Disclaimer: All my disclaimers are on my profile. I do not own Inuyasha.

Naraku smirked. Kagura and Hakudoshi followed in his footsteps, without a clue as to what they were doing in such a place. It was cold, so cold in fact that it was snowing. The snow was deep and only small patches of grass could be seen throughout the vast landscape.

Standing on a snowy cliff staring out into the ocean stood a female dog demon. She had beautiful long dirty white hair that flowed as swiftly as the ocean. She wore a black mokomoko that wrapped around the back of her neck and tucked neatly under her arms. As she turned around to face the approaching hanyou, her bright amber eyes met his. She wore a red and gold headband across her forehead which signified she was royalty of some sort. She wore a woman's type of warrior clothing that covered only her chest and waist area, underneath having bandages to cover up her skin. On her arms and thighs she wore women's armour guards as well as black thigh high boots that gave her both comfort and easy access to manoeuvre in.

"You must be Naraku…" she said calmly. Her voice was strong but gentle as she spoke. As Naraku stopped in front of her, he signalled Kagura and Hakudoshi to wait. The dog demoness gripped her hands tight around the sheath of her sword as she waited for Naraku to speak.

"So you've heard of me?" the cunning hanyou replied.

"It is very difficult to keep your identity a secret, especially in the heart of the Western Lands." She replied.

Naraku grinned. "What can I call you, dog demon?" he asked in a sinister manner.

"Midori" she quickly replied.

Naraku grinned again, even more sinister than before. Finally, he had found her. The great dog demoness Midori. It had taken him nearly four months to track her down, but finally he found her. Midori's father was a trusted comrade of Inu no Taishou. They were like brothers in arms. Midori's family carried a very rare, unique trinket that holds an extreme amount of power. It was this trinket that Naraku wanted.

"Hand over your family's trinket and I might consider letting you go…" Naraku demanded.

"This trinket has been in my family for centuries…do you really think I'm just going to hand it over to you?" she snarled back.

Naraku narrowed his gaze. One of his tentacles that were coming out of his back came at her. Midori quickly pulled out her sword and chopped it off, though it quickly regenerated.

"It appears that you were prepared for this…" he said, staring at the demoness.

Midori simply smirked before running her fingers along her sword. The sword lit on fire with a blue and black flame. She went to strike at him, but he simply jumped into the air, dodging the attack. She looked up at him and narrowed her eyes.

"Even if you managed to kill me and steal the trinket, you wouldn't be able to wield it. It requires a fully fledged demon to use its power…"

"Oh contraire, I'm sure I could trick a demon into using its power for me…"

Kagura sent her dance of blades towards Midori. With barely any effort, Midori swung her sword and dispersed the attack. Kagura frowned as Hakudoshi laughed at her failed attempt.

Naraku chuckled, and then caught the scent of something or someone close by. It had a similar smell to that of Sesshoumaru, though not quite the same.

Midori froze as she smelt it too. Quickly she dashed away from the three intruders. Kagura and Hakudoshi looked up towards Naraku who had a devilish smile smeared across his face.

Running towards the scent, Midori's confidence and boldness turned into a worrisome and concerned look as she edged closer and closer. Already she knew this was bad. Naraku's scent disappeared which made her worry even more.

At a small clearing by a frozen river, Midori saw a young dog demon boy leaning against a tree. Her face was a little relieved, but still the thought of Naraku's scent disappearing kept her senses up.

"Senomaru…I thought I told you not to leave the compound until I returned…" she demanded.

"I needed some fresh air Midori…" Senomaru replied.

Midori sighed as she walked over to him. "How many times have I asked you to call me mother?"

Suddenly, from behind, Naraku's scent appeared again but his two companions were no longer seen with him. Midori feared the worse. Ambush? Or perhaps preparing for something more. Naraku floated in the air for a bit before touching the ground. He looked at the boy who now stood next to Midori. He had a remarkable resemblance to Sesshoumaru. His hair was white and long, reaching to the back of his knees. He wore a kimono which has a violet chrysanthemum flower crest at the collar and sleeves symbolising royalty, very similar to that of Sesshoumaru's except the flowers attached along the sleeves in a vine-like fashion. Like Sesshoumaru he wears a Sashinuki Hakama and flat point violet high-ankle boots. Like Midori, he wears a red and gold headband on his forehead which covers the Prussian blue crescent moon. Unlike Sesshoumaru, the stripes drip down from his eyes onto his cheeks in a tear like fashion and has a blue-violet colour compared to the magenta that Sesshoumaru has. The boy stared at Naraku with his amber eyes, identical to his mothers.

