A/N: Wow, so many reviews! (wipes away the tears) thanks so much!.! I am really thankful for all of you who took the time to review my story so far! Your comments, encouragement, cultural tips, and flames have really helped to shape this story.

Well, you guys, I think I can safely say that this story is over halfway done. It probably won't take too many more chapters to wrap things up... I guess, from the reviews I've been getting, I've kept the romantic pairings pretty ambiguous, huh? You readers are from a variety of preferences- IY/Kag, IY/Rin, Sess/Kag, anti- Sess/Rin... I just hope that even though the pairings might not end the way you hope, that you continue to read and enjoy and review my story.

Previously:

"Please don't blame him, Inu Yasha," she petitioned, "if it wasn't for him…"

"I'll deal with my brother later." He released Kagome from his embrace, but kept his hands on her arms. "I don't blame you for what happened, Kagome," he said honestly, looking straight into her eyes. "But as for my brother- it's his fault you were even marked in the first place." Kagome just looked at him, amazed at his forgiveness at her actions. Inu Yasha stepped back from Kagome, and turned around. "I'm going for a walk," he said, thinly veiling his mixed emotions at the news Kagome had just broken to him. Although he forgave Kagome for what had happened, he needed some time to sort things out in his head- and he needed to deal with Sesshoumaru, as well. Neither one saying anything further, Kagome watched Inu Yasha until he was gone from her line of sight.

CHAPTER 13: confrontation

"Rin." The girl turned to see Sesshoumaru standing behind her. It was late; he was probably going to tell her to get to bed. For some reason, she couldn't sleep, and had crawled up onto the roof to look at the stars- and the small crescent of a moon that hung in the night sky. It was her favorite place to go when they visited the castle. The night sky and the seclusion of the castle made her feel at peace- it gave her time to think about things, and regain her composure when she felt distressed or melancholy.

"Good evening, Sesshoumaru-sama," she greeted him, although not rising from her seat on the roof.

"What are you doing up here at this time of night?" he asked her coolly.

"I'm just thinking," she told him. Sesshoumaru stood there in silence, as if expecting her to continue. After a few moments, she did. "I remembered when Jaken-sama told me about your quest for something called 'power.' Are you still after it, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Of course," he replied, staring out over the vast, dark expanse of the forest. Those were his lands. Now that Inu Yasha had shown a care about his past and discovered the lanyard, Sesshoumaru was obligated to include him in the family ownership of the Western lands. It bothered him to share something that he considered his own. But now, at this moment, he thought about it in a different light. Inu Yasha had considered Kagome as his own; yet he had taken her from him, and even marked her with his own blood. In this way, Inu Yasha had also been forced to share something that he considered his own. In a way, at least according to Sesshoumaru, they were somewhat even.

"I see," Rin commented. "I was also remembering- I had asked Jaken-sama where I would be in your kingdom." Rin paused, wondering if she should continue.

"What did he say?" Sesshoumaru asked, looking down at Rin. Her face and dark hair reminded him of Kagome when he had first seen her with Inu Yasha. Only somehow, Rin looked a little sadder.

"He said that I would be dead by then," she said softly. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, detecting her emotions. Rin let out a sigh. "When I remember what he said, it makes me sad to think that I won't be with you forever." She smiled sadly, and looked up at the taiyoukai. "Ne, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"What is it?"

"You'll still remember me after I'm gone, won't you?" Sesshoumaru's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he broke his gaze with Rin. He tilted his head back to look at the moon, causing his silver hair to swish slightly in its light.

"Don't be stupid, Rin," he told her, remembering when she asked him the same thing five years before. 'I have no intention of allowing you to befall the same pathetic fate as other humans do,' said the voice from the deepest regions of his heart. As long as he was alive, he would do everything in his power to keep her with him. Rin smiled again, but this time it was no longer sad.

"I love Sesshoumaru-sama and Jaken-sama, and I hope that I never have to leave them," she said, looking up at the stars. Sesshoumaru waited a few moments, before turning to walk away. He turned his head and looked over his shoulder at Rin.

