AUTHOR'S CORNER:

Well, my faithful readers... I've made a decision during my time away because I had a long talk with both my managers (I work two retail jobs in order to pay my bills). I've been promoted to managerial staff at the bookstore and thus will be getting higher pay, but also an increase in hours. I'm remaining the same at the game store however, this means that I will have less personal time. I regret to say that I will have to drop my submission times to once a week. It will not go any lower than that however, because if I am so busy during a week that I do not have the time to sit down and devote to 10 pages of a story I love in Word, then something is wrong and I need to make adjustments. That being said, today is the start of every Tuesday submissions. I really am sorry, but please do keep the reviews coming. Honestly all your comments inspire me to keep writing since I'm a rather self-depreciating person. All your support has kept me going and I just wanted to say THANKS! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!

ENJOY! X3

Chapter 31

"But Akiko-saaaaaaan!" Fubuki whined, "you can't see anything you're doing! I really think that since we're still injured you should change in front of the mirror so you can see what you're doing and can assess how well our body has healed," Akiko growled at the ceiling as she struggled with her obi, grateful when Kagome's tiny, gentle hands pushed hers away to help finish dressing her friend.

"Absolutely not, you hentai! Also it's not OUR body it's MY body and you're an intruder in it! Therefore you should remain silent and grateful that I was willing to let you take up space in my body and not let you just die!" she snapped.

"Moooooouuuuu! Kagome! She's being mean to me!" Akiko grabbed the hand that was creeping toward her chest and held onto her hands down around her waist with such force that her knuckles were white as Kagome chuckled.

"Now, now, Fubuki. She had the body first, so you should just let her be in control. Why don't you take a nap or something?"

"No way! How often does a guy get to be in a woman's body! And such a nice specimen of body too I might add…" one hand reached back and grabbed her butt before it was snatched back with a growl.

"Do that again and you won't live long enough to be put back into that blade, you ass!" Kagome giggled and Fubuki whined.

Kagome glanced out the window as Yoko burst in with her customary energy and started teasing the poor neko and the belligerent elemental. Sesshomaru… why do I have this awful feeling? Where are you? Please be safe and come back to me, even if you don't want me. Please come back.

Blood…my blood… the smell of burning flesh… my flesh. So much pain that I can barely see… and yet… all I can think about is how she will react when she sees me.

The normally stoic form of the taiyoukai of the west stumbled and ran into the trunk of a tree, leaning on it for support. His armor was completely shattered, the yellow sash that always held it in place had burnt away long ago, his sleeves were in tatters, the white fabric of his hakama stained red and black and his hair was similarly afflicted. Shoving away from the tree, Tōkijin dangling from his limp arm pathetically he rushed onward, trying to keep as much distance between himself and his adversary as possible.

He had greatly underestimated his enemy, walking right into their home turf supremely confident in his prowess in fighting holy men. Their number usually consisted of one or two truly powerful leaders and then pathetically weak followers grasping at their heels. This group was one of the concerns that Takehiko had discussed at length with Sesshomaru, but the lord of the west hadn't considered that this might actually be a bigger issue than he originally thought.

The shimmering aura of the temple had alerted him first to the strength of his enemy, but he'd gone anyway, thinking they would prefer to speak rather than fight. Mistake number two.

Though his senses had been heavily hampered by the smothering aura around the temple grounds he was still able to make out the auras of at least thirty men who exited the buildings and moved to surround him, though keeping a great distance back. To his infinite surprise, there was almost a complete half and half mix of females and males. To his knowledge, the holy males and females associated but kept their practices separate. Apparently this group was an exception.

The holy man in charge had exited the temple and faced him as if to speak, though when his mouth opened, no words came out, instead sealing chains similar to the ones Kagome employed snapped out of the ground and surrounded the taiyoukai, dragging him down. Fortunately, working with a miko of immense power had taught him a few things. Struggling against the chains, he knew they weren't meant to seal him, but only to bind him as other holy men and women closed in around him. The realization that they weren't carrying staffs but enchanted swords registered in his mind with a shock as he struggled to his feet once again.

