Disclaimer: once again, I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters

A/N: Wow, lookie at all those reviews! Thank you so much!!! –hugs every reviewer- hehehe me so happy. Ok, answers and such will happen AFTER this chapter so no one has to wait, Alrighty? I will also take this time to apologize to everyone reading this. I won't bore you with reasons but I'll say this: a lot has been happening and it's been difficult to write. I hope I can make this up to you all! Ok, now onto the second chapter!!

Chapter 2: The Castle of the West

Sango sighed as she continued on her trek with Sesshoumaru. During all the chaos of the other day, she had completely forgotten about Kirara. She inwardly kicked herself, 'How could I?!?' She screamed in her mind, unable to forgive herself. Now, more then ever, she wanted her trusty companion by her side. 'Kirara' Sango thought, slowly looking up at the clear blue sky.

"Come." She heard directly in front of her. Sango jumped and looked back down, meeting golden orbs for eyes. "Stop stalling, we are close." Sesshoumaru demanded and turned back around. 'Humans.' He thought bitterly as he continued to walk. This was taking longer then he would have liked, having to keep up a human pace. Sango looked ahead towards the horizon and squinted her eyes slightly. She could see something off in the distance, but could hardly make it out. She could tell that it was some sort of house, but that was about all. 'Maybe that's where he lives?' She asked herself, following Sesshoumaru towards the structure on the horizon.

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"I don't like this one bit." Inuyasha muttered as he sniffed around the area Sango departed towards the day before. "What is it?" Kagome asked as she stepped closer to Inuyasha. "This scent, it's not only Sango's..." He stopped, taking in another whiff of their surrounding, "Sesshoumaru's is here as well." He finished, looking back at his companions. Kagome gasped, "Why would she go with him?!" She exclaimed, "It just doesn't make sense!"

"Well if you didn't stop me from following her before it wouldn't be a problem!" Inuyasha yelled at Kagome, storming up to her. Kagome growled and took a step towards Inuyasha, "It's none of our business what Sango does OK?!" She yelled back, getting ready to say 'the word'.

"Calm yourselves." Miroku spoke up, slowly coming towards the two, Shippo riding on his shoulder. "Sango wouldn't do something unless she thought it was right, so we should just let her do her thing...even if Sesshoumaru is involved." He explained, although he himself wanted to chase her down.

Kirara looked back in forth between everyone with her head slightly tilted. She watched as everyone got into a heated argument, trying to decide what to do. Eventually, she turned around and ran down the pathway, following Sango's scent. She was determined to find her. And nothing would be able to stand in her way.

"Um guys!?!?" Shippo tried to yell between the fighting. Nothing. Shippo turned red with anger and jumped onto Inuyasha's head, pulling on his hair. "Stop fighting!!!" He screamed and pulled on the silver locks some more. Inuyasha stopped dead and grabbed Shippo by the tail, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!?" He screamed, pulling the struggling Shippo up higher to his face. "Kirara left!" He managed to yell and was met with a slam against a tree. "Ow." He whined, rubbing his head tenderly.

"Wait." Kagome spoke up, stopping Inuyasha from beating on Shippo, "He said Kirara left..." She said and looked around, "Where did she go off to?" She asked more to herself then anyone else.

"Kirara!?" Miroku called out, hoping that she had only left their sight. "Maybe she went after Sango?" Kagome offered a solution. "You're probably right." Inuyasha said and looked down the path. "She followed Sango's scent."

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Kirara raced through the forest as fast as she possibly could go in her smaller form. All around her she could sense demons, but they didn't mean anything to her, only her master was important. Her tiny legs raced as she reached the end of the dense forest. The sunlight nearly slowed her down as it shone directly in her eyes. Kirara jumped up in the air and transformed into her larger form. Now she could reach her faster.

She kept close to the ground in order to follow Sango's scent with ease. As she made her way, she noticed many demons running the opposite way, quite obviously running from something. Kirara slowed down and watched ahead of her closely. "I-it's coming!!!" One of them yelled as he pushed past Kirara, his flight going higher and higher up in the sky.

Kirara immediately stopped and landed on the ground. She could now sense what all those demons were running from, and it definitely wasn't good. More and more demons ran past her, some were most definitely strong. Kirara prepared herself for battle as a large figure slowly made its way over the horizon towards her.

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Sango nearly lost her breath as the form she had seen earlier came into view. It was a large, old castle. "Do you live here?" she asked in awe at the castle. It was by far the most extravagant castle she had ever seen in her entire life. There were 4 large towers with a large, thick wall enclosing the fortress. She could see very little beyond except for the top of the building.

