And here's chapter two, let me know if you have any helpful suggestions or insights, and beyond that just enjoy!

Last time:

"Well, it's been an interesting experience …meeting you, Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands. However, I have places to go and people to see, farewell." and with a slight nod of the head she left him standing in the clearing with only his ever growing treasury of questions for a companion.

-0-

Nakia let down her disguise as soon as she was far enough away from Sesshomaru, what a relief, it was surprisingly draining. In fact, it was amazing she had the brain power to let it down; overall, her mind was in little better shape than Sesshomaru's as she walked away, except that she already knew who he was and she had figured out where she knew him from as well.

A small, slightly sad, smile appeared as she thought back to the day they had originally met all those years ago…

Flashback

A girl, that looked to be around the age of ten, lay in the middle of a beautiful, spring-filled clearing that had a little brook running through the middle of all the young flowers, and reawakening grass. The black of her hair contrasted diametrically with the silver of her dress. She sat up when she felt, and then saw a young demon boy, about her same age, enter the clearing from her right.

He scrutinized her with apparent coldness, but she could feel the curiosity and hint of excitement the he was trying so hard to hide. And she was sure he could smell her curiosity from across the clearing as well.

He didn't seem to know how to start a conversation in the middle of all the awkwardness so she gave it a little shove with a, "hi, what's your name?"

"I am Sesshomaru, the heir to the lordship of these lands." He replied with all the pride someone the human equivalent of ten could muster.

"If you're the heir shouldn't you have some bodyguards or something?" She had to wonder what someone as important as him was doing out here in the middle of nowhere all alone, and now talking to someone like her; not that she had a low opinion of herself, but normally the royalty never descended from on high unless there was absolutely no other option, or so she thought.

"This is part of my training for Lordship, one must know the lands if one is to rule them." Oooook, that was unexpectedly profound, I wonder where he read it. She thought after his little explanation.

"So, how long are you supposed to be out in the forest?"

"This was a week-long training session, I'm supposed to return at the end of the day. I was searching for something to occupy my time until then, as it would be unthinkable to return early and I have already completed all of the assigned tasks." Hmm, well that's a fancy way of saying 'I'd love to hang out with you till I have to go.' Well, he does seem decent, and I was getting bored… maybe for just a few minutes…

"Well, you're welcome to stay here with me… if you're sure you have nothing better to do."

"That would be acceptable." and with that he sat down next to her three feet away.

"So what kind of demon are you?"

"I come from a line of the most powerful inu youkai." Was that bragging I heard…

And that was how they spent the rest of the day, her asking questions and him answering them, until he felt comfortable enough to ask some of his own. She even got him to smile, like a big grin! Though she couldn't get him to take his shoes off and put his feet in the stream. Oh well, baby steps. Until, at the end of the day, he said he had to go, and that he'd see her as soon as he could. The real regret at his going came when she realized that she'd never gotten a chance to tell him her name…

End Flashback

She smiled again at the dream-like memories. 'Who would've thought that I'd actually see him again, after all these years, and in just enough time to possibly lose him forever; jeeze, I just love how life works out.'

-0-

"Hey, Inuyasha, there're some jewel shards heading our way." Kagome called up to the half demon leading their crew.

"And I'm getting the feeling that this person is also quite powerful." Added Miroku.

'Ah wonderful, I was in the mood to pound something. All this walking is getting boring.' Thought Inuyasha, as he processed the news. "Which way?" was all he said though.

"They're just up the road. It feels like the person is just walking calmly towards us." Kagome replied.

"Calmly my arse, be ready."

Although he was disappointedly surprised to see only an attractive young woman crest the hill and then continue calmly walking toward them, just as Kagome had said.

As she got closer he decided that the best way to deal with this apparently calm, extremely powerful stranger was to be as loud and overbearing as possible. And that was the reason for his deafening demand of, "What do you want?" while he placed himself between her and the rest of the group.

"I'm looking for the miko of the Shikon." She replied with the placating tone one would use with a 2-year-old about to throw a tantrum, and then turned directly to Kagome.

Kagome decided that anyone who put up with Inuyasha's bad side with so much grace, while still managing to ask politely couldn't be all bad. And while the marking on her forehead and the matching bands on her wrists, declared she was anything but human, her aura said that she wasn't a demon either, at least not like any demon Kagome had ever sensed, this left her to wonder exactly what this woman really was; but either way she was determined to trust her, at least for the moment.

"I'm Kagome, the Shikon miko." She said while stepping around Inuyasha.

Nakia looked at her thoughtfully for a minute, then, nodding her head she pulled a tiny charm off her bracelet, Kagome and crew watched in fascination as the charm grew into what looked like a little pouch. From this pouch she produced two jewel shards and handed them to Kagome, who immediately put them away.

"I was en route to a meeting when I came across a couple of stark raving mad demons, and deduced that these shards are not conducive to sane or lucid states of mind; so I took the liberty of relieving the demons of said shards, and then decided to return them to their protector." Explained Nakia. Deciding to ignore the dumbfounded looks she was getting, she bid them farewell.

And with that she turned to leave. However, Miroku decided it was his turn to put in his two cents.

Walking to stand at her side, he declared, "Oh, most fair maiden, would you consider doing me the honor of bearing my child?" But, if that wasn't enough of an attention grabber, he literally and figuratively gave her one when his hand came in contact with her rear end.

The moment she felt it, her eyes flashed a brighter green and all the cheer and politeness that had been present before, scrambled to a safe distance away. By that time Sango and her giant boomerang were well on their way to punishing the monk, but Nakia beat them by a mile.

She grabbed the monk by the neck and slammed him up against the nearest tree. Holding him at arms length, without yelling, and in a tone that left no doubt as to the extent of her vexation, said, "Monk, if I ever again hear of you're having touched another woman, not to mention me, in such a crude and uninvited manner, I will, personally, hunt you down and chop off the protruding parts of your body. Do I make myself clear?"

After taking about half a second to process the threat, he was nodding vigorously.

"Excellent, I'll be taking my leave now." She said, addressing the rest of the group, she acknowledged them with a polite nod and disappeared into the forest.

-0-

Nakia thought she'd had her share of trouble for the day, after having those snake demons with the shards attack her right after her encounter with some grotesquely large bugs (they didn't live very long after that, but they certainly managed to scare a couple years off her life in their last few seconds), and her uncomfortable 'remeeting' with Sesshomaru that morning, but she was soon to be proved wrong.

She'd been walking for some time when she came across a little clearing. The clearing was nothing out of the ordinary; it was what, or rather who, was in the clearing that caught her eye.

There was a little girl in an orange and black, checked kimono, a sleeping dragon demon, and a little imp wannabe. She looked into the trees for anyone she might have missed and it was then that she noticed the bear.

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