I was walking down one of the paths to the springs trying to clear my head. I knew that Inuyasha had gone after Kikyo, but surprisingly, I didn't feel anything this time. No pain or anything. I just quit caring. When I got to the spring I saw someone was in the water. All I could see at first was white hair. 'Inuyasha?' I thought to myself. It wasn't until I saw the armor sitting to the side of the spring that I realized it wasn't Inuyasha, but his older brother instead. "Lord Sesshoumaru?" I asked aloud. When I didn't hear a response I moved closer to him. "Lord Sesshoumaru?" I tried again. Only when I got right to the edge of the water did I notice the blood that was mixing in with the water. "Oh my lord. Sesshoumaru are you ok?" I asked quickly jumping into the water. When he still didn't respond I moved closer to him to examine his wound. I could see that he had several cuts but the worst one was along his right side. I could tell instantly that he would need stitches. I climbed back out of the water and got behind him. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him out of the water. Only once I got him fully out of the water did he show any sign that he was still alive. I sat there for a minute watching him when he opened his eyes. "Oh thank kami. I thought you were dead." I said moving to where he could see me. "What do you mean Miko?" He said trying to sit up. It was then that he realized just how injured he was. "What happened to you?" I asked him as I moved closer to bandage his wounds. "Rin…She was being attacked…." He whispered. I smiled at him as I worked. "So you saved her and in the process got injured. For the most part you're ok. You only have one major wound. I'll have to stitch it for you." I told him pulling out my aid kit. He turned his head to look at me just as my hair fell in my face. "Why are you doing this?" He asked me. "You need help." I told him simply. "No. I mean why are you helping me of all people? All the times I've tried to kill you…" He said seriously. "Well…I figured, if you had really wanted me dead, I'd be dead." I said laughing slightly. I heard him chuckle and just stared at him. "You're right. I never wanted to kill you." He said as he closed his eyes. "Ok Lord Sesshoumaru…I need to move you somewhere that we won't get wet. It's going to rain soon." I said packing my things back up. I saw him trying to get up and smiled once more. "Don't strain yourself. Let me help you. And don't give me any of that 'I'm a full demon I don't need any humans help.' Crap. Just let me help you." I said running to put his arm over my shoulders. He stared at me for a moment but never said anything. I smiled as I led him over to a nearby cave. "Ok. Stay here. I'll be right back." I said walking back outside of the cave. I heard him moving around and turned to see him trying to stand. "Sesshoumaru just listen to me ok?" I asked running back to him. I helped him sit back down and knelt down in front of him. "Just stay still ok? You'll heal faster." I said as I stood back up. I ran outside and went back to the spring. I picked up his armor and my kit and ran back to the cave. I smiled as I saw that he hadn't moved. "Ok. I'm going to stitch up your side now. It shouldn't hurt much for you." I told him as I pulled out my tread and needle. He stared at me for a minute and I guessed he was trying to tell if he could trust me. I smiled as he slowly removed his shirt so I could get to the wound. I moved over to him and started to fix him up. Once I finished I leaned back against the wall. We sat there in silence for a good 30 minutes before he said anything. "Thankyou Miko." He said looking over at me. "You're welcome Lord Sesshoumaru. Just don't tear the stitches ok?" I asked him. He nodded his head and I closed my eyes to think. "Miko?" I heard Sesshoumaru ask. I opened my eyes and saw him staring at me. "Yes Mi' Lord?" I asked sitting up straight. "Why do you stay here? Why not go back to my brothers' camp?" He asked me. I smiled at him and leaned back against the cave wall. "Well…I realized that I don't care for your brother the way I once did. And I don't want to leave only to hear that you tore your stitches and died somewhere because you were too stubborn to get help." I said laughing tenderly. "I see." Was all he said. We again sat in silence for a while. It wasn't until it turned night that I realized how cold I was. Sesshoumaru was the one to point it out to me. "Miko…it's getting colder. You should really get something to warm yourself." He told me. I opened my eyes and looked outside. "You're right. I'm going to go get some wood for a fire." I said standing up. As I walked past him to go outside he reached up and grabbed my arm. "Miko don't be silly. It's already dark. You'll wander for hours trying to gather dry wood. Sit down here." He said pulling me to sit beside him. I stared at him for a minute until he pulled