Wooo boy! It's been over a year since I updated this story and for that I apologize to all of you! I wasn't able to write much since I was without a computer until around Christmas, and then it was a matter of refreshing my memory and getting in the writing mood so to speak! I hope that updates will be more steady now! Also question for all of you who are really invested in this fic! Do you want the romance to be quicker paced? Honestly I think these two already have great chemistry so it could go either way! Let me know in the comments! Also I'm going to be editing the previous chapters ASAP! Let me know if they look cleaner to you! Anyways, on with the story!

Inuyasha and all the canon characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi! I only own my own plot ideas!

Days blended together, and with each one that passed Kagome was privileged enough to get to spend more time with Touga. They walked together in the gardens, or explored the forest around her family's shiro, or chatted with one another in her sitting room. For her it was blissful, so refreshing and invigorating to actually have someone to talk to who didn't openly disdain or demean her.

Oh, she had indeed expected his interest to wane by now, but he continuously surprised her with his insistence to see her whenever it suited him, usually in the afternoon and evening hours. Mornings seemed to be designated for Satori, at least from what she'd been told. Her sister was convinced that her feminine wiles were working on the Western Lord, she'd even overheard her talking to her ladies in waiting about it.

Even so, Kagome had allowed herself to begin hoping that maybe, just maybe the powerful male would find her to be the more appealing female. He certainly seemed as if he had some sort of interest in her, otherwise he wouldn't keep seeking her out.

Or at least, that was what she told herself in order to stave off her feelings of inadequacy.

Things had at least changed for the better after they visited the Goshinboku together, she felt closer… more connected to Touga after that. Instead of greeting him with meek smiles, she did her best to appear more animated and open, as if he'd truly lifted her spirits with his attention. He said she was beautiful, exquisite, kind, intelligent, humble… all the things she'd always wanted someone to tell her! Since that day she hadn't been able to stop thinking about it!

Even now, as she sat alone in her sitting room, her lips tilted up in a smile, cheeks heating up in a lovely flush as her sapphire hues stared out into the garden, the open shoji allowing a soft gust of wind to enter her abode, stirring up her thick raven locks. She lifted one of her delicately clawed hands and swept one of her forelocks behind a daintily pointed ear, fingers brushing over her magenta stripes as she sighed somewhat wistfully.

"I hope he comes soon…" She whispered to herself.

It wasn't quite midday yet, so that desire was one that would not be fulfilled for some time still, much to her chagrin. Touga would remain trapped with Satori until after the afternoon meal was finished, and Kagome would not see him until then. Not with the way her elder sister kept the male so jealousy guarded during her time with him…

A sigh escaped the little female, boredom plaguing her until she could stand it no more. "Tokuhei?" She called softly, whilst turning to stare at the barely visible outline of her bodyguard, obscured by the thin rice paper separating them from one another.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor, followed by the shoji sliding back to reveal the male's kneeling form, his head bowed in deference to his mistress as he responded to her summons. "Yes Kagome-sama?"

"Do you think we could go out for a bit? I mean… I feel restless for some reason. Perhaps we could do some light sparring or something to that effect?" She suggested.

Anything to work off some of this excess energy.

"If that is what you desire." Tokuhei responded without rising from his bowed position. He had to remain submissive and polite when in the shiro, lest someone take offense to how he conducted himself around the nobility.

Kagome understood, much as she detested it there was little that could be done. At least outside the shiro they were able to speak more freely, and under less strict circumstances. Thus the reason she chose to rise after a moment, her lavish gold embroidered jade green kimono shifting with the movement, as did the raven pelt which adorned her shoulders. "Then let us go once I have gathered my things."

With that, she moved over to the chest where she kept her training kimonos and opened the lid, retrieving a relatively plain white and green one off the top, along with a skin tight black suit to go underneath it. Once she had those in hand she made her way over to the only available wall mount where her longbow was proudly displayed, one clawed hand grabbing it along with her quiver.

Her bow itself was coated in a dark varnish, giving it a rich dark brown appearance, while her quiver sported the same appearance. The arrows contained within the quiver itself were white, constructed from her claws themselves so as not to disintegrate from her poison based attacks. They were somewhat of a pain to make, but worth it when it came down to it.

Now that she had everything, Kagome turned towards Tokuhei and gestured for him to follow her before she headed out through the open shoji, disappearing in a blur of green as she shot off towards the treeline without a backwards glance. Her devoted companion immediately followed behind, sprinting across the courtyard and leaping over the fence as his mistress did before him, disappearing amongst the trees before anyone noticed.

