DISCLAIMER
I do not own any of the rights to any of the Inuyasha characters.
Dearest Reader,
I am writing to you for the first time. I have a tale for you that is plucked from the very depths of my own heart. It may seem naive at times; but in all fairness when is love not naive? When is it a heart can overcome the past to truly accept that another can love them? In a world where love is used as a weapon can true love endure?
I send you now to feudal Japan. During this time period demons and humans reluctantly shared the world. The battle between good and evil raged as always. There are heroes on both sides and there are those who wish nothing to do with the whole thing but still find themselves intertwined in battles they do not even know they are in themselves.
I will leave you now to enjoy my dreams.
Mist everywhere. There is nothing to see. You aren't even standing on solid ground. The swirling mist parts before you and you see a woman. She is sitting with her eyes cast down. The sadness emanating from her seems like it is seeping into your soul and you imagine this woman to be the embodiment of despair. Suddenly a voice booming in your ears tells you "Find her. Protect her."
Around their campfire Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Shippo all wake with a gasp as they sit upright startled by the dream they all just shared. "What the hell was that about?" Inuyasha is the first to speak up. "Did we all just have the same dream?" Kagome asks. "I wonder who that woman was?" Sango says knowing that they all saw her. "She was a beauty" Miroku comments bringing about a wave of jealousy from Sango. The others watch and shake their heads as Sango smacks the flirtatious monk.
Lord Sesshomaru opens his eyes. Rin and Jaken are also awake. "Lord Sesshomaru I had a strange dream" Rin says as she rubs her still sleepy eyes. " I too had an odd vision my lord" Jaken adds. Lord Sesshomaru says nothing and cares nothing about the vision. "I, Sesshomaru, have no intention of wasting my time on matters such as these" he thinks to himself. Rin and Jaken argue amongst themselves as to what the dream meant and hardly even notice Sesshomaru get up and start walking away. "Wait for us Lord Sesshomaru" They call out to him.
Naraku is alone in his castle pondering a new power source. "There is no way she could have died. But where did she go?" His frustration settling in as he swipes at the pile of books on the table before him causing them to crash to the floor. "I've never seen you so frustrated over a mere woman before Naraku." Kagura says as she floats into the room. "My dear Kagura, there is nothing mere about this woman. Once I have her, my power will be absolute." Naraku explains. "If she is that powerful why does she not rule over us now?" Kagura asks. "She has only used her great power once and she obliterated everything in her wake. But that was hundreds of thousands of years ago and in all the time since her power has grown even stronger." Naraku tells her. "She has to be dead by now. Nothing can live that long no matter how powerful it is." Kagura remarks. "Oh she is alive. No one has seen her in thousands of years but I know she is still out there somewhere. I just have to find her." Naraku says with a sinister grin.
A woman sits next to a beautiful lake watching the ripples glide across the water. Another day spent in solitude. She could never understand why she was never able to fit in with the rest of her village. She had lived there all her life but never felt at home. She preferred to be alone for reasons she didn't understand. Her whole life she had felt a sadness inside her but there was no reason for it. No tragedy had ever befallen her she was simply sad all the time. She was in her late twenties and had no desire to marry or even take an interest in dating. She thought maybe there was something wrong with her that she was incapable of love. She looks across the water to see a man walking along the opposite shore. He is stunning. He has long silver hair and a crescent moon on his forehead. He is clearly not human but still quite beautiful. He doesn't take any notice of her so she stops staring at him and resumes watching the ripples on the lake.
Sesshomaru had left Rin and Jaken at the campsite so he could have time to think. He had been walking for a couple days when he comes upon a lake and decides it would be a good place to rest. He is bothered by the fact that the dream he had is still consuming his thoughts. "There is nothing in all this that will increase my power so why should I dwell on it? I care nothing for humans. They are vermin. So why does this vision haunt me?" he asks himself. He continues walking as he ponders over the dream when he feels that he is being watched. He looks across the lake to see the very woman from the dream. She is exactly as he had seen her. Sitting with her eyes cast down. The obvious look of sadness on her face. There is nothing remarkable about this woman, she has brown hair that comes to about her mid back and is even a little plump as humans go. "Why should I care what happens to this worthless human?" he says aloud. In one nimble leap he clears the entire lake to land next to the woman startling her. "I am to waste my time protecting a creature like you?" he says. The woman remains silent looking at him. "Who are you and why did you appear in my dreams?" He asks coldly. She says nothing and looks again to the lake. " I asked you a question human!" Sesshomaru says in a raised voice to the woman who seems to completely ignore him. " So be it then. I don't know what this is about but you will come with me until I can figure out this mystery." His icy tone returning. The woman however does not move. "I am Sesshomaru. Lord of the western lands and you will obey me. I am giving you the opportunity to come of your own volition but you will come with me whether you want to or not." His hand moves to the hilt of his sword as he says this. The woman gets up but does not look at him, she follows behind him as he begins walking back to his camp. She walks much slower than Sesshomaru so it is going to take much longer than he had planned getting back to where he left Rin and Jaken.
