Fifteen years after the defeat of Naraku, Lord Sesshoumaru took Rin, his female human companion, to be his mate. Through her he fathered a hanyou [half-breed] named Inuyoshi, a child the Lord of the Western Lands never liked. After the death of Rin, Inuyoshi left his father, and Sesshoumaru lived alone for one hundred and fifty years. Knowing it was his duty to continue his father's bloodline without the disgrace of human blood, he took a great inu [dog] taiyoukai [great youkai – monster/demon] named Mio as his second mate, though he never loved her. Through Mio, he fathered Takara, a beautiful taiyoukai. Takara was loved greatly by her father, for she reminded him of Rin. She received not only his protection, but his training as well.
When Takara was fifty years old, Sesshoumaru was killed by a youkai even greater than he. Michiomaru, a great daija [snake] youkai, had the power to steal the essence of every youkai he defeated, and upon the death of Sesshoumaru, he absorbed the inu youkai's essence and with it his powers. Furious, Takara sealed Michiomaru in a cave where he would spend the next two hundred and twenty five years in a death-like sleep. But when a human accidentally stumbled across his resting place, he was awakened…
Chapter One A Familiar ScentTakara exited the forest and began walking down the sidewalk, her school uniform ruffling in the breeze. She didn't have to attend school; after all, she was nearly three hundred years old. But she found a sort of peace in it, and with her power to change her outer appearance, no one knew she wasn't a seventeen-year-old human. She used the power to hide her youkai markings, and to turn her long gold-streaked white hair into black. Her gold eyes were dark brown, and her claws were ordinary nails. The only people who knew what she really was, a youkai, were other youkai who could sense her youki [aura]. Even this she managed to dim, so other youkai thought her to be an ordinary youkai instead of the taiyoukai she really was.
As she approached the school, a girl with a long ponytail ran up to her, smiling.
"Takara-chan!" she exclaimed as she got close. Takara smiled.
"Good morning, Miyo-chan," she replied. Her friend fell in step beside her, her head coming just up to Takara's chin. Miyo was a little shorter than the average girl, and it didn't help any that Takara was nearly as tall as her father had been.
"Makoto-kun came to my house yesterday," Miyo said somewhat dreamily, a silly smile on her face as she remembered the visit. "He met my mother, and I think she really likes him."
"So when are you going to let me tell him?" Takara asked.
Miyo's eyes widened in alarm. "You wouldn't!"
Takara laughed softly. "You know I wouldn't without your permission. But you must let him know soon. You never know, he may feel the same way."
"But what if he doesn't?" Miyo's face fell, worry etched in her features. Her emotions changed every few seconds, a rather alarming sight if you had never spoken to her before. But she had been Takara's friend ever since she began attending this school, so the youkai felt she understood her well. Being able to smell her emotions helped a lot too.
"Miyo-chan, Miyo-chan," Takara said, amused. "You will never see, will you? Makoto-kun does like you, he's just too shy to admit it. I'm sure if he was given the chance, he'd tell you."
Miyo sighed. "I hope you're right, Takara. But oh, I get too nervous when I try to tell him! It's funny, because when the three of us are together and we're just having fun, I feel like I can tell him anything, but the moment we're alone and I start thinking about it, my voice just dies."
"Well, don't let it die just yet. Here he comes."
Miyo looked up to see a handsome boy with short, slightly disheveled hair, and bright, mischievous eyes walking towards them, a happy smile on his face. He was eighteen years old, and completed their little threesome.
"Takara, Miyo-chan!" he exclaimed as they approached.
"Hello, Makoto-kun," Takara responded cheerily. Miyo and Makoto exchanged sweet smiles, and Takara held back a laugh. The two of them really were impossible. Both of them liked the other, but neither knew it, and both were too shy to say anything. Miyo had at least confided in Takara, but Makoto told no one, though his crush was obvious to Takara. He always held the door for Miyo and treated her like a lady, saving special smiles just for her.
"Ready for that math test?" he asked, a sparkle in his eye.
"Of course," Takara replied. After all her years, it was difficult to pretend she didn't know everything her classes taught; she aced every test, and was one of the top students in the school.
"Ugh, I will never pass that stupid class!" Miyo groaned. "All the numbers confuse me!"
"Everything confuses you," Makoto teased. She playfully slapped his shoulder. A moment later the bell rang, and the three of them hurried to their classes.
* * *
Walking down the streets of Tokyo with her friends after school, Takara had an eerie feeling that wouldn't go away. Her keen nose had caught a faint youkai smell a while back upon leaving the school, and while she normally wouldn't worry, this smell was hauntingly familiar to her. While Miyo and Makoto laughed and chatted about different things, Takara fell behind them, determined to pinpoint the smell and exactly from where she knew it.
"Come on, Takara-chan," Miyo said over her shoulder. "You're lagging."
Startled, Takara shook her head. "Sorry; I'm coming."
But the scent didn't go away, nor did the feeling of recognition.
What are you? She thought, her brow creased slightly. And where do I know you from?
