InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Cursed Blood ❯ Devil Card ( Chapter 1 )

The sun had just risen and yet the streets were crawling with those filthy humans already. Inuyasha walked through the city streets that his quest had brought him to. He gripped the demon sword that he had stolen from his inu-youkai family and shook the black wig hair from his eyes. Whenever he was forced to mingle with the putrid humans he tried to look as human as possible, although he never found a way to hide the golden color of his eyes. Passerbies would sometimes stare at him and his unusual eyes, but he could tell they were more surprised than afraid. They had no idea he was a demon.

Inuyasha stopped at one of the many carts selling random trinkets and food and waited until the shop keeper got up enough courage to talk to him.

“Y..Yes my fine s..sir? How may I h..help you?” The shop keeper was short with balding black hair. He could smell the keepers fear and cowardice. Inuyasha felt his disdain distort his face. The keepers smell increased with the angry look that he got.

“Where is the gypsy camp?” he growled.

“Th…there i…isn't one, sir.” The man stammered.

“Keh, fine then where is the Lady Myato?” The shop keepers' eyes widened at the name.

“Why on earth would you want to see her?” he said in surprise. Inuyasha lashed out and grabbed the keeper by his collar.

“It's none of your damn business why I want to see her! Just tell me where the hell she is!” The keeper pointed down the street to his left.

“D..down the street, p..past the bakers shop. She's in the big tent! P…please, d…don't hurt me!” Inuyasha sneered at the man and let him fall to the ground. Humans were so weak and cowardly.

Inuyasha began walking down the dusty street where the man had pointed. The streets were getting even more crowded and their stink crept into Inuyasha's nose. He tried to blow the stench out but was rewarded with even more of their stench. Inuyasha had spent way too much time away from humans to be suddenly thrown into a cesspool of them. He just wasn't used to so many animal smells in one space.

Inuyasha brought the sleeve of his red haori up to his nose to try to block the scents. It lessened it a bit. He was grateful when the large light brown tent came into view, and he was even more grateful when he saw the lack of people near it. Apparently the humans liked Lady Myato less than they liked Inuyasha's true guise. Inuyasha smiled to himself. Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration, people usually ran in terror when they saw him with his fangs bared and his ears showing.

Inuyasha's smile faded as he reached the tent. There was an odd smell coming from it, one of extreme power. Inuyasha stretched his hand tentatively toward the tent. Sparks shimmered around his fingers a foot away from the tents edge. “Feh, so this is why those humans won't walk on this side of the street. There's a barrier.” That's when Inuyasha saw the sign hanging to the right of the tents' door. `Back in 15 minutes? Gah!' Inuyasha slumped down to the ground grumpily and crossed his arms, a pout hinting on his face. Guess he just had to sit here until Myato came and took the barrier off.

About 20 minutes later Inuyasha still sat outside Myato's tent. His pout was long gone and a bored, zoned out look covered his face. He had been irritated, then angry, then red faced furious but that had all subdued into his boredom. He had resorted to people watching and sometimes laughed at the idiocies of the humans that past. Like the man who had kept flirting with the woman who just wanted to run away from him and yet the man was oblivious. Or the child who had dropped his candy on the dirty road, then picked it up, studied it for a minute, then popped it back in his mouth, dirt and all. Eventually the passerby's had just started blurring together. That's when he smelled it.

His head whipped to attention as he sniffed the air for another draft of that smell, that familiar smell that seemed so good. He looked up and down the street trying to pin a person to the scent. When he saw her, he froze. `Mother?' he thought, then shook his head. `No! Mother is dead and has been for 10 years, get over it.' Inuyasha sent a cautious eye to the woman he had seen his mother's image imposed on. He tilted his head a bit as he studied her. She was pretty, in that human way some women were, but in truth she didn't look anything like his mother.

