Okay, I'm really glad to see so many positive reactions. And as much as I'd like to say this was my idea, it wasn't. I always wanted to read a Sess/Sango story and was fond of the pairing. I think I'm so fond of it, because, aside from the fact that Sesshoumaru doesn't give two shits about the human race, they seem like kindred spirits, mainly because of their similar experiences, as far as family goes.

Well, anyway, I found Soledad way before I even thought about writing one of my own, and here, nearly six months later, I think I am finally ready to give it a shot. So…thanks for reading…yah.

Also, I'm not sure how long it will be between updates. I'm in the process of moving, going to college, and working, so I'm not sure. Although as soon as my dsl is transferred, I'll be posting frequently again. I'll probably have a lot to upload, lol.

Chapter Three: On the Trail

Sesshoumaru pretended to follow the pre-set trail. Not only could he feel it's presence, but he could also smell the demon that was trying to track him. The foul creature obviously had no idea what kind of demon Sesshoumaru was. If he did, he'd bathe more often, and be more careful when it came to making noise.

Sesshoumaru had to stop himself from snorting in disgust at the ignorant demon behind him. It had the same smell as the one who took Rin and Jakken. He could see it's shadow move into an attack stance before hurling itself toward him. Sesshoumaru dodged the attack and smirked as he saw the surprised look on the demon's face, "You didn't actually think that would work, did you?" he taunted.

The demon snarled before charging at Sesshoumaru, his clawed hand ready to rip him to shreds, "DIE!!" It screeched.

Sesshoumaru smirked, as he drew Toukijin. In a blink of an eye, the demon was missing both legs. It lay still on the ground, writhing and screeching in pain. Sesshoumaru glared, "Why don't you just change forms. I've seen what your kind is capable of."

"I…c-can not…shift…" the demon coughed, dark blood escaping it's mouth, "Th-that was S-Sorikata…"

"Sorikata?"

"You'll get nothing more from me!" The demon spat.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes before inserting his blade into the demon's shoulder and placing his foot to one of the demon's severed legs, "You will answer my questions, or I shall make your death slow and painful," he promised.

The demon snarled, "Sorikata is," he wheezed, "our leader."

"I see. Why did he steal from me?" The demon was silent, a devious, stubborn expression on it's face. Sesshoumaru pressed his foot down harder, and lowered the edge of his blade in the demon's shoulder, silently threatening to cut off his arm.

"He needed a female, child…for a sa-sacrifice," he hissed in pain.

Sesshoumaru smirked, "Where is this…Sorikata?"

"He resides in the-in the s-southern lands at th-the…" the demon died from loss of blood before it managed to finish.

Sesshoumaru frowned. Letting out a disappointed breath, he began to walk, pulling together everything he had learned thus far. Not all of the demons could shift forms, only their leader, Sorikata. He turned his direction southward.

As he continued to walk, he mused over the questions picking in the back of his mind. He asked himself why he was pursuing Sorikata. Sure, he had stolen from him, but what he stole wasn't of real importance to him. Why did it matter to him that they wanted to sacrifice Rin? She was only a human after all. There were no ties between them, the same goes for Jakken. He didn't really need them.

Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks, and turned back west. He could find no answers to his questions, therefore he could find no reason to continue his hunt. He began to walk away when something else hit him…a vision, no a memory. A memory of a time when he lay against a tree, waiting for his body to heal or his death, which ever chose to come first.

Rin. It was the day she had come to him with the fish and water. She had been trying to heal him, and no matter how many times he had told her not to be concerned or rejected her attempts, she had kept coming back. He remembered exactly what he had said, "Your kindness is wasted on me. I don't eat human food."

