A/N: Hello my faithful reviewers! To answer your first question, "Where the hell have I been?"

It is very simple . . .

1. I had the worst writers block ever

2. The family on both my mom and dads side is going through a feud right now, so I wasn't really emotionally stable to write.

3. Like I said last year at this time when writing Winter Wonderland, it is calving season for us so my nights aren't always free.

So my apologies for almost taking a month to update, but I can guarantee the next

chapter won't take that long.

Anyways this chapter is mainly as Sess/Rin one, and I'm hoping the next one will be too, that is if I can hog tie Sesshoumaru and keep him long enough in my room to write the damn thing.

Everlasting Love

Chapter Three

(Middle of June, 1549)

Spring slowly started fade into summer with the days becoming hotter and longer. Kagome was rather glad the summer had come since during the spring the normal bio-rhythms of the mating season had hit her mate at full force. However since the summer was now here he had calmed down and she wasn't getting pounced by him every few hours. When the morning had hit after the feast Sango had taken Miroku into the woods so she could yell and scream at him for the decision he had made with the headman since she couldn't last night. When they had returned Miroku had a black eye and was pale from all the screaming from his wife, and the monk finally realized how scary Sango could really be.

All was well through out the village and Kagome made double sure that nothing would happen by checking her history books which she kept safely hidden in the house. There had been no events since last year with the Miakwa Battle, but hadn't really affected them at all. There were small battles going on through out Japan, but they were mostly religious ones that didn't concern them. While quickly glancing through her books, Kagome could tell that there was no danger for the next three or four years, which meant they could live peacefully.

Sesshomaru had stopped by the village on his way back to the castle where he had discussed with Kagome about the history of Japan. She of course assured him that the next four years would be safe. After traveling Japan for almost eight month's, Sesshoumaru, Rin, and Jaken finally returned to their castle in the west. Sesshomaru stared at his castle for a few moments before continuing down the grassy slope to the front gates. Jaken was not far behind him while leading the two headed dragon that was carrying a sleeping Rin.

"It feels so good to be home my lord," sighed Jaken.

The demon lord said nothing, as usual, as they walked towards the front gate where two bull demons were standing. At the sight of Sesshoumaru they immediately bowed and allowed him to pass through. An unfamiliar scent tickled at his nose and he could tell that Rin smelled it too since she was now awake.

"Sesshomaru . . . who's here?" she asked sleepily before yawning softly.

Sesshomaru said nothing as they approached the front door of the castle where Jarlarg was waiting patiently for them.

"Welcome home my lord," bowed the old demon.

"Who is here Jarlarg?" asked Sesshomaru.

Jarlarg was about to speak, but his gaze landed on Jaken, "I would prefer if I would speak of our visitors in private my lord,"

Sesshomaru gave a single nod, "Jaken take care of Ah Un . . . Rin you may part for the night,"

The two demons gave no argument as they headed there separate ways.

"Good night Jarlarg," yawned Rin, heading towards her room.

"Sleep well Rin," said Jarlarg, watching the young dog demon start up the stairs to her bed chambers.

Sesshomaru said nothing as he walked by the old demon, into the castle and towards his throne room where he and Jarlarg could talk privately. Opening the doors to his throne room Jarlarg simply placed a barrier around the room so no one would hear their conversation. No words were spoken as Sesshoumaru walked across the room and took a seat on his throne.

"Speak Jarlarg . . . who is here in my castle?" asked Sesshoumaru, his golden eyes gazing upon the old demon.

Jarlarg cleared his throat before speaking, "I'm sure you could tell with your nose that they are dog demons,"

"True . . . however they are not from around here . . ."

Jarlarg nodded, "About a couple of days ago they arrived . . . they have come from the south,"

Sesshomaru closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, "The south is ruled by Bunrakuken,"

"Yes my lord, he has sent his daughter and a few servants over here to talk with you,"

"I see . . . are they here to discuss an alliance perhaps?"

"Yes . . . in marriage,"

"Marriage?"

