Just a reminder on communication:

"Normal out-loud speech."

Sesshomaru's/Kagome's mental dialogue to self

Beast's/Avatar's dialogue to self

"Sesshomaru's/Kagome's mental dialogue with each other via inner selves."

Things conveyed through inu body language.

Frog Prince: Chapter 21

As they got closer to the secret entrance into Rin's room Kagome had become able to stand and walk on her own. With his keen eyes, the only thing that had never deserted him, Sesshomaru watched her and found himself wondering again at the fear and self-deprecation that Kagome had displayed in her moment of weakness. She was only human and he had long ago found there to be a correlation between life span and fear; the longer the lifespan the less fear, the shorter the more fears the heart seemed to harbor – but also more joys – at least Rin had seemed to display that quality and the two human females did have some marked similarities.

The troubling thing was her terror of abandonment and being found unworthy. Someone had damaged her heart and he had a good idea who that someone was, but he could not be sure because she had set a firm wall around that part of her mind and memory. It was the only time in all of their interactions that she exerted her phenomenal control into restricting his access to her. To say that it was her greatest vulnerability would be an understatement. On this little excursion he had had plenty of opportunity to observe her foolish fearlessness and unparalleled power and kindness. She had become more than human and the fact that her heart was damaged to this disturbed him, greatly.

The beast's, which was the epitome of his true feelings, growls echoed through his head accenting the tight feeling that was anger that he was trying to ignore squeezing his chest. But if he were honest he knew that if he had had his youki the flares would have been felt for several leagues and there would be a mass exodus of all reiki sensitive beings.

She knows that this was done to her and she is hiding the culprit from us. His beast and heart growled to him. We are strong enough to protect her. We can make her tell, then we destroy the source and with us she will grow stronger.

Yes, she knows who did this to her and yes she is keeping it from us, but does that does not mean that we are ignorant of who has done it. At this thought his beast made a vicious and anticipatory noise of a dog that is anxious to start after the prey the it can smell on the wind. She is too strong for us to force, and I thought you had noticed that particularly 'worthy' aspect of her, but that does not mean that we are weak or will allow this to go unpunished. How dare that lowly creature treat this god-send with anything but complete devotion! Yes, we will extract vengeance but she will not appreciate the effort if my suspicion is correct; her protective instincts are as keen as any inu's and pack is pack. This will be a delicate endeavor, we will be the patient hunter that waits for the perfect moment when the kill is guaranteed in one swift and irrevocable strike.

And with a joyfully malicious purr vibrating through his head and thoughts of disemboweling his last blood relative Sesshomaru running in full color gory glory through his mind, he placed his hands on the secret door and his beast roared with excitement at the prospect and the promise of blood and retribution and poured his beast and essence into the magic that sealed the door. With a smirk well hidden from the ignorant human he settled himself into his the long wait for his prey to step into his trap. And in an instant flash or ironic revelation he was glad for the first time that he did not possess his youki because this much blood lust would be difficult for even his renowned self-control to contain. It is important that she remain ignorant of our intents or she try to stop us.

A strange pressure in his chest tensed and relaxed, as if his soul had taken a deep rousing breath, as one does after a rejuvenating slumber.

Agreed. We will NOT let it slip, this I swear, his beast promised; and when the Lord of the West made a promise not even the gods could stop the force of will behind it.

(*( Inuyasha's focus had started to waver. He wondered how these guys could be so calm and talk so much. He had always preferred action himself. Suddenly a chill ran up his spine and he knew that something dangerous had set its sights on him. So, he knows, does he, he thought to himself, that constant second voice in his head purred in anticipation of a fight, Good! Let him come. I'm ready. This time I'm more than ready for him. She's mine and I'm not letting that jerk take her away. With his focus once again keen, he sat up to become active in the planning again. He smiled to himself as the night breeze seemed to carry his brother's animosity and killing intent, Yeah, right back attcha, ya f'ing b'tard. )*)

Upon entering the room all thoughts of the half-breed left Sesshomaru's mind. Something was very wrong, he noted immediately. There should never be soldiers in this part of the castle and it was unmistakably the sound of soldier's voices that he was hearing from the room. Jaken's voice cut through the din as he issued orders for the various units to take up various jobs to prepare for siege and battle.

