Chapter 25

Instead of helping to organize the chaos that was left outside, Kagome was assigned to the marvelous task of using her purification powers to help 'inspire' the captured panther demon to provide them with information. As a result, she found herself in one of the large interrogation rooms with two interrogation agents and General Sesshomaru himself.

Agent Verity was positioned next to the panther demon's supine form and was asking him questions. As he asked, agent Pry, who was standing next to Sesshomaru at the far side of the room, would write the demon's thoughts down onto a piece of paper.

Sesshomaru was studying the answers after each question was asked.

So far, the information they had been able to extract had been minimal. What they did know was that an alert had been sent to H.A.V.O.C when their Technology department hacked into the network at the Taiwanese warehouse. They responded by attempting to take out as many R.O.O.T bases as possible. Since many of the agents at H.A.V.O.C had once worked at R.O.O.T in some capacity, the locations of their many bases weren't very much of a secret. H.A.V.O.C had planned to decimate R.O.O.T at some point; the data breach had forced their hand, accelerating their timing somewhat.

They purposefully attacked the R.O.O.T bases that were clustered around each other, mitigating the risk for reinforcements, as aid from another base would likely be long in coming to help. The good news was that the other three bases that were simultaneously attacked were able to defend their territories, much as the South Korean base had. However, they each suffered massive casualties in doing so. Thanks to the use of the Tenseiga, almost all members of the South Korean base were revived, but the other bases did not have such a convenient skill at their disposal, nor did any help from the three nearest African bases arrive in time.

Their forces had been weakened considerably.

"Where is H.A.V.O.C's base?" Verity asked softly as Kagome approached, allowing her purification powers to surround her.

The panther demon hissed and his body instinctually struggled to get away from her.

He was failing spectacularly in his futile efforts.

"I don't know anything about H.A.V.O.C!" He roared.

"That's a lie." Verity said casually, stifling a yawn, while Pry wrote several things down in a notepad.

"Who is your leader?" Verity pushed.

"I told you I don't know what you're talking about!"

"That is also a lie." Verity said smugly, now examining his nails, as once again, Pry wrote something down.

As Verity was about to ask another question, he was abruptly interrupted by the timbre of Sesshomaru's low and commanding voice.

"Leave us." He ordered, stupefying the two interrogation agents.

Kagome quelled her purification powers and looked back at Sesshomaru who was busy reviewing something that Pry had written down on his notepad.

"Yes, sir." The two agents said in unison, as they left the room.

Kagome turned to follow and had reached the door before Sesshomaru spoke again.

"You stay." He ordered, as he passed the notepad over to her.

Kagome quickly read all of the notes. A name that she was familiar with was written down as a response to the question regarding the identity of H.A.V.O.C's leader.

Her eyes immediately flew up to meet Sesshomaru's. His eyes were slightly narrowed as he looked down upon her face.

He won't let the other agents know about his past. That's why he kicked them out.

When Sesshomaru made no effort to move, Kagome turned around and approached the panther demon and knelled down next to him. This simple movement made him cringe.

He's terrified of me.

"How is Toran these days?" She said smugly.

She smiled internally as the panther demon's facial expression fell into shock. He blinked several times at her question.

Wasn't expecting that were you?

"You see that guy over there?" Kagome said, pointing to Sesshomaru before quickly lowering her head near the demon's ear. "He saved Toran's siblings. Your kind owes him a great debt."

The panther demon stared at Sesshomaru before snapping his attention back at her.

"We owe the eldest son of the Inu no Taisho nothing!" He hissed.

Kagome huffed. Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way. She inwardly grumbled, as she focused her purification powers into her hands, slowly reaching out and touching the demon's arm, burning away some of the flesh.

The demon howled out in pain.

