I OWN NOTHING BUT THE STORY LINE AND THE CHARACTERS THAT YOU DON'T KNOW FROM THE ANIME/MANGA!

Chapter Three

Little Sister

Takara's monthly experience of being a part of Inutaisho's army was more than she thought that it would be. Inutaisho seemed to be very interested with her, giving questions and questions. She had expected to become just a normal person in the army and forgotten after time by the Lord but that seemed to not be the case. It was…strange but she found her often thinking of her father when she was around the dog demon. Especially before they had returned to Earth. Before that she and her father would act just like this, including the jokes he would play on her. She enjoyed it, believe it or not.

Sesshomaru, on the other hand, seemed not to like Takara at all and stayed as far away from her as he could, until his father dragged her behind him. That would result in just glares. He was beginning to annoy her to no end.

"So," Inutaisho sat on a nearby boulder, watching Takara stretch. It was close to sunset. The night would be a full moon so she had to leave for the Ceremony. She had yet to explain why she had to leave and the dog demon had yet to ask her why. "I can expect you back in the morning, correct?"

"Yes," Takara nodded. "Don't worry." She smiled at him.

He gave a laugh. "No, I'm not worried. Be careful."

She looked at him as if he was strange for a moment before turning from him. Sesshomaru walked out of the trees just in time to see his father staring after a hawk as it flew off. His plain look turned to his father. "Why do you keep her around, Father? She's no different than the rest of the army. Why treat her so?"

The elder demon laughed at his son. "Still too young to understand, eh Sesshomaru?" He continued to laugh as he went back to the camp.

Sesshomaru scowled. Too young? He was nearly 300! What was he too young to not understand? He didn't know and it only made him dislike Takara even more. The sooner she was gone, the better.

~The road I walk is paved in gold

To glorify my platinum soul

I'll buy my way to talk to god

So he can live with what I'm not~

When Takara landed in the Field of Silence she saw Ikkaku give a sigh of relief. She had made it in time, but just barely. Already in her kimono, she only had enough time to move into place before the ceremony began.

Takara didn't pay attention to the notes coming out of her flute nor to the ones that came out of the others. All that was on her mind was getting out of here as soon as she could. And she prayed that they didn't try to find her. She made sure that she didn't lose herself like she had last time though and there was nothing to fear this evening.

The night dragged on a lot longer than Takara wanted it to but in the end the sun had to rise. She wanted to get away quickly, but Ikkaku was ready for her and grabbed her arm before she could shift.

"Takara…" He simply said.

She refused to look at him, staring at the grass at their feet. "Are…are you okay?" She asked.

"You know that I am." He replied.

"I'm so sorry."

"I know that it's not your fault," Ikkaku told his sister. "It has happened to me once before when I was a child, remember? If father hadn't of been there then you would have died. The wounds I gave you were much worse than what you gave me. There's nothing you should feel sorry for, Takara."

She gave him a small smile and glanced down again. She sighed though, when both Miyuki and Emiko stayed away from her. Emiko refused to look at her but Miyuki looked on in wonder, thinking.

"My apologies, Ikkaku, but it seems that I am not yet welcomed back among the three of you."

"You know that's not true." Her brother argued.

"Not with the two of them afraid of me. I don't want their glares stabbing into me. Besides, I've got a group of…acquaintances, waiting for me to return."

"Acquaintances, huh? Who are you with?" Ikkaku sounded surprised. He never would have thought of Takara meeting up with people on this planet after what had happened to their parents.

"Well, two of them go by the names of Inutaisho and his son Sesshomaru. Dog demons." She gave him a grin. "The Father seems to be able to hear the ceremony during the night. Last time he admitted to feeling the force of the creature as he tried to break free."

"He did, did he? He must be strong. Does he know about us?"

"No, I didn't say anything but he's as smart as he is strong. He'll end up putting it together sooner or later, I'm sure."

Ikkaku grinned at his sister's normal attitude, but then began to think the names over. "Inutaisho, hmm?...Never heard of him." He shrugged. "Just stay safe. Come back when you need me, or when you feel like you can." He turned away.

"That's it?" She asked in surprise.

"Yes, that's it." Ikkaku grinned at his sister. "You're not a child anymore, Takara. You can do what you want. I'll see you again, once a month at least. And besides, I know that you can take care of yourself. I taught you after all, so I'm not worried."

