"Master."

Sesshomaru deeply inhaled more of Kagome's scent as they lay entwined in his bed. Kagome slept peacefully next to him, loosely gripping his arm that was wrapped around her. Although his eyes were open, his back was facing Jaken who was waiting just outside of his room.

"Mas-"

"Alright," Sesshomaru answered gruffly, sending Jaken back down the Lords wing and into the main part of the castle.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked sleepily without opening her eyes, burying her head into her pillow as she coughed.

Concerned, Sesshomaru rolled her toward him so she was pressed up against his bare chest while she laid on her back. He brushed the loose hair away from her face and studied her like he did every morning since she returned back to him.

"I'm fine," Kagome assured with a sleepy smile.

"You are still coughing," he noted while staring at the plethora of medicines Inuyasha had fetched from her world positioned next to the bed. The wheezing had stopped a few days prior which relieved him, but he was worried she was doing too much.

"Coughs linger," she shrugged.

Most mornings were spent watching the rise and fall of her chest as she lay safely within his reach, and this morning was no exception. With each passing day her health improved and her cuts and bruises slowly healed. More than anything he wished he could spend the rest of the morning like this, but he knew he had important matters to attend to; he had delayed it as long as he could. Stealing one last glance, he slowly closed the door behind him and headed towards the war room leaving her sleeping peacefully.

"Well look who finally decided to show up," Koga teased. "How nice of you to join us, Lord Sesshomaru."

Ignoring Koga, Sesshomaru greeted Lord Yuuma before taking his place at the head of the table. The men helped spread the large scroll that contained a detailed map of all the lands across the table, and once everything was in its place Sesshomaru cleared his throat. "I want to thank you both for once again traveling to the Western lands. You have my word that I will travel for our next meeting." Both men nodded. "Before I speak, I want to hear your thoughts on our next steps in regards to the Northern lands."

"Isn't it obvious?" Koga spoke up. "We need to eliminate this so called Lord Tengu."

"Do we, though?" Lord Yuuma pushed back.

"Why the hell wouldn't we have to? Did you hear what he put Kagome through? Did you hear how he tortured and killed his servant? His human servant?" Koga emphasized.

"How do we not know all of this was a misunderstanding?" Yuuma questioned.

"I am surprised that someone who advocates so strongly for peace is willing to excuse his actions as a misunderstanding." Sesshomaru answered with a hint of suspicion.

Yuuma knew he needed to be truthful. "Look," he said with a sigh, "Lord Tengu extended an invitation for me to meet with him, and I accepted." Sesshomaru and Koga exchanged a glance. "The Northern lands are in shambles, and he wants to rebuild and be an equal Lord here. He wants to bring prosperity back to the Northern lands and help its people."

Koga slammed his fist on the table. "Kagome came back on the brink of death!"

"Regrettably yes, but Lord Sesshomaru has her back now, does he not? Yuuma turned to Sesshomaru. "How was he supposed to know she was your current love interest?"

Sesshomaru clenched his jaw. "She told him."

"And he thought she was lying to escape," Yuuma reassured him. "Wouldn't you of thought the same thing?"

"I do not see what need I would have for a human prisoner that did not break any laws," Sesshomaru retorted.

Yuuma rubbed his hands over his face and groaned. "Lord Sesshomaru, we don't need to be difficult here. Lord Tengu seems like a nice guy who needs help restoring his lands. All four lands could be in unison for the first time in who knows how many years."

"Excuse me…." The men were so involved in their conversation they didn't notice someone standing in the doorway. "That's not what Lord Tengu wants."

Yuuma looked between the woman standing in the doorway and the men seated at the table. "Lady Kagome, I presume?"

Kagome nodded. "Lord Tengu is not what he seems. He can be really kind when he wants to, charming even, but he can also be pure evil," she warned. "He told me he plans to kill each and every one of you."

Yuuma laughed at the suggestion. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the infamous Lady Kagome," he glanced to Sesshomaru with annoyance written all over his face, "However I'm not sure how a mere human girl was able to breach security and enter the Lord's meeting."

"Please," Kagome pleaded, "you need to believe me."

"I'm sorry you had a bad experience with Lord Tengu, however I met with him and he seems like a fine Lord who has potential." Yuuma looked back to Sesshomaru and Koga. "I came here today to propose that we meet with him, on my lands if you wish, so we can get to know each other and see what-"

At the mere suggestion Kagome began to tremble and her lip quivered. "No!"

