The great taiyoukai was walking in one of the many forests in his lands. Being the lord he is, patrolling was one of his duties. Recently, also the only way to escape from the castle for a little while. Not that he was afraid or running. No, he just could not take the present situation.

Before he noticed, he was in a border between western and eastern lands. Seeing that nothing was wrong in this area, the taiyoukai decided to return to the castle, when a new wind blew from other lands. With his sharp sense of smell, the dog demon easily catched the scent of blood along with something else. Without a second thought, he crossed the lands and went to see what caught his attention.

Slowly, gradually he reached the clearing and saw two bodies lying on the ground. One of them was broken in three pieces. However, it was blood of the second body that drove him here. Carefully looking down at the limp body of a young girl, the one thing he could saw was a mass of black hair. With curiosity getting the better of him, the Lord reached his hand to touch her shoulder, with disgust look appearing on his face, and turn her around.

At first, he thought it was some kind of joke. The girl was nonetheless the miko traveling with his half-brother, the one who delivered the final blow to Naraku. Now she was lying here, lifeless.

This does not concern me. He thought and turned ready to leave, when something on his left hip pulsed. He looked down at his sword.

"Tenseiga, you wish to save this mortal's live?" Taiyukai looked once again at the dead body under his feet, then at the still pulsing Tenseiga. Narrowing his eyes, he saw the messenger from the netherworld and with one swing of the sword cut them in half. Sheathing the weapon, he waited a moment to see if she wakes up.

Kagome's eyes shot open along with the sharp breath of air. She looked at her body. That one, big bruise was there, with blood still pouring from it. Then this sensation in her spin told her that someone was watching her. So she looked to her left and saw the last person she expected to see.

"Sesshomaru." She breathed. Not from fear, but from surprise. "What are you doing here?" The miko asked a little louder.

Silence. He didn't move an inch continuing to stare at her. Kagome tried not to get angry, because for one, she knew what had happen to her, or rather who; and second, she knew just all too well that as quickly as the dog demon gave her live, he could easily take it from her.

"Well, thanks for saving my life, or more like giving me a new one." She tried to sit when the pain in her chest made her gasp for air and cough a little blood.

"You're poisoned." He stated simply.

No shit Sherlock! Kagome thought to herself sarcastically.

"Yes, I am."

"You're going to die." Sesshomaru's words were calm and cold, making her boil with anger. No sigh of compassion, no worry. Just him and his stupid, stoic face.

"Do not assume I'm as weak as other humans." She gritted her teeth, trying to stand up but failed miserably.

"If you're not, why don't you purify the poison from the body?"

"Because…" She started but stopped when another coughing fit of blood escaped from her mouth "… this is not Naraku's poisonous miasma only regular, normal poison."

"Hn. You are worthless." Now she really was pissed beyond reality.

"I'm not worthless! I am not weak! I …" Her voice cracked from a loud one to merely a whisper, much to Sesshomaru's approval

"I…must live…to prove…"

The taiyoukai knew what she meant even if she did not finish her sentence. The girl was broken, broken because of that excuse of a demon half-brother of his. Yes, he heard right after the battle how he called her weak, pathetic, defenseless human. If her soul was earlier broken because of this dead miko, now it was shattered to pieces. Sesshomaru had no idea what came over him but for a brief second she felt pity for her. Not that he would ever admit it out loud. Just, there was this similarity to them. He too, always tried to prove that he was strong.

"I can help you." He said before he could even think.

Now it was Kagome's time to be shocked. He, Lord Sesshomaru, son of the great Dog demon, who hates all human beings was trying to help her?

"Why?" That was the only question, she was able to pass from her mouth.

"You can sense the jewel. With it still in this world, there won't be any peace. Also…" He smirked one of his evil smirks "… I'd like to mess with my half-brother's plans."

That was the answer to all of her questions.

Of course he wants to have a peace in his lands. Besides it's not like I was expecting the other reason. She thought to herself.

"What do I need to do?" Kagome asked with a new determination.

He bent on one knee next to her, rolled up the sleeve and bit his wrist with his fangs. "Drink this." He said, moving his limb to her. If she was confused earlier, now she completely lost it. Still, that was not the problem here.

"Your blood? But…"

"Your miko powers will purify it. By that time your blood, and this wound will be free from poison." He stated simply.

Well, it's not like I have any other choice. Kagome thought and bit her teeth in his wrist. He did not even flinch, just watched as the miko drank his blood.

Kagome on the other hand was in heaven. Warm, sweet liquid was spreading through her body, making her feel warm and calm. She had no idea that blood may taste like strawberries. With his 'enough' and her last gulp, she releases his hand, much to her disappointment. Looking down at her chest, she could feel that the wound was already starting to close. With the newfound strength, she stood up on her still a little shaky legs.

