InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Just a Kiss ❯ In the Darkness Dwells ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Title: Just a Kiss
Disclaimer: Keh!
Summary: Jaken, a Lord under King Sesshoumaru, is reluctant to pick a bride. After spurning one
too many a prospective bride, a witch casts a spell on him so that he may forever be as ugly on the
outside as he is on the inside. The only way to break the spell is to find someone willing to kiss
him...[Jaken/Rin]


~*~


Chapter One: In the Darkness Dwells


In the depths of a nameless land, forests grow tall and dark, plaguing the landscape with a
rash of foliage that the local dwellers show open faced timidity. Legends speak of dark creatures
with even darker intentions living within the confines of forests such as these, lurking in the shadows
and waiting patiently for any prey to cross their paths so they might feast on sweet, supple flesh.

Humans, it was said, were their favorite course–young female victims in particular. No,
there was nothing sweeter than the taste of young female flesh; soft and pliable it was with the most
enticing of fragrances. Any dark creature worth his lick knew the benefits of a diet of young
maidens–not only did they taste superb, but they were much more fun to play with before final
conquest. Men fought, women screamed.

Male flesh, on the other hand, was an imbalance of muscle and fat and always smelled of
deep musk. Moreover, their bodies were usually covered in a thick layer of coarse hair which one
had to remove, wasting much of the choice meat that would have otherwise been consumed. A
woman, on the other hand, could be scalped and cleaned efficiently, the only amount of hair to truly
worry about being on her head and loins. And, as all dark creatures know, preparing a woman for
eating could always be rather...enjoyable. Much like an owl during her nocturnal meal–play first,
eat later.

One would not think that such creatures would be so finicky about their meals.


~*~



In a forest such as this, a young couple walks along a travel hewn path beneath the waning
moon, dried grass and leaves crunching beneath their sandals ominously as they weave their way
through the dense foliage.

The first member, a young male in his late teens to early twenties, walks
swiftly with determined steps, eager to rid himself of such surroundings but unwilling to show fear.
His companion, a young maiden in earlier years, clings to his arm, fear etched into her expression
and body language. She starts at every noise, searching vainly for the evil source in each shrubbery
they bypass.

"Hiroji," the girl whimpers, raising her face fearfully to her guardian. He returns the
nervously fearful gaze with a wane smile, something he hopes will reassure his young charge.

"What is it, Eiko?" Hiroji queries, hurrying them along the path so as not to draw attention
to their vulnerable state.

"Do you think the stories are true? The one that the locals warned us about before we set
foot in this god awful place?" she asked, innocent eyes of a vegetative green fixing him with an
inquisitive stare.

"Of course not, Eiko." Hiroji answered with his wane smile. "They're just stories locals tell
to scare away travelers like us. Nothing more dangerous than a rabbit can be found in this forest."

"I guess so." Eiko replied, returning her gaze stonily to the path before them. She squeezed
her guardians arm convulsively. "Do you think it really attacks girls?"

"Didn't I already tell you that it's not real?"

"What if it is?"

"Then I'll protect you."

"I feel safe now."

"Fine then, I'll let it eat you."

"You wouldn't!"

"Wouldn't I?"

"Jerk." Eiko sniffed, bringing their argument to a close. She turned her nose up and faced
away from him, though she remained clinging to his arm.

"Ah, girls scare so easy." Hiroji continued, unwilling to allow the conversation to fall back
into the uncomfortable silence. He readjusted the pack on his shoulder by nervous reflex. "There's
no such thing as monsters! No ghosts either, for that matter. Nothing but old wives tales meant to
scare children and the gullible. Undoubtedly, they tell these stories to their children and threaten to
send them into the forest when they're bad. It's nothing but - "

"Eek!" Eiko cried, thrusting an accusatory finger in the direction of a shrubbery off in the
distance. "There's something in there! It's going to eat us!"

"Don't scare me like that!" Hiroji scolded, placing a hand over his breast to calm his
palpitating heart.

"But I saw that bush move!" Eiko shrieked defensively, placing herself directly behind
Hiroji as if whatever was concealed in the bush wouldn't ever think to look for her there.

"I told you, it's probably a rabbit or something. Nothing more than your run of the mill
forest pest." Hiroji scoffed.

"Then go check it out!" Eiko challenged, lively eyes hardening into lumps of cold jade.
Hiroji stammered for a moment, searching for an excuse–any excuse–not to set another foot toward
the bush in question.

"There won't be anything in there."

"Then you've got nothing to worry about."

"But what if I cut myself?"

"Then we're even for the bruise you gave me last week."

