"Allow the servants to prepare you a light repast." It was more of a statement rather than asking for her input, Kagome knew as she silently watched Sesshomaru snap his fingers, and a man come running forward without delay.

With a deep bow of respect towards the head of the household, the low spoken servant bowed again in agreement when he was ordered to hurry to the kitchen and instruct the cook to prepare a quick meal—a meal fit for human consumption, Sesshomaru was sure to reiterate.

Kagome watched the man—feeling his demonic aura which gave away his true nature—scamper off further into the mansion.

"Nifty trick," she mused in an offhand comment.

Sesshomaru was already walking away, expecting her to follow blindly. She supposed his highhandedness should have chafed against her ever growing independent nature; however, she was far too upset after her confrontation with her sister to really give a damn so long as she was far away from Kikyo yet still be in the same vicinity as she. She couldn't understand. Why was Kikyo being so obtuse?!

"What?"

Sesshomaru's question momentarily freed her from her discouraging thoughts, but nothing could distract her from the knowledge that while she'd missed her sister dearly, Kikyo hadn't changed even a little bit. Kikyo's words spoke of command, not the actions of a concerned loved one. And that hurt most of all.

What was she to Kikyo, Kagome wondered with lingering feelings of despondency.

"What?" Kagome mimicked, blinking over and up at her companion in confusion.

His head turned and she saw his slight frown as he regarded her for a few seconds before returning to the path ahead, leading her she knew not where.

"'Nifty trick,'" he parroted. "This Sesshomaru does not comprehend your meaning."

It took Kagome a few moments to understand what he was talking about, having already forgotten about her previous comment for more pressing concerns.

"Oh, right. Sorry. I guess my head was stuck in the clouds," she apologized. "The servant," she elaborated, pointing behind her in the general direction the servant had fled. "With a snap of your fingers, someone answers your summons, running. It's convenient."

"They are trained well to serve this house."

Sesshomaru took yet another turn. Kagome finally noticed it had not been the first, and that she was hopelessly lost. Memory of elaborate memorabilia along the walls, painting, tapestries, samurai armor and the like, flashed in her memory as they'd walked passed, yet so wrapped up in her inner thoughts, she hadn't really been paying attention to such splendor and wealth. How long had they been walking? Where were they going? Not to the kitchen, she was sure, as they had not followed in the servant's wake. Her stomach gave an impressive rumble at the thought of food.

Sesshomaru must have heard her stomach's less than silent complaint, for his large palm cupped her lower back. They approached a set of screen doors. As if waiting for their arrival—which was a definite possibility, Kagome thought—a servant woman went to her knees in an impressive bow, before gently opening the sliding door for their passage.

O-kay, Kagome thought, stretching out the 'o' sound as they walked into the room. Not creepy at all. She was not too thrilled with such shows of absolute obedience. It was something she was not at all accustomed to seeing, having lived in a small out of the way village all her life. She guessed such was normal behavior even amongst humans who served in a lord's manor, but having never seen it herself, such discipline was disconcerting.

Did Sesshomaru expect such behavior from her at any time in the future? Kagome doubted it, having never seen or noticed him attempt to train her to act so obediently; however, now that the thought was firmly planted in her mind, she vowed to pay more attention to prevent such an occurrence. The servants' behavior went far beyond what she considered the bounds of respect and into mindless servitude.

"Such training would be lost on me," she snorted. She was unable to help herself from making some sort of derogatory comment so Sesshomaru would know without a questionable doubt that any plans of making her submit in such a way was never going to happen.

They stood in a room that was almost as large as the standard living hut one would find in a small village. Spacious with plenty of floor space to maneuver around, there was another screen door—open—across from the one they had entered, which lead to the outside. A wooden walkway could be seen, which lead Kagome to believe that it wrapped around the entire manor—or most of it. Walking further into the room, her gaze still outside, she could see a courtyard with white sand, and more buildings further back.

