It did not take Kagome that long to change her clothes, gather everyone, and head towards the mall. They drove to Akihabara, Tokyo's electronic city. This was Kagome's area of choice to do marketing research if the product she was selling was electronic. Plus it was the best place for them to get Rin a computer.
Kagome grabbed the prototype and stuck it under her arm. They then headed towards the main area where all the stores were located. Koga was out in front, Ayame followed next, then came Kagome and Rin with Koji in her arms. Kagome was not about to let Rin out of her sight. Sango was slightly behind them with Miroku bringing up the rear.
Kagome still had her hood up so no one would see her features. But once in the business district she carried the box in such a way that people would be able to see what it was. The moment people started seeing the box they were stopping her and the others as they were asking questions about what she was carrying.
This is what Kagome was looking for, this is the reaction she needed to see, to make sure that what she was marketing was appealing to the general public. If no one noticed the box she was carrying then they would have to go back to the drawing board and start all over again to make the packaging a little more appealing.
She got a huge reaction from the public when she explained what the product was and what it did. Hundreds of people were asking where they could buy this product, but when she said that it was not out yet they were all disappointed.
But Kagome announced that the product should be out in about a month and started to take a survey to see how much people would pay for this product. It seemed that this little item was a gold mine since people will pay whatever they were selling it for.
During the time that Kagome was talking to the crowd out on the streets, Sango slipped into the major department store behind her and asked to speak to the manager. She explained what was going on outside the store and convinced the manager to order the product when it came out.
Koga and Miroku stayed close to Kagome and Rin as they were surrounded by people listening to Kagome. They were all fascinated by the product and wanted it.
Rin could not believe the commotion that they caused out in the street. She thought for sure that they were going to be attacked but the crowd was controlled and they did not mean them any harm. Rin observed everything that Kagome did and she learned so much about how to market a product. This knowledge was the best thing she has ever experienced and she had her mother to thank for it.
After about an hour Kagome got all the information she needed as she thanked everyone for their opinion and hoped to see them next month when the product was put on the market. Kagome had a small writing pad in her hand as she was writing down everything that she observed.
She did not miss one detail that will help her with the marketing campaign, when she was done writing, she then took her box and put it back into a bag so no one will notice it anymore.
For the next hour they walked from store to store as they helped Rin get herself two computers. One was a standard desktop and the other was a laptop. Kagome made sure that they got her a WiFi so she could connect to the internet from anywhere.
Ayame helped her pick the different programs she needed and a couple that Rin wanted to get. It was a very productive afternoon as they all started to head back towards the car so they could go to Kagome's apartment.
They were half way to the car when five very powerful Youkai stopped them in the street. They would not let the group move around them as Bankotsu stepped forward and said, "Hello there, Naraku wishes to speak with you. If you will come with us we can get this over with."
Kagome stood her ground as she said, "I don't want to speak to him. I have already informed him that I'm not interested in his proposal. He can find someone else to take his money. I want nothing to do with him. Now if you will excuse us we have to be somewhere else."
Bankotsu was not pleased as he said, "Bitch! This is not a request. Naraku was not pleased with your answers so he sent us down here to personally escort you to his office. What you fail to understand is that no one refuses Naraku. Not even you." He motioned to his own men as they stepped forward to take the females. They will take both of them to make sure that the one was cooperative.
Kagome saw what was going on as she pushed Rin behind her to protect her and the pup. This could get nasty if Naraku wanted her. A barrier was formed around Rin as she whispered to her pup, "Rin, stay in the barrier I have provided for you. It will protect you and your pup."
Rin understood what she was saying. She had a pup that she had to protect and if she got hurt what would happen to her son. She stood there out of the way as she watched Kagome and the others face off with the Youkai in front of them.
Everyone in the streets noticed the confrontation that was about to happen. They all moved out of the line of fire as the streets were quickly cleared of bodies. They all watched from a safe distance away to see what will happen.
Koga and Ayame were the first to move forward as Koga said, "Move out of our way, you are not going to get the female in question so you might as well leave us alone." At that moment Koga's tail twitched ever so slightly as he signaled his men. They were close and keeping an eye on them. These fools had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
Bankotsu heard what the wolf standing in front of him was saying and he was not impressed. They were the strongest fighters that Naraku had and they will get what they were after. They rushed in as they attacked. The female that they wanted was standing behind the wolves and they were going to get her.
Koga braced himself as he saw the attack coming. A powerful barrier was placed around Kagome and Rin as Miroku held it in place. The wolves that were hiding in the shadows attacked as about 50 wolves descended on the Youkai that were attacking.
Bankotsu noticed that they were outnumbered as they fought hard to get to the females. One of his men was close to the females when a powerful blast of Reiryoku was felt in the area, and it killed two of his men. The fighting stopped as they all stared at the female that was still standing there with her hand up, "You will leave now! I have no problems in purifying you where you stand."
Bankotsu noticed for the first time the power that this female held within her. She meant what she said as two of his men were already dead from her attack. She had such control over her powers that she didn't touch any of the wolves that were around her just his men.
Bankotsu called for a retreat as they quickly left the area. He will have to go back to Naraku and inform him of this new development. He doubted that Naraku knew she was this powerful. The last time they tangled with her she was not nearly this powerful but now something has changed.
Kagome watched as Naraku's men left the area. She breathed a sigh of relief as she turned to look at Rin. She smiled as she asked, "Rin are you all right?"
Rin was amazed at the powers that Kagome held. She now knew that she and her pup were very safe with her. "Yes I'm fine. Do you think they will come back?"
Kagome turned her head in the direction that they saw the Youkai going in as she replied, "Yes, they will be back unfortunately. Naraku is not one to take no for an answer. I have dealt with him before and it took me purifying half of his men before he backed off."
Rin was not happy with this as she asked, "Who is this Naraku? And why does he want you Kagome?"
Kagome did not know how much of that question she should answer, she saw Koga signal for them to continue as they made their way to the car. Once everyone was safe Kagome asked, "Koga, was anyone hurt in that attack?"
Koga was in the front with Ayame as he answered, "No, no one was hurt. I have sent several of our scouts to follow them. We will keep a close watch on their activities until we deal with him."
Kagome understood as she looked at Rin. She noticed the look in her eyes as she was still waiting for her to answer her question. She sighed heavily as she started to explain, "Naraku is a low life monster that feeds off the ideas of others. He goes out and buys all the marketing people in different companies to make sure that the products they develop do not sell well on the market.
"He then goes in, buys the new products, the copy rights, markets them under his label, and makes a fortune. He has tried in the past to buy me off but I have refused his offers. I suspect that Naraku has his hands in Sesshoumaru's company and that his marketing president is taking money from Naraku to make sure that your fathers products don't sell. This competition is a threat to everything he has done up to this point. If I win this competition then his hold on this city will end because I will not bow down to his will. He will lose everything he has worked hard to steal."
Rin was surprised by what Kagome was saying to her. She didn't know all this was happening in her father's company. "Have you told father what is going on in his company and who is behind it?"
Kagome rubbed her forehead as she said, "No, I haven't told him anything as of yet. I just found out what Naraku is up to and put all the pieces together. I will have to tell your father but I don't want to do it until after the presentation. I have to win this in order to stop Naraku and then I can concentrate on what he is doing.
