A/N: This chapter has been edited, so you may notice the last few paragraphs have changed. Nothing major, but I think it's much better. =)

When Kagome awoke, the first thing she noticed was the warm body beneath her in her sleeping bag. She allowed herself to revel in the comfort she found in his strong arms for a moment, and let the smallest of smiles to betray her relief as she noted the soft, even breaths he drew and released against her neck. He was out like a light.

The normal Sesshoumaru had little need for rest, but this one had been through the ringer. Weakened by his human state, and brought back from the brink of death; he would need his rest to gain the strength he required to survive the harsh cold night. His body needed to heal, but as warm as it now appeared to be, it looked like he was off to a good start.

Previously unaffected by anyone or anything in his path, human Sesshoumaru would need to adhere to the laws of biology when walking around in his newly acquired skin. He would probably need help from a friend to see him through this, but it looked like she was all he had for the moment. She decided she would take on the task of looking after the former daiyoukai, if not only for the fact that it was her thoughtless wish that had rendered him to such a sorry state.

She blushed as she recalled their intimate actions the night before. She decided it was best left forgotten, and she assumed he would take no issue with her decision.

Confident that he was warm enough to survive a moment on his own, Kagome gently untangled herself from his embrace to appraise his clothing. It had completely dried with the aid of the still roaring fire, so she had no qualms with grabbing her own clothing- long ago dry- and dressing herself with haste.

Jaken had the decency not to look her way as she did so. He simply sat by the fire, poking the fresh log he had added with a stick he had brought for the task. Ah-Un was sleeping soundly in the far corner, also well worn out from their exciting day that had ultimately proved successful.

Kagome realized in that moment that if either of the three saviors had not acted as quickly as they had, Sesshoumaru would likely now be dead.

When she had her coat zipped up, she reached into the pocket to ensure her treasure still remained.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she wrapped her fingers around her completed Shikon. Pulling it from the pocket, she regarded it a long moment with new eyes.

She was straining to find any difference in its appearance. She was pleased to find there was none, if only to affirm that she had not ignored any glaring changes after her wish.

It had been her wish, hadn't it? But the jewel was still here. Wasn't it supposed to disappear after a wish was made? Maybe because her wish was far from pure, the jewel would remain. She cringed at the thought of blowing her duty so mindlessly.

It was still whole, and still here. Would the Shikon permit her to make another wish? It was worth a shot.

Sliding her gaze to Jaken to ensure she wasn't being watched, she grabbed her jewel tightly in front of her and whispered her new wish.

"I wish Sesshoumaru was demon again."

She waited breathlessly for something to happen... A glowing light, his transformation, anything.

But alas, nothing did.

"So do I."

Quickly, she shoved the jewel back into her pocket and turned to face Sesshoumaru's vassal.

Now fully clothed; she made her way to the kappa who was still fussing over his fire, and took a seat beside him. He wouldn't take his eyes off of the flames as he poked, as it made it much easier to bestow rare praise on one who was not his lord.

"Without your aid, he would never have made it. This will not be forgotten."

She appreciated the acknowledgement, but couldn't find it in her to smile.

"What happened to him?"

"We don't know. One moment he was himself. The next..."

She wasn't referring to his human form. She had a good idea of what happened there.

"Who did that to his face?"

Jaken was hesitant to respond. Lord Sesshoumaru wouldn't appreciate him divulging such details. But he conceded that the miko had thus far only been interested in his well-being. Still...

"Did he know him?"

"It wasn't a 'him.'"

She looked on incredulously.

"He got beat up by a girl?!"

Jaken scoffed.

"Of course not!"

She wrinkled her brow in confused irritation.

"You just said that it wasn't a him!"

Jaken closed his eyes and nodded. A snarl somehow playing at his beak.

"Because it wasn't. It was a 'them.'"

"Two on one? So not fair," she offered, rubbing her hands and holding them closer to the fire.

"Try five. Five demons."

That was more like it. Even as a human, she guessed it would still take a small army to take Sesshoumaru down.

"Who were they?"

"A tiger clan. Unscrupulous scoundrels! They took advantage of milord's human state, and attacked him."

He was jumped? By a clan? For what purpose? Sure, Sesshoumaru wasn't exactly the friendly type. But he wasn't the kind of guy to go around picking fights for no reason. She wondered what could have warranted such a brutal beat down.

Maybe it was payback. Perhaps his past was had come back to haunt him, and demons who had been wronged by him previously saw their opportunity for retaliation. She didn't particularly admire it, but she could understand. The guy sure had a way of getting under your skin...

"He had fared quite well when it was only three. But then, the others came. None who are human could have found victory at the hands of such an uneven assault!"

She bit her cheek to prevent herself from pointing out the obvious. Powerful demons battling against a simple human was more than stilted. Even the strongest of humans couldn't compete against the born strength of a demon, and it wouldn't be fair to expect such a thing. It actually served him right for testing mere mortals against himself, and condemning them as weak in comparison. She wanted to smile at the irony.

"They stripped him of his swords. And took Rin."

Rin! How could she have forgotten? Whatever joy she took in Sesshoumaru receiving his due washed away at the mention of the sweet little girl she had grown to adore. Sesshoumaru was her protector, and his current shortcomings would put her in great danger.

"They have Rin?! What do they want with her?"

Jaken grew even more solemn, and closed his eyes tightly to keep his rage in check.

"I do not know. I fear the worst..."

