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She finished her tea and slipped under the covers. Thankfully she was tired enough that her nervousness about speaking with Sesshomaru didn't have a chance to kick in before she managed to drop into the comfortable blackness of sleep.

Chapter Twelve of Without Light

Uneasynot easy in body or mind; uncomfortable; restless; disturbed; perturbed.

Why did she insist on speaking alone with the brutish animal? Sebastian was irate as he waited outside the large estate Kagome had gone into. If they were to spend two decades together he assumed she would trust him a bit more. She'd been fine with showing such reliance on him before now – did her past haunt her so deeply she wouldn't even share it with him? He would feel if she came into any danger but it didn't make him comfortable. For as much as he considered these beasts weaker than demons from his own homeland he knew that wasn't always the case. This Sesshomaru had been alive for centuries, he was possibly as old as Sebastian and given his status he wouldn't lack for skill in combat. He could kill Kagome long before Sebastian would sense a threat to her – he should have insisted to go in after her.

He grit his teeth and closed his eyes, leaning on the stone wall surrounding the secure grounds where his ward had disappeared. It didn't matter, these demons didn't eat souls, they ate flesh, and where a priestess soul would be sumptuous to himself for one of them eating her flesh would only harm them given how it was infused with holy energy. Besides, she hadn't yet attempted to call on him and since she'd been inside for half an hour he could assume they meant her no harm. Sebastian took a long steadying breath, he need not concern himself for Kagome beyond her safety and keeping to his word.

Getting Ciel stolen from him had made him needlessly paranoid, the girl would finish with her discussion in time and he could wait. If he had nothing else Sebastian had time in spades, he need not act like some child to the field. Likely the beast had camera's on his estate to watch for anything Sebastian might try. It was difficult enough arranging this meeting, he'd had to work with that small imp creature to even get Kagome this meeting. He hadn't had to deal with the leader at all, which was just as well Sebastian doubted they would get along. He had just started to relax when he felt the pull, the sense of something amiss that accompanied when the girl was hurt. He didn't hesitate, her position was something he could feel, the location of his contract was natural to him – like birds that simply sensed which way to fly in the winter.

He stepped from the shadows into an opulent manor room, it was sparsely furnished and was clearly meant as a meeting room given the way the chairs were placed around a coffee table. The decoration was painstaking, and in a Victorian fashion he hadn't seen in some time. He didn't give it too much mind, instead walking toward Kagome – he could smell the sweet aroma of her blood in the air and noticed that she'd cut herself on a wine glass in her hand. The liquid wasn't alcohol, he could have scented that, not true of the glass in front of the silver haired man seated opposite her. The man was watching him quietly, as if only mildly interested in the way he'd just walked through the darkness into his home. Yet he only sipped at his wine as Kagome muttered apologies and then blinked in surprise as Sebastian leaned down to press a handkerchief into her hand.

"You must stop harming yourself in this way." He remarked, ignoring the eastern demon for the time being as his focus was on Kagome. Must she always be so careless? If she'd of cut deeper the wound could have been more dangerous to her. As it was it would take time for such a gash to heal.

"Sebastian...uh...I thought you were outside." Kagome managed, blushing a little as she glanced between him and the nonplussed demon across from her. "Sesshomaru, I'm sorry, this is Sebastian, he's um..."

"The devil you're contracted to." It wasn't a guess, Sesshomaru barely spared Sebastian a glance before settling golden eyes back on Kagome.

"Uh, right?" Kagome wasn't sure what to say. "How do you know that exactly?"

"When you cut yourself he intruded on our meeting – not sooner." Sesshomaru replied, his tone bored, as if he was answering something that was simple. "Did you have any other questions?"

Kagome wasn't sure. Just before Sebastian's arrival she'd finally managed to ask about Inuyasha. Sesshomaru told her the half-demon had married another reincarnation of Kikyo several years after Kagome's disappearance. It had been hard to hear, it made her sad and angry – she'd accidentally broken the thin glass in her hand without realizing it when he'd described it to her.

Before that she'd learned that Sango and Miroku had gone on to have what he'd called 'a litter' of children. He never followed their family line but he'd heard they'd settled near Kyoto with the fox kit. So she knew where Shippou and her friends descendants would be. Rin's descendants he'd apparently kept in contact with – which was sort of sweet but she couldn't exactly state that.

"My apologies for breaking in but I was concerned for my ward's safety." Sebastian stated after he finished knotting the handkerchief so it wouldn't fall off her hand. "I appreciate you not overreacting or holding a blade to my throat."

