Reconciliation

by Universally Sound

When Inuyasha is overcome by a new ability he inherited from the Inu no Taishou, Kagome goes on a journey to find and help him only to find that Sesshoumaru has already decided the hanyou's fate and will not be moved. Now, Kagome must reconcile her love, her purpose, and a future she never could have imagined. Post-manga. CU. Slow burn. Gonna be long.

35. Chapter 35 - Separation:Year 2: Winter 1

Author's Note: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the source material for this story. All are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This fic is labeled MA per standards for violence, sex, and language so be warned.

...

Reconciliation

Chapter 35 – The Separation: Year 2: Winter: Part I

While Kagome glared daggers at the men of the house who were determinedly avoiding eye contact, Mariko Higurashi snuck away from the kitchen table and snagged the cordless phone to dial a now-familiar phone number. Kagome's mother found a quiet spot in the laundry room and waited. A few rings went by as pregnant silence reigned in the kitchen but finally a familiar baritone picked up the call.

"Good evening, Higurashi-san."

"Hello, Mikazuki-san," Mariko whispered, "You asked us to let you know and, well, Kagome just walked in the door. Would you still like to take her to dinner tonight?"

The silence from the other end was familiar, too. They had gotten to know this stoic man over the last several months and Mariko had learned that he never said anything without purpose. His silent contemplation was just another part of his mysterious and foreign personality.

"Is she well?" came the concerned response. "Do you think it wise?"

"She is, and yes. She seems slightly ill at ease for some reason, but she's fine. Now, I did agree to suggest your dinner plans her first night back, but I would like to spend some time with my daughter tomorrow so plan to visit us here, however this goes."

"Of course." Sesshoumaru agreed. It was the least he could do as they gave up Kagome's rare and precious time.

Thanks to her new grandson, Mariko was now up to date on what her daughter's relationship with this man would become in the future. She logically understood what being his future "Mate" meant. However, it wasn't until Shippou sat her down one evening and told her the real truth of what was at stake that Kagome's mother was truly on board. Her heart nearly stopped when he held her hand and told the family matriarch that her daughter would die within the next two years if the current path of the events didn't change. In their world, Shippou explained, Kagome had been gone far longer than she was ever with them. Her adopted grandson wilted into his chair as he explained.

"It was hard on me too, obviously," Shippou said matter-of-factly, "but Sesshoumaru lost himself completely to grief and guilt for long time. What's more-"

"There's more? How much worse could this path be for her?"

"Not for her. She is only one half of a Mated pair that was Bonded and soulbound, that loved each other," he sighed, "and there's a new and different problem now. Pop was Bonded to her per our custom - a piece of his aura that he willingly parted with lived within her - and when she died, it disappeared."

"I understand that much already, I suppose," Mariko responded curiously, "but then why does he need to see her as soon as she arrives?"

"We knew that changing the timeline would result in outliers. Unforeseen problems." Shippou waved a clawed hand around in the air. "Well, this is the first big one. The kicker now is that because she's still alive in her timeline, Sesshoumaru's instincts and his mind are at war with each other. Pop's brain," Shippou pointed to his own head, "knows she died in his past …but his instincts know she's alive and his youki felt her the last time she was here. Before the curse disappeared, he was too weak for it to affect him but now that he's healed and himself again, the hole left behind by the broken Bond is being a real bastard. It was the same way for a long time after Momma was- Well, you know. Combine that with centuries of loneliness and he's basically driving us all crazy chasing his proverbial tail… but don't tell him I said that."

Chestnut eyes narrowed as Mariko tried to understand. "So he needs to be with her to fix this new problem? To heal?"

"Being with Kagome won't fix it, but for as long as she's here, if he can prove to his instincts that she's alive but not Bonded to him, it might settle him down. We think? I know it's asking a lot; I do."

"My next question is why you are here explaining this and not Mikazuki-san?" Mariko asked with a furrowed brow.

"Ah. Aside from the fact that he still can't talk about feelings with anyone but Kagome?" Shippou smirked at his grandmother, "There was an emergency at the hospital and Sesshoumaru needed to stay for a while longer. We had already made plans to come tonight so I told him I'd explain for him since she could be back any day."

"Oh, the hospital you work both for, right?"

Work was work. Mariko understood that at least, even if the demons in her life and their ways were still a complete curve ball to her otherwise simple life.

"Yeah. He's a chief by title and that means longer hours but, no offense to him, he doesn't have a wife and kids so he usually takes over when there's a crisis after hours and lets me go."

"How considerate. He seems like a good provider for his family." The question was there but Shippou just nodded his head and Mariko didn't push. "Your new methods are working?"

"The new therapies are, yeah," Shippou sighed. "Using Kagome's reiki works wonders but we can't heal them completely like she might be able to. Just another drop in the ocean of 'why this has to work.'"

"She'd love to be a part of it, I'm sure."

"Our hope is that she will be when this all goes to plan!" the grown kitsune grinned widely. "Until then, it's still best we don't steer things if we can help it."

"Because your new methods were her idea to begin with, correct?"

"Yeah, and though her motivation was selfless, there ended up being a lot more blood tied up in the history of that place than we want to dredge up right now."

"That doesn't sound pleasant." Mariko frowned.

An auburn eyebrow did its best imitation of Sesshoumaru's and disappeared into Shippou's hairline. "They're both stubborn as hell."

"Lucky them to have you around, then." Mariko chuckled.

Shippou sat back in his chair, his brown bomber jacket flapping open, and shot a fanged grin at Mariko. "Will you tell him that for me? As often as possible?"

The history between Kagome and Mikazuki was shifting but, according to Shippou, the small changes were indications that their plan would work. After hearing that, Kagome's mother was firmly on the side of positive change… which meant letting her daughter out to see their youkai patron and security guard on the same night she arrived home from the past. They were trying to save her daughter's life. Kagome's first night back at home seemed a small sacrifice.

"What time should we expect you tonight?" Mariko questioned over the phone.

There was a pause on the other end as the clacking of a keyboard punctuated the silence.

"I can make the reservation for 8 o 'clock. Is she amenable to formalwear?"

"8 o' clock will be fine. That gives us… three hours. I'll make sure she's ready, don't worry. See you then!"

"Hm. And Mariko-san?"

"Yes?"

"I thank you."

The hopeful relief in his voice was genuine and tired. Poor man.

"Of course," Kagome's mother grinned, "Anything for my favorite son-in-law. Oh, and wear something that goes well with navy. I have just the dress."

A low chuckle sounded on the other end.

"Understood. I will see you all this evening, then."

"Good bye!" Mariko chirped.

'Young love is so wonderful.' Kagome's mother mused.

Though she knew he wasn't young, and Kagome wasn't yet in love, a mother could hope for the happiness they both deserved. Returning through the kitchen, Kagome's suspicious ocean gaze immediately searched her mother for answers.

"What is going on, you guys?"

"Nothing really…" Mariko sat, sipped her tea and smiled, checking her watch, "but you should go upstairs and shower since you don't have very long to get ready."

"Very long before what? Get ready for what?" Kagome looked at everyone around the table in turn.

"For your date tonight," her mother said matter-of-factly, feigning innocence.

"With Sesshoumaru," Souta added with a wily smirk and a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"…My what now? With who?!"

Souta was still cackling as Mariko Higurashi set down her mug, grabbed her daughter's hand, and hauled the growling young woman upstairs while explaining.

"It's only five o 'clock but your reservations are for eight and if I know him at all, the restaurant will be somewhere in the city. Shower first and then we'll sort out the rest."

"The rest?" Kagome said, stamping a foot and folding her arms in the bathroom door, "You mean, the part where you explain why I have a date, why I'm leaving the first night I got here, and how the hell Sesshoumaru - how any of you - knew I was coming?"

The agitation in her voice and the flush of her daughter's cheeks meant there were nerves to soothe. Mariko giggled and sat down on the pink comforter of Kagome's childhood bed.

"You have a date because Sess-" Mariko flinched and released a deep breath. The man might be a centuries-old demon but he had been a constant very-human presence in her life until recently. Tonight marked an unavoidable and uncomfortable shift for both women but in very different ways. "Sesshoumaru," her mother said firmly, "and Shippou have both explained your relationship in so many words and the former has kept a dinner reservation open just for this occasion. For the next day you returned. He only wants to take you to dinner and catch up."

"Reservations? But-" Kagome started.

"You're going out tonight," her mother interrupted, "because I agreed that it was in your best interest to reconnect as soon as you arrived," her mother held up a finger to stall Kagome's open mouth, "which, I am told, you will better understand when you see him."

"Then why can't he-"

"And he knows you're here because telephones aren't a modern mystery, Kagome. I am your mother, I care about your happiness, and I firmly believe you both have a lot more talking to do after the knock-down-drag-out in my front yard." Mariko said with a raised eyebrow.

"You win." Kagome sighed a knowing sigh. Her mother had all the bases covered. There was practically nothing she could say to convince herself that this was anything more than a first date. "That certainly explains it all, Momma…"

Kagome leaned her back against the doorframe of her small bathroom and let her head fall back against the frame with a dull thud. A date, though? Knowing the future was one thing, agreeing to alter the future to prevent tragedy was another, but a date? The first real, intimate step forward with her future "Mate" made her mind race and buried memories rise to the surface. Memories of smiling golden eyes and a husky, carefree laugh; of days of hard work and building trust and a new life; and the following months of hopeless, numbing sadness when the world had stopped turning.

"Now that it's staring me in the face, I'm actually nervous," the young miko admitted. "What does this Sesshoumaru expect of a village miko who scrubs her own clothes in the river, sweeps rotting straw from shrine floors, and smells like poultices and incense?"

"He already knows all of those things about you, I think," came her mother's gentle response, "both in the past and now."

"But leading him on here in the future… feels wrong."

"Because of your duty in the past or your situation, or perhaps because of Inuyasha?" Mariko saw the flinch in her daughter's eyes. She could see it because she knew it was true and probably always would be. Overcoming grief was easier than reconciling with it, and Kagome still had work to do on that front.

"Not duty or contracts," came her daughter's quick denial, "…not only that anyway. This was politics, Momma. I made a deal to save a life. This Sesshoumaru has been alone for hundreds of years! Who holds a torch that long? How could the real thing possibly live up to whatever saint he's created in his head? What's worse? He knows the future! He knows about my life, our life together, and what happens to the world we both live in. I am insignificant compared to his literal centuries of knowledge."

Mariko crossed the room stood across from her daughter in the doorway and raised Kagome's chin with a finger.

"You are forgetting two very important things."

"Hm?" Blue eyes looked up to her mother with hope.

"A date is just a date," her mother shrugged. "An innocent dinner with a man who wants nothing more than to see and hear you. Don't overcomplicate his intentions or the future without first asking questions."

"And the second?"

Her mother pulled Kagome into a gentle embrace, knowing that this would be hard for her.

"Inuyasha loved you, Kagome," Kagome's eyes misted and she hid her face in her mother's shoulder, "and the last thing he would have wanted was for you to be alone. Don't use his memory or your fear as an excuse to be hesitant. Just go. Have a good time. Be open and honest. The man I call Mikazuki-san is not a stranger to you but I believe you need some time to get used to the idea of being with him in that way, contract or not. An open, modern version of this man you are going to be bound to might be the key to relieving all of your fears. So tonight, you should go. Ask questions, learn, make peace, be bold."

Kagome looked up at her mother and wiped a single tear from her cheek. "I have this feeling that once I open up to him, I won't be able to stop. No one else could possibly understand everything we went through besides him… but I am one hundred percent scared of starting over."

"Then you have grown wiser." Mariko said softly, pulling her closer. "If you aren't scared, you aren't living, dear. We understand better than most the possibilities, and the consequences, of great love."

"Momma…" the young miko said sadly, squeezing her mother back.

Her mother was right. Love creates infinite possibilities, good and bad, but this one was literally doomed before it began unless she and Sesshoumaru put their heads together to prevent the end of everything they cared about… for the second time. Realizing that simple and ineffable truth ignited a spark, and a wave of stubborn resolution and determination filled Kagome with purpose.

'I want to save them. We can do it together. I believe that. But I have to want happiness for myself for this to work.' Kagome realized, lifting her chin. 'And I do. I think I have for a while now. Why am I hiding from it?'