Roughly a half an hour or so later found the two nestled within one of their favored clearings, Kagome now sporting her training attire which consisted of a black skin tight under-suit, and a long sleeved green and white kimono which tapered off just below her thighs, while her feet were bare. Her hair was now secured in a high ponytail, brushing against her thighs even despite this, while she had her quiver on her right shoulder, and her bow was clutched in her left hand.

She very much looked the picture of someone who was prepared for battle.

Even her expression was even, wiped clean of her jovial demeanor which showed how seriously she took these training sessions. They'd come in handy one day, so she needed to practice and learn as much as she could in the time allotted.

Across the field from her stood Tokuhei, sporting an equally serious expression of his own. His entire existence was centered around protecting Kagome, keeping her safe from all manner of threats other demons and humans could pose. When she'd first come to him expressing her desire to learn how to fight for herself, he'd understandably been skeptical. A noble lady learning combat skills? His mistress? That was what he was for, yet her insistence had eventually won out, and now they were here once again, ready to see how far the little female had progressed under his tutelage.

He had several ideas in mind when it came to testing her this time around, though a spar was not in order. No, not so close to when they'd need to return for the midday meal. Instead he opted for an exercise that would keep his mistress from roughening up her appearance too much.

Target practice…

"For today I think we should try something different Kagome-sama." He began speaking after a few moments of silence.

For her part, Kagome was somewhat confused by that, her arm going slack until the tip of her bow nearly touched the ground. Her brows furrowed as well, a little dip appearing between her finely sculpted facial features. "Something different? Whatever do you mean?"

Her bodyguard only smirked and stepped forward, brushing a stray strand of his loose hair over his shoulder. "Target practice, but with a new rule. You must try and hit me with one of your arrows, but I will be moving at full speed, and my objective will be to reach you before you hit me. The reason for that is simple: If an archer cannot hit their target, and said target gets inside their range it is normally to deliver a death blow that you would have few ways of defending against."

She listened intently, absorbing the information, before nodding her acceptance. It was an easy concept to grasp, not one that took all that much contemplation. If someone got too close to her while she was armed only with a bow it would make her that much more vulnerable. "I understand. You want to put pressure on me, to simulate what could happen in a real battle."

"Correct. It will be good practice for you. Now you'd best prepare yourself! I will not be going easy on you!"

"I would never ask you to." Kagome responded, her bow being raised to hold at the ready while she awaited the first move from him. Her eyes were sharp and focused, one arm already bent back at the elbow so that her fingers could quickly retrieve an arrow and notch it on her bowstring.

The two had a short staring match before their forms seemingly vanished into thin air. Or at least that's what it would look like to anyone who wasn't a demon, but for them they'd simply taken off running into the trees, both aiming to get some distance from one another in order to start the training session.

For Kagome this was especially crucial, as Tokuhei would immediately get in past her guard if she remained standing there like a fool. Hence why she was sprinting through the trees, one of her arrows having been notched on her bow as her eyes shot from side to side to see if there was any sign of her pursuer. So far she couldn't detect any movement, but that didn't mean that he wasn't close…

Tilting her head back, she allowed herself a brief moment to scent the air, inhaling deeply through her dainty nose in the hopes of detecting Tokuhei's distinctly masculine scent. However, she was only able to take in the scent of the grass and tree bark, of the dirt beneath her feet, not the one scent she was looking for.

He must have used his youki to mask it…

Now that made things more difficult, and she hadn't even thought to do that herself yet! Dammit! He was already far ahead of her in this little game!

Upon realizing her mistake, she quickly used her own youki to mask her scent, while suddenly veering off to the left and sprinting in an entirely new direction in the hopes of throwing Tokuhei off her tail. Yet the sudden sound of something being crunched under a heavy foot fall caught her attention, coming from her left hand side.

She immediately spun around in time to see Tokuhei rushing towards her, blue sleeves whipping about as if encompassed by a violent wind. His claws were bared, poised as if to sink into the flesh of her throat, while his expression was so cold and calculating that it made it seem as if he might actually do that.

Her heart skipped a beat, panic swelling within her for a moment as she leapt back and raised her bow, lining her arrow up with his form and letting it fly with a resounding snap of the bowstring, which sent it hurtling through the air towards its intended target.

However, at the last second Tokuhei leapt to the side, evading the arrow and disappearing from her sight in a blur of movement she had difficulty tracking. This prompted her to spin around while notching another arrow on her bow, her immediate assumption being that he was trying to get behind her, only to see no sign of him.

'Where could he have gotten to?'

She'd barely even had time to ask that question, before a presence suddenly made itself known against her back, her hair flying forward from the momentum of Tokuhei appearing behind her, while his claws quickly came to rest against the back of her throat.

