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Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor its characters.

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The world seemed to have stopped its spinning. Time seemed to have halted in its relentless ticking, and the moonlight poured generously upon them. It was only him, and her. Her in his arms, his arms around her. There could never be a moment more perfect than this. This was where she truly belonged. She knew that her safety would never be compromised, and nothing can penetrate the protective embrace she was trapped in. And the best thing? He was exclusive to her, and her alone.

That is, until a certain retainer that happens to be a little too loyal decides to actually listen to a human's orders for once.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Sesshomaru-sama! Jaken is aware of the importance of your guest and hence have brought her the wine she has requested for. It is the finest in the whole of the Western Lands, and Jaken is proud to say that he is the only one to have acquired it from the maker. Sesshomaru-sama, Jaken is willing to go to all lengths to attain everything you request for, and make sure that what Sesshomaru-sama gets will always be the best in the whole of the Western Lands! In fact, Jaken does not mind searching the entire Japan just to secure Sesshomaru-sama whatever he needs… SESSHOMARU-SAMA! OH SESSHOMARU-SAMA, WHAT HAS THE HUMAN WENCH DONE TO YOU?"

The little green toad ran into the room, horrified at the sight of Kagome, the human, in his precious Lord Sesshomaru's arms. He quickly set the tray holding the bottle of wine and several wine glasses down on the table in the middle of library, and ran over to where the couple had stopped their dancing.

Whipping his staff out from behind him, he aimed it at Kagome, all the while squawking about the possible spells and enchantments she might have casted on Sesshomaru to make him lose his head. He was frantic and desperate to save his beloved master from the clutches of this human sorceress.

The noise the mass of green created jolted Kagome out of her blissful stupor. She raised her head from its place on Sesshomaru's warm chest to bestow a hard glare upon the toad. Talk about a killjoy. A massive and complete killjoy.

Sesshomaru almost groaned at the loss of the weight of Kagome's head on his being. Just feeling her on his body and knowing she felt safe enough in his arms to entrust her life into his hands… It was indescribable. The bundle he promised silently to protect was now boring holes into his retainer's head, and the cold air that rushed in to take its place on his chest did nothing to improve his mood. He growled viciously and whipped his head around to face Jaken. Honestly, what did he do in his past life to deserve such a servant? Why didn't the toad develop a common sense in all his centuries of living? Why was he burdened with the only toad in the entire world without a shred of common sense? WHY HIM?

His arms loosened their hold on the beautiful female in front of him and he took threatening steps towards the green thing that was Jaken. Sesshomaru snatched away his staff, and upon Jaken's cry of "Sesshomaru-sama! Why are you doing this to me?" and his sobs, picked him up by the scruff of his wart-covered neck. Carrying his load to the wooden door and dropping him in the hallway unceremoniously, he commanded, "Do not disturb us for the remainder of the miko's stay. Is that clear?"

Jaken made to object, but a swift kick from a polished boot to his tiny body had him flying down the hallway and too winded to make any more noise.

Now that that was settled, he turned back to Kagome, whom he had left by the window. She was staring at him with eyes filled with something akin to admiration. He approached the gilded table in the library, and opened the bottle of wine. Pouring the maroon liquid into two wine glasses, he looked up at her and gave her a tiny smile. "Some wine for the lady?"

Kagome, who had been admiring the entirely cool way Sesshomaru had disposed of Jaken, blushed softly, and smiled in response. Adjusting her tube top, she quickly grabbed the glass from Sesshomaru's fingers and downed it all in one gulp. This got her a raised eyebrow from her host. She grinned and returned the glass to him. "One more, please."

He gave her an apprehensive glance as he proceeded to fill her glass again. "I did not think you to be an alcoholic."

She brushed it off with a casual wave of her hand. "Nah, I'm not an alcoholic. I just drink when the occasion calls for it."

Passing her the refilled wine glass, he questioned, "And tonight calls for one?"

"Yup." She sipped the wine slowly this time. "Oh, this is really good stuff."

He took a couple of sips from his own glass. "Naturally. May I ask why tonight is so special?"

She shrugged and winked at him. "Well, you never know what might happen, right?" Without giving him an opportunity to continue his line of thought, she grabbed a heavy chair, pulling it out before sitting down. "Shall we continue our lesson from before dinner?"

