This was pure agony. Even Naraku wasn't this bad, hell, Kagome would GLADLY take on Naraku single-handedly and naked to avoid this torture.

They hadn't been on the road long when Inuyasha started niggling Sesshomaru. It was sooo great to have full demon hearing, and scent and sight. Even Kagome could hear the irritation in Sesshomaru's growls and the intention behind them. It was the, shut-up-or-loose-a-limb, growl. Of course Inuyasha being Inuyasha, kept going. That was about the time Sesshomaru discovered the one thing that could make Inuyasha jealous enough to shut-up, his new-found use of Tessaiga. That led to another all out fight. Kagome, afraid to try the barriers again lest something else unexpected happen, just sat there helpless and pissed. They both ignored her verbal attempts to get them to stop, until she let the s-word slip. She'd forgotten that Inuyasha was now free of the spell. Sesshomaru had not been pleased.

But it had stopped the fight. Inuyasha was too busy laughing to continue the current feud and Sesshomaru was otherwise occupied with the dirt. But once he was released from the spell he was in Kagome's face and Inuyasha was in his. He may not have had Tessaiga but he was still faster and wasn't about to let Sesshomaru touch Kagome.

After some apologizing and persuading, Kagome had calmed them both down enough to get them to agree to a truce. Inuyasha was not allowed to rub the use of Sesshomaru's own body in his face and Sesshomaru was not allowed to use Tessaiga against them. By this time night had fallen and they had to stop to make camp. No more problems right? Well, Kagome was never lucky.

"Why does he get Ramen? There's only a few left!" Inuyasha demanded.

"Inuyasha, don't be so rude. Sesshomaru has to eat too and since you weren't willing to leave long enough to rustle up something to eat or let him leave to do it either, you have to share."

Pulling a gruff pout that looked so out of place on his borrowed face, Kagome had to struggle to keep from laughing. This was all too weird.

Sesshomaru sat on the other side of camp silent and brooding. He would never admit out loud how good the human food smelled to his now inferior nose nor how he was almost drooling with anticipation. He had smelled the food before but it never appealed to him. Human food was hardly appetizing in his usual form but he could eat it if he had to. He watched as she poured the boiling liquid into the odd material of the bowl and handed one to Inuyasha and then brought one to him.

"I didn't poison it I promise." She said looking a little offended when he didn't immediately take it.

Giving her a cold sniff he took the damned cup and waited until she left before taking a bite.

"Hopefully we'll make better time tomorrow." Kagome mumbled into her cup.

"Keh, I would've already been there if it weren't for you." Inuyasha bragged.

Kagome was not amused. "You know we would have made a lot better time if YOU hadn't been so idiotic as to pick fights with Sesshomaru the whole way. Shippo has more sense than you."

'The girl has a point.' Sesshomaru thought as he struggled not to devour the whole cup of strange noodles in one bite.

"Wench!" Inuyasha yelled while jumping up. "I am NOT idiotic."

Kagome jumped up too. "Are so!"

"Am not!"

"Are so!"

"Am not!"

Sesshomaru sat, getting more and more irritated by the minute. Though this half-breeds body didn't not have the full scale of hearing that his had, the rising volume and pitch of the two arguing made his ears flatten against his skull. His impatience with the situation was growing with each second. The monk better be able to reverse this catastrophe. Or else he would be sorely put out.


The stressed trio arrived at the demon slayers village two days later. Many arguments and a number of more rules established made the journey much more taxing than it needed to have been. Kagome led the way as she dragged her feet through the gate. Her exhaustion was evident as Sango came to greet them.

"Kagome! Hey! What brings you here?" She said while rushing towards her friend. She stopped short when, what she thought was Sesshomaru followed by Inuyasha, came through the gate as well.

"Sango, is Miroku here?"

"Uh, not at the moment. He went to a neighboring village with Kilala to get some more supplies. You brought Lord Sesshomaru as well." She said looking the imposing Taiyoukai, not really registering that he was not holding himself as usual and that he held Inuyasha's trademark scowl and crossed arms.

"Well when will the lecher be back?" Sesshomaru demanded.

Sango stood shocked. The demon lord had never spoken to her directly. Not once.

Seeing her friends face Kagome stepped in. "You better sit down and let me explain. Can be go back to your hut?"

Recovering Sango nodded her head and lead the way through the slowly recuperating village. Stepping into her hut she turned to Kagome and the two demons. "All right, how about you tell me what's going on."


