InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Powers of the Heart ❯ Beginning of the End ( Chapter 1 )

Hidden Powers of the Heart

 

By Kawaichan

 

Chapter 1

Disclamer: I do not own Inuyasha, Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Please don't sue.

 

“Bye mom!” Kagome yelled as she jumped through the well. The time slip activated, and she emerged on the other side to cleaner, more open air. This was one of her favorite parts of going back in time. No loud noises, no cramped spaces, and clean-smelling air. Smiling, she headed towards the village to meet up with the others. She wondered slightly at what they were up to, but her musings ended in a picture of a badly beaten Miroku and a fuming Sango. Laughing to herself, she asked herself if Sango broke any bones this time. She hauled her big yellow bag up to her shoulder and picked up her pace, eager to see Shippo and the rest. For a while now, Shippo had been more like a son to her than a traveling companion. Having lost her father at around the same age, she sympathized with him, and worried over him. She smiled once more as she thought of the enthusiastic greeting that awaited her at Kaede's hut.

 

Back in the village, the rest of the group were lounging about Kaede's hut, awaiting Kagome's return. Miroku did indeed have a few bruises, and Sango was still angry. His hand had been at it again, and Sango just wasn't in a forgiving mood. Shippo was busy coloring a new picture for Kagome, and hadn't seen a thing.

Inuyasha, lounging in a very dog-like manner near the far wall was wating sullenly for Kagome. His patience was quickly leaving him. Why did she always have to be late? She was probably in that bath thing she loved so much in the future. That girl and her love of water. Someday, she was going to drown because of her need for a bath, he thought. Inuyasha's ears twitched noticeably. Sniffing the air, he straightened. Kikyo was nearby. He could smell it. Muttering some sort of excuse to his friends, he jumped out of the hut and followed his nose. Why was Kikyo here? Was she here to hurt Kagome again? Questions ran through his head as he leaped from branch to branch until he found Kikyo standing in a clearing of the trees.

“What are you doing here, Kikyo?” he asked almost threateningly, though the sight of her made his breath catch in his throat. Kikyo looked at him, her eyes clouded. He instantly felt something come over him, but couldn't identify it. Unbeknownst to him, the demon masquerading as Kikyo had quickly cast a spell over the unsuspecting hanyou. His attention was solely on Kikyo, and he found he cared about nothing else.

“Am I not allowed to wander where I please?” lifting her head from the plants she was inspecting. “I am simply passing through,” she replied haughtily. “Do not assume I am here to meddle in your petty affairs.”

Inuyasha was shocked and hurt at the same time. Something told him she really didn't mean that. His affairs weren't petty, were they? Wasn't he working for the same thing as she was? Emotion and, something else not entirely his own showed in his beautiful sunset eyes. He was under a spell, and he didn't care one bit.

“Kikyo, don't you want to be with me anymore?” he asked quietly, taking her arm in his hand. “I promised to go to hell with you, don't you care about me? Am I in your way?”

The demon was shocked at how open he was being, but let no other emotion show on her face. “Inuyasha, you will never be in my way,” she replied almost tenderly. He missed her smirk when she answered. Her orders were to “keep the hanyou occupied” so far, it was too easy. “I prefer to be on my own. Please allow me to do as I must.” She told him, returning his grip. When she turned to leave, Inuyasha held her in an embrace, nuzzling her neck. The spell was complete now. Naraku will be happy, the demon thought.

 

Kagome suddenly stopped short in her trek to the village. Jewel shards, more than one. Following the pull of the jewel, she found herself at the edge of a clearing. What was more interesting, however, were the occupants of the small clearing. Inuyasha was holding Kikyo, and she was returning his embrace. Something was off about Kikyo. Her aura was strange, but her distress at seeing Inuyasha in the hated woman's embrace pushed the uneasy feeling from her mind.

Her breath caught in her throat, and she stumbled backwards a little. “Oh no! I walked right in on them! What is Inuyasha doing!? He left me! I know it! I'll bet he's decided to go to Hell with her! He's going to leave me!” she thought as she turned and ran blindly farther into the forest. Tears fought their way out as she ran. Branches clawed at her skin as she ran. Why did she keep running into those two? She thought. It seemed every time Kikyo was near, she stumbled into the situation. How could she be so stupid? Inuyasha didn't love her, he just liked to look at her, to remind her of his love. Self loathing ruled her mind as she crashed through the forest. She didn't know how long she had run, but she kept going until she couldn't breathe well anymore. She stopped with her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Looking around, she realized she had no idea where she was. Great, she thought, now I have to find my way back, but she didn't really want to go back. Something told her staying right where she was felt better than facing what lay behind her. She couldn't even face Sango or Miroku right now. They would only make her cry with their sympathy.