"I don't know the details, however I believe Bunrakuken wants to form an alliance with us if you will marry his daughter,"

Sesshomaru smiled softly, but Jarlarg could tell the demon lord was probably laughing inside.

"A marriage you say . . . well now that is interesting . . ."

"At least that is what I over heard . . . however when I told them that you weren't here they insisted on staying until you got back,"

Sesshomaru stood, "Where are they now,"

"I believe they are in the garden,"

The demon lord brushed past Jarlarg and towards the window. Jarlarg quickly followed after Sesshoumaru to see him staring down into the dark grounds of the garden. There were no signs of the servants however the daughter of Bunrakuken was sitting on one of the stone benches, looking at the flowers.

"Jarlarg . . . summon her here . . . I want to have them out of my castle before the morning arrives,"

The old demon bowed and was soon out of the room, following his orders. Sesshoumaru let out a heavy sigh before returning to his throne. He would listen on what she had to say and offer before turning her down. He had very few memories of Bunrakuken since his father had been a very good friend with the leader of the south. While he would not agree with this marriage alliance, Sesshoumaru hoped that there would be another way for the two kingdoms to join forces. Closing his eyes slowly he began to wonder if refusing this marriage alliance would cause a war . . . but according to Kagome there was peace for the next four years . . . or perhaps this would be a war no one would be hearing of . . . but to the main point he would NOT be agreeing to this marriage alliance. His heart had already chosen Rin and even though she was still young right now he knew that they would eventually be together. Sesshoumaru's mind flashed a picture of Hiroshi which he quickly shook off, but was only replaced by Michiko's image from his last night in the present. So far he knew he had two children with Rin and had a feeling that there would be more pups along the way. However time was starting to run against him since the spell that had kept Rin a demon was already starting to wear off. It had only been a week ago when her eyes had turned back to their chocolate brown. His plan to wait until she was sixteen was already starting to fade since by that time the spell would most likely have worn off. He would have to think of something else and right now was not the time.

Another matter that was starting to annoy him was with all the 'arranged marriage' talk. His brother had informed him of the monk's agreement with the headman and even with his travels throughout Japan there were arranged marriages taking place everywhere. His thoughts were interrupted by the throne doors opening to reveal Jarlarg, "May I present Princess Sakurako,"

Sesshomaru barely looked as the dog demon princess walked through the doors, followed by her two servants. Her appearance was similar to his with the pointed ears, the long silver hair, and her kimono was a deep purple. Her eyes however were chocolate colored which reminded the demon lord of Rim's eyes. Sakurako slowly approached Sesshoumaru, smiling softly at him, but he returned her warm smile with his cold staring gaze. Tilting his head to the side he rested it against his hand wondering briefly how long this discussion would take so that he could rest for the night. Finally stopping a few feet from him, she bowed deeply, "My dear lord Sesshoumaru . . . welcome home from such a long journey around Japan,"

Sesshomaru said nothing at first, but turned his gaze over to Jarlarg, "Leave Sakurako and I alone to discuss,"

Jarlarg nodded and escorted the two servants along with him. Glancing at Sakurako he could see a glimmer of hope in her eyes and smiled softly as he was about to crush that hope. Once the throne doors closed he could feel the slight jolt of power as Jarlarg placed another barrier around the room so no one would hear them. After a few moments of silence he could tell that Sakurako was already becoming nervous. Deciding to finish this quickly he spoke first, "So why have you come here?"

"My father is wondering if you would like to join forces with us,"

"And what are the circumstances for this alliance to form?"

Sakurako smiled and he knew what she was going to say, "By marriage we can make the alliance a solid bond, my father is asking if you will take me as your mate so that the two kingdoms can join forces,"

Sesshomaru smiled softly, but that smile soon turned into a smirk as he stood up, "By marrying you are kingdoms will join forces . . . "

"So you will agree to the alliance?" interrupted Sakurako, her face lighting up and hope glimmering in her eyes.

". . . However . . . I will have to decline your offer," he continued.

Sakurako's face fell as soon as those words left Sesshoumaru's mouth, which caused the demon lord to smile inwardly. "Wh . . . why? Have I done something to upset you or to have ill feelings towards me?" whimpered Sakurako, tears pooling in her eyes.

