Tale of Two Souls by midnight_vanilla

Ambition

Tale of Two Souls
Chapter 1: Ambition

As far as anyone had known, the village had been lucky enough to avoid any type of aftermath from the war going on around them. Their village had to have been blessed, for no fighting was anywhere near the little village.

For years this continent has been engulfed in war. The Lord of the East has been trying to take over the Western Lands since before the war broke out. As of late, nothing had changed since everything first began. The Eastern Lands have slowly started taking over Western territory, but it wouldn't last. InuTaisho, or Toga, was the ruler of the Western Lands. There was no way he was going to give in that easily. His two sons ruled under him and had their own batch of warriors that followed them around and followed their every whim. But the Lord of the East had his own daughter and son, plus many others that ran the battle on the battlefield for him.

It was only time until something reared its' ugly head.

Only time.

The villagers had a plentiful amount of food to last for months, and with it being summer there was no sign of running out any time soon. If not for a few people's parents in the war, this village would have no idea of what was going on outside the village parameters.

Kagome stretched her arms out and sighed in content. It was another warm day.

She got up out of bed and threw on a yellow sundress and put her black hair back. She grabbed a piece of cloth from the floor and placed it over her arm.

"Mom, I'm going to the pond to bathe," she said as she walked into the room next to hers. "Don't wait up for me, I'll eat when I get back!"

Mrs. Higurashi glanced back and smiled at her daughter. "Okay, dear. Be careful." She turned back around and continued to do whatever she was doing before being interrupted.

The sun's heat came pouring down on her as she walked outside. It was a beautiful day, but a little hotter compared to usual. She shrugged off the thought.

"Kagome, where are you going?" questioned a younger boys voice.

Kagome sighed, looking over at her brother. "To bathe. It's really not that big of a deal. I'll be back before anyone even realizes I'm gone."

The young boy shook his head. "Don't let Grandpa see you, he'll never let you leave."

"That's if you don't tell on me again, Souta." She knelled down and ruffled his hair with her hands, a smile forming. "You got that?"

He pushed her away and looked away to make sure no one saw. "Sis, I told you not to do that in public..." His eyes flashed to the bucket of water real fast to check out the damage she did. Horrified, he stuck his hand in the water and ran his hands through his hair.

"Oh, please, who are you trying to impress, huh?" She had her hands on her hips.

Her younger brother blushed, tilting his head down as his eyes wandered the ground. "N-no one!"

She shrugged and continued on her way to the outskirts of the village. Three of the village soldiers stood guard by the gate, all heavily guarded if someone were to attack. When they heard her footsteps they glanced over at her, you could see the interest sparkling in their eyes. They didn't bother say a word to her until she was a few feet past them.

"Ye better watch out, girl," one of them spoke," there's been rumors going around that the Eastern Warriors are runnin' around."

The other soldier nodded his head. "I hear we're next," he hissed. His eyes wandered up and down her body before returning back to look at another villager coming their way.

"Even if we were to be attacked, wouldn't Lord Inuyasha or Lord Sesshomaru come and save the village?" another soldier asked. "Lord InuTaisho hasn't let any of the other villages down yet."

The one who spoke first snorted. "We're such a small village, those damn royal snobs wouldn't waste their time saving people like us," he spat. "To them we're nothin' but pawns in their little war. You'd be better off not going, but I know no one can stop a young women when she's got her mind set. Good luck to ya'."

"Uh, yeah. I'll remember that," she said quietly, as if whispering so no one else could hear her. Freaked out enough by the situation, she made her way to the pond without giving what they said too much thought.

She stripped down completely and jumped in, head first under water. No matter what anyone said, there was no way she was going to miss out on bathing. It was one of her favorite things to do in the morning, it was the only place she could be alone. Quite frankly, this was the most relaxing time of her day. Taking a deep breath she dove under again, emerging seconds later on the other side of the pond.

