There was one thought racing through Sesshomaru's mind as he ran through the great forest. 'Mine.' His demon howled in his mind over and over again. He felt his chest tighten as he thought over what he heard in the barn. 'She promised herself to me!' The betrayal Sesshomaru felt was overpowering all logical thought. He didn't even register the blood covering his arms and under his claws from the poor fool who were unlucky enough to be in his way as he ran. He stopped suddenly at the edge of the forest. He looked around at the flowing river that ran from the village of Mochiron to the plains of Chiku. 'She would love it her.' He recalled her smiling face. It was Funny how the simple gesture always made him so calm. He walked to the edge of the river and sat down. He drew his right knee to his chest and stretched out his left in front of him. He then rested his right arm over his knee. He bowed his head in thought.

'I do not regret meeting her, even now. Why? She's just…' He decided not to finish that thought. 'She didn't want me. She wanted my brother.'

No, She didn't. You felt the truth of her words when she told you she didn't. You didn't sense her lying when she made the promise.

'And yet she betrayed me.'

Maybe not. She may not have wanted him to touch her like that. Even you cannot control your body sometimes when your mind has other ideas. Fear and anger surfaced at that thought and he raised his head.

'No. She called him beautiful.'

She doesn't seem the type to say that.

'She did.'

You should go back and find out. Sesshomaru hesitated. Did he really want to find out?

'No. I know what I heard.'

You're making a mistake. Sesshomaru stood and headed back to his castle

Kagome walked down the corridors of Sesshomaru's castle. She lifted her hand and delicately touched the sore spot on her head. She winced slightly. She smiled warmly at the soldiers and servants that she passed. Some of them were too shocked to respond, others nervously smiled back or nodded their heads. Sesshomaru hadn't come back yet, but she was sure that it was probably important and he didn't want to be disturbed. Lord Akira had shown her how to take care of Tenshi and how to put his saddle on. She was already good friends with Akira. She took to him instantly like an older brother. After the crash from outside he had become somewhat more distant, but still held warmth in his eyes, even if they were a bit distracted. Her smile widened at the thought. She stopped suddenly, she could have sworn she had seen silver hair. She ran down the corridor. She turned left and ran up to Sesshomaru.

"Hey." She called to him as she began walking by his side. He didn't turn his head or acknowledge her. She was a glint in his eyes that she couldn't recognize. Her instincts told her it wasn't good. He turned another corner and she began walking behind him slightly.

"What's wrong? Are you mad at me?" He stopped suddenly. He turned around to face her. She looked ready to cry. In her eyes shone confusion and worry. His chest constricted with the pained look in her eyes.

'It must be done.'

You're making a mistake

"Go home." She flinched, backing away from him slightly. She stared at him in shock and confusion. He turned slowly and began walking again. She stood still, not trusting herself. She could barely breathe.

Wrong His mind screamed.

'Mine…' His demon followed, but he kept walking. He forced himself to keep going when he smelled a trace of salt in the air. She was crying.

Kagome ran into her room as tears poured down her face. She couldn't think. She couldn't breathe. 'Was tonight an act? He was so nice. I thought he loved me. What did I do wrong?' She forcefully opened the door and ran inside. She stopped a minute to look around. She ran to her bed and found her bag on the balcony side of the bed on the floor. She quickly piled clothes into the bag. She didn't care fro anything else. She reached behind her and pulled out one of her silken feathers. She kissed it gently and placed it in the middle of the bed. She picked up her pack and let one more tear slip down her face. Running out of her room toward the great doors she bid her friends a silent farewell and hoped that they would be okay. She sprinted toward the doors and forced the great doors open. The night was cold and rain beat down upon her. Lightning struck in the distance, sending a shiver down her. It would be dawn in a few hours. She stopped just before the forest and turned back, heading to the barn. Forcing the doors open she looked at her beloved Tenshi. He padded lightly over to her, as far as the tethers would let her. She set down her pack and tried to remember everything Lord Akira had taught her. She stepped back and admired her work. Tenshi stood with a golden bridle, his green eyes shimmering in the dim light. He wore a blue, gold-trimmed saddle. The baby blue saddle brought out his silver hooves. It was modified to have straps that tied around his wings. She almost smiled. She quickly grabbed her bag and tied it to the back of the saddle. She tried to mount him and failed. Taking a deep breath she tried again, swinging her legs over Tenshi's back to straddle his wings. She grabbed the reigns and held on tight as she quietly prayed it was all a dream.

