a/n: OMG! This is the last chapter before the epilogue! I am so sad! It feels as if my little baby has grown to be a fine story! Please read and review. My baby gets sick when you don't... Oh, I have also drawn a fanfic related image. Go to fanart on and check it out.

WARNINGS: There will be sexual content in this chapter. If you do not wish to read the lemon, please skip it. There will be no warnings to indicate the beginning, however, so read cautiously. LOL! There will also be slightly gory situations.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, but I do own the characters I have created for this story. You can't sue me, na-na-na na-na na!

Personal Note: I would just like to thank my most vampid reader. She is an author herself, and I am sure she has viewed my work even more than I have. Thanks to theblackangels for her support, and I love the little stories that she writes in with her reviews. They always make me laugh. I have decided to dedicate this chapter to her. Thanks bunches. I also want to thank all of my readers, though some may not leave reviews. I appreciate it.

Love and Deceit

Chapter Twelve: When the Doves Cry

By: Kate the Inuyoukai01

"It's over." Sesshomaru growled as he pushed the blade into Inuyasha's throat.

Inuyasha gasped, grabbing the blade and trying with all of his might to keep it from cutting through.

Sesshomaru smirked. He knew that he had won. His grip tightened on the hilt of Tetsusaiga to counter-act Inuyasha's struggles. Just one swift movement towards his chest, and Sesshomaru would sever his head. Inuyasha growled, thinking of a way that he could get out of the demon lord's grasp. He smirked, remembering the sword he still clutched in his hand. He growled, elbowing Sesshomaru in the gut and causing him to pull back slightly, just enough for Inuyasha to break from his grasp. Sesshomaru knew that he was going to try a cheap shot and went to defend himself, but it was too late. Without warning, Inuyasha turned on Sesshomaru with lightening speed and dug the blade of his sword in the lord's side. Sesshomaru growled and smirked at the halfling for making such a minor injury, but Inuyasha was wearing a smirk of his own. All of the sudden, he could feel a burning sensation and his smirk quickly faded into a slight look of surprise.

W-What is this? He thought with his slightly wide eyes on his brother.

Kagome noticed that Sesshomaru's face had lost its confident facade, and went to run to his side when she was stopped by Souta.

"It's a minor wound, Kagome. Don't worry-"

"Sesshomaru!!" she screamed as her demon lord fell to his knees.

Souta let go of her in surprise. How could his mentor have fallen to his knees over such a minor injury? Well, it wouldn't have been a minor injury to him, but for a demon is was most certainly minor. The cut should have started to heal immediately. When he saw that it wasn't, he understood why Kagome was so worried when the blade hit him. He narrowed his eyes at a laughing Inuyasha.

"Yeah, you feel that?" Inuyasha smirked as he put his foot against Sesshomaru's chest and pulled, removing the blade from his side painfully. "That's a poison my dark priestess made from herbs in the village. Not only that, but her purifying powers are twined with it. You'll have a long and painful death," he chuckled as he wiped the blade off on the grass. "Just like you deserve, brother of mine."

"B-bastard..." Sesshomaru coughed as he fell onto his back. He couldn't die... it wasn't his time and he still had Kagome to protect. He looked over at her. Tears were streaming down her face and she had clutched a hand to her chest. She looked so vulnerable... His gaze turned to Souta, who was glaring angrily at the hanyou. Inuyasha proved to have been training for quite a while, and would probably kill both of them without a second thought. He had to stay awake. Despite his thoughts, he closed his eyes, pain racking his body from the poison slowly spreading throughout his system. He arched his back, claws digging into the palms of his hands. The last thing he saw was Kagome reaching into her kimono as he fell into unconsciousness.

Inuyasha smirked, "Alright, Kagome. Let's go ho-umph!"

Kagome smiled, tears streaming down her face as she pulled the dagger out of his back. Inuyasha turned slowly, his eyes glowing with rage and pain. Before he could say anything, Kagome shot purification powers through the blade, causing the blade to flame with blue, and stabbed him again, this time in his chest. Right through the bastard's black and rotting heart.

"K-kagome... why?" Inuyasha growled as she continued to puncture him with the blade. Blood seeped from his mouth as they both fell on the ground, Kagome unrelenting in her attacks.

"For my family," she snarled, "for my life, and for my love."

