Trap of Darkness

A/N: Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. Kitty here. I only own half the credit to this story, the other half goes to LADY SILVERFOX charita rai. Neither of us own Inuyasha, if we did she'd claim Inu no Taishō for herself and I'd dominate Sesshōmaru (well I'd try). LADY SILVERFOX owns her OC Jasmine, while I own my o who'll be introduced in this chapter. Enjoy reading and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'English'

'Japanese'

Thoughts

Three

'Ma'am. Ma'am.'

The thick Japanese accent and the rather rough shaking jostled her out of sleep. She glared unhappily at the taxi man who gave her a sheepish smile in return. Ruffling her long dark brown-black hair, she slung her bag over her shoulder and stepped out of the yellow car into the dreadfully dismal weather. Immediately, her sight was overtaken by the massive private school that stretched out on the other side of towering fancy wrought iron gates. There was a dog in mid leap design on the gates, the left mirroring the right. Towering, bushy, trees dotted the courtyard, adding a serene natural environment to a place that was almost like a prison to its occupants.

The white bricked building appeared to look as if it had been crafted from marble. The red tiled roof had a threatening look to it, appearing almost like blood under the dismal sky. Rather than a complete rectangular shape, the old three-hundred roomed mansion had a tower standing erect at the side of the building. The lawn was immaculately cut, adding further to the all too perfect school. The appearance of perfection overwhelmed Jasmine, knowing that there was no way that she could live up to the expectations of being 'faultless'.

'Your suitcase, ma'am,' the Japanese man said, startling her.

She turned quickly, a little too fast as her head span momentarily.

'Thank you,' she said quickly.

'Big place,' he said standing next to her, nodding his head once at the school.

'Very,' she breathed, her brown speckled green eyes took in the beautifully menacing building that was built flawlessly.

'Perfect,' the foreign man whispered entranced.

'Too perfect,' Jasmine said as if she were cursing the place.

'Place where everyone want go,' the man said.

'I know,' she answered dispiritingly.

'You be fine,' he said patting her shoulder encouragingly. 'You smart woman. Fit in just fine.'

'Thanks,' she said sparing a small smile at him.

'Good luck,' he said, giving her a final pat.

She stared at the building as she heard him slam his door closed and drove off, leaving her to face the new world alone.

She had to admit, she was frightened. She had travelled all the way from Illinois in the United States of America to come to Tokyo, Japan. She knew next to nothing of the language, besides the occasional hello, farewell, thank you, and a little of their honorifics due to anime she watched back home. She felt awkward trying to speak another language, hating how she could not quite say the foreign words right. It was a pain. And now she was smack in the middle of Japan central, surrounded by both humans and yōkai. The worst part was, yōkai would mock and taunt her due to her inability to barely understand them. She hoped she caught the language quickly otherwise she was in for a painful rehabilitation life.

Stepping up to the gate, she watched as the cameras mounted on the posts turned towards her.

'Hello?' a voice called out from the intercom in Japanese.

Recognising the one word, Jasmine leaned closer to the intercom so she could be heard.

'I'm Jasmine Sarish Samaira. I'm the new student,' she answered in English.

'Wait one moment,' the male said.

Jasmine gave the intercom box a quizzical look but decided against speaking up. She clutched her handbag and suitcase handle tightly, mixed coloured eyes eyeing the gates nervously. Her palms turned clammy. She had to fight the urge to set something ablaze. She fought it down, knowing that she'd only get in trouble for unleashing her powers out of nervous habit. That'll only show that she's dangerous in public. She couldn't turn to her habit of setting things alight, or manipulating the other elements, just to help calm her heightened emotions. She was going to have to learn self-restraint.

Taking a deep breath, Jasmine released as much pent-up nervousness in that one exhale. She felt calmer, controllable, but she'd feel a whole lot better surrounded by nature itself rather than the busy streets of Tokyo at her back.

'Go on in,' the sudden sound of the man's voice startled Jasmine out of her thoughts.

'Thank you,' she responded in Japanese when the gates began to swing silently open.

