InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ DarkWorld ❯ DarkWorld History ( Chapter 6 )

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

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. However, I have a friend who owns 1/124 of it. As for me - nope, nothing, nada. I only write fanfiction, draw fanart, and lay awake at night imagining what could happen if I controlled the wonderful manga or anime. . . Ah, dreams.

Chapter 6: DarkWorld History

"It was fifty years ago that Naraku claimed the Shikon no Tama as his own. We do not know how the priestess Maeko happened to have it, but it assumed she was present as it was formed. She tried her best to purify the Sacred Jewel for several months before Naraku scented its power and killed her to receive it.

"He seized control of the country with its power, gaining allies from the more evil of demons and blackened humans, promising life to hanyous as well who aided him in his conquest. My strongest castle fell at his persistence and I myself was wounded, near killed. Two of my swords were lost in the battle, one of which was shattered, Sou'unga. I know little of what became of Tensaiga but I believe Naraku has plans of using it somehow. Tetsusaiga I handed over to Hiei, as was my intention the day of his birth.

"The earth began dying only recently. Something must have happened, because Naraku's reign had not killed earth or slain trees until a short time ago. We do not know what is happening but it seems as though everything is suffering, including Naraku himself. His armies have weakened but he has not. We do not understand this, but with your appearance, it seems as though it might be your world, parallel to ours, that has somehow shifted the line of ours.

"You say that in your world I have died, as did Naraku. How is it that I would have died?"

"We don't really know," Kagome said.

"I know it has had something to do with the princess Izayoi and Inuyasha," Sesshomaru said, sending a cold glance at Inuyasha. "I do not know everything, but you left to bring war upon her prison and did not return."

"He left to retrieve Yume and Hiei, and did so," Tsurumaru argued, just as calm as his counterpart. "Yume died from a mortal ailment before the time of the Sacred Jewel. I hold no resentment for my brother but you seem to be overflowing with it."

Sesshomaru's glare hardened and he regarded his counterpart with the same contempt as he gave to every creature. "A disgusting half-breed unworthy of -"

Tsurumaru jumped in, even as Sesshomaru continued his tirade. "He is no such thing and you must learn the proper respect -"

They both continued on, making it difficult to understand what either was saying.

"I have said unworthy and that is -"

"You are incorrect in this and must -"

"How could you be me when you are uneducated in -"

"Unemotional is one way to behave, but unfeeling in your heart is -"

Their voices were rising. Rin shivered and moved to sit beside Kagome. Kimi, leaning against the far wall with her thumb on one temple and her index finger on the other, started speaking. "Neither of you understand this and now you - just shut up. Shut up. I said shut up!!" she snapped, standing up straight and clenching her fists at her sides.

Everyone looked at her but her eyes were for Sesshomaru and Tsurumaru alone. "Don't either of you see? Don't you understand? Kagome wished for unity! Unity, life and love! What are you doing now?! You're not loving one another. You're not letting life go along. You're not being unified. Midoriko said that unity had to be strived for and maintained, and you two are only separating yourselves further!! Naraku won using hate in this world, and you, Sesshomaru - yes, you - you are continuing to hate. If you can't learn love then you might as well join Naraku because you aren't helping us!!"

"Love what? Love whom?" Sesshomaru returned, standing and facing his sister. "Explain to me how I am to love a creature that belongs under my feet!"

"How dare you!!" Kimi screamed. "You don't see anything, you're blind," she said weakly, dropping her face into her hands. "Blood bonds are higher than species and you don't understand that. . ."

Her movement seemed to shock Sesshomaru and as they all watched, he made a few gestures like he wanted to walk away, then a few others that implied he wanted to try and comfort her. He was stuck.

She was crying now. "Sandira, you're such a lucky bitch that your brothers don't fight like this. . ."

Shocked faces were all around by now and Inuyasha moved quickly over to Kimi and hugged her close.

"C'mon, Kimi, we're not fighting," he told her. In an awkward motion her tried to stroke her hair. "We're not fighting, see? Now stop crying. Just cut it out."

Sesshomaru was beside them now, only his eyes were solely for Kimi. "Kamikimimaru. . .Kimi. . ." He obviously didn't know what to do.

