The thud of a falling body, the stinging scent of spilled blood, sensations he had grown accustomed to long ago. Then why did he tense? What was this chill sweeping over his body? Was this what panic felt like?

Sesshomaru turned quickly, raced into the hall and followed the blood to the girl's room, where he had known it would be. Still the edges of his vision turned red as he threw open the door.

"My lord…" There was fear and surprise in the voice that met his ears.

"Jaken." He glanced over at the imp and his eyes found the knife, followed a drop of thick reddish liquid from the large blade to the pool that had formed on the ground, "What has happened here?" He kept his voice as low as he was able, doing his best to not betray his anger.

"The girl will cause no more trouble my lord, I took care of her." Jaken smiled evilly as he gestured to the body with the knife before dropping it. After being stabbed Kagome had caught the curtains to remain standing. The torn cloth now covered her lifeless body.

"You took it upon yourself to kill my guest?"

"She was working with the half demon. I'm sure she was sent to find a way to hurt you."

"Fool." His hand closed around an almost scaly throat, "You were not given permission for this." His eyes flashed red, his fangs bared and the lines on his face became jagged.

"My…my lord…"

"Treacherous vermin." He hurled the small body away from him, death by his had would be honorable to Jaken, death was not a proper punishment, but he knew a better one, " You are no longer welcome in my home or presence. When next you appear it will be worse than death." His voice had reduced itself to a murderous growl. He gave Jaken no further thought as he turned to the recently dead girl. His hand landed on the sword, gripping more firmly than was necessary. He could bring her back, but seeing her like this… disturbed him on some level.

"I'm sure she'll sleep for some time longer." Norain announced, moving away from the bed, "To think…Jaken."

"You may go now Norain." Sesshomaru ordered, watching the old woman out of the corner of his eye. He waited until the door was closed behind her before moving to the position she had vacated.

He stared down at the pitiful creature he'd tucked into his bed. Tenseiga's power hadn't worked properly for some reason. She was alive, but still unconscious. With a hesitant, but steady hand he smoothed a few strands of her hair back into place, straitened the blankets over her. The heat of her breath against the back of his hand was oddly relieving, banishing the tension lingering in his muscles. Sesshomaru looked at the floor to his side. He did not like this. It bothered him that he had been concerned about her, angry about her being harmed. He wasn't sure how long he could continue to tell himself she was only a bargaining chip; he had decided long ago that bargaining was for the weak. This panic over a human girl, why? Why should he care at all?

She shifted in her sleep, drawing his attention instantly to her. Her head tipped to the side, hiding part of her face in the pillow. Her breathing paused, and for the briefest second her though he would have to return her from death again. Then there was a small sound low in her throat and she rubbed her cheek slightly against the silk pillow. A single whispered word left her. "Sesshomaru…"

He curled his fingers against the urge to touch her. She was still asleep, she wouldn't know if he had placed a finger on her, but Sesshomaru dismissed the urge as too human and weak. He forced himself to turn away. Contemplating her weakness he returned to the window, stared out into the dark. No human could have survived that wound; yet he did not like worrying about someone who could be killed by an imp wielding an ordinary kitchen knife. From now on he could not leave her alone. He told himself it was out of necessity for her safety, not concern.

She was smiling; butterflies soared through her, nervous and happy. Something drew her attention and her surroundings materialized suddenly. A small green thing was flying at her, an enormous knife flashing in the flickering golden light. She screamed.

Her eyes opened and the small creature vanished, her gaze however refused to focus and remained on the spot where it should have been.

"Quiet." The command cut through her scream, silencing Kagome suddenly. Her eyes met his calm gaze, locking onto the golden color. Without thinking she through her arms around him, holding tightly onto him as she hid her face in his chest. Sesshomaru was stiff, surprised.

"I…I'm sorry, …I just had the most horrible dream. Jak…I was attacked. I thought I was dead." She did not want him to know it was something as low to him as Jaken that had frightened her.

"You were. It was no dream." He forced her to release him and stood.

