InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Other Demon's True Nature ❯ The Demon's True Nature ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and characters from the show are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and her affiliates, and I am also taking the events of a show that aired on Cartoon Network and introducing situations that did not originally happen to develop this fan fiction. I sincerely hope that out of the 18,166+ fanfics on this site, she really doesn't sue me as an example for the rest of you.

Hopefully you realize that the addition of a face was my invention and that it has a purpose to this story. This story was originally posted on another website (where it still resides in all of its "needs a rewrite of Ch 2" glory) I was a little reluctant to put the idea out, but at the time new Inuyasha episodes were coming out in April on Cartoon Network (my only source of Inuyasha outside of fan fiction). I wanted to write this tale as a type of continuation. I do realize from the clip at the end the show that Inuyasha will fight his father's old enemy, etc. but I hope that this story turns into something you will enjoy.

Chapter 1: Looking inside the Demon's True Nature

Terror. Indecision. These were the clearest of emotions evoked from the current situation Kagome, Miroku, and Sango faced. Moments ago a giant moth youkai and his bandits were in control. They had cruelly begun to terrorize the village women by draining the life of one unfortunate soul; the rest of the women would be lucky if only the humans used them for their own disgusting pleasures.

Inuyasha's psyche had snapped from a combination of the wounds he suffered and the treatment of the remaining people. In a demon possessed haze he killed the warlord, but a deep longing for blood left him going after any remaining life forms.

The lingering scent of decay overpowered any remaining oxygen, making it hard to view anything. Not that any one wanted to; various body parts were scattered about the village that had formerly been under siege from the warlord. Kagome was still too mystified by the new being to tend to the terrified group of village women and the others in her party.

Nearby Sango and Miroku took a protective stance a couple of paces in front of a little boy and his Grandfather. Further off Sesshoumaru relentlessly clashed his sword against his transformed brother's claws.

The brawl suddenly ended with Sesshoumaru knocking Inuyasha into a bloody heap a few feet away. Within moments she was near Inuyasha's side flinging her body over his unconscious, battle-torn form to protect him from Sesshoumaru's approaching shape.

Somewhere deep inside of herself Kagome realized that her interference would probably be a two second delay to any destruction Sesshoumaru would dish out. She began to steel herself against the fear that wanted to take over and reduce her to a sniveling heap.

A part of her was sad to know that the shards would still be out there for Naraku to corrupt. Ironically, the evil hanyou had shown no signs of playing a part in this mess. In the seconds that followed she was began to wonder if letting her heart take control of her actions was really the wisest decision she could have made.

Sesshoumaru was taking his time reaching them. `I wonder if he really wants to do this' she reflected. It was true that the brothers fought seemingly deadly battles each time they met, but the naïve part of her that held on to the `you could never harm your own' notion still couldn't believe that either of them would really want to harm one another. No one ever died from the battles they waged on one another so that had to count for something.

She was still scrunched up over Inuyasha, when thoughts of the friends who had entered the field with her caused her to sit up. `Miroku, Sango, I hope you two can find peace once everything is over. Poor Shippou… He's already lost too many people for one so young…and Mama and the others, what will they think when I don't come back again?' she pondered. She would be forced to reside in Hell since Kikyou still possessed part of her soul. She could picture it now: Kagome Higurashi, the pathetic excuse for a miko who was forced to sit on the far end of the couch for the rest of eternity and watch Kikyou snuggle up to Inuyasha.

Even with that awkward thought roaming around in Kagome's head she pushed it aside to try to grab on to that `no regrets' sentiment she was trying to portray. She glanced down at Inuyasha before fixing a determined gaze on Sesshoumaru. The hand that was hidden from Seshoumaru's viewpoint clutched on tightly to Inuyasha's haori. Yes, in the end there would be no regrets.

The fierce look was replaced with surprise when Sesshoumaru instructed her on how to restore Inuyasha. She supposed she should have just counted her good fortune and complied with his orders, but those simple words had sent her into shock.

Kagome gawked comically even as the rush of adrenaline made her feel overheated. She managed to keep her eyes directly trained on to Sesshoumaru. For every lack of feeling, every absence of emotion the golden orbs withheld, a pair of grey ones displayed a million times more.

She found herself wishing for the ability to get past the cool expression on his face and reach deep into Sesshoumaru's soul for answers. In reality, Sesshoumaru decided to end the staring contest and turned his back to her. Just as mysteriously as he had arrived, he was walking off.

Kagome continued to watch his hair billow around from the force of his retreat when she spotted something strange. Something resembling a slumbering face was beginning to emerge from the back of Sesshoumaru's head. The stripes on either side of its face and the crescent moon should have left her with no doubt that Sesshoumaru had somehow grown another face in the back of his head, but its look of vulnerability was so foreign that she had her doubts.

