Part 4

Naraku knew the raw power of Miroku's wind tunnel and he hadn't wished to get trapped inside the void for all eternity. But with the danger over now, he walked to the spot where Miroku and the others had vanished—all of them now trapped in the void.

He cursed to himself. He hadn't expected the wind tunnel to take then so fast.

Bankotsu, Jakotsu and Kohaku came and stand next to their keeper.

"Fan out!" Naraku gave them an order. "I must have all the jewel shards. With Inuyasha and his companions finally out of the way, there'll be no one to stand in my way of becoming ruler of this land and of all demon kind!"

Bankotsu, Jakotsu and Kohaku, spread out to search for the jewel shards. However, Naraku feared the worse.

Naraku hoped that the young girl from the future had accidentally dropped them or they landed someplace safe before she was sucked into the wind tunnel. But after several hours in searching for what seemed like a needle in a haystack, nothing. This angered Naraku, because he knew there was only one place that the jewel shards could be.

"Could the shards've been sucked into the void with them, Naraku?" Jakotsu asked.

"Obviously," Naraku said, trying to stay calm, but feeling an intense frustration. He had planned this out strategically, but no plan was foolproof. "We must get it back!"

"But how?" Bankotsu wondered. "Anything that enters the void is instantly destroyed."

"Not true," Naraku said. "We have until sunset to get the jewel shards back before being lost forever. And in order for that, I'll need Inuyasha's elder brother Sesshomaru to do it!"

Sesshomaru walked down a heavy, wore path, in a densely part of a forest. The area was filled with green foliage and wild animal demons. And as he walked, he felt tried, both emotionally and physically, but he didn't show it to the others.

Sesshomaru's two-headed horse carried Jaken and Rin on its back. He preferred to walk while the smaller two of his party preferred to ride his steed. A man of few but wise words, Sesshomaru was a tall demon with a cool demeanour, white hair, a thin frame, and a crescent moon mark across his forehead. He wore a white hakama with decorative accessories.

The accompaniment were not going anywhere in particular, just walking. Sesshomaru was a wandering soul without a true purpose at the moment.

Inuyasha had the Tetsusaiga, a powerful sword forged from a fang of their father, and Sesshomaru had the Tenseiga, also forged from another of his father's fangs. But the Tenseiga could not cut, kill or maim, which irked him. The Tenseiga's purpose was to heal, for all that did Sesshomaru. He desired power, and Inuyasha had the very sword in which he could get that power. But as he was full demon, and the Tetsusaiga could only be welded by a human, or half-human, he could neither use it nor touch it, having a barrier spell barrier protecting it.

The young human girl Rin Sesshomaru had picked up along his wanderings yawned as she sat on the horse with Jaken. She looked tired.

"Master Sesshomaru, where are we going?" Jaken, the minuet, green sorcerer, who served Sesshomaru obediently asked almost with a whine. "We've been travelling all day without rest. Like Rin, I, too, am tired. May we rest here for a little while?"

Sesshomaru turned to Jaken. "You haven't been walking," he said. "I'm not tired. However, I'll give my faithful pet the rest he deserves. There's water across the next ridge, I can smell it. We'll stop there, if your tried carbuncle backside can handle it?"

Jaken gulped. "Yes, my lord," the diminutive, green-skinned imp said.

They reached a small creek exactly where Sesshomaru said one would be, and as his faithful two-headed horse partook, he too indulged in a drink, from the crystal clear trickling waters, cupping a small amount in his hand, and bringing it to his mouth with his right hand. He lost his left arm was during a battle with Inuyasha and his sleeve hung lifelessly at his side.

Jaken and Rin also revelled in taking a drink, but they were not as elegant as Sesshomaru. They gulped the water. Rin even splashed in the creek having a little fun.

"Shame on you, Sesshomaru, for allowing yourself to become so vulnerable to an attack," a familiar voice said to him.

Jaken and Rin turned around. Jaken said, "Master Sesshomaru, it's—"

"I know, Jaken," Sesshomaru said calmly. He took another sip of water, and then shook his hand of wetness. "To what do I owe this visit, Naraku?" Without having to turn around.

