InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forbidden ❯ Shattering of Innocence ( Prologue )

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

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Kagome or Tristan or Isolde. How depressing. So don't sue me please, because that would be like rubbing salt into the wound.

AN: I seem to have a knack for starting new stories without finishing my current ones. But it's just so fun to write new stories! And I have lots of ideas that I've just been dying to make into stories.

I watched Tristan and Isolde a few days ago with a friend. (I must add, James Franco is absolutely drool worthy.) But I liked the story plot and I thought "wouldn't this make a great story?" so being my ambitious self, I've set out to write it. This story will be loosely based on Tristan and Isolde (the only thing I'm really using is the plot line). The characters, of course, will be Inuyasha and Kagome, and the ending might be different, we'll see It will be less tragic than the movie, for those of you who've seen it, and hopefully more humorous. And Isolde was beginning to get on my nerves, so hopefully that'll change too.

I doubt this will get finished...but I can try. Here goes!

Forbidden

Prologue

Shattering of Innocence

The Northern and Southern empires of the land have been at war for as long as anyone can remember. The South finally succeeded, taking control of all of the Northern lands. To weaken their enemies and prevent further rebellion, the South divided the North into fourteen smaller countries, seven for the humans, seven for the demons. By doing this, they hoped to throw the North into a civil war, one race against another.

A civil war would greatly weaken the Northern country, giving the South no competition for rulership. The South knows that if the North were to unite into one country, they could easily overtake their conquerors. The South's plan worked for two hundred years, before the North finally realized the foolishness of their actions. When Inutessai, a ruthless, brilliant, but compassionate ruler gained lordship of his country, Kalem, he vowed to unite all the lands of the North, and finally overthrow the vengeful South who had controlled them for over two centuries.

&&&

"Inuyasha, come inside!" A woman's voice rang out over the town square, causing several heads to turn in her direction. Her eyes scanned the marketplace, spotting a head of white hair over by the blacksmith. "Inuyasha!" She yelled, growing impatient. She saw his ear flicker, and she knew that he had heard her. She huffed, gathering her skirts and stepped off the stoop of her porch, heading in his direction. "Stupid, disobeying, hard-headed, stubborn..." She muttered under her breath as she came up behind him.

"I can hear you mother." Inuyasha said, keeping his eyes trained on the blacksmith as he pounded away at the red-hot sword.

"That's the point." She replied evenly. "What are you doing here by yourself anyway. How come you aren't playing with your friends?"

Inuyasha's jaw clenched. "That's boring. I'd rather watch this. Plus, father told me to pick up his sword when I could."

His mother sighed, looking over towards the field nearby where a group of young boys were playing tag. She knew that was a lie. She knew that he would give anything to be playing with those boys right now.

"All down." The blacksmith growled, wiping a dirty hand over his even dirtier face. He dunked the finished sword into a bucket of cold water, watching as it hissed and steamed before taking it out. He wrapped it in a piece of cloth and tied it carefully with a piece of string. "Send my regards to your father." He nodded as he handed over the bundled sword to Inuyasha. Inuyasha bowed in thanks, before looking up at his mother. "Okay, mom, we can go home now." He stuck his free hand into hers and began leading the way through the crowd and back home.

She smiled lovingly down at the little boy holding her hand. He was such a kind and loving person under that tough exterior...she would give anything for him to be happy. That's all she ever wanted for him. But in a world like this, that was easier asked for than given.

"We're home!" Inuyasha yelled once he entered the front door of their home. "I picked up Tetsusaiga too!" He ran through the house eagerly and into the study. There he froze, for a dozen or so faces had turned their gazes to him once he entered the room. Inuyasha searched around eagerly for his father, spotting him at the front, the only one standing. He ran to him, clutching his father's leg.

"Aah, thank you Inuyasha." The Inutessai looked down at his son, smiling as he took Tetsusaiga from his small hands. "I've been wondering about my sword."

