Ch 3

A Message from a Crow

Rain was so deep in meditation that he did not feel Ankha curl up at his side. She was purring a full throated purr. Everyone cocked their heads to one side. This was a very strange sight to see.

"Doesn't she hate him?" Miroku asked in a whisper. "I mean, she's an assassin and he's a Bounty Hunter. They're supposed to be hell bent to kill each other." Sessho thought a moment than looked from face to face, and seeing the confusion over these strange events, he said "She did attack him with Shippo."

Remembering this, they all had to stifle fits of giggles. Loeyla, realizing Rain was awakening from his meditation, shooed everyone from the room. Outside, they gave to the giggles.

"Why did you have to remind us of that event?" Loeyla cried when she had breath to do so. There was a lot more to giggle about when someone got the breath to tell another one of Ankha's doings.

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Rain awoke to the sound of giggles from outside. He looked over to see Ankha curled up in the smallest possible ball, purring the loudest possible purr, being the cutest possible cute right next to him. 'She looks like a kitten.' Rain smiled. Then, realizing she was off her mat, he carried her bride-style to the cot so she could continue sleeping there.

Halfway to his destination, he looked down to meet emerald flecked amber eyes. He smiled again. "Good morning!" He said cheerfully.

Looking around she told him, "I dreamed you asked to take away the hurtful memories of my past." Before he could answer, her eyes landed on Rain's hands. When she looked into Rain eye's, he saw anger. Rain knew he was in trouble.

"Let go of me, you... you bastard!" she yelled.

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Loeyla stopped laughing. 'Did someone yell?'

"What's wrong, Loeyla? Sessho asked, gasping for air.

"I thought I heard someone yell." Everyone stopped giggling and listened for something,

anything.

"OUCH!" Birds all around took flight. Crash! It was coming from the hut. "You stupid cat!" That was Rain. They burst into the hut to see Rain cradling his bleeding right arm and Ankha leaning on the cot trying to stand.

"You shouldn't have lifted me from my mat!" She screamed at him.

"You were cuddling and purring next to me!" He said, turning a pretty shade of pink. Then he shouted "You should not have left your mat!"

"I didn't leave my mat!"

"Yes you did!"

"No I didn't!"

"This isn't going to end anytime soon." Shippo said.

"Yes, you did!"

"I think you're right, Shippo." Talabinya agreed mildly.

"Did not!"

"Did too!" With a nod to everyone, Tal left. The others followed, shaking their heads.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"DID!"

"NOT!"

"YES!"

"NO!"

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Two hours later, Ankha was sleeping peacefully on the cot and Rain had Loeyla checking on his arm. "You're lucky, Rain, that this is all she did. She could have slit your throat." Rain turned away from his fellow bounty hunter, to look at the sleeping assassin across the room. Seeing where he was staring at, she smiled. "If I didn't know better, Rain," she looked at his wound once more. "I'd think you love her." She looked into his eyes, but didn't see much before he clocked her lightly in the head.

"I do not love an assassin." His eyes closed, a vein popping on his forehead. "It's against the unwritten laws of bounty hunting. Maybe it's alright for you, but it goes against everything I know." When he opened his eyes finally, Loeyla caught a glimpse of the turmoil inside of him. She saw that he was being torn in two, being broken in half. He was so torn inside that she had to look away. She couldn't help but feel pity for him. She finished stitching up his arm.

Without looking at him, she went out the door. "I'm sorry, Rain." She whispered so softly he couldn't hear. "I truly am." She left him there.

Ankha awoke to see Rain sitting on the ground, looking at his hands. "You look terrible." She said. He looked up.

"It's your fault." He said dryly.

"Sleep, you lech!"

"I am NOT A LECH!" He would have yelled if Ankha was not putting him to sleep with one of her songs.

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Rain awoke the next morning well rested. He stretched and rubbed his arm, forgetting his stitches. "SHIT!" He yelled. Loeyla ran in to see Rain's eyes watering and his arm bleeding heavily. Biting his lip, he said. "I ripped the stitches."

