Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi does. ::turns green with envy:: Ahhh…welll...actually, technically, Inu-chan doesn't belong to either of us. He belongs to Kagome. So ha! ::sticks her tongue out at the lawyers::

Author's Note: Hi!!!!! I'm back with a vengeance! Right now, I'm supposed to be working on a World Civ. research paper, but that can wait…let me procrastinate a bit longer while I please my wonderful fans… ::looks around at the empty room:: Or not. ::sweatdrop:: Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter! And, no, this is not related to Rosefire's story, Two Faced, much as I admire her writing!

My Lady Miko

~ by Four-Eyed Bookworm

Chapter 2

He was sinking; drowning. Gasping for breath as he floundered helplessly in a sea of blue. He waved his arms frantically, trying to swim upward, but found he was now frozen, as well, unable to move an inch as the water fiddled gently with his long white hair, like a cat playing with its victim before making the mouse its next meal. But now, instead of panicking, he felt sleepy…strangely comfortable and at peace. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with just staring at the dusky cerulean as he waited patiently for death. Blue…blue…he was drowning in a sea of blue…The strange color of the seawater made him startle into consciousness. Wait. Since when was the ocean this blue? Right before blackness claimed him, one thought made its way into his mind: The blue wasn't the color of the ocean; it was the color of someone's eyes…

Inuyasha's eyes snapped open. Blue? Blue eyes? That was all he remembered from the abrupt dream that he had experienced before awaking this morning. It was the fifth time this month that he had dreamt about something regarding blue. Last time, it had been fire; being burnt in flames of blue fire; before he realized that the flame was cold and soothing; meaning that he wasn't getting scorched to death, and he had woken up just as suddenly as this time. Shaking the last vestiges of his dream from his head, he gave a huge, wide yawn before stretching lazily. Rubbing drowsily at his eyes, Inuyasha pushed away the feather-down comforter and clambered out of bed. But as soon as his bare feet touched the icy, hard floor, he gave a startled yelp, and hopped back into his bed, muttering angrily.

"Kuso! Why is the stupid floor always so cold every morning! Grrrr…I wish I could just stay in bed…" But before he could begin to carry out his preference, there came a soft knock at his door. Inuyasha hollered, "Yeah, what do you want?"

An old, crackled voice spoke nervously from the other side of the door, "I-I beg your pardon, Young Master, but My Lord Master Sesshoumaru requires your presence at the breakfast table immediately. You are to dress appropriately and come down as soon as possible." That was all. Inuyasha's sharp ears could pick up the sound of someone's feet padding away quickly, back through the hall and down the stairs.

Inuyasha growled angrily. Who did his brother think he was? Ordering him around like that? He pondered whether or not to go downstairs. He often enjoyed disobeying his commands just for the fun of seeing a hint of anger on his brother's usually stoic face. But, since he knew that his brother had a bad-temper in the morning, he decided not to risk his wrath for once and just go downstairs. Besides, whatever Sesshoumaru had to tell him, it was probably important, since he usually never talked to him at breakfast otherwise.

Sighing with a tinge of annoyance, he once again got out of bed and tugged on a pair of red pants and a matching red shirt. Red was his favorite color, though even he himself had no idea why, and he owned a whole closetful of red outfits that he alternately wore each day. Inuyasha stood before the large, oval-shaped mirror in his room. Yanking his fingers hurriedly through the messy mass of silver-white hair on his head, he growled in frustration when the sharp claws on his fingertips got caught in the tangles. Then he yelped when he accidentally pricked his own furry white ears, which lay on top of his head, when trying to smooth out the tangles in his messy hair. Growling, he cursed himself for ever deciding to grow his hair long. Why bother with keeping a family tradition if it meant so much trouble every morning? Even if both his late father and his sophisticated older brother had a long mane of silver white, Inuyasha was considering cutting it just to save himself the trouble of grooming it. After finally managing to create some semblance of order with it, he stalked out the door, slamming it angrily against the hinges before striding down the hallway with a decidedly unwelcome scowl on his face.

