InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Mirror's Shards ❯ Once Upon a Time... ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: We do not own Inuyasha; all rights go to Rumiko Takahashi.

 

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Mirror's Shards

By: Akaietowa-ru and Kyoni

 

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1. Once Upon a Time…

 

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Living in a home with home with eight other people didn't exactly make things easy while trying to get in and out of her home without being caught, but then again, months of experience (and probably more) had really strengthen and honed her skills of climbing out her window and slipping down the tree in one movement and not leaving any kind of sound behind her. But it seemed tonight, she would be taking the easier way out of the home. After all, this was probably the latest she had ever had to sneak out of the house before, but if she wanted to visit the old Higurashi shrine while no guards were present now was going to be the only time she would be able to get inside. Right at nine o'clock on the dot, the old man would retire inside and the young boy, according to her “sources” would start up his computer and start surfing the net before going to bed around eleven or so.

The moment the front door shut with a click, the girl was already running down the driveway, and making a mad dash for her older brother's Yamaha, while tugging the keys out of her skirt pocket. If Tamae ever found out about this, she was positive the old Uzumeno family temper was going to come alive. At the age of sixteen, Uzumeno Asuka wasn't in any shape to be driving; let alone driving a motorcycle at her age! Yet there she was plugging the keys into the ignition and pulling the helmet over her pony tails, and securely strapping it to her head. Her red hair was probably going to be frizzing by the time she snuck her way back into the house, but this was the only chance she was going to get in a long time to be able to get a good photo of the inside of the sacred shrine.

Asuka's love for photography would know no end. Every day she had to take a photo of something! Every day she would connect the photos to her laptop and upload them to her hard drive. Though she had nothing important to put each picture on (i.e. a website or a webpage to share it), Asuka just continued to do it, while quietly clogging up her thoughts of her day. Her laptop and her camera were a kind of life line. And nothing, absolutely nothing could rip them from her grasp! As if anyone would try it! Being a teen and a female might give people the thought of her being on of those small Japanese girls but Asuka was almost strictly the opposite of it. Her hair was a fiery red and not a deep brown, and even curly and kinky when wet instead of straight as a mother fucking ruler. The edges of her waist didn't go almost in a straight line or in a sharp cut where the hips would jut out. Nope, Asuka was round. Her waist curved in then curved out into her hips, making her probably one of the biggest females in her entire school, even though she only weighed one hundred and thirty five pounds…even if the average Japanese girl was only one hundred and seventeen pounds…

Being a half blooded Japanese did that to people.

Red hair, silvery blue eyes, a “skinny challenged” body, and a pair of breasts that could easily knock her out if she didn't strap them down was all signs of her American (mostly Irish) blood.

The Yamaha coasted down the driveway with Asuka's legs carefully guiding it down the cemented path until the front tire hit the black top and off she went in a spiral of smoke and exhaust as the red head shot off down the road without a second look towards her home. The wind whipped up her green skirt, but the pair of black shorts underneath kept her modesty perfectly in check. Even in a skirt she wouldn't dare show no more skin than she had to. No matter how hot it got, Asuka would always have some kind of stockings or leg warmers under her skirt and some kind of jacket, like the orange one she was wearing over her light green tube top. She just didn't want to blind all the innocent Japanese people.

The shrine was only a good quarter mile or so from her home, and by taking the few back roads she could find, Asuka eased the motorcycle onto the sidewalk and tried to hide it among the rows of cars littering Tokyo's sidewalks, before hurrying up the steps to the Higurashi shrine, with her laptop and loosely packed bag bouncing against her back. She wanted to be prepared for anything! Not that she really expected anything to happen, but in Tokyo, things could get a little tricky and with all the murders that had occurred in this past few years, yeah everyone was on the alert. Asuka's hand touched the small part of her backpack, letting her fingers feel the faint outline of the small handheld Tamae, her oldest brother (also doubling as a part time police officer) had “lost” one day. If he ever found out she had it, he would skin her, wring her body, and leave her out to dry…

The old shrine was still the same as ever. The old God Tree, Goshinboku, laid off to the side, stretching out to the sky with the same old scar imprinted to its bark. The Higurashi home was still fairly painted nicely with the few new additions of a larger male bike, one that Mrs. Higurashi had purchased for Souta for his graduation from middle school, according to Asuka's little brother, Shiro.

But Asuka wasn't currently breaking the law and slipping out of her home late at night just to take pictures of some snot nosed brat's bike. She wasn't currently risking her social life, and her own personal health just to take pictures of some stupid shrine! Her eyes fell onto the old shed, where according Shiro, an old well was inside. The well Shiro's friend Souta had addressed as “The Bone Eater's Well”, which oddly made no sense to Asuka. Why would they call a well something like that? Well she wasn't here to make sense of things just to take pictures of the old well's wall and maybe a few other Shinto trinkets that were littered all over the place. Of all the things she had pictures of; she had nothing even close to Japanese culture. A fact she was quickly starting to feel horrible about.

The light in an upstairs window clicked off and Asuka took her chance and dashed for the well's door and pushed herself up against the wall, peering around to make sure the coast was clear. The house was silent, minus the one light coming from the upstairs bedroom, more in likely one belonging to Souta, the geek. A slow smile crept over her face, and Asuka snorted at just how easy this sort of thing was becoming and she easily made her way into the shrine, halting only to gaze in wide eyed stare at the unlocked door!

And this was supposed to be one of the “respected” shrines in Tokyo too!

“Pathetic,” Asuka sighed and removed the lock carefully, and set it off to the side. She wanted to take pictures, not break things, and stepped inside. Almost immediately the smell of rotting wood and wet earth invaded her senses, and she struggled, fighting the urge to cover her face and cough her lungs out. Kami, the place had to be covered in layers of dust! With each step, Asuka stepped into the shrine and pulled the door shut slowly, carefully locking it into place before whipping out her camera and starting to snap as many pictures as she could.

Wooden stairs. Snap.

Chipped Buddha. Snap.

A glowing, engraved mirror. Snap...Wait...what?