"I see." Loeyla said.

"I'm bleeding a lot." He looked kind of like a child with a sliver.

"I see that too."

"Can you...?" He asked, indicating his arm.

"Yes, I can." She walked over to tend the wound. "What happened?"

Still speaking through his teeth and lip, he said "I forgot I was stitched." After being

stitched up again, they walked outside to see Miroku talking to a crow.

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W.W.- "Why is Miroku talking to a crow?"

B.B.- "You'll find out."

Miroku - "Why am I talking to a crow?"

B.B.- "You'll find out."

Inuyasha - "Why is Miroku talking to a bird?"

B.B.- "You'll find out."

Inuyasha - "Tell!"

B.B.- "No!"

Inuyasha - (walks to computer) "I'll delete your story."

B.B.- "I have it on paper, and if you delete it, you'll never find out why Miroku is talking to a bird."

Inuyasha - "Fine, I'll wait... if you give me raman."

W.W.- (snatches story while B.B. isn't looking, runs away with it, laughing manically.)

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Miroku had been watching Sango play with her daughter, 'No, our daughter,' he thought with a smile, when the crow landed on his shoulder. Startled, the monk leapt up, dislodging the crow. The animal flew to a nearby tree and cocked it's head at an angle, and proceeded to stare at the lech.

Miroku stared back. Then it's beak opened.

"My mistress," said the crow, in a beautiful voice. The monks lech-y hand started to twitch in automatic response. "The Lady of the Crows, has heard about the problem with your hand." The crow glanced at the twitching hand. She corrected herself. "Hands." A vein showed on Miroku's forehead. "Lady Crow invites you to her home so she can help you learn to control them. "

Miroku looked back at his wife and child. "I can't leave without them. They are my life." The crow would have snorted, if it had had a nose to snort with. "Of course, your family may come. My mistress wouldn't dream of splitting you up. She's offering to make you all stronger as a family. Do you accept her invitation?"

Sango spoke from next to Miroku. Startled, he leaped into the air and hit his head. His child giggled at her father's foolishness, but his wife ignored her husband, and asked the crow her question. "Why do you wish to help us?" The crow looked as offended as a crow could.

"I do not wish to help you! The Lady of the Crows makes you this offer out of the generosity of her soul! I am merely the messenger, I know not her reasons." The crow took a deep breath and forced itself to relax. "What is your answer?"

As Miroku and Sango talked with each other, Loeyla and rain came out to see everyone staring at the monk, the warrior and the talking bird.

Finally, the whispering among the two stopped. They gave the bird their answer.

"We will go." Miroku said.

"Brilliant. I am to wait for you to pack, then lead you to her home." Quickly, they packed their things and departed from the group, following the crow. Soon they disappeared from sight.

Rain turned to Kagome. "And that means?"

"They're leaving."

"That is obvious." He gritted out through clenched teeth. "But where are they going?"

"To the Lady of the Crows home, so Miroku can learn to control his hands." She noticed something. "They didn't even say good bye."

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A little while later, Ankha awoke as well, and looked outside. It was noon! She remembered the events of the night and morning. Whipping the blankets off, she tried to jump out of bed. Fire shot through her leg as she was quickly reminded of her injuries.

"Lady Bast!" She screamed aloud, and leapt back into bed.

Loeyla sighed. She was tired of having to run into the house time and time again in answer to her patients screams. But, she went inside anyway.

"What's wrong?" She sighed again.

"Absolutely nothing." Ankha said in a dignified voice from her place on the cot.

"Oh?" Loeyla raised an eyebrow. "If nothing is wrong, than why did you yell?" Ankha sniffed.

"To get your attention, of course." She glared at the woman, who forced her to stay in this damn bed. "I am fully recovered, and I demand to be let outside, out of this stuffy house."

