AUTHOR'S CORNER:

Thank you guys for the awesome reviews! My story is kind of writing itself and reading all your encouragement every day really helps a lot! Just as a warning, there will be future lemons but not for quite a while. This is going to turn out to be a very long story and because of who Sesshomaru is, it won't be very easy to actually get the two of them together. Friends? Maybe. Lovers? More difficult. You'll just have to keep reading! BTW, Sessho was being difficult in this chapter, so don't hate me for the ending! *ducks*

Chapter 8

Kagome was ushered into the bathroom hastily by three eager high schoolers who then cornered the poor girl and began firing questions at her as fast as they could. Finally Eri won over the questions contest and got the other girls to be silent.

"Kagome, what on earth is going on! Last we knew, you had fixed some of your problems and were steady with InuYasha. Now you're hanging out with his much older, though infinitely sexier, half brother?" Kagome took a deep breath and let it out slowly and her head drooped hiding her eyes behind her bangs. She knew it had been coming, but telling it again was no less painful. She simply would change some facts and leave out others.

"InuYasha died in a very bad accident only a few days ago. Sesshomaru and I didn't really know each other much before the accident and weren't really friends. But after it happened, we both needed someone to talk to, so we've become a little closer lately and have been kind of helping each other through this." Immediately she was engulfed in three pairs of arms.

"Oh, Kagome! We're so sorry! That must have been horrible for you!" Having had enough of their schmoozing, she extricated herself from them with some difficulty and managed to gain some space back.

Not wanting to talk about InuYasha anymore she avoided their questions of what happened and how by simply saying she wasn't really ready to talk about it with anyone yet and that she talked to Sesshomaru-sama about it because he had been present like she had and it was easier to comfort one another.

"But Kagome," Ayumi interjected, "it didn't look much like he was 'comforting' you when we came up. Are you sure you guys aren't more intimate than that? You looked really comfortable together and he was unrealistically protective of you." Kagome flushed deeply.

"He was just whispering something to me as you came up so no one else would hear, and no, nothing intimate is going on between us. Far from it actually! He's a rather cold person and doesn't warm up to people easily due to bad things that have gone on in his past. And as for being over protective of me, I think that can be attributed to the fact that his adopted daughter was in the accident as well and was killed. Losing her was quite a blow to him. I think he might be afraid of losing someone else." That earned heartfelt cries from all three of the girls. First cries of surprise that the cold man actually adopted a little girl and then cries of sadness that he had lost her at the same time as his half brother.

Once all had settled down again, conversation continued.

"You mentioned bad things in his past, maybe he's someone you shouldn't get mixed up with. I mean, did you see his tattoos?" Yuki looked in confusion at the others, obviously having missed them somehow and not surprising the other girls a bit with this fact.

"I don't know," Eri started in, "maybe he was a gang member or a gang leader or something and he might get you wrapped up in that kinda bad stuff too," Eri looked at Kagome dubiously. The miko in question was starting to get very annoyed.

"They're not tattoos! They're…" she almost blurted out they're his birthright and inheritance! But there's no way to explain that without giving too much away. "Well, ok so I don't know what they are, but I know he's no gang member! He's too honorable for that!" Eri and Ayumi looked at their friend doubtfully but Kagome waved them off.

"Whatever, he's probably upset that I haven't come back yet, so I'm heading back to our table." Kagome closed the conversation and marched out of the bathroom with the girls in tow. They chatted idly about school gossip until they reached the table where Sesshomaru sat with an empty coffee cup glaring up at Kagome in irritation clearly asking without speaking where on earth she had been for so long.

Kagome turned to her friends and said quick good byes before shooing them on their way. With that done, she slid into the seat next to Sesshomaru with a sigh of relief before steeling herself and turning to the irritated demon lord. Before she could speak Sesshomaru started in.

"Do you know what happened to me while you have been gone?" he asked in clipped tones. Kagome's wide eyes showed her confusion and she just stared at him. Slips of paper slid into the space between their faces and Kagome had to practically cross her eyes to see them properly before taking them from him and thumbing through them. There had to be at least a dozen slips of paper all with at least one, sometimes two or three names and numbers on them. Kagome glanced up at him in slight confusion.

"The moment you left the table almost every female in the area decided to pay me a visit." Realization dawned on her face. These were numbers of girls who wanted to date him! Kagome couldn't hold it in. For the first time in over twenty-four hours she laughed. Not a light or fake laugh, she laughed a deep, cleansing laughter that made her feel as if a huge burden lifted off her shoulders. Sesshomaru glared at her.

