Walks at Midnight
Standard Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not my property, but the property of Rumiko Takahashi and I make no money from this whatsoever.
Chapter 1:
New Orleans, 2005
Sesshoumaru slowed his steps, all thoughts of a peaceful stroll vanishing from his mind. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, his awareness of his surroundings amplifying significantly. Something was out there in the dark, watching him.
After centuries in Japan, he had finally decided to travel. He had been enjoying a walk through the darkened streets of the city of New Orleans when a prickle of warning had almost stopped him in his tracks. A look of slight surprise crossed his features.
This is most unexpected.
A few more steps and he became acutely aware that he was surrounded. What are these creatures? The creatures now circling him moved like youkai, but they held a faintly human scent. Yet, they were not human - at least not anymore. The stench of death clung to these feral creatures. It was not their presence that disturbed him, but their scent.
His energy whip lashed out suddenly as a dark form jumped into the circle of light and scampered swiftly towards him. The form quickly disintegrated into burning ash.
Sesshoumaru regarded the burning ashes for a moment pondering their similarity to youkai in that regard. He was not impressed as the circle of creatures crowded ever closer to him. These creatures appeared to be quite easily dispatched but, still, it might be amusing to toy with them, something he had not allowed himself to indulge in for a long time. Had it been over a hundred years? The twentieth century had certainly been a bit boring in that regard.
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From farther outside the circle of light, another figure watched Sesshoumaru. He stepped forward to get a better look, careful to stay out of sight. The watcher could see the glimmer of dark hair and subdued features, a magical glamour, overlaying what was a truly beautiful and unusual male underneath. Long, silvery hair fell to the male's knees and his face held a flat, emotionless expression which was not usually worn by one of the living. Strange magenta and blue markings graced his flawless cheeks and forehead.
The watcher decided that one of the markings must represent the crescent moon, and that the ears were not quite right either, being too pointed to be human. The eyes were by far the most compelling part of this creature. They appeared to be golden, no amber, in hue and were exceptionally calm and cold. One thing was certain; his attention had been caught and held by this mysterious creature.
The creature before him was an enigma, its movements so incredibly fast that they matched and surpassed that of the vampires currently hunting it. And, there was blood - vital, powerful, tempting blood - flowing through its veins.
"What is he?"
Within the circle of light, the object of his scrutiny turned slightly in his direction at the sound of his voice. Did he hear me speak, he wondered.
The vampires crept forward a fraction at this movement, like a hunting cat might when it saw a mouse twitch. Seemingly unable to control its excitement, another vampire attacked and was dispatched as easily as the one before it.
Fools, have they no self-preservation? They were weak. Why are these vampires wasting their lives one-by-one attacking this powerful man, creature, whatever he is? He will obviously overpower them. He knew these things well, because he was also one of them, a vampire, but one vastly more powerful than the ones that currently circled the object of his interest.
He realized that the draw of this creature's blood was too strong to resist, at least for the weaker of the vampires who were so driven by instinct and bloodlust. This strange blood held the promise of greater strength. His mouth watered and he could not help but wonder how the blood of this remarkable creature would taste.
It was at that moment that the vampires forming a tight circle around the white figure chose to attack.
What to do? What to do? He looked to the sky, one slender finger pressed against his lip in a thoughtful gesture. The simple pose made him look strangely human despite his porcelain-like skin and strange gray eyes. Should I save the intriguing creature and then take his blood, or let the weaklings have their way with him and walk away?
He did find so little to interest himself with these days, or actually nights. After so many centuries, he'd like to think that he could keep such things straight. This melancholy thought decided him and he turned back to the scene, intending to put a quick stop to the attacking horde, but what he saw made him stop short.
With amazing speed, the figure in white was using the strange, green-glowing whip to slice the vampires into pieces. A bloody pile of decapitated and dismembered bodies began to pile up around the creature. As there were many, a few of the stronger vampires got quite close, but were disposed of just as quickly by his….claws?
The creature before him was definitely not human. It had been a long, long time since he had been surprised by anything. This ought to be quite an interesting evening, he thought eagerly. He was intrigued. He strode towards the circle of light, tearing the heart out of one of the few remaining vampires as it tried to escape. It was a gesture of goodwill towards the now figure before him.
Sesshoumaru stood, pale and still, remarkably untouched by the massive amounts of splattered blood around him. He'd had a lot of practice at this sort of thing over the years and oh, how he'd missed it. He wondered idly if perhaps these creatures could be bred and rounded up in great numbers to fight in the future, considering the distinct lack of viable youkai to kill.
As Sesshoumaru pondered the idea of a vampire farm, the watcher decided to become an active participant and stepped closer. "Quite impressive. You must be new to these parts. I would like to introduce myself." He extended his non-bloodied hand. "My name is Fortune."
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Fortune is pronounced 'for-tu-nay'.
AN: Hope you enjoyed this little bit of cheesy fun. No romance expected in part one. This story seemed like an entertaining one to write. Any comments welcome. Feel free to include those you may have about improving writing. Despite the first chapter, this is not a true action-adventure, although there are plenty of both. The developing relationships between characters will take the forefront. Expect some dark humor and mild violence as well.