In a darker part of the Awayuki Forest stood another house. This one was small but tall. It had three stories and was surrounded by snow. The snow was different here. In other parts of the forest, the snow was pure white and the air around the pure snow smelled clean and fresh. Here, the snow had a grayish hue to it and the area smelled different. It smelled so putrid that anyone who wasn't immune to the fumes immediately fainted and fell into a deep sleep. The sleeping person was cursed with hellish nightmares. That was punishment for stepping into Loathe's private home without being invited.
A young woman called Sumiko stood by the door. She was petite, with short golden curls and eyes the color of honey. Sumiko stared at the snow with a sad look around her eyes. Her lower lip stuck out, indicating she wanted to cry but didn't dare to do so.
How can she wear such a light dress in this weather? Kaiein thought to herself as the wind played with the skirt of Sumiko's white gown.
"Hey, Sumiko-chan, how are you today?" Kaiein asked, mainly out of boredom.
Sumiko looked up. "Loathe wants to see you," she mumbled in her sad but sweet voice.
"Yeah, yeah."
A tear rolled down Sumiko's face. Impatiently, she brushed it aside, but to no avail. For every tear she brushed away, three more came to take its place.
"Is that you or your Tamer crying?" Kaiein asked.
Sumiko glared at Kaiein. "Like that's any of your business."
Kaiein sighed. She had heard a softer voice behind Sumiko's, so it must've been the both of them that were crying.
Sumiko actually shared her body with a younger girl. Kaiein had never actually seen the girl, but knew she existed. Loathe had told her that Sumiko was an Angel and Angels, although they had their own forms, always shared a body with a host called a Tamer. They couldn't do much without them.
Kaiein didn't care much for Sumiko. Sumiko had been her Angel a long time ago. They used to be friends, but she no longer felt such a close bond to the Angel that had tried to kill her. She did feel sorry for the girl trapped inside, though.
"Don't screw up next time, Sumiko-chan," she said and walked inside.
Kaiein walked up some dark stairs and into Loathe's room.
"Hey, I'm here," she called out and quietly added to herself, "You annoying little brat."
Loathe looked up at her. She had the appearance of a five-year-old girl, but possessed none of the innocence of a child. Loathe was a thin, pale girl with amethyst eyes and long hair the color of ash. She always wore the same shapeless black dress for some reason.
She motioned for Kaiein to come in. "So Humility delivered my message?" she asked.
Kaiein nodded. "Yeah. What'd you do to him? You threaten him?"
Loathe smirked. "That's none of your business. Now, you know who you're supposed to find next, right?"
"Yeah. The wan-chan, what's-his-face---Oh, Sesshomaru!"
Loathe nodded. "Yes, that's the one."
"What do you want with him anyway?" Kaiein asked. "I mean, shouldn't the neko-chan know where the well is? Why do you need him?"
Loathe smiled and stood up. "Because I had a notion," she said as she walked towards one of the chests in the corner. She bent down, opened it, and took out a small sprig with tiny blue flowers. She turned around and showed it to Kaiein.
"What the hell's that?" Kaiein asked.
"Nemuri. It's a type of reversal plant." Loathe walked over to Kaiein and gently buried the flower in the girl's hair. "You are going to burn this when you encounter Sesshomaru in the Awayuki Forest. He'll be a little lost and you're going to bring him to me."
"Um, I don't think he's going to come so easily," Kaiein said, a little embarrassed.
"That's what the plant is for. It'll make it easy for you to bring him here. You'll have to use force, but it's all right. Even as a child, he was stubborn."
Kaiein wanted to ask more questions, but shut her mouth when she noticed the strange glint in Loathe's eyes and the bizarre smile on her lips. There was no doubt in her mind that the little girl was demented, but Kaiein couldn't very well go against her orders. She didn't want to end up like Sumiko and her friends.
"You can go now," Loathe said. Her smile widened. "Oh, and tell Sana to come in here. She needs to stop all that foolish crying."
Kaiein shivered. Loathe only used Sumiko's other name when something bad was going to happen. Still, she nodded and went back outside. Sumiko was huddled in a miserable ball outside on the porch.
"Loathe wants to see you," she whispered.
Sumiko looked up at her with horrified eyes and let out a horrible wail.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed and stood up. She ran towards Kaiein and grabbed her, knocking her down.
"Sumiko-chan, get off!" Kaiein ordered.
"Don't make me go to that horrible little girl! Don't, please!" Sumiko begged and buried her face in Kaiein's chest.
Kaiein felt a little sorry for the Angel. She knew that Loathe never called Sumiko in just to chat with her.
"Go with her and deal with it," Kaiein said as gently as possible. "And stop crying. That's the reason she wants to see you."
"If she'd just tell me where she sent Krad I'd stop crying."
Kaiein untangled herself from Sumiko's grasp and stood up.
"Go," she said.
With tears still streaming down her face, a reluctant Sumiko disappeared inside the house. Moments later, Kaiein heard the sound of things breaking and Sumiko crying and screaming.
It's something you have to deal with if you ever want to see your beloved again, Sumiko-chan. Thank God I don't have to deal with that. I have no one who wants me, so I'll just live out the rest of my days serving this crazy little bitch.
Kaiein walked away from the house and disappeared into the Awayuki Forest.
Ekaterina caught sight of Kagome and walked towards her.
"Kagome-san, where is Misaki?" she asked.
"Um, I think she's asleep," Kagome answered. "Why?"
"That girl is coming back."
Just then, a wave of heat washed over them. Kagome and Ekaterina looked towards the side of the walkway and saw a flame in the snowy field growing larger and larger. However, the snow didn't even melt. The flame grew large and suddenly faded. Where the flame had been stood a young, fair-haired woman.
Kagome gasped when she noticed something glowing in the center of the young woman's collar bone. "She's got a Shikon shard!"
"So you're the one that can see the Shikon shards." The woman walked towards Kagome and smiled. "My name is Kaiein and I've come searching for a little somebody."
Just then, Inuyasha came by. He glared at Kaiein and asked, "Who the hell are you?"
"Inuyasha, she's the one Ekaterina-sama was talking about," Kagome whispered.
"Oh, so you're the one that tried to kill Misaki?" Inuyasha unsheathed his Tetsusaiga and pointed it at Kaiein's face.
Kaiein grinned. "I'm not here to hurt anyone as long as you tell me where Sesshomaru is."
Okay, if you've read Motherland you probably know who Sumiko ( Sana) and Krad are. If you haven't read it, go read it. I'm not good at explaining stuff. Now, about Kaiein. She's nice to those that are her allies, but is usually completely ruthless with others. She'll stoop to most lows to succeed. Sesshomaru is probably going to appear in the next chapter or the chapter after that one. 'Till next time!