WARNING: This chapter does mention a sexual act, but nothing explicit/worthy of an M rating. It's going to be the last scene of this nature for a while, anyway. In later chapters, this story will contain darker themes like gore, war, and abuse; until then, I'm going to keep this story to a T rating.

As this is an AU, all characters will be human: no yōkai, no hanyō, etc. I'd say that this is more of a faux historical fic if anything.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Inuyasha franchise! This story is purely for fun!

Edit: 9/30/18; just updated it to omit some grammar mistakes and improve flow!

SONG OF THE WEST

an Inuyasha fanfic

i.

Rin adored the summer festival. She loved the tumult of the village, the way that everybody-the old and the young, merchant and farmer-seemed to work together to make sure that the festival was the charming, prosperous event that it had been for centuries. Seeing people from far and wide flock to the city to set up their wares brought back fond memories: Rin and her elder brother walking hand in hand with grand hopes and dreams after a season of sorrow. Nothing but indigent, orphaned gamines, they had no money to afford food, much less expensive fabrics and jewels. They merely enjoyed strolling along, listening to the ballads of great heroes and their conquests, and pretending that they were the wealthy children of some great lord.

Even though Rin had been forced to watch the festival from afar in recent years, she remembered fondly its sights and sounds.

"Hurry up." An impatient voice said, disrupting her reverie. At the mouth of the alleyway, a dark-haired boy stood with his back to her, watching for any potential intruders. "My father will be looking for me soon."

Rin whined as his friend gave his last few thrusts, the music from the festival across the river from her village serving as her only comfort. The ground was hot and hard, and the boy smelled of something that was making her nauseous. Relief washed over over her when she felt him pull away, his foul breath a ghost on her neck and shoulders. Quickly, he pushed her from him and groaned as he stood.

"Congratulations," the dark-haired boy mocked, "you've finally lost your virginity-to a hired girl, but a girl nonetheless. How do you feel?"

Rin put one hand on the wall beside her to pull herself off the ground. After adjusting her worn yukata, she slowly turned to face him, her doe-eyes inspecting both boys in want.

"Be quiet," he spoke sternly to his friend. By the looks of it, he wanted to avoid meeting Rin's eyes at all costs. When his friend had brought her to him, he had been less bashful. She had easily recognized him as the youngest son of a farmer in her village, a boy only a few years older than her. He was left behind while his father and elder brothers attended the festival to sell their late-spring wares. She had seen him staring at her with a frightful intensity for the past few days. As much as she didn't want him to come, she desperately needed the money for food. Though she knew that the excitement of the festival was the best time to steal what she needed, but the locals were now keen to her tricks. It was precisely why the boy's father had left him behind. Rin had been caught and punished too many times already; she did not want to end up with any missing fingers.

The dark-haired boy laughed. The farmer's boy, finally finished with his yukata, looked up at Rin with anxious eyes.

"Give her the money," he spoke to his friend.

There was something sinister in the dark-haired boy's eyes as he walked over with a small burlap sack. "For your hard work," he mocked, holding out the money for her to take.

As Rin reached forward, he snatched it back. Laughing, he emptied some of the coins onto the dusty earth. Rin could hear the other half clinking together in the bag.

"I'll return with the rest later." He leered before walking away. With nod, the farmer's boy followed after him with no words to spare.

Rin waited for a few seconds to make sure they were gone before crouching to inspect her wages. By now, she was all too familiar with these quick exits. It would be dishonorable to be seen with her.

The money would be enough to buy herself a small meal for the day. In one swift movement, she gathered the coins and stood.

The afternoon sun bathed her face in warm gold as she emerged from the alleyway and onto the main road of her village. If any of the townspeople saw her, they paid her no mind. Rin liked it this way. Many were too busy watching the train of festival-goers and merchants pass through with their elaborate wagons and prized horses to throw any dirty looks at a village whore.

To get to the city where the festivities were to be held, one had to travel by the road that divided the little village into two neat halves. It allowed its inhabitants to see all sorts of exotic people and objects from all different areas of the country.

Though Rin had a strong desire to stop and observe the passing cavalcade, her stomach demanded most of her attention. She nimbly began to make her way through the throng and over to a small food vendor nearby. The owners of the shop had sharp tongues and charged her more than they should for such a small amount of food, but they were the only people in the village who would accept her pelf. The shop was typically busy around that time of day, but the excitement of the festival had drawn all of its usual customers elsewhere, which meant that Rin would be able to purchase her meal with relative ease. The shopkeeper did not allow her to come around when she had customers out of fear that the community would shun them for catering to a prostitute.

As Rin drew nearer, she saw that the shopkeeper's daughter, a stout pregnant woman with a plain face, was speaking to another young lady. She wore finer clothes than what was usually seen in the village; Rin wondered if she was the wife of a merchant.

Both women noticed her at the same time. The eyes of the merchant's wife fell on her with awkward scrutiny, as if appraising her. Rin felt her face heat up. She probably smelt of intercourse and whatever strange aroma the farmer's boy had bore. Meanwhile, the shopkeeper's daughter's anxious gaze flitted back and forth between Rin and the merchant's wife.

