Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 2:

Puppet

"Riiiiiinnnnn—!"

"Master Jaken, Rin is right here."

Jaken stopped at where the voice came from and snapped his head to the side. On the ground, he found Rin bent down with her hand reached out, ready to pluck out some of the flowers from the bush. She was now blinking at him with those innocent honey eyes; wondering what caused him to freak out so much.

As for Jaken, there were multiple reasons on why he freaked out like that. One of them was when his mind instantly led to Sesshomaru during the girl's disappearance.

"Rin! Don't do that ever again!" Jaken scolded.

"Rin just wanted to get these pretty flowers," she said and sniffed the bundle of flowers in her hands. "They are pretty, right, Master Jaken?"

Jaken sighed and looked away, ignoring the girl. "Lord Sesshomaru would take my head if he finds out that I let you out of my sight..."

"Oh, Lord Sesshomaru!"

Jaken almost dropped his two-faced staff at the sound of Rin's voice, startled because he was just thinking about his lord. Once he had gotten ahold of his staff again, he faced up and found Sesshomaru glancing around as if he was in search for something. The golden orbs that belonged to the demon lord darted at the surroundings—which wasn't a good sign. It started making the toad anxious.

"Lord Sesshomaru, is something wrong?" he asked.

"Silence, Jaken."

Jaken let out a tiny squeak, before he immediately clamped his mouth shut at the order. Every movement in his body came to a pause as he observed his lord in silence this time. From the looks of it, Sesshomaru, was indeed, expecting something. He watched as his lord sniffed the air and narrowed his eyes.

Rin blinked at the dog demon's side. "Lord Sesshomaru?"

Rin and Jaken turned their heads to where Sesshomaru had looked. There was a little girl standing not far from them. She had dark, short hair with a fringe. She was wearing a violet kimono with a pale obi around her waist. She stared at them with empty eyes. It gave goosebumps to both; the human girl and the toad.

"What is your purpose of being here?" Sesshomaru asked, his voice holding slight annoyance.

"We want you," the girl whispered.

He eyed the girl carefully as she took a step forward. Then, all of a sudden, she vanished, leaving a smoke of dust behind, and reappeared right in front of him in the air. He leapt to the back the moment he caught sight of her finger trying to touch him. Landing on the ground not far away from her, he carefully examined the child. From the way she was trying to touch him, he suspected that her index finger held a power that was waiting to be released.

During the few seconds where everything stood motionless, Sesshoumaru realized that this girl was a puppet. Her eyes weren't exactly empty. Instead, there was a tiny glint of life in there. He assumed that the child has a skillful puppet master for being able to have such great speed. Still, he had no clue what the puppet was capable of.

Meanwhile, the puppet-girl stood still at her current position as if she was in deep shock, but her expressionless face said otherwise. She then slowly rotated her head to look at him from where she was standing.

"We want you," she repeated in the same whisper-like tone.

Again, she had disappeared. But this time, instead of appearing in front of him, she had spawned right behind him. Upon sensing her presence, he was about to swipe his claws at her, when he felt her touch his back. His eyes widened ever so slightly as a force threw him to the front.

In mid air, his body had somehow rotated so that his back was facing the line of trees. He could feel himself crashing into each tree bark, the sound of wood-splitting disturbed his ears. As he was still being thrown aback, he watched as the previous trees he had crashed into had been left with only their stumps. With this force, he noted that a normal human would've died the moment they crash into the first tree.

As he was about to land on the hard ground, he did what it seemed as a backflip, and landed gracefully on his feet. He merely brushed off some of the splinters that had gotten onto his kimono, his face impassive.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Are you alright?" Rin called from afar.

"Rin, stay where you are."

He doubted at first that she could hear his voice from where he was standing now, but with the barely visible nod that came from her, he knew that his instruction had been heard.

Rin obediently sat close to Jaken, not daring to interfere the battle her lord was in. Her hand somehow had made its way to the toad's arm, clinging onto it. The toad, on the other hand, wasn't aware of it, and seemed to be more occupied with his master.

