A/N: I hope you enjoy this! it's REALLY long!!

Once I had cried myself out I stood up and faced the pit in the center. I picked up a stick that still burned and carefully held it to the mound of wood in the center until it caught fire. I placed the stick back in its container and knelt in front of the fire that was quickly consuming the wood.

I knew that the wood would never run out, that the pieces in this room would still perform the tasks they were made to do. This room was special… each piece had a life of its own. This was Brielle's room, these things were hers, and they have never forgotten their purpose…

As I knelt before the fire my eyes closed as I concentrated on what I needed to see. I began grabbing items without knowing what they were as I focused in on the thing that was slowly forming in the orange flicker that danced across my closed lids.

"I promise I won't harm a hair on your sister's head." A man's voice echoed through the room.

"You won't hurt the villagers…?" Someone else questioned.

I turned quickly and opened my eyes; in the mirror I could see the two figures that stood in the flames; Seiko and Naraku. I could feel tears filling up in my eyes but I did not blink as I watched the scene progress.

"I won't harm any of them… I promise I will only harm your sister's husband. Once he's out of the picture your sister should be yours again." Naraku continued.

Seiko relaxed visibly. "Then I will show you the back entrance to the village… it will be less protected…"

The scene shimmered as the flames reclaimed the two men, changing and twisting to the scene from my dreams earlier.

"That stupid boy is late…" Naraku chided as he paced back and forth at the spot he was told the boy would be. A presence was approaching and it wasn't the one he wanted.

"I knew I smelled Naraku here…" InuYasha growled as he sniffed the air lightly.

"I do sense a jewel shard around here…" Kagome mulled.

Seiko approached the area he said he would meet Naraku and saw the people looking for Naraku and quickly turned around, heading back the way he had come.

"Hey kid!" InuYasha yelled; Seiko froze. "Hey kid, I'm not going to hurt you I just want to ask you something." He ran up to Seiko. "Have you seen a man wearing a baboon pelt?"

"Baboon pelt…?" Seiko questioned making himself look confused; he had plenty of practice doing this with his sister. "No…" He finally answered. "I think I would remember some weird-o wearing a baboon pelt…"

"Thanks anyway kid."

I pushed ahead since I had already seen what happened next.

"You promised!" Seiko screeched as he watched the village burn in horror. "You said you wouldn't hurt them!!"

Naraku smirked. "I did say that, did I?"

"You were just going to get rid of Sesshoumaru, not burn down the entire village!!"

"Seiko…?" I questioned as I held out my bloody katana. "How could you…?"

"I didn't know!" He cried. "All I wanted was to have you back and Sesshoumaru gone… I didn't want this…"

I smiled sadly at him. "Naraku would never promise that and keep to his promise…" I sighed in resignation. "My husband is dead… my sister Suzuki… my brother Makoto… their daughter Shizuko… Amane… Washi… Toshi… Nami… Mai… Seiji… Rin… Everyone is dead… There's nothing left for me…" I turned the sword around. "I'm sorry Seiko…" with that I plunged the sword into my chest.

I cringed away from the vision and turned it down a different route since I knew he was coming now I tried to see what else could happen.

Images of Naraku and his captive blurred quickly across the fire as I saw that Naraku would finally give up on me in exchange for her; I sighed in relief.

Suddenly I knew what I had to do and I set to work, gathering the items in the room that would help me with the task at hand. Every once in a while I would look up into the mirror as if it told me to; a new image would appear and I soon began to relax knowing that things were going to work out alright.

"Kaori…" A voice bubbled in the room.

I opened my eyes slowly as I tried to remember where I was.

"Kaori…" The voice bubbled again.

I groaned as I sat up. I had fallen over from my sitting position and my legs had fallen asleep.

"Get up you silly bird."

"I'm up I'm up…" I grumbled as I stumbled to my feet, pins and needles ran through both of my legs.

"There's something left in the mirror…"

I shook my head a few times and stumbled over to the mirror; my haggard reflection stared back at me. "There's nothing here."

"Look again…"

So I did. I looked at my reflection again, scrutinizing it from head to toe then back up to my stomach; my eyes widened.

"I'm… I've… This is a joke right?" I stuttered.

"It's not a joke, little bird…"

I stared at the mirror again running my hand over the cool glass where my stomach was. "I'm pregnant…" I murmured as I stared at the pulsing light; another heartbeat…

The light faded and I knew it was time to leave the room. I gathered the items I had made to help me when Naraku arrived and left the room; the door shut on its own.

"Sesshoumaru…?" I questioned as I finally approached my door. The door slid open to reveal a very relieved look Sesshoumaru, I smiled. "I'm back…" I whispered.

He didn't say anything just scooped me up and kissed me hard and he turned around to walk back in my room, closing the door with his foot. Fluidly he sat down, still holding me of course, and cradled me in his lap as his lips worked against mine in a frantic rhythm.

