Inupunzel

Disclaimer: I don't own any Inuyasha characters.

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Chapter 4: The Tower

Past the borders of any city or village, deep in a wild, untamed land, stood a tower. The tower was surrounded on all sides by hills, so that despite its height, a traveler would not see the tower until they were nearly upon it. A small footpath wound between the hills until it arrived at the building's smooth unbroken base. No front door broke the monotony of the tower's stone walls. The only opening the tower evidenced was a solitary window located on the topmost story.

"Come away from the window, Inuyasha," Kikyo reprimanded. Inuyasha gave up his tippy-toed gambit to see outside and toddled back to where the Priestess stood. "Help me put away the things I've brought you," she directed.

"Okay," the child agreed. "I can be a big help!"

"That's a good boy," Kikyo praised him, and gave him a pat on the head as he toddled past, dragging a sack of vegetables nearly as tall as himself. With much grunting and shoving, he managed to stow the sack on the bottom shelf of the room's largest closet. He took a moment to survey his work, before giving a satisfied grunt and returning to Kikyo's side. He cast a critical eye over the rest of the sacks the priestess had brought up with her.

"You brought a LOT," he noted. "How come there's so much?"

"I have to be away for an extra while this time, so I brought extra food for you," Kikyo explained.

Inuyasha's face immediately set into a pout. "Nooooo!" he whined. "I don't like it when you're gone! Come back sooner!"

"I'm busy, Inuyasha. You know I visit you as often as I can. Don't whine."

Inuyasha's ears drooped and he scuffed at the floor with a foot. "Okay," he muttered.

"Good boy," Kikyo again patted him on the head. "Now help me put away the dried meat."

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"Come away from the window, Inuyasha," Kikyo called. Inuyasha lifted his head from where he'd rested it on the window sill and turned from the view outside to look at the priestess. Without further prompting, he began moving sacks of food into the pantry. The bags were still quite an armful for him, but he was now strong enough and tall enough to put them onto the third shelf up.

Inuyasha stole a glance at Kikyo, gauging her mood. She didn't seem particularly put out today, so he ventured the question he'd been pondering the past week. "So, where do you go when you leave here?"

"Here and there," Kikyo answered vaguely. "There are many people throughout the land who require my help. I go where I'm needed."

"Where are they?" Inuyasha queried.

"Hum...what do you mean?" Kikyo asked back.

"The other people," he clarified. "I've never seen anyone but you."

"That's good," Kikyo replied. "I picked this spot for you to live because it's far away from other people. It's safer for you, and safer for them. If you ever see anyone else come here, you must tell me immediately."

"How come it's safer?" Inuyasha puzzled.

"You're a little different from other people," Kikyo told him gravely. "You wouldn't understand them, and they wouldn't understand you."

"Oh." Inuyasha was still perplexed, but he'd caught the inflection in Kikyo's voice that said she considered the discussion closed. "Okay."

"That's a good boy," Kikyo patted him on the head.

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"Come away from the window, Inuyasha," Kikyo chided. Inuyasha was comfortable where he was, lounging on the windowsill with one leg stretched out and the other propping up an arm, but at the priestess's words he sighed and jumped down. He grabbed a sack of food in each hand and stowed the away in the pantry. "That's a good boy," Kikyo told him. His head was level with her shoulders now, but she still reached out to pat him. Her fingers bumped into his ears, and it reminded him of the question he'd been meaning to ask her.

"Kikyo, how come we have different ears?"

Kikyo nodded at the question. "That would be because I am a full human, and you are not."

"I'm not?" Inuyasha sounded astonished. "What am I?"

"You are a hanyou; half human, half demon."

"Oh." Inuyasha digested this new piece of information for a minute. "Well, you're a human...but, what is a demon?"

"A demon is a monster, an evil beast who attacks humans," Kikyo replied with a grimace.

"Oh," Inuyasha said with disappointment. Then a horrible thought hit him, and he couldn't help but voice the question. "Does that mean I'm evil too?"

Kikyo looked up at him sharply, her expression unreadable. Then she looked away again. She didn't answer his question.

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"Come away from the window, Inuyasha," Kikyo rebuked. She was panting from the effort of having hauled two heavy sacks up the ladder. Inuyasha could see from his view out the window that there were several sacks still on the cart waiting to be brought up.

"I could help bring up the rest," he offered.

"No!" Kikyo's refusal was immediate and sharp.

Inuyasha frowned at her. "Why not? I'm bigger and stronger than you now. I should be the one doing the hauling."

"We've been over this, Inuyasha," she reminded him. "It's not safe, not for you and not for others. You need to stay here. I don't want you leaving the tower. Not now, not ever!""

"That doesn't make any sense," he complained back. "I'm not planning to leave, just go down, get the sacks and come back up. You and I both know there's no one out there to hurt me, or for me to hurt." He continued on in a mutter, "And I wouldn't hurt anyone, anyway."

