Well, guess what? I've been terrible and didn't update when I should have, but there it is. Go 300! It's my new favourite movie, and the abs... yummy! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed my tantalising little prologue there, hehe, who could the mystery man be?? Let the story unfold!! THIS IS SPARTA. We don't submit, dummy!

Deds:

sasuke5010 - You sound quite enthusiastic. In reply I have updated. Read on, romance lovers, read on!

Nimeway - You flatter me too much. The prologue was a blurb meant to catch your attention, hehe! What's the point of building my fans up only to let them down at the opening of the long-awaited story? I ask you! Oh, but don't think I don't like the flattery - cuz I do - hehehe...

Sanguine Ronin

Chapter One

"Only the Good Die Young"

Inuyasha Taisho sipped a beer as he sat at the back of one of Toronto's hottest bars, Club 264. The DJ was spinning a new one, a house rhythm that made him wince with the synthesised guitar rips. It was a fast beat, and several people got up to dance.

At the bar, a young woman, dressed in a ridiculously short skirt and skimpy top, giggled becomingly to a middle-aged man in a business suit. He watched them closely as she put on her jacket, and the two of them left the establishment. Quickly, he followed.

He could hear them talking better now that they were on the street, even though there were even more people walking and cars blaring their horns in the late evening traffic.

The girl turned suddenly, leading the man down a dark alleyway, and he heard the word, "Shortcut," before he lost sight of them in a crowd just coming from the Sky Dome.

Sifting his way through the throng of baseball fans impatiently, he fielded more than one black look before he managed to enter the alley. There, at the end, he saw movement.

The woman, a prostitute, had the man against the wall, and was licking the inside of his earlobe eagerly. The man, mesmerised, as she intended him to be, grasped her around the waist and began to fondle her backside. She moved down his neck, her tongue trailing hot saliva from his ear to his throbbing jugular, and her heart quickened. The sound of it pounded in her sensitive ears, and excited her. She was so hungry...

Suddenly, she let out a blood-curdling shriek as she burst into flame and disappeared before the older man's eyes, and he was faced with Inuyasha, pointing a wooden cross in his face. The man stuttered, and then bolted, realising that he'd just been spared.

Inuyasha crouched over the body, and saw the flesh begin to regenerate. This bitch was old, indeed, to come back so quickly. Probably one of his brother's original turns. Maybe she could be of some use before he finished her.

When she opened her eyes he gripped her throat and hissed, "Where is he?"

She glared at him fiercely but played dumb. "Have you checked your ass, smart guy?" He squeezed her neck until he felt the bones crack, and her glare intensified, and she hissed in pain. From his jacket he pulled out a stake with a wicked point and poised it above her heart. "Answer me, bitch. I won't ask you again."

She spit in his face. He didn't flinch.

She knew her end was near, but it ate away at her pride to be so helpless in the face of this young upstart. "I don't know," she answered at last, honestly, "but I hope he strings you up good when you do find him."

Angrily, he realised that she was a dead end. Promptly he staked her, her shriek reverberating off the alley walls, and then brought out a machete, and severed her head from her body. Instantly, the corpse turned to ash in a burst of flame, before blowing away in the breeze. The head followed suit, and Inuyasha wiped his hand on his leg to rid it of the black, sooty residue. He was close, he could feel him. His trail ended here, he had to be somewhere nearby.

Inuyasha thought back, to a lifetime ago, when he had been young and in love, a time when the world was much simpler. He got up and walked away from the ashes as he let his mind drift back to the day that had led up to everything that had gone wrong.

-SR-

He'd been a demon once.

Or rather part demon, since he had had only one demon parent. His parentage, though, was as unknown to those around him as his troubled past. He was considered a pest, and had grown up stealing to feed himself.

At the age of two hundred, he'd stumbled into a small village, burned and bleeding, after a particularly fierce battle with a bat demon who'd been determined that the young man would be his dinner. Inuyasha had escaped, but passed out before being able to climb into a high tree to safely sleep his wounds off.

He'd awoken inside a hut, and at first the serene face that floated in a blur above him had seemed so beautiful, and the first thing he noticed in her eyes was compassion, but the wariness was there too. He supposed he couldn't fault her for that.

Sitting up, he'd rubbed his head, his wounds now just itchy red patches of skin. "Where am I?"

The woman sitting across the fire from him looked up from stirring the broth in the pot that hung there, and replied, "You are in good hands."