The raven haired girl was tall and slender, but not lanky. She wore white and red priestess robes and carried a basket filled with fruit and other food. Her hair floated behind her unbound as she walked briskly down his side of the street. He was surprised that the barrier's aura hadn't gotten to her like it did to everyone else, making them walk on the opposite side of the street unconsciously. The girl's face was strangely calm and appealing, and she smelled so…so good. The only way he could describe it was that she smelled fresh and clear, like a spring shower when the sun still shines. He couldn't stop himself from staring at her as she passed. Then she looked at him and smiled. Her whole face lit up as she gave him that one happy look. Inuyasha didn't even realize he had stopped breathing. `She smiled at me.' was all he could think. Wait, smiled? She didn't even bat an eyelash at his golden eyes. Inuyasha watched as she turned the corner and left his sight, her scent lingering before him. `I wonder who she was.'

Inuyasha shivered suddenly and looked beside him at the Lady Myato's tent. The barrier had dissipated. He had seen no one come to the tent or from the tent, but the sign was gone and the tent's flap was now open. Inuyasha poked his head through.

“Hello?” He called out to the dark. His eyes, despite their demon qualities, still took a moment to adjust to the darkness of a room after being in the bright light. It was only a moment later when the outline of a small square table and two chairs came into focus. His eyesight suddenly snapped into view and he could see every detail of the tents' insides.

The tent was very large and there was another flap towards the back leading to another room. The walls seemed bare at first but then Inuyasha noticed that the walls he could see out of the corner of his eyes looked completely different. Now that he knew the blank walls were just an illusion, the image faded.

There were shelves stacked all around the room and on those shelves were tons of junk. There were figurines and jars filled with gross looking things. There were crystals and rocks and a lot of pressed plants. What Inuyasha was most drawn to were the mirrors that were scattered around the shelves. He counted over fifty different looking mirrors all pointing to the table in the middle of the room. He was wondering what they were for when an old woman came from the rear room.

The woman was withered and her eyes were dull. Inuyasha thought that if she wasn't already blind she would be soon. She wore a plain brown robe and a single ring made of gold. She didn't look at Inuyasha until she sat down in the red over stuffed chair at the head of the table. She motioned for him to sit in the plain brown chair across from her. Inuyasha sneered at her for directing him but still followed her orders.

“I take it your Lady Myato.” Inuyasha said. Her faded eyes stared right into his.

“What do you want of me, demon?” she asked, curiosity in her face. Inuyasha smiled.

“So you can tell I'm a demon, even with your poor sight?” It was her turn to smile.

“Even with these blind eyes, I see better than you ever will.” Inuyasha frowned.

“I want you to help me find something. I was told only you would be able to guide me.” The lady shook her head.

“I hope you left poor Kito alive after he told you.” Inuyasha narrowed his eyes.

“He said you two never met.”

“Aye, but your memories are shown plain to me, as are your desires. Such as yours to kill Kito for his weaknesses.” Inuyasha leaned back in his chair with an air of arrogance.

“I probably should have killed him. He gave you up without a moment's hesitation.” Myato laughed.

“Because you had him hanging in the air by his throat!” Inuyasha shrugged.

“He needed to be put in his place.”

“And what place would that be?” she inquired.

“He was scum. He needed to realize it and realize that scum had no business talking down to one such as me.” Lady Myato chuckled again.

“Tis true that he deserved it and has been a pious man since. But your darkness will give you nothing but pain if you indulge it, Inuyasha.” Inuyasha glared at her.

“How do you know my name, woman?” he growled. Lady Myato laughed.

“Calm down, Inuyasha. You came to me because I have the power to find what you seek, did you not? Is it that surprising to you that I would know your name? Or be able to sense your past or your desires?” she shook her head, “Inuyasha, I am probably the only person who knows you as you do. I know everything about you, and I know this only because you walked into this room.” Inuyasha looked to the side.

“The mirrors?” He wondered. Lady Myato clapped her hands and laughed.

“Yes! So you can see them! I figured you would defeat the mirage. Haha, imagine, the only one to see through my petty spell would be one with demon blood.” Inuyasha laughed.

“That surprises you? Humans are stupid.” Myato shook her head.

“You're wrong, Inuyasha. Humans are not stupid, well at least not all of them. They merely believe the first thing they see and don't usually question it,” Inuyasha shrugged as he crossed his arms, “Tell me, Inuyasha. Why have you come? I know you came to find something, but your wish is, well, dark. You won't let me see it. So ask.” Inuyasha leaned forward eagerly.

