Author's Nonsense: Sorry for the long delays lately with chapters, I don't have the time I used to have to post things when I had time off over the holidays. I'm spending a couple less hours each night watching tv to write instead cause I like working on the fictions I have going. It's a blast to work on them. For my readers this chapter has some darker aspects than some of the last ones.

End of Chapter 14:

"I'm not just gonna always sit in there." Kagome snapped irritably. "It's stuffy and there isn't any sunshine and my shoulder's already starting to feel better. I know not to push it but I think I can take a flight of steps."

"Not according to Mr. Taisho." Kaiba replied with that same smug smile.

Chapter 15: A Dark Notice

Kagome blushed. Sesshomaru told him about the stumble?! Figures the only time he talks is when it's to someone else that's almost as big of a jerk as he is.

"No argument?" Kaiba asked with mock surprise. "Good. Then you should listen to me, I have your best interest at heart. It's not some large conspiracy to make you go mad with boredom Kagome, have a little faith. I'd rather your mother not kill me if you obtain further injury in my home when you are here for your safety."

"That doesn't mean you can just lock me away like some prisoner." Kagome finally managed to protest. "I may not be a plant but I occasionally need some sunlight. You act like I'm some pretty statue to put away and throw a fragile sign on so no one will disturb me."

"And it would bother you if I said that perhaps you are pretty enough to put on that pedestal?" He asked, waiting for her to blush and fluster before adding. "Well, when your better dressed and your hair is a little less messy. Though you smell divine."

Her almost 'thank you' turned into a cold look at his last comments. "Why you…"

"Jerk." He smirked. "Yes I know. I doubt I would have let people visit you for so long yesterday or come to sit with you while you fell asleep during that boring movie if I were so intent on closing you off from the world. You are quite the conspiracy theorist Ms. Higurashi."

"I don't believe you." Kagome snapped, turning to head away with even more simmering anger when he laughed at her from behind.

"Sure sure, retreat while you can. I'll let it go while you are still hurt. I believe your friends planned to come see you again soon as it's still the weekend. Not as many as yesterday but there are a few appointments."

She stopped, turning back around and leaning on the door frame with her good shoulder. "You are something else. You made appointments for my visitors?"

"Of course I did. I have to make sure they are all safe." Kaiba answered. "And my secretary made the appointments, I just checked the security."

"You are full of surprises only for me it seems like." Kagome said softly, the temper fading some as she was distracted. "Um…when did you leave last night?"

She doesn't remember?

"A little after you passed out." He easily lied. "Did you rest all right?"

"There is some pain but the pills they gave me work pretty well." Kagome answered with a small smile. "Thanks for sitting with me. I should probably stop keeping you from work and return to my TV though."

"I'm sure it will be hard on you." Kaiba replied as he retook his seat at the desk.

"Not going to escort me?" She teased.

"Oh the hallway isn't as daunting as the steps. I'm sure I could ask Mr. Taisho back if you need the assistance." He retorted without looking away from his computer screen, the annoyed slam of the study door extending the smirk on his face a little more. He did love getting a rise of her.

Scene Switch

It was about an hour later when she got a knock on her door, glad to be interrupted from the bad soap opera she was wasting her time with she was quick to turn it off.

"Come on in." she called with a smile on her face, trying to keep it from faltering when Bakura stepped into the room alone with her. A tray of food with him. After Sesshomaru this morning she could deal with anything however, smiling to bare it. "Hey Bakura, I'm surprised to see you again so soon after yesterday. We really didn't know each other before then."

"I know Kagome." his accent making her smile a little more genuinely. "I'm on one of the student committees and one of my jobs is to make sure that all of the class is well even if they're in the hospital…or being taken care of by other classmates in this case. I think Yugi and the others were coming by later but I have a dinner with family so I figured I'd drop by early."

"Oh, well that's really nice of you." Kagome grinned a little. "I can use the contact with people given that Kaiba is always busy with work. Television is going to rot my brain. And here you are bringing me my lunch."

"Don't want that happening. The rotting of your brain that is. And the maid was brining it up when she spilled some of the milk so I said I'd bring it up for her until she got some more." Bakura explained with a laugh. "I'm not going to come work for Kaiba or anything though, don't fear."

"Fate worse than death." she laughed, picking up the water he brought her and taking a few drinks before picking up the sandwich to bite into it. "You want half? I don't think I'm hungry enough to eat the whole thing."