"It's time to go inside, Rin." With that, Sesshoumaru walked away from where Rin was sitting.

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said softly, mostly to herself. She knew that he cared about her, and she had become used to the way he expressed it. Every time she needed his help, he was there. If she was hungry, he took her to a place to eat. When she was kidnapped, he rescued her. Rin knew how much she loved and depended on Sesshoumaru- but how much did he love and depend on her? Sighing, Rin rose to her feet, clambered down the roof, and entered the castle.

About an hour after he had talked to Rin, Sesshoumaru had been minding his own business, reading over a few of the recent contracts made with the Northern lords. Suddenly, he looked up from his paperwork. He could hear his brother coming from a mile away. Putting his scroll down on the desk, he stood and faced the door, waiting for Inu Yasha to enter.

"SESSHOUMARU!" Inu Yasha shouted as he slammed the sliding door open.

"Have a care with other people's property, Inu Yasha," Sesshoumaru said calmly. Judging by the expression on his little brother's face, Sesshoumaru figured that Kagome had told him what happened. He wasn't surprised; Kagome didn't seem the type of person to keep a secret like that for very long. But now he had to face up to Inu Yasha about what he had done.

"Maybe that's what I should be saying to you," Inu Yasha growled deeply. Without saying anything more, he stormed over to Sesshoumaru and landed a hefty punch on his older brother's left cheek. Having strengthened his stance to withstand the blow, he didn't fall, but rather slid back several feet. Inu Yasha was no weakling, especially now that he was now in essence, a full youkai. A small red mark began to show itself on Sesshoumaru's face. Sesshoumaru had been expecting this from Inu Yasha, and feeling partially like he deserved to be punched, he allowed his brother to strike him. However, Sesshoumaru's silence angered Inu Yasha even more. "What do you have to say for yourself, Sesshoumaru?" he demanded. The taiyoukai brought his right leg forward to meet his left, and stood straight once more.

"I'm sorry, did you have a claim on something?" he asked his little brother, mockingly.

"Teme… you knew I was with Kagome, and yet you…"

"You are lucky that's all I did, Inu Yasha. Don't blame others for taking action where you failed to do so." At this, Inu Yasha knew that Sesshoumaru was right; he hadn't claimed Kagome as his own. If another youkai had taken her, they very well may have marked and mated with her without knowing of her ties to Inu Yasha. Sesshoumaru continued, "had Kagome been marked already, this wouldn't have happened."

Inu Yasha stood still, his deep growl slowly rising in his throat. The waning severity of his growl mirrored his recognition at the truth of Sesshoumaru's words. Sesshoumaru stepped toward Inu Yasha and slapped him fiercely on the cheek. "Take responsibility for what you consider yours," he told him firmly. At this, Inu Yasha's growling stopped, and he now held a hand to his cheek. Sesshoumaru had been right about almost everything. It wasn't right that he had marked Kagome, since he knew what her relationship was with him; however, it was true that Inu Yasha had made no formal claim on her. He had been calling Kagome 'his' to himself, but he had never even asked her formally- until the other night. Inu Yasha's older brother turned away, and sat down at his desk. "Now get out of my room," he commanded.

"Keh, whatever," Inu Yasha said, rubbing his cheek. He turned away and left Sesshoumaru's room, leaving the door wide open. He had confronted Sesshoumaru on the subject of Kagome's temporary mark- even though he didn't quite get the revenge he felt was due him. Now, he needed time to come to grips with the situation by himself.

It was now late morning, and back at the Inu no Taisho's castle Miroku, Sango, Kohaku, and Shippou were in a panic. Sango was about to give birth. They hadn't expected it to happen so soon- she was still supposed to have three more weeks to go.

"Water! Go get more water and clean sheets!" Miroku yelled at Shippou as he knelt by Sango, who was lying on a Western-style bed. Shippou nodded from the doorway, and he and Kohaku ran to find the needed supplies.

