Inuyasha 1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Why, look at that! It's a brand new story! Hm, well I figure I should inform you of some things that will likely pop up at some time or another while I continue to post new chapters. Firstly: I have a wretched posting rate, if only because I review it again and again before I post it to make sure it's in tip top condition. SO, if you find any mistakes, please please PLEASE do not inform me of them. I've checked it so many times that I can't bear having to go back once again to find my error.

My beta-er, Miss Kerry, helped me come up with the name. It's rather lovely, neh? So, credit goes to her in that field.

Now, I urge you to check out my profile if you wish to learn more of what to/not to expect when it comes to my writings.

Ah, and this is likely to be a Sesskag romance story. So if you don't like anything of the sort, you may click the back button at any time.

Until then... R&R. I hate flames... blah blah blah. You all know the drill. But seriously, review if you have a heart.

One more thing! I apologize profusely in advance if Masako's species changes. He's a youkai, but I was unsure in the beginning so I tried out several different species while I was writing. Heh. So, watch out for that.

Read, enjoy, and review.

xxxx

A soft green light filtered through the somewhat thick foliage Sesshoumaru was currently walking under at a steady pace, his golden eyes flicking back and forth as he examined his domain. He was surveying the Western Lands, a habit of his when things were unusually quiet. A breeze had begun to pick up, causing Sesshoumaru's long silvery hair to fan out behind him.

He had been walking for quite some time when Sesshoumaru's sharp ears picked up the sound of quiet giggling. He spun and stared behind him and then upwards at the impish looking character sitting on a thick, overhanging tree branch.

"Why hello there, Sesshoumaru!" The fellow called to him in a peculiarly high pitched voice. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed slightly in recognition of the man before him. Masako, a particularly annoying forest youkai that had been disturbing the peace in the Western Lands recently. He was currently clad in naught but a rather sheer green veil that blended well with the forest about him.

"Masako." Sesshoumaru greeted, barely able to keep his disdain from showing. "You are trespassing."

"Gee, you're a pleasant host." Masako leaned forward and flipped his curly blond hair away from his face. He tapped his lip as he struck a thoughtful pose from his position on the bough of the tree. "Though, I suppose that _is _true."

"This Sesshoumaru sees no need to be a pleasant host to someone he does not wish to grace with his presence." Sesshoumaru found himself getting terribly irritated already.

Masako merely giggled and dropped to the ground, still keeping a careful distance away from the taiyoukai. He danced under the green light, stepping in and out of it as if it were some sort of child's game.

"It would be in your best interests if you were to remove yourself from this Sesshoumaru's lands immediately." Sesshoumaru took a step forward, his one hand itching to reach forward and strangle the youkai.

"Temper, temper!" Masako replied, wagging his finger back and forth as if reprimanding Sesshoumaru. "You would do well not to use that tone of voice with me again." Sesshoumaru could easily detect Masako's veiled threat. His eyes narrowed further as he carefully kept his expression calm, showing no outward expressions other than one of serenity and slight bit of disdain.

"And you would do well not to threaten this Sesshoumaru again."

"Keh." Masako stuck his pointed nose in the air and gained an air of haughty disdain. "This

Masako feels no need to take your petty threat seriously." Sesshoumaru bristled at Masako's taunt.

"You will die slowly and painfully for insulting this Sesshoumaru in such a manner." Sesshoumaru growled, claws already dripping with poison.

"Oh, do be quiet! I have better things to be doing than bickering with you." Masako's deep green eyes glinted as he smiled maliciously, revealing a pair of sharp fangs similar to that of Sesshoumaru's. "Besides, if you _were _to hurt me, who knows what would become of your precious little human girl, Rin was it?" His demeanor had changed completely, becoming rather demented and sickening to witness.

Sickening worry and anger clenched Sesshoumaru's heart at the mention of his ward possibly being in danger, however, he refrained from letting it show. He dismissed Masako's taunt as a bluff. "A worthless being like you would never be able to infiltrate this Sesshoumaru's castle and take the child."

"Oh really?" Masako replied. "We'll just have to change your silly little opinion of me, won't we?" He conjured up a long lock of black and waved it back and forth tauntingly. "I'm sure your sharp nose can pick up the scent of the girl." Masako wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Disgusting."

Sesshoumaru could indeed smell Rin's scent on the lock of hair. He clenched his teeth and raised his hackles, a deep inhuman growl resounding in his throat. His predatory instinct laid claim upon his body as fear and anger flooded his senses. He leapt forward, claws outstretched as he prepared to destroy the foolish being that dared to harm his ward.

"No!" Masako shouted angrily, stamping his bare foot down on the soft ground. Sesshoumaru barely had time to react before he was thrown backwards into a nearby tree. "I won't allow you to get near me." Masako whispered, dementia slipping into his voice. Sesshoumaru picked himself up, though he did not throw himself at Masako again. The youkai had gained an incredible amount of strength since their last encounter. "And you will not dare do such a thing to me again. I have power now, power from Naraku." He giggled and twisted the piece of hair in his hands. "He gave me power beyond your wildest dreams, and all I have to do is serve him occasionally. But this," Masako waved Rin's hair at Sesshoumaru again, "This is revenge for what you did to me." He smiled at the lock of hair and pulled it taut. "You'll never see that human girl again now, and there's nothing you can do about it."

He took a step forward, the hand holding the hair raised in front of him. "I'm going to make her bleed, Sesshoumaru. I'm going to torture her and I'm going to kill her." His wicked smiled widened. "And then she'll be gone." The lock of hair disappeared in a puff of green smoke.

Masako frowned at the hand that had been holding Rin's hair as if he had not intended for that to happen. "But not right away. I'm not completely evil, Sesshoumaru. Unlike you. In fact, I think I'll go so far as to call myself generous, even if it is for my own amusement. I'll give you a chance to save her, to get her back. One month. That's all I'm giving you. Then, the fun begins! Don't you think that's generous, Sesshoumaru?" He tilted his head to one side. "Perhaps too generous. Oh well, that's always been one of my weaknesses."

Masako smiled and turned his back on Sesshoumaru, pausing once to glance back at the taiyoukai. "Good luck!" He disappeared much like Rin's hair had, in a puff of glittering green smoke.

Sesshoumaru remained completely immobile. It was as if he were stuck in a some sort of stupor that incapacitated him of any truly coherent thoughts.

And then the despair crashed in.

xxxx

Kagome was tired. Bone weary in fact. She was quite sure everyone in her little party was exhausted. After Kagome had sensed a jewel shard in the near vicinity, Inuyasha had pushed them all to their limit as they searched for it. The elusive little sliver kept slipping in and out of Kagome's senses, appearing in one place and then another. Needless to say, it was getting very tiresome for all of them now that it was nearing dusk. They had been searching for the troublesome thing for nearly ten hours, according to the position of the sun.

"Its changed places again!" Kagome cried as it shifted far in the direction opposite their own. Inuyasha skidded to a halt, causing Kagome to knock heads with him for she was riding on his back. She pushed her head into his white hair, become immersed with Inuyasha's rather calming scent.

He growled deeply and grumbled, "Where is it now?" Kagome jutted her thumb behind her in answer. "Dammit! How the hell are they doing that?"

Miroku, Sango, and Shippou had just caught up with the two. Miroku's expression turned to one of -almost- mock despair. "It moved positions again, didn't it?" Kagome nodded glumly. Miroku laid his hand across his brow in an act of over dramatized woe and despair. He peeked through his nearly closed eyelids at the rest of the party, who were all in varying stages of fatigue. "Er, Inuyasha? Perhaps we should call it a night and continue our search tomorrow?" Kirara mewed in agreement.

Inuyasha glared daggers at the monk and turned to face him fully. "You're just a bunch of weaklings! We still have plenty of time before it's dark, and I know we're wearing that... thing... out!"

"Inuyasha, we don't even know what it is! This could all just be a wild goose chase set up by Naraku to keep us busy." Kagome moaned as she tightened her grip around Inuyasha. "Please?" She pleaded, giving his neck a quick squeeze. "I swear we'll get right on it tomorrow."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as his will broke down and he felt the tiredness flood in. "Fine. Tomorrow. Not a minute after dawn."

Everyone cheered in joy as they went in search of a clearing in which they could sleep for the night.

xxxx

Kagome was the first to wake the following morning. She had sensed the jewel shard closer than it had been the entire time they had been searching. Her eyes snapped open as the "thing" in possession of the shard moved forward at a slow but steady rate toward their camp. Kagome didn't dare move for fear of it spotting her as it came closer and closer until it was practically on top of the camp site. Her heart beat thudded in her ears as the presence of the jewel shard grew. Kagome was tensing to grab her bow and attempt to purify whatever the "thing" was, when it just disappeared. _Again_. It reappeared several miles away in the western direction. Kagome sighed in annoyance mingled with some relief. Whatever that "thing" was, it had felt frightfully powerful.

Inuyasha and the rest of their entourage awoke shortly afterwards feeling very much refreshed and ready to continue onwards with their quest for the jewel shard. They left five minutes after dawn, much to Inuyasha's vexation.

"Where is it?" Inuyasha asked as he knelt down to allow Kagome to climb onto his back. Kagome allowed her senses to reach out as she felt about for the jewel shard.

Kagome pointed west. "About three miles that way, I think. It hasn't moved for a while, I think its

resting." Inuyasha grinned and set off with Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and Kirara following close behind.

When they began nearing the spot where the Thing was, Kagome began to get nervous. Perhaps it wasn't resting, maybe it was waiting for them? She wasn't sure, but she didn't voice her fears to

the rest of the group, so as not to frighten them. They slowed to a walk and Inuyasha allowed Kagome to slide off his back.

"Its just up ahead." Kagome whispered, though she wasn't sure why. Everyone seemed to be on edge, so they were all being very cautious. They crept forward at a painfully slow rate, even Inuyasha didn't make any complaints. He merely kept his clawed hand resting on his Tessaiga as they inched forward.

Quite suddenly, they broke through the thick trees and found themselves in a wide clearing, staring at... nothing.

"Nothing." Sango whispered, confusion apparent in her expression.

"-the hell?" Inuyasha snapped around and gave Kagome a look.

Kagome shrugged, quite bewildered herself. "I sense it! Its right in front of us. At least, it should be." She turned around to face the rest of the group. "I don't get it!" She took a cautious step forward into the seemingly empty clearing. I swear, I can almost _see _the jewel shard right in front of me.

Shippou's eyes opened wide as he sniffed the air. "Inuyasha? Do you smell that?"

Inuyasha's nostrils flared as he picked up a scent. His brow furrowed as he glared at the clearing.

"What is it?" Shippou asked, now cowering behind Miroku's robe.

"I dunno..." Inuyasha replied, scratching his head in puzzlement as he continued to sniff the air.

"It smells of death... and something else."

Miroku, Sango, and Kagome all huddled together as they peered into the supposedly empty clearing. Kagome could feel her pulse quicken until it was nearly thundering in her ears. Miroku took this opportunity to allow both of his hands to wander in a not so innocent direction on the two women he was currently holding close to him. The three demons in the group were busy attempting to figure out what exactly it was that they were smelling.

No one was prepared for what happened next.

All at once, everyone was blown off their feet and into the trees they had been beside. A mighty roar resounded through the air, frightening birds into flight all around them. Inuyasha was the first to recover, unsheathing his Tessaiga once he regained his footing. He helped Kagome to her feet.

A single beat shook the air, causing Kagome to stagger back. Directly after the beat, a giant leopard youkai uncloaked itself and snarled at them, spittle flying off of its jaws. Its golden, black speckled fur gleamed in the sun, now high overhead. Miroku quickly helped Sango to her feet, never allowing his eyes to leave the giant youkai before them.

It blinked once, then twice, as it glared at the disturbers of its sleep. Everyone other than Inuyasha took a step back. Its brilliant jewel-like red gaze shifted from person to person until it rested on Kagome. Its massive muscles bunched up as it leaned back, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

_You have jewel shards. _The giant leopard youkai conveyed to everyone through thought in a distinctly masculine sounding voice. _Give them to me and you shall be spared. _

Inuyasha snorted in disbelief. "Keh! Like we'd ever give up jewel shards to a demon like you."

The huge leopard youkai towered over them, casting a shadow upon the group._ A lowly hanyou such as yourself would do well not to stand up against me. _

Inuyasha bristled at the insult. "We'll see about that!" He leapt forward, his Tessaiga raised high above his head. And promptly flew backwards, repelled by a barrier that the leopard youkai had placed around himself.

_Give me the shards, or I shall take them by force. _He repeated, his eyes glinting dangerously in the sun.

"No!" Inuyasha yelled, already back on his feet and ready to charge once again. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and held his Tessaiga in front of him, a look of concentration showing in his eyes. Kagome whipped out an arrow from her quiver and placed it in her bow, notching it against her cheek as she drew the string back. The tip of the arrow glowed with her purifying miko powers. Inuyasha raised his sword above his head and yelled, "Wind Scar!" (A/N: Japanese version of the word? I think not!) as he brought the blade crashing down to the ground, tearing the earth to pieces as the bright yellow bolt shot out of his sword. Kagome released an arrow into the middle of the blast, combining her miko powers with Inuyasha's hanyou powers. Unfortunately, both the Wind Scar and Kagome's arrow fell short of it's target as the barrier repelled the attack easily. The leopard youkai tossed its head in annoyance.

_So be it. _He planted a paw firmly on the ground and stared at Kagome. Quite suddenly, Kagome found herself no longer standing next to her comrades. She had been picked up telekinetically by the giant youkai. Kagome shrieked in terror and writhed in midair, not quite sure what else to do. Inuyasha jumped forward, hand outstretched to grab Kagome. Then, just as suddenly as she had been picked up, both Kagome and the leopard youkai were gone, and Inuyasha was left lying in the dust.

xxxx

Sesshoumaru had eventually picked himself up from his position and flown back to the castle, only to find Rin to truly be gone. This called for a severe beating over the head of a certain toad youkai.

"But Master Sesshoumaru!" Jaken cried out as he attempted to cover his head from the beatings he was currently receiving. "I had only looked away for a brief moment! Nothing more!" He cried out again as he received a new bruise from his own staff.

"You are a foolish, wretched youkai to incur the wrath of this Sesshoumaru." Sesshoumaru hit him again with the butt of Jaken's staff. Sesshoumaru was feeling considerably better now. Beating Jaken always seemed to have a rather calming effect to it. He had also sent out youkai servants to obtain information on Masako's whereabouts. He would find Rin and save her, and kill Masako for being an insolent fool. And then perhaps he would beat Jaken a bit more. And allow Rin to beat him as well. Oh yes, that would be quite nice...

He kicked Jaken for good measure before turning his back on the cowering toad youkai. "This Sesshoumaru is going to resume his patrol of his lands. Send Ah Un if any youkai servants return with information on the whereabouts of that fool youkai." He strode away purposefully, already planning ways to prolong Masako's death so as to inflict as much pain upon him as possible. Sesshoumaru allowed the tiniest of smirks to grace his features as he glided away.

xxxx

Sesshoumaru was patrolling his lands when a piercing shriek, followed by a ground shaking roar thundered through the air. He paused in midair, unsure as to whether or not to investigate. He decided against it, as he was currently on the border of his lands, thus the disturbance was not in the Lands of the West. He had just begun to continue his survey when a thunderous crack raked through the air, this time within his domain. Sesshoumaru turned around and sped towards the sound.

"Let go of me!" Sesshoumaru heard a young woman shout. The voice sounded vaguely familiar, though he could not quite place it at the time.

He reached the scene and arched a brow at what lay before him. An immense leopard youkai stood in the midst of broken trees with a young human girl suspended in the air before him. The youkai was staring at the human intently as she struggled in his telekinetic grasp. Her hair flew about in the wind, giving her a rather wild appearance.

Sesshoumaru abruptly realized who the girl was. She was his half brother's wench. He tilted his head to the side, attempting to remember her name. Kagome, was it? Sesshoumaru lifted his head to catch the scent on the wind, it informed him that his half brother was nowhere near. Interesting.

The wench screamed in frustration and began writhing in the air, a rather interesting sight to see.

Sesshoumaru hovered closer, already deciding that he should intercept whatever it was the two were fighting over. "You would do well to refrain from settling your trivial affairs in this Sesshoumaru's realm." He called out, his deep voice ringing clearly through the silent forest.

xxxx

Kagome twisted around and nearly cried in frustration. Of all the people that could have come, it just _had _to be _Sesshoumaru_. All they needed was Naraku and this would just be one big feast of death, the main course being herself.

_My affairs do not concern you._The leopard youkai stated imperiously, rising up to his full, rather impressive, stature. He glanced at Kagome, who had finally stopped struggling like a fish on dry land.

"They do when they are hosted upon this Sesshoumaru's lands." Sesshoumaru replied, just as authoritatively as the leopard youkai had.

The leopard youkai eyed Sesshoumaru, gauging the taiyoukai's strength to his own. He finally sat back, deciding that it was not worth the risk of losing all the human's jewel shards. _Very well. I will conduct this elsewhere. _

The grip on Kagome tightened as the leopard prepared to move again.

"No! Please!" Kagome pleaded, stretching out a hand towards Sesshoumaru. She had no idea what she was doing, but she knew that she could not allow the leopard youkai to take her away from her only chance of survival.

Sesshoumaru's golden eyes narrowed. For a moment, the wench had sounded like Rin. "Wait."

He called to the leopard youkai. The leopard paused and looked back at the hovering taiyoukai.

"What do you intend to do with the female after you remove the shards from her person." He demanded, making sure that his voice remained calm, yet demanding.

_I will kill her for her insolence._

There was a heavy pause. Even Kagome dared not breath.

"This Sesshoumaru cannot allow that." Sesshoumaru stated, raising his head imperiously. The leopard froze and turned completely around to stare at Sesshoumaru.

_You wish to mate with the female? _

Sesshoumaru felt bile rise in his throat at the mere thought. Kagome stopped struggling in order to give the taiyoukai an incredulous stare.

"No." He grit out, one of his clawed hands clenching his palm.

_No matter. She is mine. _

"You would do well to give the girl to this Sesshoumaru." He allowed just a bit of poison to begin forming at the tips of his claws.

_No_.

The jewel shard gave a single, heavy beat that would have knocked a less stronger man down. The leopard youkai's eyes turned black as he placed the girl against a tree. Kagome clutched to the tree as if the branch beneath her was about to break any second. She stared wide-eyed as the two prepared to kill each other. One of her hands held the bottle containing the jewel shards close to her chest in a protective manner, as if the leopard youkai might just try to snatch them from her in the midst of the battle.

Sesshoumaru prepared his Whips of Light, feeling his youki building up in the tips of his claws. He was still quite unsure as to why he was doing this, and it vexed him greatly that he was actually going out of his way to protect a _human _of all things. The female was just so reminiscent of Rin, the idea of leaving her to the devices of the leopard youkai made him sick to his stomach. He managed to convince himself that he was simply doing this for the joy of killing such a powerful demon, even if the youkai was, in truth, no match for himself.

The leopard youkai pressed at Sesshoumaru's mental barriers, testing him as he had just done recently. Sesshoumaru pushed the youkai out of his mind with a forceful shove. His lip curled in disgust at the youkai's attempt to control him.

"Do not attempt to toy with this Sesshoumaru."

The youkai allowed the mental pressing to ebb. He bared his teeth in manner that somewhat resembled a smile._ Impressive. _

Suddenly, the leopard youkai lashed out, its huge paw swiping down on the space Sesshoumaru had been occupying moments before. Sesshoumaru had moved to the side just in time to evade the attack. The taiyoukai unleashed his Whips of Light, striking the youkai on the right side of his face and part of his shoulder blades. The leopard youkai roared in pain, making the very air tremble. He staggered back, blood seeping from the wounds and dripping to the ground in huge droplets.

Sesshoumaru sped forward, wasting no time to allow the youkai to heal himself. His claws were

now oozing with poison, which he allowed to spray at his enemy in a swift downward stroke, effectively blinding the youkai. The youkai stumbled to the side, momentarily off balance. He leapt forward blindly, claws outstretched. Sesshoumaru easily evaded the attack by leaping to another tree.

"You will die now." Sesshoumaru stated with that eerie calm he possessed, as if it was simply a fact that the huge leopard youkai would die.

He unsheathed his Tokijin, holding the blade at arm's-length. He raised the blade and brought it downward, much like Inuyasha's own Wind Scar. A blue wave of energy erupted from the tip of the sword, fanning out as it gained strength and speed. The leopard youkai had no chance of escaping the assault. The attack cut through his midsection, tearing his stomach and other internal organs to pieces. The two halves fell to the ground with an earthshaking crash before they both disintegrated into dust, leaving behind a tiny sliver of the Shikon Jewel. With it, left a scent Sesshoumaru hadn't quite noticed before, but the fact that it had disappeared along with the creature made his stomach turn over for some inexplicable reason.

xxxx

Kagome had watched the entire battle from her current location in the upper branches of a tree. Mixed feelings of relief, shock, and horror washed over her as she watched the battle rage for what seemed an incredibly long time, though in actuality had only lasted several minutes. Just the sheer amount of raw power Sesshoumaru had displayed was enough to send a weaker woman running for the hills, though Kagome had a feeling that she would have been doing just that if she hadn't been stuck up in an elm.

"Wench." Kagome twitched when she heard Sesshoumaru calling to her. "Remove yourself from that elm and collect your jewel shard." He was now hovering several feet in front of her, sliding his Tokijin back into its sheath.

Kagome's eyes widened as she looked downwards at the treacherous climb she would have to embark on if she were to get down. She glanced back at Sesshoumaru, who was still hovering in front of her on that little dust cloud of his.

"I can't climb all the way down there." Kagome cried, already feeling rather sick from merely looking down the tree.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, a sure sign that he was getting annoyed. An annoyed Sesshoumaru was never a safe Sesshoumaru to be around. Actually, Sesshoumaru just wasn't safe to be around at all. Kagome recalled experiences in which he had frightened the living daylights out of her just by killing things with such skill and ease, sure that she or Inuyasha would be next.

"Moving!" Kagome announced as she carefully placed one of her feet on the branch below her own. She pushed down, testing its strength before deeming it capable of holding her weight.

"_Today_, wench." Sesshoumaru growled, feeling his impatience spike at her incredibly slow descent.

Kagome glanced back to glare at Sesshoumaru before slowly working her way down the tree. Sesshoumaru simply stood there, watching her intently as she began her tediously slow descent.

"You know, this would take so much less time if you just let me hop onto that little dust cloud thing!" Kagome complained, her fatigue from climbing clouding her judgment.

"This Sesshoumaru sees no need to increase the speed at which you descend." Kagome rolled her eyes, though she had made sure to be facing the tree as she did so. She did not wish to test the limits of the Western Lord's kindness.

She was nearly half way down when her foot slipped on the branch she had been attempting to climb down to. Her arms wind milled back as she felt herself fall into the open air, her mind wiped blank as she gazed at the blinding blue sky. Kagome opened her mouth to scream yet no sound escaped. And then she was falling...

For a very brief period of time. Sesshoumaru grasped one of Kagome's flailing arms, jerking her from her would-be fatal fall. Her arm popped in protest, but she had been saved by him... again. Kagome sighed in relief and began twisting in an attempt to board Sesshoumaru's cloud.

Sesshoumaru sighed and pulled her upright and set her next to him on the cloud. Kagome turned to the taiyoukai to thank him when the taiyoukai stated while staring straight ahead, "Refrain from being so clumsy in this Sesshoumaru's presence in the future, wench." Kagome glowered at the man furiously and turned away, her arms crossed under her chest. She kept as far from Sesshoumaru as possible while still remaining on the cloud. However, the giant fluff he had placed upon his shoulder was tickling her as they rushed through the air, making her want to giggle.

They traveled quickly and silently to the remains of the giant leopard youkai. The moment Kagome set foot on the ground she dashed to the scene and picked up the tiny jewel shard, instantly purifying it with her miko powers. As she slipped it into the little bottle around her neck, she turned to find Sesshoumaru walking towards her at a much calmer rate, keeping that imperious look of his glued upon his face.

Kagome decided that she would thank Sesshoumaru, even after his exceptionally rude behavior. He _had _saved her life twice. But then again, she couldn't count how many times he had attempted to bring her life to an end. Oh well, it was the polite thing to do, and Kagome was always one for being polite, even to people like Sesshoumaru.

"Sesshoumaru-" the taiyoukai stared at her, eyes hardening, "er... sir." The glare faded.

"Thank you for saving my life." She grinned brightly, not quite sure of what else she should say.

"Your gratitude is noted." Sesshoumaru replied, turning away to look intently at the forest as if it would share the answer to all his problems if he stared at the trees hard enough.

They stood there in silence, neither of them looking at each other. Kagome fiddled with the hem of her skirt while Sesshoumaru stared into nothingness. Kagome found herself feeling quite uncomfortable with the silence, though she wasn't quite sure what exactly she could do about it. It wasn't as if there were that many things they could talk about. So, is your arm growing back nicely? Kagome nearly giggled at the thought of asking him that, though she doubted Sesshoumaru would appreciate it. She didn't find the fact that he had lost his arm partially due to her doing particularly funny, it was simply the fact that that was the best topic of conversation she could come up with to talk to him about. Though she had to admit, it didn't look as if the Western Lord wanted to talk at the moment, or at any moment for that matter.

"Inuyasha will arrive soon." Sesshoumaru announced, his head tilted upwards as he stared intently into the wooded area. He showed no intention of leaving.

"Great!" Kagome exclaimed, eager to finally say something. She looked back at Sesshoumaru, who simply stared right back at her. Kagome asked hesitantly, "Er... should I go wait for him?"

Sesshoumaru arched a brow and replied, "You already are."

