InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Three Oaths ❯ The Creator ( Prologue )

Disclaimer: this is a fictional story written only for my personal amusement. I own nothing, Rumiko Takahashi owns all.

 

~The Creator~

 

The surrounding woodland was eerily calm. Rustling leaves tossed about by the wind remained unseen in the semi-dark of the night, but her sharp ears caught the sound of their movement as she walked hurriedly through the forest.

 

She was tense. Too tense to think sensible thoughts that might help get her out of the mess she was in. Too tense to devise a plan or think of anything other than pure anger. She shivered and increased her pace, then stopped, gasping when the pain in her leg shot up through her body. For a moment, she lay down to inspect the wound. Eurgh. The sight of it made her wince with disgust.

 

The wide pus-filled cavern stank like rotting corpses. Beside it, a meaty graze where her skin had been shredded open began to bleed freely down her inner leg. With quick efficiency, she wrapped the borrowed shawl tight around her wounded thigh. Thank Kami for Kaede! She thought. Over the past few weeks the aged priestess had been more than helpful in providing food and care for her wounds. Without her aid she would have surely been dead long before now. Either that, or trapped in a stone dungeon somewhere as a life-long prisoner. She prayed that Kaede had managed to stay alive and hopefully unhurt, though the chances of her survival were unlikely, especially since anyone even remotely connected to her would have been targeted. And if she is dead, the blame will rest on my shoulders for involving her in the first place.

 

Sighing, she gazed out ahead and tried to picture the distance she had left to go. The well portal she'd heard about couldn't be too far away now; she'd already been walking for almost an hour. Hopefully, without any delays she would be over the side and away from this wretched nightmare she'd started. That's the worst part of all, she thought bitterly. I was the one who brought this on myself.

 

A sound caught her attention and drew her from her musings. She looked around; seeing nothing strange but not quite ready to dismiss the feelings of unease she felt. Paranoia or premonition? She wondered, instinctively reaching behind for some arrows. Stupid really, her bow and arrows had all been destroyed weeks ago in a huge raid. The sudden memory brought tears to her eyes. That bow had been with her since the start of her priestess apprenticeship many, many years ago. It was the first gift she'd ever received from anyone in her life. It had been passed down for generations from teacher to pupil, teacher to pupil, until finally her instructor bestowed it upon her. She'd promised to keep it with her always, a promise she'd managed to keep dutifully for countless years only to be broken in what should have been an easy battle, that had turned quickly into a vicious struggle for her life…

 

“Ah!” She gasped in shock, feeling a familiar evil aura surround her like a heavy cloak. An icy chill appeared at her back prickling her already sensitive nerves.

 

She tensed and looked around. The clearing was surrounded by trees with only one visible exit: the pathway to the well. Ignoring the painful jilt of her knee as she stood, she rushed forward running blindly towards it as fast as she could. What -?! Twisted vines leapt to close the way, but she brushed past them desperately, ignoring the thorns as they tore through flesh. Her anger had now turned into unbridled panic. After all, she knew only one who would chase her so persistently…

 

Woooosshhh!

 

Before she could react, a huge gust of supernatural wind picked her up and slammed her forcefully to the ground.

 

“Shit!”

 

Jerkily she opened her eyes and tried to get up. The gale had spared few parts of her already battered body, leaving her leg in such a mangled state she couldn't stand for more than two seconds without falling. Damn him! She clenched her bruised fists, feeling a mixture of fear and fury at her persecutor. She could imagine he was hidden somewhere in the bushes, watching her with that dazzling sadistic smile…

 

“Show yourself, you coward!” she yelled furiously in to the darkness.

 

As if she had summoned him, he appeared, gracefully drifting towards her like the demon he was. Only half demon, she reminded herself, then instantly felt foolish. It wasn't as if it made a difference anyway. He was far more powerful than plenty other full demons she knew. The hairs on the back of her neck pricked up as he approached her. Steady, she warned herself. Be wary of him at all times.

 

Unwilling to look him in the eye, she stared instead at his feet, and suddenly realised that the white specked baboon robe had gone; this time she saw him dressed in elaborate purple silk. Beautiful, she thought, instantly hating herself for thinking it. It would always annoy her that he was so good looking. She knew that he would be forever attractive to her and many others too, no matter what he did.

