A/N: I got all my extra Japanese names off of one of those baby naming sites, lol, so I have NO idea if they are real names, are spelled correctly, if their meanings are right, etc, etc…But I'll put the meanings the site had for them, at least, at the end of the chapter. I just hope none of them actually mean something offensive, lol…I should really learn Japanese…

Please be aware I know pretty much nothing about Japanese culture in feudal times, so I'm pretty much guessing off of what little I know and some knowledge of other countries in that time period (probably silly to base guesses off of totally different places, but oh well…) So anyway, I don't know how an estate such as this would work; how the servants would function, how meals would be taken, etc, so I'm pretty much jus' makin' it up as I go along…Sry…I gave the girls female bodyguards because in those anime episodes, where the Infant was in the care of a castle lady who believed it to be her son, and Kohaku eventually killed most of them, the lady of the castle had female bodyguards, I think.

Kagura was utterly delighted by the palace. It was laid out much like Naraku's castle had been, but was bright and lively. It was probably about a ten minute walk from the main gate to the ocean, she estimated. From this vantage point, she could see that the estate covered a huge amount of space; she could see several immaculately tidy villages, rice fields, orchards, a couple of pastures of animals, a huge stable…it was incredible, and everything about it was beautiful, from the blossoming fruit trees to the brilliant blue water to the lovely gardens she saw within the palace grounds. She was pleased that they'd come in flying; otherwise she wouldn't have been able to see everything at once this way.

Rin's eyes were wide and full of excitement, taking it all in. Sesshoumaru watched them both with a slightly amused expression. Jaken, who was still sulking over his master's choice of mate, had chosen to ride Ah-Un instead of joining the rest of them on Sesshoumaru's cloud. Sometimes Kagura wondered about Jaken…what exactly did that weird little imp feel for Sesshoumaru, anyway? She could swear he was jealous. Nasty little creep.

As Sesshoumaru set the cloud down in the center of the courtyard and let it dissipate, each and every one of the many servants and guards going about their various tasks instantly fell prostrate in the presence of their lord. He waved them up with a vague hand motion.

"Return to you duties, all of you. Atsuko, come here please."

The girl who approached looked to be about fifteen, dressed in a simple blue kimono, with green-blue eyes and black hair pulled away from her face. She had pointed ears, so she was obviously a demon, but there was no real way of telling what variety of youkai she was. She had a sweet smile, but looked slightly nervous being this near to her great master, bowing low to the ground in respect. Sesshoumaru spoke.

"Rise, child. Rin, Atsuko will be your personal maid. She is a flower youkai, and little older than you; the age she appears is her true age. She will show you your quarters and see to any of your needs. You will also have two female bodyguards; Katsumi and Isamu. They are already waiting in your chambers. Go with Atsuko now. At supper you can tell me of anything that does not please you."

Rin was obviously eager to see her rooms, she seemed to be trying very hard not to break into a run as she and Atsuko crossed the courtyard. Sesshoumaru turned back to Kagura.

"There are three lady's maids for you, for the moment. Eventually you'll have more. For the moment, there are Arisu, Shinju, and Takara. You'll be spending most of your nights with me." He gave her a small, sly smile. "But for the nights you spend in your own chambers, Sayuri and Shizuka will be your guards. If at some point you spend an extended amount of time sleeping in your chambers; for example, should I be away for a month, you will be given more guards. It is of utmost importance to keep the lady of the manor safe, after all."

There was a slight teasing in his voice; she was, after all, fairly capable of defending herself. Still, she enjoyed being cared for and guarded, protected. She wanted to hug him, delighted by everything; the manor, the servants with their friendly smiles, everything. But she restrained herself, knowing it would not be proper to show such affection in the eyes of the servants.

They walked together up the steps leading to the main entrance to the great hall, and there they were greeted by a short and rather round demon; an Inu, judging by the white tail that Kagura noted when he bowed low to the ground.

"Welcome home, Sesshoumaru-sama. Is there anything I can do to assist you?"

"Not at the moment, Hachiro. Kagura, this is Hachiro, my steward. Hachiro, this is your new lady, Kagura-sama. You will, of course, see that you obey any orders she may be inclined to give you."

"Yes, Milord. Of course, Milord. Welcome, Milady."

Kagura tried to hide her amusement at the poor fellow's overdone submission. Sesshoumaru gave her a small smirk, and they continued inside. Behind her, Kagura could hear Jaken and Hachiro begin to argue. It would seem that Hachiro was rather taken in by her, while Jaken was determined not to like her. She smiled and shook her head lightly when she saw Sesshoumaru frown and twitch his claws as if considering finally killing Jaken. Three women appeared and also bowed low on the ground, rising only when Sesshoumaru bid them to.

