"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken screeched. Sesshomaru quickly turned his head and narrowed his eyes at the small imp running towards him. Jaken immediately froze in place like his life depended on it, scared to even breathe. He knows that look of displeasure all too well.

Kagome's head shot up in a panic with her aura suddenly radiating embarrassment. "Great, juuust great" she thought while looking around wiping tears from her eyes. Sesshomaru stood his ground, hidden in the thick of the trees. Hn. Leave it to Jaken to be utterly unaware of the surroundings. Pathetic. He was about to turn around to leave just as quickly and quietly as he came, but something was urging him to go speak with her. Sesshomaru took a deep breath and looked up at the full moon, silently questioning to himself why his inner beast was being so persistent about this.

Sesshomaru finally started to emerge from the trees towards Kagome with Jaken trailing behind, and she started to panic. "Oh no" she thought "what do I do? He is the Lord of the West now after all... think Kagome, think! What's the proper etiquette in this situation." Kagome continued to sit in her spot in the sand with a furrowed brow, lost in her thoughts. She didn't notice Sesshomaru standing a mere few feet away.

Kagome was pulled away from her inner dialogue when she heard Jaken crying out "How DARE you not acknowledge Lord Sesshomaru's presence, especially after taking you and your friends in without a formal invitation! You ungrateful girl!" Without so much as a glance in his direction, Sesshomaru barked "Jaken. Enough." He was getting more annoyed with the imp tonight as time went on.

She quickly jumped to her feet and went into a deep bow. Before she started speaking she looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Lord Sesshomaru, I-" Sesshomaru chuckled to himself, she sure has come a long way from yelling at me while waving fathers Tessaiga around at the gravesite. As he studied her he noticed her hair was tucked behind her ears clearly showing her tear stained face. Her rich brown eyes were still glossy and becoming slightly bloodshot from crying. He interrupted, "While I appreciate the formality, it is not required." Jaken's mouth dropped and he couldn't believe his ears. Why on earth would he not require her to follow the procedures he thought to himself, not daring to speak it out loud.

Sesshomaru continued "I have a matter I would like to discuss with you. Jaken, go check in on Rin and the children." Jaken started scurrying off "Y-Yes my lord! Right away!" Kagome cocked her head and squinted her eyes with confusion, wondering what Sesshomaru would need to discuss with her.

They both stood on the beach in silence with the waves crashing around them. When Kagome would sneak a glance at Sesshomaru, he seemed lost in thought. His body was facing her, but his head was turned facing the ocean and the moon. His long white hair was softly moving with the gentle breeze. She realized she couldn't remember the last time they were this close together, and she certainly forgot how much taller he was than Inuyasha. Kagome couldn't help but stare at him in awe and admire just how majestic he really was. Sesshomaru returned his gaze to Kagome and noticed her staring. She quickly darted her eyes back to the ocean with her cheeks blushing a deep red. His voice finally broke the silence between them. "I apologize for the lateness, however, I would like to personally thank you for looking out for Rin when we would cross paths on our travels. She speaks very fondly of you."

Kagome was dumbfounded. Sesshomaru is apologizing, thanking, and praising someone? A human? In actual sentences? She stared at him, speechless, before finally starting to laugh and covering her mouth. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at her not understanding what he possibly could have said to warrant that sort of reaction. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Kagome said, laughing and waving her hands in the air. "It's just.. not only is this the most you've ever talked to me before, but I wasn't expecting you to say THAT. Especially to a human, nonetheless."

Sesshomaru smirked and wondered, am I really that cold? He inherited that trait from his mother. It was drilled into him from an early age that you must never show your emotions, faults, or weaknesses to others. Mother was definitely power hungry and still relishing in the fact that her son was now the Lord of the West. While he can't fault her for her strict training, because it has come in handy when dealing with wars and other affairs, he felt like something could be missing from his life. He just wasn't sure what, exactly.

She realized they entered another long silence. "Sorry" Kagome said apologetically, "I didn't mean to be rude. While I appreciate you saying that, it really isn't necessary. Rin is a sweet girl and I will always help her or anyone else in need." Sesshomaru nodded. He was about to leave her to her thoughts when Kagome stammered "Uh, Se- Sesshomaru..." He noticed her aura was shifting back to embarrassment, "How... how long were you..." Kagome started playing with the hem of her skirt nervously while avoiding eye contact. "Long enough." Sesshomaru stated blankly while looking off into the distance. Kagome's shoulders slumped, "of course you were" she whined.

Sesshomaru could feel the sadness radiating off of her and smell the tears welling in her eyes when he noticed he was growing irritated again. Not with Kagome, but with his hanyo half brother. This women has put up with him and been by his side, saved his life countless times, and this is how he treats her? Sesshomaru looked over at Kagome and when he saw her tears up close glimmering in the moonlight, his beast began to rage inside him. Hn, interesting... he thought to himself.

Although he didn't lose control, he quieted his beast before speaking. "For what it's worth, I think Inuyasha is an absolute fool." Kagome gasped and looked up at Sesshomaru with wide eyes, his words lingering on her mind. "I will leave you to your thoughts. However, while I'm sure no one would dare attack on my private grounds, I will be close by to ensure your protection." With that, Sesshomaru turned around and started heading back to the tree line as quietly as he came, not bothering to wait for a response.

Kagome watched as he became smaller and smaller, until almost being unnoticeable among the trees. She clenched her first and brought it to her chest, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "Thank you, Sesshomaru" she whispered into the night. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and smirked, wondering why he felt such an urge to protect her.

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Authors Note:

First off, I wanted to say thank you for your favorites, follows, and reviews. It truly means so much to me! I had tears of gratitude in my eyes checking my email today. I do realize this could have been part of the last chapter, but I was just so excited to get this story out of my head and into the world. I do plan on updating this as regularly as possible, because I understand first hand the frustration of getting into a story only for it not to ever be updated or completed. I really look forward to hearing your feedback on this chapter!