A Thief in the Night by Parsnip

Prologue: A Thief in the Night

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and anything related to it, do not belong to me. I don't even own full credit for this plot idea which was given to me in a challenge posted on A Single Spark by Jay on 04 March 2005. The only thing I do own is my lovely stash of plants ^_^ Special thanks go to my ivy which was able to last me through 4 years of college, but sadly not beyond...

A shadow slipped over the wall and lightly landed on the walkway. With a single glance he took in his surroundings. The quiet hum of city life and the chirping of cicadas echoed in the darkness and covered up the slight shuffling of his feet as he turned his body carefully on the worn stone of the wall. Few had the ability to climb the nearly smooth barrier, but fingertip by clinging fingertip, he had made his way up the impressive barrier. Now, pressed against the carefully laid stone, he turned his gaze unto the enclosure and quickly picked out the shifting shadow of men lax at their stations. The moonless night had fallen but a few hours earlier, but already the soldiers were complacent in their duties. After all, who would dare to attack their lord when they had to make their way through a city full of youkai?

Turning to the guardsman closest to him, he pulled from his sash two sharply honed daggers and crept inch by slow inch towards his unfortunate victim. Swiftly, efficiently, he embraced the soldier from behind and drew the silver metal across his throat leaving two slashes to mark their passage. Propping the man up against the high stone wall in front of him, he unwrapped a swath of black cloth from around his middle and tightly bound the youkai's bloodied throat. He was grateful that he had been able to cajole a miko into casting a scent sealing charm on the cloth he carried. It would not do to have the metallic scent of blood lingering on the air alerting others of his death.

Satisfied that nothing would stand in the way of his goal for some time to come, the black-clothed assassin un-wrapped a thin black-dyed rope twined in his sash and tied it securely to the jutting stone of the wall. Shimmying down the rope, he secured the end flush against the wall with a heavy stone. Getting his bearings once more, he crouched low against the ground and darted from shadow to shadow scattered throughout the enclosed garden. Reaching the entrance to the kitchens, he silently let himself into the castle.

Following the mental map in his head, he counted doors and hallways until he found his way to the hall of portraits. Ignoring the staring visage of many of the former occupants, he sped down the hall until he at last stopped in front of an ornately made tapestry. It had been made by the late Lady Kamimori herself and depicted the story of her early years before peace found its way to the now combined kingdom.

His lips curled up in a sneer as the events that had brought youkai to the current state of complacency arose in his mind. Five hundred years ago, such leniency would have been dealt with swiftly. War, after all, could make or break a youkai in the fires of battle as it honed the edge of one's claws, one's temper, and one's thirst for blood. That war had been declared as the result of the unnatural ascendance of a female inu-youkai to the throne of the Southern Lands made such tempering all the sweeter. Kamimori had flaunted tradition and refused to take a mate to rule in her stead. Rather then submitting to the will of custom, she had bent it to her will and decreed that only one who defeated her in fair combat would rule her lands. Thus, the battle for dominance began.

No one had expected her to be well versed in the art of war, but she defeated opponent after opponent no matter how high or low a youkai he was. In time, her people began to root for her freedom, preferring her just rule to the yoke of an unknown crueler master. Such behavior caused the rulers of the Northern, Western, and Eastern lands to declare war against the abomination known as the Southern Lady.

The thief's eyelid twitched as he lifted one corner of the heavy cloth to slip behind it. He remembered tales of how she had almost been crushed against the combined weight of the three lands, but all that had changed when a lucky blow destroyed the Western Lord, Hayaifundo. In his stead, his son, Inutashio took over the reigns of duty. However, he forsook duty for the visage of a pretty woman and slipped behind enemy lands to confront Kamimori herself. In the silence of night as many liked to tell the tale, he had beseeched her to allow him the chance to redeem himself and his lands. If he won, she would become his mate and work beside him to suppress the Northern and Eastern Lords. If he lost, he would withdraw his army from battle and become neutral. His skill in combat won the battle while his words themselves won her heart.

