Still not too much in the way of new here, but I'm just getting warmed up. My goal is make it feel like another ep of Inu Yasha. Please let me know if I succeed
<b>Chapter 2</b>: Know Thyself
My name is Higurashi, Kagome. About three years ago, I fell through a mystical well in my family?s shrine. I was taken five hundred years into the past where I met a hanyou named Inu Yasha. Because of some? eh? accident, Inu Yasha and I were forced to embark on a journey in search of sacred jewel shards.
Along the way, we made many friends? and enemies. After many joys and sorrows, the evil demon Naraku was finally defeated. Now that the sacred jewel is gone forever, I have the rest of my life to spend with Inu Yasha. We live in a village close to well with Sango, the demon slayer and Miroku, the monk. Sango has retired from her life of demon slaying, while Miroku cons other villages out of their money to feed his family. One has to ask one?s self what kind of example he?s setting for his family. It seems like he?ll never learn anything.
Shippo, our little fox demon, continues his kitsune youjutsu exam. He hasn?t been back in while, so he must be busy. Rin, a young girl who was saved by Seshomaru, has been disappearing now and then. Kaede?s been really worried. Oh, Seshomaru is Inu Yasha?s older brother, a full-blooded demon. Inu Yasha and Seshomaru don?t get along at all, and since I married Inu Yasha, he hates me even more? if that was possible. If he hated humans so much, why did he save Rin I wonder? The world may never know. Kohaku, Sango?s younger brother, started a demon slayer village on his own. He stops by now and then. He seems to be doing well for himself. Life continues on, but the adventure never ends.
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Inu Yasha found himself in the old forest. The once bright and lively trees were starting to wither under the dark sky. The sun gleamed through, choked by dark clouds, blackened as though they were ash. The wind was almost still. In the cold air, Inu Yasha could smell something. He knew this scent, but it was always hard to describe. The scent always came from a place where a large number of people or demons had gathered and fought. This scent usually appeared if the battle was one-sided. It was a mixture of death and horror, the last escaping breath of the fallen, blended with the vicious roars permeating the air above. To find this scent in the forest, it was as though Inu Yasha was standing in a graveyard. That thought alone made the air colder.
?Eh? Arnt ya gonna do somethin? Ya scared??
?I?m not scared of anything! Show yourself, damn you!?
Inu Yasha whirled towards the direction of the voice and charged at it. A slim figure formed from the darkness. Its face and features were hidden by the darkness, all accept for its mouth which was smiling at him. Inu Yasha prepared to fight, when he realized as he drew that Tessaiga was gone.
?Lookin fer this?
The figure held up Tessaiga?s sealed form, balancing it on his finger. Inu Yasha stopped, his anger tightening his fists further.
?Give that back!?
?Eh? What was that??
?I said give that back. Give back my Tessaiga now!?
?Why should I, eh? You?re nothin without this sword, right? Why would this rusty thing want you, a nothin, as its wielder?
The figure blurred, passing by Inu Yasha before he could even flinch. A small cut formed on his cheek. Every muscle in Inu Yasha?s body tensed, responding to the feeling of blood rolling down his cheek. The figure looked at the blood on the blade.
?Even sealed, you?re scared stiff of this shit. Yer nothin like yer pappy.?
?What would you know?! You don?t know a damn thing!?
?HA! If you were anything like yer dad, you would already have this sword in your hand.?
Tessaiga transformed, its polished surface shining brightly. Inu Yasha could see the wind scraping hard against the sword, a reaction far greater than Inu Yasha had ever seen. They were the all-too-familiar signs of the wind scar forming on Tessaiga?s surface. He couldn?t take something like that, and so his only choice was to run. Inu Yasha ran as fast as he could, not knowing where he was running to. No. He did know. He was running to a place where none of this mattered anymore. The footsteps of the figure were right behind him. The cruel, raspy laughter was catching up, mocking Inu Yasha as he kept running. He soon found a break in the trees, and ran for it.
?Don?t be scared, let?s have some fun! I?ll even let you hide in that place for a while.?
?What place??
?The place where yer father lays buried. The place where ya can run without takin a single step. Heh heh eh. That little place you like to call??
Inu Yasha?s hut came into view. It was where he lived with Kagome. It was the start of his new life with the one most precious to him. The one he loved ever so dearly.
?? home!?
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Inu Yasha shot out of bed. Was it a dream? Or? was it a nightmare? He grasped Tessaiga, and found it sitting peacefully in its sheath. Its appearance gave no indication of the unbridled power surging from within. Looking back, he saw Kagome sleeping peacefully, undisturbed.
He had a lot to think about. What if he wasn?t strong enough to protect her? The fear in Inu Yasha was getting the best of him. Inu Yasha?s heart created a figure of terror, one that taunted him in every echo of his thoughts.
<i>What am I doing? This is my home, my life. I fought hard for this. I love her. I?m never letting her go again!
?Is that yer excuse? Ha! Say that when I?m tearin out yer little babe?s throat?
I won?t let that happen!
?Eh? How ya gonna do that? You should understand by now ya can?t win by running. Even yer pappy couldn?t succeed there. He left ya alone with dear old mommy until she ended up kickin the bucket.?
That won?t happen at all! I?ll be there for Kagome! I?ll watch over her. My children will have a strong father who?s always there for them!
?Che! Nice knowin ya.?</i>
It was in those last moments between asleep and awake, Inu Yasha?s thoughts coalesced into the form of Kikyo, looking down on him. There were no thoughts, no words. Her presence was more than enough. As the current time caught up with him, Kikyo?s right shoulder bursts with blood. As she starts to fall, Inu Yasha desperately reaches out to catch her, her blood staining his face. Kikyo fades away, disappearing before he can catch her. Inu Yasha simply stood there in the empty darkness of his home? defeated.
<i>?How?s this any different??</i>
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Deep in the nearby woods, a lizard demon was on the hunt. He pushed aside brush and limb, following the scent of a lone human. It was close and he was hungry. After a short while, he found staff lying against a tree. It was a monk?s staff. There was rumor that a powerful band of demon slayers was in the area, and a monk was among them. He was either foolish or arrogant to be wondering out here alone.
?Ah! There you are,? came a voice from behind, ?I?ve been looking all over for you.?
The demon turned to find a puny human half his size and unarmed no less. He was just smiling, apparently happy to have found him.
?I?ve been looking for you to. I haven?t feasted in days.?
?You couldn?t possibly mean me.?
?Know of any other humans alone here in the woods??
?But you mustn?t!? the monk pleaded feebly, ?I have a family. I have a beautiful wife with four beautiful children and another one on the way. Whatever will they do without me??
?Some nerve! You think you can win with that laxness of yours? How dare you mock me!?
Just as the demon finished, Miroku stuck a sutra to his forehead. With a quick flash, the demon was defeated. Miroku let out a heavy sigh. He only had to use one sutra. He was hoping to charge for more. Miroku was about to finish up and leave when he saw young Rin. She was wondering through the woods, looking for something. She hadn?t seen him yet, and she continued on.
Now this is certainly interesting. <i>What could that girl be up to?</i> Rin had been sneaking off now and then. There were a few times everyone had even went out looking for her, and whenever we found her, she would say that had gotten lost. Kaede was getting worried about her. Even though she was eight or nine, she was still in danger this far out in the woods.
She walked along the glistening river, continuing her search. <i>What is she looking for?</i> Miroku wondered. She came to a place where the river split, and should couldn?t go any further. She sat at a nearby rock and stared off into the distance.
<i>Are you waiting for him?</i>