Morning arrived far too quickly and Kagome found herself being thrown back into her ordinary life. She wasn't quite back into the job search because she still had some Naraku business to deal with, but the prospect loomed grimly, never completely allowing her peace of mind. Her day was full enough already, though, with training sessions and caring for Rin.

"Sorry I'm late," Kagome announced as she walked into the workout room five minutes late. "Rin had a meltdown, and I couldn't just leave her with Jaken."

When Leola furrowed her eyebrows, Kagome shook her head and said, "Never mind. I've just had a busy day."

With a quick nod they moved on. Leola instructed Kagome over to the treadmill, and they decided to run for the day's session. After a few minutes of running together silently, Kagome began to chatter.

"I really like the weather around this season. It's nice and warm, and all the flowers are beautiful."

Leola smiled and began to run faster. "I agree. Summer is my favorite season too. What about Sesshomaru-sama?"

Kagome rubbed her lips together. "You know, I'm not too sure. But my best guess is winter, because my husband is an icicle disguised as a youkai."

Leola's eyes widened and she stared at Kagome wildly. "Erm, uh, you mustn't make jokes like that about Lord Sesshomaru."

Kagome laughed. "Oh, please. You can't not joke about him sometimes. He takes himself so seriously!" Eying Leola's nervous expression once more, she added, "Don't worry. I joke about him like this, he jokes about me in other ways. If he had any friends, they'd all think I was a crazy, irrational, weak miko who won't shut up."

She grinned as Leola double checked her and then let out a small giggle. "I suppose..."

They ran together in silence for a few more minutes until Leola began chanting her favorite mantra as the speed she was running at became too taxing. She toned her speed down a few notches and then glanced at Kagome's running difficulty level on her treadmill.

"You could run a bit faster, Mrs. Taisho."

Kagome sighed but sped up a fraction. "Running isn't my strong suit. Working out, rather, isn't my strong suit."

Leola shrugged. "That's okay. You're already fairly fit, and you've got plenty of other talents. It's no problem."

Kagome frowned, suddenly unsettled. "But what if it is? What if I need to do something like climb on the monkey bars over a boiling pit of lava and I can't?"

She didn't voice her other worries. What if I can't beat Naraku?

She was pulled from her thoughts by a sweet chuckle. "Don't worry so much. We will work as much as we can to get you as strong as possible, but you shouldn't stress so much. This isn't only your burden to bear, you know."

Leola's warm eyes met Kagome's worried ones. "You've got friends and many others willing to help you defeat him. You're not alone, and I highly doubt you'll get into a situation where you would be, not with Sesshomaru-sama watching."

Kagome tripped when her shoe scraped against the rubber of the treadmill floor. "What?"

"Anyone with eyes can see the way Sesshomaru-sama looks at you."

"Sesshomaru?" Kagome tripped again, visibly flustered. How had Leola seen Sesshomaru looking at me when we'd been fighting then? She remembered their conversation the night before, and how they'd slept next to each other.

Leola laughed heartily when she saw Kagome's reaction. "So you think it's no big deal you can make fun of Lord Sesshomaru, but suddenly finding out he looks at you longingly is too much? Allow me to say, you're something else, Kagome-san."

Kagome joined her in laughter. "You think? But, woah, is he really obvious about it?"

"Only as obvious as you are."

Kagome's blush could've been spotted from miles away.

As the workout session ended, Kagome headed to the locker room showers as she quickly checked her phone. Surprisingly, she had a text waiting.

Sorry can't make the lesson today. Let's take a rain check.

Kagome frowned and set her phone down. Hayate was busy again, but this time Kagome was unsettled. Not only had he sent her the exact same message as last time. No explanation, no excuse, just a simple 'busy'. Something didn't seem right.

Finding a towel, she dashed off to the showers to think a bit more. Once she had reached the solitude of a warm, soothing shower, she searched her memory for her old miko training.

When Kagome was younger, she'd trained as a miko at a local spiritual center. She'd learned the basics, and had even been able to remember certain aspects of Kikyo's miko training that had helped her control her powers. Kagome's father and her younger self had always thought that she should have a sufficient degree of training, in case the powers the shikon no tama had given her suddenly appeared.

There was this whole unit on control... They said it was important for a miko to be in control of her powers, of course. But there was something else... She strained against her memory and found the answer. The key to control was to tighten your core, straighten yourself and imagine your powers as a tangible object. As a child, she was powerful enough to actually manipulate her powers to create a knife.

Closing her eyes as she let the hot water pass over her body, Kagome envisioned a knife in her hand, made out of shining purity. A second later, she tightened her grip on the hilt of a knife. When she opened her eyes, a shimmering, nearly translucent pink blade was in her hand.

