A/N: I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msososoverysorry! *sobbing* I've been so inactive in my writing, drawing, everything! Crap happened in my life, as my grandpa was hospitalized and then was sent somewhere for rehab, and he came home just last week, so that's a large reason for my absence. Just wanting to let you know that I've been wanting to come back, it's just been so hard. I'm sorry again, please enjoy.

*gingerly pushes chapter towards readers*

Rin ended up following Sesshomaru until he told her that she could no longer follow him. He hadn't really said anything, just stopped and looked back at her while she hesitantly caught up to him.

"What-…what are you doing?" Rin stuttered when Sesshomaru grabbed hold of her wrist.

Sesshomaru remained silent; his amber-gold orbs gave nothing away, either. His hold on Rin's arm tightened as she struggled more and more to get away. With his demonic strength, Sesshomaru lifted Rin into the air with one hand and slung her over his shoulder as if she were some sack of potatoes.

"What is the meaning of this?" Rin shouted at Sesshomaru's back. She beat her fist against his shoulder, only to find it hard like steel. Though that was not surprising seeing as how muscular he was from Rin's memories…

"Are you saying that you want me to drop you?"

Despite what Rin would have preferred, she could feel a warm blush creeping onto her face. She didn't trust her voice, so she shook her head in response. Sesshomaru must have been able to tell, as he made a small grunting sound to this and continued walking.

Not after long, Rin had her chin resting on her fist, being help up by the fact that her elbow was digging into Sesshomaru's shoulder blade. She continuously blew her bangs out of her eyes, wondering why exactly Sesshomaru wasn't allowing her to walk on her own. It wasn't as if her legs had miraculously stopped working.

Rin started to actually look at her surroundings and thought she had at least somewhat figured it out. She hadn't been paying attention to where they had been going now that she was being carried. Maybe Sesshomaru knew that she would be more concerned with HOW she was getting to where they were going than the actual WHERE it would be.

Maybe…maybe not. Maybe Rin was over thinking things again.

Maybe he just wants to hold me like I'm some pathetic, incapable child…

Rin looked around her again. They two of them were going through a dense forest, with small lights flickering about her head. Rin at first assumed that they were just fireflies, but upon closer examination, there was no body that went with the light. They were just floating orbs illuminating the path that she was on.

Rin managed to squirm around Sesshomaru's hold and see what was ahead of them. Rin's mouth fell open slightly and her wide eyes shone with wonder at the sight before her…

A giant tree stood in the middle of the forest's 'clearing.' It wasn't really a clearing, because, heck…all the space was taken up by this humungous tree. But built on and into the side of the tree were countless red and gold traditional pagodas. From this distance even, Rin could clearly see that steps had been carved into the side of the tree to access the different levels and buildings.

Rin could have sworn that a hot wind was blowing in her direction, but her hair stayed in place around her shoulders. She felt herself being moved, and her feet made contact with the soft earth moments later. She barely noticed, as all of her attention was focused on what was ahead of her. Subconsciously, she stepped forward towards the giant tree. Sesshomaru clamped a hand down on her shoulder, keeping her in place.

Dragging her sparkling eyes from the scene in front of her, Rin turned her head around to meet Sesshomaru's icy gaze. His eyes sent a warning that told her not to move. Whatever the reason, Rin didn't feel like testing his patience at that moment.

Sesshomaru started to walk forward. His arm was still firmly gripping Rin's shoulder, so she took that as a sign to follow. They passed under a red and gold Torii, and instantly Rin could feel hundreds of eyes swivel around to stare at her. Before, light music had been playing in the background, accompanied by the sounds of a regular forest. Now, there was nothing but silence.

Rin felt very uncomfortable. Sesshomaru's hand didn't help. If anything, that only made the situation worse. Rin was no doubt the only human here, and she knew it. Having to be help down by possibly the most powerful demon here made Rin squirm even more.

Feeling the hand tighten its grip, Rin focused very hard on not moving any part of her body other than her legs. Sesshomaru wasn't making any sense…why had he brought her into this hostile territory? Some demons may have chosen to live amongst humans, but the demons that hadn't left for the human world did not welcome humans into their homes.

Sesshomaru started climbing the colossal tree, and Rin followed suit. But as her foot came into contact with the first engraved step, whispers started spreading around the different figures. Rin caught faint words floating about.

