Sesshomaru watched as Kagome finally fell asleep, he wished she would trust him more. But he supposed after her first sexual encounter he couldn't blame her if she didn't trust anyone with her body in an intimate manner. She was going to be the death of him if he didn't get a release soon, but did he really just see her as a means to an end?

No, she was never seen as a means to an end by him she was far too vulnerable for that type of use. The only way to earn her trust was to prove he would not do her the same way the hanyou had, but in order to do that he had to get her to drop her barriers.

Morning dawned clear and beautiful, showering Kagome in it's soft orange light. He admired the soft lines of her face before walking up to her and shaking her awake. "Sleep time is over and you are in need of a bath as am I."

"Why do I stink?" She asked groggily.

"A little, but you are covered in blood and gore from the fighting yesterday."

"Oh, I suppose I do need a bath then." She wrinkled her nose as the smell clinging to her reached her nose. "So much for these clothes" she sighed.

Standing she followed Sesshomaru back to the camp, neither one mentioning the happenings of the night. Kagome grabbed her bag and dug out clothes and her bathing necessities, before hurrying to a relatively deep stream nearby. Before Sesshomaru got there she was nude and almost completely clean, he politely waited for her to finish while appearing to be napping.

She was a sight to behold he thought grudgingly as he watched her finish her bath, he stood and removed his clothing as she finished rinsing her hair. He hid his smirk as she turned to grab her towel and caught sight of him, her face turning crimson as she hurriedly averted her eyes and wrapped the towel about herself. He never looked directly at her so as to appear not to be looking at all, it seemed to settle her nervousness quite a bit.

Sesshomaru was surprised she had bathed in the chill water, it was cold enough that he barely managed to stay in it. Hurrying he finished cleansing the gore from his skin and donned a clean set of clothes identical to the ones he had removed earlier.

Kagome had already made it back to camp and was getting breakfast cooked for anyone that was hungry. Rin and Shippo eyed her cautiously as she went about her business, but it appeared that she wasn't aware of their trickery yesterday. Ayame had left before night had fallen deciding it was far safer for her if the deceit came to light, her part was done for now.

Kagome stifled a yawn as she glanced at the two that remained "Where's Ayame?" she asked curiously.

"We don't know she was here when we fell asleep, but she left before we woke up." answered Shippo in a carefree nature.

"I see." Kagome replied, thinking there was something fishy about Ayame's sudden departure. Shrugging it off she turned her attention back to the food she was cooking.

Sesshomaru walked back into camp looking as pristine as ever and just a little frosty about something. "Your friends shouldn't be more than a week from here, so let us finish this journey before I tire of it. There has been far too many mishaps since the fall of Naraku and it is beginning to irritate me."

Kagome and the two children ate in haste before the two went with her to the stream and helped her wash the dishes so they could be packed away. When all was ready they set off for the slayer's village, Kagome hoping that her two friends were still there and that they would accept her now that she was different.

-33-33-

A couple of days went by and Kagome began to sense something closing in on the very edge of her power, an odd aura that seemed to be gaining on them steadily. Looking at Sesshomaru she noted the small crease in his brow that indicated his concentration and decided to ask "What is it?"

"A demon, and one with quite a bit of power. But that's not what concerns me, it's the frequency of these attacks. I have never been subject to so many attacks until now, and I feel as though something isn't quite right."

"I know what you mean, it's like all the demons are coming out of the woodwork now that Naraku is dead. My only concern is why do they keep attacking us?"

A jaguar came into view before Sesshomaru could answer her, Sesshomaru and Kagome had their swords drawn within seconds. The jaguar hissed and began to circle as he searched for an opening in their stances, he knew that the two before him were powerful and that the male was dangerous. But he smelled a female demoness getting close to coming into heat and he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass him by.

Kagome growled in anger when she felt five more auras closing in, these were less powerful than the jaguar before them. But what they lacked in power they had in numbers, all of the males that came into sight puffed up and advanced. Some hissing and others growling, it was an odd assortment of demons one was a boar, another was a wolf, a panther, a leopard, and there were two jaguars circling them now.

Sesshomaru sorted all this out by scent as the males paced around looking for an opening, he had a feeling that these particular attacks had to do with the faint scent Kagome had begun to put off as the day wore on. He cursed to himself as he realized that he was going to be fighting off all sorts of unwanted male attention for Kagome, glancing at Jaken, Rin, and Shippo he said "Take Ah-Un and go to Edo to wait for our return."

