Shippo passed the hall he had been brought to silently. He was nervous as to how he would be received by the woman he had once known as mother.

Before she forced him to leave to train, he had seen the way Inuyasha had treated her and how the others turned on her because of it. Being that he was too young to be influenced by the hanyou's dominance over the group he fought against them to protect his mother. If she had not sent him away, he probably would have been killed for his defiance.

Shippo had now grown some since his departure. If he was correct he should be to Kagome's waist by now, but maybe a little taller. He had out grown the small kimono from his childhood and now wore dark green armor over some brown hakama and a light green jubon. It was a gift from his master back at the village where he was trained. His hair had also grown into a shoulder length pony tail so he had to hold it up with a leather cord to keep it back.

A small mewling from the crook of his arm reminded him he had his companion to also worry about. Kirara was still weak from being over worked and her spirit was just as broken. If he hadn't been following his old group to try and find his mother she probably would have succumbed to the darkness of the afterlife.

Kirara's bandaged body laid limply in his arms, but she was much more responsive than before when she was first with Shippo, so she noticed when the door opened and the Lord of the West stepped forward.

"Is there something you needed kit?"

Shippo jumped and spun on his heels. "Oh, Lord Sesshomaru!" The young male bowed in greeting. "I am sorry for showing unannounced, but I was wondering if I could speak with-"

"Shippo!" Both males turned to see a smiling Inu woman with long black hair wearing a black kimono with pink feathers running towards them.

"Mama!" Shippo felt as Kagome's arms encircled him, bringing him into the tight embrace he had missed so much.

"Oh my sweet boy, look how much you've grown. You're getting so big." Sesshomaru watched from the side as the two reacquainted themselves.

For some reason, he could see images of her holding his own pup the same way. With love and happiness. He had never seen a woman so happy to see her pup, nor had he felt the love of such a thing himself. His mother died giving birth to him, and his father…

"Lord Sesshomaru? Do you think that maybe, Shippo could, stay? You know for a little while?" The look she had in her eyes had to be outlawed. It was so full of hope and pleading that he simply could not say no to her. How that was possible he had no idea.

"He may stay as long as he likes." Sesshomaru didn't wait for a response as he turned and left the hall.

"Wait! Lord Sesshomaru?" Kagome run up behind the demon Lord. His back was stiff and his shoulders strait. He was expecting something from her but she didn't understand what.

"Thank you." She gently reached out and drew her fingers against his shoulder blade, right behind where his shoulder and neck met. "This means a lot, and I know that I don't really deserve it but," She gathered her courage and pressed her body against his back in a gentle embrace. "I'm really grateful."

And just like him Kagome ran before Sesshomaru could respond.

=.:^:.=

Shippo woke up to a light tapping on the door. He cracked his eyes open, seeing that he was still in his mother's room and tried to remember when he had fallen asleep. They had stayed up late talking about his training and what had happen to her after she had left Inuyasha, and sometime after she finished he couldn't remember talking about anything else. He figured he would ask after he located Kagome.

"Yes, who is it?" The shoji door opened to reveal a young demoness, a kitsune like himself.

She was small for her age, about six inches shorter than what she should be. Her hair was a dark rusty brown with a bright red under coat that made her small curls shiny in the light. But what got most of Shippo's attention were the burn scars she had on her hands and on one side of her head. The servants' kimono of white and gold covered up most of them but the young fox male guessed they covered most of her arms and chest.

"Who are you?" The young girl had not expected to find such a young boy in her mistress's chambers but before he could answer Kagome walked out of the bathing chambers connected to her room and smiled at the two of them.

"Good morning Suki. How are you this morning?" Suki bowed and smiled at the Inu woman.

"I am doing well thank you. I came to tell you that breakfast will be served soon, and that after the Lord would like a word with you in his study." While she spoke, Suki walked over to the wardrobe and picked out a light green jubon and thin black hakama with light mint colored leaved falling to pool at the bottom for Kagome to wear. She had been doing this since the woman had begun staying with them and enjoyed serving the kind yet strange Inu demoness.

