Sesshomaru was left alone on the bed. He missed her warmth already. He knew he should probably lie down but couldn't bring himself to change the altitude of his head. Slouching over, he brought his elbows to his knees and rested his temples in his hands. He closed his eyes and felt utterly powerless. He was almost deaf, and had little to no sense of smell. Were all his senses going? How could he possibly lose his sense of sight, taste, and touch? He dreaded the answer.

Kagome burst into the head Miko's office, only to find Miroku already there. He looked up at her in surprise.

"He can't smell anything." Kagome blurted.

"Wait, what do you mean he can't smell anything?" Miroku made his way to her side.

"He - he tried to smell me and he couldn't!" she flustered and blushed. "And-" she continued before Miroku could catch her blushing, "he couldn't even sense my aura. Isn't he a full youkai?"

"Yes, and his father is one of the Dai's" Kaede spoke up.

"His father's a Daiyoukai?" Kagome asked.

"Ever heard of Ambassador Inutaisho? Youkai ambassador of Japan." Miroku sighed, "I knew Sesshomaru was in the city, but I didn't know he was -here-."

Kagome's brain was flabbergasted. The Ambassador's son sampled her scent. Or tried to. Kami.

"That still doesn't explain why he can't smell anything." Kagome said.

"It could be a number of reasons. Kagome, may I see his sheet? Miroku I need you to bring up his medical record, if you could." Kaede moved away from the computer so Miroku could find what she needed. She flipped through Sesshomaru's clipboard.

"There's the usual immunizations when he was a child..." Miroku skimmed through the record, "but other than that he hasn't been ill. I wouldn't count his arm as being sick. His left arm was recently regenerated."

"Does it say what happened?" Kaede asked.

"No, but I heard about it." Miroku hesitated. "Inuyasha was driving. It's a long story."

Kagome didn't know what to do. There was no clear answer. She realized there was no one at the receptionist's desk. "Um, should I go back to the front..?"

"No," Kaede said, "I need you here."

"Me?" Kagome was puzzled. She was only a miko-in-training.

"I need you to see what Sesshomaru has been up to the last few days. Ask him if he's eaten anything different or been around large groups of people - anything out of the ordinary." Kaede promptly got on the phone. "Kanna, are you available? Good, can you cover Kagome's shift? I need her for a patient. Thank you." and hung up. She handed Kagome the clipboard and gave her a kind smile, "Don't forget to check his vitals. You'll be fine."

Kagome rushed back down the hall, feeling entirely inadequate for the position she'd been put in. Her self-confidence was not in the best shape.

Sesshomaru's eyes flew open as he felt the air's temperature shift as the door opened quietly. He wasn't used to relying on his physical senses so heavily. Kagome stood awkwardly at the door, unsure of how to proceed.

"I need to check your vitals, if that's ok." Kagome was suddenly very shy.

Sesshomaru read her rosy lips and nodded, understanding. She closed the door behind her.

Rummaging through the drawers for supplies, Kagome went through her training in her head. Vitals for an Inu were definitely all physical senses, especially smell and hearing. But there were also non-physical vitals.

Turning to him, she said, "Oh, I'm Kagome, by the way. Second-year miko-in-training."

"Hn." was his response. "Sesshomaru Taisho, as you know."

Kagome finished gathering supplies and checked her clipboard. Taking a deep breath and reassuring herself that she indeed could do this, she turned to him and said, "Alright so..."

Sesshomaru was mesmerized with her lips. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

"...is that okay?" she finished her list of things to do. He hadn't heard a word. Nodding absentmindedly, agreeing to whatever she had said.

"Okay! Let's get started." Kagome said brightly, though she eyed him to see if he was fully aware of his surroundings. She had a feeling he would've agreed to a colonoscopy if she had said so.

First thing was to check his eyes. Kagome grabbed a small flashlight and took a step toward him. He was graced with a lovely view of her throat. He swallowed visibly.

"Just look straight ahead." Kagome said as she shined the light in his left eye. Ducking her head a little to get a better view, she was awed by the golden orbs. His pupil dilated normally. She checked the other eye and took a moment to appreciate the little bit of golden sunshine. He blinked away the residue of the bright light and looked into her eyes. Shockingly blue like the ocean at midnight. He was disappointed when she tore her gaze away from his and jotted down some notes.

"Ears next." She said, as she grabbed the otoscope. She tucked her own hair behind her ear to ask if he would do the same. He brushed his long silver hair back and nearly jumped as she touched the tip of his ear to get a better view. He let out a growl. The waves of pain were excruciating.

"Sorry." she whispered apologetically, and moved to his other side. This time he kept quiet as she peered into his ear. He felt her breath on his cheek as she let out a sigh of frustration. His inner ears were inflamed and his balance was clearly off. More notes filled his sheet.

Turning to the cupboard, Kagome rummaged through various kits, finally finding the one labeled 'Olfactory test - youkai'. She tore open the plastic and took out three small vials. She opened the first and immediately smelled roses. Handing it to him, she asked, "What do you smell?"