"If I tell your father now he will be upset and go after Naraku. I want to bring Naraku to his knees and ruin him for everything that he has done. He has brought countless of good companies down and has stolen everything that they have developed. I want to return the favor by taking his company down. Once I ruin him then I will let your father know what is going on."
Rin understood what Kagome was saying. She was going to help her get back at Naraku for everything that he has done. There was no way that she was going to sit by and watch while he ruins her father's business. "I will help you. There is no way I'm going to stand by and watch him ruin my father. He helps so many people with his businesses for me to stand by and watch him take what my father has built over the centuries."
Kagome smiled at Rin. She was just as feisty as she was and she was very proud to claim her as her daughter. She settled back in her seat as she enjoyed the ride to her apartment. They have a lot of work to do to get this presentation ready.
It took them only 45 minutes to get to Kagome's apartment. They all went upstairs as they started to get things ready. They ordered lunch since they were all starving and Kagome had made a promise to her mate that she will nourish herself. She did not want to be brought back to him unconscious like the last time.
Rin went into Kagome's old bedroom and took care of Koji. Once she had him cleaned and fed she laid him down on the bed so he could sleep. She then joined everyone else in the living room to eat their lunch.
Once everyone was done they went into the spare bedroom as they started working on their marketing plan. Rin was amazed at the way the presentation was coming together. She sat at one of the computers that Ayame used to do designs as she helped Ayame.
They went through all the different types of media that they would use, from television advertisements, to newspapers. Rin came up with a design for the magazine ads and everyone was amazed at the design. It was colorful and brought your attention to the product being sold.
Kagome loved the layout of what Rin did and with a few more suggestions from her friends it was perfect for what they wanted.
They kept the design on the box since it drew so much attention from the public.
Kagome then pulled out the prototype to see what it could do. Since Kagome was the least experienced with computers and programs she was the first to try it out. They followed the instructions on how to set it up and found some errors in the documentation.
The information that she found on the paperwork assumed that you knew something about computers. Several steps were left out as they expected that you would how to do these steps before you installed the program, plus it was ambiguous for the user. This will not do since the general public would be computer illiterate on how to troubleshoot problems with the installation of the product. Most consumers needed exact instructions on how to install programs to make sure that they worked.
Miroku got busy and redid the instructions so that they were simple to follow and the user understood what they needed to do. Once that was done they were ready to try the new product.
Kagome sat there and thought about what she could make first with it as she got an idea. She asked it to build a program that will categorize and put into a spreadsheet all the data that she collected when they were out at the mall this morning. It was a simple request as they watched to see what the machine would do.
It took the prototype no time at all to create the program it was asked to as Kagome then installed it on her own laptop. She then opened up her excel spreadsheet and called the new program forth. To her surprise it opened to a simple form and all she had to do was input her data. When she was done she clicked on another button.
Everyone was amazed at the speed in which the new program put Kagome's information on a spreadsheet and categorized it for her. She was able to make graphs by just clicking on the buttons and making reports. It was very user friendly and they were sure that it will sell like hotcakes.
Kagome looked at the time and it was getting late. They needed to go home before Sesshoumaru came looking for her. They put everything away as they saved all of their ideas on the computer and made a backup disk just in case. Kagome took the disks with her not willing to let the disks stay in the apartment in case of a fire.
They learned this lesson the hard way when their computers caught a virus and everything that they have been working on for three weeks was lost. So from that day forward they always made a backup of their work and one of them would take the disk home with them. It was a precaution just in case something like that happened again.
They gathered everything they needed, including Koji, and then left Kagome's apartment. They walked the two blocks back to Sesshoumaru's building as Koga, Ayame, Sango, and Miroku, escorted Kagome and Rin back inside the building. They of course were being followed by Koga's guards to make sure that they all stayed safe.
Kagome turned to her friends as she said, "I will see you all in the morning. We still have a lot to do on the presentation. So we will forego the training in the morning so we can work on it."
Everyone around Kagome understood as they saw Kagome and Rin get on the elevator before they left the building. Once outside Koga summoned his guards as he told them the plans for the next day. The guard in charge understood as he went back into the shadows. They were keeping watch around the area and they were making sure that the reporters didn't come near the building again.
Kagome and Rin finally made it upstairs. They were both tired as Rin went to take care of Koji and Kagome went into her bedroom to put her things away. She was in her bathroom getting cleaned up when she felt a strong pair of arms going around her waist. She looked up in the mirror as she saw her mate standing behind her. Kagome turned in his arms as she kissed him.
-oOo-
Sesshoumaru was in his office when he felt that his females were home once more. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing that they were safe. He did pick up on the wolves that were in the area as they were keeping watch to make sure nothing happens to his females.
Satisfied that he was done for the evening he went home to greet his mate. He followed her scent into the bathroom as she was leaning over the sink getting cleaned up. He couldn't resist coming up behind her and grinding his hips against her backside.
When she turned around in his arms he kissed her with such passion that he took her breath away. He was happy to have her home and safe in his care. He really didn't trust anyone, besides himself, to protect her but he had to let her protect herself.
"I have missed you, did anything else happen today when I left you?" He asked as he was rubbing his nose against her neck.
Kagome was feeling her juices flowing with everything that he was doing to her. Her breathing was becoming labored, her mind was gone with lust, saying in a husky voice, "No, nothing major happened, just a few fools that thought I would go with them voluntarily."
Sesshoumaru stopped what he was doing as he looked at his mate. His eyes were going red as he heard her answer, "What do you mean that someone wanted you to go with them?"
Kagome was breathing hard as she heard her mate. 'Damn it I didn't mean to tell him that. I don't want to tell him what is going on just yet but I may not have a choice.'
Kagome saw her mate waiting patiently for her answer as she took a deep breath to calm herself down, "There were a few Youkai that wanted me to go meet their boss but I respectfully declined. They thought that they could force me to go with them but they quickly found out how wrong they were. Koga's guards came out and made them understand that I was going nowhere with them."
This information did not sit well with Sesshoumaru. "Do you know who they were? Or who their boss was?"
"No I have no idea who they were but I'm sure they will not come after me again." Kagome stated as she walked out of the bathroom. She was hoping that she could get away with not answering the rest of that question just yet. But it was not meant to be since Sesshoumaru came after her.
"Kagome you never finished answering my question on who is their boss." Sesshoumaru grabbed Kagome by the arm as he turned her around to face him. When she wouldn't look at him he raised her chin until their eyes were locked, "I want to know who this person is Kagome."
Kagome was breathing hard as she was forced to look at her mate. She really didn't want to tell him just yet but she didn't have a choice. She sighed as she broke free of her mates hold and went to sit down on their bed. She was gathering her thoughts on what she should say as she asked, "How much do you know about what is going on around the city and the marketing of products?"
Sesshoumaru did not understand what this had to do with his question but figured that it was important to his mate, "I'm not well versed on what happens in the marketing arena. I usually leave that up to my head of marketing. He makes sure that when we produce a product that it is appealing to the public, has the correct price, and it reaches as many people as possible, other than that not much else. Why are you asking?"
Kagome rubbed her forehead, a clear sign of her frustration, "For years it has been the practice for a few people in the city to go and buy the marketing people in their rivals company. They pay them off to make sure that the product never sells that well. When the product fails they then step in and buy the copyrights to the product and then change the label and sell it under theirs.