As his lips moved from mine to my neck there was a knock on the door. "Lady Kaori… There is a runner here from Lord Matsu's village… He says it's urgent."

"Tell him I'll be right with him; make him comfortable, he's come a long way in just two days." I answered hoping my voice didn't sound as breathless as I felt.

"Of course my Lady…" With that they left.

"Okay, okay…" I gasped as I tried to keep my kimono on. "Sesshoumaru… please…"

Another knock stopped me from finishing what I was saying. "Lady Kaori… there's a little girl out here saying that she's looking for you."

That made Sesshoumaru stop. He carefully pulled my kimono back up over my breasts and gently stood me up, smoothing out my hair then his own.

"That's Rin… Send her in." I answered.

The door slid open and Rin walked in. "Kaori-sama!" She cried as she ran over to me.

I smiled and scooped her up. "Did you get lost?" I asked as I held her; she nodded. "Well it's a good thing we have all these very nice people who will help you…" I turned and handed her to Sesshoumaru who quickly grabbed her before he realized what he was doing. "I have to go meet the runner… I'll be right back…" I pulled off my kimono and traded it for a silk one as I piled my hair on top of my head with a hair comb so I could hide how messy it truly was.

"Lady Kaori… Lord Matsu sends you and your new husband his regards and hopes that you are both doing well." The runner from Matsu's village greeted as soon as he saw me.

I smiled at him. "Tell him we are well and that I send him my regards as well."

The man bowed. "Lord Matsu had a request for you…" He started slowly.

I nodded. "Please, don't be afraid to tell me." I was glad I had placed the magic back on to hide my real appearance; I probably would have scared him shitless.

"Lord Matsu had some visitors the other day… He was hoping you would meet with him… that you might be able to help them find who they're searching for."

"Of course I will help… Tell him to send his visitors here and I will gladly help with as much as I can."

He bowed. "Thank you Lady Kaori."

I smiled. "You are most welcome. Now… You can stay here for the night and rest, or return, but do not force yourself." With that I left.

"Kaori-dono!" Someone shouted from the top of the wall.

"What is it?" I answered back.

"There's a large group of people approaching!"

"That's them!" I called back. "How many?"

"Five I believe. OH! And a flea! So that's six."

I sighed. "Alright." I gathered five pieces of cloth and a sac; I turned to look up at Sesshoumaru. "You don't have to do this…"

"I know…" He murmured. He leaned down and brushed his lips softly against mine. "I'll meet you up at the palace."

I smiled. "Okay…" I watched him turn and ascend the stairs then turned back to the door. "I'm going through now!" I called to the men on the top of the wall. I carefully slid myself around the slightly open gate and waited a few minutes until I knew everyone was prepared.

"Where is this stupid place?!" shouted a man that I assumed was InuYasha.

"Well that other Lord did say it was hard to find…" Answered another man.

"Yeah but THIS doesn't even HOLD a village! He sent us the wrong way!"

I smiled to myself, I was glad that the village was hidden so well, and then I headed towards the voices, pulling the magic I used so much to cover me yet again.

"Shh…" a woman hissed as she heard my approach. "There's someone in the woods."

All eyes were turned on me as I walked out of the trees to greet my guests.

"Are you the guests of Lord Matsu of the pine village?" I asked keeping myself formal.

"A man named Matsu did send us to find a village if that's what you mean." InuYasha replied angrily.

"That's all I needed to know…" I answered and walked to the silver haired boy, he looked nothing like my husband once you noticed the silver hair and gold eyes he must look like his mother. "Please bend down…" I asked sweetly as I held out the first of the cloth eye covers.

"You are NOT putting that on me!" He shouted as he wheeled away from me.

"Then I'm afraid I cannot take you into the village. You see… We have been hidden away from the world for many years for the safety of the people that live within our walls. So you must wear the blind fold or I am not allowed to take you inside…"

The young girl in the short dress came up to me. "Well I think that's reasonable. You can tie one on me first."

I smiled at her and carefully knotted the fabric around her eyes then proceeded to check and see if she could see out of it. I turned to the other group members. "It's customary…" I murmured.

The demon slayer walked up next. "If Kagome trusts you then I think you're safe."

I bowed my head and tied the fabric around her eyes. The Monk came up to me after. He grasped my hand and stared into my eyes, I stared back, confused.

"Will you bear my child?" He asked; I gaped at him.

Even with the blindfold on the demon slayer was able to slap him. "Miroku you lecher! Leave her alone!"

I quickly tied the blindfold around his eyes, a little tighter than the others. I turned to the last one without a blindfold.

"I'm not wearing it." He growled.

"But you have to…" I insisted.

"You'll have to take me in there without one, I'm not doing it!"

