AN. : Hello my readers. I am sorry for the long wait but I kind of had a writer's block and my muse did not want to help me. sighs Well I am not pleased with the way this chapter turned out, but I really tried hard, you know? My muse will not help me more than this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor the characters.

Around dinner time, Sesshoumaru has stopped the sparing session and they both once more went to the gardens for meditation. When they had calmed their minds and bodies, the two Inu youkai started towards the castle. Kagome went in her room, in a desperate need of a hot bath to sooth her sore muscles. But she could not stay too long, for the Taiyoukai was not too happy if you were late, regardless of the situation.

After she finished her bath she stopped by the closet she had in her room and decided she would wear a kimono. After all, she had been wearing training clothes the entire day so a change would be welcomed. 'Besides, if I want to make him fall for me, I have to impress him. Choose a kimono in his House's color, but try to find one that will also represent the Goddess in you. It would do him great pleasure to see you have chosen his colors for your attire.'

Looking at the huge variety of kimonos, Kagome found the perfect one. It was a black kimono that had a design on the lower part. It represented a huge white Inu youkai in his true form, the marking of the House of the Moon on his forehead. Gentle pink sakura blossoms were swirling around him. The scene was a simple one. As an obi, she had chosen a white one to compliment her milky skin. The kimono was beautiful. It was made of the softest silk she had ever crossed in her life. Even in her era she didn't find something like this. Yet the material was very resistant. She had tried its strength and surprisingly it didn't break. She was puzzled. 'How could a material so soft to the touch be so resistant? I must ask Sesshoumaru.' Snapping out of her thoughts she remembered that said demon lord was waiting for her and the children in the dinning room. So she dressed fast and made her way down.

When she entered the chamber, Sesshoumaru was already at the table, seated in the same chair as in the morning. When he saw her, the demon was literally speechless. The kimono she had chosen was clinging to her form as a second skin. Her silver hair and white skin were complimented by its dark shade. He couldn't believe she had chosen that piece to wear. That kimono was given to his mother as a gift in her early years of being mated with Inutaisho, making it clear she was the true Lady of the West.

As Kagome took her place at his right side, the children entered the room. As soon as they were seated, the servants entered with the plates: human food for the pups and raw meet for the two Inus. This time Kagome didn't devour it in one breath but took her time, her manners finally kicking in. The dinner passed in silence and only after the kids were sent to their rooms to sleep, their personal maids in tow, did Sesshoumaru open his mouth:

'I promised to take you to the library. Come.'

So they stood and side by side, they made their way to the northern wing of the palace.

'This is my and my ancestors' library.' He said opening two huge oak doors.

The sight in front of her made her trip on her own feet. She was speechless. The library took the entire wing. There were shelves full of bounded parchments, 'their version of books I guess', occupying the entire ground level. Huge windows adorned the eastern, western and southern walls, comfortable chairs sitting under them to allow the readers as much light as possible. Oil lamps and lanterns were placed along the walls. The upper levels consisted in balconies that surrounded the entire room and had bookcases and shelves along them. The floor/ceiling between the levels was practically non-existing besides these balconies. The room's ceiling was all made of glass, allowing the light to fall directly on the cases and shelves. And of course, at night time, which was the case when the two had entered, was the best place in the castle to observe the stars and moon.

'I had never in my life seen such a huge library.'

At her dazzled look and impressed tone of voice Sesshoumaru responded with a snort.

'It is bigger than any libraries I have seen at home, in my village. I mean, sure we have more than twenty of them and I have been to almost all of them, but none was as big as this one.'

At her statement Sesshoumaru frowned. He knew of no ningen village with a library, but one with more than twenty? 'She is lying. But I cannot feel any trace of deceit in her aura. Nor can I, but how can this be possible? We must ask. Or maybe she thinks of the time she was a Kami? No I do not think so. She said "village".'

'What do you mean by "more than twenty libraries"? I have no knowledge of any human village that has a library, but you say yours has more than twenty? Do not deceive me, woman.'

