Toga sat behind his desk, awaiting word from his guards. It had been 2 days since he had sent them on their mission. He knew time was of the essence in this matter. He would not fail his old friend. The Great Grim had been a constant supporter in the world of demons or fay, as his friend referred to himself. While humans unknowingly warred over small stretches of land, demons had long known that the world was vaster and yet smaller than any human could imagine. Messages were carried by air or by sea to every nation and every ruler. The message from the Great Grim was not their usual friendly banter but a dire plea for assistance. Toga stared at the letter again before diverting his attention to his son's training in the courtyard just outside his study. He shook his head as he regarded his son's practiced and smooth movements. His boy was strong, intelligent, confident, and a master of almost everything he put his mind to. He could not fault his son for those traits, but he was also aloof, vengeful, and arrogant. Toga was not the most benevolent man, but his love for his human princess had shown him the error in his beliefs. Now he wanted to find a way to ensure that Sesshomaru would not spend the rest of his days making the same mistakes. He believed he held part of the answer in his hand.
The sound of clanging armor and heavy footsteps alerted him to the return of his commander. Toga indicated his servants allow his commander entrance with the flick of two clawed fingers. The tall inuyoaki bowed low as he entered the room.
"Were you successful?" Toga asked, keeping his interest out of his voice.
"Yes, my Lord. We found a small field of the Dreamer's Bloom north of where the witch said it might be. The recent storms destroyed most of the field. We were able to find only a few intact, of which this is the finest." his commander produced the plant from the pouch he carried. Toga leaned forward to appraise the plant. The bunch of long green stems looked woody with serrated leaves that turned reddish-green as they increased in size along each stem's length. The plant ended in a compact collection of tiny flowers that formed a spear. He sighed in defeat as he noted the pale pink flowers.
"There were no purple blooms?" Toga asked, hoping that his commander had simply forgotten which color he coveted. Of course, he knew his commander was not a forgetful man, nor would he disregard his lord's request.
"No, my Lord. My sincerest apologies. All the purple blooms had been destroyed, all that remained were pink." The commander hung his head regretfully. Toga huffed in frustration. "I beg your pardon my Lord, but if the Great Grim wishes to have a child so greatly as to go to this extreme measure surely the sex of the child is of little consequence."
Toga knew that it did not; the message conveyed as much. The Great Grim's beloved wife could no longer safely bear children of her own, and with their eldest two children almost grown, they longed for the pitter-patter of tiny feet once more. The Black Dog clan was known for their large families. To have only two pups was a harsh blow to the Great Grim's heart and pride. But with the assistance of a second mother and a capable womb, their desire was within reach. Save for the rare and priceless plant that still thankfully grew within the lands of the Western Lord. The Dreamer's Bloom, a plant leftover from the days when the world's lands touched, had once thrived on almost every continent. Blooming for a few short days once every hundred years, it was highly prized and picked virtually to extinction. Among other magical applications, Dreamer's Bloom was the critical ingredient in a potion to bind the building blocks of life from several people to create one. Of course, there was one little side effect; the plant so greatly influenced the sex of the child that unless both pink and purple Dreamer's Bloom was used, the outcome was certain. Pink produced a boy, and purple produced a girl.
"Did you search every nook? Every possible location?" Toga held out hope. When his commander nodded, he looked out into the courtyard once more to see the petite daughter of a nobleman bashfully trying to get his son's attention. No one could fault the girl; his son was beautiful to behold. With his long silver locks, golden eyes, and muscular build, he unwillingly caught the hearts and attention of delicate giggling ladies. Sesshomaru ignored the flirting girl to deliver an impressive blow to his sparring partner. The girl let out a trained modest giggled behind her sleeve and complimented Sesshomaru's strength. Her reward was a deadly glare followed by a disgusted sneer. Toga saw the hurt well up in the girl's eyes as she retreated. Sesshomaru had more than made it clear to everyone that he had no interest in the fairer sex. He regarded them as weak and a distraction for lesser men. Having seen enough, Toga rose from his seat, refusing to give up. His friend could wait a bit longer so he may check the field with his own eyes.