Asuka pocketed her camera quickly, hastily glancing over her shoulder before deeming it safe enough to approach the small mirror. The ornament hung loosely on the wall, and seemed to have been sitting there judging from the deep casing of grime and dirt surrounding it. The mirror couldn't be bigger than the palm of her hand and looked to be just a single hand held mirror…But the flow of energy coming off of it oddly seemed to remind Asuka of the moon, low yet oddly strong.

“Why would anyone leave something like this out here?” Sure the mirror was cloaked in a kind of grime and dirt with a bunch of dried papers on it but it was still good, wasn't it? Her fingers reached out and carefully plucked the mirror off the stand it had just been on moments before and started to rip off each bit of paper, her fingers digging into each scrap and jerking on it. For a bit of paper they didn't seem to want to let go. What did they use on this thing? Super glue? It's…Like trying to pick up dry gum from a desk… Asuka grunted and tried once more to tug on the paper, pulling harder with an odd sense of desire to see the entire mirror and steal a quick picture, then scurry on home before anyone could realize she was missing.

Sakura sakura
Noyama mo sato mo
Miwatasu kagiri
Kasumi ka kumo ka

The sounds of a forgotten childhood song echoed in the shrine like a dull heart beat; pulsing between a low pitch it was barely able to be heard. In the distance Asuka could feel the sounds of something drumming like someone was hitting some kind of tin, while rolls of laughter echoed over the song, but it was still there.

Asahi ni niou
Sakura sakura
Hana zakari…

 

The last bit of paper gave away and the mirror's glowing light shot off like a thunderbolt...

 

And the shrine went black.

 

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Meanwhile good five hundred or so years back into the past, when cars and soda machines were nothing but a fantasy dreamed in the minds of heretics; the sun was shining brightly and the flowers were starting to bloom by the dozens in sporadic bursts all around the fields and hills and one long silver haired female was taking advantage of the good weather.

Mei, seldom carrying the last name Higurashi, was already leisurely walking through the field pausing every now and then to pluck an arm full of flowers and stuff them casually into her pockets to mess with later on. The morning sun beamed down on her making her silver hair shine brighter until it looked more like a white transparent crown rather than just some silver colored hair pulled back into a bun and pinned with a white lotus pin, which blended perfectly into her hair to the point no one would even notice it was there. It didn't take a genius to look at her silver hair, and golden colored eyes to tell that one of her parents had taken a demon to their bed. But no one would have guessed just how much demon blood she had in her until she turned her head and showed that instead of little ears or anything of the sort, her ears….were pointed and slightly tilted at an angle.

“Deta deta tsuki ga marui marui man marui bon no you na tsuki ga,” Cheerfully like that of a small child and not that of the true age of a sixteen year old young woman, Mei literally danced through the flowers, picking flowers and carefully working the stems together to form a little floral halo and drooping it over her neck until the flowers covered the front of her knee length kimono, and once in a while she paused and slipped a few bits of flowers onto her ankles just for the joy of it. Her being a demon, Mei wasn't…much in the anger scene, and as a human she wasn't much into their “normal” standards. Her senses were sharper than normal and her speed even greater, but compared to a normal demon she might as well have been human.

But did she go around unarmed? Hell no! A long white bow was casually strapped to her back appearing to be nothing more than a harmless normal bow, but there was some obvious indication by the carvings along the handle that showed much care in it, so it couldn't have been just a normal bow now could it?

Like a good little demon that she was, Mei continued on with her walk, venturing further and further out into the field with no real concern as to what could come up behind her, and possibly try to eat her, but this was the Western lands! No demon ever tried to touch her here, yeah she was an annoying one-fourth demon with a human mother and a half breed for a father, but that didn't mean they could fuck with her. Her Grandfather made that perfectly clear! Her granddaddy was the old ruler of the Western lands, the Inu no Taishou; her mother was one of the strongest miko around, and let's not forgets her father. One of the best half demons in the world! Or rather all of Japan. No one would ever dare to mess with her.

Bending to pluck a blue tinted flower to add to her necklace, Mei froze as the downward wind carried a familiar scent and her back went up straight as a rod, and her amber eyes flickered and three little syllables escaped her lips in a small breath: Do. Ku. Ga.

Oh the joy that light up her eyes at the familiar smell that could only belong to one of her favorite tackle toys. From the first time she had ever stepped foot onto the Western Lands…Oh Mei knew Dokuga well. Well enough that she would tackle him in every greeting she could get. Since the first time she approached him, that time when she was just a child of ten, barely a pup as her father loved to say, back when she use to toddle after her mother hopelessly attaching to her leg or sometimes to her father's haori, of course she did that up until the time she was twelve, but that didn't matter now did it? Mei's lips quirked and her eyes oddly warmed over at the distant memory of her first meeting with Dokuga, and the happiest she had felt when she had clung to the old hanyou's body and mussed up his hair.

A trail of flower petals marked Mei's quick departure as she vanished whisking off into a blur of pure light red and silver, rushing towards the scent with her amber eyes flickering and her pupils dilating in excitement. She could still recall her meeting to Dokuga. No it wasn't nearly as….romantic as some people thought. He had saved her, in a way. She was just ten at the time, and some of the children from Kaede's village, the one her parents now lived in for quiet some time, and where she had been raised, had been picking on her. Now it seemed stupid, but back then....it had hurt. He'd saved her though, and he'd made a promise to protect her; a promise that meant the world to her.

It was childish and stupid, but he'd promised, and she held him too it, and he kept true to his word...even if he did seem to leave and go as he pleased. Sometimes staying for a while, then leaving, and then coming back. It had been like that since six years ago.

Now where were they a few years later?

“Dokugaa~,” The blur tackled the male to the ground, her arms wrapping around his head and legs entwining around his waist from behind. “Ha ha! Morning, wolf boy, I told you it's useless to try and avoid me, I can smell you a good mile away!” And for once he wasn't bleeding, at least not from what she saw or smelt, but then again her sense of smell came and went at times and it wouldn't surprise her if she had accidentally, over looked it in her rush to tackle him. That's just how she was, when she found someone she could play with she would, after all Seiya complained how much Mei “stank” and well…Enrai…was Enrai…Even Sango-baa-chan's kids didn't want to play with Mei because she was too “rough” for them.

