InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Season of Sorrow ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

 

Chapter One

 

Sango knelt before the lord, beside her fellow demon slayers. She was brimming with pride. This was Kohaku's first fight as a true demon slayer… Her enthusiasm dimmed just a bit when she heard the lord speak derisively of bringing a young woman and a mere boy into battle - though she was equally pleased to hear her father's praise.

 

They were good, maybe even the best. And tonight they would have a chance to prove it.

 

"See, Kohaku?" she prodded quietly, "Do your best."

 

He was muttering something under his breath, but she did not hear it and would not hear of it. She knew he was being self-deprecating again. He was always so unsure of himself; she found it rather endearing.

 

The sky was rapidly growing darker; the guards informed them that this was the time when the creature attacked, and took up positions around the outskirts of the courtyard, well away from where the fighting would take place.

 

For a few tense moments, Sango wondered if the stories were just that - stories. And then the courtyard was alive with shouts, and the spider demon appeared above them.

 

It was huge, and looked vicious, but Sango was calm and confident. There were many slayers and only one demon, and all of the slayers had been handpicked, the best of the village. Together, they would destroy it, and collect their reward.

 

She dodged the mass of silk it threw at them, was vaguely aware of Kohaku getting tangled in the strands, noted one of the others hastening to his assistance. She kept her eyes trained on the demon, waiting for her chance. The other slayers took the offensive, pinning the demon down.

 

Her chance…

 

"Got it!" Sango shouted, and threw her Hiraikotsu.

 

The blow knocked the demon back and took off two of its legs. Sango smiled as the slayers moved in to finish the job.

 

Her smile turned into a frown almost as soon as it crossed her face. Something wasn't right. The entire fight had been too easy. That spider was too weak for its size…

 

And then…

 

Kohaku's chain scythe arced through the air…

 

Heads flew…

 

Her comrades…

 

The blade planted itself firmly in…

 

In…

 

And Sango was screaming. "Father!"

 

She'd thought that somehow something had gotten ahold of Kohaku and stolen his weapon, could not believe that her baby brother could… could…

 

But when she turned, there was no denying it. He held the blade in his hands. He ignored the blood that dripped from the tip: Father's blood. Sango shook with fear and rage.

 

"Kohaku!" He did not respond to her call, and threw the chain scythe again.

 

The blade flew through the air, coming close enough to slice the ties that held her mask in place. He didn't recognize her. He readied the blade for another attack.

 

Sango drew her sword and charged headlong toward him, heedless of the way the chain tangled around her weapon. She caught hold of it and yanked, throwing Kohaku off balance.

 

He drew his sword in turn. Their weapons clashed, and Sango noticed something. A thread. A silken thread, attached to her brother's neck.

 

She looked over her shoulder, to where the lord and the guards were. Why weren't they intervening?

 

She shuddered. The lord… he had spider fangs.

 

He was the real demon.

 

If she killed him, Kohaku would be freed from the spell.

 

Grunting, she shook free of the chain, threw her sword away, and charged toward the lord. Along the way she grabbed the Hiraikotsu from where she had left it, raising the weapon as she ran -

 

The lord gave a lopsided, half-interested grin. "She's gone mad. Kill her."

 

Spears flew at her, whistling as they soared, landing against her armor with dull thudding sounds. What felled her was a sudden agony that knifed through her back and burst outward. She staggered to a stop, knowing it was Kohaku's chain scythe, refusing to believe…

 

She turned, as if in slow motion, to see her brother… His expression was one of horror. He had become her brother again.

 

She watched, her vision fading, as the guards fired a volley of arrows into her baby brother.

 

She crawled to his side, whispering words of comfort as her life bled out through the wound in her back.

 

She didn't even feel it as more arrows hit home.

 

Everything was already fading away.

 

-----

 

Pain…

 

There was nothing in the world but pain…

 

And then, there was nothing at all…

 

-----

 

Sango came awake, gasping for breath. A dream. It must have been a dream. It had to have been a dream. Her family… they couldn't be dead. It wasn't possible. She refused to believe…

 

She noticed absently that it was still dark, not yet morning, while the realization slowly processed in her mind: she was still struggling to breathe because there was no air.

