Ch. 1
Forbidden Love
Once there was a half beast half man… and once there was an angel. They were destined to be soul mates in a world where such a thing is forbidden.
Alas as the prophecy foretells, 'Only those with pure and untainted souls can tame the souls of the wicked.' And this is where our story begins…
The streets were busy with activity this sunny morning. Traders of all types lined the streets attempting to sell their goods to passerby. It ranged from fresh flat bread and honey to fine Arabic silk with brilliant designs trailing across an ocean of blue. Laughter filled the air as children ran along playing games with sticks and balls. But in this world of seemingly tranquil beauty lay an underlying madness.
The depression was a heavy weight on humanity. And all though laughter could be heard in the streets… in the hearts of all those suffering; only screaming was heard. People were selling their cars for just enough for a week's supply of food. Parents were selling their own children for at least a tiny scrap to eat. Corruption among the government had brought crime to an all time high. Your best friend or neighbor could go out for a stroll in broad day light and never return. The streets were filled with filth and compost. And yet away from all of this, there still remained some hope for humanity.
In the outline of a great valley lived a small little orphanage, they lived off the land. It was more a place of refuge for down on the luck families or children that were abandoned because the parents did not have enough money to support them. Here a mother took care of everyone, even her own children, a beautiful girl with big brown eyes and a heart of gold, and a small boy with curiosity burning in his soul.
Here crime was something that didn't happen. No one wanted to walk all the way up the large hills on either side before having to carefully tiptoe down to the valley where the orphanage lie to steal only a few scraps of food.
The large house was wooden with a small porch circling all the way around. The doors were worn and shabby, the blankets were few but warm, but the food was plentiful and given freely.
A rustle amongst the trees raised the ears of a dog lounging just outside the porch. A child burst through the wooden door clutching a small book tightly to his chest.
"Sota!! Give me back my diary!" a scream rolled from inside the large wooden house.
The boy ran into the corn field to the left of the house giggling all the way. The girl jumped out of the house and landed with bent knees, making a loud thud, on the trimmed grass just outside. She stood up slowly and glared in the direction the boy had run.
Her legs were long and slender, making her the perfect athlete for cross country running. She was bare foot and wore a short green kimono that was tied with a yellow string. She had once complained that her obi was too wide and made it hard to gather the crops. After a rather long and heated argument with her mother, it was obvious who had won. She smirked, and narrowed her brown eyes. Her deep raven hair was tied up high on her head, making it easier to work outside in the hot mid-day sun.
"I'll give you till the count of three, Sota." She said with some laughter behind her words.
"And what will you do when you get to three, sister?" the boy questioned from the corn field a few meter's away. He was hidden amongst the tall stalks and only his voice revealed where he hid.
The girl took a few steps towards him and placed her hands on her hips. She was well into her teen years and maybe even could have been considered to be in her early twenties. She had supple round breasts and a delicate thin waist. If not for the scratches and cuts along her arms and near her ankles from working, she could have been considered a goddess.
"Do you really want to find out what'll I'll do, little brother?" She asked him slyly.
A sharp squeak was heard and then a loud rustling sound before a young boy emerged slowly from the tall corn stalks. He had an expression of fear plastered on his face. "Fine, you win." He whined before tossing the small book at her. She caught it with ease and held it close to her chest.
"You made the right decision." She smiled at him brightly, causing him to forget their little fight and return the smile. "Come on, mother will be wanting the tomatoes planted before nightfall."
The boy nodded.
"Wait here," she said, "I'll go talk to mother." She swiftly walked back into the large house and calmly shut the door behind her.
The house was more of a mansion than a house. It had 16 bedrooms, 3 family rooms, a kitchen and 4 bathrooms. It was three stories tall and was situated on 15 acres of land. Nearly 5 decades ago the girl's ancestors had built this house for a wealthy family. A terrible accident killed all but the eldest woman, who left everything to the builders of her amazing house after she passed away.
"Oh Kagome, there you are!" An older woman emerged from an open doorway on the left holding a large basket of folded laundry.
"Good Afternoon, Mother," Kagome bowed slightly and smiled lovingly at the older woman.
