New fanfic.

I'm really trying to broaden my interests of writing, so here goes with a fantasy/historical fiction genre. Hope you like it. Feel free to leave suggestions and pointers.

Thanks!

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Chapter I: The Master of Hosusori Court

Inuyasha bowed before the feet of his father, silent in his wait. After reminding himself to keep his head touched to the woven tatami mat for at least ten full seconds, he looked up to see the face of his unsmiling father, who seemed to approve of the greeting.

After adjusting himself to the kneeling sitting position, Inuyasha tugged on the hems of his red haori, making the least attempt to present himself well enough. He resisted the urge to scratch his ears; he didn't want to have to be indignant later.

Inuyasha was better presented than usual. He had made sure to comb his white hair, though he found it tedious and long and boring. Of course, had he been purebred, as the courtiers said of demons, he might've had the servants do it. That privilege was taken away, but he wasn't disappointed or anything about the idea of letting the menservants wash, dress, and bathe you. The more he thought about it, the more repulsed he felt.

But he'd done the best he could with the taints of his hanyou blood, and felt a little relieved that his father approved.

Inutaisho diverted his attention quickly to a young girl in the corner. He snapped clawed fingers, an obvious cue for the girl to serve them tea.

She had a small, fragile frame, and Inuyasha had seen her around the estate frequently, but now that he saw her up close, he could see her frightened face. She smelled of liles, the moist lush smell of the water flowers, where sunshine was short and shadows long.

She came forward, holding the steaming kettle that spouted a ghostly steamy mist, and two tiny porcelain cups. Inuyasha took the tea unwillingly. Half-demons like him had no business in the court of the Lord of the Western Lands. As the rule went, hanyous were not mannered, not to be trusted, stupid, and most of all…unworthy.

"Thank you," Midori-sama."

Hanyous, not well mannered?

Actually, Inuyasha knew nothing of etiquette, or if he did flouted the rules. But he knew enough to be able to feign it, when he wanted to.

His father looked at him sternly.

He had forgotten. Nobody but high-ranking daimyos of the court could speak to the shogun without being told to first. This rule held exceptions for nobody. Not even the shogunate's son.

Inuyasha slowly bowed his head, a sign of reverence and humility.

When he looked up again, his father seemed satisfied.

"Midori, dismissal for the day."

The human servant girl bowed low and quickly, murmured a barely head, "Thank you, M'Lord," and scurried out of the room. She left the tea kettle beside Inuyasha, porcelain patterns weaving intricate vines around the piece.

Inutaisho stood up, silvery hair wafting over the finest silken garb. A pattern of sakura flowers covered the hems of his robes, and a red linen sash was tied above his waist. The kimono flowed serenely behind him at the smallest movement.

He turned around and stared, not blinking, at Inuyasha. "Drink," he commanded.

Until then Inuyasha hadn't even been aware of the tea growing lukewarm in his hands. He quickly swallowed most of it and set the cup, full of damp tea leaves, next to the kettle.

"I wish to discuss with you…The atrocities of your behavior in Hosusori Court."

Inuyasha looked quietly down at the woven tatami mats, hardly surprised.

"In the past week, you fought with Lord Subeki and nearly killed his favorite servant. What is your explanation?"

He had none, but he wasn't going to deny the offense. Lord Subeki and a procession of his family and servants were walking in the estate's gardens, a place Inuyasha could be at peace with his solitude. He had been sitting on a stone bench, just gazing up at the newly bloomed cherry blossoms, when one of Lord Subeki's children had demanded that he get up. Inuyasha had not answered, and so the brat took this to her father. Once Subeki had come over, Inuyasha had simply told him that this seat was occupied and that he would have to find another area to accommodate everyone. Lord Subeki really didn't have the power to take up a fight with Inuyasha. He was more of "the mouth" of the court, easily influencing other men and women of Hosusori with his words. He huffed and began leading everyone away, when a servant walking past Inuyasha had spit on his pants. After the events that followed, the servant sported a broken hip, several fractured ribs, and enough bruises to last him his entire life. Rumors flew of the manservant being unconscious for seven days and seven nights, but the more important thing was that the hanyou had caused it.

Inuyasha forced himself to look up. His pride would not be damaged.

"Fools tend to die hard."

This set Inutaisho off in a quiet, malignant rage. "You think this is a joke? Fatalities are not to be taken lightly under my watch."

He hadn't really meant it that way. "Not at all, father. But even I…" his voice faltered for a moment, "deserve some respect."

His father's back was to him, so Inuyasha really couldn't tell if he had heard a chuckle coming from him.

