Chapter Three

Sesshoumaru glared at the fragment in his hand. His golden eyes narrowed. A tainted shard of a broken gem. A useless bauble.

The shard glowed darkly, marring it's natural pink hue. The jewel fragment was found in the remains of the demon he had torn apart. The youkai-assassin had been completely shredded and it's body disintegrated from Sesshoumaru's floral poison. Yet, when his guards had arrived to where the remains lay, they found the body half regenerated.

Chiharu and Kimimaru could sense the abnormality emanating from the body, the strange surge of youki from a particular point. They quickly dug the cause out from the chest cavity. Then they bundled up the body and took it with them, but not before scouring the area for clues.

A smooth black stone rested on the desk before Sesshoumaru. An indecipherable kanji was carved into it's shiny surface. The kitsune twins had presented the Taiyoukai with the body, shard, and stone. The body he would use for identification and inquisition purposes. The shard and stone were what interested him. The stone was the fulcrum of the dampening spell. He would have his scholars look into it. The shard was what had enhanced the lizard-youkai's power. He had no use for such a trinket, but he was curious as to where the object had originated.

Carelessly, he flicked the shard to the desk. It bounced harmlessly onto the polished wood. "Chiharu," he called. The kitsune materialized before him. "Seal them away. I want their aura to be totally repressed." He instructed. Chiharu nodded. He gathered the objects and disappeared.

Of the twins, Chiharu was much more skilled in spells dealing with barriers and seals. His younger brother was the more aggressive specialist. Between the two, they were a perfect combination of attack and defense. With kitsune-youkai, they had the innate ability to harness magic as part of their forte. Many other youkai were less able, only capable of using their youki in a mundane manner depending on their breed.

That taken care of, Sesshoumaru stood to seek out his healer. There were still a few questions that had arisen to which he sought answers.

-oooooo-

"A banquet, my lord?" Kagome sat kneeling at her lord's side, her head lay on his lap as he idly stroked her hair. Kazeme perched in her lap, astutely preening his feathers.

"Yes, my lovely. It is the Autumn season, and the Taiyoukai of the West's turn to host the banquet of Youkai Lords." Naraku explained.

Kagome nodded mutely. She understood the seasonal banquet. Each Taiyoukai held a banquet, hosting the other Taiyoukais as well as the lesser lords, during their respective season. In the spring, the banquet was hosted by the Taiyoukai of the East. In the summer, the Taiyoukai of the South hosted the banquet. The Taiyoukai of the West hosted the Autumn banquet. The Winter banquet was held by the Taiyoukai of the North.

It was during the time the banquet was held by her lord that she had to be the most careful. Her aura was dampened by Naraku's spells, and she was all but imprisoned in her room. Her needs would be serviced by Kanna, the one servant of Naraku who had actually seen her. The void-youkai wasn't talkative, but other than Kazeme, it was the only company she would be allowed during the banquet.

"You wish it for me to attend?" Kagome squeaked, her voice pitchy from her nervousness.

"Yes." Naraku drawled lazily. "You do not want to come?" He paused a moment in his stroking.

Kagome's head raised sharply, sitting stiffly beside him, sending Kazeme into a flapping fit as he tried to regain his perch. Bright sapphire eyes raised to half-lidded crimson irises. "N-No, my lord!" She all but shouted. Her eyes widened, and she bowed her head. "I mean, no my lord." She said more calmly. "I do wish to attend." She could scarcely hear herself, but she was sure that her lord, with his enhanced hearing, would hear her.

She couldn't stop her pounding heart. A chance to see others! What she wanted more than anything else was just a glimpse of the world outside her gilded cage. Her fingers wrapped around her pet, careful not to squeeze him tightly in her excitement. The crow cawed soothingly.

Naraku twined his fingers through her silken strands, drawing her head back into his lap. He continued to stroke her hair affectionately. He hid a smile. The girl had no skill in concealing her emotions. She put her whole heart on display in her eyes, her face, even in her aura, which was flaring in panic and excitement. She was so easy to please, so easy to manipulate. "Kagome, the banquet will commence in a months time. We shall leave in three weeks."

"Yes, Naraku-sama." Kagome relaxed in his hold. They would have to depart early. The Taiyoukais usually arrived the earliest for the banquet, the lesser lords trickling in later, up to the expected date.

She would have to be on her best behavior. The banquets were a political function to exchange information about trade, land, and threats. She would be present only for the banquet and formal affairs. The subsequent meetings would then last for about a month before the final event, which be a gala event, and a chance for the Taiyoukai to show off his wealth and power. She couldn't wait. She was so happy at the prospect of meeting new people, even if they were only the few humans some eccentric youkai brought as servants or decoration.

"Thank you, Naraku-sama."

-oooooo-

The Taiyoukai raised an eyebrow. The banquet? In his zeal in discovering potential assassins and to uncover the mystery behind a certain human, he had forgotten about the banquet. "I'm sure you already have some ideas in mind."

"Yes, my lord." The neko-youkai replied hastily. She had been chosen to head banquet arrangements due to her flair for festivities and creativity. Her unique style had outshined other prospects for the job. However she had never before been alone in direct contact with the stoic lord, and he frightened her with his intimidating presence. Her scent of fear permeated the air.

Sesshoumaru refrained from wrinkling his nose in distaste. "Wench, I will not eat you. Simply inform me of your plans and I shall approve of them or replace you."

"Y-yes, my lord! Well, I was thinking of designing the dining area with a changing seasonal theme, beginning with winter and ending in the fall at the end of the week."

