Hey, guys, I just couldn't help it but I had to update another chapter because it was in my head. Thanks to those of you who have already reviewed and thanks for voting. Anyway, it's late and I just wanted to post this chapter especially for you guys. So, I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 3

Decisions, Decisions

Kagome slept restlessly that night, and nevertheless was very grateful for the morning, no matter how tired she was. Yawning, Kagome stretched with cat-like grace before flipping over and stretching her wings. Kagome smiled as she noticed how bright the sun was today. After all, it wasn't everyday that it was sunny in Makai. No, often times it was dark or rainy. So maybe today would be a good day.

Kagome quickly jumped out of bed and grabbed a robe, heading towards her personal hot springs where she proceeded to give herself a nice soothing bath. She needed it after last night. Finally after a nice scrub down, she figured it was time to go get Yoko and Kuronue and take them to meet Sesshou.

Stepping out, Kagome replaced her robe with a stunning jade green kimono, with black lining. The obi was silver, as it was customary for each other her thieving partners to wear some color of Sesshomaru's, being as how he's their employer. As it was, Sesshomaru's colors were red and silver. Most of the others usually wore a red obi, but being as how she was his adopted sister, she was therefore eire to the throne, so she had to wear silver.

She was startled when she immediately ran into Yoko who had seemingly come out of nowhere. He was stretching and yawning at the same time, therefore he wasn't really paying attention. Kagome noticed as Yoko stretched, his top haori was riding up his smooth chest, showing a little of his rock hard abs. Kagome blushed and turned away before Yoko could notice.

"Good morning, Yoko-san, how did you sleep," she greeted as if she wasn't just checking him out.

"I slept just fine, Ms. Kagome," he offered her his arm and she took it.

"Do you know where Kuronue-san is?" she asked politely a slight blush creeping over her face. Yoko wondered what that was all about but decided to drop it.

"I believe he's in the kitchen eating," Yoko supplied.

"Good, that means he's close."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why is that good?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you, you'll have to meet Se-our boss today," Kagome almost cursed for saying his name. While it was true Sesshomaru was a well known demon lord, no one and I mean no one knew that he was the one that sponsored a misfit gang of thieves. If word got out that he was helping thieves, and a forbidden child no less, why many others would revolt and attempt to tear him down. And even if they were going to meet the elusive Lord Sesshomaru, Kagome had no idea if he wanted his name mentioned yet.

"Your boss?" Yoko asked frowning.

"Well, not exactly a boss per say, but he sponsors us with equipment and money when we're tracking down artifacts of interest," Kagome explained.

"Hmm," Yoko thought. "That would be quite useful."

"Yes, it is," Kagome agreed.

"Ah, there you are," Kuronue greeted when the two reached the kitchen. "Hiei said you would be arriving soon." Kagome noticed there was a mischievous glint in both Kuronue and Hiei's eyes.

Kagome stopped in her tracks. "Oh, god, what did he tell you?" Kagome asked.

Kuronue grinned and Kagome just knew this wasn't going to be good. So much for that perfect sunny day. Yep, Kagome thought she heard a thunder cloud rolling in right about now.

"Oh, Hiei just brought up an event that happened two years ago; the one you stopped him from spilling last night." Kagome began blush heatedly while Yoko looked kinds of confused.

"What did she do?" Yoko asked.

"Nothing!" Kagome shrieked. "I did nothing!" Turning to Hiei she yelled, "Hiei you swore never to tell that story to anyone, let alone another bloody thief. If word got out, I'd be ruined!"

"Oh, calm down, onna, it wasn't that bad," Hiei smirked, knowing it was that bad. Kagome glared at her supposed best friend, before pouting and giving him the doggy eyes, she knew got him every time. She watched as his face fell a fraction when she let one tears slip from the corner of her eye.

"Hiei, you're supposed to be my best friend," she sniffled. "And you go off telling people secrets like that, especially ones you are sworn to secrecy over."

Hiei growled, while Kuronue and Yoko shot him dirty looks for upsetting her. Finally he got up and made his way to her and tried to draw her into his arms but she backed away, saying, "leave me alone."

"Kagome," he said roughly. She flinched and his tone dropped an inch as he finally took her small frame in his arms. Over his shoulder she winked at Kuronue and Yoko before pretending to sniffle and cry some more. "All right what do you want?" he finally asked.

Kagome pulled away and grinned. "You know what I want." His eyes widened, as did Yoko and Kuronue's, but not for the same reason. Then Hiei rolled his eyes, as he was once again suckered into this for sure.