"Toran is leading H.A.V.O.C. We already know this." She huffed, completely taking a chance based on what she just read in the notepad. "To be honest with you, we really don't need you at all. However, I'm pretty new at learning how to use these wonderful priestess powers of mine, and my leader was most gracious in providing you for practice." She said, her voice becoming aloof as she burned the demon's arm yet again, forcing a vicious smile onto her face. "You don't really come across many demons these days and who knows when I'll get another chance." She giggled, as she tried to swallow the bile that was rising in her stomach. Torture did not agree with her but she had to keep her façade in place.

"Practice on him!" The demon screamed, referring to Sesshomaru. "Of all the people in this world, to think that the mighty Sesshomaru would be leading R.O.O.T!" He growled.

"That's information that you'll never get the chance to share." Kagome said, as she smiled widely. "Is that why you were trying to run away back there? Hoping that you'd be able to communicate that to your obtuse cunt of a leader?" She sighed.

"You bitch! How dare you insult… Ahhhhhh!" He screamed.

"It's going to be fun when we bomb the shit out of your base in Antarctica." She chuckled, remembering the other notes that were written on Pry's notepad. "Too bad you won't get to warn anyone."

The panther demon stared at her in absolute horror.

"No. You can't…" He stuttered.

"Oh, but we can, and we will. Unless…" She trailed off, seemingly deep in thought.

The demon continued to look at her, desperately hoping she would continue.

"You tell us everything." She said simply. "And I mean everything."

The demon suspiciously studied her.

"Is the Antarctica base the only one?"

"No, we are global. We have several bases on each continent." He said roughly. "Antarctica is the main headquarters."

"Where are you housing the Ultimate Soldiers?"

When the panther demon did not immediately answer, Kagome gave him a disheartened look.

"The next place I will burn will take your manhood away." She said seriously, as her gaze fell down to the man's crotch.

The panther demon's eyes widened and he began squirming, trying desperately to shuffle himself away form her without the use of his arms or his missing legs.

As Kagome's left hand quickly went for his nether region, he shouted frantically at her.

"In Greenland! At the southernmost point in Kujalleq!" He screamed.

Kagome's eyes flew up to study Sesshomaru for a moment. He remained in the corner of the room and was scowling at the panther demon, impatiently. She quickly diverted her attention back to the demon she was interrogating, continuing with her line of questioning.

"Your goals are to profit on war and suffering. Why? There has to be more to it than just money." She said seriously.

"The humans will eventually destroy each other and the demons that once ruled will do so once again. The sooner we are able to make that happen, the better it is for my kind. For now, humans serve as a source of power, profit and distraction, nothing more."

"How long has H.A.V.O.C been around?" She asked curiously as she allowed her purification powers to recede back inside of her.

"Much longer than R.O.O.T." He answered arrogantly. "We started off making weapons before the first World War. We continued to provide solutions for many governments back in those days, especially the Americans. They practically built our business with their purchase of the Atom bomb technology several years later." He chuckled. "Too bad they don't know that."

There was a swishing movement that was barely comprehensible. By the time it made its way to Kagome's ears, she was staring up in horror as the panther demon's blood sprayed down on her from above. His torso had been completely gutted and his entrails were spilling out of him and over her, onto the floor. Sesshomaru's clawed hand was inside of the giant cavity that now appeared within the man's torso and he was being held in the air by Sesshomaru's hold on his spine from within, which was very visible from her perspective down on the floor.

Kagome scrambled backwards, slipping on the river of blood, trying her best to get away. Sesshomaru's black aura slowly became visible and it was so powerful that it began pushing her back.

Run! Her mind shouted in warning.

But her body was not able to truly move. She could only gape in horror as Sesshomaru cracked the panther demon's spine into two and followed the move by decapitating him with his other hand.

Apparently this was not enough.

As the body landed on the floor, splashing against the large pool of blood that had formed, he leaned over the body, his claws tearing it further to shreds.

Blood and flesh were spraying everywhere.

Kagome somehow managed to scramble to her feet.

"Sesshomaru!" She yelled.

He did not respond.

