InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Out of This World ❯ Prologue: Part II ( Prologue )

A/N: Sorry for taking so long. I know I've said I was going to update On a Leash, but I've been getting quite a few rather irritating reviews, that I'm going to hold off a bit longer. Plus, it's been very difficult for me to find time to write anything at all. If you're wondering about Inuyasha's outfit, it looks similar to a Jedi's ensemble (think Episode 1, the first Skywalker or Obi Wan).

 

Dedication: This second part originally wasn't going to have a dedication, but, I dedicate this to my editor, Notoes, and her mother, who passed away recently.

 

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Prologue

 

Part II

 

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Naraku chuckled slightly at the young hanyou's question. “What do I want, Inuyasha...?”

 

Inuyasha's small fangs bit into the inside of his bottom lip as he stood up, quivering. He forced himself to continue to look the other half-youkai in the eyes, despite all the haze of heart-pounding trauma that colored his more recent memories - his thoughts now - and made him want to bolt away and hide, not only from Naraku but from the visions themselves. Visions that he witnessed again and again in vivid nightmares. Visions that he could hear. I'm not dreaming now...

 

Visions that he knew for certain now were real.

 

Naraku said in that oily voice of his again, “What do I want, Inuyasha? It's not a difficult request.” The obscurity of the chamber made whatever he was wearing blend eerily into the shadows. His ruby eyes seemed to illuminate his long, pale face. They flickered once as a quiet half-smirk crept over his thin lips as one of his hands reached around to his side. From his hip, the very dull winking of metal danced into Inuyasha's eyes.

 

“Tetsusaiga?” he whispered in wonder.

 

“Yes,” Naraku seemed to purr in response.

 

The young hanyou's gaze looked curiously at the long curve of the battered blade before moving restlessly to Naraku's eyes again. “Why do you have Tetsusaiga?”

 

“So you know what this...” he licked his lips with feigned pensiveness, “heirloom is then.”

 

With a nod, Inuyasha watched as Naraku held the blade perfectly level in his right hand. “It's the sword wielded by the ruler of Vaokea....” He trailed off; the horrific realization that Hiten and Manten's words were true came like a sound strike to the face. He shook his head wildly while Naraku's thin lips curled into a simper.

 

“What's the matter, Inuyasha? Aren't you going to greet your new ruler now?” He chuckled again. Towering over the child, he whispered, “Your new father...?”

 

Inuyasha made harried whimpers while continuing to shake his head, platinum hair waving violently from side-to-side. The sudden force of a hand seizing the front of his dirtied shirt made all the breath in his lungs rush out of him when he was abruptly lifted up. The darkness of the room seemed to spin as his head snapped backwards. Through the shadows, Inuyasha could see the older hanyou's red eyes narrow menacingly - the sadistically teasing glint had left without a trace.

 

“Now then, Inuyasha.” Naraku's hand curled tighter into the soiled cloth, twisting the neck of the shirt closer to Inuyasha's throat. His ember-like eyes burned hotly into the wide golden ones of the frightened boy. “How do I use it?”

 

Inuyasha choked out in response, “Use what?”

 

Naraku gripped the cloth tighter. “Don't play stupid with me,” he snarled in an undertone. He drew Tetsusaiga up to Inuyasha's cheek, pressing the tip into the sunburned flesh there. “How do I use this sword?”

 

Gasping for air, the young hanyou responded, “I...I don't know...”

 

“Liar!” Naraku shouted, sharply shaking Inuyasha once. “Tell me how to use it, damn it. You know as well as I do that this sword is supposed to react to the new leader...how?”

 

Inuyasha clawed at Naraku's hand. “I don't know!” His juvenile talons left thin ribbons of blood on Naraku's knuckles as he desperately stripped the skin away. Even so, Naraku refused to relinquish his grasp on him. The hanyou boy writhed. “I don't know how to use it! I don't know! Leave me alone - I don't know - why won't you go away? - I don't know!” Tears welled up in his eyes while his face grew slightly insensate.