his armor over to us. I watched as he took the pelt he had on there and laid it over me. I looked at him for another moment before I could feel it already heating my body up. I smiled and cuddled into it further. I heard him chuckle and looked up at him. "What?" I asked him as I sat back up fully. "The last time I was in a cave like this, I was waiting for my father. A memory I haven't thought of in years." He told me chuckling once more. I smiled at looked at him intriguingly. "Would you tell me about him?" I asked sitting up even more. Sesshoumaru turned to look at me like I was crazy. "Why do you want to know about my father?" He asked me. I blushed slightly as I thought of my answer. "To be honest… I've always wanted to be a demon like you. I just…I want to learn everything I can about demons. Even ones not around anymore." I told him. I looked up at him to find him smiling somewhat. "Well…my father was a brilliant leader. He never led his army into a battle they couldn't win. He was a great father as well. I remember…I remember when he first took me away from the lands. We were in a cave just like this one. He told me that as his first born I would become ruler of the lands. Then he ran to see Inuyasha's mother. That was the last I saw of him…" He told me. "I'm sorry Sesshoumaru. I know it must have been hard seeing your father with another after your mother. I guess I only make it harder as I'm also a human." I said pushing his pelt off of me thinking how weird it must be for him to have another human so close to him. "No Kagome. It's fine." He said pushing his pelt back over me. "I want you to stay warm…and to stay by me right now. I haven't gotten to talk to anyone like this in a long time." He told me gently. I smiled and leaned back against the wall. "Sesshoumaru…" I said trying to think of what to say. "What is it Kagome?" He asked looking at me. I smiled and shook my head saying never mind. "What's on your mind?" He asked me. I looked back up at him and smiled. "I was just thinking of how nice this is. I just wish that we could continue this after you heal…" I whispered gently. "Kagome…if you'd like…we can meet once a week. I'd come to where ever you are and we could meet outside of Inuyasha's range of smell. I'm like you. I would like for this to continue." He told me moving to fully see me. "You'd really do that?" I asked him surprised. "Yes. I would. Kagome I really enjoyed talking to you tonight. I would like the chance to continue this." He said looking into my eyes. I smiled at him and nodded my head. "So this means we've become friends?" I asked him. I saw him think about it for a minute before he responded. "Yes. We are…friends." He said smiling at me. I smiled back and closed my eyes yawning. "Sleep Kagome. We can talk more tomorrow." He said moving back into his place leaning against the wall of the cave again. I nodded my head and started to drift off to sleep. I woke up about 3 hours later to find myself leaning against Sesshoumaru with one of his arms around me. I looked up to find that he was asleep as well. I smiled and closed my eyes again and drifted back to sleep the way I was. I woke back up again another 5 hours later to find that I was still in Sesshoumaru's arms. I smiled and just sat there for another few minutes. As I went to sit back up I felt Sesshoumaru's hold on me tighten. I looked up to find him staring down at me. I smiled at him and leaned against him for another few minutes before asking him to let me up. "Sesshoumaru can I please get up?" I asked looking up at him. "Ok. Since you asked." He said taking his arm from around me. I smiled and sat up to gather my bag. "I need to get back to camp. Shippo will be worried about me." I said standing up. "You're worried more about a little kit than what my brother will say when he smells you and catches my scent?" Sesshoumaru asked me. "If he says anything to me I'll just mention that I know about his late night visits with Kikyo." I said smiling. Sesshoumaru chuckled lightly and stood up with ease. "Well I guess your ok then." I said smiling as he walked over to me. "I'm a full demon. I heal quickly. Although your help sped it up. Thankyou once more Kagome." He said standing in front of me. "No problem Sesshoumaru. Well…I guess this is goodbye for now." I said as I went to leave the cave. "Kagome…when do you want to start our meetings?" Sesshoumaru asked me. I smiled and turned back to him once more. "How about anytime you want to meet, you show up around Inuyasha, act like your normal bastard self, and then we'll meet that night?" I said smirking at him. "I guess that would work. Oh and before any of this begins…if I say anything during the run in with Inuyasha, disregard it. Don't take anything I say in offensive ok?" he said moving closer to me. "Deal. I promise I wont." I said smiling at him once more. I moved closer to him and quickly hugged him before leaving the cave. I ran back to the camp site and immediately ran into Inuyasha. "Where have you been all night?...wait…why do you smell of Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha said catching Sesshoumaru's scent. "No reason. I helped him that's all. Now. I'm going back to bed. Say hi to Kikyo for me." I said walking right past him. I went into the hut that Shippo and I always sleep in and went right back to sleep only to dream about Sesshoumaru.
