Inu-Yasha
A Feudal Fairy Tale



Disclaimer: This episode of Inu-Yasha and the character Saeko are of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Inu-Yasha. "Inu-Yasha" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1998-2003 Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc. Inu-Yasha is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.


What's a Hanyou to Do?
Scroll One:
The First Day



Five years have passed since the day Inu-Yasha killed Naraku and avenged his mother's death. A lot has changed since then. The hanyou tapped into the inheritance he has from both his mother and father and used a small portion of it to move out of his godparents' house. He now has an apartment of his own in Tokyo and is living quite well. This is impressive seeing as he is only fifteen years old.

Today is Inu-Yasha's first day at high school. Instead of going to Tokyo High, he opted to go to a nicer, privately funded school in the city, Takahashi High, which is more prestigious. Either a prominent family line or a large cashbook are needed to attend the school, both of which Inu- Yasha has since his father was a great youkai lord.

The hanyou is actually looking forward to going to school for once since this one has accelerated classes that teach at a quicker pace, one that Inu- Yasha was used to with his mother. Another thing he enjoys about the school is the fact that he no longer has to wear a ridiculous school uniform, he can now wear what he desires to.

He still has his old red fire rat haori, which still grows to fit him as he does, but this time he has decided to go with something a little different. Shoes are still required to be worn and they would look a bit off with his haori. Inu-Yasha opens up his closet door to look for his boots, but stops and stares at the article of clothing in front of him.

After getting back his mother's favorite kimono from Naraku, Inu-Yasha has made sure to take very good care of it. It is on a hanger and wrapped in plastic to keep it safe and clean. Since Naraku also kept it enclosed in plastic for the four years he had it, the kimono still is thick with his mother's warm and loving scent. The hanyou hasn't dared to wash it so the scent stays, even though it is already very clean.

Inu-Yasha sighs deeply and looks down at the bottom of his closet, picks up his boots and puts them on. He is now wearing a pair of thick boots, which allow his feet some breathing room inside, a pair of baggy black pants and a form fitting red tank top.

The inu hanyou picks up his last piece of clothing, a black baseball cap. The village miko, Kaede, gave the cap to him as a gift, which was specially made for him. It has two triangular shaped holes cut on the top of it so his dog-ears don't have to be pressed against his head. Kaede also placed a small spell on the inside of the cap where he can stuff all of his thick silver hair into it and it will never fill.

"Lets try it out," he mutters out loud as he puts it on backwards. Sure enough, all of his hair manages to fit inside without it looking like it would with a normal baseball cap, overstuffed and spilling out. He twitches his ears, which fit perfectly through the holes on the top. Inu-Yasha looks at himself in the mirror. For added affect, he pulls out a couple of bangs from the small opening where the cap is tightened and has them lay over his right eye.

The hanyou inspects himself closely in the mirror in the bathroom. He gives himself a satisfied smirk. "I'll have to thank that old hag again for this cap. It actually works." He grabs his book bag, closes and locks the door to his apartment and makes his way to school.

The trip is uneventful, but since there are very few trees in the direction he is heading, Inu-Yasha jumps down the sidewalks. Within a few minutes, Takahashi High School comes into view. It is set on top of a hill and looks like one of those old famous colleges in different countries. The outside is all made up of large stone bricks, giving it an aged look. The school also has a great deal of land with it, allowing for several athletic fields and such.

The main entrance in at the top of several flights of stone stairs. There are picnic tables strewn about different levels where the students convene before and after classes. It is here where Inu-Yasha begins to climb up the steps, careful to not touch anyone around him. On the trip up, he hears the usual things people say about him behind his back, though he can always hear them, which ranges from, "Is he a youkai?" to, "Oh look at his ears, they're so cute!"

As he nears the top, Inu-Yasha notices the scent of a youkai. He looks up just in time to see a large form standing in front of him. He can tell instantly that this guy is the youkai. His claws and pointed ears are easily noticeable as well as his fangs from the overly confident smile spread across his face. His long black hair is pulled into a ponytail and he has a brown headband on his forehead. A brown tail swishes lazily behind him. "Hey there half-breed," the youkai casually greets, "the name's Koga and I'm an ookami youkai. I must say I was wondering if anybody else with youkai blood in them would ever come to this school. I was feelin' kinda lonely!" he pats Inu-Yasha hard on the back.

The hanyou cringes at the ookami youkai in front of him. "Inu-Yasha," he mutters nonchalantly.

Koga leans in closer, much closer than Inu-Yasha would like. His scent is not very pleasant. "Your youkai part is an inu right? You smell a bit like one and those ears are a dead giveaway."

