"Hey, Kikyou, would you like to come and play with us?" A little boy called out to the lone child walking past them with a short bow in her hand.

"Stupid! She's Lady Kikyou! Sorry for his disrespect!" A little girl beside the boy bowed apologetically, "But would you like to join us?"

"She cannot join you, children. Kikyou has much training to do if she one day hopes to be a great priestess. She needs to be strong if she is going to protect you one day." An old priest behind an eight-year-old Kikyou rejected their invitation. The raven-haired child only bowed her head sadly.

"I am sorry." Kikyou timidly spoke, glancing down at her sandals, before the priest walked on ahead of her and she followed behind. The group of kids merely shrugged their shoulders before continuing with their games.

"Kikyou, you shan't be so soft-spoken. If people are to take you seriously, you need to be confident. Not boastful, of course, but you must appear to be strong." The old man scolded the child, "And don't you look sad, child. I know you want to play, but there is no time for that. You show extraordinary potential, little one."

"Yes, master. I understand." Kikyou agreed, tilting her face up to meet her master's eyes, just as she was told to do, her short chin-length hair swishing at the movement.

"You are going to be a great and powerful priestess one day, Kikyou. I can already tell. But such a title comes with a sacrifice." The old man smiled assuringly, to which Kikyou forced a smile of her own in response. "Your parents would be proud."

"So young woman, are you the lord's new concubine?" A woman's voice snapped Kikyou out of her somber memories. The voice belonged to the same woman who was currently brushing Kikyou's hair.

"No." Was Kikyou's sole response. Great and powerful priestess? What would master think of me now? Harboring feelings for a demon and letting myself get abducted by this despicable man?

"Then you're to be his wife then?" Another woman, who was applying a subtle pink to Kikyou's porcelain cheeks, asked curiously. Kikyou's only reply was to downcast her vision to the floor. "An unwilling one it seems." The middle-aged woman commented sympathetically.

"Who wouldn't want to be wife to the young lord? He's so handsome and rich!" The first woman, a girl of about twenty, spoke.

"Sheesh, Izumi, be more considerate. Perhaps she is in love with another man, the poor thing." Kikyou's eyes met the portly woman's then. "So it is."

"What is to happen to me?" Kikyou finally bothered to ask, regaining her will to speak.

"We don't know, girl. But usually when the young lord asks us to dress women up it's because they are to be a concubine." At this new information from the homely middle-aged woman, Kikyou tensed in disgust and fought the urge to gag – the thought of being mistress to the depraved miscreant repulsed her. "Oh, don't look so sad, young one. We can't know for sure. The lord has been unpredictable lately."

"Lately?" Kikyou asked.

"Yes, he used to take concubines far more often, but lately, he's been kind of antisocial. To everybody." The younger woman, Izumi, added. "But if he has asked us to make you look good, I wouldn't have high hopes, girl. You're either to be his mistress or his wife."

"To make her look good? This child came in looking good. Our job was to make her absolutely stunning." To such praise, Kikyou would usually offer a pretty smile, but in her anxiety, she could not muster up anything but a despondent frown. "You poor thing, you must really care for this other man..."

'I need to escape. There must be some way... I need to get my spiritual powers back somehow, so I can obliterate this Naraku before he can punish these innocent people. Think!' Kikyou thought.

"That is enough." A deep, male voice cut their conversation short.

"Oh, m'lord, we haven't finished dressing her hair yet." The younger female bowed in respect, the older following suit at the presence of their taciturn lord.

"That is fine. You are dismissed." Naraku ordered, and when the two women hesitated slightly, Naraku asserted impatiently, "Leave now." At their master's steely command, the two females scuffled out of the room, leaving Kikyou to glare daggers at the statuesque false lord.

