Hey! Thanx for the reviews, as always. And btw, Jgal, I didn't know that about the topknot. Thanks for the info. And just to restate in case you didn't see it before, I'm not going to Miami until June.

Sesshoumaru's mouth hung slightly open, but his eyes darted to Sango as the Hiraikotsu returned to her.

"Sango, you have returned."

His body felt leaden and useless, but he knew that he would not die. The snake had paralyzing venom, but the poisons in his body would counteract that very quickly. However, the fang needed to be removed, and Sango was the one who needed to do it, because it had splintered and if he reached back, it would cause him pain.

"Sesshoumaru! Sesshoumaru, are you all right!" Sango cried, throwing her Hiraikotsu aside. She touched the fang in his back and he twitched.

"I am fine, Sango," he said evenly. "This fang caused no lasting injury, only temporary paralysis and a wound that will heal in a few minutes time.

"Oh…"

"You must remove it, however, before the venom further circulates."

Sango hesitated, but soon wrapped her fingers around the snake fang and wrenched it out. Sesshoumaru's body gave a violent jerk before coming to rest and he gave a very audible hiss of pain.

"Thank you, Sango," he murmured.

"Lord Sesshoumaru…"

Sesshoumaru's eyes strained to see Rin. He tried to move, but he couldn't even twitch his pinky.

"Unh! Rin, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No, but it's bad enough you're hurt, my lord," Rin said, coming up to his vision. "You were protecting us…"

"I was protecting more than just you," he said.

"What do you mean?" Rin wondered.

"You will know when you are older…"

Sesshoumaru shuddered as he felt the wound on his back begin to close. His body was really working on healing that wound. It wasn't so bad, actually. The fang had only gone in a fourth of its length and it had missed any vital nerves. The reason his body was healing at such a rapid rate was that there was venom in his body. It always worked double time then, which tired him in addition to actually causing him discomfort.

"Unh!" he moaned as the wound sealed over and a new layer of pale skin covered the scar that would never be. He shuddered once more, then came to peace.

"Sango. Would you turn me so that I face the sky?"

"Yes…of course…" Sango said.

She turned Sesshoumaru to face the sky.

"Hn…so beautiful…Such clear prospects…but for me, that has been taken. I will never be free…"

"You're putting a lot of thought into this, aren't you?" Sango remarked.

"It haunts my nightmares, rules over my thoughts," Sesshoumaru told her. He twitched his fingers, getting the blood flowing. Within several moments more, he was able to move, however sluggish and weighted his body felt.

"Sesshoumaru! What happened?"

Kagome and Inuyasha appeared, the latter holding a cup of ramen.

"Ah. Kagome. Welcome back. And…you too…Inuyasha…" Sesshoumaru said.

"Did something happen while we were gone?" Kagome asked seriously.

"Nothing of consequence. A demon attacked the children and myself, and I disposed of it. Nothing more."

"Oh. Well, thanks for watching them, I guess," said the young miko. "You ready to go shopping?"

"Hn. Yes."

Sesshoumaru gathered his tail and threw it over his shoulder regally before standing. Kagome and Sango blushed at him.

"What is it?"

"You…" Kagome began before bursting out in giggles. This annoyed Sesshoumaru.

"I what!"

"Y-you're not wearing your haori…" Sango said.

"Oh…"

Sesshoumaru picked up the fire-rat robe and slipped into it.

"Hey!" Inuyasha snapped. "You got blood all over it, you bastard!"

"Gomen, Inuyasha. I shall clean it later."

Sesshoumaru tried to pull the haori closed, but without an obi, it was impossible. He sighed. His obi was still with the Were-Hunters, and that obi was special to him for reasons only he knew.

If anyone should complain about this robe, it should be me anyway, he thought in an attempt to change his thoughts. The shoulders are not nearly broad enough, and the sleeves are not long enough either. I suppose it comes of being older and larger than Inuyasha…

Kagome had finally gotten most of her giggles out, but she kept thinking about Sesshoumaru's washboard stomach, causing her to giggle girlishly every few minutes.

"Come on, everyone. We're going to get a nice kimono for Sesshoumaru," she announced.

The Inu-gumi began to walk towards the clothing shop when they noticed that Sesshoumaru wasn't following. Rather, he was standing stock-still and eyeing the ground. Inuyasha saw his brother's nostrils flare slightly.

"Whatcha sniffin' for?" he asked curiously.

"There was something…it was powerful…and it shone light into my eyes…"

"Oh!" Kagome said. "I was so distracted that I couldn't sense it!"

"Sense what?" Shippo wondered.

Sesshoumaru bent down and picked up a small piece of what seemed to be glass.

"A Shikon no kakera! A jewel shard!" Kagome said.

Sesshoumaru's fingers began to burn from the shard; it was pure ebony.

"Ow!" he said as he dropped the shard. It had dug into his fingers. He licked the drops of blood away before the cuts healed instantly.

"It's not pure," Kagome explained. "If you had held onto it any longer, it could've hurt you."

Sesshoumaru nodded, then his eyebrows rose up as he observed Kagome purifying the shard.

She is a powerful priestess indeed, he thought incredulously.

"Here."

"Hn?"

Kagome handed Sesshoumaru the shard.

"It's your shard to keep. You found it."

"Hmm…it must have come from the snake demon…"

"All the more reason for you to keep it. Please take it, Sesshoumaru. I want to see what happens when you care for it."

Sesshoumaru tilted his head, puzzled by her request. As he took hold of the shard, he could see some of its purity dulling away so that it was a dull pink.

The shard was neutral in his hands.

"Very well, Kagome. I shall keep it safe. However, I do not need to use such a trinket."

He slid the shard into his shoe for lack of better place to stick it, and began to follow the others into the inner part of the village.

R & R