A/N: ARGH! Just realized that my scene/time breaks have not been showing up on at ALL. This is frustrating as it means I have to go back through however-many-some-odd chapters and figure out someway that ff will read a break besides just the really long thingy for a page. FRUSTRATION. -_-

Edit: I have now gone back and replaced all hash marks (-) with periods (...). For whatever reason, 6 periods end up being 3? Whatevs. It works. My time/scene shifts are now in place where they should be. /collapses from effort. I also found a place in this chapter where a sentence had been left out. Didn't matter too much because it's restated a line later, but if anyone notices any inconsistencies, do point them out! I appreciate it greatly! ^_^

O/C11: Misaki continues to cleanse the forest of intruders, Kurama gets entranced by a shiny, Kuwabara and Yusuke eat breakfast.

The rustling leaves led the way, creating a noisy path for Misaki to follow. As she jogged along, she grimaced, a sharp smell filling her nose. Burnt flesh.

Her arm continued to throb, more painfully now, and it drew tighter across her skin, the arm becoming numb from the lack of blood.

"Stop that!" Misaki shook the arm around in frustration.

The ground beneath her trembled and what she saw up ahead did not make her day.

A large dragon, an enormous dragon, whose head lifted far above the ancient forest around it, roared, something dripping from its mouth and skittering across the ground.

A shock went up Misaki's legs after one of the 'somethings' zipped towards her foot.

The electricity went up her body and began snapping around the whip, the motion of the artifact increasing as if the surge caused a boost.

Stomping a large paw into the ground before roaring again, the dragon brought several trees down.

"Tiamat, mother of dragons." Misaki said reverently at the size. This dragon wasn't Tiamat, but its size could have rivaled that of the fabled mother of the world herself. More trees were already crushed beneath its belly.

Unsure of what to do, but knowing that the ancient forest called for her help, Misaki began circling the beast, hoping to get an idea of something.

She didn't have time to think of anything. The whip around her arm snapped into the air, extending up over the dragon's shoulder.

Feeling it latch onto something, Misaki gave a cry of surprise when as she lifted into the air, landing on the dragon's back moments later.

The whip was embedded into the base of the dragon's neck, sparks of electricity arching up and down it, luckily not harming Misaki herself.

"I suppose I never considered exactly where Koenma found this particular artifact." Misaki grimaced. It was quite an excruciating mistake.

Grabbing her arm, Misaki cried out again, this time in pain, as the whip began assimilating into the dragon, pulling her forward as it returned to the being of which it had once been a part.

Misaki resisted only a second longer, feeling as if her arm would be yanked out of socket.

The dragon lifted its head into the air, a mass of lighting erupting from its mouth and lighting up the sky, cracking into and out of existence from deep within the dragon's throat.

Planting her feet into the dragon scales, Misaki tried to get the whip to slip off of her arm but to no avail. She continued being raked inward.

By this time, the dragon began to take notice of the going-ons and was tying to get a good look at whatever was on its back.

Misaki drew closer to the point where the whip entered the dragon flesh and found herself on her knees, one arm holding her other as the hand with the whip was planted against the scales, the whip somehow snaking literally into the dragon.

It still didn't come off of her arm, tugging so forcefully that it brought tears into Misaki's eyes.

Misaki's stomach lurched into her throat as her hand began sinking down beyond the scales, slowly taken into the beast.

She struggled harder, immediate pain engulfing her arm as soon as it got inside the dragon.

The inner fire of the dragon's body raged against her, the natural defense system attacking and attempting to break down the intrusion past its scaly armor.

The dragon roared angrily and more electricity began swooping over its body. Had Misaki not been protected by the whip, she would certainly have died instantly.

Her arm stopped sinking at the shoulder, the dragon beginning to do anything to remove her from its back.

Its head could not turn far enough back to reach her, and she was in just the right spot that its claws could not scrape her away, though they made a nasty sound against the scales. It tried to use its wings next but they weren't able to bend in the right direction.

It started shaking, trying to get her loose, then stopped and Misaki realized it was going to try and crush her by rolling on the ground.

Quickly gathering energy in her captive arm, Misaki shot a huge blast through the beast, severing its right leg from its body and sending it to the ground.

She gathered herself up in a ball as it fell, hoping it wouldn't land with her beneath it.

The dragon had fallen in such a way that Misaki was close enough to the ground to stand on her own two feet, able to comfortably twist her caught arm so that she could do so.

"Well, that didn't work as I hoped."She admitted out loud, wriggling her captive fingers around in the now open hole. The flesh around her shoulder gripped tighter than ever, attempting to heal itself.