XXX

"Jaken..." Kaede whispered from atop Sesshoumaru's loyal dragon. The child had hopped onto the beast after Sesshoumaru had reprimanded her for being too troublesome on her feet. Twice they had been attacked – once by a human-hungry demon, and second by a greedy duo of bandits. Both times, Kaede had almost been caught, which prompted Sesshoumaru to crossly order her to ride atop the dragon, out of harm's way.

"What is it?" Jaken replied to her soft call.

"Sesshoumaru doesn't have his demonic powers anymore. How does he plan to defeat the demon who kidnapped my sister?" Kaede questioned, sincerely curious as to how Sesshoumaru planned to go head-to-head with a demon who could subdue her powerful elder sister.

"Are you questioning my lord's power?!" Jaken squawked loudly at Kaede's impudent query, causing such a ruckus that even Sesshoumaru turned to glare at the pair behind him in irritation. "Oh, Lord Sesshoumaru, don't heed us! Continue on your way!" Jaken panicked at the young man's scathing gaze.

"You have a strategy, right?" Kaede asked directly, knowing Jaken was not going to give her a satisfying answer.

"Why you! Insolent child, what disrespect!" Jaken crowed savagely, waving his staff around in threat; playing innocent.

"A human child doubts my own power." Sesshoumaru spoke to himself, apparently, since his vision was not focused on any of his companions.

"I don't mean to offend, lord Sesshoumaru," Kaede forced herself to attach the honorific, knowing it was a wise decision to try and stay on his good side, "And I'm sure that in your demon form you're a force to be reckoned with, but as a human... You don't have your usual power." Kaede trailed off, seeing his increased annoyance as she continued.

'I hate to admit it, but in this body, I am weak. To have to rely on a common mutt to follow Kikyou's scent...'

"Well, in that way she's right. You are a useless human now..." Jaken let his thoughts spill into the tense air, immediately receiving a great thwack to the head by his "useless human" master. "Why me?! You said it too!" Jaken cried pathetically.

"I was a lot more sensitive, little demon." Kaede stared after the little imp's crying form, passing him as the dragon continued trotting after Sesshoumaru, who was lead by Kaede's pet dog, the akita inu, Taro. Kaede sighed, guessing that she would just have to wait and see what Sesshoumaru's plan was, if he had any.

'Has Lord Sesshoumaru lost his mind? Surely he sees how ludicrous it is to face a demon that even the miko can not handle...' Jaken thought, getting over the newly-acquired bruise to scramble back to his position behind Sesshoumaru. 'Is it because he's human that he's being irrational? Humans are stupid, after all... Or is it his attachment to Kikyou that's rendered him... insane?' Jaken felt himself tremble when he noticed Sesshoumaru's intent glare on him. "I wasn't thinking anything!" Jaken yelped in fear, but Sesshoumaru continued on his way, focusing his glare on the path ahead instead.

"Jaken, you said 'insane' out loud. You were thinking something." Kaede informed the little toad, earning her a worried glare from said toad.

"Girl." Sesshoumaru called out in his usual curt manner, "Do you see anything?"

"It's Kaede." The girl first enforced her will to be called by her name, "But no, I don't see anything but forest all around." She softened her voice in accordance with her powerlessness to find Kikyou's whereabouts. "If only Kikyou were here..."

"But she's not." Sesshoumaru interrupted, "And if she was, we wouldn't be in this predicament." He dismissed her vapid comment with his reason. 'If I hadn't let my guard down, then Kikyou would still be here.'

Kaede felt tears start to well up at the corners of her eyes – frustrated by her inability to be more useful. "Crying won't bring your sister back." She heard Jaken's voice admonish her; the little demon was staring up at her with stern eyes. "Surely Kikyou has taught you better than that." Kaede wiped away the tears, knowing Jaken had a point, for once.

"Sorry, you're right." Kaede agreed resolutely.

"So just be quiet and let Lord Sesshoumaru handle it!" Sesshoumaru said nothing to add to Jaken's assurance; letting the smaller demon deal with Kaede's emotional outbursts as it was not in his nature to calm down people, especially not children.