Sesshomaru has never been one to waste his time talking to a human but he has questions about the situation. "Why is it I was told to protect you woman?" he asks. The woman does not answer. "Perhaps she is a mute." He thinks to himself. Their journey takes nearly four days to get back to the camp and the entire time the woman never utters a single word to him. She also never looks at him. This bothers Sesshomaru.
The woman wonders how she got into this kind of a mess. She hadn't done anything to this demon, yet he demanded she come with him. Since she was a child she had been able to read the thoughts and feelings of the people around her and from the moment he saw her he had contempt for her. Not just because she was a human but there was something else. He mentioned a dream. This confuses her. She had not sent him any dreams she didn't even know he existed before she saw him at the lake. The way he reacted to simply seeing her frightened her so much that she could not speak. Even after the shock wore off she would not speak to someone who hated her so much.
When the pair arrive at the campsite, it is late in the afternoon. Jaken and Rin are arguing about when their lord will return. "Lord Sesshomaru where have you been?" Rin shouts excitedly. "Don't question the great Lord Sesshomaru you brazen child." Jaken screams at her. As Lord Sesshomaru walks past them, they see the woman they had dreamed about and know what took so long. "Oh! Lord Sesshomaru you found her." Rin says. The child walks up to the woman and says " Hello. My name is Rin would you like to play with me?" The innocence on the child's face is heart warming. "Hello Rin. My name is Sylvia and I would love to play with you." The woman finally speaks. Sesshomaru's eyes become wide and he gasps when he hears her speak to Rin. "Woman do you think it wise to ignore me? I have been asking you questions for days and you acted as if you couldn't speak at all." Sesshomaru is enraged at her disrespect. Again she does not even acknowledge Sesshomaru. Rin and Jaken look on in amazement at Sylvia. Wondering why she would risk her life in ignoring their powerful lord. Rin asks Sylvia "Why won't you speak to Lord Sesshomaru? He was told to find you and protect you and he went searching for you to bring you back here." Sylvia looks at the confused little girl. "Rin, I have nothing to say to anyone who wishes to harm me for things beyond my control. Your Lord Sesshomaru wanted to hurt me within minutes of seeing me and even before he asked me anything he was thinking it. What could I have to say to a man like that?" Sylvia says plainly. Sesshomaru hears Sylvia's reply and realizes she has telepathic powers. "She could hear everything I was thinking when I found her. That was why she didn't speak to me. A mere human with mind reading abilities, there must be something more to her than I thought. I can use this to my advantage. She still defies me by not answering me so I will make her." He thinks to himself. Knowing she is reading his every thought he conjures up images to make Sylvia react to him. Images of battles, of his past, anything to break her silence. He keeps up a constant mental barrage and still she makes no indication that he is even getting through to her.
Naraku was now running out of places to look for the powerful woman he wants so badly when the thought occurs to him "Inuyasha seems to always find a way to upset my plans. I had better keep a close eye on him and his friends until my plan comes together. Sesshomaru too is an annoyance. I will send saimyosho to watch them for me. This time there will be no stopping me." Naraku thinks to himself.
Sesshomaru decides that it would be best if they all went to his castle to sort through what was happening. "Why is this woman so important my lord" Jaken asks. "Be quiet Jaken."Sesshomaru replies. Sesshomaru draws Toukijin from its sheath. "My lord I never meant to upset you please allow me to live!" Jaken pleads. "Jaken I said be quiet my wretched half brother is near." Sesshomaru explains then runs off in the direction Inuyasha's scent is coming from.
Inuyasha and the others are traveling through the woods when Inuyasha catches the scent of his brother. "What is that dog doing here?" He growls. "We are in the western lands Inuyasha, this is Sesshomaru's territory." Miroku mentions. "At least you know you are trespassing. What are you doing here?" Sesshomaru says as he steps out of the shadows. "None of your business."Inuyasha says as he raises his sword. "SIT BOY!" Kagome yells. Inuyasha crashes face first into the ground. "Sesshomaru we are looking for someone. We all had a strange dream telling us to protect some woman but we don't know who she is so we are looking for her. We didn't mean to trespass." Kagome explains. Sesshomaru sheathes his sword and says "You can stop looking. I found her and I will keep her." Everyone gasps. "Why would you protect a human Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha asks angrily. "Wait a minute. How did you know about her? Did you have the dream too Sesshomaru?" Sango adds. "All you need to know is that I have her, now get off my lands or I will kill you." Sesshomaru turns to leave. "Wait please. We would like to meet her. This is all very strange. We would like to find out what is going on and help her if we can." Kagome pleads. Sesshomaru still has his back turned to her and says "Very well." No one noticed the Saimyosho monitoring every word they said and then fly off to report to Naraku.