The two of them watched from the side as Sesshomaru closed the distance between the puppet and himself. The tip of his index and middle finger glowed green and a poisonous whip lashed out to the girl.

The girl dodged the attack and teleported right in front of him. Before her index finger could touch him again, Sesshomaru had proved himself to be faster as he used his whip to tear her body apart. Her body glowed before it started to dissipate.

Before she disappeared, he didn't fail to hear the last words she had muttered, "Sessho... maru..."

With the same stoned expression, he stared as the child vanished. Based on his knowledge, a puppet wasn't this fragile. But he expected it was because the master had to increase the puppet's speed and power, that led the puppet to become an easy kill once the opponent manages to strike its body.

Finally having enough thoughts about the puppet, he glared down at his claws, his whip having retreated back into the two fingers. A small amount of green liquid had gathered around his nails. He let out a small sound of dissatisfaction, flicked the leftover poison on his hands, and started walking back to his two followers.

Jaken and Rin ran over to him, worried expressions on their faces as they stared down on his arm that had accidentally slipped out of the sleeve of his kimono. Purplish bruises had formed around the pale hand he had revealed. They were sure that his whole arm was covered with those dark spots. Though, he doesn't seem to be affected by it at all.

"Lord Sesshomaru! You're hurt!" Jaken stated and came closer to inspect.

"Do not bother. It's merely a scratch."

That definitely does not look like a scratch, Jaken thought with his gaze fixed on the injury.

"Jaken," he said, pulling the tiny toad out of his thoughts. "Get Ah-Un. We'll leave, now."

"Y-Yes, my lord!" Jaken exclaimed and hurried into the trees to fetch the two-headed dragon.

Rin stared at him sadly as her eyes landed on his arm. "But you look really hurt, Lord Sesshomaru," she said and reached her hands out. "Can Rin see it?"

He wanted to say that she was just worrying over nothing, but something about her facial expression made him gave in. With an inaudible sigh, he reluctantly lowered himself so that the little girl could get a good look on her arm.

Her fingers made sure they were gentle when they turn his arm slowly. She inspected every bruise that had formed onto the revealed flesh. She frowned and her face came closer to the skin just above his wrist. Golden eyes barely widened as she placed a light kiss on one of the bruises. He could feel his body tense at the gesture. If he wasn't thee Sesshomaru, no doubt he would've flinched at the sudden action.

"There," Rin said happily as if nothing had happened. "Mother used to give Rin kisses if Rin had hurt herself. It usually becomes a lot better then."

Sesshomaru gave an almost unnoticable nod and pulled his arm back. He threw a sideway glance at the sound of the toad. He watched as Jaken came back with Ah-Un behind him.

"Lord Sesshomaru! I've found Ah-Un!"

He turned around. "Let's go."

Ah-Un laid on the ground to allow Rin to get on top of him. It stood back up as Rin held onto its neck. Jaken only walked by the dragon's side, following his lord from behind nervously.

"Um... Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken questioned, wanting the demon lord's attention. As he got as much as a 'hn', he continued, "Who was that girl? What does she want from you, my lord?"

"It seems that she is only a puppet," Sesshomaru said, not planning to elaborate any further.

Jaken realised that his master wasn't in the mood for questions—not that he was ever in the mood to answer—so he simply didn't ask any more, much to the demon lord's silent relief.

But Jaken's questions only brought Sesshomaru's mind back to the child puppet. Like the toad had said, what does she want from him? More importantly, who sent her? The way she had spoken had made it clear that she was only aiming for him. It also didn't look like the child was ordered to get anyone other than him, since the puppet had ignored both; Jaken and Rin's presence. That would mean the puppet had been given a specific order, and that was to attack him.

Sesshomaru mentally sighed, not being able to get any clues on who sent the puppet and what is the puppet master's true objective. Deciding to just change his current thoughts, his mind drifted back to what Rin had done.

Truthfully, his whole body ached; not that he paid any mind to the pain. He was sure that his whole body was covered in bruises, but he relied on his powers to heal them. His eyes then unintentionally looked down to where Rin had placed her lips. He was never going to admit it, but his arm did feel slightly better after her kiss. And if it wasn't for the cold mask he usually wore, he would've allowed a small smile to tug at his face.

