[FFML] [fic][IY] Alikes Set Sparks- episode one

Aishuu Offers:
Alikes Set Sparks
An Inu Yasha Alternate Reality
Mbsilvana@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Takahashi Rumiko is the creative genius
who created these characters- I merely borrowed them.
Author's Notes: I SWEAR I'm an Inu Yasha/Kagome fan!
But someone mentioned that Sango/Inu Yasha would be
an interesting pairing, and I agree- and I've never
seen it done. The only way I can see it, though, is
if Kagome never existed in Inu Yasha's world... so
let's see what I can do, ne?

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Episode One: The Boy Who Was Sealed and the Taijiya
"It is to be remarked that a good many people are born
curiously unfitted for the fate waiting them on this
earth."
-Joseph Conrad
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The attractive taijiya wasn't what Kaede had been
expecting when she had sent away for a youkai
exterminator, but she had learned over the years that
looks could be deceiving. The girl bore herself
well, and her weapons were well taken care of. Even
though the youngster looked like she hadn't yet
reached twenty, there was a confidence to her bearing
that gave the village miko the sense that she could,
indeed, help with the trouble that had come home to
roost on them.

The small youkai cat that balanced on her shoulder,
though, was certainly an interesting touch. Kaede
knew that some youkai, a very few, were of some help
to humans, and a taijiya, of all people, was likely to
have their aide. Kaede stood in the center of the
village as the young woman approached, her face masked
and her deep brown eyes serious, yet not grim.

The villagers were fanned out beside their miko,
willing to let Kaede be their spokeswoman. Kaede
stepped forward, using her bow as a staff. She hated
to admit that she was getting old, but age came to
everyone. "I'm Kaede, the miko who sent for you,"
she said.

"Sango. The taijiya village sent me to deal with
your youkai problem," she said, nodding to the miko
respectfully. Her long ponytail bobbed up and down.

Kaede ignored the whispers about a woman being sent
to do a man's job. "I assume you've experience, since
you were sent by yourself?"

"I've been doing solo operations since I was
thirteen," Sango replied. Her hand fell to her neck
and she seemed to toy with a charm she wore under her
armor for a second. "Aside from my father, I'm the
top taijiya in my village." There was no challenge in
Sango's tone, only statement of fact.

"And your village produces the best taijiya known,"
Kaede said, smiling slightly.

�Yes. What�s your problem?� Sango wanted to know.
�All your messenger could tell me was that there was a
youkai here.�

Kaede sighed. �There�s a large youkai here, one
known as Mistress Centipede� in my younger days, I
could have dealt with her� but age has gotten the
better of me. And I have no successor to take my
place.�

Sango sized up the aged miko with a quick glance, one
with no judgement or condemnation in it. �Where is
this youkai?� she asked.

The villagers exchanged glances. �She was last seen
in Inu Yasha�s forest, near where Inu Yasha himself is
sealed.�

The taijiya was apparently well-versed in her youkai
lore. �Inu Yasha?� she echoed. �There isn�t any
danger of his seal being broken, is there?�

�Kikyou�s dying seal?� Kaede said, and then sighed
softly. �It can never be broken. She placed the
last of her power in it, and Kikyou was one of the
most powerful mikos to ever walk the earth.�

Sango seemed satisfied at that. �That�s reassuring
to know� from what I heard, Inu Yasha was a wild one.�
She hitched her boomerang up over her shoulder and
looked over the forests surrounding the village.
�Which way to Inu Yasha�s Forest?� she asked.

�Let me saddle a horse and I�ll guide you there.�

Fifteen minutes later the two women were wandering
through the forest. Villagers had volunteered to
join them, not wishing to endanger their miko, but
Sango had declined their offer, knowing that they
would likely get in the way. �Inu Yasha� I�ve heard
stories of him before�� Sango murmured, more to
herself then to Kaede.

Kaede looked over at the masked girl. �The stories
don�t do him justice. He was complex� arrogant,
clever and na�ve, strong and totally without manners�
I trusted him. So did Kikyou�. And it got her
killed.�

�Kikyou knew him?� Sango asked, surprised.

�Kikyou loved him� and then something went wrong. I
was never quite sure what- I was only about seven, so
she never told me everything, but he attacked our
village, and Kikyou. She was forced to Seal him, but
died from the wounds he gave her shortly after.�

Sango was quiet for a moment. �It�s odd to think
that legends were real people��

�Legends have to come from somewhere- and who knows?
You may someday be a legend yourself��

Sango laughed a little at that idea, scratching
Kirara�s neck lightly. �I don�t think I�d want to
be. Legends have a way of coming to tragic endings��

�Legends don�t get a choice.�

�Why are you telling me this?� Sango asked abruptly.

