“Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru, please save me!” Rin’s voice could be heard echoing amongst the trees.  Recognizing the voice, Sesshomaru instantly shifted his attention from Naraku to the direction his companions headed to in the forest. ‘Rin…’ he thought. Sesshomaru quickly maneuvered around Naraku so that he could get to Rin, but was forced to stop and block the venomous tentacles that shot his way. “Hehehe…going somewhere? Perhaps you should be more concerned about yourself than that girl of yours. Not that it will matter anyways, seeing that you’ll soon be joining her…in Hell, that is.” Naraku said, with a Cheshire smile.  “Naraku. The only person who will be going to hell today is you.”

Sesshomaru stated as he launched his Meido Zangetsuha attack towards Naraku. A dark, crescent-shaped vortex appeared behind Naraku, sucking in his body at an alarming rate. This action seemed to catch Naraku off guard as his smile quickly faded and was replaced with a stern expression. He put up a barrier, thinking it would somehow leave him impervious to the attack. However, the force of the vortex was enough to sever his body into pieces.  ‘So the pathway is not yet large enough for me to send his entire body to hell…how very fortuitous for you, Naraku.’ Sesshomaru thought. Naraku’s body began slowly regenerating itself again. For a brief moment, Naraku glowered at Sesshomaru, but it was soon replaced with an evil grin. “Ho. So it appears that you’ve upgraded your sword since we last met. You can now open pathways to hell, it seems,” Naraku said. ‘This will be very interesting…’ he thought. 

Meanwhile, Kagura and Kohaku were fighting hordes of demons a little ways off. Kagura waved her fan creating two wind blades that thwarted a row of demons from attacking.  “Dance of Blades!” She yelled as more wind blades came out of her fan, killing the next row of demons with many more to come. “Damn it! Don’t these demons ever quit? It’s all because they want the jewel shard in Kohaku’s neck and I can only guess who summoned them here…”She said, frustratingly. Knowing that Naraku probably had something to do with it made it even more infuriating for Kagura. Kohaku kept silent, but threw his sickle at a few demons just the same. However, it was soon apparent that he was growing tired of fighting the endless raid of demons. He raised his sickle yet again, proceeding to kill a few more demons, but was halted by Kagura putting an arm out in front of him. “Hold it, Kohaku! Just leave them to me,” She said, with a mischievous grin on her face. Kohaku nodded, feeling an instant wave of relief, though curious for what she had in store for the demons. “Dance of the Dead!” she said as she manipulated the demon corpses to rise again and fight the living demons heading their way. 

Now the demons were fighting themselves, making it all the more easier for Kagura and Kohaku. However, a huge centipede demon slowly crept up from behind Kohaku.  He didn’t seem to notice, but Kagura noticed it almost instantly and pushed him out of the way as the centipede dove down to bite the shikon shard out of his neck with its sharp teeth. Kohaku watched in horror as Kagura was bitten in the shoulder instead and hurled to the ground. She quickly sent a couple of wind blades at the demon to return the favor. It dissipated upon contact with the blades. Kagura grimaced at the sharp pain in her shoulder, compressing the wound with her hand to try to null the pain.  “Kagura!” Kohaku yelled, with concern in his eyes as he rushed towards her to see if she was okay. “It’s nothing…” Kagura said as she slowly stood up. She tried her best to maintain the appearance that she was unfazed by the burning sensation in her shoulder. “I’m sorry…I got careless and--” Kohaku began, but was interrupted by Kagura. “Well, don’t be! Just worry about yourself.” Kagura said, with a sharp glare. Kohaku reluctantly complied. No more demons seemed to be coming now and for a few moments it seemed quite peaceful in the area until Rin’s voice cut into the air. “Let go of me or you’ll be sorry! Lord Sesshomaru will come for me!” “That sounds like Rin!” Kohaku said. “Come on, we have to hurry.” Kagura said. She pulled a feather out of her hair and let it enlarge as they both got on and headed in the direction of Rin’s voice.

 “Lord Sesshomaru!” Jaken slowly opened his eyelids. “Rin?” he asked, slowly coming to his senses. The fuzzy image of a little girl being dragged away by a giant ogre came into focus. “Let go of me!” Rin yelled. “Ugh! Will you stop screaming? You’re getting to be a real pest, you know that?” the ogre shouted in annoyance. “It’s pretty obvious that this Sesshomaru person or whoever the hell you keep screaming about isn’t coming, so stop it already! Perhaps he just doesn’t have the guts to face me…but that’s to be expected anyways, for no one can defeat the Great Masaru! Hahahaha!” The ogre said, with a smug look on his face. Jaken jerked up almost instantly. “Rin!” he yelled. ‘Oh, Lord Sesshomaru will have my head for this…’ he thought. That’s when he realized that the miasma had caught up to them. He knew he had to hurry or Rin could be in trouble. He dashed out in front of the ogre, holding the staff of two heads. Rin looked relieved. “Master Jaken! You’re okay!” She squealed in delight.