"What? That isn't fun…" She froze, new memories surfacing in her foggy brain. Accusations, fear, a piercing white hot pain in her midsection, where her body still ached. "You…Then you?" He'd saved her again, brought her back to life. He only nodded once and stood staring out the window. "Thank you." She whispered and again he did not respond.

Kagome looked around, suddenly realizing that she was in his room, in Sesshomaru's bed. "What am I…Why am I in here?" She asked softly.

"Your safety could not be assured elsewhere."

"My safety?" Kagome tried to sit up and only flopped back onto the pillow, pain radiating through her body.

"Whenever you are allowed out of my sight you return injured. It will not continue." He wanted to, but did not look at her.

"It isn't as if I go looking for trouble." Kagome closed her arms against the slowly subsiding pain.

"You need to stay still." There was a new softness to his tone. Her eyes opened as he adjusted the blanket, "It will limit the pain."

"Do you know for sure, or are you just being logical?"

"I know a bit about being wounded." He moved away from her, amused that she would question him, but also feeling awkward, unsure of where he should be standing. "Sleep, it will make it easier."

"You're always telling me how to get better."

"You continually force me to." The ice had returned to his words, and Kagome decided that pestering him further would do no good.

Days passed, melting together, and Kagome saw only Norain, who tended to her wound, and Sesshomaru, who hovered silently over her, never leaving for more that a few moments. She enjoyed being with him, even though she still felt awkward, like an imposition, but his constant presence and attention mad her feel…special, important. She was almost completely healed before he would even allow her to sit up, no matter how she protested. He would respond only with a cool look and silence to any argument she presented, and half the time he put on a great act of ignoring her.

More than once, when she was nearly asleep Kagome would feel the blanket being tucked in around her, pulled up to her neck, or her hair would be smoothed back from her face. She didn't have to look to know it was Sesshomaru, he would allow no one else into the room, let alone near her. Norain alone came through the door, and he watched her every second from the other side of the room. She often wondered if Sango and Miroku had returned and he'd kept them away. She wanted to ask, but more of her wanted to remain with Sesshomaru, in ignorant bliss of the outside world.

*

"Inuyasha, where have you been?" Shippo demanded excitedly, rushing up to the half demon, bouncing on his shoulder.

"That's none of your business, get off me." With one hand he batted Shippo to the ground, kept walking toward the village in the distance.

"Well, we'd just about given up on you coming back." Sango tried not to say it, but the word escaped her before she could stop them.

"Sango, you're being harsh." Miroku looked from her to Inuyasha, "You've been gone a long time."

"Yeah, Kagome's probably really worried isn't she?"

"I'm sure she would be, if she was here or we had seen her." The words held enough accusation that his tone could be bland.

"What do you mean? Did she go home?"

"No, after you ran off like you did we had to go after her without you, and Sesshomaru was less than willing to cooperate, Kagome..." Sango looked sadly to the ground, as she did when talking about her younger brother.

"What are you…Is Kagome…Did he kill her?"

"No. The last time we saw Kagome she was fine. What Sango is telling you, is that Kagome chose to stay with Sesshomaru rather than let us fight him and bring her back."

"She what? Why would she do that?"

"Because she knew that you had left to go find Kikyo again." Sango snapped.

"What…I…"

"You can't have them both Inuyasha. You have to choose one." Miroku, as always the voice of reason. He smiled to himself.

"I can't." He stared at the ground, ears drooping.

"It isn't fair to Kagome to keep bouncing between her and Kikyo."

"You've hurt her enough, don't you think?" Sango demanded, glaring in another direction.

"Well we have to get her back. Either way, I can't leave her with Sesshomaru." Inuyasha turned. He may have chosen Kikyo, but he needed to help Kagome at least once more, and start making it up to her.

*

He was feeling fragile. Normally at this time, the anniversary of his mother's death, and his father's betrayal, he would distance himself from others, be away from the castle, alone. Now that was not an option. He did not mind the girl, really. She was mostly quiet now, and he'd gotten used to having her with him. The annoying voice in his head that liked her seemed to have left him. He was pleased with its absence, glad to have control completely over his mind again. Sesshomaru remained in his post at the window, focusing on the world outside.

