Before anything, I apologize for the delay in this chapter, I started playing AI: The Somnium Files on Friday and was so obsessed with beating it and the sequel 100% that I could not think about this story. There may be a couple of references to the games showing up in this story in the next few chapters. Secondly, I have had 2 reviews on this story, it is not much but they have both been very appreciated. Thank you to Alannada and xangelicsin for your reviews. I hope you and everyone enjoys the story as it unfolds.

Disclaimer – I do not own InuYasha and if I did, he would have ended up with Sango and there would be much more InuSan fan fictions. Since I have read most of the longer complete ones on here, I could only say in a deep, menacing voice "Fine, I'll do it myself." Just so you know, I have not watched the Final Act or the Sequel series as I just don't want to see them end up with the wrong people, in my opinion.

The song for this chapter is Roses of May

I keep meaning to mention this but keep forgetting. If you want a frame of reference for InuYasha's appearance as a full demon, I designed him after Touga, his father's, official appearance. The only difference is he still has the robe of the fire rat but it still has the purple accents added to the robe, and his ears are still dog-like but are just a little higher up than a normal person's. Of course, his face is still his own but with the purple stripes on his cheeks. His hair is mostly the same, just pulled back.

Chapter 4 - A Return to the West

InuYasha awoke from his sleep with his mate resting her head on his chest and his arms around her waist. With a deep inhale from his nose, he took in his mate's scent and a smile came to his face. I love waking up like this he thought to himself as she began to stir. As she opened her eyes, she looked at him and gave him a sleepy smile. "Good morning, Inu-kun."

He nuzzled her hair slightly. "Good morning, my Sango," he responded, holding her tightly. Neither of them wanted to get up from their comfortable positions, however they knew they had to if they wanted to finish their travel that day. Rising slowly, the two dressed themselves, not without a few playful touches and kisses, and headed out to see how Miroku was doing.

As they entered their friend's room, they saw that Miroku had been rolled on his side. Shimo was kneeled at his back and examining the gash on his back. "How's he doing, doc?" InuYasha asked walking in and leaning against the wall.

"Better than he was last night. It would be nice if he could rest on his back, but this gash is preventing that." Shimo gave him a sharp look as she spoke.

"Hey, at least I didn't kill him." He said holding his hands up. Sango gave him a slap on the arm and withering glare. "Hey, demon code states that him touching my mate means his life is mine. I spared him because we had not told him we had mated yet and he is my friend. If I had been any other demon, he would be dead."

He left the room, his cape billowing behind him as he left. Sango looked at Miroku with concern as she could feel her mate's irritation enter her heart. She understood what he was saying and what he meant but it didn't mean she was happy about it. Looking at her injured friend, she could help but feel bad that he had been hurt further because of her. She walked up to him and kneeled down in front of him, keeping an arm's length of distance just to be safe. "Are you OK, Miroku?"

"I will be fine. Your concern is greatly appreciated, my dear Sango." The monk slowly opened his eyes to look at her.

"Did you learn your lesson? It was one thing when we were on our journey, but things are different now and you can't keep doing that. I am mated to InuYasha, a demon. You are beyond lucky that he just gave you a few wounds and didn't do anything worse."

"I understand, I will keep my hands to myself. It is just so hard sometimes."

With that Sango stood up and followed after InuYasha, determined to put his mind at ease. She wasn't mad at him for following his instincts as a demon, she was just frustrated that he was trying to protect her when she can protect herself. She walked out the front door of the temple and began searching for her mate. She breathed in through her nose and picked up a faint scent of pine trees and fresh rain that she knew to be her mate's scent. "My senses really have been sharpened since we got together," she said to herself, following the scent.

She followed the scent to a small cluster of trees and found him sitting on one of the higher branches. With a leap, she reached a lower branch before moving up until she on a branch right next to him. In spite of his frustration, she could feel his pride bleeding over to her. "I see you are getting used to your new abilities," he said with a smirk.

She smiled back at him. "It would seem so. I wanted to apologize for getting upset with you. I am not used to having someone around that wants to fight my battles for me and I got frustrated that you handled it the way you did. I just didn't realize how bad his wound was until today and it got to me."

"No, I understand what you mean. It is my instinct as a demon to try and protect you but you don't need me to. You are the strongest person I know. I just let my instincts get ahead of me. I will try to be better in the future."

