InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Desert Rose ❯ Into the Wasteland ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: ji-an

Okay…here goes!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, it's the sole property of Romiko Takahashi, and I cannot take credit for her genius.

Desert Rose: Chapter one; Into the Wasteland

If there was a better time than this, she couldn't remember it at all. Walking down the road with her three best friends after a long day or school, chatting, laughing, and smiling as friends do. `This is one of life's simple pleasures,' she thought to herself. “Did you see the look on his face? It was priceless! Kagome, I feel so happy for you.” A girl with short hair exclaimed to the girl in the middle of the group. The girl addressed to as Kagome whirled around and beamed happily, showing her delicate features as her face brightened up with joy.

“I'm happy too, Eri. After all this time, Houjo finally asked me out on a date!!! I can't wait for tomorrow!” she hummed to herself as her friends followed down the road, filled with the joy of finally seeing the only girl in their group that never dated going out on a date. “After all this time, our little Kagome is finally blossoming and going out on a date!” Ayume stated purposely stressing “going out on a date” so to catch the attention of the girl who now stopped humming and turned toward her friends with a pouted look.

“Hey! So I am a late bloomer. I'm just a little shy, that's all.” Kagome frantically tried to defend herself on her lack of outings with the opposite sex. Shaking her head, Yuka answered, “Kagome, you are an exceptionally late bloomer! You're sixteen and just barley starting dating. Most of us started roughly two years before you and until now you never even thought about dating while most of us stated dreaming of our first date at the age of twelve.” She concluded with the shaking of her index finger proving that she had won the case and thus ending any further argument. Kagome inwardly signed, knowing she was defeated.

True it was tough, in her case being the only girl in school that never went on a date and, though her friends taunted her for never having any experience with the subject, she accepted that fact without any shame. An idea reeled in Kagome mind and she mockingly answered Yuka's conclusion with a startling comeback: “True, I am a late bloomer but, at least I choose the perfect candidate for my first date!”

Laughter erupted from the otherwise blissful girls as they continued on their way home in the sun.

“I know you're exited about tomorrow but you do remember that we have that algebra test on Monday.” Reminded Ayume.

“Uh! Don't put a lid on this happy moment!” Kagome whined.

Life was held in a delicate balance for Kagome Higurashi. Nothing could ruin her day. It was a day of extreme bliss. Walking home with her friends, dreamily speaking of her first date the next day, there was never the feeling of heaviness. Upon arriving at a four- way intersection the girls parted, saying their goodbyes.

Blissfully gliding down the road, her feet making tip-tip sounds as she walked, backpack in hand and school uniform swinging to and fro as she went, Kagome could be described as the perfect high school girl: filled with ignorance and glee.

Planning to head home and start studying for her algebra test, something caught her eye as she passed one of the parks near her home. “Huh?” Curiosity getting the better of her, she proceeded to see the strange object coming out of the sand in one of the childrens' sandboxes.

`What is that?' Removing her shoes to avoid getting sand in them, she stepped into the sandbox, confused why there was no one in the park or anyone down the street for that matter. `Maybe they are cleaning up the park or something…' If that was the case, then Kagome knew she had to leave the park. No use getting in trouble and ruining her happy day. Upon turning her heel to head home, she couldn't bring herself to take another step.

She turning and stared at whatever was coming out the sand. Sighing, she turned toward the object, her feet sinking in the sand as she took her steps. She knelt toward the pole near her feet. Fisting the object she pulled with all her strength, closing her eyes at the difficulty of lifting the object, and managed to pull whatever it was out if the sandbox.

Panting and still with her eyes closed, she felt warmer than usual. True, it was the beginning of summer, but it was not this hot a moment ago. `I must of broken a sweat when I pulled whatever it is' she thought. Opening her eyes, she finally saw that she was holding a really old and rusty sword in her hand. `A sword?' The immediate thought that followed her satisfaction from knowing what the object was, had been heart-pounding shock.

Before her stretched a vast desert, sand and sky separated by a horizontal line as far as the eye could see. “What is this?” she asked to no one in particular. `I must be hallucinating. It must be from using all that energy to lift the sword.'

She closed her eyes, counted to ten, but only to open her eyes and be disappointed that the wasteland still stretched before. Stabbing the weapon into the sand, she brought her hand up and pinched her shoulder. The sting of pain she felt was real and proved she wasn't dreaming.