"Oh... er... yeah..." Kagome replied, fumbling for a proper response.

"Unless you feel your safety is compromised in this Sesshoumaru's presence...?" His brow arched higher, though his expression of boredom remained the same.

"What! Of course not. I mean... yes! Should I? Wait, was that a trick question?"

Inuyasha chose this moment to burst through the woods into the clearing, Tessaiga in hand. And lo and behold, Kagome and Sesshoumaru were standing within five feet of each other and not going for each other's throats, something of a felony in Inuyasha's mind. Kagome inched away from Sesshoumaru as if she was somehow subconsciously aware of said felony.

"You." He growled, giving his half brother a pointed glare.

"Indeed." Sesshoumaru replied, a look of utter boredom painted upon his face.

Kagome looked back and forth frantically between the two, not wanting this encounter to blow up into a full scale battle before she had a chance to explain what had just happened. "Inuyasha! It's al-"

Kagome was cut off as Inuyasha took a step forward and shouted, "What did you do to her?"

Sesshoumaru merely arched a brow and replied, "This Sesshoumaru would do nothing to dishonor your wench in that manner."

Kagome rushed to Inuyasha's side before he decided to do something stupid, a common tendency of his when his half brother was in the area.

"Inuyasha, it's alright! Sesshoumaru saved me from that leopard youkai." Kagome said, hoping to ease Inuyasha's frayed nerves. It seemed to do just the opposite as Inuyasha's face contorted in fury.

"_Why?_" He gritted out, giving Sesshoumaru the scowl he saved specifically for use on his half brother.

"Your inability to destroy the weak youkai yourself caused it to enter this Sesshoumaru's domain. Allowing a youkai to destroy half of one's territory is the sign of a weak ruler, something that this Sesshoumaru is not. Of course, you would not understand such a simple concept, would you? Common sense would be required for such reasoning." Sesshoumaru paused, to allow for the insult to sink in, permitting just a twinkle of malicious amusement to enter his eyes. Kagome turned to stare at him. The youkai had been leaving, supposedly to do his business on a different territory entirely. What was he talking about it?

"Shut up!" Inuyasha shouted angrily, taking a step forward.

"Inuyasha, let's leave before your brother loses his er... good mood." Kagome pleaded, tugging on Inuyasha's sleeve.

"Half brother." Sesshoumaru reminded her from a distance.

"Right. Half brother."

"But..." Kagome could tell he was eager for a fight. "He _touched _you." Inuyasha had a look of absolute disgust written upon his face. Kagome heard Sesshoumaru scoff, but she ignored it. "I can smell him all over you."

Kagome fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Jeez, he saved my life! The least he could do is leave him be for one day."

"Listen to your wench, hanyou." Sesshoumaru urged, now examining his nails with an air of disinterest. "Save yourself the pain of losing to this Sesshoumaru once again."

"Not helping." Kagome grumbled under her breath.

"Why you!" Inuyasha growled, allowing his Tessaiga to flare to life once again.

"_Please_." Kagome beseeched, pulling on Inuyasha's sleeve again.

Inuyasha paused and looked back at Kagome, his expression softening. He turned back to his half brother. "Fine. I'll leave this time, but don't expect me to be so forgiving the next time!" He pulled Kagome onto his back and leapt off into the woods without another word.

"Pathetic." Sesshoumaru stated to the open air. He turned around and strode back across the clearing towards his home.

xxxx

**A/N**: Well, how did you like the first chapter? I do hope you did! I know that you readers have probably already detected about forty cliches since you've begun, but as you should well know, there isn't a single original story out there today. Heh.

And please do review! I, like so many other authors out there, feed off of them. They revive and inspire our writing spirits, so review if you wish for me to continue! And criticize me! Tell me if I characterized Sesshoumaru and Kagome and everyone else properly. I'd really like to know. Improving is something that I'd like to think I do quite well. SO! Tell me! Please!

In the future, my author notes won't be nearly as long as they are right now. It's just my first chapter in a new fandom, so I need to get everything out ahead of time!

Until next time.


	2. Chapter 2

** A/N: I must apologize for the long wait and the short chapter. You may rest assured that the next one will be longer, (hopefully) more interesting, and the wait shall be shorter! (Huzzah!)**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I truly appreciated them!**

**And... well I just couldn't completely kill off my leopard youkai friend... I've grown attached to him already... ALSO, just think of a kind of "wack" version of what Naraku does when he makes detachments of himself. **

**So, without further adieu, may I present to you, chapter two.**

**xxxx**

"He _killed _me!" 

"Not you, a detachment of yourself. Your powers were restored to their customary level once your detachment was destroyed." Masako replied to the angry outburst. He spoke calmly, careful not to provoke the somewhat bipolar youkai. 

The leopard youkai had reverted back into a more human form. His golden hair, littered with black strands, glowed in the firelight. "It was... disconcerting nonetheless." He smoothed his hair down as he moved closer to the fire, casting shadows upon his elegant, sculpted face. 

"But do you now see the extent of his powers?" Masako prompted, stepping closer to the leopard youkai as he did so. "Sesshoumaru controls all of the Western Lands, and if we kill him, the lands will be without an heir. We could rise above the chaos that would surely ensue and take control of the ex-ruler's lands. He is an evil man. I know from experience that he will stop at nothing to acquire more territory. Sesshoumaru deserves to die!" Masako finished his little speech with a snarl, his eyes gaining a sort of psychotic gleam to them. 

The leopard youkai's eyes brightened at the mention of lands. More lands would lead to more power. And power can take you far... 

"Indeed. And yet, he _is _rather powerful. I am unsure that I wish to put my life at risk for such a task." He watched Masako carefully beneath hooded lids, pushing the youkai farther. 

"I know, but just imagine it!" Masako took yet another step closer to him. "Your power and influence could become boundless. You yourself would become _Lord _Kishoro." He smirked as he watched Kishoro's eyes momentarily glaze over. "_And_, we would have Naraku on our side. He has never been defeated by Sesshoumaru, and he has already lent me much power." 

"I have heard that Sesshoumaru has a brother. Very strong. He attained a sword much more powerful than Sesshoumaru's own. Will he not be an heir?" Kishoro flipped his hair back and stared down at the forest youkai. 

"Inuyasha?" Masako scoffed, brushing the hanyou aside instantly. "He is a pathetic hanyou who has next to no control over that sword. He will be painfully easy to take down." Kishoro frowned, but remained silent. 

Masako could see the conflict raging within Kishoro. Allying himself with Masako and essentially Naraku would be an extremely dangerous decision. All intelligent youkai were very cautious about making alliances with anyone, and rarely dashed into such a thing without viewing all sides of the board. Of course, they were also incredibly greedy, and the benefits he would reap were so great... 

"Will you join me, Kishoro?" Masako asked, already knowing the youkai's answer. 

Kishoro hesitated for a moment, weighing all the odds as carefully as he could. "I will." He announced, feeling as if he was taking a plunge into an icy lake. He took a silver ornamental dagger out of his belt and held it carefully, watching the firelight bounce off the shining weapon. Without warning, he slit his palm and held his blade out to Masako, who took it and did the same. They clasped their bloodied hands and nodded, each of them already formulating their own schemes. 

Kishoro turned to face the fire, his hands clasped behind his back. The wound had quickly healed, but it had left behind a thin red line to prove that the pact had been made. He turned his head to look at Masako, who was currently examining the child lying on the floor. She was frowning as if she was attempting to solve some sort of difficult puzzle in her dreams. "Masako? Who was that miko?" 

Masako glanced backward and shook his hair out of his face. "I believe her name is Kagome. She travels with Sesshoumaru's brother, the hanyou." 

"I see. She possesses quite a lot of jewel shards." 

"I know. I intend to steal them from her." Masako crouched down and poked Rin in the stomach, causing her to groan. "Do you know what humans eat?" 

Kishoro gave Masako a disbelieving look. "Why on earth would I know what _humans _require for nourishment?" 

"I don't know! But I don't want to end up having the child die before Sesshoumaru gives chase." 

He prodded the child again, causing Rin to groan louder and curl up into a ball. 

"How are you going to steal the jewel shards from the miko? Apparently she has powerful allies." 

"Allies? As in Sesshoumaru?" Masako giggled hysterically, clutching his sides until the laughter subsided. "The miko and Sesshoumaru aren't allies. They've tried to kill each other on numerous occasions." 

Kishoro's golden eyes narrowed. "Then how did you know that Sesshoumaru would fight for her?" 

Masako stopped giggling and looked at the child lying before his feet. "Have you not noticed the resemblance between the child and the miko? They both have that same sort of air of helplessness, even their physical features are somewhat similar. I knew that even that frigid Western Lord could not bare to see the miko be killed by you so shortly after losing someone so precious to him when they shared such a distinct resemblance to each other." 

"I see." Kishoro replied slowly, turning back to the fire. The conversation faded into silence, each trapped in their own thoughts. 

xxxx 

Inuyasha halted the moment they had left his half brother's territory. He set Kagome on the ground and turned her around to face him. 

"You let_ him _save you?" Inuyasha shook Kagome slightly by the shoulders. Kagome frowned, tired of being jostled around so much in one day. 

Kagome gave Inuyasha an appalled look, he was being completely irrational! Of course, this was _Inuyasha _she was talking about. "Was I supposed to let that leopard youkai kill me?" 

"Well, no." He paused for a moment, attempting to get his train of thought rolling again. "But you weren't suppose to let him save you! I would have gotten there in time." 

"In time to what, pick up my remains while that youkai ran off with half the Shikon shards?" Kagome stepped away from Inuyasha's hold and gave him a firm poke in the chest. Inuyasha stared at her finger as it continued to poke him. "It's not like I'm intending on switching to Sesshoumaru's side and becoming his second ward." She rolled her eyes. Inuyasha was just being absurd. 

Inuyasha's eyes widened at the mere thought. "_You wouldn't_." he growled. 

Kagome waved her hands in front of his face. "It was a joke, Inuyasha!" 

"Keh." he scoffed and turned away from her, arms crossed across his chest. And uncomfortable silence reigned in which Kagome could think of nothing to say. 

"Why did he do it?" he asked softly, still refusing to look at her. 

Kagome pulled Inuyasha back to her. "Let's just say that the fortunes were with us today, and leave it that. Okay?" She stared at him with wide, pleading eyes. 

Inuyasha stared at Kagome, teeth bared and looking frightfully annoyed. He relaxed his features slowly and unclenched his fists. "Alright." he mumbled. "Just... don't do it again." 

Kagome's face split into a grin as she gave Inuyasha a hug, pushing her face into his red kimono. Inuyasha patted her awkwardly on the head for a moment before pulling her back. "We've wasted enough time already, let's get back before the monk tries to do something stupid." Kagome giggled and clambered onto Inuyasha's back and together they launched off into the woods once again. 

xxxx 

"The barrier is incredibly strong, milord. Like nothing I have ever seen!" The lizard youkai kept his eyes averted as Sesshoumaru's own golden orbs bore down upon him. "It was laced with three different kinds of youki, one of which I suspect is Naraku's." His pointed tongue flicked out and licked his upper lip, a nervous habit of his. "The other two were quite strong as well, and one of the other's carried the signature of that of a forest youkai." 

"And the other youki?" pressed the elaborately dressed ferret youkai sitting beside Sesshoumaru. 

"I am unsure." He pushed his thick green hair back and glanced constantly at the door as if it would disappear if he did not continuously check on it. He continued onward, "Another high level demon for sure, but whose exactly, I do not know." 

Sesshoumaru looked to the ferret youkai, whose emerald green eyes darted to the lizard youkai. He nodded towards the sliding door. 

"Leave us." Sesshoumaru waved his hand toward the door, dismissing his scout. 

"Yes, milord. Thank you, milord." The youkai bowed low and backed out of the room as quickly as he could without tripping himself. 

"What do you suggest, Rai?" the taiyoukai asked once the door had been closed once more. 

The ferret youkai stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. "I..." Rai paused, tapping his chin with a long finger. "Perhaps you could... no," he grimaced, "you wouldn't like that." He lapsed back into silence. Sesshoumaru, never the patient one when it came to his ward, growled warningly. 

"What is it that this Sesshoumaru would find displeasing, Rai?" 

"Well," Rai leaned forward, "The only possible thing I can think of is for you to acquire the assistance of one of the eternal enemies of lesser youkai unlike yourself." Sesshoumaru arched a brow, prompting Rai to continue. "A miko, a very strong miko, could possibly break through the barrier." 

Sesshoumaru sneered and leaned back in his chair. "A miko? This Sesshoumaru is not altogether fond of mikos." 

Rai nodded quickly and continued, "I understand. But at the moment, do you have any possible allies that could employ the services of a miko for you? She would have to have quite a lot of power." 

"No." Sesshoumaru replied, dismissing the idea immediately. "Think of an alternative." 

"My lord, I would require an examination of the barrier myself in order to give you anything other than theories at the moment." 

"Examine it. Quickly. This Sesshoumaru expects you to have a plan in two days." 

"Yes, milord." Rai nodded and stood. "I will leave immediately." 

"Go." Sesshoumaru leaned back further, tightening his hold on his chair's arms. He was nervous, more specifically he was nervous for his ward's safety. He shoved aside thoughts of doubt for Rin's life and focused on more productive thoughts of the saving of said ward. 

xxxx 

"Kagome!" Shippou squealed in delight as he saw Inuyasha and Kagome step out of the forest, he rushed forward, arms outstretched as if to hug her. He stopped within ten feet of her and continued at a slower rate. "Kagome... you smell of Sesshoumaru." Everyone in the group tensed, and all eyes focused on Kagome. Shippou's eyes grew wide with fright. "Did he attack you?" 

"No!" Kagome reassured him hurriedly, bending down and taking the kitsune in her arms. "He was just... there... when Inuyasha arrived." She began whispering soothing words to Shippou, who was trembling in her arms. 

Miroku and Sango both took a step forward. "What do you mean he was just there?" Sango questioned intently, eyes constantly flicking back and forth as if Sesshoumaru were about to just pop out of the forest and attack them all. 

Inuyasha heaved a sigh and climbed up into a tree. "You might as well tell them." he called down to Kagome, crossing his arm across his chest and slinking lower against the branch. 

"Well," Kagome's brow furrowed as if she was unsure as to what to say. "He saved me from that leopard youkai." she stated slowly, knowing full well that she wouldn't believe herself if she was in their place. 

Shippou, Miroku, and Sango stared at her with mixed looks of shock and disbelief. Miroku's jaw actually dropped open. 

"_What_?" Sango asked incredulously. 

"Er... yeah. Don't ask me why, I certainly don't know." Kagome averted her gaze as if she was embarrassed by the whole situation. 

"So... he just saved you." Miroku asked, tapping his staff against the ground. "He didn't give you a reason or anything?" Kagome shook her head slowly. "Just saved you." He repeated under his breath shaking his head slowly. 

"Let's not make a big deal about it. Maybe he was just in a really _really _good mood today." Kagome grinned unsteadily, trying to make sense of the situation with everyone else. 

Inuyasha snorted in an attempt to cover up his laughter. "And maybe Miroku will stop being a pervert." 

Miroku gave Inuyasha an affronted look and stuck his nose into the air. "I am no such thing." 

Sango elbowed the monk hard in the ribs. "I've gotten better..." He whined, pushing Sango away. The demon slayer rolled her eyes but remained silent. 

"Right. So now that we've established that Miroku's still a pervert, I think we should visit Kaede's village. I haven't been home in a bit and I'd like to restock on my food and medical supplies." Kagome put on a bright, hopeful smile, attempting to divert the conversation to something more pleasant. 

"Fine. You were running low on ramen anyways." Inuyasha announced from his tree before jumping down to them. 

"Excellent!" Miroku rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "I'm sure there will be plenty of beautiful-" Sango glared at him, hefting her Hiraikotsu as she did so. "Er... homes that requiring exorcising. We haven't been there in quite some time and you know how demons are." The monk laughed nervously and eyed Sango's weapon. 

"That's what I thought, monk." Sango muttered under her breath as she began trekking in the direction of Kaede's village. 

xxxx 

"The barrier is indeed quite powerful, milord." Rai bowed low, spreading his arms out wide by his side as he did so. "Perhaps investing in the aid of a miko would not be a terrible idea." He glanced upward at his lord, who was currently staring at the door angrily. 

"A miko." he stated as calmly as he could muster. 

"A miko!" Rai exclaimed, attempting to cover his nervousness, "A powerful miko could break down the barrier and allow you to rush inside and destroy Masako with ease." 

"Hn." 

"Masako will not be expecting it either. Youkai and mikos helping each other? They are sworn enemies! However," Rai raised a finger in the air, "with your massive strength and prowess, you could surely subdue any miko into aiding you." 

"True." 

"It's the best chance you've got to get the child back." Sesshoumaru slid his gaze to Rai. He knew the ferret youkai was telling the truth, but he had been hoping for Rai to come up with a solution that was less... degrading... 

Sesshoumaru leaned forward in his chair and drummed his nails on the glossy wooden table. "This Sesshoumaru will use this plan. You will be rewarded for your efforts. You may return to your home expecting riches from this Sesshoumaru's personal stores." 

Rai's eyes gleamed at the prospect of acquiring shiny things. "Thank you, my lord." He bowed again and retreated from the room. 

Sesshoumaru began drumming his fingers on the table once again. He did not like the idea of asking for help from anyone. It showed weakness and vulnerability, two traits that were unacceptable when concerning the Western Lord. And yet, if he could not find another solution, Rin would die. Sesshoumaru steered himself away from such thoughts. He resolutely set his mind on the plan Rai had given him. He just needed to find a powerful miko... 

Sesshoumaru sat motionless for several hours, thinking of all the mikos he was acquainted with. Which, surprisingly enough, was very few. And then, quite suddenly, the perfect candidate came to him. A certain miko that he had saved from mortal doom just two days ago. The thinnest of smiles graced his lips, giving the taiyoukai an exceptionally evil expression. 

_Inuyasha's wench._

xxxx 

**A/N: Do you love it (yay!) or hate it (ehh...)? **

**Kindly remember to R&R!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, my beta-er is being wiggedy wack. And her father sucks. ****So, this chapter probably won't be _too _up to par, seeing how my beta-er is currently Spell Check. BUT NOT TO WORRY. My next chapter will be better, and I'll be sure to post it before I go to Disney World, maybe even _sooner_. -wiggles eyebrows- **

**Have fun reading!**

**xxxx**

They arrived at Kaede's village in record time. Inuyasha was craving ramen to point where he had begun twitching due to his lack of his favorite meal.

"Inuyasha, we're almost there." Kagome said consolingly. "You can hold in your need for ramen for a bit longer. I think this might actually be good for your addiction."

"Gah!" Inuyasha spun around and glared at her. "I'm not addicted to ramen!" He twitched again.

Shippou rolled his eyes while Miroku sniggered behind Sango.

"What?" Inuyasha set his glare on wide range to make sure everyone got a piece of it. Shippou actually tripped over himself in fright.

"There's the well!" Kagome exclaimed. She pulled at Inuyasha's sleeve. "Just imagine: all the ramen you can eat is waiting for you on the other end of the Bone Eater's Well." Inuyasha's eyes glazed over as his mind became overwhelmed with thoughts of his favorite meal.

"Let's go!" He grabbed Kagome's arm and pulled her towards the well.

"Wait just a moment Inuyasha!" Kagome guided her bicycle to Kaede's hut and set it against the wall before returning to Inuyasha, who promptly latched onto her arm once again and began tugging her arm out of its socket.

Kagome twisted around and waved goodbye to her companions before she was pulled to the edge and unceremoniously picked up and dropped down the well by her favorite hanyou. A moment later, that familiar blinding blue flash and the brief period of weightlessness informed her that she had successfully traveled through time once again.

She landed at the bottom of the well with a dull thud and began climbing upwards. Inuyasha streaked out of the well and into the house in a blur of red and white. Kagome smiled warmly to herself as she walked towards her home at a less hectic speed. Inuyasha could be so cute sometimes.

xxxx

Sesshoumaru tilted his head to the side in confusion as he watched both the wench and his brother jump down a _well _of all things. What could they possibly be doing down there? He shuddered and pushed away the revolting images that came unbidden to his often imaginative mind. But then they had simply disappeared. It was a strange sight to witness.

He was currently leaning coolly against a tree facing the well, his scent masked and his senses open for any sign of Inuyasha's wench, but none came. No matter, Sesshoumaru could wait as long as it was necessary, all he had to do was get the wench alone.

He checked to see if the demon slayer and monk were still about before he cautiously walked to the edge of the well. The taiyoukai found his apprehension rising as if he might find something particularly unusual or grotesque at the bottom of the well. He stood about a foot away and leaned over to find... nothing. Sesshoumaru refrained from hitting himself for doing such a foolish thing. Of course they weren't there! But... where were they?

xxxx

Inuyasha was busy staring hungrily at the ramen Kagome's mother was making when she walked in.

"Hello dear!" Kagome's mother turned and gave her daughter a warm smile.

"Hey mom!" Kagome gave her mother a warm hug before she joined Inuyasha, who was sitting on the floor.

"How's the Feudal Era doing?" she asked conversationally.

"Oh, you know the deal. Naraku's wreaking havoc and so on and so forth." Kagome waved a hand dismissively and poked Inuyasha.

"You still haven't beaten that man yet? He sounds like such a terrible person!" Kagome's mother stirred the ramen and looked back at Inuyasha and Kagome.

Inuyasha scowled at her. "It's not that easy, y'know. Not that you'd understand." Kagome elbowed Inuyasha hard.

"I told you that you had an addiction to ramen." She nudged Inuyasha in the ribs, attempting to evade the current topic of conversation. Inuyasha glared at her and nudged back. Kagome, feeling rather playful, began tickling Inuyasha. Inuyasha howled in laughter and began pushing her off. Soon they were both rolling on the floor, attempting to tickle each other. Kagome's mother rapped both Kagome and Inuyasha hard on the head with her wooden spoon.

"You two are acting like children!" She scolded, though Kagome could see the laughter in her eyes. "You'll end up breaking one of my lovely vases soon with your antics."

Kagome pushed Inuyasha away and stood up. "Yeah Inuyasha, you're such a bad influence on me. Sheesh." She rolled her eyes and checked the pantry, which was devoid of all things ramen. "I'm going to go to the store and get some more ramen for when we travel back." Inuyasha, whose attention was already focused on the ramen once again, nodded uninterestedly and went back to the staring. Kagome resisted the urge to roll her eyes again as she gave both of them pecks on the cheek before taking some money out of her mother's purse and leaving her home.

Kagome was half way down the street when a thought struck her. She had left her fashionable yellow backpack in the Feudal Era! Kagome hit herself on the forehead and trotted back down to her home and around the back. She swung her legs over the edge of the well and pushed herself off, once again transporting herself into the past.

xxxx

Sesshoumaru was still lurking around the well, something that he had been doing for the past hour. He was feeling stupid and rather foolish. _So this is how Inuyasha feels._

He sighed in utter boredom and began examining his claws, leaning against the tree as he did so. Suddenly, he felt the powerful burst of energy that sent his senses into overdrive. He focused on the well, his eyes narrowing and his teeth bared, prepared for the attack that was sure to follow such a display power. Instead, it merely drifted away and left Sesshoumaru feeling the presence of a miko... alone. He quickly adopted a cool, imperious stance, still leaning against the tree.

The miko clambered out of the wall and landed on the ground in an heap. She shook her head and stood up, smiling brightly, and began walking towards the village. Sesshoumaru quickly stepped back into the cover of the trees, not wishing for the girl to see him just left.

Sesshoumaru wished to judge her potential, see if she truly was as powerful a miko as many claimed her to be. He partially let his defenses down, letting a tiny amount of his youki to trickle through his barriers.

The girl instantly snapped her head around, staring intensely at wooded area in which Sesshoumaru was situated. Sesshoumaru permitted himself a tiny smirk. This was a good plan.

Sesshoumaru put his barrier back up, and his youki was once again trapped inside. The girl paused in confusion, but continued on, fear already forgotten and a silly grin already plastered back upon her face.

Sesshoumaru's brow furrowed. Apparently the girl was not exceptionally bright. That would be somewhat irritating...

However, he knew that he would have to stop the girl before she actually entered the village.

Sesshoumaru stepped out from the trees and, unable to think of anything else to say, called out, "Wench."

xxxx

_Oh my god. _Kagome whipped around and opened her mouth to scream as she locked eyes the man standing before her. She knew that voice from anywhere. Sesshoumaru gave her the barest of smiles, his eyes trained on her own. Why oh why hadn't she actually paid attention to that momentary show of youki?

"Hel-!" Her cry for help was stifled by Sesshoumaru's hand as he placed it over her mouth. Kagome had forgotten how quickly Sesshoumaru could move. Kagome struggled against Sesshoumaru, white hot terror taking over her mind.

Sesshoumaru shoved her against a tree and thrust her upward at the neck. Kagome clawed at his hand, struggling for breath.

"You will refrain from screaming in this Sesshoumaru's presence. Come quietly, and you will not be harmed further." Sesshoumaru intoned in an stony, yet calm voice.

Kagome nodded quickly, knowing this was her only choice at the moment. However, the moment she had been dropped to the ground, Kagome began sprinting towards the village. Unfortunately, the village seemed to be much to far away today, due to Kagome's inability to breath properly. She stumbled forward in a last ditch attempt to get away from the youkai lord.

Sesshoumaru controlled his urge to groan and caught up with her instantly, giving her a quick rap on the head with the hilt of his sword. Sesshoumaru picked her up and slung her over his unarmored shoulder, where she was engulfed by his pelt. He allowed his cloud to form under his feet as he took off into the sky, shooting away towards the heart of the woods.

xxxx

Kagome slowly clawed her way back towards consciousness, a headache accompanying her all the way. She groaned and rolled over, unaware that her current location was not in her bed, or even amongst friends.

