Sesshomaru growled at the shoddy work the hirelings had done in the library. The crates containing fragile scrolls centuries old were stacked haphazardly on top of each other. They had started to unpack the treasures, but after one had been dropped, the Daiyoukai had decided that he would see to the unpacking. Normally such actions would be dealt with by the swift dismissal without pay of the offending hireling, but his mood that morning was such that he had almost strangled the clumsy youkai.

Centuries of his pack's history was contained on these scrolls. Some dated back before the humans had settled the island. With reverence he started stacking the scrolls back on the shelves they had occupied two hundred years ago. Births, deaths and matings all recorded for history. Maps of the territories and their changes, treaties and battle plans were also in the mix. His favorites by far were the literary works from all over Asia, by human and demon alike.

One scroll caught his attention. It was simply labeled with the year of his birth. Opening the preserved scroll he scanned it. Written in his father's precise hand were the amounts of tithes he collected, the births of several of his advisors' children and one entry that made his blood run cold. It chronicled the difficult birth he had undergone. It ended with his birth recorded. Right under that it listed his mother's death, hemorrhaged after difficult delivery. The question marker was placed next to it, also in his father's careful script.

Sesshomaru's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the careful marking by his mother's record. Had his father questioned what had happened? Nothing on the scroll indicated his father's thoughts on the matter. Although something odd did happen three weeks later. The aunt who had delivered him was mated off. Normally there was an observed grieving period of at least six months. His father, being the alpha would have had the authority to sanction the mating, even set it up. He quickly put the scroll away and finished with the rest of the crate. Gazing out over the rest of the crates he wondered where his father's private journals were in the sea of containers.

"Ah! No! Lord Sesshomaru is not to be disturbed!" His retainer's panicked voice drifted through the thin, shoji door. The toad like creature ran into the door frame before managing to slide it open and squeeze into the library. "No! No! No!"

The kappa hopped comically on one foot, waving his hands around before running in a circle trying to get his short arms to reach a spot on his back.

A very quiet sucking noise that could only be heard by the most sensitive of ears caused Jaken to squeal and frantically swat at his back. He ran into a stack of empty crates causing one to tumble down on top of him, effectively caging him. "I apologize, my Lord," he sighed dejectedly.

Sesshomaru quirked and eyebrow at the antics, but otherwise hid his amusement at the sight.

"Myoga, why have you interrupted this Sesshomaru's peace?"

"Ah, my Lord," the flea demon hopped of his resigned victim to in between two slats in the crate and onto a table not terribly far from Sesshomaru. "I have a message from Bokusenou, he wishes to see you. It is very important that you make haste."

Sesshomaru's amber eyes narrowed at the flea demon, making him gulp nervously. "And why does he wish to speak to this Sesshomaru?"

"I…I…he didn't say my Lord," Myoga stammered.

"Hn." Sesshomaru walked over to his trapped retainer and let him out of his crate cage. Bokusenou knew better than to waste his time on something trivial. The ancient demon had once been part of his father's elaborate spy network, linked with other tree demons around the island. Most of the other ancients had been felled by humans eager for expansion into the old growth forests. "You may go. Tell him I will be there shortly."

"I can? I mean yes my Lord!" The flea hopped quickly off the table to Jaken's head and out the door.

"Jaken, make sure Rin stays with the Miko and Kaori today." Sesshomaru headed out the door, his cool demeanor hiding his anxiety about the gut feeling he wasn't going to like whatever it was Bokusenou has to say.

"Yes, my Lord!" the kappa squeaked, kicking the offending crate. It slid into the remaining stack shaking it. The topmost precariously perched crate wobbled dangerously. "Ahh!" He scrambled out the door before the crate fell trapping him once more.

Sesshomaru resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his retainer.

#

Kagome and Kaori headed to the old training grounds followed by a very exuberant Rin, her encounter last night all but forgotten.

Kagome dragged a few paces behind her tutor wishing she had half the energy the young girl running around in front of them had. She had slept restlessly at best, her dreams haunted by grisly images of half bodies walking up stairs. She hadn't seen anything, but her imagination managed to supply the gruesome details.

Kaori cast a look behind her. "You will never out run a demon dragging like that."

Kagome tried to smile brightly, but it ended up looking strained. "I'm just saving my energy for training!"

Kaori smirk. "Smart plan."

Rin stopped suddenly as the group crested the hill, Kaori almost running over her. "Look! Someone fixed everything."

