InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Madman ❯ Chapter 10 - Tracking the Miko Kagome ( Chapter 10 )

Madman

By Rinseternalsoul

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, and I make no profit from writing fanfiction..

Chapter 10 - Tracking the Miko Kagome

A/N: I'm really happy with all of the wonderful reviews that I received for the last chapter. You all are great! I am grateful to you for traveling with me through Madman. I've got some awesome ideas for future chapters, so keep an eye out for updates. Thanks!  

"You finished with my sword yet old man? It's been five damn days and you told me only three! I fucking flew all the way from the U.S. to get you to fix it and I need to get back home! I've had that sword since I was a pup, and you better not have lost it, you hoary lunatic!" Totosai sat impassively watching the idiot wolf going through a tantrum.

"Hmm," Totosai muttered, looking off thoughtfully. "Where did I put that thing?" The wolf growled furiously and stomped several paces to the right before making an about face to storm back in the other direction.

"I knew it! I just fucking knew it!" Kouga snarled as he turned to repeat the furious path he was beating into the floor of the cave. 'The heat in this place is like Hell!' He couldn't believe this shit. He had only intended to be here for a few days, and he was now pushing a full week. He was the top wolf of the western worlds' largest survival gear corporation. He was a busy man. People expected shit from him. He couldn't just hang around here till this old fart finally got around to giving him back his katana!

"This is all Shuusaka's fault! That fucking prick told me to bring it here. I should have known better than to listen to that bastard," Kouga continued to rant, but his mention of the demon lord sparked Totosai's memory of a recent visit from a Toyko police detective.

"Strangest thing happened yesterday..." Totosai began, but Kouga quickly cut him off.

"Damn it you old geezer! I don't have time for your long drawn out stories! I've got a plane to catch and I need my sword!" He couldn't believe the old bastard was jerking his chain like this! As the wolf prince once more turned furiously to continue his anxious pacing, long dark hair trailed out behind him. Finely tailored brown slacks brushed together as the thump of Italian leather loafers echoed against the stone walls and those were the only sounds to be heard. After awhile the old Smithy shrugged his shoulders and said, "Fine then. I guess you've lost interest in Kagome after all these years."

Kouga's pacing and verbal explicative came screeching to a halt at the mention of Kagome. It had been hundreds of years since her name was spoken, though he thought of her often. He clenched his fists and breathed in deeply, causing muscles to bulge across his broad chest. The black button-up shirt that he was wearing stretched tight, accenting his lean, toned physique. "Talk old man," Kouga growled, flashing his long canines in warning.

Totosai laughed maniacally, and began slapping his knee with enthusiasm. "That shut you up pretty good!" However, the amusing moment was ended when Kouga grabbed him by the shirt and snatched him up violently.

"Don't fuck with me you old bastard!" Kouga was loosing his well-cultured patience. He hadn't been this pissed in decades. First the sword, and now the bastard was teasing him about Kagome? Totosai wasn't too many years from natural death, but the wolf was seriously considering helping him on his way.

"Okay! Okay, " Totosai cried as he held up his hands in a placating manner. "Didn't mean to get you all riled up."

"I was 'riled up' two days ago when you told me that you didn't have my sword ready! Now tell me what you know about Kagome, or I'm gonna send you on to hell a few years early!" The wolf youkai shook the old coot a couple of times for emphasis, and then dropped him in a heap on the cave floor.

"Young folks have no respect for their elders!" Totosai grumbled as he stumbled over to a large flat boulder rubbed smooth on the top. He crawled up on it and crossed his spindly legs. "I had a visitor the other day. A law man. He was asking questions about Tenseiga and Tetsusaiga. Was real interested when I mentioned a miko named Kagome. Asked if Taisho Shuusaka was a threat to Kagome. Odd, don't ya think, that he would wonder such a thing about a time traveling girl that disappeared five hundred years ago?"

"Fuck! Sesshomaru told me that you were half crazy. My woman wasn't a damn time traveler! That's ridiculous!" Kouga snarled. He knew Kagome. She was from... uh... Let's see... she lived in that village near... Come to think of it, he wasn't sure where she was from, but she wasn't a time traveler! That was just insane.

