DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Inu-Yasha - A Feudal Fairytale and all related characters are the creations of Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 1: Under Observation
The wind whipped around the small clearing, shaking the leaves into a frenzy and causing the hair and clothing of the clearing's three inhabitants to flutter around them. The smallest of the three, a toad-like youkai wearing a brown robe and an odd little black hat, cried out in shock as the wind pushed at him, almost knocking him over. "Ah! Sesshoumaru-sama! This wind… could it be…?"
The silver-haired youkai lord turned his head slightly as his sharp hearing caught the soft rustle of grass beneath a familiar light step. "Kagura! Show yourself!" His command was still lingering on the air when the bushes parted and she appeared.
Kagura, the wind user. Second daughter of the evil fiend Naraku. A beautiful female youkai who appeared in human form, except for her telltale tapered ears and her glittering ruby eyes. As usual, she held a delicate fan in one hand. As she stepped into view, she lowered the fan slightly, indicating that she was not there to fight. "Hello, Sesshoumaru."
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "What do you want, Kagura?"
The female youkai laughed softly. "Well, that's a fine greeting! No small talk, huh? Oh, very well then. Naraku sent me to kidnap the little girl, of course." She smiled, her eyes gleaming with amusement as her comment had its predictable effect.
"W…what? You dare say that to Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken was so shocked he didn't know whether she was serious or not. It wasn't always easy to tell with Kagura. Although she was Naraku's daughter, and had caused massive amounts of death and destruction in accordance with his wishes, there were times when she seemed to be just as against her father as anyone else. Just in case she was serious though, he grasped his staff a little more tightly and glanced at Rin to make sure that she was behind him.
Rin gasped at Kagura's words and nervously edged closer to Jaken. Her worried eyes darted from Kagura to Sesshoumaru and back again.
Sesshoumaru remained silent as he studied Kagura, his face completely emotionless as usual. Finally, he gave a slight shrug and turned away. "Naraku is wasting his time, and yours. She means nothing to me." He started walking away, leaving Jaken gasping in shock as he stared after him.
"M… my lord? S… Sesshoumaru-sama?"
Rin also watched Sesshoumaru walk away, but her expression was more wistful than shocked. There was a slight hint of sadness in her eyes as she turned to face Kagura again. For a single moment, the same expression seemed to flash across the wind-user's face. Or perhaps it was just a trick of the light. It was gone too quickly to tell for certain.
Kagura raised her fan and snapped it open, then sighed. "Honestly Sesshoumaru… it's no fun if you don't put up a fight." Plucking a feather from her hair, she threw it up into the air and then leapt up, landing with practiced ease on top of the now-giant feather. "You can keep the child for a little while longer, but one day…"
She was suddenly completely serious, all signs of her normal flirtatious manner gone as she looked down at the youkai lord, who had paused on the edge of the clearing to watch her leave. "One day Naraku will take her, you know. He has plans for her, and for you."
Sesshoumaru raised one eyebrow a little. "A warning, Kagura?"
She shook her head slightly. "More like a promise. Don't underestimate him."
Sesshoumaru almost smiled. "Naraku is nothing more than a fool if he believes that I will be as easy to bait as my worthless brother. He is the one who allows his common sense to leave him because of his pathetic heart and its human emotions, not I."
An unfathomable look passed across Kagura's face. "You don't realise how important a heart is… until you no longer have one…" With that, she silently commanded her feather to fly. She was gone as quickly as she had arrived.
Jaken blinked and turned to Sesshoumaru, extremely puzzled. "Sesshoumaru-sama… what do you think she meant by that?" Rin also looked up, although she seemed more relieved that Kagura had gone than anything else.
Sesshoumaru gazed up at the sky in silence for a moment before turning away. Ignoring Jaken's question, he started walking. "We're leaving."
"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin ran after him immediately, her earlier sadness forgotten.
"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken started to follow, then quickly doubled-back to catch up the reins of the massive youkai beast that traveled with them. "Oh… Sesshoumaru-sama! Wait for me, Sesshoumaru-sama! Don't leave me behind!"
As they left the clearing, they failed to notice the two emerald eyes watching them from inside a hollow log half hidden beneath a bush on the clearing's edge. The bright eyes followed them until they were out of sight, then a soft sigh came from within the log.
"Naraku isn't the only fool around here, Sesshoumaru. I can see that I'm going to have to act fast on this one. Yes… by the time I'm through with you, you'll never be the same again!"