"I fail to see what is so amusing."

"Do you know what these mean?" she asked him while wiping tears from her eyes with her free hand. "These mean that these girls want you to contact them so that you will court them," she said trying to use terms she thought he might understand.

"Oh, those females wanted me to do much more than just COURT them," he said sourly, still glaring down at her. Kagome burst into another fit of laughter and had to place a hand over her aching ribcage. She hadn't laughed this hard in some time and it felt really good.

Sesshomaru for his part felt his irritation begin to fade away with each passing moment. The lord didn't relish being the brunt of her amusement, but it seemed he couldn't remain mad with her beautiful laughter drifting up to him like soothing music. The woman in question looked up at him and wiped her eyes again before trying to speak.

"I'm so sorry, Sesshomaru! I didn't think something like that would happen in just the short time I was gone. I won't leave you alone with the scary women again, I promise," she said teasingly, giving him a conspiratorial smile.

Normally Sesshomaru would have been angry at the female for her insinuating that he couldn't protect himself, but oddly, he found her remark amusing because deep down, no, he wouldn't have minded terribly if she had come and saved him. This amused him particularly because usually it was the other way around. Outwardly, his appearance never changed, his expression had softened slightly, but his emotionless mask was still in place, inside however he had cracked the slightest smile at her antics. The same smile that was cracked whenever Rin used to do particularly amusing things to his poor retainer.

Kagome watched the demon lord carefully, noticing the subtle nuances in the light behind his deep golden eyes and began to understand the meaning behind each one. She gleaned from his eyes that he was not angry at her for her comment, quite the contrary, he seemed to almost be amused, and that alone made her feel happier than she had in days.

Rising from the table together, they decided they had experienced enough of the mall to keep them both away from it for days and headed out to the car. Sesshomaru kept her close by his side the whole way out and only left her to cross to his side of the car. Once she unlocked the doors she deposited the bags in the back she climbed in after seeing that Sesshomaru had maneuvered himself into the car with an ease that made it look like he'd done it for centuries.

The new world still unnerved him quite a bit. The strange noises and the way sound bounced off the buildings around confused him and his sense of direction quite a bit, but he was quickly becoming accustomed to his overloaded senses. Which was a very good thing, because without his senses he was severely hampered.

At first as they drove away from the mall, Kagome wondered where to take him next as she had promised to show him about the city a little. Quickly she decided on parking in the city and taking a walk around downtown and through one of the little parks nearby.

Kagome carefully parked the car and got out motioning for Sesshomaru to follow suit before locking the car and linking her arm in his companionably and leading him down the street. The pair spent the day poking around the street vendors, wandering around down town enjoying the good weather. Kagome explained things around town when he seemed not to understand and they walked in peace despite some of the stares, scornful insults from older people and lustful stares from younger.

They walked quietly through the park which Sesshomaru enjoyed more than he would ever admit. Even spending one day in her completely cement covered world was getting a bit much for him. He missed the trees, the smell of the wild and the feeling of nature all around him. The park was a very small reprieve from the harshness of the city all around him, but it was welcome none-the-less.

The sun finally began it's descent into twilight and they wandered in somewhat amicable silence to the car in order to head home.

Kagome and Sesshomaru arrived home just before her mother did. They all exchanged greetings and stories of how their days went, though Sesshomaru remained silent as he usually does when he feels no need to speak.

"Kagome, this morning before I left I moved some stuff around in the extra upstairs room and left a roll out futon up there as well. Sesshomaru-sama is welcome to the room as long as he is willing to stay," she said looking over at him. Sesshomaru locked eyes with the woman and nodded briefly. Mrs. Higurashi smiled and stood to prepare dinner.

The miko headed upstairs with their purchases and Sesshomaru followed soon after her. When he entered the small but cozy room he found Kagome removing the tags from his new clothing and hanging them neatly in the closet while folding the others and setting them in empty drawers. Curiously, she kept the workout pants separated from the rest and picked them up as she turned to the demon.

"Would you like to come downstairs with me and watch some TV?" she asked, already having realized he didn't know what a TV was or why you would watch it, so she smiled at him and slipped past him, knowing he would follow her downstairs. Souta was still upstairs finishing his homework, so they had free reign of the TV. Kagome snatched her sewing kit off a shelf in the living room and settled down on the sofa. Sesshomaru sat down next to her, though left plenty of room between the two of them as she grabbed the remote and flipped the TV on.

