The sun blazed upon the small town of Kakushu. The dirty roads cracked a little under the summer heat, the dust settling on the vendors who haggled with their customers for a better price. The market place was buzzing with activity. Kakushu was well on its way to become a big town and then a city. The snow-white castle on the cliff edge overlooking the valley of Kakushu gleamed in the daylight.

"Did you hear the growling last night?" One of the villagers commented, scratching his neck over his brown cotton shirt, looking towards the castle.

"I wonder what it was all about." Another replied. "We're lucky the daiyokai protect us."

An old woman spit in her spittoon.

"We can't trust the demons." She said, opening her cataract laden eyes at the men around her. "It's because of the shrine that we are safe. They wouldn't dare hurt us as long as that shrine exists. When I was younger..."

"Yes, yes." A villager said, patiently. "Everybody knows of the prophecy. But it's been almost a 100 years, Oba-chan. Nobody even knows what it says for sure."

"I was there!" The old woman said, indignantly. "I may have been only 7 but I knew perfect Japanese by then. It spoke of..."

"The new beginning." One villager interrupted.

"The strength of a woman, the strongest of them all." Another chimed in.

"Through the divide, there will be peace." A third one continued.

"And through the peace, there will be no divide." A fourth one concluded, shaking his head. "The last two sentences negate each other!"

The old woman frowned at the chuckling lot. She rubbed her knees, the arthritis getting to her. But she knew she was right. Maybe the prophecy wasn't to be fulfilled in her lifetime. But when somebody lives for as long as she had, they could tell the subtle differences in the air no one could figure out. She looked towards the castle, her clouded vision unable to make out its white marble glistening in the sun.

-X-X-

"Ouch!" The younger demon scowled as he dropped his sword.

He rubbed the angry red blotch on his hand and scowled at the sun.

"The sun has no effect on us, young master." The tutor said, frowning.

His red hair blazed in the sunlight as beads of perspiration clung to his muscular chest.

His apprentice, a young demon of around 16 years, looked coldly at his tutor. He then looked at the shrubs move, his silver hair swaying in the wind. His golden eyes squinted in the direction as he sniffed the air. He heard his tutor chuckle.

"Back to the conspiracy theories, are we Inu no Taisho?" The tutor said, grinning.

"I'm not a fool." Inu no Taisho growled back. "Does this look like a training accident to you, Sensei Genjenki?"

Inu no Taisho pulled up his sleeve and revealed the burn mark on his arm.

"That's nothing." Genjenki said, revealing his fanged teeth.

He pulled up his sleeve and showed the scar that nearly split his arm in two.

"Now that we have exchanged war stories, one obviously more impressive than the other, can we go back to training?" Genjenki said, throwing Inu no Taisho his sword back.

Inu no Taisho caught it and twirled it around. He screamed a war cry as he charged at Genjenki. This time, he felt the burn on his heel. And he could have sworn he heard a chuckle from the shrubs. Inu no Taisho lost his balance and skid on his stomach towards Genjenki. Genjenki got to his knees.

"Oi." He said, bonking Inu no Taisho's head. "Stop messing around. This is serious stuff."

Inu no Taisho growled, the blue streaks on his cheeks crackling as his eyes started turning red. Genjenki pummeled the blunt end of his sword into Inu no Taisho's neck.

"No need to go all daiyokai on me." Genjenki murmured, as Inu no Taisho lay face flat in the ground. "I will pick you up when you're done with the hissy fit of mommy being mean."

Genjenki chuckled at his own joke as he retreated into the castle.

Inu no Taisho lay at the spot, the sun burning his back through his white silken clothes. He sighed.

He hadn't been able to get a decent hour of practice in for almost a month. His father was most displeased. No matter how much he tried to reason with the man saying that he was being inexplicably injured during practice, his words fell on deaf ears. The other yokai were starting to call him a runt.

Inu no Taisho clutched the grass, uprooting them in his rage. But he sat bolt upright as his hands grazed something. He jumped back on all fours, growling wildly at the intruder.

How the hell did she get in? Inu no Taisho thought, panic slowly creeping in, as he looked at the girl look at him amused. Why didn't I pick up her scent?

"G..." Inu no Taisho started to shout.

But the girl swiped the air and Inu no Taisho's voice was stuck in his throat. He grabbed his throat, choking for his voice. His instincts kicked in as his eyes started glowing red.

The girl ran towards him and hit him in the neck with the hilt of his own sword. Inu no Taisho jumped back but fell to the ground once more. The girl turned heel and swiftly ran away, leaving Inu no Taisho on the grass once more.

-X-X-

"Midoriko!" The head priest exclaimed, as Midoriko entered the shrine, a broom firm in her hand. "Where were you? You missed the afternoon prayers."

His bald head shone mesmerizingly in the sunlight.

"I beg your forgiveness." Midoriko said, bowing in humility. "I was on cleaning duty and seemed to have lost track of time."

"Go." The head priest said, indulgently, snatching the broom from Midoriko. "Offer your respects."

