AUTHOR'S CORNER:

Gomen, my faithful readers! I meant to upload this much earlier today but things got just a little bit crazy! I have to run again, but I wanted to get it updated today at least! Enjoy!

Chapter 15

Sesshomaru descended the stairs and padded to the kitchen silently, showing absolutely no outward signs of his inward turmoil. Mrs. Higurashi had earned a place of honor in his mind and he did not want to anger or disappoint the woman. She had shown him great respect and consideration due his title and had taken him in without a second thought and he greatly did not wish to dishonor her trust. Entering the kitchen, he stood and studied the woman before him.

Mrs. Higurashi was putting away the groceries from her errands, humming to herself quietly. Looking up, she noticed the taiyoukai standing in the doorway regarding her silently and she gave him a bright smile and a bow at the waist.

"Good morning, Sesshomaru-sama! Would you like some coffee this morning?" the astute woman had noticed something was not right with the demon, but let him do things his own way. He was a demon lord after all.

"Higurashi-san, I believe I have dishonored you greatly and I wish to extend my apologies for my transgression," he said bowing his head briefly before returning his gaze to the now confused woman, "I have injured your only daughter." Mrs. Higurashi refused to let her trepidation show in her voice or features. If a demon of this amount of power thought he had dishonored her and hurt her daughter, she feared greatly the condition her daughter might be in.

"Where is she?" she asked, pleased that none of the tremor showed through in her voice.

"She is resting upstairs in her room," the demon answered never wavering, but inwardly nervous.

"May I see her?" Mrs. Higurashi asked politely, fearing the worst.

"Of course," Sesshomaru stood to the side and the worried mother couldn't seem to keep herself from rushing past the demon and up the stairs to her daughter's room. She had feared for her daughter's safety greatly while she ran around in the feudal era and it would kill her to lose her daughter now, after everything they had been through.

Hurrying into the girl's room, she stopped dead at the sight before her. The demon came up behind her and stood silently, his eyes barely betraying the thoughts running through his mind.

There sat Kagome on her bed with her back propped up against the bed board. The bruises along her neck and collarbones were gone, only Sesshomaru's sharp eyes picked up the slight trace left on the smooth skin, all of the other bruises and cuts from her flight through the woods to smash into the tree were almost completely gone and the girl looked none the worse for wear except for extremely dirty clothing and some leaves still stuck in her hair.

"Hi, mama!" she greeted the woman who was trying hard not to laugh by covering her mouth with one hand, "will breakfast be ready soon?" the girl asked, ignoring the demon giving her death glares from behind her mother. Mrs. Higurashi managed to shove her giggles back down and answer her daughter as if nothing was wrong.

"Of course dear, let me know when you're cleaned up and I'll have your breakfast ready for you," Kagome smiled brightly at her mother as the woman turned and bowed to the demon who stood behind her. "Thank you for your concern for my feelings, Sesshomaru-sama. I appreciate your telling me as soon as you were worried." With a twinkle in her eye that made the demon choke down the growl rising in his throat the woman stepped past him and out of the room, leaving a very annoyed demon to weasel explanations out of a sighing miko.

Kagome dropped her 'uninjured' act and slumped down on the bed, groaning slightly. Sesshomaru moved to stand over the girl and looked down at her coldly making Kagome want to roll her eyes.

"Explain," the temptation was too great, rolling her eyes dramatically, she crossed her arms over her chest resisting the urge to wince at the pain in her ribs.

"If you think I have bad temper tantrums, then never get my mother pissed at you," she eyed the demon in amusement and was rewarded with a rumbling in the demon's chest, "I didn't want her to get angry at you, so when I regained consciousness I used my healing powers to close up and minimize the worst of the visible damage." Unbelievably, the demon almost winced when she used the word 'damage' but outwardly, his face never changed. Looking down at herself the little miko sighed.

