Note: thanks for all the wonderful reviews so far. Okay so here's a chapter to kick of the new years. Hope you like it.

Chapter twenty-five- Decisions to make

Sesshoumaru was awake an hour after dawn, his usual time to get up. He didn't really understand why he still felt tired. He was actually ready to lie in bed for a little while longer. He slowly opened his eyes when he felt something shift on his bed and saw raven black hair and a young face. Ah yes, now he remembered. He had taken Kagome as his mate last night when she had come to his room. He had been her first as well as vice versa, but because she was human the feeling he had would not last. Eventually she would grow old any then die…unless…

Sesshoumaru let out a deep sigh. Yes, he could do that, but she would have to agree. There was a good question, would she agree to it? He let out another sigh; that was a tough question to answer. The sound of the sleeping girl's heart speeding up dragged him from thought and he watched as she slowly awoke.

Kagome slowly opened her eyes and let out a yawn while stretching. Her bed was so comfy she could lie in it all day and the blankets kept her warm and cozy. Then she felt something behind her…a person…a person that wasn't wearing clothes! She quickly turned around and found herself staring straight up at Sesshoumaru. She gasped 'oh my gosh, that's right!' she remembered 'Sesshoumaru and I, we had…we made love!'

Sesshoumaru slowly bent down and kissed her forehead "ohayo"

"Ohayo, Sesshoumaru" she replied, blushing.

He couldn't help, but let a smirk pass his lips. She was so shy even after what they had done, but a couple hours ago "did you sleep well?"

She nodded "yes, but I'm still a little tired since I stayed up so late"

Slowly he sat up and looked down at her. Never did he picture of having a mate, let alone a human one at that. But he stood by his words when he said he did not regret it one bit. His smirk faded a bit though "Kagome, we need to talk"

"About what?" she asked

"How this is going to work between us" he replied.

She looked at him with confusion "what do you mean?"

Sesshoumaru stroked her cheek with one hand "you are a human, I am I taiyoukai. I shall live for many years after you"

Kagome sat up, making sure to use the sheets to cover her chest from his gaze since she was still naked as well. How could she forget that? Inuyasha had told her that after they had met and partnered up. Most demons live longer than humans. She frowned and rested her head on his chest, trying to hold back her tears "what will you do after I die?"

He looked down at her, but could only see the top of her head "Kagome, are you willing to see people you know age while you don't?"

She lifted her head to look into his eyes "what do you mean?"

"There is away I can make it so you live as long as I do, but when I die, so do you" he replied "but you will remain young while your human friends age"

Kagome looked down at the sheets. Could she bare it? Could she watch her friends….even her family grow old and die while she remained young? She looked at the youkai lord "what about Rin? Won't she age too?"

"I have already thought of her and I can make it so she doesn't age either, but she will not be bound to me the same as you will be" he answered "she will die long after us"

"But then she'll live a lonely life" she pointed out.

"She will have Shippo and however many children we have"

Kagome was silent a few moment before looking at him and smiling "alright, Sesshoumaru, I'll do it"

"Are you sure?" he needed to make sure she was positive because there was no way of reversing the affect.

She nodded, confidently "yes, I'm sure"

Just as Sesshoumaru was about to explain the process, a knock came at the door. The taiyoukai stared at it for a minute, sniffing "I'd put something on, we have company"

Kagome looked around and grabbed her pajama top and put it on. She'd put on her pants after whoever it was at the door left. She looked at him "ready"

He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing about it. He then looked towards the door and in his normally icy voice said "come in"

Slowly the door opened and a red haired kitsune popped his head in "I-I'm looking for Kagome, have-" he trailed off when he saw her sitting on the bed "Kagome!" he quickly ran into the room and jumped on the bed, sitting on her lap with only the sheets separating them.

Kagome smiled "good morning, Shippo"

He hugged her tight "Rin and I have been so worried"

"Why?" she asked in confusion.

Shippo looked up at her "because you were in Rin's room when we went to sleep, but when we woke up, you weren't there and when you weren't eating in the dinning room we thought something might have happened to you"

Kagome suddenly felt bad "oh, I'm so sorry Shippo. I was having a hard time sleeping last night so I came to see Sesshoumaru"

Shippo looked over at the taiyoukai, who was starring at him 'oh yeah, this is his room' he thought then gulped 'and I just ran right in here, smart move Shippo, real smart'. Slowly he started to make his way off the bed while keeping his eyes fixed on the demon lord "s-s-sorry Sesshoumaru for just running in here"

