InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Chaos is his Middle Name ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

The sun was hot and the last thing Kagome Higurashi wanted to do was go to the market place. She’d much rather have stayed and sunbathed with her friends, but her mother had insisted that she go get the supplies they were running low on.

Now she was trudging down the path that led to the village. It wasn’t that far from their cozy cottage, just a short trek through a batch of trees, that weren’t thick enough to call a forest, and over a small hill. Most days Kagome loved taking the little walk to the village and seeing the shops and people, but today she felt like it wasn‘t the smartest thing to do. She didn’t know why she felt so ill at ease, but as she made her way out of the small patch of woods, a weird sound reached her ears. It was a light crackling noise and Kagome couldn’t place exactly where she’d heard it before.

She looked over at the hill and her eyes were drawn to many smoke clouds above it. Her inner instincts were telling her that something wasn’t right and the more she thought about it the more she noticed that it was a lot quieter than it should have been. Usually by now she’d be able to hear the village chatter and the horses’ hoof steps.

The silence made the hair on the back of her neck raise causing her to trust in her earlier intuition. Once at the top of the hill, she stood staring at what had caused her animosity.

The once quaint little village was now up in flames. All that was left of the place were the skeletons of the shops and cottages that had lined the streets.

She knew that she should just turn around and run the rest of the way home, but instead she felt her feet pull her further toward to the destroyed village. She saw no people running around and this unnerved her more than anything else. Her conscience told her that she had to look for survivors, but her common sense was telling her to get out of there. Nevertheless, she pushed herself forward. If there was anyone alive out there she was going to find them.

The further into the village she walked the thicker the smoke became. It felt like her lungs were about to burst as she sucked in more smoke than oxygen. Kagome fell to her knees and pressed her face against the dirt trying to suck in cleaner air. She lifted the collar of her shirt and covered up her mouth and nose. Once on her feet she continued to move forward. “Hello! Is anyone here?” she yelled through her shirt. She got no answer, but it did not stop her from continuing her search.

As soon as she was traveling down what had been the main road, Kagome started spotting bodies. They were littered along the edge of the road covered in their own blood. Most of the them were charred and maimed. Kagome felt her stomach heave, but resisted the urge to regurgitate in the middle of what must have been a blood bath.

‘What a horrific catastrophe!’ Kagome thought as she scanned the desolate wasteland around her. She had only heard stories about villages being attacked and burned to the ground. She never thought that it would ever actually happen to the one she use to think of as her own.

After failing to find any survivors, Kagome was about to turn around and head back home, but stopped when a liberating moan was heard above the crackling fires. She hurried to where she had heard the sound and gasped when she saw a woman lying face down on the side of the road. She was lucky to have kept her face to the ground for it had managed to save her face from being burnt, but her back was going to have a nasty scar. It was cover in third degree burns.

Kagome knelt down beside the injured woman and, being careful of her wounds, gently maneuvered her into a sitting position. The woman screamed in agony as she felt her marred skin shift. The pain must have been too great for her because her screams soon cut off as she passed into unconsciousness.

Kagome stared mournfully down at the unconscious lady in her arms. Nobody should have to go through such pain.

Figuring that since she was unaware of her injuries, now would be the time to move her. Still being careful, Kagome moved the woman to rest on her back. It took a few tries to get her angle just right, but eventually the deed was done. Shifting the woman on her back, Kagome hauled forward. If she could just get up the hill she’d be home free.

Digging her heal into the slanted ground, Kagome began the hardest climb she’d had in a long while. The extra weight on her back threw her off balance and she had to stop to steady herself more than a couple of times. By the time she was at the top she was exhausted. At least she had made it halfway.

Heaving a sigh, she readjusted the woman on her back and started walking again. She had thought that once she was past the tree line, her nerves would have settled, but instead they intensified. She felt her heartbeat start to quicken and she couldn’t help but grip onto the unconscious woman’s legs harder then she meant to. She pressed onward until she saw something in the shadows dart past her. She wiped her head in the direction were she had seen the movement, but was only greeted with the tumbling of a few leaves. She cautiously surveyed her surrounds before walking again.

She felt her muscles tighten as her urge to get out of the small woods increased. When the lighting from the outside broke through the tree line, she let out a sigh of relief. She was about to make a run for it, but she heard the leaves rustle behind her again. Kagome had no control over the action of looking behind her, it was merely a reflex, but as soon as her eyes left the promising light of the sun she knew she would regret it. Before she could refocus on her main target she collided into a very firm wall.

When she looked up, she lost her grip on the woman on her back and felt as she tumbled to the floor. Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed into the vacant amber eyes of the man before her. With that one look she could feel his whole life sufferings and the only thought that could come to her mind, through all the emotions this being brought to life inside her, was, ‘Who was this guy?’ She quickly took in his appearance. His hair was silver and went down past his waist and he had doglike ears on top of his head. The more appropriate question was, ‘What was this guy?’

