Ok, just to let everyone know, I was forced to take my lemons out of the story so I'm just gonna imply what happens. Oh well, anyway hope you enjoy my new chapter!

~Ryouko-Kitsune~

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Sesshomaru was careful not to let anyone know he was in Kaede's village. He wanted to see how strong the priestess actually was first. He had thought his plan over very carefully. He would send a strong demon out to create a distraction for his brother, and in all the chaos, he would snatch the girl from right under their noses. Of course he would leave Rin with Jaken a good distance away. He didn't want to appear weak to his half-breed younger brother because he cared for a human child.

He quietly slunk through the trees, carefully masking his scent. Suddenly, he heard voices in a clearing close by. Women voices. He hurried to the clearing, careful to hide himself, and looked to see whose voices they were.

He was surprised to find a raven haired girl and an amber haired girl.

"That's Inuyasha's wench. What was her name? Kagome, that's it. Who is the other girl though? She's beautiful." thought Sesshomaru.

Then a name came into his mind. Kotori. Sesshomaru grinned, "That must be the priestess that I'm looking for. She doesn't look strong at all. This should be easy. Maybe instead of killing her, I could take her as my bride..... No! What am I thinking? She's a human! But she's so tempting......"

Still debating on wether he would allow Kotori to live, he quietly slunk away and back to where he had left Jaken and Rin and began to put his plan into action.

"I'm going back home whether you like it or not Inuyasha!" shouted Kagome as she grabbed her backpack and marched over to the Bone Eater's Well.

"You can't just leave whenever you feel like it! We've got jewel shards to collect!" shouted Inuyasha, through the kimono that covered his sensitive nose.

"Watch me!" said Kagome as she stood up on the rim of the well and jumped in.

"Damn it Kagome!" said Inuyasha. He sat on the edge of the well, stared at the bottom and pouted.

Kotori walked over to Inuyasha and said, "Another fight with Kagome?"

"Feh. Why does she always run out on me like this?"

"Why don't you go after her? Show her that you can survive in her world. Show her that she needs you. Get to know her better maybe?" said Kotori, trying not to sound too obvious.

He thought for a minute, then stood up, "Yeah, maybe I should go after her. Show her that she really does need me!"

"That's it Inuyasha! Now go get her!"

Inuyasha sat back down on the edge of the well, "No, I'd better not."

"Why not?!" shouted Kotori.

"I don't know. I guess I just don't want to."

Kotori was about to smack him, when she thought of a better idea. She walked over to him and removed the kimono from his nose.

The scents of Kotori flooded his nostrils and, overpowered by the smells, he fell headfirst into the well.

Kotori looked into the well as he disappeared, "You'll thank me one day!"

Suddenly, she heard the tinkling of her bells and a roar off in the distance. She quickly turned and ran towards the sound, the Kenakari unsheathed. What she discovered shocked her.

A huge, monstrous creature that was at least thirty feet tall was standing near Kaede's hut. It had grey skin and if it crouched down, it would look like a giant bolder. Miroku and Kaede were trying to fight it off, without much luck. They were both wounded and it seemed as though they were in much pain.

Kotori charged at the monster, bringing the Kenakari high above her head, ready to strike. But suddenly, a huge gash appeared on her left shoulder. It started from the middle of her left shoulder blade and ended just above her left breast. It was gushing blood and she sank to her knees in pain. The monster had been hiding it's long razor sharp claws and just as she was about to strike it down, it slashed her, just missing her neck.

"Kotori!" shouted Miroku. He painfully ran over to her and knelt beside her.

She pushed him away and said, "Get out of here Miroku! Take Lady Kaede and Shippo and run! I'll be fine!"

"No! I'm not going to leave you here to die!"

"Well, well. What a touching sight. Too bad that you'll die before you can do anything with that love of yours." said a voice.

Miroku looked up and was surprised to discover Sesshomaru sitting on the demon's shoulder.

"Sesshomaru!" shouted Miroku.

"Yes, I see you remember me. I believe you are one of my filthy half-brother's friends. And you must be the priestess Kotori who is said to have amazing powers." said Sesshomaru.

"So you are Sesshomaru, self-proclaimed lord of the Western Lands. What business do you have with me?" said Kotori, not even looking up from the ground.

"I will reveal that in due time. Just come with me quietly."

"And if I refuse?"

"I will destroy this village and everyone in it." said Sesshomaru as he jumped down from his perch, "Why don't we start with killing that weakling beside you?"

The monster raised it's clawed hand and brought it down to strike. Suddenly, Kotori stood up and ran in front of Miroku, seconds before the claws were to hit.

