Alright people, I'm back for another update! Well from what I understand, WHR is going to start airing on adult swim again, which makes me happy. Goodness knows what time though! Heh. Before we get started, here's some A/Ns:

1) As usual, I don't own Inuyasha, nor ever will!

2) This chapter has a lemon in it. Being as such, this is the version where that has been cut out. To see the full chapter with the lemon in it, please visit my homepage in my profile. Hope you guys like!

3) I've had some questions asked as to why Miroku isn't a, well...pervert. To be frank, this is another world and all, so he has a different, slightly more...'suitable' personality. Lol.

That's all for now. Here's the next update! Hope you enjoy:

While they were gone, Kagome and I used this opportunity to exchange a few, precious words by ourselves. She insisted that I would move back onto the futon again so I could rest my wound while she began to soak some cloth in water. I saw her from afar eying the battle mark Naraku had left on me with guilt.

"Don't worry about it, Kagome." I reassured her quickly. "It is...a mere scratch."

"No it's not." Kagome insisted back to me. "Now, please, try to hold still, Sesshoumaru, while I replace your bandage with this new one." She massaged the area gently, and I relaxed into the futon with great content. There was a stinging sensation from this, but I chose not to mention it.

"You must not look so guilty."

She blushed. "D-Do I?"

"Hai." I reached up and captured one of her locks, tugging on it softly. Her expression became rigid. I frowned. "What is the matter, Kagome?"

The crimson on her cheeks grew. "Oh...Sesshoumaru...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry for everything!" I pulled her down and she automatically fell against me on the futon. This was where I had so longed to hold her. "I mean, I've made you worry so much...all because of me...you'd probably be much better of if you would forget about me, ne?"

I growled slightly. "No, I would not."

She lifted her head up to look at me in the face defiantly. "''Yes, you would."

"No." I answered back with equal defiance. "I would not."

Kagome sighed. "Oh yeah? Name one good reason, then."

"Certainly." I replied, and lowered my face to hers. She gave a futile whimper of surprise as my lips brushed savoringly against her own. My hands moved up automatically to hold her forearms gently. How long I had been waiting for this moment...

"Sessho..." Kagome managed to utter before I sealed her lips into mine. She brought her hands reflexively around my neck and puller herself closer, to my everlasting delight.

"No mortal can know how long I have patiently waited." I whispered between her lips. "Try to relax, Kagome. I know that there is a lot on your mind, but do not try to worry about that. I'm here to help ease away your worries, if I can. Will you let me do this?"

Kagome shook her head with no hesitation. "No Sesshoumaru, let me be the one to do that, for you. You've been worrying about enough as it is." She felt around for my hand and squeezed it gently, with a small blush on her cheeks.

'Stubborn as always.' I chuckled slight. "Fine, have it your way." Kagome moved closer to me, victorious, and kissed me softly on the cheek.

At that same moment, we heard the front door leading into the home creak open. We gave each other a look that said 'we'll hold this thought for later' and stood up to walk over to the front door curiously.

The monk came in first. His face was grave and foreboding. Next was the woman, who was in tears. Finally, a small, fragile neko youkai cautiously peered through the door. This must have been, I deduced, Kirara.

Kagome's face turned white. "Kirara! Thank goodness! Sango, are you okay!? Did you do something to her, Miroku!?"

He looked at her, slightly shocked. "I am an honorable monk, Lady Kagome. I don't know what you're talking about." He sighed and turned to the woman. "She has, ah...accepted what has happened to her clan...now."

"I...need to lie down now...please." She moved slowly away from us and out of the room. The tiny neko followed her.

"Miroku, what happened?" Kagome whispered to him after the woman was gone.

"Well, we went back to the village's remains. Sango found Kirara not too far from where we found her. One more glance at the charred wood scattered around the area caused Sango to finally see the truth—her family and friends...all that she loved and cherished...were gone."

Kagome sighed. "We should give her time to rest, then. Sango will want to be along for a few days."

He nodded. "Hai. When we were walking back here with Kirara, she told me briefly what she was doing at the time and what exactly she saw before she was knocked out." He paused to face the only window in the room. "Apparently Sango was out hunting with Kirara. She went on her own because she wanted the practice of fighting by herself, just in case the need would ever arise. As she was returning home, the sudden burst of flames that had occurred from the village must have reached her, or most likely, the smoke and heat. And that's where her story ends, until we found her."

"And she knows nothing of Naraku? She never saw him?"

The monk shook his head. "No."

"Sesshoumaru." Kagome whispered to me. "Naraku doesn't know that there was a survivor from the village. I can bring Sango back to my castle so that she can testify against him. It should clear your father's name and the youkai kingdom. They should believe her."

Miroku overheard this. "No, Sango's not well enough for that. Let her rest here for awhile until the pain subsides."

"We have little time to spare." I answered. "The kingdoms are at war, and something irreversible is bound to happen soon. We cannot afford to wait." I looked back at the doorway leading into the sleeping woman's room. "She may rest here for one day, and then Kagome will take her to the castle."

"One day!?" The monk cried. "Her body is too weak from the smoke!"

