A/N: Thanks again for all of the great reviews! This story is just getting started and I hope you all like it so far. This chapter should answer some questions and give you new ones to think about. Let me know what you think.

Last time: Kagome got to hand feed the Lord of the Western Lands. She still doesn't know where she is or how Sesshoumaru got there. Inuyasha has been thrown off her trail by non other than Kikyou. What other plans does Arago have? Read on to find out!

Prisoners

By: WildcatYST

Chapter 3 - The Fallen Angel

Kagome stretched her arms above her and arched her tense back. She had managed to get some sleep during the night. Sesshoumaru did not speak or move all through the night, and she was not sure if that was a good or bad thing. The Lord of the Western Lands was something of an enigma, a great puzzle that needed to be figured out. As she looked over at the demon, she could not help but ask herself questions.

Why is he here? She wondered as she stared at him intently. It was inconceivable to her that the great warrior could have been taken prisoner in the same manner she had been. Surely the demon could fend for himself, as she had seen time and time again with his fights with Inuyasha. How was it that such a clever, skilled fighter could be conned into imprisonment.

He has two arms. This thought surprised her as she noticed that Sesshoumaru had two arms chained above his head. When did that happen? She asked herself. Perhaps he regenerated it. That couldn't be right. If he could, why would he attempt to connect a new arm with the jewel shards as he had at a previous encounter with the miko? Maybe youkai healers were advanced enough to heal him.

With a slight shrug to her shoulders, Kagome decided that she would inquire as to the appearance of his missing appendage when the dog demon seemed to be in a good mood. That is, if he ever had moods. One thing that had always intrigued Kagome about Sesshoumaru was that he was always in control of himself. His face never gave away his emotions, and his eyes concealed his true feelings behind a wall of ice. If she was lucky, she would not be stuck in his dungeon long enough to discover the subtleties of his moods. Sighing to herself, Kagome curled her knees up to her chest and laid her head on top of them.

Sesshoumaru heard the tired sigh escape the girl across from him. He had been awake for some time and was fully aware that his brother's wench had awoken from her sleep. It was degrading thinking about what had transpired between them the night before. Being hand fed by a human disgusted him, and by his brother's woman no less. It was disgraceful enough to be imprisoned by an enemy, but to depend on this human was down right dishonorable. But he was aware that he was dependant on her for now. That would mean that he would have to refrain himself from permanently silencing her for her annoyances. Lifting his head, he felt it pound in protest. Whatever his captors had done to him was effectively subduing a large amount of his powers and leaving him without his sight.

Flexing his new appendage, he fought the urge to grind his teeth together. He had suffered enough indignities that he did not want to return to his lands with dull teeth as well. His thoughts returned to the miko resting across the room from him. What did the enemy want with her? What did he want with Sesshoumaru for that matter? He was still unsure of who was holding him and what his intentions were. If death was his intention, Sesshoumaru most definitely would have been dead by now. Something told him that something more sinister than death was on the mind of his captor. The pounding of footsteps brought Sesshoumaru out of his thoughts. The girl let out a surprised gasp and backed away from the door as it was opened.

"Stand up." A rough voice commanded the girl. From the shuffling of feet, Sesshoumaru assumed she had done so. More footsteps entered the room and Sesshoumaru heard them come close to where he was seated on the cell floor.

Kagome was surprised when the door suddenly came open. The youkai in front of her was large, at least seven feet tall with a broad chest covered in black armor. His skin was black and not a single hair covered his exposed forearms. High black boots and pants covered his legs and led to a large metal belt encircling his midsection. A long sword hung at his side along with keys and a small gray pouch. Peeking from behind him was a sleek black tail that reminded Kagome of those cute devil outfits she saw around Halloween, only this one wasn't as cute as it was threatening. Pointed ears stuck out from his head and were adorned with red tips. His eyes were slits of red against his black skin and two small, white pupils centered in the middle of each of them settled on Sesshoumaru.

"Control him." The dark, smooth voice ordered the two other demons that entered behind him. They looked similar to the first one, but much smaller in stature. Kagome doubted that she could tell them apart if the first one wasn't so large.

The two demons approached Sesshoumaru and unbound his hands using the keys they carried at their sides. Kagome was surprised when Sesshoumaru did not strike out at them or attempt to free himself. She snapped her head towards the first guard when a clawed hand firmly grasped her arm.