It took no time for Toga to locate the field with his commander's detailed directions. He stood in the middle of the small field and surveyed the damage from the storms. As his commander had reported, most of the plants were bare of any bloom save for a few sad pink flowers which clung to existence. Toga did not have to travel far to realize that his men had been thorough and that no purple flowers would be found in this field. Feeling his plan slip through his fingers, he took flight once more but stopped short as a glint of light caught his eye. A good distance from the field, hidden from view on the ground by several boulders, a pond shimmered in the waning hours of daylight. Surrounding the pond was a small collection of the Dreamer's Bloom. From his vantage, he could tell that most if not all of the plants had intact blooms. His men could not fly; surely, they had missed this pond. Toga quickly made his way to the pond and landed softly among the plants. A smile spread across his handsome features when his eyes landed on a single purple Dreamer's Bloom tucked against one of the boulders. The boulders had shielded the plants from the storm, and he silently thanked them for their protection of his son's future mate. Not wasting any time, Toga uprooted the plant and made his way back to his fortress.
"WITCH!" Toga bellowed as he landed in the courtyard. Sesshomaru leaned against a pillar, watching as his father waited in the courtyard for the tiny old woman to appear. The purple-flowered plant not escaping his notice.
"Giving flowers to old women now?" Sesshomaru said condescendingly. Toga gave his son a quick glance while holding the plant closer to his person. He was wary of what his son would do if he knew his intentions. There were too many with loose lips in his service to let his guard down. The plant was too rare and precious to take that chance. Toga could easily overpower his son, but one drop of venom from Sesshomaru's claws would lay waste to his plans.
"It is none of your concern, Sesshomaru. Do you not have singing lessons to attend to?" Toga smirked as Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. He knew his son hated his singing lessons. He was not sure if it was the singing or the teacher, his son, hated more. "Away with you," he commanded as the excited witch approached. Sesshomaru sneered before complying with his father's order.
"Ah, my Lord has been successful this day!" The witch crooned in her raged but soothing tone, a small skip in her step. "I had already turned the pink Dreamer's Bloom to dust for transport, but this is a far better specimen indeed." The witch giggled, clasping her hands to her chest in awe. "And purple too! Oh, my Great Lord Grim will be most pleased to have a choice. Most pleased indeed." She was bouncing with joy as Toga handed over the Dreamer's Bloom. She hugged the plant to her chest like it was already an infant and started to scurry away to ready the plant for transport back to her lord.
"Witch." Toga calmly called her back. She watched him for a moment before scurrying back. He bent over her tiny frame to whisper in her ear. He almost laughed as the old witch blushed from his proximity. "You will destroy the pink dust and only give your lord the purple. You will tell no one, not even your lord." She wondered his reason for not allowing her lord the choice, but she would not question the daiyouki. Toga straightened before continuing in his usual tone, "before you leave, come to my study. I will have a message with my payment stipulations for you to deliver to my old friend." She nodded her understanding.
The blaring alarm brought Revna back from the land of sleep with a groan. After the phone call with her boss, she decided to shower and then sleep off her headache. Now it was half past midnight, time to go to work. She slid out of bed with another groan and made her way to the bathroom. Leaning down over the sink, she splashed water over her face to wake herself up. When she looked at the towel hanging by the sink, she noted the change. It was insignificant, but the slight shift in color from bluish-white to whitish-yellow, along with the difference in quality and texture, set off her mental alarms. It was an anomaly. A tiny, minuscule change in the timeline. Those who traveled the paths of time became hyper-aware of the changes through experience. Humans sometimes experienced them, but they attributed the various types of anomalies to ghosts, Deja vu, or forgetfulness. An anomaly was not something to fear usually, but enough of them meant something could be wrong. They happened when the past was altered in big and small ways. Decisions made or not made showed up like a ripple on a still lake. That was why she was here. Anomalies and missing items were popping up at the Higurashi shrine almost daily. It made the Agency nervous enough to put resources into monitoring the closed time portal within the well.
