InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Thief in the Night ❯ The Hunter and the Hunted ( Chapter 2 )

 

 

Thump, pant, thump, pant, thump, crash. Kagome picked herself off the ground and started her head long sprint into the forest again. It was amazing that she had even made it out of the city itself without being caught. If it wasn't for the fact that after her powers had blasted the roof she was sitting on to smithereens causing the collected pile of manure underneath it to explode outwards to cover half the gathered crowd, she would have been caught in seconds. Instead, she had followed the populace as they flew in panic away from the hidden miko not knowing the miko herself was following close behind them.

 

'Thank god for small favors,' thought Kagome as she held her side against the aching pain that had formed. Striving to maintain a steady pace of step, breathe, step, breathe, step, breathe, Kagome wondered just how much longer it would be before she passed out from lack of oxygen. She knew she could not maintain this pace forever; living behind a desk for the past five years had that kind of effect on some people.

 

Wetting her dry lips with the edge of an equally dry tongue, she ducked underneath a branch as she diverted the energy used to maintain her scent-masking spell to sense the lay of the land ahead of her. She needed to find a hiding place soon otherwise the whole purpose of flight would be a moot point. However, water was of equally great importance at the moment. She could already feel herself growing lightheaded from the stench of fertilizer clinging to her as well as dehydration. Gulping in another breath of sweet oxygen, Kagome nearly dropped to her knees as she at last sensed water nearby. Veering off a little northeast of her current position, she put on an added burst of speed hoping against hope that she would be able to reach water before the search party she had sensed not to far behind her caught up.

 

Stumbling onwards for another fifteen minutes, she at last broke out unto the river and sank to her knees with a sob. Crawling forward on her hands and knees, she half fell, half collapsed into the water. Welcoming the cool rush of water against her heated flesh, she cupped her hands and brought the soothing draught to her lips and drank of it. Repeating the action again and again until at last the edge of her thirst was dulled, she futilely wiped her face off with an equally damp portion of her clothing.

 

Regaining her feet, Kagome looked around herself at the innocuous looking scene. Sunlight filtered through the branches leaving dappled shadows on the ground while the white glint of ripples on the water seemed to mock the hunt passing close to its shores. The scene held a quiet serenity that made Kagome's throat ache with sorrow. She would never again be able to share another moment with her dear friend and advisor, Sango. Choking back the sobs that threatened to close her throat, Kagome shut her eyes against the sight.

 

After a few precious moments spent in calming herself down, she looked again at the peaceful setting and wished she could stay here within this frozen moment and forget that death would most likely visit her shortly. Standing wearily to her feet, she looked up and down the river and wondered in which direction she should continue her journey in. Staying in the water would help dilute out her scent as well as get rid if the tell-tale smell of manure still clinging to her clothes. Noticing how uncertain her footing was in the fast moving current, she decided to let it carry herself downstream rather then fight her way upstream. Wading her way with purpose towards the middle of the deceivingly swift moving river, she allowed the current to catch her body and pull her with it.

 

—Sesshoumaru—

 

Sesshoumaru growled as he strode swiftly through the forest looking for the telling scent of sulfur and the pungent scent of manure. Her scent was sketchy at best with the leaking of her scent and aura every hundred meters or so. Still, it was masked well enough to reduce his speed to that of a brisk walk to allow his eyes to scan the floor as he tracked her flight northwards.

 

Seething inside, his thoughts strayed to earlier that day when he had meted out punishment to the southern spy. Everything had been going according to plan until the rash miko interfered with her ill-display of control, scattering half his witnesses and incapacitating half the gathered youkai. The only thing he had to be grateful for was that she had chosen a perch off the ground. It had allowed the wave of power to wash over a majority of the gathered leaving in its wake burned flesh rather then ashes. Now to add to the insult of his lost arm, he had burns covering his back. For that, she would pay.

 

It had taken an hour for him to track the scent from the square to the gate and out the city walls into the forest. His guardsmen were busy questioning witnesses for her likeness though he had a vague idea already from his scan of the crowd just prior to starting the match. They should soon follow in his wake to aid in the hunt. Still, it was an unwanted task. He had other uses for his time that did not involve tracking down the woman who had insulted him during his moment of triumph. Instead his triumph turned into his humiliation.