He frowned, thinking her answer had been a bit cryptic, and glanced down to the child sitting silently by the woman's side. Her left eye was covered with a piece of cloth and there was an old bloodstain on it where her eye would have rested, had she still possessed it. He guessed she'd lost it very recently.

Looking back to the woman, he listened as she spoke. "This is my younger sister, Kaede. We are priestesses to this village, and its healers." He blinked, but his face remained in a perpetual frown. It had always been so; he'd had nothing to smile about for a very long time.

"Where did you find me?"

The woman looked up as he seemed to shrink into himself, as if he was afraid of them. She thought that to be amusing. If anything, they were more afraid of him. His fluffy white ears and long, sharp claws were only two of the signs that he possessed the blood of a demon in his veins. His white hair was the most obvious, and a pair of long fangs completed the mix. He was anything short of hideous-looking, though.

Kikyou, the woman, glanced covertly at him whenever she could. He was handsome, alright. Handsome enough to make her entertain thoughts of giving up her life-long profession as priestess and beg him to go away with her. She blinked, and banished her impure thoughts. Her job was to protect the Sacred Jewel; until it no longer existed or was destroyed, her destiny was clear.

"Under the Goshimboku."

Inuyasha flicked open one of his closed eyes and asked belligerently, "What the hell is that?"

Kikyou kept her eyes on her task as she replied, "The Sacred Tree, better known as the God Tree, near the shrine."

He couldn't remember having seen any shrines around here, but then again, he'd only been here... he didn't even know. Not long anyway.

"Oh. Why didn't you leave me there?"

Kikyou looked him in the eye this time, but he couldn't maintain her gaze, and quickly looked away. "Because you were suffering. It is not in a priestess's nature to overlook suffering, even if you are part demon." They both knew that in this day and age, demons and humans did not get along. Humans were often fodder for demons, and humans feared them greatly. Only very rarely could either species overcome their prejudices and work together.

He said nothing in response. She was crazy if she thought she was getting a thank-you for this. He could take care of himself, had been almost his whole life. It burned his pride that this human woman thought he was weak enough to need her help.

He stood up abruptly, and left the hut.

"Later."

Kikyou did not reply. Deep down she wished she'd never picked up the demon boy, for when he heard of the Jewel, she knew there'd be trouble.

Sure enough, Inuyasha hung around. He didn't know why, but the priestess's presence seemed to sooth him, and before long, he could not bear to be far away.

Kikyou knew when Inuyasha was near, and as time passed she grew used to his constant surveillance and even began to feel safe under it. He did seem to keep away other demons, and would often come to her aid when she needed help fighting any one of the numerous demons that came in search of the Jewel.

Eventually he began to speak to her, and be with her most of the time. He accompanied her to the village, and watched over her when she slept. He became her best friend.

One day, while sitting on a hillside overlooking the tiny village, Kikyou sighed to herself. Inuyasha had become close to her over the last months, closer than he'd ever been to anyone. He was still gruff, and trusted no one, but he would often look at her with a softness in his eyes that she found most appealing. Unfortunately, the Jewel stood in the way of their ever becoming closer.

Inuyasha watched her from a high tree, as he always did. Kikyou seemed to be especially sad today. He'd noticed that she spent most of her time this way, though he could never figure out what caused it. She had everything he didn't: a place to live, food to eat, and people who loved her. She had a place, and that was something he envied greatly of her.

Kikyou sensed his presence, and called, "Inuyasha! Come sit with me, won't you?"

Jumping down, he did as she asked, but with a proper distance separating them. He watched her carefully, his suspicions up. Until he knew what she wanted, he always maintained his reservations.

"Inuyasha, what am I to you?"

The question caught him off guard; he forgot to be wary. "What do you mean?"

She sighed again. "I am a woman, Inuyasha, but nobody thinks of me that way. I can't let my guard down, ever. Not while my destiny is to protect the Jewel."

He frowned. "What is the Jewel, anyway? Why does it attract so much danger?"

She turned to look at him, her chin resting on her shoulder. Now was the moment of truth. She had never told him what the Sacred Jewel was capable of; his biggest complaint in life was that he wasn't strong enough, and that he had no place. He wanted to be one or the other, demon or human, and she knew that as soon as she answered him he would put two and two together and demand to know why she'd never told him. She was sure, though, that if she played her cards right, she could try convince him to make the right choice.

