Disclaimer: Dearest readers...I do not own it.


Sesshoumaru frowned in distaste as a familiar scent reached him. He caught a flicker of movement in the corner of this eye, prompting him to stand. A snake, barely visible in the shadows hissed, then silently shifted into the form of a human being. Two more snake creatures joined the youkai, however, they remained in snake form. The head youkai bowed.

"Lord Sesshoumaru-sama."

Sesshoumaru regarded the dark haired, amethyst-eyed demon. Hebi youkai—snake demons, used to rule the northern lands, but having displeased Inutasio, Sesshoumaru's father, were removed of their duties as rulers. The entire royal snake family and their vassals had then been condemned to work for the royal dog family. These three snake youkai were brothers, mastering in the art of concealing themselves and were, respectively, very clever and sly. They were perfect spies, and despite the war that had taken place between the dogs and the snakes, were loyal.

"Zuru. I assume you have brought me information?" Sesshoumaru replied to the oldest brother.

Zuru smirked. "You are fortunate, Sesshoumaru-sama. We have discovered Naraku not far from here, only a day of travel away."

At this time the inu-youkai frowned. Naraku must know that the girl was in his care, so why remain in his western territory? It could only be assumed that Naraku was formulating another plan based on the situation.

"Lord Sesshoumaru?" The snake fingered his long dark hair, slowly running his hands through it. If there was one thing Sesshoumaru hated about hebi-youkai, it was their vanity. They had always prided themselves on their good looks, and in Sesshoumaru's opinion, spent too much time brooding over it. One of the other snakes shape shifted so that he took his human form, and stood next to his brother. He tossed his wavy green hair as his lips twisted into a grin. "Lord Sesshoumaru, if I may remark, the smell of a human lingers on you."

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama. I have noticed as well." The third snake had materialized into a human. He was the boldest of the three, as well as the youngest, and like his brothers, prided himself on his good looks. "Have you finally developed a taste..." he paused for effect, tossing his dark blue hair, grey eyes glinting silver. "...for humans?"

"Zuru, Gashi, Koi." Sesshoumaru's voice was icy. "Unless you have any more information for me, you are dismissed."

"Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru, we didn't mean to pry," the oldest said, slinking back into the shadows as his snake form. The other two bowed and followed suit.

Sesshoumaru came close to a sigh, thinking about how much he disliked snakes.


Souta struggled to get up, his eyes and body heavy. His hand drifted to his head, searching for any bumps from falling unconscious. Fingers lingering on a bruise on his forehead, he surveyed the room.

"KYAAA!" He yelled as he discovered the pale girl directly behind him, black eyes boring a hole in his head. He scrambled backwards until his back was met with a wall.

There was an unfriendly silence for a moment as they stared at each other, Souta's heart pounding. He suddenly felt he needed to break the silence. "Are—Are you a prisoner as well? My last guard said he was, but I don't think he was working perfectly in the brain, you know."

The girl's body turned and Souta, panicking, shielded his eyes. "Please don't knock me out again. I promise I wont try to escape or anything!" He said, eyes squeezed shut behind his arms.

"Yes. I am a prisoner of Naraku, like Kagura, Kohaku, and yourself." Her voice was barely audible, and Souta had to struggle to hear her.

"Can I open my eyes yet?" Souta asked. Receiving no response, he cracked one eye open, then the other. Her eyes continued to watch him.

"Well?"

Her head inclined slightly, eyes never straying. It was all she needed to do to question his words.

"Are you going to knock me out with that thing?"

"Not unless you wish me to." She said softly.

"No no! I mean—Its okay." Souta said shaking his hands.


Kagome removed her white sleep yukata, absently smoothing out the wrinkles as she folded it. She was mulling through her brain, thinking about what Sesshoumaru said to her about an object Naraku possessed connecting her and her brother. Then it struck her. It was completely obvious. Her brush. Hadn't she left it in the feudal era? But how could Naraku possible know who Souta was? She sifted though the various kimonos that had been transferred from the former room of Sesshoumaru's mother to her own wardrobe, slowly pulling out a beige colored one decorated with olive green ivy and maroon accents. It would be perfect for traveling, once they found out where Naraku was. It was of a tougher fabric than the daytime kimonos. Kagome set it aside for the moment, settling for white and blue kimono with pink accents. Kagome was surprised when she looked in the mirror. When had she gotten so...mature? Perhaps the lighting and the coloring of the kimono were playing tricks on her, but she actually looked pretty?

Or it could be because her looks were always second to Kikyou's when she was with Inuyasha.

Kagome brushed her hair ferociously with her fingers, discarding the thought as quickly as it had come to her. Sliding open the door, she had every intention to go find Sesshoumaru and tell him about the brush, but she stalled at the doorway. There she spotted a rather handsome demon coming her way. She reminded herself not to gape as she stared at the form, flowing blue hair pulled into a low ponytail, and eyes that, when caught in the right light, glowed silver. A demon, her instincts told her.

"Greetings." He said. "May I ask of your name?"

"My name...Is Kagome."

"Ah. Kagome. My name is Koi. Pleased to meet you."

Kagome blushed when he smiled at her. "Is there something I can help you with?" She said, smiling back. He took a step towards her, resting his hand on the door frame. Her smile faltered as he advanced again, causing her to take a step back. He slid the door shut behind him, and she suddenly began to question his intentions. A moment later and she realized that her back was against solid wall.

