The grass rustled, making way for the descent of the powerful youkai lord, as he stepped off his favored mode of transportation. The cloud dissipated, leaving him alone with the moon.

There were no creatures around, but Sesshomaru could smell Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Un. He always made sure their camps were in areas that contained no youkai.

Sesshomaru, however, was not thinking about them. Jaken and Ah-Un guarded Rin well enough, and after spying on the camp, and assessing everyone's health, he summoned his cloud, and began heading in the opposite direction.

After following Naraku's scent for weeks, the trail had suddenly gone cold. Sesshomaru growled. It felt as if every time he got close, he lost him. Such was Naraku's game, and Sesshomaru tired of it.

Sesshomaru was also bothered by an odd feeling he was having as of late. It felt as if he were looking for something. Or perhaps something was looking for him. It was disturbing. But Sesshomaru could not detect anyone watching him, and that irritated him more.

"Ah, Master Sesshomaru. So nice to see you."

Sesshomaru came to a halt, looking around. "Down here."

On his shoe, as lazy as could be, was Myoga. Sesshomaru frowned. He did not appreciate visits from his father's former adviser. The flea associated with Inuyasha far too often.

However, Sesshomaru was surprised that he had slipped onto his shoe without him noticing. He did not show it.

"What do you come here for, flea?"

"Now, that is no way to greet an old friend of your father," Myoga complained, jumping onto Sesshomaru's shoulder. "I was merely trying to be polite."

"You will refrain from getting too close to this Sesshomaru." He picked the flea up by his collar, glaring.

Myoga sighed, but ignored Sesshomaru's impudence. He acted just the way his father had when he was young, except he hadn't grown out of that attitude.

"Well, excuse me, your lordship," he said with a touch of sarcasm, "but I came here about something important. You remember your father's human mistress, do you not?"

Sesshomaru was tempted to throw the flea onto the ground, a hundred feet below. "I recall the wench."

"Do you remember how he met her?"

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. "What are you going on about?"

()

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin sprang to life, leaping from her bed and into her caretaker's arms.

"Rin." He gave her a pat on the head before setting her down.

"Hello, my lord. Did you have any luck finding a lead on Naraku?"

Sesshomaru glared at the imp, giving him a sufficient answer. He walked to Ah-Un, petting the two-headed youkai. The dragon reveled in it, rarely getting any attention from his master.

"I have a job for you," Sesshomaru said, before whispering in the youkai's ear.

"What's that?" Jaken strained to hear what his lord was saying.

"Enough. Jaken, Rin, go to bed. It is late." With that, Sesshomaru sat against a tree, closing his eyes. Rin obeyed immediately, but Jaken hesitated. He didn't like not knowing what Sesshomaru was up to, but it seemed to happen often. His lordship didn't trust him with secrets.

Ah-Un obeyed his master's orders, waiting patiently until everyone was asleep. As soon as he could hear Jaken's slow breathing, a sure sign that the master's two companions would not awake, he stood and prepared to leave camp. Sesshomaru, of course, was not asleep. Youkai as powerful is his lordship rarely needed sleep.

He swiftly departed. Sesshomaru did not usually ask for direct favors from him, unless it needed to be kept from the imp, or it was something he considered too tedious for himself to do.

Ah-Un himself did not entirely understand what he was to do. Sesshomaru had simply asked if something unusual was happening with his brother's group of friends. While it did seem to tedious for his lordship, Ah-Un did not know his reasons for it.

But questioning his lordship was not in Ah-Un's nature. He simply flew, searching the air for the scent of Inuyasha and his friends. It was not often that he was around them. He was usually sent off with the imp and the friendly human while his lordship did battle.

Ah-Un knew that they could not be far from his lordship's brother. He had fought with them only a few days ago. And without the human girl to worry about, Ah-Un could fly as fast as he liked. It wasn't long before he breached the border between the forest and the valley, and began to see villages.

The largest village of the area, Edo, was one that Ah-Un knew well. Sesshomaru had considered more than once leaving the human there to live with her human kind, but never went through with it. Ah-Un sniffed the air, and caught the scent of Inuyasha in the winds. It certainly hadn't been hard to find him.

But the scent was a few days old. Ah-Un followed the trail, leaving the village and heading towards the forest once more, east of where his lordship's camp was.

Ah-Un wondered how the group didn't get into more trouble, with how obvious their scent was. Their camp was somewhat hidden, but easy enough to locate. He descended, careful to stay quiet and inconspicuous.

The group was sleeping peacefully. The scent of Inuyasha was there, but it was faint. The hanyou was not there at the moment. The other four group members were asleep.

That was what Ah-Un thought, at least. One of them suddenly sat up, and looked straight at him.

It was the miko. She blinked, and stood. Ah-Un backed away, ready to fly after being discovered.

"Wait." Her voice was soft, gentle. He paused. She did not seem to intend harm. "You're Sesshomaru's youkai, aren't you?" she continued. Ah-Un hesitated, and nodded. She smiled, and walked to him. Ah-Un could sense no malicious intent.

"You're a pretty boy, huh?" she cooed, petting his head. Ah-Un rubbed against her hand. Her touch was as gentle as her voice.

Ah-Un had seen the miko, but had never interacted with her. He recalled seeing her wearing a short, green kimono. Not this long, blue hakama. She looked more like the other humans he saw, less different. But her miko aura set her far apart. Her power was obvious.

"I wish a certain somebody was as nice as you," she muttered, scratching his ear. Ah-Un made a noise, curious. "Oh, it's my stupid 'friend,'" she answered with contempt. Ah-Un had not expected her to understand him, but listened carefully. "He think he's so great, with his dead priestess girlfriend. I don't have anything against her, but he doesn't have to be such a jerkass just because he doesn't have a romantic interest anymore."

Ah-Un made a sympathetic noise, unable to speak in her own language. She seemed to understand well enough. "Thank you," she said, rubbing his neck. "I appreciate the kindness. But may I ask, why are you here?" She looked into his eyes. "You belong to Sesshomaru, don't you?"

Ah-Un nodded. Kagome rubbed his ears. They were soft and flexible, despite being covered in small scales. "I can understand most youkai speak fairly well now. I've been studying it a lot. Could you tell me why you are here?"

The dragon stared at her, unsure if he should reveal his lordship's request. He did not even want his adviser to know about it, and his lordship trusted Jaken with most anything.

But the miko's eyes were so trusting. And it felt so nice when she pet him. Ah-Un debated internally. "Please? I need to know if Sesshomaru is planning something against us. I don't want my friends to be hurt. Surely you understand that," the miko begged.

Ah-Un hesitated. But that look in her eyes was hard to resist. It was much like the look that the human girl had when she desperately wanted something. He breathed heavily, his version of a sigh. He would have to give in.

Sesshomaru waited for Ah-Un quite a while. The dragon was fast in flight, and he knew his brother's band could not be far off. The words Myoga had said to him echoed in his mind, itching at the back of his head. The flea was not the smartest creature on the planet, but his words of the Inu no Taishou always rang true, and this, Sesshomaru was sure, was no exception.

()

Hey, it's Mattaki here. Hope you liked this. Please review :)