Kunoichi by luzopi

Assassination

Title: Kunoichi

Rated: G (for now...)

Summary:An assassin, a spy, a seductress... A kunoichi is each one, and more. Kagome is the kunoichi serving the Lord of the West, Toga, and she has been sent to assassinate... Sesshoumaru!? If she fails, her life is forfeit... Is the dark side of court life too much for Kagome? SessKag

Setting: In the same era, except that Toga is alive, Kagome's not from the future, and Inuyasha isn't here. (Which kind of defeats the point of an Inuyasha fanfic... but... this is a SessKag fic, so... -shrugs-)

Disclaimer: -checks- Nope, Inuyasha isn't mine...

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[A/N] A kunoichi is a female ninja. Buuut, for the purposes of my fic, a kunoichi is more of an assassin and a spy... Read the summary! ;P

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She stepped gracefully up to the stage, the end of her long robes trailing behind her. She stopped at the center, and turned to face her audience. With a small smile, she held up her fan, and started to dance.

Her raven black hair was tied up in a bun, with a long tail at the end which swayed with her movements as she twirled around, and her feet made small dainty steps. Her arms were held up, and she made deft flicks with her wrists to make her fan open and close in smooth movements. Her face was, surprisingly, clear of any paints, and she only wore a single hydrangea flower in her hair. Long lashes framed eyes of a deep cerulean blue, and full red lips stood out on her porcelain white skin.

Her deep blue kimono had long sleeves and the hem trailed down past her ankles and pooled around her feet. Throughout her dance, she did not even once trip or fall over her kimono, and was graceful and elegant in her movements.

She waved her arms and fan, turning from side to side. Her eyes were trained on her fan as she waved it over her head and passed it into her other hand. Her every move was seamless and blended together, making her dance a single continuous movement.

As she neared the end of her dance, she made one last swirl. Her arms were held away from her body with an open fan in her left hand, and her eyes were closed, as she turned. She finally stopped, and lowered her arms.

The men in the audience burst into wild applause and cheers, while the women whispered among themselves, their eyes green with envy. The dancer bowed gracefully as she covered her face with her fan, leaving only her intense blue eyes peeking over the top of it. She bowed once more before leaving the stage.

-~-~-~-

Walking down the large room, she reached her master's side and kneeled down gently on the tatami mat, sitting just beside him. She watched quietly as the large man lifted up a cup of sake and toasted the lord sitting next to him. Her master was a large man, his hair a dull black and his eyes just a plain green. It was a far cry from his usual appearance, and she had trouble recognising him.

When she was handed a cup of sake, she obligingly lifted it in a toast too, and sipped it slowly until it was finished. She smiled at the lord she had just toasted, and shuddered imperceptibly when the lord gave her a leering smile in return.

Trying to ignore the lecherous man, her gaze travelled across the room. Those attending were mostly minor lords and ladies, their daughters, and their servants. However, most of the young ladies had left the room as night had fallen, and only the wives were left.

A flash of silver drew her gaze towards the front of the room, where the host of the party was seated at the front of the long table, as was custom. He was one of the stronger minor lords. Although he was quite handsome when compared to the drunks surrounding her, he was not the one who had caught her eye.

Her gaze travelled further left, and cerulean blue eyes lighted upon the reason she was here. The guest of honour for this party, was an inuyoukai. Dressed in pure white, he was truly as magnificent as she had heard, with his long silver hair, striking golden eyes, and handsome features. However, his ethereal beauty was not the only thing that had sparked rumours of the 'Killing Perfection'.

He had taken over large parts of the Eastern and Central territories, the stronger of the five territories, with a small army of barely a few hundred, in just six days. He had been promoted from a previously unknown rogue, to a powerful warlord in almost a week. Rumours had spread wildly amongst the minor lords of the Central and Eastern territories, and after they were confirmed, a party had been hosted to 'congratulate' him. Of course, this was only a hidden ploy by the minor lords to suck up to their new overlord, and compete for his favour.

Although rumours were usually largely exaggerated, the stories about his strength were true, and she could feel the powerful aura emanating from him, even from all the way across the large room. She had absolutely no doubt that he could kill almost every single person, human or youkai, in the room right now, and not even break a sweat. All he had to do was release some of his youki, and all, except her master and herself, would lay dead before him. She shuddered unconciously from the thought of all that power being released, although she knew that she could very well match up to him, thanks to her master's training.