He made a noncommittal sound and went to pull out the chair opposite her. Upon hearing Kagome clear her throat, he suddenly remembered the afternoon's events and pushed it back in. Walking around the rectangular table, he pulled out the one next to her and settled himself down, in time to meet Kagome's brilliant smile. He was taken aback.

"Yes, miko?"

Her face scrunched up. "Hur, I liked it better when you were addressing me by name." The bright smile returned and she continued, "I thought you were too high and mighty to move?"

He looked away with his nose in the air. "I have not sat down yet. It is faster for me to walk over here than for you to stand up, push in your chair, walk over to my side, pull out the chair beside me, and sit. My time is precious."

Funnily, she didn't feel offended at all. In fact, a warm feeling overcame her and she couldn't stop smiling. It was endearing, the way he tried to defend himself. What he said was actually mostly crap but the way he said it made it seem as though it was obvious and substantiated by irrefutable evidence. She had a strong urge to hold his hand and interlock their fingers, like she did earlier on. She opted to just giggle instead.

"Alright, let's get cracking! We've covered most of the first chapter this afternoon, I don't suppose we need to cover the male body?"

Sesshomaru opened his mouth to say something but was quickly cut off by Kagome.

"Anyway, I don't think I'm qualified to teach you about the male body, I mean, I'm a female for goodness' sake, and you're a male. Wouldn't it be funny if I were to show you cartoon drawings of the male anatomy in a book and point out the various parts when you actually can just look down at yourself? Just positively hilarious ha ha ha! It's not like I can just point at a certain part of your body and start a discussion about it with you. I wouldn't even really know what I'd be talking about since I have absolutely no experience in that department... Okay, what else do you want to cover?" She changed the subject quickly when she saw Sesshomaru smirking at her, his eyes shining with amusement. Whatever he was thinking of definitely couldn't be any good.

In actual fact, he wouldn't have minded conducting the lesson using his body as a specimen, but since she appeared so shy and ignorant about such things, he decided not to speak his mind. After all, he had yet to conduct his lesson. He smirked at that thought. Upon realizing that Kagome was still waiting for an answer, he swiftly replied, "Anything that pertains to Rin. I would like to understand her maturing process."

She nodded and flipped to the content page. "Well that means we would have to cover periods, oh that I have no problem talking about at all," she muttered to herself. "Contraception… hmm. It's not like they have the stuff here anyway."

Sesshomaru had been peering at the content page too as she was studying it. Coming across the unfamiliar term, he asked, "What is con-tra-cep-tion?"

She frowned and asked in return, "Would you like me to explain that?" At his nod, she turned back to the content page. "I guess that means that's another chapter we would have to cover." Before she turned to the page about periods, Sesshomaru saw something that he tucked to the back of his mind. That piece of information would come in handy later on.

Kagome passed the book to Sesshomaru before clapping her hands together. "Okay let's begin. Periods, in other words, menstruation. Turn to page 22." She waited for him to find the required page before continuing. "As you can see here, this is a drawing of the female reproductive system, which mainly consists of the genitals, the vagina, the cervix, the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, and womb, aka the uterus, and the womb lining. These all contribute to the formation of a baby." Pointing to a paragraph titled 'Ovulation', she read, "Every month, up to thirty eggs start to ripen, but only one will mature fully and break away from the surface of the ovary. This process of releasing an egg is called ovulation, and happens roughly fourteen days after the first day of your period. Catch any balls?" she asked Sesshomaru.

He lifted a claw to scratch his head leisurely. "Is this when females are in heat?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Hmm… I suppose you could say that. I mean, other than the fact the phrase 'in heat' is usually used on animals, but I can overlook that. You being an inuyoukai and all, heh."

He nodded slowly. "What is the period then?"

She smiled. "Oh, I'm getting to that right about now." She turned the page, and continued reading from the book. "Over the course of the month, your womb lining has been thickening and getting ready to nourish a baby. If the egg isn't fertilized, the womb lining is shed over several days. This, is what we call a period, or menses. Say it after me. Men-ses."

