Chapter 13

"Miko" Came a growl, forcing Kagome to twist her face in concentration. She had no idea where she was at the moment. She felt off, frozen in time. Her limbs seemed to carry the weight of gravity on them, so they couldn't be moved. Still that baritone voice called to her, making her want to at least open her eyes.

"I will not tell you again miko. You will open your eyes." Snapped the voice again, and Kagome groaned this time, turning her head towards the very agitated male. She could have sworn she heard a breathe of relief hit her ears, but she was still so unsure about her surroundings. It wasn't until she felt the soft caress of a large and calloused hand that she began to gain more control over her body.

The touch from the male seemed to awaken her with each passing second. His finger tips trailed from her small chin, raising up until they rested just beside her eye and his large palm was cupping her face. She turned into the warmth, noticing how it seemed to warm her deeply inside and cause her heart to beat much faster than it had before. Without even realizing it, her hand shakily reached up, grasping at the back of his fingers.

"Let me see those eyes, Kagome." The voice whispered gently, and this time she knew he was relieved. She tightened her eyelids once again, scrunching her face, before she blinked the sting from her eyes. The light from the sky was bright and it hurt, but soon a figure blocked even that, letting her blue eyes rest on golden.

"Sesshomaru." She whispered, her memory slowly starting to return to her. She had fought off that demon. Given everything she had of herself to make sure her friends and family were safe. Now, she was in the dream world with Sesshomaru and she had no idea what happened after she lost consciousness. "the demon?"

"There is no demon." Sesshomaru answered, pulling his hand away from the miko's face and ignoring the regret of that action that formed. Now wasn't the time to be doing any kind of deep thinking. Kagome had finally awoken, and she was his top priority. "You succeeded with your goal, though you have angered all in the group."

"Even you?" Kagome asked, pushing herself up slowly from the ground. Sesshomaru sat back on the soft grass, his eyes now hard and narrowed as he eyed her. He didn't need to reply for her to know that he was angry. "Why is everyone so mad? Did I do something bad?"

"You sacrificed yourself." Sesshomaru snapped, his fangs snarling at her careless actions. She acted as if nothing had happened, as if her life didn't matter. On one side, it was noble and should be respected but on another, he didn't like the idea of life without her. He had no idea why that was, but he knew at this moment he had been extremely worried for the miko.

"Did I die?" Kagome asked calmly. She honestly had no idea, but as long as everyone was safe then she was okay with her death. If her death meant safety for the others, she wouldn't ever complain about her life being cut short.

"You foolish woman!" Sesshomaru roared, causing Kagome to jump and turn her attention back to him. He was now crouched down, looking as if he wanted to pounce and eat her. She had no idea what she had done, but she clearly upset the western lord.

"Wait a minute! What did I do?" She asked, completely unsure of why his mood was so sour. She didn't even have time to react as a large body was suddenly over hers, holding her down. One large hand held her wrist above her head, the other cupped her chin and wouldn't let her move. She caught one glimpse of gold before she suddenly felt hard and soft lips covering hers.

The action caused a gasp to rush from her mouth, giving the demon above her the access he wanted. He wasted no time in diving in and tasting her mouth for the very first time. He was desperate. He needed to know that she was still alive and this wasn't some horrible dream that he would wake up from. So as her taste burst across his tongue he growled in appreciation. She was just as sweet as he thought she would be.

He had no idea when it happened, but after her fight with the demon, his thoughts on the human changed. She hadn't thought twice about giving up her life for the others. She hadn't cared that she would live no more as long as everyone was safe. Then he got to see her power first hand. He knew she was strong, much stronger than the dead miko. He hadn't realized just how deep that power went. Not only did she kill her opponent, she healed any damage caused to the surrounding area. That was a deep and old magic he hadn't heard of since Midoriko.

Then in the two weeks she had been lying unconscious his thoughts began to change. She was no longer the human woman who he owed for helping him. She was a strong and powerful companion that he could see as an ally and even a friend. It didn't stop there. Soon his thoughts changed again, and he saw the two of them being much closer, intimate even. Bedding a human didn't even disgust him. He began to crave it, and the longer it took for her to wake up, the worse it became for him. He didn't think he had the energy to fight it anymore. He couldn't explain, and probably never could, but it was still there.

The first night she was unconscious he made himself sleep, thinking she would be there. He was wrong, and every-night after that, the loneliness began to grow and grow until it was unbearable. He dreaded sleeping after a few days, but his mortal body made him. Finally on this night her body reappeared and she finally opened her eyes. Now he just hoped that she would wake with him in the morning.

His grip on her wrist tightened as her tongue hesitantly met his, giving in to what he wanted and joining the kiss. He could tell she was inexperienced and perhaps even embarrassed and that realization caused his blood to ignite in his veins. He growled once more, pushing himself deeper against her and feeling her warmth seep into his skin. He knew they couldn't progress past this, but he wanted to. And it was becoming difficult to stop. He had no idea how she truly felt about him. He had lost control at her thoughts regarding her life, and took what he wanted as his.