Takara smiled back. "Perhaps you'll want to meet them some time."

Ikkaku smirked. "They have to be worthy of that, Takara and at this moment they're barely worthy of my attention outside of you." She gave a laugh.

~The Selfish blood runs through my veins

I gave up everything for fame

I am the lies that you run for

I feed the rich and fuck the poor~

That night, Takara was tired. She had to stay up all day as the army moved across the land. She kept herself awake by talking to the others around her, but now that things were silent, she couldn't get to sleep. Figures. Inutaisho's army seemed to like her as much as their leader did and she quickly became a friend to nearly everyone. Especially the women in the army, no matter how few there were. But now, everyone was sleeping, leaving the woman to herself. What was there for her to really do now?

She did recall the hot spring they had passed a short while ago. A few had gone there themselves earlier but now it was late, so there wouldn't be anyone there…right?

Whether or not there would be, she was going. She could wash her clothes, too. They would be dried by sunrise.

Grabbing her soap, her kimono top and a comb, Takara silently left the camp. The night was peaceful with the stars and the moon lighting the ground and it made the steaming hot springs sparkle as she washed her kimono and the other clothes. It wasn't a lot. She hated wearing kimonos, only during the Ceremony. When not dressed in her armor and matching Kimono, she wore a black and green one that was cut short into a shirt and a pair of black pants with it. Her armor was always worn under it, though, in case of a battle which was often now as of late.

Hanging the clothes from a nearby tree, she pulled her armor off and slipped into the water. She sighed in relief at the warmth soaking her bones. Quickly using the soap on her skin and hair, she crossed her arms over a nearby rock and rested her head on her arms.

Inutaisho said that there was a village nearby, too. Strangely, for some reason, she felt like going to buy some food for the group. That's a lot though, so maybe she should keep it a secret for herself. Tomorrow was supposed to be a day off anyway. Why not? It would give her something to do.

Besides, she was growing tired of joining Sesshomaru in his silent glaring contests. No matter how cute he was. His constant glares were starting to annoy her. Her mouth almost let loose earlier that day, but Inutaisho had drawn her attention from his son. He seemed to know the right times to step in.

In the middle of her thoughts, Takara slipped into a peaceful sleep. She didn't know for how long but she was awoken again by a splash. Quickly looking up, her gaze caught a figure at the other side of the hot springs, away from the rocks she was at. Her breath caught as she pulled behind the rocks before glancing back around them carefully.

It was Sesshomaru.

And Takara couldn't pull her eyes from him. His silver hair and pale skin seemed to glow in the moonlight as he stood in the water to his waist, staring up at it. His body, thin but muscular, made her insides curl.

In short-

He was gorgeous in that position.

She normally saw him with a glare or narrowed eyes but now, in that plain look, he seemed…different somehow. Takara just couldn't tell why. But it sure did make her feel weird.

Tearing her eyes away from the demon before her, Takara moved behind the large rocks again. She wasn't going to be labeled as a peeping-tom or…whatever the name given to women was. That would be foolish and Takara prayed that she would never come into contact with one.

Takara couldn't have been asleep for too long because she wasn't too badly pruned yet so she decided to relax a bit more. Leaning her back against the large boulder, she let her hair splay across the water. The reflection of the moon was calming and she was beginning to drift to sleep again.

She shouldn't have.

"Takara!" A young woman's yell brought her from a slight drift and she jumped to her feet. She recognized that voice.

~Oh no!~

Everything happened in a flash. There was Miyuki running out of the trees, and then there was Sesshomaru in moments with his pants back on, his claws ready for an attack. Takara had to move fast.

In moments, due to her speed, she was able to wrap her Kimono around her before jumping between the two of them, wrapping her arms around her younger sister, and jumping out of the way. As she flew through the air, Takara glared over her shoulder back at the silver-haired demon. He glared back, his teeth bared.

Landing on the ground, the woman shoved her sister behind her back, guarding her from the other member of the hot springs.

"Takara?" Miyuki asked, confused.

"You will not lay a hand on her. She's not a threat." Takara told Sesshomaru. He didn't respond, just staring at them, eyes narrowed. So she added- "She's my sister."

"Your sister?" He scoffed, taking a step towards them, but he paused, glancing over her shoulder before turning away. He grabbed the rest of his clothes and disappeared into the trees.

