Chapter 2

"Is she going to wake up?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Soon."

"Oh…how soon?"

"Go play outside."

"But…"

"I'll call you when she awakens."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now go play."

"Ok…thank you, SesshouMaru-sama!"

~~*~~*~~*~~

There was a soft humming coming from somewhere nearby, but it wasn't half as soothing as the cool hand on her forehead. She turned into it, wanting it should cover her entire face if for only a moment, but there was pain. Not emotional, this time it was purely physical.

Kagome's hand cupped the spot on her neck that was stinging. It didn't help at all, and she tried to roll to her side, wanting to hug herself. Maybe that would help the pain go away.

He stopped her from moving, holding her shoulders to the bed, and bent over her to kiss the wound. She settled under his touch, her breathing coming in smooth takes again, as he lapped at the oozing blood. She'd broken open the scab, which was not new since she had done it a couple of times before, but SesshouMaru didn't doctor her so much this time. He wanted her to awaken.

Tiny hands on his arm and back signaled her return to the conscious world. Kagome was frozen beneath him, whether in shock or horror he couldn't tell, but at least she was no longer sleeping. He sat up and regained what he could of a regal bearing.

"You have slept for four days," he informed her in a factual way. There was no emotion to his face, no hint of the sea of feelings that crashed about within him. SesshouMaru regarded the woman before him with complete indifference, as though he did this sort of thing all the time. As though he had not marked her as his own.

"Why am I here?" Her voice was shaky and coarse.

What she needed in that moment was water and probably food, not an explanation. Rising from the bed, SesshouMaru held his hand out and immediately a previously unseen demon was at Kagome's side. The creature was plain of face and dress, the only indication of its heritage in its eyes. Two almond-shaped orbs glowed a strange green, shocking Kagome the first time she looked into them. The creature bowed its head to her and offered a glass.

A growl emanated from her stomach, and Kagome blushed because of it. Hesitant that SesshouMaru would poison her she sat up slightly and took the offered glass. The demon backed away from the bed and went to sit beyond a screen set in the corner of the room. She was alone with her kidnapper again.

"What is it?" She peered into the glass and was relieved to see clear, odorless liquid.

SesshouMaru merely gazed at her. He didn't give anything away and after a few more moments of the awkward silence, Kagome brought the drink to her lips. Water. It was heavenly to taste and she nearly moaned in satisfaction. She tossed the entire glass back in no more than four full gulps, a definite look of disappointment contorting her features when every last drop was gone.

The look almost brought a smile to his face. She was so adorable in her youth, the way her every desire was blatant in her expressions and eyes. As the servant youkai stepped from behind the screen to fill her glass, SesshouMaru came up and intercepted it, pouring her next glass of water himself. He gave it back the carafe and sent the creature to fetch some broth and bread, before sitting next to her again.

Kagome moved back against the headboard at the demon lord's nearness, but he only gave her a blank look and offered the water to her. "Drink it slowly this time," he instructed in a more casual voice. Since she didn't more from where was perched on the pillows, SesshouMaru went to her.

Kagome squeaked in shock when he grabbed her roughly and pulled her onto his lap. One strong arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her firmly in a sitting position, and the other held the glass in front of her.

"What are you doing? Let me go!"

"Quiet!" The soft bundle of woman, that was awakening him in ways he was not ready to deal with, complied and settled somewhat tensely on his lap. "Now drink," he brought the cup close to her and waited.

When she reached up to take it from him, SesshouMaru instead grasped the glass tighter. She acquiesced and placed her hand on his, bringing the water to her lips but letting him hold the glass. He only let her take little sips, enjoying the feel of her touch. She was holding on to his other arm around her waist, relaxing more and more in his hold with each passing minute.

When the servant returned with the meal, SesshouMaru finally loosened his hold on Kagome. Handing her glass to the strange green-eyed youkai, he pushed her to her feet, a hand at her back for balance, and then stood himself.

"Can you walk unassisted?"

She huffed once, as much to show her resistance as to the insulting nature of his question, and took a brave step towards the table. Her unused legs held her for almost a full second and Kagome toppled over.

SesshouMaru caught her immediately, opting to lean her against his body over carrying her to the table. He had to find a way to put her at ease, to win her affections from his bastard half-brother. Granted InuYasha had already scored one point for SesshouMaru by choosing the undead miko, but the demon lord also recognized the frailty of that victory. Kagome could just as easily despise both him and InuYasha, which had to be avoided at all costs. He could care less for her feelings towards the hanyou; it was how she felt about and for him that mattered.

Kagome clung to the strong form beside her. It made her wonder if she really had been in this castle for four days and if for so long, why she was still alive. Didn't the full-blooded youkai she so precariously clung to hate her for helping InuYasha and also for being human? It was hard to believe when the creature in question was partially carrying her to a table full of food and beverage.

"Thank you," she murmured out of habit when he had helped her to sit.

It was such a human thing, those little endearments that signified gratitude and regard. He could remember InuYasha's human mother using them all the time with him and his father. What was it the youkai lord had always replied?

"You're welcome."

Kagome stared in shock at the SesshouMaru look alike now sitting beside her. Had he just…?

"Did you just say 'welcome'…?"

A stern glare was her first reply, then, "Was it the wrong response?"

"No, it's just, that is…I never expected something like that from you."

He regarded her silently, a strange fury mounting inside him, but was it directed at her or his own self? "I am trying to change some aspects of myself."

"Why," she asked after taking a sip of the broth. It felt so good warming her throat and stomach, she wanted to purr.