I can do it! Kagome nearly shouted and she felt Kikyo's soul beat once against her own in happiness. As Kagome let the blade dissolve, she grinned with pride, happy that though she may not be the best weight-lifter, she at least had a damn good memory.

Late that night as Kagome readied herself for bed, she found herself as scared and anxious as the night before. Without waiting around for the strange occurrences to begin, she snagged a blanket and headed over to Sesshomaru's room.

Jaken, who had been in the process of retiring to his house had seen her exit her chambers and start towards his master's. "My Lady!" He exclaimed, clearly scandalized.

"Oh, Jaken-san!" Kagome mimicked his squeak.

"This is most improper, My Lady. Please, do not put yourself in a position that some may question your chastity! Milord would be so ashamed!"

She was stunned speechless, overcome by Jaken's delusion. "We're married, Jaken."

When he huffed, she decided to throw him for another spin, by amplifying her antics. "Sex after marriage is okay in any culture, I believe. So if you'll excuse me..."

She opened the door and entered with a flourish, curtsying to Jaken as she closer the door on his gawking face.

Turning towards the bed, she paused when she met Sesshomaru's smug smirk. "And here I thought you were simply visiting. It seems tonight will be quite a treat."

She blushed, and he found it endearing. He wouldn't mind getting used to that pretty rosy tint on her cheeks.

"I wasn't implying-I was just-Jaken, and-," she whimpered and trudged over to his bed. "You know exactly what was happening, so don't act all arrogant."

He pulled her towards him, and she felt a low rumble sound in his chest. "You have this way of getting me all tongue tied."

"I could arrange for us both to be tongue tied." When her eyes widened he stole a kiss.

"You're so cheesy," she laughed against his lips, "I don't even know where to start. How do you live for like, a million years, and still have such silly lines?"

He deepened their kiss for his answer and she soon found herself lying down on the bed. Their kisses were passionate, laced with tongue and nibbles, and Sesshomaru noted with satisfaction that Kagome's arousal was quickly filling his senses. Deciding to take things slow, he moved so he could kiss the base of her throat and snaked a hand under her sleep shirt. He was pleased to find she hadn't worn a bra.

When he began to rub one of her breasts, Kagome let out a breathy moan. As if the noise had shocked her, she jerked underneath him, and stared at him with wide, alert eyes.

"So, umm, how was work today?" She babbled, her skin flushed and hair astray on the pillows. Sesshomaru couldn't fathom why she would be talking when she looked like that.

He nuzzled her cheek and brushed his thumb across her breast, touching over the sensitive parts. "Um! I had fun working out with Leola today, but Hayate didn't show for our meeting!"

"Then we shall have to fire him," he rumbled, and slid his hands over more of her silky skin.

"And Rin! She had a meltdown earlier!" Kagome supplied, rambling.

Leaning away from her, Sesshomaru frowned. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not doing anything!" She glanced down at her body, and was met with the sight of her exposed breasts, with her shirt hiked up high. She covered them quickly with her hands, and blushed, reluctant to meet his gaze.

He was silent before attempting to speak without growling. "Are you unwilling?"

"No!" She yelped, and then blushed. "I just, I umm..."

He cocked an eyebrow.

"I mean, you should know..." When her embarrassment became too much, she covered her eyes. "All cards on the table... I'm a virgin."

"I figured."

"You knew?!" She leaned onto her elbows, tears nearly filling her eyes. Kami, I feel so stupid. He knew, and he didn't say anything. I just... Her mind was a mess of humiliation and dilemma, and she wasn't sure how to proceed.

Sesshomaru smirked, which only served to befuddle Kagome even more. "It's obvious. We can wait if you need to, however, I would rather not," his eyes lingered on her body before gesturing to his.

She blushed hotly and attempted to hide her gawk, letting out a cough. "Right, well, okay. I guess, umm," she said weakly and blushed once more, before deciding she really wanted this. She wanted to prove to Sesshomaru how much she felt for him in this physical act."If you're good, then lead the way."

They took their kisses slow until he couldn't hold back anymore, and as he became more passionate in his touches, she found herself drowning in bliss. His fingers found uncharted territories of her skin as she brushed hers over his body, which was mesmerizing and new as the feelings he was creating within her.

Hands grazed skin, lips kissed trails and eyes charted the way, creating a symphony of feelings that she'd never felt before. Pain molded into a foreign, deep warmth inside of her, and they lost themselves. When Kagome climaxed, Sesshomaru followed shortly after, pouring his seed between her parted legs. With a smile and a lusty kiss, he laid her down on the satin pillows and let her rest after her earth-shattering first time. Once all was said and done, she found herself more pleased than she could've ever thought, and wondered why she had refrained from doing something so positively good before.

I would like to apologize profusely for being so slow about posting this! I've been traveling and basically, life happened. So I'm really sorry about the slow update... But I hope you enjoyed nonetheless. ~Gracie

All Characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.