InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Difference a Little Time Can Make ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi does. I am not making any money from this.

 

Summary: A butterfly flaps its wings and a tornado occurs on the opposite side of the world. One difference causes a ripple effect, changing everything. What difference can a small change make? What if Inuyasha didn't arrive at Kikyou's village for several weeks? What difference would a little bit of time make? What if he arrived in time to save Kaede from the demons but was mistakenly blamed by Kikyou? What if he never heard of the Shikon no Tama, never had any type of relationship with Kikyou? How would this affect his meeting with Kagome?

 

Author's note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. Please continue to let me know what you think of this story. I am more likely to update quickly when I am inspired by reviews, otherwise I might lose interest and take a while to post the next chapter. I'm not saying that I won't post if I don't get a certain number of reviews, just that I write faster when I am inspired.

 

A few hours have passed and it was now late afternoon. Kagome slowly stirred, groaning as she uncurled herself from the ball she had curled up into. Her body was stiff and sore. Not opening her eyes she muttered “Damn. Did I fall asleep on the floor watching a movie again? I feel so sore.” She slowly opened her eyes but as her gaze fell on her surroundings they widened in shock, and her memories filtered back which caused her to sit up with a gasp. “Oh no! It wasn't a dream, was it? I'm really lost in some forest where the people are crazy and want to kill me or worse. Why couldn't I wake up in my bed at home to find out that it was all a bad dream?” She closed her eyes to keep from crying. “Sitting here and crying won't help anything.” She told herself. “I have to find a way home. Maybe if jump into the well again. It brought me here, so it stands to reason that it could send me home too, right?”

 

Her mind made up, she opened her eyes and stood up. She looked around but didn't see anything that looked familiar and she couldn't remember which way she had come from during her terror induced run. “Guess I should just pick a direction and head in it.” She suited actions to words and began to walk through the forest in a randomly picked direction.

 

She had only been walking for a short time when she heard a sudden crashing noise behind her. Turning to look, she spotted the monster from the well as it tore through the forest, knocking down trees in its haste to reach her. “The Shikon no Tama, give it me!” it cried.

 

Kagome screamed and took off running. She could hear the creature pursuing her, the trees slowing it only a little as it knocked them aside. Panting for breath, she concentrated on running as fast as she could, hoping to put some distance between the monster and herself and hopefully lose it. 'Why is this happening to me?' She thought. “Someone, anyone, help me! Please!” she cried as she ran. A light pulsed ahead of her and caught her attention. She ran towards it hoping she would find someone there who would be able to help her.

 

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Inuyasha stirred against the trunk of the Goshinboku. His ears twitched and his chest rose as he breathed again for the first time in fifty years. Opening his eyes he questioned “What? I'm alive? How?” Glancing down he saw the vines wrapped around his body. “How long have I been here?” He found he still could not move and wondered what could have revived him.

 

A sudden shout in the distance reached his ears. “Someone, anyone, help me! Please!” He turned his head, the only part of his body he could move, to look in that direction. A few minutes later a girl entered the clearing and he stared at her.

 

She was dressed in an odd white and green outfit, her indecently green skirt showing off her long legs. Her long black hair flowed over her shoulders as she turned her head to look behind her. Not watching where she was going, she tripped over a loose stone and landed beneath him at the base of the Goshinboku. She lifted her face from the earth and Inuyasha gave a low growl upon spotting it. 'The miko who shot and sealed me.' She jerked her head up to stare at him upon hearing his growl and he corrected himself as he stared into her wide blue eyes. They were full of emotion, as if he could see right into her heart and soul. 'No, there is a resemblance but her eyes, her eyes shine with too much emotion to be the same cold and emotionless woman who shot me with this arrow.' Her scent reached him and his eyes widened at the wonderful smell that called to him and soothed his anger. 'That scent. I've never smelled anything like it before. It is intoxicating. Who is she?' He found himself wishing she was closer so he could bury himself in that smell. He heard her speak and snapped out of his shock.

 

“You-you're awake” she spoke as she stared up at him.

 

“Keh. Speak the obvious, why don't you?” he said as he stared down at her. Her cheeks flushed at his words and she stood as she opened her mouth to respond. A sudden crashing sound interrupted her and both turned to see a giant centipede youkai crash into the clearing.

