Blood Stained

Blood Stained

Chapter 16: Regrets

His back was pressed against a tree his head hanging low, as his thoughts began to run through his mind, as he spent another sleepless night. Ever since Kagome had been taken away, he had not been able to catch a wink of sleep. The guilt was mostly what kept him up at night, the darkness slowly growing, as he began to hate himself more and more every day passing day. He would like to think he would have been able to save Kagome, but he knew that was not true, but the least he could have done was show her support. Why had he let his anger get the best out of him? The look in her eyes was still burning in his mind, and it was impossible for him to chase it away; he was doomed to remember it for the rest of his life. Also, some of the last words she had spoken in his presence were engraved in his mind, I love him. Inuyasha felt blessed that after everything that occurred Kagome still had love for him in her heart, when technically he didn’t deserve it. Still, he held on to her words since it was the only thing that kept him going at the moment, the only memory he could reach out to if he needed some hope, and faith.

Kagome had always meant to belong to him; he had even tossed away Kikyo for them to finally be together. Once he had smelled his brother all over her, and caught a glimpse of her mating mark, it was as if the rational side of his brain had shut up, and the fury had taken over, deciding all of his actions. He could still see himself hurting her, but it nearly felt like an out of body experience. She was a delicate flower, and she was never meant to be crushed the way she had been, and still was. Kagome might arbor rage towards him, but Inuyasha knew nothing he had done could come close to the way Sesshomaru was treating her. Inuyasha was aware of what his brother’s red eyes meant, but he still couldn’t comprehend why his beast was so interested in Kagome; Sesshomaru and her had only a minimum amount of encounters, not enough to drive his beast wild.

Sesshomaru had made one valid point when they last met; Kagome belonged to him since they were mated. Although that could easily be changed, and Inuyasha intended on being the one to free her. All he had to do was kill his brother, and Kagome would gain her freedom back, and Inuyasha would be able to mate her. For once in his life thought, Inuyasha was not going into this head first, without any plans. Although he had managed to hurt his brother before, he was well aware that killing him would be far from easy, even with Tetsusaiga on his side. Truth was, he probably wouldn’t be able to do it on his own, but Miroku and Sango weren’t talking to him at the moment, which was making the whole situation extremely complicated. Although they would listen if it involved helping Kagome, they wouldn’t trust him in the whole matter since he had previously hurt her.

Also, his feelings had been a real chaos ever since he had seen the flower Kagome had given Kirara nearly a week ago. Just to be able to smell her scent one more had driven him crazy, and he needed more. He had slightly overheard Sango talk to Miroku about sending message to Kagome through Kirara, and deep inside, he wish he could write down his feelings for her. But, even if he did so, Inuyasha doubted she would even take the time to read it; she would simply throw it out. For the first time, he knew it would take time for her to forgive him, but he was not going to give up; eventually, he would get her back. They had gone through so much together, there was no way it had all been for nothing right? If he was patient enough, Kagome would be his again, and finally he would be whole.

***

Rin was sitting at the table, watching Kagome carefully as she ate, trying to make sure she was seeing right. Never before had the young woman devoured so much food, at least not since she had been traveling, and staying with them. Rin was glad that she was feeling better, but never had she seen anyone eat so much before in her whole life. Kagome was so preoccupied with eating that she was not even paying attention to the looks the little girl was giving her. She had no idea what had gotten into her today, but never had she felt such a craving for food –any food. For the first time in nearly two weeks, the servants had been the one to prepare her food, since she was too hungry to work with food without eating it. She had rushed through the kitchen, almost breathless, asking if anything was ready for breakfast. Once again, Kagome had managed to confuse the hell out of the poor servants.