Drying off, Revna leaned down again to look into the mirror that was just a bit too short for her tall frame. Grabbing the small bottle from the counter, she hesitantly took a small sip and immediately gaged. 'It never gets any better ugh!' she thought, sticking out her tongue in disgust. She felt the potion burn down her esophagus like whiskey without the delicious taste. Brushing her teeth, she watched in the mirror as the potion took effect. Her yellowish-orange eyes and midnight blue hair shifted to dark brown. The blue v-shaped marking on her forehead and the thin double lines that ran across her bottom lip down her chin, neck, and chest faded into sun-kissed skin. Smiling into the mirror, the only parts of her unchanged was her fangs and her sharp claws; yet, surprisingly, most humans never noticed. Usually, she went with contacts and foundation to hide her heritage, but contacts blurred her sharp vision, and she didn't feel like cutting her sleep short to put on makeup. She French braided her hair in three large rows before pulling the rest into a ponytail. After slipping into her black jeans, a plain black t-shirt, and black high-top sneakers, she slipped her cellphone into her back pocket, grabbed her backpack, and headed for the shrine.
A twenty-minute train ride later, she was making her way through the forest surrounding the shrine. Despite the late hour and her human appearance, she didn't want to chance a passerby seeing her scale the steps to the shrine in the middle of the night. Police officers were people she liked to avoid. She jumped the short fence, barely making a noise as she landed in a crouch next to the well. Closing her eyes, she listened intently for the sounds of the Higurashi family. Grandpa Higurashi's snoring was the only noise coming from the dark house across the complex. Satisfied, Revna made her way around the small building to find the one Higurashi family member who knew her. Buyo mewed happily as he rolled comically on his back for his usual toll. Revna suppressed a giggle but obliged her furry friend, crouching down to scratch his belly.
"Keep guard for me," she whispered, patting his belly. Buyo mewed, still laying on his back in kitty heaven. Looking at the door, Revna sighed, "Grandpa's been busy again, I see. At least someone is taking this seriously." She removed an army knife from her bag and began carefully peeling the sutras that sealed the doorframe to the doors. She would have to reseal the door when she was done; otherwise, the old man would notice his work had been disturbed. She admired the pride he had in his work, even if he lacked the spiritual ability to make it function. Revna felt a sting of sadness as she realized that the sutras' placement meant they feared what was happening around their shrine more than presenting an open welcome should Kagome ever return. Even though she was glad to see them taking precautions, the sadness deepened as Revna paused in her work to glance over to the house.
'I'm sorry. I know you miss her. I promised I would protect them and even though you aren't aware of that promise it's one I still plan to keep, but first I need to make sure you will be safe,' she thought. Peeling the last sutra from the doors and slowly opening the left side, lifting it slightly once it was three-quarters open to prevent the loud creak she'd learned to avoid. The door creaked slightly, and she made a mental note that infrequent use had made the wood sit differently. She paused to listen for any movement from the house when none came save for rhythmic snoring, she silently thanked the city's white noise. Revna slipped into the well shrine and closed the door behind her before using her energy to erect a barrier around the small shrine. Inside the air hung heavy smelling of dirt and dust. Revna jumped to the well, and taking a bright shiny gold coin from her pocket, she flipped it into the well. She heard it hit the dirt with a soft metallic thud. Like other closed or forgotten portals, it was customary to bury a coin as a prayer of good fortune for those on the other side. Humans called these fairy rings or gateways to hell, which helped keep them from discovering them. Either natural, as the Higurashi well was, or demon made it was best that humans feared them. The custom gave Revna an excuse to lay some bait.
Revna quickly got to work, replacing the first of three cameras hidden expertly in the well shrine. After the first several anomalies showed up at the shrine, it was determined that the Agency would need to pay closer attention. When the Higurashi family started complaining of missing items, the Agency decided to step up their surveillance. The first order of business was night vision cameras in the well shrine. The missing items, according to the reconnaissance of local agents, were always small and shiny.
