Chapter 25: Stable Arguments

The smell of death was rampant throughout the castle's wing, and though he knew what it meant a part of him still couldn't believe it was true. Waiting in front of the door to his suite, Sesshomaru ever vigilant remained silent as the midwife appeared with sad eyes; a bundle tightly wrapped in her arms. "I am so sorry Sesshomaru-sama," she said softly, her expression telling it all.

"So it is true."

"Our dear lady could not handle the birth of your pup. Neither survived."

"She is gone…"

"Yes. I cannot explain what happened she just…"

"It is my punishment."

Startled, the midwife jerked her head upwards to look at the grim smile that now adorned her master's face. "Sesshomaru-sama?"

"I compromised myself by thinking there would be no outside consequence for what I've done." a large hand reached forward and touched the top of the bundle in her arms which contained the lifeless body of what would have been his first-born daughter. "I must live with this for the rest of my life."

"Sesshomaru-sama." the woman repeated, shocked. "Surely you are not suggesting…." she trailed off unsure of how to finish her statement. The midwife stared concerned at her lord, for a moment honestly believing that the acceptance was entering his mind, and then her lord did something that instilled nothing less than pure fear into her veins.

He began to laugh.

The jewelry box on her vanity was open, revealing the expensive pieces, all well within her tastes along with a note written by Jaken with the simple phrase, 'help yourself' She assumed Sesshomaru had ordered them for her, and though she wondered why he would do such a thing, a part of her couldn't help but be impressed by his level of providing.

Careful of her claws which had a tendency to prick her scalp when she did this, the demoness pulled half her hair back into a bun and secured it with a jeweled pin she had found among several other extravagant items in her room.

'What am I thinking?'

The man hadn't even spoken to her directly in two weeks. Her phone alarm beeped in warning that she needed to leave soon to meet Naraku. After smoothing out her dress and making sure her shoes weren't scraped, Kagome grabbed her purse and flew from her room, nearly running into none other than Sesshomaru who opened the door to his own room just as she was leaving hers.

"Oh, Sorry." she muttered under her breath.

Having been in his own room; thinking of darker times in his life, Sesshomaru had come out when he heard Kagome leaving in a rush. Seeing the form fitting black dress and overall formal appearance she wore, the demon couldn't help but ask her, "Where are you going?"

"Out." She responded curtly, heading for the stairs with her high heels in hand.

Instinctively he followed her as she headed for the door. "Out where?"

"To dinner with a client."

"Hn. That is a rarity for you."

"What?" She called over her shoulder, putting on her shoes and coat.

"You rarely go out with clients. What makes this particular individual so different?"

"How do you know who I associate with?"

"I know you do not usually deal with partners over private meals ever since one became intoxicated and attempted to assault you during a date he disguised as a business dinner."

"How did you...never mind." Sighing heavily, Kagome decided to just let go of her ever growing suspicion that he was following her more closely than he would care to admit. "It's true. I don't usually have dinner with my clients alone, but this just...feels different."

"Feels different how?"

"You know what?" The demoness suddenly said, spinning around to face him fully. "After not talking to me for two weeks you seem to be really interested in my personal life. Why?"

"Hn. I do not have to explain myself to you."

"Actually, you do." She countered. "Obviously, you wouldn't be in my face questioning me if you weren't so interested in what I was doing. After avoiding me like the plague for the last fourteen days on top of your general switching of being nice to me to acting like I don't exist, clearly something is going on that I'm missing. Enlighten me why don't you?"

"Woman." He growled out in warning.

She wasn't phased. "That's not gonna work this time. Now, what is your problem?! Is it because I used to be your lover before you betrayed me?" Feeling his hand wrap around her throat again, Kagome winced a bit at his claws which had been filed to sharp points.

He brought her face closer to his, baring his teeth a little in a cautionary gesture. "You watch your words around me. And before you begin throwing my betrayal in my face every chance you get, let us not forget what your own cowardliness has caused. Your unnecessary time jump because of your inability to live with your pain. It is your own fault you do not know the answers about my behavior, you were the one to take your understanding away."

"Only after you betrayed my trust." She ground out.

"Yet unlike you, I forced myself to deal with the consequences like an adult. I did not run like a child and hide."

She growled softly at his words but nonetheless dropped her gaze. He was right. "I'm sorry..." She said at last. "That was a cheap shot."

"As am I." He responded, letting go of her face. "We were both out of line." Turning around he was about to return to his room her words made him pause.