Two months later
"Come on Kagome! Kikyo wants to leave!" Inuyasha yelled out at me. I stood up from the stream and walked over to them. "Kikyo you can just shove it up your…" "KAGOME!" Sango interrupted me. I turned around and smiled at Sango and went back to the stream. "You know. If she wants to move on then move on. I can take care of myself." I said bending back down beside the water. I heard Inuyasha and Kikyo start walking down the path and I smiled. "Go on Sango. I'll catch up. Miroku and Shippo, go with her. I'll be fine. I'm never truly alone anyway." I said realizing that they were still with me. I heard them leave grudgingly and smiled. I ran into the woods when I knew they couldn't see me and waited on a rock. "Kagome…" I heard Sesshoumaru say. I smiled and turned toward him. "Thank god you're here." I said running to him. He wrapped his arms around me in a hug. "I'm always here Kagome. You know I'd never miss one of our meetings." He told me softly. "I know. I just…I miss you when you're not here." I told him refusing to let him go. "Kagome look at me…I'm never going to leave you for long. I'll always be close. All you have to do is call out for me." He told me looking into my eyes. I nodded my head and pulled away from him. I had noticed that over these past two months I had started to develop feelings for Sesshoumaru. I just didn't want to ruin anything between us. I smiled at him as he sat down on the rock beside me. "So…what's been going on?" Sesshoumaru asked me. "Oh the usual. Kikyo's in the group, Inuyasha's an ass. Nothing new." I told him. "I see. Well…I know that one of your friends will come looking for you soon…" Sesshoumaru told me standing up. "No. Please don't go yet." I said reaching out for him. He laughed at me and pulled me to where I was standing. "Kagome come on. You know that I can't stay for long this time. I promise you. Out next meeting will be at night so we can spend more time together." He said pulling me to hug him. I wrapped my arms around him once more and clung to him. "Come on. Cheer up." He said kissing the top of my head. I closed my eyes and found my mind wandering. I could picture him leaning down and kissing me…and then I could picture him telling me to go away. I opened my eyes again to find him staring at me. "What's wrong?" He asked me. "Nothing. I'm jut thinking." I told him pulling away again. "Come on Kagome. Talk to me. What's on your mind this time?" I smiled at him and decided to tell him once and for all. After all…I wouldn't see him again for a week. "Well. The truth is…over these two months….I've developed feelings for you Sesshoumaru…See you next week." I said turning and running back to the stream. About two minutes later Sesshoumaru was back in front of me. "What kind of feelings Kagome?" He asked me. "Come on. Are you really going to make me say it?" I asked him already feeling my face going red. "Tell me." He said looking in my eyes. I sighed and looked to the ground. "I like you Sesshoumaru. The feelings I've started having…I want to kiss you ok…There. Now you know." I said trying to run around him. When he wrapped an arm around my waist I looked up at him. The second I did he leaned down and kissed me. "I was wondering if it was just me or not." He whispered in my ear. I smiled and held onto him a little longer. I looked back up at him and stood on my tip-toes to kiss him again. "No. I really like you Sesshoumaru." I said leaning against him. A few minutes later he pulled away from me. "Your friends are on their way back. Let me mask my scent this time ok?" He asked me. "Ok…just…one more kiss…" I said moving closer to him again. He leaned down and kissed me sweetly once more before masking his scent and running off. I knelt back down beside the spring and splashed my face a few times. "Kagome come on." I heard Sango say behind me. "Sorry. I was thinking. I'm coming." I said jumping and running to her. I kept smiling and I could tell that she was concerned. We caught up to Inuyasha and Kikyo only to have Kikyo say she was tired. Inuyasha set up camp and Kikyo lied down as usual. "Hey Sango. I'm just gonna go into the woods for a bit ok? I don't want to be here with them…" I said giving her a reason. "Ok. Just be safe." She told me. I nodded my head and ran to the woods again. I found a small cave and went to sit down in it. "I can't believe he really cares about me too." I said aloud to myself. "Who? I hope I don't have any