The clearing was empty when they reached it. Immediately letting go of Seshomaru, Kagome ventured forward, hesitantly, "Inuyasha?"

No response.

She tried again but the silence was deafening.

She turned around to face Seshomaru whose face betrayed nothing. "Seshou?"

"He is not hurt. Do not worry."

She remained silent, and then sighed, "So we wait for him?"

Seshomaru raised a brow, "We do?"

Kagome's gaze hardened and she scowled at him, "Yes, we do."

Not wanting to displease her when he had just gotten her back, he growled inwardly and walked over to her. Kagome's eyes grew wider as he neared till he was practically towering over her.

In a flash, she was in his arms, her back to his chest. The silver haired inuyoukai lowered his head to skim his nose along her nape. His voice was low and husky, "I never thought I would see you again, Kagome."

It was just a simple statement, but it brought tears to Kagome's eyes. She held onto his forearms and allowed the hot tears to spill over her cheeks. There was a part of her which was happy to be reunited and at the same time it was wild with grief.

"Do not cry."

Kagome smiled sadly, "I can't seem to help it. I remember bits and pieces, and it hurts." She turned in his arms and as he steadied her, she ran a hand over his markings. Her voice was soft, her beautiful gaze, tearful, "I left you as a child. You were so small, and now you're so big. You're a man now."

Her eyes were dazed and wondering, as she traced his face with her finger tips, no inhibitions. Seshomaru kept his gaze locked on hers, silent. The child in him, the part of him that had given up on hope, was rearing it's head. It was scared, and yet for the first time in such a long time, he felt alive.

"This one is no longer the same."

Kagome studied his face, "You have, haven't you?"

He was silent.

Her tone was hesitant as she ventured, "Were – were you mad at me?" At his blank look, she continued, "When I left, I mean. Did you blame me?"

"Why would this Seshoumaru blame you?"

Kagome blushed under his stare, "I just assumed."

"You are wrong. My parents were at fault."

A pair of golden eyes laughed at her, and she was placed on a pair of broad shoulders.

"Do you want to fly, Kagome?"

A squeal and she buried her hands in silver locks, as she laughed, delighted, "Inupapa! Up! Up!"

The laughter that followed was low and rich.

"They're dead, aren't they?"

Kagome's voice was low as she stared intently at his haroi, not wanting Seshoumaru to see the pain in her gaze. She hadn't just lost Seshomaru that day, she had also lost her family.

"Father died while protecting his human mistress. Mother…is still alive."

"Human mistress?"

Seshomaru's eyes remained indifferent, "He was unfaithful."

Kagome's eyes widened in realization, "And Inuyasha is –"

"Their son. A half breed."

He said the words with such contempt that Kagome immediately smacked him in the chest. Startled he stared at her and she glared back, "Don't be rude, Seshomaru."

Unknowingly, a scowl settled on his face, "He is a half breed."

This time, she kicked him in the shins.

In a flash, he had her pinned to the nearest tree, growling at her.

To his surprise, she growled back.

"You will be respectful to this Seshomaru!"

Irritated and mad, Kagome ceased growling, and craned her neck to see something behind him, "Which Seshomaru?"

He snapped his teeth at her and to his surprise, she leaned forward and bit his nose.

Hard.

He immediately pulled back from her and scowled.

Kagome just dusted the imaginary dust from her clothing and smiled serenely at him, "Don't bark me. I don't understand 'dog'."

It was then that Sesomaru noticed her clothing, properly and his eyebrows disappeared into his hairline, "Why are you dressed as a …?"

He found himself unable to form the word.

"Dressed as a what? This is my school uniform."

"Higurashi forces you to wear such provocative clothing?"

Kagome gave him a blank look, "Forces..what?" She shook her head, "No!" Her face turned red, "You pervert! This is the uniform for my school!"

With that she stalked over to the still burning fire and sat down in front of it, back facing him.

Seshomaru just stared at her back, completely taken aback. How had he managed to make her angry so quickly?

Not knowing what to do, he settled down across her, confused and utterly bewildered.

She was ignoring him.

And Seshomaru hated being ignored.

Especially by her.

His stare was so intense that it could have bored holes in the back of her head. However, she seemed completely unaffected by it and just stared into the fire as if it contained the secrets to mankind.

He bit back a growl, not wanting to aggravate the situation. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to recall what part of their interaction could have made her angry.

He had been perfectly reasonable when he had demanded that she show him respect. After all, he was a daiyoukai in his own right. And they were no longer children. And…his beast grumbled within. His excuses were as weak as water. So, perhaps, he should have… He didn't know why he was reacting this way.

However, his comments about her clothing had been perfectly natural. She was dressed like a common whore. It was disturbing and he refused to allow anyone to see her in such a state. Whatever this 'uniform' was, it was too revealing. His eyes widened fractionally. Was Higurashi forcing Kagome to..? He immediately took in her scent and was relieved when he found that she was untainted and pure.

No one would see his Kagome in this vulgar attire! As soon as they Inuyasha returned, he would take her to a village and purchase a proper kimono for her, made from the finest silk. As he felt satisfied with his decision, it occurred to him that Inuyasha had seen her in this clothing.

He snarled inwardly. He would rip out the half breed's eyes. Satisfied with the solution, he settled back down and focused his energies on getting back into Kagome's good graces.

An hour passed and with each passing moment, the inuyoukai was growing more and more agitated. Staring at her didn't work. Growling and snarling was just useless as she was intent on ignoring him. Finally, he settled with the blunt approach.

Kagome was minding her own business, coming up with creative names for her stubborn and incredibly rude inuyoukai when he suddenly towered over her.

"You will cease to ignore this one."

Kagome raised a brow, and then dragging herself, she turned her back on him.

Seshoumaru's eye twitched.

"Enough."

He once again stood before her.

She raised a brow at him and then to his utter astonishment, she put her hands over her eyes.

He stared at her, flabbergasted.

His eyes flashed red for a moment and his beast tried to claw its way to the surface, not happy to be ignored by its mate.

"Bitch."

Kagome froze at the word. Did Seshomaru just call her a - ?

Oh, he was going to get it now!

Removing her eyes, she came nose to nose with a red eyed, feral inuyoukai, who was extremely pissed off.

Her eyes widened.

A.N: A few of you have raised the issue that I take months to update and you guys have to reread the entire story again. I'm sorry for that. I really am, but the fact of the matter is that my university timings are from morning to evening. I come home at 7 in the evening, and I have to give time to my assignments, quizzes and my parents. My weekends are swamped as well, with my university crap.

Any time I get a day off, or extra holidays, I sit down and start to write.

So please, bear with me. I know my other stories are not updated as quickly as well, and you guys are getting impatient now. This humble writer can only beg for your forgiveness and ask for your patience.

KJ