Chapter 5: Plots and Pinky Swears!

Naraku, dressed in his usual baboon pelt, sat on the Eastern Lord's throne, feeling victorious and most at home on the pervious Dragon Taiyoukai's throne of obsidian trimmed with gold.

Finally his plan was going into motion. A plan that had taken years to conceive, longer than the mind games he played with certain hanyou.

He felt hatred bubble in his soul before he smothered it. Why should he ruin his present good mood with thoughts of the hated creature previously mentioned? He would give Inuyasha the honor though, of being the only one, besides Kikyo, who was able to get under his skin.

After all, Kikyo was the person who made him who he was today.

Speaking of Inuyasha, he'd better check on the half-breed's progress.

He beckoned to Kana and she stepped forth, knowing full well the image he wanted to see. She stood in front of him as he sat comfortably, only leaning slightly forward, using his arm as a head rest while staring into the mirror in Kana's grasp.

He waited patiently as the mists that whirled in the mirror parted to reveal Inuyasha and his group were once again traveling, no doubt after what little of the jewel shards remained unfound. This wouldn't originally have interested him if it weren't for the fact that they were missing a person of their party.

The miko that so reminded him of the woman he desired, even now.

"Show me the last time the whereabouts of "Kagome" were known."

The mirror fogged once again as a new image appeared.

The miko had apparently snuck off from Inuyasha in the middle of the night, about a week ago if the moon was anything to go by, heading only Kami knows where when she was kidnapped by what looked to be a werewolf.

He continued to watch with peaking interest as she struggled, injuring both her and the wolf as they tumbled down a slope toward a chasm, raising an eyebrow in surprise as the vaguely familiar face of Lord Sesshomaru's ward stumbled upon the scene, conveniently on the opposite side of the chasm, inaudibly screaming. He noticed that the werewolf's attention was set on the girl and all but ignored Kagome as he jumped to devour the easier prey, who seemed too frightened to move.

His eyes widened in shock as Kagome jumped on the wolf's back as it jumped past her to send them both tumbling into the chasm before the mirror went completely blank.

This was quite an interesting new…development.

Kagura entered the dark throne room, the wind that was constantly mixed with her presence causing her the red and white silks of her kimono to flutter about her as she stopped in the middle of the floor and kneeled, head bowed before the one that holds her heart (literally).

"Kohaku is dispatching the remaining allies of the former Eastern Lord, including the princess who made off with the shards and the sword. All this land is yours, Naraku." She said in a monotone, knowing full well that Naraku probably already knew this information already.

She looked up at his handsome face and into the crimson eyes so much like her own, noting his smug look of contentment. "I take it Inuyasha and his friends have run into some trouble?" she inquired. Nothing less would give Naraku such satisfaction, not even his current victory over the Dragon Youkai and gain of the Eastern Lands.

Naraku smirked and beckoned her closer. She obediently stood and walked till she was standing beside the obsidian throne, being so close to her master that it made her skin crawl in fear. Ignoring her obvious discomfort, she extended a claw to point at the mirror being held by an emotionless Kana. "Inuyasha has lost his miko. He can no longer detect the shards."

Kagura scanned the images as they flashed across the mirror's smooth surface, starting with Inuyasha's wench being kidnapped by a werewolf and falling down a chasm before fogging over and revealing Inuyasha and his friends traveling without the miko, her blood red eyes catching every moment before glancing at Naraku in agreement.

"Seems she is lost or dead."

Naraku grinned evilly, waving a hand to dismiss her and Kana, who merely moved to take her place on the left side of him to stand by the throne in case she was once again needed while Kagura quickly crossed the tiles of the throne room, not needing any further invitation to leave his presence.

It is perhaps time to quit playing games and get rid of Inuyasha… he thought to himself, debating on how this should be accomplished, each way that cross his mind even more entertaining than the last. Why shouldn't he give Inuyasha and his band the glory of dying in a spectacular way after all the years of trouble they had given him?

He will have to think of that later. Right now he needed to continue with his plans of taking over all the lands one by one, starting with the half-demon's own brother. Having the West Lands would greatly increase his current political power. He would need it if he were going to attack the wolf tribes in the North. Packs were always harder to destroy because of their numbers and passion and loyalty to each other.

He summoned a water spirit, the water female's fluid body constantly moving and changing as she bowed to her master.