Running his hands along the rough stone, he found a tiny catch. Pressing his finger into the hollowed indentation, a door swung open revealing a darkened passageway musty with stale oxygen. Creeping down the dusty hall, he stretched his senses, hoping that no one and nothing would prevent him from reaching the object of his desire. Inutashio had been able to bring down the opposing lords in a single battle when he unleashed the power of the then unknown and unnamed sword. With a single swing of the blade, he eradicated a hundred youkai. Faced with such power, the soldiers surrendered their arms and bowed before the western lord to the irate displeasure of their lords. Honorable to the end, Inutashio and his mate accepted their surrender and challenged the lords to single combat to end the dispute forever. They lost.

Peering around the corner of the hallway into a large room, the thief's well adjusted eyes picked out the silhouette of armored statues created in the likeness of each ruler whose armor they donned. He stepped confidently into the room and swiftly made the rounds until he came face to face with the stone visage of Inutashio standing next to his long since deceased mate. Spitting on the female inu-youkai's effigy, he turned his gaze onto the coveted blade.

He had waited a long time to grow into the man he currently was, always waiting for that moment when he could claim the blade that should have been his a decade past. It was the object of his desire, his sorrow, his hatred: the Tetsusaiga. But Sesshoumaru had denied him his right to the blade when the inu-youkai assumed the throne. Tonight, though, he would get his revenge as Sesshoumaru's right to rule in his father's stead was thrown into question. Grasping the simple leather wrapped hilt of the great sword, he closed his eyes and withdrew it from the equally simple and worn leather sheath bound to the statue's waist. Smiling in anticipation, he opened his eyes to gaze upon the sword, but where he had been expecting a fang, only a rusted blade, nicked and worn by the ravages of time, greeted his eyes.

Snarling, he thrust the blade back into the sheath before twirling around in anger, looking for a hidden compartment, anything that signaled the true resting place of Tetsusaiga. Howling, he grabbed the rusted blade and ran out of the hidden room flying past the mocking portraits and back over the wall. Flitting through the youkai city, he heard the answering howl of the demon lord as he awoke and discovered the theft.

Sesshoumaru sped across his lands, following the faint scent of the thief who had dared to make a mockery of his security. It had taken over half the night for his men to realize that there were no unaccounted for scents to be found in the castle that would allow easy identification of the thief, and even longer to start searching for him in the city. That it had required Sesshoumaru, himself to inform them to search for the faint stench inherent in holy magic had irked him further. It should have taken little to deduce that someone had helped the thief escape detection.

Sesshoumaru, irate with his incompetent guards, fled to the woods. Intent upon killing something semi-intelligent like a deer, a rabbit or maybe even one of those annoying little squirrels compared to his soldiers, he stumbled upon the faint aroma of sulfur marring the fresh-pine scent of the forest. It was holy magic as he had suspected at last beginning to fade. Growling to himself, he veered away from his current hunt in search of something far more satisfying. After all, if someone wished to challenge his authority, the least they could do was stick around after insulting his intelligence. 'Yes,' he thought as the faint sheen of red began to glow in the dark night. 'This will be a most satisfying hunt indeed.'

Flying across the ground, he followed the increasingly stronger scent of the thief as it morphed from the acidic scent of sulfur to the bitter one of salt water and brine. Leaping over a fallen tree, Sesshoumaru hurried to catch up with the offensive creature before he passed beyond his reach into his mother's former lands. Yes, when the battle was all over and done, his mother had chosen to abdicate from her lands and pass it on to a line of mikos who had somehow been amongst her closest advisors.

Her reasoning had often baffled him. She had tried to explain in her ever patient voice that she had gone to war to protect her people from her neighbors, and that to continue protecting them, she would not combine them with the very enemy she had fought against. That she did not think she could protect them from the conquered had irked him. They had power enough to see to peace, but Inutashio, in his weakness, had granted her request. He allowed her to gift her lands to the one thing youkai feared above all else; the ones who had the power to annihilate them completely. That his parents had chosen to rule with a lax hand had caused a wedge to form between him and his father. That he was still forced to correct their mistakes displeased him greatly.

Sniffing the air, he felt excitement rush through his body. He had not had a chase like this in a quarter century. However much he appreciated the thrill of adrenaline and the brush of wind against his face, the thief would not get off lightly. He would rip him to shreds as all good chases must end. Putting on a greater spurt of speed, he flew across the unmarked border into the Southern Lands. He could almost taste the disgusting human's fear as he flew on ever swifter feet through the brush. Dawn was but moments away, and with the new day, all that would be left of the thief would be a pool of blood on the ground.

