A/N: This story has been sitting around in my broken laptop for a few years. I have been fortunate to retrieve and upload it for your reading pleasure. I hope that you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the original characters from the Inuyasha series. However, the many characters that pop up from time to time are indeed mine.

"…." –Speaking

'…' –Thoughts

"…"– Spirits Talking

"…"– Beast Talking

Fall Out

Kagome made her way along the worn trail that she used every day on her way to take her bath. It was a place that she had discovered years back. Three years to be exact. She had stumbled upon it on her way back to the village after one of her training sessions by the well; a place that was protected by her barrier; a place that only a select few could enter. It had been a year after the well had closed that she decided to return to the place that connected her to her futuristic home. Another year had passed before she decided to make the area around the well her sanctuary and was able to do so by placing a barrier with the radius of four miles around it. It had been another year later when she finally decided to train to her utmost potential and had been at it for three years after that.

Kagome stopped her musings as she stopped at a small hut that she had made for herself back when she had first put up the barrier. Opening the bamboo mat, she stepped into the hut and walked into another room to the side of the hut. She made her way to a small chest at the other side of the room and pulled it open. She pulled out two bottles, one containing shampoo and the other conditioner, things that she had made with her own two hands. Next, she pulled out another little bottle, this one containing body wash, a small cloth, and a towel that she had kept from her time. She placed the items into a medium sized pack and then moved to another chest just inches away from the one she was currently at. Shifting slightly, she opened the chest and pulled out a light sleeping kimono.

With those items in hand, she walked out of the hut and back onto the trail that lead to the hot springs. Once there, she put down her stuff and slowly began to take her clothes off. Folding them, she put them in a neat little pile. She stepped into the heated water of the spring and upon sitting, she instantly began to feel the stress of the day leave her body. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the boulder behind her. She allowed a few minutes to pass before she finally dunked herself completely under the water. Coming back up, she made her way over to where her pack lay. She pulled it open and pulled out the small cloth and body wash bottle. Placing a small amount on the cloth, she rubbed it together until it was covered in suds and began to wash the dirt and grime off her body.

She submerged her body to get rid of the suds then resurfaced. She was about to reach over for the shampoo bottle when a sudden and powerful aura entered her senses. For a short moment, her body went into fight mode before recognizing the aura and relaxing. She continued to reach for the bottle when her late night visitor made himself known. "What are you doing here miko?" The stoic voice of the Lord of the West rang out through the clearing. Kagome squirt some shampoo into her hand before massaging it into her hair. In a quiet and light tone, she answered. "Exactly what it looks like Sesshomaru-sama. This is my sanctuary. It seems that my barrier allowed you to come through, but I could expect no less."

Sesshomaru stared down at the woman before him and watched her, his gaze intense. Everything about her had changed. The way she carried herself, the way she spoke to him, her tone of voice, and her scent. Everything that once made her irritatingly annoying yet at the same time intriguing was gone and in its place was something similar to him. "You claimed this place? Is it not Inuyasha's territory?"

Kagome let out a small snort before dunking underwater. When she emerged, she reached for her conditioner bottle and started to massage the substance into her hair while she explained further. "This would be his territory if he bothered to protect it for a moment instead of following Kikyo all over the place like a lovesick pup. No, this is my territory. Inuyasha protects the rest of his lands but I protect this part and the village." She finished off as she ran her fingers through her hair in order to get the tangles out.

The majestic inu listened to her intently, not uttering a word. He was slightly amazed at the changes he had so far witnessed in her. "A lovesick pup?" He thought to himself as he watched her disappear under water and then reappear moments after. "I take it that you no longer hold any feelings for the half-breed." He stated rather than questioned. Kagome sighed and leaned back against the boulder. "You are correct on that assumption my lord. I have long since decided that he was not worthy of my attentions. I finally got fed up with his lies, his insults, and his careless way of using my heart like some kind of chew toy." She paused for a moment as if contemplating her own words. "No Lord Sesshomaru. I certainly don't hold any loving feelings for your half-brother. I will reserve those feelings for a male who is worthy of me and for my pups, be it the one I have now or any others that the kami see fit to grant me."

She turned her attention to the god before her and bowed her head. "I'm ready to get out now. If it's not too much of an inconvenience, can you turn around for a moment? I must admit that I still haven't lost all of my modesty, my lord." Sesshomaru said nothing to this, he simply turned around and listened as the miko got out of the spring, dried herself off, and put on her clothes. "You may turn around Sesshomaru-sama." The miko called out from behind. Sesshomaru turned taking in the miko's choice of cloths. It was a simple sleeping kimono of a deep navy blue.

"You choose your colors well miko." He told her, having long since gotten use to speaking his mind with the strange onna that followed his hanyou brother. "My Lord is too kind." She replied. Looking up to the sky, she noticed the wind picking up. "If you have yet to find suitable place to sleep, I offer my home as shelter for you and your pack. I believe that a storm is on its way." She said to the inu several feet from her. Sesshomaru turned his back on her and began to disappear into the dense foliage, giving no word or gesture that he had acknowledged her kind offering.

Kagome watched him disappear and then began to put away her stuff, before heading back down the trail and entering her hut. She made her way to her room and put her items in their proper places. Walking into the main part of her house, she went about setting a fire. Once she had it going, she made her way to the other end of her home and into another room, this one with a bigger doorway then most of the other ones in the house. She pulled the sliding door open and went to the other end to do the same. With that done, she grabbed a few futons and took them to the main room, placing them neatly around the fire; then going back to retrieve some blankets and pillows.

