Chapter 32:

Arisa got out of the well, but Ah-un was nowhere yet to be seen.

I'm pretty sure Sesshomaru said that Ah-un will be here to pick me up. Maybe he's still on the way.

She then sat on the grassy ground, enjoying the fresh air when suddenly; a brown-haired female cat demon wearing a floral ornament casually landed in front of her.

"Hello there."

"Who are you!?" she asked suspiciously in surprise, and crawled backwards from the sudden appearance of the cat demon.

Whilst doing that, she sensed if she was emitting any kind of aura. But, she had an aura of mixed colors which was new to her, so she couldn't really tell if she was good or bad.

The cat demon gave her a pixie smile. "Oh, I am Shunran. Would you mind if I give you a little gift?"

Arisa's brows knitted. "Why? We barely even know each other..."

Still with a pixie smile, she handed her a flowery bracelet.

"Please wear it. I give this to everyone I meet, so you don't have to worry. It's actually a token for my love of friendships."

"What are you trying to accomplish?" Arisa continued to ask as she still looked at her dubiously.

"I just want to make friends. I gave one to Sesshomaru back then…"

"You know Sesshomaru?"

"Of course! We are childhood friends." Shunran said, smiling innocently right after.

"He didn't mention having any childhood friends though. I don't even see him wearing one like this."

"What!? So that means... he discarded it. Ugh, he really is still cold until now…" Shunran replied wistfully.

As if sensing someone familiar, Shunran's expression changed into a cautious one for a second.

"A-at any rate, here you go. I hope to see you again." She said with a smile and in an instant, she disappeared.

Arisa stared at the bracelet for a while, and truthfully, it was pretty cute.

Oh well. I guess there's nothing wrong with wearing this one. I'll just ask Sesshomaru about it later.

However, the moment she wore the bracelet, it disappeared - much to her bewilderment.

That's strange…I could still feel it, but how did it become invisible….?

"Arisa!"

Jaken shouted as soon as he spotted Arisa near the well, looking antsy and didn't even turn to his direction.

"Hey, Arisa!" he shouted again once he and Ah-un had landed. Only then did the young woman notice them.

"Oh…! Jaken, Ah-un!" she greeted happily.

"What seems to be the matter? You look like you're worried about something." Jaken asked curiously, followed by a gentle grunt from Ah-un.

"I-it's nothing! We better go."

Together, Arisa and Jaken climbed onto Ah-un and flew towards the place Sesshomaru was waiting.

The moment they reached the ground and Sesshomaru was in sight, Arisa's heart fluttered.

"Sesshomaru…!" she greeted, but he only glanced at her with his normally blank expression.

"We are going."

"To where now, exactly?"

"To find Naraku and kill him."

Dropping Naraku's name sent her the shivers.

"But why...?"

"I will make him regret messing with me."

She was about to protest, but a gust of wind interrupted her, along with the appearance of a familiar woman who had the same aura as Naraku's.

Her eyes widened when she had a clearer view of her.

Kagura…!

"It's you again!" Jaken said in annoyance, but Kagura didn't bat him an eyelash.

"What do you want?" Sesshomaru asked coldly, to which Kagura only smirked.

"I have come to ask a favor. But don't worry, I'll pay the price."

Sesshomaru shadily lifted an eyebrow.

"I want you to kill Naraku. In exchange, I will give you these sacred jewel shards I took from that wolf-demon." She confidently offered while showing him the two pieces of the shards.

Arisa was rather surprised at Kagura's statement, considering that she was somewhat Naraku's minion. She slowly glanced at Sesshomaru, waiting for his response as well.

However, Sesshomaru huffed quietly, but in a sarcastic manner.

"I have no interest in those jewel shards." He replied sharply, and it made Kagura upset right on the spot.

"How dare you…! Foolish coward…! "

"I will kill Naraku on my own. I do not need your permission." He said in a scathing tone, still unaffected by Kagura's outburst.

Kagura gritted her teeth out of annoyance as she released her feather hairpin which became larger. She immediately rode on it and flew away without looking back.

Sesshomaru resumed walking off as well, a little pissed by the unnecessary appearance of Kagura.

"Are you really set about going to kill Naraku…?" Arisa asked while following Sesshomaru from behind.

"Do not dare to stop me." He promptly uttered, sounding much more like a warning for her to not meddle with his plans.

Her mouth snapped shut at the seriousness of his tone. She didn't bother asking further, as she could feel that he was really not in the mood to entertain at all.

Then that means…I will get to have more encounters with Naraku.

She then remembered how she will have to use the verse cuts once she would face him; even with the risky consequence. Or if worse comes to worst, she would use the entire cuts to seal him. As she resolved herself to that, she remembered how he caused a lot of tragedies to people like Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango; and most especially poisoning Sesshomaru when in reality; he was the one asking for a favor.

Alright then. I'll do it. Naraku is someone who doesn't deserve to exist in this world.

Sensing that the great dog demon's mood swing had finally settled, Arisa brought up the talk about her encounter with Shunran.

"Hey, Sesshomaru…"

"What is it?" he replied bluntly, but there was at least no agitation in his tone.

"Do you know a cat demon with the name Shunran?"

Sesshomaru suddenly ceased from walking, and faced her warily.

"Where did you meet her?"

"At the well, while I was waiting for Ah-un. She said you were her childhood friend…" she carefully replied, as she was taken aback by Sesshomaru's reaction.

"That is absurd. That cat demon is my enemy."

"Huh—"

But then, their conversation was interrupted by the sudden appearance of another cat demon with blue-colored hair and wearing a purple kimono, all the while freezing their surroundings.

Sesshomaru glanced at her briefly, showing disinterest.

"Toran, huh."

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