"Ume was always my favorite flower..." She sighed, steam settling in a gentle fog about the two figures close together in the hot steamy baths. It was quiet- not a sound to be heard, as it was late into the night. Soon, the sun would rise, and they would both part ways for another day.
"Hn."
"Would you like to know why?" Her eyes shimmered, a light brown sparkling against her pale ivory skin. She gently stirred forward in the onsen, warm water rippling in gentle waves as neared him. "Ume is the last blossom in the stark winter. It stands alone, beautiful and proud in the snow. Yet Sakura always is favored by others, and Ume is overlooked. I think it's a pity. It makes me love it even more."
She smiled up at him, her skin glowing from warmth of the bath. Her long black hair was slicked back and wet, and she stepped up exit the bath. Beads of the fragrant water trickled down her nude body, the low light of the lanterns giving each a sparkle as she moved. She stopped with one foot forward to step down, and turned around to give him a haunting smile.
"Sesshoumaru- you coming?"
The ice was slowly trickling down the mountains once again replenishing the Western lands with a steady supply of water as it cut new paths in old riverbeds. It forked in new directions, snow gently melting down as if to surrender to the season fast approaching- Spring. Yet at this time the lands were frozen in a time of transition, where Ume blossoms and snow grasped on for dear life, fiercely giving one last fight before ebbing away with tide.
The kuro miko walked through the wintry forest, her knee length ebony locks intricately braided and styled with garnet kanzashi. The snow crunched underneath her black lacquered okobo, a seemingly silly choice in foot attire given the path. Her long, trailing black kimono and dangling obi dragged carelessly along behind her, displaying her path plainly to others as she strode in the still morning air. As a fire element miko, winter was the weakest time for her. The demon she housed was an ancient and despised the season, her defenses her not up-to-par, and last but not least, she hated the cold. This winter seemed to drudge on longer than the rest, and her icy azure eyes scanned the horizon for any sign of the approaching spring. There, on a single tree branch, was the flower she was looking for. Winter's last resort, the blossom heralded season's death. It sparkled with a drop of ice that melted with the sun's rays, its petals still as there was no breeze.
"Ah, how delightful! A kuro miko, and at just the right time, too! I was just getting famished with this long winter!" a voiced snarled out behind her.
She sighed, ducking with a bored look on her visage as the boar demon swung at her head. "Finally. You're here. Now I can bet you senseless. Goody." Jumping back, she faced her opponent. He was almost twice her size, and with a large potruding belly. 'Famished, my ass. I can sense a dissipating human life which you took only yesterday....' she scowled inwardly.
"Too bad for you, since I'm not in the mood to play." Her eyes flashed with red, her blood-red bow appearing in her hands, a fire tipped arrow loaded and pointed in his direction. Her slightly callused fingers were steady and well-trained with a multitude of weapons, but she preferred her own power. The demon chuckled, and then started to roar with laughter. "Oh my! I never would've guessed...You're a snack and a half, you are....for you are preg-"
He never got to finish his statement. The arrow was released, and the demon moved quickly to avoid it, just as she had calculated. She purposely drove him there and used the weapon as a distraction rather than relying on it for offense. She gave a smirk as he realized a second too late he he didn't have time to react.
"Kaze no KURO!" Her eyes blackened with anger, the brunt force of her attack hitting him directly into his heart and slicing at his sides. The close range caused his blood to splatter across her face and neck, and the boar demon was felled, sinking onto his knees.
"Who...how...."
She stepped over, looking down at him. "I am Kuro Miko Kageru. You killed three of my village's children. You raped one woman. I am housed by the ancient Vengeance, otherwise known as Adauchi." She pressed her okobo-clad foot against his shoulder, shoving him down onto the ground. The demon grunted, gasping with its last breaths paralyzed by pain.
She chuckled, "Oh, no you don't." One tanned, slender hand rested on his body, dead tree roots lurching from the ground to wrap around his wrists and ankles to hold him down as she healed him just from the brink of death. "I said I housed Adauchi, did I not? Time to pay, youkai...by the time I am through with you, hell will seem like paradise."
Hours later into the demon's torture, she was getting bored. The boar youkai begged repeatedly for mercy, to die, and to feel no more pain. Blood seeped into the ground, and the blood on her face had long dried. It was time to end it.
The boar demon looked up at her as she approached him one last time, terrified. "Oh, and one other thing. I am bearing child right now. Care to guess who's?" She chuckled, watching him shake his head in fear. She leaned down to whisper in his ear. The demon's eyes were still widened with shock when she punched straight through into his heart, her powers purifying him from the inside out.
She growled a bit, straightening herself a bit as she stood back up. With a short verbal prayer, she prayed the victims of the demon would be appeased at last and could rest. Mentally, her mind had already moved on. Her eyes went back to their dull state as she followed the path made by her kimono in the snow back to the village. Her body remained alert to any offenses, but her mind thought back to nights that forever stayed on the edge of her mind, to the child she was carrying, and the curse of her friend...
"I love you!"
"I can't."
A mere moment later, blood splattered across the walls as the girl slid the dagger through her neck and slumped to the ground. Her light brown eyes lifelessly stared ahead as her body convulsed with shock, and a small, bloodstained note was tucked into her hand.
A few moments later, a figure walked into the room silently. Taking the note from the girl's hand, she made quick work of the scene. Her energy was absorbed, and her memories and soul housed in her body. The woman gave a low growl..."That bastard...will pay for this!"
She said a prayer for her friend's body, then stood up. Surveying the scene to make sure nothing was missed, she strode out of the brothel, hellbent on finding the one who had destroyed her friend.
"Taiyoukai Sesshoumaru...you will pay for this."
