A Change of Heart by Erin M.

14 Chapters

Kagome buttoned up her jacket and grabbed her over-sized backpack. She smiled thoughtfully to herself as she pulled her boots up over her jeans. She sat on her bed and looked outside her window. It was starting to snow again. It was winter in Tokyo, where she was getting ready to head back down the well.

Kagome headed down stairs and grabbed her mittens. "Bye Mom!" Kagome called, "I'm leaving now!"

"Bye Kagome!" her mother called back, "Be safe and come back soon!"

"I will!" Kagome yelled. Kagome slid open her front door and stepped outside into the cold. She tightened the sweater under her jacket and started walking towards the shrine where the well was. She slid the door open and slowly walked down the wooden steps that led to the well. She peered down into the darkness and took a deep breath. With a small leap, Kagome was soon soaring through the mysterious well to ancient Japan, where she would meet the one hanyou she missed and loved most of all.

Kagome pushed the heavy yellow backpack over the side of the well and pulled herself out. She stepped onto the thick blanket of snow that lay on the ground. She looked up at the sky to see large snowflakes slowly coming down from the dark gray sky above her. Kagome was about to pick up her heavy backpack when she heard a faint sound of footsteps crunching through the snow.

"Hello?" she called through the gray darkness, "is someone there?"

The footsteps had stopped. Kagome walked forward and called, "Hello? Is there someone there?"

Suddenly, out of the darkness, an arrow came shooting past her, barely missing her left arm. Kagome gasped and turned to run. She had only gotten a few steps when a white, hot pain pierced the back of her right shoulder. A long arrow produced from her back.

Kagome gasped and fell to her hands and knees. She breathed deeply and looked behind her. Out of the grayness came a tall figure, clutching a bow, with arrows on her back. Kagome turned herself around and collapsed in the snow, which was stained with drops of her own blood. Kagome closed her eyes and breathed heavily. When she opened them, the figure was standing over her, her dark hair swiftly flowing across her face.

"Ki...Kikyo?" Kagome gasped as Kikyo looked into the eyes of her reincarnation, "Wh...Why?"

Kikyo then dropped her bow and raised her hands above Kagome's head. Kagomes body slowly rose off the blood stained ground. Kikyos hands guided her as she slowly rose into the air.

Then, suddenly, Kagome felt a pair of invisible hands grab her neck and slowly begin strangling her. Kagome coughed and sputtered as she tried to pry the hands off her neck.

"Die now Kagome," Kikyo said in a cold, harsh voice, "Inuyasha...belongs to me. Inuyashas soul belongs to me. Not to you."

"He loves me. Not you!" She screamed.

"Kik...yo," Kagome whispered, her hands still working hard to try to release the invisible hands that were choking her.

Kikyo raised her hands further up and the invisible hands strangling Kagome squeezed harder around her neck. Kagome tried to scream, but all that came out was a short breath. Kagome clutched harder around the invisible hands.

"Receive the Powers of the Youkai!" Kikyo shouted. Small, blue orbs began to flow from her hands and slowly made their way into Kagome's floating body. Kagome closed her eyes as she continued to work the hands off her neck.

Suddenly she heard Kikyo scream. She opened one of her eyes, just in time to see a golden whip slash Kikyos body in half. Kikyos body fell to the ground and started to dissolve into the air. The invisible hands released her neck and Kagome fell to the ground, which was far below her. She landed on her stomach, barely able to breathe. She heard the footsteps of Kikyos killer come closer to where she was laying. The footsteps stopped right in front of her face. Kagome lifted her head a little and opened her eyes to see a tall man with long, sliver, flowing hair, amber eyes, and a small blue crescent moon in the middle of his forehead.

"Sess...Sesshou...maru?" Kagome breathed. Then her head fell onto the snow and she became unconscious.

Sesshoumaru bent over the unconscious girl lying in the snow. He looked at her closely and then sniffed her.

'Hmmmm...this girl smells of...Inuyasha? Is this his mate?' he thought to himself while behind him, he heard a scurry of footsteps.

"Lord Sesshoumaru! Are you done yet? Can we come out of the woods now?" Sesshoumarus small, feeble-minded, toad friend Jaken and his beloved Rin were now rushing out of the woods with Sesshoumarus two-headed dragon, toward the spot where Sesshoumaru and Kagome were.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" called Rin, running hard towards Sesshoumaru. Suddenly, the small girl fell in the snow behind Jaken.

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru said in a low voice, "help her." Jaken nodded his small, green head and turned to help the fallen child. Sesshoumaru observed the arrow in Kagomes shoulder. He slowly broke off the top of the arrow and carefully plucked the bottom part out of her body.

'This woman is injured badly. Inuyasha is probably searching for her.' Sesshoumaru carefully picked up Kagome in his arms.

"AHH! Lord Sesshoumaru! Do you know what that is? That's a human! A human girl! Where are you going with that human?!" Jaken yelled. Sesshoumaru picked up Kagomes over-sized backpack and flung it at Jaken. Jaken screamed as the enormous bag landed on top of his small body.

