A/N: It has been quite some time since I have done this. I hope it's up to your standards. The next chapter will be out as soon as I can get it out. Sorry this took so long. I just needed it to be right. Let me know what you think, I'm always open to suggestion and I'm sorry but I've decided that there will be no lemon… at least not until I actually experience what love is supposed to feel like… and that may come within the next six months so it may take a while.

Chapter Nine

Kagome stayed in her own time for at least a month without visits from either Inuyashas or the future Sesshoumaru. She was too scared to return to the Feudal Era to confront Sesshoumaru and she was nervous to talk to Inuyasha about the situation. As for the future Inuyasha… after the night that he realized how she felt for the demon lord, he sort of just slipped out of her life for the moment anyway. She still trained at night, by herself of course. Her mother sensed her unease but dared not approach her. She comforted her without prying into her life and Kagome was very appreciative. She still had school though… even though she had class with the demon lord, she avoided any possible contact with him. She'd even cut class just to get out of seeing him… something that she was sure he had noticed.

Unfortunately, today he had decided to voice his opinion on that subject matter. In the middle of class with him, he had announced that he wanted to see her after class. Butterflies swam in her stomach and she flushed a deep shade of crimson before mumbling an agreement.

The bell rang before she even had a chance to get her thoughts together. The kids gathered up their things and slowly filed out of the classroom leaving teacher and student alone in the room. Kagome watched them hoping they would turn around and sit back in their seats and pretend that the bell never rang in the first place. She couldn't breathe and she couldn't run. He was closing in on her and all she could do was draw in shallow shuddering breaths the closer he became.

He walked past her only to draw all the shades in the room and then return back to his desk. He scribbled something on a note and went to the door. She caught a glimpse of a note that said 'All student report to the computer room for History class.' She watched him tape the note on the outside of the door before he calmly slid it shut. He shut the lights casting them into darkness with only a small amount of light from the sides of the shades coming into the room.

Through the eerie shadows in the room she was able to see him slowly return to his desk and place everything on it either into his bag or into the drawers. Few things covered the surface when he stopped. Silence befell the classroom and she could clearly hear her own breathing as her eyes fixed themselves on his form. It was then that he lifted his eyes to hers, making her breath catch in her throat as the golden orbs fixed themselves on her blue pools.

"Kagome… come."

She sat frozen to her seat.

He sat patiently, his eyes transfixed on her figure.

Time stood still… then he growled.

She whimpered quietly and slowly stood, head bowed and she forced her legs forward toward his desk. She walked to within a foot of him and stopped.

"Sensei…" Kagome kept her head bowed and awkwardly waited for his answer.

He kept silent for a moment and looked her over. Tense, as was expected, but he didn't think she'd taken this incident so hard. "Kagome… just talk to me."

Kagome looked up somewhat startled. That was not what she had been expecting. "But, I…"

Sesshoumaru stood and walked around the desk to where she stood. "Just talk."

She was stunned. What could she say? "I… I…" She paused and bowed her head again. He stood patiently in front of her.

It was too much. She felt relieved and angry at the same time. So… what does one do when they're frustrated?

She looked up, pulled back… and swung.

It was unseen, uncalled-for… okay, maybe a little called-for, and purely spontaneous. "I don't know what you want from me!" The attack missed and she swiftly turned to deflect a kick from the demon lord. It was as if she were back five hundred years prior, and learning from him at that very moment. With the lights out and the many obstacles, the angry spar proved rather challenging.

But it was quick.

"Mmmfhh!"

Sesshoumaru placed his hand over her mouth and swung her up and slammed her down onto his desk. She gave a sharp gasp in slight pain but quieted when she heard his growl. "Bitch…"

She struggled but he eventually had her pinned beneath him on his desk, her knees cradling his waist. She lay there quietly, angrily looking back at him. Defiance hung to her every curve. "I don't understand you…"

Sesshoumaru placed his forehead against hers. "You won't understand until the end." Kagome brought her hands to his shirt and pulled him toward her.