The whip was one with the dragon, no longer existing but as one part of the whole beast, and Misaki saw no other choice. There was no way of blasting the area around her arm and breaking free unscathed. One thought continued to return to her mind. And it was not a pleasant one.

Misaki gave one last ditch effort at tugging her arm out, but it was a no go.

Gritting her teeth, she took her shoulder in her free hand and gathered energy into it this time. Closing her eyes, she blasted the limb from the rest of her body.

She fell onto the grass, blood pouring from the wound.

More electricity crackled around the dragon's body before incinerating it into ashes, leaving Misaki alone in the destructed clearing.

The scream Misaki loosed upon the air as she curled up on the ground sent birds flying startled into the air half a kilometer away. She clutched the bloody stump of what remained of her shoulder as tears poured from her eyes. Something else stirred within her: a carnal, base part of her being that reared its head as the rest of her brain began to shut down. She let out another guttural shriek as she lost control of her actions and the events of the next minutes.

Need. Desperate need. Whole. Must be whole. Something slipping away. Blood. Scream. Replace. Must. NOW.

An integral part of who Misaki was began to fade and in desperation her mind forced her to rise. Somehow, it sensed completion nearby and drove her forwards.

Standing up, Misaki stumbled over to where the dragon's severed limb lay on the ground. She knew not what she did, but grabbed the clawed appendage and something within her forced it to become her size.

Missing. Whole. Need.

Something stirred in the ashes behind her but Misaki did not see as her body firmly grasped the limb in her good hand and slammed it into her empty shoulder, the healing properties of the dragon still remaining and proceeding to attach tendons, bones, and nerves together.

Complete. Safe. Secure.

For a moment, nothing happened. Nothing was fading away, everything was fine.

Then it waverered…

...

Oh no.

No.

NO!

It was a misake. And a grave one at that. The foreign arm, scaly and clawed, contained the same natural defense system as the live dragon. It began battling her body internally and with each beat of her heart the venomous blood that had not bled out through its wound rushed through her veins, searing her from the inside out.

The arm slammed against the ground, suddenly heavy upon her shoulder, and Misaki fell with it. The pain erupted any of the senses she had remaining; her ears began ringing loudly and what was left of her vision clouded.

Suddenly Misaki snapped back into reality and began desperately clawing at the dragon's arm with her other hand, screaming adrenaline into her veins. Through eyes nearly clenched shut, she vaguely became aware of her own blood painting the dark scales a vicious red as her fingers bled from her efforts.

"While I applaud your efforts, I believe a straight-forward approach will be of more use to you." A voice spoke to her from beyond the ringing.

Misaki felt herself flung over, pinned to the ground, the arm clutching the dragon limb forcefully removed and pinned back as well.

Then the limb was ripped out.

It was only then that Misaki truly screamed an agony like none she had ever done before, nothing registering in her brain except for the pain.

The dragon's blood still pulsed within her, and had she been aware of anything at all, she would have felt herself being lifted off the ground. But the loss of blood was too great, and the animalistic part of her brain that had taken over fought a losing battle. All of a sudden, it gave up, heaving a great sigh of defeat and releasing that which it had attempted to save within her. As part of Misaki slipped away, so too did she, into a world that never before in her life had she ventured: unconsciousness.

...

Water. Warm. Comforting. Seeping healing in and…something out.

Misaki became aware of the water around her, embracing her once more.

She slowly, slowly, returned to the present, her body healing within the spring for the second time that day, the toxic dragon's blood forcibly removed and the internal and external damage repaired.

Eyes opened, nose breathed, and her face was the only thing not submerged in the spring.

A smell filled her nostrils so repugnantly that Misaki retched underwater and then sat up in great haste. The movement coupled with the disgusting odor caused her stomach muscles to clench and she emptied the contents of her belly into the spring between her knees. It was at this point that she found herself staring into something she did not expect.

The water was a greenish black, steadily permeating the spring from her position, and the steam rising from the waters beginning to give off a nauseous fume.

Again, Misaki brought her head forward and vomited, a burning sensation running up her esophagus as acid from her stomach was the only thing left in her system. It joined the already poisoned waters.

"I'm glad you're doing better, Ansatsusha."

The voice was familiar and Misaki looked over her shoulder.

Misaki recognized him immediately. Slicked back black hair, a light colored long-sleeved shirt and jeans... She talked with him at the Waters of Amureo.

His long lithe body was stretched out on its side watching her from the rock Hiei perched on earlier. How much earlier had that been? Misaki could not remember. Her thoughts were jumbled and unsure.