Midoriko nodded and entered the main shrine. She closed the door behind her. She studied the room, her twinkling brown eyes sweeping the shrine room quickly. Once she confirmed that she was alone, she leaned back on the door. She looked at the effigy of the shinto god in front of her and sighed. She walked towards the statue and sat on her knees.

"Hey, God." Midoriko started, her voice bored. "It's me again. Still waiting for that sign."

She stared at the statue for a good half hour, before she heard the door open behind her. She quickly bowed her head and walked backwards, away from the statue.

"It is with your prayer that your strength grows." The head priest said, smiling kindly. "Run along, now. The other girls have already started the kagura practice."

Midoriko nodded and bowed again. She tied up her long dark hair and dusted the grass stains from her white haori. She joined the other girls and quickly caught the basic steps.

"Where were you?" The girl to her right hissed as she twirled the fans. "Head Priest Yamato was worried sick."

"Cleaning duty." Midoriko said, as she frowned to match her feet to the fan movements.

"What cleaning duty?" The girl reprimanded, her long brown hair swaying as she moved. "You weren't on cleaning duty today. Mido, if you were where I think you were... You're gonna start a war!"

"Let me concentrate, Akane!" Midoriko hissed angrily. "If we miss the steps, we are gonna have to do this more. And that' will be worse than war!"

Akane rolled her purple eyes, moving away from Midoriko and dancing in sync with the beat. The rest of the class kept glancing at Midoriko, whose face was screwed in concentration, her tongue sticking out a little. They gave Midoriko a wide berth as she swung her fan. Her hakama swayed haphazardly, without grace as Midoriko tried to dance. And then, as she had done in every class, Midoriko tripped over her hakama and landed on her behind. Midokriko controlled herself from throwing the fans at the nearest snickering face.

"Midoriko!" The kagura instructor said in a disappointed voice. "You have to try to match the beat. This is an important aspect of being a miko and you can't just breeze your way through this."

Anger bubbled through Midoriko. But she got on her knees and bowed, her head touching the ground.

"I beg your forgiveness, Sensei." Midoriko said, her voice sincere. "I have been trying to get better and I assure you that you'll see an improvement soon."

The teacher rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I'm afraid you just don't have the aptitude for this, Midoriko." The teacher said, rubbing the wrinkles under her eyes.

"Please." Midoriko said, looking up at the kagura teacher. "I ask you for patience. I want dearly to be an adept miko and the kagura dance is an important aspect. I request you with all humility to not give up on me."

"What's going on?" The head priest, Yamato, called from the shrine.

He seemed to have come their way to put the broom away in the stores.

"Bijinko-san." Yamato referred to the middle aged kagura teacher. "What seems to be the problem?"

Midoriko got to her feet and looked at the ground. Though it looked like she was being polite, she was counting backwards trying to quell her anger.

"I have discussed this with you before, Yamato-san." Bijinko said, adjusting the sleeve of her haori. "Midoriko had trouble mastering even the most basic of kagura. I'm afraid it's a lost cause. We have been fruitlessly working on this for 6 years now. Now, she is 15 years and there is still no improvement. I told you earlier about my reservations of taking in a girl that old."

Yamato looked at the rest of the apprentice maidens and signaled for them to leave. Midoriko followed them, her hands clenched tightly.

"Breath!" Akane exclaimed, as Midoriko's face progressively changed colours, when everybody else were out of earshot.

"That old fart!" Midoriko complained, punching a tree.

Tears immediately streamed from her eyes as she jumped on the spot. Akane giggled.

"It's not my fault that I can't dance!" Midoriko muttered through the tears. "When a student can't learn in 6 years, it's a reflection of the teacher, not the inability of the student."

"You say some wise things, Mido-chan." Akane said, patting Midoriko to comfort her.

"I can't get kicked out." Midoriko muttered.

Akane nodded.

"Don't worry." Akane said in a soothing voice. "I will talk to Sensei and make her understand."

Midoriko slowly nodded.

"Thanks." She said gratefully.

Akane and Midoriko were from the same village. Akane was sent to the shrine a year before Midoriko. Back in their village, Akane and Midoriko weren't the best of friends. Midoriko was fondly known as the Destructive Daiyokai back then. Short tempered and foul mouthed, she had gotten into trouble numerous times even with the royal guards. She barely ever bathed and her stench would warn people of her arrival. Both Akane and Midoriko were from very poor families who lived on scraps thrown away by others. But at least, everybody maintained some amount of dignity. But Midoriko was above that. She dived into dirt and shouted profanities at anyone who got in her way, including her parents and two siblings.

When Midoriko was brought to the shrine on that rainy night, Akane wasn't able to control her disgust. How could somebody like Midoriko be a pious miko? That night, after enduring the first day of lesson, Midoriko sought Akane out.

"You're from my village?" Midoriko asked, her dark brown eyes oddly hollow.

Akane nodded, before starting to walk away.

"Please." Midoriko said, her voice cracking.

