PHEW! A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE MANY QUESTIONS AND THOUGHTS TO SHARE! HERE ARE ANSWERS TO SOME QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS I THINK SHOULDN'T BE LEFT UNANSWERED. TO EVERYONE WHO REVEIWED AND SHARED THEIR VERY MUCH APPRECIATED THOUGHTS, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

black-cat-on-the-wall- technically yes, but I had that idea from the beginning too so…yeah. Thanks! Lady-Sess08: hehe…yes, actually. I was inspired by the ugly duckling. Hehe… Bethany: thank you so much, you are so sweet! Sesshoumaru's Miko: Koi means darling, I think. Not so sure. Liltay: gomen, if you don't agree with how I made Kagome handle the situation with Inu-yasha. But I just wanted something neat and simple. rinseternalsoul: OMG! I was thinking the exact same thing! I completely agree! That is why I keep thinking how great an author God must be if He made so many beautiful stories in this book called life! Riyo Sohma: I just noticed that sometimes he does that in the anime so…yeah.

Chapter 25: Love

"Are you sure about this, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Sesshoumaru didn't even bother turning to see the one hiding behind the shadows. He had already smelled his scent from the very beginning.

"Yes." He curtly answered, staring up at the beautiful crescent moon that resembled the mark on his forehead. The sign of his royalty, his power, his greatness.

Slowly, the incognito within the shadows emerged, revealing the silent, small form of no one else but Shippou. He looked skeptical, standing beside the great Taiyoukai of the West. "Even though you know she once loved him?"

"Yes." Still feeling the doubt within the kitsune, Sesshoumaru added, "I trust her. Fully."

The continued silence told Sesshoumaru that the child finally understood. But then, they both became alert at the sound of rustling leaves. Quickly, Shippou dove back into the shadows. Sesshoumaru remained unfazed.

From the trees came the humble form of Kagome who seemed as if she had walked a lifetime. He watched her tentatively as she came closer. She stopped just a few feet from him and looked up at him with another of her fake smiles. He frowned at that.

"He ran away." She spoke.

His eyebrows knitted together ever so slightly.

"He up and left without a word." She went on smiling. Soon her shoulders shook, it was getting harder to smile and keep the tears from falling. "I—" she sobbed and put a hand to her face, covering half of her beauty. "I really hurt him… I really—I really hurt him…"

He stepped to her, gently wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. "Cry no more." He soothed softly. "He understands. He simply…requires time to accept it."

Kagome nodded, understanding. She understood but the pain was still there. She didn't want to hurt Inu-yasha. But Sesshoumaru was truly the one she loved now. And sooner or later, he had to accept that. She wrapped her arms around him and waited for the tears to stop flowing from her eyes.

"We will continue our journey at the break of dawn. Whether Inu-yasha comes back or not." He said.

"H-Hai." She answered hesitantly. She wanted to stay to wait for Inu-yasha to come back. But she wanted to get her daughter back more than anything. She had to agree even if it was against her morals to leave a friend behind. But it was so hard. She knew what was right. But sometimes it didn't feel good to do the right thing.

From the shadows Shippou watched. Sesshoumaru's words echoed in his mind, I trust her. Fully. The image of Haruko popped up into his mind.

He missed her. He wanted to see her so badly. He wanted to hear her voice again, see her smile again; he wanted to be with her again. He remembered the promise he made to himself. When they find Haruko, he would do his best and all that he could to keep her safe. He'll make sure that no one ever lays a finger on her. Anyone who dared would never see the light of day. He swore.

Haruko opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the rays of light seeping through the window. She blinked to awareness and slowly sat up. Another dreamless night. She looked to where Kouga should be but was surprised to see that in his place was another meal wrapped neatly in a banana leaf with a beautiful Plumeria flower on top of it. She stepped out of bed and knelt to the flower, it was beautiful. Was he giving this to her? A small smile crept onto her face. It was beautiful.

She took it to stare at it more closely. It had five large, pastel colored petals. It had a wonderful, soothing scent. The small smile widened into a teeth-bearing smile. Kouga was giving this to her? How sweet.

After eating her food, and hiding the flower under her pillow, she stepped out of the hut to look for him. But where to look? She didn't know this place. She closed her eyes and concentrated on his scent. Autumn. Autumn. Crisp and cool. Calming. Alluring. Autumn.

Soon she found herself walking towards a familiar sound, a calming sound, water. It sounded like a waterfall. A small one. There. Just beyond those bushes. There, his sent was most prominent.

