A Shadow Over Us All by Marina
More important things to do
AN: Hi, guys! How’s it going?
So, I’ve written some fics before, but never in English (since I’m not a native English speaker) and never for Inuyasha. I've started posting this fic on FF.net, and to date, it's still in progress. I still don't know how many chapters it will have, but I’m really excited about this project.
I try to keep regular updates as best as I can. Since there are quite a few chapters already written, I think I'll be able to manage for at least a while.
Hope you like it. :)
P.S.: Last I checked, I owed nothing but the plot.
Chapter 1 - More important things to do
The sun was high in the sky. It was hot and there was no light breeze to make the group feel better. Kagome asked Inuyasha to let her down. At the age of 19, she had grown into a beautiful young woman. And she felt the presence of many sinister energies. Three of them, she knew, belonged to Sesshoumaru, his servant, Jaken, and the two-headed dragon Ah-Uh. But the others… She wasn’t able to recognize them. The young miko knew they were extremely vicious and carried with them three or four Shikon no Kekara, each one corrupted. Sango commanded Kirara to land so she, Miroku and Shippou could get down.
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In the meanwhile, a few miles away, the Western Lord smelt something sweet in the air, like sakura. It was vaguely familiar to him, and very pleasing. It was mixed with another scent, though: Inuyasha’s. And there were also several youkai heading towards them, no doubt at Naraku’s service.
“Jaken…”, he said, his voice cold as usual, “Stay with Rin. Some of those wretched creatures might be able to tell me something of value at their dying hour.”
As the daiyoukai ran to battle, young Rin tried following him, but was stopped by the kaeru youkai.
“Where do you think you’re going, insufferable child?”, he scolded, “Sesshoumaru-sama ordered me to stay with you!”
“Then come with me, Jaken-sama.”, she replied with a sweet smile, innocent as a child should be, “I want to see Sesshoumaru-sama fight.” She hopped onto Ah-Uh’s back, who ran away behind their master, followed by a very desperate Jaken.
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“I can smell them, Kagome!”, Inuyasha said, “And something else to… UGHHH! Sesshoumaru! After I’m finished with them, I’ll get him!”
“Calm yourself, Inuyasha.”, Miroku warned, “Perhaps he can help…”
“Help my ASS! That bastard won’t help anyone!”, the hanyou raised his voice, “He could very well kill us and then go after the other losers!”
It was then they heard Sesshoumaru’s voice, deep and cold: “As attractive as the idea of killing you may sound, hanyou, I have not the time for such foolish a fight.”
“Keh! If you were so powerful, you wouldn’t have much trouble, eh, you son of a bitch?”, Inuyasha continued to provoke his half-brother, but Kagome couldn’t stand it any longer. They too had more important things than to worry about than the siblings’ fight. She could try to convince the youngest of the two brothers, but she knew he wouldn’t listen to her. She then decided to take a drastic measure.
“Inuyasha…”, she called, with a sweet tone of voice, attracting the attention of the dog-blooded men, and murmured, “Osuwari…”. Inuyasha came crashing down, face first, and started yelling, his voice still muffled.
“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, WENCH?”
“Can’t you see that we also have other issues than Sesshumaru?”, she scolded him, as the daiyokai watched the scene, half amused. The human girl subjugated the half-breed...
He couldn’t get his mind off of that sakura scent, so close now, but yet to be identified. He would’ve focused a little bit more, of course, had his enemies’ stench not invaded his senses altogether. The hanyou noticed it too.
“They’re here!”
Soon, about twenty youkai, armed with many different kinds of swords. However numerous, they were not very powerful, and wouldn’t have presented the two brothers and three humans much trouble, had it not been for a little creature’s appearance as soon as the battle began… Rin.
She was cornered against a big rock by a human-looking youkai, but with the size and the claws of a bear. Kagome saw them from the corner of her eye. Neither Sesshoumaru, nor Inuyasha could help her, since they were fighting many youkais at the same time. The miko ran, placing herself between the small child and the large youkai.
“I’m gonna eat the little human for breakfast!”, he laughed.