Sandira touched Kimi's cheek, getting Kimi to look over at her. "You think they don't fight? They fight all the time. About ridiculous things half the time. It usually ends in my having to separate them, actually," she laughed. "We have the same problem but as well we have the same gift."

Kimi lifted her head, not bothering to wipe away her tears or draw away from Inuyasha's arms. "A gift? What is that?"

"Our very pressences. I calm both of my brothers and you seem to do the same. See how they stand side by side now that you are crying?"

Kimi looked and noted that both of her brothers were stunned by this statement. But somehow, it was true. She knew it was. They refrained from fighting when around her. She offered Sandira a shaky smile. "But as Tsurumaru said, he doesn't hate Hiei."

"You can fix that," Sandira replied, a strength in her voice that dared to be proven wrong.

Kimi chuckled. "Maybe but I won't hold my breath for them to kiss and make up."

Inuyasha jerked and backed up. "Kiss and make up?!" he replied, looking for all the world like he just touched a disgusting pile of green slime and couldn't get it off his fingers. "Where do you get these ides?!"

Kagome giggled. "Inuyasha why don't you come and 's' down. I'm pretty sure Inuyukio hasn't finished his story yet."

"Feh!" he said. But he did as she suggested and took his seat beside her again.

Sesshomaru didn't move, standing beside Kimi. Not even when she leaned against the wall in her earlier pose.

"I have finished," Inuyukio began. "But it seems as though we must inform one another of our pasts to fully understand the differences."

"I want to know why Ran'gawa has that scar on her shoulder," Sango started.

Ran'gawa nodded. "I received it many years ago. We were fighting a demon that had several tentacles and one of them pierced my shoulder during the battle. If Kiori was not such a wonderful healer I would have lost my arm completely." She tilted her head. "And your past?"

"I was raised in a village of demon exterminators, and my father often boasted of how well I fought. They were slaughtered during a job by Naraku. It was a ruse to get the best of us away from the village so he could attack." She looked away. "I survived, but barely. Kohaku was brought back by Naraku and controlled. He's my brother."

Ran'gawa smiled sadly. "I do not know what happened to my brother. I can only hope he lives still."

Shippo looked at Toshiro. "I wanna know why you're twice my size. We're the same age, aren't we?"

Toshiro nodded. "Eight years of age. But it looks like I've grown as a human would while you grow as a demon. You're going to be very short when you're fully grown, I'll bet."

"Hey!"

Kagome giggled and rubbed Shippo's head. "I'm sure you'll grow up to be very tall and proud, Shippo." She got a grin from him.

"Yeah, as soon as he grows out of being such a kid," Inuyasha put in.

"You're such a meanie!" Shippo snapped.

"Inuyasha," Kagome warned. He cringed. "Sit." She got a glare from Kimi at the word but shrugged it off. "You said that Kiori is the only light demon left. Can you explain that?"

Kiori nodded. "My mother told me I was a birth without a father. That I was conceived of the light. I am just after fifteen years, and at that time, the sky was near constantly covered in blackened clouds that did not bring rain. Naraku ordered water demons to feed the ground and fire demons to provide light, but kept the sun from view. My mother was outside, running from a horde of demons, when the sky opened up and a light engulfed her. She believes a God spoke to her and killed the demons, but he did not touch her. She went into hiding and a few weeks later she found she was pregnant."

"Wow. But it can't be immaculate conception -"

"Imma-con-what?" Inuyasha broke in.

"Immaculate conception. It means a pregnancy without a father. Like the mother made herself pregnant."

He snorted. "That's impossible."

"I'll have to explain the story of Jesus to you someday."

"Who?"

"Nevermind."

"Yes," Miroku put in. "I wish to know about Shoda."

Shoda smiled. "I wish to know of you as well, Miroku."

"I am a monk. There is little else to say."

"A monk?" Shoda repeated. "I cannot imagine myself as a monk. I have been a warrior my entire life."

"Warrior?" Miroku echoed. "I could not see myself as a warrior." He tilted his head and looked pointedly at Shoda's neck. "However I can see battle scars so it must be true. That scar in particular seems mortal. How is it that it did not kill you?"

