The pale moon cast its silvery light through the branches of the trees creating eerie shadows on the snow-covered ground. Their steps echoed loudly as they crunched along the frozen path. Ann was leery of the shadows but was mainly focused on the small girl with the mirror. She was even more ethereal here under the dim light of the moon. Her pace was steady to the point of being maddeningly slow. Ann's anticipation of facing Naraku was making every moment stretch into an eternity.

"How much further?" she finally asked, her voice edged with anxiety.

"Not far," the girl answered in her wispy voice, maintaining her measured pace. Ann scrubbed her moist palms on her hakama pants, her gaze darting around. This situation had trap written all over it, and the realization that she might be walking into a very stupid mistake was dawning on her.

The path they were following finally opened out onto a large meadow. The snow was a smooth, sparkling blanket that covered everything. At the center of the meadow was an old oak tree, its bark knobby and bare branches reaching wide. Upon one of its low, thick limbs sat a white baboon. Ann paused, eyeing the creature suspiciously. The girl stopped and turned to Ann.

"Naraku awaits you," she said emotionlessly.

"That's Naraku?" Ann asked, incredulous. The girl didn't answer but continued towards the tree. Ann hesitated, feeling dumber by the second. She could still run. She took a hesitant step backwards towards the forest behind her.

"Ann." Her eyes flicked to the baboon at the sound of that horribly familiar voice. "Aren't you ready to get your revenge?"

He was mocking her, she knew this, but it still made her blood boil. Her anger mounting, she marched forward throwing caution aside. When she stood near the base of the tree she stopped and glared at the baboon.

"So, what's our plans tonight, Naraku," Ann said, placing her hands on her waist. Naraku pushed his hood back, revealing his pale face and malicious red eyes.

"Hopefully your death," he responded, smirking wickedly.

"We'll see," Ann said trying to hide the wobble in her voice. The gravity of the situation was beginning to settle on her. She was wavering between anger and fear, unsure if she could win. If she lost, many would suffer.

"I have to ask before we get started," Naraku rose to his feet and gazed down his nose at her. "What has it been like to live under Sesshomaru's roof. He is the one that killed your baby, after all." Ann's anger rose to the forefront again.

"What an ass," she thought, her teeth clenching. "He's trying to provoke me." To Naraku she said, "Sesshomaru isn't to blame. I am. I should have never listened to you and stayed by Ichiro's side." Naraku chuckled.

"You'd be just as dead as he is right now, buried in some unmarked grave. Doing as I said kept you alive." Ann lowered her hands to her sides, her fists clenching as her powers began to collect at her center.

"Whatever you say," Ann growled venomously. "Now are you going to get down here or are we chatting all night?"

"I think I want to see how you do against my incarnation," he gestured towards the small girl. "Kanna, bring me her soul." Ann's gaze darted to the small girl just in time to see her hold up her mirror revealing Ann's reflection. An unseen force paralyzed Ann, the sensation filling her with dread.

"Not good," she thought as white wisps began to trail out of her body and enter the mirror.

The castle was quiet at this time of night. Sesshomaru sat on the windowsill of his room, his gaze on the moon, but his thoughts elsewhere. Mainly they were on the young woman that kept testing what he believed. He had fought enough humans in his life to know they were insignificant in almost every way, but she seemed to pull from a well of determination that was bottomless. This was twice that she'd survived his attacks and she still stood. Worst yet, she'd injured him with that shield. He had managed to hide the pain until he'd left the dojo but had barely made it back to his room. Kai had found him collapsed just inside his door. He hadn't passed out, but it was like all of his demon strength had been drained. He had been humiliated.

"She must have purified me," he thought bitterly as he gazed at the hand that had touched the shield. "Her potential is boundless, if only she could control her anger." He closed his eyes, remembering how her blue eyes burned when she was angry. If he was being honest, a little of his provocation of her was to see that fire. His mind turned to her with Rin at dinner. Her smiling eyes had been nice too, soft and warm. In fact, now that she was getting healthy again, there was a lot about her that was nice to look at. His mind drifted to another memory, her laying partially naked in his arms, her soft body exposed to him. He still itched to touch her and still hated himself for that feeling. It seemed she was meant to be his bane.

"I need to find Naraku and end this," he thought resolutely. "She needs to leave before I become as weak as my father." A gentle breeze blew through his window, and his golden eyes snapped open at the scent that it carried. Without a second thought, Sesshomaru leapt from his window to the top of his wall and over. As soon as his feet hit the ground he was running.

"Naraku," Sesshomaru hissed, as the forest streaked past him. "This ends tonight."

Ann was growing weaker by the second, watching her soul leave her body and enter the mirror. Her legs wobbled and then gave out, landing her face down in the snow.

"No, no, no, no, no," she cried out in her head. "Not like this." Naraku jumped down from the tree and leisurely approached her. Once he was next to her, he roughly kicked her in the side to flip her on to her back. The pain was stunning, but she couldn't even let out a cry. He kneeled next to her, gazing into her eyes.

"This is the end," Naraku said, his smile wide. "Your soul could not be riper right now, filled with all of the regret and anger stowed away in your heart. I can't wait to taste it." He traced his long, cold fingers down the side of her face. Ann wished she could gag, she wished she could knock his hand away, she wished she hadn't come here.

