(Sorry it took some time to update this, but I am really sick and I haven't finished the last chapter yet. I'm finishing it up now and I'll put it here tomorrow, after my friend reads it. I also have ideas for 2 short stories and one already written, but it's not Kagome and Sesshomaru. It's pretty much my own feelings for Sesshomaru, as strange as that sounds. Enjoy!)

"Lady Kagome!"

Kagome turned and smiled at the group of children racing toward her. She had grown so attached to them, and spent every moment that she could with them.

"Lady Kagome, what are we going to do today?" Hitoshi asked, jumping up and down. Ever since his arm had healed he had taken to following Kagome around, making sure she had everything she needed. Kagome smiled and ruffled his hair.

"We can play a game, or I can tell a story, or we can go walking in the woods. What would you like to do?"

The children all started to yell out their opinions, then, as children do, they started to argue among themselves. Kagome giggled and watched them with interest. Eventually they would come to an agreement, as they always did, but it was fun watching them try to work it out.

For the third time that hour, Kagome lifted her eyes and glanced back at the castle. The days had slowly stretched on before her, each one longer than the last. She hadn't realized how much just seeing the great demon lord had cheered her up, but now without him nearby she felt alone. She spent almost every night in her room, reading over Sesshomaru's letter and yelling at herself. She felt stupid, like she had passed up a great thing, and knew that she had only herself to blame.

Kagome tore her eyes away from the castle and noticed Rin running up the path toward her. She shot her a questioning glance, but the village leader shook her head. The children stopped arguing as she approached them.

"I'm sorry children, but I must steal our lady priestess from you. Now now," she said, holding up her hands as the children started to whine. "I promise you I will give her back as soon as I can. Go on and play in the meadow. Go on now." The children slowly drifted away, still complaining.

"What's wrong Rin?" Kagome asked, concerned. Usually if someone needed her assistance in the village the children came with her in case she needed something.

Rin looked around quickly, then leaned close to Kagome. "I'm worried about Lord Sesshomaru. He hasn't come back yet, and this was supposed to be a quick meeting. I sent one of the servants to find the demon he was supposed to meet with, but apparently the demon says Lord Sesshomaru never showed up. Do you think something could have happened to him?" Kagome saw the fear in her eyes and took her hand.

"Lord Sesshomaru is too strong and too arrogant to let anything serious happen to him," she said firmly. Rin did not look convinced. "Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll go look for him. I'll even yell at him for making you worry." Kagome grinned at her friend, but in her heart she had a bad feeling. If Sesshomaru said he had something to do, he got it done, whatever it took.

"Thank you Kagome. I'll let everyone know."

Kagome ran back to the castle and packed a few things in her bag. She asked the servants to make her some sandwiches, which they did; she placed them along with bottles of water, a change of clothes and anything else she could think of into her bag. She grabbed her bow and arrow, just in case, and left the castle. She found Rin on the path out of the village with her bike. She pointed to the east.

"Sesshomaru went that way. The other castle he owns is quite a ways away, but with your bike you should get there with no problem. Please let me know if something happens."

Kagome reassured her friend, jumped on her bike and sped off. She wasn't exactly too sure of where she was going; she just knew she had to get there, and quickly. She passed out of the forest in a matter of hours; there were now only endless meadows and farms ahead of her. Here and there she spotted a few huts, but no big villages. She waved occasionally to people, especially the children, but she didn't deviate from her goal.

Kagome noticed, as twilight fell, that the feeling of dread she had felt earlier was growing. She felt uneasy; she was in unfamiliar territory, and for all she knew there could be powerful demons here. She put her senses on high alert as she rode her bike hard over uneven ground. She refused to give up and go back. She had made a promise to Rin, but it was more than that. She needed to know that Sesshomaru was okay.