Kagome didn't know what was worse, him ignoring her or the thought of him actually focusing his attention on her.

She called forth her purification powers and became somewhat relieved when the holy light instantly got his attention.

He glared at her with glowing red eyes. His tattoos had become ragged against his face and his teeth had elongated, now fully escaping his upper lip.

"Please. You have to stop." She said softly, calling upon her experience with Inuyasha and Koga when they had been in similar states.

He snarled at her in response.

She took a step forward and the intimidating dog demon responded with a step backward.

They stood this way, in this standoff, for several minutes before Kagome spoke to him.

"I am going to release my powers, Sesshomaru. If I do, are you going to attack me?" She asked seriously, willing her voice not to tremble.

She held his gaze for what felt like an eternity before she spoke again. "I am trusting you." She said softly, her eyes pleading with his.

She released her powers and took a step toward him. A few seconds passed before she took another.

The room was filled by Sesshomaru's low growling.

When she finally stood in front of the fierce dog demon, she slowly reached out her hand and gently cupped his cheek.

"He deserved that. He completely did. But, I need you to get a hold of yourself. Agents are going to come in here and we're going to have to explain…" She trailed off, taking in the state of the room.

She was snapped back into attention as she felt Sesshomaru's clawed hand cover hers. He held the connection for several moments as she met his eyes, before he wrapped his hand around hers and removed it from his face.

She watched on as Sesshomaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, they were their usual golden color and his tattoos had smoothed back into the sharp lines that they once were.

"You made a giant mess." She whispered seriously.

Sesshomaru huffed. When he attempted to speak, she immediately shushed him.

"I get it. You don't have to explain. I completely get it." She said honestly.

"Kagome…" He rumbled.

"I'll take care of it." She said softly as she turned to address the hunk of meat that was left on the floor. "I need you to step back."

Sesshomaru slightly tiled his head before granting her request, walking off to the corner of the room.

He willed himself not to flinch when Kagome launched her priestess powers and burned the body, turning it into nothing more than ash.

"That's the best I am going to be able to do. I can't do shit about all the blood that's everywhere." She said softly, becoming somewhat dejected. "I'm just going to say that I gave my powers a little bit too much juice while torturing the guy and this blood explosion happened as a result. We can't taint your heroics today with any rumors that you aren't able to control yourself." She said offhandedly as she once again met his eyes.

Sesshomaru just stared at her.

"I must applaud you for at least waiting until he answered our questions. Otherwise, this would have been a different type of mess and you'd be on your own, General." She grumbled as she turned to leave. "I'll go pass this information over to Intelligence. Why don't you go and get cleaned up? Take a break." She called over her shoulder as she exited the room, making her way over to the Intelligence department's floor.

When Kagome exited the office building, she found Koga, and the rest of her Alpha Team, coordinating the removal of hostages, equipment and smuggled guard dogs, from the planes that they had used on their mission to Taiwan. Once the base's systems were back up, the planes that were forced to land on some of the uninhabited islands off of South Korea's coast were called back. Since their old runway was now nonexistent, the planes were made to land on the fields separating the office from the apartments. She was proud that Frisk stepped up to lead in her absence, but upon noticing the dogs, she realized it was probably more for selfish purposes than for any other reason.

She found herself too tired to even be mad at him. She would save that rage for tomorrow.

As she approached her squad, they all looked upon her blood soaked form in horror, hurriedly rushing to run over to her as a result.

Koga was at her side in an instant, his hands trembling as they ran over her body searching for invisible injuries.

"What the fuck happened to you?!" He shouted, his voice completely furious, while his eyes instantly become red.

Kagome quickly cupped his face and met his eyes. "This blood isn't mine. Trust your nose and not your eyes. Just smell me. I'm not injured."

Koga took a deep breath, his eyes quickly scanning over her questioningly.

"Panther demon explosion." She muttered, her face twisting at the memory. The revelation received a puzzled look from Koga.

