Yay. Finally finished chapter one…or two. This chapter might have been a bit boring. But it's important. nods head The next chapter should be done in a couple of days. I'm writing this as I go. I have an outline and everything, but I write the actual chapters separately; I don't try and write them all at the same time then upload them individually.

Note: I don't own Inuyasha. Stop bugging me. throws bricks at lawyers

Taihen walked briskly through the cool marble floors of the castle while absorbing the radiance of the sunlight on his tanned skin. At the end of the hall, a short, bulky, toad like youkai stood in the middle of the brilliant marble floor. He held a long wooden staff that has two weird looking heads attached to the top while tapping his foot impatiently. He wore a simple brown haori and a plain black hat over his bald sea green head. When he finally noticed that someone was walking towards him, he opened his big green mouth and screeched.

"Where have you been! The great Sesshoumaru-sama has been waiting for you! How dare you make milord wait for you!"

"Uhhh… I'm uhh… sorry…?" Taihen had trailed off. He didn't know the little toad so he didn't know how to address him, whether as a fellow servant or as someone with a rank. The little green toad looked as if he was turning even greener by the insult of not knowing his name.

"It's Jaken! And I'm Lord Sesshoumaru's most trusted and most loyal servant! The great Lord Sesshoumaru even revived me, his most dedicated servant…" Jaken rambled on, the speech more for himself than for Taihen.

"Uhhh… excuse me, Jaken-sama. Can you please just tell me where Lord Sesshoumaru is? I still have an appointment with him," Taihen asked respectfully.

"Fine! Follow me."

Sesshoumaru had smelled the humans when they first entered the castle. Sesshoumaru let his mouth twist into a little scowl. Now the castle will smell like worthless humans, he thought. However, it cannot be avoided as this Sesshoumaru has an appointment with the disgusting ningen.

Before one of the humans could knock on the door, Sesshoumaru beckoned him inside. In the doorway stood a tall man with long black hair that was tied into a low pony tail. Like most humans, his appearance was not well kept at all. His clothes were obviously ripped in certain places and dirty from the exhausting journey from the Southern Lands. When he finally stepped through the door and into Sesshoumaru's study, the demon lord had noticed that this ningen moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty.

But I thought Lord Ryuu was sending a lowly messenger over? The stoic demon lord had wondered. Usually servants do not walk like monarchs. Sesshoumaru quickly narrowed his eyes and questioned the suspicious man. "Who are you and what are you doing in my home?" Sesshoumaru watched as the man hesitated before regaining his composure.

The human bowed low and respectfully towards the taiyoukai before continuing. "I'm Taihen, my lord, one of the many lowly servants that serves the Lord Ryu in the Southern Lands. Lord Ryu sents his greetings and the lord also left instructions for me to follow. He wishes Lord Sesshoumaru to share some of his history with this lowly servant, just so my Lord Ryu could prepare his lovely daughter to service and please you in the future when you two are mated, my lord."

Sesshoumaru had noticed that the ningen's way of talk had a hint of superiority to it. He also realized that the human would not drop his disgusting act in trying to deceive this Sesshoumaru. "Listen here, human. It is pointless in trying to trick this Sesshoumaru because you are not doing a great job at it. You might look dirty and you might dress like a servant, but obviously you are not. Your hair is regularly cut and well taken care of; your nails are manicured and shiny; you walk like you were raised as a member of royalty and lastly, your speech depict you as an educated man." Sesshoumaru seemed to hesitate before speaking again. "…and you smell like that disgusting human prince that used to visit this castle when he was young."

The man merely laughed and walked over to Sesshoumaru. "Did you just use humor, Sesshoumaru? I see that nothing escapes you, old friend. Yes, it is I, Kasumi. Father says hi and that he would like to know more about your past. He also generously sent Taihen along with me to interrogate you." Kasumi made a face before continuing. "As you know, you have been allies with the Southern Lands for over 3 hundred years; you have seen handfuls of my forefathers pass away. Yet, we know virtually nothing about you and your house before we met you. Quite frankly, father loves my little sister, 'Gome. Yes, she is the child of one of my father's concubines, but he loves her nonetheless. He wants the best for her, and unfortunately for you, my father thinks that you are the best."

Sesshoumaru thought over what Kasumi had told him. He didn't realize the South had regarded so highly of him. Sesshoumaru was lost to his thoughts until a cough and a prod from Kasumi delivered him back to reality. "…very well. This Sesshoumaru will entertain you and the Southern Lord. However, I am entitled to not let you know everything about my past. Things that are sacred to my house and the secrets that were passed down to me by my father. However, I am willing to discuss with you about my… late mate. It would be better to talk in another room… and your servant is welcome to join us; as long as he can keep his mouth shut or I will shut it for him, permanently."

Kasumi nodded slightly in agreement and, along with a pale Taihen, followed the taiyoukai through the halls in the castle. After quite a long walk, they arrived in front of a set of beautiful wooden doors. The Western Lord pushed them apart and quickly walked into the room. Once Kasumi was inside, he could see that the room was wonderfully decorated. Rich, creamy colored curtains hung from the windows; thick, soft furs covered the cold marble floor and in the middle of the room sat a large bed. The walls of the room were bare save for one spot on the wall adjacent to the door; there was a curtain hiding something from Kasumi's view.

Sesshoumaru motioned for Kasumi to sit down and Kasumi gladly took the seat on one of the cushions on the floor. Sesshoumaru walked over to the curtain, took a deep breath, and said, "This particular curtain has not been drawn for over three centuries; I hope that you, humans, realize how grateful you two should be to be the first ones in over three hundred years to see the late Lady of the Western Lands, Kagome."

hmmm… did anyone see something up there? I did!

ok. Review and chapters should come sooner. More reviews might to a new chapter!