Her breathing was hard and ragged when Kagome finally reached the patch of trees. It wasn't as big as she would have liked, but there was a small pool of water, and that's what she needed more than anything. Since she was now completely awake, she could focus enough to not lose herself to the shadows again, but she could use her time in them to regain some of the energy she desperately needed to kickstart her healing ability.

Plus, the shadows afforded her added protection because her scent and aura were gone when in darkness, making her nearly undetectable. If looked for, she knew she could be found, but she had other means of protecting herself if it came to it. She knew better than to try when in such a weakened state, but it was always good to have an ace in the hole, so to speak.

Hobbling the last few yards to the small pond, Kagome slowly lowered herself to the ground next to it. Cupping her hands, she used them as a vessel and began to drink the surprisingly cool liquid. She couldn't take a big enough drink to be quite as satisfied as she would have liked, but it certainly hit the spot on her parched palate. Handful after handful she swallowed, every drop bringing her more out of the vail she couldn't find her way out of.

Between swallows, she splashed her face, running her hands across her skin to begin the task of removing the blood and dirt from her face she accumulated when she fell from the shadows. After countless more handfuls of water sliding down her throat, Kagome moved to sit on her uninjured hunch, finally turning her attention to the still bleeding wound on her thigh.

Twisting around, Kagome maneuvered the torn silk about so she could better see what she was dealing with. Her nose wrinkled at the sight of torn, jagged flesh, a hard breath leaving her lips at the knowledge it would scar. Since it had stopped bleeding so heavily, she was able to see not just how long the gash was, but also how deep. She whimpered when she saw muscle tissue, but knew she couldn't freak out over it. She had to remain calm for the time being. There was no way no one knew she was missing at this point she was sure, so all she had to do was bide her time and wait for Sesshoumaru to find her like he always did.

She shifted her eyes to her dirty pant leg and sighed as she scratched the back of her head through her tangled mane. She knew she looked a sight even now, and she was about to make it worse while also taking away any doubt she was the one that was and not actually being covered in someone else's blood.

It was with a resigned sigh she grabbed the torn silk and pulled, ripped it away, and exposing her entire leg. With a shake of her head at what she knew her brother would say about her 'state of undress' Kagome turned back to the pool of water to begin the task of removing the worst of the filth so she could wrap her leg.

It was while she was doing that her worst fear came to be a reality. The ground beneath her began to rumble and sounds of grunts caressed her ears.

Slowly, she rose, turning as she did, the dripping silk falling from her loosening fingers. Her lips parted and her breath caught in her throat. The pain from her leg went mostly ignored as she slowly tilted her head back, coming face to face with something she had never seen before that was looking right back at her.

For a long moment, the world seemed to stand still as the two stared the other down, a deadly game being played where there would be only one winner. Taking only a half step back, all Kagome could do was watch, too scared of the other for her feet to follow her pleadings to move.

Impact came without warning, sending the heiress flying from her spot into the shallow pool at her back. A sharp, involuntary intake of air was regretted immediately, and sent the demoness into a fit of coughs and sputters when she surfaced.

Rolling to her side, Kagome propped herself on her elbow at the water's edge, eyes wide and full of shock at the sight that met her eyes. Her voice quivered in her terror, but she wouldn't be silenced. "Who are you?"

The tanned skinned demon that stood between her and her would be murderer didn't look back or answer, his eyes focused on the ogre, and Kagome couldn't look away from him. It was clear he too landed in the pond. Water dripped from the tips of his ponytail, and it was matted to the wetness of his flesh. The fur he wore around his waist clung to his legs that were submerged to nearly his knees. She could hear the 'plop' 'plop' 'plop' of the drops that fell from his curled claws, and the growl that seemed to shake his very being. Kagome didn't know who this was, but she couldn't force herself to keep an eye on their shared enemy, because this unknown male demon was closer.

Kouga stood in the pond, his back to the demoness he had gotten to just in time to avoid a beheading, his focus clearly on the threat of a hungry, adolescent ogre. These sons a bitches would literally eat anything, and the wolf prince would be damned if his next meal was a puppy. He did hear her question, but he didn't answer. There would be time for a Q&A later, Kami willing, and he had more than one or two for her as well.

But first...

A snarl ripped from Kouga's throat as he shot from his spot in the water, launching himself at the ugly mother fucker fifteen feet away. Cracking his knuckles, he snapped his teeth and sliced his arm through the air, missing the kill shot, but not missing completely. He chuckled as the ogre cried out and blood sprayed from the claw marks on its shoulder.

Kagome watched, mesmerized, at the fluidity of which the wolf moved. His body twisted and contorted like water as he neatly dodged and twisted away from the monster's nearly every attack. Whenever he was unsuccessful, he wouldn't let it slow him down, he merely redirected and kept up the all out assault, not allowing the ogre a moment to recover before the next attack.

She had gotten to her feet, so when the hit finally came the wolf couldn't dodge, Kagome was ready for it.