Opting to investigate closer in her vicinity than concern herself with the majesty of the artistry in the landscaping just outside, Kagome looked around the spacious room. There wasn't really much to see. A few decorations along the walls, calming landscape scenes, and painted fans. There was even a lavish kimono on display! It seemed to shimmer in the sunlight that drifted into the room from the open outdoor screen.

Moving closer to investigate, ignoring her silent companion, Kagome admired the shades of green and teal, the splashes of blues, yellows and golds that created a landscape of rolling hills and rivers. Pink cranes and white birds where the only animals on display in such an elaborate kimono.

It looked so soft. Without thinking, she reached out her hand, which made a low whooshing sound when caressed.

"Oh my goodness," she murmured, eyes wide. Again she touched the fabric. It was slightly cool to the touch, not rough like her own priestess garments.

Silk was so very different from the regular cotton she was accustomed to wearing. She'd never worn the like. Not even when Sesshomaru would buy her new clothes. The material had always been more expensively made than what she'd grown up wearing, but it was made of durable fabric meant for traveling in. Silk, she knew, was a luxury, pleasing for the eyes and nothing more. Still, she could not deny her welling feelings of longing to wear such a beautiful garment made of the finest fabric.

"Do you like it?"

Kagome answered Sesshomaru's question without even thinking about it. "Yes. How can I not? I've never seen anything so lovely."

"Then I shall have kimonos given to you for your use during our stay."

Kagome blinked, before turning to locate her demon lover, finding that he had moved away from her to sit at the small, low table located almost in the center of the room. It was one of the few furnishings in the vast room, and Kagome had no notion as to the room's function. It almost seemed like a huge waste of space—literally.

She moved towards him.

"You don't have to do that, Sesshomaru." With a glance over her shoulder at the exquisite kimono, Kagome shook her head almost sadly. "I would not even know how to wear such a thing, let alone how to move around or kneel. Such would be a waste on me."

And wasn't that a disheartening thought. Vanity had never been one of her vices, nor greed, but she was woman enough to wish for such beautiful things, to feel beautiful once in a while. It had never before occurred to her to desire such things, but she was no longer surrounded by the harsh living of peasant life. She was consorting with a very rich demon, who claimed not to be a lord by human standards. However, he'd apparently been raised in an expensive manor, with servants at his beck and call, and he had most likely had any materialistic thing he could have ever desired growing up.

How could she not feel the weight of inadequacy when compared to Sesshomaru? But remembering his anger towards her when they'd first arrived when she'd voiced such self-doubt compelled her to keep silent about the unavoidable rise of such feelings that came upon her once again.

Needing to be physically close to him to combat the rising tide of her negativity, she went to him. Trying to hide her feelings, she kept her head down as she knelt beside Sesshomaru. Leaning into him, Kagome touched him only so much as to rest her head on his bicep. Almost demurely, she laced her fingers upon her thighs, when in fact she desired to wrap her arms around his muscular arm and cling.

What a lowering feeling this was. Kagome despised it, which helped dispel some of her self-doubt, and yet she did not move away even an inch.

Sesshomaru shifted. His large hand covered both of hers.

"Are you well, Kagome?"

Almost in hindsight, her stomach growled. Deciding to tell him only part of the truth, she nodded her head, which rubbed her cheek against the fabric of his haori.

"Hungry, a little weary. Not physically, but my sister… Just thinking about the inevitable continuation of our conversation makes me tired. She's just so—" she paused, trying to think of an adequate word, "—unreasonable! I don't know how to reach her or to make her understand my point-of-view without her ignoring me and judging me a child for my beliefs."

Sesshomaru's response was slow in coming, as if he chose his words with the utmost care. "I know that her attitude is not fair and incomprehensible to you considering her own circumstances with my half-brother, but it comes as no surprise to me."

"That's not really an answer," she whispered, trying not to sound sulky about it.

"Then let me finish."

It was a gentle reprimand for her jumping in almost as soon as the words had left his mouth. She hadn't given him a chance to say more, and she knew it, which caused an embarrassed flush to spread across her cheeks. She could feel the rise of heat in her face.

"Sorry."

