Slipping out of her bedding, she glanced at her sleeping bedmate, surprised she hadn't roused him with her movements. But then last night was also exhausting, both physically and mentally. Taking a moment to catch her bearings, she bent down to retriever her bathing supplies, and for the first time since the whole ordeal began, she felt free to bathe in peace.

She felt free period. She had almost grown used to the weight of Mokuren, the way the spirits powers and aura mixed with her own. Almost. But now, it was as if somebody lifted the world off her shoulders and walked away with it. And despite the soreness she felt from yesterday's activities, she felt rejuvenated, brand new and raring to go.

Glancing down at her bedding one last time, she felt a blush rise as one of Sesshoumaru's bare legs peaked through the blankets. Swallowing audibly, she turned and ran to the hot spring, refusing to spend her waking hours trying to figure out how to deal with all of this.

But how was she supposed to deal with it? Despite her reluctance to face the situation, she knew it was only a matter of time before she would have to. They had both been reluctant and unwilling, in that neither of them would have done what they did if they had any other choice. Part of her had hoped that the spirits within them would rise and take over, like they had so many other times, leaving her own mind blank and empty.

And part of her was glad that she could remember everything. For her first time, it was, well, beautiful. Sighing she sank deep in the hot spring so it was only her head peaking out of the water. There was no denying what had happened and how he had made her feel.

Cherished.

That was perhaps the best word to describe it all. It wasn't love. There would be no need to feel love, but, Sesshoumaru made her feel cherished, made her feel like she wasn't wasting her first time on something that needed to be done. Was it intentional on his part? Or was it a subconscious move? The demon lord continually surprised her as he showed her a tenderness and gentleness she had never expected in him. And the fact that he spent the night next to her? She didn't know what to make of that. How was she supposed to act around him when she returned to camp?

Smiling again though, she looked up into the sky, remembering what it felt like to set the spirits free, and silently, she wished them both luck. While she was not fond of Mokuren, or the way she was manipulated, now that she was free, she could appreciate the spirit's efforts. They wanted their second chance. It was nothing more than that.

Would she get her second chance though? Would she get a first chance at love? Inuyasha…well, while she could never look at him and feel that sort of love again, she knew he would react harshly to her actions last night. He viewed her as his, and until recently, she hadn't minded one bit. Would he completely turn his back on her though? She had slept with his brother, but not only his brother, his enemy. There was no denying the hatred they felt toward each other and she knew it could very well play a role in her future in the group.

And Sango and Miroku? She hoped they would understand, though Sango tended to be more conservative about these things. She was also a girl of these times, though, and she would expect nothing less from her.

All of these thoughts and more ran through her head as she scrubbed the shampoo into her hair, before dipping it back into the water.

'Where do I fit now?'

Whatever possessed him to feign sleep when she left, he didn't know, for the same reason he didn't know why he stayed by her side all night. She confused him. This thought alone was enough to wake him up fully. Sesshoumaru could no longer claim it was the spirit of Shion that caused the confusion, this time it as all him. And this disturbed him more than anything.

Watching the miko return to camp, he nearly smirked as she faltered upon seeing him. He was obviously not the only one affected this morning, though he was a little more disciplined and wouldn't let it show. The question, though, was why was he affected? The spirits were gone, any emotion they felt should have left with them. Was there the possibility of residual emotions? Could it be he was so used to feeling something he just needed to compensate on his own?

"Breakfast?" she asked as she watched him start the small fire. Force of habit, was all, when he realized what he was doing. Surely he would never intentionally help the miko out.

"We will return to Inuyasha tonight," he stated authoritatively. "Following this, our alliance will be broken."

He couldn't miss the shock that tore across her face, the way her eyes fell downcast. She almost became…

"Okay," she whispered.

…Submissive. She was silent but that didn't mean he couldn't read her. Her eyes alone was a window to her thoughts and emotions. One glance told him everything he needed to know. She was devastated. The dog in him wanted to howl in victory with glee. Somehow he had managed to force the miko to submit to him, acknowledge herself as part of his pack, and become dependent on his presence. To do that to such a strong-willed creature was always a heady experience, though he never doubted himself.

It just happened that he didn't intend to do it this time. So this left him with a decision to make. Should he keep her around as member of his pack? After all, whether or not she knew it, she just acknowledged him as her alpha. Or should he return her to Inuyasha and let her suffer knowing a piece of herself was missing.

Forcing himself to stifle a grin, he thought to last night again, and the drive to possess the miko. Certainly it was Shion who held influence over him, but that didn't stop him from remembering the way she felt around him, how she gripped onto him for dear life, the small noises she made at the back of throat as she mewled her pleasure. She wasn't a screamer, which ultimately pleased him. Too many women screamed entirely too loudly, ruining the moment for him.

But last night…

If he allowed himself to call it anything, he would have called her perfect.

But he was much too pragmatic for that. Too much of a realist.

