"Brother, where is mommy?" asks the little boy, wide red eyes staring up at the black haired man with childish innocence.

It takes Naraku a moment to recognize what the boy is asking, to caught up in his thoughts to realize the boy, Katashi, is asking for Kagura and not the location of his real mother, the whore that seduced his father and killed him, decieved the cops into believing that it was a suicide, and ran away to have a happy life, leaving him with the burden of raising her son.

"Out," he says with a sigh. The boy's face falls. Naraku slips a piece of crimped black hair behind his ear, picks up the boy, and holds him in his lap. The little boy tugs the piece of hair from where he'd slipped it, and tugged on it with a smirk. Naraku rolled his eyes, grabbed the four year old's hand and shakes it. "She's buying you a birthday cake."

He has come to like his brother. He has come to love the little boy like he is his own child, though he makes sure the boy know they are brothers not father and son. The boy is sweet, he is fun and cute. For a monster like him, one who does not love, one who values power and blood above human emotion and the silly concept of love, that is quite surprising. Katashi is a precious boy, despite his despicable mother.

What kind of mother abandons their child? What kind of mother kills the man who has provided everything for her, and flees into the world when she has a child away? Would she have killed the child? Would she have taken a pillow and smothered the boy to escape the life? He is aware she was not his father's woman out of her own free will. He is not stupid. He knows. He bought the house to hide his father, and his father spilled every plan he had to capture the girl. He knew that, hatred for his father he doesn't blame. Perhaps though, it is his greedy nature that leads him not to understand why should would throw away the life Onigumo provided for her. Perhaps it is the attachment he has grown for Katashi, but he cannot understand her abandonment of her son.

"What are you thinking about?" asks the boy, lips agape as he looks up at his brother. He smiles down at Katashi, and ruffles the black hair on his head. Katashi squeals, tiny hands grabbing at his large hand.

"I am thinking of your mother," he states plainly. He has told Katashi of his real mother before, though he has made it plainly clear that his real mother is a bitch and that he should always call Kagura his mother since Kagura is the one that cares for him, the one that cherishes him.

"Kagura?" he asks, though realization soon darns in his disproportianate eyes. "Rin..." he murmurs. The child calls his own mother by her name whenever he talks of her. The child has no attachment to the woman Rin, has no love, only harbors hatred despite his young hatred. Brainwashing, some might call it, awful, dispecable, gross, abuse, but it is what the harlot Rin deserves, and how her son Katashi should think of her.

"Katashi," he begins, "how do you envision your mother?"

"En-vi-shun?" the little boy asks.

"How do you see her?" he explains. "What do you think she looks like? How do you think she talks? What do you think she does for a living? What do you think she thinks? If you met her in person, how would you expect her to look at you, talk to you, smile at you?"

The little boy looks down to his fiddling fingers, chewing on his lip. "If I met Rin, I think she would hate me," the boy says thoughtfully. "You always tell me she would, and I believe Naraku. I think she wouldn't smile at me, that she would push me away, and say mean things to me. I don't think I'd like her."

Naraku nods. Kagura walks in to take the boy, leave Naraku in the silence of his thoughts. Even if the boy, the reminder, has left the room, his field of vision, he still thinks of the harlot.

He has been angry with Mastumoto Rin since she killed his father. He didn't mind her the times he'd met her, she seemed sweet, a good actress. And his father had loved her. He approved of her, even found her attractive. There were nights she was the object of his fantasies.

But then she killed his father, ran away, left him with her child. He hated her. His fantasies of her no longer had her writhing beneath him, moaning wantonly. No, her blood ran liked rivers and she begged for forgiveness. He searched for her, wanted to find her and act out those fantasies. Burn her, cut her, tie her, hurt her, victimize her. High and low, all across Japan, but he began to assume that she had skipped the country and traveled. He kept a check on her case though, curious when he would find her and be able to hurt her.

At first, he hated the child. She was the product of his father's downfall, a child of the whore he hated so much. But he was left with the child. He considered giving him away to an orphanage, but the bonds of blide made her keep the boy. The boy grew though, in size and on him. When a man tried to murder the child for being in the way, he killed the man after hours of torture, and realized the depths of emotion he had for the boy.

"Naraku!" someone calls to him, snapping him from his musings. With a sigh, he turns to his business.

-[Chained]-

"If we have a child, what will we name him?" she asks before popping a pill into her mouth and washes it down with a gulp of water. It's just a minor hangover, but there is a bit of a hangover though. She glances at Sesshomaru who is waiting for toast to pop out of the silver toaster.