"I told you! That wasn't my fault!"

"Hiroji!"

"Alright, alright." Hiroji finally conceded, rubbing the back of his neck apprehensively as he
approached their foes supposed hiding place.

With tentative footsteps, Hiroji drew closer to the shrubbery, barely withholding the
trembling within his body. His muscles twitched and quaked beneath his skin, hindering his pursuit
of the conspicuous foliage. It shuddered angrily when he came within a foot of it, but he gulped
down his fear and continued his steady approach. With a single quivering hand, Hiroji reached out
for its uppermost leaves...

"Wah!" he shouted, stumbling back onto his rear as he was assaulted by a previously nesting
bird. It chirped angrily at him as it made its ascent into the trees, disappearing into the net of leaves
and twigs above.

"Ha!" Eiko laughed, directing her accusation at the fallen Hiroji who was glowing a deeper
shade of red than the setting sun.

"Not funny, Eiko." he muttered as she continued to snicker at his expense. So much for
being the hero. Humph.

Hiroji rose, dusting off the knees and backside of his garment, amidst the laughter of his
charge. A large tear split across his chest, the dark indigo material his mother had dyed to match his
eyes ruined for further usage.

"Wonderful. Exactly what I needed." Hiroji grumbled further, inspecting the tear fretfully.
"Maybe I can get it fixed in the next town. What do you think, Eiko?"

No response.

"Eiko?" Now that he thought about it, Eiko was being rather quiet. Usually she could continue to
laugh at something–or him, rather–for an entire day. For her to stop within ten minutes was
unsettling.

Hiroji turned, but met with no Eiko. Her pack lay strewn across the path, its contents spilled
into the dust and decaying plant matter. Her wrap, knitted by her kindly grandmother, rested beside
it, pooled into an undignified heap beside a bottle of broken perfume.

"Eiko?" Hiroji called again, panic rising in his baritone voice.

"Eek!"

"Eiko!" Hiroji began to run, recognition of the shriek immediate to his subconscious mind.
He darted into the brush to his left, arriving in the thick of the forest where no visible path was
present. Trees surrounded him on every side and blocked him at every turn as they were densely
packed together.

‘Do not wander off the path!' a voice of warning whispered in the back of his mind, the
intonation similar to that of the old man who had first related to them the story of the maiden-
thieving bandit of the forest. Supposedly, a dark creature of indistinct species wandered this forest at
night, collecting young girls who dared to wander across his path. Once snatched up by the creature,
none were ever seen again, undoubtedly prey to the creature who remained much of a mystery to
local officials.

One witness, a girl of only seven years of age, swore that the creature was toad-like and
slimy, covered in warts and leathery skin while large, bulbous eyes would stare at you desirably.
According to the only eyewitness, the toad-man had only wanted a kiss, something that would
"return him to his former glory."

Naturally, the girls story was later discredited as a childish nightmare or nightly vision
produced by a trick of the moonlight and the popular theme of "steal the girl and eat her bones"
became once again the most agreed upon story.

"Eiko!" Hiroji called breathlessly, coming to a stop in a small clearing. He dropped to his
knees in despair at being once again unanswered and wept into his hands, sobbing the lost girls name
brokenly between gasps.

"H-Hiroji,"

Hiroji's head snapped up from its dormant position and swivelled around until the source
was observed. Eiko stumbled into the clearing, disheveled and bleeding slightly from a wound on
her forehead. She hobbled as far as she could go before collapsing in a heap, held up only by Hiroji,
who scrambled to catch her before she hit the ground.

"Eiko!" he cried joyfully, sweeping his beloved into his arms protectively, shielding her from
all who might further attack her.

"H-Hiroji..." she gasped, rolling her eyes up to meet his stare. The glow was gone from their
depths, the spark of her witty tongue missing amidst a dull glossy coating.

"Yes, Eiko?" Hiroji soothed, massaging tenderly between her shoulder blades.

"I-it...he..." Eiko coughed raggedly, shuddering in remembrance of the offense.

"What is it, Eiko?" Hiroji asked, anger finally rising to the surface at the fiend who would
treat his poor, defenseless Eiko in such a brutal fashion. "Who did this to you?"

"M-monster..." she coughed again, burying her face into his tunic until the violent fit
subsided.

"Monster?" Hiroji questioned, returning the soothing quality to his voice. "What monster,
Eiko?"
"T-toad...thing...wanted to...me..." Eiko shuddered again, hiding her face within the folds of
his clothing at the grisly idea. Hiroji felt the spark of anger flare to life once more as the implication
rose to the surface of his mind.