Kaori looked around. "So they did. Lord Sesshomaru probably had a crew working on it while we were gone." Her eyes scanned the training dummies and the hay archery targets approvingly.

Kagome groaned inwardly. She had been looking forward to spending most of the day clearing the space. She just knew that training was going to be much worse than pulling weeds for part of the day.

Kaori turned to Kagome who had started stretching out. She raised an eye questioningly at the young miko. "Do you have something against the miko attire?"

Kagome sat on the ground her legs stretched out in a 'V' in front of her. Reaching for her left foot she looked up at the demoness. "Well…sort of." She didn't want to go into the whole story about Kikyo. "I'm just more comfortable in this," she pointed to her dark blue sweats and light blue oversized t-shirt.

Kaori looked skeptical. "Stand up; I need to get a better idea of what I'm working with."

Kagome stood up, unsure what the other woman was looking for.

Kaori lifted Kagome's arm up and looked it over. "You lack muscle tone. How's your endurance?"

Kagome yanked her arm back in a huff. "Fine, thank you!"

Kaori snickered. "Well, this is going to be an easy day. We will start with learning how to roll." She tucked herself into a small ball and rolled to the left, coming up on her feet.

Kagome frowned, looking at the hard, rocky ground. "Aren't we supposed to have mats or something on the ground so we don't hurt ourselves? Wouldn't just jumping away work?"

Kaori pulled a wooden training sword from the rack and came at Kagome with it. "Jump!" She ordered.

"Eeep!" Kagome jumped backwards from the advancing demon. She relaxed a moment as the first swing missed to only be smack soundly in the side by a reverse swing.

Kaori withdrew. "Never let your guard down either. Again."

This time Kagome jumped back and to the side a little only to have her side smacked again. They did this several more times till the miko relented. "Point taken!"

Kaori stopped with practice sword. "It will take some practice to get to where you aren't afraid to throw yourself at the ground. We will start with a basic roll."

Rin jumped up on her feet from where she had been stacking some pebbles. "Can I try?"

Kaori paused for a second. She had been much younger than Rin when she had started her training. It couldn't hurt. "Sure, just don't roll into each other."

Rin clapped happily and immediately got down and started rolling.

Kagome eyed the girl. She felt less than enthusiastic to start by learning something she had learned in elementary school. But she rolled, wincing when the hard ground bit into her knees. "This was so much easier with a mat," she muttered and rolled some more.

"An enemy will not lay a mat down for your comfort, Miko," Sesshomaru's voice halted her in mid roll, causing her to land flat on her back.

Kaori closed her eyes briefly and shook her head. "On your feet, Kagome."

"Lord Sesshomaru! Watch me!" Rin called, rolling a couple of times in front of Sesshomaru.

The Daiyoukai raised an eyebrow at Kaori who only responded with a shrug. "Very good, Rin."

She grinned happily up at him and went and stood by Kagome who was brushing dirt off her sweats.

"Lord Sesshomaru." Kaori bowed briefly to him. "You are just in time to demonstrate how effective tumbling can be in avoiding getting struck."

"This Sesshomaru has business to take care of. Jaken however is most willing to volunteer."

"I…I am?" He croaked out looking nervously at the black clad demoness smirking at him.

Sesshomaru kneeled down in front of Rin. "This Sesshomaru must leave for a few hours. Stay with Kaori and the Miko." His golden orbs locked with first Kagome's and then Kaori's eyes looking for understanding to his silent orders.

Kaori nodded her head once in acknowledgement, while Kagome looked down at the girl and smiled warmly.

Sesshomaru stood to his full height and turned on his heel leaving a very worried looking Jaken #

Katakai scanned the horizon in front of him, a cunning smirk spreading across his now human features. Ahead of him loomed the western lord's impressively massive shiro, not more than a couple hours walk away. The demon pulled his aura in and suppressed it, masking it expertly as human to anyone sensitive to such things. He also cloaked the pulsing energy the Shikon quarter he carried emitted.

One last mental once over assured him that his human disguise was flawless and ready to fool anyone, even the Shikon Miko. Whistling a tune he had overheard a human singing at some point, he continued down the dirt road to the shiro.

It wasn't long before two of the shiro's guard approached him.

"Halt, human. Turn back; this land belongs to Lord Sesshomaru," the one on the left stated menacingly.

