AN-I don't believe my eyes and my inbox….this actually got reviews!! Thank you who reviewed very much^.^ I wasn't expecting any for the first chapter^.^ and sorry about the format, I forgot to save it in Html format which explained a lot when I actually saw it….:-S anyway, tally-ho!! Go forth and read*evil laugh* yes, all must read!! MWAHAHA!!................*sweatdrops* let's all forget I just did that, ne? oh, and a favor. If any of you know of good sites get Japanese terminology, could you let me know? Onegai??

What Comes From Within

Hot knives, ice daggers and melting shards of glass came nowhere near to describing the pain that Kagome was in. She shoved Rin away, and gagged reflexively at the pain the small movement caused. Sickened, she looked down at the deadly black branch that protruded from her shoulder. Kagome twisted slightly, the knowledge of what she must do to free herself lingering in her mind, yet she didn't want to commit herself to it. The pain that it would cause…is a small price to pay for getting yourself off this goddamn poison pole! Kagome gave in to the more logical part of her mind, knowing it was right, but still hesitating to do it. It was Miroku's yells, and Sango's cries of 'Hiraikotsu!' that finally gave her the strength to free herself. Bracing her feet on the ground, she wrapped one hand around the tip of the pole, and planted the other firmly on the ground. Gathering all of her courage, she shoved forward, dislodging the miasma from her shoulder in one swift, nauseating crunch.

Kagome keeled over on the ground, her hand still wrapped around the miasma, blood pooling on the front of her white uniform shirt. Dimly, she was aware of Sesshoumaru standing a few feet away with Rin, sword drawn and waiting for her to move. Inuyasha's bellows faintly reached her ears, and she smiled weakly. Leave it up to that twit to make such a racket at such a serious time. A twitching, writhing feeling made her realize that she still held the miasma in her hand. She looked down its length at Naraku, who had forgotten her for the moment, too busy trading blows with Inuyasha to remember her. Which she took full advantage of.

The pool of violet power opened up again, and she pictured it in the far recesses of her mind. In answer to her silent call, it reared up a head, and pooled down into her waiting palm.

The bright glowing that did not emanate from the jewel fragments around his neck rapidly diverted Naraku's attention from one impertinent hanyou to the wounded miko, who was still clutching his miasma tendril. The only thing was, her other palm was burning with the fierce violet of her own stylized brand of miko power-and that worried him immensely. For he had sensed her power, gauged its potential, and had been truly worried by what he had seen there-raw, brute strength.

Kagome sensed Naraku's eyes on her, and felt his growing fear. She smiled feebly, and sent the now white-hot stream of power directly along the miasma strand, pumping all the hurt she felt into it, making sure that the bastard would be feeling the after affects of her attack for a while. The crackling and hissing around Narauku's body made Inuyasha and the others cower back a bi, for Naraku was not giving into Kagome's attack lightly. Instead, he was fighting it with his own poison. The power slowly built up around him, stretching out in a smoldering pink-black ball. The two powers reached a peak, and the entire mess burst outwards in one gigantic explosion.

Before unconsciousness took her, Kagome had the satisfaction of seeing Naraku drop to his knees in pain. Then the blackness came and she flew off into the dark.

~0r0~

Sesshoumaru woke a few minutes later to find himself burdened down by a heavy weight on his chest. With a grunt, he heaved himself into a sitting position and inspected the thing that had been weighing him down. It was Rin, curled up into a peaceful bundle on his lap; the only signs of the fight were a few smudges of dirt on her chin and a streak of blood across her forehead. Blood. Kagome…she had been near him when the thing had exploded. He shifted Rin off his lap and laid hr on a convenient patch of leaves nearby, careful not to disturb her slumber. Then her rose, and looked around the clearing he and Rin had landed in. a scrap of red and white screamed for his attention, and upon inspection, discovered Kagome lying face down at the base of a tree. Blood was all around her, on her skirt, on the tree trunk, staining the grass around her. This did not bode well for her survival.

Gently, lest he hurt her even more, Sesshoumaru rolled the human miko over to inspect her wound. The sight of it made even the usually expressionless and uncaring Demon Lord hiss in sympathy. The gaping hole in her shoulder was matted with dirt and dried blood. It was amazing she was not dead from blood loss; the hole caused by the miasma was large and had bled freely. Something vague and unnamed stirred in his chest; Sesshoumaru was worried for this human girl. Her death would mean the two pesky humans and the kitsune she traveled with would never leave him be. The kitsune…Sesshoumaru had not seen him the entire time, something new to the Taiyoukai. Usually the child was hanging off Kagome's shoulder, but today, he had not been. Sesshoumaru stuffed that puzzle away for later, and turned back to the problem at hand. If she did die, he could always revive her with Tensaiga. The remembrance of the hated sword snapped him back into the present completely, and he reached for his side where it usually hung. His hand grasped thin air. This was not good.

Sesshoumaru searched the clearing for any hint of the sword, but none was forth coming. He glared back down at the unconscious girl bellow him in annoyance. He could not go look for the sword, she would die before he returned. He growled at his predicament.

Why the hell am I fussing over a human child for? She means nothing to me…

…she saved Rin's life…

Rin was an experiment in the first place, a convenient trail for Tensaiga.

…and now you love her like a daughter.

Sesshoumaru snarled out a curse at the part of his mind that was answering him so rationally. His father's blood ran stronger in his veins than he had supposed, giving him this cursed weakness where humans were concerned. If only his father hadn't…and then he remembered. The one way he could save Kagome without the Tensaiga.

Not hesitating, he drew a sharp claw across his wrist, the blood beading in his palm. Without further preamble, he slapped his bleeding palm over Kagome's injured shoulder, letting the blood drip into her injury. He pressed his hand down as hard as he dared, making sure his cut and her wound were firmly pressed together.

Something in the far regions of Kagome's mind told her that her shoulder was on fire. She moaned, and tried to twist away from the weight that accompanied the burning, but she couldn't move. The thing grew heavier, and her shoulder burnt more and more.

Sesshoumaru managed to curse very fluently as Kagome tried to buck his hand off. Nearly growling in frustration, he dug his claws into her shoulder a bit, trying to secure his hand's position. Then something very strange happened. Something that he did not expect. Kagome went very still, so much so that he thought she'd died. Suddenly her eyes flew open, no longer their normal chocolate brown, but a deep ocean blue. She made a low rumbling sound in the back of her throat, and a slash of red appeared down her cheek. Sesshoumaru started, reaching out to touch what he thought was blood, and then jerked his hand back in surprise when he realized what it was. Shaped like a sharp triangle, Kagome now sported a demon mark.

Somehow, his blood had turned her into a hanyou.