Thunder boomed above Kagome's head and the clouds parted, bringing with them the rain. Kagome grumbled to herself and looked around for a place to stay. After a few minutes she noticed a cave in the side of a large hill to her left. She stood up on her bike and peddled as fast as she could, but she was still completely soaked by the time she got to the cave. She jumped off her bike and pulled it inside, leaning it against the wall. She shook her head from side to side quickly to get rid of some of the water, but it didn't help. She sighed and set her bag on the ground.

Kagome knelt down and rummaged through it. Luckily she had put together an emergency bundle about a month before she went into the coma; in it was a towel, some mix for warm broth, a bundle of sticks and some matches. She pulled out the towel and lightly set it on her head. She quickly untied the sticks and set up a small fire, starting it with the matches. Once it was going she pulled out her other set of clothes. Luckily her mother had thought to pack her a second school uniform, just in case; Kagome had never worn it until now, since it was easy to just wash the one she was using.

Kagome quickly undressed. She had no choice but to keep on her wet bra and unders, but she hoped that the warmth of the fire would help dry them. She took a moment to wring out her clothes by the cave entrance and lay them out on rocks near the fire to dry. She pulled on her other uniform, sat down, and started to dry her hair with the tower.

How was she supposed to find Sesshomaru now? She was stranded here until the rain let up, and it could pour all night. She didn't want to spend the night in this drafty old cave. She shivered and rubbed her hair harder with the towel. Her mind wandered, and she wondered where the daiyoukai was now. She knew, without a doubt, that Sesshomaru could take care of himself; so why was she feeling uneasy?

Kagome heard a shuffling sound at the back of the cave. She stood up and notched an arrow in her bow in the blink of an eye. She watched the darkness for any signs of movement. Just when she thought that whatever it was must have disappeared further into the cave, a movement caught her eye. She instinctively turned and fired her arrow.

It wizzed through the air and into the darkness. Kagome listened for the thunk that she knew came when her arrow hit something, but it never came. She scowled and quickly notched another one as footsteps came closer to her.

"Honestly, must you fire things at me?"

Kagome was startled at the sound of Sesshomaru's voice. She instantly lowered her bow as the demon lord shuffled into the light. He had her arrow in his hand, and he held it out to her. She took it, stammering a thank you.

"What are you doing here?" Sesshomaru asked her.

"Looking for you," Kagome answered. She explained Rin's concerns, not bothering to voice her own, and asked him what happened. Not answering her, he motioned for her to follow him and led her further into the cave. After a moment a stench hit Kagome's nose that made her stop and swallow to keep nausea away. Sesshomaru soon stopped, and Kagome caught up to him. She looked up at him curiously, then past him. She gasped.

Lying on the ground was the body of a young woman, no more than twenty five. She was obviously dead, and had been for a long time. Kagome was about to ask Sesshomaru about her when a high pitched wail filled the cave. Kagome had heard that sound quite a few times before; it was a hungry baby.

Kagome followed the sound to where a small stack of clothes were piled up. On the top of them was a baby girl. She looked no more than a couple of days old. She had pretty blue eyes and some dark brown hair on her head. She was wailing as loud as she could, and Kagome made shushing noises as she moved closer. She gently picked up the child and held her in her arms, rocking her back and forth.

Sesshomaru explained that he had left for his meeting, but along the way he had been stopped by screams. Not sure where they were coming from he had followed them, and ended up here in the cave. The young woman was being attacked by a giant weasel demon, which Sesshomaru quickly destroyed. Unfortunately it was too late for the woman. She managed to thank Sesshomaru and tell him to take care of her child, and then she had simply slipped away.

"So why didn't you bring the child back to the village?" Kagome asked, soothing the now sleeping baby.

Sesshomaru looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "First of all, the villagers do not know about me. They would have thought it was my child, and killed it. Secondly, I did not want to pick up the child."

Kagome turned to face him and held out the baby. "Lord Sesshomaru, this is not an 'it.' This is a child, a little girl. I don't call you an it, and you don't call me an it. She deserves the same respect."

Sesshomaru smirked. "Perhaps I shall call you an it from now on, hmm miko?"

