A/N: I do not own Inuyasha!

The Journey Begins: Kagome's POV

Kikyo and I were in our room, gathering only the bare necessities for our journey with our young lord and Kikyo's betrothed. Heck I don't even know his name. As I was packing I couldn't help but notice Kikyo being overjoyed at the prospect of leaving this place.

"Kikyo… I've been meaning to ask… What is the name of your Betrothed?"

"It is Inuyasha. The young lord with him is Lord Sesshomaru. Heir to the western lands, Inyasha's Half-brother, and not someone to mess with. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I have just come to the realization, that we will be traveling with them both, and I didn't even know their names, that's all." I knew I had only told half of the truth. Yes, I did want to know their names, but I was also hoping my sister would spill the beans on what she knew of the Lord sitting outside. I couldn't imagine he was actually as cold and heartless as he appeared whilst talking to Onigumo. I have always prided myself on being able to read people, but for some reason, he stumped me. When we were close to finishing, Kikyo decided to ask me a question that caught me completely off guard.

"Kagome, What do you think of Lord Sesshomaru?"

Flashback begins:

I had heard most of the conversation between the lord and my sister and decided when he asked for our father, that I would step in before Kikyo had a chance to fly off the handle about how Onigumo was not our father. Last thing we needed was a beating because he heard her screaming obscenities about him. Sighing, I stepped out our small hut and walked toward the group, keeping my head facing the ground. Once I introduced myself and finally had gathered the nerve to look up, by breath caught. I couldn't believe the man in front of me. It was almost as if the strange dreams I have been having lately were coming true. Stoic as he may have seemed, I was captivated by those cold Amber eyes. The only thing I could process was, "I wonder how much those eyes would change if there was emotion behind them." It was at that time when he again demanded to speak to the man of the house and I went to fetch him. End of flashback

I of course couldn't lead on how I felt, so I just said, "He seems better than our 'father'. And please don't start on about that, I really don't want a beating right before we are finally free from it all."

That was enough to both keep her from going off, and stop her from prying further into my first impressions of Lord Sesshomaru. What I was most curious about was that fluffy thing on his shoulder. What was it called? Could I touch it? Also, I kept wondering if he would let me braid that beautiful long, silver hair of his, but for now I thought better than to ask these questions. At least not until we are far from Onigumo's presence.

The time had come for us to depart. Though I would miss the place we had called home for so long, I was excited for this new adventure and wanted to get to the palace so that I could see grandma Kaede again. How I have missed her so! We left the village with haste and then slowed down immensely once we were out of Edo. We would stop periodically to either drink from a stream we were passing or to let our human feet rest for a few moments. Most of the time Inuyasha would be complaining about how come they couldn't carry us and travel the fastest way possible, or about how the "Ice Prick" was doing this on purpose just to spite him. I figured Sesshomaru had to have been amused because he never said anything and when the complaining would get really bad, he would just make us stop again to rest. I found it quite amusing myself. It was almost sunset when Inuyasha started up again, only this time someone needed to say something.

"OI, Ice Bastard. Are you planning on setting up camp for the night soon. We are fucking hungry, and need to rest for the night. Geez, we aren't like you."

At that point, I finally lost it. "Listen here, Prince Inuyasha, when speaking in front of me and my sister, you will do well to watch your tongue. Lest I make subjugation beads for you!" I was so red faced that I couldn't believe when Kikyo started laughing. The look on Inuyasha's face was Priceless. His eyes were so wide, I was sure they would fall out of his head and his face turned a ghostly white. He gaped there for a few minutes before finally coming back with a dumb response that I can't even remember now and I swear I thought I saw Sesshomaru smirk before he stated.

"If you two are quite done, we will make camp here for the night." Then he took off presumably to hunt for food. Inuyasha made quick work of the camp fire and Kikyo and I got the bed spreads laid out for the night. When Sesshomaru came back, he had a deer, skinned and gutted, which I was thankful for. I don't like watching people do all that. I kind of feel bad for the poor creatures. Once he cut out his portion, he put the rest over the fire to cook. He then told me and Kikyo the direction of a hot spring he passed and promptly made sure that it was well known that we needed to bathe. As relaxing as it was to bathe away from Onigumo, I couldn't help but to have my thoughts wandering back to Sesshomaru again. He seems very protective of me for some reason. After all, I don't think many people could get as close to him as I was requested by him to be today during our travels. Everything was just getting really confusing. I didn't know what was going on, but I did know that he had to have some question he was dieing to ask, as I was the same way.

Once our bath was done, we walked back to camp and it was just in time. Inuyasha was taking the meat off the fire. After we ate the delicious meal provided for us, we all went to our separate areas to sleep and converse amongst ourselves for the night. Not surprisingly, Sesshomaru came to where I was to watch over me and maybe to talk a little.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" I asked a little timidly. All I got in response was him to look down at me. "What is that thing on your shoulder called?" I couldn't believe I was asking this and was even more surprised when he actually answered me.
"It is called a mokomoko. It was a gift from my mother when I became of age to be the rightful heir of the west. It is a symbol of royalty and someone like Inuyasha may never obtain one."

"Oh." was my only response. I stared at it for a few moments, wishing I knew if it was as soft as it looked and knowing my next question may not go over well. "May I touch it?"

"No." Was all he responded with, and I felt my heart drop a little bit. I had one more question I had been dieing to ask, but was unsure of how to approach it. "Um, I was also wondering….. Would you honor me with the pleasure of braiding your hair?" he gave me a brief incredulous look before his stoic mask returned and again responded with a no. Just my luck, I guess I wont be getting anything I want tonight. Oh well, I guess maybe I should try to sleep some, I'm sure we have another long day with Inuyasha wearing on my nerves tomorrow. "Okay, goodnight, my lord." was all I said. He nodded in my direction, a clear sign of my dismissal, and I closed my eyes to get some much needed rest.

A/N: I am soo sorry it has taken me so long to get this chapter up. Had to find myself a source of internet. Plus I was at a loss of how I wanted to do this story, I figured instead of boring you with writing the chapter again only this time in Kagome's POV, that I would continue and hope for the best. I hope you all enjoyed and as always Please R&R! Until Next Time!