Then she had done the unexpected, and instead of leaving, she had grinned at him. He remembered the empty spot where a tooth was supposed to be. Sesshoumaru turned back toward the south. He pushed all of his thoughts aside, and told himself it was due to the fact that he couldn't let this Sorikata get away with stealing from him, no matter how little the value.

~~~

Sango strapped on the last piece of her armor. She then slipped on her kimono. She took a deep, determined breath as she walked up the stairs to her home and opened the door. She had already said her farewell to Kohaku and promised to protect his grave and to stop the demons before they got this far. All that had to be done was grab her pack, and get going.

She hesitated to wake the sleeping Kagome and Inu Yasha. They looked so peaceful there in each other's arms, but what had to be done, had to be done.

"I'm ready," she said loudly to wake them up.

Inu Yasha blinked his eyes and looked toward the voice, a smile of approval coming to his lips. He then noticed Sango's smirk and looked down at the form nestled in his chest. He shook Kagome, "Wake up, you're drooling on me!"

Kagome's eyes opened as she heard Inu Yasha's familiar whining. She then looked to the door and spotted Sango. The Sango she knew, Hiraikotsu strapped to her back. She then noticed the way she was sitting next to Inu Yasha right in front of Sango and quickly scooted away.

"Wow, Sango! Does this mean you're going to be coming with us?" Kagome beamed with excitement.

"That's right. I'm coming with you. I'm ready when you two are."

They both stood in unison and grabbed their packs, "We can leave now," Inu Yasha declared. Kagome nodded in agreement.

Twenty minutes later, they were leaving Sango's village and heading West. Inu Yasha secretly felt a little uneasy about entering his brother's lands. They hadn't spoken since the fight with Naraku. Sesshoumaru had carried Sango to safety before taking off without a second glance.

What had confused him at the time and still confused him, was why Sesshoumaru even bothered to carry Sango. Usually, after a fight, Sesshoumaru just takes off. Since when did he become a team player, much less help out a human? Inu Yasha stole a glance at Sango…'Could it be that…No way.'

He turned his attention back to the trek. It was a long way to the west land boarders. They needed to hurry.

~~~

Rin crossed the room to a nervous Jakken, "Don't worry, Jakken. Lord Sesshoumaru will come for us."

Jakken looked curiously at Rin. Compared to himself, Rin had only been with Lord Sesshoumaru for a meager amount of time. How was it that she had so much faith in him? Jakken himself questioned his lord's concern for his well being on more than one occasion. This was no different. Frowning he asked, "How can you be so sure that Lord Sesshoumaru will come for us?"

"Because he cares for us, Jakken," Rin whispered with and innocent smile.

Jakken's jaw dropped, "Well I, for one, am not so sure about that, but I do hope you're right, and he will come for us."

With that, Rin and Jakken were silent again as Rin began to settle down onto the hard floor of their cell and drift to sleep.

Their captor watched the exchange between the two. If their master did come for them, he'd be waiting. He wasn't sure how he had survived his attack, but no matter, he would die by his hand sooner or later. Their Lord Sesshoumaru won't even be able to get close. He mused to himself, 'I could always let them watch him die…Yes. That would be entertaining. Very entertaining indeed.'

~~~

~Two days into the journey~

Inu Yasha, Sango, and Kagome continued their trek. They were only a few meters from the borders of the western lands. It had been two days, and they were moving faster than any of them had expected. Sango couldn't believe how much she had missed this. Not only being on the trail, but working with Kagome and Inu Yasha.

It was strange, but even though Sango knew there would be many battles and horrible things ahead, this was the most at peace she had been in months. Sango looked over to where Kagome and Inu Yasha were sitting. They were arguing about something. The only things missing were Shippou and Miroku. She smiled as she pictured the two of them. She thought back to Miroku's wedding.

She was still shocked that his pervert days were behind him…it seemed like an eternity ago. She could recall every slap and every argument the two had shared. Sango had loved him, once upon a time, but she had comes to terms with the fact that she could never be serious with him. It wasn't meant to be. She sighed, Inu Yasha and Kagome on the other hand…

Sango smiled. She was shocked to discover that Kagome could still come back to this era even after the Shikkon Jewel and the well were destroyed. Kagome told her months ago the way she was able to come. Kagome said she had been sitting in her room crying and wishing she could return. When she went to her closet to pick out a pair of shoes, she fell forward, and kept falling.

When she opened her eyes, she was laying in Kaede's hut. Kaede had given her a necklace with a charm. Sango later discovered that the charm, was in fact one of Inu Yasha's fangs. It was their connection that allowed her to pass between eras now. The fang served as a medium for that connection, allowing her to come and go whenever she needed.

Sango took in a new breath, "Are you two ready to go on? I've had enough rest."

"I'm ready. What about you Kagome?"

"Yup. Let's go."

With that, they took off and shortly after, crossed into the western lands where it met the river that separated the west from the southwest. Inu Yasha silently prayed that Sesshoumaru would just let them alone and pass through. However, his better judgment told him they'd have to run into him sooner or later.

