The three of them sat in Takara's living room. Makoto and Miyo had never seen Takara's house before; it was a cabin deep in the forest, and she had never allowed anyone to know where she lived. Now they sat beside one another, and Takara could smell their fear. She couldn't blame them. They had just witnessed their friend, their schoolmate, poison someone with claws that weren't normally there.
Takara sat before them after changing her clothes into something more modest. The shortness of her uniform's skirt always made her uncomfortable; after all, she was born in an era when everyone kept his or her body almost completely covered. She now wore a long black skirt and a large shirt with three quarter sleeves. She knelt in front of them, and sighed.
"I'm sorry you had to see what happened out there," she told them. Miyo looked up at her with big, frightened eyes.
"Who was that, Takara-chan?" she asked, her voice barely working.
"I will tell you everything. You must not be afraid; I am going to show you something that no one has seen in over a hundred years."
Takara closed her eyes. Suddenly, she began to glow. Miyo gasped and fell into Makoto, who held her protectively as Takara changed.
Her long black hair became white with gold streaks, and her ears swept up into points. Her hands had claws, and her mouth had fangs. On her neck appeared two black stripes, one on each side, and a purple crescent moon appeared on her forehead. She opened her eyes, and they were gold with slitted irises, like a cat, highlighted by red markings on her eyelids.
"I am a youkai," she explained. "An inu youkai to be precise. The form you see now is my humanoid form; my true form is that of what ninjen [humans] would call a giant dog. I was born almost three hundred years ago, when my kind was numerous, and was feared by ninjen.
"I am the daughter of Sesshoumaru, the youkai Lord of the Western Lands. His otousan [father] was a taiyoukai – a great youkai – and my mother was also a taiyoukai. Because of this, I am also a taiyoukai, and am much more powerful than any ordinary youkai. My otousan was one of the greatest youkai lords of our time. He was undefeatable; the only ones who stood a chance against him were Inuyasha, his younger tanechigai [half brother], my mother, Mio, and a daija youkai known as Michiomaru.
"On his own, Michiomaru was not very great. But he had the power to steal the essence of any youkai he defeated, and with it, their powers and strengths. He traveled the land defeated hundreds of youkai and stealing their essence until he was powerful enough to fight otousan. He wanted to take control of the Western Lands and force my family out of power. But it would never be.
"Michiomaru challenged otousan in the forest outside of our castle when I was fifty years old. I watched out of a window as they fought, and when otousan fell to his knees I knew…I knew…"
Takara was breathing hard, tears welling up in her eyes as she remembered the death of her father. She swallowed.
"Michiomaru murdered my otousan. He murdered him, and stole his essence, becoming nearly twice as powerful as he had been. But I…I couldn't let him continue. He killed my otousan…I couldn't let him kill me as well. I must live on to keep our bloodline. I cannot let my family blood fade away.
"My okaasan [mother] had taught me many skills concerning barriers and enchantments. I lured Michiomaru away from our castle, and fought him. I was able to trick him into entering a cave in the middle of the forest. And then, I placed an enchantment on the cave, sealing him in, and placing him in a deep sleep that would last as long as he was uninterrupted. To make sure no one found him, I placed a barrier around the cave, so no youkai could enter it and accidentally wake him. And there he has stayed for over two hundred years."
She stopped, staring at the floor and seeing nothing. Her mind was back two hundred and twenty five years in the past when this had occurred, and she could remember every detail.
A moment passed, and the three of them sat still. Then, Miyo crept forward, and pulled Takara into a hug. A moment later, Makoto joined in, and the three of them sat together in a big three-person hug for what felt like a long time. Finally, Takara pushed away.
"I don't know how he came back," she told them. "But you must know – as long as you are my friends, and he is alive, you are in danger. He will not think twice about killing a ninjen, and if he thinks it will get to me, he will do it. For your safety, I cannot ask you to stay with me."
Makoto gave her a soft smile. "Takara-chan, I don't know much about this. But I am you friend, and I will stay by your side."
Miyo nodded in agreement, wiping tears from her eyes.
Takara sighed. "It will be very dangerous. I don't know what all he is capable of, but I do know that my otousan is in him, and otousan was very powerful. I have already seen that my doku will not harm him, for it is the same doku my otousan had, and he now has.
"My home is safe; there is a barrier around it that no youkai can get through. But outside of my home, Michiomaru can strike anywhere, anytime. I must be prepared and ready for anything he brings to me."
"And then what will happen?" Miyo asked, her eyes moist from her tears. Takara looked away, her golden eyes narrowing.
"And then I will kill him…or be killed."