"I believe this means that I won Kagome-sama." He chuckled softly.

The little raven haired inu spluttered for a moment, her bow falling free from her grasp as she spun on the older male and pointed an accusing finger at him. "How did you do that? I thought you were going to appear behind me!"

Tokuhei chose that moment to step back away from her, his lips tilted up at the sides in a somewhat arrogant smirk. "I know that you expected that, and I took advantage of it. Your eyes always give away what you are thinking milady. Really, you must work on that! And you must stop making such predictable choices."

Kagome felt her cheeks puff up in annoyance, eyes blazing as if a storm was raging inside of her. She couldn't exactly argue with him however, not when he was technically right! Instead she huffed and leaned down to pick up her bow once more. "Let's try it again! This time I will get it right!"

And if she didn't she'd just try harder next time!

The morning hours came and went, almost before he knew what had happened, and thus came the time for him to switch his attention from Satori onto Kagome. His day so far had been spent idly chatting with the elder female over the goings on in the palace, whilst sipping tea and lounging in her sitting room. While some of the topics had been somewhat intriguing, she hadn't been able to hold his attention for long.

Hearing details about who was having an affair with who, or which servants were reprimanded for what was hardly entertaining.

Not for long anyways, yet he'd sat through an entire morning of it nonethless. Now he found himself escorting Satori to the dining hall, said female clinging to his arm and giggling and chattering on about how one of her ladies had been having an affair with one of the servants. She acted as if it was completely acceptable to spread rumors about such things, her normally cold eyes twinkling with sadistic mirth, as if she truly got enjoyment out of slandering her companions.

It was likely that she did, but luckily enough for him he was spared from whatever else she might have to say on the subject by their arrival at the dining hall. Everyone else was already seated and awaiting their arrival, besides Kagome who's cushion was unoccupied when they passed by it.

Thankfully the seating arrangements had been altered to his liking, with Satori seated on his left side, and Kagome seated on his right. This way he was able to be close to both females, and converse with them through the meal.

Now he just had to wait for the little raven haired inu to show up.

She did so not a moment after the thought crossed his mind, striding into the dining hall as was customary. Only this time something appeared off with the younger female, her expression was pinched in worry or possibly unrest? Her scent was acrid as well, ripe with frustration and tinged obvious signs of exertion.

"Oh my… the runt is here, and surprise surprise… she smells awful." Satori muttered from beside him, her tone cold and condescending.

The only sign that Kagome had heard it was a barely repressed, yet scathing glare which she tossed in her sister's direction. Following that, she folded her rich green kimono under her knees and took her seat, hands folded in her lap as she avoided everyone's scrutiny.

Clearly everyone wanted to know why she showed up in such a state. He wanted to know as well, but before he could ask Atsushi chose to commence the midday meal by taking the first bite of his boar. Everyone else followed suit, including him, though his eyes occasionally glanced over at the little raven haired female, who hardly seemed inclined to touch her meal.

She kept her hands folded up in her lap, almost as if she was disconnected from whatever was going on around her. It was concerning since she was normally much more animated recently.

This almost reminded him of how things were during the beginning of his stay.

No one else seemed concerned or bothered by it, yet he was well aware that most of them would prefer that she never speak. So long as she was quiet and kept out of their way all was well, but that was not the case for him.

And so, despite Satori still vying for his attention, he turned towards Kagome more fully after freeing himself from her elder sister's hold. "Are you unwell Kagome?" He inquired in concern, brows furrowed as he gave her his full attention.

Doing so seemed to snap her out of whatever was on her mind, prompting her head to snap up as startled blue eyes met his gold ones. "Oh um, no not at all! I just have a lot on my mind right now Touga-sama!" She hastily explained while blushing.

Unperturbed by her obvious attempt to cover up whatever was bothering her, he simply pressed on, albeit without being overly forceful. "What is it that you have on your mind? It seems to be troubling you."

"As much as her very presence troubles the rest of us."

Kagome stiffened upon hearing that unwarranted, horribly nasty remark from her sister, eyes being diverted down to her lap when several demons at the table laughed at the remark.

He bristled however, angered by both the disregard for Kagome's feelings and the way Satori overstepped her bounds in using his inquiry to slide in a poorly timed insult against her own flesh and blood. For that very reason he whirled on the elder female and snarled at her, the sound vibrating the walls and floors from the sheer resonance, whilst the whites of his eyes bled red in his ire. "My inquiry was not directed towards you Satori! I did not ask for your childish, ill mannered, and overall atrocious retort. From now on when I speak to your sister you are to remain quiet and well behaved! Do I make myself clear?!"