She held Akane's hand. Akane was surprised at the callouses that lined Midoriko's hand.

"Please." Midoriko repeated, her eyes pleading. "Can we talk for a moment?"

Akane frowned and nodded. She followed Midoriko to the store-room by the dance platform. Midoriko slowly closed the door behind them. The thunder roared behind them, the lightening casting shadows in the dark store-room. Midoriko was looking at the ground, her long hair obscuring her face.

"If you have nothing to say..." Akane said.

Midoriko lurched forward, her knees slowly bending. She put her head to the ground.

"Please." Midoriko said, her voice choking. "Please don't tell anybody about how I was before."

Lightening flashed again. Akane rushed towards Midoriko, holding the broken version of a troublemaker she used to know.

"I won't." Akane said, unable to bear the raw pain radiating from Midoriko. "I promise."

Midoriko clutched Akane's elbow and wailed, her cries drowned in the thunder.

Akane later came to know that Midoriko's family were planning on moving to a different village. On the first night of their journey, they were attacked by demons. The few who survived credit Midoriko's powers. Midoriko purified the demons souls leaving behind only wisps. Only Midoriko and her younger sister were spared in her family.

The shock was too much for the sisters to bear, who spent the next couple of days on the roadside, stunned into silence by the incident. The royal guards arrived at the behest of the Lord of the land to retrieve the sisters. But the sisters were nothing more than rag dolls. Any attempts to communicate were met with stony silence and hollow expressions.

It was later decided to separate the sisters to try to coax them to normalcy separately. But Midoriko went feral when they tried to take away her sister. She clawed and bit the men. And then, using her powers, she blasted a hole through the side of the mansion, the rubble falling on the men, accidentally hurting her sister in the process.

Midoriko fell limp to the ground, her expression horrified. Midoriko's sister finally cried, an act which neither of the sisters had been able to do. The men ushered the younger sister away from Midoriko, who didn't protest. Midoriko confined herself in that room till the Lord of the land personally came to her.

"I have a fair idea of what happened." He said, his voice stoic. "You cannot stay here indefinitely. I do not need nor entertain guests. However, if you promise to become a miko, I promise to take care of your sister. I will provide her with food, shelter and education and groom her to be a noble woman. Under the circumstances, this is the best deal you can get."

Midoriko looked at the Lord, confusion overtaking her mind.

"What?" Midoriko said, confused.

The Lord grinned.

"I was starting to think you had gone mute." The Lord said, pompously. "I have made you a fair offer, girl. I suggest you take it. And once you're a miko, you come back to me."

Midoriko was transported to Kakushu overnight.

-X-X-

Midoriko rubbed her temples, frustrated at the stupidity of it all. Most of the training to be a miko involved her controlling her powers. But the dancing part was just ridiculous. She paced her room impatiently as the others chatted outside, going about cleaning the shrine.

Akane entered the room and closed the door behind her. Akane was the type of person who wasn't angered easily. So the vein throbbing on her forehead wasn't a good sign.

"What did she say?" Midoriko said, anxiously following Akane around the room.

"Senility is getting to her." Akane said, in a tone that was unlike her. "No amount of reason worked. Yamato-san tried too. But she was being so stubborn."

Midoriko waited for the final judgement, tears forming quickly.

I failed. Midoriko thought miserably. I failed and now we have nowhere to go.

"You have to perform for the Lord at the upcoming festival." Akane muttered angrily. "The benefactor of the shrine is friends with the Daiyokai and they have requested for you personally."

"Me?" Midoriko said, flabbergasted.

"Bijinko-san was hoping to kick you out by then and not bring shame to the shrine." Akane said, her finger on her chin. "But the Daiyokai heard of your powers and wanted to see a performance."

"Seriously?" Midoriko said, angrily. "We're training to kill demons and now I have to dance for one!"

"The Inu yokai are allies of humans." Akane said, brushing Midoriko away. "They will be guests of the Lord, of course. Now, she wants you to perform because she thinks that Yamato-san is too soft with you."

"I don't see anything wrong with being soft with me!" Midoriko argued.

"That's not even the worst part." Akane said, now glaring at Midoriko. "The Inu Daiyokai will be there with his whole family. Including his younger son, on whom you have been experimenting your powers upon."

AN:

Translations:- miko- shrine maiden or priestess.

haori- the white kimono top wore by shrine maidens

hakama- the loose read pants wore by shrine maidens

yokai- demons

daiyokai- Great Demons

Oba-chan- informal way of old lady/grandmother

Sensei- teacher

Kagura- a type of dance performed by miko's

-X-X-

Yay! You stuck with the chapter all the way till here. So I have had this story in my head for a while. Just wanted to get it out. Maybe a little out of canon because probably Midoriko and Inu no Taisho were not contemporaries. But Inu no Taisho was a demon. So for me, it falls within the realm of possibilities. You can look forward to a lot of incidents that Inu no Taisho was referenced to have done in Inuyasha. Hope you guys like the portrayal of Midoriko.

Please do let me know what you think.

As always, keep reading.