"You will remain here until my return." He should stay with her. There were many things to say. She would want an explanation of his decision. An explanation he could not offer of a difficult decision that he was still attempting to make. However, he had a more pressing matter to attend to. An unknown enemy still lurked in the halls beyond this room. An enemy that had already proven to be hazardous to his human, and so she must stay here.

"I want to go with you."

"No. You will only be in my way." He knew even as he said it that she would argue. She always did. Still, whatever case she presented he would ignore it. There was no telling what would happen when he at last went through the doors to Gorenchi's inner lair. No matter how she fought to accompany him, he could not and would not walk her into that danger.

"I'll stay back…I'll run to the dungeons to let the others go. Just let me come with you."

The little liar. She would not run from the danger, he knew her well enough to know she would fight rather than hide. "For your own safety you must stay here."

"My friends are out there, and you will be. I can't just sit here and do nothing."

"Do as you are told. You seek trouble leaving here." Sesshomaru paused, "I will not allow it. No further harm will befall them."

"Sessh…"

"I will hear no further arguments." He started for the door. No one harmed or captured what was his.

"Sesshomaru." She threw her arms around him as he turned back, hugging him as tightly as she could. The idea of him leaving suddenly terrified her, and her already fragile emotions were overcome by his determination to protect her. He would only act this way if he was really concerned for her, and Sesshomaru would only be concerned if he cared about her.

"Release me." He ordered softly.

"Why won't you let me come with you? Why do I have to stay here?"

"Placing what you seek to protect in danger makes very little sense. You will release me now."

"Looks like you're just going to have to stay or drag me with you."

"Kagome, I will force you to. You will stop arguing. Do not make me tell you again."

She knew it was probably an empty threat. This was Sesshomaru, not Gorenchi and Sesshomaru would not cause her physical harm. He was surprisingly gentle considering his reputation, and despite his more violent tendencies. He'd never harmed her, and she knew he never would, not intentionally. His cold outer shell was polished and deadly, but she had seen beyond that. If he had already made up his mind it would do no good to argue anymore. "Alright, please be careful."

"Your concern…"

"Is misplaced. I know, but I can't help it. I love you." She stepped back from him, watched Sesshomaru nod slightly before pushing the door open.

The soft click of the closing door broke the silence lingering in ht room. She stared at the door, nearly smiling now that tears refused to gather in her eyes.

He waited outside of the room for only a moment before turning to travel back down the halls. What was happening to him? How could he allow himself to act like that in this type of situation? How did she affect him in this way? Whenever she came too close he was suddenly twisted around himself, tense. He could not feel anything for her. It would be foolish, dangerous for them both if he did. He had sworn many times that he would not come for her again, had told her he would not be there to save her again. But he had come. He had come to protect her… No, because he owed her, had given in to his weakness for her again upon seeing her again, and it had been a mistake. It was not love. It could not be.

The double doors of his thrown room swung swiftly and loudly into the room. Gorenchi turned to the opening and a pair of flashing amber eyes. The white clad avenger stepped forward, his face blank around his dangerously blazing eyes.

"Ah, Lord Sesshomaru, to what do I owe this honor?"
Sesshomaru chose to ignore the black haired man and stare instead at the one chained on the floor. His idiot half brother, chained and gagged. "A fitting position for you Inuyasha."

"Then you have come for him. I learned only in the last few minutes that this half demon was your younger brother."

"If you think I have come to save this… You are mistaken."

"Then why have you come?"

"For my own reasons." He could not reveal his feelings for the girl, not to this demon or Inuyasha, who was making quite a fool of himself laying on the ground, chewing on the cloth used to fill his mouth.

"I can't offer my assistance or compliance if I have no idea what you want."

He had expected Gorenchi to fight him for this intrusion, not attempt to be… helpful. "I must insist that you release your prisoners and leave them be. I am required to give only one warning."

"My prisoners? My prisoners are my business Lord Sesshomaru. If you wish you may leave with your brother."

"I have no interest in him. The girl you have treated so poorly is my concern."

"The conditions of my dungeons are…"

"Far more adiquite than your rooms I'm sure."

"Then you have been to see my queen."

"The girl is not yours," She's mine. The second piece of the message was not verbal, but could not have been communicated more clearly than it was by his eyes.

"I must disagree with you. The girl is to be my queen. I will be claiming her in a short time."

"You will not have the option." Now his intentions had been announced. Gorenchi knew that Sesshomaru had come to kill him.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I have been very careful in the past to avoid trouble between us. Indeed I had hoped that we would be allies. It would be a shame to close such avenues over such a small matter as a human girl."

