'Where is that brat, Hakudōshi, at?' Kagura irritably wonders since she abruptly cuts her spa treatment short because of the brat.
A shift from behind her reminds her that Kanna is still on her feather and did not utter a peep.
She always had this weird sensation that she could never shake every time she is around the young girl that is void of emotions.
'She never felt fear, nervousness, love, hatred, deception or any other emotions that we, as the other Naraku's incarnations, can feel.'
Kagura listens to the screams that the wind carries as she tries to pinpoint Hakudōshi location. However, the young boy tends to relish his kills similar to how Kanna never displays her emotions.
Another thought surfaces to the forefront of her mind, 'Yet if she is devoid of nothingness then how come she always seem to remain loyal to Master Naraku?'
"How long do we plan to rest?" Kanna colorlessly inquires as she rests her mirror in her lap with a blank expression on her face.
Kagura rotates her head in Kanna's direction since it was rare to hear the little girl speak let only voice a question.
"We will eventually leave whenever Hakudōshi arrives." She discloses to Kanna with an expression of irritation present on her face.
Kagura casted her sights in the direction of where she assumed the brat is because he probably raised hell for the villagers.
'I should probably send him a message on the wind.' She assumes before she lifts her right hand until the palm touches her bottom lip.
Kagura waits until she catches a breeze and whispers in to it, "We are leaving now."
She then returns her attention on to the young girl behind her, which earns her another question. "Why do you defy Master Naraku?"
'First it was Hakudōshi and now Kanna,' Kagura inwardly mentions to herself as she conceals her emotions.
"Humph, I don't know what has gotten in to you kids' mind about my loyalty to Master Naraku." She purposely redirects the suspicions away from her and onto another incarnation. "Maybe you have the wrong one."
A rustle from a nearby bush captures their attention until she hears Kanna says, "Its time."
Hakudōshi emerges from the shrubery just as pristine as when he enters inside of the village with his naginata on his back.
1111
Akio veers around the corner when he reflects back on the conversation with Kosei in the dining hall that revolves around Kirara.
"At first, I didn't understand why you gave Lady Kirara such a hard time before and after the marriage?'
'He says I gave her a hard time…more like she's been a thorn in my side ever since she was brought to the West Kingdom.' He inwardly corrects.
'From my recent conversation with her, your actions finally match up.'
'I don't think any of my actions differ from the time that she step foot on the castle grounds.' Akio adamantly defends his position.
'Even I had to admit that I had to catch myself because she is a very unique and beautiful person.'
'So even the old man acknowledges the fact that she isn't like the normal women that our Lord selects to enter the grounds.' He recalls the fact.
'You are falling in love with Lady Kirara, aren't you?"
'That old bat has some nerve to even utter such nonsense, especially when the Lord is nearby.' Akio irritably challenges Kosei's position.
'Yet you did not deny the fact that what Kosei alleges is false.' His consciousness mentions as it causes his fist to clench out of anger.
'It just goes to show that Lord Sesshomaru'd trust in you has wane.' It adds.
'He didn't even select you, the leader, to guide his beautiful wife to her training grounds, which he gifts her just to keep her at his side.'
'He knew that you could no longer control yourself around her so he did the next best thing for him and that is to distance her away from you.'
'The only other person beside Lord Sesshomaru that knows this particular location is the one who accuses you of inappropriate thoughts about her.'
'Kosei…' Akio answers his consciousness question.
'Correct.'
'Since he knows what your intentions for Lady Kirara are that makes it all the more difficult for you to extract information from him.'
'I don't have time for this. I have to return my post and guard the Lord and Lady of this land.' He reminds himself of his position's duty.
1111
Isamu swings from a tree limb and hops back on the trail that connects the Southern Kingdom to the West Kingdom.
'I can't believe that mother chose me to deliver this message.' He angrily grunts as he passes by a group of travelers.
'Plus she has me on this ridiculous schedule where I only have one day of rest once I receive the answer! Then I'm back on the run yet again!' Isamu grumbles while his path changes from a forest to a mountainous setting.
He crosses over the wooden bridge that would serve as the last obstacle for him to pass through, which signifies that he is now in the Western land.
'Mother is really a cruel individual indeed.' The blonde concludes about his mother.
He briefly halts at the top of the mountain in order to catch his breath as his sights land on the castle in the far off distance.
The male neko youkai plops down on the hard surface when he thinks, 'I ran this far in this short amount of time. I think a break is much needed.'
For some odd reason, the invitation suddenly feels like a heavy boulder in his pocket ever since he steps foot on Sesshomaru's land.
'A couple of more hours and you will be one step closer to your freedom.' Isamu silently verbalizes when he feels the wind change around him.
