As I mentioned in the last chapter, this is an angsty fanfiction, and I ask that you PLEASE PLEASE refer to the rating of this fanfiction before you continue. This chapter also contains some dark material, and although it's not that bad, I don't want to offend anyone. This fanfiction will contain torture both physical and sexual, however I will assure you ahead of time that there will NOT be any rape, and no torture involving poor Rin. So, now that you are all aware of these warnings, I will add a note before and after certain parts so that any who do not wish to read certain scenes may skip them. Thanks guys, enjoy the read! =]

Chapter 5: Hopeful

He was dressed in loose crimson hakamas and a black haori, clashing vibrantly with the paleness of his features. Tiny blood red flowers clustered along his neckline, and followed it down to where it met his plain black sash. His long dark hair stood straight upon his head, accenting his jade green eyes. Today, they were just that, green. In normal circumstances, when using spells, his eyes tended to gain flecks of various colors, and sometimes, he could take on those colors and choose his own eye color. He preferred his natural green, however. Standing up, Kagai walked to the balcony and stepped outside.

The sound of water falling to the pond below relaxed his frazzled nerves and aided in getting him ready for his meditation session. He sat down cross legged and closed his eyes before attempting to clear his mind. The only problem was that this was his third try, and he could not manage to empty his head of thoughts. Upon his list of priorities, obtaining the remaining half of the Jewel of Four Souls was number one. Unfortunately, that meant going through Naraku, which really put Naraku at number one. Yet to deal with the half breed scum, he'd have to get the girl trained to assist him. Yet another head ache. Luckily, he now knew he had leverage. 'So the young priestess is playing mother to the child that travels with Sesshomaru. Interesting.' He smirked flashing his fangs as he turned over the new ideas forming in his head. Kagai was well aware that the Rin was not truly Kagome's daughter, but he would play along.

In reality, he wanted nothing to do with this Kagome girl; his only desires were the jewel, and Naraku's death. An advantage that Naraku held over him was the undead priestess Kikyo, however, that would not be the case once his own priestess was trained. The only technical problem they'd have to get past was how to keep her from turning her powers against him. The only conclusion he could think of was the child. However, he still wanted to ask some questions. He wanted to know everything he could learn about the girl, her comrades, the Western Lord, and Naraku. Unfortunately for the girl, Kagai would not physically harm the young child for information, this Rin needed to be in perfect condition to be held as leverage when it comes time to control Kagome's targets, that and Sesshomaru was a large threat. That could only mean that Kagome herself was to be the victim, and she would answer to him or suffer the consequences.

Having spent twenty minutes in thought, Kagai decided his mind was too busy to relax today, and slowly stood then made his way to the door, exiting the bedroom. There wasn't much to look at where he resided, as he lived underground and the majority of his home was tunneled out. Finding that it was the easiest way to keep prisoners, do as he pleased with them, plot, and not be found, he decided some years ago that beneath the earth's surface was the perfect place for him to begin his journey.

The dark hallway was empty, the only light consisting of torches along the walls, but with his superior vision, he didn't even need those. Finally reaching his destination, Kagai opened a large metal door and stepped into his workspace. Shelves filled with scrolls, weapons, and different herbs lined the walls of the small room, torches lit the area as if the sun itself lit it. In the center of it all was a table. The very table the priestess would soon occupy while he gouged her for information. The rest of the room was bare save for a few makeshift seats, a small side table for 'tools', and another door opposite the one he'd entered through.

Opening the second door, he stepped into the darkness, closing said door behind him. Immediately seeking the priestess out, he walked to her cage and found her asleep. "Perfect." He undid the lock and quickly removed the small door, then grabbed her foot roughly, uncaring of the child sleeping peacefully in her lap, and yanked, dragging her back through the door from which he entered. "Jak, lock the child's cage." Kagai ordered the man who was taking the prisoners their daily food ration.

"Yes Milord." Kagai smirked. It wouldn't be much longer before the entire world was bowing before him. He would be rid of anyone who attested to his reign.

Lifting his nose to the air, Inuyasha knew Sesshomaru was close. Now, he wouldn't go out of his way to locate him, but since Sango couldn't stop bugging him, Inuyasha decided to take a stab at approaching Sesshomaru while his human companions slept. After a vicious scouting of the perimeter, Inuyasha was sure no danger would find them, and he took to the air towards Sesshomaru. To say that the demon lord didn't look happy to see Inuyasha, was an understatement, as he looked to be busy himself, but the half demon didn't find him to let him go with not even a word. Deciding the best course of action, Inuyasha proceeded towards his half brother.