 

Only the stench of bodies just beginning to rot, and the peculiar tainted smell of graveyard soil, creeping in around her.

 

A grave…

 

My grave…

 

Her chest heaved; she panicked, disoriented and unsure which way was up. Her eyes and lungs burned. Air…

 

She clawed at the dirt, seeking the surface, until her fingers were raw and bleeding. Some of the blood wasn't hers. She refused to wonder where it had come from.

 

She forced her way up and up until there was no more dirt and her arms and head came free. She rested her head against the earth, glad to feel the horrible claustrophobia dissipate even as she began to realize the extent of her own injuries.

 

There were graves all around. The rest of her party. Father, brother…

 

The blood was probably her own, she reflected dourly.

 

There was a man nearby, a young man, who had seen her haul herself from the depths of her own grave. She imagined she heard him shouting for assistance, but the world faded around her.

 

-----

 

The servants made her aware, when she woke, that it was the Lord Kagewaki himself that had come upon her as she crawled from her grave, and that she should be glad of the honor he had done her by saving her life.

 

She lay listlessly on her futon and rather wished she had died alongside the rest of her family. It did not seem a great honor that she had survived and must now bear the weight of avenging her brother and father.

 

Sometime later, she was not quite sure how much later as the flow of time seemed to have eluded her ever since she had dug her way out of her grave, she found herself in the presence of not only the servants who had been charged with her care, but of the castle lord himself. Somewhere in the intervening time, someone had made sure she was aware that this Lord Kagewaki was not the lord that had allowed her brother to slay her comrades, but rather his son.

 

The lord himself had turned out to be the demon. His son had realized the deception and seen fit to remove the imposter's head. Just moments too late, in fact. Sango almost wanted to laugh. She knew it had been too easy…

 

One of the servants prodded her shoulder, hard. "Hey! Why aren't you listening to the master?"

 

Sango groaned.

 

"Enough," the young man said, his voice oddly stern. "Leave us be. I wish to speak to her, alone."

 

While a few moments ago time might have seemed to flow startlingly quickly around her, she found that she was growing stronger, and ever so slightly more focused. It was easier to focus without the servants milling around, and when she had only one voice to listen to.

 

"Your companions called you Sango, did they not?" he asked, pleasantly enough.

 

She tried to nod, but was stopped by searing pain in her back that was only exacerbated by twisting her neck to look at the young lord. Her back. Of course. That was where the chain scythe had landed… the wound was what had so very nearly killed her.

 

It seemed he understood, despite her difficulties. "I am sorry for your father, your brother, your companions…"

 

Slowly, she managed to form thoughts, but the words could not quite reach her mouth. Why… Why did this happen?

 

He was looking at her, his expression an odd mixture of worry, interest, and… something else. She wondered what he thought of her…

 

There was a noise outside, a rustling in the bushes. The lord excused himself and left her alone.

 

Left to her own devices, Sango drifted.

 

-----

 

Lord Kagewaki was talking to someone, outside her room. Sango could hear his voice, but struggled to make out the words.

 

She was dazed, but something about the discussion caught her attention. They were talking about demon slayers. A village of demon slayers. There was only one village of demon slayers.

 

Sango was on her feet in an instant, her fingers clawing at the screen, shoving the door open. The young lord was talking to a man wearing a baboon's pelt. "The demon slayers," she gasped. "What did you say?"

 

The baboon's face obscured the man's, though she could see cold eyes glittering in the darkness behind the ape mask. "The village of demon slayers has been destroyed," replied the man, his voice calm.

 

"That's not possible!" She was shaking, either with rage or weakness, clinging to the doorframe to remain upright.

 

"It is."

 

"Naraku!" Kagewaki's voice sounded like a hiss. "Do not upset the girl. She was nearly killed and is still recovering."

 

The man in the baboon pelt, who must have been Naraku, ignored his lord's orders. "It is possible," he said quietly. "It was no human that did the deed, but a demon. An inugami called InuYasha. He sought shards of the Shikon Jewel."