"An entertaining thought, that I would align with one such as you."

"I had heard of your power, not of your arrogance."

Sesshomaru considered him coldly, silently. His rage boiled just beneath his calm exterior. His claws almost itched to tear this being apart piece by piece.

"No retort? I must admit to a mild disappointment."

His knuckles popped dangerously at his side.

"I am afraid I must demand that you leave my palace."

"My purpose here is not complete."

"Very well." Gorenchi moved down from his platform to stand in front of Sesshomaru, "As you have proven to be less than compliant I will be forced to make you cooperate."

"If you think you are capable of such an action."

Inuyasha knew the look on Sesshomaru's face and exactly what it meant. Sesshomaru was only playing with Gorenchi, he planned to kill him. Inuyasha just didn't know why.

Gorenchi began circling the silver haired demon, looking for the best point to attack, waiting for any beginning of an offensive attack or defensive stance. Lord Sesshomaru didn't move at all, didn't even turn to look at him, just stared at the spot he had vacated. Annoyed by his adversary's arrogance Gorenchi dove at him.

Sesshomaru reacted so quickly Gorenchi barely saw him move. In a whirl of white silk the other demon side stepped his attack and caught Gorenchi with a single swipe that sent the dark haired man soaring across the room.

Sesshomaru watched the demon get to his feet, his face contorted with anger. He steadied himself and swung at him. Easily Sesshomaru caught the arm that came at him, met eyes that had turned a muddy red, "You were wise to stay out of my way, but you have done the unforgivable. You took what was mine." He growled and with a twist the arm snapped with a loud crunch.

"If you had claim on her she should have been with you."

"You should not have taken her against her will, and more importantly, you should have known that you would pay for abusing her." He kept his voice low enough that only Gorenchi would hear him. The demon had a right to know why he was going to die, and the reason would go to the grave with him.

"If anyone learned you were protecting…" The words were silenced by a gurgling sound as Sesshomaru's talons ripped into the demon's throat, tearing the flesh. Blood spattered onto the floor as Gorenchi used both hands to cover the cut in his throat. The red in his eyes blazed as he glared at Sesshomaru who stood several feet away, casually sending blood drops flying from his fingertips, his enemy effectively silenced.

Sesshomaru knew what was coming before the transformation even began. Gorenchi's hair shrank into his head that was widening and lengthening, his skin turning to scales, gaining a garish green hue. The head was not the only thing that was changing. Gorenchi's body bloated and expanded, becoming enormous, his arms and legs turned into matching limbs the size and shape of large tree trunks. He sprouted a long pointed tail, tipped with spikes and large leathery wings. The creature Gorenchi had become opened it's mouth in a silent roar, exposing a mouth full of long, sharp teeth glittering in the light.

"What manner of beast are you?" Sesshomaru asked, trying to hide his disgust with the massive thing in front of him. It did not matter really. He would kill Gorenchi no matter what form he had taken. It was more a morbid curiosity that made him ask the question. The creature attempted to snarl, but could make no sound as the pale green blood oozed from it's neck. "Clearly an abomination such as you should have been destroyed long ago." The gaping mouth came toward him, the forked tongue lashing at him. Sesshomaru severed it with his own whip, sending the thin ribbon of flesh to join the blood spreading across the ground. He moved at the last possible moment, narrowly avoiding the jaws of the monster that closed with a snap where he had been. He gave another lash, cutting into the mammoth creatures side, slicing into green skin and pink flesh. More of the green blood poured to the ground.

Sesshomaru skated around the monster, cutting him again and again, but the wounds were superficial, causing blood loss, but no real damage. The mouth snapped repeatedly always a moment too late, and at least narrowly missing him. He spun away from one such attempt only to find himself leaping away from the spiked tail. Gorenchi now had two weapons to use against him, but Sesshomaru was not in the least afraid or concerned. He had defeated more dangerous enemies. His claws were no longer the most effective weapons. He stopped across the room from Gorenchi, pausing only long enough to draw Tokijin. His eyes found the red glowing ones of Gorenchi. He smelled sulfur and heat over the stench of Gorenchi's blood. He could sense something coming.

"What is going on up there?" Sango murmured holding the bars to look at the stairs leading to the thrown room above them. Dirt fell from the ceiling in time with a series of heavy thuds.

