Summary: AU. Youko Kurama, a powerful demon Thief Lord during the Early Feudal Ages of Japan, owns much of the Northern Lands. Koneko Minagi, a young half demon, is the daughter of a highly regarded Noble in an Elite clan of airborne assassins. During an assassination attempt on one of the Youko's soldiers, a young Minagi is kidnapped and becomes a pawn in the vicious game of war. Her King? None other than Youko Kurama himself.
Disclaimer: I do not own Youko Kurama, nor do I own Japan. I do however, own the concept of this story, Minagi, and a bunch of other people whom I too lazy to list. I own cats. I own fuzzy cats. And gerbils. I love my fuzzy cats and gerbils. Oh. I will try not to use broken Japanese, because I feel that it ruins a composition. I will use Japanese words though, because it makes it more historically accurate. If you encounter any confusion, scroll down to the glossary at the end of the fic.
|Prologue|
"Tonight………?" the youkai said, taken aback. "But she is so young! You cannot do this to her!"
"Try to understand, Hyou. We can, and we must! Have you not noticed how our forces dwindle? The Spirit Fox will overcome us soon! Your daughter shows such promise! I have seen her best individuals five winters her senior!"
"SHE IS STILL A CHILD!" the demon dubbed 'Hyou' roared. "HER EYES HAVE ONLY SEEN TEN WINTERS, AND HER WINGS ARE STILL WHITE!"
His companion, a figure dressed lavishly in a rich blue cloak, sighed resignedly.
"If I had a choice, I would not do this. But I am not offered a choice." Another sigh escaped the youkai's lips. "Koneko Hyou, as your Sovereign, I command you to relinquish your daughter unto my command, so I can do with her what would benefit our Clan most."
Hyou's lips twitched, and a desperate plea broke from his throat.
"You cannot………cannot expect her to kill, let alone abide by the code of an assassin! She is young and naïve! She does not know the ways of the world!"
"That is my intention," came the demon's solemn reply. "She knows not of the contrast between good and evil. To her, killing is no less a sin then forgetting to tidy her chambers."
"But that goes against our laws! The individual must be fully aware of the act he or she is about to commit!"
"And she will be."
"No, she will not be! She is too young to see beyond the current day! Her mind lingers in the present! She will not realise consequences of her actions!"
"I'm sorry, Hyou, I truly am. But I have made my decision. Tomorrow, your daughter will leave for Youko Kurama's castle, Keikyoku Kyojou."
"You will be leaving for your task tomorrow, Minagi," he had said.
"You do mean like Father, right?" she had replied, slightly bemused.
"Yes. Just like your father. You do know what you have to do, do you not?"
"Yes. I know. You already explained it to me, Sovereign."
"You will not be alone. Tsukikage will be there too."
"I know. She told me."
"You will be a brave child then, won't you?"
The young hanyou had drawn herself up to her full height, and held her pointed nose in the air.
"I will be as Kokuei was in the battle of Boshoku Shi."
"Then we will be proud of you."
As daybreak approached the next morning, Hyou hugged close to him a small figure. Weaving his hands through the downy, white feathers of her tiny wings, he bit his lip as tears threatened to spill out from his hard, onyx eyes. The girl he was embracing, in all her naïvety, smiled warmly up at him.
"Don't fret, Father. I'll be back soon. You just wait."
He only hugged her closer.
"Hyou-" began the Sovereign
"I know." The youkai said, reluctantly releasing his daughter and stepping back. From the folds of his ebony cloak, he withdrew an exquisite amulet. The chain was of the finest, purest silver, and the stone, sapphire cut with the metal from a fallen star itself, was shaped as star.
"Father.........that is……..that's-"
Hyou slipped the pendant over the girl's head, brushing silver-blonde hair from her dull, cobalt hued eyes.
"What ever happens, Minagi, you must swear never to give up this amulet. Not to any soul in existence."
Minagi nodded vigorously.
"On my affidavit, I swear."
Her father said nothing.
"We should be off, then," interjected Minagi's travelling companion.
Hyou could only nod.
Minagi's travel was swift, for much of the time was spent winging through the bleak skies; because Minagi's young, underdeveloped wings could handle no more then ten minutes of flight, she spent most of her time dangling from the belt of her companion. Within the waning of three moonrises, they had reached the massive stronghold of Keikyoku Kyojou. Framed by the darkened skies, the winged youkai were near invisible, thus, even with the vast amount of sentries patrolling castle, it was easy to escape notice and breach the defences of the inner Citadel.
