InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Thirst of Darkness ❯ Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Naraku followed the urge that he felt through the forest until he heard running water. The beast inside of him settled his uproar upon his arrival to a river. His beast was quiet, yet it stayed close to the surface watching and waiting. Staying hidden within the shadows of the trees, Naraku waited to see why his inner beast had become so strange.

Then he sensed it.

It was a human. He could tell that much from its aura. His red eyes shifted to the trees leading to the river. He vaguely wondered why his beast wasn’t demanding that he slay the human. He then wondered why he didn’t want to slay it. This was the first time that his bloodlust had been contained. He didn’t know what to think of the situation. What was going on? Who was this human?

Then he heard it.

Light footsteps were heard crunching twigs on the forest floor. A chain rattled with each step that the human took. The sound rang through his ear drums and assaulted his acute hearing. He had grown agitated from the annoying sound. Soft sobs that belonged to a female soon overpowered the chains and wrapped around the heart that he didn’t own, squeezing it until the point of pain. Why was he feeling this way? He never gave a damn about anyone. Naraku narrowed his eyes. Why did it hurt him to hear someone crying? His beast whimpered something which it never did. It was becoming weak. He couldn’t afford to be weak.

Then he saw it.

A young woman, no older than eighteen years, stumbled into the clearing and dropped down on her knees in front of the river. She was thin and pale. Scars, cuts, and bruises decorated her skin, which was exposed due to the rags that she wore. She had large brown eyes. Tears, filled with her pain and sorrow, poured down her face. Her hair was matted and tangled with dry blood and dirt. It was so dirty that he could not hope to determine the length or actual color.

His breath hitched. The world around him seemed more… just more. Emotions rushed to him, all at once, bringing him to his knees. His heartbeat increased until he thought that his heart would literally leap from his chest and make a dash for it. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and began to trickle down the sides of his face. His life obtained… meaning. It felt like a blind man who had seen the sunrise for the first time. He needed this woman. This woman was the light to his tainted soul.

His beast snarled, causing Naraku sighed with relief. Then it whimpered… again. Why was it so upset? Did his beast feel the same thing for the woman? She was dangerous to him. His mind told him to walk away, but his body refused to process the request.

Then he heard her voice.

“YOU CAN BURN IN HELL! I AM NO ONE’S SLAVE!” A voice, filled with years of suffering, echoed through his soul. His breath became ragged again. Her pain-stricken voice stunned him. He barely comprehended what she shouted. This woman was slowly undoing him without even knowing it. He was at a lost as to what to call the warm feeling that had draped over him. His beast brought him out of his thoughts with a loud growl.

Then he smelled it.

The metallic scent of blood filled his nostrils. It was the most alluring scent. He became too absorbed with the aroma that he was unable to realize that the woman had slit her wrist. The beast within him started to panic and whine. Naraku’s throat burned. He felt like… crying. Why did he feel this way?

He was afraid that he would lose more of himself in the woman across the river. The sight before him caused his heart to stop. She was holding both wrists in the air, staring with amazement at the bright red fluid that spilled from the cuts. His eyes grew wide and immediately he began to worry. Then he scowled. Why should he care that this unknown woman was taking her own life? It was pitifully disgusting. Just as quickly as the thought crossed his mind, it diminished and he found himself leaving the shadows of the forest. Slowly, he began to make his way over to her without the beast having to prompt him.

Oddly, the cuts didn’t hurt. Was she so immune to small pain that it didn’t faze her? She felt relief. Finally, she would be able to escape the hell called life. Her head started to swim with dizziness. She felt the ends of her mouth upturn ever so slightly. It felt…weird to smile after all of those years of her own personal hell. Her body’s natural warning of another’s presence caused her skin to crawl. She shivered, yet ignored the alarm. The presence was foreboding, but what did she care? She would not last long in this world. A masculine voice reached her ears, startling her and causing a chill to run down her spine.

“What are you doing?”

Slowly, she looked up to the owner of the male voice. Half-lidded brown eyes met confused red eyes. His long and wavy black hair flowed in the wind. His skin was pale. She smiled lightly at the mysterious stranger. This person before her was dangerous, yet… so what? She didn’t have the strength to run anymore. She knew she was dying. There was nothing he could do to her.

“Well, are you going to answer me or sit there, smiling like a fool?” The stranger’s smooth voice made her ear twitch, bringing the female out of her thoughts. However, she did not answer him and swayed, already feeling exhausted.

“Why should I answer when I have nothing to say?” she whispered. Just a moment longer and she would die. The stranger knelt down beside her. Her vision began to blur, yet she could see his red eyes clearly. A phantom of a smile appeared, and then she lost consciousness. Her eyes closed, and then she fell backward.