Still, the girl's words had rattled him. What was his strategy? When the castle was found, what would he do? March right in there and battle Naraku in hand-to-hand combat? No, that was stupid, he knew better than that. But how to go about defeating that demon-scum that underneath any other circumstances would be an easy kill? How to retrieve Kikyou from his filthy grasp? The only logical way to go about it was to steal the jewel first and regain his demonic powers, then all of those questions would be easily resolved, but Naraku was sure to thwart any attempt made on the jewel. He grit his teeth in consternation. He would just have to find the castle first, and then go from there.

He was only sure of one thing – he had to get Kikyou away from Naraku. He could only hope the priestess had already outsmarted him.

XXX

"M' lord, the lady refuses to eat. What shall we do?" A servant approached Naraku.

"Stubborn woman." Naraku muttered lowly underneath his breath, "I shall handle it." He stood up from his crossed-legged position from his "throne". It had been three days since he had abducted Kikyou and yet he had not laid a single hand on her. Had Tsubaki still been alive, she would have commented on that. It is not that he didn't want to – for surely, he wanted to unravel the sash at her waist to reveal her womanly curves every time he saw her, but first he wanted to wipe off that arrogant look on her face; he wanted to break her spirit so that when he took her, she would be struggling to hold onto the last shreds of her pride.

"Kikyou." Naraku called out as he entered the room where Kikyou was stowed away in. She sat in the middle of the room – her face positioned downward so her bangs would cast shadows over her eyes. She wore an elegant kimono that Naraku had supplied her with; a sakura-crested beautiful silk cloth that any woman would be more than happy to don, but Kikyou had a deep scowl on her face – a face steeped in vitriol. If not for the disdain written all over her countenance, she would have looked like a doll. A doll with sorrowful eyes. "You do not eat. Do you hope to die before I have my way with you?" Kikyou refused to acknowledge his presence. "Trust me, dearest Kikyou, I shall do what I wish before you can even hope to die." Still, the woman retained from answering; acting as if he was not there. Her insistence on ignoring him angered him to no end, as he stomped his way towards her, ruthlessly clasping her by the neck and picking her off the ground so that she dangled in the air precariously. It was then that she turned her scathing gaze to him.

"I will not be your mistress, if that's what you plan for me." Kikyou finally spoke bitterly. Naraku sneered cruelly, still not relinquishing his grasp around her fragile neck.

"Now where did you get such an idea from?"

"The servants said..." Kikyou struggled to speak.

"I haven't spoken of my plans with any of them." Naraku replied, "But what a great thought. Just imagining you corrupted by my evil gives me shivers of pleasure." Naraku cackled at his twisted comment and the look of utter revulsion on her face. In a show of reckless courage, the woman released a glob of spit right to his face. Naraku threw her down on the floor in anger.

'Why does that sound so familiar?' Kikyou thought as she threw her abductor a death glare from where she landed on the ground. If only looks could kill, Naraku would be dead a dozen times over.

"Did I not make myself clear when I said that any offense on your part would lead to dire consequences?" Naraku practically hissed at Kikyou, wiping the spit off his face lividly.

"Only if I disobeyed. You gave no order." Kikyou taunted, standing up to her full height in order to show her defiance; her unwillingness to submit to his will apparent in her audacious stance and steely glare. Naraku roughly ensnared the lithe woman in his grasp and pulled her down to the ground with him, slamming her against the floor mercilessly. His long fingers curled around her shoulders, keeping her glued to the ground, glaring at her with fuming red eyes.

"Kikyou, I don't like that man!" Kikyou recalled Kaede's words when she had once come back from tending Onigumo. "He wants the Shikon no Tama! He also said that the thought of you being defiled by evil gave him 'shivers of pleasure'." The eyes staring down at her narrowed at the expression on her face. Her pink lips were parted in surprised recognition.

