Kagome was bathing, her head was lying back against a rock with her eyes closed. It was her favorite time of the day, it was the only time of the day that she could relax and she was sure to make the most out of the time she had. She could feel Sesshomaru close, with the training they were doing every morning she was getting better at using her reiki to feel out yokai. At first, she wasn't too fond of the idea of Sesshomaru staying so close while she was bathing but he insisted on it to make sure that no one else would be able to get close to attack or to look at something that was not theirs to appreciate. She trusted that Sesshomaru was honorable enough not to try to sneak a peak, so now it was almost comforting for her to be able to feel him so close.

Sesshomaru was sitting in a tree with his left leg flat against the branch and his right arched so he could rest his arm on it. It was getting harder and harder for him to ignore the pull to the one he was meant to bind his soul to, Especially because she was undressed right below him and he could scent her arousal every time he inhaled. He was working on another round of meditation to try to ignore his urges when he heard her scream. He was surprised because he knew there was no way a demon could have made it to her without him knowing. He jumped down and she screamed louder. Now he was just confused but worked hard not to show it. He turned his back to her so he didn't upset her more.

"What is wrong, miko?"

"A monkey stole my clothes!" She screeched indignantly.

He had to stop himself from turning around just to quirk his eyebrow at her. Instead, he took off his outer later and handed it to her without looking. She grabbed it and quickly put it on. Once he decided he'd given her enough time he turned around and couldn't help but to look her over appreciatively. He enjoyed seeing her in his clothes, much more than when he had to see her in the whelps.

She felt a blush come over her cheeks when she saw the look he was giving her. It was clear as day, the look of a man who was attracted, to her no less. She cleared her throat and then remembered about her clothes. She pointed to where the money ran off too. "That way, that's where the monkey went, we have to catch it!"

He scooped her up, she was getting used to just being picked up and brought places without her permission at this point, it was kind of rude though. She had to admit, they made it to the person who was holding her clothes a lot faster than if she would have walked herself. He was talking to the monkey, which she thought was strange but didn't question it, people from the past were weird.

"Hey, give me my clothes back!"

The man held his sword out at them, "Who are you, you look suspicious!"

Sesshomaru easily used a hit poison whip to rip the sword out of his hand. The man just stared at his hand for a few seconds as if he couldn't believe he was so easily disarmed. He had no choice but to get passed it when Sesshomaru walked up to him and ripped her clothes out of his hand.

The man was terrified at the look the scary yokai was giving him, he had a feeling he was about to die.

Kagome noticed the look in Sesshomaru's eyes and decided to de-escalate the situation. She walked inbetween the two. "Thanks, Sesshomaru, I'm going to get dressed, can you keep watch?"

He stared at the man for a few more seconds, if his miko wasn't there, he'd be dead already. Then again, he admitted to himself, if it wasn't for Kagome this man would have never crossed his path. "Hn."

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and went to get dressed. By the time she came back, Inuyasha had found them and Kagome decided it was time to take a break and eat. So she sat down, opened her backpack, and started digging through it for food.

"Woah, wench, what are you doing? We've been sitting for an hour already while you took a bath. It's time to go, you have jewel shards to find!"

The humans didn't hear Sesshomaru's warning growl but he knew Inuyasha did when his ears flattened against his head, he let out a 'keh' and jumped into the nearest tree. Kagome turned around to yell at Inuyasha for rushing her but when she turned around, he was gone so she just shrugged and went back to what she was doing. She heard that the man was looking for food and since neither Inuyasha nor Sesshomaru would eat the food she packed, she offered him some. She'd never seen anyone eat chips so fast, she knew they were yummy but wow.

"You must have really been hungry, would you like some tea?"

"Yes, thank you."

She made tea for him and Sesshomaru because that seemed to be the only human food he'd partake in. After he took his first sip he stood up and bowed at Kagome. "I thank you, woman, for these chips potato, and tea, it was very good."

"My name is Kagome, this is Sesshomaru, and he's Inuyasha," she said, pointing up to the tree.

"My lord, my lord! You left your humble servant again but I've found you!"

"Oh yeah, that's Jaken, and that's the bestest dragon, Ah-Un." She looked at the man and he was making a face that clearly said 'Who are these strange people?' So she continued talking. "You said before that you were separate from your allies, tell me, are you a nobleman?"

He turned away from Kagome and took a few steps away. "I'm not at liberty to reveal my family but my name is Nobunaga."

