I DON'T OWN ANY OF THESE CHARCTERS

Chapter Three

Kagome steps through the door and is immediately hit by a rush of warm air. An enormous fire place was burning, and Sesshomaru was just beginning to sit down. Kagome just looks around the room, spotting various stuffed demon heads, most of which she has never seen. Above the fireplace was a life size portrait of Sesshomaru's father, in full armour, and beside that, one of Sesshomaru. hm, even on paper he wants to be like his father. Kagome sees some stairs and heads toward them.

"What are you doing?" He asks, not even looking away from the fire.

"I was going to explore. If I get lost I'll call for you." She replies, continuing toward the stairs.

"Don't go up there without me. There are some very.." He smiles, "Unlike able things."

"Well, I'm tired and would like to go to my room." Kagome continues toward the stairs.

" I said you can't go up there alone Kagome. Unless, you want to find some 'little' demon who doesn't know you're a guest."

More like a prisoner. " Well then, could you please take me to my room. I need rest."

Sesshomaru looks at her finally, and lays back even further in the chair, " In awhile."

Kagome scowls at him and sits down in a chair beside him, arms crossed. " Fine, have it your way." She looks around, and notices a corner of a portrait frame behind a curtain. She gets up and walks toward it, lifting the sheet up a little out of the way, just enough so she could see what the picture was. She gasps. It's Inuyasha…and his mother? What? Kagome looks over at the wall with the portraits, and she can notice where a picture once was. She lifts the sheet up even more, but before she can see the full portrait, Sesshomaru is standing beside her with his hand grasped around her wrist.

"You should learn to keep you hands to yourself mortal." He says with a snarl. " I'll show you to your room now." Not loosening his grip, he heads toward the stairs with Kagome having no more to do than follow him.

He didn't want me to see. " I thought you had nothing to hide Sesshomaru, looks like your keeping secrets." Kagome pipes up from behind him.

"Everybody has their secrets." He responds, not even looking back. They climb staircase after staircase, until finally he stops in a hallway. "This is your room." He points to a door, third one down on the left, and as he points at the door, a little yellow demon comes out with fur on it's paws, and teeth on the outside of it's head. " And those are servant demons. They will bring you whatever you want while you are here. Never again will you comment to me about my privacy. If you have any questions I'll be in the dungeons." Then he releases her wrist and turns and leaves the way he came with her.

" Hey! You just told me a minute ago not to wonder alone up here!" Kagome calls out to him. He stops.

" Patricia! I want you to tell every living thing in this castle that this girl is a guest, not an escapee." Then he continues down the hall. The little yellow demon bows, and waddles down the opposite way of the hall.

Kagome just stands there, rubbing her wrist, and then looks at her door. Might as well… Then she walks over to her new bedroom door, and opens it.

Sesshomaru paces back and forth, every now and then, glancing at the hidden portrait. He never really wanted to get rid of it. It was after all, the only one of his brother in it. Finally he just takes the sheet off entirely, and there it was, staring at him like it always does when he took the sheet off, every night. His brother, and his brother's mother…and himself. His father was off somewhere he remembered, so his step mother was taking care of him. That was the day he met Inuyasha, and he hated him from the start. His father kept it in his castle, mounted right beside his own, so when Sesshomaru inherited the castle he took it down immediately. But, Sesshomaru was compelled to keep the painting, even today. He looks at it, and looks at the little Inuyasha. I wonder little brother, if you feel for these girl like you did with dear ol' mother. He looks at the woman that has brought so much hatred toward her fellow kind. His eyebrows cross together as he looks at the scenery behind her shoulder, something he has never seen before. It's…it's him. He was there. There, in the upper left of the painting was his father. Leaning against the pole of the gazebo. Sesshomaru leans back from the painting and glances toward Patricia. "Yes?"

"The girl is in her room now sir, would you like me to have a guard at her door?" She asks in a slithery voice, eyes blinking upwards.

Sesshomaru turns toward her, and shakes his head. "No. You may leave." What? I should be making sure she stays in that room…what am I doing? " On second thought, yes, and I want dinner to be here in an hour."

"Yes master." and she leaves. Sesshomaru looks back at the painting and shakes his head. Bloody liar. And he puts the sheet back over the picture, and walks toward his room which was only a floor above Kagome's.