Disclaimer: I only own a few things in this world, but Inuyasha is not one of them. So there is no need to sue. You probably wouldn't want what I have anyway.

Author's Note: Here begins a new fanfiction for me. I haven't written in years so I don't know the quality of my own work. I hope that it is enjoyable to some. It definitely has been for me.

Redeemed

Prologue

His bright smile flashed again at her as the last proprietors of the hot spring left ahead of them. She wanted to believe her handsome suitor's advances were truly advances and not just the over imagination of a silly school girl. Even if she was reading more into the situation, the twinge of delight and excitement had already crept over her shoulders and was now tapping relentlessly on her chest. The prospects of returning to reality were now slim to none and hopefully unnecessary.

"Feel like going for a quick walk before dinner, Tsubaki?" he asked, eyes filled with what she hoped was interest.

He said my name! Oh, kami, he said my name!

Tsubaki nodded, taking cautious steps on wobbly legs to walk beside him. His voice was low and melodic as he spoke to her, commenting on the area surrounding them as her head bobbed in agreement. General conversation she figured, unable to focus on more than her footsteps matching his. He was so stunning and perfect; it was almost a miracle for him to be with her of all people. But even with all the excitement, Tsubaki still felt wrong. He had been Kikyo's boyfriend. No one else knew it, but she did and now she felt rotten.

Just walking with your dead best friend's boyfriend that you had a huge crush on isn't wrong, right? I mean I haven't done anything. I feel so bad because I loved her like a sister and everyone knows that…

"I miss her," he whispered turning his head towards the setting sun. "I wish she was coming back to me…but I know that she's not."

Tsubaki felt her heart thud against her chest. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, trying to remember if her thoughts had slipped through her lips and found their way to his perfectly shaped ears.

He could not have heard that! Or he is just so perfect that…

"Tsubaki?" he called a few feet ahead of her.

Her head snapped from the cloud of her thoughts and turned to face Japan's modern day Adonis. Tsubaki shook away her contemplations and caught up with him.

"Huh," she replied feeling stupid for not listening and even stupider for responding with a three letter word like huh.

"Do you mind if I make a quick stop in here?" His head tilted towards the line of warehouses Tsubaki was used to seeing in Musashimurayama. "It's one of the storage houses for my father's company. I just need to pick up some papers and then we can get a bite to eat."

"You're from here?" Tsubaki asked finally aware of the conversation.

"Yes…didn't you hear anything I was saying?"

Tsubaki felt the prickles of nervous anxiety tiptoe up her spine. She even thought she detected a bit of annoyance in his voice, too.

"I-I'm sorry. I think my mind was just some place else. I'm a little nervous."

Again, a brilliant smile came her way and all was right in the world.

Tsubaki followed him into the warehouse and moved to the side as he closed the door.

"Stay here. It'll only take me a few minutes."

Tsubaki nodded, staring down at her shoes as if there was some message on them she could use to salvage their conversation when he returned. The embarrassment slowly drained from her cheeks just as the bars of light peeking through the thick glass windows began to fade away from the room. She looked up, straining in the dark to see the direction in which her evening companion disappeared.

It felt as if more time was passing than needed just to obtain paperwork. The light outside the warehouse had completely disappeared; leaving Tsubaki in the dark. She began walking forward, hoping to see the shimmer of light from a door handle or something to tip her in his direction.

He wouldn't have just left me here, would he?

Tsubaki opened her mouth to call him just as he tapped her on the shoulder removing her fear of abandonment and stirring the flutter of butterfly wings in her stomach once again. His eyes seemed to shine through the dark and laugh at her slight panic. But even with the slightly condescending stare, his face sent her mind into the calm state she'd felt all night long.

"You remember what you told me tonight? Before we went into the hot spring?" His words smoothed across her cheek as his breath slid against her face like silk.

Tsubaki shook her head staring in to the glittering eyes just inches from her own.

"You said that you didn't think you could be a part of SFDD any more. That it was too dangerous."

He stepped closer to Tsubaki taking her cheek into his hand. She closed her eyes as the air caught in her throat. The hand ran through her hair as he walked behind her, placing his lips directly beside her ear. The hot air blew the short, black hair softly away from his lips.

"Y-yes."

"It made me so sad to hear you say that, Tsubaki." His voice was barely above a whisper but still held all the masculinity she'd adored since the moment she met him. His stray hand sled down the front of her blouse quickly undoing the pearl buttons that held it closed. The thin shirt flowed down her arms revealing her bare chest and back.