"You? A half-demon?" His father smiled grimly at him so he knew that it was not his mentality but that of everyone else. Both new the laws set within the courtiers' hearts. Laws that could not be breached.

"I was provoked, father," Inuyasha insisted.

"And what of it? Half demons deserve no equality in this world. You are nearer to dirt than to demon. Or human, for that matter."

"Am I just supposed to sit there and take it?" Inuyasha demanded, voice rising. His father turned to look at him, smiling again.

"Precisely. They will never change. You must."

Inuyasha now sat with his arms crossed stubbornly. His honor was what mattered most to him; it was likewise for everyone else he knew. He felt the growing need to prove himself to everybody, to recoil after the years of silence.

"And be a coward?"

"Cowardice is a separate thing from caution."

"What will I gain from hiding?" he defied.

"Perhaps a few more years of life," Inutaisho countered. "Whether you choose to see it or not, you have made many enemies in the court these last few months." He stood up, walked across the room, and picked up something that leaned against the wall. "You will need some defense if you wish to live past twenty years of age."

He presented him a sheathed sword.

Inuyasha looked up unbelievingly at his father.

When one was presented a sword personally by the Lord of the Western Lands, it was probably to be the most memorable event in their lives.

Inuyasha didn't inspect the sword right away, but knew by the make of the hilt that it was the work of Totosai, the master craftsman of the court. Inuyasha had never had his own sword. He often played with various weapons in the armory, but had never acquired one that truly suited him. Sesshomaru had received a sword, also crafted by Totosai, on his fifteenth birthday, and had always taunted Inuyasha for not yet having one. Inuyasha already felt bad that he was receiving it on his sixteenth.

"The Testusaiga. You'll learn to use it over the years at Goshinboku Seminary."

Inuyasha couldn't believe his ears. The sword, now this.

The Seminary of Goshinboku was the highest ranking training school for combat and magic. Sesshomaru had sailed away to Okinawa, the largest of the miniscule Islands of Ryukyu. Inuyasha had always secretly aspired to traveling away from Onzhou, specifically to Goshinboku. Now he had that chance, and he was going to take it, no matter what.

He forced himself to speak, but couldn't exactly get the words out. "Father…This is…This is too much."

"I know you would rather stay here in the midst of all the prejudiced courtiers, so if you wish, you can." Inutaisho's voice was full of sarcasm.

"I accept," Inuyasha said quickly. He felt as if the wind had been knocked from him and was struggling to speak.

"As I knew you would. For your own interests and your health."

"When do I get out of here, then?" Inuyasha said, not bothering to hide his disgust for this Hosusori.

"Soon…" Inutaisho smiled and nodded. "Soon."

He picked up the still-steaming kettle and poured himself and Inuyasha another cup each.

"How soon?" Inuyasha said with a bit of impatience.

"Very soon." Too vague.

"Today?" he asked, puzzled.

"Not that soon." His father took a sip of tea. "Though I'm sure Lord Subeki and his followers would like that. No, not t today."

"Tomorrow?" Inuyasha guessed.

"I couldn't arrange for it that soon. But you leave in a week. If I kept you here any longer you'd probably be killed."

After Inuyasha finished his cup of tea, his father dismissed him. He exited out the door and walked quietly through the courtyard, the Tetsusaiga in his firm grip, ignoring the mixed messages of foreboding and hope that his mind was sending him. The good thoughts gratefully overpowered the bad ones, but he knew they would never go away, they would just lay in hiding and materialize in the darkness.

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Well, that's the first chapter.

Review Review Review!

To clear up some things with you:

I'm creating sort of an alternate Japan in this fanfiction. In other words, I'm throwing away the familiar setting of Sengoku Jidai and creating my own. In the series, magic is seriously underrated. It's more of a power certain gifted individuals possess than an art that develops with work. I'm changing that factor in this fic, as you'll see soon.

The name Hosusori Court is not very important except for the fact that it is the huge estate where Inutaisho, the Lord of the Western Lands, rules. He is the big big big boss, simply.

Onzhou…Okay I know this sounds weird, but it just means "Honshu", or the largest of the islands of Japan. You know how in books the authors create a world that hits pretty close to home but is so much different in the same way?

I'll take a few examples. In the Lord of the Rings, the world is called Middle-Earth. In The Wizard of Earthsea, the world is called….errrr….Earthsea. (Who saw that coming?) But anyways, its just my alteration to the story so you know that it's not the same place as the Sengoku Jidai that Kagome tumbles into.

Islands of Ryukyu…These are a part of Japan, and Okinawa is a real place.

Seminary is a fancy shcmancy word for "training school."

Hope that stuff helped a bit. Bye bye!

-Alohaturtle