Yuuma huffed, "I do not appreciate-"

"If Kagome says this guy is bad news, then he's bad news," Koga interjected. "I trust her judgement more than anyone else's."

"Thanks Koga," Kagome smiled.

Quickly the meeting was getting out of control, and while Sesshomaru was displeased with Kagome interrupting, he was more concerned to see how stubborn Yuuma was being about Lord Tengu. "Kagome, Akasuki has a hot bath ready for you."

Kagome could tell by Sesshomaru's tone that he was trying to kindly dismiss her. "Yes, sorry," she said with a bow before Akasuki led her away.

"I apologize for the intrusion," Sesshomaru tried to get the meeting back on track. "Regardless, I do agree that you are wrong about Tengu."

"Lord Tengu," Yuuma corrected.

"Did he offer you payment? Did he promise you something?" Sesshomaru asked bluntly.

"Yeah, why the hell are you suddenly so buddy buddy with him?" Koga asked suspiciously. "WE are the ones in an alliance yet you're acting as if WE'RE the enemy."

Yuuma knew he should have consulted with the others before meeting with the Lord of the Northern lands, but he also knew the other Lords would disapprove and persuade him not to go. "He promised peace and prosperity among the lands, which is what I thought we all wanted."

"Yeah well he should have thought about that before kidnapping and almost killing Kagome," Koga crossed his arms.

"He did not kidnap her!" Yuuma's patience was wearing thin with this conversation. All this fuss and stubbornness over one human girl. "A demon brought her to him!"

Interesting, Tengu did not tell Yuuma that it was mother who hand delivered Kagome to him. Sesshomaru knew better than to offer up that information, especially now knowing there was a line of communication between Yuuma and Tengu. "I do not wish to meet him, nor invite him into our alliance that the East, West, and South have. If it would appease you, I am willing to leave him to his own devices and not attack or dismantle his Lordship."

Koga's mouth hung open. "What did you just say?"

Yuuma leaned back in his seat and clasped his hands over his stomach while he thought the offer over. He did not wish to break from the alliance, but he felt that it was ridiculous they weren't even willing to meet the new Lord. "Am I also expected to cease all communication with Lord Tengu?"

"Yes," Sesshomaru and Koga answered in unison, despite Koga not agreeing with Sesshomaru's proposed agreement.

"Is there any wiggle room here? Any sort of hope that we can all unite in the future?" Yuuma looked around the room hopefully.

"No," they both answered in unison again.

Yuuma sighed, and pushed back from the table. "Well, gentlemen," Yuuma rose to his feet. "It has been a pleasure. However, I am not going to let innocent people and lands suffer when there is a new promising Lord who agrees with my mission of peace. This does not mean we now are enemies, nor does it mean I plan to attack. I just simply want to communicate with who I wish and help who I can." Yuuma nodded before turning his back to Sesshomaru and Koga who were still sitting at the table.

"You are a naive fool, Lord Yuuma," Sesshomaru stated simply.

Yuuma chuckled. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. When you both are ready to discuss uniting all four lands, we are ready to make that a wonderful reality."

The room was silent for a few minutes as they both processed what this meant moving forward for their lands. "Is he serious?" Koga blurted out. "He dismantled an alliance for that guy? Who the hell is he anyway? Where did he come from?"

Kagome's description of Tengu's navy blue crescent moon lingered on Sesshomaru's mind while Koga continued to rant about Lord Yuuma in the background. She was sure Tengu claimed they were once a part of the same clan, but Sesshomaru had never heard of such a thing. The fact that Tengu was also an Inu Daiyokai was not lost on him.

"Hello? Are you listening?" Koga asked impatiently. "Do we know what demon brought Kagome to Tengu?"

Sesshomaru stared at the wolf demon pacing before him. Despite being a Lord for several years now, he still had his independent tendencies where he wanted to safe guard information. "Yes," he responded, knowing that answer wouldn't suffice.

"Well?" Koga threw his arms up in the air.

"Mother."

"L-Lady Inukimi?!" Koga asked in disbelief and absentmindedly sat back in his seat. "Why the hell would she do that?"

Sesshomaru stayed silent.

Koga took Sesshomaru's silence as confirmation that he didn't know. "Great, just great," he huffed. "I know you like to do things yourself," he began while leaning forward on the table, "but we need to work together. Really work together. We have weird shit going on up North, the South is going rouge, and somehow Lady Inukimi is involved."