"SIT BOY!" The girl with the bow shouted; InuYasha slammed into the ground. I gawked. "You either let her tie it on you or I'll tie you to a tree!!"

I walked over to the fallen dog and carefully tied the fabric around his eyes while grabbing the flea before it knew what was happening and dumped him in the bag I had with me. I pressed the bag into InuYasha's hand as I made them each grab hands.

"I'm sorry if it's uncomfortable for all of you… I just don't want you getting lost or running into a tree…" I apologized.

"That's fine, we'll survive." Was the reply.

I led them towards the tree that served as the entrance and stood there quietly, waiting for the guards to open the gate.

The gate slid open silently and I led them through the door, waiting for it to close before I pulled their blindfolds off.

InuYasha sniffed and wrinkled his nose. "Where are we…?" He muttered.

"The Hidden Village." I answered back deciding it was better to use the other name for our village. I pulled their blindfolds free and swept my arm to the stairs. "That is the way to the home of the Lord and Lady of this village, or…" I swept my arm to my empty home. "You can stay down here for the night and head up in the morning."

"I think we'll head up now." Miroku insisted.

"You can't be perverted with the lady your lecher." Growled the girl with the boomerang; he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

I smiled and bowed. "Follow me if you will…" I turned and headed for the stairs. I saw Seiji waiting at the top of the stairs.

"Ah…" I shot him a dark look; I knew what he was going to say. "The guests have arrived…" He finished quickly. "Thank you for bringing them in. I'll take them from here; you go tell the Lord and Lady they have arrived."

I nodded and walked off in a different direction then began running as soon as I knew I was out of sight.

"Kaori-dono!" Mai hissed as she grabbed my arm when I ran by. "We need to clean you off before dressing you; we can't have him knowing you from your smell."

I blushed, I hadn't thought about that. "You knew?"

"Sesshoumaru-dono warned me." She answered.

I sighed he always thought things through… I was glad he was my husband.

The women scrubbed me from head to toe, adding oils and perfumes to my body to mask my sent. Once they had finished they threw a large piece of cloth over me and raced me to my room to finish getting me ready. With the nagajugan on and my kimono in place they pulled the two pieces on hair that always hung over my shoulder and twisted them into an intricate knot on the back of my head, securing it with a comb. The last to cover me was a long michiyuki that was placed over my head to cover my face in shadow; with that I was on my way to meet the group personally.

"Does everyone have to wait this long to meet the couple here?" Snapped the dog.

"Hush!" The girl who had forced InuYasha to the ground retorted. "They'll hear you! If you're going to be mean about them they may not help us!"

Mai smiled at me and slid the partition opened.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting…" I announced as I slid past the door. "I am the Lady of this village. How may I help you…?"

InuYasha sniffed then sneezed; I blinked. "You're hiding your scent" He was very blunt.

"What gave you that idea…?" I asked with genuine curiosity.

"You're wearing perfume."

"Is it wrong to wear perfume…?" I asked sweetly.

The girl next to him elbowed his ribs. "I'm sorry he's being rude. Please forgive him."

I laughed. "It's alright. He's a very perceptive young man, if not a little blunt at times, but still very keen on his senses. Tell me…" I turned to look at InuYasha again. "Why would you assume that I am indeed trying to hide my scent and not just wearing perfume…?"

He blushed slightly, getting angry with himself for being caught off guard I assumed. "Because you're wearing just enough to cover your real smell but not enough to be overpowering to normal senses… almost like you knew one of us would have a strong enough sense of smell to figure out who you were."

I laughed again. "Very perceptive young man…" I smiled at them. "Now that we have that out of the way why don't you tell me why my friend has sent you to me…?"

"Well…" the girl, Kagome was her name, started. "We were told that you would be able to help us find someone…"

I smiled sweetly at her. "Someone is a very broad term…"

"Oh Uh…" She stuttered.

"Naraku… That is the name you're looking for." I murmured as stared at her.

Her eyes widened. "How did you know…?"

"Easy!" InuYasha shouted as he stood up. "That guy told her when he sent the runner!"

"Sit down InuYasha…" I scolded, still keeping my voice light; his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Lord Matsu never told me what you were looking for… in fact he never even told me the names of the visitors he was sending. I am well aware that he has told you I… know things that would help you find out what this Naraku is looking for… Of course I know all of your names and who that man is… I wouldn't be very good at what I do if I didn't." I looked at each of them in turn. "Kagome Higurashi… You're from the future; you are also supposed to be the reincarnation of Kikyo… The priestess who guarded the Shikon no Tama, or the Jewel of Fours Souls…" I smiled at her shocked face. "You are InuYasha… Half demon son of the former dog demon lord of the western lands, Inu no Taishou was his title… Dog General… Your mother was human… Izayoi was her name" I moved passed his angry face to the Monk. "Miroku is your name and you have a very interesting curse in your right hand called the Wind Tunnel, a void that when released will suck in anything that's in its path, it will also kill you in time if you do not kill Naraku and break the curse… It started with your grandfather." I smiled as his jaw flopped open. "Sango, you are the last… oh… excuse me… second to last demon exterminator… Your entire village was wiped out by Naraku, who now has in possession your kid brother by using a tainted piece of the Shikon jewel. Kirara is your faithful companion, who can change size when need be." I turned to the small fox that had moved himself into Kagome's lap as I listed off the information about them. "And Shippo… You are a fox child… your father was murdered by the Thunder Demons. I looked at all of them. "Did I miss anything?"