Sesshomaru would have laughed, or perhaps let a chuckle slide by since Sakurako was acting so pathetic, but decided that instead of toying with her, he would just end this now.

"If you must know I have already decided on who I am going to take as my mate,"

"What? But my father said that . . ."

"That I was available? Unfortunately I have not told anyone yet of my decision since at this moment she is too young right now, however in another two or three years she will be,"

Sesshomaru was expecting Sakurako to leave and allow him to rest for the night, but instead she became stubborn, seeing if she could perhaps change his mind.

"But since she is young right now . . . how do you know that she returns your feelings and wants to mate with you?" said Sakurako, once again that small glimmer of hope returning to her eyes.

Sesshomaru was starting to grow impatient and wanted to tell the bitch that he had already met some of the children Rin and him would have, but kept his cool as usual. Approaching Sakurako he finally stopped until he was glaring down at her, smiling inwardly again as she cowered before him, "It is none of your business on who I choose as my mate . . . and might I add that even if I was available . . . I would not be your mate even if you were the last dog demon on earth . . . do I make myself clear Sakurako?"

Tears were now spilling down her cheeks as she continued to cower before him, her lip trembling and body shaking as she tried to quiet her sobs.

Straightening up, Sesshomaru headed towards the throne doors, "You can tell your father that I will not agree to this marriage alliance . . . however, if he has another way for us to join forces please tell him to send me word of it," Sakurako said nothing, and with a slight glance over his shoulder he could still see her cowering in the middle of the throne room as he left. Jarlarg said nothing as Sesshoumaru passed him and the two servants of Sakurako immediately rushed over to her. He paid no attention to her sobs and begging to Jarlarg if he knew a way to change his mind.

"I suggest that you should leave the castle tonight since Lord Sesshoumaru is very tired and his patients will be very thin," informed Jarlarg, trying also to ignore the sobs coming from the princess.

"But. ... but my father said I was not to return home until I have convinced Lord Sesshoumaru to make me his mate," sobbed Sakurako.

Jarlarg sighed and scratched his forehead, "I'm sure you will be able to go home since your father was unaware of Sesshoumaru already choosing a mate,"

"No . . . no I will not give up this easily . . . I will show Lord Sesshoumaru than I will be a much better mate,"

The old demon was starting to lose his patience and if she disturbed Sesshoumaru one more time, he knew she wouldn't live through the night. Sighing heavily he turned to tell Sakurako to at least wait till morning to try her pursuits on the demon lord, however she was gone, and the only ones left in the throne room were himself and the two servants.

"Where did she go?" asked Jarlarg, a slight panic in his voice. The two servants shrugged in response.

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Rin sighed softly as she stared out at the night sky from the castle roof. 'There's only a crescent moon . . . tonight is Natasha's human night . . .' thought Rin, which caused her to giggle softly. She could just imagine Inu-Yasha staying up all night to guard his daughter. Sighing softly she leaned back so she could look up more clearly at the moon and stars. She was now fourteen and soon would be turning fifteen when winter arrived.

Over a year ago, she had been uncertain of her feelings towards Sesshoumaru . . . but now she was starting to realize what she felt for the demon lord. Rin had to admit to herself that she did at one point see him as a father figure at first, but during the past year her feelings had changed. Every time she thought about or looked at the demon lord she started to feel weird and didn't know why, but after a talk with Kagome things were starting to become clearer to her that she was indeed in love with Sesshoumaru. While traveling around Japan for the past eight month's she knew that human girls her age were already married or perhaps pregnant with their first child, but she felt that it was too soon for her and Sesshoumaru to go 'that' far. Rin decided that after she turned fifteen or perhaps even sixteen then she would start to show the signs to Sesshoumaru that she was interested in him. Closing her eyes for a moment, a terrible thought struck her, causing her eyes to flash open and sit up. Staring at her clawed hands she started to remember that the spell keeping her demon wouldn't last forever and if it did wear off she would become human again. Her mind was racing as she tried to figure out what she would do. Was it really too soon to admit her love for Sesshoumaru? Knowing the demon lord he wouldn't want to rush for them to become mates right away . . . perhaps courting would be the best option or as Kagome had put it once 'dating'.

