The Rogue Warrior
Summary: It was a jewel born out of battle. It was a jewel that lived through battle. And it changed the life of one girl beyond her imagination! SessKag
Chapter 1: The masked warrior
As the sun descended plunging the forest slowly into darkness but in the dark, the forests came to life. The nocturnal inhabitants of the forest began carefully scurrying through the trees, prey and predator alike. The occasional hoots, chirps and scuffles could be heard all around, a sonic experience with an interlude of silence.
Through this woodland, a narrow but well-trodden path meandered conforming to the positions of the old trees. The path joined the nearby villages separated by no more than a day's travel. A shadowy figure knelt on a high branch atop this path facing the nearest village. The figure jumped swiftly and landed on another branch and another until it reached the village, leaving the forest unperturbed.
The village was just a glorified name for a group of small huts that were built in a large clearing along the forest path. The huts were made using materials from the forests and spaced such that each house had some land to cultivate. The houses were constructed by amateur hands at best but held an air of cleanliness.
On this night, the houses were dark and silent; the animals ushered indoors to keep them out of sight. All the villagers were assembled at the center of the village chattering in low voices. The lord of these lands and nobleman in the court of the Inu no Taisho had started collecting taxes before the summer and had arrived in the village earlier today.
The adults stood in lines carrying a bundle of money or produce of some kind. The children played by the side oblivious to the worry etched in their parents' faces. At the head of the line sat a burly youkai surrounded by a few slaves (youkai and ningen) who carried the load to the carts and 6 strong, large and deft youkai; each carrying a katana.
The royal tax imposed on farmers was two silver coins for every adult, one for every child born within 10 summers and one-tenth of their produce or equivalent amount in coins. It was collected in exchange for protection and support in difficult times. Though the Inu no Taisho may have been a fair ruler, he was blind to the corruption among the lesser nobles. They collected higher taxes than was necessary and some even collected taxes biannually after the harvest of the summer and winter crops.
A young widow was handing the tax for herself and her son as the shadowy figure approached the center. He saw as the youkai counted the money after motioning to one of the slaves to collect the produce that was due. She paid 5 coins, almost double the amount of tax that should have been levied.
The villagers were poor and uneducated. They only knew the rates imposed by their landlords and so continued their struggle. Even if they knew about the corruption of these lords, they could not go to the citadel of Inu no Taisho. The very least of the problem in that idea was that the long journey costed money, a certain something that was being drained. The silent spectator decided he saw enough when one of the youkai slap the woman and shouted that the produce was not enough. Her son ran from the place where the kids were playing to his mother.
One of the other villagers, a slightly older man saw that the youkai was above to reach for the boy, most likely as a slave to work off his debt, immediately pulled him aside, apologizing profusely to the lord. The old man tried to explain that the woman's husband died and that she was the sole bread-maker. He offered to pay some more produce to save the boy. He knew what would become of such a thing. What the man did not know was that this tax collector troubled many nearby towns and villages.
From his perch on a nearby tree, the spectator jumped down, landing with a soft thud which was enough to alert the youkai. In the dim light of the late evening sky, he was but a dark shadow. He wore a loose black shirt and a pair of pants held together by an obi with 2 swords tucked on his back one visible on each side of his head. The hands and legs were bound tight with strips of cloth like a ninja's hands would be. His face was also covered revealing only a pair of brown eyes
Though his didn't seem muscular or intimidating, one could see that this person wasn't new to fighting. His body language was strangely loose, calm and had no anxiety or any other emotion. His eyes were trained completely on the youkai officer.
He did not speak nor did he move as the youkai demanded to know who he was. Finally, the tax collector seemed to take enough notice to stand up and glare at him, "You!" he spat, "you're that rogue. That criminal who has been killing many of the dog general's officers. That rebellious streak of yours is going to be the end of you.
"I have no reason to rebel. That isn't my purpose. Eliminating one such as you is why I am here."
The official turned to the youkai and signaled an attack. "Eliminate me, huh? I think you've made a mistake coming here. There is a pretty high price for your head. If I bring your head to the Inu no Taisho, maybe he'll finally promote me so that I need not come to these disgusting villages anymore."
The youkai guards unsheathed their swords and came at him. The youkai at the front brought his sword down on the masked man. This was not the first youkai that the masked man had faced. He had unsheathed his swords the moment the signal had been given and the two blades struck with a reverberating clang
Youkai almost always began their fights with a test of strength. It was their way of saying that if one did not have enough strength they could not hope to match a youkai. Only trained warriors went beyond that. It was clear that the youkai underestimated him. Well, he was no push-over. He trained his muscles to face youkai and trained in techniques to counter larger opponents.
With, this mind made up, the masked man went swiftly through a few forms to be free of the deadlock and knocked the youkai back a considerable distance with his feet. A second youkai, a bird of some sort, came at him in that time. He did not waste time dealing with this one, knowing that a bird's weakness was their hollow bones. Ducking, he slashed at the legs and crippled the bird. As the youkai fell, he dug his swords into the spine and through the heart.
The first youkai came back with his sword. This time, the warrior avoided a direct clash and instead maneuvered by twisting the youkai's sword with one hand and cutting off the hand. Before, the youkai could regenerate, cut off the head. And then he was gone.