"Eiko! What did this monster do to you?" he tilted Eiko's chin so that she would look him
in the eye during his interrogation, wanting nothing but the truth about the unfortunate girls
situation revealed to him. "What happened?"

"He...it..." Eiko gulped, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand. "It...kissed me!"


~*~


"Feh, stupid girl. I knew she wouldn't help me." the creature croaked, lurking in the
shadows as he watched his former prey fall into the arms of what was most likely her lover. "No
wonder, I should have known that man would complicate things."

The creature continued to observe as the young whelp queried his delicate companion,
comforting her tenderly in the wake of her "terrifying ordeal." Of course, the most terrifying piece of
the entire affair should have been when he bashed her in the side of the head with his staff. He
admittedly struck her a bit too forcefully, but not hard enough to cause any permanent damage. (He,
of course, assumed the babble was a sign of her usual personality or one of recent terror.)

"He...it..." the girl paused to wipe her mouth disgustedly, spatting out "It...kissed me!"

The creature flinched. Stupid girl. Surely the ordeal was not as bad as all that! Such
dramatics young females spewed these days. No wonder she had that pathetic excuse for a guardian
wrapped around her little finger in such a way.

On the other hand...

The creature peered down at his hands–or what passed for hands, anyway. Three digits grew
out of each palm, covered in green mottled skin that was slick with perspiration. Ugly spots
appeared on the back of each implement and veins rose out of his flesh in a way that would make
most squeal in disgust. Ugly welts rose on his already less-than-smooth epidermis, each filled with a
sour smelling green puss. He would know, he once tried to dispose of them by slashing through them
with his elongated, razor sharp nails, only to create more once the juice had been freed from its
prison of diseased skin.

The rest of his body was covered in a thin robe, complete with inconspicuous hood to hide
his disfigured face and hairless scalp. Enormous rounded eyes glared from beneath it, glowing
ominously when struck by any stray beam of light. His feet were webbed and slick as his hands so
any form of footwear was impractical. His only other possession was a long staff carved out of a
stray bit of drift wood found in his former kingdom, formless and knotted at the top to create a
relatively formidable weapon when used properly. More than a weapon, though, it's purpose was to
keep him walking upright as his spine curved in a way that made his bones ache from a simple stroll.
When forced to upkeep his posture with the staff, however, most evenings he would wake up with
less stiffness in the few feeble muscles he had left, making it easier for him to travel.

Unfortunately, even after six straight weeks of wandering, he still could not find his way out
of this wretched forest. And, according to the conversation being held by his latest "victims," he was
once again back where he started. Now that he thought about it, was the ground supposed to slope
this way...?

Curses. Foiled again.

Ah well. Time to wander once more. Perhaps, by this time next cycle, he would be on the
other side of this endless expanse of forestry. Then, perhaps, his destination would be in sight and a
cure as well.

Until then, it was back to the old drawing board. It was apparent that no silly village girl
would suit his needs. A very...special type of girl was needed. Well, his destination was a city after
all. It would make sense that if he were to find a cure, by the method known to him or not, it would
be there.

Yes, the western lands held much promise for this wretched creature that stalks the night. In
the west, in the direction of the setting sun, he would find his answer. He would find closure.


~*~


Authors Note: See, PD? That wasn't so bad, was it? ^^

Erm...sorry if the last chapter didn't flow especially well. That's what I get for not
editing ^^; Not too bad considering it came off the top of my head (much like this chapter did, come
to think of it...but I looked over this one!). If anyone thinks I was a bit...graphic near the beginning
when describing the "dark creatures," rest assured that Jaken isn't really one of the dark creatures
mentioned. Jaken, being a relatively decent man by origin, isn't EVIL–just mean, cold and arrogant
(which is SO much better -_-;) The "dark creatures" description is more of a general analysis of the
bad nasty things that plague the world than anyone/thing specific. Kinda how demons are described
in InuYasha–evil, nasty and kinky for eating young maidens. (Lord, I ramble.)

Oh yes, and don't forget about Hiroji and Eiko. I have a feeling they'll show up again in
later chapters, even if for a brief period. (Gotta have something to shake up the city dwellers
^^–other than Jaken, anyway.)

Next Chapter: Jaken finally makes it to the other side of the forest (after about another month and
a half of travel) and begins his journey westward where he meets a few...obstacles.

**Rating raised to PG-13 due to content of this chapter and future ones.**


~*Ms. Videl Son*~

PS: .txt will be the death of me! GAH!!! I apologize to the ff.net users out there for my paragraph
formatting--.txt is a little...strange compared to .html. I'm going to try and get my Microsoft Word
back, though, I promise!