Her head was in pain, feeling the headache pounding in the temples that made her groan lowly. Eyelids fluttering open the brightness of the room was painful causing her eyes to snap shut once more. It was as if a light was facing her head on. Even being blind light sensitivity could sometimes occur depending on the harshness of the source. It was why sometimes people with the same condition wore sunglasses when moving about outside. For Akiko thought it didn't happen much, but it was never pleasant when this occurred. Rubbing the eyes to try and be rid of it as her form twisted away from the light the young woman tried again, hissing slightly when it was still the same. Something was wrong, the headache only increasing with every attempt. Fingers cupping over the eyes to dim the brightness Akiko chanced to open her lids again, breath catching in her throat. It was blurry, but she could catch a glimpse of the cracks between the digits and how natural lighting was seeping through. There was some too detail, the bends in the skin, curves of the edges, the glow of the surface against the rays.

Akiko could see.

"How are you enjoying your new ability?"

The young woman gasped from the sudden voice in the room, quickly backing away till she hit a wall, arms outstretched while the palms pressed against the cool surface. She was blinking rapidly, squinting nearly the entire time and trying to understand what was going on. There were undefined outlines giving some sense as to the surroundings. And turning the head the young woman noticed a large mass on the opposite side.

Naraku.

"What did you do to me?" her voice raised in mild panic.

"Are you not pleased? It was the one sense you were lacking." Feeling her face none of the features had changed, which was a main concern that the young woman had been transformed into one of the monstrosities Kagome had informed her about when it came to his 'children'. But that didn't make Akiko feel any better.

"Why did you do this?"

"Like I said. I need you at your full potential if I'm to absorb you."

"You're mental–"

"And you must be obedient. While there is fun in acquiring someone who fights back, I like my children to be obedient."

"Then look for someone else, because that will never happen. I'll never allow myself to belong to you."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. You're wasting your time."

Akiko screamed as something ripped into the flesh of a leg causing her body to lurch forward and slid down the wall a bit. It was burning, glancing down and just barely making out the area seeing it split open and blood running out. Tears were gathering though as the ache traveled down towards the feet and up to the hips. "I didn't doubt that this would happen. But that's all right. I enjoy breaking my new toys." There was something sticking out of his form at a long and odd angle, before it lashed out again, this time hitting the other limb and lower near the calf. The young woman's teeth clenched, sliding further down till the elbows were resting on the ground.

"If I'm to be in top shape, why are you doing this?" she shouted.

"I have time for you to eventually heal, while I am not completely healed from that ally of yours. I don't need your skin to be flawless. As long as you still walk in the end that is enough for me." Another harsh whip. "I will make you suffer."

They were tentacles. And more of them appeared acting relentlessly as they attacked one right after the other ripping apart the clothing and staining it red. Akiko cried out with each hit throwing out a hand to try and block them with a sheet of ice. It worked, for a time, seeing as more of the poison had worn off. But it wasn't strong enough, breaking through minutes later and continuing their assault.

An explosion sounded further away in the estate, causing Naraku to halt and turn his head in its direction. "Someone has broken through..." he muttered. Looking at Akiko, who was panting heavily on the ground chest down with tears running down the cheeks from the pain he made a decision. "Very well." Turning away, the half-demon left the young woman lying there.

Head turning when noticing his absence a shaky breath escaped the lips. She was sweating from the strain, noticing that more of the room had come into focus, though it was still hard to open the eyes fully from all the light. But she noticed something right away. The door had been left open. Either this was a trap, or Naraku didn't think she had enough strength left after that beating to move. But Akiko would not allow herself to sit and wait for his return while he was distracted; even if there was a chance of her running into one of his creations.

It was impossible to stand, no matter how hard she tried, forced to crawl using the arms and elbows to drag herself along. At some points the young woman would manage to use a foot to help push forward, but with difficulty. Suddenly, the wall beside Akiko was blown to pieces, both arms coming up and covering the head as the face pressed against the wooden floor. Dust filled the hall from the destruction, but that wasn't the only thing as Naraku's miasma leaked through causing the young woman to cough violently. She had to move away from it and quickly, moving out from under the wreckage.

Leaving the confrontation behind Akiko found a way outside, the sunlight even harsher than what it was inside. It was blinding, but there was no time to hesitate feeling the dirt below her form as she went, along with the dead grass that had shrived up due to the toxic miasma.

The young woman didn't need her new sight to move about with closed eyes, but having more of a guide would have made the situation better. Though now was not a time to wonder 'what if', needing to keep moving. Eventually Akiko found a river, hand falling into the cool liquid when coming to the edge of the bank. Some would see it as an obstacle, feel trapped. To her it was a way out. Though not able to access her ability completely, there was enough that allowed the surface to begin to freeze over. She would cross to the other side.

There were attacks destroying various sections of Naraku's most recent estate. It forced demons to emerge in an attempt to hold those that had broken inside. Sesshomaru, Aisu and her pack had been the first ones to enter the grounds. But they weren't alone as Inuyasha, Kagome, and the rest of their group followed swiftly behind. When Naraku began unleashing his horde they didn't hesitate to attack, but for two completely different reasons.

"Find Akiko," Aisu ordered. The dog demon glanced over at the wolf as they all transformed into their demonic state. "We'll hold them off. Meet back in the Western Lands."

"Why not yourself?" he questioned.

"You're a full fledge demon. Capable of holding off any of Naraku's creations. We can create a distraction, keep the fight here. And there's no telling what the condition Akiko will be in. You can return her faster than we can to receive protection and possibly medical help."