 

The girl gave a terrified scream and turned to run but was quickly knocked off her feet by the youkai. She again landed at the base of the Goshinboku but she was then lifted up by the youkai as it demanded “The Shikon no Tama, give me the Shikon no Tama.” It lifted her up to it's face in front of Inuyasha and opened its mouth to bite into her. Suddenly arrows came raining into the clearing, puncturing the body of the youkai and causing it to release her to land beside Inuyasha. He turned his head and saw a group of villagers behind the nearby trees, led and directed by an old miko.

 

Inuyasha gave a quiet snort when he saw that their efforts were having no effect on the youkai. “Bunch of weak humans. Can't even deal with a weakling like Mistress Centipede by themselves.” Turning his attention to the girl at his feet he said “Oi wench, you think you can remove this arrow?”

 

Kagome pulled herself to her feet and turned to look at the boy upon hearing his voice. She had forgotten he was there. “Huh?” she asked as she stepped closer.

 

He rolled his eyes at her. “The arrow, baka. Do you think you can remove it from my chest?”

 

“H-hey. There's no need to call me names.” she said as she began to get angry, completely forgetting about the confrontation occurring behind her. That was not a good thing as Mistress Centipede chose that moment to ignore the other humans and focus her attention on the one she believed possessed what she sought.

 

Kagome shrieked as she felt the monster's arms wrap around her to pull her away again. She grabbed onto the boy in front of her, and wrapped her own arms around his waist, refusing to let go as she was tugged away. “Let go” she cried at the monster.

 

“Oi!” Inuyasha yelled. “You let go of me!” He cried as his body was tugged painfully, the arrow keeping him pinned in place against the tree. He ignored his body's reaction to the warm body wrapping itself around his as he focused on the pain and discomfort of being tugged away from a tree he is still pinned to.

 

In the nearby trees, the one-eyed miko looked up in alarm at his voice. “He is awake! But how? That spell should have lasted forever without Kikyou-oneesan to release him.” She caught a glimpse of the girl's face as she was tugged away from the hanyou and whispered “Kikyou?”

 

As the youkai finally pulled Kagome away from the strange boy, it spoke “This body is so weak. I will devour you, Shikon no Tama and all, and regain my former strength.” It lifted Kagome close to its open mouth, revealing sharp pointy teeth.

 

“AAHH!” Kagome screamed as she instinctively tried to shield herself with her hands. A pink glow emitted from her hands and blasted the creature away from her, severing several of her arms. “That light, that's the same thing that happened in the well.” Kagome said as she stared at her hands in shock. “How did I do that?”

 

Nearby Kaede's eye widened as she said “A miko's glow and power?”

 

In her shock Kagome didn't notice that Mistress Centipede had recovered and approached her. Her first sign that something was wrong was a sudden pain in her side as the youkai clamped its teeth onto her hip and bit down. Kagome was thrown through the air as the youkai released her and something was torn from her body. “What-?” she questioned as she spotted the glowing orb laying in the grass beside her.

 

Kaede's eye widened further. “The Shikon no Tama! How did this girl come into possession of it? It was supposed to have been destroyed. Hey girl, do not let the youkai possess the jewel. It must not have it!”

 

Distantly Kagome heard the old woman's shouts as she wrapped her hand around the jewel. “This was inside me?” she questioned.

 

She heard a shouted “Watch out” from the boy on the tree and then the Centipede was before her again. “I knew you had it, you vile human. Give it to me!” It wrapped its body tightly around her crushing her against the boy and the tree. Kagome cried out as the jewel slipped from her fingers to land on the ground at the base of the tree.

 

Kagome could not move and she cried out as the pressure increased, crushing both her and the strange boy against the tree. She heard the boy curse and then he yelled at the monster holding them. “Hey you stupid weakling, get the hell off of us.”

 

The monster turned its head to regard them. “Hmm, a hanyou? What could a filthy hanyou like you do? The Shikon no Tama is mine.”

 

Inuyasha growled out “You talk pretty big but I bet you can't back it up. Let go and I'll show you how strong I really am.”

 

“Don't make me laugh. You are nothing but a weak child. You can't even move, can you?” With that, it turned its attention to the jewel lying in the grass. Sticking out its tongue, it grabbed and swallowed the jewel. Kagome gasped as a transformation seemed to take place, the youkai growing larger and more hideous than before. The arms Kagome had somehow blasted off grew back and Kagome screamed as the pressure on her body increased further. Kagome was vaguely aware of the humans launching weapons at the monster but they had even less effect than their earlier efforts.

