Naraku pov:

"How interesting." I mused with a smirk.

Yes, that girl, that human was quite interesting indeed. I was intrigued by her from the moment I saw her. I had spotted her falling from the sky when I was flying on my miasma after a brief encounter with Inuyasha and his little gang. I wouldn't have thought much about a random person, let alone a human, falling from the sky but I couldn't help but catch her in my arms when I felt a strange power in her. She was clearly a human but her aura was like none other than those I had sensed before. She had no demonic aura or spiritual aura but something unique and rather powerful – it was an aura that only very powerful demons with a high sensitivity would be able to sense though.

She was bleeding profusely from two deep wounds on her torso and shoulder and had a serious burn covering her entire left arm and shoulder when I caught her. She had probably lost a lot of blood and was still losing blood as I flew back to my castle. I had had Kagura stop the bleeding of her wounds and wrap them up so that she didn't die. She hadn't woken up for two days but I was quite impressed that she had survived such grave injuries and been able to summon enough energy to walk just after she woke.

I had expected her to be a weak hearted human, scared and hesitant, especially when talking to a demon such as me. But her rather bold behavior had taken me by mild surprise. She had very observant eyes and showed caution when talking to me when she first saw me. She showed obvious hints of distrust towards me, a stranger. However, she showed no fear – it had made me quite interested in her. She was definitely not a normal human – not in power or personality.

"You're just going to let her leave? That's not like you." Kagura said with a scoff from beside me.

I chuckled, closing my eyes for a moment and then looking out of the window of the room in which I sat. "She will return to me....in time. I will make sure that she summons me when the time is right. But for now, Kanna, show me the girl."

I looked away from the window and at the mirror in Kanna's hands. It glowed for a moment before showing me Hisako as she followed Kohaku out of my castle. She was looking at the miasma crystal I had given to her quite seriously and just as they reached the gates of the castle, she lifted it and put it around her neck. I smiled, quite satisfied that she was behaving just as I had anticipated.

I suppose she was beautiful for a human. She had a fair complexion and her small face was framed by her smooth dark hair. She had dark blue eyes, which was an unusual trait in humans, and she was small in stature. And her beauty seemed to only get better visible when she tied her hair up.

She had changed back into the blood stained clothes she was wearing when I first saw her. They were torn in some places but not enough to expose her skin even though the clothes she wore itself showed more skin than necessary. Oddly enough, her clothes reminded me of those worn by the miko who travelled with Inuyasha, the girl named Kagome who was the reincarnation of Kikyo.

It had always been so easy for me to understand people. Their behavior, their past, their current comrades and foes told me all I needed to know about them and how I could effectively use them to my advantage. The easiest of that lot was Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku. However, even those I met for the first time, those I didn't know anything about often gave away hints of their personality and their weaknesses which I took great pleasure in exploiting for my personal gain. And I would think that Hisako was no different.

Her aura was more than enough for me to know that she was different from those around her. She had a power that was probably not something a regular weak human would possess. In these warring times when demons overpowered humans, causing them to live in constant fear, it was only natural for humans to not accept those unlike the pure forms of what existed in the world. Demons too loathed anything that was impure and different. The best example for that were half-demons – they were accepted neither by humans nor by demons and shunned as outcasts.

I had assumed that Hisako was one of those outcasts as well because of her aura. I wasn't convinced that my assumption was right until I had asked her out of mere curiosity and she had reacted violently, defensively, clearly showing that she was, in fact, an outcast not accepted for her difference. She didn't speak much to me even though I had told her, or rather, made her believe that I too was different so it meant she didn't trust people she didn't know– she didn't interact with them more than necessary and always kept to herself.

I did not press her for details or try to make her uncomfortable and make her openly accept that she was an outcast. I intended to use her powers for my benefit and that couldn't be done by forcing her to tell me details she didn't want to. Also, without knowing what power she possessed, I couldn't risk having her takes sides with me just yet. And so instead, I had offered her a tempting proposal – she could keep the miasma crystal I gave her and use it to summon me if she ever felt the need to be in the presence of someone who accepted her for who she really was. I made sure I stressed on the fact that I would be a pillar of support for her if need be and just as I had expected, she had succumbed to the uncertainty she had inside and accepted my offer.

Of course, I would also have to test her strength to see if she really would be any useful to me. I would have to keep an eye on her using my Saimyosho just as I was doing now and see just how well she can fare against demons she crossed paths with. Depending on the strength of the demon she fought against and won, I could judge just how much she could do for me.

"Thank you for escorting me till here, Kohaku." She said with a barely visible smile. She gave Kohaku a bow with her head and walked away without another word.

I continued to watch her as she walked away from my castle, not turning back even once to notice that my barrier had come up again and made it appear as if my castle wasn't even here. That didn't bother me though for I assumed she was merely being foolish and careless and not staying aware of her surroundings enough.

