Disclaimer: I don't own Kagura, Sesshoumaru and the rest of the Inuyasha characters mentioned here. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi. But I do own Kagura's new identity.

It was early in the morning, as grayish clouds loomed over Naraku's dismal fortress. Naraku was in his usual sitting place by the window, surveying the empty grounds of his mansion. A white figure emerged from the doorway and slowly approached Naraku. It was a girl, with blank dark eyes and was always carrying a strange mirror with her. She walked into the room with silent, weightless steps and asked Naraku.

"How long do you intend on keep this charade up?" Kanna, the girl, asked. Naraku stood up and spoke to Kanna in a sly, malevolent voice.

"Patience, my dear, patience." Naraku said poisonously. "Our little friend still thinks we don't know she's alive." Kanna said nothing, as Naraku looked into her mirror. An image of a sleeping Koeshi appeared in the glass. Naraku's devious smile grew wider. "Quite a fool, really. Has she forgotten that I, Naraku, know all of what she has been doing?"

Kanna remained silent, as Naraku started to monologue. "It is just amusing to watch her indulge herself in her own illusions. She thinks she can destroy me…and that thought is just fun to watch go down in pieces."

"…So, what do you plan to do?" Kanna asked in a toneless voice.

"I will wait until the time is ripe." Naraku answered. "She has grown soft from her travels; has taken fondness for certain people…" The image of Koeshi in the mirror changed into a picture of Yosaku and Chiba playing. "And when those feelings are in their strongest point…that is when I will begin." Naraku laughed menacingly to his self, as the image reverted back into a picture of Koeshi.

"And when she falls into my trap, her existence…" Naraku said, finishing his monologue. "Shall be nothing more than a mere memory." The image in the mirror then immediately disintegrated, leaving Naraku's reflection in the empty glass.

"What suits you…" Kanna said dully, turning her back and exited the room.
-o-o-o-o-

Meanwhile, in the Field of Ignorance…

"Ninjaaaaa-girrrrrrl!" Rin's shrill voice pierced through Koeshi's ears, giving the ninja quite a shock. Koeshi scrambled from the ground and drew her katana for an attack. "Aaah! I was just gonna give you your breakfast!" Rin immediately blurted out, presenting Koeshi two handfuls on berries in her hands.

"Wh-what? Oh! Sorry, kid! You just gave me quite a start there!" Koeshi huffed, sliding the sword back in its case. Koeshi looked around and realized that she was the last one to wake up. Rin was there beside her, continuously explaining that she didn't mean to startle her and Jaken was over by Sesshoumaru- babbling on about how useless it is to take Koeshi in.

"This is so embarrassing." Koeshi muttered out of closed lips. "I'm the last one to wake up!" She then felt a small fist nudging her side.

"Hey…are you gonna eat these or not?" Rin asked her, still holding the berries in both of her hands. Koeshi accepted the small fruits and hesitated to eat them for a while. It was because Rin was watching her, not even a single thought of leaving running through the child's mind.

"Um…can I just eat them later? I'm not hungry…" But then, she felt the same hot, boiling sensation in her stomach from last night. Her stomach grumbled lightly, asking for sustenance. But she kept on covering it up with excuses. "I…I don't eat those kinds of stuff."

"But you said you ate nothing but berries!" Rin's remark nailed Koeshi stuck. The ninja must've forgotten that she told Rin about her eating berries only last night. Koeshi had no choice but to eat the berries, both for the sake of her starving stomach and to escape Rin's pin on her.

"O-Ok." Koeshi stuttered, getting a berry from her palm. She stretched her mask outwards…and dropped the berry inside and ate it from there. She ate the fruit without blowing her disguise. A little spark of relief ran through Koeshi's mind as she chewed the berry from underneath her mask. Rin stared at her as if she grew another head.