The light faded from those deceitful eyes and still she continued. Blood spattered on her fine kimono as his stomach and chest became nothing more than a mass of bleeding organs, flesh, muscle and bone.

"Kagome," Souta came rushing to her, grabbing her and pulling her back, "stop!"

"Let me go! He has to pay!" Kagome growled as she attempted to pull from him.

"He's dead, Kagome," he yelled as he held her down. "You need to stop!"

He held her still until she calmed enough to think clearly, wiping the wetness from her face with the sleeve of his haori. Kagome was still sniffling, but was calmed enough to be released after a short period. She looked over at what she had done to Inuyasha, then her eyes averted from the grizzly sight to see Sesshomaru lying on the ground unconcious.

She stared at the demon that she had started to love, hoping that they could find some way to save him. How is it that whenever she gets close to someone, they ended up dead? She didn't know, but she was sick of it.

"Kagome, are you alright?"

She nodded numbly, even though her wrist was aching, and kept her eyes on the demon lord.

Souta saw where her eyes had gone and stood, "I'm going to get the healers. You stay here and see what you can do to counter-act the poison."

Kagome nodded, ingnoring the pain in her wrist and standing. She ran to Sesshomaru's side after Souta had left for help. Finding that he still had a pulse, she inspected the wound, seeing that it was already festering. She looked around the clearing, hoping to find some kind of herb to stop the process. She found two and ran over to pick a large amount of them, as well as finding one large stone and a smaller rock. She ran to his side, putting the heavy stone down next to her as she began to break up the plants. She gnashed the two stones together, making a yellow mixture of the two different herbs. She didn't have a lot of time. His skin was paling and his breathing was becoming shallow and erratic. He was covered in sweat and blood.

Kagome finished making the concoction as fast as she could with one hand. Where are those damn healers? she thought as she took off his haori. The wound was deep, but not wide, and a layer of dead flesh had formed around the wound from the poison. The dead flesh would have to be removed, and the wound had to be sewn and bandaged as soon as the she finished applying the herbs. That was if the healers showed up in time to do so. She went to Inuyasha's corpse and picked up the dagger that she had used to kill him. She spit on the blade and wiped it off on her kimono before quickly making her way back to Sesshomaru's side. She carefully removed the dead flesh, cutting meticulously so as not to injure him further. After she finished with that, she ripped off a sleeve of the haori. She cleaned the wound as best as she could, then dabbed the sleeve in the yellow substance and applied it to the infected area before gently pushing the bandage into the wound with her pinky.

After she had finished swabbing inside the wound, she looked around. She could see the healers running her way with a stretcher made of bear hide and thin logs. She moved aside as they sat the stretcher down, lifting the still unconscious demon lord up onto it before lifting it up and running back toward the palace. Kagome sighed as she looked around. The forget-me-nots were smashed into the ground from the fight, blood and sweat mixed with the grass and soil. She looked down at where Sesshomaru was and saw that the ground where his infected side was was nothing more than dead grass sissling in the afternoon sun. Her eyes widened in worry and fear that she would lose yet another person that she deeply cared for. Tears filled her eyes for the millionth time that day as she made her way back to the Palace.

Sesshomaru... she thought as her tears left tracks of dampness on her pale cheeks, please be alright.

Kagome sat outside the shoji leading into the healing room for hours. The sun had set long ago, and she had begun to feel sleep trying to claim her. She wouldn't sleep. Not until she knew that he was going to be alright. After using her healing powers to quicken the healing of her wrist, the healers took her to the side and gave her a strange tasting concoction that all but healed her wrist completely. The gaurds and herself had disposed of Inuyasha's body by that time, and had tried their best to clean up the battlefield. She had come back hours earlier to see if they had made any progress, and was asked to sit outside and await a diagnosis. She sat and thought of how much she wanted him, and how much she cared for him. She couldn't think of a life without him anymore. Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of his death. Who would take over the reign of the Western Land? Sesshomaru had no heirs, and there were no other noble lords who could take over the position. She was worried to say the least, and scared out of her mind. She was brought out of her daze when one of the healers came out of the room. He looked down at Kagome, a serious expression plastered on his face.

"Lady Kagome, what did you give him?" he asked as she stood.

"I just made an ointment out of the herbs that were available to me," Kagome looked up at the man with worried blue eyes. "Is he alright?"