Using the aura of Tenseiga to confuse the power of the chains, he managed to loosen them enough before pulling Tōkijin and snapping them with the sheer power of the blade's evil. The houshi's attacked him then, their glowing pink and blue swords leading as they engulfed him in a deadly dance of auras. The miko's stood back, holding out their own brightly glowing swords much as one would use a staff as a conduit for power, the chanting and singing sounds of their voices filling the air with their casting. More often than not he found his own youki recoiling at the sheer holy power of some of the men around him. Who were these people?

Whoever they were, they weren't interested in talking.

"The demon lord of the west has walked into our hands by the grace of the Kami's, let us make an example of him and not let this gift go to waste," the leader called in a clear and commanding voice. Slaughter, they were out to slaughter all the youkai they came in contact with. They were exterminators.

The tremendous amount of holy power around him had dragged him down and confused his senses, the burns they inflicted and the holy cut wounds had slowed him as he fought desperately, now only concerned with distancing himself from the horror he'd walked into. Transferring Tōkijin into his left hand, he utilized his air whip, feeling the extension of his right hand snap free and spiral around him as he spun on his forefoot, holding Tōkijin straight out to the opposite side as he spun, the evil aura beating back the holy energy and clearing an area around the taiyoukai. The glowing whip snapped and spiraled around his flowing form, confusing his attackers and cutting down more than a few of them.

Taking advantage of their brief lapse, he leapt straight up into the air, leaving the temple far below him as arrows and energy bolts followed him courtesy of the priestesses who had not been affected by his assault. Twisting and dodging in midair, he managed to maneuver himself and evade most of the projectiles and direct himself to the ground outside the temple. Retracting his whip and returning Tōkijin to his sword arm, he stood tall and gathered the energy of the evil being and sent a blast of kentasu at the temple. The blue flames shot forward before licking in frustration around a holy barrier and eventually going out without doing any damage to the grounds.

Growling low slightly in frustration at the surprising power of this group he turned and utilized his returned demon speed now that he was outside the influence of the temple and sped through the forest. The 'grace of the Kami's' obviously granted them more than he'd originally thought as a blast of holy energy crashed through the woods behind him. Throwing Tōkijin up and gripping the sheath of Tenseiga he blocked it just in time as a blast twice the size of any he'd seen before slammed into him knocking him back through the forest and clearing a massive trail of trees behind him in his flight.

This wasn't going to work, he couldn't move quickly enough in this form to get away, and he had no protection anymore, even his hakama shirt was burnt away now leaving his blistered and burnt skin open to view.

With a mighty roar he transformed and slammed his foot down on the first houshi who broke the tree line, completely squishing him with a satisfying crunch before leaping away as they assaulted him once again. Taking massive strides he felt their aura fall behind as he raced away as quickly as he could manage, blood running freely down his legs and chest, massive blotches of fur completely gone the charred flesh exposed to the light of day. Growling angrily he noticed one had reached his face and a burn mark crossed his nose and ran up one cheek.

Growling loudly in annoyance, he realized he didn't even care about the damage to his body, he was more worried about his miko. How was she going to react when he saw her? Would she even notice his return? Or would she be too busy tending to her beloved sword? Shaking his head with a snarl he nearly lost his balance and went down as the blood loss made him dizzy, but he regained his footing and pressed on, the dangerous aura now completely lost behind him.

It had taken all night of traveling and into the morning to reach the temple to begin with and his pace was slowed now as he struggled to continue his headlong run toward his palace where he could heal and gather his forces. Holy wounds…those take the longest to heal, he thought with an inward grimace. He wouldn't be ready to march for a while.

The palace grounds came into sight well after nightfall.

Kagome had spent the day with Akiko/Fubuki, Sho and Yoko, the four… er… five of them seeing to the damage in the gardens and the cleanup of the failed party. Everyone felt lighthearted by the antics of the sword in the neko's body as the two argued with one another creating the most amusing situations.

