Kimi stared at Sesshoumaru. He seemed like a strong demon, how in the world could she beat him? She decided she had no choice though. She was going to fight him. She needed to get away.

"Fine." She nervously confirmed as she stepped away from Sesshoumaru and waited for his first move. Sesshoumaru seemed to want her to make the first move, but she knew better. The pair didn't make a movement for what seemed to be hours. Finally, Sesshoumaru disappeared causing Kimi to panic.

She felt the bracelet burn her wrist once more. She would have to figure out why it did that after she won the battle. She focused her eyes, searching for any sign of movement. It wouldn't be easy, but she had to try.

She suddenly felt something heading towards her. She quickly twisted her body and blocked Sesshoumaru's arm. He smirked at her as he flipped over her and attacked her, hit after hit. And she blocked each of his attacks. She had trouble moving because of her maid outfit. It was very restricting.

Sesshoumaru was holding back. He didn't want to hurt Kimi. But he was pleased that she could still defend herself.

Kimi raised her leg, causing her uniform to rip, to strike Sesshoumaru. He caught her leg and flung her over his shoulder. Kimi let out a shriek as she caught her balance in the air and back hand springed back onto her feet. She was very surprised by herself. How was she doing this? She never fought in her life, nor taken gymnastics. She was taken by surprise when Sesshoumaru pinned her to a nearby tree.

His face was so close to hers. She could feel the heat coming off of him. Her face filled with colour. Her stomach was twisting in knots. She had never felt this way before. She felt as if she was in the right spot. Her eyes finally locked in with his. She couldn't tear them away. They were so beautiful and full of emotions that he wouldn't let be known. She could've sworn his face was inching toward hers. She could feel her eyes beginning to close and their lips about to touch.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" A hideous shriek broke the silence. Sesshoumaru growled as he pulled away from Kimiko. He was going to kill the little imp the next chance he had. "Lord Sesshoumaru! Where- oh there you are!"

Kimi snapped out of the trance she seemed to be in. Did that all really happen? It was probably a dream. She touched her face, it was very hot. She could only imagine what she looked like. She looked up only to notice Sesshoumaru glowering at the imp. Not only did she not like frogs or things that reminded her of them, she never could recall why, Jaken was annoying as ever. He always ordered her around like she had no worth.

"Jaken… what is it you want?" Sesshoumaru asked, the anger evident in his voice. Jaken quickly crumpled to his Lord's feet. He hated when his Lord was angry with him.

"K-Kouji and Mamoru have returned from their d-duties. They sent me to search for you. They say it's u-urgent." Jaken stammered. Sesshoumaru raised a brow. What could be so urgent that they would send Jaken to search for him? He started to walk off.

"Jaken, bring Kimiko back to the castle." Sesshoumaru ordered before disappearing. Kimi blinked twice before accepting he had done it again. She would have to ask him how he did that trick. Jaken cleared his throat. Of course he remembered Kimiko before she had disappeared. He watched his Lord destroy multiple rooms of the castle, enraged when he couldn't find his beloved. But his Lord also had given him clear orders to treat her exactly as he had when they first met, as to not to disturb her memories.

"Let's go, wench. You heard Lord Sesshoumaru. Let's go." Jaken ordered as he started to poke Kimi with his staff. Kimi growled as she started to walk back toward the palace with her arms crossed. She could easily take on Jaken, but a deal was a deal. She did however make a promise to herself. If Jaken dared touch her again with his stupid staff-

"Walk faster! I have duties to attend to! I don't have time to babysit!" Jaken snapped as he poked Kimi with his staff once more. Kimi twisted herself around and kicked Jaken so hard he went flying into the air. She smiled to herself in satisfaction as she turned back toward the castle.

As soon as Kimi walked into the servant's entrance, she got dragged into Natsuko's room… by an angry Natsuko.

"What were you thinking?! And what happened to your uniform?" Natsuko interrogated angrily. Kimi cringed at each word. She didn't think she would be that angry.

"Well isn't that a long story!" Kimi nervously laughed as she lowered her head. Natsuko paced around Kimi with her arms crossed.

