Chapter 25 - Trust

White.

Everything was white.

It all blended together until things were indistinguishable.

This all happened after the piercing scream that had filled the air. He'd felt his guards failing and then this… whatever this was.

'So this is how I'm going to die eh? I didn't expect this…' A sudden urge to laugh consumed him; it was all just so ironic. He'd wanted to protect the human miko from the war and now it was because of her that he was being purified; because of her that he was dying.

Seeing Sesshomaru's surprised eyes lose focus, Kagome sprang into action. Running forward, she dodged Jin and tackled Sesshomaru to the ground. Landing in the hall, Kagome clamped her eyes shut in concentration and hugged the demon tightly, hoping her body would be enough to shield him from Jin's energy.

Unbeknownst to her, pure pink light emanated from the girl. It encased her and Sesshomaru and continued to spread over the training room doorway to protect the other demons in the castle.

Keeping her eyes tightly shut, Kagome hugged the Western Lord closer.

Jin felt a powerful energy rivalling her own and realized that it must be Kagome's. Shocked, she realized that something must be wrong. Jin hastily recalled all of her purification powers.

The glow around Jin faded; Kagome wasn't in front of her anymore. Confused, Jin looked around and noticed a bundle on the ground in the hallway.

The demoness frowned when she noticed the ripped seals on the ground. Jin stepped toward the door and was astonished to find that she couldn't go through; there was a barrier in place.

"Kagome! Kagome, it's over!" Jin called out.

Kagome heard someone calling her name and opened her eyes cautiously. Her mind had felt Jin's power receding and she recognized the safety that came along with that realization. Sitting up, Kagome looked back into the training room and saw Jin standing at the door. "Jin!"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but I'm not so sure about Sesshomaru," Kagome answered glancing down at the fallen lord.

"Take down this barrier and let me take a look at him."

"Barrier? What barrier?"

Jin was stunned; had this human just created a barrier this strong without realizing it? Just how powerful was she? "This one," Jin said demonstrating by pressing her hand against the barrier and letting Kagome see how the pads of her fingers flattened as if pressed against glass.

Kagome looked back at her blankly. She remembered learning this, but her mind pulled a blank.

Jin sighed, "Close your eyes, breathe and feel your surroundings with your mind. You should feel the energy of the barrier, pull it back into yourself."

Kagome nodded and followed her directions closely, she was right, Kagome could feel the faint hum of energy covering the doorway and trapping her teacher inside the large room. Breathing deeply, Kagome retracted the energy and felt it flowing back into her. Before opening her eyes, she did another mental scan to make sure that she hadn't left any behind; she hadn't.

She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Jin in front of her. Wordlessly, they females knelt down by the demon lord.

Sesshomaru's eyes were open but unblinking. His previously liquid gold eyes were empty and lacking their usual shine. Furrowing her brow, Kagome checked his pulse; it was faint, but there.

"Call Sora-san," Kagome ordered Jin, "I'll stay here and try to wake him up."

Jin sent Kagome an unreadable look before she nodded and took off to find the healer.

Kagome glanced down at Sesshomaru and gently stroked his frozen face. 'Please be alright… Please be alright…' Kagome felt a feeling of dread fill her gut. What if he was really gone? What would she do? What would anyone do? The Western Lands would fall for sure without Sesshomaru fighting. Kagome's eyes closed as she realized how much she needed him and what it would mean if he died. 'Stop! Stop thinking like that! He's going to pull through… he has to.'

Kagome's eyes snapped open when she heard Jin's voice.

"—and now he's just lying there. We didn't know what to do, so we thought maybe you'd know."

Kagome shifted to the side as Sora and Jin rushed to the scene.

"Lady Kagome," Sora nodded to her respectfully.

Too worried to do anything but nod at the healer, Kagome's gaze flew back to Sesshomaru.

Sora seated himself next to Kagome and lifted his hands above Sesshomaru's chest. Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, Sora's fingers became illuminated with a soft glow.

A sharp frown etched itself onto Sora's delicate features. He turned sharply to Kagome, "Someone attempted to purify him?" Sora asked with rising anger and disgust barely hidden behind a quickly failing calm façade. How dare someone try to harm the Western Lord?

Kagome was taken aback by the demon's sudden anger. Suddenly she was very aware that she was the only human present in the castle besides Rin. She gazed into Sora's narrowed eyes and said confidently, "It was an accident."

Sora struggled to contain his fury; it wouldn't be a good idea to snap at the miko, she was, after all, still Lord Sesshomaru's guest. He opened his mouth to say something when he was interrupted by a guilty voice.

"It wasn't her."

Sora whipped around and stared at Jin; all his anger replaced with shock. "Jin?"

"She's right. It was an accident. I was training Kagome and Sesshomaru-sama opened the door which destroyed the seals. Kagome saved his life."

