Hello my lovely readers!

First, I'd like to say thank you for the reviews and the new followers!

I'm really happy you guys enjoyed the story so far and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Remember to leave a review please! I love reading your thoughts. Don't forget to follow if you already haven't!

Love you guys! Enjoy!

Danger

Green and blue eyes flashed between glowing and normal, her hands on both sides of her head.

Screaming in pain as the mark on her chest glowed, threatening to spread across her body again.

"Poor sweet ignorant Tsubaki. No one wants you around. They all want you to die. Sesshomaru is only playing nice because he wants to find a way to obtain me. All he wants is power." Ten no Ikari continue to taunt her. Trying to break so it could take control.

"No! You're lying!" She screamed as her eyes continued to switch between glowing and normal.

"Am I? You nothing about him. Sesshomaru was and still is a youkai lord. He must be powerful or others will challenge him for his position." Ten no Ikari said as if it were fact.

Wait. Sesshomaru is a lord? What else wasn't he telling her about?

Pain shot through her whole body, making her drop down her knees. She felt like she was being suffocated. Ten no Ikari was trying to take over and winning.

Breath in

Darkness. Silence. A sense of peace at last.

Breath out

Tsubaki thought she was going to lose control, thus losing her chances of having happiness. She had to meditate though not her usual way. Oh no. That was way too difficult with Ten no Ikari trying to fill her head with lies.

Breath in

Trying to make her think that Sesshomaru and the others were lying to her. Pretending to be her friend. They were working for Daimyo. Observing her and how Ten no Ikari changes her when it is in control.

Breath out

They were lies, right? They would never betray her.

They had to be lies why would Hibari send Guardians after her.

Why would she be trying to help Kazuma snuff out the traitors?

Was her life just a game to everyone? A means to an end.

So much for finally shutting everything out. No. She won't let Ten no Ikari win.

She yelled out in frustration, letting the surroundings of the garden flood her vision. "Why wasn't this working?"

Tsubaki was always able to calm herself by meditating or training, so why? Nothing was different.

She ran a hand through her hair as she stared up at the dark balls of fluff in the sky.

So much was clouding her mind, Ten no Ikari lies, the thoughts of if Sesshomaru and his beast actually thinking she was his mate, the safety of the world. Now the loud clashing of thunder in the distance.

Maybe she should take Sesshomaru's generous offer to use his credit card. Remembering how tired she had become when she was forced to shop with Kagome. Or maybe she should tell Sesshomaru about what was happening with her. He did agree to help her. No, he can't know that she's weakening. If he really did see her as his mate, he would turn his back on her for being too weak to ignore Ten no Ikari. That's how yokai were or at least powerful yokai like him.

'I don't want him to leave me.'

Tsubaki's eyes widened at what just popped into her mind. She was scared. Scared to lose the very youkai that didn't make her feel like she didn't belong on this earth. Sure, Kazuma and Ryoma were trying their best to protect her but she could see that deep down they feared her. She even saw that Inuyasha, Kouga, and Ayame feared her. Yet, Sesshomaru didn't fear her.

Instead of striking her down when Ten no Ikari took control, he helped her regain control.

Tsubaki made her way through the maze as she wondered what it would be like to be with a youkai. Sesshomaru already kind of treated her like she was his unless she was just imagining it. What if Ten no Ikari was just trying to get a rise out of Sesshomaru? Youkai weren't known for taking ningen's as a mate when Ten no Ikari had last seen the world.

When she walked into the kitchen where she left Sesshomaru's gifts, she saw that she had a missed call and two text messages from the very youkai she couldn't stop thinking about. Sliding her finger across the screen to unlock it then tapping on his name to bring up the chat. The text read, "Join me for lunch at 1" and under it had the directions to his work. Tsubaki was a bit surprised that he took the time to type out even little details in the directions to help her. Looking at the time on the phone, she had less than forty minutes to get there. Without a second thought, she shoved the phone in her back pocket along with the card and made her way out the door.

Electricity sparks followed by screaming echoed through the hall as Hibari made his way to Shino's lab. The smells coming from the lab was almost enough to make him throw up but what almost did him in was the sight he saw once he entered the youkai's lab. How had the youkai even get away with having this lab? Shino's stopped his 'experiment' as soon as the door shut behind Hibari. The screaming stopped instantly as the 'patient' passed out.

"Ah Hibari. What did I do to get a visit from one of the greatest Elders I know?" Shino voice practically oozed with sarcasm as he pulled his goggles from his face.

Hibari stood tall, trying not to look intimidated by the youkai scientist. "I have a job for you, Shino." He said as he tossed a briefcase at the youkai, who caught it with ease.