Standing up Rin smiled as she started to plan what she would do tomorrow and how to announce her feelings to Sesshoumaru, but a small sound caught her attention. Her ears twitched slightly as the sound of a shoji door being slammed shut and the rustle of clothing being removed, which seemed to be coming from the nearest balcony. Slowly edging her way over to the sound she realized that it was coming from Sesshoumaru's room. Before she could quietly make it back to her room without being noticed the demon lord walked out onto his balcony, causing Rin to freeze. She wondered if perhaps she could still sneak back to her room, but she remained frozen as her eyes looked closer at the demon lord who was less then ten feet from her. His silver hair moved in different directions from the wind and with the fact that he was shirtless made her heart only beat faster. She couldn't stop the small gasp that left her lips from the beautiful sight of the demon lord. Rin's plan to sneak back to her room was shot to hell as Sesshoumaru turned his head slightly to look at her, his gaze the same as always.

"Rin . . . what are you doing up?" asked Sesshoumaru.

Rin blushed softly as she tried to keep her eyes downward, but they would not leave the sight of the demon lord which only increased the redness in her cheeks. "I . . . I . . . couldn't . . . I couldn't sleep . . ." stammered Rin.

Sesshomaru said nothing, but motioned her to come towards him with the slight gesture of his hand. She took small steps towards the demon lord, trying to stop the racing beat of her heart and make the blush go away, but this was a battle she would not win as she climbed over the railing of the balcony. Now she was less than two feet from the demon lord, but she had some how managed to make her eyes stare at the floor, which started to lessen the blush. No words were spoken between the two demons which caused Rin to become slightly nervous. Her eyes looked back up at Sesshoumaru to see him looking at her and even though his face was the same as usual his eyes revealed that he was slightly puzzled by her actions. Deciding that she didn't like the silence that was surrounding them, she spoke to lighten the mood, "So . . . did . . . did you find out . . . who was in the castle?"

Sesshomaru simply nodded his head, but his gaze remained on her.

'Great . . . now what do I say . . . perhaps I should just . . .' but Rin's thoughts were interrupted as Sesshoumaru slowly approached her, standing directly in front of her. 'Oh now what do I do . . . I could just turn around and head to my room . . . no that won't work at all . . . but I can't just stand here like a complete idiot . . . I have to say something . . . but what?' Gathering her courage she forced her eyes off the ground once again, but could only bring them to look straight ahead at his chest.

"Is something wrong Rin?" asked Sesshoumaru, but his voice was more of a whisper this time.

She could feel her whole face almost turning red and opened her mouth to speak but no words seemed to be coming out. It was strange since she had briefly rehearsed in her head what she would say to him, but once he was standing right in front of her it was a lot harder to say the words she wanted. She turned her head to the side and found that if she wasn't staring directly at Sesshoumaru, it wasn't as nerve racking as before. The two were silent once again and Rin had a feeling that the demon lord was becoming annoyed with her. 'Come on you big idiot how hard can it be to say "I love you" huh?' Taking what ever courage she had left, she took a deep breath and tried to say the words she was feeling right now, "Se . . . Sess . . . Sesshoumaru . . . I . . . I . . . I lo. ... I... I . ..lov . . . I. ... I LOVE YOU!" she screamed out. Her hands slapped over her mouth as she realized how loud she had confessed and if she thought that her face couldn't turn any redder, she was mistaken.

Turning around quickly she attempted to make an escape to her room and try to forget how stupid she must have sounded in front of Sesshoumaru, but a hand on her shoulder caused her to stop in her tracks. 'Why isn't he saying anything . . . well of course he wouldn't, how idiotic did I just sound screaming my love to him?' Another hand came to rest on her other shoulder and before Rin could say anything, Sesshoumaru slowly turned her around to face him, his hands still remaining on her shoulders, and his golden eyes looking deeply into hers. Rin couldn't move or breathe as she watched him kneel down so he was more eye level with her and what came next she would remember for the rest of her life. Sesshoumaru leaned closer to her before placing his lips on hers in a soft kiss. Her eyes were wide open at first, but seeing at how his were closed she did the same, enjoying the feeling of his lips on hers. It ended all too soon for her as she felt him pull back and her eyes slowly opening to look into his golden ones. The two of them were silent again, but a small smile appeared on Sesshoumaru's lips, which made Rin start to wonder what he was happy about.

