Author's notes:

Second chapter of Youkai Mansion. Hmm I personally don't feel so good about the ending and the parts leading up to it. Well, I hope this chapter advances the plot. I've been writing this over the past two weeks. I hit many road blocks, but now I finally finished, or at least given up on chapter two. But I'm ready for chapter three. Hope y'all will be too. Might take awhile though, I need to pack for college.

Since its all fiction, the town, the area, everything will have names that came straight from the abyss called my knoggen. I made up a few names so you guys would have something to imagine while you read. It's much better than just naming places in general terms. Well I think so. Just bare with me, please. If the names get in the way, ignore them ). Enjoy.



Chapter Two: The Host and the Exorcist

It was around 2:00pm when they departed. Lackdaisy Street was congested as usual. Traffic grew longer and moved slower as Inuyasha's patience diminished. Bay City was a great place to stay – getting in was no problem; It's getting out that was a challenge. The city was a place of eternal vacationing and a party haven. Only the rich could afford to live the lavish and sinful life in Bay City. Beaches galore – covered with the whitest sand naturally possible – outlined the coast of Bay City. People were free to roam about, enjoy the sand, soak in the sun, and other miscellaneous activities which usually were promiscuous…

"HONK"

Inuyasha blasted his horn from his Pontiac GTP. His patience was no where to be found. He growled, barked and cussed at everyone. Kagome retreated lower in her seat, trying to hide herself from the embarrassment of driving with a maniacal rabid dog. Inuyasha soon exhausted every swear word possible in the English language and retired to catching his breath. Soon recovering from his outburst, he decided to pass eternity with some heavy metal on the radio. The car vibrated aggressively to the astronomical levels of decibels.

Kagome covered her ears with the little hands she had. She screamed, "Can you turn it down. Please!" It was rhetorical for she immediately reached for the volume controller and turned it down till it was mute.

"Why the hell did you do that for?!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "Are you forgetting that you work for me?" He reached again to turn up the volume.

Kagome quickly slapped his hand. "I work for you, but torture wasn't part of the job description! Now why don't you sit and relax, we're not in a hurry. Enjoy the fr-r-r…" She trailed of as she saw the amount of smog on the highway exiting Bay City. "-sh…air."

"Uh-huh." Inuyasha now with arms folded sat comfortable in his seat staring at the afternoon sky – his mind returning to the email. Brother, he thought, what are you planning with me and this mansion? Why now? You've forsaken me from our lineage and now you want to give me the mansion where my mother died in? I know what you are! I know what father was! But what am I – a hybrid, a half-bred, a fusion between two species? Mother died because of that house, and the evil within it. What can I do to stop it, to save my mother's soul? Why even give me the chance to? You're hate for her is deeper than for me!

Inuyasha began to growl. Silently at first, but as he traveled deeper into thought and questioning, it grew louder. He dosed of into a dream, a dream of his mother. But as he fell into his subconscious a loud horn blew behind the car.

"Ahhh!" Inuyasha awoke in a fit of rage. Traffic began to move a bit faster and he was a good three or four cars behind the one in front of him. "S.O.B.!" Inuyasha turned back, rolled down his window and slowly extended the longest finger he had at the car to his rare.

"Inuyasha." Kagome gasped, even though it was in Inuyasha character to act in such a way. "He was only reminding you to drive up. Relax Inuyasha."

"Yea, well he woke me up. What a son of a…sigh, not worth my breath."

Traffic eventually flowed faster as the sunset began to set. Inuyasha's lush white hair floated everywhere in the car as he raced down the highway to Akuma Heights, where the Youkai Mansion resided. His face was filled with determination to see what his brother's summoning was all about. "Come, and save your mother's soul," the email read. Otherwise, Inuyasha would have had brushed it off. "Sesshomaru, are you taunting me?" Inuyasha questioned, his face grimaced.

The road to the summit of Akuma Heights wasn't treacherous but extremely crooked. Kagome bounced left to right and vice versa as Inuyasha made each sharp bend. She spent most of the trip staring at Inuyasha from time to time. He must not have noticed her – so deep in thought. She never saw him so determined about anything in his life. Albeit she had been around with him for only four month, but she saw a lot during that time – too much actually she thought to herself.

The drive to Youka Mansion was in essence quiet. But through the mind sense doors, it was a waterfall of questions and memories.

::…:::…::

"Do you think the master will return?" His ears twitched in anticipation for an answer.

"A master will return…" The old lady replied as she stared through a wide framed glass window in the large library. "Come now Shippo, are you ready for dinner?" She turned towards the library's double oaken doors.

As both figures walked out of the library, the hue of the room slowly dissipated. What was once pristine and untouched by defilements gradually vanished to a wave of dark and shadowy gloom. The room slowly became dull and gray as they left it. The books were covered with comb webs, dust accumulated on the reading sofas and the iron bolts that held the oaken tables and shelves rusted away.

