InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tsuki ❯ The Hanyou Miko ( Chapter 1 )

--Written by: Naki

&nbspA moonless night darkened a Shinto shrine and the surrounding area. A young woman with long black hair and dark eyes sat on the crest of a hill stared up at the sky. She wore the traditional Shinto miko's red and white haroi and hakama. Her eyes found the space in the giant navy-blue cloth spread across the sky where the moon should be. She sighed as her thoughts turned to the matter currently working its course. Strangers called it a curse because they didn't know her abilities and her current responsibilities as a miko. She, however, thought it was a wondrous gift repeated every moonless night. She anticipated each new moon as a holiday. Smiling, she leaned back, using her hands to prop herself up. The stars were much more prominent when the moon wasn't out.

"Watching the stars again, cousin?"

"The miko turned her head. A dark-haired young man dressed in a dark blue gi stood behind her. She smiled at him.

"I have to watch the stars when the moon isn't out, Tori."

&nbspTori sat down beside the miko. He was a monk at the shrine, and, due to the shrine's teachings, he was a veritable master in the Martial Arts. His speed and reflexes far surpassed those of all the other monks of countless generations that have graced the shrine in its long history.

"I'm enjoying this night as much as I can," she said. "It will be another month until it happens again."

"You can see the stars a lot more clearly without moonlight." Tori commented.

&nbspThe miko dropped her eyes from the sky to the ground in more thought. "I'm returning to the village tomorrow."

&nbspTori's response was immediate. "I'll come with you."

&nbspShe shook her head. "No. I can take care of myself and besides, you're needed here."

&nbspTori bit his lip and looked rejected. "I haven't been home in ages, Tsuki."

"Oh, don't give me that!" Tsuki brushed offending strands of hair from her face after a breeze passed. "You're an adult now, so start acting like one."

"Don't remind me..." Tori grumbled.

&nbspThe two of them fell silent. Nocturnal insects sang out to each other amidst the grass and trees underneath the dark velvet sky.

"It's very late." Tori stood up.

"It's near dawn," Tsuki added.

&nbspTori turned and surveyed the horizon critically. "No, I think there's still quite a while before dawn. Maybe two hours?"

&nbspTsuki smiled and shook her head. Just as Tori started to walk away, the horizon acquired a lighter tinge.

"Tori," she called.

"What?" He stopped and looked at her.

&nbspShe held a hand up. Her fingernails had elongated into sharp, pointy projections. "The sun is starting to rise, my young cousin."

&nbspTori left swiftly. He had no desire to see her change back again.

&nbspTsuki moved about in her room early the next morning. An open bag lay on her bed, already half-full with things Tsuki needed for the trip. She would leave in less than an hour, heading back to the only place she'd ever called home. She opened up the tansu that was built into the wall. On the middle shelf of the tansu was a folded red male kimono. She ran her hand over the soft yet rough fabric. Sitting on the same shelf, next to the kimono, was a dagger. The dagger's style originated in a country far to the east. Tsuki pulled the dagger off the shelf and unsheathed it from it's sheath. She stared at the bright double-edged blade and twirled the dagger in her hand with a mere flick of her wrist. She loved this magnificent blade. She sheathed it back into its metal scabbard. The blade itself was indestructable due to some youkai enchantment. She gently replaced the dagger back on the shelf and she reached for the red male kimono and picked it up.

"Ohio, cousin."

&nbspTsuki turned slightly and acknowledged him with a slight nod of her head. Tori stood in the doorway watching her. Only those who were closely familiar with her would know that the human woman from last night and the half-demon female in front of him were one and the same person: his cousin Tsuki. Last night her hair was jet black, but now it's white. Two white dog-like ears rested on top of her head. Her eyes, once dark, now a striking golden-yellow color. Yep, there's no doubt about it; Tori's cousin, Tsuki, was a hanyou. A hanyou of the Inuyoukai race, to be exact. According to the stories passed down through the family Tsuki was orphaned as a pup (that's what the Inuyoukai call their infant offspring, according to a village elder.) Tori doubted that some of the story's truth. Tsuki herself barely remembered being brought to her grandparents just days after her birth by a youkai female. This female was obviously not her mother, because Tori descended from Tsuki's mother's side. He knew he was completely human, so the youkai blood must come from her father, whoever he was. All Tsuki knew about her father was that he was an Inuyoukai of respectable status. What made all this seem extremely odd was that Tsuki was a hanyou and, like her mother, a miko at the same time. She had discovered a way to utilize her human blood that forced her youkai blood to take a backseat. Although her usual demeanor was calm and pacifistic, sometimes her youkai nature showed through and she can become violent. Tori remembered one particular incident when he was a child. Something pissed her off and her anger, strength, and ferocity were so great that it took six men to hold her down.