0-0

She was embraced in a warm white light. She opened her eyes and found herself in a long bright corridor with a bright light at the end. She looked at her wrist only to discover that they weren’t bleeding anymore. In fact, there were no scars or traces of her even cutting herself. Slowly, she began to walk down the hall, confused as to where she was. A voice then echoed through the white hall and a figure appeared.

“Sango…?” It was male’s voice. The female focused her eyes. She nearly gasped. The man had been her father! She was instantly filled with elation. Her father was dead, yet here he stood in front of her. She ran to him, embracing the man with tears running down her face. He returned the warm hug. The two stayed in this position for some time. Then he held her at arm’s length, studying how much she had grown.

“When I last saw you I was five,” Sango said with tears of happiness flowing down her face. Her father kissed her forehead and pulled her into another embrace.

“That was thirteen years ago. You have grown into a beautiful young lady, Sango. You look like a spitting image of your mother. My beautiful daughter,” he cooed and rubbed her back while she cried into his chest.

“I missed you so much, father,” Sango said. She squeezed her eyes shut, remembering her horrible life, which she was forced into that night her family was slaughtered.

“I have been watching you, my child. I’m sorry that I couldn’t have stopped everything that has happened to you. I wish that your life had been better. I’ve failed as a parent.” The man spoke into her hair, tears falling. Suddenly, his form wavered and the hall began to darken.

“No, wait…!” Sango reached out to him. However, her arm went right through him as if he were merely an apparition. “Don’t leave me again!” Her, once happy, tears then transformed into tears of sorrow.

“Sango, my time with you is short. Stay strong for me, my daughter.”

Her father was completely consumed by the darkness.

0-0

Naraku cradled the cold woman in his arms. She had lost a lot of blood, but she wasn’t dead. Her wrist weren’t bleeding anymore because he had healed them with his saliva. It was ironic how a monster had the power to heal. At first he thought it was a cruel joke from the gods, but now he was glad that he had the ability. Why? He wasn’t so sure, but he could feel that this small scrap of a woman in his arms was going to be his downfall. Already he was becoming soft. Why should he have cared that she wanted to take her life? Why was his beast so demanding when it came to saving this worthless wench?

He looked down at the woman. Once again, his heartbeat increased. He remembered her chocolate brown large eyes. He frowned, wanting to get up and walk away from this woman. However, his body would not follow his mind’s command once again. Everything that he had worked so hard to build up was coming undone at a mind spinning rate.

With a sigh, he looked at the shackles that where chained to her ankles. He suddenly became angry and his beast growled, promising retribution to whoever had done this. He needed to get the shackles off immediately. He gently set her on the ground and smirked because she had whimpered. He took off his haori, exposing his bare chest and laid it on top of her body. Her ankles were left exposed. He then moved to sit at her feet. His right hand grew sharp claws. He cut the shackles off, avoiding her skin. The smell of an infection and blood reached his nostrils. Blood seeped from her ankles due to the shackles being to tight. His focus moved back up to her torso. He wrapped her in the haori that he previously placed on her. He picked her up and moved over to the river. Naraku gently sat her in his lap and began to wash her ankles. She shivered and fidgeted in her unconscious state because of the coolness.

“I’m almost finished.” The woman seemed to have heard him and ceased her struggles. He frowned again and tried to ignore the irritating ways of his new behavior. Once he was finished cleaning her ankles, he stood with her in his arms and stepped away from the river. He sat down some distance away and began to heal her ankles by licking them. After he was finished with his task, he covered her feet. Then he sat, staring at her.

She looked so peaceful in her sleep. He didn’t know why he had saved her, but he had to. He reached out to stroke her hair, but stopped in mid motion with a scowl. This was completely out of character for him. Naraku sighed at his raging thoughts. Peace–now that was truly a foreign feeling. He chuckled at the irony of this whole situation.

Instead of fighting with himself about the whole situation, why not just save himself and just accept it? His life had taken a complete turn in mere minutes. Could he just walk away and leave her to die? The question caused his beast to roar and he knew right then that he couldn’t. His life would be different from here on out. He could tell by the life lying under the tree that he could no longer live in solitude.

Naraku looked up at the bluish black sky and began to notice that the night was different. He wasn’t sure what about the sky was different. However, perhaps he liked the change. Naraku looked at the woman’s face again. Perhaps his eyes where opened because of her. He stood from the ground, and then hesitantly returned to her side.

The demon walked into the forest with the intent of taking her to his current home. He didn’t want to run and jar the girl so walking would take approximately a week. Naraku sighed. This was going to be a long four days. He looked down at the woman again and the corner of his lips upturned. He could no longer deny it. He would crawl across shattered glass for this mystery woman in his arms.

He walked for some time, just staring at the sleeping female with contentment. No thoughts crossed his mind except her name. He truly wondered what it could be. “She was someone’s slave,” Naraku thought, causing him to halt his actions. He had been so wrapped up in the sudden flow of emotions that he failed to put two and two together. The shackles, the attempted suicide, the scars, the rags–she was indeed a slave.