The miko's mind however was someplace else entirely. A feeling of worry and intense trepidation would not leave her no matter what she argued with to make it go away. She was sure he was angry with her, but she didn't know over what. There was also the sinking feeling that something was wrong, though how she would know she had no idea, so she kept telling herself it was her overactive imagination and nothing more. This didn't help however.

Yoko couldn't help but notice the girl's distraction as the day progressed and wondered greatly about it. There really wasn't any reason for it, so why was Kagome so nervous? Sesshomaru was a taiyoukai and more than capable of taking care of himself and Kagome knew that. The oceanic lady couldn't help but think that something else was wrong with the girl and though the two hadn't mated she was convinced that Kagome was suffering from some of the emotional effects of mating.

Kagome was a pragmatic and realistic girl, but she was irrationally worried and nervous and it was obvious it was over the inuyoukai and not her friends, why? Because there probably was something wrong and she could feel it, but how? That was an emotional side effect of being mated, being able to feel the distress of your mate even though a great distance separates you. It was how Yoko had known that her husband had been killed before news had even reached her.

Because of this Yoko watched Kagome like a hawk all day as she sighed and frowned and kept looking off in the distance though she became much more worried as the girl started to get physically agitated and ceased listening to a single word that was said around her or to her, her little fingers picking at her sleeves nervously, her blue eyes darting back and forth, though looking at nothing in particular.

The miko in question couldn't seem to control herself. She felt like a huge weight was sitting on her chest and it was hard to breathe, her nervous thoughts flitting from wild idea to the next. The notion that Sesshomaru was hurt and needed her kept pounding her brain over and over but she didn't know why or where he even was. By the time the evening rolled around she was a nervous wreck and couldn't even eat any dinner. At this point others began to notice something was wrong with her, but attributed it to her worry for her friends.

Kagome was walking Akiko back to the room they now shared while the neko was recovering when an overwhelming feeling slammed into the miko and she reeled. It was Sesshomaru's aura, but something was terribly wrong.

Turning on her heel she dashed away from a confused Akiko/Fubuki and sprinted toward the courtyard, picking up her skirts in a most unseemingly manner and earning herself a few aghast stares from the palace hands, but she didn't even notice as she lost her sandals in her wild sprint.

Her hair had been left down that day and it fell around her shoulders to her waist in wild disarray as she skidded to a stop in the doorway to the courtyard and the sight that met her eyes made her gasp and her eyes tear over.

Sesshomaru slammed into the door jam of the gate as he attempted to walk through it, a massive crack running up the wood and a long blood stain marring it as he attempted to right himself, his head lowered and his eyes slightly glazed over. Daichi came running into the yard dismissing all the staff not necessary to be there in order to preserve his lord's honor and his dignity.

Putting paw before paw the taiyoukai managed to right himself and move slowly into the yard, alarming amounts of blood dripping to the ground to pool around his paws. Painfully slowly the whirlwind formed around him and he shifted visibly back to human form. Kagome watched in detached horror as his features shrank down and his fur disappeared, his arms reformed and his legs return to human form. His whole body was covered in burns and cuts, a burn ran from his left eye across his nose and down his cheek marring the perfect maroon stripes.

Throwing dignity to the wind she sprinted across the courtyard ignoring the angry cries of Daichi and threw her arms around the naked and injured torso of her youkai.

"Sesshomaru! Oh my Kami, Sesshomaru!" she whispered to him in desperation as he slumped slightly, his golden eyes out of focus. Daichi kept everyone else out of the courtyard except Sho who slipped over to the taiyoukai's other side should he need the support of someone stronger than the young woman.

Fuzzily the taiyoukai registered that he was back in the courtyard of his palace and that there were soft arms around him. Slowly, as if in a dream he leaned his head forward until his nose touched soft raven hair and he inhaled deeply. He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating from blood loss or if she was actually there holding him, but whichever it was, he didn't want it to go away.