"I was having second thoughts about the tomatoes." She turned and began walking down the hallway that would lead to the second story stairs. Kagome followed without so much as a peep. "The weather has been rather dry lately and I'm worried about the corn and wheat crops. They are the most important to this household. The tomatoes should wait until damper weather arrives."
All the floors of the entire house were wooden and had to be polished every day to keep them in good condition. A little girl, perhaps 8 years old was bent over polishing a section near the stairs.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Higurashi." She greeted with a bright smile.
"How are you, Rin?" The older woman asked politely.
"I'm doing great." She paused for a moment to give Ms. Higurashi an even brighter smile.
"The floors look fantastic," Kagome complimented whilst looking around the long hallway littered with doors.
"Well, that's all thanks to Yoshiko's help." She nodded and returned to completing her chore.
"Come now, Kagome. I want to talk to you upstairs." Her mother said. She trotted up the stairs and emerged amongst another long hallway littered with doors. She walked past several before standing near one on the right. Kagome kindly opened it for her mother who walked into a large room with a foot tall wooden table in the center and four cushions on either side. There was a large sliding door past the table that led onto the patio of the second floor.
Her mother set down the basket of laundry and opened a chest on the left side of the room. On the lid of the chest labeled in beautiful writing was the word, 'clothes.' She then knelt down and proceeded to empty the laundry basket into the chest. Kagome waited a little impatiently, tapping her toes and clucking her tongue.
Finally she couldn't take the silence any longer and knelt beside her mother. "Mom, what is it?" she said quietly.
"I need a favor, dear." Her mother said without lifting her head. "One of the children went exploring past the forest behind our house."
"Lots of the children play in the forest, there's nothing dangerous in there." Kagome stared at her mother trying to discover what she might be thinking.
"Yes, but beyond the forest there lays an old stone building." Her mother finished putting away the clothes and shut the lid with a resounding 'thud!' She stood with a little creak from her knees and walked towards the sliding doors.
Kagome followed suit but with more ease. Ms. Higurashi opened the door and pointed towards the forest in plain view. "I need you to check it out tonight, and perhaps even stay the night in the stone structure."
Kagome blinked, stared at her mother's finger before looking at her face in total shock. "WHAT?!"
"Please, dear." Her mother persuaded.
"You want me to go to a tomb with dead bodies and stay the night? Are you insane? Why do I have to do it? Why does anyone have to do it? Why can't we just leave it alone?" Kagome raised her voice to her mother, something she did more often than she would have liked to admit. Her fists were clenched to her side, shaking from anger or frustration.
"It's for the children, Kagome."
It was strange. The only thing that would have calmed Kagome, the once in a lifetime phrase that would have quenched her anger… her mother just said. Her fists stopped shaking and unclenched. She looked up and stared into her mother's aging eyes.
"Listen, dear," Her mother said sweetly. "It was Kaname that discovered the temple. And she never said anything about any tombs. The way she described it, it sounded like it had once been a temple. She told nearly all the children about her experience and now they are all asking for my permission to go play there. I don't want them to play in a strange place, dear." Her mother paused and took Kagome's hands in her own.
Kagome's heart started to warm. The only person that was ever able to make her give in, was her mother. She had always known exactly what to say to get her daughter to sway, or what to say to make her believe perhaps she had been wrong. So when Kagome did win an argument, she really knew it was because her mother had chosen to let her win.
"I know, mother." Kagome said kindly.
"You are strong. Stronger than any other child here. If we had an older boy, I would send him, you know that. But Sota is the oldest boy living here, and I don't think he could handle himself as well as you could." She squeezed Kagome's hands and looked outside, past the green forest.
"Do I really have to stay the night?" Kagome asked.
Her mother lowered her head and spoke, "Yes. I'm sorry, but I fear if you don't we won't be sure if there are any spirits lingering there. This place is a safe haven for run down families; I want to make sure that they remain safe."
Kagome pulled her hands away and turned her back on her mother. Ms. Higurashi seemed unfazed and chose to step out onto the balcony. She gently rested her hands on the wooden railing.
"Fine." Kagome said. "But I will return at dawn, I will stay no longer than that."
"Good." Her mother turned and smiled at Kagome's back. "I would prefer if you left before the children noticed and wanted to go with you."