Kagome scowled at him as she walked past him. She knew the child was hungry, but she had nothing she could feed the infant until they got back to the village. She figured that if they could just wait out the storm, everything would be okay. She made it back to her fire and sat with her back to the wall, the child resting in her lap. Sesshomaru followed in silence and sat down next to her. After a moment he noticed her shivering.

"Are you cold?" he asked, trying to sound as if he didn't care.

"Just a bit," Kagome tried to say, but her chattering teeth prevented the words from escaping.

Sesshomaru sighed in annoyance. "Come here," he said. Kagome scooted closer to him, and he picked her up and placed her in his lap. Although she was surprised she did notice she was considerably warmer. Her face flushed as Sesshomaru wrapped his arms around her waist. After sitting stiff for a moment, she finally relaxed and leaned into him.

Moments passed in silence, broken only by the occasional sound from the baby.

"Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru glanced down at the mortal girl in his lap. She looked up at him with a sad expression on her face.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Are you?" he asked, not unkindly. He didn't have to ask what she was talking about; they both knew.

"I didn't mean to make you think that I wasn't ready for you to do anything," Kagome said, forcing her eyes to stay connected with his. "I was. It was just that…" She trailed off, trying to end her own sentence.

"You miss my half breed brother so much?"

Kagome nodded slowly. "It's not just that I loved him, but also that he was my best friend for so long. No one in my time got me; everyone always thought I was weird because I missed school and my grandpa told everyone I had all these strange diseases. The fact the Inuyasha waited for me when I was gone, that he came to my rescue time and time again, made me feel special. And to know that he thought of Kikyo the same way, more so than me, made me feel like I was nothing. I don't want to be nothing to people; I don't want to be just Kagome or that priestess who is good in herbs. I want friends, and I want to be remembered."

Sesshomaru thought over her words before answering. "So when we were dancing, you thought maybe you were just the girl who was there?" Kagome nodded, and Sesshomaru grunted. "Trust me Kagome, if I wanted you just because you were there, I could have had you, a long time ago."

Sesshomaru seemed to be struggling with himself, and minutes passed before he spoke again. "The truth is, Kagome, you are special. You genuinely care about everyone, including me, and you share your warmth with everyone. You made me feel feelings that I thought would be dormant forever, and instead of being scared by them, I tried to embrace them. When you pushed me away, it made me think that maybe I was wrong to do so; maybe I should have just stepped back. But I have no regrets. And I hope you do not, either."

Kagome smiled at him before resting against his chest. She was asleep in moments. Sesshomaru raised one arm and gently brushed the hair out of her face. He finally let himself admit that she really was beautiful, not only outside but inside as well. He brushed his lips lightly over her forehead.

"If nothing else, my dear miko, you will be remembered by me. Forever."

Midmorning met the young couple heading back to the village. Kagome held the baby against her shoulder while Sesshomaru walked next to them with her bike on his shoulder. Kagome's sleep had been a restful one, full of dreams of the demon lord, and she finally felt relaxed. She slowly reached over with her free hand and took his claw. He looked at her briefly, but did not pull away.

"When we get back to town, are you going to go straight to the castle?" she asked, glancing up at him.

"I think that would be best," he answered.

Kagome sighed. "You know, the villagers are not as narrow minded as you might think. Sure, they'll probably be a little freaked out by the fact that you're a demon lord, but I think that they would come to realize that you have protected them all these years, and they will be grateful."

A moment of silence, then, "Perhaps you are right. But I will choose the time to reveal who I am to them." Kagome nodded her assent and squeezed his hand.

When they were about to exit the forest to enter the village Sesshomaru took his leave. Kagome couldn't push her bike with the baby in her arms, so she left it where it was and entered the village. Instantly she was surrounded by the children, all of them asking questions about where she had been and the baby. She smiled and told them that she had found the baby while she was out looking for special herbs, and had been caught in the rainstorm.