~~~

Sesshoumaru stopped abruptly and inhaled deeply through his nostrils. He smelled three familiar scents, one more so than the others. "Inu Yasha…" Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, contemplating the reasons his younger brother would be entering his land. Deciding he wanted to find out, Sesshoumaru headed toward the scent. Five minutes later, another scent infiltrated his awareness…another demon. It was close to Inu Yasha.

~~~

Sango gripped the strap on the edge of her weapon, readying herself to pitch it into motion. Kagome had already drawn a bow and was aiming to fire. Inu Yasha wielded Tetsusaiga.

They were in a circle, back to back. All three of them could see the six sets of eyes peering at them from the trees. The demons launched themselves at the three on the ground.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango shouted as she sent her weapon sailing toward two of the demons. One was split in half, the other dodged just in time.

Kagome shot her arrow through the head of one of the demons, pinning it to a tree. She quickly turned her attention to another demon that was trying to charge her. She ducked out of the way and continued to attempt to shoot it.

"Iron River!" Inu Yasha shouted as he attacked. He nailed one demon, ripping it to shreds. The other came behind him and clawed at his back. He turned as he crashed to the ground.

"Inu Yasha!" Kagome screamed before being knocked off her feet. She had turned her back on her enemy. She scrambled away just in time to dodge getting her head torn off.

Sango pitched Hiraikotsu again, this time nailing the other demon. She smirked as she saw both pieces of his body fall to the ground. She then saw Inu Yasha and Kagome kill off the other two. She crossed the distance between herself and her comrades.

"Were those the demons you and Kagome were telling me about?"

Inu Yasha looked around, "I think so. They had the same scent, but…"

"But what?" Sango pushed.

"It was too easy. I didn't even have to use the windscar."

"You think they're toying with us? Trying to play mind games?" Sango caught on.

"Oh yah. I think they want us to get comfortable, so that when we find them, they can surprise us with hidden capabilities."

Kagome looked on, sensing something else was out there. Something other than the demons that they just fought, "Inu Yasha…I think we should be moving on. I don't like the way this place feels."

"Don't be stupid, Kagome. It's a demon hunt, you're not supposed to like the way it feels," Inu Yasha shot back.

"Grrrrrr…" Kagome growled.

"You should listen to the human. You should be moving on," a cold voice said from the shadows.

Inu Yasha instinctively stepped in front of Sango and Kagome, "Who the Hell said that? Show yourself!"

"As you wish," Sesshoumaru scoffed as he stepped toward them.

"Sesshoumaru. I should have known. I was too busy to pick up you scent," Inu Yasha glared back at his brother.

Sesshoumaru moved his gaze from one person to the other, lingering on Sango for a half a second longer than the others, then returned his eye contact to Inu Yasha, "What are you doing here?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DUN! DUN! DUUUUUUUUUN!!!! LOL. Well, there it is! Chapter Three. Damn, this took longer than I thought it would. Sorry about that!

Pammi