competition." I heard Sesshoumaru's voice say. I came out of the cave to find his standing in the clearing. I smiled and ran to him. "No competition. Just you." I said as I hugged him again. "Why are you in a cave?" He asked me looking around for a campsite. "Oh. Kikyo decided she was tired about 2 miles away from where we were so Inuyasha set up camp. I didn't want to be around them so I came here instead." I told him leading him to the cave. We both sat down and I leaned against him smiling. "Kagome…I can't stay long. I need to get back to my castle." He told me. I sighed and sat up. "I know. I'll let you go when you need to." I said leaning against the wall but grabbing his hand. "Wait…I didn't mean you had to get off of me…" He said protesting to me leaning against the wall. I smiled and moved to lean against his chest once more and heard him sigh happily as he wrapped his arms around me. I fell asleep quickly in his arms. When I woke back up I noticed that it was the next day and Sesshoumaru was still holding me. "Sesshoumaru…you need to go…" I said trying to wake him up. After a few minutes of that I gave up. "Stubborn demon. How am I supposed to wake you up?" I asked myself. I smiled as I thought of something and leaned down to kiss him. When he started to kiss me back I went to move away only to have him place a hand behind my head to bring me closer to him. I smiled into the kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck. We pulled away from each other only when the need for oxygen showed itself. "Well…now I know how to wake you up." I said laughing. Sesshoumaru chuckled once more before brining me closer to kiss him again. I gasped as he brushed his tongue over my lips. I opened my mouth slightly and felt him push his tongue into my mouth. I moaned as he roamed my mouth using his tongue and pulled him closer to me. When he pulled away from me I had to literally catch my breath. "You may not want to wake me up like that very often." He told me. I smiled at him and raised an eyebrow. "Why not?" I asked him. He looked at me and then rolled over to where I was lying on the ground with him on top of me. "Unless you want mornings I'm with you to begin like this…you may want to find another way to wake me up." He said kissing the side of my neck. I bit my lip to hold in a moan but lost that battle as he lightly bit my neck. "Ok. I get the point." I said as he pulled away from me. He got up off of me and I stayed there for a minute. "Ok. You can not go back to Inuyasha just yet." Sesshoumaru told me. I looked at him questioningly. "If you go back to him now, he'll ask you why your scent is spiked." He told me as an easy way to tell me that my scent told demons that I was excited. I blushed slightly and curled into a ball. "Come on Kagome. It's not that bad." Sesshoumaru said coming back over to me. "Easy for you to say. You don't have to travel with a stupid half-demon and his stupid clay pot." I said pouting. I heard him laugh at me and smiled as he wrapped his arms around me. "You know all you have to do is ask and I'll take you away from there." He told me. I turned around in his arms and stared into his gorgeous golden eyes. "Really??" I asked him. He nodded his head and kissed me softly. "Just say the word." He told me. I smiled at him and started thinking. "Ok. How about this. I go back to Inuyasha little camp site the way I am. Scent and all. When he asks me why I am this way, you show up and kiss me." I told him smiling. Sesshoumaru smiled back at me after a moment. "I like the way this turns out." He told me kissing me once more. "I do too. After you kiss me Inuyasha will be so furious that he'll be reckless. He'll do something stupid that will just call for you to defend me and hurt him." I said smirking. "Ok. Now I really like where this is going." Sesshoumaru told me laughing. I smiled and kissed him once more. "So can we do that? I don't want to stay with his group any longer. If I could wake up with you every morning instead of them…" I said cutting off. "Of course we can. If you really want to that is. And of course you can bring your kit with you." He told me knowing I would be cautious of leaving Shippo. "Ok. Thankyou." I said kissing him once more before getting up. "If we're doing this…you're going to have to get me even more excited than I am now." I told him. "And why's that?" He asked me curiously. "Well. Because what I was feeling is already disappearing." I told him. He smirked at me and stood up. "I'm sure I can fix that." He said pushing me up against the cave wall. He smiled at me as he leaned his head down to kiss my neck. He started leaving a trail of kisses over my throat. This time I didn't worry about holding in my moans. I wanted him to know just what he was doing. After a few minutes of this he pulled away and kissed me on the lips. "Ok. That should do it. If we are doing this now we better go ahead." He