"Find Rin yet?" Sesshomaru merely glanced at Inuyasha, his expression cooly in check though his insides were screaming at him to find out how Inuyasha had learned such information. "What makes you think this Sesshomaru's ward is missing?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, clearly not taken in by Sesshomaru's nonchalant attempt to lie to him. "Kagome's missing too."

For a moment, Sesshomaru said nothing, merely pondered over Inuyasha's news. His mind calculated the possibility that wherever Rin was the priestess now was too. He felt hope at this, that whoever had taken his Rin was still about, still able to be found, though either way Sesshomaru would never give up on his hunt for her. "What happened?" He asked, wondering if what the hald demon would tell him was anything like his own experience when noticing Rin's disappearance.

"She went to the hot spring and just never came back. When I went to check on her, her scent was fresh, stopped right at the spring. Her clothes were still there, but she wasn't." Inuyasha sighed before taking a deep breath, fighting back the urge to tear apart the entire forest. "There was no trail, whatever happened, there was no way for me to even know which direction she'd gone!" He backed away from Sesshomaru, feeling his heart rate increase as he spoke of how he'd failed to keep Kagome safe, again. He was livid, his body felt hot as he stood there, breathing deeply to calm himself. If he and Sesshomaru fought because he lost his temper for something that had nothing to do with the demon lord, there would be no assistance from him.

Sesshomaru had yet to say anything, and rather than push the older male, Inuyasha simply stood with his head down as he awaited Sesshomaru's response. Glancing towards him, he noticed that Sesshomaru looked thoughtful, yet he felt his impatience growing as more time elapsed and he just stood there.

"This Sesshomaru has yet to find any lead on Rin's disappearance, though I am seeking Myouga. If you and your human companions desire, you may journey with me, though I go to Myouga alone, he is not far from this place and I intend on finding answers now, not when they awaken." Inuyasha wasn't sure how he felt at the moment. Sure, he'd just been granted the aide of his full demon half brother, yet that was also the problem. Inuyasha held no 'desire' as he put it, whatsoever to travel with the bastard, but if they were looking for the same, unheard of foe, then Sesshomaru had the advantage. He had resources, money, informants, and he had just as much reason to actively seek this ass hole. Throwing his own wants from his mind, he decided this was a good thing, if not for him, for Kagome. Now there was another searching for her, or her location at least, assuming she was wherever Rin was taken to.

Sesshomaru's destination was a small, musty cave, if you could even call it that. It's small size alone aided in hiding it from the human eye. Sesshomaru refused to enter. Confident that the flea would easily know that he was there, Sesshomaru simply stood outside, and sure enough, it was only moments before he sensed the small presence of Myouga who leaped into the pal of Sesshomaru's hand. "Lord Sesshomaru, to what do I owe this gracious visit?"

"This Sesshomaru seeks information." Myouga nodded his head, "Go on," the flee prompted. "My ward has been taken from me." Sesshomaru waited to see how Myouga would cope with this information. "The human child?" he asked, eyes nearly bulging from their sockets as he thought about the fate such a monster would receive for taking something so precious from the western lord. Sesshomaru nodded, then continued.

"The demon that took her left behind no scent trail, nor could I sense Rin's aura in any direction as I normally am able. It took only seconds for her to disappear completely, her fresh scent remaining in the spot this Sesshomaru last saw her. You will tell me anything you know on this subject flee." Myouga sat for a moment, turning over the information he'd collected from Sesshomaru.

"This is not a normal demonic attribute, this ability that you speak of. There is s small insect called a touzoku, nicknamed the infamous thief. One of the abilities of this bug is to suck the very aura from a person. To do this, the bug must enter into the body, and then once it completes its task, it exits the body from its point of entry and burrows into the ground where it stays in hibernation, feeding off the energy within the aura it's stolen. A touzoku only needs approximately thirty seconds from the time it enters the body to complete its task and reach hibernation mode. It's not explained why, but the person with the missing aura does not feel the loss, which is probably a good thing."

Sesshomaru stood perplexed, a small bug had stolen Rin's aura from her? Would she ever get it back? What of her scent? "Myouga, this touzoku, how do I retrieve the child's aura from it?" This whole scenario just seemed absurd, Sesshomaru now had to track a bug, apparently. "And what of Rin's scent? It remained fresh in the spot she was taken from."

"They do not keep the aura forever. They cannot maintain such a large life force for a very long time. Eventually, the aura will seep from the bug and return to its owner. This usually takes up to four days, and it is track able. So long as you can feel the aura, for example Rin's, you could follow it back to the child. As for her scent, I assume it was just hidden from you. Touzoku cannot take the scent from a person, however the fact that her scent remained is most likely because the bug entered and exited her body through a small puncture wound it created and so it carried her scent."

