InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Spirits of the Past ❯ Don't Touch That! You Don't Know Where It's Been. ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all related characters, locations, plots, etc. belong to Rumiko Takahashi. No money is being made on this little piece of drivel. I promise to return all characters none-the-worse-for-wear upon the story's completion.

Spirits of the Past

by: darke wulf

AUTHOR NOTES: Events in this universe progress as they do in Rumiko Takahashi's original one up until Kagome pulls Tetsusaiga from its altar. I'm not going to rewrite everything up to that point. Most have undoubtedly read the manga or watched the anime, and are familiar with what occurs.

This story begins where the two timelines diverge.

Chapter One: Don't Touch That; You Don't Know Where It's Been

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled from her sprawled position next to the altar in which Tetsusaiga rested, where Jaken had thrown her, terror gripping her heart as Sesshoumaru moved to kill his younger brother with his poison claws. Completely forgetting about the disgusting toad she had been fighting, Kagome instinctively moved towards her reluctant companion. Her mind was a jumble as she desperately tried to think of some way that she could save Inuyasha from the youkai Lord.

Without conscious thought, her hand remained grasped around the hilt of the ancient sword she had used to pull herself back to her feet. Suddenly, a loud crack of thunder echoed through the tomb, startling all those present and deafening human and youkai alike. Kagome brought her hands up to cover her throbbing ears, only to freeze with shock.

"Oops," she whispered, too surprised to speak louder, as she stared at the now freed Tetsusaiga that she held in her hand. Somewhere in the tomb a pile of bones shifted, the noise upsetting the silence that had followed the thunder and forcing Kagome out of her musings as she recalled that she was not alone. Her chin quickly can up and she looked over to the half brothers, both of whom were frozen in place, gazing at her in astonished disbelief.

Turning back to the altar with a muttered, "Sorry," Kagome moved to return the sword to its previous spot...somehow...and get herself out of the mess in which she found herself. Shaking himself out of his reverie, Sesshoumaru moved to stop her, only to halt as once again thunder angrily sounded.

Then the musty, stale air of the tomb came to life, spiraling around the frightened girl. Kagome's free hand went to her hair, pulling it back from her face, while the one holding the Tetsusaiga struggled in vain to keep her short skirt in place. Suddenly the weight on her feet lightened, and she looked down to see that the ever strengthening wind was actually lifting her off her feet. "Eep! Inuyasha, help!"

Finally shaken from his stupor, Inuyasha rose to his feet. "What the hell did you do, you stupid girl?"

"I would think it would be obvious, even to you, brother," Sesshoumaru's cold voice interjected. Standing off to one side, his emotionless face never left Kagome's airborne form. "For some unimaginable reason, the Tetsusaiga has accepted your disgusting human wench as its mistress."

"She's not my wench!" Inuyasha screamed at the same time Jaken exclaimed, "What?! My Lord, surely you jest. Why would the Tetsusaiga, the blade forged from your dear Father's own fang, bind itself to a lowly human?"

"Why indeed, Jaken," Sesshoumaru tonelessly answered. "I suppose I should not be surprised, given Father's disgraceful fascination with the miserable creatures."

At this point, Kagome's temper was burning white-hot. She didn't care why this was happening; she didn't even really care what was happening. All she wanted was to get her feet back on the ground where they belonged, head back to the well, and return to her own time. Let dog-boy and his psychopathic brother kill each other, she just wanted to go home. "Who the heck are you calling a `miserable creature', pretty boy? Argh! Inuyasha, get me dow…ahhh!"

Kagome's rant broke off with a scream as bolts of silver-white energy erupted from the tips of the flame-sculpted metal altar, converging upon and engulfing her petite form.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha cried, concern for the girl from the future overwhelming his usual gruff exterior. He leapt at her, intending to snatch her from the strange force that held her aloft, only to be thrown against the wall by an arc of power that lanced out from Kagome.

"I would advice against attempting to interfere, dear brother," Sesshoumaru sneered, "unless you are anxious to end you pitiful existence, not to mention that of your filthy human companion."