It must have been magic or sorcery. Each step the old lady and the little fox took seemed to renew the very area that they were in. What was old became new. However, in their eyes, all was new, all was good, and no form of dirt had touched the place. They seemed to be living in our world, and yet very separate from it. The reality was, the mansion was decrepit, but reality and fantasy intertwined.

Not all was so in other parts of the mansion. The old lady forbade Shippo to roam too much about the mansion. She confined him to only the kitchen, one of the living rooms that lead to the library, and the library itself. It was almost territorial. Maybe she only had power over certain rooms. The others belonged to the others.

Ghastly silhouettes and fog inhabited the other parts of the mansion. The mansion was already aged and crippling but in other sections the mansion became even worse. Demonic plants thrived in the greenhouse and the garden behind the mansion, though to what is called the real world, it was just a bunch of dead plants and weeds…

::…:::…::

It was well passed six in the afternoon. The sun could barely be seen in the horizon. The rusted iron gates swung back and forth to the howling wind. A pair of light beams shone through the gated entrance. Out of the black contraption, the powerful figure of Inuyasha appeared. Kagome delicately opened the car door and stepped out. Her hair flew about in front of her face. The wind was behind them. Inuyasha approached the gates, which weren't locked but closed. He pulled out the pole that fixed the gate and released the gates open, his hair, still flowing strong in the wild wind. He confronted the Youkai Mansion. He sensed some fear from Kagome at the horrid structure. The trees that lead up to the mansion seemed to be alive, their branches reaching out as if to grab any trespassers that came to them. It would be extremely terrifying at nightfall, which was fast approaching.

"Kagome," Inuyasha called – his back still to her.

"Hmm, yes?"

"Don't be scared, the mansion can smell it. Don't worry, I won't let it touch you. Show it that you have no fear."

Kagome only nodded. She had some fear, but not anymore. With Inuyasha by her side, she felt, and knew she would be safe. However, she sensed that he wasn't really addressing it to her, but more to himself. Nevertheless, he cared enough to…

Both returned to the car and drove in.

They parked at the round-a-bout. The fountain with the sculpture of the samurai seemed to be brought to life with the howling wind brushing against it. Inuyasha and Kagome took a good look at the deteriorating monument.

A wolf's howl came booming from inside the mansion. Both turned, with agitation, behind them. They were much closer to each other now. They frantically looked about, trying to discern where the howl came from. Was it real? Or was it just the wind?

All of a sudden, behind them an eerie trickling sound came. Both turned back again. Kagome got even closer to Inuyasha as what they saw and heard was a murky black substance discharging from the mouth of the samurai. The same substance seeped from the cracks and crevices of the monument.

"Oh it works!" Again a sound came forthwith from the mansion. One of the large double oaken doors creaked open.

The build up was too much, Kagome felt as if she had a heart attack. Inuyasha was down right irritated and burst out in rage and swiftly made his way to the doors. Kagome followed him with her eyes. Inuyasha had jumped at the figure behind the door and now had it at the end of his hands. It was pinned to the wall. It was a woman.

"Inuyasha! Let her go!" Kagome shouted.

The expression of indignation on his face soon fell, and he loosened his grip on the woman's neck. Just as he did, she socked him in the stomach and performed a jujitsu grab and threw him to the ground. His back found a new home on the hard marble floor; he seemed flabbergasted.

Kagome flinched back as if she felt his pain and quickly ran towards him.

The woman straightened her shirt, and looked down at her attacker. "Serves him right for attacking me like that."

Kagome helped Inuyasha sit up. He rubbed his head and back profusely. "Yea well, I didn't expect someone to be in my mansion."

"Your mansion? Oh you're Mr. Inuyasha. I'm so sorry sir. But still you attacked me, I had to defend myself." The woman stated.

Inuyasha got back to his feet.

"It's okay Ms…" Kagome started.

"Oh, just call me Sango." The woman replied.

"Hello Sango. I'm Kagome, Mr. Inuyasha's caretaker. Well don't worry about Inuyasha, he probably deserved it. It's a long time coming. He'll be fine." Kagome answered back with a small grin.

"Caretaker? That's interesting…" Sango pondered.

Kagome could feel the heat of embarrassment rising to her head.

Dusting himself off, Inuyasha looked at Sango. "Anyhow, what are you doing here Sango, in my mansion?

"Yes I haven't really introduced myself. Well I am the real estate agent for this piece of antique property. I got a call saying the new owner of this place was going to take a look at it tonight. In essence, I'm your host for tonight. I got here about thirty minutes ago. The place looks really beaten-down. I thought I'd make it look more presentable by trying to turn the fountain on. And what do you know, it is working." Sango looked at the samurai. The black substance seemed to have all flowed out of the fountain. It must have been all the grim that built up in the pipes over the years. The water was crystal clear now – well as crystal clear water could be in the night light.