"When I first started working in marketing I was approached to sell out Goyo, but I refused to play by their rules. They came after me and when I purified a few of their people they finally left me alone.
"Now it's starting all over again and this one person doesn't want me to win this competition. They want me to throw the contest to let your marketing man win. But I won't give in to his request. I am out to win this competition and there is no way anyone is going to stop me."
Sesshoumaru was shocked to hear this. He has never heard of this practice before but it would make sense since some of his own products didn't sell that well. Now he was wondering if Masuyo was taking money from this person to make sure his products didn't sell. "Kagome who is this individual that wants to buy you off?"
Kagome squirmed on the bed as she said, "Sesshoumaru… please don't make me answer that question just yet. When I win this competition then I will tell you who is behind everything but until then please don't make me tell you. I have my own plans for him and I will get him for doing this to people."
Sesshoumaru was not happy that Kagome wouldn't tell him who was behind all of this but he would give her this. He will let her get her revenge before he kills this individual. "Very well mate you don't have to tell me yet, but when this presentation is over with I expect for you to come and tell me everything, am I understood?"
Kagome nodded her head in understanding as they heard Maya call everyone to dinner. They both got up and left the bedroom as they went to eat. It was a comfortable dinner, there were small conversations going around the table, as they all ate their dinner.
-oOo-
Across the city one demon was not very happy with his men for not collecting the simple female that he sent them after.
Bankotsu landed on the floor in pain as he heard Naraku say, "You bunch of worthless fools! You couldn't even capture a simple ningen female and bring her to me? You are all incompetent."
Bankotsu winced in pain as he looked up at his master and stated, "She is not a simple ningen Onna. She is a miko and a powerful one. I have never seen such powers coming from one person before. This female has changed since the last time you have dealt with her. She has grown more powerful than before."
This information intrigued Naraku as he sat down in his chair, "Really, tell me more, I'm most interested in this powerful female. She might make the perfect mate for me if she is unclaimed, and if she is claimed I need to know who her mate is so I can kill him. They don't deserve someone this powerful."
Bankotsu felt sorry for this female if Naraku took an interest in her. He has never taken a female and have her survive one of his passion filled nights. He proceeded to tell him everything that he observed while he was with her. "I don't think that she has a mate because I didn't detect a mating mark on her. As far as I can tell no one is courting her either since there was no courting mark. But she is heavily protected. A band of wolves are protecting her and you cannot detect them unless they wish it."
Naraku listened to what Bankotsu was telling him, the more he spoke the more he wanted this little female. She would make the perfect mate for him and then he will be able to take over as Lord. Sesshoumaru will not be able to stop him from ruling Japan. But first he had to find her and get her to agree to be his mate. This will not be easy if a clan of wolf Youkai was protecting her. This must mean that she is of high status and it won't be long before Sesshoumaru finds her and gets her to mate with him.
Wait, that is not right, Sesshoumaru will not mate with her because he has his own mate now. It has taken Sesshoumaru centuries to finally find a female, he will make sure that he kills her, once the announcement is made for her presentation. This was perfect because he would become weak from his mating. His youki will protect his bitch and that takes energy from him. He will be weaker now and he should have no trouble killing him.
Naraku turned his attention to those in his office as he said, "Very well, first things first. I want you to find out where she lives. If she is there then capture her and bring her to me. I want you to destroy everything that she has in her home. I don't want to give her a chance to do the marketing presentation next week. I need Masuyo to stay loyal to me and if she wins she will ruin me.
"Once I have her in my grasp she will become my mate. I will need a powerful heir to take over the lands when I defeat Sesshoumaru."
Bankotsu understood what Naraku was saying as he bowed to him and left his office. He had enough of the half breed and wanted nothing to do with him. He will do his bidding for a little while longer but he will not fight Sesshoumaru. To fight Sesshoumaru was suicide and he was not crazy, he wanted to live a little while longer.
Bankotsu continued on his way as he gathered his men. They knew where the little female lived so they went to that location. They arrived at the apartment building late at night, as they went up to her apartment.
Quietly they opened the door after they got rid of the barrier that was protecting it. It was a powerful barrier and they almost didn't bring it down if it was not for one of his men having dragons blood with him.
Slowly Bankotsu and his men went into the apartment as they searched. They did not find the female there which will make Naraku angry but they found a room full of computer equipment. They smashed everything in the room, making sure that they could not retrieve anything from them before they left the apartment.
They then sent out feelers to see if they could locate the little female. If she was in hiding then they will find her. If they didn't then Naraku will have their necks. They will follow the wolf Youkai and they will lead them to her location. It was only a matter of time before they found and captured her.
-oOo-
After dinner everyone went into the living room to watch the television. Sesshoumaru turned the television on to the local news as he sat back with Kagome in his arms and watched. There was nothing really of interest when he heard the news man say, "Now for this breaking news! This morning at Taisho Corporation there was a confrontation with an Inu Youkai. The Inu in question was after a ningen female that came out of the building and was being escorted by several ningens and wolf Youkai.
"The male Inu stated that he had a claim to the little female but the female refused his suit. We don't know exactly why she rejected the male but it was clear, by this footage that she didn't want to go with him.
"She is a powerful miko and this blast of her Reiryoku is proof of her powers. There was an all-out brawl in front of the building when a dragon stepped in to stop the fight. The dragon refused the Inu's request to leave the female he was guarding, as they roared, calling for someone."
Kagome was in shock when she saw what was going on. They caught everything that happened this morning on tape. She saw as Tatsuya attacked Rin and the power that she released when she was angry. She saw herself lying on the ground not moving as Ah-Un moved in to protect her. Kagome continued to watch as the newsman continued with the story.
"The Lord of the Lands came to the dragon's aid as the confrontation escaladed. It appeared that the Lord ordered the dragon to take the females away as the dragon laid down on the ground and allowed the smaller female to climb on his back while he grabbed the one that was unconscious in his mouth and took to the air.
"We here at Tokyo news have never heard of a dragon doing the lords bidding before. It is a known fact that dragons do not go near ningens or Youkai. They especially don't obey orders from anyone but it is clear, at least to this reporter, that our lord has control over this dragon.
"The Inu in a state of rage decided to attack Lord Sesshoumaru for the little female that left the area. The fight didn't last long as the Lord then killed the Youkai for degrading his pup, as he called her. We are unaware that the lord has a ningen pup. We are trying to locate Lord Sesshoumaru to get confirmation about this. We do know however that he now has two females in his clan and he protects them viciously.
"We are speculating that the female that was injured was Sesshoumaru's mate but we don't have any confirmation on that. As you can see from the tape we were unable to get a good look at her since her hood covered her features."
The newsman continued with his reports as Kagome turned her eyes toward Rin. She was worried about her as she asked, "Rin, are you all right?"
Rin was shocked to hear that her husband was now dead. Her father said that he will not bother her again but she didn't think that he killed him. She knew that to challenge her father meant death. It was his way and there was nothing she could do about it.
Rin heard Kagome's question as she said, "Yes I'm fine, just tired that's all. I think that I will go to bed now. I will see you both in the morning. Goodnight."
Sesshoumaru and Kagome watched as Rin left the living room and went towards her bedroom. They could both feel the pain she was in but there was nothing that could be done about it.