The man stared at her for a long moment, "We have sewn the wound and bandaged it, but no other method was needed other than a flea."

"A-a flea?" Kagome asked, dumbfounded.

"Old Myoga arrived just before the battle insued. He is an old friend of Sesshomaru-sama's father. With his help, we were able to suck the poison out of his system before it spread too far, and because of the ointment that you used we were able to counter-act the purification powers laced within the poison."

"Y-you mean-"

"Yes, he will be fine," he said as he gave her a warm smile. "If it weren't for you and your herbs, he wouldn't have lasted throughout the night."

"Can I see him?" She asked as she felt a huge weight lift from her heart.

"He is still unconscious," he said as he shook his head, "but he should awaken some time tomorrow. You can see him then."

"What about his wound?"

"The poison slowed down the healing process dramatically, but he should be back to his old self in a few days, maybe less since we've given him the same elixir we gave you."

"Thank you."

"No, thank you." He whispered as she walked away.

--

Kagome sat in her room, twiddling her thumbs. She had woken up early in the morning and was now impatiently awaiting a servant to inform her of Sesshomaru's current condition. The head healer, the kind man who she had spoken to the night before by the name of Ichigo Shimara, told her that he would send a servant once the demon lord gained consciousness. She had bathed and groomed meticulously to pass the time, but the servant still hadn't arrived. Kagome rose from her bed, walking through the door that connected her room to Sesshomaru's, her white silk kimono and ebony hair in whirls around her as she did so. She had never before been in the room, taking Souta's story on their sister's painting as a warning never to enter. She couldn't help going in there. Curiosity had gotten the best of her.

Low and behold, hanging on the wall next to the head of Sesshomaru's futon, was a painting of Rin. Kagome marveled at the precise strokes and care that was used in the painting's creation, she could see the slight swirls the paintbrush made while painting the background. The woman in the painting was depicted sitting at an angle by the window over-looking the gardens, which was in Kagome's current bedroom. She was wearing the baby-blue kimono with the pink obi. Her hair was up in a high bun, small curls here and there, just the way Kagome had worn her hair when she had worn the same kimono. Kagome did see the slight resemblance, and also noticed that the girl in the painting looked different from the girl that she once knew. Her face was no longer round with youth, but shapely and beautiful. She had a small, but happy smile on her face, her light brown eyes twinkling with merth. The thing that set the older Rin apart most from the younger Rin was her eyes. Her eyes were so full of knowledge and wisdom. Kagome smiled at the painting, immediately taking a liking to it, and lifted her hand to touch the canvas when she heard a knock on her shoji.

Kagome gasped, quietly slipping out of his room and into hers. She plopped on her futon and tried her best to steady her breathing.

"Come in."

As soon as the words were said, her personal servant Suki bounced into the room, all but throwing herself on the poor girl sitting dumbfounded on her futon.

"Sesshomaru-sama is awake!" Suki smiled as she again threw herself on Kagome in a tight hug. "Once Ichigo-san told him what saved his life, he demanded to see you!"

Kagome let a big smile spread across her face. Finally, he was awake. She quickly followed Suki out of her room, and they all but ran to the servant's quarters. Kagome reached the door first and almost ran through the shoji. She managed to open it and looked inside. Sesshomaru was cleaned and bandaged, sitting up and staring out the window on the other side of the room. She told Suki that she was dismissed, and the young kitsune quickly departed.

Kagome entered the healer's room, restraining herself from jumping on him in a loving hug. Instead, she sat down at the foot of the bed, her hands folded neatly in her lap and her eyes respectfully on the floor.

"Kagome."

She looked up and was stunned to see that he was now looking at her. He usually kept his eyes averted from hers, or looked at her in an annoyed manner. This time, he was looking at her in appreciation and something that she hardly recognized. She blushed and looked away, until he hooked her chin with his thumb and forefinger and forced her to look at him. He leaned down, his lips meeting hers in a chaste kiss.

Kagome was shocked, yet happy. She imagined it was his way of telling her 'thank you'. She pulled back, looking into those eyes of his that were no longer cold.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as she looked at the bandage where his wound would be.

"I am well," he said, uncharacteristically running his knuckles gently over her cheekbone. Her blush deepened, and she held his hand.