"Wench."

Kagome's eyes snapped open as she shot out of bed. Wait, she wasn't even in bed! She was lying in a _cave._ And that was most certainly _not _Inuyasha's voice she had just heard. It sounded much more like the voice of a certain youkai lord.

"Sesshoumaru!" she squeaked, scrambling backwards to the wall of the cave. Sesshoumaru rose from his place by the fire and advanced towards the cowering girl. "Don't kill me!" Kagome moaned as her head began pounding once again.

"This Sesshoumaru is not intending on killing you... yet." He smirked as he watched her eyes widen in fright.

"Why?" Kagome glared at him. "You aren't planning on using me as bait to get Inuyasha, are you? Cause I really hate that." Sesshoumaru arched a brow. "I mean, not that you'd care or anything, but it happens to me _all _the time. Besides, he's not even here right now. Not-"

"You are babbling. Stop it." Kagome snapped her mouth shut. Sesshoumaru nodded and went back to tending the fire. He glanced at Kagome, who was now rubbing her head in attempt to ease her head pain. "Where is the hanyou?"

"A different time era." Kagome stated simply, continuing to perform ministrations upon her skull.

"That is impossible." Sesshoumaru stood, brandishing a flaming stick at her. "Do not toy with this Sesshoumaru."

"I'm not." Kagome's eyebrows knit together in confusion. She thought that Sesshoumaru had known. She continued onward, feeling confident that giving Sesshoumaru this information would not harm her, "And please put the stick down. Fire can actually hurt measly humans such as myself."

Sesshoumaru glanced at the stick before tossing back into the fire.

"See, I'm err... not from around here. Well, technically, I am. In fact, I live right next to the Bone Eaters Well! That is, five hundred years in the future." Sesshoumaru's eyebrows shot up in an uncharacteristic display of emotion.

"That is impossible."

"Why?"

"It is impossible to travel through time. Unless, your miko powers enable you to perform such feats. But even still, this Sesshoumaru's pathetic hanyou of a brother would be able to do no such thing." Sesshoumaru dismissed it easily, turning back to the flames.

"That isn't true. I'm not sure why he can do it, or even why I can do it! I think it has to do with our connection to the miko Kikyo." Kagome furrowed her brow in puzzlement. "I dunno..."

"You... are not lying." Sesshoumaru stated. He had watched her display a wide array of emotions to him, an _enemy_. It was... puzzling.

"Of course not!" She exclaimed, rolling her eyes and causing her head to begin paining her again. "But... you know, he'll be back soon. I wasn't supposed to be gone for this long. He's actually probably looking for me right now!" Kagome nodded ferverently.

"This Sesshoumaru is not afraid of a mere hanyou." Sesshoumaru sneered at the thought.

"Why did you kidnap me?" Kagome crawled forward towards the fire and the taiyoukai sitting by it.

Sesshoumaru sighed and rose from his place. "This Sesshoumaru... requires your assistance." His lip twitched as if he was absolutely disgusted by the idea... which he probably was.

"My... assistance?" Kagome asked, standing as well, though Sesshoumaru still towered over her by at least a foot.

"Yes." Sesshoumaru turned around and walked to the back of the cave. "Rin was taken from the Western Lands by a foolish youkai with aid from Naraku. This Sesshoumaru has become somewhat... attached to the child, and does not wish for her to be killed. However, the barrier surrounding the cave in which they are holding her is impenetrable. That is, without the help of a powerful miko."

"Me?" Kagome squeaked. "Oh Sesshoumaru, I don't think I can help you."

Kagome suddenly found herself pinned to a wall by the neck for the second time today. "_Why not_?" Sesshoumaru growled softly, pushing her harder against the wall. Kagome shook her head frantically, feeling herself getting lightheaded already. Sesshoumaru dropped her to the ground in a heap, a position which Kagome stayed in until she could collect her thoughts. She rubbed her neck, feeling the bruises he had inflicted upon her neck.

"I... I don't have much control over my powers." Kagome explained somewhat ashamedly. She had been in the Feudal Era for nearly two years and all she could really do was purify jewel shards and infuse her arrows with a small amount of her miko powers. "And I wasn't even aware that I was that strong anyways." Kagome looked sadly at her small hands as if they were the source of her power.

"It is easy to learn how to control one's powers." Sesshoumaru had backed away from the miko in order to control himself from beating her over the head for being so insolent. Kagome still looked doubtful, continuing to stare at her hands. "This Sesshoumaru will pay you well."

Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. "I don't want money!" She shook her hands and looked away. "I- look Sesshoumaru..."

Sesshoumaru held up his hand to silence her. "Think of this... as a way to repay your dept to this Sesshoumaru."

"Dept?" Kagome stared at Sesshoumaru in confusion. She narrowed her eyes, "Hey, I didn't ask you to save me!"

"You implied it in your call for help." Sesshoumaru began examining his claws, a habit of his he had recently developed. He continued on rather airily, "This Sesshoumaru doesn't allow the death of a foolish wench such as yourself to disgrace his lands."

Kagome growled and scuffed the ground angrily with her foot. "Fine. Maybe I did, but you didn't say anything about a dept to me, and apparently I'm not very good at discerning implications.

Sesshoumaru arched a cool brow and replied, "This Sesshoumaru had no idea that honor became such a trivial concern in the future."

Kagome pursed her lips and marched up to Sesshoumaru, firmly ignoring the headache that was pleading for her to stop moving. "You listen to me! I happen to have _plenty _of honor."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as he leaned forward, knowing that he already had the girl twined around his fingers. "Prove it."

"Fine! You know what, I _will _prove it to you. Just so I can shove it right in your face!" She smiled triumphantly as if she had just completed some incredible feat. Sesshoumaru merely nodded and turned away, walking back towards the gaping mouth of the cave.

Kagome remembered a certain hanyou as Sesshoumaru made as if to leave. She called down the cave to him, "You know, Inuyasha isn't going to like this."

"This Sesshoumaru will easily be able to cover our scents." Kagome shrugged and turned back.

"If you say so..." Kagome began poking the fire with a stick, watching the fiery red embers drift into the air and dissipate into grey ash.

"Do you doubt this Sesshoumaru's abilities?" Sesshoumaru began walking back towards her.

Kagome resisted the urge to roll her eyes at such a blatant display of male pride. Every man is the same... However, this particular male also happened to have the ability to disembowel her without a second thought. "Of course not!"

"Hn." He paused and stared pointedly at the miko sitting by the fire. "You will require food shortly." Kagome's stomach grumbled as if in response, causing Kagome's face to redden in embarrassment.

"Seems that I do."

"Hn." Sesshoumaru exited the cave without another word, leaving Kagome to ponder on what exactly she had gotten herself into.

xxxx

Sesshoumaru returned shortly afterwards holding a mammal of some ilk. It had already been skinned, thus the lack of fur disabled her ability to tell what it was. He set it on the ground and chopped it up into pieces Kagome would be able to eat and put them over the fire with a stick impaled through them.

Kagome personally found the whole scene almost funny. She had only ever seen Sesshoumaru in "killing mode", so now watching him cut up what she could only assume had been a rabbit was actually funny. Kagome stifled a giggle and turned away to look at the wall as she waited for her food to cook.

"What is it, exactly, that you find so humorous, wench?"

Kagome squeaked and turned around. Sesshoumaru was now standing over the fire, which was casting deep shadows about the cave, and making his demonic appearance even more frightening.

"Oh, nothing!" She lied, keeping her eyes trained on the bright fire and the cooking meat. "Look at that! The meat's ready."

Sesshoumaru glanced down at her meal and picked it up directly from the fire. He held it out to her from a distance, forcing Kagome to have to get up and walk to him for the food. She grasped the still warm stick and looked the food over, wandering if this wasn't just some elaborate ruse and Sesshoumaru was really attempting to kill her by lacing the meat with poison.

"Er-" Kagome started, unsure as to whether or not she should eat the could-be poisoned food.

"This Sesshoumaru would not stoop so low as to poison your food." Sesshoumaru answered immediately, cutting through Kagome's protests.

"Right!" Kagome took a large bite out of the meat to compensate for her previous doubts.

"Try not to choke yourself in this Sesshoumaru's presence. That would be irritating."

Kagome managed to swallow the piece down soon after. "Sorry." She blushed and lowered her eyes. "Um, thanks for the food." She took a more reasonable bite out of the food. "It's really good."

"Hn." Sesshoumaru turned away and walked back to the mouth of the cave, where he simply stood there, watching the forest the cave overlooked.

"So, are you going to eat anything?" Kagome called from her place by the fire. She took another bite out of the food.

"This Sesshoumaru does not require nourishment at this time."

"Okay..." Kagome didn't like silence, but she decided that bringing up the arm growth topic she had thought of recently probably wouldn't be the best idea. She decided to ask of what Sesshoumaru's plans were. "Um, so are you going to explain any of this to me? I mean, about why Rin was kidnapped and what we're going to do about it."

Sesshoumaru turned back to the girl and walked to fire. He sat down gracefully, allowing his hair to flow behind him. "Rin was captured by a vengeful forest youkai, as this Sesshoumaru explained before." Sesshoumaru held up a hand in order to halt Kagome from speaking. "It is unimportant to know why he is vengeful. Simply territorial issues." Kagome snapped her mouth shut and nodded in understanding. "He sided with Naraku in order to increase his power and enable him to kidnap Rin. He has also gained an alliance with another strong youkai, and this youkai has added his youki into the barrier surrounding his den as well. The three's combined youki is enough to inhibit this Sesshoumaru's ability to enter. Your assistance is required in order to break the barrier they have placed over the youkai's den."

Kagome nodded again. She asked, "So, how do I break through?"

"This Sesshoumaru will instruct you in methods of breaking through the barrier."

"Alright." Kagome finished her dinner and tossed the stick in the fire, where the flames immediately devoured it and made it into a burning crisp. "When do we start?"

"Tomorrow. You require sleep." Sesshoumaru stood just as gracefully as he had sat and turned away, walking back to his place by the mouth of the cave.

Kagome suddenly realized how exhausted she was. Her headache had returned to some degree, making her feel rather sleepy. She curled up relatively close to the flames and shut her eyes, allowing the dark tendrils of slumber to wrap around her and draw her into the land of dreams.

xxxx

**A/N: R&R! Please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey! Guess who didn't post another chapter before she went to Disney World? Or after she went to volleyball camp? Or after JV tryouts? Or after... I think that's it. Well, she would be me. **

**Um. Sorry about that.**

**This chapter is a bit short. It's also unedited. I fired my beta-er. I'm all alone now, posting mediocre chapters for a mediocre story written by a mediocre author! Oh well... Hopefully it isn't too bad! I just feel better having someone to bounce my terrible plotlines off of so I can raise the quality to sub par before I post them. But alas, I am now a solitary writer. Dear me. **

**One more thing- I know nothing of bows and how they are used. Sooo… pardon me for my inadequacy at writing anything even remotely resembling good work when that weapon is involved. And you do nock an arrow, right? RIGHT?! **

**ENOUGH SELF PITYING. I command you all to enjoy the chapter! Now!**

xxxx

Kagome awoke slowly, but did not move. She did not wish for Sesshoumaru to disturb her while she thought about the decision she had just recently made that involved traveling with a supposed enemy for an indefinite amount of time. She felt as if she had somehow betrayed Inuyasha by agreeing to do such things, which she was sure was how Inuyasha would feel about it. But she couldn't just back out of it now. She was honor bound, and she didn't wish to leave Rin to the devices of a youkai. She was just a little girl.

Kagome cracked one of her eyes open to look for the taiyoukai. He had not moved from his place by the mouth of the cave, his back turned to her as he gazed upon the scenery below him. Kagome turned over and got to her feet, blinking groggily as she did so.

"Good morning Sesshoumaru!" Kagome called to the taiyoukai, who stiffened a moment before relaxing just slightly.

"Wench." Sesshoumaru greeted her in his usual cheerful bedside manner.

Kagome walked over to Sesshoumaru and sat next to him, watching a bird circle over a group of trees. He glanced at her, but did not say anything, as was his nature to be silent.

Kagome felt somewhat excited about this whole training thing. She had never _really _gotten a chance to reach the full extent of her miko powers, or do much anything with them. She just knew that they were there, and that it was possible to do impossible things with them.

And yet, she was also incredibly nervous. What if Sesshoumaru deemed her unworthy of his time after he had seen how she did in these exercises? And what if Inuyasha wouldn't take her back once she had completed this mission with Sesshoumaru? That would be absolutely dreadful. Kagome bit her lower lip and continued to stare at the bird, who was too busy circling to notice the young woman watching it.

"Do not be nervous, wench." Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru, who was still gazing into nothingness. "This Sesshoumaru did not simply choose the first miko he saw for this task." The taiyoukai shifted his gaze to the young woman sitting beside him. "You will do well."

Kagome smiled slightly,_ Sesshoumaru _was actually trying to _comfort _her. He was doing it a bit crudely with the whole "wench" thing, but he actually was trying to make her feel better.

"However, if for some unknown circumstances you do manage to fail, this Sesshoumaru will not allow you to hinder his progress."

"Er- I'll try not to?" Kagome grimaced at the thought of what would happen to her if he left her behind in unknown territory.

"Hn."

Sesshoumaru stood an as elegantly a fashion as he could possibly manage. He began walking to the edge of the ledge until he realized that Kagome was not following him. "Would you do this Sesshoumaru the honor of following him?" he asked in the most caustically sarcastic voice he could conjure. Kagome jumped and rushed to his side.

"Where are we going?" she asked as the peeked over the ledge. Kagome was quite certain she wouldn't be able to climb down to the bottom of the cliff. It looked absolutely treacherous. She felt herself going green in the face as she thought of having to climb down.

Sesshoumaru scanned the area for an open space in which they could practice in. He instantly picked one out several miles away. "Over there." The taiyoukai waved a hand in the general direction of the clearing. "Retrieve your weapon."

Kagome scurried back into the cave and found her bow leaning against the back wall of the cave with a full quiver of arrows. She wondered briefly about when Sesshoumaru had gotten them for her before deciding it unwise to keep him waiting. She hoisted them over her shoulder and returned to Sesshoumaru, who was watching her intently. She stopped several feet away from the taiyoukai, waiting for his instructions. He arched a brow and beckoned her closer. She inched forward, not really wanting to be near him. She could still feel the bruises he had left on her neck, and she did not wish to receive a new set of them because she was too forward in her actions.

Sesshoumaru formed his glimmering cloud beneath them and stared at Kagome pointedly, who was standing at the perimeter of the cloud.

"Do you wish to plunge to an untimely death, wench?" Sesshoumaru asked, once again using a tone that was very nearly dripping with sarcasm.

"Of course not!" Kagome replied, moving her bow farther up her shoulder.

"Then stand closer to this Sesshoumaru."

Kagome grimaced and scooted closer to Sesshoumaru until she was touching the fringes of his giant fluffy pelt. Sesshoumaru sighed quietly and jerked the cloud to the left, causing Kagome to stumble into his pelt.

"You are trying this Sesshoumaru's patience." Sesshoumaru announced, now speeding forward towards the clearing. Kagome squeaked and buried herself deeper into the pelt. Sesshoumaru stiffened as he felt the girl's tiny hands clutching at his prized furry.

"Sorry!" came the muffled reply from his pelt. Kagome pulled herself out of the fur and stood closely to Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru kept his eyes trained on the clearing, refusing to look at the impossibly annoying girl standing beside him.

The distance melted away, and, in a matter of minutes, Kagome and Sesshoumaru found themselves hovering over the open space. Sesshoumaru lowered them to the ground slowly so as to not cause the girl to leap at him again. The cloud dissipated once it touched the ground, leaving Sesshoumaru and Kagome standing at the edge of the clearing.

"Wench." Sesshoumaru pointed to a tree on the other side of the clearing. "Shoot that tree."

"But it's-"

"Do it." Sesshoumaru snapped his head to glare at Kagome.

"Yeah, okay!" Kagome nodded quickly and took an arrow out of her quiver.

She took several deep breaths as she notched her arrow in her bow and aimed at the target. She pulled the bowstring taut, lining her arrow as well as she could at the tree. Sesshoumaru watched her carefully as her indecently short kimono fluttered in the breeze. He would have to have her wear less... provocative clothing in the future.

Kagome shut her eyes, praying to Kami that the arrow would hit its intended target. She let go as she exhaled, feeling the string slip from her fingers and shoot the arrow through the air. The arrow just barely grazed the side of the tree.

Kagome smiled slightly, proud of herself for nearly hitting a target from such a lengthy distance. "That was close!" she exclaimed, her smile widening.

"You missed." Sesshoumaru replied, arching a brow at her antics.

"Ah, but I was close!" Kagome retorted, striking a pose with her hands placed on her hips.

"Hn. May we both hope that your enemies veer wildly to the right when you shoot at them, else you will miss them."

"You're just full of encouragement, aren't you?" Kagome rolled her eyes as she turned away from the taiyoukai.

"Attempt to do it again." Sesshoumaru called as he began settling against a tree trunk to the side of her. "This Sesshoumaru is confident in your ability to shoot a large, unmoving target."

Kagome grumbled as she picked up another arrow and notched in her bow. The steady, controlled breathing began again... and she released. Once again, the grazed the side of the tree, leaving a small notch in it. Kagome twisted around to Sesshoumaru, who was watching with a bored expression.

"Again." he stated in his statically unemotional voice.

Kagome obediently responded. And missed... again.

Kagome glared at the tree as if it had been swaying to the side whenever she shot at it so she would miss. "I can't do it!" she complained, balling her hands into fists. She felt childish, but this whole exercise seemed completely useless.

"You make the same mistakes every time. Do you never learn from them?" Kagome frowned and planted her bow in the ground. Sesshoumaru stood and walked over to her. "Ready yourself again." Kagome picked up an arrow and readied herself once more. Sesshoumaru examined her closely, circling around Kagome, cataloguing all of the flaws in her stance in an instant. Sesshoumaru raised her arms slightly and turned her body straighter. He told her to plant her feet wider apart.

"The bow and arrow should become an extension of yourself, even though it is a weapon. Allow it to become one with you, and the release should be more fluid." Sesshoumaru stood directly behind her and leaned closer to her. The scent of jasmine engulfed his senses, but he stoutly ignored the pleasing smell. "Focus." he whispered, eyeing the girl standing under him. She narrowed her eyes, feeling her entire body quake under the pressure. Her heart rate increased, and she could hear her blood rushing through her veins. "Now, release." Kagome let go, and the arrow was released with a sharp twang.

It hit the tree, nearly directly in the center. The point buried deeply into its bark and quivered slightly from being stopped to abruptly. All the energy that had been building in her body had ebbed away, leaving Kagome feeling drained and fatigued. She slumped slightly, leaning against her bow for support. Yet, she could feel pride humming deep within her, congratulating her for doing such an excellent job.

"Again." Sesshoumaru called, once again leaning against the tree, his completely disenchanted expression back in place.

Kagome stiffened and turned slowly around to stare incredulously at Sesshoumaru. "_Again_?" she repeated quietly, disbelief apparent.

"Hn." He waved a hand, motioning for her to continue.

"But, I'm exhausted! That shot took a lot out of me." Kagome blew her bangs out of her face to better glare at Sesshoumaru.

"Your enemies will not pause to give you time to rest if you are tired." Sesshoumaru gazed at her through heavy lidded eyes.

"I don't see any enemies around us right now!" Kagome's lips turned downward in a frown.

"Always be prepared." Sesshoumaru arched a brow, daring her to not nock her arrow.

Kagome groaned and nocked an arrow in her bow. _Exactly as before..._ Kagome eyed her target and pulled her bow taut, attempting to get that same feeling of determination to build up again within in her once more. She imagined a small ember glowing within the middle of her chest, attempting to truly catch flame and burst into an inferno of concentration.

Something was building in her. She could feel it growing, fluctuating but just within her control. She narrowed her eyes and put just a small amount of her miko powers into the tip of her arrow, watched it turned a soft pinkish hue. _Just... let go. _She released the string from her grasp and stumbled backwards as the arrow shot out of the bow like a rocket, hitting the tree and burning a small hole in it.

"That was acceptable."

"But I have to do it again?"

"Hn." Sesshoumaru viewed her through nearly closed eyes, and unless Kagome was much mistaken, he was about to fall asleep. But then she saw that flash of... something. Something inhuman, something that showed her that he was completely alert. Ready for anything. He was still a predator.

Kagome swallowed nervously and nocked her arrow... again.

xxxx

Miroku was relaxing, feeling quite content with the world. He leaned back and heaved a huge sigh as he prepared to take a nap as he waited for Sango to return. His eyelids slid shut and he began to doze...

"_Where the hell is she?!_" Miroku jolted upright when he heard the snarl.

Miroku found himself pinned to the ground a moment later, a clawed hand crushing his windpipe. A pair of piercing red eyes filled his vision, causing an icy hand of terror to clench as his heart.

"Inuyasha," he choked out, attempting to push Inuyasha off of him. This was quite possibly the first time the monk had ever wished that he hadn't groped Sango, causing her to storm off yelling something about men and death by flaying. Women were such peculiar creatures... "You know, it would be very difficult for me to give you an answer if I were to suddenly die at your hands!"

Inuyasha's eyes dulled as he considered Miroku's words of wisdom. He finally pulled back and rolled off of the monk, who remained prone on the floor, gasping for breath. When he had finally regained his composure to some degree, he sat up and gave hanyou the most Inuyasha-esque glare he could conjure.

"Now, I assume you're talking about Kagome." he began, attempting to collect his thoughts.

"Who else, idiot?" Inuyasha snarled, stuffing both arms into the sleeves of his red kimono as he did so.

"No need to be rude about it." Miroku sighed and leaned back a little. "I haven't seen Kagome. Last time I checked, she went to the future with you. Isn't it only logical that she'd still be there?"

"She isn't!" Inuyasha bowed his head in anger and sorrow. "I don't know where she is!" He buried his face in his hands.

"Calm down, Inuyasha." Miroku attempted to consol Inuyasha as his own panic began to rise. "If she came back to this time, she couldn't have gone far. You know how addle brained Kagome can get sometimes, she probably forgot something in this era, jumped back in to get it, forgot why she was here and just wandered off for a bit. I'm sure she'll show up in no time!"

"And what if she doesn't?" Inuyasha peeked through his hands at Miroku, his eyes momentarily reddening again. "What if she was taken away be some youkai bent on making her his bride? Or kill her? Or-"

"Then we'll save her! Saving Kagome happens to be something we're very good at, you know." Miroku smiled crookedly. "In the meantime, let's wait till Sango comes back. Then we'll all go out and look for her. We'd cover a lot of ground that way, and if Kagome really did just get lost, she'll probably wander back here by the time Sango gets back as well." He leaned forward, his smile widening.

Inuyasha lifted his head from his hands. "Why isn't Sango here right now?" he asked slowly, arching a brow at Miroku.

Miroku laughed nervously, feeling his face redden slightly. "Er..."

xxxx

Kagome swayed due to weariness as they traveled back to the cave they had slept in last night. Or at least Kagome had. She wasn't quite sure if Sesshoumaru slept...

She had trained for nearly the entirety of the day, steadily adding more of her miko powers to her arrow as the day went on. However, towards the end her powers began to dwindle, forcing Sesshoumaru to call off the session so that she would not completely exhaust her power supply.

But now... now would be a great time to just drift off to sleep. Kagome smiled sleepily at the thought. It was such an excellent idea...

"Do not fall, wench." Sesshoumaru's sharp voice cut through her drowsiness.

Kagome yawned widely and swayed even more dangerously. "I know, it would be irritating to you if I died a death that would be considered tragic by so many others." She stumbled slightly to the left as they swerved a bit to adjust their course, forcing Sesshoumaru to reach out and grab her tightly by the shoulder.

"_Do not fall_." He growled, pulling her farther away from the edge. Kagome felt her eyelids dropping even as she fought to stay awake. Her shoulders slumped, but she managed to remain conscious until they reached the cave, where she shuffled into the cave and fell down, already dreaming by the time she hit the floor.

Sesshoumaru followed in after her, creating a barrier around the entrance of the cave as he did so. He too would be sleeping tonight.

xxxx

**A/N: If you have an organ even vaguely resembling a heart within you, I know you'll give me a splendid review to inspire me to post a new chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: See? I told you I'd write another longish chapter! Woo! I fulfilled a promise!**

**Anyways, you're getting yet another un-beta'd chapter. Ugh. I am most displeased with the fact. So, if you see any parts that require some... fine tuning... don't tell me. I already know. I've actually gone over it enough that I'm only really annoyed with two parts, but I won't tell you which incase you wouldn't have noticed otherwise! So, enjoy this un-beta-d masterpiece! _Yeah! _**

**As I looked over this a final time, I realized something. _NOTHING HAPPENS IN THIS CHAPTER. _Well, nothing of any real significance. You should read it anyways, cause it's somewhat humorous. You know, if you like my brand of humor.**

**Also, my complete lack of knowledge of japanese phrases and words puts me at a slight handicap. I have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to terms for clothing. So ignore my fumbling around with a foreign language. **

**Oh, as an afternote, I was pictured on the front page of my hometown's newspaper. It features me playing volleyball. I was flailing wildly at the time, so, needless to say, I look absolutely horrendous. Oh well. NONE OF YOU KNOW ME! SO I'M OK. **

**Are these author's notes too long? I just have so much to say. Most of it's pretty useless. And I know you come here to read the story, not my troubles. So... tell me? **

**OH NO. I forgot to add in one last thing. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed my last chapter. It means so much to me when I get a review, so every one of them counts. I dedicate this to all that reviewed!**

xxxx

"Wench." Sesshoumaru nudged the sleeping girl with the tip of his foot, attempting stir her from her slumber.

