Author's Note: I've rewritten something here and there. I don't like how the story is going so I've decided to redo it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Getting To Know You

"Well this is nice." Kagome replied trying to make conversation.

Kagome was sitting next to Darien on his left while Shippo was on his right side with Rin sitting next to him. InuYasha, Kouga, Sango, and Miroku were on the other side of the table eating trying not to make eye contact. Sesshomaru was seated at the head table looking out the window quite bored.

"I caught this fish with Rin and Jaken that you guys so happen to be eating so you're welcome." Shippo replied with food in his mouth.

Sesshomaru looked at Shippo disgusted.

"Such poor table manners, you must get it from InuYasha or perhaps Darien." Sesshomaru added looking even more revolted at Darien shoving fish into his mouth, well any food that was near him he shoved in that big mouth of his.

Kagome smirked but didn't say anything.

"Wasuf?" Darien said looking up at everybody.

"Don't talk with your mouth full Darien." Kagome whispered to him as Darien swallowed.

"Sorry, I'm starving! And since nobody isn't really eating anything I thought I'd try to finish eating all the food on my own." Darien replied, "And Shippo's table manners were already messed up before I even met him, so the fault obviously relies on InuYasha himself." Darien smirked winking at Shippo as InuYasha glared at him.

"Feh, whatever." InuYasha looked back down at his noodles twirling it with his chopsticks distractedly.

"So are you leaving anytime soon, Kouga? Not that I don't mind your loving presence, but do tell. What about your pack?" Darien asked him.

"Me and my pack are relocating. If I need them then I'll send word. They are to keep me aware of things going on while I'm away." Kouga retorted biting into the fried fish.

"Sooooo…. hmm… somebody I can drag into a conversation with me." Darien replied looking around the table.

"Miroku and Sango! I have yet to talk to you guys, how's life?" Darien asked cheerfully.

"My wind tunnel has gotten slightly wider and I fear if we do not defeat Naraku soon that I will cist to exist." Miroku replied playing with his food.

"Ooookay… and you Sango?"

"I have yet to gain Kohaku back from Naraku's clutches, but other than that I'm just peachy." Sango replied sarcastically.

"Tough crowed." Darien whistled, "I tried." Taking a sip of his water.

"Yes, do go back to nauseating appetite of eating like you've never ate before." Sesshomaru replied sarcastically as Darien accidentally sputtered out water from his mouth laughing.

"Gross!"

"Damn you! I was eating—"

"Disgusting truly disgusting!"

"My food!"

"All of you guys can just shut up! You guys weren't even eating anyway!" Darien retorted wiping his face with his napkin.

"That's it I'm leaving." InuYasha replied getting up out of his chair.

"Good riddance mutt face." Kouga replied.

"Shut up you flea infesting mongrel!" InuYasha snapped at him.

"Your one to talk!"

"Shut up both of you, especially you Kouga, just be careful InuYasha, don't get kidnapped on the way." Darien replied to him as InuYasha glared at a sneering Kouga and walked out the door without a word.

"InuYasha is not your responsibility, Darien." Sesshomaru replied slickly.

"Somebody has to watch over him since it wont be you." Darien replied back.

Everybody at the table tensed at this.

"You forget your place here Darien. What or what this Sesshomaru does not do is none of your concern." Sesshomaru glared at him.

Kagome held Darien's hand to help him control his anger, as Darien's eyes were turning light pink, not red exactly but close to it.

"My apologies. It's just that I also have a younger sibling, which I try to watch over and protect him whenever possible. It just comes naturally that I would want to protect somebody whom I care about as any sibling would." Darien finished losing is appetite.

"Don't tire my patience." Sesshomaru's replied clearly irritated.

Darien leaned up close to Kagome's ear so that she could only hear what he was saying.

"I'm going to the dojo's to let off a bit of steam, I'll take Shippo to bed before I go so that you can have some time to yourself, good idea?" Darien whispered to her kissing her earlobe.

"Alright." Kagome replied blushing as Darien smirked in amusement at Kagome's shyness.

"Are you done Shippo?" Darien asked back in his cheerful mood. Shippo nodded happily noticing Darien's change of tone.

"Alright come on." Darien grabbed Shippo's hand.

"Goodnight Shippo, I'll see you soon." Kagome replied hugging him. Shippo had grown a bit over the years. His height reached to Kagome's knees, not much, but he was growing.

"Goodnight mama. Bye." Shippo waved to Miroku, Sango, and Rin.

Kagome had decided to take a long walk around the gardens that nigh, it was hardly ever that she got time alone anymore, and she would do anything to get away from all the stress that was put on her. Yet some of the stress gave her heart a big 'thump', like how Shippo had been calling her 'Mama' a lot lately. Of course she agreed, because in her eyes Shippo had been her son since she found out he had no parents.

