Hey everyone! Sorry to tell you but I've deleted my story "Final Battle". I've lost interest in it, so I've decided to start a new story that's much better! This is just an introductory chapter so review it and I might write some more!

Prelude

She had been running for hours now, yet to her it felt as though days had passed. Nothing but the dense forests of the Eastern Lands surrounded her and her only possession was the young baby strapped to her chest in a make-shift sling; a chest that heaved with exhaustion as the desperate mother ran from an enfolding darkness. Trees and bushes were pushed away as she continued to run, all the while, two thin rivers of blood soaked through her thin kimono. The setting sun was ahead of her, lighting her way towards safety and a slimy blackness enveloped where the warm rays touched only minutes before. Like the sun, her light is slowly fading into a faint shine on the horizon.

"Just a few more minutes, baby, and we'll be safe. He can't enter the Western Territory." The young woman panted to the wailing child. As she pushed on, the growing darkness followed steadily, intent on its prey. More and more lush trees faded into withered sticks and the pure light around the raven haired woman became a mere flicker of what it once was. Her running seemed endless and futile; the raging darkness was stronger and growing closer. Finally when all seemed lost, the forest gave way to a shallow valley: the border of the Western Lands. The woman smiled tiredly and pushed herself to run even faster.

'One more step…just past that marker…' She thought hopefully.

Suddenly a screeching cry ran out and a thick tentacle viciously whipped out, slashing the woman across her already bleeding back, causing her to stumble. The woman's bright eyes grew wide and she fumbled for the slings ties. Pulling her crying child away from the sling, she stretched out and lunged past the marker into the West. Slowing down, she stumbled over to a nearby tree and collapsed against it. Behind her, the darkness was stopped by an invisible force, one that threatened to burn it out of existence. Feebly, the woman looked down at her now silent child.

"Oh, my darling daughter, you're safe now. That monster cannot harm you within the Western boarders," she panted, her death, encroaching, "You can live free from our people's slavery and torment. The Western Lord will protect you."

Leaning down, she placed a kiss upon the infant's forehead, passing what remained of her powers to her daughter. Upon pulling away, the mother smiled: there now lay a mark to signify her child's status within the world.

"I love you…my sweet…sweet Kagome….forever and…always…"

Her dying words echoed serenely throughout the forest and floated upon a Lord's ears.

' So Gaia, you have passed on and left me your daughter to protect…this shall prove interesting.'

The Taiyoukai strode into the solemn clearing, not even glancing at the foul shadow. Picking up the baby girl in one arm and her mother's body in another, Inutashio turned and made his way home.