DISCLAIMER: Seeshoumaru, Kagome, and all other characters from "Inuyasha" don't belong to me. All rights are reserved to Rumiko Takahashi. Though, I would so not mind having Fluffy as my own. Hmmm...@_@ Well, on to the story!

Seeshoumaru winced as he took another angst-ridden step. Somehow, the Taiyoukai of the West found himself severely injured. Earlier that morning, he was patrolling his lands when he caught a foreign scent, approaching fast. So, doing what he did best, Seeshoumaru turned around and headed straight for the scent. When he got to the place where the smell was the strongest, he was appalled at what he saw.

There, standing a few yards in front of him was the most monstrosity of a demon he ever laid eyes upon. It had four insect legs on its torso, and talons with claws like that of a hawk at its hindquarters. With the head of a giant lizard, the green slime covering its body was actually quite apparent. The beast had the wings of a bat, and the body of a feline. But, what stood out the most to the Taiyoukai, was that the demon had glowing yellow eyes with a dilated red pupil. Suddenly, the demon stepped forward and lashed out at Seeshoumaru with its tongue. He was totally caught off guard; not knowing an attack could actually come from the mouth like that.

The lizard's tongue lashed out at Seeshoumaru. Well, unfortunately for him, it met its target, leaving an extremely deep gash down Seeshoumaru's chest. Grimacing, he tried to hold his own. But, as the Fates had it, the Taiyoukai was too severely injured, and so, for the first time in history, Taiyoukai of the West, Lord Seeshoumaru, had to retreat. Now, we venture back to the present. Seeshoumaru had lost a great deal of blood. Soon, he was forced to stop and rest. So, leaning against the trunk of a tree, he began to lick all of his minor cuts/ bruises, his saliva sealing the wounds. Cursing himself at his weakness, Seeshoumaru drifted into a very light nap. It just so happened that this "light nap' became deeper by the second until he was eventually in a "deep slumber".

Just a few minutes after he moved to deep slumber, Inuyasha and the others came into view. Since Seeshoumaru had been asleep downwind from Inuyasha, he, and the other demons of then group couldn't smell their foe. As it was, they all were completely shocked when Kagome suddenly jumped off of Inuyasha's back and raced something silver that was just ahead. The hanyou immediately tensed when he recognized what the silver thing actually was. Before he could mouth out a warning, however, Kagome stood mere inches away from the demon lord. Afraid that any sudden movements or sounds from him would endanger Kagome's safety, Inuyasha settled on shushing his remaining companions. Detecting then urgency in his voice, all four of then remaining members quieted at once.

While Inuyasha was being himself, Kagome was steadily being hers. As soon as she saw the injured Taiyoukai, she rushed to his side. When she got to the spot where he was lying unconscious, she almost cried, if it wasn't for the fact that this was a brutal demon in front of her.

His silk kimono was covered in his own blood. It seeped onto his armor, where it looked as if it were beginning to rust. He had small cuts and bruises on his arms. The silvery mane that he usually kept tamed with every hair in place was disarrayed. To make matters worse, it seemed as if he had a fever, sweat mingling with blood. The metallic smell of blood hung in the air and even hurt her human nose. Wrinkling her nose to try and block out the stench, Kagome knelt down in the earth beside him. Holding up a quaking hand, Kagome was about to see how bad the demon lord was injured when his right arm shot out, and he grabbed her wrist. His claws digging deeply into her delicate skin, it didn't seem as if the Taiyoukai was planning on releasing her anytime soon. Straining against his grip, Kagome finally got her wrist from his grasp. Rubbing it gingerly, she turned around and proceeded to where the rest of her group members were waiting. She braced herself for Inuyasha's oncoming assault.

"Oi, wench! How stupid are you? That's my lusting brother, Seeshoumaru down there. What do-"Inuyasha was cut short when Kagome waved a hand in the air.

` "Inuyasha, osuwari." With a loud crash, Inuyasha was reacquainted with his old friend, the ground. Stifling a giggle, Kagome turned to her friends.

"Mirouku, this may not seem very logical, but I need you to find some healing herbs. Sango, I need you to help me rip some old clothes into bandages. Shippou and Kilala, I need you two to boil me some nice hot water. Everybody got it?" asked Kagome, a fake smile plastered onto her face. But... The others didn't buy her sudden cheeriness. It was too "chippy" for them.

