Ok, I know I'm kinda being really mean in this story. So, to avoid being yelled at too much, I'm trying to update sooner so I can get to the happy ending faster! I know the happy ending seems a long way off (which it is) or like it doesn't exist at all, but I have some level of confidence that my plan will not fail! Just stay with me on this and keep reviewing! I will not disappoint you in the end! (I hope...) Time for reviews again!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but this story and my brain. Life's a bitch...

Nightfall2525- I know it's not right. Sesshy's being really mean at the moment. We shall make him pay later! MUAHAHAHAHA! Actually, I couldn't do that to my Sesshy! So we'll just make him drink loads of coffee and be done with it! Lol

Mistress WaiKiki- Ouch indeed... But I had to do it. And the "give me back my soul" thing more confused him than hurt him. It would probably have the same effect on me. I think you'll like this chapter though! Review!

RavenXBeastboy- Her pen name is Jackalobe. She's got two stories if you wanna read them! I think they're good! Just make sure you stick with this story, too! Enjoy!

youkosangohiei- Yay! I'm not predictable or my mother anymore! booming chorus of Hallelujah in the background And don't worry, it'll get better! I've gawts a plan right up here in me's nawgin! That was weird... Oh well! Enjoy!

xrandii- You're welcome! Sorry, but I can't think of anything to say right now. I'm having a minor crisis right now and it's affecting my brain.

AngelAbove- Yay! I love it when my stories actually reach somebody, in a manner of speaking. I know exactly what you mean. I cried when I wrote this. And I'm sort of the leader of my friends, too. We wouldn't call it that, but when someone has a problem, they always go to me. I help my friends with their crushes and inter friend related problems. We have a lot of those. I didn't have a birthday party because everybody kept telling me they hated each other. I never show any emotion around them. I'm afraid to say there are a lot more twists in this chapter. It's kinda sad. I cried a bit and I think you'll know which part. I hope to see more reviews! Enjoy the chapter!

RECAP:

Sango narrowed her eyes. She had given her soul to keep him alive and he was just going to kick her out like that?

"Then I have just one thing to say. Give me back my soul you bastard!"

She yelled the last part so everybody within one hundred yards could hear. Inuyasha, Kagome, and Sesshomaru looked confused, not knowing of the sacrifice Sango had made. Miroku, on the other hand, marched straight up to where Sesshomaru and Sango stood, wrapped an arm around her, and led her back to the group. They walked away with Sango resting her head on Miroku's shoulder and Inuyasha and Kagome giving each other worried glances.

On with the show!

Kagome screamed as a twenty foot tree came falling straight at her. Inuyasha intervened at the last second struggling to keep it suspended above the two of them.

"Kagome, run! Hurry!" Inuyasha yelled.

Kagome limped away on her already injured leg. Inuyasha dived out when he was sure she was out of harm's way and the tree landed right where they had just been with a loud thud. Almost everyone had an injury except the yokai they were fighting. Even the newest member, Rin, was harboring a sprained ankle. The yokai wouldn't come out of the shadows; instead, it manipulated things from afar. That's how the tree had fallen. Inuyasha ran over to Kagome.

"Kagome, can you see it? Can you see the jewel shards?" he asked, hoping her strange sixth sense could help them leave with their lives.

"Inuyasha, it's too faint. It's somewhere over there," she pointed to the darkest part of the forest, "but I don't think you'll be able to hit it-"

"Then what do you want me to do!"

"Let me finish! You won't be able to hit it from here. We need to lure it out of hiding."

"I'm on it. Miroku!"

Miroku came to where they were sitting, his staff at the ready glancing in every direction.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" he asked.

"It's fighting from the shadows with jewel shards. We need you to suck it out with the wind tunnel," Inuyasha replied.

"I'm on it." His left hand went to unwrap the prayer beads.

"Wait!" Inuyasha grabbed his arm. "Do not suck it in! We can't lose those shards."