"Kiori is often considered magical," Shoda explained. He lifted his chin so you could see the scar, a long and ugly scar that began sometime at the back of his neck and continued around his throat. "It severed more than one of my vital veins but Kiori is very smart. She tended to them every hour and it healed well for such a mortal wound."

"It looks like it hurt a lot," Kagome said, her eyes sad. "I would have done everything I could to help it heal."

Shoda smiled at her, a plesant smile that made her stomach flutter. "You and Kiori seem to be the perfect duo, then. I would fear for the one who were to get in your way."

Kagome blushed and looked down. This didn't make much sense. Miroku groped at every opportunity but Shoda didn't, and Shoda could make any girl fall for him but Miroku couldn't. They were practically opposites.

"I would like to know," Miroku was saying, "if there is anything between you and Ran'gawa, Shoda."

"What do you mean?" Shoda asked.

"When we entered you were doing something with Ran'gawa's shoulder. You touched her like a lover."

Sango blushed and Ran'gawa smiled faintly.

"No," Shoda said. "We are not in such a relationship. I could not possibly marry a woman with the world in such a state."

"Chivalrous to the very end," Ran'gawa commented. The look she gave him proved that the two did in fact have strong feelings for each other and that when Naraku was defeated, if he was, then they would marry without a second's hesitation.

Sango continued to blush.

"I would hate to interrupt such a touching scene," Sesshomaru said with no truth to his words, "but I must inquire of Tsurumaru. Where is your tail?"

Tsurumaru looked pointedly away and Sandira sat next to him. "Naraku learned of my betrayal," he began. "He learned that I was giving Father news through Hiei."

"Wait - through Hiei?" Inuyasha asked. "How?"

"Kiori helped us with that," Hiei explained. "Tsurumaru and I shared blood so that we could speak through our minds, and Kiori strengthened it over distances."

"Why was it you did not seek to make this bond with your father?" Sesshomaru asked Tsurumaru.

"Naraku knows him, knows his scent and the feel of his aura," Tsurumaru was saying. "He did not know of Hiei and because we are brothers, our scents and auras are so alike that with Hiei's blood in me there was a small chance of someone noticing the change, and even so, you would need to know him beforehand to recognize it was his."

"Continue."

"Perhaps the child should not hear this," Tsurumaru said with a look at Rin, who remained beside Kagome.

"Rin, honey," Kagome said, "I think he wants you to hold your ears and hum."

Rin tilted her head. "How would humming help?"

"It makes a sound in your head. Do it Rin, please?"

"Rin, cover your ears and hum," Sesshomaru told her.

"Yes!" Rin said sharply and did as she was told, as always asking no questions.

"Continue."

Tsurumaru nodded. "When Naraku scented my true loyalty he captured me before I could send for help. I was trapped for several months within the confines of his castle, with daily tortures. One of the first things he did was remove my tail. I did not know how much my tail aided my power, until it was gone. He also greatly wounded my left knee and made it so it healed wrong, painfully. It is hard to walk now."

"How did you escape?"

"Hiei found me, centered on my mind and traveled for some time. Sandira came with, as did Kiori, but Father was confined to remaining behind. The three of them separated and attacked the castle all at once. Kiori's power made it so everything within the castle slowed down excepting themselves and I. At that time I do not remember much because I was also drugged often and it made me unresponsive to everything except. . .pain.

"I remember waking the next morning to Kiori trying her best at fixing my knee and tending to the rest of my wounds."

Hiei shuddered. "I remember a lot more than he does because of the mind-link."

Kagome threw Hiei a sad look. "You had a mind-link, so that means. . ."

Hiei nodded, looking at the floor. "I could hear his screams."

Sesshomaru obviously didn't like that comment. "This Sesshomaru does not scream."

Hiei shook his head as Tsurumaru answered. "You would at the hands of Naraku. I did."

The words seemed only to enrage Sesshomaru further. "This Sesshomaru does not scream," he repeated, stronger and with vehemence lacing every word.

"Please, Sesshomaru, don't argue," Kimi said, touching his arm. "This is Tsurumaru's past, not yours."

