InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hellbound ❯ 0.1: aien kien ( Prologue )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Finally getting around to rewriting & reposting this piece of crap. XD Any commentary is welcome - concrit, general reviewage, etc. are all gladly accepted. ^^ In fact, I would love it if you did drop me a line and let me know how I'm doing with the rewrite, since I would like to whip this story into better shape than it originally was. XP

Thank you to everyone who reviewed it a long time ago, if you remember reviewing it at all. ^^; It's going to change quite a bit, so hopefully I'm not just adding to the crapfiction in the IY fandom (though I highly suspect I am... bwahahaha...).

*stabs formatting problems* I'll try to fix them ASAP. Looks like MMo doesn't like Japanese characters, eh?

Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.11.2005 | Updated On: 12.12.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.9K | Visits: 822 | Status: Work In Progress

Disclaimer: InuYasha and all affiliated characters and settings are the creative property of Rumiko Takahashi and all companies holding title to its license. Characters and settings used without permission at no profit to the author of this fanwork.

Hellbound

(formerly “Tada Soba ni Iru Kara”)

InuYasha

0.i. Prologue

aien kien

She had been watching him for some time, observing quietly from her vantage point. Watched him fumble time and again with the girl she had heard so much about from the inner circles, and wondered why he hadn't yet come to the conclusion everyone else clearly had for him. Waited for that dreaded time to begin when everything would change, and hoped that his eyes would be opened by it enough that he wouldn't take the girl for granted. Wished fervently that she could go to him and admonish him for his actions, but she could only lament in her post as simply an observer.

His fate would bring him to places he should never have gone, and at times she regretted her role in his coming misfortune. However, she knew that because he was strong, he had a chance to overcome the trials ahead, and would be able to change the destiny of all like him should he succeed. She clung to that hope and trust in him.

Fate, she prayed, please be kind to my child.

At every wound he received, she would wince. Each drop of blood spilt, she shed a tear. Even as he huddled in a dark room, cornered by enemies, but staying strong to protect what he finally realized was most important to him, she hoped his strength would hold out for what she knew was next. She hoped the girl would understand too, when she finally awoke. The girl stirred slowly and appeared to be confused.

She took a deep breath, holding back tears. Her son's end was at hand.

The long road to hell

is paved with timeless trials of

blood and sacrifice.

Darkness… It was warm in the void. Warm, comforting, wrapped in his arms like that… Fighting away the drowsiness that threatened to pull her back under, she peered up in confusion into the tensed features of the young man who held her tightly to his chest, his face barely visible in the dim light of the room save for the ethereal glow of his silvery hair and intense golden eyes. Familiar, safe. He would protect her. For a moment she almost relaxed, but instinct told her that something wasn't right - she didn't remember passing out, nor what she was doing beforehand. Her face was pressed closely to him, and she could hear his heart pounding. It only took her a moment to realize that he was uneasy.

“Inu…Yasha?” she whispered. When… when did he get here? Where are we?

The hanyou blinked, then stared down at her, relief washing away some of the tension. “Kagome, you're awake,” he breathed quietly, almost to himself. “Thank the gods…” Suddenly, his features scrunched into a wince, a small hiss of pain escaping his lips. Kagome frowned, her brow creasing in concern. The little voice within told her that she was missing something. He's hurt? Wh - how?

“A-Are you alright?” She tried to pull away from him to assess the damage, but he crushed her to him in an even tighter embrace.

“Y-Yeah… I'm fine. Are you hurt?” Kagome shook her head. She squirmed, trying to get out of his grasp, and he hesitated. “It's just… I-I thought I'd lost you again.” The voice was barely above a whisper, muffled further by Kagome's silky raven tresses. He breathed deeply into her hair, the rush of warm breath tickling her neck.

Before her mind could squelch the thousands of thoughts racing through it, she felt something warm and wet seep through the side of the tank top she wore. Concern replaced all thoughts with panic as she shoved InuYasha away.

“InuYasha, you are hurt!”

The crimson liquid stained her top and her hands - too much blood! - and she gazed concernedly towards the hanyou's once-white shirt. She glanced down, noting that his red fire-rat fur haori had been draped over her shoulders. Her eyes shifted back to the trail of blood, which led to a nasty-looking gash in her beloved hanyou's side, a tear in the cloth exposing the split skin beneath. He gritted his teeth and grimaced at the horror crossing her features, a gesture Kagome mistook for pain.

“It's just a small scratch, is all,” he replied, keeping his voice low.

Kagome finally thought to gaze about the room and gain her bearings, hoping to get past part of the blank spot in her memory. “Where are we? What happened?”