"Sesshomaru . . . I ... I . . . I think . . . I'm still too young . . . to be . . .be your mate . . . so maybe . . . we could . . . just be . . .courting?"

Sesshomaru stood, but his hands still remained on Rin's shoulders, "Rin . . ."

"Yes Sesshomaru?"

The demon lord averted his gaze from hers for a moment, trying to find the right words he was about to say. After a moment or two he kneeled down in front of her again and brought his lips close to her ear so that she was the only one to hear him speak. "Rin . . . you know how I feel for you . . . however you are still too young to really understand the real concepts of love . . ."

"But I do love you Sesshoumaru . . . more than just a father figure . . . I . . ." she was silenced by one of his clawed finger on her lips.

"I do believe your words . . . however, like you said . . . you are still too young for us to be together as mates . . . and I believe you are too young for us to be courting,"

"I know . . . but . . . but if I didn't say anything . . . the spell would have worn off . . . and I . . . I didn't want that to happen . . ." whispered Rin.

Sesshomaru gave a slight nod since the color of Rin's eyes had changed back to their golden color after he had kissed her. He wrapped his arms slowly around her in a soft hug and was not surprised when he felt her own arms wrap around him.

"For now everything is fine Rin . . . however, the spell will start to where off again . . . since we have not become mates . . . but when that does start to happen . . . you will be old enough to understand everything,"

Rin was slightly confused, however she knew that was all he was going to tell her. 'I'll just ask Kagome about it the next time I see her,' thought Rin briefly.

"I believe now it is time for you to go to bed," whispered Sesshoumaru.

Rin softly nodded, but as Sesshoumaru started to stand her arms refused to let go of him.

"Rin?"

"Could you . . . could . . . you . . . please . . .ki . . .kiss me . . . just . . .just one more . . . time?" stuttered Rin.

Sesshomaru didn't respond, but after a few seconds passed his lips were on hers again. Closing her eyes, Rin tried to savor and memorize everything she could, knowing that this would probably never happen again until she turned sixteen. Until then she would hang onto the memory of what his felt like against hers. Like the first kiss this one seemed to last too short as he pulled away from her. Sighing in defeat Rin released her arms from around him.

"Good night Sesshomaru," whispered Rin.

"Good night Rin,"

Rin slowly walked out of the demon lord's room, closing the door softly behind her.

Sesshomaru remained still for a moment, his eyes still staring at the door that Rin had only seconds ago walked out of. A sigh left his lips as he left the balcony, closing the door behind him before retreating to the bed. For a moment there he had been weak after hearing Rin's confession of love for him, and without thinking it over: he had kissed her.

Slipping into the bed his mind still continued to wander over the events that had happened less than a few minutes ago. She would be turning fifteen in the winter . . . but even at that age she was still young and innocent for him to take her as his mate. He knew that human males would marry a human female as soon as her bleeding time first started . . . which meant she would be able to have children . . . and that would usually happened around the age of thirteen. However unlike humans, demons did not rush into that sort of thing since there was no hurry to. Humans lived short lives while demons could live for many, many centuries before even considering having a mate even. He on the other hand had been patient for almost a century and had now found the one he wanted to be with, but he still had to wait for her to be old enough to be with him.

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Sakurako slowly stood up from her hiding spot, her eyes still fixed on the balcony. 'He's going to be mated to that little twerp? She's not even old enough for him . . . what does she have that I don't?'

Growling softly she jumped down from the castle roof, landing gracefully in the garden where her two servants were patiently waiting. 'I will not give up . . . right now is not the time . . .but perhaps in a few years I can make another attempt . . . I refuse to back down and one way or another Sesshoumaru will be mine!' With that last thought, she made her way out of the castle, heading back to the south.