"How did know it was me?" Naraku asked, standing a fews meter away from the waters edge in his fur baboon skin disguise elevated slightly by a small hill mound.

"Your scent is undeniable," Sesshomaru said, turning around. "Again I ask you Naraku, why are you here? We have no business. My dislike of you rivals that of my Inuyasha."

"I have no wish of your rivalry, Sesshomaru," Naraku said. "I haven't done anything to warrant such a deep hatred, especially from you."

"You had a part in my father's death," Sesshomaru said. "That is sufficient cause, amongst others. Despite his fondness for humans and my dislike for them, I didn't wish for his demise."

Naraku stood silent, and there was a pause between then as if allowing the matter to settle. "I've come to ask you for a favour, Sesshomaru," he said, changing the topic.

"I won't help you in any manner, Naraku," Sesshomaru said plainly.

"Would you like your flesh and blood arm back?" Naraku said.

"It's a trick, Master," Jaken said, coming to stand beside Sesshomaru. His fire staff at the ready. "Do not believe his words. He knows he can't restore a limb just like that."

"Stand off, Jaken," Sesshomaru said.

Naraku presented Sesshomaru's severed arm to him. It appeared out of nowhere in his hands, dangling without life. "You can have it back if you wish? The Tenseiga has the ability to heal. And with the power of a Shikon jewel shard, you'll never have to worry about losing it again. It will be yours forever. Why not use it on yourself?"

Sesshomaru said nothing. He sometimes felt his lost limb. He was full demon, but Inuyasha fought with their demon father's blood burning in his veins, Inuyasha a half-demon, and had cut it off during a heated encounter. From that day on, he told himself Inuyasha or any of his party was to be underestimated. It was a continued reminder to keep his emotions in check.

Narauku shrugged when no reply was forthcoming. Suddenly, the limb vanished within thin air. "Your choice," he said. "I doubt a person of your intelligence would wish to be indebted to me anyway. You're much too proud for such a thing."

Sesshomaru agreed mentally.

"On another subject, I found Tetsusaiga in a valley a few miles south of here. Inuyasha must've grown tired of it. I wanted to let you know."

Sesshomaru said nothing, why respond to a lie. What has Naraku done to Inuyasha now?

"There was an incident with Inuyasha and his cohorts. They were accidentally sucked into Miroku's wind tunnel and were swept into the void. The Shikon Jewel fragments they possessed were also pulled inside. With the Tenseiga, you can bring them back!"

Sesshomaru sighed. "Inuyasha chose his fate and I see no reason for me to interfere."

"What?" Naraku said shocked. "You would willingly sentence your brother and his friends to eternal damnation even though you have the power to bring them back? I misjudged you, Sesshomaru, you are a man of my own heart."

"Hate and what's best for this world are two different things."

Naraku growled. "You're a fool! I can't allow the Shikon Jewel shards to slip through my fingers. You have the power to return Inuyasha back to the living, and yet you won't?"

"Things are better off. You may be powerful, but without the Shikon Jewel, your power becomes inhibited, less formidable."

Suddenly Sesshomaru sensed a foreboding danger in the air. He smelled a distinct, but familiar odour, and a new presence had come to join Naraku. The smell was human.

Suddenly Sesshomaru was ensnared with a metal chain and the weapon attached. It wrapped around his shoulders, arm and waist, binding him. The length of chain extended from the branches of a near-by tree. The user of the chain hid in the darkness the foliage provided.

His smell was foiled to detect the human by Naraku somehow. Ambushed.

Sesshomaru had seen this weapon before, a chain-sickle. It belonged to Sango's little brother, Kohaku, who was under the spell of Naraku. Sesshomaru knew the history behind Kohaku, and to a certain extent was sympathetic. Kohaku could never return to the life he once knew, because if he ever managed to brake Naraku's spell, he would most surely die.

Naraku's "reborn" spell was the only thing keeping Kohaku alive! A piece of the Shikon Jewel imbedded into the boy's back.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I'll save you!" Jaken shouted, and pointed his staff towards the tree where the length of chain was coming from. He fired a blast of fire towards the oak tree, and set it ablaze. "I think I got him, Lord Sesshomaru!"

To be continued...