Kagome didn’t worry about it too much since she simply blamed it on her hunger catching up to her. After all, she had been asleep for so long, not getting any food, or barely any. And at least this way, she was making sure her baby was getting all the nutrients it needed, easing away some of her worries. Quickly she gulped down her last bit of rice, before putting down her fork, a smile on her face. It was at that moment that she caught Rin’s eyes on her, and a tiny smile appeared on her lips, since to the outside world she might have look slightly weird. Rin returned the smile, before hurrying the finish her plate, so Kagome and her could get on with their day. Much to Kagome’s relief, Sesshomaru had not been back yet, giving her much time to rest, and erase all the stress from everything that happened in her life. Somewhere deep down, she found herself wishing that he would never return, and the thought made her feel a small happiness. After all, what had Sesshomaru ever done that had been right for her? He was a selfish cold-hearted bastard, and all that matter to him was his own idea and will, everything else was useless distraction, and that included her. But, it meant very little to Kagome because as far as she was concerned, Naraku could swallow him, and it would bring no feeling at all in her heart; she was indifference to what happened to his life.

But there was also other things on Kagome’s mind; her friends. Ever since she had seen Kirara, she had been afraid to approach the area, in case the neko would come back. She was not doing it because she didn’t want anything to do with her friends, but because she feared for them. What if next time, they came with Kirara, and endanger their lives? Kagome knew she couldn’t leave this place, at least not with Sesshomaru alive, and the bracelet around her wrist, but it would break her hear to send her friends away because she needed them. Every day, she felt the darkness of their missing presences, and it hurt her. Also, she knew how stubborn they could be, and they would probably refuse to leave her side again, but if they died, or were injured because of her, Kagome would never forgive herself.

“Rin is ready Kagome!” said Rin as she pushed her plate away before getting up from her chair.

Rin was even more excited than usually because she had a surprise ready for her. Rin had been the mind behind it, but she was not the one who organized it since it wasn’t in her abilities. Although the little girl had loved sleeping with Kagome every nights, she knew adults like to have their own room, but Kagome didn’t have one, well not anymore. Rin thought Kagome might enjoy it if she could have her own places, with scrolls, ink, and other things, just like Sesshomaru-sama. At least, it would give her something to do while Rin had her lessons, or when she went to bed. She offered Kagome her best grin before reaching out for her hand like she usually did. It became a very obvious habit of the little girl, but Kagome didn’t mind one bit, and was happy to bring her some time of comfort. After all, even though Sesshomaru obviously cared for the little girl, Kagome knew he must not be one to show physical or even verbal appreciation, and comfort.

“Where are we going?” asked Kagome, who was used to Rin dragging her around constantly.

“It’s a surprise,” said Rin before giggling, and walking down the hall, trying to keep a slow pace, but her excitement was getting the best out of her.

The smile and laugh of a child was the best remedy, and Kagome was founding out with Rin. She was her little shinning light in this darkness, and she appreciated every passing moment with her. It could seen pretty sad that her grown woman like her only had a child as a friend, but to Kagome it matter very little; a friendship was precious, no matter who it was with. On top of that, Rin was always going out of her way to make her happy, and Kagome appreciated all her efforts. She couldn’t help but wonder what she had in mind for this surprise. After all, t was a nice gesture, and Kagome couldn’t help but feel slightly excited about it, gosh she sounded like a little kid.

“Here it is!” said Rin before releasing her hand to point at the door in front of them.

Curious, Kagome slid the door open, only to reveal a nearly all white bedroom, which contained what seemed like a desk, with ink, and paper on it, and a couple of shelves with scrolls neatly arranged, and placed. For a minute Kagome stared around, her mouth slightly opened, as she began to understand. Rin wanted her to have her own bedroom? She had been staying with the little girl this whole time since she didn’t feel comfortable going around, claiming her own room, but this was nice. If Sesshomaru had thrown her into a room, she would have probably despised it, but knowing it came from Rin, and her best intentions, she was extremely touched by her gesture.

She turned around, a hand on her chest. “Thank you Rin,” she said, a true smile on her lips.

Kagome was conscious it all belonged to Sesshomaru, but she would still enjoy the room. Slowly, she walked over to the bed, before sitting down, a sigh escaping her lips. Then, she tapped the spot beside her, and Rin hurried the come and sit beside her, relieved that she enjoyed her surprise. Rin rested her head against Kagome’s shoulder, before closing her chocolate eyes. Then, Kagome felt a tiny hand reach out, and touch her stomach, and she looked down at Rin.