"No thank you Kagome." He waved the offer away. "I think the young Mr. Kaiba would kill me if he saw me eating your food."

"Naw," Kagome chuckled. "He's all right when you get to know him."

"I see. You know…there is just something different about you Kagome. It's a pity we didn't talk more in school before this."

"What do you mean?" she canted her head curiously.

"There is something to you that you don't tell other people Kagome." He watched her as he spoke. "I have a sixth sense about that sort of thing and I know that you can feel something from my ring."

"Yeah…" Kagome was suddenly uncomfortable, something about the boy had changed, he wasn't who he'd been a moment before…she wished she had a button of some kind that she could use to contact the security, she'd seen the people here and how spread out they were. If she screamed no one might hear her. "Sometimes I can tell when things are a little different from normal…but it just happens from time to time."

"And am I or my ring one of those things?" he asked with a sinister touch he didn't have a few moments ago. "Or is this one of those times you can't tell."

She swallowed a little more water nervously, she hadn't felt darkness like this sense they had defeated Naraku, there was a baleful aura that surrounded them and made her feel small and sort of helpless, her heart aching from the ominous feel that evaded this man. She reached up to touch her chest as if it would help the sudden trouble she was having with breathing. "I…I do."

"Something wrong Kagome?" the fake concern didn't help her feel any better.

"No. Just a little pain in my shoulder." she answered, raising a hand to help with her fake story.

"I bet that's it…so just what do you feel about my necklace?" he asked darkly, leaning forward.

"It's magical…somehow. And it's not good by any means…it has a corrupt energy like I've rarely felt before." She stuttered. " I…could you get Kaiba or someone for me."

"Oh, I don't think that's necessary." Bakura said with a smirk, reaching up to stroke her cheek and grinning as she turned into the touch, gasping at the odd sensation of pleasure it elected in her.

"No…it is…" she whispered while still rubbing her cheek on his hand. "I…I'm not feeling right."

"Is it bad?" the dark spirit asked through his hosts body. Really people were too easy to control…

"…I…I don't know." she purred a little bit, the drug he'd put in the water she was nervously gulping starting to effect her senses.

"Well if it's not bad then you don't need help right?" he leaned forward to whisper, letting his hair tickle her face and neck, teasing her sensitive skin while he tempted her. Then something he didn't expect happened.

"Yes…I do." she insisted pulling back suddenly. "You did something…get away from me!"

He slapped a hand over her mouth mid-scream, narrowing his eyes at her resistance to his plan to get her addicted, ecstasy was a drug that highly relied on the mental attraction and if she didn't want it then he made a mistake as to which one to use. He should have gone with one that would have been completely physical; a problem he wouldn't repeat.

"Shhh now." he insisted, putting a hand up to put pressure on the wound in her shoulder.

They say with each action is an equal reaction…this wasn't quite true.

The holy energy that flared through her at the perceived threat of the strange chemicals in her body toying with her system and the sudden pain that he'd caused forcing a reaction he never could have foreseen. The purifying energy burned into the ring with a vengeance the dark spirit never could have expected, he didn't even have a chance to retreat away before his host was knocked out from the pain and his own soul had been seriously branded and harmed by her sudden unconscious retaliation.

She started screaming as soon as his form went limp, ignoring the corrupt things the drugs were doing to her body. She did her best to push him off as she was racked with pleasure and happiness she knew she shouldn't be feeling, dazed but less confused than many might be. She had to giggle at Kaiba when he came in the room to her rescue, laughing despite the fact her brain was telling her it was no time for it.

When he burst into the room from the screams he wasn't sure what he was suppose to think about the strangely acting Kagome and the guy from school passed out on her floor. He sighed and told security to move the man to a jail cell, taking the necklace he always wore as it was black and charred…an odd enough occurrence given it was still steaming but having it taken to one of the safes in the manor while he stayed with Kagome. Settling a hand on her forehead and perhaps more alarming than the heat and sweat was the moan she let out when he touched her.

First thing he obliterated any less than innocent thoughts at the soft sound and then frowned deeply, the genius bright enough to figure out what had happened…that boy would pay for this later. Twice people had attacked Kagome in his own home, he called his medical staff to test her and to make sure she had the best care, pacing and staying by her side while she giggled and acted completely unlike herself.

