Authors Notes:Soz it took so long. Hectic life. Wonderful beautiful life. Wow. Im so cheesey. But that's okay. Hope you guys like this chappy.

Disclaimer:Me own nothing but my o.c.'s and the plot.

Falls On Me

Chapter 22

Kagome awoke to find her friends sitting around her, staring down at her with concern.

"Hey guys," She murmured feebly. Sango and Miroku looked relieved. Anei looked more than a little off. Odd.

"Kagome, we wanted to wait for you to wake up before we went home," Miroku told her.

"You're leaving, already?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, we have to. But I promise Kagome, we'll come back. And don't forget, you're getting married soon, we definitely have to come back for that!" Sango said in a cheery voice, forcing a smile. Kagome sniffled and hugged her two friends tightly.

"Okay. Promise you'll come back before my month is out?" Kagome asked. Sango nodded her head, as did Miroku.

"I'll walk out to the courtyard with you guys," Kagome mumbled as she tried to stand. Her legs however, didn't seem any better then the day before as she stumbled unsteadily. Anei caught her and picked her up gently.

"I'll carry you," He said. Kagome blushed and nodded her head gratefully. Sango and Miroku walked out to Kirara where Shippou and Rin were playing cheerfully with the three little newborns.

"Okay guys, it's time for us to go," Sango said as she put on something similar to a sling and put Maru and Kohaku in it. Miroku held little Kagome and they climbed atop Kirara.

"We'll be back for a visit soon Kagome," Sango promised again, tears coming to her eyes as Kirara jumped off of the ground.

Kagome didn't hear her but understood nonetheless. She waved goodbye as the giant fire cat flew out of sight.

"Do you think they'll come back?" Kagome asked.

"Why wouldn't they? You are here," Anei said.

"Thank you Anei, for everything," Kagome told him.

"Kagome, I'd, well, I'd like to talk to you. Would you like to go to the gardens with me?" He asked after a slight pause.

"Sure!" Kagome chirped cheerfully.

"Oh, did I miss them?" Okibi said as she walked into the courtyard. "Kagome, you shouldn't be up and about," The phoenix admonished.

"Oh, I'm sorry Okibi, but I wanted to see Sango and Miroku leave. It seems as if we barely spent any time together at all," Kagome answered.

"Well, let's get you back to your rooms," Okibi began.

"But Anei and I were going to go to the gardens for awhile," Kagome objected.

"It doesn't matter. Right now you need your rest, and may I remind you it isn't proper to be alone with a man now that you are a free woman. Some people might look down on it," Okibi told her. Kagome sighed and nodded.

"Sorry Anei," Kagome told him.

"It's alright. I can speak with you later," He said with a glare towards Okibi. He was almost positive the woman knew his intentions and was doing her best to put him off. His face took on an almost angry smirk. He wasn't going to let her win. Kagome would be his mate.

"Okibi?" Kagome asked.

"Yes?"

"Where's Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked. Okibi smiled sadly.

"He's in his bedroom."

"When do you think I'll be able to walk on my own?" The young miko asked.

"Probably tomorrow if you rest today. The Tenseiga has miraculous abilities, but better to be safe," Okibi responded. "Why do you ask?"

"Okibi, you know about my feelings for Sesshoumaru, right?" Kagome asked.

"Yes." Okibi wondered where this was going.

"If he's scared I'll help him get over it. He kissed me, and that means there's got to be a reason. I love him Okibi. I've decided not to give up. I refuse to let him slip away," Kagome told the phoenix. Okibi smiled at the determined young miko.

"I see Kagome. But there is something you must know. I have been hesitant about mentioning this, but Anei wishes to court you," Okibi stated bluntly.

For several minutes Kagome didn't speak. In fact she looked like her heart had stopped, and if Okibi hadn't been able to sense the pulse fluttering wildly in the girl's neck, she might have been worried. Of course she became worried when several moments later Kagome burst out laughing.

"I don't see what's so funny about this," Okibi said in a stern voice.

"Oh Okibi, it's just ironic. Anei is like a brother to me. I could never marry him!" Kagome exclaimed.

"It might be best if you let him know that Kagome. And in all honesty, you don't have long before your time runs out. Otherwise the council will choose for you," Okibi told the young miko.

"Oh Okibi, can't I just go find a talented miko to be my heir? I honestly don't want to marry anyone except for well, him. And at the rate it's going it'll take me years to even get close to him," Kagome sighed.

"Well, Sesshoumaru is more than a little off kilter right now, though he won't admit it. Kagome, he's scared of turning into Akari, or his father. I don't think he's secure with the idea of love."

"But he's secure with the idea of desire, at least I think so," Kagome mumbled to herself.

"Kagome, what are you thinking?" Okibi asked.

"I'm going to seduce him. There's no other way. I know he wants me like that, and well, it always worked in the romance novels," Kagome muttered.

