11:15 AM

They walked slowly, in no real rush to be anywhere. They savored each other's company, their hands still intertwined. Both unwilling to let the other go. They filled the silence with mindless babble, learning more about each other.

"So, is this where you stay? When you are traveling, I mean?" She asked him.

"It is one of many." He replied. "It is Rin's favorite, and mine as well." He added.

"Can I ask you something?" She bit her lip nervously. This question had been plaguing her for some time since yesterday, and she wanted an answer.

"You already have." He teased.

Rolling her eyes, she took his good mood as permission to continue. "Why did you bring me here?"

His walk faltered slightly, so minutely she almost missed it.

"You know why." He said.

"No, that's not what I mean." She gripped his hand a little harder, stepping over a fallen branch. "I mean, why did you bring me here specifically. Why go through the trouble of bringing me to your home if your intentions were to simply sleep with me and leave me after?" Her voice had trailed off towards the end. He could almost feel the lump in her throat as she waited for his answer

"It was not me." He replied, and before she began to argue or ask more questions he elaborated, keeping his gaze focused on the path ahead. "It was purely instinctual. My instincts demanded I take you somewhere safe, somewhere private; home." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I do not know why. It has never happened before." The next part would be hard to admit, but it was something she needed to know. "Usually, I keep away from my rooms if I am at the fortress. If I have someone sent up, after their duty is completed, I remove them from my presence, and everything is cleansed." He admitted. "I am no saint, Kagome." He didn't want to look back at her, for worry of finding contempt or disgust on her face.

She digested the information for a second, not sure how to go about the next question she wanted to ask. She decided that blunt honesty would have to do.

"How many?" She asked. Her tone was unreadable, and he still couldn't bear to look back.

"Too many. I lost count." He sighed.

"For how long?" She asked instead.

He sighed again. "I reached sexual maturity more than 300 years ago."

Kagome tugged at his hand, and he was forced to look back at her.

"300?! How old are you?!" She asked, a little skeptical.

"I will be 800 come winter." He replied nonchalantly.

"800?!" She repeated. "Oh my…" She knew demons aged differently, but this was truly criminal! He looked no older than 20! His skin was smooth and perfect, not a wrinkle in sight. She let out an exasperated sigh and continued walking. Her thoughts went back to yesterday, when she made the quip about him being into little girls. "I suppose I owe you an apology after all." She sighed.

He stopped and turned around to face her fully. Why would she feel she owed him an apology? He had been expecting her to be completely put off by his past, to want to end things with him right then and there. Instead she was offering an apology… "What for?" He asked.

"I suppose given your age… I really am a little girl." She said.

He groaned at the reminder of their previous day and made a show of rolling his eyes. He started walking again, they were almost to the hot springs.

She giggled behind him, and he couldn't help but ask. "Does it not bother you?"

"What? Your age? I mean… It's not as though I could have done anything with you if you were my age… you would probably still be an infant! Besides, I think age is in how you conduct yourself."

"In that case you are much too young for me." He jested. She playfully stuck her tongue out at him and smiled.

"But I was not referring to my age, Kagome." He needed to be sure that this would not be an issue. "Does my past not bother you?" He pressed on.

She thought carefully about this, but she found herself truly not bothered by it. Had he been human she would have worried about sexually transmitted diseases, but the actual number of women did not bother her. Sesshoumaru was good looking, she could have guessed he was well accomplished in the bedroom department, in spite of the cold exterior he presented. If anything, she only worried that she would become one of the countless, a nameless existence in his memory.

She shook her head, something told her it wasn't like that. The simple fact that he had given her a choice, and offered to extend their time together made her sure that she would not be put in the same boat. What boat she was destined to be in though, still remained to be seen.

"No." She replied after her internal arguments. "If I had a past would it bother you?"

He growled a little but answered her question. "I thought you did. It bothered me only to the extent that I wish I had known you sooner." 'And that if you were to go back to any of them I would kill them.' He added in his head.

She smiled. "I see. It is the same for me. Besides, you have gained some...valuable skills. All those years of being a dog came in handy." She winked at him when he turned back to see her expression.

"In that case, I shall be sure to employ my full range of skills on you again, soon." He replied.

