InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Long, Stout, and Sharpeye - A Fairy Tale ❯ The Iron Castle ( Chapter 6 )

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A/N: Thanks again to all the wonderful reviews and faithful and continuous readers! I am still so thrilled by the positive response my story is receiving!
Also, I apologise, this is pre- edit. I only just finished this and posted it immediately. Hot of the press is nice, but often has errors, so please forgive.


For the next two days the companions travelled over the seemingly endless plain, until at last, just before dusk at the end of the second day they reached their destination. The Iron Castle.

It stood alone from other civilisation, in the middle of deserted plains and was entirely harsh grey steel and sharp points. It stood impressively tall, though not very large around. A thick purple miasma filled the area around it and chocked the air from the companions as they stood in awe at the castle’s closed gate.

Inuyasha visibly shuddered, terrifying thoughts filling his head at the sight of the grotesque castle.

They were all silent, and it wasn’t until the creaking and screeching of metal against metal as the ancient looking gate suddenly began to open before them that they were brought out of their reverie.

The gate opened slowly before them, though not another sole was around to have opened it. It seemed as though the gate had opened on its own. Or by some magic. Either thought sent chills down their spines. It was entirely too eerie, though they supposed that was the point.

Past the gate was a darkening courtyard, made even more so by the thick fog of the miasma still clinging to the air. It looked like a graveyard. It was ominous and it unnerved them, even the battle hardened Sango. Shippo as well was entirely too quite for his usually good natured garrulous self.

However with no other option except to return in defeat to their homes, the four pressed forward, facing the dread head on.

The courtyard, though ominous appearing from a distance was quite a bit worse once inside. It was nothing but death. Dead plants, dead grass, dead trees. And littered across the courtyard seemingly with no semblance of order were stone statues. Statues of men and statues of demons.

They were all so lifelike. It was as if they were moulds of living beings.

The group, like the statues didn’t linger in the courtyard, instead they carried on through the courtyard, up the steps of the castle and into it’s great entrance hall.

The castle’s interior like it’s exterior held a sense of bleak foreboding, but unlike the exterior, it was not wholly unpleasant.

The walls hung with expensive, though dissolute paintings. The rooms were richly furnished and decorated. There was an air about the place of wealth and luxury.

It seemed, then that this was indeed a castle, and not a dungeon as it first appeared.

“Inuyasha?” Sango broke the long silence that began at the gate with a whisper. “Can you sense anyone?”

It was a question that surprised Inuyasha. Though whole place had seemed like it was rightly deserted that he had forgotten that there was supposed to be somebody here.

He scented the air, and stretched his aura along the walls of the castle. He could sense no one. It disturbed him and left him even more on edge.

“No. I can’t. And I don’t like it. Where is this Naraku guy anyway?”

“Miroku?” Shippo now questioned, “Can you see anyone?”

Miroku removed his blinkers and gazed hard at the high ceiling above him. However he did not look at one spot for too long, fearing it would crumble under his gaze. He began rather quickly walking along the main floor with his head tilted back and his nose in the air.

He could clearly see through the ceiling to the second floor and indeed could see the third, fourth and all the way to the top with little difficulty. It was at the top of one of the towers that he at last found something.

“There. Inuyasha, in the tower there, at the very top, there is finally signs of life. Though I do not see the princess I see a child, dressed all in white setting dinner on a vast table in a great room. I may be wrong, but I believe it is being set for us. Either way, I am certain that our answers lie in that room.”

Inuyasha instantly heaved forward, taking the stairs at incredible speed and leaving his companions quickly behind.

Upon reaching the top of the tower he found but one door facing him. He easily burst through it and stopped just short of the little albino child that stood unfazed before him.

“You, brat!” Inuyasha wasted no time on manners, child or no. “Where is Naraku? Where is the princess? Is this some sort of trap?”

The rest of the group, having finally caught up to him witnessed the end of his fierce tirade.

“Inuyasha!” Sango scolded. “She is but a child, and I cannot imagine she is here willingly. Do not take out your hatred and rage upon her, she is not our enemy.”

Inuyasha growled and was about to respond when the child spoke in an all to girlish childlike voice.

“Welcome weary travellers. My master, Naraku, has been awaiting your arrival. He bids you eat, and rest before he graces you with his presence. He will not be long, and he requests you stay here for his arrival.”

She turned to leave, but noticing Inuyasha’s wary glance at the food added “And do not worry, the food is not poisoned. Surely you can sent that, half-demon. Naraku likes this game and would not have you dead before he was able to play.”

With that she left, the door closing silently after her.

The group was silent for a moment before once again Shippo’s ever empty stomach alerted them to his hunger.

“Inuyasha, can you tell if it is poisoned?”

“Keh! Of course I can.” He sniffed the air around the table. “I don’t smell nothing, but I still don’t trust that jerk Naraku. He might have put some sort of concealing spell over it so I can’t smell it.”

“Ah then perhaps I can help.” Miroku offered as he reached into his monks robes and removed a stack of ofudas and sutras, bound neatly together by a small ribbon.

Miroku grinned. “Never leave home without them.”

He quickly rifled through the stack, found the one he wanted and threw it into the center of the table. He chanted a quick verse and the sutra disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“There.” Miroku stated matter-of-factly. “Now if there was some spell covering the scent of poison, it is now removed.”

Inuyasha sniffed the air again and still found nothing to be wrong with the food.

He nodded and Shippo began heaping food onto a plate for himself. Sango and Miroku too ate some, but Inuyasha refused. He wasn’t hungry anyway, being half-demon and all, but even if he was he wasn’t about to trust this guy even if his nose told him it was ok.

It was quite some time later, possible even hours, judging by the now dark sky before the comfortable ease they had settled into was shattered upon the opening of the door to the room.




A/N: To kookookitty on aff.net - yes, that’s partially why I choose Stout’s character for Shippo. And yes, Miroku’s abilities would certainly help in that area. Partially why I chose him for sharpeye’s character. : )
And no, I don’t think that I will be including kilala in this fic. I originally wanted to have her as Inuyasha’s ‘steed’ in the beginning (the prince in the fairy tale had a horse to travel on) but seeing as Inuyasha was a half-demon (a point I at least wanted to include, if not use to the fullest) he wouldn’t likely use a ‘steed’ of any kind. At least that was my thinking so I omitted her. Sorry, I wanted to use her but haven’t yet found a place were she would fit.