Though he'd never show it, Sesshomaru was extremely pleased. It was his first lead, and it had only taken him about a week to find it! Although Rin's disappearance exceeded four days, his half brother's female couldn't have been missing more than one or two. It was her aura that would hopefully take him to Rin. "Is there anything else this Sesshomaru should know?" The demon lord waited patiently for Myouga to sort through his thoughts, after all, it was the least he could do after having been given hope for the first time since Rin had been taken.

"It is rather interesting that someone is using this technique as a method of kidnap. If I'm correct, these small insects live deep within the ground. I haven't heard of them being used or even seen in centuries, which means either it is a very old demon using them, or someone playing in the dirt who simply came across the bug and figured out its secrets. You may be dealing with a powerful demon." Sesshomaru was not phased by this last statement, for he himself was a powerful demon. He had faith in Myouga's words, because if these bugs had been used recently, he'd surely know of their existence before now. The fact that he'd never heard of such a thing was rare as he prized himself on being well educated and well informed.

"Should this information aide me in my search for Rin, this Sesshomaru will owe you a debt." The flee bowed in Sesshomaru's hand, doing his best to keep his shock from his face. 'The human child must hold a special place in his heart.' Myouga decided, glad to see that his late master's son was finally able to hold feelings for another. 'He would be proud.'

Kagome yawned groggily as she left the dream world behind in lieu of awakening. She opened her eyes slowly, immediately acknowledging that something was wrong when her blue orbs met with light. Her first instinct was to bolt upright and find the exit to this place. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't. Looking down her nose at the length of her body atop what felt like a table, she noticed the leather straps across her chest and her thighs. She felt the restraints holding her hands and feet down, and instantly snapped. She fought violently against her bindings, gritting her teeth against the feel of the string cutting into her flesh. There was no way she'd get out of the leather, but if she could just wiggle her hands free of whatever was holding them, the leather straps would be an easy feat!

Luck was not on Kagome's side it seemed as the door to her left opened, revealing the man who'd taken her from the forest. Her heart rate increased with every step he took towards her. "I'm glad to see you're awake." He kicked the door shut behind him with his foot and continued to close the distance between them. "How are the accommodations dear?" He chuckled, giving Kagome a good glance at his sharp teeth. Piercing green eyes clashed with blue as he stood over her, watching her futile attempts at stoicism.

((WARNING))

"I don't know what you want with me, but I would advise that you let Rin and me go before you seriously regret this!" The demon laughed, shaking his head as he continued to smile at her. He would enjoy that she was feisty, most woman these days were dull and easily breakable; especially the humans. "I'm serious you freak!" He dropped the smile from his face, and brought his hand to Kagome's face. "Don't touch me!" She tried to cringe, turn her head, and even to bite him, but her bindings held her too tight for movement. His hand landed on her cheek and slid to her neck.

"Get AWAY!" Kagome yelled as his hand clasped around her throat, squeezing just enough to get his point across. "I'm aware that you are serious, girl. I am aware that you do not wish to be in pain, and I understand that you want out of here, but I'm not a nice person, and in my home we play by my rules." He squeezed her neck harder to emphasizing his statement, watching as her eyes widened and she began to struggle, panic evident in her gaze. He let go then, watching as Kagome began to cough, greedily sucking in oxygen to refill her emptied lungs.

She felt the tears slide from the corner of her eyes and did her best to blink them away. No way did she want to let this bastard see her cry, but what could she do? She couldn't wipe her tears away, hell she couldn't even scratch an itch right now. She could only endure it. The reality of such a situation frightened Kagome beyond belief. Her heart raced as her breathing increased to just short of hyperventilating.

"Let me introduce myself, dear Kagome. My name is Kagai, and I intend on destroying Naraku to take the rest of this for myself." He said, pulling the half completed jewel of four souls from a pouch on his side. "What have you done?" She whispered, more to herself than to the evil being standing beside her head. Nonetheless, he answered. "Isn't it beautiful? I've done nothing but feed it the hatred it so desires. Do you care to help me attain the rest of the jewel, Kagome?"

She narrowed her eyes at him; her name sounded dirty coming from his lips. She shook her head and looked away from him hearing him chuckle as she did so. His hand collided with her cheek, and she cried out, not expecting him to hit her, especially in the same spot the man had hit her the day before, if a day had even elapsed since then. Again she tasted blood in her mouth and her hatred for the male who'd struck her grew tenfold. "That's right, get angry priestess, feed the jewel the darkness in your heart."

