The Butterfly Waltz by Adriana

Wind (Solo Piano)

Someone was knocking incessantly on the front door, and since it was almost midnight, it was irritating him greatly. Finally, he ferociously pulled open the door; his scathing remark dying when he saw the young woman standing there.

Illuminated by the moon, she was a vison in her white shirt and cloak. Though, with her fur hood up, he could not see much of her face. So his eyes were drawn to the large, rather flat package she was holding upright with one hand.

Without saying a word, she lifted it up and offered it to him.

"What is it?" He asked, breaking the silence but not taking it. Saying nothing she just pushed the package closer to him.

"Who is it from and to who?" he tried again.

"To Toga Tashio, and from..." She paused, licking her lips, "Higurashi."

Taking the package he noticed she also wore loose pants, soft looking boots, and leather gloves; all in white. A gentle breeze grabbed a lock of ebony hair and playfully swirlled it around.

He turned to set the package down and when he turned back, noticed that the girl had silently started walking away.

"Who are you?" He called after her.

Pausing at the top of the steps off the porch, She looked over her shoulder at him for a moment, then bowed her head.

"Goodnight Sesshoumaru," She said, mounting the white horse that had suddenly materialized from thin air, "Sweet dreams." And then, she was gone.

Closing the door, Sesshoumaru looked at the package; and realized, he had never given her his name.

'.' '.' '.' '.' '.' '.'

Sesshoumaru still cloudn't believe his father was forcing him to leave to go to some secluded place in the middle of nowhere, with no towns for miles around. You have done nothing but work since your wife passed away a year ago. he had said. I know people grieve differently, but drowning yourself in your work is neither healthy for you or your daughter. She misses you. At that memory he became rather guilty for not paying as much attention to her as he probably should. There are many horses, so Rin should not become bored. But if he was to spend time with her he would have to, at the very least, learn to tolerate the smelly beasts.

You shall not be bored either his father had gone on. For there are many secrets in this place to be found. There are a couple rooms you cant get into, and apparently a few rooms in the house you'll be staying in have gone missing. Now that had caught his interest. How could rooms go missing? It's not like they just suddenly grew legs and walked away.

Glancing at his father out of the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru saw a look of pain and sadness he had seen only once before. And that was because of something in that package he had gotten all those years ago from that Higrishi, or Higashi or whoever it was.

'.' '.' '.' '.' '.' '.'

"What's that, Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru looked over towards the door to where his father was pointing.

"I'ts for you. It came late last night." He scowled at the thought of just how late.

"Who's it from?"

"Some Higurashi person."Sesshoumaru answered before taking a sip of his coffee.

In about two seconds flat his father had the package opened to find something large and flat wrapped in heavy brown paper with a small white envelope atatched with tape on it.

TOGA was written on the outside of the envelope in a beautiful flowing script.

For some unexlainable reason, Toga's face paled. Sesshoumaru watched as his father slowly opened the envelope and pulled out the paper inside with shaking hands.

Sesshoumaru watched, slightly concerned as his father's face grew even paler as he read the letter.

"Oh God." Toga moaned as he let the paper slip from his hands.

Sesshoumaru picked up the paper and read:< /em>

Dear Toga,

Please accept my sincerist apologizes for sending you this letter, I know that you will grieve very much from what I must tell you.  I am Kagome Higurashi. Minoru Higurashi's youngest daughter. It is my unfortunate job to inform you that, a few days ago, he died. The funeral wll take place in three days from now.

You may stay the night in one of my many guest rooms and if you wish, you may also bring your sons.

I would like for you to have what is wrapped in the brown paper. It was something my father had been working on when he died, and he had told me about it. He said that you had been expressing interest in the pictures of the rearing horse with the girl, so I think he would have wanted you to have this to remember him by.

 Kagome.

'.' '.' '.' '.' '.' '.'

Sesshoumaru started awake. Disorientedly he realized that: the car had come to a stop, he didn't know where he was, and that the setting sun was blinding him. He looked over to the driver's seat when he heard his father chuckle.

"We're here." Toga said as he opened the door and got out.

Sitting there for a minute trying to figure out where exactly he was and wake up a little more fully, he heard his father open the back door of the car to wake his daughter, Rin, up and tell her they were there.

"Where are the horsies?" was the first thing out of her mouth.

"I'm sure you'll see them tomorrow dear," Toga replied.

As Sesshoumaru got out of the car rubbing his stiff neck, two large brown horses walked around the side of a small building. Each horse had a male rider.

Slipping down the side of one, a man Sesshoumaru would have guessed was roughly about his own age, told the much younger looking one to take care of the horses.

"Hello," The man greeted, smiling. "My name is Miroku. You are Toga," he said, looking at his father. "So you must be Sesshoumaru." Sesshoumaru shook his hand.

"Well I guess you guys want to see the house you'll be staying in. It's right this way." Miroku led them around the little garage, as Sesshoumaru now realized what it was, and to the front porch of a giant white house.

The porch was covered and wrapped around the side of the house. A bench swing innocently drifted back and forth, as if having been abandoned quickly and recently. Miroku ushered them inside the bright red door. "There is only one person living here right now, her name is Kagome. You probably wont see her very much, she tends to keep to herself alot. I think the only rooms that are always kept locked are her room and the photography room. So you can feel free to move into any room that you want." Toa and Sesshoumaru listened intently to what Miroku was saying.

Miroku was leading them into the living room when a large crash came from the hallway leading into the rest of the house made all of the men jump. After a short pause, in which Sesshoumaru realized his daughter was no longer with him, a young woman ran out of the hallway looking like she had just seen a ghost.

"Where's Rin?" Toga asked quietly.

"I can almost guarentee she's down the hallway." Miroku said as he started down it.

And standing there, looking stunded, was Rin.

Looking up at Miroku innocently she asked, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, my dear," he answered, "You just remind her of someone."

"Who do I remind her of?"

"Uhh... Well.." but he was saved from answering by yelling from the front of the house.

"Yo, Miroku! What's up with Kagome? She almost ran me over coming out the door and went flying up the trail to the cemetary." The younger boy from earlier came around the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh shit." he whispered, staring wide eyed at Rin.

"Dont stare Kohaku." Miroku reprimanded.

"Oh! Well umm.. Now I know why Kagome ran out of here so fast." Kohaku said as he ripped his gaze from the 10 year old girl.

"Lets get you two some rooms to stay in, I know you've had a long drive." Miroku said, ignoring the looks Toga and Sesshoumaru were giving them.

"I think I know the room she will want to have." Kohaku told Miroku.

"Then lead the way."

------

"Well this is the master bedroom, but umm.. I'm not sure you'll want it."

Sesshoumaru turned from looking at the giant room to raise an eyebrow at Miroku, who looked uneasy.

"Umm.. Well.. you see.. the music room is right under here and uhh.. for some reason uhh.. the sound carries extrodinarily well.."

"The sound of what?" Then suddenly the room was filled with beautiful piano music.

Wind (solo piano)