They were all very beautiful, Kagura noted. One had hair of silver-white like Sesshoumaru's and InuYasha's, but it was fixed up elaborately atop her head. Her eyes were a startling, icy sort of color. Kagura wondered if she might have come from the same clan that Sesshoumaru's mother was from. This one introduced herself formally and politely as Arisu. The second had plain white hair, without the silvery sheen of Arisu's, and her eyes were deep black pools. She reminded Kagura of an older version of Kanna, yet her voice when she introduced herself as Shinju had none of the haunting, stilted quality that had made Kanna so eerie. The third woman was different. Her hair was like spun gold, her eyes a brilliant, rare purple. She bowed with the others, but there was less an air of servitude about her and more an air of nobility and self confidence, perhaps even arrogance. This one was Takara. There was subtle challenge in her vivid eyes as she met Kagura's, until a low warning growl from Sesshoumaru had her staring intently at her feet again.

He sent all three women away and then turned back to Kagura.

"I'm sorry for Takara's insolence. She is the daughter of one of my allies; a noblewoman in her own right. She was sent as a courtier here, to learn the ways of great houses, yet when her father attempted to make a match for her, she insulted her betrothed horribly, and her punishment is to act as a servant until she has learnt her lesson. Obviously, she hasn't adjusted to it well, but I cannot truly discipline her without offending her father."

"Somehow, I think I might actually like her. Good for her, standing up for herself against her father trying to force her into something. Besides, it seems to me I remember being rather rude to you once or twice; and yet here we are."

"True enough. The evening I refused to take the Jewel shards from you, you were appallingly rude. I would have chopped your head off if you hadn't looked so lovely, and if I hadn't been so fascinated by you."

She laughed softly.

"I realized later on just how lucky I was to still be alive after insulting you like that. I was truly an idiot, betraying Naraku and insulting you. Little wonder I ended up dead. I intend to be a lot more careful with this life."

"You shouldn't have to be. I'll be the one ensuring you remain alive and well."

"Huh. I'll have you know I'm perfectly capable of defending myself."

"If need be, certainly. After all, if you want to use such terms, you've become the alpha female of our tribe. Of course you're strong. But that does not mean it isn't my duty to protect you."

Again she resisted the urge to hug him. Suddenly a woman walked into the room and Kagura fought very hard not to let her jaw drop. Sesshoumaru's mother had her hair pulled back in a long tail down her back, and was wearing all light blue silks in a rather shocking outfit, hakama tied at the ankles to produce a ballooning affect, her sleeves long and loose, but her torso wrapped in scandalously tight fabric. She was practically dripping jewelry; gold and adamant necklaces and bracelets and earrings. She even wore anklets, her feet bare, toenails and claws painted silver, her eyelids marked to match. She was in entirely humanoid form, her fur nowhere to be seen. Even Sesshoumaru appeared slightly surprised at her appearance.

"Mother, what are you doing? Trying to seduce one of the servants?"

"Nonsense. None of them are worthy. These are my working clothes. You expect me to get anything done wearing my fur and kimonos?"

"Working clothes? Ridiculous. You expect me to believe you're working?"

"You insult me, son. I've been redecorating your chambers. Oh, and I switched around the living arrangements so that you and Kagura have an entire wing to yourselves. I can't believe you were going to put her in the other wing. We're demons, not humans with their silly customs of separation. Besides, if you have to walk all the way through the house to share a bed with your mate, everyone in residence knows when you're mating. No privacy at all. Now, if you were mates by arrangement, as your father and I were, I could understand sleeping separate. But you two are heart-mates. No need for any of that nonsense."

"True enough. But Mother, please tell me you didn't just say you redecorated my rooms?"

She just gave him a mischievous grin and walked right by him to greet Kagura with a friendly hand clasp.

"Heavens, child, I haven't told you my name, have I? We can't have you just thinking of me as 'Sesshoumaru's mother' for the next several centuries, now can we? I'm Michiko."

Smiling, thoroughly enjoying the presence of her eccentric future mate-mother, Kagura leaned a little closer and whispered; knowing Sesshoumaru could hear her but enjoying teasing him.

"So, what exactly did you do to his rooms?"

"Well you know, I had a…a friend, shall we say…who hung a mirror on the ceiling over his bed…"

Sesshoumaru gave a hopeless groan. Kagura instantly burst out laughing.