"What's going on father?" Inuyasha said tightly, looking around at all the strange faces. There were fourteen people gathered into the spacious study, his father included. Seven humans and seven demons. Judging by the clothes they wore, each looked to be a lord, or at least some kind of wealthy official.

"We're holding a meeting." Inutessai explained. "The thirteen that you see here are all lords of their respective countries. I have called them here today to organize a unification treaty." Inuyasha nodded, knowing that it would be best for him to leave his father to complete the meeting before pushing for any further information. Even as a young boy of six, he had a good idea of what his father was talking about. A unified North could compete with the South, and perhaps eventually overthrow them. Inuyasha scampered out of the study, closing the door behind him and entered the kitchen. He sat down at the dining table, watching as his mother busied herself in the kitchen.

"Mother?"

"Yes?"

"Are we going to war?"

"Probably." She bent down to look for a pot. She knew better than to sugarcoat things for Inuyasha, it never helped. "Oh darn." She muttered. "We're out of salt."

"I'm on it." Inuyasha hopped down from where he was sitting and made his way towards the door. As he walked past the study, a young man stepped out. He was human, one of the lords in the meeting. What surprised Inuyasha was his age. He looked only to be sixteen, at the oldest.

The mad quietly closed the study door after him, not noticing Inuyasha yet. "Talk about being bored to tears." He muttered very quietly under his breath, but Inuyasha caught the remark. The lord turned, and jumped to find Inuyasha standing only a foot or two away from him.

For a while, they just stood there, sizing each other up. Inuyasha usually didn't care much for humans, besides his mother. He looked into the lords eyes, but to his surprise, found nothing malicious or power-hungry. Although still young, Inuyasha knew enough to know that this man was not the average, selfish, conniving lord that the other lords seemed to be. He had a young, boyish face, and was tall and quite well-built for his age. On his head was a shock of raven colored hair, and his dark grey eyes twinkled. Although he still wore expensive-looking clothes, his outfit was toned down somewhat, like that of a merchant instead of a lord. Something about this man made Inuyasha lower his guard, a very unusual thing for Inuyasha to do.

After a few minutes of this staring contest, the lord broke into a smile, extending his hand.

"I'm Akira."

&&&

Kagome screamed in delight, running away as fast as she could. A few feet behind her, her mother chased her, laughing. "You better run faster! I'll catch you and TICKLE YOU TO DEATH!" Her mother called out.

Kagome giggled, collapsing into a heap on the soft grass of the castle courtyard. "I surrender mommy." She said, breathing deeply.

Her mother smiled, coming to sit down beside her four-year old daughter. They sat in silence for a while, just enjoying the sun and the light breeze on their faces.

"Mommy?" Kagome asked suddenly, sitting up.

"Hm?"

"When will Daddy be back?"

"I don't know honey. When he's done with his business in the North."

"What is his business there for?"

Her mother sighed, taking Kagome's hands in hers. "We, as the South, rule the North. The North is tired of being ruled all the time, so they are trying to rebel. Your daddy went to stop them."

Kagome looked puzzled. "If the North don't want to be ruled anymore, then why don't we just give them what they want?"

"Because that would be giving them power."

"But if we gave them power, they'd be happy wouldn't they?"

Her mom nodded. "But dear, you see, sometimes one has to be selfish. You can't always be generous. If being generous results in pain for yourself, then there's no point."

Kagome frowned. "I don't see how. Aren't people just happy to be able to make other people happy?" She asked innocently.

Tears gathered in her mother's eyes and she wrapped her arms around her daughter and pulled her close. "Oh sweetie, if only everybody was like that. Unfortunately, they're not. The world is full of greedy, selfish people."

Kagome remained silent, mulling this thought over in her head. "You mean, there are bad people? People who like to hurt others?" She asked hesitantly, not knowing how this was possible.

Her mother sighed, kissing Kagome's forehead. "You'll see one day." She could only hope that it wouldn't be the hard way.