Kagome was sitting there with her head down, she was deep in thought, pondering how she managed to disrupt Sesshoumaru's life so bad. If she had not mated with him then these reporters would not be outside right now and Rin would probably be with her mate. Her happy family life would still be there. But no, she had to follow her heart, fall in love with Sesshoumaru, and now her pup was a widow. She has certainly messed everything up.
Tears were going down her cheeks as she felt a strong arm go around her shoulders and she felt herself being pulled into a warm chest. A purr was present as his chest was vibrating to soothe her.
Kagome sobbed into her mates chest as she said, "This is all my fault, if I didn't mate with you then none of this would have happened. Now Rin is a widow and I'm to blame."
-oOo-
Sesshoumaru noticed when his pup went off to deal with her emotions. She knew that there was nothing he could do if anyone ever challenged him. It was his right to protect what was his and it was a death sentence to the one who issued the challenge. He thought that Rin was handling this very well.
When Rin was gone from the room he turned his attention to his mate. She was clearly upset at the turn of events. He could feel the pain in her heart and the overwhelming shame that she was the cause of all of this.
Sesshoumaru moved closer to his mate as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his chest. His inner Inu came forth to soothe their mate as she was crying her heart out for what happened, then he heard her words as he responded, "This is not your fault Kagome. Anyone that challenges me for the females of my clan will meet with the same fate. I am the Alpha for my clan and no one will ever challenge me for my females. They are the pride and joy of my clan and they are worth protecting.
"Even if you never mated with me I would have found out what Tatsuya was up too. It was when I was holding Rin in my arms, when she tackled me to the ground after our mating, that I found out about the spell that was put on her. This confrontation would have happened no matter what.
"It just so happens that a group of reporters were outside when he attacked you and Rin. They caught everything on film and now the whole world knows about it. I have no regrets about what I did. If challenged again I will kill anyone who tries to take you and Rin away from me, as is my right as alpha."
Kagome heard everything that Sesshoumaru was saying, it gave her a measure of peace in her heart knowing that he would have done this no matter what. He did have a right to protect his family and it warmed her heart knowing that he cared so much for her and Rin.
Kagome snuggled deeper into Sesshoumaru's arms as she relaxed. His constant purrs lulled her to sleep as she had a very busy day and was exhausted.
Sesshoumaru noticed when his mate finally fell asleep in his arms. He picked her up as he took her back to their room. Once he had her devoid of clothes he placed her in bed and immediately followed suit. They snuggled together as they fell asleep.
Sometime in the middle of the night Kagome moved as she found her favorite place to sleep. She moved to her mate's chest as she half laid on top of him and wrapped her arms around his chest. Sesshoumaru's beast noticed when his mate moved and when she was comfortable he wrapped his tail around her body keeping her in place.
They have no idea why she likes to sleep like this but they were not complaining. Her weight on their chest meant that she was there next to them and they were happy. Sesshoumaru was laying half on his side as Kagome was resting her head on his shoulder nuzzling his neck. They continued to sleep this way, content in each other's arms.
-oOo-
The next morning Kagome started to wake up from her slumber. A familiar feeling in her stomach was making itself known to her as the need to go relieve herself was taking over. She slowly opened her eyes and felt something nice and soft wrapped around her body. She felt warm and safe with Sesshoumaru's tail wrapped around her.
Kagome tried to move but found that she was being held tightly. She felt an arm against her back as she was pulled closer to her mate's chest. She sighed heavily knowing that she was not going to be able to leave Sesshoumaru's embrace without waking him.
She moved again when she heard a rough voice say, "Kagome, where are you going so early in the morning?"
Kagome moved her head as she saw the golden eyes of her mate. She smiled as she said, "I need to go to the bathroom. Please let me go before I have an accident here in bed."
Sesshoumaru looked at his mate as he released her from his grasp. He was hoping that she would come back to bed once she was done. He saw her scramble out of bed as she quickly made her way into the bathroom.
Sesshoumaru laid there with his eyes closed as he waited to see what his mate was going to do. To his surprise she came back to bed as she snuggled back into his chest and he wrapped his arms back around her body. His tail covered her to keep her warm while he held her. His hand was moving up and down her back, making her relax her body against his.
Kagome had no wish to get up early this morning. She wanted the comfort of her mate as she returned to bed. She snuggled into his chest and immediately felt when his hands were caressing her back. It sent a chill down her spine as she found her favorite place and relaxed. Her eyes were drifting shut once again as her breathing evened out and she fell asleep.
Sesshoumaru was wondering what was wrong with his mate. She usually gets up early but today she was more interested in staying in bed with him. He did not mind that she wanted to snuggle against him but he was concerned that something was wrong with her. She was not acting like her usual self, he will have to ask her later on if there is anything wrong. But for now he was happy that he has his mate in his arms and against his body.
Sesshoumaru was just lying in bed, while he was stroking Kagome's hair. He loved the feel of her silky strands through his fingers. When Kagome would move he would pull her closer to his chest as she settled down once again and continued to sleep.
To his disappointment she started to wake up after the sun had risen over the horizon. It was the longest she has ever slept in his arms and it felt good just to hold her. Her breathing was increasing as she started to shift. Soon her lovely blue eyes opened and he greeted his mate with a kiss.
Kagome loved to wake up this way, Sesshoumaru's lips were so warm and soft. It ignited the fire in her body as she shifted and moved on top of him. She now had her body over his as she began to ravish his mouth.
She broke the kiss for lack of air as she was breathing hard. She gently kissed her way across his cheeks as she paid special attention to his markings. He loved it when she paid attention to them as they became even softer than before.
-Lemon Starts-
Her hand moved over to his ear as she gently scratched behind them with her short finger nails. She felt him shiver under her as she did this. His manhood was getting harder by the minute, while she continued with her attention. Soon he was hard as a rock and she was rubbing it with her lower region, grinding her hips into him.
She gently stroked him back and forth as her wetness covered him completely. She moved to his neck and found her mating mark, then began to lick it ever so gently. She then started to suckle on his neck as she started to leave a great big mark on his shoulder. That was all Sesshoumaru could take as he took control and rolled them until he pinned her to the bed beneath him.
Sesshoumaru was in heaven as his mate showered him with attention. He was breathing hard when he felt his mate's fingers behind his ears. He loved to have his ears scratched as a deep purr came from his chest. His beast was in heaven as he moved his chin up to let her have better access.
But when she started to suckle on his neck that was all he could take. He took control as he grabbed his mate and rolled over until he was on top and in control.
He ravished her mouth as his hands became busy. Kagome was beneath him breathing hard as she was enjoying his touch and his attention.
Sesshoumaru felt when Kagome moved her knees to the side of his hips as she was rubbing herself against him. He moved his hips in time with hers when her breathing became labored. He could feel that she was close to her end and went straight for his prize.
Kagome screamed her joy as she was getting close to her release. She was rocking her hips in time to his administration as the knot in her stomach was increasing. The knot kept on getting tighter until she exploded with her release. She screamed her joy as her mate kept her body reacting to what he was doing.
Once his mate reached her peak it was now time to take what was his. He moved his body over hers as he kissed her once again. His hand moved one of her legs to over his forearm as he aligned himself at her entrance and entered.
Sesshoumaru seated himself fully as he rotated his hips and grind against her clit.