She closed her eyes and waited for the feeling of it's claws in her flesh, the pain as the muscles were torn open, but it didn't come. She heard the slashing of the claws hitting their mark, but she felt no added pain. She opened her eyes and was surprised to discover that Sesshomaru had shielded her from the monster's attack with his own body.

"He saved me...... Why did he save me?" thought Kotori.

The great Lord of the Western Lands was brought to his knees as a wave of intense pain washed over him. He had been slashed across the chest. The wound was in the shape of an arc, beginning at his right shoulder down to his left hip.

Slowly, he rose again to his feet and called the monster to him. With one swipe of his mighty claws, he destroyed the creature. Then he turned around, grabbed Kotori, and ran as fast as he could. Kotori didn't put up much of a fight because not only was she seriously wounded, but she was very stunned as well.

As Sesshomaru ran off, the wounded Miroku began to run after him. "Kotori!"

She reached out a hand to grab his, but Sesshomaru picked up his speed and Miroku dropped to his knees, unable to keep up because he was in so much pain.

"Miroku!" she shouted.

"Kotori." he whispered, just before he passed out.

Blades of white hot pain shot throughout her body as her shoulder wound continued to bleed. Time seemed to speed by as Sesshomaru carried her off deep into the forest. When he finally stopped, he fell to his knees in pain and released her.

"Please...... help....... Rin." he told her before he too passed out.

Sesshomaru woke up to a dull throbbing pain in his chest. He slowly opened his eyes and was surprised to find Kotori wrapping bandages around his bare chest.

"I thought I told you to help Rin."

Kotori looked up at him, "Oh, you're awake. Good."

He pushed her away and said, "Rin needs more help than I do. Help her first."

"I already helped her. She's asleep. Now I'm turning my attention to you." she said as she wrapped the bandages around his chest for the last time, "There. Now all you need is rest and some medicine to fight off the infection."

He looked at her and thought to himself, "She's so beautiful, and she's taking care of me even though I attacked her and the others. What is this feeling I have every time I look at her?"

She handed him a cup of herbal mix she had made. He sniffed it, but downed it in one gulp.

"Did it work?"

He looked at her again, "Did what work?"

She sighed, "I'm sorry. I keep forgetting that very few people know about that."

"Know about what?"

"Never mind. You should rest now. You are out of danger, but it is still a long rode to recovery. The wound is deep, and the wound alone could have killed many a powerful demon, let alone the small amount of deadly poison that was injected from the claws. You are very lucky."

"Why did you.... save me?" he asked, his head bowed in pain.

She was surprised at his question. She sat back on her heals and said, "Well, you saved me. It's only right that I should help you. Besides, after I saw that you simply wanted to help a sick little girl, I knew that you weren't so bad after all. I think I can ask the same question."

He hesitated before he answered, "I.... don't know why I saved you. I didn't want you to die because I needed you to help Rin, but at the time..... it was something else...."

"It was my curse."

Sesshomaru looked up at her, "You're curse?"

She nodded, "Naraku put a curse on me when I refused his love. Every man that lays eyes on me falls in love with me. Not only was that herbal mixture I gave you to help prevent infection, it was also to free you from the effects of my curse."

"I see. But, I feel no different from before."

Kotori's eyes went wide, "You must feel different! You don't look at me in the same way do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you don't want to bed me or anything of that nature, right?"

"Of course not!" said Sesshomaru quickly.

"Oh, good. Then it did work. Well like I said, get some sleep."

Sesshomaru looked down and noticed that Kotori's wound was still bleeding. He reached out to touch her shoulder, but she moved away.

"It's nothing." she said softly.

"No, you're hurt. Come here."

She backed away from him, "I'll be fine."

Suddenly, he grabbed her and sat her on his lap. Then he pulled down the left side of her robes, exposing her bound breasts. He clutched her waist tightly so she couldn't escape and evaluated the seriousness of the wound.

She whimpered slightly in fear at his actions, but stopped when she saw him pick up some of the bandages and wrap them around her wound.

Once he was finished, he pulled the shoulder of her robes back into place. "There. Now you should get some rest too."

She gazed into his golden eyes and smiled, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." he said as he released his grip on her.

He laid his back against a tree trunk and gazed at Kotori as she stood up and walked over to where Rin was sleeping.

"Priestess."

She turned around, "Call me Kotori."

"Kotori then. I just wanted to say..... thank you for all that you've done."

She smiled, "You're welcome." Then she turned back around and knelt beside Rin.

He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on sleep, yet his mind was racing.

"Why do I feel the same as before? I still have the same thoughts going through my head as I did when I first saw her. Is it true? Am I really...... falling in love with a human? No, it can't be. I despise humans. A little bit of pain makes my mind do some strange things. But......." thought Sesshomaru, but the herbs had taken affect on him and he fell into a deep sleep.