"B-but my Lord!" the toad like yokai quivered, shocked at his Lords demands.

A pointed glare from said Lord ensured that nothing else was said. He was a servant, and bound by loyalty to do as instructed. Otherwise the penalty was death. Sighing in defeat the small, sickly green yokai tottered back the way he came, grumbling all the while about 'stupid humans' and how could his Lord 'treat him so terribly'.

"Jaken."

"Y-yes! My Lord, what is it?" he stuttered, fear bubbling in the pit of his stomach.

"See that our guest is properly taken care of. Any harm comes to her, and I will end your life."

"O-of course, my Lord! Anything for you, my Lord!" and again he tottered off.

Mentally sighing at the annoyance of it all, Sesshomaru thought about his newest ward and his day so far.

His arrival home had caused a lot of surprise. Mainly about the cargo within his hold. And the heavy stench of blood. As usual his tiny vassal was first to speak.

"M-my Lord! What happened?!" he squawked.

Choosing to ignore the annoying toad, he walked forward and spoke to the closest servant he could find.

"Prepare a room and call the healers."

The frightened servant nodded obediently and scurried away. Turning to another petrified servant he orders fresh clothes. Then with a swing of his bloodied hair he walked away, towards his castles sleeping chambers.

"Is she breathing? Check her! Why isn't she moving?"

"Silence. This Sesshomaru takes orders from no one."

A growl was his reply. Why was his beast acting so strangely? He cared not; he will deposit the strange Miko to his healers and then remove himself of her presence. It was obviously doing strange things to his being.

"Nonsense! A lowly being such as her could not to anything to this Sesshomaru." He rethought, anger seeping through the cracks in his normally impenetrable self-control. Gazing forward he saw that his servants had readily prepared a room as he had ordered. Good. He would not have to punish them for their tardiness. Walking into the bedroom he carefully laid the girl onto the futon. The low light from the candles shone brightly on her pale skin, reflecting on the blood that smeared her body. Without realising he watched as her chest moved slightly in weak breaths. Her heart was quietly beating, struggling with all its might. His beast began to growl as he assessed her rapidly decreasing condition.

"Healers. Now." He all but growled out, his voice cold as ice.

As he expected, within seconds two elderly healers where by his side. Both where small demons, pale green hair pulled back into a delicate bun with chopsticks within them. Their attire a simple kimono, one a light blue, the other a light yellow. Thin black lines adorned each cheek and a small black diamond on their forehead. With a quick glare, they rushed to the girl's side and began to clean her bloodied skin and remove her destroyed clothing. Turning to give the girl at least some sort of privacy, Sesshomaru went to leave.

"No" His beast growled "Stay. Protect."

"This Sesshomaru will take orders from n-"

"PROTECT HER!" His beast snarled, and suddenly his body wouldn't move. His muscles locked and his bones stiff. Eyes wide with the shock that his beast had this amount of control over him, his eyes then narrowed in rage.

"Release this Sesshomaru at once! You have no say in what I do, Beast!"

But his body returned to her side, without his command. It was like his beast had swapped places with him, and that he was the one is chains instead of his beast. He watched with muted horror as his hand smoothed her bloodied hair from her face, causing the healers to stare at him with shock.

"M-my Lord! What has this girl done to you?!" the smaller of the two cried, her wrinkled hand outstretching towards him.

A snarl was her answer, and a quick threat to her life if she stopped healing the girl. Frightened, she resumed her task at hand. Clawed fingers slowly ran through the matted mess that was the Miko's hair, a soft whine passed thin lips and brows crashed together.

"Why does she not respond?" the beast whinned, earning a vicious snarl in return.

"I command you to release this Sesshomaru!" the demon Lord spat, pulling against the mental chains that held him. He had never lost control and to do so in the company of servants was weak. And he was anything but weak.

But his words went unheard as the beast continued to watch the healers work their magic. It was taking longer than he had expected. His healers were the best in all of Japan, yet this tiny slip of a girl was barely holding on. Yet it surprised him that she was holding on at all. Her injuries were grave, fatal even.

"M-my Lord, I fear there is nothing more we can do" again spoke the smaller of the two healers, her shoulders hunched as she awaited the wrath of her Lord.

A glare was all she received, a wordless command for her reason.

Forcing the words to come out around the lump that had formed in her aged throat, she spoke. "The Miko's power is refusing our aid. We have cleaned and bandaged all that we can but internally our magic cannot help. Although she is weak her powers still protect her."

"She must heal herself. She must live" growled the beast, removing his hand from her head and standing tall.

Before he could move to sit beside the weakened Miko his hand flew to his head. Servants rushed to his side as he stumbled, soft growls escaping him.

"Touch me and I will remove your hands." Snarled Sesshomaru, his voice a gravely mix of his usual cold self and the after effects of his beast.

Pulling himself upright, he pushed past his servants whilst making his way towards the door. Without a backward glance, he commanded that nothing was to be said about his beasts control on the promise of a painful death and that the human girl was to be kept in the healers care until she was able to give him the answers he wanted. His anger bubbled within him, so furious with himself that he ground his teeth together in a very undignified way. This girl. This human girl had done what no being alive or dead had managed to do and without even knowing so. She had made him lose control and that was utterly unacceptable. Once she was healed enough, she would answer any and all questions he had.

Stalking his way to his chambers, he called for his vassel, jaken. Annoying, yes but the toad was loyal and that was all that mattered. Upton entering his chambers, he began to disrobe, passing his soiled clothing to the servant beside him. They would be burned and replacements would be made ready for when he had finished his bath. As he expected them to be. Stepping into his bathing area, he settled himself in the steaming water, closing his eyes to the world around him in an attempt to alleviate his streses.

"My Lord, you called?" squaked his vassel.

"Send scouts to all corners of my lands. I must know what transpired with the Miko. Double the guards also, if she if here, Inuyasha will come. I do not want the abomination within my home."

"Yes, my Lord!" the small Yokai answered, bowing low before turning to leave.

"Jaken"

"Yes, my Lord?" Jaken replied quickly, turning so fast he stumbled slightly.

"Ensure the chamber beside mine is made ready for the Miko, she will be staying for some time."