Kagome watched him as she stood, preparing an argument against being told to lie down again. The order did not come. Quietly she moved across the room to a small table that had been drawing her attention for several days. She paused for a moment after each step, waiting for him to speak. It took some time to reach the table and when she was finally there Kagome watched his back for nearly a full minute before looking down.

Only two objects occupied the table's surface. Kagome found the first, a hand drawn portrait to be unusual. The young woman it depicted was not smiling, most people in portraits were shown happy; this woman had a small smirk on her face, but looked more annoyed than amused. Placed vertically next to the picture was a folded fan. Curious to see what was on the patterned fabric she reached for it.

"That is an ill advised action."

Kagome jumped back, turning to face him, "I'm sorry, I was just…"

"If you do not know how to handle it, that weapon could turn against you." He moved across to stand beside her, lifting the folded fan carefully, "I have never bothered with learning its name. The frame is steel, all but the base is kept sharper than a sword." With a flick the fan fell open, revealing the picture. A woman in red was dancing in front of a river, surrounded by falling petals.

"It's… is it hers?" She asked looking at the picture on the table. Sesshomaru nodded and closed the fan, returning it to its place. "It's beautiful." Kagome hesitated, dreading asking the next question for some reason, "Who is she?"

"She was my mother." There was no emotion on his face or in his voice. Kagome knew, because she watched him carefully to see. "Even demons have mothers." Annoyed by her surprised look her turned away.

"I know that. It's just…you look nothing like her." Kagome stared down at the picture. Sesshomaru's mother. She'd known he had one, but had never spared the woman a first thought.

"I look like the man who killed her." The words came out nearly as a growl. This was on thing he did not want to talk about, but he could not bring himself to make her leave or be silent.

"You…what?" If he didn't look like his mother he had to look like his… "Your father killed your mother?"

"Your powers of observation quite take my breath away." She had never heard him be sarcastic before, "To be fair, my mother attempted to kill father first."

"Why?" She saw his eyes flick to her reflection and looked down, "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She whispered.

"His human. She was upset that her husband would betray her with a human. She planned to kill him with the weapon he had given her. That fan."

The matter of fact way he said it surprised Kagome. She knew by now that Sesshomaru was not an emotional person, but to be so calm about one of his parents killing the other. "I'm sorry, that must have been hard for you."

"Do not presume to understand that of which you have no grasp." He paused, "It was an easy adjustment." Time to change the subject or she would keep digging, get closer to the subject he was doing his best to ignore, "You like the fan?"

"It's very pretty." Kagome tried not to look at the weapon.

"Then you may have it. I have no use for the thing."

"Thank you, but I … I can't take it, it was your mother's."

"I do not give gifts often human. It will not be refused." He ordered.

"You said yourself that I shouldn't handle it." She tried not to falter under his gaze, "I wouldn't know…"

"Its use is quite simple. When open it is a slicking instrument, when closed stabbing." Sesshomaru interrupted, his eyes leaving her, "Even you could use it easily."

"Your faith in me is shocking." She tried to use sarcasm to cover the sting his words had given her. It didn't work. Sesshomaru looked at her for a second then away, refusing to apologize even though he knew he had hurt her. "You have a point though, I'm not the best fighter."

"You let the half demon break your spirit." Sesshomaru moved forward, caught her face in his hand, "Do not pretend you have not. I am quite cable of seeing the truth."

"How?" Her voice was only a whisper.

"I know what to look for." He released her, stepped back, "Lesson one." He gestured to the fan.

Her fingers shook as she wrapped them around the steel base of the fan, the only safe place to hold. Nervously she turned to Sesshomaru.

"Never fear your own weapon." He wondered how she had managed to wield his sword if she was shaking holding this fan.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know what I'm supposed to be doing." Kagome stared at the folded fan in her hand. She glanced up at Sesshomaru, whose eyebrow had arched a

little, "What?" his knuckles cracked, and his eyes narrowed, "Sesshomaru?" She took a step back, her grip on the steel in her hand tightened. He moved toward her, deliberately slowly. She felt suddenly small and helpless. Then he launched himself at her.