One of the bad things about being a quarter demon, you can never find anyone to play with. Kagome was busy being a miko and taking care of a few orphans now and then, and her father was always off running after her mother through the hills trying to keep her from getting herself killed, so yeah…things got a little lonely. Half demons barely mated, so the idea of a quarter demon like Mei existing was…well unnatural. The idea of a half demon taking a human as their mate more or less didn't happen, no matter what the circumstances, though Mei hadn't met many…other than Dokuga that is. And boy did she love messing with him.

“What are up to today? Dogging around?” Playfully, Mei tugged on his ears, letting her thumbs brushed lightly against the soft fur with a slightly envious look. Oh his ears were a lot better than her plain-as-day pointed ones.

 

A pair of hands slapped her hands away, but gently, and a rough looking male was looking at her with a bit of gruff annoyance. Yet again, it fell quickly, and he straightened putting his hand on top of Mei's head, and started to ruffle her hair as if she were a small child. “How ya doin' kiddo. Out collectin' flowers `gain? That's awfully girly fer ya.” He spoke not really caring what stumbled out of his mouth, but the minute he said it he could feel a cold chill run down his spine. Hopefully she wouldn't take it in the wrong way...again. He just had a bad habit of saying the first thing that came into his brain, and out right it came through his mouth before he could even think about it. Then he would try to explain what he said, and it normally got him in trouble, injured, and nearly skinned.

His ears lowered flat against his skull a bit showing how he was feeling. Little bastards always betrayed him when he was trying to fake. Yet, he still kept the smile in place, and looked around, and noticed they were just a few bits away from Sesshoumaru's `almighty castle of doom', as Dokuga liked to joke of course. “Yer Ma' and Pa' ain't `round?” He blinked and sniffed the air, and yet he couldn't smell either Mei's human mother, or Inuyasha's scent, not that he had anything against them really. They were fine, as fine went, but...well...Inuyasha really didn't like him much, proclaiming that wolves were always trying to steal what was his...some trash talk like that. All Dokuga knew was that Inuyasha simply did not like wolves in general, and he hadn't a clue why.

He passed a hand through his overly spiky crimson red hair. Now it wasn't as unreal as some that it seemed to flame, rather, it was the color of a deep kind of blood.
His hair was the color of blood red, dark, but with enough light tones to make sure it was still called red. Bangs shadowed over his forehead, and were unruly over his eyes, but he didn't seem to mind much. He had thin forelocks ending at his chin, and it was spiked in the back, and it was all natural too. His eyes were a mix of gold and brown specks creating an eerie look to his eyes, and his pupils were black slits, like most youkai. He had a tail and wolf ears the same color as his hair, and they were just signs of what he really was...a hanyou, half demon, half human.

He looked around the age of eighteen, but that was always deceiving in youkai, and even in half-youkai. He was at least eighty some years old, Dokuga. He wasn't that tall, but he wasn't that short either, he was an average height, and he might have just looked a bit...well...on the skinny side, more then he should be, but that's mostly because he burned so many damn calories running around like he did from place to place. Like most wolves, he loved to run; it was just something he enjoyed. Though there was something he liked just a tiny bit more then running, and no it was not food, though that was a close second, but it was Mei's cousin Seiya...and exactly why he was currently here, in the lands of the west.

“D'ya know where yer cousin is?” He kept sniffing at the air, still patting Mei on the head as if she were a child, and looked around sniffing. He caught her scent, and was about to bid Mei a farewell with a promise to play with her later, but he stilled when he also caught the scent of another wolf. His face was set into a grim frown as he looked almost crestfallen. “That bastard Kochi's here too?” He growled just a bit, and sighed ears drooping just a bit more as he knew that there would be no way Seiya would even give him the time of day today. Her “Knight in Fucking Shining Armor” was here today too, just great. He always, but always lost to that guy whenever he was trying to get Seiya to at least talk to him.

Sighing, he looked back down at Mei, and shook off his frown, trying to force up a smile. “Uh, so...anythin' new happen while I was away Kiddo?” If Dokuga had any defaults besides having feelings for a complete homicidal killing machine inside a female's body, it was that he was a bit too...well him. He talked like he was from the country, was rough around the edges, but had a heart of gold at best. He'd offer you the clothes off his back if he could just to make someone feel better. He loved little kids, but had his own temper, much like Inuyasha. He was the common `stupid but nice' guy that someone was friends with. Sure he wasn't a genius, but he wasn't stupid either...but...his emotions made him just a tiny bit too simplistic to most demons.

He let his emotions rule him most of the time, and couldn't hide his emotions most of the time, he sucked at it. He sucked at acting too. When he was in pain, everyone knew, even when he tried to put on a smile, when he was happy, everyone knew since he was off howling from some cliff or mountainside or hill, or tree, when he was just...well...anything, everyone knew! Dokuga was just free with his expressions was all, and that was a bit odd seeing how he's a hanyou that faced an almost similar past as Inuyasha, and Inuyasha was beyond guarded with his own emotions mostly hiding it behind being angry and ill-tempered.

Dokuga really wasn't all that much of a prominent anyone. His lineage didn't trace back to any kind of nobility at all, not from his demon mother, nor human father. Both had died so long ago that he barely remembered him. His mother, he only had her scent to remember her by; it was still stuck in his memories and only had a tattered obi and a single jade necklace to remember her by. His father, he never really knew all that much. His mother told him, he vaguely remembered that he had met the man only twice in his lifetime, while still a baby. His folks were in the past, and he remarkably was still living. Maybe it was stubbornness that won out in the few hanyou that did manage to survive from being drowned right at birth.

His mother had simply been a female, not alpha, just...female, in the middle of the pecking order who happened to have a one nightstand with a human for a night to get back at her real mate for mocking her on not having any pups. Well, lo and behold, his mother could conceive, it was just her mate who was impotent it seemed. Well, she had been cast from the tribe's den, and a wolf really can't survive on their own, much like normal wolves in nature. His mother could hold up until he was at least ten years old. From then on...he was on his own. Alone, still just a pup even by human standards, but he went on his own stealing when he could, and learning how to hunt by instinct. It was rough, for some time, but he got used to it, now it didn't seem all that hard a life.