 “You leave Rin alone!” He said to the ogre as he summoned fire from the old man’s head. The fire engulfed the demon, but the demon seemed unfazed by the flames.  The ogre laughed heartily. “Who do you think summoned that fireball a while back? Me, of course! Your puny fire attacks have no effect on me! Hahahaha!” ‘Oh no, it’s not working on him…’Jaken thought, frantically. In the ogre’s free hand, he yanked Jaken up to his height.“Time for a little fun.” The ogre sneered. He swung his arm round and round, making Jaken really dizzy. As the ogre was getting ready to throw Jaken, Jaken held on for dear life. “I don’t want to die!” Jaken cried, “I don’t want to die!”  The ogre was very frustrated. “Dang it! Get…off…of…me…” he shouted.   He tried his best to pry the imp off of him, even bringing his foot into it, but Jaken’s grasp was very strong. Who knew?  “Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru, please save me!” Jaken cried.  The ogre tried the next best thing he could think of. He shook Jaken repeatedly, making the poor imp even dizzier. As soon as Jaken’s grip loosened, the ogre used that chance to fling Jaken’s body towards the edge of the cliff.  “Aaaah!!” Jaken screamed.

 “Master Jaken!” Rin screamed. She tried her best to wriggle her way out of the ogre’s grasp, but to no avail. The ogre smiled deviously. “Oh, don’t be in such a hurry! You’re next,” he said. Rin struggled even more, afraid for her life. The ogre just continued to laugh heartily. Out of nowhere, a huge boulder hit the ogre in the back of his head. The force was so powerful; it nearly threw the ogre off balance. He was shocked that someone had the gall to attack him from behind. “Who’s the dead sucker who-”, he paused as he spun around to see a beautiful woman with long, ebony hair standing in a red kimono. Now he was really shocked. “A…a woman?” He questioned. 

“Yo. Now why don’t you be a good little boy and put the girl down,” she stated casually. “Kagura!” Rin called out happily. “So…Kagura, was it? What makes you think you can take me down?” The ogre questioned. “I’m not obliged to answer that question. Now put the girl down or you will die,” Kagura stated casually. The ogre seemed caught off guard at first, stuck with disbelief at her words. Then, he laughed even harder, his voice almost echoing throughout the forest..  “YOU? You’re going to KILL ME?” The ogre said, making sure to emphasize the words “kill” and “me” as if they didn’t belong in the same sentence.  “And for what? A tiny, human girl nonetheless! I’ve heard it all now!” He said, laughing so much that tears were now brimming in his eyes. He jerked the girl up and down like a yo-yo to further his point. Kagura narrowed her eyes. “Did I say I was the one who was going to kill you, wiseass? You had your chance. Kohaku,” Kagura responded. A scythe immediately flung into the large neck of the ogre. In utter shock, the ogre dropped Rin on her bottom in a haste to pull out the scythe. Rin quickly got up and rushed towards Kagura.

The ogre groaned in pain as he desperately struggled to pull out the scythe until the scythe was quickly yanked out of his neck on its own, causing the ogre’s head to be severed from its body and hitting the ground with a loud thud. The scythe then went into the hands of none-other-than Kohaku.  “Kohaku!” Rin called out happily as she ran over to Kohaku. “Rin…” was all that Kohaku managed to get out before he was tackled by Rin as she gave him a great big bear hug. Kohaku went red, visibly embarrassed. Suddenly remembering that Jaken wasn’t present, she broke away from Kohaku and brought her hands to her cheeks worriedly.  “Oh no! Master Jaken!” She cried out.  However, this came as no surprise to Kagura. “You mean that green toad over there?” She questioned, pointing to an unconscious green imp sprawled out in the grass nearby. “I wouldn’t be bothered worrying about him. We found him meekly clinging to the edge of the cliff, practically begging for someone to come rescue him. If Kohaku and I hadn’t come along, he’d probably be channeling rapids over a waterfall right about now.” 