Katakai quickly smothered the amused look that threatened to break across his striking human features, revealing his deception. Instead he opted for intimidated. After all he was human and the guards were two strong looking dog demons. He chuckled inwardly. This little charade was going to be delightful.

"My apologies," Katakai started humbly. "I am in search of work. There is a rumor Lord Sesshomaru is looking for people, for servants."

The two guards exchanged amused looks. This time the one on the right spoke. "This human thinks he has what it takes to survive in a demon lord's service."

The other guard chuckled. "You may pass, but remember if cook doesn't like you, he's always looking for good meat for his peasant stew."

Katakai schooled his features into a look of fear and abhorrence for their sake as he passed by them. Keeping this ruse up may promise to be harder than he expected with idiot demons around like those two. The prize, the Shikon Miko, was well worth any corny threats he may endure.

#

Sesshomaru landed silently not too far away from the ancient tree demon, the feeling of dread growing in the pit of his stomach. Bokusenou never requested an audience without good reason.

The Daiyoukai schooled his expression into one of normal disinterest before walking up to Bokusenou.

The venerable tree demon opened his eyes when he sensed Sesshomaru approaching. "Greetings, young lord. Your haste honors me."

Sesshomaru inclined his head in a gesture of respect. Bokusenou had been one of his father's most loyal advisors and despite his reluctance to use him, one of his own as well. "This Sesshomaru was informed that you have information for me."

Bokusenou made a slight rumbling sound that Sesshomaru couldn't tell if it was laughter or annoyance.

"Yes, I fear it is not good news. The forests of other lands whisper of armies being raised, north, south and east. They are being raised against you," the tree's deep voice rumbled on. "The Bear Lord of the North leads this united front."

"Impossible," Sesshomaru stated flatly. "We have been allies with the north for centuries. The southern lord is happy to remain neutral. The eastern lord has been after my lands for a while now, but he knows that invading would be disastrous."

"The forests do not lie," the baritone voice carried a hint of defensiveness. "They have joined forces to march on you."

Sesshomaru stood there quietly, his expression blank in contrast to the thoughts running through his mind. The three other cardinal lords were threatening to invade his lands. "How long do I have to prepare?"

The tree's branches shook in an almost shrug like motion. "A month, three months, six? The forests only know that armies are being raised. For information like that you will need people on the inside."

Spies. Sesshomaru cringed inwardly. His father had relied on Kaori's clan for demons and humans alike trained in the arts of subterfuge. More important than the training was the loyalty they had to his family. In a fit of youthful arrogance Sesshomaru had destroyed one of his father's greatest tools. Arrogance that his reputation would keep the other cardinal lords in check was now forcing him to rebuild in a few short months what his ancestors had taken centuries to build.

No hint of the inner conflicts passed over his stoic features, but the few moments of silence was broken by the tree demon's rumbling voice. "There are rumblings of a leaderless clan on lands once occupied by the Blue Lotus."

Sesshomaru nodded once, acknowledging the information. "Keep me informed of any changes you can."

"Of course, Lord Sesshomaru." The ancient limbs shook once more as the large eyes closed, signaling the end of the meeting.

Sesshomaru summoned his cloud and headed back to his shiro, deep in thought.

#

Tricky was not the word Kagome was looking for as she watched Kaori dodge out of the way of the imp's fire blasts. The demoness made the acrobatics look effortless and graceful, a feat she could only wish to accomplish. Kagome would settle for effective.

Kaori rolled at an angle to the side Jaken held the staff in, the blast going wide, the startled imp not expecting her to fly at him. He held his ground, attempting to adjust his squat body to face his opponent who was now behind him. Before he could manage to change his facing, a sharp pain shot down his arm causing it to go numb. He watched dumbfounded as his staff was tossed to the human Miko.

Kagome resisted the urge to flinch as the ugly two headed staff came at her. Reacting more than thinking, she caught the staff. "Hey! I caught it!" She called out in surprise.

Kaori smiled at her. "It's all about training your body to react without having to think first. Planning has its place, but sometimes you don't have time."

Jaken sputtered a bit as the feeling returned to his arm. "Give me the staff back now human!"

Still standing behind the imp, Kaori pinched his arm. "Be nice."

Jaken glared at Kaori. "I am Lord Sesshomaru's prized retainer, how dare you pinch me!"

Kaori crossed her arms and smirked at the fuming imp. "Don't make me paralyze both your arms."

Jaken gulped and turned back to Kagome. "Please give me back the staff, human."