Kagome laid a hand on his uninjured cheek when he leaned forward to put his face in her hair, not caring that he was covering her in blood. Daichi moved forward with a protest on his lips when she snapped her head to the side and growled at him, there was no way anyone was taking him away from her, not when he was like this. Daichi backed away a step at the sudden demoness reaction he'd received from her. Strangely enough, he feared her more like this than he did an actual demoness in the same situation.

The little miko slipped under one of his arms and wrapped her arm around his ribs and supported him the best she could and he surprised her by leaning into her so his face was still against her hair, not that she minded.

"It's ok, Sesshomaru, let's get you to your room and I'll help fix you up," she said softly and was rewarded with a small grunt. Guiding him gently she let him keep his head in her hair and his eyes closed as she led him slowly down the hallway until she realized something, she had no idea where his room was. "Um, Sho?" nodding with a small smile he took the lead, though keeping an eye behind him on the condition of his lord and led the two in the direction of his room while Daichi took care of things in the courtyard.

Not even Akiko and Fubuki were allowed near Sesshomaru and Kagome while they were like this. Most of them understood that something emotional was going on between the two of them and it was wise to maintain a distance until things calmed down.

Sho opened the screen to a large room and Kagome couldn't help but gasp slightly. The room was beautiful, decorated in white and blue silks, the only actual decoration being the blue symbol of the crescent moon over the western style bed and the painting on the opposite wall of a dog youkai that looked remarkably like a larger version of Sesshomaru. Guiding him carefully she had him sit on the edge of the bed before tearing off portions of her kimono to bandage the worst of the injuries.

"Sho, hurry and get the healer and return quickly," Kagome commanded and Sho couldn't help but snap to and do as she'd ordered. Gently she detached his face from her hair earning an uncharacteristically disappointed sigh from the demon, but she ignored it in favor of paying attention to his wounds.

Her heart sank as she realized they were holy wounds. No wonder he was in such bad shape… he'd been attacked by apparently very strong holy powers. Kagome ripped more of her kimono to blot at the rivulets of blood still running down his body and help stem the flow.

Sesshomaru's mind refused to work. He was sure that was actually Kagome touching him and tending to him, but his mind didn't want to believe it. It was a trick, the real Kagome was busy with Fubuki, right? His eyes took on a touch of their characteristic coldness and he weakly pushed her hands away with a growl that brought her bright blue eyes to his face with a look of surprise. Attempting to stand and move away from the apparition, he found it was a very bad idea as a wave of dizziness made him stumble.

He wanted to growl as Kagome appeared in front of him again until he realized why her eyes looked unnaturally bright, the scent of tears, real tears reaching his nose and a few of the diamond drops slipped from the dark lashes to run down her cheeks.

"Sesshomaru, please…please let me…" her voice trembled and she stopped when his hand came up, a look of complete fascination on his face as he ran one clawed finger down her cheek from under her eye following the trail of tears as if he'd never seen them before.

If this was an apparition, then he was a powerful hallucinator if he could feel her and smell her tears. The thought struck him, she was crying, why? Was she crying for him? The dizziness clouded his vision and he stumbled again, her little arms went around him and hid her face from him as she pressed against his chest and gently sat him back on the bed.

Moving in front of him again and tearing off more shreds of kimono, she blotted at the blood oozing from the burn mark on his face as more tears ran down her face. She couldn't help but feel like this was partially her fault, she'd made him so angry that he had left and put himself in danger. His voice startled her.

"Miko," he said so softly she had to strain to hear him, "why are you crying?" he asked as more tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Gomen, Sesshomaru, gomen," she choked, "I didn't mean to make you angry, gomen," he stared at her in fascination as she continued, "I failed you in that fight, I failed Fubuki, I failed Akiko, they got injured because of me and now you've become injured because of me… and I didn't even make sure you were alright after that fight because I was so worried about Fubuki and Akiko," she could barely speak she was choking on her sobs so hard, her bangs covering her eyes as waterfalls of tears ran down her face. "Now you're hurt and it's all my fault. I'm too weak and I understand if you hate me now," she was rambling and she knew it, but she couldn't seem to stop the words now that they had started.

