Hi all, please, please, please let me know if the different POV's between Sess and Kags is good or just annoying. I can try to make that a little better if it's confusing. I just like showing how each responds to the situations but that's just me. Also thanks for the reviews, they make me smile pretty good! Thanks guys! :-3

Part 10;

I watched her stir, her body finally waking up. She rubbed her neck gracefully, flinching ever so slightly. I felt a twinge deep inside, regretful of injuring the delicate beauty. She whispered, low enough I couldn't quite hear her words but loud enough I could just hear her soft voice. I greeted her, letting her know she was not alone. Her movements were still stiff, but she did not shiver at my voice this time. I took it as a good sign.

She looked at me and stood slowly. 'She is still fearful of me. I would be too.'

I considered asking her if she was okay, but decided against it. Instead, I tried to shut down my emotions and to hollow myself out. I needed to get answers from her. I made my eyes dark and my face blank, only to have my concentration broken by the hanyou as he shifted in his sleep, moaning. I looked at him, the cold exterior I had set up melting away.

I noticed she stared at me, probably seeing the change in attitude, so I hissed, startling her. I pointed at the jug beside her feet, ordering her to drink in the best commanding voice I could find. She was all too willing to listen.

I watched her and waited patiently for her to be done. She sat back in ecstasy as she finished the last drop, her eyes closed in her joyous high. She seemed to become more aware, more willing to cooperate.

We stared at each other for a long while, her impatience showing terribly. I held in a smirk, and took this chance to examine her features. I looked back and forth between her and Inuyasha. I watched as her large brown eyes sparkled at me and her lips twitched with unspoken words. Her hair hung messily, yet still beautifully around her face and her legs were tucked perfectly under her body. I noticed as she did the same thing, her eyes grazing over me subtly yet completely.

I questioned her, her answers throwing up flags in my mind. She had the same point of view as all the others. 'She took him so I would not hurt him. Why would she think I would hurt him?'

I spat my retort back at her, making sure she knew she was wrong and that I was angry. "Hurt a pup. Hnn… You humans sure have some questionable thoughts and theories regarding demons. We are not all monsters Priestess"

She looked away and apologized quietly. Apologies couldn't fix how humans perceived us. We are not animals. We are not monsters, at least not all of us. I would never hurt a member of my own pack, no matter how far above them I am in rank. That is not how our pack runs. "…I suggest you think before answering my questions."

The moment I said it. The moment the sentence left my tongue I knew I made a mistake. Her face went dark and I could feel her anger pulsing through the thick air. She yelled at me. Brave girl. I followed her lead and let my own anger out. My eyes went fiery, daring her to continue. She took the invitation bitterly, poking at the most sensitive subject she could. The Hanyou.

Her voice went a little softer when she asked me. Her expression lost some of its hate and her eyes went sad, lost in memories I couldn't see. But I could still see her blame. "If you really cared for him, why would you leave him alone in a dangerous forest, knowing that people and demons alike… Dislike half demons?"

I flinched inwardly at the question; at the accusations she made at me. I tried to defend my actions by first pushing her away. I tried to ignore the memories that surfaced of the day. Then I changed the subject; I changed it to her and off of me, trying to draw her attention away. 'I am supposed to ask the questions.'

She was different; she was so different from any other human. "You are not from here. You, do not belong here. If you were, you would have known better than to touch a son of the West. Where are you from?"

She sat down, her face dropping. She was distressed, and it was overly evident in her answers. I didn't want to push the topic any harder on her. I didn't want her to feel this way. Something about her distress; it made me, unhappy. I had never felt that was about anyone before. But, her happiness was for some reason important to me. Just about as much as Inuyasha's. So, I decided to face my own inner demon, and admit what happened today. I don't know why I felt the need to explain my actions, but I did. I just let the memories flood back. And I told her my story.

"I didn't leave him unattended. I was called away… I was summoned. He couldn't come with me. Not this time."

I looked at her, and she waited for me to continue. I let the sorrow come back. "Inuyasha is an orphan."

I looked at him, sleeping silently in my arms. "My father and his mother were…" I let the sentence stray off as I caught the scent of her tears. I snapped my head up, looking into her soft eyes.

"Miko?"

She sniffed, waving her hand at me and wiping her cheeks, "No continue."

I nodded slowly, "I will spare you the details, but his mother was killed today, and our father died from injuries he sustained while in battle. Inuyasha does not know… Not yet." I was sparse with the specifics, not wanting to upset her further. No one needed to know the details, but I'm sure they would. My father's cohort Myoga was very loud mouthed for being so small. The world would know about father's death before his own son.

I saw the tears fall from her face, staining her clothing with their salty drops. I wanted for nothing more than to wipe them away and console her, to embrace her. But, I refused to move towards her. She would run, she would leave. I know she would. We are still from two different worlds, no matter how close we seem to be.

"See, young Miko. I did not leave him behind because I wanted to. I left him behind because I had to. I was too late to save his mother, and I was too late to help our father. I just didn't get the news in time."

I frowned and looked at the ground, my clawed nails digging deeply into the palm of my clenched fist. I closed my eyes tightly, aware that as the eldest son, I was now left the take my father's position, Lord of the West. I am not ready. There is so much I needed to ask and to learn.

'I'm sorry father.'

I felt her sit beside me as she brushed her hip against mine. I was startled that I didn't sense her stalk closer. She sat close to me, wrapping her arms around her knees. "I'm sorry Sesshomaru. I really am."

I couldn't look at her. Not in the eye. She spoke so familiar with me, as though we were old friends. It was unnatural; the way she broke to boundary between the demons and humans. But I wanted more.

"Sesshomaru, look at me." Her voice was so soft, a whisper in the empty forest. "It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault."

"Miko…" I looked at her, her head tilted up slightly to look me in the eye; so close to mine.

"Kagome."

"Hn?"

"My name is Kagome."

I tasted the name on my tongue; how fitting it was. "Kagome… Thank you."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, not really thinking about the action. She leaned on me, closing her eyes and sinking deeper into my side. I looked into the dying fire, my head spinning. Her scent was so enticing, so close to me. I looked at her as her breathing slowed and she fell into her sleep.

Perhaps it was just her pity that made her stay; perhaps it was fatigue and want for warmth that drove her to me. Either way, I was glad she was here. I was relieved to hold her, and I was afraid to let her go.