"Are you calling me a liar, you young punk? I tell you that she was! I had it first hand from Saya, the spirit of the sheath of So'unga, who resided for a time in the future world of the miko Kagome. Inuyasha was able to travel to and from the future with the girl, or without, through the old Bone Eater's well on the edge of Inuyasha's forest. Stupid wolf. I'm old, but at least I ain't stupid."

Totosai squeaked when a hard fist came down on his bald head. "Ow!"

"Watch your mouth Totosai," Kouga growled. He then turned away to think on what the old man said. Kagome was from a future time? How was it possible that he never saw it before? She had dressed pretty strangely, and she didn't really act like the other women he had ever met, but he chalked that up to her being human. Hell, he wasn't exactly friends with too many humans back then. He really didn't have much to go on. "From the future you say?" Something about that made him pause. Could it be? Had she been sent back to her time? Was that why she disappeared without a trace? Was it possible that Kagome didn't die, but had actually been transported back to some far off future time?

Kouga chuckled and shook his head. "Kagome was a time traveler. Well if that don't beat all." The lean dark haired wolf prince looked up to the old man, who was now busy digging through a pile of burlap sacs, looking for his katana. "Hey old man, what are you getting at? Are you saying Kagome is alive? Now? In this time?"

Without even looking up, Totosai responded to the question. "Hmm... I don't know, but I'll bet you that damn dog demon could tell you the answer to that. It was him that the law man came here asking about. Him and the two Fang's of Inu no Taisho."

"Here it is!" Totosai exclaimed triumphantly. He pulled out Kouga's family heirloom and held it up high. "I knew I left it around here somewhere."

Kouga walked over and snatched the blade. He gave it a hard once over, checking the quality of the repair. "Nice job old man. I guess I won't kill you after all." He then reached in his pocket and flipped out his wallet. After paying the Sword Smith, he headed for his rental car, but stopped just before opening the door. He looked back and asked, "You have the name of that cop that came by here?"

Totosai fumbled in his pocket and pulled out the card that the officer left. He handed it over to the wolf, and Kouga read the name. "Detective Naoaki Kobayashi, Tokyo Police Department, 43 Precinct. Well, detective, I may just be giving you a call. Mind if I keep this, old man?" Totosai simply waved a hand uncaringly, and pocketed the bundle of yen.

On his way to the car Kouga thought about Kagome.

Could she really be alive, here and now? Had that bastard of a dog known it all along? Kouga growled low and deep as he cranks up the sedan. It would be just like that asshole to try and keep her all to himself. The wolf's heart tripled its beat, as he thought over the possibility that Kagome could really be alive; that he may have the opportunity to see her again. He had so much that he wanted to say. So much that he wanted to tell her. He was such a pup when he met her, and clueless on the ways of women. Things change, people change.

There is unfinished business between the two of them, and though it was a long shot, the prospect of seeing her smiling face again was enough to make him whine in happiness. Kouga flipped out his cell phone and dialed his secretary.

"Hello Charlotte. Nice to hear from you too. Yeah, I finally got the sword, but there's been an unexpected circumstance that's going to detour my plans for a few days. 'Huh', me too. If you will, please cancel my flight, and reschedule any meetings until I return. Thanks, Charlotte. Sayonara." The wolf prince ended the call, and returned his attention to the winding narrow road ahead. His low voice whispered in the silence, "Damn, I'd forgotten how much I missed her."  

The air left Kagome's lungs in a gasp of relief. Sesshomaru had arrived. Thank the Kami above! For a minute there things were looking pretty bad for her. Being surrounded by a group of machine-gun wielding maniacs was definitely a switch from being surrounded by bloodthirsty youkai hoping to eat you. You still got the bad feeling that you were going to be hamburger meat, but you had a whole new set of emotions bombarding you. There were new problems too. For one, she couldn't purify any of these people because they were all human. Well, if you didn't count that poor freakish beast practically digging a hole beneath the leaves in order to get as far away from her and Sesshomaru as possible. Here she was not in the presence of monsters hoping to rip her to shreds, she was in the presence of murderers with some insane agenda against miko's who could fill her full of holes.

Neither was a place that she wanted to be.

When Sesshomaru arrived the tables were turned. He was fierce and a centuries old warrior. Though their enemy was carrying the latest in high power semi-automatic weapons, Sesshomaru was fast, ruthless, and cunning.

