InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ In Eyes of Gold ❯ Chapter 1

In eyes of gold

Laughter followed her as she walked out of the dance hall, perhaps the only sober being on the premises. She could not help but wince; she was at this wedding against her will, her mother had already been taken ill after eating something that hadn't been cooked properly, her father was intoxicated out of his mind, and the only other family member that she had there was the one making her wince. She found her mind drifting as she began to wander the venue, perhaps the only hanyou for miles around. When people thought of half breeds between youkai and humans, it was generally one extreme or the other; either a hideous blend of humanity and whatever race the youkai parent belonged to, or a vision of divine perfection that would ensnare anyone who happened to cast their gaze upon them. Middle ground didn't seem to exist for hanyou in the mind of the common man; either the human was given the choice to submit to the whims of the youkai parent as an alternative to a painful death, which was still not unknown in the 21st century, or the youkai in question must have used hypnotism or other foul means to snare the human. Many human parents of hanyou were usually the mother, as many youkai mothers were less than willing to give 'weak' children a chance. Sicknesses that a hanyou child was weak to were sadly all too common, yoki-related mishaps could deform or even kill a hanyou toddler, and hanyou birthed to daiyoukai were sometimes killed subtly by vengeful youkai and humans alike, and those who lost their cool when in lethal danger were oftentimes incarcerated for life or given the death sentence. Shiori however was relatively lucky. Sure, her father was very fond of certain brands of human alcohol, but if asked to stop, he always would, although tonight he had rather over-indulged himself. He was a bat youkai that had fallen in love with Shiori's human mother Shizu some thirty years prior, and twenty two years before their only child had been born, to the delight of Shizu and Tsukuyomaru's human friends, and even some of her father's youkai associates, but the unending disgust of her youkai grandfather. Tsukuyomaru ran a computer company that made antivirus software, earning his small family a massive fortune and the means to move to the United States. However, relatively few youkai showed themselves even to those of their kind, and hanyou here... Shiori paused to stand alone in one of the hallways. Hanyou here had it tough. She would have lost count of the number of times she had had a racist slur spat at her within a day of arriving on US soil. She had inherited her grandfather's tanned skin, her father's white hair and purple eyes, and her very physique seemed to pull in attention no matter what she did to blend in. She had tried every trick in the book, even making a few up herself, to disguise herself as best she could, but her hanyou nature shone through all too well. Her hair was natually resistant to dyes, her yoki made make-up all but evaporate off her, and even wearing wigs had failed miserably. Several times she had been attacked, and although in many cases the perpetrators had been named and shamed, it had never seemed to discourage the next band of ruffians seeking to see if the rumours about her were indeed true, such as her blood being almost pink. She had a heightened resistance to pain, something that had worked both for and against her. However, one thing working in her favour had only come to light five years ago during a rare event her mother and father had travelled to see. A total solar eclipse had crossed many parts of the states in 2017, and during the increasing and decreasing celestial event, Shiori had discovered that the alignment of the sun and the moon had been what triggered her mutation into a human, changing her skin into the same shade as that of her mother's, her hair into a thick curtain of chocolate brown, and her eyes into a beautiful blend of blue and green. After the eclipse she had looked for another one, and learned that relatively soon there would be one, in 2024, also total in the USA. She idly wondered if going back to the dance hall would be worth it. By now, many would be too busy to notice her properly, and she might even get to enjoy herself briefly if Taigokumaru kept his spiteful mouth shut. A lot of her pain in life stemmed from his thoughtlessness and outright cruelty. With what he'd put her through, she should hate him even as she edged into her early twenties, but more than ever, the hanyou girl found herself fearing him more and more. The old bat knew this and rarely missed a chance to cause her grief. As she made up her mind to wander around for a bit in the gathering darkness, her amethyst eyes fell on a striking young man not much older than herself lounging casually on a veranda by himself. He wore a suit of dark blue, and he was mostly turned away from her, but something about him drew her in. His hair ran in a silvery-white cascade down his back, and although it was hard to tell beneath the fabric of his clothing, he looked well muscled and fit. Hilted at his waist was what looked almost like a dagger, but somehow it didn't seem dangerous. Shiori shifted slightly, the rustle of the fabric of her white satin sleeveless gown barely apparent to her, but the man stood at the veranda whirled around as if a grenade had gone off, unconsciously stretching to his full height as he did so. It rapidly became apparent he was at least six foot six in height, over a head taller than she was, carried himself with a strange mix of caution and pride, and his eyes... Shiori felt her breath catch in her throat. She had expected the stranger's eyes to be a shade of blue or brown, but this man... his eyes were a stunning golden yellow in colour, entrancing for all the right reasons. A slight frown crossed his face as he looked her over, suddenly locking onto her equally unique purple eyes. He turned back to resume staring out the open window, and when Shiori didn't move, he finally spoke up.

"Y'gonna stay there all night?"

