InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Dark Hour: Resurrection ❯ Red Flag ( Chapter 3 )

~Ch. 3~

 

Red Flag…

 

 

 

**

It was the same field, same day, same house, same monsters fighting, but…something was different.

 

She didn't know what it was; Naraku was coming after her, his red eyes gleaming madly at her. It seemed as if everything was going in slow motion, as though the world were immersed in water.

 

She looked over and Sesshomaru should have been there but he wasn't.

 

“This isn't right,” she mumbled, her gaze returning to the giant spider advancing on her menacingly. But even as her gaze settled on him, he disappeared before her very eyes. The world itself was melting away like a burned out candle. The vivid colors all blended together until all that was left was a viscous, undulating blackness.

 

She whirled around, trying to find a slither of daylight.

 

“This is a dream, silly girl.”

 

The voice was nowhere and everywhere at once. It seemed to be a palpable thing, slithering over her skin like a thousand little leeches. She shivered and took a step back. The blackness enveloped her foot and she screamed.

 

“You are not as indomitable as I was led to believe.”

 

She glanced around fearfully, searching for the face to match with the voice. It was strange and sexless, an underlying taunting edge clearly discernible.

 

“Who are you?”

 

A teasing laughter echoed around her. “No need to know that just yet. I want to stretch this out just a little longer…It's not your time.”

**

 

Kagome woke in cold sweat. For a moment, she had a terrifying feeling that she was still dreaming, surrounded by an oozing blackness and a faceless voice. She looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she was, indeed, awake.

 

She was in bed and the space next to her was, of course, empty.

 

She reluctantly threw her legs over the edge of the bed and padded over to the closet. She slipped into a white silk robe and knotted it tight as she headed for the kitchen. It would be virtually impossible for her to go back to sleep now.

 

As she set about brewing a pot of coffee, Kagome couldn't help dwelling on the strange dream. She kept telling herself it was nothing more than that, but it still left her feeling odd, unsettled.

 

She pulled the robe tighter around her and glanced at the glowing green numbers on the microwave. It was only two-thirty. It would be hours yet before Sesshomaru came home. She frowned, retrieving a black and white checkered coffee mug from one of the cabinets.

 

They'd been married for more than a year and Sesshomaru still didn't feel comfortable being around her when he was in his “altered” state. He still left while she was asleep and returned promptly by sunrise. He never explained where he went or what he did and Kagome knew better than to ask. As curious as she was to know where he went during his transformation, she knew when to force the issue and when to leave it alone.

 

Strangely enough, a part of her preferred not to delve too deeply. She knew his inner demon was intrinsic to who he was, but it still scared her on some level. She loved him with everything in her being, but that side of him scared her.

 

Kagome poured the dark liquid into the cup and added a healthy dose of sugar and a dollop of fresh cream. She took the coffee and walked out into the hallway to the living room. She stretched out on the plush, white suede couch and sipped the coffee thoughtfully.

 

She wished there were someone she could talk to. She couldn't talk to Onigumo because he was all the way on the other side of the world and she could pretty much guess what he'd tell her: talk to Sesshomaru. That was something she couldn't do.

 

There was always Sango, her best friend, but…

 

Kagome sighed, taking another sip of coffee. No, this whole demon thing was something that Sango would find really, really, really hard to accept. So that left no one, just herself to confide in, and frankly, she was driving herself crazy.

 

She would deal with these feelings, however. Kagome had never let anything get in her way, including demons that had tried to kill her. She was now an Iakouy, for better or worse.

 

A smile crept over her lips when she thought about how Sesshomaru had kept her occupied for a better part of the night.

 

Definitely for the better.