This was bad. This was very bad. They needed to find her soon if there was any hope of recovering her alive. Without knowledge of where the clan had gone to, they would need to retrace their steps.

"How did he get in the river?"

"They forced him through the ice. He traveled quite a distance, for a very long time. Ah-Un managed to extract him, but by then, he was rendered immobile."

Kagome looked to the sleeping human just feet from them. If it was as Jaken said, Rin was in trouble. Sesshoumaru likely wanted to get to her as soon as he was able, and there was no way she wasn't going to help. This was her fault, after all. But she decided it would be wise to omit that information until it became necessary. For her sake, she hoped it never would.

"We will get her back. I promise."

Jaken finally looked to the miko, traces of a smile finally visible on his face.

"Thank you."

He was thrashing as he came to, and Kagome started as Sesshoumaru pushed himself up into a seated position as he returned to the waking world.

He had heard that humans experienced 'dreams,' and he found he didn't care for them. Images of the worst he feared Rin may be enduring at the hands of her captors were brutally fresh in his mind, and as furious as he was at his traitorous brain for supplying him such images; he felt great relief at knowing they were not real. At least as far as he knew for certain.

Snapping his head at the miko beside the fire, he hated even more how weak his senses had become in his new form. As a demon, he could see those around him without looking their way. His youki gave accurate reports on distances and demeanors, and his scent provided him with intentions. Now, as a human, he relied on his eyes to confirm that what which he was uncertain... which appeared to be everything.

Seeing the two full-demons asleep near one another on the opposite side of the cave; he fixed his focus on Kagome, who was now completely dressed.

"Your clothes are dry. You can put them on, if you are warm enough."

As if he needed permission from her to do anything, but he withheld his retort; instead rising awkwardly from the strange blanket, and making his way over.

She turned her gaze from him, and he was grateful. She had no right to admire him. She had taken enough liberties as it was. And though his senses were dulled, he was irked at the absence of a blush from her innocent features as she looked away. He supposed that they had already experienced deeper intimacies, to his chagrin. Why would she bashful now?

After a moment of silks rustling, she regarded him once more. His lower half was covered, but topless he displayed the gashes and bruises she had already seen close up. The one at his shoulder was particularly gruesome, and she winced at the sight. It was puffing alarmingly, and becoming infected.

He probably didn't know what he was in for. Demons could heal at breakneck speeds, so he likely never had to care much for any wound he had sustained in the past... save for an arm.

"Wait," she demanded as he made to cover himself in his haori.

He stilled at her request, though he wasn't sure why, as she made her way over to him; earning a skeptical glare for her efforts.

He allowed her to approach him, and appraise his deep wound.

"It's infected. You will need to clean it, and cover it, or it's going to get worse."

He ignored the tingle he felt as her fingers dusted over his gash in a careful, featherlight touch. This damn mortal skin proved much more reactive than the apparently thicker hide of his youkai form, but he refused to betray that to her.

"I feel fine," he informed her, but she was already rummaging through her backpack.

He watched her for a moment, but corrected his line of sight quickly once his mind began supplying him images of that form from the not so distant past. Though he longed to forget; his human mind was there to remind him of what lie beneath those warm layers of fabric she currently donned, and how soft and pliant she felt nestled his hard, yet broken form. Squirming, and practically writhing on top of him, as she put her very life in danger at just the chance of saving his own.

It reminded him of how reactive she herself had been; moaning and moistening as she failed to keep herself fully in check. How; if he had been properly inclined, he could have easily persuaded her to open herself up to him as he took all he desired for the sake of both of their pleasure. And while she bent over her overstuffed pack of mysteries, he could imagine himself moving up behind her, and placing himself right-

Stop!

He visibly winced as he at once commanded his thoughts into safer waters, and willed his newly excited manhood back at bay.

This was proving to be a most troublesome development.

He never recalled having an issue controlling his baser instincts around the presence of a female. That he was reacting so strongly to a simple human woman - Inuyasha's wench, no less - was disconcerting to say the least.

He hoped that it had more to do with him being weakened than being human. For if this was what mortal males had to contend with on a regular basis, his mettle was going to be tested even more harshly than he had initially predicted.

After a moment more of digging, she finally emerged with two bottles; one filled with water, and the other a strange yellow substance.

He remained passive as she returned to him, and used the water to remove blood and dirt from his wound.

He could contain his discomfort at the attention, but couldn't restrain the hiss he released when, without preamble, she emptied a generous portion of the yellow liquid right into the gash. He was no stranger to pain, but the sensation of it so easily induced by such a miniscule action actually caused him to marvel at it.

Noticing his reaction, she apologized. "Sorry!" she grimaced. "I should have said it would sting. But that means it's working."

He wouldn't react to her attempts to assure him, but he did allow her to proceed.

He became startled when he looked down again to see his wound suddenly bubbling from the inside. Embarrassingly, he was forced to grit his teeth in pain as he appeared to foam from the inside out, and it felt like every raw nerve inside the open wound had been burned with a hot iron.

He refused to show any more discomfort than he already had, and eventually his patience was rewarded as the bubbles subsided, along with the unpleasant sensation.

He was startled anew, however, when in their wake; he saw that his once-perfect pale skin had been horribly stained a hideous yellow. He instantly scowled, and fixed the audacious culprit with his most threatening glare.

Her answering sheepish grin was hardly penance for the atrocity she'd committed. Neither was the large bandage she used to cover the offensive sight.