InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Of Fur and Musk ❯ Chapter 1

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: It blows big monkey chunks but nope I don't own any part of the manga or anime of Inu Yasha.

A/N: Hmmm, I'm sorry to have disappointed so many willing readers. While I would gladly throw myself down and worship the ground that Sesshoumaru and InuYasha walk upon this fic is not dedicated to their hawtness. Morwen_re gets the cookie for guessing right. *passes Morwn_re a big plate of double chocolate chip cookies*. This story is dedicated to the sexiness that is known as Kouga. For any who are in doubt check the links below, these artists have done a wonderful job in capturing the drool quality of the Wolf Prince. But do not despair, the Inu-brothers will be showing their silvery heads a bit later.
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/38715973/?qo=77&q=Kouga
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/24588717/?qo=606&q=Kouga
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/16583251/


Chapter One-


It'd been so long since he'd last enjoyed the scent of her skin that he'd almost forgotten just how potent and soothing it was on his senses. It'd all but hit him square between the eyes when he'd caught just that little bit of heaven clinging to those three girls, she'd always smelled like the mornings and sweet innocence. Not the mornings of now but those of long ago, of the Sengoku Jidai. Was this really where she'd been all this time? Was this where the Bone Eaters Well had spit her out and locked her away from him and all those that had cared for her back then? It was a small hope, kindled and stoked further by the beginning utterance of that damnable mutts name. It just had to be his Kagome, there were just too many coincidences to account for.

He'd manage to not rip open the envelope the moment he'd snatched it out of Alice's hands, had managed to keep his composure though his curiosity was more than piqued, it was like a flea biting in a spot he just couldn't reach. And he was very desperate to scratch, this would be an unexpected pleasure, one he well couldn't afford to passover. As soon as the door to his private office was closed he'd brought the plain manilla envelope to his nose, the nostrils flaring delicately to see if he could again taste that sweetness on his tongue for but another moment, even if only fleetingly. A low guttural growl of frustration issued from deep within his chest, raised his ire and the small hairs at the back of his neck as he detected nothing, not even a lingering essence. A sharp flick of his tail and he strode across the room toward his desk, his steps carrying some weight causing the leather of his highly polished shoes to creek in his passing. It spoke volumes of his levels of agitation, for he normally made no sound at all, what a human gesture he almost smirked to himself.

Swiveling around in his high back leather chair he opened the envelop and spilled the contents across the flawless surface of his large mahogany desk, the wood so dark a grain that it appeared almost black to the untrained eye. He almost barked a laugh at the picture that lay at the top of the pile, he'd heard the secretary's words that this man could even be considered close to himself. Holding the photo between carefully poised clawed fingers an arrogant smile curled the edges of his mouth at the sight. Indeed this Atsusa could have been one of his pups by the looks of him. The man was lean and muscular, long dark hair and even possessed of that cocky grin that he himself was well known for. But the boy was only ningen, not a full blooded youkai, not even so much as a hanyou. So this simply wasn't good enough, not for his Kagome.

And just as his thoughts sank further toward all the ways he could greet her he spotted the small photo the girls had provided of his prey and there was no mistaking the dark hair, the rich chocolate colored eyes, the soft lips and creamy skin. It sent a rush of heat to his groin, made his heart pull in an all to familiar pantomime and set his mind to race ahead to what he would do to her once he got his hands on her. It was indeed the miko, yes, this was a pleasure he wasn't inclined to deny himself or her for that matter. All the other paperwork was meaningless as he held the photo aloft, lamenting the fact that it was only a head shot and nothing more. He'd missed the sight of those shapely legs an ankles in the too short contraption she used to wear.

Three days, thats all the stood between him and his Kagome, just three more days out of a couple hundred years.

* * *

It'd taken her forever and a day to get rid of them, she'd been adamant about not celebrating another passing year. Another day that only reminded her of what was lost to her, three years to the day since she'd first fallen into the Well and thrust into an uncertain destiny. She'd had almost three years of carefully balanced bliss dancing upon the edge of a knife with her companions, years of hardships that had etched her into the woman she was now. All the bad riddled with all the good that she'd wrought and the happiness she'd had in simply being close to InuYasha and the others. Her heart still ached, still felt heavy and yet empty all in the same breath because a single day had destroyed it all. It only took one moment, one folly to topple the whole set of dominos and bring about her ruin. One blasted moment of uncertainty and pain to make her fall to her knees and wish for death.