"I understand." Kagome said and swiftly stepped out of the room and glided down the stairs. She entered her own room, the last one on the left on the bottom floor. She was the only child that did not share a room with another. It was a gift her mother had given her because she was the oldest and did the most work around the house. It was also unfortunately the smallest room in the entire house. A small window was eye level with Kagome and looked out at the vegetable garden.
Kagome sighed deeply and fell onto her futon, which was unmade just below her tiny window. She also owned a chest like the one her mother and emptied the clothes into. It was in the corner farthest from her bed. Lying next to it on the floor was a pan of water, a brush, a towel and a bar of soup. Kagome sat up in her bed and crawled to her chest.
"I'm scared." She spoke. "Why am I always the strongest, the bravest? When will I get my chance to rest?"
She heard giggling outside and yelling as the children harvested leeks and potatoes from the large vegetable garden. Kagome's eyes began to tear up. She looked up at her ceiling to try and lock in the tears.
"I can not cry, because I must be the strongest and the bravest." She told herself. She blinked away the tears and opened her chest. She rustled around in it before she found a medium sized brown bag with a draw string. She placed the towel in it and a small blanket that lay folded inside her chest. She pulled it closed and made a mental note to grab some bread and cheese from the kitchen before she departed. She reached inside her chest again and removed a long black cloak with a hood. She wrapped it around her self and turned to walk out the door.
She paused and listened to the laughter outside for a moment. She cracked a sad smile and whispered. "Wish I could laugh like that…" She opened her door and quickly slid past Rin, who was now near the end of the hallway, and into the kitchen, the first door on the left after you enter through the front door.
She opened the pantry and removed a small loaf of bread and a medium hunk of cheese and placed it into her bag. She then opened the ice box and took a canteen already filled with ice cold water. She tied that to the rope that wrapped around her waist. She slung the bag over her shoulder and pulled the hood up on the cloak.
"Tonight will be cold…" she muttered as she gently walked out of the house and into the corn field to hide herself from the children as she made her way to the back of the house into the forest.
It only took her about 20 minutes to make her way through the forest. She brushed the last branch aside and stared in dumb wonder at the stone building that lay before her.
It was breathtaking. It was obviously old. Purple vines played their way up the stone walls. The door was weathered from the sun and wind. The walls were nearly 20 feet tall while the door was maybe 6 feet tall. She walked towards it and wondered if she'd be able to push it open. The stones were crumbling, but amazingly enough, all four walls still stood.
Kagome gently put her hand on the stone door and pushed slightly. Nothing happened. She pushed her shoulder into and was unable to even make it creek.
"Stupid door," she muttered. She took a few steps back and ran full force at the door, planning to use her shoulder to try and budge it. She made contact and felt the door give some, but she still bounced off and landed flat on her butt in the dirt.
She moaned in pain and rubbed her bruised shoulder. But she still got up and stared at the building. "There has to be some way to get in…" she wondered. She stumbled towards the door again and noticed all the strange writing that was carved through out the entire door. She squinted her eyes and strained to read the weathered text.
The only words she could make out were 'tomb' 'demon' and 'angel.'
"So this is a tomb…" she complained. She stared at the rest of the text and attempted to memorize what the characters looked like so she could write them to her mother to read when she returned.
She sighed after several minutes and walked next to the door again and pushed once more. This is when she noticed the large wooden handle nailed and melted into the stone. She raised an eyebrow and gripped the handle with both hands.
"On the count of three, pull." She spoke to herself. "One… Two…" she clenched her hands around the wood tighter, "Three!"
She pulled and the door swung at her flinging her several feet away into the dirt again.
"STUPID DOOR!" She yelled at it. She grunted and jumped up dusting the dirt from her bottom. She stomped her feet and made her way inside the building.
"Hello?" She called out. "Anyone home?" she asked. "Did I really expect an answer…?"
She sighed again and walked into the center of the large room. A shrine decorated the center where she noticed once offerings of cheese and whine had been given. Kagome sighed and walked up the several steps to the alter. She fumbled in her bag and pulled out the cheese. She broke it in half and placed it on the small podium that was decorated with worn out clothes and dead flowers.