Juria watched the impressive youkai land behind the brazen young woman standing in the sights of her Glock. Damn he was a fine looking creature. He radiated masculine energy. His eyes were the most stunning color of gold that she had ever seen. The closest thing to it would be those of a tiger, yet his were lighter, and sparkling with highlights. He did nothing, now, to hide two pairs of magenta markings decorating his sculptured cheekbones, the unusual blue crescent moon on his forehead, or the crimson slashes of color over his eyelids. His body was tall and lean, but sculptured to perfection beneath navy blue slacks and a solid gray button up shirt. The collar was open a bit, showing the smooth skin of his neck and accenting a strong jaw.

He stood facing her and her men, as if he had not a care in the world that they were armed to the teeth. There was the hint of a sneer in his eyes and dangling from the tiniest corner of his lips. He stared her down with a look that promised death and Juria knew that, given the first opportunity, this delicious piece of male youkai, would cut her pretty slender throat.

"Well, Taisho, Looks like you made it just in time. I was about to escort your friend here back to the base. I believe that you are familiar with the facility?" Juria said, while moving the aim of her gun from the miko to the youkai. All it would take is one successful hit and the youkai sedative would course through his blood stream rendering him unconscious. She fought the smile that threatened to curl her full lips. He was all hers now.

Sesshomaru regarded the bitch that had assaulted his person and hunted him like an animal of prey. He wanted to rip her face off and leave her to bleed out at his feet. The urge to kill her was strong, but the safety of his charge stayed his hand. Kagome was in danger of being shot, if not intentionally, then by a stray projectile. He would survive a gunshot wound, though he would rather not experience the scalding pain if possible. Kagome may not. Even one bullet wound to her fragile ningen body could be deadly.

"Leave, and I will let you live."

As insane as it was, Kagome had to stop the urge to giggle. She was surrounded by danger, yet she couldn't help thinking that in five hundred years Sesshomaru could have come up with a new line. Maybe she could think up a new one for him? Obviously his creativity level was lacking.

Sesshomaru ignored the almost imperceptible snort from the woman standing behind him. What Kagome found humorous in this situation was beyond him. It was the same incredulity that he felt each time he had met her in battle. She was an enigma of mysteriously changing emotions. When he landed, her fear was so thick in the air that his beast roared for release, but now she stands behind him forcing back girlish giggles. He was sure that as long as they both lived he would never be able to figure her out.

Juria smirked and nodded her head in barely restrained mirth. "Looks to me, youkai, that we have the upper hand. Hotaka-sama wants your head, but that's just because he thinks we can't contain you. I've been working on that, see, and I've got it all figured out. I've arranged for a nice new room for you, big boy, and once inside it, you have no hope of escape."

"Your weapons are useless against me, and I am no fool. You will not risk hitting the miko. She is the key to your missions' success." Shuusaka's voice cut through the quiet of the forest in a low velvet baritone. The sound of it sent a shiver up Juria's spine. "You're a smart one, youkai. Smarter than any of the ones before you, but that won't help you here, because here you don't have to be smart. You just have to be faster than a bullet."

"Run!" Kagome screamed. There was something in Juria's gun that would bring Sesshomaru down. She was sure of it! She grabbed his arm and he seemed to sense her urgency, because instead of fighting her panicked demand, he slipped his arm around her waist and took to the air faster than a human can blink their eye. The sound of gunfire rang out, as well as the shout of the group's commander. "The miko must be taken alive! Aim only for the youkai!"

A bullet from the wench's handgun grazed his right thigh, but otherwise passed him by. Immediately the wound pulsed with stinging pain, but then went mysteriously numb. Alarmingly the numbness seemed to be spreading, but his mind was distracted by the explosion of pain in his back and through his gut. A whoosh of air left him with the impact and he struggled to stay in flight.

Kagome clung to him desperately, and he shielded her the best that he could. He felt her flinch once, but he was unsure if she were injured. The wind blew passed them entirely too fast for him to scent her blood. Another searing flash of pain struck his right leg, just below the knee He cursed his misfortune, but finally managed to get them both out of range of the weapon's fire.