"Let's go." The winged horse instantly sprinted forward, knocking the doors to the stable off their hinges and dashed at incredible speeds though the forest.

"Sesshomaru!" Akira called after his Taiyoukai brother. Sesshomaru's rage grew to new heights. Lord Akira paused a moment before walking at the demon lord's side. "What's wrong?" Sesshomaru instantly grabbed Lord Akira and slammed him against the wall on his left, catching him off guard.

"Betrayal! By my trusted friend no less!" Akira's confusion showed on his face.

"Betrayal?" Lord Akira questioned, shocked.

"Mine. Kagome." Lord Sesshomaru managed to say, anger radiating off his form. All the servants in the vicinity fled. Lord Akira's look of recognition that flashed in his eyes sent Lord Sesshomaru to new depths of anger. Poison began seeping from his claws unknowingly.

"If you mean in the barn-"

"You were my friend!" Sesshomaru yelled, cutting him off. Akira took a deep breath the calm himself and his demon's indignation.

"Nothing happened." Came his calm reply. "Not like you think. Now calm down." Even though Sesshomaru's rage clouded mind he sensed the truth in his words.

"Explain." Sesshomaru said, taking on a calmer rage. His eyes still shaded red, but the poison stopped flowing.

"I was helping her feed and water Tenshi. I wished to meet the girl my best friend had fallen for. I had believed that you would never mate, but that girl did something to you. I wanted to know what made her, of all beings, so special. She wanted to get to know the horse better and decided to stay in the barn with him so she fetched a blanket down from the loft."

"She called you beautiful." Sesshomaru interrupted.

Lord Akira laughed lightly, not wanting to upset Sesshomaru any more. "She called Tenshi beautiful. I merely joked with her when I accepted the praise she had bestowed on the horse. I saw the look in her eyes when she saw you at the gathering. She loves you. She even told me as much after you fled."

Flashback

"I wonder what that was." Kagome said as she came into the barn. She sat down on the forgotten blanket that had been laid by the water trough. "Is there something wrong?" She asked Akira, noticing his silence.

"It is strange that an angel would seek the affection of a demon." Akira said, changing the subject as he snapped out of his trance and moved to stand by the horse. He began stroking the horse's massive side.

"You can't help who you love." Kagome said. A small smile playing on her lips as she blushed slightly. She looked at an interesting piece of grain on the floor.

"So, you love him then?" Akira said as he turned to face her. She looked up and held his gaze levelly.

"I do." She smiled and laughed. "I don't know when or how, but I love the stubborn ass. I'd do anything for him. I just wish I knew exactly what he felt for me." Kagome's gaze drifted back to the floor.

Lord Akira stopped mid-stroke. He went to crouch in front of her. He took her hands hin his and she looked up to meet his eyes. "I have known Sesshomaru since we were three years old in demon years. Never in the two hundred years that I have known him has he acted like this. I never thought I would see the day when Sesshomaru would have someone stand by his side. He is never one to offer comfort of any kind, but make no mistake I saw when he gripped your hand in his. I am so glad that fate has brought you into his life. Forever on you shall be my sister. Should you ever need anything, do not hesitate to ask." Lord Akira smiled knowingly at the relief he sensed in Kagome.

"Thank you, brother Akira." Kagome's smile brightened.

"You make me sound like a monk." Kagome and Akira laughed in playful banter.

End Flashback

Lord Sesshomaru sensed the truth is his words throughout the entire storey as Lord Akira described the aftermath of his anger toward that unsuspecting water barrel. The rage instantly fled from him. Bringing something much worse in its wake, fear. After knowing Lord Akira for so long he could sense a lie, even though to those who didn't know him Akira was a mastermind for getting past youkai detection of lies. Not even he could trick Sesshomaru. They stared into each other's eyes, Sesshomaru's begged for understanding, Akira's prayed that he would receive it.

