Kagome and the young mystery girl sat in the meadow sat is silence for what felt like hours. Finally, Kagome decided to speak, not able to stand the lack of voices any longer.
"So, what's your name?" She started slowly. The golden-haired child looked at her and smiled.
"My name?" She repeated. After a moment she said, "I don't have a name."
The girl's smile was held firmly in place. Kagome stared, dumbfounded.
"Would you like a name?" 'OK, that sounded like a stupid question.' Kagome thought to herself. The girl looked at her with a slight hint of awe mixed with excitement and curiosity.
"Sure! Who wouldn't want a name?!" She replied excitedly. Kagome thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers with a triumphant expression plastered to her face.
"I got it! Would you like to be named Sakura?" The girl lunged at Kagome to give her a hug.
"I love it! I've never had a name before!" Sakura announced animatedly.
"I have another question, Sakura. How old are you?" Kagome questioned.
"I guess in human years I'd be about ten years old, maybe." Sakura replied thoughtfully.
"In human years? What does that mean?"
"Well, I'm not a human. I'm a demon. What else could it mean." Kagome stared at her wide-eyed.
"So, since you're a demon, what kind of demon are you?" Kagome said after a few moments of silence, allowing this information to be processed.
"I'm a Phoenix demon." Sakura replied with a playful glint in her eye. Kagome sat silent stunned. 'This girl is a Phoenix demon? How did she get here?'
"OK, OK. How are you here? What is this place anyway?" Kagome finally remembered to ask.
"This is a plane between life and death, Kagome. I'm here because I'm supposed to guide you. Once you wake up, I will follow you into your body to help guide you through the rest of your journey." After a moment of no response from Kagome the girl continued. "You're here because you aren't supposed to die. Since you did technically die, you were sent here to meet me and await the time for you to wake up."
"I'm dead?" Kagome seemed puzzled and oddly calm about the fact that she was technically dead.
"You could say that. Of course, once you open your eyes on the outside world, everything will be different and more difficult. You'll have to learn new things to help you survive. You will be different as well as your friends. That's all I can tell you before I get in trouble." The girl giggled a bit, but quieted when she sensed Kagome's distress.