She ventured onto the veranda, her long skirt trailing behind her as she approached him. As she drew level, he turned to look at her with a hint of smile playing around his features.

"Guessin' you're not the bride then."

Shiori gave a timid smile.

"Not after tonight, no."
"Boyfriend stood you up or somethin'?"
"Dumped me as soon as we got here. That jerk Renkotsu stinks as bad as his brother, Mukotsu."

The man looked at her in sympathy.

"Wish I could say I didn't know them, but I've met their whole dumb family. Even spent time in college with the biggest asswipe of them all, Kyokotsu."

He held a hand out to her suddenly.

"Inuyasha Taishou."

Shiori took his hand, noticing a slight reflexive jolt as her warm, tan skin made contact with his toughened, callused palm.

"Shiori Yomaru."

Inuyasha shook her hand, nodding at her.

"Yomaru... I've heard that name. No relation to the CEO of Yomaru Software?"
"Yes, he's my father."
"Heh, small world. Yeah, persuaded my dad to use the antivirus package that came out four months ago. Never had a problem since."

Shiori gestured to the veranda.

"So why are you out here? You must have friends here?"

Inuyasha smirked and was about to reply when he accidentally belched, drawing a look of amused surprise from the younger hanyou.

"M'bad. Friend of mine said he could drink me under the table and kept betting more and more bucks on it. Made 'bout a thousand off him, and I think he's still under the table. Miroku's never the most sensible kind, but he's a good fella. So I gave half the cash back to his 'wife' and came out here for a bit of clear air, and then some angel girl ca..."

Immediately, Inuyasha's cheeks flared bright red. Shiori edged forward, noticing that he was embarrassed but not trying to make a run for it. She laid her hand on top of his, slowly drawing him into looking around at her. Finally, the gold eyes met the amethyst, and Shiori gave a radiant smile.

"You think I'm an angel?"

Very slowly, and with a degree of nervousness that was almost enchanting to see in such a tough guy, Inuyasha nodded. He held up the hand Shiori had rested hers on, and she held her hand to his, palm to palm, both utterly silent as they looked into one another's eyes. The moment passed, but there was a magic to it that seemed to endure, and when both hanyou finally broke eye contact, it was not as though either of them wanted to. Both resumed looking out onto the grounds. By now, only a ruddy glow remained where the sun had been, edged with orange, duck egg green and deep shades of blue. High up was the evening star, and as they watched, a handful of small bats flew over the pool nearby, hunting for insects in the fading light. Dotted around the grounds were several solar powered lights, and even as they looked on, the lights began to flicker on, each resembling an actual fire. Smiling, Shiori gave a contented sigh. Inuyasha looked down at her.

"I'm jus' gonna go get a few more things to eat and something to drink that ain't booze. D'you wanna come with, Shiori?"

Reluctant to leave such a scenic location but even more reluctant to potentially lose the charming stranger, Shiori nodded and followed Inuyasha back towards the dining hall. In the relatively dim light, it was hard to be certain, but Inuyasha almost appeared to not have ears. She frowned in confusion, as he certainly didn't seem hard of hearing by any means. Quite the opposite, he seemed gifted with exceptional auditory capabilities. As they drew closer to the dance hall, she noticed a patch of his silver-white hair twitch as if in irritation at the sound, but how it could be the case she couldn't put her finger on. By now, many of the snacks had been eaten, but Inuyasha and Shiori were alone in the dining room. Picking up two paper plates, he turned to her.

"Can ya grab that jug of ice water and a couple of glasses please? Tell me if yeh'd like anything and I'll get it for ya."

Picking up the cold jug and two glasses, Shiori gestured to several snacks. After a few minutes the two returned to the veranda, Inuyasha eager to ease his thirst and Shiori curious about her companion. Placing the food, drink and glasses on a table on the veranda, they resumed their positions from before. By now it was darker than before, and the evening star shone like a polished diamond in the velveteen sky. Completely unexpectedly, a loud car horn sounded from the darkness. This time there was no mistaking it; two patches of Inuyasha's hair twitched noticeably, and he almost seemed to growl in irritation. Realisation dawned on her, and her amethyst eyes widened.

"Y-you can't be..."

Inuyasha looked down at her in dawning comprehension, a mixture of regret and resentment churning inside him.

"Yeah, I am. Guess a hanyou ain't good enough for ya."

Shiori took hold of his wrist as he began to turn to go. Although nowhere near as strong as him, she was stronger than the average human, but this alone wouldn't convince him. Thinking quickly, she thrust her right hand up, level with his surprised face.

"Wait, you've got me wrong, Inuyasha."

Stopping for a moment, Inuyasha turned to look at her but her wrist was unexpectedly pressed to his nose. Inhaling, he suddenly realised that Shiori didn't smell human, or at least, not entirely. Looking at her with less hostility and more curiosity, he sniffed her wrist again, comprehension dawning on his features as he silently realised that the scent he could pick up was that of a rare kind of blood, one that certainly wasn't human. He leant down to the surprised younger hanyou and sniffed at the inside of her neck, enough to make her smile at the tickling sensation. Finally convinced, he drew back and looked at her in amazement.