 

Sneering to himself, he picked up his pace as her control slipped further and allowed her putrid scent to escape more often. The faint stink was strong enough now to lead him from one patch to another which pleased him greatly. Eyes glinting in anticipation, he flew faster over the ground.

 

—Kagome—

 

Kagome half stumbled half floated downriver. Drenched from head to foot, she could barely see through the water droplets dripping down her face. Still, she worked her way further down the river and hopefully further away from the youkai she knew were following her. How could they not be following when they had sworn but six months past to eradicate all mikos from Japan?

 

Gulping in much needed air, she continued her slippery trek down the river, slipping on smooth stones and fighting to keep her balance as she moved with the unexpectedly strong current. Wiping a hand across her brow, she attempted to push away the limp hair falling into her eyes, but failed miserably as she found wet strands glued to her forehead. Impatient, she swiped again at the offensive follicles as she took a step forward and slid calf deep into mud. Grabbing a hold of her thigh, Kagome yanked on the offensive appendage and tipped over into the river. Flailing, she let the current sweep her downstream as she fought to regain her balance to no avail.

 

With the roar of rushing water echoing in her ears, Kagome fought to find something, anything, she could grab onto to halt her forward momentum. A tree, a bit of driftwood, even an obtrusive stone would have worked to stop her flight downstream. Control was what she desired in a world of upheaval and change. Just as she had been unable to call on her abilities in time to save her friend, so too had they acted on their own at the moment of Sango's decapitation. It was those self-same elusive abilities that landed her in a position that promised her death without the justice she so craved.

 

Sinking fast, she let the water take her deep beneath the surface. Soon, she would be able to see her beloved almost sister again. After all, her people didn't really need her. Kikyo was more then adept at running the lands on her own whereas she, herself required the help of the slightly older and more talented woman. No one truly needed her except for Sango, just this once, and she had already failed her.

 

—Sesshoumaru—

 

Coming to a halt as the river came into view, Sesshoumaru sniffed delicately at the southeastern wind blowing lazily across his lands. Sensing no lingering smell of the sweat that coated the human flesh and the fetid smell of excrement that had coated all other smells the human miko was exuding, he turned his gaze to the ground around him. Walking swiftly to the river's edge, his keen gaze noted with satisfaction the scuff marks in the dirt where her tired feet had shuffled its weary way to the embankment. He was wearing her down and soon she would be his for questioning. He just had to figure out first if she went upstream, downstream, or across the river.

 

—Down River—

 

A hand reached out and grabbed the unsuspecting body consigned to death floating down the river face first. Tossing the limp body unto the shore, the demon sniffed her wet body and tilted a furry ear to discern if she yet lived. Hearing the weak beating of her heart, he sighed in relief before turning his gaze unto her still chest. She was not breathing. Quickly, he bent over her head and waited for the telling sign of warm moisture brushing his cheek, but none was forthcoming. Looking at the stunning beauty in front of him, he frantically wondered what Kikyo was doing floating down a river half dead. She should have known better then to enter Sesshoumaru's lands! Frantic, he wondered what he should do as he heard her heart get weaker and weaker. He couldn't lose her now, not when they had come so far already. No one else had been able to accept him as she had, and he couldn't lose her due to some twisted whim of fate.

 

Throwing caution to the wind, he took a deep breath and bent over her head. Using a single claw to gently tug her lower lip down, he used his other hand to plug her nose before pressing his open lips to hers to give her the breath of life. Pausing a moment, he waited for her to restore oxygen to her body before repeating the action. Several breaths later, the raven-haired beauty at last showed signs of active life by coughing up water and turning unto her side as she expelled the liquid from her body.

 

Turning to lay on her back once more, she looked up at her savior. Blinking against the sun shining behind him, she fought to discern his shadowed features. Hazily, an impression of light colored hair lying pooled on the ground where he squatted and red everywhere clothing him began to form in her head. Propping herself up on her elbows, her eyes focused on the demon curiously studying her as she was him. Mind drifting back to the reason she was cold and wet, she looked again at her savior. Images flashing through her head, she fought to hold back a scream as she began to back-pedal quickly away from the now perplexed demon.

 

“Hey!” he cried watching her form slither along the ground. Hurt blossomed to pierce his chest as he smelled the fear coating her body in a cold-sweat. “Where do you think you're going wench!” he cried hoping to hurt her just a little by his words to cover up the pain radiating through his body.