"Yes milord" said Rin and Jaken at the same time as Shippo said "Yes Lord Sesshomaru"

Sesshomaru focused back onto the demons circling them as the human and kitsune followed Jaken onto the dragon and it took to the air. Sesshomaru drew Tetsusaiga and unleashed the wind scar on the boar demon and leopard. The two jaguars and wolf demon leapt aside and became more cautious of the dog demon wielding the sword they came to an unspoken agreement and launched and attack at the same time.

The more powerful jaguar made a grab for Kagome and was blocked by Kagome's sword he hissed in irritation at the interference. "Come on bitch let me take you away from this mutt, from your scent he hasn't even begun to take care of you. I'll take real good care of you." he leered at her as his words sank in and she understood his meaning.

Kagome flew into action furiously trying to kill the jaguar that was so crudely taunting her, soon she was joined by Sesshomaru and they killed him easily. Sesshomaru looked at Kagome and said "So much for covering a lot of ground for the next week, expect nothing but interference from now until you come out of heat or are claimed by someone."

Kagome flushed and said "Claimed?"

"Yes claimed, you're coming into heat which means every male demon that isn't mated or doesn't have enough control over his actions and more bestial side will be after you to claim as his mate. Unless you can keep them off by killing them you are subject to be claimed."

"I see….. Will you suffer the same urge to mate as well?" Kagome asked with her eyes downcast and her face red.

"I am not ruled by my beast's desires, I will have the urge, but it will not overpower me like it does with the lower demons."

"How often does this happen?"

"A few times a year, so not too often it varies from female to female and species to species."

"I guess we should try to cover as much ground as we can then…. And there's nothing we can do about my scent to keep away the unwanted attention?"

"Unfortunately there isn't, it's a scent that will seep through the most powerful barriers and if a female can't defend herself then she is doomed to be claimed by any demon male that happens upon her. Which is why many demonesses are taught to defend themselves at a young age."

"That makes sense." Kagome replied, her voice quiet as she started walking once more.

Sesshomaru wondered just where Kouga had gotten off to, this was going to be the worst week of his life. If he wasn't fighting off other males, he would be fighting his own urge to take her for himself. The scent might be delectable now, but it wasn't even full blown yet and she would have to repress the urge to mate as well. Her body would be yearning for a male soon and he would have to be very careful if he did not want to be tied down by a mate.

Kagome watched Sesshomaru as they walked noting the small changes to his expression every time the breeze shifted or he glanced at her. She sighed as a tingling on the edge of her senses becoming a nuisance within a quick amount of time, as more low level demons came at her.

None of the fools noted the Daiyoukai traveling with her, so single tracked were their simple minds. They were dispatched quickly by flicks of Sesshomaru's acid green whip, and a few died at Kagome's sword point.

Sesshomaru stifled the urge to grind his teeth as her scent spiked from all the excitement, yes this was going to be one week of pure Hell he concluded. Her scent was growing stronger as the hours passed by and each battle made her adrenaline pump and made the scent climb even more. She was nearly irresistible now and he was going to have to survive six more days like this?

Sesshomaru had though he would be completely up to the task of protecting her from other males…. But he wasn't so sure he would be able to protect her from himself, not after all he'd seen of her added with her succulent scent. Add to those that she was beginning to walk almost on top of him and couldn't keep her eyes off him for more than a few minutes at a time. Damn he hissed to himself, if she kept this up he wouldn't be able to stay off her for six more days.

Night was falling and things were about to get challenging for him, he slammed his sword into the dirt and erected a barrier that no one would be able to pass through. He gathered wood hastily and built a fire before slumping against a tree and trying his damndest to block out Kagome's scent as she fixed herself a meal and ate it.

He sat feigning sleep and almost flinched when he felt her curl up against him, it was going to be a long ass night….

-33-33-

Shippo looked at Rin as they sat in Kaede's hut eating supper, he knew why all those demons had come after their group. Rin didn't have his sense of smell and couldn't detect the faint odor of Kagome's heat like he had. He knew that Sesshomaru and Kagome wouldn't reach the village anytime soon, because if the fool didn't claim her he would be fighting off other males for the rest of the week.

Shippo might be a child in Kagome's eyes, but he was almost seventy years old and he knew about some things. He didn't know a lot but he did know that unmated females came into heat and if they couldn't defend themselves or ignore their own body's urges then they would be mated. He didn't know all the details, but Sesshomaru was going to have a long week if he didn't claim her for himself.

Shippo sighed and settled down for the night as he smiled to himself, it would be interesting around the village in several weeks. He wondered if Sesshomaru was prideful enough to ignore Kagome in heat… His mind drifted off with that last thought and he slept.