InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Mission: Assassination - Terminated ❯ The Decision ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters from the anime/manga.

I'm now Fenikkusu Ice on mm.org, ff.net, and fp.net. Yes now I don't have to use three different pen names. It can get pretty irritating. Been awhile eh? Oh for those of you who have read my story before Dec 27 you'll know what I mean. I'm sorry for the delay. It's been hectic lately.. Since I had to register on a new account I lost most of the wonderful reviews. So I apologize if I have not mentioned you here if you reviewed. Thanks to all the reviewers and those people who have read my fic but did not leave a review. Responses are at the end of this chapter.

`Mission: Assassination - Terminated'

By Fenikkusu Ice

Chapter 3: The Decision

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Well. . . that was unexpected.

The dog ears on top of his head twitched with amusement as he replayed the scene in his head.

He was pacing around the dark hallways of the huge castle, lit only be small torches that were placed a few feet from one another high along the walls. He was unable to sleep and had decided to train on his hand-to-hand combat skills.

~Flashback~

He placed his hands inside the sleeves of his red haori as he walked towards the courtyard. He had always liked to practice his fighting skills there since there was so much room and not nearly as stuffy as the dojo. It was also the place in the castle where he knew his half-brother liked to practice as well, which added to the benefit of intruding on the taiyoukai's `sanctuary'.

As he approached the cleared area outside, sounds of swords clashing together invaded his sensitive ears. Curious, he quickened his pace and what he saw was. . . breathtaking.

The first thing or rather person he saw was the shadowed figure completely attired in black who was obviously a ninja, attacking his half-brother, Sesshoumaru. That fact alone was enough for him to give that person his respect and it was saying something since he hardly respected anyone. With his youkai senses, he could see every movement they made as they threw punches and kicks and took swipes with their swords directed at each other, with neither side spilling blood.

He was impressed as each second flew by. She -he could tell because of her figure- was giving Sesshoumaru one heck of a fight! There was not a single person, human or youkai, he can recall that even lasted this long with the other inu youkai. There were even fewer who dared to challenge him, on his own lands no less! `And she is a human too!' he thought. `Most youkai would cower in front of him but her?' He shook his head. `She would be dead soon.'

The way the ninja fought told him that she was human and not youkai. Youkai fought differently for they usually hold a predatory stance of some sort, even while standing. Their handling of weaponry was more aggressive than humans and they mostly rely on their instincts while in combat. He noticed though that she was much more aggressive than most humans he'd encountered with were.

Her fighting skills were so impressive! Even he could just barely keep up with her movements and Sesshoumaru's (as much as he hated to admit to himself).

Finally he decided to reveal himself. Not to help Sesshoumaru. Oh no, he would never do that. He would love to see his arrogant half-brother's pride reduced a notch. The thought of a `lowly human' as Sesshoumaru often put it, beating the `great' taiyoukai was enough to send him to the ground, laughing his head off. He settled for a small chuckle instead. He just wanted to see if this ninja was good enough to fight him as well.

To his dismay, she noticed him and performed a great leapt to a corner. She bowed with her sword in between her hands and said in a stoic voice, "I promise you that you will not live for much longer. Remember my name is Fenikkusu." He knew that her comment was directed towards Sesshoumaru but he caught her stealing a glance at him telling him that she knew he was there.

`She didn't think that she actually has a chance of leaving here alive does she?' he thought for a second. When she did next totally took him off guard. She threw a smoke bomb. He thought amusingly, `So I cannot use my eyes, so I'll just smell her out.' As soon as he breathed in the smoke, he began choking and coughing, his lungs desperately needing an outlet for the stinking fumes. His mind barely registered that his half-brother was also having trouble with the ninja's weapon.

After a few minutes, the smoke cleared and he could clearly hear Sesshoumaru repeating the formidable ninja's name. There was no reason to go after her now. She was gone.

~End of Flashback~

She was right about one thing though; he won't forget her name. He had rarely seen such display of skill and strength against a taiyoukai. What both amused him and angered him was that she was a human. Humans were supposed to be weak. Okay scratch that; they WERE weak. She was just one exception to that statement.

The thought of the woman besting his half-brother crept into his mind again and resulted in a chuckle from him.

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`Fenikkusu. It means `Phoenix'. The legendary fire bird that was a master at hiding, displays great strength, represents a fiery spirit that radiates power, intellect and determination. Yes that name suits her well,' Sesshoumaru mused.

`I've heard of her before. The ninja who always succeeded in her missions; the ninja who was able to best even demon lords; the ninja who was able to compare to him in weaponry, she was a formidable opponent. She will be difficult to get rid of.'