A girl with long, blonde hair shuffled across the dimmed-lit hallway. The sound of her footsteps were barely audible as she made her way at the end of the hall. Her knuckles reached the wooden door that stood in front of her, and she gave it a few knocks.

"Come in," she heard the voice that came from inside.

She pushed the doors open and found a man, dressed in a black haori and hakama, looking out of the giant glass window. His hands were behind his back, and his eyes kept staring outside as if something had caught his interest. She waited patiently near his desk, expecting his command before she was allowed to speak.

"Jikiko," he finally greeted and spun around. "I assume you have news about your task?"

"Yes, Lord Waru," she said, her voice whisper-like.

She watched as he moved over to the seat he often uses. He pulled the chair slightly before sitting on it. One of his hand ran through his auburn hair, that was tied into a high ponytail. He then casually brushed off the long ponytail that hung over his shoulders so that it would end up behind him. Finally, his crimson eyes met hers; an indication that he was ready to talk.

"Tell me what you've managed to get."

She nodded. "Lord Waru, by your orders, I have done a lot of research on which type of demons carry the strongest blood. It has been found out that a dog demon owns the most powerful blood coursing through their veins."

He nodded in acknowledgement, a gesture for her to continue.

"I have sent many of our men to search for these dog demons, and found out that there are only three left that bears the blood. Though, one of them only holds half of it."

"Half? I suspect he is a half-demon?"

"Yes, my lord," she said. "Two out of three of them are very well-known, while the half-demon is only famous at certain areas. All of them are related to each other."

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully. He almost didn't catch the last few words since her voice was so soft, but he decided to just keep listening. It couldn't be helped that she was born with such a quiet voice. "Continue."

"I have sent my puppets to all three of them. The one sent to the half-demon took the longest to kill, and it was not even finished off by himself. One of his human companions helped him."

"Well, he is a half-demon, so it is to be expected," Waru said in a bored tone. "Though, how come a half-breed like him runs the blood of a dog demon?"

"He is the son of the Inu no Taisho," she said and noticed that her lord flinched slightly. "His name is Inuyasha."

"Inuyasha... The name seems familiar, but I can't seem to remember where I've heard it. Anyway, what about the others?"

"I sent the second to his half-brother, Sesshomaru. While the third to Sesshomaru's mother, Inukimi. Overall results, for Inuyasha, my puppet landed a hit on him; twice. For Sesshoumaru; once. For Inukimi; none."

The lord seemed unfazed. "None? Now that's to be expected since she is mated to the Inu no Taisho."

She bobbed her head. "Sesshomaru and Inukimi are full-fledged demons and are way more powerful than Inuyasha."

"Hmm... then capturing them would be very complicated. Meanwhile, if we were to choose the half-demon, we might have to wait twice longer before we have enough blood for our goal—since we'll have to seperate his human and demon blood."

"But capturing Inuyasha would be easier," she commented.

"Hard decision," Waru muttered to himself thoughtfully. "Anyway, thank you for your report. You are dismissed."

Jikiko bowed before leaving the room.

Waru started thinking. It had been a year since they planned all of this, and now, things were finally in action. The last thing he needed was a powerful demon's blood, and everything would be complete. But the fact that he was only one step away from his goal makes him frustrated. He crossed his leg and unconsciously tapped over his desk.

It was either taking Inuyasha or Sesshomaru. Inukimi was out of the question. She was just too... overpowered; knowing that she also mated the Inu no Taisho. He sighed and thought about Sesshomaru first. He imagined the dog demon in battle. If Sesshoumaru had expected the puppet's attack, would the puppet even have the chance to touch him in the first place? According to Jikiko, he is a full-fledged demon and a dog demon, so there is a high possibility that the answer would be no. With this thought, he realised that capturing Sesshomaru might be just as hard as trying to get his mother. But if he could get his hands on him, then things would surely roll faster.

Then there's Inuyasha. A half-breed—neither fully demon nor human. He probably has half of a full-demon's power, so it must be easier to get him. The problem was that things would take longer until he could finally reach his goal, and that irritates him. But it was probably faster than having to wait for Sesshomaru to be captured.

