Disclaimers: ::checks mailbox:: Nope, still don't own them. Ah well, better luck next time. =)

Thanks to:

Dumdeedum, Ashleigh, shikome kido mi, Demonish Angel, Shiren, Crash, Tidus, Shanahia, Massao-na-Mizu, Tina, Mala Valvah, Kenneth, vegito044 and gatogirl.

I'm glad that you took time out to leave your thoughts and comments on the story. I hope to continue to live up to everyone's expectations and especially my own. =)

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Chapter 5: A Dark Hope Reborn

Far north of the Western Lands, a seated figure watched the same moon make its journey across the night sky. Unlike the youkai lord, he brooded upon the miko that once possessed the fabled Shikon no Tama. His quest to claim that very jewel had failed and resulted in it being consumed on the very pyre she had lain. And that frustrated had him greatly, for he needed that very jewel to ensure his greatest wish – to become the greatest youkai in the Four Lands.

This was because Naraku lived an uncertain existence as a tainted half-youkai. He had been created through his unholy and impure human desires to be consumed by the youkai themselves. It was largely his will to succeed that the man once known as Onigumo retained some aspects of his 'human' self. But as for how long, even he could not tell. Each day was a threat to succumb to the youkai demands within, and he couldn't afford losing himself – not on their terms, that is.

Something appeared out of the night; its form sharpening as it approached at a great speed. On closer inspection it seemed to be a boat that seated a petite figure. Naraku straightened and narrowed his eyes at the intruder. Just before it appeared to crash into the balcony, the feather boat shrank and the woman gracefully stepped onto floor. Smirking slightly, she replaced the now small feather into her hairpiece before turning to her lord and master.

"Missed me, my lord?" she asked, her smirk widening further.

"Not unless you make your absence worthwhile, Kagura," Naraku replied laconically.

"Ah, maybe I will receive a warm homecoming with the news I bring," Kagura replied cheekily.

Naraku eyed the youkai female before him. He was not overly fond of Kagura despite having been 'born' of him. She was too sly, too cunning and she kept him on his toes whenever she was around. It was no secret that Kagura herself held little love for her master, his only hold over her being his threat of killing her by destroying her heart. And until she held her heart in her own hands, she grudgingly carried out his orders, whatever they might be.

"Well? I have little interest in wasting the rest of the night waiting for your news," Naraku said coldly.

Kagura pouted a little in mock disappointment before relenting. She could only push the bastard so far before he punished her with his hold on her heart – literally. Leaning back slightly against the balcony rails, she quickly got her thoughts in order before speaking.

"It seems that the Lord of the Western Lands has found a human female by the ancient Bone-Eater's Well. Judging from the fact that he ran straight to her across most of the forest, I would say that she has more than a passing interest for him. What was even more intriguing was that not only did he save her from a snake youkai, he also brought her home."

Kagura watched the flicker of Naraku's thoughts as they crossed his face. What she had omitted to tell him was the strange power that she had felt with the human girl's startling appearance. No, Naraku did not need to know everything. Besides, he seems to have a sudden interest in the Sesshoumaru's new human companion. No doubt his twisted mind was coming up with all sorts of nasty plans to turn the tables on that troublesome youkai lord.

Sesshoumaru had only known of Naraku's presence when he had intruded into the Western Lands to search for the Shikon no Tama. Sesshoumaru had tolerated the Jewel's presence within his lands only because the miko Kikyo was powerful enough to handle the various foolish youkai that had tried to steal it, and so, chose to distance himself from the issue. But he was not so uninvolved as to interfere with Naraku's attempts to steal it.

Sesshoumaru had arrived too late to prevent Kikyo from receiving her mortal wound but had managed to drive Naraku off before he could seize the Jewel. To further add to the problem, the youkai lord made sure to have his presence felt at the funeral to ensure that he would not return to disrupt it. Naraku had blamed his problems on Sesshoumaru and even now, itched to get his revenge on that arrogant youkai. It did not help that Naraku himself received a serious injury from Kikyo he was still recovering from.

"Are you telling me that Sesshoumaru is consorting with a human female?" Naraku arched an eyebrow at the lounging Kagura.

"Yes. And quite pretty too. She seemed to be rather affectionate with the youkai as well," Kagura replied nonchalantly as she flicked open her fan.

She watched the man's thoughts flicker once more and inwardly smiled. She hoped that Naraku would do something stupid to rile the youkai lord and thus ensure his demise. Kagura had seen how easily Sesshoumaru appeared to take out his opponents and very few youkai ever wanted to provoke him on his territory. And of those foolish enough to try, none of them survived. If Naraku were to challenge Sesshoumaru, Kagura believed that she would soon be free of her manipulative master.

Looking off into the room's darkness, Naraku called for Kanna to present her all-seeing mirror. A pale shadow approached that took the form of a softly glowing girl. She held a mirror before her, it's clear surface reflecting nothing but whiteness. Standing before him, the mirror's surface began to clear and Naraku's eyes widened at the vision it presented. Kagura was forgotten as he took in Sesshoumaru's actions with regards to the human female.

"Kukukukuku!" came the delighted chortle as he leant back. He couldn't see the girl too well but judging from the youkai lord's very close contact with her, she must be more than pretty. Sesshoumaru was after all, a very particular individual. Kagura watched Naraku's delight and once more smirked inwardly. How fortunate that they had witnessed such an intimate moment between the youkai lord and his human companion. Deep inside, Kagura silently voiced the thought that gave her strength.

'I hope you take the bait, Naraku. I can't wait to see Sesshoumaru rip your foul hide to shreds!'

