AN: OMG! I am SO sorry, I went on vacation to Arizona (very pretty) to visit an uncle...(sees readers lined up outside window with pitchforks and other pointy objects)...Ehhehe, better get to writing, huh?nervous laugh

BTW: The song used in this chapter is 'Give Me Novocaine' by Green Day which I also don't own...But I did have to alter it a little bit 'cuz the lines "Jimmy says it's better than air...," and, "Tell me, Jimmy, I won't feel a thing," don't make sense in the context of the story. So don't go blabbing to the government that I'm like...infringing on something or another, kay?

One need not be a chamber to be haunted;
One need not be a house;
The brain has corridors surpassing
Material place.
Emily Dickinson, "Time and Eternity"

Walking With TITANS

Chapter Eight: 'Give Me Novocaine'

By: ScoobyKat

For a moment after Keagan's report, Kagome felt her vision blur as her heart rate skyrocketed and her legs seemed to debate letting her fall to the floor. 'He's...dying?'

Take away the sensation inside...

"Take me to him, please," she requested, her voice wavering slightly despite her best efforts as tears rose unbidden to her steadily darkening eyes. 'I am tired of seeing so much death...'

Bittersweet migraine in my head...

Keagan nodded and quickly scooped Kagome up bridal style and began bounding toward the infirmary. It was a race against time now. He had failed to tell Kagome that the Taiyouki wouldn't allow anyone within a ten foot radius of him now that he had regained consciousness and was demanding that 'The Little One' be brought to him. The Agents were holding him off from making a dash for Kagome, and he was rapidly weakening from the toxins still being introduced to his bloodstream via the fangs lodged in his shoulder. Keade was hoping against hope that the tiny Miko in his arms would be able to soothe him into at least letting them sedate him or pull the fangs out.

"BRING HER TO ME," roared a feral voice. His mind was a myriad of thoughts from his humanoid form, his demons, and those around him. His telepathic ability was going haywire: he no longer had the power to hold the barrier around his mind in place. Not to mention the white hot pain coursing through his veins. It was all becoming too much to handle. In a sane corner of his mind, he knew he should be pulling the fangs out of his shoulder and channeling his yoki into healing. But, he absolutely refused to do so until he had checked on the girl. She was his ward dammit, and they wouldn't let him check on her? Well, this Sesshoumaru didn't fail! Not at protecting his ward, not at anything!

It's like a throbbing toothache of the mind...

'The fools are afraid I will kill her in my state. (Snort) It is my demons who are so protective in the first place.'

Then it hit him, her unique fragrance, jasmine and...rainwater? Why was she sad? Turning his head toward the smell he found her in the arms of the shadow neko, her eyes teary. Had the feline harmed her? He wondered as a low growl rose from his chest, too low for Kagome to hear, but enough to spook the Agents who had formed a loose perimeter around him. Apparently, it reached to neko as well, for he carefully set the Miko on the ground, whispering something in her ear then backing away to stand with Keade who in turn said something to the neko, a stern expression on her normally passive face. Keagan nodded hesitantly then went to speak with Kouga. And, after a moment's worth of arguing, the scowling Co-Leader motioned for the Agents to leave the room, leaving only Kagome and the injured Taiyouki.

Deciding that he should probably check on the girl so he could convince his demons to let him heal, he turned to face her. But, at that moment, his vision blurred and he lost his equilibrium, causing him to stumble forward a step and start to fall to his knees, ending with him in a messy crouch, his arms thrust outward for balance.

I can't take this feeling anymore...

The proud Taiyouki grit his teeth as he internally bombarded himself for his display of weakness, and almost started when he felt a tiny hand timidly touch his good shoulder. His eyes snapped open quickly and found the girl not two feet before him, still looking up at him (even in his half-kneeling position) with misty sapphire eyes. Somehow her presence alone was enough to calm him at least fractionally. In fact, his eyes returned to their normal state and his barrier flickered back into place for a fleeting moment.

Drain the pressure from the swelling...

Yet suddenly, another wave of vertigo hit the Taiyouki full force, causing his temporarily tawny irises to bleed red once more, settling this time on an especially dark shade of garnet. He planted his feet firmly, refusing to stumble again this time. On reflex, he pulled the wrist he didn't realize he had been holding toward himself, hauling a shocked Kagome against him.

This sensation's overwhelming...

Sesshoumaru locked his arms around the girl protectively as a shudder of molten pain shot down his spine, as if to shield her from his own anguish. The wide eyed Miko hesitated for a moment of pure shock before she returned the impromptu embrace. Another and another lance of pain wormed its way through Sesshoumaru's system as he stood there, his focus on harboring the onna in his arms instead of on his own well-being. Finally, though, he allowed himself to rest his head in the crook of the shaken girl's neck, a nearly silent whimper of pain escaping his lips unwilled.