Kagome moved with Sesshoumaru as he was rubbing her in the right place. Then when he moved his hips he hit a place that he has never touched before. It felt like heaven as she moved to get him to touch that spot again.
Sesshoumaru noticed that he was hitting something that sparked his mate's arousal even more as he shifted and found it again. Once he knew what she wanted he made it a point to hit that exact spot every time.
Sesshoumaru was moving faster now as he wrapped his arms around Kagome's body and brought her closer to his. He was working her body in such a way that he was getting to his peak very fast. He could feel that Kagome was almost to hers as well, he slammed into her hard as Kagome finally came to her end taking him with her.
He held her in his arms as they both rode the waves of ecstasy. Slowly both of them were starting to calm down as their breathing came under control. Sesshoumaru was out of breath when he finished as he rolled over on his back taking his mate with him to let her rest on top of him.
Kagome was breathing hard as she was thinking, 'Oh yes this is diffidently the right way to wake up in the morning. I could start my day like this every day and never complain.'
Then she felt arms as they encircled her body and held her tight. She nuzzled Sesshoumaru under his chin and licked his neck. He tasted a little salty this morning, she guess that she gave him a good workout.
Then she felt movement underneath her as she was moved and then picked up in strong arms.
Sesshoumaru decided that they needed to get cleaned up. He didn't want to leave his room but he had to go to work. He moved as he picked up his mate and took her into the bathroom.
They showered together as it started all over again. He ravished Kagome's body as he pinned her to the wall and then lifted her up. Having her wrap her legs around his hips he continued to pound into her with fever. He couldn't get enough of her and it seemed that his mate could not get enough of him. She was leaning forward as she was paying attention to his neck.
Kagome was in heaven as her mate continued to drive harder into her body. She moved forward as she started to suckle on his neck. The urge to bite her mate was powerful as her fangs grew in length and she bit him on his neck. She drank of his blood as her body finally met its end and she released.
Sesshoumaru beast came forth when he felt her bite his neck. He bit her in return as he renewed his mating mark and drank of her blood. His bond with Kagome was one of pure joy and pleasure. She was acting like an Inu Youkai and her instincts were unmatched. She knew exactly how to act and what to do to satisfy him and his beast.
He pulled away from her neck as he licked her wound closed. He felt when she did the same to him as they were both breathing hard. They were finally sedated as he placed her on her feet and then proceeded to bathe her once again.
-End of Lemon-
They finally left their room about an hour later as they went to sit down to eat. Rin was already there waiting for them with Koji in her arms. He was being fussy this morning and didn't want Rin to set him down.
Rin had no idea what was wrong with her pup. He has never acted like this before and she was worried.
Kagome saw the look that Rin had this morning as she asked, "Rin is something wrong with Koji?"
Rin looked up and was about to cry. "I don't know what is wrong with him this morning. Every time I try to put him down he starts to cry. He calms down when I hold him but as soon as someone else takes him from me he starts to cry. I have no idea what is going on or why he is acting this way?"
Kagome listened to Rin as she said, "Here let me hold him." and extended her arms to Rin so she could hand over the pup.
Rin complied with her mother's request as she gave her the pup. The moment Koji left his mother's arms he started to fuss. He was about to start crying when Kagome held him to her chest and purred. The sound soothed Koji as he laid still in her arms. She was gently rocking him back and forth in her arms and was trying to see why he was acting this way.
Kagome moved her head closer to Koji, while her forehead touched his, when it did she asked, "Little one why are you acting this way? Your mother is worried, she doesn't know what she has done wrong. Can you tell me what troubles you?"
The pup whined and fussed, he was breathing hard as he answered, "Mother female no go. Mother female will be hurt if she leaves me. Please, no make her go, make her stay with me."
Kagome understood what the pup was saying. He must have the gift of sight, even at this young age he was able to see something that was upsetting him. He was afraid that if Rin left him behind that she will die. The pup had every reason to want to keep his mother close to him. He lost his father and now all he had left was his mother. He didn't want to lose her too.
Kagome sat down with Koji to give Rin a break. It looked like she hadn't slept at all last night. "Rin, I will hold Koji for a while so you can eat. Then I want you to stay home with Koji. He seems upset about you leaving him behind for some reason. You can sleep some more this morning and if everything is going good at the apartment then I can get one of the others to come and get you this afternoon.
"I can tell that you didn't sleep last night and you need your rest. Don't worry about the presentation. There will be plenty of others that you will be working on. You have a permanent place with me. You're very talented and I want to see more of your work."
Rin was grateful to Kagome. She seemed to know what was wrong with Koji and she was right. She was tired from not sleeping last night. The news that her mate was dead was a heavy blow to her. She never thought that he would die by her father's hand. She agreed with her as they ate their breakfast in silence.
Sesshoumaru watched the exchange between Kagome and Rin. Kagome in her own way was speaking to the pup. She didn't know that he heard what was said between them so he kept that information to himself. The pup was scared about something and didn't want his mother to leave his side. He is trying to protect her the best way he knows how.
Kagome had picked up on this and agreed to give him what he wanted. Sesshoumaru could tell that Rin was very tired. She has not slept at all and needed her rest. When Rin agreed to stay home he was happy about it, now if he could only convince his mate to stay home as well.
Breakfast was a quiet affair as Sesshoumaru watched his females. Kagome was still emitting a low purr that kept Koji calm in her arms. But what she failed to notice is that Rin was being affected by it as well. She was soothed by that purr and she was falling asleep.
Rin didn't know what came over her. She was suddenly tired as she shook her head and finished her food. She turned to Kagome and said, "I think I will go and lay down for a while. I'm very tired and need to sleep. I'll take Koji from you mama." She got up and took her pup back from Kagome as she left and went back to her room.
Kagome looked at Rin with curiosity in her eyes as she watched Rin leave the room.
Sesshoumaru seeing the look on his mate said, "Your purrs affected her."
Kagome turned her attention to her mate and asked, "My purrs? What purrs?"
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her in wonderment. "Did you not notice that you were purring for the pup? You purr the same way I growl for you when you are upset and I need you to calm down. It usually puts you to sleep and you were having the same effect on Rin, only your purrs where a lot more powerful than mine."
Kagome was surprised by Sesshoumaru's statement. She didn't think that she could purr. This was all new to her and she was confused as hell. She sighed as she rubbed her forehead in frustration. Clearly she still had a lot to learn about being mated to Sesshoumaru.
Kagome stood as she helped Maya clear the table and then went into the bedroom to retrieve her portfolio. She grabbed her coat and her glasses as she headed out. She was to meet her friends down in the lobby and she was late.
She approached her mate as she said, "I have to go. I will see you later tonight."
Sesshoumaru turned to his mate as he said, "Can't you stay home with Rin? I would feel better if you stayed, you can have your friends come up here and work."
Kagome smiled at her mate as she said, "I don't have any computers here to work with and all my stuff is at my apartment. My friends will keep me safe, just like yesterday. I promise to be careful and if things get out of hand I will call for you, I promise."
Sesshoumaru had to give in to her request. Her friends did prove themselves in keeping her safe yesterday. He had her word that if something was to happen she would call for him. He brought her into his arms as he kissed her. There was something in the back of his mind that was bothering him. Something was going to happen today and his instincts were at an all-time high. "Please be careful out there today Kagome, something is not right, the pup was right, he was picking up on something that made him not want his mother to leave his side today."
