Hey guys! So, this is a real chapter! And no one is hallucinating! I've gone through some stuff. I'm still going through stuff and I want to practice writing some more. I always have and always will love this epic series and I love contributing to this base. Enjoy!

There is no limit to how a demon would go around wooing or claiming their mate. No one ever questions the ways.

"Alright so I seriously need to know before we begin this "project"." Sango rolled her eyes at the phrase Miroku insisted on calling her investigation. He sat across from her in the booth at the diner and giving her his undivided attention.

"And what would that be my dear?" He grinned before flipping open a menu.

"How did you get all my information? You said you tracked me to the apartment the day after the club, but how the hell did you get my work information and my cell phone number?"

"Magic." He fiddled his fingers for emphasis and chuckled to himself. When her gaze was less than impressed, he shrugged in concession. "I guess you can say it's in my line of work. I "research" into companies and their people. Kind of like, the ultimate background check."

"I suppose that would make sense, what with your…abilities." She nodded.

The uneasy feeling that was creeping up her spine only seemed to grow around him. Ever since the club, she had been trying to do more research into powerful demons that could possibly fit the description that both Rin and Miroku gave her. Since the other man at the club that night was the brother of her target, Sango was able to use the additional information of her observation to try the search. Luckily, some of the clues were visual, and with her training she was able to pick up on the details to piece together.

Since one sibling had the dog ears on his head, it was safe to assume that his brother was also of that same breed. Luckily for Sango, dog demons were rare due to their power and strength. Unluckily for her, that also meant that with power, came more influence and searching for a powerful dog demon tycoon was almost the same as trying to find someone non-existent. Miroku was not lying when he said that he was a private person.

"So where would you say we would start in regard to finding this guy?"

"Well that does depend."

"On what?"

"On how you would want to leave the situation if at all." He clasped his hands together. "Either leaving in a body bag, as a pawn in his debt, or if at all. Believe me when I say that very few people get to see him face to face. Even his closest partners rarely see him."

"What would I have to do to see him? Or at the very least find out where he lives." He tilted his head at that, almost curious at her interest in just the house.

"Let me get a better understanding for why if you don't mind. You said before that you are looking for your friend. Like you think that this demon kidnapped her or something. Let's see, you said her name was…"

"Rin." Sango hissed. "Her name is Rin."

"Of course, Rin. So where does the suspicion come from exactly?"

"It's not a stupid suspicion it's a fact! Fact is that Rin has always been consistent with contact with her friends. The last time I saw her, she was talking about a man that fit the description of your friend. She said that she was starting to fall in love with him, and that she wanted to introduce him. Not long after that, she stopped talking, like she disappeared. That is not a coincidence."

"Alright, I see what you mean. But is there any other explanation or reason why she could be missing? Other family members? Or a job?"

"No there was nothing else Miroku. All of her family is dead, and she just moved into the city in order to find work and be close to us."

"So, she has other friends here?" Sango hesitated, her mind flickering around. She only thought of Kagome. She couldn't accidentally get Kagome involved in all of this. No one could know Kagome was associated with Rin either, not even Miroku.

"No, not any she's really close to anyways. I'm sort of it." She met his gaze that scrutinized over her in a very confused manner. Like he was not able to understand something he read. Her spine tightened. If he could read thoughts and such, she hoped that he wasn't able to pick up on her thoughts of Kagome. But he seemed to not be confused on that name, or even ask about it.

"Alright, so essentially Rin is a girl that wouldn't be missed by many."

"Except for me. I'm the only one that is looking into what happened to her."

"Only you." He nodded, thinking, and considering her words. "Well then, that should make this clean and doable."

Before she could inquire about what he meant, a waitress ventured over to take their dinner order. It was after she departed back to the kitchen, did Miroku proceed.

"The thing about this particular demon, is that he is very aware about when someone is trying to find him. This is a demon that has evaded death, blackmail, capture, anything that you can think of. He is someone you decide to cross lightly and does not take kindly to it. For someone who interferes with his plans, usually that person would suffer death, or worse. That's why Sango, you have to be sure when you go down this road, that you are possibly putting everything at risk."

He said it with such genuine feelings, such emotion that made her think that he cared about her so much already. And his eyes relayed that emotion. Staring at her so intensely that it made her feel like the only person in the world.

