This story is devoted to my favorite character Kikyo. Pairing: Kikyo/Sess/Kurama/Inu?

Thank you for all those who reviewed; your continuing support means a lot.

Please read & review

Neither of them slept that night. Kikyo laid awake thinking about what had passed between Inuyasha and her earlier. What was that in his eyes? Pity? Guilt? Or could it have been love? Kikyo reached up and touched her lips with her fingertips, trying to remember the feeling of Inuyasha's lips almost touching hers. But they never did. Like before, he had yielded to that girl's calling. At the thought of this, a single tear rolled down Kikyo's cheek. In the next room, Sesshomaru desperately tried to reason his conducts that day. He has always been a purely rational being; he never acted without a cause and a purpose. So what had caused him to save her, and what is her purpose here?

The next morning, Kikyo woke up with the intent of appealing to Sesshomaru her demand of leaving; but by the time she arrived at his door, he was already gone. Instead, she was greeted by a cheerful voice from behind.

"Good morning! My name is Rin; what's yours?"

When Kikyo's gaze settled upon this little girl with shoulder-length black hair and wearing an orange kimono embroidered with red flowers, she was instantly reminded of her own little sister Kaede. The warmth and exuberance in this girl's eyes are exactly the manner by which Kaede used to regard her. But now, although Kaede's eyes have gone dull with aging, Kikyo can still distinguish the hatred and disgust within her sister's glares toward her. The bond of their sisterhood was much weaker than she had expected; then again, many things were.

"My name is Kikyo."

"Kikyo is a really pretty name. Milord keeps many Kikyo flowers in his garden; sometimes Rin takes care of them, but Rin wish they would grow to be as pretty as you."

For some reason, this little girl was able to relieve Kikyo, at least temporarily, of the pain and confusion that has engulfed her heart. Her innocence reminded Kikyo of simpler days when her life was lonely, but at least painless. Rin took Kikyo and led her through the castle, introducing her to each room and its history. Kikyo learned that, much like herself, Sesshomaru also grew up parentless and has been a loner. Although he is outwardly cold, he shows extreme kindness toward his servants and mercy to the people of his land. This knowledge provided Kikyo a little sense of security, for, if everything Rin said is true, then she might not be just a prisoner of his whim. But the question of why she was brought here in the first place is still unanswered.

That night, Kikyo visited the garden alone after tucking Rin into her bed. In just one day, she has grown quite fond of the little girl, and vice versa. But Kikyo cautioned herself not to become too attached to her, because for all that she knows, she will be departing from this castle shortly and is unlikely to return. While Rin is enjoying herself in dreamland, Kikyo dreamed of doing the same. Ever since her death and resurrection, there has not been a night that passed without her thoughts being plagued by Inuyasha. She needs air; she needs to remove herself from the loneliness of her empty bed. The beauty of the night starkly juxtaposes the bleakness of her own situation.

'It doesn't matter where I am or whom I'm with, I am constantly haunted by hatred and pain.'

A figure of white and silver protruded into the left boundary of Kikyo's sight, prompting the ex-priestess to divert her gaze from the distant horizon of the garden to the unidentified form to her side. Kikyo was not too surprised to see that it was Sesshomaru, for he has succeeded in avoiding her all day long, and it was only a matter of time before he would have to confront her. Sesshomaru, as if unaware of the woman next to him, fixed his glaze straight ahead of him. Answering Kikyo's unstated question without shifting his gaze, Sesshomaru began in a clear and deep voice:

"I brought you here with a proposal of alliance."

"I'm not interested in any alliances. I work alone, and so do you."

Ignoring Kikyo's rejection, Sesshomaru continued:

"I will kill Naraku for you, and in turn, you will make sure that the Shikon jewel does not fall into the hands of my hanyou brother or that pathetic reincarnation of yours. What you do with the jewel afterwards is up to you."

"Why do you care about the fate of the jewel?"

"Even before your birth, I have witnessed countless low-lives, human, hanyous, and demons alike, seeking to improve their miserable situation using the jewel. Such easy access to ultimate power has provoked wars and bloodshed and spread dissipation among the land, for many abandoned their righteous positions in this world as a result of greed and sloth. I, as lord of the Western land, the most affluent region, would not like to see the peace and prosperity that I have so arduously built."

Kikyo was stunned and speechless. Since their encounter, never has she heard Sesshomaru speak so many words at the same time, or much less convey a general concern for anything. Rin proved to be correct about her lord after all.

"Do you still object to my proposal Kikyo?"

