Disclaimer: I have dreamed of ownership…but alas, they are only dreams…

Author's Note: I am a horrible procrastinator… I've stated that fact often enough… Anyway…enjoy Chapter 3.


-- Chapter 3: A Beautiful, Dangerous Problem --

When Kagome finally processed Rin's swiftly spoken sentences, she gazed at the younger girl with a flabbergasted expression. / Sesshoumaru! What is a child—a human child no less—doing in the company of him/

"Did…did you say Sesshoumaru?"Rin nodded her head and tugged on Kagome's hand urgently. "Quickly, Miss. You must help!"

Kagome bit her lip in indecision. She truly wanted to help the child, but to assist a high-class and dangerous demon such as Sesshoumaru (even when he was injured) could be suicidal. Nevertheless the Taiyoukai was someone in need and the miko had always sworn that she would help those who needed it.

/Besides it would make Rin happy…/ Kagome sighed then with her mind made up gently took Rin's small hand into her own. "Alright… take me to him, Rin-chan."

The other girl smiled in relief and squeezed Kagome's hand happily. "Thank you, Miss!" Rin then started to pull her off the barely trodden path and into the murky, more feral woods.

Shippou, who had been silent since Rin's appearance, made a sound of protest as the trio began their trek. "But Kagome… Sesshoumaru has tried to kill us before!"

Kagome gave the kit a reassuring look. "More like he has tried to kill Inu Yasha. We were just caught in the crossfire. Don't worry, I doubt he's going to be up to killing anyone if his condition is as bad as Rin says."

The wood continued to grow thicker and more suffocating as Rin led them farther along a nonexistent trail that only she could decipher. Suffocating indeed… Kagome found that she had difficulty breathing properly; the menacing trees seemed to be closing in on her. The only thing she could see was green and hazy blackness and she could only smell the sickly scent of damp wood and soil mixed with a metallic sort of aroma that she'd rather not name. Kagome soon began to wish that they would hurry up and arrive at the destination. She could barely stand the terrible closeness that the forest possessed.

Fortunately after a few more minutes or steady walking, Rin stopped and pointed to a break in the trees. A small clearing could be seen beyond that, where a shaft of moonlight was shining a soft, silver glow onto a figure that lay on the ground in an elegant, but nevertheless vulnerable position.

Kagome made a slight gasping sound and halted. The sight that her eyes beheld was beautiful yet in some sense morbid. Just a few feet away lay The Lord of the Western Lands… Sesshoumaru. But it was he to an extent that Kagome had never seen before or had even considered. The Sesshoumaru, Half-Brother of Inu Yasha that she remembered was a nonchalant enigma with a dangerous, but regal air surrounding him that could chill one's insides. This person that she saw now was—no, simply appeared to be—a wounded angel fallen from the heavens above.

/ Him…an angel? It sounds odd, but somehow that's the only word to describe him as right now/ Kagome unconsciously allowed her eyes to travel up and down the youkai's immobile form. His flowing length of silver locks splayed across the ground, tangles here and there where soil and blood had matted together while his striking ivory-toned face (probably as smooth as it looked) was tainted with streaks of blood. His facial expression was also a bit peculiar, for instead of the anguished look one would assume to be upon an injured person's face, his was only strained and slightly bewildered. But it was the youkai lord's torso that had received the most damage. Beyond the once beautiful and adroitly sewn battle kimono (now torn and soiled) a deep gash could be seen across the middle of his stomach, a crimson stream of blood gushing out of it. That, fortunately, seemed to be the only severe wound; all the others were shallow cuts and his one arm only looked at the very slightest sprained.

Kagome somehow managed to overcome her disoriented state and turned to the anxious little girl beside her. "What happened to him, Rin?" she asked quietly. Inside, the miko was unable to sort out just quite what she felt seeing her supposed enemy in such a condition.

Rin's voice trembled as she spoke, "Sess… sesshoumaru-sama was attacked by a…a… scary looking demon! Ri-rin does not know how though! Sesshoumaru-sama told Jaken and Rin to leave when the demon appeared and when we came back…" The child stopped there and sniffed softly as one glistening tear ran down her face.

"Shhh… Rin-chan," The older girl cooed soothingly, placing one hand comfortingly on Rin's shoulder. The child stared up at her with wide watery eyes then smiled slightly.

"You will help Sesshoumaru-sama…right?"

Kagome nodded, wiping the shimmering tears off Rin's face with a tender, almost motherly motion. "I'll do my best," she said then left the child along with Shippou behind, slowly walking towards the fallen demon lord.