“Not if I can help it!”, Kagome replied, firing a holy arrow which hit the demon between the eyes. He fell dead, and she smiled, triumphant. It was time to help her friends. With her bow and arrows, she killed five youkais who surrounded Miroku and Sango. She also killed two from the ones who fought Inuyasha and one of Sesshoumaru’s attackers.
The daiyoukai saw from the corner of his eyes everything that had took place. He had been too late to help Rin, but the onna had not. He also saw the powerful arrow she fired, and was… Impressed.
“Kagome-sama! That was… WOW!” Rin giggled and jumped.
“Thank you, Rin-chan.”, she smiled kindly.
“What just happened here?” Jaken screeched. He had just arrived, and could hardly breathe. The older human girl opened her mouth to answer, but stopped as she noticed one of their foes on top of the rock. He was the one with the jewel shards: one in his neck, another in his chest and two others in his abdomen.
“Kukuku… Young, fresh meat…” he growled, a cruel smile on his face.
Kagome tried to aim an arrow at him, but wasn’t quick enough. He had jumped over the three of them. She pulled Rin behind her and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact… Which never came. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Sesshoumaru held their offender by the neck.
“Your hand is right on top of a shard!” she shouted.
“You will tell me where you obtained it, filth.” he told the youkai, who tried to wriggle out of Sesshoumaru’s grip “Or I shall end your pity excuse for a life right here, right now.
“It was… a…. a hanyou!” the youkai said, between gasps for air “He said we could get more from the girl travelling with the inu hanyou!”
“The only thing you will be getting is permanent stay in the realm of the dead…” the young Lord growled. In one swift move, he broke the neck he had in his claws in two. He dropped the body to the ground and turned to face Kagome with indifference. He could not ignore the fact that she had chosen not to run when she had the chance… so she could protect Rin. “Gather the shards, miko.”
She nodded and run for them. When her long, dark hair flew past him, he realized when the sakura scent came from. It was the human girl who now purified the four shards and placed them in the bottle she carried around her neck. She turned to him once more, and blushed.
“Th-thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama.” she said as she bowed her head. The inu youkai did not respond, as she raised her head again. He only stared deep into her eyes before turning his own away.
“Jaken…”
“Y-yes, my lord?” the green youkai said, in a low bow. His little body shook from head to toe.
“I told you to watch over Rin.”, he didn’t look at his servant, but his voice alone told everyone present he was very much angry.
“It isn’t his fault, Sesshoumaru-sama.” the little girl said, at the brink of crying “I just… I just wanted to see you fight…”
The conversation was interrupted by the sound of the last youkai being slaughtered by Inuyasha’s Tessaiga.
“Kagome! Whacha doing near the bastard??” he yelled.
“Thanking him for SAVING MY LIFE, Inuyasha!”, she said, trying to control her temper.
“Shut the hell up! He didn’t save your life, Kagome! He’d never save someone like you! He’s just trynna get me to owe him!”, the hanyou yelled at her. The girl’s eyes were beginning to fill with tears. Sesshoumaru’s beast growled at the whelp’s treatment of his pack. That was not how an alpha should act.
“It doesn’t have to be always about you, Inuyasha! Or even about me! I was in front of Rin and, if I died, she would too, so he saved me to save her!”, she countered. Her voice trembled a bit, but her words seemed enough
Jaken and Ah-Uh went to follow him, but Rin stayed behind. She smiled up at Kagome, before jumping to her arms.
“Thank you, Kagome-sama.”
“You’re always welcome, Rin-chan.” the young woman replied. “Now, go. Your master will want you to be with him.”
“Hai!” the girl said and turned to run after her lord. She then looked back and shouted “Bye-, Kagome-sama!”
Kagome barely had the time to say good-bye as well, before Inuyasha yelled at them all to keep going. She whispered “Thank you once more, Sesshoumaru-sama”, knowing the daiyoukai was perfectly able to hear her.
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The wind carried her whisper and her scent to the Western Lord, and he could but think back to what she had done for Rin that afternoon. He had imagined the miko to be somewhat powerful, yes, but very few humans would defend a child other that their own, and that, he found, was what really impressed him. Hn… Perhaps humans were not so without honor as he had deemed?