Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Jewel of the Chaotic Souls ❯ Prologue ( Chapter 1 )

Prologue

The battleground laid in ruins, the multitude of damage apparent in the reek of blood and death, the sight of the many demonic corpses repulsing the area. The once grassy hill had been reduced completely to ashes, leaving nothing beautiful or alive.

Six figures, two youkai*, three humans, and one hanyou* remained at the top of this hill, facing another three figure, each cladded in a different illusion of death. All three, each a replica of the one before in different forms, the three hanyou stared at their nemesis, willing them to be dead.

Standing in the center was Naraku, all but condemning them to the seventh level of hell with his glare. His army of demons was gone, leaving him only his two part self. Floating over head in an oversized feather was Kagura. Her crimson red eyes bled, as she swallowed quickly. A gash of blood ran through her left side, and she visibly cringed from the pain. To his left stood his first changeling, Kanna. This small girl, dressed completely in white, had not been harmed to the least. Holding a single mirror before her, her dead, vacant eyes saw all.

And Naraku, standing center of them all, glared at this group, who had been a tack on his bottom for longer than he could remember. His long black hair, darker than the deepest shadow, flowed behind him in a veil of dark secrets. His black, dead eyes glinted maliciously and with a cunning none could compete with. His death white skin contrasted sharply with his dark hair. He held in his chest the almost complete Shikon no Tama*.

Somehow during the fight, Kagome had managed to recapture several slivers of the Jewel, rendering Naraku unable to wish for the demonic body he so craved for. Now, Kagome stood beside her friends, with her long, raven black hair flowing gently against the breeze. The slivers were placed around her neck, and she held a bow and a quiver of arrows ready in her hands. Her sea-gray eyes stormed, and she glared at the hanyou with a length of hate none could have thought possible in their sweet Kagome. If a tint of her blood had been spilt, Kagome wasn't one to worry too much on herself.

Beside her stood InuYasha, the single hanyou within their group. His long and rough silver hair drifted with the wind, and merged smoothly with the miko's*. Golden eyes coursed through the space between the two battling groups, and willed the hanyou to die slowly in his hands. His hakama* and haori* had been drenched in guts and blood of other demons, as well as some pints from he himself.

Behind them stood the rest of their companions. Sango held her hiraikotsu* firmly against her back, ready to launch itself at a second's notice. A deep cut ran through her right shoulder, and wounded itself onto her left. Her long black hair had been tied into a convenient ponytail, and her brown eyes, usually so warm, now held no feelings or any glimmer of its usual warmth. No one could blame her. Who could feel, when they'd witnessed their own beloved brother die in the last second, and for her?

Miroku, the monk, stood by her, his gaze holding no quarters for Naraku himself. His staff was by his side, held loosely by pained hands. Blood seeped through his sleeves, and dripped ominously onto the ground, drop by drop. It was the only sound in this silent battlefield.

Clasped on Miroku's shoulder was a small kitsune* child. His short brown hair was tied by a small black bow, and his small frame may hold no blood, but he'd been responsible for several of the demon's death. Now, his stunning green eyes glared at any and all those that are around him, daring any to come and try to take his "Kagome kaa-san*" from him.

And finally, was a lone wolf, trembling with the rage he's holding onto by a thread. His black hair glinted in the sun, and his greenish eyes flared dangerously. White and sharp fangs glittered against the sun's rays, and one could only imagine how much he wanted to tear them into the evil hanyou's throat at that moment. His claws were flexed, ready to rip someone apart at a second's hint, and his muscles were tense, ready to spring into action at the first mili-second of a cue.

And the cue came.

As Kagura arched her fan, her red eyes glinted in warning. She'd been against Naraku from the beginning, despising him for keeping her freedom from her. Despising him for not seeing her as anything more than a part of himself. She was the Keeper and Master of Winds. And just how long did Naraku think he's going to keep wind from blowing free?

Her fan of gold and brown whipped through the air, creating a torrent of wind to crash about them. Instantly, everyone sprang into action. Kagome fitted her arrows, and instantly purified the winds, while InuYasha lifted the stone form of Tetsusaiga*.

