R'rai'irn padded softly through the forest that was so well known to her, when lit up by the bloody moon of the Harvest. She was a Feline Youkai, but a tremendous one at that. Her bronze coloured hair fell down from her head and draped over her shoulders down to the very ground she strode upon. Though the forest was a dark as night under its canopy, it was bright as day outside the protective leaves of the construction of trees. R'rai'irn was quite adapted to both night and day, but she still hated the harsh light of the daytime. It made her agitated and more timid, not the flesh and soul eater she was.
She still remembered the last time a harvest moon had arisen, the youkai's sweet blood still thick in her mouth and on her skin. It was just wonderful, as she had lain in the blood, relishing the pain that it still fevered with. She had never had a meal that good in quite a while, and hadn't had a meal at all since. She was bare and hungry, the sun beating down on her through slits in her protective ceiling of leaves.
Her soft green eyes squinted to slits, startled by the light. The sun always gave her a bad feeling. She always felt bare and exposed under its light, making her well aware of her nearly naked body. Making her well aware that she was a living thing that still needed nourishment, that needed love.
Love… No Youkai of my caliber could ever find a mate without killing it. I should be fine.
It still gave R'rai'irn a very bad feeling about stalking around in the daylight. It made her uncomfortable. Yet, despite that fact hunger had taken her spirit and lifted her from her shelter of darkness.
Blood. Youkai. Souls.
She couldn't resist the urge, the scent of fresh blood wafting to her and the scent of soul-snatching Youkai made her quiver in excitement. Youkai of that type were always around something inevitably edible. Something that still lived.
R'rai'irn dragged herself along through the darkness the forest gave her, slinking around areas where there was less of a chance of being struck by the bright light of the sun. It would be midday by the time she reached the village where the source of the smell was coming from. By then, the sun would be high and at its peak of heat: not favorable for the feline Youkai. Still, she couldn't resist.
Seeing the end of the trees in the distance, she slowed her pace and readied herself to slink about in the midst of humans.
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Kikyou had been in the village for a very short time and had tended to as many of the wounded as possible, though there had been too many for her talents. A source of unknown pain for the village, for there had been no wars for the last two-and-a-half years. Yet, so many suffered fresh flesh wounds: much like the slash of a Youkai's claws.
Or a hanyou.
Kikyou felt her blood boil, vicious anger growing in her cold body. Ever since she had been brought back from the dead, she had a growing rage toward the hanyou Inuyasha and his tag along Kagome. Once she discovered that it was not Inuyasha who killed her, but the one named Naraku, her rage grew more vivid within herself. This rage remained, even after Naraku was defeated. And whenever she came to a village such as this one, she always pent her rage toward Inuyasha.
It was now midday, and the children had taken a liking to Kikyou, following her to a clear-running stream beside the village. They leapt and played like kittens beside her, as she fetched water for the sick and dying.
As she began to lift a water-filled pail out of the stream, she felt the presence of a Youkai making its way toward the stream. It was a full-blooded Youkai at that, for she sensed no human blood running in its veins. She dropped the pail and gazed down the strip where the Youkai presence was emerging from, ready for the challenge.
A youngster looked up at her with soft eyes. "Kikyou-sama, what's wrong?"
Kikyou looked down at the child. "Nothing. Go back to the village and tell them I'll be back soon. Do as your told."
The youngster nodded and the child and the rest of them headed back for the village at Kikyou's command. Then all was silent, with the exception of the soft gurgling of the stream. Then a shadow began to emerge from the horizon.
A young woman strode down to the stream, her long bronze hair draped over her shoulders and dragging along the ground because of its length. Dark, tanned skin shone on her face, her emerald coloured eyes a glimmer of mischief and beauty. She was clad simply in a sheet, wrapped around herself in the way one would a toga. She looked quite awkward, but her obvious beauty was not blocked off by this strange dress.
She strode directly up to the stream and stood at its edge gazing down at the stream with extreme interest, completely oblivious to Kikyou's presence. Kikyou watched the woman as she stood there, stalk still, and wondered what she was thinking about doing. In the next instant, the woman had snatched up a freshwater fish and held it deftly in her hands, much as a cat holds a bird down in its paws.
Kikyou suddenly addressed the strange woman. "What are you doing here?"
The woman didn't even look up. "Why does it matter?"
"Because, you're a Youkai."
"What makes you think that? Is it because I can fish with my hands?" A slight twitch came from the sides of the woman's head.
"No. I can sense that you are a Youkai by your presence alone."
The woman clutched at the fish tightly, blood spewing out of the creature's bodily openings. "You must be a Miko then, hm?"
"That's the least of your problems Youkai." Kikyou reached to draw an arrow as she readied her bow.
The Youkai didn't even look up. "The fact that I'm a Youkai is the least of your problems, Miko." she twitched. "I smell humans coming as well as a village full of them. And I may be the only Youkai you have to worry about, but there's a hanyou on the way."
Kikyou paused for a millisecond at that before retorting and aiming the arrow. "You won't go any father than here."
A smile crossed the Youkai's face. "Are you sure about that, Miko?"
"Yes. I never miss." Kikyou let her arrow fly at the Youkai… and missed.
The Youkai was completely alert now, cat-like ears completely erect, her cat-like tail waving in the air in agitation. "Well, Miko. You missed that time." The Youkai spat. "Hitting me is impossible, even in hand-to-hand combat. It's impossible to beat R'rai'irn when she is ready for you."
In the next moment the leapt across the stream as Kikyou let another arrow fly, barely missing the Youkai by a hair's width. R'rai'irn landed perfectly on her feet and whipped her tail at the Miko, who struck back using her spiritual power. R'rai'irn cancelled the attack with a quick energy attack powered by her claws and disappeared from sight and senses.
Kikyou gazed about, dumbfounded for a moment before she realized that she should stay on alert. Kikyou became alert once more, but just a bit late as the Youkai came about from behind and ripped through Kikyou's back, blood spewing about for a moment before converting to dirt and ash.
Kikyou fell to the ground, gasping for air, trying desperately to keep the spirits that have kept her alive this entire time. But R'rai'irn intervened, placing a clawed hand on the Miko's back. Kikyou gurgled weakly, as blood mixed with dirt and ash poured from her body. "F…fuck…my…souls…"
Soul-snatching Youkai began to appear out of nowhere, flying about Kikyou and R'rai'irn, who tore each of the small Youkai to pieces. R'rai'irn smiled devilishly. "Interesting, Miko. You are not something that should be living at all, yet you still feed off the souls of the living and live. Well, now you will not live any longer, as I shall relieve you of these wretched souls of yours."
R'rai'irn withdrew her hand from the Miko's back, holding in it the soul's that Kikyou had taken to stay alive. She drove her clawed hands into the souls, and they became an emerald green colour, just before disappearing altogether into R'rai'irn's self. Kikyou's body convulsed then came to rest, becoming nothing more than a clay sculpture of the dismantled Kikyou.
R'rai'irn licked her claws and spat. "Miko, you do not taste very good, but your spirits did. Now I shall find something more to quench my hunger."
R'rai'irn kicked the bow that Kikyou had once held aside and strode off toward the village in the distance, drawn on by the scent of blood and fear.
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