InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Other World ❯ Waking Up In A Strange World ( Chapter 1 )

I really didn't like the ending of this before so I'm changing it. Anyone who's read this before should read it again. Plus, I figured I'd fix some of those spelling mistakes I didn't notice the first time around.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~

Chapter One~ Waking Up In A Strange World

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~

A man, clad entirely in red, from head to toe, trudged barefoot through the dense forest, so dense a forest that the sky could not be seen for all the trees blocking its view. Every second step, it seemed, the man had to dodge another humungous oak, vines climbing up it to eventually strangle the life out of it. His ears, set on the top of his head, much like a dog's, twitched slightly, catching the sound of a distant stream, and he amended his path to head in that direction. Long, white hair cascaded down the length of his back, but for all of its length, he did not seem at all feminine. A grim frown formed on his face as he thought. He had been through this forest many times, yet it had never felt quite like this before. Something stirred in the air, and leaves rustled in the treetops, as if the trees were whispering secrets to each other in a language only they knew. The forest seemed tense and depressed, if a forest could be described as such, more than it had in a very long time. The only thing he could gather from all of it was that something was going to happen. Soon.

As he walked, the trees gradually thinned out, and the gurgling of the stream became louder. He came upon a large clearing. The stream he was looking for came over a small waterfall near the edge of it, rushing over rocks and pulling the smaller pebbles downstream with it. The occasional leaf or stick tumbled through the rocks, only to get caught in them before ever leaving the clearing. The biggest tree the man had ever seen towered up in the middle of the clearing. The Goshinboku, it was called, a sacred and extremely old tree. He suspected it had lasted centuries and was sure it would survive many, many more.

His ears twitched non-stop to catch every sound around him. He could hear a few deer on the other side of the clearing grazing, completely unaware of his presence. Birds flitted to and fro across his vision gathering twigs and leaves for their nests. Faintly, he could hear shallow breathing, but he dismissed it to be that of the deer. Something was different, though. A stray smell wafted to his nose, which immediately put him on guard. It smelled human, but you could never be sure-not in this era. Glancing around, he looked for its source. It seemed to be coming from the Goshinboku, but trees surely could not breath that he knew of. Calmly walking up to the tree, he could see nothing, not on this side anyway, so he cautiously edged around to the other side, sharp claws ready to strike at any moment. Bright golden eyes widened in surprise at what lay sprawled atop a cushion of leaves on the ground there. Not a demon. Not even a half-demon. It was human. And it was a girl.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~

Cold, nervous sweat trickled down his bowed forehead as he watched a shrouded figure- his master-pace back and forth across the room, staring thoughtfully at a small piece of paper. The only thing the man had seen of what was written on it was barely legible, and scrawled messily across it. The man who had given him the paper to deliver had surely been a smart man. After giving the paper to his master, the look on his face was at first one of outrage, and at that moment he hadn't been sure of how far the master's mercy would go. He wished he had refused to carry such a message. He had heard of men that had disappeared after visiting the master, sometimes the explanation was no more than that he was disrespectful. Other times, they had carried messages that the master most certainly did not like. At every thought the man became more and more nervous. Sweat drenched his face now and he fervently wished the master would stop pacing. The man feared for his life, and the constant creaking of the floorboards did not help to soothe his fears in the least.

A small hum broke the silence. And it had been silence, the man now realized. His master had finally stopped pacing. A whisper cut through his thoughts like a knife."Shadows darken the earth, hidden by an illusion of light. Hell is shrouded in those shadows, seeing all. A world doomed forever to sufferance, there is One who may bring the true light to the shadows. She who is pure of heart, yet afraid of life. A stranger to the world around her. In success, the doomed world shall be purified, cleansed. In failure, hellish death shall rule the world for time untold."

The man looked up at his master, wondering why he was telling him the contents of the message. It sounded a bit like a prophecy to him. A small, sinister chuckle came from out of the shadows. "So one of my faithful servants found this so-called prophecy in a book and thought it important enough to bother me with it." He seemed amused. The servant wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad thing. Sticking his hand out of the shadows, he crumpled the paper tightly into his fist, and a moment later opened it. The paper was no longer there, only a small puddle of liquid, acid it must have been by the way the floor hissed when he emptied his hand. Seeing that, an immense fear seized the servant. That could not possibly be a good sign. Seeing the man's stiff composure, his master spoke to him, his piercing eyes staring evilly at him through the shadows. "Do not worry. I will not kill you-" The man visibly relaxed at that as the fear drained out of him. "Thank you, Master Naraku," the man interrupted, thinking that his master had finished. Naraku appeared only slightly annoyed. Behind the man, a figure holding a fan appeared from out of one of the many shadows. A cold smirk stole onto his face as he finished what he had been saying. "-but Kagura will." Dread filled the man's face before he crumpled to the floor in a motionless heap.