Staring at the being made her begin to wonder about her own sanity. Even though the face was only sleeping it reached out to her, begged her for something she wasn't sure existed. `Freedom'…a voice echoed in her mind. 'Save me from myself before oblivion sets in' The longer she stared the farther she was drawn in, until she couldn't separate herself from the consciousness of the being.

For that brief point in time, Kagome stepped outside of reality itself. Large jolts of ancient magic radiated off of him, yet at the same time nothing seemed to have come from Sesshoumaru himself at all. She felt overtaken by the different signals that overwhelmed her senses in oppressing waves. At the basic pulse of the power Kagome could interpret turbulent emotions, but then and an even heavier sense of amazement and sympathy for this being whose appearance hypnotized yet weakened her at the same time.

The farther Sesshoumaru walked away, the greater Kagome felt entrapped to a new call.

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Even though the old man and his grandson were more than willing to offer a place in his hut to rest, feelings ran too high among the group to want to remain. Under normal circumstances they would have offered to try to help repair the damaged homes or bury the dead, but it was apparent that there was a lot of trauma that needed to be fixed among the Inu gumi.

Miroku was bidding the man farewell when he noticed his friends scurrying to catch up with the hanyou's brisk steps. If they followed the mountain path that they had been on earlier, they could reach a patch of woods that was fairly unoccupied by any inhabitants.

Miroku couldn't be sure if Inuyasha would settle down for the day or force the group to continue to search for either Naraku or the shards. Reverting into his primal self was a major concern for everyone, but Inuyasha seemed to want to push the incident back in his mind. The lack of angry gestures or muttered cursed words signaled that this was more serious than the usual upsets that occurred within the team.

Sango and Kagome both sent Miroku concerned glances when they weren't worked up over their own inner demons. Luckily none of the females were harmed in the past battle, but Miroku had spent a lot of spiritual energy protecting Inuyasha and himself from the deadly cocoon. He was finally able to sigh in relief when at a little before noon broke they had finally settled into an undisturbed area of the forest.

Sunlight broke through the thick canopy of leaves and pooled down in angled beams along patches of grass. The trees themselves seemed to huddle around their tired guests in a comforting circle. In the breeze the sounds of rushing water signaled that a river was nearby, and the steady chirps of birds and squirrels were enough proof that there was no immediate danger nearby.

Sango and Kagome began to set up camp while Inuyasha darted off into the wilderness. Miroku moved to help but Sango quickly moved to his side and gently pressed on his shoulders to motion that he sit down.

"Rest Houshi, Kagome and I can handle the food and other things."

Miroku sent her an appreciative look of thanks before he settled down on a warm spot of grass. Shippou and Kirara followed suit on an area not too far away.

Kagome worried her bottom lip between her teeth while staring off in the direction that Inuyasha had gone. She was contemplating if she should follow him or give him the solitude that his actions were demanding when she felt something placed in her hands.

She looked down to see her first aid kit and looked over at the tired figure of her friend. Nodding in silent agreement she trailed off in the direction of the river. Inside she felt slightly ashamed that the face from earlier was still playing on the outside recesses of her senses. Concern for Inuyasha won out and allowed her to place the distracting tug somewhere else for her overworked mind to process.

Further ahead Kagome spotted Inuyasha sitting on the bank. His back was to her in a stiff position that would have looked like stone if his ears had not twitched around. The breeze seemed to enjoy moving wisps of long hair around in a subtle little dance.

She lost her nerve for a second. Inuyasha had proven to be a complex soul at times-once one got past his posturing. His loss of control had shaken everyone up in a contemplative mood, and experience dictated that it was best to approach carefully lest Inuyasha get the chance to go on the offensive and retreat into his self.

Then again, he didn't yell at her to leave, so maybe it was safe to try to console him. Kagome placed the kind protective image of the boy who would rather subject his own body to harm than see any pain come to Kagome's being. Kagome thought of this side of Inuyasha as she got past her own slight fear and settled down behind him.

Talk began and Inuyasha denied that the mood he was in had anything to do with the slaughter he was partly responsible for. Kagome knew that the real Inuyasha would leave whenever his demon blood took over and drove him to madness. Their friends' continued support and trust indicated that they felt the same thing too. From Inuyasha's denial it was obvious that he did not hold this view, and she could not stop herself from desperately clutching at him to try to make him believe.

For a while he grasped her back just as hard in an attempt to feel comforted. His face had softened in a relieved look before turning into a determined yet grim decision. He let her go of her hand and bounded off into a tree behind them moving at a pace too fast for Kagome to follow.

She sat there feeling sad at the fact that he had actually welcomed her comfort before running off when the image of the face returned and racked a heavy onslaught of longing through her body.

She crumpled down in the grass waiting for the sensations to pass when finally something inside of her snapped and demanded that she investigated this feeling. Just as soon as Kagome had resolved to seek out this feeling, the pressure changed to a steady stream of consciousness similar to feeling she got when she experienced the jewel shards.

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