 

“Inuyasha...” hissed the older hanyou coyly, “if you tell me how to use it, I'll take you away from here, from this wretched slave colony.” His grip released fractionally - more oxygen circulated to Inuyasha's face and his lungs drew it in over his numbed lips covetously. “I could raise you like my very own son, Inuyasha. You could live in the palace again, and play with your toys and have whatever you want, so long as you tell me how to get this sword to work.” Naraku wet his lips slowly, calculatingly - almost patiently. “I'll ask you again - how do I get this sword to react to its new leader?”

 

Inuyasha swallowed. Trembling, he whispered, “...I don't know....”

 

With a grunt of annoyance, Naraku hurled Inuyasha across the chamber. The boy's back soundly connected with the earthen wall. “Worthless.”

 

Stunned, Inuyasha dropped from the wall, falling through the dust-clouded air and landing heavily on his face and stomach. Groaning, he attempted to open his eyes.

 

Even footfalls reached his ears as Naraku stalked towards him. “At least I can pursue the treasure from Teirlon without it.”

 

Inuyasha tried to push himself up, but his arms were too weak and he collapsed onto the floor again - body pushed far beyond its normal exhaustion point. Nerves quavered as Naraku's aura began to slowly tendril around the fringes of his own - torturously bringing the feeling of suffocating numbness - while his body continued to lay quiescent on the dirt floor.

 

“Inuyasha...”

 

The young hanyou groaned. The deliberate crushing of dirt on the earthen floor rang in his ears. He clenched his eyes shut, not wanting to see how close Naraku was. The steps grew more menacing.

 

His heart pounded.

 

Air displaced around him - cooling by some movement; he was going to be struck.

 

His body tensed in anticipation...

 

“No! Get away from him!”

 

Inuyasha's eyes whipped open at the sound of Miroku's voice. The human boy had thrown himself against Naraku's side.

 

Naraku stumbled slightly as a dark fog burst from him.

 

Inuyasha covered his nose with a sleeve of his shirt and dove to the side while Miroku made a cry of pain and tumbled backwards. The young hanyou moved the make-shift mask from his face, wiping his nose with a palm. He blinked in wonder as Miroku got to his feet, the sleeve of his shirt singed as if fire had gotten to it.

 

Righting himself, Naraku looked impassively to Miroku. “So, boy, you think you are above me?” He smirked. “What a self-righteous little fool.” Naraku tucked a hand into the front of the long black cloak he wore thoughtfully, - the cloak Inuyasha recognized as his father's, the cloak of the Vaokea ruler - bowing his head for a moment before whipping his head around to face Miroku.

 

His red eyes glowed an odious crimson. His hand swept out, a single piece of parchment between his first and middle fingers. With a sharp flick of his wrist, the paper whistled through the air towards the obstinate human boy.

 

Inuyasha's eyes widened in horror as an awful shriek burst from Miroku's mouth. He drew his breaths in shakily, unable to tear his eyes away from the disturbing sight.

 

Miroku's right hand had been pierced all the way through, leaving a bloody hole in the center of his palm. The paper was nowhere to be found. In disbelief, Miroku grasped his wrist, staring raptly at the endless darkness in his hand. Streams of blood slid down his arm, leaving stains of red down his sleeve that collected at his elbow.

 

He must have tried to shield his face with his hands... Inuyasha thought. He felt the bile rise to his throat, but still he watched the grotesque scene. The hole was the size of Miroku's thumb, and Inuyasha was a little unnerved by its darkness.

 

As he continued to watch, something like an inward-sucking wind drew the trails of blood into the puncture where they disappeared, leaving only faint traces on his skin that blood had ever been there to begin with.

 

“What...? What is this...?” whispered Miroku, shifting his gaze marginally from his hand to Naraku.