But then he had spotted little Seiya. She had been eight around that time, Dokuga had been passing by looking for something to hunt down and eat. She had been having some trouble carrying an enormous looking pelt. He couldn't resist how cute of a kid she was and by god he was no pervert, but damnit, she was known for her beauty, as well as her known blood thirst. It seemed she had simply been trying to find her father that day when he was out patrolling with her brother somewhere, and Sesshoumaru had `forgotten' Mokomoko-sama, the damn pelt he always carried over his shoulder. Seiya was distraught that her father would leave a family heirloom behind so easily and had gone after him with the large pelt. Problem was, Sesshoumaru left it for a reason, it was a very hot day, and even he felt it was a bit of an annoyance to carry around something that large. Seiya just didn't know that, and like a faithful daughter tried to get it to her father as soon as possible.

When Dokuga had dropped by her side trying to help her, he had just put one hand on the pelt, and he had been sent ten yards off with claw marks on his cheek. Seiya glaring at him, telling him no “meager hanyou” could touch her “Great, handsome, powerful, ect” father's pelt without explicit permission. He had been bewildered that an eight year old could knock him off his high horse so easily. After she had insulted him, she went on still trying to carry the large pelt with her tiny body, in the smoldering heat, and trying not to get it dirty. She was actually doing a pretty good job for a kid. He had been determined to show Miss Snooty not to be such a brat, but she kept beating him back and back and back, and soon enough his anger towards her turned into obsession, and then into something akin to a crush when she was older.

One of those days, Mei had come to visit her uncle, and that's when he'd found out that Seiya and Mei were cousins. She had `saved' him as she put it. Really she hadn't done anything...he could heal slower then most demons, but he was still a fairly fast healer damnit. She had been such a cute kid too, rather feisty, but he liked to see a fighting spirit in the youth. Still she clung onto him like ivy, he often times caught her staring at him with some sort of dazed off far away look on her face, and he couldn't figure out why. He would look to see if he had anything on his clothing, then in his hair, then his tail, and then he'd proceed to look around to see if she had been staring at anything behind him, but usually found nothing. He just classified her to being a nutcase like her strange mother who was unlike any of the females he knew over the eighty years he's lived.

Her family was really odd indeed.

Dokuga looked up at the sky still knowing it was very indeed early in the morning, and was wondering why Mei was up of all the times in the morning. And another thing, why wasn't her father sniffing around acting like the guard dog he usually was? “Ano...” He moved finally, and got right in her face looking into her eyes almost like a small child as a real smile finally made his way to his face. “Why don't we see how ya improved in yer runnin' since we last saw each other, eh? C'mon, before yer Oyaji shows up to chase me `way.” He got closer and it almost looked like he was going to kiss her, but his eyes closed, and instead of a kissing her on the lips, which she probably wouldn't have objected, he nipped at her nose much like an older brother would tease a younger sibling, at least in the canine-youkai world.

 

Growling, Mei whined against his hands, slapping against his wrists trying to get him to stop, but of course her slaps were probably no greater than a human's punches. “S-stop it! S-stop it, Do-kun, stop it! It took my hours getting my hair like that.” And it had. Hours of her mother's time helping cut and trim her hair to get it together into a more “mature” look for someone her age. Following Kagome's words, Mei was still considered a “child” in her world, but in these times, Mei was old enough to be starting her first family, and it was about time she started looking for a male or at least getting some male attention never hurt. “Mou…You're so mean. Here I come over to visit you and you assault me like some kind…of…of tug toy!”

But all her complaints fell on deaf ears when Dokuga started to question where Seiya could be, making Mei's spine stiffen and her fists tightened around her flower necklace. Her own nose twitched with his, instantly catching onto the smell of iron and dirt, making her eyes shoot over to Dokuga's face. Kochi was here. His presence had never bothered Mei before, he was a nice guy more or less of the time, actually he was a down right gentleman for being a full blooded demon, most demons would over look Mei for her scent, thinking she was only a human in a demon's skin, but Kochi had courteously, nodded to her and seemed to welcome her as if she were actually a demon. In short…Mei liked Kochi; no where near Seiya's obvious crush, but Mei had a good sense of respect for the Eastern leader.

Sadly, Mei eyed Dokuga's ears and sighed softly to herself when they drooped down. She hated it when they did that. Mei's lips flattened into a firm line and her shoulders slumped a bit, after all a faking Dokuga was no fun. It didn't take much to read his little mind, he was probably considering running off and leaving little Mei all by her lonesome with a promise to come back and play later, but of course that promise would probably be forgotten or be pushed off to another “I'll play with you later” promise, and so on and so forth. So yes, Mei was actually happy that Kochi had made his trip for this month and sometimes even prayed he'd make the trip weekly, if not daily.

Slowly that little cocky smile returned, Mei giving a little growl of improvement with her eyes shut, looking a little too pleased that Dokuga wouldn't be seeing Seiya today. But at the word “Oyaji” Mei's eyes snapped open, about ready to snap at him for using such “vulgar” terms for her father (yeah yeah, the word Oyaji and curse words in general bugged her enough that Seiya was constantly calling her a baby but that didn't matter now did it?), but she didn't even manage to get her protest out before Dokuga's teeth were grazing her nose and the poor girl was leaping back with a small yip of surprise, her hands covering her nose. “Dokuga! That's my nose, and I just had my face washed! How am I going to explain the bite marks on my nose, huh?!”

Her cheek flushed a deep red, clearly showing she wasn't exactly considering that he was going to only bite her nose earlier, nope not at all, and she could only blame her savage driving hormones. But she couldn't, in a way, It...it was Dokuga's fault! The damn hanyou…His smile, his laugh, his kindness, so unlike that of all the demons she had met in her life and so unlike the own youkai in her family. He made her feel like she belonged in a way. Sure Seiya treated her…somewhat nice but there was always that higher air about her, and her family that oddly enough left Mei feeling like she had stepped into the wrong home. Dokuga always had this kind of feeling about him, and just where her blood was from didn't seem to bother him at all, he still played and laughed with her. Why Seiya couldn't see what she had, Mei didn't know…and she hoped Seiya would never know it.

“You little whelp, come here!” Mei leaped, throwing her arms around his head and throwing all her weight at him, sending them both rolling into the flowers like a pair of pups. Unlike that of a human, Mei gave a grumbling growl, and tried to nip back at his nose, while her hands carefully rubbed his ears for the fun of it. The fur under her finger tips were soft and warm, and all that much more smooth feeling, but the young girl kept her grip on his ears, fighting laughter as she nipped at his nose. “Got you!”

