Against the Grain by Phirst

Something Hidden

Author's Note- This oneshot was created for the prompt 'Slippery' on Dokuga_Contest. It won first place. I've decided to go ahead and create another chapter story out of this (not that I need another since I have ENT and THYS to worry about). It'll be created using the oneshot prompts from Dokuga_Contest, so it should be updated every two weeks. Hope you enjoy! Pass me a note if anything needs correcting.

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There was an eerie chill to the dark air surrounding her. She could feel the way it encompassed her in its unforgiving embrace; felt the ghostly touch upon her skin that sent shivers skating up her spin. Here in the black moonless night, undeniably alone and inconceivably lost, she felt the first stirrings of fear. She would have laughed if her body would allow it. Now she felt true fear when not even a life threatening battle had been able to fully instill that same emotion into her.

...Kagome...

She jumped as something whispered her name dangerously close to her ear. Panic gripped her heart as a tingle ran through her body. A faint pink light engulfed her in a bristling aura. She was not alone.

"Who goes there?" Her strong voice rang out into the silence. She thanked the kamis that her voice had not revealed her fear by shaking. One of her hands reached for her bow; the same bow she had managed to lose at the beginning of her unplanned adventure.

Her inquiry was met with stark silence. How she wished she could see better in the dark. Maybe then she would know if it was just her imagination playing tricks on her, or if she truly was being stalked. The faint light given off by her glowing skin only helped in throwing darker shadows, allowing her imagination to fill her mind with possibilities of what could be out there. She shuffled forward and groped blindly in front of her, fingers stretched outward to give warning should she run into something. It was time to be on her way. Anything was better than standing in the dark waiting for things that went bump in the night. A deep laugh sounded behind her, sending her whirling around as her eyes went wide in hopes of seeing whatever laughed.

"The Miko of the Shikon, we meet at last. I have been searching some time for you. You are a very hard human to track." There was a surge of youki as the being unfurled his formerly suppressed demonic aura. "You are even harder to get near with so many powerful protectors, hidden and otherwise, keeping you safe."

A bright spark of light sent Kagome's hand to cover her eyes. She blinked furiously as her eyes adjusted to the intrusive glow illuminating the demon before her. Poor human eyes traversed over the unfamiliar being. The demon was a male nearly as tall as Sesshoumaru with inky black hair only a few inches shorter than the demon lords. He had the same aristocratic cast to his marked face; However, instead of a crescent moon his forehead bore a navy half circle while his high cheeks were slashed with a single thin purple stripe on each. Deep red eyes glittered at her from beneath dark lashes.

Kagome drew away from him. Her instincts screamed for her to flee, but her rational side knew that particular act would end in failure. There was no way in hell she would be able to out run anything in the pitch black of the night, let alone a demon with more strength and superior senses. At least she could not see a sword or other weapon upon his persons. The kami seemed to grant her small miracles.

"What do you want, demon?"

His lips cracked into a devilish smile. Kagome's aura crackled in alarm.

"I almost feel sorry for having to do what I must. Such a waste, but we can not allow history to repeat itself with our young lord. He will thank us once you are gone from this world." His face changed into a mask of wicked remorse. He stepped closer, but for every step he took forward Kagome took one back. Slowly the demon began to circle her; eyes watched her as she kept him from getting behind her. He was playing with her.

"If there would not be dangerous repercussions to myself I would almost be tempted to take you for my own." The demon halted in his slow moves as his eyes lingered over her tense form. "Such a pretty little thing with such untapped power. I see now why they fear you and what you could mean."

Kagome's face hardened. "Your own what, exactly?"

"Mate, of course. Alas, my leaders tremble at the thought of you and what you could give to our lord. They fear our lord will soon find what he searches for and finally be able to claim you."

"Who the hell are you talking about!?"

The demon ignored her as he continued his monologue.

"It is ironic how he has fallen into the very same trap he swore he never would. How cruel it must be to fall for the very creature one expresses so much hate for. Even worse must it be to fall for a human miko. The sworn nemesis. "

With a sudden burst of speed the demon was inches away, his sharply tipped fingers reaching to grasp her chin. A fierce burst of purity rebuffed his grasping claws before coming into contact with her skin. He snatched his burnt hand away, but another cruel smile alighted his face in amusement as his eyes returned to her.

"You have given me quite the challenge. It has taken me months of preparation to be able to reach you. I had to plan out every little detail and gather as much information as I could. Each of your protectors had to be lured away from you, and then I had to find a way to keep them distracted while I dealt with you. Your hidden suitor was the most difficult to distract. His devotion to your safety nears obsession." He took in the confusion on her face. "Do you not find it sad that you do not even know of whom I speak? Such a shame you shall never find out."

The light allowing Kagome to see went out, plunging her into the dark void of the nighttime forest.

"I shall enjoy killing you, Kagome. It has been some time since I have had the pleasure of killing a miko."

Something inside Kagome snapped. She was alone, in the middle of a darkly shrouded forest, with no weapons, and a demon sent to kill her. The miko fled. Her aura spread out around her as it reached beyond its normal boundary. It felt as if she had a new sense. The earth below her feet and the surrounding life felt as if it was a part of her. It was like seeing in the dark, but without the actual 'seeing' part. Instinctively she knew on what and where her feet trod. Uncertain steps became faster and confident as she sunk into her new, desperation gained ability.

'Maybe I should find more harrowing situation to get myself into. I seem to always gain a new ability.'

She still had no idea where she was, nor of where she was heading, but something tugged her to run forward. There was safety ahead, she could perceive it. The sudden sense of the demon's aura streaking towards her almost made her falter.

'Think, Kagome, think! How are you going to stop him once he reaches you?'