While her eyes were still shut, Rin giggled softly. “Kagome, you’re starting to have a little tummy.”

A tiny scoff escape Kagome’s lips, as if she pretended to be offended, but soon enough she smiled. She slightly opened her kimono, to get a better look at her stomach, which was indeed starting to develop a tiny bump. Kagome was pretty sure women didn’t begin to show that early, but then again, she was carrying a hanyou, and anything could be expected, and everything she knew about human pregnancy would mean very little.

“Soon enough, I’ll be bigger than this place,” said Kagome, amusement in her tone. She was actually being very serious; she had a feeling she would be the size of a house once she would be close to giving birth.

Rin joined her in the laugh, making them both feel at ease with each other. Obviously Kagome had taken a liking into the little girl, but for Rin it was much deeper, since Kagome was her first mother figure, and losing her would shatter her little heart into pieces. Rin had thought about addressing Kagome as “Oka-sama” but she didn’t know how she would feel about it, so she refrained herself. The little girl had no doubt that the young miko cared about her, but she didn’t know how she saw Rin. Asking her could solve everything, but Rin was too shy to do it, after all, she had never done it with Sesshomaru, since she had always called him Sesshomaru-sama. It was moment like this that made Rin want to ask her, but she kept her lips tightly shut, not voicing her question.

Then, Rin jumped slightly as she felt Kagome wrapped her fingers around hers, causing a smile to appear on her face. Rin held on tighter to Kagome’s fingers, a joy filling her heart.

***

It had been a complete silence for about two weeks now, and Sesshomaru’s patience was wearing thin. It would seem his beast had grown upset with him because it refused to voice itself, leaving Sesshomaru to wait, and grow angry. The whole purpose of this trip was to be far from the miko, so she wouldn’t be able to interfere, leaving him alone to discuss with his beast, but if he refused to talk, this was all a waste of his time. Sesshomaru’s time was precious, and he had other things to do with himself, but since this was his main problem, he could not move on to anything else until this was solved. At the moment, he was patiently waiting, sitting on a rock, right by the edge of a river, completely silence surrounding him, which he wanted his beast to break.

Then, he smelled it. A tiny smirk appeared on his face, as he remained in his position, quietly waiting for what he knew what was coming. Sesshomaru was actually surprised that this hadn’t occurred until now, since knowing him, he tend to be extremely short fused, and act on feelings. Nonetheless, Sesshomaru was looking forward to a meeting where he was in complete control of himself. He did not enjoy his current situation with the miko, but she was something his half-brother desired, and could never have, and it was probably tormenting her. He could remember how he felt when Inuyasha was the one who inherited Tetsusaiga, not that he cared anymore, and he had a feeling his mating with the miko made the hanyou feel the same.

After a few more seconds, he knew Inuyasha was a few meters away from him, but apparently the hanyou was in no rush of closing the distance between them. Sesshomaru was not in the best mood at the moment since his beast was annoying him, and the hanyou was not helping at all. “You think this Sesshomaru cannot sense your presence?” he asked, still staring ahead in the emptiness.

Quickly enough, footsteps could be heard and Inuyasha came out of the bushes, a deep look of anger flashing through his eyes. Obviously, he was not quite happy with Sesshomaru’s presence away from his own lands, and he had something to say about it. Still, Sesshomaru ignored him, and never turned his head to look in direction of Inuyasha. Obviously that was angering the hanyou, and he hurried to move, until he was in front of Sesshomaru. For the first time in a while, his ears were straight on top if his head, as if he looked extremely alert. As soon as Sesshomaru’s scent had reached Inuyasha’s nose, he had hurried to track him down, hoping deep down that Kagome was with him, even if he couldn’t pick up her scent. At first, he had felt a huge disappointed when he had saw Sesshomaru was alone, but then, he had felt provoked.