"Why is this happening so soon?" Sango asked, worried. They had been drinking tea before bedtime, when all of a sudden her water broke. Miroku, the loving, caring husband that he was, carried her to the nearest bedroom and laid her down. It had been awhile, and she was now almost fully dilated.

"I'm not sure, Sango.. maybe we pushed it too hard these past few days…"

"UUurrrgghhh…" was all she could respond with. Her body was now preparing for childbirth, and it felt more painful than any injury she had ever sustained- including being struck by hiraikotsu.

"Take it easy, Sango…"

"GAAAHH!" she screamed at Miroku, who she was now cursing for putting this thing in her body. "I'd like to see YOU take it easy if you were here in my position!" Miroku reached around her body to grab both of her hands. It may have seemed like a nice gesture, but in reality he was really protecting himself. Who knew how hard she could hit while she was under this much stress?

"He--eh, heh…" Miroku laughed nervously, silently hoping that Shippou and Kohaku would come back soon. Sango was pretty scary in this condition…

Inu Yasha awoke in the lower branches of a tree bordering Sesshoumaru's castle. After leaving his brother, he took out his frustrations on the trees. Sighing, he looked at the path of destruction he had carved. 'Kagome…' He jumped down from his perch, and headed slowly back to the castle grounds. While he still had a problem with Sesshoumaru, he wanted to see Kagome one more time. 'I know that the scent of desire is strong… but… Kagome, what about your will?' Inu Yasha hated to admit it, but he was secretly wondering if Kagome had felt some kind of attraction when she kissed his brother. 'I know I didn't say anything to her until the other night, but.. weren't my actions enough? Kagome… we've been together so long…' He felt such a pain in his chest, remembering when she told him what she had done.

...flashback...

"I…" Kagome looked at the ground, "…kissed him."

"You… what?" He stepped backwards. "Kagome… you?" he asked, shocked. The red tinge caused by jealousy disappeared from his eyes, whose expression betrayed deep sorrow. He turned away from Kagome in order to hide the hurt from his eyes. "You kissed him," he repeated softly.

"Mm."

...end flashback...

'Is this how she felt when she saw me when I met with Kikyou? But… I wasn't controlled by anything when I did it.' He held his hands out in front of him, and stared at them. 'Kagome is from a different time… maybe she really was waiting for me to say something.' Sighing, Inu Yasha dropped his hands back to his sides, and followed the path of destruction he had made last night back to the castle. 'Miroku was probably right- I missed my chance to tell her, and look what happened because of it.' Pausing, he looked up at the sky. He remembered when it was black, and there was no moon. Kagome was at his side, and he told her how much she meant to him. She told him that she felt the same way. Inu Yasha closed his eyes, and lowered his head, the cool morning breeze blowing softly on his face and through his hair.

'Kagome made a choice. Even though I can't change what happened, my feelings for her won't change because of something like this. Kagome didn't even have to tell me about what happened between her and Sesshoumaru, but she did,' he reasoned. Just as he was about to step into the clearing to Sesshoumaru's castle in order to find Kagome, he smelled something on the breeze. "Sango," he said, worried, before he sprinted toward his father's castle.

Kagome woke up in her bed and lay there for a few moments. She could tell somehow that she had slept later than normal. It was hard to open her eyes. 'Are they swollen?' she speculated. She pressed her fingers over her eyelids and sat up. She still had a headache from crying last night. Inu Yasha had said he knew it wasn't her fault, but… she knew better. He probably thought she should've been able to control herself, even in the face of the strong pull she felt toward Sesshoumaru. Although she felt bad that she had injured Inu Yasha, somehow she still hoped that it would all turn out okay. She had been honest with him, and at least that heavy burden was finally removed from her chest.

Sesshoumaru looked at Kagome when she arrived at the breakfast table. It had almost become the regular thing that he met her in the morning while Rin played in the field. Kagome had a glass of juice, but failed to eat anything else. She just didn't have the stomach for it. Sesshoumaru eyed the miko curiously, but said nothing. Kagome rested her elbow on the table, and propped her head up on her hand, her forehead cradled by her palm. She had rinsed her eyes with water, and laid a cold compress on them for several minutes, but to no real avail. It was obvious she had been crying. She was just about to let out a groan when she heard Sesshoumaru stand up from his position.