"I was lucky to stumble upon this place. You would not have survived much longer."

Misaki felt different somehow but she could not recollect just what exactly was different.

"What do you want?" Her voice was harsh and horse to her own ears and she swallowed, her throat raw and burning.

"What do I want? What does anyone want?" He countered lightly, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile.

"How did you get here?" She ventured again, straining to maker herself heard.

"I came looking for you. Good thing for you I was around."

The trees would have told Misaki if another being had intruded on the lands.

"But how did you get here?" She repeated, certain that the trees would not have missed his presence. Certain of only this thing and nothing else. Her mind had slowed considerably and she latched upon this piece of information.

"Am I really here at all? Or am I a figment of your imagination, brought on by your weakened state?" His oddly colored eyes flashed their deep amethyst color, the obvious clue that he wasn't human, as he smiled a wickedly mysterious smile.

This man frustrated, yet intrigued Misaki at the same time. He oftentimes would answer one question with another; he gave her a question for every answer she came up with, like some walking version of Jeopardy. This had been the case at the Waters of Amureo and seemed to remain true.

"Then if you're just a hallucination, I'll ignore you." Misaki turned away. It did seem logical an explanation enough. She was grateful for his…assistance—though what that had been was not information her memory provided, all she could remember was a dragon…and lots of pain…—but the forest would not have failed her.

"Do you always talk to yourself, woman?" Hiei haughtily stepped into the clearing. The fire youkai was not happy. The forest seemed to be against his returning to the house and he was surprised when his path led him back here, as he had never dared to hope of finding it again.

Misaki whipped around, causing her stomach to churn in an unpleasant manner. The man was gone and Hiei stood leaning against a tree nearby.

He took a good look at her, gauging her condition. She noticed when his expression faltered and he glanced away, eyes scanning the other trees around him. They alighted on the murky spring water behind her and an eyebrow raised in question.

"Not quite sure what happened." She responded to his clear, silent query before continuing on, "I would bet you don't know the way back to the house, or you got yourself lost and somehow made it back here. I suppose that means I'll have to take you." She sighed, limping a bit as she stepped out of the water and into the trees. The task of escort was one she accepted willingly, as her mind still reeled from events she could not recall and it might keep her busy and away from the troubled feeling that something was horribly wrong.

Sullenly, he followed her.

Misaki's strength would not allow her to go more than a few meters before she was forced to rest, sagging heavily into a tree for a good while before moving on again.

"At this rate, we will not reach the house within the month." Hiei muttered crossly to no one in particular.

"If you think you'll have more luck finding it on your own, be my guest." Misaki found her voice after a moment of hard breathing, gesturing into the maze of trees around them before standing on her own and starting off again. "So…tired…and he's right. We're still a long ways away."

For a few feet, she noticed he wasn't following, guessing he ran off in impatience. Then, she felt herself lifted off of the ground, making a noise of protest in the midst of it.

"What are you dong?" Misaki's eyes narrowed and she glowered at him intensely. The hot spring had done much for her, but her body still held this continuous ache throughout.

His voice was irritated, and his red eyes returned her gaze only once, "I refuse to move at your snail's pace. Hold on." He ordered, taking off into the trees, one arm behind her back and the other under her knees as he ran.

"Put me down." Her glare was dangerous, her voice cold and over-articulating each word. "I am not one to be carried."

He ignored her, "Hold on, stupid female. I do not believe you wish to fall at this height."

Misaki saw the blur of leaves going by them and she instinctively put her arm around his neck, afraid he might decide to drop her intentionally just for spite.

"Hn, I need you to tell me which direction to go."

The emphasis of his words told her that he had in fact heard her thoughts.

It was Misaki's turn to be sullen as she felt forced to tell him the information he desired with no control over the situation.

He put her down when the house was in view, walking away and leaving her to her own devices.

...

"Mistress Misaki! Thank goodness you're back! I…" His voice trailed off. "…"

"What is with you people?" Misaki snapped, Zumi's reaction similar enough to Hiei averting his eyes to put her off.

"Well…um…Mistress…I didn't exactly realize that…Master Kurama was…in fact…"

"Spit it out, Zumi." Misaki said edgily.

"He-kind-of-picked-up-the-Goblet-of-Entrancement."

"…Say that again. And slower this time."

"I let Kurama see the hoard, didn't really think about it at the time, but he is Yoko Kurama isn't he? Or he was at least. And you see he walked in the room and what thing does he pick up? Not a crown or some gold, by all means no, he has to pick up the Goblet-"

"Of Entrancement." Misaki sighed, knowing the Goblet Zumi spoke of. "Which Kurama did you think he was, idiot?"

