I wrote this for the Live Journal iypoem's Hero challenge and tied for first place! Poetry is one of my first loves and I think I'm much better at it than I am with stories. Let me know what you think! Inuyasha and characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Title: Hero
Genre: Freeverse/Philosophical
Rating: G
Pairing: none
Warnings: I waxed poetic? -teardrop- It's a little long, 64 lines
Summary: What makes a hero?

Hero

His black boots stride across the wide land
A white pelt billowing over what was trod upon
He is looking for the edge of his power
When he finds her lying broken
Her cold red blood mixed with brown earth
Even death flees before him, no answer here
But he lets her follow him as she will
Is this what makes a hero?

Her long black hair blows in the wind
Free of the white ribbon that bound it
She is strong and powerful
The miko in red and white
Yet she sees something different in him
This white-eared hanyou in red fire rat
Something that sets him apart
Is this what makes a hero?

A purple-eyed disgrace to Buddha
Wooing all the beautiful ladies across the land
Sometime charlatan, sometime savior
He stares at his white-beaded hand at night
And wonders how long till he meets black fate
But in daylight he smiles, knowing
He'll protect his friends and love her till the end
Is this what makes a hero?

She was raised with love and care
Beloved of her father and brother
A pink and white kimono disguises the
Hard black and red of her profession
She fought through injury and loss
Made friends and found love in unusual places
But she'll never forget the cry of "Ane-ue"
Is this what makes a hero?

The rough brown pelt hugs lean hips
Blue eyes restlessly scan green land
The call of the mountains sings through his veins
But he has friends to avenge and a girl to win
His comrades catch up and he's off again
A whirlwind of vengeance, passionate in love and hate
He never gives up and never gives in
Is this what makes a hero?

She fell into adventure through fate's grey design
One mistake changing her life forever
Short green skirt swinging down trails lost in time
Blazing white arrow cutting through evils unknown
A pure soul with unlimited, boundless love
Through time's boundaries she gifts her heart to him
He of rough words, silver hair, and golden heart
Is this what makes a hero?

His first love sent him to the black depths of hell
His second love had the same face, the same soul
But gave him all she was, making his world bright
Awakened to new life he faces old scars
Too young to know which silvered path to take
And torn between honor and his heart
The golden eyed boy bravely fights for both
Is this what makes a hero?

Events fade into memory, memory into myth
Myth into stories muddled by time
Life's experiences color our world and
As we bend the stories into our universe
Or bend our universe into the stories
We discover what means the most to us
What qualities resonate within our soul
That is what makes a hero.