He casts his sights to the left where the breeze seems to come from when he spots something off in the distance.
'What in the hell?!' Isamu inwardly questions before he sharply narrows his sights until the item comes in to view.
A rather large white feather gracefully floats along the odd breeze that blows in the opposite direction, which prompts Isamu to hop to his feet.
'I don't like this feeling.' He deduces before he launches in to a sprint, except this time he decides to use a little booster to help.
1111
Kirara clenches one of her fists and leaps in the direction of where she assumes Makoto conceals himself from.
Her fist connects with the wooden trunk of the tree, which leads her to predict 'He must have really left my range.'
'This training might be a little interesting.' Kirara happily thinks before she jumps back in to the center of the field.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are." She purposely taunts them while she diligently gathers her youkai strength.
"What do you think Lady Kirara is waiting for?" Satoshi curiously poses to the other three as they sit off to the side.
Toshu speaks up to provide an answer to the question, "Makoto probably has Kenichi and Yoshinori well out of Lady Kirara's attack range."
"Being in Makoto's group often helps me to understand his thought process, at least some of the times." He adds with a nod of his head.
"So what is his next move?" Hiroki inquisitively poses as his eyes hone in on their leader back as she searches the area for her opponents.
"Makoto has always been the type of fighter to study his opponent, locates their weaknesses, exploits it and renders an enemy defenseless." Toshu mentions as he folds his arms in front of his chest.
"The enemy is Lady Kirara, a powerful neko-youkai that utilizes a high level of kai skills." Dai expresses his doubts in Makoto's plan.
An "hmph" emits from Toshu after he hears what Dai just says before he retorts, "To have defeat on the mind before a battle means you've already lost."
"Dai, did you really forget why we do this drill during training?"
"It is to test our teamwork as a whole group instead of the two groups that we are usually accustomed to. At the end of the day, if we do not work as a functional group then we will begin to lose members in a fight against a powerful youkai." Satoshi intervenes with his answer.
"Right, she is doing this as a just in case measure for if she were to fall to Bankostu's halberd. It would then be up to us to cut him down the instant she is to lose." Toshu predicts the reason behind Lady Kirara's plan.
"Not even Lord Sesshomaru has earned that level of respect from Lady Kirara that she showed to Bankostu during their duel." Hiroki realizes the differences between the two males,
"She even went so far as to evoke a seal that can only be remove if certain conditions are met. If I was Lord Sesshomaru, I would be a little envious of his position in my wife life." Satoshi honestly admits with a nod of his head.
"So you say…" Toshu utters as his eyes hone back in on their leader.
Meanwhile…
Bankostu releases a sneeze and rubs his index finger underneath his nostrils to ease the slight pain.
His sneeze prompts a quirk from one of his brothers, "Seems like you have become a hot topic recently."
"Shut up, Jakostu." He calmly snaps at his younger brother clad in a woman kimono with makeup cake on his face.
Jakostu's red lips stretches in to a wide smile when he comments, "After all, you did cause a riot at a rather beautiful wedding between two powerful youkais."
"What's he talking about big brother?" Suikotsu questions.
"It is none of your business." The raven hair man snaps with a slight roll of his eyes
"Big brother Bankostu…wanted to ruin a wedding between the daiyoukai Lord Sesshomaru and the neko youkai that caught his attention." Jakostu purposely alleges with the same smile present on his face.
"You mean that chick that can use kai as her power." Renkotsu finally deduces the identity of neko-youkai.
"That's the one!" He happily exclaims while he dramatically points at his brother.
Bankostu rolls his eyes at the display of immaturity from his brothers when he calmly retorts "I only wanted what was owned to me or this thing would not be on my skin."
"What's that?" One of his brothers grabs his hands and studies his older brother's hand only to see a seal.
"That is a strong seal that only a powerful youkai can evoke." Renkotsu determined after he examined the intricate design of the seal.
"He is simply smitten by this beautiful young maiden that he had planned to steal her away from her future husband." Jakostu alleges as he reaches inside of his obi and produces a fan.
He conceals the lower part of his face when he expresses his opinion, "Plus he desperately wants to pluck the lotus flower petals before the inu-youkai can place his grubby little paws on it."
"Big brother is what Jakostu saying is true?" Mukotsu inquired before he received a whack across the head.
"That wasn't my intended plan."
"All I want is my duel against her undisturbed unlike it was last time when that daiyoukai interrupted our battle." Bankostu calmly proclaims while he bites back vile at the mention of the inuyoukai.
'He doesn't realize that his drive for revenge merely fuels his passionate nature.' Jakostu mentally comments after he closely watches his older brother's reaction to the playful banter from his brothers.
He cuts his eyes away from Bankostu and focuses on the path in front of them. 'He already has fallen for her.'