Previously….

Sesshomaru prepared to leave the clearing after cleaning up in the hot spring with Kagome. Jett approached Mira in order to have her unknowingly aid him in his sadistic adventures.

Back with Jett

As the hours passed by, so did the time in which Jett would need to report back Tatsuo and his Lord. Staying in this time too long could very well kill him just by being where he didn't belong, until the seal was fully broken. The fastest thing he could do was start trouble for one last assessment, before he returned. Now that there was a fair amount of distance between the Miko and himself, he could approach the damsel.

Mira had still been a little ways from the clearing, far enough not to hear the night's festivities, nor raise any alarm for concern. Her wound was still oozing her blood, taking a longer time to heal from the purity of the attack. Ryoko had been tending to her and bandaged the larger wound. All things considered, the bleeding had slowed considerably and she was no longer in any danger of bleeding out. But she couldn't leave the area until the wound healed more.

Sensing Jett, Ryoko moved to shield her Lady from the threat. He appeared surprised to see her show up, but she was used to it. Her aura was unique, belonging to a clan hidden across the continent that specializes in assassinations because their aura and yokai appears weak and almost non-existent, which they are compared to all daiyoukai and most upper level demons. But, if your enemy is invisible in plain sight, how could you stop them from ripping your heart out? Decapitation? The answer is that you don't, unless your senses are heightened like the canine species and you could listen for movements, breathing, and other noises. But before, almost no one had ever sensed them, except Mikos and demons of great power like daiyoukai, so it never surprised her when she startled the enemy.

"Well, well, well... God that scent burns my nose, but it looks even worse! Does it hurt?" he spoke familiarly, almost teasingly, to a seething Mira.

"Do not approach my Lady, demon. That is your only warning," Ryoko crouched, ready to go at a moment's notice. She continued to size him up, senses on high alert after feeling the effects of the "haze." This is what her people referred to it as whenever someone was shifting through dimensions. It was like a rift through the present time that was visible to them only.

Jett continued to size up the hand maiden, wondering if he she give her the time of day or not. He didn't have much time to set things in motion before he returned to his companions. If she was somewhat powerful, why wouldn't she defend her lady against Kagome?

Unbeknownst to him, there were a couple reasons for that. For one, she was told never to interfere in her Lady's battle again. She had tried once before when her Lady began an altercation with another Lady of the Court, and was ordered to death by her Lady's father. Mira had not wanted her to die, and resolved to issue Ryoko 100 lashes in front of everyone to spare her. Before, Mira had never displayed many actions of violence or initiative, so her father accepted, hoping he could make her more ruthless (only when necessary, of course). But, he would not forgive the transgression again. Then, the other thing was that the Priestess could sense her aura and whereabouts. Only the strong, or those several times more powerful than herself could accomplish that feat. And, the last issue was the Priestess's power. She had not assessed her level yet, and by the company she kept suggested one thing: the Miko would destroy her.

"Wooaahh... Easy there. If I wanted to kill her, I would have already attacked by now," Jett claimed with hands up to show he meant no harm.

"Then what do you want?" Mira spoke up, brows furrowed.

"Honestly….. Nothing. I just came to investigate the depth and purity of the wound you're sporting, for personal reasons. As alarming as that can be to almost all demons, I am a curious being. It's a shame how such a beautiful, strong, and unmated demoness such as yourself was looked over by the Western Lord for a mere Miko; a human, at that!" He casually looked over to the demoness from the corner of his eyes, as he walked and leaned up against a tree across from the pair, smugly waiting to hear her retaliate. As expected, he was not disappointed.

"I was not looked over!" Mira yelled. "She has somehow bewitched him with her powers into thinking that he wants her. She is obviously formidable when you take a look at what happened to me. I simply underestimated her… which won't happen again. We'll see what he thinks when I kill the girl."

"Ohh… Now that is something I would like to see. Perhaps I'll watch from afar and see what happens. Maybe I'll give you a parting gift to help you heal faster."

"Now why would you want to do that?"

"Personal reasons…. Let's just say, misery loves company, and I enjoy being in the company of watching other people's pain."

"So you're a sadistic fool?" Mira asked.

Jett brought his hand to his chin and closed his eyes as if seriously contemplating the statement. "Hmmmm… You're not wrong… but that may be putting it too simply. I'm more sophisticated than that."

"Enough! How can you heal me?"

"That is simple. Take this slight ball of dark energy"….. She looked at it orb and hovered her hands to surround it.

"Good. Now, just simply absorb the energy into your youki. Because you are a demon, this will restore your strength and power. I will warn you though, this energy is not available in a surplus amount, so don't bother asking for more… Giving you this is taking too much away from me already, but my curiosity has gotten the better of me, so what can I say." Jett casually shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hands in the air as if to say "oh well."

"Well, I'll tell you what I think; you are definitely foolish, but I will take your offering. What might such dark energy do to someone…..? Say… as pure as the Miko?" Mira asked as she absorbed the energy, relishing in the slight power boost and healing it bestowed upon her.

"I'm no longer sure which of us is the sadistic one here… but I assume it would darken her magic and purity, probably make her explode in pain from the inside out; maybe even make her lose her mind, and then eventually, death" Jett said with the shrug of his shoulders as if he could careless, since it was not something they would do to her. They needed the Miko to restore themselves, but afterwards, she was fair game. That thought caused an evil smirk to drift over his handsome, dark features.