Kagome rolled over, attempting to fall back asleep again. She had been having a wonderful dream involving pocky and real beds and a certain white haired hanyou coming to greet her as she awoke in the morning.

She smiled dreamily and cracked her eyes open a bit, taking in the blurry form of a white haired man looming over her. Her smiled widened as she asked sleepily, "Inuyasha?"

Sesshoumaru made a noise somewhere between a snort and a gag, quickly stifled by his own hand. "Hardly." he replied dryly, shuddering at being mistakenly identified as his half brother.

Kagome's eyes opened a fraction more before widening in surprise. "Sesshoumaru!"

"How observant of you. Kindly refrain from insulting this Sesshoumaru in such a disgusting fashion in the future."

Kagome gulped and nodded quickly before stretching her shoulders, causing them to pop several time. "Jeez, I'm sore!" she groaned and twisted her back, causing it too to crack. "I'm not sure I can take another one of your little training sessions."

"You will have plenty of time to rest your sore muscles today, wench. This Sesshoumaru will show you how to better control your miko powers while you build up your physical strength."

Kagome smiled and crawled closer to the fire. "What do I do?" A flame of determination had sparked in her eyes.

Sesshoumaru kicked a small rock forward until it tumbled in front of Kagome. "Heat that rock."

"With my miko powers?" she asked dubiously.

"Hn." Sesshoumaru folded his legs and sat down beside her, his entire stance completely rigid. Kagome picked up the rock and tossed it from hand to hand.

She shut her eyes and imagined all her power running through her arms and into the stone she was holding. It heated slowly, first becoming warm, then hotter and hotter. Kagome opened her eyes and stared down at the little rock as it heated up.

"I'm actually doing it!" she exclaimed, beaming at Sesshoumaru.

"Did you fear you be unable to do so?" Kagome's cheeks reddened, but she did not reply. They both stared at the rock as it continued to get hotter. "Keep your powers in control." Sesshoumaru ordered the girl as the rock began to acquire a reddish tinge. He had once again adopted an expression of lazy boredom, his arm propped up on his knee as he watched Kagome attempt to keep a leash on her powers.

"Right." Kagome stuck her tongue out as she tried to maintain a constant temperature on the rock, but it kept flaring, suddenly becoming unbearably hot and at the next moment nearly completely drained of any heat at all.

"Come now," Sesshoumaru chided softly as he leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand, "you can do better than that."

"I'm trying." Kagome protested, biting down on her lower lip.

"Try harder." he insisted, continuing to keep his heavy lidded gaze on the rock.

Kagome pursed her lips as she tightened her hold on the rock. Quite suddenly, the rock heated to an impossibly high temperature, causing Kagome to shriek and throw the rock. Sesshoumaru caught the rock without a second thought, giving it a quick glance as the heat seeped out of it. Kagome groaned and leaned back on the ground, causing a large cloud of dust to erupt from the ground. Caves can be very dusty things...

Sesshoumaru rose and walked over to the young woman, who was currently muttering darkly to herself.

"You have very little control over your powers." Sesshoumaru stated. He looked down his nose at her, waiting for the girl to get back up.

Kagome sighed and rolled up. "Am I doomed to failure?" she asked sadly, already imagining herself walking discontentedly back to Inuyasha, feeling foolish for accepting Sesshoumaru's little proposal.

"Unlikely." he replied, stepping back to allow Kagome to fully stand. She pushed herself up and dusted herself off, which was actually very difficult considering that the near entirety of the dust was located on her back. Of course, Sesshoumaru made no move to aid her in her quest to rid herself of dust. That would be... un-Sesshoumaru-like.

"Are you finished?" asked Sesshoumaru, watching Kagome with an almost interested expression as she continued to flail about.

Kagome sighed and ceased her actions. "I suppose."

"Good. This Sesshoumaru wished for you to attempt another exercise." He moved towards the opening of the cave and sat down in the outdoor air. Kagome followed after him, still occasionally attempting to relieve herself of some of the dust on her backside.

Kagome sat relatively close to the taiyoukai, not wishing to incur his wrath for not sitting close enough to him.

"What do I do?" she asked eagerly, hope already shining in her large brown eyes as she imagined herself actually being able to do an excercise reasonably well.

"Give this Sesshoumaru one of your hands." He held out his own arm and waited expectantly. Kagome gulped, knowing full well that this would the first time she would actually be voluntarily touching him. She laid one of her own hand in his hand as gingerly as she could manage, as if Sesshoumaru's hand were some sort of touch sensitive bomb. Sesshoumaru sighed impatiently and grasped her hand with his own, easily engulfing her considerably smaller one.

Sesshoumaru released a small amount of his own youki, allowing it to flow down his arm and shock Kagome. She gasped and attempted to pull away, but Sesshoumaru merely tightened his grip. His claws dug into her soft skin, causing the young woman to cry out in pain.

"Control yourself. Counter this Sesshoumaru's youki with your own miko powers in equal doses."

He had been keeping his youki at bay, but now he nudged it forward, allowing it to once again course through to Kagome's arm. It was met with resistance from an aura very different than that of his own. Her power surged, requiring Sesshoumaru to meet her with his own immensely powerful youki.

"Control." he gritted out, keeping his eyes trained on the girl. "Imagine, if you will, something forcing the power to remain in your control."

Kagome ground her teeth together as she struggled to keep her power from surging forward again. She imagined putting up a barrier around her power reserves and allowing only controlled portions of it to leak out. The power simply seemed to break through the barrier and flood over in a torrent of destruction as it instinctively attacked Sesshoumaru's youkai. Sesshoumaru growled and forced her power down before releasing her.

"Wench, are you truly so incompetent that you cannot even create a simple barrier through which you could control your powers?" he barked, clenching his hand to keep himself from pinning her to the ground.

Kagome pursed her lips and balled her hands into fists. "I'm so sorry I can't be so very perfect at everything like you are. Guess it's just one of those human flaws you're so disgusted with!" She stood up with the intention of storming off into the cave, but Sesshoumaru captured her hand and jerked her backwards.

"This Sesshoumaru does not recall dismissing you." Sesshoumaru snarled, digging his claws into her arm once again. Golden eyes blazed against fierce auburn orbs.

"Let go!" Kagome yelled, tugging at her arm.

"You are behaving like an infant." Sesshoumaru stated through clenched teeth.

"I can't help it that I get angry when someone insults me!" Kagome tugged harder, attempting to wrench free from the taiyoukai's grip. "Now let go!" She began batting his chest with her free hand, though the action was futile.

Sesshoumaru sighed and raised his eyes briefly at the heavens. He began dragging Kagome over to the edge of the overhanging cliff. Kagome, being Kagome, fought and argued all the way there. Her one-sided argument suddenly ceased when she could no longer feel the ground beneath her feet. Her gaze slid down, and she found herself suspended over the edge of a cliff by a rather irritated taiyoukai.

Kagome squealed and clung onto Sesshoumaru's arm for dear life. Sesshoumaru was easily capable of holding the girl with one arm, but he slackened his grip on her arm slightly, just to shake her nerves even more.

"Shut up." he demanded, regaining his superior air.

Kagome clamped her mouth shut in response.

"Better." Sesshoumaru smirked at the frightened girl. "Now, you will refrain from yelling at this Sesshoumaru in the future." Kagome nodded hastily, feeling as if she were hanging to her life by a thread. "Excellent." Sesshoumaru's smirk widened a notch. "You will also have confidence in this Sesshoumaru's ability to teach you how to control your power." Kagome nodded again, keeping her eyes glued to Sesshoumaru's own. Sesshoumaru drew her closer until their chests were nearly touching. "Good girl." he whispered, his eyes glinting with amusement. And then, he simply let go. Kagome let out a short shriek as she fell for the entirety of two seconds before she came into contact with the cold, hard ground for the second time that day.

Kagome could feel her heart attempting to burst through her chest, she was so terrified. She simply lay there, staring at the bright blue sky. Her fevered breathing eventually slowed, and with it her heart. Her frayed nerves stitched themselves back together as she continued to stare at the comforting sky.

Sesshoumaru suddenly filled her view, blocking out the sunny sky. Sesshoumaru leaned down and held out his arm for her to take. The tip of his white hair tickled the tip of her nose, making her want to sneeze. She placed her hand in his own and allowed Sesshoumaru to effortlessly pull her to her feet.

"Did you truly believe that this Sesshoumaru would drop you?" he asked, walking back into the cave.

Kagome felt a blush creep onto her face, and she replied quickly, "Of course not! You'd never just let me die like that, would you?"

"Tempting as the idea may be, this Sesshoumaru would not."

"Tempting? What's that supposed to mean?" Kagome frowned and marched in after him.

Sesshoumaru quickly evaded the subject, turning around and planting a hand on Kagome's shoulder. "You require food and rest. Sleep, and this Sesshoumaru will return with nourishment."

"It's the middle of the day!" she protested, not feeling altogether tired. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, irritated with the girl once more. "But sleep is always good for the body and mind!" she continued hastily. Sesshoumaru's hand left her shoulder, and he continued to walk out of the cave.

Kagome turned her back on him and sidled over to the back of the cave. She was already beginning to think that this was a horrid idea, but she knew that she could not turn away from it now. She had to save Rin, she felt as if it were her duty now. She just hoped she wouldn't lose her life in the process.

xxxx

A high pitched, keening wail filled the cave as Masako desperately tried to calm the shrieking girl.

"Can't you just hit her over the head?" yelled Kishoro over the racket.

Masako groaned and picked the girl up. "You try to stop her!" he yelled, thrusting the girl at Kishoro.

Kishoro picked her up by the front of her dress and held her at eye level. "Oh shut up!" he roared, shaking Rin back and forth. She quieted in a heart beat, attempting to pull herself away from Kishoro. She stuck her tongue out at the leopard youkai, but did not begin her screeching once again.

The leopard demon placed her on the floor and turned her back to Masako.

"Just give the girl something to chew on." Kishoro growled, turning back to the fire.

Masako threw a stick at Rin, who pushed it away and began sniffling. "Sesshoumaru is going to kill both of you!" Rin wiped her nose and shuffled to the wall.

"What a charming child." Kishoro gave the child a scathing glare as she stuck her tongue out at him again.

"I'm hungry!" Rin yelled, determined to make this kidnapping as annoying for them as possible. She knew that they wouldn't dare truly harm her, else Sesshoumaru would likely prolong their death to such a degree that they would be begging for it in the end.

"Oh really?" asked Masako, drawing near to the child. "And what do you eat?"

"I like berries and fish and yummy things!"

Kishoro gave Masako a thin smile. "I think that's specific enough."

Masako rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, conjuring a black, smokelike youkai out of thin air. "Get the child fish and berries."

The smoke youkai dissipated into the air. Masako walked back to Kishoro, who was busy staring intensely into the depths of the crackling fire, looking extraordinarily dramatic. He was good at that...

"I do not like this... waiting about for something to happen." Kishoro muttered to Masako.

"Don't get too jittery." Masako replied, keeping his gaze on the fire. He could still hear the child sniffling in the back of the cave. "Don't worry... Sesshoumaru will not leave the child to die at my hands."

"And yet, can you really be so sure that this Naraku character will not simply leave us to die?" Kishoro picked at a loose thread on his hakim (A/N: Eh?), betraying his utter nervousness to his copartner.

"Yes, actually I can." Masako grinned at his copartner, who did his best not to cringe in response. "You see, Naraku wishes for Sesshoumaru to be dead as well. He knows that the taiyoukai will eventually team up with the hanyou and his friends, if only to destroy him."

"Ah." Kishoro pushed his hair out of his eyes. "And what happens to us when Naraku no longer requires us?"

"He won't kill us, if that's what you mean." Masako shook his own hair out of his eyes. "He makes a bad reputation for himself when he just kills off his minions like that. And everyone knows that if one cannot trust one's leader, unease will stir in one's heart. And what happens when people get uneasy?"

It was Kishoro's turn to grin. "They begin to rebel."

"Exactly. So essentially, we have nothing to fear."

"That's... that's marvelous."

"So, you see that you needn't worry. Sesshoumaru will come, we will kill both him and the child," he jutted his thumb back at Rin, "and we will become legends for taking down the most powerful taiyoukai to walk the planet since Inu no Taisho."

All in the cave felt much more at ease, other than Rin of course. She wanted to have confidence in Sesshoumaru, but these youkai were in league with Naraku. And that made her unbearably nervous.

xxxx

Kagome awoke a grand total of sixteen hours later feeling absolutely exhausted. Which was absurd, really, for she had just slept for nearly the entirety of the night. She rolled over and stretched her aching muscles, attempting to soothe the pain.

When she fully sat up, she found that Sesshoumaru was outside... rising and falling... Kagome scratched her head in puzzlement and inched closer to him. When she came nearer, she realized that he was doing one-handed pushups, with ease, in fact! There were no signs of fatigue on his features, in fact, Kagome would go so far as to say that he was simply doing pushups for the sake of having something to do.

"Is that difficult to you at all?" she asked incredulously, drawing nearer to the taiyoukai.

Sesshoumaru paused and turned to Kagome, who was sitting with her legs tucked under her. "This Sesshoumaru can effortlessly perform feats of strength far greater than this."

Kagome rolled her eyes at his response. "No need to brag about it."

"This Sesshoumaru is not bragging, merely stating a fact." He began doing pushups again, this time watching Kagome watch him.

"How many have you done?" she asked.

"Six hundred and twelve."

Kagome swore she felt her jaw hit the ground in astonishment.

"Seriously?" she asked after rehinging her jaw.

"This Sesshoumaru has no need to lie about such a trivial matter."

Kagome fell silent, keeping her eye on Sesshoumaru, who kept a steady pace the entirety of his pushup session.

She finally perked up and asked, "Hey, if I put a boulder on your back, could you still keep the same pace?"

Sesshoumaru paused again and thought for a moment. "It is likely."

"That is so cool!" Kagome bounced up and down from her place on the floor.

"You are easily amused."

He performed one final pushup before completely pushing himself off of the floor and into a sitting position. Kagome yawned loudly and rolled her shoulders, which in turn popped loudly for her.

"I'm so exhausted!" Kagome complained, lying back onto the cool, comforting ground. "I got so much sleep too." She jolted upright and glared and Sesshoumaru. "Why didn't you wake me up? You were just trying to evade that question!" Kagome gasped dramatically and leaned closer to Sesshoumaru, who in turn leaned backwards. "Would it really be that tempting to kill me?"

Sesshoumaru pushed her back by placing his pointer finger on her forehead and giving her a slight shove. "This Sesshoumaru has attempted to kill you on multiple situations." he pointed out slowly, raising his brows and leaning backwards.

Kagome gave Sesshoumaru a hard look and tilted her head to the side. "Would you do it now?" she asked softly.

Sesshoumaru considered for a moment. "You have caused a great deal of annoyance for this Sesshoumaru." Kagome grimaced, and her eyes flicked to Sesshoumaru's empty shirt sleeve. "However," he continued slowly, as if still considering even while he was speaking, "it is unlikely that this Sesshoumaru would kill you now."

Kagome grinned as she felt an overwhelming surge of happiness bubble up inside of her. She hadn't felt this good in months, and all because someone had told her that they wouldn't kill her. "Thank you."

"But do not think for a moment that this Sesshoumaru will not hesitate to kill Inuyasha, so if you attempt to protect him-"

"I will likely be killed." Kagome finished the sentence for him, already knowing what was coming. She rolled her eyes. "Jeez Sesshoumaru, you are such a mood spoiler." Sesshoumaru gave her the tiniest of smiles in response.

"You must eat." Sesshoumaru stood. "And train."

"Isn't that all we ever do?" Kagome heaved a sigh as she followed Sesshoumaru back into the cave, that happiness still dancing around inside of her, giving her a pleasantly warm feeling.

xxxx

"Gah!"

"Inuya-"

"Keh! Leave me alone!" Inuyasha stormed off, leaving Miroku and Sango in the dust.

"Eh..." Miroku began tapping his staff on the ground again, listening to the comforting jingle of the bangles.

"Yeah." Sango replied, watching Inuyasha mutter angrily to himself as he trailed listlessly through the camp.

Apparently, they still hadn't had any luck with finding Kagome.

Shippou had been sent to stay with Kaede while the searched for Kagome. He had been so distraught at her disappearance Inuyasha had finally lost his temper, shoved the small kitsune into the old miko's hands, and stormed off with Miroku and Sango in tow.

"Four days." Miroku cringed at the thought. "Where on earth could she have wandered off to?"

"Miroku, do you honestly believe she just wandered off?" Sango glanced at Miroku, who simply shrugged. "I bet some youkai knocked her out and carried her off."

"Aren't you the optimist." Miroku replied sarcastically, fiddling with one of his earrings. He earned a slap upside the head for his comment. "Just saying..."

"Well I'm just saying that Kagome isn't that slow to get lost for four days. You make her sound like a dog who'll just wander back. We should expect the worst, meaning that Naraku is probably trying to lure us into a trap."

"So then... what do we do about it?"

Sango sighed and leaned heavily on her Hiraikotsu. "Well, Inuyasha's too pig headed to listen to any of us if we try to warn him about this, so the best that we can do is follow him right into that trap with our eyes wide open and hope for the best."

Miroku scratched his head and looked to Inuyasha, who was busy hacking a tree to bits with his Tessaiga. "Hmf. This isn't going to end well."

"Who's the pessimist now?" Sango asked, nudging Miroku in the ribs.

xxxx

Her body was trembling with exhaustion. Sweat trickled down from her forehead into her eyes, making them sting terribly.

"Do humans normally perspire so profusely after several hours of training?" Sesshoumaru inquired while propped up by a tree, completely unaffected by the heat even though his outfit was much heavier than Kagome's.

"It's the middle of the summer! Of course I'm sweating." She rolled her eyes, allowing more sweat to run into them. Let the stinging ensue.

"Hn."

Kagome turned around and stuck her tongue out at Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru remained unperturbed.

Sesshoumaru forced Kagome to continue shooting at the tree for another half an hour before he allowed her to quit. Kagome let her bow drop from her shaking hands and fall to the ground, along with herself.

"I need a bath." she mumbled into the dirt.

"Indeed." Sesshoumaru walked forward, picked Kagome up by the back of her shirt, and set her upright. "There is a hot spring very close by." He pointed in the direction the spring was. "This Sesshoumaru will wait for you."

Kagome nodded happily and trotted off in the direction Sesshoumaru had gestured to, exhaustion momentarily forgotten as visions of steaming baths filled her mind.

xxxx

The bath was nice... but Kagome would have preferred having something along the lines of soap or shampoo or something nice smelling. And now her hair was tangled.

Kagome sighed as she ran her fingers through her knotted hair. She wandered slowly back to Sesshoumaru, not really intent on reaching him very quickly. It was nice, not having to have Sesshoumaru in her immediate area for a bit.

She broke through the trees and found Sesshoumaru playing with the end of his hair. He looked up as Kagome stepped on a branch and dropped his hair.

Kagome vaguely wondered if Sesshoumaru's hair was always so perfect. She tugged violently at a particularly large knot in her hair, causing herself to wince.

"I want shampoo and conditioner." Kagome complained. Sesshoumaru merely situated himself closer to her as he formed his cloud and pushed them into the air. "And some more clothing. And a-" Kagome paused to tug at yet another part of her hair she could have sworn she had just gone over. "Do you know what I want more than any of those things right now?"

"No." Sesshoumaru answered stonily. "Nor does this Sesshoumaru wish to know."

"A hairbrush!" Kagome continued, unabated by her companion's lack of enthusiasm. "That would be really great."

Kagome continued listing other things she wanted, while Sesshoumaru silently listed different means of killing the girl. His most creative method involved a stick, a yard of cloth, and a pair of prongs. Overall, it was nearly as soothing as punting Jaken.

They finally arrived at the cave, where Sesshoumaru very nearly shoved Kagome away in an attempt to get away from her.

"And some changes of clothing!" she proclaimed to Sesshoumaru. "I'd even go for a cup of ramen right now!"

Sesshoumaru whipped around, stalked up to Kagome, and lifted her up by the collar of her shirt. He gave her a glare that would have wilted a flower and frightened a raging beast. Kagome simply snapped her mouth shut. Sesshoumaru nodded his head and set her back on the ground, where she remained.

Sesshoumaru walked back out of the cave and allowed his cloud to form under him.

"Where are you going?" Kagome asked, struggling to her feet. She was tired, but she didn't want to just be left here alone.

"To hunt."

"So you do eat." Kagome heaved a sigh and sat back down, though closer to the fire, or what was left of it. She began poking at the embers, attempting to relight the fire. "Are you going to get me something to eat to?"

"Would you prefer to starve?" Sesshoumaru asked somewhat acidly.

"Of course not!"

"Then yes."

Sesshoumaru once again allowed his cloud to form under him. He jolted into the sky, trailing behind him glittering dust as he almost instantly disappeared from Kagome's view.

xxxx

"And then Sesshoumaru will decapitate you and stick your heads on pikes as a warning for other youkai to never kidnap me ever again!"

"Just one limb!" Masako growled, straining against Kishoro, who was the only thing stopping him from killing Rin. "I'll only rip off one limb! No one will be able to tell the difference!"

"Don't be a fool, Masako." Kishoro grunted. For such a slender youkai, Masako was quite strong.

"One limb!"

"Shut up!" He knocked Masako down and marched up to Rin, who was currently sniggering by her corner.

"And you! Don't tempt him." Rin placed her hands on her hips and stuck her nose in the air in response. Kishoro restrained his rising anger and stalked slowly towards the small child. "You know, child, I can become rather... forgetful at times." he tapped the side of his head and sighed unhappily. "It would be so very easy for me to forget Masako's murderous intent towards you and simply walk off, far enough that I would not be able to hear your pitiful screams as you lose one of those appendages we tend to value so much."

Rin's brows knit together as her pursed lips turned downwards in a frown. "You wouldn't dare allow that mean youkai to kill me!"

Kishoro paused for a moment, thinking fast. He crouched down to Rin's level and whispered in the most devious of tones, "Have you ever heard of animated corpses?" Rin's face blanched at the mention of them. "Ah, so you have. Well then, it would do you well to know that I am able to perform such feats quite easily." Rin scooted backwards from the leopard youkai, who was now smiling rather viciously. "So, I strongly suggest that you refrain from informing Masako and I of different ways we will meet our demise at the hands of your dear Sesshoumaru." Rin nodded frantically, eyes wide with fear. Masako chuckled uncontrollably in the background.

Kishoro rolled his eyes at both of them. _Cretins_.

xxxx

**A/N: _Yeah! _I ended it on a vaguely humorous note! Er, please tell me that was funny! My sense of humor tends to be...**** odd.**

**Er, anyways. Tell me what you think. Through a review. Reviews are like the metaphorical ink in my just as metaphorical pen. So! Go at it!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Well, my computer is a piece of crap, so you all get the abridged version of my author's note. **

**Reasons Why it Took Me Over A Month to Post a New Chapter: 1. School. 2. Initial lack of feedback for my previous chapter left me severely unmotivated. 3. Writer's block.**

**This chapter is just over 5000 words long, making it my second longest chapter for this story. I just _dare _you all to appreciate that. **

**Enjoy.**

**OH WAIT. While you're enjoying it, can you all check to make sure no one is acting too OOC? It has been many moons since I have actually watched the anime, so I apologize beforehand for that. I don't want to end up writing Kaede as a 'spry youth' or Sesshoumaru as a 'fun loving-'... yeah... let's not even go there. But you know what I mean, right?**

xxxx

Kagome was absolutely ecstatic, which Sesshoumaru was fine with, except that she was attempting to show her gratitude towards him by hugging him.

Sesshoumaru had decided on a sudden impulse to take a journey to the village Kagome's companions were situated in. It was late, so everyone was inside, presumably sleeping. His half-brother was nowhere to be seen. He set foot at the outskirts of the town and snooped around (though he would never call it that) until he found a bicycle with an absolutely hideous yellow sac propped up against it. He vaguely recalled seeing Kagome carry this about on her journeys, so he picked it up and peeked inside. The contents were... futuristic enough that Sesshoumaru was certain that they were hers. He hid the sac under the folds of his clothing and left afterwards, no wishing to stick around and increase his chances of being caught by one of these impudent villagers.

He returned and dropped the sac next to Kagome, who immediately let out an ear piercing squeal and rifled through her bag.

"Oh my... Thank you so much!" She settled for grinning happily as she pulled out a small box and walked over to the fire.

Sesshoumaru gave her a nearly sincere smile, which for Sesshoumaru meant that the corners of his lips twitched upwards for a moment. He was marginally pleased with himself for being able to shut the girl up without having to resort to dangling her over a cliff.

All was going fine and well until, after Kagome had lit the fire with some box that had ignited merely by rubbing... well, he wasn't quite sure how she did it, but it was completely irrelevant to the plot line so he let it slide, she got up and walked over to Sesshoumaru to truly thank him. By... hugging him. Needless to say, Sesshoumaru was absolutely appalled by the idea of unnecessary contact with the wench.

He stopped her by wrenching himself away.

"What are you doing?" he asked, a mildly appalled expression apparent in his features.

"Er... showing my gratitude?"

"Through hugging?"

"I'm... sorry?" Kagome grimaced, she had been so caught up in the moment that she had forgotten exactly who it was she was attempting to give thanks to... through hugging. Frankly, she was glad she was still alive... or not terribly maimed.

Frankly, Sesshoumaru was greatly disturbed by the fact that he had let her live... or hadn't terribly maimed the girl. He decided that she was simply to important at the moment to kill off. For now.