"I am glad that we can talk these things out and not have them fester and become real problems."

"It's one of the benefits of our bond. It means that we can't hide what we are truly feeling from one another." InuYasha rose and stepped onto Sango's branch. He could feel her momentary fear as he did so, unsure if the branch could hold them both. "Don't worry, I won't let any harm come to you. I will protect you from harm, but you can fight your own battles when your life is not on the line." With a dexterous leap, InuYasha leapt from the branch and let himself plummet to the earth.

Sango screamed for a moment before making her way back down the way she had come up. She was quickly back on the ground, but not as quickly as InuYasha who had one eyebrow raised inquisitively. "Something the matter, my love?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

"You scared the life out of me!" she yelled, not caring that it hurt her own ears. If it hurt hers, it was sure as well going to hurt his.

He gave a light chuckle and took her hand. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to feel that jolt of fear again. It gives me such warmth to think it was concern for me." He leaned in and gave her a gentle but loving kiss before pulling away. He felt her anger flare and knew his words and actions had failed to save him. A moment later, he felt a burning pain on his cheek as she stood with a look she usually gave to their friend who lay in the temple. "I deserved that."

Sango stormed passed the dazed demon back towards the temple. InuYasha followed her as she walked in. Inside, he found Miroku sitting up in bed with a simple robe covering his body and was trying to stand up. Shimo had her arm under his should as he did so. "I'm glad to see you standing," Sango said looking at her friends.

Miroku noticed the mark on InuYasha's face and couldn't help but chuckle. "I know your pain my friend." Looking from InuYasha to Sango he said, "Yes, my dear Shimo is helping me to the spring so I may soak my sore muscles and try to rinse out my wound. Then, it's right back to bed she says."

"It will probably be a day or two before he feeling up to moving in earnest, why don't you two head to the western lands and I will catch up once he is feeling well?" Shimo asked as she passed her friends.

"Actually, I was hoping to ask Miroku if he wanted to come and live at the village with us. Shippou too, of course," InuYasha spoke, revealing his master plan to his mate for the first time.

Shimo and Miroku stopped and turned to their demon friend. "Do you really mean that?" Miroku asked almost unbelievingly. "You want me to come live you guys?"

"Of course, I wouldn't have asked if I didn't." InuYasha looked from his wounded friend to his mate and saw the that her eyes had brightened with the thought, he could have told she loved the idea even if he couldn't feel her emotions.

"Then, I would be happy to." The monk bowed his head slightly in a show of gratitude.

"Great, we are going to head to the western lands, get my stuff, make a quick stop, then be back to pick you guys up. We should be back in four or five days. Should that be long enough for him to heal and to get packed?"

Shimo nodded her head in response. "With the herbs I got from Jinenji's, the gash should heal by tomorrow and with the soak in the springs he should be good by the day after. Once he is better, I will assist him to get ready and we will be awaiting your return."

"Perfect, then we will be off," InuYasha turned on his heel and walked out the door. Sango gave Miroku and Shimo a quick hug before heading to Shippou's room and grabbing Kirara. She also told him to get ready so him and Miroku can move to their village. The kitsune was rushing around the room packing before she even left it.

Sango left the temple and met her InuYasha just outside. They started making their way to the western lands. After a little bit, Sango looked at her mate and said, "You could have told me what you had planned. I would have agreed whole heartedly."

"That isn't even the whole plan, Sango. My plan is much bigger than getting us a few more people," InuYasha started as he looked to her. He grabbed her hand and stopped them both. "I want to make a better world. A place that is safe for humans, demons, and hanyous alike. To do that, we need to protect the humans from the animalistic and vicious demons. We can't do that with the just Kohaku and us so we need help. We need recruits that we can train how to fight them. I figured the best way to start would be to get more people who can fight and then we can focus on the newbies."

Sango was taking in the passion she felt coming from her mate, both in his voice and through their bond, and she felt her heart soar. "I love that idea so much. Then we can have groups of people to send out instead of having to go out ourselves all the time. Revive the village and fill it with new life."

"Exactly, new life both from the outside and from the inside," InuYasha said wrapping his arms around his mate.

She understood what he was getting at and placed a hand on his chest. "I love it and you so much," she gently reached up and gave him a kiss on the lips.

"I love you, too," InuYasha said as he pulled away. Releasing his hold around her waist, he retook her hand and they started their trek to the western lands with a renewed excitement.