"I was so sad. Not because you wanted to leave… but to know…that the world is infested with another weak being like you."

Tsubaki's head was swimming in the musk of his cologne and the hum of his voice. The cool air of the warehouse blew on her skin. She struggled to concentrate on his words as the wandering of his hands bombarded every nerve of her body. All focus was lost as his soft lips touched the cool nape of her neck.

Weak being…infested?

"How can we live in a world that is diseased with feeble human beings like you? I just can't let it all continue, Tsubaki. Not if things are to change. I know what I have to do. Do you want to know what I have to do, Tsubaki?"

His hand rubbed the soft mounds of flesh heaving on her chest as the pale pink tip began to perk in the cool wind. His voice had become a sweet intoxication pulling her into a haze of his seduction.

"No."

"I know I have to get rid of it, Tsubaki. All the flaws that limit this world, all that makes us impure, I've got to destroy it."

Tsubaki tried to turn towards him, suddenly aware of the strength he used to keep her petite body pressed against him.

"And that includes you Tsubaki."

His lips found hers. His kiss, the very thing shed fantasized and believed was made up of all things sweet and precious, was everything painful and foul. Tsubaki felt her skin begin to crawl, then burn on her back. A siring pain shot through her. Her eyes snapped open.

"I have to destroy you, Tsubaki."

He breathed in at her neck. His voice grew gravelly and deep.

"The stench of imperfection reeks on your flesh. I can not stand it."

Tsubaki jerked forward as a burst of heat pierced her back down to the bone. Her mind searched for a scream, a sound of some sort to escape her throat but nothing came. She fell to the cold concrete as the torture continued. Slow stabs and tugs on the flesh and scrapes against the bone. The warehouse echoed with the sound of skin and muscle being pulled and ripped, bones breaking and being crushed. The sanctity of delirium began to overtake her as the agony continued and time lost its direction altogether.

The once beautiful turquoise eyes gazed in silence as life slowly slipped away. Tsubaki's diminutive frame settled in its final pose on the cold grey floor. Her arms tucked close to her body, palms flat against the rough concrete. The rose colored pearl-buttoned blouse was now folded beside her, allowing the remains of her back to be exposed and slightly bow as shallow breath attempted to fill the punctured lungs beneath. Her ankle length navy blue skirt was smoothed against her closed legs and fanned slightly on each. Expressionless eyes, growing closer to complete vacancy sunk deep into the sockets of her round porcelain face. The glazing stare turned towards the exit to greet the unlucky individual to stumble upon her body in the morning.

The last glimpse of his blurred image moved in the mirror of Tsubaki's eyes washing away the bites of her flesh and blood from his nails. The water sputtered over his fingers and gurgled down the visible pipes holding an old paint chipped sink away from the wall. The stubby silver neck of the faucet clunked as the water shut off and the pipes settled.

Pride curled the corners of his lips as he turned towards his masterpiece. Killing the young woman had not been planned. She was not a demon so a logical purpose for her disposal escaped him, temporarily. Her final passing would create another avenue of power he hadn't thought of but frankly it had been utterly delightful just to orchestrate her demise. The exhilaration of the night flooded his memory starting from walking into the hot spring.

He wasn't sure if the enjoyment came from killing a human or because that human was female. It seemed as if it had been ages since he'd felt the flesh of a woman and he wondered why he hadn't done so sooner. The first was a bumble filled with rage and mistakes. This was sweet perfection.

Tonight had been a treat, working with her supple flesh. Demons had a different texture all together. Their skin was toughened by immortality able to withstand the passing of centuries. Human skin, however, sliced clean with no more than a flick of the wrist. The sound of it being pulling from bone was special, too, a private symphony of slurps, snaps and stretches that would linger in his ears for days. Most important were the horrified expressions he'd received from the female as she surrendered to his sadistic advances.

The coppery smell of her pooling blood reached his nose and he peered over her body once more. His hoarse voice spoke just above a whisper, "I'm sure death is crawling all over you by now. It's better this way. Trust me."

He hovered over the body waiting for the last breath of life to slip from Tsubaki's pale lips. The warmth of her death crept over him as his plan set into motion. His head tilted as he memorized every inch of the useless and now lifeless body growing colder. He licked his lips and snorted as he smiled, "I believe this is the new beginning."