The suggestion that Sesshomaru couldn't handle this himself irked him, but he knew making an enemy over his ego was not wise. "You can stay here or go back to your lands, whatever you prefer."

Koga watched as Sesshomaru exited the room and left him sitting there. "What a stubborn dog," he mumbled under his breath.

The warm humid air was filled with Kagome's scent as Sesshomaru opened the doors to the bathing quarters and took a deep but quiet breath in. He could hear her soaking close to the waterfall, with no doubt in his mind that Akasuki picked the loudest area in the room to allow them privacy from listening ears. After his less than productive meeting, he was appreciative of her thoughtfulness. After folding his robes and wrapping a thin white towel around his waist, he walked over and stood at the edge of the pond. "May I?" he asked, staring at Kagome as she floated in the water looking like a goddess.

Startled, Kagome gasped and covered herself while getting ready to reprimand whoever was trying to see her nude body. Once she saw it was Sesshomaru looking down at her, she was relieved and splashed some water in his direction while laughing, "You shouldn't scare me like that!" Sesshomaru said nothing in return as he dropped his towel, causing Kagome to blush and pretend she wasn't staring. The purple markings that adorned his face also accentuated his muscular torso.

"You should be more aware of your surroundings," he said while reaching his long arms out along the edge of the pond and stretched out. His eyes closed as his head slowly lowered against the grassy floor behind him.

Kagome admired the sight before her; his long white silky hair flowed around him in the water while the veins in his defined muscular arms bulged. The misty air gave his tired skin a dewey appearance despite the obvious stress he was carrying. "I don't have to," she said confidently.

"Hn?" Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow and slowly met her gaze. "And why is that?"

Kagome shrugged, "I'm safe here."

"You should never get too comfortable that you comprise safety," he warned.

"I don't think anyone would be dumb enough to take me from you again," she said with a smile.

Sesshomaru watched as Kagome swam around the steamy water, close enough to him that every so often he could catch a glimpse of her backside poking out of the water. When she flipped over her breasts would hold his full attention and it took every ounce of restraint in him not to pounce on her. Every so often she would sneakily check to see if he was paying attention, and every time their eyes would meet. After he had enough of her teasing, he motioned for her to join him with a quick nod.

With a devious smile, she swam over to him and rested her head against his outstretched arm. Despite the water being shallow along the waters edge, she couldn't keep herself afloat without treading water. Sesshomaru made her a seat with his thigh where she rested her bare bottom and cuddled up against his exposed chest. "I'm sorry I interrupted your meeting," she spoke up after a few minutes of silence.

Sesshomaru was unsure of how to respond; he didn't want to scold her, but he also wanted to make sure there wasn't a repeat of the situation. "I would prefer that not happen again."

"I know," Kagome sighed apologetically. "How did it go?"

"Not well," Sesshomaru answered truthfully.

"Oh." Kagome instinctively nuzzled into his side. "So.. what now?"

Water splashed up against their bodies as they hid away from the world for a brief moment. Years ago this would have been his perfect scenario; lands that needed to be conquered, a Lord who needed to be removed from power, and a battle with a potential worthy opponent. But in this moment all he wanted was this. After years of blaming Inuyasha for their fathers death and not understanding why the most powerful demon in all the lands would seemingly sacrifice himself… he was finally beginning to understand. It was this that his father had wanted.

Undetectable to the average ear, the faint sound of Ginto's footsteps echoed over the roaring waterfall and Sesshomaru knew it was time. He tousled Kagome's hair, eliciting a smile from her while she gazed dreamily up at him. Sesshomaru put his lips to Kagome's temple, "Now I get revenge."

Author's Note:

Hello friends!

I want to start this off with a trigger warning.

I lost someone suddenly and unexpectedly who had a profound impact on my life a few months back, so I lost most of my motivation to write. We had been in each others lives for such a long time, and the world truly lost a special soul and a wonderful friend. I want all of you to know and remember that the world is a better place with you in it. You are loved. You are important.

On to happier things.

It looks like a lot of the issues we were having with the site might be fixed?! Stats are showing for me again and I've been getting email notifications, yay! Pleasant surprise. I think the next chapter we might see one or two of our old friends from the show, probably at least one for sure.

Until next time!