He shifted. Moving his hand from atop hers, he instead cupped the back of her head and start a gentle glide from her head to the middle of her back. Sesshomaru repeated the motion over and over soothingly.

"Humans are contradictory creatures," he continued. "They have a set of beliefs and depending on how ingrained it is in their mind, that viewpoint will not be shaken. Not even when it contradicts their own actions. They are blind to the double standards they inflict."

"Are you saying, that in a way, it's not Kikyo's fault for the way she is acting?" Kagome asked.

"I blame anyone who is purposefully blind to their own behavior and way of thinking."

"She's a good woman, for all her faults." It was as if she could not help but defend Kikyo's honor and character, because it was true. Kikyo was all that was good and kind in a world full of evil and corruption.

"Even within the righteous, darkness dwells," Sesshomaru informed her matter-of-factly.

Kagome opened her mouth to speak she knew not what when there was a light knock upon the screen, staling her tongue.

"Enter," Sesshomaru commanded without missing a beat. Nor did he move away from her, though his hand ceased its tender foray along her back.

Feeling embarrassed by their close proximity, Kagome quickly yanked back from him. Though they still sat inappropriately close, at least her head was no longer against his arm when the door slide open to reveal a bowing serving woman. The same one? Kagome wasn't sure, silently admitting she hadn't exactly been paying attention to their faces.

"Tea has been brought, master," the woman said politely. Not once did she raise her eyes from the floor to gaze at them, which made Kagome feel slightly less self-conscious about being so close to Sesshomaru. "Food preparations are almost complete and will arrive momentarily."

"Very well," was all Sesshomaru said in reply.

As if on cue from a silent command, another serving woman entered with a small tray, a pot of steaming tea and two cups atop it. In minutes, the tray was on the table and both women were gone, the door shut softly behind them. Realizing it was her duty to pour, and not minding the expectation considering it was normal for even a country bumpkin like herself, Kagome expertly poured first Sesshomaru's cup, than her own. Afterwards, she waited patiently for Sesshomaru to sip from his cup first before she lifted her own and tasted the green tea.

"I don't know if I could ever get used to that," Kagome confided, her eyes on the closed screen where the women had fled.

"Get used to what, exactly?"

Did he really not understand her implication? She reiterated. "Having servants around."

"Hn."

For the next few minutes, silence ensued while both individuals sipped at their tea. Kagome wondered what he was thinking. Was he wondering about the conundrum with their siblings as she was? She wasn't sure which thoughts where worse: feeling inadequate because of the difference in their wealth, or lack thereof in her case, or the situation they faced with Kikyo and Inuyasha.

Speaking of Inuyasha… Curiosity took hold, but before she could voice any of the questions floating around in her mind, another knock echoed from the door. For the next few minutes, Kagome sat silently as the serving women came in and placed trays of food before her, which consisted of a bowl of white rice, some fruits and vegetables, and a small bowl of little fish cooked whole. The women departed, and Kagome wondered if the whole household was consisted of demon servants without nary a human other than Kikyo and herself.

"Eat. Regain your strength," Sesshomaru instructed, while ignoring the food himself.

"Are you not hungry, Sesshomaru?"

"Not at present."

Did he ever eat? Come to think of it, had she ever seen him eat? She sized him up, again noting how tall and muscular her demon was. He was not a small man—in more ways than one. Kagome felt heat rise to her face when her innocent thoughts shifted into dangerous territory. Not wanting to unwittingly arouse herself with memories of carnal delights between them, she kept her mind focused on his eating habits. They seemed abnormally lacking for a man –rather demon—of his impressive stature.

"I've never seen you eat," she blurted out indelicately. "Sometimes I wonder if you survive on nothing but air."

Out of all the reactions she expected from her companion, a small laugh was not among them. Surprised yet pleased at his amused sound, she smiled softly at the rarely heard chuckle.

"Why do you laugh?"

"Because you are a constant source of amusement, aijin." Now he was gazing at her with such a soft look in his honey eyes, Kagome felt the exact moment when her heart blossomed with warmth.

"Yes, I receive nourishment; however, I only require a large quantity of raw meat every so often."