"Take your business elsewhere, whore," she spat. "We have no need for the likes of you."

Rin's stomach growled violently in response. She pursed her lips. "I have the money-"

The shopkeeper's daughter grew flustered. "How dare you talk back to me! You saw that we were in the middle of a discussion, unless you're blind and deaf too. Begone!"

If she stayed to argue with the woman, to defend whatever shreds of honor she had left, there was a chance that she would never be able to get food in this village again. As she turned away, the pregnant woman began to speak to the merchant's wife again.

"She's just some cheap whore, ma'am. A thief, too! She and some boy arrived here years ago. I guess their folks died from that plague…"

"And she's been leeching of the village ever since?" The merchant's wife asked.

The shopkeeper's daughter hummed her approval. "She's probably fucked three-quarters of the boys in the village by now. I wouldn't be surprised if she single handedly spread another disease. She's cursed after all."

The villagers always spoke ill of Rin, so the woman's words came as no surprise. Even still, she could feel both shame and pique growing inside of her. She could feel the leers of the two women as she walked away.

Suddenly, the merchant's wife gasped. "It's the Inu no Taishō and his son!"

The two women froze. At the same time, it seemed as if a tense, fearful fog had descended upon the villagers, sending them into a state of quiet terror.

A handsome man, or the "Dog General" as the merchant's wife had breathed in a terrified whisper, sat bestride a large black horse riding at a relaxed pace. Though his frightful golden eyes gazed forward at the road before him, his mouth moved as if he were talking to someone beside him. Even from her position far behind the crowd, Rin could not miss the sword at his hip or the more massive blade attached to his back, albeit hidden behind his long, silver hair.

"I've heard he and his clan are direct descendants of the moon goddess Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto," the shopkeeper's daughter said, running her hands over her stomach out of awe-inspired nerve.

"I've heard that said about his son and the Lady," the merchant countered. "As for the Inu no Taishō, I was told that his ancestors were trained by the goddess' brother Susanoo-no-Mikoto."

The person beside the Inu no Taishō looked like someone out of a dream, one of the imagined princes from her youth. His hair and eyes bore the same hues as those of the Inu no Taishō's; thus, it was eyes to note that the two were related. Though the Inu no Taishō seemed to be in his late thirties or early forties, the man who rode beside him was noticeably younger, perhaps in his early twenties. For a moment, he seemed only to be concerned with the hushed words of the Inu no Taishō, paying the crowd no attention. Then, for some inexplicable reason, he turned and met Rin's gaze for a fraction of a second…

Before turning up his no in absolute disgust.

Rin's faced burned bright hot red. Somehow aware of his son's sudden indignation, the Inu no Taishō turned to face Rin, his brow raised. Before he could get a better look at her, Rin had already disappeared into a small alleyway.

The shopkeeper, also noticing Rin's sudden flight, began to snicker. "It seems that her charms do not work on every man."

Rin's day when as it usually did: much discomfort with very little in return. On top of that, she was still hungry. Today had been one of the better days, though. Despite the shopkeeper's daughter's rejection, she had managed to earn money for food. Other days had not been so kind to her. Every day she went without facing too much wrath was a benison. Verbal abuse was something she could handle; she didn't know how much more physical damage her already starved, delicate frame could take.

Exhausted and sore, she slowly began to trek through the village's various alleys and back towards her makeshift home: a neglected hut on the outskirts of the village. Save for a blanket, an old tatami mat, and a small box at the foot of it, the Rin's hut was pitifully empty. All she had left to remember her family by was the wooden comb that her brother had left behind.

With pain in her eyes, Rin clutched the comb to her chest. It had once belonged to her great-great-grandmother, who had passed it down to her daughters until it ended up in the hands of Rin's mother. Though it brought back some good memories, it brought many horrible ones.

Rin's parents and baby brother were the first to die when the plague hit their tiny village by the sea. Many said it started with the fish or something else in the water; whatever it had been, it moved stealthily, hitting the whole seaside almost overnight. The symptoms were nightmarish, causing fevers and fits of thrashing and cold sweats. It took only a few days for its victims to perish, foaming at the mouth.

After her family's death, Rin and her brother Tarō were placed in the care of their father's sister and her children. Weeks later, they too succumbed to the mysterious illness, leaving the two siblings to fend for themselves. With half of the village dead and the rest on the verge of dying, her brother thought it best to move on. He had been twelve, six years older than she; he reasoned that he could find work. It had only taken a few weeks for the pair to trade what little their family had owned for shelter, food, and transportation. Her memory became fuzzy at this point, but she could vaguely remember the long wagon rides as they bounced from village to village. That was how they had ended up in the little village she was now trapped in. The comb, the last symbol of their old life and family, was the only thing her brother could not bear to pawn.

It had been decade since her brother had told her that he was going to work, only to never return. The little girl had gone looking for him when it became apparent that something was wrong. Every person she had asked said they had not seen him. Some people were telling the truth, while other did not want to be bothered with a dirty orphan.