For the very first time since he'd come to Lord Atsushi's estate, it appeared as if he'd genuinely intimidated and surprised these haughty inus. Everyone had gone silent at the first showing of his rage, his words roared with all the vehemence of someone who was at the very limits of his patience.

And with Satori he truly was.

Said female was rude, condescending, cold, sadistic, and overall took too much pleasure in the suffering of others. No, she seemed to thrive off of tearing them down piece by piece, playing on any insecurities they showed whilst making them feel like they were her personal play things. It was infuriating…!

Only now that he'd snapped at her did she seem properly cowed, her head angled back in order to allow her throat to be bared before him in submission. Her scent was brimming with anxiety and apprehension, as if she were awaiting further reprimand from him.

Everyone else seemed to be awaiting it on bated breath as well, though the punishment they likely foresaw coming never came. Touga simply growled at her upon acknowledging that she knew her place for the moment, and then turned his back on her, effectively dismissing her for the time being. But he didn't stop there, instead he stood and offered Kagome his arm, his tone gruff from his frustration when he finally spoke once more. "Let us go speak somewhere more privately. Some demons do not seem to know when others are not speaking to them."

The little raven haired female was shocked beyond belief with this turn of events! No one ever really stood up for her against Satori before, yet the most powerful inu male in existence had sided with her when she was being made fun of! She couldn't even wrap her head around it for a moment, not even as she took his proffered arm and allowed him to pull her up and escort her out of the still silent dining hall.

Afterwards, the duo made their way through the halls of the shiro, until they reached the section of the garden furthest from the dining hall itself. Once they exited the shiro itself, Touga led her over to a secluded section situated next to a koi pond, and then gestured for her to sit next to the pristine water. He followed suit as well, sitting across from her with his legs and arms crossed.

"Now that we are away from the rabble, tell me what is bothering you." He reiterated once more, his tone somewhat demanding.

Kagome was somewhat put on the spot because of it… If she chose not to answer him it would upset him, but if she did he would probably have reservations about what she told him. Most nobles didn't think that females should train or fight, especially if they were of higher standing. She was just… different in the fact that she didn't want to rely on others to constantly protect her and ensure her survival.

'Can I really tell him…?'

She bit her lip and thought about it for a moment… but in truth she knew there was no way he would take her refusal for an answer. Not with how agitated he already was, so there was no real choice in the matter.

A sigh escaped her as she came to that conclusion, hesitant blue eyes glancing up at him as she muttered a soft, "I was training with my bow earlier… and I didn't do as well as I would have liked. So I was quite frustrated with myself."

Training? She was training…? That wasn't what he expected to hear from her at all! He was actually a tad befuddled, not angry or annoyed as she might assume, but surprised in a way since most females of her stature didn't bother with such things. It was what they had bodyguards for, or that's what everyone offered in way of explanation. However, hearing that the little raven haired female was actually making an attempt to learn how to defend herself was intriguing.

"I see. At first I assumed it was something more serious." He murmured while eyeing her with interest. Every day she seemed to become more and more of an enigma…

"You do not think it is… improper for a female to do such things?" Kagome inquired when he didn't reprimand her like she assumed he would. Or perhaps the fact that she would've been judged by everyone else was influencing her perceptions of him. Either way she was surprised, eyes having gone wide as she stared up at him with her mouth slightly agape.

Amusement chased away the lingering sensation of his agitation, eliciting a chuckle from the Western Lord, who reached out with a single finger and pushed the little female's mouth closed. "Should I think it improper for a female to want to learn to be more self sufficient?" He challenged in return, smirking when she spluttered in response.

Oh yes, she was certainly an amusing female.

"I… perhaps? Everyone else seems to think that such proclivities should not enacted by females. I merely assumed that you might be of that opinion as well."

That made her seem somewhat judgmental, didn't it? And she knew it too, if the way she blushed and ducked her head down to avoid his scrutiny was any indication. Her hands fumbled in her lap, claws tapping against one another in a erratic manner. She chanced a glance at her companion and immediately regretted it… because he was still staring at her with obvious amusement.

'Is this situation really that funny to him?'

Indeed it was, and not one that was encountered very often. Touga was anything but displeased or cross with her for wanting to learn how to fight, it meant she had a strong drive to better herself, something he found attractive in a female. Perhaps that was why he was so interested in this topic, enough to where he leaned down and proceeded to pose another inquiry. "What exactly about your training was frustrating to you Kagome? Perhaps I may be of some assistance?"

"You want me to tell you that?! It… it is embarrassing." She became flustered when even recalling her numerous attempts to strike Tokuhei even once with her arrows! Every time he just… he somehow managed to get behind her, or around her guard and beat her! It was beyond frustrating!