She pushed back the tears and the memories threatening to claim all her senses as it'd so often done these days, it'd only been two months since that ill fated day. Grabbing for the pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream and a rather large slice of birthday cake Kagome forced all those dark images back into the little box deep within her. A single tear managed to slip past her defenses and slide lazily down her cheek as she set the plate and the pint onto the counter in her small kitchen. With the back of a hand she wiped at it almost angrily, silently chiding herself for being no better than the girl she used to be. She wasn't going to let her depression, her grief consume her, she was a lot stronger than that. Hell, she'd fought demons and actually killed, she was strong, she just had to remember what that courage felt like. The silver haired hanyou's image floated up through her memories, his smile warm, his golden eyes shining with happiness at seeing her. He'd been her strength, or at least part of it, he'd been the pillar she'd lent upon. And now, now that she had to learn to stand on her own two feet she wasn't so certain she wasn't going to crumble away to dust.

"InuYasha," the word was little more than a whisper uttered between tight lips, barely registered as a pain shot through her chest, lanced straight through her heart and swept outward in waves of desolation. Like a pebble dropped into still waters the power rippled and spread out from her, cascading out and out. It was carried along with a power she'd forgotten existed, and her mind was too numb to register the all too familiar feel behind it. To set upon her own thoughts to even wonder at the tiny burst of heart centered in her heart where an extra pulse had been added to the beating of her own.

"Stop it, stop it, Kagome," she spoke softly reaching for the fork and taking a rather sizeable bite of chocolate cake. There was nothing better than drowning your sorrows in chocolate and that was exactly what she was intending to do. She closed her eyes, let the rich flavor of dark chocolate, so thick and slightly bitter rest on her tongue and then slide down her throat washing away any other sense but the divine enjoyment of decadent indulgence. This she could get into, she smiled brighter as she dove into the ice cream, added the flavor of mint and the coolness of the cream to the already glutinous delights dancing across her palate. Mmmmm, heaven.


* * *

He'd raised his hand to knock on the door, but then something swept over his body, a pulse of energy that called to him. He knew this call, he knew the delicate taste of that whispering energy like the caress of a lover. It was the Shikon no Tama, it was a sensation he knew intimately well having been in possession of two shards within his legs for such a long time. He'd fought tooth and nail to keep them out of Naraku's grasps but in the end all his effort hadn't made one bit of difference. But to feel it now was a bit confusing, for surely it could not have still existed. They'd all assumed she'd made her wish and the jewel had vanished, but that wasn't right, with a certainty he was keenly aware of he knew first hand now that that was not even remotely true. This might complicate matters, he looked down the hallway of her apartment building first right and then left wondering just how far the awakening had been felt. It raised the tiny hair across his arms and send a quiet shudder down his spine.

Whatever happened though, she could handle it, she was the protector of the jewel and quite capable of holding her own. Pushing his worries to the side he breathed in deeply, catching her unearthly scent drifting from under the door, it was mixed with sorrow and comfort and all the elements that surrounded her. It sang like a siren's song begging for his attention bidding him enter and finally to know some peace, it made him drunk with each inhale but his mind was focused on his goal... on his prey. Cool and collected he adjusted the brim of his hat, positioning it down to cast his face into shadow and conceal his identity for the moment. The game was about to begin and it sent a thrill of anticipation through him in hot rolling waves. It'd been a while since the excitement of a conquest was upon him, since any one woman had caught his eyes truly other than for a rutting. Oh, there would be that, but he was going to take everything she'd be willing to give, even if he had to persuade her to do it. No more hesitations this time, no mutt to get in his way, no need to stand in the background and adore from a distance, though she'd always known his affections. Once more he raised a hand to the door...

* * *

The knocking startled her out of whatever daydream she'd fallen into, images of silver haired hanyous had been running through her mind as she mulled over her ice cream and cake. A deep frown creased her lips as she looked across her small apartment toward the door. If Ayumi, Yuka and Eri had come back she was gonna kill them. She debated ignoring the damn thing in favor of moving into the living room and immersing herself in the movie she'd rented, some sappy bit of fluffy girlie flick she couldn't remember the name to, it would be good for a decent cry and allow her to forget. But just as she'd taken a step the knock came again, this time a little more insistent. With a deep sigh she crossed the floor heading for the door, completely forgetting the fact that she was only in a t-shirt that came only to midway up her thighs and a pair of white cotton panties beneath.