"Come with me," he said to her. Kagome looked up at him, to see his eyes staring at hers, almost as though he could see straight down into her soul.

"Mm," she said, standing up. Sesshoumaru turned to go inside, and she followed. As they walked down the corridor, Kagome realized that she had never seen this part of the castle. After all, she had only been there a few days- was it a week, now? She had lost track. "Where are we going?" she asked quietly, after a minute or so of walking. Sesshoumaru made no answer until they reached their destination.

The taiyoukai had heard Kagome crying last night. It wasn't his place to comfort her, so he left her to herself. When he saw her in the morning, he could only guess what happened between her and Inu Yasha. The way he came storming into his room, he had no doubt that his brother was probably harsh, or at least somewhat stand-offish with Kagome as well. Sesshoumaru inwardly scoffed at Inu Yasha for not having the ability to keep his actions and emotions tightly reigned. Letting out a silent sigh, he had decided that he did not want Rin to see Kagome with swollen eyes. If Rin asked what happened, Kagome might become distracted and prove to become an ineffective teacher. So, Sesshoumaru decided to take Kagome to the infirmary, and reduce the swelling on her eyes before she began instruction with Rin for the day.

As he led her down the hall, he began to think more carefully. Was he just trying to justify the reason as to why he wanted to give Kagome some kind of comfort? Or was he actually doing this because it was Kagome who needed to be comforted? Why was he even trying to justify his actions in the first place? Sesshoumaru needed to clear his head, but for now he would tell Kagome to rest some more.

"This is the infirmary," he told her, entering the room. "Follow me," he said, leading her toward a small cupboard. Kneeling down, he reached inside and pulled out a small shell container. Standing up once more, he opened it to reveal a pasty white cream.

"What is it?" she asked, leaning forward to smell it.

"This is a cream to reduce the swelling," he told her. "Close your eyes." Kagome did as she was told, but suddenly she remembered what it was like the last time she was alone with the youkai lord. She felt a small blush rise to her cheeks. She loved Inu Yasha; she knew that… but remembering the passionate moment that she had shared with his older brother was enough to make her blush. She had felt the strength of his embrace, the warmth of his breath on her cheek, and the feeling of his lips against hers. Although she knew that they were both under the influence of the infamous 'mark,' she remembered every instant of that moment with extreme clarity. Lost in her thoughts, she flinched slightly when she felt the cool cream being applied to her eyes. While Sesshoumaru was applying the cream to Kagome's eyes, he noticed the blush rise to her cheeks. 'Why is she blushing? What is she thinking about?' he thought curiously.

"Keep this on your eyes until I tell you to remove it," Sesshoumaru instructed her as he touched her eyelids. Gently, he ran his finger underneath her right eye. Putting his hand on her cheek, he applied cream to the lower part of her left eye using his thumb. After he finished applying the cream, he left his hand there for an extra moment. Kagome's lips parted slightly- she seemed to notice that he hadn't yet removed his hand. "You'll need to keep your eyes closed. You can rest here." Once Sesshoumaru removed his hand from her face, Kagome realized that she hadn't been breathing. She heard him clasp the shell container, and return it to the cabinet. She stood still, not knowing where a bed or chair was for her to rest on. She heard the swish of Sesshoumaru's clothes as he turned to face her, but she heard no footsteps. Was he staring at her? She couldn't tell.

Yes, he was staring at her. The way she stood, with her arms straight down at her sides, and white cream all over her eyes- she reminded him of Rin when she had played dress up with Jaken one day, a few years back.

...flashback...

Rin had found a jar of cream lying in the middle of the road. It was a road frequented by merchants, and apparently a salesman for the makeup industry had just been traveling by. "Ooohhh, look Jaken-sama," she said, picking it up. "What's this?" Rin opened the container to reveal a white paste.