Kagome became really excited. "Nobunaga like the Nobunaga? Let me shake your hand!" She ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and started shaking it wildly. Sesshomaru felt his eyebrow twitch again, he did not appreciate her touching another male. "I'm so glad to meet you, can I have your autograph?" She pulled a pen and paper out of seemingly nowhere and held it out to him with her head down.

Sesshomaru was growling again, this time at a tone loud enough for everyone to hear though Kagome was too caught up being star-struck to notice but Nobunaga sure did. He started shaking seeing his death in the eyes of the demon who was clearly mad at him though he didn't know why. "Uh, s-sure."

"Right here if you'd be so kind, your full name of course!" Kagome said, Nobunaga's hand was clearly shaking when he took the pen and signed his name. It was messy because he kept cutting his eyes to the growling demon lord but it was still legible.

Inuyasha was enjoying his brother's annoyance and clear jealousy but he also wasn't fond of the fact that Kagome was falling over herself to be close to this guy so he jumped down from the tree. "What's got you so excited?"

"That's Oda Nobunaga! Hello, didn't you study history?" She realized after she said it that she still hadn't told Inuyasha where she was from but oh well, she'd deal with that later.

She hadn't realized that Sesshomaru had gotten up and walked over to her. "That is not who this is, miko."

"Huh?" She looked at the paper to realize Sesshomaru was right. "Amari Nobunaga? But I thought you were Oda Nobunaga."

"I belong to the Takaeda clan in the land of Kai, please do not confuse me with him."

"So you do know him?"

"Yeah, and he's a big idiot!"

"If you weren't Oda Nobunaga then you should have said so. And here I thought you were living history."

He was clearly offended, and he cleared his throat. "I trust you'll excuse me, I have an important mission that demands my immediate attention." Nobunaga, with his monkey sitting on his shoulder, walked away.

"Uh, I wouldn't go that way if I were y…" Inuyasha trailed off when Amari fell into the ditch that Inuyasha was trying to warm him off of.

Kagome wanted to follow him while Inuyasha was very much against the idea, as always, his sole focus was getting more of the jewel shards. Sesshomaru held no interest in helping the human but he also understood that they were already wandering around aimlessly until Kagome felt one of her shards, so it didn't really matter which way they went. He also knew he'd rather Kagome be happy than upset. So he agreed with her and Inuyasha rolled his eyes in annoyance.

It wasn't like that response from Sesshomaru surprised him at this point. When Inuyasha first started to travel with him he was shocked every time Sesshomaru agreed with the miko or slowed down so that she could take care of her human body. Slowly it became obvious to him that Sesshomaru cared about Kagome and Inuyasha didn't really know how he felt about that. He'd been told his whole life that Sesshomaru despised him and his mother because of her human blood, even when their father died and they needed a place to stay, Sesshomaru was fine with leaving a woman and a baby, his half-brother, in the wilderness and penniless. But now he's changed so much that he's fallen for a human?

That's not even taking into account that she is Kikyo's reincarnation. Inuyasha couldn't help but feel a little angry about that. If anything, Kagome should be his, her soul is the same soul that was housed in the only woman he ever loved, Shouldn't Kagome feel some of that love too? Why is she so interested in his brother? Because it's clear that Sesshomaru wasn't the only one to have some sort of feelings for the other. No, although Kagome is trying to hide it still, she obviously cares for Sesshomaru. And the only reason she hasn't caught onto the fact that Sesshomaru wants her is because she's human. If she were inu she'd know that pretty much everything he was doing was only things he'd do for a mate.

So honestly, Inuyasha was just a big ball of confusion at this point, and he didn't know what to do. If he was being honest with himself, he might admit that he was a little jealous of Kagome, why was she worthy of all his brother's attention when he wasn't? He was also jealous of his brother because even though his brain knew she wasn't Kikyo, it didn't always feel like his heart did and that made it hard seeing her give her attention to anyone else, especially Sesshomaru. Inuyasha shook his head, he didn't like thinking about things like this. He realized he must have been lost in his thoughts for a long time because for some reason, they were staring up at a mansion and he didn't know why they were yet again wasting time. Well, at least this is time they'd be wasting in luxury.

"There's a shard up there!" Kagome yells. Sesshomaru felt that there was a demon in there, he inhaled and couldn't scent what type it was.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go already!" Inuyasha complained.