And like that, Mei was shoving him off and rushing away, her feet flying as she left the ground, running right towards the many woods that surrounded the plains, glancing over her shoulder once. The thrill of wind, the rush of running and not stopping , but best of all…The further she got Dokuga away from the castle, the better chance she had of keep his attention away from Seiya…

 

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The Western Lands were indeed vast and wide, with rivers stretching as far as the eye could see and vast amounts of game ripe for the picking of many demons and other animals. No one would rival to the West, not the cold North or the war barren South…But then…there was the East. Oh yes the East with rolling hills and high altitudes, the long winding trails and who could forget the newly found silver and gold found in the hills and rivers? Years back, the East had just been a kind of free country loss without power or actual control or even unity among the demons, but now so many years later after the rein of Kouga, a new leader and Alpha male came into focus and everything changed.

Years after Kouga finally gave up on Kagome, he had finally taken in Ayame as his mate and by the end of the first year of “marriage” Kouga was holding a son of his own. A son with bushy chestnut matching hair, and cobalt eyes, resembling his father almost to the “T”, minus the, well…the arrogant personality. Well now he was without the arrogance. Years ago things wouldn't had been the same. In literal leapt and bounds the young wolf demon rose through the ranks, starting at the smallest position of “runt” and steadily climbing and working hard for what he had. Nothing in the wolf clan came easy, not food, not clothing, not even love. When it came in a litter of three from one mother, and being born about the same time as about three other litters, giving everyone the same amount of food would only lead to having less food around….

Back then the idea of the strongest surviving was true.

Kochi fought for his place in the “living” at times wondering why he was trying so hard…and at others looking forward with a warm gaze towards the future and all the prospects it would hold. When he became leader things would change. When he became the Alpha male he would make sure that the cubs were fed and no more women would be forced to bury their infants before they could take a breath. He wouldn't allow it… And he didn't. Kochi…No…Tenrai no Kochi had kept his word. Having taken control of the pack only nineteen years ago, at the young age of sixteen human years. His life and his hard work paid off in record time. Wars were called off, and pride was taken in check as the Easter Lord soon reached out to the Western Lord, to work out an alliance and although as small as it was, a miracle occurred and the alliance was formed in the land of a small treaty allowing the Western Lord a good deal of the Eastern land…But with so few pack members, it was no big deal to let the Lord's large army into a few acres of his own territory. His accomplishments continued on. Hunting and dealing with humans, increasing profit not just through game but through money and gold as well, mining and increasing use of extra materials and exchanging them for more human type items.

And now the East just couldn't have been any better. Money, wealth, everything! They were in the moment of bliss…Or rather, it should have been thus.

“The second, third and fourth carts are to go to the town towards the borders in order. One cart per village. Collect the dues and that's it. First cart, follow me.” The young warrior tapped the tip of his blade, making it glisten slightly in the warm sunlight, acting as both a symbol of his status and of his power, after all, taking the sword from an opponent was a good symbol of power and in his case this sword belonged to his father, the old pack leader. With two lower class wolves in front, and two in the back, Kochi, Lord of the Eastern lands, lead them towards the castle, casually eyeing the demons whom scattered and regrouped in curious fashions as if unsure of what Kochi's presence was for, and why he would be wheeling such a large cart in.

“Milord. What are we to be doing with these…objects? Kimonos, hair ornaments. Why would you offer these to Sesshoumaru-sama?”

“I offer no such thing,” Kochi's hand slipped through his hair wiping a few strands of chestnut brown hair from his eyes, making the small beads in his hair jingle and lightly ping as they grazed one another. The other wolves seemed to shrink back, a bit startled by Kochi's movement. No warrior would touch their…beads like that unless under some kind of stress…”These items are for Seiya-Ojou-sama. And I suggest you refer to her father as the Lord Sesshoumaru or just Lord of the Western Lands Sesshoumaru unless you want to lose your heads. In fact, don't even speak. Lower your heads. No eye contact and that will be all.”

Now if his servants weren't nervous before they were about shaking in their skins now. Seiya's reputation had really preceded her for being quite….blood thirsty. In whispers and secrets she was referred to plainly as “Bloody Seiya”, as long as many other rumor. Although the act of killing thousands and fighting wars were not too unknown to youkai kind….Even Kochi…knew it well… Seiya's went beyond that of war. She killed just because she could. An act within itself that caused many demons to frown on her, but her father's position had done it so that many feared to actually do it.

Kochi directed the men towards a small garden and order them to leave the cart aside and to stay as far away back and kneel with their heads to the ground, unless they want to risk losing more than just their heads. They compiled happily, overjoyed at losing the heavy burden that Kochi had picked to bestow to the “Princess” as a customary kind of thing. Almost annually Kochi would make the trip from the mountains to visit and would causally leave the gifts, visit, then take his leave only to repeat. Oh there were many rumors about that too, but Kochi's people didn't dare to say anything.

“My lady,” Kochi approached the wooden screen doors and bowed once before dropping to one knee and placing his fist over his chest, bowing his head so his long chestnut hair cascaded down over his face. “I have come as scheduled although a bit earlier than I would have liked this morning, but I'm afraid much could not be done, there were trades to commence and hunts to be organized. If you wish, I can leave my gift here and come back in a few days time to meet with you at a more reasonable hour.”

 

There was a clang of metal as a female with long silver hair and the lightest amber eyes stood there in slight shock Not that she was still in her sleeping garments, but rather, she was in her training clothes, not much, but a yukata that was loosely tied with a pair of pants resembling that of her own father's underneath, her hair was tied up in the usual pigtails she had them in and forelocks cascading down her shoulders in elegant strands. Twin stripes of magenta were showing on her cheeks and a red crescent moon on her forehead to show her inu-youkai heritage and status of the mighty blood of the Inutaishou of so long ago.