"You, girl, are pretty, but you are a human. Weak. So why has Sesshoumaru developed a taste for you?" He traced her jaw slowly. Kagome narrowed her eyes. She'd had just about enough of this.

"Just exactly what do you mean by 'taste'?" she spat.

"You aren't trying to deny that you aren't sexually involved with him?" He began to close in or her. Kagome's eyebrow twitched as her right hand balled into a fist. She silently urged her power into it and punched him. She was no boxer, but the extra boost of miko energy sent him flying across the room. She stalked out of the room, muttering "pervert" as she passed. Fuming, she walked down the hallway, not really sure where she was going. Where did he get that idea from? And who the hell was he?

"Kagome-chan looks very pretty." A sweet voice sounded from a nearby doorway.

"Hello Rin!" Kagome said, dropping her anger for a moment.

The small girl smiled, then seemed to remember something. "Oh! Rin has a message for Kagome-chan!" She exclaimed, becoming serious. "Sesshoumaru-sama requests a meeting with Kagome-chan. Sesshoumaru-sama sent Rin to get Kagome-chan!"

"Thanks a lot, Rin. I was just looking for him anyway. Will you take me to Sesshoumaru?"

"Hai, Kagome-chan!"

Kagome was then led by the small girl through several hallways that she was unfamiliar with, until they reached a set of engraved double doors.

"Rin is not allowed in this room," the child said solemnly, "for it is where Sesshoumaru-sama meets with other youkai. Sesshoumaru-sama says some youkai are dangerous."

Kagome gulped. Other youkai? She suddenly wished she had brushed her hair with more care or taken a few extra minutes to look presentable. Her only condolence was the fine white and blue kimono that brought out the blue in her eyes and the pink in her lips. She ran her hand over it quickly before opening one of the doors.

Sesshoumaru greeted her with a glare while two other demons eyed her curiously. Kagome's eyes drifted from one: tall silky black hair and purple eyes, to the other: slightly shorter green wavy hair and blood red eyes. Obviously demons, she noted. Kagome meekly walked across the room to stand next to Sesshoumaru, who looked down at her for a moment before saying sharply to the two demons. "Where is the other?"

"He went off on his own for some time. He has not returned yet. Forgive him, Lord Sesshoumaru-sama."

"He is late?" Sesshoumaru said, his voice slightly incredulous.

"It is not likely that he would be late, with all due respect. He is normally punctual. We suspect he has gotten himself into a little trouble," the oldest said.

"Our brother, well, Koi is very bold, and—"

"Koi?" Kagome interrupted.

Sesshoumaru glanced down at her. "You speak as though you're familiar."

Kagome looked up at him, hands fisted. "Yes I do. He was hitting on me and getting a little too familiar, so I punched him." She crossed her arms.

"You? A mere human?" One of the brothers snapped.

"Yes. And he deserved it too! He said—"Kagome glanced at Sesshoumaru, suddenly turning a shade redder. "He said that...you—Well, It's not important right now. He'll be fine though, I could hear him walk away after I left."

"Lord Sesshoumaru," one of the brothers said purposefully to the inu-youkai, "do you wish for me to put this human woman in her place?"

"That is not necessary, Gashi." Sesshoumaru waved him off with his hand. "Koi will be fine, as she said. I brought her here to share the information about Naraku."

"You mean they're the spies?" Kagome asked, pointing.

Sesshoumaru glared at her, and she was silent, resting her eyes once again on the forms of the two youkai, who were in turn glaring at her as well.

Sesshoumaru turned his gaze to the brothers as well. "We will continue without Koi."

"Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru. We noted, upon our arrival at Naraku's temporary fortress that he has a prisoner with him, along with a wind demoness, an undead human boy, and a mirror demon. Observing the surroundings, we have noted no other form of life within a radius of one mile around his fortress, which includes woodland creatures and other demons. There is, however, a human that is camped out in a cave near Naraku's fortress. We know not if this is coincidence, but we did detect a dark power in him."

"It is no coincidence," Sesshoumaru cut in sharply. "Thank you, Zuru and Gashi, I will not be needing you any longer, unless you have more information. Please find your brother and return to your own home." For some reason, it sounded a lot more like an order than a simple request to Kagome. The two youkai bowed and shifted into their demon-snake form, slipping into the shadows. Sesshoumaru continued to look in their direction for a moment before turning to face Kagome.

"You 'punched' a full demon?" He asked her.

Kagome couldn't make out the look on his face. Was it disgust or...amusement?

"I added some magic." She said quietly. "But he was saying that you—"she pointed for effect, "and I were..." She moved her finger between the two of them, hoping he would understand. He just looked at her quizzically. Kagome sighed. "He thought I was some type of prostitute."

Sesshoumaru watched her for a moment before turning away. A small smile played on his face, something she couldn't see. "We shall leave then." He said. "Today. For Naraku's castle."

"Uh...Wait!" Kagome said. "I figured out the medium that Naraku used to get Souta and I into the feudal era."

"Such a thing is not important now," he glanced at her. "Hurry and prepare."

Kagome glared at the back of his head, thinking as many swearwords as she could in his direction. She watched him leave and, feeling stupid, followed him out.


A.N. Not a big fan of O Characters, so please forgive the hebi-youkai!