 

It was only then that she grasped that he was standing in the middle of the pathway. Blocking her escape in the way his thorny creepers had not been able to.

 

“I am no coward.” He stopped, standing directly before her, closer than most would dare knowing who she was. Ordinarily she would have flinched from such close proximity, but now she felt only a strong urge to lash out at him and destroy him from all existence. Her body trembled with the effort of not looking up. It shouldn't be this hard, she thought angrily. He's only one man!

 

His pale hand reached out and gently cupped her face. “Poor creature,” he whispered, wiping off dirt with his thumb. She knew the gentleness was a trick. His entire appearance was a trick to keep her at ease. But even she knew that kindness after endless despair was impossible to ignore. Against all reason, she felt herself warming to the gentle feel of his hands across her face. His unmarred palm was soft against her bruised skin and without thinking, she leaned into him. In a second, his other hand had grabbed a fistful of her hair and he yanked it, making her howl in pain.

 

“Look at me.”

 

His grip on her jaw suddenly became painful. He wouldn't force her to look at him; she knew that wasn't his way. He would make it so that it was her choice. Grimacing, she looked up and caught sight of herself in his black eyes. The numerous cuts and scars couldn't hide the lovely, bright skin that glowed, or the brightness of her blue eyes. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, she thought, her beauty would remain visible. Her sight turned outwards and she saw his face clearly for the first time. A whitish mist had mysteriously emerged behind him, thickening the murky air with a foul smell. In contrast, he looked exquisite.

 

Without a doubt, he was the most striking person she had ever met in her life. There's something about the way that he looks at you, she thought, dazed, as if he knows exactly what you're thinking. Inwardly, she groaned. He had made her completely helpless with just one look. I never used to be this weak! What has he done to me?!

 

He released his hand from her face and she stepped back, desperate for a breath of normal air. She flicked a tentative glance in his direction and was shocked to see him crouched low, panting as if in pain. Beneath the screen of his long, dark hair, black eyes stared at her with ruthless venom. What did I do? She wondered, and then with sudden clarity, looked down at her neck to see the Shikon No Tama glowing a fierce blue. It defended me, she realised, reaching for it and clasping it firmly between two of her fingers.

 

He only wants the Shikon No Tama.

 

It was a fact that she already knew, but one that still managed to hurt her every time she thought of it. If she were a stronger priestess, she thought sadly, this would never have happened to her. If only she didn't love him…

 

The wind picked up once again and slammed into her full force. She stumbled and fell over, slipping on several torn down branches. As she recovered, she felt the sudden presence of many demons approaching the area. She was surrounded.

 

“Don't think that you can run from me!” he shouted, and as she watched, his body grew and contorted into a beastly black figure with large pincers growing off the edge of his torso. His human blood had been completely consumed by his inner demons, and all that remained was a power-hungry creature designed to kill.

 

How could she love this BEAST??!!

 

She could see them now, the other demons, lingering on the outer edge of the clearing. They were too scared of him to attack her, but were contented to wait and see if they could salvage any remains of the Shikon from her when he was finished.

 

What a repulsive race.

 

Preparing herself for another blow, she stepped back with her weaker leg and placed two arms in front of her. Slowly she whispered a deflective charm under her breath as she felt the final dregs of her powers being used up. Through the gap in her fingers she could see his mild amusement at her feeble form of protection. “Is that the best you can do?” His small teasing smile was like a stab in the heart. The simple attraction she felt from his mocking eyes was unforgivable.

 

A sudden temptation to draw back and attack instead of defending became almost unbearable to suppress. Somehow, she refused to react, and managed to hold strong even when at the completion of her barrier, he laughed mockingly at her.

 

“Give me the Shikon and I will spare you your life.”

 

She laughed with crazed delight at his words. What kind of bargain was that? They both knew that there would be no life for her without it.

 

“No.” she replied, and pushed all her energy into her little barrier. She was entirely surrounded, but she knew that if she could get past him, the barrier would keep all others from attacking. Her eyes scanned the ground for anything resembling a weapon. She saw a stick and grabbed it, just as a tentacle reached out for her. She swerved, dodging it, but was caught by a second one moving faster than the first.

 

“AAhhhhhhh-!”