"Go away," she yelled at the door, vainly hoping that who ever was there would be intimidated into leaving with the irritation in her voice, "I don't want anymore visitors tonight." She purposefully shuffled her feet and made noise to hint further at her agitations about being disturbed. She was half tempted to pick up the nearest item and toss it unscrupulously at said door. She stopped just a mere foot away, eyes darting down to watch the shadow beneath the door. It never moved or shifted, so maybe she'd just imagined someone was there. Her mind oft did run away with her in times of distress. A soft bubble of nervous laughter left her lips at the pure and simple silliness of it all.

Blessed silence, it hung heavy in the air but it soon was shattered and the knock came again. She was quickly getting beyond even her point of patience as she stomped the rest of the short distance and yanked open the door, her mouth opening to give a proper tongue lashing to whomever was on the opposite side of that fragile portal. But her voice caught in her throat and a pink flush quickly set to her cheeks as she smiled apologetically at the officer standing just beyond her door. What the hell was a policeman doing at her residence at this time of night she wondered. "Umm," she stammered, her tongue suddenly glued to the roof of her mouth. She ran a hand back through her hair in a nervous gesture another bubble of laughter leaving her lips before she managed to find her voice once more, "w..what can I do for you officer?".

The man shifted his weight, his hands hooked into the belt at his slender waist, all composure and quiet resolve as he drew his gaze unknowingly across the sight of the miko. A sudden heat went searing through his groin at the mere vision of her, so scantily clothed, so sweetly naive with the gentle flush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. He knew she'd caught herself before she'd exploded on whomever was apparently enough of a git to bother her at this hour. He let a faint smile touch his lips but it was so faint that you would have had to really look to see it as he cleared his throat and tried to make his voice sound flatter than usual, as not to give away his game. It would be over if she recognized the low growl of his usual cadence, at the least the enjoyment of what he had planned would be.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," he managed to reply in a slow silken drawl, "routine check, you mind if I come in for a second. I'd rather not discuss private matters out here in the hallway." All gentleman, his voice was friendly and warm, just another mask, another means to an end. Now to see if she would take the bait, but then he knew she would, she was kind-hearted and had so much faith in her fellow man. And after all he was a servant of the justice system, here to serve and protect the people. It'd been the perfect disguise, not to mention a lot of women really did enjoy men in uniform.

"Umm.." she began to stammer once more, her mind quickly catching up to her eyes and the present sense of time. Okay, baka, let the nice Officer in now. "Sure thing," another smile greeted the man though this time there was nothing false about its nature as she held the door open for him a hand raised in a sweeping gesture of welcome. She continued to stand partly in the door so that when he went to pass her his shoulder brushed against her own body, sending a fine line of electricity between them. Another soft blush had quickly spread to her cheeks at the contact as she quickly closed the door and tried to put some distance between her and the man. What the hell is wrong with me lately? She rubbed her hands up her arms trying to dissuade the goosebumps that were rising across her flesh at the simple contact.

Another faint smile graced his lips when he knew she wasn't looking, when she'd turned her back on him and moved further into the room toward the kitchen. He lost himself momentarily in simply watching the gentle sway of her hips and her firm behind as she walked. The mix of soft lighting and his own eagle sharp eyes gave him the outline of her genteel form through the white shirt. His eyes trailed her movements as she turned and leaned against the counter promptly taking up a fork and savoring a bit of cake. She wasn't giving him her full attention, she'd let her guards down. Sloppy, he thought to himself, in the past she would have sensed his aura the moment he'd entered the building. Now, now she seemed to not even have bothered to keep the alertness that had been drilled into her with so many years of combat and running from one tiny death to the next. He liked it better this way, it gave him the element of surprise after all.

"Excuse me," she remembered herself swallowing down the sweetness on her tongue and brought her clear blue eyes to watch the man as he looked about her dwelling. His movements were slow, deliberate and non-threatening as he moved to stand between the kitchen and the front door. "What did you need, Officer?" she asked in a polite manner coming to stand on her feet and not look so frumpy hunched over her tempting indulgences. Absently she ran a hand through her dark lockes wondering at the mess she must appear, her self conscious nature rearing its ugly head. Worrying at her lower lip she waited patiently, or at the least as patiently as she could manage, for him to respond. Maybe she should offer him some cake, she half turned toward the other counter where it lay in a medium sized glass container. Manners first, she chided herself flashing the man another faintly embarrassed smile, "Would you like a piece of cake, Officer.....?" She inclined her head to the side slightly, she had failed to get his name. Since when had she grown so careless?