"Mother, you had better be joking. If you turned my chamber into a mockup of a courtesan's room, I'll never let you see your grandchildren."

"Yes, I'm joking. I had the room painted dark red…it's a very sensual shade, you know…and I had new bedding and such made. Other than that, there's little different."

"Good. Do the servants know of the change in plans? Kagura's maids should be relocated to her new chambers…across from mine, I assume?"

"Yes, just across the hall."

"Good…no wait a moment, have the maids roomed at the far end of the hall. Sayuri and Shizuka can be reassigned as bodyguards for Rin, since I'll be nearby should any trouble arise with Kagura."

"Oh, yes, the human child. Where is she, anyway? I suppose I ought to get to know the little thing a bit."

"Mother, I'd appreciate it if you make her feel welcome. There will be enough prejudice against her as it is. If you are kind to her, many of the others will follow your example. And please refrain from calling her 'thing'."

"Fine, fine. I think I'll go and welcome her now. The ceremony is all set up for tomorrow, by the way."

She walked away, and Kagura couldn't help but snicker as she watched the otherwise silent and motionless guards follow Michiko's hips with their eyes. Sesshoumaru looked torn between amusement and annoyance.

"Come along, Kagura, I'll show our wing."

The went to the right of the large front room they were in, and after a while entered a door, coming into a long, bright hallway, lit by windows in the roof. At the very end of the hallway was a small table with a huge vase full of gorgeous fresh flowers. Here there were two doors across from each other. Sesshoumaru slid the one on the right open and motioned for her to go in ahead of him.

"This is your room, Kagura."

The room was lovely. The walls were painted white, and three windows looked out over one of the gardens, letting in bright sunlight. Elaborate tapestries, many depicting InuYoukai, hung about on the walls. She smiled when she noticed that there were also several fans pinned to the wall, in a variety of different colors and patterns. There was a wardrobe in one corner, a dressing table at its side, with a large mirror. The futon, quite high off the ground on its frame, was along the wall with the windows, and Kagura had a feeling she would delight in taking afternoon naps with the sun shining in on her. It was one of the largest futons she'd even seen, she noted, and it suddenly occurred to her that this was likely where her children would be born. The idea brought a smile.

To the left was a curtained doorway, she went through it and found a sort of sitting room, with comfortable cushions to sit on, a fire pit in the center, and more big, bright windows. Very pleased with the whole thing, she turned back and found Sesshoumaru watching her with undisguised longing.

"Don't get too attached to this room, Kagura. After tonight, I believe I will lock you away in my chambers and not let you go until I've spent at least a century making love to you."

She laughed softly, but moved into his arms, pleased to finally be free of the eyes of servants, so that she could touch him.

"What exactly do the mating ceremonies involve, Sesshoumaru?"

"It is not all that much different from a human wedding. We simply bind ourselves together publicly with words and vows. It's just a way of acknowledging each other as mates in the eyes of others. A formality, not really much more than that. Mother, being the only parent that either of us has left, will announce that she accepts you as her son's mate. Then I will announce you as my mate. You don't really have to do much, except answer yes when Mother asks if you are committed to being my mate. It's a very short ceremony…then Mother gets to pour sake over our heads, which I can assure you she will take great pleasure in doing. Then you'll be whisked away and bathed by the maids while I try to get the sake out of my hair."

The wry tone of his voice made her laugh, and she kissed him briefly.

"After that, you'll be brought back here to my chambers and we'll have the entire house to ourselves for a night. The servants will go back to their homes…you probably noticed the villages as we arrived…and Mother, Rin, Jaken, Hachiro, and the maids will all stay the night in the guest house across the courtyard. Once they're gone, that's when the good part begins."

He kissed her, but she could sense he was holding back. After so long, and so much tension, and desire, and resisting…tomorrow she would be his in every way. There was no cause to allow themselves to be tempted unduly, not when they were this close to the finish line. When he pulled away, he gave her one of his rare, bright smiles: even though he'd smiled much, much more since her return, it was still rare to see his whole face light up like it was now. She loved how he looked when he was this happy. And she knew her own face echoed the sentiment.

Tomorrow, all their dreams would come true.

Names:

Female:

Atsuko: "Kind child" or "Warm child"

Katsumi: "Victorious beauty"

Isamu: "Vigorous, Robust, Energetic"

Arisu: "Noble sort"

Shinju: "Pearl"

Takara: "Treasure"

Sayuri: "Lily"

Shizuka: "Quiet"

Michiko: "Beautiful, Wise"

Male:

Hachiro: "Eighth son"