My responses to your questions :)

llebreknit : Inu Yasha is definitely not over Kagome; he's just done moping. I am weaving a very complicated web. This chapter however should definitely answer at least a few of your questions.

LadyKagometheinuyoukimiko : Thank you :) and he'll find out soon-soon!

Kyane Black : Thank you :) Inu Yasha is in a very delicate position. At the moment, Kayo is the only one who can comfort him, however I cannot say if it will be enough to make him forget about Kagome. SessKag is always a fun pairing, so much drama around it, so much fun to write about! :D well I can tell you that they are well on their way ;)

TheIYobsessed : You have a very valid point there. I have incorporated your questions into the story because I'm sure a lot of people are wondering. Everything will become clear in time :) And yes, poor Inu Yasha; really provides and excellent example of the phrase "You don't know what you have until you lose it."

Inu Youkai Yume : Confrontations are always nice ;)

Chapter 15 - Growing

The early afternoon sun streamed in through Sesshomaru's west facing window. He was sitting at his desk and tending to some political matters and to be honest, it was boring him. Sesshomaru sighed and set down his quill. At the moment he would like nothing better than to burn the neat stack of paper piled at the corner of his desk. He sat back in his chair and gazed out the window.

The silver-haired demon allowed his mind to wander and almost immediately the image of a girl appeared. Kagome, she was looking up at him innocently and he could hear his heart thump vaguely faster in his chest. She smiled a thousand watt smile and his brain numbed.

Sesshomaru snapped his eyes away from the window and clenched his teeth. He growled in frustration, ever since yesterday when she'd used her spiritual powers to give him back his arm, he couldn't stop thinking about the way her cheeks turned rosy pink delicately when she blushed or the way her eyes sparkled when she smiled. Sesshomaru flexed his left arm, it was perfect, exactly the way it used to be; as if instead of giving him a new arm, she had just resurrected his old one.

"I should repay her…" he said aloud to himself. 'How though?'

After a moment's thought, Sesshomaru knew exactly how to repay her.

'This'll be interesting.'

The afternoon found Kagome wandering aimlessly around the castle. Rin was busy with studies; things that Sesshomaru thought everyone should know.

Eventually Kagome found herself at a wide arched entrance doorframe that was missing an actual door. Carved wooden vines wrapped around the frame appearing to be aged and thorny. Kagome looked through the door and found herself facing a large room with rows upon rows of bookshelves.

Sesshomaru had never mentioned a library.

Kagome stepped into the room and peered down the aisle. To one direction, there were bookshelves reaching the far wall, in the other, they seemed to stop after a few. Kagome walked in that direction and found herself facing a wide open floor with an elaborate fireplace set against one wall. Chairs and couches were set in front of the fireplace at a comfortable distance. Decorations and other groupings of chairs littered the room, giving it a homey feeling, 'Wow, talk about fancy.'

Kagome nodded appreciatively and walked along the bookshelf, looking for something interesting. It wasn't long before she stumbled upon; Control: the Key to Being a Miko. Kagome wondered why Sesshomaru would need a book like this but shrugged and took the book to a comfortable looking chair. She sat and opened the cover of the book. She turned past the title page, skipped the Prologue and began reading at Chapter One: The Flow of Chi.

Kagome lost track of time and became engrossed in the book.

Sesshomaru was finally done all the preparations and luckily he'd been able to locate his ally with ease. She was on her way and would arrive shortly.

He exited his study and sifted through the scents in his castle, easily locating the one he was looking for; Kagome.

Following the scent, Sesshomaru was slightly amused when he found her in the library, absorbed in a book. Kagome was curled up in a chair that was backed up against the wall and didn't seem to notice when he entered the room.

Kagome jumped when someone cleared their throat, almost tossing the book across the room in surprise. She had been so engrossed in it that she hadn't sensed his entry; it was definitely more interesting than a school textbook. A slight pang of homesickness bloomed inside her but she pushed it aside and focussed on the situation at hand. She blushed and stood up immediately when she realized who had disturbed her peace, "I'm—I'm sorry for going through your collection."

Sesshomaru nodded offhandedly, "It's fine. Most of these books are of no use to me."

Kagome smiled and laughed nervously, "So what brings you to me?"

Sesshomaru resisted raising an eyebrow skeptically and giving her an unrelated response. In a moment he was in front of her and the book had been promptly dropped to the floor. In a low voice he purred, "I thought I should repay you for bringing my arm back to me."

Kagome's face shone brightly red, "It's no problem, you don't need to repay me."

