Hi again! Sorry this didn't come out for a while, had some kind of bug and wouldn't let people update for a little while. Anyway, here's the next chapter… hope you like! And pleez, pleez, pleez review!

That night, they stopped to rest for a while. Sesshomaru quietly offered to keep watch, seating himself in a tall tree and watching as the others settled down and slept. He watched them until the morning. They woke and ate a small breakfast, moving on only a few minutes after sunrise.

They reached the castle around midafternoon the next day. Inuyasha sighed as he stared up at it, memories of the old days flashing before his eyes. Kagome stared up at it in amazement. The castle was far larger than any she had ever seen in her time. "This is it?" she said in awe.

Sesshomaru answered without turning to look back. "Yes."

"You live here?" Shippo asked, his eyes widening as he stared up at the huge building. "That's awesome!"

Inuyasha groaned as Sesshomaru shot the kitsune an amused look.

As Sesshomaru quietly opened the huge double doors and entered his home, a delighted cry arose from the brightly lit hall just inside. Rin shot towards them, launching herself at the demon lord and wrapping herself around his leg, too short to give him a proper hug. Jaken followed her, huffing and puffing as he tried to keep up. The toad narrowed his eyes at the sight of Inuyasha, but kept his mouth shut, knowing that if he displeased his master, only bad would come of it.

"Rin has missed Sesshomaru-sama!" the girl said happily, her trademark grin in place. "Rin was lonely in the castle with Jaken. He is smelly!"

The group watched in amazement as Sesshomaru's eyes softened slightly at the sight of the little human girl. He placed a clawed hand atop her tiny head in recognition and walked inside, watching as she pranced around him, following him through the doors and into the massive hall, chittering about everything she did while he was gone. Inuyasha's jaw had long since been unraveled to the floor.

The hanyou let Kagome down off his back and cautiously entered. The castle was just as he remembered, gigantic and beautifully crafted, made by his father a long time ago.

Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder, his eyes venturing to where they still stood at his front door, gazing around in awe. "Come," he said softly. "Inuyasha, I believe you can find your way around the castle well enough. We will remain here until I have found a reference to this Lady Raori, and then you will leave and I will have nothing more to do with you. For the moment, you are free to wander the castle, but if you so much as shatter a single vase I will slaughter you where you stand."

With that he was gone, Rin and Jaken scampering after him and leaving the friends to themselves.

"I take it he's not going to help us defeat Naraku, then," Sango said with a sigh. "If only he'd come with us, I might believe we had a chance."

"Yes," Myoga said with a sigh, finally speaking up from his perch on Kirara's ear. "Yes, I may have believed you had a chance with him. Alas, I suppose it was never meant to be…"

Inuyasha sighed. "All right, all right," he said, glaring at them. "I get your point. I'll ask Sesshomaru whether or not he'll come with us. You guys go outside, I'll meet you in a minute."

They nodded and went back outside as he followed his half-brother up the steps, dreading having to go to him for help. He still thought they were better off doing this on their own… but he'd never considered asking his brother to join forces with him in an effort to destroy Naraku, and now he had to admit it sounded pretty good. He could always just kill his brother when they were finished, anyway…

Sesshomaru glanced up as a knock came at the door. He sniffed slightly and narrowed his eyes as his nose told him who was standing just outside. "What, Inuyasha?" he asked, turning back to the desk he was searching.

The hanyou entered, shutting the door behind him. "Well," he said, wishing briefly that he didn't have to do this and cursing Myoga for the idea, "not that I care, but the others wanted you to come with us to defeat Naraku." He spoke quickly so that he could finish before the taiyoukai had a chance to interrupt. "See, they think we can't beat him on our own, so they wondered if you'd consider joining forces with us…" he trailed off under the cold stare of his half-brother, glancing down at the floor.

Sesshomaru blinked in surprise. He instantly saw through the 'not that I care' act. Inuyasha did care. He knew as well as anyone that as many times as they tried, they couldn't defeat Naraku on their own. They needed him to help them. And if Inuyasha was stooping low enough to ask him to team up with them on this, they were obviously desperate. He thought sadly of Rin, and his mind flashed back to the time when he had been wounded and she'd come to him every day to try and help… he remembered her toothy grin and found himself thankful that he'd saved her, thankful that she was still here… unwilling to lose her. He knew then that, just as he'd thought before when the group asked him to help, he couldn't decline them. For her sake, at the very least.

