"Daddy! Daddy!"

"Tsubasa, stop running!"

"Ahh!"

"Are you okay? You shouldn't run along these corridors. The floor is still wet from the rain."

"It hurts…"

"Now, now, don't cry. Did you scrape your knees? Let me see. Good thing it's only a bruise. Now, tell me, why were you in such a hurry?"

"Oh! Can I go hunting with Auntie today? Please~"

"Hunting? Tsubasa, you are a lady of nobility. Hunting is not an activity befitting you."

"B-But!"

"No but! The last thing I want is for you to start acting like my sister. Haven't I told you to stop spending so much time with her?"

"But Auntie is really nice! And so what if I act like her? She's powerful, smart, and all the servants like her. I don't know why you hate her so much, Daddy.

"That is not something children can understand."

"I'm already eight hundred years old. I'm not a child anymore!"

"You are still a child, Tsubasa! Now, why don't you go back to your chamber and read some scrolls? Didn't you say you like that story about the Ninetails?"

"No, I already read it ten times. Hunting is so much more fun!"

"No, it's too dangerous! What if you get hurt?"

"I'll be fine. Auntie has been teaching me combat skills."

"She what?! How dare she make my daughter do such- such strenuous activities! Tsubasa, you are to stop doing that. You hear me?"

"W-What?! But I like learning how to fight!"

"It does not matter! Now go back to your chamber!"

"I hate you, Daddy!"

"I told you not to run!"

…

"Hikaru! Stop teaching Tsubasa how to fight!"

"What? Where did you heard that from?"

"Tsubasa told me herself. She is acting rebellious, just like you. Leave my daughter alone, you hear?!"

"While it's true that I have been teaching her, it's only self-defense. Karahito, you can't expect her to just sit inside the castle for the rest of her life."

"That's exactly what I want her to do."

"Tsubasa is a curious child. She won't be content with that."

"Then I just have to change her mind, won't I? I would appreciate it if you stop telling me how to educate my daughter. You have no child yourself, how can you understand what it's like to be a parent?"

"You're right, I don't know. But one thing I do know is imprisoning her inside the castle is not what good parenting is."

"Shut your mouth! How dare you talk to the Raven Clan Heir with such insolence? What I do is none of your business!"

"Heir? Not for long."

"You insolent-"

"SIR! Lady Tsubasa- Lady Tsubasa is missing!"

"What?!" "WHAT?!"

"T-The wet nurse came in today to bring her tea b-but she was not in her room! We've looked all over the castle but no sight of her!"

"And how long ago did this happen?!"

"Just over one hour. F-Forgive me, Sir!"

"Don't kill him, Karahito! He's just a messenger!"

"Grr! I want all the guards to look for her. And send half of them to search the area outside with me."

"Y-YES SIR!"

"I'll go look too. She couldn't have gone far."

"Hikaru, I will never forgive you if something happens to her. You hear me?!"

"…"

…..

"TSUBASA! WHERE ARE YOU? TSUBASA!"

"Sir, we've searched the entire castle vicinity. There's no sight of Lady Tsubasa."

"Don't tell me she went inside the forest… GUARDS! SEARCH THE FOREST!"

"SIR YES SIR!"

"Did you find anything?"

"Not yet, sir. This forest stretches on for miles. It may be difficult to search quickly"

"This is outside of our territory. It's not safe if she wanders in here. I can't sense her youki either… I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT, FIND HER!"

"Lady Tsubasa!"

"Lady Tsubasa!"

"TSUBASA! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"S-SIR! Please come quickly!"

"What? Did you find her?"

"Y-Yes sir. B-But she-"

"T-This is… TSUBASA?! C-CALL THE MEDICS! HURRY!"

"S-She's already cold, sir…"

"SHUT UP! SHE'S STILL ALIVE! I'LL BRING HER BACK TO THE CASTLE MYSELF!"

"W-We'll escort you, sir!"

"NO. Search this entire forest and bring me all suspicious individuals."

"Yes sir! Take care, sir!"

…...

"Karahito, I-I heard the news. I'm sorry…"

"T-That's right… She's gone… And it's all your fault! You taught her to go against me! You made her act recklessly! It's not enough that you hate me, you have to kill my daughter too?!"

"I-I don't hate you. A-And I didn't want this to happen!"