They traveled for a short time until he could not continue at the current altitude. He needed to land, rest, and recover the blood loss. When he was sure that they were a safe distance from their pursuers he lowered them to a mountain spring trickling from a rocky edifice and into a small pool of clear water. Gnarled pines graced the hillside around them, but he had no time for sightseeing. He set them down next to the pool and Kagome slid to the ground.

Now he could smell her blood, and it had an overpowering effect of him. He was consumed with furious heat. The wish to taste her crimson life was almost as strong as the fury he felt towards those who harmed her. He was considering what to do, when he suddenly lost control of his right leg. It simply collapsed from beneath him, sending him to one knee. His eyes opened wide in surprise, having not expected the numbing sensation from the wound on his thigh to have spread in such a manner.

He was also bleeding from a wound in his calf that would not heal, because he felt the bullet still wedged in his flesh. Obviously they were too far away from the firearm when it shot for the bullet to have passed through. The same went for the bullet lodged in his gut. It was fortunate that it was still there, for if it had actually passed through him, the miko would have most likely been dead.

A soft feminine moan of pain gained his attention and Shuusaka looked up from studying the thigh wound to Kagome who was pushing herself up. She reached out and clamped her hand over her bleeding thigh, drawing his eyes to her long lean legs. The flesh would be marred there with a scar, and for some reason this displeased him. He came up beside her and grasped her wrist. She looked up and met his eyes, which gazed back at her asking for her trust. Kagome nodded once, clenching her teeth to keep from crying out in pain. He pulled her hand away and gave her wound a closer inspection.

The injury was deep, and left a gash over four centimeters long mid-thigh. It was bleeding freely, and the thick red fluid streamed down her leg to drip on the ground. He kept his eyes trained on hers, and she watched him curiously, as he lowered his lips to the wound. Her big blue eyes widened with a hiss when he closed his mouth over the injury. She tasted like heaven. Her blood was strong and pure, full of her tingling miko power. It danced over his tongue and down his throat, pooling in his stomach with molten warmth.

Kagome looked down at the demon who was now suckling her flesh wound with his warm mouth. At first it hurt, really bad, when his lips closed on the stinging, burning injury. Now the pain seemed to be fading, and she sighed in relief just before his long, agile tongue took a slow lingering tour over the length of the wound. It almost tickled, and she couldn't believe this was happening. Sesshomaru was on his knees beside her, licking her wound, and he seemed to be enjoying it. His eyes were closed now, as if he were savoring the taste, and Kagome found herself feeling something completely unexpected in the crazy situation that they were now in.

A deep tingling warmth caressed the soft tissues of her inner womanly flesh. Each lap of his long tongue sent the most delicious heat coursing through her veins. Dear Kami above, he was turning her on! She fought the urge to pull away, to save herself the humiliation of letting him know how deeply the innocent caress was affecting her, but instead she forced herself to remain perfectly still. She had a very dangerous demon, with very sharp teeth, latched onto her thigh. Things could get much worse if she made the wrong move.

Oddly enough, the burning sting of the injury was disappearing fast. She cocked her head curiously to the side and watched his mouth, opened wide, and moving sensuously against the smooth, lightly tanned skin of her thigh. With his eyes shut, she was able to openly study his face. Over his eyelids he had a slim strip of crimson color, and before she could stop herself she reached out and traced the simple splash of red softly with the tip of her fingertip. The skin there was the softest she had ever felt, and his long dark eyelashes tickled against her fingertip,

She half expected him to jerk from her touch and give her a chastising scowl, but instead he seemed to relax even more, and slipped his tongue once again over the rapidly mending wound. Kagome knew that he was healing her. She could feel the flesh tickling and tingling as it repaired beneath his careful ministrations. There was no pain now, only the feel of his soft tongue lapping over her flesh.

When he released her, he met her eyes and Kagome gasped at the intense look. His golden irises were swimming unnaturally with a slowly spiraling stream of red, and the tips of his long sharp fangs hung down to brush over his pale bottom lip. A trickle of her blood traced a slow path down the corner of his mouth and Kagome reached out with her fingertips to wipe it away. He didn't move at all. He just sat there looking at her, burning her up with his eyes.