"Would expect any less?" Sesshoumaru replied, keeping his back turned to her. "Keep close." He said as they were standing about ten feet away from a part of the wall. Sango didn't understand but either way she did as she was told and walked to his side.

Sesshoumaru raised his hand, revealing the barrier surrounding the fortress. Slowly, a small part of it was opened. "Hurry." He said and walked through it. Sango ran through, and just barely made it as it closed up behind her instantly. 'Ah I see...' She thought in her mind, all her questions answered.

She left her thoughts for a moment to see Sesshoumaru already making his way to the large doors. Sango caught up with him and walked inside the castle. She looked around in utter amazement. Not only was the castle simply beautiful on the outside, the inside was even more so. The long hallway they arrived in after entering was indeed dark, but simple torches lighted up the passage enough to see, 'probably Rin's doing...' Sango thought. She could barely make out a few doorways along the sides of the hall, each with its own unique painting on the sliding door.

"Come." Sesshoumaru's voice called out. Sango looked down the hall to find him nearly already at the end. Sango it her lip and ran to catch up. 'Humans' Sesshoumaru thought bitterly, making sure to scowl at Sango. He turned around and started through the labyrinth of hallways, keeping up a slower pace so Sango wouldn't get lost. Last thing he needed was a human wondering around his home. It was bad enough to have one living there.

15 minutes past, and they were still walking through the halls. Sesshoumaru explained that there were 4 different parts; the north wing, the east wing, the south wing, and finally the west wing. He also explained that if he found her anywhere but the east wing, it would mean trouble. Sango rolled her eyes as he said this but kept her quiet all the same.

Finally, they made it to their destination. Sesshoumaru pointed towards a door, "You will stay here for now, a servant will come and get you, then you will go and teach Rin." He ordered and disappeared down the dark hallway. Sango sighed deeply and slowly opened the door. She nearly gasped as her eyes fell onto the room in front of her. It was simply elegant.

Her bed was in the middle of the large room, and was much larger then the simply beds she was used to. To the side of it, was a large, dark wood cabinet. She looked around and noticed other things also in the same dark wood. Sango finally walked in and closed the door behind her, immediately going towards the cabinet. She opened up the large door and looked on in awe at the kimonos laying out in front of her. She reached out and rubbed one of them, gasping at the material. It was most definitely the softest, finest silk she had ever seen.

The embroidery on the various kimonos were beautifully crafted, showing a form of elegance as a trail of Sakura blossoms flawlessly came down from the shoulder and fell down to the end of the kimono.

"Um, my lady?" A young voice asked from behind her. Sango jumped slightly and turned to meet the owner of the voice. It was a young demoness, slightly shorter then Sango. Her long silver hair was neatly tied back, showing her piercing green eyes. Her kimono was a very simple white and blue, shaping her figure to perfection.

"No need for such formalities, just call me Sango." She replied to the young woman. He girl bowed slightly, "I'm sorry my lad- um, Sango."

Sango gave a warm smile, understanding that she was most likely used to such things, "And what is your name?" She asked kindly.

"Alahna." She replied. Sango smiled, "Well it's nice to meet you Alahna."

Alahna smiled then remembered why she came, "Oh, my lord wishes for you to dress so I may take you to Rin." She finally said. "Alright." Sango replied after fighting urges to rant on about Sesshoumaru. Alahna bowed and left the room leaving Sango to dress in privacy.

Sango turned around and looked deeply at the many kimonos in front of her. Finally, she decided on the one she was inspecting earlier. She quickly pulled off her usual pink and green kimono and changed. Before she had time to inspect herself, Alahna came back in, announcing her entrance with a light knock on the door. "Wow, you look beautiful!" She exclaimed as she looked up and down at Sango. Sango blushed ever so slightly and smiled, "Oh, thank you."

Alahna motioned for Sango to follow her and exited the room into the vast, dark hallway. Sango followed close by, the aspect of getting lost in this place nearly terrifying. Rin's room wasn't too far from Sango's, only being straight down the hall. Alahna showed her where to go and made her exit, heading back from where they come from. Sango bit her lip and knocked lightly on the door in front of her.

"Come in!" A voice rang out from the other side of the door. Sango slowly opened the door, peeking her head around the edge. "Oh hello!" Rin exclaimed as she turned around, meeting Sango's eyes. "Did my lord send you?" Rin asked sweetly, standing up from her sitting position by the balcony.

Sango fully opened the door and entered the rather large room, closing the door nearly silently behind her, "Sort of. He asked me to teach you about....uh..." Sango scratched her head, trying to find the words to describe it.