"Izumi. I want you to kill Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands."

"IIIII WIIILLL DOOO ASSS YOOOU COOOMAAND MIIILOOORD." Her beautiful voice resonated in the air, pure and sweet. She dissolved into a mist and disappeared.

He sat upon his throne, once again his mind plotting a waiting more news on the current situation in the Eastern Lands: the retrieval of six shards that the dragons had collected before he had invaded and they were taken by the princess.

Kagura left the room as fast as her pride would let her and as soon as she was out of sight, she could not help but smile.

That was one of the flaws about Naraku. Besides underestimating his enemies, he also has this habit of seeing only what he wanted. She knew in her mind that one flaw would be his downfall.

He didn't see the white blur going into the chasm before the scene fogged over.

"Inuyasha! Can we stop?" Shippo asked, rubbing his sore paws. "We've been walking for hours!" he whined, though it was nothing short of the truth. After Sesshomaru had left and tempers cooled, Inuyasha wasted no time in shoving them on the road, going almost double the usual strenuous pace Inuyasha set.

Inuyasha shook his head stubbornly at the kitsune, unphazed by the kit's pathetic wails. "We have to keep looking for shards!"

"Can you sense shards now Inuyasha?" asked Miroku sarcastically as he leaned heavily on his staff to try to ease his aching legs. Miroku understood full well why they were traveling so fast and in the direction of the setting sun. Using the shards as an excuse to go tromping into Sesshomaru's territory to get Kagome from its castle hold wasn't fooling Miroku or making him desire to try and match the hanyou's speed.

"Well no but…HEY!" Inuyasha screamed in rage as the group flopped down on the ground and started to make camp. Inuyasha fumed while glaring at his friends who didn't halt at his words or looks. "WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!" He pointed to the sun traveling westward. "WE'VE STILL GOTTA LOT OF SUN LEFT!"

"Well since Kagome is not going to be with us for sometime now because of SOMEONE'S stupidity and none of us can detect the shards I think its safe to assume we can make camp, oh Mighty Leader. Then we won't be dead tired when we stumble into the Western Lands." Miroku said, putting a lot of sarcasm and annoyance into the sentence.

As much as he loved Kagome, Miroku was cold, tired, and had no wish to anger the Taiyoukai that held her captive. He had the unsettling feeling that Sesshomaru wouldn't welcome them with open and hand over Kagome with the sword in his hands first and Miroku doubted that Inuyasha was trekking the long distance to hand over the Tetsusaiga.

Inuyasha ran over to him and grabbed the front of his robes and raised a fist to hit him. "Watch who you are calling "stupid" Monk." Miroku merely wretched his robes from Inuyasha's iron grip, nearly tearing them in the process while glaring at the hanyou.

"Well if you expect us to just waltz up to Sesshomaru's castle, filled with youkai soldiers and be in top fighting condition to back you up after being forced to travel at such speed in the dead of winter, than you've got another thing coming."

Inuyasha's golden eyes flashed warningly at the monk as he opened his mouth to retort, though he knew the monk was right, but he was interrupted by Shippo bouncing of his head.

"LOOK!" Shippo cried as he pointed up in the sky.

Inuyasha and Miroku looked up just in time to see a massive dragon fly overhead, his huge shadow blanketing them in darkness as it made its way across the forest. Its purple scales glittered like amethyst jewels in the sunlight as its golden slitted eyes scanned the forest as its golden mane whipped behind in the wind. It was a beast dragon, with a wide gold belly and fore arms and legs with massive wings unlike the serpent ones they had frequently encountered on their journey. It was so quick that they felt the wind from its beating wings and it looked like a blur as it climbed lower to the ground.

"Wow! It's so fast!" stated Shippo in awe as he watched the mystical being of legend continue its flight over the dead forest with such surprising speed that it seemed to get smaller and smaller in every blink of his blue eyes.

"Almost like it's running from something…" said Miroku, his face serious as his own purple eyes scanned the sky. The others followed his example, looking for the dragon's pursuers. It didn't take them long to see what it was flying from.

A black mass came flying toward the disappearing purple figure. It was so large it blocked out the sun as it descended toward the purple dot in the distance that was the dragon. Inuyasha didn't even have to look twice to know what it was.

Naraku's army of demons.

