It was the night of the new moon, and Kagura was anything but ecstatic, especially when she knew another headache would follow for the remaining evening. A sigh escaped her as she sauntered through the empty halls of the castle, her posture straight and her countenance scornful with all displeasure. Behind her, she heard the footsteps of the two mercenaries that followed, humans above all which Naraku had sent her to retrieve from a recent village massacre just south of their domain.

But whether or not they could complete their immediate task where Yura had failed, Kagura was doubtful. After all, the girl known as Kagome Higurashi was no ordinary priestess that much was notable when she witnessed the sad excuse for a battle that had taken place in the village. Not only did Yura fail in her mission to take the Sacred Jewel, but she had allowed the priestess to subdue her with subjugation beads. The priestess was both fearless and capable.

Not that it made much of a difference, anyway. Yura was expendable, a low level demon if anything that had served her purpose. Lucky for her she escaped Naraku's wrath this time around, but as for the remaining demons and humans which had caught his notice, they were probably another story, if they also didn't fail. Kagura had little faith in Naraku's selection, but she'd give them the benefit of the doubt.

"Fancy place you got here," Said the man with braided ebony hair and tan skin, his azure eyes shifting left and right as a low whistle escaped him. "Must have taken you years to build…"

Kagura didn't reply and instead, she paused before a large shoji screen door, barely glancing over her shoulder. "Wait here. I'll announce your arrival," She said before stepping through its entrance and closing it behind her.

The smell of incense drew an unwanted breath, and she covered her mouth with the sleeve of her kosode. Ahead of her, seated on lavish pillows and surrounded by a small group of female entertainers, food and refreshments placed on a low-standing table, she saw Onigumo in a drunken state, his arm around a female as he drank from his cup. All the while, the women fawned all over him, one even draped in his silken lap.

She rolled her crimson eyes and proceeded forward, but stepping no further from the table before clearing her throat. "Onigumo… the mercenaries have arrived…"

"Oh! Kagura! You're just in time!" He said, slurring his speech. "Take a seat! Join the party!"

"I'd rather not…" She said, whipping out her fan to shield her nose from the dreadful scent, but when she sensed a presence beside her, she turned her curious stare to the small albino child. "Kanna… I didn't notice you returned."

The small child simply nodded. "Naraku won't be pleased to know he's brought women into the palace again…" She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Onigumo is Naraku's problem. Not ours."

"Did you report to Naraku that Yura failed?"

"I was going to… but it seems that will have to wait…"

Kanna nodded slowly. "What about Onigumo?"

"Leave the fool to himself. Let him do as he pleases… I'm not sure why I bothered coming here in the first place," She said, suddenly turning to exit the room, but the familiar voice of Onigumo caught her ear, and she paused. "What is it?"

"Kaguraaaaa… Kannaaaaa!" He said, smiling as he waved the two of them over to his side. "Come in! Come in! Don't hide in the shadows! Join me for some sake!"

Oh, how she loathed the sound of his voice calling hers and Kanna's name, but she turned at this, knowing full well she couldn't simply leave without introducing the mercenaries to one of her superiors. Even if it had to be Onigumo. "You've got visitors, Onigumo. Since Naraku's not here, it falls under your responsibility to explain the situation."

Hearing this, he merely pouted. "Is that so? It can wait just a moment. Come and sit with me. It's been ages since I last saw either of you," He said, ushering Kanna over to his side, and to Kagura's surprise, the small child approached him. "At least one of my daughters listens to me," He said, patting her head as she sat beside him on the pillows. "Have you been well, Kanna?"

"Fine…"

He nodded at this, his smile returning. "That's good! Anything else?"

"I… got to leave the palace… I went on a journey across the land for many months with sister Kagura…"

Onigumo's eyes widened at this. "A journey for months? This is the first I'm hearing this. I wondered why the palace seemed so empty in those days. Naraku never left an explanation of what happened either. Where did you and Kagura go?"

But before the small child could explain, Kanna was suddenly surrounded by the beautiful women dressed in transparent kimonos. "Oh, she's so cute! Is this the child you spoke so fondly of, Lord Onigumo?" One girl asked.

"She's so beautiful! As pretty as snow!"

