Gaining back her trust

Sesshoumaru sat idly as he thought about what to do. When Kagome left for the past this last time after their date, he had made it a point to get to know her mother. Ms. Higurashi was sure to be an invaluable ally in the endeavor. Thus, as soon as he knew that Kagome was gone, he paid her a visit. Ms. Higurashi invited him inside and they sat drinking tea. He couldn't tell her everything he wanted to do, but he could tell her what to expect when her daughter did finally meet him in the past. To say she wasn't happy, would be an understatement. What mother would like hearing about how their child is going to be attacked and nearly killed? But he could tell that while she wasn't happy about it, she was happy to finally hear the truth. She had told him, that while her daughter often told her some of the stories, she felt like she wasn't getting all of the details. To know just how much danger her daughter is in, was a scary thing. Now she could brace herself to what was coming her way. He couldn't help but admire just how much Kagome was like her mother. That was the last time they had talked, but he left her telling her to call if she needed absolutely anything, and not once did she call him till today. That's how he knew this was it.

He knew that Kagome was probably a mess right now. He had watched her with his brother. This would seem like a betrayal, and now he needed to fix it. She had told him about her going into the past, she had trusted him. Now he needed to gain her trust again, but this time he didn't know how to do it. First thing he needed to do was to find a peace offering to show her that he truly meant her no harm.

Problem was, she hadn't been going to the past very long. From what he remembered, she hadn't met any of her other traveling companions yet. He was still in touch with Shippo, but bring him along wouldn't help matters at all. He could have persuaded the firecat Kirara to come along to, but again that would probably just scare her more.

Then it hit him. The only thing that she would know of, and trust. But probably only after he told her how he got it to start with. That was a story that he truly didn't want to think about but knew that this would be the only way. How humiliating this is going to be, he sighed as he got up and went to find the item in question.

It took Sesshoumaru no time at all to find what he was looking for, after all it did belong to his brother. After everything they went through after the battle was done, it would have been hard to him to deny the fact that, no matter what else happened, they were pack. A pack stayed together and helped each other out. The bond only grew once Kagome wasn't in the picture anymore.

Once he had the item safely tucked into his pocket, he was about to call his driver to take him to the shrine when his beast spoke to him. When was the last time we ran freely?

Sighing yet again, this seemed to be a thing when dealing with Kagome today, he talked to his beast. Its been way too long to remember, you know this.

Ah, but you know she will appreciate you being you for a change. Not hiding behind that human disguise.

You know that she will be scared, that why I needed this revolting thing. I need to show her that I am sincere in my actions.

You have a point, this time. But, I still think you should run. It would be good for us both. And with those parting words, he beast grew quiet again.

Sesshoumaru, sighing again, knew his beast had a point. It would feel rejuvenating to have the fresh wind blowing against his skin, rather than the artificially gathered air conditioner blowing in his face. Not to mention that it would lift his spirits as well. And with that he opened his balcony doors, and jumped to the nearest rooftop, not even bothering to lock up anything inside. His staff could handle themselves.

In no time at all, Sesshoumaru was standing outside the front door to the shrine. He took in a deep breath, gathered his composure and knocked on the door. He had barely finished knocking, when Kagome's mother answered the door. Inclining his head in greeting to her, he noticed something off with her expression. It was neither angry nor sad, but something more akin to understanding. He could only guess why.

"I was surprised when you answered the phone that way," she said. "But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You did tell me this was going to happen, and you were right. She is broken right now. I trust you, just like I told you last time. I trust my intuition, and I don't feel you mean any harm, today," and with that she ushered him into the house.

Sesshoumaru was shocked to say the least. He was going back to something he had not had to practice in a long time, hiding his emotions behind a stoic mask. Once he had himself under control, he followed the woman inside to the sitting room and took a seat on the couch.

"We'll have to wait a little bit longer I'm afraid," She said with a smile. "Kagome should be down in a few moments, she just took a bath to help calm her nerves. Would you like some tea while you wait?"

"Thank you Mrs. Higurashi, but no. I think tea would only complicate things once she is down here," he said with a small smirk.

In no time at all Kagome could be heard coming down the stairs. She was wearing a pink shorts pajama set, with a towel in her hands as she dried the bottom of her hair with it. When she was halfway down, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Sesshoumaru sitting on her living room couch, and she lost it. "YOU EGOTISTICAL HYPOCRITE, YOU TRIED TO KILL ME," she screamed at him.