"Find him!" the head guard shouted. The remaining youkai spread out into the village searching for the masked man. The darkness had settled over the village and the rogue warrior disappeared into the shadows. A shrill cry erupted from a narrow passage between 2 huts. It was a hawk youkai. He found the masked man with his highly enhanced vision but did not survive the encounter.
"Where is that bastard?" shouted one of the youkai. The head youkai understood what was happening though. As only three youkai remained, he ordered the other two to search together so as to reduce the element of surprise. The head youkai went to the village center to stand guard over the tax collector.
But in less than ten minutes another shout was heard. One of the two youkai had been snatched from behind and now lay in a pool of blood.
Only 3 youkai including the tax collector were left. "Get back to the center of the village. He will come out on his own, now that he's reduced the numbers." And he had been right
"So, you finally show yourself" the leader stated when the 'rogue warrior' came out of the shadows.
"It seems so" he mocked, moving forward slowly. He was times smaller than the youkai present there. One could never believe he defeated those youkai if they hadn't witnessed it.
The rogue warrior was a rumor that had spread among the villages. A robin-hood of sorts. He worked for no one, he worked with no one. No one knew when he would show up or how he looked or anything else about him- just the rumors of what he had done. Many did not believe such a person existed even, only shocked when he appeared. This instance for example…
All the villagers moved back expecting a fight to take place. Soon the two youkai and the masked man stood in the vaguely circular battle ground in the center of the village. The leader, a more experienced fighter didn't make a hasty move… but his underling, a cobra youkai was not so patient.
He charged forward in a zigzag pattern, so fast that he was invisible to an untrained eye. There were very few who could match up to his speed and he was confident that a human would never hope to defeat him. He unsheathed his sword in mid run, ready to slash any opponent in the way…
The rogue warrior stood his ground and made a few symbols with his hands with his closed. The youkai neared him… but he made no move.
Last of the series of symbols was completed just as the youkai reached him. He opened his eyes. A sizzling barrier surrounded him. The sword fell noisily to the ground next to the pile of ash that was once the youkai as the shiny barrier vanished without a trace. He never knew what hit him!
It was then the leader understood. He was- no- he let out a low throaty laugh. "I finally understand who you are." The leader transformed into the true oni he was and drew his sword out-a youkai fang blade. "This will be your last battle." The sword itself was as tall as the warrior. The warrior responded to the challenge by unsheathing his swords.
He ran towards the oni to use speed as leverage for strength. He jumped up and used the gravity as force to cut the oni. But the oni blocked it with his sword causing both of them to move back.
Balancing himself with a slight pause, he moved into a stance. This time the oni made the first move. The attacked was blocked. It was followed by a series of swift clashes making it look like sparks flew out of the swords. The warrior even though human held his ground well.
The oni made a move towards the left and in the final moment changed direction and struck his elbow square on the face. The warrior flew back burst through the wall of a hut. He lost both his swords which flew in different directions. The oni dragged him out with his free hand and held him in the air, prepared to drive his huge sword through the small body.
But his body refused to move- as if invisible strings held him in place. Strings did hold him in place- a web of strings that were woven by the warrior during the fight. He was completely immobilized. With the pull of a string, he forced the oni to free him involuntarily. As the warrior reached the ground the oni was pulled by the strings to his knees.
With his free hand, he pulled out a dagger. "You were right" was the last thing he whispered before plunging the dagger to the heart with some of the power he held. The oni's eyes widened before they closed for eternity. He loosened the strings and let the corpse fall limply to the ground.
He walked forward with same quiet calmness as he first arrived towards the last remaining youkai. The official fearing his life grabbed a little human girl from the crowd as hostage. He held his claws to her neck in warning.
The warrior stopped walking and stood with his hands on either side and glared at the youkai. The youkai thinking he won prepared to escape when the warrior moved his hand in a swift swipe releasing a mass of ki towards the youkai and the girl.
The villagers gasped as it neared them. 'Go through the defense. Reach the target. Reach your target…' he thought. The glowing power went thought both them. The youkai was pushed back and burned by the ki. It was a power that purified youkai.
Just as the villagers were about to celebrate the victory, the sound of hooves was heard. The rogue warrior was surrounded by youkai dressed in a black outfit with a silver dog symbol etched on the armor. "Do not move! We are the imperial soldiers. You are under arrest for all the youkai and ningen you have killed, especially the imperial officers." All the villagers, rushed into their huts in fear of the soldiers.
The rogue warrior softly cursed his luck. Weakened by the battle that just ended, he may not be able to fend off so many youkai. But he couldn't give up. There was one thing he could try- a technique to increase his speed. He managed to escape the ring of horses.
No sooner did he escape than was he stopped by a red blur. There in all his glory, wearing his trademark red fire rat haori and hakama, long silver hair slightly blowing in the wind, dog ears atop his head and Tetsussaiga drawn stood… INUYASHA!
Author's yappin time: Well there's the first chapter. I guess the identity of the rogue warrior is quite clear by now. But maybe I can still surprise you. Who'd you expect to win the battle? Opinions, reviews, suggestions, anything…. I'll be waiting always.
A note to all: I am rewriting this story in hopes of correcting a few things in the future chapters but the original story remains the same.
Angelfire123.