InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Displacement ❯ "Yaoguai!" ( Chapter 1 )

BLANKET NOTE

 

This fiction is based partially on real-historical data. I have done some minor research and will attempt to make the culture depicted here genuine. The facts presented in this story, which are not historically accurate, will be discussed throughout the story.

 

Displacement

 

Chapter 1

 

“Yaoguai!”

 

“The anomaly will be visible all throughout China, Russia, Korea, Japan and Mongolia. Scientists say this unique spectrum of auroras is the first seen since the birth of modern science, and will last for three weeks. It has been an estimated two millennia since they were first viewed and scientists predict they may be visible again near the turn of the century in the third millennia. The color patterns expected include…a touchdown! The Saginaw Spirits win, 13-9! This game today was brought to you by…”

 

“Hey, turn it back!” Kagome protested, snapping her head up from her notebook. Inuyasha ignored her and kept flipping channels.

 

“You done yet?” he yawned, propping his head on his hand. Kagome grabbed the remote and turned the Discovery Channel back on.

 

“I need to watch this for my science class, my teacher wants a report on auroras,” she explained, tuning back into the program. “It'll be done in a few minutes, keep yourself busy or something,” she scolded. Inuyasha snorted and crossed his arms, trying to make sense of the program. Something about magnetic fields and solar winds…

 

“Alright, I'm done, we can go,” Kagome huffed, closing her book.

 

“It's about time. Naraku isn't sitting around doing nothing,” Inuyasha grumbled. He grabbed Kagome's backpack from beside the couch and swept an arm over the table, pushing her notes and books into the pack. “Alright, let's go,” he said. Kagome rolled her eyes and ran into the kitchen, grabbing a plastic bag filled with ramen and other instant foods for her friends, and headed for the door, pulling on her shoes.

 

“Bye Mom!” she called up the steps as Inuyasha pulled her out the door. “Yeesh, no need to be so pushy,” Kagome muttered. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and slid open the door to the well house. Behind them, the sun was ready to begin setting in the late afternoon.

 

“Alright, let's go,” Inuyasha said, wrapping an arm around Kagome's waist and leaping into the Bone-Eater Well. Kagome sighed and not for the first time wondered if she would be able to come back this time. With so few shards of the jewel left, Naraku's bids for power were becoming ever more dangerous. Kouga had his, and Kohaku was in Sesshomaru's care. The two around her neck may have been all that were left…

 

The blue glow of the time portal opened beneath them, and Kagome felt a twitch of energy from the Shikon shards around her neck. Suddenly, the blue glow turned bright green. Kagome's eyes went wide.

 

“Inuyasha?” she asked nervously. The claw around her waist tightened in response, and Kagome clenched her eyes shut. As Inuyasha kept watching, the green glow sparked and flashed into red. Kagome screamed and went limp in his arms. Then, everything went black as a jolt of power shot up from the vortex below. Inuyasha's head slumped forward as the two tumbled through time.

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

Kagome felt cold, hard dirt under her face as she woke up. She turned and gasped as she discovered everything hurt. She winced and pushed herself up. She looked up at the sky overhead.

 

“What was that?” she murmured. She slowly climbed to her feet and looked around for the familiar vines to climb up, but there were none. “Inuyasha?” she called. There was a groan, and Kagome jumped at the sound. Inuyasha got up from beside her and rubbed his head.

 

“You alright, Kagome?” he asked.

 

“I think so…what was that?” she replied. Inuyasha opened his mouth to answer, and froze. He sniffed the air several times and growled. “What is it?” Kagome asked. Inuyasha grabbed the back of her collar and leapt up out of the well. The second they cleared the wooden walls, Kagome's eyes went wide.

 

A lavish courtyard filled with flowering cherry blossoms and other lovely trees and flowers met her sight. A small river was being turned by a man in a dirty grey tunic operating a paddlewheel, the river circling what seemed to be a beautiful garden. The night sky above was ablaze in red and green light. A great castle surrounded the garden, torches hung from the gates at either end of the garden and hanging from curved poles in the ground. Kagome looked around the garden and the surrounding castle and licked her suddenly dry lips.

 

“Where are we?” she whispered. Inuyasha slowly shook his head beside her, just as shocked.

 

“I don't know, all the scents are different, nothing's right,” he replied. Suddenly, there was a cry, and Inuyasha's hand snapped to the handle of Tetsusaiga. Two men were running towards them from the gates. Crude iron armor covered their bodies, the metal sheets bounded by leather strips. They each carried a long, iron shaft nearly twice the length of their bodies with a broad speadhead at the tip that had a curved blade emerging from the side. The two soldiers came to a halt a few feet from them and pointed their blades at the pair.