"That's hardly an adequate explanation," she complained. Picking up the bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks, Kagome dug in while Sesshomaru spoke.

"You have never seen the immense size of my true form, only the miniature version. When I need sustenance, I shift and consume the flesh of large game and suck the marrow from their bones."

Rudely, but not intentionally so, she spoke with food in her cheek. "You call that a small dog?" Then she thought of the rest of his explanation. "Now that's just gross." She grimaced at the mental image he'd given her.

"I prefer the term hellhound."

"I'm sure you do," she snickered. "The great and terrible Inugami whose true form is nothing more than a demonic dog."

Something almost dangerous flashed in his inhuman gaze, and the grin he showed her was all fang. Kagome gulped her food down almost painfully. Had her teasing reply angered him? He didn't seem wholly mad…

"Ignorant little miko," he murmured silkily.

Just to be sure he realized she had not meant her remark in any negative fashion, Kagome set aside her food. "I was only teasing… I honestly meant no offense."

"You are forgiven." He smiled at her, a slight smirk.

Kagome gasped, feeling like smacking him for his audacity. "You knew I was only joking! And yet you let me believe, even for one horrible moment, that I had offended you!"

"Is it this Sesshomaru's fault you are unable to perceive joke from true ire?"

More teasing at her expense! Instead of being mad herself, Kagome was delighted at their verbal play. It felt so…freeing! And at such a time of turmoil, too. Perhaps he knew how her emotions were rung dry and sought to make her feel better with casual banter. Kagome choose to believe such was the case considering this conversation was already outside the norms of their usual interactions. Typically, the only time he teased her was with sexual innuendo.

She smiled up at him, before going back to her meal. "Thank you, Sesshomaru."

"For?"

Kagome shrugged, a piece of fish in her mouth this time. "For caring."

In answer, the Inugami stroked the back of her hair.

Swallowing a few more mouthfuls, Kagome went back to the conversation. There had been a topic of discussion she'd been wanting to bring up before she was sidetracked by the arrival of her meal.

"Sesshomaru?"

"Hn?"

"About—about your brother, Inuyasha—"

"Half-brother," he interrupted her.

She rolled her eyes at his insistence of the importance of such a fact. "Yes, half-brother." Now she fidgeted, and pretended to take her time with her response by eating a couple more bites. Knowing she'd opened this conversation, she decided to forge ahead and hope for the best—the best being not having her head chewed off for prying into his personal business, but surely she had a right to know considering their intimate relationship?

He knew why she hesitated, but for how long? Inwardly, he froze when she brought up the half-breed's name. Instinctively, he knew what she was building the courage to ask him. It wasn't patience that had him waiting for her to voice the obvious. Silently, he asked her to keep her curiosity to herself, for the answers she sought painted him in a less than admirable light.

It wasn't belated regret for his attitude towards Inuyasha that plagued him. For all the blood ties that bound the imbecile and he together through their great and terrible father, this mortal girl meant more to him than the half-breed ever had. Which meant her opinion of him mattered. Kagome's continual choice to stay with him mattered, and she might be too appalled at his past transgressions to remain by his side. It was a possibility Sesshomaru was not ready for.

The peace between them was fragile, or so he believed. After all that he had done, he knew there was only so much even she could accept. It wasn't until he felt true panic at the thought of Kagome walking away that the Inugami grew angry. He was a demon with power and bloodlines, feared and envied. For all those attributes, he was as close to perfection as anyone on this mortal plane of existence could get. And yet, here he was hanging onto this human woman as if she were his next breath. Maddening! Why should he care so for another, especially one such as she, who should be unworthy of his attention?

Sesshomaru grit his fangs. His mind warred with itself. Logic and feelings raged within.

On one hand, logic dictated that the miko in his care was nothing more than a bug beneath his boot, while the other rebelled against such callous thoughts, for she was precious. But why was she so important? Why did he care so much about what she thought of him, if she stayed or left? He saw her faults, disliked those human traits, but then he could only despise himself in kind—hypocrite that he was.