 

Caught in his grasp, she was unable to move at all. The pincer tightened around her neck, cutting off her air supply. No! She thought, frantically struggling to free herself. I won't die this way! In panic, she stared up into his black eyes and saw her future written there. “It's too late for you now.” They seemed to say.

 

Too late…she repeated, hearing the words resound in her head. It's too late for us now…

 

Without warning, a bright flash of blue light, blasted out from the jewel. It scorched him and he cried out in agony, releasing his hold on her neck. She fell hard, but could only feel the gorgeous bliss of fresh air flowing through her lungs. She gasped for a while, tears streaming down her face, and then eventually tried to sit up.

 

Glancing at him, she could see that the jewel had purified at least five of his numerous tentacles and destroyed a large section of his torso. His gorgeous face was contorted into a wholly demonic expression of pure rage. She stared without interest, her eyes tracing the delicately formed features that represented all he was. Naraku. A literal devil incarnate roaming free in the world, wreaking havoc and despair and death. Life and love meant little to him, and only as tools for more destruction.

 

Slowly she got up on unsteady legs. Taking careful, practised steps, it appeared she could walk without falling down. Maybe the jewel healed me as well, she wondered. Quickly she picked the Shikon up from the ground where it had fallen. Looking behind her, she could see Naraku's mangled form sizzling from the after-effects of the purification. She felt nothing for him now, only the desire to leave and be safe was giving her the strength to walk. In front of her, the lesser demons sprang to life. Oh god, she groaned. Luckily for her, her barrier was still intact, and she brushed past them, ignoring their screams as they died.

 

It seemed fate was truly on her side. The Bone Eater's Well wasn't far away at all; it was only several metres away, almost hidden beneath some tangled vines and weeds. She smiled joyfully. For freedom, the portal was the key. She stumbled towards it, leaving floods of agonised howls in her wake. Nearing the well, she noticed that a strange object was leaning at the well's edge, propped up beside it. As she got closer, she saw that it was a mossy, faded-pink contraption with two wheels on either end. A few words were scribbled in scrawled handwriting down the side. `To Kagome, love Mom'. She stared curiously at it. For some reason, she felt as if she'd heard that name somewhere before. Kagome…who is Kagome? She wondered, slowly repeating the name again and again in her head. It was so familiar, and for the life of her, she couldn't remember why.

 

A sudden flashback of a pretty black haired girl wearing indecent clothing filled her mind. Ah…Now she remembered. Kagome was the girl with that inu-hanyou boy. She'd seen them, quite often actually, a small group of three young humans and three demons travelling throughout Edo. She knew that they were searching for the broken shards of that other jewel, but for the life of her she couldn't understand how such a group had come to be. Weren't demons the natural enemy of humans? And how a hanyou had come into existence at all was totally beyond her.

 

But, she considered, they certainly didn't lack strength. For a small party of somewhat random warriors to have survived so long was an incredible feat. Sometimes she'd seen them opposing enemies that were far beyond them in power, numbers and ability, yet still they emerged victorious. And at others, their task had been near impossible to complete, and only the fear of exposing herself after so long had kept her from assisting them, which was strange enough in itself. Though in the end, she thought, they always seemed to do all right on their own. Even going so far as to injure Naraku enough to take back the false shards he'd managed to collect. She wondered briefly if the `jewel' they sought had ever been completed. What a surprise for them when they found out there would be no wish.

 

A cutting pain in her side diverted her thoughts. Gasping heavily, she only just managed to stop herself form falling down. Come on, come on! She told herself, almost there!

 

From behind her, she heard a last deafening cry as Naraku's withered body was finally destroyed. She felt herself smile. `The bastard deserves everything he gets'. Feeling faint, and more than a little dizzy, she gazed at the bicycle one last time before hefting herself up over the well's rim. Gravity seized her mass and drew her down, pulling her into its depths. Sensing the well's magic working on her body, she closed her eyes and relaxed.

 

It's finally over. I can't believe it……

 

She allowed the darkness to take her, hearing Kaede's final words echoing throughout her mind.

 

“You will have your freedom, my lady... and you will be safe, both you and the Shikon No Tama.”

 

`Safe' she said, her lips barely moving. Safe…at last…

 

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