"You honor yourself more than I would expect Michaelis, given what I have heard of you I wouldn't put such effort into your removal if I wished it." Sesshomaru's retort was as cold as Kagome remembered him. All in all she made him incredibly nervous, she could remember what he'd done with the wind-scar, with his own weapon...the things he was capable of were on a scale she could barely measure. She definitely didn't want Sebastian to fight him, not ever, even if she might not have to give up her soul if he died she didn't want him to get hurt...

Before Sebastian could work up a reply she rushed to answer. "No, I don't have any other questions I can think of. Thank you for meeting with me."

"It was not wholly disagreeable, if you remember anything else you would wish to ask feel free to contact me, I will have Jaken send my details." Sesshomaru replied, making no motion to get up or show them out. "You may see yourselves out."

While Sesshomaru had just calmly sipped at his wine Sebastian was staring intently at the dog demon. She could tell he had no more love for this demon than he had Kouga the night before. She reached up to tug at his arm. "I think maybe I should have my cut cleaned soon."

The topic worked the way she wanted it to, the death glare Sebastian had leveled on Sesshomaru faded as he glanced to her. Instead he nodded and leaned down to pick her up which made her blush and she wanted to protest but he added a request. "I'll need you to close your eyes Kagome."

Kagome wasn't too sure, since she didn't want them to fight but Sesshomaru seemed to have already forgotten they were there, he was still focused on his drink. She complied, gripping tighter to his arms when she felt a wave of cold overtake her, pressing her eyes more shut and shivering a little. She blinked in surprise when she was suddenly dropped, flailing a short moment before she landed on the soft pliant surface of her mattress. She stared at Sebastian incredulously and frowned at the displeasure written across his face.

"You may not go to see the demons again." He stated in a matter of fact way, as if him just saying it made it law.

Kagome ruffled and pushed herself up so she could stand, still no where near facing him on even ground but it was a little less intimidating than laying on the bed. "Where the hell is this coming from? He answered my questions, that's why I went."

"You were injured." Sebastian retorted, as if it were all the reason he needed to justify this strange behavior.

"Uh, I hurt myself, Sesshomaru didn't do anything." Kagome retorted, a little aghast at this reaction to her day out. "He can't be blamed for my mistake."

"It was his home, and if you cannot be trusted to take care of yourself then it is my duty to step up to that responsibility." Sebastian replied. "Besides, you think I couldn't stand up to that mutt."

"Uh, have you heard about half of what Sesshomaru is capable of?" Kagome frowned at him, her anger rising as she continued to rant. "Inuyasha barely beat him anytime he did, it was more luck than skill. I know you have this pride thing that all demons seem to allow to blind them but you aren't just going to lock me up in my house and tell me where I can and can't go. That's not part of what we agreed to either, I asked not to feel alone. If I can't trust you to allow me to make my own decisions then I might as well be by myself. I want a friend, not a keeper."

Sebastian bit his tongue, the damnable girl was right. The terms of their arrangement hinged on how she felt not specifically if he actually was with her or not. Had he always been this short sighted or had his years with Ciel dulled his wits as much as people joked. Did she even realize that what she asked for was laughable? That he would never actually care about her beyond her being a meal? Of course he could hardly tell her that or he'd be negating his own end of the deal. He had to keep up the image of their friendship. Then, she'd hardly been honest with him either. He would have been much less kind to the time she'd requested if he'd of known every friend she had was a canine. The beasts smelled horrible.

"Trust goes in both directions, if you cannot believe me capable of defending you then how am I to be considered any form of companion?" It was biting, harsher than he'd really meant to be but the girl was driving him to his wits end with her strange desires for knowledge. Really, she said she'd gotten what she needed – why would she even want to speak again to that over-pretentious dog?

Kagome took a deep breath, it was easier to calm down than when she was younger but she really wanted to 'sit' Sebastian about then. "I trust that you'll keep me safe but I wasn't in danger. I was more concerned for you...I don't know what you're capable of but I wouldn't want you or Sesshomaru to be injured."

It was clear she still thought him weaker than the beast but he could hardly protest without angering her further. He just nodded slightly. "I shall begin on dinner. It is late but I had a beef wellington prepared to be put in the oven. As you lack school tomorrow it would taste better if I cook it tonight."