"Thank you Suki. Oh, have you met Shippo yet?" Shippo was now standing by the futon, still in the clothes he wore the previous day. "Suki this is my adopted son, Shippo. Shippo, this is Suki, my personal assistant." The two simple stared at one another, sizing each other up.

"Hi." Shippo broke first.

"Hello." Suki walked over to the bed and laid out the outfit.

Shippo watched the female and sniffed her sent. It smelled like dew and freshly broken nuts, but it also had the smell of different soaps from the cleaning she did around the castle. "I don't like you."

Suki stiffened and spun on the boy, taking a breath of his sunshine and leather smell, but it had the taint of metal from his days of training. "Yay well I'm not very fond of you either!" And with that she stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut.

Kagome simply smiled and looked down at the struck boy. "She was really pretty." She laughed at his statement.

"Well then why did you say you didn't like her?" He shrugged.

"I don't know. Just felt like it I guess. But I really do think she was pretty."

Kagome smiled wider as she heard Suki's heart rate sky rocket just outside her door before she hurried down the hall way.

=.:^:.=

Sesshomaru's study was something that Kagome would classify as a library. A smaller one, but a high end and beautiful one. Someone could spend years pouring over the literature held by the tall dark shelves and still be spell bound by the thick leather bound books and tied scrolls.

The desk Sesshomaru was sitting behind was made of the same dark brown oak, reaching barely half way up Kagome's shins. It was covered in papers from League Lords and different Territorial Lords that resided in and on the borders of his lands. Sesshomaru himself was placed on a square pillow behind the desk, dressed in a black jubon and hakama with gold trim. He looked frustrated.

"You wished to see me." Kagome stood behind the open shoji door leading to the room, waiting to be allowed in.

"Yes I did." Kagome stepped forward and approached the desk before sitting on a pillow similar to the one he was resting on. "There is something we need to discus."

"And what would that be?"

Sesshomaru took a deep breath. "Inuyasha has decided that his life does not matter to him anymore. He has begun to torment villages along the borders of my lands on all sides. Because of this, the other Lords are coming here to discuss what is to be done. There is also something else.

"The other Lords have also discovered your presence here, and are intrigued by your gifts of using reki. They have invited themselves to my home, and plan to bring their sons to come and coheres you into leaving with them." Something else was bothering him, Kagome could see it.

"Sesshomaru, what is it? What's wrong?" He didn't respond, just stood and walked to look out the barrier protected window.

Kagome, feeling uneasy with the silence, rose from her spot. She was hesitant but felt as a female of his pack she was obligated to try and help her Lord; so she hugged him around his waist from behind.

"What is it?"

Sesshomaru couldn't really understand this girl. She had explained to him how she had come through the well in his half-brother's forest, but the way she acted towards him still caught him off guard.

"Ever since I became Lord, I have done everything I could to gain the respect my father had. HE was always respected, HE always had control. He was a good lord."

Kagome pressed her ear to Sesshomaru's heartbeat. "It sounds like you are trying to convince yourself more than me. Why is that?"

"When I was young, I idolized him. Everyone feared him, respected him. No one questioned him or just invited themselves over to his home. But that life didn't translate into a family situation. He never showed his first born son any affection, like what you show to your son Shippo. He could only demand perfection, and then punish when it wasn't achieved. My mother is dead, so I was left to the mercy of the maids, whom treated me as they saw my father do. I was a fool to think I would be seen as that so called great general as my father was."

Kagome released her Lord, only to walk around to face him head on. She was crying, understanding filling her. "That is why you believe you can show no emotion. Why you don't know how to show emotion. Oh Sesshomaru I am so sorry."

Having never felt the sympathy of another being, Sesshomaru had no idea how to act in this situation, so he simply stood still as his pack female once again invaded his space to hug him around the middle. It was oddly nice to feel her body against his.

"When the Lords come, and they bring their sons, I will not go with them. I will forever stay with you Sesshomaru. You have my word."

"And what if the only way for you to stay is to become Lady of the West?"

Kagome lifted here icy blue eyes up once more. "Then so be it."

=.:^:.=

Shorter than the others, but the next will make up for it, PROMICE! ::::9

Next chapter includes Koga, three lords, and a bunch of drama and maybe your lemon I have promised by making this a M story )9

Tee Hee

Perv Alert!