"Was that really necessary, Naraku?" Kagura asked, narrowing her blazing red eyes at him, wiping blood from the sharp blades of her fan on the side of her kimono. She did not like waste, and to her, the man's death seemed unnecessary and wasteful.

Naraku narrowed emotionless at the shadowy heap on the floor. "If the man had been allowed to leave, he would have spread word amongst my other men-fools, all of them-of this ridiculous prophecy, and they, thinking it for true, would plot against me, hoping that the prophesized one would come to kill me. My men only follow me out of fear...I am not fool enough to believe otherwise."

Kagura gave him a grudging nod, showing she understood his reasoning. Maybe it was not so wasteful as she had believed. "What will you do about the man who found it in the first place?" Naraku stared at her, his cold smirk lingering on his face. Intense hatred bubbled up in her for him, and she had a hard time keeping her face the calm mask it usually was. She could not mask her eyes, though, and so bowed her head as if waiting for his answer. "Find the man and throw him in the pit. But first ask him whom he has told already. Throw them in the pit as well." Kagura murmured an "As you wish" and turned to leave. "And Kagura?" She stopped in mid step. "Take this man out of here. I'm sure you can find something suitable to do with him." Hatred tried to bubble up again, but she forced it down. Someday she would let it out, but today was not that day.

Naraku narrowed his eyes at her as she left the room, the man being dragged behind her, held up in shackles of air. She would have to be dealt with soon. His thoughts drifted back to the piece of paper. As he had read it, he had at first been outraged that there was someone out there able to defeat him. But as he had continued, he saw that such a prophecy could not be true. No mere mortal could defeat him. Especially not a girl. Just in case, though, he would tell the demons under his command to increase attacks on the villages and tell them to kill any lone girl they find. You can never be too careful.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~

He blinked. The girl was still there. He was pretty sure he wasn't imagining her. Golden eyes looked her up and down. He couldn't see her face through her silky, ebony hair, but from what he could see, she was probably very beautiful. His eyes hardened at that thought. He would not think that about a human. Human's hated him, they always had. This one wouldn't be any different.

Remembering the shallow breathing he had taken to be from the deer, he realized that it must have been her he'd heard. She didn't seem to be doing very well, though he couldn't see anything wrong with her. He debated whether he should do anything. On the one hand, she was human, and on the other...she was only a helpless girl, dying in a forest.

He was debating his decision, when a movement in the trees gave him a small warning. Hurriedly he jumped aside as a centipede demon came crashing through the spot where he had been standing only moments ago. He watched as the demon came to a halt at the edge of the clearing and turned back towards him. It lunged forward. Eyes widening, he realized at the last second that it wasn't aiming for him. He looked hesitatingly towards the girl. Even if he did save her, what were the chances that she'd even survive if she didn't get to a healer soon? Sighing in defeat, his face took on an angry scowl. If only she weren't such a powerless little human. "Oi! Centipede Lady! Are you so weak that you have to fight unconscious, powerless human girls in order to win? That's just sad." A smirk appeared on his face.

The demon stopped in its tracks and abruptly turned to face him. "Oh, so you'd rather I fought you? A worthless, powerless little hanyou twit?"the demon sneered at him. The hanyou's smirk turned into a snarl at that.

"Well, now. It seems you've made my decision for me." With that he leapt into the air, seeming to float therefore a moment, and as he came down on the fast recoiling demon, he flexed his claws and attacked. Leaping just out of reach of the demon's many arms, he slashed furiously at it, biding his time until he could make the killing blow. He smirked darkly. Demon bastard! Has to prey on innocent weakling girls. How pathetic! Coming down with a hard swipe, he knocked the demon clear across the clearing. He then delivered the killing blow, sending it high into the air, where upon falling it collapsed into a pile of bone and ash.

Grimly, the hanyou turned his head to look at the girl. She was still unconscious, and her breathing seemed to be getting worse. For that matter, so did her heartbeat. He narrowed his eyes at her. "I went through all that to save you, and now you're just gonna drop dead. Figures. I should've let the demon wench have you." He walked over to her and grudgingly took off his haori. "Well, now that I have saved you, I might as well finish the job." Leaning down, he picked her up and wrapped her in his haori, all the while grumbling about how he should've just stayed out of the way, and how it would've been nice to get a thanks. "Although that might be hard seeing as you're unconscious," he muttered.