She was suddenly brought out of her internal thoughts when the demon slammed into the barrier she had manged to erect just before he reached her. A scent of charred flesh filled the air as the demon was rebounded from her shield. The force of impact jarred her sending her skidding to the ground; delicate skin shredded as she went.

"Such a divine scent, miko." His eyes shut as he inhaled a large breath of the air, committing the scent of Kagome's blood within his mind. "I look forward to tasting your essence." His lips tugged into their customary and sinister smile once again.

Adrenaline pumped into Kagome. It gave her the ability to return to her feet in one quick motion before she was once again running, unheeding of her injuries and loss of blood. Her legs pushed her forward as she focused on keeping her barrier up. The barrier was the only thing preventing her from being ripped to shreds.

Oh, how she wished she had pushed harder on the subject of being trained in self defense. She was too dependent on the protection of others. She stood no chance once stripped of her friends and her bow. The only thing that remained was her tenuous grasp on her miko powers. More often then not she stumbled onto her abilities with no real clue on how to control what her wild powers did. It would be nice, if for once, she understood exactly what she could do. Unless her friends miraculously appeared, she knew she would not last.

The demon ran straight into her barrier once more. Her steps faltered as her right leg gave out from underneath her. She hit the ground with a painful thud, rolling with the momentum of her fall. The forest floor below her sloped at a dangerous level, extending her fall far longer then if she had landed on flat ground. A scream escaped her as she felt the earth drop from beneath her. Her left arm shot out, barely managing to grasp the ledge of the cliff she had rolled over. There was a vicious pop in her shoulder, but she held on with everything she had left.

Blazing red eyes peered down at her as the demon crouched above her, sinister smile triumphant as he watched her struggle to maintain her weakening grip. "It is not so far to drop, miko. At least not for a demon."

He laughed as he watched her grasp become more slippery as blood seeped from her finger tips and onto the rock below her hold.

"Goodbye, Kagome."

One of his hands hovered above her faintly glowing one as if to offer her assistance. With bone shattering percision, he brought it down upon her tensed hand. A blood curdling scream shattered the quiet forest as listless fingers slipped from their bloody hold. Her eyes closed tightly as tears filled her eyes.

'I didn't even get to say goodbye to everyone.'

Kagome waited for the inevitable pain of impact as the faces of those she loved passed behind her lids. She still had so much to do. There were still so many things she wanted to experience.

Gradually she felt herself stop her decent. Hard, warm, masculine arms wrapped around her curled frame. She felt herself drawn into a broad chest, drawing a whimper of pain as fresh injuries were pressed.

'They came for me...'

"Kagome."

Startled eyes looked up into the stoic face of Sesshoumaru. She expected to see the placid gold of his eyes, but instead she was trapped within the fiery gaze of gold swirled with red. The sheer amount of emotions present within his gaze nearly stunned her. He broke the trance with a quick blink of his eyes. She looked down.

"Can you stand?"

"I... I think so."

"Prepare yourself."

She watched as the cloud below them dissipated revealing solid ground beneath. His grip on her changed allowing her to tentatively stretch her legs below her. He steadied her, but did not release her from his hold.

"You will stay here until I return."

She reached out her only good hand towards him, fisting a handful of silk and tugging before he could leave.

"Thank you, Sesshoumaru."

He stared at her a moment, incomprehensible emotion flashing in his normally flat eyes. She almost thought she saw worry, but there was one emotion she could readily recognize. There was rage in his eyes. Her brows drew down into a frown. There was far too much emotions rolling off the normally unemotional demon. Something was terribly wrong.

"What are you going to do?"

He looked away from her as he glanced up to where she had fallen from. She watched as his eyes hardened into the flat gold she was so familiar with. It was even scarier now after seeing his unmasked eyes. Someone was about to die.

"Hunt."

~-~

She was alone again. Alone and surrounded by the hideous sounds of something dieing. She had felt the incredible amount of power that had been released. Kagome knew what it meant. Sesshoumaru had transformed and it seemed her tormentor had as well if the other, smaller, flare of power was any indication.

Kagome bite her lip in pain as another wave of burning agony coursed through her entire body. Now that the adrenalin had left she could feel every torn piece of skin and all the bruised tissue spanning her body. Strangely enough she had not started crying, she was just too tired. Mostly, though, she felt the shattered bones in her hand. There was no doubt in her mind that her hand was broken. She feared to look at it and view the damage done. Instead she cradled it within her curled form as if to protect it from further injury. All she wanted to do at this point was close her eyes and forget this nightmare. She was exhausted, but feared falling asleep before Sesshoumaru returned. The noise did not help either in her wish to fall into blissful unconsciousness.

"Kagome."

Her eyes snapped to the side where Sesshouamru appeared. There was a strange glow surrounding him, like he was the moon on this moonless night. She watched him in fascination as he slowly approached her.

'Pretty,' her mind whispered in her pain filled haze.

Blood speckled across his armor and clothing. Oddly enough his hair and skin remained unsoiled. He reached out a hand towards her beckoning her to stand.

"It hurts."

Kagome nearly giggled in her delirious state as she watched the lord struggle with something internally. Finally, he came to a decision. He swooped down and carefully brought her into his arms. His careful movements where gentle as he tried not to jostle her numerous injuries.

"It's because of you, isn't it?" Kagome paused a moment. "The reason he came here to kill me?"

A soft light started growing around them as she stared up into his golden eyes. She saw remorse deep within his ancient eyes and a little disgust. The illumination grew to a greater degree, cocooning their forms with swirling lights. It reminded her of the time she had watched Sesshoumaru leave in his little light ball.

"Yes," he whispered as her eyes shut against the light.