Chapter 6

My eyes focused on the figure of a boy no older than ten who had a small bag of crumbs and was dressed in expensive clothing, but his shoes and the end of his pants were covered in soot and dirt. It was obvious he came to feed the koi. Mio wiped my tears quickly and asked the boy a question in a soft voice.

"Are you the reason these koi are still alive?" The boy looked down, sorrow and anger on his small face.

"It's all those murderers left alive, but my people, my servants, my family….they're all dead." The boy shook with sorrow and indignity, his little hands in fists. My expression softened as I pushed aside my own sorrow for now.

"What is your name, little boy?" The boy opened his mouth to answer and then shut it again and looked down. A minute passed before he looked up and answered blankly.

"Sora, just Sora." I asked another question.

"And how do you write that*?"(*what kanji meaning is it?) He lowered his eyes again and answered quietly.

"Empty." The word was hollow and emotionless. I frowned, unhappy that someone else was unhappy. That was obviously not his real name. From the looks of it he was probably the young master or prince of this manor and his servants or family hid him before they could reach the manor and now he was alone, just like me. I hopped down from the boulder and landed gracefully in front of the little boy. He looked up at me, shocked at how easily I jumped such a large distance.

"My name is Mio, just Mio. It's written as Beautiful Cherry Blossom. Would you like to come with me?" I held open my arms to him, knowing that he must wish to cry just as I had, but he was young and needed someone to comfort him. Adults did not have that privilege and I wouldn't let any child be deprived of it if I could help it and right now I could.

Sora stared at me in shock which quickly melted to sorrow and then full out bawling. Sora ran into my arms and cried loudly letting all the pain and misery of being the only one left alive, small and alone. I held his small figure to me, patting his back comfortingly. As his sobbing quieted a little, I shifted us until he was laying on my lap and I was sitting on my legs. A song came to mind and I let the words flow from my mouth.

Sakura gracefully bloom o'er the fields that lie,
High up is the castle wall, where have warriors gone?
Where is the moonlight that brightly shone up high,
Shone upon the warriors who drained the glasses dry?

Sora sniffled and looked up at me but my eyes were on the lowering moon.

White frost o'er the autumn camps freezing the whole night,
Flocks of wild geese cry and pass just below the moon.
Where is the moonlight that might have shone so bright,
Shone upon the warriors' swords gleaming through the night?

My voice carried and echoed through the empty, ruined castle, the air carrying it through the wind.

Oh, the moon is rising high in the depths of night,
Silent is the ruined site lying on the ground,
Ivies creep o'er the gate in the cold moonlight,
Rustling are the pine trees through the windy night.

As the lyrics resounded in Sora's head he wiped his tears away fiercely as if the song was giving strength and he too looked to the dropping, bloated moon.

To rise and fall is people's fate, the moon shines so bright,
Looking down upon the world lying far below,
How sublime the moonlight o'er the ruined site,
How I love the moon that shines in the depths of night!

I let the note die out only to cut it short when a rustling to my left startled me to full awareness, my eyes narrowed onto a black and purple robed figure holding a golden monk's staff that I recognized immediately. It was Miroku!

If I didn't understand the situation so well I might have actually been happy to see him, but no, this was more dangerous than I could ignore. I tensed, Sora noticing how my grip on him tightened and he reflexively wrapped his small arms around my neck as I stood, taking a step back from Miroku. Miroku had his hand up in the prayer position his staff at the ready in the other. A growl involuntarily escaped my lips. Miroku's brow furrowed in frustration. His voice was low in warning.

"Put down the child and I will let you escape with your life." I growled again, this time my lips curling away from my teeth.

"LIAR. As soon as I let Sora go free, you'll try to kill me with your sutras." I counted myself lucky that he no longer had Naraku's cursed wind tunnel.

"I doubt you'll believe me if I say that I will not harm him and even if he protests the same you will only believe that he is under a spell, isn't that right monk?" Miroku looked shocked at my correct assumptions. Sora felt helpless as he clung to the girl he realized was a demon, but he felt safe with me. He knew that if he wanted to kill him or eat him, he'd already be dead, instead I opened my arms to him. I wasn't a bad demon. Miroku took out his sutra in a swift motion and threw them at me. I was about to dodge when a familiar scent on the wind froze me in place. It couldn't be. Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru's rage built when the demons blocked his view of the distant Mio and his eyes grew red with anger, his jaw grew in length and his teeth sharpened, fur grew from his body and he transformed into a fearsome, demonic dog. The demons shrunk back at the new form, but it was too late. Sesshomaru was beyond furious and he'd never had mercy to begin with. Sesshomaru began to slaughter them all quickly, leaving no demon whole and alive.

By the time he had finished there was no trace of a whole body within the small bloodied meadow, Isamu and Jakken were watching from the relative safety of the forest's edge. Sesshomaru lifted his head and sniffed the blood drenched air to try and track Mio's sakura-tinted scent. He found it quickly and dashed in that direction, not caring that Isamu was following shortly behind, Jakken on his back.

All that was on Sesshomaru's mind was finding Mio and saving her. He could not lose her. Desperation and deadly determination renewed his steps and his dash turned into a full on sprint. Isamu fell behind, but still kept track of him through scent. Sesshomaru ran the rest of the night and the entire day, never resting, never eating, the image of Mio's crying face before the demons blocked his vision the only thing on his mind. As the moon rose and began to fall the wind that gusted in his direction carried a melodic and familiar voice along with a strong sakura scent.

….e moon is rising high in the depths of night,
Silent is the rui…

Sesshomaru's eyes widened at the sound of Mio's singing voice, distant but clear. He transformed from his dog demon form to his human one as he leapt through the air clearing a ditch in the ground acting as a border between the forestry and the more barren plains the wind was coming from. Long, painful minutes passed before he finally caught sight of her.

His intense relief at seeing her whole and safe quickly melted to lurid anger when he saw that sutras were being thrown at her. Sesshomaru rushed in without thinking, again shielding her like he did before, only this time he was able to block the attack with his poison whip, tearing the sutra in the air before they could reach his precious Mio.