“Where’s Kagome?” he asked, his tone filled with hatred.

“The whereabouts of this Sesshomaru’s mate are none of your concerned, hanyou,” he answered, still avoiding looking at him, letting him known he wasn’t even worth that respect.

Inuyasha’s grip on his sword grew tighter, as his emotions flared up. “You left her by herself?” He scoffed.

“You don’t even care about her, or her well-being.” Inuyasha began to walk closer to Sesshomaru, until their feet were nearly touching. “I don’t care if she is yours. I will kill you, and take her. She doesn’t love you, she loves me.”

A smirk appeared on Sesshomaru’s face before he turned his head to look at Inuyasha for the very first time. “Will you also raise this Sesshomaru’s child?”

Immediately the change could be seen in Inuyasha’s face, and it started with confusion as he processed the words. Never had the thought of Kagome being pregnant crossed his mind, and now, his whole world was slowly collapsing. Was Sesshomaru really telling the truth, or saying this to upset him? “You’re lying,” he spitted, not wanting to accept this reality.

Sesshomaru looked away, satisfied he had obtained the reaction he had desired from the hanyou. “This Sesshomaru does not lie.” He had better things to do than making up lies to make Inuyasha feel bad; the reality of things was so much better.

Inuyasha’s breathing right increased, as he began to picture Kagome rubbing her hands on a swollen belly, and for a second, his eyes turned completely red. This could not be happening; she was supposed to carry his pups, not Sesshomaru’s. It disgusted him to simply thing about Sesshomaru’s child growing inside someone as pure, and innocent as Kagome. Nonetheless, it didn’t make him love Kagome any less; it was not her fault, she had not chosen this life still, it had been force upon her. At least the child would be related to him, but it didn’t bother him, he would be with Kagome, even if it meant raising Sesshomaru’s child.

“I will,” he said, hoping his answer would cause some sort of reaction in Sesshomaru.

Unfortunately for Inuyasha, his words did not affect Sesshomaru at all since he had no desire to have this child in the first place. But, it mattered very little since in the first place, Inuyasha would never succeed in ending his life, which meant none of this would happen. While Sesshomaru would remain alive, he would not have the hanyou take care of his mate and child. He was the Lord of the West, and he would be damn if words got around that he was letting a hanyou put his hands on what was supposed to be his only. Even if the mating was broken between him the miko, either by some sort of spell which he was unaware of, or by her death, he would still hold a responsible towards the child, which meant it would always be under his care.

“It matters very little. You would never be able to kill this Sesshomaru.” Sure, Inuyasha had managed to hurt him once in the past, but it had been cause by Sesshomaru’s carelessness, and such a mistake would never repeat itself.

Inuyasha had his hand ready to pull out his sword, but before he could make a mistake he reminded himself that he needed to keep his calm. If Sesshomaru killed him now, there would be no chance for him to rescue Kagome, and make amends, and she would have to live with this monster forever. He took a deep breath, trying to bring his anger down, slightly attracting Sesshomaru’s attention. It seemed that after all, the hanyou had some sort of self-control, which was almost impressive, that or he knew he really didn’t stand a chance. Although Inuyasha could not fight him physically, he had ever intention of upsetting him.

“You don’t know why, and it’s upsetting you,” said Inuyasha, finally releasing his hold on his sword.

Sesshomaru titled his head slightly, as if he was something intrigued. “This Sesshomaru has no idea what none sense you are speaking of.” It appeared the hanyou thought he was extremely smart, and believed he had figure out something.

“Your beast. You don’t know why he picked Kagome, a human.” A smirk appeared on Inuyasha’s face before he took a more laid out attitude. “I guess you’re more like the old man than you thought.”

Inuyasha expected Sesshomaru to try to attack him but to his surprise, the Dayoukai kept his complete composure, and simply straight at him as if he was a nuisance. Sesshomaru knew what Inuyasha was trying to do, and he was too intelligent to fall in such a silly, and obvious trap. Of course the hanyou believed he was being extremely smart which only showed how stupid he was. It was true that his words created the beginning of a fury inside of him, but he had enough control to push it aside. Obviously he was wondering why his beast would be interested in a human mate, when it was the very thing Sesshomaru despised, it did not think a genius to figure this detail. Sesshomaru had been trying to get an explanation from his beast, but his meditation had been interrupted by the jealous hanyou.

