InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Logical ❯ Escape ( Chapter 1 )

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Disclaimer: Inuyasha: A feudal Fairytale © Rumiko Takahashi / 2000, 2005 Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, SUNRISE. I am doing this purely for amusement value and make no money off this story. I make no claim to the Inuyasha characters, or story that belongs to the original manga and anime.

Title: Logical

Author: Kiten Kaiba

Rating: PG

Summary: Little Sesshoumaru always looks at the world with logic and tries to make sense of the chaotic actions of those around him. However, when one of his fathers' lessons is taken the wrong way, it sets of a chain of thoughts and decisions that leads to one great drama.

-Escape-

The little prince of the west Sesshoumaru was currently skittering through the catacombs of servant passages and hidden doorways. It was late and the once-busy corridors were now empty; and the echo of snoring hummed through the air.

This was not the first time he had ventured to the snakelike tunnels that lay beneath the bamboo panelling of the western manor. However this was the first time he had tried so late at night - it was dead hour. Just after even the floor scrubbers have finished their duties and before the bakers rise for their work.

The cold uneven bamboo that lined the floor, so unlike the polished slates that covered the floor above, were difficult to walk on; bending under his feet. Each moment make the youkai flinch at the creaking sound that felt so loud against his sensitive ears. The place smelled stale, the staff that manned the fans that kept a constant air flow through the tunnels having also gone to sleep.

Reaching the end of a tunnel he entered the end chamber where the great billows were. The room looked like a washhouse; countless pieces of thick cloth hung from long poles that stretched from one end of the room to the other.

During the day this cloth would be soaked in water. The air pumped by the billows would be cooled by it as it passed the wet cloth. It cooled the busy passages and the whole manor - apparently during the summer it was the only thing keeping the servants from dying of heat exhaustion or suffocation in these tiny halls.

Sesshoumaru spotted his goal; a ladder that led up to the vents that drew air for the billow. Beyond that was a stream that ran through the manor grounds and through a barred gate in the wall. It was through those bars that he would slip free, but he was running out of time. He needed to be out of the grounds before the servants started to rise; then he'd have about two hours to get as far up stream as possible before they discovered his empty bed.

Adjusting his shoulder bag, the little youkai hurried up the ladder; the bamboo containers within held the collection of food he had gathered over the last few weeks of planning. Each one was sealed with wax to keep the water out during his swim.

Pushing free the heavy iron door, Sesshoumaru was glad to see it was kept well oiled; such high-pitched squeaking would drive the sound-sensitive youkai up the wall. Slipping free, the youkai mad a dash for the stream - if he was spotted now it was all over. But the guards were looking for youkai trying to get in, one trying to get out was not really on their list.

Slipping into the water and taking a few huge breaths, Sesshoumaru dived under. This would be the last time he went up for air till he reached the mountain falls that fed the river. Once there he would travel east to the trading camp and stow away in some stock bound as far away from this place as possible.

Sesshoumaru found it far more difficult to squeeze through the bars then he had originally thought it would be. He had spent weeks practising moving without breathing, and had made it for two and a half hours before passing out. They had kept a close eye on him after he had passed out, it had pushed back this little escape for weeks. No one had a clue what had made the little prince suddenly 'fall ill'.

Getting through the bars and on his way, Sesshoumaru worked against the current. The water was like ice against his skin, but the constant flow promised to send his scent downstream. But of coarse by the time they started to look outside the manor walls he would be long gone. And it would be late in the day before the word of his disappearance reached his father, who was currently several miles in the other direction. As a precaution however Sesshoumaru did not dare brace himself on the bottom; it would stir up sand and send it down river. He may be acting paranoid, but when your father can catch the scent of your blood from an unnamed distance, caution was never a bad idea.

Sweet kami, he was only halfway before his lungs began to burn, and he chanced a three-second surfacing. It was even colder outside the water, wind chill taking his newly found breath from him and forcing the pup to take a second one. Returning under the surface again Sesshoumaru carried on; he was almost there. Soon he would prove his father wrong and truly be free.

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Thank you to Kuroneko for beta reading this chapter for me. I would, as always, love some feed back on this story, reviews are greatly appreciated.

Cheers and huggles to Kiten for the awesome props! =^_^=