 

Naraku smirked again, gaze reflecting macabre delight. “It's the Draíocht Coir Teicníocht's equivalent to a wormhole.”

 

“A-a w-worm hole...?” Miroku licked his lips, blank-faced.

 

Turning, Naraku began to pace away. “If you kill me, that abomination in your hand will cease to be. Then you will truly be above me. But if you don't,” he stopped, looking towards the human boy with indulgent contempt, “then it will continue to widen every year until you suffer the fate of being sucked in by your own hand.”

 

Miroku's breath faltered in his throat. Tears that had lingered in his eyes began to spill over of their own accord.

 

“Hmph.” Passing his gaze from Miroku to Inuyasha, he said with a smirk, “Well, if you aren't going to tell me how to use this,” he motioned to Tetsusaiga, which was still clasped in his hand, “or if you really don't know, you're really of no use to me.” He began towards the doorway. “I'll leave you for Kisu. He can do with you what he will. Have a nice life, Inuyasha.”

 

Inuyasha simply sat watching as Naraku paced out of the chamber and Sango slipped in passed him.

 

“Miroku!” she cried running over to him and taking his hand, cradling it to her tearstained cheek. “Miroku, are you okay?”

 

Miroku nodded slightly - obviously woozy. “I'll be okay...”

 

Sango looked at him before turning to glare at Inuyasha. “This is all your fault!” she shouted.

 

“What...?” he murmured. “But I didn't...”

 

“Shut up! Look what you made him do to Miroku!” Sango's small body shook. “You're terrible, I hate you!”

 

Inuyasha winced at her words. But...I didn't mean for it to happen...

 

Sango sucked in another deep breath, prepared to yell again, when Miroku's hand landed on her shoulder. “Sango,” he said, pained, “let's go back to the chamber. I did it on my own...don't blame Inuyasha... It's my fault....”

 

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That night, Inuyasha sat apart from Miroku and Sango - much like he had the first night had come here, nearly a week ago. Inuyasha stared at the sky, one ear guiltily trained on them. Sango's voice was low as she talked to Miroku, helping him clean up his arm. Judging from what they were saying, the hole continued to suck up particles of dirt with its wind.

 

“Don't try and put your finger in it, Sango,” Inuyasha heard Miroku say, causing him to glance from the crude window to the pair. “It might suck it in or something... I dunno how strong it is, either.”

 

Sango nodded. “Okay. Then what do we do with it?”

“Um...” The human boy ran his left thumb over the back of the knuckles of his cursed hand. “We should probably cover it or something... Ya know, like a glove or something.”

 

“But we don't have any thing for gloves here. No one wears gloves here - it's too hot.”

 

“Um...” The humans looked to Inuyasha as he stood to his feet, one hand on the sleeve of his shirt. “We could always make one,” he said softly, eyes downcast.

 

Sango glared heatedly while Miroku asked, “With what?”

 

Inuyasha was quiet for a moment before curling his claws into the material and jerking it away, hearing a sound rip as it pulled from the seams. He shrugged the sleeve off before looking from it to his shirt. He then used his other hand to do the same to his other sleeve so it was even.

 

Washing both pieces of fabric in their basin of water - which they changed daily -, Inuyasha rung them out before taking them both and sitting shyly in front of Miroku and Sango. He quietly used his claws to cut down the tube of cloth to make it a flat piece. Then, he made a fair-sized hole in the center of it. “Can I see your hand?”

 

Miroku nodded and held out his right hand to Inuyasha.

 

Looking at it closer for the first time, Inuyasha saw that the chasm in the boy's hand truly did puncture all the way through; and instead of being able to see through to the other side, all he could see was an endless darkness and feel the coaxing wind. I wasn't imagining everything I saw... Inuyasha thought, swallowing slightly.

 

Inuyasha slipped the hole he'd cut into the cloth over Miroku's middle finger before slitting it on either side of the finger, so the rest of his digits were free to move.