"Who cares?" Jaken said, even though he leaned in to look at it in order to make sure that it was safe for Rin to touch. Doing so, he caught a whiff of the mixture. "It stinks!" he exclaimed, covering his toady little beak. Rin laughed carelessly, and ran off, her newfound treasure in hand.

It had been a few hours before the three of them stopped to rest, and Rin finally had a chance to play with her new find. While she opened the jar, Rin stared at Jaken. "What are you staring at!" he shouted, annoyed. Even when they were supposed to be 'resting,' Jaken never had a moment's rest away from Rin.

"No-thing," she said mysteriously, like all children do when they don't want anyone to know the mischief they're planning.

"Hmph," he grunted, and turned his back on the child. Resting against the trunk of a nearby tree, Jaken fell asleep. Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru sat on a boulder, planning the next course of action he should take on pursuing Naraku's heart. He hadn't gotten any good leads since his last conversation with Kagura. After awhile, Sesshoumaru stood up, and raised a foot in order to give Jaken a wake-up call. That was when he saw it.

"Se-sSHoU-maru-saaama!" Rin called in a strange, squawky voice. She stood there, one arm hanging straight down against her side. Her other arm held a large stick as though it were a giant cane. Although he continued to look in Rin's direction, Sesshoumaru dropped his foot straight on Jaken's head. "Se-sShoU-mAru-saamaaa! I--- am JA-Ken-sama!" Rin called, hobbling forward as if she were a penguin. As she stepped into the light, her face could clearly be seen. She had used that white cream she had found to make large circles of white on her eyelids and around her own eyes, mimicking the buggy eyes of the toady minion. "IIII am Jaken-samaaa, how may I seerrrve youuuu?" she continued, keeping up her squawky voice. She waddled closer to where Sesshoumaru and Jaken were, and made a stiff bow at the taiyoukai.

"Hm?" Jaken murmured as he rubbed his eyes, waking up from Sesshoumaru's kick to the head. He looked over at Rin, and his eyes opened wide. "Wh-whaaat?" He jumped up to his feet and pointed at Rin. "Rin! Rin!" he squawked, in a voice similar to the one Rin had been using, "That's cruel! Quit that right now!" he shouted, jumping up and down, all the while pointing at the girl.

"Hellooo, Jaken-sama, I am Jaken-sama," she stated, continuing her masquerade. "How do you like my staff?" she said as she bowed again, beginning to giggle as she held the staff straight out in front of her. Jaken's mouth dropped for just a moment, before he finally regained his composure and resumed his reprimand of the girl.

"RIn! You should apologize right no--"

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru called his minion.

"Yes, milord?" Jaken asked, pulling his arm (which had been pointing at Rin) back to his side.

"Go wash your face."

"Hai, milord." Jaken shot Rin one last look of contempt before he made his way toward the nearby pond. "That girl.. why does Sesshoumaru-sama tolerate her?" he muttered. Kneeling down, he looked into the pond. "And why did he tell me to wash my…" he stopped mid-sentence, when he saw his face. He was covered in white drawings. There was a rainbow shape on his forehead, giant eyelashes painted around his eyes, and a large heart on each cheek. On his beak was a little smiley face. "AAAAAHHHH!" he screamed, and immediately dunked his head underwater, scrubbing vigorously to get the now-dried cream off of his face.

...end flashback...

Yes, Kagome, standing there with cream on her eyes, really reminded him of Rin. The corners of Sesshoumaru's mouth gently curved upward into a small smile. He walked over to where she was standing. The girl probably had no idea where she should rest. Putting an arm around Kagome's shoulders, he guided her slowly toward the infirmary bed. Once they reached it, he turned around, wrapped his arm around Kagome's stomach, and hoisted her up onto the bed. "You can lay down here. The cream should take effect very soon. I'll come back to get you later."

