InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Think of Me Fondly ❯ Somewhere Else ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And I must thank the old Superman cartoons for inspiration for this fic n..n

A/N: Another new fic!! Jeez, I'm such a glutton for pain... /sigh/ Anyway, this idea was thought up at 2:30 in the morning one day way back in March of this year, and has been sitting on my hard drive ever since, where I would glance at it every once in a while, go "Oh yeah, that was a good idea n..n," and then just leave it at that. Then, one morning recently, I was lying half-awake in bed at 7 in the morning, wanting to go back to sleep because I didn't have to be at work 'til 10, when I suddenly knew how to make this fic work.

So here it is. Enjoy n..n

Naraku gave one momentary grimace, and then the flesh split from his own, sloughing off into the large urn he had ready for it. He smiled to himself, watching the contents of the pot writhe and steam in the dark, his body already reforming itself from his miasma. He was getting better at this.

As yet, neither he nor any of his offspring had been able to kill Inuyasha. That was a problem. But he had tried making stronger youkai from himself - Goshinki, the vicious mind-reader, or ultra-fast Juromaru and his counterpart Kageromaru, had all been especially powerful killing machines. Yet they had all been defeated, although Goshinki had nearly won. It seemed, though, that trying to kill the hanyou only created a bigger problem - nearing death awakened Inuyasha's youkai blood, making him far stronger and more deadly than he was before.

Inuyasha still lived, and that was a problem, but not one that could be solved through brute force.

A slow smile spread across his face, and he reached out a hand to the urn, whispering to the still-mindless lump of flesh there.

"I think I've got a use for you after all."

They were lost, and not just in the geographical sense. Not only could they not find their way back to the road that would take them back to Musashi's lands and Kaede's village, but they also had absolutely no idea of where to find Naraku or any jewel shards. For weeks, there had been rumors of neither shards nor of demons causing destruction that could be linked back to their nemesis. Nothing. They were lost.

And now it was raining.

"Well, at least we're inside," Kagome sighed to no one in particular, picking at the dinner that the village headman's wife had been good enough to bring them.

Inuyasha grunted in return, sitting and glaring out at the dreary weather. As usual, he had taken exception to Miroku's means of securing their lodgings for the night, and, as was also usually the case, his objections had been ignored by the rest of the group in favor of getting a hot meal and not having to sleep out in the pouring rain.

Miroku and Sango were each sitting against the far wall, a generous distance between them at the taiji-ya's insistence. The monk was leaned back against the wall with his eyes closed and his shakujou held loosely in one hand, supposedly meditating, although the distant smile on his face indicated that his mind was no doubt on more worldly matters. Sango, for her part, simply sat cleaning her weaponry. She had finished with her giant bone boomerang and, setting the huge weapon aside, had now moved on to cleaning her more mundane tools: her katana and the several small daggers that were usually hidden at odd places in her armor.

They had all been sitting like that for nearly an hour, watching the sky slowly darken from the dim of the rainstorm to the dark of night, everyone subdued by the dismal weather. As Kagome had said, they were just lucky to not have to stay out in the rain for the night.

Pity it wouldn't last.

Inuyasha's head came up slowly from where he had let it begin to fall against his chest as the rain and the quiet lulled him into a half-doze. He squinted out through the open shoji, his ears pricking forward. The storm obscured any scents that might be brought to him, but could his hearing have gone awry too? Sitting up a little straighter, he craned his neck to try to see past the curtains of grey cascading down outside.

"Inuyasha..?" Kagome asked, noticing his movement.

"Just thought I..." he began, but just as he spoke a figure appeared out of the rain. Then another, and another. They came swooping down, howling and screaming, some letting out bursts of flame into the wet air, rolling over each other in a great, clawed mob.

They were all on their feet at once, Sango and the two boys running out to meet the oncoming hoard while Kagome hesitated back in the house, Shippou clinging fearfully to her shoulder, before grabbing her bow and running after them.

He smiled, riding a cloud above the mob of youkai, watching as the small, motley group came dashing out to fight them. They were so eager to die... He chuckled. It would be all too easy.

He pulled an arrow from the quiver at his shoulder, pulling it back into position as the hanyou slashed away at the minor demons with his hulking fang of a sword. He just needed one clear shot.

Inuyasha snarled as more youkai moved in to try to overtake him. There was no end to them! And - he swore - there seemed to be saimyousho everywhere, leaving Miroku without the use of his kaza'ana. Gritting his teeth, he gave another swing with Tetsusaiga, cutting down the youkai directly in front of him and giving himself a chance to leap backward.

Before the youkai could swarm in on him again, he swung Tetsusaiga again, releasing the Cutting Wind. They were mowed down, leaving an almost completely clear path all the way through the roiling mob.

He only the saw the figure up in sky moments before the arrow shot down through the air, traveling right through the space he had just cleared to embed itself in his chest.

Success! He slung his bow back over his shoulder and let his little cloud drift higher into the air, carrying him away from the gory battle scene below. His eyes lingered on the red-clad figure lying slumped in the mud, clutching at the arrow in his chest as his entire form became less and less substantial. Finally, before any of his companions could even reach him, he had faded away completely, leaving nothing but a small crater in the ground where he had fallen.

He turned away as the miko's cries reached his ears, the sound hurting him despite being muffled by the falling rain. His was a terrible power.

His master would be pleased, at least...

Hm. Well. Not sure if I'm really happy with the end of this chapter, but I guess it's good enough for now. The next chapter will (hopefully) not be too long in coming, although I will also be working on 'Forget Me Nots', 'Desperate Times' (Coming Soon n.n;), and 'Beloved', so it could take a little while n.n;

Yes, I know the ending's rather vague, but you really only need to know one thing: the 'she' in the last scene is, indeed, Kagome and she is for some reason horrified to see Inuyasha. Not to worry - all will become clear in time. n..n

Oh, and kudos to anyone who can guess where the title comes from!

Review Please!!