Hello, everybody! I'm back with the next chapter! Honestly, I would have posted it yesterday except my dumb internet crashed. T_T But it's up now, so here's chapter thirty-seven! But first, let's have a HUGE thanks and brownies to my most AWSOME and recent THIRTY-TWO reviewers: Sieben Nightwing, Gotta Have My Choco, Zuta-chan, karlachan18, Forevermore21, Valerie Michaelis, aoa1012, Dontgotaclue88, nekolover3, bur bur, Nevermorea (Thank you so much! Your review was so inspiring! ^_^), Nadia Pendragon, rukoitalian65, Rorry Lamb, zeropbreakthru, Audrey, Mikachu, Regin, Maira Saw, LadyEllesmere, OtakuAnimeLover21, Helene, SamanthaJane13, AmyRoseAlice, kia himatari, PachinkoIkkaku, AnimeFan001, Avril087, Rin155, Alykat120, Deja, and kloppo! I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOO MUCH! *glomp hugs you all* Also, another HUGE thanks to all the people who have already favorited and/or followed this story! I really think everyone will love this chapter. At least, I hope you all will. Enjoy! :D

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha, the Inuyasha plot, NOR the Inuyasha characters. I only own my own OCs Kaze Hijikata, Riko Hijikata, Ryosuke Hijikata, Toga Akatsuki and any other OCs created along the way, and any part of the plot NOT a part of the Inuyasha anime or manga. This fanfic, however, is MINE and I'd like to keep it that way.

Chapter 37-Truly Together

Sesshomaru's Pack/In the Woods…
Despite her exhaustion from the night's happenings, a feeling of absolute contentment washed over Kaze now that she had again taken her place, walking through the dark woods at Sesshomaru's side. According to her, she was now home, finally and truly home.

She could get back to pondering over his odd actions and question him about it later. Right now, the young woman found that after the last several days she had, she was far too tired.

That's right, for tonight, she would just settle with savoring this rare feeling of contentment and peace.

In the meantime, the spiritualist was not the only one in the small group feeling quite content with the current situation. Sesshomaru could feel his beast rumbling in contentment upon once again having their intended as their side, this time on a permanent basis. However, judging by the young female's worn face, the Daiyoukai would wager that she had been traveling at a hard pace these last few days. Her scent clearly stated that she was utterly exhausted, even if she put up a strong front.

"We shall stop here for the night," the Inu's deep, commanding voice cut through the contented silence.

"Huh?" Kaze looked up at her companion with a surprised expression, thinking that it was for the tired little Rin sleeping on the two-headed dragon's back. But usually when Rin was tired she simply just slept on A-Un's back as they traveled. So, why-

"You need to rest," Sesshomaru informed his future mate firmly, his tone holding no room for argument.

Not to say the raven-haired female wasn't prepared to try, but almost instantly ended up shutting her mouth without a sound. "I would say I'm fine," she finally admitted with a wry chuckle, "but I already know that it's useless to try and lie to you."

"Indeed," the Western Lord smirked, pleased to see that she was for once obeying his command without resistance.

"Oh, stop looking so smug just because you got your way without a fight," Kaze snorted, rolling her eyes in amusement at her friend as she watched Jaken settle down beside the now sitting two-headed dragon. It was then that the young woman observed with a slightly surprised look on her face as Sesshomaru moved over to a nearby tree and also sat down, leaning up against the trunk and sliding his mokomoko out beside him.

"Come," golden eyes evenly met astonished dark red as the Inu gestured to the area beside him. "This one will ensure that you are kept warm through the night."

"Tha-That's hardly necessary!" Kaze spluttered, a blush spilling onto her cheeks as the Western Lord's statement. Crap! It seemed he was still intent on acting like a weirdo! "WHY ME!?" she bemoaned silently, trying to beat down her blush as she whirled around and began stalking towards one of the trees opposite her companion's side of their encampment, "I'll just sleep over-"

Golden eyes narrowed challengingly as, before the young woman could take even two more steps, Sesshomaru had appeared behind her, wrapping his sole arm around her waist before hoisting her spluttering self up and easily carrying her back to where he'd previously been seated.

"Damnit, Sesshomaru!" the spiritualist squawked. "I'll be plenty warm by my-"

"This one was not making an offer, Kaze," the Daiyoukai's voice was calm and authoritive as he spoke. "He was making a statement."

