A full contingent of human and youkai warriors were waiting for them when they landed outside of the front gates of Sesshoumaru's castle. They were all astounded by the opulence, size, and fortitude of the castle. It looked like it could hold against any type of battle for a very long time. It didn't look like anything could bring these walls down.

Sango, Miroku, and Shippou got off of Kirara who promptly shifted size and jumped upon her mistress's shoulder. The soldiers asked them to drop their weapons. Sango held tight to her hiraikotsu and demanded some answers.

"Where is Kagome? Is she hurt? Is she here?"

Sachiko came forward and held his hands up in a universal signal of peace, "Lady Kagome is here and is perfectly fine, you have nothing to fear from us. You are here at the personal invitation of the Lord of the Western Lands, and as his honored guests, will not be harmed."

Sango took a breath, which hurt, and dropped her hiraikotsu. She also dropped her sword. Miroku set down his staff, and all were assured that once they had spoken to their friend, they would be given their weapons back.

Miroku kept his arm around Sango, and Shippou followed as they were led through the myriad of hallways to rooms on the eastern side of the castle. A room was given to Sango and Kirara, a room was also prepared for Miroku and Shippou. The household staff given duties of finding rooms thought that the young kitsune would not want to be alone, and was correct. All of the friends asked about Kagome, and were assured that they would see her at dinner. Formal wear had been placed in their rooms, and they were told when dinner was, and that a member of the staff would be there to escort them to the dining hall.

Miroku looked at Sango, who was still unsteady, and pulled her lightly to him, giving her a kiss. She melted into him, and instead of receiving a slap, felt her hand caress the side of his face. She went into her room to wash up and prepare for dinner. They were all anxious to see Kagome.

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Kikyou left Inuyasha after he had fallen asleep, and used the power of the soul collectors to take her to Naraku's palace. She felt the miasma, but it could not harm her, as she was already dead. She stood in the courtyard, and called to him, "Come to me Naraku, if you are man enough!"

Naraku came out of his palace without his baboon pelt and stood before her as he truly was. He was deeply curious as to why she was here. She had not drawn her bow against him, she was waiting patiently for him.

"What would you have of me, miko?"

"I would be your ally, Naraku," she stared at him with cold, emotionless eyes.

"What help could you be?" Naraku asked. "The young miko that traveled with the hanyou left and took her shards of the Shikon no Tama with her. You have nothing to offer me."

"This is not true, as well you know."

"Please, enlighten me, miko."

"You know I can detect shards just as my reincarnation can. I can find those left and give them to you. I cannot let Inuyasha make a wish upon the jewel. I do not wish to be alive again," Kikyou explained.

"How do you know that I will not simply wish for you to be erased from this world, miko?" Naraku hissed.

"You have better things to wish for, Naraku, and you know it. Why waste your wish on me?" Kikyou countered.

"My heart is not here, Kikyou, you cannot seduce me as you did my incarnation," Naraku pointed out. "There is nothing you have that I desire."

Kikyou came up and ran her hand up his face and into his hair. "Now we both know that is not true," she said. "You still desire this body. Will that be enough for you to ally with me?"

Naraku grabbed her face hard with his hand, but that only made her eyes flutter behind her lashes. She enjoyed the pain. She would be the perfect bed partner. "Very well. Stay with me tonight, then return to the hanyou, and help him gather the remaining shards, and bring them to me. Are you sure this is what you want?" He moved his hand to her hair and pulled her harshly to himself, letting her feel the hard length of him against her, letting her feel his hand pulling hard on her hair. He bit at her lip and drew blood. "Are you sure, miko?"

She did the only thing she could do, she was in such a state of ecstacy, she whispered, "Please…"

He gripped her harder, "Please what, miko?"

She gasped. "Please…more."

He chuckled and dragged her into his palace and into his bed chamber.

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Inuyasha was frantic with the thought of having lost Kikyou as well. When he had looked for her for five hours, he perched upon a treetop and hoped she would find him. He fell asleep, and when he woke, he saw her sleeping below the tree, her soul collectors wrapping around their mistress. He jumped down and hugged her to him. He noticed bruises on her body, and smelled blood.

He shook her awake and asked her with tenderness, "What happened, Kikyou? Where were you?"

"I went looking for a shard and was accosted by youkai. There were many, but I survived. I did not, however, manage to get the shard," she lied smoothly.

He took her to a hot spring and lovingly washed her wounds, all the ones he could see, not all the ones she had. She had masked some of the wounds, and the scent of Naraku, but she decided to leave some wounds to garner sympathy from the hanyou, who she really did love. She could just not get him to give her what she needed, what she wanted. She wanted rougher treatment than even he could give her. Her hours with Naraku were some of the best in her entire life. He was so forceful, so rough. That was the sex she had been searching for her entire life. She would betray any oath, anyone, for another taste.

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Naraku was pleasantly surprised by the miko and her voracious appetite for pain. She truly loved being dominated and was a masochist in every way. No thrust too hard, no bite hard enough. He used his otherworldly strength to hold her down and have his way with her, but she loved it. She turned rape into violent sex both loved. He did not know if he would ever find another like her. He could not kill her as easily as he was planning before. How many like her were there in a lifetime? Also, she could heal nearly any injury because she was not truly alive. Even without his heart, his body craved her. She could give him everything he wanted. Jewel shards, and the perfect bed partner. He got hard thinking of the next time he would be with her…

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Kagome woke up, and the light hurt her eyes. Sesshoumaru drew the curtains shut, and asked her if that was better. She agreed that it was. "Why is that, Sesshoumaru? Sunlight never hurt my eyes before?"

"I don't know how, Kagome, but you seem to be taking on attributes of an Inuyoukai without being mated to a taiyoukai. I am as confused as you are."

Kagome thought on this a moment, before a more important memory hit her. "You said you loved me!"

"I do love you," Sesshoumaru replied with a smile.

"You said you wanted me to be your mate!"

"I do want you to be my mate," Sesshoumaru said with an even bigger smile.

Kagome just looked at him. She was not sure she had ever seen him smile before, but it was truly beautiful. She leaned up off of the bed, and looked down to see her hair was nearly all silver now. She held it up, held it up to him like it was blood on her hands, or an injury that he could make better by kissing it.

"Sesshoumaru," she began.

"Yes, Kagome?"

"Ask me again, ask me why I left."

"Kagome, why did you leave your comrades and the hanyou?"

"What I told you before was true, but it was not the entire truth. I wasted five years of my life loving Inuyasha but he will never feel the same for me. He uses me as a jewel detector and nothing else. But there is another reason. I have given my heart to someone else. I thought that this person would stomp all over my heart, as Inuyasha did, but I am not sure now."

"Who is it, Kagome? Who is it you love?" Sesshoumaru asked, already knowing the answer to the question.

"I love…

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A/N: Yeah, I know, I am a bitch, but I had to do it. Just wait a little longer, okay?