Takara let out a breath of relief before turning to face the two behind her. She knew that Inutaisho had decided to join them. He must have scented his son's anger. But how had he gotten here so fast?

"Is everything all right?" Inutaisho's voice made Miyuki jump and dove to the other side of her sister, still wary about the silver-haired man that just left.

Takara nodded and turned to face him. "Yes. My sister has just decided to join us."

"Your sister?" The demon looked at the shy girl.

"Takara, why did you leave?" Miyuki asked. "I've been searching for you all day!"

"What?" Takara asked in surprise.

"I left when Emiko and Ikkaku were sleeping this morning after the Ceremony. I wanted to find you!" Miyuki did look awfully tired. And she was covered in dirt. "It's not the same without you there with us. You have to come back!"

Inutaisho stared with a questioning look at the thought of the ceremony. Things were beginning to click in his head.

Takara gazed at her sister with a soft smile. "You need to sleep, Miyuki. We'll talk about this in the morning," She glanced at Inutaisho. "If her staying for the night is all right."

The demon gave a smile after a moment. "Yes, as long as she doesn't do anything wrong." He glanced back into the trees. "Excuse me. I should go calm down my son." Inutaisho gave the woman another look before disappearing into the trees. Takara gave a small wince. She had been hoping to keep everything a secret from the older man but it seemed that the time was growing short. She was sure that he would be asking for an answer in the days to come.

Miyuki grabbed ahold of her kimono. "You have to come back with me, Takara! You have to!"

With a sigh, Takara couldn't help but smile at the young girl. "Look at you; you're covered in dirt. Into the Springs with you, Miyuki."

The warm water greeted Takara's cold skin thankfully again, making a soft, pleasing sigh leave her lips. The young woman, though still a child in their terms of life, watched her with a soft smile.

"Why did you leave, Takara?" Miyuki asked, leaning against the large boulder to her sister's left. "Did we do something wrong?"

Takara pulled a quick, surprised look. "No, no. You did nothing wrong, Miyuki. If anyone did something wrong, it was me."

"But why?" She asked. "What did you do wrong?" Things were silent for a moment. "Oh, you mean…about at our first Ritual?" She referred to her and her sister. "But Ikkaku explained that to us! You didn't do it on purpose! We understand that! It was that creature! We know that it could happen to either of us as well! The creature just chose you that night! You did nothing wrong, Takara!"

She stared down at the little sister that sat before her. Miyuki would reach the height of 5'7' when standing and wore her black hair to her waist, always claiming that she would never cut it again after a mishap when she was younger when asking Ikkaku for a trim of two inches that ended in three feet. Her skin was milky white like Takara's and her eyes were a smoky ember, like their mother's had been.

Takara reached forward and placed a hand on her sister's head. "I'm glad that you're not frightened of me, Miyuki, and I would love to come back, but I…I feel that I should continue on with Inutaisho and his road. I don't know what it is, but something is telling me to stay here," She grinned at the sad look on Miyuki's face. "But that doesn't mean we won't see each other again. You're my little sister, Miyuki, half or not. You won't be able to get rid of me that easily."

Miyuki grinned now. God, she really was like a little kid. "Then, can I stay with you?" Takara pulled another surprised look. "At least for a little while? Emiko is being taught by Ikkaku how to fight and I find it boring! Please, please, please, please, please! Just until the next Ceremony! Come on! It's only a month!"

Takara chuckled and shook her head. "It's not my decision, Miyuki. We will be going through battles." Her smile faltered. "How about we talk to Inutaisho about it in the morning?"

"Which one was he?" Miyuki shrunk back a bit. "The one that came out of the water?"

Takara's chuckle was harsh this time. "No, that was his son, Sesshomaru. Inutaisho was the one that was behind you. He said you could stay the night, remember?"

Miyuki nodded with a grin. "Yeah! He seemed really nice."

~Yeah he does, doesn't he? Makes me wonder if Sesshomaru took after his mother instead of his father.~

"Well, let's hurry up and get done with our baths so we can sleep. I'm sure you're extremely tired after chasing after me all day." Takara told her sister.

Miyuki agreed with a grin.

Takara gave a silent sigh when Miyuki turned away from her. She was getting a very, very bad feeling about this.

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