BIG thanks to Eiahlaie for all her help betaing this chapter for me! Sesshy's Mistress wasn't feeling well, so my best Aussie friend in the world (my only one) read this over while she regaled me with tales of the bird-eating spider and the huntsman when I freaked out telling her about the hand-sized (yes, it was THAT FUCKING BIG) hogna wolfspider that crawled up my neck last night. So! On with the show, she has assured me that Sesshy is IC for this since his beast is a little nutso.

Thankfully for Usagi, she had realized halfway to the village that her robe was absolutely transparent, and she blushed before using her powers over Mars to dry herself, then waved a hand to change into a light, airy kimono decorated with sakura blossoms. "Sexy, arrogant, mean-ass…" The list went on and on as she muttered to herself and walked at the same time, but she brightened a little when she saw Ayame and Koga standing awfully close and speaking with each other in hushed tones.

Yay! I'd do a happy dance if I thought no one would see me!

"You smell like Sesshomaru," Koga rumbled from behind her once she was back inside the village.

"Ugh…" Pinching the bridge of her nose, Usagi vigorously shook her head and recounted how the inu had saved her. "And then… I swear, I don't know if he was doing it on purpose… but I think he was either trying to seduce me, or he was fucking with me hardcore," she added in a whimper. "No man should be that fucking sexy."

"Seduce…?" Koga blinked at that and snorted doubtfully. "Tell me… what exactly did he do?" He waited patiently while Usagi stuttered through it all and blushed on several occasions, each time brighter than the last, and when she finally finished, the wolf demon shook his head in wonder. "Sesshomaru isn't the type to just fuck with people like that. If he doesn't like you, he beats the shit out of you. Or he kills you. Otherwise, he just ignores you, unless there's something he wants."

"So he wants something," she breathed softly, shivering at the thought of what he very likely wanted from her. What would have happened had she stayed in the hot spring!? "I think Usagi needs to make herself scarce and stay as Serenity as often as possible…"

"Heh… I think you're right, little rabbit. Best not lose your human form cherry to a daiyoukai acting like a teen in heat. I hear that the inu tend to get a little rough. Hm… explain why this body is a virgin and your other one isn't?" Koga asked suddenly.

Usagi sputtered and shook her head. "I gave it to Endymion during my first life. Endymion was Mamoru's first incarnation before we both died back on the moon. And in my third body—which you haven't met, yet—I gave my innocence to Alucard." She sighed and smiled sweetly as she remembered that particular night. It had been hot, sweaty, intense… and very, very fulfilling. And despite how rough and unhinged Alucard was in bed, he'd actually been very gentle with her when she'd been in pain, whispering soft words in her ear as he'd waited patiently for her discomfort to subside.

"I figured that I have two other bodies to use if I want to get laid, so why bother cutting the ribbon on this one? That shit hurts, Koga! Especially when you're dealing with what most of the men I've been with are packing! Apparently being an asshole equates to also being hung like an elephant!"

"Hey! I'm a nice guy and I'm fairly well hung!" Koga protested, then immediately turned red when he heard Ayame approaching.

"Well, that's good to know," the redheaded wolf demon giggled. "Because on the next full moon, you're all mine," she added with a nip to his throat, which only made him turn even redder.

"Um, well! I suppose I'll be heading back to Kagome's village then!" Usagi laughed. "You two take care… and Ayame, fuck him long and hard. Koga deserves it hot and sloppy."

"Gods, woman, I swear that you and the hanyou could trade pointers on different levels of vulgarity," Koga sputtered.

"Hey, what can I say? My potty mouth's a gift!" Usagi let them follow her as she began packing up her things, but she smiled and shook her head when Koga offered to carry her back, pointing out that it was much faster than travelling by horseback.

"If I'd known where this village was, I would have teleported here; it's one of my gifts, and very, very useful for long distance travel. I'll just head back that way," she informed him as she finished packing.

"And what should I tell the dog?" Koga chuckled. "He's going to be awfully pissy knowing that you left if he's really trying to get up your kimono."

