InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Cinderyasha ❯ Inuyasha ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

A/N: Okay, yet ANOTHER story. And this is being written about a half-hour after I've finished the prologues of two other stories... sadly however, the login page on www.fanfiction.net wasn't loading. So, sorry for the delay. ENJOY!
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Chapter 1

Inuyashamy name is Inuyasha, do I sound all jolly and good to you? Hm...? Well, I should, because otherwise, my step-dad will threaten to throw me out of the house again. I always have to refrain from following the little voice in my head that says: 'Just beat him up.' My father would've killed my step-dad for me... and my mother would be very proud. But then again, if they were still alive, I wouldn't be in this situation.
Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let's start with the basics. As I said, my name is Inuyasha. I used to have a good father, and a very kind and caring mother. Except... one of them was demon and one of them was human.

The funny thing is, that instead of my mom dying first... my dad did. It was a stray bullet that did him in... and by itself, it wouldn't have killed him. But let's just say that he was already sick to begin with.

My mother was heart-broken, and we stayed together, her and I, for a few years... then she met HIM. The supposedly gentle, loving, Ryo. And my whole world was flipped upside down. She only saw his true colors afterwards... and then it was too late.

I often suspect that foul play was involved, seeing as how the doctors said that an alien substance was found in her blood. And who gave her, her last cup of tea? Guess. I dare you. Now you should understand why I hate him.

I was only 8 when my dad died, and 12 when my mom died. And now I'm 17.

My life is over, and not just because of my step-dad, either. I have a step- BROTHER, too. And he's awful. He always has this deadpan expression on his facial features... and he has this weird smile when he's angry. It's quite disturbing, plus he always beats up on me... okay, maybe I should delve down a bit deeper with this? My stepbrother is a full demon, and so is my step-dad... I guess my mom got a liking for youkai.

So, together with his father, Sesshoumaru has been bothering me lately. Which brings me back to where I was before. My step-dad wants me to pretend that I'm happy all the time. I mean... he doesn't want to lose the 'well-earned respect' of his 'business associates', now does he? He says that to me everyday... and frankly, I've gotten pretty tired of it.

Respect? How about ridicule... but no, not even that. Just, fear.

So there I was, sitting with my head bundled up in my arms, and despairing of the whole world, when something tapped lightly on my arm. I looked up warily, expecting a blow from a member of my 'ever-loving family.' But what came was, how shall I put it, unexpected...

I immediately fell off of my chair and onto the floor as I caught sight of a boy of around my age floating around two feet above the floor. I held my breath and studied him quietly.

He had smooth, dark brown hair that was pulled back tightly into a short ponytail at the base of his neck and intelligent violet eyes. From what I could discern, the strange boy would be around my height if he stood with his feet planted firmly on the ground, also, he seemed to have a hint of a womanizing smile on his lips, however, it was so faint that I realized that I must be imagining it.

"Wh- who are you?"

"My name is Miroku and I am your fairy godfather," he spoke eloquently, and as he continued, he pulled me from my perch on the ground. "You called for help, so here I am."

I dusted myself off and eyed Miroku warily, "Can you please stand on the ground normally? And also, I didn't call you, so you must have made a mistake. Anyway, I don't believe in fairies. In this world, demons and humans are prime, but nothing else. You must be some sort of... flying demon?"

At this Miroku laughed heartily, although his face turned ashen, "Flying demon? No, of course not. You better start believing in fairies... because I am one!" He floated calmly and gently to the ground and pressed further. "Believe me, I am. And... you did call me. Not necessarily verbally, but you called me with your soul. Hey! Don't look at me like that. I'm not spouting gibberish, it's all true!"

"Ri-ight... fine... I'll believe you for now, but if I called you subconsciously or whatever... then what did I call you for?"

Miroku promptly sighed and snapped his fingers, in his hands appeared to be many rolls of parchment. He flipped for a bit, mumbling, "Takashi, Inuyasha... T... T... Ah! There we go." He consulted the sheet that he had pulled out and muttered for a bit.

"What? MIROKU!"

"Huh? What? Oh... sorry. What you called me for is that you're unhappy that you have to stay with your step-family... also... there's something in there about two princesses, a magic ball (the dancing kind), and... A FAIRY GOD- MOTHER? Oh my god... look at those... mmm... scrumptious."

"Uh... what are you looking at?"

Miroku blushed a bit. "I'm just admiring her... her... so, how can I help you?"

I was dumbfounded to say the least. Here was this was weird, obviously perverted guy, who wanted to HELP? Well... any aid that I could salvage from the prejudiced and bias-filled world that I lived in was a godsend, so I couldn't help but accept. "Uh... I don't know. Isn't it your job to know this? I mean, who made you a fairy? A person with the Guinness world record of highest level of stupidity? And aren't fairies always girls? Are you a girl in disguise?"

Now that I was reassured that this guy couldn't do me any harm, my obnoxious self came to the surface, and I let it all loose. But what I wasn't expecting, was my supposed saviour pulling out a monk's staff from nowhere and rapping me on the head with it. As I rubbed my head, I growled.