"Miroku, she sure didn't seem weak when she ran out of here so quickly earlier…" Kagome reminded him. The monk looked dismayed, so she added, "I'll be sure to check her condition every hour, don't you worry. But at this point, Miroku, her pain will be more emotional than physical…" Before he could speak again, Kagome said, "You don't look so well yourself, Miroku. Perhaps you should rest for awhile as well?"

The monk shook his head severely. "No, I'm fine. As a matter of fact, I think I'll go prepare a pot of tea for Sango when she wakes up again…"

"Should I…help?" Kagome began to follow him.

The monk smiled slightly. "I'm grateful for the offer, Lady Kagome, but no, I'll make it by myself. Although…would you be able to walk a short distance away from here in order to gather a few plants that can be used as medicine to help treat Sango?"

She nodded. "That'll be fine."

"Excellent. The plant has no stem, but it sprouts six leaves with slightly orange tips. They grow in a meadow not too far from here."

"Got it—meadow, no steams, orange-tipped six leaves. I'll be back soon." He nodded satisfactorily and left the room to begin the process of preparing the tea. As soon as he was gone, Kagome turned to me shyly. "Well, Sesshoumaru? Want to come with me?"

I didn't need to be asked twice. I stood in front of her protectively and opened the door leading outside.

"Oh, look…see? There's one over there, I think…" Kagome stooped over the grass to examine the plant. After a moment, she nodded happily. "Yep, that's it." She twisted it out of the earth gently and handed it to me. "I wonder how many of these things we need to bring back…"

I scanned the area intently. Yes, this would be perfect…maybe even better, with the addition of a blanket…my lustful thoughts were interrupted when Kagome handed me another plant. Our fingers brushed for a brief instant, and she blushed slightly. "H-Here's another one that I found, Sesshoumaru…" Before she could move her hand away, I grasped it and pulled her up, close to me. She gasped a little.

The plants we had gathered so far fell to the ground. "Let's forget about the plants for now, hai?" Her scent…it was irresistible, as always.

Her blush grew. "H-Huh? Why?"

I chuckled playfully. "I think you know." I pulled Kagome closer and kissed her fiercely. My impatience had gradually diminished into a more blissful state, with her by my side. It took all of my control to pull away once again.

Kagome pouted. "Again." She murmured.

I chuckled. "As you wish." This time, my mouth pressed against her gently and nuzzled the smoothness as a way to ask permission to part for me. She giggled and shut them tighter to taunt me. I growled from this and continued to massage the surface of her lips until at last, Kagome moved them gradually apart. I entered inside quickly and continued to show through our lips just how much I loved her, and how I had longed for this moment.

Kagome closed her eyes for one last moment before moving away. "Sesshoumaru, we can't stay here for too long. We need to get this medicine back to Sango…"

I sighed. She was ever the considerate friend, unfortunately for me. "If you wish. Another more…intimate time will come." She blushed. "I suppose that the monk is anxious now for our arrival. We should return now."

"Yes, let's go." Kagome stooped down one last time to pick up a final plant. After a few moments she asked, "Sesshoumaru, how has your father been holding up with the kingdom over there? Has the castle remained relatively safe for now?"

"Yes." I answered. "For now. Naraku has not seemed to attack it yet, but it may only be a question of when instead of if. He has already turned the youkai and human lands against ourselves; soon the second phase of his plan will happen."

She looked at me curiously. "And what is that, exactly?"

"Naraku plans on weakening the youkai kingdom just enough so that he may overthrow my father and become the new emperor."

"And…aren't you worried? Shouldn't you be over there to help defend the castle?"

I growled protectively. "My first priority is your safety, not his."

"But…what if he's under attack now? Sesshoumaru, I'll be fine in my own castle. You should go back and wait for Naraku to come."

I thought for a moment. There were several things that I wanted to be done with here first. "After tomorrow morning, when I am done seeing you and the others off at your castle...I will return to my own lands. But not before then."

Kagome smiled. "Okay. Not before then."

When we returned back at the monk's home, a new visitor was present—the old woman named Kaede. She saw the plants we had picked in my hand and immediately set about turning them into a digestible medicine. "Yee made a wise choice, Miroku." She said. "This plant should be most effective indeed. I daresay this is just what Sango needs."

Kagome looked at her with puzzlement. "Kaede, when did you get here?"

The old woman sighed. "Not too long ago. In fact, I was wondering why yee were so late for our private meeting to talk, Lady Kagome. I took a walk to investigate." Kagome cringed. "I came about this home eventually, only to find the castle's monk extremely distressed. And now, here I am, lending my priestess powers to her."

"Oh, I see." We watched as she carefully poured the newly ground medicine into a small container. "Kaede, has Miroku told you what happened yet?"

"With the demon slayer village, where Sango had lived? Hai. Yee should not linger here, Lady Kagome. And yee as well, Lord Sesshoumaru. Do not dwell here while there are other, more urgent things to be done. We must not risk another attack by Naraku here."

"We shall leave tomorrow." I insisted. "I will see all back to the castle safely before returning home. Naraku can plot for a little longer."