A low chuckle drew him out from his deep thoughts. Sesshoumaru shot an ice cold glare at the other inu youkai leaning against a stone wall on the other side.

"Inuyasha."

The other silver-haired figure stopped laughing instantly, but kept a knowing smirk on his face. With his arms crossed he said in a mocking tone, "So the `great' Sesshoumaru was finally beaten by a human. Hah! Never thought I'll see the day. . ."

"You keep talking and you will never see anything again," Sesshoumaru threatened, clenching his fists but also keeping his golden eyes cold.

Inuyasha inwardly shivered but stood his ground. "Is that any way to treat your little brother, Sesshoumaru or have you forgotten that promise you made to father?" His smirk grew wider at the taiyoukai's obvious fury.

"You KNOW that that's the only reason you're still alive, don't you hanyou?" he replied, grinning when he saw that he finally succeeding in irritating Inuyasha.

"Feh get out of here so I can train," he shot back.

"Inuyasha with your fighting skills you need A LOT of training." Sesshoumaru felt satisfied at the growl that was directed at him as he went inside the castle.

Now as he reached his bedroom, his only thoughts were on that woman, that ninja. She said that she would be back. What bothered him most was that she had been able to get pass his shields. She must have some sort of power. He had never heard of any ninja like her. With that power no wonder she was as strong as she was. He could understand how she had gotten pass his guards. The fools were nothing and once they find out that a human outsmarted them, they would be an embarrassment to the youkai society.

"She will be back and when she comes, I'll be waiting."

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Fenikkusu Ice: I was going to end it here but seeing that you people have been so patient with me, I wrote more.

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The sun shown brilliantly over the busy market where merchants were selling everything from fruits to expensive jewellery. The crowds of people were anxious to see what was being offered. The shops had everything imaginable. The merchants were showing at the top of their lungs, drawing people to their products, seemingly desperate to sell. This was the biggest market in the Western Lands, well for the humans anyway.

Humans and youkai prefer not to socialize with one another as youkai thought of themselves to be superior to humans and humans see demons as power hungry thieves. It didn't help that most of the youkai in the Western Lands had more wealth and power than most of the humans. For this reason, youkai and humans tend to separate themselves from the other as best as they could. Occasionally though, a few youkai could be seen in human markets just to boast about their `superiority'. It didn't work the other way around as humans fear of losing their lives.

Wearing a cloak with the hood down on her shoulders, Kagome headed towards a bar in the centre of all the activity. Sango was already there when she arrived, and Kagome waved at her as she sat on a stool.

Sango poured Kagome's usual drink from behind the counter and handed it to her. Sango worked as a bartender there when she didn't have assignments as a ninja. Most of the missions took place at night anyway and they never know when to expect payment. Kagome sold good luck charms and jewellery across the street at a merchant's shop.

"So completed another mission already?" Sango asked. Actually it was more of a statement so she was surprised to hear the next words from her friend.

"Not yet Sango. Last night was rather. . . unexpected on my part." Kagome didn't know that the taiyoukai even bothered to train as much as he did.

Sango nodded then asked, "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Kagome replied, "Yes but not here."

Before Sango could answer, the owner of the bar walked to them and said, "Hey Sango get back to work. You know how busy is it at this time of day."

Both of the girls turned their attention towards the young man clad in a tight t-shirt and baggy pants.

Kagome groaned. `Oh no, not him.'

Sango nodded at him then glanced at Kagome with a look that said, "We'll talk later," and went back to serving drinks.

"Kagome."

"Hojo."

The owner smiled. "Ah so you remember me. So did you think about it? Would you like to go to that restaurant with me tomorrow?"

Kagome gritted her teeth but forced herself to smile and said sweetly, "I'm busy. Maybe another time." With that said, she paid for her drink and slipped out of the bar before she could do anything that might get Sango fired. She had wanted so badly to punch his lights out, wiping that smile off his face. He's been hitting on her for months ever since Sango got the job there and she found him to be so annoying.

As she walked down the street back to the merchant's shop, she waved at her boss, a nice old lady, signaling that her break was up. She took her place inside the shop, thinking about last night's events.

`Hmm that was the best challenge on my skills for a long time. I have a month. Maybe I could toy with him a little. Fight him but not kill him yet,' she thought. `I could use more practice on my skills.' She was satisfied with that decision. She enjoyed a good challenge, especially one that required her to reach beyond her limits.

She smiled as she turned her attention to a potential customer.

*******

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Fenikkusu Ice