The warm water surrounded her body and she let out a satisfied sigh. She thought back to the maids startled gasps as she dragged a bleeding Sesshomaru up the steps and down the halls, the women tittering around us like birds yet none wanted to touch him or help her lift the weight. Yuzuki rushed to his side when she scented her father and promised to get him to bed.

Kagome took that as the opportunity to leave, looking over her shoulder at the strange sight. Both of their hair swung together and even with the burden of her father's weight, she stood tall and helped to her father to do so too. She made it to her room in little time and reclined in the bath within the hour. She had lost the time and instead decided by the number of footsteps outside the bathhouse.

At first, many drunken couples stumbled by with a giggle and a stumble, but after a while, the castle fell quiet as maids and Lords alike drifted to sleep to wear off their liquor stupors. Kagome ran a delicate hand over the water and watched the light from the cracks in the ceiling light her hands. They were scared with thin pink lines and bruises from her bow. She wondered to herself if she ever had a chance at finding true love with so many unappealing factors.

Sango knocked quietly at the door and when she stepped in, Kagome welcomed her with a wave of her hand. The woman pealed off her sweat covered ball gown and placed it next to Kagome's neatly stacked clothing.

"I know that face. What's wrong?" Sango ran a hand over her shoulder before glancing over at Kagome.

"When I was young, my friends and I would put on big wedding gowns and twirl around and I really wanted to imagine that I would grow up to be beautiful and pretty. But all I am is scared and blemished." With an angered huff she let her head fall back to rest on the ledge of the bath. Sango sighed and before she could get a word out, Kagome was talking again. "It's not like I need a man, just that I would be nice not to wake up alone at night."

"Oh Kagome, if you could only see the way that men look at you-" Kagome made a face and Sango stopped mid-sentence. "Unless it's not men in general but one in particular..."

Kagome sucked in a breath and strung out a jumble of denials that only served to push Sango on.

"It is one man! Who?" She leaned in close, she jerky movement causing water to splash over the sides. "Is it that Lord with the grabby hands?"

"Dear gods, no!" Kagome cried, pushing Sango away and crossing her hands over her chest and sinking her mouth under the water. Her black hair swirled around her and Sango watched her with keen eyes.

"Is he a Lord, Kagome?" Her friend stayed silent, her face half covered by the dark waters. "Kagome, he is a Lord, isn't he?!"

Sango squealed and splashed around, causing Kagome to jump up and grab her arms to stop her flailing. She shot her a glare and Sango just stifled her laughs with her fist in her mouth. Kagome tried to stop the smile from spreading across her face but it failed. They were interrupted with a tap at the door. They spun around and saw a pale woman timidly slip into the bath house.

"Would you mind if I joined you?" Her short blonde hair was tired back to the nape of her neck and highlighted her sharp cheekbones and slim nose. With keen brown eyes placed perfectly under curved brows, she represented everything Kagome wished to look like. She soberly nodded and let her hands dip below the water.

Sango watched with a frown and a furrowed brow at the change in her friend. She decided she would talk to Sesshoamru tomorrow; try to convince him Kagome needed to remember just how beautiful she truly was.

After an awkward bath, Kagome parted with Sango at her rooms and made her way down the hall, ignoring the lump under Sango's blankets that look about the size of the monk. When she opened her doors, she found her bow and quiver where she left them on the floor surrounded by piles of clothes. She was going to the party tonight before she was so rudely interrupted by Yuzuki's request. Se kicked the fancy kimono's away and picked up a training uniform borrowed from a small guard. This what what she was used to, practical and resourceful in a fight.

For a fraction of a second she considered walking down to the sewers and asking for them to remake her school outfit but quickly talked herself off the metaphorical cliff. A blush came to her face when she remembered the rage on Sesshoamru's face when she pulled his fathers treasured fang from its resting place.

"Ugh!" With a huff, she picked up her pillow and threw it across the room at the door. With a thud, it landed on the floor. When she went to throw herself onto the bed, she notice the perfectly preserved blossom hidden in the corner, as pristine as the day she received it. With gentle fingers she ran a hand over the petals and the sound of interlaced breaths filled her ears and the sensation of fingers trailed her spine.

She yanked her hand away and looked at it with a scowl. Her teeth caught her lip and her hands wrung themselves in her lap. With determination she moved to the desk and blew out the candle, plunging the room into darkness. The mattress was soft under her body and she sat up and stared at the rose placed before her.

Her eyes narrowed and with little hesitation, she reached forward and her hand circled to flower. Like she was plunged into a pool of warm water, heat radiated at her back, and she knew what fantasy man was causing such warmth.