She shook her head and moved into the next room, where Sango was resting quietly. In her hand was the tea that Miroku had prepared for her. She appeared to be in deep thought, and did not notice our entrance.

"Take this." Kaede said. She handed her the medicine. Sango nodded wearily and received the container. "Yee will feel a little better in the morning, I predict. Rest now Sango, while you still can before the journey."

"Yes, you're right." Sango looked around slowly. "Where's Miroku?"

"I think he's cleaning out the dish that he used to help prepare the tea." Kagome replied. "He'll be back soon."

The woman nodded, and rested her head back on the futon in order to get more rest. We walked away quietly out of the room, leaving her with some time alone, along with the neko that had come, who was resting at the base of the futon.

Nightfall came soon. Earlier the monk and I had taken the neko out in order to hunt around for anything that would be edible for the women. During this time, we had talked about a variety of things, such as Naraku, the three women back at the hut, and my father. I had learned many interesting things from these conversations—the monk clearly knew things that I did not. Of course, he WAS the head monk for the human castle, after all. Not without good reason.

Once we came back and everyone ate satisfactorily, I crept out with Kagome later, when the sun vanished from the sky.

"Sesshoumaru…what are we—where?"

"Come with me." I whispered simply. Her eyes widened, but she nodded quickly to show her complete trust. I led Kagome carefully down the winding path in the woods until we came to the quiet meadow we saw earlier.

I took this opportunity to look around in satisfaction. The sky was clear…perfect. The various noises that the daytime animals had made in the afternoon had died down since then, and a very light breeze traveled across the grass.

Kagome looked up at the stars. "Beautiful…" She breathed.

"Oh? I'm certain that I see something even more beautiful." I replied back.

She looked at me. "Are you going to tell me what this is all about now?"

I revealed a soft blanket from behind my back and handed it to her. "Take this and lay it out so we may sit down."

Her brow immediately rose in suspicion. "T-This?"

"Hai…please, Kagome."

She crouched down hesitantly and spread it across the small area. She sat down on it and reach both of her hands out, inviting me over. I needed no other hint, and sat down next to her. Kagome curled up against my chest happily.

Before I could speak, she said, "When I…first saw you, back at the demon slayer village…I was mostly scared for you, but also a little relieved. I'm glad our paths crossed like this, Sesshoumaru."

I nuzzled and nipped at the nape of her neck lightly. She was mine. "As am I."

"When you left so quickly, back at the castle," she continued, "I missed you, Sesshoumaru. I really did…more than you can realize. With every corner I turned in the castle, I seemed to become hit by yet another strange memory of us together that I couldn't quite seem to recall. It made me…think about you even more."

I gazed at her. "And you have remembered everything now?"

She giggled. "I'm not sure. I think so, but…" Kagome shifted around so that she was facing me. "…But there's still one memory that I'm not quite sure about. Perhaps I only made it up in the back of my mind…" Her hand extended up and touched my cheek softly.

My eyes glazed over from this feeling. I reached up and held it there. Oh, how I had missed her touch. "What happened in this memory?"

Kagome smiled against my neck. "Something similar to this." Without any warning, she sat up facing me and started to kiss me fiercely. I was more than eager to allow her to do this, and as the robes gradually became loose, the night turned older from there.

Review Responses:

Harmony8390: Ah, so that's what the name of it is. Hehe. Arigato! Anyways, Shippo is around, but at what point I introduce him is a small puzzle to me...

zeddy222: Yep, as you can see, Sess sees Kag again. Happy days! XD

WhiteAngel-sama: I did something again? Huh...I didn't think I left much of a cliffie...or anything at all, really...

Dragen Eyez: Hahaha yes he's quite evil. I particularly laughed at that one episode with the two of them and Sango being proposed at and everything. Hehe.

Row: Cool! Glad you've made use of it. And yeah, from what I've seen of them, thetwo animes rock...

sweets427: Arigato! Glad you like it!

Tsuki Yume: Ah, that's a shame. It really was a good anime. I should have taped it...ah well...

KougasGrl1188: Well, I think you'll be pleased to know that they certainly spend enough time alone in this chappy. ;) As for the elder's translations, you can go to my website to see what all of it means...

Hime no Heru: Lol! Yep, they're alone now...wonder what'll happen! XD

m1s7ress: No, they won't go back now...those two still have some unfinished business to attend to, ne?

yuki kesuma: Heh, yes Kirara's okay. Miroku isn't a pervert in this fic, fortunately...

fluffys-sidesick: Arigato! Hope you like this one as well...

Lightning/Wolf Demon: Yeah, I guess it's at least good that she found Kirara, ne?

ahriaman: Well because he's in this new world and everything, so his personality has changed too (just like the fact that he no longer has a hole in his hand...somethings have changed but some remain the same).

butterflyrin: Patience my dear! You'll definitely need it when you're waiting for MY updates...lol...

Fire/Ice Fox Goddess: Ah, you're making me blush! XD Thanks though!

Inugirl: Glad to see you're so anxious, heh! Hope you like this chappy.

Thanks for the reviews everyone! Happy Thanksgiving (to all those who live in America, at any rate). Hope you like the lemon if you choose to read it! R&R! Arigato, ja ne!