 

Inuyasha lifted his head from Kikyo's shoulder. `Damn, Kagome saw us again. I'll make it up to her later,' he thought, returning his head to its resting place. It was almost like Kikyo wasn't actually dead. For a moment, he thought she felt warm, and she didn't smell like graveyard soil anymore. Kikyo seemed content to stand in his embrace, but he didn't see the smirk on her face as Kagome fled. She sank to the ground, pulling Inuyasha with her. He turned so he could hold her in his lap and drifted into another world entirely.

 

Kagura smirked when she saw the object of her hunt run right out into the open and stop. The mysterious miko, companion to Inuyasha, had stumbled into the clearing, not even noticing the presence of two demons. This girl obviously wasn't around from here to be running around in the forest by herself. This was going to be too easy. “Kanna, make sure she doesn't use those arrows of hers, we don't want that to get in our way,” she said over her shoulder. Kanna simply nodded and readied her mirror. Kagura shook her head. `What a strange creature,' she thought. She guided her giant feather silently to the ground some ways off from the unsuspecting girl and prepared for her attack.

 

Panting, Kagome suddenly felt a presence in front of her and looked up, and saw two people she really did NOT want to see. Kagome froze, waiting for what the wind demon had in mind. She adopted a battle-ready pose, aware that she had left her bow and arrows at Kaede's hut. Kagura pulled out her fan and feinted in several directions, trying to confuse Kagome. The miko's mind was frozen. What was she going to do? Inuyasha couldn't save her, and her other friends had no idea she was even in the era. Kagura laughed inwardly as fear spread across the miko's porcelin face. Tiring of the game, she opened her fan and spoke the words, invoking the demon winds.

Kagome screamed when Kagura's tornadoes were unleashed straight at her. Finding Kagome unprepared, the attack hit its mark and enveloped Kagome's form, wrapping her in the violently slashing winds. Kagura's laughter was all she could hear above the roar of the blade-like wind.

Pain wracked her body as the wind tore at her skin, ripping at her clothing. Her arms shot up around her head, in an attempt to shield her face. Blood ran down her exposed skin in rivulets. She screamed again, but it didn't make any of it go away. The attack continued relentlessly. What seemed to last an eternity finally subsided, and Kagome fell to the ground, numerous cuts and lacerations covering her form. She struggled to get up, only to be attacked again. This time, it seemed, Kagura used all of her power. Anger blossomed in Kagome's mind. She's toying with me! I have to get out of here! She tried to escape, but her legs refused to cooperate. She couldn't focus enough to use any of her power, arrows or not. Her vision blurred and all she could hear was Kagura's laughter through the howling wind.

The second attack ended, leaving Kagome struggling for breath on the forest floor and badly wounded. Kagome registered Kagura's blurry form coming toward her. Fear gripped her. What was she going to do? She refused to give into the welcoming darkness lurking at the edges of her mind, but it took all of her strength to do so.

 

Kagura sneered in contempt as she approached the prone figure. Leaning over, she saw the look of stark pain in Kagome's deep brown eyes and her heart started beating faster. She loved seeing that. In one swift motion, Kagura grabbed Kagome by the neck and yanked her up to eye level.

“Naraku thinks you are very annoying, and he's getting tired of it. Tell me girl, where is it you come from? You're not from around here, and Naraku wants to know,” she nearly spat the last few words from her mouth.

Kagome looked at her with a blank stare. “I won't tell you anything, Kagura,” she whispered hoarsly, “You don't deserve to know anything.”

Kagura tightened her grip around Kagome's neck, making her wince in pain. Her vision clouded further as her air supply was methodically cut off. Instead of seeing anger in Kagura's face, she found only glee, as if she was enjoying herself. Suddenly, Kagura threw her to the ground. Air rushed into Kagome's lungs, and she began coughing at the sudden rush. Each cough strained the wounds around her chest and neck, creating small streams of blood running down her body. Between coughs, she spoke. “Leave me alone Kagura, I'm not going to tell you anything.”

Anger blazed in the wind demon's red eyes. “Fine by me, but tell Naraku yourself. He is very eager to see you.” She smirked and advanced on to Kagome once again. Kagome attempted to scramble away, only to slip in the pool of blood that had collected around her.

“Enough. Get over here girl, you're coming one way or another,” Kagura spat as she hauled Kagome up. She drew the feather from her hair and threw it up. In a swirl of wind, Kagome found herself several meters from the ground, and growing higher every second. Fear gripped her. No one was there to save her and she couldn't make herself move. In desperation, she called out the only thing she could. “INUYASHAAAA!!!!!”. The wind swallowed up her frantic plea and carried it away towards the mountains.

 

A/N: Ok, so this is the revised version. The first one was just too rushed. Hope you like, please read and review!