"SAVE IT! I know father won't let me punish you. But just you wait. Once I take over, you will suffer!"

"Karahito… P-Please calm d-"

"Sir! We have searched the forest!"

"And did you find anything?!"

"Y-Yes sir! Human bandits! They were the only ones in the area!"

"HUMANS?! HOW DARE THEY TOUCH MY DAUGHTER?! WHERE ARE THEY NOW?"

"I-In the prison, sir. There are five of them."

"Take me there. I will make them regret what they did!"

Karahito sighed. The same dream again. Night after night for three-hundred years, he had relived the same incident over and over. Tsubasa… his daughter… was gone; her grave sat in the royal tomb. Slit in the throat and robbed of all her jewelries by those bandits. He took his sweet time to torture them, made them feel the pain of losing fingernails, then fingers, then legs, then arms and finally cut them in the throat. He remembered laughing bitterly as they cried out in agony, but no satisfaction ever came. No matter how much hurt he inflicted on them, his daughter laid there, cold and drenched in blood. The anger he felt back then still remained. He hated humans with a passion. Those bastards kill and looted his helpless, innocent daughter, then dared to beg for forgiveness. The lot of them should just die! They pollute the earth with their filth!

And Hikaru. Oh Hikaru… what an eyesore she was. Headstrong, arrogant, selfish and meddlesome. If only Tsubasa wasn't so attached to her, she would still be alive today. Even after her death, his stupid half-sister still had the nerve to fight him for the throne. But no matter. He finally got sweet, sweet revenge. Her agonizing scream as he tore off her wings was satisfying. It was too bad that he had to retreat before he could witness her moment of death. Of course, it did not matter. Once a raven youkai's wings were cut off, he would bleed profusely and all of his youki would dissipate quickly, leaving a dry corpse. It was the perfect death for Hikaru, who was always so proud of her white wings.

Laughing to himself, he left his chamber to start his morning training. Now that Hikaru was dead, Hiroshi was the only one who knew where the Plume was hidden. Looked like he had to find his hanyou half-brother for a little 'chat' soon.

"Hikaru, eat something."

"I am eating. See?" She put a tiny clump of rice in her mouth.

"More."

"I-I'm trying. My stomach feels queasy. Maybe I shouldn't eat?"

"I will feed you myself if you do not finish at least half of the food."

"I would like to see you try," she deadpanned. His mother was standing not so far away, observing them with an amused expression. This was probably the most entertainment she had in centuries. Hikaru also knew that Sesshoumaru respected his mother, despite how he acted. He would never do something so embarrassing in her vicinity.

"Oh, don't mind me. Go ahead, Sesshoumaru." Hikaru looked at Inukimi with a betrayed expression. The latter waved her off.

"I-I can eat by myself. It just takes a while because chewing hurts. Don't worry!"

"Then I will tell the chef to make porridge tonight. For now, eat more."

"Okay…" She nodded and shoved some food in her mouth. She didn't want to tell him that extra rare meat was not to her taste, considering she wasn't an inuyoukai. Sesshoumaru, on his part, just look at Hikaru in relief when she started to eat more instead of picking at her food.

"Alright, this puppy love scene is a bit too sickening for my taste. Sesshoumaru, why don't you let her finish her meal with me and go fix the part of the garden you accidentally destroyed when you arrived? I am sure my exotic plants would appreciate having their habitat restored."

He turned to look at her, slightly annoyed.

"It would be too bad if the white peonies wilt. They are very fragile, after all."

"I agree, Sesshoumaru. I can eat alone. You have been beside me all this time, it's good to get some fresh air once in a while."

"…Alright, but you have to eat."

"I'll make sure of it," Inukimi chimed in. Sesshoumaru looked slightly confused that his mother seemed to have taken an interest in Hikaru. Hopefully she won't traumatize my future mate too badly. He gave a glance at the two females before stepping outside the room.

Once she was sure that he was out of earshot, Inukimi turned to the raven youkai.

"Alright, stop pretending."

Hikaru blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I have lived for a long time, raven. I can read you like a book. You are putting on a brave face."

"That obvious, huh? Do you think Sesshoumaru noticed?"

"Yes. My son is not so clueless as to miss something like that. Although, he probably do not know what to do."