"So then..."
"Yes. I'm a hanyou too, Inuyasha."

Before he quite knew what he was doing, Inuyasha was running a hand through Shiori's silvery-purple long hair, almost seeming to croon as her caressed her silky hair. Closing her eyes, Shiori felt a smile blossom across her features, and embraced the older hanyou with all her strength. She gave a high pitched squeak of surprise when Inuyasha lifted her up to hug her in turn. She smiled into his eyes, and was placed back down. Closing the windows, as it was really starting to get cold now, Inuyasha gestured to two chairs nearby. Shiori sat down in one as Inuyasha sat in another, and the two began to talk. Inuyasha had left Japan with his mother, step-mother, half-brother and father when he was just seven, and had never looked back. Throughout his school life he had been the victim of many unfortunate incidents, but in many cases he had been labelled as the perpetrator as he had not rationed in his strength in regards to his tormentors, and at one point had put someone into intensive care after jokes about his mixed blood. He had found love twice, once with a religious girl who had tragically died of cancer, and a second time with a transfer student called Kagome who had simply ceased communicating. He had a small circle of friends, and it had been through two of them that he had come to the wedding here tonight, although he had come to the place before with his parents for work related parties. In all his time in both Japan and America, he had only met one other hanyou, a lynx hanyou named Rinkusu who had remained hidden away in a tiny town called Sarropa. Shiori was just starting to detail her early life in America when a sinister sounding wheezing laugh came to them.

"Heh heh heh. Yeh looking at my granddaughter?"

Taigokumaru stood in the doorway, the set of his face showing all too well that he was drunk. Inuyasha glared at the youkai as Shiori got to her feet, a look of fear in her amethyst eyes.

"And talking with her too, so get bent, old man."
"What if I tell you that..."

Inuyasha got to his feet too, his golden eyes flashing. He approached Shiori, who looked at him in both puzzlement and fear of her grandfather. Taigokumaru continued.

"That she's a hanyou?"

Inuyasha put one hand around Shiori's upper back, making sure that his claws were in no danger of ripping her dress or harming her in any way. He used his free hand to pull her closer by resting it in the small of her back and urging her closer. He looked at the old youkai in disgust.

"I don't care. She's an amazing, thoughtful, accepting, beautiful young lady."

Before Shiori could quite take in the compliments, Inuyasha leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers, drawing a muffled gasp of wonder from her as he kissed her with surprising passion. Shiori reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck as she returned the kiss threefold, her amethyst eyes closing as she felt her heart soar in delight. By the time their kiss had finished, they were alone again. Inuyasha sat down in his chair, but Shiori didn't sit in hers. Inuyasha smiled and pulled her close for a hug, sitting her in his lap after she had pulled her opera style gloves on again. A feeling of utter contentment overcame her as she sat with Inuyasha, and before she quite knew it, the bat hanyou girl was staring into Inuyasha's golden eyes, feeling totally safe in his presence. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

Three years had passed since they had met, and Inuyasha and Shiori were dating, very much in love with one another. Even Inuyasha's older half-brother, Sesshoumaru, seemed to quietly approve of his sibling's girlfriend. Taigokumaru had vanished back to Japan and not been heard from. One evening, the two hanyou were walking around the grounds of the wedding hall where they had met, and Shiori was even wearing the same white satin sleeveless dress that she had been wearing the evening they had begun to fall in love. Inuyasha had come with her and her family to see the rare occurence of Shiori in her human form, and promised her that she was just as beautiful. She had seen him in his human form a few times too, and had been unable to say how much she valued his trust in her. As they walked into a natural gazebo, Inuyasha came to a stop suddenly, and Shiori paused.

"Is everything alright, Inuyasha?"

The male hanyou looked slightly uneasy, which by and of itself was unusual. If anything, it was normally her that was shy. Inuyasha took her hands in his and gestured for her to close her eyes. Puzzled but compliant, she closed her amethyst orbs, not seeing what Inuyasha was doing as he turned one hand palm up and the other palm down.

"Yeah, just wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?"

A tingle ran through Shiori's very being as she felt something on her fourth finger move up, followed by four very simple words that were enough to bring a flood of happy tears to the hanyou's eyes.

"Will you marry me?"

Intuiting that he had slipped the other ring into her other hand, she took his right hand in both of hers and slid it onto his ring finger. Opening her eyes, she sniffed and smiled, embracing her fiance with every fibre of her being, answering his hopes and dreams with five words of her own.

"Inuyasha, of course I will."

Time stood still for the two hanyou as they pressed their lips to one another, tears pouring from both their eyes, content that their futures would be spent with the one they had both been born to meet and love.