"Ajisai."

Startled from her thoughts by her master's call, she turned back and bowed slightly.

"Hai, Yamadori-sama,"

"My acquaintance has some comments about your performance." He gestured towards the person sitting on his right.

She put on a pleasant smile for her master's acquaintance, and pretended to blush shyly as he complimented her dancing and beauty. After a while of droning on, he ran out of topics to talk about and returned to his sake and conversation with her master.

She inwardly sighed in relief, and turned back to continue watching her target. However, she only caught the end of one white sleeve disappearing behind shoji screens, and the empty seat he left. Looking around the room, she noticed that not many had seen the lord's disappearance. The men were occupied with their sake, and most of the women had already left after the sake was brought out.

She waited a while before speaking softly so as not to let any listening ears that would be sober enough to hear her words.

"May I be excused for now?"

Her master did not look up, but nodded slightly, and she took it to be enough permission for her to leave. As she stood up, he lurched to one side drunkenly, and almost fell over. His drinking partners laughed as the dancer had to kneel back down to help her master up.

Her lips moved almost inperceptibly as she whispered yet again into his ear, gently admonishing.

"You're creating too much unwanted attention. You shouldn't have drunk so much just now..."

He surprised her as he whispered back, "Remember your job, Kagome..."

He sat back up by himself, making it seem like she had helped him up to keep up the bluff.

She nodded, and started to get up. However, mumbled words caught her attention, and her lips lifted into a small smile, as she heard her master's soft grumbles, "She's acting like my mother, scolding me for drinking..."

She left the hall discreetly, and made sure no one noticed her absence. Sliding the shoji screens quietly behind her, she walked down endless hallways confidently, her footsteps echoing softly in the empty space. Whenever someone passed by, be it servant or lord, she would lower her head and bow before walking past them. She had to show respect, as a guest's servant, to bow to the host's house servants.

Finally, after a long walk, she reached her quarters in the far end of the mansion, away from the main square of the house. She looked around her before darting into the small room.

With practiced motions, she quickly shed her elaborate dancer's kimono and changed into a dark blue robe. After fastening a cloth belt around her waist, she bound her hands and feet with dark cloth bandages. She undid her hair and tied it up into a tight bun. Covering her head with her dark cloth hood and hiding her face completely, apart from her eyes, completed her night outfit. The familiar routine had taken about all of two minutes to finish.

She left her room through the small window, sliding through it with ease. As she walked in the night, her footsteps now silent, all thoughts of the party, or of anything else, disappeared from her mind. For now, she had a mission and a target to find.

Like the figure which slunk through the shadows with ease, the mask of the dancer Ajisai melted away, and revealed the assassin... Kagome.

-~-~-~-

Meanwhile, in the hall, the dancer's master, 'Yamadori', downed sake in large gulps and pretended to be drunk, while watching the other minor lords in the hall. Most of them were drunk, and still downing large amounts of sake. Some had already passed out on the tatami floor. He laughed mentally as he thought of their reactions if they knew who he was and of what they were currently doing in front of him.

However, his thoughts turned serious as he stared at the empty seat beside Lord Moshita, the host for the party. His main concern tonight, the reason he was here, and the main attraction of the party, was the young lord Sesshoumaru. He had recently started to gather more power to him, and it was worrying what the upset of the balance of power might bring.

He had especially brought along his famous dancer, Ajisai, to test Sesshoumaru. No one knew or suspected, that the beautiful dancer was actually the infamous kunoichi, the court legend, the assassin and spy of the Lord of the West. As for himself, he was in disguise as 'Yamadori', a minor lord who controlled some mountain regions.

'Yamadori' downed another cup of sake, and pretended to be sick. He made a big show out of it, and rushed out of the room to 'puke'. After a few moments, he stopped his act and made his way slowly back to his rooms. He walked casually along the corridors, seemingly in no rush at all.

As he wandered into the gardens, he looked up at the dark night sky. There were many stars out tonight, and they twinkled brightly with the crescent moon as he watched them. He stood with his arms crossed behind his back, and continued to stargaze, even when a shadow detached from the darkness and brushed past him silently. The dry leaves around him stayed still and undisturbed in the shadow's passing.

