The sky was painted a sinister purple with dark grey clouds of smoke. A man named Naraku dragged his feet along the forest floor, his right leg badly injured from an earlier battle. He had stopped for a moment finding it hard to breathe and tried to remember which way he needed to go to reach the castle he had only heard from old villagers. After a few short moments he could smell the smog of a woodstove.
"I must be drawing near"
Naraku thought to himself. He continued to stride his way toward the direction of the smoke with the help of a walking stick he had picked up earlier. The large hood of his black cloak blocked the strong gusts of cold wind. The below zero temperature made his inhale and exhales choppy. Leg muscles tight with every movement he tried to make.
The black haired man smirked as he saw the flag of the castle not much farther in the distance. As he got closer he noticed the stained glass windows glowed a luminous yellow. The size of the castle was about the size of a small village, part of it built into the side of a mountain, easy to miss if you weren't looking for it. Naraku has been on the hunt of this castle for days, determined to go through with his mission before dying with his wounds.
Three hard blows to the door was all Naraku could execute before he returned his body weight back onto his walking stick. Footsteps that started quiet became louder as they came closer to the door. The door swung open, a man couple inches shorter than Naraku opened the door. By his appearance his black hair tied back into a ponytail and plain soft grey kimono he must have been the butler.
"Hello, I am Miroku the head butler. How may I… assist you?" The young butler greeted as he eyed Naraku's injuries.
"I am here to see Lord Sesshomaru. I have something I believe will be in his great interest."
The butler stood uneasy, but lead Naraku to the guest area. He sat close to the fireplace raising his hands to flames to defrost his fingers. The room was dim, the only source of light came from the fire. There were laterns in the room, but by the time the lanterns would have been set up and lit Naraku's visit would've been over. On the walls there was a portrait of a large dog demon with a dark blue crescent in his forehead; similar to the tales that the injured man heard before.
"Who are you." A tall man in the doorway demanded, breaking the silence of the crackle of the fireplace and Naraku's heaving breathing. His outfit all white with the occasional red flower pattern.
"Lord Sesshomaru, I assume. I am Naraku." He explained himself as he forced his body to go closer to the man with a crescent moon, like the one on the portrait.
"You're bleeding on my floor." Lord Sesshomaru's face was as blank as his tone of voice. A small trail of blood trailed on red oak flooring.
"My apologies." The man dressed in black began to feel more faint with every passing moment as he clutched tighter to the walking stick.
"Tell me about what you have in my great interest, I believe is what Miroku has told me."
"Ah yes." Naraku inhaled and exhaled deeply. He pulled his right hand out from the inside of his cloak, a closed fist held in the space between them.
"Here I have the Shikon Jewel also known as the jewel of four souls. It holds great power and has the capability of granting wishes." The man in black opened his palm to reveal the black cloudy gem. The chilled gem left a burning sensation against Naraku's recently warmed hand.
"Why bring it here? You do not think I hold enough power on my own?" Sesshomaru asked not in defense- but out of curiosity. His facial features were soft in the orange glow.
"Lord Sesshomaru. We have brought tea to you and your guest." A young girl maybe the age of thirteen interrupted. Her long black hair was tied in a high ponytail and she wore a light pink and black kimono. She was a human, unlike her little fox demon friend who wore a miniature outfit that Miroku wore earlier. She placed a tea pot with a blue crescent moon and the same red flower pattern on Sesshomaru's outfit rimmed the top. The little fox demon put matching tea cups onto the table.
"Thank you Sango and Little Shippo. You may be excused."
The human girl Sango bowed before lightly smacking Little Shippo in the back of the head to follow her lead. After the two finished, they left the room and the two men in privacy.
"I know you hold great power. I also know that your little brother-" Naraku carried on the conversation as if they were undisturbed.
"Half brother." Sesshomaru corrected sternly.
"Yes, your half brother also holds a mighty power that I can only predict will grow stronger as he ages. The Shikon Jewel will only validate that you stay the stronger brother."
Sesshomaru stayed silent as he pondered about what this stranger was saying. Could Inuyasha his weak half demon and brother really grow to be more powerful? Insane! Sesshomaru was the eldest, full-demon son of the mightiest dog demon. What if… by the slightest chance, that Inuyasha did become more powerful? Making Sesshomaru nothing more than a beta.
"I will take the jewel if you can tell me how to prevent the runt from being so powerful." Sesshomaru knew that the man didn't have much longer to live; the scent of death reeked from his pores.
"Don't let him out. Let him only know these castle walls. Make him feel safe… taken care of. He will not learn his strength if he has no use to trying to summon it."
Without anymore words, Naraku choked out a cry as his chest clenched tightly as Sesshomaru took the jewel into his possession. Within seconds, Naraku's body collapsed onto the ground in front of Sesshomaru. The man in white walked out of the room away from the lifeless body.+
In the other room, Sesshomaru saw his little brother playing with the fox demon, both of them passing a red ball back and forth as Sango watched the two. Pure disgust overcame Sesshomaru as he saw the half demon's joy.
"Miss Sango, please put Inuyasha and Shippo to bed. It's late."
The girl nodded as she lead the two boys out of the room and towards the same hall which had the guest room. With the dead body. Sesshomaru did not want the children to see Naraku.
"Actually. Let them sleep in the east wing for the night." Sesshomaru saw Inuyasha's face light up at the words. The east wing was the part of the castle which Sesshomaru slept. He had only slept in the east wing twice: once when his mother died, and again when their father died.
The two boys ran to the other side of the castle as the girl chased them, telling them they should not be running inside. Jaken, an Imp demon which was oddly very loyal to Sesshomaru, passed through the room wearing his white sleeping outfit. Sesshomaru smirked at the small demon, almost as if Jaken could feel the burn of his smirk, he shakily turned around.
"Why are you smiling at me Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken's voice more high pitched than usual almost made Sesshomaru want to laugh.
"There's a dead body in the guest lounge. Have it gone by morning." Sesshomaru commanded while walking away and headed for his quarters. The quiet grumbles from the cranky demon made Sesshomaru smile and he knew that he would sleep peacefully that night.