"Carry that," Sesshoumaru said, "Come Rin." Rin ran to his side as Jaken tried to pick up the huge yellow backpack.

"Inuyasha? You don't think Kagome's in trouble do you?" cried Shippo as him, Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku ran towards the bone-eaters well. Earlier, they had heard Kagome scream while they were walking from the village to greet her.

Suddenly, Inuyasha skidded to a halt. He sniffed the air around him and peered through the darkness.

"Inuyasha? What's wrong?" Miroku asked. "SHH!" he snarled back. They all peered though the grayness that was in front of them. Suddenly, loud footsteps were heard in front of them. Out of the grayness came a tall figure carrying a girl.

"Sesshoumaru!" yelled Inuyasha, "what are you-." Inuyasha saw Kagome lying in his arms. Everyone gasped.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO KAGOME?!" He yelled, pulling out the Tetsusaiga.

"Oh is that what her name is?" he said carelessly, "I didn't do anything to her. I found her like this. A miko with a bow and arrow gave her this wound. Luckily, I took care of her in my own fashion."

"You...you killed Kikyo?!" He said breathlessly. "You...bastard."

"Please don't use that kind of language around children." Sesshoumaru said. Suddenly, Rin popped out behind Sesshoumarus leg. "Well I just came to return your mate to you..."

"She's not his mate!" piped Shippo. "She's his detector for Naraku. And she also detects Shikon shards and also-." BAM! Inuyasha quickly slammed his fist over Shippos head. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. 'Detector for Naraku...hmmmm...maybe this girl is more useful than I thought.'

"Hand her over bas-...I mean Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha said watching what he said.

Sesshoumaru slowly handed Kagome to Inuyasha. Inuyasha gave one final glare at Sesshoumaru then turned to walk away.

"Hold on there little brother." Sesshoumaru said quietly.

Inuyasha turned around angrily. "What do you want now?" Sesshoumaru walked toward

Inuyasha. "Your kitsune said you were searching for Naraku." Sesshoumaru said slowly.

"Yeah so what?" Inuyasha replied, "what's it to you?"

"I'm also hunting Naraku. But recently, I've been having trouble tracking him."

"What's your point?" Inuyasha said angrily.

"Well, I was thinking. Since I saved your mate-."

" She's not my mate!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Since I saved this...miko, why don't we search for Naraku together?" Sesshoumaru smiled slyly.

"No way!" yelled Inuyasha, "I'm not helping you!"

"Inuyasha," Miroku said softly, "let's conference." Inuyasha took off his red kimono and wrapped Kagome in it. Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Inuyasha huddled together away from Sesshoumaru and talked softly.

"I think we should let him join," Miroku said, "He obviously doesn't mean us any harm."

"What?! How can you say that?! Have you forgotten every time he tried to kill me?!" yelled

Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, he has a kid with him," Sango said, "I don't think he wants to kill anybody. Besides he did save Kagome."

"Grrrrrr...." Inuyashas face was red with furry, "ALRIGHT!" he screamed. Inuyasha got up and turned towards Sesshoumaru.

"You can join us. But only until we find Naraku." Inuyasha said with a sustained voice. He turned around and picked up the cold, bloody Kagome and started walking towards the village. Sesshoumaru smiled slightly then turned towards Jaken and Rin.

"Jaken take Rin back to the castle. I'll be back soon enough." Sesshoumaru said.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! I want to come with you!" exclaimed Rin.

"Foolish girl! Lord Sesshoumaru commanded you to go back to the castle with me!" Jaken yelled.

"You want to come with me Rin?" Sesshoumaru asked the child, crouching down to her height.

"Hai! Rin wants to go with Sesshoumaru-sama!" she answered.

"Alright." Sesshoumaru said, standing up tall again. Jaken made a small sound of surprise. "Jaken you go back to the castle. And give me that bag thing."

"But...but Lord Sesshoumaru!" Jaken cried handing him Kagomes yellow backpack. Sesshoumaru swung the bag over his shoulders. "Let's go Rin." He slowly grabbed the small child's hand and together they walked towards Inuyashas group.

'......am I......am I alive?' Kagomes mind slowly started to work again, but her eyes felt too heavy to lift. She took a deep breath and relaxed. 'Mmmm...that smells so good. Like rosebuds and cherry blossoms.' Slowly Kagome opened her eyes and saw sweeping silver hair playing across a pair of beautiful amber eyes. She felt someone's hand rub her shoulder. "Sess...shou...maru?" That's when she became fully conscious. She screamed and quickly backed in to a wall.

"SESSHOUMARU! What in the-?!" She cried.

"Kagome!" Sango rushed over to her side, "What's the matter?" Kagome looked into Sangos eyes. "Sango? What...what are you doing here? Where am I? What's going on? Why's Sesshoumaru here?" Kagome couldn't control her voice.