And Kohaku was at its front on the back of a flying centipede demon, shooting arrows from a long wooden bow at the bulk of the dragon. Inuyasha could feel the poisonous aura reflecting of off them as they perched the dragon's hide on its back, obviously catching it by surprise.

The dragon roared in anger and pain as it crashed into the ground, sending up dust. Kohaku waited around it, waiting for the dust to disperse. When the smoke cleared they didn't see a dragon. It was as if it had disappeared out of thin air! Kohaku gestured to his minions and they began to fan out, searching for it.

"Where did it go?" asked Shippo as he too scanned the forest. How could a creature that big to leave that huge crater just suddenly vanish?

"I don't know…" Inuyasha said grimly, kneeling and tensing his legs to jump. "But if Naraku sent his army after it then it has a jewel shard or two!" He hopped into the air, his feet barely touching the tree limb he had landed on before springing to the next branch at an incredible speed. He heard the yowl of Kirara as she changed to her full form and knew that the others would be by him in a matter of seconds, Kirara being able to smell him and the dragon and will probably catch up to him soon enough. He noted momentarily that his speed was much faster, probably due to the fact that Kagome was no longer on his back and he felt a pang of guilt and lose enter his heart.

Kagome…he wondered if she was awake by now…if she was ok…

Don't worry Kagome. I'll get you back if it's the last thing I do!

Katana charged through the woods, tree branches and thorns smacking her in her dirty face as the demon horde descended upon her. She quickly used a clawed hand to pull the poisonous arrows from her back, now covered with her own crimson blood. By the effect the poison was already having on her body, she could only guess that they were coated with a mixture of miasma and dragon's bane.

Damn…

Her curly brown hair flowed behind her caked with mud and knots and her feet were becoming raw from the thorns and stones. Her long legs carried her to a speed beyond that of any speed she had ever gone as she tried to force her legs to go even faster. Sweat began to bead on her tan skin as her purple eyes nervously looked for any demons.

She looked down to her chest, where she could see the flow of her magic weakening, about to flicker out completely as her breath come in short gasps as she came up to a dead end, the cliff side before her and the demons behind her boxing her in. Bare of anything but the shards stabbing her palm as she clutched them tightly, Katana turned around and faced her enemy as they edged closer, determined to go down fighting.

Kagome quickly followed the little girl down the dark hallways; its massive arches loomed overhead with such a sinister beauty that Kagome looked in awe. It was so quiet she could hear the silks of her large kimono drag on the ground as Rin and her footsteps became lost in the infinite silence of the castle. What light there was came from the line of candles in the walls if the hallway, little beacons of yellow light in the shadows. She listened as Rin pointed out each of the rooms as they made their way down the long twisting tunnel and identified them: "That's Jaken's room, that's my room, that's Sesshy-sama's study (but you can't go in there), that's the library…"

As Kagome listened to the child rattle on, giving her a tour, Kagome began to realize that this was not an ordinary Japanese castle. It was far too big with many extra rooms! However she did make a point to remember where Sesshomaru's study was, looking at all the surrounding objects to try and find a landmark. She settled on a picture of a beautiful woman with silver hair that was to the left of the door, between it and the library door. She knew that if Sesshomaru had a map, it would be in one of those two rooms. She would need it if she planned to escape tonight.

"Is it always this dark?" Kagome asked uncomfortably, watching the shadows creep into the corners. She wouldn't have given them a second thought if not for the feeling she was being watched. "It's not dark!" Rin replied without even turning around, making Kagome realized it must always be dim.

Kagome's skin crawled as she examined her surroundings. She would have never guessed Sesshomaru like the dark so much.

"Rin, are there servants?" Kagome asked while walking even closer to the little girl. She just couldn't shake the feeling she was being watched. She knew there had to be servants because though it was dark, the place was clean and orderly and she doubted that Jaken could do all that. Not to mention she kept sensing youkai jaki all around her, but she couldn't see anyone. It really unnerved her.

Rin nodded, brown braid bouncing with her movements as she continued their tour of the castle. "Of course Sesshy-sama does! Jaken-san can't do everything for him! They rarely come out during the day time though unless it's dark. The sunlight bothers them."

Ok. That explained the darkness. What kind of youkai were they to fear sunlight? Kagome guessed she would just have to meet one of them.

