Summary: Kagome has been hesitating on what to do. Naraku is dead, the jewel is gone, and the well is still open. There are worse problems than just that, though. These new problems about the man that she truly loves. Getting around to realize the emotions is tougher than anything else...

Rating: T (Oh my gosh! My lowest rating ever!)

The last chapter had a lot of dreaming. I'm sorry, that was the only way I could think of for her guilt to be gone and for her to start thinking of Sesshoumaru differently.

Oh, the next chapter WAS going to be called "Repition". But, I decided that it was a pointless chapter. So, it has been deleted.

OoOoO

Jammed
Chapter Six: Honored Guest

OoOoO

Suddenly, as if a tidal wave had come over her, the pain of Inuyasha's death washed away. The guilt vanished. As she looked down at the beads, she made a silent thank you to him.

"You're so kind, Inuyasha. You never liked to show it, but you always were." She managed to whisper. She smiled then looked up at the ceiling. She had a bad habit of passing out in the presence of Sesshoumaru.

Perhaps that's what Inuyasha had spoken of when he said that there was something between them. The notion of being with the demon lord made her cheeks heat up. Why was she so embarrassed about the idea?

The door opened, and Kagome tried to lift her head to see the visitor. A tightness in her neck stopped her from even moving her head away from the pillow.

"Mistress Kagome… The Lord Sesshoumaru has requested that you eat breakfast and watch Rin." A servant said. Kagome nodded her head weakly and Rin came bounding in.

"Mistress Kagome! Lord Sesshoumaru said that we could pick flowers together. Can we?" Rin asked. Kagome smiled weakly.

"Yes, we can, Rin. Just let me get into my clothes and we'll go." Kagome got up, her bra and underwear the only things on her body. The servant stared at her then she gave him a glare. After he left, she went to her clothes and pulled them on.

The flower fields were fragrant. Rin was good at humming. Kagome was tired and the back of her neck was numb. She didn't know why, but she wasn't about to get an answer anytime soon.

"Mistress Kagome! I got you some more flowers!" Rin called. She came over and gave Kagome her fistful of flower stems. Kagome took a deep smell then lied down in the grass.

"Are you tired, Mistress Kagome?" Rin asked. Kagome nodded her head and closed her eyes.

"Mistress Kagome. Did you know that Lord Sesshoumaru can't have alcohol?" Rin asked. Kagome raised an eyebrow at this. She was allowed to have the substance, so why couldn't the demon lord?

"Why not?" She questioned.

"Lord Sesshoumaru said that he starts getting drunk easily. He acts loopy after six glasses of wine." Rin said. Kagome tried not to laugh. She herself could handle six glasses of wine without getting overly drunk. She'd act loopy, sure, but she wouldn't be entirely drunk.

Sesshoumaru had a low tolerance to alcohol. How amusing.

"Really…" Kagome mused slyly. She had good blackmail on him now.

"And, Lord Sesshoumaru worries about the humans that Master Inuyasha was around. He worries that they'll die because of their human weaknesses." Rin said. Kagome was curious if Rin even realized the valuable and strange information she was spilling out.

"Hmm." Kagome thought.

"Lord Sesshoumaru misses Inuyasha and he feels bad for you." Rin added.

"What!" Kagome's mind snapped out of the idea of blackmail. What in the hell did Rin just mention!

"Lord Sesshoumaru misses Inuyasha. He says that he enjoyed the battles that they got in… And he feels bad for you because the man you loved was killed in front of you." Rin explained.

"I didn't love Inuyasha."

"Why not?

"Inuyasha and I were friends. Inuyasha's heart belong with the woman he loved first. I cared for him like he was my friend." Kagome said. Rin nodded then returned to picking flowers and humming. She listened to Rin humming and her own mind began to wander.

She didn't feel guilty about Inuyasha anymore. She didn't know why the guilt left. Perhaps Inuyasha somehow made the guilt leave from her body. She touched the necklace. That was her promise.

The necklace was her promise to always keep the ones she loved safe. She would never let them down. It would remind her that she had duties to fulfill. She wouldn't slack off. She wouldn't allow another loved one to die.

Inuyasha… Had he really visited her dream? She felt as though he had. Perhaps she was just going crazy. Inuyasha's death had made her lose her mind. That would make sense. Whenever something traumatic was witnessed or experienced, people often became traumatized and started hallucinating.

But, she wasn't hallucinating. She wasn't seeing him everywhere she went. She wasn't feeling overly guilty over his death. She… She had gotten over it.