 

~~~~~~~

 

Sunrise was not far off. He could feel it, every nerve in his body tuned to that one moment when the golden edges would peek just over the horizon. For now, the world was gray and quiet, no longer full night but not quite morning, either.

 

Sesshomaru crouched on the ledge of a tall skyscraper, unable to move. It was always like this, as if while in his demon state his body was somehow beyond his control.

 

That's what was starting to bother him.

 

He had only noticed it recently, recently meaning since he'd met Kagome. It hadn't been a sudden change, more like a gradual shift. His lack of control when in his demon form only seemed to get worse after they'd married. It wouldn't be such a concern if the urges he got weren't so…disturbing.

 

His gaze shifted as he sniffed the air. It wasn't long now before the first tinges of daylight seeped into the gray sky. He rose in one fluid motion and took off, gracefully navigating the buildings with exact precision.

 

The urges he got were like flashes, gone before he could actually act upon them. Despite this, they were getting harder and harder to ignore.

 

The world flew by in a blur as he raced towards the beckoning sight of the Crowne Plaza. His thoughts turned to Kagome and that sent his already heated blood boiling. He grit his teeth and pushed himself faster. An image of Kagome's naked body writhing beneath him almost made him falter. He should have been eager as hell to get back to his wife and spend half the day making love to her, but he found himself more than a little reluctant.

 

It wasn't because he didn't want to. It was because it was all he wanted to do.

 

Every time he set eyes on Kagome, his skin would heat and he'd have the insane urge to touch her, kiss her, anything to maintain some sort of contact. He wanted her every minute of the day and sometimes he'd find it hard to focus.

 

Being intensely attracted to Kagome was nothing new; hell, from the first moment he'd met her he'd felt it, but this was different. It was if something were making him do it, instilling in him this mad need for her.

 

Sesshomaru frowned, a growl low in his throat. Normal men would rejoice at having such a strong sexual appetite, but therein lay the problem. He wasn't normal. And he was pretty sure normal men didn't fantasize about ripping out their wives' throats while fucking them.

 

He'd wanted to so badly when he'd had her shoved up against the wall, thrusting into her tight heat. The thought of tearing into that tender flesh and feeling her warm, sweet blood spilling into his mouth had been so compelling that he'd almost given in, despite the fact that he hadn't even been in his demon form. A voice had whispered that it would feel so good to rip into her throat while coming deep inside her.

 

Sesshomaru lit upon the balcony leading into the suite and stood in front of the French doors, not ready to go in. As much as he didn't trust himself while human, he definitely didn't trust himself while in demon form. He knew with a sickening certainty that he'd never be able to hold back if he were hit with a sudden impulse to do as he'd fantasized.

 

He felt a prickling wash over him and knew that he'd reverted back to his human form. He still made no move to go inside, to seek the comfort of Kagome's warm, inviting body.

 

How could he look into her loving, trusting gaze and make love to her with such tenderness while visions of violence and death danced through his head?

 

~~~~~~

 

Kagome was having a very strange dream involving a penguin and a football team when she realized that the ringing she heard wasn't part of the dream. She came to slowly, squinting against the piercing sunlight that streamed into the living room. She frowned, both due to the sharp pain in her back from falling asleep on the couch and because she realized Sesshomaru either hadn't come back or had come back and left without waking her.

 

The ringing she'd heard in her dream interrupted her thoughts and she sat up, reaching for the cordless phone on the end table.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Good morning, Kag. Miss your bowl of cheerful, did you?”

 

Kagome was instantly chastened when she realized how grumpy she sounded. “Sorry, Miroku. I just have a slight headache, that's all.” She didn't feel bad about the small white lie. She couldn't very well tell him that she'd gotten a crick in her back while waiting for her demon husband to arrive back from wherever the hell he went every night.

 

Yeah, that wouldn't raise too many questions.

 

“What's up?”

 

“Well, I was calling about the request you made yesterday.”

 

Kagome suddenly brightened, sitting up straighter. “And?” She prompted excitedly, her eyes shining. Miroku's laugh was deep and teasing. “You know, I just realized that you haven't even asked what I've been up to while you were off in New York.”

 

Kagome sighed in exasperation. “Miroku, stop stalling and tell me the news. Did you get me in or what?”

 

After a dramatic pause, he answered, “Of course I did. You're not dealing with an amateur, you know.”

 

Kagome broke into a big grin. “Oh, Miroku, you're the best!” She exclaimed. She was so thrilled that she could barely restrain herself from jumping up and down. Miroku had managed to get her into the most prestigious event known to the business world, the annual International Business Conference. Only the most brilliant, successful business minds in the world attended and only a select few of the media were allowed entrance. Well-known media personalities and reporters from the most established newspapers were normally the chosen few, but somehow Miroku had done the impossible.

 

Kagome could have taken advantage of Onigumo's invitation, but she'd declined, not wanting to take advantage of the Iakouy name. She'd told Miroku to use her last name instead of Iakouy.

 

“How did you do it?” She wondered what kind of strings he'd had to pull to get her an invite.

 

“Actually, it wasn't that hard,” Miroku said with a touch of reproof. “I've always known what a brilliant reporter you are, Kagome. Since the series of pieces you did on Naraku Iakouy exposing his dirty deeds, the rest of the world knows what a force you are to be reckoned with. The only thing I had to do was promise you wouldn't be doing any exposes on the attendees and devote two full pages to the event itself.”

 

Kagome laughed. “So my stellar reputation didn't carry that much weight, huh?”

 

“It really does,” Miroku said, all seriousness. “I'm proud of you and happy to see that you're finally getting the recognition you deserve.” Kagome had to smile at Miroku's heartfelt honesty. “Thanks, Miroku.”

 

“No problem! Now, I've got to go, but remember the conference is in a week so you might want to start preparing now. Since you haven't told me your real reason for wanting to attend, I'll assume it has something to do with a big story so if you need help researching any of the attendees, let me know.”

 

“I thought you promised no exposes?” She teased. Miroku let out a chuckle. “You know loyalty to reporting always comes first.”

 

They chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up. Kagome's earlier annoyance at having been ignored by her husband was forgotten. The prospect of possibly interviewing the most renowned CEO to come along in quite some time put her in a forgiving mood.

 

She'd been researching the CEO of GenetiTech for a while, ever since winning the Pulitzer Prize. She'd set her goals high, making it her mission to top the award-winning expose on Naraku.

 

And what better way to do that than a profile on notoriously reclusive business whiz Tamon Takeuchi?