Kagome sank to her knees in the hot sand. “No water, no food, no civilization for miles …what am I supposed to do!?” She became frantic, her heart beat quickening and ,in an attempt to calm herself down, she took long and deep breaths. `Okay, I know that I shouldn't remove my jacket because that would make me lose more water in my system and if I move around I will tire myself out and sweat away all the liquid I have…”

Even running down that train of thought she new anything she did was hopeless. If she stayed she will eventually and slowly get hot and dehydrate. If she moved, she would use all her energy and sweat all the water out of her body. It was a lose-lose situation no matter now she looked at it. She took deep breaths trying to remain calm and looked up at the blazing sun.

“What will I do?” Rummaging though her backpack she removed a half-full water bottle and took a small sip, trying to conserve her water supply. Moments seemed like hours as Kagome sat there in the sand staring at the sword. `I guess curiosity really did kill the cat…' She sat there in the burning heat, slowly drinking water every now and then. Soon her water ran out, taking its last shred of hope with it. Kagome sat there laughing at herself. “Heh, how funny to meet my end this way. In an empty dessert, all alone and just when things were getting good…”

Time became the slow movement of a turtle, blazing with the sand and sun. She sat there, sweating. Soon her head began to ache, her breathing became pants and she felt as though she had become a dried up grape in the desert. All the fluid had left her throat.

She heard the sound to sand against sand. Barely finding the strength to turn her head in the direction, she looked up at the drifting and wavering image of a camel with a figure on top of it. “Oh, great!!! How I'm seeing mirages! Oh, this sucks!! I'm going to die in desert and I never even got my chance to go on my date!!”

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Inuyasha starred at the girl in the sand. He looked down at her from his camel, confused at to why she was dressed so warmly in this heat. `What a weird girl…' he thought as he swung his leg over, jumping off the camel and feeling his feet sink in the sand. Just when he was about to walk over and tap the girl to prove that she wasn't hallucinating, the young woman yelped and jumped grabbing the sword that was sticking out of the ground. He watched her with amusement as she pointed her rusty weapon before him and with a shaking voice he heard her say, “Don't come near me or I will cut you!”

She surveyed strange man that stood before her. His face was wrapped in a white bandage-like cloth and the only part of his countenance that she could see was one uncovered golden eye that flashed at her. He wore a white shirt that looked like it was made of linen and loose white pants made of the same material that was flowing in the warm wind of the desert. He looked like the image of a white angel, the only living thing in this desert.

Kagome stared at that mesmerizing gold eye. The eye quickly moved to look at her face and she `eeped' and took a step backward while still pointing the sword at him. She'd heard about bandits in the desert and how they were no different than pirates: pillaging, stealing and raping. “S-stay away!” she ordered. She gasped when she saw his eye widen. She stared back at the eye's glowing, golden color before her heart flipped when he pointed his head toward the sky and laughed hysterically.

This girl was strangely amusing. She thought him some sort of bandit or something? Well, that could be expected from the cloth that covered his face. He couldn't help but hide the amusement in his laughter. He laughed at her frantic attempt to defend herself with a rusted sword, at her strange clothing in this heat, and, most of all, he laughed at how she was able to use all that energy when he could smell all of her exhaustion.

In an instant he became serious. Something urged him not to leave this girl in the desert where he knew she wouldn't last till nightfall. He took a step towards her and she took a step back. He raised an eyebrow at her and kept going forward. He saw her loose her balance, threatening to fall on her rump. Instantly he reached out with his hand, grabbed her wrist before she could fall and pulled her toward him so that her cheek hit his chest. He was careful not cut himself with her “sword.” The weapon that lay still in her hand was hovering horizontally to his side, the bade lightly touching his hip.

“Fool, I'm no bandit.” Kagome gasped upon hearing his sharp and husky voice, the heat of his body as he held her close by the wrist only making her hotter in the burning desert.

“You shouldn't move. Your too exhausted.” She fell to her knees, all the strength she had leaving her from lack of water. His hand on her wrist kept her from sprawling herself on the sand. He wrenched the sword away from her hand before setting it on the sand. Kagome felt the man's hands around her waist. She blushed as he lifted her up in his arms, one hand on her back the other under her knees. He carried her toward the camel and sat her down. He then gathered her “sword” and backpack before lifting himself of the camel in back of her.

He looked at the weapon. “Tetsaiga” it read on the handle. “So THIS is Tetsaiga, the dimensional sword. Looks like a piece of junk.” He said. Inuyasha looked at the girl before him, and speaking over her shoulder he said, “How did you get here in the middle of no where?”

“I was left here…” was the first answer that came into her mind.

“What's your name?”

“Kagome.”

“Kagome…” he tested the name on his tongue.

“And you…what's your name?”

“Inuyasha. I'll be your escort through this hellish desert”

Go easy on me people, this is my first fanfic and I'm kinda nervous. Anyway read and review please!!!