"Inuyasha," Kikyo warned, "I said no, and that's final!"

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Inuyasha spent several days stewing over his latest conversation with Kikyo. Since he'd discovered he wasn't even allowed down to the base of the tower, his desire to go out and see more of the world had suddenly exploded. The truth was, he'd jumped down and explored the immediate area on multiple occasions. He'd always stuck close to the tower and returned quickly, but nothing bad had ever happened. Surely it would be alright to go out just a little bit, explore a little further afield? Kikyo was just being overprotective.

Kikyo didn't know about his explorations. She still assumed that since she hid the ladder when she left, he wouldn't have a way down. The guilt he'd felt over keeping his previous forays a secret from her had vanished the moment she'd forbidden him from ever leaving the tower. He should have kept his stupid mouth shut! Then he would have been able to go out without breaking any specific, stated-out-loud rules. He glanced at the window and was overcome with a flash of irritation directed in equal parts at himself and Kikyo.

"Forget this!" he said to himself suddenly. "I'm going out anyway! And I'm going to explore somewhere new, too!" One bounding leap carried him out the tower window. He landed in a crouch, then stood and bushed himself off, all the while grinning like an idiot. "Now, where to?" He looked around, and immediately his gaze was drawn towards the small path Kikyo always used coming and going from the tower. He'd often wondered where it went, and now he was going to find out for himself! He set out at a trot.

The path wound between hills, and the tower was quickly out of sight. Inuyasha felt a thrill run through him when he realized he could no longer see the home he'd never before left behind. His pace quickened.

Some instinct saved him, and he pulled up at the last second. An arrow, glowing brightly with sacred power flew past, skimming a light cut into his cheek as it went by. He let out a startled yelp and jumped backwards, spinning in the air to face the threat. Terror was replaced with dread when his eyes met Kikyo's over her drawn bow. Slowly she lowered the bow. Her focused expression was gradually replaced with one of rage. "Kikyo, I..." Inuyasha fumbled.

"Inuyasha," her voice was steely cold. "It's you. I didn't know you'd be out here. You nearly got yourself killed." She glared at him, and he dropped his gaze. Finally she spoke again. "I will be returning to your tower tomorrow. You will be there."

Her tone brokered no argument. Inuyasha's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Yes, Kikyo," he whispered.

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Inuyasha was not at the window when Kikyo arrived the next day. Instead he huddled in a corner of the pantry, wishing he had a better hiding spot. Kikyo went through the normal ritual of hauling provisions up the ladder. When she had everything up, she called to him. "Come help me put these away, Inuyasha." Her voice sounded strangely normal, and it spooked Inuyasha worse than her fiery ire of the day before. He quickly moved to put the goods away. Once that task was done, Kikyo pulled out an ornate comb, and placed a stool in the middle of the room. "Come and sit," she instructed. "I'm going to brush your hair."

Coming from Kikyo the request was decidedly odd, but Inuyasha wasn't ready to anger her again just yet, so he mutely did as she asked. She began combing through his hair with long, even strokes, from the top of his head down to where his hair ended at the middle of his back. It tingled strangely, and he shivered. Several long minutes went by in awkward silence. Finally Kikyo set the comb down. "That should do," she stated.

Inuyasha stood up, and was surprised to feel an unaccustomed weight pulling at his scalp. He turned, and saw to his surprise that his hair was now significantly longer. It pooled in a large mass at his feet. Kikyo picked it up and began walking it out, smoothing and straightening it as she went. It went on and on. She circled the room four times before coming to the end of it.

"What is this?!" Inuyasha finally exclaimed.

"That comb has special power," Kikyo explained. "It made your hair grow long and strong. Nothing can cut it now." She pulled out a small knife and demonstrated. She sawed at the hair vigorously, but not a single strand broke. Inuyasha grabbed up a hank and gave a try with his claws. No luck.

"What did you do this for?" Inuyasha questioned, feeling confused and upset.

Instead of answering, Kikyo measured out a length of hair that went around the room about a time and half, then threw the rest of the trailing mass out the window. She bent down and gathered up a loop of hair near where it exited the window, then pulled an arrow out of her ever-present quiver and began imbuing it with her own power. Inuyasha drew back, remembering the arrow that had nearly gotten him killed yesterday. However, instead of pointing the arrow at him, the priestess drove the arrow through the loop of hair and into the wall.

"There," she finally spoke. "That's a sealing arrow. It will hold your hair fast to the tower, and since your hair can no longer be cut, it will hold you here as well. I've left you enough slack so you can move around inside. Now we won't have to worry about you being tempted to leave the tower again."

Inuyasha's heart sunk, and he couldn't think of a single thing to say.

"That's a good boy," Kikyo patted him on the head.

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Next chapter: The Monk.

I hope you'll look forward to it:)