"I heard…" Lord Sesshomaru's voice leveled off. His words lost him.

"She bumped her head on a beam. She was complaining of the pain when I touched the wound in an attempt to inspect it." The reality of Akira's words hit him harshly. His eyes widened and his body went rigid. His mind recalled the scent of Kagome's tears that he had, only moments ago, caused.

Relief flashed in Akira's eyes. "Come, let's go talk over sake and forget all this before you do something stupid." Lord Akira then noticed the fear lacing Sesshomaru's scent. "Unless you already have." His own eyes suddenly widen with realization.

In a flash they were both running down the hall toward Kagome's room. They found the door already slightly open. Sesshomaru threw open the door and looked into the abandoned room. Akira standing slightly behind him and he entered. Sesshomaru's gaze instantly went to the lone feather on the bed. He slowly walked over to the bed and picked up the feather. It still smelled like her. Lord Akira gasped, earning the attention of a now panicky Sesshomaru. They looked at each other.

"Tenshi." Both of them took off from the balcony. They landed on the lush green grass, wet with the rain that the clouds poured unrelentingly. They sprinted toward the barn, instantly noticing the broken barn doors. Kagome's scent still lingered in the now cold barn. She hadn't been there in at least an hour. In the rain there was no way to track her. She didn't even have the mark of a half-mate now and she knew how to hide her aura. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and spread his senses outward. He couldn't sense anything.

"Inuyasha." Sesshomaru said suddenly. Lord Akira took his gaze from the barn toward Sesshomaru. He looked at him quizzically. "He could sense her before, even when I couldn't." They both ran out of the barn at lightning speeds. They both locked onto Inuyasha's aura immediately. They found him in the halls headed for his room in the hall closest to Sesshomaru's.

Inuyasha sensed his brother approaching fast. He knew better than to draw his sword in his brother's castle, but opted to turn and wait for their appearance. Such rational behavior startled the Inu gang. Sesshomaru and Akira appeared before them.

"Where is she?" Sesshomaru asked forcefully. Inuyasha noticed a bit of desperation in his voice and the tension that surrounded the newcomers.

"Who?"

"Kagome, you can sense her." Lord Akira responded. Immediately panic seized Inuyasha.

"What happened?" Inuyasha shouted.

"No time, can you sense her or not?" Akira pushed, feeling Sesshomaru's anger rising. Inuyasha spread his senses out around him.

"She's in pain. A lot of it. She's Northwest of here." Lord Akira gasped along with the Inu gang who stood behind and to the left of Inuyasha. Akira could smell Sesshomaru's blood and looked at the demon's fists to find a steady drizzle of blood onto the pristine floor.

"What happened!" Sango shouted. Panic spread throughout the hall.

"It's not like that." Inuyasha replied, sounding saddened.

"What is it like then!" Sesshomaru yelled, feeling his control slipping.

"She's hurt…" Inuyasha said, still with his eyes closed he put his right hand to his chest and pointed his thumb toward in heart. "here."

A sudden silence filled the hall as all eyes turned toward Sesshomaru who had his eyes on the forest, clearly visible from the large window on the right side of Sesshomaru and Akira.

"Even a war-horse like Tenshi can't protect…" Miroku drifted off. Everyone seemed to notice the puddles of blood at Sesshomaru's feet. Sesshomaru nodded.

Sango's anger flared as she looked accusingly at Sesshomaru. "What the hell did you do?" This got everyone's attention and they all turned to her. "You did something I know it. If it's as Inuyasha says, the she's going through major heartbreak." Sesshomaru stiffened but didn't look away. "How dare you! She has a pure heart. She is what keeps us all together with no thought for her own happiness. And you broke her! You dishonorable bastard!" Sango yelled, breaking into a run with Kirara on her heals .No one stopped her as she ran past Sesshomaru and Akira.

'What have I done?'