 

The damp cloth clung to Miroku's bare wrist - his sleeves had been rolled up for when Sango was cleaning. Inuyasha looked at it for a moment before tearing a strip from his other sleeve and tying it around Miroku's wrist, fixing the makeshift glove in place. “That should hold for a while.... It's made out of silk from a worm youkai...it's pretty strong.”

 

Then, wordlessly, Inuyasha rose to his feet again, and padded to his dark corner of the cell, leaving the scraps behind.

 

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A few days passed, and Inuyasha was greeted each morning with contemptuous glares from not only Sango, but most of the humans in the compound.

 

The young hanyou simply learned to bow his head and try to avoid whatever was lobbed at him or was placed in his way as he walked. Surprisingly though, the only person who was still kind to him was Miroku. It was a relief to Inuyasha considering he was still working in the mining holes with Sango as well as Miroku.

 

The work was becoming a tad easier, but it was still trying on Inuyasha's body. The twin suns' light beat down on his now-bare arms, warming them from their pale color to a red burn. Regardless, he and Miroku continued to tote the heavy buckets filled with Zier crystals to the large metal funnel in the middle of the ground, a good walk from their hole, to be processed by the people in the underground station. Sango usually fetched water and only ventured into the hole to collect the crystals and toss them into the buckets the boys would carry.

 

As Inuyasha and Miroku were returning from such a trip, they heard a girl's cry from their hole. They dashed to their station and peered down the chasm. At the bottom was Sango, tears silently streaming down her face.

 

“Sango!” Miroku called down, quickly dropping to his knees and leaning over the edge. “What happened?”

 

She sniffled once before pointing towards the dented metal water pail, its contents spilt over the floor of dirt and Zier crystals. “I didn't mean to fall, Miroku,” she said apologetically.

 

He smiled reassuringly down at her. “It's all right. You didn't do it on purpose. Can you stand?”

 

Sango shook her head, touching a hand to her ankle. “I hurt it.”

 

Miroku frowned, thinking. “There's no rope to pull her out with, and Sango's not strong enough to climb out all by herself...” he mumbled.

 

Inuyasha passed his gaze from his adversary to his friend. Without a second thought, he jumped down the hole and landed beside Sango. She promptly turned away from him, part of her pouting, but a greater portion afraid and in pain; he snorted slightly and stubbornly ignored her slight protest - two traits he had inherited from his father - as he picked her up and leapt back onto the higher ground. He set her gently down on her rump and then backed away a few paces.

 

Sango sat quietly, pawing at her ankle, but wincing whenever she did so.

 

Miroku knelt down beside her, inspecting her. “I don't think it's broken, but I think you bruised it.... Doesn't look like you'll be able to carry anything today.”

 

“I can do it,” Inuyasha said softly. “It's not that hard to gather those crystals into the buckets. And I can get water from the pump, too.”

 

The boys nodded in agreement, while Sango just watched, keeping sullen eyes on Inuyasha.

 

After giving the injured girl a ladleful of water, the boys continued mining while the heat of the day bore on them, occasionally stopping to haul Zier crystals off, or to get something to drink. When the water began to run low, Inuyasha would venture passed the other slaves to the head slave driver that dispensed the water - so one group wasn't receiving more than the others - and refill their small pail. It was during one of Inuyasha's late afternoon trips that, as he was approaching the mining hole, he heard a loud shout and the foreboding crack of a whip.

 

Curious, as most young boys his age are, Inuyasha ventured closer, and poked his head around the large boulder that sat close to his hole to survey the situation. There was an overseer.

 

The overseer stood tall and menacing. His garnet eyes were hard, and he had the black leather whip curled around his tan, muscular forearm. “Why the fuck aren't you doing your work, you lazy little bitch?” he spat, glaring at Sango.

 

The girl shifted in her spot in the cooling shadow of the boulder. “I...I-I hurt m-my ankle....”

 

“So?” he shouted. “Get the hell up - “

 

“I can't!”