"Follow me." He ordered, his voice hard and unyielding. Kagome trembled as the white orbs focused on her, sending waves of unease through her sensitive body. This demon seemed to radiate darkness and evil, which didn't surprise her as he looked like a twisted incarnation of the devil himself.

Sesshoumaru breathed in the scent of the jailers. They smelled of ash and soot, something he found quite offensive to his sensitive nose. As two of the creatures roughly unchained him and pulled him to his feet, Sesshoumaru tuned all of his available senses to the ones around him. He wanted to try and break free, but that would not be wise. In his current situation, he was confident that he could take out the two youkai holding him. The problem was that the one who first entered, the one whose ashy smell was now mixing with the human's own scent of fear, could be a problem. As soon as Sesshoumaru took out the two beside him, the other would have time to assault him or close the door and successfully keep lock him back in. That would not due. He would have to wait for his opportunity to get out.

"Let's go." The youkai to his left snarled while pulling roughly on Sesshoumaru. He was lead out of the room and up a series of stairs behind the female and lead demon.

Kagome followed the youkai without making a sound. She silently glanced at the fast passing walls and bare décor aligning them. Gray stone lined the hallways they were walking, and an occasional torch lit the way. After climbing more stairs than Kagome would ever like to again, she was led down a long hallway. Torches made the new hallway seem to glow shades of orange and yellow. A red carpet led to a large pair of golden doors that towered almost higher than Kagome could see. The guard leading her pulled her up to the shining entrance and pushed the doors open.

Beyond the golden doors lay a throne room. It was a large, rectangular room with lush red carpet covering the entire floor. Billowing gold drapes hung from the high windows until they touched the floor. Torches lit the pathway up to a raised area where a high backed red chair sat. When Kagome laid eyes upon who was in the chair, a gasp escaped her lips.

A long, lean figure sat languidly in the seat, one clawed hand draped over the arm of the chair and the other cupping a gracefully curved cheek. A thin smile split across a pale face, just below a sharply contoured nose. Ice blues eyes peered out from behind golden bangs that appeared to fall from the top of his head like a yellow waterfall. The demon before her was undoubtedly male, though he looked more beautiful than any woman she had ever seen. His entire body was draped in flowing garments of silver and sky blue. The smile appeared to grow wider across his face as Kagome was forced to approach him. She let out the breath she had been holding and met his cold eyes with her own.

"Welcome Lady Kagome, Lord Sesshoumaru." The creature nodded his head in what looked to be respect. Sesshoumaru breathed deeply and could feel cold air rush through his system. He felt the grip on his arms loosen and he took the chance he had.

Kagome turned swiftly as the sound of bone crushing caught her attention. Sesshoumaru stood with both arms extended into the chests of his captors. Their eyes rolled back into their heads as blood oozed from their wounds and covered the Lord of the Western Lands hands. He quickly pulled his clawed hands from the bodies and cracked his poison whip through them for good measure. He stood snarling, poison still dripping from his claws, with his head tilted to the side to get an exact location on his next victim. Kagome's eyes widened as she saw him lift his hand and aim blindly in her direction. A strong shove to her right arm sent her flying to the floor as the guard holding her crouched to the floor.

He sprung with deftly speed and dodged the crack of Sesshoumaru's deadly whip. The guard landed directly in front of Sesshoumaru, and as the dog demon drew his hand backwards, the demon threw a fist towards him. Sesshoumaru brought his other arm to block the blow.

Sesshoumaru blinked his eyes. He had seen the punch coming. He had SEEN it. It was blurry, and he could not make out the details of the world around him, but he had definitely seen the fist coming. He blink his eyes and found that he could see clearer. The demon before him widened his eyes and Sesshoumaru could see that too. Sesshoumaru narrowed his golden eyes as they began to focus even more. Inside he was smirking, but he placed the cold façade over his features and flexed his claws. As he rose his hand to strike out at the demon before him, he saw the creature reach into a bag on his waist. Kagome watched almost in slow motion as Sesshoumaru drew his fist up to attack and the other demon simultaneously reached into the gray bag and tossed a green powder into the face of the Lord of the Western Land.