The challenge was a great one but she wanted to be happy, wanted Sesshoumaru to be happy, and wanted their friends to survive to share the future of the West. There was only one way to accomplish it and it didn't involve crying in her bathroom doorway. She scrubbed the few tears from her eyes, stepped out of Mariko's embrace, and stood taller before reaching over to turn on the shower.

"Here we go, I guess."

"That's a good start," her mother chuckled, walking out of the room.

Twenty minutes later, Kagome had the damp mass of her long dark hair slung over one shoulder and one lean leg propped up on the toilet lid, shaving her calf with a look of concentration. When her mother appeared a moment later, Kagome chuckled nervously as self-awareness overpowered her dexterity. Small nicks and cuts appeared up and down her pale legs.

"I haven't done this in a long time…"

Mariko chuckled but, with only the bath towel on, it was the first time she noticed how lean and muscular her daughter had become. A shiver of knowing skittered down her mother's spine. Fighting demons, healing the sick, and protecting an entire village had strengthened and matured Kagome. Her daughter had chosen the more difficult path so many times for the sake of others. Just this one night, Mariko hoped her daughter could simply be a woman.

"Now," her mother clapped, "let's pick out something lovely to wear, hm?"

"Ah!" Kagome shouted, pinning her mother with a fear-stricken look. "I just realized I have nothing to wear! Do you have anything I could borrow, Momma?"

"My dresses won't turn any heads, Kagome, but I think-" Mariko said distractedly, rifling through her daughter's small closet. "Ah, here it is! Now this suits the occasion."

"Wow…" Kagome whispered.

The dress her mother peeled from the closet was an inky midnight blue from neck to hem. Dainty cap sleeves accented the shoulders and a plunging neckline gave birth to a herd of butterflies in the young miko's stomach. Combined with the light-catching shimmer of the fabric, the floor-length gown reminded Kagome of the night sky over Edo. The floor-length skirt moved like water as her mother passed the gown over and Kagome ran the silken fabric between her fingers.

"It's beautiful, Momma. Where in the world did it come from?"

"If I told you it was bought for just this occasion, what would you say?" Mariko said with a curious tilt of her head.

Kagome giggled and crossed the room to warmly hug her mother.

"That I love you," she chuckled, then pulled away, "and thank the kami because I know I have nothing else besides priestess robes. That is… a lot of skin, though." Kagome examined the dress and turned it around on the hanger. "Kami in heaven, there's almost no back!" Wide, sapphire eyes twinkled with embarrassment and worry but then she chuckled. "What would Kaede say?"

"Your mentor? I haven't a clue but I don't imagine he'll complain." Mariko winked.

"Momma!"

The two women laughed as her mother hung the dress behind the door.

"Now, we need to do something with your hair."

"Good luck…" Kagome said sarcastically.

The rest of the hour passed quickly as Kagome prepared to go out on her first modern date. She was just slipping a delicate golden chain around her neck when a knock at the door echoed up the stairs.

"Oh kami…" the young woman whispered, paling from the vanity stool.

"I'll get it!" her mother chirped happily, gathering bathroom towels and smiling at the picture of elegance that her daughter made. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Kagome said quietly, slipping on a pair of modest black heels.

"Kagome?" Mariko said sweetly, earning a cautious look from the vanity, "You look beautiful."

"Thanks, Momma."

…

Outside on the street, Sesshoumaru straightened his jacket for the third time, still staring at the clock on the dashboard of his car.

"Five hundred years and you still render This One nervous," he admitted in the privacy of his car.

The only woman in the world who ever had. And ever would. Even in his youth, females were fascinating, even exciting, but none had ever made him question himself and his place in the world. Challenged the very foundations of his being. None but her. Kagome's demands for him to be honest with himself were taxing and uncomfortable. Only made worth it for the passion they had shared when he had finally understood the god-like empathy that existed as a bedfellow to a strong sense of justice, all wrapped up in a powerful human woman. The daiyoukai's reminiscing was cut short when the phone in his breast pocket vibrated.

"Are you there yet?" from Shippou flashed on the screen. In rapid succession, three more messages popped up:

"Don't forget to give her the flowers. They were her favorite. But I guess you know that."

"And tell her I'll see her tomorrow. Kikuko's coming, too."

"Better yet, get Grandma to take a picture of the two of you and send it to us!"

Experienced fingers typed back a simple "Very well" and he hoped it would be enough to console Shippou for now. Or at least to stop the barrage of harsh pings when his nerves were already on edge.

The daiyoukai couldn't find it in himself to be annoyed over his adopted heir's excitement. Shippou was as nervous about reconnecting with Kagome as Sesshoumaru was. This version of Kagome, the one broken by grief and rebuilt by her own strength, was the one they would come to know together in the coming years. He fully expected the changes in her scent and body to be complete. This fully-realized woman was the Mate that would be his and every nerve in his body tingled with knowing. Suddenly, his youki swelled violently and searing heat swirled within the cabin of the car, rustling the bouquet in the passenger's seat, as his aura searched desperately for the living Mate his memory recalled.

"No." Sesshoumaru growled firmly. "Not now."

Even his practiced, iron control took several minutes to contain the ravenous, desperate youki that erupted. He had finally rid himself of the assassin's curse and was instantly afflicted with another. Sesshoumaru continued to strain against the clambering of his youki to break free… to find her… to claim her once again. The missing piece of his aura was gone, had died with her as the Bond should, but his energy was fighting to find it now that his living Mate existed on the same plane.

After several minutes of growling and building walls around his errant energy, youki settled once more into a calm second skin and the inside of the car fell eerily quiet. His youki continued to swarm like angry wasps in the confines of his body but too much time had already been wasted searching for what was long gone. Heavy, deep breaths calmed the remaining spikes in energy and finally, Sesshoumaru stepped into the street with flowers and a cloth bag in hand and looked up at the warm lights of a home on the hill above.

Noting the thick coating of snow and ice on the tall shrine stairs, it seemed a fitting use of his excess, overexcitable youki to simply melt it all as he ascended. Kagome would be coming back down with him after all and it had been too long since he'd had to take her human needs into account. A delicate sniff left and right told him no one was on the street in the darkening twilight. His aura flared to life with a thought and distorted the air as a halo of youki swirled around Sesshoumaru's body. It soothed his instincts to turn around and see the expanse of dripping, dark gray concrete steps below.

From the edge of the shrine yard, ears slightly muted by the human glamour could hear the details of conversations inside the house. They were the sounds of a family: the teasing voice of Souta, the grumbling of her grandfather, and Mariko Higurashi's shushes and flitting around in the kitchen. The whole pack was involved in this evening then. He gripped the bag and hoped they would be mollified over losing Kagome's first night at home in months. In the damp cold of the dark shrine yard and with no witnesses to the monumental accomplishment this evening already was, Sesshoumaru reached out and knocked on the Higurashi's door.

…

Kagome heard the knock at the door, heard Mariko slide it open, and the young miko's heart started pounding in the shelter of her small bedroom. The butterflies in her stomach leapt to life again. The tenor of her mother's happy voice echoed up the stairs past the blood rushing in her ears.

"I'm sure she'll be ready in a moment. Would you like to sit down?"

The smooth, deep voice that replied sent those damn butterflies into a frenzy.

"No, thank you," Sesshoumaru said simply. "These are for you and Higurashi-san."

"Oh, how nice! Thank you."

"You look different tonight," Souta said goadingly, coming in from the living room. "The usual suit is boring and stuffy. This one is slick. Trying to impress her?"

"Souta," his mother chided, "mind your manners."

"Hm," Sesshoumaru dismissed, "I imagine your strategy when courting involves considering only your own comfort."

Kagome nearly snorted at his reply but was surprised to hear them speak so comfortably. Then she remembered that according to her mother they saw each other every week since her last trip back. Souta Higurashi and Sesshoumaru had bonded enough in her absence to tease each other. Life is strange.

"Nuh- No!" the teenager sputtered. "I haven't started dating yet. Girls are too much trouble."

"Then allow me to suggest pride in your appearance," the daiyoukai continued smoothly, "if ever you grant them your attention."

The creak of a kitchen chair meant Souta flopped down to pout and Kagome clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"You're too serious for Kagome," the teen continued, still grumbling. "How does she handle you?"

Sesshoumaru raised his chin and a new predatory gleam in the daiyoukai's disguised brown eyes made Souta lean away just slightly.

"Expertly," the daiyoukai rumbled. Sharp eyes pierced the dark of the stairwell where he knew his Mate was hesitating. Listening.

"He's not entirely wrong, dear," Mariko cut in, patting her son's shoulder. "Women appreciate effort. Remember that."

"Whatever. What's taking her so long?"

That was Kagome's cue to start down the stairs.

'I can do this. We can do this.'

The young woman slowly and nervously descended the stairs. Her eyes were downcast to avoid falling but near the last few, cerulean orbs fixed magnetically to the kitchen door to watch her date shift the bouquet of delicate flowers to his other arm and gently tug the cuffs of his dress shirt back down over his wrists. Kagome couldn't see his face yet but his suit was neat, dark charcoal, and tailored to his tall frame. His aura was swirling with the prickly uncertainty that reminded her of his request for her to tour the gallery in the West.

'He's nervous, too?'

Not that anyone but her would recognize it. And knowing it was a relief. If he was half as nervous as she was, tonight would be a lot easier.

Sesshoumaru straightened himself, righting the lapel of his suit jacket as her mother continued to make small talk. He felt her, scented her, before he saw her. A warm brush of reiki against his senses and the scents of blooming camelias and spring rain. Large blue eyes glittered from the shadows of the stairwell and the clack of a heel on the floor alerted the family to Kagome's presence.

From only a few feet and five hundred years away, disguised honey-brown met stormy, constant blue and Kagome and Sesshoumaru locked eyes for the first time in over half a year. Her gentle smile of welcome instantly softened the sharp cut of apprehension in his eyes and he heard her heart pick up speed. The inuyoukai watched her eyes roam his modern form and he stood still before her appraisal. He was hers, and her interest was welcome.

Sesshoumaru looked different than before but not just because he was disguised. Despite the glamour turning his silver hair to black and his golden eyes to a warm, gold-flecked brown, it was still undeniably him. The trim, dark gray suit and complementary golden tie was almost the exact shade of his real eyes. His hair was tied back in a low tail but it suited the modern version of a daiyoukai-turned-man. Sesshoumaru's mature, angular face hadn't aged in any way that mattered but his expressive eyes, watching her approach, were caught between flickers of tender nostalgia and guarded excitement. She could appreciate why.

What was more, his aura felt whole and strong again. He felt much more like the Sesshoumaru she knew. There was more to it. A subtle darkness that she might be bold enough to ask him about later, but the vibrant chartreuse cocoon of his youki was back to its full strength and then some. Kagome admired his power but the proud angle of his head as he straightened and approached put her at ease the most. The way his aura met hers and held it, embraced her reiki like an extension of itself. An involuntary and genuine smile lit Kagome's face over the discoveries. He was okay. A further softening of Sesshoumaru's gaze and a small quirk of his lips was his answer. Her probing had not gone unnoticed but neither had her appearance.

The dress the color of the deep ocean washed around her small kitten heels as she stepped toward him. His eyes followed the lines of the garment upward and he drank in the curves that undulated beneath it. A low V-neck dipped dangerously closely to impropriety. He nearly purred discovering the twinkle of a delicate golden chain that mirrored the deep dip of the neckline and a small eight-pointed star hung dangerously just above her breasts. A convenient excuse to explain his diverted attention later. Her long, dark hair was down but accentuated with large curls left free to flirt with her shoulders and the neckline of her dress. The mass of thick, ebony waves was pulled over one shoulder and the entire right side of her neck was left exposed. He could see the rapid beat of her heart down the naked and unmarked column of her neck. Sesshoumaru's free hand twitched at his side and he almost lost the battle to reach out to caress the becoming flush of her cheeks. His Mate was exquisite. She was alive and smiling just for him.

Tonight would be heaven and hell in one, he swallowed.

"Wow, sis! You look…" Souta peeked in from the kitchen with wide eyes.

"Perfect." Sesshoumaru finished, stepping forward with the bouquet of lilies in hand.

"Thank you," Kagome said quietly, still watching him. "You look very handsome. I like the tie." she grinned.

"A personal touch. I am glad you approve." He inclined his head and held out the bouquet. "These are for you."

Kagome accepted the flowers and sniffed them politely.