"This is called a television," she explained as pictures began to flash across the screen. "We call it TV for short, but it's an electronic device that picks up signals from another source and translates the signal waves using pixels into moving pictures." Sesshomaru stared at the strange box deep in thought.

"Signals… kind of like those higher pitched waves I am able to detect on occasion? I'm picking up a few coming from the box itself." Kagome nodded slightly.

"Yes, those are called frequencies in my era." Briefly she explained frequencies, radio waves and how they translate into different mediums like radio and television. Sesshomaru listened in rapt silence, soaking up all the information she was telling him and storing it away for later. Her world fascinated him and he attributed his lack of coldness toward the miko as his feeling slightly lost in a world he knew almost nothing about.

He himself was disturbed at his incapability to act like himself in her presence. Constantly he felt himself letting go of his cold nature and kept feeling perplexed when around her. The girl in question had taken up a sewing needle and watched the television while she began doing something to the pants she had purchased earlier. What exactly, he wasn't entirely sure.

Determining to ignore her, he turned to the TV and watched the pictures flashing across it. Quickly he became very bored and the false light of the box began to hurt his sensitive eyes so he rose silently and padded just as silently out of the room.

Kagome looked up as he left, but then just shrugged and let him do as he wished. They had been in each other's company all day and she figured she'd leave him to his own devices for now.

Sesshomaru silently made his way into the kitchen where Mrs. Higurashi was working on dinner. She looked up as he entered and smiled. Sesshomaru settled down at the table and within moments there was a steaming cup of coffee in front of him.

"So, Sesshomaru-sama," she began, turning back to her work on the counter, "if you wouldn't mind or be offended by my inquiry, won't you please tell me some about yourself? Kagome's mentioned you a few times in her short trips home, but it was only in passing and simply as a very strong enemy," she looked up at him with a genuinely interested smile. As he watched her, he realized she had quickly gained his respect for her quiet, unassuming wisdom and her genuine interest in him as a person and not in what she could get out of him. He stared at her for some time, wondering what on earth she wanted him to tell her. Finally he decided to just start where he could.

"I was born into the noble youkai family of the west, first son of Inu No Taisho and Mizuki. My childhood consisted of training to become the next taiyoukai of the west. Once I became old enough, I began to follow my father and learn from his teachings. However, after my mother died of a sudden illness, father took a new wife, Izayoi, a human hime. In the ensuing months, she became pregnant with his child and disputes began to arise. Her family and former suitor did not take kindly to their hime carrying a 'mononoke,' a child of a demon. On the night she was to give birth, my father was injured while sealing a demon of incredible power. Even though he was almost fatally injured, he rushed to Izayoi's side to ensure she was in no danger. The hime safely gave birth to my half brother, InuYasha, however, father did not survive the fight. The building was set on fire and collapsed on him and his adversary before the fight was finished." Mrs. Higurashi listened while she worked, but she stopped at this and looked up at the taiyoukai sadly.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," she said with her heart in her eyes, "how old were you?" she turned to face him, wiping her hands on her apron. Sesshomaru had no idea why he was telling her all this, but he felt from her a comforting, motherly aura he had not felt since his own mother had died. He felt like he could tell her anything and she would not judge him as others would. All through her aura he could sense twinges of miko power and assumed she was where Kagome got her abilities from.

"I was a young adult in human terms, though I was around five hundred years old in actual years," he said quietly, "demons develop differently than humans. For example, InuYasha appeared to be the same age as your daughter in both looks and mental maturity; however he was in reality around seventy years old." Mrs. Higurashi nodded in understanding.

"That must have been horrible for you," Sesshomaru merely shrugged one elegant shoulder.

"After that I became Lord of the Western Lands," Kagome came silently to the door holding a bundle of cloth and stopped to listen, Sesshomaru heard her, but made no indication he had, "I was challenged by every demon who thought they could defeat me and take my title because no one thought a mere adolescent demon could rule efficiently over the entire west." He didn't bother to state the fact as it was obvious that he had been triumphant and kept his own title. It also allowed him to avoid going into gory detail on how he managed to keep the title and earn the fear and respect of all those around him, also winning him the title inadvertently of strongest demon. A title he didn't mind at all possessing, but Mrs. Higurashi didn't need to know that. He sipped his coffee.

Mrs. Higurashi nodded in more understanding than he realized and looked up at her daughter who still stood in the doorway.

"Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes, sweetheart," she said with a smile before returning to her work and humming lightly. Kagome smiled at her mother and turned to the silver haired man at the table. She held out the bundle of cloth.

