:: Part One ::
~ The Nameless Ones ~
There were no more odd dreams that evening for Kagome. Instead, she and the others had been drawn away from their very temporary dwelling by a group of very strange youkai gathering in the skies over the village nearby. For half the night, the demons hovered – some drifting towards the forest, others practically bouncing off the roofs of the village below. They did no harm to any of the mortals – nor did they seem to notice the small band of potential adversaries led by a Hanyou.
"Are they waiting for something?" Kagome asked out loud – not really expecting an answer as she and the others watched and waited for the demons to actually do something. The villagers had fled their homes, and were off huddled in the safety of a cave while their would-be protectors remained unprovoked.
"It seems as if they are, but what could it be?" Miroku was the one who replied to the rhetorical question.
"Whatever it is, it can't be good." InuYasha stated, his golden eyes narrowing as he continued. "This is very near the border of Sesshoumaru's lands. Whatever it is they're up to, I'm sure he'll know about it soon."
"So we should be expecting company?" Miroku deadpanned, receiving a grim nod from InuYasha.
"That's comforting." Sango's sarcasm cut into the conversation. Then, she glanced up at the collection of wind dancing youkai. "Wait. . ."
"What is it Sango?" Kagome questioned.
"I recognize what they are now . . . but. . ."
"But what already?" InuYasha was as impatient as usual.
"They shouldn't be around anymore. My Father told me about them once – when I was rather young. Those things aren't really demons at all – they're the servants of one. And she's been dead for almost a century now."
"So they're like Kikyou's . . ." Shippou began a comparison that never found an end in his voice.
"No, not at all. They aren't anything that has ever been mortal – or otherwise. In fact, they really don't have a name – or if they ever had, it's been lost for a century. However, they've always been said to gather when their Mistress rises and then disperse when she no longer needs them." Sango explained the old lesson as she remembered it. "In fact, they say that she made them from ice and air."
"How did she die?" Kagome asked, her eyes becoming a bit unfocused for a second. No one seemed to notice.
"Yeah – and who is she, anyway?" InuYasha added. He glared as Sango shrugged.
"I never learned her name, or the details of her death. I think I fell asleep before I heard the end of the story." She stated, ruining the would be lesson. The others shot her annoyed glances, and then continued to watch the nameless spirits that rallied in the air.
Not so very far away . . .
A pair of narrowed, glowing eyes watched as the spirits whistled through the air to gather at some place beyond the forest. A heart beat drummed quickly with excitement, relief and astonishment. She's close and alive, they wouldn't be awake if she weren't! The woman thinking this passed close to the edge of a pond, her moon made reflection shimmering on the dark water as she went. Midnight black hair complemented snowy skin, falling past thin shoulders to blend into a tight fitting gown that she'd fashioned herself. She was not a tall woman, but she was rather athletic, as well as curvy. Her ears were black, and a bit fluffier than her ice enclosed sister's. So was her tail (for that matter), which swished happily behind her even as she crept along with silent footsteps. Her name was Sakura, and she was a demoness – more to the point, she was of a rare breed of NekoYoukai – thought just yesterday to be the very last of her kind. The spirits in the air told her that was false, but then – she had never doubted that her older sister was alive, just out of reach . . . no matter what anyone 'bonded' to Leiko may have said. Upon that thought, her eyes narrowed further. Yes, Sesshoumaru dear, you were wrong! How does it feel, great and mighty one? Do you see them there in the sky now? They are the evidence that my sister is not dead, you great Lord of Fools!
Sakura continued on her path, following beneath the flow of spirits that gathered to greet her sister – cursing Sesshoumaru as she went.