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Within the forests of the Western Lands

A flickering campfire revealed the solitary figure hunched by it contemplating the flames that licked at the wood. Despite the relative warmth of the night, he kept the cloak snug about his shoulders. His left hand was idly rubbing the gloved right as he continued to stare within the flames. The sudden sharp crackling of the wood roused him sufficiently to add a couple more logs to the fire. The flames rose higher and he settled back down with a sigh.

'So close…'

Miroku couldn't believe the earlier energy he had felt as he was walking towards the village of the late miko Kikyo. He had hoped to find a cure for his cursed right hand at the village but it had been futile. It seemed that the only way to truly avoid his dreaded fate was to kill the one who had cursed him. Miroku felt like a coward at times, trying to put aside the fact that he had no choice but to defeat the dreaded hanyou. Also, it didn't help matters in that he had no idea where the bastard was hiding.

His thoughts now returned to that of the strange power he had felt while approaching the village. The village's resident miko Kaede had also sensed its potent aura and they had immediately made their way towards the Bone-Eater's Well. But by the time they arrived, there was only the carcass of a dead snake youkai. The energy had already faded and there were hardly any clues to follow. Agreeing with Kaede that such power needed to be tracked had resulted in him currently seating in the middle of a forest with only his thoughts for company.

Miroku had sensed the faint trace of a powerful youkai and kept his wits about him. However, it had abruptly disappeared and left the man stranded. Reaching beside him, he shifted his staff of office so that it would be within easy reach if he was attacked in the middle of the night. However, the forest was calm and soft night noises reflected the serenity. And on some instinctual level, Miroku believed that it would be due to the lingering aura of the earlier youkai. And there was only one youkai within the Western Lands that left such a clear imprint – Sesshoumaru.

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Across the forest where Miroku was relaxing for the night, another camper fed more wood to the fire. Curled beside it, a small two-tailed cat youkai yawned before snuggling down to sleep by her human companion. Unlike Miroku, this one was female and she glanced at her youkai companion before lying down beside the softly purring cat. Her head was resting on top a curled arm and she stared into the flames that danced and licked at the wood. Her thoughts, however, were not pleasant.

Despite appearances, Sango was a very strong-willed woman who knew what she wanted. And what she wanted was to find her missing younger brother Kohaku and seek revenge for the massacre of her village. Sango was still struggling to understand why they had been attacked. She knew that most youkai very rarely hunt in packs and the attack on her village appeared too well co-ordinated to be a random youkai killing spree. Besides, the people in her village were more than adequately trained to fight off attacking youkai.

But the thought that hurt her most was the fact that she hadn't been home that night of the attack. She had been at a distant village taking care of a small youkai infestation. Kohaku had wanted to come and that memory sent another sharp stab into her heart. Sango remembered telling him to continue his practice and the boy had grudgingly agreed. After that, all she came home to was a mass grave.

She had buried each body when she realised that Kohaku's was missing. Her mind puzzled over this but it had stirred a hope that perhaps he may have escaped. Together with Kirara the cat youkai, they had combed the entire area several times over but to no avail. She could find no trace of her brother. Despite this, Sango vowed to continue her search for her brother as well as the perpetrators of the slaughter of her village. And so for the past two months, she had continued with her quest.

As she continued to lie there, her thoughts began to wander towards what she had seen earlier that evening. She had been walking through the forest searching for firewood when Kirara had voiced a low growl. Dropping the wood, she had unhitched Hiraikotsu in preparation of a possible attack. It was then that she had glanced up to witness an unusual sight. It appeared to be a silver-haired man dressed in a white kimono standing before a large pack animal. They were flying westwards and Sango marvelled at their mode of transport.

However, the interesting thing about the small company was of a girl who was crouched at the feet of the tall youkai. A smaller toad-like creature was standing by the pack beast attempting to imitate the regal stance of the youkai in front. It was strangely amusing. However, Sango had to suppress the urge to help the girl as she knew that to do so would only ensure her death. She wasn't stupid enough to face off against the Lord of the Western Lands – she had a quest to fulfil.

As the calm of the forest began to lull her to sleep, Sango couldn't help wondering about the dark-haired girl seated at the youkai lord's feet. As far as she knew, he barely tolerated humans and would sooner rip of her head as look at her. Apparently, that girl had something in her favour and Sango truly hoped for her sake that it wasn't what she thought it might be. Youkai were generally deadly in their treatment of humans and only the taiyoukai tolerated them sufficiently to prevent an extinction of the human race.

But there were exceptions to the rule and Sango wondered if after all this time, Sesshoumaru had mellowed enough to accept the presence of humans near him. She snorted at the silly thought before quietening as Kirara stirred restlessly for a moment. Sighing, Sango forced the unsettling thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on what was important at this point in time. A couple of minutes later, soft snores joined that of her partner as the moon continued its vigilance from the heavens.

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Author's Notes:

A slightly difficult piece to write as I didn't want to repeat too much history. I did modify them for the purposes of this story and things are going to pick up within the next couple of chapters. I think I skimped on the chapter's presentation. It's not as good as I hoped it would but then again, it's the best I can do. I like writing more on Sess and Kag's interaction and action than I do on overall plot. Bad girl… If I'd wanted to do that, I should just write one-shots. *lol* I'm also still working on how to present the overall Sess/Kag thing without embarrassing myself too much. As much as I love our titular hanyou, I'm an ardent devotee of Sess/Kag fics.

I hope that you would leave your comments regarding this fic. I'm always interested to know what people think of my work and how I can improve it. It is also a very good motivator to press on and not let the story die off. I'm always very worried that such a thing would happen and have the evidence to prove it. So please save me from the black hole of writer's block and laziness by motivating me to continue. Ja mata ne!