Rin gently placed the comb back into its box next to the tatami mat before lying down on her side. She released a small shudder before willing herself to sleep.

When the sun finally started to disappear behind the hill sand she could no longer bear her aching stomach, Rin decided take another chance with the shopkeeper's daughter. The storefront was now barren; the only people there were the shopkeeper's daughter and her mother, both cleaning dishes.

With one hand on her swollen stomach, the shopkeeper's daughter clicked her teeth as Rin approached the counter. "Mother, look who's back. I had to send her away when she interrupted my conversation with a merchant's wife," she said. "Now she's back to waste more of our time."

Her mother huffed and turned to Rin. "Do you have any money, girl? My husband's not around for you to tempt for food."

Rin nodded and laid the coins on the counter. She could only watch as the older woman scrutinized her wages is.

The mother laughed. "This is nowhere near enough!"

Rin's brows furrowed. She might not have had an education, but she was not stupid. "This is the same amount I gave you a few days ago."

The older woman crossed her arms. "We've raised our price."

"Do you take us for fools?" The shopkeeper's daughter growled. "You steal one of our bowls and now you're arguing with us about the price?"

Rin's stomach growled right back at her. The young girl was growing desperate-if she didn't eat soon, she would certainly pass out. Her gaze snapped towards the shopkeeper's daughter. "I never stole your bowls," she raised her voice, pushing the coins towards them. "Please. I just need a little bit of-"

The shopkeeper's daughter grabbed Rin's wrists and yanked them towards her, causing the young girl to stop and wince. "You're the only one who would do something like this!" She hissed. "Do you realize we could have these pretty little hands cut off right here for your thievery? And then have you flogged on top of that!"

"Now, that seems to be too barbaric a punishment for being short of coin, doesn't it?" A voice said, out of Rin's view.

Rin saw the mother's face turn completely white. She yanked her daughter away from Rin before bowing deeply. "Good afternoon, Inu no Taishō-sama!"

The living legend himself had managed to sneak up on the trio in the midst of the mayhem. He still had on the armor he was wearing earlier, as if he had stopped by on his way to battle. He was just as tall and handsome as he appeared from far away, his long silver hair blowing gently in the afternoon breeze. He stood with his hands behind his back.

"We're terribly sorry we didn't have time to prepare anything for you, my Lord!" the shopkeeper's daughter said. "We weren't expecting you!"

The Inu no Taishō turned his sharp eyes towards the accused. Despite his fearsome appearance, Rin noticed that there was a bit of warmth in his eyes. She bowed her head in reverence and shame.

"So," the Inu no Taishō started, "did you steal one of their bowls girl?"

Rin shook her head. "I have no idea what they're talking about."

"Don't listen to her. She's a known liar." The older woman said sharply.

"We have proof too! We count the bowls each night. She came around earlier trying to get free food and I sent her away. She left only after making a scene." The daughter spoke.

"And you both are certain she is the only one in this village that could have taken it?" The handsome man spoke slowly, testing them.

The mother hesitated. "...well, yes. She's been stealing and whoring for food since she first stepped foot in the village. She's probably stolen from everyone by now.

Too tired and ashamed to argue, Rin kept her eyes on the ground. She could feel a hard lump of despair rising in her throat.

The Inu no Taishō paused for a moment, his gaze flickering back and forth between Rin and the two women. Finally, with brows furrowed, he brought his hands from behind his back to revel two halves of a broken bowl.

Eyes wide, the shopkeeper's daughter began to stutter. "H-how did you-"

"I saw some children playing with it on the way here. Quite dangerous," he said, glancing at a surprised Rin. His golden eyes seemed to twinkle with amusement.

"It seems as if we were wrong," the shopkeeper's wife bowed again. "We're sorry for wasting your time, my Lord."

She then turned to face her daughter, who hung her head in shame. "Prepare some food for him girl! Hurry!"

The shopkeeper's daughter nodded and quickly began to prepare him a plate.

The Inu no Taishō let out a relaxed breath. "If anyone deserves a meal, it's the accused. She looks as if she's ready to swoon."

He placed a large silver coin on the counter-top next to the broken bowl, and gave the mother a sly grin. "Will this be enough?"

Her eyes nearly bulged from their sockets at the sight of the large coin. "This is more than enough!"

With a wolfish grin on her face, the shopkeeper's daughter slid Rin a plate of meat, rice, and vegetables, a step up from her usual meal of pottage. The sight of it nearly brought her to tears.

The Inu no Taishō gave her a warm smile before turn leave. "Enjoy the festival."

Then, he was gone.

A/N: Gosh, I don't know how this chapter ended up being 3000+ words! The draft for the first half of this has been collecting dust in iCloud for almost a year. I don't know if I'm going to be able to update this regularly, but I'll try! I already have an outline for the second chapter, so it should take too long.

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the title Song of the West, so if it changes between now and the next update, don't be surprised.

I was a bit nervous to post this since I haven't written in such a long time. Be sure to let me know how you liked this chapter/the story concepts/the characterizations so far! I'm willing to accept any constructive criticism :)