"No, it is not my job to know this. No one made me a fairy. I was born a fairy. No, fairies are not always girls. And finally, I AM NOT A GIRL IN DISGUISE!" He breathed in deeply, and then carried on, quite finished with his tirade. "You must know what I can help you with!"

"Look fairy, or monk, or whatever the hell you are, maybe I don't want your help!" He turned from Miroku pointedly and refused to respond to Miroku's pleas.

Finally, Miroku said, "Okay, okay... so I know what you need help with! Forgive me for trying to make this experience interactive for you! Hm... come here." Miroku was now standing by a window, and I reluctantly followed his order. Outside, I saw the official messenger of the king walking up to our door. He stood stoically, and knocked rhythmically on the door.

"What? What's going on?"

"Go to the door of this room and listen attentively."

I pressed my ear firmly against the door and barely followed the conversation that was taking place. At length, I backed away slowly, however, I was trembling with excitement.

I, Inuyasha, would be going to one of the king's official 'magic balls'! Or at least... I might be... depending on the mood of my stepfather.

"So?"

"Am I really going?"

"Hey, don't ask me. Go ask that boorish stepfather of yours."

"Fine." I stepped out of my room and into the hall, noting that there was no change at all in the expression of my brother. Although there was a certain glint of something behind the cloud in his eyes.

My stepfather, however, looked happy. Maybe I had a chance?

"Uh... f- father?" I struggled with the word, biting my tongue.

"Yes?"

"Am I going to the ball also?" I heard a snicker from behind me. But when I turned, Sesshoumaru was as poised as ever.

"Yes."

"What? But... father!"

"Hush, Sesshoumaru... as I was saying, yes, you are. But... only if you can behave, and if you do all the chores that need to be done, and wait on hand and foot for your brother and I."

"Uh... sure." On the exterior, I had an expression that could rival that of Sesshoumaru's, but on the interior... well... let's just say that what was going on included fireworks.

I hurried back to my room and gave Miroku a high-five. "I don't think I need your help anymore."

"I'll wait around a bit... you never know what might happen... anguish could be just around the corner." That unnerved me a bit, but it helped that Miroku wasn't speaking as gentlemanly as before.

"Whatever floats your boat."

"Uh-huh. Let me just go back to the Do It Yourself Fairy Manual."

So I worked as hard as I could, I even took care of the trifles that I usually would have refused to do (even at the risk of a beating). And finally, I reached my last chore... helping Sesshoumaru get ready. I shuddered.

I knocked at the door of the said dog demon, and then followed through by bowing and closing the door softly behind me.

I got out my stepbrother's clothes and ironed them, including the socks. Then I buffed and shined his shoes. As I helped Sesshoumaru get into his silk doublet and matching silk trousers, I thought of the possibility of going to my first dance/party since I was twelve years old. I had been born into nobility, but was now treated as a slave, and virtually no one even knew I existed, except the occasional businessman come to beg for his life.

It was funny how things turned out.

"-Inuyasha. Inuyasha? Inuyasha! Answer me when I speak to you!" He backhanded me, and I had to struggle not to punch him.

"Yes, yes."

"Inuyasha, dress my hair!"

I rose to the occasion unhappily. I got a basin and filled it with steaming hot water; then I squeezed a lemon from the kitchen cupboard into the water and swished the juice a bit. I spat in it for good measure. Next, I got out the fine-tooth comb, and made my way back to Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru leant his head back, albeit imperiously, and relaxed as I soaked his hair. He sniffed suspiciously. "What's that smell? You added something, didn't you? Didn't you?" Sesshoumaru chuckled throatily. That was a bad sign.

"Sorry. I just added a bit of extra ingredients..."

"Well, I don't like them! Get some spices to cover up the smell!" So again I set off with the now lukewarm basin and spiced it up a few notches with thyme and basil.

Again, I soaked Sesshoumaru's hair, which was a pretty hardcore feat, considering the length of it all. Instead of drying it, I combed it while it was wet, and gave Sesshoumaru the instructions not to move and to let the hair dry naturally. There was now a half-hour before the ball, a half- hour that would be devoted to me.

Unfortunately, as soon as I set foot in my minuscule room, I remembered the one crucial factor of the whole night. I only had two sets of clothing.

The rough serventile outfit I wore in general, and the dressy outfit that I wore when a businessman came to call. The dressy one was hanging wetly from a rope in the middle of the yard out back.

Immediately, I took some clothes that were almost dry, from the rope and wrung them; I pressed them and ironed them, and then threw them on. Miroku looked at me steadily as I combed my hair and buffed my (luckily) dry and dressy shoes. "What?"

"Oh nothing..."

I sighed and ignored him. I ran down the stairs two at a time and presented myself to my 'family'.

Immediately, Sesshoumaru let out an inhuman call (well, he is a demon), and clawed my clothes to bits.

