The pull Sesshoumaru had been feeling on his youki since he arrived was only growing stronger as they approached her rooms. It was very distracting. And he still couldn't place what it was.

The journey she had made a thousand times by now had never felt so long; made all the more painful by the forced small talk they endured at they made their way to their destination.

Finally, they arrived, and she could sense his unease as he glanced around the room, seeming to be searching for something.

"Can I get you a drink?"

"No."

"Do you mind if I do?"

"Do as you please."

She filled her glass with expensive liquor and quickly took a sip. As much as she was trying to portray herself as calm, her nerves were frazzled.

Shortly after arriving in The South, she had finally begun to gain mastery over his youki. Perhaps it had helped that he was no longer contributing it, or perhaps it was that time was all she needed. As her reiki gained control, and kept the demon nature at bay, her senses seemed to return, to her terrible dismay.

She fucked up. She knew she did. This demon had been nothing short of wonderful to her, and she treated him like dirt. And for what? To become Lady of the South? For power? To attempt the despicable deed of segregating humans from demons for their protection? What a fool she had been.

She was so certain at the time that she was doing what was best. She arrogantly presumed to know what would be best for them all, but she had been mistaken.

It was Sesshoumaru's youki. It had once caused him to hold the same beliefs. But he had seen the err of his ways, and corrected course. That was now the boat she was in, but she feared it might be too late.

She put a stop to her terrible ambitions, and pushed along the peaceful coexistence he had longed for. And successfully, she might add. She would make right with the world, and do what she could with the leverage she now had to make her lands as good as they could be. For everyone.

But she wasn't so confident she could make things right with him. He must hate her now, and he had every right to. She wouldn't place the blame on him for being the one responsible for the change. She should have dealt with it better. Should have been stronger. In the end, she was responsible for her own actions; and he had been forced to live with the consequences. And he had moved on...

But the way he looked at her when she entered the hall just now told her that there might still be a chance for them.

"I am mortified at the way I treated you," she admitted, and she tried to justify.

"Your youki is very powerful, and I admit I couldn't handle it." She had to explain herself quickly, while he was still there. She knew if she didn't get this right, it could be years before she would see him again. Maybe never.

"I have been working hard every day on my power, and am now able to control it. You had your whole life to master it, and I did the best I could. I'm not as strong as you." She would try to appeal to his ego. It was often a successful route in the past. But she couldn't appear to be pandering. He was very perceptive, and likely wouldn't appreciate it. But her words were not lies. He was the strongest demon she had ever known. He was the best.

She felt that nothing she could say could ever make things right, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try. She had never stopped loving him, and would perform any feat for his undeserved forgiveness. Looking at him now, and knowing what she did... it was heartbreaking.

She moved closer to him then, and looked into his eyes. "I swear, if you give me another chance, such a thing will never happen again."

"So, it was your intention to seduce me. Foolish."

"Is it? You never lie, Sesshoumaru. So don't stand there and tell me that you don't still have feelings for me. We were in love."

"Yes. We were."

Her expression left no room to argue as she set her drink down to regard him firmly.

"I want you to tell me that you don't love me."

He couldn't. Not honestly. But it was immaterial now.

"Whether I do or not, it no longer matters. Even if you have mastered your power, and are as you were when I fell in love with you, how could I ever trust you? How can I be certain that you would not betray me as soon as I let my guard down again?"

She had caused him more pain than any foe he had ever battled. And as much as he wanted to, he could never forgive her for that. He would not be taken for a fool again.

"You are correct. You are not as strong as I am. No being is. Yet what you have done to me nearly brought me down. It took all I had to come back from that. I am not confident that I could do it again."

He hated how much of an affect she'd had on him... still had. But he would not ignore the truth. Though it was difficult, he was Sesshoumaru. He could endure. He would persevere.

"I love you." Even if he wouldn't say it, she still needed him to know. And despite everything, those words from her lips still caused his heart race. "I will never hurt you again. You have my word."

"You broke my heart, Kagome," the admission caused the tears she was fighting to keep at bay to finally fall. She knew that she had, but hearing him actually say it was a hard pill to swallow. He was not one to repeat himself, regardless, it bared repeating. The pained sincerity in his eyes was heart wrenching.

"You broke my heart." There was no point in lying, and it wasn't among his capabilities. But he was not ashamed to relay to her what her behavior had wrought... how badly she had affected him. Actions had consequences, and now it was time to pay the piper; no matter how much each of them wished it could be different. He did his best to put his stoic façade back to work, and he succeeded... for the most part.