They stared at me in disbelief, as if I had dropped a weight on their heads.

"Should we continue this conversation tomorrow when you have all gotten over your shock…?" I asked gently, hoping I didn't scare them.

"Wh…" InuYasha started. He cleared his throat and shook his head. "What about you? We know nothing about you."

I stared at him, mulling over what I should and should not tell him. "I am Lady Kaori Ogensai of the Hidden Village." I opted for my former last name since I had no idea if Sesshoumaru was going to meet with his half brother or not.

"Where's your husband?" InuYasha insisted.

"Away on business." I answered back.

"What man leaves his wife alone…?" InuYasha was pushing his luck.

"I can take care of myself when I am alone, my husband knows this." I was starting to become angry.

He sniffed again and I bit my tongue, I hoped he couldn't smell me. "You're not human…" He mulled finally.

I cringed internally. "What gives you that idea…?"

"When you got angry I could smell something over the scent of your perfume… it's not a human scent."

"So does that make me a half demon like you InuYasha…?" I chided lightly.

He growled at me. "No." He snapped. "You're not a half demon."

"Well if I'm not a half demon and I am not a human what am I?"

"Stop it InuYasha." Kagome hissed. "If you make her angry she's not going to help us."

"We have a right to know about her."

I sighed, mulling over what I should say. "I am Lady Kaori Ogensai of the Hidden Village." I repeated.

InuYasha's eyes widened. "You're her!!"

"Who…?"

"That girl; the one that let us into the village!"

I blinked. "What makes you say that…?"

"It's your scent. It's the same smell that the girl had before."

"You're not going to give up are you…?"

He shook his head and I sighed. Carefully I lifted the michiyuki off my head and laid it on my shoulders; they stared at me.

"But… but…but…" InuYasha repeated.

"But what…?"

"You're human!!"

"And…?" I asked, pretending to be confused.

"You don't smell human! You can't be human!"

"Why not…?"

"Because I'm always right!!"

I opened my mouth to answer him but the words came from behind me. "You're not always right…"

It was him… He had come despite his resignation for my choice… My love had come.

Even though I had turned to face the door behind me I knew when InuYasha charged the door. I was on my feet and holding him in a headlock before anyone really knew what happened.

"You will not attack anyone while you are in my village…" I murmured darkly. "Now… why don't you just… SIT… DOWN!!" I had thrown him into the wall behind his group before he had time to react. I hissed in pain as I quickly pulled my silk kimono off my right shoulder; blood stained my nagajugan and I silently thanked Mai for putting me into a woolen one and not a silk one.

"Are you hurt…?" Sesshoumaru murmured lifting my arm and tearing off my sleeve.

Kagome was the first to recover and started digging through the bag she had beside her. "Here…" She said as she ran up to us.

Sesshoumaru backed away to stand behind me while Kagome began to wrap my arm. She was very good at not worrying about the man standing behind me as she spread the ointment on my arm, but she did sneak nervous glances at him as she wrapped; he only stared at my arm.

InuYasha was up faster than I expected. "Sesshoumaru!" he yelled as he charged us yet again.

I pressed my hand against Sesshoumaru's stiffened body. "Let me…" I murmured as I pulled out my katana and blocked InuYasha's unplanned swing; the group gasped. "What did I tell you InuYasha…?" I questioned darkly; he pressed against my katana harder. "You're not allowed to attack anyone while you're here in my village…" I pressed my katana back against his sword, moving him back an inch. "If you can't follow my rules I will give my husband free reign to kill you…" My legs began to give out and the edges of my vision began to become hazy; I was losing more blood than I thought.

Sesshoumaru seemed to know what was happening and he shoved his brother off of me while catching me gently before I fell.

"That was foolish…" I whispered as I let him hold me up.

"Yes…" He agreed with a small smile. "It was foolish…" He sat down carefully with me. "But I wouldn't have let you do it if I didn't think you could handle yourself…"

I smiled at him, resting my head against his fur. "You wanted to know what Naraku was looking for… What InuYasha's brother was hiding from him…" I turned my head away from my husband to look at the group as they huddled around InuYasha.

"It's me…"