"I won't have a- a half-wit, half-demon wearing my clothes!" Then, just for spite, he tore off the tops of my shoes. I just stood there numbly. I refused to let my anger show. And yet... how was I supposed to go to the ball now?

And just as I expected, "Inuyasha, you can't go to the ball like this. Go to your room and sit there, and contemplate what it means to steal your sibling's clothes, and the consequences. In fact... I want to see a page on this subject. In small, cursive, print." I wasn't much for dancing, but the chance to show the world that I wasn't just some slave of my step-dad's was pretty tantalizing... and nothing would stop me from shining for at least one night.

I was a blur as I circled around them once and flew up the stairs.

Perhaps I would be needing Miroku....

He stood waiting for me, waiting for me to speak. All that came was a flurry of curses and insults thrown in the direction of my 'family'.

"Are you quite done yet?"

"Yeah, yeah... but, Miroku... two questions."

"Uh-huh?"

"You're my fairy godfather, and yet you look to be my age! What's going on with that? And also, how can I make it to the ball?"

"Okay, look. I'm immortal! You of all people should be able to understand that. And two, Narcis Excel."

Before I could even utter the word, 'huh', I was seized off of my feet, and thrown about wildly. When I finally landed on the ground, and gratefully at that, I looked in the mirror.

There were a few choice words to describe my appearance: suave; handsome; charming and classy, too! Wow... what ever Miroku had done was good, and my respect, or at least my liking for him was raised quite a bit that night.

"What? How?"

"Hm... I believe what you're asking is: how did I do that?" I nodded my head dumbly. "Well, it's magic. And the incantation is quite simple to understand, really. Narcis: Narcissistic. Vain. You know... good-looking. Stuff like that. And then Excel. It basically made you excel in good looks. Plus, it brushed you up a bit... your face was pretty dirty. What did you do... sit with your head in a fire? They should call you Cinderyasha!"

"Yes, actually, my stepbrother once held my head very close to a fire. And him and my stepfather do call me that. Thanks for rubbing it in."

"Ooh... Oooooooohhh... Oooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhh... Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well, anyway!" I shook my head in disdain; he was obviously changing the subject. "What about that transportation?"

"I can get there just fine, thanks."

"No! I have to help you get there! It's in my manual! I don't want to get fired from this job."

"Fired? Job?"

"Well... you see... I auditioned to be a fairy godfather. And I've screwed up two other people's lives. So you see... after this... I can't get reassigned to another person. You're the last chance I've got, and if I fail this one... well... I'll have to become a fairy miner... ugh... those people have to mine magic coals... which deteriorate your fairy magic until you get sent to be a human.

"And what is the use of these coals you may be wondering? Well... they start up fairy fires which heal sick and even dead fairies."

"Fairies can die and get sick?"

"Well... yes... they can get sick from heavy exposure to a human that doesn't believe in us... and they can die from broken hearts. But loss of magic cannot be healed. That's why- that's why I have to succeed!" He shook his head as if to clear it of something. "But we've wasted too much time already. Follow me."

I obeyed and followed him into the yard, six mouse demons scurried along the dirt, and one squirrel demon scampered up a tree. A pomegranate fell from the tree in the middle of it all.

Miroku grabbed the demons, which of course were too tiny to do any real harm, and was about to pick up the pomegranate when I stopped him.

"Please don't."

"But why, Inuyasha? I see no reason not to."

"Look in your little manual thingy and check the name Koriyama, Ryo. Okay? You'll see."

"Koriyama... K... K... Here it is. Okay, let me read it out loud:

'Koriyama, Ryo. Known as a heavy crime lord in our parts; stay away from him if you don't want to get sick. He does not believe in us at all. One of his trademarks is his pomegranate tree. Any person who he wants to kill is asked to eat a pomegranate from the tree. Of course, the actual pomegranates have nothing wrong with them... but once they finish eating it, he strikes them dead. Check under Hades for more details on the malevolent symbolism of pomegranates. He has a-'

"Okay... let me stop that now... but we're not eating it. And he can't even see us."

"It'll bring bad luck."

"Fine. If you don't want to go to the ball, you can just stay and sulk all you want."

"No, no! Do what you want with it... but don't say I didn't warn you."

Miroku smirked. "Not a chance." He drew out an hourglass from one of his long monk sleeves, and studied it. Then he said. "It's been half an hour since it started. Let's hurry up and get you there."

He waved a hand and the pomegranate grew to the size of a coach, which was exactly what it was used for. It was still nice and red (my favourite colour), but more rounded. The mice turned into large white horses and the squirrel morphed into a coachman.

Miroku opened the door for me and before I knew it, I was inside.

"Okay, Inuyasha... remember... you have to be back by twelve o-clock, because that's when all of my magic will be reversed."

"Yeah, yeah..." I was too excited to listen, although later I would wish that I hadn't been.

He closed the door and I was off...

I had no idea, however, that this would be one of the most eventful nights of my life. Oh, would I be in for a surprise.

Okay... done the first chapter. The next one will be: Kagome. Read and review!