The answer was so simple in a situation too complex that it boggled the mind. He was pure darkness with only a grain of goodness. Kagome was a beacon of light despite possessing a shadow of taint. Yin and yang. She brought out the best of him, while he kept her eyes open to the truth. One could not live without the other and be balanced. But what held together such an unlikely pair was not solely the desire to feel complete: it was that feeling in his chest when he but gazed at his miko.

In this case, with her, Sesshomaru allowed his emotions to dictate his actions. And he would be damned if he allowed Inuyasha to take her from him!

Finally, Kagome spoke. "What is the relationship between you and Inuyasha?"

"Unwilling half siblings."

Kagome frowned at him. "Do be serious, Sesshomaru. I'm asking an honest question."

"To which you expect an answer." He was being unreasonable and he knew it, but knowledge did nothing to cease his tongue from voicing his inner frustration at his desire to not have this discussion.

"Why are you being so difficult?" The wounded look in her eyes made him inwardly curse. "You make it sound like I was trying to order you around."

"Weren't you?" he couldn't help but to murmur before thinking better of it. Regret came swiftly.

With a small clatter, the woman beside him set down her bowl of fish and chopsticks.

"I don't know what your problem is—" Kagome began, jerking to her feet, "—but I don't have to put up with your attitude!"

With lightening reflexes, Sesshomaru caught her elbow, preventing her from storming away.

"Where are you going?"

Instead of answering, she made a demand of her own. "Let go of me!" Without effect, she yanked against his hold, getting nowhere.

"You should not traps around the manor unattended, aijin."

Face red with anger, her eyes flashing her ire, Kagome glared at him, which impressed him not a bit. "Now who's ordering whom?!"

Sesshomaru sighed, realizing things had gotten out of hand. Knowing he could not blame her for her irrational anger when he'd been the first to take out his frustration on her, Sesshomaru willed himself to patience. A second later, he thought, Patience be damned.

Combating her flailing around with a firm yank of his arm, he easily pulled Kagome off her feet, only to land ungracefully into his lap. Chest to chest in an awkward angle, Sesshomaru kept ahold of her arm, while he helped adjust her sitting arrangements with his free hand. To face him, he had her straddling his hips, though she seemed far from receptive of her change in position.

"What was that for?!" she all but spat in his face. She shoved against his shoulder without effect. "You can't just manhandle me!"

Choosing to ignore her shouts, knowing none of the servants would dare interrupt no matter how loud Kagome became, Sesshomaru remained calm and unimpressed in the face of his lover's death glare. "It was not an order, but a request." As he spoke, Kagome quieted. "While my mark is upon your flesh, none dare harm you within my home, but it would not do for you to get lost, or worse, stumble upon our siblings where they can gang up on you. I do not wish you to face their displeasure alone."

Suddenly, calm settled over the girl's expression. The volatile emotions swirling in her brown depths vanished, leaving behind a contemplative, even searching gaze as she regarded him.

"Why are we even fighting?" she murmured. "We need to stand together, now more so than ever, because if Kikyo saw any discord between us, you can be assured that she will try to use it to her advantage. I'm sure of it."

"I am always with you," Sesshomaru asserted.

Cupped the back of her skull, he drew her in while he bent his head to capture her mouth in what could have been called a tender kiss, but he was an Inugami who knew little about the softer side of the world. However, he reacted towards the feelings this one small girl could bring forth in his chest. He held her as if she were precious, kissed her with such softness as if she were something fragile.

"Sesshomaru…" Her lips were like butterfly wings across his own when she spoke. Opening his eyes, he found her already regarding him, her gaze full of expectation, and he had a gut feeling as to what she wanted from him. "We need to stick together. You agree, don't you?"

He nodded once, a slight movement, nothing more, before deciding to also be vocal with his response. "Yes.".

"Then I need to know the relationship between you and Inuyasha. What happened? No, don't go stiff on me," she admonished gently when she felt his muscles tense under her. "We both know Inuyasha is going to throw the past in our faces in hopes of breaking us apart. I think it's best not to walk in blind, don't you?"

