InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Mutt's Tail ❯ A Summary of Meiken's Life ( Prologue )

A Mutt's Tail

Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha or any characters from the show/manga that may appear in this fic…please…don't sue…I'm broke. *pulls out pants pockets and a moth flies away*

Prologue

Aiken was the prize inu youkai bitch of the powerful miko Higurashi family. She ran off one day trying to escape her enslavement to the humans but fate was not kind. She came across a kitsune and due to their heat cycles overlapping they started the battle with the intent to kill and ended up mating. Aiken became pregnant and died delivering four pups. Three males and one female.

In the five days after her death the other youkai of the Higurashi estate took care of the pups. But a female wolf youkai had given birth too and her desire to protect her male pups overcame her mercy and she killed the three males. The female pup was saved by the fact the Higurashi's had two young daughters, Kikyo and Kagome. Kagome fell in love with the spotted pup and took her in as a pet. But it was Kikyo who named the pup.

With a dark heart and a dry sense of humor, Kikyo named the female pup Meinu, but kind and sweet Kagome called her new pup Meiken. Meinu Meiken was the only youkai on the Higurashi estate that was truly free in any sense. She still wore a heavy iron collar, but she was allowed to go the furthest unattended.

From the moment Meiken could walk she followed Kagome around, helping and protecting the powerful young miko from anything that crossed her path. Meiken was as fast and clever as a kitsune with the strength and loyalty of the finest line of inu youkai. Her only true markings that gave away her youkai blood in human form were her pointed ears, fangs, glowing blue eyes, and three large auburn spots. One over her left eye, one over her right side, and one over her tail base.

As Meiken grew into adulthood her habits changed, she hunted during the night and slept or followed Kagome during the day. She was the primary food bringer of the house. The pack of wolves under the control of the Higurashi mikos only could hunt in the day in a limited area, but Meiken was free to wander farther during the night when most animals were unsuspecting.

All the demons of the Higurashi estate hated Kikyo, she was dark and wicked to them, but as much as they hated Kikyo, they loved Kagome, she was pure, sweet, and treated them more like people than slaves. Kikyo tortured and punished the youkai that were rebellious. The wolf youkai that fought the Higurashis, the stumbling wind youkai that could not keep the house and yards clean, the hanyous that worked as servants and often disobeyed orders, and the other youkai that tended the fields, the only one that had never faced Kikyo's wrath was Meiken and she intended to remain that way.

In Meiken's sixteenth year a great war raged between the youkai of the Western Lands and the humans of the Eastern and Northern Lands. The battles were great and soon mikos were called to help. Kagome, the more powerful with controlling demons refused to fight, but Kikyo, the more power hungry jumped at the chance and left home at the age of twenty to fight the youkai. For four years Meiken's life was simple and happy, the lives of all the youkai on the Higurashi estate brightened as Kagome treated them well, helped the crops reach previously unachieved quantities, and healed thousands of people.

In Meiken's nineteenth year Kagome began to suggest to her inu companion to consider taking a mate. Meiken only had limited options, there were only wolf youkai on the estate and the other youkai were frightened of all canine youkai, including the inu-kitsune mutt, even if Meiken was just as kind and generous as Kagome. Meiken decided to wait until she was older to mate, a decision that seemed to sadden Kagome, who was engaged to marry a priest's son by the name of Hojo. Meiken promptly forgot about the mate business, continuing her life of sleeping in Kagome's room or following Kagome in the day and hunting at night.

In Meiken's twentieth year, Kikyo returned….that is where our story begins, just as Meiken saw it.

*****

Vocab

Aiken - pet dog

Meinu - bitch, female dog

Meiken - fine dog