Kagome repressed a shudder at the innuendo saturating his tone. There was no point in letting such a sleazy remark affect her. Telling a woman she was ‘special’ in order to get a rise out of her was probably the oldest trick in the book. Schooling her features, she focused her attention on the spidery outline of a distant tree.

“Tell me, then, which part did you despise the least?” When Kagome only set her jaw, he chuckled, low and dark. “Or is this what you prefer?—to have me on my knees with my cock out on full display?”

“Shut your filthy mouth, Sesshoumaru,” the miko seethed, though a growing part of her suspected that she was no longer speaking to him, truly.

“Come now, sweet sister—I only wish to hear what pleases you. With Inuyasha dead, you have had no one else to share your desires.”

Before Kagome could stop herself, her tongue lashed out. “And how would you know that?” At the narrowing of his gaze, she collected herself, rephrasing archly, “What makes you so sure I haven’t been with another man?”

“So much for your pretensions of chastity,” he scoffed, his blood-red eyes raking over her. “Another man, you say…” His slow, sharp-toothed smile returned. “I should like to see it.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Am I?” Before Kagome could take her next breath, he struck out, seizing her by the waist and spinning her around in one terrifyingly swift movement. Kagome’s hands flew to his, a gasp of shock escaping her as he buried his nose between backs of her thighs and breathed. “…Your little wet cunt begs to differ.”

“Let go of me!” she shrieked, prising at his stony claws.

Sesshoumaru merely tightened his grip. “I’ll fuck you better than my dead brother ever did. Better than anyone. But you already know that…don’t you, woman?”

Gritting her teeth, the miko continued to thrash in his hold, trying to not purify him—which she sensed would only further incite him. But when she felt the waist of her hakama begin to tear beneath his claws, when she felt the tips of his elongated fangs sink into the tender curve of her ass, her reiki unleashed from her on pure instinct. A flood of rose-white light coursed from her fingers through his own. With a snarl, Sesshoumaru released her, his head snapping to the side as Kagome whirled, striking him full across the face with her still-flaming palm.

“You bastard…” she said hoarsely, staggering away. Helpless tears streamed down her cheeks. “I hate you. You ruined my life—you ruined everything!”

Dark blood ran along the line of his jaw, his cheek split open by the impact of her blow. A thin band of gold now ringed his blue-black pupils, the barest hint of a frown ghosting his lips.

“Guard yourself,” he rasped out, his features lined as if with pain. “I cannot—”

The daiyoukai bit off as a violent tremor wracked through him. Despite everything, Kagome’s pulse thrummed in distress at the sight. Hesitantly, she stepped forward, her fingers trembling at her sides.

His head was bowed, a pall of shadows obscuring his kneeling form. An invisible wind stirred the black air of the clearing, lifting the gossamer strands of his hair and making Kagome shiver despite the latent heat of it. Still he didn’t look up as she continued to edge closer, her growing concern outweighing her misgivings.

“…Sesshoumaru?” she whispered.

“There is still time…”

His words drifted to her, deep and strangely detached. Kagome halted in place as he lifted his head, her breath of horror freezing in her throat. His eyes were two slits of pure fire, serrated teeth lining his protruded, muzzle-like jaw. Green-edged youki swirled around him as he rose to a towering height far above her, the great trees around them lashing in the maelstrom like matchsticks in a breeze. Knife-blade claws flashed in the fading moonlight, bone-white knuckles cracking with a sinister echo as he advanced upon her, sneering.

“…Be a good bitch and spread your legs for me, and I may yet show you mercy.”

Kagome stumbled back as a powerful demonic gale surged against her. Her bow and quiver ripped from her shoulders, her lips fixing in a grimace of dread. Whatever this foul creature’s notion of ‘mercy’ was, she wanted no part of it. With far more courage than she felt, the miko dug her heels into the ground, repelling his oppressive, churning aura with a radiant burst of reiki.

“I will not.”

A menacing rumble shook the night air, the demon’s pale, wolfish brow lowering in challenge. “Then you will suffer.”

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi