The Rogue Warrior by angelfire123

Chapter 1

The Rogue Warrior

 Summary: It was a jewel born out of battle. It was a jewel that lived through battle. And it changed the life of one girl beyond her imagination! SessKag

Chapter 1:

The forest was slowly swallowed by darkness as the sun sunk below the horizon. The quiet rustling of the leaves and the occasional scuttling of an animal or chirp of a cricket amplified the solitude of the forest. Following the small dusty road, one could reach the bustling village in a few minutes. But still the silence here, even though so close to the noise, was eerie.

A shadowy figure knelt on a high branch looking at the village ahead. The figure seemed lifeless as it showed not even the slightest movement. But one would be proved wrong as the figure jumped swiftly and landed on another branch and another until it reached the village.

Small huts were built haphazardly between the rough roads and were poorly maintained, clearly showing the poor state of the place. But the huts were silent. All the villagers were assembled at the centre of the village chattering in low voices.

The people were lined up, each carrying a bundle of money or produce of any kind. The children played by the side oblivious to the worry etched in their parents’ faces. At the head of the line sat a burly youkai surrounded by a few weak slaves who carried the load to the carts and 6 strong, large and deft youkai; each carrying a katana.

A young woman was handing her portion of the tax. He saw as the youkai counted the money. He was near enough to see the 5 silver coins that she paid. High taxes were imposed on all the villagers. Even though the royal taxes were not so high, the greed of the official was.

The spectator recognized her and remembered the problems she had been facing. Her husband had been killed in the floods and she was left as the only bread maker in the family. She had worked hard to earn enough to pay the royal tax. But she wasn’t the only one who had a problem with the official. This particular man had been troubling many villages. And that was why he had decided to take his own action against the youkai. No one reported or complained to him, he wasn’t part of the imperial guards to take of the problems of the people. He heard the problems ‘indirectly’ and he would take action if he knew that it was something that couldn’t be changed by the emperor.

The villagers were poor. They could not go to the palace to complain. Journey cost money, a certain something that was being drained by this particular youkai. He decided he saw enough when one of the youkai slap the woman and shouted that she did not have a choice but to pay the tax or send her son to work for them.

From his perch on the tree, he jumped down, landing with a soft thud which was enough to alert the youkai. In the dim light of the late evening sky, was but a dark shadow. His was a loose black shirt and a pair of pants held together by an obi with 2 swords tucked one on each side. The hands and legs were bound tight with strips of cloth like a ninja’s hands would be. His face was also covered revealing only a pair of brown eyes

Though his didn’t seem muscular or intimidating, one could see that this person wasn’t new to fighting. His body language was strangely loose and calm and had no anxiety or any other emotion, except anger. Those eyes had so much anger that it seemed he could explode due to the sheer emotion.

He did not speak nor did he move as the youkai demanded to know who he was. Finally, the tax collector seemed to take enough notice to stand up and glare at him, “You!” he spat, “you’re the rogue warrior. That criminal who thinks he is helping villages retaliate against the lord, aren’t you?”

“I have no reason to make villages rebel. That isn’t my purpose. Eliminating one such as you is my goal.”

The warrior turned to the official. “Eliminate me, huh? I think you’ve made a mistake coming here. There is a pretty high price for your head. If I bring your head to the emperor, may be he’ll finally promote me so that I need not come to these disgusting villages anymore.”

The youkai guards unsheathed their swords and came at him. The youkai at the front brought his sword down on him. ‘Clank!’ it was the sound of steel on steel. The swords that the warrior had were out with a speed that was inhuman. With a swift movement, youkai’s sword was cut in half. With another move, he buried the swords into the youkai’s heart giving him no chance. And then he was gone.

“Find him!” the head guard shouted. The youkai spread out into the village searching for the masked man. There was no sign of the rogue warrior anywhere! That is, until their sensitive hearing caught a choking noise.

A corpse had been found in a dark passage between two huts in a pool of his blood. “Where is that bastard?” shouted one of the youkai.

The head understood what was happening though. “Go in pairs, he’s trying to separate and kill us.” The others nodded and spread out.

But in less than 10 minutes a shout was heard. Two more youkai dead with their necks severed off of their neck.

Only 3 youkai including the tax collector were left. “Get back to the centre of the village. He will come out on his own, now that he’s reduced the numbers.” And he had been right

“So, you finally show yourself” the leader stated when the ‘rogue warrior’ came out of the shadows.

