(Hello again readers! It is I, Silver Wolf 626! Hope y'all are having a great summer and thank you for choosing to read my stories! In no way do I, or ever will, own Inuyasha, Kung Fu Panda, or the song Into the Night by Santana and Chad Kroger…So what if I use many songs in my fan fictions, they're cool!)
Summary: For twenty years, the yokai lord Naraku has held Inuyasha prisoner, but at last, he has made his escape! When the hanyo seeks refuge in the royal city, he falls in love with Kagome who is the heir to the throne, but the royal advisor, Onigumo, has other plans for her. With his new friends Shippo, Miroku, and Sango, Inuyasha must prove to the city what Onigumo is up to while protecting both Kagome and his identity!
Into the Night
Chapter 1: The Prisoner
Snow fell from the sky in cold, fat, flakes, covering the mountains in a thick blanket of white. A giant feather flew over the mountains, its rider sitting cross-legged and grumbling to herself.
"Damn, that Naraku!" Kagura hissed under her breath as she steered her feather in the direction she was to travel. "I'm getting tired of having to go back and forth from a bright and rich royal city to this cold, run-down prison!"
A huge rock mountain loomed high above the wind witch with a massive opening that looked like the mouth of a gaping dragon. The sound of many locks clicked loudly in the air and two large wooden doors slowly creaked open.
Kagura snorted to herself and leapt lightly off her feather, landing on the cold, rocky ground with barely a sound. A large rat yokai skittered out of the doors and sniffed the air around her.
"You're late," it hissed. "Master Naraku will not be please."
"Like I give a damn of what he thinks," Kagura muttered and walked past the rat yokai and into a long dark tunnel. The only life besides her was the many red torches that cast eerie dark shadows that danced along the tunnel walls. Soon, the tunnel opened into a huge deep cavern with a bottomless pit.
Slowly, Kagura looked over the edge of her path at a small patch of stone that stood far below in the middle of the hole.
"Impressive, ain't it?" a deep voice said from behind.
Kagura turned to see a massive, dark purple oni with devil horns and red eyes appear out of a patch of shadow. "Hello, Goshinki."
The oni cocked his head and snorted. "Must you think of me so harshly? Calling me a gluttonous freak?"
Kagura rolled her eyes, why did she have to have a mind reader for a brother? The wind witch returned her attention to the stone circle that lay far below them.
"Have you checked his bindings?" she asked.
Goshinki nodded. "Strong as always,"
"And the acupuncture? Are the nerve points still accurate?"
Goshinki let out a laugh, shaking his head side to side. "If it wasn't, he'd have already made for an escape, not like he could." the oni turned his head and surveyed the massive number of guards that lined the stonewalls. "One thousand guards and one, half-bred prisoner."
Kagura tapped her shoulder with her fan. "Yes, but that prisoner has the blood of an Inu yokai. You need to remember to not get so over confident."
Goshinki looked at Kagura with surprised eyes. "I am a mind reader! Even if he did escape, which he never could, I'd still be able to stop him!" he then turned and lumbered off down the stone pathways.
Kagura shook her head and turned to face the entrance. As she did, a slight gust blew through the opening, swirling around her. Kagura gave her fan a slight flick, and the wind died down. When she did this, a feather that she was wearing in her hair blew out and began to lazily drift down the hole, towards the stone circle.
Goshinki made his way through the guard filled pathways, his eyes locked on the stone circle. The path, in which he followed, was a series of stonewalls that had no barriers to support anyone who fell. All the walls were linked with many small guard towers that zigzagged all the way down to a thick, stone column.
Kneeling on the column, wearing a large, tortoise shell-shaped brace was a young man who looked like he was in his early twenties. A mane of long silver hair fell about his face, shielding his closed eyes in darkness. On the top of his head were two, fluffy, white dog-ears, multiple scratches cut into the white fur. Covering the shell on his back were many, small needles that made him look like a giant porcupine. On both of his wrists were thick, metal clamps that held onto two long chains. The chains fell down on either side of the stone column and where firmly tied to two massive boulders.
Goshinki walked down the path and soon came to a large, wooden crate that was chained to a large gear, with a long string of chain wrapped around it. The oni stepped onto the crate and turned to the twin bull yokai that stood on either side of the pulley.
"Take us down," he growled.
The bull yokai nodded and grabbed the levers and began to turn them. The crate gave a slight jerk and then it began to descend, carrying Goshinki with it. The oni scratched the back of his left ear irritably as the crate finally came to a stop on an open square. He then walked down the walls and went through another guard tower. Now, a large, drawbridge blocked with sharp metal polls stood before him.
Goshinki looked at the guard and nodded. The guard pulled on a lever and the polls slid up, allowing the door to fall down. Goshinki walked on the drawbridge and up to the prisoner, sneering with glee.
"Another day of silence, eh?" the oni asked his prisoner. When he got no reply, Goshinki walked around the stone circle, overlooking the multiple needles that were stuck into the prisoner's back.
"You know this is done for your own good." Goshinki said, glancing out of the corner of his eye. "Hanyos are treated like they're the scum of the earth, which they are. We do this for you, so you won't have to suffer the way others do."
The hanyo remained silent.
Goshinki turned to face him and concentrated on his thoughts. Usually, the hanyo's mind was filled with rage or pain, but sometimes, it was blank.
"Must be one of those days?" Goshinki asked, and swung a clawed fist into the hanyo's side, slicing into the skin.
The prisoner made a slight grunt, but nothing else.
Goshinki snorted and flicked the blood from his hand. "Be that way, if you choose. But, you'll never leave this prison."
The oni turned and walked off the column and into the guard tower. Soon, the chains were creaking and the crate rose back up to the higher guard walls.
As the drawbridge began to rise, a small figure jumped off the edge, landing on the stone. It scurried up to the prisoner and stopped beneath his face, carefully avoiding the small red stream that was coming from the hanyo's side.
"M-My lord?" the tiny flea yokai squeaked. "What happened?"
A white ear twitched and the prisoner sighed deeply as the flea skittered to the wound.
"You must leave!" Myoga hissed, ignoring the groans from the hanyo. He sprinted back to the prisoner's face "There has to be a way to release you!"
Just then, a tan feather drifted down and landed in front of the hanyo. Immediately, his eyelids shot open, revealing amber-gold eyes that blazed with power. He looked down at the flea and then at the feather.
Myoga turned, looked at the feather and nodded. "Yes, that could work!"