'I do not deceive you, as I am sure you are well aware of it from my aura. The thing is Sesshoumaru, than I am … uhmmm … from the future, five hundred years in the future actually. I travel back and forth through the Bones Eaters' Well, which is situated in Inuyasha's forest. In my era, children are obliged to go to school and the public libraries welcome us. That is why I have seen almost all of them.'

The Taiyoukai didn't say anything. He was pondering all this new information when a question struck him.

'How were you able to come here in the first place?'

'I would answer "Fate" to that. But I will tell you the whole story. When I was sixteen years old I was dragged in the well by a centipede demoness, who apparently had sensed the Sikon no Tama, resting in my body. Since I am the reincarnation, or better said was, of the priestess that guarded it, Kikyou, I had the jewel in my body. So she took me in the well with her and brought me here in this era. I escaped by pulling the arrow pinning Inuyasha to the tree. He killed the demoness and saved the Shikon no Tama from being stolen.'

'He didn't let it being stolen but he allowed it to be broken. How did that happen?'

'Well, we were following a crow demon who managed to actually steal it and I shot an arrow at it, successfully breaking the jewel.'

'Your fault for what happened next with Naraku.'

'No. Naraku was formed from the human Onigumo, a thief who was in love with Kikyou. She had tended for him when he was badly wounded but she had feelings for Inuyasha. Onigumo sold his human soul in order for him to become a demon and gain the miko. He was the cause for her pinning Inuyasha to the tree to begin with. He would have come for the Shikon earlier, had he known were to look for it.'

After she finished telling him this, Kagome silenced herself. These were painful memories and to have to retell them was still tough. As the wave of grief rushed across her figure, Sesshoumaru did the only thing he could think of:

'Come. I will show you were the parchments about the Inu traditions are kept.'

Snapped out of her grief and pain, Kagome looked at him with a pain tainted smile across her beautiful features. She took her place next to him and they made their way to the two spiral staircases in the middle of the ground level. They climbed at the first level and walked to the nearest bookcase.

'These two shelves over here' he said pointing towards them 'contain parchments only with the dog demon traditions. I would recommend you to start with this one here.' Here he took one bounded parchment and gave it to her. On the first page she could read "Traditions of the Inu youkai. From tea ceremony to mating rituals."

'Thank you Sesshoumaru.'

'These two shelves over here, however, contain information about the royal Inu families. I suggest you read about them after you finish with the one you have in your hands for you are now a Lady of my House.'

'I will. I want first to know about dog demons generally speaking and after that I will read some of these.'

'Very well. Shall we take our leave than? Your training will start with the dawn tomorrow. So you will need some sleep after today's session.'

'I agree. Let's go than.' With that being said, Kagome and Sesshoumaru thither towards the western wing and their rooms.

'Do you wish to know what signifies the kimono you are wearing?'

'Huh?'

'This kimono was a gift from my father. He gave it to her in her early ears of being Lady of the Western Lands. The dog demon represented in its true form on the lower part is my father. He gave her this kimono as a sign she was his mate and she belonged to the House of the Moon.'

'Ohhh … I am sorry … I never knew. If I had known I would never put it on … wait … then if that is its significance, then why was it in my wardrobe?' as soon as this question escaped her mouth she turned a deep shade of red.

'There is no harm done in you wearing it. Though I must tell, I am curious as to why had you chosen this particular garment.'

'I wanted to dress in something that will represent both your House and me. I have found the attire to be the best choice.' She whispered, madly blushing.

'It suits you very well.' Sesshoumaru added, no emotion in his voice.

Kagome's face was by now beet red. And the compliment, though said without the slightest of the emotions from him, made her blush more if it was even possible. They arrived at her room's door and she was glad for she didn't know if she could keep him from seeing her blushing anymore. Sesshoumaru did see her face become redder and redder with each passing second and felt the embarrassment in her aura. They parted with an even 'Good night' from him and a hasty one from her.

The door closed behind her and she let out the breath she was holding in. She sighed, contented she was alone and could read and relax. So she undressed and looked for a night garment in her wardrobe.

