"Sir, these were just dropped off for you."

"Leave them."

Naraku sat back in his chair idly swishing the glass of Cabernet Sauvignon as he brought it towards his mouth. His butler bowed his way back out of the room from the side door that was the quickest way back to the main hall. It was a corridor meant especially for the hired servants that kept them out of sight from visitors, etc. A bundled package placed in a brown paper bag with handles was positioned in the center of Naraku's desk. The male slouched back in his chair after removing the objects safely away.

The noisy episode in the hall was obvious as he waited, biding his time. He would enter at the most favorable time for his plan to succeed. Sesshoumaru underestimated him greatly, thinking he hadn't heard the scuffling down the hall. This was his home after all and no one, but he and his honored guests were allowed to roam the halls. The butler was occasionally, but usually that was only to lead guests around the mansion's expanse or if carrying large items, such as a tray. The corridor inside the walls was very thin and didn't allow much more than a person to travel through it.

Sesshoumaru had come to his house just as planned. That overconfident man always assumed that he was the one in control and above everyone else, but he was still one step behind Naraku. Hiten had notified Naraku that Kagome's friends had discovered his plot as well, or the basic idea anyways. Hiten had got a call from a recent associate of his, Hirakata Miroku. The two met because Miroku went to review the profiles on the victims of the epidemic within the police's records. It was only to see if they had any further information on the victims' and their families. It seemed Naraku's precious Kagome wrote their story out on paper in a journal as a method of healing.

Of course, he had the policeman, who was yet another individual under his influence, confiscate those materials. Currently they now rested comfortably in his lower desk drawer. Hiten had taken them before he left the café where he had met a Miroku and Sango. The two were too trusting of the police. In this day and age, anyone could be persuaded into doing his bidding, if the right price was offered. The books could become quite the nuisance. If discovered as valuable, in his defense, the things were written during a painful time and were no doubt prejudice against him. The journals would no doubt blame him as Kagome did for her suffering. Or at least that's how the jury would be persuaded to see it, even though it was his fault and the blame was partly his own. Kagome was also culpable as well for ever stepping into this country estate so long ago.

Naraku took a quick sip of his drink. Everything was falling easily into place. Well, all except Takarashi Sesshoumaru who was becoming a thorn in his side more and more as of late. Sesshoumaru had one major weakness though, his ward, a young girl by the name of Rin. This little runt was also now under his personal care. She was locked in a spacious closet near his bedroom. There was a large enough slit under the door to allow her enough air to continue living. It wouldn't due to have her die before Taka Tech. was finally signed over to his control. Naraku chuckled, running a hand down his cheek so that his knuckles caressed the pale skin.

"Kahi-chan…your skin is superior even to my own." He said with a sneer. "You will not escape me yet, there is too much at stake."

Naraku heard the absence of speech through the walls. The quiet seemed to echo and he strained his ears for any sound at all. The walls were extremely thin, but even then all Naraku could make out was some rustling, of clothes perhaps. There was a murmur suddenly and an outburst of laughter. It was a purity that only his precious Kagome could create. It was so unlike Kikyo's hard, yet smooth laughter that always seemed to carry mockery and condescension in its undertones.

Naraku slid his glass coaster over to the left center portion of his desk opposite of his computer. He drug a finger around the bottom curve of the stem where there was a slight condensation perspiring already on the coaster. The glass coaster was see-through, but in a distorted way and a half inch from his desk keeping the rings from the expensive wooded tabletop. Crimson eyes focused on the implement as well as the swirling liquid held in the cupped hourglass above.

In the darkness of the office Naraku refined his plan. In the large picture Kagome really didn't matter. The woman was just a perk. Kagome was someone he took pleasure in, more so than any other woman. This fact never seemed clear to him. Why was it her? Long ago he hadn't had any control over his emotions and he acted brashly following his whims. If he'd known how much the high school chit would mean to him perhaps he would have kept his façade up longer. After all, if a woman was truly in love, little else would matter. That man could abuse her physically, mentally, or emotionally, perhaps all, if there was even the slightest justification for it. She would never leave him with the belief that it was in fact her fault. There was something she had done to validate the acts her love threw at her and the woman would rationalize that he did love her still. It wasn't just a farce, a talented play that she fell for.

Naraku's eye lids drooped. This was one folly he would not follow. He was beginning to tire of her. It was so easy before. She was naïve and had no idea of who or what, in better terms, he was. Kagome was headstrong, chattered unnecessarily, emotional, and all of it was wearing on him. Naraku had thought her worth it along with the rewards her body could bring him, but was it really? With thousands of other willing females in Japan…what was losing one? Just as long as their history remained buried in the past, then, well, Kagome was a pointless obstacle. However, Sesshoumaru and his ward were very different.

Sesshoumaru's company, his father's legacy that was deferentially given into his quite capable hands, was one of the most successful in the world. Sesshoumaru, in less than a year, had gathered twice the amount of support and buyers for his stock than even the great Inutaisho. At first, the small child would have been of little use, but in a last ditch effort she became collateral. Sesshoumaru caught on much faster than planned, but then again this was a Takarashi and no less could really be expected.

To win over Sesshoumaru's company, no legal moves were open on Naraku's side of the chess board. Since Naraku had decided the queen was too hard a move, he just had to steal two rooks. One, Rin, was already in his possession and the second was soon to arrive. Kagome suddenly became the queen, which Naraku found quite interesting, would have a front row seat as the king fell to his opponent. In chess, white always goes first, but when the player is a high-class cheater like Naraku, broken rules were of no consequence.