She moved the bushes from her view and her eyes widened as her mouth slightly opened in awe. It was a waterfall indeed. A beautiful, small waterfall. It was so magnificent. And to top it all off, there was Kouga, the water rising just below his chest. He was drenched; it seems that he'd been bathing for a while now. His jet black hair was flowing, some clinging to his body; accenting his handsome features and upper torso.

So entranced was she that she didn't realize that he had already seen her and turned to her. But she snapped back to attention when animated tears welled up in the chibi Kouga's face. He covered his chest modestly and turned away like a bashful woman. He cupped his 'blushing' face with a hand. "Oh, no. My innocence has been defiled." He joked.

A red vein popped up on Haruko's forhead. Innocence?

"Oh, how will I ever live through this horrific ordeal?" Kouga went on wailing. "Alright," he said, averting his gaze and turning to her. "I'll give myself to you."

Another vein popped. Her eye twitched.

"Just please," he said in a hushed tone, "Be gentle."

"You are so disgusting!" she yelled, summoning the water to rise and washing over him. He gave a yelp when he got hit by the rather large tide of water. She looked at where he once was, panting and blushing violently. That hentai! But then she blinked, why hasn't he floated yet? A while later, his body surfaced. "Kouga-san!" she panicked.

She summoned the water to take him to shore. When his body was close enough, she knelt to him and grabbed his wrist to feel a pulse. "Oh… did I go too far?" he was just joking after all. Please breathe, please open your eyes!

"Kouga-san! Koug-san!" she tried. Suddenly, his hand grabbed her wrist and he flipped her over, sending her flying over him. She was wide-eyed staring at him. It was then that she saw his eyes opened. He winked at her with the most mischievous smile before she fell into the water. Then she was submerged.

She quickly swam to the surface and gasped for breath, flipping her silvery locks from her face. She looked at his direction with disbelief only to see that he was already dressed and on his feet. He laughed and turned to his Haori hanging on a branch.

"Well, Inu-hime, you really like to play rough, don't cha?" he joked again, grabbing his Haori from the branch. He saw a shadow growing above his own and he quickly turned around with wide eyes when he saw a larger wave looming over him. And on top of that wave was a confident looking Haruko who crossed her arms in front of her.

She looked down at him cockily, "Yes, I do."

Kouga stared up at her dumbly for a while before grinning sheepishly, "Well…ja ne!" he made a run for it.

With an evil smirk on her face, the wave followed him, carrying her along the way. It loomed over him always but Kouga went on running while screaming, "I WAS JUST KIDDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!" Haruko laughed evilly as he did so. Which was what Kouga was aiming for ever since he saw her staring at him.

Last night, she mentioned that she didn't get to play like the other children when she was young. He thought joking around with her might be a good way to make her laugh and enjoy her time spent with him. His plan seemed to be working out just fine.

When the wave caught up with him, it washed over him, throwing her to him as well. There was a loud splash that could be heard throughout the mountain.

Everything was silent. Then a heart beat. Bump, bump, bump, bump. She could hear it. It was a quick heart beat covered by lean muscles of a warm body. She opened her eyes and felt something solid beneath her. She propped herself up with her hands, feeling the weight of her wet hair and clothing. She looked down; lying beneath her was a wide eyed Kouga. But then a small smile came upon his face, making him look absolutely…

Beautiful…

Bump, bump, bump, bump… went the heart beat again. Whose was that? Was that his? Or hers?

She couldn't tell. They were both dripping with water, both breathless. The only difference was—can the differences between them really be counted? No, there was too much diversity between them. Their whole beings were diverse. Their courses of life were diverse. Their natures were diverse.

Her long hair fell over them, serving as a silvery curtain, mingling with his ebony locks which pooled around his head. They contrasted. They were complete opposites.

"So this is how you got a hold of him." They both looked up and Haruko blushed furiously when they saw Yuujin with the rest of the villagers staring at them. Yuujin looked down at them with a knowing smirk and a hand to her hip. "And this was what the noise was all about."

Quickly, Haruko got off of him and wrapped her arms around herself, her white clothing slightly transparent. Kouga quickly sat up as well, using his body to hide her from the sight of his perverted family members. "Geez guys, you could have looked away or something." Kouga grumbled, giving Haruko his slightly dryer Haori to cover herself with.

Yuujin just grinned wider and the guys started snickering. Arashi just gave them a knowing smirk as well.