Kagome wanted to cry. Never did she want to see someone as strong as Sesshoumaru in such agony. She quickly wrapped her arms more tightly around the Taiyouki's form, careful of any injuries. He was encased within torn and blood soaked clothing that he must have worn beneath the armor she knew the squads to don. And true to form, even in tattered clothing and wracked with pain, he commanded respect.

'Like the prince he is,' she mused as she rubbed soothing circles on his back and whispered comforting words to his ears.

Give me a kiss goodnight and everything will be alright...

'He is starting to shake. I have to get those fangs out. He...might not last if I don't.'

"Sesshoumaru," she asked tentatively. The only answer she received was a strained, halting growl and a slight movement of his head. "I need to remove the fangs from your shoulder...p-please...it will help the pain."

Tell me that I won't feel a thing...

After a tense moment she felt him nod a 'yes' against her collarbone. Swallowing thickly, Kagome turned ever so slightly, as not to disturb Sesshoumaru, to look at the damage done. Seeing it, Kagome nearly winced outwardly. There were at least four to five inches exposed on the surface for each fang...and she didn't even want to guess how far they extended below the skin. The Miko set her face and cleared her mind as she vaguely remembered her jii-chan instructing her to, feeling the lavender light of her heritage alight in her palms. From there, she acted on instinct as she placed her hands on the ominous fangs, purifying them on contact. As she then focused her powers on healing, the glow in her hands morphed to a baby blue. After ten minutes of pouring all of her strength into eradicating all traces of the toxin from her guardian's blood stream, the task was done and Kagome collapsed in a brilliant flash of amethyst and azure light, unconscious mid-fall.

A still woozy Taiyouki watched the unconscious girl descend in something akin to slow motion: the fact that she was falling registered in his still slightly hazy mind, his recently injured left arm just couldn't be bothered to catch her, so he was forced to compensate with his right instead. But, his hasty movement didn't account for the very pointy talons attached to each of his fingers. So, in the end he caught her, but also nicked the fragile skin of her upper arms. Ouch. That would sting tomorrow.

So, give me Novocaine...

Kouga was not happy to be waiting outside the infirmary, while 'his woman' was inside with an unstable Sesshoumaru. He was hardly stable on a good day, let alone mortally injured! What was the cat thinking?

Whatever small amount of patience the wolf had was obliterated when the smell of Kagome's blood reached his nose.

'He HURT her,' he screamed in his mind, already bolting for the doorway. Surely enough, when furious wolf demon wrenched open the door before him, his steadily darkening eyes met a telltale scene. Sesshoumaru was holding a limp Kagome, watching with something like morbid fascination as tiny steams of crimson blood trailed from where his claws were still embedded in her arms.

A vicious growl tore from his throat as he dashed toward the man who had dared injure his woman. He wrenched his injured intended from the now healthy demon and growled menacingly, as if he were daring him to appose...to give him a reason to rip him apart for hurting his Kagome.


Out of body and out of mind...

One moment Sesshoumaru was staring in bewilderment and self-disgust at the trails on Kagome's arms, and the next he was glaring into the rapidly blackening blue eyes of his Co-Leader. Soon after that, a growl of warning and challenge met his ears. For a split second his eyes nearly widened: that damnable wolf had the gall to challenge him? Instead though, he bared his fangs and rumbled a consent to Kouga's challenge. If he wanted a fight, then he would get one! He was tired of putting up with the wolf's ego anyway.

Kouga first set Kagome on a cot a safe distance away then turned to face his rival. Both combatants let any of their remaining seals drop, revealing their full demonic features, though still retaining their humanoid shapes.

Said wolf drew his daggers and a battle to behold began.


Kiss the demons out of my dreams...

Sango knew something was wrong as soon as Kouga bolted into the infirmary, but her torii heritage gave her a weaker sense of smell then those of canine lineage. She did, however; feel the huge surge of yoki and jaki when the two Taiyouki's auras flared. A quick glance around told her that everyone else in the room had felt it as well; they were all shifting their weight uneasily or darting their eyes to Commanding Officer Kane.

"Agents Taijia, Houshi, Yoshi, and Tashio... Come with me," came Lord Kane's order.


I get the funny feeling that's alright...

'Kami, my head is killing me!' That was Kagome's first coherent thought as she came to. 'I still feel so drained...what woke me?' Almost as soon as that thought formed though, the sensation that had roused her from her regenerative slumber came again. It was like a pins-and-needles feeling in her mind. 'Jaki, a lot of jaki!'

The miko powers in her blood was reacting of its own accord, causing her to glow lavender with her purification abilities. Soon, the very air about her began to crackle, her aura was lashing out at its natural enemy.

They say it's better than air...

