Chapter Sixteen: A Family Created

Kagome woke the next morning in a bedroom she didn't recognize. She had fallen asleep while they had been traveling into the Western Lands. Therefore, she had no memory of being put to bed. Thinking this was just another guest room, she rolled over on her stomach, ready to catch another five minutes of sleep, but instead, she bumped into a rather amused looking demon.

"Awake already?" he teased, running his thumb down her cheek to her chin.

"Just five more minutes," she begged, rolling back over to the side she had previously been on.

"I think not," he chuckled, pulling her back. She grumbled something under her breath that he had heard, but decided not to repeat. Grinning, he began tickling her all over, getting the desired reaction he had been searching for. She screamed and smacked a pillow over his head. He chuckled deeper in his throat. How he had missed his Kagome.

"Mmm," she mumbled, laying her head on his chest as she draped her arms around his neck, feeling his arms wrap around her smaller form. "Was I really gone that long?"

"This Sesshomaru didn't miss you in the least," he replied. Another smack of the pillow. "Do you dare hit this Lord of the Western Lands?" Yet another pillow in the face. "You won't behave so recklessly, human," he snapped, trying to control his voice. Then he found Kagome standing up only to jump onto him, tackling him off the bed.

"Take it all back," she cried, continuously slapping him with pillows from both hands.

Roaring with laughter, he bucked his hips, sending her slim body to slide down to his pelvis from where she had been positioned over his ribs. Slightly grinding into her, he whispered to her, "This Sesshomaru missed you a great," he rubbed substantially harder, "great deal."

Blush rose in the miko's cheeks as she realized what he meant. She knew she should budge before the desire came over him, but suddenly, she couldn't move her body. A sly idea came into her mind and she slowly decided it was better than any of the alternatives. Carefully, she laid her body flat against his own, keeping her legs straddled over his hip area.

"I felt the same," she purred, biting on his bottom lip, gingerly. Her hands wove a pattern through the folds of his robe until they were against his flat, stone chest. She slowly poked her tongue out from between her pink lips, running a line from his mouth to his chin, then up his cheekbone to his ear.

The Lord of the Western Lands had never seen her this way, except for their last night at her home. Even then, she hadn't been this…ready. It was hard for him to remain still when he knew how far they could go with less thought than he had used to tickle her. He was more than ready to take Kagome as his mate. He knew he loved her for everything that she was, even the part of her that was human. She had made that happen. Still, he feared hurting her.

Her tongue was drawing lazy patterns on the outside of his ear, then ducking to the inside. She started out slow, then speed things up, only to begin the process all over again. His breath hitched for he had never felt such extreme pleasure from something as petty as a tongue on skin. She was bewitching him and soon he would be unable to control his urge to take her as his own.

While she worked, her hands parted the top portion of his clothing. He shimmied out of it, allowing her to lie across his muscular chest, pale from being kept behind material all too often. She grinned at him before flicking her tongue to his opposite ear to give it the same treatment it's twin had received. Again, Sesshomaru felt his breath catch in the back of his throat. So this was what it felt like?

He wasn't about to allow her to have all the fun. He worked his hands up her back to her shirt, tugging it off over her head. There was some strange white contraption that blocked his way to her breasts, but it seemed to only be made of a soft material, so he wasn't bothered by it. He yanked off her skirt in the same swift manner, once again finding white soft material blocking his way.

Kagome lifted her mouth away from his ear, a smile across her face. She put her hands on the sides of his face, drawing herself down to steal a passionate kiss, which he elongated by driving his tongue in between her lips to have some more fun. She smiled again, searching the alien muscle that had found its way into her cavern. He took this time, while she was occupied to roll them both over, him landing on top of her.

"That was a dirty trick," she accused, pretending to be angry, when really, she was beginning to think her idea of a game had gotten the best of her.

"It was a good trick," he grinned. "I think you liked it more than you are willing to admit."

He leaned his head down, kissing her right below her neck. She found air hard to grasp. Why is it so hard to breathe? His kissing didn't stop there. He started a trail of them, leading down to the crevice in between her breasts. There was a small birthmark situated there, more to the right than the left. When he reached there, he ran his tongue over it.

She shivered against him. There was a massive source of heat coming off of them both. There was no reason for her to feel cold, but the shiver hadn't been because of the lack of heat. It was something much more prominent in her mind. She knew what it was when, she saw that Sesshomaru was stripping down completely. No sooner had he lost his pants then there came a great pounding on the door.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru!" a cranky voice yelled from out in the hall.