The young miko bit her lip nervously as she charily kneeled down beside the wounded demon. She knew that despite his injuries Sesshoumaru could still inflict bodily harm upon her if he wished and was…er…conscious. But as she gazed over his immobile form, the girl felt compelled to do every thing in her might to heal him. What compelled her, Kagome did not know.

"Well, first I'll need some medical equipment," Kagome mused, letting her heavy yellow backpack slid off her slim shoulders to land in a heap on the ground. "Which I don't have…" The miko sighed a few minutes later, wrinkling her nose at the contents of her bag strewn about in her search to find adequate supplies. Well… it wasn't like she carried around a whole doctor's office… Although she should have learned by now to bring more than a first aid's kit along on her adventures in the Feudal Era.

"I had gotten so used to relying on Kaede…" Kagome realized with a start. The elderly miko had always been responsible for healing the injuries of their group; Kagome had only assisted her at times. Now she wished she had asked Kaede to teach her more than simply the basics of healing.

"I suppose a first aid kit will have to do…" The brunette sighed again, but as soon as the sigh left her mouth Kagome's russet orbs reflected the intensity of a birth of an idea. /If I mix my healing abilities with my limited medical supplies that would stop the bleeding and heal the injuries at the same time… Why in Kami's name did I not think of that before/ Kagome scolded herself for a few seconds before setting to work on her task.

It was in focused silence that she worked in, her hands somehow knowing exactly what to do while her mind was in an odd state of blank apprehensiveness. Kagome didn't question this, however, having learned long ago that it was better to just go along with whatever the miko power inside of her was doing. Later the young woman would think back on the whole experience with amazement over the surreal state of calmness that she retained through the entire ordeal. Well, not the entire ordeal…

The part where the deadly Taiyoukai woke up certainly frightened the sense out of her.

It was so sudden, the elegant clawed hand shooting out to grasp her vulnerable neck tightly. The move was precise, not planned, but so accurate it could only be done by instinct. Kagome found herself grasping for breath, her throat burning and her head exploding with painful colored splotches.

"You… ack… ahh…!" Kagome wheezed, glaring fiercely into cold golden eyes even as she hung hazardly by her neck, the cruel grasp tightening in slow agony. She then, in a fit of panic and anger, grappled at the cool hands around her neck and started kicking wildly, hoping that a stray kick would find its intended target.

Fortunately, fate was on her side. Before the splotches of color could become hazy darkness, Kagome felt her foot make contact with toned flesh and heard a soft hiss of pain. The clawed hands loosened their clutch and the gasping miko hit the ground with a soft and slightly painful thud.

Kagome breathed in a shuddering gasp and gently touched her bruised neck with trembling fingers. Faintly, as if in the background, she heard cries of distress and identified the frightened voices as those of Rin and Shippou, but she made no move to calm their cries. Her mind was currently overwhelmed with smoldering emotions and thoughts that battled to and fro. But for some reason there was one emotion that overcome even the sickening fear: Anger.

The young woman was not thinking clearly and that could be quite the dangerous thing. She struggled to her feet and without hesitation stared furiously into the Taiyoukai that had attempted to choke her. When she was trying to help him no less!

"Have you no manners? I was only trying to help you!" The miko snapped, irately brushing loose stands of hair out of her eyes.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his ice-laced eyes and managed to look fearfully imposing even when half-laying on the ground. "Human, you are either simply an idiot or are brave to the point of idiocy,"

Kagome raised a slim eyebrow, her temper cooling slightly. "I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult…"

A slight, almost indecipherable frown crossed the Taiyoukai's face. "An insubordinate idiot at that." He shifted his attention away from Kagome, as if to point out she wasn't worth his time, and looked to Rin who had been watching from the sidelines. Her worried expression melted away to reveal a beaming smile when she locked gazes with those regal, golden orbs. Sesshoumaru's blank expression did not change.

"Rin, did you bring this human here?"

Rin nodded her head eagerly at her master's question, exclaiming, "Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama! Rin was worried and knew she needed to get help!"

"Insubordinate idiot… how dare he…" Kagome had been grumbling darkly until she found herself once again the center of attention. "What?" She sighed, crossing her arms and glancing sharply at the Taiyoukai. He continued to stare at her, a detached expression still resident on his face.

"You're a miko." It was more of a statement than a question.

Kagome, being somewhat proud her miko abilities had been noted, smiled and said, "Yes, but I'm…"

"A rather poor one, judging from this healing." Sesshoumaru cut her off, pointing a long, clawed finger at the bleeding gash adorning his torso.

"I was going to say that I am still in training, but you so rudely cut me off," The woman-child bristled, but paled when the reality of what that pointing finger indicated caught up with her.

Kagome bit her lip. "You woke up before I could finish the healing and started moving around… That's why the wounds have opened up agai—Oh!" She gasped softly in surprise when Sesshoumaru suddenly collapsed into a coughing fit, his breathing harsh and strained.