"Do you understand your orders?"

"Sir, yes sir," came the reply. The small handpicked team had just been hurriedly debriefed. Sango and InuYasha were to get Kagome out of the line of fire and await further orders while Officer Kane, Miroku and Houjo attempted to calm the two Taiyouki.

"Good, get into your positions."

I'll tell you why...

InuYasha led his partner, Sango, to the side doors of the infirmary and motioned for her to activate the cloaking seals. They would mask their auras, scents, footfalls and appearances. Basically, they would become invisible. Not that it would hide them from the Taiyouki if they were focused even marginally...Thankfully though, they weren't and...well, anything is better than nothing.

Once the spells were in place the two operatives moved stealthily to their priorly planned locations just as Kagome began to stir. InuYasha reached Kagome first and quickly dropped his ward after assuring himself that Sesshoumaru and Kouga were occupied with one and other. He was just about to reach for her when a firm hand grasped his wrist and he was pulled to face an annoyed and visible Sango. She used her index finger to point to her eye then splayed her entire hand wide in the motion for 'senses.' The inu was puzzled for moment until he let his aura spread a bit and felt the enormity of the purification energy that was pouring from Kagome in waves. InuYasha cursed in his mind as he reluctantly placed a loosely fisted right hand over his heart in the sign for 'thank you.' Sango nodded then moved around to Kagome's line of vision to speak to her.

At first the Miko's misty blue eyes widened and her aura flared, but she quickly recognized Sango and smothered the light in her palm.

Sango let free a breath she hadn't realized she was holding then said, "Kagome we need to get you back to your room for now, okay? Sesshoumaru is fine now. Here, take my hand."

The flustered girl nodded and took Sango's offered hand, allowing herself to be pulled back to where InuYasha stood, waiting. Once she drew close, the impatient inu gathered her onto his back and bounded for all he was worth for the solace of the drop point, knowing full well that he would have two very miffed Taiyouki on his tail the moment they sensed Kagome's absence. Sure enough, within moments Sesshoumaru's mighty roar rocked the foundation. InuYasha paled and 'kicked it into high gear' when he heard just what his half-brother would do to him if he didn't bring the Miko back, barked and bellowed at him in the ancient Inu tongue.

Drain the pressure from the swelling...

Far away, a man who could be described only as a lunatic stood, rolling pros and cons over and over in his warped mind. Shortly, he came to a decision and turned to a girl with stark white hair kept from her face in a very bland fashion. Naraku smirked slowly and with utmost malice as he murmured, "Activate the Shikon, Kanna dear...And let us see how my pet copes with this development..." Maniacal laughter rang malevolently through the dank catacombs of Necromancer Incorporated. 'Oh, yes Kagome, soon all the pieces will come together...You will be the end of the TITANS...My Dark Shikon.'

This sensation's overwhelming...

Only milliseconds after Kanna's nimble fingers entered the code that initiated Naraku's demand, something sinister flared in Kagome's mind. Its dark presence quickly overwhelmed the unsuspecting girl's mind, leaving her only to watch as the all consuming black ensconced her vision.

Kagome had no control over her movements as her right hand whipped out to tug Inu Yasha's long hair savagely. While the inu was reeling, the girl-possessed kicked with more strength then she knew herself to have at the white haired man's back, flooring him. He was out cold as he fell headlong into the hard metal floor, and an iron-fisted left hook to Sango's temple had her dazed as well, leaving the onna to her own devices.

Dark Shikon's eyes blazed an unnatural violet as it turned Kagome's body back in the direction of the infirmary. And, moments later with an unnatural speed, the girl found herself watching helplessly as her possessor placed her body directly in the path of one of Kouga's thrown daggers.

Give me a kiss goodnight, and everything will be alright...

As quickly as it came, the violent purple that had invaded Kagome's irises receded, leaving only a confused misty grey in its place. The disoriented girl never had even the slightest chance of dodging the blade speeding at an unparalleled speed for her heart. Sesshoumaru could only watch in horror as the dagger impacted her and bolt forward to catch her as a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of her lips.

"MEDIC!"

Tell me that I won't feel a thing...

Hours later, Kane emerged from the operating room, a grim expression on his face. He approached Sesshoumaru and looked him squarely in the eye as he told him, "In her human state she will never come out of the coma she has fallen into. However, if we go through with the Augmentation at this point in time, her demon blood will cure her within twenty-four hours, tops...But there is a 75 likelihood she won't survive the process. In the coma however, she may last an hour, a week, or a year...but she will never be coherent. In light of these odds, I have decided to go through with the Augmentation process within the hour...There is no other way, Sesshoumaru."

So give me Novocaine...

AN: TH-th-that's all folks! LOL, yeah, anyway I'll have the new chappie up and running soon! Later days!