"Wraith, go take a fucking shower!" Frisk yelled in disgust as he approached her, followed by the rest of the team.

"I'm going to right now." She hissed. "But first, where the hell are you planning on putting all of those dogs?!" She shouted as she scanned the giant pack that was sitting patiently near him waiting for his orders.

As if set off by the sound of her voice, Gladiator bolted away from the pack, immediately flying to her side and curiously sniffing her.

"I'm sorry, baby. I know I don't smell like I should."

The large dog gave her a big woof in response.

"Dare I ask what this commotion is all about?" A low aloof voice called out from behind her, startling her.

"Shit!" Frisk said, before he was able to help it.

As a calm and composed Sesshomaru came to Kagome's side, his eyes scanned the large pack of dogs that surrounded Frisk.

"Who is responsible for this?" He asked in a deep voice of warning.

Frisk immediately turned to Kagome, his eyes pleading.

"I have an idea, but I can't say for sure without proof." Kagome grumbled.

Gladiator sniffed the air and snorted several times approaching Sesshomaru hesitantly.

When Sesshomaru did not meet the animal's eyes, the large dog let loose his deepest sounding woof. "This is Gladiator." Kagome said softly. "The dog I was telling you about."

Sesshomaru kept his head high but allowed the gaze of his eyes to fall down to the animal upon Kagome's introduction.

At the eye contact, the dog began furiously woofing, his tail wagging so fast, it became more like a whip than an actual part of his body.

Kagome watched to see if Sesshomaru would somehow respond. After a few minutes it became apparent that he wouldn't. She couldn't picture him barking at the animal anyway. If he did, she'd probably go into shock at the ridiculous scene it would present.

The dog did not appreciate being ignored and it decided to push its large head against Sesshomaru's leg as a result.

Sesshomaru sucked his teeth in annoyance.

This seemed to piss Gladiator off.

The large dog sprung up, attempting to put his front paws on Sesshomaru's shoulders.

Before the animal could make contact, Kagome immediately grabbed the large dog by the scruff of his neck with both hands and used all of her weight to try to drag the heavy beast away. She did get him back on all fours, but only succeeded in moving him away by about an inch or so.

"Sit." Sesshomaru's low voice calmly demanded.

She watched in astonishment as Gladiator immediately did so. He appeared to be very happy to finally be acknowledged.

"Do you still want this dog, agent Wraith?" He said, as he studied the animal.

"NO!" Koga spat. "We are NOT getting a dog! This is Frisk's dog, not ours. He smuggled it here, let him take care of it!

"Fang! I thought we were friends! How dare you!" Frisk shouted, as he pointed his finger at him accusingly.

Sesshomaru's eyes never left the dog's.

"Why don't you take him?" Kagome whispered, trying to ignore the shouting match that had erupted between Koga and Frisk. "He likes you and you'd probably be the only one who would really be able to handle him."

Sesshomaru scoffed. "I do not keep pets, agent Wraith. This animal will require an incredible amount of exercise and care throughout the day. Otherwise, he will surely become most aggressive. Do you still want to find duties for him on base?"

"Um. Sure."

"Very well. I entrust his care to your team then until you have managed to do so."

"Understood."

"See if we have any working need for any of the others. If not, it is your responsibility to get rid of them."

"Thank you, sir." Kagome whispered, watching as Sesshomaru walked away to meet with Inspect and Anatomy who appeared to be waiting for him across the field.

"Yes!" Frisk hissed out in a hushed whisper. "Thank you, Rai! I owe you big time!"

"This is all your problem now." Kagome said calmly, throwing Frisk a warning look. "You have one week to figure this all out."

"Wait… could you at least help me?"

"You directly disobeyed me. I told you that the dogs were not allowed on base and you brought them here anyway, agent Frisk." She said, her voice rising in pitch. "Don't think for one second that you aren't getting put on probation for this."