As the coughs racked his body sharply, the streams of dark liquid thickened and flowed out of the disturbed wounds at an alarming rate. It was obvious to the concerned miko that her previous attempts at closing up the wounds were coming apart at the seams. But something was bothering Kagome… There was too much blood to be coming from Sesshoumaru's wounds. Even the gash across his stomach wasn't quite deep enough to allow such blood loss!

"What… what attacked you to cause such injuries?" Kagome's voice trembled slightly as she spoke. The amount of blood was beginning to make her nauseous. She kneeled beside the frightfully pale Taiyoukai (who was sitting with his back against a nearby tree trunk) to get a better view of his condition. Without waiting for him to reply, she retrieved a roll of gauze from her first aid kit and attempted vainly to bandage the bloody lacerations, her hands shaking. Sesshoumaru, by now, was too weak to protest her help and could only watch dispassionately through slitted eyes. The white material soaked up the blood greedily and was soon almost dripping with crimson color. Kagome gazed helplessly at her patient and without realizing it, reached up to gently stroke the injured demon's smooth face.

Her fingers froze as her mind caught up with her body's actions. The miko flushed and swiftly withdrew the offending appendage. "I'm… I'm sorry," Kagome muttered distractedly, not quite sure what she was apologizing to. It didn't matter anyway for Sesshoumaru was already half-unconscious and paying very little attention to the annoying woman-child.

Shippou, watching from sidelines with Rin, frowned as the sad light burned its way into his surrogate mother's eyes. In his opinion, someone like Kagome should never have to be sad. It just wasn't right and the kitsune knew he could do something about it.

"Kagome… I think I know what attacked him…"

The young woman appeared both startled and hopeful as she heard the kitsune's tentative words. Spurred on by her brightened expression, Shippou elaborated, "The way the cuts on his body are shaped is the mark of the Shadow Youkai Clan. When you are marked like that, the bleeding won't stop and the poison in the wounds can cause the victim to fall into a coma…"

Kagome's brow crinkled as Shippou let that last sentence hang in the air. "Isn't there someway to… to reverse the poison?" She glanced over toward Sesshoumaru's bloodied, still form.

Shippou nodded slowly. "Yes… but it requires an experienced miko's abilities. To stop the poison and coma, it takes most of your miko power and some of you life energy to complete the process…" Here the kitsune blushed, feeling as if he somehow insulted his surrogate mother.

Reading his expression, Kagome smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, Shippou-kun. I know I'm not a very good miko. But your explanation does explain why I wasn't able to heal his wounds earlier…" She trailed off, a thoughtful frown appearing.

Kagome knew in her previous attempt to heal the wounds, she had not been using the full extent of her power. It was partly due to her fright of what might happen if she did reach her limit and the other part was simply that she didn't know how to break that barrier and harness her life energy. But she would have to figure out a way, if she meant to save the Taiyoukai.

"Well, I at least have to try…" The young miko muttered, inching closer to her "patient".

Feeling incredibly unsure at what she was doing, Kagome hesitantly placed her hands upon Sesshoumaru's torso, thanking the gods above that he was unconscious, and closed her eyes. Finding that thread of pure, scorching power that swam through her veins, Kagome desperately tried to gather it all up into on place, allowing it to build intensity. Stifling a whimper at the pain that all this pressure caused her, the miko knew she wouldn't release the built up power until she felt certain that her body could take no more.

Finally, gasping loudly, she discharged the power, a searing sensation in the form of a deep, blue glow running down the length of her arms and into her patient's body. The healing energy entered Sesshoumaru's pale skin, finding passage into his veins and beginning to destroy any of the harmful poison that resided in his body. Slowly the wounds that were scattered about his body began to mend, leaving only dried blood in its wake. Amazingly, there were not even any scars left to signify the existence of such injuries.

Body trembling, Kagome leaned back and pressed now feeble hands to her face in an attempt to calm her shrieking nerves. Gradually opening her eyes, she gazed down at Sesshoumaru and smiled weakly, happy at what she observed. Then the brunette's body went slack, pain piercing her body unexpectedly, and Kagome crumpled to the ground with a soft thud.

TBC…

Sidenote(s): Thanks for reading and hugs and kisses to those who review!

Japanese/English Dictionary:

"Taiyoukai"- demon lord

"miko"- priestess

"youkai"-demon

"kitsune"- fox demon

"-kun"- an endearment usually used for boys by their close friends

"-chan"- similar to kun except that it is a suffix used for girls

"-sama"- a suffix attached to one's name when you wish to show high respect. Similar to the title "Lord"