Sesshoumaru, used to this kind of behavior from his brother, he was used to toning out the loud shrills while still listening to the important bit of the conversation. He looked at her waiting for an opportunity to answer her without being interrupted, and since she was just standing there he took his chances. "Kagome, I need you to hear me out, I had hoped that I had more time before you had to deal with me the first time in the past."

"You hoped? Well you got it wrong. I came clean to you before the date ended. You could have done that to, but NO you gave me a necklace that supposedly would protect me! But you still attacked me!" Kagome fumed.

"If you recall, I started to attack you, but never followed through with that direct attack," he said coolly.

"Your attacks meant for InuYasha almost hit me plenty of times," she stated.

Sesshoumaru nodded, "yes but none hit you."

"They could have! Why should I trust you now? You didn't trust me with the truth, and you tried to kill me. Honestly Sesshoumaru I'm terrified of you." She said with tears gathering in the corners of her eyes and taking a half step backwards.

This was what he was afraid of. He didn't want her to be afraid of him, but that was why he thought of that thing in his pocket. Sighing in resignation, he reached into his pocket and clenched the cloth wrapped item. After seeing Kagome take a sharp breath in, he spoke up. "I have something here, something that will help you trust me. I hesitate to go to this extreme, but I think it is the only way," he said, and watched some of the tension leave her shoulders, and a quizzical look start to form on her face.

"I had a feeling that you might not trust again, I deserve nothing less," he gripped the item tighter and continued. "This belonged to my brother, and I think you will know why I brought it as soon as you see it," he then took it out of his pocket and held it out with one hand. Then with the other he peeled back the cloth revealing a familiar beaded necklace.

With a shocked gasp, Kagome reached out and touched it. "The subjugation beads," she said. "But how, and why do you have them?"

"The short story, is that you eventually took them off InuYasha, and he kept them as a reminder of you. Then much later, he ended up dieing in a hard fought battle. He would have won, but his opponent tricked him. I would tell you more, but it could affect time even more than I am already." He paused looking at her reaction. It was exactly what he was hoping for. A look of begrudging acceptance.'

"I want you to use them on me," he sighed. "Use them as you see fit."

Kagome was shocked. InuYasha died in battle and the high and mighty Sesshoumaru is offering to let a mere human put subjugation beads on him. This, more than anything he could have done, made her see how sincere he was in his actions. This was just about the most humiliating and degrading thing he could have thought of. A slow smile came to her lips as she thought about how this could work in her favor. She reached out and grabbed the beads and clutched them to her chest. "This is a real offer Sesshoumaru?" She asked.

Sesshomaru started to worry with the look on her face as she asked her question, but he knew this was all or nothing. "Yes, it is," he said with a nod. He watched as she brought them away from her chest and held them up as high as she could reach. But she wasn't anywhere near tall enough to put them on him without help. Resigning himself to go all the way with this, he bowed his head and let her put the revolting beads on him.

Once she had them on his neck, he could feel the magic that was gathering around him. It was most uncomfortable. He then reached up and pulled his long silver hair out from under the beads, and straightened himself out. Then true fear gripped him as he saw the evil glint in her eyes. "Kagome," he started.

But she just shook her head and said calmly but firmly, "Sit Boy."

With that Sesshoumaru felt the worst sensation of his long life. He was being pulled downward by the neck, but it felt like he had 10 elephants sitting on his back pushing him down, and all of them had 5 tons of metal and the earth below him was a super magnet helping to pull them down. No wonder his brother screamed every time she said this to him. He was beginning to think this was a really bad idea.

AN: Thank you everyone who reviewed! You have no idea how happy they made me ^-^ This chapter is dedicated to all of you! I'm so happy you all like my story. I think the next chapter should be done before Tuesday. Fingers crossed that nothing happens to make me not able to write. I was going to have this chapter up sooner, but I had to take my dad to the hospital. Thankfully i have a Bluetooth keyboard and my iPad has a long battery, I was able to finish this chapter up here. My dad seems to be doing fine, but he fell and hit his head, and since he is on blood thinners he could have had a major issue going on and no one would have known without proper testing.