The denizens of the Makai had been restless these past two years. Normally such discontent did not bother the great daiyoukai, however, the normal chaos of the demon realm had amplified and spilled over into his land. The upstarts drew Sesshomaru from his estate to tame the mayhem in his territories and keep the peace. The task would not have been so troublesome if a contender had risen to defy him, as it was he'd had no true taste of battle. Each threat had been disposed of without even the necessity of drawing a blade. He itched for the blood of a truly worthy opponent the likes of which he had not seen in centuries.

He remembered the days of the feudal era and the danger that lurked around every corner with a nostalgic air. He had hunted the wretched Naraku relentlessly and had finally been rewarded for his efforts with the hanyou's filthy blood. He had solved his father's quandary and found Rin to protect, the indirect result of which had been the restoration of his left arm and the Bakusaiga. He recalled the trouble his human ward had attracted as a child, such diversions would be a welcome change of pace.

Unfortunately Rin was long since dead, and though he kept an eye on her decedents from a distance his protection was unnecessary in today's world. The result was centuries of what amounted to restlessness and boredom. He had hoped that the latest unrest in his lands would prove to be somewhat of a challenge, and been sorely disappointed.

So, when Tenseiga had demanded his attention after centuries of silence the daiyoukai had been more than willing to put Jaken in charge and heed it's call. Imagine his surprise when the blade of resurrection lead him to a battle between youkai and miko. He observed the odds stacked against the woman with a clinical eye. Humans with spiritual powers were not uncommon, but Sesshomaru had not heard tale of a priestess with purifying abilities for almost one-hundred years. One had to wonder what this onna was doing here of all places.

His eye sharpened as he recognized the youkai in the blade she wielded as the dormant state of Tessaiga. The blade allowed her holy powers to infuse it, and somehow the demonic aura of the blade was not purified. Once the Tessaiga caught his eye the oversized red haori came into focus.

'No...it couldn't be.'


Silver hair was a sharp contrast to the crimson sky as Kagome stared up in disbelief. Golden eyes seemed to glow as he looked down his nose at her. White silk billowed around him and two blades rested at his hip. His fur split into two and decorated each shoulder. Though his face remained largely impassive she doubted an angel could be more beautiful to her in that moment. The breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding rushed out of her as the beautiful golden eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Kagome was too stunned to move from her position on her rear with her elbows holding up her body and her neck craned back to look at the demon lord who suddenly stood directly over her. His form was completely still save for a slight flaring of his nostrils. Did he not remember her? Then again did he even have reason to remember her? They had fought together, sure, but their interactions were fairly limited and everything had happened over five centuries prior. The tall demon lord scrutinized her thoroughly as if not quite trusting what his senses were telling him. She supposed it was a bit surprising to come across a human that should have been dead half a millennia ago.

"Miko." He finally greeted.

The sound of his voice broke something inside Kagome and she pushed herself up. She slowly turned so that she was kneeling face to face with the pale demon and slowly she lifted a trembling hand to touch the base of the armor on his chest. She hiccuped something between a laugh and a sob as she felt that he was real beneath her fingers. Hot wet tears suddenly drenched her face as several barks of laughter slipped out.

"It's really you!" She sob-laughed, "you're here." Her gaze drifted back up to his eyes only to find him gazing down at her with an eyebrow arched and a strange mixture of amusement and concern flitted through his expression.

"Gomen, gomen." She sighed as she wiped her tears with the heel of her hand, "I'm just so so happy to see you, Sesshomaru-sama." No matter how much she scrubbed at her face the tears kept coming. Kagome slowly stood up and his head cocked ever so slightly to the side as he watched her.

Sesshomaru was used to tears and hysterics in his presence, however he was not quite used to such an emotional reception being because of happiness. Said happiness being because of his presence. Truly if this woman was who he thought, of which there was little doubt, such joy was hardly merited. The two had not quite parted as enemies, but the pair had been little more than reluctant allies at their last meeting. The fact that said meeting had been five hundred years ago, and yet here she stood in the prime of her life left the youkai with no little amount of questions.

"I thought everyone was dead." Her voice brought him out of his musings and he noticed that she once again had control of herself though when she looked back up at him she looked like she was on the cusp of breaking into more hysterics.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her, both because he was curious and also to head off the waterworks.

"I'll answer all your questions, I promise Sesshomaru-sama." She looked up at him shyly, "But first...is there somewhere I can clean up?"