"What aren't you telling me?" She paused and briefly leaned upward, delicately brushing her lips over his. "More importantly, why won't you tell me?" He pulled back, trailing his fingers through her hair. Kagome closed her eyes and just felt him. He seemed so sad. She gave a small gasp as his hands started to rub gently up and down her thighs. "What… Sesshoumaru… what are you…" Her breathy question ended in a quiet moan.

It was different… she felt the difference. In the way he touched her, in the way his lips barely brushed her skin… the way he breathed her name. Her back arched as he hit a particularly sensitive spot on her neck with his lips.

"Kagome… I just want to… be with you…" His hands roamed and his fingers traced every contour of her body. It was in that classroom that she felt him. The way his finger played on her abdomen… the way he knew every place that would make her moan, that would make her arch… that would make her scream. He'd done this before… and he'd done it well…

"Sesshoumaru…" Kagome bit her lip to keep in a cry. Boundaries were being crossed that hadn't been beforehand. Forbidden territory was being touched… And they were on his desk… in a classroom… with sliding doors…

Sesshoumaru nipped his way up, past her neck, past her jaw… his lips found hers as he let a final touch drive her to madness…

Kagome didn't attend the rest of her classes that day. Sesshoumaru was late to his class. He let her stay in his classroom while she… freshened up. A pass was issued to her so that she would be able to go home early. And she went home early on shaky legs and a numbed mind… and body.

It was peaceful for her. The tense atmosphere had vanished in a swirl. She felt better. Now she could return and go on with life in the past… as strange as that may have sounded to other people, it made sense to her. People aren't supposed to live their lives in the past… Kagome did but in a sense it was also her future. Time passed as normally as it would have if she were in her own time. Strange…

She sighed and covered herself a little better as a chill went through her. She'd actually managed to catch up in her classes… most of them anyway. It felt nice to actually be doing as well as she used to in her classes. Now she had to give some of that up to go fight the never-ending battle.

She rounded the corner and walked a few feet to where the shrine steps were. She paused and looked up at her home. It really was time to return. The others would probably be worried about her… and Inuyasha would want some answers. At least now she wouldn't have to hide this sort of thing from him anymore. If anything, she could actually bring him into the future and let him have a nice, long talk with… well, himself.

She entered the ground of her home and walked quietly into her house and up to her room. It was quiet. Souta was at school… a place she should've been. Mama and Jii-san were probably out shopping. She was alone… or so she thought.

She walked into her room and sighed as she shut the door. She leaned her head against the cool wood and just stood there for a few minutes. It was then that she felt him… and it was then that he spoke to her.

"He touched you."

Kagome closed her eyes and clenched her fists. And so it begins…

Inuyasha, the younger one, sat tense on the floor in Kagome's room. When she walked in he could smell him on her. When she walked in… he could smell… her… or rather, her release, so to speak. He stood, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. "He touched you."

"Yes… he did. What of it?" Kagome turned and walked right past him to lie on her bed. She was so tired. Not to mention that she also had to return to the past probably that night to see about a certain demon lord.

Inuyasha was not pleased. He turned and grabbed her shoulders to make the girl sit up. "What aren't you telling me?" He gazed deep into her eyes and waited. He wanted to know… he needed to know.

Kagome's heart sank. "Sesshoumaru…"

Inuyasha growled and stood, turning his back to her. "Why are you letting him do this to you?"

Kagome bristled. She stood and turned him to face her. He seemed somewhat startled but he didn't expect her next move. She slapped him.

He stumbled and looked up, his hand on his cheek. "What the fu-"

"How dare you?" Kagome looked at him, pure vehemence in her eyes. "You dare judge me for the things I do now? I shall do as I please and I do not need you permission or anyone else's."

Inuyasha stood up straight and walked toward her. "I don't care what you do with him! I care what he does with you! You shouldn't let him control you the way he does!"

"Like the way Kikyou controls you!" Silence echoed in the room after Kagome's last remark.

Inuyasha looked down, almost ashamed. There was a long pause before either or them spoke. "That was different…"

Kagome snorted! "It was always different with her! It will always be different with her…"

Inuyasha turned and headed toward the window. "She's leaving… for good this time. That night… when I saw you with… myself… that night, we said our goodbyes."

Kagome was dazed. After all the years of heartache and pain… it was over…

"Inuyasha… what are you trying to tell me… that you've finally let that part of your life go?"

