Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I profit from my writings. Inuyasha and all other characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 1: Ignored
The rattling chains around her heart gripped tighter than yesterday as her heart pumped away into self-destruction. Every day it was a fighting desperation for him to get to notice her. The blunt metal was slowly crushing her heart, pulled by the one she thought to be her first and only love.
She lashed out, yelled at him, quieted down, relaxed, gave him space, and still, he would not understand that she needed him to pay attention to her. She tried to explain it to him in many ways, giving him examples, asking his opinion, listening, talking, almost resorting to graphic demonstrations, but still, he would not give her the time of day.
And now, she was tired.
She was tired of being ignored, of being consumed by the selfish ways he treated her, of being beat up emotionally to a pulp with his sudden attentiveness then complete rejection.
She did not quite understand. How come one moment he was saving her and protecting her, then the next, he was up on a tree, refusing to talk to her, or gone in the middle of the night to meet with someone else.
Someone else…
She would have been delirious to believe she would ever have him. A male that had the chance to pick between two fine options, and she did come to accept that the other woman was not a bad choice, would always be indecisive. But she hoped… She hoped one day she would wake up to find him head over heels in love with her; to find him finally admitting that she was the better of the two.
So this hope – well, let’s just say that this hope was causing her slow death.
Stab after stab, she felt her heart being perforated, the streams of blood pouring out of her thus leaving her to feel numb whenever the anger receded. Her nerves were shattered; everything made her furious in an instant though, igniting like gunpowder on a sunny day under a magnifier. She would scream till her lungs hurt, knowing herself to be acting wrong yet unable to take control of her thoughts or actions. She was turning suicidal, offensive, and quite a nuisance. And she hated herself.
She hated every fiber of her being. She hated the blood that cursed through her veins, her weaknesses, her untrained miko powers, her bad aim with the bow, her futuristic way of speaking that sketched her as some bizarre girl. She despised how people frowned at her clothes, how she was the only one to see no difference between youkai, humans, and animals, how her heart would push her to be too kind, too nice.
But mostly, and this was the biggest hatred of all, she loathed – yes, loathed – that when she fell in love, her whole world revolved around this single person.
She walked through the forest, heavy step after heavy step, away from the camp, which the group had set for the night. She was fuming, angry, tormented. Her heart was pumping so fast, the cold of the night did not hinder her nor weaken her. Her body heated, her face flush, she ranted and cursed under her breath.
“He went again to her! We have a fight. He ignores me. Then goes to her!” she exclaimed, glaring daggers at the uneven ground beneath the sole of her feet.
Her arms had scratches from the lower branches of the thick, robust trees. Her feet ached. She had been walking for fairly around an hour. Something in the back of her mind poked her with a stick, wondering why there were no demons attacking her, but she crushed that thought with a hefty boulder of hatred.
“GNAH! I hate him!”
She knew that she would come to regret her little escapade. They were nowhere near Edo, and she had no sense of direction whatsoever. However, that did not stop her. She kept on walking, walking, and walking.
When her thighs burned from the exertion and her feet were numb, the raging fire inside of her started cooling down, turning into flickers of misery and desolation. She stumbled and fell against a tree. Her fisted hands hit the bark and bled at the knuckles as she tried to fuel her anger once again. She did not want to feel the anguish; she only needed the wrath.
Another punch to the bark, and a pain jolted from her hand to her elbow, making her hand shake. More punching, and tears started to blur her already poor vision in the night.
Something rustled leaves behind her, and she turned, wild and ireful. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, then, going against her better judgment, she yelled at the darkness. “LEAVE ME ALONE!”
Time slowed down as she felt a rush of whirlwind around her. A clawed hand delicately, but forcefully, covered her mouth, another gripping her waist tightly.
“Hush,” a whisper came to her ear.
Her eyes were wide, her emotions all gone in an instant leaving behind only fear. She became petrified, a statue of herself, as the being behind her sniffed her hair then slowly moved to peruse her neck. She could feel him, their clothes barely touching, his massive youki was tightly waiting to spring free. His frame towered over her; she suddenly felt too small.
“You reek,” he declared.
She frowned, recognizing the voice. Nevertheless, identifying the being did not quell her fears.
The fingers on her waist reached for her bleeding hands, making her lean forward as his body collided with her from behind. She let him grab her left wrist, not really having a choice, and he brought it to him. And unbelievably to her, she saw from the corner of her eye the great demon lord Sesshoumaru snake his tongue out and lick at her wounds.
“Your blood…” he paused, leaning to grab her other wrist, no longer covering her mouth, “ignites a hunger in me.”
She was terrified before, but now she stood immobile from stupefaction.
“Se–Seshoumaru-sama,” she whispered brokenly.
“Hush.”
He turned her around with a swift maneuver of his hands, and she came face to face with him.
Her eyes widened even more if possible.
Sesshoumaru’s eyes were crimson, the shine of his golden eyes gone. His markings were jagged, even the ones on his wrists. He was only wearing his hakama, and at this, Kagome blushed furiously. Before her eyes had darted to look at his face, they had sunk low to his stomach where two set of stripes adorned his hips.
He growled at her playfully, slightly smirking, and she became even more bewildered. Letting go of her hands, he stepped into her comfort zone, and she stepped back. He stepped forward again, the corner of his lips slightly turned upwards, and she backed away yet again. His lips turned into a full grin when her back collided with a tree, effectively caging her between his body and the trunk.
Clearing her throat, she tried to form a coherent thought but nothing came to her.
“Your blood,” he started again, “calls to me. Why, miko?”
He leaned towards her, pressing his hands on the bark on either side of her shoulders. She squirmed lightly, fully disconcerted at the daiyoukai’s attitude and words.