Sesshomaru scooped Kagome up and jumped over the wall that was keeping them from the mansion, Inuyasha was about to do the same when he felt someone climb onto his back. "Hey, what are you doing? Get off of me!"

"Sorry, no. I have business up there."

"Whaddya mean no? That's my back you're hanging off of!"

"I will not get off, I have a duty to a woman, now go!" He nudged his feet against Inuyasha as if he was riding a horse. Inuyasha growled but jumped over the wall anyway.

"Wow, these are terrible security, they're all asleep."

"They are not naturally sleeping, miko, it's hypnotic." Sesshomaru announsed.

Kagome opened her mouth to say something but Nobunaga started running around calling out for a princess. While Inuyasha was thinking, Amari explained that the princess had been his friend since childhood and he heard that she needed saving so that was exactly what he was going to do. It was clear as day to Kagome that he was in love with her. It took a while and by the time they actually found the princess the demons were so annoyed at the screams of the human that they were close to putting him to sleep himself, whether that be by knocking him out, or in Seshomaru's case, his plans were more permanent.

The princess told them the story of what happened to her husband, he used to be so nice and treat her wonderfully but one day he fell into a pond and came out a different person. Ever since that day, he had been mean and angry. That was when he started calling girls from the village to come to the mansion but then the girls were never to be seen again.

Just as she was finishing her story Sesshomaru heard footsteps coming their way. He stood up and everyone in the room looked at him questioningly but he didn't say anything. A few seconds later Inuyasha stood too. "He's coming this way, are you coming, Kagome?"

She stood up too and nodded. They went out into the hall just in time to see the lord turn the corner. He had a walking stick and his face was covered in bandages. "I thought I heard something."

Sesshomaru didn't bother saying anything, instead, he attacked. He had to dodge the demon's tongue which was long and slimy. He slashed at the demon but he was fast and managed to move mostly out of the way, Sesshomaru was able to cut the bandages off his face though.

"Eww!" Kagome said when she saw his face, he was a frog. She giggled when she imagined Jaken squawking at the insult to his kind but he stayed at the camp along with Ah-un.

Inuyasha jumped into the fight and with the two brothers it was clear the fight was going to be over soon because the frog was outmatched. Unknown to the brothers, he had an attack to use in such a situation, he opened his mouth and some type of poison mist came out that made it hard to breathe and see. Kagome started to cough and fell to her knees so Sesshomaru went over to her and wrapped her in his obi to try to keep it away from her. Being an inu with a strong poison himself, he was immune.

Eventually, the mist dissipated but the frog had taken the time they were distracted to take the princess and run. They chased after him and were surprised to see him in a room with a lot of big clear eggs. Inside the eggs were the women that went missing and now the princess was in one too. He was rubbing the egg in a way that Kagome found creepy and maybe a little perverted. "You're too late!"

"What is this? Kagme couldn't help but ask.

"These are my toad sacks, keeping the women safe until their souls ripen."

'What are you going to do with them once they are?"

"Why, eat them, of course!"

"Not on my watch!" Nobunaga screamed as he ran at the demon with his sword. Inuyasha pushed him out of the way when he saw that the frog was preparing to use his poison mist again and got the brunt of the mist in his face.

Sesshomaru wanted to sigh at the two but instead used his whip to capture the frog. "Where is the shard, Kagome?"

"In his shoulder."

"Hn." Sesshomaru pulled him close with his whip and then dug his claws into his shoulder and ripped the jewel shard out. It was no trouble after that to kill the frog. He did it as bloodlessly as possible, by breaking his neck because his miko was already making grossed out faces just seeing him take the shard out. Though she'd have to get used to life here in the past and its bloody ways, he could be magnanimous and let her acclimate slowly.

Once they had the shard Inuyasha was ready to leave and Sesshomaru was apt to agree with him. Kagome wanted to make sure the princess and all the other women were safe and returned to where they were supposed to be though, and she made sure they stayed long enough to comfort Nobunaga when it turned out that the prince was still alive and so the princess was not a widow. Once all that was done, they finally were traveling again after a stop by the camp to pick up Jaken and Ah-un

Now, a few days later, Sesshomaru was waking Kagome up for another one of their early morning training sessions. Though it was hard work, it was becoming one of her favorite parts of her day because it just felt too right to be this close to Sesshomaru. She enjoyed having his full attention on her and she enjoyed even more when he'd touch her to adjust her pose. Sometimes he'd touch her just to touch her too, or like right now to wake her up, those were her favorite touches because for someone who looks so hard and intimidating, he can be so soft and caring to her.

