She said, completely horrified.


As the demon continued to eat the stripes of flesh he had made, Kagome tried to focus on something- anything- to keep her mind of the searing pain she was experiencing. In fact, her physical pain was nearly a match for the pain in her heart… nearly. This fact made it nearly impossible for her to concentrate on her other senses, but why would she want to? When it came to sound she could no longer hear the soft wind sighing and leaves rustling as if they were eager to break free from their stem imprisonment and this sense was filled with his hums and her muffled screams that never escaped her mouth. Smell she did, though she wished she didn’t have to, his vile breath and her metallic life-substance as it leaked out of her wounds in a puddle around her. She could nearly taste her fear, and touch was out of the question due to her paralysis.


So, instead of concentrating on her thoughts (which constantly got distracted by a new, fresh, searing pain), she studied the creature that was making what she presumed to be her last few hours of life a living hell. I shouldn’t have run away…Kagome told herself in her head as she watched the sickly dirty-pale-yellow… thing peel away the last strip of flesh on her forearm besides her hand and the back of said forearm. She noticed how he was bony and short, how greedily he hunched over whatever he was working on and somehow managed to operate powerfully and with quick calculations despite the fact that his ribs were clearly marked as were the rest of his bones.


The girl was shocked when he moved her, forcing her to lay down flat and he crawled between her legs. Oh, no… he’s not going to- to- rape me? Is he? She asked herself while the fear she was feeling clearly reflected in her eyes he grabbed the hem of her white school uniform shirt and lifted it so it was just past her belly-button. He began the exact peeling and cutting process once more, much to the relief of Kagome.


Wait, how is being raped much worse than being eaten?
-Don’t ask me… OW!


Kagome flinched as he peeled away his first strip, dangling in front of his mouth before dropping it. She could feel her hot blood trickling out of her wound, tickling her and torturing her in her fresh pains that were sharp as he made them on top of the agony of her already peeled away skin. The gross demon whose skin color could not even be described lowered his mouth and stuck out a pointy tongue to lick any blood off of her stomach.


When the demon came back up to peel away more skin the tortured girl noticed that his nose was quite large, like a large, thin triangle jutting out of his face and that the very sockets were his eyes were held were noticeable through his thin, filmy skin that seemed to barely keep his veins and bones inside while stripping away almost like an Egyptian mummy’s bandages would.


His thin, pointy ears flicked upwards slightly when he realized that someone was approaching. He whirled around before Kagome could realize anything was wrong, hunched over with his knees bent so that he was close to the ground. The terrible demon had stopped humming long ago, and was completely quiet with his mental taunts. Obviously he was enjoying his prey far too much and his stupidity wasn’t going to over come his greed, well, at least not this time.


“Be quiet, love.” He whispered and straightened, but before Kagome knew what happened, his head slid forward; completely disconnected from the neck and the rest of his body. The girl would have gasped had her paralysis worn off by then, but it hadn’t, so she couldn’t. She wished she could move her neck, even just a little, to get better vigilance than the darting of her eyes.


A cold, emotionless voice emanated from the dark with a bit of a protective edge to it. “Rin, cover your eyes.” The voice in itself demanded authority, and Kagome wondered what could possibly be awaiting her now. I don’t think this night could get much worse… She thought to herself with a little, mental groan and a rolling of her eyes. A tall, dog youkai appeared from the shadows and Kagome immediately recognized him for the Western Lord he was; Inuyasha’s half brother, Sesshomaru.


His amber eyes were cold, disgruntled at being forced to do this by Rin (though Kagome did not know that at the time) and annoyed by the very action of having to look at her, a human, a friend of his half brother and someone so weak they couldn’t defend themselves when they went out on their own; as well as someone stupid enough to do so.


Wordlessly, he scooped up the fallen miko wordlessly and returned to where Rin was. Only when he had pulled down her shirt and tucked her arm closer to him so that the wounds were out of the little girls sight did he tell her it was okay to open her eyes with a little tap on the shoulder. The little girl he had taken as his charge climbed atop Ah-Un, the two-headed dragon that had proved quite useful for carting things around, and rode him back to the Western Castle whereas Kagome was carried bridal-style while Sesshomaru ran.


Oh, the perks of being a youkai were endless.


Kagome looked up at the Lord of the Western Lands, wondering why on Earth he had done what he had just done. But, she wasn’t one to complain about having her life saved (nor could she complain due to her little condition), and the only thing she wanted was for the pain to stop. Well, and for world peace, Inuyasha to stop being a whore, to feel wanted, to defeat Naraku, etc… but really, just having the pain stop would be a good start.