"Tell him that you have no clue where I went, that you woke in the morning and I was gone," she purred evilly. "Make him sweat a little, since I likely won't even be at the lake again until the new moon."

"And if he comes knocking at your door?"

Usagi laughed at that and shook her head. "Then I'll teleport out of the house and somewhere else. It ought to be very entertaining to give a great demon the slip. Let's see how long it takes him to figure it out."

Ayame listened to all of this with wide eyes and stared in wonder. "I wish I could be a fly on the wall when he figures out that you're avoiding him. Sesshomaru is not known for reacting well when he's denied something he wants."

"And I'm not well known for just spreading my legs because a man wants to fuck me," Usagi countered. With that, she transformed. "Koga, meet Sailor Cosmos, my ultimate form. If you ever see me transform like this during a fight… run. Far, far away." And then she was gone.

################################

"Ah, home sweet home," Usagi sighed happily as she went into her store room and immediately got to work on the hides she'd left behind. Thank the gods she'd used her powers to preserve them; they would have smelled something awful by the time she'd returned had she not done so.

It took a lot of scraping and several hours getting the oak stump ready, but they were steeping in tannic acid by evening and she was utterly sweaty and smelly and ready for a bath. She risked teleporting to the lake, took a quick enough dip to wash up, and fought a wave of dizziness when she teleported back to her yard. "Gods… overdid it these last few days, I guess…"

Upon entering her home, she found the temperature to be stifling and was sweating again almost immediately, but she waved her hand to use her powers over Mercury and it was cold in no time. Another wave of dizziness took over then and she shivered. "The hell… maybe… maybe I just need some sleep… feel so… strange," she whispered as she stumbled into her room and collapsed on her cot.

Never had she reacted this way to an overuse of power before. Fatigue, sure! But never the hot and cold flashes and the overwhelming dizzy spells that made her want to hurl. What in the hell was wrong with her?

It wasn't until she'd lain there for an hour that it dawned on her. Dizzy spells, nausea, fatigue and… she had to be running a fever. That explained the hot and cold spells. And what was worse, she could barely access her subspace pocket to get out a thermometer to confirm that she had a fever of 102. "I caught it… dear gods… please, don't let Kagome come up here and get it, too… think, Usa… think before you pass out…"

Drugs. She needed drugs. Exerting so much mental effort that beads of sweat began to roll down her face, Usagi managed to open her subspace one more time and concentrated on removing anything and everything inside of it that could be used to treat any illness and piled it all beside her futon in a mini mountain of pharmaceuticals.

Then she painstakingly separated the things that needed to be kept cold and once again used her powers of Mercury. It was that level of physical strain that finally made her pass out before she could even try using an antibiotic, and that was how she was found the next morning.

###############################

After being informed by Koga that Usagi hadn't been seen since just after she'd returned from the hot springs, Sesshomaru was in a bit of a rage about being so successfully avoided, and his demon was downright livid. He flew all night in an attempt to intercept her on the road, but when he couldn't find her anywhere he went straight to her house on the off-chance that she'd used some sort of power to transport her there quickly.

Bakusaiga was drawn the moment he found her door ajar and a cursory glance into the house showed that a few things had been knocked over. Clearly, something bad had happened here, be it robbers or worse. But he stopped when he sniffed the air for clues as to what had happened and tasted sickness on his tongue, sour and bitter all at once. "Healer?" He rumbled softly. "You are unwell?"

There was no response, so Sesshomaru used the flat of his blade to push open the door to the back room, then immediately sheathed it and rushed to her side. She was naked, unconscious, sprawled out lengthwise on the futon with her hand on a strange-looking bottle that sat in a pile of similar containers, some of them cold. "Healer, wake up." He shook her, then barked out her name when she didn't respond, losing control on his beast's unexplainable panic from the sight of her looking so pale. "Usagi!"

The blonde managed to just barely crack open her eyes, and at the blurry sight of silver hair, she smiled feverishly. "Mother… sorry… 'bout the mess…"

"This Sesshomaru is not your mother," he snorted. "I will fetch Kagome."