He then shifted away in one swift movement, and pulled his right leg up. That was when Kagome saw that he was injured. He was injured badly. There was blood on his back, and soaking down the gray of his shirt. There was another wound just above mid-calf. She quickly scooted over to him and he glared at her when she kneeled by his feet and reached out to touch the leg, hoping to get a look at the wound and assess the damage.

"The projectile is still imbedded in the wound, as is the one on my back," Sesshomaru said rather nonchalantly for a guy with several bullet holes in him. His voice was just a bit gravelly, and the long fangs distorted his words just a little.

"I'll have to remove them, but I don't have the stuff that I need to do it with here," Kagome said. "Let me take a look at it." He ignored her, making her ire rise, and then as if he knew that she was getting angry, he reached down and pulled the leg of his trousers up so that she could see the point of injury. For the time being, she ignored his highly defined muscles and focused on the small hole from which blood was continuing to flow.

Kagome, once more, reached out to touch the injury, needing to know how deeply the bullet resided, but came up short when the tiny entrance wound pulsed as if it were alive. "Ugh! What's happening?" She looked up to find Sesshomaru clenching his teeth and staring up at the sky. She looked back to the wound, which was now pulsing with a regular beat, and watched in gross fascination as the tiny projectile was forced from his body. It pushed through the opening, and fell to the ground. Before her eyes the wound closed and the skin smoothed over to perfection once again.

"Wow," Kagome breathed. "That's amazing."

"Hn," Sesshomaru grunted, but he was already concentrating on the bullet embedded in his gut. This one was taking much more effort to discard.

Kagome grew more concerned when she visibly witnessed signs of stress coming from the normally collected demon lord. His eyes were clamped shut and she was afraid his teeth might actually break from the pressure that he was putting on his angular jaw. Tiny beads of perspiration broke out over his forehead, and his fists remained clenched by his side.

Finally, when he slumped forward loose and relaxed, Kagome knew the bullet was out. She scurried around to his back and pulled the tattered shirt up to check the area. The hole in his back was beginning to seal, and there on the ground was the remains of the bullet that was, seconds before, lodged deeply in his body.

"I so wish that I could do that," Kagome whistled in appreciation. "That has got to be the most amazing thing that I've ever seen."

She tossed the bullet fragment aside and stood up, testing her own injury and finding no trace of it remaining. "You healed it completely! Thanks. That's great. You're like a traveling med center." Her bubbling laughter was full of nervous energy from the near brush with death. She couldn't believe how close they had come to getting killed.

"Those people are crazy, Sess... I mean, Shuusaka. They are really insane. You should have heard them praising their leader. Some guy they called Hotaka-sama. Kagome told him about the woman and what she said before he had arrived. Sesshomaru, though he was sitting still, allowing his wounds to heal, listened intently to everything she said. Finally he moved to pull himself up.

"They will be following soon. We should get cleaned up and be on our way." When he tried to put some weight on his right leg it was unnaturally shaky, leaving him to wonder if he could even walk. The limb was sluggish and lacking full feeling from his ankle to his upper hipbone. He was sure that it was the bullet from the wench's gun. From what the miko said, the female known as Juria, thought to overpower him somehow. Obviously the bullets were conditioned with a substance designed to enter his system causing severe paralysis. Probably the same serum used against him in the limousine.

He was lucky that it merely grazed him.

The first step that he took, went terribly wrong and he stumbled just a bit. The miko gasped and rushed to his side. She was hovering about like a worried mother hen and it was both irritating as well as endearing. Why he found it endearing he had no idea, but he really had more important things to consider at the moment. Like, how he was supposed to save them both when he could not even walk.

"What's wrong, Sess... sorry, Shuusaka? Do you need more time for the wounds to heal?" Kagome asked, and she bent down to take a look at the... completely healed flesh on his calf? She stood up and found him giving her a rather irritated look. Nothing new there.

"The problem comes from the shallow wound on my thigh. There is something strange that is impeding the healing of the wound. It has numbed the nerves in my muscles," Shuusaka replied. He tried to take another step, but found it nearly impossible to keep his balance. Not surprisingly the miko was quick to investigate.

Kagome knelt down and gently pulled back the torn cloth in order to take a look at the almost superficial wound. It was deep enough to hurt pretty bad, but not so deep that his youkai healing abilities shouldn't have repaired the damage by now. With her fingertips, she softly pushed at the flesh just around the wound. It was bleeding freely still, and that concerned her.