Kagome nodded her understanding, she was feeling it too but she didn't think that Sesshoumaru would pick up on it. They both entered the elevator as they went down. They stopped at Sesshoumaru's floor as he gave her another kiss and then got off.
Kagome continued going down and when she arrived down in the lobby her friends were already there waiting for her. The first words out of Sango's mouth was, "Kagome where is Rin?"
"Rin is staying here this morning. Koji had a rough night and didn't let Rin get any rest. So she is staying behind to catch up on some sleep. If everything is progressing well then we can come back later and get her." Kagome answered, while she was putting on her glasses and pulling up her hood. She was ready to leave as they all stepped out of the building and left the area.
They started walking to Kagome's apartment. They did not take the same route as the night before but a different one to make sure no one saw where they were coming from. They finally made it to her apartment building as they all went upstairs.
As they were walking down to her apartment something didn't feel right to Kagome. The first thing she noticed was that the barrier was gone from her door. She noticed that the door was slightly opened too. She turned to her friends and said, "Koga someone broke into my apartment."
Koga heard Kagome's words and stepped in front of her. He would not let her go into the apartment first. They had to be powerful if they were able to bring down Kagome's barrier. It was one of the strongest he has ever encountered and even he couldn't break through it. He opened the door as he sniffed the area. It was the same ones that attacked them yesterday that did this. There were others with him as he slowly entered the apartment with his senses on full alert.
Miroku followed Koga in and then the girls. The apartment was a mess as they looked at what they had done. Kagome was devastated, all of her things were thrown around the room and broken. She turned her attention to the bedroom where the computers were kept as she ran in there.
Kagome stopped dead in her tracks as she looked at the room. She fell to her knees as she started to cry. It was all gone… all of her equipment was smashed. There was no way to savage any of it.
Ayame and Sango came running in after Kagome as they saw the room. All of their equipment was broken, the flat screen televisions were on the floor with the screen busted out of them. The scanners were smashed and the computers were not salvageable.
They both moved to Kagome as they tried to console her on her loss. "Kagome, don't worry we can replace the equipment. We still have the backup files we made yesterday, so we still have copies of everything. At least we didn't lose all of our work. Now let's get out of here."
Kagome was still in a state of shock as they got her up and then led her back into what used to be the living room.
Koga came up behind them as he said, "This happened last night. It is the same Youkai that attacked us yesterday. They came here looking for Kagome. Naraku is trying his best to make sure that she doesn't compete in this competition. He doesn't want her to win this thing so he did this. We need to leave. I have gotten reports from our guards that there are Youkai moving into the area. I don't want them to catch us here because they will be after Kagome."
Sango turned her attention to Kagome as she saw the blank look in her eyes. She stood in front of her as she placed her hands on her shoulders and shook her. "Kagome! Snap out of it. We need to leave and you need to pay attention to what is going on. You have lost nothing, we will replace the equipment as soon as possible, so we can continue with the presentation. NOW, SNAP OUT OF IT!"
Kagome's mind was jarred back to the present as she heard Sango's words. She was clearly upset at losing everything as she said in a low voice, "Let's go."
They left the apartment as they snuck out the back of the building. They were making their way through the alley when they were attacked.
Koga's guards came in to help them as they all took off running. Kagome ran like she has never ran before, but in her mind she was calling for her dragon to come to her aid. "Ah-Un I need your help, please hurry!"
-oOo-
Ah-Un were in the mountains wondering through the forest. They were not feeling well this morning and they were trying to figure out what was wrong. They were brought out of their thoughts when they heard their lady's call. They took off at top speed as they raced to her location. They spotted her down below as she was running away from Youkai that were after her. The wolves were trying their best to protect her but they were outnumbered.
Ah-Un swooped down and grabbed their mistress by the back of her jacket as he put her on his back and took off fast out of the area. His stride faltered just a bit before he regained his gait. He was heading out of the city as Kagome said, "Ah-Un we need to go to my baa-chan home. I'll be safe there." The dragon understood her desires as they headed in that direction.
Kagome made sure that she concealed their escape from the area as the dragon flew to her grandmother's house. She needed time to think and this was the best place to do it. It took Ah-Un about 20 minutes to get to her grandmother's house as he gently landed on the ground.
Kagome got off as she placed a barrier around the area and then ran inside to her grandmother.
The dragon watched as his mistress went into the house, a barrier was placed around the area to keep her safe from intruders. They fell to the ground as they were breathing hard. They finally figured out what was going on as they slowly got up from the ground and started to head towards the forest.
The dragon was reluctant to leave the area as they watched from the forest. They finally got an idea as they contacted the lord of the lands. They told him what happened and that he could no longer protect his mate. He was grateful that his lord understood as they turned to leave the area.
Ah-Un noticed when their mistress came out of the house and went towards a large field. She was going to train as he left the area undetected. They needed to find a place where they will be safe for the transformation and then he will return to her.
They continued on their way as they remembered what the Lord told them. There was a cave nearby that had a barrier on the outside to protect it from intruders. The Lord had found the cave last week and thought that the cave would be the perfect place for them to transform. They continued making their way deep into the forest, making sure that they covered their tracks as they went.
-oOo-
Kaede noticed when Kagome came to visit. She was wondering what was going on when she saw her granddaughter running in quickly and slamming the door shut behind her. Kagome was breathing hard as Kaede asked, "Kagome, what is going on? What has happened?"
Kagome slid down the door as she landed on her butt. She was crying as she told her grandmother, through her sobs, what happened.
It was hard to understand Kagome, she was mumbling and slurring her words together, as Kaede tried to calm her down, when nothing she did worked she slapped Kagome hard. It worked because Kagome stopped her crying and looked at her grandmother in confusion. Seeing this Kaede said, "Now that I have your attention, why didn't you fight back? Is this not what you have been training for? Why did you run?"
Kagome didn't know how to answer that question. "I don't know. I was confused and in pain, all that work gone, my computers destroyed. We were attacked in the city and my powers are not that great when I can't touch the earth directly. My Reiryoku is not that powerful anymore. Ever since I mated Sesshoumaru it seems to me that my powers have weakened."
Kaede huffed as she said, "That is not possible Kagome. Your powers have simply gone dormant. When you mated the most powerful male in the lands your powers receded back so it doesn't task your body too much, but they are very much there, all you have to do is call it forth and you will be able to use them.
"You let your emotions get the better of you and you failed to protect your friends. Tell me where was Rin through all of this?" Kaede managed to get Kagome on her feet and had her sitting down on the sofa as she sat down in her rocker.
Kagome thought for a few minutes and then answered, "Rin was at home. Koji was acting strange this morning. I determined that he has the gift of sight and he must have seen this attack coming and didn't want Rin to leave him behind."
Kaede thought about what Kagome was saying as she asked, "If Rin and Koji were with you this morning would you have let those fools attack and chase you?"
Kagome huffed, there was no way she would let Rin or the pup get hurt. She would have fought back somehow. "No, I will never let them get hurt."
Kaede sat back as she said with satisfaction in her voice, "If you would fight to keep Rin safe then why didn't you fight the ones chasing you? You have the power and unless you prove yourself then they will continue to chase you and they will succeed in capturing you. You must use your mind and keep a clear head about you when you are out and about. There will always be those that will come after you to get to Sesshoumaru. You are his weakness and unless you toughen yourself up you will wind up getting killed or worse, you will have Sesshoumaru getting hurt because of your carelessness."