 

Sango remembered with horror that she had been the one that had brought a Shikon shard to the village, after finding it among the remains of a demon she had slain. "That's… not possible," she protested weakly. The demon slayers were strong. The village was their stronghold.

 

But they had sent their best warriors away.

 

If the demon had come seeking Shikon shards, it had come because of her. If this man spoke the truth, it was all her fault.

 

"I regret to say that I witnessed the deed, though I was too far away to assist," Naraku added. "But I would recognize that demon anywhere, and I am certain it was he -"

 

"I'll kill him," she growled, frightened at the ferocity in her own voice. "I must avenge my people -"

 

She swooned then, lightheaded from standing up so quickly and so long.

 

The young lord was quick to catch her, murmuring something about how she needed rest.

 

He was lying. She did not need rest, she needed -

 

-----

 

Sango slept, and dreamt of violence.

 

InuYasha… Inugami… Inu …

 

Must….

 

Kill… kill… kill…

 

It became a mantra, repeating over and over and over again, punctuating real and imagined memories of death and destruction. Father, brother, friends, comrades - all -

 

Her eyes shot open, sleep dissipating as nausea rose in her belly. She sat up just in time to vomit beside the futon. The bitter taste of blood filled her mouth even as she coughed, hacking on the last of the bile.

 

"…Lady Sango?" It was the young lord's voice, just beyond the paper door.

 

"It's nothing," she growled, her voice hoarse. She wiped away the blood and sputum with the sleeve of her yukata. "I'm fine."

 

She heard footsteps moving away in the hall and laid back down, not bothering to clean up the mess she had made. She couldn't smell the stench anyway.

 

She didn't see Lord Kagewaki's lips curl into a smile.

 

-----

 

A short infinity later, as night was falling and the room grew steadily darker, Lord Kagewaki returned to check on her.

 

She did not protest as he helped her sit up, nor did she speak when he slipped the robe from her shoulders and let it fall around her waist.

 

Her bandages were soaked with blood.

 

She allowed him to change the bandages, and did not miss the appreciative way his eyes roamed over her body.

 

She was silent as his lips curled into a smile, as his hand slipped between her thighs. She knew what he wanted, and knew she would let him have it.

 

"I will give you whatever aid you require." His words were empty. She'd have done this regardless - she was too weak to resist.

 

She knew without words that he would help her in any way that he could.

 

If this was all he asked in return, well…

 

She couldn't feel anymore, anyway.

 

So she lay beneath him, distant and unmoving, as he rutted with the dying husk of her body. And, after the deed was done, she let him lie beside her, and pretended that the bleeding had stopped.

 

"You're sure this is what you must do?"

 

"Yes," she wheezed, weakly, "I must avenge my village no matter the cost."

 

His hand played idly across her chest; she had never felt so dead inside.

 

"I must slay the demon that has caused all this trouble," she added, though he had made no protest.

 

"I understand your desire for revenge," he said, handing over her robe, "But it might be more prudent to wait until you have healed -"

 

She sat up to grab at the garment and missed once, before ripping it from his grasp. She thrust her arms painfully through the sleeves, wrapped it tight around her though she saw no need for modesty at this point. No need for truth, either. "No. It's best to go now, while the trail is still fresh. I'm strong enough to fight, still."

 

"If you survive," he said, his tone deadly serious, "You are always welcome in my castle."

 

Sango lay back against the mat, her eyes closed and each breath coming hard. If you survive…

 

Honor was a small price to pay for vengeance.

 

She didn't have long to live, anyway.

 

She just needed to live long enough.

 

-----

 

Each step, each breath was agony. She had hoped to draw strength from her armor and her ancestors, but pride could only take her so far. Sango huddled beneath a tree and wished for death.

 

"Already dead? Such a pity," commented the baboon-man Naraku.