"I'll be the judge of that." She examined the leg and saw that the flesh had not fused together totally, examined her ribs and heard the grunt of pain as she did so. She didn't lift the shoulder up very far before the assassin slapped her hands away, saying, "Stop that! I'm telling you, I'm fine!"

"And I'm telling you, no, you're not!"

"Yes, I'm am!" The Hunter held up her hand.

"Stop arguing. I say you are not healed well enough to do anything but lay there." Ankha's glare became more intense, but Loeyla met her stare unflinchingly. And so the stare down began. An hour passed, then another, and soon the sun was setting. Sessho came in to see just what was going on. As he entered the doorway, Loeyla growled at him so fiercely that he ran away, whimpering. He sure as hell wasn't going to mess with her when she was like this!

The stare down went on for six days. They didn't even eat, so intensely they stared. Finally, on the dawn of the seventh day, Ankha spoke.

"It's my birthday today." Loeyla blinked in shock, sending eye crust everywhere.

"It is? Happy Birthday!" She realized what she had done. "Damn it!" Ankha wiped her

eyes and smiled a victorious smile. She said, in a gloating voice,

"I WIN!" then they both fell over, dead asleep.

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Shippo was the first who dared to look through the window and he saw that they were both out.

"It's over!" He called to the group. Sessho heaved a sigh of relief and went to gather his snoring mate.

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Loeyla - "Hey, I don't snore!"

Ankha - "Yes you do. Even I could hear you and I was asleep."

Loeyla - "You heard yourself."

Ankha - "I don't snore."

Rain - "Yeah, you purr."

Ankha - (red faced, but sweet voiced) "Oh, Rain..."

Rain - (not seeing the vein on her forehead, or the red face, completely unsuspecting) "Yes?"

Ankha - "You die, Dragon Boy!" (Tackles him)

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Ankha awoke maybe two hours later. She didn't need much sleep, she had been in that bed for the past week! Carefully, she stepped out of bed. Her leg had healed fully. She twisted slightly, and except for a twinge from little use, her ribs were fine. Tentatively, she stretched her arms above her head. She was all right.

Quickly, she fetched her cloak and ran outside, joyful to be out of the house for the first time in two weeks. She was stopped short at the door by Loeyla.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm fully healed." Seeing the Hunter not believe her, she knew she had to prove it. Why wouldn't this Hunter just leave her alone? 'For that matter, why won't the other one either?' She sighed. It made no difference. If prove she must, than prove she will.

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B.B.- "Ok, ok, I get it. I should have shown what was happening with Miroku."

W.W.- "Yes, you should have. I don't know where you want to go with this Crow. I will run with what I have though."

B.B.- "Do you have to make such a big production out of everything?"

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"I'll prove it to you." Ankha said, warning Loeyla with the tone of her voice.

The cat demon jumped up and grabbed the top of the door frame. 'Shoulder.' Using the doorframe as leverage, she swung onto the roof of the hut. 'Ribs.' The assassin took off across the roof, her bare feet making no noise on the shingles. When she ran out of roof, she launched herself into the trees and easily perched on the very top of one. 'Leg.'

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W.W.- "Yes."

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"Oh. I suppose you are healed." Loeyla said in a strangled voice. Ankha sighed again in relief and removed herself from the tree.

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B.B.- "Drama Queen."

W.W.- "Thank you. I sort of like Evil Drama Goddess, though." (B.B. steals story) "HEY!"

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"Could you slow down, please?" Miroku called as the crow went out of sight for the sixth time that morning.

"Why don't you, humans, walk at greater speed?"

By the crows tone of voice, Sango got the impression that it was getting just as frustrated having to come back for a couple of two leggers and a baby, as Miroku and Sango were frustrated at trying to keep the winged creature in sight.

"Forget it, Miroku." Sango said. "Crows are stubborn creatures." Miroku was carrying the baby because Sango kept tripping over the dead trees.

"I'm so glad that's what you think of my friends." The voice came from all around.

"Who are you?" Sango called in a shaky voice. "What do you want?"