"Why this little!" the spiritualist silently seethed, thoroughly embarrassed by the situation. Unwillingly, however, she could already feel her exhausted muscles going limp in the Inu's grasp, preventing her from putting up any significant struggle. "Good to see you haven't changed since I last saw you," the girl instead huffed in a sarcastic manner as she felt herself be sat down at her friend's side, his mokomoko sliding protectively around her body for warmth. "You're still the same arrogant, pushy, little-"

"Enough," the male beside her growled softly. "Now, sleep."

"I… am going… to strangle him! I mean, how the HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO SLEEP WITH HIM RIGHT BESIDE ME LIKE THIS!?" Kaze's mind roared as she twitched in irritation until a clawed hand suddenly slid over her eyes.

"Rest," the now deeper, more husky voice came from directly beside the girl's ear, for it seemed Sesshomaru's beast had finally come out to coax his stubborn female into sleep. "This Sesshomaru will keep you safe."

The young woman blushed against the warmth of… everything that was currently so near her. His breath on her cheek, his hand on her eyes, and his fluffy mokomoko around her waist. Now, the little twat had even pulled her head down so that it was resting on his shoulder.

Just what the hell was up with him!?

Yet, as much as she craved the answer, Kaze could already feel her eyes beginning to close. Honestly, if only she just wasn't so tired she would… No, actually she probably wouldn't. "You… still have a lot of explaining to do," she murmured softly, finally resigning herself to the night's call. "So, you better be…"

His beast retreating, Sesshomaru raised a delicate eyebrow as his intended remained unable to finish her sentence as she faded off into the blissful comforts of sleep. Removing his hand from her eyes, the Inu quietly observed the female's peaceful sleeping features. Even her aura, the Daiyoukai noted, was now soothingly content.

Although, speaking of auras, Sesshomaru found his gaze drawn to the object which had been most recently producing a very different aura than that of his future mate. The Daiyoukai had of course noticed it before, but this was now the first time he found himself studying the fact that the spiritualist was now carrying a katana on her lower back, and judging by the occasional pulsating in its power, it was no ordinary blade.

Even Kaze's aura was slightly different than it was the last time Sesshomaru had seen her. It was more refined, controlled, and more lacking of the darkness that typically seemed to fuel it. Also, golden eyes flickered over the young woman's arms, just what in the world were these talisman for? His intended's lower arms were completely covered in them.

The Western Lord supposed he'd just have to find the answers he sought tomorrow… maybe. It all depended on how his little spiritualist would take the upcoming news. Although, Sesshomaru still couldn't find any reason for her not to take it well.

Yet, if there was one thing he'd learned about his intended in the time he'd spent around her, it was to always expect the unexpected.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
-The Next Day-

A large smile lay splayed across Kaze's face as she and the rest of her companions prepared to start off on their journey. Earlier that morning, awkwardly enough as the young woman sat cuddled inside her friend's mokomoko, she and Sesshomaru had discussed the training that she had gone through when she was gone. Now, before they all headed on their way, there were still a few things she had yet to do.

"Hey, Rin," she called out to the small child, instantly gaining her attention, "come here a moment, will ya?"

"Yes, Miss Kaze?" the small child asked cheerily, skipping up and giving her new mother figure a curious look.

"Here ya go," the young woman smiled gently as she rummaged through her knapsack before giving Rin her doll and candies. "I brought these back for you from the other side of the well. The candies are for you to eat."

"For Rin?" the little girl breathed in awe as she carefully took the small treasures in which she'd been offered before giving the other female a brilliant smile. "Rin loves them! Thank you so much!"

"You're more than welcome," Kaze laughed lightly, gently ruffling the little girl's hair in a loving manner before turning to flash the sulking Jaken a bright grin. "I have something for you too, Jaken, provided you stop pouting."

"I am not pouting!" the kappa defended himself indignantly, but none-the-less approached the young woman with a poorly masked expression of curiosity. After all, he'd hardly expected for her to bring him back a gift too.

"I got you this," the raven-haired female smirked, pulling out the small fan and handing it to the openly pleased little Youkai who received it.

"What a fine piece of craftwork," Jaken carefully examined his gift with admiring eyes before looking up with a slightly sheepish expression. "Thank you."

An easy-going grin instantly spread across Kaze's features, "Don't mention it."

In the meantime, Sesshomaru was watching this whole exchange with a well masked expression interest.

"Hmm…" his beast rumbled suggestively from within. "I wonder if our little spiritualist brought us something as well."

"Hn. Perhaps," he noted silently he watched his intended rummage through her knapsack again before pulling out some kind of scroll and begin approaching him.

"Here," she smiled, offering him the smooth object, a light blush staining her cheeks. "I got this for you."