Kagome threw the ruined pajamas into the fire that night. She'd miss them, but what she had not tore to use as makeshift bandages were stained beyond repair with blood and muck. Luckily the fire-rat robes were self-cleaning and repairing so she had something halfway decent to put on after the battle, even though she had to wear the same underwear. A girl couldn't have it all.

After her bath in the freezing-cold river, something she had not missed about her time in the feudal-era, Kagome had explained everything to Sesshomaru while the strange hog-creature he had hunted down roasted over the merrily crackling fire. The daiyoukai was a great listener, not that the fact surprised her. He saved all his questions until her story was complete, and when she had begun shivering during their conversation a heavy warmth settled around her. She grinned up at her unlikely savior from where she practically swam in his white fur.

Kagome curled up in the sinful softness of Sesshomaru's Mokomoko as he reclined against a tree with one knee raised and his left arm resting atop the knee. The fire had died a little but the daiyoukai fed it just enough to keep the chill off the miko's exposed face. The ring of light surrounded by the bruised darkness, as well as the steady cackling of the fire brought forth memories of her time in the past.

"Thank you." She murmured into the fur which twitched as if her breath tickled.

"Your thanks are unnecessary." She had been a valuable ally and his brother had intended to mate her. The fact that the half-breed had perished beforehand did not diminish that fact that the female was pack. As the pack leader it would be dishonorable to do anything less than step in to care for her on his brother's behalf. Duty or not it felt good to be needed again. His hand rested gingerly upon her head while she slept. Nobody had put such complete trust in him or taken such comfort in his presence for centuries.

Not since Rin.

The daiyoukai closed his eyes and let out a contented sigh. His father had been right. He needed something more than power and prestige to give him purpose...he needed something to protect.


"I didn't sign up to go camping." Grumbled Yusuke as he ducked a branch and crouched next to Kurama. Hiei had gone ahead being the most versed in stealth and speed. They had all sensed Kagome's holy power earlier, though it had been far from their location at the time the alien energies had rippled far in this corrupt land. As they had closed in on her location a tremendous demonic aura had blanketed the same area, and so after discussing it the fire apparition was sent up ahead to scope out the new adversary.

"Wish we were camping, then we could light a fire." Kuwabara shivered on the other side of the avatar. A shadow a few shades darker than the night leapt into the poor excuse for a camp and crouched across from them.

"There's a guard dog." Hiei spat before inclining his head, "Leave the oaf. He'll give away our position."

"Hey you can't just leave me behind!" Kuwabara yelled.

"Just wait here until the signal." Kurama murmured, "It's likely he'll hear you if you come." If the fire apparition had made that comment Kuwabara would have been up in arms, but somehow it sounded logical in the avatars soft voice, so he held his complaints and nodded.

The three snuck slowly through the brush as the stars twinkled in the bruised sky above them. They paused quite a distance away, the subdued fire giving them a good vantage point even at this distance.

What is he playing at? Does he not think anyone would come to reclaim Kagome? Kurama's eyes scanned the ring of light around the fire in search of the girl before his eyes sharpened as he realized she was tangled in the inu's fur. The human gave over more control to the fox within him. This was Yoko's specialty.

Start the diversion. Yoko nearly yipped with excitement, he couldn't wait to snatch her right out from under the dog's nose. His tail vibrated with excitement as an absolutely sinful smirk graced his face. Physically he nodded towards Hiei and Yusuke who separated and disappeared into the brush.

The kitsune skirted around behind the dog and hunkered down as close as he dared. He could see the miko clearly from this vantage point as she sighed in her sleep and fisted the fur by hear head with a small smile.

Why was she so relaxed? Yoko narrowed his eyes as he took in the body language of the dog. His eyes were closed but it was obvious he was attentive to the surroundings. Guarding, just as Hiei had said. The inuyoukai's eyes opened and he was suddenly focused on a point across the dark clearing. A soft growl too low for human ears but loud enough to warn off any youkai interlopers met the fox's ears and Yoko's fangs were bared in a feral smile.

The dog took his feet and uncoiled his fir from the priestess who whined in protest and shivered at the loss of heat as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Is it dawn already?" She smothered a yawn before gazing up at the stoic demon lord, she took one look at his tense stance and was on her feet beside him. "What-"

"Stay close." His heavy gaze pinned her in place and she nodded, wishing that she hadn't exerted all her energy in the battle earlier. It had been a long time since she'd felt so vulnerable. Kagome grinned up at the tall demon, if she was going to be helpless there was nobody better to have on her side than Lord Sesshomaru.

She held that belief close to her as all hell broke loose.

A/N

Special thanks to heliam11 for inspiring the idea of a pull between tenseiga and tessaiga. Also thanks to all who read and review!