"All right. I'll go. Which one do you want?"

"Hmm," Kagome turned to stare at Kuronue and Yoko contemplating her choices. "Do I want the black one or the silver one," she murmured to herself.

"Uh, Kagome?" Kuronue asked, half hoping half-dreading what she was talking about.

"Hiei, what do you think?" Kagome asked ignoring Kuronue. Hiei, too turned to stare indecisively between the two confuse demons thieves.

"Why if it's me you want, I can help you with that," Yoko spoke up out of nowhere.

Kagome smirked. "Yep, that's the one. I want the silver one. It speaks to me," she said to Hiei, while Hiei nodded at her choice.

Kuronue gasped and turned accusing eyes on his best friend. Yoko was smiling cockily while Kagome was still going over her choice. When she finally noticed Yoko and Kuronue were staring at her weirdly.

"What?" she asked.

"Kagome, I though we had a connection," Kuronue pleaded.

Kagome lifted an eyebrow. "Yeah, and..."

"Well, I thought that you and I..."

Kagome was now visibly confused as Hiei began to laugh. All three laughed as he laughed so hard, he fell onto the floor.

"Uh, Hiei, you okay man?" Yoko asked.

Kuronue couldn't understand it anymore. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he cried to the laughing fire apparition.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just that...well, tell me what you thought she was picking out," Hiei asked suddenly.

"Why, she was picking which one of us she wants to be her mate and she chose me, isn't that correct, Kagome?" Yoko asked while Kagome still looked quite confused. Suddenly she caught the funny bug too and began laughing just as hard as Hiei, as Hiei resumed his laughing and both friends threw their arms around each other and laughed until they were crying.

Finally Kagome stopped while Yoko looked annoyed. Kuronue was staring at the floor sullenly.

"I'm sorry, it's just that Hiei and I weren't talking about you guys," Kagome explained. "You see every time Hiei pisses me off, he makes it up to me by stealing something from my personal enemy."

"She was-she was-" Hiei couldn't get passed the words until Kagome slammed her hand on his back and he began choking. He glared but she merely smiled innocently.

"I was deciding which color I wanted," Kagome finished. "You see she has two necklaces that I want. I was trying to decide which color I wanted and well, I used you as my muses to pick the color."

Kuronue and Yoko gaped. "You mean to tell us, that you weren't trying to mate with one of us?" Yoko asked, sounding slightly offended.

She scoffed. "Oh, please," she walked closer to both demons before stopping a foot away from Yoko and Kuronue. "I wouldn't have to try to get you, Yoko, I know all about your...nature. You however," she turned sharp eyes to Kuronue before smirking evilly at him. "You would be a challenge."

She backed away and called over her shoulder, "oh and Hiei, make sure she knows it's you. You two, lets go." With that she walked confidentially out of the room, two very confused but turned on demons following her.

"Okay before we go in there are to be a few rules I must address with you," Kagome said in all seriousness. When they shrugged she nodded. "Good, now first off, the first thing you must learn is to keep your mouth shut," Yoko moved to speak but Kagome silenced him with a glare. She softened. "Sorry, but he can seem a bit intimidating once you meet him. If you think my look was glad, just be sure not to piss him off." When they looked slightly nervous Kagome smiled in reassurance. "Don't worry. He's not all that bad once you get to know him. Besides," she smirked evilly causing Yoko and Kuronue to look interested. "I have him wrapped around my finger. He would never dare hurt me or anyone I deem worthy."

"And why is that, Kagome?" Kuronue asked curious about Kagome's tone. Was she in a relationship with this guy? No matter, she wouldn't be with him for much longer if he had anything to say about it.

"You'll see," Kagome whispered. "Ready?" When they nodded she pushed open Sesshou's door and ran through,

Spotting her adoptive older brother right away, Kagome rushed at him. "Fluffy!" she cried, jumping and landing on top of him.

Sesshomaru merely rolled his eyes at her childlike antics before setting her down and glancing behind her at Yoko and Kuronue, one said bat glaring heatedly at the way Kagome was wrapped in his arms. Sesshomaru inwardly smirked. Well, well, well, looks like Kagome finally caught someone's attention.

"Guys, don't be shy. Come on, this is my boss, friend and brother, Lord Sesshomaru."

Kuronue and Yoko gaped. Lord Sesshomaru; the Lord of the Western Lands. Wait; brother. She'd called him her brother. That made her...royalty.