"The Jewel is very dangerous in its own sense, Inuyasha. It attracts danger because it enhances danger. Its purpose is to supply the holder of his fondest wish. Unfortunately, most people or demons who would possess it wish for evil things. In doing so, the Jewel becomes tainted, and people suffer. Its power is limitless. I protect it because in my possession it remains pure, and benign." She watched closely the emotions that crossed his face, and, sure enough, his anger was quickly apparent.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She could hear the hurt behind the anger, and her heart lurched. He didn't know it, but she had grown to love him in the time they'd spent together, and his accusation made her feel terrible.

"Because I wanted to protect you from yourself. You want to use it to become a demon, don't you?"

He could hear tears in her voice, and they spilled over as she finished, turning her face away from him so he wouldn't see them fall. She was right. He wanted to become a demon more than anything. He hated being weak and defenceless. He hated the taunts, and the feeling that he didn't belong to either society. He had thought of becoming human, but what was the point when becoming a demon was within his reach?

She is the point.

He looked at her, and the sound of her sobs, the scent of her tears, tore him apart. He'd become fond of her in the past months, too, fonder than he'd ever wanted to admit. Slowly, he reached out to her, and put his hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her toward him, and she let him, turning into his chest and letting him hold her.

Both felt as if they'd just come home. There, nestled in each other's warm embrace, both knew what it was to feel love for the first time.

"Kikyou, I..." Inuyasha was at a loss for words, and she brought her tear-streaked face up to look at him, her hand caressing his jaw tenderly.

"Inuyasha," she breathed, her heart blooming in the light of the look of love in his golden eyes, "Kiss me... please."

He leaned toward her, and the two shared their first kiss, their first declaration of love. He pulled her closer, and when the kiss was over, he kept his eyes closed, and tucked her head into his neck, resting his chin on her hair. Kikyou smiled, happier than she'd ever been.

Inuyasha knew that she was upset because she'd known what he would do when he discovered the Jewel's power, but his love for her overwhelmed his one true desire. He wanted to make her happy, and he knew just how to do it.

"Kikyou, I want to become human."

Her eyes flew open. This was what she had hoped for. She pulled away from him, and searched his eyes. "Are you sure?" They both knew that if he were to become human, and wish upon the Jewel, his pure wish would cause the Jewel to disappear, it's power used up.

He nodded his assent, and took her hands, kissing her knuckles and smiling. Then, he asked her the one question she thought she'd never hear.

"Kikyou, will you marry me?"

Her heart burst with love for him, and she leaped back at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and kissing his face profusely. "Yes, Inuyasha, yes, yes," she replied, and he kissed her back. Pulling him up and leading him by the hand, she led him to the Sacred Shrine, where the Sacred Jewel was housed.

Taking him inside, she lifted it off its stand and handed it to him, complete trust in her eyes.

Inuyasha took a deep breath, and thought of his future life as a human man. He would be weak, true, but he would have a place, and that meant more to him than anything.

He closed his eyes, and the Jewel glowed brightly, before Inuyasha's heartbeat got louder. Kikyou watched anxiously as the beats became loud enough for her to hear, and his hair began to rise on an invisible wind.

His ears went first. The shrunk and morphed into human ears at the sides of his head. His hair, bleeding to grey until it seeped into black, the strands growing slightly longer; his claws shortened into normal fingernails, and his fangs returned to normal human eye teeth. When the transformation was complete, he opened his eyes.

They were a deep violet.

He reached for her hand, and she realised that the Jewel was still in it, but it barely glowed. She took it, and her pure essence made it glow bright once more. She had been wrong. It hadn't disappeared.

He smiled at her, and suddenly she didn't care that it was still in need of her protection. Inuyasha was human, and they were going to be married. Her happiness despite the restitution of the Jewel was beautiful, and she put the Jewel around her neck, where it would be safe.

Inuyasha said, "So when should we marry?"

Kikyou grinned. "As soon as possible."

-SR-

Inuyasha was so nervous, his heart fluttered. He thought he might throw up.

He awaited Kikyou in the Shrine, where a travelling monk stood, ready to marry them. The whole village had turned out, and Inuyasha's acceptance as one of them had been immediate. They were more than happy to see the priestess of their village marry the handsome young man.

Kaede stood close to him, a small bouquet of flowers in her hand. She smiled despite the new eye-patch her sister had fashioned to protect her injured eye.

When Kikyou finally appeared, dressed in her wedding kimono, borrowed from one of the older women in the village, he knew right away that something was wrong.

Kikyou was beautiful. More beautiful than she'd ever been, in fact. He couldn't take his eyes off her, and yet he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something terribly wrong. The Jewel at her neck shimmered a terrible black.