Sesshoumaru got up from where he was treating Kagomes wound. "Well it looks like I'm not needed here." He picked up bandages, gauze, and some medicine and walked to the other side of the hut. Suddenly, Kagome felt embarrassed. 'He was only trying to help. But why is he here?'

Sango looked down a Kagomes shoulder. "Kagome, you re-opened your wound." Kagome looked at her chest to see that the top of her was spun in bandages. She saw blood stain her right shoulder.

"Here, let Sesshoumaru bandage it up again." Sango said, helping Kagome back into her bed. Sesshoumaru looked at Kagome. Her forehead was drenched in sweat and here eyes looked wild and scared. Sango looked at him and motioned him to come. He rolled his eyes and picked up the supplies he needed. Sango went back to where she was napping and watched as Sesshoumaru slowly peeled back the bloody bandages.

Kagome flinched as Sesshoumaru applied gauze to her open wound. She closed her eyes and tried to hold in the pain as Sesshoumarus hands slid over her wound. "It's alright. It's almost over." Sesshoumaru said softly. Kagome opened her eyes and looked into Sesshoumarus beautiful, shimmering gold ones. 'Wait a minute. Did I just hear what I thought I just heard? Did he just...comfort me?!' Sesshoumaru sealed the last bandage and looked into Kagomes eyes for a moment. Kagome turned slightly red. Sango couldn't hide her smile of inertest as she watched Sesshoumaru and Kagome exchange glances.

"Uhhh...gomen Sesshoumaru," Kagome said, her voice sounding embarrassed, "for making you go through all that trouble."

"What?" Sesshoumaru answered, "Oh...it was nothing." Sesshoumaru stood up and walked outside. He couldn't hide his smile any longer. He let the cold, winter breeze whip his hair in all directions.

'What is it about that miko?' he asked himself, 'She's not attractive at all and she acts like a child. But still....' Just then, Inuyasha, Shippo, and Miroku came back up the hill where their hut was. They were returning from their bath at a hot spring near by.

"Is Kagome okay?" asked Inuyasha rudely.

"She's fine." He replied shortly. Inuyasha glared at him, then continued inside.

Sango helped Kagome make up beds for everyone after dinner. Kagome slept between Sango and Rin. Kagome still felt weird about what Sesshoumaru had said to her while he was treating her wound. 'What was he trying to do?' she thought, 'He wouldn't actually try to make me feel better...would he?'

Moonlight streamed in from a window. Sesshoumaru slept against a wall facing Kagome. Kagome looked at him. 'He looks like he's glowing from the moonlight. And his hair...it's so beautiful...what?! What am I saying? Geeze! It's not like I have a crush on him. Get a hold of yourself Kagome!' She pulled her blanket over her head and slowly drifted off to sleep.

~*~*~*

Sesshoumarus eyes snapped open. 'What was that?' he thought, 'I heard something.' He wasn't sure what he heard but he kept his attention focused. Suddenly he heard it again. It was a whimper. 'Where is it coming from?' he asked himself. He looked all around the hut for any signs of the sound. That's when Kagome caught his eye. She was shaking uncontrollably and whimpering softly.

'Her whimpering isn't that loud...but then why did it wake me up?' He slowly got up and touched her soft cheek. She instantly stopped shaking and whimpering.

'She feels as cold as ice.' He thought. He removed his kimono and laid it upon her shivering body. She smiled slightly and pulled the kimono close to her face. She breathed in its scent and mumbled softly, "Mmmm...like cherry blossoms...mmm...rosebuds." Sesshoumaru looked both surprised and amused. 'She thinks I smell like cherry blossoms and rosebuds?' He smiled to himself as he sat back down in his spot against the wall. 'Hmmmm...could be worse.' He thought as he closed his eyes to go back to sleep.

~*~*~*

Sango woke up just as the sun was rising, sending pink and orange streaks across the endless sky. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at where Kagomes bed was. 'Huh?' she thought. Kagome was gone. She looked in front of her and saw the most peculiar thing in the world. She punched Miroku's shoulder to get him awake.

"Wha...what is it, Sango? I haven't touched you...yet." He replied sleepily.

"Look there." She replied ignoring his perverted comment and pointed to where Sesshoumaru was sleeping. Miroku sat up and looked just as surprised as Sango. Sesshoumaru was still sleeping against the wall, but somehow during the night Kagome managed to crawl right next to him. His kimono hung from her shoulders and her head rested on his knee. Both of her hands were clung to his waist and her hair flung into his lap. Sango and Miroku giggled softly. They were ready to burst with laughter. "Good thing Inuyasha isn't up yet," Miroku whispered quietly, trying to sustain his laughter. Just then, Sesshoumaru started to stir.

"Lets pretend to be sleeping." Sango whispered as she threw her blankets over her. Miroku nodded and did the same.