Naraku smirked as he finished inspecting the boy. Midori felt the presence he gave off so stood between her son and Naraku.

"Your son has a remarkable resemblance to that of Lord Sesshoumaru. Lord of the Western Lands. However, Sesshoumaru doesn't strike me as family man…" Naraku stopped in the middle of his sentence. He thought of the little girl that travels with him. If Sesshoumaru was related to this boy, could it be he does not know?

"I don't have to reveal anything to the likes of you!" Midori said fiercely as she pointed her flaming sword towards him.

Naraku growled a little. He didn't like having secrets kept from him. Across the frozen river, another dance of blades came rushing towards Midori. She turned to block, but sensed Hakudoshi charging towards her with his spear from the forest behind. Before he could pierce her, he was stopped. The boy had intervened and held strongly onto the spear that would've pierced his mother.

Naraku watched on with great interest. Who was this boy? The boy's claw-like fingernails then grew about 30cm in length and turned into a very shiny creamy-silver colour. The moonlight from above made them appear extremely sharp as he raised his free hand, ready to strike at the child Hakudoshi. He quickly jumped back to avoid the attack and snarled under his breath.

Midori smiled then swung her sword side-ways towards the forest where the dance of blades came from. The flames formed a crescent energy blast that cut down the trees ahead. Up in the sky, Kagura was floating on one of her feathers. She held onto her arm which was now injured from the attack. Midori then redirected her attention back to Naraku. She could see in his eyes that he was getting impatient, but she wasn't about to comply with his intentions.

Naraku raised his arm and a dark cloud formed high above him. Hundreds of demons started pouring out. Surely Naraku knew that they would be like killing flies for her. Midori raised her sword and sent another fiery energy blast towards them. As they fell to the ground, miasma started pouring out of their bodies. Midori raised an eyebrow in confusion. What was Naraku planning to do? Hakudoshi whistled and Entei flew down from the dark cloud. Hakudoshi got on the fiery horse and flew high into the sky next to Kagura. The miasma spread, killing the trees and plants that were nearby. It had little to no effect against Midori and Senomaru though.

Midori ran to attack Naraku but was blocked against his barrier that he just put up. She growled under her breath then jumped back. The miasma was creating a thick fog. It became difficult to see anything other than black figures and shapes.

"Senomaru, stay close…" she whispered. Senomaru came over and stood behind Midori, claws ready in case something/someone were to attack.

Naraku's laugh echoed throughout the fog. Midori's senses were on high alert, especially with her son so close by.

In an instant, Naraku appeared in front of her. One of his thorns from his armour detached and plunged itself towards Midori. She blocked it with her sword, but that wasn't it. Naraku raised his hand and his fingers grew into long tentacles that pierced the side of Midori. She didn't seem affected at first, then her eyes widened. She quickly threw back the long jagged thorn and cut off the tentacles, which again, quickly regenerated. Even though it only opened up a small wound, she could feel the miasma seeping into her. Building up on demonic energy, Midori went to strike at Naraku with a large blast of black fire. Naraku put up his barrier, but still jumped back. This gave Midori the time she needed to turn to her son.

"This is going to get dangerous…I need you to run…" she said in concern, quickly kneeling down to come face-to-face with her son.

"But I can help!" he remarked.

"This is no time to argue! I want you to RUN and don't stop until you're safe…"

"But…"

"Senomaru. If this demon finds you again, he'll kill you!"

Senomaru paused and narrowed his eyes as he looked at his desperate mother. He knew this battle would not end quickly, so complied with her demand. As he turned to run, he saw his mother mouth off 'I love you…' which sent a shiver down his spine. It wasn't a shiver of fear, but a shiver of concern. Midori was strong, but was she strong enough to face off against Naraku? He wasn't about to turn and run, not until he got what he came for.