She almost didn't want to talk about it.

"Oh come now Kagome, I doubt it was that bad?" He encouraged her. If anything she'd piqued his interest even more with her hesitance.

Clearly he wasn't one to be denied, was he? Kagome slumped in defeat and gazed upon him with the saddest expression anyone had ever seen, her big blue eyes practically quivering as she relented. "Tokuhei wanted me to shoot him with one of my arrows… but I could not manage to hit him. While I was trying to do so his goal was to get close to me and try to disarm me, or deal a finishing blow, like someone would if I were in an actual battle. However… I failed to hit him even once! He managed to get behind me every single time! I have no idea how he kept doing that either!"

By the end of her tangent she was clenching her fists and pouting, her cheeks puffed out and flushed with her frustrations. Even now it still stung her pride that she'd performed so horribly! And to make matters worse, now she had to share that with Touga of all males! What if it altered his opinion of her competency?

Well it was too late to take it all back now. All she could really do was wait for some sort of reaction from him, yet he seemed content to just stare at her as she practically prostrated herself before him.

All for him to just stare at her! She had no idea whether that was a positive thing or not! He said nothing! His facial expression didn't change, nor did he make any sort of gesture that indicated what he was thinking. He just stared at her…

To her that only made this situation even more embarrassing, her blush spreading until her entire face was nearly stained red because of it, while her claws pierced her palms and caused a few droplets of bright red blood to drip onto her kimono.

Touga snapped out of his contemplation when he smelled the alluring scent of her blood, his eyes zeroing in on her self inflicted wounds as he grabbed her hands in his own and pulled them up so he could inspect them. "I do not think injuring yourself will help resolve this matter." He scolded her lightly, while his thumbs rubbed against the little crescent shaped cuts.

They weren't too deep, certainly nothing to be overly worried about and yet they bothered him nonetheless. So much so that he brought her palms in close to his face and allowed his tongue to slip free from behind his lips, the appendage brushing over her wounds in order to seal them before she continued bleeding on herself.

Oh Gods… he was licking her hands… He'd rendered her completely dumbfounded by doing it as well, rendering her complacent solely due to being too shocked to react. Instead, her sapphire eyes just watched his tongue as it ghosted over the cuts one by one, while her blush deepened even more than before. Her head might explode at this rate…

Fortunately for her, he had his fill of her sweet blood, the wounds having closed to his liking. "There, now you will not stain that lovely kimono beyond repair." He commented without letting go of her wrists, almost as if he didn't even think to do so. Instead he pressed onward with the earlier subject, that being her supposed failure from earlier in the day. "You should not feel embarrassed about not doing as well as you would have liked Kagome. We all start somewhere, and every day is a new day to learn and reflect on what you have done wrong. Take your failures from earlier and build on them, think and isolate your mistakes and try to figure out a better course of action for next time. That is what we all must do, even myself. No one is perfect."

He rumbled soothingly, clasping her hands in a companionable manner. In no way was he judging her negatively, rather he opted to provide advice to soothe her frustrations and lessen her embarrassment. While doing this his gaze was clear and earnest, even affectionate as he stared down at her.

She wasn't like most females, that much became more apparent with each passing day.

Even so, he'd surprised her more than she would ever have expected. Her eyes had widened even further if that were possible, the blush now encompassing her features darkening considerably. She pinned the powerful male with a shy look, a heavy exhale racking her body as she murmured a soft, "Do you truly think I can improve then?"

Touga nodded immediately, his smug expression of earlier morphing to a genuine smile of encouragement. "Of course. All it takes is practice and dedication Kagome."

No one ever took the time to talk her up when she fell, or failed to do something she or someone else expected her to be able to achieve. Kagome wasn't sure how to react at first, her lips eventually tilting up at the edges in a small smile of her own, followed by her tugging her hands free from his hold, if only so that she could lean in and wrap her arms around his waist. She rested her face against the firm contours of his armor, and he let her do so without complaint, his own arms coming down to rest against the little female's back as she whispered a tearful, "Thank you Touga-sama."

Her voice was thick with emotion, almost forcing her to choke the words out in order to convey her gratitude. But he understood all the same, his hands rubbing her back as he rested his cheek atop her head. "You are welcome Kagome."

One thing was for certain to her in this moment…

Somehow… with just a few kind words…

He'd won her over…

Oh gosh I'm glad I finished this one! Hopefully you guys like that little slice of romance at the end! I think it's safe to say that Kagome is gonna have a little crush by the time the next chapter comes around, or a big one shall we say! Anyways don't forget to review and give me some feedback! It really helps me out!