His rage, stoked by thoughts of murdering the one responsible for damaging his family, turned and intensified as another threat to what was his to protect presented itself. He was being assaulted on all sides; first he, himself was personally attacked, then he finds his family damaged and in need of avenging, finally he walks into his castle under attack which is a direct threat to his pack, subjects, lands, title and family pride (the only thing he had of family for centuries before a few days previous).

"Something is wrong," the asinine comment slipped unbidden from his lips as his shock seemed to force his brain into a sputtering stall. Shock gave way as his temper was whipped up into to a blazing fire storm.

For a moment his extremities tingled as his beast roared and struggled to break free of its confines. Logical thoughts were drown out by the overwhelming desire of both halves of his soul to rage and rampage, destroying the world without consideration for the audacity of Fate and its conspiring cohorts, invisible unknown gods and other powerful beings, idiotic and pathetic half-breeds, and unknown forces wish unknown causes that were assaulting his castle. All targeted him and his so specifically and unjustly for attack – well not while he still lived and breathed. Action was required. But the small body only shuddered again, ever muscle twitching but nothing happened, no release of power, no seeping of poison, no transformation into a towering monster of death and carnage – his eyes did not even bleed red. He did not have a body capable of transforming into the beast and confined within him or the teeth to lash out at his enemy to content his rage.

Powerless? I cannot be powerless! I am the KILLING PERFECTION! His beast roared as it continued to force the issue, doing nothing more than stressing the tiny body with massive muscle tremors and confused nerve impulses.

His body was taking steps forward despite the all over shakes that racked his frame. His focus was on getting to the source of the trouble and not on the trouble standing right behind him. His focus switched quickly enough when he felt her scoop him bodily up and pull him in close to her chest.

"Human!" He warned as his beast touched her avatar.

"Oh, get over it! This is the best way and you know it."

His rage increased to the point of losing all control, with or without a transformation, as the anger of indignation and insult was added to the already out-of-control fury burning his soul. "HUMAN!"

He considered for a moment unleashing his beast on her mind, she was vulnerable because she was trying to form a layer of miko power over both of them to contain their presence, scent, sound and auras; she was inexperienced with the use of her powers and under a lot of stress to maintain a technique she had not mastered while moving and trying to sort out the situation leaving her mental and magical defenses wide open in places. Combine her blink spots with the level of violent energy he had swirling within him with no outlet and he was sure that in that moment he could have reduced her to a drooling fool in a matter of seconds.

Family, the his beast protested cut through in a whisper as the current of fury rushed past his ears almost drowning out the instinct as it pleaded for restraint. The beast in his heart pulling in the reigns of actions was as good as a bucket of ice water to the face.

Sesshomaru entire being, soul, mind, energy, everything, screeched to a halt as the magnitude of what he had been considering doing dawned on him. And in that moment the sleeping dog that had unwittingly been dozing comfortably for almost a century roused itself to full alertness, remembering who he was, the he whom he himself had forgotten as years passed with little to shake his world from its routine.

I am the Lord of the West. Son of Inu no Taisho. I am the most feared youkai not only for my fighting ability, my youki, my lineage, my title, my ruthlessness, my temper – all without a doubt formidable and deserving of fear – but it has always been my mind, my control, and my honor that has set me apart, even among the other Lords and dais. I am more than a beast, more than a Lord, more than a swordsman. I am Sesshomaru. I am the best because I make myself into best.

He had not even realized that he had let part of himself slip. His will, which he had thought he exercised all of the time, was actually rarely challenged even when he barely flexed the smallest part of it. He had been going through the motions of seeming to pursue strength but had stopped pushing himself to be more because there was no goal to achieve, no body better to beat, no one strong enough to challenge his authority/ He had become complacent without even realizing it, worse yet, he had thought that he was exercising his "be the best that you can be" philosophy when he was barely maintaining the achievements he mastered centuries before. He had completely missed missing his driven self.