The hanyou seemed quite disappointed that his little trick had not worked on Sesshomaru. Apparently his damn brother was too stubborn, and important to allow his emotions to get the best out of him. It didn’t matter thought because Inuyasha knew that deep inside, it had indeed upset Sesshomaru, and just to know he had created some feelings inside of him was enough, at least for now. There was nothing more that Inuyasha wanted than rip Sesshomaru’s head off, but it would not get him anywhere. Since Kagome was not with him, Inuyasha had no reason to be there, because he didn’t care about Sesshomaru, at least not until he could get rid of him.

“You’ll pay for this,” said Inuyasha before turning around, and slowly walking away from his brother. It was taking every inch of self-control he had to not fight him over Kagome, but he restrained himself, and actually managed to leave without fighting him.

Sesshomaru did not move from his spot, nor go after his half-brother as he left. Apparently the hanyou had understood it was better for his personal safety to not challenge Sesshomaru; it seemed his brain was still growing, because he had never grasped the concept before. As he allowed Inuyasha to walk away, an unusual anger, which didn’t seem to belong to him, began to stir up inside of him. In an instant, Sesshomaru recognized what it was, and was somewhat surprised; this whole time, all he needed to summon his beast was his half-brother?

This Sesshomaru needs to discuss with you.

After a few seconds, his beast still remained silence, only causing Sesshomaru’s annoyance to grow. He obviously knew by now that he was present, which meant it was too late to hide it. Slowly, he rubbed the side of his head with his index and thumb, as he felt a headache coming; he was beginning to feel very irritated with the whole situation.

Why did you leave mate?

It was obvious his beast was extremely upset by Sesshomaru’s actions, but he could not care less. It was still his body, and he should be the one to make the decision, not the other way around.

Because you cannot control yourself in her presence.

Mate was sick when you left, she needs us.

She wasn’t not exactly sick, simply unconscious for a long period of time, and technically it was better to leave when she was not awake.

Why does she matter so much? Why a human mate?

It doesn’t matter what she is. Only she is worthy of us.

Sesshomaru cocked his eyebrows, repeating the words in his mind; she was the only one worthy? To start with nobody was, but the miko certainly would never make the list if he made one of worthy mates.

She is a human, she is not worthy of this Sesshomaru.

Her strength does not come from her race, but her spirit, and powers.

Sesshomaru could feel himself slowly losing his patience; it was as if his beast refused to see her as she was. She might have miko powers, but it did not make her powerful. Although, he had expected that he would not obtain a logical answer from his beast, and he had a more important matter for focus on.

This Sesshomaru wishes for you to stop taking control whenever you feel like it.

You do not love mate if I do not come.

Obviously, he had also been prepared for that, and he knew his beast would not agree to simply stop coming, thus, Sesshomaru was willing to make some sort of compromise, at least for now.

You can still love her, but you cannot take control whenever you wish.

It was almost as if he was renting his body, and proposing some sort of schedule. It irritated him to no end that he had to do this, but it was better than his beast coming in, whenever it felt like it. There was a long pause, as if the beast was pondering the issue, after all, it had most of the control.

Every night I will have mate.

Sesshomaru knew the miko would be more than displeased with that, but that was none of his concern. He didn’t usually travel by night so it mattered very little to him. Although he had to make sure the deal was clear.

You cannot take over during the day. You will remain locked.

If you hurt mate, or if you try to kill her, or free her, I will.

This request had also been expected by Sesshomaru, and he knew there was very little he could do about this, except agree to it, not that his beast desired or needed his agreement.

You will remain hidden until nightfall.