 

Sango almost wished that he had not been chosen to accompany her. His presence was the final price of her vengeance, and she accepted it as she had accepted everything that came before. Calmly, as if to hide her inner struggle for strength - and against the urge to strangle him - she informed him, "Until I slay that demon Inuyasha, I will not die."

 

They both knew it was a lie. No matter what she'd told Lord Kagewaki, she would not be walking away from this battle, if she even made it to the battlefield. At this rate, things were looking grim.

 

She decided that he was smirking at her underneath that baboon mask, and staggered to her feet, putting most of her weight on the Hiraikotsu in order to stand. It was almost blasphemous, to use such a prized possession as a mere walking stick, but there was no way she would make it without aid. She wasn't sure if she would be able to fight, or would merely fall over dead at the bastard's feet.

 

Naraku led the way, with Sango hobbling after him, praying silently that her body would survive long enough to exact revenge. After only a short distance, her steps slowed. It was so hard to keep moving…

 

Sango grunted as she hit the ground. If not for the support of the Hiraikotsu, she would have fallen on her face.

 

"Are you in pain, Sango?"

 

She refused to give him an answer, and swore under her breath instead.

 

He continued despite her lack of response. "It would be a pity if you died on the way," he mused. "Shall we try it out?"

 

She actually had to look at him, disgusting thing that he was, to see what he was going on about. When she did, her eyes went wide. A Shikon fragment!

 

"W-where did you get that?" she demanded, surprised and somewhat pleased to discover that her voice was still working even though her legs were not.

 

He shrugged off her accusing tone. "I obtained it a long time ago. I'm going to let you borrow it."

 

She scowled in displeasure at the suggestion; no, it wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. And she didn't like it. Shikon shards were tainted, and could only be used for evil. Everyone that knew anything about the jewel knew that…

 

"The Shikon no Tama is thought to be evil by nature," he continued, "But there are those that can use its power for good. For example, I can use this shard to heal your wounds."

 

Of course! If he could purify the shard, the evil intent should be removed. She glowered skeptically at him, but could see nothing beyond that baboon mask. Did she trust Naraku to be able to do such a thing? Could she afford not to trust him? He was offering her a chance at life, at revenge…

 

"I accept your offer," she managed, finally. She would have preferred to do this on her own… but since she could not…

 

"I will place the shard against the wound in your back," he explained, "So that it may best heal your injuries and bring you strength for your fight. After all, my lord would be most displeased with me were I to simply stand by and let you die."

 

She fumbled with the clasps of her armor, but somehow managed to get it open enough for him to get the shard in place. And when he did…

 

Sango swooned.

 

Pain…

 

There was no pain…

 

He had told the truth; surely this was proof that the Shikon no Tama could be used for good as well as evil. Sango hauled herself to her feet, barely leaning against the Hiraikotsu. She felt good enough to fight. She stared at her hands, clenched around her weapon, and a smile slowly crept onto her face.

 

-----

 

Her injuries must have addled her wits. Sango found herself increasingly confused and frustrated at her inability to remember the way back to her ancestral home; luckily, Naraku seemed to remember the way, and led without a word.

 

It was a long time before Sango saw anything that looked familiar. She was pleased to see that they were close to her village, but less pleased that she would soon see the destruction for herself. Her home, everything she had ever known, gone in the same night.

 

Sango steeled herself for the sight, but Naraku had stopped moving when they were still some distance from the village. He seemed to be listening for something, but she couldn't make out what it might be.

 

"I hear voices," he said after a moment. "I believe we have already found the one you seek. But you had best be careful. This demon travels with a dark priestess. They may prove to be formidable foes."

 

"I'll take them both down," Sango replied. She was really feeling quite confident. She had not felt so strong in a long time, though she knew she had Naraku's Shikon shard to thank for it.

 

Naraku was quiet then, and gestured her forward.

 

Sango took the invitation and stepped forward. If she strained hard, she could hear the voices, too. They did not seem to be aware of her presence.

 

She pulled her mask into place, readied the Hiraikotsu, took a deep breath, and threw the weapon as hard as she could. She was pleased to see that she still had the strength to send the bone boomerang hurtling through anything in its path. Trees shattered, sending logs, splinters, and leaves in every direction as the massive bone flew toward its goal.