"I guess I'm going to have to just move slowly and act like I'm aching instead of actually injured until I regain enough strength to help some of these heal," she rubbed a distracted hand across aching ribs and winced slightly.

"You brought it on yourself, I have no sympathy for you," the demon glared down at her.

"Oh! You are NOT allowed to blame all of this on me! You are partly to blame as well, you monster!" she poked an indignant finger into the demon's chest and he had the sudden urge to break the finger off.

"You challenged me openly and even growled at me. That's enough to get even a demoness killed, let alone a weak ningen," he growled down at her.

"Don't you start with the 'weak ningen' crap! I know I threw you around a few times during that fight so don't you DARE tell me I'm weak! I might not be as highly trained as you, but just wait! When I am I'm gonna kick your ass all the way across Japan!" Sesshomaru's growl was more feral and aggressive this time, but both parties stood their ground. Kagome wasn't giving in and Sesshomaru didn't want to injure her any more than he already had.

"This will have to continue later since you cannot make good on your threats at this time," Kagome rolled her eyes and smirked.

"Yea, whatever. Admit it, you never expected me to be able to throw you around like that. Just curious, how many trees did you go through on that last one?" she asked, her smirk widening.

"You almost blew yourself up with 'that last one' and for your information, my controlled fall ended up taking down five trees," he threw back at her, but she wasn't buying it for a minute.

"FIVE TREES! Woo-hoo! Just wait 'til I'm in a little more control! Then you'll really be in trouble, Mr. I'm-too-good-for-anyone-but-myself." Sesshomaru growled slightly at the nickname and Kagome giggled. The demon was finding to his dismay that he was growling at the exasperating woman more and more often.

The argument was beginning to remind him of a few courting couples he had seen before and he didn't like that one bit. Throwing one more growl over his shoulder, he retreated to his own room to let the miko clean up and get breakfast.

The morning meal was very quiet, with Sesshomaru ignoring everyone and sipping his coffee silently, Kagome glaring at Souta who was trying his best to imitate Sesshomaru's expression and Mrs. Higurashi looking between everyone with barely concealed amusement. Finally, she decided to break the silence.

"Well, Kagome, I trust you slept well?" she asked setting down her chopsticks and looking expectantly at her daughter. Everyone was surprised when it was Sesshomaru and not Kagome that spoke.

"Oh, I am sure she did, especially with the interesting dreams she had that she was telling me about earlier," he continued to look off into nothingness and acted as if he hadn't even spoken while Kagome glared daggers into the back of his silver head.

"Oh really, Kagome? You had good dreams then?" her mother asked causing a deep red flush to appear on Kagome's face and for the girl to shift nervously in her seat.

"Apparently it was enough to make Sesshomaru-sama mad enough for Kagome to lock herself in the bathroom!" Souta piped up, a snicker escaping the little rat. Kagome settled her look of death on the little brother in question making him sink below the table so only the top of his head and eyes were visible.

"Yes, and I believe a certain someone encouraged the beastly demon and taught him a really nasty and underhanded trick to make me unlock the door," Souta eeped and disappeared under the table to scurry out of the room. Mrs. Higurashi laughed.

"Well, it looks like everyone has had an interesting morning! Perhaps I should wait to do my errands in the afternoons so I can be around to see these delightful goings on!" Kagome groaned to herself and Sesshomaru took silent delight in her discomfort. Deciding more torment was in order for his little miko; he shifted nonchalantly in his chair and decided to speak.

"Even though it is a day off from your 'school,' you will still be practicing and training with me today," he ignored the look of death the girl was giving him and continued, "in fact, the extra time will help greatly as it will give us more of an opportunity to work on your form," he leveled her with an evil look that spoke volumes to the miko. The demon was absolutely demented.

"Oh! What a wonderful idea, Kagome! It will keep the two of you busy while I clean up the house a little!" Kagome suppressed a groan as a look of triumph came over the demon's face. He knew exactly how much pain the woman was still in and was determined to take as much advantage as possible, completely unknown to the mother who had just condemned her daughter to an afternoon of torture.

