AN: For those of you that are unaware, I check my email obsessively. Like every 10-15 minutes. So if you have any questions you can send me a message and expect a response within the hour. Am I the only one addicted to their email account?

Sorry this took so long to get out, I had finals and I've just been exhausted. Plus, the letter "n" key is missing from my keyboard and it makes it super awkward to type….

Ok I know you guys keep saying to elaborate on the training and such but it is seriously killing me!! For the sake of the story I am skipping ahead, if I don't I am seriously going to start losing interest. Sue me.

Chapter 5

Sesshomaru paced in front of his desk.

'Why? What is that human hoping to gain? Clearly she wants me in her debt for some reason, but what? Ok, she returned my arm, that doesn't mean I am in her debt though. I did not request that she do so. Besides, if it wasn't for her I never would have lost it in the first place! She owed me an arm! I deserved that deed and I will just make sure that she knows that.'

With his mind decided, he swept out of his office and down the hallway towards Kagome's room.

Kagome began to stir. Her body felt like she had been run over by a semi. Twice. She tried to sit up but discovered that she was still unable to move as of yet so she just continued laying there with her eyes shut.

"Miko, you can not fool this Sesshomaru. We have matters to discuss."

Kagome's eyes shot open. 'Oh my God! How could I have missed his presence? I am not that tired! But wait, why is he being so rude? I just gave that bastard an arm! The nerve!'

"Sesshomaru, can this possibly wait until I don't feel like I've been trampled by a herd of youkai?" She asked with a sigh.

Sesshomaru ignored her and began talking, "Miko, it goes without saying that I owe you nothing. You merely returned what you had previously caused to be taken away."

Kagome felt anger rise at his implication that she had possibly healed his arm for some manipulative purpose.

"For your information, I was not expecting anything in return. A simple thank you would be nice but I do not even require that. If that is all then you may leave, I need to rest."

Sesshomaru paused before he nodded, she was correct. Protocol would demand it and he was not one to go against protocol.

"You have this Sesshomaru's appreciation."

With that Sesshomaru stood abruptly and exited leaving behind an astonished Kagome.

'He said thank you? Well, not exactly, but pretty darn close! I shouldn't get too excited; it was probably just a fluke. He will probably be back in a few minutes to take that back or tell me he is just kidding….Actually; I supposed either of those things would diminish his pride. I can't believe he actually thanked me. Inuyasha has never thanked me for anything but the evil ice prince did. Wow.'

Kagome fell back asleep still going over it in her mind.

The rest of the week went by in a blur. Each day Kagome had training, followed by lunch, then fittings for her kimono, and the days ended with playing in the gardens with the two children. Finally the day before the ceremony some lords and land holders began to trickle in. As a safety precaution, Rin and Shippo were sent to another castle that Sesshomaru kept in a secret location. Kagome was glad to know that they were safe, but at the same time she missed them and wished that they were there for her to play with.

Sesshomaru had ordered Kagome to pull in her aura so the other nobles would not be aware of the miko presence on his grounds. As a result, Kagome was forced to walk around in the shadows under the guise of a servant.

'Oh well, at least I have Repon. But how to find him…'

Kagome had only seen Repon in his training gear which covered most of his body. The only thing she would be able to recognize would be his height or his voice. A little sad that she considered him one of her best friends yet had never seen his face. As a servant she could not very easily strut out around calling out his name until he appeared.

With a sigh Kagome decided to explore a little more of the castle. As she walked she discreetly observed the demons that were milling about. Apparently there was a great deal of speculation going on about Sesshomaru's 'mate'. When Kagome realized that they believed that he would be transferring his powers to a demon mate she almost snickered out loud. Boy, were they in for a surprise! With a smile she picked up her speed and exited the area. There was no reason to sit around inviting trouble.

It was the day of the ceremony. Kagome could feel butterflies fluttering about in her stomach as she took a deep breath and studied her reflection in the mirror. She looked hot.

Her kimono was very similar to Sesshomaru's in style. Where his was white however, hers was black. Where his was red, hers was ice blue. Her obi was orange and stood out against the black. In her ears 

dangled long orange earrings. Around her neck was the Shikon Jewel, three-quarters complete. At her side was an empty sheath.

Sesshomaru had decided that the exchange of his youki would occur in private before they encountered the guests, just in case, "It proves too strong for your weak human body and kills you."

Instead, Sesshomaru would stand before the guests and hand her his sword to signify the exchange. He assumed that it was close enough to satisfy the other lords.

It was almost time for them to make their appearance. Already she could feel all the demons gathered in a large room near the center of the fortress. Their power was intimidating.

Sesshomaru entered quietly and nodded his approval, 'She actually looks good. Maybe I won't be embarrassed after all.'

Kagome turned away from the mirror and faced him, "Ok. Let's do this."

Sesshomaru only hesitated a moment before he mentally grabbed a hold of his youki and threw it at the girl.

Immediately Kagome dropped to the floor, curled into a ball, and clutched her stomach in agony. Sesshomaru's eyes widened, something was going wrong and if she died his youki went with her. When Kagome's shudders slowly ceased and she began to rise Sesshomaru let out a sigh of relief, his youki was safe.

When she turned her face towards him his stoic mask slipped and a look of pure shock overcame his features.

"You're a demon!"

Kagome whipped around to face the mirror and confirmed that she was in fact a demon. An ice blue line went across each side of her face and appeared as a sort of eye shadow. The same markings could be seen on her hands poking out of her sleeves and further inspection confirmed that they swirled down her whole arm.

Her blue eyes turned to meet Sesshomaru's gold, "What have you done to me?"

Sesshomaru continued starring at her trying to match this powerful demoness to the scrawny human that had spent the past two weeks tromping around his palace. He recovered quickly however, "This changes nothing. It is merely a side effect my youki is having on your body and I am sure it will fade away once you return my youki. Come, the guests are waiting."

With that he turned to stride out of the room until a small voice stopped him.

"But how will I defend you? I can't use my miko powers without destroying myself and I don't know how to use your youki."

Sesshomaru hesitated, that would be a problem.

"There are some demons," He began slowly; "That are powerful enough to separate their forms into two separate entities. With our powers combined you may have the strength."

Kagome focused inward and felt an animal roaring to get loose. She found the chain that bound it to her body and, after much concentration, felt it snap.

A roar let loose in the room as suddenly a miniature version of Sesshomaru's dog form appeared crouched on her shoulder. It stretched down, the bottom half floating behind Kagome and it would have reminded Sesshomaru of his own pelt except for the growling head and clawed feet. It was black with piercing orange eyes and a blue streak on each check.

"Sesshomaru, this is Mei Mei."

This Chapter was inspired by Sugar0o and her photo I found. Without it this would not have been the same story. To see demon Kagome follow these directions:

Go to Sugar0o author profile and there should be link to her deviant art site. You can then go under her gallery and the photo is called "bothersome...". Or, you could just type Sugar0o and bothersome... into google, whichever way you prefer :)