Tears manifested once again in her eyes, only this time she didn't fight them, she couldn't. She was unable to do anything against her captor, and he turned everything back on her. How could she, the protector of the sacred jewel, be the one to feed it evil? "Now let's try this again, do you care to help me complete the jewel, girl?" Kagome shook her head again and this time, was ready for the blow she received, though that didn't stop the mangled cry that escaped her through upon impact. She was okay with this though, for she would give her life to keep the jewel out of the hands of someone like him. Unfortunately, she'd been unable to prevent him from ripping the jewel off her neck, but she felt that she could still protect it, so long as she could manage happy thoughts, that is.

"Resisting me is futile, but I suppose that just makes this more fun." He extended his hand, resting it upon her head and began to slowly walk around her body, dragging his hand behind him, down her face, chest, stomach, hip, and finally, her bare thigh. He left it there, and stopped walking when he was next to her waist on the opposite side from where he started. "There are other ways of going about this," he said as he began to knead her thigh. "Maybe I'll leave this half of you pretty, so that way when I decide I want to switch things up a bit," He moved his hand upwards, sliding it just under the brown material covering her. "I still have something halfway nice to look at." He finished.

She clinched her eyes shut as she began to shake, unable to control the sobs that wracked her small frame. "On second thought," he said, leaning close to her face so that he could whisper in her ear. "I'm not that picky." The final blow to the unmarred side of her face sent her world spinning as she faded from consciousness.

((END WARNING))

"Sesshomaru." Inuyasha stated as his half brother came into view. He told his companions of his trip to Sesshomaru once they began their day, and though he told them it wasn't for sure, Sango was in a much happier mood. "If he says no, you can still say you tried." Is what she'd told him, and despite the fact that it was the demon lord they were talking about, Sango was hopeful.

"Myouga has proven useful to this Sesshomaru. Take me to where the priestess was abducted." For the first time, even though questions were burning his throat with the need to escape and be answered, Inuyasha obeyed his older brother in the hopes of finding the second female to ever hold a piece of his heart; his best friend; his Kagome.

"Lord Sesshomaru," Sango waited for him to look her way before she finished. "I know you're only care is to find Rin, but I thank you, and until they're found, I will do all I can to help you find Rin." She bowed then, and let a small smile grace her lips when he nodded his response. "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru, you have my thanks for aiding our quest." Miroku chimed in, also bowing his head to the demon lord. They were then off towards the last place they'd known their friend to be.

When they reached the spring, it was merely an hour or so away, Sesshomaru stepped towards the water. "Can you feel her aura?" At Inuyasha's surprised look, Sesshomaru inwardly sighed. "The priestess's presence, can you feel it?" Aghast, Inuyasha shook his head, wondering how he was to feel something that just was not there. Kagome's presence was where ever she presently was, wasn't it?

"It's faint, but I feel her. It feels dark, as If she is," Miroku couldn't bring himself to say the word. Even to think of Kagome in a bad situation was disturbing; such a kind girl deserved a better fate. Nonetheless, feeling the stares on his person, he repeated himself. "It feels as if she is suffering. He tried to dig deeper, to reach into her aura and gather her every feeling, maybe he could deduce what was happening if he could just latch onto her, but he couldn't. "I'm sorry, that's all I can tell." He felt someone grab his hand and glanced over his shoulder to see Sango close behind him, lacing her fingers with his.

Sesshomaru frowned as he himself brushed her aura, his senses were stronger than the monk's, holy powers or not, and he either felt more of her suffering than the monk did, either that or the monk just didn't want to say anything to upset the slayer. Inuyasha was growling lowly in the background, probably trying his damndest to feel Kagome's spirit as well. 'Suffering.' Sesshomaru played with the word, wondering if he should add to it or not. 'She is in pain. Physical pain.' Ultimately, Sesshomaru decided to keep his thoughts to himself and pushed Rin from his mind for the moment. Thoughts of his ward suffering were more than he could handle.

"Monk, you and I will stay vigil over this area, be sure that you are constantly aware of the priestess's presence. Everyone be ready to leave at any time over the next three days. Once the aura is ready to return to her, we will follow it." Though the concept of following a person's aura was new to the gang, they readily agreed and headed off to set up camp nearby. "Monk, I do not expect to require assistance with this task, however, should the need for your presence arise, this Sesshomaru will inform you."

Well, there it is, hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will focus a bit more on Kagome's predicament, and Sesshomaru's job aura-sitting. =] Everything is coming together very well in my head, so expect an update next week!

I just want to add real quick, I don't have a beta, so if anyone catches an error, or I screw up some part of the story line, feel free to let me know so I can get it fixed! Thanks for reading guys!