He carried her bridal style, heading to a nearby village he knew, one with a healer. Looking at her he could see her face now. If she didn't look so tired and depressed, and had no bags under her eyes, he thought she might be pretty. As he trudged through the forest, he wondered what she might be like; probably another hanyou-hating wench who would scream at the first sight of his ears, like every other woman out there. He sighed. If only there were people out there like his mother. She was human, and she never shunned him. He knew it was too much to hope that this girl wouldn't do that to him.

Reaching the edge of the tree line, he saw that the sun was nearly set. Waiting the few minutes until he had the cover of dark, he then snuck through the small village to the hut he knew to be the healer's. He sniffed, searching for the healer's sent, and found it to be off to the west of her hut a bit. Good. She wasn't home yet. Making his way into her hut, he gently set the girl down onto a pallet on the floor. He took note of all the herbs hanging to dry from the ceiling, and the mixtures lined up against the log wall. Moving to reclaim his haori, he found it was stuck on something. He tugged at it lightly, so as not to harm the girl, but it would not budge. Looking closely, he noticed that a corner of it was bunched up and held tightly in the girl's fist. She had a strong grip for a half-dead girl. He bent to uncurl her fingers, but a noise outside caught his attention. The healer was returning. Giving it one last tug for good measure, he slid out of the hut, making sure to be unseen, and into the night. He would get his haori later.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~

The first thing she noticed was that her head hurt, and her arms, and her back. Actually, just about everywhere hurt. At least she knew she wasn't dead. Faint voices drifted to her from what she assumed was outside. "Ye had better be more careful next time, Hideo. Ye as well, Koji." She could almost hear a stern look to go along with that. "I do not want to see either of ye back here tomorrow with another hurt for this old lady to bandage up." She paused. "There. Run along now, children." "Thank you, Kaede," two small voices piped up, perfectly in unison, and a moment later the soft patter of footsteps could be heard. `I wonder who that could be? I don't think I know anyone named Kaede.' She shifted slightly on the bed. Kami, it was uncomfortable! It felt like a whole lot of sticks were poking into her back.

Groggily, she forced her eyes open, and tried to sit up, only to fall back down at the pain that shot through her. Lying still-she decided not to try that again for a while-she surveyed what she could see of the room from her spot on her back. The ceiling seemed to be made of straw, like a thatch roof she had read about in history. Plants were hanging from the ceiling, herbs probably, and they looked to be drying out. Turning her head, she saw a small fire in the centre of the room, and a couple of pallets on the floor. The sticks she had felt were actually straw, as it turned out. This was one weird house. Not even a house, she decided. A hut—houses were much bigger. `Seriously, though, who has fires in the middle of a wooden hut?' she wondered incredulously.

A gnarled, old hand shoved aside the bamboo door, shedding a small amount of light into the room. An old woman shuffled through the doorway, her white hair held tightly into a bun. She was wearing the garb of a shrine maiden. She recognized it from having lived in a shrine nearly all her life. A stab of longing shot through her as memories of all the happy times with her family came back to her. Tears stung at her eyes, threatening to fall. She'd never see them again. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, allowing a lone tear to slide down her face. Never again...

Something tickled at the back of her memory, a faint glimmering of something she knew she should remember. What…was it? But the old lady was coming closer now, so she stowed it in the back of her mind to save for later.

Peering up at the old lady's face, she was shocked to see an eye patch covering her right eye. She must have made some sort of noise at that because the old woman-Kaede, she assumed-swirled her head around in her direction. "So ye are finally awake. I was beginning to worry," Kaede said in a soft voice, quite unlike the one she had heard from outside.

"Wh-"her voice rasped, and a small coughing fit overcame her. Kaede poured a small cup of water for her and helped her sit up to swallow it. She started again. "What is this place? Where am I?” Sitting, she could see her surroundings a bit better. Kaede sat on the edge of her straw pallet. "And who are you, exactly?"

Kaede looked at her with a kind face. "I am Kaede, healer and priestess of this humble village. Ye are in Osaka, child. Also, I would not find it amiss if ye would give ye own name."

Heat rose in her cheeks even as confusion tried to fill her face. She had never heard of anywhere called Osaka. It must be a very small village. "Oh! I'm sorry. I'm Kagome Higurashi." Confusion won out, and she hesitated. "But...how did I get here? The last thing I remember was-" she stopped, memory rushing back at her. The orphanage, the head mistress, the burning photo, the building...Souta…Realisation rushed over her…Souta was still alive! She glanced up, noticing the old lady was still waiting for an answer. Unwilling to tell Kaede what she had tried to do she coughed a little and finished lamely “-uh…walking my dog?” She winced. It had come out as a bit of a question. How had she managed to survive that fall?