He hadn't overdosed her and the thing wouldn't hurt her physically but she would need to drink a lot of water and would likely be sad for a while once the effects wore off. They gave her something to let her rest and put an IV in for a few hours while she was recovering and once she was asleep he headed down to where Bakura was still sleeping in the prison cells. Kaiba's shoe digging into his stomach a rude awakening as he bent down to pick up the little actor by the hair.

"I don't care what you say to me…" the CEO interrupted the protest that was about to come out of the young British boy. "No one ever has to find you, you piece of trash. You think I can't arrange your disappearance from the world? That anyone would ask many questions if you just were never found? How dare you hurt her you bastard!"

Kaiba hit him several more times and then shoved him against a wall, pressing his throat tightly against the wall with his arm as it propped him there. "You think you can just come into my home and drug my girl like that?"

"Your girl?" Bakura asked with a breath. "I…I didn't do anything. I was sitting with Kagome and…"

A sharp punch to his gut made him loose his breath, holding his stomach as the angrier boy dropped him and watched him crumple.

"…I blacked out." he breathed before Kaiba kicked him in the ribs again, the crack from the hand he put in the way ignored despite his cry of pain. "I wouldn't hurt her…"

"Piece of…" Kaiba paused in his cursing to look up at the door opening. "what?"

"I was told to give you this." one of the servants stepped in, unbothered by the bleeding man on the floor as he handed him the nearly destroyed ring.

"Get that out of here. Return it to the safe where I wanted it kept…one more mix up and your fired." Kaiba snapped. "Go."

The worker looked very confused for a while before walking over and giving the ring back to Bakura before heading back out the door.

Kaiba watched and then used his security phone to have the guard held upstairs until he got to speak with him about what happened.

"Aren't you just the cutest thing?" the boy didn't have the same demeanor, his voice seemed slightly deeper and unkind. "Defending your woman's honor? Did she moan at your touch like she did at mine?"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Just because you screw with Yugi and his little friends and they don't do anything about it, don't expect me to do the same. You'll be lucky the sooner I let you die, so you might not want to make me anymore angry than you already have."

He went out of the cell for a moment, Ryou mocking after him. "Oh yeah tough guy, big threats don't work if you leave right afterward."

Seto caught the door before it even completely closed. "Who said I was leaving?" He pulled a gun up and aimed it at the white haired boy's legs. "Right or left or do I get to choose?"

"Yeah right." he coughed, sniffing at the blood running from his nose as he pushed himself against the wall to sit up after his fall. "You never had the backbone when you were a priest, you don't have the mettle to do something like that now."

"I'll take that as I get to choose." Kaiba shrugged in answer. "How about both?"

The scream that came from Bakura after the two silenced shots would never reach outside of the soundproofed cell where he was being held in a prison almost no one in the city knew about. The team that worked there was medically qualified enough to deal with the two sudden wounds and the blood loss so Kaiba laughed at him.

"You crossed the wrong guy and hurt the wrong girl." Seto promised. "I wouldn't recommend questioning my resolution to hurt you next time. If any permanent damage becomes Kagome I will make your death long and painful. If you are lucky I might decide to feed you."

The youth headed back out of the cell and gave strict orders that no one was to enter except for him and that the boy was to be shot dead if he attempted to leave. Straightening his suit out and checking it over for bloodstains before rushing back toward Kagome's room to see what little progress might have been made in his short absence. Doing his best to keep the distress at her situation off his face, he didn't need more rumors than he already had running around his home. Though he would only be able to fool himself as to his feelings for so long before he'd have to admit them to himself even if he didn't want to show the rest of the world.

End Chapter

This was a good chapter to mess with, moving along some plot and getting things together. Recovery from the Sesshomaru scene (and make note I adore Kagome/Sesshy fictions normally) and I apologize to fans of Bakura out there for his abuse. He's not dead yet but I am not sure if I'm gonna have Kaiba kill him or not to be honest. He'll probably just have him put in jail though. I don't know how many more characters I'll put in but I do want to use Marik sometime, as well as his sis.

-Aura

To my reviewers:

1s2MomoChan - He might appear again later, I haven't decided yet if he will or not. As far as other people from the past the same claim. Inuyasha would be dead by now as would any of the mortals but I might have Shippou, Kouga, or Kirara come around sometime. The demons might still be around after all; Sesshy was. Not that I would want to think about just how powerful Sesshomaru would be by modern times.

Lyn Dulce - Yeah Sesshy is another one of my favorite characters so it was fun to write him in (even if just for a short time). The updates have been going haywire lately but I think the site is finally getting them fixed.