Must resist putting plot in author's note! Lol. Must…not…succumb to…Yeah, anyways. I better begin the next chapter before I hurt myself. Here goes.
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CHAPTER III: Shadows of the Night
Inuyasha was planning to sleep on the Shinkyou one last night, the night he arrived. He climbed onto the bunk, set his head down on the pillow, and pulled the covers over him. He was ready to revive his energy in sleep.
Suddenly one of the young sailors burst in the room to tell him that he would go up to the Seminary now.
He rubbed his eyes. Inuyasha was just about ready to slip into dreamless rest, and was already tired from the day's work. Even the straw stuffing in the mattress looked a bit promising.
He didn't question it, though. The hanyou picked up his bag, patted the sailor on the back as a way of goodbye, and walked out of the forecastle.
Once on the main deck, a large gust of wind swooped into his chest, alerting his senses a little.
He was greeted with good wishes from the friends he had made at sea, and envious looks from those he did not befriend. He recognized their sneers. It was the type you, or he, got every day in Hosusori.
At the gangplank, a figure cloaked in white stood holding a lantern, a tormented fleck of light held on the wind-lashed moor.
Inuyasha followed his guide, who led him up a series of wooden platforms built into the side of the cliff.
He tried to get a good look at her; he knew it was a girl because of her fresh scent. And the hand that gripped the lantern handle was delicate, fragile. Shadows fell over her face.
Inuyasha looked up. Thunderheads were forming, and the waning moon fell in hiding, its crescent glistening through patches of storm cloud.
The wind howled by them a series of time. He exhaled a burst of white mist into the crisp night. On the air Inuyasha could smell a trace of demon.
He was slightly alarmed; when the scent of demons aside from the few at Hosusori could be caught on the wind, it usually meant rivaling clans coming at an attempt to ravage the court.
He contemplated the meaning of it, subconsciously following behind the girl with a pattern of winding steps.
Well, of course.
Inuyasha had hardly thought about it before, but the seminary was bound to school the tame ones. However, the ones who were civil enough to seek education were the ones, he supposed, who were the most dangerous.
In fact, it was likely that all the students were youkai of some sort.
But-This girl…Assuming that she was a student here…
She was not a demon. Inuyasha couldn't sense a single drop of demon blood in her. No aura of it, either.
Her scent held that of a human youth's.
But also-something more. Definitely.
Inuyasha couldn't define it. But not knowing made him doubtful. And the tiniest part of his conscience said he would face more of this uncertainty as time went on.
He could hardly see past the top of the cliff, not to mention the flight of platforms, so he kept his eye on his guide, and the flickering lantern light.
Thunder rolled in the distance, but he wasn't eager to get inside. Life at sea had taught him to love the elements.
At the end of the platforms, after a good while of walking, they came to the mouth of a cave, a deep, dank opening which made Inuyasha consider searching for a trap or something sinister in the shadows.
Inuyasha's guide raised the lantern into the elusive opening, the combined light from the moon sifting behind the clouds tossing their two shadows onto the cave walls.
He felt a little relieved, perhaps since knowing where the wall was gave him a better sense of dimension.
The girl stopped, set her lantern down on the cold cave floor and knelt beside it. Then, cupping her hand close to the glass, concealing the orange glow, she tilted her head in close and whispered something quietly.
She got up again, and Inuyasha could've sworn that once she held the lantern up, the intensity of the light had grown.
Inuyasha was led down the passage until the moonlight no longer seeped in, and the sound of steady footsteps began careening off the walls.
Then they took a turn into the passage, and in one corner there stood an unimpressive little door of wood.
A bent over, scrawny little man guarded the door, standing upright and to attention, with one hand gripped loosely on a zanbatou, what the Japanese called the Dae-han's version of a halberd. Clothed in the green robes of a sage, he stood firmly and nodded to the girl.
She now left his side, taking the only source of light in the tunnel with her as she opened and passed through the door.
So he was left in complete and total darkness, until the old man spoke. "I am the doorkeeper. Enter if you can."
Only pausing to take a thought as to if he was approaching the door or not, he stepped forward. Again and again. And again; until he was positive that by now he should have reached the door. He stretched his arms out. Nothing. Not the wood panels of the door or the bronze of the doorknob.
Yet, he felt as if he still stood in the exact same spot where he had started. He was sure even if blind in darkness.
"I can't enter," he said begrudgingly, "unless you help me."
The doorkeeper answered mildly, "Speak your name."
Inuyasha understood now. He came from a world of diplomats, war campaigns, and samurai. He was free to speak his name because those of Hosusori could not use it against him. A man of true power never spoke his own name aloud here, until more than his life's safety was at stake.
He supposed in the lives of mages, sorceresses, and combaters, disclosing your name to an enemy meant certain death. If you gave a man your name, you gave him your identity. Knowing someone's identity meant being able to harness their soul.
So this doorway was a test of the will to take that risk.
For the knowledge within.
The staff of the seminary couldn't touch him; it just meant that if he broke the laws of the academy, they could take certain means to punish him.
So he spoke his name loud and clear. "Inuyasha."
There was the sudden sound of a gear inside turning. Inuyasha thought that was odd; he supposed it would've been controlled by magic.