Sesshoumaru blinked his eyes open and looked around the hut. He was about to get up, but he felt something move beside him. He looked down and saw Kagome, wrapped up in his kimono, clutching onto him. Suddenly, he turned a bright red. He was fortunate that no one had awakened to see this. He looked back down at Kagome with a look of confusion. He thought of moving her, but when he tried, she snuggled closer into him. Just then, he felt a pair of eyelashes brush against his leg. Kagome was waking up.

'Mmmmmm...my pillow is really warm,' she thought lazily. That's when she realized something.

'Wait a minute...I didn't bring my pillow with me.' Kagome opened her eyes and looked around the room. Her eyes were fixed on her sleeping bag, which was lying open.

'Oh my...' she panicked. 'Please don't let it be him...please don't let it be him!' She slowly raised her head and she came face to face to Sesshoumarus. She quickly released herself and backed away from Sesshoumaru. Kagomes face was turning a deep red. Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"Uhhhh...ummm..." Kagome was lost for words. "Uhhhh...gomen Sesshoumaru! I...ummmm." Kagome was literately shouting her apology to Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes as he picked up his kimono and headed out the door.

"Kagome? Are you alright?" asked Sango as she lifted herself out of bed.

"Err...yeah. I'm fine." She replied sheepishly as she stared at the door. Sango couldn't help hiding a small smile as she folded her blankets from her bed.

As Sesshoumaru bathed by himself in the hot spring that was near hut, he thought about what had happened last night and this morning.

'Why was she shaking?' he thought to himself. 'Well, that's obvious. It's because humans are weak and she was cold.' He lifted his hand out of the steamy water and looked at it, examining it from all angles.

'But why did she stop shaking when I touched her?' he asked himself, still staring at his hand. 'And why did I wake up when she was whimpering?'

"Hmpf." He said as he got up out of the spring. He slipped on his clothes starting walking back up the hill the hut.

"Foolish miko," he said out loud as he climbed the steep, snowy hill, "she wants to make me look like an idiot. What a silly child she is! She can't even sleep in her own bed. And she thinks I smell like rosebuds and cheery blossoms!"

"Shessoumaru-sama!" cried a small voice. Sesshoumaru raised his head to see Rin calling to him from outside the hut. He felt slightly embarrassed because he had forgotten he was speaking out loud to himself.

As he grew nearer to Rin, he saw that everybody was starting to exit the hut. Kagome was the last to exit, trying to lift her heavy bag over her shoulders, which was a painful process for her.

"Come on Kagome! Hurry up!" said Inuyasha, clearly annoyed.

"I'm...trying!" She said in an irritated voice. Kagome was trying her hardest to get the straps over her shoulders. Just then, she felt the straps of her backpack slip over her shoulders. She turned around and saw Sesshoumaru standing right behind her, one of his hands on the bottom of her bag.

"Ummmm...arigatou Sesshoumaru" she said slightly breathlessly.

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and started to walk away from the hut, and Kagome could've sworn she heard 'humans' muttered under Sesshoumarus breath.

Journeying through the snow was harder than Kagome expected. Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo, perched on Mirokus shoulder, were stationed in front of the pack. Kagome, Sango, and Rin were in the middle, while Sesshoumaru brought up the rear, alone.

"So how did you sleep last night?" asked Sango with a smirk.

"Oh I was--wait a minute! Did you see me and Sesshoumaru last night?!" She said in an irritated voice.

"Well it was pretty funny! How did you end up in his lap anyways?" she said while suppressing a fit of giggles.

Kagome was just about to retort to Sango about the matter, when all of a sudden her foot slipped on a patch of ice. She fell backwards, ready to hit the cold, hard snow, but she was surprised to fall on something warm and solid. Warm hands caught her under her arms and brought her to her feet. Kagome looked behind her and, preparing for another apology, stared into Sesshoumarus golden eyes.

"Sor-" She began but Sesshoumaru put up a hand to silence her. "Don't even mention it." And with that he walked on ahead of her and Sango without looking back. Sango was trying her very hardest not to laugh. Kagome gave here an evil look and whispered, "Shut up."

~*~*~*

The group had trudged along in the snow for, what Kagome thought, was forever. Around mid-afternoon, the group had reached a small hill leading down to a forest below. Very carefully, they started down the snowy hill, Inuyasha leading and Kagome being last. Suddenly, Kagome tripped over a rock producing out of the snow. Kagome lost her balanced tumbled head first down the hill.

"Kagome!" Sango cried, as she rolled past Inuyasha and the others. Kagome rolled down the hill so fast that there was nothing but trees that could stop her. As she came to the edge of the forest, her back slammed into a tall, skinny tree. Kagome could taste blood in her mouth and could hear footsteps coming toward her...but they weren't Inuyashas or any one of her friends.

"Kagome! Kagome! Are you alright?!" shouted Sango as she hurried down the hill.

'It's here,' she thought. Kagome held up a hand and yelled, "Stop! Don't come any closer!"