"Lady Kagome," began Mirouku. "If you don't mind me asking, what are all of these supplies for? Are you seriously thinking of bandaging Seeshoumaru up? You do realize that he has tried to kill not only us, but you in particular on more than one occasion?" asked Mirouku, worry evident in his eyes. Kagome smiled at his brotherly protectiveness.

"Don't worry Mirouku. I'm a big girl and can handle myself. Besides, are you forgetting I can control my miko powers now? It would be really hard for him to hurt me. So, be a big help and get those herbs, 'kay?" Mirouku returned her smile and set off to find the herbs. Kagome turned towards Shippou and Kilala, who immediately began to work. Leading Sango to her yellow backpack, the girls began to rip the unnecessary cloth into bandage strips. Shortly after the two began their job, Kagome was by the shoulders and shaken violently from behind. Turning around, her brown gaze met Inuyasha's golden one.

"Have you lost your mind, wench? I say we go down and kill the bum right now," said Inuyasha. He was shocked when Kagome slapped him.

"Inuyasha, how can you be so inconsiderate? You can't just go around killing people when they're wounded. I never thought that you could be such a monster," spat Kagome, glaring at Inuyasha. Sango laid a hand on her best friend's shoulder to calm her down.

"Kagome, I have to agree with Inuyasha on this one. Seeshoumaru has constantly attacked Inuyasha when he was wounded. And, even when he was human. I really don't see how you can stick up for him after all he's done."

Kagome looked from Sango to Inuyasha and back to Sango again. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Shippou jumped on her shoulder.

"Oka-saan, the water is nice and hot." He whispered. Kagome nodded, turned briskly on her heel, and walked to the boiling pot. When she got there, she noticed a small bowl with green paste in it. It seemed that Mirouku thought to do her a favor or two. Grabbing the cloth, pot, and bowl, she, along with Shippou, began walking back to where the injured demon lord was laying. When they arrived, Kagome almost fainted at what she saw, barely suppressing a groan. Seeshoumaru's armor was covered in blood. His kimono was completely ruined. His fever seemed to have gotten worse, sweat completely covering his face. You could barely recognize this figure as Seeshoumaru.

Dropping down on all fours, Kagome began to unbuckle the demon's armor. Fumbling with the sticky latch, she finally unbuckled it and lifted it over Seeshoumaru's head. Laying it to the side, she began to take off the top half of his kimono. Wrinkling her nose in disgust at the stained cloth, she threw that with the armor. Looking at his gaping wound, she sighed at the full job she knew lay ahead. Pulling her hairs into a tight ponytail, she began to work.

The first order of business was for the large gash down his chest to be cleaned. She dipped one of the cloths into the hot water and gingerly wiped the blood and poison away. When that gruesome job was done, she asked Shippou to hand her the herbal paste. When the paste was in her hands, she used her hands to smear the paste all over the wound. Hopefully, it would act as a seal and help the skin come back together, faster. Wiping her hands on he already stained jeans, she proceeded to wrap the crudely made bandages across Seeshoumaru's torso. This was proving to be the most difficult of tasks. Not to say Seeshoumaru was fat, au contraire, it's just that he was more in shape than Kagome would have thought. Sighing in frustration, she was about to give up when an idea struck her out of the blue.

"Hey, Shippou. Can you do me a favor?" asked Kagome.

"Of course, oka-saan," chirped Shippou, jumping onto Kagome's shoulders. She smiled down at her adopted son who seemed to want to please her at every waking moment.

"Great! I need you to wrap those bandages around Seeshoumaru's chest while I hold his body up, okay?" asked Kagome. She wasn't sure of how the kitsune would react.

"Ummm... Are you sure he's not going to attack me? If he does, who's gonna protect you from Inuyasha?" asked the young kitsune, worry evident in his voice. Kagome couldn't help but giggle.

"Shippou, I appreciate your concern, but I can handle Inuyasha. Don't worry about it. And, as for Seeshoumaru, he's out cold. Besides, if he does try to attack us, I can use my miko powers," assure Kagome.