Miroku nodded and a second later, there was a giant black hole in his hand. The trees were creaking and bending towards them, but Miroku kept it open.

"It's working!" Kagome said. "The jewel shards are coming nearer!"

Their momentary victory was suddenly halted as a tree came into the path of the wind tunnel with a quick slash of light. Miroku was about to close the wind tunnel, when Inuyasha darted forward and jumped right into the tree, punching it into two pieces, one flying to the side, the other forcing Miroku to duck, but still missing him.

"Miroku, stop!" Kagome yelled, sensing the jewel shards close.

A second later, a girl flew out of the trees and landed before them. She looked about twelve. She had blonde hair and a long, black kimono with a blood red obi. They also noticed a large amount of jewel shards in her forehead. She was glaring at the group from her place on the ground.

"So now that you've finally come out of the shadows, I see we've been fighting a little girl," Inuyasha spat coldly.

"I am not a little girl!" she argued.

"Whatever."

Inuyasha moved his hand to the hilt of Tetsusaiga, but Kagome stopped him.

"Why were you attacking us?" Kagome asked calmly.

"That's none of your business!" the girl yelled and several trees uprooted themselves.

Suddenly the girl let out a barely audible cry and the top half of her body fell to the right while the bottom fell to the left. When everything cleared, Sango stood by the girl's skeleton with jewel shards in her hand. The group was staring at her. She deafly handed the jewel shards to Kagome.

"Let's go," she said and started walking.

Everyone glanced at each other and followed, eyes focused on the ground. A full month later and Sango still had not recovered from Sesshomaru. She showed no mercy in battles to relieve the pressure and she never slept more than a few hours each night. She wouldn't open up to anyone, not even Kagome, and she snapped at everyone who pressed the subject, even Miroku. It seemed she had become a lost cause.

Sesshomaru finished another thick volume from his enormous library. For a month he had been trying to find out what Sango's final words to him had meant. In his mind it made no sense. That is why he had been consulting all the books collected through generations of inu taiyokai. None had given him a sufficient answer.

Suddenly, the door to the large room began to open. He stopped searching for another promising book for his current situation to look and see who it was. It was Shizuka. She had a tray with her.

"Your afternoon tea, sir," she said with a small bow. He ignored her and continued his search. "Excuse me, but wouldn't it be easier to just ask her?" He shot her an icy glare with a flash of red in his eyes. "Forgive me, Sesshomaru-sama! I had no right!"

"Put these in the read pile," he ordered harshly, gesturing to a stack of books taller than his desk.

Shizuka nodded. She lifted the books with difficulty and placed them in a far corner of the room. She then exited, shutting the door quietly. Sesshomaru continued looking. One book in particular caught his eye. He was surprised he hadn't noticed it before. It had no title. It was bound in handsome navy blue velvet. He removed it from its bottom shelf and examined it. He sniffed it. The scent was familiar, but he couldn't be sure.

He opened it and the first two words on the page were enough to knock the memory back into him. The book was his father's. He read a bit more and discovered that it was a journal. It started the day that his parents met. He skimmed through it, sipping his tea. There was an entry near the end that caught his eye.

The panther demons are still attempting to take our lands. Undoubtedly, my new-born son, Sesshomaru, will have to deal with them when it comes his time to rule. They caught us off guard yesterday with an ambush on the castle grounds. They nearly killed me when a light surrounded me and I felt a strange warmth. It seemed to find its way inside me, filling all the gashes in my body. I saw my mate, Chizuru, at the gate to the castle. She looked pale. But, suddenly, my wounds disappeared and I was able to fight again. We overcame them before the sun reached its peak.

A servant informed me that Chizuru was ill. I went to see her. She described to me a light that engulfed her body. It seemed similar to the light that saved my life. She said she started to feel faint when it disappeared. I thought there might be a connection. I traveled the country for the better part of the past two days. What I learned astonished me.