"Did you see that?" asked Kodoku as he stood up and peered into the distance. He had felt the passing of the wind and caught the faint sheen of silver slip by the tiny encampment moments before as the sun rose over the horizon.

"You're seeing things again," said Matsu. "Just sit back down and relax. Nothing ever happens here anyways." He leaned against his favored tree and stretched his arms above him. Night shift was always killer on his sleep cycle, and he meant to do as little as possible to make up for it.

Kodoku looked down at his fellow guard. "No, I think we should go investigate it. Youkai are known for their speed and if one of them slipped past our defenses there'll be hell to pay!"

Matsu sighed. "All right already! You've made your point. We'll sound the alarm and have everyone on guard, but it'll be your own fault when nothing happens."

Kodoku shuddered. Ninmei was not one to let a transgression go by unpunished. Fervently praying he would not be forced to listen to her soprano voice shrieking in anger, he lifted a silken horn to his lips and sounded the alarm. They would be prepared.

A howl echoed in his head as he felt his prey drift further away from him as the dawn light filtered into the clearing. The men surrounding him with spears and swords while the miko lieutenant waited patiently with arrow cocked to bow shifted in nervousness at their captive's deadpan expression. He had been but moments away from running the thief to ground when that blasted horn called to arms the soldiers now surrounding him. He just wanted the thief not the smelly humans who dared challenge him!

Anger coursed through him as he glared at the offending mortals. "Move or die. I have no quarrel with you," he said as he counted seconds to gauge just how far away his prey was slipping. He would not allow his hunt to be sullied by the nasty humans for long.

The miko smirked. "I think not. You are the one caught trespassing."

A silken brow was raised while inside his youkai roared with bloodlust. "You will let me pass or suffer the fate that awaits the thief you are letting get away.

"We will do no such thing," said the miko as sweat collected on her brow. "No one but you have passed this way, and we will not allow you further into our Lady's lands!"

Sesshoumaru eyes hardened. "A thief invaded my home and stole that which belongs to me. He ran through here but a mere ten minutes ago. You will let me by."

"You lie. We would have seen him otherwise. Now leave and forget you came here else we will be forced to exterminate you." The miko renewed her grip on her ash bow. She would have but one chance to kill the demon in front of her. His red markings spoke of his strength and skill. Only a handful had such markings. According to rumor, the current taiyoukai claimed such though none had seen his face on this side of the border. Not even a canvas had passed into the Southern Lands to give tale to his likeness.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "I think not. A human ran through here. I can smell him. If you do not let me through now, I will be forced to assume you are in league with the thief."

"I repeat, no one has been seen and by law, no youkai may cross these boundaries without express approval from the Lady Kagome or her advisors."

Sesshoumaru growled. His father had been too lenient on his mate's former kingdom. He should have kept it in a steel grip and crushed them to subservience rather then give it free reign to do as they pleased. That they chose to disrespect the son of their former mistress further caused his blood beast to pant in anticipation. That nearly five hundred years of miko rule had brought them to such arrogance made his claws twitch in anticipation of the retribution he would inflict. "Then you choose death."

Gliding forward, he used his claws to gut the soldier closest to him while his green whip shot forward to snag the ankle of the miko. Loosing her balance, she released her arrow wildly into the night and watched with horror as it fell to impale her second in command. Struggling to grab another arrow as the demon continued to eradicate her comrades, a tear slipped down her cheek. It was too late. Their one chance at salvation was gone. Stringing her bow, she struggled to her feet, her ankle burning with the poison released into her system. Yanking back the string, she carefully aimed her arrow and let it fly. Collapsing on the forest floor, she watched her arrow pierce the youkai's shoulder as the last of her men gasped with a blood flecked mouth as he fell to the ground dead.

With sorrow, she heard the demon hiss in agony as her spirit began the arduous task of releasing itself from its mortal vessel. Her eyes closed on the demon clutching his shoulder against the pain of purification. At least she avenged her comrades' deaths.

Sesshoumaru growled and seized the arrow lodged in his shoulder. Gritting his teeth against the pain of the pulsating holy energy, he pulled it from his shoulder and dropped the cursed wood to the ground. Pressing his hand against the wound, he howled defeat into the empty sky, "TETSUSAIGA!"