He watched as some sort of sense seemed to be coming back to her and she frowned, her hand moving to clasp about his wrist. Dear gods, her hand was hot! "No… Kagome… she's human. She'll catch it, too," she whispered hoarsely. "The baby…"

Sesshomaru sighed and nodded. He'd have to fetch the hanyou, then, even though his inner demon howled at the very idea of letting another male see her naked. But wait, no. Chiyo, Ayame's niece, was hanyou, and she'd caught the sickness, too. Apparently only those that were full-blooded demons were immune to it. And the only other youkai was Shippo, since Koga was still courting Ayame in the other village.

Shippo was barely even an adult and would have little knowledge of this sort, so Sesshomaru tried to recall everything he knew about fevers and human illnesses that he had learned during the last fifteen years and settled for first placing a cool cloth on her forehead. Her nearly inaudible sigh told him that that was a good choice, but he fleetingly wished that the miko was there to take over; above almost all other things, what Sesshomaru hated the most was feeling helpless.

What had they done for Rin whenever she'd taken ill? As a child, it had seemed like an endless parade of viruses and stomach bugs, but that had been a few years back and Kagome had done most of the doctoring. Then he remembered them rubbing her down in alcohol, but not the kind that you drank, and he tried to recall what the bottle had looked like.

His memory by sight was not as good as his nose, so the inu lord began to open a few bottles and sniff, and before long he found what he thought was correct. "Healer. Usagi. Wake up. Is this what the miko calls rubbing alcohol?"

Glassy blue eyes stared at the bottle for a long time before she nodded and her lids slipped shut once more, and Sesshomaru got to work soaking down a piece ripped from his kimono. He waved off her hands when she tried to push him away, starting with her chest and neck, gradually moving on to her arms and legs, and when she actually opened her eyes and seemed to be aware of who he was, he knew she was coming around a bit. "What else will relieve this illness?"

Unable to even feel embarrassed by her nudity, Usagi gradually focused on the pile of medicine and placed a finger on one bottle. "For the fever," she whispered. "So hot… can't think…"

"How many?" Sesshomaru grunted as he fiddled with the child-resistant cap. He handed her four of the little round brown pills when she held up the same amount of fingers, then grumbled to himself about feeling like an errand boy when he realized she needed to drink something to take them. But he eventually returned with a cup of juice from her storeroom and rolled his eyes a bit at his beast's purring when he helped her to sit up and she leaned heavily against him for support. "Drink. This one will figure out how broth is made. The miko made it for Rin whenever she was sick." Perhaps he could simply pop down into the village and have Kagome make some, he'd only be gone for a few—

"No," Usagi whispered as if sensing his thoughts. "Can't go to the village. You'll… you'll take the sickness with you."

Damn it, she had a point. "This one will howl for aid. Lie still," he ordered as he placed her back on the bed, this time lying her correctly upon it and not crosswise.

"Make sure they're upwind… can't come in the house…"

Sesshomaru gave her a slight nod and went outside, where he let out a howl that his brother would recognize. He did not have to wait long, but as soon as Inuyasha was within sight, he yelled at him to stop. "The healer is ill and it is catching with all but youkai. This one requires food that she can eat and none must come up here, not even Shippo. He will carry the disease back down the hill."

"Sesshomaru, is she going to be alright?" The hanyou asked softly, noting the flicker of doubt and panic in his brother's eyes. Damn, his inner demon had to be as fixated on Usagi as his own was with Kagome, especially if it was causing such an out of character reaction in him. His brother was actually going to stay up here and play nurse!

"This Sesshomaru does not know. Many have perished from this illness to the east. The healer caught it from those she made well. The younger adults seemed to have survived it better than the old or the young, though."

"Well, that's somethin'… I'll have Kagome and Sango make broth for her and some food for you as well. You'll howl again if she takes a turn for the worst, right? Or if you need anything?"

Sesshomaru gave a nod. "This one thanks you… brother. Bark when you return, but do not come closer than where you are now. Even the hanyou are not immune."

He found Usagi fumbling through the medications when he returned, her hands trying weakly to open one of the bottles, but with no luck. "Your fever is receding. You are getting better?"