"I am Lady Keyla." Sango and Miroku went back to back, searching for who it was that spoke. "I want to help you." The voice came from everywhere. It was impossible to locate.

"The voice is female." Sango whispered to Miroku over her shoulder.

"Yes, Sango, I know." To the voice he called "What is it that you wish to help us with?"

"Are you not the monk Miroku?" The voice had a twinge of laughter in it.

"Yes, I am Miroku."

"Then I wish to help you..." A woman walked from the trees wearing a black veil to hide her face. "...With your 'hand' problem." At that the woman removed her veil and laughed outright.

"Lady Crow." Songo and Miroku's crow guide came flying back. "I tried to get home sooner, but these humans..."

"Silence!" Lady Keyla said to the crow. "Maybe if you had taken the secret road you would have gotten here faster."

"But, Misst..."

"Silence, I said!" Lady Keyla glared at the crow. "You know what I was, and how I came to be this way." Her glare deepened. "Do you wish for me to take you wings as mine were taken from me?"

The crow looked down. "No, mistress."

"Good. Now be gone from my sight." When the crow did not move, she waved her arms at the crow. "Shoo!" And the crow took flight. "Now." She turned to Miroku, Sango and the baby. Sango watched Lady Keyla's eyes when they landed on the bundle in Miroku's arms. Sango saw those hard ebony eyes turn a soft amber.

"Do you want to hold her?" Sango knew when someone would risk their life for a child, and knew that Lady Keyla was one of those people.

"SANGO!" Miroku did not have the same gift Sango had. He was very skeptical as Sango pried the babe from the monk's arms and placed her in Lady Keyla's arms. Miroku grabbed Sango's arm and whispered harshly into her ear. "We don't know her!"

"It's okay." Sango never looked at Miroku. "She..." Looking at Miroku, she continued. "...It's complicated."

"Please, follow me." Lady Keyla started to walk away with the baby, forcing Miroku and Sango to follow.

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Miroku - "She's stealing my baby!"

Sango - "No she's not."

B.B.- "Sango's right."

Miroku - (looks at B.B.) "You're pretty."

B.B.- "Thank you, Miroku."

Miroku - (touches B.B.'s ass, smiles) "You have a firm ass."

B.B.- "Miroku, you're perverted, twisted and sick... I like that in a person."

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"Sango, I don't trust her." Miroku whispered to Sango.

"I should hope you would trust me." Lady Keyla called back to Miroku. "I'm the only way you'll be able to control your hands."

"How could you hear Miroku?" Sango asked. "I could barely hear him and he's right next to me."

"I have my secrets." Lady Keyla walked straight into a tree and disappeared.

"Hey!" Miroku shouted as Sango followed. Miroku stomped his frustration right through the tree. "Come back here with my ba..." The sight before him stopped him short. "...by." Sango was smelling the white roses that were growing straight up the side of the white trellis against the side of the Do-joe.

"Lady Crow! Lady Crow!" Two girls, about the age of eight, came running out of the Do-joe. "Lady Crow!"

"Silence!" Lady Keyla said in a level voice, her eyes ebony once more. Lady Keyla turned to Sango, and her eyes twinkled amber. "Sango, your babe."

When Sango took her child from Lady Keyla, the Lady's eyes turned pure ebony in a flash. Lady Crow faced the two girls. "What is it?" Both girls opened their mouths as one. Lady Keyla glared. "One at a time." She said each word as if it were it's own sentence.

The girl in pink breeches and a white shirt spoke first. "It's the Blue Child. She's been turning things to ice again."

The girl in white breeches and a white shirt spoke next. "And the Green Child has plants growing in her hair."

"Thank you, Kana." the girl in pink and white bowed and walked back the Do-joe. "Kala, take me to Kay."

"Yes, Lady Crow." The girl, Kala, bowed and turned. "Her hair is full of ferns and grass. She can't stop them." Lady Keyla, Miroku, and Sango with the baby followed Kala to a green shed. "I don't know how long this has been going on. She didn't call to anyone until the fern leaves had sprouted."

