Disclaimer: I do not own or lay claim to any of the characters in the Inuyasha series or anything
that lies therein.
Chapter Two
Coincidentally, clouds had hung over the manor Castle of the western lord that night
adding to the dreariness of the recent death of the old lord. But two miles south and six miles, if
one were to follow the roads, was a human settlement. There the clouds had broken as if
seemingly for the young girl gazing at the stars while laying on the roof of her family's inn. Like
she was some sort of a weather goddess. Which in some ways she was. For this was a girl of
power, untold hidden power. None could sense it presence in her so all simply thought that she
was the beautiful daughter of the local innkeeper. This was also a girl engaged to be married.
It had been a prearrange marriage meant to strengthen the family ties between her family
and their village leader's. They would get a reduction in taxes and the village head son would
get a wife. In her father's eye this was a great trade off. Did she mean that little to him?
She sighed as she lay on the roof, she hoped that the village leader's son would be good
looking and kind at the very least. It had been a year and she had yet to see the groom. She had
seen the father the year before when they had been planning the wedding and if the son was
anything like the father then it was very unlikely that he would be. The only two things she knew
as certain was that he was male, and that his name was Hojo. Not the prettiest of names she had
to admit. She turned over on her side and starred over the trees at the darkening clouds on the
horizon. She frowned, were they coming or going? She remembered seeing them that morning
and concluded that they were going.
She sighed again and slid down to the edge of the roof and onto the stack of crates that
she had used to climb onto the roof earlier. She had a long enough break and now she had to get
back to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The inn was usually a fairly busy place with its proximity to the quarries and the castle.
True they were each miles away from the village were the inn was located but for youkai it was
only a hope and a skip away. It didn't have the same rank smell of vomit and alcohol that most
inn common roams did simply because it took more alcohol to get a demon drunk, which was
one of the reasons that their inn was so successful. They could sell a demon more alcohol in one
night then three humans combined. Of course the youkai had to urinate three times more than a
human did. Occasionally a demon didn't want to pay up and there wasn't to much they could do
about it, but the world wasn't without some sense of judgement. In the village lived a powerful
Miko by the name of Kikyou and even though she did not like the idea she would create a barrier
around the inn preventing all the demons from entering. Usually, the other demons will force the
offending demon into paying up so they could get their drinks or he is given a bloody death,
depending on how popular he was.
But the inn had an air of excitement tonight. Youkai were huddling around tables
whispering amongst themselves making an undefinable hiss, but as more drinks were sold the
voices got loader and slurred. One conversation in particular caught Kagome's interest.
"...you know I hear he waas done in by a hanyou child." said what appeared to be a dog
demon.
"Ha, that would be great. The invincible lord of the west taken out by a child." The
group fell into laughter.
"Ha ha. I hear, ha ha, I hear that it was a strange illness that he got from the mainland."
"I'd rather it've been the kid" They fell back into laughter.
"I hear that the hanyou is going to be sent to the quarries."
The conversation stopped while Kagome past out the sake they had ordered.
"Ha, the bastard doesn't have the old man to hide behind anymore." the speaker took a
swig of his drink.
Kagome wished she could keep listening but she heard the entrance door close. She
turned to see a hooded stranger site at a table in the corner of the common room. Resigning
herself to her duty she walked over to the stranger.
"Good evening."
The man looked up at Kagome then suddenly recoiled as if slapped in the face.
"Are you alright sir?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yes, I'm fine. What do you have for drinks?" his voice was cold and emotionless.
"We only have sake tapped right now, would you like some?"
"Yes that would be nice." the stranger replied.
"We also have some stew on the fire..."
"Yes I will have some of that as well."
Kagome left and came back with his soup and pint of sake. He paid her and watched her
as she replaced patrons' drinks before heading into the kitchen to clean some dishes. This wasn't
missed by the demons who had been talking earlier.
"Oi, the stranger in the hood over there was oggelin' the wench."
"Leave him alone, no right man can ignore legs like those."
"Ha, your just lucky your mate's not here to hear that."
