InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Murder On An Autumn Night ❯ Prologue ( Chapter 1 )

The dream always began the same way; with the sound of a swish to warn him of the impending danger. He ran, trying to get away but as always, he was too late. Before he knew it, the arrow had pierced through his chest, pinning him to the tree behind him.

And as always, the pain hit him like a ton of bricks. It was so perfectly exquisite, and excruciating. He futilely tried to reach for the arrow, to pull it out, and let his hanyou healing save him. But to his dismay, the arrow was enchanted.

"Hama…no….ya…"he gasped out, flinching involuntarily from the purifying energies. A figure slowly walked out from the shadows, familiar and graceful. He wanted to scream as the shadows parted to reveal his murderer's face.

"Why….why did you do this?" He panted, his feet dangling a few inches from the ground. The pain started to spread from his chest to all parts of his body.

The miko looked at him evenly, without a trace of remorse. "Because I love him."

He would have said something more, but at the same moment, the purifying energies coursed through his body. He let out a deep scream, as every single cell in his body undergo an irreversible change. He felt violated, as if something is trying to burn him inside. Every part hurts, even his hair. He wanted to slash at things, to vent his pain and anger. But there was nothing he could do except to writhe in agony and prayed for a merciful end.

But his prayers were not answered. The purification torture continued for what seemed like eternity. And his murderer was standing before him, a silent witness to his humiliation and suffering.

When it finally ended, he let out a soft sigh of relief. His body automatically slumped forward from the abuse he had just endured. His eyes were about to close any moment now and he prepared mentally to breathe his last.

To his horror, the hair that fell in front of his face as he slumped forward was black. He lifted his face, his body contorted in agony and glared at the miko who was standing just a few feet away.

He had become a human.

In hindsight he should have supposed he should have expected it. Afterall he was a hanyou. That means he would not die from purification.

No. He would die from the arrow wound in his chest.

The night was strangely silent. The moon was shinning brightly. It was a clear autumn night. Nothing could be heard, except his own heavy breathing.

And the sound of his blood dripping onto the ground.

"Why?" he plead, his eyes begging for an answer. A single word that encompassed so many questions.

Why kill me?

Why betray me?

Why love him?

The miko want to feel remorse, to feel anything except the cold emptiness within her heart. Some part of her recoiled in horror at what she had done, that innocent blood was spilt.

She supposed she owed him an answer for what happened. But sometimes, the truth is better left alone. Sometimes, she decided, ignorance might be the last kindness she could give him. It's better for him not to know the real reason for his murder.

So she left, as softly as she came, leaving nothing in her wake except a dying hanyou pinned to a tree, pleading for answers.

He watched as she left, gasping for breath every second. The slight movement of his body as he tried to gulp in air caused the shaft embedded in his chest to grind against his ribs, causing another kind of pain that was just as excruciating. Blood began to fleck his lips as he coughed softly. With a sudden clarity, he knew he was going to die tonight, alone, in a painfully slow manner.

Dimly, some part of his mind wondered how he would die, be it from drowning in his own blood due to a punctured lung, or excessive blood loss from his chest wound, or perhaps a slow case of asphyxiation as he struggled for each breathe, hanging slightly from the ground by an arrow. Black spots started to appear in his vision, even as the shaft continued to torture him by pinning him like a helpless specimen.

He wasn't afraid of death; by now he would almost welcome it, if only to rid himself of this agony. But he wanted answers.

And he cannot rest in peace until he found them.

Tears started to slide down his cheeks, warm and salty. They silently joined their brethren under his feet, where his blood started pooling. He supposed he could wrench the arrow free now, the enchantment would not hurt him anymore.

Once again, he raised his hand up, struggling to reach the arrow. It was the last thing she gave him, and it hurt so much.

And he just wanted it to stop hurting.

Somehow it was getting harder to breathe, his mind started to drift from the lack of sufficient oxygen to his brain. He stiffly reached for the arrow, fingers curling around the protruding portion of the shaft from his chest.

He wanted to pull it out, really, he wanted to. But as his fingers curled around the shaft, a soft sigh escaped his lips.

And he breathed his last.

The fingers loosen themselves from the shaft as the hanyou, no, human boy's spirit fled his broken body. No one noticed a tear falling as his eyes closed slowly, those violet orbs never to see light again. The tear hit the pool of blood with a small splash, a small mournful reminder of a life extinguished. No one would know of his passing, and no one would care.

That's when the dream ended, and he always wakes up in cold sweat. He supposed he should see a psychiatrist for help.

And he would too.

Just as soon as his chest stopped bleeding.

Please read and review. It would make me very happy.

P.S Hama no Ya means purifying arrow. It is the kind of arrow that Kikyou, Kagome and generally miko can produce to destroy Youkai.