Frisk wisely chose to shut up and lower his eyes.

At Kagome's announcement, Mystic, Terrain and Trace slowly backed away, returning to oversee the unloading of the planes.

Gladiator calmly watched the exchange before his gaze diverted across the field to Sesshomaru. Without warning, the dog took off.

"Oh, no! Wait! Stop, Gladiator!" Frisk shouted as he took off after him.

The dog would not listen.

Frisk desperately barked a few times, calling out to him. Thankfully, whatever Frisk had said, brought Gladiator to a full stop. Unfortunately, Frisk barking immediately captured Sesshomaru's full attention as well.

Koga watched as Sesshomaru's head flew over to their direction.

He just got himself caught. Koga thought to himself. If Sesshomaru didn't know that Frisk used his powers on him before, now he definitely will.

Frisk seemed to come to the same conclusion as well. He immediately turned on his heel and stalked back over to the planes, trying to become busy as Gladiator stayed by his side.

"I'll be right back." Kagome said, turning her attention to Koga. "Between the giant wolf spit bath and the recent panther blood bath, I really need to get cleaned up."

"I'll come with you. Everything is under control out here. It's most likely going to be a long night for everyone. Might as well get cleaned up too, before we both have to set out again."

Kagome nodded and began to make her way to the apartment buildings.

"You were really amazing out there. I can't tell you how much I love watching you fight." Kagome said her voice full of awe. "You truly saved the base today. You're a hero."

"I know." Koga responded smugly.

Kagome chuckled. "Your true form is absolutely incredible." She said honestly.

"It felt good to release into it again." He admitted. "I can't remember the last time I needed to."

"Well, feel free to do it again sometime."

Koga laughed. "Did I turn you on, baby?" He said in his most seductive and low voice.

"You most certainly did." She admitted as they entered their building's lobby. "But it was unfortunately short lived because the threat of impending doom got in the way."

"I'd kiss you, but you're really gross right now." Koga teased as they entered the elevator.

"Gee, thanks. Some of it is from you."

"But the majority of it is panther demon blood and guts." Koga said seriously. "Since when are your powers explosive? I thought when you purified, it burned."

Kagome stayed silent as they pushed their way into their apartment and shut the door.

"What really happened?" Koga said seriously.

"The panther demon mentioned the wrong thing. Let's just leave it at that."

"Sesshomaru ripped him to shreds, didn't he?" Koga said knowingly. "He reeked just as much as you do right now."

"I can neither confirm nor deny that." Kagome said dismissively, as the couple worked to remove their boots near their doorway.

"What did he say?" Koga pushed, immensely curious as to what could have set off the master of self control.

"It was something that reminded him about Rin's death, Koga." Kagome responded as she disarmed herself and peeled away her tactical clothes, leaving them in a heap near the front door.

Koga quickly followed suit and followed her into the bathroom, getting into the shower and setting the water temperature.

"Did you know that my wolves killed Rin once?" Koga said as he began washing his long hair under the spray.

"Yes, it happened the day we met, actually." Kagome responded, as she began washing the blood off of her body. "The day before you kidnapped me."

"Why didn't anyone ever tell me?"

"I thought you knew. Everybody knew. The poor girl had a fear of wolves ever since then. Luckily Sesshomaru was around that day and was able to get to her in time."

"But I could have sworn that I saved that little girl once. It was the first time I met Sesshomaru if I'm not mistaken. Hakkaku and Ginta were being super emotional that day and they were intentionally trying to steer me away from him." Koga said as he began to lather himself up with soap.

Kagome struggled to remember.

"If I remember correctly, that was the day that they were asking me about who Sesshomaru was. You and Inuyasha were fighting over… a bag of potato chips?" Kagome snorted at the memory. "I answered all their questions and it really seemed to freak them out. Before those two tornado chasers took off after you, the wolves had nervously told them something. Maybe it was about what they did to Rin?"

