The last thing Inuhime new after she lunged for Sesshomaru was hearing a snap. Then, a small pain in the small between her neck and shoulder. Thats when the world went fuzzy. Her body felt heavy, alien, and distant. She forgot she could see with her eyes. Everything was fuzzy, and the world went from bright white to jet black in a swift gradient that left her stunned to the point of forgetting to breath.

So Inuhime didn't notice when she fell, or when Sesshomaru kept her from dropping the sword, or when they moved. She didn't notice when the leach wrapped itself three times around her whole body, tying her up. She didn't notice when Tetsuiga was taken away, or when she was set down on the floor of the cave.

But Sesshomaru noticed that her body kept fazing in and out between blond demon and black haired human. He looked down at her, engulfed in the white fur, flickering between races. It was intreguiging to him.

What excited him the most was when she started to shift from human, to half demon... to full demon.

Inuhime was in such a state that her system was in a frenzy. Demonic markings appeared and disappeared on her face, sometimes like a spark of fire, sometimes like an ocean wave. Her half closed eyes, blank and distant, changed from blue to green to yellow to red so fast it looked like a rainbow was running around in her head.

Sesshomaru watched with increasing interest.

Slowly, the venom the leach had injected to knock her out subsided. Inuhime clawed her way to consciousness. She stirred, shuddered, and swayed. She would have fallen if she had been upright.

The first thing she saw was Sesshomaru looming over her. She blinked, thought back, and then...

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Inuhime shrieked. "WHAT ARE YOU FUCKING THINKING?!" She paused, waiting for a reply. None came but the usual steady gaze. "ANSWER ME DAMN IT!!" Inuhime tried to stand up, but was completely off balance by the leach's weight around her arms, not to mention dizzy.

"Be still," Sesshomaru said in a low voice. "The venom will not completely wear off for another few days. A human would take months to recover completely. A full demon would be already. A half-demon should still be unconsciousness..." He looked down at her.

"I'M GONNA FUCKIN' KILL YOU SESSHOMARU!" Inuhime howled, fumbling wildly with her living bonds. She fell on her side, and the Shikon no Tama flew off her neck and into a hole in the far wall. She froze then, staring stupidly at it.

"Oh, no..." Inuhime started to squirm her way toward her treasure. Sesshomaru was to fast for her. He knelt down to pick it up.

"The Shikon Jewel..?" He examined it. "This is worthless to me..." He looked over his shoulder at Inuhime. "But it seems to be of value to you..." He looked into it again, thinking.

"Inuhime, I will be holding on to this for a while. If you behave, I will keep it safe..." His eyes seemed to sharpen. "Displease me, and I'll throw it to the next demon I see." Sesshomaru turned his back on her. "You are to stay here and wait until I return. Do not make a sound. Do not draw attention. Do not cause yourself harm." He stalked off.

Inuhime lay limp in her fluffy confines. She felt defeated. The Shikon Jewel, the only thing she had any responsibility for, was with Sesshomaru. It was blackmail! Her hands were tied, both figuratively AND literally. She couldn't do anything... At least not anything that would do any good.

As the sun set, Inuhime sank into despair.