Hope you all like my new chapter!

~Ryouko-Kitsune~

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Sesshomaru opened his eyes slightly when he felt a sharp twinge of pain in his shoulder. He saw Kotori kneeling beside him, looking at the shoulder where Inuyasha had severed his arm. Suddenly, he realized that his arm was no longer severed, but restored to it's original state. He lightly touched his restored arm and stared at Kotori.

"How did you do this?"

She smiled and unsheathed the sword at her hip and showed it to him, "I used this. It restored your arm."

He inspected the blade and his eyes grew wide. "This is the Kenakari. The legendary sword all demons strive to get. I didn't know that it had healing powers to this extent."

She smiled, "Most people don't. All I did was make a small cut where your arm used to be with the bottom of the blade. Then I used the top of the blade to restore it."

He stared at her in amazement, "But why? Why did you do this for me after I almost killed you and your friends. You had already repaid your debt to me."

She looked into his eyes, "Because I wanted to. Call it a gift if you wish."

He leaned towards her, his face barely inches away from hers. He held his new hand up to her face and stroked her cheek. He could feel her soft, warm skin beneath his fingertips. When he noticed her blushing, he took his hand away.

He noticed that the bandage around her shoulder was soaked with blood. He pulled her robes down slightly and unwrapped the bandage. She winced slightly as he removed it, but kept silent. He cleaned it and wrapped it again in clean bandages.

"Fool. Why didn't you use that sword of yours on your own wound?"

"Because I can't."

He looked at her in surprise, "Why not?"

She hesitated before she spoke, "I don't know. I just...... can't. Besides, I'll be fine."

She stood up and began to walk away from him. She swayed a bit and suddenly her knees gave out from under her. Sesshomaru quickly went over and caught her in his arms before she hit the ground. She had lost consciousness and she laid limp in his arms.

He sighed and cradled her in his arms and walked over to where Jaken was sitting.

"Jaken."

He stood up and squeaked in fear, "Yes milord?"

"Gather Rin and the priestess's things. We shall be returning to the western lands."

He bowed and hobbled off, saying, "Yes milord."

It took them a day to reach Sesshomaru's castle in the center of the western lands. It was nestled on the side of a mountain, and looked as if the castle was simply carved into the mountain itself. They passed through the large stone doors and climbed the massive stone steps till they reached the west wing where all the rooms were located.

Sesshomaru looked down and Jaken and Rin and said, "Take Rin to her chambers. I'm going to take care of this priestess."

He opened the door to his chambers and Jaken squeaked, "Milord! Why don't you put the lovely young maiden in a room of her own? I know how much you hate humans and I don't think you would want her scent, no matter how lovely..... I mean disgusting, in your bed."

He looked down at Jaken, "Do you question my judgement, toad?"

"Oh no, milord! I would never do such a thing! I was simply making a suggestion. Please forgive me!"

He chuckled a bit, "Well, next time keep your suggestions to yourself. Unless I call for you, you are not allowed in this room, understand?"

"Yes milord," replied Jaken half-heartedly, "But what about the little human?"

"She may come and go as she pleases like always, but you are to stay out. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes milord." said Jaken as he took Rin to her room.

Rin turned around and hugged Sesshomaru's leg before she ran after Jaken. Sesshomaru smiled slightly, but quickly disguised it and walked into his chambers, closing the door softly behind him.

He crossed the room to where a large bed sat with silk sheets and a large silk coverlet. He laid Kotori on the bed and stared at her for a moment. Her chest rose and fell slowly, and she looked pale.

He felt her forehead and sighed, "She has a fever. I'm surprise that she's lived this long with that demon venom in her veins."

She stirred suddenly and tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"Miroku." she whispered.

She said the name so softly that it was almost inaudible for the normal human ear, but Sesshomaru heard it as clear as day. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and stroked the side of her face. She stopped crying and fell back to sleep.

"She's dreaming about that monk," he thought sadly, "Wait, why do I care? She's a filthy human and she can dream about whoever she wants."

Just as he was about to leave the room, he turned back around and sighed, "I need to repay my debt to her for taking care of me and Rin." he thought.

He sat back down on the bed and found a clean cloth. He filled the basin that sat beside the bed with cool water, dipped the rag in it, and wiped her forehead.



When Kotori opened her eyes, she was taken aback. She quickly sat up and looked at her surroundings. This wasn't the forest that she remembered. Where was she?

"I see you're awake. Good."

She quickly turned in the direction of the voice. She saw Sesshomaru sitting in a chair beside the bed.

"Where am I?"

He chuckled, "You are in my bed. This is my castle in the western lands."

She blushed and tried to get out of the bed, but a sharp pain shot through her shoulder and she laid back down, trying hard not to cry out.

He stood up and walked over to the bed, "You mustn't move so much. Your wound is very deep and you have a fever." He pulled the sheets over her and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"But I need to get back! Miroku might be dying and I need to take care of him!" she said, tears forming in her eyes.

He sighed, "You are staying here until you're better. I promise that when you are healed, I will take you to back to that village."

"But he needs me now!" she cried.

Sesshomaru stared at her in surprise. "I could have killed you, but I decided to take you back to my home and take care of you. This is how you repay my kindness?" he asked, his anger rising.