Kanna lifted her head, and held out her mirror, but before she could manage to suck any souls, Miroku was there with his kazanna*. Sucking the mirror in, along with the enlarged insects that surrounded him, he'd managed to render one of their enemy useless--and had brought about his own uselessness as well.

As Kagome and Sango attacked Kagura, InuYasha and Kouga launched their own offense against Naraku. The hanyou's cried out his attack, and blades of stone launched themselves against Naraku's barrier. It pierced through the defensive shield, and some crystallized blades managed to embed themselves on Naraku's body. Kouga continued the onslaught with his many kicks and punches.

Growling from this, the hanyou whipped around, and his long bladed arms slashed themselves on the ookami* youkai's two legs. Gasping from the immense pain, as Naraku's maisma* entered, he dropped. InuYasha, seeing his companion fall, rushed over, only to find more of Naraku's maisma gripped around.

Chuckling maliciously, the corrupted hanyou snatched the two sliver of the Jewel from Kouga's legs. InuYasha watched, as he inserted the two Jewels in along with the rest of his, and watched as the Shikon glowed darker.

Slowly, Naraku's wounds healed, and he stood straight again. His eyes left InuYasha's, and instead bore themselves on the two girls instead. InuYasha, seeing his new intent, started forward with the Tetsusaiga again. Only this time, Naraku backhanded him with his blade, and InuYasha couldn't stop himself from crumbling to the ground.

Kagome, suddenly feeling eyes boring a hole on her back, turned just in time to see Naraku heading toward them at an alarmingly quick rate.

Before one could even blink, he's got her pinned onto the ground, with her body crushed beneath his. She willed her miko powers to purify him, but she could only watch, as he snatched the remainder of the shards out from around her neck, and jumped onto the air again, this time, with her body for a shield.

"NARAKU!!!" InuYasha screamed, blood gushing out of his wound. "You PUT KAGOME DOWN!!!" He raised the sword again, but they all knew he wouldn't use it. Not while Kagome might be hit.

The hanyou laughed, a seriously disturbing sound. He held Kagome in one hand, and the jewel in another. "So protective, InuYasha," he murmured. "Maybe you should have thought of her welfare BEFORE you dragged her into this battle."

And with that, he raised the remainder of the shards, and completed the Shikon no Tama. A sudden blast of darkened light flashed through the air, holding Naraku and Kagome trapped. Kagome lay in the center of it all, her eyes holding nothing but an alarming amount of fear. Naraku still held her immobile, with her arms clasped behind her.

She watched him, as he raised his head into the air, and accepted the darkness that slowly started to seep into them. His face started contorting into different images, and Kagome could feel his youki* starting to multiply in ten folds.

:Kagome, Kagome...:

The voice came out of no where, surprising the girl. Naraku didn't seem to hear it, as he was still indulging himself in these new powers the Shikon no Tama was about to present to him. Kagome glanced around, and, much to her surprise, saw an image starting to appear before her.

:Kagome, Protectoress, are you ready to give up?:

Through the shadows, the haze, a single beam of light appeared before Kagome. The light, with all its purity, comforted the girl in this void of darkness enough that she stopped panicking.

"Who are you...?" her whisper was quiet, almost not within hearing range. But the strange figure heard, and finally stepped out of the light and stood before her.

Her hair was long and dark, and she wore the battle uniform of a miko from maybe five hundred years ago. Her skin a pale ivory, Kagome realized who this woman is. Standing before her was Modoriko, the famed miko who held unimagined power, and had died with the creation of the Shikon no Tama.

Slowly, the dead miko raised her face, and met the eyes of Kagome's. Lavender-purple eyes stared back with the sea-gray ones. Kagome gasped, loosing herself momentarily in the purple pulls of Modoriko's eyes.

:Are you ready to give up Kagome?:

"No, no I'm not."