"No," she rasped, her throat aching, "those pills reduce fevers quickly and help with the body pain. I want to try an antibiotic and see if it'll help. Thanks," she added when he opened it for her. "I need one of these four times a day, and four of the brown pills every four hours to keep the fever down. And—" She stopped and frowned when she realized that she couldn't open her subspace pocket to get out a blanket, then realized she'd nearly revealed who she was to the daiyoukai. "Need a blanket," she managed. "And clothes," she added with a bright coloring of her cheeks.

"This one is not concerned with your nudity, healer. Lie back." When she didn't comply, Sesshomaru simply made her lay down and covered her up with his mokomoko. "If you feel the urge to vomit, this one would appreciate a warning before you soil him."

Usagi actually giggled for a moment at that and nodded. "Can't say as I blame you, demon. But none of my patients had any symptoms like that, so I think you're in the clear. And…" She blushed again and looked up at him shyly. "Thanks. If it had been Kagome that had found me, I would have never forgiven myself for getting her sick."

"You should not have returned without an escort," Sesshomaru ground out, trying not to let his inner demon's annoyance show too much. "And this one would like to know how you returned so swiftly."

Usagi was saved by the bell; those golden eyes were boring into hers, waiting for a response as she nervously worried her lip… and then there was a bark from outside and Sesshomaru growled at being interrupted. "We shall continue this conversation," he promised softly before he went back outside.

He returned to find her shivering violently and laid his mokomoko over her once more as he poured broth into a bowl for her, only to realize she was shaking too hard to hold it. "Come here," he urged, sitting her up and letting her lean on him for support. "Drink, Usagi." Holding the bowl to her lips, Sesshomaru was careful to be patient as she drank since she seemed to be having trouble swallowing, and noted that her throat seemed a little swollen. "If your patients were not vomiting, what finished them?"

"The fever in most cases," she replied as she rubbed at her neck. "Those that outlasted the fever died of dehydration when they could no longer swallow anything, or asphyxiation when the swelling got out of control. The pills I took… those should help with the swelling."

Ever observant, Sesshomaru shook his head as he pointed a claw at the bottle. "If you take four of those every four hours, you will run out of medicine by tomorrow evening." He noted the stark fear in her eyes at that information and had to admit he was a little troubled as well. His inner demon was really climbing the walls at the thought of her death, and Sesshomaru simply didn't have the strength of will to quiet it when it was so overwhelmingly fighting him, insisting that he care for her. "You do not have more," he surmised.

"No… I do, but…"

"This one shall fetch them for you. Where are they?" Her silence made him wonder what her problem was, but he merely offered her more broth until he realized that he'd seen her pull things out of thin air on several occasions whenever she was masquerading as the false goddess. Apparently it was time to reveal that he knew who she was so that she would simply retrieve what she needed.

Seeing her wince as she finished swallowing the broth, Sesshomaru let out a sigh he'd been suppressing. "I know who you really are, Usagi. Just fetch your items however it is that you normally do, and this one will refrain from asking too many questions while you are ill."

He growled when her eyes flashed in anger and she opened her mouth to hotly protest, and cut her off halfway through her expected denial. "Serenity, this Sesshomaru was in the tree above the spring while you bathed with the wolf. I heard everything. Now, cease with this stubbornness and just get the medicine you need. And do not dare lie to me again, Serenity."

Knowing when to just stop bluffing, Usagi whimpered and sweat beaded on her forehead with the exertion of opening her subspace. She was panting for air by the time she found the full bottle of ibuprofen, and she handed it over wearily, slumping in his arms from the effort. "Satis…fied?" She finally gasped.

"This one will be satisfied only when you are up to an interrogation," he answered truthfully. "Now… if there anything else in this pile that might be used for pain?"

Usagi simply pointed at a large yellow bottle. "They'll make me high," she warned him. "Only one for now."

"High? This one does not understand."

"Drunk," she whispered. "Or it might knock me out. It's vicodin. A very strong painkiller from Kagome's timeline… more or less."

"So you are from her time."

