Learning to Love by Ikaru

The History, The Fight, and The Compromise

OK guys here it is the first chapter, hope you like it.

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Once upon a time....

Demons of all shapes and sizes roamed the land. Some were intelligent, while the rest were nothing more than mindless monsters, relying only on their baser instincts to survive. Those are the demons that give the rest a bad name. Another thing that you should be aware of is that the mindless demons cannot love, they know only hate. It is said that at one time the intelligent demons had the ability to love, but their hearts have long since turned to ice, no longer able to feel the warmth of such emotions.

Humans have hated demons since the beginning of time. Their hatred is so great that they kill any demon they find on site using the "kill now ask questions later" ideology. Children, both boys and girls, are taught from birth to hate demons, and as soon as they turn five years old they begin their training to learn how to protect themselves as well as their villages from demon attacks.

The gods have been watching things escalate for years, and they have finally decided that enough is enough. In order to end the fighting between the races a demon prince must learn to love, and a warrior princess must learn not to hate. They must come together as one to stop all of the fighting with a love that has been forbidden since the beginning of time.

However, the moment the gods looked away to ponder on the finer details, the two that they had chosen had met on the battle field and begun an intense battle, both intent on killing the other. The gods immediately sent down a strong messenger to stop them. It was at that moment that they realized that they would have to put them into a situation where they would have to rely on each other in order to push their hatred for each other to the side.

Before the battle, on the earthly plain, a young maiden is walking through the woods heading back home from visiting her grandmother in a near by village. The young maiden is carrying a sword on her waist, and a bow along with a quiver full of arrows on her shoulder. Her waist length jet black hair, that had a blue hue to it when the sun shown on it, was tied in a low ponytail at the center of her back. Her slim body was hidden by her demon hide armor, and her small feet were clad in black leather boots. Her hands, face, and neck were the only flesh you could see. Her most prominent feature, however, were her sapphire blue eyes with flecks of gold throughout them.

On her journey through the woods, she came upon a meadow, and in the meadow she found a demon kneeling before a something. The demon had his back to her so all she could make out of him was his long silver hair and the fact that he had blood on his claws from, what appeared to be, a deer carcass in front of him. He had apparently killed it a while ago, because there wasn't much left. She saw his back go ridged and immediately put her guard up. The demon gracefully stood up and turned around. He was very tall, around 6'2", she guessed, he had a very handsome face, with eyes the color of cool amber. Above his eyes appeared to be a thin streak of blood red eye shadow, she knew it was actually a part of him though because he was a demon. He wore loose, white, pants with a matching shirt. The only armor he wore was a chest plate made of demon hide.

He looked her up and down, and decided that she was of little threat to him. He wiped a thin trail of blood, that had started to trickle down to his chin, away with his finger, and then licked the finger clean. He was paying very little attention to the maiden at this point, and turned to leave when a dagger flew by his face cutting his cheek deep enough that a thin trail of blood oozed out of the small cut. He immediately spun around and let a vicious growl escape his throat.

"Don't turn you back on your enemy, demon. Next time, I won't miss." The maiden said, with venom dripping off every word.

He looked at her slightly confused that she choose to speak to him, rather than simply attack. Most of the humans that came after him did that, and he disposed of all of them easily, he realized that this woman was different from the others. She had been trained far better. She also had enough honor not attack an enemy while there back was turned. True she had attacked, but it was only to get his attention. This little slip of a woman had earned something that few beings, most especially humans, had ever earned. She had earned a little respect from him, and because of this he would grant her a warrior's death. All of the other humans disgraced themselves, so he would hunt them down, play with their emotions for a while until they were so frightened that they jumped at every little sound. Then he would kill them.

"What is your name human?" He asked in a deep, smooth voice, that sent shivers up and down her spine.

She was also confused that he choose to speak, but she didn't let her guard down. She did decide to answer him, though. He had also earned a little respect from her by not attacking like a mindless beast.

"My name is Kagome, Princess of the Southwestern Domain, the very land you now stand upon. Now, what is your name demon? I can tell you are one of the few intelligent ones, therefore you must have a name." She said with a little respect filtering into her voice. Any of the intelligent demon deserved some respect any how, because they could control their baser instincts.

"My name is Sesshoumaru, demon Prince of the Western domain. Now that the pleasantries are over, little one, I will grant you a warrior's death." He said in the same smooth voice. He knelt forward, stretched out his right arm and cracked his knuckles, ready to strike. When he blinked, though, she was gone! He jumped into the air, but felt a sharp pain in his side. When he looked down, he saw a dagger handle sticking out of his side. It hadn't hit any major organs, but as he pulled it out he realized it was going to bleed quite a bit before his healing abilities kicked in. He cursed under his breath, and began his search for the human princess. The second he looked down to the ground, however, an arrow came from the bushes toward his heart! Quickly dodging, he realized that he had been right, she had been trained well, extremely well.