She cupped his face, her eyes compelling him to understand her point-of-view just as strongly as her words conveyed.

Then she breathed out, "I need to know."

Put that way, he knew she was right, and damn her for being so logical during a time when he desired to be irrational. Why couldn't everyone just disappear so he could enjoy his time with this girl? Perhaps it was best to seclude themselves for the rest of her mortal life. How much longer would Kagome live, anyway? If sickness or injury did not steal her away, old age would, and humans aged at an accelerated rate compared to his kind. A decade, two, or maybe more?

Too short a time. So why not hide her away from the world and keep her for himself? Then she really would be 'a bird in a cage' just as her name entailed. If only Kagome would be receptive to such an idea, but Sesshomaru knew she would never be happy in that scenario. Humans were restless creatures, impatient, and Kagome was no exception.

Not to mention she still believed heavily in her priestess duties, and though she had not fallen into those habits of late due to their travels away from human populations, he knew sooner or later her calling would get the best of her. Her heart was too big. She was far too kind. She'd want to heal the injured, cure the sick, or help those dying to pass on peacefully.

In a move of aggression at having his wants denied, he yanked at the back of her hair to arch her neck. A gasp feel from her parted lips as her eyes clenched tightly shut at the unexpectedness of his actions. A second later, he had his nose buried against her flesh where his bite mark remained, where her shoulder met her neck.

To reinsert his claim, he sank his fangs deep into scar tissue. Her even louder gasp echoed in his ear. When she tried to speak, he didn't wish to hear it. She'd said enough as it was, so he covered her mouth with his free hand, while the other kept her pinned against his chest, his palm between her shoulder blades. Perhaps he was a bit harsh, biting just a little too deeply, bruising her. Despite the pain he surely caused her, he sipped tenderly at the wound, savoring the blood that coated his mouth.

There were a few more muffled sounds from Kagome, which his hand made inaudible. He felt her hands fist in his haori, her thighs tense around his hips, and her back become rigid beneath his palm. If she had wanted to, she could have tried to fight him off. If she truly was displeased by his rough treatment of her, she'd be flailing about, attempting to scream, perhaps even try to zap him with her reiki. She did none of those things.

As if she knew he needed this—whatever this was—Kagome gave it to him. And didn't that just cause the ache in his chest to intensify.

"Damn you," he murmured against her flesh, before licking at the wound, catching the blood that spilled over.

He thought he heard her try to say his name from under his palm. Without letting go of her mouth, he leaned back so they were eye to eye.

"Now me." He yanked his haori off his shoulder, before releasing her mouth, only to press her face against his flesh. "Mark me as I have marked you."

"Sesshomaru—"

Do this for me. He couldn't say those desperate words, so instead, "Give me this, and I will give you the answers you seek." He yanked her closer, causing her to make this yip noise as he held her too tightly.

The bite he'd given her was a claim for all to know that she was his. Not his mate, but his nonetheless. Kagome was human, so there was no way she could claim him with a bite, as she had no demonic aura to mix with his own, but the symbolism was enough. Did she remember how important such a mark was? His request for her to bite him explained everything he refused to put into words.

Do it! he almost shouted at her, but then he felt it. Hot breath, blunt teeth. She bit him. However, with her human teeth, there was no way that kind of pressure could break the skin.

"Harder, Kagome. Like you mean it." Just in case she hesitated for fear of hurting him—a ridiculous worry, he added, "You will not harm me."

She hesitated a second longer.

"For gods' sake—" he rasped, at the point of getting emotional, feeling her hesitancy as a rejection when desperation had him so in its grasp.

Suddenly, he felt more pressure, pain. Kagome bite him harder and harder. He felt her jaw clench tightly as she bit him for all she was worth, giving him what he needed from her.

The scent of his own blood reached his senses. Sesshomaru held her all the tighter. One hand cupped the back of her head, keeping her in place, while he kept his nose buried in her hair.

No one would take her from him. Not Kikyo, not Inuyasha. No one.

"Aijin…"