He waited, expecting some sort of answer but nothing came. After a few minutes, Sesshomaru understood his beast had nothing else to share, and so he sighed heavily. This was not what he desired, nor how things were meant to be, but it was progress. Although he had to admit the time he had spent away from the miko was good. The feelings his beast had for her would sometimes surface in her presence, and it sickened him. But, now he would need to head back, and go through with what had been agreed. Sesshomaru intended to take his time before coming, since he was in no rush of seeing the miko again. Hopefully, she was still asleep.

***

“Where did you go?”

Inuyasha turned his head slightly only to find himself face to face with Sango. A look of hatred filled her dark eyes, as she demanded an answer. She had watched him leave, and he had taken hours to come back, and Sango didn’t trust him, not after what he had done. The look on his face also told her this had something to do with Kagome, and she didn’t like it. He had no business being involved with her after the way he betrayed her, and crushed her heart. When he did not answer, Sango tapped her foot, showing her impatience.

“Nowhere,” said Inuyasha, his tone extremely sad, before he began to walk away from the angry taijiya.

After his little conversation with Sesshomaru, he had decided to take a long walk before heading back to camp where his old friends were. Inuyasha was actually surprised they remained at the camp, instead of leaving him behind, which led him to believe that deep down, they didn’t hate him completely. Perhaps it would be better to make amends to them before getting Kagome back? After all, their help would be extremely important if he wanted to free Kagome. But Inuyasha knew they would not forgive him easily, and he would need to work for it. He could not see Sango’s face at the moment, but he could tell she was burning holes in the back of his head.

Sango didn’t like his answer because she knew he was hiding something from them. Not only had he been gone for so long, but also, a little before he left, Kirara looked as if she had caught a scent, and it caused her to hiss. Surely Inuyasha had followed up the same scent, and it couldn’t be many people. She knew very well it wasn’t Naraku, because she had caught the look in his eyes, which meant it could only be Sesshomaru. Although she wasn’t sure if that deduction was right because what would Sesshomaru be doing this far away from his lands, alone. If Kagome had been with him, surely Inuyasha would have dragged her back with him, even if she had been kicking, or at least, he would have let them know.

A sigh escaped her pink lips, as she began to feel completely hopeless. Maybe she felt so much anger towards Inuyasha because she couldn’t do anything for Kagome, and was never really given the chance, unlike him. One thing was for sure; she would not give up on her. Sango pulled out a piece of paper, which was extremely crisped now since Kirara had been dragging it back and forth for days now. Kagome had yet to show up again, and it worried Sango; did anyone know? Well, if Sesshomaru was the one in the woods, than he had no idea what was happening in the castle, which would mean Kagome was free to go back to Kirara right? Nonetheless, she would not stop trying until Kagome got her message, so Sango lowered her hand, handing the paper to Kirara who took it in her mouth. Soon enough, the neko took off, flying towards the lands of the west, carrying Sango’s hope.

***

The night had fallen, and Kagome was staring through the window, her eyes fixed on the little bush. She could swear she had seen it move, but then again she knew Kirara came back since that day, but Kagome had been too afraid to go back. But tonight as she spent another night alone, it was tempting her, and she wanted to go. She pressed her warm palm against the cool window, before biting the inside of her cheek, pondering the issue. Finally, Kagome took a deep breath, before telling herself she had to go, and there was no better time than when Sesshomaru was not around. After one last longing look, she pulled away, and began to walk towards her door, exiting her room.

As soon as she set footstep outside, the wind began to blow hard, pushing her hair against her face, and blocking her view. Kagome’s hand was clutching to her kimono, as she slowly made her way there, her heart beating extremely fast. Obviously she would be excited if Sango responded with a message, or something, but it didn’t chase away the fear. She knew her friend, and she was while aware that she would not give up on her that easily. Sango had lost so much already, and Kagome had no wish to see her die, especially while trying to save her. Once Kagome reached the place where she had seen Kirara, she gently went down on her knees, waiting to see if the neko was there. When no movements happened for a few seconds, a sad smile appeared on Kagome’s lips, as she realized she had been imagining things the whole time.