Her eyes filled with tears and she wrapped her arms around him, "I'm so glad you're alive."

Sesshomaru stiffened a moment before relaxing and hesitantly wrapping his arms around her. He hadn't felt like this since Rin's death, yet he knew that he could move on with another that he deeply cared for. His Rin had been avenged... or had she?

"Noone told me if Inuyasha was defeated." he said quietly, running his hand through her hair and finding it to be silky and smooth to the touch.

Kagome nodded, and spoke in a quiet voice, "I killed him."

Sesshomaru pulled back and stared into her eyes. He never saw Kagome as a person who could kill someone, but now he knew that he was wrong. She had killed for him when he was at his weakest. He couldn't ask for anything more loyal than laying her life down on the line and then saving his life. Chivalry was usually a man's job, but not in this case. Kagome had been chivalrous, merely a human priestess and seamstress of a tiny village, and Sesshomaru had fallen in love with her. He leaned in, causing the pale skin of Kagome's cheeks to shine a pretty shade of pink and her eyes to grow wide.

--

A dark figure roamed through the forest close the the Western Palace. She had watched her master fall at the hands of the young priestess, and she was inraged. There was something that she needed to do to fix this problem. She stopped at the large tree, the bark warn from years of standing up to storms and the changing seasons. There was a fresh grave there, a grave that she knew belonged to her master. She knelt down in the grass next to the grave, clasping her hands together as she closed her eyes.

She said a prayer for the lost soul. She knew that he was restless... She knew how much his soul ached to feel a love that he had never experienced. She may have been a dark priestess, but she was not heartless. She wished that he would find at least some amount of peace. She didn't know how much he could hope for from where he was going, but she could at least hope for him. She felt something cold on her shoulder and she turned, her eyes widening in shock.

"I-Inuyasha-sama..."

Inuyasha stood before her now, his body shimmering in and out of invisibility. "You stood by... and watched me die by the hands of that woman..."

Kikyo nodded, ashamed of herself, "I knew what was to become of you the moment you coveted the woman instead of the sword."

"And you didn't tell me!" Inuyasha's spirit growled

"You would have died by her hands sooner or later, love."

Inuyasha grabbed her throat. He may have been dead, but he was just as tangible as it he were alive.

"I went down... and now you are coming with me!"

Kikyo clenched her eyes shut, and was surprised to feel a set of rough, cold lips on her own. Before she knew what was happening, she was sucked into hell with the man that she once loved. The only evidence left behind of her even being there was the black queque that was once in her hair.

--

Kagome gasped when Sesshomaru pulled her into a deep and passionate kiss. He gently nipped at her bottom lip, asking for access into her sweet mouth. She eagerly obliged, opening her mouth slightly so their tongues could battle for dominance. She had been waiting until after Inuyasha's defeat for this moment in fear that the hanyou would be able to smell the mark that claimed her as the Western Lady and Sesshomaru's mate. She wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the feel of his chiseled chest as he pulled her kimono open and pressed himself to her, trying to get as close to her as possible.

Sesshomaru pulled back just enough to give Kagome breathing room, planting open-mouthed kisses along her jaw line and neck. Kagome moaned at the new feeling, tilting her head slightly to give Sesshomaru better access to her throat. He pulled back, his breathing slightly ragged as he cupped her cheek with his hand.

"We cannot do this here," even as he said this, he leaned in to give her another kiss. Once he pulled back, Kagome nodded dumbly, allowing the slightly injured demon lord to lift her into his arms. He carried her to her room, catching peculiar glances and knowing smiles from servants and staff as they went. He entered her room, laying her down on the soft futon after closing the door with his foot.

"This is more appropriate."

Kagome giggled lightly as he made his way to her, his eyes filled with a predatory gleam. She pulled him to her, nipping and biting as she went. Soon, their clothes were scattered along the floor of the massive room, Kagome blushing at Sesshomaru's perfectly muscular and chisled form and at her own nakedness. The embarrassment was quickly extinguished and replaced with passion as their lips met again.

He pulled back slightly, "You are so beautiful."

Kagome smiled lightly and pulled him back to her, their tongues again battling for dominance.