The light was Chizuru's love for me. It was a piece of her soul. She had unconsciously given it to save me. I had the choice to give her soul back and lose my life or, the more selfish choice, to keep her soul and my life. I realize now that Chizuru loves me more than I love her. I am going to tell her when she is better.

Sesshomaru stopped there. This explained everything; what Sango had meant; what the light had been; and why Sango had seemed different. This rose a new conflict. What should he do? He knew he had to talk to Sango.

Shizuka was doing dishes in the kitchen. She looked up just in time to see a silver and crimson blur dash into the forest. A knowing smirk dawned her face. She silently resumed her chores.

The group sat around the campfire. Well, all except Sango. She sat against a nearby tree. Inuyasha was complaining about how weak humans were and how they shouldn't be resting. He stopped when Kagome threatened him with the "S" word. He fell into a light doze while Miroku kept watch. However, Miroku too grew weary. He drifted off. Kagome stayed up for awhile worrying about Sango.

Sango was focused on the campfire with an empty stare. She seemed almost hollow like a log. It once held life until being cut down. That was Sango alright. Kagome fell asleep with thoughts of Sango still filling her head.

Sango gaze intently at the flames. She couldn't sleep. She hadn't been able to for a month now. If she had supposedly lost all traces of love for him, why did she still think about him all the time? She hoped her friends were asleep as silent tears began to stream down her face.

She suddenly let out a muffled scream as someone wrapped a hand around her waist, covering her mouth. Inuyasha sprang back to life, his sensitive ears picking up the commotion. However, he had no time to react, for, as soon as he had recovered from his slumber, he found that Sango was gone.

(A/N: This was such a good place to end it, but it was too short. So you get to hear more. Who knows who Sango's "kidnapper" is? I DO! I think...)

Sango struggled to free herself from her captor who was now carrying her bridal style. She was clawing at the hand covering her mouth, her eyes squinted shut. The wind was rushing past every inch of her body. It felt oddly familiar. She opened her eyes and looked up to see the handsome face of Sesshomaru. She gasped, but it was not audible with his hand still covering her mouth.

He stopped in a small clearing. They could hear the sound of running water nearby. Sango was dropped, barely landing on her feet. She tried to run the moment she was free, but Sesshomaru grabbed her wrist and threw her down on a stump. She sat and pouted, arms crossed, like a child that didn't get their way. She waited for Sesshomaru to talk. He just stood there, rather happy to see her again. He knew she would talk eventually. Sure enough...

"What do you want now!" she yelled at him. She was trying to make as much noise as possible in the darkness so that Inuyasha would pick up the sound and find her.

Sesshomaru didn't know what to say. He couldn't exactly just say, "Well, I found out I'm currently harboring a piece of your soul. Do want it back?" Yeah right. She saved him the trouble.

"Let me guess. You found out what I meant, right? You finally figured it out." He nodded. "And?"

"And what?"

Her heart grew wings at the sound of his voice. But the feeling quickly faded, being replaced with anger at how dense he was.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'AND WHAT!' YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE!"

He flinched at the loud noise, but then felt ashamed. He had no clue what to do.

"Well?" Sango pushed. "And don't you dare say 'Well what?'"

"I don't know."

Those words had never been spoken be him. He had always been sure of everything. Nothing could shake his views. But now, he was truly clueless.

"You don't know?" Sango asked in a forced calm voice, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks again. "How can you not know?" Her voice got louder with each word. "I can't believe you! How do you get off being so ignorant!"

Then she did something she had never done. She slapped him. They both looked surprised. Sesshomaru deafly touched the red handprint on his face. Somehow, it hurt more than every battle he had ever fought, maybe even combined. He left the clearing.

