"This was not a time of risks and mistakes—it was a time of survival. A modern battle of the medieval ideas of 'kill or be killed,' 'you or them.'" This was the ultimate game to end all games—the game of life…and of death.
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Hanyou, Inuyasha
Breed: White Inu, Japanese
Age… … … 17
Height… … … 6' 2"
Weight… … … 120 pounds
Eye color… … … Amber
Hair color… … … Silver
Strength… … … Considerable
Weakness… … …None known
Weapon… … …Tessaiga
Controlling device… … …Miasma Shard
Reason for Creation… … …Biotic Weapon a—
Inuyasha slammed his cuffed hands down on the processor. Damn it all… he was tired of it. Tired of being viewed as a thing. Tired of living day after day hunting down taijiya, destroying their families and homes. Tired of being used, never tasting true freedom. Damn it, he was just tired!
"Calm down, Inu-hanyou," an officer snarled, poking him in the back, harshly. "Now look what you did—broke it! How are we supposed to find out your next assignment now?"
Inuyasha stayed silent. Seventeen years of living under this metal cage had taught him not to pay attention—it would just make things worse if he did. Hours and hours of being strapped to a board, the whir of the machine as it sucked away his youki, leaving him vulnerable to the harsh whips that lashed against his chest, leaving scars. Then they would leave him there for the night with only the stars for company—they always punished him when the moon was gone—that was why he was made a hanyou. That way, they never feared him disobeying—they could always just add to the pain.
"Good thing Naraku told me to tell you about your assignment," the black-garbed toad youkai smirked.
Inuyasha gritted his teeth, seething. They always did this. Accompanying the "subject" to the processor, having them lay their palm on the screen so it could scan what their next assignment was, then watch in amusement as they growled at the information about themselves showed up. When the "Assignment" section turned up blank, they would gasp in mock-horror and inform them that it was such a good thing that they had thought of asking beforehand of what their assignment had been. It was always like that.
"A taijiya clan in the north is creating some sort of weapon. You need to find them, and destroy that weapon. Be careful—it's supposed to be very dangerous. You think you can handle it? Eh?" the toad jabbed him in the ribs with his metal retainer. One shot from one of those, and a human would be killed. A youkai would be thrown off his feet, and a hanyou knocked unconscious.
Without waiting for an answer, the toad unlatched the plastic cuffs, found to be the only thing that could contain hanyous, amazingly. A material that even a human could cut through easily could contain one of youkai blood! Then again, what more was to be expected? They were only hanyous, after all. Half human, half demon, it made them lower than all the creatures on the planet. So useful to manipulate, and so amusing to watch their weak, pitiful struggles.
Inuyasha growled softly, then once free, leapt off into the darkness. The miasma shard in his shoulder tingled as he tasted what freedom he could get—a reminder. As long as that shard was in his body, he had to watch his step. One wrong move and he could be poisoned and killed. It didn't matter to them that he was their strongest weapon—a disobedient dog was a disobedient dog. It had to be put to sleep before it caused any more harm.
Heading north, his nose shifted around the scents, looking for the tell-tale scent of a taijiya's armor, fire, and smoke. Nothing was found. He growled. Of course, if a whole clan had survived this long, they had to be good. It wasn't as if there was any point in trying to survive, either—in a world overrun by youkai, what chance did a human stand, even if they were a taijiya? Slim to none.
Banishing those treacherous thoughts from his mind—what if they found out? It didn't matter that he had been scoffing at the humans, as long as he thought of them, he was tormented—he concentrated solely on locating the taijiya clan's whereabouts.
Glancing over to the west, he saw a small village of low-level youkai. Not that they had actual houses—only humans would be that disgusting. True youkai lived in the woods, the rivers, the prairies—houses were confinement. Houses were bad. Only low-level youkai actually lived anywhere—in mounds dug in the earth in order to hide from taijiya when they came stamping by. The taijiya knew they were there, but couldn't dig unless they wanted to get rounded up in the process by the soldiers of the village, then killed. This was not a time of risks and mistakes—it was a time of survival. A modern battle of the medieval ideas of "kill or be killed," "you or them." This village had many mounds—taijiya must pass by often. Perhaps the ones he sought? Only one way to find out….
"Oi!" Inuyasha landed on the ground lightly, casting his senses about. "Messenger from Naraku!" Youkai-code for "I'm here to bust some taijiya to save your sorry butts, so treat me with respect!"
"Inu-san," a lizard youkai hurried up, bowing repeatedly. "Inu-san, what you seek is only a little ways away. The taijiya have been hunting us down—they are fearsomely strong. In the beginning, we could easily dispose of them, but now they are too much! Inu-san…they are only three miles due north from here." Bowing away, he suddenly shuddered at some sort of apparition behind the hanyou. Squealing, he began running for the closest mound.
Inuyasha cursed, then spun around, silver hair whipping harshly against his cheeks.
There stood a priest. His gold staff jingled musically as he used it as a prop, looking over the inu-hanyou, violet eyes alight in amused interest. A small ponytail at the base of his neck bobbed lightly in the wind.
"Bouzo."
"Inu-hanyou."
The two exchanged greetings—or what could be counted as greetings, considering the circumstances….
The priest spoke. "I believe we are looking for the same thing, Messenger of Naraku."
Inuyasha said nothing.
"You are looking for the famous taijiya clan in these parts, no? I am as well. We might as well go together."
What? The bouzo was crazy, no doubt about it.
"Why should I go with you? You're a priest," Inuyasha stated flatly.
"True, true. But I am also a Messenger of Naraku. Look," the priest unwrapped the rosary around his right hand, letting a black hole come loose and suck up the surrounding rocks.
Inuyasha relaxed. A kazaana—it meant that he was one of the houshis under Naraku's control. The means of controlling them was given to few. A kazaana would suck up things with no danger of hurting the host until the commander decided that the host was…disobeying. Then the kazaana would have a month, growing steadily larger, until it consumed the host inside his own hand.
"I can handle this myself, bouzo. Back off. I don't need helpers."
"True. However, with me, the going would be considerably easier. The taijiya would trust me, knowing me as a human and priest. They would have no idea that you were with me."
Inuyasha gave some thought to the offer. Doing it the bouzo's way would mean that he had more time out in the open, free. The advantages were all his.
"Keh. Whatever," he scoffed, folding his arms across his chest, eyes narrowed.
"Good," the priest seemed almost cheerful. "Your name?"
"…Inuyasha."
"Miroku."
And that was how the journey started. Five were destined to join together, to battle against Naraku, and…
…to lose.
Five will journey:
The Survivor,
The Killer,
The Purifier,
The Deceiver,
The Prisoner.
Together,
They battle
And they die.
They kill the tyrant,
But lose.
Remember:
An eye for an eye--
A life for a life.
Preview:
"Stay back, Houshi. You don't know what you're dealing with," a taijiya snarled. Amber eyes glared out of the shadows at the young girl strapped to the pentagram. The bouzo may not know, but he did….