Tailwind Dancer

"Dead? What do you mean dead?" she asked.

Milady of the House of Inu didn't often show displeasure in something, but this incident caught her attention. It was a rather quiet day at the castle before Norihisa came with this news. Well, more appropriately, it was a slow morning before Norihisa interrupted the lunch hour with this nonsense. Milady had a strangely pleasant dream before she woke. She wasn't sure why she had it or what made her miss times that have now passed, but she was in a good mood since that dream.

Several Hundred Years Ago...

She was asleep after her husband left to visit the court about some political matter. She didn't feel like getting up early that day. Too much trouble just to be yawning in a throne chair in front of other leaders. Living in the mountains, she supposed, had some perks if it reduced the number of morning visits. Thinking of Toga creeping back into bed to do that thing that she liked made her bite her lip and blush. Suddenly, a presence entered the room, but it wasn't Toga. Probably a maid. She didn't want to be bothered.

"Mommy," a little voice called. Oh, it was her son. What on Earth was he doing up this early? He called her again and shook her nightgown sleeve, "Mommy."

She hummed before cuddling into her pillow some more to maybe sink into it and hide. She then said groggily, "Just a few more minutes, little babe."

Her son huffed with displeasure at that, took a deep breath, and shouted, "WAKE UP, MOMMY!"

"ACK!" she screamed, not expecting the boy to shout. She nearly jumped out of bed and clung to the ceiling with how loud the boy screamed. Looking into his eyes in disheveled state, she saw him tilt his head cutely and smile mischievously. If he had whiskers, she'd pull 'em! She then argued, "What was that for? I was really comfortable!"

"I'm hungry," the boy answered simply, climbing into bed with her and hugging her as a way of apologizing... sort of. "You'll miss breakfast with Jikomo and Daddy... again."

"You're too much of a nibbler to miss any meals," she joked, tickling the little one. He laughed a little before fluffing her pillow with a big flop of his tiny upper body. She could only guess that he was trying to make the bed, but he was still a bit too little to do it. For someone so small, he was very intelligent for his age. She then advised, "I have to get out of bed before you make it, y'know."

"But what if the pillow eats you again?" he asked, eyes welling up with tears.

"It's a pillow, little one. It can't eat anything," she answered, not understanding how he concluded that it could.

"It tried to eat you just now!" he yipped. "You were sinking!"

Holding in a laugh that threatened to rupture her soul, she took the boy into her arms and rubbed her nose against his in a playful motion before mussing his head of floppy white hair. She then said, "If that's the case, that's not how you defeat the pillow monster."

"How then, Mommy?" the little one asked.

"You have to..." she said, reaching for Toga's pillow and continuing, "do this!"

Without warning, she popped the little boy lightly with his father's pillow and simply enjoyed a few minutes' worth of a pillow fight. They missed breakfast with Jikomo and Toga again, eating with each other instead...

Times have changed since then. Sesshomaru was no longer that cute, little pup causing mischief and attacking pillows. She wasn't sure why she dreamt of that time, but she missed those smaller moments. Back then, her little babe hadn't taken up the sword just yet. These days, swords were all he thought about, but neither swords nor pillows were the concern here. Two clans in the woodlands were about to begin fighting behind a snowstorm in the summer. It must have had something to do with the Netherworld seeping into the living world a few days ago. She sensed it then. Sesshomaru wasn't in grave danger for her to react, but his power had risen a few times. Whatever it was, the enemy was causing trouble. Maybe that's what triggered the memory. Trouble with her pup.

"The Anaguma Clan are in talks of battle due to the recent deaths of some of their guards, and the Bake-danuki Clan are retaliating for the losses of their own. Among the number was the chief inspector, Mano. He was attacked after I left to report my findings."

"What did you discover?" Milady asked.

"The attacker is some kind of leech draining the insides of the victims. It doesn't stay on the ground long and infiltrates armor fairly easily. The victims often struggle to defend themselves, but the attacker is a calm individual and practically silent."

"I'll have a word with the advisor then," Milady responded, standing up from her throne. "Relay this information to Lord Sesshomaru when you receive word from me."

_________________________________________

"And you saw nothing else, ambassador?"