 

She ran after her weapon, following the path it had created, and retrieved it as it flew back toward her.

 

"So you're that bastard, Inuyasha," she shouted, "I'll exterminate you!"

 

Naraku had not been quite right about the situation. There were four travelers, instead of the two that he had mentioned. One was a woman in extremely peculiar garb, who must have been the dark priestess he had spoken of, but there were two other companions: a Buddhist monk and what looked to be a young kitsune. A tall, human-looking creature, with long silver hair and claw-tipped fingers, stood nearby, grousing about some thing or another.

 

The sight chilled her blood.

 

Father always said that the most fearsome demons are those which can take human shape…

 

When she had heard the word inugami, she had expected what the name implied: a dog demon. But something wasn't quite right about this supposed inugami. He looked like a human, but his features were unrefined. He still had dog-ears and fangs, and there were claws on his fingertips. She would almost have ventured to say that this was a half-demon, and not even a full-blood at all. It would go a long way toward explaining that strange appearance, as well as how he could so easily be controlled.

 

The whole thing might be a fascinating situation, if they hadn't destroyed her village and slain her kin. She couldn't afford to waste time asking questions, and hurled the Hiraikotsu at them again before they had time to react.

 

The silver-haired man drew a sword to fend off her attack; the sword grew much larger as he drew it from the sheath, and was easily able to block the Hiraikotsu. It was definitely a demon blade. He blocked the attack, but it wasn't enough to throw it off its flight path, and the boomerang returned to her yet again.

 

His companions seemed surprised that her attack had pushed him back and thrown him off balance. Well, they obviously had never fought against a trained demon slayer before. Her face hidden beneath her mask, Sango smiled.

 

"I guess this means we can't talk things over," growled the demon. "Why the fuck are you attacking me?"

 

"Shut up, demon!" She took aim and threw again. "I seek revenge for all the villagers you've slain!"

 

Inuyasha dodged her throw, shouting something about his innocence, but Sango was paying more attention to the monk and the dark priestess. The monk was doing something suspicious with his hand. Did he think to purify her? He removed the covering from his right hand - what was that about? - and took aim toward the Hiraikotsu… only to hastily replace the covering, swearing, when a group of large insects emerged nearby.

 

She had never seen such insects before, and knew that they had to be demonic in nature, but was not about to forsake the gift of their presence.

 

The half-demon she was fighting suddenly looked a great deal more worried. "Naraku!"

 

They must have seen the baboon man behind her, or some telltale sign of his presence. Sango did not care, except that they seemed to have forgotten who their real opponent was.

 

"Take your punishment from the slayer, like a good dog," Naraku chuckled.

 

She might have been content to let them have their back-and-forth, using their discussion as a distraction while she sought another way to gain the upper hand, but when Inuyasha shouted that the battle would be decided here and now and lunged for Naraku, Sango intervened. She stepped to the side to throw the Hiraikotsu and felt a twinge in her back.

 

Pain…subdued, and far away.

 

"Finish him quickly, Sango. The jewel's pain canceling effect won't last much longer," Naraku urged.

 

He didn't need to tell her that; she could feel her strength waning already, and cursed. She threw the Hiraikotsu again. Her aim was perfect, but the demon had lightning reflexes and managed to dodge yet again. And then he was going after Naraku - again.

 

Furious, Sango drew her chain, and caught him with it. "Your opponent is me," she snarled, throwing him to the ground. The thud of his body against the earth was satisfying. Now she had but to make it permanent.

 

He shook free of the chain and was on his feet in an instant, swearing and threatening to come back and kill her first if she kept bothering him.

 

"Try, then," she urged, grabbing the Hiraikotsu out of the air along its return path. She threw again, but this time she was ready for his block, and was already reaching for her scent-beads as his sword collided with her weapon. He was a dog demon, at least partly so, and scent should have a powerful effect on him.

 

She needed an advantage, any advantage. This half-demon, this Inuyasha, was stronger than any full demon she had encountered.