 

Nearly hyperventilating now as she recognized the silver hair and sharp features, she wondered how long it would take the demon lord to strike her down. Sniffling, she watched as his fist clenched and he slowly stood up to take a measured step closer to her. “Please,” she whispered with wide-doe eyes. “I didn't mean to do it, really. I just couldn't stop myself. I lost control. Please, please don't kill me.”

 

Gritting his teeth, Inuyasha fought against his demon instincts as her actions spoke a betrayal of their unvoiced love while the gentle plea for her life nearly broke the demon within him. Opening his eyes, a thin ring of red circled his iris making Kagome wonder just what she had gotten herself into. .

 

Eyes still glinting red, the demon sped forward and grabbed her unsuspecting arms and pulled her into a fierce hug. “I'm sorry,” he whispered into her ebony tresses. “I didn't mean to scare you, but you gave me a start when I saw you floating down the river.”

 

Confusion marred Kagome's brow as she tentatively returned the hug her savior was giving her. “What are you talking about?” she asked as she released him enough to pull away from his fierce embrace. “I thought you'd want to kill me for what happened at the castle.”

 

Confusion flitted across Inuyasha's own features as he stared down at the lady who looked so similar to the one he had lost his heart to nearly a year ago. He could not understand why she did not acknowledge their relationship. After all, few and far between were the times they were able to steal a few private moments together. “What castle? What happened?” he asked as everything he knew got scattered to the wind. Perhaps this wasn't his Kikyo. A vague memory surfaced in his mind of Kikyo telling him she posed as the look-a-like double to another miko. Shaking his head of nonsense, he waited for the woman to clarify what she meant.

 

Kagome frowned and looked at the arms encircling her. `Wait a minute,' she thought as she reached up a hand to smooth the red haori encasing two arms. `I thought he only had one arm.' Looking up into the demon's face, she realized at last that her savior was simply that, her savior and not some crazed demon lord out to get her for destruction of property and interrupting his fun. Shivering at the thought that he might have considered murdering her friend as fun, she threw her arms around the now oblivious half-demon and hugged him closer to her drenched body. “I'm sorry. I thought you were the taiyoukai of these lands.”

 

Inuyasha blinked in stunned amazement. “You thought I was—You thought—” he stuttered before gulping in another breath. “You thought I was my half-brother?” he asked in amazement, finally getting the words around the lump in his throat. Kehing, he pushed the woman away from him and stood up to stalk back to the river.

 

Kagome laid on the ground in amazement. `Since when does the taiyoukai of the combined lands have a half-brother?' she wondered. There was just so much about him they didn't know. Standing to her feet, she gazed uneasily upriver and wiped her muddied palms on her equally muddy kimono. “If you don't mind then, I should get going since I'm sure you don't want me around when your brother gets here. Thank you for pulling me out of the river. I won't take up anymore of your time.” Turning away from the silver-haired half-demon, she started to scramble down the river bank. Throwing one last comment over her shoulder along with a wave, she cried, “I hope to see you again sometime whoever you are!”

 

At last Inuyasha remembered the name of the woman Kikyo had said she served. Testing out his theory, he started towards her retreating form. “Wait! What's your name?”

 

Kagome stopped and looked over her shoulder at the fast approaching hanyou. “Kagome! My name is Kagome!” Turning on her heel, she sprinted down the bank as the half-demon stopped in stunned amazement.

 

Jaw dropping, he realized he had just let the ruling southern miko head further into the combined lands. Slowly the beginning of a plan began to form in his brain as he realized that his brother was looking for the woman running noisily down the river. Yes, he could use her. Turning around, he sprinted quickly upstream to divert his brother. After all, Kikyo would not be pleased if anything happened to the miko.

 

—Sesshoumaru—

 

Anger bubbled just beneath the surface of the demon lord's cold façade as he slowly made progress down the river using his sense of sight to the fullest. After ten minutes of searching, he had at last determined that the foolish mortal had traveled downstream away from him, but due to the very nature of the river itself, he could no longer smell the woman on the breeze. He instead had to rely on sight and intuition to track her down slowing his search to a fourth of what it could have been. Worse was the thought that she could leave the river at any point along the way which slowed his search even further as he hopped from bank to bank looking for a footprint here a hand print there, or a crushed branch that signaled her passage.

