InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Colors of Life ❯ The Lonely Shrine ( Chapter 1 )

Summary: InuYasha and Gang do their best to thwart yet another of Naraku's plots and that's where things go wrong. "How dangerous can a blank scroll be?"

The Colors of Life

Authors Note: Hello. I love InuYasha and really wanted to make a story that could easily slip into the real episodes almost anywhere, without copying anything that has already been done. A friend came up with a plot, and my niece was my sounding board for the story. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. *^-^*

Info: InuYasha often uses a `claw' attack and yells "Sankontessou!" (spelling iffy) and I much prefer the original translation of "Soul Shattering Iron Claw" in the subbed Japanese eps to the dubbed version's "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer"

Disclaimer - I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters. They are the property of the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi. This story is an individual creation that I hope is up to the quality of the real series.

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Chapter 1: The Lonely Shrine

Deep in the forest lay a small shrine watched over by an elderly monk. He goes about his daily tasks with a serene orderliness, the music of birds competing with the music of the chimes hanging from the roof. Ofuda, old and new, that surround the clearing all around the building, flutter in the gentle breeze. He pauses in his sweeping, breathes deeply and closes his eyes in the warm sun. Smiling to himself, he opens his eyes and begins to sweep again.

Something, a shadow moving at the corner of his clouded vision stops his motion as the birds suddenly go silent…

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A dark-clad figure stands in the darkness under the trees surrounded by things that cluster around him eagerly. The figure raises an arm and makes a forward motion…the creatures snarl and rush toward the clearing around a small building where an old monk stands staring before dropping his broom and running inside.

The first of the swarming youkai pass the outermost row of charms, and are suddenly repelled by a bright flash of light; some disintegrate, as others lie writhing on the ground. Yet more youkai, growling and slobbering, slam into the barrier and are likewise defeated. Larger more cunning demons circle around, testing here and there, looking for a weak spot, their frustration growing with each shocking repulsion.

The old monk, with a determined look on his wizened face and prayers on his lips, strides out briskly to face them, holding a gold-capped staff. The youkai look at him hungrily, their movements growing more frenzied. One of the charms bursts into flames and the demons push through the opening in the barrier, only to be stopped by a second row of protection. Their howls resound throughout the forest as more of their numbers are destroyed. The dark figure under the trees continues to watch as the circling begins again…

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A young girl, wearing a green and white school uniform and pushing a bicycle down the dusty path, rolls her eyes and glances back at two of her companions walking behind to share her amusement. One was a good looking Monk, wearing robes and carrying a tall staff that chimes as he walks, a string of beads wrapped noticeably around his right hand. The other was a demure looking young woman carrying a twin-tailed cat and a rather large boomerang strapped across her back; the only visible mark of her demon-exterminating skills. The two share a look and smile back at Kagome as they all listen to the argument between the kitsune and the hanyou that had been going on since breakfast earlier that morning.

"…You did too! I heard you!" said Shippo, a small fox-demon with blondish hair and a fluffy tail, riding in the basket on the front of the bicycle.

"Keh! You're too noisy!" InuYasha barks at him. "Don't you ever shut up?" The silver-haired half-demon disdains to look at his irritant, his dog-like ears twitching with impatience and arms folded within the sleeves of his bright-red haori as he walks barefooted alongside.

Shippo stands up in the basket and leans towards InuYasha and shouts, "You did! You did! Last night I heard you!"

InuYasha glances balefully at the excited kitsune and growls, "Shut. Up. I do not talk in my sleep!"

Shippo sticks his tongue out at him and turns to Kagome. "Kagome, I heard him! I did! He clearly said -"

BONK!!!

"Ouch! Waaah! Kagome! InuYasha's picking on me!!!" Shippo cried, looking for sympathy and rubbing the bump on his head.

"….InuYasha…." Kagome said firmly, with a disgusted look on her face. InuYasha halts, almost cringing as he looks over at her.