"Thank you." Her eyes softened and grew heavy as she recalled a memory. "They remind me of the white lilies that grow around the river… I love that field. Wait." Sapphire eyes searched him for a clue. "Did you know?"

"Of course. We visit the woods together many times before you leave Edo."

"I'm glad to hear it," she sighed. "Thank you. They're beautiful."

"You are welcome. You seem well recovered since the spring. I am glad to see it."

"I am," Kagome smiled. "It was hard to get back to feeling like myself but I had some help. Lots of help."

"As you always will. I have another gift for you," he raised a hand over her right shoulder and Kagome's eyes sparkled with curiosity, watching it. "The night is cold."

The hand hovering over her skin began to produce a length of ivory fur that materialized as he traced the line of her shoulder, looping the pelt along her back, and finishing with a flick of his wrist. The weight of the plush ivory fur wrap settled around her arms. Kagome couldn't help her wonder and hugged the warm fur up under her chin. It took effort not to bury her nose in it because surely it smelled like him. Inuyoukai take such things much more personally, she reminded herself. Maybe later.

"I had almost forgotten you wore this… I hadn't thought of a coat. The dress was just-" Kagome chuckled nervously and shook her head, sending the loose curls into a thick wave. "Never mind. Thank you again."

"You are welcome. Shall we?" he asked eagerly, holding out an arm.

"Yes." Kagome smiled, looping her arm through his.

The light touch of her fingers on his arm were enough to begin soothing his fractured soul. She was here, healthy, and his for the first time in centuries. His youki swam with contentment and peace. Kagome felt it and her eyes softened.

"Oh! Wait just a second!" Mariko blurted, standing quickly and grabbing her phone from the table. "Shippou asked me to take a picture."

"How could we forget?" Sesshoumaru said with a sigh.

"He knows you're here?" Kagome questioned, gazing sweetly up at him.

"There is nothing he does not know about this evening. He has pestered me endlessly about tonight since your arrival."

"I've only been home about two and a half hours?" Sesshoumaru only raised an eyebrow and quirked a lip, and Kagome chuckled. "That's hilarious. I can't wait to see him."

"I could invite him to dinner, if you would like," the daiyoukai offered honestly.

"I- I can wait until tomorrow," the miko said, her eyes flitting from the pelt to his, "to see him."

Amber and sapphire held each other's gaze and an honest moment of openness passed between them. She wanted him to herself. The inuyoukai in him preened at the compliment of her possessiveness.

"If you wish."

"I do."

While they were staring warmly at each other, Mariko snapped the picture. The couple were oblivious to their audience until the harsh, artificial click of the phone camera startled her daughter back into the present.

"Momma!"

"Go on, you two. Have fun and let me know when, or if, you'll be back tonight."

"Momma!"

Unaffected, the daiyoukai guided his embarrassed date to the entryway.

"Thank you again, Higurashi-san." Sesshoumaru said, sliding the front door open. Kagome stepped through and waved good-bye to her family.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Souta teased.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at the smug teenager and slid the door closed a little too forcefully. Finally, they were on their way.

"Well, now what are we going to do for dinner?" the family matriarch clapped.

"Mom, what's in the bag he brought?"

"I forgot to look…"

Kagome's grandfather chose that moment to come back into the room.

"Ah, dad, you just missed Kagome. She looks so lovely." Mariko said, rifling through the gift bag. "Oh, what a sweet little cake. Oh, and it's from that shop Kagome and her friends liked. Right around the corner from her high school, I think?"

"Going out with that demon Lord…" the old man grumbled, sitting at the table.

"Ex-demon Lord," Mariko corrected, "who has been a respectful, loyal patron and the sole reason the shrine has survived this long, Dad."

"Bah!" the old man grumbled.

Mariko pulled a stout clay jar from inside the canvas bag. It was sealed with wax and marked with a label that was peeling and yellowed with age. His daughter set the jar down on the table and the old man's eyes went wide.

"You sure you feel that way when he's brought you a jar of sake with a date too old to read?"

The old man's eyes went wide for a moment before he cleared his throat and pridefully frowned.

"Well, maybe he isn't all bad… Should be useful for ceremonial purposes if nothing else."

Souta and Mariko chuckled and Kagome's family settled in for the night without her.

…

Outside, the crunching walk through the snow and gravel was silent… and awkward. Determined to make progress tonight, Kagome meant to break the silence first but Sesshoumaru beat her to it.

"Thank you."

"Hm? For what?" Kagome asked, laughing gently, "I haven't done anything yet."

"For agreeing to come tonight. Losing the time with your family cannot have been your first choice."

"No, not at first… but then I started thinking."

"Hm?"

The anticipation was showing in his youki again and Kagome almost grinned. He was getting easier to read. Those teasing, prickly bursts of youki that lashed out in her direction. She wholly captivated his attention without meaning to.

"I'm ready to be really happy again," she said resolutely, gripping his arm just a little tighter. "Not just with my job and my friends but I'm ready to be working toward something meaningful and… and I wanted you, this you, to hear that first. I think we can do that together in the future." The startled look in his dark eyes made Kagome second-guess herself. "Is that weird?"

"Anything but," he said quietly past the stab of regret in his chest. "Your meaningful meddling will bring much happiness to all involved."

"No spoilers, Sesshoumaru," she playfully lifted her chin, "but I'm glad to hear it."

"Never, Kagome," he rumbled.

"So, where are we going?" she asked quickly, avoiding his eyes as the simple use of her name warmed her face once again.

Her questioning gaze up at him and excited, quick steps were such ordinary, inconsequential things… but it was those things he had come to miss almost as much as the feel of her in his arms. His Mate's chatter to fill the silence, her furious glare over trivial arguments, and the sounds of her gentle breathing and reassuring beat of her heart as she slept beside him… Realizing the Kagome that was here now, clinging to his arm, was still waiting for an answer, Sesshoumaru cleared his throat and faced her as they walked through the shallow snow. His relieved aura smoothed itself into a cocoon around them both.

"One of my acquaintances recommended a new restaurant in the business district. I thought to begin the evening there."

"Begin?" Curious blue eyes blinked his way with an excited grin.

"Careful," he dodged, jerking his chin at the first step.

"Thanks," she grinned. "Ugh. Heels and stairs… What was I thinking? Don't let me fall?"

"Not down the stairs at any rate," Sesshoumaru said mysteriously.

"Did you just-"

"Focus, miko."

As she took the first step down, Kagome's grip tightened on Sesshoumaru's bicep and she sent an apologetic look his way… thankfully, just after he had hidden the knowing smirk. His Mate was many things but "graceful" was not one of them. She would not fall as long as it was within his power, however. It would ruin the evening for their only destination to be the emergency room.

"The atmosphere in the city at night lends itself to many activities," Sesshoumaru said as they descended, "Since you are here for a short time and rarely get the chance to explore, you should decide the path of the evening."

"Anything I want to do? That's the plan?" she grinned.

"Within reason," came his guarded reply.

"Oh, fun!" she chirped, already thinking with a finger to her chin. "Do you go out to eat very often?"

"For networking purposes, and occasionally with Shippou and his pack."

"Aww, family dinners with him must be so much fun."

"It is chaos," he nearly growled, "but the events are not without their advantages. Most youkai long to live in family groups but it is a privilege afforded to fewer and fewer as time goes on. Their kits are very fortunate."

"I'm glad you all have each other then," she grinned contentedly.

"An example of your early efforts to create something from nothing."

"You weren't so happy about it when I tricked you into talking with him for the first time…" she teased, tipping her chin up and away.

"If you are referring to the incident in the kitsune village, no I was not."

"Shippou was so happy to talk with you, though! I have no idea why you were intimidated by a conversation with a child."

"His age had nothing to do with it. You thrust a pup into a conversation about his place in a pack to which he did not yet belong. You were lucky I had already considered his future in the West at the time or else his disappointment might have doomed our relationship to become something much less familial."

"Oh, I suppose he would've been disappointed. Thank you, then, for thinking ahead," Kagome smiled, "You had already thought about him? He never told me that."

"Hm."

"I'm gonna need more than that, Sesshoumaru."

"Over dinner perhaps," he said honestly. "Here is my car."

They had made it down the stairs, across the street, and to his car in the blink of an eye. As they rounded the sleek black sedan, Kagome was suddenly much less nervous and more excited to learn more about him. The door to the car opened and he helped her inside, checking to make sure she was safely within before joining her.

Kagome watched curiously as a demon she'd watched utterly eviscerate foes and transform into a titanic fluff monster sat innocently in the driver's seat and pressed a button on the dash to start the car. He dropped a phone in the center console and buckled a seatbelt before Kagome burst out into giggles, no longer able to hold it in.

"What is it you find so humorous?"

"Pfft! Do you see yourself? Sesshoumaru, Lord of the West, buckling his seatbelt!" Honey-brown eyes narrowed and a frown replaced the curious tilt of his head. "Oh, come on? It's funny!"

"It is required by human law-"

"No, no I understand that, Sesshoumaru, but you can literally fly. You could have leapt down all of those stairs in a second. I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you, I swear, but this whole situation just… You really are a modern man. It's going to take some getting used to," Kagome finished, still giggling.

The release of his seatbelt, a whoosh of air across her face, and two gleaming golden eyes that matched that silken tie were blinking inches away from hers. Fangs lengthened in front of her eyes as he spoke with a growl.

"A clever predator hides in plain sight. A mask is just that, and I lose nothing by wearing it." Her own seatbelt was clicked into place as he continued to loom over Kagome with an arm braced against the door. "Do not forget what we are simply because it is easier for you to conceal your true nature."

"When did you- No, I haven't but…" she swallowed and turned her face away from him. "You've made your point…"

"Hm," he rumbled, satisfied she understood and retreating back to his own seat.

"Is it that bad? Hiding yourself?" came the quiet question.

He didn't make eye contact as the anger and tightness in his chest began to dissipate. Kagome quickly figured out that his appearance and his human ways were anything but new to him. Sesshoumaru had been playing a role for centuries now. Of course it was a sore spot.

"The effort is minimal. The effect and the constancy of it is frustrating."

Sesshoumaru himself had been conscious for decades of the absurdity of wearing a disguise day in and day out. It wasn't truly fear keeping him from showing himself but to remain close to her family and within arm's reach of the well, it was a necessary evil. Plus, after a few centuries, it was either join the human's society or disappear completely. Shippou had convinced him of the former. A sort of macabre masquerade had developed through the ages where the two youkai took turns choosing professions, inventing personas, and then spectacular deaths in different lifetimes. New disguises, new names, new lives over and over. Shippou had chosen their occupations this time in honor of the age when they would finally see Kagome again.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," Kagome sighed, staring into her lap.

The scent of wood ashes grew stronger in the cabin and juniper that had signaled her excitement was drowned by it. When the bitter shochu of her guilt joined the other two, he nearly crushed a section of the steering wheel. He had done this. Though she'd never know it, or at least be centuries in recognizing it, the apology still burned like bile in his throat but his Kagome had hammered the need for reconciliation into his brain long ago.

'Fitting,' Sesshoumaru thought darkly, 'that the evening should begin with my apologies.'

The rustle of fabric beside him was familiar nervous fidgeting that his young Mate never learned to stop. She was still smoothing perfectly wrinkle-free sections of her glittering, midnight skirt when his voice broke the silence of the car.

"No. Forgive my reaction. My frustrations with the modern world are my own. You are not to blame for stating the obvious."

"My mother said tonight should help me to get to know you. This you. This is part of that so… it's okay. We're okay. I'm sorry it frustrates you," Kagome said. He watched her hand lift from her lap before returning to rest on the other.

Kagome's posture relaxed back into her seat and she unconsciously petted the ivory fur piled in her lap. Satisfied he hadn't ruined the evening before they'd left, Sesshoumaru shifted into gear and they were finally on their way. Once they were clear of her neighborhood, Kagome was too busy absorbing the unfamiliar sights of her native home. Streetlights flashed through the windows and Kagome watched the city go by with curiosity.

"I haven't really wandered outside the neighborhood in so long… So many new buildings…"

"Indeed. This sector is growing rapidly thanks to careful investment and steering."

"Spoken like a true businessman. So what kind of business do you do?" Kagome looked over at her date, relaxing back into the seat once again. The scent of her curiosity, that crisp juniper, rose sharply from the miko beside him. "You mentioned 'networking' earlier."