“Master Jaken!” Rin said as she rushed towards Jaken and knelt by him to see if he was okay. When she got no response, she shook him repeatedly, desperately trying to wake him up. “Let him be,” Kagura said, “he’s fine the way he is. He’s only fainted and I doubt that shaking him will make any difference.” Rin looked up from Jaken. “Will Master Jaken be alright?” she asked. Kagura smiled. “Don’t worry, Rin. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” she said. ‘Though I can’t say the same for me.’ Kagura thought, reflecting on the poison spreading quickly through her system. “But Lady Kagura…you’re hurt too. Your shoulder’s bleeding.” Rin replied, deeply concerned for her friend’s health. Kagura was taken aback by Rin’s concern. She looked over at her shoulder and saw that it was bleeding profusely now. When did that happen? Kagura smiled, despite her uncertainty. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. I’m not a Masochist, you know.” She compressed her hand on her shoulder to stop the bleeding and heal the wound. She showed Rin her shoulder, the gash in her shoulder now less visible and said, “See? This is nothing compared to Naraku’s poison.” 

Quickly changing the subject, Kagura said, “So…where’s Sesshomaru anyways? Isn’t it his job to protect you? Seems to me that he’s gotten quite careless nowadays.” Rin shook her head. “Lord Sesshomaru-- cough-- tried to protect me and Jaken, but we—cough, cough, cough-- ran into the ogre while we were running away from the miasma,” she explained, through coughs. She suddenly began coughing vehemently, passing out on the cold ground. Kohaku quickly knelt down and felt her hand. It was freezing cold. “Rin! Are you okay? Rin!” Kohaku questioned, worriedly. Getting no response, he pulled the gas mask off his face and put it on hers.  “It’s the miasma, she took in too much. We have to take her to higher ground,” Kohaku explained. He picked up Rin, carrying her in his arms.  “I’ll take you to where Ah-Uhn is. Then, you take Rin and that toad over there to higher ground. I’m going to see how Sesshomaru’s doing against that bastard Naraku,” Kagura responded. When Kohaku nodded, she pulled out her feather and they both rode to the direction of Ah-Uhn. Spotting the familiar two-headed dragon through the trees, she swooped down and dropped off Kohaku, Rin, and Jaken. Still on her feather, she rode in the direction of the purple miasma.

‘Sesshomaru...I know all of your moves. So what will you do now?’ Naraku thought to himself as he watched Sesshomaru prepare for his next attack.  “Meido Zangetsuha!” Sesshomaru said, swinging his sword through the air and launching another dark vortex towards Naraku. Naraku grinned. “Heh. Such impudence,” he said as he agilely dodged the vortex and sent a few more tentacles towards Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru easily maneuvered around the tentacles and slashed them with his sword.                     

“This seems like a good place to land. Ah-Uhn, head down there,” Kohaku said, directing the two-headed dragon to a nearby mountain. Ah-Uhn landed gently on the grassy tundra, allowing Kohaku to disembark the dragon. Lifting Rin off the dragon, he placed her gently on her back on the ground. Then, he repeated the motion with Jaken.  ‘We should be safe here, at least until the miasma dissipates,’ Kohaku thought, looking out towards the horizon. Meanwhile, Kagura was slowly approaching the territory where Naraku and Sesshomaru were fighting.  ‘There it is. I can already see Naraku’s miasma seeping through the trees’, Kagura noted, watching the once green forest decay into nothingness. Looking into the distance, Kagura saw a familiar figure heading in the opposite direction.  “Hey there! Fancy meeting you here!” the man on the paper crane greeted, waving at Kagura. Kagura glared at him. “Ugh. You again! I feel like I’m in some freakin’ time warp. Look, just get out of my way. I don’t have time to play with you today,” Kagura said, definitely not in the mood for his games. Byakuya just laughed. “Sorry to disappoint, but I just can’t allow you to leave,” he said.

 “Let me guess—your on orders to kill me, right?” Kagura questioned. “Actually no. Not quite. Though Naraku would most likely prefer you dead, that’s not why I’m here,” Byakuya said. “Oh? Then why stop me?” Kagura questioned, rather impatiently. “Well I noticed you were heading in Naraku’s direction and I thought, ‘hey, she might be trying to interfere with Naraku and Sesshomaru’s battle. But that would be giving Sesshomaru an unfair advantage…’ not that you’d do much anyway, but we can’t have that, now can we?” Byakuya explained. Kagura rolled her eyes. “Right. And you’re going to stop me? ”she asked as more of a statement. “Well dear, I already did,” Byakuya stated casually, “Now if you’re talking about me beating you in a battle, that, I can do rather easily as well.” “Hmph! Just try it!” Kagura said, launching her wind blades at Byakuya. Byakuya easily intercepted the blades with his barrier and had them deflected back towards Kagura. Kagura threw a couple more wind blades at Byakuya to block her own attack.  “Very original,” Byakuya said.  “I try,” Kagura replied, launching more wind blades towards Byakuya. ‘And that’s what I’m betting on…’ Byakuya thought, smiling as he secretly made another copy of himself and sent it in the direction of Kohaku, Rin, and Jaken. 