A proud smile brightened his face. "That's right. Both she and Kagura are my flesh and blood. Can't you see the resemblance? They take after their father after all," He said, laughing as the young women giggled.

"I certainly see the resemblance between you and Kagura, but this small child is unlike either of you. Could it be you had another lover?"

"It seems I've been caught red-handed!" He said, laughing. "Come here, Kanna. Sit on your father's lap. You too, Kagura. Sit beside me. It's rare I can enjoy your company."

Kagura rolled her eyes. "I'll pass." From her position, standing just a short distance away from Onigumo and his flock of women, she watched as he handed her a cup with freshly squeezed grapes, all the while loathing every bit of the attention he gave to her. Although she was his flesh and blood, the situation surrounding him and Naraku made it difficult for her to trust either of them, but Kanna was more forgiving than her, and she blamed her ignorance.

"Lord Onigumo… your daughter is so beautiful. Why is it we never see her outside the palace?"

"My daughter was born with a poor constitution. That is why she stays inside. Her skin also burns easily in the sun, hence why she only steps outside in the evenings, though there are some occasions where she has no other choice but to join Kagura on certain expeditions that Naraku orders… It's a shame I can't spend nearly enough time with them."

"Oh, that's awful…"

"In that case, spoil her while you have the chance to, Lord Onigumo."

"I agree!"

Onigumo laughed once more. "You're absolutely right! Kanna… is there anything you want? Any wishes you desire? Your father will surely grant it!"

A pause followed and the small child tilted her head, her hands still gripped around the mirror in her hand. "I require nothing… I'm happy…"

He turned his head to assess her face closely. "Are you really? I could buy you some pretty kimonos, some ribbons and ornaments for your hair. You needn't be so modest, my child," He said while one woman braided the child's waist-length white hair. "Whatever you want, just ask me, and it will be yours!"

Kagura cleared her throat. "Onigumo, there's something important that I need to discuss with you."

"I'm all ears, Kagura. What is it?"

Her crimson-red eyes shifted to the three women in the room and back to him. "Alone… This does not suit the ears of outsiders, Onigumo. You know this very well."

He frowned and released a heavy sigh. "In that case, you may all leave. We'll continue this next time," He said, but despite their pouts, he flashed them reassuring smiles. "Go on now."

Without sparing Kagura a single glance, the women crept out of the room through a separate door, and pleased no others were within the vicinity to overhear the conversation, she lowered her fan. "Then I will get right to it."

"Is this about our visitors outside?" He asked, arching a delicate brow.

"No. This pertains to something else. The village below the mountain was attacked last night. All but one human survived."

His eyes widened. "This is certainly not good… Naraku won't be pleased when he learns of this. Which village?"

"A farming village at the base of the mountain."

"Not the one that houses the special herbs?!"

She shook her head. "No… not that one. Those are closest to the castle."

Hearing this, he relaxed and took a heavy sip of his sake. "Good… good… The villager who survive… did you get any useful information?"

She nodded. "A horde of demons attacked them the other night, their leader is supposedly a fox demon with incredible power."

"A fox demon? Foxes don't normally attack villages… aside from sneaking in and stealing their belongings. They must be outsiders… but to bypass the barrier spell with no affliction…"

"They stole the tribute for Naraku."

Onigumo pinched his temple and closed his eyes. "That makes sense… Well… he won't be pleased when he hears of this… Was the entire horde all foxes?"

"No. The old man said it was a variety of different demons, though they mostly favored humans in their appearance. They were led through by a silver-haired fox."

"I see… as for the destruction of the village? Does it still stand? How much damage was there?"

"It stands… barely. Most of the crops were destroyed, but we have many fields within the walls of the palace, so it's not a complete detriment to us," Kagura answered.

He nodded. "In that case, round up a small group of men and send them down to the village. Clean it up and repair what was broken. Bury the dead, so we don't have any unnecessary attacks. Check on the barrier and increase its defenses so we don't have a repeat."

For once, Onigumo was finally doing something for a change. It surprised her. "Very well… And what about the humans? There will be no one to take care of the village."

His gaze shifted to the small child on his lap, drinking from her cup in contentment. "Kanna. My dear sweet Kanna. Go down to one of our farming villages and bring back a handful of men and women from each. Just enough to maintain the village and replace the humans we lost."