Sesshomaru has now turned his gaze toward Kikyo, and is staring straight into her eyes. Kikyo searched his golden globes for any sign of deception, but found instead a hint of genuine concern and entreaty. She was the only one with the power to control, purify, and destroy the jewel, for her reincarnation was far from achieving even the status of an ordinary miko, let alone a great one. Even though Kikyo has renounced her position as a miko long ago, at heart, she still cannot bear to let any innocents suffer if it is within her power to stop it.

"I accept your alliance."

For the next few days, Kikyo was invited to attend all the political affairs in which the demon lord is engaged and accompanied him in all his trainings. Many demons, from all walks of life, have silently exchanged objection to having a human oversight to all of their activities, especially when she is the most powerful miko in history. But these discontents were soon suppressed and quarantined only to the thoughts of a few as soon as the demons were met with the fiery glare of their lord and perceived his closeness to the miko. Some conjecture that Kikyo is merely a temporary sex toy to the demon lord, but the latter's apparent respect toward the former suggests otherwise.

Sesshomaru derived much comfort from Kikyo's presence, for her silent and calculating ways matches that of his own, making open communication almost unnecessary between the two allies. Little by little, each learned the other's strengths and weaknesses as they trained to supplement each other in creating a perfect duo. But one thing that both lack is the knowledge of each other's personal lives; both are silent sufferers, and neither has ever had a confidant, until now.

It was a beautiful night like any other in the Western land. The sky was studded with stars and the full moon illuminated the entire garden. As usual, Kikyo spent her later hours in the tranquility of the garden, watching the flowers sleep and listening to the nightingales sing. Unknown to her, however, the demon lord has been watching her from his balcony ever since her first night in the garden; but on this particular night he decided to join her.

Sesshomaru sat down next to Kikyo on the stone bench without saying anything. For a while, both sat in silence, having secretively acknowledged each other's presence. Finally, Kikyo spoke:

"You have a beautiful garden."

"It belonged to my mother."

There was a sense of nostalgia and sadness in Sesshomaru's voice that deterred Kikyo from further pursuing the subject. Sesshomaru has never spoken of his family aside from its political achievements, nor did he ever expound upon his hateful relationship with Inuyasha. But tonight, he took a deep breath and started to recount a history that he has never told anyone before.

"My mother was the princess of the Western Land and my father, its most fearsome general. Their marriage was the most obvious political choice for both and upheld by all. But they did not marry just for power and wealth; they were deeply in love with each other. At least that was the case until seven years into their marriage. I was only five-year-old back then, but it was clear to me that their relationship was breaking apart. My father's demeanor toward my mother became colder and colder by the day; there were nights when he would not come home, and the next morning would not bring an explanation for his absence. My mother was still very deeply in love with him and tried everything in her power to save her marriage. But as powerful as she was, she had no say over a man's changed heart. I cannot remember exactly when, but the other woman in my father's life became a known fact, and for her, he abandoned this Kingdom and left its political affairs unattended. When that woman bore him a son, Inuyasha, he left my mother completely. He left her heartbroken without even one single word of apology. At the age of ten, I was forced to take the throne. I was anything but prepared to govern the entire Western Land back then, but he never bothered to help. His only care was that human female and their hanyou son; I, as well as my mother, was no longer a part of his life. Mother died soon after my rise to the throne. Even on her deathbed, she still maintained her love for him. My father, once the fearsome general, then lord, of the Western Land, died years after in a petty civil conflict in the Northern Lands, which was where he and his new family resided."

Kikyo stared, with astonishment and sympathy, at Sesshomaru's face, once impassive, but now fill with pain and hatred. Never had she guessed that the cold demon lord would have such a troublesome past, and never had she dreamed that he would share it with her.

"I'm deeply sorry for your pain Sesshomaru."

Kikyo took Sesshomaru's hand into her own. Her eyes are filled with concern, but when Sesshomaru turned to face her, she can see the same concern in his eyes. Sesshomaru squeezed her hand tighter and said:

"I don't want the same thing that happened to my mother to happen to you Kikyo."

Deep within the forest that borders the Western Land, a figure with silver hair and dressed completely in red sprinted across the dense forest, slashing whatever came in his way. After his last encounter with Kikyo, Inuyasha has sent Kagome home and left his other friends in a village and sought his way to the Western Land in hope of rescuing his love, Kikyo.

'Hang on Kikyo, I'm coming.'

Next chapter: Sesshomaru gets closer to Kikyo, first kiss maybe?; and Inuyasha arrives.

Keep reading and reviewing!