Seeing the cheeky look on his family's faces, Kouga yelled, "W-What are you all staring at? Don't you all got something to do?"

They said nothing but still smiled at them. "Ch! You guys are annoying!" he mumbled. "Come on, let's go." He said, grabbing Haruko by the wrist and pulling her back to their hut. Haruko went on blushing. To think that they found her in that position was…completely mortifying!

"Have you readied your items yet?" Sesshoumaru checked, watching her look out to the risen sun.

"Huh? Uhm…yeah, I-I'm finished."

He frowned. Clearly she didn't want to leave without Inu-yasha. Yes, he was starting to feel the seeds of jealousy being planted within him but he decided to set that aside. It was not a time to worry her even more with his insecurities.

Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru who was looking at her feet quietly with a blank stare. She walked to him; he blinked and looked up at her.

She gave him a tired smile and took his hand in hers. She brought it to her lips and kissed the back of his hand then pressed his palm to her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. "Thank you…for understanding me and Inu-yasha… You were like a real brother to him just then. Now I know, even for a little bit, that you care about him…"

Sesshoumaru averted his gaze. "He is a nuisance and an idiot… but he is still a part of my family and is my responsibility. To insinuate that I care for him is a grave overstatement." He said.

Kagome went on smiling, knowing that he was just being modest. "Thank you, nonetheless."

"You cry easily… Yet you smile easily."

They stared at each other for a while, not even trying to read each other's mind. They already knew that they would never know what the other was thinking for they saw the world through different perspectives. Yet they saw the distinct beauty in each other, and fell in love with it.

"I love you too…" she said, knowing his analysis of her was his own way of saying that she was always in his mind, and in his heart.

Sango watched Kagome and Sesshoumaru. The love between the two was obvious. The hard thing to believe was how they fell in love when the fact was that they had nothing in common. Only one: their daughter.

It was quite shocking when she was told that they would be leaving with or without Inu-yasha. It was shocking that Kagome actually agreed. Normally, she would protest violently, saying they should wait for Inu-yasha. But it seemed that…

She heard a sigh behind her and turned to see Miroku looking sad as well. "'Tis a sad day when we travel without our dear friend Inu-yasha."

"I agree, houshi-sama."

"He brought that upon himself, you know." Shippou said.

"Shippou-chan! How can you say something like that!" Sango said, shocked that Shippou would say something so…unkind.

"Well, he did." Shipou said icily.

"Shippou-chan, are you feeling alright?" Miroku said, sensing a change in Shippou.

Shippou blinked the iciness from his eyes away and waved it off with a sheepish laugh. "Haha! Nevermind me, I'm fine. I was just joking around!"

Sango breathed a sigh of relief, "You really scared me for a moment there, Shippou-chan. Please don't do that again."

"Hehe," Shippou said, scratching the back of his head. "Gomen, gomen!"

With that, his two companions let the subject go and returned to packing their stuff. Shippou turned to his left, feeling a burning stare upon him. It seemed that the great Sesshoumaru-sama had heard their conversation and witnessed the change in Shippou's actions.

He looked back at Sesshoumaru with such cold eyes that it could practically equal Sesshoumaru's own. Sesshoumaru frowned. When did that start? He hadn't sensed that before. Since when did Shippou start being so…unkind?

Suddenly, there was a large gasp. They all turned to Kagome who was kneeling down to check up on someone who had collapsed onto the ground. They all came forward and looked the traveler over. His clothes were tattered and he had a rather large rolled up parchment tied behind his back.

Kagome flipped him over and her eyes widened with recognition. "Mila-kun!"

Mila opened his eyes weakly and at the sight of the whole group staring down at him, a small smile crept onto his weary face. Finally, he caught up to them. He closed his eyes and finally, after a long journey without rest, let himself sleep.

Haruko heard her mother's screams. She was shouting. She could feel her mother's rage. Quickly yet gracefully, she ran down the many halls and staircases, followed by her personals guards—the fire warrior of the Fire clan, Touya and the dark knight of the Thunder Plains, Akito—to reach the entrance hall where she saw something very rare. Rin-sama was crying in Shippou-sama's arms, Jaken was crying also. Everyone else was gloomy; they seemed to be so…sad.

Slowly and cautiously, she stepped down every step of the staircase. Sesshoumaru, her Father and the only man in her young heart, was quick to sense her. When he looked at his daughter's confused expression, his heart ached. Kagome turned around to look at their daughter. Haruko was surprised to see tears flowing freely down her old yet beautiful face.

