It is I, Jjah-Jjah! And aren't you all lucky you've been so patient? This is a DOUBLE POSTING! Woot! Anyway. I actually do have a shit-load of homework every week, so don't be too surprised if my posting is slow as Christmas. This week alone I have four papers to write, one of which is gonna be worth half of my grade.... God I hate school... And this was the frat weekend so everyone was crazy-drunk and sneaking in boys. At least my roommate is nice...

Shout out to Luci! The first person I ever met who was a fellow fan of anime!

Ed & Vib: Woot!

Ah yes. And I went out and got this neato Inuyasha poster... It's sooo cool! It's got Naraku in the background with his hair looking all evil, and Sesshoumaru, and Kouga, and lots of other goodness... Ah. Anyway, onward! I need to get this posted so I have time to go claim my favorite shower. It's survival of the fittest around here.... On to the reviews!

Sand 5: Thank you so much for the review! (blushes) Thanks! I really try to keep everybody in character... Sorry I've taken so long to update, but life, as of recently, has been pure hell... At least I'm posting two at once, ne?

DemonWicca: Teeheehee... Wow. Thanks! I agree. Sesshoumaru seems like a really strong person.

DarkRoseBlood: Thank you! I'm reeeeeely trying to keep everyone in character.

Morena Evensong: (blushes) Thanks! It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside when people compliment my writing skills. Thanks again!!!

SkyBlueSunShine: Thank you! I don't think Sess-chan really realizes the extent of his feelings yet. Ne? Muahaha...

Iraine: Thank you! Ah yes... Well, it's my humble opinion that everyone who's chipper is a psycho.... Mer..

D-Chan3: Well... This is one of those fics where Sess-chan doesn't have a tail. HOWEVER, the fluffy thing will come into play later. I'm kinda think it's a status symbol more than anything else... Thanks for the review!

Nova Alexandria: Thank you for the review! Actaully, we won't get to see much family-Sess interaction, because... You'll have to read to find out!

Favian: Thank you! I hate stories in which everyone falls in love in the first paragraph... Arrgh. And Kirara's my favorite and she's never brought back...

Rin-D: I've updated! It's a god-dammed miracle, don't you think? College sucks honey, get a helmet.

Hieis/Kuramas-Angel, Sukera, gnar, Defafaeth Mechqua, hyper person, angelprincess22, BlueDove, Golden-Eyed-Girl, UltaAnimeFangurl2004, Cestari, Zero-no-uta, AncientHistory, Culebra, mysticangel, Crimson-Eyed-Angel99: Thank you all soooo much for the reviews and I love you and I wish you heath and prosperity and luck and protection against evil spirits this coming All-Hallows-Eve!

Disclaimer: OH GOD!!!!! I don't own it!!! Oh the inhumanity!

Chapter Eight: But Not Forgotten...

The moon was out and the sky was a deep shade of blue. The sky was never black in Tokyo at night, and stars were never visible. The light pollution was enough to completely suck any enjoyment that could be had out of the night... The sky no longer told stories here.
He leapt from roof to roof; sprinting over the tops of skyscrapers; moving so quickly that there was hardly any definition in the scenes that he passed by. He allowed scent to guide his movements and his youkai abilities to avoid missing anything. He allowed himself two slow sweeping jumps, and then landed on the roof of a skyscraper. Surveying the city below him, he smirked. There was probably nothing to worry about, but he would check diligently anyway. There was no room for failure. There was no room for incompetence.

Such was the duty of a spy of the Eastern Lands...

She had lived a long time, but she had never had to deal with such... Well, she wasn't exactly sure what it was, but it was sure something...

Kirara peeked around the frame of Kagome's door. Her old friend seemed to be content rummaging through her closet and muttering things under her breath... Humans were such odd creatures... The firecat let out a purring sigh and left to go check on Sesshoumaru.

He, as always, was beneath the Goshinboku. Hanging around the sacred tree had seemed to have become a habit for him. Perhaps it was because of the tree's age. Being immortal in a world that constantly changed was a difficult thing, this she knew. To be in the presence of something as equally, if not more, ancient was refreshing.

"Yes?" His voice came from the Goshinboku's base. He was slumped back against it with the air of one who has nothing whatsoever to do.