“Mmm…?” Jaken mumbled, slowly coming to his senses. “You’re awake!” But Rin’s still out of it,” Kohaku said, a bit solemnly on the last part. Jaken instinctively jumped up in an effort to protect Rin. “It’s you! You better not be here to hurt young Rin!” Jaken said, suspicious of Kohaku and raising his Staff of Two Heads at Kohaku. Kohaku lowered his head, clenching his fists as if in agony. “I-I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to hurt Rin that time. I remember everything! I’ve caused so much pain for everyone. I can never forgive myself for what I did and I understand if you don’t trust me, but I…I want to do my best to protect Rin,” Kohaku responded. “Well, you were supposed to have been controlled by Naraku. Who’s to say that he still doesn’t have you under his control?” Jaken replied, still not convinced. “I know that I’m not under his control now, but I don’t know for how long. Please allow me the honor of protecting Rin while I can,” Kohaku said, visibly distressed. Jaken sighed. “Luckily for you, it’s not my decision, but you’ll have a harder time convincing my Lord,” Jaken said, turning away from Kohaku. Kohaku blinked. He didn’t know whether to take that answer as good or bad so he just decided to count his blessings. He walked over to Rin, making sure that she was okay before looking back towards the horizon. “Hey, where’s mi’lord anyway? And that Kagura wench?” Jaken questioned. 

“Kagura went to go help Sesshomaru against Naraku,” Kohaku answered. However, he immediately tensed when he saw a strange light appear in front of them. He immediately grabbed hold of his sickle, fully prepared for what the strange light had in store for them. Jaken gasped. “What’s that?” he questioned. The light materialized into the form of Byakuya. “You!” Jaken said, raising his staff of two heads again. “Yo! How’s it going?” Byakuya answered. “What do you want?” Jaken asked. “I’m on an errand. Mind helping me? I require a shard you see and oh, look, it seems Kohaku can help me,” Byakuya said casually. “Don’t worry; it won’t even hurt a bit.” Naraku smirked. ‘Hmph! Seems like my plan is working perfectly,’ Naraku thought as he launched another tentacle toward Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru dodged the tentacle, slashing it with Tenseiga. He narrowed his eyes. ‘What’s he up to? It seems like he’s merely buying time for something…Well no matter, I’ll kill him right here,’ he thought. 

He leapt into the air, slashing Naraku’s tentacles with his whip of light. Then, he got up close to Naraku, launching a Meido towards Naraku. Naraku moved away from it, but was caught off guard by Sesshomaru coming up from behind and slashing him in two with his Tenseiga. “Getting careless now, Naraku?” Sesshomaru said much to Naraku’s displeasure.  “You’re a fool to think that this will kill me,” Naraku said as his body regenerated again. ‘Just a little more time’ Naraku thought, smiling deviously.“You haven’t realized it, have you? That this is all part of Naraku’s plan,” Byakuya said, smiling. “What the hell are you talking about? What plan?” Kagura asked, confused. “You see, I’m only buying time. Right now as we speak, my copy is probably extracting the jewel shard from that boy Kohaku’s neck,” Byakuya said, laughing as Kagura’s face changed into a look of regret. “Oh, it gets better. You recall that Kohaku is under Naraku’s control while the girl child remains unconscious? I’d hate to be in their shoes right about now…” Byakuya said. “Damn it! You bastard!” Kagura shouted, enraged.  “Instead of getting angry at me, perhaps you should be more concerned about saving them. And as much as I simply adore seeing your reaction to all of this, I must bid you my farewell because I now have what I came for. You should have never left them alone. Shame, shame on you…” Byakuya said as he disappeared. 