Kaede looked at her curiously. "Well, child. It is a bit of a story." Kagome nodded to her to continue, glad she hadn't asked her to explain. "A few days past, a young man came to me here, all in a panic. Through all his hurried explanations, I gathered that Mrs. Amezu, a pregnant woman living in the west of the village, was having her baby. I rushed out; hobbled is more like it-"she chuckled at that "-to help deliver the baby. I did not return until after dusk. When I came into my hut, I found you lying sprawled, barely alive, atop that pallet." She gestured towards where she sat. "It took quite a lot of care to have you healed as well as you are now. You were very battered when I found you,” she told her, looking down at her in sympathy and a little curiosity. Standing up, Kaede hobbled to the corner and bent to grab something lying there. "You were clutching this tight in your hands." Turning, she showed her a bright, red haori.

"I've never seen that before in my life." Kagome shook her head, wondering where it could have come from. Kaede walked back to the pallet and handed it to her. "This likely belonged to whoever saved you and brought you here. It is made from the fur of the fire rat demon, which is almost like armor. In some ways, it is better." Kagome's eyebrows rose, skeptical. "There's no such thing as demons," she stated firmly. Kaede stared at her, raising an eyebrow, clearly surprised. "I would not lie to ye, child. Ye must not be from around here, to know nothing of demons. It is strange that you do not, in times like these."

Kagome hesitated. It sounded like the senseless prattle of a senile old woman, but Kaede didn't look like she was lying. She grudgingly decided not to make a fuss. Old people could get really finicky if they wanted—she knew this from experience. Later, once she could get out of bed properly, she would find out the truth. Kaede was right about one thing, though. She definitely wasn't from around here. The orphanage had been right in the midst of Tokyo, and she would have to be very far from home to be in such a small village as this. Demons! She shook the outrageous idea from her head.

 

Kaede moved towards the door, then turned to look at her. "If ye want, child, ye can come with me to help find some herbs. Ye need to walk if ye want to be able to leave for your village anytime soon." Kagome nodded gratefully and held the haori out to the old woman, but it was gently pushed back to her. "Keep that, child. Mayhaps you will find your rescuer and you can give it back to him. Ye may want to wear it for now, the days are still a tad chilly and I don't think that odd outfit of yours will keep you very warm," Kaede said in a rather grandmotherly way.

 

Pulling it over her shoulders, Kagome painfully stood, wincing as every single part of her ached in protest. Slowly making her way to the door, she shielded her eyes against the light as she stepped through. Once adjusted, she took a good look at her surroundings. Huts stood randomly placed all around her, every roof made of thatch. Flooded farms were off in the distance, young woman weeding them, standing in their kimonos. Trees were everywhere. She had never seen more than four or five in one place—Tokyo was very industrialized—but in the distance she could see an entire forest! It was like a scene from the past. She didn't think anyone lived like this anymore. People bustled about the little village going about their business, dressed in clothes that looked like something her grandfather might wear.

 

Strange, she thought. Where are all the cars? The telephone wires? She paused, thinking. Something isn't right here…I just can't put my finger on…it… she trailed off as a bell sounded, and soon she heard horses drawing nearer to the little village. As they burst into town, Kagome scrunched her brows in confusion and drew back towards Kaede's home. The bustle throughout the village had slowed to a halt and whispers broke out among them.

 

“They've come, Kami take them! I thought we'd escaped this…”“…don't want you taking any part in this war, Keiji! You know…”“…The warlord…he's finally come for…”

Kagome tuned them out after that. Her face had completely drained of colour. No. No that's not possible, she tried to reason with herself. They must be having a crazy Japanese history day…Or it's a festival…or something. A really, really convincing festival… She was grasping at straws now. She spun painfully to look wide-eyed at Kaede and grabbed her arms at the shoulders. “K..Kaede? What war are th..they talking about? What's going on?” In her head she was fervently hoping it wasn't what she thought. It can't be what I'm thinking! It's impossible!

 

Kaede peered closely at her. “Ye truly are not from around here, now are ye? It seems that the warlord's men have finally come to take our men into their army.” She sighed resignedly, not noticing Kagome's face growing paler at every word. “It is too bad. We were hoping to avoid the draft this time around. These petty territory disputes are really…”

 

But before she could finish, Kagome had fallen to the ground in a dead faint, one last thought flitted through her fast darkening mind.

 

It's real. This is the past…how the hell?!

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~

Ok I think I like this ending better…but really it's still not right for some reason…I don't know why. *sigh* I hope I've fixed it now.

*~Akane-chan~*