"Well…I just…didn't…"

"Never mind. Where is he?"

"Still in the room." Zumi's voice was quiet.

"Has Hiei returned? Are Kuwabara and Yusuke staying out of trouble?"

"Master Hiei arrived a bit before yourself and the other two are still eating breakfast currently." Zumi sounded impressed at the quantity the pair was capable of consuming when provided with the means.

"Make sure you keep them out of trouble." She demanded impatiently.

Zumi clicked away to check on them.

Immediately, Misaki let her body sag to the ground, falling to her knees and closing her eyes for one blessed moment. All she could think about was Coahtu's reaction to what Misaki now realized was a momentous situation: complete loss of an already greatly demoted strength, a need for sleep, and a thousand other sensations she for which she had no name. When Coahtu found out about this…and the name for the condition that was the only one Misaki could provide for herself…Misaki did not look forward to that meeting.

After gathering whatever remaining strength she had left, Misaki rose and took a step forward, the house shifting around her and placing her in the room Zumi wanted her to visit.

The red-haired Kurama still stood in the same place as when he picked up the Goblet.

Misaki could almost see Yoko's silver ears and tail twitching as she came up behind him.

"Vessel?"

He didn't answer.

"Vessel!"

There was no response.

Carefully Misaki extracted the Goblet from his grasp, prying his fingers off and throwing it back in the mound of treasure before she too became enthralled with it.

She waved a hand in front of his eyes but he still did not move.

"Zumi, take us to the inner gardens. Perhaps the colors will draw him out of it."

The room shifted and the two of them stood in the center of the house's gardens, various flowers and plants blooming beautifully around them.

"Vessel!" Misaki yelled into his ear, quickly grabbing her throat as she began to cough from the exertion.

He still didn't blink, didn't even flinch.

Misaki looked around in helplessness, unsure of what to do next.

She spied a lone rose bush nearby and picked a rose from it, managing to gracefully gouge herself in the finger. She put the injured digit in her mouth for a few seconds, holding the flower in Kurama's face after that.

She waved it back a forth a little, letting the smell waft into his nose.

Something stirred behind the emerald green of his eyes and Misaki took a little comfort in it.

"Oh, you have got to see this." She said, putting the rose in a vase of water close by and moving off.

Only after a step or two did she turn her eyes heavenward and go back to him, realizing he hadn't moved, grabbing his hand and pulling him along deeper into the garden with her.

As they walked, at a good pace, Misaki noticed he seemed to be at least a little more aware of his surroundings, his head turning this way and that as he began to register things around him.

"Alright. Here." Misaki dropped his hand and pointed to what she wished to show him. "This is something Zumi came up with."

The bush in front of them was akin to a rose bush, but one of a rich ebony color.

"It took a while for him to get just the right breeding done and as a result it only grows one flower every few millennia or so, vessel." She felt as though she was talking to herself. "This one's been around for a while and it'll die relatively soon. So, picking it isn't a bit deal."

Misaki reached within the prickly leaves to the middle, managing to scratch herself good this time, plucking the single rose that had thrived there for many dozens of centuries.

It was the purest white color, glowing softly with an inner light.

"It smells as pretty as it looks I'm told, but youkai are the only ones who can catch the true scent. Though I wouldn't expect them to enjoy it." Misaki amended. Not many youkai cared for nice-smelling things.

She waved this rose in his face too.

"It's beautiful." Kurama finally spoke, closing his eyes, "And it's smell is…" He took a deep breath again, his eyes opening and gazing at her, expression unreadable.

"Is…what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Kurama's smile was mysterious.

"You aren't going to tell me, are you vessel?" Misaki knew this.

He didn't have to say anything.

She absently held the flower under her nose, thinking that she would have to tell Zumi not to let anyone into the hoard, or at least to put that Goblet away.

Misaki could not smell any scent the flower had. And she could basically smell anything. People even had a smell, though describing such a smell was rather difficult. Kurama smelled like…Kurama. And Yusuke smelled like…Yusuke. And while someone cannot catch their own scent, others can smell it.

Her hand lowered the flower and Misaki, frowning, took a quiet sniff of the air. Nothing. She sniffed experimentally again, the flower now at her side. She couldn't even smell Kurama. She couldn't fell his energy…couldn't feel his mind…and couldn't read his thoughts, try as she might. She suddenly felt very alone, shut off from the rest of the world. Yup. Coahtu was definitely not going to be happy.

All of these thoughts went through Misaki's head in an instant and Kurama caught the frown that passed over her features.