She wheeled her suitcase behind her as she headed towards the school. It was only as she was halfway across the pebbled road that she realised she didn't have a single clue as to where she was going. She didn't know where the dormitories were, nor did she know the directions to the reception to direct her. She was completely lost and she hadn't even stepped foot inside the building itself.

Why couldn't they have provided a map of the grounds? At least then she wouldn't feel quite as lost or stupid about wandering around aimlessly. Then again, she should have looked it up online and printed out a map herself.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, she cursed herself.

As she struggled to pull her suitcase along on the pebbled road, she heard the distinctive sound of barking. It was clearly playful, not vicious, but it sounded more feral than a regular dog's. What worried her was the numerous amounts of barks, all of different pitches. To hear so many at one time clearly told her that a pack of wolf-like dogs were ahead. Was it normal for a school to have animals? Or was this some sort of special occasion? Perhaps they were wild and had infiltrated the grounds. If they were wild, why did they sound so playful?

A light feminine laugh rang out.

It was not until she heard that laugh that she realised how tense she had become. Exhaling in relief, Jasmine headed towards the sound, curious as to what was going on.

'Joker, get your butt back here!'

Hearing the English language being spoken so properly and in a playful manner, with a British accent in the undertones, Jasmine felt instantly relieved. She was not alone in speaking a foreign first language. At least now she didn't have to suffer the humiliation of not being able to understand Japanese alone. It was wrong to think like that but she was unable to help herself. Feeling so suddenly elated, Jasmine followed the female's voice but stopped when a four-foot black wolf charged over to her, large pink tongue lolling out its mouth. She had to admit, the dog looked completely daft with its tongue hanging out and white left eyepatch.

'No.'

Hearing the word in a dominant tone, the wolf skidded on its paws and came to a stop an inch away from Jasmine's chest. Staring into the wolf's yellow eyes, Jasmine felt overwhelmed with the need to back away from such an intimidating creature, no matter how daft it looked.

'Don't move.'

Not understanding who she was talking to, Jasmine remained still, eyes staring into the extremely intelligent eyes of the wolf that had almost run her over a second ago. Before she knew what was happening, someone slightly smaller than her got between her and the wolf and began making the animal back up. The overwhelming uncertainty began to uncurl from within her chest as the distance between her and the wolf increased. Exhaling in relief, Jasmine eyed the one who commanded the wolf.

She was short, five-two in height with extremely long bright blonde hair that curled at her ankles in thick waves. The intensity of her hair beneath the sunlight made Jasmine want to look away, but she found that she was unable to look away. It was all she could see. She couldn't even see the unbelievably large wolf around her. What was clear to Jasmine was that she was the dominant to the wolf, which was surprising.

'I am so sorry. Are you alright?'

Jasmine didn't realise that she was now staring into a pair of large sparkling gem green eyes until she had spoken. Those pretty eyes were set in a smooth, fair skinned, blemish free, face, outlined with red eyeshadow that sweeps beneath her under eyes. She had a long fringe that was parted on the left and swept over to the right. It successfully hid her forehead. And though Jasmine hated fringes, she found that hers made her look extremely cute and beautiful at the same time. She wore an off-the-shoulders baggy green top that showed her royal blue bra straps and red stripes on her shoulders that disappeared beneath her top. For her bottoms, she wore tight jeans that showcased her toned thighs. A pair of sandals completed her outfit.

A hand waved in front of Jasmine's face, snapping her out of her thoughts.

'Are you alright? Do you not know English?'

Jasmine shook herself. 'Sorry.'

She smiled, appearing angelic and stepped back to give Jasmine room. As she did, Jasmine took note of the many wolves that now sat behind her. The female looked over her shoulder at them upon noticing Jasmine's uneasy stare.

'Oh, them? You needn't fear them. They won't do anything.'

'Erm, thank you. You know…for stopping your…wolf.'

Jasmine cursed herself. What the hell's wrong with me? She's just another girl. I shouldn't feel so flustered. But she's so pretty, and she's definitely not human.

'Maybe I should take you to the nurse's office,' the girl said snapping Jasmine out of her thoughts.

'No, no, I'm fine.'

'You sure?' the girl asked uncertainly. 'You don't look fine.'