"M'Lord told me I could punish you anyway I see fit." Natsuko started as she stopped in front of Kimi with a smile on her face. Kimi raised her brow. It couldn't have been good if Natsuko was smiling. "And my punishment for you is…"

Sesshoumaru sauntered into his study only to be greeted by Kouji and Mamoru. He sat down behind his desk and stared up at his two trusted demons guards.

"What was so important you sent Jaken in search of me?" Sesshoumaru inquired. He knew it was of importance when Mamoru didn't kneel before him, but walked forward with something in his hand.

"On our travels along the borders of the castle we found nothing of suspicion." Mamoru started. "But when we got closer, Kouji noticed a scent, one we never smelt before. Once we closed in one the where abouts, we came to a tree. Kouji investigated and found this in it." Mamoru finished as he handed something over to his Lord. Sesshoumaru took the thing from Mamoru's hand and investigated. It was a long white strand of hair.

"Go on." Sesshoumaru ordered as he continued to stare at the strand. Kouji cleared his throat.

"We figured that someone had been spying. The location of the tree gave good sight to a lot of the rooms in the castle." Sesshoumaru raised his brow at the wording of Kouji's sentence.

"Gave?" Sesshoumaru questioned. Both demons nodded their heads.

"That was why we especially needed to discuss this with you, M'Lord. The tree went up in flames after Kouji jumped down from it." Mamoru clarified to his Lord. Sesshoumaru felt his hand burn. He stared down at the hair in his hand that started to burn. His brows furrowed.

"There is not much we can do now that our leads have disintegrated, but continue to search for leads. Have guards constantly patrolling the area." Sesshoumaru ordered as he dismissed the guards. They bowed to show their understanding of the orders and finally left.

Ryo stood on top of a crow demon and he smugly smiled to himself. He was very close to getting answers to fulfill his wish of becoming the most powerful. He made Kaori stay behind as he didn't want to reveal too much to her. She had too much of a heart to know what he wanted to do.

He leaped off of the crow and landed perfectly in front of an old cave. It looked empty, but Ryo knew better. He sauntered in as if he owned it. As he got deeper into the cave, a fire could be seen. Ryo let out a loud laugh signalling his presence.

"What brings you to my establishment Ryo?" A dark voice asked. Ryo finally turned the corner of the cave to came face to face with his "friend". Kaori was right when she said he had no friends. He didn't even consider Kaori his friend; just someone who was useful. Ryo smirked at the dark figure that stood before him. It was a man in a dark hooded cloak, his face completely covered. Ryo could care less if the man revealed himself or not; he wasn't there for that. Ryo stood in front of the man, his hands in his pockets.

"You know exactly why I'm here, Tankto." Ryo muttered, his smirk not leaving his face. Tankto stopped stirring his cauldron. The dark wizard always had some dark potion he had to make. Tankto snickered as his dark hood looked up at the young ram demon.

"I see you haven't figured out how to open that damned book yet." Tankto teased. Ryo's smirk wiped off of his face as his fists clenched. Tankto's hood tilted to the side. "That book holds the key to your success."

"I don't have time to waste. How do I open it." Ryo grumbled. He hated how the man would stall telling him what he needed. Once he had enough power, Tankto would be the first to go.

"A dark heart cannot open the book, sadly. Or else we'd have a plethora of people like you." Tankto stared. He threw dust into his dark cauldron. "Only a pure heart can open it. Only a pure heart can chant the incantations. It's tricky business finding a pure hearted person in the dark arts." Tankto snickered at his last comment. Ryo growled as he turned oh his heel and stomped away. As Ryo turned the corner, Tankto's voice echoed throughout the hall.

"Keep in mind, if you do get the book opened. The power has a mind of its own and will try to make you do its bidding. If you do not have enough will power, you are doomed." Ryo scoffed at the dark wizard's comment. Nothing would stop him from becoming the greatest warlock in the land. He would get the book opened, and he knew exactly who would do it.

Kimiko grumbled as she rubbed the tired out of her eyes. She couldn't believe the punishment Natsuko had so kindly bestowed on her. It was horrible! Natsuko continued to drag Kimi toward her destination, to make sure she didn't try to run away again. Kimi struggled to keep up behind Natsuko, she mended her outfit the night before and it seemed even tighter than before!

They stopped when they were in front of a pair of large double doors. Kimi tugged on her arm, trying to get away from Natsuko. Natsuko knocked on the door twice before pushing it open and shoving Kimi in.