I noticed that she had begun to sweat, indicating that the pain of her wounds was starting to take a toll on her strength. She even stopped for a moment, taking the support of a tree with her eyes closed and holding her right side as she caught her breath – the wound there had opened and was bleeding, staining her clothes a dark red. She didn't rest for long though and pushed on despite looking like she would collapse any minute. However, when she was a little more away, she stopped and sat down at the base of a tree to rest.

I narrowed my eyes as I watched her in Kanna's mirror. She was vulnerable now, all the more since the forest in which she was taking shelter in thrived with numerous demons. Besides the dried blood on her clothes, the fresh blood oozing out of the wound on her torso would almost certainly draw the demons to her. true, the demons were under my control and wouldn't attack her unless I let them but Hisako could barely move and yet she was taking the risk of sitting in the middle of a demon filled forest. Perhaps I gave her too much credit for her unusually strong aura – at this rate, she was sure to die.

"I guess I'm far enough from the castle now....and there's no one here." She spoke out loud. "I don't even understand why I'm in the middle of some forest but it's at least a good place to not get caught for what I'm about to do."

She took a deep breath and let it out of her mouth. Closing her eyes, she lifted her right hand and pressed two fingers on the very center of her collar bone. Seconds later, her whole body was enveloped by a golden white aura. I couldn't understand what she was doing though I was curious to see the results of it. When the glowing of her body stopped, she opened her eyes while moving her hand away from her collar bone and stood up. She tilted her head from side to side and rotated the shoulder of her left arm.

It was that that I understood what had happened.

"So she can heal herself." I mused to myself. "I am quite curious to know if she has the ability to heal others as well....it would be such a waste if she can only heal herself."

"Now that that's done, I have to figure out where I am. As far as I remember, I fell out of the burning warehouse....so how did I end up in the middle of a forest?" She spoke again while looking around.

I huffed out a laugh amused and decided that this was the perfect time to see what she was capable of. Since she was injured, I had planned on giving her some time to recuperate before she could give me a demonstration of her powers. But since she had healed herself, I had no reason to hold back.

Hisako walked further into the forest and when she stepped out into a clearing, one of my many demons bolted out of the trees on the other side. I was impressed to see that Hisako's reflexes were fast and she dodged the demon before it could make contact with her. She skidded to a halt on the side and looked at the demon that now faced her, quite bewildered.

"What in the world?!" Hisako exclaimed before jumping out of the way of the demon as it shot out to attack her again.

She clenched her jaw and crouched, placing her hand on the ground below when she skidded to a halt next. A white lightning like spark crackled around her hand and as she lifted her hand from the ground, a staff with a metal spearhead was formed. She got into a wide and powerful stance while pointing the spear at the demon, ready to defend herself. She blocked the demon's claws with the spear and pushed it back with an impressive amount of force, enough to send it flying against the trees and leaving quite a few of them uprooted. The demon didn't give up though and shot out at her again only to be sliced in half and killed instantly.

Wanting to test her some more, I sent out six more of my demons. She looked to the side with a scoff instead of showing any hint of anxiousness. She held out the spear again and ran at the demons, meeting them midway in the clearing and slicing all of them effortlessly. Her maneuvers were fluid and precise and she didn't suffer any injuries besides a very shallow scratch on her cheek even though she fought against six demons all at once.

"Excellent." I said, smirking.

She not only had a powerful ability but she was physically strong. She had good stamina, excellent reflexes and confidence. She didn't hesitate when she fought and killed those demons even though she did seem surprised when the first demon appeared. Her power was clearly formidable and one that I could put to good use. However, I knew it would take time – it wasn't going to be easy to manipulate her because I still did not know what would make her come to me willingly. I would find out in time though and make sure everything works as I planned them.

Hisako would become a propitious ally.

Hisako pov:

What in the world were these creatures? I had never seen creatures like this before – they looked like monsters that people would draw on paper out of their imagination. They had tried to attack me and now lay in front of me dead, blood pooling around them and dripping off the blade of the spear I had transmuted. I felt slightly unsettled about what I had just done but it's not like I had a choice – I had to defend myself.

I tightened my fist on the staff of the spear and it crumbled, falling to the ground as dirt. I lifted my hand and ran my thumb over the cut on my cheek that one of the demons had managed to put on me to heal it instantly. I then looked up at the soft cumulus clouds passing in the sky wondering what had happened to me. Where was I? How did I get here? What was the deal with the man who had saved my life and these strange creatures that had suddenly bolted out of the trees? I couldn't understand anything.

I shook my head and decided to continue walking through the forest. I was bound to run into some sort of civilization some time, right? Maybe the warehouse was on a cliff that overlooked a dense forest and when I fell, I landed in the forest. The man who had saved me lived quite deep in the forest because he and his friends were not accepted by those around them and preferred the isolation. All I had to do was find my way back to the main city. I had no reason to feel wary just because I hallucinated fighting some ugly supernatural-like creatures. I had hallucinated them....hadn't I?

As I walked, I felt like I was being watched. I couldn't understand why I felt that way because I couldn't see anyone around me. I couldn't hear the footsteps of anyone following me and this forest was quiet so it would be impossible to not hear even the softest of sounds. In fact, I think the forest was too quiet. But it was almost as if I could feel some kind of power or presence and I darted my eyes around every now and then to make sure that my hallucination would come true with another deranged creature jumping out of the bushes.