Chief Investigator Hamakawa was alarmed by this new bout of information, but that didn't mean his suspicions were compromised. Hamakawa was seated in the Investigation Department along with several other officers in a building that was situated next to the pagodas of the court elders. The Floating Citadel (housing Milady and Lord Sesshomaru) was just in view if one crossed the ruling complex to the law-keepers building. The royal palace was obscured by clouds, but the inu lived on a grand mountaintop in isolation from the outside world after The Midnight Wildfire forced many of the civilians to flee from the valleys and forests once inhabited by lower-class inu and humans. Yoki energies shared among the court elders kept certain terrains belonging to the inu afloat in the skies. Spots where forests used to be are now empty spaces with weeds potentially filling up what was left. The humans have called the missing terrains, the Void Spots. Some have called them Forest Mouths. Either way, humans have done well in avoiding them unless necessary, and that was the intention. The valleys and forests of the House of Inu were now just abandoned places shrouded by endless fog. Those who cross the forbidden territories rarely see the next day unless they pay homage to the House of Inu. The reason for the rarity is that many don't know what would be acceptable as an offering to the House of Inu. Blood and flesh are generally the prices unless you can escape the guards. Bridges to these floating islands provided inu civilians a way to enter the palace without being seen or spoken to by humans. This all had to be done to protect the people. Why Lord Sesshomaru went against that in recent years was beyond anyone's guess.

Hamakawa mentally shook his head at the carelessness of his rulers. He was dressed in a simple uniform of hankimono style with a set of blunted teeth hanging from his neck to show his ranking. The crest of the House of Inu was in the center of the necklace. While the organized group of policing officials weren't as decorated as the army soldiers, they took pride in their fair share of dealings with the locals and other tribes connected to them. Hamakawa was a rather bulky man with a set of eyes that always seemed unimpressed. Many have mistaken him for a bear because of his larger build, but he was as loyal to the House of Inu as he was stern with his operatives. Seeing the quivering Norihisa wrapped up in blankets and covered in what looked like frostbite was enough to make the older noble concerned. What on Earth was attacking the Mujina Woodlands like this? The House of Inu was an ally to many demons per the great Inu no Taisho's campaigns and negotiations to establish peace. The Anaguma and Bake-danuki clans had only recently started living peacefully with each other. Unless someone among them still held some bitterness about the proposed union, there was no reason to start a war of this caliber. The House of Inu's relationship with both rival clans was largely reliant on agriculture. After ties were cut from the humans, the Western lands of the youkai peoples very quickly became a secluded region, but such separation came at a cost to many natural resources that previously were unthreatened by human existence. To avoid interactions with the humans near inu territories, the Anaguma and Bake-danuki clans took up the helm as a farming unit able to provide meat and vegetation seasonally through a grand distributive network. Economically, this was a successful change and the laborers were able to upgrade their status by purchasing a bit of land with this network of trade opened to them. This new development, however, was an outrage! It would sever the food market of the clans and alter their in-house trading network!

"The assailant escaped us via some means that was too dangerous to investigate alone. Mano forbade me from joining his inspection of the potential route, so I went with the guards to understand the situation further. From what I was able to tell, these attacks are not randomized. They're specific and calculated, going after particular members within the government of the clans," Norihisa explained, looking down at the floor.

"If the aggressor is going for specific clan heads, we will have to consult with either the elders or Lord Sesshomaru from here. There's only so much that you are allowed to do as an ambassador. Teinosuke," Hamakawa called, alerting the attention of a younger man.

"Sir," Teinosuke replied professionally.

"Gather a team to investigate the crime scene further. We'll have to interrogate families and close friends for suspects. What evidence you find will have to be analyzed thoroughly. These are clan leaders that are in danger now," Hamakawa ordered, earning a nod. "Escort Ambassador Norihisa to his home for now. He can recover there until we gain new leads."

"Should I form another team to contact Lord Sesshomaru with these developments?" Teinosuke asked.

"Unnecessary," a familiar female voice said, alerting the men in the room.

"Milady!" the men replied, bowing with respect.

Milady hardly ever visited the investigation grounds personally! This was madness!

"I'll have two men be sent. Should Lord Sesshomaru refuse this task, these soldiers will investigate their end. They have the most potential and are quite honest, if not a tad cold," Milady informed.

"Yes, your ladyship," Hamakawa replied, rising to see a scroll being placed before him. "What is this, Milady?"

"Information on the men," Milady answered, watching Hamakawa open the scroll to skim over the names. He did gasp at the men chosen, but he was proud of the newcomers for showing such potential. "Apparently, they've worked for you before. Someone recommended them to us quite vehemently..."