Sylvia and Rin are chasing Jaken when Lord Sesshomaru returns. He has several people with him though. Sylvia is quite uncomfortable because they all seem to recognize her from somewhere and are very curious about her. She doesn't know any of them and the questions pouring from their minds make her a little dizzy since she is also still dealing with all the images Sesshomaru is torturing her with. They make camp and all wait to hear the woman's story but she does not speak, she just plays with Rin. Finally Kagome breaks the silence "What are we supposed to protect you from?" Sylvia looks up and says "I don't know what any of you are talking about. I was just watching the lake as I do almost every day when this one"Motioning to Sesshomaru "forced me to come with him. I am nothing important." Sylvia explained "But we all had a dream telling us to find you and to protect you from something." Shippo says as he sits down next to Sylvia. "Well until we discover what the mystery is I have a question for you Sylvia." Miroku kneels before her and takes her hand. "Would you consider bearing my children?" He asks. Sylvia just looks at him in shock when out of nowhere Sango's fist comes crashing into Miroku's face. "Lecherous monk won't you ever learn?" Sango says as she pulls him by the ear away from Sylvia.
Sesshomaru is furious now that Sylvia will speak to them but would not even say his name when speaking about him and still had not even looked in his direction. He thinks that maybe if he concentrates on more vivid things it would force her to at least ask him to stop. Out of nowhere an image that surprises even him pops into his mind. He imagines the two of them in the throws of passion. Sylvia gasps and looks Sesshomaru directly in the eyes and sees that even he is shocked by this image. "What's wrong Lady Sylvia?" Rin asks as they are getting ready to sleep. "Sesshomaru is putting pictures in my mind and they are becoming bothersome." Sylvia answers her. Sesshomaru watches the two of them snuggle up and go to sleep. "Why would I think of such a thing? I could never be attracted to a human. At least now I know she saw everything." He thinks to himself.
Naraku smiles widely at the information just given to him. "So they had a dream to protect a woman eh? She does not look like the one I am looking for though. And she is a mere human, it couldn't be. But her name is the same and why would they have to protect her if she is not the one? She's a telepath? I shall have to thank Sesshomaru for showing me how to find out if this is indeed the woman I desire." Naraku says aloud as he begins thinking of everything he had learned about the woman he is seeking.
The next morning Sylvia sits holding her head. Rin walks up to Sesshomaru "Lord Sesshomaru, I know you don't like it that Sylvia won't speak to you but she might if you were nice to her. Making her head hurt won't make her talk to you my lord." Rin says as she goes back to Sylvia. Sesshomaru had already decided to stop invading Sylvia's mind so he pays little attention to Rin's suggestion. As they continue their way to Sesshomaru's castle Sylvia is obviously in pain. She falls behind the others when Rin runs up to Sesshomaru "Please lord Sesshomaru the pictures are hurting Lady Sylvia. Please stop hurting her!" Rin screams and clutches onto his legs. Sesshomaru looks toward Sylvia who is now on her knees clutching her head. Sesshomaru runs to her and tries to comfort her. "What are you doing to her Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha pushes Sesshomaru away from Sylvia who is now screaming from the pain in her head.
Naraku appears ahead of them. "Thank you all so much for finding this woman for me. I'll take her off your hands now." He says as he moves toward Sylvia. "Not on your life Naraku!" Inuyasha yells as he draws his Tetsaiga and releases a windscar. "Kagome get Rin and Sylvia to safety." Miroku calls as he runs to join the fight. "Naraku you can't have her." Says Sesshomaru as he attacks Naraku who hides in his barrier. "Why Lord Sesshomaru if I didn't know better I would say you had feelings for this human." Naraku taunts. "Worthless half breed I shall have your head!" Sesshomaru yells as he takes flight to battle Naraku away from Sylvia. "Your efforts are wasted Sesshomaru I will have her no matter what you do." Naraku hisses. The pain in Sylvia's head goes away as she watches them battle she assumes it is because Sesshomaru is too distracted to keep up the images, not knowing he had already stopped. Kagome lets loose a sacred arrow but it only bounces off Naraku's barrier. Miroku attempts to use his wind tunnel. "Miroku don't! He has saimyosho all around him you'll be killed." Sango cries out to him. Sango throws her Hiraikotsu. "I am not that easily hit woman" Naraku says as he catches it and throws it back at Sango knocking her and Kirara to the ground. Inuyasha and Miroku go to help Sango. Sesshomaru is the only one still battling Naraku. Naraku releases several of his tentacles to try and absorb Sesshomaru but Sesshomaru slices the majority of them off but one of them manages to cut Sesshomaru's chest. Inuyasha and the others have now returned to the battle and beat back Naraku. "This isn't over. I will be back for you Sylvia" Naraku says as he disappears.