"…You are weird, Ninja-girl." Rin said shortly. Jaken's voice could be heard from their place. He was arguing with Sesshoumaru about taking Koeshi in.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! For all we know, that ninja might be another sketchy character!" Jaken screeched. "She might sneak up on you one night and stab you in your slee-WAAAAAHHHH!" Just then, a bright light flashed and Jaken's strident scream was heard. Sesshoumaru has hit him with Toukijin and seemed to find it amusing.

"Jaken-san talks too much," Rin said, looking at a burnt Jaken on the ground. "That's why Sesshoumaru-sama always hurts him."

"He does seem pretty… garrulous." Koeshi responded, somehow agreeing with Rin. Just then, a random thought about Rin popped into Koeshi's mind. "…Say, Rin…how exactly did you end up joining Sesshoumaru?"

"Me? I found him wounded in a clearing a long time ago." Rin began. "He lost much of his energy…so he can't move. I brought him food now and then…he seemed really mean, so I was scared." Koeshi listened on.

"He seemed really scary…but when that fateful day when I was attacked by wild wolves…he saved me with Tensaiga." Rin said, finishing up. "And because of that, I am forever in his debt."

"Oh…interesting story." Said Koeshi. "I never realized Sesshoumaru was this compassionate to humans. I thought he despised them."

"He does…even his own brother…" Rin responded. "His half-brother, Inuyasha…is a hanyou. Half-demon, half-human. Sesshoumaru despises him because of his mortal blood."

"Right." Koeshi answered. "You're a very lucky one. It's like you're his daughter at times…"

"…Well…I do somehow feel like he is my father." Rin said, eyes hitting the ground. "He makes me feel safe. How about you? What do you think of Sesshoumaru-sama?" Koeshi wasn't able to respond immediately. She wanted to say, "Sesshoumaru is the perfect man!" or "He is the one for me!" But that'll be awkward, not to mention rude, considering that she met him for the "first time":-)

"He is…" Koeshi then remembered those nostalgic moments with Sesshoumaru. "Nice."

"Yeah…he does have his good side, even though he looks pretty uncaring sometimes." Rin affirmed, now eating off the berries in Koeshi's palm. "But enough about my stories! Tell me what it's like being a ninja!" Koeshi knew she had to scrape stories out of thin air, but she still gladly did it. Koeshi had a fun time with Rin- sharing stories and playing in the grass, and didn't notice how the hours flew by.
-o-o-o-o-

Dusk came quickly, as the field was rapidly shrouded in darkness. Rin was eating her dinner of grilled fish and was near the bonfire to keep warm. Jaken was also by the fire, pestering Rin about sharing her food because he was hungry.

"But I thought you didn't eat human food!" Rin said wittily, eyes half-lidded in mischief.

"Forget about what I said!" Jaken squawked. But Rin continued eating and somehow was amused at how Jaken was begging her like an urchin.

"You did say you didn't eat human food! So stick up to it!" Koeshi taunted Jaken.

"Stay out of this, idiot ninja!" Jaken retorted angrily. Koeshi on the other hand, ignored this and found her wanted meal in the form of…what else? Berries! She ate them in the same manner she did while Rin was watching her. She stretched her mask outwards, dropped the berry and ate it from there. She knew she's not going to be satisfied with only berries (especially because they were very tart!), but at least she was eating something to help ease her hunger. She caught a glance of Sesshoumaru by a tree, as usual, being his uncommunicative self. At one point, Koeshi felt sorry for Sesshoumaru, for his unfortunate trait of being detached, even from his dearest comrades. There they were, the three of them: Rin, Jaken and herself, talking with one another, while anti-social Sesshoumaru stayed in one corner, not wanting to be disturbed. Koeshi looked at him intently. Just then, Sesshoumaru somehow sensed someone watching him and turned his head. His golden eyes met with Koeshi's ruby ones, but the female ninja quickly changed her stare's direction and pretended that nothing happened.

o-o-o-o-

The night grew deeper, as Rin and Jaken were both asleep, and Koeshi and Sesshoumaru were still awake. The moon was in its brilliant grandeur once again, as it illuminated the one spot Koeshi looked forward to seeing every night. She sat at her favorite spot by the glistening river and watched as the crystalline water cascaded down the river trail. A sound of light footsteps crackled among the twigs and a familiar voice played through her ears.