She continued at the lord's nod of approval. "I was thinking of opening the gardens up and using it as an area for luncheons and recreation for guests when the lords are at meeting."

At the mention of gardens, Sesshoumaru thought back to expansive garden he had been in when he had met the girl. She had said that he had been housed by another lord. Perhaps the lord would be in attendance. He clenched a fist. He would need to figure out the identity of the lord who had assisted him. He did not like the feeling of being indebted to another.

The neko jabbered on, "For the main event, I thought about holding a masquerade, and went about to hire a few minor mikos for a dampening spell."

Sesshoumaru glared at her. Dampening spell? It was a little coincidental for his liking. "For what purpose would you want the spell?" He asked silkily.

Not liking the tone, the neko went rigid. "Um…I just thought the masquerade would be me intriguing if the guests could not sense the players." She was sweating her fear in waves.

"Have you any idea how dangerous that is?" He demanded in that silky tone.

"Uh, y-yes. But I thought to limit the spell to just the ballroom. And the spell would be cast by your own youkai casters, just written by the mikos since we have not much skill in the area. They would be thoroughly researched so no harm would come to the guests. The spell would only reduce youkai senses to that of a ningen, but I can obtain and place charms to leave certain youkai unaffected, if you wish." She babbled.

Golden eyes narrowed. "See to it," he replied, and strode out of the room.

-oooooo-

Kireto lay hidden in the shadows. He was at the old well , his feet passing soundlessly over the dried leaves, neither crushing them, nor disturbing the dark grass.

There were no traces of the disturbance. Chiharu and Kimimaru had been thorough in their investigation of the site. This was the second time the kage had been to the site. The first time had been before the kitsunes had arrived. He had found nothing leading to the identity of the person who had hired the assassin.

This second trip seemed to be as fruitless as the first. The person who had been behind the attempted assassination was cautious. He would be a person afraid of the consequences of failure, and had left no clue of his identity on the assassin, but that could be almost any youkai lord. Taiyoukais didn't remain as lords by being stupid. Perhaps a ningen lord? There were rumors of ningen lords delving into the power of dark mikos. They experimented with youki in an attempt to strengthen the limited power of ningen blood.

As the sun was blotted out, he turned his hooded head upwards, his musings broken by the shift in the weather. The strange sight startled the dark youkai. Crows. Great flocks of crows perched on each branch of the trees surrounding the well. It had seemed as if they had just materialized out of nothing. The kage had not seen, heard, or sensed their arrival in any way.

His dark eyes narrowed. It was unusual behavior for the flighty avians. Each bird perched, with its head cocked to focus a beady eye on the youkai. Experimentally, he flared his youki. The birds made no move They showed no instinctual fear of his power.

As he moved to leave the clearing of the well, he stopped. A single crow lay directly in his path. Its dark wings spread suddenly as it pushed up from the ground, taking flight. It circled the youkai once before flying level toward a particular direction. It was headed deeper into the forest.

Peculiar…it seemed to be leading him somewhere. Cautiously, he extended his senses for signs of malicious aura and found none. Stranger still, he found that even now he could not sense the presence of the birds. The curious behavior the birds intrigued him, and finding no other clue, he opted to follow the crow. It was then that he noticed, the crow made no sound as it flew.

-oooooo-

Sesshoumaru sat alone in his study. Atop his desk, in a neat pile, lay notices from the lords who would be attending. He rifled through the list; the wolf princes of the North and West, Gatenmaru, a moth youkai from the east, the hanyou son of a western lord, crane lords from the north, some other rabble…

He fished out the notices from the three other Taiyoukais. The Northern Lord would be bringing his daughter to the event as prospective mate for Sesshoumaru. The inuyoukai shook his head. He was in need of no mate now. It would only cause him more difficulty. The Southern Lord would also be bringing his brood, and made a request for additional rooming. Sesshoumaru made a note of it. The Eastern Lord puzzled him by asking for ningen servants. Frowning, Sesshoumaru noted that as well.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes. Hosting a seasonal banquet was one of the most demanding tasks he had to accomplish. He would much rather be out patrolling his lands or training with his guards or investigating his citadel for signs of espionage or treachery.

Sighing, he mentally went through his list of things he would be required to do for the banquet. He would most likely have to visit his younger brother. That hanyou had probably forgotten about the banquet this year, again. His guards would have to be moved, their posts changed, and security tightened.

His servants would take care of the catering and wardrobe. Rin would need lessons in etiquette. He had never taken her to a banquet in the past, and this would be the first time she would be present at a banquet he would host. He would have to assign a personal guard for her in case a lowly youkai took it into his head that her flesh would taste better than what was served.

There was also the issue of his attempted assassination. So far only his personal guards and his spy were informed of it. He would take no precautions to prevent the information from leaking. The person who had hired the assassin would no doubt already be aware his assassin's failure. He would need to observe the other lords carefully and gauge their reactions to the leaked information.

Sesshoumaru tapped his fingers on the desk patiently. Kireto would be arriving soon. He was eager to see what information the kage-youkai was able to obtain.

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ODM: I am so stupid. I can't even type my sn right. Blah. Anyways, this is the third chapter. Sorry it took a while to come out, but I don't like posting a chapter until I have the next one written. That was I can keep some semblance of fluidity in the story, though it doens't really seem like it. Makes my effort kinda fruitless. BAH! I don't care anymore. Anyhoo, I tried. This came out as half plot-half filler, I'm happy. The next chapter is pure filler though, made me sad. TT Arg, well, at least the story is moving...kinda....sadness

Thanks to my reviewers, I LUV REVIEWS!!! Makes me feel SMECIAL!

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Well, I think that;s about it.

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