Within The Shadow: Part One ~ From Fear To Eternity

By Shigure-san (Katie)

This is my first Inuyasha fan fiction ever, and also the first story in a five-story-chain. You don't have to read all of them but reading earlier ones will help you understand certain recollections the characters may have of the past, or any old character re-emerging from the earlier stories. Plus it will make this idiot smile if you read them all. I actually like this one the best. It's confusing actually, the one following this was actually the first, but after that was done I wanted to add one before it, so I could write more awkward IYxKag moments. So there you go, some fan fiction trivia that you didn't really want to know, but never mind... And I'm sorry in advance for making Kagome a little crybaby, but I did write the first three parts of this chain before seeing any of the movies and only having seen about twelve episodes, (I was obsessed from the start but had no internet access at the time, and since the UK sucks and didn't have it when I wrote this, I was in withdrawal.) Any chants or made up languages are my creation with influence of Latin.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all it's wonderfulness belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ. The Chapter titles, Plot and any extra characters, belong to me. The theory on the broken sunset and sunrise that the characters tell here, and any historic fiction are also mine. The first part of the title, 'Within the shadow' belongs to me, but 'From Fear To Eternity' is the episode of Angel that I was watching when I started writing, hence the name borrowing. It belongs to Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt and the writer of that specific episode. So no stealing from me, (not that you would I'm sure) and no sueing me! (I don't care if I spelt that right!)

It's a little poopy to start with, but it gets better, I promise, so please Enjoy!

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Entropy of the Grave

One

A foreboding aura radiated through the dense air of the tomb, so full of dust and ashes of the fallen warriors that once guarded it, that the intruders upon this sacred rest could barely breathe. The leader, shrouded in a dark cloak lead the way, a fiery torch, the only source of light, burning brightly as he held it before him, as he walked fearless through the shadowy labyrinth ahead of he and his followers. He stepped noiselessly along the dark passages, brushing aside the cobwebs from his path, and his crimson eyes darting alertly from one side of the passage to the next, watchful for any signs of any unearthly creatures, keeping them company in the darkness. His followers kept close to their leader's side, each fearing what they knew, what they could hear in the darkness, watching them, fearing what their master was about to unleash, but most of all, fearing what their master had so easily overlooked in his great plan.

The most cowardice of the followers, skulked fearfully in his master's shadow; he clung like a leech to powerful creatures, doing their bidding to keep himself from being killed. Indeed, he was so widely pathetic, and widely known as a traitor, that few trusted him, and those that did only used him for his wide knowledge of the feudal era, or of the mystic forces he knew so much of, but never was able to even witness. This master sneered at his most close follower, a small, thin, greying creature; the slithering serpent's company revolting him to his very skin. 'Don't keep so close to me you revolting creature!' snapped the master, and his servant nodded, walking now a few more paces behind his superior.

Suddenly, the master stopped, the men duplicating his actions. The men looked to their master questioningly, but none dared too speak. Finally, after the man gazed about a while, he spoke. 'You,' he barked at one of his men, not really looking at him. The man stepped forward, bowing his head in respect for his master. 'My vision is obscured here; the floor is not visible to my eyes through the mist.' The warrior looked at him in bewilderment. 'Walk before me.' The warrior looked at him in horror, but knew a worse fate would befall him should he disobey an order, and he stepped forward. His fellow warriors turned away as their companion disappeared through the floor, falling, falling, screaming, before meeting the pit's bottom, a revolting SPLAT echoing in his companion's ears. The master grinned evilly, and held the torch before him, turning down the other path. The men followed their master, wondering how many more he would kill before they reached what their master sought, and were killed by that instead.

Eventually, their master lead them out of the labyrinth of narrow tunnels and hidden passages, and they came to an enormous almost circular room. It was dark, and dank, and their master held the torch up higher, revealing to them in the dim light, that there were runes on the wall, (though they were impossible to read in the darkness). They watched through the dimness, as the master flicked his spindly, pale hands, and all the torches in the room lit up, burning brightly. With this movement though, the torch he held burned into an eerie blue flame and he held it up to the wall, reading the runes. 'Leocht Demaneire Naisomentum, A hole in the World,' the man's malicious voice echoed round his reluctant followers, and their breaths were caught in their throats.

'A…hole sir?' asked the pathetic creature lurking in his shadow.

'The pool, I summoned the Temple of Lost Souls to this plain, and in doing so I created a ripple effect, and that is what I seek here, the Black mirror, the hole in this existence.'

'Sir,' asked one of the men, interrupting the evil pensiveness their master had been lost in at staring at the archaic runes. 'It was madness to come here and summon the Temple of Lost Souls to this realm after it was banished, but to continue with-' the man cut off as his master turned to face him, a foreboding evilness in his grey eyes.

'Yes, what was it that you were saying?' he asked, all too calmly.

'I was just…to awaken the pool is to welcome death sir, is it wise to bring forth that which-' He choked on the remainder of his words, as his master's clawed hand enclosed around his throat, holding him off the ground.