The dead miko smiled. :That's good, because you now lay in the center of the Jewel. I am Modoriko, as I'm sure you have guessed. I am the light and pure portion of the Shikon no Tama. You have beside you Naraku, the manifestation of a dozen of youkai--maybe more. He is now seeing the dark side, the sides of the youkai that had died along with me.:

She stopped, and gestured around them, at the beating surrounding. The walls around them were dark, with purple, black and hints of red. The wall pulsed, as though they were inside a heart. Glints of light shine here and there, illuminating the area enough that the young miko could just make out the attributes of the dead miko before her.

:You, Kagome, are a miko, and more powerful than you have ever given yourself credit. You believe you are just an average girl, maybe with bits of power.: At this, Modoriko began to glow a steady lavender color. Her long dark hair fanned out behind her, shielded from the darkness by her billowing light.

"How can I be special?" Kagome whispered, disbelieving everything the apparition was telling her. "How?"

:Believe, my protectoress. You MUST believe in yourself.: Modoriko slipped from sight, only to allow visions to flash before Kagome's eyes.

Blue-gray eyes widened in shock and horror from the images Modoriko produced. What would happen, if Naraku were to win. What to happen in a few moments, if she didn't believe.

It'll all be gone...Kagome gasped, clutching at her heart tightly. Everything my friends and I have worked for...it will all be in vain.

"NOO!!!!!!!!"

~*~*~*~

Everyone watched with apprehension, as the void of darkness spread in the air. At first, they were able to see Kagome and Naraku through the veil of darkness, their forms visible only because of the slight veil-like cover. But, as the seconds passed, the veil grew thicker and thicker in form, and the shield strengthened. Wrapping around itself with tentacles born only of the many demonic ki, both figure inside was soon undetectable.

"Damn him!" InuYasha yelled, gripping the ground tightly. His wound from Naraku was painful, but not necessarily life threatening. His only concern now was his Kagome, trapped in that orb, and her life in grave danger.

He had to save her.

How? He can't attack that orb--it might kill Kagome too. He could hardly go for Naraku--he'd only use Kagome as a shield again. What can he do?

The hanyou was struck out of his thoughts, when a sudden pain-filled cry rang loudly through the air. "NOO!!!!!!!!"

Kagome's voice vibrated throughout the entire field, her voice filling with such anger and pain, everyone had no choice but to cover their ears. "NOO!!! NEVER!!!!!"

It was as though a star exploded. Kagome, still held by Naraku, suddenly blasted away from him. The entire orb exploded, and a wave of pure power struck out, shocking everyone to the ground. Kagura, who had been floating in the air, dropped to the ground as the energy poured out of that orb.

The veil before them broke, and remaining was a pure, translucent shield that glowed too brightly for them to look directly at. At the center of this new orb floated Kagome and Naraku. No longer was the shield pure evil. Instead, swirl of light filtered through the shield, fighting and dancing with the darkness. Naraku's hands still held the Shikon no Tama, but now, its color was a pure whitish-pink rather than it's previous purple-black.

Taikou* energy crackled around his hands, and the hanyou realized that he could no longer hold the jewel without getting purified himself. Snarling, he released the Shikon with a cry of pain, and turned to glare at the miko.

Kagome didn't seem to respond to him. Her long dark hair fanned out behind her, seeming to act as a cape to contrast against the bright light. She held out a single hand, and the Shikon no Tama slowly floated over. It stopped before her hand, and floated on top, much like a crystal.

"Never again, will this Jewel be contaminated by evil."

Kagome's voice rang out, shaking entire mountains, and crashing tidal waves. Her eyes, is no longer their blue-gray orbs. Instead, white light as blinding as the shield blazed out, protruding her pure power. It lit onto the Shikon no Tama, and the Jewel floated over to its master.

"Never again, will you be able to use this Jewel for evil."

The darkness, the last flicker of it, rendered back into the Jewel, and Kagome shattered it. Its billion of pieces, smaller than pollen, filtered around Kagome. Naraku, seeing his precious toy destroyed, cried out in alarm, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

The shimmering dust of the Shikon no Tama danced around Kagome, as she looked over at the hanyou. He's gone beyond help. No one, with any power, would ever be able to save a soul as lost as his. She felt sympathy for him. Naraku, the manifestation of the many youkai, would never be able to know what it feels like to fight for those you care for.