"Men-ses." Sesshomaru pronounced. Kagome couldn't hold back her laugh. "Yes, that's right, menses. You have a flair for the female reproductive system, Sesshomaru." And then she realized she had put her foot in her mouth again. "Nevermind, let's continue. Anyway, this happens in all females, including Rin. In humans, the menstrual cycle repeats every month, or twenty-eight days approximately. A period can last two to eight days, depending on the person."

Sesshomaru cut in halfway. "This period is the shedding of the womb lining?" He waited for Kagome's affirmative nod. "The womb lining is liquid? Blood?"

Kagome thought for a moment. "The fluid that we lose is made of blood, mucus and vaginal secretions, although it may appear to be all blood. So technically speaking, it's not only blood, I guess."

"I see. At what age does the cycle begin?" Sesshomaru questioned.

Explaining, Kagome said, "Well that's the biggest pain in the ass. You won't know when it's about to begin. It just happens. Of course, it depends on the mother too, if she started menstruating early, usually the daughter also starts early. Since you have no idea who Rin's mother is, and even if you did know her, she probably wouldn't tell you the age she started bleeding, you just have to wait until it comes. But it is possible for her to get pregnant before her first period, because ovulation can occur before she begins menstruating."

Sesshomaru's eyes flashed red for a moment before returning to their regular shade of molten gold. "That will never happen. I will make sure of that."

Kagome felt her heart warm slightly. It was so cute the way he was so protective of his young ward. "Your young padawan," she murmured happily to herself.

"Miko, what is it that you just said?" He cocked an eyebrow.

Kagome snorted before shaking her head. "Nothing!" She grinned to herself. Too bad StarWars wasn't going to be introduced until four hundred years later. "Anyhow, periods are a huge headache. They suck, period. Oops, pun not intended." She laughed a little while Sesshomaru just stared blankly at her throughout her short monologue. "As I was saying, periods aren't painless. Except for some lucky ones, of course. Up to six out of ten girls suffer from period pains, and they're actually due to the womb contracting to get rid of the lining. Pain is usually worse during the first few years of getting a period because the body is still adjusting to the new hormonal levels."

He gave her an incredulous look. "Females suffer pain when they, men-stru-ate?"

She shot him an equally incredulous glance. "You thought men were only ones that suffered?"

"Hn." He broke their eye contact and stuck his nose high up in the air. "The pain males go through severely outweighs that of females."

Kagome scoffed. "Yeah, you try having periods twelve times a year and giving birth to kid after kid and having to maintain your youthful appearance, and you come back and look me in the eye, and repeat yourself."

Sesshomaru looked down his nose at her. "Do females in your time often give birth to baby goats?"

Kagome threw her hands in the air in exasperation. She gave up trying to talk to Sesshomaru and instead chose to continue the lesson so they could get it over with. "Besides period pains, there's something else that comes along with periods. It's called the Premenstrual Syndrome, PMS for short. It's also caused by female hormones, and is made up of many symptoms. These symptoms vary from woman to woman; a symptom suffered by one woman may be non-existent in another. Stuff like moodswings, tearfulness, headaches, depression, tiredness and sore breasts are all part of the PMS. Up to ninety percent of females suffer from some form of PMS, so good luck to you if Rin were to suffer from a severe case of PMS." She flashed a triumphant smile.

Sesshomaru was starting to become a little wary of the female population. "Is there no way to reduce the likelihood of this PMS?" he asked, fearing for the future.

She flipped the page and read out from the book, "Well, one way is to avoid caffeine, of which the feudal era doesn't really have much of anyway. The second way is to eat more fruit and vegetables and taking less red meat, meaning your beef steaks are out of the question. The third is to take multivitamins, again non-existent in this era. The last is to exercise more." She continued reading the page silently. "Oh! By the way, if she misses several months' worth of periods, it means she's pregnant. In order to get pregnant, the egg has to be fertilized, which will then attach itself to the womb lining. When an egg attaches itself there, there is no need to get rid of the lining, hence the lack of periods." She quickly added.

He frowned. "Females are very complex. Even their anatomies are very complex."

She patted his shoulder lightly and reassured him, "You just need to get used to it." An invisible bead of sweat rolled down the back of his head. It wasn't actually much reassurance…

Kagome stood up and stretched. "Well! There we go, we're done with periods! Aren't you glad?"