Staying in the air was only proving to be a disadvantage, seeing as the girl appeared to be a master archer, so he quickly descended to hid behind a tree. He had, at first, underestimated this girl, that wasn't going to happen again. He decided to end this quickly. She had already drawn blood twice. There wasn't going to be a third. He sniffed the air, to determine her location. Once he had found her, he drew his sword and used his demonic speed to get to her, but she was ready for him. Their swords connected with a mighty clang of metal on metal. She held her own against him for a few moments, then they both broke apart, then dove at each other again with the same results. He realized that she was also a gifted swordswoman, because she was matching him blow for blow, and his respect grew just a tiny bit more. After about ten minutes, he had decided that enough was enough, all he had managed to do in that time was cut her sleeve, she wasn't even winded yet! She almost didn't seem human. Her speed, stamina, and strength far surpassing any human he had ever met.

'It's time to end this, once and for all.' They both thought in unison. Then they charged at each other, but before their blows could meet a blinding light shot down from the sky causing both worriers to jump back and go on the defensive. When the light faded, a beautiful woman with long, wavy, blond hair, a flowing white tunic, and a large set of glistening pure white wings, stood before them.

"That is enough, your fighting must stop," said the tennyo in a calm but stern voice. At this, both warriors dropped their weapons as if in a trance. Looking satisfied that the two combatants were now calm the tennyo continued.

"My, my. You two gave the gods a scare there for a moment, said the tennyo with a bit of humor in her voice, my name is Ericka. I almost thought I wouldn't get here in time to stop you two."

"And why, prey tell, would the gods want to stop us? Humans and demons have been killing each other for years and the gods haven't lifted a finger to stop them. So why so interested now?" said Sesshoumaru in a low, humorless voice. He was still kind of miffed that the fight had been interrupted.

"Right to the point, I see. Well I was sent here to stop you two from killing each other and to answer the questions that you both have so, I suppose that I had better get started. You both don't realize it, but you both are the most influential among you respective species. Kagome, you are the strongest and most skilled worrier of your race, the same goes for you Sesshoumaru. Beyond your combative abilities though lies something far greater. Kagome you are the kindest, most loving human in this land filled with hate, but since birth your eyes have been clouded by an extreme hatred, you must learn to see with eyes not clouded by hate. Sesshoumaru, for centuries you kind have roamed this land lacking a crucial emotion. The lesser of your species never had the ability to start with. The ones like you did, but chose to lock it away behind a shield of impenetrable ice. That emotion is love. You were never taught how to love just like the rest of your kind, because over the centuries your kind have all forgotten. Now to your questions Sesshoumaru. The gods did not intervene before this because they had hoped that the races would eventually work things out on their own, but sadly they did not. Things have only escalated over the years, and now they are heading down a path of complete annihilation. The gods decided to stop you two because you two have the ability to stop them and set them on the right path again. You may not believe me but in the beginning of time, humans and demons lived together in peace and harmony." Ericka took on a wistful look of remembrance at that point.

"But if humans and demons once lived together in peace, then what happened to shatter that peace and turn them into mortal enemies like they are today?" Kagome asked, confusion written plainly on her face.

This knocked Ericka out of her daydream, "Huh. Oh! Yes, yes, please forgive me. The situation that started all of this is not what you might expect. Your probably thinking that one race thought themselves better than the other, right?" Both gave one quick nod to show that was what they were both thinking. "Well that is not it, it was actually inadvertently started by the gods themselves, all will be explained in a few minutes so save your questions till the end, OK? As I was saying, the gods inadvertently caused this whole mess. The gods all worked together in unison to create everything you see around you, but one of the gods was not a peaceful being like the others, his name was Demitris. While he helped to create everything, he was jealous of the other gods because they got all of the offerings, prayers, and followers. While he got nothing, but scorn and ridicule, because he was a god of the underworld, nobody wanted to praise him. The other gods tried to reason with him but it was no use, he was too blinded by jealousy to see any reason. So he went to the Earthly plain, and took the control from the weaker demons, letting their baser instincts run free. Then he set them loose on the mortal world, causing chaos and bloodshed. This developed the hatred and fear that Demitris had grown to crave, and feed upon. The other gods saw what he had done, and in their rage they destroyed him, but by then it was too late. The damage had been done, so all they could do was sit, watch, and hope that the world would come to it's senses. They have waited all of this time, hoping things would return to the way they used to be, but again sadly it has not. Demitris handy work can still be seen today, in the form of the lesser demons. The gods could not figure out what Demitris did to them, so therefor they couldn't reverse the affects on them." Ericka looked at them expectantly, silently giving them permission to ask questions.