"Kaede," he replies as the toast pops out of the toaster, he grabs the pieces, shakes his hand, and grabs for the knife and butter. She smiles at him. "In honor of your grandmama, the woman you spoke so highly of, as if she was the goddess Amatarasu." He turns to her, and slides her the plate of toast. "And if it is a boy, will shall name him Shin'ichi. I've always liked that name," he takes a piece of toast off her plate and takes a bit of it.

"Go make your own!" she exclaims, slapping his hand away as he drops the piece of toast on he plain. He shoots her a glare, but does as she says, returns to the counter and plops in a piece of toast. "I like both of them. I think you would've love my grandmother if you ever met her."

"I'm certain I would've," he says as he slides back to her with his own plate of toast. "I'm certain I would've loved her," he says, dabbing butter on her nose and leaning forward to lick it off. She goofily smiles, leaning into capture his lips in a kiss full of passion.

"You're acting happy," she says when she pulls back and takes another bite of her toast. "Not that I mind," she continues with a shrug of her shoulders, "but you're acting much happier."

"Perhaps because the woman I love has returned to my life after five grueling years, I've finally had sex with her, twice, and we're engaged," he pauses to take a bite of his toast. "What man wouldn't be happy? It's a blessing, a gift from the gods." He grins at her and she smiles at him. "Coffee?"

"I would love some."

He walks over to the counter and begins the process of making coffee. She hums a happy song as she eats her toast, until she drops the toast onto her a plate, a shocked gasped passing her lips as she glances at Sesshomaru who is watching her expectantly.

"You have a child already, don't you?" the words echo in her mind.

Silence spans, but she realizes as she looks at him, he is not full of judgment or hatred. It's honest question born from the love he has for, and she nods. Because she does have a child, as much as she tries to push him from her mind. Or at least, she did. Whether or not Katashi, her baby, is alive, is unknown to her. He was left in the clutches of Naraku, who had every reason to hate her and the son of her womb.

"It wasn't my choice," she whispers softly, eyes down cast as she feels the tell-tale stinging below her eyes. "I did want a child, but Onigumo was threatening you life." He opens his mouth to argue with her, but she levels a glare at him. "You could not have protected yourself from Onigumo. He would've had you killed, no questions, no arguments. He had powers and connections. I had to play along, be his lover, kiss him I like I wanted it, give myself to him like I loved, and smile when I learned the news. I had a child, yes."

"What happened to him?" he asks, sliding the mug of coffee in front of her. "And why didn't you think you could tell this to me? I wouldn't have judged you or not wanted you. You're Rin, I will always love you no matter what. A child would not make me lost interest."

"The day I escaped, Onigumo had Naraku taking care of him. That's why I took that opportunity. I escaped. Later I learned Onigumo shot himself after I left. I'm a little surprised, I thought would've been angry and gone after me. I never knew what happened to my boy, whether he's alive, dead. I think he would be four now," she says. She looks up at him, frowning in sorrow. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want to bring it up. I feel terrible over it. I left behind a child in the hands of a monster. I feel so guilty."

"Why didn't you escape with him then, at a different time?" he asks, taking a sip of his coffee.

She cannot answer this question. Not because she doesn't have an answer. It's because of the answer she cannot answer. What would Sesshomaru think of her if he learned she resented her own child? Could he still love her? He does not push the issue though, and sips his coffee in silence.

-[Chained]-

"Kagura!" yells Naraku, rushing into the room of his distant cousin. "Where is Katashi?" he asks in a panic.

He has been looking for the boy everywhere around the house, in the kitchens, in the attic, in the basement, in torture chambers, in Katashi's room, in his own room, practically every room in the house. Actually, every room in the house. Finally he has gone to Kagura's room, where she sits smoking a cigarette and watching a game show.

"I told him to go play outside."

He had already checked outside, everywhere possibly of interest to the boy. Double-check and triple checked. No Katashi. Katashi was no where to be found, vanished into thin air. Though Katashi had vanished into thin air, he would not allow Katashi to become dust in the wind though.

"He's not out there," he grits out. She glances at him in boredom. He knows that while Kagura is tasked with taking care of the boy, and she does care to some extent, she is lazy. She does nothing for herself, at least, not unless he orders her to. She'd rather be watching South Korean dramas than actually mowing the lawn or making deals with criminals. "If you don't help me find him, we're gonna have a little trip downstairs."

He eyes widen and she gulps. She puts out the cigarette in the ash tray and is scrambling to her feet. He smirks at her before storming out of the room, Kagura on his heels like hell itself is chasing after them.