"M'Lord, Kimiko is here to serve you for the day." Natsuko spoke with a bow. Kimi bit her lip. Of all the things Natsuko could have done, she had to choose this. Kimi mumbled profanities under her breath as she crossed her arms. Sesshoumaru slightly smirked.

"Interesting choice, Natsuko." Sesshoumaru spoke as he took a seat at his desk. The desk was so full of papers, Kimi wasn't sure if there was actually a desk! Natsuko bowed once more before leaving Kimi alone. Kimi gulped as she waited for her first order. She noticed that Sesshoumaru's hair seemed wet, as if he had just came out of the shower.

Just as Kimi was getting tired with standing, the doors burst open as Rin ran through it. She gasped when she noticed Kimi there and bowed to her Lord.

"I'm sorry Lord Sesshoumaru! I didn't know you were having a meeting! I'll come back later!" Rin quickly apologized before turning around. Sesshoumaru chuckled. Kimi couldn't help but feel soothed by the sound.

"There is no meeting Rin. I was waiting for you." He started to explain. Rin turned around and smiled. "Sadly, I have a lot of paper work to attend to so Kimiko will play with you for the day." Sesshoumaru finished as he nodded his head toward Kimi. Her eyes widened at Sesshoumaru. She knew absolutely nothing about children. How could he expect her to do such a thing?!

"Yay! Kimiko, we're going to have so much fun! Let's go to the gardens!" Rin exclaimed with a smile as she dragged Kimi out of the room and headed toward the gardens.

Kimi's eyes widened at the sight of the gardens. There was a fountain that took center stage which was surrounded by beautiful flowers. Around the gardens were plenty of tree for shade. There was even a small pond with fish swimming in it. It was breathtaking. Rin dragged Kimi toward a field of wild flowers and sat in it. Kimi took a seat beside her and smiled.

"This place is beautiful…" Kimi whispered, mostly to herself. Rin smiled up at her, her bangs in her eyes.

"I know! I come here every day!" Rin giggled. She picked a red flower and held it out for Kimi. Kimi smiled and gently took the flower and placed it behind Rin's ear. Kimi stood up and tapped Rin on the nose.

"Tag! You're it!" She giggled as she raced away from Rin. Rin stood up and held her hands on her hips.

"Hey! Unfair!" She shouted as she ran after Kimi.

Kimi carried a sleeping Rin back into the palace. The pair had played for so long, the poor child fell asleep in the flowers. Kimi stared down at the sleeping figure, she was so cute. She gently carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom where she tucked her in bed.

After Kimi left Rin's room, the burning sensation around her wrist appeared again. She stared down at her bracelet and remembered she wanted to find out why it did that. She headed toward the library on her new mission.

She quietly pushed one of the large doors open and sauntered in. She found the library by accident one day when she was looking for a different room. The walls were a deep maroon with golden trimmings. Tall bookcases filled the room, at least ten or eleven of them. Kimi slowly strolled through the large library in search of anything that would give her answers.

As Kimi walked passed a bookcase a scroll fell to the ground. She turned around and picked it up.

"Hello? Anyone here?" She whispered. She found it kind of odd that the scroll would fall when she was nowhere near the shelf. She slowly opened the scroll. The titled read 'Eastern Land Map'. Kimi's head started to pound with thoughts. The Eastern Lands sounded familiar to her for some reason. She rolled up the scroll and placed it into her apron pocket, she would look it over later.

She stared at the shelf the scroll came from and noticed something peculiar. There was a lone maroon coloured book sitting between all the scrolls. Kimi raised her brow as she reached for it. It had to be important.

Kimi stretched for the book but the shelf was too high. She was only five foot five after all. She grumbled nonsense about her height as she stood on a lower shelf and pulled the book out. As she did this, the bookcase swivelled until she was no longer in the library.

Kimi quickly let go of the book and hopped off of the shelf. Her heart was pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears. What did she get herself into this time? The smooth maroon coloured walled were now ragged and cold, as if she were in a cave. She noticed at the end of the hall, a small light was flashing. Before she finished her step, Kimi noticed the bookcase start to twist again. This was her chance to get out! She had to make a decision quickly, find out what was at the end of the hall or go back to the library.