With a roll of her blue-green eyes, Kaori nodded to the Miko to return the staff. "We'll work on that later Jaken."

Before Jaken could reply to what he deemed abuse, Sesshomaru landed silently in the training area. A relieved sigh escaped his green lips.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Welcome back!" Rin called out, running up to the demon lord and grinning at him happily.

Sesshomaru assessed the group in front of him. Aside from being dusty, they appeared to have had an uneventful day. He gently placed his hand briefly on Rin's head in a gesture of acknowledgment as he looked at Kaori. "I need to speak with you, join me in the library. Rin, go play with Kagome. Jaken, go with them." After issuing the orders he took off to the balcony of his library.

Kagome looked at Kaori, her expression showing her surprise. "Did he just call me by name?"

"I noticed that too, something must be wrong." Kaori watched the demon lord fly off.

Rin looked up at Kagome, her brown eyes dancing. "Can we go pick flowers and make necklaces and bracelets out of them for Jaken?"

Kagome smiled warmly at the young girl, nothing seemed to faze her in this strange life she led. "Sure!"

Jaken started to protest, but a warning look from Kaori silenced him.

Rin took Kagome by the hand and led them off to a nearby field full of various wildflowers.

Kaori headed to the shiro, wondering what had caused the demon lord's slip in etiquette.

#

Sesshomaru stood in front of the doors to the balcony of the library looking out them. For the first time in his life he was unsure of how to approach the demoness headed in his direction. After his father had died, he had told her clan he did not need their services now or in the future. For reasons Sesshomaru was unaware of, her father had left the clan leadership in the hands of her uncle soon after and left for her mother's homeland in Europe. Unsure if his actions had led to this in some way and therefor the subsequent demise of the clan, the western lord knew he stood on shaky ground with what he was about to request of her.

The soft scraping of the shoji door opening indicated her arrival.

"Sesshomaru, what's wrong?" She asked softly.

The Daiyoukai's white eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What makes you ask that?" He questioned his back still to her.

"You called Kagome by name."

"Hn."

"And you let me get away with calling you Sesshomaru just now."

He turned to face her slowly, picking his words carefully. "The other cardinal lords have united and are raising an army against me. I need information on what they are planning." He locked his eyes with her eyes. "I need you to take the position your father occupied. I need the Blue Lotus clan back."

If Kaori was surprised or upset by his request, it didn't show, but a heavy silence hung between the two.

He had expected anger, perhaps her to blame him for what had happened to the clan she was to inherit, maybe even a bit of teasing, but not silence. After a few moments he was expecting her just to leave, not a word of good bye as she melted into the night.

"I will have to build a clan from the ground up, it will take time," she finally replied much to his relief.

"A leaderless clan has moved into the lands once owned by your clan."

"They are probably mercenary then. You will have to buy their loyalty."

"I am willing to offer to you and your clan the same benefits my father extended your father."

Kaori nodded. "Pay, I hope to reflect the change in times?"

"I am generous to those loyal to me and equally as harsh to those who betray me."

"I will leave at dawn. It would be best to keep my mission and the clan's true nature quiet. People talk and this is best kept silent."

Sesshomaru nodded his agreement.

With a slight bow, the demoness turned to leave.

"Kaori, thank you." Sesshomaru added before she opened the door.

She turned her head slightly and offered him a slight sad smile, nodding once before leaving the room.

Sesshomaru allowed himself a rare moment of guilt and self doubt. He had denied any existence of friendship between them and despite this she was going to do what he had asked of her. He wondered if her faith in him was misplaced.

A sharp pain where his arm had been snapped him back into control. The sudden stabs were becoming more frequent as of late. After giving his desk and the surrounding are a once over, he put away the scrolls he had been unpacking earlier. The dull ache in his arm not letting up, he opted for a soak in the hot spring fed waters of the bath house. As he closed the door to the library he thought he heard the faint thud of a crate tipping over. He almost opened the door back up to check on but decided against it. Whatever had happened would be there when he got back. Forcing his curiosity down, he headed to the bath house.

The small crate sitting inconspicuously in the back of the library rocked a few times gaining momentum before it turned over on its side, the contents spilling out on to the floor. One at a time the leather bound journals slid away, making room for more to spill out. After a few moments of the old books moving painfully slowly, a single journal was lifted from the pile. It scooted in a jerky motion across the floor to the desk Sesshomaru worked at. It came to rest propped up by the desk leg. It would be found, maybe not tonight, but it would be found.