Torie-san: Wow…been a long time…as always. Since….October…of last year. O.o Holy crap. Okay yeah that is a LONG time…Um, well, before ya'll (yeah I'm Southern…get over it) get too mad at me, Review Response time!

Devlinn Reiko-sama: Glad someone likes it Again, not very "soon"…but I hope you'll be happy with this.

Sorairo Ryuu: How have I lost it…?

Heart of the Wizard: YAY! I have another reviewer to add the already existing, miniscule list. I'm updating. Calm yourself.

Oh, a little note about the whole Kirara/Kilala thing…I had a past reviewer who told me that it was "Kilala not Kirara". And she was right. It IS Kilala, but if you write it like that, it's like saying the name with an "r". That's because l's are r's in Japan, and vice versa. Thus, to make our favorite neko youkai's name correct, it will be written as "Kirara". Thank you. Also you will see me using Tessaiga instead of Tetsusaiga from now on, once I get in the habit. So anyway, onward!

The Darkness Before the Dawn

Chapter Five: "Follow Me— Find What You Seek"

Sesshomaru stood fully, the extra bandage Sango and Kagome hadn't had time to bind around his wounds unraveling and falling to the ground. Silver locks swung over the partially exposed, still-bleeding gashes in his back as he began to walk forward, the kimono top forgotten on the ground beside where he had been lying. The Lord of the West was completely zoned out from the world. And, once more, he could hear a voice in his head. This time, though, it wasn't a genderless monotone-- it was clearly a woman's. Whispery, much like a softly blowing breeze rustling the treetops, it guided him northwards. It encouraged him to continue his search for Rin.

Forget the ones behind you. They will only hinder your search for the girl. Continue to search for her. She is calling out to you, Sesshomaru. Asking where you are. She needs you. Don't turn back, don't turn aside. Continue forward…she is calling you…

Simultaneously, as Miroku, InuYasha, and Sango called Sesshomaru back and tried to stop him, the inu youkai and the miko heard the woman's voice in their minds. Kagome's face turned to a stunned, confused expression, and out loud she said, "What was that?"

The Inu-tachi looked over at her.

"What was what?" InuYasha asked.

"That voice. It was a woman's voice, soft and whispery, but menacing at the same time and…" Seeing the odd looks the others were giving her, she trailed off. "Didn't you…hear it?"

They shook their heads as one. Then suddenly Miroku's eyes widened. A slight shiver passed through his body. His right hand clutched his staff tighter.

"Houshi-sama? What is it?" Sango asked.

"So you feel it too then, Miroku?" Kagome inquired.

The delinquent monk nodded. "A strange presence. And it's coming from Sesshomaru." Kagome nodded.

"What the hell's goin' on here!" InuYasha half yelled.

"They can obviously feel something we can't," Sango said logically.

Shippou jumped onto the inu hanyou's shoulder, looking off in the direction that Sesshomaru had disappeared in. The kitsune's head cocked to the side. "What about Sesshomaru?"

The rest turned in the direction the taiyoukai had gone. "Dammit, he got away!" InuYasha groaned plaintively.

Kagome looked pointedly at InuYasha and said dryly, "I didn't know you cared."

"Feh," was all InuYasha said before taking off after his older half-brother.

"Gah!" Shippou screeched, holding tightly to the hanyou's shoulder.

Kirara transformed and Sango leapt onto her back. She extended her hand to Kagome, but before the miko took the proffered hand, she snatched up Sesshomaru's kimono top. Then she allowed Sango to help her onto Kirara's back, and Kirara took off running after InuYasha. Miroku kept pace right beside the larger form of the neko youkai. None of them knew what was going on with the Lord of the West, but they knew they had to find out.

A little girl huddled, frightened, in a corner of a subterranean cavern. Surrounding her were what seemed like hundreds of lizard youkai. Little Rin did not know where she was. She did not know what was going on. A small, soft whimper escaped her, and she whispered, "Sesshomaru-sama…where are you?" Please come and rescue me, Sesshomaru-sama.

Suddenly a red-eyed shadow fell over her, and a voice invaded her mind. Come with me, girl, it hissed. The huge lizard demon reached out a taloned hand and dragged her upright. Rin tried to resist, but it didn't make a difference in the slightest.

Rin was forced along through the crowd of softly hissing lizard demons that parted like a sea of scales as they passed. It wasn't until they finished a rounded turn and came to huge stone double doors, presumably leading into another cavern or tunnel, that she realized that was where they were heading. For some reason, she was afraid of these doors. Towering over twenty feet high, they were at least a foot thick. They were carved with strange twisting figures and flowing strokes of strange writing. They exuded danger.

The claws of the creature were digging into her arm, drawing blood. Again and again she wondered where Sesshomaru-sama was. Why hadn't he come yet?