"Yea...um..." Kagome's phone beeped again and sighing when she saw the time, said aloud, "I hope Naraku doesn't think I'm late on purpose..."

"Naraku?" Glancing back over his shoulder, Sesshomaru looked at the worried woman. "Jorogumo, Naraku?"

"Yea...you know him?" She said absently, trying to rush out the door.

"That man...is who you're seeing tonight?" 'And dressed like that' he added mentally.

"Yes. What part of that is so hard to believe?"

"No."

"No?" She repeated confused.

He turned back to face her fully. "You aren't going anywhere with him. Return to your room and tell him you're canceling."

"Excuse me? You don't control who I go out with, what the hell..."

"That man is nothing more than a grotesque spider, literally. He is dangerous and you aren't going anywhere with him."

"Naraku's a demon too?"

"Yes. And a shady one at that. His world is much darker than yours, I cannot allow you to associate yourself with that creature. Not only for your own safety but for the protection of my entire family. Call and tell him your dinner is off."

"But he isn't picking me up here, I'm meeting him at the restaurant..."

"Regardless of how you two planned to meet, you will not be accompanying him tonight. He is a threat."

"You know what Sesshomaru...your full of shit."

Surprised the dog demon eyes widened a fraction at her words and as though not comprehending what she said responded with a soft, "What?"

"I said you're full of shit!" Kagome said a little louder this time. "If he was as dangerous as you say he is you would have done something a long time ago. And you don't dictate where I go and who I go with, I don't care what kind of protection you're trying to offer me. This isn't the feudal era anymore, I have the right to do what I want when I want."

"Kagome." He growled.

"Fuck off." She said with just as much anger. Huffing she turned on her heel and left, making sure the door closed gently before she marched to her car. It wouldn't do to attract half the house to their fight.

Golden eyes stared after her in repressed anger unsure of how to handle his feelings. But behind the rage caused by her blatant disobedience, there was a hint of fear for Kagome and what she had possibly gotten herself into.

The restaurant Naraku had chosen was dark and beautiful, the theme being feudal Japan. Replicas of samurai armor and oil paintings depicting hell were tastefully scattered throughout the space. Being so dark the dining room staff carried lit trays and lapel flashlights to see, though the candles that hung above each table provided the customers with ample lighting of their own. In the center of the room, an indoor koi pond and waterfall covered the floor, the fishes inside swimming happily throughout their rather large home.

"Is something the matter Abigail?"

"Huh?" Blinking herself back to the present, Kagome looked at the man across from her and offered a small smile when she saw his own worried gaze. "Oh...it's nothing Naraku...I was just thinking is all..."

"Well, I was promised your complete attention tonight, and I intend to hold you to it."

"Ah...forgive me." She said sheepishly, holding her menu up to cover her awkward grin. "Someone just made me really...irritated."

"Oh? I hope I am not that individual."

"Of course not!"

"Then what has someone done to take your focus away from me?"

"It's not so much what he did...it's more about what he said..."

"Oh. Would you be willing to share this irreverent information?"

"Yea..." Kagome inspected Naraku for what seemed like the millionth time that night. The fact that he was a youkai didn't seem impossible. "I was just wondering...well he said..."

Seeing her hesitation Naraku interrupted her stammering. "Abigail...you should know now that I don't play games. If there is something on your mind, please do just say it."

"Oh...um..."

"What is it?" He demanded an edge of irritation in his voice.

"Well. He said you weren't... normal?" She said the last word suggestively.

"Normal? Oh...I see." Naraku hung his head a second before snapping it back up to full attention. "So you know what I am..."

"You're not human..."

"No, I am not." He grimly confirmed. "But neither are you. Is that a problem?"

"No. But how did you know I'm not..."

"I could feel it." He whispered from behind his menu. "I've known it the moment I walked into your office."

"But I couldn't feel you." She said softly, wrinkling her brow. "I can't really feel anyone."

"That is because you do not know how to search for your own kind. You can't always rely on your sense of smell to guide you."

"Really?" Kagome once more breathed in Naraku's intoxicating scent. It was almost savage and a part of her felt turned on just from how powerful it was. "How?"

"How what?"

"How do I sense people with more than just my nose?"

"You know how you can feel someone behind you? Or how when someone rushes at you-you can hear their footsteps?"

"Yea..."

"Well then." Naraku dropped his own leather-bound menu and reached forward to grasp her hand. "Shall I teach you?"

A/N: Please review. Also, next chapter is a past chapter again. This one was based off a review someone gave asking for in-depth detail on the lore of this story.