Seiya was a small girl, even at the age of fourteen, but like most youkai, she had a body that would make any mortal woman jealous. Thin, but not so much that it made her look like a skeleton, a thin waist with round hips, and her chest area wasn't lacking any even with her young age still. Almost all of the Inutaishou line seemed to be perfect in appearance, though their personalities were something up for debate. Seeing how the two sons of Inutaishou were their own medical problems. Inuyasha needed anger-management, constantly, was a masochist, at least Seiya and her mother suspected with how much he angered Kagome and got slammed into the ground by those beads, and her own father was the most socially inept man in the whole of Japan.

Her brother she sometimes wondered if he even had a brain in his head in the first place with how he stared off into the distance. Mei...well...Mei was...Mei was an interesting case. And she herself had a blood lust she couldn't properly control, along with a vanity suited for all of the females in Japan put together.

Speaking of which, she even had make up on at the moment. Even if she had just come from training with her father, her mother as an unlikely witness to her daughter's new success in a sword technique she mastered in only an hour of seeing her father perform it. She could almost rival her brother Enrai. Kagura had been woken up earlier then usual against her will by an eager Seiya, and she was forced half-asleep to follow her mate and daughter to the dojo and hear them clang about with swords for about three hours and watch. Then clap and cheer when Seiya finally managed to control the technique...though right after clapping, she had simply toppled backwards snoring not caring anymore, and Sesshoumaru had sighed calling the training to an end and carried the wind witch over his shoulder back to their chambers.

Thus Seiya had been returning to her room to change for the day, but she had caught sight of Kochi. Her face had instantly flamed to the nice color of a tomato, and she had dropped the sword she had been carrying back to her room.

Seiya had a `secret' crush on Kochi. Though it was evident to all of the servants, to her mother, to her brother, to her Aunt Kagome, and even to Mei, but her father and Uncle seemed to not suspect any of the such...or maybe they both refused to acknowledge that someone from their family would fall for a `stinking wolf' as her Uncle had put it. Either way, it was evident to most people, well...maybe except even Kochi himself.

The way the normally strong-willed girl would bend to his every word, just seemed to always want to be beside him when he visited, and well...just cling onto him or something, hell even show off when she could, and he was the only one that she showed any real kind of respect towards. Maybe Kochi just passed it off as idolism from the time he had rescued her from a dragon when she was a mere three years old.

“K-Kochi-sama!” She called out probably startling him seeing how she wasn't behind those screens he was in front of. She looked down at her state of dress and seemed to frown slightly, but shrugged it off nervously thinking he wouldn't mind too much.

She ignored the servants and guards and whatnot that Kochi brought with him. She'd never kill someone under his charge; at least she had that much honor. “Tou-san is with Kaa-san currently in their bedroom when Kaa-san passed out in the dojo.” Maybe passed out wasn't the correct word for her mother's sudden drop of sleep, but it was a bit hard to try to explain Kagura's actions sometimes. “He'll be busy most of the morning.” The smile on her face didn't seem all too sorry about that part of her father being busy though. “Aniki is probably still asleep, my Uncle and his family came yesterday you see.” That explained all...everyone knew that Sesshoumaru, ever since he mated to Kagura didn't get to bicker with his brother like normal, and then the tension grew, so, he took it out with his son in daily training even if he didn't mean to.

She stopped right in front of him, and bowed herself towards him, but the small girlish blush there was never gone as she kept smiling warmly at him. It was so obvious that she admired him just a bit too much that it surpassed idolism of a `hero'. She got up from bowing, and quickly grabbed onto his arm gently tugging on him excitedly. “I've been practicing with Tou-san, and I just learned how to control a new technique! I wish to show you Kochi-sama!” She sweetly rung her voice hugging his arm closely feeling happy for just being near him. The blind devotion she had for him almost rivaled that which she had for her father, hell, most even said it surpassed it.

“Please, please come and judge for yourself! It'd mean so much for me.”

 

Raising his head, Kochi blinked back his look of surprise and climbed to his feet, placing him a good head or so taller than the young pup of Sesshoumaru. Yes, Seiya was in good shape and mind for a young woman, but she was still just that a young woman. A pup in a woman's skin and still far from understanding the world as what it was, but there was some respect Kochi could give her, she was brilliant and well educated, so many good traits going for her that would really place her in a good kind of marriage, Kochi was sure of it. Hell he'd stake his own honor on that bet, no one could ever say he wouldn't Kochi never went back on his word. “Saa...You treat me with too much respect Seiya-ojou-sama,” Kochi shot his servants a sharp look, silencing their silent laughter at Seiya's obvious attempts of well…flirting, but let's just say Kochi wasn't too much of a stranger to that. With one look, his servants dropped their heads and started to slowly back away, looking almost a bit pale faced. Pleased with himself Kochi straightened himself to meet Seiya with a respectable look.

“I am only a Lord myself, and in much debt with your father so there is no need to bow like that. As much as I would enjoy to see your new technique, perhaps I will catch you some other time for a light spar, but I have much business to attend with your father or even your brother concerning a…few disturbances.” Disturbances were putting it too easily. The servants all exchanged glances from over the large chart. Disturbances weren't exactly the word for it. People were going missing…The hunters would leave and return with only half their number. Pups were finding it harder and harder to sleep, and the wolves could not find any moments of peace. Something wasn't right in the East, like an ill wind spreading over the hills and piling down towards the West.

 

“However,” Kochi quickly decided to redirect her attention, after all he didn't quite feel like leaving Seiya feeling too out of it. Instead he released his hands and carefully took one of her hands in his and placed one hand on her lower back, completely unaware of her outfit, after all Kochi was more or less use to females prancing around naked in front of him.

“I did spend some time collecting a few new kimonos for you. I heard from a few sources that you've outgrown a few of the old ones I collected in my passed visits.” Which really was kind of an understatement. She was starting to grow like a beanstalk…with a pair of melons growing on top, but who was Kochi to say that? His own wife was a beanstalk herself, she could see eye to eye with him, and even throw him to the ground if she wanted. Not once had she never let Kochi get away with anything. All the more reason he wore her old beads in his hair, to remind him… of her. “I'm sure you'll find them all to be quite satisfactory. There's even one or two made to withstand force from your training.”

