Toga was personally escorting Kagome down the hall when they encountered Sesshomaru exiting the barracks, wiping off his bloody hands.

Kagome stopped in her tracks. Was that his blood?

Sesshomaru looked up to see his father standing behind a surprised Kagome. The mere sight of her made him forget his anger. She smelled freshly bathed, and was wearing an elaborate kimono. Her marked wrist was bandaged up, most likely to hide it from wandering eyes. Quickly, she bowed to him. He paused. His life-companion was bowing to him. That should not be. Marking Kagome as a life-companion promoted her from mere possession to a human with youkai status. She would be a princess - a hime, by extension. If his mother were to find out…

"Son, go take a bath." Toga lightly suggested, "You smell worse than Jaken's feet."

Sesshomaru scowled at his father and passed by them without another word. He could feel Kagome's gaze on him as he walked away.

"You will meet us afterwards, no? We will be in the tea room." Toga called after him. "Tch. Stubborn pup." he muttered when Sesshomaru didn't answer.

"My lord?" Kagome asked politely.

Toga brushed it off and smiled brightly, "This way."

…

It wasn't long before Sesshomaru joined them in the tea room. The Western Lord and Kagome were sitting across from each other at a table. There was an empty cushion next to Kagome.

Obediently, he took the seat and settled in. He couldn't help but look over at her. She was giving him the cold shoulder. His guilt was growing by the second.

"Well," Toga started awkwardly, "This hasn't happened in our family for quite some time now."

Both of them refused to speak. Toga took the opportunity to slowly pour his son a cup of tea.

"Why was I not told." Sesshomaru asked.

"About life-companions? It is a dying tradition. Your mother and I are only mates. You know this, Sesshomaru." the Western Lord said, "You are at a time in your life when mating would be pointless. You are my heir, but you do not need one of your own yet. You are still young."

Kagome listened as the Lord of the West explained what life-companions were. Originally, the bond was used on the battlefront to weave the auras of two soldiers together. Unique traits and abilities would be shared, creating a situation where the two beings together were more powerful together than they could ever be individually. To honor their bond, wealth and property were often exchanged. This caused many disputes and even wars between families. Greed was the primary reason why this tradition was rarely seen. Mating brings together two kingdoms just as well, but only in the political sense. Youkai became stubborn and self-reliant, falsely believing that individual strength was superior to a bonded soldier who 'relied' on a partner's abilities.

Sesshomaru sniffed dismissively. His father tended to digress.

Toga concluded, "The process of marking a life-companion, however, is different for every pair. I would not have known what to tell you."

"I was not aware that marking a human as a life-companion was possible." Sesshomaru said. He assumed the original soldiers his father mentioned were part of the Western army. A youkai army. Humans were usually their enemies, and probably too weak to survive a life-companion bond. One's youki would simply be too overpowering for a ningen. They were practically different species; spiritual opposites, if you will.

Kagome visibly bristled, "Am I not good enough for you?"

"Life-companions are meant to be equals." Sesshomaru started. She technically shouldn't be alive.

"You want me to prove to you that I'm your equal so you can redeem yourself? So you can prove that you didn't make a mistake?" Kagome took a heated breath, "Your pride is your worst quality."

"I am not asking you to prove anything!" Sesshomaru said sternly.

"Well I never asked for this!" she stood abruptly.

"Kagome." Sesshomaru reached for her but was stunned when her reiki barrier stopped him. She tore the bandage off her wrist and applied her hand to it. "Kagome!" he yelled.

Her wrist started glowing a blinding light. The overflowing anger and hopelessness manifested into the energy she was putting forth. Blood seeped down her arm.

"You must stop!" Toga shouted, "Purifying the mark will not do anything. It is permanent."

Still, she tried, until the pain was unbearable. Her barrier disarmed and Sesshomaru caught her as she collapsed to the floor. He could feel her pain deep within his heart. Bringing her close, she sobbed into his chest.

"You said you'd do right by me." she said.

"I will." he vowed more to himself, "I promise."