Disclaimer: Ummm…nope, don't own Inuyasha or co. Never have, never will. ::sob::
Author's Note: L Only 10 reviews?? So sad…oh well! I enjoyed writing this anyway! Hope you guys all like it too! Happy Holidays! (And yes, I will write more chapters of this, and my other on-going fic, during winter break!) ::Everyone cheers::
My Lady Miko
~ by Four-Eyed Bookworm
Chapter 3
The sun had already turned orange, and half of it was fast disappearing behind the mountains, when Inuyasha reached the edge of the forest that surrounded the tower. He was dressed in his usual outfit of red haori and hakama, which were now slightly dirty after he had torn through the underbrush and crawled through the mud in his hurry to get there before evening. He didn't want to be trapped in the middle of the forest when darkness came, especially not since tonight was a new moon. Even though he had traveled as fast as he could, (and his brother's topography experts had calculated precisely how much time it would take to get there) Inuyasha had forgotten to take into account the fact that he would be traveling slower than usual. As his demon powers gradually ebbed away with the setting of the sun, each mile that he ran seemed to take longer to complete. When he finally pushed his way through the last stretch of bushes and tree branches, he was panting lightly. Inuyasha looked up at the grey, stone tower that stood impressively in the center of a wide space of grass. There were a few other houses and buildings dotted around it, but the tall, narrow structure seemed to dwarf the other constructions in both size and fortification.
About fifty feet tall, the tower was obviously built with sturdy, strong blocks of stone, cement, and other fireproof materials. Inuyasha could tell, even from his hiding place, that it was built to be strong and defensive, and definitely couldn't be destroyed by any ordinary means. His eyes glimmered like liquid pools of gold as he stared up at the single window of the tower, which happened to be facing towards him. His golden eyes always shone the most on the day he was to turn human. Right now, they glittered and glistened as he contemplated what he had to do. Once it was dark, he would climb up the sheer surface of the tower and sneak through the window. Since he would be human by then, the demon wards would probably have no effect upon him. Then, once inside, he would have to wait until the sun rose again, and he had regained his demonic powers, before being able to kill the girl.
Inuyasha shuddered involuntarily as he recalled his brother's casual words: "Suffocation would be the best method. No blood, no mess, no evidence. Use a pillow, or a tight ribbon or something. But if you can't manage that, just your claws would be fine. Or, if you're too queasy about committing murder with your bare hands, your sword would work just as well…" He had brought his trusty katana, Tetsusaiga, along, just in case, but the simple thought of murdering this girl in cold blood was unnerving.
It wasn't that he had never killed someone before, or that he was a chicken and was afraid of bloodshed. Hiten and Manten, the Thunder Brothers, had fallen to the extraordinary power of his sword. Many other demons no longer walked the earth because of him. But this, this was different. It was one thing to kill someone during a battle, while fighting for your life, but killing a human while she slept, and an innocent girl at that, seemed a bit too ruthless and bloodthirsty. Too much like something that Sesshoumaru would have no trouble doing…
At that thought, Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "Feh! If that idiot can do it without any qualms, so can I! Besides, she's probably just another one of those stuck-up, spoiled, stupid princesses who can't even spell her own name. I'll be able to take care of her, easy as pie," he assured himself.
He glanced up once again at the tower, then shifted his gaze to the sky above him. By now, the sky was nearly completely dark, since the sun had all but disappeared, and a chilly, brisk autumn wind swirled around him. Inuyasha thought nervously to himself, "It's almost time…"
As if right on cue, the forest behind him became totally silent, and he felt the transformation begin. His amber eyes seemed to glow as bright as the missing moon, before he closed them and allowed his body to change. He felt the strong, rushing demon blood in his veins weaken, slow down, then dwindle away, leaving him with a sense of weakness and vulnerability. The furry ears on top of his head started to slowly shift downwards, changing as they moved, until they stationed themselves right where a normal human's ears would have been. He felt a slight ache in his nerves as both his fangs and sharp, knife-like claws disappeared, leaving him with blunt teeth and fingernails. His long hair waved slowly around with the breeze as it, too, changed. Starting at the roots, Inuyasha's silver-white strands darkened to gray, then a midnight blue, and finally to a startling shade of black. The tingling sensation in his body died away, and Inuyasha let out a pent up breath, and sighed. It was complete. He opened his now-violet eyes. Now, time to get to work.