Sesshoumaru hissed in pain and dropped to one knee as he brought his hands to his eyes. They were burning as if a thousand needles were pricking them and the pain began to spread from his eyes to his face and neck. He blinked, but only an inky blackness met his gaze. His vision was gone. His ticket to freedom was taken with the flick of a powdered wrist. Before he could gather himself, he felt the cold metal of a necklace being thrown over his neck and the energy drained quickly from him, causing his shoulders to slump forward from his lack of strength. The black demon seemed satisfied that the golden necklace he had lain upon the demon would subdue him and turned red eyes to his master.

"My, my Sesshoumaru. Where are your manners?" The deep voice of the Arago asked as he rose from his position on the chair. Kagome still lay ungracefully on the floor, her blue gray eyes wide in fear and confusion. A cold hand almost gently lifted her from the floor. "You have startled our dear lady. We'll have to do something about your behavior." He made a tsking sound, like a mother would a child who was doing something wrong. He turned his piercing eyes onto Kagome and let a smile cross his lips, though Kagome did not feel particularly warmed by it. "Do accept my apology for Toshi's harshness on you." The demon gestured towards the black demon who had retrieved her from the cell.

"Shall I take him to the extraction chambers?" Toshi asked in his dark voice.

"Take extra guards with you." The blue eyed demon commanded, and Toshi did as told. He lead a weakened and again blind Sesshoumaru from the room with the help of several guards that had entered the room upon his request. Kagome's eyes followed with concern. "Do not worry, he will be fine. The blindness is a temporary condition and so is his weakened strength. But such measures are necessary to contain him."

"Why?" Kagome's voice sounded weak and her entire body was shaking. She was afraid and wasn't sure what was going to happen to her.

"He must be contained for his safety and ours." Inquisitive eyes looked into her own. "The extraction process can be painful, and a youkai in pain is a very dangerous thing indeed." Kagome absently bit her bottom lip. It was a habit she had picked up from her mother. Whenever she was nervous, her pearly whites would assault her sensitive bottom lip, turning it red from her ministration.

"What do you mean by extraction?" Kagome asked, turning her worried eyes on the creature holding her captive. She was smart enough not to attempt an escape. Doing so now would result in her death, and she had seen how they had taken Sesshoumaru down. Granted, they had access to powerful enchantments. The necklace reminded her of the beads Inuyasha wore. Only the one that had been draped over Sesshoumaru was a plain, golden chain, must like a collar on a dog in modern times. Kagome shuddered. When would Inuyasha get there to save her? She surely wouldn't last much longer in this place.

"I require his poison for a certain project." Arago searched for the right words. "It must be extracted in the proper way for it to be useful to me. He will be returned to the dungeons once the process if finished." He paused a moment, looking into her eyes as if peering through her soul. "You are very unique, Kagome."

"What do you want with me?" She asked in half terror and half indignation at his blatant staring. A silky laugh escaped his thin lips.

"That isn't important yet. You are not ready for my needs yet." Arago answered with some humor in his voice. The fire in this girl surprised him, and he knew that she was certainly the one he was looking for. His eyes glittered with something Kagome could not place.

"Then why am I still here?" Kagome averted her eyes. His intense gaze seemed to be evaluating her, sizing her up and she could not compete with such intenseness.

"To take care of him." Arago replied. "Sesshoumaru will need the services of a miko while in my palace. You will be his caretaker until you are ready to serve your purpose for me."

"What?" Kagome turned her eyes from the floor to him with surprise. The notion of Kagome being Sesshoumaru's nurse was simply ridiculous. Was this guy not aware that the Lord of the Western Lands could tear her to pieces?

"You will be in no danger. The measures we have applied will assure that he will be no stronger than a human while in your care. His wounds will need tending too, and you will hone your miko abilities on them." He opened his mouth to say more when the opening of the golden doors interrupted him. Another demon, identical to the ones Sesshoumaru had slain and who still remained on the throne room floor, entered the room.

"Forgive my intrusion, Arago-sama." The demon bowed low. "Your presence is required in the extraction chambers."

"Take Lady Kagome back to her chambers. Sesshoumaru will join you shortly." Arago bowed to Kagome and exited the room with a flutter of silken fabric. Kagome was broken from her thoughts as the demon grabbed her arm and escorted her back to the dungeons. Her mind was going a mile a minute as she was practically dragged through the cold, stone hallways.

