Inukimi paused and looked up at the war torn castle in front of her. "We're here," she murmured while her hands made their way to her hips. Even with the hastily lit lanterns at the castle's entrance, it was eerily dark against the night sky. The once respected Northern castle was in ruins as its tattered flags snapped in the wind. Silently cursing herself, she rubbed the goosebumps that covered her arms from the steady rain that started earlier in the evening. While debating her next move, the doors to the castle almost fell off their hinges as they were forcefully swung open.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" snarled one of the guards with his weapon drawn in Inukimi's direction. A visible white mist escaped from her nose as she chuckled under her breath, and in response the small army she had brought with her raised their weapons in perfect synch behind her.

"Now, now," she gently placed her finger on the tip of the sharp sword and began to slowly lower it. "There's no need for such hostility." Although not easily seen in the darkness, blood began dripping from her finger as the guards sword she was forcefully lowering pierced her skin. The human guard watched in horror as his sword continued to slice further into Inukimi's delicate finger without any reaction from her other than an evil smile.

The ground trembled as a booming but calm voice came from inside the castle, "lower your weapons." A clear path emerged down the center of the the men while they shuffled out of their leaders way as he made his way towards Inukimi and her army. Expressionless, she watched as the beast transformed back to a humanoid figure before her eyes. Water splashed off of his polished boots with each step that he took towards her, and she confidently commanded her army to stand down.

When Tengu was a few feet away from Inukimi, he rested his hand on his sword that was sheathed and hanging from his waist. "Do you come as a friend or foe, Lady Inukimi?" he questioned with a smirk.

"That depends," she answered with a sly smile while glancing back at the burlap sack that was slung over one of her guards shoulders.

Tengu nodded, "Come with me."

A timid human servant tried to dry the Lord's soaking wet dark brown hair while he poured two cups of hot tea, but he shooed her away. As he handed Inukimi her cup, he noticed that her self inflicted wound had not fully healed yet. "Here," he used his teeth to rip some cloth from his battle gear and began tying it around her scabbed and bleeding finger. "Was all of that really necessary to get my attention?" he asked while nodding towards her finger and sipping his tea, trying to warm up from the cold rainy night.

Inukimi shrugged and smiled. "I'm impressed you recognized my scent after all these years," she flirted with her childhood friend. In an effort to build their power and clan Inukimi's father, Lord Aoku, summoned a few of his best pack members and sent them off to different regions to conquer. As a small child she had pleaded with her father not to send Tengu and his family off, but her father insisted it was what was best for the future of their clan and she had only seen Tengu a handful of times since that day. The last time being before her arranged marriage to Toga.

"Some things just stick with you, I suppose." His sky blue eyes stared at her suspiciously, wondering the reason for her visit. Throughout the years he had heard enough to know she cannot be blindly trusted.

"Nice place you have here," she said sarcastically while tracing the outline of her cup with her finger. The structure was literally crumbling around her as she spoke and rain dripped onto the table that they were seated at. Some valuables were still laying smashed on the floor while others were still proudly displayed. Tengu's servants tried to warm the building by keeping up with the fire in the fireplace, but the holes in the walls and ceiling allowed the cold air to come rushing in. "I also never took you for someone who would keep so many humans around." Hearing her words, the human servants froze waiting to hear their possible fate, while the handful of demon ones continued to bustle around.

"I'm indifferent to them," he shrugged while looking around at his meager help. "They have their purpose." Silently breathing a sigh of relief the human servants got back to work as to not displease their Lord. "Keep in mind, Lady Inukimi," he began while sipping more of his tea. "I have only recently overtook control of the North. The land has been ravaged with wars and instability for awhile now, and I will not turn away any help. Demon or human."

A smile crept onto Inukimi's face. "Is that so?" she asked while waving her guard over. With a thud, the burlap sack he was carrying dropped to the damp stone ground.

Tengu eyed the sack suspiciously. His sense of smell was as good as any other dog demon and he knew there was a human girl inside, but he wasn't sure of her significance or what prompted Inukimi to bring her to him.

