A/N: Excuse any grammatical and spelling errors. If you spot something that you believe needs to be corrected please send me a message.

All characters from the series Inuyasha © their respected owners.

Do not repost this fanfiction or claim it as your own.

Not too much happens in this chapter, sorry!

Also, sorry for the long wait for this update! So much happened this month (family member had surgery) so I was too busy to really write anything.


Chapter Twelve

Kagome stared at her small luggage bag. She had agreed to only spend - at most - a week's time at Sesshoumaru's residence before making a true final decision on the matter. Sesshoumaru seemed irritated at her stubbornness on the length of her stay, or at least she thought he seemed irritated; it was difficult to tell with him. She was regretting her decision a bit now though. He was going to be here any moment to pick her up and her heart was beating with anxious speed. He was so elusive and secretive. It had taken forever for him to reveal the deaths of her friends in the past. Every time she reflected on the memory her heart aches and her eyes stung.

She felt there was something more. He had every opportunity during her life in the present era intervene. He could have changed the outcome of everything in the past if he'd done so. If she had never gone down the well, the Jewel of Four Souls would have never emerged and therefore never shattered. However, she also wouldn't have met Inuyasha and the others. Thinking about the complications of time travel - like last time - was giving her a headache.

She couldn't ponder on the subject any further as her mother announced what she already knew; Sesshoumaru had arrived. She grabbed her bag and went down stairs to face her next obstacle, enduring a week alone with the apathetic Sesshoumaru. She would have thought he would have changed over the past 500 years; apparently not.

She hugged her mother, grandfather, and Souta ever so gently for fear she would hurt them. She promised she would be fine and to call her mother every day. Her mother carefully worded what could have been defined as a threat to Sesshoumaru, basically promising he'd regret it if anything bad happened to Kagome; even though Kagome could probably pick up a car and throw it.

She waved at her family one last time before she joined Sesshoumaru in his car. She was so used to going to the past and being away from her family for long periods of time, but this was different. She had adapted to jumping back and forth through time, and while she did miss her family, she never worried for their safety. Now, with all that happened and was happening, she was worried they were in danger. Sesshoumaru had assured her that he had her family under surveillance in case her abductors sought her out, but it didn't calm her nerves.


It was a long drive to wherever they were going. They drove through the busy city streets, and the longer they drove the less civilization there was the further they were. Soon enough there was nothing but beautiful countryside as far as she could see. Kagome didn't even attempt at small talk with Sesshoumaru, and she began to find it didn't bother her a much as before. She was consumed with her own thoughts and the serene quiet of the journey meant she didn't have to fake niceties.

By the time they reached their destination it was in the early evening. They had drove a couple of hours and were a bit north of the city. Sesshoumaru drove off the main road to a small dirt one with a metal gate prohibiting access. He tapped a button on his cell phone and the gate swung open. The dirt road twisted and turned slightly up the mountain before a small compound was revealed on the last curve.

There was a large modern building that was a mixture of concrete, metal, wood, and glass. There was a large courtyard and spacious gardens with a variety of flora. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Sesshoumaru pulled up a small drive and then down a ramp that went under the house. Inside there was one other car already parked there, but not nearly as expensive as the one Sesshoumaru was currently driving. Once the car was parked and the engine cut off, he got out of the vehicle and opened the trunk to remove her luggage. Kagome stumbled out after him in awe of the scenery still.

"This is your home?" she gawked.

"One of them."

"Of course it is," she grumbled under her breath.

He hadn't been joking when he said this place was isolated. She couldn't hear anything but the untouched nature of the mountain. It was strange to her since she'd be dealing with the constant droning of living in Tokyo. There was a set of large, intimidating, metal double doors which he opened to allow them entrance into the house. Before she could ask why he would leave this place unlocked, she discovered the answer for herself. The other car in the garage probably belonged to the person who was currently greeting them at the entrance of the mini-castle.

"Welcome home my lord," a petite demon women greeted.

"Everything you requested has been taken care of. Dinner has already been prepared. Is there anything else you require of me?"

"No, you are dismissed," he answered.

The woman bowed respectfully, slowly backing a few steps before finally turning away. Whatever had been prepared smelled wonderful and cause Kagome to salivate. He set down her luggage on the floor and proceeded to walk in the direction of the delicious aroma. She had been expecting some sort of king's feast, where there was more food than any person could eat in a lifetime. However there was a simple meal on a slightly larger-than-average chabudai. Sesshoumaru casually sat down and pointedly looked at Kagome until she too sat on the flat pillow on the floor at the table.

"Eat," he commanded.

Kagome normally would have demanded a little politeness from the domineering demon, but she was starving. They hadn't stopped to really eat during the drive and snacking hadn't been enough to keep her from feeling a bit famished. She wondered why he didn't seem bothered like her over the absence of food.

She happily ate the offered food and barely paid any mind to the demon lord sitting across from her eating his own meal. It wasn't long before Kagome had finished everything and rested her hand on her stomach. It was in this position that she realized Sesshoumaru was looking at her and she blushed with embarrassment. She was being a bit too relaxed in his presence.

"I'd like to call my mother, to let her know I'm alright and we've arrived," Kagome stated more than asked.

He had told her to leave her cell phone behind which meant she needed to borrow his. He took his phone out of his suit pocket and slid it across the table to her. She took the phone and politely excused herself. She was a guest in his home, even if she didn't want to be. If there was even a slight possibility that following to social niceties would increase the chance of him sharing more information, she would do it.

She walked over to a large floor to ceiling window that looked over a steep drop on the mountain side that they had driven up. Her mother picked up on the first ring and seemed to sigh with relief when Kagome's voice greeted her. They were mutually worried about each other and Kagome let her mother know she was fine and had survived the road trip. It wasn't a long conversation, but it was enough to relieve some of Kagome's anxiety.

Kagome returned to the area that served as a dining room and saw that everything had been cleared off the table. Sesshoumaru and the demon from earlier had been talking and stopped once she had gotten close enough to hear them talking. It didn't sound like anything secretive. It was mostly Sesshoumaru giving her a list of errands and tasks.

"Kagome, this is Momo." The diminutive demon with peach colored hair and red-orange eyes bowed politely after Sesshoumaru introduced her. Kagome bowed in kind.

"I will be here to assist Lord Sesshoumaru and yourself while you reside here. If you need something, please do not hesitate to ask me and I will do my best to serve you," said Momo.

Kagome was going to say that she was fine on her own. She didn't like the idea of having to ask Momo for things; it was a bit awkward. However, Momo seemed to know she was about to decline her service and her friendly coquelicot eyes narrowed a fraction. It changed her happy expression just enough to express a challenging menace. Kagome laughed nervously as she nodded.

With the introductions done, Sesshoumaru wordlessly left Kagome with Momo. She huffed a little, but she didn't have the energy to pursue him. Momo took Kagome's luggage - again with a look daring her to say otherwise - and led her to a spacious bedroom. Like the house, it had modern furnishings with some traditional japanese design influence and large floor to ceiling windows. There appeared to be an en suite bathroom of considerable size attached to the room.

Momo set down Kagome's things on the floor near the bed and excused herself. Kagome thanked her and turned to look out the windows with a sigh.

"This is going to be a long week."