Her mother left the room and if looks could kill, Sesshomaru would be dead. He would never admit it to the woman in question, but he was somewhat impressed that she could summon such an expression.

"I hate you, youkai."

"The feeling is mutual, miko."

Twenty minutes later found both of them back in the field, only with swords strapped to their hips. Glancing around the destroyed meadow, Kagome whistled in amazement at how much destruction they had caused. Frankly, she was astonished that one or both of them weren't dead.

Briefly, Sesshomaru went over unarmed stances with her, showing her what she had done during their fight that was wrong and how to improve her reflexes and blocks.

"There is no way for you to attack a youkai of my status successfully, so the next best thing is to defend yourself properly," he demonstrated a few more stances, ducks and blocks with Kagome imitating him and following his lead.

Looking up at the little miko who was just completing a duck and block combination, he noticed the back of her neck which was exposed when she had bent over and her hair fell over her left shoulder. Though she had healed the front of her neck, long dark finger shaped bruises still lined the back underneath her hair.

Kagome was concentrating on going through her movements correctly when she realized Sesshomaru had moved so he was standing right next to her. Suddenly his hand appeared right next to her neck; involuntarily she flinched hard and threw her hands up to block him. Remembered pain shot through her mind and her whole throat constricted, causing her to panic slightly and have trouble breathing.

The demon had simply come closer and was trying to brush her hair out of the way completely to get a better look when he was shocked by the girl flinching as if he had made to hit her, throwing her hands between them, burning him slightly. Her heartbeat went through the roof and he saw the muscles in her neck constrict almost painfully, making the miko wheeze a little, even though nothing was touching her.

He simply stared at her, his eyes slightly wide and his hand still hanging in the air as the girl stared at him with eyes as big as saucers, one hand gently resting against her throat. Kagome was afraid he would be mad at her but she had just reacted without thinking. The memory of how much it had hurt when he'd grabbed her neck was still fresh in her mind and she couldn't seem to help it. It wasn't that she was scared of him specifically; more that she now had a taste of what he was capable of. Her second hand strayed up to her throat unconsciously as if protecting it from his strong fingers and the movement wasn't lost on the demon.

She is afraid of me. She is afraid I will hurt her again. I must have caused her a great amount of pain to incite such a powerful reaction. Part of him wanted to howl in victory at this seemingly positive improvement. The girl now had a healthy fear of him. However, another part of him was angry with himself. She was so fearless before, so bold and courageous and he'd stolen a part of that from her. He'd brutalized her and made her fear his touch. In considering the consequences of his actions, whether intended or not and despite his more base reaction, he found he was not at all pleased by her flinching so violently. He was especially not pleased that he had caused her that much pain. His eyes were glued to her as she seemed to struggle to speak.

"I… I'm … I'm sorry… gomen, Sesshomaru… I didn't … I didn't mean…" her bangs dropped to cover her eyes, but he could see the trembling of her lower lip before she began to chew on it, showing how upset she was. Against his better judgment he reached up toward her neck again. The movement caught Kagome by surprise again and she flinched back, though not quite so violently and let out a small gasp.

Sesshomaru had seen enough.

Turning silently he disappeared into the forest leaving Kagome standing there, tears rolling down her cheeks. Falling to her knees, she buried her face in her hands and sobbed quietly. They had fought so violently and without thought that during their fight she really didn't even register what was going on… all she was aware of was the feeling of the adrenaline in her veins and the singing of her blood when she landed a blow. The pain and the fear came after and it was overwhelming. This was twice now that he'd hurt her. She couldn't help her body's reaction or the memory of the pain so fresh in her mind. The miko had healed the worst of the outward damage, but inwardly she was still hurting.

Closing her eyes and lifting her tear stained face to the sun, she wondered if he would ever be able to touch her again without her flinching.