"Thank You Sesshomaru." She bowed to him. His only response this time was a slightly raised eyebrow.

"You must stay calm for three sun rises." She nodded, turned around and left the clearing.

Before she got to the village, it was already after the sunrise. With a little strength left, her legs carried her to Kaede's hut, but right before she entered, she decided to mask her scent and aura. A trick that one of the miko from the village in south taught her. Very handy when it came to demons. Because of that, she was able to come close to Naraku in the final battle. So after she put up the barrier, she entered the little hut only to heard a scream from Shippo

"Kagome! What happened to you?" Little kitsune asked with worry evident in his voice. His screams woke up Sango, Miroku and Inuyasha.

"Kagome! Are you okay? You were supposed to be here at the noon, not so early." Sango was holding the young miko around the waist, helping her to stand still.

"I came back yesterday evening." She said above the whisper, coughing a little. But this time there was no blood coming from her mouth. She smiled a little smile to herself.

So the blood really is doing its job. Her little happy moment was, however, ruined by no other than Inuyasha.

"Where the fuck were you the whole night?!" She didn't answer. There was no need to. Her three faithful friends shut him up with just one glare and she was thankful. After that, they layed her on the mat, letting her sleep but not before telling what happened.

She told them everything, excluding a little 'talk' with Sesshomaru. On the other side of the hut, Inuyasha was listening carefully. Something was out of place, but he didn't know where to put his finger on it.

After Kagome went to sleep, her friends Sango and Miroku left in searching for some herbs that would help her wound heal faster, leaving Shippo in the hut, just in case.

When young miko woke up, her chest was already wrapped in bandages with medicine. At first, she panicked a little not knowing if this will have some side effect to the demon blood that flowed through her veins right now. But after remembering that it didn't have any effect on Inuyasha or Kouga she relaxed a bit.

"Oh Lady Kagome I see you've woken up." Miroku greeted her with his calm voice and a smile.

"What time is it?" Kagome asked immediately.

"About noon, I suppose."

"So, I slept only a few hours? Strange, I feel so relaxed." She yawned and tried to stretched but the pain in chest stopped the girl.

"Actually Kagome it's noon the next day. You've slept the whole day and night." Said Sango entering the hut with a bottle of fresh cold water and some fruits.

"Oh, I see." She blushed and lower her head.

So that means it's a second sun rise. Just one more. After a while she decided to get up but something on her legs keep her in place.

"Kagome! You shouldn't be up yet!" Shippo cried launching himself on Kagome's left arm.

"But Shippo, I'm fine, really." She replied, stroking Kirara's fur.

"Aye child, rest all you can."

"Kaede! It's so good to see you." Kagome flashed her bright smile.

"It's good to see ye too, child. Now rest and later we will look at your wound." The young miko just sighed, knowing that she had no chance on getting up right now. So she layed down and after a minute went to sleep. However, her dream was not a pleasant one.

--

She was standing in a complete darkness. Suddenly, out of nowhere a dark figure appeared and took a few steps to her. Kagome immediately turned around and started to run, but creature tackled her to the ground in no time. Before she could do something the beast turned her to face it and the first, last and only thing she could see was a pair of blood red eyes.

--

"Kagome!"

"Kagome, wake up!" The girl snapped her eyes open and catched a sharp breath, just like that night when she was brought back to life. Still trembling with fear, she looked around to see all of her friends, but when her eyes found Inuyasha's golden one, she immediately shut her own and sobbed in the chest of her best friend Sango, who was now holding her tightly.

Miroku just looked behind with a questioning face at the half-demon, only to find his equally confused expression.

After a long while, Kagome calmed herself and layed back down.

"Lady Kagome?" Asked Miroku catching her attention. "What happened?" She just sighed and turned her face to the wall.

"Just a bad dream." She whispered. Everyone looked at one another with the same thought in their heads.

She was lying.

--

The young miko, however, knew now why she had this dream. If it was dream at all. Those red eyes belonged to the beast. The demon beast, from Sesshomaru's blood. Moreover, all this could only mean one thing. The beast was fighting her purification power. Not wanting to sleep again, she just lay on the mat with closed eyes.

When the sun hit her in the face, Kagome decided to finally get up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Asked Inuyasha with more than a hint of irritation in his voice.

"I stink, I'm sore all over my body. I. Need. A. Bath!" She tried to be calm but for the past few days, it was nearly an impossible task.

"Make it quick. We need to leave soon." She just rolled her eyes and stepped out of the hut. Her mood changed in a blink of an eye. Bright smile spread across her face when she took a deep, slow breath of fresh air.

Yes, nature was always something that made Kagome calm and peaceful. Sometimes, during the night she just lay in her sleeping bag, listening to the sounds of wind and leaves.

Breaking her chain of thought, she quickly turned left and went to the spring. After diving into hot water, she decided to look at her wound and was shocked to find only a small scratch, as if the creature that wounded her was not a huge scorpion, but a small cat.