"There is really no telling." Miroku joined her at the cell wall, following her gaze and wondering himself what exactly was taking place in their captors thrown room

Kagome paced nervously next to the door, wanting to go out, but not wanting to displease Sesshomaru. She stopped suddenly. What was she doing? Was she really going to stay here just because Sesshomaru had told her to? She wasn't some pet of his, one of his servants to boss around. She turned to the door, where would her things be? She had left her backpack at their camp before being captured. Hopefully they hadn't just left it behind. If she found her things she could go help, but only her friends would know if the backpack had even been brought here. She hesitated only a moment at the door before throwing it open and running into and down the hall.

The air roared with the heat of the jet of flame bursting from the fanged mouth. Sesshomaru whirled away to the side, feeling the flame slide around him, surrounding but not burning him. He moved quickly enough to avoid even a singe. His eyes darted from where the flames had been back to Gorenchi, only to find the monster standing amid walls of flame. It appeared that Gorenchi's blood was flammable. This was becoming more dangerous than he had expected.

His sharp eyes found his little brother, still fighting his heavy metal chains, and surrounded by fire. He was protected by his fire rat kimono, but tied like he was still vulnerable. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have cared, would have allowed his little brother to die, but now Sesshomaru couldn't allow the protector of his human in his absence to be killed, no matter how pathetic that protection may have been.

Inuyasha nearly jumped as Sesshomaru appeared over him. He looked fairly annoyed as he caught the chain and hauled him away. The gag slipped enough to let him talk, "What are you…?"

"Silence. If anything in this room is going to kill you it is going to be me." He snapped and threw the bundle of chains into a flameless corner.

Pulling Tokijin again Sesshomaru turned back to Gorenchi ready to fight the creature now that no one else was in the way. The firelight flashed the length of the blade, glinted on his eyes.

She raced down the staircase, not caring how loud her footsteps were as long as she could hear no one else in front of her. Her heart had been pounding as she left the room and finally slowed as she began to descend the last flight. She froze when she heard a set of footsteps as carelessly loud as her own had been moments before. Kagome crouched to hide behind the banister, barely able to see over it. She recognized the man almost the second she saw him as one of the guards Gorenchi had set to watch her. He paused for a moment in the entry hall, then moved toward the open doors, bright orange light highlighting him through the shadows. He was going to help his masters.

Kagome moved quickly, quietly down the last few steps to a shelf at the bottom. Her fingers closed around the heavy statue and she slowly lifted it. She was certain the scraping of the stone would draw the guards attention, but he was too fixated on the open doors the thrown room. She moved across the space between them, straining to lift the statue over her head and brought it down with a crash on the demon's head.

For the briefest moment she was sure he had withstood the impact and would turn to finish her. Then the man wavered and dropped to the ground. Kagome stared down at him for a moment, "Sorry." She whispered as her eyes went to the bow he had carried, with slightly shaking hands she took the weapon and quiver, "I need to borrow these." With new determination she turned to the door, froze staring at the flames. She swallowed, took a deep breath and ran forward.

He turned to the door as his sensitive ears detected a loud noise and was momentarily frozen in place. His heartbeat sped, and his eyes widened.

She found him through the flames and nearly smiled at the shocked expression on his face. He stood perfectly still for a long moment. Kagome nearly moved toward him, but stopped mid-step as Sesshomaru vanished behind a column of flame. She followed it to its source and gasped. The enormous thing's eyes moved to her, bright red in a wide green face. The giant lizard's face began to turn to her, the flames moving. She moved without thinking, drawing and fitting the arrow to the bow, using all of her strength she pulled back on the bowstring, and as soon as it was stretched as far as she could force it Kagome released the weapon.

His eyes traced the mass of blue light's trail, picking out the arrow he knew she had to have fired. For nearly a second he wondered what kind of damage it would cause, then the sharp point struck… and skipped along the thick scales before ricocheting into a wall. Gorenchi issued another silent roar and twisted his head toward the doors. He smelled heat and sulfur.

An arm closed around her, hauling her backward so quickly the world became a blur around her. She was nearly dizzy as they landed, and she turned to find Sesshomaru nearly glaring down at her. She flinched and turned back to the door as another jet of flame escaped the door into the entry.

"You have disobeyed my orders."

"Did I ever follow them? I told you, I'm not going to sit by and do nothing!"

"And I am not going to watch you die!" He turned away from her, rushing through the doors that snapped shut inexplicably behind him.

"Sesshomaru!" She ran at them as they closed, pounding her fists into the thick heavy wood that refused to budge for her.

On the stairs Berena laughed softly.