"My lord!"

Sesshoumaru woke up to the sight of his ward and retainer standing over him, looking down on him. He nearly sneered in disgust knowing that they had seen him in a moment of weakness. He did not pass out for any reason. 'What had the power to do this to me?' he asked himself. Before moving he did a quick mental check of his body and found everything in working order. He wasn't sore, nor was he exhausted. There was no lack of strength in any of his limbs, or more importantly, his youki. It puzzled him more than anything else. What had the power to knock him out cold but didn't harm him?

Regally, and without a word he got off the ground and started walking in the direction of the battlefield. He didn't need to motion to his companions to follow, they already were. What was the most puzzling was as he walked, he not only didn't feel any exhaustion, but he felt a renewed sense of energy. Was he merely sleeping? Perhaps the light wasn't a demon, but a sleeping spell set upon him. He was hoping he'd find the answers at the battlefield.

As he walked toward his destination he could hear Jaken continuing to squawk about how he was knocked out, if he was alright, that he's never been so scared in his life. Sesshoumaru had reached his wits end, however, when his retainer mentioned that this wouldn't have happened if he were there with him, presuming of course that meant that he needed Jaken's protection. "Jaken, silence."

He took great delight in the natural sounds around him, the shifting of the branches and leaves on trees in the wind, the sound of water running nearby. These sounds didn't do anything to calm him, he could care less about it, but they kept him on the alert so he would know if something else strange was heading his way.

As he came closer to the battlefield, he could pick up new scents, although they were most familiar to him. The half-breed and his companions. They had been there for quite some time, as determined by how strong the lingering scent was, but as he came upon the clearing, there was nobody there.

'When did they leave?' It must have been when he was unconscious and he growled at the thought of missing them. They were the ones battling the dragon, they would be the ones who knew best what happened.

And if he learned that whatever had happened would harm him, their lives were forfeit for releasing such a power.

What bothered him most though was there was no lingering scent of the demon. That was most strange as there was usually some remnants of a dead demon around, either the carcass, and if not the carcass, than the scent of death. But there was nothing other than what looked like a battletorn field. The ground was freshly torn up, as well as trees were freshly knocked down. Those were the only indications that there was an altercation here not so long ago.

But how long was he passed out? He'd have to figure that out later, he wouldn't lower himself to ask Jaken, but he knew if he was patient enough, Jaken would get irritated at being silenced and would eventually let him know when asking for his concern again.

He turned to leave from the clearing when he could start to feel his head to hurt. Was this what the light did?

"Rin, Jaken, leave." He ordered, and hoped they left quickly, the headache was becoming too much to bear.

"But Lord Sesshoumaru?" Jaken protested as Rin turned Ah-Un around to leave the clearing.

Sesshoumaru snarled, showing that he meant business. "Leave. Now. Take Rin to the grand cave in the west and stay until I arrive."

"Come Master Jaken," Rin called from on top of Ah-Un. "You heard what Lord Sesshoumaru said." Ah-Un reached down and grabbed Jaken by the nape of his neck with his mouth before turning around again and walking off. Sesshoumaru was thankful that at least Rin would listen to him without question.

As soon as his ward and retainer were out of side he collapsed against a tree and cradled his head in his arm. 'What the hell is going on?'

Inuyasha sat next to Kagome's pallet at Kaede's, refusing to move until the girl woke up. He had wanted to stay and figure out what the pink light was and what it did to his best friend but common sense won out, and he knew it'd be better for Kagome if he took her to Kaede. If Kaede couldn't figure out what was wrong with her, she'd at least be able to keep an eye on her and heal what she could. He looked next to him and could see Shippo was beside himself with worry. When he had walked in the door with an unconscious Kagome Shippo had gone on and on blaming Inuyasha for this and saying that if he was with them, this would never have happened. Inuyasha let Shippo believe what he wanted, his first concern was to get Kagome to wake up.

"Any change?" Miroku and Sango walked into the hut carrying a few dead rabbits so Kaede could make a stew.