Kagome was shocked, her grandmother never talked to her like that before. But she was right. She was becoming a liability to her mate if she did not protect herself. She wanted to be independent but if she did not look after herself and her friends she will never have it. Today was an object lesson for her and she has learned from it. Next time they will not find it so easy to get to her.
Kagome has been talking with her grandmother for about an hour, during that time she called her friends and let them know that she was safe. Her grandmother has given her some new spells that she can use to protect herself and they were practicing the incantations.
After they finished practicing Kaede took Kagome outside as she went to an opened field, there they started to train as Kaede went after Kagome with a vengeance. She attacked viciously making sure that Kagome thought on her feet and followed through with a counter attack. If she hesitated for a second she made sure to punish her for her lack of confidence.
They continued to train all morning and they never noticed that a certain dragon was no longer in the area with them.
-oOo-
Sango and Ayame noticed when the dragon came down and picked up Kagome. They put her on their back and started to fly away from the area. They both noticed that once Ah-Un was in the air that they disappeared from sight. Ayame was able to tell Sango that a powerful barrier was placed around them as their scent disappeared from the area.
Both the females ran to catch up with the males. They were in the middle of a battle as the wolves were helping them fight. They were fighting hard when all of a sudden all of the attacking Youkai were called away from the area.
The group of friends were standing around panting hard as they looked at their handy work. They were all fine but their enemy were dead around them. There was at least 30 Youkai that were dead on the ground as Koga turned to his mate and asked, "Kagome? Where is Kagome?"
Ayame looked up at her mate and stated, "Ah-Un came in and took her out of the area. I know that she is safe for the time being. Why did they all leave the area?"
Koga was relieved to hear that the dragon had Kagome. He knew that they would protect her with their life. He heard his mate's question, answering, "I don't know why they left. They might have called off their attacks since Kagome is gone from the area and Rin is not here. I do know one thing, they will not stop until Kagome is in their grasp. We cannot allow Kagome to have the freedom she has been having. It's becoming harder to protect her and she must learn that she needs to be in a safe place.
"I suggest that we go and see Sesshoumaru. He has to know what is going on. I know that Kagome will not tell him because she doesn't want to stop having her freedom but Naraku is determined to get her and its becoming dangerous."
The group agreed as they turned and started to walk towards Sesshoumaru's office. While they were walking, Sango's cell phone started to ring as she picked it up. She was happy to hear that it was Kagome. She quickly found out where she was located and told her to stay there, they will be by later to get her once they have ordered the equipment that they needed to replace.
The group then hurried down the street as they were making their way to Sesshoumaru's office. What they failed to notice was that there were Youkai who were following them. The wolves around the area noticed them as they gave Koga a warning about their visitors.
Koga heard his wolves as he started to head in another direction. The others followed without question since they knew that something must be wrong for them to be turning away from Sesshoumaru's building.
After a few minutes of traveling Koga stopped at a coffee shop as they all got coffee and sat down. When they were all together Koga said in a low voice, "I want you girls to go and see Sesshoumaru. Miroku and I will lead the ones following us away from this area. They are still after Kagome and we can't risk them knowing who she is mated to."
Ayame and Sango understood as they both got up and went to the bathroom. Miroku gave them both sutras as they placed them on their chest and then climbed out of the bathroom window. The sutras kept them hidden from their enemy as they made their way to Sesshoumaru.
While the girls went into the bathroom the guys got up and left the coffee shop. They headed in a different direction than the girls will take as they led the spies away from the area. When they were sure that they were far enough away they went into a public restroom as Miroku pulled out some sutras for them to wear. The sutras had a powerful concealment spell that hid them from their enemy as they walked back out and continued down the street.
They turned as they saw the males running into the restroom looking for them, they turned to each other and smiled, as they continued on their way. They hurried as they were going back towards Sesshoumaru's building to meet up with the girls.
-oOo-
The girls quickly climbed out of the window as they made their way down the alley. They emerged from a side street as they looked around the area. Ayame's senses were on full alert as she scanned the area for any threats.
When she determined that they were no longer being followed she and Sango made their way back to Sesshoumaru's building. The girls got there quickly as they went upstairs to see Sesshoumaru. Once they were on Sesshoumaru's floor they approached Neoki.
Neoki looked up from her work as she saw the females that were always with Sesshoumaru's mate, "Good morning, how may I help you?"
Ayame looked at the demoness and said, "We need to see Sesshoumaru, it's an emergency."
Neoki knew that these females were serious as she reached for the button on her desk, "Excuse me Sesshoumaru-sama but your mates female friends are here to see you."
Sesshoumaru heard his secretary and knew that this was not good if they were here on their own. "Send them in Neoki." He waited patiently for them to approach his office, when he heard a knock on his door. He thought this was strange since he could not sense anyone standing outside his door. He rose from his seat as he said, "Come in." Both females took a deep breath before they entered the Youkai lord's domain.
Sango and Ayame walked into Sesshoumaru's office as they braced themselves. They both heard the vicious growl he gave, "What happened? Where is my mate?"
Before Ayame could gather her thoughts they both noticed when Sesshoumaru went stiff as his eyes glazed over. He looked like he was communicating with someone as they waited patiently.
Sesshoumaru was about to lose it when the dragon made contact with him. He told him where his mate was located and his reason for the contact. He understood the dragons dilemma as he said, 'Worry not Ah-Un, I will be there soon to protect her. Her friends just arrived here and I have to take care of them. Then I will be out there to get my mate. I will see you once your transformation is complete.'
Sesshoumaru felt the dragon's gratitude and his sorrow for leaving his mate but it was something that could not be helped. But before he broke contact with the dragon he told them about the cave he found. He had placed a barrier around the entrance to the cave to prevent others from entering it. The cave was large enough to hold the dragon through his transformation, plus he was close to his mate.
When he was done talking to the dragon he broke his contact with him as he turned his attention back to the females standing in front of him. He got his composer back as he stated, "I want to know what happened."
Ayame, hearing that Sesshoumaru was a lot calmer than before, started to tell him what happened this morning. She went over everything in detail as she answered his questions when he asked.
Sesshoumaru was not happy, whoever was after his mate was very dangerous. There is no way he was going to let her leave his side now so she can work on her presentation. He will have to come up with an alternative for her so she can continue to work.
Sesshoumaru thought for a few minutes as he got an idea and said, "I want you two to come with me." He left no room for argument as he walked out of his office and made it to the front where Neoki was located.
There they met up with Koga and Miroku as Sesshoumaru stopped and said to Ayame, "I want you to give Neoki a list of all the computers, equipment, and programs that you will need to continue with what you were doing." Sesshoumaru then turned his attention to Neoki as he said, "Neoki I want everything to be delivered as fast as possible and brought up here. It's to go in the office at the end of the hallway."
Neoki understood as she gave a pad of paper to the wolf demoness and she started to write down what she needed.
Sesshoumaru then turned to the rest of his mates friends as he said, "Follow me."
Miroku, Koga, Sango, and Ayame followed Sesshoumaru down a long hallway that was secluded from the main part of his floor. He walked into an office as he said, "Will this office due for all of you to work in? Or is something much larger needed?"
