InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Claimed ❯ Taken ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I don't own

Sesshoumaru stood in the shadows, waiting for his prey to enter his line of sight to pounce. Her scent came to him long before the miko became visible. She was alone. That foolish brother of his had failed to protect the woman that he couldn't even admit his love to. He smiled in anticipation. Her scent was getting stronger and it wouldn't be long now before she entered the clearing. He was rewarded moments later she walked rather slowly to her well, obviously lost in deep thought about something. She hadn't even sensed his presence yet. He waited a bit longer, waiting for her to get closer. Years of chasing prey had given him extraordinary patience and he wanted her to know he was here before he showed himself. For her to know that she was caught in his trap and that there was nothing she could do about it.

She stopped in front of the well and was staring down into its murky depths. She suddenly jerked her head up and he saw her eyes widen and her head swiveled around the clearing. Like a deer in the headlights he chuckled inwardly. He sniffed the air delicately and smiled dangerously. The scent of her fear permeated the area and his instincts demanded that he act now.

In a blink of the eye he moved from the shadow of the trees, across the clearing and came to a rest less than a foot in front of the terrified young girl. He felt her gaze rise from his chest up to his face, and watched as she paled when she recognized who exactly was standing in front of her. He saw her panicked eyes glance back the way she had just come, her body trembling almost unnoticeably. `Hmpf' he thought with disdain `that filthy hanyou will not save you this time wench.'

She opened her mouth to scream, when she suddenly found the tip of a sword pressed against her throat. "Scream, bitch. I dare you" the youkai lord challenged the miko. Her mouth clamped shut instantly. She swallowed trying to keep her calm, but with the sharp edge of the sword pressed up against, she felt a small prick as the blade broke the skin and drew blood. Sesshoumaru watched as a small trickle of blood slid down her neck, primal urges of ripping his prey's throat out flashed across his mind. Appalled at his lack of self-control he shoved the unbidden images to the furthest reach of his mind and concentrated on his mission.

He slid the red tinted tip of the sword down the creamy white skin resting just below where the Shikon jewel hung by its necklace. She tensed and began to protest but before she could say anything the dog demon flicked his sword, cutting through the necklace, and catching the jewel gracefully with his other hand.

The fear in her scent was quickly replaced by another emotion. Anger. Fire danced in the girls eyes and he felt a powerful aura begin to emanate around her. Stupid wench thought he was trying to steal it. He was more then surprised however when she girl stepped forward and tried to yank it back out of his grip. Sesshoumaru roughly shoved her back and the anger in her eyes turning into a roaring blaze and he realized that this pathetic human was willing to fight to the death for just this pebble. He frowned, the creases marring his beautiful face. He would not fight with his brother's bitch, especially when he had much better plans for her. He grinned. Much better plans.

Kagome was infuriated. First he attacked her while she was weaponless and now he was steal to take the Shikon no Tama from her as well? `I thought he has more honor than that' she pondered briefly. `Well there's no way in the seven hells I'm gonna let him take it without a fight.' She quickly stepped forward and reached for the jewel, only to be pushed away like a mere annoyance. She opened her mouth to give him the worst ass lashing he had ever received, when a sudden explosion of pain of the back of her head stopped her. Stars twinkled before her eyes right before everything faded into darkness.

