I Do Not Own Inuyasha! All contained characters, ideas, concepts, etc belong to the creators and their affiliates. This story is done purely for my own amusement and for the amusement of my readers. Neither I nor anyone connected with me make any profit from this story
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE! READERS! ... ehem, sorry. Hello guys. here's Ch 2. I'm trying out some character perspective switching and it's a somewhat dificult technique so any helpful comments would be heavenly balm to my eternal writer's soul, or something like that :) Also I want to know what you guys think about my interpretation of the younger slightly more evil Inuyasha, let me know if I got him right. Oh yeah, and I haven't named him yet for a reason. He's the dude in red... Oh wait you knew that already... Sorry... enjoy.
Chapter 2: The Scarlet Stranger.
The night would be cold. Gorou looked through the window of his home towards the lone mountain west of the village. The time of sacrifice was fast approaching. Each year at the dawn of winter ten were chosen, one would die. The Yama god demanded blood for peace, and tomorrow, on the night of the new moon he would have it.
Leaves rustled gently as a whisper of wind and crimson sped through the trees. Two days of hard travel had brought him more than 70 leagues from the bloody ravine. The land he now ran rose and fell with the slopes of ancient mountains. Dense forest closed in on all sides, and he was forced to alter his path to avoid villages less often. As he ran his ears flicked back and forth, searching for enemy sounds on every side. He had only met with two minor annoyances today, both attracted by the strange scent of his blood. The second he had barely bothered with, leaving the pathetic demon writhing on the ground, missing most of its limbs. He didn't have time to mess around. Already he could feel the pull of the dying moon tugging at his strength. He had made more than his average share of enemies this time through the province. If he didn't reach that cave by tonight… this one would be close.
Hushed whispers moved through the crowd as the entire village waited on the decision of the chief priest. "Which ones would be chosen? Who would get away? Who would die?" Hours on end the people stood, fearful of what they would hear, unable to tear away. When the doors to the temple shrine finally opened a glassy silence fell as everyone looked to the black robed figure. In his hand he held a small scroll which handed to the captain of the village guard. One by one the 10 names were read aloud, each name was surrounded by a three armed guards and quietly led through the gates of the temple to begin the preparations. One man tried to run and was quickly stopped by five other villagers who ignored his cries for mercy. The people turned their heads trying in vain to erase the memories of the man being dragged through the gates who had been their neighbor, their customer, their friend. As the massive doors swung closed the crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief. The selection was over; tonight the games would begin.
As the sun touched the western horizon, 10 figures clothed in white marched out from the temple towards the lone mountain, a column of guards and onlookers trailing behind. When the procession reached the edge of the village, Gorou the priest halted and faced the crowd.
"Today, we once again seal our pact with the Yama god, in return for the peace promised we pay our tribute of blood. 10 offerings will be sent into the forest before the setting of the sun. Yama will choose his prize by guiding our warriors through the night until they come upon the man or woman who shall save our village for one more year."
The priest looked at each of the 10 in turn, meeting their terror filled eyes with a self-assured gaze.
"Do not be anxious my brothers and sisters. Tomorrow all will be at peace."
With that Gorou nodded to the captain of the guard standing beside him. The armored soldier raised a ceremonial horn to his lips and blew a single ringing note. Silence hovered for a split second as the dying echoes faded away. Then as if awakening from a dream one of the white robbed figures bolted for the tree line. The panic spread and the other 9 quickly scattered, desperate to escape and outrun the setting of the sun.
He could detect no danger in the scent of the wind. From his vantage point on a stout branch 30 feet above the forest floor only part of the valley was visible. The terrain had changed very little since his last visit. It remained a vast wilderness seemingly devoid of human or demon presence, but he was in no mood to take chances… not tonight. He tested the breeze once more. Something was different from the last time he had been this way, but he couldn't quite pin it down. He had seen and heard nothing unusual yet he couldn't shake the feeling that the quiet scene before him was hiding some unseen enemy. The cave was near but the unnatural silence around him made him wonder if perhaps spending the night in this tree would be safer. No, after sunset he would no longer be able to get down from such a height and to be trapped was to die, yet he hesitated; something was wrong. He continued to wait as the sun passed through the sky above. Only the movement of his golden eyes and the flicking of his ears would have marked him as anything other than a statue. As sunset neared he finally leapt from his perch and landed in a silent flurry of silver and crimson. He could feel the change coming, he had to hurry.