His dealings with this situation, particularly with Kagome and her powerful avatar had begun to wake his true self, the great Sesshomaru who strove day in and day out to be the best. She offered a reason to be better, though the instincts and unconscious motivation that she stirred were still unrevealed to his waking mind, he still felt the tug her presence that demanded he be everything that he could be. The uncontrolled rage and the thought of being helpless on so many fronts because his physical body and magical abilities were limited ran into whatever emotions Kagome invokes in him and his absolute and unquestionable need to protect her at all cost. It was the final shock that he needed to wake up fully his unique soul that demanded strength and perfection in everything. A worthy opponent had entered the field, even if it was as insurmountable as Fate as an opponent; he was no less stirred to attention and action. He still had his mind, and it was as sharp and deadly as his claws or teeth had ever been. He had still had recourses; his beast had returned, he had a powerful and brave female (even though she was human) with him as his newly found family, his loyal mount was near at hand and hopefully soon at least his ward if not his servant. All was not lost, he was sure that even with the innumerable disadvantages he would be able to set things right again, even if he had to do it was a toad.

The revelation, as monumental as it was for the daiyoukai, was like a wick catching a flame – almost instantaneous. (In other words, he had a light bulb moment.) And the human woman who still held him had been frozen in place for only a few moments, holding her breath. He could feel her anxiety shimmer throughout the layer of energy around him.

With complete calm he looked up at her eyes and reached slowly up to touch her cheek. He did not let his beast say a thing to her, he just looked at her. And she proved that she was worthy of being his family as a slow smile spread across her face and her aura cleared into a almost visible pink glow. Her eyes took on the sparkle of a child about to play a game that included a great deal of mischief. Even without the touch of his soul she was able to read his mood, intent and permission in his eyes.

She slipped out of the room in reiki slippers that muffled all sound and tailed after the now distant group of assorted youkai who were thankfully slowed because of Jaken's slow waddle.

How is it that this comes almost naturally to her, he thought off handedly, when she showed absolutely no aptitude for stalking and hunting her dinner?

And to prove that he was equal to Kagome in innate, or at least instinctual, understanding of the other his beast replied without hesitation. She is a gentle creature that is not capable of malicious intent for her own needs, but given a cause, something to protect she is as resourceful and powerful as need be.

Her energy was suddenly pressing in against him and he could feel all of her focus on catching up with the group of retreating youkai to gather more information and all the while she had a mental image of a smiling little girl with a off-center ponytail and a orange and white blocked yukata and a fierce need to make sure she was okay and would stay that way.

That's my girl, he thought as his beast purred while his mind shifted to analyzing and assessing the situation and what information he had available. He was unfortunately derailed a second later when the mental image shifted to what was undoubtedly meant to be a private image of the way she saw him.

His beast's purred intensified and the newly awakened determination flared. Yes, that's my girl.

****Author's Note*******

I am of the school of thought that no matter how much a person changes there are some basic things that don't – Sesshomaru is a daiyoukai and feudal Lord – that has a good deal of innate violence and dictator-ish-ness to it. As much kindness as he has been showing to Kagome, he will still gladly disembowel anything that stands in his way – even more so now.

Anyway, I hope that you are still enjoying the story – its grown to be much more than I ever thought it would be. I was trying to go for an easy adventure but this stupid god wanted to change the world – and the world changes one heart at a time so it became a lot more internalized than I had ever thought possible. I hope that some of you will stick it out with me.

Big thanks to those of you who review my story!

iheartanime43, you were the only one who reviewed the story the day I put it up online and if it wasn't for that I might have given up continuing it.

Riversan and Estriel, too, thank you for encouraging me.

And Yuki-Yasha Higurashi; that was a lot of reviewing, thanks a lot for taking the time to do that!