&nbspTori left the room and slid the shoji screen closed so she could change. It would be downright foolish for her to travel dressed in her miko robes; she would be a walking target for predators.

&nbspShe stripped off her haroi and hakama and she carefully folded them and packed them into her bag. She stood there for a moment, checked the wrap that was around her torso, making sure it was tight. She unfolded the red kimono and put it on. Tsuki had no idea where or when she'd come to possess the red kimono for the obvious reason that she's female. Tsuki had always wanted to be referred to as a girl or a woman, but unfortunately, that will never be the case with her. She is a hanyou, not a human. Even though she was half-human, she will always be known as a half-demon and stereotyped with the usual vulgar inclinations of the youkai.

&nbspTsuki tied a red sash tight around her waist. She pulled the dagger off the shelf and slipped it into the sash. Closing the tansu, she looked down at her outfit. It had been quite a long time since she had worn the red kimono. How long has it been? Two, maybe three, decades? All she knew is that she's had it since she was brought to her grandparents as an infant.

&nbspTsuki sealed her bag closed and shouldered it. Leaving the room, she slid the shoji screen open and closed it as she left. She stepped out into the sunlight and looked up at the sky. Tsuki smiled as a stray breeze played with her free silver-white hair. There wasn't a cloud in sight and the sky was a crystal clear blue.

"Meow."

&nbspTsuki looked down at her feet and saw the shrine's only full youkai resident. Tama was a nekoyoukai, distinguished by his large eyes and a mark on his forehead. Tsuki bent over and screatched Tama behind the ears. He purred happily. Tama meowed again and scampered over to Tori who was waiting at the head of the stone steps that led to a dirtpath down below. The nekoyoukai sat behind Tori with one of his tails curled about Tori's legs.

"Be safe in your travels, Tsuki-san," Tori said, his face for once serious. He was rarely serious about anything. Even though Tori's occupation put him on the spot and forced him to make responsible, if not intelligent, choices for himself and others. Tsuki had to hand it to him; Tori usually had common sense.

&nbspShe walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Be strong and protect this shrine, cousin. Be strong both physically and mentally; apply your mind when you usually would not." With that, she left, starting her trek down the stone steps. Tori watched her disappear into the distance, holding Tama in his arms.

"I hope she truly can take care of herself, Tama. I worry for her."

&nbspThe nekoyoukai meowed for a third time and swatted at the prayer beads around Tori's neck with a paw.

&nbspTori chuckled and he ran his hand along the feline's back, causing Tama to purr.

"I still think you're a little too laid back for a youkai, neko-chan."

&nbspTori briefly wondered what would happen if they were ever attacked and forced to fight and how both Tsuki and Tama would fare against the foe since neither grew up amongst the youkai. Tori was forced to agree with himself that if the shrine was ever attacked, the offence would most likely be led by the youkai. He couldn't quell the anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach.

&nbspTama was dozing in Tori's arms. His two tails flicked up and popped the monk lightly in the face. Tori smiled and stroked the demon's back again, procuring another contented purr from Tama. He hopped out of Tori's arms and vanished up a tree.

&nbspTsuki skided to a stop when she finally decided she was hungry. She dropped her bag on the ground and looked around for something to eat. She spied an apple tree in the distance and grinned as a playful urge hit her. She jumped up into a tall nearby oak tree and she jumped rapidly from tree to tree through the leafy canopy of the forest. The apple tree was outside the forest fringe.

&nbspTsuki gave one last push off the trunk of a large chestnut tree and landed square in the apple tree. She heard a scream and turned to see a farmer running back to his hut. Tsuki grinned despite her quitly conscience. She began picking apples and she stored them in her red kimono top. You couldn't be part-demon and not be mischievous once in a while.

"Come out of there, demon!" A man called from the ground.

"You gonna make me come down? I'd like to see you try that." Tsuki remarked dryly.

&nbspThe man drew an arrow and notched it into his bow. He drew back, ready to fire.

&nbspTsuki wasn't even looking at him. "Oh please..."

&nbspThe man released the arrow and Tsuki jumped from the tree just as the arrow sunk into the wood where she had been.

&nbspSomersaulting through the air once, she landed and brandished her claws. She growled. "Don't make me strike."

&nbspAn elderly man walked up to her despite protests from the village men that the demon was dangerous. The old man smiled at Tsuki. "It's been quite a long time since you traveled this way, Tsuki."

&nbspTsuki dropped her hand and returned his smile. "Well, I got hungry so I came to see if my apple tree was still here. I wasn't expecting such a reception, however."