"Hospital administration," he said quickly, hoping not to have to delve into details.

"Seriously?" Kagome's face scrunched. "How did you end up doing that?"

"It is a long story but reinventing a life every fifty years is tiresome. Shippou chose medicine as his wanted occupation this time so I chose a related position I could manage."

"How do you like it?"

"Well enough to continue but not enough to repeat. Your kit, however, thrives in the medical environment. His natural energy and boisterous personality make him a favorite among his colleagues and patients. He chose well for himself this time."

"Helping a human village healer and her apprentice probably had something to do with it. He knew a lot about human injuries even as a kid."

"Your influence extends much farther than that. He works in the pediatric departments and excels. His compassion and acceptance have grown with him. Shippou asserts that is why he enjoys his work." Kagome brightened with a smile, imagining her Shippou entertaining kids stuck in a hospital. "However, I suspect it to be because he and his charges possess the same level of maturity."

"Stop it!" she giggled, lightly swatting his arm, "Shippou is amazing and I'm sure he's great at his job."

"He is," Sesshoumaru admitted quietly, shifting the car into a higher gear as they sped down the street. "As were you."

"'Village miko' isn't a very demanding position. It's frustrating knowing there are drugs and treatments here in the future to help the villagers but now I'm too afraid of causing problems or altering history to bring anything back. Kami, we were so dumb about that as kids."

"It is the nature of maturity to reflect on the foolishness of youth. Your son does it more frequently than most but mostly in terms of lost opportunities for mischief."

"Ha! That sounds about right."

The city continued to stream by the windows and the silence shifted from long to awkward once more. Eventually, Kagome became absorbed in the lights and sights outside, and completely forgot to make small talk. She was smiling at a particularly ostentations billboard when a brush of skin against her arm caught her attention. Goosebumps skittered up and down her arms that had little to do with the temperature.

"Are you cold?" Sesshoumaru asked, still caressing her arm.

"No… I'm fine. Are you?"

"No."

He wanted her permission. Kagome relaxed at his touch and shifted toward him just enough for him to understand. Sesshoumaru felt the ease in her reiki and seized it. His hesitant but eager hand slid down, tracing a path around her elbow, and across her forearm. Finally, warm fingertips brushed against the back of her hand and Kagome turned her palm over to allow his touch. He immediately laced their fingers together. Through their threaded hands, Sesshoumaru could feel the quickening of her pulse and the fragrant scent of yuzu filled the car.

In the past, holding her hand had been his earliest allowance so he thought to start there. It was torture being confined in the car, drowning in her scent and aura, and being so unable to touch her. Though perhaps it was too soon because the pounding of her heart began to echo loudly in his ears. The inuyoukai relaxed his grip and began to pull away. To his surprise, her fingers tightly squeezed his hand and a gentle, blushing grin settled on her face. Kagome felt the moment his youki exhaled with contentment and she grinned wider. Sesshoumaru tightened his grip once more and stroked her hand with his thumb.

Nothing else was said as the journey finally ended and his car slowed to a stop in front of a black, street side canopy where a young man in a black vest waited behind a short podium. Sesshoumaru reluctantly released her hand before the valet approached. Kagome watched her own hand tuck itself back into the ivory fur pooled in her lap and was still smiling as her date rolled down the window.

"Good evening, sir," the young man chirped at Sesshoumaru, "Please allow me to park your car?"

"Hm."

Sesshoumaru stood smoothly from the driver's seat and relinquished the keys. The valet swallowed and stepped away to give the tall and imposing daiyoukai some space. He waited, frozen, while Sesshoumaru opened the passenger's side door to help Kagome out. She immediately began straightening her dress, and he helped settle the fur around her shoulders and the across the low back of the gown. The young valet's eyes lingered longer than they should have and Sesshoumaru glared over the top of the car. The young man caught his eye and turned a cherry red before slipping quickly into the driver's seat and peeling away.

"What was that all about?"

"Slow, discourteous service," the inu growled.

"And that was probably," Kagome grinned, "because your death glare was scaring the life out of him. Disguise or not, your aura still screams 'angry youkai Lord' when you're miffed. That, at least, has not changed."

"Hn."

In his frustration with young human and the situation and himself, Sesshoumaru missed the approach of her hand. Kagome heard the sharp inhale when she laid a warm palm against his cheek and turned his head to face her. Kagome could feel the ire building in his aura and decided to stop it in its tracks the way she knew her inuyoukai date would most directly understand. Some things, indeed, never change.

"Whatever happens tonight, I want you to know I'm here with you. I'm happy to be here with you and only you, Sesshoumaru. Don't ruin the night by making the staff pee their pants, okay?"

His cheek pressed against her hand and his youki began to settle into smooth waves around them both once again.

"So crass, miko," he shook his head, clearly mollified.

Sesshoumaru looped their arms together once more and completely ignored the doormen as the couple walked through the entrance, still in conversation and oblivious to the rest of the room.

"You met your brother, right?" Kagome chuckled.

"Hardly a commendable reference. Rather a confirmation."

Without breaking stride the daiyoukai acknowledged the maître d', confirming the reservation, and they followed the young man through the dimly lit room while Kagome chuckled comfortably beside her date.

"He didn't learn it all from Miroku is all I'm saying," she chuckled.

"No indeed but he did teach you some interesting inuyoukai habits, if I recall."

"You're cheating now, Sesshoumaru," she pouted teasingly, "You know what happens in the future. Back home, I haven't shown my hand yet."

"Not in its entirety… but you will in time," he said lowly, leaning closer to her ear. "Youkai courtship requires practice and you are an eager student in the early days."

Deep ocean eyes sparkled up at him with challenge. "I do love learning new things," Kagome met his gaze then broke into a gentle smile, "but I haven't seen you since summer to ask anything about what's expected of us in the spring. I do know that I have no clue what 'bonding' means for us now and you said we should do better this time around. I thought that since we're together now, how about a bonding lesson?" Kagome said happily. "This 'eager student' should make the most of her time, don't you think?"

She thought she might throw him off but swore a mischievous fang flashed in the low light as a slight quirk of his mouth scared her more than a sneer in this situation.

"Very well, miko," he purred, glancing around the room. His eyes were clearly scanning the room for something specific but Kagome couldn't guess what it was. Suddenly, a grimace twisted his handsome features and he blinked it away. "Ah… Lesson one: you must stake your claim to your future Mate or else another may attempt to take what is yours."

"By 'what is mine' you mean…"

"This Sesshoumaru is yours."

"I am not a huge fan of that terminology," Kagome frowned.

"It is our way. Humans create far more useless terms to overcomplicate the same desires. Such a plethora of words to describe the many stages of courting and Mating," he shook his head.

"That's fair," she conceded quickly. Boyfriend, fiancé, husband… he would be called all of those things in turn in the modern day since Katsurou had gotten his way. Kagome welcomed the small butterfly storm in her chest when she thought about visiting the West in the spring. They would be openly claiming each other for the first time. He had made that much clear.

'And when did I stop minding and start looking forward to it so much?'

Sesshoumaru interrupted her new discovery with his lesson.

"Hm. What you must realize that I am not the only one who should be wary of usurpers," Sesshoumaru jerked his chin to the right where a table of three women were clearly and unabashedly undressing him with their eyes over half-empty cocktail glasses, "but I understand that possessiveness does not run as rampant in the human world. Your claim to This One, while initially not your own, should be made known. Publicly and for both of our sakes."

"Got it."

A dubious and Lordly look crossed his face. "Do you?"

Just then, Kagome's usually placid aura spiked with energy, she took a deep breath, and a gentle roll of her shoulders sent the curls over her breasts tumbling sideways to caress her arm instead. Sesshoumaru tried not to watch but the swell of her bosom as she inhaled drew his attention. She felt the spike of heat in his youki and heard him breathe deeper. The Mate-starved inuyoukai beside her cursed the damnable golden star that tumbled in the valley between her breasts as she tested his self-control in the middle of the restaurant.

Mercifully, the pelt around Kagome's shoulders slipped as she stretched and one end fell to the dark wood floor with a whisper. Without prompting and glad for the distraction, Sesshoumaru calmly reached down to retrieve it and Kagome took the opportunity to wink playfully over his head at the table of ogling women. Sesshoumaru tucked the pelt back into the crook of her elbow then offered her his arm once more. The sour faces around the offending table were their own reward.

"Thank you." Kagome said innocently, grinning like a cat and taking his arm once again.

A silver eyebrow arched as they resumed following the maître d' once more. "It appears I was incorrect."

"I have no idea what you mean." Kagome said with a raise of her chin.

"You have always been a singularly terrible liar."

"Perhaps. Am I ready for lesson two?" she chirped brightly, still grinning.

"It would seem so," Sesshoumaru admitted through a smirk of his own.

He only shook his head as the maître d' finally stopped at a plush corner booth beneath a twinkling glass sculpture of a bank of clouds.

"How lovely…" the young woman marveled.

Sesshoumaru helped her to her seat and the dinner officially began. After several sour faces and rejections, he ordered a bottle of red wine Kagome approved of and they toasted to the start of the evening. Sesshoumaru opened up surprisingly quickly and discussed favorite individual dishes with her, telling her of his unsurprising fondness for raw meat over cooked dishes and an aversion to strong flavors.

While listening to a short tirade about the quality of beef, Kagome quickly realized he was happy to share this preference in her company because she knew who he really was. Knowing he preferred meat to rice or vegetables because he was an inuyoukai and not a mortal man was a subtle way he was letting her in. She listened, fascinated, as he explained how their diets had changed over time from hunting to a begrudging appreciation of mass agriculture. Kagome agreed actually. While the work was hard, in Edo there was a richness to the food she cooked that wasn't quite the same here. The questions and discoveries went back and forth until they were both ready to order.

Conversation continued to shift between Shippou and his family, Sesshoumaru's current occupation, and her family and the shrine. Kagome avoided potential landmines in discussing Ren and the others in the West because they hadn't discussed who he was still in contact with.

Before long, the food occupied their mouths instead but only until Kagome openly became more interested in watching him eat than her own meal. There was no nobility lost between the past and present. The man even ate with authority, she mused. Finally, he forcefully requested she stop staring and continue their meal while considering where they might go after this.

Conversation continued to flow with the exchange of plates and the refilling of glasses. Sometime after the food was finished, the couple found themselves talking of the future and the equality, or lack thereof, of their union and how it had remained one of the young priestess's concerns for over a year.

"But you are so much older than I am, no offense. So much more life experience to draw from. Doesn't that bother you at all?"

"Your age was never a concern," he quickly answered, "Despite your youth, you are accomplished in healing and martial arts and have a quick mind for diplomacy and justice. You have already found a way to unite four Lands which were nearly in conflict once again by mollifying the East and North during your first Council meeting. Ancient prejudices are harder to overcome with long memories. Your human nature alone provides the perspective we lack. The East was poised to reclaim their strength and dominance until you intervened. Your youth is a benefit, not a hindrance."

The ease with which he gave this speech suggested he had definitely had to give it before. Maybe many times.

"That makes me feel better. Kouhei is a good person, I think, and he wants what you want. I hope to bring him into the fold more often. Did you know he saved a unique colony of humans and youkai from a volcano last year? Well, my last year."

"Indeed. He is an eager ally for the union of our cultures," Sesshoumaru bit out. Kagome was surprised the glass was still in one piece with the amount acid in his tone.

"Yikes. Sounds like there's a story there."

"You requested that I not spoil the future."

"Right. Whatever it is, we'll handle it, I guess."

The simple use of "we" made his chest ache again. In that instance, she was right. They would handle Kouhei's attempt at usurpation together… and he would enjoy the punishment even less this time if their bond was strengthened. It was that moment, caught between the past and the present, that a familiar scent wafted across their table and Sesshoumaru stiffened.

"Of course…" he growled.

"Hm?" Kagome questioned, still sparkling over the wine and interesting topic. Across from her, her date had gone stiff as a board. "Are you okay?"

"This cannot be helped."

"What is it?"

Sesshoumaru jerked his head in the direction of a trim, middle-aged man in a crisp black suit who walked past their table, stopped, then circled back to pass by as if he had forgotten something. The stranger tried to politely crane his head to verify who it was before passing once more and politely bowing to Sesshoumaru at the end of the table.

"Ah, Mikazuki-san! It is you!" the newcomer beamed. "It's not often I see our chairman out and about on the weeknights. This restaurant is one of our favorites so I would have seen you, I think."