Another blast ripped through the household, causing Sesshomaru to glace over at his half-brother."Inuyasha stop attacking the structure," Sesshomaru nearly growled.

"Since when do you tell me what to do?" Inuyasha snapped back.

"Akiko is in there somewhere," Aisu stated.

"What!" Kagome exclaimed. "When did she come back?"

"We'll explain later. Right now we need to hold him off." Their eyes landed on Naraku, who had finally made his appearance. "Go now."

It was easy for Sesshomaru to sniff out the young woman, following her scent to the back portion of the household killing demons as he went. That's how he found the now empty room, spotting the blood splattered on the walls and a pool of it on the floor. But it turned into streaks as it exited the door he stood in front of and continuing down the hall. Past a destroyed section his eyes slightly narrowed in annoyance at his inferior sibling, before coming to the back of the estate and moving across the dirt to an open section of land stopping beside a river. That was where the scent ended, yet he noticed the sections of ice and frost that still clung to the edge. Akiko had attempted to cross the body of water. But if that was the case he would have tracked her to the other side when crossing himself. There was no trace of her presence, looking in the direction of the current.

She had been swept away.

Rushing along the bank the demon finally caught sight of the target, lower half of her body still submerged in the water, waist up the only thing holding her in place. She wasn't conscious, when Sesshomaru kneeled beside her, but alive. Gripping the young woman's arm he hoisted her out of the river, dripping wet, when noticing the droplets were tinted red.

Turning Akiko over the demon's attention became set on the legs. Gashes lined the surface, reaching around to the back area of skin. It had been Naraku's doing, shaking the human. Groaning, he watched her eyes flutter open and lock on his person. Yelping, the young woman tried moving away, but it was futile as his grip was still firmly clasping the arm. "W-Who are you?" she questioned. As Sesshomaru continued to watch her reaction he took notice that the mortal appeared to be staring directly at him, not off to the side like normal even when aware of his presence being only inches from her. "Let me go–!"

"You have a habit for getting into trouble as of late." The sound of his voice had Akiko release a large breath, heartbeat slowing.

"Sesshomaru," she whispered. He watched as the pale blue eyes seemed to search his face, as if soaking in every detail. And the young woman couldn't stop herself from reaching out and feeling an area of his face. She recognized him by touch, having finally mapped out his features when the demon was lying on the bed while watching over him. Akiko's expression changed, becoming one that was relieved. "Rin was right in every detail about you." Even if it wasn't completely in place, still struggling to see from the sunlight and the ache in the newly found sense it was there to an extent. His brows slightly furrowed, staring down at her. "I see you..."

"Impossible," the lord stated. She was blind.

"Naraku... he did something. I don't know how, but... it's all coming into focus." The heel of a palm dug into one of the eyes. "It still hurts though. Hazy. The color isn't completely there..." A hiss escaped the lips when trying to move only just remembering what had happened to the legs and looked down at them.

"Was he torturing you?"

Akiko's gaze turned on him once more. "He wasn't killing me... That's no longer apart of his plan."

That didn't sit well with him. "And what is his plan?"

"For me to submit to him... in order to... To absorb me in order to acquire my powers to use them for his benefit."

His brows narrowed. "Why cut your legs?"

"To break me before he was done healing. Naraku wasn't strong enough yet because of your fight." Her hands were trembling, breath turning shaky from the memory.

Pulling Akiko further from the river into the forest Sesshomaru propped her up against a tree, peeling away what remained of the pants so they didn't infuse with the healing tissue. Until they returned to the estate it couldn't be properly cleaned out, pulling free wrappings from his kimono that had been supplied by Rin before leaving just in case something had happened.

"Why didn't you use your gifts to hold him off?"

"The poison in the hall; I inhaled too much. Whatever it was was still in my system and I wasn't able to use it to fight back completely. But I did manage a shield to stall him for a few minutes." It was easier to see in the shade of the tree, staring at the demon in front of her, whose attention was focused on the injuries. "Is Tobi all right?"

"You're mutt is fine. He's with Rin." Finished wrapping the left leg from the ankle up he move to the right.

"And you?" The demon didn't answer. "You're still healing yourself."

"I feel nothing."

A smirk twitched at the corners of the young woman's lips. "I take it human medicine was handy after all." She received no answer, but didn't expect to. "Aisu?"

"Holding off Naraku with the pack. They are not alone." There was only one other person she could think of that could have arrived.

"Kagome." She hissed when the dog demon pulled too tight on the bandage causing him to pause before continuing. "Well... this wasn't how I had hoped to return to the Feudal Era... Some ruler I am."

"You're still learning." She watched silently. "This isn't your world. You haven't been here long enough to understand yet what is happening."

"I think that was a compliment and slight reassurance as well." The right leg was finished, Sesshomaru making eye contact. "And this is the most you've ever spoken to me." He said nothing. "Thank you for coming. You didn't have to, and we're not exactly on the best of terms... But thank you."

Reaching over he ripped a section of the kimono sleeve away before tying it around Akiko's head so it only covered the eyes, diming the sunlight considerably to a more comfortable level. "You need to adjust." Climbing onto Sesshomaru's back it was a bit uncomfortable with the armor pressing against the front side, but would due for the time being, the one hand pressed against the under side of her butt to hold the young woman in place. Meanwhile, her arms were wrapped around the neck, legs around the waist. Akiko was actually looking forward to being in the now familiar household surrounded by those she could trust. Even Sesshomaru.