"Pathetic wretch…" Naraku gazed down at Urasue's rotting corpse. He'd given her his shards of the jewel, believing in her plan to either capture Kikyo's reincarnation to hunt down the remaining shards, resurrect Kikyo and use her instead, or use the Thunder Brothers as she saw fit. Of course, it all fell short with the unlikely interference of Inuyasha's older brother. He was an unforeseen advisory she, neither Naraku, anticipated.

He was powerful, deliciously so, and the demon lord was just a means to an end for the Spider.

The thunder brothers were supposed to find the woman that was the reincarnation of Kikyo. They alone were strong enough to defeat Inuyasha, though they never got the chance to meet him. They were cut down by Sesshomaru. When that plan fell through, he went along with resurrecting Kikyo, as wrestling Kagome away from Sesshomaru to use her as a jewel shard detector was far too dangerous.

His body was not complete enough to go toe to toe with the dog demon. It was still primitive in that regard.

Unfortunately, they did not realize resurrecting Kikyo meant needing some of her reincarnation's soul. They still had to capture Kagome who fortunately for them was back with Inuyasha and not his elder brother.

Using Kikyo's reanimated corpse however was more than enough to lure Inuyasha and his friends away from the girl.

It was then that they made their move to capture Kagome, but again Sesshomaru interfered. It was best to give him a reason to give the girl up, otherwise he was going to continue to be a thorn in Naraku's side.

Xx

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Came a gleeful squeal that made Kagome freeze. W-Who…was that? Her eyes flew to Sesshomaru's face which was adorned with his usual unreadable and stoic mask.

Kagome's answer came sprouting from a bush. A little girl, her arms elevated as she bounded out with a giggle, "Did I surprise you?!"

A little…human girl! Kagome's jaw fell increasingly slack as Sesshomaru dismounted Ah Un with a fluidity that put silk to shame. He was always capable of defying gravity in that manner. "Rin, I hope you have fared well."

Kagome shifted on Ah Un's saddle, gawking, her eyes as wide as saucers as they vibrated out of their sockets. She forgot that she was even still crying at that point.

"Yes! I have been on my very best behavior. Jaken has been most melancholy though." She said as she pointed back at the green imp that was still griping about being left to monitor the little girl whilst his Master ran an errand.

"You must be Kagome!" Rin readily approached the saddle—a vibrant whirlwind as she passed Sesshomaru's sleeves. She worked to climb the dragon fearlessly, earning a small sound of endearment from Ah Un, "Lord Sesshomaru has told me all about you!"

Kagome, managing to find her voice in the bowels of her stomach spoke, her voice initially a raspy whisper before it became louder and clearer "H-He has?!" Only…good things she hoped and not the truth about their…circumstance! Promptly, she began to wipe the remaining trails of tears from her face. "Y-Yeah! I'm Kagome, R-Rin.." Said as she cut Sesshomaru an awkward glance before once more taking in the HUMAN CHILD sitting before her on the saddle.

Before long after weaving flower wreaths and showing Kagome all of the various kimonos she possessed, she headed off with Jaken to find food…leaving Sesshomaru and Kagome alone…

Kagome wanted desperately to go with them…She hated being left by herself with him. It never ended well…. That and she doubted Jaken was able to keep up with Rin. They didn't know what went into taking care of a kid. It was hard work! They needed food, medicines, they needed to be taught, girls had periods and needed to be taught about their bodies…

But all of that could definitely wait because this time she had questions. TONS of questions, questions he'd better answer if he ever wanted to hear the end of it. Just what was he doing with a kid? A mortal kid?!

"…Have you brain washed her or something?" She blurted out behind him. She honestly doubted that he would turn around and grace her with a response. He rarely did. In order to get any rise out of him, she usually had to be on the verge of trying to purify him or screaming her lungs out.

"…Brain washed?" Said with the barely-there inflection that he was…perplexed. Those molten orbs of his glanced back at her—sharp enough to cut someone in two.

….Brain washed was probably a modern term, too modern for the current era. He probably thought she meant literally taking someone's brain out to the nearest river for a dipping, "I mean… I mean…under a spell….BEWITCHED! Have you…bewitched her?!" Kagome stammered out, lifting her hands to the heavens as if giving up.

"…If I had the ability to bewitch anyone, you would have been the first." Point taken, especially during moments like this when she prodded an issue or subject and he desired nothing more than to hear silence from her.

Kagome deflated like a balloon, feeling all the animosity and questions drain from her body, her shoulders sagging in the process. This guy…kidnaps her, possibly kidnaps a kid… and is indignant about it! He wanted her because he thought she could break the barrier on the Tetsusaiga. Did that mean that Rin also served some sort of purpose? She looked like…the run of the mill and average village orphan.

Were her parents being held hostage?

The implications were…startling and endless.

Sesshomaru could almost feel the gears in her head turning, but the answer was so simple, so cut and dry, that he doubted she'd accept it, "…She aided me after the battle with Inuyasha. I found her days later mauled by wolves. I resurrected her with the Tenseiga." Said without a glance back to her.

"…The Tenseiga?" Kagome inquired, her brows furrowing up at the center, "…You mean your sword?" She made her way around to her side so that the weapon was in view. Totosai did mention that he too forged Sesshomaru a sword….a healing sword, the Tenseiga which could save one-hundred lives in a single stroke. It was a sword that Sesshomaru shouldn't have been able to use, but she knew first-hand he could wield it. He used it back in Urasue's den. It was why the living dead were repelled by it. It was the only thing that could sever their bond to this world.

