This is your treat, two updates in one day! Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews and, of course, your patience during the short period in which I could not update.

Here's another short one. This chapter will explore not only Kagome's thoughts on this predicament, but Sesshomaru's as well. Let's see just how different their minds are, shall we?

Disclaimer: Inuyasha no me own… or something of that sort.

Frustrating Ruminations

Stretching upward with a satisfying 'snap' of her spine, Kagome yawned a little, tired from the days exertions. She had spent nearly two hours teaching Rin about the basics of math and literature. The girl's knowledge of grammar was impeccable for someone her age, save for the times she insisted upon referring to herself in third person. However, Kagome could easily see where she picked up the habit. Her precious Sesshomaru-sama, the man she idolized, referred to himself in the third person very often.

She assumed that she had simply picked up on his way of speech, which was very eloquent and articulate. Obviously the girl's linguistic skills didn't need too much focus. Her mathematic understanding was another story. Apparently the little imp who had previously taught her hadn't been doing a very good job of it. He probably shoved long division at her and expected her to know exactly what to do. The stupid toad.

So, knowing that children needed patience and determination, Kagome set about teaching her in the manner to which all young children were accustomed in her time.

After the second hour, Sesshomaru had summoned her to the medical ward where she had been needed to heal several who had just returned from battle. There were three who had taken on fatal injuries, each having one or more severed limbs. Regeneration, though it was becoming easier as she practiced, used up a great deal of her energy, leaving her tired and fatigued.

The taiyoukai, much to her surprise, had thanked her for her help, and had even gone so far as to compliment her on her skills. It wasn't every day that the impassive and indifferent Lord Sesshomaru gave his thanks, so she had not been the only one in the sick bay to draw a breath of surprise. And complimenting… she had almost fallen over in shock.

What had gotten her the most was when he had walked with her back to her room after she mentioned being worn out. It was strange, seeing him be so… tolerable. She wasn't certain she wanted to call it nice yet, in fear that he would turn right around and become his old, icy self once more. 'Never look a gift horse in the mouth,' she mused idly.

During the stroll back to her quarters, he had remained silent. It had not been an uncomfortable silence though, but more of a relaxed, calm one. The way the silk of his haori had fluttered against her skin had made her shiver, the innocent act sending her blood pounding through her veins like smoldering magma.

Upon their arrival at her bedrooms doors, he had taken her by the hand and kissed her knuckles, an act that made her knees give out. This, of course, had sent her flying into the iron chest she knew rested beneath the thin layers of his inner and outer haori. He had caught her, holding her to his chest in a protective manner. The few seconds in which she had lain pliant in his grasp had seemed like a torturous eternity. His eyes, so very close to her own eyes, had bubbled with an emotion she had never seen Sesshomaru portray. His lips, his perfectly sculpted male lips had been only a breath away from her own.

She wasn't certain if she had seen it or if it had been a figment of her over acting imagination, but she swore he had leaned a little closer to her then, as if he planned on bestowing a chaste kiss on her lips. She hadn't stayed in place long enough to find out however, for the instant she thought she saw him inch closer she had pushed away from his chest and straightened out, offering a timid apology and goodbye before slipping into her room.

So here she was now, sitting on the edge of her bed in the sleeping yukata that had been provided, staring out her balcony window and wishing that she had stayed in his arms a moment longer. Then, she would have known what his intentions had been, what that foreign look in his eyes had been.

Growling in frustration, she plopped herself down on the mattress and willed all thought away, hoping that her sleep would not be disturbed by images of silver haired demons.

Snarling in aggravation, Sesshomaru paced the confines of his quarters, agitated at the fact that she had denied him. He had been so very close, only a hairs width away from her scrumptious ruby lips.

How was it even possible that she had refused his touch? He was Sesshomaru, no female could resist his advances.

'Patience,' he chastised himself, 'she is still but a child. The girl probably hasn't even had her first real kiss. I will need to take things slowly, gain her trust. Then… then she will bend to my will. She will give herself to me.'

Even as his mind continued to mull over the process of his seduction regarding the young miko, a part of him whispered that what he felt for her was more than a passing lust.

Refusing to believe that he, the feared Lord of the west, harbored feelings for a ningen, he brushed the thought aside. He was an immortal, a god amongst men, there was no way this tiny slip of a female would turn him into a simpering, love sick pup.

Love… it was not an aspect that he planned on allowing into his life. Loved ones made a man weak, only posing as a risk to their rule. With the constant risk of someone threatening their lives, one could not think nor strategize properly. He wouldn't allow himself to get swept up in such foolish and dangerous emotions.

Calming himself and placing his mask of cool indifference back into place, he decided that perhaps a good stroll was in order. He could patrol the lands quickly and, for once, not have to worry about Rin. She would more than likely want to stay at the palace with Kagome.

Deciding to depart without telling his ward, he moved to the balcony and leapt from the railing, landing soundlessly in the soft, lush grass below. Closing his eyes, he roamed the vicinity around the palace with his senses and, finding nothing out of the ordinary, moved forward into the thick forest that surrounded his home.

It was going to take a great deal of patience on his part to be successful. Kagome wasn't yet accustomed to male hormones, since Inuyasha was too idiotic to claim her as his own. He assumed that the monk's supposedly cursed hand was the only one that had ever caressed her in an intimate manner. He would see to that.

He could hardly wait to cup the promising swell of her rear cheeks in his large, clawed hands, or knead her twin mounds of maturity.

It would be rather difficult to hold back now, especially due to the war. With all of the injured soldiers coming in, she would be using her miko abilities often, and the scent of her power alone gave him a dreadful hard on. That mixed with blood made it near impossible for him to hold back. Yet, somehow, he had managed it, and he could do so again. After all, he was Sesshomaru, son of the Great Inu no Taisho, and he could accomplish anything… which included bedding a certain, strong willed miko.

In the farthest reaches of his mind, a little voice whispered on about how his desire was far more than it appeared. Though he continuously knocked it away, it goaded him by commenting on the fact that, though he claimed she was no more than a mere toy, he couldn't seem to stop thinking of her.

And there we have it. Quite different perspectives, wouldn't you agree? Well what did you expect? A pure hearted miko and a ruthless, killing machine... of course they would view it differently.

Anyways, the lemon is coming up in a few chapters time, but first we need to get some other, very important chapters out of the way.

Review and they will arrive all the quicker.