Sesshomaru had been injured during the battle and begins to lose consciousness and fall toward the river below him. Before he blacks out he hears someone call out his name. "Who said that?"He thinks. His last vision is of Sylvia running on the ground toward him then all is black.
Sylvia sees Sesshomaru falling out of the sky. "Sesshomaru!" She cries to him but he is unconscious. He falls into the river and is being carried away with the current. Sylvia Jumps in after him. "What am I doing? I'm going to drown saving a demon who took me from my home. A demon who has been torturing me because I wouldn't talk to him. But he did get into this because he said he was protecting me." She thinks. Sesshomaru is weighted down by his armor so Sylvia is able to catch up to him in the rapids. She gets hold of him and removes his armor so they aren't both dragged to the bottom. She keeps his head above water until the river makes it's way to a calm area. She drags him onto land. "How far have we come?" She asks aloud but no one is there to answer. The river had been near freezing and Sylvia now shivers in her drenched clothes. "I better make a fire to keep us warm." She says to the sleeping Sesshomaru.
Naraku tears apart anything he can get his hands on when he returns to his castle. "That is her I know it. But she has changed somehow. She inhabits a mortal body. She has no idea who she is. I shall have to remind her of what exactly she is." He says to himself. Naraku begins to concentrate very hard on what Sylvia used to be. On things she had done in her past and specifically what she used to look like.
Sesshomaru awakens during the night. His body is in pain from the fight with Naraku. "Who was it that called out to me as I was falling?" he asks. Then he looks around to see a camp fire dying and Sylvia sleeping next to him shivering. "It was her. She is the one who called out my name." He says aloud. He looks around and sees that they are alone. "She must have jumped into the river to save me. Why would she do that when she was not even willing to look at me?" He questions. He remembered seeing her running toward him as he was falling and was pleased that she called out his name. He puts his arm around her to keep her warm. "What is it I feel for this woman? Why do I feel the need to protect her? She is a human and yet there is something else. Why does Naraku want her?" His mind swims with questions as he watches Sylvia sleep. She is laying with her back to him and he notices she has a crescent moon shaped birth mark on the back of her neck. He traces the mark with his finger when Sylvia begins to stir in her sleep as if she were having a bad dream.
Sylvia is looking at a horrific scene of carnage. She tries closing her eyes but the image remains. "I'm asleep" She says. She then sees a woman who looks like a ghost. "I know her from somewhere. Who is she?" She asks. There is death all around her as if a huge battle had taken place and only this woman were left. The vision fades and turns to other terrible things. Sylvia is unable to protect herself from the visions flooding into her mind. She sees a dark man take a woman who looks like the one from before but she is human looking and attack her. He drinks her blood and leaves her for dead. She then sees the same woman drinking the blood of others. Sylvia screams and feels her body shaking. She opens her eyes to Sesshomaru shaking her and telling her to wake up. "Sesshomaru" Sylvia says weakly as she clings to him and begins to cry. Sesshomaru does not even think before he puts his arm around her and asks "What is it that haunts you?" But Sylvia does not answer she keeps crying into his chest. "Please" she whispers before she falls unconscious. Sesshomaru holds onto Sylvia's limp body wondering what it was she was asking for.
Inuyasha and the others run along the river bank looking for Sylvia and Sesshomaru fearing the worst. "What did she have to do something that stupid for?" Inuyasha asks. "She was trying to save your brother Inuyasha." Kagome yells at him. "As if Lord Sesshomaru needs the help of a mortal." Jaken scoffs. "But master Jaken, lord Sesshomaru was unconscious. He would have drowned." Rin says in defense of Sylvia's choice. "From the look of those rapids I wouldn't be surprised if they both drowned." Miroku whispers to Sango. "And with the weight of Sesshomaru's armor they would go straight to the bottom."Sango says. Night begins to fall and they still have not found their companions. They build a fire and will wait until morning to continue their search. "Inuyasha sniffs at the air and says "I can smell Sesshomaru." "What? You can? Lets go see if they're okay." Kagome says. Everyone follows Inuyasha until they come upon Sesshomaru sleeping next to a dying fire holding Sylvia.