Naraku moved his hand from his lap to the intercom at the corner of his desk. The white button fell under his finger and his smooth voice spoke into it. He didn't wait for a response because she was always there. The girl was never the social type and much rather preferred to remain in her room with a book or two.

"Kanna, collect our two guests from the hall. Take them into the dining hall. Alert everyone else as well."

…With Sesshoumaru and Kagome…

"What do we do now?"

"He knows where we are."

"…and…?"

Kagome stamped her foot impatiently. Something didn't feel right. Naraku knew Sesshoumaru was just going to wash his hands, yet they had to have been together for about ten or fifteen minutes. He wasn't that dumb, though the mental picture of Naraku with a dunce hat on did make her laugh. She shrugged at Sesshoumaru's raised eyebrow that was sent her way along with a vaguely quizzical look. Kagome stiffened, and then strained her ears. She turned to Sesshoumaru and confirmed what she had heard was real. There were footsteps heading in their direction.

Sesshoumaru straightened his clothes and waiting patiently for the arriving person. His anger was kept in check, but even his control was not limitless. He had telephoned home just minutes ago and asked Kaede to check on Rin. The elder thought the child was with him and at his confusion she furthered her reason. Rin wasn't in the apartment. Sesshoumaru had asked Kagome to call Sango, but his ward was not there either. The male's mind was soon becoming clearer to the full picture of his situation. The emotions he'd always felt inferior to himself boiled beneath his skin. The very force of it raised the hairs on his arms and neck just like a dog's hackles.

Kagome cast a worried glance at Sesshoumaru's now turned back. He was angry, she could tell. It was almost as if she could feel it, not see it because his features really hadn't changed. His eyes were darker, murderous, and his lips tight against his teeth, but the muscles in his face remained placid as ever. His voice was cooler when he was on the phone with Sango. There was a frosty note of desperation that she hadn't experienced in his voice. Kagome rested a tentative hand on his bicep and his head swiveled sharply at her touch. Kagome jumped back at the ferocity burning so openly on his face. The two sun-colored eyes were practically alit with flames that she noticed hadn't dulled at all. Kagome felt foolish, but she was slightly hurt that not even she could tame at least some part of his pain with her presence. Perhaps that was too much to ask or hope for at this point. That thought didn't stop the ache she felt for Sesshoumaru at that moment and Kagome feared nothing would quell this fear this time.

Sesshoumaru noticed her hurt expression, but wrote it off as Kagome's usual overemotional self. He would admit, if only to himself, that there was something between himself and the woman. It was a certain relationship whose meaning still eluded him and at this moment there were more important things at stake. Naraku was a filthy criminal and would have no hard feelings murdering his daughter if not something worse. The man was known to be quite the sadist and of a tainted nature. Naraku would force upon his ward unprecedented and disgusting acts if given the chance if for nothing, but his own excitement. It truly made Sesshoumaru want to wretch.

However, there was something else he had discovered, something valuable, in his time in the hall. It was Kagome's connection to Naraku. The girl had been blunt and concise for once. It was refreshing especially coming from Kagome who usually beat around the bush because of embarrassment or consideration of someone else's feelings. Sesshoumaru needed hard evidence if he wanted to completely crush Naraku. Kagome's past with the man was long dead and over with. Even her testimony could be pushed aside because Kagome gave no real struggle or even attempted to struggle during her capture. The idiot had agreed and therefore was worthless in the effort to eradicate the pest. If she was to testify, her emotional state would always be called into question. Possibly her mental stability as well.

Only a few minutes had passed and both were aware that the footsteps they had heard before were still a great distance away. The empty hallways long and lingering as they wound in connected circles, it's no wonder that echoes might occur. The steps became clearer and stronger as they moved down the corridor. A few seconds later and a woman round the corner from the opposite direction of Naraku's office. She wore a soft periwinkle blouse whose sleeves flared out at the elbows. A black broach closed the cleft of her collar and embedded at its center was a small, perfectly circular mirror. The pale-skinned female wore grey colored khaki slacks that gave her an overall dressy appearance. Her feet were bare except for the nude colored knee hose. Kagome, in her sleeping yukata, felt quite underdressed and ridiculous all of a sudden.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. The woman worked for his company and was currently holding up Bankotsu's position while he was operating at Hamasaki Corporations. The man was assisting the information assembly on the epidemic case along with Miroku as the intern's superior. So, Kanna was helping his rival all along? No- that didn't seem quite right. Kanna was a higher-level employee in his company and was given a healthy salary as well as a company car. What reason would be great enough to risk such stability?

"Do you know her Sesshoumaru-san?"

"Yes, she works for Taka. Tech."

"Follow me."

Kanna interjected their conversation and did not wait for a response whether affirmative or negative. She turned and retraced back down from whence she came. The padding of footsteps after her was an answer enough. Sesshoumaru walked with pride, not softening his stride as he had before in order to catch sight of his advancing prey. Kagome went the same of she did before, if not a lighter and most likely moved more like her normal walk down the hall from behind him. Kanna's face betrayed nothing of what was to come, but below her natural serenity, a hurricane was stirring. The occupants and soon-to-be victims had no idea of what was to come. The result of this meeting would be both disaster and relief. Hopefully, the right outcome would approach those most worthy to accept it.

Nothing much happens, but this is pretty much the lull before the storm and what a hurricane it might turn out to be. Honestly, I have no clue how this will end up, but romance is brewing. The wait was long, but hopefully it won't be forever until I update again.