Disclaimer: I own nothing InuYasha related. Only Akiko, Kageyu, and Furui Kensei.

Chapter Two: Training and News

Akiko fell on her back. She was aching all over. She had just completed her training with Master Furui Kensei. After ten years she had perfected all of her ninja skills and learned to use so many different types of weapons. Master Kensei walked over to her and kicked her slightly.

"Not hurt are you?" he asked in a sarcastic sort of way. "I wouldn't want you to die. You are one of the few people to ever endure all of my training without dying."

"I'll live. I've got to. There is something that I still have to do before I die," she said in an exasperated tone.

Master Kensei smiled slightly; something he rarely did. His long white hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail, fell over his shoulder as he looked down at her. He remembered how through all of his rigid training, Akiko never gave up even though she was a small child when she first came to see him. "Tell me," he said after she had sat up and wiped off some of the blood that ran down her cheek. "Why did you come here?"

She looked at him and he could tell that her reason was filled with pain and sorrow. "I needed to avenge my village," she said after thinking about it for a while. "Now that I've become strong enough, I can finally achieve my goal."

Master Kensei thought about Akiko's answer for a moment. "I see…" is all he said. "Who is it that you wish to seek your revenge upon?"

Akiko's saddened look turned into a glare. "The Shichinitnai," she said with anger. "I will be sure to kill all seven of them."

Master Kensei gave her a grieved look and said, "Akiko, I'm afraid you have worked so hard for no reason. The Shichinintai was captured and beheaded only a short time after you came here."

Akiko stared in disbelief for a moment. "They are dead?" she asked. When he nodded, she stood up and looked as if she was about to cry. "You mean I went through all of this for nothing? I forced myself to live, only to find out that I have no purpose?"

Master Kensei hit her hard enough to make a large red mark on her face, which would turn into a bruise. "How dare you say that in my presence! You will use your ninja skills to do many things. You could a great assassin! Your life matters greatly. Just because you can't get revenge, it doesn't mean that your life has no meaning."

Akiko didn't say anything. She looked at the ground in shame. "I'm sorry, Master," she said. "I will become an assassin and the best one there is too."

After a couple of days, Akiko had already been hired to kill the lord of a castle. She sat by the fire at her campsite, Kageyu sound asleep next to her. He had said that he didn't think that she should be a hired killer when she herself had her life ruined by people who killed for money. She told him that she would not slaughter an entire village with children and families living in it. She would only kill lords or shogun that probably killed a lot of people themselves. 'I've never actually killed anyone before,' Akiko thought. 'I hope I don't get too afraid to do it when I'm about to do it. …Of course I won't be! I'm an assassin now and I'll never feel regret about anything ever again!' She sighed and lied down watching as the fire burned down. 'Better get some sleep. I may have a big battle tomorrow.' She closed her eyes and let sleep take hold of her.

Akiko awoke to Kageyu breathing on her. She opened her eyes and saw his right in front her. She jumped up. "What!"

He sat down. "It's 10 a.m. Don't you have someone to murder today?" (I realize that there weren't clocks in medieval Japan, but just bear with me here, people)

"Will you quit trying to make me sound like I'm some horrible murderer? I'm not that bad of a person just because I'm going to kill people."

Kageyu sighed and looked at her disapprovingly. "So, what's this lord's name anyway?"

"I was told that his name was Hitomi Kagewaki. They said that there have been mysterious deaths and they think that he might be a demon."

"You're going to fight someone who may be a demon? What if he is and is too strong for you?" Kageyu asked worriedly.

Akiko smirked and said, "Well… that's why you're here." Kageyu didn't argue, but didn't seem too happy about it either.

Kageyu decided not to come with her, but come if he thought that she was in trouble. Akiko came to the castle where Lord Kagewaki was said to be living. There was a thick miasma around the castle. Akiko had a hard time getting through it all. Once she got into the castle she saw skeletons of guards and servants lying on the floor. She walked passed them. Using her ninja skills to creep silently through the castle, prepared to attack anyone who was to get in her way. She walked outside to the where the miasma wasn't hardly strong at all. It was foggy but at least she could breathe. She crept along so she wouldn't make a sound. She stopped dead when she heard footsteps. Akiko grasped her sword, Dohanone. It was made from the fang of Ryuukotsusei. It contained the power to cut through almost anything. Akiko took out Dohanone and prepared to kill whoever it was who was approaching her.

"Hey, Naraku! Is that you?" Akiko heard a man's voice say. She lunged at him and brought the blade of Dohanone to his throat. Before it could cut, the man stopped it by grabbing her wrist. "And you are?" he asked when he saw that the girl obviously wasn't Naraku.

Akiko finally got a good look at the man. She recognized him immediately. It was the man who killed her father. The leader of the Shichinintai.

I know that there has been a lot of history here, but I wanted to build up the story of Akiko. I promise that the next chapter will actually contain the Shichinintai.