While it couldn't be defined as a fuck, as emotions were involved, though they didn't belong to either of them, it wasn't love either. It was sex, plain and simple. A means to an end. Glancing at her cleaning the camp up, he could see the faint blush that still graced her cheeks. "Come," he ordered, wanting to get a move on with things.

The sooner he left her with his brother, the sooner things would get back to normal.

"Don't you care?" she asked as she struggled to keep behind him. His pace was unrelenting as they trekked through one of the many forests. Her legs were no match for his longer ones, and his superior strength.

"No miko, I do not." He offered up in return, the monotonous tone of voice grating on her nerves. Surely, she thought, surely he must care somewhere, no matter how much he denies it. Nobody acts the way he did last night without feeling something. It was inhuman.

"It was merely an act, miko. I suggest you remember that."

Resisting the urge to growl she continued to plod forward. She wanted to hit him. Just stop him and pummel him until he stopped with the lies. Yes, she knew it was a necessary act, and yes, she knew there was no love between them, but would it be asking so much for him to admit that it meant something to him nonetheless? It meant something to her. Forcing back the tears, she knew, it meant a great deal to her.

"They are gone, we have achieved what we came to do. There is nothing more to discuss," he said, his tone filled with finality. "I suggest you focus on what you plan on telling your hanyou. He will not be pleased to hear of this, though it is none of my concern."

Sighing, she dropped it, knowing he was right. They took off on their own looking for answers, they found them, and they rid themselves of the spirits, end of story. So why did she suddenly feel so empty? Watching him walk ahead of her, silver hair swaying with each step, the occasional strand blown wayward due to a brief gust of wind, she had to wonder…

Why didn't it feel over?

For the first time all day, she smiled as she saw the young kit dart off Miroku's shoulder and run in her direction.

"Kagome!"

Ignoring everybody else for the time being, most especially the demon lord who insisted on occupying her thoughts she dropped her bag and met up with Shippou halfway. Lord, she didn't know how much she missed the group until now. "Hey guys," she waved as she got closer.

"All is well?" Miroku asked as he approached her and Sesshoumaru.

"Yeah, we have good news."

"So do we," Inuyasha snuck up behind her. There was something in his eyes that caused her to be instantly wary. "Now guys!" he shouted and she covered her eyes as she felt something similar to dirt hit her in the face.

"Hey!" she cried out, catching some of the grit in her mouth. It came at her from all sides, Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, what the hell were they throwing at her? "SIT!" she screamed before turning on the other two. "Will you knock it off, what he hell do you think you're doing?"

"Excuse me, Lady Kagome," Miroku began, bowing low. This did not appease her temper though. "Souta had passed on some information about exercising demons and we thought we'd try it."

Seething, she glanced at her companion to see his gold eyes mildly amused, his hand flicking some of the grit off his armor. "What did Souta tell you to throw on us?" she questioned, fighting to keep her anger in check.

"Salt." Inuyasha managed to say as he tried to pull himself off. "He told us to throw salt on you."

"And since when do you ever listen to Souta about these things? I asked for plausible answers. Obviously salt wouldn't have worked or they would have been expelled during the first bath." Taking a deep breath she ran her fingers through her hair, scowling as she felt more of the salt against her scalp. "Now I have to go and take another bath."

"Geez, Kagome," Inuyasha muttered as he stood and joined the rest of the group. "We were only trying to help."

"Next time, use your brains before you decide to help." She whirled on Miroku. "And you should have been able to sense the change with your spiritual energy before thinking about throwing salt on us."

Watching him study her, he saw his eyes widen as he realized what she was trying to say. "They're gone?" he queried, satisfied at the nod he received in return. "How?"

Blushing she turned to pick up her knapsack. "Doesn't matter," she mumbled, not once looking at Sesshoumaru. "I'm taking a bath."

Before leaving the clearing she turned to say goodbye to her traveling companion, only to notice that at some point in the last few minutes he left.

Typical Sesshoumaru, she mused somewhat fondly. She should have known he would have gone his own way when he could. Looking back at the others the questions they asked her went in one ear and out the other.

So why did she suddenly feel so alone?

AN

Eh, so Sesshoumaru gets to be an ass in here lol, things will get better, I promise!

I want to thank everybody who reviewed and to thank everybody for their patience during my absence. Things are clearing up here, I am already feeling 90 stress free thank goodness. Things should be getting back to normal now.

I do have a few people to thank. This story was nominated for Best Canon for IYFG third quarter, so I want to thank Jenn for the nomination and Sesshysjadedsamuri for the second. It is an honour just being nominated, nevermind making the ballot, so thank you.

I hope everybody who celebrated thanksgiving yesterday had a wonderful day. Mine was back in October as per Canadian thanksgiving…which is just as well as we had freezing rain and it didn't make for such a nice day to go trekking to family…it was a stay indoors in your own place type day. But I got a lot of writing done ;)

Happy reading!

Disclaimer, see chapter one