Making sure that everything was done there, she made her way outside to a small stable and filled one bowl with grass, dried berries, and nuts, a blend that she found a lot of the animals liked, and took it to the room with the large doors. She returned moments later to fill another bowl with water. Locking the stable door, she went back to the room and placed the bowl next to the one that she had brought in previously. She made her way back into the main room and had begun to make tea when the tatami mat behind her was pulled aside and standing at the entrance was Sesshomaru.

Kagome stood up gracefully and bowed. "I knew that you would be coming, my lord. I have put out some futons for Jaken and Rin. Ah Un can go around to the side of the hut and enter through that opened door. Sesshomaru acknowledged what she said with a slight bow of his head. He stepped aside to let Rin in and quietly spoke to Jaken. "Jaken lead Ah Un to the side of the hut and have him enter through the door. Close it once you are in." He ordered. Jaken bowed and with a squeaky reply of "Hai Milord." He walked off to do his bidding.

Sesshomaru walked inside to find Rin talking animatedly to the miko. The young woman of sixteen summers stopped to look up at her father figure. "Lord Sesshomaru doesn't Lady Kagome have such a beautiful home?" She asked him, smiling brightly. Sesshomaru's only answer was "Hn." Kagome smiled lightly and stood up. "Please make yourself comfortable, My Lord. I will return shortly. I must return to Kaede's hut and retrieve my son as well as a few personal items." Without waiting for a reply, she walked over to the main entrance, grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows, and left.

Just as she began to make her way down the path to Kaede's, Sesshomaru's voice rang out through the clearing. "I will accompany you miko." Kagome looked back at him and nodded slightly. She waited for him to catch up to her before she began walking by his side. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Sesshomaru voiced his thoughts. "What has happened to you miko that has made you change so much?" Kagome remained silent for a second before quietly stating, "Too much to sum up in a matter of minutes, my lord." Sesshomaru looked at her from the corner of his eye. "But if it pleases you, I can tell you about it later when everyone is asleep."

"Very well miko." He replied then let the silence reign supreme once more. Sesshomaru continued to watch the miko from the corner of his eye and noticed that when they were just about to come out of the forest, her soft, innocent facial features became an emotionless mask similar to his. This small action caused his curiosity to spark but said nothing as the light from the village ahead became apparent.

Upon stepping out of the forest, the smells from the village assaulted his sensitive nose. Fighting the urge to frown, he continued on with the miko at his side. In a matter of seconds, the hanyou's scent revealed itself to him and in half that time, Sesshomaru was in front of Kagome, Tokijin and Tetsusaiga meeting in a hard clash of steel. "What are you doing here Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha demanded. Sesshomaru said nothing as he pushed the hanyou away from him, putting a good distance between the two. "You are foolish half-breed. You would be willing to kill your own companions just to get to me. You really are a disgrace." He told the hanyou as he watched his friends gather around him.

Inuyasha growled at the comment. "I don't care what you think jerk. What are you doing here?" He demanded again. "My business is my own half-breed. I don't answer to those beneath me." Sesshomaru remarked calmly. Inuyasha let out a feral growl. "You are in my territory so you do have to answer to me." He said as he made to charge forward. Suddenly, an arrow planted itself right at his feet, making him stop all movement. He looked up, golden irises hard with anger. "What the heck Kagome? What …"

All words left his mouth as he caught sight of Kagome with bow in hand and glowing arrow aimed at him, an action that surprised everyone around her even the demon lord beside her, despite the fact that he refused to show it. "Enough! Lord Sesshomaru is my guest and as such he has every right to be here; more right than you do, if I have anything to say about it. In case you have forgotten, Inuyasha, this village and anything within sixteen miles of the well is MY territory." She told him in an icy tone that Sesshomaru distinctly recognized as the one he used.

"Sixteen miles?" Inuyasha asked stupidly. "Yes Inuyasha, sixteen miles from the well. Since you were too busy sniffing at the skirts of a once walking corpse to anything of any actual use, I placed a barrier around the well and anything close to it " Kagome continued to look at the hanyou with hard blue eyes, not caring that he looked displeased. "While the village is not within my barrier, I still protect it, which makes it mine by right. Now if we're done here, I would like to get back to peace of my home, where I am sure Lord Sesshomaru would much rather be."

Lowering her bow and putting her arrow back in the quiver on her back, she called out to her son. "Come Shippo. I'm pretty sure that you would like to see Rin and catch up with her." At the sound of his friend's name Shippo made his way to her side, bowing to Sesshomaru before standing silently by his mother. "Kaede I will return for my belongings some other day. I hope that you don't mind keeping them for a while longer?" Kagome asked the elderly miko. Kaede shook her head. "No Kagome child, I don't mind at all. You can get them whenever you wish." Kagome bowed to the miko in respect. "Thank you."

She turned to follow after Sesshomaru, who had already begun making his way towards to the forest. Everyone looked on as the beautiful miko, godly demon prince, and handsome kitsune disappeared from their sight, stunned into silence at the comfortable show of companionship they each had shared.

A/N: Finito! Chapter two is done. Hope you enjoyed Ja ne!