“Damn him!” Kagura said as she retraced her steps back to where Kohaku, Rin, and Jaken were headed. Kohaku gasped as the color of his shard turned to an eerie glow. Kill her…kill the girl… A man’s voice penetrated Kohaku’s thoughts. “Run…away…” Kohaku said, struggling to maintain control over his own body. “Oh no! I knew we couldn’t trust him!” Jaken said. He stood in front of the unconscious Rin to protect her from Kohaku. ‘Hmm…I suppose I could take his shard now and be on my merry way, but what fun would that be? Why not have Kohaku kill the girl first and then take it? Or if he doesn’t succeed, have them kill Kohaku and then take the shard. Hehe…Naraku wins every time’ Byakuya thought to himself, smiling. ‘I’m merely here to observe and make sure Naraku’s plans come to light, but they don’t need to know that.’ Jaken raised his staff of two heads to Kohaku. Kohaku stared blankly at Jaken, awaiting his imminent demise.  ‘That’s it…Burn Kohaku…make my job easier for me.’ Byakuya thought as he looked on.

 “Mmm…” Rin mumbled, slowly opening her eyes to the world around her. The first thing she noticed was the mask on her face and then she got a little confused until she remembered the miasma. ‘Oh…Kohaku…?’ she thought. Then, she noticed the green imp standing in front of her. “Master Jaken!” Rin instantly shot up, excitedly. Then, that’s when it hit her.  Jaken was holding the staff of two heads towards her friend, Kohaku. “No!” she yelled. Reacting first, she grabbed Jaken’s staff from him.  “Rin? What are you doing?” Jaken said. Kohaku used that moment to attack Jaken, which he dodged just barely. Rin looked toward Kohaku and then into his blank, lifeless eyes. “Kohaku?” she questioned. Jaken quickly rushed towards Rin. “Master Jaken! What’s wrong with Kohaku?” she asked, with genuine concern. Kohaku slowly walked up to them, raising his sickle.  “Get behind me, Rin! Kohaku is being controlled by Naraku! Hand me my staff now or he’ll kill us both!” Jaken demanded. “But--” Rin protested. “Silly girl, do as you’re told!” Jaken said.As Rin hesitated, Kohaku threw the sickle towards Jaken.  “Dance of Blades!”  Two wind blades defended Jaken against Kohaku’s sickle.

 “Guess I arrived just in time.” Kagura stated. “Okay. Plan B. Kohaku, come.” Byakuya said.  Kohaku immediately obeyed, walking towards Byakuya. “Oh no you don’t!” Kagura said, launching three wind blades towards Byakuya. He instantly raised a barrier, easily deflecting her attack. “Please Kagura. You should know by now that your attacks have no effect on me,” Byakuya stated.  “Damn you…” Kagura said though gritted teeth. “Kohaku! Please stay with us! Where are you going?” Rin said, tears brimming in her eyes. Kohaku seemed stunned. He remembered that promise he made to Jaken a while back: ‘…I-I want to do my best to protect Rin.’  At that moment, he fought to break free of Naraku’s control. Subconsciously, he moved away from Byakuya without Byakuya noticing. Byakuya smiled cheerfully. “He can’t hear you now, little girl. Isn’t that right, Kohaku?” Byakuya said, proceeding to pull out the shard, but to his surprise, Kohaku no longer was beside him. He blinked. “Kohaku…?” “It seems Kohaku doesn’t agree with you,” Kagura said, smirking.  “Kohaku, come!” Byakuya demanded. But Kohaku didn't obey. Kohaku slowly regained consciousness. ‘What’s going on?’ he thought to himself.“Kohaku!” Rin yelled, rushing over to Kohaku, “You are unharmed…?” “Yes, but what happened?” Kohaku questioned. Jaken began explaining the story to Kohaku. 

“Oh well, it seems Naraku’s plan was foiled. I don’t know how I’m going to explain this to him…” Byakuya said, as he slowly disappeared. Kagura looked at her shoulder. It was getting worse and she could feel it. The poison was spreading rapidly. Her head was starting to get foggy now and all that moving around wasn’t helping either. She placed her hand on her shoulder to stop the bleeding. She had to do something and fast. Naraku looked away from his battle with Sesshomaru. Realizing that something had gone amiss, Naraku began his retreat. “Running away are we, Naraku?” Sesshomaru asked, launching another vortex towards him. Naraku got away just in time. “We’ll meet again, Sesshomaru,” he said as he faded away. Sesshomaru just stood there, watching as if deep in thought. He looked up at the sky. It was dark with stars speckled in the sky.  He hadn’t even realized how late it had gotten. He then went to go find them. By the time he had found them, it was pitch black outside.