"Haruko…" escaped Sesshoumaru's lips. Suddenly, he grabbed Kagome's arm before she could make a run for her daughter.

"NO! Let go of me!" she yelled.

"Don't you dare, Kagome!" Sesshoumaru bellowed angrily.

"Why shouldn't I!" she cried out loud, whipping her face to look up at him with wide eyes filled with anger and grief. "She deserves to know!"

Haruko stayed silent all the while but her heart was pounding violently against her chest; fear and confusion. She felt such fear. So much fear that she was frozen to the spot. What was happening?

"She needs not know about such things!"

"You're the one preaching to me about telling the truth and now you don't even want your daughter to know the truth! You hypocrite!"

"Silence yourself, woman!" he tried to pull her closer to him, to calm her down but she pushed him away and slapped him, saying,

"Don't touch me! I don't want to touch a dead man!"

Dead man? What was her mother saying? Her father was not dead. He was alive. He was right there in front of them, tangible and breathing.

Her mother held a letter with the royal emblem of the Kingdom of the North and she tried to give it to Haruko. Sesshoumaru quickly grabbed her by the waist, but Kagome struggled so much that they both fell to the marble floor. The letter flew from her grasp and unto their daughter's feet. She stared at it coldly.

"Read it!" Kagome yelled. "Read it, Haruko! Read it and find out how stupid your father is! How much he loves his kingdom more than his own family!"

"Silence!" Sesshoumaru yelled, straddling Kagome down and tuning his burning gaze to Haruko who had yet to move. "Don't you dare read it!"

"Read it, Haruko! Read it!"

"Don't you dare!"

Tears welled in her eyes, something that hardly ever happened. She was torn. She didn't know who to listen to. Why? Why were they fighting? What was in that letter? But she dared not disobey her father. She loved him too much.

"Get off me, you traitor! Don't touch me! I don't want to be touched by a dead ma—" but her yells were silenced when his lips crushed hers forcefully. Her eyes were wide but then his kiss became gentle and tears started pouring from her eyes again. When Sesshoumaru felt her body finally ease, he pulled away to stare down at her. It was either hit her or kiss her. And he would never hit her.

At the sight of him, she sobbed and broke down. Sesshoumaru took her in his arms and held her close for a few moments.

"I love you so much…Please, don't do this…" she cried.

"Shhh…" Sesshoumaru said, holding her tighter. "Forgive me…but I must…"

Haruko picked up the letter then and read it. It was a letter from the Lord of the North. He was requesting assistance from her father. They were in war with a large group of wolves that inspired the unsatisfied villagers to rebel against their Taiyoukai, threatening his throne and he was asking her father for help. She remembered her father told her once that the Inu family had a large debt to the Northern Lord because of his Great Grandfather. So she put two in two together. To repay his Great Grandfather's debt, her Father will fight a war that was not his own to fight. Her father will risk his life for a lowly tyrant to save their kingdom from having to go to war with the influential Northern Taiyoukai to prevent an all out war throughout Japan.

A lone tear fell from her sapphire eyes and Akito and Touya were quickly at her side. "Lady Haruko!" they said in alertness. Another tear rolled down but she didn't wipe it away. She wanted her father to see her cry. As a princess…she was not supposed to show any affection for anyone. Being affectionate meant being weak. She knew that very well. And so…she let him see her tears. So that he will see how she felt. So that he will see how he was hurting her. So that he will see how much she loved him.

Shippou stared up at the small, crying form of the five year old Haruko, it was the most heart breaking sight he had ever seen. She did not sob, she did not breathe heavily. She simply cried. Tears simply fell from her emotionless blue eyes. The young lady Rin cried still in his arms and he held her tighter, wishing he could hold Haruko as he was doing to Rin. He wished he could just block her eyes from seeing this heartbreaking scene. But he couldn't. He shouldn't. He mustn't.

"I love you…Please, I'm begging you…don't go…" Kagome went on…

Haruko watched with blurry eyes. The wolves. They were to blame. The wolves were the ones at fault. They were the ones tearing her father away from them. It was their entire fault. She hated them. She hated the wolves. It's their fault! She hated them! "Wolf…"

Sesshoumaru kissed the top of her head, taking in her scent for perhaps the last time. "My heart will always belong to you…" he whispered. He turned to Haruko who still stared blankly at them, tears falling from her flawless face. His beautiful little girl.

I never wanted you to know, my light, my darling…

My daughter