Author's Note
There is so much to say about this story that I hardly know where to start. But then, when one doesn't know where to start, it is always best to begin at the beginning.
The Red Strokes. It is a song by the Country artist Garth Brooks. He is, and always shall be, my favorite artist. Not because I like Country music - I enjoy all kinds of music for many different reasons - but because it was his voice, his music that I heard as a child playing in my father's tape deck (yes tape. As in cassette. For you Millennials that don't know, look it up. At the time they were the Bomb). All my life, no matter the pain or heartbreak, joy or celebration, it was his music that I turned to. I love it for the beat that you can feel in your chest, for the stories it tells, the hope and joy it provokes even in the darkest times. Several lines throughout this piece are directly from the song. They are my homage to his music, his poetry that has always moved me.
The story itself I started writing over 10 years ago. I wasn't posting anymore. I wasn't Shadow anymore. I was writing for the sake of writing. Dabbling in words to bring me comfort. I got blocked somewhere in the battle scene. I wrote five different versions of it, and all were terrible every time I read them back. I was trapped with the idea that I was going to bring Inuyasha back into the story at that point. But I love that foul-mannered Hanyou. I could never see him as anything but the Hero. So every time I tried to write him as something else, something inside me blocked the way forward. At some point, I just gave it up. The frustration wasn't worth it. And life went on.
Then, not so long ago, I was reminded of my writing. I was on a dating site (don't judge me) and found the conversation edging in a direction where I had the upper hand. I told the man I was speaking to I had a superpower. When asked to prove it, I found myself channeling Shadow like no time had passed. I seduced him, used my words to break down his defenses, and had my way with him in text. When it was finished, I couldn't help but laugh at the twisted irony of it all. After all, I had once played the part of The Assassin and seduced our young Miko in the same way.
But I'm grateful for the experience. It brought me back to my stories of so long ago. I read them all again and was flooded with so much emotion even I couldn't give it all words. I even started searching through my files, finding shorts and drabbles and ficlets that I had started but never finished. And then I found this story. I read it again and fell in love with the idea all over again. The merging of one of my favorite songs with my favorite characters: I simply couldn't let it lay unfinished. So, with new determination, I began to write again. I fell back into the stories of myth and legend that had captivated me in my youth.
With a decade past between the beginning and end of this story, I can only hope that it doesn't read that way. Though the final chapters were revisions of my original outline, in my eyes they are simply the culmination of what was meant to be.
I truly love this story, and it is my fondest hope that you all have enjoyed it as much as I have.
Yours always,
Shadow