So reluctantly he pulled away, leaving them both breathless with swollen lips. Unable to resist he placed one last kiss on the corner of her mouth, his eyes never leaving hers. It was all he could do at the moment not to strip her down there. Instead, he pulled away completely, falling to his behind in a dignified heap. Kagome continued to lay motionless for a few seconds wondering what had just happened.

Confusion lay heavy on her mind as she panted. Currently she had her thighs pressed tightly together, trying to alleviate an ache she had never felt before. It was deep and strong and damn near made her pull Sesshomaru back on top of her. She had felt his length against her thigh, and she bit her lip to keep her whimper inside. The problem with her feeling this way towards Sesshomaru was the problem she had everyday in her life. InuYasha.

Didn't she love him before the battle with the demon? Yes, she had decided to let him go, but surely it couldn't have happened that fast. Was Sesshomaru going to be her rebound? No, what she just felt was deeper than anything her and InuYasha had ever felt before. Even the few times InuYasha had kissed her, while she had been excited, it felt cold compared to Sesshomaru's lips on hers. What did that mean? What did she feel for InuYasha, and more importantly, what did she feel for Sesshomaru.

"Miko, risking your life to save others is noble, however, perhaps next time you should think of the others in your pack." Sesshomaru stated, his demeanor back to that of the calm demon lord, and suddenly she wanted to punch him. Because while she still couldn't feel her knees, he was standing above her, looking bored while waiting for her to stand. And all the while, chastising her. "They would be unhappy with your demise, would they not?"

Kagome sighed, knowing what he said was true, but still. Most of her pack would grieve, but they would survive and eventually forget about her. She still would give her life if it meant they survived. She knew better than to tell Sesshomaru that though. However, a part of her was tempted to see if he would react that same way as before.

Just as she opened her mouth to say something, Sesshomaru disappeared from in front of her suddenly and she felt as if the earth fell from beneath her. Her surroundings abruptly bleed black and she floated in nothingness for what felt like minutes, before she was opening her eyes and seeing the top of kaeda's hut.

The first sounds to register in her ears was that of a snarling dog, and a cussing InuYasha. She sat up quickly, ignoring Sango and Miroku's gasp, and turned to the brothers. Sesshomaru had ahold of InuYasha's arm and had his teeth sunk into the half demon's flesh. InuYasha had been knocked to the ground and was trying to protect himself from an enraged dog.

"Titan! InuYasha!" She shouted, causing both males to look her way and freeze all motion between them. Titan reacted first, releasing his hold on InuYasha and licked the blood from his lips as he settled himself beside Kagome. His hunches touched her leg, and hesitantly she reached out, placing her fingers deep in his fur. Before, she had never been able to touch him, but something had changed while she was asleep and while she wasn't sure what it was, so far, she had no problems with it.

"He smells of death…and life." Titan said in her head, and Kagome sighed. Two things had been confirmed in that one sentence, and she wasn't sure how to feel about that. It hurt. There was a pang in her heart, but it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Because that one sentence told Kagome that InuYasha had gone to see Kikyou while she was unconscious, and that Kikyou was pregnant.

"I'm going to kill that fucking mutt." InuYasha yelled, jumping up from his downed position and charging towards Titan. He didn't get far, before a very tired and emotionally drained "sit" hit his ears, and just inches from the pure white dog he was slammed into the ground, twitching from the hardest impact he had ever felt. Which was telling in itself. Kagome hadn't even shouted the command in anger, and still that was one of her worst.

"I think…" Kagome started, her eyes narrowing in anger and acceptance. "I think you should go back to Kikyou, InuYasha." Miroku and Sango gasped, as Shippo kicked dirt in InuYasha's direction, they had suspected, but didn't know for sure until now.

"What about the jewels, Wench?" InuYasha shouted through the dirt in his mouth.

Kagome let out a dry laugh, rubbing her hands over her face. "You always said Kikyou was better and stronger than me, right? So, why can't she find them?" Kagome asked, running her fingers through Titan's fur as he growled towards the hanyou. "Besides, i'm not saying forever, InuYasha. I'm going to go home for a week. Go to school, replenish our supplies, and just… think. We will continue looking for the shards then."

"Keh. Whatever. You better be back by then, or I'm coming after you." InuYasha, threatened, standing from his pit. He had no idea what was going on with Kagome. He had been worried sick while she was unconscious. Yes, he had gone to Kikyou, but he didn't have a choice in that matter any longer. And for some unknown reason, he felt Kagome knew that as well. Right now, she scared him. He felt like he was losing her, and he couldn't let that happen. But pushing her wasn't going to help either, so instead, he needed to back off, and give her some time. And if he did things correctly, he could get what he really wanted. So with a growl towards Titan, he turned and left.

Kagome let out a relieved sigh when he was gone and turned to the rest of her friends. "I'm sorry I worried all of you." She smiled genuinely, and Shippo launched himself into her arms, his tail wagging in happiness. Rin moved herself closer to Kagome, not yet accepting the older woman completely, but enough that Kagome was a cherished friend.

And everyone noticed how much easier it was to breathe with InuYasha gone.