"I'm sure. I don't want Rin to be around someone so dangerous."

His eyes sparkled with something that Sango can only pinpoint as admiration.

"Well then, I think we have somewhere to start." The food was coming out at that moment and Sango grimaced at the plate brought before her. She only ordered grilled chicken and vegetables and it somehow came out greasy.

"Did we have to eat here?" She hissed to Miroku once the waitress left.

"Yes, we did. Make sure to at least eat some of it." He paused when picking up his own fork. "Or at least make sure it looks like you have. I'll take you out somewhere better next time."

"And that matters because."

"Because we are here to blend in. I chose this place because it's in a discrete part of town, and its mostly a human joint. So that means the chances of our conversation getting back to him is slim to none."

"That's actually a smart idea." Sango blinked in amazement.

"Well, I'm flattered that my darling Sango thinks I'm intelligent." He held a hand to his chest when a dark glimmer crossed his eyes. "Although, as a fair warning Sango, don't underestimate anyone, even me."

She pondered his expression and about to comment on it when she felt something creeping up her knee. Not the warning feeling along her spine, but a caress of a hand that was certainly not her own. As a reflex, her leg jerked up and kicked some part of him. Based from his grunt of pain, it was safe to assume it was something that hurt.

"Keep your hands to yourself pervert." She hissed.

"Unless you ask otherwise of course." He winked in retaliation.

"Can we focus to the task at hand please?"

"Right, now regarding in finding your man. You aren't going to do that by going through clubs or searching the internet with his name. That will do nothing but cause trouble. So, to make things easier, I want you to stop investigating on your own. It isn't safe. Can you promise me that?"

Sango hesitated, and pondered. After all this time, on her own she wasn't able to find anything that would lead to Rin. And accepting Miroku's help might be the best solution to keep safe and find out what happened.

"I will."

"In that case, to make things easier to explain, the name of the man you are looking for is named Sesshomaru."

"Sesshomaru? What about his family name?"

"Irrelevant in regard to your investigation."

"That or you don't know it?" She smirked at him in a daring way. Almost as if she were flirting.

"I know it dear, but I know if I give it to you, you would only wind up doing something so foolish even I wouldn't be able to help you. He has a monopoly of this city, he has a monopoly over a lot of things, and he's one of the strongest demons I've ever seen. So, you won't be able to get close enough to meet him, he would never do that. But we can at least do some digging to research into how Rin is being treated."

"Would I be able to get close enough to see Rin?"

"Doubtful, but there still might be a way. First, I would suggest doing some digging around to hear about what he has been doing lately, and if there has been an affiliation with a human. For Sesshomaru, that would make some notice. He has been big on pure blooded demons for some time. You would not believe what it took for him to actually get on to acknowledge his half-brother."

"What would you suggest then?"

"Well, since I happen to be such a beneficial informant, I know that there is going to be a meeting soon amongst the larger demon clans. That would be an opportune time in order to strike and see what information we can find regarding whatever Sesshomaru would be hiding, and if anyone has heard of him taking a human."

"When would this be?"

"Two weeks, on the last day of the month. So, looks like we have another date night to look forward to."

Present

Kagome always felt that she never had been blindsided before, she usually could at least properly understand how things happened. However, going to a "demon meeting" and being fought over between a wolf and a dog about becoming a "mate", was not how she could have predicted this meeting to go.

"Well dumb ass you come here with a strange woman, without even telling me, making me think she's your mate. She doesn't have a mating mark, and clearly is confused about being considered your mate."

"Let her go Kouga, before I make a welcome mat from your tail." Inuyasha growled, his body language saying he was wanting to attack.

"Okay just what is going on?" Kagome snapped at the two, angered at how they were talking over her.

"Dog breath over there has been lying to you Kagome, it makes me sick." Kouga murmured to her, although loud enough to obviously let Inuyasha hear. "He wanted to make it look as if you were his mate to explain your reason for being here, and without even telling you. That way he wouldn't have to worry about me making a move on you."

Her head snapped over to her boss, not even seeing him argue against that plan.

"Are you for real? How possessive are you?" She was yelling now before looking to Kouga. "And let go of me!"

The wolf males looked at her blankly, almost surprised how much control she was trying to wield. There was a flash of red and white and the trio leapt away from where they were huddled around Kagome.