"About what?" Rin asked, walking up to Sango. "About your...uh body?"

Rin raised an eyebrow, "I already know I'm human..." She said in a tone she could have only learned from Sesshoumaru. Sango raised her hands, "No no no no..." She said, showing her words with the shaking of her hands before putting them back down to her side. "I mean, the changes in your body."

Sango looked around and found a spot where she could sit. She walked over and took a seat, motioning for her to do the same. At first, Rin stood still in her spot, but eventually she did the same as Sango, taking a seat across from her.

"You see..." Sango started but was interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"The Lord wishes both of your presences for Dinner." A male voice called out. Rin nodded as if the man could see her motion, "Come on, Rin will...er...I will show you the way." Rin said, correcting herself on her grammar before offering a hand to pull Sango up. Sango smiled and accepted her hand, although she really didn't need it, and got up to a standing position. Rin left for her door and held it open for Sango.

She didn't know why, but she really adored Sango. She had only just met the woman, but could have sworn she had indeed seen her before.

"You're really pretty!" Rin said to Sango as they walked. Sango smiled, "Well thank you Rin." She replied, "You're becoming a beautiful young woman yourself!"

Rin blushed slightly, "Um, thank you!" Sango looked down at Rin's form and smiled, even though she had aged since she had last caught a glimpse of the girl, she still seemed adorable to her.

The rest of the walk towards the dinning hall was a quiet one. Once they reached the massive doors, Rin immediately threw them open and ran inside. She jumped into her seat at the long table, taking her place to the right of Sesshoumaru, who was sitting at the end. Sango felt slightly out of place here. She looked at the long table, unsure of where she was supposed to sit.

Rin patted the cushion beside her with a smile, "Sit with Rin!" She called out. Sesshoumaru grunted rather loudly, looking deeply at Rin, "Oh um, sit with me."

Sango smiled gently, 'Ah, so it was Sesshoumaru who had taught her proper speaking.' Sango thought and moved over to Rin's side. She slowly sat down on the cushion, crossing her legs as she met the soft fabric.

The silence that took over the hall was almost deadly as the three sat at the table. Sango shifted around uncomfortably, looking down at her folded hands. He silence was finally broken when a group of servants entered the room carrying platters of food in each hand. Sango looked up and noticed a plate that was much different. 'I always wondered what demons eat.....other then humans...' Sango thought. She looked down at the plate that was sat down in front of her. Soon, a bowl was placed next her plate along with some chopsticks.

Sango glanced up and over to Sesshoumaru, looking at his plate. From what she could see it was raw meat from some animal, well, at least she liked the idea of it being an animal then a human. She looked up to see Sesshoumaru's eyes peering down at her. Sango gulped and quickly looked down at her plate.

"It isn't human meat if that is what you were wondering." He said, almost as if he had read her mind. "I knew that." Sango replied stubbornly and started the plate laying in front of her. 'God, I hope everyone is alright.' She thought as she picked at the food.

Worry was slowly taking ahold of her, she could pray that they went on as usual and nothing wrong was falling on her friends. Slowly, the image of Kirara floated into her mind. Sango sighed at the memory, now, more then ever, she was regretting her actions. She couldn't stand being away from her for this long, it was as if a part of her heart had left her completely.

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Alright! That's chapter 2! Once again ill apologize for taking so damn long to get this up. I really suck at description so I was taking longer then I would have hoped. Now to reviewers!

air-faerie45- Thanks for your review!!

outofplace- ou thanks a lot! And thank you for reviewing!!

morelen - thanks and heres your update! Sorry its not so soon

Marin M- thanks and, this chapter sort of explains what happened to Kirara

Shinna- yaaay thanks

Shadow Dragon59- yes, it definitely IS funnier when sess has to explain it, but if he did the explaining, there would be no story now would there be?

sango - Thank you, ill try to update more often now

anime-fan4444- thanks!

Arrioko12- yee haaw! Heres more writing!!

ShadowStar21- lol well heres more!

Kyo's DarkElf- YAAAY!! Thanks! Im glad you think my fic is that good!

Kristine Logan- wow, well im happy it was good enough for review! Lol

jinni - no worries, I hate it when relationships are rushed, I don't think ill have them even liking each other until chapter 20 or around there lol.

Phew, there we go! Oh and my present for reviews –grabs a box of timbits from behind her back- for all you non-Canadians, timbits are mini donuts from the oh might tim hortons lol. –hands each reviewers 4- there ya go! Next time ill try to find something better!