Orihime wiped Ulquiorra's brow with a cold wet towel. She had tried healing most of the physical damage dealt to him by Mayuri and Nemu. It sickened the household that they would do such an inhuman thing to what they have deemed comrade and friend. Kagome has fallen into a two week induced coma after replenishing what spiritual power that Ulquiorra has lost in his time in the 12th Division's prison. After a thorough spiritual check-up by Kenshin and Soujiro, they were relieved that Kagome didn't sacrifice any bits of her overly powerful soul, just the draining of her own spiritual energy. Sesshoumaru wasn't happy by her 'emergency' method to save the once again 'dying' Ulquiorra but he had ordered Kenshin and Soujiro to look for any soul related relics and items in his weapon room and to stay away from the poisonous one to help with Ulquiorra's less than stable condition.

Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru has stayed behind in Seireitei to discuss the current incident and from the rumours collected by Chad and Ishida. Things don't seem to look up for the war in Britain after Sirius reported his own knowledge of the current condition in Magical Britain. It seemed that there were reports of missing Grim Reapers in Spiritual Europe. There was also an increasing flux of Dementors breeding in Europe as well as a strange sighting of mutated Dementors. They were larger and the Wizards only weapons against the creature other than the strict barrier against the foul beast were slowly rendered useless. At the moment, Unspeakables of Britain were creating a more powerful spell against the mutated version of one of the most feared Creatures of the magical world.

Sesshoumaru groaned as he realised that he needed to have a meeting with his court. There have been rumours that he had wanted to ignore but from the increasing sightings and battles, apparently some of the youkai had wanted to overthrow him anyway since they felt that he was too restricting. Sesshoumaru felt that he was lenient enough what with the youkai Yakuza in Kansai, Kyoto (about a hundred years ago under the ruling of the famed 'immortal' Hagoromo Gitsune before she was unseated by Nurarihyon) and then some uprising here and there among other youkai clans that conglomerated together to form more Yakuza-like grouping. The largest so far had been Kansai leading Yakuza clan the Nura-gumi. He never brushed them off if they started to cause too much skirmish that even the human authority will notice. But so far all of the clans have been behaving, especially after that incident with the 100th Tale Clan and the Nura-gumi Nindaime Nura Rihan during the Restoration Era.

He entered his home ground and dragged himself to his office, his head pounding with all the rumours striving to be true. What were his officers doing?! There shouldn't be this much trouble. But what peeved him more was the fact that it was the youkai outside of Japan that was causing these problems and not those directly under his ruling. What were his Ambassadors doing in the foreign country?! He sighed as he turned on the shower head, the hot water pouring over his strained muscles from the long hours meeting with Genryuusai and the image of Dumbledore. The Ministry of Magic was proving useless. Said meeting was done when Dumbledore excused himself from the impending trouble ahead.

They had contributed the sudden growth of Dementors breeding and their mutation due to their unknown reproduction process. When confronted with the fact that there were sightings of Death Eaters everywhere, they had the nerve to tell him that he has no reason to worry about the matter. Damn right he shouldn't have to! When he contributed the fact with what their once precious Boy-Who-Lived said about the Dark Lord's return to life, they rebuked him quite soundly and rudely which earned them a flashing of crimson in his eyes.

And then they had the nerve to tell him that his 'people' were giving them troubles. The rising of unexplainable crimes were contributed to the questioning of his ability to rule over his kind. Well, he HAD mentioned to them again and again that his laws of the youkai community were absolute and that they have no need to put more unnecessary restriction on his kind. In fact, he was quite surprised that they didn't join Voldemort in his last uprising. It was of no surprise that the Volturi also join in the discussion which diverted from the matter of the Dark Lord to the questioning of his leadership's ability to the ridiculous orders and laws that the Ministry had put on all Creatures, which they refused to acknowledge as beings that can think for their own survival.

Every time he face humans the like of them, he felt violated and filthy. Sesshoumaru massaged his head as he shampooed his hair, "Why did I hate humans in the past again? Oh yes, their ridiculous ability to become unbearably unreasonable at times when they needed to be MOST reasonable,"

Once he was done with washing, he headed for the miko's room. It was a pity that she wasn't available when he needed her calming presence the most. He was in a great pinch. The Hougyoku has raised a few eyebrows when Aizen first applied it in the Winter War but luckily he didn't need to intervene when he sensed that youkai all over wasn't interested in the item like they did the Shikon no Tama. Also, in the meantime with the spy for the Order of Phoenix taken out from the chessboard, Dumbledore lost his eyes and ears of Voldemort's movement. As he lay next to the sleeping miko, he felt his headache subsided a little.

He tucked her unruly bangs behind her ear and traced her feature lovingly. He will be most busy for the next few days. By rights, matter in a distant land shouldn't involve him at all. However, youkai all over in the world's map belonged under his ruling just like how vampires world over belong under the ruling of the Volturi. If the report that he received from Dumbledore was true that Voldemort has found something that was enough to enchant his people into joining his madness, then he has an internal strife to face in the near future.

He sighed, "Kagome…I wished you would be there. Maybe a zap or two of your reiki will shut those nincompoops. They always moaned about no enough this and not enough that. When will they realise that too much of anything in this time and era will raise unnecessary interest in mortals around us? We are too much grossly outnumbered, outgunned and out everything when it is against humans. Yes, powerful youkai like me can wipe an army of them with a swing of my blade but what use is there when we can't stand up to nuclear war?"