Crashing into the ground, Kouga bounced across the unforgiving terrain. Rage taking over common sense, he dug his fingers into the ground, using his momentum to twist around and back to his feet. Fangs bared and eyes glowing crimson, Kouga grabbed his bicep and squeezed the two slashes he received. His breathing was heavy and he growled deep with every exhale. However, for as focused as he looked, his sight was blurring as he eyes started glossing over. Growling low, Kouga dropped to a knee, his fingers tightening on his arm as the wounds throbbed.

Kagome's stomach dropped when the foreign, potent scent of poison gripped her nose. She pulled her eyes from the wolf to the ogre, knowing they were in a lot more trouble now than they were. She could tell by scent the poison from the ogre wasn't as strong as what she had pumping through her own veins, but she also knew she didn't have a lot of time before the wolf succumbed to it.

With limited choices, and no time to think her actions through, she pushed the pain in her leg as far back in her mind as she could and darted from her spot and to the side of the wolf.

Gripping the handle of the sword at his side, she ripped it free of the sheath, and turned to face their singular enemy. Doing the only thing she could, Kagome aimed high, and over hand threw the blade, begging the kami for a hit to the eye, neck or heart. She held her breath as the steal flew through the air, and sagged when it hit one of her intended marks.

Turning away as the ogre retreated with the sword in its eye, Kagome turned her full attention to the wolf who was now growling at her.

Gulping loudly in the face of a feral demon, Kagome did what she could to assess the situation, but couldn't think clearly through her own fear. She did know one thing though, and that was her poison would over take the stuff that was going to kill her rescuer. She wasn't the poison master her brother was by any means, but she had done this before and was successful in saving the life of the Western General. Sure, that was nearly twenty years ago, but it wasn't hard and she was older now, stronger too, so she was positive this would work.

Grabbing the sleeve of her top, she ripped it away from her wrist and presented it to the still growling demon before her. Her voice shook slightly, but her demeanor was one to not be argued with.

"Bite me."

When crimson eyes locked on her gray ones, Kagome explained. "I'm poisonous too, and it's stronger than whatever that thing was. Mine will overtake its poison, and I can remove it. It's going to make you sick, but if you don't, you'll die." Shoving her arm right in front of the wolf's mouth, she spoke more forcefully. "Now bite me!"

Had Kouga been in his right mind, he would have known better. As he was though, and self preservation higher than it had ever been, he growled loud before sinking his teeth into the soft flesh of the demoness' wrist, his eyes closing as the sweet taste of her blood coated his tongue. He felt her touch on the back of his head and heard her whimper at the pain of his canines, but she stayed still as he began to pull several mouthfuls of her blood from her wrist.

Kagome had her teeth clenched tightly together. She didn't recall this being so painful, but she didn't move until she was sure he had taken enough of her blood and with it, enough stronger poison to kill the less potent that was moving faster through his body than she had thought. She lightly tugged her arm, but he wouldn't let go, leaving her no choice but to grab his ponytail and pull it as hard as she could. Though it did have the desired effect of him letting go, it wasn't a clean removal of his teeth.

For the first time ever, she actually snarled at an unknown male demon, but he wasn't in the position to do anything about it, and not for the fact she had a hold of his hair. She was right about her poison being more potent and, by design, very dangerous in how fast it made its way through the bloodstream. It was her best weapon in self defense, and would kill if she allowed it too. It was only blood bound, so they had to bite her, but when they did, only a few drops could amount to a lethal dose.

Taking a deep breath, she readied herself for the next phase of her rescue attempt, but knew she needed to be extremely careful. She was not only poisonous, but she was also venomous, so her bite could kill the wolf faster if she wasn't careful. Shifting her weight, she grabbed the wolf's arm and, with a mouth drying swallow, and no warning to him, she bit down on his forearm and began the process of removing her poison from his blood. She pulled so hard and so fast, she wasn't able to swallow it all, so it trickled out of the corner of her mouth and dripped onto her still bare leg.

She continued to suck as hard as she could, swallowing opposed to wasting time and spitting out every mouthful. It was her own poison, so she knew it wouldn't affect her, and even if it wasn't, she, like nearly her whole family, was immune to it. She continued, even as her own sight began to dim, until she got his blood as clean as she could without taking every drop he had. By the time she was done, there were only trace amounts, but not enough to do anything but make him sick, which was why she prepared him for that.

Letting go of his arm, Kagome panted for breath, her head swimming. She had never consumed so much blood at one time, and it made her uncomfortably full. With her arms wrapped around her middle, she dropped to her hip, a whine in her throat at the sloshy feeling. She watched as the wolf seemed to curl around himself, his own arms going around his stomach as his face turned into the ground, every breath puffing a dirt cloud away from his mouth.

Her brows drew down, confusion taking over at why he wasn't throwing up. His body should have rejected her blood and forced it out, but not a single drop showed itself, even as he gagged. Kagome watched as the wolf's arm gave out and he dropped hard onto his chest as he completely passed out.

Her own head swimming, her sight going in and out of focus, she turned away from the unconscious wolf to face a voice she would know anywhere.

"What have you done?"

Her voice was nearly gone, her own fight with staying awake fast being lost.

"Daddy, I..."

With nothing more than a soft moan, Kagome's eyes rolled up and closed, her body giving into the darkness.