"I was so stupid," she thought bitterly. As Naraku leaned in closer, Ann's desperation surged. She focused all her remaining energy on a single thought: surviving. Her vision blurred, but she managed to condense her energy at her core. The release was weak, a faint blast of purifying energy that only pushed Naraku back momentarily.

Naraku laughed, recovering quickly. "Feeble attempts won't save you, priestess." As he reached for her again, a blinding light erupted from the forest edge. Great, flaming waves roared across the land towards them. Naraku held his hands up, forming a barrier that diverted the flames.

At the edge of the clearing, Sesshomaru appeared, his Tokijin unsheathed. His strike had missed, but Naraku was no longer smiling. As Sesshomaru approached, Ann could see that the Tokijin and his eyes glowed red.

"Get away from her," Sesshomaru growled venomously, his eyes burning with a cold fury.

Naraku's eyes narrowed. "So, you came after all." Sesshomaru bared his teeth, his unbridled anger palpable.

"Your games end now," he roared. Naraku didn't respond, but instead called out.

"Kagura, Lord Sesshomaru needs some company." A slender woman with black hair put up in a bun and ruby red eyes dropped from the sky. She smiled wickedly as she withdrew her fan and swiped it across her body.

"Dance of Blades," she called out, sending crescent shaped blades of wind twirling towards Sesshomaru. He held up his Tokijin and blocked her attack, but she was far from done. As Sesshomaru was blocking, Kagura swung the fan straight up into the air, creating cyclones that smashed down around him.

The scene blurred. Ann's soul was still being drawn from her body by the mirror and she was quickly running out of time.

"Poor, priestess," Naraku was leaning over her again. "You thought he was here to save you? Sesshomaru is only here for his own revenge." He sneered. "I suppose you will be letting Ichiro down one last time." His cold hands suddenly were around her throat, his fingers deftly maneuvering along her vertebrae.

"He's going to break my neck." The realization felt like a bucket of ice water in her veins and suddenly she wasn't holding anything back. Her release of energy was instantaneous and explosive. Naraku and Kanna were both thrown back by the waves of energy. With Kanna's concentration broken, Ann could finally move. Slowly she rolled over and pushed herself up to her knees. Her vision still blurred, she took in the scene around her. Sesshomaru and Kagura were still flinging attacks at each other. Kanna lay several yards away, half buried in the snow. Naraku, on the other hand, was gone.

"What?" Ann gasped, her eyes darting about the clearing. "How could I have lost him?" The sound of a sword unsheathing behind her drew her attention. She turned and froze at the murderous look in Naraku's eyes, a katana held high above his head. Without a word, he brought the sword down in a decisive arch, but before the strike could land, a flash of white crossed her vision. She felt herself being lifted from the ground, strong arms were wrapped around her. Ann looked up just in time to see Sesshomaru's face spasm in pain. He slid to a stop several feet away, gently depositing Ann at his feet and turning to face Naraku. He unsheathed his Tokijin once more and pointed it at Naraku.

"You will pay for that," he growled angrily. Ann's attention flicked from his sword to his back, and she gasped. The back of his jacket was slashed wide open, revealing a jagged gash that was bleeding freely. His white clothing down his entire back was quickly turning bright red. Realization hit Ann like a lightning bolt.

"He took that blow for me," she thought, both amazed and confused. "He protected me."

Sesshomaru brought his sword up and, while yelling, "Dragon Strike," swung the sword down across his body. Great flames of energy shot up out of the ground and went straight for Naraku and his two incarnations. Naraku and Kagura were able to dodge the attack, but Kanna wasn't fast enough. She let out a piercing scream as the flames burnt her alive. Kagura, deciding she had enough, took to the sky on her feather. Naraku landed on a low branch of the large oak tree and glared down at Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru growled but then dropped to a knee. Ann couldn't believe what she was seeing. Even a powerful demon like him could lose too much blood. Naraku laughed.

"The great Lord Sesshomaru, brought low by a human, just like his father." His katana still in hand, he leapt from the tree and raced forward.

Ann's heart pounded in her chest. She couldn't let Sesshomaru die. Gathering every ounce of strength left in her, she managed to rise to her knees. Like in the dojo, she brought forth a protective barrier that surrounded herself and Sesshomaru. The barrier pulsed with a purifying light, forcing Naraku to come to an abrupt stop.

"Leave us, Naraku!" she commanded, her voice filled with an authority her exhausted body didn't feel. "This fight is over." Naraku sneered but sheathed his sword.

"This fight is far from over, priestess," he hissed, his gaze boring into her. He exploded into a cloud of miasma that swirled like a wild storm away over the trees. As soon as Naraku disappeared, Ann's strength gave out, and she collapsed. Sesshomaru, despite his injuries, caught her before she hit the ground. He cradled her against his chest, his expression unreadable but his touch surprisingly tender.

Ann reached a hand up to touch his face, a hint of pain still there on his handsome features. He didn't pull away as she gently stroked his cheek. Her heart constricted with remorse. His pain was her fault.

"I'm sorry I'm such a pain in the ass," she mumbled, and then blacked out.