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(One Week Later)

Kagome could not help but giggle at the funny, yet precious moment she was now witnessing. Her little girl was standing near the front door, holding a small sick and acting as if she was protecting the most precious item in the world. The small pup's face was serious and determined. A small growl to her left caused her to giggle even louder as her eyes glanced over to her, for the time being 'human' mate. Inu-Yasha was looking rather annoyed, and the fact that she was laughing, along with Miroku and Sango made the half demon even more annoyed.

"She looks just like you Inu-Yasha . . . but I believe your face was more serious when you were guarding her last week," chuckled Miroku.

"Monk. I am this close to beating the crap out of you!" growled Inu-Yasha, brushing a black strand of hair from his eyes, "So Sango have you completely forgiven the monk?"

"What makes you think you haven't forgiven him?" asked Sango, looking rather surprised.

"Well you have been leaving him 'high and dry' for the past month," hissed Inu-Yasha.

Sango blushed and her eyes darted to the table with her hands fidgeting with the sleeve of her kimono, "How . . . how could you tell?"

Inu-Yasha tapped his nose and Sango nodded in understanding. Miroku had his head bowed in shame, and Kagome just sat there with her mouth open, but quickly recovered after hearing her daughter's voice.

"Mama . . . what does high and dry mean?"

All the adults almost fell out of their chairs but quickly recovered.

"Um . . . I'll tell you when your older sweetie," sighed Kagome, rubbing her temples.

"Idiot," mumbled Shippo from his spot by the fire.

Miroku cleared his throat, "So . . . you were saying that Rin came to visit you the other day?"

"Oh . . . yes and Sesshomaru wasn't with her," said Kagome.

"That is strange . . . usually Sesshoumaru is with her when ever she goes somewhere," commented Miroku, "So why did she come to visit so soon? Wasn't it only eleven days ago she came here last,"

"True, but something was troubling her and she needed to talk about," sighed Kagome.

"And what was it about?"

"Now, now Miroku, it was talk just between women,"

Sango giggled, "You'll have to tell me later what it was about,"

Miroku sighed, "Well it is getting late, perhaps we should head home Sango,"

The demon exterminator nodded, "Yes, we should relieve Kohaku from the children,"

After saying their good-byes Miroku and Sango headed back to the village for the night. For a while the house was quiet until Natasha started to complain when it was time for her to go to bed. Somehow Kagome had managed to convince her daughter to go to bed and Inu-Yasha was amazed in the short amount of time she had been able to do it too. Once Natasha and Shippo were put to bed, Kagome returned to the sitting room where Inu-Yasha was waiting for her. She sat down beside him, leaning against him for support. Kagome knew that Inu-Yasha wouldn't sleep tonight . . . he never did on his human night . . .

A few moments of silence passed before Inu-Yasha spoke, "When Rin came . . . Sesshoumaru was here too,"

Kagome looked up at her mate, "He was?"

"He originally came to talk to me, but I think he was following Rin as well,"

"Why did he need to talk to you?"

Inu-Yasha sighed, "Well . . . he's kind of gotten himself in . . . a situation . . . or at least he thinks he does . . . he's not sure yet,"

"What kind of situation?"

"Well . . . part of it has to do with Rin,"

Kagome sat upright so she could look Inu-Yasha straight in the eye, "Tell me," she whispered softly.

Taking a deep breath, Inu-Yasha explained how the southern lands wanted to join forces with his, and the marriage that would have to follow.

"So Sesshomaru thinks a war will start since he didn't agree to the marriage alliance?" asked Kagome.

"He thinks that it could start something . . . maybe not a war . . ."

"Did he mention anything about Rin?"

Inu-Yasha thought for a moment, "Nope . . . he said nothing about her . . ."

Kagome nodded.

"Is that why Rin came? Did Sesshoumaru do something to her?"

Kagome sighed, "She was just confused on some things he told her,"

"I take it you're not going to tell me?"