Sesshomaru hears the others walk up and opens his eyes. Everyone is looking confused at the sight of him and Sylvia. Sesshomaru gently lays Sylvia down and walks over to them. "There is something wrong with her. She had a nightmare and even after she woke from it, it was still affecting her. She said please then fell unconscious." Sesshomaru explains. "That's because your pictures were hurting her head remember Lord Sesshomaru." Rin says to him. "Rin, I stopped showing her those pictures before you told me they were hurting her." He says to the concerned Rin. "Wait a minute Sesshomaru. Naraku had been watching us for a while so he must have picked up on what you were doing. You showed him how to get into her mind and now he is attacking her from the inside." Miroku confidently states. "Nice going." Inuyasha sneers. They all look at Sylvia who is murmuring in her sleep. "We must find out what is so important about her before Naraku either kills her or drives her mad with this torture." Sango says. "We can ask Kaede!" Kagome says excitedly. "Good Idea kagome. Kaede may know who she is." Shippo says. Sesshomaru walks back to Sylvia and gently picks her up. "She can ride on Kirara."Sango says. "That will not be necessary." Sesshomaru objects. "You can't carry her yourself Sesshomaru. You only have one arm remember?" Inuyasha teases. Sesshomaru shoots a death glare at Inuyasha and then looks toward the sky. Everyone now looks up to see his dragon steed descend upon them. "A-un will carry her." Sesshomaru says as he carefully places Sylvia on the two headed dragons back. "Rin." Sesshomaru calls. "Yes my lord?" Rin replies. "You will ride with Sylvia." He says. Rin Nods and climbs onto A-un's back. With Sylvia settled they all start the journey to Kaede's village.
Sesshomaru does not allow humans to dwell on his lands so Kaede's village is a few days away. Sylvia only wakes up a few times along the journey but what she says makes no sense to anyone. She speaks of a woman with no color and a dark lord who destroys all. The pain in her head is constant and even in her sleep she murmurs only of death and loneliness. "What kind of images were you showing her Sesshomaru?" Kagome asks concerned about Sylvia. Sesshomaru doesn't answer but recalls the only vision that exacted a reaction from Sylvia. "Hmm" he shakes the thought off again. Sesshomaru walks along side A-un watching Sylvia sleep. "Who is this woman? I cannot possibly feel affection for her." Sesshomaru thinks as he gently brushes the hair away from Sylvia's face.
They finally reach Kaede's village. "What brings ye all the way here Kagome? And with Sesshomaru? Ye are keeping most curious company my dear." Kaede asks as she keeps her eye on Sesshomaru. "Lady Kaede we all had a dream to find and protect this woman from something." Kagome points to Sylvia. "But we don't know from who or why. Naraku wants her for some reason and we think he is attacking her mind. She is being shown awful things and they are keeping her from waking up the pain is so terrible." Kagome explains as Sesshomaru carefully takes Sylvia off of A-un's back and carries her into Kaede's hut. Kaede watches as the great Lord Sesshomaru takes special care of a human that he would normally kill rather than look at. Sylvia still has not regained consciousness and Kaede begins preparing her something for the pain so that she may wake up and try to explain what she is seeing.
Naraku has his saimyosho follow Sylvia the entire journey so he knows where they have gone to. He watches carefully to see the slightest change in Sylvia. "This must be the one. She recognized the ancient Sylvia right away and no one has layed eyes on her in thousands of years. How did she come to be in a human body? What has become of her great powers? I will let this old hag revive her so that my questions may be answered. But if this old woman knows of the true Sylvia it may be a problem. I shall have to remain close by so that if Sylvia shows signs of becoming her old self I will be there to guide her along her path back to power." Naraku says as he watches everyone trying to help Sylvia.
"I do not recognize this woman." Kaede says as she puts a cold cloth on Sylvia's forehead. "She has a familiar name but that woman was not human and this woman is. The dreams ye say she spoke of could be the woman I am thinking of but how those memories came to be in this young girl I have no clue. We will just have to wait until she wakes up and can tell us more." Kaede explains.