"Back here again?" Sesshoumaru asked, sitting down beside Koeshi again.

"You are as well." She joked, now looking at the person she's speaking to.

"What happened today?" Sesshoumaru inquired.

"Rin told me everything you did for her." Koeshi smiled under her mask. "Seems that you have a soft side for humans, too-" Koeshi then clamped her hand over her mouth, and apologized to Sesshoumaru about her being casual.

"Rin…a sort of instinct to protect took over me when she was attacked by wolves." He said. "Sometimes, it's like she is an offspring of mine." Sesshoumaru then did something that Koeshi didn't expect. The unemotional youkai lord chuckled softly to himself.

"You can laugh?" Koeshi asked teasingly.

"Well, I do have a heart." Sesshoumaru said. Koeshi then fell a little sad and put her hand above her chest, where her heart was supposed to be. A heart, huh? "Speaking of a heart…I doubt Naraku's heart is still in the same place it was…"

"…Wh-Where?" Koeshi stammered a bit, since she knew where the heart was last located. When Koeshi was still Kagura, she used the help of a youki stone to locate the place where Naraku's heart is. The stone led her to a temple guarded by a caretaker named Goryoumaru, and was unsuccessful in destroying it.

"A temple." Sesshoumaru answered, looking into the clear water. "The heart must now be within Naraku, since someone got so close to destroying it."

"Really? Who?" Koeshi played dumb. She was obviously only waiting for Sesshoumaru to mention her other name.

"A woman." Sesshoumaru tersely said, leading to Koeshi's secreted disappointment. "But she got blasted by the caretaker at the temple and after that, suffered a terrible fate from Naraku."

"So…he cannot take anymore risky chances, so he put his heart back in his body?" Koeshi asked.

"Exactly. This is just a theory, but the last thing people would think of the heart's location is actually inside Naraku." Sesshoumaru explained, meeting eyes with Koeshi. "People would expect the heart to be someplace else, since Naraku wants to ensure his safety."

"I get it…" Koeshi said brightly. "So, when do we strike?"

"As soon as possible. I don't want that insect to walk the earth any longer." Sesshoumaru muttered, but his feeling was fierce. Koeshi looked at him and asked,

"…Was Naraku the one who killed your friend?"

"It's as obvious as it gets." Sesshoumaru coldly replied. "But why should you care? You have your problems, I have mine. And maybe it's just a coincidence that our problems were caused by the same person. Might as well deal with him to resolve them."

"Yeah…I guess." Koeshi murmured sadly. Suddenly, Sesshoumaru and Koeshi felt a strange aura veiling the surroundings. "I feel something weird."

"I feel it too." Sesshoumaru replied, looking up into the sky. The stars that were there one moment ago were now gone, and all that was left was one vast blanket of darkness. "And I smell something putrid as well. I smell Naraku." Koeshi panicked a bit and checked if she still has the amulet on. It was still there. Phew! She thought. Naraku must then be somewhere near.

"Where? Where's the bastard?" Koeshi asked him, drawing her katana and strengthened her guard. The two of them then saw a very large army of demons and goblins, flying in the sky like huge dark cloud.

"…It seems they are headed to the northeast." Sesshoumaru theorized, basing by the direction of the wind the demons were leaving behind. "Any town up there are going to be passed by the demons…and I'll doubt they'll just fly by there."

"Wait! Did you say the northeast?" Koeshi abruptly asked. Sesshoumaru nodded. Rindoh village is over there! Yosaku and Chiba might get caught up in danger! "Oh no! We have to get there, fast!"

"Why? What's over there?" Sesshoumaru queried.

"No time to talk! Let's just say I can't lose more people who are dear to me!" Said Koeshi to Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru's eyebrows knit together and the two of them went back to the camp to take Rin and Jaken and be on their way to Rindoh village before everything is thrown in grave chaos!