The disguised brown eyes of Mikazuki closed in exasperation before her date faced a man she had never seen before. Curiosity sparkled in Kagome's eyes as Sesshoumaru cut his own at her obvious amusement. Her eyes sent the question before he replied.

'Chairman, huh?'

"No, indeed. This is a special occasion," he said in a crisp tone, watching Kagome smile politely at their guest, "or else I would be in my office refining your proposal, Hachi-san."

"So you did get the proposal I sent over today? Good, good." Hachi nodded, his eyes flicking over to Kagome for a moment. "My secretary was supposed to confirm but had to leave early today. My main concern is still combining the two lowest performing clinics in our district to-"

Sesshoumaru cleared his throat and poured another small glass of wine for Kagome and she thanked him, which snapped Hachi out of his diatribe.

"Oh, forgive me, Mikazuki. I interrupted your dinner." Kagome saw the question eating the man alive and wondered if he dared… "I am sorry, miss…?"

He did.

"Higurashi. Kagome Higurashi." she said politely, inclining her head.

"A pleasure, Miss Higurashi."

"The pleasure is mine, Hachi-san. Are you enjoying your evening?"

"Indeed! My wife enjoys their wine selection, as well." Hachi lost the internal war not to pry any further despite Sesshoumaru's clearly threatening aura. "Forgive me but… How do you know the chairman, if I may ask? Have you known each other long?"

Sesshoumaru gave nothing away as he raised his wine glass but the quirk of a grin caught her eye before the glass met his lips. Kagome sat straighter and met the inquisitive eyes of the businessman with equal confidence.

"We have, actually. We've known each other since we were teenagers. The stories I could tell you about your chairman…" she grinned, leaning forward onto the table.

"Really?" Hachi glanced nervously at Sesshoumaru, who merely sat back and folded his arms, "We have never met a family member or acquaintance of Mikazuki-san. How exciting!"

"No? Well, what stories could I tell you?" she teased, watching Sesshoumaru's steel mask of indifference slide into place, "Ah! I clearly remember one particularly amusing squabble with his brother about a family heirloom, an antique sword if I remember, that resulted in some pretty intense battles… They really went after each other for a few years over it."

The wine glass in Sesshoumaru's hand froze halfway to his lips and the liquid swirled in the glass like the warning anger in his honey-flecked eyes. As far as Kagome was concerned, it was an added benefit to the slack jaw of his coworker. All the while, Kagome's steel blue eyes teased the inuyoukai's in challenge. Oblivious to the tête-à-tête Kagome was enjoying, Hachi barreled ahead and couldn't contain his excitement.

"I guessed our chairman came from an old family but he has never confirmed it. Shame about that, though. Family legal battles can be quite intense…" Kagome grinned like a cat as Hachi trailed off, watching the young woman tease his icy chairman. "Mikazuki-san is a motivated but mysterious man, though. He's always working one moment and then gone like the wind. Are you related then?"

"No, I'm his- Well… A family friend, I suppose?"

The flash, there and gone again, of revenge in the possessive mahogany eyes across the table, and Kagome was suddenly unsure of what to say as Sesshoumaru cleared his throat and placed his glass back on the table. The young miko picked hers back up and decided to conceal her own amused grin behind the nearly empty cup.

"Fiancée." Sesshoumaru said coolly. "Kagome is my fiancée, Hachi-san."

The wine-garbled choke across the table was reward enough but Hachi's stunned silence was its own victory. The miko continued to clear her throat of the wine as the elder man processed and Sesshoumaru handed her his napkin in addition to her own.

"Are you all right?" he asked gently.

The sharp cut of her watering eyes was immensely satisfying.

"Fuh- Fiancée?!" the older man sputtered.

"Hm." The daiyoukai continued, lifting Kagome's hand from the table as she laid down the now-wet napkin. "My future wife. Now, if you will excuse us…" he said firmly, placing a gentle kiss on the back of her captive hand and staring into her mildly murderous blue eyes.

"I offer my congratulations then! O- Oh!" Hachi sputtered, finally realizing his intrusion, "Of course. Forgive me. Enjoy your evening, sir. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hm." Sesshoumaru answered dismissively, still staring mirthfully into the glaring sapphire eyes of his lovely date.

Hachi walked away but glanced back three or four times, and nearly took out a waiter as he ripped his phone from his pocket to text everyone in the gossip chain about the first and only woman anyone had ever caught the notorious bachelor chairman with.

There would be hell to pay as the personal inquiries poured in but Sesshoumaru could not find the will to care. He was already too caught up in absorbing everything about the falsely angry priestess across from him. From the way her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, the flash of her throat as she recovered from the wine, to the subtle pinch of her dark brows as she decided whether or not to be properly angry… Kagome was an open book to him.

Most telling was the spike in scent Kagome tried to hide behind the false anger the second the word "fiancée" had left his lips. The spicy pepper of her anger was equal to the fragile and sweet wisteria of her happiness that now blanketed the table. Everything about her was as perfect and painful as the memories he'd cherished for so long. But this Kagome, unlike his memories, had a few new choice words for him.

"You ass!" she hissed. "Okay, smooth operator, first of all, that was uncalled for. You owe me dessert at minimum for the red wine still burning in my nose. Second, 'future wife,' Sesshoumaru?" Kagome fumed quietly, trying to withdraw her hand. He held it firmly and placed another lingering kiss on the back. "Seriously?!"

"Not by the standards of the past but in the vernacular of the present, yes. Would you prefer to be referenced as the lovely dalliance I was seen with only once? Hachi is at this moment telling the entire board about this evening. I will explain our presence together however you wish but our relationship is as I said."

"I- Well, no- Wait, do you really never go out?" Kagome's curiosity overwhelmed her anger just long enough to wonder.

"I do not." The exasperation in his tone spoke of loneliness and fatigue as he released her to sit up straighter. "Humans seem to have a genetic predisposition to meddle and the few I see on a regular basis are no different. My personal life is a matter of great interest to them all. Especially the women with unmarried female relatives," he sighed. "Perhaps now they will finally leave me in peace."

"Glad I could help," Kagome said sarcastically.

"You are angry?"

Ignoring the curious canine tilt of his head as he asked, Kagome grew suspicious of the elegance of the evening. The dress, the flowers, the fancy restaurant… They were all just for fun, right? His coworkers – his job here in the future – had nothing to do with choosing this place, right?

"I thought we were just having dinner together. All of a sudden, I'm a ward against omiai. I'm confused now, Sesshoumaru," her voice lowered with her brow, "Is that why you wanted-"

"Do not insult me by thinking my human coworkers in this invented lifetime have anything to do with wanting to be with you."

"Okay…" she said slowly, watching the ire-glazed hurt in his face, "I believe you but, mild heart attack aside, the problem is that I have to go back, Sesshoumaru. You know I do. You have to know that I can't stay here and be your fiancée."

"Not yet," he said seriously, leaning back into the plush booth, "but when you succeed in the past, that is exactly what will happen." An invisible weight settled onto his broad shoulders and his eyes were half-lidded and when they met hers again. "I envy the future version of myself that will never know the pain of losing you."

"Oh Sesshoumaru," she blinked slowly, "I am trying but I don't know- I can't guarantee this will work." He silently nodded. It was the truth from her perspective but his young Mate wasn't yet aware of how much had already changed. "The past-you doesn't make it incredibly easy," she continued.

"You are equally guilty," he calmly accused. Kagome started to sputter a denial when Sesshoumaru continued. "Was it not your request that you remain in the village for two years?"

"And I stand by it. I have a life there. A life you seem to think is irrelevant compared to yours."

"Hardly. My frustration over your remaining in the village has nothing to do with prejudice and everything to do with you specifically."

"You're gonna have to break that down for me."

"Very well," he nearly growled. This was a lesson Sesshoumaru was determined to teach. "Lesson two, as requested."

A pale, blunt-nailed hand reached across the table and her eyes followed. Something in his eyes shifted from mirth to predator and as his hand breached the space between them, it took effort from Kagome not to lean away. The candlelight flickered and danced in the chandelier. Sesshoumaru grasped the nearly empty bottle of wine and began to trickle what was left of the dark red liquid into her glass, noting the caution in her eyes.

"My desire for you, even in the past, has rendered me like this pitiful bottle. Nearly empty, barely wetted… and yet," he said, tipping the bottle further, "I continue to acquiesce to your requests for time, effort, and patience."

His smoldering golden gaze broke free of the glamour and captivated her entirely. The low light made the iridescent gold of his real eyes flicker with the candlelight.

"Youkai bond with their partners nearly constantly during the courting phase. Learn from each other and test their compatibility. Your request to be left alone is unprecedented, stressful, and at odds with our ways. The younger version of myself thought it would not affect me but it did, Kagome. It does," he stressed the last word. The wine continued to trickle loudly into her half-full glass. "The discomfort and exhaustion your absence causes are a heavy burden. In the past, I refused to tell you this out of respect for you, your profession, and your loss. This time it must be different."

Kagome heard him speaking, raptly watching his lips move. He was making an important point, she knew he was, but for the life of her, Kagome could not remember what they were talking about as a thick lock of his hair escaped the low ponytail and brushed against his cheek. The tip of his angular jaw to the side changed the angle of his gaze. Inhuman, predatory eyes now flickered with power as he all but enthralled her, and she suddenly felt like a small animal caught in a trap. The last few drops of wine plipped into her glass as he continued to captivate her attention.

"Despite my good intentions," he continued, leaning forward, "the drain of your reticence is taking its toll, Kagome," Sesshoumaru set the bottle on the table with a loud rap and Kagome jumped in her seat, the trance broken, "even in the past."

He enjoyed her nervous swallow from the across the table as its own reward as she warily eyed her wine glass. He watched her fingers comb through the ivory fur piled in her lap as she thought about how to respond.

"I… I am trying to understand. Give me a moment," she held up a hand and her brow pinched. "My one condition to our deal is hurting you? I assumed you wouldn't mind that I wasn't around. What is it you want me to do?"

"Many things," he said darkly, sending goosebumps down her arms, "but when you return, there is a trial awaiting you already which has nothing to do with the Bond. Once that task is complete, I ask that you consider strengthening our connection by freeing yourself for my company more often. Especially in the next few months. You will have to initiate but I will welcome it, I assure you."

"Okay, I can do that. You have a point. I'm sorry I never thought about your… needs. But, Sesshoumaru, a trial?"

"Hm. Of commitment… and power. You possess enough of both to overcome it if you react wisely. I will tell you more before you return. This I swear," he quickly added at her furrowed brow and consternating look, "but back to the subject of furthering the Bond for the autumn rites: our auras are connected and my youki recognizes you even now as my future Mate, which is why your absence is affecting me," he paused and Kagome blinked several times, trying to hide her happiness that he was beginning to feel the same way.

"Does that mean… you're starting to like me? As me? In the past?"

"Our auras are connected, miko. Such an early bond only occurs when a couple shares mutual affection."

"For crying out loud," Kagome groaned, "can you just say 'yes'?"

"Very well. Yes. You could say I have begun to 'like' you in the past though comparing shallow attraction to an aura bond is like comparing a raindrop to a tempest."

"Wow."

"Indeed," Sesshoumaru was rewarded with the unfamiliar scent of lavender drifting around the table as he continued, "but you have yet to acknowledge our connection openly in the simplest way to both my court and your village."

"It's not as if the whole Palace doesn't know about us, and the villagers won't care, but I suppose you're not wrong. How do I do that?"

"Touch." Sesshoumaru said simply, reaching across the table and asking the question with his eyes.

Her calloused left hand fisted in the fur once more before sliding over the table and brushing his. His long fingers immediately twisted and slid beneath her palm. Fingertips tickled the warm skin beneath and her fingers twitched with the electric sensation of small traces of youki and reiki mingling in the space between their hands.

"Care and attention," he purred.

Long fingers slid around her wrist, back across her palm, and he slowly laced their fingers together and lifted their joined hands.

"For reasons I have never known, you are hesitant to embrace me in the early days of our courtship. When I ask, you cite court opinions, hygiene, and even exhaustion as the causes but I know they were lies." He tapped the side of his nose. "You seem so earnest in your denials that I allow you your secrets but given our new purpose, now I would like to know why you bring these feelings to the West."

"Are you sure?" she said, loosening her grip on his hand. "I think I know."