"No, I'm from a different dimension and was reincarnated in a time and place with similar technology," she replied tartly despite her illness, though she gratefully took the white pill he placed in her hand with a mouthful of juice. "And I am a goddess," she added wearily when he offered her a bowl of rice and she tiredly shook her head.

"Surely, a goddess would have been immune to this illness. Therefore, you are only a human."

"I'm human in this form, dumbass," she choked out, rubbing at her throat. "I have three bodies, damn it. This one's human and the other two are… well, Serenity is a goddess. Cosmos is… complicated."

"Can you shift to your goddess state until this illness has passed?" He inquired as he noted that her temperature was rising a little, the heat from her skin baking into his mokomoko.

"I could barely access my subspace," she whispered, "so probably not. And I don't want to chance catching this illness in that form, too. If hanyou can catch it, I might be able to as well." Usagi whimpered a little as she felt sweat beading on her forehead and everything seemed fuzzy. "Thermometer," she whispered, fishing around beside her for it. She popped it in her mouth and turned it on once she had it and simply rested against him, silently appreciating the way he was holding her securely.

"It's 104," she whispered when it beeped. "I'll be delirious again soon… I need ice," she realized. "If I can get in a bath and use my powers to nearly freeze the water, that'll help."

"Will that not put you into shock?" Sesshomaru inquired blandly. "This one recalls the miko mentioning something about extreme temperature drops harming the human body."

"Shock's a shitload better than dead," she countered. "You got a better idea, dog?"

"This one would request that you not address him so disrespectfully, healer. Especially when he is saving your life," Sesshomaru ground out impatiently as he hefted her tightly into his arms. He softened a little on the inside when their eyes met and he saw just how weary and close to tears she was. "This Sesshomaru shall take you where it is cold," he told her simply, gathering up her blanket in one arm before using his youki to take them to the peak of the mountain that loomed over the village. It was blanketed in snow at the summit, and he carefully sat her covers on the ground before placing her naked body on top.

"The cold air feels good," she whispered, so hot that the frigid temperature felt wonderful to her burning skin. Usagi didn't even mind that she was shivering hard; within five minutes she was already feeling better and tested things out by accessing her subspace with ease. "This gives me a wonderful idea, Sesshomaru," she sighed with pleasure.

The way she'd murmured his name happily perked his inner demon's interest, and the blonde had his full attention focused on her bare skin whether he liked it or not. "Yes?"

"My fever's down enough to use my powers a little bit. If I can spell my bedroom to stay this cold… would that bother you?" She added thoughtfully.

"This one is not effected by the elements. It would not bother me. Shall we return, Usagi?"

Usagi pretended as if she hadn't heard that seductive purr to his voice as he'd said her name, and was suddenly aware of her lack of clothing. But when she covered up with the blanket, she found him eyeing her hungrily and gave a little shiver to remind him that she was very ill. "Yeah, let's go back, I'll teleport us so we don't waste time travelling. You're fast, but my fever could go back up quickly."

"You are correct." Sesshomaru scooped her up again and blinked at the disorientation that came with being transported instantly, but he recovered quickly and took her to the bedroom. "Proceed."

"You'll have to set me down, I don't want to accidentally put you in a block of ice," she warned him. The warm, humid air was already making her dizzy, and it took her a few waves of her hand to get the temperature right. It wasn't quite as cold as the mountain had been since she'd have to sit in that climate for the next few days, but it would sustain itself for as long as she needed it to. "There," she whispered wearily, sagging onto her futon, noting that her throat was feeling a bit better while her thoughts were growing slow and fuzzy. "Mmm… vicodin's kicking in. Ah, I'm in love," she sighed, sliding into utter happy bliss on the drugs.

"The white pill makes you feel good," he observed. "Interesting. Like alcohol, does it also slow you down and muddle the rest of your senses?"

"Mmhmm," Usa replied happily, her eyes glazing a little as she looked up at him. "It's a happy pill. Ami always used to tell me that if it didn't kill the pain, it would at least make you not give a fuck about it."

"Ami?" Well, it seemed that this happy pill also loosened her tongue, just like too much sake.

