InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lover Untamed ❯ Chapter one ( Chapter 1 )

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

“Come one, come all!  Witness what has never been seen before, a sight so shocking, so grotesque and abnormal it will make your skin crawl, your eyes to grow wide in afeared wonder and—…”

“I can’t believe you brought me here, of all places,” Kagome Higurashi griped to her boyfriend of three years, her arms crossed over her chest as she pouted and stared mulishly at the dusty ground.  She wanted nothing more than to go home. The noise was giving her a headache, the many different smells of the food, sweat, and dirt mixing together making her nauseous, and her feet were killing her from walking around all day in naught but an old pair of sandals.  And don’t even get her started on the heat and the people bumping into her and…well, all in all, Kagome was not a happy camper.

Kouga grinned and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend’s trim waist, tugging her against his side. She didn’t realize it, but she looked positively scrumptious in a baby blue tank top and short khaki shorts.  Her ebony hair was pulled up in a thick pony tail and he wanted to grab hold of it before kissing those shorts right off of her. “C’mon, Kagome, lighten up.  It’s only in town once a year and I didn’t wanna waste the opportunity. Besides,” he continued, maneuvering their way through a thick throng of people, “I hear there’s a new attraction this year and I wanna see what it is.”

Kagome huffed and hunched her shoulders even more.

Shaking his head at her obvious displeasure, the wolf-demon craned his neck and stared at a large gathering of people crowded around a big box-shape covered by a red curtain.  A black haired man was standing on some kind of pedestal and drawing in on-lookers with his booming voice.

“…so unnatural and astonishing, you’ll find it hard to tear your gaze away!”

Kouga’s electric blue eyes lit up and he grinned in triumph.  That had to be it.

“…just go home, Kouga?” Kagome was saying and he focused his attention on her.  “I don’t feel good, my feet hurt, I’m sore and I’m getting all sweaty and gross.” She winkled her nose and fanned her face.

Her boyfriend suddenly smirked and bent down to whisper seductively in her ear. “I like it when you all sweaty, though.  Especially when we’re—”

“Kouga!” Kagome admonished, blushing.  “Behave yourself, we’re in public.” Although Kouga probably knew it – as was his cocky nature – he looked sinfully good in a black wife beater and baggy blue jeans, his raven hair pulled up in its usual ponytail.  His muscular arms and legs were displayed for all to see and Kagome had to glare one more than on occasion at overly nosy girls who dared stare at her man for too long.

Laughing, Kouga shook his head again and grabbed her hand.  “C’mon Kags, that new attraction I was talking about is just up ahead. Let’s go before he starts without us.” Not waiting for a reply, the wolf dragged his semi-protestant girlfriend onward, ignoring her sigh of defeat.

They made it in no time thanks to Kouga’s demon speed and strength, and the wolf also used this to their advantage by pushing their way up front for a front row view while Kagome, as was her way, apologized for her boyfriend’s rude behavior the entire way.  

“Kouga, that was rude,” she chided, shooting him a stern look.  “People are glaring at us!”

“Shh!” her boyfriend shushed her and Kagome rolled her eyes.  Why did she even bother?

The man with wavy black hair in which a matching top hat sat upon stared down at the sizable crowd before him and grinned, his crimson eyes glinting mysteriously. Satisfied with the number of people, The Ring Leader – as he liked to call himself and he definitely looked the part with a black button down shirt, black slacks and red overcoat – stretched his arms outward and began.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the fair of all fairs, where dreams are naught but a slim comparison and where magic comes to life…The Yukhanza Fair!”

Instant applause met his ears, screams of excitement and shrill whistles piercing the air as the miniature sea of people before him thrashed around, jumped up and down and waved their arms in the air frantically.

Grinning, The Ring Leader laughed aloud and waited for the noise to die down before continuing, adrenalin pumping though his veins from the enthusiastic response. “Before I continue any further, my friends, allow me to introduce myself.” Reaching up with one hand to tip his hat and sweeping out the other before him, The Ring Leader bowed his head. “I am Onigumo Morikawa and I am honored to be your Ring Leader this glorious afternoon.” He finished with an elegant bow at the waist, the out stretched arm now folded across his stomach.

Another astonishing round of applause and encouraging cheers erupted around him once more, further egging him on and doubling his confidence.

Pumped, The Ring Leader straightened and smiled at his audience. “My friends, I thank you for you invigorating response. I was not expecting such enthusiasm.” He chuckled.

In the front of the excited crowd, Kagome inwardly snorted. Yeah right. He’s obviously a natural.  Turning to her boyfriend to say as much, she wasn’t as surprised as she should have been to see Kouga utterly captivated by The Ring Leader’s performance, cobalt eyes rounded in awe and his jaw slack, the corners of his mouth curled up into a silly half-grin.

Kagome chuckled and shook her head then diverted her attention back to Onigumo, if that was indeed his real name.  These circus carnies often had several different aliases to hide who they really were.  Kagome wouldn’t put it past this guy as well – he was too good.

The Ring Leader continued, further ensnaring his audience with his deep, captivating voice. “All pleasantries aside, I ask you, my friends…do you believe in myths?  Fairytales?  Those far-fetched ideas of mystic creatures and far off places we’ve only ever dreamed of?”

Amid the squeals of agreeing excitement from the children, the majority of his audience nodded to his question, curious as to where he was going with this.

One of them was Kagome’s consent to believing. She had to admit…this guy really knew what to say.  

Nodding his own head, Onigumo reached behind him and toyed with the curtain’s velvet edge.  “Tell me friends, what about those things that go bump in the night, the monsters that hide in the closet, and, dare I say, the wretched and possessed demons with ill intent, standing by the sidelines, waiting for their chance to attack?”

At this, parents pulled their children close, looking around warily at the demons intermingling with the humans.  Suspicious glances were cast all around, even among those demons, inching away from one another, cautious.

Several humans nearby Kouga glared his way and scooted back.  Kagome in turn glared at them and latched onto her boyfriend’s arm, defending him in her own way.

Kouga glanced down at her smiled, lancing their fingers together in a silent thank you.

She smiled back.

The Ring Leader’s dark laugh caught everyone’s attention and Kagome looked to see the man – although she was starting to have her doubts what he was indeed a man – clutching a fistful of the dark red curtain behind him, a positively sadistic grin stretching his pale features.

Kagome shuddered and drew closer to Kouga who in turn draped an arm over her shoulders.

Onigumo could practically taste the anticipation welling up inside them and he relished the wary looks and suddenly distrustful gazes.  The only thing keeping them here, he knew, was the promise of something so spectacular, they will never forget it.  

Something sinister flashed across his scarlet orbs.  “Then I behold unto you, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, to witness a sight so treacherous, the very creature that hides within the shadows, that dwells within your nightmares, and creeps unto you unawares…”

The hand tightened on the curtain and Kagome’s heart fluttered in her chest as The Ring Leader paused, building the anticipation and suspense.

Onigumo’s eyes narrowed.  “Now…behold!  A creature half-man…half-monster!”

He yanked the curtain down and someone screamed.