Sango stared at the place he had been standing as though he was still there. After a minute, several people entered the clearing, ready for battle. Inuyasha held Tetsusaiga, Kagome had her bow in hand, Miroku was fingering the prayer beads around his hand, and Shippo was standing near Rin with all his trinkets. Kagome lowered her weapon as she saw that there was no enemy. She noticed Sango's expression. It was unreadable, but Kagome knew what it meant. She dropped everything and walked to her friend.

"It was him, wasn't it?" Kagome asked.

Sango nodded, suddenly coming back to life with a burst of tears. Kagome gave her friend a sympathetic hug.

"Go," Kagome whispered.

This simple word alerted Sango to what she had to do. She nodded again and raced off in the direction that Sesshomaru had gone.

"What was that about?" Inuyasha asked stupidly.

"Oh Inuyasha."

Kagome gave him a light hug, glad that her relationship with him wasn't as complicated as Sango and Sesshomaru. She started scratching him behind one of his dog ears. He looked angry, but Kagome knew he liked it.

Sango sprinted through the forest as best she could in a skirt. She was determined to find Sesshomaru, even though she had nothing with which to track him and he could be miles away by now. An idea suddenly struck her. She veered off the course she had been taking.

Her numb body carried her to her destination. As she walked out of the trees, she saw a figure across a river. It was Sesshomaru. He looked up. Sango instantaneously felt guilty. It was the most emotion she had ever seen on him. He had the same hard expression, but the moonlight showed him to be crying. She had made Sesshomaru cry. After all the ice had melted away, Sesshomaru was revealed to be normal after all. He stood when he say Sango. He was about to run.

"Sesshomaru, wait! I'm sorry!" she yelled at him.

He looked back for a moment. Sango smiled thinking all was right with the world. Then, Sesshomaru darted into the trees leaving her alone once again. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't go back to her friends. She needed to get away. She started walking, letting her feet carry her. It seemed all hope was now lost.

Sesshomaru looked back to make sure Sango hadn't followed him. Maybe he shouldn't have run. He was scared. He couldn't figure anything out anymore. His mind was overwhelmed. Sango had made him experience so many unfamiliar emotions. He had never felt tears, nor love, nor need for a certain person to be near.

He suddenly felt a huge gust of wind. He covered his eyes to keep dirt out and when he opened them, a young woman tucking a feather into her short ponytail stood before him. He wiped away as much of the tears as he could before she spoke.

"Naraku has been watching you, Sesshomaru. I hear that you have become infatuated with that young taijiya," Kagura said, a tone of jealousy all too obvious in her voice. "We know about your situation. Naraku has a deal for you if you come with me."

"And at what cost does this deal come?" Sesshomaru asked, knowing not to accept a deal from Naraku too rashly.

"Naraku has told me nothing. He simply ordered me to bring you back with me."

"Fine."

Kagura stared at him for a moment, apparently not thinking it would be that easy. When she recovered, she plucked a feather from her hair and it transformed. She got on waiting for Sesshomaru to do the same. He did.

He was truly desperate now to accept help from Naraku. He knew this could be a trap and it probably was, but he was willing to risk anything to get Sango back. They raced through the night sky, swerving around trees, shifting height for favorable winds.

"Cover your nose," Kagura called as they approached what looked like a giant, dark bubble.

Sesshomaru obscured his airways with his sleeve as they flew straight into the bubble. There were thick clouds of indigo smog. Sesshomaru was squinting his burning eyes. Kagura seemed used to this. They soared closer and closer to the ground.

"Jump," Kagura said.

They both jumped off and the feather transformed back. Kagura reconnected the feather with her hair, not failing to get a better look at the gorgeous yokai before her. Sesshomaru noticed this. Admittedly, he did find her somewhat attractive, but the fact that she came from Naraku's flesh made her seem a bit more unappealing.

She turned and started walking. Sesshomaru hesitantly followed. There was only thing making him go through with this. He gritted his teeth and told himself over and over that it was for Sango. Only that could have made him walk through the doors to Naraku's castle.