"Sure..." Kagome nodded, letting Sebastian walk out of the room. Why was he so disturbed that she didn't want him to get himself killed? He was always so confusing. She certainly hadn't expected him to turn on her like that, to state she couldn't see her friends anymore. Not that Sesshomaru was really much of a friend but he'd been kind to her, he'd answered her questions and even invited her to contact him if she had more. She had so few people that she could talk to about her real life, real history, and she wasn't willing to give them up. Particularly not for Sebastian's pride, he was just being uncharacteristically male today.

She sighed, despite feeling she was right she still felt guilty. He was always trying to make her days better, bring a smile to her face – even if he often teased her as well he'd agreed to spend nearly two decades of his life with her. Perhaps it wasn't much to him, and maybe she'd given up her soul in return for the kindness, but she still appreciated it. She'd be dead already if he hadn't interfered and made his contract with him.

Why did he have to threaten her like that? Was it just anger? Of course, he hadn't argued so she was right, if he ever tried to hold her against her will then that would break the contract. Still, it made her a bit frightened that he'd threatened it at all. Was it a good or a bad thing that she had new people worth leaving the house for? Would she have even argued the idea a week ago? It didn't really matter, she had a problem with it now. She took a deep breath, it was better not to argue, she didn't want to fight with him. In the end he'd more or less let it go, and as long as he didn't repeat that sort of idea in the future then they'd already discussed it. Stressing about it would only annoy them both, she needed to relax and just enjoy dinner with him.

Of course, when she was taking her bath she was reminded about their night out before all of this had happened. Before Kouga had swept in and changed her world again Sebastian had been about to kiss her on that bridge when they were in the markets. It was romantic...beautiful even, the sort of place she should have been delighted to be with such a handsome man. He had approached her aggressively compared to what she was accustomed to but she'd liked it, if Kouga hadn't walked up she wouldn't have made up her mind what to do before he'd kissed her.

She had to admit even if it made her blush she was quite curious as to how it would feel to kiss him – she'd only kissed Inuyasha once and it'd been uncomfortable – forced. She definitely hoped if she kissed someone else that it would be more romantic.

"How did I go from being angry at him to thinking about kissing him?" Kagome asked herself, groaning at her own inability to stay on a single subject. She hadn't predicted that she'd end up with a crush on her own demon when she'd forged the contract with him but she did like him. He'd saved her in his own way...and she apparently had a weak spot for being protected. Still, she thought that it would somehow be taking advantage of this if she did get romantically involved at all...not to mention awkward since he was planning to devour her soul and all...

A knock at the door drew her out of her thoughts. "My lady, the food is ready so if you are finished you should come downstairs."

"Sorry, I'll be right there." Kagome called. His announcement reminded her that she shouldn't indulge thoughts of even a possible relationship. Even if he meant it in a physical way it would be a little too embarrassing. She was a virgin, and while she didn't really want to die one maybe he was right – she was just innocent. Better to be that way. She got up, drying off and getting into her pajama's before pausing...it was a little rude to just wear her pajama's down after all the effort he put into meals...

She went back to her room and swiftly changed into a nicer dress, brushing her hair but leaving it wet so she didn't leave him waiting longer.

"It smells great." The compliment was true, her mouth started to water when she first picked up the aroma just outside the kitchen. She moved to her usual spot at the table, grinning a little to herself as Sebastian launched into his explanation of the meal.

"Beef Wellington on a bed of red potato puree with a side of grilled asparagus and an option of a Pinot Noir glass of wine on the side. Of course if you'd prefer your usual water I will substitute." Sebatian always offered her wine even though she'd refused since he'd arrived nearly three weeks ago now. She decided that he was right, if she didn't show more trust in him then what was the point of making the contract at all. Small steps were still very important ones.

"I'll try the wine if you recommend it." She stated. "Just a small glass, please."

Small steps, she wasn't sure how she would handle alcohol. But he'd offered her a smile that actually felt genuine when she agreed. He nodded to her and poured the rich burgundy liquid into the glass. "I hope you enjoy your meal my lady."

He took the cover off her plate and she nodded, offering a thanks before she cut into the meat and pastry, quite curious as she'd never tried the recipe before. She didn't see the small smirk on Sebastian's face as he sipped at his own meal she couldn't see.

End Chapter

I thought a little compromise was a good step for both of them after poor Sebastian had been turned down cold. Sesshomaru's presence was so short because I don't want him to overshadow my 'hero' for the tale. Also, on an unrelated note, I'm not a cook or a fancy food person really so much of what I use for Sebastian examples are just what I feel fits his fancy style. If anything is incorrect it's my bad – I do at least try to look up what other people think are good combos : ) Either way, thanks for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy my tale.

-Aura