First things first... Author's Rant: First of all, I would like to tell you a little bit about this fic--or, more precisely, what you won't be seeing in it. What it will not be, is precisely this: There will be absolutely no citrus or even hints thereof, I am so sick of smut I could puke. There will be no crossovers, of these I also tire. It is completely of this universe, the AU Inuyasha fics on the Internet seem to have grown to such a number that I daresay they may one day soon outnumber the stories that stick to the correct plotline...and those tired old Prince/Princess stories are really starting to wear me out... And I mean absolutely nothing personally against those people who write them, I just fail to see how that is Fanfiction and not simple use of an otherwise perfectly beloved character to promote an original idea that would never work in their existing storyline. -_- Cue flame... ::sigh:: Okay, in any case, what this fic will be, is this: It will be, in its entirety...very long, for one thing. Also, it will take place in such a period of time so as not to disrupt the natural flow of the ongoing storyline. It will end up being quite Miroku-centric, as there are far too few good stories out there about our favorite sukebe houshi. It will be a strict and solid Sango/Miroku relationship-building storyline, and there will be a nice helping of Sango/Miroku WaFFiness to it come later chapters. Don't worry, I've thrown in some Inu/Kagome, for the sake of conformity, though it seems they get more than their fare share. ::pout:: All right, now that I have gotten that off my chest, on to more interesting things, like the story. What say you? Shall we? Disclaimer: Inuyasha does not belong to me. He belongs to Takahashi Rumiko-sensei. ::bows repeatedly to Takahashi's greatness:: ::pause:: Well...actually, I guess Inuyasha technically belongs to Kagome, if you really think about it...but you know what I mean. He's not mine, so don't sue me, cuz all you'll get is ::checks pockets:: some lint and an old gum wrapper. ~_~ Omoide no Mori Forest of Memories prologue: *Prelude to a Mess*         "Umi ni ochita hari no you ni..."         A soft and lilting female voice floated ethereally through the woods that night, as airy and light as the mist that clung near to the ground, embracing the long, dew-drenched grass as if in fear of floating away into the black velvet sky. The air was cool and crisp, as was to be expected for that time of year, and the few leaves that lingered on the trees were already dampened with moisture, though the sun was far from rising, the sky a deep and consuming indigo, like inked velvet.         "Uchi no namida yobi kakeru..."         The sad lyrics hung thick in the air like a soliloquized fog, the solemn melody weaving almost tangibly around the trees and seeming to entrance the very forest with its somber strains, capturing the forest in a tangled net of unearthly harmony and enrapturing the night in its yearning melody.         There was no moon, only a million stars to break through the darkness that night, their twinkling light fixated on the earth below, as if the stars themselves were spellbound by the song thrumming through the trees. They sparkled down upon the planet like a thousand glittering eyes searching for the body that could hold such a voice.         "Mizu no ue no yoru..."         Kshash, kshash, kshash.         There was the sudden sound of footsteps over the dry, fallen leaves and, had the moon been there to cast them, a dozen eerie shadows would have danced across the ground as a cloaked figure ran, barefoot, through the chilly night air. He was of average size, but his clothes made him look stockier than his slender form truly was, and his long hair shone like the blackest hematite in the starlight. His cherry-red cloak was dark maroon in the pale blue light of that chilly midnight, and the string of blue-black beads he wore around his neck glinted beneath the stars on the moonless eve.         "Tsubasa hiroge ikou, futari de..."         His purple-gray eyes snapped open wide, and he came to an abrupt halt in the middle of a clearing as the voice grew louder.         "Sou chikau yo..."         He frowned.         He felt he knew this song...the plaintive and wistful solo seemed to stir memories of something long forgotten... But...what was it? It was slow and sad...soothing as it was eerie, like some sort of ghostly lullaby.         The figure in red whirled suddenly, his keen senses alert to any sounds, any movement.         Someone was nearby.         He gasped softly as he noticed a pair of bright blue eyes peering at him from the obscurity of the night, shimmering in the darkness like blue glass marbles. They were the color of the sky, of the rain, a blue like he had never seen before.         Funny, he thought.         The eyes stood out so in the night that they seemed illuminated from within. Where did the light come from?         "Hn?"         A wordless sound of confusion escaped the figure's lips as the eyes narrowed mischievously. There was a high, girlish giggle, like the sound of a crystalline bell, and then there was a flash of white light, and the figure gasped audibly as a searing pain ripped across his chest, razor-sharp claws raking over his skin through the bright red cloak he wore.         "Sou chikau yo..."         He staggered backward--one step, two--clutching his chest, doubled over, wheezing in pain.         What the--?         He dropped to one knee, his silvery eyes blazing in anger, confusion, and agony.         "D...Doushite...?" he rasped. "Why...?"         The blue eyes remained disembodied, seeming to float within the foliage of the forest, and their edges crinkled again in a smile.         "Ashita ni nareba, daremo wasurete'ru..." the voice sang, and giggled again.         Then the eyes changed drastically, the smiling sparkle fading to a severe glare, an intense gaze that left the figure feeling powerless. The voice was heard again, but spoken this time, in a tone that could have stopped the bravest of men dead in their tracks.         It swirled around him from all angles, from all sides but from nowhere, from inside his skull and from every point around him. From the purple velvet sky and the cold ground beneath him the voice came, echoing eerily off the inside of his head, then dying away in a final ethereal whisper...         "Ki wo tsukete kudasai...Hanyou Inuyasha..." *         "Gyaah!"         With a short, startled yip, Inuyasha sat bolt upright, leaning forward on the branch of the tree in which he was perched, a cold sweat drenching his brow. He slapped his hands over his chest, checking for the wound that had felt so real only a moment ago...         Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he relaxed--but only a little. While his bright red cloak was certainly in tact, he had been so sure only a moment ago...         He shook his head.         What in the world was that all about? he wondered, his heart still pounding in his throat. It had been quite a while since Inuyasha had dreamed at all...much less had a nightmare.         And he was certain he had never had one so frightening as to startle him awake with his heart in his throat and a scream upon his lips.           Ki wo tsukete kudasai...Hanyou Inuyasha...           The cold voice of the bodiless eyes in the woods still resounded in his mind.         'Watch my back'? he thought. Whatever for? What am I supposed to be watching out for? Being careful of?         He cast his eyes to the East and saw that the sky was turning a greenish tint with the rising of the sun. He shifted and leapt lightly to the ground, sitting on his knees with his palms flat against the dirt as he stared at the bare earth between his clawed fingers. Taking a deep breath to slow his racing heartbeat, he ran his hands through his scruffy silver hair, then got to his feet. He padded silently over to a stream babbling nearby, and dropped back down to his knees. After a brief pause, he leaned forward to gaze at his reflection in the water.         He blinked slowly, then gave a sly half-grin at his reflection. Even after being startled awake, and not getting as much sleep as he would have liked...he was still a handsome devil.         Well, half-devil, as it were.         ...         Half-demon, to be exact.         Inuyasha surely had the strength and stamina of a demon, he took punishment better than some full demons he knew. The fury and ferocity of his daiyoukai father's bloodline ran strong through his veins...diluted, however, by the mortal blood of his human mother...         He cursed that half of him, he always had. The half of him that was fragile...breakable...the half of him that was...well, human. He would have given just about anything to be rid of the troublesome frailties of that half of his ancestry...         Fair-skinned, with silver-white hair and dark eyebrows that always seemed pointed downward, giving him a serious, severe, or sometimes even downright mean look to him, Inuyasha carried an air of determination and confidence, if not a mild overtone of snide sarcasm. A pair of pointed silver ears crowned his head, poking out of his thick hair, and his golden eyes radiated a fiery spirit surely equal to that of any full demon.         He really wasn't as mean as those eyes might have suggested. He was certainly prone to violent mood swings, and he definitely had a nasty temper sometimes, but--while his attitude may have needed a few slight readjustments--he was really a pretty nice guy deep down.         But, of course...he wasn't going to let anyone else know that... Lord only knew what sort of reputation he might gain if word got out!         He shook his head again, quickly, as though clearing his thoughts. Reaching down, he cupped some of the stream water in his clawed hands, and splashed his face with it. He gasped audibly--damn, the water was cold this morning! He glanced up as a leaf dropped silently into the stream, floating down the current like a tiny boat. He eyed the gold and crimson leaves on the forest trees and smiled. Fall was well underway, that was for certain. The forest floor was already buried beneath a blanket of dried leaves, and the morning air was crisp with the smell of frost. Inuyasha's sensitive nose tingled in the chilly air, and a silly grin spread across his face.           He loved autumn. It was the time of year where everything just felt...ready to run. After the dreadfully hot stagnancy of summer, the refreshing cool of autumn was absolutely rejuvenating.           Rubbing his hands vigorously over his face in an effort to wake up, the hanyou balanced on his toes in a crouch and gazed up above him, staring at the stars that were fading quickly with the rising of the sun.         He looked skyward and his eyes met the pale light from the thin sliver of moon riding high in the heavens. A frown slid across his face. The moon was fading quickly with the rise of the daystar to the East. It always seemed to disappear so fast in the morning, he mused, as though it simply couldn't tolerate existing in the same sky with something so bright and ostentatious as the sun. He grumbled as the last hint of its silvery crescent of luminescence died away.         Tonight would be the First Night.         The New Moon.         Feh!         His least favorite time of month...even in autumn...         