She shook her head, "This place must have been beautiful at one time, what a shame." She stepped down from the alter and knelt saying a short prayer for her safety and the safety of the children. She stood and looked around the dimly illuminated room. If it wasn't for the rather large hole just above the alter, no light would have gotten in.
She spotted a torch along the wall, she grabbed it and looked around the offering for some flint. She instead found two rocks that looked promising and sat down to starting fire on her torch.
This was no easy task. Flint was a lot easier to work with and she had become so good at creating a fire with it, it seemed like second nature to her. She attempted to strike the rocks together till her fingers were blistered. She sighed and rested her hands on the ground. "Useless."
She stood up and looked around her home for the night. She saw a door just past the alter with a sculpture carved onto the outside. She stared at it in wonder.
It was of a man and a woman. The man was kneeling looking up at the woman, his face was in pain. He had animal ears and claws. Kagome stepped forward and saw fangs dripping from his open mouth. "Scary." She said. His hair was long and the tips of it lingered on the floor. He was naked, but luckily one leg was up and blocking anything that could be considered inappropriate. "Good, I wouldn't want the children to see it otherwise…"
The woman was actually more of an angel than a human. Her hair was floating around her; it was nearly as long as the man's. Her eyes were closed and her hands clasped in prayer. She was floating above him, her toes at a point. She was naked also, but her long hair covered anything scandalous. The artist must have been modest. But Kagome could not deny the amazing craftsmanship and details of the two. She was about to push the door when she noticed that the woman's long hair formed a handle level with Kagome's shoulder.
Kagome paused and stared at the sculpture on the door again. She felt sad for the man. It was almost like he was reaching out to the women, but he could not meet her. And the women seemed to be praying for him. "How sad," she said with a slight sniffle. "A demon and an angel, forever destined to be enemies. That is a forbidden love." She shook her head and grabbed the door with one hand, and pulled with less force than she had the first. It opened just as easily as she thought it might. She stepped inside and squinted as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.
"Anyone in here?" she asked sarcastically. When the blackness around her started to take form her eyes widened. A large metal coffin was directly in front of her. On the wall past it was another sculpture carved into the stone. On the far left, was the man again; on the right was the woman. Their arms were reaching towards one another but a faceless man stood between them, stopping them from ever being together. This time, the woman's face showed agony. Kagome could see the stone tears that lay on her cheeks. It made Kagome's own tears well up in her eyes. The man's face seemed more angry than sad like the one on the door had.
"How awful!" Kagome cried.
"It was their own fault." A voice spoke.
Kagome's entire body froze. She looked in the direction the voice had spoken from and saw a man sitting against the large coffin on the floor just in front of her. He looked tired and worn out. As if he had been sitting there for days with out food or water.
"Who- who- who-" she stammered.
"I'm no one." He said gruffly. He attempted to stand but only succeed in cringing in pain and collapsing back into a seated position.
Kagome rushed over to him and knelt by his side. He turned his head away from her and growled. This is the time Kagome chose to notice the ears a top his head and his long silvery hair, and not to mention the fangs seeping out of his mouth.
"You're a demon!" she screeched, but didn't budge.
"I wish… maybe then I wouldn't be stuck here. Now leave me alone." He turned and looked her in the eye.
Her heart jumped. His eyes, they were amber. A brilliant color that shone brightly in the dim light that glimmered in through the open door. They may have been beautiful but she saw the sadness encrusted inside them. She lowered her lids and felt more tears begin to try and escape her eyes.
"What?" He yelled. "You're going to cry? Don't cry, wench! I hate it when women cry."
"I've… never seen a demon before." Kagome whispered.
"Feh, I told you, wench, I'm not a demon. I'm a half-demon." He looked up to try and break away from her gaze.
"I've never seen one of those either."
"Lucky you." He sneered. "Now leave me to my punishment."
She sat back and brought her knees up to her chest. She turned her gaze to the sculpture of the two lovers. Then looked back at him, then back to the man on the wall.
"Is that you?" she asked, motioning with her head to the sculpture.
"No."
"Yes it is." She said.
"I told you no, we-" he stopped in mid 'wench' and grabbed his stomach in pain.
"Oh no…" Kagome leaned forward again. "Let me help you."
"I'm fine!" He growled.