"Like I said before, it was a discussion between women,"

"True . . . however . . . I think I could guess what it was about,"

"Really and what would your guess be?"

Inu-Yasha pulled Kagome into his lap, holding her tightly against him as he stared into the fire.

"You're not going to tell me?"

"No . . . I just want to hold you . . . you got a problem with that?"

"Of course I don't,"

Inu-Yasha chuckled and kissed her cheek, "Good . . . now as I was saying . . . when Rin visited us on their way back to the castle did you notice the color of her eyes?"

Kagome thought for a moment, "No . . . why?"

"They were brown . . ."

"Brown? But aren't they supposed to be . . ."

"Gold? Yes they are . . . which means the spell to keep her demon was wearing off . . . but when she came to visit a few days ago . . . they were gold again . . . which tells me that something happened between her and my brother,"

Kagome nodded, "Yes . . . something did happen,"

"You gonna tell me or not?"

"You are so impatient some times,"

"Right, so tell me before I become more impatient,"

Kagome giggled softly, "You never change,"

"Damn straight wench, so tell me what that bastard did to her,"

"They kissed,"

"What!"

Kagome nudged him softly, "Quiet, Shippo and our daughter are still trying to sleep,"

"Sorry, but he really kissed her?"

"Yes,"

"Whoa . . . and then what?"

"What do you mean then what?"

"Well he must have said something to her after they kissed; otherwise she wouldn't have come to visit,"

"Oh, well before they kissed she had confessed to Sesshoumaru that she loved him,"

"But she's only fourteen!"

"True . . . but I was only fifteen when I realized I loved you," she whispered into his ear. Kagome could tell he was about to say something, but she silenced him with her finger over his lips, "He told her that she was still too young to understand what love really was, and that he would continue to wait until she was old enough to understand,"

Inu-Yasha nodded, "Good . . . he's not acting like some of the sick bastards around here who marry girls at fourteen,"

Kagome smiled and snuggled closer to her mate. Sango had mentioned the other day that Miroku had had another chat with the headman. Apparently Miroku was worried that his daughter would be married at a young age, and had told the headman that his daughter would not be wed until she was at least seventeen. This had made Sango happy since it would bring more time for her to some how plan to break off the arranged marriage. Resting her head on Inu-Yasha's shoulder, she made an attempt to get some sleep.

Inu-Yasha wrapped his arms tighter around Kagome as he felt her relax completely against him, and after a few minutes he could tell that she was fast asleep. His mind drifted back to the conversation with Sesshoumaru . . .

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(Flash Back)

"So you think this could start a war?"

"I do not know . . . however I am preparing for the worst,"

"So you are thinking that Kagome and I could be dragged into it somehow?"

"Perhaps . . . and if that does happen, I suggest that you come live at the castle,"

"Why the hell would I come to live there?"

"I would imagine to keep your mate and daughter safe . . ."

"Keh, yeah right,"

"It may be a while since I have spoken or seen Bunrakuken, however I know that he is very ruthless and has no shame in what he does. To kill a child would be nothing to him,"

Inu-Yasha sighed and leaned against the God tree, "I suppose you have a point,"

"I have not heard anything yet from him . . . but when I do and I know it is bad I will send you word,"

"You know . . . it's probably going to take me just about a hundred years to get used to you being some considerate about my well being," chuckled Inu-Yasha.

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes.

(End of Flash Back)

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'I doubt that something as big as a war will start over this . . . ' thought Inu-Yasha, 'But just in case something does . . . I may not want to . . . but it would be wise to take Sesshoumaru's advice,' Sighing softly he pushed the thoughts from his mind since it was just giving him a head ache. Instead he started to think of lighter thoughts, such as the trip they were taking tomorrow to visit their old friends. It had been almost three years since they had seen Jinenji, and even though he didn't like it, Kagome wanted to go visit Kouga and Ayame. He knew damn well that would not be a very pleasant visit, but he would bite his tongue and go along with is since Kagome wanted to go. Resting his head against Kagome's he continued to watch the fire, knowing that he would not get any sleep tonight.

TBC . . .