Senomaru ran further and further into the forest. He heard something, but what was it? He got to a point where miasma no longer reached. He looked up and saw that Kagura was following him. She was probably sent by Naraku to kill him. Senomaru had no choice but to use his instincts, for his mothers' sake. He ran towards a river that was not frozen over. He jumped in, than back out, flying just above the rivers water. Eventually, the river led to a waterfall in which Senomaru, following the river, fell to the bottom (or what it looked like to Kagura, fell to his death). Kagura stopped above the waterfall. She didn't see him come out of the water after he fell. Was the boy dead? No. Kagura knew that wouldn't kill a demon of his standing, even if he was just a kid.

"Smart boy…" Kagura said aloud. Mixture of the water and snow that was falling masked his scent. If he was smart, he could be miles away by now, which Kagura thought was the case.

"I see you managed to lose the young demon…" Hakudoshi snickered.

"What's it to you?" Kagura growled. She wasn't happy being treated the way she was by this Hakudoshi, but she had no choice but to obey. As long as Naraku had a hold of her life, she could never be free.

Kagome, Shippo, Miroku and Sango were all feeling a little run-down. Okay, 'a little run-down' was an understatement. Inuyasha practically worked them to the bone. It had been four months and they still had no clue as to where Naraku was. There were only 2 remaining jewel shards, so the gang were getting desperate.

"Inuyasha, we really need a break! I think the blisters on my feet just bursted…" Miroku complained.

Inuyasha looked back at the others who were falling behind. He growled before finally turning around and gesturing them to sit on a fallen log.

"Alright, but we're only stopping for a few minutes, then we'll head off!" Inuyasha demanded. The others growled under their breath but made sure Inuyasha didn't hear. The last thing they wanted was to start a huge, pointless argument with Inuyasha.

The days seemed to last longer than usual or perhaps it was just Inuyasha pushing them to walk further as each day passed.

"Kagome…do you think we'll be able to find the remaining jewel shards before Naraku?" Shippo asked with tired eyes.

Kagome giggled a little before answering. "Don't worry Shippo; as long as we don't give up, we'll be right!"

"And besides, we have Kagome, what does Naraku have?" Sango added to the conversation, smiling as she looked at the innocent fox kit.

Shippo smiled back before closing his eyes, resting in Kagome's arms. Inuyasha snarled. His impatience always got the better of him.

It was time for the gang to head off again, not that they all wanted to. The day went by rather fast and by the time the group reached a small town, it was already late afternoon. It was amazing how far they could travel all in a day's work (and Inuyasha's eagerness to push forward).

"Alright Inuyasha, you've dragged us across nearly half the country! It's time we stopped for a decent place to rest…" Miroku demanded.

"And bathe…" Sango added before sighing. Kagome and Shippo also nodded in agreement.

Although Inuyasha was against the whole idea, he did admit he had been dragging them around quite a distance, not having a proper meal or bath in nearly 2 weeks. So for once, he compromised and with only a little bit of argument, they went into town. Miroku investigated and found the richest house in the village and claimed a demon had been hiding there and he would be happy to rid them of the demon if they supplied a place to sleep and food for the night (and of course, ladies).

"Up to his old tricks as usual…" Inuyasha said bluntly.

"Yep." Everyone agreed.

Inside the mansion, Miroku, Sango, Kagome and Shippo laid on the ground in relief. They finally had decent food in their bellies and Kagome and Sango were squeaky clean after a good ol' bath. Inuyasha rolled his eyes as the others relaxed. Not too long after the group settled in, someone was knocking at the door. Miroku sat up and told the newcomer to come in. A young girl walked in, a maid by the look of her clothes. Miroku immediately jumped at the chance.

"Would you bare my children?" He asked in his usual perverted manner. Before the woman had a chance to respond, Miroku was knocked out by Sango's Hiraikotsu.

"Don't mind him, he asks that to every woman he meets…" Kagome said, giggling, trying not to scare the woman.

"Oh it's alright…" the woman compromised."My name is Moe Higushi. Pleased to meet you all." She said calmly, then bowing to the others.

Kagome smiled before speaking. "Nice to meet you Moe-san. My name is Kagome! This here is Shippo, over there is Miroku and Sango and the cat demon Kirara! Oh and over there is Inuyasha." Kagome replied, gesturing to each one of her friends as she said their name.

"Did you want something?" Kagome asked concerned.