Sesshomaru waited until he was a short distance away before taking off in a dead sprint. Visions of the disturbingly dark bruises on her neck and the look on her face when he'd tried to touch her kept surfacing before his eyes and he couldn't seem to push them away. He'd never felt remorse for hurting anyone before, but this woman was different. She was so pure and innocent. Yes, she was an absolute pain in the ass and irked him purposefully, but that didn't mean he had the right to mar her perfect body. He'd left more than physical bruises, he'd left psychological damage as well. The miko, whether either of them would admit it or not, had begun to trust him and they had built a sort of two sided relationship. One loss of control was all it had taken to completely destroy that and he was livid with himself for it.

Destroying any unfortunate tree that happened to be in his path, he continued to run at speeds that would boggle the human mind, letting out his frustrations and attempting to sort out his confused thoughts. These were completely new to him and he didn't like them one bit. Feeling remorse for hurting a ningen female? Was he crazy?

CRASH went another tree.

But she's not just any ningen female. She's a very powerful miko who managed to destroy Naraku and throw the taiyoukai of the west through several trees. Ok, five trees to be exact.

CRASH

What was she thinking challenging him anyways? It's her own fault she got hurt. Serves her right. She's lucky she's not dead. So why do I still feel so bad about it? Slowing to a stop he looked up at the clear sky, his silver hair billowing around him in the light breeze. Good question, why do I feel bad? It's not like the ningen means anything to me.

But she does and you know it.

Ok, you are not my beast and there is only supposed to be two of us in here, so who the hell are you?

Yea, I'm that thing you've been ignoring since you were around five. Remember? I'm your conscience.

You are still alive? I thought I killed you long ago.

Yea, well, I'm fairly resilient.

Such a thing can still be remedied.

Oh, no you don't! I'm not going anywhere, you might as well try killing your beast off first.

I HEARD THAT!

Shut up, you. You're not supposed to talk.

Hehe, Conscience 1, Beast 0.

Knock that off. Ok, so what do you mean when you say she means something to me? I do not care about ningens.

I didn't say you cared about ningens, I said you care about her.

This is stupid, I am talking to myself. This Sesshomaru is above this kind of behavior. You will be quiet unless I summon you. So you can consider yourself fired.

Oh, don't worry, I'll still be around. You couldn't get rid of me before and you can't get rid of me now. Kagome just woke me up.

Sesshomaru let himself sigh out loud and rubbed the bridge of his nose with elegant fingers. He was really losing it. Talking to himself? His father would roll in his grave. Was his conscience right, though? Had this human miko managed to awaken these uncomfortable feelings in him? Staring up at the sky, he glared at it and demanded it give him some answers.

Kagome hiccupped a few times, attempting to get herself under control. Wiping her face, she breathed deeply a few times before sighing. It was useless. She knew now the demon she had fallen for had no feelings at all for her. If he had, he wouldn't have treated her like that. He'd hurt her a lot, and then when she became upset by it, instead of comforting her, he walked away like he didn't care.

Forcing herself not to cry, she sighed again. A pulse ran through her body from her side. She sat up a little straighter and looked around before another one ran through her and she looked down at Fubuki, realizing the pulsing was from him. Pulling the sheath from its tie at her waist, she laid the sword across her lap and placed a hand on the hilt and one on the sheath.

Lady Kagome?

Yes, Fubuki?

You are greatly upset.

Yes I am, Fubuki.

He hurt you greatly, did he not? Kagome choked back her tears and nodded.

Yes, he did.

I apologize, my lady. I was not there to help protect you in your time of need. I will be more diligent next time. Please do not cry, my lady. Tears spilled from the miko's eyes and she turned her face up to the sun as if to hide them from the sword.

Silence for a few moments.

Lady miko?

Yes, Fubuki?

May I borrow some of your powers for a short time? Curiosity peaked within the young woman and she nodded once.