Fire rat's fur, the finest silk, melted gold pressed into the forms of beads, and even a few well formed chains shaped into hair pieces and little bracelets. Oh he spoiled her, yes Kochi did, but he could not help it. In his clan the idea of children were precious themselves, but with no heir or little ones of his own, Kochi just spoiled Seiya as if she were his own, and …well it wasn't just Seiya he spoiled either. Much like his father would, Kochi would make sure to bring a new Kimono for Kagura or even a bundle of new arrows for Kagome (of which he would quickly be forced to deal with a fuming Inuyasha)

Kochi brought her over to the cart, and allowed her to peer into the cart at her own leisure and to examine each trunk and little chest to her own delight. If something was wrong (which he had yet to see) he'd apologize and return it to be replaced for later. Casually he leaned onto the side of the chart and signaled for his servants to walk off, and to deal with their own deeds for a good few hours. Letting his arms dangle over the side of the cart, he turned his head to eye Seiya with a linger hint of a smile on his face. Watching her face was certainly enjoyable, especially watching the way she seemed to love beautiful and sparkling things. “So your extended family has come to visit? So Mei-chan is present is she not? Ah, I wonder if she would be willing to come with me to treat some of our pups, a few of them haven't been sleeping or eating properly lately, I'm worried they could be coming down with something…”

Mei was good with medicines or just tracking weeds with medical properties easily. Hell Kochi has had the pleasure of enjoying a few drops of her sleep potion when his own arm had become injured some time back. To that day he couldn't think of a better kind of sleep. Of course she was barely considered a youkai, and probably would piss off a lot of his pack, but as far as Kochi was aware, Mei did seem like a nice girl and more than willing to help those around her. But it was her childlike demeanor that made Kochi smile, just like Seiya, but when it came down to talking business, Kochi would probably pick Seiya over Mei any kind of day. But still…the matter of medicines…

He sighed and rubbed his temple quietly, slightly tired of everything he had to deal with today. "How have things been doing in the West, Oujo-sama? Is that Hanyou still bothering you?"

 

Normally, Seiya would be jumping at the chance at seeing just what Kochi had brought her this time, but she couldn't help, but look just slightly dejected. Though, the look passed as if nothing had ever been there. Just like her father and brother, she was very much Sesshoumaru's daughter. Pulling on a 100% deceiving face with the adoring little smile of her's she looked over at the things in the cart without too much interest in her mind, but it seemed as if she were interested on the outside. Sure, she'd probably go over the presents as excited as usual in her own private time, but she couldn't help the way Kochi just...well...treated her sometimes.

Not like he treated her badly! On the contrary, he treated her better then any other male she had ever known. He was an absolute joy to have around, and yet...

She unconsciously worried her lip amber eyes looking down at a pattern on a kimono, a pale blue with little black flowers embroided in for decoration, the obi, matching as always, and perfectly fit. She noted a few weapons as well, and jewelry. He went to such an expense for her, but that's probably mostly out of loyalty of a truce from her father. Most people only treated her with respect because she was Sesshoumaru's daughter, the little princess of the West. She was known to be vicious, she could hold her own against father and brother, and she had a beauty that surpassed her mother's (though that wasn't exactly said within Kagura's earshot). She had everything going for her, and in a few hundred years, she'd probably be married off to some Lord somewhere on her father's orders.

She knew it wouldn't be anytime soon seeing how her own father still treated her like a new born pup. Sure, she was young in youkai standards, but that didn't mean she was mature...or at least getting there. The few tutors she let live actually said she had a knack for learning, and she did have a thirst for knowledge, what most people didn't know about her was that she would sit down with a good scroll or book and just read on her bed. Not even her father knew that she sometimes snuck into his `war' room and changed a few battle plans in his scrolls. Enrai was a good heir, and Seiya didn't want the position of heir, but she could be so much more if she wished it.

Looking up silently, she watched Kochi while he was off looking at something else. She could almost feel her spirits dwindle; ever since she was twelve she had been trying to get Kochi to pay attention to her then more then just a child. Yet nothing, nothing she did ever worked. How many times had she ended up faking smiles the entire day, and then to end up crying in her mother's lap blotching up her perfect face with tears? Plenty, that's how many. Kagura was probably the only one who knew the full extent of Seiya's feelings, no one really got that the crush really was just more then a crush. She literally owed the wolf youkai her life.

At the mention of Dokuga, she stiffened at the thought. Oh...right...the mutt. Sure, she had nothing against...hanyou in general; her Uncle was one after all. She really did like her Uncle, he was fun to tease, and he wasn't afraid to pick an argument with his own niece. She also respected him, he was a strong fighter, strong enough to meet her father's standards, and she knew that her uncle had defeated her father a few times. While both sons far surpassed their father by now, it was a little too obvious who was the stronger one when they really had to prove it. That didn't mean though, that she had any respect for Dokuga.

He was just pathetic, utterly pathetic. No demon visibly would shed tears like he would, would prance around in flower fields with children, wouldn't, and well...wouldn't...do the things he did! And she couldn't forget that he had `feelings' for her. What male wouldn't say they had feelings for her just to get into her pants, and weasel in into her father's territory by using his daughter? Oh like she didn't know most of her `suitors' had been taken cared of by her father, by way of his claws and swords, but she knew all too well they intended to use her, to one day overthrow her father, and possibly kill her brother, and then the rest of the family. Like she was stupid...heh...

Still, Dokuga was...persistent if anything. Yet, she hadn't seen him in weeks. It was usually around this time that he'd be around stirring up trouble. “No Kochi-sama, he hasn't bothered me.” Her automatic answer, almost mechanical by now and she just pulled back her hand from inside the cart as she had nearly sliced threw a kimono in her thoughts.

She sometimes wondered if Kochi knew of her feelings already, and just ignored them, or was he really that dense to her advances. She had to admit, they were pretty obvious.

“Kochi-sama...” She wanted to ask, so desperately wanted to ask why he hadn't just out right rejected her yet. Why was he still...amusing her? Seiya could take a direct answer; she wasn't weak...even if it'd tear her up on the inside and out. “Y...you said...” her pale face was getting a bit red again as she kept looking down not daring to meet his gaze. “I didn't need to give you honorifics...or such respect, that you owed so much to Tou-san...but...” Flexing her hands, she felt her claws dig right into her palms and draw up blood, she barely flinched though as she kept digging into her palms bit by bit. “I owe...you so much more...from that time, when I was smaller.”

