Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Inuyasha characters. I make no money from these stories, and I write these fanfictions to solely to entertain myself (yes, I am very easily amused). I do, however, own Sakura and Itsuki (the little girl that you'll soon find out about), and would appreciate it if neither would be used in your stories without my permission (obviously I don't care if you use the same names, they're common names I suppose. Just don't use the same personal history as the characters in my stories.)

Chapter 4: Angel-child, long departed

It is midnight. The small house is quiet, stillness lingers heavily in the summer air. Hinges creak, the door opening into a dark room. Dim lights from the outside slice through the nighttime like red-hot blades. Footsteps echo through the halls.

"Momma?" a child's voice echoes through the thick darkness. Footsteps draw nearer to her bed. "Momma, is dat you?" her voice is slurred and sleepy.

The lights shine on the silhouette of a tall figure, looming ever closer to the little girl. His long, silver hair gleams against the light. "Sleep, Itsuki." The man's deep voice whispers.

"Daddy?" the child questions, obviously confused about the identity of the intruder.

"Go back to sleep, Itsuki." His voice is harsher this time. The sound of freezing steel scraping out of its sheath can be heard. A blade catches the light, flashing brightly. The child asks no questions, and the room is silent. There is the scream of a child, a shrill cry floating through the stagnant air. Silence…

"ITSUKI!" Sakura screamed sitting bolt upright, eyes wide and afraid. She looked around her, peering through the thick darkness and gloom to the fire, some yards away. It had burned down to nothing more than a few glowing embers. She could just make out the faint outlines of Inuyasha and his friends sleeping on the ground.

"Itsuki…" Sakura pulled her knees up to her chin. "My baby… he'll pay for what he did to you."

Sakura frowned darkly. "I should have known…He knew what she was, he knew that she was an angel…that's why she died…that's why he killed her…" Sakura thought to herself. "Why does it have to be this way? Why wasn't I born as something else…a dog-demon perhaps? Then Itsuki would have been a demon like her father. None of this would have happened if I wasn't an…an…" her thoughts were disrupted by a voice, reverberating from somewhere in her subliminal mind.

"An angel?" the tiny voice mocked. "A seraph sent from Heaven? You are here because you are destined to be; you are fated to fulfill the prophecy."

Sakura glowered at herself, shaking her head in self-hatred. "I wish not to complete your prophecy…it was not meant to end this way…" Sakura reasoned. "I should have been there to stop him…"

"You cannot deter your fate, Sakura! It was fate, my dear, which got you where you are today. It was destiny that obtained, for you, this power." The voiced ridiculed. A blue light surrounded Sakura, empowering her. "You know that it is the power that you seek in life, not the companionship of he who murdered your child." The miniscule voice taunted.

Sakura was silent. "I want neither…simply revenge…" she sneered. The voice inside her cackled with a malicious sort of laughter.

"And you shall have it!" the voice boomed. "The powers of an angel have no limits." It laughed.

Sakura smiled slightly, allowing the darkness of the night and the feeling of ultimate power engulf her.

"You shall be avenged, Itsuki…"

Author's Note: Short, yes, but very important to the story. This may well be one of the most information-packed chapters that I will write. As always, please review!