"I don't blame him. Even I don't know what to do," she smiled bitterly.

"Stop looking at me like that. I cannot give you any word of wisdom. This is something between you and Sesshoumaru."

"I know, I know… I just wish that there is a way to solve this easily."

"Nothing ever comes easily." She stood up and strode out the door with those parting words.

Left alone, Hikaru had nothing to do but to think about her situation. Trying to stand up, she felt that she could do so with only a dull ache. That's an improvement. Let's try some fighting moves.

Swinging her arms and kicking her legs, she felt some resistance in the form of muscle aches, but nothing she couldn't stand. Relieved that soon she could physically fight at the same level as before, she did some warm-up stretches to relax her muscles.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Gah! Don't scare me like that!" She turned to see Sesshoumaru hovering at the open door.

"My apologies."

"My pain is mostly gone. I think I can head out again by tomorrow."

"No, you need to rest more."

"No. Every little bit counts," she stare at him with a grim determination, her eyes conveying that nothing he said could move her. "Will you spar with me? I think a little exercise would do me good."

"Alright."

"Hold on, let me take the fan!" She rummaged through her belongings before shouting, "I'm ready!"

"Let us go to the courtyard then. Do you need help walking?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Walk slow."

"Sesshoumaru, I'm fine," she gritted her teeth.

"We will see when we spar."

"Sure, don't say I didn't warn you!" The moment they passed through the door leading outside, Hikaru placed a well-aimed kick at her future mate's head, only to be blocked by his arm. Fully expecting that outcome, she tried to attack again, only with her fist this time. He blocked again.

"You know, it's not a fight if you don't attack!" She swiped at him, missing once again as he lithely dodged to the side.

"I do not need to attack to win."

"We'll see about that!" She took out her fan and waved it at him, expecting a sharp wave of youki to come at him. Nothing.

"Hikaru…"

"I-It's o-okay! I knew this would happen…" She backed away from his reach, clenching the fan in her hands. A moment of silence, in which he did not know how to comfort her, and she was trying to think of how to respond. Finally, she settled with, "Sorry, after all the troubles you went through to have it made..."

"It is true that the fan is made for battles, but, Hikaru, do not forget its true purpose."

She looked at him questioningly, waiting for him to finish.

"This fan is a symbol of our promise. I will protect you forever."

"And I you… Although I probably can't fulfill my side of the promise."

"It matters not."

"How could it not?! Do you not understand me at all?! Sesshoumaru, I prided myself in being powerful, as powerful as any male youkai. How can I just accept that I am now no stronger than a human and let you protect me like some—like some damsel in distress?!" Her anger and frustration was rising. A small little voice inside her head told her that it was not Sesshoumaru's fault and she should not take it out on him, but she pushed it away. Holding back her tears (because god forbid she would cry like a helpless little girl), she pushed the fan into Sesshoumaru's hand.

"I-I can no longer fulfill my promise to you, so you don't have to either. I'm sorry!"

And she ran before he could reply, afraid that he would try to convince her otherwise. Back at the safety of her room, she locked the door and finally let her tears fall in silence.

Guy: Welcome to the trivia. As most of the characters are currently... occupied, I will be the host this time. Now, I bet you are all dying to know more about me.

*the beautiful sound of crickets chirping in a dewy field of grass. Up high, the moon gently shines its golden glow and casts a gentle shadow on the lone tree underneath*

Guy: That's... poetic, for something that describes how nobody is here. Does anyone even care about me at all?

Author: Stop being emo! I put you here for a reason, now entertain people!

Guy: Alright, alright! This is a golden opportunity to score some points. So, audience, I shall tell you about my awesome self. My name is-

Author: Wait! Don't tell them! I need to keep some mysteries in the story.

Guy: Then, what should am I suppose to talk about?!

Author: Something not too revealing... how about your boring hobbies?

Guy: My hobbies are not boring!

Author: Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.

Guy: Hmph! Just so you know, I like to hunt, race and draw.

Author: That's it? Not a very interesting person, are you?

Guy: *shrug* It's kinda hard to have interesting hobbies when you live in the feudal era and have to defend your home most of the time.

Author: Hear that, readers? Take pity on this poor soul and suggest some good hobbies for him, won't you? That's it for today. See you next time!

Guy: See you soon!