Making his way through the rooms, he found his older brother placidly drinking a cup of tea while sitting at a small table in the sunroom. They may have shared the family trait of having long, lustrous, silvery hair, but there the physical resemblance ended. While Inuyasha's ears lay on top of his head, his brother's were at the side of his face, looking exactly like a normal human's ears except that they were slightly pointed at the tips, like an elf's. Also, since Sesshoumaru was a full-blooded demon, he sported a dark moon crescent on his forehead and several red stripes on his cheeks. They gave him a very dangerous look, and, combined with narrow, red eyes, they made him seem much more frightening that he really was. (That's not to say that he wasn't a force to be reckoned with, either.) Sesshoumaru glanced up as Inuyasha walked in. Giving him a cursory once-over, and seeming to register mild approval of his appearance, he drawled, "So, has lazy-bones finally decided to honor us with his company? How many cups of cold water did it take to get you out of bed, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha scowled even more at his brother's teasing, and snapped bluntly, "Cut the crap, Sesshoumaru. What do you want?" It was obvious that his older sibling wanted something from him, for those were the only times that the two ever maintained any semblance of civil communication between them.

"My, my, someone got up off the wrong side of the bed this morning, ne?" Sesshoumaru sneered. Inuyasha growled at him, but didn't deign to reply. The silver-haired man continued, unperturbed, "I just received some interesting news late last night. It appears that the location of the priestess that is mentioned in the Prophecy has finally been found. One of my spies is currently tracking her movements, just in case she goes anywhere."

Inuyasha's golden, amber-colored eyes widened. He knew of whom Sesshoumaru was talking about. The girl-child who was supposed to have appeared out of nowhere about eight years ago, and whom everyone had made a big fuss about because she was described in the Mirin Prophecy. All the demons had been terribly frightened when they had heard about her, since she was supposed to have the power to kill all the demons in the world. Hence, they had spent years searching for her abode, searching for that secret place where she had been sheltered from the hungry eyes of the world. Inuyasha himself had only been about nine when she first appeared, but he distinctly remembered it as one of the only times that his brother had looked seriously alarmed.

"Are you serious?!?" He exploded, using a voice that would have woken half the household, if they weren't awake already.

"Yes. This is a very critical situation that we are now faced with," Sesshoumaru replied in a grave voice. "We need to find a way to infiltrate her residence and deal with her before it is too late. She lives in a very tall tower located at the northern edge of the Fushimi District. One of my people have already tried to enter-" He paused dramatically, for effect.

"Well, what happened?" Inuyasha demanded impatiently. He was trying to pretend as if whatever his brother was saying didn't concern him, but he was actually very interested in the outcome of the long conflict between the demons and this anonymous girl, an ongoing war between two forces.

"Hn. You didn't actually think that they would just allow her to live there, unprotected like that, did you? There were a countless number of seals surrounding the door and the single window of the tower. The sorry, blundering fool who rashly tried to climb through the window was immediately incinerated by the power of the seals, and died a silent, painful death."

Inuyasha winced slightly upon hearing about the unfortunate demise of the demon who had tried to enter the tower, but didn't comment. He still didn't know why his brother had called him down to tell him this. Yes, the fate of the girl affected him, since he was half-demon too, and would probably likewise be destroyed by her powers, once they had been fully awakened. But for some reason, Inuyasha had never bothered with the political matters that his brother was so deeply involved in, and regardless of the fact that he had just been given a cause to worry, he wasn't overly concerned about his life.

"So, we need someone who is resistant to the anti-demonic charms and yet still loyal to our cause, to penetrate the tower. I was-" Sesshoumaru broke off. He narrowed his eyes and frowned at his younger half-brother, who was doing anything but paying attention to what he was now saying. He sighed. The task that he had to been set upon do was grating on his nerves, since it was something that he never thought he would have to do. And yet, if he didn't ask Inuyasha, the S.P.D.W. (Society for Promoting Demonic Welfare) committee members would undoubtedly be quite put out with him. So, sighing with resignation, and trying to push his pride down, he said in an expressionless tone of voice, "Inuyasha."

The hanyou seemed lost in his own thoughts. Either that or he was purposely ignoring him in an effort to infuriate him again. "Inuyasha!" He called again, louder this time, with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

"What?" the young man responded casually.

Sesshoumaru sighed again. It would have been so much easier if he could just pound some sense into his little brother's brain and force him to do what he wanted, but the S.P.D.W. board wouldn't have been happy if he had unintentionally injured the only person that…

"Listen, Inuyasha. I know that you and I have not been on the best of terms lately, and that you would much rather do jump off a bridge than do anything to help me, and let me assure you, the feeling is mutual. But-" -here the older demon gritted his teeth- "I-I need to ask a favor of you, Inuyasha."