SesshouMaru sighed, wondering if she was normally this annoying or if this was just some test to see if she wanted him. Deciding on the latter, he considered the question seriously, watching her eat while doing so.

Kagome glanced at the demon lord from time to time, anticipating his response as much as she dreaded it. What reason would he have to bring her here other than to ransom her off for the Tetsusaiga from InuYasha? She was the bait that would draw her friends to this place and make the man she loved give up the heirloom his father had left him, for her. Her thoughts drifted to Kikyou then, wondering if InuYasha would even come for her now that he had the aide of the undead miko. There was no need for two shard-detectors.

A touch at her shoulder brought Kagome out of her revere. She looked up and her vision followed the arm to its shoulder then higher to the face and finally two deep, gold-colored eyes. SesshouMaru's face actually wore an expression other than indifference, and that alone captured her attention completely.

"For this," he said, moving his hand to cup her chin. He drew closer but she didn't mind; it felt nice having someone be nice to her for a change. "I want to change this sadness in you."

She flinched and turned away. "I'm not sad…"

It was his turn to huff. "Had it been any other youkai in that clearing you would be dead." There was no disputing this, so she just looked guiltily down at the soup. "Was it not sadness that led you there, Kagome? Was it not because of pain caused by the callous behavior of an ignorant boy? It's been four days already and still he hasn't come for you. He took the Jewel off that well and went back to Kik..."

"Enough! Please…" she begged, twin tracks of glistening moisture staining her face when she looked at him. "I know." Her voice was whisper-soft and it tore into SesshouMaru to see the emotional distress he had caused.

"Gomen nasai."

Kagome could only stare. Here was a being that had only ever wanted her dead, apologizing for making her cry. She sniffed, trying to put the ache away in her self – she would mourn that loss another time – and to deal with the situation at hand. With SesshouMaru.

"I don't know if I should try to reassure you or run screaming." He looked at her, obviously confused, and the sight caused her to smile. He understood then that it was meant to be a joke.

"Either way I shall have what I want, now finish your meal. I have promised Rin that she could visit once you had awakened." She reacted to that differently than he'd hoped, a curtain falling to block out that wonderful smile she'd just given him.

Kagome felt a stab of disappointment in her heart. I am only a means to an end again, she thought. Just like InuYasha and the Shikon-no-Tama, but this time with SesshouMaru.

"Will you keep me here until InuYasha comes, then use me to get the Tetsusaiga?"

The question didn't surprise him, but her choice of words did. 'Use' her, no he'd never do that, 'keep' her though, that was something entirely different.

He stood from the table and went to pull her up also. She was complacent, as though she knew it would be his way or none at all, but had not expected him to hold her so intimately in his arms. With one hand spread across her back and the other cupping the back of her head, SesshouMaru pressed her body along his as he kissed her softly on the lips.

Neither seeking more access, nor even for her to respond, he watched from half lidded eyes as the emotions played across her face. She was shocked first, then confused, and lastly, seduced. Kagome yielded to him only slightly, tilting her head in his grasp and using her own hands to hold herself to him. He dared not deepen their embrace, too afraid that she would run from him in fright, or worse yet disbelief, and calmed the raging instincts that seemed to surface now whenever he thought of her pleasant scent or curvaceous body.

She understood now why she was here. Not for the Tetsusaiga or to get back at InuYasha, but because he wanted her. That feeling alone, of being wanted after going so long believing she was only second to a woman who was a walking corpse, opened Kagome to him just a little bit more. She let the warmth of his body engulf hers, let the tingling he caused inside her swell and become a consuming tide of such intense feelings she had no experience with, and she fostered all this once it was inside her. She wanted just as he did.

"Ahhh…SesshouMaru-sama?"

The moment ended just as she had begun to open up to him and SesshouMaru couldn't help the threatening growl that emanated from his throat as Kagome pulled back. He hugged her to his body, not willing to let the exchange completely end, and turned a murderous eye on the source of the interruption.

Jaken and Rin stood wide-eyed in the doorway; for once both were so completely caught off guard by what they had witnessed as not to pick at one another. The little girl recovered first, not at all concerned about the threatening sounds her SesshouMaru-sama was making, but rather elated that Kagome-chan was awake. That she was kissing her SesshouMaru-sama could only mean one thing.

"Kagome-chan! You're going to be Rin's new mother!" She bounded into the room, catching both her new parents in a hug about their knees, and smiling wide enough to split her face in two.

Still smothered in SesshouMaru's presence, Kagome only really became aware of what was going on when the child latched on to her. She was tempted to smile, not for the first time that day, when realization of what Rin had said finally sank in.

"Mother?" Her question was directed to SesshouMaru though. Was that why she was here?

"Among other things, but yes, you will be a mother." He pulled her close again and nuzzled her neck just above the mark he'd made on her. "If you will stay…"

It was as close to a proposal as he would come, and she knew this. It would mean so many things though, and Kagome considered herself perhaps a bit young to make such a large decision on her own. She needed her own mother's advice, which would mean chancing an encounter with InuYasha to get home.

Home, what a strange word, she thought, for suddenly what awaited her through the well didn't feel like home. It wasn't as warm and strong as the home she was in now, nor was there that wonderful feeling of need that she had only just known in SesshouMaru's kiss. Back there was love but not what she had yearned for, like the love that could develop here. If she would stay that is.

Sliding her arms around his neck, she too nuzzled into him, enjoying the captured feeling being in his arms gave her. "I need to think about it," she said, almost yelping when he tightened his hold on her.

"But for now, you will stay."

"Yes."