Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha

Thanks to my Beta Pandora.

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Chapter 11 :

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Somewhere else...

Issei was nervous. He was not used to the feeling and didn't like it.

He wasn't a scaredy-cat, far from it. The ones who know him or know of him, think he is unfeeling and cold; unamiable. He lives alone, just outside his village, and likes it like that. Privacy is important, paramount even. But at the same time, he isn't a hermit, that isn't his style either. It was important to still be close enough to civilisation to satisfy his needs, his every need.

The inhabitants of the province where he comes from fear him. They tremble when his name is uttered or even just whispered; normal when you are an assassin for hire.

While the villagers aren't exactly happy with him living so close to them, he knows at the same time that they would never do anything against him. After all, his very presence insures that bandits and other riffraff stay away from his village, not wanting to instill Issei's anger. In the end, it was a beneficial relationship for all of them.

Issei is considered a big fish where he comes from; but here, in this house, he was nothing but a small fish larva. It wasn't a good feeling at all.

Outsiders might admire the kitsune family who lives in this monumental house that he stood in front of, but he knew better. While from afar others saw an influential, respectable family with a beautiful daughter and a son that is strong and a honorable member of the Grand Council, who was also the right hand of the previous Lord of the West, what Issei saw was a calculating ice-cold snake of a family. The youkai had the eye to detect the scent of deceit or sadism, after all, he was rather dark himself, but what he felt the rare times he had been in close proximity with Kurai… it was beyond anything he had ever felt in anyone. Just thinking of it made him shiver.

Kurai knew that Issei saw him for what he was but he wasn't bothered by the fact. He seemed to even find it funny and didn't even try to hide anything from him. Hell, he sometimes went out of his way to try to shock him. There was no need to keep up a front since Issei already knew his true side, but at the same time it was a strong message: "even if you know, you aren't important enough to be a danger to me and my reputation." As if Issei wanted to rub elbow with a crazy male like Kurai. If he had the choice he would not even be here at all. The less he saw the kitsune, the
better it was for his health.

But today he had been summoned by his Lord so it was impossible to decline or say he was busy with another contract, not if we wanted to keep all his parts intact that is.

Issei felt sorry for the being who fell on the bad side of the kitsune. Their days were numbered. He followed the servant towards a room at the back of the house. The playground suites of Kurai. Great. Today wasn't his lucky day apparently.

As soon as he was in front of the door, the servant disappeared. Issei would have loved to do the same.

He steeled his nerves and knocked at the door…

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