Kirara mewed softly and trotted over to his side. She sat and looked at him questioningly with ruby colored eyes, letting out another concerned mew. Both youkai stared at one another for a while, and then the firecat tilted her head and blinked. She wanted answers.

The fallen lord sighed. "Will you torment me with questions of my past as well?"

Kirara mewed and nodded.

Sesshoumaru snorted and looked away. "I am here, is that enough for you? They have cast me out..." He trailed off and seemed to fix his gaze on something in the distance that no one else could see.

The neko looked at the Taiyoukai appraisingly. She was not one to dally in the affairs of Japan's remaining youkai. She preferred the quiet simple life of one who wanders and haunts. (Though that lifestyle had been broken by the discovery of one smiling, beloved miko.) However, there was no way to avoid certain rumors no matter how isolated she kept herself. She had heard; several decades ago, that there had been a dispute between the four lords, and that one of them had been overthrown. She had had no way of knowing that that lord had been Sesshoumaru. She had not even known that he was still alive! Yet now she knew... That meant that the three remaining lords of the Northern, Southern, and Eastern Lands were the ones who cast him out and now probably controlled the Western Lands...

But how could such a thing happen? The houses of the four lords had been in alliance for literally, thousands and thousands of years! How in the world could there have been a coup? What could have justified such a thing?

Kirara's tails twitched agitatedly as the answer came to her. The lord of the Northern Lands was too much of a stickler for propriety to come up with such an idea, and the lord of the Southern Lands was too busy being a hedonist to care about expanding his holdings...

That left the lord of the Eastern Lands...

The firecat hissed in spite of herself. Yes. He certainly possessed the mean spirit and the cunning to come up with such a plan. That was it then.

Sesshoumaru's most lethal enemy was the Eastern Lord...

"Oh GOD, its so frikken hot!" Kagome moaned to herself as she raided her closet. No human being should have to brave such extreme temperatures. "Ah ha! Here you are!" She smirked triumphantly and held up the pale blue tank top for all to see.

The miko was at the end of her rope. She had become extremely used to wearing her traditional miko clothing to the point where she felt naked wearing anything else. But the heat was terrible! Finally she came to the conclusion that if she continued to wear her robes she would get a heat stroke and die, thus, the quest through her closet in search of normal clothing.

There was actually a surprisingly small amount of 'normal' clothing to be found. It would appear that she didn't have much of a life... Ah well. Upon finding that single blessed tank top Kagome immediately shed her long sleeved shirt. She felt like a snake peeling off its skin. Then with some difficulty she pulled on the tank top. She sighed in relief. Even though she was already inside where the air conditioning was going full blast just changing clothes made her feel a lot better. She stretched her arms toward the ceiling languidly and stood up. She was still wearing her blue hakama and it pulled slightly at the carpet as she walked. The miko glanced at her reflection in the mirror and absently noticed that her shirt was about a full shade lighter than her hakama. She smiled and started digging through one of her dresser drawers. Just when she thought she would find nothing, she found a dark grey short skirt. She put it on, ran a brush through her hair, and then bounced downstairs.

She was concerned about Sesshoumaru's behavior. Hell, who wouldn't be? The youkai sounded like he was about to commit suicide. As soon as the thought formed she stopped. He wouldn't would he? Surely not Sesshoumaru... And yet he had changed. She wasn't sure quite what to think of him anymore...

This was exactly the reason why she was getting dressed to go out. Regularly, during such hot weather she would have holed up in the cool interior of her house and cleaned out the contents of the freezer while waiting for night to fall and the temperatures to drop. But here she was! All dressed up to go out and brave the hazards of the desert-like conditions just for him... She certainly hoped he appreciated it, the bastard.

Grabbing her purse off the kitchen counter and slipping on her sandals as she exited, Kagome locked the door behind her and headed straight for the Goshinboku. When she arrived he was sitting at the base like he always was; only he was not alone. Kirara was with him. The miko smiled and strode up to them.

It took a minute or two for Sesshoumaru to acknowledge her presence. While she waited she took the opportunity to study him. He was decked out in full haori and hakama and there was not a bead of sweat on him. If she didn't know any better she would think by looking at him that it was a normal and pleasant day. Apparently yet another of the many perks of being a youkai was that you could endure lava-like temperatures... Yeesh...