 

But she had been trained well, and had been correct in her assumption that the poisonous, scented powder would have an adverse effect on one such as him. He coughed, covering his mouth and nose as best he could to keep the scent from overwhelming him.

 

She took the momentary distraction as an opportunity to look around. The priestess and kitsune were still lurking around nearby, but the monk had disappeared. She could hear his voice behind her - and Naraku's Damn it.

 

She couldn't protect him and fight an enemy this powerful. He would have to hold his own against the monk, or die trying. She needed to keep all of her attention on this half-demon, or she risked being killed before she could exact her revenge.

 

If I don't finish him soon… I'll die anyway…

 

Pain lanced through her back, a steadily increasing flow of agony that the Shikon shard could no longer repress. She had precious little time to deal with it; if she did not hurry, Inuyasha would recover from the scent-beads and would be after her again.

 

She plunged the Hiraikotsu into the earth and drew her chain again. He was fast, and she needed a way to slow him down, or, better yet, keep him from moving at all. Sango smiled coldly, and threw the chain again. It was a reckless throw, lacking her usual precision, but intended to entangle and trap rather than make a precise grab.

 

She had managed to get his hands away from his face, then gave a good yank. He hit the ground hard, and swore. Before he had a chance to recover, Sango charged in, drawing her sword as she went.

 

"Die!" she screamed. Sword at the ready, she kicked him hard enough to crack the bones in her foot and send him rolling onto his back. She heard the crack and knew there ought to be pain with it, but the exhilaration of the kill made her blissfully numb. She pressed her foot against his throat, grinding the heel of her boot against the soft flesh just to hear him choke.

 

The sword glinted faintly, the point aimed for his heart -

 

Sango grunted and stumbled forward, tripping over the half-demon and losing her grip on the sword. Pain blossomed from her back, spreading rapidly through her body in a wave of agony that settled into a dull and periodic throb.

 

Clawed fingers closed around her ankle and squeezed. Something popped.

 

Aware that an arrow was protruding from her back, she kicked hard at the hand that gripped her, and managed to break free. She scrambled onto her feet and made a dash for the Hiraikotsu.

 

She'd been a fool to assume that the priestess wouldn't make a move until the demon lay dead.

 

And even now, he was on his feet; the last of the poison smoke had long since dissipated. Her only hope was the chain. She sheathed her sword as quickly as possible, and hefted her weapon into a ready stance just as the demon began his charge.

 

Desperately, she hurled the Hiraikotsu at him. She hoped that her aim was true, even as her crushed ankle twinged and nearly gave way beneath her, and that the scent from the beads would have dulled his senses enough that the blow would land.

 

It seemed that luck was not on her side, for he was able to dodge her throw. She lunged for the chain, still tangled around the demon, her fingers slipping against the metal but finally finding purchase. As soon as she had a grip, she yanked as hard as her overtaxed muscles would allow.

 

The demon swore as he hit the ground, thrown off balance by her pull, and Sango was not about to make the same mistake twice; she drew her sword even before the Hiraikotsu returned, ducked low, and charged. He lay only a few steps away, and had not yet fully come to a stop from his tumble. With a wordless shriek of rage, Sango sliced his throat open.

 

Blood fountained from the gaping wound.

 

Sango turned grimly to the priestess, who was screaming the half-demon's name over and over. It sounded as if she had believed her companion to be invincible, or at least immortal.

 

It was easy work to dispatch her; one thrust of the sword through her heart was more than enough. The strange young woman did not even fight back or try to escape. Sango felt no joy in her victory. In fact, she was reasonably certain that she was dying.

 

The priestess' arrow still protruded from her back, adding its own pain to her existing wounds.

 

Sango pulled the mask from her face, breathing in air rank with the stench of death.

 

She turned, scanning the trees. The kitsune… and the monk…

 

The Shikon shard popped out of her back.

 

Sango cried out in agony.

 

Her legs could no longer support her weight. She collapsed, hitting the ground with a sick, boneless thud.

 

The shard…! Am I… dying?