Now wasn't that a kick in the gut? Here he ran off in jealousy thinking that she was paying more attention to another male instead of him and he had forgotten one thing that made Kagome who she was, her unending worry and care for those around her. She wasn't fawning over Fubuki because she loved him more, she was caring for not only one friend but two who were dying and now she was blaming herself for his own injury.

Lifting her chin with a clawed finger, he made her lift her eyes to his own, for once leaving them unguarded and heard her breath hitch at what she found there. His eyes slid closed as he leaned forward and took advantage of her slightly parted lips to claim her mouth. She was everything he wanted and she was so warm and tasted so good. His beast yipped happily as he felt her shiver and press herself closer against him, returning the kiss as hungrily as he.

The feeling of blood under the fingertips on his chest brought her singing mind back to reality and she pushed him away earning herself a low growl that made her giggle. At least now she knew where she stood for the moment, there was no doubt about that look in his eyes but that he loved her. The warmth in those golden orbs made her shiver delightfully right down to her toes, but believe it or not there was a more pressing matter at hand and she pushed him back when he tried to move in to claim her mouth again.

"Not now, Sesshomaru, you're still bleeding badly and we need to take care of those injuries first," when he growled huskily in response and tried to pull her closer again she giggled and pushed his hands away. "Down doggie, now be a good boy," she teased him and a challenge lit his guilded eyes and a wash of relief as well as anticipation ran over her at his return of his personality.

"And what do I get if I'm good," he asked cocking his head slightly as she turned her burning face away from him in order to tend to one of the burns on his arm. He always turns things around and makes me blush so embarrassingly much! It's not fair! The taiyoukai smirked at the bright red that rushed over her cheeks at his comment.

"I'll spare you the beating I was going to give you for running off like that," Kagome said irritably and his eyes narrowed.

"That's not a good enough reason for me to be good," he said teasingly and Kagome felt herself roughly dropped on the bed and Sesshomaru looming over her, his black and red stained silver hair hanging all around them.

"Sesshomaru, really! I have to begin healing your wounds before you lose too much blood!" she said pressing her hands against his chest as he had begun inching closer to her.

"Not until you give me a good enough reason to," he said menacingly and she shivered at the husky tone of his voice.

"Well, what's it going to take?" she asked and immediately regretted it when she saw the predatory gleam in his eyes.

"Once I'm healed, you are to train with me every morning until you are capable of defeating me and you are to train in the way I specify," he said haughtily and her jaw dropped.

"But that could take centuries and I won't live that long, that's not fair!" she protested and he looked at her stoically.

"Take it or leave it," he said and started inching closer. Her cheeks flushed crimson and she panicked.

"Ok ok! You've got a deal! Now behave yourself!" she cried, pressing her head against the silk to keep him at a distance. Smirking he sat up slowly as his injuries continued to ooze, ignoring the intense dizziness that washed over him at moving so much. His whole body was screaming at him and even his beast seemed subdued for the moment. Her face immediately creased with worry as she pressed cloth against yet another bleeding wound and his eyes remained glued to her face in fascination over the amount of worry she seemed to have for him.

"Sit still," she commanded and he bristled, but did as he was told. Her tiny hands were placed over the worst of his injuries one by one and the trademark pink glow filled the room as they slowly closed. Each one she worked on he felt the cooling of the healing process and the warmth of her aura wafting over him relaxing him. He hadn't quite realized just how tired he was until then and he wavered slightly. Kagome stopped healing long enough to take hold of him and lay him down before returning to her ministrations.

Sesshomaru reveled in the feeling of her small but powerful hands all over his bare skin, her holy aura of a different and much more calming nature than those monsters who'd done this. Slowly he felt his eyes drift shut and fell into a deep healing sleep as Kagome continued to heal the worst of his injuries.