Suddenly, a girl with short brown hair and very skimpy clothing wraps both of her arms around Koga's right arm. "Oh Koga baby," she coos, "Who's your cute new friend?"

The ookami smiles at the girl next to him. "Misao, this is Inu-Yasha, an inu hanyou."

Misao's brown eyes light up with interest. "A hanyou? Really? Wow, I've never seen one before! I mean I've seen pictures of them in books and sometimes on the television, but never face to face! Oh, your ears are so adorable! Can I touch them? So cutie, what year are you?" she says at an incredible speed.

Both the hanyou and the youkai pause for a moment to register everything the girl just said. Inu-Yasha mutters out, "I'm a freshman and I do mind if you touch my ears. They're very sensitive."

Koga curses, "Damn! I'm a sophomore! I was hoping to have some classes with you so we could get to know each other and be friends or something."

Inu-Yasha holds in the shudder that is screaming to come out. He is about to say that's too bad when he catches the scent of another youkai. His ears twitch around, trying to catch a sound. Misao shrieks in delight. "They just twitched! Oh how cute!"

The hanyou holds up a hand to silence. "Shh! Koga, do you smell that?"

The youkai raises an eyebrow. "Uh, what are you talking about?"

Before Inu-Yasha can scream out 'baka,' his ears twitch once more, this time catching something nearby. He suddenly leaps into the air, heading towards the bottom of the steps. Everyone below him yells and screams in surprise. The hanyou moves slowly and gracefully through the air. It almost looks like he is flying.

Just as he lands, a giant mukade youkai emerges from the ground. Screams of terror come from the students nearby. The mukade hisses, "Oh good! So many humans to feast upon!"

"I don't think so," Inu-Yasha smirks as the claws on his hands elongate. He charges forward and shouts, "Iron Reamer Soul Stealer!" as his claws tear through the youkai as if it was paper. Chunks of its body fall to the floor. Then out of nowhere, two more mukade youkais appear, only these two are a bit smaller than the first one.

The hanyou is about to attack again, when a figure blurs past him and shreds the youkai in the blink of an eye. Now Inu-Yasha is staring wide eyed, not at the two newly fallen mukades, but at the young woman who destroyed them.

She definitely has youkai blood in her, and judging by the fact that she also smells human, she is a hanyou. The young woman has long, shiny black hair, which contrasts deeply with her pale skin. Her eyes are a deep forest green and have slits for pupils. A pair of pointy black ears, similar to Inu-Yasha's are on top of her head. The claws on her fingers look extremely sharp, as if they have been filed. The small smirk on her face shows off her short, but pointy, fangs. "Hey there," she starts in a warm, rich voice, "is this a one man party or can any hanyou girl join?"

Inu-Yasha just continues to stare at the beautiful hanyou in front of him. She giggles at him and walks up a few steps, waving her arms around. "Hello? Is anybody there?"

The hanyou boy snaps out of his stare and turns to the side in his classic 'I don't care' pose, both to look more manly and to hide the small blush that has crept up on him. Neither notices that the bell to signify that class is about to start has just rung and that everyone else has scrambled to get inside, leaving them the only two outside. "Feh. I'm just surprised that a girl," he pauses to take in her scent better. 'Mmm,' he thinks to himself, 'freshly fallen rain, what a great scent! Wait! Get back on track!' His eyes narrow as he finishes, "a neko girl, was able to take out two youkai."

The girl's eyes narrow as well. "Hey, I'm a pretty good fighter if I do say so myself. Oh yeah, I'm Saeko," she finishes with a kindly smile.

"Inu-Yasha," the hanyou 'greets.' He takes a moment to study her better, since she is now closer. Saeko is wearing a black skirt that stops an inch from her knees and a yellow spaghetti string tank top with a small pink cat on the center. The tank top dips slightly in the middle, showing off an odd shiny black jewel imbedded in the center of her chest. She has on several gold bracelets on each wrist. Her yellow and pink girl's sneakers match her tank top. A thin heart shaped necklace is worn around her neck and, to finish it off, she has a 'Hello Kitty' headband on just in front of her furry cat ears. A light purple book bag is slung over her left shoulder.

Saeko watches in amusement as Inu-Yasha eyes her head to toe several times. "I know I'm good looking and all, but even you're starting to make me blush!"

The hanyou boy snaps his head back up to meet the hanyou girl's, this time blushing fully. He is about to respond, when a voice says, "Aren't you two a little late?" at the top of the stairs.