The man threw his follower's lifeless corpse carelessly to the ground, and turned back to the runes. After studying them in silence for a while, he turned to the centre of the room, and it was then that the others noticed something seriously wrong. In the centre of the room there sat what their master sought, and what they themselves most feared. Shallow steps lead down into the black, menacing waters of the pool from all sides, the surface of the unknown substance reflecting the image of the room exactly, as if it were a mirror, with not ripple spoiling its surface. The man stood so close to the steps of the pool, the men thought he might step in at any moment, but he did not. He held the fiery torch in his clawed hand up higher, before slinging it into the black waters. The fire of the torch was not extinguished, but instead the sapphire flames spread over the black surface, like fire on oil, and the towering inferno rose as high as the ceiling would allow. Within the fire's core, the warriors were sure they saw something, and their hearts stopped as they realized what that something was. The ominous shadow of a man's body stood within the flames, and his outline became ever so clear as the flames grew into an even brighter blue.

The warriors stepped nervously backwards as their master's voice echoed throughout the temple, his tongue twisted in the words so ancient that they could not interpret. All of a sudden, the outline of the man within the flames combusted, and the ashes flew from the flames and around the warriors. The men choked harshly on the hot, almost burning ashes as they breathed them in, soon finding themselves desperate for air as the ashes polluted their lungs. Suddenly the blue flames died before their eyes, and the ashes swirled around amidst them, before flying over the blackness of the pool. The ashes came together once more, and forming to the men's horror, the form of a man's body. The man breathed in huskily, and stared about at the men. His body did not touch the surface of the water; he floated just above it, though no reflection of him lay in the black mirror beneath him. The man (or whatever he was) did not seem to be tiring of gazing at the men before him, sizing up his new enemy, or perhaps choosing in which order they would die.

'K…Kazuya!' whispered one of the warriors desperately to his companions. The man twitched back to reality, staring with narrowing crimson eyes at hearing his name. He trod slowly up the steps of the pool, stopping just inches from the master of the men.

The sorcerer stared fearlessly at the creature he had summoned, not daunted by the evil, malicious deeds this demon was capable of.

'Kazuya,' the sorcerer asked, his voice stronger than before. Kazuya nodded lightly, a sadistic grin upon his face.

'What foolish man dare summon the stone tomb, the Temple of Lost Souls where I was sealed?' asked Kazuya, his voice husky at first as it became readjusted to speech after centuries of imprisonment.

'I am Zuihitsu, the sorcerer; I summoned you,' replied the man, still not breaking his bold composure.

'It took those priests every dribble of power they had to seal me, and to rid the world of this temple. For what foolish purpose would you bring it forth?'

'I want this world at my feet, I shall wreak the havoc I want upon it and become its ruler; and you, Kazuya, will help me do this.' It was then, that Kazuya let out a deep laughter, which caused the men to quiver with fear.

'I'm afraid that I don't do as I'm told.'

'But…I summoned you!' insisted Zuihitsu, his voice becoming a little desperate.

'And…for that, I will reward you, and make your death…quick!' He reached forward, and twisted the sorcerer's neck sharply, making it crack, and he fell to the floor, dead.

The warriors stared in horror, and turned to run, but they were not quick enough. The men were at a lost for what had happened, their master and Kazuya had spoken in the same foreign words Zuihitsu had chanted earlier, and all of a sudden, the demon was on his prophesized-killing rampage. Balls of burning, blue flames erupted from Kazuya's fingertips, breaking through the chests of the fleeing men, burning their hearts from their bodies. The quivering wimp that was Nikaido cowered behind the rampaging demon in the shadows, watching guiltlessly as his companions were all murdered one by one, until he was the only one left alive. Suddenly Nikaido found that Kazuya's form now stood before him, towering above him.

'You, get up!' ordered Kazuya in his native tongue, Nikaido translated, and stood up. 'You, creature, what is your name?'

'N-Nikaido,' he replied, terrified.

'Hmmm…you understand my speech?' asked Kazuya. Nikaido nodded. 'Then, I may have use of you.' Nikaido nodded again, following his new master over to the side of the black pool.

Lost in the waters' hold, Kazuya spoke once more. 'Where is Yuna?' Nikaido looked at him in bewilderment.

'Who, sir?'

'Yuna, she was…have you not heard my story?' Nikaido nodded again, it seemed as if his head was on a swivel.

'Yes of course sir but…I beg your pardon but she…the priests had her damned, she can never be resurrected.' He spoke quietly, fearing that the truth would hurt his chances of staying alive. Kazuya stared almost sadly at the pool, stepping closer to it, and outstretching his arm over it.

'Leocht Demaneire Naisomentum,' he muttered, and the pool's waters gave off a dim radiance, images of the feudal era flicking across its surface, changing as if it were a television changing channels. Kazuya pulled back his arm, leaving the mirror to scan images of the world across its surface. 'I think,' said Kazuya, though speaking in Nikaido's language. 'I will speak as you do, to become part of this world.' Nikaido nodded once more, as his master suddenly turned to face the mirror as a particular image flickered across it. Kazuya waved his hand, and the image fixed, showing him only his one certain picture. A girl with long, ebony hair swept over her shoulders, knelt down at the bank of a crystal clear river, splashing the water over her face. 'Yuna?' muttered Kazuya. Nikaido looked up at him.