Throughout the whole of the mission, Minagi remained noiseless, dutifully copying Tsukikage's every move. They moved silently and swiftly down the long corridors, slipping through small gaps in screened doors, and ascending gigantic staircases. They tried to avoid direct light, which proved to be a challenge, for the castle was magnificently lit. Nonetheless, they remained unseen. Bedecked in cloaks of the deepest ebony, spun from the finest silk, they appeared only as fading shadows, even to the most trained eye. Occasionally, a particularly cognitive guard would turn in their direction, looking the wall over with a scrutinising eye. But he would find nothing, for they were not there anymore.
They moved like water; neither here nor there, never in a definite form. One cannot catch water. One cannot hold it in one's arms. The tiniest fissure can drain a dike. Given a crack in the door, one would never see Minagi again, despite the bulk of her wings under her cloak. Such were the ways of her clan, a tradition that Minagi upheld proudly. Almost from the day they were born, youkai of the clan were trained and conditioned. Oftentimes, even in the young youkai, the training would yield a highly disciplined individual. Minagi was no exception to that case.
As they began to climb another staircase, Minagi could no longer stand the silence.
"Remind me who our target is, please," she queried, her monotonous voice barely audible.
"Jaganshi Hiei, one of the Youko's most trusted officials," came Tsukikage's equally quiet reply.
"Where are his chambers?"
"Not too far from here. Don't speak anymore. I hear a sentinel."
"Somebody there?" barked a rather large, wolf-like youkai, rounding the corner and staring down the staircase.
Closing her eyes, Minagi tried to remain as still as possible. A nauseating sensation the she could not identify gripped her, almost sending her to the ground with dizziness. Luckily, the guard passed on, rubbing his ears and muttering something about 'annoying echoes'. Tsukikage gave Minagi her 'You-got-lucky, don't-do-that-again' look, and Minagi was only too happy to comply.
Making their way through the empty bedchambers (for it was the time of the evening meal), Tsukikage spied Hiei's apartment. They waited outside the screened door, straining their keen, pointed ears for sounds of activity inside the room.
They heard nothing.
Painstakingly, Tsukikage slowly opened the sliding door to Hiei's room. It was ajar not one foot when she squeezed through it, wings and all, with Minagi following noiselessly in sequence.
Tsukikage sighed with relief.
"Now all we have to do is wait until he comes back from evening meal," she said, removing her cloak and unfolding her enormous, raven-hued wings.
"Allow me to save you the time."
Before she could move, Minagi found herself pinned to the ground by the sentry who had passed them by on the staircase. She fought back tears as his bone-crushing grip on her shoulders tightened. Beneath her cloak of obsidian hues, something popped, and then cracked. Tsukikage faired little better, for Jaganshi Hiei himself held her.
"You thought my wolf-friend here had not seen you?" Hiei continued, his bitter voice dripping with irony. "He was smart enough not to let on." Turning his gaze towards her wings, a malicious smile began to break upon his hardened face. "You're an assassin, are you not? I was under the impression that you prefer to work alone."
Tsukikage made no notion of replying, so Hiei signalled to the sentinel.
"Bring me the other one," he said. The wolf youkai did as he was bid, hauling Minagi roughly upright by clasp of her cloak. The hanyou tried to wriggle out of her cloak, but the guard had a firm grip around her midsection.
"Remove her hood." Hiei commanded. The wolf complied, revealing the young girl's pale, ashen face, and pointed features. Hiei was taken aback, but quickly recovered.
"You're pathetic, really," he said, turning back Tsukikage. "This child's wings are still white, yet you expect her to be a murderer."
"We're NOT murderers," Tsukikage seethed through clenched teeth. "Have you ever heard of 'honourable execution?'"
"A sword by any other name is still a sword."
"You disgust me-"But her tirade was cut short; Hiei had impaled her on his sword. Her eyes slowly clouded over as blood surged from a gaping hole in her abdomen. She flapped her wings in a futile attempt to escape, but that only furthered her blood loss. She died with a crooked smile on her face. Hiei, disgusted, pushed the carcass off his legs with disdain. Turning the wolf demon, he said:
"Give me the child. I will take her to the Youko. You will stay here and clean up this mess. I will not have the stench of death sullying my room."