"What are we supposed to do? This job seems too big for just two people." Kagome said.

"Unfortunately, that is the one question that I cannot answer, the answer lies in the both of you. That is all that is all that I am permitted to say on that question." And Ericka fell silent again.

"I will not work with a human, I don't see why we should have to clean up the gods mess." said Sesshoumaru calmly.

"However strange it sounds, I agree with him. I will not work with a demon, nor do I believe it is our responsibility to clean up the gods mess. It's just not possible for two people to change the whole world." Kagome said determinedly.

"We thought you would say something to this affect, but it matters not. You two have been chosen to reunite the world, and until such time as you two learn to stop hating each others race, and each other for that fact, you will be put into a situation in which you will have to rely on each others strengths in order to survive." And with that the Ericka lifted her hands above her head, and another white light enveloped all of them, temporarily blinding the two earthly beings. When their vision had cleared, they saw that they were in a forest, but this one was different from the one that they were just in. They could also smell salt in the air, telling them that they were close to the ocean.

"I have brought you both to this island, in the middle of the sea. There is plenty of food to sustain you both for quite some time. There are also several readily accessible fresh water sources on this island, and plenty of wild game. Now to the conditions of your living here. Sesshoumaru, the only powers that remain to you are your demon healing ability, your speed and your claws. Kagome because you have no supernatural abilities to speak of you lose nothing there, you also get to keep your sword, and one dagger for the preparation of food and for protection against wild animals. Something you both must know now as well you can't kill each other, a special barrier has been placed over both of you to make that impossible, and should you try the punishment will be severe. Another thing, your lives are intertwined, for example if one dies the other will die also. On a less severe note if one is injured or feels pain then the other will feel it also. You both will have to rely on each other to survive. Oh and don't think you can just go to the other side of the island to get away from the other, the gods are keeping a close watch on the both of you, and will vary the distance you can stray from the other depending on the situation. So don't fret you will get your alone time while you are here. I'll be coming to check on you from time to time to see how things are going, I am your link to the gods, and the outside world from here. Kagome your family has already been informed of your delayed absence, so you needn't worry over that, the same for you Sesshoumaru." Ericka smiled. The two just frowned and gave her a nasty glare, boy if looks could kill, she would have been killed a thousand times over. "Well, good luck. You two are going to need it." Ericka said with a knowing smile, and flew into a white beam of light that had appeared from the sky.

This left the two all alone on the island, as soon as Ericka was gone they tried to attack each other again. It was then that they found out the consequences of this particular action. The second that their bodies met in an aggressive way, the point of contact burned like molten lava that quickly spread throughout their bodies, leaving them both on the ground writhing in pain, neither one cried out though. It took a good fifteen minutes for the pain to subside, and when it did they both sat up panting.

"Don't think I want to try that again." Kagome said between pants, her body twitching from time to time.

"On that matter I will agree with you. It would seem that that tennyo was not exaggerating her claims of our limitations." Sesshoumaru growled out, that was the most pain he had felt in centuries.

"You noticed how Ericka neglected to mention the punishments for these 'conditions' that have been set. It's as if the gods are playing with us. Well since we can't kill each other, shall we see how far apart we can go." Kagome suggested. Sesshoumaru just stood and started to walk off. He made it about thirty feet before something, that felt suspiciously like a collar, jerked him back roughly, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Well that answers that question, for now we may only go about thirty feet. We may as well find some shelter, it looks as though it is going to rain. I don't think this plan of the gods will work, but for now we have no choice, I am willing to compromise in order to survive, are you Sesshoumaru?" Kagome inquired, her voice strong and determined.

By this time, Sesshoumaru had stood up and was brushing himself off. He looked up at her, and debated her question in his head. Was he willing to work with a human in order to survive? If the earlier fiasco was any indicator, they didn't have a choice in the matter. His will to survive was strong ,and it beat down his demon pride. Reluctantly he nodded his head in acceptance of their truce.

"Very well then. Which direction do you recommend we take?" Kagome asked, she would have to rely on his sense of smell to avoid danger for the time being.

Sesshoumaru lifted his nose slightly in the air and scented for anything that could be harmful. He found nothing in the immediate vicinity, so he silently started toward the tree line of the forest, Kagome following shortly after.

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Mwahaha, yes i know evil lil cliffie. I hope to have the next chapter up soon. Also this length of a chapter is also pritty rare, i will try, but no guarantees K. This is my latest attempt at a fan fic so i hope you like it, reviews are always welcome, if you all have any ideas you want to see in here. send me an e-mail and i will see about incorporating them. You all know the drill now R&R. later

A/N: Next chapters title is Through The Woods To find Shelter.