After explaining the situation a second time after the monks arrival, the miko and two demons waited with baited breath to see if Miroku could in fact help.

"I'm sorry to say that there isn't much anyone can do for you."

Inuyasha charged toward him. "You mean we're stuck like this monk?"

Inuyasha being much more imposing in Sesshomaru's form had Miroku shrinking back. "No no. I didn't say that. I mean that there is no outside source that I know of that can break this bond. It's there until it's done."

Kagome, who had turned white at the news that there was nothing they could do, lit up a little bit. "What do you mean Miroku? That it will end?"

"I believe so Kagome-sama. In time, the spell you cast will wear off as the brothers being to understand one another."

"I didn't cast any spell!" Kagome stated indignantly.

"Ah, but you did lady Kagome. Maybe not intentionally but when you said that the brothers needed to walk in each others shoe's…"

"I literally made them do it." Kagome finished miserably.

"Yes. Now it is my understanding that when the two finally realize the difficulties of being the other, only then will they return to their own bodies."

Everyone was startled when Sesshomaru disappeared from the room.

"I don't think he's too happy about this." Kagome said stupidly. Groaning, she wondered how it could get any worse. At this rate, the two would NEVER return to their own forms. She missed her hanyou friend who had slowly started to become something more. With the current situation, they wouldn't be thinking about anything more than reversing whatever Kagome had done to the brothers. It was killer for her love life.

"I don't see what's so difficult about being him." Inuyasha groused. "He's full demon. He doesn't have to worry about anything."

Miroku watched the door that Sesshomaru had exited through. "Don't be so sure Inuyasha, don't be so sure."


Inuyasha had tried to talk her out of it but she had been adamant. She wanted to talk to Sesshomaru, alone. They discovered a few things since that fateful day a few weeks ago. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were experiencing lingering memories that belonged to the other brother. Sesshomaru would have nightmares about being chased by demons, while being only a few years old; barely four in humans years. The death of his mother and abandonment of his older full-demon brother left him alone in a world that hated him. Inuyasha, experienced the sting of his fathers betrayal of the clan by taking that human woman as a mate then dying and leaving him with cleaning up the mess that was left. He had to fight hard to keep those lands that his father had worked so hard to maintain. The confusion and mixed feelings for both was causing enough tension to make all three of them go on edge. And tonight was the night of the new moon. For the first time, Sesshomaru would experience what it was like to be human. Kagome knew how Inuyasha felt about it, and he had endured it all his life. Sesshomaru wouldn't be able to understand the change. It was going to be so hard on him. And Kagome felt terrible for being the cause of it all which is why she wanted to talk to him.

She found him near the creek bed that they had been following. Though he wasn't making it apparent she could tell he was brooding and seemed to jump at every sound that escaped the surrounding trees. He looked terrible.

"Sesshomaru?"

She saw him stiffen but the reticent demon didn't turn around. He didn't tell her to go away either so she sat down beside him.

They were both silent for a minute, just watching the water trickle along the path beaten away by time.

"Sesshomaru, I just wanted to say how sorry I really am about all this. I-I know that it doesn't really help or change anything. I can't imagine how hard this must be for you."

Anger suddenly welled up inside the man-once-demon. Of course it was hard. His sight was practically non-existent, his hearing dulled so much it felt like he had something wrapped around his ears to muffle everything coming in. He no longer had claws, inferior to his previous form but at least they were something, nothing to defend himself with. He was weak. And it was all this woman's fault. He lashed out at her.

"Did you make yourself feel better miko?" He seethed. "You apologized for your very foolish mistake and now your conscience is clear? I have never been so humiliated or felt so insignificant in all of This Sesshomaru's life but you have apologized so that relieves you for your guilt." He sneered.

Kagome sat stunned. He hadn't really said much of the incident, like the old Sesshomaru, he kept his opinions mostly to himself. She knew he was unhappy about the situation, but the level on animosity and fury that she saw in his eyes wasn't something she had prepared herself for. Inuyasha had tried to warn her. Sesshomaru was right of course. This, everything was her fault, and her apology only served to make her feel better but that was all. She was startled when she felt tears prick her eyes.

"You're right. My apology doesn't do anything to help. It just made me feel better to know that I said it to you. Nothing I can say can make it right." She stammered.

Sesshomaru turned to find tears leak out of her eyes and something in side him clenched as his anger slid away. What was this feeling? This human form allowed emotions to flood him, few of which he could identify. This was one of them. Despite the fact that he had every reason, no right, to be angry with her he found himself wanting to comfort the crying woman. What had happened had been pure accident, whether it was her fault or not didn't matter, but the fact that she couldn't control it anymore than he could, did matter.