"Onigumo." The name escaped from her lips. Naraku merely smirked hauntingly down at her. His wicked smile sent a shiver of horror down her spine. She had always known of Onigumo's base desires for her – she knew what he ultimately wanted, and that horrified her far more than if his goal was to kill her. Was she to fall victim to Onigumo's lust? She felt his depraved left hand travel down from her shoulder to the obi that held the kimono together. A vision of Sesshoumaru flashed through her mind.

"Always the bright one, eh?" His other hand traveled to her smooth face, "I am the new entity assembled from Onigumo's heart and the flesh of a horde of demons." Kikyou glowered at him, her mind whirling; piecing it all together. "You look so angry, Kikyou. You're so ungrateful for my kindness. I give you a lavish home, good meals, and the finest clothes, and yet all you do is scowl at me." He traced the contour of Kikyou's right cheekbone with a bony finger, "And yet that dog just gives you one measly kimono and you are all over him." At this his eyes darkened as the hand on her face once again moved to rest daringly on her sash. "I'm a lot better than that dog will ever be." He whispered, as his face neared hers. Kikyou gasped in trepidation, remembering the feeling of Sesshoumaru's lips on hers. In her panic, she placed her hands on Naraku's broad shoulders – an extinct from when her spiritual powers were still intact. He just laughed at her failed attempt to defend herself, as he pulled at the sash.

"Sesshoumaru!" She yelped as she felt a surge of power emanate from her fingertips, and before she could make sense of that feeling, a familiar lavender light of spiritual power zapped Naraku where her hands had been. He retracted away in pain, and she hurriedly stood up and held her kimono closed; her dark, lustrous hair obscuring her vision at the rapid movement. Naraku's crimson orbs glowed with animosity.

"Wench!" Naraku bellowed, "You seriously think that dog is going to come for you?" He inquired darkly, approaching her with heavy steps. "If he comes, it won't be for you. It'll be for his demonic powers."

"Come towards me and I'll finish you." Kikyou warned, holding her hands out defensively. At the moment, a servant came through the Shoji door.

"My lord, is everything alright?" It was a young man, and before he could make sense of Kikyou's posture and Naraku's anger etched on his face, Naraku materialized a sword from his hip and decapitated the man heartlessly. The head rolled towards Kikyou's body. Naraku had aimed for it to roll close by her in mock. The priestess could only glare at the demon in complete and utter hatred.

"And so another human dies for your sake. What a cruel miko you are." Naraku snickered, regaining his composure, "That look on your face is quite fitting for a miko tainted by the blood of demons and humans alike."

"Don't come near me." Kikyou's voice rang authoritatively.

"Anger, hatred, rage. So beautiful." Naraku murmured, admiring the deep grimace on her pretty face, the tilt of her eyebrows, and the the fire in her eyes. "How that bandit longed to see you like this. He's wallowing in bliss right now. The only thing he would enjoy more would be to see you naked; writhing under-"

"Half-demon." She interrupted. "You are a pathetic half-demon who is borrowing the strength of the jewel."

"You call me only a half-demon?"

"A demon with a human soul. That qualifies as a half-demon." She spoke evenly, the rage on her face dissipating into an impassive smirk – an empty smile. Her arrogance sent his blood boiling.

"You dare mock me when you are at my mercy?" He sneered back.

"My powers have shown up two times already. That can only mean the jewel reacts to my presence - to my spiritual powers. It cannot completely seal my powers of purity." She began to explain, more to herself than to Naraku. "The jewel was created when the priestess Midoriko sealed herself within the jewel along with the demons she battled. There is good and there is evil. Midoriko grants me her powers of good." Naraku glowered at her.

"Then there is no other answer but to corrupt you." He took a step forward, but Kikyou raised her hands up to guard herself. Thinking it through better, Naraku halted his advance. "However, that can wait." He placed a hand on his chin as his face brightened in malice.

"Fiend, what are you planning?"

