"Shit!" Yusuke cursed as he kicked one of the fallen bodies surrounding them, "they got away." He turned concerned eyes to his long-time ally and friend Kurama who bent over Hiei's sweat-drenched form.

"They drugged him, but the wounds are superficial. He'll be fine in an hour or so." The avatar stood up and scanned the unnaturally quiet area. What little wildlife clung to this copse of trees had been flushed out by the battle.

"That damn Toddler's going to chew our asses for this." Yusuke didn't normally care about what Koenma thought of them or their work, but he felt guilty as hell right now letting that miko-Kagome- get kidnapped. His dark eyes clashed with Kurama's and he could read the tense set to the man's jaw as they had a silent exchange.

"What would demons want with a priestess anyway." Kuwabara asked as they gathered their fallen comrade and prepared to contact Boton. "I mean, look at all the ash around here isn't she dangerous for 'em?" Emerald eyes slid from their fallen comrade over to Kuwabara, but no words answered his question.

Yoko supplied Shuichi with several reasons that a demon may want to possess the pure spiritual soul and body of a miko, one of which Yoko had fancied doing himself, and none of the possibilities boded well for Kagome's fate if they could not get to her quickly.

You're wasting time. You know they must be taking her to the Makai. Yoko growled in his head.

Hiei is a waste of time now? Shuichi snapped with just as much venom, calm yourself you stupid fox don't let our allies fall just to answer the heat of your loins.

The fool got himself drugged, he's not on deaths door. Yoko grumbled unhappily, though Shuichi could feel the fox's underlying excitement to commence the hunt. It was like the old days, once the woman got to the Makai she would be nearly impossible to pin down. The kitsune reveled in the idea of finding the miko and stealing her out from right under those idiot's noses. Maybe he'd have some time alone with her to boot. Yoko hadn't felt his proverbial mouth water like this since before they had been roped into becoming spirit detectives.

Yoko Kurama was nearly panting with anticipation.


Kagome was bouncing. She giggled drunkenly at the sensation.

The first thing that swam into her view was the baggy red sleeves of the fire-rat haori. The miko also soon became aware of the fact that she was slung like a sack of potatoes over someone's shoulder as they ran full-out and their hand, instead of steadying her thighs, was planted firmly on the right globe of her rear end.

"Miroku you hentai!" Kagome snarled as she jabbed her elbow into the hollow just below his head with all the force she could muster. The male carrying her collapsed at the force and Kagome was sent sprawling as he dropped her during their run. The priestess lay dazed on her back as she tried to make sense of her surroundings.

"Shit she's awake. Dose her again!" She heard an unfamiliar voice and fumbling off to her left and see blurry shadows that seemed to be struggling against one another.

"Boss said to only give her the one dose! She's just a human idiot!" The strange voices didn't mean anything to her as she gazed around at the greenery surrounding her, where had Miroku gone? She hadn't hit him hard enough to send him flying had she?

"I don't give a fuck what the boss said. You saw what she was capable of." Kagome rolled onto her stomach with a giggle when she heard the tell-tell thunk that could only be Hirakotsu meeting the letcherous monk's skull.

"I got him already Sango." It was harder than she remembered to use her mouth and her speech was slightly slurred. She tittered regardless as she struggled to her feet and leaned heavily on a tree as her glazed eyes scanned the area. She couldn't see her friends just two fallen oni and another that seemed to be approaching her cautiously with a syringe.

The sight sobered her somewhat.

"Easy." He grunted when she took an uncertain step back. "Just a little poke and back off to dreamland, eh?"

"W-where are my friends?" she took another unsteady step back as the horned demon moved forward cautiously. His voice may have been gentle but she could sense that he did not mean her well, and she was all alone, despite what she had thought she'd heard.

"I-Inuyasha!" She cried as the demon leapt upon her. Her holy powers reacted to her terror and the syringe thumped softly into the grass as only ash surrounded her. The world swam around her and she stumbled drunkenly into another tree.

"Where is everyone?" She whimpered before she jumped at a sudden pulse at her hip. Her unfocused gaze was drawn to Tessaiga as it pulsed again. "Tessaiga? W-where's Inuyasha..." Her drug-clouded mind couldn't make sense of what was happening but the sword pulled impatiently at her hip.

"Ok, I'll follow you." She gripped the sword at her hip, "I trust you." She said, suddenly happy. The drugged miko stumbled noisily through the underbrush as she moved steadily west at the urging of the sword. She laughed and sung gaily as she enjoyed the beauty of the nature that surrounded her.

Kagome's sense of euphoria slowly melted away as she truly took in the unfamiliar types of plants and animals that surrounded her. Where am I? She wondered idly to herself when sense started to return, how long have I been walking? Whatever those strange oni had injected her with she was no longer under it's full influence. This is definitely not Tokyo, or the feudal era. It almost looks like a rain forest...

Now that the drugs had worn off she could sense the demonic auras surrounding her. Most seemed to be wildlife and skittered away from her. If she had not already figured out that she was in some strange new world, the blood red sky she glimpsed through the canopy of trees was dead giveaway.