"And this is the garden," Rin announced, opening a wooden door. Kagome glanced through it and was surprised when she felt the warm caress of vapors instead of the bitter wind of winter. She stepped through the door to find something nothing short of a little paradise.

Before her laid a natural hot spring about the size of a huge swimming pool, its depth varying from what looked like 3 feet to about 10 feet in some places as a steamy mist flowed off of its smooth surface, making Kagome want to do nothing sort of stripping down and submerge herself in its soothing waters.

The hot springs constant flow of heat also made the rest of the garden possible.

The moisture from the vapors coated the variety of plants from daisies to lilies to even sakura trees. During the winter, when these flowers should be dead they instead flourished in the tropical atmosphere, able to preserve their beauty all year long.

Kagome found her self walking through the garden, which seemed to be as big as her house and about as tall, surrounded by a glass dome that was almost completely covered by vines and foliage. She let the fragrant mist wash over her as she stepped over tree roots and blossoms. When she finally reached the other side of the room, she found a wooden door and felt the stab of cold air hit her ankles as it seeped in through the crack to brush against her warm skin.

"Rin, where does this door lead?" she asked as she turned to find the little girl bending next to a patch of daisies and inhaling their scent. At the sound of her name, Rin jumped up and ran next to Kagome, pointing at the door in question.

"Oh that? That leads out to the courtyard between the gardens and the east wall." She looked around, as if making sure that no one was around before beckoning Kagome closer. Obediently she bent down, leaning close enough so that the girl could whisper into her ear. "There is a door out there that people used to use to run away when the castle was being attacked that leads out the east wall, across a meadow and into the woods."

Kagome looked down at her in disbelief as Rin nodded before continuing. "Hardy anyone goes out that way, even the guards. I use that way to sneak out of the castle all the time! Neither Sesshy-sama or Jaken-san remember that it's there."

Kagome nodded but before she could straighten back up, Rin grabbed the collar of her kimono. "You can't tell anyone ok? If you do, Sesshy-sama will put more guards out there and I won't be able to get out so I help him when he goes out to battles!" Rin's brown eyes met Kagome's silver ones in up most seriousness, begging for her to promise.

Kagome bit her lip in indecision. As much as she didn't like the fact that Rin roamed free in the wilderness where there were youkai, she did understand that Rin probably got bored with staying in the castle all the time and needed to get out on her own every once in a while.

Not to mention, Rin had just given her a possible escape route.

Kagome lifted up a hand with her pinky extended. Rin stared in confusion as Kagome grabbed her hand and extended her own little pinky with its little oval, finger-bitten nail, staring deep into those brown eyes.

"Ok Rin. This is what people in my village so when they make a promise. It's called a "pinky swear". When you want someone to keep a secret, you hold out your pinky finger and the wrap theirs around yours like this." Kagome's slender finger linked with Rin little one, careful not to cut the little girl with a claw. "And you say "I pinky swear". After you do that, they had made an unbreakable promise that they must do everything to up hold."

Rin gave her a skeptical look, not believing her. "You mean no matter what it is?" Kagome nodded seriously. "No matter what, and now that I had made one with you, I can never tell anyone your secret."

"What if Sesshy-sama makes me pinky swear not to tell you he was going to kill you in your sleep? I don't want you to die."

Kagome winced. She could hardy picture the Taiyoukai making a "pinky swear" with the little child nor did she think that he would distress his ward with such news but the rest seemed like something he would do. She pressed a clawed finger to Rin's button nose in affection while smiling. "Well I would think that even though you love Sesshy-sama that you should tell me. It would be the same if I told you I was going to kill him, though that would never happen. You can only break it in a life or death situation."

Rin let out a breath in relief and Kagome giggled. This girl was just too cute! She would really miss her when she left…

Suddenly Rin gasped as if remembering something and grinned widely at Kagome. "I want to show you the golden room!" She exclaimed excitedly as she grabbed Kagome's sleeve and dragged her through the garden back in the direction they had come. Kagome allowed herself to be dragged, walking slightly faster than the girl dragging her so that the child wouldn't rip the fabric as Rin whirled out of the room, pausing only to close the door as she led Kagome further down the dark hallways.

Kagome could only follow, unable to keep track of their position in the castle as rooms and feeder hallways spun by, wondering what on earth the "golden room" was and why Rin was so excited by it.