"Pardon out rudeness," Yoko spoke eloquently. "My name is Yoko Kurama and this is my partner, Kuronue." Sesshomaru nodded before turning back to his adoptive sister.

"So did you get it?" He watched as a pleased smile lit her face.

"Sure did," she replied. "It's right here." She held up her hand a moment later a bright flash filled the room and an item appeared in Kagome's hands. It was long and narrow, with a jeweled hilt.

"Wait, that's the Tensaiga," Yoko gasped moving forward. "That's what we were hoping to get our hands on last night, before you showed up."

"But, how?" Kuronue asked stunned.

"I used an invisibility charm on it, one of the perks of being a miko. It covered the scent and aura of this particular sward. And anyway, you guys wouldn't have been able to touch it," she explained.

Yoko seemed mildly insulted. "Hey, are you suggesting that I, the great Yoko Kurama could not have gotten that sword?"

Kagome and Sesshomaru exchanged glances, before Kagome turned the blade around to it was facing her. "Go ahead, Yoko, touch it," she suggested. "See if you can take it from me."

Kuronue really wanted to warn his friend not to, because something told him it wasn't a good idea, but the other part of his brain was really curious and wanted to see what would happen. Before he could bring this up with Yoko, Yoko had stupidly made a grab for the Tensaiga, when he was forcefully thrown away from the sword, his hand singed slightly.

Yoko stood up. "How?" he asked.

"Well, for one, this is Sesshomaru's sword. His father had it made for him a long time ago. But before he could hive it to Sesshomaru, someone, a powerful miko presumably because mikos are the only one's besides the royal family who can withstand the barrier around this sword," Kagome explained.

"As to how I can touch it, well I'm a miko aren't I. And besides that Sesshomaru and I share a blood bond as brother and sister, therefore I'm family."

"Wow," Kuronue was fascinated. Every minute in this woman's company only seemed to make her more alluring.

Kagome and Sesshomaru conversed for a few more minutes before inviting Yoko and Kuronue once again to stay the day. Kagome was going to take them around and introduce them to the rest of the team. Both demons immediately agreed, for they were most excited about learning how these thieves worked; more importantly Kagome. Yoko simply found her a mystery and a puzzle all rolled into one. She had beauty and brains and seemed to genuinely care for those around her. I mean come on, anyone who was best friends with Hiei, had to be rather patient.

While Kuronue realized these things too, Kuronue still wanted to learn more about her. He was surprised that he was so into just one female. Usually he was like Yoko, preferring to rut when he needed and that was it. He had no time for females. But Kagome; she just seemed different from anyone he'd ever met before. He let a smile fall across his lips as she led him outside and into a garden fresh with flowers. She was rambling on about this and that, turning every once in awhile to make sure he was still paying attention. And he was; just not to her words. In fact he'd hardly heard a word she'd said as she'd showed him around.

He was suddenly glad Yoko had decided to stay behind and speak to Sesshomaru about a few points of interest.

"Kuronue," Kagome waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey, you okay or are you spacing out on me?"

"I'm fine, Kagome," he whispered.

Kagome struggled to hide the shiver at the way he'd said her name. "Well, all right. Do you want to sit down at one of the benches?" she asked kindly.

Kuronue couldn't help but smile back. "Yes, I believe I would." So Kagome led him to her favorite spot in the whole garden.

"This is the God tree," Kagome explained touching the bark. "Whenever I'm feeling down and depressed I come out here and sleep in the god tree. For some reason, it just makes me feel...whole." She blushed. "You probably think I'm spouting nonsense."

"Kagome," she felt him lift her chin and look her in the eye. "Kagome, nothing that comes out of a mouth as beautiful as yours, could ever be described as nonsense." Kagome's blush deepened and Kuronue wonder what she would do if he kissed her. And so without another word, he tipped her head back and brought his lips onto hers and pulled her into the best kiss of his life.

Hahahahahahahaha. I stopped before the best part. Now you'll never know how the kiss progresses...well at least until the next chapter. Until then, I hope you enjoyed reading my stories. You guys bring me joy every time you review.

Anyway, here is the tally for the voting so far:

Kuronue/Kagome: 3

Kagome/Kuronue/Kurama: 4

Well, I think those are it. If I missed anybody, just inform me. I'm probably blind or something. Anyway, keep those votes coming and I'll promise to make it interesting.

Anyway, ja ne

Kura-Kun's-lovr