Within a few moments she felt a great deal of power leaking out through her hands and into the sword. As she gazed at the sword it vanished from within the sheath, leaving it empty. Kagome tipped the sheath up, slightly confused when suddenly two cool, elegant hands were placed on her cheeks and turned her face up. Looking up, she found herself lost in the most beautiful pair of ice blue eyes she had ever seen. They were long and angled and held a kindness and gentleness in them that made her heart melt. Those perfect eyes rested in a face that could rival Sesshomaru's… almost.

He was pale like Sesshomaru but unlike his perfectly proportioned features and high cheekbones, this face was longer with a more narrow nose and wider mouth. Light blue eyebrows rode higher over the eyes than Sesshomaru's lower ones giving this face a kinder look. The ears were more pointed than a typical youkai's and the man's long, light blue hair was tied back in a high ponytail. He was dressed in a flowing pure silk men's kimono of the most beautiful silvers, ice blues, and dark blues. His hands were gentle as he held her face for his inspection. Still holding her face with one hand, his other slid down her jaw to her neck, making her suppress a shiver. Pulling her hair to one side, he finally broke eye contact with her and tipped her head with the hand still on her face. A look of anger crossed his fine features as he saw with his own eyes the damage the youkai had done to her.

Kagome moved out of his grasp, recapturing his eyes with her own and gazing at him intently.

"Fubuki?" she asked tentatively. A smile lit the beautiful face making him practically glow.

"Yes, my lady. It is a pleasure to finally meet you," Kagome had to concentrate all her will on not making her jaw drop as her eyes took in the enchanting creature before her. He was not as heavily muscled or as powerful looking as Sesshomaru, but he looked to have a grace and elegance that would rival that of the taiyoukai's. His body was light and fey like and she couldn't help but be appreciative of his form.

The assessment was not lost on Fubuki and he smiled mischievously at the woman. Reaching forward he caught her face in his hands once again and held her gaze.

"I do not understand how that youkai could possibly be so beastly as to harm a creature such as you," Kagome blushed a deep scarlet, but refused to look away from the being before her.

Sesshomaru chose that unfortunate moment to return to the field.

A low growl drifted to them on the soft breeze making both heads snap in the direction of the sound. Sesshomaru stood there at the other end of the field, Tōkijin drawn staring at the strange man holding his miko so intimately with the coldest look he could muster, which for Sesshomaru is like looking into the face of death itself. Fubuki sighed dramatically and stood in front of the miko, blocking the demon's view of the woman.

"Do you not think you have done enough damage this day, Sesshomaru? Leave my lady in peace and be on your way," Sesshomaru growled louder.

"Who are you to speak to this Sesshomaru with such familiarity?" he stalked toward the pair with ice in his eyes. Kagome leapt to her feet and jumped between the two.

"Sesshomaru, this is Fubuki!" she held her hands out to the demon as if warding him off. This only succeeded in further upsetting the already angered demon. The miko was protecting this person? A deep rumbling reached the two making Kagome swallow hard. Suddenly dizziness overtook the woman and she staggered, the world swimming before her. Fubuki caught her tenderly and lowered her to the ground, concern written all over his features.

"My lady! My apologies, I have tarried too long and used too much of your precious powers! Please forgive me," he lifted the blushing miko's hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly, ignoring the warning growl from the demon.

"I will be by your side always. You have only to ask and I will protect you from anything," the elemental said looking up at the demon pointedly to which Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes in anger. The exchange was noticed by Kagome, but before she could say anything, Fubuki smiled disconcertingly at her and dissipated into mist, reforming as the katana in the sheath still clutched in one of her hands.

Kagome stared at the katana now resting silently in its sheath in bewilderment. It took a few moments for everything that had just happened to catch up to her, but when it did a deep flush made itself at home on her face and refused to go away.

This did not make the demon happy at all as he approached the distracted miko. Not wanting to startle her, he stopped a few paces away, waiting for her to notice him there. After a few moments, Kagome's glazed eyes rested on the demon before her and she blinked a few times.