Almost immediately after he had begun running Kagome had fallen asleep- or had she passed out? Either way, Sesshomaru didn’t really care; as long as she was quiet it would make his trip to the castle a lot quicker. The youkai’s face was cold, emotionless and calculating. What would he do with the girl now? He wasn’t about to send her back to his careless half brother, though the idea was tempting… but then again, he knew all along what he was going to do with her.


She’ll be a good playmate for Rin. He told himself, wishing desperately that Jaken would stop being so useless and would play with his semi-adopted daughter already. I suppose this Sesshomaru will have to have a talk with him. He decided without a second moments thought, he knew that Jaken wouldn’t leave him and he also knew about the way the short toad demon treated his beloved charge- and even if he didn’t have those two reasons, Sesshomaru wasn’t one to doubt himself or think things over twice; no matter how important.


Rin looked over at the man she considered to be her father as she rode Ah-Un and he ran with that human girl she had seen him attack before, wondering what he was thinking. “Sesshomaru-sama?” The little girl asked timidly, wondering if he was in one of his so-called moods when he didn’t want to be bothered.


“Yes, Rin?” he asked, seemingly having infinite patience when it came to the young, human girl he had saved from death what seemed like such a short while ago. ”Is she going to be staying with us?” She asked, a hopeful glimmer appeared in her eye at the prospect of having a playmate.
“Would you like her to?”
The little girl nodded eagerly, “Yes, Rin would like that very much.”
“Then so she shall.” The Lord decided, looking down at the peaceful face of a teenager that was facing a world of hurt in her future as it contorted in pain at the slightly jostle. He would have to be more careful, he knew this subconsciously, but he wasn’t about to admit it or even think it to himself.


Then so she shall.





About half an hour before Kagome had run away, a certain hanyou had been up to no good. A small smile formed on his lips as he saw his dead maiden walking towards him, soul catchers floating around her with a grace that left him awed. “Kikyo.” He said quietly, moving towards her.


“Inuyasha.” The dead priestess said, nodding and looking up at him. The hanyou looked down at her and smiled once again, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to him as he rested his chin atop her head pensively. He could just enjoy the moment, could he not? Keh, of course I can. Who’s going to stop me?


After about ten minutes of just holding her in silence Kikyo decided to begin a bit of conversation, “Inuyasha, why must you do this to me?” She asked softly, looking up at him as he pulled his chin away from her head to meet her gaze.

“Do what?” He asked in a soft tone that he reserved only for her, a tone that Kagome craved to get but very rarely received.
“I want to be whole, but without the rest of my soul the two of us can never be.” Kikyo said, continuing to hold his gaze with listless eyes.


Inuyasha sighed, letting her go and pulling away from her. “I need her to complete the jewel.” He said flatly, crossing his arms and sitting down. The dead girl tilted her head and wandered beside him, sitting down as well.
“I could help you complete the jewel once my soul is complete.” She reminded him with a light tap on the shoulder, looking over at him slowly.


The hanyou merely nodded and looked out towards the river they were sitting against while he sat under the tree. Oh, how he longed to tell her he could no longer stand the smell of her dead-flesh, her cold touch, her listless gaze and her lack of warmth and love. But he couldn’t tell her any of these things, no; he was supposed to go to hell with her. And apparently until he did, she was going to make his life a hell.


Inuyasha spent the majority of the night with a dead woman in his arms, kissing her occasionally and sitting in silence for hours that seemed like days. He didn’t feel comfortable with her, as if he didn’t fit in his skin; but why did he keep coming back then? Every time she appeared at night, every time things were starting to go right between him and Kagome (and everyone else, for that matter) she came and he would go crawling back to her like a lost puppy.


Kikyo knew she had power over him, and she always used that to her advantage. However, sometimes Inuyasha would simply walk away. Sunrise that day was one of those times, when he gently pushed her away wordlessly and stood and walked back to where his human companions were waiting. Normally he would check on Kagome and the rest before climbing and sleeping a few hours in his tree, but tonight he seemed to think that it wasn’t necessary.


Oh, if only he had.







Mediaminer.org
A/N: Hi guys! I realize I haven’t logged into my account in forever and I never finished… anything, really. Oops? My bad! I think my other stories are going to either be put on hold for a few months or deleted, but please don’t hold your breath (unless you review, of course, then you can hold your breath all you’d like!). I’d really appreciate it if you’re review if you read, even if you think it’s totally horrible… I’m trying to get these guys as close to cannon as I can, but this is really my only first serious attempt, so I need a little help! Also, sorry for the uploading and then deleting, my formatting was really screwed up! Thanks, I love you all < 3. – Mimi