A flutist from the village played a lovely solo as Kikyou made her way to him, and when she reached him and looked into his eyes, he knew immediately what was wrong.

Sesshoumaru, you fucking bastard! He screamed in his head.

Kikyou's eyes were a fiery gold, and they undulated like flame as she stared at him, and he felt his limbs unable to move. The monk sensed the evil, too, and backed away, his staff jingling in the silence of the hushed crowd. He pointed the holy relic at her and yelled, "Evil, flee from this woman!"

The crowd panicked then, and began to run in all directions as several creatures came out of the shadows and began to devour them. Inuyasha, his anger breaking her spell, grabbed Kikyou by the throat and, staring into her eyes, was met with the harsh reflection of his brother, his laughter filling his ears in place of the screaming cries of the decimated villagers. Kikyou flashed a pair of wicked fangs at him, and before he could stop her, she bit his wrist, and he let her go.

"Kikyou, stop!" he yelled, but she was on him, her disease giving her strength that he'd once known himself. She pinned him down and ravaged his neck, letting the warmth of his blood trickle down her chin and smear all over the white wedding kimono.

When she'd had her fill, she released him, but he could not let her go. The others disappeared, their Master calling them back as soon as their presence was no longer relevant, his mission accomplished.

He latched on to her ankle, knowing that he had to do it. He could not let Kikyou, who abhorred suffering, to kill like this. He had to do the one thing he'd never thought he'd have to do to free the one woman he loved.

He had to kill her.

He rasped her name as she tried to pull out of his grip, and he saw the compassion return to her eyes now that her belly was full and she was able to think straight again.

She kneeled next to him, and caressed his face, murmuring, "Oh, Inuyasha... you tasted so wonderful... I'm so sorry, sweetheart..."

He looked for the love in her eyes that he so desperately wanted to see, but it was barely there; bloodlust that only one other monster could have put there shone in her eyes.

I'm going to kill you for this, Sesshoumaru, if it's the last thing I ever do.

She was leaning close, and he lifted a hand to touch her cheek. She widened her eyes, revelling in the sight of watching her first victim die, when she felt something sharp pierce her heart.

She screamed, and writhed as she fell on top of him. He held the hairpin he'd stabbed her with fast until she burst into flame.

Rolling over, weaker than he'd ever felt, he picked up a katana one of the villagers had dropped, and positioned it over his beloved fiancee's neck, and, shutting his eyes tightly against her pleading look that regenerated even as he waited, the love he'd searched for finally surfacing, his heart dying, he severed her head, and then buried her body where it lay, the ashes requiring only a small hole. The Jewel was gone; she had taken it with her in death.

He knelt at her grave and wept until he could weep no more. He picked himself up, and wandered away, his anger at his brother and his foul trick simmering on the back of his mind. First, he needed to mourn. Not only had the love of his life been taken away, but now he was diseased, too.

-SR-

Five hundred years later, Inuyasha was still chasing Sesshoumaru, and had almost caught him several times, but every time he slipped away.

He'd followed his vampire brother all over the world, from Japan to Spain to Africa, where people were numerous and help practically non-existent. There had even been a stint in England during the Renaissance, but even then Inuyasha had been unsuccessful.

He had killed millions of vampires in that time, and used all the conventional weapons against them: Holy water, crosses, stakes. The older the vampire, the quicker he regenerated, so severing the head was the only way to assure that death was permanent.

Inuyasha opened the door to his apartment in a low-rise on Yonge street, and threw his jacket on the small sofa, and, opening the fridge, took out a bottle of beer.

He watched the late night news, but nothing interesting was going on in the city, or in national news. He was a news freak; Sesshoumaru's discarded victims often wound up as front-page headliners.

His brother was a ruthless being, and even though he fed whenever he wished, he did not turn all his victims, only those he deemed worthy, and their headless bodies were often a sign he looked for when watching or reading the news. It was this trail of discarded bodies that kept him searching, hopefully one day leading directly to his murderer of a half-brother.

He fell asleep, his mouth open, and he dreamed that Sesshoumaru was just outside the window, taunting him, daring him to come after him, and when he jolted awake, he knew that it had all been real.

-SR-

Ohh, this is rare for me. Sesshy gets to play the villain this time. Oh, but how well he does it! Inu has always been a good guy to me, so no surprises there. Anywho, chapter one down, an unknown amount to go. Hope you're eager for more, my precious reviewers! I've got exercises to do tho, so smell y'all later dudes!