The man bared his fangs at her and growled menacingly. Kagome’s eyes went wide in fear as realization hit her. This was what attacked the village! Now it was after her and the remaining survivor!

Kagome watched as it raised its blood covered claw in front of her and then cracked its knuckles. It chuckled darkly as it slowly reached out and smeared blood on her cheek. Kagome’s lower lip trembled as it drew a line from her temple to her chin leaving behind a tiny trail of her own blood. Her breathing picked up when she saw him lean forward. She closed her eyes waiting for her death, but was shocked when she felt a wet appendage follow the line on her face.

Her eyes shot open and she found herself looking into its eyes again, but they were no longer vacant. They held a malicious lust that left Kagome trembling. She was beginning to think she preferred the vacant stare. Its hand trailed up over her hip and up the front of her shirt. Acting out of reflex, Kagome slapped the hand away.

The enraged growl that erupted from the beast in front of her had tears pooling in her eyes. She tried to blink them back, but some still managed to slip over the rim of her eyes. She stared as the threatening look left its face and was replaced with confusion. It sniffed the air as it moved closer to her. Its nose brushed against her cheek, catching some of her tears in the process.

It licked the edge of its nose, tasting her tears, then proceeded to lick the remaining ones off her face. Kagome closed her eyes and held her breath, not wanting to upset it more than she already had. She felt a tap on the edge of her nose and when she didn’t respond another one followed. She peered through one eye and noticed she was nose to nose with the beast. She gasped in shock as both eyes flew open.

Its eyes no longer held any evil intent, but rather a forlorn look. Kagome could tell that it was one it rarely showed to anyone because of the way it was trying to keep it concealed. Its eyes switched back and forth between vacant and misery. Kagome felt more tears well up in her eyes, but this time they was not for herself. They were for him. She raised a hand to place on his cheek, but before she could touch him, he was gone. The last expression on his face as he left was vacant. His depraved side had won.

As her heartbeat slowly returned to normal she looked back over at the forgotten woman on the ground. She sighed as she once again knelt down beside her and maneuvered her onto her back. When she was situated, she strode out of the woods.

The sun momentarily blinded her, but as her eyes adjusted she spotted her cottage in the distance. Her already fast pace sped up immensely. Faster than she would have thought possible, seeing as she carried an injured person on her back, she was in her front yard. It was her little brother, Souta, who first noticed her arrival.

“Sis, what took you so long?” he yelled as he crossed the yard and then stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the unconscious person his sister carried. “What’s wrong with her? Is she . . . Is she dead?” His voice shook and even though he’d never admit it, Kagome could tell that not only did the wounded woman make him nervous, but the blood smeared on her face did as well.

She shook her head. “No, just unconscious.” She walked a bit further until her feet slipped out from under her and she landed on her stomach with a thud. The extra weight had her moaning in discomfort. “Where’s Mom?”

Souta looked skittish as he ran into the cottage. Kagome tried to readjust the woman, but was surprised that most of her strength was gone. She laid her head down on the grass in defeat. She preoccupied herself by playing with the blades of grass around her as her mind slowly wandered onto the person that had attacked her. It was the single most terrifying moment of her life. She had really thought that she was going to die. The look in his eyes as he ran his nail down her face. It still left goose bumps on her arms.

“Kagome?” It was her mother’s voice. Kagome looked up at her as she gazed down with a horrified expression. “Oh my Kami, Kagome are you alright?”

Mother’s. Always worrying too much . . . But maybe she had good reason to this time. “Yes Mom, I’m fine,” she said as she tried to move again. The attempt was fruitless. “but I don’t think she is. She’s burned pretty badly. Maybe you could take a look at her?”

“Of course. Souta help me with her.” Kagome felt as they lifted the body off of her and courted her into their home. Kagome stretched her joints before standing up and sighed in contentment when some of the stiff ones popped.

Kagome was about to walk the rest of the way to her house, but stopped as she gazed back toward the woods. She couldn’t help but wonder why he had attacked a defenseless village. He couldn’t possibly have gotten pleasure from it. The look of misery in his eyes told her that much. So why did he do it then?

“Kagome?” her mother called. Kagome could tell she sounded nervous. “Come on inside. I don’t want you lingering out there.” Taking her eyes off the trees, she rushed inside.

Kagome saw that her mother had laid the woman on her stomach on the extra bed in the main room. Souta, who was blushing furiously, sat beside her coating her wounds with a healing gel. It was a good thing the lady wasn’t awake because she’d be in excruciating pain and probably embarrassed by the lack of clothing covering her chest. But Kagome trusted Souta not to be a peeping Tom.

