InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dancing Blades, Silks, and Sakura Blossoms ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

The sun shone brightly against the clear blue sky as the sakura petals gently floated in the crisp spring air like falling snow in the gardens of the Kakita palace. The elven, Lord Kakita Omensu was away, meeting with the other lords of Japan. His wife, Emiko, had traveled with him for she was known throughout Japan as a great diplomat. This left their eldest son in charge of the upkeep of the Eastern lands and people.

Jin was a samurai, and had been bred to one day lead the Kakita family as lord. His bride, Suriko, a bear youkai, was a vacuous woman, whose only asset was her beauty, which was not that much of an asset, and her family. Suriko was of the Hitomi family of the Northern and her marriage to Jin gave the Northern and Eastern Lands an alliance, for the Hitomi family happened to be the only family in the Northern court to bear a daughter.

Jin was not the only child of the Eastern lord. His younger sister, Yumi, was also of the samurai class, but unlike Jin, whom studied harder to become a great Lord, she became a master of the art of Iaijutsu, the art of drawing the katana and attacking with the same fluid motion. For a long time she had studied and trained and had reached a level where she could best her brother and even her father. Unlike most women of the Japan world, Yumi possessed much knowledge that balanced her strength and beauty, which was considerable. She had become a great pride to her father and had brought much honor to the Kakita name through her abilities as both a warrior and as a noblewoman. But she was lonely, now that she had reached her goal as a warrior, she found herself longing for something, something that she could not place, something deep within her heart and soul.