Eden-

Okay,. This is chapter sixteen. Not much to say here. Just read and enjoy, and if you have the time, review.

Love,

Earth Priestess Eden

Previously

Sesshomaru walked away silently as he rebuilt his wall.

Kagome cried quietly as she sank to the floor. "I can't stay here. "

Kagome slowly stood despite her trembling knees and whispered goodbye as she left the castle.

Now

Chapter Sixteen

"Lord Sesshomaru-sama? Are you in there?" Rin asked as she turned in to Sesshomaru's study. No one had seen him in two days and Rin decided that Sesshomaru needed some comforting.

"Go away Rin." Sesshomaru said as he continued to read his book.

Rin saw Sesshomaru and smiled. "Lord Sesshomaru, a pretty lady named Sango is here to see you."

Sesshomaru looked up from his book. "Lady Sango, guardian of Lady Kagome?"

Rin nodded. "That's the one. He says bring out Kagome or she will make you eat your own heart."

Sesshomaru would have smiled at the thought of a human telling him that he was in danger, but he was to depressed since Kagome had left to even fake a smile.

"Lord Sesshomaru, why are you so sad?" Rin asked.

Sesshomaru looked away from rin. He couldn't stand to face her childish gaze and be without Kagome.

"Nothing Rin."

Rin ran in front of Sesshomaru and made a devil face at him. (A/N: Think Cruel Intentions when Reese was trying to make Jude smile in the car.)

Sesshomaru sighed. "I can't smile Rin."

Rin frowned. "Why not?"

Sesshomaru stared out his window and towards the ocean. "It's just so hard to smile when the thing that made you smile in the first place isn't there."

Rin nodded knowingly. "Lady Kagome does love you."

Sesshomaru sighed. "But I don't know if I love her."

Rin smiled. "That's the best thing about love. You never know until it's all over. It's like fumbling around in the dark for a candle and a flint and then when you find it, you feel relieved. Except for with love, you feel happy."

Sesshomaru looked at the little girl who was giving him advice. "How do you know all of this? You are younger than me and have never fallen in love."

Rin smiled. "All girls know what love feels like. Of course, I assume that it will feel even better in the end."

Sesshomaru sighed. "But what if the one you love doesn't love you back? Then what do you do?"

Rin smiled. "You'll never know unless you find out."

Sesshomaru nodded. "Alright. I will find Kagome. Even if I can only see her for a few minutes. I want to tell her the truth."

Rin looked up at Sesshomaru. "What truth is that?"

Sesshomaru looked down at Rin and gently patted her on the head as he smiled. "That I think I am in love with her."

Kagome sighed as she felt the exhaustion of the last few days settle down on her. She hadn't stopped moving in both days except for to get a drink of water occasionally. Now she felt a wave of fatigue make her tremble as she collapsed in a heap on the ground. It would be several hours before she would wake up.

A tiny fox demon heard a thump outside his tree. He took a single sniff and knew that he could be in danger. It was a full grown dog demoness who had a male's scent all over her. That meant that she was mated. And a male never left his female for long.

The fox demon slowly climbed out of his hole and looked up at the demoness, who was passed out cold. He was careful to not touch her, he knew how possessive males could be when their female was touched.

After sniffing around her for a few seconds, he decided that she wasn't mated. So, carefully, he picked up a stick and poked her a few times. He heard her breath and sighed. 'Good. I don't know what I would do with a dead demoness.'

"Um... miss demoness? Are you alright?" The fox demon asked as he continued to poke her, a little harder now that he had gained his confidence. "Hello! Miss demoness! Are you awake?" The fox took a deep breath and gathered up the rest of his courage. "MISS DEMONESS!!!"

Several birds left their perches and Kagome moaned and lifted herself up, only to fall back down again.

"Miss demoness? Are you alright?" the fox asked her again.

Kagome sighed and started to cry. She shook gently and let the tears fall down her cheeks.

The fox demon saw her shaking and felt her forehead. He let his hand sit there for a few seconds before jerking it away. He had felt an emblem on her forehead- the emblem of the eastern lands. Then he realized who she was.

"Lady Kagome! What happened to you? Why aren't you with Lord Sesshomaru? Lady Kagome? Lady Kagome!" the fox demon yelled as he shook her shoulder.

Kagome looked up and smiled at the little fox who was trying to keep her awake. 'Hmm... he must think that I will go into hypothermia or something.' She thought as she used all of her strength to reach up and hold the child's hand.

"I am alright, thank you. I have been traveling for many days and I am exhausted. Could you perhaps offer me a place to sleep for a little while?" Kagome asked with a smile to the little fox.

He nodded. "Yes. If you can crawl a little bit, there is a hidden entrance in to my cavern right at the base of this tree. You can't see it without my permission because of a spell, so you will be safe there for a while, Lady Kagome."

Kagome nodded. "I am most obliged."

Kagome tried to talk some more, but she couldn't talk and crawl. She was to tired. But the fox understood. And he smelt a danger coming- another dog demon. He looked around fearfully as he ushered Kagome inside.

"Hurry, there is someone else out here." The fox demon said as he shut the door behind them, leaving a flawless tree again. But from the tree a dog demon smiled.

'He left her unguarded at last.'

Sango paced around the dining hall. She hadn't been kidding about forcing Sesshomaru to eat his own heart- she knew how to keep him alive long enough for him to do so. Suddenly she sensed the great demons presence and stopped pacing to glare.

"Where is she!?!" Sango demanded. "Where is Kagome?!"