"Hm."

"Okay. The short answer is fear," she said sadly, withdrawing to the other side of the table.

Sesshoumaru lowered his chin in consideration. "Of what exactly?"

"First, of myself," she shook her head with a wry grin, "I'm afraid of loving again. Don't- don't say anything. Just listen." Kagome said quickly to his parted lips. "I know it's silly. I know what starting over means and doesn't mean. I've had a lot of time to think about it." She braced herself to admit the truth. "Inuyasha and I were so young. He was my best friend and we became lovers that treated each other as best friends. It was unique but ours. This, with you, is entirely different… and it scares me."

"A Bond created between Mates is more intimate than friendship, true, but you are an accomplished woman by any standards, compared to my title. We have discussed this before. How is courting so different?"

"You know exactly who you are and what you want. You have an agenda and you're…" Her eyes searched her lap for strength and her cheeks were flushed when she looked up at him again, "you're a man, Sesshoumaru. It's different."

"I am male, true, but I fail to see how that-"

"No, not just a male," Kagome shook her head, grinning morosely, "A man. Matured, self-aware, and a leader of a nation, for all intents and purposes. A man who knows himself and his place in the world and eventually where I'll fit in it, even if I don't. A human village is not a Palace, a Fortress, an army-"

"Six Fortresses, two Palaces, and seven armies, miko, though you could not know that yet."

"See? I can't manage that! Twenty-eight humans, one kitsune, and five square kilometers is nothing compared to that."

"You know yourself, Kagome, but who you become as Lady of the West will not change you in the ways that matter. Second, my age and experience provide no benefit where you are concerned. Your personality assures it," he scoffed.

"If you say so." A pale smile lights her face. "I suppose I would be different than anyone you've been with before, too."

"In nearly every way, but there was only one who held my attention for so long. You know the story already and only you could understand the invisible scars. In this way, we are exactly alike. A Mate stolen away by cruelty beyond our control and a chance to begin again."

"I never thought about it that way before…"

"Hm."

The simple truth of their pasts had never occurred to her and Kagome wondered how she never put their similarities together.

"Okay then, second," she shook her head, refocusing, "you're the Lord of the West. Daiyoukai-filled Palace aside, there are people depending on you, and watching us, and you expect me to fill a role I feel like I'm completely unprepared for."

"You are not unprepared, miko. Hear me," he leaned forward, taking her hand again, "Your role in Edo, in the human village, has already prepared you to stand at my side. Your responsibility, attention, and proficiency are borne of skill and study as much as my own experiences in the West taught me about ruling a Cardinal Land. Our combined intelligence breathes new life into a dying system of war and inequity. You were not raised to rule but you will excel in your position regardless."

"Really?" she smiled hopefully.

"Hm. What's more, you are forgetting that you are not managing the West alone. The mark of true leadership is placing the right individuals in positions that are mutually beneficial. Beyond those that I have already employed, if you have questions, you should always lean on your Mate in times of uncertainty. A ruling pair ensures balance, security, and progress. Youkai know this and expect us to act as a unit." He stopped to finish his wine. "Though I will admittedly be hesitant to immediately accept such sweeping changes as the ones you suggest in your second year as the Western Lady. Be patient."

"You are pretty stubborn."

"Pot, kettle, miko."

"Yeah, you're right," Kagome chuckled. "Let's say you're right about me-" His eyes cut sharply in her direction and the faintest, human growl slipped out.

"Fine," she sighed, "you're right about that and I can handle my new role. My last big fear is failing to prevent this cataclysm in the West I don't know anything about. I already care about all of you. If I fail, if I die all over again and change nothing, not only will I have failed you but I'll have failed them, too. I'm scared that whoever is planning is already holding all the cards. If you couldn't see it, how can I?"

"Secession before trying is the answer? Is your solution, then, to deny us all your company by hiding in the human village," he said bitingly, "even if your small attentions have already changed the future for the better? Giving up before trying does not sound like the miko I knew."

"No, I'm not-"

"You were right to think that I was injured last time when you were here. In the past, not long from now, I was cursed by an evil even my mother had never known before. This curse directly led to the destruction of the West. My weakness, my failure to prevent or overcome it, allows our enemies the opportunity to bring our Land to its knees. That same curse that plagued me for centuries is gone because of your 'minimal' efforts in the past. What's more, my mother now lives."

"She was gone?" Kagome said sadly, to which he nodded, "Cursed? You were ill for a long time?" Sesshoumaru nodded again. "So it happened before the attack on the West?"

"Hm. An assassin infiltrated the Palace during the tournament of heirs and took full advantage of the chaos. It was the first of several attempts on my life, all perpetrated by the same enemy."

"How awful… Katsurou tried to get me to come to that but I refused him." Kagome shook her head. "Your mother was killed, too? But why are things changing? I haven't really done anything yet."

"No?" Sesshoumaru said dubiously. "Covert activities with the former Lady of the West, sending the Captain to carry letters against my orders, gathering whatever information from our allies you are able to in order to uncover the hidden truth is 'nothing' to you? The early results are better than even I anticipated."

"How do you know about all of that?" she accused.

"It happened five hundred years ago, Kagome," he said curtly, "and youkai have long memories. My revived mother is overly excited about the prospect of interfering in our lives once more. Expect her to visit while you are here."

"Uh oh…" Kagome chuckled, then looked into his eyes. "Are you really okay now?" Sesshoumaru felt critical, dark ocean eyes search him for evidence of pain and injury. "After the curse, I mean. Your aura is… changed but I can't find anything else out of order."

"I am healthy once more only because you sought to interfere. The changes you sense in my youki have little to do with the affliction," he said with a tone of finality. Kagome assumed it was something he didn't want to talk about and let it go.

"I'm glad you're better then."

He leaned across the table, stroking her arm with two long fingers, and hooded honey-brown eyes.

"I would show you my appreciation in full if you allowed it," he purred, "but you are not ready for the pleasures we share as a Mated pair."

"Sesshoumaru!" she whispered, frowning and looking around, "And no, I can't- I'm not ready for that yet."

Her aura swam with discomfort and her scent took on the bite of shochu liquor. Her guilt and regret he remembered too well.

"I know." He grinned and his large hand squeezed her small one in comfort. "I know," he said more gently. "Calm yourself."

"I know this is hard for you, too. It must be. Seeing this version of me who doesn't know anything about such an intimate relationship that hasn't happened yet."

"It would be if you were anything less than yourself," he said deeply, "but you are here and we have hope. That is enough. Spending tonight in your presence is enough for now." He sounded as if he meant it but was still convincing himself of the truth behind it.

A memory clicked in her brain and Kagome brightened and folded her arms with an accusatory stare.

"Speaking of spending the night: what in all the hells did you mean by 'spend the night' in your return letter from Ren? I had only asked you to be honest with me, to prod you to think about your feelings, and you took that as an invitation to spend the night with me? What do you expect-"

"Sleep." Sesshoumaru said simply, "I meant to sleep one night in your home before we return to the West. Did you assume otherwise?"

"Who wouldn't?" she hissed.

"Have I ever resorted to deception?" The haughty tip of his chin was playful as he continued. "Tonight, I told you the bond is draining me. In the past, I believe that a full night in your presence will allow me to recover. Though, admittedly, the wording was intended to arouse your suspicions."

"Kami in heaven! You idiot! I thought- Do you know what I thought- I told Ren what you wrote!" she stuttered.

"And he appreciated the joke as well, if I recall."

"Well, call him and ask him if you can't remember. They're still around, too, right?"

Silence hung between them and Kagome warred with asking the question.

"They are not."

Kagome's hands retreated beneath the table and her face knit with concern.

"You can't ask him about it now?"

The question hardened the air and the warm candlelight flickered across suddenly serious faces.

"I cannot." Hard, dark eyes bored into hers. "Nor Kenshin, his Mate, or their pups."

"Are they…?" she breathed, losing the words.

"They all died when the Western Fortress fell."

Kagome's fingers fisted in the ivory fur in her lap. The smiling faces of the inu brothers and Tomomi flashed in her mind, and the rapid beat of her heart and the smell of salt prompted Sesshoumaru to reach across the table once more.

"There was nothing you could have done then to save them-"

She was faster, withdrawing from the table in one fluid motion, and the length of his pelt fell to the floor beside the booth.

"I need a minute…" he heard her whisper as she escaped him.

Kagome turned from the table and walked as stoically to the bathroom as she could before locking the door and burying her face in her hands. The fat teardrops filled her palms as she thought about her friends. There were children? Had everyone died? In moments, her face was soaked. Sesshoumaru would know about the tears anyway. Kagome had logically known for a while now that what happened in the West had been a tragedy. Hearing him confirm what she suspected only made her heart squeeze with agony once more. Who else that she already cared for had been lost?

…

Ryota, General of the Western Army, breathed in the familiar dusty, sandstone air of the Western mountains through a wide, black nose. His winter-white fur rippled in the chilly breeze and the clouds ripped to shreds beneath his sizeable black claws. The frigid caves of the North were nostalgic but this place had been his home for over four centuries. It would be a relief to have someone other than kin to converse with, he sighed.

The hastily written correspondence from the West had been vague about his reason for returning immediately but more than likely, some human upstart was threatening the borders again and Sesshoumaru wanted his help corralling them with as few soldiers as possible before the snows settled in. Strange, though, that the handwriting had been so frantic and he couldn't place it.

Perhaps they'd call Kouji back from the South, as well. The thought brought a pang of longing to his chest. Their Bond was stretched thin at such a great distance but his Mate's happiness had been clear enough more days than not. Kouji missed his own kin more than he'd admit, but Ryota missed him terribly. Just as he was fantasizing about what their reunion might be like, a hoarse shout from the Fortress training yards snagged his attention.

"Can I not touch land first?" he growled lowly.

"Apologies, Ryota-taishou," the soldier bowed, "but you are desperately needed! This way, quickly!"

The great bear landed hard in the training fields, scattering gravel and already shrinking back into a humanoid form. The armed soldier that met him was frantic and smelled heavily of fear and exhaustion. Ryota straightened his armor and tied his thick, brown ponytail back as the soldier nearly danced with impatience.

"Calm yourself, Bakurei. What is happening? Surely, nothing can be so-"

"Milord is injured- dying-" the young hawk youkai huffed between breaths, trying to explain, "Sesshoumaru-sama is going mad in the Palace- Kikuko-sama commands you to come at once to help hold him… else the whole Palace might be lost to his rage!"

Ryota lost focus as the words "going mad" and "dying" left the young youkai's lips. It made no sense. Sesshoumaru? Dying? The great inu's aura was indeed ballooning to a dangerous level inside the Palace, that he could feel for himself, but why in all the hells would he transform inside? When Ryota left the West, Sesshoumaru was healthy and all that had occurred in his absence was the tournament and Council meetings. Suddenly, from across the Western stronghold, the inudaiyoukai's massive aura was swallowed within a much darker, malicious energy until Sesshoumaru's youki was suffocated entirely. Ryota's eyes blew wide and he broke into a sprint, growling for the soldier to follow.

"Tell me everything as we run! Now!"

The soldier recounted what he knew about the attempt on Sesshoumaru's life and explained that the inu Lord's condition had been steadily deteriorating over the past three days. The fits had gone from bloody and frustrated to outright violent. Two servants had been eviscerated, and Sesshoumaru no longer recognized friend from foe when he was awake. Kenshin had prepared a stock of paralyzing droughts before he left to keep the Western Lord subdued but his panicked, primal youki was burning through it faster and faster with every dose. Soon, nothing would be capable of keeping him under as he fought to live against a curse no one could cure or even aid.

"Has no one had the sense to fetch Kagome-sama?!" the bear growled.

"She is missing, General, and apparently out of our reach until further notice."

"Like hell! You bastards aren't looking hard enough! Where is Kikuko?"

"With milord but-"

"Clear the Palace and arouse the soldiers to stand alert in the Fortress! Those that can transform should remain within. Clear all of the staff from the stronghold to the forest below!"

"At once, General, but-"

"Now, Bakurei!"

Ryota stopped listening and skidded to a halt in the courtyard as Sesshoumaru's aura exploded within the Palace, sending massive chunks of the mountain raining down on the lower levels and guest wing. A mournful, hollow howl rattled between the mountains and was clipped by an angry yelp. The General dodged several boulders as he tried to see through the debris. Clouds of dust shielded the family wing from view but a roar from within shook the mountain and Ryota felt the dark, twisted aura of something rabid and unnatural swell from within it.