Inuyasha didn't look at her but he nodded.

"Get out."

Inuyasha turned, surprised. He hands were fisted, her head was bowed and she was trembling. He made to step toward her but she looked up. "Get out now."

He didn't leave. Kagome turned and walked toward her door but her grabbed her arm. "Let go."

"No."

"It's too late now…"

That was not what Inuyasha wanted to hear. "It doesn't have to be like this…"

Kagome turned and pried his hand off her arm. "Yes it does. You tell me this now, after everything I've been through. You want me now after I'm just starting to get over you."

Inuyasha stepped back. "Do you love him?"

Kagome paused. "I… I don't know…"

"You touched her!"

Sesshoumaru rubbed his temples. "Yes. Is there a problem with my touching of my own mate?"

Inuyasha, the future one, growled and made to strike at his brother. "She is not yours!"

"Yet…" Sesshoumaru nimbly evaded the brash attack as he corrected his younger sibling.

Inuyasha growled. "That's the whole point! She's going to go back to the past tonight and you, the jealous lunatic, will throw the shit to the fan!"

"In a language I know, Inuyasha…"

Inuyasha slapped his forehead. "This is the first step to what we both know will happen… do you want to…"

Sesshoumaru sighed. Of course he knew where this was going. "I know what I must do… I am willing to do so…"

Inuyasha sank down into a chair. "You love her that much…"

Sesshoumaru stood, remaining silent. Outside a crack of thunder indicated the coming storm. "And so it begins…"

Inuyasha Sank down into a chair running his hand through his hair. "The beginning of the end… "

The splatter of raindrops created a soft melody on the rooftop of the Higurashi home. Inuyasha sat inside, on the floor of Kagome's room, completely silent. Kagome slept peacefully in her bed. It had been a rough day for the both of them. A couple of hours remained until they both would return to the past. When Inuyasha has passed through the well earlier that day, Sesshoumaru had been near. He had been for the past month, waiting… just waiting patiently for Kagome's return. It was unusual. Sesshoumaru was not one to be made to wait for something that he wanted. This added to the reason of Inuyasha's waiting for Kagome to accompany her to the past. It was insurance for her safety.

A flash of lightning lit up the room momentarily, creating a brief light in the onslaught of darkness. The winds continued to howl but soon the end of the violent storm would draw near. Kagome stirred. Inuyasha sat ready to question her once more. The few hours gave him some time to do something he rarely did: think.

It was a little past nine o'clock. The moon had not yet passed above the trees… and if it had, that just meant that Sesshoumaru had to wait. Kagome again stirred. This time they would talk. He stood and sat on the edge of her bedding. She sat up groggily and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"I would have thought that you'd have left by now…" Her voice was low and deep, having just been affected by the nice doze she had taken. She took a glance out the window. The rain steadily fell from the sky. It held her captivated. The slow sensual rhythm in which the drops fell led her to think that something may just burst. And then the lightning struck… and the thunder roared. She shivered and turned her back to Inuyasha who sat quietly waiting for her attention. "What do you want Inuyasha… I thought we had a discussion earlier today…"

Inuyasha stood. "How long has this been going on?"

Kagome frowned. "That really isn't any of your business."

Inuyasha frowned. "That wasn't what I meant…" There was a slight pause as he tried to gather his thoughts. Kagome slightly blushed but waited patiently for the hanyou in her room. He turned toward the window and looked past the sheets of rain now pouring down and down toward where the well house stood. "When…" He stopped, his dark brows scrunched together in concentration. "I know that you and Sesshoumaru were doing things since the first night I saw you with him… and that night that we-"

"Kissed…" She provided for him. He nodded and a small tint of pink flushed over his cheeks. He kept his eyes on the well house, though and continued. "His scent was on you, thickly… but I thought nothing of it because the two of you were… close during that night." At this point, Kagome tilted her head to the side, trying to follow him in where this was supposed to be going. This wasn't making any sense. He needed to be more specific. She was getting frustrated with his inability to properly express himself.

"Inuyasha, just say it! What is it that you want to know?"

He turned and looked at her. "How long have you been hiding me from me?"