Finally he looked at her and when he did so he blinked. She could hardly suppress a giggle. She remembered that he had never once seen her wearing normal clothing.

"Alright, lets go." She smiled.

The inu youkai allowed himself the luxury of one more blink. "Pardon?"

"Let's go."

He narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"We're going to go shopping at a marketplace. I go there sometimes to get stuff for the shrine. It's still pretty early yet and there won't be a lot of people out because of the heat, so it's a good time to go. Besides, they've got some new booths this week"

"I do not enjoy shopping."

"Oh come on. It's not technically shopping. I mean its outside and it has a lot of different stuff. Besides we don't have to buy anything. We can just look."

The inu lord sat there for a while and then let a noisy breath out through his nose. "I suppose you are not going to leave me alone until I go?"

"You suppose right."

"Very well then..."

They walked together in an uncomfortable silence. Kagome stole a glance over at the temperamental youkai. She was having second thoughts about this plan of hers. She had, in fact, been planning on going to the market for some time now. The market was yet another of those places that mirrored the past and she had always felt warm and uplifted whenever she visited it. She had hoped that it would do the same for Sesshoumaru, but his attitude thus far did not appear to be a good omen. He stared stoically ahead seeming to take what he was doing and everything around him with startling indifference. The miko sighed. He had already cut himself off from his surroundings. This was not going well at all.

For a moment she longed for Kirara. The firecat had stayed to watch over the shrine while they were gone. She had noticed that the little creature seemed to hold some sort of obscure wisdom within her. Silent counsel would have been more than welcome at this point. A shadow flickered around the corner of her eye.

Kagome jerked her head around and looked. Just buildings, cars, people, and the occasional tree. She was getting so bent out of shape she was imaging things. She turned to look at Sesshoumaru. He seemed to be off in his own little world. One in which she was not allowed. She sighed without realizing it. They walked down a small side street among several tall buildings. A noodle stand was somewhere nearby. The scent was thick and heavy in the air.

And then a figure of shadows and light leapt from one building to another far above.

Kagome stopped. She wasn't imagining things. She had seen a humanoid figure quite clearly. She stopped and stared at where it had been. Sesshoumaru appeared not to have sensed anything; he kept walking. The miko grimaced in frustration at this and reached over and poked the youkai roughly as he passed. He stopped and looked at her annoyed, but suddenly his whole demeanor changed. His face went completely slack and his eyes widened in complete and utter surprise. He head jerked upwards and suddenly he leaped over at the miko grabbed her and in less than an instant was flying upwards.

Kagome grabbed convulsively at his haori as they rose with a dizzying fluidity that she had never experienced with Inuyasha. The difference was amazing. Inuyasha had relied on the brute strength of his leaps to propel himself through the air. Sesshoumaru on the other hand, moved seemingly with so much ease that it felt like he was clearing the distance with only a thought. Before she could ponder more on the subject she noticed the exact spot they had been standing crackle with some strange energy and disintegrate. The miko gasped and then was left speechless as her savior landed on the roof of a building facing a pale figure with long dark hair.

"Sesshoumaru!" The voice was male, soft, and yet it carried as if it were echoing out of a cave. "I must admit I'm surprised that you're still alive. My master will be most pleased to hear this!"

"Saguru." Sesshoumaru hissed the name as if it were poison.

"You remember me. I'm flattered." The strange youkai gave a little bow. And he was indeed a youkai. Kagome wasn't sure what kind. The only things that betrayed his species were his aura and his pointy ears. He wore a very plain pale kimono and was about a head shorter than Sesshoumaru. She sensed something insidious about him... His demure appearance, his nearly jovial tone indicated that there was nothing amiss with him, but it seemed only to be a clever veneer. Saguru, Sesshoumaru had called him. He mentioned a master and he knew Sesshoumaru... He had tried to kill them. Was he one of the lot who had betrayed the Taiyoukai?

"What do you want?" Sesshoumaru growled, always to the point. He shook his sleeve away from his hand and flexed his claws.

Saguru raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "Certainly not to fight you! My master would never forgive me if I took that particular pleasure from him."

