Calm waves of a warm darkness. At the moment nothing else existed or was true. Only quickly fleeting images of a thought; a dream of a dream from nights ago. However, the man dressed as a baboon was Sesshomaru himself. How strange. That did not quite matter once he lost the costume, though. Fully immersed in a deep slumber Nazoki did not hear the nearby conversation. She was too busy searching for the lord. He had come in dressed so oddly. Lost his clothes, which immediately flustered the woman, and walked away, tempting her to follow. Of course, she was painfully hesitant, but when playful teasing ensued, she could not help herself.

Dark chuckles filled the air as she slowly walked the poorly lit bamboo corridors. It was a traditional home, rather large at that. Sliding doors lined the halls. Which one the lord was hiding behind was unknown. Minutes passed, and Nazoki eyed the walls. A single door at the end of the hall was different then all the ones she had passed. An intricate black design adorned the royal blue material, and the vixen knew for a fact that Sesshomaru was there.

She increased her pace, her emerald eyes fixated on the door in question. Anxiousness swelled within her, as she finally reached the room. A slight moment of hesitation passed, and she took a deep breath as she slid the door open. Standing in the middle of the tatami mats, Sesshomaru watched her. He had donned a loose black robe, which exposed his chest, and a devious smirk played on his lips. The man's mokomoko encircled his groin, leading Nazoki to conclude he was indeed nude under the robe.

"Come here..." In a smoldering tone, Sesshomaru issued his command, causing a deep blush to set across Nazoki's face. She shifted her gaze, and obliged. The moment she reached the man, he placed his palm on the back of her neck and pulled her into a deep kiss. Giving into the temptation, Nazoki instinctively gripped his collar, and pulled him close. When his hand fell to her belt, she felt her heart begin to race. The scarlet fabric fell to the ground, and he slowly pulled her sleeve down her arm. Turning away from the man, Nazoki lowered her gaze.

"M'lord... If we-"
"Silence."
His demand furrowed her brow, yet before she could utter a single word, he had ripped the material off of her. Sesshomaru roughly captured her lips again. He started to push her yukata open, only taking a second to trace his nail down her neck.

"But- Wait- Why are you-"
The protests caused him to pull back, and he glared down at Nazoki. The expression was enough to immediately hush her, and she stared up at him; confused. Why was he making such a threatening face? When a malicious smirk slowly made an appearance, fear quickly followed suit. No sooner than the vixen had realized something wasn't right, a blade plunged into her side.

Frozen in place, Nazoki stared up at Sesshomaru. His was the hand that held the spear, the staff. Though she did not want to look, she willed herself to gaze at the damage to her hip. Of course, it looked no different than she had imagined. There was never anything different about being stabbed. Mainly concerned with why the lord would do such a thing, Nazoki flicked her eyes back up to the man. However, it was not him at all. It was none other than her own father. Nothing made sense. As she frowned up at him in confusion, he scorned her for not accepting her mother's decision.

Gazing up at the man with crimson hair identical to hers, and eyes alike, she remained completely silent. What the hell was going on? It did not make sense for him to want her to mate into a family of brutes. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she lowered her eyes. Could her actions truly be so horrible that her own father would contact her from the grave just to stab her? The man's rugged features remained the same as she remembered. Short, unshaven facial hair, scar across his chin...She had stopped listening the moment he mentioned her cowardice.

When his voice quieted, she gazed back up to find Sesshomaru, appearing to be cruelly amused. Without a word, he shoved her across the room with a burst of energy. Though nothing prevented her from slamming into the wall, she was relieved to not be on the spear... Thoroughly perplexed, Nazoki remained deathly silent. Even when she hit the wall, she didn't utter a single sound, for fear of finding this impossible situation true.
"I need more power..." The man revealed, walking towards her. He held the staff out, and twirled it around his fingers, positioning the blade in her direction. It became apparent that he would stab her once more. Before it was just for fun, but now he would drain her as the corpse in the forest had been.