"I made some alterations to these and I was wondering if you could please try them on? There's a t-shirt in the drawer that matches the color, I'm sure you'd be more comfortable in them." Sesshomaru looked at her for a moment before rising smoothly and taking the garments from her. A questioning look shot through his eyes for a split second before it was smothered by his usual bored look. Kagome smiled and stepped back to allow him to pass and head up the stairs.

Once he had left the room Kagome sat down at the kitchen table and chatted with her mother about her goings on in the feudal era and what had been happening at home.

Sesshomaru entered his guest room and closed the door behind him. Quickly ridding himself of his current pants and shirt, he hung them in the closet as he had seen Kagome do and then held up the pants she had been working on for his inspection. Looking at the front of them he saw no difference in them than before, but when he flipped them over he stared at them in shock and his eyes widened a fraction.

If he ever considered smiling, he would have grinned at that moment. He couldn't believe she had actually thought of that. Perhaps he underestimated the little miko. With a barely suppressed sigh of relief, he let his tail re-emerge and drape across the floor. Slipping the pants on he pulled them up snugly. Kagome had altered the back of the pants, creating a hole right where his tailbone ended, allowing his tail to exit the back of the pants and then adding a closure at the waist band with a button in order to cover him decently. It was an ingenious design and it allowed him to leave his tail out in comfort without exposing himself.

He coiled his tail in its customary position over his right shoulder and he stroked it in an automatic unconscious reaction. His tail was actually quite a comfort to him and walking around without it during the day had made him feel naked, only further exaggerating the sensation due to the thin, barely decent clothing she had made him wear. Not that the t-shirt and pants were any better, but at least they were loose fitting and didn't cling to him like a second skin.

Satisfied that his appearance was the best he could manage, he once again descended the stairs and rejoined the two women conversing in the kitchen. Mrs. Higurashi looked up as he entered and smiled, Kagome having explained while he was gone that he had a tail and that she had altered pants for him.

"You look much more comfortable, Sesshomaru-sama," she said with a smile. Sesshomaru nodded and sat down at the table again, noticing that Mrs. Higurashi had refilled his coffee cup. Mrs. Higurashi announced that dinner was ready and set things out to eat. Sesshomaru politely refused dinner, at Mrs. Higurashi's questioning glance, he simply said, "I don't eat human food." It was a little rude, he admitted, but it was the truth.

Mrs. Higurashi nodded and smiled her understanding. Kagome's grandfather had been taking a nap when they got home and came downstairs then after Souta had woken him up. He lumbered into the kitchen and started, his wrinkled eyes like saucers as they focused on the silver haired apparition.

"DEMON!" Grabbing an ofuda from his shirt (he always seemed to have tons of the stupid things on him) he slapped one on Sesshomaru's forehead and shouted, "DEMON BEGONE!" Everyone held their breath, not because they feared for Sesshomaru, but because they feared for Grandfather.

Sesshomaru reached up and peeled the piece of paper from his forehead with long elegant fingers. Briefly he looked at the paper expressionlessly. Green flashed from his fingers and the paper disappeared, disintegrated with his poison claws. He looked up at her grandfather who dropped back a step nervously.

"Ofuda's do not work on me, Grandfather. Try something stronger next time." Everyone's mouths fell open, he wasn't even annoyed! Mrs. Higurashi broke the silence with her laughter and soon everyone save Sesshomaru followed suit. Kagome couldn't believe it, had he told a joke? Or was he serious? Soon the laughter died down and everyone sat down to dinner. Sesshomaru didn't eat with them, but he sat at the table politely with his coffee while everyone else ate.

After dinner, Sesshomaru disappeared upstairs while Mrs. Higurashi made herself busy cleaning the kitchen and Kagome's grandfather made himself comfortable in the living room. Momentarily he reappeared with his swords and silently left the house. Souta jumped up from his video game excitedly. He had always enjoyed watching InuYasha practice and he was eager to see how his older brother compared.

Kagome smiled at her brother's antics and headed upstairs to look over some of her make up work for school. She had done quite a bit in the feudal era, but a lot of time had passed since she was last in school and if she hoped to keep up with the rest of the class she needed to work on it some more. As she worked she heard the high pitched song of a blade as it cut through the air more quickly than a human can comprehend.