"Okay," Kagome replied. Settling into a lying position on the bed, she began to think about everything that had happened since she arrived. Her thoughts did not go far, however; there was some kind of sedative aroma in the cream, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

"SANGO! MIROKU!" Inu Yasha called, worried about his comrade. He ran inside his father's castle, and followed the scent of blood. Just as he was about to storm inside the room where he supposed she was, the door quietly slid open. "Miroku," Inu Yasha said, urgency in his voice. "Sango…" Miroku smiled a smile of true relief, and sighed, closing his eyes, and rubbing his neck, rolling his head from side to side.

"She's just fine, Inu Yasha," he whispered. "She's sleeping." Inu Yasha sniffed the air. It smelled… different.

"What happened?"

"She gave birth a little earlier than we had expected."

"O-oh. Co-- congratulations," he told his friend, shocked. "How is the baby?" Miroku smiled again, but this time, it was the wide smile of a happy, proud father. Inu Yasha looked at Miroku, and then peeked behind him to see the baby Kohaku held in his arms.

"He's doing just fine. Kohaku is watching him, and Shippou has gone off to get some herbs to help speed Sango's recovery."

"Wow, it sounds like you guys were really busy."

"Yeah. It's finally quieted down." Miroku stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. "Let's go get some fresh air, shall we?"

"Ah." The two men stepped outside. They walked in silence, until they were outside of the castle. They took a seat on the soft grass, facing the forest. "I'm sorry I wasn't there," Inu Yasha told him. "I'm sure Kagome feels the same way."

"Speaking of Kagome-sama," Miroku began, "did you mark her?" At Miroku's question, Inu Yasha hung his head, his bangs covering his eyes. "Inu Yasha?" Miroku asked, after a moment's silence.

"No. Something else happened." The houshi looked at his friend with concern.

...later...

"I see," Miroku said after he had heard the story. "I had no idea Sesshoumaru felt that way about Kagome-sama."

"That's just it.. she said it wasn't like that, and that Sesshoumaru had no intention of doing anything like that with her."

"So, nothing happened besides the kiss? What a relief," Miroku stated.

"Ah. But…" Inu Yasha paused. "But still…"

"I understand, Inu Yasha." The houshi looked at his friend seriously. It was a blow to Inu Yasha's pride. Even though Inu Yasha's feelings for Kagome wouldn't change, it still hurt him to know that Kagome had been previously marked. Miroku reached around Inu Yasha, and laid his arm across his friend's shoulders. "Take care with this, Inu Yasha. Kagome has faith in you, and she wouldn't have told you what happened if she didn't value your trust."

"I know," he whispered hoarsely. He turned to face his friend. "I know," he said, with more confidence. Inu Yasha stood up, and heaved a sigh. "I need to go back." Miroku nodded at his friend. "Tell Sango congratulations from me." Miroku nodded.

"I will. Inu Yasha, we're going to head back to Kaede's because of the baby," Miroku informed him. Inu Yasha nodded in response.

"Ja…" and with that, Inu Yasha leapt off into the forest, heading towards Sesshoumaru's castle.

It was now late afternoon, almost time for Kagome and Rin to finish their lessons for the day. They practiced archery outside, while Sesshoumaru watched from afar. Kagome had awoken about 15 minutes after he had removed the cream from her eyes, and gone straight to teaching Rin. Although she only told Sesshoumaru thank you, and that she was sorry for the trouble, she was secretly really impressed with the results of the cream. There was no evidence whatsoever that she had been crying the night before.

Sesshoumaru felt the air stir beside him. Turning his head to the left, he saw Inu Yasha at his side. "Hmph. So, you've come back. I must say, Inu Yasha, I'm surprised you've decided to visit your brother again, after what happened," Sesshoumaru sarcastically taunted his brother. For once, Inu Yasha didn't allow Sesshoumaru's words to get to him. Instead, he sighed, and closed his eyes.

"We're real brothers now, aren't we, Sesshoumaru?" Sesshoumaru smirked, but in a non-malicious way. He understood what Inu Yasha was doing. It was understood within their clan that family was a priority; Inu Yasha was finally beginning to mature, and was showing it by putting his relationship with his family above his own desire to run away from the recent dilemma he was faced with. Sesshoumaru took a breath- almost like a quiet sigh- before he spoke. Both brothers were now watching the girls interact on the archery range.

