Chapter 1
"She Who Is Without Equal"
She could be seen atop the great mountain gazing up at the one thing that could ever be at peace in such a feudal era. The Great Moon gleamed down upon her brighter than the sun, it seemed. However, not a single urge came to her knowledge to force her to shield her eyes from such light. She only stood there, letting the crisp air whisper across her face bringing with it tiny mists of water from the fog above the lake beneath her. Not a sound could be heard save for the occasional hoot of the lone owl and the soft waves from a not-so-distant ocean. This was the way Kimi preferred it to be, quiet, undisturbed, alone. It was how it always should have been, and always was in the quiet realm of the Suwan Youkai, the northern lands of Hoppou.
Even in this serene atmosphere, Kimi found herself placing her hand onto the hilt of her blade, the Shoushi-Ken, the blade that had been her loyal ally through every battle, every war, and every idle threat to oppose her. There did not yet appear a single being that resided above the earth that could rival her strength, the strength that she had acquired all on her own. That strength would never betray her, as she would never deceive it. She had no reason to. Some would have called her caution paranoia, or a lust for battle, but she gave these accusations no further thought. In her mind, she was only looking after herself and her people. She had been responsible for her own well-being practically since she was born, as her parents rejected her, or had been killed, she'd like to believe. There was no question as to how great her powers were, for her parents were certainly daiyoukai, supreme demons. She could not help but wonder what really happened to them. Did they really abandon her as she presumed, or were they actually killed? And if so, whom by?
Hours passed before Kimi left that spot among the mountain. Hours of thought, hours of contemplation came and went before she could allow herself to move on and wait for the pale moon to set and the bright sun to rise the next morning.
She awakened sitting up against a tree near the same mountain she had been pondering on the very night before. Very few of the Suwan Youkai have ever had a designated position of slumber, as they were a wandering kind, even within their own boundaries. Standing in one place for too long could be agitating to any youkai, especially the most powerful.
After Kimi stood, she did a light stretch and walked down the hill towards the village of the clan. A few youkai could be seen bustling about, whether in conversation or in playful sparring, especially the younger generation. Kimi was often looked upon as part of the younger generation, seeing as she was a mere 45 compared to the more mature 80 and 90-year-old youkai, yet even they were seen as young to the elders who were well in their hundreds. Her maturity allowed her to fit in with older youkai, not that she wanted to fit in with anyone. Nevertheless, she was a role model to youkai years above her and years beneath her.
After a few steps, she immediately decided to go into the quiet den beneath a waterfall in the heart of the village. A shield ruptured from her very flesh, causing the water to slide around her as she entered the den. No one was inside, which was expected. There was nothing inside the den except for records upon records of youkai and other significant beings throughout the time of the present era. She was always interested in reading about such things, confirming her supreme and unrivaled power. She immediately grabbed for the scroll entitled "Western Lands", as it was one of the few which she had yet to read.
In opening the scroll a specific youkai immediately caught her attention. His name was difficult to read as the pages were so faded, but the pictures were clear. He was an extremely large dog youkai rumored to be hundreds of years old. His powers were "ultimate" and none of his foe had gone undefeated. Kimi read on to find out that this so-called "ultimate" youkai was slain by a powerful dragon unknown to her called Ryukotsusei. She smiled to herself. How could one said to be so great a youkai be conquered by a mere dragon? She closed the scroll and tossed it into a heap of the ones she had already read. After doing this, she was on her way.
Even though this unknown youkai had been defeated, Kimi's eyes had been open to new threats. Perhaps there were youkai out there whose power surpassed her own, as foolish as that seemed. It would only make sense to assume that because Kimi had not faced every single youkai there was that there was possibly an equal match out there just waiting for her.
Considering this, she left the village of Hoppou without telling anyone, not as if she needed to. She could come and go as she pleased, which was the beauty if living in a community of youkai. She was free, but she was not without concern. She decided to travel to the Western Lands to see if she could take a glimpse of where this invincible dog youkai once resided. Come to think of it, she had never actually been to the Western Lands.
What could await her there? A challenge? Not likely, but there was always hope.