A smirk unfurled on Sesshomaru's flawless features, "Oh but I do," he said softly. His left arm brushed stray strands of hair from her face.

Kagome looked up in shock.

Sesshomaru almost laughed at her expression, "There is someone on their way to train you regarding your spiritual powers." He let go of her and began walking away.

Kagome stood dumbfounded staring at his retreating back. What had that been? Since when did Sesshomaru-sama behave like that? Her heart pounded in her chest and she stood frozen until he turned and looked quizzically back at her.

"Come on now, she'll be here shortly."

Kagome shook herself out of it and jogged after the demon. Suddenly she was very happy, he had done something for her. He had put in some thought and given her a gift that she could never repay. Speeding up she threw her arms around the demon and buried her face into the small of his back. "Thank you Sesshomaru-sama!"

Sesshomaru grunted in response and waited for her to let go. When she did he continued walking, "Follow me."

Kagome smiled to herself and happily followed Sesshomaru.

When the two arrived at the front gates, they were met by a slight figure. She was shorter than Kagome by an inch or two and she appeared to be only a few years older than Kagome. Kagome had expected to see a withered, old woman not a beautiful, young one. She had fair skin and long, flowing, black hair that held a bluish sheen and sported numerous streaks of silver racing from her roots to her tips in marvellously fashioned highlights. Her eyes were a piercing grey flecked with slivers of violent blue. Her short build showed off the traditional, red-and-white miko attire that Kikyo used to wear. Kagome gawked at the miko, not noticing her pointed ears. "You're gorgeous!"

The miko smiled, revealing pearly whites, "As are you."

Kagome shook herself and smiled back. She walked up to the woman and stuck out her hand, "Hi, I'm Kagome, nice to meet you."

The miko looked quizzically at Kagome's hand and then back up at her face.

Kagome quickly realized her mistake and blushed, "You're supposed to shake my hand…" dropping her hand she mumbled to herself, "It's a future thing."

"A future thing, huh? So you're from the future?"

Kagome's eyes widened, 'How'd she hear?'

"That's quite interesting." The miko smiled at her astonishment, "Nice to meet you too Kagome, my name is Jin."

Kagome grinned, taking an immediate liking to this miko.

"Shall we get started?" Jin asked.

Kagome nodded enthusiastically. "Hai," when she turned to get Sesshomaru's approval, he wasn't there. She frowned but turned back to Jin and waited eagerly.

Jin saw Kagome's confusion at Sesshomaru's disappearance and giggled inside, 'So, she's the one that he wants me to train. I can feel her aura… not bad. I'm looking forward to this.' Familiar with Sesshomaru's castle, Jin began to lead the way, sensing Kagome walking giddily behind her and a servant carrying her belongings. Eventually, the servant branched off to put her belongings in her room and she and Kagome were left alone.

Kagome followed, her mind completely focussed on Jin and her upcoming training. 'I'm going to be a miko! I'll finally be able to do miko things!' she followed Jin into a large room with light pouring in through a great window that took up an entire wall. The other walls were festooned with swords of different sizes and shapes along with bows, spears, and other weapons Kagome didn't recognize.

In the centre of the room, two mats lay on the floor parallel to each other with about a metre separating them. Jin seated herself on one of the two mats facing the other one and waited for Kagome to do the same. Kagome sat down cross-legged and faced Jin. She knew she was grinning foolishly but she didn't care. This was a once in a lifetime chance that no one else in her time would get.

"First things first," Jin began, "straighten up your back, line up your shoulders and put your hands in your lap."

Kagome was briefly reminded of kindergarten when she'd first started school and she'd been instructed to sit similarly. She did as she was told and matched her posture to that of Jin's.

"Take a few deep breaths and calm down. When you're calm, you'll have greater control over your body."

Kagome took a few exaggerated breaths and calmed her breathing. The only problem was that as soon as she was calm, her mind interrupted with its ecstatic screams of delight and she had to start over.

Jin sensed Kagome's mind's restlessness and smiled. 'Ah… youth…' "Close your eyes and clear your mind."

That proved to be harder than it sounded. Kagome closed her eyes and tried to shut off all the random thoughts that zipped through her mind. Once or twice she managed to set up a mental barrier against her thoughts, but then something would break her concentration and the wall would explode, allowing her thoughts back in.

Half an hour later, Kagome sighed and her muscles relaxed, dropping the stiff posture, "Is this really necessary?"

Jin laughed, "When I was learning, I became so frustrated that I actually stormed out of the room and away from my sensei. She wouldn't talk to me for a week."