When she was settled in her bed, Kagome took the book and opened it. Surprisingly, it had a sort of an index so she browsed through the names of the chapters. Upon reaching the title "Mating traditions" her eyes widened in curiosity. So she started looking for the right chapter and started reading.

'There are several steps in courting an Inu demoness, but the most important ones are the following ones:

The male offers to help the demoness with the training. 'He did this twice: once when he offered to teach me how to spare and once after my transformation. Though I was not aware of the ritual, so I guess it counts only the second time as a courting ritual.' If the female accepts this offer than it means she has accepted the male's courting. Here her eyes widened in surprise. 'I did not know that when I accepted. And I did it in both cases.'

The male lightly touches the female in general areas like her arm or her back, so his scent would remain on her. That way, no other males will have any claims upon the female. 'He did this too. When we were sparing today.'

The female is presented with a gift. Usually it is either a garment in the colors of the male's family, or a weapon. 'He did not do this. So I guess that if I shall be presented with a gift from him I should not ask why.'

The male will ask the female if she would accept to be his mate.

The two would be bounded as mates for their entire life in the mating ceremony."

'The mating ceremony? I wonder what that means. And what happens during such a ceremony. Well what do you think it happens? What happened to you since you changed, lost your brain? Think, you twit. What could happen at a mating ceremony?' as realization dawned, Kagome blushed so furiously that she was sure Sesshoumaru could sense her embarrassment from his room.

'She is reading about mating rituals. How could you tell? I can sense her embarrassment from here and she would not be embarrassed by the tea ceremony. Good point there. Come to think of it, why did you give her that parchment? I wanted her to know what will happen from now on. So what did you think as an appropriate gift for her? Will you offer her a garment or a weapon? I have already decided upon it. I will take care of that in the morning. I will leave at dawn and hopefully I will be back at sunset. What about the training? She will have to take a pause. I will allow her a day with the pups. They looked a little sad at dinner.'

As these thoughts faded, both the Taiyoukai and Kagome drifted to sleep, although Sesshoumaru didn't properly sleep but more likely he slumbered.

Kagome fell into a deep sleep and had yet again another encounter with her past.

Dream

She was walking through a forest following a small path. Upon entering into a clearing she saw four silhouettes under a very big and old maple tree: two males and two females. When she was close enough she could tell who they were: Inutaisho and Inuyasha were the two males, and the two females she could only guess as being Saisho and Izayoi.

'Goddess of Fate' Inutaisho greeted her, bowing from his waist in respect.

'Goddess, it is an honor to finally meet you. I am Saisho, former lady of the Western Lands and mate to Inutaisho.' She also bowed respectfully from her waist.

'Beloved Goddess, the one I have heard so many things about but never until now had the opportunity to meet. It is an honor, great Protector of the House of the Moon. I am Izayoi, former Lady of the Western Lands and mate to Inutaisho.' After she finished speaking she bowed as the others did.

'Kagome. What happened to you? How come you are a demoness now, and an Inu to that? Did you lose your miko powers?' was Inuyasha's greeting, no bowing and no respectful words.

Upon seeing such a behavior from his pup, Inutaisho said:

'Son, show your respect to the Protector of our House and a Goddess at that. You shall never address her like that.'

'But I traveled with her four years. She is my friend and I protected her with all my might from harm's way.'

'She may have been your friend when she was a human girl. Now she is a Goddess.'

'Inutaisho-sama, do not chide Inuyasha for he means no harm. He is my dear friend. I thank you all for your warm and respectful words but I have to correct you with something. I am no Kami, and never will I wish to return to the holy realm again for they have wrong me too much. I have chosen and now I am a demon. Inuyasha, do you know why wasn't Sesshoumaru able to resurrect you with Tenseiga? It was because the Kamis wanted to teach him a little lesson, so they have decided to leave your soul go to the after realm. I am sorry for that.'