 

“I'm going to be crushed to death by a monster” Kagome whimpered through the pain as she closed her eyes and laid her head on the boy's chest.

 

“Oi wench.” A voice called to her and she opened her eyes to peer into the golden eyes of her fellow captive. “Are you alright?” She shook her head no as tears leaked out of her eyes. He peered down at her intently and asked “Do you think you can reach this arrow? Can you pull it out?”

 

Kagome stared at him. Nearby Kaede also heard his words. “No child, you must not release him. Do not remove the arrow.” Kaede feared what would happen if the hanyou gained possession of the jewel. She knew that he was strong enough to defeat the youkai, regardless of whether it possessed the jewel or not, but feared what the jewel would do to him, how it might affect him. Kaede knew from her younger days that youkai were drawn to the Shikon no Tama, and that when they drew to close to it they change into a twisted, more evil creature, just as Mistress Centipede had. Kaede could see how powerful he was by his aura, even though he was still sealed, and feared how the jewel would increase his power.

 

Kagome had heard the old woman's words and turned her head to glance at her. As she did, she recognized several of the men standing around her as the men who had captured her earlier. Her fear increased upon spotting them, and she turned away, resolving to ignore the old woman and trust her own instincts.

 

Inuyasha had also easily heard the words of the old miko and began to growl. 'Keh! What else should I expect from a bunch of humans.' He easily detected the spike of fear in the girl's scent but mistakenly believed it to be caused by him and let his ears droop in disappointment, as he believed that it meant that she would heed the old woman. Therefore, he was taken aback when the girl turned back to face him, looking him straight in the eye as she hesitantly placed a hand on the shaft of the arrow.

 

Kagome stared intently into the golden gaze of the boy she was trapped against. Blue met gold and time seemed to stand still. She ignored everything else around her as she focused on him. He stared right back at her just as intently and then he spoke. “I'll protect you, I swear.” Kagome stared into his eyes for a moment longer and something his gaze made her believe him. She nodded once, and then, ignoring the shouts from Kaede and the other villagers, began to pull on the arrow. She pulled as hard as she could but it would not budge.

 

Kagome suddenly cried out as the pressure increased even further. “Fools, do you think you can escape so easily?” Mistress Centipede laughed as she turned her attention back to them. “I have you right where I want you. There will be no escape.”

 

Kagome gasped and pulled harder on the arrow. “NO! I refuse...to...die...like this! I...want...to...LIVE!” And with that last word the arrow came loose before dissolving in a flash of pink light.

 

As the arrow turned to dust, Inuyasha's whole being pulsed, causing the vines to fall away and blasting Mistress Centipede away. Kagome was also pushed away by the pulse, but as she fell through the air she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and cradle her against a hard chest. She caught a glimpse of the determined look on his face, and then he set her down on the ground and placed himself in front of her protectively. “Alright you nasty old hag, how about you play with me now” he said as he cracked his knuckles before lunging forward.

 

“Impudent child!” the youkai screeched.

 

“Old enough to take care of a weakling like you” he shot back. “Sankon Tessou!” he cried as he drove his claws down the center of her body, easily splitting her in half. Unnoticed by him, the jewel broke free of the body and bounced and rolled along on the ground. Inuyasha ignored the humans' mutterings about how he was able to defeat the youkai with one hit as he dusted his hands off and said “Keh. Told you she was a weakling.” The jewel rolled to a stop at Kagome's feet. This time Inuyasha noticed but ignored it as he glanced around the clearing.

 

The villagers glanced at each other and then pointed their weapons at Inuyasha, deeming him a threat now that he was free. Inuyasha saw this and snorted “Some gratitude you show for saving your lives.” After overhearing their angry mutterings about not needing help from a “damn youkai” and that they should take care of him before he has a chance to attack, Inuyasha decided that it was time for him to leave. He gave one final glance at the girl he feels oddly drawn to, and then he leaped up into the trees and bounded away. Several of the men fired arrows at his sudden movement but are too slow and miss.

 

With Inuyasha's departure, the humans, including Kagome, were left in the clearing to glance at each other.