 

“GET UP NOW!” He began to unfurl his whip, eyes flashing. “I'll beat you otherwise, now get up!”

 

Inuyasha dropped the water bucket and leapt in front of Sango. “Hey, leave her alone!”

 

The overseer kicked at Inuyasha, but the young hanyou darted out of the way. “Shut up, half-breed.”

 

“You shut up - asshole,” he shot back after some slight hesitation. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear his mother scolding him for using such language. “She's hurt, can't you see that?”

 

Swooping down, faster than Inuyasha expected, the slave driver seized him by the front of his shirt. He drew the boy up to eyelevel. “Are you talking back to me?” he asked in a low whisper. “Is that it, eh? You're talking back to me?” He tossed Inuyasha unceremoniously to the ground. “So, what are you saying - you don't want me to hurt your little friend here?”

 

Inuyasha pushed himself up to all fours. “Yeah...it's not her fault.” He wiped at his nose with his hand, propped up with the other. “You're not supposed to hit a girl...”

 

“Well then,” Inuyasha could hear the sound of the slave driver's hand gripping the whip tighter, “someone has to be punished.”

 

Inuyasha felt the blow forcing him to the ground before he heard it. It echoed off his back with a solid slap, leaving a streak of hot pain in its wake. His clothes had been torn. The familiar thudding of blood oozing out of his wounds began as another streak of pain was laid down on his back - again and again, with sharp claps, like thunder. When Inuyasha's mind went hazy, and he'd lost count of the whip-cracks, the overseer stopped.

 

All the slave driver said as he walked away was a disdainful, “Pfft,” as he spat.

 

The world swam around in an array of dusty oranges and reds before Inuyasha's eyes but before he passed out, his gaze found Sango's wide-eyed one and he managed a small smile. Then he blacked out.

 

He awoke a few hours later to the darkness of the chamber, lying on his back on his blanket. Miroku and Sango sat to his right, watching him; they had been talking, but when his eyes opened, they stopped abruptly. The humans' gazes met his own, and they simply stared at each other. Slowly, Inuyasha sat up and was surprised to find his old shirt gone and his torso covered by bandages. He blinked in surprise, glancing from his bandages to the pair again.

 

Sango grimaced, her eyes soft, unlike all the times before. This time they looked...grateful. Silently, she held out a bowl to him. “Miroku and I...we...we saved you some soup...Inuyasha....”

 

Inuyasha stared at the bowl in her hands, dumbfounded. “Thanks...Sango.”

 

Sango nodded once while Miroku helped Inuyasha steady himself against the wall.

 

Even though they all sat in silence as Inuyasha ate, and simply looked from each other to the stars they could see through their hole in the wall, there was an understanding. Young as they were, the three of them had come to realize that, in Drathna 4, there would be no one else to care for them but each other.

 

They were all they had.

 

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Time passed. People changed.

 

Not only did Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha grow to be like a small family, but the human slaves of Drathna 4 had opened their hearts to the hanyou as well after he protected Sango when he was still a child. Now, Inuyasha, along with Sango and Miroku, had grown into his early adolescent years.

 

From being the slight hanyou-boy he was, Inuyasha had grown to be lean and rather tall, and his body had tanned so the heat did not bother him as much anymore - all of which could be attributed to the hard work he performed in the mining holes. He had become quite handsome, and some of the human girls liked to flirt with him whenever possible, though he never flirted back, which Miroku said was a shame. But, in the time that had gone by, the outward naiveté he had possessed as a child had withered away with each day in the desert.

 

The trio worked in the mining holes every day since the incident with the overseer but, they made the best of it and the work got easier.

 

Every few weeks or so, a transport ship from the Sixth Delta Alliance - the local trade merchants guild of this galaxy - would come to pick up the latest shipment of Zier crystals.