Suppressing the delight that his inner beat was exhibiting at the action, Sesshomaru merely raised a single, slightly surprised eyebrow as he took the scroll and unrolled it too see what lay inside, "This is-"

"It's a map of the constellations over Japan," Kaze grinned, happy to see that he clearly liked his gift, for even if he kept up that neutral expression, she could see clearly in his eyes that he was pleased.

"Indeed," the Inu agreed, attempting to quell his beast as memories of the night he and his future mate stayed up stargazing flooded his mind, and slowly, despite his best efforts, looking down at his intended's beaming face, his lips twitched upward just a fraction in a rare display of genuine emotion. "Thank you."

Meanwhile, Kaze's heart had nearly stopped upon seeing the tiny, tiny flicker of warmth in the Inu's golden eyes and the slight upward twitch of his lips. She almost dare say that he was smiling! Not to mention that he had just outright thanked her. A light smile fell upon her features, "You're welcome."

His usual stoic expression having already fallen back into place, he gazed down calmly at his future mate before safely tucking his gift away into the sleeve of his haori for temporary safe keeping. It was then that a certain familiar scent caught his attention, causing his gaze to snap upwards towards the sky.

"Sesshomaru?" the young spiritualist gave her companion a curious look before following his gaze.

Nothing.

Although she could sense another Youkai fast approaching their way. Was that what had caught his attention?

In the meantime, a small smirk had formed on the Western Lord's face, "It is time."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Kaze stretched languidly as she followed her mysterious Daiyoukai friend out into a wide open field. They had now been walking alone together for the last ten minutes or so in silence after Sesshomaru had requested that she simply come with him.

Of course, not that he had bothered to explain why.

Typical.

Curiosity getting the best of her, the spiritualist had suspiciously agreed. As it turned out, she quickly realized that they were heading towards the very Youkai in which she had sensed just earlier.

And what do you know, there she was.

"I have brought the item that you requested, Lord Sesshomaru," a young, female Youkai with long shimmering blue hair and silvery eyes bowed deeply in respect before holding out a box for the Daiyoukai to take. "It is one of my finest pieces of work, if I do say so myself. I am sure your intended mate will be very pleased."

Everything around Kaze seemed to completely freeze as she simply stood there in an awkwardly stunned silence, trying to digest what she'd just heard, "His… what!?"

"Hn. That has yet to be seen," Sesshomaru took the object in which he was offered with a stoic expression, already being able to sense just what the female behind him was feeling, although right now, it was mostly just utter confusion and shock.

"I'm sure she will like it," Mizuki simply smiled before bowing one last time. "Please come to me again if you have wish for anything else."

And just like that, with a soft swish of wind, she was gone.

Meanwhile, Kaze was doing her very best to mask whatever shock she'd felt managed to slip through. Yet, even as she pieced her mask back together, she couldn't help the sick feeling that twisted in her gut. All this time, she'd been falling for a man who was bloody betrothed! She felt like such an idiot! Why did things in life always have to backfire on her like-

She suddenly found the very box that Sesshomaru had just received being placed in her arms.

"For you."

…

…

…

Slowly, very slowly, wide, shell-shocked red eyes peered up to meet liquid gold.

The realization hit full force.

A small, satisfied smirk adorned the Daiyoukai's face as he faced his intended, "You finally figured it out."

"Wha-Wha-" Kaze was grasping for words, for she could hardly believe it. There was just no way! All this time… "Since when!?" she spluttered.

"Since near the beginning," the Inu answered calmly.

Dark red eyes studied him disbelievingly before the girl breathed, "Why?"

"Why?" Sesshomaru raised a delicate eyebrow in question at the female. Just what kind of question was that?

"Yes, why!?" the young woman demanded, feeling the whole world spin around her. "I'm a human. So why-"

"You are strong," the Western Lord stated matter-of-factly with a stoic expression.

At that moment it felt like a nail had just been stabbed through the spiritualist's heart. For a moment, a part of her had admittedly been flying upon making this discovery of Sesshomaru's true intentions towards her. However, that last comment of his had brought her crashing back down to painful reality.

It hurt.

"That's it?" Kaze's voice trembled with the rage she was suppressing, along with the urge to lash out at the damned bastard. "Just… because I'm strong?"

Painful.

Golden eyes narrowed as the scent of pain wafted into the Inu's nose. He could feel his beast stirring in warning from within, and felt that perhaps he should elaborate a bit in his reason. "This one finds your presence… desirable," the Daiyoukai continued, successfully erasing the anger and some of the pain his previous words seemed to cause. "Perhaps even craved. You are also… trustworthy, and… honorable."