He stood up silently and reached across Kagome to retrieve his wineglass. Kagome was yawning, and had her eyes closed. Upon opening her blue orbs, she was stunned to find herself face to face with Sesshomaru's chest once more. His left arm was pressing against the back of her chair, and his right arm was stretched in front of her. His chest was mere centimeters away from hers and he bent forward to grab his wineglass. Her breath caught as she continued staring straight ahead, afraid to look up. She could feel the warmth radiating off Sesshomaru's body and her cheeks heated up too. She was trying to imagine what he would taste like if she were to draw her tongue over his washboard abs. Sweet? With a tinge of saltiness? What does sexy taste like? Ooh, definitely burning hot. Her heart sped up as she continued fantasizing.

He could clearly hear the racing beats of her heart. He wondered what she was thinking of. His nose twitched. A spicy, sweet scent wafted to his nose. He sniffed and inhaled deeply. The scent was gone. It must have been the alcohol playing with his mind. He grabbed hold of his glass and pulled back, but purposely remained in close proximity with her. He loved seeing her blush. It was a major turn-on.

She kept stock-still, not knowing how to react. She had never been in such close contact with a man before, and such a sizzling hot man too. Hojo obviously didn't count since he was back in her high school days, and Inuyasha… Well. They had never progressed to this stage. They had never even progressed further than kissing – and the only reason they kissed was because the situation called for it. Like how the current situation calls for a drink. Several, actually.

Kagome quickly sucked in a deep breath to calm herself down and turned away from Sesshomaru and his chest. He managed to catch a glimpse of her tomato-red face before she faced her back towards him, which eased his disappointment slightly. She spotted her wineglass at the far end of the table. Going on tiptoe and stretching forward, she had one hand supporting her weight on her end of the table and the other reaching out. The tubetop rode up as she leaned over, exposing a little of her butt-crack and her hip area. A tattoo bearing the words "Let go and let live" was revealed, beside which a dove was pictured mid-flight. Sesshomaru thought he would never meet a hotter woman.

He licked his lips in appreciation as her ass jiggled a little, her arm flailing slightly in an attempt to grasp the thin stem of her wineglass. He was about to offer his assistance when her fingers finally closed around it and brought it to her lips. Gulping down whatever was left in the glass, she poured herself another cup and drank it all in another mouthful, almost like she was inhaling the liquid. She resembled someone who had spent forty years wandering around in the Sahara desert. Sesshomaru stood by her side in mirth and newfound admiration for her alcohol tolerance. Was that what his presence did to her? He was very pleased.

All she had wanted was a little drink to help her get rid of her hot flush and embarrassment, but the more she drank the thirstier she got, and hence the more she drank. Unfortunately, she failed to recall that alcohol dehydrates. It was a vicious cycle that she had begun. Seeing her pause in her demolishing of the entire bottle of expensive wine, he seized his chance and quickly grabbed both her wineglass and the wine bottle out of her grasp. She let out a surprised exclamation at the sudden disappearance of her lifeline. "Hey! I wasn't done with tha – oh," she swayed slightly, quickly grabbing hold of the chair backing to steady herself. "I don't feel so good."

Sesshomaru snorted. Pouring himself a small amount of wine, he noted that there wasn't much left, thanks to the little woman beside him. He put the bottle down on the far end of the table, way out of Kagome's reach to prevent a repeat of what just happened. Sipping daintily, he watched her as she continued to support herself with the chair backing. "Normal people enjoy wine, and sip at it." He took a sip to emphasize his point. "Not gulp it like a fish out of water gasps for air. By the way, that bottle was a vintage port wine. 20 percent alcohol."

Kagome raised her head to look at him slowly. Any quicker and her head would spin. "20… percent?" He nodded in a slow, laidback manner. "But I was thirsty," she whined in self-defense. She was met with a roll of Sesshomaru's eyes.

"Alcohol dehydrates a being, ignorant priestess." He had adopted a tone one would use when talking to a child.

"Oh crap," she facepalmed herself. Either she was getting old, or the wine was clogging up her brain. "Nevermind about me, let's continue our lesson. You wanted to learn about contraception right?"