XxXxXxXxX

It was starting to get dark by the time they were approaching Sesshoumaru's castle. The two had spent most of the day running, Sango finally getting the chance to really test her new endurance and they made better time than they had hoped to. As the castle became visible in the horizon, they could see two figures approaching them from the gates.

One of them was approaching fast and as it got closer it began to shift forms. The form shifted from a young woman to a large black wolf. InuYasha removed his sword from his belt and handed it to Sango. "Hold onto this for me." He gave her a quick kiss then turned to the wolf before him. It had come to a stop about 50 meters from them. InuYasha started walking toward the huge wolf.

As he approached Sango saw his form begin to shift as well. After a moment, the human form of her mate was completely gone and was replaced with a huge white dog. "This is a common occurrence," a calm voice said from her right. Sango looked to the man beside her. InuYasha's older brother, Sesshoumaru. stood beside her.

"They do this often?" Sango asked her half brother-in-law looking back to the large beasts before her.

"Usually on a daily basis since InuYasha successfully transformed. She wants to test his full abilities in this form. He is allowed to use any ability that he can devise to try and beat her. He has yet to do so." Sesshoumaru looked to the taijiya beside him. A small smirk came to his face as she ran towards the demons before them.

"Same as usual, Senshi?" a growling voice echoed from InuYasha's muzzle as he looked at the wolf demon before him.

"Of course, first to draw blood 5 times wins," Senshi replied in a growling voice of her own.

InuYasha felt a pull on his fur and had an immediate feeling he knew what was going. He gave a quick sniff and smelled his mate's scent as she climbed his leg quickly and seated herself on his back with Hiraikotsu slung on her back and both his and her blades on her hip. Hello my love she heard him push into her mind, speaking through their bond. I assume you are here because you never intend to let me fight alone again.

That is correct, I am an extension of you just as you are an extension of me, she replied eyeing the demon before her. She was a large black wolf with a scar over her right eye that was closed. She had the red eyes that other demons in their true forms did. So, first to draw blood 10 times? Shouldn't be a problem for us.

Don't under estimate her my love, InuYasha thought as he started circling with the wolf.

"This hardly seems fair, two versus one," Senshi said in her growling voice.

"The rule has always been that I could use any ability at my disposal. As mates, we do not ever intend to fight separately again. She is an extension of myself," InuYasha said.

Senshi gave a quick nod of acceptance before she lunged toward the pair. Seeing the demon charge, Sango swung her weapon over her head and threw it. The wolf jumped to the side and flicked the weapon with her tail as it went passed to make sure it didn't come back to the slayer.

Sango took in the direction of her weapon and jumped from her mate's back. Her position had been more to make her intentions clear. She started toward her weapon keeping one eye on the charging demon. InuYasha circled to make sure he was between her and the demon as she ran. He swiped one of his paws at the demon and she dodged back before lunging at him with her fangs barred.

Senshi bit his haunch, breaking the skin and drawing blood. "That's one for me." She gloated for a moment before InuYasha dodged to the left and the boomerang came straight at her. She wasn't able to register before she was struck by the weapon and fell to the ground momentarily stunned. Rising quickly, she felt the blood from the sharpened edge of the boomerang run from where she was hit. If it had been thrown at full strength, it would have been much worse.

Sango grabbed the weapon as it returned and jumped back onto InuYasha's back. Patting him softly to let him know she was safe, InuYasha lunged at Senshi again. The wolf dodged and lashed out a claw at the passing dog demon. InuYasha struck out his claws and struck her at the same time. "2 all," InuYasha said leaping back. Sango threw her weapon again and this time the wolf batted it with her paw before grabbing it with her mouth and throwing it toward the castle in a way that it wouldn't come back.

Sango sighed as she watched her weapon fly away and drew InuYasha's sword from her hip. She gave it two quick slashes before InuYasha started charging again. Sango stood on her mates back as they neared the target then jumped into the air as high as she could. As he ran past, InuYasha snapped at Senshi and managed to grab her by the neck.

The four demons watching were stunned for a moment as they looked at the human as green wings seemed to flow from the blade. Sango yelled out Hitenshouku fell toward Senshi at blinding speed. By the time the demon realized what was happening, it was too late. Sango slammed into her side and sent her flying towards the castle. Striking the ground, Senshi shifted herself back to her human form, conceding defeat at only four injuries.