He looked away sharply but did not move away from her touch. "You may stop now, Rin."

Kagome opened her mouth to say that Rin couldn't hear him when Rin took her hands off her ears and said, "Okay!"

Shocking child.

If anyone had anything else to say or ask, they didn't get their chance, for a scantily-clad female demon half-jumped, half-fell into the area, eyes only for Inuyukio.

She had red hair tied up in two cone-shaped buns and letting down two thick locks that reached her shoulders and long bangs. Her eyes were red. She had a long, thin black diamond on her forehead and a thick black stripe on each cheek. Another stripe curved around her neck, one on each wrist and ankle, around her elbows and knees, and one more at each of her arms, just beneath her shoulders. She wore a pink kimono tied loosely with a thick dark blue obi and elbow-short sleeves and fanned out quite a bit, and it reached her knees, trimmed in a type of red-violet. Two red tails showed from under her kimono, each having a stripe wrapped around the tip. Her eyes were half-closed and she looked almost drunken, and stood on her toes.

"Marise," Inuyukio said, standing.

Kirara had frozen. Sango looked shocked. Kagome couldn't speak. Inuyasha had one brow raised and his lip was curled. Shippo's mouth was open. Kimi and Sesshomaru were looking at Marise curiously, Kimi's head tilted.

She was Marise? Inuyukio had pointed at the transformed Kirara and said "Marise". This - her - that was what Kirara would look like as a human-formed demon?? She was short! She was shorter than Sandira and Kimi!

Marise came up to Inuyukio and practically fell into his arms. Those drunken eyes looked up at him eagerly and to everyone's shock - well, everyone from the LightWorld - he nipped his right wrist and let her suck at the blood that came forth. He waited a few moments before pulling back his hand. Marise grasped at it, but being so short with Inuyukio so tall, she couldn't reach it.

"What news did you bring?" Inuyukio said.

Kagome's jaw dropped as the pieces fit. Marise was the new informant and her reward was Inuyukio's blood!

"Naraku has begun plans," Marise said, still clawing at the elusive hand. "He is changing the tunnels beneath his castle. Please."

"How is he changing them?" Inuyukio said, not lowering his arm.

"He is blocking some off and opening others. He has begun dropping mindless demons in there to feed on anyone who enters. Please."

Inuyukio lowered his arm. Another few moments went by as Marise sucked at the wound before he lifted his arm again. Again, Marise clawed at it.

"Is that all you know?"

"He felt something in the air. A rift of some sort. He believes there is now an open portal to a new area for him to conquer. He also feels that something came through and is sure his Jewel has reacted to another stone like it, only it has gone." She tried to jump but Inuyukio still held her with his left arm. "I have given you information, now please!"

Inuyukio dropped his arm again, throwing a look over his shoulder at Hiei, then another at Sandira. Both of his children nodded and moved to sit by Tsurumaru and all three began speaking, but with gestures and looks as well as words so it was hard to follow. Inuyukio drew his hand back from Marise and let her go.

Marise protested rather loudly to being separated from her treat, letting out a yowl and then grabbing at Inuyukio again.

"In your place," Inyukio told her sharply, pushing her back.

Marise's eyes opened fully and showed that her eyes had no pupils, and then growled and launched herself at him. Inuyukio pushed her harder, and she yelped as she hit the wall behind her.

"In your place!" he snapped.

She growled again and hissed at him, and then her eyes became half-lidded again and she stood up straight, body relaxing.

"What's the story behind her?" Sango asked, still looking shocked.

"Naraku did to her what he tried to do to me," Kiori said, motioning that Marise should sit beside her. She did so and continued to look slightly drunken. "He took her in as a concubine and instilled a blood-lust in her. Inuyukio's blood is the only she likes, however, so she willingly became one of ours and agreed to being an informant."

Kirara mewed and sat down in front of Marise.

Marise looked at her and tilted her head, mewing back. The two seemed to have a conversation of mews, growls, yowls, purrs and head-tilts.

"Marise. . ." Sango whispered, and Kagome knew that Sango was feeling for Marise as though she were Kirara. And beyond all sense, she was.