"Who is my target?" The youkai grinned darkly.

"Tsubaki Kurenai." A smirk played on the Elder's face as he slipped his hand into his pocket.

"Kazuma's niece? You sure are getting desperate." Shino chuckled while running a hand through his hair. "Fine." With his response, Hibari walked out of the lab with a wicked grin plastered to his face. Soon. Very soon Tsubaki will be out of his way.

When the demon lord walked into his office, he resisted the urge to growl. Stacks of papers covered his desk. He would need to find a new secretary, hit pinched the bridge of his nose. Normally he wouldn't care about staying late but he didn't want to leave what was his alone and unprotected. He knew she was capable of handling herself. He also knew that she refusing to fully fight for fear that she'll lose control.

Closing the door behind him, he made his way behind his desk to set his briefcase down beside his chair. Opening the curtains to stare out at the crowded city below, his eyes softened as he continued to think of Tsubaki. If only he could go back in time with her, he'd be able to protect her properly without worrying if a ningen sees him. Sure a handful of important ningen's know of the existence of youkai which is why youkai lords are able to make certain decisions like how he killed those Guardians to protect Tsubaki.

If they were back in the feudal era, she'd also be able to opening train without fear of harming others. Though, it would be more complicated to mate her if he had met her in the feudal era since she is a ningen and has no proper title. Of course, his father took a ningen. Inuyasha's mother but his father wasn't alive to deal with the council after what he did. The council was in an uproar when his father was somehow been brought back to life a few centuries after Naraku was killed. The council didn't want his father to hold any power after he went against them to take a ningen mate. Luckily for Inu no Taisho, Sesshomaru held a certain amount of power over the council by the time his father had made a reappearance.

Sesshomaru tried to think of the best course of action to take to help his future mate. It's a little bit more complicated since they were in this modern era but he needed to find a secure area for her to just let loose. With her fighting every fiber of her being to stay in control, she's bound to hurt herself or someone else. Sesshomaru needed her to accept that Ten no Ikari was apart of her now. Whether she liked it or not.

The youkai lord was brought of his thoughts by a quick knock at his door then someone opening it. WIthout even having to look or smell, he knew who it was. As if he didn't already have a headache. "What is it now father?"

"When were you going to tell me about this girl that has caught your attention?" His father questioned with a eyebrow raised after he shut the door behind him. "And when am I going to meet this lovely girl?"

Oh, he was definitely going to beat that idiotic half-brother of his to a pile of dust. Sesshomaru just hoped that the half-breed had kept his mouth shut about Tsubaki possessing Ten no Ikari. She didn't need anymore pressure to control it. "I knew I wouldn't have to." Not with the fact that Inuyasha couldn't keep his mouth shut when it came to their father. "I will invite her to have lunch with us at one. Now leave. I have work to do."

"Oh don't be that way. You will tell me about this girl while you work." The way his father worded his request sounded like an order which made Sesshomaru growl. "Relax son. I just wish to know a little about my future daughter-in-law before meeting her."

His father's words calmed his beast but only a little as he sat in his chair and pulled out his phone, quickly finding Tsubaki's name to call her.

Inu no Taisho took his silence as agreeing to answer his questions so he sat down in one of two chairs on the opposite side of the desk, across from his eldest son and waited patiently.

Sesshomaru and his beast grew a bit worried when Tsubaki didn't answer but decided that she might not be near the phone he gave her. Or at least he hoped that was the reason. He didn't want to think the worse. If only he had marked her in a way to at least know what she was feeling. He'll have to do that before their lunch date was over. Pulling the phone away from his ear, he tapped the button that said message, "Join my father and I fo" He pressed the back button, "Join me for lunch at 1." That sounded better to him. He didn't want to worry her about the presence of his father in case it somehow scares her away. After sending another message with directions, even putting little details like certain cafe's and stores she would see on the way, he directed his attention to his paperwork and his father. The youkai lord wanted to get as much paperwork done as possible before one so he didn't have to stay too late. "Ask your questions."

"What is her name?" His idiotic half-brother didn't even tell their father her name? "How did you meet her?"

"Tsubaki." Was all he said, realizing that he never caught her last name. Keeping his face as stoic as usual as he read through a document from his company in the states. He definitely needed a new secretary. Handful of the papers he picked up weren't even important or needed his signature. "She was Kagome's pen-pal. The miko invited us to meet her."