He had valiantly saved her from a dragon when she had wandered too far off from her brother and father. She had been too small, too weak, and had been too defenseless seeing how she had only been three years old and still spoke in broken sentences. She could barely even walk back then with how many layers of kimono her mother put on her. Scared to her wits, she honestly thought she would die, but then she was against a warm body, and had been saved. It ended fairly quickly without too much wonder, but it had been enough for Seiya. At first it had been hero worship, then idolism, and well...things do tend to escalate if left alone for too long a time. She could honestly say she had more then just a girlish crush on the Eastern lord.

 

Kochi's eyes seemed to flicker between amusement and recollection as his own mind recalled everything. He could still remember that day, just a few months since…then. It was during the season when the days were small and the nights long, the birds were on the move, signaling the change of atmosphere, and barely pushing the time when the game would move territory. The pack was working on stocking up on the supplies for the winter, determined to make it through the cold without losing too many pups, and Kochi was on the move…as usual. During that time he couldn't stay still, he couldn't stay in that cave and watch his life wither away. He could still recall the weight of her in his arms, a tiny little thing, and the way her large eyes just gleamed so brightly. Indeed she was a cute one, a petite child, in need of much care and protection, the shock he had felt at finding her nearly being eaten by a dragon had been enough to make him almost take a swing at Sesshoumaru when Kochi had laid eyes on him.

“No.” Opening one of the boxes, Kochi pulled out a pair of golden chopsticks and seemed to turn them in front of his eyes, making the different bits of it gleam and shine brightly, making him sigh softly, and turned around to really look at her, letting his hand cup her chin and raise her head so he could get a good look at her face and see all the contours that once so long ago was just a bunch of chubby baby mass. His lips twisted up into a soft awkward smile that just seemed kind of out of place against his usual expression. “You owe me nothing, Seiya. Nothing. It's…me that owes you so much more than you realize. My pack, my life, and my future owe so much to you.”

Brushing a few strands of hair out of his way, Kochi secured the two chopsticks into place, carefully fitting them into her hair with ease while somehow managing not to disturb any kind of her hair. “So few years ago, Seiya, I had a mate. She was….a den mate of mine, if you can understand what I mean. We were both born around the same time to different parents, and she was always giving me a hard time. Always shoving me into the nearest rock, always yanking my hair until I was left with almost no hair at all...” Kochi shook his head, and gave a soft chuckle under his breath. “She was the last female I ever wanted as a mate, or so I had thought. Females aren't as plentiful in my pack as they should be, so my choice was limited, but I was still determined not to take her. She was too rough, too rowdy; too immature….But I was wrong.”

His thumb brushed against Seiya's cheek absent mindedly, as he voiced his thoughts thinking back to the days of when he would return to the pack and instantly feel that warm feeling that left him running back to his cave. “She cared deeply for everyone and when I made the decision to trade with the humans for our survival, she supported me. From there my respect for her grew…She was just like you in some ways, stubborn, prideful, and yet she had this soft edge to her that made humans and demon love her dearly, But…” Kochi sighed and let his hand drop, and turned to shut the box on the chart and set it back into the belongings. “She fell ill one day. Out of the blue. Just…she became someone I didn't recognize.” Her cheerful smile had fallen into a sullen glare, and she had wanted nothing to do with him. She forced him to leave the cave, slapped away his hands, and even went as far as to threaten to kill him. But that…that was something Seiya didn't need to know.

“We…were not together for long. A few months at most. We had talked about children and wanted some of our own as soon as possible, but it never happened. That day, she had kicked me from the cave again and with nothing else to do, I was running, thinking, and weighing so many options. You see, I couldn't…I didn't want to think about losing her, she was getting worse and I had a lot of options to make…I knew where the dragon was…and I suppose it was a little selfish, but I wanted to….It's hard to explain, one minute I was standing on that rock aiming to piss off that dragon so it would come at me, and the next thing I saw…was you. A little pup in a pack of fuzz balls.” Kochi snorted and raised a hand to casually cover what had to be a smile. “And all I could think about was how much I wanted to be in your place…and when I saw you scream I just reacted. Your little heart was thumping like crazy and you were just so shaken. For the first time in weeks, days, months, I felt…alive. You reminded me of my purpose for being. It gave me more strength than you realize, Seiya.”

Once more Kochi sighed and kicked a rock under the wheel of the chart, making sure it wouldn't move too much with all the weight on it. If that cart went rolling, Kochi didn't think he could even catch it before it would tip and fall, spewing gold and random bits everywhere and anything. He grabbed his sword and removed it from his side belt and tossed it onto the cart without a care, his eyes slightly darting from what he was doing then to Seiya. “Had you not gotten lost and nearly killed, I don't believe I would be standing here right now and for that I am very thankful for you Seiya, and that's why I use those honorifics. Now… “

Tossing aside the last of his armor, Kochi nodded at Seiya and gestured towards the house. “How about some tea? I'm here for a visit and I plan on having a good one, don't you agree?”

 

Seiya just smiled timidly at him, so not like how she was and nodded her head at him. Tea...great...yes, tea, at least this way she could spend a little more time with him before he went to talk to her father and then back to the East. Kami, she was such a fool for loving a man like Tenrai No Kochi.

 

...:..:...

 

A/N: Ah...Akai here. Now before anyone goes asking, this story was/is a roleplay that me and my friend did a while ago. I finally decided to get off my lazy ass, ask Kyo if she wanted to show off our rp, and thus...here's the first chapter. Now, it seems a little messy and out of order, at least to me it does, but just remember, this is straight out of an rp. I just had to edit our posts and organize them to actually make sense as a fanfic. Now you ask yourself...what about Asuka in the beginning? Ah...well...find out next chapter. Nineteen pages should be long enough for chapter one. I'm posting it here on Kyo's and mine joint account (recently made too). Aha, now this gets complicated, but these characters are the second generation to Inuyasha. Some are made up by me, and some by Kyo. Try not to take it so deep, this rp was mainly just for fun, and...I'd like it to be read for fun and I don't want flames shoved down my throat.

 

A/N II: And it's Kyo here. Yeah, I finally gave in because I love these characters so much. My writing is bleh, at least to dear ol' me, but we give it out best. So I guess…Clichés aside, read and review for all.

 

Enjoy!