"Your apology is accepted," Sesshoumaru replied, already reverting back into stoic-mode.

Kagome shuffled back to her bag feeling immensely embarrassed. She slid to the floor and pulled the bag onto her legs, after which she began searching through it, pulling out several items and gazing at them lovingly.

Sesshoumaru sauntered over to the fire and sat down. He stared at Kagome while she continued to look through her bag with a small smile on her face. She pulled out a hairbrush and sighed, cradling it to her chest.

"I've missed you so much...," Kagome whispered softly to the hairbrush. Sesshoumaru's sensitive hearing picked it up easily. "Why, I remember the time when I had to ride on Kirara's back for three hours straight. My hair was so tangled after that. But _you _were there for me." She grinned giddily.

Wait.

Was she... _reminiscing_? With a _hairbrush_? (A/N: This is crack.)

Humans are so absurd.

Kagome finally put the hairbrush down and began picking through her bag again. This time she pulled out lavender scented soap. To go with the lavender scented soap, she had lavender scented shampoo, and wouldn't you know, she had lavender scented conditioner to complete her collection.

Sesshoumaru had to admit, he was somewhat pleased that Kagome appeared to be so hygiene oriented. Very nearly every human and youkai Sesshoumaru had ever met smelled appalling, and with his sensitive nose, it often made him want to gag. Sesshoumaru also happened to be a very cleanly person himself.

Sesshoumaru shook himself out of his daze and stood. Kagome's eyes were drawn to the movement, and she found herself looking up at Sesshoumaru.

"Enough reminiscing."

Kagome glared at Sesshoumaru but packed her things away and stood.

"We shall, once again, be working on controlling your powers." Sesshoumaru walked up to Kagome and grabbed her by the arm, sending a jolt of youki through it. "Come." He dragged her out of the cave and the held her arm close to him. "Counter this Sesshoumaru's youki with your miko powers." He sent more jolts up her arms, jerking her into action.

"Jeez, do you always have to be so... unconventional in how you go about your lessons?" Kagome asked through gritted teeth.

Sesshoumaru chose to remain silent, retaining his concentration for the lesson at hand, not for idle chitchat.

Kagome was trying, she really was. Beads of sweat had formed on her body, giving her the chills, though she stoutly refused to acknowledge her discomfort. She imagined a scale on which two sides were placing a certain amount of weight, causing the scale to tilt one way or the other. She strove to balance her "weight" with the weight on the other side, though it seemed as if whenever the sides became balanced for more than a few moments, her own miko powers thrust forward in a mad attempt to gain control of the other side, thus tilting the scale once again.

Quite suddenly, her powers took complete control over her and roared forward, flooding into Sesshoumaru's arm. He snarled and pulled back, letting go of Kagome's arm to glare at his own. His sleeve was smoking, as if it had momentarily caught on fire.

"You set this Sesshoumaru's sleeve aflame," he stated, examining his singed sleeve closely.

"I'm so sorry!" Kagome bit her lower lip and tried to keep herself from burying her face in her hands. "Why is this so hard?" she asked herself quietly, leaning back on her heels to gaze at the ceiling.

Sesshoumaru grunted in response, unsure himself as to why it was so difficult for her.

His eyes suddenly lit up as he thought of an idea. "Miko," Kagome was surprised to hear him call her anything other than wench, "you are relatively capable of handling a bow properly."

"I suppose," Kagome answered, a hint of doubt hidden in her eyes.

"You consider it an extension of your being?"

"Well, yes."

"When you wield your miko powers, you must consider it an extension of your being as well. Make it into something you can mold, manipulate. It is apart of you."

"Right." Kagome nodded and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to imagine something easy to mold. _Clay_. She had always been good with clay. In her mind's eye, a small ball of energy floated in front of her, ready to bend to her will. She reached out in her mind and began shaping it, first into a hand, then a figure, which was quickly refined into a small, glowing figurine of herself. It had never been so easy for to control her powers before! Kagome beamed and opened her eyes.

"I think I can do this," she told Sesshoumaru in confident tones. Sesshoumaru nodded and held out his hand, and Kagome placed her small hand in his. He grasped it tightly and allowed a small amount of youki to be released from and travel swiftly down his arm and into Kagome's. She imagined the small Kagome being molded into a barrier to push against Sesshoumaru's youki, which was glowing bright red in her mind, contrasting sharply with her soothing blue. Sesshoumaru pushed harder, and Kagome pushed back, matching him step by step. He gave her a tiny smile, which Kagome returned with a bright grin, momentarily letting her guard down to congratulate herself. Sesshoumaru instantly took advantage of her lapse in concentration and shoved his youki forward. It stormed over her barrier and flooded into her arm, making her cry out in shock and let go. Sesshoumaru withdrew his youki and sat back on his heels.

"You allowed your concentration to slip," he told her in condescending tones.

"You smiled at me!" Kagome scowled at him.

Sesshoumaru raised a brow, conveying his disbelief.

"Well, I wasn't expecting it!" Kagome's scowl deepened as Sesshoumaru's brow continued to rise. A smirk had slid in place of the smile that had previously occupied his lips.

"This Sesshoumaru was not aware of how easily you allowed your concentration to falter. It was a mere smile," he replied loftily as he rose to his feet. Kagome stood up with him, though considerably less smoothly than he did.

"But coming from you...," Kagome trailed off helplessly. Sesshoumaru made the whole situation sound so idiotic!

"Perhaps this Sesshoumaru's smile is so appealing," a small smirk danced on his lips at the idea, " that you were overwhelmed by it."

Kagome blushed a bright rouge and turned away from Sesshoumaru. "Doubt it," she threw over her shoulder as she marched back into the cave as quickly as her feet could carry her.

xxxx

"I've lost her," Inuyasha growled softly under his breath. He was taking his frustrations out on another tree. It was beginning to look rather ragged due to the immense amount of blows it had received in the past hour. "I can't believe it," he moaned, his eyes shut as he ripped out another piece. Sap oozed from the oak's wounds and got all over his claws.

Miroku and Sango stood together some distance away in order to avoid the flying bits of tree.

"Do you think she's really been killed?" Miroku asked in quiet tones as Inuyasha hacked another large chunk out of the innocent tree.

"No," Sango answered stoutly. "I can't bring myself to believe someone could have actually killed her." Miroku nodded in agreement.

A loud cracking noise ripped through the air, followed by a yell and a crash. Miroku jumped nearly a foot as the tree Inuyasha had been beating up finally gave out and split in half. Inuyasha had barely managed to get out of the way of the falling tree before it fell to the ground.

"Damnit! Stupid tree!" Inuyasha kicked it with his foot and stomped away from it. He disappeared into the forest, leaving Miroku and Sango standing there with rather bemused expressions on their faces.

"Should we...?" asked Miroku hesitantly as he peered into the thick woods.

"Oh no, let's give him some time to cool off," Sango replied hastily. Miroku barely suppressed a sigh of relief.

They stood there, conversing quietly until Sango paused in her conversation and looked up. "Did you hear that?"

"What?" Miroku earned himself a hit on the head as Sango told him to shut up. They strained their ears and heard someone blundering through the forest. Sango hoisted her Hiraikotsu and took a battle stance. Miroku clenched his staff with both hands, prepared to attack any demon that walked into their path. They waited tensely as the noises drew nearer, then, quite suddenly, a young man stumbled out of the trees and onto the ground in front of them. He rose quickly to his feet and dusted himself off. Miroku and Sango both lowered their weapons and took a less menacing pose.

"Oh, thank goodness I finally found you!" The man greeted the two nervously, still attempting to brush off nonexistent dirt. He smiled widely and stepped towards them. "I was beginning to think I'd be wandering through this forest forever!"

"Do you know him?" Sango asked under her breath. Miroku shook his head and continued to stare at the fidgeting man.

"Um, my name is Ichiro." He bowed to the two of them. "I come from a nearby village just outside of these woods."

"How may we help you, Ichiro?" Miroku spoke up, causing the man to jump.

"Well, I was actually intending on helping you!" He wrung his hands and kept his eyes averted.

"Really," Sango stated somewhat dubiously. Miroku tried not to laugh.

"Well, yes! You see, I've got information!" Ichiro told them brightly. "About the girl you were looking for."

"You do?" Sango and Miroku exchanged grins.

"I do! You may not remember, but a few months ago you saved my village from destruction from a boar youkai! We weren't able to pay you for your help, but when I heard you were looking for that girl in oddly dressed clothing, I knew I could help you!" Ichiro smiled at the two of them and stopped wringing his hands. "You see, I was out on an errand to get some healing herbs from the miko Kaede, and I was just leaving the village when I heard a scream. I ran to see who it was, and to my surprise I discovered that it was that oddly dressed woman that travels with you! Unfortunately, a youkai hit her over the head and disappeared into the air before I could do a thing about it." Ichiro frowned at the ground and began wringing his hands again. "Now, I'm just a simple farmer, so I figured I couldn't do anything about it, so I just went back to my village and kept my mouth shut."

Miroku nodded quickly and elbowed Sango in the ribs to remind her to keep her place. She had that... look in her eyes... the one she usually directed towards himself when he did something particularly lecherous.

"It's alright, there probably wasn't much you could do against the youkai," Miroku told the man in soothing tones. "Could you please tell me what the youkai looked like?"

Ichiro nodded eagerly. "I'll never forget it! He was a tall, pale, human looking youkai with long white hair and a big white pelt draped over one shoulder and spiked armor on the other. He had purple markings on his face and gold eyes." The man shuddered. "I'll never forget those eyes."

"Sesshoumaru," Sango and Miroku spoke together, staring at each other with dread.

"Do you know him?" Ichiro asked.

"Yes," Sango replied solemnly. "Thank you for your help."

Ichiro beamed at the two of them. "I'm glad I could be of some assistance. I hope my village's dept has been payed. I'll... be on my way now." He waved goodbye to them and exited swiftly back into the forest.

"I suppose someone should go tell Inuyasha," Miroku said to Sango once Ichiro was out of earshot.

"I suppose." Sango looked forlornly to the direction Inuyasha had headed.

"Well, good luck then!" Miroku patted Sango on the back and pushed her in Inuyasha's general direction.

"Oh no monk, you're coming too!" Sango grabbed his arm and began pulling him into the forest. Miroku sighed resignedly and shuffled in with her.

xxxx

Kagome was staring. Specifically, she was staring at a rock. It was warm. She was smiling.

She had been heating the rock to various temperatures using her miko powers, and it was actually working quite well. She had managed to keep the power constant for a full ten minutes before she began varying the temperature from luke warm to such an intense heat that it began burning her skin.

Sesshoumaru was seated across from her, leaning against the cave and seemingly dozing. Kagome knew better. Sesshoumaru was not the type to simply doze off. He'd probably have to be drugged before he'd get any real rest. However, Kagome had concocted a theory to explain his ability to see everything. Sesshoumaru had x-ray vision so he could see through his eyelids.

On an impulse, she threw the rock at Sesshoumaru. His eyes snapped open before the rock would have hit him and caught it.

"Are you attempting to injure this Sesshoumaru?" he asked frostily, examining the rock with disdain. "Such a crude weapon would be ineffective."

"Of course not!" Kagome told him hastily, surprised that he hadn't killed her yet. "I was just... testing a theory."

"By throwing a rock," he stated. He examined the rock for a moment longer, then threw it back at her with such a speed that Kagome wasn't able to catch it before it hit her in the shoulder. She cried out and massaged her bruised shoulder.

"What was that for?" Kagome demanded angrily.

"This Sesshoumaru was merely... testing a theory." His eyes danced in the firelight as he challenged her to retort.

"Your theory is terrible," Kagome muttered under her breath.

"As is yours, wench."

"Back to wench, are we?" Kagome sighed and began heating the rock again.

"Hn," Sesshoumaru muttered noncommittally. "Your control has improved to some degree." Kagome looked up at him, waiting for more. "You are no longer inadequate," he continued slowly. "Perhaps you will be of some use to this Sesshoumaru," he finished loftily.

"Wow, thanks Sesshoumaru. You're such a peach." Kagome replied with a caustic sarcasm she usually saved only for Inuyasha.

"Hn." Sesshoumaru picked up another rock and tossed it to her slowly, allowing her enough time to catch it with her hands, not her shoulder. "Heat it."

Kagome nodded and heated it to a fairly comfortable temperature. Sesshoumaru tossed her another rock. She began to heat that one as well, but she found it more difficult to keep them both at a constant temperature. One would occasionally falter as she focused more attention on the other.

"You must divide your focus equally between the two," Sesshoumaru told her quietly from behind her. Kagome jerked forwards; she hadn't realized he had moved. Her concentration had been broken, and as a result, one of the rocks became a burning coal while the other's heat dwindled into nothing. Kagome threw the exponentially hotter rock away from her with a yell as it burned her hand. It hit the opposite wall and bounced on the ground before rolling to a halt several feet away from them.

"You allow your concentration to waver too easily, wench," Sesshoumaru berated her in a deceptively calm voice. "It is growing most tiresome. You must not allow yourself to be controlled by your fears."

"I wasn't scared," Kagome replied stoutly.

"This Sesshoumaru no longer frightens you?" Sesshoumaru asked with an arched brow, conveying his disbelief.

"No! Well, yes." Kagome averted her gaze. She found it extremely difficult to look the youkai lord directly in the eyes. "But, I'm not afraid for my life anymore! At least, not most of the time."

"Indeed." Sesshoumaru turned away from the Kagome. "In combat, many distractions can surface. You must teach yourself to ignore them so that you may perform your task. If you are to break the barrier, you mustn't allow yourself to falter. It will be a matter of life or death for this Sesshoumaru's ward. Do you understand?" Kagome nodded resolutely. "Excellent. Now, perform the exercise again."

xxxx

"Wench." Sesshoumaru nudged the sleeping human with the toe of his shoe.

Kagome muttered something and rolled over. She had been sleeping with a rock held in her hand for the past eight hours, and Sesshoumaru was getting exceedingly bored of waiting for her to finish her sleeping cycle. He had always found the human need to sleep at least eight hours _every _night to be something of a weakness. He himself needed only several hours of sleep a week to keep himself in a constant state of alertness.

"_Wench._" Sesshoumaru entertained the idea of kicking her in the stomach to awaken her, though he had a feeling that she might become irritated and moody if he performed such an action. So he continued his nudging, and Kagome continued her sleeping.

"Wake yourself," Sesshoumaru ordered, giving her a final nudge that flipped her over onto her back. Kagome immediately curled up into a ball and turned her back on the taiyoukai.

"Go 'way," she mumbled in her sleep. "Saturday."

Sesshoumaru gave a short sigh and walked over to the burning embers of last night's fire and picked up a canteen lying near it. He walked back to the girl and uncorked the canteen and flipped it over, allowing the cool water inside to spill onto her head and back. Kagome shrieked and hopped to her feet, stumbling around and wringing water out of her hair. She turned around and glared at Sesshoumaru, who was standing several feet away from her with as innocent expression as he could manage.

"You have awoken," he announced in a nonchalant voice. "This Sesshoumaru will wait outside for you to change."

Kagome made her way into the inky darkness of the back of the cave, where she hoped Sesshoumaru would be unable to see her change. Not that she presumed that he would 'peek'. He'd probably end up losing his breakfast if he laid his royal taiyoukai eyes upon a naked human female. Still, Kagome didn't like the idea of a man standing just thirty feet away from her while she was without clothing. She changed quickly in the near pitch black, hoping she didn't put her shirt on backwards.

xxxx

"This Sesshoumaru believes that you will now be capable of hitting a moving target at a long distance," Sesshoumaru announced after Kagome successfully hit her unmoving target, the tree, several times.

"Moving target?" Kagome repeated, feeling rather proud for finally passing the immobile portion of her training. She had to admit, shooting at a tree for hours on end with Sesshoumaru as company was not her idea of fun.

"Indeed," Sesshoumaru's voice held a certain dramatic gravity that caused shivers to run through her spine. He produced a small, bright orange bag and held it out to her. Kagome took it tentively and weighed the object in her hand. It was surprisingly heavy for such a small object.

"What's in it?" she asked curiously, examining the small string tied tightly around the cloth that held its contents inside.

"Explosives."

"Explosives?" she squeaked. "As in, things that explode?" Her ability to form an intelligent question seemed to have abandoned her, along with her courage.

"That is the general concept of an explosive," Sesshoumaru said in a slightly impatient voice.

Kagome's eyes bulged in shock. She tossed the bag back to Sesshoumaru, not trusting herself with an object that could blow her up.

"Do not worry, wench. It will not detonate unless your miko powers come in to contact with it." He tossed the bag up in the air and caught it deftly by the strings.

"Wonderful." Kagome was biting her lip, a nervous habit of hers. "And I will be shooting it?"

"Hn." Sesshoumaru twisted the bag around and around.

A frown became etched into Kagome's face. "But... won't people see it?"

Sesshoumaru stared at her like she was an idiot, which she probably was in his eyes. "A sight barrier has been set up. No one will wish to look in the direction of our practice."

Kagome nodded and put her 'determined' face on. Her eyebrows knitted together and her lips pursed as she stood in a rigid stance with her bow and arrow clutched tightly in her hand. Sesshoumaru thought she looked ill, but did not comment on it.

"Are you ready?" he asked gravely. The taiyoukai found himself actually hoping that she would hit the explosive on her first try.

Kagome nodded again and took a more comfortable looking stance with her weapon at the ready.

Sesshoumaru drew his hand back slowly, allowing Kagome to see it. He then threw it upwards at a blinding speed, causing it to make a wide arc. Kagome followed it with her arrow notched, using her sight, which had become greatly enhanced by her powers, to track the bag's trajectory. Then, as the bag began its descent to earth, Kagome let loose the arrow. It shot outwards from her bow and struck the side of the projectile, sending it spinning. But the glancing touch was enough; the power infused arrow had ignited the explosives in the bag and caused it to burst into a light bright enough to force Kagome to shield her eyes. Sesshoumaru kept his eyes on the ball of light as it began to make a much slower descent, now that it was no longer laden with the explosives.

xxxx

It was quite lovely, really, when she destroyed yet another bag and let yet another explosion of light to occur. The sun had finally made its way past the horizon, and a darkness had swept over the sky, replacing the cerulean blue with and inky blackness and the fluffy clouds with a million points of light. The white light that trailed downwards towards the ground actually looked like a shooting star.

What was even lovelier though, was the fact that Kagome could now see well in the dark. She could clearly make out the small bags as they flew through the sky, even though many of them climbed up to a distance of over one hundred meters. She had a feeling that it had to do with her new control over her powers, which made her feel even more indebted to Sesshoumaru. She just hoped she'd be able to fulfill her side of the promise.

But as if that weren't enough, Sesshoumaru had yet to insult her in any way, shape, or form since they had started the exercise.

_And_, as if this practice session could get any better, she hadn't missed a single target as of yet. She had only been training with Sesshoumaru for a week, and she could already say that she had improved her skills threefold. If a person could actually glow with pride, Kagome would be shining like a star right now.

Unfortunately, her energy was nearly wasted. Kagome knew that she would probably collapse from exhaustion in a few moments, but she didn't want this to end. Perhaps, if she did, all the skills she had acquired would vanish and leave her once again as useless as she had been a week ago. She desperately wanted to cling on to the hope that this was a turning point for her, that she could only continue improving in great leaps and jumps, but she knew that she could not. This was all probably just a fluke.

But at least it had been a really cool fluke.

She was shocked out of her reverie when Sesshoumaru called to her ("Wench!"). Kagome turned around and gave Sesshoumaru a bewildered stare.

"You require rest, wench," Sesshoumaru informed her. The bag he had been holding disappeared into his sleeve.

"What? No I don't!" Kagome shouted, even as she swayed unsteadily on her feet. "I can practice more." Kagome dug her bow into the ground and weighed herself on it to keep herself from falling to the forest floor. She just had to create one more shooting star. Just one more, to make sure that this hadn't been a fluke. _Just one more, _she pleaded silently with him.

"Your judgment is flawed, wench." Sesshoumaru restrained himself from heaving a sigh when Kagome nocked her arrow. Its tip glowed a soft purple in the moonlight as her power coursed through the flint.

"Please," she pleaded aloud. "Just one more."

_This can't be a fluke. _

Sesshoumaru, though he did not understand, saw how much this meant to her. Having her happy meant a better chance of survival for Rin.

"Hn," he complied, and allowed a pouch to fall into his hand. Kagome's arms were trembling, but she forced them steady. This had to hit. More than any of them, this one had to be perfect.

_Not a fluke._

Sesshoumaru tossed the bag high in the air. It rotated slowly in the warm summer air and became seemingly stagnant right before it began its fall. It was during brief moment that Kagome set her arrow free.

_Has to work. _

The arrow traveled at an impossibly fast speed, flying through the air towards its intended target.

_IT WILL HIT._

The arrow pierced the center of the explosives, ripping through it and causing a thousand tiny pin points of light to shower down to the earth some distance away. They both stood in silence, watching the luminous display flicker into nothingness as the sparks left their line of sight.

"I hit it," Kagome whispered in the softest of voices.

"Was that not your intention?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"It wasn't a fluke!" Kagome whooped and punched the air with her fist, all weariness forgotten. "I did it, I did it!" she began chanting as she skipped around the glade.

Sesshoumaru stood in the center, watching her peculiar display of near ecstasy. He could feel her sheer happiness rolling off of her in waves. The whole scene was actually quite disturbing to him, but he allowed her to continue onwards. Apparently, she felt as if she had accomplished something extremely important by hitting sixty four targets. Perhaps the number sixty four was significant to her. _Humans. Such illogical beings._

She continued onward in this fashion for several more minutes before her energy reserves had finally emptied. Quite suddenly, her legs gave out and she collapsed on the grass, staining her knees with green.

"Miko," he called to her softly as he made his way to her.

"Hm?" she mumbled into the grass, too tired to turn herself on to her back.

"You have collapsed."

Kagome opened her eyes and found herself staring at dirt and grass. "So I have," she replied with an air of nonchalance. Well, as nonchalant as one could be with their face mashed into the ground.

"This Sesshoumaru still believes that you require rest."

"Well, you _do _know best."

"Hn."

Sesshoumaru grabbed the neck of her shirt and hoisted her into a standing position. She leaned heavily against him, and though Sesshoumaru found the unnecessary contact annoying, he did not wish for her to fall back the ground, lest her support leave her. He formed his cloud under the two of them and began their journey back to the cave.

And even then, as Kagome snuffled quietly into his pelt, Sesshoumaru couldn't shake the warm feeling of pride that had begun to encompass his being.

xxxx

**A/N: I really hate the whole moving targets thing. To put it bluntly, the idea needs to rot. Unfortunately, I fail at writing, so you all get stuck with it. **

**To clarify a rather peculiar point concerning Kagome's weapon of choice, she acquired her never ending quiver of arrows from Legolas after winning a high stakes poker game. She also won a brand new sports car, the complete_ Star Trek: The Next Generation_ series DVD set, and the deed to Earth.**

**Reviews are my life blood.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: 26 days since my last post, eh? I believe my posting rate has improved! You may all proceed to thank me for my constant diligence in bringing you only the best of chapters!**

**Now, I really want to hit fifty reviews, just so that I can say that I did it to all my friends. This means that I'll have to pull off a record _nine reviews _for this chapter. Quite a feat, if I do say so myself. However, I believe it _can be accomplished! But only with YOUR HELP. _So, if you wish to fill me with happiness and inspiration and a desire to write the next installment in this epic, kindly review this chapter. **

**I quite like this chapter, though I'm not sure why. It's rather short, but I'm sure you all can handle that after my last few extremely long chapters. I believe it's because I read the first chapter of my first fic before editing this one, and my preceeding realization that I've come quite a long way since then. Please feel free to congradulate me at any time, preferably in that review I know you just itching to write me. **

**Well, do enjoy!**

xxxx

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as her seemingly boiling blood raced through her veins, keeping her alive, yet simultaneously bringing her great pain. She had a pain in her head, similar to the one she had received when she had fallen out of that tree her lord had told her not to climb. Her lungs were burning as if someone had set them aflame. They seemed to not be working properly, expelling her precious air before her mind wished them to do so. Her body was being torn to ribbons by the clawing, menacing branches that reached at her from all sides. Her skilled feet skipped over the twisted branches that rose from the ground for her to stumble over.

She kept moving through all the pain, knowing that going back to those two youkai was not an option.

A branch raked across her cheek, cutting a gash as if it had been a knife.

Perhaps attempted escape had not been the best idea.

But after that nightmare…

Sesshoumaru had not been able to get past Masako and Kishoro. Rin had been helpless to stop the youkai as they relentlessly beat her lord and protector, and all he did was incessantly call out her name again and again and again…

Even now, the image of Sesshoumaru, broken and bleeding, brought tears to her eyes. She furiously wiped them off her sweat and dirt streaked face. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't, _she couldn't, SHE COULDN'T. _

Someone snarled to her right, and the girl ducked just in time to evade a blurred youkai from bowling directly into her. Sweat dripped down her face, or maybe they were tears, she wasn't sure anymore.

She was sure that Sesshoumaru was close. She could feel it in the very core of her being; his presence washed over her in waves. The child put on an extra burst of speed, as if there were some barrier up ahead that, if she could cross it, would keep her safe.

The sound of snapping branches drew nearer as someone quickly gained on her. But she was sure that Sesshoumaru was waiting for her if she just got a little farther…

A low chuckle rumbled behind her. Something touched her neck, not a branch but a clawed hand. She tried to scream, but her lungs seemed to be failing her at this critical moment. She wanted to run faster, but her legs wouldn't comply. Sesshoumaru was so close… she had to make it!