The little miko watched him as he drifted off and realized she had never seen the man actually asleep before. His maroon tinted eyelids were closed peacefully and his unusual silver eyelashes brushed against his pale cheeks, his silver bangs parted across his forehead revealing the blue crescent in the middle of his brow. She winced as her eyes fell on the burn mark still on his face before reaching one hand up and gently laying it on the bridge of his nose. The hand glowed pink and the burn slowly receded leaving soft healed skin behind. The skin where the injuries had been would be slightly pink and more sensitive for a while until his body's normal healing process took over and healed them completely, but it was better than bleeding to death.

The healer had entered the room unnoticed during their exchange and had decided that for his own state of well being he would leave the couple alone until called for and remained outside the door within yelling distance.

Eventually Kagome managed to heal up the worst of the burns and all the bleeding wounds before exhaustion overtook her and she laid her head down as she knelt by the bed, taking his hand in both her own and closing her eyes.

During the night the healer had poked his head into the room to check on the couple and found a fairly well healed taiyoukai and an exhausted miko asleep at his bedside. The lord of the west he knew though would need a few more weeks of healing. Holy wounds did damage to the youki of the demon as well as his actual body. Though the exterior wounds appeared to almost have been completely closed up, they would linger a long time and the youki would require healing time as well. Shaking his head slightly, a small smile on his face, he knew his lord and lady would be fine for the moment and left them to their rest.

A few hours later Sesshomaru's eyes opened and he discovered he felt a lot better than he had anticipated. Sure, he ached like he'd been beaten the crap out of by a dragon, but all the stinging wounds were gone and he felt strangely refreshed and calm. Turning his head he caught sight of the raven head of his little miko who was sound asleep kneeling by his bed.

Looking down he found his hand clasped between both her small ones and couldn't stop the small smile that reached his face. His miko had healed him until she was exhausted and still remained by his side instead of returning to her own bed to rest, her calming aura allowing him to sleep more easily and heal faster. Sitting up he winced and almost let out a groan… yup, that still hurt. Under the pinkish skin that remained from where his body had been injured he could feel the lingering aching wounds to his youki and knew this would be a long and painful recovery. He hurt right down through his bones and into his being… ouch.

The beast growled in agreement.

Disentangling his hand from hers, he knelt beside her and gently lifted her, ignoring his screaming muscles and laying her on the bed before removing the bloody blanket that had been on there and throwing a clean silk sheet over her. Nodding in satisfaction he stretched his complaining body and headed off even though it was the dead of night to the hot springs to get rid of the stinking residual blood on his skin and in his hair.

Returning a short while later much cleaner and stinkless, he approached his screen door to be overwhelmed by the panicked and fear filled aura of his miko. Throwing the door open and rushing to the bedside, he found her still asleep, though in the throes of a nightmare. Letting out his breath in relief, he shut the door quietly and returned to her side.

The small woman looked even smaller and more fragile in his large bed, the sheets covered her tiny form as she tossed on her side, gripping the bottom sheet in her small hands. She calmed almost immediately when he touched her cheek gently.

The stench of blood and sweat hit his nose as he sat by her side and he cursed himself for forgetting that she was still in her soiled kimono that she had torn off large chunks of in order to bandage him. His mind raced, unsure of what to do. He couldn't leave her in such a nasty garment, but he couldn't remove it and preserve her honor either. Though he wanted her for a mate, he had to be careful and not force it on her and scare her.

Whirling to his closet he pulled one of his sleeping kimonos from within, opening the soft, pure white and silky garment and draping it over her form. Gently and with great care he slipped her out of her dirtied kimono, keeping her covered and tossed it to the floor before wrapping her completely in the clean sleeping kimono and securing it around her, not once disturbing her.

Softly, he returned his little miko to a comfortable sleeping position before slipping onto the bed beside her, his own sleeping kimono wrapped around his aching body and pulled her gently to him. She surprised him by curling up into his side with her face against his chest and sighing contentedly in her sleep. The beast purred happily as Sesshomaru wrapped his arms around her slight form and let sleep overtake him again.