Everyone looked puzzled. "Kagome...what's wrong?" asked Miroku in a concerned voice. Suddenly, loud footsteps were heard crashing through the trees in the forest. Kagome stood up from her painful position and wanted run to the group. But something stopped her from running away from her spot in the snow. Just then, a huge wolf youkai charged through the edge of the forest right next to Kagome. Inuyasha pulled out Tetsusaiga and was ready to fight the demon. But the wolf wasn't paying attention to Inuyasha or any of the others. Its yellow-red eyes were fixed hungrily on Kagome.

Kagome reached behind her for an arrow to shoot at the monster. Kagome let out a small gasp of disbelief. She had forgotten her bow and arrows at home.

"No..."she whispered.

"KAGOME! RUN!" Inuyasha yelled. But Kagome could only back up into the tree she crashed into. Her mind was racing and sweat was trickling down her forehead. She closed her eyes, as if it was all a bad dream. Suddenly...something or somebody whispered something in her head. 'Run.'

Immediately, Kagome opened her eyes and started running towards her panic-stricken friends. Suddenly she heard Sango scream as a paw came slashing toward her. Kagome felt no pain, just a numb feeling in her back. The wolf had slashed a deep gash in Kagomes back. Kagome stopped dead in her tracks. She fell to her knees, and then her head gently rested in the snow as her world turned black.

"KAGOME!!!" Inuyasha screamed as he looked horribly at the blood-drenched girl. The wolf youkai gave a wicked smile, then turned to Inuyasha and the rest of the group. Inuyasha held out Tetsusaiga and was prepared to fight with the demon. The wolf demon charged at the group, his mouth open, baring dagger like teeth.

Suddenly, the wolf let out a howling cry of pain as blood flowed down from its back. Suddenly Kagome flew up over the wolf demon and, amazing, slashed at its head. Suddenly, the wolf youkais head fell to the ground, along with the rest of its body.

Everyone stared in disbelief at Kagome. She should've been dead! Inuyasha kept his eyes fixed on her and took a step forward.

"Ka...Kagome?" he asked in shaking voice.

Kagome growled and turned around angrily. Everyone gasped at the sight they saw. Kagomes eyes had turned blood red. Her teeth were baring ferocious looking fangs and down her cheekbones were deep purple marks. Blood stained her whole blouse and was slowly dripping down arms and down her back.

"Kagome...what...what has...?" Sango was lost for words and on the verge of tears.

Kagome growled and continued to bear her teeth. Inuyasha was starting to remember that this had happened to him several times before. Kagome had turned into a full-blooded demon.

"Kagome..." Shippo said in a very small, worried voice as her started to walk towards her.

"Shippo! Stop! Don't go any closer to her! You don't know what she'll do! SANGO! You stop too! Nobody touch her!" Inuyasha yelled as Sango attempted to get near her frightening friend. They both started to back away from Kagome. Shippo was now in tears.

Rin clutched onto Sesshoumarus hand tightly as Kagome let out another loud growl. Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Rin were all closest to Kagome. Sesshoumaru turned his head and looked at the fearful child.

"Rin...go stand back with the taijiya and the kitsune." He said in a low voice. Rin looked at Sesshoumaru with big tearful eyes and managed a small, "hai." Sesshoumaru now looked directly at Kagome.

'Why didn't you run?' he thought to himself. He looked into her deep red eyes as she stared back at his amber golden ones. He took a step forward and whispered, "Kagome."

Kagome suddenly stood rigid and the look on her face turned from the look of a monster to the look of a surprised demon. Kagome stared at Sesshoumaru for a moment, and then closed her blood-red eyes. Her legs gave way and she started to fall sideways. Sesshoumaru hurried over to her just in time to catch her.

Sesshoumaru looked over at Inuyasha. Inuyasha just stared back at his brother, in shear amazement. Sesshoumaru had to break the odd silence somehow.

"I'll carry her. You carry that bag thing." He said stiffly. Inuyasha raised his eyebrows, then looked at Kagome. Inuyasha knew there was no time to waste. He picked up Kagomes bag that was lying near the base of the tree she crashed into. Sesshoumaru carefully picked up Kagome under the waste. Kagomes arrow wound had re-opened again. Sesshoumaru thought quickly and tore off part of his kimono arm. He carefully wrapped it around the wound to stop the blood from coming out. Sango just look astonished at Sesshoumaru as he picked up Kagome once again.

"We don't have much time. We've got to find a place to rest before night falls." Said Sesshoumaru. Everyone nodded and followed Sesshoumaru through the snow.

'This time, I've got to be dead,' Kagome thought as her head spun in and out of sleep, 'I've just got to be. I remember that demon slashing me in the back with his claws.' Slowly, Kagome opened her eyes to complete darkness.

'I knew it. This must be the spirit world.' She thought groggily. Soon, her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she discovered that she was in a small abandoned hut.

'I'm...not dead?' she thought to herself, 'but then, how did I get here?' Kagome tried getting up but something pushed her back down.