Eyes narrowed, the young female blinked at the male before her as he almost seemed to struggle for words. The glinting in his golden eyes told her that he spoke the truth, and the girl could easily see that he seemed to be struggling with words to properly explain himself. Not surprising, for explaining how he felt was not a strong point for him.

"I'm your friend," Kaze stated softly, her anger bleeding away along with a bit of her pain. Though, certainly not all of it.

"Hn," Sesshomaru replied instantly. There was no need for him think it over before confirming that statement.

"That does not necessarily mean you wish to have me as your mate," the spiritualist continued, forcing herself to handle this calmly. For despite whatever trouble this situation may bring, the girl had decided to remain at her friend's side, for that truly was where she belonged, and loosing that male's friendship was something she would not risk. It was the main reason she'd kept her own true feelings to herself.

"Do not attempt to inform this Sesshomaru of what he wants!" the Western Lord growled in a threatening tone, for he was not liking where this conversation was going. "And do not make the mistake of thinking that this one's actions towards you have been that of what he would treat a simple friend."

"Yes, I am aware," the young woman responded in an even tone. "However, is that simply a lust for a strong mate or… love?"

Sesshomaru's eyes widened slightly at this question, and again he felt he beast make a desperate attempt to rise to the surface. Stubbornly forcing it down, the Inu gave his unruly intended a calculating look. "A human emotion," he stated matter-of-factly, again struggling to suppress his beast that seemed to valiantly disagree with that statement.

"It's not just a human emotion, and you damn well know it!" Kaze snapped. This conversation was not only difficult, but painful considering her own feelings for the male in front of her. "Love is an essential part for any sort of relationship to work. Period."

"And have you ever loved another?" the Daiyoukai demanded before he could stop himself. He honestly could not understand why this had to be so difficult. Was he not good enough to be her mate? Was it so important that she be loved? And the biggest question… did he love her?

As much as he thought he detested the human emotion, Sesshomaru was surprised to find that he was honestly now considering the possibility.

"Only recently," the spiritualist spoke up quietly, after a great deal of hesitation in the matter. In truth, she still wasn't so sure if it was a good idea to reveal how she honestly felt. But… she could see it in his eyes… Something flickering in those golden pools still gave her hope that maybe what she longed to see in them was in there somewhere, and he himself just didn't know it yet.

The Western Lord could feel a wave of anger wash over him as his beast practically roared in fury at this knew piece of information. So, there was someone else! "Who?" he barely resisted the urge to snarl the question.

Her dark red eyes meeting his smoldering gaze unflinchingly, Kaze spoke out one word in a calm, even tone, "You."

Sesshomaru's eyes once again widened. This time, however, not even his usual stoic mask was enough to truly mask the shock that showed in his eyes. Finally, he vaguely understood her reasoning. Of course, the Inu had been aware that she was at least attracted to him, even if only a bit. However, meeting her dark gaze, he watched as slowly the barriers retreated, leaving him with no doubt to the truth and the weight of her claim.

She loved him.

Truly loved and cared for him.

The realization of this awoke an entirely new but not necessarily unpleasant feeling within the Daiyoukai's being. He could feel that even his beast had been temporarily shell-shocked, but had seemed to recover and was now rumbling up a contented storm.

Therefore, since she felt that way for him, naturally when they mated, she would want to be loved in return.

A perfectly reasonable and fair exchange.

But could he truly provide her with that?

As her future mate, the Western Lord of course would wish to provide his mate with what she wanted. Such instincts were engraved in his very nature. But the most important question still remained.

Did he love her?

"This Sesshomaru will accept no other for a mate," the Daiyoukai stated in a fierce tone, letting his eyes flicker with challenge as he met his intended's gaze. Having come to a decision, a satisfied feeling bubbled up inside of him as he watched the girl's expression turn to that of surprise when he continued in a voice just as fierce, "Therefore, he shall continue to court you until he discovers this 'love' of which you humans always speak."

EEEEEK! I've been waiting for like EVER to give this chapter to you readers! ^_^ I must say, I absolutely LOVE this one, and I hope you readers do too. Don't worry, the next chapter (even if it will be rather short) will contain some extra and special fluff and you'll FINALLY get to know what the gift is. :) Now, please, PLEEEEAAAASE drop me a review before you leave. I'm seriously DYING to hear you readers thoughts on this chapter! You readers have been doing positively AWESOME when it comes to reviewing, and it has been keeping my inspiration level sky high! So, keep up the AWESOME job with reviewing and I'll keep dishing out new chapters as fast as I can whip them out. :D Also, please follow and favorite this story as well. See you all in the next chapter! :D

Rock Out!
Kira