"Kagome, what are you talking about?" Okibi asked.

"Okibi, how do you seduce someone like Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked suddenly. The question caught the phoenix off guard and for a few seconds, Okibi's brain shut down.

"Seduce someone like Sesshoumaru?" Okibi asked several moments later.

"Yes."

"I'm not sure it's possible. One of the last women who tried to seduce him ended up banished from the western lands."

"Oh."

Silence ensued, and Kagome felt herself growing more and more frustrated. Okibi just thought it was interesting how the girl's aura flowed so erratically from hopeful, stubbornly determined to hopeless to somewhat aroused.

'Humans are so odd. If I live another several millennia I will never understand them.'

The next day, Anei found Kagome in the kitchens chopping vegetables for the main course that night. He had talked himself up all morning, coming up with the perfect speech to use before he asked her to be his mate. However, he saw her smiling and laughing as she spoke with Airon and Okibi. Shippou was 'taste testing' the shu cream, making sure it wasn't poisoned. According to him anyways, as it was his 'sacred duty to protect the women'. Anei found the little kitsune's cream covered face extremely amusing though.

"Oh, hello Anei, how's it going?" Kagome asked when she took notice of his presence. Anei smiled at her gently and made a move to go towards her, then changed his mind.

"Kagome, can I speak with you, with your guards present of course," He added as he sent a dark look at Okibi.

Kagome looked somewhat resigned as she moved from the table and nodded. He took her arm in his and they walked out of the kitchen. The two foreign youkai followed, looking disinterested and rather apathetic. The panther youkai led Kagome to the gardens outside.

It was a perfect day. The sun was shining down on them warmly, and there was a slight breeze. Kagome knew what was coming and hated the fact that she knew this would most likely change her and Anei's relationship forever. But it couldn't be helped. She almost wished she could love Anei, for he was kind and tender. But she couldn't, and she wouldn't give him any sort of false hope by trying.

"Kagome, I know the past couple of weeks have been hard on you, but I, well, I don't know how to say this. I wish to be your mate. I understand that you may not love me right now, but I'm sure you can grow to love me, and-" He tried to say quickly. Kagome cut him off with a sad sigh.

"Anei, I'm sorry, but I can't be your mate."

The words stood between them like some sort of wall. Kagome did her best to look at Anei the entire time, but the obvious hurt in his eyes made it so hard to not look away.

After several minutes of silence, he sat down on a small bench.

"It's Sesshoumaru isn't it? You want him." It was more a statement than a question. Kagome took in Anei's hollow, flat voice more than his words, and sat down next to him.

"Anei, I love him. I don't know why. Heaven knows it would be so much easier if we could choose who we love. You're a very kind, deserving youkai Anei. Someday you'll find a girl who will love you like you deserve to be loved. I'm sorry I can't be her. You're my friend, but I can't think of you as anything more," She told him.

Anei soaked up the information, sad yet resigned. Perhaps he had expected too much, seen things that hadn't been there. After yet more silence, he finally spoke.

"You do know that he will never mate with a human?"

"I don't know Anei. I have to keep hoping."

"Well, if perhaps, you don't find the ending you wish for, always remember that I am here. That way you don't have to face the council choosing a mate that you don't really want or know," He told her. Kagome looked at him with sad eyes, an even sadder smile upon her face.

"Thank you Anei. I- I know that this might change things, but you are a very good friend, and I'm sorry that I can't feel the way you want me to," Kagome said. Anei smiled at her sadly and caressed her cheek.

"I am too Kagome."

That night Anei found Sesshoumaru looking at Anei as if he had lost his mind.

"What do you mean, you want your post as Kagome's guard again. You were pursuing her!" Sesshoumaru snapped. His temper was very close to the surface today. He had been trying to avoid Kagome all day in hopes of avoiding a scene of some sort, and Okibi had spoken with him Jinchi had spoken to him. All about Kagome. And now Anei was requesting he be re-assigned as Kagome's guard.

"I no longer wish to court her. Her heart is set upon another," Anei told him. Sesshoumaru felt a growl rising in his throat and quickly bit it back.

"Fine then Anei, you may take up your former post."

"Thank you my lord. And Sesshoumaru?"

"Yes Anei?"

"I'm saying this as your friend. If you let her slip away because of your fears and prejudices, you'll always regret it. She's an amazing woman."

And then he was gone from the study.

Sesshoumaru let the growl out and banged his fist against the small table he was sitting at. It shattered and he sighed.

How could she affect him like this? He hadn't even seen her and somehow she was driving him crazy! What sort of magic did she posses that allowed her to do this?

He stood and resigned himself to what he must do. He had to see her and tell her that she had to stop this silly infatuation and accept Anei or start a search for some other man. He would do so only in an official capacity as a member of the council.