Removing a strong, thick coil of rope from around his waist, he glanced cautiously around, making sure for the last time that no one was around before starting the operation. Of course, since his demon senses had disappeared along with his claws and fangs, even an elephant would have been able to sneak past him without being heard. That was one of the major drawbacks of turning human. Not only did his usual powers ebb, leaving him with the strength of a newborn puppy (no pun intended ^_^), but his senses were also dulled, so that his exceptional sense of hearing, keen nose, and sharp, far-seeing eyes were all but rendered useless during the night of the new moon. He hated how weak he felt as a human; he hated himself for holing up in his room on that night each month and feeling miserably scared. But, shaking those thoughts from his mind, Inuyasha quickly ran out from the cover of the bushes and plants, darting from side to side, trying to stay in the shadow of the various things that stood around the tower. Even though he was no longer as quick as usual, he was still quite a fast runner, and reached the shadowy perimeter of the tower without making a single noise. Checking around again, he sighed with relief. Good. There weren't any guards posted here, or, if there were, they hadn't spotted him.
He looked up, measuring the distance that he would have to climb to reach the window. About thirty-five feet or so. It wasn't too far…as a half-demon, he would have been able to do it in less than 10 minutes. Fairly confident that he would have no problems scaling the wall of the tower, Inuyasha brought a small grappling hook out, tied it securely to the end of the rope, and hurled it upwards and towards the roof, praying that it would reach the top without any trouble. The metal hook whistled slightly as it flew through the air, landing against the flat roof with a slight metallic "chink." The once-hanyou tugged gently on it, and the small click indicated that it had fastened itself to the parapet. He pulled on it again, just to make sure that it wouldn't break, and that it would hold his weight. Then, he started to climb.
The stone bricks were not perfectly aligned, with slightly uneven cracks in-between each one, and enabled him to place his feet firmly on the wall as he heaved himself upward. Using the stout rope to pull himself upward once he had gotten a secure footing, Inuyasha easily managed to climb about ten feet above the ground. But then the cracks and small steps in the wall disappeared, leaving him with a completely smooth surface of…was it marble? He couldn't tell, because it was now very dark. His bare feet slid against the cold exterior, scrabbling to find purchase, but to no avail. Without anything to cling against, his feet started to swing wildly in the air, moving his body further and further away from the wall with each wild swing that Inuyasha attempted to regain his footing. Cursing his bad luck, and the lack of proper shoes, Inuyasha continued to swing his body weight around frantically, hoping to bring his feet back near the wall so that he could continue climbing. He even tried to use his arms along to pull himself upwards, but unfortunately, his upper body muscles weren't as strong as usual (^_^ *drool*).
And suddenly, oh horror of horrors, his agitated movement dislodged the hook from its place above, and the rope abruptly became slack. As Inuyasha looked down at the ground, everything started to happen in slow motion. His arms flailed about, and his legs kicked helplessly, but it was as if they were moving through water, sluggish and slow. As the ground rushed upwards to meet him, scenes that seemed somewhat familiar flashed through his mind, and he suddenly felt as if he were drowning in a blue ocean. For some reason, he was struck with a strange sense of déjà vu, as if all this had somehow happened before. In the three seconds that it took for him to reach the earth, Inuyasha felt removed from his body, and it seemed that as he watched himself fall, all the moments of his life, in flashes of pictures, played out before him. He was not scared, nor was he afraid of death; rather, he was experiencing a feeling of regret, wistfully recalling his somewhat unhappy life, and wishing that he could have had at least one more chance to make it better. He wanted to go back, fix his mistakes, find some happiness. He knew, without a doubt, that no one would even mourn when he was dead. No relatives who cared, no friends who would cry, no family he left behind. The last thought that struck his mind before his body made impact with the ground was, "I don't even have a mate…" And then there was nothing.
Review please, people! I'm looking for at least ten reviews! And if you guys want to be like old mister Scrooge, well, then, "Bah Humbug" to you too! ^_^ j/k
Review Responses (6 reviews for last chapter! Yay! That's…um…two more than last time! ::sweatdrop:: )
LilyKitsune – Hi! Thanks for reviewing twice! Yes, I tried not to make Sess-chan seem too evil because he's really not…so Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru just have this sort of uncomfortable, brotherly relationship. Not positive and over-flowing with good feeling, but they don't hate each other's guts, either. (Well, actually, they still do, ^_^;; but just not as much…You'll find out the reason later, maybe)
Zel no Miko/Javeska – Thank you so much for the correction! I knew that…Of course, miko is a Shinto priestess…and you would know, since that's your name…but anyway, thanks! And you're so encouraging that your review makes up for the 10 more that I'm still missing, but supposedly "deserve!" ^_^ Arigatou!
Cashmere – Okay, I updated! Happy? ^-^
Ann – Oooohh, I can't tell you! If I did, that would give away the whole plot of the story! Nyaaahh! j/k Actually, though, do you honestly think I would let Inu-chan kill poor Kagome? Of course not! They're meant to be together… ::sighs dreamily:: But as to what Inuyasha will do with Kagome…well, you'll just have to wait and find out! ::grins wickedly::