After a few more minutes of walking, I began to feel another presence. It was quite strong and made me reflexively put my guard up more. I was almost beginning to think that I was losing my mind because sensing presences wasn't normal. I don't think there was any Superhuman who had the ability to sense presences or auras of people – well, if there was, it would be their unique ability. I should not be able to sense people's presences when I can't even see them!

I stepped out into another small clearing but stopped walking what I saw a man standing a few feet away from me – the one from which I could sense the powerful aura. He was taller than Naraku and seemed to tower over me even though we stood a good ten feet away from each other. He had long silver hair that almost reached his knees, a fair complexion and stunning golden eyes. He had tattoos on his face – a dark blue crescent moon on the center of his forehead, a magenta coloring on his eye lids and two magenta stripes on his cheeks starting from his ears. He wore a white and red haori with white hakamas, armor held in place by a yellow and purple sash and a fluffy looking fabric over his right shoulder. He also carried two swords at his waist.

[a/n: Cue Sesshomaru's fangirls squeals!!! XD]

I could make out from the free flutter of his sleeve that he didn't have his left arm. It was missing almost till the shoulder.

I raised a brow finding his attire strange. To me, it looked very uncomfortable to move around in although I suppose it wasn't really my concern to worry about some stranger's comfort. He could wear whatever he wanted to and I would wear whatever I wanted to. I was about to brush him off and leave but when it dawned upon me that he was staring at me silently, I narrowed my eyes a bit.

"Eeesh! She reeks of Naraku's miasma! She must be one of his minions, don't you think so too, Milord?"

I looked away from the man to a small green creature standing beside him who had just spoken in a rather high pitched voice. He looked like an overgrown and probably mutated toad and he wore a dark haori and hakamas and carried a two headed staff. He was covering in nose and mouth with one of his sleeves and looking at me as if a really bad odor came off of me. Then again, he did say I 'reeked' of Naraku's miasma. Well, wasn't he being rude?

I looked to the side with an inaudible scoff, ignored the comment and began to continue on my way.

"I did not say you could leave, human."

This time, it was the man who spoke. He had a silky baritone though not as deep as that of Naraku's. But something about the tone of his voice was icy and made me feel the need to show caution when around him. So I stopped walking to look at him carefully. But why did he call me human instead of girl or something similar?

"Where is Naraku?" He asked curtly.

"You stopped me to ask that? If that little thing standing beside you can smell his so called miasma so well, why not ask him to lead you to him? I don't think you need me to tell you where he is." I mocked.

"You wench! How dare you speak that way to Lord Sesshomaru! I'll kill you! And I am not a thing! I am an imp!" The toad complained angrily.

I didn't get a chance to respond because the wind around us suddenly picked up. I looked ahead sensing another powerful presence and got to see what looked like a tornado coming right at me at a tremendous speed. Before it could hit me and hurt me, I summersaulted backwards and skidded to a halt in crouched position. The tornado dissipated violently, sending dust flying in all directions to reveal another guy wearing strange clothes. Unlike the guy with the white hair, the guy who had just turned up wore what appeared to be wolf fur and armor and even had a fancy wolf tail. He had long black hair tied in a high ponytail, elf like ears and blue eyes.

What is with guys and having long hair? All four guys I had come across since I woke up in Naraku's castle had really long hair – even longer than what most girls would keep! Well, Kohaku's hair wasn't that long but still enough to tie up in a ponytail.

I stood up while dusting my clothes even though that wouldn't really make them any cleaner than they were. The wolf guy who had just turned up was glaring daggers at me like he hated me with every cell of his very being and I watched him passively in return. That only seemed to agitate him more though and he took a step forward growling. Literally.

"You wench! Where is that b****** Narkau?! Are you one of his minions?!" He questioned furiously.

"I'm not his minion." I responded flatly.

"Don't you dare lie to me! I can get the stench of his miasma from all over you! There's no way you aren't one of his minions! Tell me where he is or I'll make your death slow and painful!" He said and held up a fist threateningly.

I closed my eyes momentarily and sighed. I had a feeling that I wasn't going to be let off easily by these three because they seemed to be bitter enemies with Naraku. I couldn't help but momentarily wonder what he had done to get them so angry.

"You guys seem to have a really good sense of smell since you can pick up the smell of Naraku's miasma or whatever from me so you could sniff him out yourselves, you know?" I said and put a hand on my hip. "I don't see any reason why I should be helping."

"Heh! Don't think you can protect that b******! I know just what to do to make you talk!"

"I'm not protecting him." I said narrowing my eyes at the wolf guy. "He saved my life and I'm grateful to him for that but I have no obligation to protect him. If you're so hell bent on finding him, you should go straight for about two hundred meters in that direction – he's in a big castle surrounded by purple mist."

The wolf guy was a little surprised at how I had snapped at him. But I couldn't help it – it's his