The next morning I awoke to an excruciating headache, unsure if the alcohol or the crazy events of last night were the cause of it. Either way, I figured I'd need to wake up soon, I had no idea what time it was but the sun was already shining into the room.

I looked around and realized I wasn't in my room. It was much more extravagant and larger. Sesshomaru must've moved me, which made sense since if people were after me, they would know where I was since those guys got away.

Instead of a western style bed, this room was traditional Japanese—with a futon on the floor, low tables, and elegant decor.

Could this be Sesshomaru's room?

I sat up slowly, expecting the spot on my stomach to still be in pain but it was not. I looked down and saw that the wound had definitely healed up, all that was left was dried blood.

I lightly touched my face to ensure that my nose was no longer sore, but it still was. Luckily my nose wasn't broken, but it definitely hurt and I was sure I had a black eye as a result of my face being slammed.

I got up and noticed a bucket of water beside the door. Beside it was a rag and luckily my bag.I felt the water and noticed it was warm and took the rag to begin cleaning the blood off my body. Once I was finished I looked through my back for a mirror, luckily the black eye I did have wasn't too bad and would probably help up within a few days. I could use whatever make up I had to cover it.

I threw on some jeans and a black tee shirt and took the time to brush out my hair and left it down.

I walked out of the room and was immediately greeted by guards. They looked similar, both were large demons with green scaly skin but they both had human features.

"Breakfast has already passed," the guard said, after hearing my stomach let out a large growl. "I can take you to the cook, if you wish."

I nodded my head, and the large demon motioned for me to follow him. When he turned around I noticed he also had a fairly long and thick tail. I made sure not to accidentally step on it.

After a few minutes, he stopped walking. He turned to a door and slid it open, revealing a large kitchen with the cook I had drank with last night frantically ordering around his nephew.

"Lady Athena is hungry," the demon guard announced loudly. "I'm not sure what she wants so I decided to take her to you."

"Ah! Athena, how are you feeling?" The cook said, pulling me into the kitchen and shutting the door on the guards.

"I'm okay," I said, not sure if he heard about what happened or was asking about the effects of alcohol.

"Are you sure?" The cooks nephew, Kazuiko, walked up to me, his eyes full of concern. "I heard about what happened. How did they get past the guards. Those demons can sense things miles away, including magic."

"I really don't want to talk about it," I said, my nose tingling in pain as soon they brought up the incident.

"Well," Kazuiko placed his arm around me, pulling me close to him. "You can always call me to your bedroom, I'd be more than happy to keep you safe. I'd also be willing to keep you warm."

I stared at him wide-eyed surprised he would be so bold to me, but pushing his arm off me.

"I think I'll manage." I said.

"Oi!" His uncle yelled. "Don't say such things to Lord Sesshomaru's girl. He'll kill you for saying such things."

"I'm not his girl," I said, rolling my eyes and secretly wishing I was.

Almost as if on cue, Sesshomaru walked into the kitchen, trailing behind him was Ichika, a very upset looking Rin, and a squawking Jaken. He looked clearly annoyed. I wanted to think the annoyance was jealousy. Jealousy toward Kazuiko for basically saying he wanted to have sex with me, but I knew better than to believe it. He was annoyed at his entourage.

"You are awake." He stated.

"Yup," I replied, shuffling away from Kazuiko.

He extended his arm out and placed his hand on my face. I flinched slightly, but let him place his hand on me anyways. "It did not heal," he said, referring to the hurt nose and black eye.

I looked around awkwardly, Rin was looking less annoyed and Ichika had the look of annoyance and jealousy on her face. Kazuiko scoffed at us, and went back to his duties. The cook was smiling, as if all that he had said was true and he proved me wrong. I knew better though, and I finally began to understand the relationship between Sesshomaru and me.

He was interested in all that I could do magically. I was nothing more than a science project. A strange being he had added to his collection of things to study. I was a human with a dangerously high amount of energy and magic, he wanted to know what I was capable of and why. He was interested in what I was, not who I was. He had no romantic intentions toward me. He was just marveled by my extraordinary gifts. I was on the same level of his Tenseiga, the sword he had used to revive Rin.

Even though that was the case, my dreams have created such an illusion I couldn't shake my feelings toward him. It was like the realization of what I was to him, and my memories of my dreams made me feel like I was experiencing a heartbreaking end of a relationship.

He finally removed his hand from my face.

"Make Athena whatever she wishes," he said to the cook.

"Yes my lord," the cook bowed to him.

I stared at Sesshomaru who just stared at me silently. His eyes gave no emotion. His face showed no emotion. I wanted to cry. I was in love with him for no reason other than my dreams. It was unfair and stupid, and I had bigger priorities to worry about.