Sesshoumaru stared at the kitsune child. He had already started to think of him as a son while thinking of Rin as a daughter. He knew that when him and Kagome had children that they would most likely be doing it often, maybe even during the middle of the night or evening joining them at night. He watched as the child was making a slow, but fearful retreat. That was the last thing he wanted. He wanted kids to know he wasn't as murderous as he seemed…well at least the kids that would be living with him "I had given you permission to enter, not to stand by the door while the person you seek is in the room"

Shippo blinked. Had Sesshoumaru just given him….permission to be in his room? And was not angry with the whole running into the room? He had begun to notice that lord of the west seemed to be a little less intimidating lately. Heck, he had even put Rin on his knee when they were visiting Kagome's world. Maybe Sesshoumaru was trying to make more of an effort, to show Kagome he wasn't all bad. Shippo smirked 'and what a better way to prove it than by being nice to me' he thought before turning his smirk into a smile "thank you, Sesshoumaru" he looked at Kagome "are you going to come eat?"

Kagome nodded "in a moment, you and Rin go and wait for me in the dinning room, I'll be right there, I promise"

Shippo nodded "okay" and ran out of the room.

Kagome then grabbed her pajama pants off the floor and placed them on before looking at Sesshoumaru "I guess we should go"

He nodded and placed on his pants and heori. He and Kagome then walked out of the room and made their way down to the dinning room. On their way, Sesshoumaru mentioned that Inuyasha and the others should be arriving by the lunch hour.

Kagome looked up at him "really?"

He gave a nod "hai, they will be coming to discuss Naraku" he glanced at her, wondering what she would say. After all, he had denied her of fighting Naraku. To his surprise she did mention it. She just nodded her head and they made their way into the dinning room where Rin and Shippo were already seated and waiting for them.

Rin looked up from her seat and her eyes grew wide as a huge grin formed on her mouth "Kagome!"

"Ohayo Rin" Kagome walked over and gave the child a hug "I'm so sorry I wasn't there when you woke up"

Rin nodded and watched the older girl sit next to her "that's okay. I admit I was scared when I woke up and you weren't there, but Shippo explained everything, so I understand"

Kagome smiled "I'm glad"

Shippo glanced at the taiyoukai before looking at the girls "Kagome, what are we going to do today?"

She looked at him "I'm not really sure. There's a lot going to be going on between the older people, but we'll see if we can't find something for you two to do"

The kitsune nodded "okay"

After that, the breakfast went fast and quiet. It wasn't much longer before it was over. Sesshoumaru stared at the children "Rin, Shippo, go to your rooms and get cleaned up, we will be having guests joining us for lunch" he watched as both nodded and left the room before standing up himself "Kagome, come with me"

Kagome stood up and followed the youkai lord down the halls and back to his room. She looked around, why would they come back here? They were already dressed; there was nothing left to do in there today. She looked at him "is there something you wanted?"

Sesshoumaru merely stared at her and with his arm, motioned her to sit on the bed. He watched as she slowly walked over and took a seat next to him "I want to do the bond now, before I leave tomorrow"

She nodded "okay, how is it done?"

The taiyoukai pulled her onto his lap and pulled her hair to the side, revealing her neck "it's fairly simple. Right now you faintly have my scent in you because of last night. Soon it would fade, unless we continued to do it, which I'm sure we will" he watched as her cheeks developed a redish tint to them and smirked "but if I were to be gone for a long period of time, my scent would eventually fade, leaving you free for any male to try and take you"

"Does that happen with most demons?" she asked "the male leaves, making the female vulnerable to be picked someone else?"

Sesshoumaru gently kissed her neck "in most cases yes, but by us doing this bond, my scent will be on you no matter what and it will be stronger as well"

She nodded "how come Shippo didn't notice the difference in my scent then?"

"He is still young too young to understand" he replied

"I understand, so how do we create this bond?" she asked while starting to relax against him.

Sesshoumaru smirked "we must drink each other's blood"

Kagome's eyes went wide "nani?" she turned her head to look at him "I'm not some vampire!"

The youkai lord raised an eyebrow. Vampire? What was that? He kissed her cheek "that is the only way to do this bond"

"Are you sure?"

He gave a nod "positive"

She frowned "okay then" she then smiled "if it means I get to stay with you, I'll do it" she took in a breath and then slowly released it "okay, so how do we go about this?"

Sesshoumaru smirked "since you don't have fangs, I will have to assist you" he saw her confused looked, but said nothing. He shifted her on his lap so that both were comfortable. He then raised his right hand up to her before using his claws on his left hand to cut a small line on his wrist. Not deep enough to cause him to bleed to death, but deep enough to bleed the amount she needed to drink. He watched her staring at the blood that now was starting to flow from his wrist "drink until I tell you to stop"

Kagome was a little nervous about all this. Drinking someone's blood was never on her to do list. But if she didn't do this then she would grow old and die, leaving Sesshoumaru all alone again. 'He'd probably isolate himself from everyone too' she thought 'I bet he'd even abandon the stupid toad, Jaken'. Well there was the bright side if she didn't drink the blood. No more Jaken around, but then if he did make Rin so she could live longer then she'd be spending many years without another female's company.

