Neurotoxin

Kagome sat in front of a simple meal of rice and fish, brought to her by one of the inuyoukai. She looked around her new quarters, which was much larger than the original room she had been given and sighed. The adrenaline of the nighttime battle had worn off, and she had spent much of the morning healing the injured. Though she knew she needed to eat and gather her strength, she couldn't help but worry.

She sat her chopsticks down in front of now cold dish, giving up. It had been hours since Sesshoumaru had left to fight the fleeing army, and now enough time had elapsed that she was definitely concerned.

A chill swept over her, causing her to look around the room even though no one was there. She could feel him. He was close.

Dragging herself to her feet, she hurried out of her room, making her way down stairs. Other youkai seemed to have sensed Sesshoumaru as well and they were now lining on the steps of the mansion up to greet him upon his arrival.

When Sesshoumaru walked from around a corner and into sight, he was greeted to a chorus of "Sesshoumaru-sama!" as he climbed the stairs. Kagome narrowed her eyes, looking him over. He didn't appear injured, but something seemed off. His normal bright, clear amber eyes were dull and unfocused. He didn't look at her as he walked past, but in honesty, she noticed that he didn't look at anyone. His youki was tightly wound up, barely contained.

The merchants were eager to speak with him about the snake army, and they quickly surrounded him. She watched as his left hand disappeared into his sleeve as soon as they got near. She would have missed the motion entirely if not for how closely she had been watching him. Something was definitely wrong.

Kagome straightened her back, and shoved her way towards him.

"Out of the way! Can't you see our lord wishes to be left alone!" Kagome shouted, doing her best impression of Jaken.

Sesshoumaru continued his way upstairs, but the merchants turned toward her.

"But Miko-sama!"

Kagome held up a placating hand. "It is obvious our lord is angry. Do you really wish to make it worse? Allow him a moment of peace and you will have your answers."

Many faces frowned and turned grim. Slowly, they left the hall.

Kagome raced up the stairs in time to catch him.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, we have a new room. Follow me." She spoke quietly to him.

Holding on to his right arm, she led him further into the keep.

She slid the door open, and he walked inside with no complaint.

Kagome wasted no time, and went to her travel bag, and pulled out a few sutras. With a few prayers she heavily warded the room. No one would hear them, much less have any idea what was going on.

Sesshoumaru stood in the room swaying ever so slightly.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, tell me what's wrong." She moved over to him, urging him to move towards the cushions. As he neared the table, his foot caught, and he fell to his hands and knees. He held out his right arm to catch himself, but his left held no weight, and he fell to his side.

"Sesshoumaru!" She cried out rushing to his side. Kagome rolled him over, to see that his eyes were staring blankly at the ceiling and his breathing was now erratic.

Her eyes searched his body, before focusing on the hand he hid earlier. She leaned over him, and picked up his arm. She slid back his sleeve and gasped. "Oh no! This is awful!" His arm had been sliced open from just past his elbow all the way down to his wrist. Wet blood mingled with dried blood down the length of his arm. It was a deep wound, one that a normal person could die from.

"Did the naga do this to you?"

He gave no answer.

Kagome closed her eyes, feeling her reiki leave her. This injury was serious, but not life threatening to him, so what else was causing him to act this way?

The skin around the wound was a sickly green. Venom! She focused her thoughts on healing it, driving away the infection. The snake's poison clung to him like oil. Her reiki moved across his skin doing its best to destroy it. This venom was relentless! Her brow began to sweat with the effort of the destroying the neurotoxins. Thankfully, after what seemed like forever, his arm flexed, causing her to stir out of her healing state.

Amber eyes gazed at her, yet his brows were furrowed in confusion, as if he was having trouble concentrating.

Kagome moved both hands to each side of his face. "I'm here, Sesshoumaru." Reiki flowed from her hands and across his body. He made no effort to stop her, allowing the healing to happen.

He took a deep breath, and the horrible tension left his body. His mind cleared. He had been wandering in a haze since he killed the naga. He didn't even realize that his arm had gone completely numb and unresponsive. He somehow made his way back to the last known place he knew Kagome to be.

The beautiful, concerned face of Kagome came into view. Her deep blue eyes stared into his with such emotion. Sadly, she looked exhausted. He reached up with his healed arm and touched her face.

"Kagome." He said softly.

Relief filled her. "What happened?" She asked.

"I killed the naga..." He dropped his arm back down to his side. The memory of what happened assailed him, and left him breathlessly angry.

"My poison had no effect on him."

Kagome's eyes widened at his admission. She had seen first hand how deadly his poison could be. It was acidic enough to melt objects and a gust of it could blind a person.

"The naga's poison affected you though." She said softly.

"I was foolish to ignore it. It muddled my mind." He refused to even voice his fears out loud. Physical damage was something he was very used to, but he had never encountered anything that affected his mind. It was disturbing to say the least.

Kagome ran her hand over the area that she had healed. "It would have killed anyone else. It would take a lot more than that to get rid of you." She said with a smile. "It was merely an inconvenience. At least we know now that the poison can cause neurological damage."

Sesshoumaru didn't understand the last bit of what she said, but rather relished the feel of her touch on his arm and the assurance of her words. He assumed she was trying to make him feel better with her flattery, and despite himself, it eased his pride.

He sat up looking at the smooth skin on his arm. "You're amazing." He said bluntly.

Her face turned a lovely red shade at his compliment.

Kagome stood up and moved to the far wall to roll out the large futon and blankets.

His eyes wandered about the room with a hint of question.

"I had to be moved to a new room." Kagome explained as she spread the blankets over the bed.

He tilted his head, as if to ask 'why'.

"My room was destroyed in the attack."