Sesshomaru waited outside of Kaede's hut for Sylvia to awaken. "What interest have ye in that young woman Lord Sesshomaru? Ye have never felt anything but disgust for humans." Kaede says to Sesshomaru. "I have no interest whatsoever old woman." Sesshomaru says coldly. "Ye believe that about as much as I do Sesshomaru. I saw how ye took care of her when ye arrived." Kaede stared intently at Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru started to walk away from the old priestess. "Sesshomaru take caution here. If this woman is connected with her names sake she is in great peril and so is the entire world." Kaede calls to him as he continues walking. Everyone hears what Kaede said to Sesshomaru.
In the morning Sylvia is awake and the pain has been dulled but it is not gone. "Thank you so much Lady Kaede." Sylvia says gratefully. "No need to thank me child, ye needed my help and I am glad it worked." Kaede says. "Good morning sleepy head!" Kagome says as she enters the hut. "Everyone will be so happy to know you're alright. Especially Rin, she has been so worried about you." She continues. Sylvia tries to stand but is still very weak. "Patience child, ye have been sleeping for nearly a week. Ye need food and rest before ye's strength will come back." Kaede says as she hands Sylvia some rice and broth. "Thank you again Lady Kaede." Sylvia says as she looks at her food. "What troubles ye child?" Kaede asks. "I know they brought me here to ask you about me. What is it that is happening to me? Before I met all these people I led a peaceful life. I don't understand any of this. What is so important about me?" Sylvia says as she begins to cry from frustration. "There, there child. I cannot be sure of what ye are going through but it would be of help if ye could tell me of ye's visions." Kaede comforts Sylvia.
"Hey guys, Sylvia is awake." kagome calls to her friends. Rin runs past her with a handful of flowers for Sylvia. "Lady Sylvia You're awake!" Rin exclaims as she hugs Sylvia tightly. "Careful girl Sylvia is still very weak." Kaede tells her as the others pour into the little hut. "So what's wrong with her?" Inuyasha asks in his usual rude tone. "Inuyasha you could be a little more compassionate you know." Kagome scolds him. "What did I do?" Inuyasha argues. Sesshomaru now enters and this silences Kagome and Inuyasha. Everyone watches to see what he will do now that Sylvia is awake. They have all been very puzzled at how affectionate he has been with Sylvia while she was unconscious. Sylvia looks at Sesshomaru but he does not return her gaze. Again the look of sadness deepens on her face as she sees that Sesshomaru doesn't seem to care that she saved him and that she was okay now. The last thing Sylvia remembers before all the nightmares was being held by Sesshomaru.
Naraku is again pouring over the old books on his desk. "There must be a way to draw her out." He says to himself. "Draw who out Naraku?" Kagura says. "An ancient being who has somehow come to inhabit a human body. She has no idea what or who she really is." Naraku explains. "The woman with Sesshomaru is the one you have been having all of us look for?" Kagura says now interested. Naraku smiles at Kagura's obvious jealousy of anyone near Sesshomaru. "Yes Kagura, that woman is the most powerful entity on earth, and once she is restored to what she truly is there will be no power to match hers. No beauty either for that matter." He adds just to spite her. "But if she is with Sesshomaru what makes you think she would abandon him to be with you?" Kagura asks knowing Naraku is goading her. "I have to get her away from those fools before she remembers herself. And once I have her she will make me immortal like her." Naraku says. Again he watches Sylvia through the saimyosho waiting for the right moment to make her his.
Sylvia eats a little of the food given to her but does not have much of an appetite. Everyone is still watching her and waiting for an explaination. "Are ye done child?" Kaede asks. Sylvia nods. "Now tell me about ye's visions." Kaede says. "Well at first it was random images like what Sesshomaru was doing to me. Battle scenes and such. But when I was asleep it was very different. It was like watching memories that weren't mine but they were still somehow familiar to me. Watching scenes play out before me and not being able to affect them." Sylvia begins explaining about her visions. "The woman is the only thing in both the images and the memories." She says. "Tell me about this woman. What does she look like?" Kaede asks. "She is all white. Her hair, her skin, even her eyes are white. Like she is a ghost or an empty canvas." Sylvia explains. "It is as I feared." Kaede says. "What do you mean?" Sylvia asks nervously. "Do ye know where ye got ye name from Sylvia?" Kaede asks. "No" Sylvia replies. "Long ago there was a creature with ye's name. And these memories ye are seeing are hers. She is the woman ye have described but she has been missing for many millennia. She is a creature of terrible power and ye seem to have a connection with her." Kaede explains. "That must be why Naraku wants you so badly." Inuyasha says. "Lady Kaede why do you keep calling her a creature? She is obviously not human so she must have been a demon right?" Sango asks. "No she is not a demon. There is no other like her and it is not known exactly what she is." Kaede says. "What do you mean is? You said yourself she has been gone for thousands of years so she must be dead. Why do you keep referring to her as if she were alive?" Sesshomaru asks. " Because she is not dead. That is the one thing she cannot do. It is unknown what she truly is but she is known as the creature doomed to exist." Kaede says. A shiver runs down Sylvia's back. "I'm very tired." Sylvia says trying to change the subject. "It is getting late we should all try to get some sleep." Kagome says taking the hint from Sylvia. Everyone says goodnight and goes off to rest.