Suddenly, Sesshomaru pulled away from her lips, causing Kagome to groan slightly as she missed the feel of his lips against hers. The demon lord placed wet, open-mouthed kisses along her collar bone, down the valley between her breasts. He paused there, ravaging her breasts with affection with his hands and skilled tongue. Kagome tilted her head back slightly, gasping and moaning as an unknown warmth began to form in her lower abdomen, her inner thighs slick with her essence.

Sesshomaru moaned lightly at the overpowering scent of arousal that was thick in the air. It was taking all of his power not to just take the girl immediately, but he knew that she still had her maidenhood and that preparing her for their mating would be beneficial. He did not want to hurt her more than necessary. He moved down, trailing his tongue seductively down her torso, dipping it in her naval and causing her to gasp, before he reached his destination. He spread her legs more, opening her netherlips and inhaling the sweet scent, before experimentally flicking the bundle of nerves there. Kagome's back arched, a breathy moan escaping her. Noone had ever touched her there before, and it was extremely sensitive. Her hands clutched his shoulders as his tongue slid slowly over her womanhood. She gasped, attempting to lift her hips to meet this tongue as it entered her.

Sesshomaru reveled in the taste of her, then moved his tongue to the bundle of nerves at the edge of her curls. He entered her with a long, clawed finger, slowly pulling out only to push back in. Her gasps and moans only motivated him further as he added another finger, stretching her slightly. She was so tight around his fingers, and he vaguely wondered what it would feel like to enter her with a much larger appendage than his finger.

Kagome was in pure bliss. She had never felt something so good in her life, and the tightening sensation in her lower abdomen was driving her insane. Her hips bucked slightly against his hand as she moaned, filling Sesshomaru's ears with the sweet sound. Just before she was about to release, Sesshomaru stopped. Kagome groaned slightly in disappointment and disapproval before he captured her lips in a passionate kiss, allowing her to taste herself in his mouth.

When he pulled away, she could see the silent question in his eyes. She closed her eyes, preparing for the pain to come, and nodded. He whispered his apologies and entered her swiftly, causing her to cry out in pain.

Sesshomaru remained still inside of her, whispering sweet nothings in her ear and kissing away the tears on her cheeks. The pain subsided after a moment, and Kagome lifted her hips slightly to show that she was ready. With that, Sesshomaru pulled out slightly and slowly re-entered her, groaning lightly at how tight she was around him. He continued with a slow pace, the entertwined couple gasping and moaning at the building heat between them. He kissed her again, his mouth filling with her soft mewls of pleasure. He nipped and sucked at her neck where her mark would be, causing her to hiss in pleasured pain.

A thin sheen of sweat covered their bodies as they continued, Sesshomaru's pace quickening as they both felt the beginnings of their completion.

Kagome bit her lip, her hips meeting his every thrust. Her hands were buried in his silver hair, her blue eyes fixed on his honey gold eyes that were starting to turn red at the corners.

"F-Faster..." she groaned, scraping her nails roughly down his back. He hissed in pleasure as he did what he was told, moving in and out of her with a speed that only a demon possessed.

Kagome wrapped her legs around his waist, defeated in her attempt to keep his pace. The knot in her stomache was back with a vengence. It was only a matter of time before both of them were thrown into bliss. Sesshomaru rode out their orgasms, growling as he leaned forward and bit into the flesh of the juncture of her neck and shoulder. She cried out, the pleasure of her orgasm overpowering and intensifying the pain all at once. She bit her lip, then leaned up and bit him in retaliation. His blood tasted sweet as honey as it filled her mouth, an unusual taste for blood. She pulled her mouth away from his shoulder and licked her lips, swallowing the sweetness in her mouth.

Sesshomaru slowly pulled away, laying next to her on the rumpled sheets and running his knuckles along her cheekbone.

Kagome smiled tiredly, "Does this mean that I am yours?"

"Indeed." He said with a light smile.

"I love you..."

Sesshomaru gave her the most brilliant and beautiful smile she had ever seen. He wrapped his arms around her, "And I you, my Kagome."

She closed her eyes, her small smile still in place as she snuggled close to her mate. She had never been so exhausted in her life, but she was also extremely happy. She would be able to spend the rest of her life with him... That's all that she wanted, now.

With that final thought, she fell asleep against him. Dreams of their life together flooding her mind...

--

A/N: It's the end... it's over... done... NOT! The epilogue will be up soon. I hope you've enjoyed my story so far...