Sesshomaru doubted she could continue the lesson that night once the alcohol kicked in, but there was no harm in playing along. "Yes." He picked up the book from where she left it and flipped to the content page to find the chapter on contraception.

Groaning as she lowered herself down into her seat, she shook her head a few times, trying to clear the dull haze that was settling upon her mind. 'Should have taken it slow,' she berated herself. Adjusting her chair and bringing it nearer to Sesshomaru, she took a look at the page he was at. She started explaining the concept of contraception to him.

"Contraception just means 'against conception', i.e. using either natural or man-made methods to prevent pregnancy."

Sesshomaru wasn't really paying any attention to her, but he was very entertained by the way her eyes had taken on a dazed look and the way her words were starting to slur together. He replied just to get her to continue speaking, and also because he was slightly curious. "Why would females want to stop themselves from being impregnated?"

She smiled lazily without teeth at Sesshomaru. Ah, that was hot too. He licked his lips in response. "Weeeell, some people just want to enjoy sex," she emphasized the 's' in the word 'sex', "without having to worry about the responsibility of a possible child. You know, if they're say, friends with benefits," she winked. The alcohol was definitely getting to her.

Sesshomaru, being Sesshomaru, of course snatched up the bait she dangled innocently, probably even without being aware that she was doing it. "Friends with benefits, you say?"

"Hyeah," she replied, mashing up the sound 'heh' and word 'yeah'. "Like, friends by day, sex partners by night. People who have a sexual relationship without getting romantically involved. No commitment, no such thing as monogamy, yada." She sniffed. Somewhere in the middle of her little speech, Sesshomaru had moved his chair closer to hers and was now leaning an arm casually against the back of her chair. "But that kinda sucks."

He was puzzled. That sounded like a delicious combination to him. Imagine being able to get a good lay every night without having to worry about the prospect of mating that female. "Why would it be bad?"

She threw him a look that made him question his own statement too. "Uh, duh! Because you don't have to keep to one sex partner, and the possibility of getting a sexually transmitted disease is way higher! And also, what if I fall in love with my sex partner? Or if contraception fails and I get pregnant? Since there's no commitment he's just going to ditch me and leave me alone to rot with my kid. I don't want something like that, I don't want to live in uncertainty or always having to think about the likelihood of my guy sleeping with someone else at the same time. I want someone whom I can," she yawned, "count on to love me no matter what. But of course, it'll be great if he's a beast in bed too," she giggled at that thought. "Grawrh!" She tried to growl, but in her near-drunken stupor, it just came out as an odd gurgle. Apparently her alcohol tolerance wasn't as good as Sesshomaru had originally thought it was. Suddenly, she seemed to regain a little clarity. "Oh, sorry about digressing, let's continue, so, contraception…" she trailed off as Sesshomaru fully turned his body towards her.

He lowered his head towards her right ear, before saying in a low, seductive baritone, "Let us skip contraception. There is one other chapter I am largely interested in, though."

Kagome stiffened. Turning slightly, she whispered, "Which?"

He withdrew a little to meet her dazed blue eyes. "Chapter fifteen, page two-one-four." He watched as she fumbled with clumsy fingers to flip to the page he mentioned. Using his long fingers to guide her own slender ones past the last few pages, they finally arrived at the specified page. Kagome had to blink twice before realizing what the chapter was about. Chapter Fifteen: Having Sex.

She cleared her throat. "Uh Sesshomaru? There's a wee bit of a problem here," she told him.

"And just what might that be?" He almost purred. He delighted in the slight shiver that ran up Kagome's spine.

"Um, I don't have enough experience to actually tell you about this," she started sheepishly. "Actually, I don't have any at all." She almost whispered the last part. Her head was hung in a manner that could only be described as shame. A slight blush had appeared on her face.

Why would she be ashamed of not having lain with a man before? That fact turned Sesshomaru on like there was no tomorrow. Most demonesses were sluts. The only ones that weren't were those of royal blood, and sleeping with any was equivalent to declaring that she was your mate. However, it's funny when you think of the lengths these demonesses go to just to have a tryst with a random stranger. After all, what their families don't know can't hurt them. The females he had once bedded were from aristocratic families, and back in the day, or at least a century ago before his hiatus, families weren't so anal about such stuff. Give these stuck-up people a hundred years, and suddenly they're all high and mighty, and going on about preserving one's chastity and purity. What hypocrites.