"Nothing. She's not even making a sound."

"These things take time, ye need to be patient, Inuyasha." Kaede thanked the two for their catch and proceeded to raid her shelves for some cooking herbs, and vegetables. Keeping busy was easier than sitting and worrying. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out what was wrong with her other than exhaustion, and if the others hadn't told her about the pink light entering her body, she would have said as much.

But she didn't sense anything different about the girl. Her aura was the same, so it wasn't a demonic energy, or if it was, then her body was unconscious because she was fighting it. But then she would have sensed a struggle within the girl. She didn't sense that either. In fact, the girl seemed perfectly calm and natural in her unconscious state.

She didn't know if she should be worried or relieved.

"Let me help, Kaede." Sango took a rabbit from Kaede and followed her outside to clean and cut it. For the past few months Kaede has been taking Sango aside to show her how to cook different things. She knew things between her and the Monk were getting better, and he'd appreciate a woman who knew the basic home skills. Sango insisted she wouldn't change, but she knew she'd have to learn to at least feed herself. It was pretty sad that Kagome, a girl younger than herself and most certainly more dependent on her family could cook a decent meal while she couldn't.

"What do you really think is wrong with her?" she asked Kaede, knowing that Inuyasha was too preoccupied inside the hut to hear.

"I do not know. It's most puzzling but I'm sensing nothing is wrong. Maybe it's just what it is, light. Perhaps she passed out because of exhaustion from the battle."

"She was fine after the battle though," Sango handed Kaede the first rabbit so she could cut the choice cuts off it, then began on the second. "She was up and walking around and ready to prepare a meal. It's not like Kagome to be running around one moment and collapsing the next. I know that light had something to do with it, I just don't know what."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I hope for Kagome's sake it's nothing serious. But I tell ye Sango, I cannot fathom what that light can be. I sense nothing harmful in Kagome's body."

Sango sighed. All of them were puzzled. Kaede was right, there was no evil aura around Kagome, nothing seemed out of place, much like it did when Tsubaki cursed her, but she was still unconscious. And that was unusual in itself. She still thought something was wrong as Kagome wasn't one to just fall over like that. She has seen Kagome past the point of exhaustion. She teeters and slows down and will usually 'sit' Inuyasha until they rest. She's always been aware of when she's past that point.

Not to mention the bright light slamming into her body at the same time. It was too coincidental. If they knew where the white light went, then maybe they could find out more information. But there was no way to figure that out. She sighed as she handed Kaede the second rabbit and began chopping some carrots.

While Kagome lay still as a stone on the pallet in the hut, her mind was racing. Kaede was wrong about there not being an internal battle with her, but how you can you visibly battle that which is not visible? Her miko powers were working hard to not reject, but understand that which had invaded her. Why was she chosen? If the light was a youkai of some sort, it would have instantly been purified, or kill her, there would be no blending of the two. But this was different, almost holy like her. How can it reject something that was much like itself?

Everything was starting to give her a headache as she mentally tried to sort everything out. She tried reaching out for her friends, but her body didn't have the energy to wake up yet. She knew they were worried for her, she could hear them as they were discussing the possibilities. She just couldn't respond.

What was wrong with her?

'Kaede, something's happening!' She could hear Inuyasha call out and she wished more than anything that she could tell him she was all right, that she just had a headache. Her body wouldn't respond though. She could feel a cool cloth behind draped over her forehead, and while it would normally help ease her headache, it didn't faze it. She wanted to whimper, to cry as it increased in intensity.

'She has a headache, Inuyasha. I've seen this in many others I've nursed when they were unconscious. Look at her temples and notice how they throb slightly. Best we can do is keep her comfortable. I'll make up a brew we can slowly feed her to help with easing the pain.'

She wanted to calm the hanyou down, she could feel the panic rolling off him in waves, and while she would normally be thrilled knowing he felt that way toward her, she was more concerned with waking up and ridding the headache.