"Goddess of wisdom, Senshi of Mercury… one of my sisters. She was a physician in her human life. I was a nurse, like Mina and Hotaru." When he lifted a silver brow and motioned for her to continue, she winked at him. "You're cute when you make that face, like you can just order people to answer your questions without even asking them." Then she giggled when he frowned. "What, Sesshomaru? Too high and mighty to take a compliment when you hear one?"

"This one is many things, but he is not… cute."

"Really? Because I find you to be absolutely adorable. And Mina was the goddess of lust and beauty and the Senshi of Venus. She would have eaten you alive. Hotaru was the goddess of death and rebirth and the Senshi of Saturn. She would have… hmm… I dunno. Either reaped your soul or thought you were fluffy and hugged you."

He sputtered at the very thought and stuck to the subject. "More sisters."

"I had many sisters," she replied, suddenly sad. "We all loved each other very much, Sesshomaru. I'm the last one left, the goddess of light, love and purity. They left me their powers, you know," she added in a dark whisper. "When I was forced to kill them."

That had his attention, and he focused sharply on the inebriated goddess. "You killed your sisters."

"Yes, I did. And immortality without them is my curse, my penance. All because I was a coward. All because I ran. I went back and made it right, you know. There's another me in another timeline where I went back and righted my wrong, but while it saved her sisters, it did not save mine."

Unable to stop himself as his beast demanded that he comfort her, Sesshomaru wiped at her tears with the edge of his kimono and gently ran his claws through her hair. "This one has learned that there is always a price that one must pay for their gravest mistakes. And oftentimes the punishment outweighs the crime."

"You said it," she choked out. "Thank you, Sesshomaru. I should have warned you that I babble on the happy pills… but my throat feels better." She shivered, knowing that the pill had also helped her fever, but she was immediately wrapped up in his mokomoko. "Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked suddenly.

So, she had finally asked the question… and Sesshomaru wasn't going to bother sugarcoating the answer in a convenient lie just because she was ill. "My inner demon wants to mate with you. This one is not being kind, he is merely preserving your life so that he can lie with you when you are well."

Usagi blushed slightly at the admission, and the effects of the medication made her less reluctant to admit her own attraction to him. "I… um… I'm flattered, but… no, Sesshomaru. I… I think it would be a bad idea."

"This Sesshomaru overheard your conversation with the wolf. It would be nothing more than a physical joining, I assure you. This one's demon wants you, and to have you will quell that urge. When you are well, we shall discuss some form of an arrangement."

"Stop ordering me around," she ground out. "It's considered polite to ask a lady if she wants to fuck you. Not tell her to, you chauvinistic prick."

Clearly amused by her vulgarity, Sesshomaru played into her bold statement, knowing he had her hook line and sinker before he'd even begun. "Fine. Please instruct this Sesshomaru on how to proposition you for an intimate evening."

"Ok, seriously? I'm high, not stupid, dog. Why don't you ask your brother? He seems to have gotten it right since he snagged an independent woman from the future." Usa smiled smugly when he frowned and huffed loudly, clearly displeased with her suggestion.

But he was thinking over what he had seen the hanyou do, and was shaking his head in frustration. "Flowers and pretty words are for taking a human mate. Not for lying with a goddess for a single night," he finally replied.

"Well, then I guess this Sesshomaru is never going to get his dick wet," Usagi said regally.

"Gods, you have a foul mouth, woman. Keep it shut in the future if you are going to poison my ears with such filth," Sesshomaru ordered, his claws digging into the floor in his annoyance.

"Just for that, I'll take a second vicodin. You're going to be privy to my potty mouth all fucking night, Sesshomaru. And believe me, you haven't even gotten me going ye—mmmppph… mmm…"

Releasing her mouth, Sesshomaru panted for air in the wake of his first kiss, his eyes bleeding red and his markings going jagged as he scented her slight arousal. "Shut up unless you want me to shut you up again, healer. Understood?"

WOOOOO! And now there's a thunderstorm coming so I have to cut it off there. And the winner is Sesshomaru's Bunny! She got them all! And the reward is an Alucard/ Serenity pairing oneshot… but I already see it becoming a fullblown story in my head, hahahahaha… R&R and I'll write some more!