Gingerly taking the small vial from her hand, he stuck it under his nose. Nothing. He shook his head 'no'. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. She handed him the next one. This one she couldn't smell, but it was labeled 'storm'. He bristled a bit as he took a whiff.

"It feels like a mild shock." he stated.

"'Feels like'?" she repeated.

"Like electricity." he watched as she wrote even more notes.

"But what do you smell?" she asked.

"Nothing." he stared at her, quickly becoming tired. Was it him or was the room getting hotter?

"Okay, last one." she nearly gagged as she opened the last one. "Please tell me you can smell this."

Sesshomaru took a sniff and pondered. There was a hint of something. It vaguely resembled the smell of his claws' acidic poison. He saw Kagome raise a hand to cover her nose. He handed it back to her and she quickly closed the lid.

"Acid?" he questioned.

She read the label, "Close enough. That was from a skunk youkai. Hoo!" and took a deep cleansing breath and put away the kit. "Could you take your coat off?" he shrugged it off as she took the stethoscope from the drawer.

"Sitting straight please, and deep breaths." She slid her hand under his shirt and placed the end of the stethoscope on his back. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. He failed to see the blush creeping up on Kagome's cheeks. His skin was so smooth, she marveled as she moved the stethoscope around to listen. His heartbeat was strong, much like his muscles. She liked the thought of seeing him without the shirt.

Her hands were firm, but gentle. He started to feel warmer. Her touches were sending shivers up his spine.

"I think I have a fever." He blurted out. Dammit, he had no control over his body.

"You do feel warm..." she splayed her hand out across his back and rested the back of her other hand on his forehead. He inhaled as he savoured her touch. She put away the stethoscope and stuck a thermometer in his ear, making him jump. "Yup, definitely a fever."

He sighed. How did he get so sick?

"Were you outside much the last few days? Did you meet with anyone who was also sick?" Kagome asked.

"No, I was at home." He recalled, but then remembered, "My neighbour. He was sick."

"Is he youkai?"

"Hanyou. Fox I think."

"When was this?" she wrote notes.

"Yesterday." he saw her pause in her notes. She looked at him. Nothing should develop quite so quickly. Youkai usually heal quickly or their bodies exterminate the virus before it ever does anything. Something else was going on. Putting down her pen, she stood and decided to investigate.

"Can I try something with you? It's not standard, but I hope it will help." She asked, "I'd like to see your youkai aura."

"You can see my aura?" Sesshomaru asked, surprised.

"Well you should be able to sense mine, but you can't." She stated, like it was obvious. Sesshomaru realized he couldn't. This was troubling. To his knowledge, his neighbour was perfectly fine, aside from the coughing fits that kept him awake last night. He, however, had no trouble breathing. So what did he have that prevented him from -sensing- her?

"Alright." He consented to her proposal. She took a deep breath and stood in front of him.

"Just relax, and trust me." She placed a hand over his heart and rested her fingertips on the side of his face. "Close your eyes and take a deep breath." They both took a breath in unison. Kagome reached with her own aura to his and made contact.

She opened her eyes to see their auras illuminated around the room. His was a gold with hints of lapis, the same colour as his crescent moon. Hers was the colour of her eyes, with hints of silver. She gasped, "I can't believe that worked."

"What?" Sesshomaru cracked an eye open, and saw what she saw. Eyes widening, he looked around, lost in their created cosmos. He had never seen anything like it before. He looked up at her, seeing her in all her beauty.

"Um," She smiled shyly, "welcome to my aura. And yours." Her emotions created pink hues and swirled much like the northern lights on a clear starry night. It was such a contrast with his golden expanse of aura. Like night and day.

"I'm one of the few mikos that can do this, apparently" she looked around, searching, "You just can't physically move in the meantime." she paused, "Can you feel me?"

Sesshomaru tried to focus, "Just barely."

Kagome looked around in his golden aura. It was bright and warm like the sun. She could see areas of physical illness, but there was something else. "Do you trust me?" she asked.

"Do I have a choice?" he smirked.

She huffed and looked at him. "I can only do this if you let me."

"And what are you doing?" he inquired. Other than being gorgeous, he thought, as his eyes roamed over her aura. It was ever changing, responding to her emotions and thoughts.

"Purifying your black hole," she pointed looked to her left at the dark area of his aura. Following her gaze, he recognized what it was.

"Good luck." he scoffed, resigned. The dark part of his aura was the result of the incident with Inuyasha. His arm had regenerated, yes, but his aura was still healing. Perhaps getting sick halted that healing process. He suddenly felt the odd sensation of tingling in his scalp. He glanced over to see Kagome's aura drifting over to the named 'black hole'. His left arm started tingling as well. He watched as she pushed away the darkness, completely covering it with her aura. He suddenly was aware he could begin to feel her emotions, her concern and nervousness.

"Okay, that should help." She took one last look around and assessed her work. His aura adjusted to hers and looked more uniform and normal. She could sense his awe and wonder. She glanced down at him to find him staring at her with wide eyes. Giving him a shy smile, she moved her hands away from him and their visible auras faded.

She watched as he flexed his left hand. His arm was fully healed. He was amazed. Just who was this girl?