Sora's eyes widened. He turned back to Kagome who was looking away. "Forgive me Lady Kagome. I was mistaken." Sora bowed his head and stayed like that until she acknowledged him.

"It's okay Sora-san. I forgive you. Just please… help Sesshomaru."

Sora nodded, not missing the lack of the proper honorific, so the rumours were true; there was something going on between the demon lord and his guest. Closing his eyes, Sora pressed his glowing fingers to his lord's chest and inhaled deeply.

A hand reached over and squeezed Kagome's. Looking up, Kagome saw Jin solemnly staring at Sesshomaru's unmoving body. Kagome caught a flash of desperation in her eyes before the demoness turned and smiled at her.

Kagome felt a fluctuation from the power flowing from Sora and when she looked back, Sesshomaru was sitting up with an unreadable expression on his face. Tears of happiness surged to Kagome's eyes, "You're oka—"

"Come to my office immediately. I'll be waiting."

Within a blink of an eye, Sesshomaru was gone.

Everyone was shocked.

Sora recovered first, "Excuse me ladies, I must tend to other patients," bowing, he turned the corner and left toward the infirmary. 'That was proof enough. Something is definitely going on between Sesshomaru-sama and Kagome-sama.'

Jin and Kagome finally snapped out of it and stood up slowly.

"You should go," Jin stated.

Kagome's cheeks acquired a pink tinge and looking into Jin's eyes, she smiled shakily and nodded. Turning, Kagome carefully made her way to Sesshomaru's office.

Standing outside his office door, Kagome lifted her hand to knock. Her heart was beating loudly in her ears. She hesitated, what if he blamed her?

Maybe she shouldn't go and pretend she hadn't heard him.

Too late.

The door swung open and she was pulled inside. The door closed and locked behind her.

The breath was knocked out of her as she was pushed up against the wall staring into the deep golden depths of Sesshomaru's eyes.

"I thought I told you that you couldn't fight," he growled.

Kagome diverted her gaze, "I know… and I'm sorry."

Sensing there was more, Sesshomaru didn't say anything.

"But I can't let everyone go off and fight while I sit here and do nothing but worry. This war is my fault so I'm not going to let you fight alone. I—"

A soft touch on her cheek stopped her words. Kagome stared; his eyes had softened and he looked amused.

Sesshomaru's fingers trailed into her hair and stopped there, looking down at the miko affectionately, he whispered, "I change my mind." He hadn't forgotten about the article, he just chose to trust her when she'd said that she wouldn't betray him.

Kagome's brown eyes widened, "Are… are you sure?"

The corner of Sesshomaru's lips went up a notch. He gazed at her fondly before the smile became forced and he said, "I still don't think you should… but… I trust you to stay alive."

Colour rose to Kagome's cheeks and she was overwhelmed with happiness. She was allowed to fight! A warm feeling filled her and without another thought, she wrapped her arms around Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru's mind was a jumble of thoughts flashing by so fast and he was too stunned to keep up; he felt as if he were lagging.

'She's hugging me.

I shouldn't be doing this.

A war is about to begin.

She's human.

I want to kiss her.

She's so soft.

Kagome…

What should I do?

I want to kiss her.

Naraku will be here soon.

She saved me.

I want to kiss her.

I was almost purified.

I want to kiss her.

I want to kiss her.'

This thought resonated within his head overpowering his restraint and his reason. Underlying this thought was confusion and conflict. She was a human and it would be wrong… but he wanted to kiss her. Making up his mind, he silenced all his conflicting thoughts.

'Just to see how it feels…'

Sesshomaru grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back a little. He looked deep into her warm brown eyes and drew her closer.

Her heart was beating at break-neck speed and Kagome's face was flushed. What was he doing? 'He's going to kiss me.' The thought sent butterflies whizzing through her to bang around erratically in her stomach. Despite this, Kagome stared into the beautiful golden orbs of the demon standing before her. Smiling softly, Kagome let her eyes drift shut. 'Sesshomaru…'

She felt something soft and smooth graze the skin of her lips and Kagome's heart went into hyper speed. She was sure that he could hear it. A warm feeling spread through her and she didn't know what overcame her, but she tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer; deepening the kiss. This was pure ecstasy; the feel of his built body against hers set her senses on fire. She thought; smelt; saw; felt; heard; and tasted only him.

What was meant as an experiment; a friendly kiss; turned into something more when he felt her fingers gripping his hair. Something inside him came alive and he wrapped his arms around her; deepening the kiss further. He made the heated kiss last as long as he possibly could before pulling away and looking her in the eyes. Breathing hard, he whispered huskily, "Don't make me regret this."

A/N) Ouu, kiss! Finally.

Review! :)