"You heard her, back off!" Inuyasha growled to the wolf prince before placing an arm around her shoulders. Kagome stiffened up and immediately turned to him.

"That applies to you too!" She squirmed and slapped at him until she stepped away out of reach. "I'm tired of all of you demons acting like I'm just a piece of property for you to control! I'm here for one thing and one thing only and that isn't to be some 'mate'!"

Inuyasha's eyes never left hers as he watched her tirade. Everything she needed to know about what he was thinking was right there in his eyes. He was not happy with her making that declaration, and she could care less. He was the one who was out of line. He was the one who has been lying to her.

There was a tense silence between the occupants. The two lackeys with Kouga were backing away, obviously not wanting to be involved when their leader started laughing. That attracted everyone's attention.

"Oh my god, she doesn't know does she?" Kouga snickered and looked to Kagome. "You would be better off with me Kagome. I would at least be honest with you."

"That's enough wolf! You've made more trouble then you are worth and you better hope that I don't remember it in the future." The hanyou snapped. "But that's unlikely."

Kouga raised a brow at that statement. "I've been hearing those promises for some time now dog. But I've been waiting a long time for that to come along."

"Well then here is your official warning to be prepared for the next few weeks. We are prepared to move the plan in motion."

The wolf prince's smirk fell as he processed the vague understanding. His dark eyes drifted down, trying to think it through.

"When will we know?"

"We will have to meet again to discuss the final strategic plans, but now is the time to rally yourself. Your thoughts would be better occupied doing that then thinking of my intended wolf." Inuyasha sneered. "We are done here for now."

Before Kagome could even question about all she had seen he swept her off her feet and into his arms to walk back the way they came.

"What are you doing? I thought we had a meeting to do?"

"It was only with that scrawny wolf. And I only really needed to relay that message."

"Then what was the point of bringing me?"

He hesitated before looking at her gaze briefly.

"There were other reasons for that choice."

"Yeah, okay, like saying I was your mate?" She growled to him. He didn't stop, but she could tell that hit a cord. "I'm not forgetting that part of this evening."

"I can explain."

"I hope so because I'm so confused! What the hell does that have to do with anything, why would you lie about that?"

He wouldn't answer and out of petti frustration of being ignored and being treated like a child, she tugged on his hair.

"Stop that!" He snapped although was blocked out by her shouting back at him.

"Mind telling me what's going on! I'm not like you I don't understand what goes on with demons, but I want to." She stared up to his face and how he still wasn't looking at her. "Please."

Once outside, he finally lowered her to the ground so she could stand on her own. Due to the location of where they were meeting, it looked out in the middle of nowhere.

"I wasn't lying." He murmured softly. "About you being my mate."

"But I'm not." She trailed off when his eyes caught her in such a hard intensity.

"Not yet technically, but you are my intended." He moved closer to her in order to take her hands in his. "And that means I have the full intention of making you my life mate."

"Kouga what does this mean?" Ginta asked, as the trio were walking out on their own in the direction towards the eastern lands.

"It means that we are going to be at war soon, and we need to get our forces together in order to honor our promise to Sesshomaru."

"It's really time for it then, huh?" Hakkaku commented with almost an excited gleam.

"Yeah, its just a pity that stupid mutt claimed that girl first. I liked her and would rather find a mate myself before we take over." Kouga stretched with a satisfied smirk. "Maybe I'll get lucky and catch him off guard one day and be able to fight him for her."

"Kouga you shouldn't say that!"

"You know Inuyasha is supported by his older brother, if you moved against him our entire tribe would be eliminated."

The wolf prince turned around and immediately knocked their two heads with two quick punches.

"You idiots! I know that! But if I challenge him publicly, he would still have to fight me for her."

"Aren't you worried that would change the position of things?"

"Nah, Sesshomaru is smart and powerful but he'll need our forces. After all, its time for the demons to rule again."

Gasp! So much is coming out its exciting! Next chapter will mostly be around Kagome and her adventures of being naïve and trying to get answers. But first I will be going back to correct and edit over the previous chapters to polish up and round up the plot. I hope you have found some enjoyment!

Any thoughts, comments, or questions leave for me!

Q: What other Inuyasha and Kagome fanfics would you recommend I want some new ones!