Sesshomaru moved his hands to trace her ribs, his claws making goosebumps speckle her skin. She leaned her head back and rested on his bare chest. In the moonlight, everything looked like it was draped in smoke. With an ease that could only come from being inhuman, he splayed his palm across her bare stomach. Heat pooled in her belly and her toes curled.

His lips grazed her ear and tingles filled her body. She tired to catch his eye, but the room was dark and he seemed relaxed. She brought her hands up and tangled in his hair while he moved on to her shoulder blades.

His strong legs wrapped around hers and She could feel the zings of pleasure shoot up her thighs. She rubbed them together and hopped he didn't notice. When he chuckled, his body was so close she could feel the vibration and hard press of his muscles.

In the dream, she noted the skimpy night gown she wore. It left little to the imagination. All thoughts of her attire were forgotten when his hands lowered to her hips. With new heat coiling in her core, a small moan was pried from her lips. Those sinful hands.

With gentle stokes, he ran his hand over the hum of the short night gown. Her pants become louder than she thought and in the silent night, they mixed with his. She could feel their breaths becoming deeper and just a his hand slipped below her dress she was shocked back into reality.

With a startled gasp, she tossed the now wilted flower onto her pillow. Her whole body tingled and warmth was spreading throughout her stomach. It was a feeling she had felt before but all she wanted was to do was pick the blossom back up and finish the erotic dream.

Another pounding on her door made her realize just what had woken her from vivid dream. With shaking legs, she wobbled to the door and slid it open.

Sesshomaru stood on the other side. His hair was bemused and his face seemed different. His eyes were half mass and his breathes were short and choppy. Just as she reached for him, he pushed her back into the room and up to the closest wall. Her stuttering was lost in his quick, rapid breathes.

"Do you know why the Dream Weaver is so dangerous?" He asked, reaching a hand out as if to run it across her side, but quickly pulled it back. "Because when one person imagines another in their dream, sometimes...the other can feel it."

Kagome realized what this meant and a mortified blush rose from her throat to cover most of her face. Her stuttered apology was cut off by his lips.

With a forcefulness she only dreamed of, he had her pressed to the wood. She reacted in kind; tossing an arm over his shoulder and dragging his lips back to hers when he came up for a breath. His hands trailed her sides leaving a burning path she could feel beneath her clothes. He grabbed the backs of her thighs, giving her the leverage to wrap her legs around his slim waist.

She tilted her head and let her lips brush his strips. He let out a deep moan and buried his head into her chest, his warm breath only caused more heat to coil around them. She curled her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck and pulled her mouth to his ear.

The heat built and built until the atmosphere seemed almost crushing. He supported her weight and lifted her from the wall. With the sweat trailing down her spine, her thin nightgown clung to her back and he helped her to tug out of the pesky piece of clothing.

They undressed each other with a slowness born from a time of waiting. The passion of lust had since passed, what remained now was the need for contact. They tangled their legs and their hair around on the mattress. She would laugh at a silly sound and he would laugh at her laugh. In the darkness, they pawed at each other like lovers knowing when the sun rose, he would be an unavailable Lord and she would be an unattainable Miko.

TUH

Yuzuki could feel the tightening in her chest that normally accompanied a panic attack. Her breaths got shorter and shallower until finally it passed and she was able to stand from her bed. She thought back to the past few hours and how her father had started tossing and turning when she had left him.

She peeked out her door and besides the drunken man slouched on the floor a few feet away, the hall was empty but what caught her eyes was that her father's door was cracked. She stepped out fully and went to run a hand through her bed head when her hand reached her line of sight she screamed.

Her hand was invisible and only flashed skin tone when she screamed.

TUH

A carriage roared into the palace square. The horses neighed and smacked the ground, their hides a flawless brown. The guards moved forward and pointed their spears at the door. A banging and shuffling came from inside. The men readied themselves and when it banged open and a sour faced woman tossed luggage at them, they stumbled a bit.

"Miss, you can't park here..." A small mouse of a man stated, pointing to the ruts the carriage caused in the soft stone.

"Oh phish posh! I am to do what ever I want, daddy says," She looked around the moonlit entrance and spun around a few times before gesturing to the men to place her backs in her room. "The nicest one that is closest to my fiancé!"

"And who is your intended?" The mouse boy asked, hoping to direct the shell shocked guards to some wing of the palace. She smiled a smug smiled and swung around to face him, her long purple gown causing a slight wind to blow in his face.

"Lord Sesshoamru, of course."

Passed my Finals, I'll be back to writing!