"Sesshoumaru…," the attempted scream came out instead as a gasp, but that was all she could manage before an arm reached around her stomach and pulled her back with a jerk. Her head snapped back and hit something hard, painfully knocking her in to a state of unconsciousness.

And she had been so close…

xxxx

"We will start with something relatively easy. You must find the weakness in the barrier and use it to your advantage."

Kagome was standing next to Sesshoumaru, attempting to regulate her dangerously rapid heartbeat while listening to his instructions. The taiyoukai had a very powerful voice, one that could move the most steadfast man, and frighten the fiercest savage beast, and yet, it was easily drowned out by her heartbeat. This was the major step she knew she'd have to take since she began this little escapade with Sesshoumaru over a week ago. This was why Sesshoumaru chose her for this job. She had to succeed.

Kagome felt this incessant need to please Sesshoumaru, make him know that he made the right choice when he chose her to help him save Rin. It was a bit out of the ordinary, she had to admit. The man was practically the mortal enemy her Feudal Era family. He had tried to kill her on multiple occasions, and had nearly accomplished his goal quite a few times. And yet, whenever he gave her a compliment, which was still quite rare and with such a subtleness that she sometimes did not realize he was complimenting her, Kagome always felt as if she'd burst with joy. It was a peculiar phenomenon. The man could terrify her half to death, and at the same time bring her such happiness.

"_Wench._"

Kagome jumped when she heard him growl at her. Her heartbeat sped up again, nearly drowning out the deep, rich sound of his voice.

"You must pay attention if you are to comprehend this," Sesshoumaru continued on in that low voice of his, instantly igniting fear in her stomach, and at the same time giving her a burning desire to please him.

"Yes, of course!" Kagome nodded frantically, giving herself a crick in her neck. Sesshoumaru pursed his lips as the girl began rubbing her neck, attempting to rid herself of the pain. He had begun to believe that the girl inflicted more pain on herself that what other more nefarious beings attempted to do unto her. Perhaps she had an unconscious masochistic streak…

"One can discern the depth of the barrier by 'feeling' along it with one's psyche. When you reach the shallow point or crack in the barrier, attempt to create a gap."

Kagome put her 'game face' on as she waited for Sesshoumaru to put up the barrier. He made a simple field that would keep someone from directly crossing it, but could easily be broken down by anyone with any amount of skill.

Sesshoumaru glanced at Kagome, then asked, "Are you ill?" Even as he attempted to display no true concern for her state of health, his brow furrowed slightly.

"What?" Kagome was still staring at the empty space where the barrier would soon be, trying to psyche herself up for finding the fault in the barrier.

"You are making a peculiar facial expression."

Kagome's 'game face' was quickly replaced by an expression displaying embarrassment. "I was just trying to prepare myself for breaking down the barrier."

"And this involves you using such a facial expression?" Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her for the fourth time that day.

"Well, no. I was just-" Kagome sighed angrily, "Can you just get on with making the barrier? I'll promise to keep my facial expressions from getting too extreme for you."

"Hn."

Kagome watched him create the barrier by simply sweeping his hand across the mouth of the cave. The air was momentarily filled with a static-like noise as the barrier was set into place. A screen of red glowed across the cave mouth, informing Kagome that the barrier was in place. Sesshoumaru nodded for her to begin.

Kagome felt along the surface of the barrier with her mind, trying to discern where the weakness was. Sesshoumaru stood next to her, surveying her closely. Her eyes had shut in concentration, and her lips were slightly parted. She was mouthing 'weakness' again and again as she continued to draw her power along the barrier.

A frown pulled the corners of her lips down as she continued to concentrate. Her hands twitched, expressing the desire to feel across the barrier themselves, although the action would prove to be useless.

Sesshoumaru watched her intently, intrigued by her random fidgeting. .

Her eyes snapped open, displaying her excitement for finding the weak point in the barrier. It was just a shallow depression by the corner, as if Sesshoumaru had forgotten to finish it properly. Her power leapt for it and pushed at the depression, deepening it till it finally broke through, giving off the static noise again. She widened the gap to a large enough space that she could crawl through it. A bright smile lit her face as she congratulated herself on her accomplishment. However, when she turned to Sesshoumaru, her smile faltered as she saw his faintly annoyed expression.

"What?"

Sesshoumaru glanced at the girl, then back at the hole. "It is too small."

"Uh… oh!" Kagome answered intelligently. Of course Sesshoumaru would want to stoop so low as to _crawl _through a hole. Kagome obediently widened the hole until it was Sesshoumaru's size.

Sesshoumaru nodded in approval. Kagome beamed back at him, her smile once more in place.

The taiyoukai swept the barrier aside and established a new one, similar to the previous field, though this time he made the weakness more difficult to find.

Kagome leapt forward immediately, eager to discover the weakness in the barrier.

xxxx

A slight frown had taken place of the normally indifferent looking line that was Sesshoumaru's mouth. Something had been itching the back of his mind for the past two and a half minutes. It was really becoming quite irritating. He was attempting to make a more complex barrier for Kagome to penetrate, but his concentration kept slipping and drawing him back to that itch. His frown deepened, and he purposely made the barrier too advanced for Kagome to handle. He waved his hand, informing Kagome that she could attempt to find the weakness.

Kagome set to work. She was becoming quite good at this, though she had only begun practicing several hours ago. She was quite proud of herself for becoming such a quick learner. She supposed it was because of that desire to please Sesshoumaru. Her mind felt across the barrier, searching for the weakness that would surely be present. She made a frown identical to Sesshoumaru's own when she realized that this one would be particularly difficult to break down. It was just… _different _somehow.

"Well?" Sesshoumaru asked, already impatient to taunt his pupil. The itch in the back of his mind had worsened, becoming more of a throb. It was actually making him feel quite paranoid, an emotion he was most unaccustomed to .

"Give me a minute," she muttered under her breath. Her hands began to twitch again as she felt the need to spread her hands across the barrier, as if that would make any difference whatsoever.

"Hn," Sesshoumaru snorted, though he never would have called it that. He found himself getting a sort of twisted amusement out of watching Kagome attempt to do something he knew she would fail at. The throb had become quite incessant, occupying most of his mind and preventing him from enjoying the little joke he was trick he was playing on Kagome. Perhaps he would just keep her out here as the night began to get cold, let her live with her failure and suffer for it…

"Come now, wench. Surely you can find the weakness in _this _barrier. It is not complex in the slightest, much like your own mind," he jeered. He wanted to make her angry with him, give him an excuse to teach her an extremely painful lesson.

Kagome ignored his taunting, instead focusing on the barrier before her. Her refusal to acknowledge his existence only served to deepen Sesshoumaru's intense dislike towards her.

His pain continued to worsen. A presence seemed to be coming nearer and nearer, traveling closer to him. He wanted to know who it was, so that he could rid himself of this feeling.

Kagome growled in frustration when she was still very unsuccessful several minutes later. She was quite surprised when Sesshoumaru joined in with her. Though the action was the same, his growl was much deeper, more menacing that her silly human thing.

"Sesshoumaru?" she asked tentively as the taiyoukai continued to growl.

Sesshoumaru turned to face her, and his lips drew back in a snarl. His eyes flashed a blood red, making his appearance even more demonic. Kagome took a step back, her fear bubbling up inside of her.

And then it struck him, what was wrong. What the presence was. It was his ward. She had escaped! He could sense her desperation as she searched for him, frantically calling for him. He wanted to go to her, take her in to his protection and never let her out of his sight again. If his feet would move! It was if he were shackled to the ground.

Quite suddenly, the growls ceased, and a look of utter pain entered his eyes. He moaned softly, "Rin…" The pain was quickly replaced by fury, and he snarled loudly. Something was stopping his Rin, pulling her away from him.

"Sesshoumaru!" Kagome laid a hand on the trembling taiyoukai's shoulder.

Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped back into focus. He took one look at the girl in front of him. The girl who looked so similar to his Rin. He took off in his ward's direction, leaving Kagome standing at the opening of the cave.

xxxx

**A/N: Did you like it? Hay, me too! We have so much in common!**

**REVIEW.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: VICTORY SCREECH. I got 50 reviews! It only took a bit over a month! Good show! I wrote most of this in approximately two days when I discovered that I had finally gotten 50 reviews. That kind of kicked me back into action. Good for you! I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed! I was motivated enough to write a rather long chapter! **

**Oh, and in case this was not quite clear enough to you by now, this is in fact a sesskag fic, which means that Sesshoumaru and Kagome will be involved in some sort of romantic relationship at some point in this story. I've had several people ask me to put certain main characters together in this story. I don't know about the rest of you people, but I tend to read descriptions of stories before I actually read the story. Ah well, I hope that clarifies some things for certain folk. :D**

**Um, there's a lot of characters contemplating 'what if' situations in this chapter. That was unintentional, but meh, it can't be helped. And it moves the story along to some degree! Small amounts of angst riddle this chapter as well, but you needn't worry! I promise make the next chapter irritatingly bright and upbeat! Well, in actuality I probably won't, but let's all pretend that I'll actually follow through on one of my promises for once!**

**Ah, and in case for some unforeseen reason I will not be able to post by the twenty-fifth of December, I wish you all a Merry Christmas!**

xxxx

When Sesshoumaru truly wanted to, he could move like the wind, as he was doing at that very moment. The human eye would not have been able to catch a discernable glimpse of him even if they had been looking for him. Trees and other sorts of foliage passed by him in a blur. The taiyoukai was blinded by rage; his sight was impaired by a red haze that had fogged his vision. He relied completely on instinct to keep himself from running into a tree and falling to the ground in a most undignified manner. Of course, Sesshoumaru was not particularly concerned about his dignity at the moment. His ward was in danger.

The logical portion of his mind insisted that he was so intent on saving the small human girl was due to the dishonor that the youkai who had taken her had brought to his family. A taiyoukai such as himself could not stand to hold such dishonor above his head. It was simply… dishonorable! A good taiyoukai would quickly remedy the situation when the opportunity arose, and Sesshoumaru just so happened to be an extremely good taiyoukai.

The less logical portion of his mind knew that he was doing this because he could not bear to know that Rin had been injured because of his inability to protect her. The mere idea caused the taiyoukai to growl unconsciously.

Subconsciously, Sesshoumaru already knew he was too late. Rin would be back behind that damned barrier in less than ten seconds, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. That didn't stop him from putting on an extra burst of speed in hopes that he could let Rin know that he was going to save her. Maybe shout a few death threats at Masako to prevent the blood vessel in his temple from bursting. That would be nice…

Sesshoumaru felt the impending impact against the barrier coming before it actually occurred. Naraku's taint perforated from it, making him want to gag before he came within fifty feet of it. Still, he moved forward, not particularly aware that he was about to run head first into a barrier that would probably burn his face off. Not that that mattered any more… he had failed to reach Rin in time. The whole concept of failure was fairly alien to the taiyoukai. It was unacceptable in any situation. The fact that he had failed in such a significant situation only added insult to injury. His face contorted in fury at the absurdity of it all.

There was a brief crackling as Sesshoumaru came too close to the barrier, then- it struck him. His head actually touched the barrier first, though it wasn't until his body came into contact with it that it pushed him back forcefully, causing him to tumble to the ground one hundred feet below. The taiyoukai managed to land on his feet only slightly worse for wear. His clothing had been singed, as had the tips of his hair and a portion of his face had been severely burned. The damage to his face quickly healed, leaving his skin as unmarred as it always was. However, it seemed that the encounter with the barrier had restored his higher brain functions, forcing the anger to drain away and leaving him with a sort of aching despair. Rin's scent was everywhere, so fresh, so sweet. Sesshoumaru inhaled deeply, allowing the scent to ease his pain to some small degree.

xxxx

Masako and Kishoro watched this spectacle with a sort of uneasy happiness. Sesshoumaru had been unable to penetrate the barrier. But… this had been too close. Sesshoumaru had been minutes away from ripping Masako and Kishoro to shreds. In unison, they turned to the unconscious girl lying some distance away. Kishoro had to admit, he was somewhat impressed with the girl's ingenuity. She had been allowed to leave the cave on the pretense that she required needed to relieve herself. Masako, the imbecile, had some idiotic idea placed in his mind that the girl would never have the gall to make a run for it, and thus had not left a guard close by to watch over her. It was only by some lucky chance that Kishoro happened to be hunting relatively close by and had smelled the girl. He had called for the guards to capture her, but the girl seemed to have a way of always slipping through their grasps. She had even managed to make it some ways past the barrier before one of their chief runners finally caught her. What disturbed Kishoro more than that Rin had been able to elude the guards for such a long period of time was the fact that she managed to leave the barrier. He would have to personally reinforce the barrier later.

Masako snapped his fingers, summoning a lesser youkai to his side instantly. He pointed at Rin and in the general direction of their cave before turning back to Kishoro, who was still watching Sesshoumaru. The taiyoukai was currently glaring at the barrier while running his fully lengthened claws down the trunk of a tree. The whole sight was rather disturbing. A thunderous clap of thunder rumbled along, informing the youkai that it would soon rain.

"This Naraku character _will _be helping us when Sesshoumaru decides to make his attack, won't he?" Kishoro asked with feigned indifference.

"Of course," Masako assured the youkai beside him.

"Are you certain?" Kishoro pressed as Sesshoumaru his claws down the tree again, creating large gashes in the bark that oozed with sap.

"Yes I'm certain!" Masako snarled back. "Killing the taiyoukai would be beneficial to Naraku as well. He knows that Sesshoumaru will likely end up joining his brother's pack to defeat him. If we take Sesshoumaru out of the picture, it is very unlikely that the hanyou and his comrades will ever be able to defeat Naraku."

"Hm," Kishoro replied. He was less than content with Masako's answer. The feeling of discomfort heightened when a crack ripped through the air, followed shortly by a ground shaking crash.

It appeared that both brothers had an affinity for destroying trees.

xxxx

Kagome was cold and tired and miserable. Sesshoumaru had run off for no apparent reason and left her to sit on the cliff in front of the cave, which had that damn barrier protecting her from its somewhat warm interior! The damned taiyoukai had been gone for at least three hours, during which the sun had dipped below the horizon and the temperature had steadily dropped to the point that Kagome was shivering nearly uncontrollably.

She threw a pebble at the mouth of the cave, which was promptly repelled by the barrier and shot back at her face, hitting her on the head. This served to worsen her already dreary mood. She shouted a string of profanities into the air that would have had even Inuyasha's ears lying flat on his head.

The shouting did little to calm her mood. In fact, it only seemed to infuriate her further. She never cursed! And here she was, letting that stupid taiyoukai rile her up again. This was probably some sort of punishment in that twisted mind of his.

Or…

A sickening thought entered her mind. Perhaps he had just given up on her when she couldn't break through the barrier. Maybe he had left with the intent to never return. She shuffled over to the edge of the cliff and looked downwards. A sense a vertigo rushed through her, forcing her to stumble back away from the edge. Why did he have to go and pick a cave so high up? It was completely useless! All it did was put her closer to the thunderous clouds crackling overhead. She had a feeling that she might have to risk climbing down the steep incline if Sesshoumaru didn't return soon. Kagome stared forlornly at the clouds overhead. Perhaps a bolt of lightening would strike her down.

"Get a hold of yourself Kagome!" the girl growled to herself.

She began pacing, occasionally glancing over at the massive forest as if Sesshoumaru would pop up at any moment and let her in to the cave. Kagome rubbed her arms as the temperature continued to decrease. She threw another scornful glare at the barrier, which continued to buzz happily. Her teeth began to chatter painfully as a gust of freezing air swept through her.

"Why…?" Kagome moaned pitifully, her face turned upwards to the stormy clouds looming overhead. He had said Rin's name right before he had run off. Perhaps he had been able to retrieve her on his own? Would he seriously leave her to die now that he had Rin? The very idea hurt her too much to be able to do more than briefly consider it. He wouldn't do that.

Well… would he?

A fat drop of rain landed on her shoulder. Then another. And another. Soon, the whole sky was filled with them, which preceded to plummet down to Kagome and soak her thoroughly. Her shivering escalated to the point that she could not stop. She knew lips were a lovely shade of blue at the moment, and that she would probably die soon if she did not get inside that cave.

Kagome began to pace again in order to keep herself moving. However, the idea of curling up into a ball and crying did seem extremely appealing at the moment. She kept her head turned downward as the rain continued to fall. Quite unexpectedly, she stumbled over a stone and into a the barrier, which promptly repelled her backwards. She fell onto her back and hit her head painfully against the rock.

"Gah! Damnit, damnit, DAMNIT!"

Something inside of her snapped, replacing her sorrow and self-pity with a fury that burned deep in her heart. Her hands clenched into fists as she trembled not with cold, but with rage. After she had sacrificed so much for that stupid man! Her time, her comfort, perhaps even her friendship with Inuyasha. And for what? So that he could leave her out in the frigid weather to die! Well, if that was the way he wanted it to be, then so be it! She would break through that just to spite that infuriating taiyoukai that didn't even care for her enough to release the damned barrier before running off after a preteen girl! She marched over to the barrier and threw all of her power into destroying it, allowing it to course through every vein in her body and channeling it into the destruction of the barrier.

A loud snap resounded through the air, followed by a short explosion as the barrier was forced into a thousand tiny shards that rapidly disintegrated. Kagome stumbled inside, a somewhat demented smile plastered on her face. She threw several logs onto the still burning fire and collapsed next to it.

xxxx

Sesshoumaru currently teetering on a very high, metaphorical precipice. This edge was the boarder line between a very deep depression and a very deep annoyance towards two certain youkai and an exceedingly infuriating hanyou. Unfortunately, he seemed to be swaying towards the depression side of this edge. This simply would not do. A depressed taiyoukai was a pathetic taiyoukai. Sesshoumaru was neither pathetic or depressed. He couldn't even fathom how he managed to put those two words together in the same sentence while describing himself. If anyone else had done so, an assortment of organs would be spilling out of the unfortunate man's stomach shortly afterward.

Nonetheless, this teetering business was not something Sesshoumaru would like to get used to. His frown deepened as he continued to perch on the branch of an elk, allowing the rain to thoroughly soak his clothing. He did not feel cold, rather, he felt somewhat dead inside. He had been so close to reaching Rin, and those two youkai had wrenched her from his grasp once again. He dragged his clawed hand down the bark of the tree to calm himself.

The red haze had cleared from his vision several hours ago, and he had been wandering aimlessly through the forest since then. Thoughts of Kagome occasionally entered his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to go back to her just yet. She would probably be angered with him for running off. He sighed silently and propped his chin in his hand. His face had once again adopted the stoic expression it usually wore, though inwardly he was seething.

He glanced in the general direction of the cave and refrained from sighing yet again. He wondered what Kagome was doing right now, in this rain. He figured that he should probably return to her soon and release the barrier to prevent her from contracting some sort of illness. Humans, so fragile. His thoughts wandered back to Rin. He knew that Masako would not kill her at this moment, she was much too valuable. But perhaps they had punished her for her misconduct. A growl rose in his throat as his lips drew back in a snarl. If they so much as pulled a hair from her head… Images flashed through his mind of all sorts of grotesque torturing techniques he could use on the youkai, and his nerves calmed somewhat.

Another bolt of lightening marred the otherwise deep purple sky, bringing Sesshoumaru back to the present. He had been sitting on the same branch for nearly two hours and was beginning to feel uncomfortable. He slid off the branch and landed lightly on the branch below, still mentally debating on whether or not he should return to Kagome. The rain continued to fall methodically around him, reminding him that the girl could be ill by now. Besides, it was not as if he was afraid to return to her. He was just worried that his nigh impeccable self control might break under the constant duress of having to ignore the girl's incessant chattering and whining. He might severely injure her if his temper flooded over, and he was feeling rather high strung at the moment. His gaze drifted back to the rather lonely looking cave, which was a mere pinpoint in the distance even to his own sharp gaze. Perhaps she was standing out there right now, wondering if he'd be back soon… Or perhaps still, she was already sick, and instead lying on the ground, soaking herself further.

"Hn."

His mind set, he leapt from his tree and began his journey back to the cave.

xxxx

Kagome awoke several hours later feeling cold and tired and aching. It seemed as if every muscle in her body was in pain, and that if she moved so much as her pinky her entire body would fall apart. She dared not move, only risking cracking open her eyes, which saw nothing but the dwindling flames of the previous night's ashes. A rustling behind her made Kagome want to turn to see who it was, but she seemed to be deprived of the ability to perform any sort of physical activity other than respiring.

A shiver rushed through her body, reminding her that it was still rather frigid outdoors. There was a brief rustling movement, then, a blanket was placed somewhat carelessly about her shoulders. Kagome had the most peculiar feeling that she was supposed to be furious at the owner of the rustles, but she was still too disoriented to bring herself to care.

A moment later, and Kagome had already drifted back into a fitful sleep.

xxxx

Inuyasha was pacing rapidly through a clearing in the dense forest, waiting for Miroku and Sango to catch up. He almost wanted to leave without them, but for some reason, Inuyasha couldn't stand to be alone for more than a few hours anymore. He desperately wanted to find Kagome, but he didn't want to do it alone. Not now.

The moment Kagome entered his thoughts, Inuyasha was thrown back into a whirlwind of pain and sadness. He growled unhappily and slammed his sword into the dirt before beginning his pacing again. He had been stuck in a sort of Kagome thought loop for the past ten days. He didn't want to think about her, but she seemed to creep into his thoughts the moment he had forgotten about her.

"I am going to _destroy _the youkai that took her away," Inuyasha growled in deep tones. His hands shook in anticipation for when he would finally be able to drag his claws through the stomach of that youkai. He just _knew _that she had been kidnapped. It was the only plausible explanation for her disappearance.

_Or..., _a nasty voice whispered in his head, _perhaps she has left you… _

Inuyasha stopped short as his mind wrapped around the concept. He couldn't breath, he couldn't think, he didn't want to believe it.

_Come now, you constantly treat her poorly, you always choose Kikyo over her… why wouldn't she wish to leave you? _

"No…," Inuyasha let out the quietest of moans as a pain like none he had ever experienced wracked through his body. "She wouldn't…"

_Oh, she would. You never thought she'd get fed up with you, did you? _The voice in his head continued onward, _And now look what has happened! She's run off! She has left you! _

Inuyasha clutched his head, pleading to the voice to stop.

_You just don't want to admit it._

"Damnit! _No!_" he howled and slammed his fist into a nearby rock, which trembled under the strain. His knuckles began to bleed as he struck the rock again. He enjoyed the pain, knowing that he deserved it for letting Kagome slip through his fingers. He pounded the rock once again, leaving a bloody mark on its surface.

Miroku and Sango stumbled into the clearing, out of breath. They had began running after they had heard Inuyasha howling. Inuyasha continued to beat the rock with his fists, unaware of the presence of his friends.

"In- Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, clearly disturbed by Inuyasha's sudden masochistic streak.

Inuyasha turned around and stared at his two comrades. His knuckles dripped with blood as the slowly began to heal.

"Miroku, Sango," a pained look entered the hanyou's golden eyes, "Kagome's gone."

"Um," Sango and Miroku glanced at each other, "Well, yes, yes she is. That's why we're looking for her now," Sango told Inuyasha slowly, wondering if he had finally lost it.

"No!" Inuyasha shouted at them, "You don't understand! _She left me!_" His knuckles finally healed, leaving a dull ache behind. "She ran off and- and left me! _Me!_" his voice gained incredulity, "She doesn't want me anymore!" He began pacing again, muttering to himself in near hysteria.

"Inuyasha," Sango began, but the hanyou refused to listen.

"She left me she left me she left me…"

"Inuyasha!" Miroku shouted, beating the butt of his staff against the ground.

Inuyasha whirled around and glared at his friends. "What? Can't you see that I don't want to be bothered? Kagome left me!" He ground his teeth together and began clenching and unclenching his hands. "My life is over…," he bemoaned.

Sango rolled her eyes and muttered to Miroku, "He certainly has a flair for the dramatics, doesn't he?"

"Hm," Miroku agreed with Sango. "Inuyasha, your life isn't over."

"What do you mean it isn't over? Have you not been listening to what I've been saying? I've lost Kagome! _My woman!_"

Both Sango and Miroku rolled their eyes at that statement.

"She hasn't left you," Sango told the hanyou.

"What?!" Inuyasha finally began paying attention. He rushed over to his friends, a new hope in his eyes. "You've found her? Where is she? Kagome?!" His eyes searched frantically through the clearing for his so-called woman.

"No we haven't." Miroku tapped Inuyasha on the shoulder, bringing his attention back to them. "But you don't have to worry about Kagome having run off. She was taken from us. Forcibly."

Inuyasha shouted with glee and punched the air with his fist. _Oh yes! Victory for me!_ He had not really registered anything other than fact that Kagome hadn't really left him. Unfortunately, his small victory was cut short as the rest of his mind realized that Miroku and Sango still looked uneasy.

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked, "Where is she?"

"Well," Miroku took a short breath before continuing onwards, "Kagome was kidnapped."

"_What?_ By who?!"

"Sesshoumaru."

Time seemed to have frozen for a moment for Inuyasha. A beat shook through him, followed shortly afterwards by a feeling of intense fury. He stared incredulously at his friends, who both had equally uncomfortable looks on their faces.

"That bastard!" he roared as he plunged into the dense foliage, Tessaiga in hand.

Sango and Miroku sighed collectively before following Inuyasha at a much slower rate.

xxxx

Sesshoumaru had been somewhat diligently watching over Kagome for the past day. He had decided to give her a twenty-four hour resting period in order for her to regain her strength. He had to admit, he was rather impressed when he found the broken barrier and the sleeping form of Kagome in the cave. A smirk had passed over his lips at the point, for he knew that it was because of his own doing that she had been able to tap such powers. Never in the girl's two years with his wretched hanyou half-brother had she gained so much power and control in such a short time. Inuyasha was an imbecile for treating her as if she were worthless. Though, he had to admit, if he had to spend two years in constant companionship with the girl, he would probably be at wit's end as well.