 

It was during the cooling season, when the suns' weren't nearly so hot, that Inuyasha spotted one such ship. It was a light gray color with a triangle with three lines crossing through it, two that passed through the bottom points and one that crossed directly through the middle. He'd always taken a bit of fascination with ships - after all, when he still lived in Korata with his family, there had been ships in and out of the docking bay almost around the clock.

 

Inuyasha watched the grunts file in and out, either bringing cargo in or going to retrieve it. He shifted the large box of Zier crystals on his back, so he could see where he was going; being the strongest slave, Inuyasha and a few other worthy candidates were ordered to stop their normal duties and help load the transport ship. So, he began walking towards the ship and slipped into line.

 

As he was making his way up the plank that lead into the cargo hold, he spotted a black haired man standing at the doorway. The man watched the grunts and slaves come and go with quiet silver-grey eyes, arms crossed loosely over his chest. He looked as human as every one of the slaves, but Inuyasha's nose told him that he was indeed a youkai. A wolf youkai.

 

The pilot... Inuyasha thought as he proceeded further up the plank. You can tell by the pilot insignia stitched on the left arm of his jacket. Inuyasha studied the symbol closely - it was a blue circle with a white eternity symbol inside; below it was the Sixth Delta Alliance symbol in metallic red. Weird though.... What's a pilot doing right in the middle of all the action for?

 

The pilot's eyes passed to Inuyasha's and widened slightly.

 

Inuyasha met his gaze and peered back wonderingly as he finally reached the cargo hold and deposited his load. He wasn't overly surprised when he felt the man's hand drop onto his shoulder.

 

“You,” the pilot said, peering at him curiously, “are from Korata, Vaokea?”

 

Inuyasha nodded slightly. “Yeah, I was. So?”

 

“Inuyasha?”

 

The hanyou shifted away and nodded again. “That's me. Whaddya want?”

 

“Please,” the pilot inclined his head to the sliding door to their left, “come with me. I have been searching for you.”

 

Inuyasha glanced back once before deciding to follow after the pilot. He was led through a few hallways before they finally entered an empty study. “What's this all about?”

 

The pilot didn't speak again until the doors slid shut. “Prince Inuyasha,” he dropped to one knee, “I am Gregorian Metathyc. I am one of the rebels who is still loyal to the true royal family. Excuse me coming here as a supporter of slave-mined Zier crystals, but it was the only way I could get here without suspicion.”

 

Inuyasha looked to Gregorian. His head swam. It had now been years since anyone had ever addressed him by that title, and it suddenly became very apparent to him that his manners had faded quite a bit since his sentencing to Drathna 4. He licked his lips. “R-rise, Gregorian...” The words felt like chalky dust stuck to the back of his parched throat.

 

Gregorian did as told. “I have come to tell you that the false king of Vaokea has been searching for the Miotas-las' famed stone, the Shikon no Tama. It can bring terrible power and destruction in the wrong hands, My Prince, as, it has been said, that if one were to obtain even a single sliver, his natural power would increase a hundredfold.”

 

The Teirlon treasure... Narrowing his eyes, Inuyasha muttered, “How long has Naraku been looking for this?”

 

“Since your imprisonment, My Lord, which he has lied to the public about, saying you were killed during the Fate Day Raid. And I am sad to inform you that, while it is not in Naraku's possession, he performed a genocide...and the Shikon no Tama has seemingly vanished. Dark Sky has an idea where it might be now.”

 

Inuyasha ground his teeth slightly before abruptly looking away. “And what do you want me to do about it? I'm a slave, in case you haven't noticed.”

 

Gregorian sighed slightly at Inuyasha's snappish tone, but then smiled. “This I know, Prince Inuyasha, but I have a plan.” His grin widened as Inuyasha trained his ears on him, eyes sliding over to give an askance look as well. “We need to get you out of here if we ever want to restore some balance to our world. This ship will not leave until it is nightfall, because that is the easiest time to see when leaving desert areas like this. You will sneak into the cargo hold - I will leave the hatch unlocked, so you must lock it after yourself - and then you may enter the rest of the ship. The entire crew is members of the rebel group Dark Sky. Does this suit you?”