"I appointed the task of making sure this didn't happen to you, Kala, and look what I find upon my return." They were now at the door of the shed.

Kala looked away from Lady Keyla. "I'm sorry, Lady Crow."

Lady Keyla's eyes changed to a solid emerald. "Just don't let it happen again." She grabbed the girls chin and made her look her in the eyes. "Or I'll have to demote you to a level pink assistant." The Lady of the Crows smiled a wide smile, showing all her solid white teeth. "Now, let us in."

Kala got out a wooden key, then glared at Miroku and Sango. "What about them?" She pointed at them with the key.

"They may enter if they wish..." her eyes became that soft amber color. "...If Sango let's me hold the baby again." She smiled her full smile a second time.

"Yes, you may." Sango smiled her own smile. Both women exchanged a laugh as Miroku watched Kala turn the key and unlock the door.

"Lady Crow?" A strained voice came from within. "Lady Crow, is that you?"

"Yes Kay, it is me."

"I have a problem."

"I know."

"If it's only what the White Assistant told you, it's not all of it. Seconds after she left, it became worse."

"Really? Well, let's see then." Lady Keyla swung the door open, to show a horrific sight.

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W.W.- "What did they see?"

B.B.- "Who cares?"

W.W.- (in a big, angry voice) "I DO!'

B.B.- "So... you get to write about our other friends."

W.W.- "But what did they see?" (Already writing)

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"What?" Ankha said irritably as she saw everyone staring.

"Nothing!" They said hurriedly and looked away. Ankha rolled her eyes but did no more. She was outside! The demon took off at what was for her a mild run, but a blazing blur to everyone else. It felt good to run again.

She ran a half a days walk in thirty minutes, then stopped, panting slightly. A slight sheen of sweat showed on her face as she turned her head up to bask in the sun. Her tail unwound from it's customary place on her arm as she stretched and yawned in the warm sunlight, moving muscles that had been too long dormant. She purred in contentment.

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B.B.- "NO! Have her stumble into camp!"

W.W.- "NO! Too many people stumble into camp!"

Inuyasha - "Who's stumbling into camp?"

W.W.- "A friend. AND SHE'S NOT STUMBLING INTO CAMP!"

B.B.- "But..."

W.W.- "NO!"

Inuyasha - "Who..."

W.W.- "SHUT UP!"

Inuyasha and B.B.- (run away, W.W. looking like she belongs in a straight jacket and a padded room.)

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The assassin's well trained ear picked up a sound to her left. It was a giggle. 'A...Giggle?'

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Mystery Person - (giggles, then looks questioningly at W.W.)

W.W.- "Yes, it's your turn. I finally found your name. Good luck!"

M.P.- (laughs outright then run off)

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Ankha - "What do you mean, 'finally found her name'?"

W.W.- "She's been hanging around in my head for a while, but without a name and power. But I found her."

Ankha - "Ookkaayy..."

W.W.- "Yeah, that's what B.B. said too, when I told her about M.P." (Looks around) "hey, where did B.B. go?"

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A form shot out of the bushes. Tumbling and rolling, it stopped in the meadow, then laughed. In the sun the form showed to be a young girl with pale green skin and white hair. Ankha's eyes bugged out. 'She's green! GREEN!' She started to laugh at the thought. 'Green!'

The child looked up, startled at the laughter. She had obviously thought herself alone. Getting up, she started to run.

"Wait!" Ankha said, all laughter gone. She didn't know why, but she wanted to speak with this girl child. "Stop! I won't harm you!" Amazingly, the green girl stopped. She whirled around to face the assassin, and smiled. And then, she melted.

"What the hell?" Ankha yelled in surprise. The pile of melted girl grew taller and took on features, growing arms and legs and a head. Soon, it stopped moving and the cat demon gasped.

She was looking at herself!