A wave of sadness overtook her as she gazed up at him. She wanted nothing more than to become closer to the stoic demon, but she wasn't sure if that was going to happen now. Her head lowered and her bangs shielded her eyes and she fought back tears that threatened to fall again.

The sting of tears reached the taiyoukai's nose and he resisted the urge to fidget. Having had enough dramatics today, he decided practice would have to be forgone for the moment and they should return home.

"Kagome," her head snapped up, watery eyes looking up at the demon in astonishment that he had actually used her name, "we are done for the day. If you will attempt not to flinch again, I will carry you home." Kagome nodded dumbly and Sesshomaru approached her slowly, so as not to startle the distraught female. Scooping her up gently, he picked up a fast but smooth pace and headed home.

When they arrived, he set her down gently outside the house and they looked at each other for quite some time. Kagome broke their gaze first and turned to head in the house, but something occurred to Sesshomaru and he stopped her with a question.

"How did Fubuki appear?" Kagome stopped and thought a moment before turning to the youkai still standing a short distance away.

"He asked to borrow some of my power. I felt an outpouring of energy through my hands and into the katana and moments later he was right in front of me," a low growl stopped her narration and she looked up into irritated golden eyes in surprise.

"He knew how drained your powers were and yet he still asked you for enough power for a summoning?" he asked, annoyance and anger showing clearly in his eyes and his voice. The display of emotion shocked Kagome into silence, but what surprised her even more was the surge of irritation and anger she caught coming in waves off Fubuki who was strapped securely to her hip. Laying a hand on the hilt to quiet him, she looked at the youkai inquiringly.

"A summoning?" Sesshomaru nodded.

"When a sword is sentient, there is usually a way for the wielder to summon the being within into a physical form. Usually they assume their mortal shape, though some are capable of assuming an animal form as well," Kagome's thoughts flitted briefly to the cat form Fubuki had shown her. "It usually takes quite a bit of power from the wielder to make it possible and the summoned creature continues to drain the wielder the longer they assume a physical form. If a summoned sword spirit stays outside the blade form too long they can completely drain their master, making that person defenseless and weak." Kagome's eyes widened.

"Fubuki asked something of you without explaining his motives or the consequences of his actions. You became dizzy and collapsed to the ground because of those actions. It is dangerous to summon a sword spirit when the wielder is as drained as you are now," Kagome looked at the sword disappointedly before her eyes flashed briefly in anger and her gaze snapped back to the taiyoukai.

"As if you can talk," she hissed through her teeth at him, "you speak of him endangering me when all he was trying to do was comfort me when no one else would. You talk of him hurting me, but it was you who hurt me in the first place. He wouldn't have felt the need to assume a physical form to comfort me if you had treated me differently." Turning on her heel, she disappeared into the house leaving the taiyoukai to his own thoughts.

Kagome barely contained her tears as she headed upstairs to finally strip out of her pajamas and take a well deserved shower. Though so much had already happened that day it wasn't even lunch time yet. Kagome groaned as she headed into the bathroom. It just wasn't her day.

Sesshomaru stood outside considering the turn of events and his own tumultuous feelings over everything that had happened. He was pretty sure that gut wrenching feeing he'd had when he returned to the meadow to find Kagome's face in another man's hands and the two of them leaning intimately toward one another was jealousy. Part of him was raging at his own mind that Sesshomaru didn't get jealous. But there was no denying it, he had wanted to rip the male to pieces for touching his miko. There was that term again, 'his miko.' His beast reveled in the words like a satisfied puppy, but Sesshomaru's mind fought it.

Another feeling in his stomach brought him out of his musings. This was one he recognized, though it didn't make him any happier. He would have to eat soon and to be perfectly frank he hadn't seen anything in this era that would satiate his appetite appropriately. The taiyoukai realized he would have to lower himself to asking the miko yet again for her assistance. Turning to head inside, the great lord of the west resisted the urge to sigh.