Sorry about my vanishing act. It's been a crazy hectic time in the private life of yours truly. But, I am back and fave some fun in store for you.

Remember how I said I wouldn't be posting more than one story at a time? Well... I lied a little bit. I have plenty of... more adultness, is that a word? Meh... it is now. I have another adultier story that I will be uploading here shortly, and will be working these two at the same time *gasps*

Yeah... I did it. No, it's not the sequel to Unanticipated, but that one will be in the works shortly as well.

Okay... so, I covered the apology. I covered the new, upcoming story. I covered the sequel thing...

So I guess that's it.

On with it...

~Kouga's Eternal

Leaping from one tree branch to the next, Sesshoumaru had his nose to the air, searching franticly for the crisp scent of midnight and rain, the unique scent of his little sister.

For hours now he has run the territory, finding hints of the scent only for them to vanish as soon as it was found. It was the only true irritation about his little sister. She had no scent in shadows and, when the majority of a territory is forest, there are a lot of damned shadows.

Though the pup herself was only half shadow, she still possessed many of their traits. While unlike her mother who completely disappears when shrouded in darkness, Kagome only took on a darkened form, but you could still see her if you had good enough eyes. However, both her scent and aura completely vanished, leaving nothing to say she ever passed through. Her scent was left behind if some part of her touched the light, and that was what Sesshoumaru hoped he was following.

With less than a second of exposure, the scent was weak and hard to tell if it was old or new, but from where he was, he could only guess at her never being this far from the safety of the gates she wasn't supposed to leave. He wasn't stupid. Kagome was an adolescent and as such, pushed her boundaries like every single adolescent that came before her. She was usually very smart about it, though, and never strayed far without letting at least he himself know she was going.

The further from home he traveled, the more it was becoming apparent this wasn't done on purpose, or really with the knowledge of the pup. When she was sleeping, she was completely at the mercy of her shadow nature. She wasn't yet old enough to have that kind of control and keep her humanoid form when she wasn't aware of her surroundings. She didn't really have to actively put forth the effort to keep herself in solid form so much anymore when she was awake, but when she was sleeping, she had to rely on others to keep the torches in her chambers burning and the shadows at bay. It would be another ten to fifteen years before she would have that coveted control over her shadow nature.

He came to a sliding stop when he reached the edge of the Western Territory where it met the Eastern Region. He let his eyes roam as much as he could, pushing out his senses to try and pick up anything of his sister he could find. But, no matter how much he tried, he could sense nothing of her, and all he could smell was the stench of ogre. Still, this was where the sporadic patches of Kagome's scent led, that he was sure.

Growling in his throat, knowing this was as far as he could go without permission to cross, Sesshoumaru made one last attempt to locate the pup but, when he couldn't find it, he snarled as he vanished from the border in a flash of light. This wasn't good. If his sister was in a different territory, finding her just became much more difficult.

As he rushed back to the palace, Sesshoumaru's thoughts raced nearly as fast as he was, the implication that his sister was now at the mercy of demons and monsters she's never encountered, many she also has never even heard of, formed a rock of uncertainty in his gut. He had no way to know how rogue demons were dealt with in a different region, or if they were dealt with at all. In the West, it would never be allowed and would be a swift death for a demon that attacked a defenceless pup, however, that might not be the case across the border.

Though he was pretty sure his father had a decent relationship with the wolves that governed the East, he wasn't positive and wolves were horribly territorial. They didn't take overly kind to other canines in their midst, and though he was sure Kagome could outwit the tribes, he also knew for certain she couldn't defend herself against an entire pack if they decided she was some kind of threat. The Eastern Lord wouldn't, or shouldn't, allow her to befall any real harm, but she was down for a nap when she went missing so she wasn't dressed properly and even he would admit he wouldn't believe some random child if they just blurted out they were the daughter of a reigning demon lord. Sure, she had her markings, but he didn't know what kind of state she was in or if they were even visible.

As more and more uncertainties flooded Sesshoumaru's mind, he pushed himself faster. The sooner he got to his father and informed him of what he found the sooner word would be sent and he and the guards could cross into the East and retrieve the missing pup.

Ignoring the calls of his name by the Watchers of the Wall, Sesshoumaru skipped the obstacle of navigating the palace and instead went over it, landing on the balcony of his father's office where Touga had been since he first stepped away from the group of staff that still stood in his office.

Stepping from the railing and turning to face his son as he once again formed into a being from a ball of light. When he saw only his son, Touga pressed his lips tightly together as he braced himself. Letting out a puff of air from his nose, his voice was cautious. "Any luck, Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru loosely crossed his arms, he glanced at the gathered demons in his father's office, lingering a moment longer on the chambermaid that was supposed to ensure there was always light in his sister's room. A slight narrowing of his eyes was all he spared her before returning his eyes to his father. "I was unable to find her, Father. What I did find was a faint spot trail that led east, but it crossed our border and I was unable to sense her."

Touga blinked at the term, "Spot trail?" but knew what was meant. Spine straightening, he let out a harsh breath. "She's in the shadows."

Sesshoumaru nodded but said nothing. There was nothing he could do unless they were granted passage into the East by the reigning lord and the only one that could request it was his father. It didn't matter the reason, one thing Sesshoumaru never really agreed with. Though he didn't agree, he did understand. It could very well be seen as something it wasn't if guards from a different territory flooded someone else's and a war over a misunderstanding was something to be avoided.

Touga, though very close to saying fuck it and sending half his guard and his son into the East to search for his daughter, he was able to refrain, if only barely. Instead, he darted to his desk and penned a message to the Eastern Lord, explaining the situation. Normal practice was to send a messenger to deliver and return with a response, once the letter was finished, he rolled it, sealed it, and held it out to Sesshoumaru, quickly explaining what to do since the was the first time he ever went to the home of another Lord without an invitation.

"Go straight to the Eastern Mountain, do not stop until you reach it, and do not stray from a straight course. Respectfully demand an immediate audience with Lord Ryoshi. Apologize first for the intrusion to his territory, then give him this. Do not speak out of turn, and wait for his decision. He has a cub not much older than Kagome, so he should be sympathetic, but he does not have to allow this and can instead decide to have his own men search for her while forbidding our involvement."

Sesshoumaru nodded as he tucked the scroll into his outer haori. With a dip of his head, he once again faded into a ball of light. He would follow his father's orders, but if he happened to come across his sister on the way to the mountains, he planned to simply retrieve her and go home... without ever letting the Eastern Lord know he was there at all.