The girl was still sleeping deeply, though her day of rest was nearly complete. The corners of his lips turned downwards in a frown as he watched her sleeping form. She had barely moved since he had found her, though she did not smell ill to him. Perhaps she was truly that exhausted from breaking down the barrier using sheer strength. A foolish course of action, one that could have severely injured the her, but it did prove that Kagome had real power.

Sesshoumaru continued to contemplate in this fashion until small movements and groaning from the blanketed form informed him that Kagome would soon wake up. He had the sudden desire to be anywhere else in the world, for he had a feeling that she would not be very pleased with him when she awoke fully. Sesshoumaru shook his head slightly; he was _not _going to be controlled by a lowly human woman. _However_, he continued in his mind, _the wench may be easier to deal with if she ate something first. _

With his mind quickly resolved, Sesshoumaru left the cave, returning several minutes later with a small mammal, already skinned and cut up into edible pieces. He skewered them and placed them over the fire next to Kagome's slowly waking form.

"I hurt," Kagome moaned softly as she rolled on to her back.

Sesshoumaru remained silent, leaning with an air of nonchalance against the wall opposite Kagome.

The miko slowly got to her feet, apparently unaware of Sesshoumaru's presence. She placed a log on the fire and saw the food resting above it, slowly cooking. She smiled slightly before it quickly dissolved into a frown as she remembered who must have put it there.

"Stupid Sesshoumaru," she muttered to herself. "Leaving me out in the cold." However, a brief flare of happiness shot through her at the knowledge that he had come back. She glanced at her abandoned blanket. _He must have put that on me._

Kagome removed the meat from the fire and took a bite out of it, savoring its juicy flavor as it created a pool of heat in her stomach. Her thoughts would occasionally dance back to Sesshoumaru as she ate, but they were always filled with a feeling of anger and irritation towards the taiyoukai. She wondered what she would say whenever he got back from wherever he was. She wondered what _he _would say. How could he explain away leaving her out in the pouring rain?

Kagome sighed softly after finishing her meal and got up, although her muscles protested loudly at the movement. She turned around to find her bag, but instead nearly ran in to the very taiyoukai she had no desire to see.

Sesshoumaru arched a brow as Kagome stumbled backwards, clearly shocked by his sudden appearance. Kagome quickly turned away from him and picked up her backpack, searching through it in a rough manner for a new outfit.

Sesshoumaru was rather disturbed by her blatant refusal to acknowledge his presence. He chose to remain silent as well, deciding it best not to press her. However, they had already lost a whole day, giving him a mere nineteen days to get the girl ready to break down that barrier.

Kagome returned several minutes later from the inky darkness of the back of the cave and threw her bag to the ground. She walked over to the fire and sat down with her back turned to Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru suppressed a sigh and walked to the other side of the fire, looking over the flames to the miko that sat on the other side. Kagome kept her eyes lowered as she poked the burning twigs with a stick.

After several minutes, Sesshoumaru decided to break the silence. "We will be training soon."

Kagome gave him a reproachful glare and jabbed at an ember violently.

"You may wish to obtain your bow."

A scowl had formed on both of their faces, though for different reasons. Sesshoumaru's scowl was in place due to Kagome's refusal to speak to him. Kagome thought Sesshoumaru was an idiot for never acquiring any sort of people skills, thus she too had a matching frown.

"It would be in your best interests if you were to speak," Sesshoumaru growled.

Kagome looked back up at the taiyoukai, though this time with hurt in her large brown eyes.

"Do you honestly think we can ignore the fact that I nearly died because of you?" she asked softly, her lower lip trembling slightly. She willed herself to remain calm and carefully placed the stick on the ground.

Sesshoumaru's scowl deepened as he looked away.

"Why did you leave me like that? With a barrier you knew I wouldn't be able to break down? And you must have smelled the rain coming," Kagome clenched her hands tightly as her voice quivered.

"Rin," he stated simply, his face still turned towards the outdoors.

"That's not an excuse Sesshoumaru!" Kagome shouted angrily, feeling a certain pleasure as it echoed throughout the cave. She stood up and stared at the taiyoukai, whose gaze had finally returned to her face. For once, she wasn't afraid of his liquid gold eyes as they bore into her skull. "I nearly died out there, and all you can do is say that we're going to train soon? You can't act like that never happened!" her voice cracked as she poured as much pain as she could into her rant.

"Rin escaped the barrier. This Sesshoumaru felt her calling," the taiyoukai elaborated.

Her eyes widened, "You didn't get to her in time."

"Evidently," Sesshoumaru replied in a strained manner.

"But what if you had?" she asked quietly, voicing her fears. Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped back to Kagome's. "What if you found her? Would you have left me there anyways?"

Sesshoumaru's brow furrowed slightly. "No," he replied slowly.

"Oh," she replied in a small voice.

"You do not believe this Sesshoumaru?" a slight bit of annoyance laced his voice. Kagome looked up at him with eyes that told him that she did not. "Why not?"

"Because you treat me like dirt. It would be so much easier to leave me up there. No one would have known that you went to a miko for help," she told him in quiet tones.

"This Sesshoumaru would have done no such thing."

"I- I'm not so sure about that Sesshoumaru. When I was up there, did you ah, make that barrier too advanced for me to break through on purpose?"

"Yes," Sesshoumaru admitted in a decidedly more irritated voice.

"And then right after that you ran after Rin."

"Hn."

"You- you might have unconsciously been trying to kill me," Kagome stated, her hands trembling slightly at the idea. "I dunno, cover up any evidence that you might have asked me for help."

"This Sesshoumaru is not so dishonorable as to kill you for such a trivial reason, miko," Sesshoumaru stated haughtily.

"Right." Kagome averted her eyes again and began wringing her hands. "Of course." This conversation was _not _going the way she had wanted it to. She wanted to be angry with the idiotic taiyoukai for leaving her out there. Instead, she was just feeling a desperate sadness at the idea that he would actually leave her like that. Why wasn't she mad? She wanted to be, but she couldn't bring herself to be truly furious with him. _Gah! What is wrong with me?_

"However," Sesshoumaru continued, though it pained him to do so, "Leaving you on the cliff with knowledge of an impending storm was not honorable." Kagome's eyes were slowly drawn back to Sesshoumaru's face. "This Sesshoumaru," he paused for a moment, exhaling slowly through his nose, "apologizes." He looked like he would have rather ripped his tongue out than said those last three words.

Kagome's jaw dropped. "Wh… what?" she stammered slightly as the shock seeped in. Sesshoumaru glared at her, giving her clear warning that he would not repeat himself. "Never mind," she muttered. "But thank you for saying that." Kagome knew very well that that was probably the first time the taiyoukai had apologized about anything during his very long lifespan.

"Hn." Sesshoumaru turned away and began walking towards the mouth of the cave. He had absolutely no desire to look at her anymore. He could not believe that he had just done that! Apologizing to a human… Perhaps he truly was losing his mind.

As Kagome watched the great taiyoukai walk away, she took in his appearance. Instantly, her eyes were drawn to his singed sleeves and hair. She vaguely recalled the right side of his face being somewhat pink as well, as if an injury had recently healed in that area.

"What happened to you?" she asked quietly, not really thinking that he would be able to hear.

Sesshoumaru stiffened visibly and turned back to Kagome, who instantly snapped her mouth shut.

"It appears that the barrier has some sort of fire property to further protect it," he explained quietly. "This Sesshoumaru suggests that you refrain from touching it when the time comes for you to destroy it." He began walking again, his back once again turned to her.

"Well, um, I'll just go get my things." Kagome ran and grabbed her weapons and her backpack. She _really _wanted to take a bath, but she knew it would have to wait until after the training.

As she stood beside Sesshoumaru, she felt a certain amount of happiness and safety. She had a feeling that Sesshoumaru would not have left her up on the cliff had he not been so disoriented. She knew that he would protect her if she was in danger, and that he would stay by her side until they were able to save Rin.

_Still_, asked a small seed of doubt in her mind, _what will happen to you after Rin has been saved? _

Kagome found that any answer she procured for that question left her feeling inexplicably and hopelessly depressed.

xxxx

**A/N: OH, THE ANGST! GASP, THE DRAMA! This chapter was practically a daytime soap opera! Next thing you know, Kagome's evil twin will come to foil our two protagonists' plans to save sweet Rin from certain peril! Sweet Jebus, if that ever happens in this story, you may feel free to bludgeon me with an assortment of blunt objects. **

**R&R, if you please!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Ah... well over three months since my last update... Don't you just love my irregular posting schedule? Keeps readers on their toes. Eheh. I'm sorry, butI don't really have a reason as to why I didn't write a chapter sooner, other than a writer's block. You may thank a Harry Potter fanfic for pulling me out of it though. For All Intents and PurposesGood stuff.SnapexHermione, becausethe pairing is_weird_. I just needed to write after reading it.**

**Well, I'll try to keep this brief. I really love this chapter. I don't know why, I just _do. _I think it's good. I hope you enjoy it too. **

**Give thanks to Miss Kerry, my beta-er. **

**Warning: This chapter contains a bit of violence. For those who are easily sickened by such content, I suggest you skip over the portion right after "killing spree". It's not really important, but it was fun to write. **

**Happy reading!**

xxxx

Sesshoumaru sat very still, playing the part of the epitome of boredom. Kagome was practicing shooting a target while in motion, and she was doing a rather good job. He watched her through heavy lidded eyes, taking care to note every flaw that might hinder her in the future. It was apparent that she was tired, though she kept moving at a quick rate, ignoring her fatigue.

However, other thoughts occupied the taiyoukai's mind, though they still revolved around the young woman moving about on the field. He had not been able to keep his mind focused on the task at hand, which consisted mainly of training Kagome to save Rin. Top priority. _Must concentrate! _

Sesshoumaru sat very still, playing the part of the epitome of boredom. Kagome was practicing shooting a target while in motion, and she was doing a rather good job. He watched her through heavy, lidded eyes, taking care to note every flaw that might hinder her in the future. It was apparent that she was tired, though she kept moving at a quick rate, ignoring her fatigue.

However, other thoughts occupied the taiyoukai's mind, though they still revolved around the young woman moving about on the field. He had not been able to keep his mind focused on the task at hand, which consisted mainly of training Kagome to save Rin. Top priority. _Must concentrate! _

And yet, even as his mind informed him in very stern tones that he _must concentrate, _Sesshoumaru did nothing of the sort. His mind kept wandering back to an image of Kagome from one day prior. She had looked so… _hurt_. And for some peculiar reason, the idea that he had done something to cause her so much pain bothered the taiyoukai to no end. He imagined that it had something to do with the fact that the wench had looked so very much like Rin at that moment.

But still…

The thought irritated him. Kagome was human, and thus, her feelings were unimportant to him.

Right?

And yet, even as he watched the young woman zigzag across the field, an intensity shining in her eyes as she attempted to hit the target dead on, he knew that he was lying to himself. How dishonorable. He frowned slightly and attempted to force the image of a hurt Kagome out of his mind.

His throat hurt, as did his heart, whenever he thought of his abandonment of her. She trusted him so completely, to the point of foolishness. It was almost… _endearing_. In the sort of way that mongrel pups trotted around after their masters, of course. Almost like Rin.

Why did he feel this way whenever he looked at her? It was illogical, to experience such a surge of emotions for a human wench, even if she did bear an _infinitesimally_ _slight_ similarity to his ward.

Then, it struck him with no small amount of shock; he was feeling _guilty_. The great Lord of the Western Lands was feeling _guilty _over a very minor lapse in judgment that left a human girl feeling _sad_. This was an extremely disturbing turn of events.

Sesshoumaru gathered that he must be mentally ill.

Apparently, enduring prolonged exposure to human women lead to a damaged psyche.

The taiyoukai's frown deepened as he thought of this. It was certainly probable. The girl's inane babble seemed to be rather detrimental for anyone's mental health. Perhaps this was why his half-brother was so… off. He found himself briefly holding an increment of respect for Inuyasha. This only served to strengthen his belief that he was going insane.

However, nothing could be done at the moment for his current condition. He still had to save Rin, which required him to spend at least another nineteen days in the presence of the young woman currently shooting wildly at a tree trunk.

In order to retain the dignified air he always maintained, Sesshoumaru suppressed a sigh he so very much wanted to release.

But, perhaps something could be done to relieve his… _guilt_?

And the most sickening, horrid thought crossed his mind once, then twice, then made camp right in the center of his thoughts. Sesshoumaru could think of no alternative to relieve himself of this guilt, and he so desperately wanted to be in control of his mental faculties.

The great taiyoukai allowed himself the smallest of sighs this time, knowing that what he was about to do would likely ruin his flawless reputation.

(Which would be a tragedy, of course.)

xxxx

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Kagome's entire body was extremely sore, but Sesshoumaru ended their practice early to allow her a long soak in the hot springs, which she used to the best of her advantage.

The trip home was… silent. Kagome wanted Sesshoumaru to say something, _she _wanted to say something. But looking at the tall, stony taiyoukai told her that he really didn't want to talk. Of course, when did he ever really talk to her? Their conversations were generally very one sided. But, she wanted to reconcile! Be 'friends' again. Er, associates! Apparently, Kagome was not really the type of person who held a grudge. But he _really _did not look like he wanted to talk.

Oh, the hell with it.

"So, Sesshoumaru," she began, "How am I doing, training wise?" That was a safe topic, right?

"You are progressing as expected," he replied blandly.

"Oh. Is that good?"

"Hn."

The conversation fell back into a mind-bendingly painful silence.

Well gee, that went swell.

Kagome looked up through the pelt she was clinging onto, and found Sesshoumaru staring ahead. He glanced down at her when she sighed unhappily, clearly wanting to talk. He remained silent, if not slightly more uncomfortable than he had previously been.

The reached the encampment without another word passing between the two of them. Kagome fidgeted the entire journey, desperately wanting to talk, but entirely unsure as to what she could possibly say to Sesshoumaru that would actually keep a conversation going.

_So… thought of any good torture techniques recently? _

Yeah… no.

_Why do you always speak in the third person? _

Kagome smiled slightly to herself. She had always wondered about that, though a quick glance at Sesshoumaru told her that it would be best if she remained silent. She assumed it had something to do with the taiyoukai being an extreme egomaniac. Loved to hear the sound of his own name or something. It _was _a pretty name.

When they finally touched ground, Kagome practically flew off the cloud and threw herself at her blanket, wrapping herself up in it as she stared at the still glowing ember of the fire. Sesshoumaru muttered something and waved his hand, and a quiet crackling noise filled the air for a moment before drifting away.

The taiyoukai turned away from the barrier but stood at the entrance, his gaze focused on Kagome. She wondered if she had suddenly grown a third eye, because Sesshoumaru had consistently avoided making eye contact with her unless it was strictly necessary. He seemed as if he wanted to say something, but simply couldn't bring himself to do so. He opted instead for walking to the fire and sitting down so that he could stare intensely into the flames like a proper taiyoukai should. Of course, the effect was ruined when his gaze kept straying to the girl sitting on the opposite side of the fire. Quite suddenly, he rose to his feet, his eyes darting back and forth across the cave.

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked, wondering if she could squeeze out whatever he seemed to desperate to tell her. "Are you, er, well?"

Sesshoumaru opened his mouth, then shut it quickly. His lips pulled back in a snarl for a moment before he composed himself, his face lapsing back into the blank mask he usually wore. He muttered something about getting food and, turning on his heel, disappeared into the night.

Kagome found his excuse to leave in search of food to be rather peculiar, because they had just eaten less than an hour ago. She remembered the look on indecision on Sesshoumaru's face, then the snarl, then his default expression, all occurring in the space of two seconds. He seemed a bit… _moody._ Her thoughts began drifting towards wondering whether or not youkai males had some sort of equivalent to PMS-ing. She shuddered, trying not to imagine how an emotionally-strung out Sesshoumaru would act.

xxxx

Sesshoumaru was on a killing spree.

And _oh _how it made him feel _good_.

He loved it, the act of taking the life of someone that truly deserved it. Dragging his claws through flesh, having them catch for a brief moment on bone, before even those could not withstand his strength, then, finally, ripping through the body, causing a splatter of blood and gore to spray from his victim.

He was killing sloppily.

A frown tugged on the corners of his lips as his gaze traveled down to his attire, which had just received a spray of blood stretching from his shoulder to his waist. Thankfully, his pelt had not been subject to being splattered with blood. However, a tendril of silky white hair dragged through the blood when wind picked up, staining the tip a brilliant red. He suppressed a sigh for the umpteenth time that day. Now he was going to have to bathebefore facing that little wench. He supposed he deserved it though. Killing without grace was for weaker beings, beings that did not understand the true _art _of taking the life of another.

Sesshoumaru killed things when he was angry. It allowed him to come to the realization that he was still in power, still had the ability to decide whether or not something should live or die. It was a pleasant sensation, something that calmed him after a battle was finished. He wanted to release any anger he held now, so that when he intentionally bared his heart to some insolent chit, he wouldn't feel compelled to destroy the girl on the spot. Or, at least he would be able to control the urge to annihilate her.

His ears twitched at the sound of a lumbering gait, sliding slightly on grass that was slippery with blood and entrails and bits of flesh. The taiyoukai pivoted on the spot, his sword already drawn by the time the youkai had raised his ax. Sesshoumaru sneered at how unsteadily he held the weapon, hesitating a moment before bringing it down. It gave the taiyoukai ample time to prepare for the attacks he would attempt to unleash, which probably consisted of a series of random flails in a style very reminiscent to his own dear half-brother's. He blocked the attack easily, thrusting his free hand forward to pierce the soft gray flesh of his enemy's throat. His claws tore through skin and muscle and briefly grated against the invertebrate before freeing itself. His opponent gurgled, his obsidian eyes widened to the point of being comical, then, he fell back, his head hanging loosely by several strained muscles.

Sesshoumaru crouched, ready to destroy the next thing that moved, but found that the forest was silent, devoid of living creatures. His eyes scanned the clearing, taking in the sight of those he had killed. The dead lay everywhere, strewn about the wide expanse of the clearing. He had left the cave with the intention of destroying the first large group of youkai he could fin, and had come across this worthless pack of low level youkai. Of what had initially been a clan of two dozen inferior, imbecilic demons, none remained. Though rather lacking in any ability to muster a decent attack against him, they had served their purpose of relieving Sesshoumaru of his stress well.

When he deemed the battle finished, he bent down and wiped his sword on the shirt of a fallen enemy and stepped out of the clearing, eager to get away from the stench of death that clung thickly to the air.

xxxx

Sesshoumaru stepped out of the hot springs with his hair slightly damp, wearing a replica, sans blood, of course, of the kimono he had worn during the battle. Appearances were important to him, thus, he _always _had a change of clothing at hand.

He leaned against a tree, staring at the cliff that lead up to the cave which was currently inhabited by the last person in the world that he wanted to speak to. The taiyoukai wondered how long he could plan before Kagome would begin to worry over his prolonged absence. He wasn't exactly known for his tact when it came to the opposite sex, so he wanted to make this… this blatant display of compassion as quick and painless as possible.

_Now… how does one initiate such a conversation?_ Sesshoumaru's brow furrowed at the thought. What had he seen the other, more romantically savvy members of his sex do in such situations? He thought for a moment, then-

_Aha! _

A gift!

People enjoyed gifts. Females especially. A smirk formed on Sesshoumaru's lips as he solved his problem. However, it quickly dissolved into a scowl when he realized he hadn't an inkling as to what he could give Kagome. His thoughts journeyed back towards memories of young youkai presenting their mates with presents. They were generally very pretty, useless things. Often shiny. His scowl deepened when he realized that he had nothing of that sort on his person, or in his general area. He delved further into his memories, attempting to come up with some other sort of gift. Didn't women like things that smelled pleasing?

_Ah… _

Flowers!

Fortunately, flowers tended to grow in abundance in forested areas such as the one Sesshoumaru was standing in. His eyes scanned his surroundings, searching for flowers for Kagome. His gaze rested upon several small saplings giving bloom to a variety of different colored flowers. A look of triumph graced his face as he crossed the distance between himself and the trees. Once he reached them, his frown was once again back in place as he realized he didn't know what color of flowers Kagome liked. His choices ranged from light yellow to deep indigo. He racked his brains, trying to figure out if she had ever shown any preference to a certain color.

_Wait…,_ a thought passed through the taiyoukai's mind.

_This is Inuyasha's wench! A miko! Not a potential mate! _His inner-Sesshoumaru gagged at the thought of Kagome as his mate.

_This entire situation_ _is ridiculous. _

Sesshoumaru decided against actually choosing a specific color, and, playing on the safe side, wrenched the entire sapling from its roots. He shook it to release some of the larger clumps of dirt. An old adage crossed his mind, _the bigger the better. _His triumphant smirk back in place, he began his journey back to the cave.

xxxx

Kagome sat near the fire, reading a history textbook. She still lived with the very small hope that she'd be able to finish high school and continue on with her life after she completed the Shikon no Tama, so her free time mainly consisted of alone time with a textbook and paper to write notes on. When Kagome studied, she tended to get so drawn into what she was doing that she became almost entirely unaware of her surroundings. Thus, when Sesshoumaru sauntered into the cave holding a small tree, her eyes remained glued to the book before her.

"Hullo, Sesshoumaru," she murmured absentmindedly, vaguely aware of his presence.

Sesshoumaru was somewhat surprised with the girl's lack of attention towards the marvelous gift he had brought her. Most men gave women _one _flower, a mere _bouquet _at the most. Insipid fools. He knew that once she laid eyes on her present, she would accept whatever he said to her in the conversation that followed.

"Miko," he began, deciding to go for a degree of decorum. He paused, uncertain as to how he was supposed to present his offering. "This Sesshoumaru has brought you a gift," he hazarded, hoping that what he was saying didn't sound as stupid to her ears as it did to his.

Sesshoumaru had been expecting that he would have to endure some sort of cooing and giggling when Kagome looked up and saw the flowers. He imagined that her eyes would widen in shock and delight, she'd smile, and then attempt to convey her gratitude towards him for giving her such a thoughtful and pretty gift. He had seen it happen dozens and dozens of times, without fail.

Well, he got the eye widening part right.

Kagome had finally started paying attention after hearing the phrase "brought you a gift" being uttered from the taiyoukai's lips. She was positive she had misheard him. There was no way in hell he had just said what she thought he had just said. When her eyes left the paper, the inquiry for Sesshoumaru to please repeat himself began to form on her lips. The question shriveled up and died as soon as she saw that Sesshoumaru _had _in fact brought her a gift. A very large, leafy gift.

"Sesshoumaru," she began, slowly standing up, though keeping her place by the fire, "What is that?"

Sesshoumaru raised a fine brow and briefly turned his gaze to the tree he was propping up. "Flowers," he stated coolly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Kagome's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

Kagome opened and shut her mouth several times, trying to formulate some sort of response. Sesshoumaru found that she vaguely resembled a fish, and wondered if all human females performed such actions when on the receiving end of a truly wonderful gift.

"Flowers?" she finally squeaked out. "That's a whole tree!"

Sesshoumaru's brow climbed higher towards his hairline. "That, _miko_, is evident," he ground out, trying not to pummel the girl to the ground for managing to point out the painfully obvious for the thousandth time since he had met her.

Kagome opened her mouth again to ask why on earth Sesshoumaru had brought her a gift, then, seeing the icy glint in his eyes, decided against it. _Why is he doing this? A TREE? This is insane! _She was about to tell Sesshoumaru to stop being weird and to throw the tree out when a very disturbing thought crossed her mind. _What if he's trying to initiate some sort of mating ritual?_ Her breath caught as she stared at Sesshoumaru in a new way. He held himself in such a way, like he was certain this was going to work out brilliantly, like he knew exactly what he was doing. _Wait, this is absurd. Sesshoumaru despises your very being! Why would he want to mate with you? Wait, would mating increase my miko powers? Maybe he's trying to enhance them so I'll be able to break through the barrier! _A blush reddened her cheeks at the thought. _No! This isn't right! And Sesshoumaru still hates me! _Kagome racked her brains for any knowledge of youkai mating rituals, and found that she knew next to nothing about the whole process. Perhaps presenting one's potential mate with a tree was a common act? She registered that the taiyoukai's lips were moving, that he was saying something.

"Miko!" he shouted, frustrated with the girl's refusal to respond. He knew his gift had been an excellent choice, but he hadn't known it would have such an effect on her.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Do you accept?" he asked, trying very hard to keep an edge out of his voice.

"Accept? Accept what?" Kagome's voice became hitched with something Sesshoumaru detected as hysteria. This was getting out of hand.

Sesshoumaru found himself sincerely wishing he was still in possession of his other hand, so that he would be able to pinch the bridge of his nose in an attempt to better display his very quickly diminishing patience for Kagome's utter idiocy.

"The flowers, do you accept the flowers?" he demanded.

Kagome could sense that Sesshoumaru's patience with her was wearing very thin. "Um, yes," she finally said, deciding that it was likely in her best interests that she kept Sesshoumaru from becoming infuriated with her.

Sesshoumaru, unable to restrain himself, let out a breath of pent up frustration. He very carefully propped his tree against a wall and beckoned Kagome to him. She stumbled slightly, finding herself compelled to do as he asked.

"A whole tree," she whispered, still wide-eyed with surprise. "It's, er, very pretty Sesshoumaru. Thank you."

Sesshoumaru nodded his head in acknowledgment. "This Sesshoumaru is pleased that you like it," he grumbled, though in actuality he was happier that that portion of the ordeal was over. He began steeling himself towards the speech he was about to make, praying that it would be adequate.