"You shall see." Was Naraku's enigmatic response, "I'll send a demon in to clean up this mess." His sight strayed to where the human body lay in a pool of blood. 'Her powers seem to return to her out of sheer will. Perhaps if her spirit were to be broken...' Was his last thought as he exited the room.

At the same time, Kikyou began to concoct a strategy of her own: a strategy that would evacuate all of the residents of the castle out of harm's way if she could play the cards right. She could only hope Naraku would send for the two women who usually dressed her later, like had been the custom for the last three days.

Pacing through the dark corridors of his foreboding castle, Naraku fiddled with the murky violet pearl in his hand, scrutinizing it with the blood-colored pools that were his eyes. In the sea of cloudy plum within the jewel, he could detect a small beam of resplendent pink – like a solitary ray from the sun peaking out from among the dark clouds amid a ferocious typhoon. A ray of hope. "So the good within the jewel is reacting to Kikyou's purity? Even my darkness cannot fully corrupt the jewel when Kikyou is nearby." His hand closed over the delicate pearl in deep thought. "It needs to absorb more hatred. It needs to absorb Kikyou's hatred. Her darkness." He chuckled darkly, "And I am to bring it about, am I?" His malicious cackles reverberated through the halls of his palace, causing many a servant to shudder at the ominous sound.

A good distance away from outside the castle walls, Sesshoumaru and his motley entourage surveyed the surrounding forest. "Lord Sesshoumaru, judging by the broken branches and dirt path, I judge that we are close to a human settlement." Jaken stated. Sesshoumaru was no fool, he did not need Jaken to tell him, but he said nothing, instead focusing his energy on what the evidence implied.

"I see something!" Kaede exclaimed excitedly. "It's a castle!" She pointed her finger towards the left. Sesshoumaru and Jaken were blind to its presence, but even with his muted human hearing, Sesshoumaru could make out the noisy clamor of castle life.

'It's almost as if it's too easy...' Sesshoumaru thought suspiciously.

"Is that the one?" Jaken questioned Kaede further.

"Yes! When I'm not holding the charm Tsubaki gave me, I can't see it." The child convicted as she felt proud that she was finally able to be of use. "It's a little farther up the mountain. Not too far." She explained once Sesshoumaru's inquisitive gaze fell upon her. In the three days of their search, the quartet had reached the foot of a mountain. In part, their arrival to the castle was thanks to Taro's sense of smell and Kaede's insistence on stopping by at human villages to inquire about any castles or lords in the area.

"Let's go." Was Sesshoumaru's singular command, as he continued on with his gait. In his human body, he felt weary – something he had not truly ever experienced in his demon form. In his beast body, he could go for days without sleep and certainly he did not need to stop every once in a while to rest his legs and feed; he could go on for many leagues without needing to stop. His human body was just beginning to show its most bothersome traits. He briefly thought of using the two-headed dragon to take him the remaining distance, but decided against it when he thought of how gaudy showing up on the back of a dragon would be. They needed to approach the palace discreetly, as to not bring attention to themselves. "We should be there by nightfall." He informed dryly.

XXX

"My Lady," The middle-aged woman that had been attending to Kikyou spoke, "I have news for you!"

"That's the first time you've addressed me by that title." Kikyou commented as the older woman aggregated another robe to Kikyou's 'twelve-layer' ensemble.

"Well, that's because you're to be our new lady." The woman, Satsuki was her name if Kikyou had heard correctly, informed. At Kikyou's confused expression, Satsuki further leaked, "You are to be the good lord's wife! That's much better than being his concubine. You're so beautiful he can't resist." She smiled.

"W-What?" Kikyou bit her lip. "When?"

"Well, from what he let on, I'd say rather soon. He already ordered a few women to begin working on your ceremonial kimono!" The woman jabbered in glee. "And he wants them to make haste!"

"I have to act now." Kikyou spoke lowly. "Listen to me, Satsuki. You must keep this from the lord."

"Lady Kikyou?"