said pulling me away from the wall. I looked at him a little disappointed. "Kagome… if I didn't stop when I did…you'd be on the ground naked right now. I don't want that for us. Not yet at least." He told me as an explanation. I smiled at him and nodded. "Ok. I understand. Let's do this." I said running back to the camp site. As soon as I entered the camping ground Inuyasha ran over to me. "Kagome…where have you ….Ummm…why is your scent spiked??" Inuyasha asked me once he caught my scent. "Oh that? You'll see." I said turning back to the woods I had just come from. "What do you….wait a minute…Sango! Sesshoumaru's coming this way!!" Inuyasha called out to Sango telling her to grab her weapon. "Kagome get behind me." Inuyasha told me. "No thanks. I'm fine right where I am." I said taking a step toward the woods instead. "Kagome what are you doing?" Inuyasha asked me. "Inuyasha why do you care? Just leave me be." I said watching for Sesshoumaru. The second I saw him I smiled again. "There you are Kagome… I didn't think you'd get back here that fast." Sesshoumaru said walking over to me. "What can I say. I'm fast." I told him taking a step closer to him. "Hmmm. But can you keep up with me?" He asked me raising an eyebrow. "We'll just have to see won't we?" I asked laughing. "Kagome…What's going on?" Inuyasha asked me. I smiled and turned back to Inuyasha. "You wanted to know why my scent is spiked. He's why." I said taking another step back to where I was standing next to Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha stared at me for a moment. He only looked over at Sesshoumaru when he wrapped his arm around me. I looked up at him and smiled. "Can I go grab my things and my kit?" I asked him. He looked down at me and smiled. "Of course you can. Don't be too long ok?" He asked me looking into my eyes. "I won't be. Thank you." I said standing on tip toes to kiss him. He wrapped his other arm around me and picked me up to kiss him. I squealed and wrapped my arms around his neck once more. When he put me back down I ran over to Shippo smiling. "Shippo…I know it's bizarre but I really care about Sesshoumaru. He's taking me with him and he said that I can bring you with me. Will you go with me?" I asked my kit as I knelt down in front of him. Shippo looked past me to Sesshoumaru and then nodded his head. "Of course I'll go with you. You're my mother. I don't want to lose you." Shippo said hugging me. I smiled and hugged him back. "Ok. We need to gather our things then." I told him standing back up. I turned back to look at Sesshoumaru only to see Inuyasha fighting with him. "She's not leaving with you Sesshoumaru" I heard Inuyasha yell. "I don't believe you have a say in that little brother. If Kagome wants to leave with me, that's her choice." Sesshoumaru said glancing over at me. I smiled at him once more and ran to get my belongings. Within five minutes I had all of my things together in one bag. I went to run back over to where Sesshoumaru was only to be stopped by Inuyasha. "Inuyasha let me go." I said staring at him. "No Kagome. You're not leaving with him." Inuyasha told me threateningly. I looked over to Sesshoumaru and saw his eyes go red. "Inuyasha you might want to let go of me." I said keeping my eyes on Sesshoumaru. "You're not leaving with him." Inuyasha said pushing me back. I fell to the ground and landed on a bed of rocks. I stayed still for a moment in pain. I tried to sit up only to fall back down. The next thing I knew Sesshoumaru was beside me. "Are you ok?" He asked me while picking me up. "I'm fine. Just sore. Those rocks hurt." I said laughing. Sesshoumaru shook his head at me and helped me stand on my own feet. I leaned against him for support for another minute before standing fully on my own. "Thank you." I whispered when I noticed that he kept his hand on my back to help steady me. "Any time Kagome. Sit down with your kit. I'll handle this." Sesshoumaru said leading me over to where Shippo was. I sat down and leaned against one of the trees. I smiled at Sesshoumaru once more before closing my eyes. I felt him lean down and kiss me one time before running back to Inuyasha. "Little brother, you just made a huge mistake." Sesshoumaru told him. I heard the both of them pull out their swords. I smiled as my plan was going the way I expected it to. "Inuyasha! Let her leave with him." I heard Kikyo yell out. I opened my eyes to see Kikyo standing not four feet from me. "Kikyo??" I asked trying to stand up. She turned around to see me and ran over. I was surprised when she helped me stand up. "Kagome…I know we haven't been on the best of terms, but I took Inuyasha from you. I'll admit it. If I hadn't come back to him you'd be with him now. I am sorry for that. I won't let Inuyasha stand in your way of happiness. You deserve it." Kikyo said walking me over to Sesshoumaru while making sure she stayed in the line of fire so