"How did you get it?"

"I realized that if your mind concentrates on something, then it would clear out with a little more help from you. So concentrate on something and then stop the remaining thoughts."

Kagome nodded, ready to try again. She tried out Jin's technique and succeeded for a grand total of five seconds. When her thoughts flooded back in, her determination faltered and every other attempt of hers failed miserably. Kagome grit her teeth and pouted, "Why is this so difficult?"

Jin smiled calmly again and said, "It takes time young one. Control your temper. Regain your posture and try again."

Kagome nodded and reset her posture. She wasn't going to leave the room until she was able to clear mind long enough to satisfy Jin. Kagome closed her eyes and imagined herself standing in a hallway. So far so good. She saw three thin strings of thought speeding toward her hallway at each side. 'Iie!' She dropped heavy, metal girders on either side of her mental hallway. The fronts of the stings flattened and tried to squeeze under the girders. Her eyebrows furrowed and she put her strength into melding the girders to the floor around her hallway. She mentally made the girders much taller and watched in satisfaction as the thoughts skittered around, trying to find a way in.

Jin noticed the calm fall over Kagome and grinned. 'She got it… much faster than me…' Jin opened her mouth, "Now that you've achieved clarity of mind, make sure that it is secure and open your eyes."

Kagome made her hallway as secure as possible and slowly lifted her eyelids, ready to clamp them shut if her thoughts found a way in. Which, she was confident that they wouldn't.

"Good," Jin beamed at Kagome, "You're posture is perfect and you've learned how to clear your mind."

"What now?" Kagome asked, marvelling how clear her mind felt.

"Now, find you're centre. Locate the source of your chi, which is usually around your core."

Kagome closed her eyes and focussed. Her empty mind concentrated on the task at hand and guided her to her core, following a glowing pink ball.

"Open up your Orb of Chi and guide it through you to the tips of your fingers and toes."

Kagome did as she was told and looked for an opening in the Orb of Chi. Finding none, she mentally held it and allowed the chi to seep through the walls of the Orb. Siphoning out a controlled amount she retracted her mind a little and directed the chi throughout her body. She distributed it evenly to every square millimetre of her body. Kagome opened her eyes and smiled, her body feeling refreshed.

Jin saw Kagome's serene smile and saw her flesh begin to glow slightly. 'Impressive… she got it on her first try.'

Kagome breathed in deeply and felt the oxygen travel throughout her body.

Jin grinned, "Good job."

Sesshomaru had been watching from a distance through the large open window and he was surprised that Kagome had gotten it. 'Jin's teaching methods are great, but I'm sure no one's ever gotten it this quickly. She's more powerful than I first anticipated.' The corner of his mouth turned up slightly.

It had been almost two hours since they'd started training and as he watched, Kagome got up and stretched. She then offered her hand to Jin who took it and let Kagome haul her up. The two left the room and Sesshomaru realized that he was actually a little proud of Kagome's achievement. 'Good for her.'

He was preparing to return to his castle when he heard faint buzzing. He followed the sound and found that it came from just outside his barrier. It was Naraku's Saimyosho. 'Hmm, spying? How much lower can this vile demon get?'

The Western Lord wasted no time in killing off the pitiful insects. "Feh, worthless," he muttered before turning and going back to the castle.

Sesshomaru felt a deep sense of unease. Something bad was coming. He could feel it in the very fibres of his being.

Jiya and Jinenji stood in front of their hut, waving goodbye to Inu Yasha and his friends. As soon as the team was out of sight, Jinenji turned and began working again.

Jiya watched her son work and wordlessly joined him. The morning sun beat down mercilessly on the pair. When noon came, Jiya returned to her hut. She brewed stew to eat and called Jinenji in.

"Did you feel it?" Jinenji asked.

Jiya knew exactly what he was referring to, "Hai, I did and I don't like it."

"There's nothing we can do about it now."

"Eventually the time will come and the group will learn the truth about those three priestesses. I think the houshi looked slightly suspicious. He will keep an eye on her; even so, something will happen soon. If Kagome really is dead, Kayo may have a chance, otherwise…"

They'd stopped to eat minutes ago in a small clearing. With the women working on making a fire, Inu Yasha stood and announced that he and Miroku would gather food to eat.

Miroku had been looking forward to resting, but when he heard Inu Yasha's tone of voice he followed wordlessly. Kirara had jumped up and followed, eager to go with her fellow demon. As soon as the two were out of earshot, Miroku spoke up, "What's wrong Inu Yasha?"

