First Inuyasha fanfic of mine to be posted! I look forward to any and all comments/critiques! I hope you all enjoy!

Much Love!

K. T.

Chapter One: Constant

He threw his bow to the ground in frustration as he was unable - yet again - to successfully connect with his spiritual energy. He forced out the air from his lungs heavily as he ran a hand through his long black mane. Why was this so damn difficult? He had been training for this since he was born ... well, not exactly, but since he could remember. He knew everything there was to know about posture and form; how to control the bow and hit any bullseye put in front of him, but he was always held back because of one small detail: his damn purification energy wouldn't resonate. Inuyasha sat down in the grass, utterly defeated and tired. What was wrong with him? He looked up at the setting sun, attempting to settle the agitation bubbling in the depths of his chest to no avail. He had always been told that this was his downfall, that he couldn't keep his emotions in check. How did one do that? Were emotions something that one could tame?

"Inuyasha." He turned to the voice, an eyebrow risen in acknowledgment. He was met with his superior and friend, Myoga. He had grown fond of the old priest, though he would never admit to it. He had become sort of a father figure to him over the years. He respected and looked up to him.

Inuyasha stood and bowed his head. "Yes, Sir."

"Raise your head, boy. There's no need for formalities."

Inuyasha did what he was told, though reluctantly, standing to his full height and towering over the older man. There were rules within the temple, one of them being that you were to remain lower to the high priests as a physical form of respect to their invisible social status. Inuyasha thought it was stupid, but he knew the repercussions for disobeying such rules from experience.

"What is it that you're doing out here, son? Training ended hours ago." Myoga waited for an answer as Inuyasha looked down with a disgruntled look cast over his features. It was obvious the reason he had stayed back and continued his training late into the evening. Inuyasha didn't want to let known the disappointment in himself, the annoyance at his own incapabilities.

"I just needed the practice," he stated, feigning his well-practiced serenity as he directed his gaze back to that of the old man. He felt the tension in his shoulders crawl down into his chest to spur an anxious tremour to rattle his already unstable nerves.

"Inuyasha, I understand your vexation, but I believe that one day you'll be one of the most renowned priests of your time. You just need to be patient."

That was yet another quality he was lacking, patience. The old monk had seen right through him - again - much to his dismay. Inuyasha bit his inner bottom lip as to keep himself from rudely making a sarcastic remark that could very possibly get him into trouble, though he knew Myoga wasn't nearly as strict as many of the other elders of the shrine. Myoga smiled knowingly as he watched the young man in front of him refrain from rebuffing his statement, something only he could take notice of. Myoga was able to see it in Inuyasha's eyes, as well as he hid it, and he yearned to comfort the chaos within the young man before him.

"I truly believe this," he stated simply as he turned and began walking back toward the temple. "Dinner will be served in about an hour. I recommend you go and wash up with what little time you have left."

Inuyasha merely nodded, watching as he left him to stand there alone in the field. He sighed and turned to the horizon once more. He felt as though he was so complicated to the point that even he himself didn't know how to decipher anything that was going through him; his constant discomfort and upset. It never made sense. What did he have to make him this way? He had everything he needed, the only thing he longed for was the inner peace required to complete his training. His jaw tensed then as he swiftly turned from the orange and gold of the sky to grab his bow and arrows from the ground and begin making his way to wash up near the shrine. He had already skipped out on the majority of his duties for that afternoon, it would be bad if he were late for dinner as well.

He hurried to his room for a pair of clean clothes, halting as his roommate lay reading on his own bed. He grimaced slightly before continuing into the room. He didn't care too much for the guy, it wasn't as if he got in his stuff or was an asshole or anything, but Hachi was … odd. He was a tall, fairly skinny guy, strange dark greyish hair cut short with a rather weird braid left in the back that reached down past his shoulder blades. He would be considered attractive if he didn't have those dark circles under his eyes 24/7. It was like the guy never got any sleep, which Inuyasha knew to be false because he snored like a freight train. The most alarming trait, however, was his unvalidated devotion to a certain skilled monk that had grown up in a neighboring village before deciding to travel about to 'help those in need'. He snorted at the mere thought, more like helping himself to those in need. Inuyasha had never met the man, but he had heard many rumours of his wandering hands when it came to maidens. Word had it that the real reason he left his temple was because he had been quietly disowned in repercussion to too many complaints of his less than pure requests when it came to the lords' youthful daughters. Inuyasha could honestly say that he didn't understand it, why such a talented person would ruin his own reputation, and for what? To get slapped across the face by handfuls of young women and be thrown out of villages by their fathers? He shook his head, as highly renowned as the young monk was, he just didn't sound very smart.

Inuyasha swiftly snagged a simple, but comfortable, outfit of clean white and blue before grabbing his small towel and some soaps.

"Hey, roomie. Where have you been?" Inuyasha spared the man a look only to turn towards the door, set in ignoring him. He wasn't in the mood to play nice. "Shippo was looking for you." He halted mid stride, glancing over his shoulder to stare at Hachi, silently telling him to continue. When he didn't and only returned his gaze awkwardly, Inuyasha rose an eyebrow in irritation and sighed before turning fully to face his roommate.

"Yeah? And why's that?" he muttered. Hachi smiled lightheartedly, seemingly content at acquiring his undivided attention. Odd.

"He said he might be able to get you on a mission." Inuyasha's eyes widened a fraction before they glared at Hachi slightly.

"This some kind of sick joke? You think this is funny?" Hachi's smile dropped immediately, shaking his head in the negative.

"No! Of course not! It's the truth!"