Sure, she could have done more to save him. But she was busy. She didn't realize what was about to happen. She was trying to kill Naraku. Naraku killed Inuyasha when she was preoccupied.

It wasn't her fault. It was just bad luck and bad timing. Naraku had gotten her to get into the one position where she couldn't protect Inuyasha. If anyone had to be blamed, it was Naraku. He was the one who put Inuyasha's body into a million pieces.

"Mistress Kagome." Rin whispered loudly. Kagome tried to get up, but she found it hard. Her muscles were tight again. She couldn't move them anymore. They were harder than rocks. They were even harder than Sesshoumaru's armor that had made her black out.

"Don't strain your body. It will make it harder for you to heal." Sesshoumaru chided. Kagome gave up and relaxed once more. Then she realized that the voice wasn't Rin's; it belonged to the demon lord.

"Why do I keep passing out around you?" Kagome tried to joke. The demon lord smiled then knelt down by her.

"I do not know. But I had to take care of the Mistress, even if she did pass out around me frequently."

"Why'd you do that?"

"I didn't want the Mistress to get ill… I also wanted to treat the Mistress to dinner. It seems that you were not honored properly when you were here last time." Sesshoumaru said. Kagome stared at him then closed her eyes and let out a painful moan.

"I don't know what you said, but I'm hungry." She complained. Sesshoumaru grinned, again, and then fingered the beads that she wore around her neck.

"Why do you continue to wear Inuyasha's rosary?" Kagome stiffened at the question. That is what Inuyasha had asked her when he visited her dream.

"I… I don't want to forget that I have to keep up promises. I promised to protect him, but I didn't. It's my reminder that I need to keep protecting the ones who are expecting me to." Kagome admitted.

Sesshoumaru nodded then stood up. Upon looking at Rin, she came running up.

"I have asked Rin to help you dress for dinner tonight." Sesshoumaru informed Kagome. She nodded and Rin giggled.

"Rin will tell you where you must go after you are changed." With that, Sesshoumaru left. Kagome was led up to the room, where a kimono was waiting for her.

"I picked it out." Rin said. Kagome held up the kimono and smiled. She had picked green, Kagome's favorite color.

Kagome raised an arm for the kimono to slip on. Her muscles tightened and she had to compromise. Her body didn't want to deal with the task of dressing. After a little bit of convincing, the kimono became fairly easy to pull on. Kagome closed it, and Rin tied the obi around her waist.

"How do I look, Rin?" Kagome questioned. Rin examined her, as if she were a critic. Then a nod of approval was given.

"You look wonderful, Mistress Kagome!" Rin cheered. Kagome smiled as Rin led her towards the dining room.

"Lord Sesshoumaru prepared a special dinner for you. He calls it his Lord and Lady dinner." Rin announced happily. Kagome smiled again as two doors were opened for her entrance.

Sesshoumaru took her hand from Rin's and led her to a seat. He pulled the chair out and pushed it in, making Kagome smile even more. Her jaw throbbed, probably from smiling so much in such a short period of time.

"Mistress Kagome, is there a particular entrée you wish to eat?" He asked. Kagome shook her head and the demon lord left.

There had to be a reason why he was acting so kind towards her. She had come to his palace, hit his door as hard as possible, and collapsed on his porch. She had probably bled all over him from the wound on her neck.

So, why was he being kind to her? She deserved none of it. She had burdened him with her human weaknesses. The weaknesses that he had often complained of in humans. The weakness that she was unable to deny having.

Kagome wasn't worthy of this kind of attention. She didn't deserve to be cared for so much.

A sudden jolt made Kagome jerk as well. She tried to figure out what the jolt was, but it didn't matter. She already knew.

XxXxX

Next Chapter...
Kagome is still healing from the painful wound on her neck. Sesshoumaru does something, causing her to screech in pain. After letting the demon lord regain his hearing, Kagome tells him that her wound is still tender. Then she realizes that the once ice-cold demon lord has a tender spot on him as well…

XxXxX

Was this chapter decent? I started working on it, then I made a mistake. The dinner was after the flower-picking. I had to adjust a lot just to make this come out right. I hope the reviewers are happy for it.

Cartoon Shakespeare- Thank you so much for your review! I love you! I would give you something nice, but I don't think you'll be happy with me stalking you to do it.

Inu15kags- Is it sad? I found it perfectly logical. Then again, I think much differently than everyone else. I hope that it at least makes sense, though.

- Lonely Bird