Kagome threw herself to the side, "What are you doing?" She demanded rushing to get away from him, only to find that Sesshomaru was next to her, his hand sweeping at her. She dodged again, his claws coming almost into contact with her. "Stop it!" She screamed, but he was circling her, a familiar deadly gleam in his eyes. She couldn't tell if he was really trying to hurt her, or if he was toying with her, but either way he was scaring her.

Her back hit the wall and she knew she had nowhere to go, no escape. Candlelight glinted on his talons as he prepared to stab into her chest. Almost panicked Kagome lashed out with the fan, the spines falling open as she slashed at him, trying to distract him enough to get an opening to run for the door. She saw Sesshomaru stiffen a little in surprise as the edge of the fan caught his arm, cutting into the flesh. It was a mild wound, barely deep enough to draw blood.

"Enough." He closed his hand around the wrist of hers, stopping the weapon in her hand. He stepped away, leaving her standing with the fan open in front of her. "A weapon is a weapon. In desperate Situations you do what you must."

Kagome stood staring at him, nearly gasping for breath, "You…You were just playing with me, you weren't even trying to hurt me."

"If I had, would you have survived?" When she was silent he continued, "You are not completely hopeless. You require refinement and training." He looked at the wound already healing on his arm.

"Did I? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…you scared me." Kagome stared at him as she replaced the fan.

"I do not recall saying the lesson was finished." He turned back to her.

"I don't want to do an…"

"You will do as I say." He snapped, actually snapped, tired of her arguments, her constant refusal to obey him. He heard her swallow as she picked up the weapon again.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Stop apologizing." This too was annoying him. He stepped behind her, "You have need of only one hand, leave the other out of the way until you require it."

"What are you…" She stopped, held her breath as he moved closer to her, his hand closing over hers.

"Your movements are too sporadic, too violent. You will follow me."

She continued to hold her breath, doing her best to keep from touching him as he guided her across the room, but it was pointless. She found herself breathing with him, moving at his slightest urge. He was so close she could smell him, feel his breath, his heartbeat against her shoulder blades. It was like she was melting into him as she closed her eyes. She lost all will of her own, becoming simply an extension of him. His hand tightened on hers sliding from her fingers to her wrist. He seemed to be holding his breath.

Sesshomaru stared over her head, trying and failing to make himself move away from her. He stiffened, trying to stop or at least control what was happening to him. Her scent was invading him, her skin was burning his hand, but he couldn't release her. He felt her pulse race beneath his fingers. She moved, looking up at him over her shoulder. He met her dark eyes and in less than an instant he was lost.

She had never seen that look in his eyes. The gold was molten, almost luminous. She felt him shudder, turned to him, stepping back a little. His hand stayed on hers, "Sess…" His mouth crushing hers silenced the name. The fan dropped from her hand as his slid up her arm and shoulder, sending goose bumps over her flesh. His fingers tunneled into her hair. Helpless against a sudden rush of emotion she moved closer to him, her arms rising of their own will to slip around his neck. She clung to him; afraid that her suddenly weak knees would give out or that if she released him the heat would consume her.

She was falling backward, something ripped. His kiss deepened, forcing her lips apart to complete his invasion of her mouth. His heart was pounding and she was trembling. Something new and frightening, but terribly exciting was unfurling inside of her. Her blood became fire, burning out of her veins. She could feel her clothes being torn away. She knew that she should fight him, protest, but couldn't, wouldn't force herself to. His lips had left hers to travel down the side of her neck. His stroking, caressing fingers were everywhere, tracing intricate patterns across her skin, finding the places that made her shiver. She couldn't speak, could not even form thoughts. All Kagome was capable of was experiencing the sensations she had never dreamed of, responding to his insistent possessive touch. Instinctively she rose into his fingertips, tipped her chin up. She felt the sharp edge of his teeth at her throat and somehow she knew.

Sesshomaru had claimed her. From that instant on, no matter what came she was his, no one else's, forever.