A/N: - There are reference in this chapter to chapter 9 of this story, just so you know, also I am so sorry that…1) This story is taking so long to update and complete….2) This story is so lengthy, I just seem genetically incapable of writing short stories…..3) The chapters are so short; long stories I do but short chapters they have….

bows head for forgiveness

Friends?

Now let's begin

Chapter 11

Naraku watched the dawn rise with calm detachment, the pink and orange light reflected from his raven hair and gave him a false halo; his brow was furrowed in thought and his eyes didn't see the beauty of the sunrise – they saw a different beauty.

Time and again his thoughts returned to the young tai-youkai, and each time he had to wrench his thoughts back to the business side of the matter; he was growing attached to the young lord, that much was clear, but he couldn't afford to become attached, couldn't afford to fall in…

The reed door was pushed aside interrupting Naraku's train of thought, gratefully; he turned to greet the visitor.

"Kanna, have you brought what I asked you to?"

The tiny girl in white nodded slowly, silently; he deep black eyes were unreadable and her face, as always, betrayed no sense of thought or emotion.

"Show me."

Kanna lifted the mirror she carried always, the surface rippled and became opaque as he master stared into it; when it cleared Naraku was looking into a small cell of the Western Lands, at Kagura and Lord Inu no Taisho.

The wind sorceress crawled to her feet; she had obviously been struck across the face for some insult.

"I beg my Lord's forgiveness for my rudeness, and humbly pray that he accepts my offer of help."

Lord Inu no Taisho inclined his head a mere fraction motioning for her to continue.

"My master, the hanyou Naraku, captured the young Lord Sesshoumaru and is holding him prisoner against his will. Naturally I came at the first opportunity as my Lord will obviously be worried about his son and heir."

"You presume too much; if my son has been foolish enough to allow himself to be captured and held by a mere half-breed then he does not deserve my help and I shall not trouble myself with this matter further. If he finds a true tai-youkai pride within him and returns by his own merits then I may seek vengeance but until then he has shamed me and I have no heir."

"This meeting happened only 11 hours since; I watched, as instructed, hidden within the boughs of a tree." Kanna's voice was soft and lilting.

To his surprise Naraku felt a surge of pure rage at the great demon Lord of the West, the rage was followed by a feeling that was alien to him; he tried to analyse it and understand what it was but it was too strange.

"Well done, Kanna." Naraku forced himself to reply. "This is exactly what I had wanted to see."

As Kanna bowed and walked silently from the room, Naraku turned back to the window; his thoughts even more in turmoil than before.

He should be ecstatic, should be revelling in a successful plan but he wasn't; this strange emotion kept him from his joy. It wasn't anger at Kagura, he had always known the wind-witch would betray him; in fact, he had actively counted on it.

He tried to wrench his mind back to his plans for the coming day, this was to be the most difficult and delicate of the proceedings regarding Sesshoumaru; to break a strong youkai's mind took precision and careful planning – this interview with his father would be heavily instrumental with that.

As he contemplated the devastating effect this would have on his prisoner he felt a wrench in the pit of his stomach, another new emotion was bombarding him.

With a sudden shock he realised it was guilt, he was feeling guilty about his plans for the coming day; which could only mean the other new emotion was…love?

"Feh!" Naraku exclaimed out loud; he stood up and angrily started to ready himself for the day, as he calmed slightly he almost started to laugh at his foolishness – guilt and love, he must be imagining things, he did not have any use for those emotions.

With a new sense of purpose he strode quickly though his castle to Sesshoumaru's cell; he placed his hand on the door and, just for a moment, he hesitated. His mask slipped showing true concern and grave misgivings, he almost withdrew then and there, but then the moment of indecision was over and he was himself again.

Fashioning his face into a sneer he pushed open the door and prepared himself to destroy a tai-youkai.