Kagome sighed and sat down on the trunk of an oak tree, leaning into it and looking up in the sky. It was a beautiful night. She could just sit here forever. She yawned quietly, stretching her tired muscles. Sesshomaru may have been trying Kagome to defend herself better, but he was a slave driver!

A deep voice took her out of her strange thoughts. At first it soothed her, thinking that it might be Darien, but then she turned to find it was Sesshoumaru.

"What are you doing away from your mate? And your keepers?"

It was blunt and rude, but something in his voice made Kagome sigh close her eyes. She had gone through this enough with InuYasha she wasn't about to start it with his brother.

"I needed time away and Darien and I aren't exactly 'mates' as you put it and Sango and Miroku aren't my keepers," Kagome couldn't help but add, "They're my friends."

His gold eyes regarded her curiously. It was too peaceful; something his life hadn't had enough of. Kagome was leaned against a tree, seemingly perfectly at ease around the Demon Lord Of The West. He was impressed.

Sesshomaru blinked and found a tree of his own that was relatively close to Kagome's, and he also sat on the ground.

Kagome looked over at him for a moment then smiled to herself.

"I'm surprised that you Lord Sesshomaru don't find it demeaning to sit on the ground, sitting next to a miko none the less."

"This Sesshomaru does not find it demeaning sitting next to a very powerful beauty." Sesshomaru whispered making Kagome blush.

"You ought not to say things that you don't truly mean." Kagome replied getting up off the ground along with Sesshomaru as he motioned for her to follow him deeper in the gardens.

Kagome shuddered as it started to colder the farther they went and Sesshomaru wrapped his arm around her waist. Any other time the weight and warmth of his hand on her side would have driven her to dirty thoughts or freaked her out, but at the moment she was too distracted to feel anything other than comfort from it.

"Inuyasha's mother used to take him here all the time. It gives a person peace of mind."

They came up to pink flowered trees and a huge waterfall that had petals on the bottom of the lake.

"It's beautiful." Kagome whispered.

Sesshomaru pulled his arm away, leaving that spot on her waist exposed to the chilly air. She immediately missed it. Kagome sighed feeling guilty about the thoughts that were running through her head about Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru walked and sat in front of the sakura tree.

"This Sesshomaru believes that InuYasha wouldn't mind his priestess sharing his favorite spot that he use to share with his mother." Sesshomaru replied as Kagome looked back towards him.

"Kagome." Kagome commented looking back towards the waterfall sitting down on the edge of the ground toching the water petals.

Kagome could feel Sesshomaru staring at her from behind her back. "You keep calling me miko or priestess, if you want me to call you Lord Sesshomaru you've got to call me by my name. No more of this 'Priestess' crap. It's Kagome."

Kagome turned around to face him. Sesshomaru looked amused at Kagome's choice of words. "This Sesshomaru will call you … Kagome, only in private."

Kagome rolled her eyes and covered her face with her hands in exasperation.

"I suppose that's as good as I'm going to get. Ah well, I'll take it. Thanks Sesshomaru."

Kagome got up and walked towards Sesshomaru sitting next to him, but not to close.

"You're welcome, Kagome." Sesshomaru whispered looking out at the waterfall.

Kagome just smiled.

Darien sat on the edge of the hot spring drying Shippo's hair.

"Sesshomaru's mad at you isn't he? He'll try to hurt you." Shippo replied.

"He can't do much to me, can he? After all, he still wants to train me, I think anyway."

"What if he withholds your fang," Shippo pointed out.

Shaking his head slowly, he stated with certainty, "I don't think he'll stoop so low. But if he tries, I'll fight him for it!"

Shippo gave him a curious look. "You're not scared of him, are you?"

"…"

"Darien?"

"Are you all squeaky clean?" Darien asked him changing the subject.

"Yeah."

"Okay, lets get you to bed."

Darien helped Shippo into some clean pyjamas that the servants had proved for Shippo because he's 'so cute' Darien heard some servants say to him.

Darien hugged Shippo after getting him into his sleeping bag.

"I don't think I can sleep if nobody's here with me." Shippo whispered.

"Well, if you still cant sleep by the time Kagome or I come back I will be sure to teach you how to do a cartwheel and handstand, promise." Darien replied tickling him.

"Okay! Okay!" Shippo cried snuggling deeper into his sleeping bag.

"Goodnight, Shippo." Darien replied stepping out the tent.

"Night Darien." Shippo whispered yawning as Darien zipped the tent halfway up.

"Where is she?" Darien was walking around the halls looking for Kagome. She wasn't in the gardens.

Knock knock

"I can't have a day without seeing your face can I?" InuYasha sneered at Darien whom rolled his eyes.

"Nice seeing you to—" Darien looked over InuYasha to see Miroku and Sango sitting on a red king sized bed.

