Ok so this is an original story dealing with all my own OCs. I've been kicking this idea around for a while and I finally decided it was time to go through with it.

Now I'll admit that Inuyasha was somewhat of an inspiration here, seeing that the two main OCs were originally made for Inuyasha fanfics but I'm hoping that this doesn't just seem like it'll be a horrible rip off of Inuyasha.

Now onto the actual story. First and foremost I'm going to try to take a mixed literary style here. I like the versatility of a third person perspective but the intuitiveness of the first person so what I'll be doing is writing it mostly in third person with a first person narration from either Kouryuu or Ouka (who will be introduced at least several chapters into the story). The narration parts will be marked at the beginning of each section with who is narrating and be in bold italics. If it doesn't say differently it's safe to assume the narrator is still the previous one.

As for the time period within this story it's set in feudal Japan, during the late 1400s to the early 1500s. And I'll be doing my best to research various things about what life was like, how people were supposed to act, etc.; though I will be taking artistic liberties.

Now then you'll be able to find pictures of the two main characters (Kouryuu and Ouka) on my deviant art page so do check them out.

So, without further ado, on with the show!

-Kouryuu-

My name is Kometani Kouryuu and this is my story. Like many people's stories, although many of them wouldn't admit to it, my story begins before I was even born with my father. My father was a great man who had been born into the samurai class and served his lord with fierce loyalty. He had risen up from the lower ranks of the samurai into the higher echelon by the time he was twenty-five and had earned himself a very respectable wife along with small village that was unofficially considered his to rule.

His life, and therefore mine, was set to be that of a normal samurai's; a life on honorable servitude, power, and battle. All until one fateful battle that would end up changing my life before I had even been born.

A middle aged man in broken samurai armor stumbled through the forest as the rain poured down across the landscape. He continued forward, his family's blood stained katana in hand, forcing himself forward; the drive to see his wife one last time being he only thing to keep him going. "I must…see her again…" the man muttered, blood sputtering from his mouth as he reached up to remove the encumbering face plate on his armor. The latest battle the man had fought in had cost him more than anticipated.

His lord had ordered him, and a meager amount of troops to converge on an amassing force to settle a long standing dispute about territory or something that the man didn't quite understand. All that mattered was he knew his duty and had carried it out, though at great cost. Although he had managed to cause the enemy forces to retreat for the day, many of his men and all of the horses were dead and he himself had taken what he knew to be fatal wounds. His honor would be in tact but that was all for not since he had yet to have a son either.

The man continued his trudging, not focusing enough on his footing and fell down a hillside, his battered body coming to a stop just before he fell into a small lake. The samurai coughed and hacked as he looked at the lake and noticed the unearthly shimmering underneath the surface. The man held his katana tightly, expecting the worse to happen as he saw the water begin to bubble and expand from the lake, causing an artificial rain in the immediate area. When the water finally settled the man was caught with the most magnificent sight he had ever seen.

Staring right back at the samurai was the head of a large blue serpentine dragon, its glowing silver eyes staring right at the injured man. For a few moments everything was silent as the two studied each other before the samurai finally spoke up.

"Great dragon," the man coughed out, trying to keep conscious as he spoke to the magnificent creature in front of him. "Please, give me the strength to make it home to my wife. If you do I will do anything you ask of me," he pleaded, trying to decide if the great beast could even understand his words. The world was still around the samurai as blood continued to run out of his body, sapping him of strength as the world faded to blackness.

The samurai awoke some time later, his head pounding and his body feeling hot and heavy to him. "Am I alive?" he questioned out loud, forcing his eyes open. As the man looked around he realized that he was still located at the small lake he blacked out at. "Good, it seems as though you survived your ordeal," a strong, male voice said from beside the samurai.

Quickly, the pained warrior swung his body around and stood, raising his hands in the direction of the voice. Standing in front of the samurai was a man in his early twenties, wearing a padded vest over a fine haori and hakama outfit. The man had shimmering silver eyes and deep purple hair that was slicked back and pulled into a short pony tail. On the man's hip was a katana in its sheath and another in his hand.

"You're not human. If I had to take a guess I'd say that you were a demon," the samurai growled, his eyes fixed on the blade in the other man's hand, recognizing the weapon as his own. "Speak demon!" the man commanded, breathing heavily as he felt pain rack his body.