"At any rate, you are Lady of the South now. Your duties are to these lands. You cannot be with me in The West and serve your people here."

"I will leave the South in a heartbeat, if I can be with you." It was said with such conviction that it nearly made him falter. She had gone to great lengths to assume the powerful role she had successfully obtained. She would discard it now so easily? At his behest?

"I have no desire to stay here. My misguided ambitions were a result of your youki trying to conquer the world. Those feelings are gone. All I want is to be by your side." She clutched his haori, and startled him with the thrill he felt at knowing her touch once more. She felt it too, and pleaded with him desperately.

"I will name you as my heir. Take the Southern Lands, and do whatever you think is best. I trust you more than anyone." He shrugged her off of him.

"I have no interest in the Southern Lands."

"Then give them to whoever you want. I haven't picked successor; I will name anyone you chose. How about Inuyasha? He is ready-"

"Inuyasha's loyalties are to the Western Lands. Something you do not understand." He fixed her with a solemn, harsh look. But she also saw glimpses of a plea.

Part of him wanted to let her sway him. Wanted to make it work. But he had his pride. He was not some robe she could wear around when she was so inclined, and hang up when she was through. He was not there for her to use. Not anymore. And until she could give him a reason to lower himself to accept her offer, the powerful youkai would have to decline.

That didn't stop the sliver of a voice in the back of his mind from hoping that she would.

He gathered all of his determination, and fixed her with a grim expression.

"Inuyasha belongs in the West. He is my only heir."

"Not anymore."

She steeled herself at his confused look, and released a shaky breath.

"It's time for you to meet someone."

She led him through the door to her sleeping quarters, and he found that she had a barrier up. When she let it drop, the demon lord fell to his knees.

Beside her bed was a crib, and small half demon no more than 6 months lay inside. The feel of the child's powers was unmistakable, but he walked on his knees slowly in a mesmerized trance to get closer to the crib to give himself the confirmation that he really didn't need.

The child slept peacefully, deceptively harmless. There was a crescent on his forehead, and one stripe across each cheekbone. He had short silver hair, and two black puppy ears on the top of his head.

The reason for constant pull on his youki had been made painfully clear. Despite her barrier, the strong will of the child to call out to his father was able to seep through. He had his strong youki, but her reiki as well, and that made no barrier able to fully contain him.

Sesshoumaru was furious. And elated. He couldn't settle on an emotion to lend him words, so he simply stared at his son in shock, and admiration.

She couldn't help but smile through her drying tears at his reaction, and relaxed slightly. He loved him already.

His awestruck gaze never left his child as he questioned her in a gentle tone not much louder than a whisper.

"How? You said you took medicine..."

"I did. But it's only 99% effective. You always had a way of beating the odds, didn't you?" She tentatively moved closer to him, and bravely put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Or maybe our powers were too strong to be affected by the medicine. I don't know, I'm not a doctor."

The weight of it all was crashing down on him in slow motion; and his head swam as it tried to right itself in his mind. There were so many thoughts to organize, and he had to be very careful of how he would prioritize them. One thought fought its way to the top.

"You kept my son from me."

That had been another reason. When she discovered she was pregnant, his youki was still ruling over her. It dwindled as the child grew inside her, and by the time she was herself again, she was too far along. Having her son completed her transformation back to herself, and she didn't know how to tell him. By then, the damage had already been done. She had tried to arrange a meeting with him, but he had been extremely elusive.

She had longed to tell him, but she had been afraid. She knew he was still angry with her, and rightfully so. But if he didn't attend this celebration, she would have finally made the journey West to inform him.

"I know," her voice cracked shakily, and she tightened her grasp at his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I am not proud of myself-"

"I had the right to know."

He was up in an instant, and grabbed her face tightly with one hand. The pain caused her knees to buckle, and he was all that was keeping her from falling to the floor. Tears were pouring from her eyes as she saw the anger in his own.

The crying of their child broke him from his trance. He looked down apologetically to the young half demon, before looking back to Kagome. Resigning himself, he released her to fall to a heap on the ground, and then he was gone.

She simply lay there crying; mother and son joining together in a chorus of pitiful tears. He hated her. And he was right to. She held a small shred of hope that she would be able to redeem herself, but it was too late. She had lost him. She didn't know if she could live with herself.