InuYasha closed his eyes wearily and took a deep breath. “We're in a small side room off the shrine in your time. Do you remember what happened before you passed out?”

He's being so gentle, Kagome noticed as she tried to search her mind for the clouded recollection. But how did he get hurt? I don't remember where… I was… That's right, back home. Wait, we're in my time? Didn't I have a fight with InuYasha back in Sengoku Jidai? Her brow wrinkled in worried bewilderment. What happened? The memory seemed to elude her further with each attempt at its resurrection. Lines of concentration continued to crease her pale forehead. Why can't I remember?

“Where… where did you find me?”

InuYasha looked away, visibly upset by the question. Kagome grew more frustrated as he delayed his response.

Finally, his uncharacteristically soft voice broke the silence. “Kagome… you were…”

A loud banging interrupted his explanation. Kagome yelped out of reflex, and InuYasha protectively moved between her and the door, a fiercely frustrated look on his face, intensity and concern gleaming in his eyes. Something about the look unsettled Kagome; she felt her chest unconsciously constrict with fear at his expression. Something was really wrong, really off. Who were the people outside the door?

She then realized why InuYasha's expression troubled her. I've never seen him that frightened before, not ever!

“Would you mind telling me what's wrong?”

He refused to look at her; face turned slightly towards the floor, and didn't answer. She panicked, and then grew angry. She abruptly stood, towering over the crouched hanyou and stamping her foot at InuYasha's silence, she hissed, “InuYasha, what the hell is going on?”

The banging began again, sending puffs of dust swirling off the door and clouding the stuffy air. InuYasha glared at the door and gestured for Kagome to be silent as they waited for the banging to cease. Suddenly, the sound of a few loud popping explosions drifted across the door's barrier. Kagome covered her mouth with her hands, horror spreading across her features.

Those…those are guns!

As if sensing her spiking panic, InuYasha stood and pulled her into another protective embrace, falling to his knees as he desperately tried to comfort her. “Shh, it'll be alright. We can make it through this…”

With her ear pressed tightly to his chest, she could hear his accelerated heartbeat. That did it - Kagome couldn't hold back the rising water in her eyes, and a solitary tear escaped to slide down her cheek. He's never like this… What's going on? Why won't he tell me? Why won't he attack them with Tessaiga? A gasp caught in her throat. He's afraid - he's afraid - he's afraid… She chanted the mantra in her head, her heart pounding harder with each word. Oh gods, what happened?

.end prologue.

Translations.

aien kien - a Japanese 4-character idiom, meaning approximately an “uncanny relationship formed by a quirk of fate,” or “a couple strangely but happily united;” unfortunately, the characters didn't show up on MMorg, so I've removed them

hanyou - half youkai

haori - a type of traditional kimono; in other words, InuYasha's usual red outer shirt

Historical Notes.

Sengoku Jidai - the “warring states” or feudal era of Japan. (-history geek moment-) Most of the InuYasha story takes place during the time before Tokugawa Ieyasu united Japan after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 AD. By calculation, the InuYasha story takes place just before the 16th century (1500s, for those of you who hate doing the math). (-end history geek moment-)

Spelling Notes.

Tessaiga - I am aware that the English translations spell it “Tetsusaiga”, which would mean “iron fang”. I have chosen to stick with the spelling that adheres to the Romanized hiragana, which uses a small “tsu” letter rather than the large “tsu” - a small “tsu” doubles the “s”, like in Sesshoumaru.

InuYasha - I originally spelled this as Inuyasha, but as I've grown more familiar with the Japanese language and the series itself, I've decided to start capitalizing the “Y”. Either spelling is correct, as Japanese don't have a capitalization system like many western languages do. The change is just a matter of personal preference.

The Obligatory “Not-Quite-A-Foreword”

Yes, I'm rewriting this story again too. Quite a bit will be changing from the last version on this as well, since I had a few new ideas and hoped that they'd get me motivated to work on this story. So far it's helped a bit. Somewhat.

I do want to finish this story at some point; revising the current chapters would help me work with my plot ideas a tad more, I think. I still don't like what I have written, but I can only hope it has improved some from when I originally posted it about a year and a half ago.

To any readers who read the original version, I hope this version is a clear improvement on the older one. Please do let me know how it reads. To any new readers who might happen to come along, welcome, and I hope I don't scare you off too quickly. Please do leave me a comment and let me know how I'm doing so far. X3

Thank you to everyone who has supported this story in the past. I really appreciated it; I don't think I would have bothered to continue with it if I hadn't had your encouragement.