A sibilant hiss broke her thoughts, and the grinding of stone sliding against stone reached her ears as the doors slid into the walls. Rin was jerked forward into a cavern ever larger than the one she had just left. The doors slid shut behind them. Many great stone steps led steadily up to a dais, upon which was a rock-hewn throne. The creature crossed the cavern and knelt before the steps, forcing her to kneel as well, then stood and continued up. Finally it stopped three steps from the top.

It was then that Rin noticed the woman sitting, legs crossed, arms resting on the arms of the chair, on the throne. She was clothed in an all black kimono, the wide, flowing sleeves hanging down. Her incredibly long ebony hair was in a braid that trailed down over her left shoulder, pooling into her lap. One thick silver streak cut through the middle of the brad. Loose hairs on either side of her head fell softly over delicately pointed ears. Strange amethyst eyes seemed to glow from her fine-boned, aristocratic face.

Rin cocked her head slightly. This woman reminded her, strangely enough, of Lord Sesshomaru.

Then, suddenly, without warning, the pressure on her arm let up and the creature beside her disappeared. Surprised, she jerked away from the spot, stumbling down a step. It was then the woman spoke.

"Don't be so surprised. It has only given us some privacy." Her voice was cold and emotionless. "Now then…" she said, a chilling half smile, half smirk appearing on her face. Then those amethyst eyes did glow, and Rin was unable to look away, unable to move. Her eyes widened in fright, but she could not get away.

The Inu-tachi had finally caught up to Sesshomaru.

"What in hell in wrong with you!" InuYasha shouted into his brother's face.

Sesshomaru, to his half-breed half-brother's surprise, stopped walking. His eyes snapped back to normal and he fixed his cold gaze on InuYasha. Without warning and before InuYasha could react, one of Sesshomaru's hands snapped out in a white blur and caught him by the throat, lifting the hanyou several feet off the ground. The lethal claws dug slightly into the soft flesh of InuYasha's neck. InuYasha's hands clawed at his brother's hand, trying to get him to let go, but it was no use.

Kagome's eyes widened. "InuYasha!" she shrieked, and started forward, but Miroku put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back.

"Stay back, Kagome," the monk said, his voice low.

InuYasha bit out a low growl and managed the words, "You…bastard…"

Sesshomaru dug his claws deeper, then snapped his wrist to the side, at the same time letting go of InuYasha. The half-human flew backwards, slamming painfully into a nearby tree.

Kagome broke free of Miroku's restraining hand and ran to kneel beside InuYasha. "InuYasha! Are you all right?"

InuYasha completely ignored her and leapt up, ignoring the small amount of blood coming from his neck and snarling. "What the hell do you think you're doing!" InuYasha shouted angrily, one clawed resting on the hilt of Tessaiga.

Sesshomaru's cool golden gaze rested steadily on InuYasha. His voice was low and menacing as he said, "It would be wise to stay out of my way, half-breed."

Kagome and Miroku jumped simultaneously and stared at Sesshomaru. But their sudden attention was not because of the older brother's voice or his cold glare. It was because of the strange presence they felt emanating from him.

Something strange stirred in Sesshomaru's eyes, and suddenly he didn't seem to be glaring at InuYasha, but glaring through him. Again Sesshomaru spoke. "Stop interfering, half-breed. You are meddling in things you do not understand."

The Inu-tachi glanced around at each other with raised eyebrows. Shippou piped up, "What things?" But in the next second, Sesshomaru growled low in his throat and the little kitsune took cover behind one of Kagome's legs, shivering.

Suddenly Kirara snarled and tensed. Miroku stood ready, and Kagome made as if to reach for her bow. Before anyone could ask questions, they heard a disembodied voice filtering plainly through the forest. Kagome, Miroku, and Sesshomaru recognized it as the whispery, soft, yet menacing voice they had heard earlier. The inu youkai's head turned sharply to the North, and his ears seemed to perk as the disembodied voice said, "Follow me, Sesshomaru…Find what you seek. She is waiting…I am waiting. We are all waiting. Follow me…come reclaim that which is yours, Sesshomaru…" The sound began drifting off with the last few words.

Sesshomaru took off, moving as just a blur as he tried to keep up with the quickly fading voice. Without a sound, Miroku and Sango leapt onto Kirara, Shippou jumping onto Miroku's shoulder. Without a word, Kagome climbed onto InuYasha's back and clung there as he took off after his brother and the mysterious voice, Kirara close behind.

Torie-san: Okay, now we know that Sesshomaru was possessed at least two times in this chapter. Why, you ask? Hey don't ask me. I don't know any more than you. I write as I go. And ya for you people, I'm finally updating! And finally we get a true description of the woman behind all this. OH! I just got an idea…no wait….wait….no sorry I forgot it. See, I wrote this chapter back in February and I did not write that idea down, so I forgot it. But I did get another idea as I was typing this chapter up, so I hope that makes up for it. Sorry…And no next chapter title this time. I don't have a set one yet.