�I have the feeling you�ll need to know it� after
all, how many young girls are taijiya, have a youkai
as a friend, and have the Shikon no Tama around their
neck?�

Sango�s hand darted up to her necklace before she
relaxed. �You�re a miko- I should have known you
could see it.�

�After Kikyou died, I returned it to your village
since I had no idea what to do with it. I had
wondered what became of it.�

�It�s always entrusted to the strongest female
taijiya until she marries. When we find a strong
enough miko, we�re going to try to let her purify it�
but mikos who are powerful enough to do so are very
rare��

�Indeed. I-� Kaede began, but halted when she felt a
surge of youki. �There!� she said, pointing towards a
shadowing part of the forest.

Sango�s giant Hiraikotsu was spinning into the
darkness within moments of the warning. A shriek of
pain rewarded her efforts, and her eyes narrowed as
her weapon returned to her waiting hand. �Stay down!�
she hissed warningly at Kaede.

Kaede unlimbered her bow in response. �I may be
old, but I�m not totally useless,� she retorted. She
blinked her good eye, focusing on the area where she
had heard Mistress Centipede�s howl of pain come from.
Muttering to herself, she loosed the arrow, hoping
that it would fly true.

It didn�t.

Kaede cursed to herself and fumbled with a second
arrow, but wasn�t able to notch it on the string
before the huge youkai slithered out the forest. It
should have had six arms, but one of them had already
been sliced off by Sango�s attack, pissing it off.
Its long tail lashed out to where the women were
standing, obviously intending to kill them both.

Sango jumped up and grabbed onto a low-hanging tree
branch, and used it to propel her lithe body even
higher in the air to avoid the attack, yet she knew
that Kaede would never be able to get out of the way.
�Kirara!� she called desperately, hoping the cat
would be able to help.

The little cat went up in flames, transforming in to
the formidable fighting youkai that Sango considered
her closest ally. Even Kirara�s speed, though,
wasn�t enough to protect the miko.

The tail struck Kaede squarely in the chest, and
Sango watched in horror as the old woman went sailing
for ten feet before impacting into a large tree. The
youkai cat landed in front of it, snarling defiantly.

�Kirara! Protect Kaede!� Sango ordered. She had to
keep the miko safe, but she couldn�t do that and fight
at the same time- so that meant she�d have to play
distraction for awhile. �Oh, youkai!� she yelled,
throwing Hiraikotsu again at Mistress Centipede.
�Want another amputation?�

Mistress Centipede turned her attention from the
well-guarded miko to the taijiya. Sango�s brown eyes
grimly watched her deflect the boomerang with a handy
tree trunk, embedding it in the ground. She would
have sworn, but her father disapproved of women
swearing, and taught her never to do it. So instead,
she did what anyone with a shred of intelligence would
do.

She threw one of her smoke bombs into the monster�s
face and ran.

She had no clue where she was running to, except that
she needed to get away from Kaede so she could fight
more freely. Besides, she still had her sword, and a
few of the surprises she knew how to use to their best
advantage.

Sango ran quickly, keeping her breathing deep and
even. She hated running, but it wasn�t just her
involved in this battle- on her shoulders rested the
safety of the entire village. She had to stay calm�

She ran nearly a mile before she came a suitable
clearing. To her surprise, there was someone already
there, leaning against a tree. She was about to tell
them to get the hell out of there, when she noticed
the arrow protruding from his heart. This, then, was
Inu Yasha�s Sealing place.

None of the stories has ever said he was beautiful.
His long white hair blew gently around a handsome
human-appearing face in the night breeze, and their
was a sadness to his features that drew her to him.
He had been here, alone, almost forgotten for so long�
Even the dog ears on his head merely made him exotic,
rather then monstrous. Sango wondered what color his
eyes were.

She was surprised that the thought crossed her mind.
She was battling a youkai for her life, and here she
was, admiring a hanyou who had been Sealed for half a
century. She stared up at him, wondering if this was
what the other taijiya talked about when they spoke
about focusing on irrelevant things in stressful
battles to keep there sanity.

Was she going to die? She drew her sword, wondering
why Mistress Centipede was taking so long.

�Stupid human,� she heard a voice -a male voice!- say
from behind her.

Sango whirled around, presenting her sword in front
of her. �Inu Yasha!� she exclaimed.