"It must be some sort of poison that was on the bullet. Smart," Kagome murmured, and Sesshomaru begrudgingly had to agree. A full hit by a bullet of that nature could render him helpless for a time. The ones who created it were not to be taken lightly, and the ones wielding that power even less.

"A formidable foe," Sesshomaru said in a deep rumble, as he looked off in the distance. How soon until they found them? Hours? Minutes?

Suddenly he felt a tingle from the miko's soft warm fingers. It was faint, but there nonetheless. The tickle of healing proceeded a rise in Kagome's powers, causing his own jaki to perk up instinctually. Kagome, amazingly, seemed not to notice, or at least she didn't care. That fact of course was a bit unsettling, for even now with his dark power swirling around her, she managed to brush him off as if he were of insignificant worth to merit her concern.

When she finished, she removed her hands and looked up at him with a stunning smile, and Sesshomaru knew that the image would forever be etched in his memory. With the cessation of her power flux, his own jaki receded and settled in his blood, joints, organ and bone. Kagome never once seemed to notice and she made no comment on it whatsoever.

"I can't completely reverse the effects of the drug without practice, but I was able to mend the wound by purifying some of the toxin. It's not bleeding anymore." She said cheerfully, and Sesshomaru finally pulled his eyes away from her to inspect her handiwork. As she said, the bleeding had ceased, leaving a healing scab and some sensation returning to his leg, although he wasn't exactly sure that he was appreciative of the now sensitive nerve endings, which were now stinging throughout his leg. He stepped forward, carefully testing his weight, and found that while there was more feeling than before, he still did not have full use of the limb.

Kagome, of course, had the perfect solution to his debilitating issue, by slithering beneath his arm and shoulder, in a pitiful attempt to assist his movements. Her vertically challenged form could not hope to be of much use, and her small firm warmth fitting so snugly against him was playing havoc with his senses. She smelled incredible, and he had to remind himself that they were currently in the midst of a life and death situation. Now was not the time to ponder his feelings on the miko.

"Woman, you try my patience," he said, in an attempt to remove her from his person, however, she ignored his complaint just as she ignored his flaring jaki. Instead of moving away, she wrapped her left arm around his middle, and looked up at his expectantly.

"Well, at least try," she said, in a tone that sounded a little like she was talking to an unruly child fighting the first taste of broccoli. It had the desired effect, however, because now he meant to prove his point. She, a mere mortal female, could not support his towering weight.

He put his foot out, slowly, giving her an opportunity to adjust to the awkward weight differential, and surprisingly he found that he underestimated her. Again. She was a strong little thing, beneath all of that creamy skin and fragile human bone. He took another step, hating the fact that he was reduced to such a demeaning situation, and silently renewing his vow to make those who have offended him pay with their lives.

Fortunately, the woman at his side was not one to take advantage of his weakened state, and though he did not know her as well as others, he did know her enough to feel assured that she would never use this moment against him. Kagome was an honorable woman, human, or no, that lived to help others, even a cold, calculating inuyoukai as himself.

Walking slowly alongside the handsome daiyoukai, Kagome was not as calm and collected as she was trying desperately to appear. In the back of her mind she worried, half expecting Juria and her rejects to drop in from magically appearing ropes in the sky to swipe their lives away like useless refuse. Strangely enough, that problem was shifting priority. Maybe it was the years of practice at being stalked by maniacal killers, but the feelings of self-preservation were taking a backseat to other, more personal, and highly uncomfortable feelings.

Feelings like the probing warmth that spread through her body at his touch. His tall form dwarfed her own, but it felt right. Beneath his shoulder she felt safety and comfort, but those were heavily laced with a heated sensation that swelled from the womanly region below her bellybutton. Great Kami, he was making her hot.

She looked into the forest ahead, and tried to redirect that train of thoughts and feelings by focusing her attention on the non-existent path ahead.

As much as she hoped he hadn't noticed, he had.

"Is something wrong, Kagome?"

The amusement, combined with the decrease in octaves, gave his voice such a deep intriguing timber that Kagome almost forgot to be upset. "No. Nothing's wrong," she replied as innocently as possible considering that the close proximity of his voice to her ear had only added to her discomfort by giving her a ridiculous bevy of goosebumps flooding over her skin.