She felt her mother wrap an arm around her shoulders. “Kagome what happened?” she whispered.

Kagome shivered as she recalled the village. “The village had been attacked.” Kagome explained. “She was the only one I found alive.” Her mother gasped.

“Oh Kami. What a terrible sight to see.” Her mother brought Kagome into an embrace. “I’m so thankful that you’re alright.” In return, Kagome wrapped her arms around her as well. “You didn’t see it get attacked, did you? I would hate for you to have witnessed some as traumatic as that. Not that you won’t have disturbing memories from just seeing dead bodies, but . . .”

Kagome shook her head. “No, I didn’t see it happen, but . . . “ Kagome trailed off, not knowing how to explain. “. . . I did see what attacked it.”

Her mother ripped away from her and stared into her daughter’s eyes with shock. “Did it see you? Kagome please tell me it did not see you!”

Kagome averted her eyes as she whispered, “It tracked me down in the woods.” She felt her mother trace the line on her face.

“Is that how you acquired this?” she asked just as softly, as if afraid of the answer. Kagome didn’t want to look at her mother because she knew that she’d see tears in her eyes so she opted for nodding. She heard her mother take in a shaky breath. “I’m so thankful that you escaped. I don’t know what I would have done if you had never come back.” She embraced Kagome again only this time tighter. “This senseless killing has got to stop.”

“Mom?”

“Yes Dear.”

Kagome was silent for a moment. “. . . Was it always like this? Has everyone always had to live in fear?” She clung to her mother like she had when she was a girl. A scared little girl gripping onto her mother like she was her lifeline.

Her mother patted her on the head. “No Sweetheart. There was once a time when everything was peaceful. You could go outside and talk with your neighbors until the sun went down. Now you’d be lucky to stay out longer than late afternoon. Everything was happy and the only thing you had to worry about were keeping the animals out of your house.” She took a deep breath. “Of course, that was before the king was murdered.”

Kagome pulled out of her mother’s arms and stared at her. “How come you’ve never told me this story before?” Her mother sighed as she led them over to the couch.

“Kagome, I see the way you look at things around you. You believe everything is beautiful and I just didn’t want to be the one to take that away.” Her mother looked over at Souta and said, “You might as well listen to the story as well.” Souta nodded, but didn’t move closer to hear. Instead, he stayed where he was and continued to spread the gel on the woman’s back.

“I remember the day the king was murdered. I’ll never forget it because it was the day you were born Kagome. I can‘t believe it‘s been seventeen years already.” She smiled at her daughter for a moment before continuing with the story. “It was also the day Onigumo became king. For the first couple of years Onigumo changed nothing and nobody noticed the difference, but slowly he did make changes. The price of bread went up and with that loitering appeared more frequently. This went on for a year before the people got tired of the high prices. So a huge group went to the castle to protest, but they never returned. Nothing changed and the high prices just got higher. Another year passed and most villages had boycotted anything associated with the king.” She stopped to look at her children who were staring at her intently.

“You have to understand that this is a very dark time. You have to be careful of what you say, about the people around you when you say it, because if you were to say anything bad about the king you were killed. . . . The villages that had boycotted didn’t last long. They were soon destroyed along with everyone who lived there.” She paused thinking back to some memory. “They were all destroyed by one man. A monster. I’ve heard of how it’d swoop down and cut a person in half without a thought. It didn’t matter if you were an adult or a child. You were nothing more than an insignificant little ant to it. Something it could easily dispose of. And I have no doubt that it was that monster that attacked the village today. You were very lucky to have escaped Kagome. You and the woman.”

As her mother finished her story, Kagome stared at the farthest wall. Something didn’t add up in what her mother had said. If they were nothing but ants to him then why did he not kill her? He had seemed affected by her tears. Like he didn’t know what do to make them stop. It didn’t make sense. She looked over at her mother who was also lost in thought. Maybe it was best not to bring this up with her mother. “What an awful story.”

“What an awful reality.” her mother replied. She looked over at Kagome and smiled sadly. “I am sorry I sent you this morning. If I had known that you were going to stumble upon a scene of carnage a never would have sent you.”

Kagome gripped onto her mother’s hand. “I know Mom, but how could you have known? Besides, I’m fine and I’m going to be fine.” Her mother sighed and briefly hugged Kagome again before going over to help her son. Kagome stared at the two as they fretted over the woman. She did look pretty bad, but the cooling gel should help with her burns.

As Kagome approached them, the woman let out a aching groan. “She’s waking up.” Souta said as he stood up. He looked over at his mother as if wanting her advice.

“Let her come to. She won’t be very comfortable, but maybe we can learn who she is.” she replied. Kagome looked from her mother then back down at the woman, who’s eyes were quivering. She was indeed about to wake up.