Let me start things off with a hello!
Been a while since I have published anything online, though I've certainly kept myself busy writing the past few years. You've the fantastical Forthright to thank for inspiring me to bring out my dusty Inuyasha fanfiction story to post. If you're looking for a good read(or ten), hit up her profile.

I intend to keep updates coming week or bi-weekly.
And the more reviews I get encouraging this, the more I'll be motivated to keep up on the story. Let me know what you think, and how you came across the fic. Chapters will range from drabble length to sturdy chunks.

There will be little for author notes for the coming chapters.
If it is a popular request, I will make a forum or something for story explanations and public replies to reviews later on, should it be desired. I dislike their clutter at the beginning of every chapter, but I've never minded them at the very beginning.

I have (almost) no idea where this story will lead...
I write as I go! I keep a loose plot in mind, and ideas of the characters I wish to draw into play, but for the most part I set the stage and turn the characters loose, writing what I think is interesting, funny, or otherwise. I write this story for my enjoyment first - but it delights me to share it with others, if they find it to be their cup of tea.

I can say, it will have romance. Caaaaan you feeeeel the looooove toniiiiight...

OCs will be liberally used,
I fully intend to use cannon characters from the original anime, but they will come into play... sometime. My purpose in writing this is to have fun exploring the plot opportunities and the exciting world setting. I have not fully decided if i want to do an OC/Canon pairing with my ever favorited Sesshomaru, but there will be Inuyasha/Kagome, and of course Miroku/Sango.

This is soooo not historically accurate.
Please feel free to offer advice and any pointers on explaining things, but do not read expecting everything to be historically / contemporarily / culturally real-world accurate, or you will be much disappoint. Enjoy it as the just-for-entertainment fantasy setting it is, ne?

Artwork!
I will post links on my profile. I have some illustrations in mind for the story, please, do check them out as they are posted!

Alright, that clutter is all done, now the mandatory stuff:

I hereby disclaim any rights to the Inuyasha universe, world setting, and characters borrowed from the canon storyline. I do, however, keep claim and reserved rights upon my original characters and literary explorations of the story itself.

Chapter One

No Trespassing Allowed

In a shallow bowl formed by the gentle rise of forested land, there lay a small village all but unheard of. Set aside as it were from any of the well traveled roads, they lived in a cheerful isolation broken but occasionally by the odd visitor or forest-dwelling youkai. The simple hovels were sturdy and functional, keeping their owners warm and sheltered through the long winters and shaded during the warm seasons. Wooden shingles were secured from wind by the heavy rocks resting atop them, never removed from their initial use in construction. A shallow river ran from the east, bisecting the valley it was nestled into. Its source came from the foothills of the mountains farther off, spilling down the slopes in a mess of small, fast-moving waterfalls and trickling streams. From it the villagers had drawn irrigation for the rice paddies, and a somewhat successful water mill had been attempted and left unfinished for some months now.

A small herd of horses and cattle grazed in pastures set aside by the riverbank downstream, and the occasional cat could be glimpsed lounging on a cow's back or chasing mice out of the piled hay for feed. Tonight, however, all was silent and still. The villagers slumbered deep in their dreams and the crescent moon hung high in the starlit sky. It was a brightly lit night; all sign of clouds were far off in the distance, leftovers from a storm that had passed early in the evening. A faint breeze awoke, bending the tall grasses in a lazy dance and rustling the leaves of the forest.

High up on the western hilltops, an old woman looked down upon the valley with a gleeful, malicious light in her eyes. Light blue robes with dark trim stood out in contrast against the woodland's dark pallet, and a large green stone set in silver rested heavily against her chest. It glittered in the filtered lighting from the moon, seeming to glow with light from within. Knobby fingers, pale skin stretched tightly over the joints, pulled a deep-bellied jug from a basket upon the elder's back. Stroking the cork of the container with a red painted claw, she settled down on the ground in seiza. Humming quietly to herself, the witch began her work, green eyes staring unblinkingly at the village below.

The guttural chant rose from her thin lips quietly, agitating the peaceful aura of the forest and calling forth shadows darker than the sky the stars hung from. Swaying slightly as she repeated the words to her song, the witch flipped the cork off her jug and pointed down to the slumbering village.

A thick fog rolled down the wooded slopes to the open grassland and began to creep over the ground to encircle the village. In short time the small buildings were surrounded, and the fog began to seep into the paths between houses and swallow their forms into the white haze. The structures were turned into indistinct shadows, becoming barely visible. A black, snake-like creature drifted through the air at a languid pace, pausing at the doors and windows of the houses, inspecting them. Soon, others took form beside it, and they spread out across the village. Red eyes glowed brightly as they slipped inside unguarded homes. Those that held well maintained wards against evil on their doors were ignored if a way around could not be found. An unwarded window left open proved fatal to one household.

Inside the house nearest to the hills, a shadow snake circled the air around a slumbering old woman. As she turned and yawned widely in her sleep, the demon darted down into her throat and back out again, effortlessly carrying away her stolen soul in its jaws.

The mass murder was silent and swift. The village became a ghost town, shrouded in the fog now filled with the glowing red eyes of the soul stealers, and the brighter and much larger white orbs of souls held captive. Up on the hillside, the witch sang her chanting with pride and joy, eagerly anticipating the rush of power she would be entitled to upon consumption of her successful harvest.

It was in the house on the farthest end of the valley, past the cattle pens and perched atop a lonely hill with a lush garden of flowers and herbs, that things went awry. A shadow snake coiled itself around the house thrice, confused at the dormant aura pulsing from within the house. It was not human, but its owner was not awake. The apparition twisted once more in the air, before slithering underneath the hanging tarp in the doorway. The house it had entered was cozy, suitable for a small family, but the snake found only one being asleep within. Drifting through the air it hovered above the girl's head, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

The witch's chant was interrupted by her own loud shriek of alarm as the entire village was lit suddenly by a blinding red light that spread out across the valley, viciously shoving out the fog and consuming the conjured snakes. The souls, unclaimed, drifted back to their owners who continued on dreaming, still asleep in blissful ignorance. The witch scrambled back, almost dropping her clay jug in her haste. Gray hair snagged on the branches of a nearby shrub as she bolted to her feet and backed up. A red dome loomed over the village, thrumming with power and almost thick enough to hide the sheltered homes within from view. When it remained in place and did not extend out further, she calmly pulled her braid from the spindly branches it had snagged on, then retreated. She remained observing from afar, senses keen and a few subtle spells cast about herself to warn of approaching threats.

When dawn broke and the sun's light touched the sky in warm colors, chasing away the cool tones of night, the witch withdrew into the shadows as she watched the red barrier dissolve.