“It seems so” he mocked, moving forward slowly. He was times smaller than the youkai present there. One could never believe he defeated those youkai if they hadn’t witnessed it.

The rogue warrior was a rumor that had spread among the villages. A robin-hood of sorts. He worked for no one, he worked with no one. No one knew when he would show up or how he looked or anything else about him- just the rumors of what he had done. Many didn’t believe such a person existed even, only shocked when he appeared. Like now…

All the villagers moved back expecting a fight to take place. Soon the two youkai and the masked man stood in the vaguely circular battle ground in the center of the village. The leader, a more experienced fighter didn’t make a hasty move… but his underling was not so patient.

He charged forward in a zigzag pattern, so fast that he was invisible to an untrained eye. There were very few who could match up to his speed and he was confident that a human would never hope to defeat him. He unsheathed his sword in mid run, ready to slash any opponent in the way…

The rogue warrior stood his ground and made a few symbols with his hands with his closed. The youkai neared him… but he made no move to move.

Last of the series of symbols was completed just as the youkai reached him. He opened his eyes. A sizzling barrier surrounded him. The sword fell noisily to the ground next to the pile of ash that was once the youkai as the shiny barrier vanished without a trace. He never knew what hit him!

It was then the leader understood. He was- no- he let out a low throaty laugh. “I finally understand who you are.” The leader transformed into the true oni he was and drew his sword out-a youkai fang blade. “But this will be your last battle.” The sword itself was as tall as the warrior. The warrior responded to the challenge by unsheathing his swords.

He ran towards the oni to use speed as leverage for strength. He jumped up and used the gravity as force to cut the oni. But the oni blocked it with his sword causing both of them to move back.

Balancing himself with a slight pause, he moved into a stance. This time the oni made the first move. The attacked was blocked. It was followed by a series of swift clashes making it look like sparks flew out of the swords. The warrior even though human held his ground well.

A trick; that would stop him. The oni made a move towards the left and in the final moment changed direction and struck his elbow square on the face. The warrior flew back burst through the wall of a hut. He lost both his swords which flew in different directions. The oni dragged him out with his free hand and held him in the air, prepared to drive his huge sword through the small body.

But his body refused to move- as if invisible strings held him in place. Strings did hold him in place- a web of strings that were woven by the warrior during the fight. He was completely immobilized. With the pull of a string, he forced the oni to free him involuntarily. As the warrior reached the ground the oni was pulled by the strings to his knees.

With his free hand, he pulled out a dagger. “You were right” was the last thing he whispered before plunging the dagger to the heart with some of the power he held. The oni’s eyes widened before they closed for eternity. He loosened the strings and let the corpse fall limply to the ground.

He walked forward with same quiet calmness as he first arrived towards the last remaining youkai. The official fearing his life grabbed a little human girl from the crowd as hostage. He held his claws to her neck in warning.

The warrior stopped walking and stood with his hands on either side and glared at the youkai. The youkai thinking he won prepared to escape when the warrior moved his hand in a swift swipe releasing a mass of chi towards the youkai and the girl.

The villagers gasped as it neared them. ‘Go through the defense. Reach the target. Reach your target…’ he thought. The glowing power went thought both them. The youkai was pushed back and burned by the ki. It was a power that purified youkai.

Just as the villagers were about to celebrate the victory, the sound of hooves was heard. The rogue warrior was surrounded by youkai dressed in a black outfit with a silver dog symbol etched on the armor. “Do not move! We are the imperial soldiers. You are under arrest for all the youkai and ningen you have killed, especially the imperial officers.” All the villagers, rushed into their huts in fear of the soldiers.

The rogue warrior softly cursed his luck. Weakened by the battle that just ended, he may not be able to fend off so many youkai. But he couldn’t give up. There was one thing he could try- a technique to increase his speed. He managed to escape the ring of horses.

But, no sooner did he escape than was he stopped by a red blur. There in all his glory, wearing his trademark red fire rat haori and hakama, long silver hair slightly blowing in the wind, dog ears atop his head and Tetsussaiga drawn stood……… INUYASHA!!!!!!

Author’s yappin time: Well there’s the first chapter. I guess the identity of the rogue warrior is quite clear by now. But maybe I can still surprise you. Who d you expect to win the battle? Opinions, reviews, suggestions, anything…. I’ll be waiting always

Angelfire123.