"No thank you, ma'am," he brought up a hand to wave off the offer as she turned away from him again busying herself with something or other. The soft chink of dishware filled his ears along with her subtle movements about her kitchen, each and every gesture giving way to the unease she was feeling. Little did she know, her discomfort was only beginning. "I've been sent out to warn people about a sexual predator in the local area targeting young women much like yourself," his voice was nonchalant, even casual in its blunt straight to the facts type of manner.

A lump had suddenly wedged itself into her throat at his chilling words, she coughed and sputtered for breath as the full reality of them sank into her mind. Rushing to the sink she filled a glass with water and downed the mildly chilled fluid to ease the strain and sudden dryness in her own mouth. After another half glass she managed to find her voice, turning wide and frightened eyes to the cop now standing just a foot from the entrance of her kitchen. "H. Hopefully you have some idea who he is right?." A soft tremble ran through her body, a fine line of fear that such a thing could even be possible in her apartment building.

Her fear was like a fine wine coating his tongue and sending a thrill of excitement through his own body, but unlike her he'd manage to keep the shiver from coursing through his body so openly. Breathing in deeply he suppressed the growl building deep in his throat, control, he needed control his youkai was hovering just beneath the surface calling for him to begin his chase, to further the hunt and make the prey run fleeing with terror. Her breasts were rising and falling more rapidly now as she tried to remember how to breath again and he could see the tiny pebbles of her nipples straining against the material of her night clothes. She was faintly excited, so some part of her remembered what it was like to feel the anxiety being faced with the unknown and the horrific. It flamed his own arousal, burned across his skin with a mixed need for sex and the pangs of hunger. The intoxicating dismay was a heady lure, it spoke to him of warm flesh, juicy meat to be eaten and devoured, to be ripped asunder with claws and teeth. Forcing his youkai down he concentrated on pulling her own scents around him like a security blanket, pulling him mind away from the idea that she would be food. His Kagome was never to be that. The brisk scent of morning dew and soft breezes soothed that depraved part of his ego and brought his mind clear once more.

As if in slow motion she turned fully to him, watched with morbid fascination as he tilted his head just the tiniest bit up toward the light and brought into view the brilliantly dazzling smile that drew his lips wide and exposed the perfectly white teeth. It was a devilish grin, filled with some dark amusement that she didn't seem to understand. "Oh yes, ma'am," his voice was slightly mocking, the slow drawl melting away into a low and purring growl, "It's ME." Her heart skipped a beat sent a sharp stabbing of pain lancing up along her arm. She couldn't breath, she couldn't think past the fear threatening to choke the life out of her. Adrenaline alone carried her to the sink and grasped the nearest weapon she could find, a sharpened butcher knife. All conscious thought had fled, giving her only instinct to run upon as the energies in her own body responded also to the direness of her dilemma. The blade began to glow with a soft pink light, the scent of purification filling the air around her with its deadly promise.

He'd anticipated her react even before he'd thought of just the right way to goad her into a state of panic. Which made his next motion and words all the more startling to the poor confused woman. His fingers danced across the brim of his hat, nimble fingers gently pushing it back and away as he inclined the rest of his face to the light. The disarming grin had never faltered and it only seemed to match the mischief clear and present in his deep blue eyes as he tossed the hat off of to the side. A halo of dark hair cascaded down around his handsome face, gently wisps floating down over strong shoulders, moving as if they had a mind all their own. His stance was relaxed despite the murderous glare in the miko's eyes.

His voice was a low masculine purr holding an edge of a laugh, "So... Kagome." A husky chuckle escaped his lips then as the woman wavered on her feet, her body held still, unable to take the next steps that might have saved her very life. " You ready to be my woman?"

It'd all been too much on her system, her heart a thundering symphony on the verge of stuttering to a stop, the blood pulsing in her ears and the lack of air as she tried to breath around the mind numbing panic. But that voice, those words, they'd stopped it all, had thrown her over into the abyss and down headlong into the darkness that had been curling up around the edges of her vision. Somehow she'd manage to throw the knife to the side before collapsing to the floor, it would have just been her day to fall upon it, to kill herself over something so pathetically simplistic. That was life for you, full of unexpected twists and turns but she neither heard nor cared as sleep sucked her down into rapturous nothingness.

A/N: WTF? Went to revise something and the whole chapter got eaten. Sorry I haven't updated yet people, want to get it just right.