"Sesshoumaru! Can you hear me?" he bellowed.

"Ryota!" Kikuko yelled from within the debris. Her voice was raspy and broke as she tried to call to him. "Stop him, Ryota! He's gone mad!"

"… Mad?" the General whispered to himself.

A silver paw emerged from the dust into the Palace courtyard, followed by another that was dripping with dark blood. Gleaming red eyes shone through the haze and the hiss of acid preceded a dark specter that Ryota was not prepared for. This beast might have been his Lord once but the decrepit, feral daiyoukai that plodded out before him was no longer Sesshoumaru. He had no idea what to call it.

"By the kami, what has happened to you…?"

The ice blue eyes of Ryota glistened with sorrow as a rail-thin silver inu drooled toxic, foamy spittle below haunted red-black eyes. His ivory coat was patched and stained with blood, and oozing purple gashes crisscrossed his chest leaving bloody stripes in once-lustrous fur and a dripping trail as the mad inu stalked single-mindedly toward the Fortress. Ryota nearly vomited seeing and scenting the cavernous open wound on his right shoulder. The entire limb looked to be barely attached to his body anymore, wobbling with every step, and the leg itself was drenched in fresh blood.

"Stop him!" Kikuko said tiredly, "He will die if he escapes the Palace!"

"How can I? If I subdue him, I may kill him anyway!"

"Please, Ryota! Do something… anything… please…"

Kikuko and her blood-spattered kimono began to collapse from her place on the ledge of the ruined family wing when two healers caught her limp body in time and dragged her deeper into the family wing. Ryota gritted his fangs and refocused on the inudaiyoukai stumbling across the Palace grounds. The bear General resolved to do whatever he could but there was no way the fight wouldn't end in Sesshoumaru's suffering or death. Thank the kami Kouji wasn't here to stop him… This was going to get messy. Frost crept along the ground at Ryota's feet, heralding his transformation.

"Dammit, Kagome," Ryota snarled, fangs lengthening and his eyes bleeding into full crystalline blue, "where are you?"

…

The bathroom lock clicked and Sesshoumaru's head snapped up. Kagome emerged from the bathroom to find Sesshoumaru standing against the burgundy wallpaper with her wrap in hand. He met her watery, red eyes and held them as he approached.

"I am sorry to have upset you."

"What happened upsets me, not you. I'm sorry I ran away. I'm okay."

"I understand the need," he said quietly. "Shall we?"

Sesshoumaru held up the wrap for her to step into but instead, she ducked beneath it and seized his waist in a fierce hug. Not wanting to be gawked at, Sesshoumaru pulled her into an alcove between the kitchens and the restrooms and hid them from view. Kagome tucked her head into his chest and pressed her body against his. Her breathing grew deeper as the emotions fought to break free again.

"I'm sorry… Just for a minute. I just-" she breathed, "I just need a minute."

The length of his fur fell to the floor as he wrapped his arms around her. One hand cradled her body to his and the other cupped her head against his chest. She was no longer crying but the immense despair over being able to do nothing was a feeling he knew well. All the power in the world couldn't change the past. Only her. Kagome still only understood a fraction of what was at stake but her intense empathy and understanding were old friends of his. Her watery whisper was almost too soft for him to hear.

"I'm sorry I ruined dinner."

"You ruined nothing," the inu rumbled, holding her tighter. "I have already enjoyed this evening more than any other in recent memory."

"I'm still scared. Please don't move yet."

"I would stay here all night if that was your wish," he said gently, tucking a stray raven curl behind her ear.

He took in her warring emotions, the rapid changes in her scent and aura, and clenching and unclenching her small fists in his jacket. It was a few minutes before the silence was broken with a question.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Hm?" he said, pressing his nose to her hair and inhaling her scent. Kagome felt comforted, stayed very still and allowed his touch.

Sesshoumaru unfurled from around her and stood tall, withdrawing slightly and watching her try to find the right words.

"If you were the one going back to the past, what would you change?" she sniffled. "Besides the obvious, I mean."

"A personal request?"

Sapphire eyes peeked up as she continued to press against him. "What would Sesshoumaru the man – male – want to change about the past? Just for himself?"

"Do you intend to fulfill this request, miko?"

"Mm hmm…" she nodded against his shirt. "I want to know."

"You ask such simple questions, Kagome." Sesshoumaru hooked a finger beneath her chin and raised her lapis gaze to his. "I would claim you the moment you emerge from the well. I would make you mine that much longer, no matter what the future held." Golden eyes bled through the disguise and narrowed in fierce determination as he held her tighter. "Nothing would stop him either, if he knew what I know."

Her response was to turn bright red, grip his jacket tighter, and bury her face in his chest once more. His miko's heart was hammering loudly though from pure fear or excitement, it was impossible to decipher. The multitude of scents swirling around the restaurant made it more and more difficult to tell. He had a sudden urge to scoop her up. To run fast and far, and to render her breathless and boneless in the ways he enjoyed most until her doubt and shyness was as forgotten as her embarrassment. It would happen in time, but perhaps just this one thing-

"I can't do that. Something else?" Her wavering, muffled reply startled him out of contemplating flight and Sesshoumaru chuckled despite the seriousness of the moment.

"No, I imagine not. You did ask."

"I guess I did. So… what else?"

Kagome was still recovering and avoiding his eyes when the daiyoukai proposed something he hoped sounded less traumatic.

"A kiss then. The next time we meet." He watched the top of head nod and grinned to himself. "Look me in the eye, miko, and swear it."

Kagome wiped her eyes one more time and released his jacket to step back and face him.

"I can. I promise. That's much easier," she said with a sigh.

"I will know if you do not," he said seriously. Sesshoumaru retrieved and covered her shoulders with the wrap and offered her his arm. "Do you wish to go home now? Or would you still like to go somewhere else?"

"I'm okay. I don't want to go home yet. Besides…." Kagome patted her damp cheeks one more time and took a deep breath in and out before accepting his arm. "I know what I want to do now," she grinned. "I- We need a drink."

Kagome took a step away from the bathrooms and her date matched stride. Soon they were walking out the front door of the restaurant and into the chilly night air, linked together in amiable conversation once more.

"The wine did not suffice?" the inu asked curiously.

"A real drink," Kagome nodded firmly. "Never really been out for one of those."

Sesshoumaru thought for a moment as they walked and tried to recall the mutterings of the office hallways and post-meeting banter as they crossed the threshold of the restaurant into the dark, winter night. He produced the valet ticket and continued ignoring the staff to answer Kagome's question.

"There are several lounges near the hospital if you would prefer something stronger than wine. You surprise me-"

"No, not a stuffy cocktail bar," Kagome grimaced, waving a hand. "I mean a real drink with real people. I am way more comfortable with the average human than suits and heels."

"I imagine the start of the evening was not to your taste then," Sesshoumaru brooded.

"No! Dinner was wonderful!" Kagome squeezed his arm and smiled up at him. "No, it was fun to dress up and, well…"

"Hm?" he wondered impatiently.

"You look so handsome in a suit. I'm glad to see that side of you, Sesshoumaru. Dinner was fun. I learned a lot about you. Thank you."

The valet pulled up with the black sedan just seconds before Kagome pulled Sesshoumaru down to press her warm lips against his cool cheek. He froze and held her arm, keeping her close. She smiled beneath the innocent kiss and let her lips linger for another moment. The warmth of his aura built around them and kept building until she withdrew to ask him, eyes still smiling, but a white-hot flare of youki nearly shoved her backwards. Without warning, the muscles in his jaw hardened to granite. Sesshoumaru suddenly grunted as if in pain and pulled away, slamming his eyes shut and turning away from her. He staggered over to a brick piling under the building next door and hid from view. Kagome looked around and then followed, worried, and found him backed against the brick and breathing heavily.

"What's wrong? I'm sorry if-"

"No. Stay away."

Kagome was confused until she realized his youki was swelling and twisting, and he was fighting to control it. She didn't know why but there were too many eyes around and a daiyoukai in plain sight was a bad time for all involved. The miko quickly took in two doormen, a valet, a few people around on the sidewalk across the street, and never mind the restaurant full of people behind them.

'Oh no…'

The valet was out of the car and walking their way with keys in hand and a polite but confused smile. Sesshoumaru went still as a low growl built in his throat and the territorial inu stalked around the corner with a murderous, dark stare for the approaching young man.

'Oh no!'

Realizing this young man was unknowingly walking toward his death, Kagome jumped into action and jogged in heels to snatch the keys from the unwitting valet.

"Thanks!" she said quickly, jogging back to Sesshoumaru.

He was still glaring but his feet stayed planted. Sesshoumaru's aura continued to thrash against his control and sweat began to bead on his forehead. Golden eyes bleeding crimson at the corners peeked over at her from the shield of his dark bangs. He was too busy fighting and too frustrated to speak, silently asking for her help.

"I've got you…" she said gently, her hand dangling the keys for him to take. "Can you drive?" Kagome asked quietly. His only response to nod once then slam his eyes closed again with a grunt. "Come on then. The windows are tinted. The car's our best shot. Stand as straight as you can and I'll get us to the car." Kagome looped her arm through his and hauled him around to the waiting car, checking quickly for onlookers and flashing the confused staff an apologetic smile before shoving the inudaiyoukai down into the driver's seat. "You're in the car," she whispered, "It's safe. I'm getting in and then you can drive, okay?"

Dark bangs fluttered just slightly as he silently nodded and placed claw-tipped hands on the steering wheel. Youki thrummed throughout the car, rustling the flowers in the backseat, singeing her skin. When a particularly brutal wave escaped and Kagome hissed, grasping her forearm, Sesshoumaru growled his frustrations with himself. A clawed hand reached for the door handle to escape, to stop himself from hurting her yet again, but a cool hand laid against his cheek.

"It's fine," Kagome said firmly, "I'm fine but we need to get you out of here." The young woman craned her neck and looked up and down the dark street to find an alleyway or an empty…. "There!" she exclaimed, "There's a parking deck up ahead. Just get in there, find a dark corner, and we'll be fine."

The barely-contained demon in the driver's seat had his escape route and only growled what Kagome thought was an assent before peeling away. The car whined against his rough treatment and the young miko was jostled in the seat as Sesshoumaru did his best not to tear the wheel from the dash. The entrance to the abandoned parking deck was unguarded and Sesshoumaru plowed through the red and white gate arm and made a hard left up to the second level. The squeal of the tires on the pavement echoed in his sensitive ears, amplifying already overflowing frustration.

His young Mate's rapid heartbeat and panicked breathing finally reached the inuyoukai's ears through the throbbing of his aura and there was instant regret. Kagome was scared. Of him? Of the car? The doubt and guilt clawed at his mind as the car whipped around ramps and barricades, taking them higher and deeper into concrete anonymity. Sweat dripped from his chin onto the collar of his white shirt. The effort to drive and maintain his composure was immense.

Kagome was trying to keep him distracted by making him drive, he knew, but her simple trust that he could manage this and himself was too great. She trusts too much… Fluorescent lights flashed through the windows and his sharp eyes caught her fingernails digging into the door handle while the other was fisting in the brilliant silk of her dress. Now he's angry at himself. No Mate should ever fear the other. He had broken that rule once before and was breaking it again.

Finally, mercifully, his youki receded and Sesshoumaru was left a damp, breathless, angry mess. Five levels in the air, the car slowed to a crawl and Sesshoumaru listened to the miko's heartbeat begin to pick up speed. Her reiki was unconsciously tangling with his escaped youki. It was assessing him, asking him, what was wrong. Sapphire eyes latched on to him from the shadows of the passenger's seat.

He could feel her concerned gaze but dared not face her yet. What explanation could he possibly give that wasn't the truth? Her curiosity alone couldn't answer the question that was burning on her tight lips. He realized in that moment that he never planned to tell her about this. Why? To spare her feelings? When he had been the one to make the declaration that they needed to deepen their relationship?

The car rounded another corner where other forgotten cars waited under flickering lights and Sesshoumaru pulled into a spot next to a dark column. His Mate's wavering voice broke the pregnant silence of the cabin with fractured whispers laced with panic.