The girl was waiting for him inside. She had taken off her hood. He could see that her eyes were a deep and bottomless umber brown, the way the orange glow of the candelabras hit it. Her chest-length hair was raven black, with an intriguing luster in them. She had fair skin, and a golden earring on each ear, though he noticed that one continued in a series of beads and dangling diamonds.
Inuyasha noticed with some annoyance that she was gazing up at the ears nestled nicely at the top of his head. He made a slight coughing sound- as if to remind her that staring was extremely rude.
In fact, he was on the verge of saying something quite rude himself, but her eyes left his ears, and she spoke first.
"You might've guessed," she started softly, "that we do not use our names here at Goshinboku. You should decide yours now."
"Decide?" Up until now he had taken it as a given that the teachers would assign names.
"Of course. What do they call you?"
"Inu-" he started to say his name, just by a reflex.
"What?" she asked when he did not complete his sentence. "They call you 'dog?'"
That's half of it…
"No…Just call me Inu…Inu-Shijou." (A/N: Go to the cliffnote to find out what that means!) He had remembered his father often calling him that, or referring to that.
"Inu-Shijou it is," the girl said cheerfully. "If we ever meet around the campus, you can call me Miko."
"You're a priestess?"
"Yes. Or, I used to be. I protected the temple shrine in my village. But the teachers all say I should aspire to higher things now." She gave a wave of the hand, as if to dismiss the thought.
He looked down the dim passageway, curiously.
"Say, how old are you?"
"Sixteen years," he answered impatiently. Inuyasha was tired and eager to rest.
"I see. You'll probably be taking a few combat lessons with me, then." Miko smiled, and Inuyasha thought she looked unnaturally happy to be spending time with a hanyou. Even most ningens regarded half-breeds with disgust. They were ones to talk, the weak bastards.
"Mmm." He made a sound of compliance. Although she didn't look sixteen.
Anyways, being quiet was probably the quickest way to get her to shut up and go.
Miko stood there a little while longer looking detachedly at his ears, then led the way down the corridor.
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Well, it had gotten her to go, but she talked the whole way. Not excessively, but Inuyasha was just tired. Somehow her friendly manner acted as a repel to him.
At the end of the passageway they reached a series of stairs, which led up to an unlocked trapdoor. Miko swung the door over their heads and gestured to the hallway now in front of him. Inuyasha was slightly surprised at how close the rooms were to the exit.
"These are the private student dormitories. Follow me."
It reminded him faintly of the apartments that his father gave to the daimyos and their families. The shoji bamboo wall screens, slide-open doors.
"This one," she said abruptly. Miko had stopped in front of a room. "Open it."
Inuyasha stepped ahead and slid the door open quietly. He took a look inside. Although private, the dormitory was extremely small, barely enough space for a cloth mattress to be rolled out across the floor.
"Sleeping quarters. You won't be spending a whole lot of time here. The rooms are sealed, so nobody can enter your room except you. The Ward was hoping to see you tonight, but it's fairly late."
Inuyasha stepped inside his room. "Thanks, Miko," he said, with an idea of how awkward this nicknaming would be.
She smiled again affably.
"Goodnight, Inu-Shijou," she answered, perfectly comfortable. "I'll come collect you in the morning."
Miko turned and began to walk away as Inuyasha shut the door and looked around his new home. He threw his bag onto the floor near the door, and sat down against the far wall, stepping over the floor mat quickly.
Perhaps it was the natural animal instinct that made him sit with his sword at near grasp; or the apprehension his new surroundings gave him. But finally, his eyelids growing heavier by the minute, he was taken away slowly and quietly by night and sleep.
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Wow! I impressed myself this chapter! Guess what, no author's note to explain stuff except that one to tell you to read the cliffnote!
First of all, cliffnotes are very very important! Why are some of you emailing me with questions that are answered in the cliffnotes? WHY? Okay, before I go crazy.
I suppose it was smart of me to tell you to go the cliffnote. But you had to, right? To find out what Shijou meant, right?
In simple terms-and I'm going to try to explain this to you guys VERY SIMPLY- Shijou means supremacy.
The direct translation sounds very awkward, doesn't it, Inu-Shijou? Dog-Supremacy.
Sounds like a horror movie to me.
Just kidding. There is another explanation. In Japanese, Shijou is a very delicate word. When attached to certain words, (Can you believe it, I did research.)the term refers to the tendency for a certain race or ethnic group to be superior.
I so get symbolism.
There is a certain amount of irony put into this metaphor. In fact, it's supposed to be. It's intended, let me assure you.
By dog, I'm referring directly to Inuyasha. It's not too often you hear of Inuyasha being superior to others, is it? The irony is that he's more often than not inferior.
The underdog, in other words. (Sorry, no pun intended.)
Another thing is that I think I meant ningen in that chapter somewhere. Translation: Human.
Oh, one more thing. Miko is Kagome. Kagome. Kagome Kagome Kagome. Not Kikyou. I don't hate Kikyou, but she's always come off as a cold character to me. I could never imagine her being that friendly.
I hope that cleared up some stuff for you. Until the next time I update…
Bye! LEAVE REVIEWS!
Alohaturtle