"What are you going to do, Lady Kagome? Are you going to adopt her?' Hitoshi asked her.

Kagome smiled at him but shook her head. "I do not think I would be a good mother to this little one. However, I think that I shall place her with someone in the village. Come along children, let's go find this young cutie a new home!"

They went from hut to hut, but most of the families were very big, and they had no room for a new baby. None of the elders could take her in, and Rin just shook her head. Kagome finally gave up and sat on the ground near the fire pit in the center of town. She rocked the baby back and forth, upset because she had no food to give to her. The children were still looking for a new home for her, so Kagome was alone. She sang a soft song to the baby, hoping the little girl would go back to sleep, at least for a little while. When a shadow fell over her, she looked up to find Hitoshi and his mother standing in front of her. She smiled.

"Oh my, she is such a small thing!" the woman exclaimed.

"Mama lost a little girl after I was born," Hitoshi told Kagome. "It was really hard on her, and she hasn't had any babies since then."

Kagome stood up and smiled at her dear friend. "Would you like to adopt her?"

The woman's eyes filled with tears as her trembling hands gently took the baby from Kagome's grasp. She hugged the little girl to her chest and smiled her gratitude to the priestess. "Does she have a name?" she asked, her voice thick with tears. Kagome shook her head. "Then I shall call her Kagome." She turned and walked back to her hut, calling to Hitoshi to get something to feed the baby. Kagome watched them go, already feeling empty because she had realized that she was well beyond her time to have children. She would never have a daughter or a son to follow her around and call her mom.

Rin watched her friend with sad eyes as Kagome was surrounded by the children again. She could see through the priestesses fake smiles; her friend was slowly loosing the luster that had been her spark her entire life. She left the village and headed into the castle to find her lord. She located him in his sitting room, talking to one of his servants. She waited until he was done and sat down next to him.

"My lord, there is something wrong with Kagome."

Sesshomaru didn't move, but Rin knew him well enough to see that he had tensed.

"She is not injured. But I think that she's slowly coming to realize her age. She still feels like she is the age she was when she went into that coma, so when she realized how old she was, it hit her hard. I think she's just coming to realize that she can't have children anymore." At his quizzical glance, Rin explained that woman can't keep having children forever, and why. When she was finished, both she and the daiyoukai had flushed faces. "What should I do, my lord? I want Kagome to be happy."

"And she will be," Sesshomaru said kindly to his young ward. He smiled mysteriously at her, but refused to say anything else. They talked for a few more minutes, then Rin headed back to the village. Sesshomaru spent the rest of the day putting some things in order, and asked that the servants tell Kagome to have dinner with him in his room that night. He ordered that special dishes be made, and anxiously awaited Kagome's return to the castle.

Too soon and not soon enough, Kagome was sitting next to him. She was smiling and telling him about her day, but he could sense the same feeling of sadness in her that Rin had been talking about. He wondered if it was this thing about having children, or if she was lonely, or if it was both. Although she was well liked and respected by everyone in the village, she had no close friends as she did when she was traveling with his brother. He waited for her to finish her sentence and grow quiet before he spoke up.

"Kagome, are you happy here?"

Kagome seemed surprised at the question, but nodded.

"Are you going to stay here?"

Kagome thought for a couple of moments; she pictured in her mind the faces of the villagers, of the children, of Rin, and of Sesshomaru. She nodded again. "I'll stay as long as I'm needed."

Sesshomaru cleared his throat. "I want to talk to you about that. Kagome, I-"

A loud crashing sound interrupted him. He and Kagome looked up in surprise as Rin ran into the room. She collapsed next to Kagome. Kagome quickly moved closer to her friend. She put her hands under Rin's arms and helped pull her up into a sitting position. When she drew back her hands, she was shocked to see blood on them. She looked at her friend sharply. "What's happened Rin? What's wrong?"

Rin took a few short gasps, then weakly pointed to the village. "We're being attacked," was all she managed to get out before she fell on her side.