Inuyukio lifted his head sharply and stared directly into the roof. His three children did so as well, no less than a second later. Kiori shut her eyes and pressed her hands together.

Kagome's back straightened and she felt Inuyasha tense beside her. Miroku's pose stilled and he looked up as well. Sango was last to move, standing up and grabbing her hiraikotsu. Kirara had already transformed and Rin had run over to Sesshomaru. Jaken, Kai'rei and Myouga stayed with Ah-Un - who was laying down and still kept his eyes on Kimi.

Shoda, Ran'gawa and Toshiro looked uninterested and either didn't notice anything or deemed it safe to not pay attention. A fire had begun around Marise's wrists, ankles and tips of her tails, even as she continued to have that expression of carelessness and disturbing calm.

A rumble began above them.

---

Kaede stared at the spot that not three minutes ago Kagome stood in, surrounded by onlookers, friends and indirect allies. Midoriko had come out from the jewel, promised that the wishes would be granted and covered them all in blinding light. Now they were gone. The air still vibrated with power and Kaede found herself afraid.

First, where had Midoriko taken them? Would they be alright there? Second, what could she have meant by "I take you now to a place that requires your strengths to achieve these three ideals"? What else was there? The rest of the world? Third, with Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango and Miroku gone, who was going to continue to protect her village? The villagers here had gotten lazy with Kagome around, foregoing their training in fighting, believing that Inuyasha would continue to protect them as long as Kagome was here and happy and demanded it of him.

Forth, and most frightening: What if they couldn't get back again? What if they were trapped where they were, as they feared Kagome would be trapped on one side or the other of the well after her wish was made? What would happen if they couldn't return? Suppose they returned years from now, bearing more scars. Would something else follow them here? Something more frightening, more powerful, more ruthless than Naraku had been?

The hardest question of all to ask was whether or not the Shikon no Tama had indeed been taken from this plane as Midoriko led them all to believe it would.

---

Days later, Kaede was awoken to the sound of screaming and got up as fast as her aged bones would allow. Villagers were screaming for help and running for their lives, and as the crowd filtered out Kaede could see what they were running from. Several demons stood at the edge of the village with brown wolves at their feet, but they were simply standing. The leader came closer to her and she stood fearlessly before him.

"Where is Kagome?" he asked.

Her mind clicked. This was Koga, then, the wolf demon who had fallen in love with Kagome. "She is not here. Why did you come?"

He sniffed and looked around. "A couple of my wolves came around here and noticed something odd a few days ago. Some gathering. Kagome was in the center and a few minutes later, everyone was gone." He looked behind him. "Ginta, get over here."

One of the demons, a man with white hair and black tuft, came forward. "Yeah, Koga?"

"Are you sure your wolves are right?"

"They didn't lie."

Koga looked at Kaede again. "So everyone is gone. Who all disappeared?"

"Many of our finest and bravest. Kagome among them."

"I'm asking for names, old woman."

"Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Sesshomaru, Kamikimimaru -"

"Kamikimimaru?!" he repeated, sharply.

Kaede blinked at him and nodded. "Aye. Do ye know her?"

"Damn right I know her!! She's dangerous!! What the hell is she doing near Kagome?!"

"It seems she is sister to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. How did ye meet her?"

"She was sniffing around my territory and killed some of my wolves!! Where did they go?!"

"I do not know."

The third demon came up. "Hey boss. . .Do you think she'll be safe?"

Koga had clenched his fist and bared his fangs, his brow quirking. "She'd better be. That turd better be able to take care of her and keep Kamikimimaru away from her."

"Why did ye come here?" Kaede went on.

"To try and figure out where Kagome went to."

"I cannot say where they have gone, nor when they shall return."

"Damn it!" Koga swore. "If she doesn't come back in one piece -" He paused and shook his head. "So everyone's gone, huh? That leaves your village pretty unprotected."

"Aye," Kaede answered carefully.

He looked over his shoulder at his two men. "You know what Kagome would want, right?"

Ginta nodded. "She'd want us to help them."

"That's our sister," the third and yet unknown demon added. He had a mohawk of white hair.

"Who be ye?" Kaede asked him.

"Heh, I'm Hakku. This is Ginta." He gestured himself and then the other demon, whom Kaede already figured out.