"Go away, Jaken," both he and Kagome hollered back.

The imp stayed quiet for a moment, until two squeals of laughter broke the silence, then he was pounding on the door again. "Lord Sesshomaru! Save your faithful servant! Please, my lord, show some mercy on me!"

Growling, Sesshomaru helped Kagome stand, his eyes apologizing for the lack of control his minion had over the children. She gave him a reassuring smile, handing him his clothes, while she bent down to pick up her own. They got dressed quickly, and only after they had shared another loving kiss, did the demon lord open the door of his bedchambers.

The commotion outside the room was nearly deafening. The demon was angered that his imp could not manage to contain the kitsune and Rin for more than an hour so that he and Kagome could have some "adult" time together, but all this noise only increased his bad disposition.

"Silence!" he bellowed.

Everything and everyone froze. Kagome poked her head out from behind Sesshomaru to see the sight. Rin and Shippo were at opposite ends of Jaken. He had wrapped one hand around each of their necks in an attempt to illuminate the problem that they both had presented for him. Maternal instinct kicking in, Kagome barreled out from behind Sesshomaru and slammed her fist down on Jaken's head.

"Leave my kids alone," she snapped, angrily. She knelt down where Jaken had been standing, collecting Shippo and Rin in her arms, hugging them each. "I missed you two," she told them, hugging them tighter.

"Mama!" Shippo cheered, putting his small arms around her arm.

"Kagome-chan!" Rin cried, throwing her child-sized body into the hug.

However, while all of this was going on, Sesshomaru still stood in the doorway, angered with them all. "Kagome, it would do well if you didn't spoil the children so greatly," he commented. She glared at him over her shoulder, sticking her tongue out at him, a silent reminder that she knew where his weak spot was.

"Children should be spoiled rotten," she laughed, standing up, Rin's hand in her own, and Shippo tucked away in the other arm.

"Those children should be given a harsh punishment," Jaken retorted, coming back from where Kagome had thrown his frail body.

"You," Sesshomaru grumbled, pointing a finger at the imp, "will remain silent. As far as this Lord Sesshomaru is concerned, you can not handle the children in a manner that would be best for them."

"But Lord Sesshomaru," he stuttered.

"Go," sounded the demon. Jaken gave a quick bow and disappeared down the hall.

Rubbing his temples, Sesshomaru wondered what he was going to do about the short green toad. He loved Kagome and Rin too much to allow them to be treated by Jaken in such a way. As for the kitsune, Kagome had told him about the way that the Thunder Brothers had killed the poor child's parents. He would look after the boy as if he was his own pup.

"Breakfast," he said, deciding they all needed to eat something before they did anything else.

Taking Kagome's hand, he escorted her down the corridor towards the dinning hall. It only took him a moment to realize that Rin had her other hand, and the boy was perched where Kagome's shoulder met his arm. For some reason, the closeness between all of them made him feel like he had when Mrs. Higurashi had told him he was part of their family.

Would this be what it would be like to have his own family?

In all the centuries that he had lived, he had never thought of having pups of his own, let alone finding a mate. He had preferred to live a life of solitude, but now that he had been presented with the choice, he found that companionship was unlike anything else and it made him feel more invincible than the swords he carried on his belt.

They parted when they reached their seats, Sesshomaru watching the kitsune help Rin into her chair, which normally she had to climb into. He paused, recalling something he had seen a mortal man do for his wife at one point, and gently pulled out Kagome's chair for her, slowly, because he was not completely sure if that was the right thing to do.

"Thank you, Sesshomaru," she smiled, planting a quick kiss right at the edge of his lips. Obviously, he had done the right thing.

Sango paced nervously back and forth, just as she had the rest of the night. Kagome had gone off on her own again and this time was just like the last. She had gone missing. Though Sango wanted to believe she was with the Lord of the Western Lands, the way the two had acted, Sango didn't believe they could make things work so easily. The problems her best friend and that demon had made her issues with Miroku seem normal, simple even.

Finally feeling the effects of staying up all night outside in the cold air, she sat down by the fire in the middle of Kaede's hut. Miroku lay nearby, curled up with Kirara. Kaede, herself, was sleeping over in the corner, where she usually was. As for Kikyo and Inuyasha, neither of them had returned after their walk last night. Sango had also been worried about that.