Her eyes widened in shock and pain before she crumpled. He caught her easily with his arm. Sesshoumaru reached into his silk white robes and withdrew a small parchment. He was about to toss it to the ground when he caught another sight of the blood that had dripped from the wound at her throat. An idea popped into his scheming mind, one that would surely enrage the hanyou. He shifted the girl and brought the parchment up to neck, allowing the blood to seep into aged paper, before tossing both it and the Shikon no Tama to the ground. With that he took off into the darkening night, with an unconscious Kagome in his arms.

~~~~~~~~~

Inuyasha just lay there as he watched the woman he loved retreat. The hurt showed plainly in his eyes. `How could she just dismiss me like that, when I just bared my heart to her?' Then it hit him. She didn't understand.

She didn't understand that being mates meant so much more than just the physical implications. It was beyond love even, the emotional bonds created by the sacred act of being mates. They would share a soul; they would be as one. At least that was how it worked when it was done right, according to youkai tradition. Youkai laws were incredibly complex and complicated. He could barely figure them out at times but how in the world was he going to explain them to her. He should have done it already, he realized. Maybe then she would have figured out why Kouga's advances bothered him so much. He was taking liberties with her that no other being let alone that wimpy wolf. He sighed in frustration, picking himself off the ground where she had sat him and dusting off.

He wanted to run after her, explain everything to her, but he was still stinging from her words. And Kagome was still more than likely pissed off. No, he would wait couple of hours before going to her and telling her everything. EVERYTHING. Including his undying love for her. He could only hope that she shared his feelings.

And so he walked back into Kaede's hut and settled himself back down, mentally planing what he was going to say. So caught up in his ponderings that he didn't notice Sango, Miroku, and Shippou follow him inside or when they formed a circle around him, watching him expectantly. That is, until Miroku's staff came down on his head, sharply bringing him out of his silent musings.

He growled at them, feeling like a surrounded beast. All three of them had a mischievous look in their eyes. This was not going to go well he decided. Still he managed to glare up at them and bark out "what the hell was that for monk?"

He could have sworn they all rolled their eyes at him exactly at the same time. "Go after her you baka!" Shippou yelled at him angrily. Inuyasha resisted the urge to bonk the kitsune on the head, settling for a deep throated growl instead.

"Shut the hell up you little runt. I don't see where it's any of your business. And before you two get on my case, don't worry. I plan on going to talk to her, just giving her some time to think about what I said." He glared at them and muttered something under his breathe.

"What was that Inuyasha?" Sango asked curiously. He hanyou refused to answer, even to acknowledge that she had asked.

"HE said," Shippou began, darting out of Inuyasha's reach "that and cool off so she not so damn mad at me."

The sound of laughter erupted from the hut. That and the destruction caused by an infuriated hanyou causing a kitsune.

Several hours later Inuyasha made his ways to the well. He still didn't know what exactly he was going to tell Kagome but he knew he had to tell her something. This was something he had been putting off for far too long.

As he caught closer to the well, warning signals went off in his mind. Something was wrong. He sniffed the air and growled feral at his findings. His bastard of a brother had been here and not very long ago either. But the thing that really upset him, the thing that caused him to break into a full speed, panic driven run- the faint scent of her blood.

As he raced to the portal between times, the aroma of her fear, mixed with anger and the small amount of blood that had him panicked, hit him like a brick wall.

He dashed into the clearing praying to every god that he'd ever heard of in his entire life that she was still there. The amount of blood wasn't enough for her to be seriously injured, but he was still worried. His heart dropped as he glanced around and saw that it was empty. He spotted a small glint of light on the ground next to the well. `No that couldn't be-' he walked closer and bent down to examine the object more closely. `No' his mind screamed at him. His heart was crushed. There was no way she would ever leave the Shikon no Tama behind unless something horrible had happened. Then he noticed the yellowed parchment, covered with the smell of her blood. He opened it slowly fearing what he would find on its pages. The three words wrenched his heart out of his soul and tinted his red.

His body should with emotion that he had to express. The fear for her safety, the despair of failing to protect her again, the overwhelming undeclared love, and the rage at his brother forced their way to the surface where he express them the only way he knew how.

He tilted his head back and screamed in the night sky, a heart chilling sound full of raw emotion. He clenched the paper in his hand, somehow hoping that the writer would feel its pain. He body was wracked with sobs and the ink smeared, destroying the hated message that would be forever burned into the hanyou's mind.

"Bring the sword."

~~~~~

Well yet another chapter done. Ended it sooner than I planned but I felt bad for not updating so soon. Not many reviews, rather discouraging I must say. Oh well, tell me what you think.