"Where do you think he could've gone?" she asks in her accented voice. She spent about thirteen years whoring herself out on the streets of New Jersey before he shipped her over, brought her out of her poverty and depravity and told her to raise Katashi. So she's got a bit of New Jersey accent.

"I don't know," he hisses. "Hopefully not far, because if we don't find him soon, you're gonna wish I never brought you back from Jersey."

She gulps again and begins sliding every door open.

-[Chained]-

A pink balloon floats past them, traveling south while it travels upwards. She frowns at the balloon as it passes, knowing that there is some crying child missing the inflated object. But then she turns her attention back to the bag in hand and pulls out another wad of fluffy blue food and sticks it on her tongue while Sesshomaru at her side rolls his eyes.

After their earlier talk, to cheer her up from her gloomy mood, he told her to go put on something light. She did, returning in a pair of army green shorts, a cream-colored tank-top, and an orange bow in her head as he stood there in khaki shorts and a white Hawain-style shirt. Sure, she looked a bit more like she was sixteen rather than thirty, but where they were headed, well, it was just a bit childish.

An amusement park.

Now they strolled down the paved path, couples and children passing them by in all directions, screams echoing in the background as rollar-coasters woosh by, clacking and clicking against metal tracks. Under her arm, she carries a blue lion, and in her hand is a bag of blue cotton candy. He walks beside her, arms shoved into his pockets, sunglasses resting on his head, taking in the sight with his golden eyes.

He points to a couple crying. "Tell me a story about them," he orders. She looks at him oddly because of the odd request, one eye-brow raised. "It's a game," he replies. She rolls her eyes, shoves the last of her cotton candy in her mouth, throws away the bag, and thinks, eye brows knitted together.

"His name is Bunta and hers is Atsuko. He is a year above her in high-school and she is in love with him. She thinks she has caught him on a date with his fellow classmate Izumi. She has been following them around the park, and just tripped and skinned her knee. He noticed her, and went to help her, where she just confessed his love for her," she says, looking up at Sesshomaru.

"Sounds like an anime," he says. She blushes, and tries to cover it with a laugh but he catches it. "Now you pick one and I have to tell a story about them." She nods and looks around at the people.

"Those two," she says, pointing at an old couple feeding birds on a bench. It does not take him long to come up with the story.

"His name is Hibine, and she is Jin. They were childhood enemies, from two families who held a feud. They grew up in all the same school and all the same classes. They parted during college, and he went to the US to become a successful business man after college. She stayed home and become a successful realtor. They've finally met again here in the park, feeding birds, and confess to each other that all these years they've missed one another."

"Aww..." Rin looks at Sesshomaru with doe eyes and he looks down at her smugly. "That was so sweet, I feel crying. Adorable. I hope they get married," she says with a smile. "Your turn."

He looks around and points to a couple playing darts at one of the booths. Her mouth quirks as she scratches her chin, observing them. He watches her with wry amusement as she does so.

"Her name is Moto and his name is Ringo. They're sweethearts in high-school, he's a jock and she's a cheerleader. But recently she learned her parents are moving their family to South Korea because of her father's work. She'll be leaving in a week so they came out here to spend some of their last moments together, though they will try to make a long distance relationship work." He nods his head as Rin peers through the swarms of people. She points to a woman bent over a trashcan, a man stroking her hair gently.

"She is Oki, he is Riki. They've been together four years, and are married. They came here today to celebrate their anniversary, and they will be going to a fancy French restuarant later on today. She hasn't told him yet, but she is pregnant and she is having morning sickness, though he thinks she is just sick because of the rollar coaster."

He scans the crowds, and then points to a little boy looking around. Rin does not begin to think of story when her eyes land on the boy.

"I thinks he lost," she says, concern etched into her features. Sesshomaru is about to make a witty remark, but she is already bounding away to the little child.

"Little boy, are you lost?" she asks, coming to stand behind him and tap him on the shoulder. He looks up to her with red-tinted eyes, wide and on the verge of crying. His lower lip is quivering, his nose a bright red as the rest of his face is pale.

"Uh-huh," he murmurs, nodding his head. She nods her head back and scans the crowd.

"What do your mommy and daddy look like?" she asks, looking back down at him.

"My brother has black hair and red eyes, and my mom has black hair and red eyes." She nods her head, scanning the crowds again. But then her heart stops.

"My brother's name is Naraku, my mommy's is Kagura, and I'm Katashi."