 

Inuyasha immediately responded. “Believe me, I want out of here, Gregorian, but I can only leave on one condition.”

 

“What's that, My Prince?”

“Two of the other slaves, Miroku and Sango, have to come with me. After all the time I've spent here,” he bowed his head, golden eyes peering elsewhere, “I can't just abandon them.”

 

Gregorian smiled. “You have the same kind heart as your father, Prince. It is agreed then. Your human friends are to come with you. You needn't worry about their treatment - Dark Sky supported not only your father but your mother as well.”

 

Inuyasha nodded. “All right. Then what?”

 

“The only thing you have to worry about is getting on this transport.” He dropped his right fist onto chest, giving a confident smirk. “Leave the rest up to Dark Sky.”

 

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Night had unfurled itself over Drathna 4 like a heavy bolt of cloth, but thankfully still rather cool. The slaves had just been fed and watered, and were currently waiting in their cells for the jade-colored barriers to be activated by an overseer.

 

No one had ever tried to run before. The known consequences were horrific, and that was putting it mildly.

 

The slave compound was far from quiet with the murmurings of the residents there; Kisu didn't really care if they talked or not, so the overseers never bothered them about it. Among the mumbles, were the quick-paced whispers of Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku.

 

The young hanyou had explained in as few words as possible, and the lowest tone as possible, what was going on after his meeting with Gregorian. Both Sango and Miroku looked disheartened up until the point that Inuyasha said they'd be going with him; it was then that the three had begun to formulate their plan.

 

Now they were covering the last minute details. The very sparse personal effects they had were stuffed into their clothing - a pretty rock, a few Zier crystals, a homemade rope, just to name a few.

 

The three of them were understandably anxious - finally, freedom - but they did their best to try and hide their restlessness, lest the overseers figure out that something was going on.

 

As they heard the overseer draw nearer, they grew quieter, spare the sound of Miroku playing with the cloth covering his cursed hand - a nervous habit he'd picked up over the years.

 

Finally, the overseer, looking rather bored, stopped by their cell. He was mumbling something about craving some fruit when Inuyasha leapt up and punched him square in the face. The overseer flew backwards into a wall, and, thankfully for Inuyasha, was knocked out cold.

 

“Let's go!” he hissed as Miroku and Sango darted around him. Inuyasha took one last backwards glance at the cell that had served as his prison for so many long years. His eyes found the crude-cut window he had longingly gazed out of every night, and felt a slight pang of hesitation. Finally, he spat at the ground and dashed after his friends.

 

He caught up to them easily, and the threesome jogged out of the slave compound. The endless ebony sky stretched above them, and in its massiveness, poured onto the desert sand. Only the pinpoint lights of the stars braved their chancy path. Even so, the trio could make out the rough silhouettes of each other, and the starship not so far ahead.

 

Inuyasha's breathing was labored, but it was not from the run. It was the idea that they could get caught at any moment; the thrilling notion that, once he stepped onto that starship, he would be free again. That freedom was just at the end of this run...

 

A flash of light exploded sharply in Inuyasha's peripheral vision, accompanied by the high pitched sound of a laser pistol missing its mark and meeting the sand. Soon, a whole barrage rained onto the sandy ground around he and his companions.

 

The overseers had found out.

 

“They've seen us!” cried Sango, gritting her teeth as she and Miroku ran faster. “But don't give up - we're almost to the ship!”

 

“Stop, slaves!” various voices shouted after them as the strident fires of the laser pistols rang around them. Whips cracked and struck around them, but the threesome managed to keep out of range.

 

They finally reached the cargo hatch and Inuyasha began fumbling to get it open. “Sango! I can't find the switch!”

 

Sango hastened to him and fretfully patted around the hatch; Inuyasha could hear her heart pounding in his ears as loud as his was. The shouts and the attacks from the overseers behind them continued.