"Perhaps." Koga admitted. "How did she finally die?"

"War." Kagome said simply. "The Tenseiga gave her half of Sesshomaru's time and he ended up losing her several centuries later to war. He established R.O.O.T in her honor. This organization was Rin's dream and he made it a reality. She was very impressed when I told her about it on the other side." Kagome said seriously.

"What was it like over there?" Koga asked, as he pulled a now clean Kagome into his arms and studied her face seriously.

"It was beautiful." She admitted as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "It was the most peaceful and serene place I have ever been. I woke up in the most beautiful countryside, near a giant cherry tree that was in full bloom. Everyone was there. I was able to regroup with Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku and Rin. There were so many others, I could sense them, but I was sent back before I could get to them."

"You make it sound like that was a bad thing." Koga grumbled, as he took her mouth in a soft kiss, savoring the taste of her.

"No, not a bad thing. I was more desperate to get back to be with you than anything else." She said honestly. "In hindsight, I do wish I got the chance to see my dad and grandpa too. But I will eventually." She said softly against Koga's mouth, surrendering herself into his slow and teasing kisses.

"Did you tell mutt face we were together now?" Koga asked as his hands began to sweep up her back. "Since he happened to be the one waiting for you."

"Yes, and he flipped out."

"Good." Koga whispered in between kisses as he began working at her tense muscles. When the kiss became heated he broke his mouth away from hers, his tongue sweeping against her jaw before dipping down across her neck.

Kagome immediately tilted her head, allowing him full access as she leaned into him. Her hands broke away from his neck and smoothed down the muscled expanse of his chest, making their way over his chiseled stomach before resting atop of his defined hips.

Koga's hands swept around her, pushing her slightly away from him so he could admire her naked form.

"You are so fucking sexy." He growled, as his hands began to work their way over her breasts, kneading at them before he bent down and roughly took one of her hardened nipples into his mouth while pinching the other.

Kagome's breath hitched and the low moan she let out immediately sent tingles over his cock. As he worked at her chest with his hand and mouth, his free hand slid down her body, his fingers twisting in between her thighs, quickly finding her clit and dragging against it.

Kagome shuddered and her hips pushed against him.

"More." She mewled as she parted her legs and dropped her head back while fisting her hands into his hair.

Koga released her nipple from his mouth, before grazing his teeth against the other. As he did so, he took advantage of the new space that Kagome gave him to work with as he slowly slid two fingers inside of her.

"Mmmm. You smell so good." She said, taking a deep inhale of his bonding scent as she bit her bottom lip and began to thrust against his hand.

"Fuck. You're always so tight." He muttered as he felt her involuntarily squeeze against his fingers. The action had him dropping to his knees before her, as he took a deep breath of her most intimate scent. He wasted no time in nuzzling his face in between her legs as he pumped and twisted his fingers inside of her, pushing against her G-spot while running his tongue over her clit.

Kagome groaned loudly as her body began to quiver.

Koga hungrily sucked at her, taking her clit into his mouth and flicking his tongue against it, groaning low in his throat at the taste of her. Her body was driving him mad.

He removed his fingers and replaced them with his tongue, pushing his way inside of her. The taste of her was making his cock twitch and his mouth water. As he pumped into her with his tongue, he ground against her clit with his nose.

Kagome's hands immediately grabbed onto his head, her hips were frantically trusting against him as she struggled to catch her breath.

As she dropped her head to look down at him, he caught her gaze.

Her eyes were hooded and her features were pleading. Her mouth was slightly open as she struggled to catch her breath. She was watching him hungrily as she frantically thrust against him.

Koga held her eyes and slid his tongue outside of her, flattening it, before roughly sweeping upwards against her and taking her engorged bud back into his mouth, gently sucking on it until her fingers tightened in his hair and her head flew backwards as she cried out his name, shuddering violently against him.

