She lay in the hollow of his arm, head upon his chest. He lay as if asleep, the only motion to suggest otherwise was his clawed hand softly tracing the kanji for his name on the small of her back.

"Sesshomaru"? she whispered his name. She received no response, only his fingers on her back marking her as his. 'Sesshomaru'.

"The gods have spoken to me of your greatness" she continued, her fingers moving over the hard planes of his magnificent abdomen. Without opening his eyes his chest rose and fell before he intoned:

"What did they say of my greatness"?

She moved her face against his soft pale flesh to gaze upon the resting features of his face. His beauty was that of a divine creature. How she ever got to be in this position, laying in his naked grasp, she would never understand. She was so unworthy of his attention, loving or unfavorable, yet all he did was rain his affections over her in his own way. This god holding her to his chest, carving his name in her skin, was hers until the day she died.

Gently she moved her fingers to his cheek, tracing the marks that separated him from the rest of the world. She spoke slowly.

"When I died the gods spoke to me, quickly and in hushed whispers, as if they were frightened. They said that fate had taken the correct path, my time was up. All was as it should be. They continued to say that you were a god, so like them in many ways. But so unlike them in many more. You have the eternal life, the power, the ethereal beauty, the solid mind. But you differ from them, making you more dangerous and lethal, that you do not hear the prayers of those you kill. You do not hear their screams of anguish in your mind, you do not see their life flash before you as they die. You are unsympathetic to their cause.

They said were it up to them I would not return to the realm of the living. I have fulfilled my destiny and have no need to return. However it was not up to them. You had staked your claim upon my body and soul, you would not let me pass without a fight. So you chose to take me back from the gods. My life was your choice. The gods then imparted on me that you were a great demon, you would conquer anything that stood in your path. You would outlive everyone you have ever came into contact with. You alone would stand atop the world as it crumbles and dies beneath your feet.

They claimed you to be the god of Death, Sesshomaru".

His name a praised deity on her lips, burning her tongue and torturing his soul.

After many silent moments he whispered:

"The gods are wise"