With that thought in mind, Kagome leaned forward a bit and slowly put her mouth over the wound he had made on his right wrist. The blood was warm and tasted metallic, but she did not stop drinking.

Sesshoumaru watched for a minute before putting his lips where her neck and shoulder met. He nipped at the skin for a bit, making the skin feel a bit numb. He did this for a couple minutes, then paused for a moment "you can stop now, you needn't drink anymore" and then continued for another minute. He took her hands in his, knowing that even though he made the skin numb to dull some of the pain, it was still going to hurt. He let his eyes bleed red, as though he were going to transform into his true from, but when his fangs grew he slowed the transformation and quickly pierced her skin.

Kagome gasped and clutched his hands tightly. If she had known he was going to do that, she would have asked he used some other method to make her bleed. It was painful. She let out a small cry and some tears escaped her eyes.

Sesshoumaru drank the red metallic blood. He felt her grip his hands tightly and heard her cry of pain and even saw her tears. He drank for a moment before releasing his fangs and started to lap up the extra blood as his eyes and fangs went back to normal. He then pulled her close in an effort to comfort her.

Kagome welcomed the embrace. She could feel his blood in her moving around and held him tightly. They were bonded now, she would outlive her friends, her family, everyone she knew, but on the bright side, she would have Sesshoumaru with her always. She already knew it was going to be hard once everyone she knew grew old and passed on, but she would have at least one person she knew to keep her company.

Sesshoumaru looked down at her "we should go see if the children are ready. I smell Inuyasha and the others approaching"

Kagome's head shot up and looked at him with a grin "really?"

"You take me for a liar?"

"No" she answered before getting off the bed and running to the door.

"Kagome" Sesshoumaru called as he stood up and walked over to the door.

She halted at looked at him "yes?"

"I would like to discuss business with them first before you get into a long conversation with them" he replied.

Kagome nodded "I suppose that's fair, but can I at least come and say hello to them?"

Sesshoumaru nodded and walked with her to the front door just as Jaken stepped in. He bowed when he saw his lord "Sesshoumaru-sama, I have brought them"

Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku entered and smiled when they saw Kagome looking well. Kagome walked up to them and hugged each one, except for Miroku who got a handshake instead.

Kagome smiled "it's great to see everyone again, but I know Sesshoumaru wants to get down to business so I'll talk with you guys after" she looked at the taiyoukai "I'll be with Rin and Shippo out in the garden"

Sesshoumaru nodded "very well, I'll send them out there afterwards" he watched he nod and leave before he looked at the three friends "follow me" he then turned and led them to his study where he made them take a seat while he sat behind his desk "now to business, I have heard word that Naraku is planning his final battle tomorrow near Inuyasha forest, we will leave after breakfast"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow "why there?"

"I am unsure" he replied "but Naraku means to kill you, me and Kagome"

Miroku frowned "what are we to do?"

Sesshoumaru looked at the monk "I have already sent word to the other youkai lords as well as any other demons willing to fight"

Inuyasha thought for a moment "what about Kagome?"

Sesshoumaru stared at him "she will not be in this battle"

The hanyou nodded "fine by me, but what about her safety? Surely Naraku will try to get her while we're fighting him"

"I have already thought of this as well, in a short while her temporary protector during this time will be arriving" he replied.

Sango looked at the demon lord "who is it?"

"None of your concern" he answered.

Miroku placed a hand on Sango's shoulder, briefly "I think what Sango means is, is this person strong enough to protect Kagome?"

Sesshoumaru leaned back in his chair "he is, but if you doubt my words than be my guest and stay here. The more protection for her, the better"

Sango looked and the monk and hanyou "you guys go and fight, I wish to stay and help protect Kagome"

Miroku frowned "are you sure you want to do that?"

"I'd rather Kagome have someone she knows protecting her than some stranger acting as her guard" she replied.

Sesshoumaru smirked "I assure you, Kagome knows this man"

Sango stared at the taiyoukai "I don't care, it will make me feel comfortable" she looked at her companions "I do have one request though since I won't be going"

Inuyasha and Miroku looked at her.