 

Miroku had dropped behind his friends and glanced from the ship to the angry mob after them. “I think the open button is on the right, guys!” His looked back to the mob and swallowed. They're almost upon us... I have to do something... Thinking quickly, Miroku made a desperate move. “Sango, Inuyasha - stay behind me!”

 

“Miroku...?” Sango asked softly before he sudden wrenched the cloth off his cursed hand and shouted, “Kazaana!”

 

“Got it...” Inuyasha hit the hatch button and the double doors began to slide horizontally apart. The wind picked up from somewhere behind him, and Inuyasha glanced back at Miroku to see his friend literally draw the overseers in a flurry of wind and sand into the void in his hand; some tried to retreat, screaming, but Miroku did not let up until every overseer that had been chasing them was no longer there. Many of the youkai that had tortured them for years were now gone....

 

Miroku quickly resealed his hand and darted inside the cargo hold; Sango and Inuyasha followed soon after, and the hanyou locked the cargo hold doors as they slid shut.

 

“That was amazing, Miroku...” whispered Sango. “It didn't hurt you, did it?”

 

He shook his head. “No, Sango. I have noticed the winds getting stronger as the hole widens with each year...so I was conducting an...experiment. But, thank you all the same.”

 

Inuyasha gazed from his friends to the door he had entered with Gregorian earlier that day and made his way towards it. Instead of following the whole route to the bridge, Inuyasha stopped at one of the rounded rectangular windows and peered outwards.

 

Gradually, as the ship began to gently take off, the sandy desert gradually began to grow more and more distant. For a few seconds, Inuyasha could make out the entire slave compound of Drathna 4, along with the desert path he had walked through to get there. But as the camp grew further from sight, he could still feel it, letting it roll around his mind in a ball of bitterness, and almost disbelief that he had even left that place - the place where he was continually humiliated and beaten, the place where he was tossed after his life had been torn away from him, the place he had banished him to....

 

Naraku... Inuyasha leaned forward, claws gripping tightly into the metal framing around the window. The ship lurched slightly as they reached the heavens before leaving the planet's gravitational pull, with streaks of black trailing after them as they jumped into warp speed. ...I will make you pay for what you did to me...to my family....

 

Inuyasha closed his eyes as he heard Miroku and Sango enter the hall. “So ends one life...and now begins another...”

 

I will stop you, Naraku... He dropped his head lightly against the window. ...no matter what it takes...

 

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A/N: Yes, well, life has been catching up to me. While I started writing this a while ago, I've had many things that have slowed me from writing pretty much anything. Yes, I know “warp speed” is a Star Trek term, but what can I say? It works. I will hopefully get a chance to write another chapter soon, and yes, this will be the end of the prologue; we will now get into the actual storyline, and we will all get to see Kagome next chapter. I promise.

 

At the pleading of my editor, Notoes, she has asked me include a sort of Out of This World translation and glossary guide at the end each chapter where a new OoTW phrase is used, as theses are not Japanese phrases used, but...well, I'll let you all guess at what language I'm using. Some words are of my own device (example: Drathna, Zier, etc.). Please note my translations will be rough, and the definitions will not be exact but...

 

Translations:

Draíocht Coir Teicníocht- Magic Offensive Technique
Miotas-las- Myth-light

 

Glossary:

 

Drathna 4 - The desert slave camp Inuyasha was imprisoned at; Miroku and Sango were there as well. There are two suns and the day is longer than the night.

 

Vaokea - The Youkai `home world.'

 

Korata - (this was in the previous chapter as well) The capital city of Vaokea, capital of the youkai world.

 

Teirlon - The place where the Shikon no Tama originated from and the place where the Miotas-las lived.

 

 

Moonlight Shadow

 

P.S. I'm still trying to figure out Media Miner's new posting system-thing, so excuse the ugliness of it now...