He made no further comment, thankfully, but Kagome could have sworn that his grip on her was tighter than before. She had half expected to land in a heap when she tried to help him, and was actually pretty surprised when he allowed the contact. She figured it was nothing to do with her, and much to do with the enemy on their tails, but now she was beginning to wonder.

Memories of an inviting hardness pressed against her, inadvertently flooding her vision, and she cursed her potty mind. This wasn't helping at all. It seemed that her lack of any loving lately was messing with her good sense. Sesshomaru was an inuyoukai, after all, and she knew that he could smell the subtle changes of her body. It was pretty embarrassing to say the least.

At the renewed intensity of her hearty arousal, Sesshomaru was sorely tempted to insist that she remove herself from his person. The scent was proving to be more of a challenge than he ever anticipated, and he found himself in much the same state as he had when she was dreaming at the cabin. His centuries of reluctance to involve himself with any human female, was fast slipping away in a veil of useless resolutions. He actually began to generate arguments against his own morals, wondering what it was again that he hated so extensively about mortal females?

His father came to mind, and the Inu no Taisho's willingness to throw everything away for the sake of a human woman. At the time he had a considerably narrow minded view to the acceptance of a mortal as his father's replacement for his late mother. As most do in youth, he rebelled against his father's decision, un-accepting that a weak human woman could ever inspire the same rush of emotion in his great father that his own powerful youkai mother had. His father met his resistance with disappointed resignation, and never pressed him to accept the union even unto the day of his death.

His father left him to carry the burdens of a half-brother tainted with human blood, and a legacy of lands and holdings in turmoil. He met the challenge as befitting one of his standing, using his lingering anger to strike down the enemy with no remorse. In those days he made a name for himself as a ferocious and domineering ruler to be feared as much as respected. He plowed through human and youkai alike, seeking to increase his power and secure his role as supreme conqueror of Japan.

Fortunately, there were many factors that put a halt to his seething tirade. Being bested by the very hanyou that he despised, causing the loss of his left arm, was a rude awakening at best. Being on the receiving end of the Wind Scar, also gave him insight to his shortcomings. Were he truly invincible, he would not have been caught off guard by a sword wielding barbarian such as Inuyasha. Interesting what defeat can do to clear ones mind.

Perhaps the greatest factor in revealing the folly of his conquering path was the persistent presence of two particular human women. Kagome and Rin both gave him reason to pause, as he had never encountered such gentle and brave souls in all his days. Both were human, and both had proven many times over their unwavering loyalty and kindness. It gave him a sense of peace where his father was concerned, but still did nothing to waver his views on mating with a mortal.

Was he just being stubborn?

Perhaps. In the age of technology where youkai were on the verge of complete extinction, Sesshomaru had to wonder if his highly maintained views, were a withering waste of time. Had he spent centuries alone needlessly out of some stubborn resolve remaining from the days of his youth? Possibly.

"Are you feeling a little better?" Kagome softly asked, breaking his disturbing, yet somewhat enlightening, train of thought. It was then that he realized his leg was much improved, and he could, most likely, continue on his own.

"No," was his answer, which surprised him, as he could easily have rid himself of her burdensome contact. Instead he had deceived her in order to keep her close.

"Oh. Okay," Kagome replied. "Maybe it just takes a little time."

"Hn," he replied, as if it were no consequence. Why was he acting like a one hundred-year-old pup, instead of the one thousand-year-old demon that he was?

Mmmm... soft female....

"Your scent is not offensive to my nose," Sesshomaru said then, completely shocking Kagome out of her wayward thoughts. She turned to him in surprise, and was not expecting to find his face so close to her own. His eyes were amazing in the sunlight. They glimmered and sparkled with dozens of shades of gold. She was trapped there, in that gaze, faintly wondering at this new and improved Sesshomaru. "Um... thank you?" she whispered. She supposed that was as close to a compliment as she was going to get from him, so she accepted it in kind. That still didn't lessen the surprise his words brought, or the stirring of her insides as he gave her a look that hinted at a vulnerability she had never thought was there. His eyes were the clue to his emotions, and he guarded them well. Why was he opening the floodgates for her? It intrigued her, and scared the living daylights out of her.