"May your soul be at rest," she whispered, before blasting him to oblivion. And as the hanyou finally disappeared from the world, the last of his maisma went along with him. And the shield surrounding Kagome burst forward, blinding everyone as it burned itself out.

~*~*~*~

Slowly, the miko was gently set on the ground, the remaining dust of the Shikon no Tama still swirling around her like diamonds in the sun. InuYasha and everyone else were around her in an instant, but they found that she could not near them.

Kagome, seeing this, turned to the Shikon dusts. It swirled around her, faster and faster, until it became a cyclone. "Modoriko?"

:See what I mean, when I said to believe?: The miko smiled, and stepped back. The dusts started to come closer to Kagome, sprinkling onto her skin. And much to Kagome's surprise, she found that her body accepted the dust back. :You are the Protectress of the Shikon no Tama. Whether it will be destroyed into a million, billion, trillion pieces, you body has now finally accepted it, and it you. No matter what happened, you can now call to it, at your will. Tell me Kagome Higurashi, are you willing to accept this responsibility?:

"Yes, yes I am."

:Then it is done.:

~*~*~*~

"Kagome?"

Groaning, and not to gently, Kagome opened her eyes. She swore when the sunlight hit on her irises, and hastily closed it again. When she realized that she really needed to get up, she slowly, cautiously, opened them again. The sight of all her friends greeted her.

Everyone was bloodied, and not one of them was upset about it. They were all looking over at her with mixed concern on their faces, and seemed very relieved when she opened her eyes. InuYasha helped her on her feet, and gathered her onto her arms.

"Kagome," he breathed, happy to see her alive. "Kagome, Kagome, Kagome."

Sango, Miroku, Kouga and Shippo each took turns hugging her, to reassure themselves that she's really alive. Finally, InuYasha brought her back to his arms. Staring down at her, his golden eyes bored down on hers. "What happened, Kagome?"

"It's OK," she smiled. "It's over. Naraku's dead. The Shikon is now in my possession, and no one will take it from me again," she breathed, "It's finally over."

VOCABULARY

Youkai: demon

Hanyou: half-demon

Shikon no Tama: Jewel of Four Souls, born into the world by a very powerful miko named Modoriko and the manifestation of several demons. When they destroyed her, by ripping out her heart, the Shikon was born, from her purity and their hate.

Miko: A priestess with special magical powers.

Hakama: The lower portion of a male's outfitting

Haori: The top portion of a male's outfitting

Hiraikotsu: The oversized boomerang Sango uses as a weapon

Kitsune: Fox

Kaa-san: Mother figure

Kazanna: The void, hellhole that Miroku have on his left hand. It can be sealed up with his set of prayer beads. Almost anything can be sucked through his void. But, since it WAS a curse set onto his family by Naraku, when a certain time comes, and Naraku is either not dead or removed the curse, the hell hole would suck its owner into oblivion.

Ookami: Wolf

Maisma: Evil, tainted energy

Youki: Demonic energy

Taikou: Absolute energy that is both powerful and pure. No demon can come close to sure pure power created by either a miko or something equally powerful.

Tetsusaiga: The large sword that InuYasha have. It was created from his father's fang, and keeps his demonic blood from overpowering his will.

Author's Corner

The beginning of my new story, Jewels of the Chaotic Souls. I know it seems that its just the ending of some other story (actually, I had this ending planned, originally, for another story. But I needed this, and so, well, heh.) but it's just the prologue.

I'm afraid that the prologue might be over-rated, however, and the ACTUAL story won't begin until chapter two. This story is INDEED a Kag/Kur pairing, since I haven't done a [crossover] fic, and I promised my friend I would have one up for her soon.

I hope no one was TOO bored by that, and hope that you'll continue to read and enjoy my new story! I usually don't read any story until it's at least two chapters, and so, I don't usually start my stories until I've got two chapters ready. Enjoy the next chapter, and don't forget to READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!!!!