As Kagome rose up, some noises were heard, and suddenly she felt a head pressed against her ankle. Immediately her mood improved as she saw Kirara purring against her leg, and she bent down again so she could pet her head. As Kagome did so, Kirara slid the piece of paper in her hand, and as soon as Kagome felt it, she pulled away. She didn’t need to unfold it to know it was note from Sango, and right away, her heart felt lighter. She gave Kirara a smile before opening the note with shaky fingers, until it was completely unfolded. The ink had slightly leaked since it had been in Kirara’s mouth, but Kagome could still comprehend it. I will come for you; don’t give up. Or at least, that’s what she was reading. Kagome’s fear had been confirmed by her friend’s words; she would not stop, she would not give up on her. Why couldn’t Sango understand that for Kagome losing her friends was worst than the life she was forced to live at the moment? She would never be able to forgive herself, and she would blame herself for the rest of her life. Kagome knew she had to write a note back to Sango, but she couldn’t do it on the spot, right now, so, she would need to meet up with Kirara again tomorrow.

“Kirara, can you come back here tomorrow?” she asked, her voice nearly a whisper, as if she was afraid someone would hear her.

The neko nodded her head, before slightly pulling away from Kagome, attracting the young miko’s attention. Kagome turned her head to look in direction of where Kirara was looking, and she felt her breath caught in her throat. There, a few feet away standing from her was a guard, wearing a huge thick armor, looking straight at her. Kagome extended her arm, reaching out for Kirara, only to find out the little neko had already escaped, causing Kagome to sigh in relief. Quickly, she regained her composure, before getting up form the ground, ready to face the guard, strongly believing she had done something wrong. When she reached the guard, he bowed in front of her, waiting a few seconds before rising up.

“My lady,” he said, his voice completely neutral.

Kagome tried to keep her calm as she dared to ask why he was there. “Is something wrong?” She highly doubted leaving the castle in the middle of the night to go in the garden was an offense, which meant something else was wrong.

“No milady. I just came to inform you Sesshomaru-sama is back.”

As soon as the words escaped his mouth, Kagome felt her blood freeze in her veins, and suddenly she found herself unable to execute any type of movement at all. Sesshomaru was back? Already? For an instant, she completely forgot someone else was present, and her mouth opened, as she began to breath faster. Why now? She had finally started to feel better, and she had stopped drowning herself in darkness, so why was he back now? On top of that, she had no idea who she would be facing, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t like it. After all, if it was normal Sesshomaru, nobody would be sent out to inform her of his presence right? Only the beast would be concerned with her whereabouts, and would desire for her to come to him.

“Milady, are you ill?”

His voice brought Kagome back to reality, as she softly shook her head. “I’m fine, thank you,” she said before she pulled herself together.

It was obvious the guard would not leave until she went with him, so after a soft sigh escaped her lips, Kagome began to walk in direction of the castle, the guard walking behind her. Every step were very dreadful, as she was trying to take as much time as possible to get there, not in any rush to see him again. He had been gone for nearly a month, and even though she had been sleeping half the time, it had been the best month of her life. Just knowing it he had been far away from her was enough. Finally, they reached the castle, and the guard rushed to open the door for her. Kagome nodded as a thank you before entering inside, her heart beating like a drum. Kagome wanted nothing more than to open her eyes, just so she wouldn’t have to look into his amber or red eyes. As she walked a little further, she finally caught a glimpse of him. His back was facing her, and all she could see was his long silver locks, perfectly still, following his body. She pushed herself to walk a little closer, until there was but a few meters between them, and then she ceased all her movements. It only took a few more seconds for Sesshomaru to turn around, and look at her straight in the eyes.

She gasped as his crimson red eyes were staring at her, lust obvious in them. Kagome’s first reaction was to grab her kimono, tightly holding it together, as her she began to glare at him. Sesshomaru obviously ignored her the glance she was giving him, since he began to walk towards her. The weeks had been long without her, and he had terribly missed her; tonight, he planned on enjoying her.

***