Both turn to see a woman, looking about in her twenties or so, watching the two of them. In a flash, the two hanyous jump atop the stairs, much to the surprise to the woman. She has long, neatly cut black hair that is held in the back by an old traditional white hair band and brilliant blue-gray eyes. She has on a woman's black and white business suit and a pair of glasses that only seem to make her look even more beautiful. "Mister Inu- Yasha...um...you never gave a last name, and Miss Saeko Orikasa I presume?"

They both nod lightly. The woman smiles warmly. "The students in my class said that the two of you were out here taking care of a little youkai problem," she pauses to look down at the three mukade youkai corpses, "and indeed you have. For that I will not mark the two of you tardy. Now I want the two of you to go to the principal's office and inform him of the little mess down there. He'll call a clean up crew to dispose of the bodies. Afterwards, I want you to come directly to my class, number 107. By the way, I am Professor Kikyo Higurashi, your advanced mathematics teacher. Welcome to Takahashi High!" With that she turns around and walks away.

"Alright," Saeko starts, "lets get over to the principal's office," she pauses and gives Inu-Yasha a playful smile while poking him gently on his nose, "my cute little koinu!"

Inu-Yasha raises an eyebrow, but smirks all the same. "Okay, okay. I'm right behind you...koneko."

The neko girl giggles slightly. "Look at us! We met each other like five minutes ago and we've already got pet names for each other!" She winks at him and turns around and walks off towards the principal's office.

The inu boy sighs to himself. 'I can't believe I started to open up to her already,' he thinks to himself. 'I think its because she's a hanyou like me. It feels good to not be the only one around.' He picks up his book bag and speeds up to catch up to Saeko.

They easily find the principal's office and knock on the door, which has the words 'Mr. Tamano Okuda - Principal,' on the glazed window. A deep voice says, "Come in," and the two hanyous do so. A tall man in a brown business suit smiles warmly at them. He has slicked back black hair, with a little bit of gray on the sides. "Hello you two. How may I help you?"

"Uh...a few mukade youkais came out of the ground in front of the school sir," Saeko quietly replies.

Mr. Okuda suddenly stands up, looking concerned. "Oh my, was anybody hurt?"

"No," Inu-Yasha answers, "we took them out before they could do anything."

"Y...you did?"

"Yeah," the inu hanyou smiles smugly, "we are hanyous after all."

The principal looks at the two young people in front of him, finally taking in their looks. He smiles slightly. "My, you are! I can't believe I just noticed! Well you two, thank you very much for getting rid of those youkai, we have had some attacks in the past with different ones before. Now you two should run along to your classes, I'll get a clean up crew on it right away."

Both of the hanyous bow slightly to the principal and leave his office. After a minute or so of walking to their first class in total silence, Saeko decides to speak up. "So, that Mr. Okuda seems like a nice guy."

"Yeah," comes Inu-Yasha's short reply.

"I can't believe I'm actually going to Takahashi High!" she squeals, changing the subject for some reason. "I mean, I never thought my dad could afford to pay for it, but he just got a big promotion and everything! Aren't you happy that you're going here too?"

"Yeah," the hanyou boy responds again, not really paying attention.

Seako's cheeks puff out in annoyance, but return to normal as a devilish smile spreads across her lips. "So koinu, do you want me badly?"

"Yeah..." Inu-Yasha's eyes widen as he realizes what she just asked and his response. "I...I mean...I didn't mean that!" he sputters out hurriedly, turning a violent shade of red.

The neko hanyou giggles merrily at the boy next to her. She grabs one of his cheeks and tugs on it playfully. "You know, you look so cute when you get all hot and flustered! I'm gonna enjoy going to school with you!" she finishes while skipping ahead.

Inu-Yasha, meanwhile, is furious with himself. 'I can't believe I said that!' his mind screams in frustration. 'What is this girl doing to me? I keep on blushing right in front of her and I just let her tug on my ear! I've never opened up to anyone before, so why is she breaking down all of my inner walls?' He sighs deeply and watches Seako's retreating figure. Despite himself, a smile forms on his face. 'One thing's for sure: school here will be very interesting!'


To be continued...

______

Translations (in order of appearance):

Ookami: wolf
Baka: fool
Mukade: centipede
Neko: cat
Koinu: puppy
Koneko: kitten

______

Author's notes: I know there are a lot of Inu-Yasha high school fics out there, but I've been wanting to do one for quite some time now. On the next Scroll, our favorite inu hanyou will have a little run in with three soon to be friends, including one he will begin to care a great deal for (you all know who I'm talking about!) -- lighthawkdemon

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com