His eyes were golden, she noted, as yellow as the sun
on a summer�s day. He looked at her with scorn.
�What are you doing, taijiya?�

He had noticed her outfit, and drawn the right
conclusion. �I�m fighting a youkai,� she said.

He sniffed derisively. �What? They send their
trainees off to stab youkai who are Sealed now?� He
reached out to pull out the arrow that was pinning him
down, but sparks of the Sealing energy blasted his
hand back. �Dammit!�

�No! I just had to switch battlefield- Mistress
Centipede injured my companion, and I had to draw her
away!� Sango said. She had no clue why she was
talking to Inu Yasha- her father had always warned her
that youkai that wore human forms were the most
dangerous� but she was nervous. She didn�t want to
die.

�Ah� the little girl can�t take it!� Inu Yasha
mocked.

�Shut up!� Sango snapped.

�Let me down and I�ll finished Mistress Centipede
off, one, two,� the hanyou said cheerfully, waving his
left hand to emphasize his point.

�And then I�d have to deal with you! No thanks!�

�I�ve never killed a human, and even in my time, she
had a very long list of kills to her name!�

�You killed Kikyou!� Sango said quickly.

She almost regretted it. Something flicked in his
golden eyes, something that resembled profound sorrow
and shock. Then a cocky smirk forced its way on to
his lips, showing off his fangs. �Ah? So the bitch
is dead? And I killed her? Quite an
accomplishment, eh?� he said.

�Killing someone is never an accomplishment,� Sango
retorted.

Inu Yasha�s ears flattened. �Oh, yeah? You�re
dressed like a taijiya! You make a living killing
people!� She opened her mouth to retort that youkai
weren�t people, but he interrupted her before she
could retort. �It�s coming.�

�Huh?� she said.

�Shikon no tama!� the monster declared.

Sango muttered a curse under her breath. Apparently
while she�d been running, Mistress Centipede had
sensed that she was carrying the Shikon no Tama.
That was a bad thing- it�d make the youkai that much
more motivated to kill her. She wished, not for the
first time in her life, that the taijiya village
policy hadn�t unloaded it on her. Sure, it was an
honor, but it was an honor that was likely to get her
killed.

�You have the Shikon no Tama?� Inu Yasha asked,
surprised. �Give it to me!�

�Over my dead body!� Sango snapped, then winced at
her poor choice of words.

�I think Mistress Centipede wants to arrange that for
you�� he pointed out.

�SHIKON NO TAMA!� Mistress Centipede struck like a
serpent, using her tail to squeeze Sango against the
tree. She tried to stab the youkai with her sword,
but lost her grip.

Sango found her body pressed against Inu Yasha, and
she was surprised that he felt just like a human,
although he was a little warmer. His scornful golden
eyes challenged her, and

�Free me, and I�ll deal with her!� Inu Yasha
promised.

` Never make a deal with a demon� her father had told
her. But she didn�t want to die�

She didn�t want to die�

�I WON�T DIE LIKE THIS!� she said fiercely. She had
to protect the shikon no tama! If she freed Inu
Yasha, she�d at least have a chance for another
battle� Her hand reached up and grabbed the shaft of
the arrow, and felt it dissolve at her touch.

The next minute was a blur for her. She felt the
pulse of his returning youki, heard his wild laughter
as he merrily slaughtered Mistress Centipede, and
found herself no longer constrained. Stumbling, she
managed to find her sword and pick it up.

Inu Yasha flexed his hands, showcasing his short
claws before he spun around to face her squarely.
�You have the Shikon no Tama!� he declared again.
�Give it to me and I might let you live!�

�It�s my sworn duty to defend it!� she snapped back.
�I freed you, that�s all! That should be enough!�
she said, even though she knew it wouldn�t be- not for
a hanyou.

�Then I�ll just have to kill you and take it from
your dead body!� he said, sounding almost gleeful.

Sango, deprived of her Hiraikotsu, knew that she had
only one chance- she had to kill Inu Yasha, and she
only had her sword to do it with- and she was, at
best, a mediocre swordswoman. She heard him chuckle
and watched him flex his claws� and knew this would be
the battle of her lifetime. Sango only hoped it
wouldn�t be her last.

END EPISODE ONE

No clue if I�m going to do more of this or not- I
highly doubt it. I love the concept, but it doesn�t
seem to be flowing right for me. So unless things
change, this is a concept fic, rather than an episodic
one.

=====
Heroes rise, heroes fall Rise again, win it all In your heart, can't you feel the glory? 
<A href="http://www.midnightrevolution.org/gundam">http://www.midnightrevolution.org/gundam</A>
<A href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quicksilver/">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quicksilver/</A>

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