The well shrine was the central area of concern because the week before Revna's return, the old cameras, which usually showed only endless staticky darkness at night, recorded Kagome's mom bursting into the shrine with a bright lantern and a panicked expression. She ran to the well, and though the cameras had no audio, Revna could see she was calling for her daughter. When she realized she was alone, she knelt on the floor and cried. Kagome's mom had supported her daughter's choice to leave her time to be with Inuyasha, but that didn't make losing her child any easier. It was heartbreaking to watch as they replayed the video for Revna, but it was what Kagome's mom missed that made her blood boil.
The video tech let Revna take in the scene as someone who had protected and cared for the family during the first playthrough. At first, the video looked normal, heart-wrenching, but normal. Revna noted the time stamp when Kagome's mom entered the shrine; 1:24:55 am. On the second playthrough, the video tech rewound the video back to 1:13:49 and hit play. A few seconds passed. Revna's eyes widened as the still cameras began attempting to focus on movement that the darkness prevented them from recording. After several seconds of unsuccessful focusing, the cameras stilled again. The video tech fast-forwarded ten minutes of entirely still image, then hit play again. 1:24:35, 20 seconds before Kagome's mom would enter the well shrine, the cameras sat still for a few seconds then burst into motion as they tried to focus. 1:24:47, 8 seconds, the light from the approaching lantern illuminated a shape in the darkness fumbling with something next to the well. The cameras still attempting to focus blurs the image at 1:24:53. 1:24:55, Kagome's mom bursts into the shrine with the bright lantern held high. Revna searched the image for anything out of place; a footprint, a dropped item, anything.
"Pause!" Revna instructed, quickly putting her hand on the tech's shoulder as her eyes widened and her breath caught. "There!" She pointed to the shadow of a pillar holding up the walkway at the back of the shrine. Along the right edge of the shadow, the small creature's partial shadow hiding behind the pillar could be seen. A few minutes later, Kagome's mom had composed herself enough to leave. The light faded to darkness again. The camera remained still for a moment before they attempted to focus for a second then stilled. Revna barely contained her growl. Something had been in the shrine with Mom Higurashi, and Revna was not okay with that.
Revna knew full well that had Kagome and Inuyasha been full demons separated by time, the Agency would have pulled out all stops and boasted publicly of its charity to help the lovers find happily ever after. However, the love story between a powerful human priestess and a half breed was not front-page news, so they cared little, if at all. If not for the Great Grim's intervention, the well would have been closed the first time Kagome went through it. Never mind the mission they had set for themselves in the past that they went about with passionate conviction. Of which Revna knew little, whatever it had been, the history books didn't include it. It was because of the Great Grim that Revna, a hybrid, was assigned the case. The Agency would not waste the powers of a full-blooded demon on such trivial matters. The bureaucrats of the Agency cared little for missions that would not swell their already swollen wallets. Now she was learning that the Agency's neglect of the portal had allowed something to cross the pathway and possibly endanger the Higurashi family.
Revna worked diligently through the night. Her ears pinned to the well. She struggled with the new camera setup as she was not used to the latest technology, and she was working in the dark. Even with natural night vision, it was not easy. As she moved on to start working on the second camera, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. The familiar sparks of energy caused by a pathway opening alerted her that she wouldn't be alone much longer. Revna grabbed her bag, securing it on both shoulders. Whoever it was wouldn't get the chance to run off with her bag though if she had it her way, they wouldn't get away at all. Revna crouched onto the walkway like the predator she was and waited. It wasn't long before her prey showed itself. A small monkey demon climbed from the well, holding her coin up to the moonlight before biting it to check if it was real. Satisfied with its prize, it jumped to the door with a greedy glint in its eye. Revna jumped in front of the well to block its exit.
"How did you get through the portal little demon?" she asked, startling the monkey who slowly turned to face her. Revna never saw what happened next coming. The monkey demon was small, possibly even a child. She expected it to try to run out into the shrine complex. Her barrier would prevent that, of course, but she never expected such a small creature to launch itself full force at her. The shock of the action short-circuited her brain long enough for the monkey to knock her off balance as it made violent contact with her chest. Giving it the chance to leap over her shoulder and zoom back down the well. Unfortunately, the surprising impact knocked Revna's long legs against the well's shorter lip, and she fell backward, hitting her head against the other side, knocking her out before she fell clumsily down the well.
