The next week seemed to fly by. Sesshoumaru and Kagome spent their time either tending to his paperwork of sparing. She had not been sure how to take Sesshoumaru's admission, but as the days went on she realized that he had been right their arrangement seemed to be good for both of them. She had managed to get two smirks out of him, and he had managed to get a genuine smile out of her which was something that she had thought would probably never happen again. He also gave her work which made her feel she still had a purpose. Admittedly he had just given her work that he did not want anything to do with, but it wouldn't have received a second thought if he didn't pass it on to her. It seemed that Lady Kagome was now the protector of no less than six human villages in Sesshoumaru's lands.

One thing had been bothering Kagome. In all the time that she had been here she was thankful for the physical and emotional haven that the Palace of the Moon offered, but she was feeling the tug of the jewel. She knew that she had the futuristic whole jewel in her body, but that did nothing for the jewel that she had shattered into what sometimes seemed like a million pieces. To her surprise he agreed that it was time that they go in search of whatever shards remained that Nauaku had not yet gathered. However he informed her that tonight the minor Lord with the treaty issues was scheduled to arrive. So their adventure would have to wait until that business was tended to. Kagome spent the rest of the day preparing all of the financial records that could be even remotely relevant to the treaty, until Sesshoumaru informed her that it was time for her to ready herself for their visitors.

When she arrived in her room Kagome found yet another new kimono awaiting her, and this one was by far the most beautiful yet. It was made of a light gauzy material that was silver in color and had delicate clear stones arranged in crescent moons running down both sides. When she emerged from her room she went to meet Sesshoumaru in the entrance hall of the palace. Have you ever had one of those moments where you wish you could have known what was going to happen? Well, as soon as Kagome got a good feel of the aura racing towards them she had one of those moments. She knew this aura well, and she was not eager to face the demon that she would soon see. In an admittedly lame attempt at prolonging the inevitable Kagome took a small step behind Sesshoumaru, who in turn shot her a questioning. Before she could offer a response though, their guest was before them. "Lord Koga," Sesshoumaru greeted with a slight nod.

Instead of the proper reply that custom demanded Koga instead shouted "Where are you keeping her? I can feel her here. Where are you hiding her?"

Kagome knew that her cover was blown so she stepped around Sesshoumaru. "He isn't hiding me anywhere Koga," she said.

Koga seemed to take a moment to digest the changes that had taken place in what he considered his woman. "What happened to you, Kagome? Did he do this to you? Did mutt face do this?"

"No," Kagome was quick to defend "neither of them had anything to do with what has happened to me."

"Where is mutt face, why aren't you with him," Koga continued his questions.

Sesshoumaru saw her pause and at the slightly uncomfortable look on his wards face he decided to intervene. "She is now my ward, ant that is all that matters. You are finished with your questioning of my ward."

Koga just gave a puzzled look and a mumbled "ok," before he rushed so quickly to Kagome that neither she nor Sesshoumaru had a chance to stop him. In a matter of seconds he had pulled her into an embrace and had her hands held firmly in his. "He is right, it really doesn't matter what happened. This is great. Now we can spend our whole lives together and never have to worry about loosing each other."

Kagome could feel the anger radiating off of Sesshoumaru she knew this could not be good she tried to pull away from Koga and figure out how to diffuse the situation. But before she could do anything she heard Sesshoumaru's cold battle mode voice cut in.

"You will not touch what is mine," he demanded.

Kagome's head was spinning. Did Sesshoumaru just say she belonged to him? Before she even had time to process this though, Koga released her and whirled on Sesshoumaru.

"She is my woman," he declared. "I have been claiming her for years."

Kagome knew she had to step in now or watch her two friends tear themselves to shreds. "Lord Sesshoumaru," she interjected "I am sure that our guest needs to freshen up after his long journey, and don't you and I have a few more things to look over before your meeting this evening."

"Indeed," he replied, as he motioned for a servant to lead the reluctant Lord Koga to his rooms. As soon as Koga was out of sight he whirled on Kagome and grabbed her arm none too gently. He then practically dragged her to his study before he spoke again. "I will not be made a fool," he spat at her.

"Pardon me," she said honestly puzzled.

"This wolf has claim on you," he demanded.

"What!" She exclaimed, "No. Well Koga has always called me his woman, but I have never felt that way about him. He is just a friend. He thinks that when Nauaku is gone that I will become his mate, but that is not going to happen."

The next words out of Sesshoumaru's mouth were enough to cause Kagome's anger to radiate through the room. "Then, you will have never lay with him," he asked?

Trying her best to remain in control of herself Kagome bit out a reply, "No, I have never laid with him. I have never laid with anyone. What kind of a girl do you think I am?"

Ignoring her anger Sesshoumaru went on. "Inuyasha as your pack leader never accepted his claim?"

"Never," she snapped.

"Nor, shall I," Sesshoumaru told her.

"Good," she retorted because I wouldn't accept it even if you did." With that said she stormed out of the room slamming the door so hard that she broke the hinges.

But, all that Sesshoumaru cold think as he stood there was that not only was his ward one of the most lovely demonesses that he had seen, but she was also untainted. He told himself that he would have to hurry along the search for a suitable bitch. His ward was becoming harder to ignore everyday, and her actions, or lack there of made it clear that he was not what she desired.