Inu Yasha didn't look at Miroku. He continued walking, but his manner seemed to be a little brisk, as if he were troubled.

Miroku patiently followed Inu Yasha, awaiting an answer.

Inu Yasha stopped and spun around to face Miroku, he had a determined expression on his face. "Kagome's not dead."

"Nani?"

"I can feel it. I don't know how, but I just know that she's not dead. She's still out there."

"But Inu Yasha—"

"Iie Miroku, I know what you're going to say. That this is stupid. But you know that feeling, the one inside you that tells you that the one you love is still there?"

"…"

"Well, it's telling me that Kagome is not dead. She may be with Sesshomaru, but he hasn't killed her."

"Inu Yasha…"

"I'm not delusional! Think about it. A little, human girl travels with Sesshomaru. Whether he likes her or not doesn't matter. The point is that this girl is human and Sesshomaru doesn't object to her presence. I don't think that he killed Kagome. My brother is not that heartless."

Although Miroku was confused at Inu Yasha's passionate outburst and his sudden trust in Sesshomaru he couldn't deny that he was familiar with the feeling that Inu Yasha was referring to. The one inside that told Miroku that Sango was safe. Miroku began to nod in understanding.

"We have to get her back. I'm pretty sure I know where Sesshomaru's castle is. We're going to get Kagome back."

Miroku smiled, "Listen Inu Yasha, there's something strange going on here. If Kayo really is Kagome's reincarnation, then how is she the same age as Kagome? How is it possible that they are alive in the same time period? If Kayo really is Kagome's reincarnation, then shouldn't she have been a newborn when Kagome supposedly died?"

Miroku could see Inu Yasha process this information. "You're right…" he said.

"We must find out what's going on."

"But who would know this kind of stuff?"

"I've heard of a highly revered priest. His name is Hao. It is said that time and distance is no barrier for him. He can see into the past, the future and even halfway across the earth. He knows all and he will be able to sort this out for us. It's not far from here. I just need to stop there for a few hours to find out what's going on. I'll catch up to you later. Just wait for me in a nearby village."

"So this Hao person will be able to tell us what's going on with Kayo?"

"Hai."

"Well then, let's get going."

Kirara mewed and that reminded Miroku of the whole point of coming out here. "Wait Inu Yasha, the food. We need to feed everyone first."

"Oh yeah."

The two males continued walking through the forest, looking for anything edible.

When Inu Yasha and Miroku had left, Sango had immediately turned and began grilling Kayo. By now, they'd digressed quite a bit from their initial topic. Initially, they'd been talking about how Inu Yasha was doing and explaining who Kagome was. Now, they were laughing and joking about Miroku's perverse habits.

"Sooner or later, he's going to ask you to bear his child," Sango said, cracking up. She was a little unsettled at his suggestive nature, but she knew that she could trust Kayo.

Giggling, Kayo said, "That'd be a nice change from 'Marry me or I'll kill you.'"

Sango grinned, "Oh, the number of times I've been threatened like that by some good-for-nothing thug." Sango straightened her back and flexed her biceps. She pulled on a deep voice and said, "Hey little lady, marry me or else." She cracked up and giggled with Kayo.

"Yup, that's about right," Kayo chuckled; she was laughing so hard that tears were beginning to moisten her eyes.

Right then, six rather large men entered the clearing, surrounding the vulnerable females.

The girls' laughter died down and they stood, back-to-back, facing the men.

Sango recognized them immediately. It was the men from the forest the day the village had been attacked. Sango searched frantically for Hiraikotsu and was dismayed when she spotted it leaning against a tree behind one of the goons. In her mind, she tried to work out ways that she could retrieve it without getting either her or Kayo hurt. She didn't notice Kayo's hand fly to her head and her pained expression.

"Not so funny now is it?" a man snarled. He was the biggest and clearly the leader of the brutes.

Sango scowled, "What do you want?"

"Is it not obvious enough? We want you!" the man raised his weapon and took a threatening step forward. "Either we do this the easy way and we might spare you or you can fight and be killed."

Somehow, the irony of it all tickled Sango and she chortled a little. That was mistake, the men growled and got angrier.

"Make your choice. Will you come quietly or do we have to make you come?"

Sango grimaced when she remember that Kirara had gone with Miroku and Inu Yasha. There was no way that she could get around them all and retrieve Hiraikotsu, 'Miroku! Now would be a good time for you to come back!'

A/N) So I took out the random wanderings of Kagome that used to be in this chapter and I added a little SessKag spice ;)