…filth…

…worse than a mutt…

Doesn't he realize what he's touching…?

Despite the air of unsettling malevolence towards her, Rin managed to keep her chin up. Although her head was in a moderate position, her eyes were downcast. She had regretted coming before, but now Rin was terrified by her decision.

As Rin passed by the golden lanterns attached to the tree, they went out, one by one. Three lanterns up the tree, though, their lights would return. And any time Rin passed a demon that happened to be standing by, he or she would immediately shut their eyes and mouths and cover their faces. Rin did happen to notice that all of the demons resembled humans in their body shapes, and almost all of them were strikingly beautiful. Kimonos of every color and pattern immaginable were worn by the different figures.

Rin took extra notice in a woman wearing a deep violet kimono, which accented the icy-blue color of her eyes. Her lips were white with tints of blue, and her skin was a creamy eggshell color. She was the only one that didn't turn away as Rin passed by. In fact, she stared directly at Rin, as if trying to read her soul. Her lips were slightly parted, and with high-arching eyebrows sitting above wide and wild eyes, her appearance was exotic and terrifying.

"Rin."

The cold voice of Sesshomaru brought Rin back to her senses. Shaking her head, Rin started walking again, wondering when she had stopped. The woman's gaze followed her, and Rin couldn't help but look back to glance at her once more.

Sesshomaru apparently didn't approve of the pace that Rin was keeping, because his hand moved from her shoulder to wrap around her wrist. His claws dug into Rin's tender flesh, and Rin felt blood trickle down her hand and drop from her fingertips.

Sesshomaru half-dragged Rin up the stairs. He was wasting no time to reach the top, but Rin was intrigued and frightened by the sights surrounding her. She wanted to stay and take everything in. Or perhaps watch from a distance, even…

Many minutes later, Sesshomaru led Rin off of the main staircase and onto one that appeared to be leading into the tree itself. The staircase was in fact, inside a tunnel within the tree, and Rin wondered how deep it would go before it stopped or reached to other side. Sesshomaru's pace did not falter inside of the tunnel, and Rin wondered why he seemed in such a rush to move through this place.

Turning multiple corners that didn't even seem to exist until they arrived, Rin was sure that even Sesshomaru wouldn't be able to find his way back out of this tunnel. It was dark, too. Far too dark for any human to be able to see through it, and it would have even proven difficult for a number of demons to see well enough to navigate through the blackness. But Sesshomaru was highly skilled, and there was small, beaten-down part of Rin that knew that he would be able to do anything that he wanted to.

When Rin was sure that her feet would be forever sore from walking upon the hard ground, she and Sesshomaru came to a stop.

There was a palace within the tree. Its red and gold wooden surface seeming to glow from the orbs of light placed around the edges of the palace. Sesshomaru only paused a moment before he returned to dragging Rin along behind him. With one arm, he pushed open the gate that led into the halls. The gate's surface was decorated with dragons etched into the wood. Rin couldn't help but stare at it. She had always had a thing for the traditional arts.

Sesshomaru ushered Rin inside of the gate, glancing behind him when he walked through. Rin heard the opening slam shut behind her as she walked down the hall behind Sesshomaru. She received an eerie feeling from this place. It was much to quiet for her liking, and she felt so exposed, although she couldn't see a single other soul in the palace besides the demon she was following.

Attentively, Rin ran her fingers over the smooth, shiny wooden surface of the walls. Old silk paintings were draped over the red wood, and Rin looked at each one with careful interest as she was moved along the corridors. Finally, she was practically shoved through an archway to her right, with Sesshomaru walking in after her. Stumbling and ultimately falling on the ground, Rin glared at the dog demon as she picked herself up from the floor.

Rin didn't know what to think when she lifted her head and saw the room in front of her. It was almost empty, save for two incense burners, two torches, and three pillows, one of which there was a demon sitting upon it. The demon looked straight into Rin's eyes, forcing Rin's mouth to go dry. Her legs felt like rubber as she tried to stand upon them, her tongue like it had grown twice its size and had developed a thick fuzz around it. She was able to only speak the name of the demon, for of course she recognized who it was…

"Kagura."

A/N: Hmm...Kagura...how is she going to play into this story...she'll do something. That's for sure.

Thank you for being awesome and patient with me!