She raises her finger and points at him and his furry ears lay back, "OSUWARI!"

The beaded rosary around InuYasha's neck gleams for a second and forcibly SLAMS his face into the ground.

Kagome ignores the prone figure as she pushes her bike past him and mutters, "…He knows better…picking on Shippo…he's so young and little." Shippo sticks out his tongue again and delivers a juicy raspberry toward the prostrate hanyou, listening to Kagome listing InuYasha's faults under her breath.

Miroku and Sango pass on either side of the chastised hanyou as they follow Kagome.

Stepping closer to the Monk, Sango says, "You would think he would have learned by now, don't you Houshi-sama?"

Switching his staff to his right hand, he leans left towards her. "Ah, my dear Sango. Learning implies intelligence, and our hot-tempered friend's skills obviously lie in another direction." He murmurs drolly.

Humor lights up her eyes and her hand flies up to hide the smirk on her lips at the Monk's words. Suddenly she gasps, her eyes open wide and she blushes bright red as she turns and slaps him directly in the face. She stomps forward to join Kagome in their shared disgust at their male companions, the two of them muttering things that make Shippo's eyes grow big.

Miroku stands staring after them, flexing his offensive hand and with a bemused smile on his face. Sighing, he turns back to InuYasha to prod him with his toe. "Are you coming?" He asked.

InuYasha lifts his face out of the dirt to glares at the perverted Monk. Miroku shrugs and says, "Suit yourself," and turns to follow the two women down the path; his right hand holding the jingling staff, his left rubbing the red handprint on his cheek.

InuYasha picks himself out of the dirt, brushing off his clothes as he stands, snarling things under his breath that were best not said out loud and follows the others.

A few moments later Kagome stops with a frown on her face as she looks around. Sango stops as well and looks over at her. "Kagome-chan?"

She looks up at Sango and replies, "I sense a shard…"

Sango looks back at the lagging Monk and hanyou and waves at them to hurry. "Kagome says there is a Shard nearby!"

InuYasha was there in two leaps, Miroku a few steps behind. InuYasha faces her directly and asks, "Where?! Which way?"

Kagome closes her eyes to concentrate then points off into the forest to the east, "There, over that way."

Sango tosses the small cat into the air and shouts, "Kirara!"

The cat, in a flaming transformation, turns into a huge fanged cat-demon. Kirara roars and lands on the ground for Sango to hop onto her back. Kagome climbs upon InuYasha's back as he picks up her bike to sling it over his shoulder with Shippo still in the basket, before he leaps forward. Followed by Sango on Kirara and with Miroku running along, the group enters the forest heading east.

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With Kagome as their compass, they draw closer to their goal. Soon, sounds of howling and shouts could be heard from ahead. InuYasha stops momentarily to set Kagome and her bicycle down, then rushes forward, ready for anything. Kagome unstraps her bow and arrows from the pack on the back of the bike and heads in the same direction, notching an arrow as she runs.

"Oi!! Kagomeee!! Wait for me!!" cried Shippo, as he bounds after her.

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The last of the protections around the small shrine fail and the youkai swarm over the valiant old monk just as InuYasha and the others enter the clearing. The companions immediately leap into action; InuYasha slashing with his claws, Miroku swinging his staff and flinging charms, and Sango's, "Hiraikotsu!!" can be heard as she flings the deadly boomerang.

As the demons turn to face this new threat, Kagome rushes over to the fallen monk's side and stands over him protectively with her bow ready. Shippo takes one look at all the youkai, squeaks and ducks behind a tree.

Sango catches the boomerang upon its return and prepares to fling it once more when Kirara suddenly stops and whines, turning to look pleadingly at Sango. Sango pauses her throw and looks at the cat-youkai, "What is it, Kirara?"

Kirara turns to search through all the confusion, then she tenses and stares hard at the shrine.