However, their spot on the mountain offered protection from the demons residing in the forest. He was slightly shocked to find Kohaku there.  “Lord Sesshomaru!” Rin and Jaken shouted in unison, both rushing up to Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru looked down at Rin’s cheerful face. “I hope you’ve fared well, Rin.” “Mmhm! Master Jaken, Kagura, and Kohaku all took great care of me!” She said, excitedly. Ah-Uhn groaned at being left out of the picture. “And of course, Ah-Uhn too,” she said laughing. At the mention of Kohaku, Sesshomaru gave a stern look towards Kohaku. Seeing the look, Kagura walked over.  “He needs somewhere to stay, Sesshomaru. Surely you wouldn’t leave the poor boy to fend on his own,” she said. “I couldn’t care less if the boy stays or goes. Do as you please,” Sesshomaru said. Kagura smiled triumphantly at that response.  “Rin,” he said, awaiting an answer. “Yes?” the little girl answered. “You may look for food now,” he said. Rin smiled cheerfully. “Yes, my lord!” She ran off, making sure to take Ah-Uhn with her. “Jaken, look after Rin.” Sesshomaru said.  “Yes, of course, mi’lord.” Jaken said, following after Rin.  Looking at Kohaku, Sesshomaru questioned, “What will you do?” Kohaku bowed. “Please sir, allow me to assist Master Jaken,” he said, getting up and rushing after Rin and Jaken. Kagura looked bored. She was sitting on a rock, looking up at the stars. “So what now?” She asked, casually. She was surprised when he sat down right beside her.  “Let me see your shoulder,” he said, pulling down her sleeve. Kagura blushed, pulling her arm away.  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” she yelled.

 “Unless you would much prefer death…” Sesshomaru responded, looking as passive as ever. Definitely not wanting that, she gave in, offering her arm to Sesshomaru.  “How did you know? About the venom, I mean,” Kagura asked, her crimson eyes meeting Sesshomaru’s golden.  “I can smell it on you,” he stated bluntly.  He reached into his white kimono, pulling out a small white case. He then proceeded to open it, revealing a light green ointment.  “Is that supposed to heal me?” Kagura asked, obviously not impressed.  “If it didn’t, would I bother using it?” Sesshomaru asked, mildly irritated.  ‘Good point.’ Kagura silently agreed. She watched closely as he began applying the ointment to her wound. She winced a little at the stinging of the ointment reacting to her skin. Then, she felt a strong burning sensation in her shoulder.  “What is this?! It fucking hurts!” She shouted.  Noting Kagura’s distress, Sesshomaru said, “Be patient. The pain will only last a short while. This ointment was specifically designed to treat bites such as yours.” Suddenly, he rose from his spot next to Kagura.  “You’ll be fine now.” He said, walking away without another word. Kagura could hear Rin’s voice through the trees. “Come on, Master Jaken! Hurry!” She said, racing past Kagura’s rock.  

“I won!” She shouted cheerfully, jumping up and down. Jaken followed quickly behind.  “Huff, huff--for the last time, girl—it is not a race,” he said, out of breath. Kohaku followed closely behind. “Lord Sesshomaru, we’re back!” Rin shouted. Sesshomaru just nodded silently. Jaken plopped his butt on the ground and immediately fell asleep. “Master Jaken’s asleep. Now what do we do, Kohaku?” Rin asked. “Actually Rin, I don’t think that sounds like a bad idea,” Kagura said, “Who knows what we’ll encounter tomorrow?” “Okay!” Rin said, walking towards the two headed dragon and curling up between them. Kohaku rested against a tree; he closed his eyes, hoping to drift into sleep, but was rather unsuccessful. He couldn’t stop thinking about how he was controlled once again by Naraku. A couple of hours later, it was very quiet. The only thing he could hear now was the crickets chirping in the night.  He watched as Kagura rested in a tree, sleeping. Then, he saw Rin and Jaken sleeping near Ah-Uhn. He looked around for Sesshomaru, but he was nowhere to be found. He got up from his spot quietly, taking his sickle and walking away. Then, he stopped and looked back at everyone sleeping. He smiled. ‘Thanks for everything’, he thought and then walked away. 

He only walked for a couple of meters before bumping into Sesshomaru along the way. He lowered his head, walking past Sesshomaru and Sesshomaru doing the same, neither of them saying a word.  Sesshomaru stopped suddenly. “Going somewhere?” he asked. Kohaku stopped as well, not knowing how to answer. “Yes…” he said, quietly. “I see,” Sesshomaru said, “So you plan to leave and face Naraku on your own. What will Rin think?” Kohaku tensed visibly. How would Rin feel if he left? Would she be sad?  “Forgive me.” He said, “I…I can’t stay…All I’ll do is cause everyone pain.” “And so you think that running away will make things better. Exactly what Naraku wants. Well, I won’t stop you,” he said, walking away. Kohaku stood where he was. ‘I’m helping…Naraku?’ Kohaku thought to himself. “He’s right. You’ll only be falling into Naraku’s trap.” Kagura said, jumping from a tree and landing gracefully in front of him. Kohaku jumped. “Kagura?! But I thought--” he said, truly shocked.