"Hear me out, Satsuki," Kikyou whispered, "I am a miko. Protector of the Jewel of Four Souls. The lord of this castle has been possessed by a demon. A demon who has the Shikon Jewel in his possession and has thus subdued me to an extent."

"B-But... that can't be. Our lord does not act so."

"Because he keeps his crimes hidden. Earlier today he killed a man. Satsuki, do you believe me?"

"I cannot say. What proof have you to offer that you are a priestess?" The older woman questioned; Kikyou's words against her lord proving to be a bit overwhelming.

"Surely when he first brought me here I had my priestess garment?"

"When you were first brought here, m'lady, you were only dressed in a plain white kosode." Satsuki replied.

"Trust me." Kikyou pleaded, "That is why you're lord has been acting distant; he is a demon in disguise."

"But why would a demon want to marry a miko?"

"Because... That demon has desired me from the start." Kikyou shortened Naraku's origin, "And he threatens me with your death, along with all of the others who work for him, if I try to escape. You must help me, Satsuki." At this point in her explanation, Kikyou stared into the older woman's weary eyes, "I do not wish to be wife to this sadistic man. He already attempted to... touch me. Please, help me."

"The look on your face says all. I believe you. But how am I to aid you?"

"I need you to evacuate as many residents as you can. As discreetly as you can. Convince them to depart from here without drawing his attention. Don't all leave in a group – he'll notice that. A few at a time should leave and take shelter in the next village over. Make haste. It is evening now and I shall dine with him soon. I shall distract him as much as I can all of tonight." Kikyou wisely advised the woman many years her senior. "Please."

"Y-yes, lady priestess." Satsuki agreed whole-heartedly, "I will do that. Good luck, young lady." And with that said, she continued dressing the worrisome Kikyou. Before leaving to follow Kikyou's orders, Satsuki hugged the younger woman for good measure.

"I shall do all in my power to protect you." Kikyou promised, her ochre eyes full of appreciation.

XXX

"Is the lord not coming to join me?" Kikyou asked a man standing guard at the entrance to the dining room.

"No ma'am." The guard replied distantly.

Kikyou gritted her teeth, knowing that she needed to keep Naraku's attention for all of the servants to be able to escape without his notice. "Could you do me a favor, young man?" Kikyou asked sweetly.

"Depends on the favor, my lady." The shy man replied earnestly.

"Could you perhaps send for the lord? Tell him I'd like to dine with him."

"I cannot leave my post..." The young man spoke, but at seeing the beseeching look on her face, he quickly added, "But I can send someone else." He gulped, not being able to resist an attractive young lady's simple request.

"It would be much appreciated." She smiled slyly.

Meanwhile, on the outside, servants were already beginning their journey to the next village over, frightened by Satsuki's warning of the lord being a demon. They had sensed something amiss even before Kikyou had informed Satsuki of Naraku, so they had only needed a small push from someone, namely a priestess like Kikyou, to run away. Sesshoumaru, Jaken, and Kaede were witness to the exodus, as they hid from view in the dense foliage surrounding the palace.

"What's the meaning of this?" Jaken whispered as groups of people made their way through the dark, into the forest opposite them.

"It seems to me they're escaping. Maybe sister has something to do with this?" Kaede replied to Jaken's question. "Maybe we should approach one of them?"

"No, if they are escaping, that will only scare them and they'll cause a ruckus. Then they'll get caught and so will we." Jaken reasoned logically. Jaken turned to Sesshoumaru for input, but the tall man seemed too engrossed in his own private cogitation to hear the pair out.

Sesshoumaru began to sniff at the air – something quite uncharacteristic of him. He never made it apparent when he was using his keen olfactory power. It seemed he was trying hard to catch something's scent.

"That's useless. Us humans can't smell very far..." Kaede pointed out, but Sesshoumaru did not relent.

"Her scent. I can smell it." Sesshoumaru muttered to himself, not bothering to concern himself with the girl's words. Kaede and Jaken looked at each other bewildered.