Her cheeks grew hot and her stomach did flips at the idea of him doing just that.

The trees grew denser the further they walked and it was getting harder for Kagome to walk amid all the branches, even with Sesshoumaru's hand for support. She was about to voice her concern when he finally stopped.

Pushing back the remaining branches, he revealed a hot spring paradise. He helped her maneuver her way out of the thicket and her mouth dropped at the sheer beauty. Green surrounded her. The entire clearing was covered in every direction by thick forest. There were several pools of hot springs, some shallow, others deep. The water moved from one pool to the other, and the steam rose above the canopy of trees.

"Wow...This is amazing!" She quickly took off her shoes and dipped her foot into the closest pool. "It's so warm!"

He pointed up to the biggest pool, the thick steam made it hard to even make out the hot spring beneath it. "The water comes from up there, the closer you are to it, the hotter the water will be." He warned.

She nodded enthusiastically and proceeded to find the perfect pool. After testing out a few, she finally landed on one that suited her needs. It was hot, but bearable, no need to burn her skin, and she wanted to soak for longer than ten minutes, so she couldn't go too hot.

"This one is perfect!" She exclaimed. He nodded his approval and began to disrobe. She blushed and blurted out, "What are you doing?"

"Taking a bath." He replied.

Her blush grew and she stammered. "O..Oh..O..Ok." Her hands shook as she once again tried to find the end of the stupid boa in order to undress. 'Of course he's taking a bath Kagome!' She thought to herself. She could almost do a facepalm at her own antics. 'What did you expect, huh?' Her mind chidded. 'It was just unexpected! Yes, we've… had … sex…' she replied to herself, 'but this is the first time I'll see him naked!' She could hear the rustle of Sesshoumaru's clothes as it fell to the ground. 'You saw him naked yesterday! And today for that matter. Remember that cute little dimple?' Her mind went on. 'It's not the same! It was dark, in a cave, we were both already naked, his hair covered most of him and I had a blanket on me!' She defended.

Shaking her head she tried to assure herself. 'You can do this.' She nodded to herself. Taking a deep breath she calmed her nerves a little. She could do this, and more to the point, the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to do this. If she only had a set amount of time with him, she would make sure to experience everything she could.

Her internal struggle was apparent to Sesshoumaru who stood there, watching her brow furrow and her fingers fight with his Mokomoko. He was now convinced. She had done nothing to make the Mokomoko wrap itself around her. No. It had done what it wanted to. Of course. And now, it refused to be removed. His eyes narrowed and he walked towards her, his clothes in a neat pile on the ground.

"Stupid...fluffy...boa…" He could hear her muttering under her breath. "Stay still!"

"Would you like some help?" He leaned in to whisper next to her ear.

She had completely missed him getting so close and her eyes widened at the state of his undress. She could only nod her head in answer.

Sesshoumaru touched her shoulder and released a concentrated blast of youki aimed solely at the Mokomoko. It instantly obeyed his command and fell lifelessly to the floor, leaving her completely naked. 'Finally.' He breathed her in, and was rewarded with the stimulating scent of her arousal.

"Thank you." She said. Her nerves had calmed down. Whenever she felt like less than enough, the way he looked at her made her feel that she was perfect in his eyes. It was her turn to admire him. His broad shoulders, the markings that etched out the muscles on his arms, the way his chest heaved up and down as he breathed, the abs that would put a washboard to shame, and the markings that pointed straight down towards a silver patch of hair. She refused to look lower.

"Anytime." He replied.

She chuckled at the implication.

He bent down to kiss her lips. She relaxed into him as he picked her up princess style and slowly walked into the hot spring. He took deliberately slow steps, letting her body become accustomed to the water before lowering her in a little more. It was not until the water reached up to her waist that he released her from the princess hold.

She sighed happily. 'Forget modern day tubs, nothing will ever beat this.' She sank down further into the water, letting all her worries float away. "This is perfect." She said.

"Perfect." He whispered back. His eyes took in the peacefulness of the scenery as well as the beautiful miko that floated happily in the water. He lowered himself onto a built in ledge and proceeded to indulge himself in her playful reiki. It really was perfect.