I wonder if this is that Makai place Kurama told me about? She slipped carefully down an incline as Tessaiga pulled insistently at her hip. She was more careful not to brush carelessly against any of the odd looking leaves once that thought hit her, for Kurama had told her of all the strange, wonderful, and downright dangerous flora of the demon realm.

"Itai!" She hissed as she climbed over a fallen log. The bark had sliced open her palm and the innocuous thing soaked up her blood greedily as it dripped onto the decaying surface. Kagome slipped down the other side hastily and tensed. She expected the thing to spring to life and attack her, but it sat innocently where it lay half-buried in the dirt. The priestess cradled her hand to her chest as she continued on slowly.

A strange chill began to creep up Kagome's spine as the trees thinned around her. She could sense more than a few moderately powerful demonic auras skirting around the edges of her mind, some seemed to be stalking closer to her location and others hung on the edges. Kagome was sure that the blood on her palm was calling them in and fisted her injured palm against the fire-rat to stop the sluggish bleeding.

Crap... She stumbled out of the treeline as the hungry auras began to converge upon her. She felt the building of youkai behind her and slipped Tessaiga from her obi sheath and all. She jutted it out horozontally before her and the swords barrier crackled to life as a burst of blue fire engulfed her. When the attack faded she could see at least a dozen monstrous lower-class youkai. Some resembled bugs and others serpents, but they all thronged around the one who had sent the attack her way.

He could have passed for a human if he kept his shirt on. His ears were pointed and demonic markings covered his chest and disappeared into his pants. His short hair was as blue as the fire Tessaiga had defended her from and spiked.

If she had been the same fifteen-year old Kagome that had fallen down the well all those years ago his humanoid shape would have given her some hope of talking herself out of this, but her experience with the demons in the feudal era and the bloodthirsty aura that encompassed this group of demons told her that words would be useless.

Two mantis-like youkai broke from the group and rushed her, Kagome gritted her teeth and pulled the sword from its sheath which clattered to her feet as she used both hands to wield the surprisingly heavy katana. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do with it until the insectoids were nearly upon her.

'Please let this work!' Kagome begged as she channeled her holy energies into the Tessaiga. She could have cried with joy as pink flame-like energy flared along the shabby edges of the blade. The priestess felt a primal scream ripped from her throat as she swung the weapon with all her might and the first youkai turned to ash before the actual steel could bite into its hard flesh. Her battle aura flared again and she snarled as the other creature fried itself against her miko light.

'I can do this.' The second mantis wasn't reduced to ash as the first had been, but it was a crispy mess in the grass that didn't look like it was getting up any time soon. While there was a lull she scooped the sheath up and stuck it back through her obi. The other low-class demons screamed with outrage at her display and the remaining ten rushed her. She took a page out of Inuyasha's book and screamed as she released every ounce of power she owned. Several creatures turned to dust before they could reach her, and two more fell prey to the holy Tessaiga.

Unfortunately that still left six opponents. Five of the low-level beasts and the fire-wielder.

The beasts backed away as the humanoid struck and used his claws to rend the unprotected flash on her calf. The priestess panted through clenched teeth as the demon leapt back with a smirk. His hand smoldered where it had reached through her holy power to reach her flesh and he licked the sizzling blood from his talons with a look of pure rapture.

Her calf felt as if it were on fire, but he had done little more than draw blood. Before she could recover the small-fry were upon her once again.

Kagome did her best to hold her own, but her powers were slowly ebbing away. She could not afford to let up even a little, her holy aura was what kept the creatures at bay. Even with the protection of the fire-rat and the added defenses of Tessaiga these demons would tear her apart in the blink of an eye without her miko powers.

At last it was only her and the chuckling fire demon. Kagome's spiritual energy had begun to sputter around her and she took a deep breath as she allowed her power to sink back into her body. Her entire frame trembled with exertion and death gazed back at her from the demon's eyes. After everything she had been through and everything she had accomplished she was going to fall at the hands of this anonymous youkai, who couldn't have held a candle to any of her past opponents.

He was upon her again and his claws skidded over the fire rat and bit into her cheek as she tried to dodge. He herded her backwards and readied his talons for one last blow, she could see victory shimmering in his eyes. She brought the Tessaiga up and his attack glanced off the blade, her now dim energies sizzled against his flesh, his other claw tipped hand came up to finish what the first failed to do.

The blow Kagome had tensed for never came. There was a flash of green light and the demon stood stock still. Kagome jerked away from the demon counting her lucky stars that the claw had stopped inches from her body. She stumbled back and landed heavily on her butt as the demon slowly began to slide apart and a terrifyingly huge aura settled over her like a blanket.

Terror gripped her for only a second before she felt a jolt of familiarity. Kagome tilted her head back and gazed up with wide eyes at her unexpected savior.

"S-Sesshomaru..."

A/N

Thanks for all who have been reading!