'Forgive me, but that is not Yuna sir. She was branded with the Sage's mark, she cannot be resurrected or reincarnated; she is forced to remain in the spirit world for eternity.' Kazuya seemed not to have heard him.

'What is her name?' he asked gesturing towards the girl in the mirror.

'She is not of our world, she is from somewhere else, and so I do not know her name.' Kazuya seemed a little dispirited at his words, (if that was at all possible). Then within the image, they saw someone sit down beside the girl, his golden orbs flickering contently as she smiled back at him. 'But I know him; he is the half-demon son of the mononoke Inu-no-Taishou, Inuyasha.' Kazuya grinned evilly in response, still gazing at the image.

'I will rule the world as the sages once feared. I will smother it with my bloodied fog and plunge it into a reign of darkness.' Nikaido grinned in approval. 'But, I will only do it with her at my side.' Nikaido's grin faded.

'But you don't even know who she is.'

'I will soon enough,' he replied slyly, walking away from Nikaido slightly. 'Wait here for my return,' he said, before being swallowed up by a whirlwind of thick mist, transforming into the full-bodied image of a silver wolf, before disappearing from Nikaido's sight.

***

Kagome knelt down beside the river, sighing deeply as she dipped her slender hands into the water, splashing some over her face. Feeling refreshed she turned to her side, starting to fill up the skins. She did not stir as Inuyasha sat down beside her, Sango and the others standing behind them.

'Hurry up already! How long can it take to fill up on water?' asked Inuyasha in his usual, grumpy voice, his long mass of silver hair hanging down the back of his red kimono.

'What's the rush? Scared you'll get yourself wet?' she replied, smiling at him.

'Feh, whatever, I just want to get settled before the sun sets, that's all.' Kagome turned back to the water, filling up the last skin.

'The sunset does look a little, odd,' said Miroku, staring at the sky. Kagome and Inuyasha lifted their heads to see it, as the others did too. They saw the reds, pinks and lavenders of the sunset stained with a thick black line across its centre. 'That's not a good sign, a broken sunset – it means dark magics have been awakened,' he explained quietly, his dark eyes fixed on the menacing sight of the broken sunset.

'Oh, goodie, more fun for us,' muttered Shippo sarcastically, the little fox demon perching himself on Inuyasha's shoulders to get a better look at the sunset. 'How are we ever supposed to find the last shards if we keep being interrupted by-' He stopped as he dropped suddenly from Inuyasha's shoulders, holding his hands over his ears and writhing about on the floor as if in agony.

Kagome turned only to see that Inuyasha had his hands clamped over the doggy ears atop his head, wincing in pain.

'Inuyasha? Inuyasha what's wrong?' she asked, and hearing a squeal she turned to face Sango, seeing the small, white, cat demon Kilala behaving much like the other two, squirming in Sango's arms. 'What's wrong with them?' asked Sango. 'Is it the sunset?'

'It's…' muttered Inuyasha, 'it's this high ringing in my ears, its fucking turning me deaf.' He clamped his hands tighter over his ears as the sound got louder, trying to block it out.

'But there isn't anything,' insisted Sango.

'Yes there is! My eardrums are gonna explode!' Shippo screeched rocking backwards and forwards on the ground, the fur on his bushy fox's tail standing on end.

'Maybe,' said Miroku calmly, tightening his grip on the staff at his side, 'it is something to do with the sunset.'

'Yeah, the sound is occurring because of the disturbance causing the broken sunset, and because they are demons, they can hear it but we can't.'

'That makes no sense, why can demons hear it but we can't?' asked Kagome.

'Because they're not humans they have things we don't,' replied Sango, brushing the straight lengths of black hair from her face. With that, Inuyasha, Shippo and Kilala let go of their ears.

'Inuyasha?' said Kagome worriedly, kneeling closer to him.

'I'm fine, it's stopped now.' Kagome sat back, relieved that they were okay, and ran her hands over her arms.

'I have goose bumps; I don't like it up here,' she said shivering slightly.

'Me neither, we are too visible,' agreed Miroku. Inuyasha brushed his hand lightly against Kagome's on the grass, so that she turned to look into his shining golden orbs.

'We should find shelter before darkness comes, I don't much like what it might bring with it.' He stood up, pulling Kagome to her feet, and Shippo leapt onto his shoulder once more. As they started to walk away, they realized Sango wasn't moving from where she stood.

'Sango?' asked Miroku.

'What are we going to do about the broken sunset?'

'Come on let's go, there will be the broken sunrise that follows tomorrow we'll follow that when it comes.' Sango nodded, joining the others as they walked into the shelter of the trees.

TBC

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A/N: Chappie One, it's nothing special, I know, but it gets better, so don't give up on me please 0.0 R&R to find where this is all going then. My love to people who will bother to read all five of these. In fact, if you do, and leave comments on every chapter of each, I will write requests for people, e.g. ONE-SHOTs, certain pairings or even different anime. Also I don't mind if people have suggestions as to how to improve. K?

luv

Shigure

x chuu x