'Yes she is beutiful,'he thought to himself, 'and that power...'
that lies therein.
Chapter Two
Coincidentally, clouds had hung over the manor Castle of the western lord that night
adding to the dreariness of the recent death of the old lord. But two miles south and six miles, if
one were to follow the roads, was a human settlement. There the clouds had broken as if
seemingly for the young girl gazing at the stars while laying on the roof of her family's inn. Like
she was some sort of a weather goddess. Which in some ways she was. For this was a girl of
power, untold hidden power. None could sense it presence in her so all simply thought that she
was the beautiful daughter of the local innkeeper. This was also a girl engaged to be married.
It had been a prearrange marriage meant to strengthen the family ties between her family
and their village leader's. They would get a reduction in taxes and the village head son would
get a wife. In her father's eye this was a great trade off. Did she mean that little to him?
She sighed as she lay on the roof, she hoped that the village leader's son would be good
looking and kind at the very least. It had been a year and she had yet to see the groom. She had
seen the father the year before when they had been planning the wedding and if the son was
anything like the father then it was very unlikely that he would be. The only two things she knew
as certain was that he was male, and that his name was Hojo. Not the prettiest of names she had
to admit. She turned over on her side and starred over the trees at the darkening clouds on the
horizon. She frowned, were they coming or going? She remembered seeing them that morning
and concluded that they were going.
She sighed again and slid down to the edge of the roof and onto the stack of crates that
she had used to climb onto the roof earlier. She had a long enough break and now she had to get
back to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The inn was usually a fairly busy place with its proximity to the quarries and the castle.
True they were each miles away from the village were the inn was located but for youkai it was
only a hope and a skip away. It didn't have the same rank smell of vomit and alcohol that most
inn common roams did simply because it took more alcohol to get a demon drunk, which was
one of the reasons that their inn was so successful. They could sell a demon more alcohol in one
night then three humans combined. Of course the youkai had to urinate three times more than a
human did. Occasionally a demon didn't want to pay up and there wasn't to much they could do
about it, but the world wasn't without some sense of judgement. In the village lived a powerful
Miko by the name of Kikyou and even though she did not like the idea she would create a barrier
around the inn preventing all the demons from entering. Usually, the other demons will force the
offending demon into paying up so they could get their drinks or he is given a bloody death,
depending on how popular he was.
But the inn had an air of excitement tonight. Youkai were huddling around tables
whispering amongst themselves making an undefinable hiss, but as more drinks were sold the
voices got loader and slurred. One conversation in particular caught Kagome's interest.
"...you know I hear he waas done in by a hanyou child." said what appeared to be a dog
demon.
"Ha, that would be great. The invincible lord of the west taken out by a child." The
group fell into laughter.
"Ha ha. I hear, ha ha, I hear that it was a strange illness that he got from the mainland."
"I'd rather it've been the kid" They fell back into laughter.
"I hear that the hanyou is going to be sent to the quarries."
The conversation stopped while Kagome past out the sake they had ordered.
"Ha, the bastard doesn't have the old man to hide behind anymore." the speaker took a
swig of his drink.
Kagome wished she could keep listening but she heard the entrance door close. She
turned to see a hooded stranger site at a table in the corner of the common room. Resigning
herself to her duty she walked over to the stranger.
"Good evening."
The man looked up at Kagome then suddenly recoiled as if slapped in the face.
"Are you alright sir?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yes, I'm fine. What do you have for drinks?" his voice was cold and emotionless.
"We only have sake tapped right now, would you like some?"
"Yes that would be nice." the stranger replied.
"We also have some stew on the fire..."
"Yes I will have some of that as well."
Kagome left and came back with his soup and pint of sake. He paid her and watched her
as she replaced patrons' drinks before heading into the kitchen to clean some dishes. This wasn't
missed by the demons who had been talking earlier.
"Oi, the stranger in the hood over there was oggelin' the wench."
"Leave him alone, no right man can ignore legs like those."
"Ha, your just lucky your mate's not here to hear that."
'Yes she is beutiful,'he thought to himself, 'and that power...'