"Feh." Inuyasha went to leave the room, he didn't have much time to bathe now. He would talk to Shippo about this 'mission' after dinner.

"Inuyasha! I'm being serious!" He rolled his eyes as he padded quietly though quickly down the wooden hall, Hachi following in pursuit. He quickened his pace in hopes that the man wouldn't catch up to him. Hachi was pretty tall, but Inuyasha was taller, so tall in fact that he sometimes had to duck under doorways to enter certain rooms. It was annoying as hell. Most monks were dwarfs, apparently.

"Inuyasha! Wait!" Inuyasha sighed before stopping abruptly and turning around, Hachi almost crashing into him as he glowered marginally down at the man.

"Can you quit following me, please?" There was an underlying threat within his seemingly polite request as he gritted his teeth tightly. Hachi backed up fervently, his hands lifting in surrender.

"I-I'm sorry, but I didn't mean it that way, I was completely serious! Shippo said that-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it already. I need to hurry and get ready for dinner. We can talk about this later." And with that, Inuyasha went back on route to the washroom, which was quite a trek from the main house. Inuyasha didn't even spare a glance as he walked away from his well meaning roommate, already irritated from the events earlier on in the day. Fucking Bankotsu had stopped by the practice field just to make fun of him, which was very much not needed, the asshole.

He strode along the dirt path, the sky close to becoming a dark blue as the sun was now out of view, stars beginning to appear here and there. His jaw was still tight as he tried to clear his mind of anything that was getting to him. Why was it so difficult for him? Why was he even mad? He didn't even know, only angering him further. He decided to run to the bath house in hopes that it would aid in releasing his pent up frustrations. He made it there faster than he had anticipated, not helping the tension within his entire being to dissipate at all. He took a few slow deep breaths as he undressed and went to the cold water baths. He made haste in his movements as he scrubbed his body with a wet rag, lathering it with a soup to rid himself of the sweat and dirt he had gathered throughout the day. He was the only one in the baths at the moments - not many would risk cutting it so close to dinner time - but he actually much preferred this, the solitude. He was done in a flash, finishing up with a bucket of frigid water over his head to wash away any excess suds before trotting over to the hot springs. He sat down in the steaming water, letting his tense muscles relax. He leaned back against the rock, head resting on the edge. This was the most peaceful he had felt all day and yet … he could never fully be at ease. He opened his eyes and stared up at the wooden ceiling before getting out and drying off.

The walk back was slow as he took his time to gaze upon the hordes of stars that had emerged. Biting his inner cheek, he came to a halt to just stand, stare out into the field of tall grass as the breeze came across to play and swirl the green in a beautiful symphony. His damp hair was swept from his shoulders as a gust came his way, coaxing him into closing his eyes and let it whistle past his ears. Even in this moment, there was this bubble in his chest, festering and tantalizing him. He let out a slow, sad breath before pushing forward back toward the temple.

He made it back with just enough time to drop his things off in his room and make it to the banquet hall. Many of the other young monks in training had already made it to their seats, earning him a few questioning glances from the priest superiors. He bowed respectfully before swiftly taking his seat and braiding his hair as it should be. They all sat in quiet after the head priest entered the room, everyone standing and lowering their heads to him until he sat. A sort of meditation time always came before the dinner was served. They repeated a few mantras after the head priest and soon, boring beans and rice with platters of simple fruit were placed in front of everyone by the male servants bustling about.

"Hey, Yash!" he heard a whisper and turned only slightly to see Shippo waving his way.

"After dinner." Inuyasha remained seated as he was supposed to, looking straight ahead as he ate his food (?). They weren't exactly allowed to speak during meal time and he was not about to get in trouble for chit chat.

"My room or yours?" He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes as a smirk quivered to remain hidden, the stupid red-headed idiot. Inuyasha managed a brief sideways glare in warning as a few chuckles from the men sitting between them almost had his cheeks flare in embarrassment, almost. Inuyasha was known for being quite stoic and serious, especially when being watched by the elders.

After that, they finished their meals in silence until dismissed, Inuyasha putting up a delicate hand to silence his friend until they could make it to a 'secure' location, away from eavesdroppers. They exchanged a brief look before ducking outside and running into the small wooded area next to the temple.

"So?" Inuyasha sighed, regaining the air taken from him from the swift sprint. "what's this I hear about a mission?" He was trying not to get his hopes up as Shippo caught his breath, leaning forward with his hands on his knees. Inuyasha knew better, or at least he should have; only priests who were able to at least use their reiki were allowed to travel for missions. Inuyasha had never been past the nearby town.

"Okay, okay, chill. There's a mission coming up that is in need of some 'servers', or so says Priest Totosai, someone skilled in fighting and can help guard a jewel that the group is to transfer to a whole other kingdom. I've been asked to go and I'm pretty sure I can get you in on it." Inuyasha scrunched his face slightly in annoyance, he should've known.

"I am not going to be a handmaid or whatever," he huffed, preparing to turn and walk back to his room.

"Oh, come on, man! Hear me out! You'll be more of a guard than a handmaid," Shippo air quoted, jumping down as far as he could in a bad attempt at impersonating Inuyasha. "With an attitude like that, you'll never leave the temple again!"

Inuyasha stared at one of the surrounding trees in contemplation. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Shippou was right. This could be his only chance to travel on an actual mission. He would be stupid to pass this opportunity up.

"Okay…"

"Okay, what?"

"Okay, I'll go."

There it is! Let me know your thoughts! I welcome any and all respectful critiques. If you find any errors, please just let me know!

If anyone likes Soul Eater as well, I have three other fanfic stories up and ongoing at the moment!

Much Love!

K.T.