Silence struck the room for a second before Kagome completely blanked out. "What?" She asked dumbly.

Inuyasha sighed. "He's not really me. Well, technically he is really me but I'm me so he can't be me but he is… Do you understand?"

Kagome just looked at him like he was crazy. After such a look of deep contemplation, something like that comes from his mouth. Perhaps she overestimated him… he was brain-dead.

Inuyasha again sighed and rubbed at his temples. "The future me…" At his clarification she sat up with a wide "O" on her lips. "I want to know how long you've known the both of us… and I want to know whether or not there is another Sesshoumaru in this era or is the one from my era also able to pass through the well. And I want to know… what happened that night."

Kagome shivered at the memory. "Alright… Inuyasha, have a seat."

He waited with a clear look at the well. She was late. Perhaps she wasn't going to come on that day either but he still waited as he had every night since she left. She was an obsession. And she was what he wanted at that particular. A month was not so long to wait unless you had an arrangement to meet on a nightly basis. He growled, his eyes tinting red at the idea of this insolent girl not returning for yet another day. And here he stood, wasting his night waiting for her as he had done for the past month.

He said nothing. He stood still. And he let the rain continue to soak into his silk garments. It was not as if they were expensive or hard to find… He growled again and turned around to leave. He was made a fool once more. However, he paused and turned to glance back at the well. He was already soaked. Another few minutes would not hurt anyone. Anyway, he usually trusted his instincts and at that moment they were telling him to stay.

The sky lightened momentarily as a roar of thunder cracked through the otherwise silent night. It was then he felt the sudden rush of magic surge through the small clearing. A thud was heard in the well's depths. She was back… but then again, so was Inuyasha. Hopefully, he would not make things any harder than he thought they would be.

A quick red blur ran past him. The blur he made out to be his brother. Kagome was not with him. He looked back and saw her climbing out of the well. She looked… as she had before. He mentally chided himself. It was only a month; no serious changes would have been made in such a small amount of time. And yet there was something completely different in the way she held herself. There was also something different in the way she smelled.

"You are late."

Kagome didn't even flinch. She looked him dead in the eye. "I did not care to please you tonight, Sesshoumaru-sama."

The corners of his lips lifted in contempt. So it seemed as though she was challenging him. Well, perhaps a lesson in discipline was in order. "Miko, you try my patience."
"And you doubt my skill… Sesshoumaru-sama."

"You give me credible reason to doubt you, bitch."

The was silence as the tension grew between the two. Kagome dropped her bag and removed her wet clothing, leaving her in what she felt was necessary for decent coverage. "Show me how much doubt you have, sensei."

He smiled, a predatory gleam coming into his eyes. "Gladly."

He vanished leaving merciless sheets of rain to envelop her. It was difficult this test in which she had placed herself. But she had done it for a purpose. What that purpose was she still didn't know. Perhaps to test her own strength, or perhaps to test his, she was not certain but by strength she meant something entirely different.

The rain dampened her senses drastically but her senses were already lower than his were so for him it must have been much worse. His sense of smell would be almost as bad as a human… almost. She was hoping it would help her to prevent him from knowing about the day's earlier activities. She kept her eyes open and darted quickly into the dark forestry. She would not be an open target to his attacks. Let him hunt her down. At least this way she would be able to handle him. Blood had not passed his lips and hopefully it would stay that way for the night.

"Why is it that your protector so easily left you in my hands… he has never trusted me beforehand." She shivered when she felt the warm breath travel down her neck. She swung back, twisting in the process to get in a kick if he happened to dodge the first attack but neither hit its mark. He was gone.

She shuddered and calmed herself. To get riled up in this mess would severely stunt her chance to prove this bastard wrong. "I told him to go… and he did. Any particular reason as to why?" She jumped and rolled when she sensed him coming at her from the side. A look back proved she was correct. A white blur vanished around the next tree. She stuck low to the ground and waited.

Sesshoumaru was getting annoyed. Damn the weather. This was taking too long. He could smell her but not as he could before. The wet weather was being a pain in the ass. "If he is gone for the night, that means your lesson can be fully arranged." He walked slowly around a hedge, sensing her presence within attacking distance. With a brief glance he saw her crouching. His smile widened. This game of cat and mouse would end.