Sylvia lays down and tries not to think about what Kaede told her. She hears the door cover move and jumps fearing it is Naraku come to take her now that she is all alone. Sesshomaru steps in and sees the fear on Sylvia's face disappear when she sees that it is him. He doesn't know why but he is pleased that she doesn't fear him. The fear wears off and Sylvia feels the weakness return to her legs. Sesshomaru sees that she is about to fall and he moves quickly to catch her. Sesshomaru helps Sylvia back to her bed. "Thank you Sesshomaru." Sylvia says. That is the fourth time she has said his name and each time she says it, it sends waves through Sesshomaru's body. Sesshomaru is still holding onto Sylvia when she turns to look him in the eyes. Sesshomaru can see all the longing in Sylvia's green eyes. Sylvia looks into Sesshomaru's amber eyes and sees no emotion at all. "He has no feelings for me at all." Sylvia thinks to herself and looks away from Sesshomaru. Sylvia turns her head and again Sesshomaru sees the crescent moon on the back of her neck. He runs his fingers across it and says. "This is an odd mark for a human to have." Sylvia gasps as another memory washes over her. She sees the woman again but she appears to be alive like before the dark man attacked her. She has bright red hair and though she is very pale she still has a much more natural skin tone than when she appears as the ghostly woman. This time she sees what happened before the bodies were strewn all about the ground at her feet. An energy builds up inside of the ancient Sylvia. Wave after wave of power and light comes out of her and destroys everything in it's path, and as it does so all the color appears to drain out of her."She is cursed. Any connection she had with the world was destroyed when she did that." Sylvia realizes. Ancient Sylvia's white hair is flying about and the same mark, the same crescent moon, in the exact same spot is on both of them. "She's me!" Sylvia screams in terror.
Sylvia wakes from the vision and all the pain returns. She falls to the floor and the pain seems to have spread through her entire body not just her head anymore. "Old woman get in here!" Sesshomaru calls for Kaede to come and assist Sylvia. Everyone hears him yell and they come to see what is going on.
Sesshomaru is holding Sylvia trying to comfort her when he hears and feels bones breaking inside her body . "We both have the crescent moon." Sylvia manages to say. "What is happening to her?" Sesshomaru asks Kaede. "I don't know. I have never seen anything like this before." Kaede says. Sylvia is screaming like nothing any of them had ever heard before. It sounds like many voices crying out in agony but it is all coming from Sylvia. A few minutes go by like this then Sylvia is dead.
Sesshomaru still holds Sylvia's lifeless body. Everyone watches as he embraces her. "We failed her." Miroku says. Sesshomaru moves to lay her body down and removes Tenseiga from its sheath. He waits for the sword to pulse and show him the emissaries of the afterlife that will come to take Sylvia's soul. Sesshomaru tightens his grip on the sword but nothing happens. "Why can't I see them? I have to destroy the emissaries or I will not be able to revive her."Sesshomaru says confused as to why there is no one to escort her soul to the underworld when a strange light emanates from Sylvia. Sylvia's body begins to float off the floor and is engulfed in purple flames. The light grows brighter and it becomes almost too bright to look at. Sylvia's body is changing. Her hair grows to her knees and is lighter. Her plump figure is now slender. The light dissipates and Sylvia's now transformed body gently glides to the floor.
Everyone is in awe at what they have witnessed. No one says a word. They all just stare at the naked woman where their friend once was. "This is the creature Sylvia described in her visions." Jaken says startling everyone. Sesshomaru walks up to the body that has not moved yet. As if the still body senses a threat, Sesshomaru is pushed back by an invisible force and the woman stands up. The sight of her is breathtaking. Her skin is like alabaster. Her hair is as white as snow. Even her eyes have no color, they are totally white. No iris, no pupil just white. The creature before them looks as though her creator never got around to giving her color, like she was unfinished somehow.