 

Growling in frustration, he sped a further ten feet down the river before pausing to look with keen eyes at the foliage and ground before flying another ten feet downstream. He had not the time for this foolishness. If his plans were not to be completely foiled by this human miko, he would need to either abandon the search or else find her soon. Nothing, it seemed, was going his way since the night the Tetsusaiga was stolen. First he had to abandon his search because of the damage to his arm and his dignity. That he had to return home to have it dealt with had not pleased him at all, but it was either abandon the search or have his body slowly purified from the inside out as the poison of miko energy leaked into his bloodstream. The only option left to him at the time was voluntary amputation before returning to his home. That loss of dignity still irked him greatly. As a result, he declared war on the southern lands to restore his honor and for harboring the thief within. Now that he had a chance to draw the true thief out into the open, his plans were again disrupted due to the interference of another miko. Nothing was going his way.

 

Sniffing the breeze again for any sign of the human mortal, his olfactory system picked up the disgusting scent of a half-breed coming towards him. Yes, nothing indeed was going his way.

 

Standing on the riverbank, he did not have long to wait before his brother came into view. His heart warmed a little at the thought of riling his easily offended half-brother, although he would not acknowledge him nearly half-so-much as he did if it were not for the mutual dislike held between the two. That his father had stooped so low as to procreate with a filthy ningen whore and bring dishonor to the family name displeased him greatly. Inutashio was not the one who had to deal with the humiliation of a half-breed for a brother and apparent heir to the kingdom. No, it was left to Sesshoumaru to prove to his liege lords and subjects that he was worthy of ruling despite the taint of his father. Even worse, Inutashio had but waited a single year before replacing his deceased wife with the whore that bore Inuyasha. The muscles in his eyes tensed as the hanyou approached.

 

Inuyasha skidded to a halt in front of his once idolized half-brother, throwing dirt against his pristinely white clothing. “What are you doing out here?” sneered Inuyasha though he knew why. “Surely you didn't miss me that much!” he jibed.

 

Sesshoumaru flicked a few strands of hair back over his shoulder to flow freely with the rest behind him. “I came on matter of business. Running into you is merely a minor inconvenience.”

 

Inuyasha kehed, “Right, and here I thought you might have missed me!”

 

Sesshoumaru glared. “You would do well to keep ill-advised lies to yourself. I would hate to sully my hands with your blood.”

 

Inuyasha scoffed. “You couldn't touch me if you tried. Besides, don't you think father would object?”

 

Sesshoumaru stilled the heated blood inside of him. The day was just too much. Such disrespect was unheard of around him accustomed as he was to the fear he could instill in any man and youkai save the three he faced today. “I would not place such safety in your origins, Inuyasha. After all, your mother was but a common whore, meant to warm father's bed for a few nights and nothing more.”

 

Inuyasha growled before springing into the air in a headlong dive at the demon who dared insult the sweet memories he had of his mother. “If she was so much the whore, why did your father marry her! You know as well as I that I came after their mating was witnessed!”

 

Sesshoumaru easily dodged the ill-advised attack and watched with amusement as he skidded along the ground to fall into the river. His amusement was heightened by Inuyasha's half-drowned puppy dog look as he choked on the now dirty river water. As he turned away from the enjoyable sight he said, “Enough, I have not time for this. I must continue my hunt.” As he moved to return to his careful search, he was halted by his brother's words.

 

“What? Are you still looking for that thief? I heard you lost the Tetsusaiga well and good to a miko no less.”

 

Turning his head, Sesshoumaru glared at the now laughing hanyou. “You would do well to remember your place `little' brother. I could have killed you outright instead of exiling you to your pathetic existence. I can still do so if required.”

 

Inuyasha laughed. How he enjoyed getting the tiniest rise out of his brother. It made the constant effort and damage to his pride worthwhile. “Well, there's no one downstream where I came from. It looks as though your search has led you in the wrong direction oh-mighty-tracker.”

 

Sesshoumaru restrained the growl that threatened to tear from his throat. “No matter, she will be found.” Turning, he sped back to his palace. He would send someone discreet to search out her trail. Besides, he had matters of greater importance to deal with instead of worrying over the trivial matter of an un-trained miko hiding in his forest.

 

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