"Cry not miko. I am not dead, so it is not the end of the world. Things could be slightly worse." He said. At least he didn't have to smell her tears tonight. He was uncomfortable enough.

"Thank you Sesshomaru. I know I really made a mess of things, but I hope by the time this is over, we can be friends."

Friends? He thought dubiously. Deciding that though he might temporarily be one, he would never understand humans. He sensed more than felt her shiver beside him. "You should go back to camp miko." He said without looking at her.

"In a little while."

He shrugged. If the woman want to stay and freeze then who was he to order her away? Still, though he would never admit it out loud, it was… acceptable not to be vulnerable and alone. Perhaps, perhaps he could tolerate this situation.


Sesshomaru stood overlooking the ocean. They were close to his fortress. He'd never been away so long without having been back to give orders and set a list of things that were to be accomplished in his absence. But no matter how much trouble he knew it would cause, he had to go back; even if in this form. He decided to voice his trouble with the miko and then he realized how strange it was that he felt the need to do so. It had to be the lingering feelings of his human side that needed the advice of others. But the miko had common sense, which is more than he could say for his half brother. Though the mongrel seemed to have been coming into some sort of maturity. Everyday he said less and less stupid things.

Feeling the miko approaching him he turned.

"Sesshomaru?"

He said nothing as he looked at her. It didn't matter that he held Inuyasha's body. The eyes was all Kagome needed to see the difference in them. Inuyasha's eye were never so distant. They had always held intense emotion that allowed her to guess what he was thinking no matter what was coming out of his mouth. Now that Sesshomaru housed that body, she was shut out. And it disturbed her more than she cared to acknowledge.

"You needed something Miko?" Sesshomaru asked, effectively interrupting her thoughts.

"Um… yeah." She said not having recovered from her shock.

She remembered what she was going to say as he raised an eyebrow. Definitely a Sesshomaru gesture.

"Oh uh, we're approaching a village. I suggested to Inuyasha that we stay the night. It's been a really long time since I've had a roof over my head."

Sesshomaru could imagine how she had gotten her point across too. He knew the village where they were heading, a mostly demon village might not take kindly to a miko in their midst. But he could understand why she would need to stop.

He nodded once to let her know he found this arrangement acceptable and was slightly gratified by the huge smile that spread over her face. He was not gratified however when she threw her arms around his neck and latched on in a tight hug.

"Miko." He said sternly.

Jumping back, she clasped her hand sheepishly behind her back and mumbled a quick apology. She was just so happy. Inuyasha she could usually get to acquiesce to her wishes but Sesshomaru… if he decided he didn't want to stay in the village, no matter how much she begged and bartered, she would probably have found herself sleeping on the cold ground yet again.

"Kagome!"

Turning around to face the approaching Inuyasha she waved widely at him. "Inuyasha!" She yelled as she ran towards him. Stopping to look back at the prone Inu-Lord she tossed back,

"Come on Sesshomaru lets go!"

"Inuyasha." He said instead of following.

"Yeah?"

"I must speak with you."

Snorting, Inuyasha made he way over to his brother. It was still slightly disturbing to be looking at the body that he housed for more than 250 years without the use of a mirror. But he was getting used to it.

"What'd ya want?" He asked as he came upon the elder demon.

"The village in question is a demon one."

Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah so?"

Sesshomaru gave him a dead pan look. "We are travelling with a miko."

"Shit. What do we do?"

"They are under the protection of the Western Lands."

Inuyasha knew Sesshomaru was trying to tell him something that would make the situation less of a hassle. A demon village would not take lightly to a miko among them. But for the life of him Inuyasha could not figure out what Sesshomaru's hidden meaning was.

"Get to the point Sesshomaru."

If he didn't know any better, Inuyasha would have bet Tessaiga that Sesshomaru had rolled his eyes. "They are vassals of the Western Lord. They will follow his word."

"Well then go down there and vouch for her!"

"I am not the Western Lord."

"Not the-" Then it clicked. "I have to do it."

"You must be convincing. I was here not long ago."

"Dammit." He looked back over his shoulder and spotted Kagome standing a short distance away. She was looking at them with so much trust and devotion that he couldn't breath. She relied on them to protect her. And in this case, it was Inuyasha who had to act as a demon Lord to ensure her safety in the village. It wouldn't be easy but he would do it, for her. "Keh, tell me what to do."