She blanched and quickly tried to dart forward. He barely grabbed at her foot and she fell, landing hard on her shoulder. A scrape let loose a fresh flow of dark blood. She grabbed her shoulder and stood, flipping backward and managing to land a kick on the demon lord's jaw.

He growled, anger flickering in his eyes. The smell of her blood was driving him forward. "This game will end now, bitch."

Kagome still clutched at her arm but stood her ground as he charged at her. It took a moment for her to realize when he no longer was in her range of sight. Fright crept into her stomach and she dashed forward. She was tackled roughly from behind and again landed on her side. Her clothes, or what was left of them, became muddy as she struggled to fight the inu youkai above her.

"You son of a bitch! Get off!"

She kicked and managed to free herself but it was short-lived. He grabbed her from behind, one hand around her waist and another around her neck, his claws digging mildly into the sensitive skin. "You have tried my patience enough, miko. For one moon you have neglected your lessons. Death becomes you, wench." His grip tightened on her neck and she started to breathe with difficulty, her hands digging into the one on her neck as she struggled. "Beg for your life."

Tears formed in her eyes from her lack of air. She was breathing in short pants now, her head resting back on his shoulder as he still constricted her neck. But she struggled harder. Her brows furrowed as she managed to pass one word through her lips. "Never."

He growled at her insolence. "What makes you so sure that I would not kill you, human wench?"

She bent over and flipped him over her shoulder. He landed smoothly in front of her as she sank t her knees and coughed, her hands clutching at her neck. "If you had wanted to kill me you would have done so already!"

"Why could I not kill you now?"

She looked up, her eyes locking with his. "Because you want me."

Sesshoumaru's brows twitched at her insinuation. It was almost comical the seriousness in her face. "I do not desire waste."

"Then why are you here!" Kagome cried out. All the pent up frustrations were beginning to release themselves. She'd tried hard to keep them bottled inside but he refused to let them stay there. He was taunting her and it was killing her. She wasn't sure whether to take him seriously at times or to just believe that he was toying with her. She'd had enough. She wanted to know.

"That night when I was leaving, it was you who got in my way. I was not looking for you, I was not calling for you. As a matter of fact I felt something calling to me. That was the only reason I ran in your direction. That was the only reason we came to be what we are and that is the only reason I am here today."

Sesshoumaru recalled the moment when their relationship, if one could call it that, began to pick up, so to speak. "The only reason we became what we are, as you so wish to believe, is your blood."

Kagome sank to her knees. "Then tell me there is nothing more and move on. I am not a means of your entertainment."

The rain fell down less heavily than it had been falling. It was almost like a break in the storm. But it was just that: a break. Soon the torment would again begin.

Sesshoumaru looked upon the miko in deep contemplation but it didn't take him long to respond. He walked forward and stood in front of her until she looked up at him. "I take orders from no one."

Her body tensed and she stood, her challenge from earlier still fresh in her mind. "Then you will not mind if I leave you here. I am done. You refuse to tell me the truth, then I will not wait for your lies."

"You are not here just as my entertainment… you will stay."

Kagome sighed and stood in front of him. "Why should I stay?"

He didn't respond. Tears welled in her eyes and she stepped forward grabbing his chin and bringing her eyes to level with his. "Please, Sesshoumaru… tell me why. That is all I ask of you."

It was low and soft, the response that he gave her. "I do not desire waste…" He watched the tears fall slowly down from her eyes and slowly brought up his hand to wipe them but they mixed in with the slow rain that again started to scatter upon them. But he was not finished. His lips brushed softly against hers as both their eyelids drooped in the aroused aura that surrounded them.

"You are not a waste… precious miko… Kagome…"

The sky lit up once more as the showers of night rained down…

A/N: Their relationship is blossoming and I hope Sesshoumaru isn't too out of character. Please let me know if he is and he will be back to his ruthless self in the nest installment. If you really want to know why it took so long for me to update, e-mail me at and I will get back to you. That is a promise I can make or it'll probably be on my profile when I update it tomorrow night. No earlier than that because I have to work.