"We did it!" Sango cheered, happily running to her mate.

InuYasha had shifted back to his normal form and took his mate into his arms as she reached him. "Honestly, I think it was more you than me but I will take my first victory against her any way I can."

Sesshoumaru approached with Kirara resting on his shoulder. Kirara gave an excited 'mew' as she jumped to her mistress' shoulder. "Well done, I never expected that you could harness the power of InuYasha's blade so effectively. You have mated her sooner brother, perhaps you would have won more matches against me as well," Sesshoumaru said looking at the couple before him. "Come, let us check on my general and get home."

InuYasha released his hug on Sango and grabbed her hand instead. The couple followed the lord to where Senshi was laying on the ground. As they approached, Sango noticed that Senshi had conveniently landed close to where Hiraikotsu had ended up. Grabbing the giant boomerang with her free hand, she resettled it in its place on her back. The quartet stopped next to the fallen general and looked down at her. She was awake but had spread herself out as she stared at the sky.

Sango took in her human appearance for the first time. She had shoulder length black hair, bronzed skin, and a single green eye. Where the scar was in her true form was covered in a black bandana. She was wearing a black sleeveless top and a golden skirt slitted at both knees. The most striking feature was the two black wolf ears on the top of her head just like InuYasha's had been.

"Wait, I was under the impression that only hanyous could have dog ears like that?" Sango said confused.

The demon at that was lying on her back leapt to her feet in a fluid motion. Sango could see that most of her wounds were already closing. "Yeah, imagine my old man's surprise when he saw them," she replied in a dry but teasing voice. "If wolves didn't mate for life, he would have sworn I was the child of a human. Then I had my first transformation and he knew for certain I was full demon." Turning on her heel, she started leading them towards the door.

Opening the door with a flourish, she turned and bowed her head with a hand in a fist on her chest waiting for Sesshoumaru to pass inside. She then looked up and lowered her hand following quickly behind him. InuYasha turned to whisper to Sango, "You should have seen it the first time I came inside. We fought for almost an hour because I refused to let her treat me like a lord and she refused to disrespect me. It took me telling Sesshoumaru to order her not to treat me like him for her to back down and even then, she was very hesitant."

Of course, you are my lord's younger brother. I have been in service to him as his general for a hundred years. I would show you the same respect I show him as you are owed it," Senshi, looked over her shoulder at her lord's younger brother. "Now I treat you with the respect owed as my own brother and friend."

"And you are the sister I never had as well Senshi. That is one of the reasons I came," InuYasha said. Seeing that his brother had left the room, he gestured to his own lodgings. Senshi, Sango, and InuYasha walked into the room and Sango took in the plush bed and large room with a hot spring in the corner. Understanding what she wanted, InuYasha stopped and turned to face Senshi. "We want you to come with us. You have pledged enough of your life to my brother. It is time that you took some happiness of your own."

"You are inviting me to come and live at your village? You want me to abandon my lord for you? What could you offer that would make me do that?" Senshi asked with a fire in her voice. Her loyalty was to her lord, yes she had come to care for InuYasha and if she was released from her lord's service she would go with him in an instant, however she had not been.

"I have found him, Senshi," InuYasha said placing his hand on her shoulder. "I have found the man you spoke of, your dream mate. Come with us and I will introduce you to him."

Sango looked at InuYasha with confusion on her face. She had no idea that he was bringing Senshi to set her up with someone. Was it Miroku? Shaking her head, she looked back at Senshi. The female demon looked at InuYasha with a shocked look on her face and all of the blood had rushed to her cheeks.

"I promise, you will love it. If you don't come back here and I am sure Sesshoumaru will take you back."

"I will think about it," Senshi said before hastily leaving the room.

InuYasha turned to his mate as the door closed and smiled at her. "So, want to go use the spring?" he asked with a dirty look.

Sango could feel his lust through their bond but held off for a moment. Looking at her mate, she had to ask him. "Who are you trying to set him up with?"

InuYasha flushed for a moment. He had really hoped she wouldn't ask but he knew that she was going to. It was one of the reasons he had initially wanted to go alone. "Kohaku."

End of chapter 4

If you want a mental picture of Senshi, look up Nailah from Fire Emblem. I took heavy inspiration from her. See you next time. I am trying to get at least a chapter out a week. We'll see how that goes.