"I'll just go with the half-demon. He's not strong, so capturing him would be a breeze," he said to no one in particular.

"You're underestimating him."

Waru froze at the deep voice that held a tiny spark of evil playfulness. His eyes darted around the room, but no one else was in there but him. His brows furrowed and his hand reached for the sword at his hip. He had no idea how the unknown guest had ended up in the same room as him, but he would surely be punished for breaking in, and entering without permission.

Waru's eyes widened slightly as a man under a babboon cloak emerged from the ground. On impulse, he gripped the hilt of his sword. "Who are you?"

"My humblest apologies for entering without your consent," the man under the cloak said, and bowed respectfully. "I am Naraku. I have heard that you are planning to capture Inuyasha."

"Who are you and what is your relationship with the half-breed?" Waru said with his eyes narrowed.

A deep chuckle escaped Naraku's lips. "I am his sworn enemy, my lord," he used his arm to pull off the animal cloak, revealing the features of his face.

Crimson eyes met with another set of crimson. The atmosphere was tensed at first, but the tension slowly faded away as Waru relaxed.

"I see. So what are your intentions on coming here, Naraku?" Waru asked and released his sword's hilt.

"As you've heard, I have mentioned that you are underestimating Inuyasha. That half-demon is stronger than he makes you believe," Naraku explained, his lips curled into a smirk. "And with his human companions, things will be very difficult indeed."

"And what are you trying to suggest?" Waru asked, raising a brow.

"I merely wish to offer you my help, my lord," Naraku said and bowed his head. "After battling with the half-demon several times, I found out that there are a few ways on how to set a trap for him."

"If you've battled him many times, and know how to capture him, how come he is still alive?" Waru asked, hinting suspiscion.

He examined the black-haired demon in front of him with his eyes narrowed. Even though he doubted Naraku's strength, but something about the demon's aura said that he is much stronger than he thinks. His aura... it was dark and malicious. There was something unsettling about him. But he couldn't be that strong, could he?

Then the demon's previous words appeared in his head. You are underestimating him. His eyes once again took a glimpse of the demon. Maybe he was underestimating this demon too?

Naraku grinned deviously. "Firstly, Inuyasha is not dead yet because it is for the sake of my own amusement. Secondly, I mean no offense, but just like you, I have underestimated him... many times."

"And?"

"Now that I know your scheme, I would like to take part in it as I find it very interesting," Naraku continued.

"And what do you ask in return if I let you offer your assistance?"

"None, my lord. I merely wish to see the half-demon suffer," Naraku snickered.

"Hn," Waru's lips stretched into a menacing grin. "If we come to an agreement, then we will both get what we want."

"Exactly, my lord."

Not trusting someone you've just met had always been rule number one. But for this once, Waru would gladly take the risk. His instincts were telling him to accept Naraku's offer, and that Naraku wasn't going to interfere with his plans. Besides, it seemed that the black-haired demon just wanted to see the half-demon in misery, which was something he could give—and didn't care about. So, it was settled.

"Very well. I would like to borrow some of your knowledge about the half-demon, and in return, you will see him suffer."

Naraku gave a nod, his face beyond pleased.

"Then, let's discuss on what you have in mind in capturing Inuyasha..."

You guys had no idea how many times I've edited this chapter. At first, I thought it was too early for Sesshoumaru's appearance, but then I was like "screw it, I'm putting Sesshoumaru" and done, he's now in chapter two. I'm not really sure with Rin's actions since I've never seen her touch him, but hey, imagine it as an act on impulse since she sees Sesshoumaru hurt and the first thing she wants to do is help him. Also, gotta add a bit of fluff, right?

I had finished writing this chapter for a while, but I had been editing it non-stop. I want to make sure that everyone is in character and it seems that I keep missing out some things. Well, hope everything pays off.

Thank you for those who left a review. I don't know how to reply on the Fanfiction app since I've recently started using it. Even if I may not be able to reply, but that doesn't mean I don't read the reviews. Again, thank you for the reviews. It boosts my motivation to a whole new level.