His bare feet made no sound on the soft carpet of the forest as he started down the hill side. Suddenly he slid to a halt. A long mournful sound rang in the air. A horn call. Humans. A hunting party? The sound originated somewhere ahead and a little to the east around the shoulder of the mountain; roughly in the direction he was now headed. A low growl rumbled in his throat. Humans meant trouble and possibly danger. Going forward now would be risky, but what else could he do. As the last ray of sunlight vanished from mountain peak high above he knew that it was already too late. The change was quiet and as always it left him with a nearly unbearable sense of loss. His hearing dulled his vision weakened and his nose became next to useless. How did humans stand being so weak all the time? Grunting in disgust he began walking, there was nothing else for it… the night of the new moon had come.
Hours passed and every step forward wracked his nerves more and more. The sounds of the night were muted and confusing to his unfamiliar human ears. Every shadow jumped out as an enemy. Patients he told himself, the night was already half over in a few hours he would be himself again. He listened to the noise for a time before his brain registered what it was, footsteps, panting; someone was coming! Before he could move a figure clothed in white burst through the underbrush and crashed into him, sending both tumbling to the ground. Groaning he tried to push himself upright but was stopped by a foreign weight sitting on his chest. He looked up. Staring back at him was the face of a young girl, her hair disheveled, and face streaked with sweat and dirt. Her terror widened eyes locked on to his. Two small hands grasped the front of his kimono in desperation. "Please" she whispered "help me."
Aiko stared at the black haired boy she had crashed into. His grey eyes looked up at her with a mixture of surprise and irritation. He was a stranger so he would have no loyalty to the priest or the mountain god, he might even be willing to help. "Please" she whispered "help me". The boy looked at her silently for a moment and then shoved Aiko roughly off of his chest. "Get off of me, you clutz!" The stranger stood, brushing the dirt and leaves from his shoulders. Aiko looked wildly around, the tightness in her chest nearing panic. For hours she had been pursued by the village soldiers. She knew her strength was almost spent but the hunters would not rest until they had captured the Yama's payment. Even now they could not be far off. This boy was her last hope.
"Please," she said again "you have to help me. They're close, and I don't think I can run much further."
The stranger cocked his head in confusion.
"What are you babbling about? Whose they?"
Aiko stood and started to answer but the words caught in her throat as she turned to face the wall of trees behind her. "They… they're here."
Five men dressed in dark clothes and armor stepped quietly from under the trees. Two carried lightweight nets while the other three held coils of rope with weights on the ends for throwing and snaring. Together they formed a skirmish line and advanced wordlessly toward Aiko and the stranger. The black haired boy shifted into a fighting stance "What do you losers want?" The soldiers wordlessly continued to advance. They curved their line creating a circle around their quarry. Aiko's heart pounded so hard she felt she could barely breathe. Her fear clouded brain shouted a single message you are going to die. "NO!" Her sudden scream startled the young stranger as she rushed madly at the nearest soldier. Flailing her fists in rage and terror she struck at the man's armored face. But her attack was quickly stopped as the man's comrade threw his net over the girl's body. Her struggles were stilled with a single blow from the soldier's fist, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
He watched as the strange girl in white fell in a heap at the soldier's feet. She would be no help now. His lips parted in a feral snarl, what he wouldn't give to have his claws back right now.
"So you're the ones that wench was so afraid of. What'd she do, insult you for being pathetic enough to hit a little girl half your size?"
Flashes of anger crossed the men's faces but they wordlessly continued to advance.
"Huh! Well I ain't no little girl, and you won't find takin me out to be so easy."
The soldier with the remaining net was a mere 6 feet away when the man made his try. But this was exactly what he had been watching for. Instead of dodging or retreating he dove under the net's arc and rolled into a crouch inches away from the soldier. A blow to the side of the knee cap brought the armored man down and a fist in the throat took him out of play. The net flew past its intended target and tangled itself around another soldier sending him flailing and cursing to the ground. A laugh broke through the still night air. "You all are pretty pathetic. So… who's next?" He turned to the man on his left, the soldier was looking at his companion slumped unconscious with one knee twisted at an odd angle. The soldier turned back to meet the black haired boy's steady gaze and took a step back in hesitation.
"Huh!" the stranger grinned, "I think we have a volunteer." Cocking his fist the boy jumped forward, aiming strait for the man's throat.
Suddenly the boy's leap was cut short as a weighted rope wound itself around his neck. The cord snapped taut and the black haired boy was yanked backwards. With an angry snarl he fought to recover his balance. Pivoting on the balls of his feet he rushed at the man holding the rope only to jerked back as another rope wrapped around his left arm. Pulled in opposite directions the boy was forced to a standstill. He strained against the rough cords, gasping as his breath was slowly strangled by the tightening noose. The fourth soldier finally managed to disentangle his companion from the net and the two advanced carefully on the red coated stranger, wary of further attack. But the boy was already too weakened to notice their presence. He sank to his knees struggling to see past the black mist starting to cloud his vision. A blurry figure loomed over him briefly before an armored fist slammed against his head sending the world tumbling into blackness.