All three gazed at the fountain for a bit. The winds started to pick up, and a chill passed through them. The wind was like an ambient sound now. Nothing else was producing anything audible. It was quiet.

"It's getting cold," Kagome stated, "can we see the inside of the mansion, Sango?"

"Of course, follow me. I'm sure there must be a switch for electricity in this place." Sango lead the way through the doors.

As Kagome started to follow Sango, Inuyasha swiftly gripped her by the wrist. She stopped and looked at him. His face was turned to her in a fixed gazed. Am I strong enough to protect them, protect her, now I am older – Inuyasha pondered to himself.

"Inuyasha? Is everything okay?" Kagome inquired.

He still gazed at her. A few moments later he nodded. She returned the nod. He released her, and they both went in, Inuyasha at the rare.

The entire mansion lit up. Three humongous, elegant chandeliers – gold gilded with and with many crystals – illuminated the main hallway. Sango was at the circuit breaks with a face fill with a sense of accomplishment. The light brightened everything. However, it was almost a paradox. The light was very white, and cheerful, yet the surrounding rooms were gray, old, and covered with dust and cobwebs. Pleasantry and gloom were the feelings that effused through the mansion.

The main hallway from the door led to a grandiose stairway at the end of its path. The wide stairway separated into two, one heading to the right going up and the other to the left going up. Guarding both sides at the base of the grand stairway were marble statues of samurais fully clad in armor. The hallway itself split into four detours – two on each side. Through the hallway stood many stands of small ceramic dolls, vases and pottery, all of which were very valuable antiquities.

Kagome slid her index finger on the walls of the hallway. Her finger collected an exuberant amount of dust. Her face cringed at the sight of it. Just like Inuyasha's townhouse, she thought to herself. She stared at the wall where she slid her finger. "Wow, is that real marble?"

"Yes it is. Quite amazing, everything is made of marble in this mansion." Sango replied as she went to Kagome's side.

Inuyasha listened in on the comment but quickly moved his attention. He didn't like the feel of the mansion. He hadn't returned to this mansion since he was six. Now at the age of twenty-six, nothing had changed. Sure the appearance had, but he still felt the same nauseating feeling he had in his youth. The mansion, it is pure evil – he thought.

Inuyasha began approaching the grand stairway. His intended destination was the third floor – his mother's deathbed. He pasted the first pair of detours. To his left was another hallway, which seemed to lead to the kitchen. To his right was the first living room, which preceded an enormous library. Inuyasha gaited cautiously towards the grand stairway.

"DONG…DONG…DONG"

Iron bells that hung from the ceiling clanked and hummed. The sound resonated through the hallway. Kagome and Sango looked about – trying to determine what caused the pandemonium. Anxiety filled the air. Inuyasha stopped in his tracks. He waited and listened. He turned to the double oaken doors. For some reason, he could smell someone was there. His senses grew sharper. The house always affected him so.

"Someone's at the door." Inuyasha stated.

"At this time? I'm not expecting anyone else." Sango inquired. She began to move to the door. Kagome looked at Inuyasha. His face filled with suspicion. She broke her gaze at him and followed Sango.

Sango opened the door with a feeling of curiosity. It nagged her that someone would ring the door bell of a mansion located out-of-the-way on a hilltop. Who was it? She opened one of the doors to its full extent, and, suddenly, the gentleman at the door snatched her left hand and brought it gently to his lips.

The warmth from his lips reached Sango's face. Her daze only lasted for a moment, when she quickly took her hand back, leaving his lips still puckered up. Inuyasha rushed at the perpetrator and grabbed him by the shirt collar. "Who are you?" Inuyasha interrogated lifting him off the ground.

"Whoohoo! No need for violence here." The gentleman replied, his hands raised and grinning. He turned to Sango. "I meant you no harm. I just can't resist kissing the hand of ladies as fair as you."

Inuyasha looked at his cheerful face. He didn't sense anything evil in this man's motive, but there was something about his actions that were, questionable… He released the gentleman and set him on his feet.

"Thank you good sir." The man straightened his shirt. "And who is this other fine lady here tonight." He approached Kagome almost mindlessly, forgetting the consequences of his actions earlier. Kagome just looked at the man, confused.

Inuyasha extended his hand and held the gentleman back. "No need for that Romeo. Don't touch her." He glared at the man.

"Who are you, anyhow?" Sango inquired, still holding her hands as if she would lose them if she let go.

The gentleman stepped back from Inuyasha's hold. He directed his eyes at Sango. "Yes, I am called Miroku. I was summoned here to this haunted mansion. I am the exorcist."