"Oh, I don't mean to speak out of terms…it's just…most of the other villages are afraid to speak up…" Moe began. "Are you…um…Demon Slayers?" she hesitantly asked.

Kagome waited a moment then took a breath before speaking. "Well, not exactly…We're actually trying to locate the remaining jewel shards of the Shikon Jewel. We're also trying to catch a hanyou named Naraku…"

"Naraku?" Moe asked surprised.

"Yes…have you heard of him?"

Inuyasha looked over at the maid. Just hearing Naraku's name makes him twitch. He came over and sat next to Kagome, joining in the conversation. Moe looked around uncomfortably, fidgeting with her dress. Finally, with a scared and worrisome look in her eye, she spoke.

"About 3 days travel from here…across the mountain towards the western sea it is known as the heart of the Western Lands. Barely any humans venture there as it is demon's territory…" Moe took a deep breath. "A village closer to the mountain than we are, was attacked not too long ago. We sent our best men, but they only found one survivor. A young girl...me."

Kagome gasped. Of course, Kagome was concerned for her and hoped that she was okay.

"I don't quite remember much, but I remember a small boy with white hair and a girl that flew on a feather…"

Immediately, everyone thought of Hakudoshi and Kagura. What would they be doing so far out? Kagome knew there was no jewel shard here. If anything, she felt as though they were getting further away from any jewel shards.

"They said they needed to find the demon Midori for their master, Naraku…" Moe finished.

Inuyasha looked at Kagome, then towards Sango and Miroku. They were getting close now; finally they had something to go on.

"Do you know anything about this demon named Midori?" Sango asked, hoping to get more information.

"I'm sorry…if you want to know more, you would have to ask a demon." Moe finished. She sighed in disappointment, feeling as though she had let them down.

Kagome smiled at the innocent girl. She was obviously still hurt by the attack and felt that she would help get justice for those that died in the village.

"Thank you. This really helps us a lot…don't worry; I promise we'll do everything we can to get justice for your village…" Kagome gestured.

Moe looked up at Kagome with hopeful eyes, and then managed to say "Really?" before bursting into tears. Kagome stood up and hugged the crying girl. Inuyasha too got up and pulled off a smile. 'I'm coming for you, Naraku' he thought to himself, standing strong.

The sun eventually set and day turned into night. It was only a half moon, but it still shed light to the village. Everyone was peacefully sleeping, except for Inuyasha. He sat outside on the porch looking up at the stars. He had many things running through his head at that moment, but one in particular really got his attention. Inuyasha had only heard rumours, but he had a feeling it was true. Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha's half brother, lived in the heart of the Western Lands. He also remembered Myoga telling stories of his father that lived in the Western Lands. Who was this Midori and what did Naraku want with her? Did any of it have anything to do with Inu no Taishou?

Finally, Inuyasha couldn't take the many questions that ran through his head. He shook it off, and then returned to his room. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, which was good. They all needed to rest. Especially if they were to run into Naraku once again.

By morning, everyone had said their goodbyes and were heading off to this so called 'heart of the western lands'. Inuyasha kept his senses up, hoping to catch a scent of Naraku, but still, there was nothing.

Senomaru searched and searched. It had been four days since he last saw his mother, after that fateful night. He couldn't find any trace of her. He kept on searching, but all hope seemed lost. Finally, he had one last look around the area where he last saw Midori. Again, nothing. However, before he turned to leave, he noticed something buried in the snow. As he walked over, he brushed away the snow and found a hand - Midori's hand. Quickly digging at the snow, he finally pulled out Midori's lifeless body.

"Mother…" Senomaru whispered under his breath. That would have to have been the second time he ever called her that, perhaps his one regret. He recalled her saying 'I love you…' when he left. This caused a tear to come to his eyes. Demons hated crying, even young children, so he quickly wiped it away.

He looked at her neck. The necklace was missing. She always wore a beaded necklace that had a pink 'yang' dangling from it. It was this, which Naraku killed her for. Senomaru's cold, amber eyes were full of sadness. What was he to do now? He had nowhere to go, no other family to turn to. He knew who his father was, but his father had no idea he existed, he couldn't possibly look for him. Senomaru held onto Midori's cold, lifeless hand. Without a clue as to where to go, he sat there, refusing to leave his mother's body, even if he froze.