After an hour of studying she sat back and looked out the window. Sesshomaru was still out in the courtyard of the shrine, his sword singing in the light breeze, the metal glinted in the fading light of the sun. Closing her books she pushed back her chair and stood. Before heading downstairs she changed into a more comfortable t-shirt and shorts and headed outside. Her brother was sitting under the god tree so she joined him and they watched Sesshomaru move through his practice routine like a liquid dancer on fast forward. Souta leaned close to Kagome and whispered.

"He's much faster than InuYasha was," Kagome nodded with a slight smile knowing that though Souta had whispered Sesshomaru had heard every word.

"Yes, Souta, that's because he's a full demon, where as InuYasha was only a half demon, a hanyou." Souta nodded, his eyes wide as he watched Sesshomaru's movements that were only a blur to them both.

Suddenly Sesshomaru stopped his one person dance and turned to face the pair sitting underneath the god tree.

"Miko, do you know how to use a sword?" he questioned.

"Kagome. No I don't," she answered, miffed that he still couldn't seem to bring himself to call her anything other than "woman" or "miko."

"You mean InuYasha never taught you anything," he asked with a tiny hint of incredulity. Kagome sighed.

"InuYasha felt it was unnecessary because he was always there to protect me, and if not then I could protect myself with my bow and arrows," she said with a slight roll to her eyes. Sesshomaru stared at her for a long moment before speaking.

"I will teach you then, miko." His proposal caught her off guard.

"Kagome, and it's not necessary," he narrowed his eyes at her, making her very uncomfortable. Lifting his arm he pointed his blade at her chest.

"How do you expect to protect that jewel if you cannot even defend yourself with basic swordsmanship?" Kagome sighed again in exasperation.

"I can defend myself just fine, you saw the battle with Naraku," she began and he scoffed at her.

"That was pure luck. You had no idea if you could completely kill Naraku. It was a desperate attempt on your part. You had nothing left, no one else to protect you, so your untrained miko powers flared up and you managed somehow to channel them," he said looking down at her scornfully. "I would not depend on luck like that again if I were you, miko." Kagome was starting to get really angry, where had the nice guy she had walked around all day with gone and when had 'Sesshomaru the asshole' come back?

Kagome's fists balled at her sides as she stood to face the arrogant demon lord, her aura began to glow around her in a light pink. Souta decided it was time he started playing video games again and he snuck away and into the house. This would be ugly and he didn't want to see it.

"How dare you assume that I need you to train me and that I cannot take care of myself!" she practically shouted at him, "I was doing just fine before you came along and I'll be just as fine once you're gone!" golden eyes narrowed further in her direction, "And further more, I will NOT be referred to anything other than my NAME! My name is Ka-go-me!"

Faster than she could suck in breath she was slammed hard against the ground, knocking the wind completely out of her and making her vision swim. A very angry demon lord crouched on top of her, claws at her throat, his palm flat against her windpipe; she didn't even know when he had the time to sheathe his sword.

"Woman, if you're so strong, then defend yourself now. You would already be dead if I so desired it and you would never have seen it coming." The acrid smell of poison stung her nostrils and her heart rate increased even more. She clawed at the arm pinning her down futilely, the lack of air beginning to make her desperate.

Kagome felt her miko powers surge around her and her body began to glow bright pink. Unexpectedly, she felt Sesshomaru's own youki surround her and begin to overpower her miko aura. Sesshomaru had let the full power of his youki emerge and his eyes tinged red at the corners.

The little miko felt her energy, though probably a match for his in strength, begin to be smothered simply because she didn't know how to use it to push his back. She was being suffocated in more ways than one. Detachedly, because she was beginning to lose conscious she felt him lean down close to her ear.

"You see, little miko, you are powerless without training. Pathetic. You would be a fool to refuse an offer like mine," feeling far away from her own body due to her lack of air she thought sarcastically only because it's an offer HE made, the arrogant jerk.

Suddenly the pressure on her windpipe was gone and she greedily sucked in lungfuls of air. The incredibly strong youki receded and his presence above her disappeared. She lay there gasping for a few moments before sitting up. Sesshomaru stood back where he had been before looking down his elegant nose at her. Kagome glared at him and rubbed her abused neck.

"Fine, I will train with you on the condition that you call me Kagome and not 'miko' or 'woman,'" she said continuing to glare at the lord.

"You will train with me regardless," he stated haughtily, "and you will not cross me again or there will be more severe consequences." Kagome sighed resignedly. She could tell this was going to suck.

AUTHORS NOTE:

Sesshomaru's mother's name: Mizuki means beautiful moon. I thought it fitting.