A moment of guilt assailed him. She had done much to heal him and keep his affliction from wandering eyes, yet he hadn't even asked about her own well-being. "Are you...alright?" He couldn't help but eye the tray of uneaten food on the table.

"Oh, I'm alright." The blatant accusing stare he gave her, made her glare back at him.

"Ah, I'm tired and my shoulder hurts a bit. There, you happy?" Kagome said not without a hint of irritation.

Sesshoumaru frowned as he watched her move about the room. He was in such an unusual circumstance. Never before had he felt the need to give back. Of course others have helped him throughout his life and he paid his debts, but...Kagome was different. She gave herself freely without asking anything in return. She constantly exhausted herself for the benefit of others, including himself. He was uncertain of what would have happened if she had not been there to heal him. His mind had not been functioning properly. Someone clever enough might have been able to take advantage of the situation and kill him.

He was grateful for her kindness. He didn't want to encourage his growing feelings for her, yet it was hard to ignore what came so naturally.

Kagome rubbed at her red eyes. She was too tired to eat or really care about anything else. She sat down on the large futon, pulling back the blankets.

"You're going to sleep in your disgusting clothes?" Sesshoumaru asked standing above her. He could smell the hundreds of different youkai that she had touched that day, not to mention he assumed she healed them of all kinds of ailments. No wonder she looked so haggard.

Kagome groaned. "How rude! I'm too tired to care." She rolled over, pulling the blankets over her head.

She growled when she felt a quick draft and realized he had yanked the blankets from her.

She grit her teeth, and decided to ignore him.

Sesshoumaru knelt down, and grabbed her ankle pulling her to him. "EEP!" She squeaked.

He loomed over her with a dangerous glint of mischief in his eyes.

"If you do not want to change into the proper attire, I will do it for you." He said moving his hand to tug at the ties holding her hakama on.

"Wha-what!?" She flushed red right down to her toes. He slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her up against him. He leaned close against her ear.

"Allow me to take care of you." He said.

Kagome gulped, clutching at the front of his kimono. The significance of his words were not lost on her. He did not offer such things to just anyone.

"Ah...okay. I'll change into my clothes myself though." She said. He stood up, and helped her off the futon. She went over to her pack and pulled out a clean yukata. She turned her head slightly to see if he was watching her, and found that he too had gone to their travel trunk and pulled out a sleeping garment. With his back to her, he deftly undid the ties to his pants, and they began to fall-

Kagome jerked back around. Her heart raced and she began to fan her face. The intimacy growing between them was too new, and she couldn't help but feel embarrassed to undress around him. Sure, she was sexually attracted to him, but that didn't make her any less nervous. She hadn't been in a serious relationship with anyone other than Inuyasha, and kinda felt lost. Her growing love for Sesshoumaru was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.

She took a deep breath and threw her clothes off in a mad dash. It took her only a moment more to be clothed once more by her yukata. Kagome stood still, and willed her heart to slow down. She turned back around to him.

Sesshoumaru sat on the futon waiting for her.

Kagome eased herself down to the futon. "Well goodnight." She said trying to lay down.

"Kagome."

"Hm?" She murmured.

"You agreed."

Kagome sat back up. "I don't know what you want." She blurted out.

"How do humans tend to injured shoulders?"

She blinked at him. "Oh, well, my muscles are too tense, and won't relax. Usually rubbing the area helps."

"Hm."

They stared at each other for minute. Kagome decided to have some back bone. She scooted close to him, and turned her back to him. If he was offering to massage her shoulder, by god she was gonna let him.

"It's my right shoulder." She offered helpfully, pointing a finger over her shoulder to the area.

He looked down at her back. Tentatively, he gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"AH!" She cried out, jerking herself away from his hands.

He looked at her alarmed and bewildered. What did he do wrong!?

Kagome sat trying to ease the pain out of her muscles by stretching.

After a moment, she moved back over to him. "Okay, so not too hard this time. My muscles are very tense and it doesn't take much pressure to cause pain. Here let me show you." She took hold of his left hand, turning it palm up. Using her thumbs to apply gentle pressure she massaged his hand then moved up his arm, using the same motions.

Sesshoumaru was intrigued. It seemed like such useless ministrations. There was nothing wrong with his muscles, yet it felt great.

"This is what you wish?" He asked.

"Uh huh." She said turning around again, pulling her long dark locks to the side, exposing her neck.

A slight shiver of anticipation ran down her back, when he gave a hum of approval.

Starting at the base of her neck, he very gently applied pressure using his thumbs, like she showed him.

"Ahh...that's it." She sighed.

He massaged her shoulder, until he could tell that the muscles had begun to lose their tension. Kagome relaxed against him, blissful.

"Kagome." He said softly.

"Hm?" She looked over her shoulder at him.

His hand gripped the back of her neck, the other grasping her by the midsection as he pulled her closer to him. Sesshoumaru kissed the side of her face. His youki slid over her skin, mingling with her own energy. Their synergy snapped into place so easily, that she hardly realized it.

Sesshoumaru grasped a bit of her reiki, and to her amazement pushed it back over her body. Warmth rushed over her body and her various bruises began to disappear.

"Oh...I didn't know that was possible." She mumbled.

Sesshoumaru gave a small amused huff. He pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her. The energy created between them was undeniably alluring and powerful. Holding her there and feeling their combined strength eased his concerns, and bolstered his confidence. His body relaxed and a calming peace settled over them.

Kagome's head drooped, and finally, she succumbed to sleep in Sesshoumaru's arms.

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Author's Note: I am so glad to hear that everyone was pretty happy about Rōyakan. He'll be making another appearance pretty soon!

Please review! You know I love it.