"Lie down," said a low voice, "you're still not completely healed yet." Kagomes bright brown eyes met Sesshoumarus golden ones. Sesshoumaru put his hand on her collarbone and gently pushed her back into her bed.

"Sesshoumaru?" she said in a very cautious voice, "what are you doing here? Why aren't I dead?"

Sesshoumaru had been sitting by her side all night, waiting for her to awake; and now that she had, Sesshoumaru was practically speechless.

"First, I have a question for you," he said as he continued to stare into Kagomes brilliant brown eyes, "do you have any idea why you turned into a full demon after nearly being killed?"

Kagomes heart seemed to stop for a moment. 'Full demon?' she thought, 'is he talking about me?'

"What? I didn't turn full demon. I would've remembered that." She said outraged.

"Sssh!" Sesshoumaru hissed, "keep your voice down miko! We better discuss this outside."

Sesshoumaru gently slipped his hand into Kagomes. Kagome slipped on her shoes and put on her jacket. Once again, she wasn't surprised to see that the top of her chest was wrapped in bandages. But she was surprised to see Sesshoumaru so affectionate towards her. He put his arm around her waist and helped her out into the night. Kagome blushed a little when Sesshoumaru put both of his hands on her waist and set her down gently on a log just outside the hut.

"Kagome," she said in a small voice.

"What?" he asked in an awkward tone.

"Kagome. My name's Kagome. You called me miko just a second ago."

"Oh," he said, "right."

Kagome looked up at the sky. Small snowflakes were starting to fall.

"So what is it that you want to know?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"I want to know why you turned into a full-blooded demon when you were supposed to be dead." He answered.

Kagome thought very hard. This had never happened to her before. So why was it happening now? Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.

"I think I have an idea," she said slowly, "do you remember that women you killed, the one who was making me float above the ground?"

Sesshoumaru thought for a moment, as if he killed women everyday and he couldn't quite remember all of them all at once.

"Yes," he said finally, "but what does that have--"

"It was her!" she said excitedly, "right before you came, she held up her hands and said 'receive the powers of the youkai' and little blue light things floated into my body! That's it!"

"But that still doesn't explain something," said Sesshoumaru, "why didn't your powers work when I finished killing that women? I mean...any normal human would've been killed."

Once again, Kagomes head raced with thought, but came up with an answer quickly.

"Maybe because I wasn't in danger of dieing then." She said with a small, proud smile.

"Oh?" said Sesshoumaru with his eyebrows raised, "and why's that?"

"Because you were there to save me." She said in a low voice.

Sesshoumaru was taken aback slightly. He looked at the girl next to him. Kagomes light brown eyes were fixed on the sky. Snowflakes were coming down more heavily now. Kagome shivered, for all she has on was her school skirt and her jacket. Just then, she felt a warm hand slide across her shoulder and pulled her into an embrace. She looked right into Sesshoumarus eyes as he looked into hers. Snowflakes landed on her cheeks and she suddenly felt very warm wrapped up in Sesshoumarus arms.

His face was suddenly very close to Kagomes. Then, she felt his warm breath inside of her mouth. She closed her eyes and kissed him back. Their mouths became one and they kissed for what seemed hours. Nobody noticed the two pairs of eyes watching them from the door flap.

Sango and Miroku were giggling and smiling and gasping from inside the hut. They made sure they were very quiet, for they didn't want Inuyasha walking in on the passionate scene outside.

Finally, Sesshoumaru pulled back from Kagome, thinking she couldn't take much more. Kagome was quite breathless.

"Come on," whispered Sesshoumaru, "let's go back inside." Kagome nodded and tried standing up. She lost her balance and collided once again into Sesshoumaru.

"We've got to do something about this clumsiness of yours." Said Sesshoumaru smiling as he helped Kagome to her feet. Kagome giggled and punched him in the arm playfully. Sesshoumaru placed one arm around her waist and led her inside the hut.

Once inside, Sesshoumaru and Kagome saw everyone sleeping soundly in their beds. They made their way to the opposite corner farthest away from Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru sat down first, then Kagome made her way into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek. Kagome slowly closed her eyes and dowsed off. That's when she heard something or someone inside her head say, 'I love you.'

Kagomes eyes snapped open and she turned around to face Sesshoumaru. Both of his eyes were open and he was slightly smiling.

"Wait a minute," she whispered, "I didn't imagine that. You were the one who told me to run back when that demon had me pinned to that tree, weren't you?" Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and nodded.

"But how?" she said astonished.

"When you're a demon, you can communicate through thoughts to other demons." He answered.

"Oh," she said, trying not to sound amazed. 'Cool.' She thought.

'Very.' Said Sesshoumarus voice inside her head. Kagome giggled and felt someone plant another kiss on her cheek.

"Goodnight." Whispered Sesshoumaru.

"Goodnight." Kagome whispered back.

