Disclaimer:I do not own Inuyasha. I do own Sakura, Suzuran, Hokiboshi, and Oshika.

Kiniro Sakura

Chapter Ten: An Old Friend

Sakura awoke two hours later to a throbbing pain in her forehead. She slowly sat up and realized that she was in a very comfortable bed. She frowned as she recalled the past events. I remember fighting Naraku when Sesshoumaru stepped into the battle. I asked him what he was doing and he said that I was injured or something like that. Then he almost defeated Naraku but he got away. Then Sesshoumaru turned to me and that's when I felt the true extent of my injuries. I gasped and blacked-out. That's all I can remember.

"What happened? Where am I?" She asked aloud, clearly not expecting someone to answer her. She jumped when someone spoke.

"Sesshoumaru-sama brought you and Rin back to heal." A small voice said. Sakura looked to her right and saw the girl, Rin, sitting in a large chair. Sakura smiled but then the realization of Sesshoumaru bringing her here struck her.

"Wait a minute, you mean Sesshoumaru saved me?" She asked Rin whom only nodded. At that moment Sesshoumaru's servant Jaken entered the room. He scowled at the two females. Sakura just rolled her eyes while waddled over to her bed.

"Get up! Lord Sesshoumaru wants to speak to you. And you!" He pointed at Rin with his staff.

"What are you doing in here, human?" He asked angrily. Sakura bopped him on the head with his staff.

"She can be in here if she wants!" She growled as she kicked him out of the room. She smiled and rubbed her hands together. Rin giggled.

"Rin glad that you kicked ugly toad Jaken out of room." She said between giggles. Sakura's smile got wider. Then she walked over to the wardrobe in the bedroom and pulled it open.

"Well Rin, what do you think I should wear?" Sakura asked as she and Rin gazed at the wide array of Kimonos. Rin bit her lip and thought really hard while looking at the Kimonos. Finally she smiled and pointed. Sakura looked where she was pointing and her jaw almost dropped. She nodded dumbly and put it on. She looked in a mirror and gasped. She was wearing a white Kimono with a blue dragon on the back of it while light pink Sakura flowers adorned the bottom right of the front. White slipper-like shoes were on her feet and her hair was twisted up with two chopsticks holding it together. She admitted it: she was drop-dead gorgeous. Rin giggled when she saw Sakura's face. Sakura turned to her and smiled. She held out her arm and pointed to the door.

"Shall we go?" Rin nodded and held on to her arm. The two of them walked out of the door giggling slightly. As they passed different rooms, Sakura got a sense of where everything was. Wow, this place is almost as big as my old home. She thought with a hint of sadness. Any servant that saw them gasped at Sakura's beauty. When walking down one hall, an elderly Inu-Youkai stopped them with a knowing smile.

"It has been very long, Lady Sakura." He said. Sakura almost fainted on the spot. Rin looked between the two adults, confused. Sakura straightened up and glared at the servant.

"How do you know my name?" She asked with a small hint of bitterness. The Inu-Youkai just laughed. Sakura silently fumed.

"I'm not that surprised that you don't remember me, Lady Sakura!" He said as he stopped laughing. Sakura frowned and thought for a moment before a look of astonishment came across her face.

"Oshika?" She asked tentatively. Oshika smiled.

"Yes. It is me." He said calmly. Sakura smiled her brightest smile yet with tears in her eyes as she hugged Oshika. She let go and wiped away her tears.

"But I thought you died. How did you survive?" She asked. A sad look came over Oshika's face.

"Well, it is a long story but to make things short I was out of the lands at the time and I didn't hear of the massacre until you had started stealing. I traveled to the Western Lands and took on a job serving my old friend, Lord Taisho. I was here when Sesshoumaru was born, when his mother died and Taisho took on a human mate, when Inuyasha was born, when Sesshoumaru became Lord. I stayed here because Sesshoumaru trusted me and to keep watch on you, milady." He finished. Sakura looked just as confused as Rin.

"What do you mean, 'keep watch over me'?" She asked.

"I hear of everything that happens in these lands, as I am Sesshoumaru's advisor. When you became a thief, you were in the Western Lands. That is how I could watch over you. But when you left I could only believe rumors about you and Suzuran." He explained. Sakura nodded in understanding. Suddenly Jaken came scurrying up.

"What are you doing talking to the servants, girl!? You are supposed to meet Lord Sesshoumaru!" Jaken squawked. Sakura bared her fangs at him while Oshika chuckled.

"I will talk to you some more later, Lady Sakura. Ja ne!" He waved as he went back to whatever he was doing before he stopped Sakura and Rin. Sakura only glanced at him before proceeding to bash Jaken into the ground. Rin and a few other servants just stared at the scene.

~Ten Minutes Later~
Sakura was now standing in front of a large door with a huge white dog on it's front. She ran her hand over the picture. How come this looks familiar? She wondered. Suddenly the door opened and she yelped as she jumped back. Sesshoumaru stood there with his eyes narrowed. Sakura gulped and stared at him. They stayed that way for a few seconds before Sesshoumaru spoke.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked coldly. Sakura was very surprised that he hadn't killed her yet but was even more surprised that he was asking her if she was feeling better. She nodded. Sesshoumaru looked satisfied with her answer and closed the door behind him. Sakura looked at him questioningly. Sesshoumaru started walking away and Sakura hurried to catch up.

"Where are we going?" She asked after having following him for five minutes. Sesshoumaru glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"We are going to dinner." Was all he said. Sakura just shrugged. Whatever. She thought. They soon arrived in the dining room where Rin and Oshika were seated. Sakura looked mildly surprised that Sesshoumaru would let one of his servants dine with him but guessed it was because Oshika was so important. She followed Sesshoumaru in and waited to be told where to sit. Sesshoumaru sat at the head of the table and nodded to Oshika. Oshika smiled and walked over to Sakura. He bowed once and then led her over to Sesshoumaru's left, next to Rin. After she was seated Oshika took his place to the right of Sesshoumaru. Soon plates full of food were in front of them. Sakura's stomach growled and she realized just how hungry she was. She grabbed some chopsticks and quickly started to eat. She then saw that she was the only one eating and looked up from her plate. Rin was quietly giggling while Sesshoumaru had an...amused... look on his face. Oshika looked like he was having trouble not laughing and coughed to cover it up. Sakura scowled at Oshika, which was noticed by Sesshoumaru. He looked at them both for a second before he began eating himself. Rin and Oshika followed his example and ate the food in front of them. Sakura silently fumed at Oshika before she continued eating.

~After Dinner~
After she had eaten, Sakura was lead to an indoor hotspring and told to bathe. She willingly complied and cleaned herself. After she was done, a servant led her to the room that Sesshoumaru had 'assigned' her. She flopped onto the bed and quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.

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I thought this chapter was pretty good. Please review! Animechick8