"-just like him… Oh please, not again…" she breathed against the door. Kagome's shoulders rose and fell more quickly, shallowly building the panic he could nearly taste in the air. Lifetimes of human medical knowledge told him instantly that she was beginning to hyperventilate. "He said- You said it wasn't possible-" she coughs to hide a sob and the window fogs as she refuses to look at him.

'Fool,' he chastises himself. 'Of course she would equate this to my brother's loss of control.'

"Miko."

Her watery eyes fixate on his face and the welled teardrops she was trying to hold back roll quickly down her cheeks. The fear written on her face makes his stomach leaden and Kagome begins shaking her head when he speaks again.

"No, Kagome. This is not the same as Inuyasha's affliction. I should have warned you-"

The sound of the car door opening and slamming shut shocked him more than if she had slapped him. Again. He knows she won't get far this high off the ground but that doesn't stop him from jogging to catch up to her and leaving the driver's door open, pinging in futility in the empty space.

"Kagome, wait!"

"I don't want to talk- I can't do this again- Tonight wasn't supposed to be this! You said you were safe!"

"You must let me explain. This is not my father's ability. What I told you at the Council meeting was true."

A nearly inhuman growl ruptures from her throat and the inu stops walking, still thirty feet away. That was a warning growl if he knew anything about his future Mate. "All I wanted was one night!" The red-faced young woman holds up one shaking finger in his direction. "One! One night to just be a woman, out with a man, just for fun. But we can't do that can we? That's not us," she laughed sardonically, "All I wanted was one night without pain and heartache and worry and fear, but I got them all. Have you ever thought that maybe the best solution to this – to all of this – is that you and I never see each other again?"

"Kagome, you misundersta-"

"No, I'm serious. This is my fault, right? What just happened? I could feel your youki reaching for me, Sesshoumaru. Clawing at me like a dying beast trying to save itself from plummeting off an edge. So answer me this: What happens if I just disappear? If I never do that to you? What if I never let you do this to yourself?"

"Fine, miko," the inu snaps, his voice like ice, "In the short term, Rin will be executed. Immediately. In the long term, the West still collapses and its people with it. Without your presence, the only change will be that their deaths occur much sooner. Does that satisfy you?"

"But maybe not," Kagome chuckles wryly while she paces back and forth, "Maybe if this whole mess never gets off the ground, everything will work itself- Ow!"

Kagome's small heel wobbles on a loose pebble and her ankle buckles. A flurry of midnight blue silk and black curls toppled backward and Sesshoumaru dropped the glamour to reach her thirty feet away within the span of a second. He didn't lift her but stopped her fall and held her inches above the pavement. With one arm beneath her legs and the other firmly around her waist, the inudaiyoukai waited… waited for a small human woman to breathe. Her feet dangled in his hold. With a shuddering breath, the scent of her guilt pours forth and Kagome buries her face in her hands. Her sobs are quiet but he is patient. Sesshoumaru stays like a statue until a small, shaky voice reaches his ears.

"I'm so sorry… I'm sorry. I don't know where all that came from."

"From the same place as my loss of control." He leans down and brushed his nose against her hair, lower over her ear, tracing a path to her wet cheek. Lazy nuzzles against her face coax Kagome's breathing into deep, even breaths and she leans into his touch. They comfort each other, two lost beings, in the darkness of the garage. "Loneliness and despair," he finally admits, "which we can prevent if we continue to work together." Golden eyes capture her attention and she feels the deep relief of something familiar and constant finally settling around her. "Can you walk?"

"Yes," she nods.

"Then I will explain in the car," he rises with her in his arms, "where there are no small rocks or pavement to interrupt us."

Sesshoumaru gently sets her down and watches for signs of pain as she lowers her foot.

"You know," she sniffles beside him, testing her ankle, "your sense of humor is chronically ill-timed."

Sesshoumaru listens as her heart regains its steady rhythm and her breath evens out. They part around the black sedan and she opens the passenger side door.

"And yet you are nearly smiling," he says over the top of the car before disappearing into the driver's seat.

He watches her sit, assess her ankle with experienced fingers, and then pile the ivory pelt in her lap before facing him with curiosity and guilt in her eyes. Kagome stares into his face and then realizes something. The glamour is still gone. His golden eyes glow in the low light, and she wishes his hair was free of the tie and loose around his shoulders. Sesshoumaru notices her staring and sighs. A clawed hand swipes his face and his striking facial markings disappear beneath his touch.

"No, wait!" A small hand reaches out to grasp his wrist. "…Don't put it back on just yet. There's no one around, right? Can you just be you? For a little while?"

Her question is innocent and self-serving but he grins over the satisfaction that she prefers his natural state to the mask. The magenta stripes reappear and she grins.

"For you."

"So," the miko asks gently, "why is your youki acting like a petulant child?"

"I will explain on one condition."

"Okay…"

"You cannot blame yourself when the tale is through."

"I can't promise you that and you know it," she frowns.

"Hm. And yet…" Her head is quirked to the side as Kagome watches him intently. His mouth lifts in an awkward and nostalgic grin. "Hope is a never-ending bloom."

"My mother used to tell me that…" she says sweetly, "Did I-?"

"You told it to me once, shortly after a failed attempt at diplomacy when my anger piques, and the idiom helps explains my youki. We will be Mates, Kagome. Before the Council and the Lords and their families." A memory softens the harsh citrine of his eyes into a rainbow of morning sunrises. "The day is warm for autumn and the Rites are perfect. Later, when the festivities are at their end, I will lead you through the catacombs to the Bonding chamber and we become one. A Mated pair. My Mark is still raw upon your neck when sunlight first touches it days later."

"If you are trying to embarrass me into never asking about this again," she swallows, "it's working."

"The Mark is new and powerful and its pull is magnetic and addicting. I was not prepared for the possessiveness and the undeniable draw of your tireless and intoxicating love."

"Love?" Kagome whispered the word back at him like it was a secret. Like he had said it too loudly, too obviously, and too easily.

"Love, miko. Because our energies are so compatible, the Mark flourishes and we master its use, even though it is only one-sided."

"Because I never marked you, right?"

"Correct. The strength of the Bond grows as the seasons pass until I can no longer remember what it was like not to feel your presence in my mind and running wild in my blood," Kagome is openly smiling at him now, "but when you are taken – when you are killed – the loss was… Losing your presence in every moment of the day nearly drove me mad, as it does for all surviving Mates. In this one instance, my mother did not exaggerate the consequences."

Kagome's eyes flicker darkly and glisten with fresh guilt and doubt. "Then how can it still be better to go through with this?"

"I will not argue the past nor the future once again. The fact that you are alive, that we have reconnected, causes the Bond to flare and seek my Mate's energy. Because your aura continues to exist, the Bond will flare from time to time and attempt to find you. It is up to me to stifle it at such times."

"So my being here is hurting you?"

"No, belo-" Sesshoumaru said it easily, softly, before clenching his jaw and sighing. "No, Kagome, it is not. These incidents occur whether you are here or in the past. It will continue to occur until you reappear in my life or I take another Mate - which I will never do."

"But why not? If finding someone else would fix this, why wait for me? Why not move on in five hundred years, Sesshoumaru? It has been tearing me apart knowing you've been alone for so long."

"Could you forget our connection so easily? Select another with no insight into your life or past, or even your species?"

"No, but doesn't that just make us weak? Or selfish? Or just really picky?"

"I choose to believe it is because we have known the affections of a true Mate and refuse to accept less. I thought the bond I shared with Yaeko was true… until you. There is no comparison. You have no experience in our ways but believe me when I tell you, even our past Bond never felt one-sided. If you succeed in placing a Mark of your own, I may very nearly be your slave."

"Kami in heaven, don't say that," she grimaced, "That's isn't what I want from this."

"What do you want? Not tonight or tomorrow, but for your life? What do you wish for yourself?"

"I want to be happy and have purpose." Kagome faced him with fragile determination and hope in her eyes. "I want to live a life I know was useful and didn't hurt anyone. I think we can do that for each other. Lately," Kagome sighed and sat back in her seat, fingering the plush fur once again, "and I don't know if it's because I've been lonely, but lately I've wanted to find happiness in love again. There are moments in the past when you look at me and I think it might be possible, but then we get separated by a continent and a season and my head tells me it wasn't real but my heart keeps hoping. Is that as ridiculous as it sounds?"

"Not at all. Have you told this to the past version of myself?"

"No. Not explicitly anyway. I've asked you for things. Letters. Tried to keep us connected somehow. I don't think it's working though."

"And if I told you it was?"

"Is it?"

"That is a question for him but you should ask it." Sesshoumaru leaned forward and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. A shiver raised goosebumps on her arms. The back of his hand grazed her collarbone and heat crept up to Kagome's face for the hundredth time that evening. She surprised him then by grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers together.

"Then I will," she smiled, squeezing his hand.

"Your ankle?" he asked.

"It's fine. These shoes have to go though. I can't walk in these all night."

"Why do you need to walk, miko?" A silver eyebrow lifted in anticipation.

"Because we're going shopping," Kagome grinned mischievously.

"If we must," he frowned.

"We must," she winked. "Can't mingle with normal people looking like this."

"No? And why not?"

"You, for one, attract too much attention and I just want to be comfortable. I can admit that." Kagome craned her neck to check the clock on the dash and her eyes brightened when she smiled over at him. "It's only… nine-thirty! I've decided what we're doing next!"

"And that is?"

"I'll tell you when we get there. Can I borrow your phone?"

"Hm." Sesshoumaru nodded and produced the smartphone from his jacket pocket. "Ignore the messages from your impatient kit."

"Aww, poor Shippou…" she trailed off, already searching. "Ah ha! I hoped it was still there. Go to this address and then I'll tell you."

"Very well."

Twenty minutes later, Sesshoumaru parked a sleek black sedan in an uneven and poorly lit parking lot outside a derelict thrift store. The human glamour settled back into place without a gesture on his part and Kagome clapped her hands at the smooth and effortless way he used his power. Even with dark hair and eyes, he was devastating. He was also confused.

"Kagome, what do you-"

"We're going thrifting," she grinned, opening the car door and stepping out. His mischievous future Mate laid the ivory pelt in the passenger's seat before ducking back down to deliver the final blow, "and you have to wear whatever I pick out."

The narrowing of his eyes was a reward all its own but Kagome had expected much more pushback than his simple reply: "Within reason."

"Why?" she pouted.

"The scents attached to some of this clothing…" he sneered, rising from his seat and closing the car door.

"Oh, right. Okay, then barring any terrible smells, you'll wear whatever I pick out?"

"On one condition," he said with a wicked grin over the roof of the car.

"What?"

"You will wear whatever I choose, as well."

"Within reason," she parroted his condition with a smirk, "I'm not walking downtown with my ass hanging out, Sesshoumaru."

"Nor would I allow it."

"Possessive much?" Kagome folded her arms, unknowingly pushing her breasts up to flirt with that damned golden star. He nearly groaned.

"I could cite your health, your decency, and your profession but yes, since you did not list gruesome death on your list of entertainments for tonight, I would avoid such revealing garments for the safety of the male population."

"Ha! Who knows?" Kagome said with a chuckle. "You might look great in some short bicycle shorts and a tube top. Demons don't get cold, right?"

Sesshoumaru rounded the car in a flash and braced his arms on either side of her, caging Kagome against the cold metal. His face inched closer until his breath warmed her ear.

"If you are so eager to rid me of my clothes, miko, I can think of many more diverting ways to accomplish it."

"Sesshoumaru!" she giggled.

"Kagome," he said coolly, locking the car and offering his arm. The inu released her to hold the worn glass door open and she was practically glowing with excitement as she walked toward him. Already surveying the inside of the store, Sesshoumaru was taken by surprise by a sudden, warm peck on his cheek. It was more than simple happiness. It was a welcome and warm invitation to thoroughly enjoy the rest of the evening. Kagome was already happily greeting the disinterested store clerk when he stepped inside with a grin. She was several feet away and already immersed in the bright colors of an overstuffed rack when he admitted a simple, constant truth.

"You never fail to surprise me, beloved."

...

AN: See? Not forgotten. Half of the date: done! I have discovered that I'm less accomplished in writing actual romance than I am the gory bits, which was my takeaway from this LONG editing journey. As always, let me know what you think, what you liked, what you disliked; and I'll see you in the next chapter! Next time, Sesshoumaru attends a Higurashi family dinner, Shippou gets a surprise, and Kagome goes back to face the 'trial' he mentioned...