Inuyasha wouldn't attack. I looked at her for a moment before nodding my head. "Thank you Kikyo. I was wrong about you." I said as she handed me off to Sesshoumaru. "Lord Sesshoumaru…take good care of her." Kikyo said looking at Sesshoumaru. She turned and ran over to Inuyasha. "Let them go Inuyasha. Let her be happy for once." I heard Kikyo tell him. I could tell that Inuyasha was having difficulty letting go but he turned away nevertheless. I smiled and turned to look at Sesshoumaru. "Can we go home now?" I asked him. He smiled at me and nodded. "Yes. We can go home now." He said picking me up. "Shippo! Let's go!" Sesshoumaru called out to my kit. Shippo ran over with his things and jumped up into my arms. "Ready?" Sesshoumaru asked looking down at us. We both nodded our heads and he took off running. We stopped about 3 hours later by a spring. "Kagome can I talk to you?" Sesshoumaru asked me when he put me and Shippo down. "Of course. Shippo stay here ok?" I said turning to my kit. He nodded his head and I followed Sesshoumaru off to a clearing. "Kagome…" Sesshoumaru started. "What is it??" I asked him tilting my head to the side. He sighed and took a deep breath. "Kagome…I want you and Shippo to become my family." He told me quietly. I smiled at him and wrapped my arms around his neck to make him look at me. "Sesshoumaru of course we will. All you have to do is tell me how." I told him smiling. He smiled at me and kissed me sweetly. "For Shippo to be my family, all that is needed is for him to agree to me adopting him. For you it's another story." He told me looking over to my kit. Shippo ran over to us and smiled up at Sesshoumaru. "You make my mother happy. If being a family with you as my father is what she wants then yes. I agree." Shippo said smiling at me. I smiled at him and leaned down to hug him. "Thank you Shippo. It really means a lot to me." I said as he hugged me back. He smiled at me once more before running back to the water. I looked back to Sesshoumaru and smiled once more. "What do we need to do for me?" I asked him. "Well….for us to be a family, we would need to make you my mate…" He said a little apprehensive. I titled my head to the side and smiled. "Then what's stopping you?" I asked him stepping closer to him. He smiled at me and pulled me to him fully. "You're sure?" He asked me. I nodded my head and went to say something only to have him shut me up by kissing me. "Shippo…there's a cave nearby. Wait there for us ok?" Sesshoumaru said looking over to Shippo when he pulled out of the kiss. Shippo nodded his head and took off knowing what was going on. Sesshoumaru then turned his attention back to me. He lied me down on the grass and lied down on top of me. He started kissing me more and letting his hands roam my body. I knew we would spend the night in the spot and for once I didn't care that I was on the ground.
The Next Day
I woke up to find Sesshoumaru's arms draped over my body as well as his fluff. I rolled over to see him staring at me. "Good Morning." I said staring back at him lovingly. "Good morning mate." He said smiling. I reached my hand up to my neck where his mark was and smiled. "Are you ready to see your new reflection?" Sesshoumaru asked me. I stared at him for a moment before jumping up and throwing my clothes back on to go to the edge of the water. Once I got to the water I gasped at my reflection. I had the same stripes that Sesshoumaru did only they were black. I also had a symbol on my forehead, only instead of a crescent moon it was a full moon and was silver. I smiled and turned back to look at my mate. He walked over to me and kissed me softly. I wrapped my arms around him and leaned against him. "Thank you…" I said as he held me. "Why are you thanking me? You're the one that went through the change from a human to a demon." He told me as he pulled away slightly to look at me. "Thank you for caring so much about me. Only…now I have to explain this to Kouga." I said laughing. "You mean Kouga of the wolf tribe?" Sesshoumaru asked me heatedly. "Yes. He just…he's liked me for a while but I refused to be his 'woman' time and time again." I told him. "I wish you had told me that Kagome…" Sesshoumaru said pulling away from me completely. "Wait...don't pull away. What's wrong?" I asked trying to get him to wrap his arms back around me. He pulled away from me each time I tried. I finally gave up and sat down again. "What's wrong?" I asked him. "If you have two demons competing for the same mate…they must fight to the death. The winner gets to mate the woman." He told me. "What if she's already chosen who she wants to be with? Like I have?" I asked him nervously. He turned to look at me and I could see the uneasiness in his eyes. "It means that the loser doesn't only die. They have to watch the winner mate the woman first. So if I lose…" Sesshoumaru said turning away from me. I looked down and could feel the tears coming to my eyes. "I'm sorry Sesshoumaru. I should have said something. I didn't know." I said as I got up and ran off. As I got to a cliff I looked over the edge. 