Ever since Kagome had asked if something had been going on with Kikyo, Sango had noticed more and more details about the ex-miko's daily life that were off. She spent so much time in the forest that Sango barely saw her anymore. When the villagers came to give her offerings, she barely even looked at them. And when Kaede said anything to her, Kikyo grew angered, even somewhat violent. The demon exterminator feared for the worst.

Though Kagome had wished for Kikyo to come back so she could have her time with Inuyasha, which was what Kagome thought they had deserved, something was off. The real Kikyo would have cared what her younger sister had thought. The old Kikyo would have cared more about the villagers than her own petty routine. The Kikyo, she had heard about, would never have gone off into the forest when something needed to be done, and she wouldn't spend this much time with Inuyasha, even if she did really love him, as she claimed she did. Everything was just wrong.

"Sango?" a voice broke through her thoughts. She saw Miroku staring at her. "Been up all night?" he asked, knowing her almost better than she knew herself. She nodded, walking over to him, kneeling down, and crawling under the covers with him. "Thinking about Kagome?" Again, she nodded. "She's fine. If anything, I'm sure she's with Sesshomaru, making this problem a thing of the past" He kissed her forehead, hugging her. "Don't worry."

But that was the problem, because even if Kagome was all right, she wasn't here to help them if something went amiss. And Sango could feel that something was going wrong. The feeling had been at the back of her mind all night, while she waited for her friend's return, but now it was stronger.

Kagome, come back to us, she thought, just as Kikyo walked into the hut.

Sango opened her mouth to ask her where Inuyasha was, when she saw the knife in the priestess's hand. Immediately, she was in fighting mode, and she lunged for Kikyo, but power struck her, sending her across the room into the wall. Miroku was up in the next instant with his staff. Both of them went for the evil miko, as she stood over Kaede's sleeping form.

"Kaede!" Miroku and her shouted, warning the old woman just as the knife came down on her.

The old woman's eyes opened just in time to see her attacker. But it was too late for her to move. Kikyo had drove the blade right through her heart. Gasping, she looked up at her older sister. "Why?" she rasped, then her eyes closed as her lips stilled.

"No," Sango shook her head, too angry to let grief consume her. She threw her blade at Kikyo, hearing the rattling of the chain as it ran through her hand, until she stopped it, but gripping onto it. "How could you kill your own sister?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she recalled Kohaku, now long dead. He had been under Naraku's spell, could Kikyo still be under her hatred toward Inuyasha. "Where is he?" she demanded, throwing the knife again, but once again missing the priestess.

"You are becoming most annoying," Kikyo snapped in a voice most unlike the one she had used long ago. There was not an ounce of love in such a tone. "I'll take care of you now."

Sango's eyes widened as she ducked away from Kikyo's arrow that shone with a sickeningly reddish tint. She knocked Miroku down, pulling Kirara up with her as the three of them bolted away from the hut.

Kagome! Help us!

"And Inuyasha was so mad that he said something nasty to Kagome. So then Kagome left and he got all moody again," Shippo was explaining to Sesshomaru and Rin. His surrogate mother had flushed such a deep crimson that the Lord of the Western Lands believed she was going to stay that way far longer than she would like.

"So this was Koga?" he asked, thinking of how he was going to have to make sure the wolf tribe didn't bother his miko once he had asked Kagome to be his mate. After all, he wasn't about to lose her again.

"Yes," his doe-eyed companion nodded, taking a sip of her tea. "But Koga finally understands that he will only ever be a friend to me. I told him that before I ran off the first-," she stopped talking.

Something was wrong. She could feel fear and anger. Then she heard a voice. Kagome! Help us! It was Sango! They were back at the village, but surely Inuyasha was there to protect them. There was also Kaede, and of course Kikyo was…Kikyo! Kagome realized it had been a mistake to leave when she had felt something as destructive as the nature the old priestess had been filled with.

"What is it?" Sesshomaru asked her, as she stood up. He grabbed onto her arm, making her look into his eyes.

"I have to get back there," she told him, urgency filling her voice.

"Fine. We'll leave tomorrow morning," he told her, soothingly.

"No, I must go now. Something is happening. I think I know what, but I can't be sure." He looked at her strangely. "Kikyo. There is something different about her. I can feel anger and fear that she is causing. I even heard Sango's voice just now. I am needed back there. I have to go." She broke free from his hold and started off, out of the castle.

"Wait," he stopped her. "I'm coming with you."