Sango follows her gaze and sees a dark form dash from the doorway of the shrine to disappear into the trees. "…What -" She gasps and grabs tightly to Kirara's ruff, "Go! Kirara!!" she commands. The pair leave the battle and enter the trees at the same place, giving chase.

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"Sankontessou!" InuYasha yells as he slashes the last few youkai, pieces of flesh and bone falling upon the ground. Kagome sets her bow down as she kneels by the old man. His breath is raspy and he is covered in blood. It wasn't hard to see he was dying. She reaches down to take hold of his hand and he opens glazed eyes, looking at her. "Who --?" he gasps.

She bends over him and says, "The demons are dead. Your safe…" She thought, `How do you say your sorry you didn't come sooner?' as she stares at the blood covering him and the broken staff still clutched in his other hand. Tears come to her eyes and roll silently down her cheeks.

Miroku approaches them as InuYasha scans the clearing looking for any stragglers. "Kagome-sama? How…?" He fell silent as he saw the old monk's condition. He had seen death too often to not recognize it now. He knelt down next to Kagome and bowed his head, praying for the old man's safe journey into the afterlife.

Shippo dashes out of the trees and stops next to them. He looks up at the girl and, moved by her sadness, he crawls into her lap to lean against her in sympathy.

The dying monk chokes and wheezes, with blood on his lips and obviously in great pain. "…The Scroll… it --" he gasps, "-must not -!"

Miroku and Kagome look at him in question. "The Scroll…?" Miroku asks. They both lean closer to hear.

The old man closes his eyes and tries to take a deep breath, the rattling in his lungs audibly loud. "It…must not…*gasp*…fall into…*gag*…" His hand grips Kagome's tightly as he chokes on his own blood, desperate to tell them of the danger. "…*gasp*…the hands…of…*gasp*…" His hand loosens his grip and the tension leaves his face as with his last breath he says, "…Evil."

Miroku stands, bows his head in respect then turns and walks towards the lonely shrine, his staff jingling with each step.

Kagome, with her arms wrapped around Shippo, rises to meet the approaching InuYasha. "InuYasha…we…he's…" she closes her eyes and hugs the kitsune tighter.

The hanyou glances at the blood-covered body and looks the distraught girl over, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I know…" He spares a glance at the unfortunate Monk, `I can smell his death all around.' He peers closely at her, "Are you alright?"

She wipes at her eyes, and gives him a small smile. "Yes. I'm fine."

Miroku appears in the door of the shrine holding a smashed scroll case. "Kagome-sama! If this is where the scroll was, it's been taken already!"

InuYasha looks at him and at the case in his hands. "What scroll?" He sniffs the air again. `…Something else…what...?'

Miroku drops the shattered box, and strolls back to them, dusting off his hands. "Apparently, there was a scroll being protected in this shrine." He gestures to the slain monk, "He told us that it must be kept out of evil's hands, just before he died." He sighs as his gaze wanders over the body-littered clearing. "We were too late to help the old man and the scroll." He continued to look around, a frown forming on his face. "Where is Sango?"

`Something familiar…that faint smell…' InuYasha's eyes narrowed. `Sango missing…'

His ears pricked up and he looked hard at Kagome. "Kagome…the shard, where is it?!"

She concentrates, points off into the forest opposite of where they had entered and said in surprise, "That way, and it's moving fast!"

InuYasha turns to Miroku, "You stay here with Kagome, I'll find Sango." With that, InuYasha spins around and sprints into the forest. `Damnit…'

Miroku sighs with understanding and looks at Kagome, "Why don't you look for a good place for a grave Kagome-sama," He starts to unravel the beads around his right hand, "…while I clean up the rest."

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Sango ducks another tree branch as she and Kirara sped through the forest, following the elusive glimpses of that other; leaping from limb to limb or dashing between bushes and tree trunks. `Why?' She ducks again, narrowly missing a face full of leaves. `Why can't he do his own dirty work and let you go?' She lays low on Kirara's back, leaving the cat-youkai to chase the fleeting figure without distraction. `…Kohaku!!'