'No really, I'm fine.'

'If you say so,' she said with a shrug of her shoulders. 'And Joker's not a wolf. Well, not fully. He's a wolf hybrid.'

'But he looks so much like a wolf, well minus the eyepatch. And why's he so big?'

'That's his yōkai genetics,' she answered with a smile.

'Do they even allow pets at school?'

'They're not pets,' she said offended. 'They're my pack. Family.'

'Sorry,' Jasmine said lowering her head.

She giggled. It was short and quiet, but it was enough to ease the tension.

'You must be lost,' she stated.

Jasmine felt embarrassed. 'Yeah…'

'I was too when I first got here,' she admitted. 'I'll take you to the dorms, just follow me.'

Jasmine, grateful to have met her, followed her as she led the way to the side of the school, a path she hadn't noticed before leading further away from the large building. The trees along the sides successfully hide the path from sight, but made a shaded passage. The wolf hybrids sniffed at her as they came close, then grew uninterested and darted off into the trees to play with each other. Jasmine watched as the girl's hair swayed back and forth with her movements, her hips swaying almost seductively from side to side. She was certain that the girl was not conscious of her actions. Perhaps she naturally walked like a seducer? She certainly didn't look the type to give herself to men.

'Oh!' the girl suddenly said, almost scaring Jasmine. She turned so that she was walking backwards, hands behind her back. 'My name's Akemi, Taiyō Akemi. What's your name?'

'Jasmine Sarish Samaira,' she answered, unable to help smiling at the innocent smile the girl was giving her.

Yup, definitely not a prostitute, she thought gratefully.

'You're…Japanese?' she asked her hesitantly.

'Half,' Akemi answered. 'My mother's from England.'

'But your name's completely Japanese.'

'Family tradition. The first born of the family must be given a Japanese name. My mother followed this tradition for the sake of my father. What about you? I'm curious.'

She was much too eager to turn the subject away from herself, Jasmine noted. Either she was generally more interested in others than speaking about herself, or she was purposely avoiding personal questions. Akemi was either the distant type of person or a schemer. Schemers were naturally good actors. It wouldn't surprise Jasmine if her innocence was actually fake. But there was pain in her eyes whenever she talked about herself. It was only brief, but it had been there. Akemi was good at covering her emotions well. Jasmine didn't know what had made her that way, but she knew that Akemi was not scheming anything. She was genuine.

'I was born in Illinois in America,' Jasmine answered.

'I've never been to America, but I've met plenty of djinn in my time. None as young as you though.'

Jasmine stared at her in surprise. 'You know what am I? How?'

'Djinn emit an unusual fiery scent. Not many know how to recognise this, but for those that do, they'll not likely to forget. Yours is a little more concealed under your vanilla oatmeal scent, but it's there nevertheless.'

'You can't be human with a nose that good.'

'I'm a yōkai,' she said disinterestedly, not a hint of pride, as she turned back around.

She was certainly unlike the rest of the yōkai race who were maddeningly prideful and boastful because of their 'superior' genes. It was a relief to know that not every yōkai thought the same.

'What's Taishō High like?' Jasmine asked, jogging to walk side-by-side with Akemi.

'I haven't a clue,' she admitted grinning. 'I'm a new arrival like you.'

Jasmine stared at her in surprise. 'This is your first time here?'

Akemi nodded. 'I've been here for a while, so I've managed to see the grounds and get all my stuff in the dorm. By the way, we're roomies.'

'How do you know that?'

Akemi giggled. 'Your name was on the plague on the door alongside mine and three others.'

Jasmine, while still shocked at the news, was beyond grateful that she was roomed with such an innocent female. It was better than rooming with a stuck-up yōkai who'd look down on her because she wasn't a yōkai.

'That reminds me, I'd better show you the room so we can hurry to class. We're supposed to be there for second period.'

'Are you serious?' Jasmine yelled.

'Let's go,' Akemi said taking her wrist and running.

'Ah!' she screamed running at her side, dragged her suitcase along for the ride. 'Not so fast!'

Word Meanings

The Japanese address themselves with their surnames first. Akemi is her forename, Taiyō her surname.