“I was told you would lead me to the Mikaito. I was told that this Mikaito thing would grant me any wish I desired.” Myato shook her head sadly.

“You do not know what the Mikaito is, do you?” Inuyasha leaned back with a stubborn look on his face.

“Of course not! If I knew I'd be out looking for it instead of being here!” Myato sighed.

“I will tell you Inuyasha, of this thing that you seek. I will also tell you how to find it,” she looked up to him pleadingly, “but you must promise to heed my warning!”

“And what warning would that be woman?”

“If you follow this path of bloodlust and darkness you will lose yourself to your demon side,” she frowned at the look in his eye, “and though you may desire that, you should remember, your demon side is but an animal. Demons may not admit it, but they all have a bit of humanity in them. Without that bit of humanity they would be left with only their desire to kill, and kill they would. They would destroy friends, enemies and strangers. Anything in their path would die.” Inuyasha gave her a disbelieving look, “The blood in your veins, is no better, Inuyasha.” Inuyasha gave her a very low growl.

“Do not insult me again, human. This blood in my veins grants me the ability to reach across the table and rip out your throat before you have a chance to blink.” Myato sighed.

“Just remember my warning,” she whispered. “Alright, I'll tell you what the Mikaito is, or more aptly, who the Mikaito is,” Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, “The Mikaito is the name that is given to the cursed family whose lives mean nothing and their deaths everything. If you kill a single member of the family then you are granted a single wish. If you kill four members, you are granted four wishes. Anyone who has met a Mikaito and learned their secret has killed the Mikaito they knew. It has never mattered if that person was a lover, a friend, a neighbor. Once their secret is revealed, they die.” Myato leaned forward, “You aren't searching for an object, Inuyasha, you are searching for a person. You must murder that person, only then will you get your wish.” Inuyasha shrugged.

“No biggie, I've killed before, remember? Or did you lie about knowing my past?” Myato sighed, “Just tell me how to find this person, or Mikaito, whatever!”

Lady Myato nodded and sat back, smoothing her ancient robes with her withered hands. She pulled a pack of cards out of a hidden pocket and took of its binding. Inuyasha watched as she began shuffling the cards. “Think of what you desire to find Inuyasha.” Her voice had gone low and husky. She began to shuffle faster as Inuyasha thought of the Mikaito. Her blind eyes rolled back in her head and she stopped shuffling. With graceful strokes she laid out 7 cards. She lay down the devil, the blue circle, the mother, the gold triangle, the red water, the female, and finally the black heart.

“You have a vast challenge before you. This card represents you,” she pointed to the devil card, “And this,” she pointed to the blue circle card, “represents your desire for a wish to be granted. The mother card represents your past and the gold triangle represents the next step to find the Mikaito. This here,” she pointed to the red water card, “tells me that you have a powerful enemy who desires your death and will steal that which you seek. The female card confuses me. Either the female is the Mikaito or you're using the Mikaito to get a female. Or she's going to lead you directly to the Mikaito.” Myato leaned back in her chair and brought her fingers to her head, “I just can't see what it means. But…” she squinted to the left side of the tent. Inuyasha looked at what she was looking at and saw only a blank mirror. Her blind eyes flicked back and forth as if seeing something flick across the mirrors surface. Her eyes widened then she laughed, “Oh yes, she will certainly be trouble for you Inuyasha,” she turned back to him, “The female will lead you to the Mikaito,” she said definitively, “But beware Inuyasha,” she pointed to the black heart, “A difficult decision will be left up to you. And many lives will depend on that decision.” She gave Inuyasha a steely eye, but he tactfully ignored it.

“Just tell me what I should do next. What does the gold triangle mean?”

“You must go to the Red Layered Inn on the opposite side of this city. There you will meet a man with a curse. Help him with his curse to find the one who caused it. Once you find the one who caused the curse, the Mikaito won't be far behind.” She watched as Inuyasha stood up.

“Thanks, old woman.” He threw a medium bag of gold on the table skewing the cards. She shook her head as she watched him walk away.