She sighed in complete bliss. Yet she could not help but think of what the village soldiers were conversing about earlier. Their tiny village was on the borderline of the Eastern Lands and the Western Lands, so she could only imagine they would be one of the first places to get hit by war. They were considered to be a part of the Western Lands, though. Somehow, their village was the only lucky one out of all the others that bordered the two warring lands. Maybe their time of peace was finally up, it sure did last long enough without seeing any bloodshed. The other villages who were conquered were mostly destroyed, but any of the humans that survived were taken hostage or as slaves to the Eastern Lands. The Eastern Lands were mostly full of demons, not counting the few human villages scattered throughout. The Western Lands had a lot more humans, due to their leader being mated to a human woman.

There was no way they'd find this place, right? Her view on everything was if it didn't happen already, it wasn't meant to happen.

She relaxed her body against the edge of the pond. Her mind was lost in thought. Her thoughts were immediately lost when she heard someone's voice. She peered up, scanning the area thoroughly with her eyes until they stopped on a lone man crawling towards the pond.

She looked at him skeptically. "Are y-you okay?" She spoke a little loudly, hoping the man heard her. Knowing it was in her best interest to get out, she climbed out as fast as she could and dressed.

"G-gir...g-girl fr-from earlier," he mumbled. He used his arms to pull him forward the rest of the way, his legs giving out underneath him. "Quick, the village...it's up in f...flames." His words became more jumbled as his face contorted with pain.

Kagome rushed over to the man, almost instantly realizing it was one of the soldiers that warned her earlier. "What do you mean, the village is in flames?" She lightly shook him to keep him awake. You could see his eyes start to close.

"It wasn't just a...rumor...they're taking everyone away..." He reached his hand out to her, like he was waiting for her to grab it and make all the pain go away. His hand lightly fell to his side and his breathing suddenly stopped.

She started to shake her head numerous times. "No, no, no, no!" Jumping up from her spot next to the fallen soldier she ran in haste back to the village.

As she neared the village, the smell of smoke consumed her senses. It was becoming hard for her to see, the smoke was like a giant cloud of fog keeping her from seeing ahead. The village came into her view, and so did the tragic sight in front of her. Houses were burned to the ground, plus all of the houses that were still burning. The villagers lay dead or almost dead on the ground, mothers and children included. She couldn't spot any of the Eastern soldiers. Noticing this must have happened right after she left to bathe.

Her eyes widened as she came to her own house. It was already burned to the ground, all you could see was the smoke wafting around in the breeze that blew by. Nothing made it through. Nothing.

She fell to the ground, pounding her fist against the dirt. "Dammit! If I would of just stayed at home like I was suppose to," her voice fell flat. And die like everyone else?

She could hear the sound of a horse trotting around, and there was no way she was going to die today. She scanned her surroundings and her eyes lit up as she saw a place to hide. Almost instantly she hid on the other side of the debris and watched. Two soldiers emerged from the smoke, and from the yellow markings on their armor, they were definitely of Eastern forces.

"I think we're done here," one said to the other.

"Did you scout the whole place out? I don't want any of them left alive. Those were our orders." The other one had a louder, more assertive voice. He had to be the leader of the group.

"Uh, no sir. I did not. I just assumed-"

"Don't you ever assume anything again. We can't let any of them get away, master's orders. And I heard that the War Lord Sesshomaru and his half-witted younger brother Inuyasha have been seen in these areas as of late. I'm sure they'll be coming here soon, and we can't have anyone alive to tell what happened now can we?" His voice sent shivers down her spine. Kagome did not like this man at all.

"No, sir."

"Good, if anyone is to find out what really happened, it'd spoil our Lord's devious plan." He grabbed onto the horses reigns. "Dismissed!" With that they both rode off.

Mom, Souta, Grandpa...I'll find out what's going on and help stop this war. I have to, for you guys. She shook her head, trying to dry the tears from her eyes. She couldn't show weakness, not now. She had to be strong if she was going to survive this on her own. She peered out past all the wreckage and out into path that led to the next village. If I heard them correctly, the two brothers of Lord InuTaisho should be around here. Maybe if I find them I can sneak into their group.

She nodded, happy with the choice she made. If she could do that, from there on she could think of her next plan of action. She fingered the jewel that hung around her neck, it was a gift from her mom. It was a beautiful circled jewel, said to have been passed down many generations. The only memory left of her family.

Taking in a deep breath, she moved forward.