His eyes moved back to the stream, and he watched the water move like liquid glass over the silty creek bed, rippling ever so slightly over the small imperfections along the bottom and sliding gracefully over the rocks that stood as obstacles in the water's path. His fingers twitched, and he impulsively stuck his arm out to trail his fingers in the chilly water--         --and a pair of glass blue eyes snapped suddenly into his consciousness, narrowed in a gleeful leer, a high tinkling giggle ringing in his ears, a haunting melody dancing at the corners of his consciousness.           "Gyaaahh!"           With a cry, he pitched backward onto his rump.         "Ittai nanio??" he cried, squeezing his eyes shut. "What the hell--?"         He let out a yelp of pain and confusion, his hands clawing at his temples as the sinister female's laughter jarred his mind, blocking out all other sound, all other sight, until he heard nothing else, saw nothing else...         ...and then came the silence...and the darkness...as the world before him seemed to vanish, the colors of the morning swirling together in a whirlwind of shades of gray before fading to an empty black nothingness, broken only by the ghostly, melodic strains of the ethereal lullaby.... *    *    * Darkness on the edge Shadows where I stand I search for the time On a watch with no hands I want to see you clearly Come closer than this But all I remember Are the dreams in the mist...                                               ~Heart *    *    * Author Notes: Konnichi wa, minna! Welcome to Omoide no Mori. I hope everyone's up for a long ride, this fic is not yet complete and has already surpassed 100,00 words and a meg and a half in memory. @_@ Oh, and by the way, if you have no idea what the lyrics to that creepy little song Inu was hearing meant...don't worry, you're not supposed to. And...if you did...well, then, kudos. ^_^ Anyway, enough of my nonsense, on to more important things... *Spoiler Warning* Inuyasha is available in the US, but only dubbed as far as I know...which is so sad I won't even get into it. >_< Point being that this awful dubbing and lack of fansub availabiliy, as well as Viz's monopoly over the comic book worls and complete inability to leave any of the Japanese awesome-ness to the comicbooks...brings about the small trouble of spoilers. Hai, hai, I know that this doesn't really mean much to the rabid otaku community, I know a lot of you thrive on spolers, and I'm sure a lot more of you have been keeping up-to-date with the episodes being released in Japan, anyway, but I supposed it was only fair to mention that this story will contain spoilers for the later manga volumes and/or animé episodes. If you haven't read through tankoubon volume 21 or further, or if you have not seen episode 60 or beyond, you might want to prepare to have some stuff spoiled for you. There will also be a couple spoilers for the first movie, Toki wo Koeru Omoi, in this story. If you haven't seen this yet, you really ought to, it's great. They're selling it on Ebay for like...$15, so go nab yourself a copy, you won't be disappointed. ^_~ Furthermore, if you haven't read the latest manga translations...what's your excuse?? Head over to Sengoku o-Togi Zoushi for the latest chapters straight from Shounen Sunday! Good stuff, I tell ya...good stuff. ^_^ *Glossary of Terms* Before we get started, allow me to state that I use a lot of Japanese terminology in my fanfiction. And, before anyone gets concerned about reading a fanfic with lots of inserts of a language they do not speak, allow me to state that I think I make it a relatively painless process to do so. I make a point to make it rather easy to decipher the meaning of any term I put in my writings by looking at the context in which it is used. All Japanese terms will be italicised, and most of the time, I put the translation of the word or phrase somewhere very soon after it is said, so if you pay attention, you should have no trouble at all... For anyone who does have trouble, fret not, there shall be a glossary of terms at the end of each chapter. I like putting the Japanese in the fic, I think it adds to the authenticity of the story... Sorta like fansubs, and all their typos and missing subs here and there, they kinda make you think. What a sad world it would be if all the animé fanfics were in straight English! ::covers face in woe:: All right, enough ranting from hikari. Here is the glossary for this chapter and the one before. The words are in order of appearance. The lyrics to the song that Inuyasha was hearing in his dream is something you will not see translated until the end of the story though, as it has more significance that way. Sorry, be prepared for many a good old-fashioned cliffhanger in this story. >:} Kukukuku... I am assuming we all know the Inuyasha basics, like youkai, hanyou, Shikon no Tama, etcetera, so those will not be translated here. doushite: As Inuyasha proceeds to say, this is how one would ask, "why?" "Ki wo tsukete kudasai...Hanyou Inuyasha...": Literally translates to "Please be careful, Half-demon Inuyasha...", but for the sake of drama, "Watch your back," seemed to fit better. daiyoukai: The prefix "dai" in front of any word basically just adds to the intensity of the emotion or the severity of the object. So, daiyoukai basically translates to "great youkai", or, as I have seen translated elsewhere, Demon Lord. I like how that sounds. ^_^ Ittai nanio??: Quite literally, actually, "What the hell??", as our potty-mouthed half-breed proceeds to reiterate. Those were pretty easy, ne? ^_^ So how so you like it? Drop me an email and let me know! Make my day, come on, you know you want to! ^_~ And so, without further ado... ...we move on... ::evil cackle:: Muhuhahahahahaha! ~~hikari