"And what exactly did you think you were doing?"
glaring at the flee he had plucked from his neck, Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow.
"Oh- Nothing my lord. Checking on you of course! I smelled your blood, and came to help!" Myoga declared, as though he had been doing the lord a favor. Because draining his blood was exactly that, right. Squishing the flea, Sesshomaru allowed him to fall to the ground. While he was around, the lord would make good use of him, and find answers. Clues.

"Myoga. Who has Zouo's Bane in their possession?"

Suddenly serious, the flea peered up at him.
"Zouo's Bane? The legendary staff of death? Has it been found?"
Nodding, the lord glanced at Nazoki. She was still asleep, and had rolled onto her side; looked peaceful enough.

"I don't know who has it, or where it is, but if it's really out as you say, Naraku will definitely be after it. The only way to find it is by using Zouo's other hand."
Receiving nothing but a receptive stare, and silence, Myoga continued.
"Long ago, when Zouo was still alive, his hand was removed by a very powerful demon. He was a very kind man, always helping children and villages when he could. It was said that because of his superior wizardry skills, the hand possessed unmatched power. When it was stolen, a curse was placed upon Zouo, and his hand to keep it from rotting. Nevertheless, Zouo was cursed to keep him from finding it or the demon. Because of that curse, he never got revenge, and it is said that he wanders the forests to this day, searching for redemption. He could never find the staff himself, but the curse should work backwards. The man's will is the same; to find it. If another person was to use his hand, it would counteract the spell, and lead them straight to it."

The lengthy description was unnecessary. Sesshomaru knew who the man was, and what had happened to him. Some of the information was new, though. The lord had not known that Zouo's hand could be of aid. Therefore, he would venture to the graveyard of the man's old shack, and dig him up. Perfect.

Heavy breathing interrupted the man's thoughts and he turned to gaze at Nazoki. It seemed a nightmare had taken her.
"So, who's that? Have you settled down to start a family? Oh, your father would be so proud, Lord Sesshomaru!" A large grin crinkled the flea's eyes, and he jumped in the air as he spoke. Myoga was silenced with a single glance, and the lord shook his head.
"I, Sesshomaru, have done no such thing."

Awkward silence. Well, awkward to Myoga.
It didn't exactly make sense, and he intended to point that out.
"Well, you were sleeping on her, and-"
"She is my ward." The lord murmured, nudging the woman.
She stirred slightly, yet did not awaken.
"Oh... Well, good job of protecting her. Yeah, no one will get to her if you sleep on her like that."
Blankly staring at Myoga, Sesshomaru stopped moving his hand, allowing it to rest on the vixen's thigh. The two stared at one another with identical expression, neither expressing the obvious nature of the scene. Without a word, the lord slowly removed his hand and innocently placed it on his lap (Still portraying no emotion).

Seconds passed, and Sesshomaru considered the way things came across. Well, that was not the way things were. He turned to the vixen, a slight frown creasing his brow.
"Nazoki."
Her head halfway tuned towards him, and the woman frowned, slowly opening her eyes. Upon realizing that the sun was in the process of shattering night, Nazoki sat up.
"Shi- Uh, excuse me..." Placing a hand to the side of her head, she deeply sighed. It seemed as if she was trying to shake her dream away, yet horribly failed to do so. The two men watched her; of course, she did not notice Myoga standing in the grass. The vixen partially glanced at Sesshomaru before pushing herself to her feet.
"I need to collect breakfast for Rin..." Was all she said before taking her leave. Something was different. She was acting oddly. In the entire time he had known her, Sesshomaru had never heard her so much as curse. Well, he did not think he had. The lord silently watched her, before turning his attention to Myoga.
"Huh. There really is nothing going on. No good morning kisses, nothing even remotely romantic. Of course, if there was any who could modestly maintain such a relationship, it would be you."

Okay. That was it. Myoga had successfully annoyed Sesshomaru. Though he may have been right, he had no authority to make assumptions. Or judge the essence of the lord's relationships. Not that it was a relationship, that is, it was more like a... Well, not a relationship. Sighing, Sesshomaru calmly held his hand over the flea. He took dull pleasure in the wide-eyed expression he received before he slammed his hand down. Once he pulled back, Myoga was completely flat. Now the serious conversation could begin.