The Lord of the Western Lands smiled, and mentally congratulated his pupil. She had already surpassed him in the art of invisibility. His smile stretched into a grin, showing off white fangs that glinted in the soft moonlight.

-~-~-~-

Kagome darted and hid in the many shadows on the grounds, running without a sound towards her destination. On the way, she spotted her mentor, standing alone in the gardens, and dashed by to give a short greeting and to show off her skills before continuing on her own way. She grinned, eerily mirroring her lord's own grin, as she creeped to the main rooms of the house.

Her humour disappeared, as quickly as it had come, and a cold facade replaced it. She had reached her destination, and it was time to work.

She peeked through the window into the best guest room of the mansion, and looked around. The room was dark, and her target seemed to be sleeping on the large futon in the middle of the lavish room. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. It was still too early in the night for any lord to be sleeping, and it was even more improbable for him to be sleeping alone.

After all, he could have had his pick of bed partners from the many hopeful and desperate young ladies who had accompanied their fathers here in hope of marriage, or at least a place in his bed. Even if he did not choose one of them, one of the host's own concubines would have been offered. He might have declined, but it would have been rude. It did not explain his solitude or early retirement.

The shadowy figure hesitated for a moment, before sliding into the room silently. She crept up slowly to the bed, not willing to make any hasty actions. She eyed the blankets, trying to discern if they could be hiding another person. It would be dangerous for her if there were another person she missed and they witnessed her killing. It was a common but deadly mistake in an assassin's short life, because their life was forfeit if they were caught.

She took a gamble, and dived in for the kill. In a swift movement, she slid her dagger out of its sheath, and aimed for the exposed throat of her target. The darkened blade touched pale skin... and stopped.

Kagome stifled a cry, as a crushing grip on her wrist held her dagger at bay. She quickly unsheathed another dagger with her free hand, and aimed for his chest. However, her blade did not meet its target yet again, and both her hands were now caught.

She glared furiously at her captor, and she inwardly cursed at herself. She had not been vigilant enough, had not thought to check whether her target was awake before trying to kill him. She had also forgotten that her opponent was youkai, with heightened senses and reflexes. She had made a beginner's mistake that could prove fatal for her.

She looked up into his eyes, her eyes smoldering with rage. He was calm and cool, whereas she was flustered and frustrated. Her rage only rose as he raised a single eyebrow at her. His sleeping haori was open, revealing his bare smooth chest, and his hair was messy from his faked sleep.

However, Kagome did not notice that as she desperately tried to escape. Her mind turned to her years of practice, and she relaxed, before...

-~-~-~-

Sesshoumaru was intrigued.

He had been forced to go to a party and had endured hours of groveling from insignificant humans and minor youkai, and the only consolation to that was that beautiful dancer that had performed. When he had finally got away from the party and had settled down to sleep, an assassin came along and tried to kill him. As if that wasn't enough, the captured assassin had glared at him like it was his fault that he was captured, and had struggled to get away.

The assassin had just gone limp in his hold, and Sesshoumaru was on high alert. The assassin knew that he would be killed, and would be desperate to escape. His caution was proved right, as the assassin held in his breath and slipped out of his hold like a snake. The assassin made a dash for the window, and was almost through the small frame even as Sesshoumaru's poison whip scored his left arm. However, he still managed to get away, despite the poisoned wound.

Sesshoumaru frowned at the escapee, and turned back to his bed. After being inflicted with his poison, he would not live for long anyway.

-~-~-~-

Kagome panted heavily as she raced away. She ran carelessly, her footsteps not silent anymore, as she clutched her poisoned wound in pain. After what seemed like hours, she finally reached the garden, and she collapsed before her lord's feet.

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Japanese Words:

Sake - Rice wine

Youki - Youkai 'aura', or power

Ajisai - Hydrangea

Kunoichi - A female ninja

Futon - A japanese bed

(Only uncommon words will be translated. As for the rest, surely you readers would know 'kimono' and 'youkai' by now...)

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[A/N] Ajisai, or hydrangea, is a flower that has a meaning that matches Kagome's personality as a kunoichi. The next chapter might be out earlier if any reader can guess its meaning. ;P

Please review~

-Misheru Tenshi