 “Well you thought wrong. Now tell me—what can you hope to accomplish by attacking Naraku on your own? You’ll only be making him stronger,” Kagura said firmly. “I…I have to try. Besides, you saw what happened today. How I almost killed Rin and Jaken…I’ll only be making things worse for your group by staying,” Kohaku said, his head down in agony. “What about that jerk of an ogre? Who took care of him? And what about Jaken: who rescued him from that cliff? Hell, I said, ‘leave him’, but you insisted on helping him anyway. Either way, it’s your choice. No one’s stopping you.” She said, crossing her arms. It was silent. Kohaku mulled it over in his mind for a moment. “I’ll…stay,” he said. Kagura smiled, content with that answer. “Fine. Then, let’s head back to camp”, she said, walking back. Kohaku followed shortly after. When they arrived back at camp, everyone was still asleep and Sesshomaru was standing at the mountain’s edge, watching the stars. He seemed to be deep in thought, but didn’t answer when he heard Kagura and Kohaku return. Kagura looked at Sesshomaru, smiling triumphantly. ‘We make a great team.’ She thought. Kohaku went over and sat next to Rin and Jaken. He was sound asleep moments later. 

Kagura sat down on the same rock from earlier, content with watching Sesshomaru. He seemed so regal, so beautiful with his long, silver hair blowing in the breeze. His body seemed to glow in the sky. Yes, she was very much appreciating the view. She continued to look lower, stopping at his ass. He was so fine…she could fuck him right now if she had the chance. Feeling Kagura’s gaze roaming all over his form, he had to ask, “What exactly are you looking at?” He questioned, without looking back. Kagura seemed unfazed by this question. “Well if you must know, you,” she answered honestly. “After all, I find it hard to keep one’s eyes off of one so beautiful.” “Is that so?” He said, smirking inwardly and silently agreeing.“We need to talk about last night,” Sesshomaru said after a while. Kagura yawned. “You mean before Totosai interrupted our little moment? Sounds fine to me,” she said. He walked away from his spot and turned towards her. “Alone,” He said and then continued walking.‘What’s he up to?’ Kagura thought as she followed closely behind. A few moments later, Rin woke up.

She really had to go. Ah and Uhn lazily opened their eyes, raising their heads. “Don’t worry, Ah-Uhn. I’ll only be gone a minute,” Rin said, comforting them. They laid their heads back down on the ground and were fast asleep again. Rin started to walk off on her own until she heard Jaken’s voice.  “Rin? Where are you going?” he said.  “I have to pee,” she said. Giving an understanding nod, Jaken fell back asleep, but Kohaku, who was listening, remained awake, just in case. Rin went into the woods, walking far enough until it was all clear. She lifted up her kimono, relieving herself behind the bushes.  Then, she started to walk back, but hearing voices, she went further into the forest. She snuck behind a bush, finding Sesshomaru and Kagura standing there. Gasping, she quickly rushed back to tell the others. ‘Yay! I knew they liked each other!’ Rin thought as she ran back. Sesshomaru and Kagura just stared at each other.

Golden eyes on Crimson.  

Kagura broke the silence first. “Go ahead and say what you pulled me out here to say already,” Kagura said, waiting impatiently. “You are to forget last night, is that clear?” Sesshomaru said. Those words struck her heart like a sharp chord. That was definitely not something she expected to hear. “What? You want me to just pretend like it didn’t happen?” Kagura questioned, hardly believing her ears.  “Our main goal is to defeat Naraku. Any distractions along the way would only hinder our success,” Sesshomaru explained. “Hmph! I think you’re afraid--afraid that you may have feelings for me.” Kagura stated. That seemed to really get his attention. He quickly grabbed her, pinning her up against a tree. She could feel his breath, warming her face. She immediately tensed, her breathing suddenly faster than normal and her heart racing.   “What makes you think that I’m afraid?” Sesshomaru questioned.  Kagura smirked. She knew it was risky, but she wasn’t going to give in that easily. This was going to go her way whether he liked it or not. “Oh you’re not, are you? Then I guess you wouldn’t mind if I did this…” She said, undoing the obi around her waist, revealing two, white breasts. Sesshomaru’s breathing suddenly became a lot shallower.