Luckily, the couple didn't see that Sango and Miroku both had one eye opened, watching them as they let out silent giggles.

Sesshoumarus ears perked up as he heard footsteps coming closer to him and Kagome.

"Well, well, well," said a low voice, "what has my brother gotten himself into?"

Sesshoumarus eyes snapped open to see Inuyasha staring down at him and Kagome, smirking slightly.

Sesshoumaru didn't know what to say. He'd forgotten that Kagome was Inuyashas mate.

"Err...Inuyasha. I...I didn't mean to take your mate," he said after a moment, "she just--"

"I told you already!" Inuyasha said, "She isn't my mate! But she might have one now." He said crossing his arms and smirking even more.

"So," Sesshoumaru said, "you don't care if I take her as my own?"

"No," Inuyasha replied, "you go right ahead and take her as your mate."

Inuyasha turned his back to Sesshoumaru and started waking towards the door.

"He just has no idea how lucky he is," he whispered under his breath as he lifted the door flap and went outside.

"I heard that." Mumbled Kagome.

Kagome turned her head towards Sesshoumaru and their mouths met once again. Sesshoumaru kissed Kagome only for a moment before getting up to join his bother for a bath. Kagome couldn't stop smiling as she prepared noodles and vegetables for breakfast.

"What's with all the smiles?" Sango asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh...I'll tell you later." She said smiling. Rin and Shippo sat next to each other while slurping their noodles nosily. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru came back together, helping themselves to some instant noodles.

"Hey Miroku!" Inuyasha called, "are you going to eat or what? We gotta get going so hurry up!"

Miroku instantly jumped out of his bed when he heard the word "food" and immediately seated himself by Sango. When he saw Kagome and Sesshoumaru sitting next to each other, he almost burst out in laughter. Luckily, Sango elbowed him hard in the stomach before anyone noticed anything.

All day the group traveled through the deep snow. Through out the afternoon Kagome explained to Sesshoumaru all of her modern day inventions like soda pop and her hair blow dryer.

Sesshoumaru barely paid any mind to the strange contraptions of her time, but Rin did. As Kagome kept pulling out things, Rin would constantly ask 'what's that thing?' All Sesshoumaru could pay attention to was the way Kagome smiled and laughed at Rins constant fascination and the way her eyes lit up when they met his.

Near sunset, the group managed to find an old abandoned hut near a hot spring. After Kagome put her backpack down on the floor, she rummaged for a towel and headed to the hot springs.

~*~*~*

Kagome removed her clothes and hung them over a dry tree branch. She hurried into the spring, the snow was stinging her cold feet.

Kagome carefully removed all of her bandages and let the water clean her wounds. She closed her eyes and relaxed in the warm water. She was on the brink of dozing off when she heard footsteps behind her. She quickly opened her eyes and turned around.

"Se-Sesshoumaru!" Kagome exclaimed as she tried to cover herself.

"May I join you?" Sesshoumaru asked softly.

"Err...uhh...sure." She said, unsure of what else to say.

She turned her eyes away from Sesshoumaru and shielded the side of her head with her hand, blushing enormously as she heard Sesshoumaru unchanging. She continued not to look even after she heard Sesshoumaru enter the spring. Sesshoumaru let out a quiet laugh. "You can look now." He said, still laughing.

"Oh...okay." Kagome said nervously, still refusing to turn her head. She could hear Sesshoumaru moving around in the water behind her. Her heart was pounding so hard in her head, Kagome thought her eardrums would burst.

"You don't have to be afraid of me." Sesshoumaru said quietly, still at the other end of the spring, after a moment of silence.

Kagome lifted her hand and turned to face Sesshoumaru. His pale body was gleaming like a jewel in the water. His long silver hair was flowing about him and his eyes were shining like newborn stars.

"I could never be afraid of you." Kagome whispered.

Sesshoumaru took a few steps forward toward Kagome. He couldn't hold it in any longer. Snowflakes were starting to fall from the dark sky above and fell on the two lovers in the hot spring. Sesshoumaru continued to move towards Kagome. She could now feel his smooth pale legs against hers.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly. Kagome nodded her head and felt cold snowflakes fall from her hair to her face. Sesshoumaru cupped her head in his hands kissed her soft rosy lips. Kagome closed her eyes and kissed back. She lifted her arms out of the steamy water put them around his neck, her fingers exploring Sesshoumarus soft long hair.

Kagome lifted one of legs and wrapped it around Sesshoumaru. She did them same for the other leg, entwining it firm against his body. Suddenly, felt something harden against her and she slowly released herself from Sesshoumaru's lips. She knew it was time.

"Don't be afraid..." She heard him whisper in her ear and she rested her head on his shoulder. She felt Sesshoumaru's hands glide down her hips and grasped them gently. Suddenly, she felt something pulse inside of her. She felt him going inside of her, making her break into a sweat. She closed her eyes and breathed heavily through her mouth.