There was a loud crash of furniture and an audible thump as the shocked hanyou tipped over his chair and fell against the ground. He didn't even move to get up as he lay, startled out of his wits, upon the floor. What?!? Sesshoumaru was actually asking for a favor?!?! From him? The world must have come to an end! He lay on his side and stared blankly up at his older brother, stunned. The full-youkai's right temple twitched, and he glared, irritated, at Inuyasha. "What? It's not like what I'm doing is a crime or anything, you know! I mean, is it so rare and unusual to ask your own brother for a favor?"

Inuyasha continued to stare unblinkingly at his brother. Sesshoumaru shouted into his twitching white, furry ears, "Helloooo? Is anybody home in there?" And knocked his knuckles hard on the hanyou's head, as if checking to make sure his brains were still there. Inuyasha finally shook himself out of his shock and rubbed his head. He grinned widely, white fangs gleaming in the sunlight.

"I'm shocked. My own, dear, independent, I-can-take-care-of-myself brother wants to ask a favor of me? You've got to be kidding! You'll have to excuse me, brother, while I go sit down in a corner and laugh my head off."

Sesshoumaru tried to keep his face blank and expressionless, but ended up growling at Inuyasha anyway. "It's not a joke, Inuyasha. I need you to do something for me."

The ecstatic young man sensed the desperation behind his brother's voice, and he grinned even wider. "Well, since you're such a wonderful, caring brother and I love you so much…" his voice laced with sarcasm, "I'll do it for you. But," he said, raising his voice as Sesshoumaru lent out a pent-up breath, "You'll have to get down on your knees and beg me for it."

The full-youkai wanted nothing more at that moment than to rip his throat out, but he clenched his jaws and hunkered down onto the floor, lowering his head in a position of abject humility. The way Inuyasha's laugh rang in his burning red ears wasn't doing anything to help patch up his dignity, which was currently shattering into shards as he spoke.

"Please, I beg of you, Inuyasha, please do this favor for me. I promise that I will forever be in your debt if you fulfill my one request." He said stiffly, bowing low to the ground. Inuyasha cracked up even more upon seeing the way his long white hair was spread all around him on the ground, but he managed to get out between trembling gasps of laughter, "Fine. Fine. I'll do it. But you owe me something now." He took several deep breaths and forced himself to stop laughing as Sesshoumaru got up and brushed the imaginary dust off his spotless kimono. It took a lot of effort to meet his eyes again after all that laughing, but Inuyasha succeeded, barely, in keeping a semi-straight face at he looked at him.

"Hai, hai." Sesshoumaru waved his hand carelessly, trying to revert back to his previous unruffled state of mind now that Inuyasha had agreed. "I'll owe you once you do what I ask. Big time. Maybe I'll even consider asking the members of S.P.D.W to allow you to become a full-demon if you perform this task without flaws. Of course, given your current brainpower, I wouldn't be surprised if you weren't able to do what I asked of you in a thousand years." He sneered elegantly.

"I'll be able to do whatever you want me to do, and faster and better than any of the fools on your stupid board could do it, too!" Inuyasha shot back angrily, his ire up.

"Oh yeah? You think you can do better than the trained full Youkai that I have under my command?"

"Yeah! I'll take on whatever challenge you set for me! Bring it on, Fluffy!"

Sesshoumaru's vein twitched again at the mention of the long-disused nickname that he hated. Ignoring the intended insult, he intoned dramatically, "Your task, Inuyasha, will not be very simple. However, you are the only one that can fulfill this mission. I-"

"Oh, stop trying to glorify it, Sesshoumaru. Just get to the point! What do I have to do to prove that I'm just as good as a full-demon?"

He watched as his half-brother's turned an eerie blood-red color. Sesshoumaru spoke in a deep voice, not quite like his own, "The victim's name is Kagome Higurashi. The girl must not be allowed to fulfill the Prophecy. You, Inuyasha, will kill her."

Oooohh…Dun-dun dun! ^_^ Hope you liked it! Please review!

Review Responses for Last Chapter (I only got four! L So sad…)

totally wicked – Yep! ^_^ You're my first reviewer! Congrats! I'll read your story when I have a chance! *Glares at imaginary teachers…*

ScratchesTheCat – Thanks for letting me know that there was a story like mine out there! I do like Rosefire's stories though…I just read "Two Faced"…it's really good! But no, I didn't try to copy her idea…Thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt! I wasn't trying to plagiarize! Glad you like mine, too!

Rereissocute – Hi! Thanks for reviewing! I will write more, I promise!

Aneres G. Galaxy – I reviewed your story…and I'm glad you find my fanfic interesting! Keep reading and reviewing! Ja ne!