&&&

Inuyasha stopped, dropping the paper sack in which the salt was carried. He ingored the snow white granules that spilled out over the dirt ground. In front of his eyes was his house, now surrounded by what looked like Southern soldiers. They surrounded his house with their swords and torches. Blinded by fright and fury, Inuyasha broke into a run, dodging a few soldiers and running into his house.

His worst fear was confirmed.

There in the kitchen, laying on her back, was her mother. A small river of blood trickle out of the corner of her mouth and down her chin. A sword stuck out of her chest where somebody had stuck it in brutelessly. Inuyasha ran over to her as fast as his legs could carry her. "Mother!" He screamed, dropping to his knees before her. "Mother, mother, wake up!" He shook her shoulders, but she didn't stir. He grabbed her hand, recoiling in fear when he felt that it was ice cold. He stared numbly down at the only person who had ever made him feel safe and truly loved. She was like a light in his life, and she had just gone out.

Still frightened, Inuyasha looked up and around the room, searching for his father. He spotted Inutessai laying on his back in the corner of the room. He was still stirring.

Abandoning his dead mother, Inuyasha ran over to him, taking his hand. "Father." He choked out, now beginning to cry.

Inutessai's eyes slowly opened, focusing on Inuyasha's dirty, tear-streaked face. "Inu...yasha?" He coughed, blood splattering over his chin. He closed his eyes, obviously in intense pain, and groaned.

"What happened father?" Inuyasha whispered.

"The South...they...they found out about our plan..." he wheezed, choking each word out. "Sabotaged...killed..." He drifted off.

"Father?!" Inuyasha cried, tightening his grip on his father's hand.

"Inuyasha..." He breathed. "It's time...for me to..."

Inuyasha watched as the strongest man he had ever known struggled for every labored breath.

"Take Tetsusaiga." His father said sofly, motioning weakly at the sword on the ground next to him. "Run..."

Inuyasha nodded, laying his head softly on his father's chest, careful not to cause him more pain. "Your mother said...to tell you that...she..." His eyes flickered closed. "we..." he corrected, the breath leaving him as he spoke his last words. "loved you...be happy..."

With that, he was dead.

Inuyasha just stared, tears flowing freely down his face. In the span of an hour, he had just lost everything he had ever cared about in his life. He had never hated anyone more than he hated the soldiers who murdered his parents. But he was only six, and a child. He could do nothing. So he wept.

As he cried over his father, Inuyasha did not notice the figure creeping up behind him. It was a Southern soldier, wielding a large, bloody knife in his hands. He came to a stop before the young hanyou, and raised his arm in the air, preparing to swing it down with a fatal blow.

"Inuyasha!!" A male voice rang out, and Inuyasha looked up just in time to see his would-be murderer fall dead in a bloody heap next to him. Inuyasha watched, astonished, then looked up to see who had killed him.

Akira stood, bloody, scratched, and bruised, but nevertheless alive. He was panting heavily, and he fell tiredly to the ground.

"Akira, are you okay?" Inuyasha said, alarmed. "Did you just save my life?"

Akira smirked in spite of the pain he was in. "I guess you could call it that." He said between breaths.

"Why?"

"Don't ask me." Akira said, closing his eyes. "It was instinct."

"Thank you." Inuyasha said quietly. Akira just smiled. "How many soldiers are left?"

"That was the last one, I think." Akira said, sitting up now that he had recovered. "Help me to the healers?" He asked.

Inuyasha nodded, helping Akira to a standing position. Together they stumbled through the mess of bodies and debris. Inuyasha looked back one last time at the mess behind him. After a moment's hesitation, he turned back around and concentrated on helping Akira. He had just lost his father and mother. Who was there left to love?

He looked up at Akira, feeling a pang as the older boy grimaced in pain with each step.

Akira had just saved his life. Inuyasha vowed to someday repay him.

AN: Next chapter will be "Day of Destruction"