"Sylvia?" Sesshomaru asks as he gets back to his feet. The woman turns to look at him. "Look there is a crescent moon on her neck just like Sylvia's." Kagome says. "Yes, before she died, Sylvia said something about both of them having it." Sesshomaru says. "I am not dead." Sylvia says to Sesshomaru. "You're not Sylvia." Inuyasha yells. "Sit boy." Kagome says and Inuyasha crashes to the floor. "Am I not?" Sylvia asks. She scans the room, looking at all the people staring at her and realizes she is naked. Sesshomaru removes his fur to wrap it around her but is hesitant to approach the stoic woman before him. He holds it out to her and she walks right up to him as if they were lovers, she rests her head on his chest and allows him to cover her with his fur.
"No! She has already transformed and remembered everything." Naraku screams. Naraku paces the room trying to figure out what to do now. "She wasn't supposed to remember yet." Naraku says. "I don't understand. I didn't show her everything yet. She wasn't supposed to transform until I had her." He continues. "I guess you'll just have to give up Naraku, She'll never come to you now." Kagura smirks. "No, I just have to find her weakness. Everyone has a weakness. " Naraku says.
Kaede recognizes the ancient woman before her. "Sylvia why did ye kill that young woman?" Kaede asks. Sylvia removes the fur that Sesshomaru wrapped around her to reveal that she is wearing a floor length black dress that is slit up both sides of her legs to her hips and has a full collar but nothing on the shoulders and no sleeves. "She made a dress out of thin air." Kagome marvels. "Never mind that. Why did she kill Sylvia?" Inuyasha says. "I am not dead." Sylvia repeats. "But you are not the same woman who has been with us." Sango says to Sylvia. "I am and I am not." Sylvia says. Everyone looks confused at this remark. "What do ye mean?" Kaede asks. "That body was never meant to have life. I borrowed it to suit my own purposes. I gave it an existence it would never have had otherwise." Sylvia says. "What's that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha asks. "Long ago I was able to find a way to abandon my eternity. I found a way to inhabit the bodies of children who died in the womb. To use their mortal bodies until death and then go into another. Forgetting my own life and living as a mortal with no knowledge of my past. It wasn't until I was made aware of my true self that I had no choice but to break free from the human body I dwelt in. So you see I have not killed anyone. That body was never truly alive." Sylvia explains. "So that is why Tenseiga would not show me the emissaries. There were none because her body had no soul to take." Sesshomaru thought.
"What are ye?" Kaede asks. "I am cursed." Sylvia replies without emotion. "There is no other like ye in the world and never has been. How did ye come to be?" Kaede continues her questioning. "I was a vampire." Sylvia says. "Pfft there are plenty of vampires and none of them are like you." Inuyasha sneers. Sylvia moves toward Inuyasha but she does not walk. She glides with her feet dangling beneath her never touching the ground."What you know as vampires are little better than leeches compared to what true vampires were." Sylvia stares into Inuyasha's eyes making him shiver at her closeness. "I have heard tales of an ancient race that nearly destroyed the world. They were the first vampires were they not?" Kaede asks. "Yes." Sylvia says now looking at Kaede but still standing uncomfortably close to Inuyasha. "So what happened to them?" Sango asks. "I destroyed them. And in so doing I cursed myself." Sylvia says looking at the floor. "I don't understand. If they were an evil race that was destroying the world why were you cursed for destroying them and saving everyone?" Miroku asks. "I don't know the answer to that question. I have asked it many times myself, but there is no answer. I killed all of my own kind and for doing that I was no longer a vampire but I was also no longer a part of the world I saved. All life and color was taken from me. I waited for the sun to rise after I had killed them all. I waited for death to take me too but it did not come. The sun no longer hurt me. I spent hundreds of years trying to find a way to die and there was none. I am the creature doomed to exist. There is no way for me to die. I am cursed to forever walk this earth alone." Sylvia says. "But you're not alone anymore." Rim chimes in. "You have lots of friends now. Just look around." Rin smiles as she says this. Sylvia looks around at all the faces staring at her but Rin's is the only one with a smile on it. "Thank you for your kind words Rin but something like me has never been welcome anywhere." Sylvia says to the child. "You are welcome with me and Lord Sesshomaru Lady Sylvia. Right Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin looks at Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru says nothing and continues staring at Sylvia. "Rin." Sylvia says smiling at the child. Rin seems to be the only person who can grasp the fact that this is the same woman only there is more to her now. Rin walks up to her friend and hugs her. "I know you look different but you are still Sylvia right? You're still my friend right?" Rin asks. "Yes of course I am but people tend to be frightened of me and not want me around." Sylvia says. "It is a curious thing that the change in her is almost hard to notice when she is with rin. She is still the same caring person toward Rin but so cold with everyone else." Sesshomaru thinks. "It is late Rin and you need to get some sleep. We will talk more about this in the morning." Sylvia says as she lifts Rin and carries her out of the little hut and back to her own sleeping quarters.