They all looked at the room in question as their eyes opened wide. The room was huge as Koga said, "Yes this room will do just fine. All we need are some tables to be set up here along with some chairs and it will be perfect."
Sesshoumaru heard his request as he said, "It will be here by this afternoon and then you can start working on your presentation again. I will go and get Kagome from her grandmothers. I don't want to take the chance of her being attacked again. But before I leave I want to know who is responsible for the attacks."
The group looked at each other as they tried to determine whether or not to tell Sesshoumaru what he wanted to know. In the end it was Koga who spoke up, "Lord Sesshoumaru, I know that Kagome wants to deal with this person on her own. She wants revenge for all the things he has done to the merchants of the area. She has good intensions but we feel that she needs to stay as safe as possible. The attacks are becoming too frequent for my liking and though we do our best to protect her, it's becoming difficult.
"The person that is responsible for all of this is Naraku. He is the driving force behind why so many businesses fail in this area. He buys off the heads of their marketing department to make sure that their products fail. Then he comes in and buys the product along with the copyright, he takes them and puts his own label on them and sells them at a huge profit.
"He has come after Kagome before, about three years ago, but he really didn't think of her as a threat at the time. She was brand new to the business and she was just starting to get her feet wet. After one attack they left her alone until now. Now he is determined to get her because she is a threat to his business.
"We also think that he wants her for a mate since we know that his henchmen have reported back to him that she is a powerful miko. But since Kagome keeps your mating a secret they will think of her as being available."
Sesshoumaru listened to what the wolf prince was saying. Now he had a name that he can go after. If Naraku wanted his mate he had a big surprise coming, she belonged to him and there was no way he was going to let her go. He turned his attention back to those in front of him as he said, "Thank you, I know that Kagome wants to go after him. I will give her this but I have my own plans for Naraku. He will rule the day that he has messed with me.
"For a long time I have suspected that the head of my marketing department was not doing his very best in marketing our products. When I found out that Kagome was the person behind Goyo I knew that I could trust her opinion. That's why I invited her to hear a marketing presentation in my office.
"It was there that I determined that Masuyo was not marketing our products effectively and when he degraded Kagome she became the spitfire that I love. She was adamant that his presentation was worthless and accused him of trying to bring down my company. Unfortunately for him now that I know that he has betrayed me he is not to be trusted, he is going to have to leave the country in order to find a new job. Whether he wins this competition or not he is fired. I will not have anyone working for me that cannot be trusted."
The group agreed with Sesshoumaru as they continued to listen, "Now I want you all to come with me." Sesshoumaru left the office he has given them as he went to his private elevator and then went up to his apartment.
They all walked out of the elevator as they were all in awe at what they saw. It was beautiful as they all walked into the living room. Sesshoumaru turned as he said, "Maya, I need you to take care of the slayers wounds. If she is in need of a doctor call them to come here to tend to her needs. I have to go and get Kagome, then I will return."
Maya did not waste any time as she went to get some bandages and clean cloths.
Sango heard what Sesshoumaru was saying, she was surprised that he knew she was wounded, "Ah… Sesshoumaru-sama, I'm fine. I don't need a doctor."
The rest of the group were in shock as they all turned their eyes toward Sango. Ayame was the one that was surprised the most as she asked, "Sango? Are you hurt?"
Sango turned her head to the side and did not answer her question. She has been trying to hide the fact that she was injured as she heard Sesshoumaru say, "She has been trying to hide the fact that she is in pain and bleeding. I can tell that her clothes cover up any injury to the normal senses, but mine are more powerful than most. It is a trick that the slayers use to make sure that the Youkai doesn't know that they have injured their prey.
"I have been picking up on her blood scent for a few minutes now and unless it is taken care of she will bleed to death."
Miroku was the one that was most upset as he turned his violet eyes towards her, "Sango why didn't you tell us that you were hurt? You know that we would have taken care of you as best we could until we got you to the doctors."
Sango sighed heavily as she stated, "It's just a minor wound. We needed to deal with important issues and my wound is not one of them. I can heal them with no problem once we were done."
Maya came into the room as she went over to Sango. She had her open her jacket as they all looked to see her injury. There was blood everywhere as Maya pulled her shirt up to see a long claw mark on her side. Maya immediately started to clean the wound to see how deep it was. "My… this wound is deep my dear, I don't know if I can close it."
Sesshoumaru noticed what Maya was doing as he stepped up beside her and looked at the wound. Yes the wound was deep but with his youki he should be able to close it. It will be painful for her as he stated, "Slayer, I can seal your wound but it will be painful for you. But if you refuse my aid, then we will get a healer to come up here to do it."
Sango could not believe what she was hearing as she looked up at the Youkai lord and asked, "Why would you want to heal my wound for me?"
"You are my mate's friend. You have proven yourself a wonderful friend to my mate and a powerful guard. You do your clan proud to be by my mate's side to protect her from harm. Plus, if you should get sick from this, what do you think Kagome would do?" Sesshoumaru noticed as what he said sunk into the slayers mind.
Sango thought about what Sesshoumaru was saying and it all clicked in her mind. 'Kagome is going to blame herself for this. I just know that she is.' She looked up at the Youkai lord as she said, "I will let you close my wound, but I don't want Kagome to know that I was hurt. She will blame herself for this and it was not her fault. I would give my life to protect her but she will feel that she is responsible for me getting hurt because she didn't fight back."
Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow at the slayers words as he said, "Explain."
Sango rubbed her forehead as she explained why Kagome did not fight back. She went on to explain that it was not her fault at all, that it was a natural reaction to what happened at her home.
Sesshoumaru understood what she was saying as he got busy closing her wound. His youki formed in his hand as he moved closer to her side. He let his powers go over the wound and sealed them. It only took a minute but to Sango it felt like it took forever. It hurt, as she felt like her skin was burned. She was breathing hard as she opened her eyes and looked down. To her amazement she noticed that she almost did not have a scar left. It was just pink in color as the elderly demoness wrapped her side up in a bandage to keep it covered until it healed completely.
Sesshoumaru stood up as he stated, "I'm going after Kagome. I want you all to stay here. Neoki will call you when the equipment arrives downstairs. You are then free to set up your new office."
Everyone agreed as they all turned to see Rin walking into the room.
-oOo-
This is the end to another chapter. Kagome is starting to get her presentation together for Sesshoumaru. Now that Sesshoumaru knows who is after her he will not let her out of his sight.
Now it was brought to my attention that some people have problems with the words dominance and submission. In my story submission means that she is more than willing to submit herself to Sesshoumaru because she wants to, not because she is forced into it, like rape.
Dominance is used in the context of Sesshoumaru making sure that Kagome stays safe, so he is the dominant person in the relationship. In no way is Kagome ever forced into anything that she doesn't want to do.
Sesshoumaru will always respect Kagome in everything and will never force his will on her except if he is trying to keep her safe, like in the chapter you just read and the next. But I warn you that he will be a little more forceful in the next chapter and punishment will be given to get Kagome to listen to what he is saying. I hope this clears up any misunderstanding on how I use these words.
Join me in the next chapter as Kagome confronts those that have been after her. When Sesshoumaru shows up to protect her, Kagome being Kagome, disrespects her mate and does not back down.
Until the next time
Jani