Kagome felt him pulsing inside of her, giving her waves upon waves of unspeakable pleasure. She rocked with him, hearing the water slap against their bodies. Then, she felt a numb pain on her collarbone. Sesshoumaru was sinking his teeth slowly into her skin, marking her as his own. Kagome silenced a whimper in the back of her throat, and continued to sway with Sesshoumaru as he kept pushing himself deeper and deeper into her.

Then, it was over. She felt Sesshoumaru released himself from her, making her weak of pleasure. She slipped her legs of his waist and looked into his golden eyes. She was surprised to see him breathing hard too. Then, out of nowhere, Sesshoumaru was smiling. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight. Kagome smiled back and giggled slightly.

Even though Kagome and Sesshoumaru had made love, she was still too embarrassed to let Sesshoumaru see her naked.

"Close your eyes and no peeking!" she said, although she knew he would anyways. He laughed and put his hands over his eyes. Kagome quickly got out of the spring and ran for her towel. She wrapped it around her cold body and squeezed the water out of her hair.

"Okay, you can-" she said, turning around.

There he was, standing in front of her, completely naked. Water was dripping from every part of his body. Kagome's eyes were wide open, her mouth gaping.

"Uh...uh...uh..." she stuttered. Then, she turned back around quickly started to blush a deep red. "Sorry! I didn't mean to stare!" She heard Sesshoumaru laughing.

'Is he laughing at me or at himself?' she wondered as she continued to blush at herself.

Somehow she was embarrassed and happy at the same time. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. Kagome almost jumped completely out of her skin. She whipped around and felt herself being drawn into an embrace. Sesshoumaru was now fully dressed and stroking Kagome's long, wet, black hair. Kagome sighed, closed her eyes, and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You are so wonderful." She whispered out loud as she snuggled into Sesshoumaru's chest. After Kagome got dressed, they headed back to the hut and embraced each other into a dreamless sleep.

This time, Inuyasha was the first to awake. He yawned and stretched his arms to the sky. Then, it dawned on him. Kagome and Sesshoumaru were gone. He quickly stood up and looked about the hut, thinking he misplaced them somehow.

"Hey Miroku!" he asked, as he kicked him in the side. "Where's Kagome and my brother? Did they tell you where they were going? Hello! Wake up!" he shouted as he gave Miroku another kick.

"Leave me alone! Go back to sleep!" He mumbled as he turned over on his other side, not facing Inuyasha's angry face.

"I think Kagome decided to go back home...and Sesshoumaru was gonna go with her to the well..." Sango yawned. Suddenly, Inuyasha felt confused.

'She left? And she didn't even bother to tell me about it?' He thought as he went outside. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was a crystal clear blue. 'She must really...be in love with him...' he continued to think. 'I just hope...we can still be friends...' Sango and Miroku also came outside, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.

"Now what?" Miroku asked. But even Inuyasha didn't know the answer to that. Should they keep looking for Naraku? Should they go to the bone-eaters well and wait for Kagome to come back? Or should they just stay where they are until Sesshoumaru returns.

"Inuyasha?" Sango asked she returned back outside with Kirara and her boomerang. Inuyasha turned around and faced his friends. They looked to him, like a leader, like a hero, like a friend.

"Let's go!" He said, turning back around.

"Go? Go where?" Miroku asked confusingly.

"Well...we obviously can't do anything without Kagome...so let's go and make sure she gets back soon!" He replied. Then, Inuyasha jumped into the air and started in the direction of the well. Sango and Miroku smiled as they hopped onto Kirara's back and flew into the air after him

Kagome and Sesshoumaru emerged into the clearing, which the well sat in. They walked over to it slowly, enjoying their last few moments together before Kagome jumped into the well and disappeared. Kagome peered over the side of the well, into the darkness that would portal her home.

"Do you have to leave?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly. Kagome turned around and saw the sadness in his golden eyes. She lifted a hand and put it on his soft cheek. He reached up and clutched it, not ever wanting to let it go. Kagome wrapped her fingers around his and guided his hand to her where her heart was beating.

"No matter what," She said smiling, "you will always be with me in here..." Then she leaned into him and gave him a long, passionate kiss.

"And here." She said, touching her lips with a finger. Sesshoumaru smiled and gave her another long kiss in return. Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and gave herself into him. She didn't want to leave him either. But she had to go back and see her family and friends in her time too. She released her arms and pulled her lips away from his, her light brown eyes burning into his.

Sesshoumaru reached open and squeezed her into a big long hug, not wanting to let go of her. After a moment or two, Sesshoumaru let go and kissed her briefly on the cheek.

"Take care of yourself." He said as finished his kiss.

Kagome smiled and turned back to the well. She had one knee on the side of the well, when she heard his sweet voice again.

"I love you..."He said quietly. Kagome turned around and gave him the sweetest smile he had ever seen.

"I love you too." She said. Kagome hoisted her knees over the edge of the well and fell into the darkness, taking her away from the one demon she loved most of all.