 She smirked as she felt his arousal kicking in. ‘So he has hormones…’ She thought. Finding it harder to maintain his composure, Sesshomaru quickly averted his eyes. He was fighting determinedly against the temptation to take her for his own right now. He had never been this addicted to any woman in his life. She was an addiction. He yearned to give in so badly. “What’s the matter, Sesshomaru? Surely you aren’t bothered by this?” Kagura said, innocently. She moved her hands against his chest, leaning in to kiss him on his lips. She kissed him gently, wondering if her plan would work. But Sesshomaru could only take so much before he finally gave into his demonic nature. She smiled when she felt him kissing back gently. Hesitantly at first, he placed his hands on her hips, roaming her features. Things quickly became more heated as Sesshomaru seemed more involved with his ministrations. He kissed her more passionately, Kagura allowing passage into her mouth. Kagura moaned with pleasure as Sesshomaru ravenously drank her in, exploring every inch of her body. When Rin arrived back at the camp, she was jumping up and down excitedly, waking up Jaken and Ah-Uhn. “W…What’s the matter, Rin?” Jaken said, tiredly rubbing his eyes. “Guess what, Master Jaken! I was right about Sesshomaru and Kagura! They’re going to be together!”


Jaken immediately sprung up. “W--what?!” he shrieked. Then, he relaxed a little. “That’s crazy, Rin! Sesshomaru would never go for that wench.” “It’s true! I saw them in the woods together!” Rin protested, “Come on! I’ll show you!” Kohaku quickly cut in. “Um…Rin. I don’t think that’s such a good idea. If what you say is true, I think they’d rather be alone,” he said. “Huh? But why?” Rin asked, confused. Kohaku blushed. “Well, because--” he stuttered. Kagura’s words suddenly permeated through Jaken’s mind: ‘Perhaps you don’t know Sesshomaru as well as you think.’ After hearing that, he was determined more than ever now to see if what Rin said was true. “Let’s go, Rin. Show me where they are!” he said. Rin smiled. “Okay!” Rin skipped along in the direction of Sesshomaru and Kagura with Jaken following closely behind. Seeming unsure of himself at first, Kohaku followed after them. ‘This isn’t good…’ He thought. When they arrived, Rin suddenly stopped, causing Jaken and Kohaku to come colliding into each other. “What’s the big idea--?” Jaken said before being interrupted by the sight before him. Sesshomaru and Kagura were kissing each other passionately. The couple, ravaging each other in the moonlight. They were too focused on each other to notice that they were being watched at that moment.  Jaken quickly pulled Rin behind the bushes. Kohaku kneeled down as well.  “Ack! She’s seducing him! That’s it! That would explain why mi’lord would lower himself to such!” Jaken reasoned with himself. Rin looked at him in confusion. “Master Jaken, what’s seducing?” She asked. “Well, uh, you see, Rin…” Jaken started, flustered with the question. “Children don’t need to know! Run along, Rin! Kohaku, take her with you!” he shouted, making excuses. Kohaku instantly felt a wave of relief. They wouldn’t be caught after all.  He nodded in agreement, taking Rin with him. “But, I still don’t understand.” Rin complained.  “I’ll tell you when you’re older, Rin,” Kohaku said. Hearing the noises in the background brought Sesshomaru back to reality. Then, he noticed Jaken peering at them through the bushes.


“Jaken.” He said, startling Jaken and Kagura, both. Kagura quickly reached down and re-tied her obi around her red kimono. “You may leave us now,” he said. “Yes, mi’lord. Forgive me.” Jaken said, quickly running away. “Well that was strange,” Kagura said, watching the green imp’s disappearing form. Sesshomaru didn’t say a word. It was silent and she could almost feel the tension building in the air.  She felt like she had to say something. “Look, before you go and blame me, I just want to point out that I wasn’t the only one who--” Kagura protested before she was interrupted by Sesshomaru putting his finger to her lips. “Be silent. It’s clear to me now that I do harbor some feelings towards you.” Sesshomaru said, looking deep in thought. Kagura was stunned. ‘Wait--did he just say what I think he did? He actually has feelings for me?’ she thought. He removed his finger. “And you’re finally figuring this out now?” Kagura said, smirking. He gave her a glare to which she found rather humorous. She wanted to ask how he felt about the whole thing, but she decided not to press her luck.  “We should head back to camp,” Sesshomaru said, already walking back. Kagura shrugged, though inwardly she was a wreck. There were so many questions that she wanted answered. Did he even want to take this relationship any further? What was going to happen now? These were only some of the questions running through her mind as she headed back to camp with Sesshomaru.