Inu no Taisho didn't even question the fact that his son didn't give him a last name. Instead, thought about his next question carefully not wanting to anger his son in any way at this moment. This girl was friends with his other, hopefully, soon to be daughter-in-law. Now he knew that Kagome probably had something to do with his son entertaining the thought of taking this girl as his mate. The old youkai was gonna have to treat Kagome to something nice for getting his son to see this girl more. "She invited you? And you accepted?"

Sesshomaru looked up at the tone in his father's voice, seeing that he had an eyebrow raised. There was no way he was going to tell his father that his beast convinced him to go, though he didn't understand why till the night he had everyone over. Somehow his beast knew Tsubaki was his mate before even seeing her or sensing her. "Hn." Was all he said as he went back to his paperwork. He no longer wished to entertain his father.

Being able to see through glamor concealments was hard to get use to even though she stayed out of towns as much as possible. Not trusting anyone even youkai since she was taught that youkai were evil. Even now, she's still wary about walking through crowds. She just felt like someone was staring at me but every time she would casually look around to see if she could even a glimpse of someone following her. Nothing. Was she just being paranoid?

"This is why ningen's are useless. Never trusting their instincts." Ten no Ikari's echoed voice scoffed.

So that answered her question. Someone was watching her but who. She knew it wasn't the Guardians because she didn't sense them. So who?

Tsubaki tried to keep her pace and scent as calm as possible not wanting whoever was watching her to know she knew. Pulling out the phone Sesshomaru gave her, she looked at the message he sent her to see how much farther she had to go then decided she should probably message him back. "I'm almost there." Then she pressed send. Not telling him about the fact that she thought someone was following her.

Her eyes slightly widened when the phone vibrated in her hand. 'That was fast.' She thought as she read the message. "Come up to the top floor."

Sesshomaru felt almost all the tense from his body disappear the moment he saw Tsubaki's name light up his phone. She was fine and he'll be able to see her soon to make sure. After telling her to come to the top floor, he stood from his chair to look out the window. After not hearing from her since he messaged her, he becoming more and more worried as well as angry that she was attacked or losing control all alone. His annoying secretary wasn't helping so he fired her and demanded his father find him a more reliable one. He wanted to just leave so he could be with her.

Sesshomaru looked down at the streets below in search of what will soon be his. His beast purred in approval as soon as his eyes found her. Anyone that didn't know her wouldn't have noticed but he did. She looked nervous and maybe afraid. Was it because she was meeting him for lunch? No that couldn't be it, she's eaten with him at his home. Was she about to lose control? He dismissed that too since she asked him for help, she would have mention something about it when she said she was almost there. Then what? He will have to question her once she walks in before his father shows up.

Tsubaki put the phone in her back pocket and when she looked up, she noticed that the tall building she saw once she got into the town was Sesshomaru's work. Taisho co. was in big fancy letters on the front.

Finally standing in front of the building, she took a deep breath while sensing around her. She still felt like she was being watched but whoever was watching her seemed to put more distance from her. Why?

"You really are unfit to be his mate." Ten no Ikari's echoed voice seemed to sound so far away but it still unsettled her.

Pretending not to hear it, she made her way into the building so she wouldn't give it a chance to try to take control again. She felt so drained. She needed to see him. She had questions and she wanted answers to calm the storm in her mind.

She really must have been worn out by the way some of the youkai employees were looking at her. Her power must have been leaking through her barrier. Keeping her head held high as she walked through the lobby with foreign confidence to the elevator. Despite Ten no Ikari's words, if she could just make it to Sesshomaru's office then she knew she would be safe.

Sesshomaru felt her before she even stepped foot into his building. Something was wrong. His beast stirred within him. "Must go to mate."

He didn't fight his instincts as he rose from his chair and made his way out of his office. Though he wanted nothing more to flash to her, she was already in the elevator so he took in front of the elevator door on his floor.

Ding... Ding... Ding

What could have happened in his absence? He wasn't able to sense her when they first met yet he could sense her before she even entered his building. Sesshomaru smelled her wariness and worry even a hint of sadness. He and his beast didn't like it. Everything in him screamed to go to her. Ease whatever troubles she was feeling.

Ding… Ding… Ding

He could feel the tense in his body return with each passing second.

Finally the elevator doors achingly slow, slide open. He felt the ice around his heart melt more at the sight he saw.

She looked almost as white as a ghost. Her chest was rising and falling too fast as well as her heart beat. He felt his own heart skip a beast by the look in her eyes, pleading for him. "Sesshomaru… I made it." Slipped passed her lips as she weakly threw her arms around his waist. Without a second thought, he wrapped his arms around her. Taking in her sweet scent of lavender and mint. She may not have been okay for whatever reason but at least she was finally in the safety of his arms. His questions could wait until she was feeling better.

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!