On the other hand, this drunken beauty sitting in front of him lived in a time where sex was cheap, and it was by entirely her own choice that she remained a virgin. He didn't believe that it was due to a lack of suitors, she was too gorgeous for that to be true. There was no other explanation. She had just chosen not to sleep with any random man she didn't feel for.

Sesshomaru wanted to make her feel better about herself. He wanted to make her feel wanted. He wanted to make her feel desired. He needed to make her feel loved. Scooting even closer such that his butt was partially on her chair, he held onto the one end of the book with his right hand and wound his left arm around her shoulders to grab hold of the other end, covering her small hand with his larger one. This effectively put her in his embrace, sort of. From an outsider's point of view, they looked like a pair of lovers reading a romance novel together. If only Jaken could have seen it. He would have died of cardiac arrest immediately.

Kagome gasped softly in surprise at the feel of Sesshomaru's arm around her shoulders. He was so incredibly warm. All her inhibitions suddenly disappeared and she snuggled into his chest. It was too damn comfortable an opportunity to pass up. Sesshomaru smiled at her action. He considered it one step nearer to success if she felt so at ease in his presence.

He stroked left thumb lightly to draw her attention back to the book. "Kagome, I believe it is still lesson time," he purred gently into her right ear. He felt her stiffen to suppress another shiver. "Why do you always shiver in my presence? I may be cold towards people, but I do not think I am physically cold. In fact, would you not agree that it is rather the opposite, hm?" he teased.

Kagome giggled at his attempt at a joke. "It's still lesson time, sexy boy," she bumped his chin softly with her head. "Back to the book," she drawled in a slurred manner. "But I don't know how I'm gonna teach you stuff if I don't know anything about what I'm teaching, hic!" she hiccupped, quickly withdrawing her right hand from holding the book to cover her mouth. The book remained in place thanks to Sesshomaru's hold on it.

Dropping a kiss on the side of her face, Sesshomaru whispered, "Whoever said you were going to be the teacher? I believe this is my area of expertise." With that, he turned his attention back to the book. Reading the title of the first paragraph, he began his lesson.

"Let us begin with what the book begins with," he murmured.

Kagome was enraptured by his voice. "K-kissing?" she read, excited in a nervous way. Something began pooling in the pit of her stomach.

"Very good, Kagome," he approved. He continued reading from where she left off. "Lots of people are not certain how to kiss. Being literal, a kiss is where you press your lips against the skin of a person or lips, and in some situations, you move your tongue around in their mouth. Kissing works best when each partner responds to what the other is doing, like dancing together. It is less about technique and more about your feelings for each other. The world's greatest kisser will not get you to respond if you do not like him."

Kagome's heart started racing the minute Sesshomaru had read about dancing. Just less than an hour ago they had been dancing in sync by the windowsill, bathing under the moonlight. Was that a sign? She felt the air around her move and she turned her head, just to see Sesshomaru's face within centimeters of her own, and mere seconds before his gentle lips landed on hers almost tenderly. His golden orbs were trained on her wide blue ones before his lids slid shut and he let go of the book to wrap one around her waist and cup her face. The book fell to the table when Kagome's left hand went slack in surprise. She remained frozen for a few seconds before she felt Sesshomaru nip her lower lip lightly. He pulled back slightly to give her a soft look of reprimand, before saying, "This is a lesson, Kagome, not a performance." He placed a feather-light kiss on her nose. "Kissing is like dancing. It takes two hands to clap, and two mouths to kiss." He landed another kiss on the side of her mouth. "Shall we try again?" He kissed the other side.

Kagome was savouring his attentions. She didn't realize he had asked her a question until he repeated it. Without any hesitation, she gave a quick nod, and blushed when he smiled knowingly at her. He leaned in again, and this time, before their lips touched, he whispered, "Follow your body. It knows what to do." He went in for the kill.

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That's all for Chapter 4 ;D Sorry, but I wanted to end on a nice number of chapters hehe!

Once again, please review! They're the air that I breathe :p