'Kagome-sama, you have nothing to be sorry for. It was not anybody's fault. And actually I was reunited with Kikyou, so I could fulfill my promise. I am sorry for hurting you so many times, Kagome-sama. And I thank you for your departing gift.' With these last words, Inuyasha bowed to the waist to her.

'So do you know why this encounter? Not that I do not find it pleasurable, but still I wish to know why the Kamis have indulged such a trespassing in my dreams. Or is it that they sent you?'

'Kagome-sama, the Kamis have indulged us passing as a form of apology. They are actually hoping you will return home if you see them repenting for their deeds.' Spoke Inutaisho.

'I have no intention in forgiving them or returning to their realm. I have seen the Fate and I know I will stick to it now, as I did so many centuries ago. And my Fate is in the demon realm.'

'Kagome-sama, we were also allowed to visit your dream self for we have to make our choice: remain in the holy realm as spirits or reincarnate. We would not choose until we were able to speak with you.' Saisho said.

'I wanted to ask you, Kagome-sama, have you seen my son's Fate? Will my blood line continue? Or will the House of the Moon end with him?'

'I have seen this, Inutaisho-sama, Saisho-san, and I can tell you that your blood line will continue and the House of the Moon will have an heir.'

'Kagome, the Kamis have suggested that both my souls and Kikyou's, shall we choose to remain in the holy realm or to reincarnate, will find their peace and will remain together, for we were soul mates. I have you to thank for this opportunity, Kagome. And please move on, for I have found my peace and if you will keep weeping, my soul will remain trapped in the human realm with no chance of finding its happiness.'

'I wish no such thing for you Inuyasha. You have been my friend and my first love. I will not allow this to happen because of me. I am happy you have found your peace alongside Kikyou in the holy realm.'

'Kagome-sama, all I have to tell you is "thank you". Thank you for taking care of Inuyasha and loving him. Thank you for mending his heart and helping him to understand humans' feelings better through you.' added Izayoi.

'Kagome-sama, maybe you are wondering why Tessaiga has chosen you as its master.'

'Yes Inutaisho-sama, I have been wondering about that.'

'It was its choice and wish. When you have chosen to protect Inuyasha in that fatal moment and release your miko powers, my fang saw you as a true warrior and friend. It also understood that you have changed the situation and from protected you have become protector. Once with Inuyasha's death, it has chosen you as its master. I must say that I was surprised at the moment for choosing a miko to wield it, for I though your powers will purify it.'

'I will do it justice and I will wield it with honor.'

'Kagome-sama, we must return now, for we have been missing for too long. In the name of the entire House of the Moon, I thank you for everything you have done for us.'

'Does this mean it was the last time we would ever see each other again, Inutaisho-sama?'

'Yes. For it does not matter what we choose, we will not be able to communicate again.'

'Very well. Farewell Inutaisho-sama, Saisho-san, Izayoi-san and Inuyasha.'

Once she said this, the four of them faded, only to be soon replaced by another. This time it was Midoriko.

'Kagome-sama, I have come once again for I must tell you this. The battle within the jewel is no longer balanced. You have to purify it with a selfless wish for I cannot fight for much longer. My soul is tired and longs for its peace.'

'Midoriko-sama, I will do my best to purify it. Tell me, what will it happen after I make a wish?'

'If it is a selfless wish, the jewel will turn a bright pink shade and will return in your body forever. My soul will find its peace and the demons within it will be purified, with no chance of returning to life. If the wish is a selfish one, the jewel will turn a dark red shade and my soul will be absorbed by the youkai. It will then shatter, allowing the demons free access in your realm. I trust you with this Kagome-sama.'

'I will help your soul rest in peace after so long.' And with this, Midoriko and the clearing disappeared, leaving her to the darkness of her sleep.

AN. : I want to thank you guys for reading and reviewing this story. I have thanked, I hope, personally to everyone but one person:

someone : thank you for reading and reviewing; I am glad you liked it so much as to ask for more, but could you please let your email adress next time when you review, if you do it again of course, so I could thank you properly ... I find it odd thanking my reviewers here

Ja ne.