--

Two hours later, she finished her bath and was once again walking to Kaede's hut.

I really need to thank Sesshomaru for what he did. Looks to me like he has some feelings after all. Entering the room, she laughed to herself at that thought. Sesshomaru and feelings? Yeah right. It's like Miroku being a saint. Again, she laughed quietly.

"What is so funny wench?" Inuyasha was more than irritated. For the last three days she was sleeping, afraid of him and now laughing to herself. To say he was confused would be a misunderstanding.

"Nothing." She replied calmly. "So, what's up?" Kagome asked sitting next to Sango.

"Well, we have decided to leave tomorrow since you're feeling better now." Miroku said softly, sending young miko a small smile. Kagome just nodded her head. "Where are we heading?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"Keh, you should tell us this. After all, you are the shard detector, are you not?" The half-demon asked, only to be slapped in his back by dead miko's fist.

"Kikyo?" Inuyasha asked confused.

"Watch your language, Inuyasha." She said in a still weak voice. Turning her head to Kagome, she gave her a small smile. The younger miko smiled in return.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, but I need my soul collectors to restore my strength."

"That won't be a problem." Kagome flashed another small smile and went to the mat, hanging in the doorframe. Moving it a little, she stepped back to make a place for three white snake-like demons with white, light orbs in its paws.

"Thank you." Kikyo said as the souls were sinking in her body. About thirty minutes later Kikyo was sitting with everyone else.

"So, can you sense any jewel shards?" The half-demon asked his dead lover.

"No, I'm not." Everyone heard a chuckle and turned to see Kagome with a smirk on her face.

"What is it Kagome?" Sango asked curiously.

"Well, to tell you the truth…" She began and looked at Inuyasha with some strange look in her eyes. "…there is a shard not too far from here." Miroku's eyes were slightly widened.

"Are you serious?" She only nodded.

"Keh, and how would you know that?"

"I am a shard detector as you put it, right?" She said through her gritted teeth.

"You're lying. If Kikyo can't feel it, how a weak human like you can sense them?" By now, Kagome was on the edge. Anger was building inside her body with a tremendous speed.

"Maybe, because Kikyo has not recovered her spiritual powers fully." She glared at him with so much hatred that Sango, Miroku and Shippo moved away from her a little.

"Keh, probably. There is no way in hell that you could be more powerful than…" He was stopped by a growl. Not from the little kitsune or a cat demon, but from Kagome. Now every pair of eyes were looking at her. Shippo, Sango and Miroku with fear, Kikyo with worry and Inuyasha with disbelief.

"What?" She growled again. It was so intimidating that the hairs on Inuyasha's neck were standing still. He was scared, and she could sense it. In her mind, she saw a pair of bloody red eyes radiating with joy.

"K-Kagome?" He asked carefully, trying not to made her angry even more. Nevertheless, it was already too late.

"So now I'm Kagome? Not some weak, pathetic human wench?" She growled again. Her voice was low and deep

"Well Inuyasha…" She said his name with a grimace, as if it was some tainted with acid word. "... I will prove to you that I am strong and that I can manage by myself. Next time we meet you won't be so lucky as today, half-breed." And with that she grabbed her backpack and left the hut.

Inside, was complete silence.

"Was it my imagination or did Kagome growled like a demon?" The little kitsune asked with worry.

"No Shippo, it was, unfortunately not your imagination." Miroku turned his head to the golden-eyed companion.

"What will you do now, Inuyasha?" He asked. Inuyasha just snorted.

"She will be back in a few days. Right now she's probably crying and running to the well." The half-demon was not so sure about it. What worried him the most was the fact that Kagome, for the first time, called him a half-breed.

Pushing his feeling aside, he turned to Kikyo wanting to ask her how she feel. However, before he could open his mouth, a hand slaps him in the cheek.

"You fool!" Kikyo screamed. Everyone was stunned. Not only she slapped the man she loves but also the dead miko was screaming.

"Kikyo? What the hell?"

"You are fool! How can you treat her like she is nothing more than a piece of trash?! After all she had done for you! After all this girl had sacrificed for you! Herself, her time, friends, even love and happiness! I cannot believe you are so cruel! Right now you're no different than your brother, Inuyasha." By now the half-demon was looking at the ground in shame.

"I have no idea how she can survive this pain without another piece of her soul." And with that her soul collectors wrapped themselves around her body and disappeared. Inuyasha was confused by Kikyo's last sentence.

"What did she mean by 'without another piece of her soul'?" He asked his companions. Miroku sighed.

"When you were battling Naraku back then, Kagome used her powers to separate a piece of her soul and gave it to Kikyo. She declined but Kagome still didit saying that this will make you happy, knowing that Kikyo is still in this world. Kagome saved her life."