"Pity you say your supply is…. limited…" Mira could finally stand. Somehow, someway, the dark energy mingled with hers and actually accelerated her healing. She felt stronger and more confident than before (if that was possible). It still wasn't 100%, but at least now she wasn't easy pickings.

Ryoko watched on in mild interest, staying vigilant and on high alert while in the vicinity of their unruly acquaintance. Her experience in aura manipulation and training served as a reminder that demons do not heal well when the wound is caused by purity, no matter what actions are taken. She had no doubt that the dark energy would restore her Lady's strength and help to heal her. However, that was the least of her worries. What concerned her was the thought of a prophecy, passed down through centuries, of her family's line, demons with seemingly non-existent auras. The only beings ever rumored to have the capability of doing such things, no longer existed in this world, and even those beings did not possess infinite dark energy. That particular specialty is why the creatures had high value in the demon realm, especially during the Heian Time Period (random part of Japan history I chose). Battles between demons, monks, and priestesses were a normal, every other day occurrence, but more amazing was the fact that her family line held fast, with very few deaths during those times. Casualties were 2:1, the humans being the lesser of the two, which always seemed strange to the demoness considering demons were more swift, agile, and overall, the superior species between the two. When she questioned the reasoning behind battles and unbelievable overall victory of humanity, the answer she received was not what she expected. Apparently, her own family line, Asahi of Nature, sided with the humans. They understood the importance of balance and life through all beings. Only demons closer to the power of at least a noble or higher (even closer to daiyoukai) had the wherewithal to sense any Asahi clan member. Most of the time, if they were sensed during the heat of battle, it was too late and heads were rolling left and right. Stealth was their prowess. It's as if their line owns the right to the word "Assassin".

But still. Back then, as far as she'd heard, the more of her people you owned, be it slave or by loyalty, the more likely you were to survive and be victorious. In the end, that same phenomenon is also what caused their near extinction.

The Asahi clan and the Void – the dark demons with the ability to phase into a particular area (like teleport), were constantly clashing with each other. The Void could get you and a small battalion well into an enemy's territory, but the Asahi would sense you before you arrived. That was how the clans offset each other, which made some minor lords who craved more power, launched attacks on both home fronts hoping to eliminate both clans entirely.

It's been said that because both clans were coveted by many, procreation slowed. More and more of the Asahi died in battle from wars brought to their doorsteps because of their abilities. There was no escape for the young either. The last of the Void had perished at the hands of a priestess hundreds of years ago, 'so the story goes. So why now, of all times, does someone with that ability, show up out of the blue?' Ryoko thought. She knew she couldn't stop her Lady from the path she was about to partake, but she hoped she would help her see her true value. She would not allow her mistress to fall into the easy trap setup by that Void demon without a fight. She already promised she would help her lady find happiness one day. There would be someone waiting for her who would accept everything she had to offer. Her Lady just needed to be patient.

But in a way, it was good that she would attempt to seek out the Priestess in her ever-growing frustrations. It would give her a chance to speak with her again about her suspicions, after she observed her a little more. She needed to confirm if the Miko could be trusted. If what she thought was true, heads would roll and lands would crumble. The world would be restructured and flipped upside down by the end of everything. And, if the Priestess appeared untrustworthy, then hell's flames would flare and burn that much hotter when the prophecy was fulfilled.

"Ryoko. We shall take are leave," Mira said interrupting her thoughts.

"By your leave my Lady."

Mira headed towards the West at a casual pace with her servant in tow. She glanced while scowling at Jett, then turned her head with her nose turned up in the typical stuck-up fashion.

Jett casually brushed off the insult and said "don't worry about me. I'll be flying around somewhere observing what you decide to do. I'm sure I'll be entertained no matter what." Jett said.

Ryoko scowled at him for his impudence. If what she thought about him was true, she had a feeling she would be helping to return him to wherever it was he came from.

"Do as you wish," Mira said. "Just don't get in my way."

"Gladly."

What that said, they journeyed towards the core of the Western Lands where the palace awaited. Mira took a leisurely pace, hoping to come up with some form of plan to ruin the Miko. If she couldn't have Sesshomaru, then no one could, or at least, not the Miko.

Things to know:

Void Clan – Clan of demons with the ability to harness darkness somewhat, and use it in one or two ways that is similar to a priestess. They also have the ability to phase through dimensions for the purpose of leaving one area and going to another. This is almost never a precise location, just a relative location and can be impacted by barriers, demonic strength of an area, etc. Haze is the residue created from phasing through dimensions.

Asahi Clan – Clan of demons with seemingly non-existent auras and youki. They do actually have both, but it is undetectable by demons who are not higher tier demons. If demons had a scale from 1-7, 7 being the highest, only a 6 or 7 would sense the clan member, and the 6 would sense them after various seconds have already gone by, but they could see them no problem. This clan has been trained in the art of assassination and aura control and manipulation. They are not always the strongest, but their stealth capabilities more than make up for that.

It's been so long since I wrote an update. I know. I already said I'm trifling. I was honest. What more can I say? Yall see them Ravens lose tonight in the NFL? I was so excited lol