"When I first put Kagome in my charge, I had no intention of any such thing happening."

'You mean when you took her,' Inu Yasha thought to himself. Of course, he wasn't about to say that out loud. He finally dealt with his anger- now all that was left to do was deal with his resentment.

"But, no matter how much you may wish it, things such as this cannot be reversed."

"I know," he replied quietly. Inu Yasha knew that this was the closest thing to an apology that he was going to get from his brother. Besides, Sesshoumaru did let him land a punch on his cheek last night. Inu Yasha wasn't stupid- he knew his brother could have dodged if he wanted to do so.

"So, little brother, what is your decision?"

"On what?" Inu Yasha looked at his brother, but received no answer. Sesshoumaru only continued to watch Rin and Kagome. Inu Yasha let out something like a sigh. He understood what Sesshoumaru was asking.

"You're right, Sesshoumaru. There's no going back and reversing what happened between you and Kagome. But that doesn't change the way I feel about her. I'm going to be with her until she tells me otherwise." The breeze shifted directions, almost symbolic of Inu Yasha's inward change. He was now mature enough to face the responsibilities of family duty as well as remain true to his original promise to Kagome.

"Hm," Sesshoumaru smirked. "Very well, Inu Yasha. As I said before, you may stay here until Kagome is finished teaching Rin. But," he said, turning to his brother and looking him dead in the eye, "you would best spend your time in the library learning more about your duties. You are now my brother, are you not?"

"Right," Inu Yasha said slowly.

"Then I expect you to take some responsibility concerning our assets. Come with me." And with that, Sesshoumaru took Inu Yasha to the library where he stored the most recent information concerning the Western

A/N: what did you think? I hope no one's actions were too surprising, and I don't think this was a cliffie...

toxiclollipop: Hmm.. the pairing? Although I think I know what it is by now, would that be like, cheating if I told you? Like, reading the last chapter of the book first? I dunno...

Melody W: tell Sally and Shelly I said hello! And get on Shelly's case and tell her to read and review for me, k? I feel really cool, that my story is recommended to people. Hehe!

Jessica L: Yeah, I thought about that age thing too.. I think I mentioned it a little bit somewhere in one of the previous chapters, actually- like, when Kagome remembered the 13 year old who wanted to marry Miroku... Well, before S-dono does anything with Rin, I actually want her to be more like 15 years old... As it is now, the relationship between those two still has to mature a little.

karin: I like your name! Yeah, a bunch of people told me about the whole Sess-Rin Father-daughter relationship idea... hehe... guess I've been rocking a few boats... like Kitty Mew's...

Kitty Mew 2005: I'm glad you're not ditching the story because of the whole Sess/Rin thing.. I think some people have done it already... That just shows me that you're a mature reader, and also (hopefully) my story is good enough for you to read even though you might not agree with that part... so, thanks! Your review was really encouraging!

Nilee: See? He did go see Sesshoumaru right away! I just had to save it for the next chapter! I didn't want him to reinforce his claim on Kagome right then and there, because I think that'd be more like forcing himself on her in the moment- it just wasn't the right time. I'm so glad you like the story!.!

destinyheart15: thanks for the compliment! I love it when people tell me it's my best chapter yet.. it means the story keeps improving!

dafluff123: thank you! and... haha, are you hoping to meet Sesshoumaru in real life? I did have a dream about him once.. but I think he actually turned out to be a bad guy in it. -sigh- Iended up kissingInu Yasha instead... it was a super good kiss, too... -shiver-

Thanks also to pinkpreppypunk, Exunamoon, chii576, KIgirls (hehe! wait and see!), animebook fan (hahaha! I love those two words! But the pressure they put on me is even greater!), whimsy, Rincutie7455, Midnight Faerie, and hermonine. This may sound corny, but all of you reviewers are very important to me!.!