The demon nodded obediently, and thrust the young half-demon into Hiei's arms. Sneering down at the girl he now held, Hiei began to carry her through a network of corridors and chambers.
"Now that your friend is gone, what are you going to do?" he taunted wickedly.
Minagi appeared not to have heard him.
"What did you do to Tsukikage?" she demanded.
"What do you mean, brat? I killed her."
Minagi stared up at him, perplexity written over her pale visage.
"What do you mean by 'killed'?"
Hiei looked at her with disbelief, but then regained his icy demeanour.
"Don't play games with me, brat."
The young hanyou was not quite sure what the fire demon meant by that, but she kept her mouth shut.
After what seemed an eternity, (at least for a nervous and bewildered individual), they had reached the tallest tier of the citadel: The Youko Kurama's bedchamber.
"Kurama!" Hiei yelled in an annoyed tone. He rapped the wooden panels on the door sharply.
"Bring the girl in, Hiei."
Hiei slid open the ornately crafted door and threw Minagi on the ground. Before she could get up, he forced her down by stepping on her wings. Minagi let out a sharp gasp as the pressure of Hiei's feet snapped a bone in one of her wings. Tears, cold and unbidden, sprang forth from the corners of Minagi's eyes. The girl struggled to rise, but was only rewarded with an audible crack as another bone splintered.
"BOW!" Hiei hissed, bending down to shatter another bone.
"That is enough, Hiei. Let her up."
Grabbing Minagi by the soft feathers of her broken wing, he dragged her upright, shoving her towards the Spirit Fox. The girl stumbled and tripped, and suddenly found herself caught in the arms of Youko Kurama himself. He set her on her feet, and gave her a scrutinizing look over. He was saying something, but Minagi wasn't listening; she was distracted by his magnificent presence.
This Spirit Fox was like nobody she had ever seen before. Whereas her Sovereign was middle-aged, and greying, the Youko looked not a day over 20. His clothes were the finest she had ever seen, embroidered handsomely with threads of pure silk. A glossy, royal blue yukata with elaborate, silver needlework hung loosely over his tunic, falling to the floor. 'He has to be over seven feet tall,' Minagi mused. And it was true. The Thief Lord towered over everybody; something that only instilled more awe for him in Minagi's eyes. Minagi's gaze travelled up to his stunning ochre eyes, which were startling in contrast to the deep, dark colours he wore. Everything about him was ama-
The pale girl was jerked out of her reverie by Hiei, who grabbed a fistful of her feathers and dragged her out of the Youko's room.
"What are you doing with me? Where am I going?" Minagi whined, thrashing about vainly in hopes of breaking free.
"Shaddup." Hiei spat. Grappling with the sliding door to the chamber adjacent to the Thief Lord's, he kicked the hanyou inside. "Bathe. Now. And put on some decent clothes."
"What's wrong with the ones I have now?" she demanded, nursing an aching wing.
Hiei stared at the girl with disdain.
"Don't kid me. Your clothes are tattered, grimy, and they reek of death and dirt. Lord Youko would never allow his apprentice look like that. It's sick." Without another word, Hiei slammed the sliding door shut, leaving Minagi stunned and alone.
"Apprentice…?"
Author's Note |PLEASE READ|: Alright. A few things to start off with. First, the deal with the whole 'her wings are still white' thing. In case you hadn't gathered, Minagi is from a tribe of winged assassins. As the assassins age, their wings change colour with their nature, personality, and deeds. Because assassins kill for a living, most of them end up with wings that are black, despite the fact that normally, the kills are honourable, and well deserved. If you lived your life doing good, and/or were innocent and naïve, you can assume that your wings would be white. ((White stands for purity, black stands for…tainted…or whatever. Black isn't good. There are also shades in between the two, like silver, grey, blue, or heck, even gold.)) Thus, when the phrase 'wings are still white' is uttered, they mean that she's still young and innocent. Secondly, I'd like to point out that this is the prologue. And yes, time will elapse between now and the next chapter. Lots of time. But, it'll be up to you to figure out how much, even though, I'll probably say somewhere. ^^;; Hehe. For my final rant, I'd like to give a huge thanks to my wonderful editor, Elder. I WUV Oo, ELDER!
Now. Here's the glossary.
Glossary:
Youkai- a demon or apparition
Hanyou- a half demon
Keikyoku Kyojou- literally, Thorn Castle. Keiyoki means bracken, or thorns. Kyojou was a large, grand castle owned by feudal warlords.