"I am Kaede, and this is my village," she told them.

Koga straightened and nodded, and looked directly at Kaede. "Get used to us being here, old woman. We're staying until Kagome returns." He didn't give Kaede time to reply to this and motioned for his wolves to come closer. "Alright, you scoundrels. You don't attack anyone here, got it? This is Kagome's village and we're going to make sure it's here when she gets back. No one gets hurt. If something attacks then you fight it off. Everyone got that?"

His two men nodded and the wolves all whined. Kaede smiled as one of her problems was lifted and she started to make the rounds, calming the villagers and assuring them that these demons meant no harm and were loyal to Kagome. The name of the priestess always had a calming effect on the villagers and they relaxed at the knowledge that Kagome had never been fooled, and as such they trusted whomever she trusted.

Wary of the demons they may be, but it was painfully obvious that Koga intended to keep everything running smoothly until Kagome returned. Kaede had her suspicions that he might be here to impress her, as wolves often did when searching for a mate. He watched everything and near time for lunch he spotted a pregnant woman having trouble leading an ox that was carrying water. Kaede watched, getting impressed herself, as Koga went to help her. He had Ginta lead the ox while he carried the water, and both of them followed the woman as she went to her hut. Depositing the water at the porch and leading the oxen to its pen, the demons gained thanks and soon after villagers were asking for their help.

Definitely impressive. Kaede couldn't remember a single instance in which Inuyasha went out of his way to help the villagers. A few times he did so when Kagome asked or told him to, or threatened to Sit him, but never out of the goodness of his heart.

And Kaede knew Inuyasha had a good heart, but a long life of hardship had closed off his feelings and kept him from showing the size of his heart. She knew this, for whenever Kagome cried, he went out of his way to get her to stop. And he always looked scared when he heard someone begin coughing. It made her think that perhaps his mother had coughed often on her deathbed and he had never gotten over it.

Kaede remembered well a time when she was a child and Kikyo had taken ill. Her sister had stayed out of the village and away from anyone who could catch the illness, which resulted in Kaede looking up at the hill often to see Kikyo accompanied by Inuyasha, and even then Inuyasha had looked helpless whenever she began coughing. In fact, as she thought about it, every time she looked up there, Inuyasha had been there. Had he not left her side in all that time?

How was it, then, that Kikyo had not trusted him? The two were undoubtedly in love at that time and Inuyasha was very devoted, and always had been. How was it that Kikyo could not trust him? Why couldn't she see the goodness in his heart? Kaede, while scared of demons and half-demons, had always known that Inuyasha would not hurt her. Some part of her just knew he wasn't evil.

Kagome had known it, too. Maybe. . .maybe Kikyo needed to be reincarnated, go through a few more lives, before her spirit knew how to see into souls like it can do now. Kagome had only touched Kikyo's arrow to free Inuyasha and she didn't believe Inuyasha would hurt her when he attacked. The very next day she sought him out and offered him the food she had been given that day.

It seemed as though the two of them had near instantly trusted one another, even if Inuyasha kept a safe distance from her and tried to prove to her that he trusted no one. And although he could not see it, Kikyo still loved him - through Kagome. Their souls must be connected somehow, for Kagome to be able to cross to this time, free him, trust him, and love him, all without a second's hesitation.

Now all she could do was hope that he could see this before Kagome left and did not return.

---

To say that Koga was angry was mild. He was infuriated - and frustrated on top of it. Kagome was gone, no one knew where to, no one knew for how long, and no one knew if she was going to be able to come back. But he'd made his decision. He was going to stay right here and hopefully when she got back and saw how greatly he'd taken care of her village, she'd finally agree to being his woman. He knew there was something between Kagome and Inuyasha and for that he was going to do his best to show her that he was better than that turd, to prove that he could take better care of her and that he had every intention of doing so.

His wolves were cooperating with only a few protests at the lack of raw flash to eat in a place that near crawled with open targets, and his left and right hand men were doing fine. Neither of them looked bothered by the fact that they were in a human village and did not know how long they were going to be here. At least they still had their minds about them.


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End chapter six. To be continued.
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