"No, you are not fine!" She pulled him still and looked him straight in the eye. He froze and shut his mouth. "I cannot just leave you like this! I could never in my life leave anyone in pain to suffer!" She reached for her bag and pulled out her canteen. "Here." She shoved it in his face and looked away with a sour expression.
He blinked and took it from her gingerly. He twisted the top off and took one big gulp. He stared at her in disbelief.
"But I'm a half-demon?" He said.
"So?" She didn't move her head but looked at him with her eyes.
"I'm neither human, nor demon…" he seemed sad.
Kagome sighed and turned to look at him with soft eyes. She stared at him for a moment, trying to think of a way to combine her thoughts. "To leave anyone who needs my help is not something that I can do. How can you classify yourself as unworthy?"
He turned away and pushed her back some. "You talk like her as well as look like her."
"Who?" Kagome asked.
He looked up at the sculpture of the woman.
"Who was she?" Kagome asked again.
He looked at her and furrowed his brow. "None of your business wench."
"Fine then!" She huffed. Kagome stood up and crossed her arms. "I didn't mean to intrude but you don't have to call me wench!"
"Then don't act like one!" He yelled. He slowly started to stand and leaned his hand against the coffin to keep steady.
Kagome looked at the coffin, "Whose grave?"
"Why do you ask so many questions?" He asked.
"Cause this is my land and I want to know whose buried here!" She stomped her foot.
His eyes widened. How long has it been since he stepped outside this room? Did the Kamina's no longer own the land? "What's your name?" He asked.
She huffed. "Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."
He pursed his lips and grunted. "Inu…" he was inaudible.
"What?" Kagome smiled.
"Inuya…" he mumbled the last part.
"What was it?" she nearly giggled.
"INUYASHA!" He yelled. He looked away in anger.
"Well, Inuyasha, My name is Kagome Higurashi. It's nice to meet you." She bowed politely.
"Yeah, whatever." Her name was not Kamina…
She still smiled. "Why are you in a place like this anyways?"
"None of your business!"
"Okay, okay," she put her hands up to hold off any verbal comments he might throw at her. "I understand, you don't want to talk about it. Well I can't let you stay here. You can come back to our house, there's plenty of room and lots of food."
"No thanks."
"Well you have no say in the matter." Kagome walked forward and grabbed his hand.
"What are you doing?!" He yelled, but was too weak from hunger and pain to pull away. She tugged him towards the door and he started to panic. "Stupid, wench! Only one person can let me out of this room or I'll die!" Kagome ignored him and continued to pull him towards the door. He cringed and closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.
But nothing ever came. Kagome walked through the doorway, clasping his hand, and Inuyasha followed, without feeling so much as the wind rustle by. He stared at the back of her head as she dragged him along towards the main door.
Who was this girl? Did she just break his curse? The verdict he endured for loving the forbidden? The only one that could free him is…
He looked back and stared at the door to his cell. His eyes widened as he trained his gaze on the angel carved into the stone. He could never forget that face, those lips, and those eyes. They were forever carved into his memory just as they were carved into that stone. He turned back to Kagome, who turned around and smiled at him as she stepped past the main door and yanked him through.
"They're an identical match." He muttered, in near disbelief.
"Come on, Inuyasha." She released his hand and started to walk off towards the forest. He felt his body pull towards her. Like some invisible field was forcing him to follow.
'No,' he thought. 'I'll just stay put right here. I must endure my punishment.'
She was about to enter the forest, perhaps ten yards ahead, when he felt this sickening pain in his right arm. He cringed and stared down at it. Blue sparks were licking at his skin, tearing away at his red haori. His eyes shot wide open. That's what happened when he tried to escape the door the first time. He looked up and saw that Kagome was no longer in site.
The pain was starting to become unbearable. He took a step forward and it lessened slightly. He took two steps forward and it lessened still. He trotted a few feet and the pain was now a dull throb. He ran to the edge of the forest and found the pain was completely gone and that no wound remained on his skin.
"Are you coming?" Kagome asked a few feet in front of him. He laid his gaze upon her and saw her flinch slightly. She looked away and motioned with her hand for him to follow her. "It's only about a 20 minute walk from here."
"I guess…" he said rubbing his right arm, "I have no choice but to follow."
A/N: Please Review.