"Forgive them for they are young."

&nbspTsuki studied the sky and the position of the sun. "It is late and I have tarried here too long. I must be off. Farewell!" Tsuki vanished into the thick, overgrown foliage of the forest.

&nbspWhen she returned to where she'd left her bag she pulled the apples out of her kimono and put them into the bag.

&nbspShouldering her bag, she caught the scent of a youkai in the general direction of the village from whence she just came. Tsuki wasted no time in getting back.

&nbspA giant snake demon reared back its head and crashed it through a house. The villagers screamed and fled.

&nbspTsuki ran through the forest like a bat out of hell. Propelling herself off the apple tree and onto the roof of a nearby house. The snake youkai was within leaping distance.

&nbspTsuki snarled and leaped through the air, claws blazing. Her claws left five deep slash wounds on the youkai's head.

&nbspThe snake roared; and started to sniff out the perpetrator with its tongue. Tsuki kept herself amused by keeping the snake on the move. She jumped from roof to roof and even taunted it by running circles around it. Upon getting bored with the repetition, she propelled herself off the wall of a hut towards the snake. The snake flicked its tail up and it slammed into her side.

&nbspTsuki hit the ground and rolled, but she was damned if she was going to let this incredibly long piece of shit defeat her.

&nbspShe pulled herself up onto her feet unsheathing her weapon as she did so. She held her long dagger out in front of her and the snake flicked its tongue out to catch her scent. Tsuki growled and covered her nose with the wide sleeve of her kimono to shield herself from the snake's horrible breath.

&nbspA breeze blew by and a piece of paper fluttered into her face. Annoyed, she ripped the paper from her eyes and she managed to leap aside right at the last possible moment before the snake attacked. She landed by a hut only momentarily before having to leap away again as the snake destroyed it. This happened a few more times before Tsuki managed to escape the snake by standing behind it.

&nbspShe remembered about the paper in her hand. Taking a close look at it, she realized it was a Shinto ward. In four broad Japanese characters it read: Aku Ryo Tai San. But wait. That's the ward for exorcising evil spirits, not fo rrendering demons helpless. Then again, Tsuki had to acknowledge the possibility that this snake demon she was fighting was merely a normal garden snake possessed by a demon. In a way, that called for an exorcism. Tsuki looked at the ward. She had to give it a try. She had never had to use this particular ward before and was stumped as to how she was going to get the ward on the snake. Usually a ward as thrown at a possessed person or creature and would stick due to the spiritual or as some call it, magical, aura around the person or beast. Tsuki knew that would not be the case today because of the wind.

&nbspAn idea sparked in the back of her mind and casued her ears to twitch. She took her dagger and pierced the ward with the blade and slid it down to the hilt. Gripping the dagger by its sharp point she readied herself.

&nbspThe snake found her scent once again and turned its long scaly body around. It bared its fangs; it was ready to strike.

"I don't think so," Tsuki whispered before she pulled her arm back behind her. She yelled out in a powerful voice, "Aku Ryo Tai...San!" With all her might she whipped her hand back in front of her, sending the dagger spinning through the air in a blur...and it flew true. The dagger buried its point right below the jaw.

&nbspThe ward worked. It freed the snake of its possessor and the dagger killed it, striking a major blood vessel in the throat.

&nbspThe ground rumbled and shook as the snake's body collapsed to the dirt path in front of her.

&nbspA tremendous cheer broke out from the villagers who had been hiding safely on the other side of the village.

&nbspTsuki smiled a little smile at the villagers and went to pull her dagger out of the snake.

"Ugh," Tsuki made a face and wiped her blade on a canvas awning that was on the ground. She sheathed her weapon, shouldered her bag, and left the village at a leisurely pace before breaking into a run. She had tarried too long; she needed to get home.

&nbspThe sun moved from its position directly above to more to the west. Birds twittered innocently and flew overhead. A monarch butterfly fluttered about and landed on what looked like a silver-furred dog ear.

&nbspTsuki's ear twitched, and the butterfly flew off. She absentmindedly scratched her ear as she laid on her back, staring up at the early afternoon sky. In one hand she held a half-eaten apple; the other arm was draped across her forehead. She was lost in thought; she was disappointed in her rather pathetic fighting skills. She nibbled on her lip. She took another bite of the apple and considered how close she was to home.

&nbspTsuki was out in a meadow, hidden among the prairie grass. Humans wouldn't be able to smell her out like she was able to do to others. Dropping the apple, she rolled onto her stomach, and peered into the grass that soared above her head. She sniffed again and immediately recognized the scent. She jumped up, grabbed her bag and yelled.

"Uncle!"