She was shocked at his sudden outburst. "I'm sorry, you are right. I should be grateful to you for what you have done. My priorities are all mixed up." she said softly.

His eyes softened, realizing that it was the fever talking, but quickly regained his composure, "You are forgiven. Now, rest for a while and if you feel up to the occasion, you may join Rin and myself in dinner."

"Thank you, I shall hope to do so." she replied softly.

"Good. I will send Rin up in a few hours to see how you're feeling. I must go now." He turned and headed towards the door.

"Sesshomaru!"

He turned around, "Yes?"

"Thank you for everything."

He stood there for a moment, not sure about how to answer. Finally, he nodded and walked out the door, closing it softly behind him.

Inuyasha's head emerged from the well in the Feudal Era just as the sun touched the horizon in the late evening. He sniffed the air cautiously, searching for any signs of humans in the vicinity. There weren't, so he climbed over the edge of the well and pulled Kagome up with him.

She began to walk towards the village when Inuyasha grabbed her hips and brought her to him, nuzzling her neck. She giggled and stroked his dog ears, receiving a deep growl of approval from her mate.

They made their way through the forest and into the village. What they saw shocked them. Huts had been destroyed and lay in pieces on the ground, trees had been broken in half, several bodies littered the ground. The villagers were helping one another clean up the village and bury the bodies.

The scents of blood and death filled Inuyasha's nose and, grabbing Kagome, he ran to Kaede's hut.

They burst through the door and found the old priestess sitting beside a sleeping form covered in blankets. The priestess had her left arm in a sling and some bandages around her forehead.

"What happened here?" shouted Inuyasha, his tone frantic.

"Your brother paid us a visit. He took Kotori." said a soft voice coming from beneath the blankets.

Kagome and Inuyasha moved closer to the futon but the form remained still. Kagome held out her hand to pull the blankets down a little and reveal who was beneath it.

The form shrank from her touch and shouted, "Don't touch me!"

Kagome pulled her hand back quickly and Inuyasha's eyes went wide.

"Miroku? Is that you?" asked Inuyasha, "What happened?"

Kaede sighed and said, "Your brother, Sesshomaru, came to the village demanding that Kotori come with him. He had brought one of his monsters and it attacked the village. Miroku and myself tried to hold it off, but we weren't strong enough. Kotori came running from the forest and attacked the monster, but it slashed at her and wounded her deeply. She was weakened and he grabbed her after he destroyed his monster and ran off. That was three days ago."

"He took her..... he took my Kotori...." said Miroku softly.

"What happened to Shippo, Kita, and Shigure?" asked Kagome.

"I had sent them to the next village that day. They're helping the village clean up now." replied Kaede.

"She's gone..... he took her." said Miroku.

Inuyasha pulled down the blankets to see how badly the monk was wounded. He was bare-chested, but the majority of his torso was wrapped in bandages, stained with blood. From the top of his right shoulder to his wrist was covered in bandages and his face had cuts and bruises all over.

He was lying on his back and when Inuyasha pulled the blankets away, he turned his head away from them. Tears threatened to fall from the monk's eyes, but he held them back.

"Oh, Miroku." said Kagome as she laid a comforting hand on his.

He pulled his hand from her and said, "What if he hurts her? What's going to happen to her when I'm not there to protect her? What if...... what if he...... killed her?"

"Stop talking like that, Miroku! We'll find her, alive and well, and then everything will be ok!" shouted Inuyasha.

Miroku looked angrily and him and shouted, "You don't understand! You'll never understand how I feel about her!"

"Relax, Miroku. We'll go and find her." said Kagome.

"We need to find her now!" shouted Miroku.

"Don't yell at her like that or I swear I'll tear out your throat, monk!" said Inuyasha.

Miroku stared at Inuyasha for a few moments, then stood up, with some difficulty, and walked out of the hut.

Kagome glared at Inuyasha, "Can't you have any sympathy for the poor guy? The love of his life was hurt and then snatched away from him, and he can't find her himself because he's hurt too. He's very upset, and you go and threaten to kill him! What kind of friend are you?"

Inuyasha looked at her, but said nothing.

"Anyway," she continued, "We do need to find Kotori as soon as possible. You never know what Sesshomaru could want with her."

Inuyasha nodded in agreement and stood up, "We'll leave now. Come on Kagome."

Kagome stood up and followed Inuyasha out of the hut. They found Miroku sitting with his back against a tree and his head down.

"I'm sorry for what I said, I guess I was just a little worked up. We're going to get her back, Miroku. I promise. We're leaving now, and I bet I know where Sesshomaru took her." said Inuyasha.

Miroku raised his head a little and said, "I'm coming with you."

Kagome looked at him in shock. "You can't! You're really hurt and you need to rest until you're healed."

"She's right, Miroku. You'd only slow us down." said Inuyasha.

Miroku looked at them, tears were streaming down his cheeks. "Please, this is something I have to do. Please let me come with you."

Inuyasha stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally, he said, "Fine."

Kagome helped Miroku stand up and they walked back to the village, gathered a few things, and left.

"Where do you think he went, Inuyasha?" asked Kagome.

"The western lands." he replied.