"And what does the idiotic neko want with me now?"

The spy frowned. "Lord Wakarazuya has given me instructions to be followed if ever you were found alive. I am to invite you to Kamakura. There, a fine gathering will be held in your honor with all the lords in attendance, and what was started so many years ago will be finished."

"Where exactly in Kamakura?"

"Why, the Great Buddha of course. So you will attend?"

"I see no reason to."

"I guess it depends on how highly you regard your honor... Or rather what little of it you have left." Sesshoumaru snarled. "Ah well. It's your choice. Till next time then! I have to go tell my master the good news!"

And then in a blurry display of speed, Saguru leapt away and was gone, leaving nothing but a chill in his wake.

There was complete silence. Even the eternal sounds of the city around them seemed to have gone mute. Slowly, the tension drained out of Sesshoumaru and he lowered the claw he had bared. He stared at the spot the youkai had disappeared with no expression whatsoever. Kagome blinked her shock away and faintly noticed that she was still clinging to Sesshoumaru's haori for dear life. She took a minute to collect her thoughts and looked up at his stoic face while she did so. One word came to mind as she looked at him. Resignation.

"Sesshoumaru..." She began.

"I wish to go back to the shrine." He interrupted.

Kagome sighed. "Alright..."

Kirara purred concernedly around Kagome's ankles as she tucked her white haori more firmly around her midsection. The chill that had started up and own her spine with Saguru's departure hadn't gone yet, so she felt as though she could wear her miko garments again with no problems. Even the intense heat outside couldn't melt the ice surrounding her.

She was going to the market anyway, but with Kirara this time. Sesshoumaru seemed to have sunken even deeper into whatever hole he had dug for himself and showed no signs of emerging. Kagome walked into the living room where Sesshoumaru was sitting stiffly on the couch.

"We're leaving." She awaited a response and got none.

"Sesshoumaru... Sesshoumaru!"

He looked at her without turning his head. His eyes glimmered in the shadows he sat in.

"I want you to promise me that you won't go to Kamakura like he asked..." He said nothing. "I mean it Sesshoumaru. You have to promise me."

He looked away from her and gave a fraction of a nod. Kagome sighed. It was all she was going to get... "Alright." She picked up Kirara and left the room with golden eyes following her.

Despite the heat of the day there were lots of people at the marketplace. She had already bought a few trinkets for the shrine, and was now simply looking around. It was late afternoon and the sinking sun was casting intriguing shadows over everything making the surroundings look surreal. Kirara was tucked down into the front of her robe and was enjoying herself immensely. Everyone they ran into thought that she was adorable and petted her and every food stand they passed gave her a handout. Kagome was almost jealous. Almost.

"Hey there! Miko, you might be in need of a kimono as fine as this!" Someone yelled from a booth to her right. Kagome looked and noticed a wiry old woman holding up a beautiful garment. Intrigued, she walked over. "This is a very nice kimono! High quality and one of a kind!"

Kagome half listened as the woman rattled off more of her wares' virtues. It was a man's kimono. She could tell that it was made of nice material just by rubbing a sleeve between her fingers. And then there was the pattern... If ever there was a kimono made especially for Sesshoumaru. One half of the haori was white, including the sleeve, and the other half was red. On the breast of the white side was a four petal red flower and a corresponding white flower on the red side. The hakama was completely white.

"I'll take it." She said. After a few minutes of haggling the price down to something she could afford she bagged the garment and headed home.

"I'll bet Sesshoumaru will wear this! It's so similar to his old kimono." Kagome smiled to Kirara, who was still chewing an octopus ball she had been given.

They came to the shrine and walked up all the stairs. The bags she was carrying swayed as she moved. Kagome trotted over to the door of the house and opened it. Kirara jumped down and scampered inside. The miko kicked of her sandals and followed.

"Sesshoumaru!" She called and immediately froze. The house was too quiet. Kirara was motionless as well. Her little ears swiveled around as if trying to catch a sound that was not there. Kagome felt was if she was standing at the maw of a chasm and she could hear the air circulating inside, completely empty...

He was gone.

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Ok then! Now review! And make me happy!!! :D

Tata, JJ