Sango gave a sad smile "free Kohaku…no matter what it takes"

Both nodded. Miroku gave her a serious face "we will do our best"

Sesshoumaru stood up "now that you know what is going on, I believe Kagome wanted to spend some time with you"

The three stood up and followed Sesshoumaru, who led them to a beautiful garden. They walked until they found Kagome, Rin and Shippo picking flowers. They watched for a minute as the taiyoukai turned and left to tend to other matters. Shippo was the first to notice the small group, he smiled and ran over to them "wow, you guys are actually here!" he exclaimed as he jumped on Inuyasha's shoulder.

Inuyasha smirked "how's it going Shippo? Enjoy hanging with my brother all the time?"

Shippo chuckled "that's funny, but I don't see Sesshoumaru a lot since he's always busy doing something. The only time I really see him is during meal times"

Kagome turned and looked at them before smiling and standing up "that was a quick meeting"

Rin watched, a little nervous of the people who were now there. She moved closer to Kagome and held her hand.

Kagome noticed and looked down at her "don't be shy Rin, these are my friends, remember? We saw them when I came back from my mom's house"

Rin slowly nodded. She wasn't really paying attention to the people back then; she was too busy playing with Shippo to really notice anyone.

Kagome smiled at Rin. The child was so shy around people. She then looked at her friends "so what all did you discuss?"

Inuyasha looked at her "we learned you're not going"

She frowned and nodded "that's right" she lowered her eyes to the ground "I'm sorry, I know I said I would fight, but Sesshoumaru doesn't want me to and I can't change his mind"

"I'm glad"

Kagome looked up at the hanyou in surprise "y-you are?"

He nodded "Sesshoumaru told us Naraku was planning on killing you and with you joining the battle we all would be too busy worrying about you to really pay attention to the battle"

Miroku nodded "your safety is top priority to us"

Sango smiled and nodded "they're right, and that's why I'm going to stay here, so I can help protect you should Naraku try and attack you here"

Kagome was surprised. In that short amount of time with Sesshoumaru they had this all planned out? She finally smiled "thank you everyone for caring"

Miroku smiled as he walked up to her "of course we care, we're friends and have been for years. And as friends, we should be able to trust each other"

Kagome's smile vanished when she felt something caressing her butt. She let out a squeal and smacked the monk's cheek.

Inuyasha was quick to run up and punch the monk on the head "yeah, it's just a shame we can't trust you!"

"There certainly is a lot of commotion going on out here" said a male voice.

Everyone turned around to see and saw a young looking man. He had golden eyes, long silver hair, though it was about as long as Kagome's.

Kagome gasped and ran until she was standing in front of him "Ecaro?"

Taiyoukai- great demon

Youkai- demon

Ohayo- Good morning

Hai- yes

Nani- what

Hanyou- half demon

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Note: nice chapter? Happy New Year people. I almost forgot about it until my mom reminded me, hehe I'm gonna get drunk tonight. Gee it's going to be hard to play charade when drunk, I should know happened last year. So I'm gonna update now before I'm to drunk to know how. Lol. Look forward to reading some reviews. Until here are some reply's to some reviews.

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RoxyFoxyKitsune- lol, same here, I'll read a lemon there and here when I'm really bored.

Crystal Koneko- ah ha, thanks a bunch. Uum, do you know if there's a short thing when you kinda make the story your own? ya know like an original fic. Put in the inu gang in modern time, make them meet each other and become friends kinda thing.

amida-chan- haha, I was waiting for someone to mention that. I did that so that way I wouldn't forget who was lord of which land or to confuse other people. I know when I read other fics with people who throw in lords too quickly I get confused whose east, south, or north. This way was much easier.

I-LUV-FLUFFY-SAN46- I wouldn't say I have absolutely no spelling errors, I've re-read some of my chapters and found some, but they're small and probably go unnoticed by most. Lol and if you sound like a perv by saying you liked that lemon then I must be one for writing it. lol.

Inu-nane- I'm gonna say it now. Yes, yes Kagome is going to get pregnant.

hanyou-mikogirl- Do not worry I was planning on having Kagome marked, but I thought about some people who'd skip the lemon and miss the marking. Couldn't have that since I'm….oh wait, can't say, that's next chapter. Guess your just gonna have to wait and see why I wanted everyone to read that so no one gets confused with the next chapter. I am thinking about a sequel. I've had many people ask and I'm already thinking about it. I'll have reached a better decision once I near the end of this story, but if I do a sequel to this it's gonna be awhile before it's posted, so I hope you won't mind the wait.

Zena- don't worry my talents are being put to use in another stories I have planned. Haven't started typing any, but I have the outlines written. Don't worry, I enjoy lemons too so your not alone.

zodiac angel- read this whole story in 2 hours? Damn that's fast….it would have taken me at least all afternoon, or longer. I'm a slow reader. That's how I became a sess/kag fan. I read one and was instantly hooked.