"Yes…" She said and moved to stand up, but before crossing the remaining distance to join Kagura, she paused and glanced back.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Kanna raised a hand and pointed to her hair, revealing that only half had been braided. "My hair isn't finished…"

He laughed. "That's what I like to hear! Yes, it will not do to step out of the palace without your hair looking its best! Kagura, my dear? Braid the rest of hair and then see to my instructions with her."

She nodded and approached Kanna before twirling her fingers around her hair. "You're becoming a bad influence on her, Onigumo."

"Nonsense. What little girl doesn't enjoy being pampered? Speaking of pampered…" He suddenly stood up and approached her, standing just in front of Kanna as he lifted Kagura's chin. "I see he hasn't been treating you well…"

At this, Kagura's frown deepened, and she turned her face away. "Don't touch me."

"I'm only worried, Kagura. Unlike Naraku, I do care about you and Kanna's well-being. If I had more power over this situation, I wouldn't let him treat the two of you like he does. Using you for his own ambitions and mistreating you when something doesn't go his way."

"I can handle my own affairs. At least he treats Kanna reasonably well."

Onigumo sighed. "Very well… I can see you're not in the mood to talk on a personal level just yet. I can wait. Now then… the reason for your visit this evening, I can only guess that Yura failed?"

Kagura nodded, tying the end of Kanna's braid with a pretty blue ribbon before folding her hands into the sleeves of her kosode. "Correct. As I said before, you have guests out in the hall. They are the two mercenaries Naraku scouted a while ago. If you have time, meet with them and deliver Naraku's instructions. After all, it is not my place to do so."

"Very well. We mustn't keep our guests waiting. It's unfortunate our task to steal the sacred jewel has come to this, but I hope these mercenaries are strong enough to finish the task. I hate to think what Naraku might do if his plans fail once again," He said. "I'm rather curious of the priestess, so why don't you enlighten me? Did the priestess named Kagome kill Yura?"

"No. She still lives to see the light of day," Kagura said with a shake of her head. "But as it stands, she no longer remembers the location of this place, thanks to the spell surrounding the barrier. Although Kanna and I briefly met the priestess, she's very… peculiar. Seems she's taken a liking to demons and lets them live in her village. Not surprising she did the same to Yura."

Onigumo's eyes widened. "Is that so? Very peculiar… Actually… it's interesting. I wonder if she used a spell to control those demons? I understand they are born with spiritual power, but I didn't think they were so strong to control them."

"No spell. However, she uses subjugation beads to subdue their strength. But it's not for the reason that she doesn't trust them, but because of the barrier she's placed around the village. The beads protect the demons inside while the barrier eliminates outside demons."

"I see…"

Kagura continued. "From what I observed in Kanna's mirror and in person, the human treats everyone equally and with compassion. She even adopted a small fox demon whose mother passed away."

"Adopted? She gets even more interesting by the second… Now that I hear this, it seems our situations are similar."

"How so?" She asked.

"We harbor many human villages within this territory, especially off the mountain. So long as they pay tribute to Naraku and do our bidding, then we keep them safe. I suppose this priestess is doing something similar, perhaps using the demon's strength to protect and expand her little village."

That made sense. "Are you ready to meet with our guests?"

With a nod, he stepped past Kagura and Kanna and opened the shoji screen door. As he did, he found his two guests waiting impatiently on the other side. "I apologize for keeping you waiting."

"So… I take it you're this Naraku person we've heard so much about?" Asked the young man with braided black hair. "So then… why don't we get straight to the point? Who do we need to kill to get our reward?"

The feminine young man beside him smirked, his curved sword lying just over his shoulder of his pink kosode. "You promised us anything we want in return. So, we trust you'll keep your word, otherwise, we can't promise what might happen…"

Kagura scoffed as she moved to stand beside Onigumo. "That all depends on what you want in return."

"There's not a man or demon that can stop us or even lay a finger on us, so what we ask should be no consequence to you. Do that, and you'll never see us again, unless you call upon us in the future," Said the braided haired man.

Onigumo nodded. "Before we begin, I would first like to know your names."

"I am Bankotsu."

"And I am Jakotsu."

A/N

Reviews are always appreciated. :) Would like to know your thoughts on the chapter, please?