Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. Kagome ignored the cuts and bruises from the latest skirmish with Naraku and felt for the necklace she always wore around her neck. She was warned at an early age never to lose the oval shaped moon stone or her true form will be revealed. The necklace was not were its supposed to be and she began to panic as she felt around her neck. Thinking that the chain broke and fell down her clothes, she patted her white blouse and green shirt. She even took her shoes off and tilted them upside down, shaking them, only to come up with nothing. She frantically looked around the clearing, ignoring the angry shouts from Inuyasha about how Naraku got away again, because Kagome’s arrow missed the target. Desperate now, she crawled on her hands and knees, looking underneath trees and in between the patches of grass. Everyone stared at her, thinking she was acting weird. They believed she fell down and hit her head during the battle, because normally she wouldn’t be bending over, flashing her white panties to everyone. Inuyasha cleared his throat and looked away. “Um, Kagome,” he said nervously. “What are you doing?” She didn’t pretend to hear him. She kept chanting in her head that she must find the necklace. Mother will punish her for her foolishness. She was afraid her punishment will be even more severe. She is older now and should know better. Kagome was so worried about the necklace, she didn’t realize she was chanting out loud. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, curious about her behavior. She was acting more like an animal than a human. He began to wonder why the necklace was so important to her. “Must find it,” she continued to chant. “Mother will punish me for my behavior. Must not make her mad.” The demon lord couldn’t keep his gaze off her. The chanting she kept repeating reminded him of how a young demon would act against an alpha. Was there more to this girl than he originally believed? And how could he put his theory to the test? “Kagome,” Inuyasha spoke, kneeling down next to her. “Would you tell me what your looking for and maybe I can help you.” Even he could see there was something off about her behavior. It wasn’t the typical outgoing, friendly attitude. He got angry with her when she wouldn’t answer him. She treated him like he wasn’t even there. “Sango, why don’t you give it a try. She might listen to you since you’re a female.” “I don’t think even I will be able to help her, but I’ll give it a shot. It can’t hurt.” Sango placed her hand around Kagome’s upper arm and tried to lift her friend up. Kagome jerked her hand back and raised her lips into a snarl. “Back off,” she hissed. “I must find it. I can’t leave without it.” She resumed her search while Sango backed away. “I’m scared,” she admitted. “I have never seen Kagome act this way. It’s as if she lost her sense of humanity.” Miroku took a step forward. “Maybe I should give it a try. After all, who can resist my charms.” He didn’t even get to try helping Kagome. Sango hit him in the back of his head with her weapon. “You’re such a hentai,” she sighed out. “I don’t know why I even deal with you. If she snarled at me, she’ll probably rip you to shreds.” “Serves you right, monk.” Miroku’s body twitched at Inuyasha’s words. Feeling the air change, Sesshoumaru walked towards the girl and blocked her body from view. If his guess was right the girl is about too change and more an likely, her friends was not informed of her true nature. Either she was told never to reveal it or she didn’t truly trust her friends with her secret. Seeing what his brother was doing pissed Inuyasha off. Why was he protecting Kagome from him? He caught the new scent and his eyes widened in surprise. “Kagome, are you…” He didn’t get to finish his sentence. His brother glared at him, making his shut his mouth. “Get them out of there,” he ordered. Not giving his brother a change to argue, he continued barking out orders. “I will stay and protect her.” Inuyasha opened his mouth to object, but quickly closed it. He realized Sesshoumaru was right. He had to get his pack out of here. He’s not strong enough to handle Kagome’s transformation and she will attack anything and everyone in the area, until she was forced to submit. He really wished he was strong enough, but he wasn’t the alpha like his brother was. Kagome’s scent was proof enough that she was stronger than he was. “Don’t hurt her too much,” he spoke to his brother, when he was sure the others had left and were out of hearing range. Sesshoumaru’s only answer was a slight nod in his half brothers direction. He made sure Inuyasha left, before focusing back on the girl. “That will be quite enough,” he instructed, gripping his claws around her upper arm, and yanking her to her feet. Kagome hissed at him, ripping her arm from his grip. She didn’t notice how he didn’t put up a fight or how his claws gashed her arm while she freed herself. Her mind had reverted to that of an animal, and the only thing that mattered to her at the moment was finding her necklace. The demon lord was angered by her refusal to obey him. His composure remained calm as he glared at the girl, who was once more on her knees. If she wanted to stay in that position, he could put her mouth to good use. “Kagome.” It was a warning, she knew, but she didn’t heed it. He wasn’t her alpha. He wasn’t anything to her. The sunlight cast its glow on an object not to far from his sight and Sesshoumaru knew this was what the girl was looking for. He bent down to pick it up and rolled the pendant within his fingers. It wasn’t a beautiful piece, but was designed for practical purposes. He felt the power within the moonstone, wondering what type of magic could keep the girl’s true form at bay. He slipped the pendant into the lining of his boot. He decided he would investigate this further, with or without the girl’s consent. “Tell me what happened to make you so afraid.” He said in a quiet voice, as one would to calm down a child. “I was severely punished for taking it off one Halloween night. I decided it didn’t match my costume and was caught by my mother,“ her voice became a whisper. “I wasn’t able to walk right for weeks afterwards.” He nodded in understanding. He could see how that event would frighten her and how she was reacting now. “What does the pendant do?” he asked, kneeling next to her. “It keeps my wolf from taking over,” she said, fighting the tremor in her voice. He was keeping her from her task, but she couldn’t stop from answering him. Her instinct recognized him as an alpha and she didn’t want to displease him. She knew first hand what types of punishments occurred if you disobey an direct order. Sesshoumaru was intrigued by her answer. He would never have guessed the pendant kept her demon from taking over. Obviously, her demon form was quite powerful and he wanted that power for himself. He wasn’t going to give back the pendant quite yet. He wanted to see her transform and calculate just how powerful she was for himself. If his theory is proven right, she would be his mate, the next Lady of the Western Lands. To be continued…