He took a deep breath to suppress his anger. It was odd having emotions and at such an intensified level. He stole another glance at the woman in his arms and instantly felt at ease. What all had her owner done to her? He growled at the numerous forms of torture that popped into his head. He didn’t need to be upset right now, considering that he didn’t know how to adequately handle the unknown feelings. Later, however, he would find the slave owner and show him true terror.

He cleared his mind of all thoughts and focused on her faint breathing. It was soft yet steady. She would live and make a recovery, but she needed plenty of care and nourishment. As if she was agreeing with him, the woman shivered from the lack of heat. She needed more heat. Naraku realized that his body heat and haori were not enough.

He decided to stop in a grassy clearing of the forest and set up camp. Although, he didn’t need to rest, nor did he need heat from a campfire, she did. He gently and carefully set the girl down in the grass and set up a barrier around her, as a safety precaution, before turning to obtain firewood. He stopped mid turn and glanced back at the girl.

He felt so empty inside. It was a silly feeling considering that he wouldn’t go so far as to not be able to see her, but still walking away from her seemed impossible. His heart felt heavy and he was reluctant to put some distance between them. Maybe he needed some distance to fully collect himself and analyze this situation in which he had no control over. He shook the thought off and forced himself to take a step. By the time his foot hit the ground, he was barely able to breathe. Why was this happening to him? He forced himself to breathe, and finally after what seemed like eternity, he made his way to the trees that surrounded the clearing.

He made quick work of a few trees with his demonic strength and speed. After he felt that he had enough firewood, he eagerly made his way back. He moved some distance away from her in the clearing and started the fire. It crackled into the night air and he stared at how vibrant the orange flames seemed. He shrugged the thought away and went to retrieve the woman. He then walked back over to the fire and sat cradling her in his lap.

“Darkness…warmth…?” Thoughts began filling her head. Didn’t she die? Where was her father? What happened to the light? Why was she feeling pain all over? Why did she feel so lethargic? Groggily, with her eyes closed, she began to take in her surroundings.

Then she sensed it.

It was a demonic aura. From the way it felt, she determined that it was a male. Fear swallowed her and welled up in her throat. Sango tried her best to concentrate on slowing her unbelievably fast heart rate.

Then she heard it.

The sound of a fire hissing was close. A sharp intake of breath reverberated throughout her ears. The sharp inhalation the male breathing touched her ears. Small creatures scurried through the forest. The sound of a frantic heartbeat that did not belong to her was felt against her body. She once again swallowed back the fear that had built up inside of her.

Then she smelled it.

The scent of a clean forest reached her nose. The feeling of being wrapped in something soft warmed her body. The silent alarms of someone being near rang through her head. Then she felt her surroundings. She was in someone’s lap.

She sat up quickly, opening her eyes in the process. The recent and severe blood loss and her quick actions brought on a wave of vertigo. She momentarily forgot about another person’s presence and closed her eyes groaning, unable to bring her hands to her head because they were securely wrapped inside of something. She took a few moments to recover from the dizziness and used all of the courage she could muster to be strong. Slowly, she reopened her eyes.

Then she saw it.

It was the same puzzled red eyes from before, except this time, the fire danced within them. His pale skin now had an orange glow due to the fire which lit up some areas of his face and cast shadows over the rest. His chest was bare, revealing a smooth muscular chest.

Sango looked back into his eyes, confused about the whole situation. Deep within his eyes, she caught glimpses of nightmares. He was no doubt a lethal killer. He was fighting an internal war with himself. His soul was darker than any night that she had spent back her master’s home. Her eyes then widened at what else she saw deep within his eyes. Deep within him laid a beast, a cold, blood thirsty, dangerous beast.

Wait a moment… If she was here with this same man that she had seen after she slit her wrists then that means that she was… not… dead. He had saved her life. He had taken her away from her father. He had taken her away from the sanctuary that promised her no more pain. He had taken her away from her goal. He had brought her back to her pain. He had given her Master another chance to reclaim her… Or was it worse than that? Had he claimed her as his slave? He had brought her back to hell. He was the devil. He was her damnation. She instantly felt abhorrence towards this creature. She hated him.

Then the hatred fueled her anger.

“WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING INTERFERING WITH MY BUSINESS?! NOBODY TOLD YOU TO SAVE ME! I HATE YOU!” Sango yelled, thrashing about in his unwavering hold on her. A dark chuckle stopped her struggling. She glared at the creature that refused to let her go. His mouth upturned into a sadistic smirk and his eyes glinted with something unknown which caused an invisible chain to run from him to her. He was her captor. Her life would never change…

A/N: Reviews are much appreciated