But at least it seemed he had…some sort of honor, allowing Rin to be with him after she'd cared for him. If a thief and a murderer could have honor. That did not change the fact that he kidnapped her, again! It made her blood boil, but she couldn't readily express her grievances around Rin. It wasn't fair to the little girl to see her rescuer as a monster. Kagome had friends to return to, friends that hopefully would rescue her. Rin had no one….all she had was Sesshomaru…and that in itself should have been a frightening prospect, but it wasn't, not for the little girl.

She pretty much worshipped the ground he walked on.

"…You need to tell me where we're going." Kagome said, her voice down as she walked ahead of Rin, Jaken, and Ah Un. Rin was currently playing a game of tongue twister with Jaken, both ignorant of the conversation she and Sesshomaru were having…

She hated…falling into this rhythm of…accepting what was going on, but she really didn't have a choice, did she? It was either that, or risk more broken fingers. She'd learned that it was best to just…go with his whims and protest little unless she really thought she was going to be killed…and thus far he was not interested in killing her.

He'd saved her from Urasue, as much as she hated to admit or thinking about it. Who knew where her friends were in the process of rescuing her…Only a part of her soul was captured…if any more of it was taken, she might've ended up dead. She'd also used the bow he got for her against him, meaning he probably did not trust her, at all.

But to see Sesshomaru as the good guy in all of this was wrong. He wasn't a good guy. He wasn't altruistic! That was it, plain and simple… He didn't just resurrect Rin out of the kindness of his heart. He only did it because she helped him…

"Get behind me."

Ah Un halted to a stop and Kagome, despite her hesitance to do so…did ease from beside him, her eyes watching the road ahead. She sensed it then, "…There are shards up ahead…"

It was dusk, nearly night, the sky's auburns and reds casting long black shadows on the land. The sun was a glimmer upon the horizon, its rays extended… Kagome had yet to realize that Rin was dozing now as she and Jaken's game had come to an end.

And before them, someone in a baboon's pelt materialized from the shadows and knelt. "Lord Sesshomaru…I believe I have what you seek…"

Sesshomaru proceeded forward, as if claiming the space between this stranger and his group, "Kagome, stay well back."

Kagome did not have to necessarily be told twice. Sure, he kidnapped her, but he was an evil that she knew of. This new guy seemed to be a different level of creepy.

A different kind of evil, a blackness that submerged her senses in dread, panic, and fear. A demon, he had to have been, his aura so malicious and dark that any manner of lowly demons would be consumed by it.

The shards with him were so vile and tainted.

The demon slayers and Miroku all sought an evil that was running rampant over the countryside. She would have thought it was Sesshomaru had they not been so convinced he was dead. That and it wasn't like him to interfere with mortal affairs. To him, humans were insignificant. It was why she thought there had to be something SO special about Rin for him to even take notice of her.

This…man's evil was able to taint the shards. They'd found peaceful demons like Royakan completely out of their minds because of tainted shards, and once purified, they returned to their docile selves…

It was because of him! She was more than sure of it, the demon Miroku coined Naraku.

"Have what I seek?" Sesshomaru asked, a clawed hand coming up to tuck a few stray strands of hair behind one of his pointed ears.

"Correct. My name is Naraku, and I find myself in possession of jewel shards…jewel shards that when embedded in your arm, can place a protective barrier around you so that you can wield the Tetsusaiga…"

Sesshomaru's brows narrowed—the slightest proclivity that he was disgusted that such filth knew of his inability to wield the Tetsusaiga properly. They had shards before Kagome returned with their friends. If it was all so simple, it was relatively foolish that he'd not figured that out already. Perhaps Kagome had known but was not willing to aid him. Either way, that did not concern him. Matters such as these were barely that simple.

"All I ask in return is that you give me the girl so that I may gather more jewels. "

"WHAT?!" Kagome snapped, fully peering out from behind Sesshomaru who did not stop her this time.

"With the jewel shards you won't need the girl." Naraku gave a simple shrug, "You can wield the sword as you see fit. The sword's barrier would no longer be an issue for you."

"….Is that what you think, hm?" Sesshomaru understood now. This…Naraku had been conspiring with Urasue—perhaps had looked in on their conversations and travels. How else would he know the link between Kagome and the Tetsusaiga—and why Sesshomaru was adamant about keeping her around?

"You're wrong!" Kagome blurted out before once more resuming her position beside Sesshomaru, "…If he embeds that in his arm, you'd just taint him—like you've tainted all the other demons that have accepted a shard from you!"

"You are a crafty and audacious character." Sesshomaru found himself smirking as his eyes fell shut. Such a plot was not that apparent to him, but as it seemed, Kagome had further insight into this…Naraku character.

The audacity of such a weak demon to think that he would be able to control the greatness contained inside the vessel that was Sesshomaru was Naraku's undoing. When his eyes reopened, he shot towards the disguised man and with a swipe of his claws…decapitated him, swiftly and easily….his head and body both began to smolder in the wind, leaving behind a wooden figure with hair entwined around it.

"A demon puppet…he was never really there…" Kagome said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"…We are going to find him, then I am going to kill him. " That was Sesshomaru's plan….all other ideas or plans before this were completely disregarded.