"Here. Take it." Misaki held the flower out as if it was poisoned. She had only plucked it with the intention of giving it to him, but now as a reminder of what she knew at the core of her being, she wished it to be far away.

Kurama scrutinized her face as he put the rose away for safe-keeping. There was something different about her… He paused in mid-thought, his eyes wandering over to her shoulder.

"Misaki, are you alright? What happened?" He came closer, resting a hand lightly on the top of her shoulder.

"I'm fine, why are you…" Misaki glanced over at his fingers, her eyes widening as she realized why everyone had been regarding her so oddly. She was missing an arm.

"ZUMI!" She shouted suddenly up at the ceiling.

Kurama drew back upon her outburst.

"…Yes Mistress?" Zumi's voice was timid.

"Why in the Nine Circles did you not say anything about this when I came inside?"

"Well, I just assumed that you-"

"Assume nothing!" She snapped, taking a step to the side.

She left a slightly bewildered Kurama behind as the house took her out of that room and into another.

...

The room was infinite, no light and yet one could see just fine, a heavy mist swirling around the floor. There were many such rooms in the mansion Zumi oversaw, rooms that awaited their full potential to be unlocked, to complete some need or another.

Misaki paced back and forth, a gamut of emotions roiling within her. She remembered. Everything. There were still fuzzy parts where something deep within her had taken over. A sort of survival instinct within which she had been unable to control her actions. But she understood it now. Knew what and why and…

"Unbelievable!" She finally exclaimed, Zumi watching her pace the room, worried about her state, both mental and physical.

"Simply astounding!" She threw her hands up into the air in frustration. "Exquisite. Marvelous! Absolutely wonderful!"

Zumi was not a master of sarcasm, but her words, he thought, were being used in such a manner.

"Mistress, I'm not quite sure I understand what all the fuss is about." Zumi noted confusedly.

"This loss of power…what I've become," She continued speaking but it was mostly to herself, "I understand. The dragon was out to get me. The whip conspired with it. But how could it have known? And the power…I lost it, but unchecked, unlocked, I don't want to think what might…" she couldn't finished that thought, "I don't have my arm. The whip…that…dragon! That dragon! The whip and the dragon…they somehow conspired together against me."

"Now Mistress, I think you're being a little paranoid."

"Paranoid? Paranoid!" Her voiced squeaked with indignation. Another flash of insight hit her and she almost screamed at it. "That guy…I don't even know his name. That guy with those purple eyes. He was that dragon. That black dragon. Yes. And the whip belonged to him…or something. Koenma didn't know. Couldn't. How could he have known? We don't even know…my arm…" She cast her eyes at the empty space where her arm should have been located. "My arm…" Her voice resounded within the room, an echo, though tiny. "I've lost…"

The mist swirled angrily about her feet, reacting to the unrestrained emotions emitting from her.

She stopped pacing and stared over at her shoulder and the nonexistent arm beneath it. She could still feel the tendons as she moved those fingers, still feel the flexing of the muscles as she raised and lowered it, but the arm was not there.

"Phantom limb…" She mumbled, frowning.

"What?"

Misaki didn't appear to have heard him, "I'm…I'm a…I'm…"

Her legs buckled underneath her. She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. She brought her remaining hand up to her face and lowered her head. The silence of the room grew deafening as she stared unblinkingly through her fingers at the space where her arm should have been.

"Uh oh."

Misaki's eyes turned toward the ceiling in a glare, all of her emotions quickly becoming twisted into one giant mass of anger, "I don't like 'uh oh', Zumi."

"Uh…yes…I…erm…I know you don't. But it appears as though…um…"

"Spit it out Zumi." Misaki's voice got quieter, a merciless rage building, simmering, near breaking point.

"Coahtu." Zumi's voice cringed as he waited for the explosion.

Misaki's jaw worked around the name though she did not say it aloud.

"She's…she's here."

All of Misaki's remaining muscles tensed and she deliberated forced them to bend to her will as she got up off of the ground.

"Do not let her in the house." Misaki ordered, walking forward.

Zumi shifted her surroundings to the front door. He knew Misaki better than anyone and was able to comply to her unspoken wishes.

Misaki put her hand on the handle of one of the giant doors that made up the entrance to the house. She paused.

"Zumi?" The questioning tone came softly from her lips.

"Yes Mistress?"

"Don't let any of them see this." The request was almost inaudible as she opened the door one-handed.

"Of course Mistress."

Light from the outside poured into the darkened entry way, Misaki a momentary one-armed silhouette just shy of the light before she stepped, blinking, outside.

-lotsm