Before she knew it, she turned her back to the bookcase and cautiously strolled down the cold and dark hall. Her curiosity had won. The light was getting closer and closer to her causing her heart to pound harder and harder. What if she made a mistake and there was no way for her to back? Kimi stopped her thoughts. Why would she want to go back? She was being used as a slave for some big shot demon who only wanted control over her. This could be her escape.

She finally rounded the last corner of the long hallway. Her breath got caught in her throat. In front of her was a small chamber filled with jewels and beautiful clothing. But what took her breath away was the large portrait hanging in front of her.

Kimi slowly inched toward the portrait. It covered a full an entire wall. It was framed with gold and jewels. But that was not what startled Kimi. When she stood directly in front of it, she extended her arm and ran her fingers down the soft fabric of the picture. It was of a woman who wore the same maid outfit as her. She posed in Sesshoumaru's kitchens. She held a broom with her long slender fingers. A small smile appeared on her face, her emerald eyes sparkling. Her cheeks were filled with the colour pink as her golden hair cascaded down her back.

Kimi took a few steps back as she held her chest. This was a portrait of… her… but she didn't remember posing for one. She was very confused. As she took another step back, she hit something hard. She swiftly turned and jumped in shock when she saw Sesshoumaru glaring at her. A low growl escaped his throat.

"Se-Se- Sesshoumaru…" She quickly stuttered. She knew she was in trouble now.

"What are you doing in here?" He growled. Every word more stern than the last.

"I… I was… I-" Kimi took a deep breath. What was she doing? There was a picture of her in Sesshoumaru's library! He was creeping on her! She clenched her fists as she returned his glare. "That doesn't concern you. What I want to know is why you have a portrait of me!"

Sesshoumaru stared Kimi down. He couldn't believe that she had found where he was hiding anything that reminded him of her when she disappeared. His face softened, she didn't remember the portrait. He didn't want to tell her everything so soon, not like this. She might go into shock. He stared at the portrait for a long time. He had it made after she was gone.

"Kimi…" He started. Kimi jumped in shock. That was the first time he called her by her nickname and it felt… right. She watched as Sesshoumaru opened his mouth to speak again but quickly stopped. He took hold of her arm and pulled her behind him.

"What are you doing? Let me go! I need answers!" She insisted as she struggled to get out of Sesshoumaru's grasp, but he was too strong. Sesshoumaru led her out of the secret chamber, closing it behind him. He then led her out of the library, down a lot of hallways and finally down the front staircase where Akiho, Natsuko, Kouji and Mamoru were standing. Mamoru was the first to notice the arrival the pair.

"M'Lord, there is a procession headed for us." Mamoru informed. Akiho turned her attention to Sesshoumaru. Her eyes turned icy when she saw him holding onto Kimi. Sesshoumaru pulled Kimi towards the door and pushed it open. He led her outside and watched the carriages stop in front of his palace. He gave a nod, and two guards allowed the strangers to come closer. Sesshoumaru pushed Kimi behind him, to protect her. Kimi growled.

A man of a bigger build came out of a carriage. He majestically strolled toward the small group that stood before him. His dark hair blew in the breeze as his hazel eyes glared. He couldn't believe he had to travel all the way here to claim what was his. He soon stopped as a small smirk appeared on his face.

"Ah, Lord Sesshoumaru. What a pleasure it is to see you." The man sarcastically commented as he crossed his arms. His servants knelt down beside him. Sesshoumaru raised his delicate brow.

"Lord Haru. What are you doing on my lands?" Sesshoumaru boldly stated. He barely ever saw the Eastern Lord. He always seemed to keep to himself, which was fine for Sesshoumaru. He didn't need any disturbances like he got from lesser Lords. A smirk appeared on Haru's face.

"Always cutting to the chase aren't we, Lord Sesshoumaru. Well, I'm sure you know exactly why I'm here." Lord Haru said as he readjusted his arms. The smirk that was once on his face now was gone from his aged face. Sesshoumaru was confused. He had nothing of that belonged to him. The last time he saw the Lord was five years ago when he asked for some guards. He was searching for something but didn't disclose what. When Haru noticed that Sesshoumaru had no idea what he was talking about, anger appeared on his face.

"I'm here to collect my daughter, Kimiko."

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Snowy B