"For the last time, she's not my damn companion!" Inuyasha turned on his brother, momentarily forgetting about Kagome's plight in his single-minded rage. "She's just a shard detector! And what gives you a right to order me around, anyhow? You don't know any more than I do about what the hell's going on!"

Sesshoumaru refused to rise to the bait his brother offered, instead turning his attention back to the floating woman-child his brother had brought along. A small smile of amusement curled his lips as he enjoyed watching her body convulse in pain as lightening crackled all along her body. A slight sense of unease remained, however, due to his uncertainty of exactly what was going on. He longed to simply reach a talon, slice her throat, and take the Tetsusaiga from her dead grasp but, as Inuyasha had so ably demonstrated, that was not to be so easily accomplished.

A single elegant eyebrow was raised as the girl's body arched back and stiffened, spasms halting as bright wave of pure white light burst from her. Irritably refusing to close his eyes, though the light was enough to cause even him some small discomfort, he wondered to himself just how long the little show was going to go on. Without warning, the light intensified nearly a hundred fold and a final blast of incredible power shot out.

The great Taiyoukai of the West wondered no more.

*******

A pain filled groan, that Sesshoumaru found himself completely sympathizing with, welcomed him back to consciousness. Opening his eyes, he immediately wished that he hadn't as the throbbing pain in his head increased significantly. Refusing to outwardly acknowledge the pain, or let it affect him, he forced himself to his feet.

Surveying the area with his usual stony mask, he was surprised at the devastation he beheld. Both Inuyasha and Jaken were slumped against the walls of the tomb, apparently having been thrown into them, as he had, by the last burst of energy that came from the girl. Jaken was still motionless, though his worthless brother was showing signs of awakening. Also shocking was the thick layer of fine gray powder that covered the ground, nearly up to his shins; all that was left of the bones that had little the grave.

Eventually his gaze gravitated towards the epicenter of the destruction where, lying in a small circle of cleared ground was the human female. Her back was facing him, but her long, raven hair and odd attire made her easily identifiable. Unfortunately her heartbeat was clearly audible, indicating that she had survived whatever it was that had just happened. Still, claiming the Tetsusaiga from her would be a simple enough task.

Approaching her side, Sesshoumaru roughly grabbed her shoulder and turned her over, intent on retrieving his Father's fang, which oddly enough had transformed into its true form, only to stop in shock at what he beheld.

"Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha roared, still somewhat groggy from his collision with the wall. He leapt at the Western Lord, claws prepared to rip though flesh and bone. "Get the fuck away from her, you bastard!"

Almost absently, Sesshoumaru dodged his brother's clumsy attack and threw him back up against the wall. The hanyou moaned in pain as his head once again bounced off the unforgiving bone and he slid to the ground. Sitting back up, he gingerly rubbed the back of his head, looking back to Sesshoumaru and Kagome just in time to see his older brother, who had been reaching for the Tetsusaiga still held tightly within the unconscious girl's grasp, get thrown back by a lightening bolt that burst from Kagome's body.

Inuyasha was unable to stop the smirk that blossomed on his face at the sight of his holier-than-thou brother laying on the ground, covered with pulverized bone. "Heh, I could have told you that wasn't going to work, idiot."

Before he could react, a sickly glowing hand was at his throat, another poised to punch straight through his head. "I will deal with your bitch in a moment. Now I am going to correct our Father's greatest mistake. Die, Inuyasha."

"Will you two stop that, already," a groan caused Sesshoumaru to pause his strike, as he glanced towards the new voice. "I've got an awful headache, and neither of you are helping one bit."

Inuyasha looked over to where Kagome was now starting to rise, facing them with a very annoyed expression on her face. "Oy, wench, mind you own damn business!" Then what he was seeing registered in his mind. "What the hell?! You're…you're a…"

Kagome huffed, putting her hands on her hips, her stance screaming her irritation. "I'm a what, Inuyash?"

"I believe what my brother is so elegantly trying to say, wench, is that you appear, at least, to be a youkai."

*******