 

“You have got to be kidding me,” Inuyasha smirked, drawing Tetsusaiga. The giant fang transformed in a flash of light, and the guards gasped.

 

“Yaoguai! Yaoguai!” one of them shrieked. Kagome frowned at the mysterious word. Suddenly, the walls of the castle came alive. Armored archers with crossbows erupted into action and took aim at Inuyasha. Inuyasha looked around and smirked, hefting the Tetsusaiga back over his shoulder.

 

“Inuyasha, put it away!” Kagome hissed.

 

“Have you noticed the crossbows?” He replied. Kagome looked behind them at three more guards with the giant spears that had emerged from the other gate to the garden.

 

“They won't fire unless we fight back. You can't kill them, we don't know who they are or where we are,” she explained. Inuyasha grunted and thought for a moment, finally sheathing the fang. The guards kept their weapons ready, murmurs of “yaoguai” reaching Inuyasha's ears

 

“Yeah yeah, yaoguai to you too,” Inuyasha snorted, crossing his arms. “Kagome, you know what the hell they're saying?”

 

“Not a clue. It sounds vaguely familiar though…” Kagome whispered. The guards jabbed Kagome in the back, and the miko yelped. Inuyasha spun around and flicked out a claw. The guards brandished the spears again, and Kagome looked behind them. The one guard - his spear seemed longer and with a wider head - shouted something in a foreign language.

 

“We can't understand you,” she pleaded. The guard stared and said something else. “We're from Japan, we just want to get home,” Kagome tried again. The guard gasped and shouted a command. Kagome's eyes went wide as the spears drew closer. The lead guard narrowed his eyes and gripped his spear.

 

“Ja-pan?” he asked. Kagome let out a breath and nodded. The guard barked out another command, and the other four guards moved into formation - two behind Inuyasha and Kagome, one on either side. The head guard waved a hand and marched forward to the far gate. The guards behind them rattled their spears.

 

“I'm guessing we follow him,” Kagome said. Inuyasha moved forward, and Kagome followed. The lead guard rapped his spear on the gate, and it creaked open as two men in grey tunics pulled it open from the other side. The castle halls stretched inside beyond the gate. The procession continued down the hall, and Kagome scanned the castle rooms as they followed the lead guard. Various people in brightly colored robes sat about doing various activities - painting, eating, etc. There were also many guards, all of whom watched them pass.

 

Finally, they emerged to another garden. Kagome shot a look at Inuyasha. His arms were crossed and his eye were staring ahead, but one hint of trouble and she knew Tetsusaiga would be out. There was a paved walkway before them - paved was a relative term though, it was simply packed dirt with smooth white stones. The way was lined with guards, a dozen in all. A staircase at the end of the walk led to a larger structure.

 

“Why do I have a feeling this isn't good?” Kagome groaned as they were marched up the steps.

 

“What gave you that idea, the weird castle or the armed guards?” Inuyasha snorted. Four more guards stood, two at each side, of the door. Two pulled the great door open as Inuyasha and Kagome were marched inside. A small woven mat of reeds lay against the far wall in front of a yellow curtain, and six more guards were around the room. A small table with a tea set and other instruments lay in the middle of the room. The four guards behind them vanished behind the doors as the lead guard entered the yellow curtain. Kagome looked around the room more and gasped. A large map hung on the right wall, and Kagome's jaw dropped.

 

“Inuyasha, we're in China!” she hissed, turned wide eyes to him. Inuyasha looked back with equal surprise. The lead guard emerged from the curtain and kneeled beside it. The six other guards followed suit, and Kagome gulped.

 

“Oh no…” she whispered.

 

“What?” Inuyasha snapped.

 

“Inuyasha, lots of guards, yellow curtains, people kneeling…” she whispered frantically, dropping to her knees. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

 

“Fuck this,” he growled, putting a hand on the hilt of Tetsusaiga.

 

It was then the yellow curtains parted again.

 

Historical Notes

 

Yellow was the official Chinese color of royalty and nobility.

 

Iron smelting was developed in China around 500 BC, and came into mainstream use for weapons and armor around 300 BC. The favored weapon of the time was the dagger-axe, a 10-20 ft long spear with an extra blade on the side of the head. Beyond this, because they were easy to build, train with and operate, crossbows were the ranged weapon of choice, and archers were trained in droves.

 

Yaoguai is the Chinese word for “Demon”, and is the equivalent word for “Youkai”. Most Yaoguai are evil animal spirits who seek immortality and godhood.