I moved my eyes from Sesshomaru to Ichika. Soft chatter between the cooks, maids, Kazuiko, and Rin made things less awkward.

She stared back at me. I was unsure what kind of demon she was, but her elegance and beauty made me uncomfortable. She was obviously the clear choice for Sesshomaru. Seeing them standing closely together made them appear as a power couple. She walked up to him, and grabbed his arm. As if saying 'he's mine, back off.' He didn't shrug her off, and I felt my heart tighten. I jsut wanted to be back with Kagome, They were sleeping together, or were planning on it.

"What would you like Miss Athena," the cook said, finally breaking my thoughts from the couple.

"Um, it's okay, I can make myself something if you're fine with that?"

"Of course!" He smiled at me. "But I want to taste of whatever you make.

"Oh, I want something!" Rin exclaimed, running up beside me and hugging me tight.

"Okay," I smiled at her. "I'll make something for us."

I sat out in the garden, books of documents sprawled out around me. They had kept detailed documents of wars, allies, trades, and purchases from the time Sesshomaru was a baby which was, which was apparently nearly 900 years ago. I was scouring through the allies documents, it was difficult to find a clue when I didn't know what I was looking for. I felt a headache coming on.

"Yo," I heard Kazuiko call to me.

"Hey," I replied back.

He jogged up to me, sitting down beside me and flashing me a toothy grin.

"You look very busy," he said. "Do you need help?"

"Um," I thought about it for a second. "I couldn't ask you to help with something that has little to no importance to you."

"It's no problem," he assured me. "Besides, I'd love to help you with something that is important to you."

His advances although kind of annoying, made me smile. He was a handsome demon after all, and I enjoyed his company. Most importantly though, Kazuiko made me feel welcomed. Sesshomaru was supposed to be helping me with all these things, as he had made it clear he didn't want to be here long. However, as soon as Ichika stepped into his study two days ago, all our priorities have been halted.

"What are you looking for exactly?" He asked while picking up the documents about trades made.

"I'm looking for a clue," I stated, unsure about how much I should share.

"Oh," he raised his eyebrows at me, and made a serious face. "Sounds interesting. A clue for what?"

"I'm not sure I should share."

"You can trust me," he smiled warmly, and I felt he was telling the truth. "I just want to help you any way I can."

"Well, I have these magical powers apparently." I rolled my eyes at the whole situation. "And Sesshomaru said he knew of someone who helped aid in a war that had the same abilities as me. I need help understanding what I am, how to control my powers, and what to do about it."

"Ah, so where is Lord Sesshomaru?" He asked, looking around as if he would pop up behind him and kill him for asking me.

"I'm not sure," I shrugged my shoulders. "He was helping me the other day, but then Ichika stepped into the room and he's been busy ever since."

"That bothers you?"

"Ichika doesn't bother me," I lied. "It's the fact that I left my group of friends to come here to find answers, since this was his idea, and I got maybe 10 minutes of help. I don't know who or what to exactly look for."

He nodded his head in agreement, and began to focus his attention to the books. Helping me find the answers I was searching for.

We spent about an hour searching through the books. I gave him sticky tabs to put on something we thought seemed could be who were looking for, that way I could take it back to Sesshomaru and confirm if that was it or not.

Kazuiko and I spent the time laughing at stories we would share and we were getting along really well, like we had known each other for years. He made me feel comfortable, and I enjoyed his company.

Once the sun had started to set, we agreed it would be best to go to our rooms. Kazuiko, the guards, and myself all carried the books we were going through to the room I had been moved to.

I assumed the room was Sesshomaru's and when I entered it, I wasn't surprised to see him sitting at the low table. I was surprised to see him sitting with his own pile of books, slowly going through them looking for names.

"Athena," he spoke, and the guards hurriedly set the books that I was going through down on the table beside his own books."I see you've been doing research." He eyed Kazukio, his eyes showing how dangerous he could be if Kazuiko made a wrong move.

"Uh, yes," I set my books down and then grabbed the books from Kazuiko and set them down also.

The room was awkward and Sesshomaru watched every move I and Kazuiko made.

"I should get going," Kazuiko grabbed my hand and kissed it gently. "I hope to spend some time with you tomorrow?"

"If time allows it," I said, unsure if I wanted to spend time with Kazuiko. He was nice and I enjoyed spending time with him, but I didn't want to give him the wrong idea. I had no time for romance, and I needed to keep reminding myself that. Maybe once all is done—and my father is returned to home safely—then I can come back and let Kazuiko have a chance at possibly sweeping me off my feet.