"It is time to wake, miko." He said and he gently rubbed her shoulder then moved his hand to her cheek and rubbed there. She smiled and leaned into his hand.

"Five more minutes." She said with a yawn.

"No, it is time to rise, we have a lot to take care of this morning." That seemed strange to her, sure they got a lot of training done and he made her work hard but he never put it like that before.

Sesshomaru for his part had come to a decision. His beast had almost taken control of him three times in the last few days to try to claim Kagome. He couldn't allow that, not only because he had come to the decision to take it slow and to make sure they were compatible, but also because she had no idea about what they were to each other. He needed to tell her and give her time to come to her own conclusion.

Kagome quickly got up, dressed, and ready to go then followed him as they walked further than they normally did for training. It gave her another reason to think something different was happening today. Sesshomaru stopped and turned to her. "Sit, Kagome."

She shivered, hearing her name come out of his mouth still affected her the same way it did the first time she heard it. At least she didn't blush this time knowing that Sesshomaru knew exactly how he affected her. She sat down in lotus position thinking they were about to meditate as they always did at the beginning of their lesson, so she was confused when he sat down in his normal position with one arm resting on his leg. She was getting better at learning to read him and she knew that he liked to think things out before talking so she waited patiently, well, as patiently as she could anyway. She wasn't known for her patients, in fact, in her own time she was more known for her hot temper and impatient but hey, she was trying. After about a minute she started jiggling her foot and just as she was about to ask what all this was about, he spoke.

"There are reasons I must speak to you, things I do not know how you will feel about."

"What things?"

He let out an inaudible sound. "Have you ever heard of a soul bond?"

She thought for a few seconds before replying. "No, I don't think so, what is it?" She knew whatever it was, was important.

"For many beings, it is nothing more than a story that parents tell their pups at bedtime. For a long time, I was part of that group."

"But you know different now?"

"Hn."

"Well, what is it?" Some of Kagome's annoyance was slipping through. She enjoyed just speaking to Sesshomaru and would talk to him about anything but she could tell this was important to him and if she didn't know any better, she'd think he was putting off whatever he wanted to tell her but that wasn't something she could see Sesshomaru doing.

He heard her annoyance and quirked a brow at her. He was surprised when somehow she gave him a sheepish but completely unapologetic look. He didn't know such a look existed but Kagome proved him wrong. And every second he continued to look at her the sheepishness disappeared from her look and was slowly becoming only annoyance. He let the silence last longer than he planned because he enjoyed her fire but before she had the chance to explode, he continued.

"I know you must feel it, the pull." The annoyance was gone and all that was left was her becoming blush.

"The pull?" She thought she knew what he was talking about but she wouldn't dare say it and then be wrong and embarrass herself, so she was going to make him spell it out for her.

"Yes, miko. The pull that you feel to me."

"So you think that this 'pull' you're talking about is a soul bond? I'm still not sure what it means."

Sesshomaru wanted to sigh again, he was not a fan of speaking at length, especially of such things but it seemed he had no choice. "Have you ever heard of the red string of fate?" At her nod, he continued. "The red string connects us, a soul bond is a bond between two people, between souls. The two soul-bound people are connected to each other. They're each other's other half."

"The humans have a term for that, they're called soul mates but it's more of just a term people use when they think they've found the love of their life. And you're saying that we're that for each other?"

"The pull will grow until it's almost impossible to ignore, I assume it's already grown stronger for you."

"So what, we have no choice in the matter? It's just decided? I have to be with you no matter what?" Kagome said angrily.

Sesshomaru was getting a little angry too, he did not like how she was speaking, it sounded as if she would not choose to be with him if she had the choice. "No."

That cooled her jets a little. "Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that the pull you're feeling is our souls calling for each other, calling for their other half. The equal and opposite of each other. We can try to ignore it, or you can go home and we'll be far enough away from each other that the pull won't be bothersome but why fight it? If we were to mate there would be peace and… happiness that no one else will be able to give us. Though we do not know each other so well, from what I know about you I enjoy and respect you. I also care about you." It sounded as if that was painful for him to admit.