'Why didn't I tell him?' I thought to myself. I closed my eyes as I stood there. I finally opened my eyes to see the sun rise up fully above me. I smiled as I looked at it and raised my hands above my head. I stared dancing in the sunlight like I used to at home. It wasn't until it was too late that I realized the cliff I was on was weak. I felt the ground beneath me start to crumble. As I started to fall with the ground I grabbed onto one of the trees at the cliff. "SESSHOUMARU!!" I shouted hoping he would hear me. I tried to climb up but any movement I made only made me fall down further. A few seconds later I saw Sesshoumaru come running out of the woods and stare at me. He ran over to me and reached his hand out to me. I tried to reach up to him only to fall even further. I felt the tree that I was holding onto start to fall over the cliff from my weight. "Sesshoumaru…I'm so sorry." I whispered as the tears came to my eyes again. "No. Kagome please don't." Sesshoumaru said trying to reach me still. "I'm so sorry. I should have told you. If I had then I wouldn't be falling off of this cliff right now. I'm so sorry. I love you Sesshoumaru. Never forget that." I said as I felt my grip loosening. "No Kagome. Don't say things like that. Not yet." Sesshoumaru said once again trying to reach me. "Why'd you even come to this cliff? Did you really think I would want you dead?" He asked me. "No. That wasn't my intention. If I wanted to die would I have called for you?" I asked as the tears strolled down my face. He shook his head and I could see the tears coming from his own eyes. "I love you Kagome." He said as he sat up for a minute. "KOUGA!!" I heard him scream. I couldn't figure out what he was doing. Only when I heard Kouga arrive did I realize he was going to get Kouga to save me using his jewel shards. "Lord Sesshoumaru? What is it?" Kouga asked as he saw Sesshoumaru. I saw Sesshoumaru point over to cliff to me. Kouga came over and gasped as he saw me hanging there. "Is that you Kagome?" He asked me. "Kouga please. Help her. I can't get to her." I heard Sesshoumaru beg. Kouga looked back to him surprised by the weakness in Sesshoumaru's voice and nodded his head. The next thing I knew was Kouga had jumped to the ledge 50feet below me, jumped back up grabbing me in the process and dropped me on the ground about 4 feet from Sesshoumaru. As soon as I realized I was out of danger I ran to Sesshoumaru crying. "I'm so sorry! Please forgive me..." I said as he wrapped his arms around me. "Shhh. It's ok. Of course I forgive you Kagome. Come now. Stop crying." He said holding me against him. "Ummm. Kagome…? When did you become a demon? Better yet…when did you and Sesshoumaru become so close?" Kouga asked me. I pulled away from Sesshoumaru to turn to Kouga. "Kouga I have something to tell you and it will answer both of your questions." I told him. I felt Sesshoumaru move behind me and wrap his arms around my waist. "Sesshoumaru let go of my woman." Kouga said moving to pull Sesshoumaru away from me. He only stopped when Sesshoumaru's eyes turned red. "Kouga stop. I am not your woman. I'm Sesshoumaru's. He's the reason I'm a demon. He's mated me." I said grabbing Sesshoumaru's arms. "But Kagome…I've had claim on you since we met." Kouga insisted. "No Kouga. You tried to claim me and I said no. I did not, however, say no to Sesshoumaru. I love him Kouga." I said leaning back against my mate. "Kouga, I know the rules. If you claim to want me as your mate still, you and Sesshoumaru have to fight to the death. I also know that should you win, I'd have to mate you. I will tell you this now. If you do battle my mate and win…you may have my body for a mate, but you shall never have my heart. If Sesshoumaru is to die, my love and my heart die with him." I told him venomously. "I see…Sesshoumaru…be good to her." Kouga said running off. I smiled slightly as I turned to face Sesshoumaru. "I'm sorry." I said weakly. Sesshoumaru reached one hand up to my face and shook his head no. "Don't be my love. Everything is going to be ok." Sesshoumaru whispered to me. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his hand on my face. He pulled me closer to him and kissed me softly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back just as softly. As he pulled away from me I clung to him. "I'm sorry Sesshoumaru…" I whispered once more. "Kagome stop. You don't need to keep saying that. I'm just happy you're ok. You are ok right?" He asked me pulling away form me slightly. "Hmmm…I think I'm ok…Just….right here hurts." I said smirking as I put my finger to my lips. "Really? Does this help?" he asked as he leaned in and kissed me softly once more. As he pulled away from me I smiled. "That helped a lot."