Koga immediately wrapped his right arm under her knee and stood, backing her up against the shower's wall before he roughly pushed his thick and throbbing length inside of her. The movement had them both groaning as they struggled to wrap their arms around each other.

Koga dropped his mouth against hers and set a heated pace as he frantically pumped into her.

"This..." He growled into her mouth, as he pushed deeply inside her. "… belongs to you, baby." He gasped as he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, before allowing it to slide out against his teeth. "This…" he said again, as he slowly pushed into her once more. "… is yours."

Kagome had barely recovered from her first orgasm before Koga's thrusts along with his words pushed her over the edge again. Her hands frantically struggled to somehow hold on to him while her orgasm exploded deep within her and a high pitched moan forced its way out of her throat. As she came, her powers engulfed them both in warm and connective glow.

Koga dropped his forehead against hers as he watched her cum, her body stiffening against his and her face becoming almost angelic as she soared.

She was his living definition of strength, femininity, sex and love, and of all things beautiful and Heaven.

And she was forever his.

The acknowledgement along with the tight wet heat of her sex that was now pulling demandingly at his cock, brought him over the edge with her. His body trembled against hers as he released his seed deep inside of her over and over again.

"God, I love you, Koga." Kagome whispered into his neck when his body had finally stilled.

Koga took her mouth in a soft and tender kiss. "I love you too, Kagome. Always will." He admitted as he reached over and shut off the jets overhead.

As Kagome went off to fetch the towels, Koga followed behind her, allowing her to dry him.

"What is you favorite memory of me?" He asked her seriously, as she worked a soft towel over his chest.

"Uh." She began to giggle. "I have so many, new and old. I can't say just one is my favorite." She said honestly.

"Try."

"Well, there was the time you jumped off that cliff with me and I thought I was going to die. I couldn't stop screaming and you kept yelling at me to shut up." She laughed. "Then there was the time that you tried to rip Inuyasha off of me by dragging him by his leg. Or the time that Inuyasha carried you to safety and you flipped out because you smelled like dog after." She said, her laughter becoming hysterical."

"Do you have any memories that aren't idiotic?" Koga grumbled as he made his way to their closet and began to gear up into fresh tactical clothing.

Kagome ignored him, continuing on, as she applied a drop of her bonding scent to her chest and also began to dress. "Or when I asked you about what happened to your fake tail and you almost went all bloodlust on me!" She roared, her chest heaving as she attempted to contain her hysterics.

Koga sucked his teeth.

"Why are you getting so upset? These are great memories!" She chided, her eyes sparkling as she smiled at him.

Koga looked away. The action caused Kagome to study him seriously. She reached up and guided his face back to hers.

"What's your favorite memory of me, Koga?"

"The day that you told me you loved me." He answered quickly. "I have so many memories of you, but that one is by far my most… precious. You told me right outside our front door and I honestly thought I misheard you. I asked you to say it again because it was so unreal to me."

Kagome instantly felt guilty.

"So you're looking for my favorite romantic memory of you. You didn't specify that!" She huffed, feeling stupid. "My favorite romantic memory of you would have to be the first time that you told me you loved me as well." She said, her voice softening. "I was completely mortified because I had just met you and you basically screamed it out in front of everyone, but it will always stand out. That was the first time anyone ever said those words to me, and to say them so boldly, well… it was just so you. I remember it so clearly." She said smiling.

"I remember it clearly too." He grumbled, his expression softening as he took in her intoxicating scent.

"What possessed you to say that anyway?" Kagome wondered. "We had just met."

"When you know, you know. It felt right. It was instinct." He answered seriously. "Wasn't it the same for you?"

"I guess it was, when I think about it. My spirit somehow connected with yours. Everything happened so quickly between us that I didn't even realize that I was in love with you until I lost you. I was an absolute mess, I couldn't sleep and I couldn't eat. The only thing keeping me going back then was that I could sense your spirit every time I looked for you."

"You found me."

"And here we are." She said smiling, as she reached up and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.