Kagome stayed quiet for a while as she really thought over what he was saying. She could see where he was coming from, how many people actually knew that they were marrying their soul mate? And though the word 'soul mate' or she guessed 'soul bound' usually meant 'the love of your life', she didn't know if Sesshomaru was that for her. Yes, she definitely had a crush on him, found him attractive, and cared about him but she didn't think she loved him. She was only 17 and had never been in love before but she was mature enough to know that you had to really know someone to love them, and though she liked what she knew about Sesshomaru enough to call him a dear friend, she didn't know him enough to love him. At least, she didn't think so. She also knew that in the time she was currently in, love wasn't a must when it came to marriage, heck, even in her time arranged marriages were still a thing even though they weren't as common. For her though, she needed love in order to commit herself so completely to someone.

"I can't marry you, Sesshomaru… or mate? Is that what you called it?"

She saw him stiffen and the openness she saw behind his eyes that she didn't even consciously realize was growing closed down. She felt like she might as well have been looking at a brick wall with how closed off he'd just become.

"Hn. This one will bring you back to camp then." He said as he started to stand up.

"Wait, Sesshomaru, no!" She threw herself at him, hoping to grab his arm to stop him from moving. She did not account for him moving while standing though because as she threw herself forward he leaned back and she ended up laying over his lap.

He stiffened even more if that was possible. "Miko, remove yourself from this Sesshomaru's person. There is nothing more to speak about."

She didn't she had a feeling if she did, he'd be gone before she could speak. It seemed he didn't take rejection well, even though she didn't want to reject him at all. "You misunderstand, Sesshomaru! I care about you too, and I would like to get to know you better, I just can't mate you, not yet anyway. I guess we already know that we're compatible and will be happy together, because of the bond but I need more than that, I need love."

Sesshomaru's stiff posture slowly loosened as she was speaking but he stiffened right back up as she spoke her last word. He did not know of love, not of the romantic kind, anyway. He loved his father and mother though they only seemed to look at him as their heir, they gave him the best tutors that money could afford and brought in the best swordsmen for trainers but there was never any love from them. There was fondness, and pride when he accomplished what they needed from him but that's all. He did not know if he'd ever be able to give that to her. She already had his respect, protection, and even affection, shouldn't that be enough? He put that thought to the side to think about later, he was getting what he wanted, after all.

"Hn, this one wants the same, a courtship if you will."

"Like dating? You'd be my boyfriend?" She asked excitedly. "I've never had one of those before!"

"This one is not a boy, miko."

She giggled, "It's just a term where I come from. It's a step in the courting process. First, you meet someone and get to know them, if you like them you ask them on a date. If the date goes well and you want to be together, you start dating, that's when you'd either have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Then after a while comes engagement and finally marriage."

Sesshomaru thought that was a lot of steps for something so simple. What he gathered from her words, with yokai there is just the engagement than marriage, or courtship than mating. Then again, yokai know a lot more just from the scent, yoki, and instincts, they do not need as much time to commit to another. "Hn, then that is what we shall do."

He adjusted her on his lap so now she was sitting and cupped her face with his hand since now he was allowed and no longer had to fight the impulse. Slowly, so she could turn away if she wanted, he leaned in to kiss her. Once she realized what he was doing, she had a moment of panic because this was her first kiss but then she became excited so she closed her eyes. The kiss was soft, tentative. Though Sesshomaru was not inexperienced, he had never spent much time kissing, he had never seen the appeal before Kagome. Now though, he wanted to be close to her in any way possible. He did not push to deepen the kiss or for anything else, he knew she was new to these things, and he could smell the innocence on her. So he would take his time when it came to pleasure. Even though with yokai, as soon as one entered courtship they'd rutt to make sure they were capable that way, he had a feeling humans weren't the same.

When he pulled away she kept her eyes closed for a few extra seconds before opening them again and when she did, she just stared up at him with her big eyes surprised. He held her like that for a while and Kagome was happy to be in his arms but eventually, they had to get back to camp. Sesshomaru could hear that Inuyasha was getting impatient and wanted to leave. So Sesshomaru stood.

"Let us get back to camp, the pack is getting worried."

"Oh yeah, okay. But we didn't actually train."

"We can continue training tomorrow, Kagome."

He picked her up so that Sesshomaru could fly them back to camp but somehow, Kagome felt like his hold on her was different, more personal, intimate even. She leaned in and enjoyed it. By the time she made it back to camp, she was ready to start their travels.