Inukimi studied his face as she waited for a reaction from him when she noticed that dark circles clung under his eyes and he looked completely exhausted. The war for control of the North had clearly taken a toll on him. "I brought you a housewarming present," she rolled her eyes at Tengu's lack of response.

"And what, exactly, am I supposed to do with a human girl taken against her will?" Tengu asked impatiently.

"Whatever you wish," Inukimi assured him while, proud of her catch. "This girl has a lot of enemies. I'm sure you could auction her off to the highest bidder to help all of... this," she said while motioning around the castle.

Tengu laughed at her assessment, "I think you're a little full of yourself, if I must be honest. How could a mere human girl acquire so many enemies?"

Intertwining her fingers, Inukimi rested her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands. "Have you heard of Naraku, Tengu?" He rolled his eyes at her question and groaned, what a nuisance he was he thought to himself as he nodded. "This human girl is the priestess who helped rid him from this world, along with the Shikon no Tama all the demons chased after."

His eyes grew wide as he looked over to the now wet burlap sack, resting quietly on the floor. "What do you want in exchange?" he asked as he leaned forward and lowered his voice. Their clans hadn't been acting as one for quite some time now, and he immediately grew suspicious of her reasoning for being here and bringing such a sought after prize.

"Nothing," she promised with a wink while taking another sip.

Stretching in his chair that creaked in protest, his gaze went between Inukimi and the burlap sack currently worth more than his new castle. "Are you acting on behalf of yourself and the Skylands, Lady Inukimi, or are you acting on behalf of your son Lord Sesshomaru of the West?" he asked curiously while clasping his hands together.

"Does it matter?" she asked defensively. Inukimi hadn't expected any hesitancy on his behalf. You have nothing but a battered castle, barely any respect from the people and demons of your new land, and you have the nerve to question me? she thought angrily to herself. "If you're not interested I'll take her off your hands," she added nonchalantly, quickly changing her tune to a more pleasant one.

"Yes, it does," he answered while walking over to the sack and untying it, peaking inside. "I am failing to understand why you wouldn't bring her to your son to auction off, or auction her off yourself."

"You want my son to waste his time auctioning her off? With all of his fathers wealth he inherited?" she scoffed. "As for me, I merely wanted to help a former member of the Skylands clan establish himself in his new land. After all, that was my fathers plan all those years ago."

Tengu threw his still damp hair over his shoulder while tying up the sack once again. "This does not mean the North is merging with the Skylands," he said sternly. His clan had paid a hefty sum for their independence from Lord Aoku many years ago as they themselves wanted to establish their own power and lineage.

"Of course not," she agreed. "I would rather the North be controlled by a dog demon clan than any other is all.

Still uneasy about her intentions, he politely took her hands in his and thanked her. Their touch lingered a little longer than most as their eyes locked in on each other. Embarrassed by their exchange, he cleared his throat causing her to release her hands from his and promise she would keep in touch. Normally he would've offered her a room for the night, but he knew the dilapidated castle wouldn't be up to her standards. Something didn't feel right to him as he watched her and her army disappear back into the darkness just as quickly as they had come.

"My Lord, what shall I do with this?" one of his servants asked while attempting to lift Inukimi's gift. Carefully, he opened the sack one more time and peered in. "So you're the infamous priestess Kagome, huh?" Kagome offered no response as she lay there, motionless.

Author's Note:

I'm baaaack!

If we're being totally honest here, I needed to take a little break and get some tougher skin. I had to remind myself that my story isn't going to be for everyone and that sometimes people are going to verbalize that without any sort of constructive criticism, and that's okay. I really do love your feedback though! Some of you suggested I was making Kagome too meek and 'damsel in distress' and when I read the story back I had to agree, so I have a plan for that. (As I have her unconscious in a bag, lol)

Next chapter should be more focused on Kagome, and possibly Sesshomaru depending on the length. I know this is shorter than what I had been writing (my kid dropped the nap so I have less time to write now), but I wanted to post a short chapter to let you all know I'm still here. I might try to go back to shorter chapters again so I can keep a more consistent schedule of posting.

Anyway, that's my ramble. I hope you've all been doing well!