Poor Sesshoumaru… Kagome thought. Whatever method of extraction they used could not be pleasant and probably involved a lot of pain. She was still confused as to why she was here, and why Sesshoumaru was there too. Sure, Arago wanted the dog demon's poison, but why? What could he need it for? And what role did Kagome play in his plans down the line?

Please hurry, Inuyasha. She silently prayed. She wasn't sure how long she could remain in this castle before something horrible happened to her. Kagome was pushed back into her cell and locked inside its darkness. If she had been scared before, she was terrified now. There were youkai everywhere and she could sense them. She was the pawn in a game directed by a demon who looked more like an angel. And she was to play nurse to the Lord of the West. Things could not get any worse.

Inuyasha sat on the branch of a tree high above his fellow shard hunters. Shippo had been crying for hours and the sound made his insides turn. He couldn't find Kagome in the dark trees and had finally settled down for camp. She would no doubt come running to the group as soon as she finished being so childish.

I can't believe she ran from me… Inuyasha thought as he looked up at the stars in the sky. He had chased her through the forest for hours and never found her. Maybe she had gone home. Yes. She would be tired and scared, and would want to go home. He looked down at the monk and demon slayer trying to comfort the little kitsune. A fire cackled below him and lit up the faces of his companions.

The little kit was still crying, unable to comprehend how his surrogate mother could be done. Inuyasha pushed his ears back against his head and slumped back into the hard bark of the tree. He had not told them that he had actually seen her in the forests. They would be mad that he could not find her. Something was bothering him though. He couldn't smell her, and she seemed to drift in and out of the woods like a spirit. Something about the land around them freaked him out. He couldn't quite figure out what it was that bothered him about this place, but it definitely gave him the chills.

Another wail came from the little fox demon. Inuyasha groaned. He just wanted to rest so he could hurry to the well and yell at Kagome for being stupid. Those guys could have killed her! But she had to go and play hide and seek with him. She was definitely going to get a long yell when she got back. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and sighed. He was just glad he had seen her. At least she was okay, even if she was infinitely pissing him off with her games. Shaking his head in disapproval, Inuyasha closed his eyes to get the rest he needed to get to the well in the morning.

Kagome was awakened from her sleep by the opening of her cell door. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and watched as the limp body of Sesshoumaru was dragged in by two demons. They dropped him on the floor and tossed a bag towards her. Without a word, they left the room and Kagome alone with one of her biggest fears. She looked at the unconscious demon for a long time before opening the bag. It contained healing supplies, herbs, bandages and other supplies. Reaching towards the still form of the youkai, Kagome's hand shook as it touched his shoulder. No response. He was out cold.

Thank Kami for small miracles. Kagome sighed as she struggled to turn the demon over. The guards had not too gently dropped him flat on his face and left him there. With some effort, she managed to lay him on his back and get a good look at him. She felt a lump rise in her throat. He was covered in blood. Not only the red stains of the guards from earlier, but his own blood covered his arms and his chest. Cuts were seen all over his body and she could see that some were still oozing with blood. Swallowing hard, she resigned herself to task.

It wasn't because Arago told her, but because she wanted to. If she had come across Sesshoumaru with these wounds, she would want to help him. It was her nature, and she was sure it was going to get her into trouble someday. Probably sooner than latter in the present situation. But Kagome looked down at the proud youkai and felt her chest tighten at the look of him. He looked so broken before her in his current state, and it broke her heart. He was the essence of grace, nobility, and pride. Sesshoumaru was a force to be reckoned with and was a beautiful specimen of his race. Something about the way he looked now made Kagome sad. It was if an angel had fallen from heaven.

With a heavy heart, Kagome cradled Sesshoumaru's head in her hands. She took the supplies from the bag and began cleaning his wounds. Whatever fear she had of him had left her. Her instincts and training as a miko took over as she gently tended to his wounds. As she applied the remedies and bandages to his body, she let the tears she had been holding back fall from her eyes. She did not bother to wipe them away as they fell down her face and into the silver hair of the youkai in her lap. Kagome continued tending his wounds as she cried. She cried for herself and the fear of what would happen to her. She cried for the hole she felt in her heart at being separated from her friends and family. But most of all, she cried for the fallen angel before her.

WildcatYST: How was that chapter? Reviews are appreciated! I've never really written a fight or death scene, so I hope Sesshoumaru's little fight was okay. Let me know what you think!