Kagome's gaze was drawn from the tree to Sesshoumaru, who now looked very tight-lipped and irritated.

"Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru turned to face her, a snarl already threatening to take hold over his lips. Then, without warning, he blurted out, "Rin is special."

They stood in silence for several moments, Kagome's eyes transfixed on Sesshoumaru, who was doing his best to look at anything other than the girl standing next to him. Most unfortunately, looking elsewhere consisted of resting one's gaze on the fire, Kagome's revoltingly yellow backpack, or a spot on a wall. "Um, Sesshoumaru?"

"Do not speak," he commanded gravely. Kagome's mouth snapped shut with an audible click.

"Although she is a little girl, she has… affected this Sesshoumaru in an incredibly profound way," Sesshoumaru spoke as if this was the most painful thing he had ever done. It probably was.

"She is loyal in every sense of the word, almost blindly so. And she is kind, and generous." He paused, and the only sound originated from the fire, which was crackling in a muffled sort of way. "Rin… _means the world to me_." His gaze snapped up, capturing Kagome's and, in a way, stopping the world for a brief moment. Kagome barely registered that Sesshoumaru had just used the first person for the first time since they had began this little truce.

"_Oh," _she murmured. Sesshoumaru had just bared his soul to her. "Sesshoumaru, are you well?" she asked, concerned. "I think you might be delusional."

Sesshoumaru glared at her with unbridled hatred. "This Sesshoumaru is _far _from delusional," he spat out. Then, he placed his hand on her shoulder. Kagome thought it had been some sort of gesture of compassion, that is, until his grip tightened to the point that she barely bit back a cry. "You will not repeat the conversation that has just transpired to _anyone_," he commanded harshly. "You can imagine what the consequences will be if you do." Kagome nodded, biting her lower lip. Sesshoumaru let his hand drop to his side. The pain faded quickly, leaving only a dull throb after a moment.

Quite abruptly, Sesshoumaru's words sank in.

"_Oh_," she finally murmured again, quite unable to put the way she felt to words. She understood. _Finally_, it became clear to her why he had left her on the cliff, why he was doing _all_ of this. What Rin really meant to him. Sesshoumaru stared at her with those liquid gold eyes that took her breath away. Kagome swallowed back the tears that threatened to spill over. Then, she reached forward and took his hand with both of hers. His gaze strayed towards their hands, then, very slowly, the moved back to her face. "Thank you so, _so _much," she told him, her sincerity so glaringly apparent, shining clear in her eyes. Sesshoumaru's lips twitched slightly in what Kagome assumed was a smile, which only made the grin that dominated her face widen.

They stood there, Kagome still clasping Sesshoumaru's hand, staring into each others' eyes, neither really wishing to end the moment. Once it passed, things would return to mediocrity, with both of them fighting it a battle in which the outcome was very questionable. But, for one brief instant, Sesshoumaru felt as if the human girl before him truly understood what he was feeling, and he was pleased that he had told her what he did. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off his chest, leaving him free of any guilt, free to be _happy_.

xxxx

**A/N: Sesshoumaru has a truly... _unique _taste in gifts, neh? **

**I tried to write Sesshoumaru with as little drifting towards being OOC as possible, but I figure hegets _some_happinessthrough meansthat don't revolve around killing things. And, dare I say it? I believe their relationship might actually be developing! Huzzah!**

**Feel free to give me reviews. They please me. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: So, I've decided that I really hate having Sesshoumaru talk in the third person. It's **_**way **_**too difficult to come up with good insults for someone that never uses I or me in a sentence. But I can't have him stop now because that would be too inconsistent. Darn. NEXT FIC, there will be none of this third person speech!**

**In other news, excuses are for shmucks, so I'm gonna go with I have no good reason as to why this wasn't posted sooner, other than my own laziness. I'm fairly pleased with it though. **

**I won't make any promises as to when the next chapter will be out, because then I have to skip out on a deadline and it's sad. So I'm just going to say that there WILL be a next chapter, and then I'll write it at my leisure. What ho!**

**So sorry about the sudden deletion and reposting of this chapter! I made a MAJOR mistake, which I would have fixed sooner if a tornado hadn't touched down at my house and destroyed all three of the trees in my front yard. UGH. It was terrifying!**

**Happy reading! **

xxxx

Kagome had awoken the next morning with a horrid feeling settling in her stomach, something she recognized as worry. Worry that things would become awkward between the taiyoukai and herself after sharing that momentwith him. There had been _hand holding _involved. _Voluntary _contact. And, worst of all, he had opened up to her. Shared his feelings. Talked in the first person. Now that Kagome had had an entire night to think on the subject, she found that there was a small part of her that still believed that Sesshoumaru had been acting under the influence of some mind-altering substance, or, on a considerably darker note, he had been acting under the belief that she wouldn't survive their encounter with Rin's captors, and thus would be unable to share their little moment with another living being.

She sat up as she heard the rustle of a page, a very dry, light page. She recognized it as the sound of a textbook page being turned. Kagome quickly found the source of the noise: Sesshoumaru was sitting cross-legged some distance away under the tree he had given her (which was now in the midst of shedding a large quantity of its leaves), reading her history book. Letting out a strangled cry, Kagome scrambled to her feet and stumbled over to the taiyoukai. He looked up after hearing Kagome's movement, and found Kagome run towards him, a panicked expression having taken hold of her features.

"Girl, are you-" Sesshoumaru was cut off when Kagome bowled into him in an attempt to grab the book. The taiyoukai found himself truly shocked by Kagome's actions. She had just accosted him, a taiyoukai, the Lord of the Western Lands. How unusual. Humans never ceased to surprise him with their own stupidity, this one in particular.

"Give me that book!" she shrieked, scrambling on top of him to get the history book. Sesshoumaru winced at the banshee-like wail that emanated from the girl on top of him. "You can't look at it!"

Sesshoumaru pulled away from Kagome and held the book out of her reach. "Why?" he asked, his golden eyes narrowing to slits.

Kagome, never pausing in her endeavor to retrieve her book, explained quickly, "Because that's a _history _textbook!"

Sesshoumaru raised a brow at the explanation, which had given him absolutely no insight as to why he shouldn't be allowed to look at it. And she was _still _climbing on top of him. Sesshoumaru could feel her body in a most excruciatingly apparent way, the fact that she was still very poorly clothed did little to improve the situation. And even though his mind knew that this girl was human, and thus disgusting and weak, his body recognized the scrambling as something akin to pleasure. His inner youki, sensing the female presence that was currently pressed against his torso, perked up, waking from its slumber. Sesshoumaru was nauseated by his mindless inner youki's inability to tell the difference between proper females. Her scent had invaded his senses, overpowering him, making his mouth water even as his mind fought back his revulsion for allowing such behavior. He could practically _taste _her. He wanted to, goodness how he wanted to do just that.

Kagome, oblivious to Sesshoumaru's discomfort, continued to reach over him to get to her book. Her fingers nearly grazed the taiyoukai's pale wrist, though she could get no further.

Sesshoumaru found himself really, _truly _in want of his second arm for the second time in as many days. Normally, he regarded his loss of a limb as a minor hindrance which was slowly correcting itself, and in the meantime it allowed him to become very adept at single-handed combat. However, it would have been so much easier to extricate the girl from his person if he had his other arm. Instead, he had to shift into a position that forced his knee between them, pulling Kagome farther away from her possession.

"Perhaps, _wench_," he stressed the vulgar term in an attempt to get her to listen, though to his dismay, he found his voice sounded rather strained, "if you ceased your actions and explained more _thoroughly _why you are currently throwing yourself at this Sesshoumaru, you may find yourself in possession of your precious book sooner."

Kagome, finally realizing that she had been _crawling _on top of Sesshoumaru for the past minute and a half, fell back on her heels. It seemed as if all the blood in her body had just taken residence in her face, judging by the heat she was feeling.

"You're too kind," Sesshoumaru drawled, taking note of her blush with offhand interest. "The book?" he prompted.

"The book. It's a history book," she explained slowly.

"You have already stated this fact," he replied smoothly. He opened it once more and began flipping through the pages until Kagome shouted at him again and began to make a move towards him, her hand already outstretched. He snapped the book shut and glared at her from over his knee. The blush returned, and Kagome sat back again.

"Sorry," she muttered. "I already told you I was from the future," she continued. The blush returned for a third round as Kagome remembered with some embarrassment how she had so stupidly assumed that Sesshoumaru already knew of the powers of the well, and of her frequent trips to the future. Sesshoumaru nodded, a smirk firmly in place when he noticed that she too had finally recognized the blunder she had made. Giving information away to someone who she should consider a potential enemy was a very foolish act. "Well, that book is from the future, so it, er, contains details of certain events that you can't know about yet. So, you see, it would be better for the whole, er, timeline, if you'd just give me back my book."

Sesshoumaru's interest caught, and his gaze was instantly fixed on Kagome's face. Much to his chagrin, that taiyoukai realized that he hadn't thought of the repercussions that could occur should he learn of such events in the future. In truth, he hadn't even realized that it was a history book. He had just opened it when Kagome had woken up, and had merely been flipping through the pages, interested in the material on which the book was written on, which was considerably thinner and somewhat waxy in comparison to the thick and heavy parchment he used. "This is of no consequence, miko, as the characters in this book are of a sort that is unfamiliar to this Sesshoumaru."

Kagome's mouth formed a small 'o', and she found herself very embarrassed once more. She had just crawled all over Sesshoumaru for nothing, which, admittedly, hadn't been entirely unpleasant, as he did not have his armor on at the time. Somewhere in Kagome's subconscious, she became aware of the fact that she had been pressed against Sesshoumaru in a manner that could be considered rather provocative, though she had been too busy worrying about whether or not Sesshoumaru had uncovered the invention of the car, or wars in Japan that had not occurred yet.

"However," Sesshoumaru announced gravely, "your protests do bear some fruit, as it is not this Sesshoumaru's place to be looking into the future." He held out the book, which Kagome took and clutched protectively against her chest.

"Thank you for understanding," she murmured as she stroked the spine of the book. Sesshoumaru nodded, and the conversation lapsed into silence, each with their own thoughts on the future.

xxxx

Masako stepped lightly into his cave and tried to still the twitch he had developed in his right eye. He felt sick to his stomach, but he was so full of energy he didn't care. His brain seemed to have become so confused over everything, and he had gotten so jittery.

"Hello Masako," a voice whispered from a darkness so black not even Masako's eyes could penetrate it.

Masako immediately dropped to a kneeling position, his body thrown forward and his face pressed up against the ground in a servile position. "Naraku, my lord, what may I do for you?" he managed to work out before he dissolved into a fit of uncontrollable twitching.

"Oh, nothing. I was merely visiting to check your progress."

"Sesshoumaru attempted to break through the barrier several days ago, but his attempt failed." Masako laughed slightly when he remembered the moment. "I have also ensured that the human girl will be unable to flee again." Masako smiled darkly at the dirt floor, barely able to control the laughter that threatened to escape.

A figure detached itself from the inky darkness and glided forward on shadow tentacles. Naraku gazed at Masako, still prostrate, and laughed coldly. "You may stand," he suggested imperiously.

Masako scrambled to his feet, though he kept his eyes fixed to the writhing mass of tentacles attached to the lower half of Naraku's body. Something squeaked from the back of the cave. Masako nearly began giggling again. He pushed his hair out of his face and ran forward to drag a small child from the back of the cave. He skipped back to his previous position behind Naraku.

"Hello, Rin," the hanyou murmured as he drifted towards the small child huddled in a corner, staring at him with haunted eyes, wide with fear. "It will crush your master's spirit when I kill you before his eyes." He grinned wickedly as Rin whimpered, drawing back. The chains that now confined her to the cave stirred and made clinking noises as they were dragged across the floor. "How do you suppose it will feel, young one, to pay witness to the downfall of the greatest taiyoukai to walk the planet since Inu No Taisho? I imagine it will be a most rewarding experience," he drawled. Rin shut her eyes and turned away, not wishing to look at Naraku. Naraku let out a short, barking laugh and turned back to Masako.

"Masako, I have a gift for you."

"My lord?" Masako asked, wondering what Naraku could possibly wish to give him. He already had one jewel shard implanted at the base of his neck, giving him a constant supply of nervous energy.

Naraku advanced on his minion slowly, drawing from within a shadowy deposit a glittering jewel shard, stained black from Naraku's tainted aura. "This jewel shard is specially imbued with my power, which will allow you to become better equipped to fight Sesshoumaru."

Masako screwed his eyes shut as Naraku drew closer. Holding the jewel shard between his thumb and his forefinger, he pressed it against the forehead of his trembling servant. The shard was drawn beneath the youkai's flesh until it disappeared from view.

At once, Masako felt an overwhelming surge of power, drowning out every sense for one instant. His eyes snapped open, shining a deep purple for a moment before it faded back to green. A manic grin captured his lips as he felt his newfound power coursing through his veins, dominating his very being. He could do anything, destroy every living being in an instant, he knew that he could…

"Masako," Naraku called, drawing the youkai back to the present. "You will now be sufficiently prepared to fight Sesshoumaru, I assume?"

"Yes, my lord," Masako replied shakily, trembling once more, though not with fear, "Thank you, my lord."

"Now, my dear Masako, I have something for you to do for me."

"Anything, my lord," Masako breathed, still giddy over his new strength.

"Indeed. I was thinking, perhaps we could kill two birds with one stone."

Masako furrowed his brow. "That sounds rather difficult, my lord. We would have to aim the rock just so to hit the two-"

"Silence. It was a figure of speech." Naraku wondered if it was possible for his minions to become any stupider. "As I was saying, perhaps we could lure more than one enemy into our trap."

"Oh? Who did you have in mind, my lord. I will bring him to you, my lord, I will." Masako bobbed his head earnestly.

"I have no doubt of that. You know of Sesshoumaru's half-brother, Inuyasha?"

"Oh yes, the hanyou. The jewel shard collector travels with him. He wields the infamous Tessaiga."

"Good. I wish to have him disposed of as well. He has been a thorn in my side for far too long."

"Yes, my lord." Masako bobbed his head once more. "What shall I do to lure him to us?"

"He travels in a group. Do as you did before and kidnap one of his friends. They are considerably weaker than he is. It should not be very difficult to do so. Taunt him afterwards, for he is very easily angered, much like his older brother."

"Yes, my lord. I will do so immediately."

Masako made a flourishing bow and disappeared with an obnoxiously loud crack as Naraku melted into the shadows.

In the back of the cave, Rin sobbed quietly.

xxxx

"Miko," Sesshoumaru asked some time later as the ate their breakfast. Kagome was surprised to hear a small amount of concern drifting in the undercurrents of his voice as he attempted to sound offhand. "Are there youkai in your time?"

Kagome paused in her chewing and blinked at the taiyoukai owlishly. She wasn't quite sure what to tell him. Would it affect the timeline in some way if she told him what she thought? That youkai had died out? She doubted it would, because she presumed that Sesshoumaru already had some sort of self-preservation instinct, and thus he did not need her to tell him to try to stay alive. However, Kagome simply couldn't imagine seeing Sesshoumaru in her time, walking among the overwhelming population of humans, living among them, working among them. "I- I don't know," she answered truthfully. When Kagome saw Sesshoumaru's coolly arched brow, silently commanding her to elaborate, she continued quickly, "I haven't come across a youkai, nor have I sensed any, but I haven't really tried to. They might be very good at masking their youki now." Good. A nice, general answer.

"Hm," he replied noncommittally. "Do you believe that youkai have perished?"

Kagome pondered for a moment on the question. She'd like to think that all the evil youkai had been killed, and that the good ones like Inuyasha and Shippou were still alive. "Well, personally, I find it highly unlikely that the puny human race could ever manage to wipe out the formidable youkai species." A playful gleam entered her eyes.

Sesshoumaru nodded in acceptance to her answer. "That is probable."

Kagome grinned at him, pleased that she had successfully evaded any trouble. She was becoming rather good at answering Sesshoumaru's questions.

After a time, Sesshoumaru stood up, holding out his clawed hand for Kagome to take. They were touching more now, as if Sesshoumaru wasn't _completely_ repulsed by her. She grasped it and was pulled to her feet, relishing the dry warmth of his hand, the light scratching of his claws.

"What do you know of hand-to-hand combat?" Sesshoumaru asked, looking down at the smaller being beside him.

"Um, well, it hasn't really come up that much," Kagome replied. "I'm generally the one that shoots at things from a distance."

"Or the one that Inuyasha must save if the enemy is too close," the taiyoukai remarked somewhat snidely.

Kagome's face colored, though she didn't say anything as she knew that what he said was true. It didn't stop her from sticking her tongue out at him, which he ignored by turning his back on her and calling over his shoulder, "Come."

xxxx

Kagome learned very quickly that she was absolutely terrible at hand-to-hand combat. And it wasn't just because her opponent happened to have several hundred years of experience on her. She couldn't land or block a punch for the life of her, even though Sesshoumaru had very deliberately slowed down his movements to an almost sluggish pace.

So, when Kagome found herself lying on her back after being knocked down by Sesshoumaru for the fifteenth time, she was rather irritated. Sesshoumaru shared in her annoyance, growling a bit and turning away instead of offering to help her up. Kagome picked herself up off of the ground and pushed her sweat-soaked bangs out of her eyes. She put herself in a fighting stance, her hands clenched into fists and held in front of her face. Sesshoumaru barely suppressed his laughter at seeing her weak attempt at a menacing glare.

"You have the coordination of an infant," Sesshoumaru taunted as Kagome attempted once again to throw a punch at him. "How you've managed to stay alive for so long is a mystery."

"You know, this really isn't conducive to a good training atmosphere," Kagome retorted between pants and wild punches. She was well aware that Sesshoumaru was moving at about the same speed as a human, and it frustrated her beyond belief that she couldn't hit her trainer, or even touch him, for that matter.

"Perhaps," Sesshoumaru suggested as he easily moved out of the way of yet another one of Kagome's hopelessly pathetic attacks, "you are indeed better suited to fighting from a distance. However, this Sesshoumaru will not protect you during our battle against the idiot forest youkai. Are you prepared to die, miko?"

"Oh, shut up!" Kagome yelled, her patience with Sesshoumaru finally wearing through. Without any warning, she threw her entire body at Sesshoumaru, grabbed at the roots of his hair, and kneed him where it hurt. Not giving the taiyoukai enough time to even register the intense pain he was now feeling, Kagome balled her hand into a fist and punched him in the eye.

Sesshoumaru let out a surprised yelp, a noise Kagome thought she'd never hear from her companion, and staggered back, his only hand caught between wanting to assess the damage of his eye and of... other portions of his anatomy. Kagome wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or start running after seeing such a spectacle. Fortunately, Sesshoumaru quickly solved her dilemma by leaping at her. Kagome, being considerably less heavy than Sesshoumaru, was knocked off of her feet and to the forest floor. Her breath left her in a painful whoosh, momentarily blackening her vision and rendering her incapable of breathing.

"Never. Again," Sesshoumaru intoned gravely. The effect was somewhat ruined for Kagome as a deep purple bruise began forming over his right eye, swelling it shut. Kagome couldn't remember a time when she'd seen the face of the brilliant taiyoukai marred, and by herself, no less.

"You're crushing me," Kagome wheezed. She made a futile attempt to push the taiyoukai off her slight frame. He smirked at her, displaying the tip of a single pointed fang.

"Your powers of observation are quite astounding, miko," Sesshoumaru murmured. He lessened the pressure on her chest to some degree, allowing Kagome to breath, but kept her pinned under him.

"Is your eye alright?" Kagome asked worriedly.

"Quite," Sesshoumaru replied stiffly. Kagome watched in awe as the swelling and discoloration began to lessen, then virtually disappear, leaving his face impeccably beautiful, as always.

"That was impressive, miko, though ridiculously stupid," Sesshoumaru half-complimented.

Kagome frowned at the taiyoukai still pressed against her frame. "I'm not prepared to die," she muttered. "I'll fight dirty if I have to." She thought back to her fighting tactics and added, "I just hope none of these youkai have Ken doll anatomy."

Sesshoumaru raised a regal brow. "Ken Doll?"

Kagome blushed. "Never mind. Future thing."

Sesshoumaru nodded sagely, though inwardly he was wondering exactly who this Ken Doll was, and why Kagome was so intimately knowledgeable about his anatomy.

"Well then," Kagome began, her gaze fixed on Sesshoumaru's right ear. Her body had finally registered that a very well built male was pressed against her torso. Kagome could feel the intense heat emanating from Sesshoumaru's body, making her slightly dizzy. She blushed further, wondering if her face was now resembling a tomato.

Sesshoumaru stared at the girl unblinkingly for a moment, marveling at the striking resemblance Kagome's facial coloring bore to that of a tomato, before realizing that he was still on top of her, and that his inner youki was currently purring happily. He quickly rolled off of Kagome and stood, wondering how the pathetic human girl still lying on the ground consistently managed to bring out the worst in him.

xxxx

Another pair of eyes had watched the exchange between Naraku and Masako, though these eyes belonged to a being far more sinister than a little girl. They widened in surprise at the appearance of Naraku, and narrowed in anger as they watched Masako receive yet another jewel shard.

Kishoro stepped into the cave, a displeased frown etched into his features. He tossed his golden hair behind his shoulder and methodically clenched and unclenched his hands in an attempt to keep his anger at bay. He just couldn't believe Naraku! The hanyou was giving jewel shards to the mentally unstable, practically schizophrenic member of their little partnership. It infuriated him greatly to watch Masako gain more power than he, the more intelligent, more suitable member of the group. Naraku had barely said two words to him since he had joined the hanyou's fight to kill his enemies.

"Imbeciles, all of them."

Kishoro kicked a log into the fire constantly burning in the center of the cave, reveling at the burst of sparks that erupted from its disturbance.

Dark thoughts surrounded Kishoro, and he was beginning to entertain the idea of simply leaving, perhaps taking the girl with him for his own amusement. He was getting the short hand of the deal and he knew it.

"You believe yourself more worthy than Masako of the jewel shards?" a voice whispered from the darkness. Rin whimpered from her corner and pushed herself farther against the wall, turning away from the voice.

"Naraku," Kishoro murmured, dropping slowly to one knee, not truly willing to kneel before the hanyou. "I apologize for the outburst."

Naraku materialized before the leopard youkai, a sadistic grin worked upon his features. Kishoro rose shortly afterwards and brushed his knees off.

"I'm sure that you do. But I speak the truth when I say that you wish that you had those jewel shards instead of Masako."

Kishoro averted his eyes, not wishing the considerably powerful hanyou to know that he had struck home.

"I am pleased with what you have given me," Kishoro insisted half-heartedly.

"No, you aren't," Naraku replied coldly. "Do not think me a fool, Kishoro." He moved closer to the leopard youkai, wickedness dancing in his cold eyes. "I will confide in you about something, my faithful slave." Kishoro stiffened slightly at the terminology but remained silent. "The jewel shards I gave Masako are not only infused with some of my power. They are also drenched in a slow-acting poison that is gradually driving Masako insane."

Kishoro's golden eyes widened in surprise. "You are killing Masako?"

"Slowly, but yes. He is an idiot, and he will be nothing more than a nuisance after my enemies have all been killed. I will have no further use for him after he has done his duty. You, however, are quite intelligent." Kishoro practically glowed at the praise. Naraku smirked inwardly and began to play to Kishoro's largest weakness, greed. "You could help me run several of my lesser provinces after the Shikon No Tama is completed." Naraku saw that Kishoro's interest had been piqued. He offered even further, "Perhaps even the Western Lands, after Sesshoumaru has been disposed of."

Kishoro's eyes lit up, his greedy nature seeing the possibilities. _Ruling alone? The entirety of the Western Lands? _Kishoro found that he liked that idea very much.

"However, you must serve me unquestionably and with unsurpassed loyalty in order to gain my trust. It _is _an extremely large and prosperous kingdom. The money you would acquire would be great. You would be able to have any woman you desired, and all the power you could ever possibly hope to attain. The riches you would gain would be enormous."

Kishoro knelt immediately, bowing low to the ground. "I will serve you without fail, my lord Naraku," he replied earnestly, eyes glowing feverishly at the prospect of ruling the Western Lands.

"Excellent."

The hanyou grasped Kishoro's hand and stretched out his arm, swiftly dragging a golden dagger across the exposed skin. Blood blossomed from the wound and fell to the ground as bright red droplets. Naraku drew the dagger across his own pale arm, and the wound wept blood so dark it was nearly black. A single drop fell into Kishoro's own cut, causing it to burn as if he had just stuck his hand in a fire. Kishoro bit back a howl and ground his teeth together as the burning heightened to such an intensity the leopard youkai thought he would pass out from the pain. Just as suddenly as it had begun, it ceased, leaving nothing but a dull ache behind.

Naraku loomed over Kishoro, his eyes black with all the evil of his soul. "You are bound to me in a manner deeper than any bond you previously held with Masako. You will serve me with unquestionable loyalty, the penalty of doing otherwise being death in the cruelest of fashions. Your rewards will be great, Kishoro. You chose your master well."

Naraku's proceeding chuckle sent rivulets of cold sweat down Kishoro's back. He held his wounded arm against his chest, staining his clothing with blood. He felt the pact he had made with Masako dissolve, and with it his independence.

xxxx

**A/N: I like pacts. I also like silly training scenes that end in hot, body touching action. Personally, I think it would be impossible for Kagome to catch Sesshoumaru off guard in such a situation, but I liked the scene, so I decided to keep it in. WOO. **

**So… so… what say you to the new plot developments? The awkwardness/awareness between Sesshoumaru and Kagome? I'd like to see your thoughts, comments, concerns. In review form, of course. **


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