It started with a dingy entrance hall. Mold was growing everywhere and the were a few small holes in the wood. They walked forward to a railing and looked down. There were many floors below the one they were on. It seemed like an endless pity. The floors were lit by torches and yet they faded as they went farther down.

Suddenly, Kagura jumped. Sesshomaru didn't know what to do. Should he follow? He closed his eyes, told himself one more time that it was for Sango, and leaped. He was gliding down what felt like hundreds of feet. His speed was increasing as he rushed toward the bottom. He could see it now. Kagura was standing there on a stretch of damp floor. He landed as she started walking through a hallway to the side. He could smell old corpses and rotting flesh.

They walked to the end of the hallway where firelight gleamed. Kagura stopped at the entrance and gestured him inside. He walked through and Naraku sat with his back facing Sesshomaru, admiring some sort of icon on the wall.

"I've been expecting you, Sesshomaru," he said casually. He gestured and a stone wall slammed in front of the door, blocking all noises. Kagura cussed outside, her chance to eavesdrop ruined. "You must really care for the taijiya if you are desperate enough to accept my help." Sesshomaru didn't say anything.

"You know, this castle and the land surrounding it was once the capital," Naraku stated vaguely. "The shogun resided in this very room. It was a hiding place from the daimyo. They were afraid everything would be overturned and they would be killed if they were found. All but the shogun and the emperor were slaughtered due to a leak of information about the location of their hiding place. This castle was attacked the night of the move. The attackers were shocked when they arrived to the corpses of all the staff lying everywhere in the castle. I've cleaned the place up a bit, but alas, you cannot remove the stench of death. "

"What about the deal?" Sesshomaru asked, though it was not intended as a question. "I am not here for a history lesson."

"Of course." Naraku moved from the wall to reveal the icon. Sesshomaru eyed it with distaste. "These are the names of every man killed, written in their own blood. You'd be surprised at some of the names on there. Anyway, back to our little deal. I will be making the terms and conditions. The taijiya gets the piece of her soul back if you kill Inuyasha."

"How do you intend to get her soul back?"

"By using one of these." He pulled something out of his sleeve. It looked to be a small pink crystal. "This is shard of the Shikon jewel. You need to place it in the skin above her heart. This should free her of the spell."

Unnoticed by Sesshomaru, Naraku cut his finger and let a drop of blood run over the fragment. The piece seemed to flash, but it merely looked like it came from the flames still flickering on the walls.

"So what do you say, Sesshomaru? Do we have a deal?" Naraku asked.

Sesshomaru took the shard and nodded once. Naraku smiled and clapped twice. The door sprung open. They saw Kagura jump back, but ignored her.

"Kagura," Naraku said, "escort our guest outside the grounds."

Kagura nodded. Sesshomaru followed her out of the castle and outside the grounds, beyond the barrier. Kagura disappeared towards the barrier with a short, "Good bye, Sesshomaru," and Sesshomaru started on what was sure to be a long and hard journey. He found Inuyasha's scent within a few minutes.

He didn't want to do this. He had never actually wanted to kill his brother. To him, their relationship was sibling rivalry that got a bit out of control. This was going to cause a lot of trouble.

Naraku laughed. Sesshomaru's mind must have been very clouded if he had not guessed from the start that this was some sort of trick. It was going to be fun to watch Sesshomaru fall at the hands of the woman he loves. Naraku laughed again.

FINISHED! The end sucked. You all know what's gonna happen. It's too obvious. Wow. I just realized how much stuff happened in this chapter… Kewel! Now, I have an important message. I'M GOING ON SUMMER VACATION! I'm going to Europe for two weeks so my next update may be a little late. I have a feeling it's gonna be good, though. PLEASE REVIEW!

PS I just thought you people should know that if you want a longer reply, write a longer review! Give me something that makes me think! Ok, I'm done.

Language Guide:

Yokai- demon

Inu- dog

Taiyokai- demon lord

Taijiya- demon slayer