Author's note: It's been awhile since I have written anything, so i'm a little rusty. My apologies. Read & review please(: It would be greatly appreciated. (Takara means "Treasure"..Mayumi means "True Bow"..Seishi means "Life and Death")

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters. I only own my OC's.

I stripped my clothes off, stepping into the steaming water and sighing with pleasure at the warmth. My companion was already in the water, dunking her head under so that her hair was soaked. I sat down away from her so that I could have my privacy and dunked my long crimson locks into the water. I sat for a while, just enjoying this minor luxury. As I closed my eyes and leaned back against one of the many rocks in the area, I let my thoughts drift elsewhere.

I ran out of my small hut, my eyes growing wide with fear as I watched everyone being killed in front of me. Huts were being burned to the ground and people were screaming. It was chaos. "Takara..! Run, please! Get out of he-" I turned in time to watch my father get cut down by a man with claw-like blades on his hands and strange markings on his face. Tears rolled freely down my cheeks as I turned and ran as fast as my little legs would allow.

I opened my eyes, shaking off the terrible memory that haunted me since I was seven years old. My mother had passed away when I was born so it had always just been me and my dad. He had promised me that he would always be with me and then he got cut down by that bastard. I was left orphaned with nowhere to go, wandering aimlessly from village to village until a priestess and her family took me in when I was nine years old. They had a blind daughter who was four at the time. Her name was Mayumi and she is the girl I am travelling with now. My eyes softened as the memories burned in my mind.

I was almost to the edge of the village, tears blurring my vision, when I ran into someone and fell on the ground. I looked up and saw a young man with a purple marking on his forehead, a gigantic sword resting on his shoulders. I whimpered a bit as he kneeled in front of me, grabbing my chin and looking me over. "Your just a small, weak child. I should kill you.." he mumbled before letting go of my chin. A womanly looking man walked up beside him, resting his hand behind his back on the hilt of his sword. "Do you want me to do it, Big Brother? I love cutting up children..especially female children." The man smirked at me as my eyes grew wide. "Leave me alone! You wicked men have already killed my dad and the rest of the village! Just leave me ALONE!" I screamed as I tried to scramble backwards, away from the men. They both laughed as they watched my feeble attempts to get away from them. The younger one stood up, still laughing as he spoke. "Okay. We will let you go. But you won't last two days away from this village without your daddy to protect you. If we find you again, I'll let Jakotsu here slice you into pieces." He motioned to the other man with his thumb before they turned and left to find the rest of their men. I stood up and ran into the forest without a second thought. They wouldn't kill me. I would never give them the pleasure.

I just couldn't stop these memories from resurfacing. I went underneath the surface of the water, holding my breath as I waited for more memories.

As I hid in a hole in the base of a tree, I watched as the seven men that slaughtered my village passed by. "Big Brother, what are you going to do with that useless sword you picked up from that village?" the one called Jakotsu had asked. The young one that spared my life looked at him before sighing and shrugging. "I have no use for it, so I'm going to leave it here and let the demons fight over it." as he spoke, he threw the sword to the ground behind him and it landed right in front of the hole I was hiding in. I waited until the men were gone before scrambling out and picking up the sword. As soon as my hand touched it, the sword pulsed and I heard a voice speaking to me. "Takara..I've been waiting for you. What took you so long?" My eyes grew wide as I looked around. My voice was shaky as I answered. "Who..is that? What do you want from me..?" I heard laughter and I looked down at the sword, finally understanding. "I am Seishi. You are my rightful owner and with me, you can defeat anyone you wish. I will always protect you, Takara."

I rose to the surface of the water, inhaling deeply as a smile appeared on my face. Now, that was a good memory. Seishi had saved my life time and time again. If it weren't for those maniacal men dropping it in the woods, I might have died a long time ago. I felt another memory coming to rise to the surface, but it was interrupted by Mayumi's quiet, expressionless voice.

"Takara..someone's coming."

I clenched my teeth and got out of the hot springs quickly, throwing my black skin-tight suit on and pulling my hair into a high pony tail as quickly as I could. I left my kimono and my sandals there for now, telling myself I'd get the rest of my things when I was done.

"Seishi, come. We have work to do."

As the words left my mouth, my sword pulsed and flew into my hand. I removed the sheath and waited for the intruders to come up. I would slice them to pieces if they tried anything. Soon enough, Mayumi joined me fully clothed and bow in hand.

"Took you long enough."

"Hm."

I shook my head at the little girl's lack of conversation. She always creeped me out a little, but I loved her like a sister. Besides, right before her parents were killed by a demon by the name of Naraku, they begged me to protect her. They said our fate was intertwined and we were the key to defeating this monster. I promised them I would and I never break my promises. I looked her over, smiling to myself. She was not like any other priestesses I had encountered. Instead of the traditional priestess outfit, she wore a black kimono with a white one underneath. Her hair reached her mid-back and it was as black as a starless night with no moon. Her bangs covered her forehead and ended in the middle of her eyes. Yes, she was strange. I snapped myself out of my thoughts as I saw two figures approaching the hot springs and I readied my sword. It pulsed in anticipation, excited about the thought of a fight. As the two got closer I started to be able to make out their faces. My eyes widened as I recognized the two men. They were supposed to be dead! I had heard that they were beheaded by warriors!

"Takara..they are the walking dead..they seem to have been resurrected by a great evil.."

"Mayumi, I know these men. They are the ones who attacked my village and burned it to the ground."

The two men stopped, finally noticing us as we stood in their way, blocking the path. Jakotsu looked at both of us, seeming disgusted by the mere sight of women. His bald companion looked us up and down before speaking.

"Who are you and why do you dare block our path? Move, or be killed."

"Ha! You really don't remember me? Think hard. I want you to know who I am when I slaughter you like you slaughtered my village and my father!"

Jakotsu tilted his head to the side, staring at me. Finally he perked up a bit and hit his palm with a closed fist and began to smile.

"Hey, I remember you! You're that little wench from that village that I wanted to kill so badly! Too bad Big brother wouldn't let me..Are you ready to die now, filthy girl?"