Kagome blinked in surprise, somewhat jarred by the sudden difference between the Sesshomaru she knew and had grown to love and the Beast which now sat before her. The only real physical difference that she could see was that his eyes were no longer gold, but a glowing red, their countenance, however, was starkly different. While Sesshomaru prided himself on staying calm and stoic and generally carried himself with an air of cool arrogance, the Beast was openly emotive, and his every feeling played on his face. After taking a few moments to regain her bearings, Kagome answered the Beast with a gentle smile. "I enjoyed your gift very much. Thank you."

The Beast preened, spreading an almost maniacal grin over Sesshomaru's face. "Good! Good!" It exclaimed. "Mate Kagome is beautiful." It said then, and Kagome blushed.

"Thank you." She replied.

The beast was honest and unfiltered. It was almost childlike in its need to please her, and his pride in her acceptance of his gift was proof of that. "We are glad that Mate did not die. We would have been very sad if Mate had died..." The Beast grinned at her again.

Its statement threw Kagome off for a moment. Was the Beast referring to how they met? Or the encounter with the would-be spider demon from a few weeks ago? Deciding that It referred to both, Kagome gave a gentle, almost sad, smile in return. "I am glad also. I am sorry that I scared you before."

"Mate is forgiven. Mate was hurting very badly. We don't like when Mate hurts."

Kagome felt her heart squeeze a little at his declaration. Primitive as it was, the Beast was really quite endearing. "Thank you for saying so. I am lucky that you found me when you did. I am happy that I get a second chance at a happier life."

The beast preened once again at her statement.

"May I ask you a question?" Kagome requested.

"What does Mate want to know?" He asked her.

"Why... Why me? What makes me a suitable Mate for Sesshomaru and you?" She asked, self-consciousness getting the better of her.

"We knew, from before our beginning, that our mate would carry your scent."

"How does that work though? Surely others have carried the same scent as me."

"Maybe others had similar scents, but everyone has a core scent that is not the same as any other. It is like a true name written into your being."

Kagome took that in for a moment before replying. "So then, how did you know my scent before I was even born?"

"We don't know. The knowledge was written into our being somehow. We knew your scent even before we learned to change our form."

"I see." Kagome took that in, her head spinning a little. "What... would have happened if you had never found me?"

The Beast looked contemplative. "We would probably have gone mad in a few hundred years. We are not meant to be alone. Our true Mate is the only one who can be guaranteed to survive the years with us and keep us sane. We keep eachother sane."

"Oh... May I speak with Sesshomaru again?"

The Beast pouted a little, but he nodded. "Beast is happy that he got to speak with Mate finally."

Kagome smiled. "It was lovely to finally get to meet you. I look forward to the next time we talk."

Just like that, Sesshomaru's irises returned to their usual molten gold color. "He really likes you."

Kagome grinned at him cheekily. "What's not to like?" she asked as she stood and sauntered over towards where Sesshomaru sat.

He looked up at her and beckoned her to sit on his lap. "Nothing. You are perfect for us. He would not have chosen you otherwise."

Kagome lowered herself to straddle Sesshomaru's lap, then wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. Leaning in so that they were nose to nose, Kagome's face fell as she asked, "Why didn't you ever tell me about the repercussions of my death?"

Sesshomaru's eyes softened. "You didn't die. There was no need for you to know."

Kagome frowned and looked away, "I could have been the reason you lost your mind in the future. The reason you would have had to face eternity alone."

Sesshomaru ran the fingers of one hand through her hair, forcing her to meet his eyes. "But you weren't."

"I'm sorry." Her eyes watered with unshed tears. "I am so sorry."

"Hey." He admonished "Don't you dare start blaming yourself. You've done that enough. It's past. Done."

Kagome lowered her head to his shoulder, her tears finally falling.

Sesshomaru tightened his hold on her. "I could never be angry at you for hurting. Okay? I need you to agree with me on this. It is in the past."

Kagome nodded into his shoulder.

"Okay," he said again.

They sat like that for a while, allowing themselves to recharge on the presence of each other.

After a while, Kagome spoke up. "You know... I've been thinking..." She raised her head to look at him again.

Sesshomaru slowly caressed her lips with his own, "Hmmm... About what?"

She pulled back from the kiss and looked him in the eyes, cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink. "We've got this lovely little hut all to ourselves." She looked away shyly and flushed a darker shade of red and continued, "We're out in the middle of the forest, and any intelligent creature will be avoiding coming within 5 miles of this place out of fear of getting purified. Rin is with your parents..."

Sesshomaru smirked a little, pretty sure he knew where she was going with this. "And?"

"You really want me to spell this out?"

Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow. "I'd like to hear it from you so that there can be no miscommunication."

Kagome blushed an even deeper shade of red, her body temperature rising by degrees, even as she rolled her eyes at him. "I'm saying, I don't think we are ever going to get a more perfect opportunity to make this thing official."

"And?"

Kagome really wanted to smack him. He knew exactly what she meant, and he knew it. He just wanted to see her squirm, she was sure of it. Taking a deep breath, Kagome looked Sesshomaru dead in the eyes. "I think that... now... is a good time to complete our mating. We're out here alone. Nobody is going to bother us." She brushed her lips against his, "I love you Sesshomaru." She spoke against his mouth, "I want to make you mine, and I want you to make me yours. Nobody else gets to have you. I'm selfish that way. I want to be with you. And, plus, there is no chance of possibly scarring Rin for life, cause she is with your parents. Like I said before."

Sesshomaru chuckled at her last remark, as his arms tightened around her waist again. "I like how you think." He said with another smirk. "You're not still tired?" He asked, concerned now.

Kagome laughed. "I just woke up from, like, a four-hour nap. I couldn't go back to sleep right now if I tried. Though, I could probably use a bath." She said, wrinkling her nose at the dirt and sweat crusting her skin and making it feel all grimy."

Sesshomaru smiled up at her, giving her another swift kiss. "I think I may have an idea."

They stood. Sesshomaru retrieved a few towels from a chest in the bedroom and, taking hold of Kagome's hand, led her out into the night.

AN. Hey, I know it's been a bit, but here you go..Stay tuned for the next chapter. I'm issuing a warning now, and I give another one at the beginning of the next chapter. There will be adult situations in the upcoming chapter. If you are not at least 16, preferably 18 or older, please do not read that chapter. If you don't like reading such content, you can skip the chapter, the story will make sense without it.

On another note, I recently got my first outright mean comment on this story. I'm not going to call anyone out on this, I just want to take a moment to reiterate that, while I accept and appreciate constructive criticism, I do not appreciate trolling or being outright rude. "Constructive criticism is the process of offering valid and well-reasoned opinions about the work of others, usually involving both positive and negative comments, in a friendly manner rather than an oppositional one." If you think I could have done better, please do let me know. But, please, do so in such a way that it is actually helpful, and not just tearing me or other people down.

Any way. Ill have the next chapter up soon. Later!

~Cassie