Hiya, peeps, sorry for the slow update. I'm short on chapters again, because I've been working on Harry Potter and the Deadly Alliance. I know it seems like I'm running in circles with this story, but I really am starting to get to the end, so you won't have to put up with my circularconundrumsmuch longer. I'm sure the only reason this story has so many reviews is because of its length, not it's quality.

To answer a question, Kagome was under control as well, so she couldn't notice, and when Ryunochi died, they all fell outta the spell instantlywith no memory of the goings-on. And yes, Sesshoumaru could have dodged the arrow, but he was a little lost in his thoughts, and he didn't want to hurt anyone. Not to mention he was being attacked by quite a few people. He couldn't pay attention to 'em all, even with demon senses, and they're all really good fighters.

But anyway, on to the chappie.

Sesshoumaru felt strange. He felt as if he didn't exist. In fact, all he could feel was pain.

Who...who am I?...What am I...?

A demon, that's right. He was a demon. The Lord of the Western Lands. Sesshoumaru the Were-Dog.

Yep.

That was him.

So what in seven hells was he doing here?

And then he remembered the arrow. Kagome's arrow that had pierced his heart, slowed it, killed him.

No. He was in a state of dormancy, that's all. Just as Ryukotsussei had been...

That was funny. He was really powerful, huh? Only dormant?

And yet, he could do nothing...

Kagome could feel tears streaming from her eyes as she saw Sesshoumaru's eyes slowly close, his hand clenched around the arrow.

Why? She thought in anguish. Why did you betray us?

Suddenly, she realized that her thoughts ran very similar to the way Kikyo's had, and she also realized that Kikyo had been tricked. Could she have been tricked into "killing" him?

She noticed the dead dragon near Sango. Its insides looked as if they had been melted by poison or acid.

That was Sesshoumaru...

"Ka...gome..."

The miko turned quickly to see an injured, but conscious, Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, what is it!" she asked.

"Ses...shoumaru...he...fought us...because...we were...fighting him..."

"I know, I know. He betrayed us..."

"N-no…" the hanyou said hoarsely. "We...were...being...controlled..."

"What!"

Kagome gasped.

"Inuyasha...I just remembered...I shot him in the heart with a silver arrow and it was filled to the brim with purification energies..."

"...But...that...that would kill him..." Inuyasha said. His breath hitched and he coughed blood.

"Inuyasha, right now all I'm worried about is you!" Kagome said, helping him up. She walked him to a hut where she could heal him and proceeded to bandage his wounds.

"Kagome, get Sesshoumaru...get him before..."

"I thought you wanted to kill him, though. Why are you so adamant? Even when I make you help him, you're never so willing..."

"I have a vow to fulfill...and he is my brother..."

"Since when did that matter!"

"...A while before he attacked me...he whispered something in my ear..."

"Huh?"

"He told me...even though I was still being controlled, I could hear...and he told me...that he would resurrect us if he had to kill us..."

Kagome's eyes began to water slightly.

"He really said that, Inuyasha?"

"Y-yes...he did..."

They both glanced out to the tree he was pinned to. All they could see was part of the trunk from their vantage point in the hut.

"Take care of him, not me. I'll heal from my wounds, Kagome. If you leave him there, he won't. The purity will overtake him."

The young miko nodded.

"And I left Sango out there. I know I shouldn't have, but I thought Miroku would get her...and then I remembered he's unconscious too..."

She left the hut and found that Sango was using her Hiraikotsu as a crutch to limp to Sesshoumaru.

"Why..." Sango whispered. "I trusted you, I thought you could change, Sesshoumaru..."

"Sango, step aside," Miroku said. He had awakened. "I'm going to suck this tree up with Sesshoumaru attached. That will solve many problems, and it will rid the world of his menace..."

"NO!" screamed Kagome. "No, don't do it! He was only trying to defend himself!"

Miroku's hands rested on the prayer beads. Ironically, the breeze picked up, blowing Sesshoumaru's mismatched bangs about and causing his hand to fall limply from the arrow it had gripped.

"Kagome, his youki is still present. If I do not suck him up soon, I don't know if I will be able to."

"You can't. He was defending himself from us! We were being controlled!"

"You do realize," Miroku began, "That Sesshoumaru is not to be trusted. He has proven that he can be manipulative and vengeful. He could be lying…"

"He's said worse lies to protect others. Like you," Kagome shot back.

"…Lady Kagome…what do you speak of?"

"I knew he was lying when he said he fell from that tree and hit his head. So when I got that rosary on him, I used the 'Speak' command and asked what happened. He told me how you smashed his head with your staff until he got a concussion. So don't talk to me about trusting him when I can hardly trust you!"

"But…"

"Miroku, you're my friend. I can trust you, but you have to realize Sesshoumaru's my friend now too. I trust him too. If Sesshoumaru can defend you, you should know enough to defend him, right?"

"…Yes, Kagome. I now see what I've done wrong."

Miroku lowered his hand.

"Do what you must."

Kagome felt her eyes soften as she walked up to Sesshoumaru's prone body. He wasn't breathing at all.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru. What're you doing?" she whispered, twirling his forelock absentmindedly. She felt a wave of nostalgia hit her full force as she saw his elf ears.

"Well, they aren't Inuyasha's, but I wonder what they feel like?"

Her fingers closed around the pointed ends and she rubbed them softly for a few seconds. Not quite as satisfying as Inuyasha's dog-ears, but she thought Sesshoumaru's elfish ears would be interesting to feel.

"I'm sorry I shot you," she said softly. "I'm sorry that you're a Were-Dog. But I'm glad you're my friend now."

Kagome's slender fingers closed around the arrow. Bracing herself, she jerked at it and with a flash of light, it evaporated from her grasp.

"Huuucgckk!"

Sesshoumaru's eyes flew open and his gasp scared Kagome into falling away from him with a small cry.

"Sesshoumaru, are you okay!"

Another gasp, much longer this time, tore from his throat.

"Can't…breathe!" he managed to say before clawing at his throat and trying to draw air into his starved lungs.

"Kagome, move over!" Sango said.

"He's going into shock from the purification," Miroku said. "And that silver arrow caused an allergic reaction as well."

Sango crashed down to her knees next to a convulsing Sesshoumaru before he passed out. After he did, she began to push against his chest, trying to get a steady breathing rhythm started. After five times, she pinched his nose shut and breathed air into his lungs. His chest rose and fell steadily until Sango stopped.

"His youki is fading!" Miroku said urgently.

"No!" Sango cried. She pinched his nose again and breathed air into him. After the second time, he began to cough violently.

"He's gonna be okay!" Kagome said.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Remember he will have a reaction to the silver, Kagome…"

R & R pretty please with sugar on top!