Let it go…


Kagome's subconscious stilled itself at the voice and stopped all together, allowing the headache to take over.

Five year old Mokuren snuck away from her parents to slip into the water on her own. She knew she was forbidden to do such things. As she was told by her parents and the other villagers, there were a great many dangers in the world around them, especially for a young girl. She was being trained to become the next trival priestess, succeeding her grandmother. Both of her parents had been blessed and didn't receive her grandparent's holy powers. She, herself, wasn't so lucky. At five she already knew the responsibilities that would follow, she knew the burden she would have to carry.

Her grandmother was a special case, the only reason she was allowed to take a partner was because the man she had fallen in love with had holy powers himself. That was the only way the tribal members would ensure she would produce a worthy heir. At five, she knew the same fate awaited her. She was to take a holy man as a partner, or no man at all.

She sighed, these were the years where she was supposed to be like the other tribal children, playing games when they had found a place to settle. She hadn't played a game in 36 moon cycles. She wasn't allowed to be left alone anymore either, to ensure that the purity of the line. Every now and again she was able to steal a few minutes for herself and get away. Today she had decided to bathe privately. It was truly sad to her that five years old she looked forward to the moments where she could be by herself.

She could never again act her age, such was her curse, but she could be herself on her own occasionally.

She lay her clothes on a rock before stepping into the hot water. She only remained waist deep as she wasn't able to swim very well. The child in her came out and she started to splash around, relishing the ability to play, even if just for a short time. Occasionally she would giggle and laugh as the water hit her face, but for the most part she was quiet.

She didn't stay very long in the water, knowing she couldn't afford to, and was soon ashore getting dressed again. She was about to return to the tribe when she heard a rustle in the bushes. What had she gotten herself into? She fell backwards to the ground in fright at the sight of the bear demon emerging from the bush. She may be grown up and wise beyond her years, but she was only five, how could she possibly defend herself from such a beast? Her holy powers were only just starting to develop.

"Pathetic human," the bear demon growled at her. "At least you'd make a tasty snack."

She tried not to cry as the claws came reaching toward her. If she was going to die, she was going to die with some dignity.

However, much to her surprise the killing blow never came. She opened her eyes to see the bear split in half and a much larger demon flicking blood off his claws. She watched intently, feeling something that was a combination of fear and awe. She was awed by the sheer power radiating off this demon, but she would be fool if she didn't fear him as well. She knew him, she heard of him in her daily lectures by her grand parents. He was the one demon to fear above all others.

The lord of them all.

Shion, the great demon lord.

He stood there regally, with his long black hair flowing in the wind, and his green eyes focused intently upon her. Something deep inside her told that he wouldn't harm her.

"You know who I am," he stated matter of factly.

She nodded dumbly, not sure if she could speak, and if she was able to, what she would say? She was a human and she was five. He wouldn't take her seriously anyway.

"Come little one, I'll make sure you get back to your village safely." He rached for her hand and she willingly grabbed it and followed him back to the edge of her tribe's encampment. He gave her a little shove in its direction. When she turned to thank him, he was gone, and she was alone again. She sighed. It was back to her training.

Kagome bolted straight up from her pallet, breathing heavily as if she had just woken up from a nightmare.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha was to her side in an instant, holding her steady.

"Shion," she breathed out, speaking the first thing that was on her mind.

Author's Notes

Disclaimer: Inuyasha et Al belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Shion and Mokuren belong to Jay FicLover and myself

Ah my muse is being wonderful for me. I just finished writing Chapter Four and I'm starting chapter five. This means that you guys get Chapter Two now. I especially love chapter four…it practically wrote itself.

Thanks for your reviews, they make my world go round!

A Single Spark: nostalgic-maiden, Noacat, kotainuchan, Shaedow, Mir and wicca-magick, serasvictoria666, SesshysRedAngel, and CassialDarkfox

Thanks a whole bunch guys!!

Priestess Skye