Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Inuyasha Characters, they belong to Rumiko Takahasi. I'm merely using them for my own twisted enjoyment. I do however, own all Original Characters, this plot line, and all the fan fics referenced in this story. :D
A/N Naien's fic Miko's Tale is similar to A Miko's Love Story, Double Danger is similar to Double Trouble, and Secret Rendezvous is similar to Secret Lovers for those interested in reference points. AMLS, DT, and SL are all written by me and can be found on my profile. Please bear in mind that Naien is her own person and simply an Original Character which I created her past is purely created to give her character more depth and authenticity.
Chapter One:
She woke up and sat up on the couch, stretching her hands way above her head. After finishing her stretch she stood to her feet and walked up the stairs. Upon entering the bathroom she started the water and slowly began undressing. She stepped into the shower and let the hot water sluice over her body. She stood there just letting the water rain down on her a few minutes, before reaching over for her lufa sponge and her body-wash.
She squeezed the soothing scented mixture into the sponge and lathered it up, before scrubbing her body clean of the sweat and dirt from her last shift of unloading the trucks. After rinsing her body, she picked up her shampoo and began lathering up her hair. Once the foam was nice and thick, she used her fingers to scratch it into her scalp and then rinsed her hair free of the suds. Once her hair was done she turned off the water and climbed out.
As she reached over for her towel she caught sight of her legs in the mirror and cringed. The wounds had healed but they'd been deep and left some nasty scars. Sighing she wrapped the towel around her waist and decided to check her chest as well. She visibly flinched as the angry brown scars there stood out in contrast to the rest of her soft and otherwise unmarred flesh.
She'd gotten over hiding from the truth long ago but these scars would never fade. Sighing in resignation she moved the towel over her chest and began drying, while walking over to her clothes. After donning her fresh clothes, she hung up the wet towel on the rack and went down stairs to make something to eat.
After eating her food she washed her dishes and placed her daggers on her hip. Although the security system was activated she just felt safer wearing her daggers. 'At least now I have something to defend myself with.' She pulled on her combat boots and walked over to her desk.
Sitting in her desk chair she reached over and turned her computer on. She waited for the windows screen. Once the start up finished she opened her saved files and read through her latest fan fic 'Double Danger'. She decided the first chapter was ready to post. She logged in and uploaded her files, then went through the process of filling in the summary and stuff to post the fic. She'd spent the last year working on it in her free time.
Once she finished uploading Double Danger, she read through her newest reviews for Secret Rendezvous. After replying to each of her reviewers she logged out. She pulled up the newest fic she was working on. Miko's Tale was about two chapters away from done.
She spent the next four hours working on her last two chapters and then began to proofread the entire fic from the beginning. Needing something to look at and make certain that she had kept her favorite male in character she popped one of the Schichinatai arch dvd's into her drive. She waited for the program to come up and hit play. As the episode where Bankotsu and Inuyasha first met played she sat there watching her favorite mercenary and read over what she'd typed.
By the time Bankotsu and Renkotsu's fist fight came up she was thirsty so she paused the dvd and went into the kitchen. She walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out her sun tea, pouring herself a good tall glass, and placed the pitcher back in the fridge. Carrying her tea and some cheese and bread over to her little corner she set the food and tea on her tiny table and set back to proof reading the rough draft of her latest fic.
After finishing off her snack she carried her dishes into the kitchen and washed, rinsed and set them to dry in the drainer. She went to use the restroom, washed her hands and walked back into the kitchen. She refilled her tea glass before returning to her cozy little niche. Hitting play she resumed one of her favorite episodes.
Watching Bankotsu dish out discipline to his out of line second in command she smiled. 'No doubt about it, Bankotsu really was a respectable and fair leader.' Staring at the screen she used a finger to touch his face. "Too bad you're just a pretend character and not real, eh Ban?"
She sat there a moment staring intently at his screen shot, before shaking her head sadly and setting back to the task at hand. 'Besides, you'd never even be the slightest bit interested in a scarred up woman like me.' She sighed wistfully. 'Kagome is so lucky, even in the anime she at least got to meet you. I never will.' Her warm mahogany gaze dimmed.
Deciding not to wish on anymore things that would never stand a snowball's chance in hell of actually coming true, she contented herself with just working on her writings. It was her one true way of relaxing. Cracking her fingers she set back to work on the finishing touches for the final draft of Miko's Tale.
Once the final look over was satisfactory she posted it and smiled. She didn't have tons of fics, but the small collection she had written always seemed to catch the reader's eyes. She'd gotten a much bigger response then she'd ever expected to.
One of her biggest pet peeves was all the unfinished or discontinued fics all over the site. She personally made a point of never posting a story unless it was already completely written out. Call it strange, but she felt it was better for the readers to be able to read the full fic, instead of getting about halfway through and being left to wonder when and if it would ever get completed.
Logging back out she inhaled a deep breath and pulled up her original story 'Always An Outcast'. Not one person knew the truth behind this one. It was more than just her original story; it was actually her life story. It was how she'd coped with the hell that had been her life, from the early abandonment by her father, to some of her darkest parts of her past. She had poured everything into this one, hear fear and outrage, her determination to become stronger, her frustration, and her sadness. All the trials she'd struggled through and eventually overcome.
She'd even posted this one, a step she felt she had to take to help her begin fully healing. This one was clearly labeled 'not for kids or those with a weak stomach.' as her past was far from glorious. She kept this as a reminder to herself of all she'd been through and managed to overcome. 'I'm still alive and kicking.' A small bemused smile crossed her lips. 'If you call looking around every corner expecting the worst living.'
She blinked and stared at her screen skimming the words. She'd changed the names of course to keep anyone from guessing it'd been her. She'd made peace with her past and hoped to finally be allowed to move on, without the pain and bitterness that was associated with her past. She'd especially detailed the struggles to continue on wanting to prove to herself that she was stronger than even she gave herself credit for.
Closing the file she brought up her absolute favorite episode, the one where Bankotsu and Inuyasha had the fist fight inside Mount Hakurei. After backing up her work from the day to discs, she settled into her chair comfortably and hit play. It never failed, for these two episodes she was completely engrossed.
Naien studied Bankotsu's movements and Inuyasha's very thoroughly. She practically had every movement and nuance of their voices heart fluttered as she watched them fighting.
Slowly her eyes began to feel heavy and laying her head on the desk, she closed her eyes. 'I wish Bankotsu were real and that I could actually meet him face to face. I just know he'd be a cool guy to meet!' Inuyasha and Bankotsu continued to wage their fierce battle on screen as she faded off to sleep dreaming happily of her secret crush.
XOXOXO:
Unknown to the sleeping woman someone had been watching everything unfold. The ghost stood beside the girl it had been watching over for some time now and spoke softly, "Well young one, you're about to get you wish." The specter smiled at the dreaming girl and began weaving her hands and chanting in an ancient tongue. The room began to fill with a soft blue hue. As the chanting increased, the hue changed to that of a neon blue, illuminating the entire room and filling it with a misty fog, before disappearing. When the mist had fully cleared the dreaming girl and ghost were nowhere to be seen.
A/N That's chapter one. I hope you'll enjoy my newest story! :D