However, fate was against him, because when he asked where Kagome was, he was immediately given a cold shoulder by the servants he asked, being told they had no clue, and he got the impression they probably wouldn't tell him if they did.

Time passed, and he finally found her out in the gardens, Anei standing several feet away from her as she played with Shippou and Rin. His heart felt a little tighter as he watched Rin jump on her and hug her tightly. Rin had never really done that with him. The little girl had a sort of hero worship for him, but she did not seem to love him like she did Kagome.

And he didn't want or need her to he told himself sternly. Really, why would he want a human crawling all over him?

He suddenly pictured Kagome crawling on him and the idea seemed much more appealing. Quickly he shook those thoughts away and walked towards Kagome.

"Hello Sesshoumaru," Kagome said in a quiet voice.

"Lady Kagome, we must talk," He said in the most apathetic tone he could muster. Too bad it came out sounding more annoyed than anything.

"Alright," Kagome told him, he eyes on the ground. Sesshoumaru took this as some sort of shame for her past behavior, which would be good in this case. Little did he know she was trying to keep him from seeing the blush on her cheeks. Only minutes ago she had been planning on how to seduce him or otherwise get him to realize his feelings. After all, seduction didn't always work out for the best.

They walked into the castle and through the halls until they reached his library.

He sat down behind a small table, different from the one she had last seen there before. In fact the room looked like several pieces had been replaced. She sat in front of the small table, kneeling.

"Kagome, have you chosen a mate yet?" Sesshoumaru asked bluntly.

"No," She answered, lying. She had found him all right. But she wasn't about to tell him to his face that he would be her mate.

"You are aware that you have very little time left?"

"I have exactly twenty days left."

"Yes. I suggest we hold some sort of gathering, much as I despise them in my castle, so that you may meet some of the eligible lords," Sesshoumaru began talking, and Kagome tuned him out. She'd rather mate to Kouga than hold any sort of gathering to find a mate.

"Kagome are you listening?" Sesshoumaru finally snapped. Of course she wasn't. He knew that far off look in her eyes meant she was either thinking about something else or off in dreamland.

"Not really," She answered honestly.

Her answer took him aback. He didn't expect such bluntness from her, not ever.

"Kagome, this is important," He began.

"I know, but I figure if I don't find someone worthy the council will pick someone who is. I trust the council, they haven't let me down in the past. You haven't let me down in the past," She added with an indecipherable look in his direction.

"Kagome why do you insist on-"

"You know why," She responded before he could even finish.

"No I don't woman. For Kami's sake why don't you just give up?" He finally shouted at her, incensed so easily.

"Because I've given up too much before in the past. I gave up on school. I gave up on ever being able to have children. I gave up on ever finding something special, something beautiful. But I have some of my dreams back now. I've lost them once. I won't lose them again Sesshoumaru. You may be afraid of what I feel, what you feel, but I won't let you stay that way," Kagome told him in a strong voice.

"I fear nothing!" He shouted.

"Prove it then. Kiss me!" She flung the challenge at him stupidly. She didn't know what she was doing. The entire time her scent had been driving him insane. He needed to steep himself in it again, to touch that soft innocence only she seemed to possess.

And before the miko could blink, she was pressed against the floor being roughly kissed by the youkai lord. His claws dug into her arms painfully, causing rivulets of blood to soak into the kimono she was wearing. She didn't notice the blood, lost in the kiss. But he did. The scent of it just excited the beast within even more.

There was no going back. She had challenged the youkai, the beast, and he would not leave her disappointed. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he had fallen into her trap. But he couldn't bring himself to regret it. Couldn't even bring himself to care as he roughly pushed kimono apart at the top, snarling when he encountered the under-robe that seemed to want to refuse him access to more of the woman's pale skin. Savagely he ripped the fabric and nuzzled her flesh. Kagome moaned and gasped as his tongue licked the juncture of her neck and shoulder.

Her hands scraped his back roughly through his clothing. His claws dug in deeper and he began to nip roughly at her skin. Her moans merely grew higher in pitch, accompanied by his low growls as he moved the clothing from her body and began making a trail down it with his tongue.

Kagome felt the rough tongue of Sesshoumaru trace her core and she bucked her hips wildly, no longer in control at all. Her arms were thrown over her head and she lost all sense of thought or reason. She knew only that all of these sensations were right. That this entire thing was right.

He moved away and she began to whimper, her hips moving of their own accord, thrusting up to meet his tongue, his hand. Anything. Her incoherent pleas were met after he shrugged his clothing off and moved over her, moving into her in the roughest manner imaginable. But her hips met his thrust for thrust as they both shouted their blinding release to the otherwise empty room.

"I love you Sesshoumaru," She whispered right before she passed out.

Authors End Notes: Hope you guys liked it. My computer is being very stupid lately, so please, if I don't update soon,blame my 'beloved' ex for not putting in the fan like he was supposed to and thus the comp overheating constantly.