"What peace or truce we gained, we gained it through much sacrifices,"

Kagome stirred and felt his claws gently stroking her cheek. She asked without opening her eyes, "How much did you lose?"

Sesshoumaru was slightly startled but not much by her sudden question. He calmly answered, "My brother, half-breed he maybe; my son though he knew it not and neither is he related to me by blood. My family…." He sighed, "Inuyasha, Shippou…Kagura…"

Kagome opened her eyes, "Kagura?"

"She was my intended. But I never get to mate her properly due to my…duty…" She looked into his eyes, seeing the depth of his pain reflecting back on her. Kagome loved his eyes; they seemed to glow whenever they landed on her. She touched the edge of his slanted almost eyes, "Was she the Kagura I knew?"

He shook his head, "She was Shippou's daughter," At her questioning look, he elaborated; "Shippou married another Kitsune and have a daughter named Kagura. He wasn't happy with the name but then resigned with it since it was just a name. Kagura was much like you, a fact her mother often blamed Shippou for often telling her stories about you,"

He shifted to look at her, balancing his head on his propped arm, "You are her hero and her idol. Shippou often come to my shiro in the early days of my ruling and the later dates of the Shogunate. Kagura often came with him from her younger days. I watched her grow, just as how I watched Shippou grow as one of my most trustworthy adversary,"

She looked into his distant eyes, "Do you fell for her first?"

He chuckled, "No…I was still much too cold for that then. But Kagura started with bringing me flowers…"

"The flowers in the garden…"

He nodded, "Each of them were flowers that she brought to me,"

Kagome smiled, "Now that explains your sudden interest in gardening,"

Sesshoumaru looked at her, "At first she reminded me of Rin. Then slowly she became her own person in my eyes. But…" His eyes became sad, "Her actions….her behaviour…her habits…everything, EVERYTHING about her…overlaps with yours…"

Kagome's eyes widened, "But you-I-how…why?"

He sighed, "I told her. I told her about you, the human that I detested. She asked me why and I told her; do I need a reason to hate a human who can destroy us? She slapped me,"

Kagome blinked, can't imagine with Sesshoumaru being slapped by a girl half his age even in youkai standard. Sesshoumaru nodded, "I was just as surprised as you back then. Kagura told me that it wasn't race or species that define a person. She told me that SHE will made me fall for YOU in your stead,"

Kagome stared at him, unable to believe her ears, "But why…why would she do that?"

Sesshoumaru smiled, "She loved you, her father's mother figure. She loved you more than she loved me. To her, you are everything. Even in her final moment, she told me that it wasn't her that I loved. I love in the image that was you that she portrayed," He closed his eyes, "Even now, whenever I think of Kagura I couldn't help but think of you,"

Something her eyes shuttered. He frowned, "It isn't like Inuyasha and Kikyo. I never treated her that way and neither will I treat you the same either," He reached out for her but Kagome drew back from his touch. Sesshoumaru sighed, "I know. I know what you been through. Shippou…he confronted me. He asked me why I mark her as my intended when she told me and him that it was you that I loved and not her. I don't understand it either,"

She looked away from him, "Is that why you asked me to stay with you?"

Sesshoumaru frowned, "Kagome?"

"I figured that I shouldn't have been the only one who can 'see' through your disguise,"

Sesshoumaru sat up, looking over her as she turned her whole body away from him. He reached but she asked him, "Was she…irreplaceable too?"

Sesshoumaru frowned, "Ever single lives are irreplaceable, Kagome. That's what I learned the most through the last 500 years,"

She looked at him with sharp eyes, shaking with unshed tears, "I don't know, Sesshoumaru. I can't…I can't go through what Inuyasha put me through again…"

Sesshoumaru shook his head, "No! Kagome, I don't mean to put you through that hell again. I…"

"Please…Sesshoumaru, please…"

Sesshoumaru stared at her, closing his mouth. His eyes hardened, "Kagome, I don't know how to prove to you that I am not replacing you with anyone nor am I using you as a replacement for anyone. I don't know how to bring back the trust and courage that you once have in this kind of situation. I don't know if you see me as a replacement for Inuyasha either,"

Kagome stared at him, "No! What would make you think like that?!"

Sesshoumaru pulled away and stood, "Then what makes you like me in the first place? Is it not because I look, even slightly, like your past lover? We are brother, no matter how lightly I take the term. Is it because of these eyes? Or is it this silver hair?"

Kagome sat up, "No! I like you for you!"

Sesshoumaru's eyes crusted over with armour of ice, Kagome shuddered at the sight. Sesshoumaru stared at her with a flat, lifeless gaze, "No miko. If you think that I take you as a replacement for Kagura, then you're wrong. But this Sesshoumaru do not know either if you, miko did not use this Sesshoumaru as a replacement for Inuyasha,"

As he left the room, Kagome find herself lost with words. She blinked, "How could he…" No, it wasn't Sesshoumaru who think that way first. It was her. She had thought that he used her as a replacement for Kagura. It was only natural that he assumed that she saw him as a replacement for Inuyasha. Kagome gasped, "Oh no! What have I done?!"

Now how does she reignite the trust in Sesshoumaru that she has lost?