"L-Lord Sesshoumaru that's impossible. Perhaps it's only your imagination!" Jaken warned, which didn't sit well with Sesshoumaru as he stopped sniffing to throw an ominous glare at the little imp.

"Do you think me a fool, Jaken?"

"N-No, just maybe a little... delusional?" At this response Jaken was pummeled to the ground with Sesshoumaru's foot.

"Kaede, stay here. I go alone." Sesshoumaru ordered, and Kaede was about to protest, but decided against it when it registered in her mind that the proud Sesshoumaru had called her by her name for the first time.

"Wait, Lord Sesshoumaru, take these with you!" Kaede held out Kikyou's long bow and arrows out to the former demon man. "Kikyou is going to need these if she's going to fight alongside you." She smiled. Wordlessly, Sesshoumaru took the weapons off the child's hands, slinging both the bow and quiver of arrows over his left shoulder. Before Jaken could protest, Sesshoumaru was off, hiding himself among the shrubs and bushes.

'I do not know why my heightened sense of smell has returned, but I shall make use of it. I must follow Kikyou's scent.'

XXX

Naraku had come at her request, as Kikyou thought he would. She had tried to keep him – stall him – for as long as she could. In the end, she had managed to keep his attention solely on her, unaware of the exodus that she had ordered to take place. Naraku was not a dog demon, and thus had not the superior sense of smell and hearing that Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha had both been blessed with. He could not tell very easily who was moving around in his castle.

"I thought you wouldn't to see me after today's stunt." Naraku had asked her as the servants served him food. "Don't tell me you've had a change of heart?"

"I wished to discuss things with you, is all." Kikyou had feigned; there was nothing to discuss with a monster like him, but she had to find a way to keep his interest piqued. "They are private matters though, my lord." Kikyou had then glanced at the guard at the door, trying to hint at Naraku.

"Leave boy, your presence is no longer needed." And so the boy was out of the picture. Kikyou was usually a forward and direct kind of person, but in the situation she was in, she beat around the bush, extending her "discussion" for quite a while. Naraku, or rather Onigumo, was too busy admiring her beauty and undressing her with his eyes to be bothered by her long-winded talk of how she would promise to obey him if he didn't hurt the residents who worked under him. Alas, she could not keep him in the dining room forever, as he eventually grew tired of listening to her speak and announced he was to retire to his room, leaving Kikyou to herself. "Goodnight, Kikyou. My future wife." He had snickered seductively as he slid a finger underneath her dainty chin.

"Now how to occupy him further?" Kikyou asked herself aloud in the room she had been forced to stay in since the first day. Only a solitary candlelight shone in the darkness of the room, the flickering light of the flame casting a shadowy dance upon Kikyou's body. From the paper screen window on the outside, Kikyou's silhouette flickered along with the flame from the candlelight.

The sound of paper ripping was what brought Kikyou from her meditation. She gasped and stood up slowly, the weight of her various layers of robes and kimonos delaying her usual nimbleness.

Kikyou's heart leaped at the sight – it was none other than Sesshoumaru that emerged from the ripped shoji window, standing before her in all his regal glory.

"You came..." Was all that Kikyou could manage to murmur out as she felt her legs move towards him almost cautiously, scared that he was just a mirage of her dreams; that he would slip away as soon as she got too close to him, but as she neared him, he did not vanish, and before she could think, she wrapped her arms around him.

And to her further astonishment, the icy prince returned the gesture, lowering his head to settle his chin atop her glossy raven head.

XXX

Author's Notes: Well, here is to another chapter. Hip hip... HOORAY! Thanks for all the support! Your reviews/messages/alerts/favorites are much appreciated and keep me going. :) By the way, that story cover up there... I drew it. Sorry for any mistakes. As I was editing, my hyperactive puppy kept trying to lick my ears. -_-

Toodles! 'Till next time, readers.