The purple haired man laughed as he shook his head, surprised by the samurai's arrogance in the face of something far more powerful than himself. "You show such a sharp tongue to the being which you begged for help only hours ago," the man stated, his tone a mixture of surprise and disappointment. "My name is Osamu, and I am the dragon that you begged for help."

The samurai was shocked at this claim and wanted to deny this but something in his bones, in his blood told him that the supposed dragon wasn't lying. "F-forgive me Osamu-sama," the samurai requested as he fell to his knees, bowing before the dragon. "I was simply…surprised to see you in a human-like form. I was not aware that dragons could do such things."

"Some of us, those which are powerful at least, can just as easily as any demon or deity," the silver eyed man stated as he looked at the human he had saved. "So tell me what, is your name, samurai?"

"My name is Akio, milord," the man muttered, his breathing labored and pained as he tried to focus on the here and now.

"Rest Akio," Osamu ordered as he walked up to the man and replaced the weapon he held to it's owner's side. "You will be able to return to this woman of yours soon enough."

Over the next few hours it was explained that Osamu had replaced my father's blood with his own blood, the blood of a water dragon. This was normally a very hazardous process that could easily kill a person rather than save them, thus why my father was feeling weakened and pained even though all of his injuries had been healed. Osamu theorized though that due to the fact that my father had survived this long he would merely have to endure the pain as it lessened with time.

The dragon lord proceeded to explain that he had saved my father for his own purposes, and that he wanted my father's help with maintaining the balance between humans and the various supernatural beings. Humans had begun to populate at an extreme pace and though they were considerably weaker than other beings like dragons and demons their numbers were what made them a potential threat. Osamu hoped to have my father's help in brokering some kind of treaty between the humans and the various species of super natural beings, seeing that he now a bit of a bridge between the two kinds and from his position he would at least have the ear of a feudal lord.

My father understood the dragon lord's position on the matter and pledged to do whatever he could to help keep the balance that was present, knowing how important it was to keep a certain status-quo. After this my father left and headed back to my home, back to my mother.

Sobs echoed through the evening sky as a woman sat in a large garden which was surrounded on three sides by a large wall and the final side by a luxurious two story house. The woman herself was dressed in a fine multi-layered kimono and her long black hair hung down around her face, only seeming to amplify the essence of her sorrow. Quietly Akio approached the woman from behind, being as silent as the darkness creeping around them. After a few moments the samurai spoke up. "Why do you cry my darling Chika?" he questioned, causing the woman to jump and turn to face the man.

Chika's shimmering sapphire eyes locked on the man behind her as tears continued to pour from them. "Akio," she spoke quietly, her voice nearly caught in her throat. "D-do you come to haunt me from beyond? I heard you died with honor so you should've passed on easily…" the woman tried to reason, her whole body shaking from nerves.

The man bent down and brushed the hair from the woman's face, smiling at her as her scent wafted up into his now sharpened nose. Since he had begun his journey home he had noticed all of his senses had increased ten fold in power. Every scent was stronger, every touch more sensitive, he could taste the air, and hear the insects around him, but now the thing he was most thankful for was how much better his eyesight was. Compared to now, seeing his wife before hand seemed like an opaque painting smeared with water. "As you can see, and feel I am very much alive and well," the man said as he pressed his lips against the woman's preventing any further argument.

After a few moments Chika broke the kiss, tears still streaming from her eyes as she looked at the man before her. "B-but how? They said you were dead, that you died from your battle wounds while traveling home," the woman stated, her voice cracking as she tried to get answers.

"I was saved by a dragon," the strong man explained as he held the woman to his chest, allowing the reality of his survival to sink in. "He endowed me with a gift of his blood. I'm stronger than I've ever been."

The ebony haired woman locked her eyes onto the samurai's brown ones and tried to search for any deception at all in what he said. When she found none, the woman smiled and spoke, "You've been chosen by a dragon and given power. This is a great honor is it not?"

The man smiled, kissing the woman's forehead as he explained, "Yes this is. He wishes to have my help to maintain the balance of this land." The man stood up, lifting his wife to her feet with him. "Let's go inside and celebrate my return from the dead."

The woman nodded as she followed closely behind her husband, exuberant about the fact that he was back in her life, for better or for worse.

Ok so that's the prologue there! Please review and do whatever you find necessary. I'll have chapter one up as quickly as possible.