In an attempt to bring an end to the awkward moment, Kagome presented her idea of where they could go. "I was thinking," she said, and had to stop and glare at him when he made an odd noise from his chest. "Anyway, as I was saying, I was thinking about somewhere that we can go. I have a friend that will help. We need clothes and food." At his raised brow, she changed her statement. "Fine. I need clothing and food. I also want to send word to my family that I'm okay. But the main reason is that he has a top of the line computer system and connections in places that might just help in our search for information on these people. I don't see him often, so maybe they wouldn't think to check there. Besides, it seems that nowhere that we go will be safe for long."

He didn't like the fact that her 'friend' was a man. There was no denying the sudden, and unwelcome, stab of jealousy at hearing her speak of another male so familiarly. His arm tightened a fraction around her small frame, and he had to force the growl down that elected to rise in his throat. It was ridiculous the way he was feeling about the woman, and it was un-nerving to find that his beast was growing increasingly possessive.

He wasn't sure if he agreed because he thought that it was, certainly, a good idea, or if he simply wanted to deny his own strange feelings and force the issue, as if it were of no consequence to him. Either way, he gave his answer. "We will seek this friend of yours."

Now completely irritated with himself for acting like a horny teenager, and not the intelligent, noble, human-wench-hating, inuyoukai that he was, Sesshomaru decided to distance himself from the thorn that had attached itself to his side; literally. "I do believe that the effects of the toxin have worn off now."

Kagome looked up from her intense study of the blue-green bush just ahead and a little to the right, with a surprised, and dare she say, disappointed, look on her face. She had just begun to relax into the whole touching Sesshomaru thing, and was kind of enjoying herself. Well, as long as she kept seventy percent of her mind focused on the flora in the near vicinity. It helped to keep her mind off of the fresh, masculine, scent of the mind bogglingly handsome demon lord wrapped around her like a warm toasty blanket of sexy man flesh.

'Dear Kami, my mind has completely fallen into the gutter,' Kagome inwardly groaned. When Sesshomaru pulled away from her, releasing what little weight that he had actually balanced against her, she forced herself not to miss his warmth. Even though it was probably the nicest walk that she ever had in her entire life, Kagome knew better than to fool herself. Just because Sesshomaru was now Shuusaka, who seemed to find her mildly attractive for whatever reason, it did not mean that it would go any further than that. His disdain against the mortal female ran Inuyasha deep, and the chances of him swaying from his high and mighty values were slim to none.

There was no use in going down that road again.

If she learned anything from the years of waiting around for Inuyasha to realize that he loved her, it was not to waste time and pain on futureless relationships. With a sigh, Kagome pushed the lingering cozy feeling from his warm strong body away and focused on transversing the terrain through the forest.

Just when she was feeling herself again, having finally lost that stupid fuzzy feeling and was thinking pretty clearly, Sesshomaru threw a wrench in her chain. "We will fly from here. My jaki is once more balanced."

Kagome wanted to cry at the injustice. 'Crap. That means more touching. Here we go again.'  

Juria continued her steady, pacing sprint through the forest in pursuit of her prey. Behind her were her three most trusted men. All lean, intelligent, killing machines. Men trained to hunt, track and subdue dangerous creatures of myth and legend. Three idiots that were gonna pay through the ass when she got them back to the base.

Three fucking sub-machine guns, and not one of those bumbling fools could bring down the God damned youkai. 'Hell, she thought angrily, 'I didn't do much better. Hotaka is gonna lay a fucking egg when he finds out that they escaped. Her legs moved with well-trained agility as she expertly maneuvered the rocky terrain. If they were unable to catch up with them by the time they hit the North Pass, she would be forced to call in the trucks. They should come out on the highway an additional thirteen miles from there. That of course was not an option, because if she had to abandon the search here, and take it to the city, Hotaka would have her ass in a sling. "Fuck," she breathed as she effortlessly leaped over a fallen log.  

A/N: Hehe! I'm on a roll! Woot! I had a dry spell, but things are looking up. Also, I will be doing some editing of the previous chapters in the next few days, so if you see Madman popping up several times on the main page, that's the reason. Thanks again, for your reviews. I really love to hear from you.