"Sessho—"

"Your room is much, much, 'much' bigger than mine I see, favoritism, anyway can I come in?" Darien asked him as InuYasha frowned.

"Darien?" Sango asked getting up.

"Uh… yea." Darien replied smiling.

"Yup its Darien alright, I've never seen Sesshomaru smile before." Sango exclaimed inspecting Darien.

"Feh, whatever." InuYasha walked away towards his window looking out.

"Nothings changed in my appearance I don't think." Darien exclaimed closing the door behind him.

"Well, you do have the markings on your face and you are kind of dressed like him." Sango exclaimed as Darien scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, I was in the dojo's." Darien replied shrugging as he relaxed lying across InuYasha's bed, his markings fading away from his face.

"You can make your markings fade by will?" Miroku asked Darien surprised.

"In the future I can't just walk around looking like a demon, that'd be exposure. Nobody knows of my inheritance, but Kagome. Demons, are just myths from where I'm from as you probably already heard from Kagome. I don't show my markings unless I have to and since everybody here seems to think I'm Sesshomaru with these markings on I'm choosing to keep them off."

"Well really, once you start talking you can immediately tell the difference." Miroku exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Darien turned his head to the side to look at Miroku.

"You don't talk like a pompous ass hole." InuYasha spoke for Miroku.

"What he said I guess." Miroku replied as Darien laughed.

"You know, Sesshomaru really does care about you InuYasha."

"When hell freezes over." InuYasha muttered.

"Since I grew up with my brother Yuji I've gotten attached to him, even though my Dad divorced my mother and married Izayoi, my step mother. I was forced to stay with my Dad instead of my mother which left me feeling bitterness towards Izayoi and Dad. Then Izayoi got pregnant and Yuji was born. Dad brought me to the room to see him which annoyed the heck out me cause I had sworn that I wouldn't have nothing to do with the family, but then Dad put Yuji in my arms and I couldn't help but feel the need to protect him." Darien sighed and shrugged. "He's a annoy little runt to, follows me everywhere I go. He even has to dress like me and it's bad enough that his friend Kouga has to bug me to."

"You miss him don't you?" Sango asked him smiling sadly, thoughts of her own brother on her mind.

"I don't see how can you, he calls doesn't he?" InuYasha asked oddly hoarse blinking rapidly still looking out the window.

"Calls?" Miroku asked confused.

"Oh, my phone. Yea he calls sometimes, when I can get a hold of him we talk. Did you talk to him InuYasha?" Darien asked him curiously.

"Briefly." InuYasha muttered.

"Hmm… well, I wouldn't give up on Sesshomaru. He seems jealous of that fact that you don't react the same way with me the way you do with him. I think he cares, he just doesn't know how to show it. Anyway I just wanted to know if you guys seen Kagome." Darien replied.

"The last we saw of her was when she was heading to the gardens." Sango replied as Darien got up off the bed.

"She's probably sleeping." Darien stretched as InuYasha tensed up about the thought of Kagome and Darien sleeping together in the same room.

"You two share a room?" InuYasha asked rounding on him as Darien gave him a sidelong glance.

"Does the term girlfriend and boyfriend mean anything to you?" Darien asked him sarcastically.

"Feh, I thought you were leaving." InuYasha replied ignoring him again.

Darien just rolled his eyes walking towards the door.

"I don't know why you're so concern about Kagome and me—" Darien replied opening the door, "I mean from what I hear you and Airi were K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Darien laughed at the outraged look on InuYasha's face and the shock looks from Sango and Miroku before closing the door behind him.

'Ah… I love messing with InuYasha.'

"What is he talking about InuYasha? Who's Airi?" Miroku asked slyly.

"None of your damn fucking business Monk." Inuyasha snapped at him.

"I see," was both Sango and Miroku's responses giving each other knowing looks.

After walking around the castle, getting lost and finally finding her way back by the help of one of the servants, Noyoko, Kagome finally made it to her room. She looked to see the tent half closed and to hear snoring from inside the tent. Kagome sighed and dug through her bag that was by the door and picked out a pair of pink pajamas with cats all over them. She went to the bathroom and changed. When she came back she walked inside the tent, zipping it back up.

Both Shippo and Darien looked relaxed in their sleep and she didn't want to move around and wake them up. So Kagome slowly crawled towards Darien whom wasn't in his sleep bag, just their blue blanket over him, then she got under it and onto Darien's lap. She adjusted herself and leaned into his chest. She felt Darien twitch below her as she scooted down a bit so she could tuck her head against his shoulder. Darien's arm readjusted around her waist so he could hold onto her. Kagome could hear his heart thumping steadily under her ear. He smelled nice too.

"Go to sleep Kagome." His voice rumbled through her body and for the first time in weeks she felt herself really relax.