Inuyasha, assuming the worst at the length of his brother's silence, finally turned away with a sigh. Just as his hand came to rest on the doorknob, Sesshomaru spoke.

"I shall consider it."

Inuyasha glanced back in surprise. Sesshomaru's stoic expression hadn't changed, but his eyes seemed to hold less hatred for the hanyou than usual. Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief and was gone, glad that everything had gone well. He was both glad and furious that his brother was coming with them, but he knew it was the wisest thing to do. Your enemy's enemy is your friend, right?

Right…

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

It was late in the night when Sesshomaru finally found the files. He sat back tiredly and sifted through them, a sharp eye out for any references to the taiyoukai Lady Raori. At last he found the sheet designated to her. As was the custom, each taiyoukai had exactly one page about themselves held for later use. Sighing and getting to his feet, Sesshomaru sought out Inuyasha and his companions, scanning the page as he walked.

Apparently, this Lady Raori was the taiyoukai of a land to the far south, just as Myoga had told him. She was a powerful demon, respected among the other taiyoukai as one of the only females that ruled without a mate by her side. Her youkai form, which she seldom took, was that of a wolf. She was trustworthy, Inutaisho had noted, and honorable as well. She was not one to give up without a good, long fight.

Shaking his head, he stepped outside, following his nose towards his half-brother. If they were going to try and wrestle the shard away from her, it sounded like they'd have a hard time. They probably would end up needing his help in the end.

Kagome glanced up as Sesshomaru strode out the doors and approached them. She got up and walked over to him, ignoring Inuyasha's low growl at seeing her so close to the taiyoukai. Reaching out, she accepted the lone sheet of paper and glanced it over. The others crowded around behind her to read over her shoulder. She glanced over what Sesshomaru had already seen and went on to the important part, reading it aloud.

"Lady Raori lives in a large castle, much like this one, far to the south of here in her lands. Because she has the farthest to travel out of all the taiyoukai, she has been granted ownership of a small mansion slightly south of my own for the time being. The Lady shall be granted use of this facility whenever she is in the area."

Kagome glanced up at them. "It sounds like our best bet is to head for this 'small mansion' your father gave to her, Sesshomaru. Is there some other record that could tell us where it is - a map, or something?"

The taiyoukai shook his head. "My father would never map out where a taiyoukai's residence was – were the map to be discovered by an enemy, they could track down the building and, recognizing its importance, tear it to the ground. The structure he spoke of undoubtedly still stands, but it is highly unlikely that its whereabouts is to be found on any written document."

"Oh." Kagome sounded disappointed.

Sesshomaru lifted his eyes to the treeline and gazed south, calling on old memories to aid him. "It matters not. I already know where this mansion is. It has been there for a long while – I was unaware it was in use. Should I try, I have no doubt that I could locate it without difficulty."

"You'll come with us, then?" Shippo asked hopefully.

The taiyoukai glanced at them and nodded silently. He hated having to stick around with these people more than he had to, but he knew this had to be done. Naraku had to be defeated. And that could only be accomplished with his help.

"Thank you," Sango said gratefully, bowing her head to him. He merely turned and strode back into the castle, ignoring them. They chose to follow him inside, wondering where he was going.

The demon lord spoke to Jaken and Rin for a moment, explaining that he would be leaving and that he was unsure when he would return. They nodded, Rin a little tearfully, and without further ado he turned and faced the group. "Come," he said quietly. "We will leave now."

"Now?" Miroku asked in surprise. "It's dark already! Shouldn't we stay the night?"

Sesshomaru glanced at the monk, his expression as cold as ever. "I had forgotten," he said disdainfully. "You humans do not travel well in the dark. Very well, houshi, we will remain here tonight. We will leave at sunrise." He turned back around, striding inside and leaving them to themselves. Rin, overjoyed that he was going to stay for a while longer, skipped after him happily as Jaken struggled to keep up.

"Come on," Inuyasha said, bounding up the stairs. "I think the bedrooms are this way."

He was right, and the group split up for the night. Miroku quickly nabbed the room next to Sango's. Shippo darted inside the room he thought was the biggest, gazing around him in awe at the fanciful decorations. Kagome quickly leaned over and kissed Inuyasha on the cheek before following the kitsune inside. He watched her go, a content smile on his face, and disappeared inside the room next to hers.

Just for all you who don't know, Shippo is a kitsune – I think it translates to 'fox demon' or something like that. Hanyou means half-demon. I don't use Japanese much, but sometimes I'll use a couple of words. Just telling you so you don't get confused or anything!