Blood Stained: Chapter 1: Encounter

Blood Stained

Chapter 1: Encounter

The sun was low in the horizon, as the usual blue sky became a crimson color. The night was falling, and a chilling breeze was playing with the leaves barely hanging from the trees; it was fall and the nights were becoming darker and cooler.

A young miko was sitting on the edge of her bed, her eyes barely open. She was drained, and it was a struggle to even remain awake. Her energy was completely zapped, which had been caused by the sudden rush of youkais in the feudal era; she had been forced to battle on her own more often than usual, using more of her own power than what she was accustomed to.

It seemed that the closer they grew to the completion of the jewel, the more evil beings came out of hiding, in the hope of snatching the few remaining shards. It had taken everything out of her to convince Inuyasha to grant her a day off. She understood his reasoning, but she wished he would comprehend that she had a life on the other side of the well too. Although it was true that asking to come back for a day because of an algebra test was insignificant compared to stopping someone like Naraku.

Then again, she couldn't completely forget about her family, and the old life she used to have.

Nonetheless, she now almost regretted requesting such a break from Inuyasha. As expected, since she had no time to study, her algebra test had gotten the best out of her, and she had barely been able to answer half of the question in the test. She was certain that none of her answers were right; the questions might as well have been in English. Sometimes, she found herself wondering how she had made it so far in her schooling.

There was one bright side to all of this though; she had been able to take a proper bath, and get some real relaxation time. She actually felt a little guilty when she thought about her friends who had to constantly be on their guard. At least unlike them she had a place to escape from the horror, and where Naraku, or youkais did not exist. Kagome bit her bottom lip, slightly chewing it before sighing. Sitting there, feeling bad about it wouldn't get her there faster.

Without a second thought, she shoved her pajama in her big yellow bag.

Come on, one last push.

She would have spent the night if it hadn't been for Inuyasha and his tantrums. She didn't want to stay because she desperately wished for a full night sleep in her comfortable bed, but more because of her family. It was getting harder to ignore the longing looks her mother would give her every time she got ready to jump in the well. Of course, her mother would never stop her, but that did not mean she wasn't worried for her safety each time Kagome disappeared through the blue light. She sighed heavily, wondering if she would always been torn between two families, and two worlds her whole life?

In addition, on top of her family, her schoolwork was also suffering extremely; if things kept going the way they were, she would never made it through her last year of high school. She kept bothering Inuyasha about all of her exams, and how much studying she had to do, but sometimes she wonder why she even troubled herself with it. No matter how hard she tried, she always failed her tests, and now she was wondering what was even the point of coming back to do them.

Kagome shook her head softly, before deciding enough time had been wasted on useless thoughts. She had been doing this for over two years; one night of deep thinking wouldn't change anything. She threw her bag over her shoulder, a sad smile on her face, before she headed downstairs where her mother was waiting for her. Contrary to her daughter, her mood seemed extremely bubbly, and bright.

A true smile adorned her face as she glanced at her daughter painfully came down the stairs. She was well aware of her daughter's inner pains and struggles, which was why every time she did her best to cheer her up. It obviously hurt her, and worried her every time she left, but she would never prevent her from going. Kagome had a greater destiny than any of them, and she would not get in the way of that. Instead, she would always be there to show her support.

Mrs. Higurashi walked closer to her daughter, and helped her with her bag. "Already all packed?" she asked with a sweet smile.

Kagome couldn't help but wonder if her mother was hiding her pain. Never, not even when her father died, had her mother showed any kind of sign that she was suffering, at least not in front of her children, so sometimes it was hard to determine how she truly felt.

After all, it would be normal for her to worry; she had no idea of what was happening on the other side of the well. If both Kagome and Inuyasha died, nobody would be able to come back and tell her what happened to her daughter. She had to spend every second asking herself if her daughter would come back in one piece.

“Sorry I can't stay very long, mom," said Kagome offering her an apologetic smile; she knew words would never be enough.

Mrs. Higurashi shook her head softly. “Don't be sorry, Kagome. They need your help over there.”

She was extremely proud of all the work her daughter did on the other side of the well, and all the innocent people she saved. Kagome was still so young, yet she had accomplished more than most people in their lifetime. Mrs. Higurashi knew it wasn't easy for her either to live a double life, and lie to everyone the way she did; lies had always troubled Kagome and made her feel sick.

Kagome felt a pinch in her heart as she looked at her mother; now was not the time since she had to be strong. For her mother's sake, Kagome tried to brighten her expression and smile at her; after everything she had done for her, the last thing she deserved was her worried and tears.

“I'll try to come back soon.”

Her mother nodded, her smile never leaving her face, and her eyes glittering, as if they were wet. With one last look, Kagome grabbed her bag from her mother, before waving at her. Her head up high, she started to walk in direction of the well; it was getting dark and cool, and she hoped she would make it to Kaede's village before it got worst.

She was aware that the weather was different in both worlds, but usually, it was always worst in the Feudal Era, and she preferred to be ready for any kind of weather. Although these days, weather should be the last thing in her mind, and survival the first. Naraku had made sure every lands had something for them to fear, which was why they came back to Kaede's village as often as possible; it felt as if it was the only safe place.

Kagome cognized they wouldn't start traveling tonight, but Inuyasha liked to leave bright and early in the morning, so the earlier she got there, the more sleep she would manage to get. Also, he would probably be whining about the amount of hours they lost because she went home for the day, thus she did not want to make things worst by coming back too late.

When she finally reached the well, she put both of her hands on the edge of the well, before jumping in, traveling five hundred years in the past.

Relief took over her body once her feet touched the bottom of the well, letting her know she had arrived. Kagome lifted her head up slightly, expecting to see Inuyasha's hand, but was surprise when she saw nothing. She rolled her eyes, assuming he was still mad about her leaving; he could be so immature and stubborn sometimes. Jerk.

She sighed heavily before grabbing on of the vines, and making her way up; she did not need his help. After all, before he had started walking her to the well every time, and picking her up, she had been just fine on her own.

Once she finally reached the top, she exhaled heavily before throwing her bag on the ground before getting out of the well, a tight hold on the wood edge. Her eyes darted around looking for him, but once again, she was struck by his missing presence. She had assumed that he would have at least been waiting for her around this area, even if it were only to yell at her, and tell her how she had taken her sweet time to come back. For the first time, worry filled her mind as she tried to feel his presence.

What if something happened? Maybe Naraku had attacked while she had left?

Then she felt it.

A shard.

Kagome's heart immediately started to beat faster; the remaining shards could be counted on one hand, and every single one of them was precious. Then it hit her that the reason why Inuyasha wasn't present was because he was after the shard. He could not feel them like she could, but a youkai, or Naraku might have come and taunted him away with a shard.

Inuyasha was so hot headed that he had probably gone for it without thinking twice about it. Fear clouded her mind as she instantly started to run in direction of the shard, not wondering if it was safe or not to run off on her own.

The more Kagome ran towards the shard, the further it seemed to go; that or she was extremely slow. After fifteen long minutes of running, she could not help but be exhausted, and somewhat out of breathe. Kagome stopped in her tracks, and pressed her body against a tree, trying to catch her breath. She wasn't used to covering such big distance on foot, since Inuyasha was usually carrying her. This only helped to remind her how out of shape she was, and that she needed to stop depending on the hanyou so much.

That was when she realized something; Inuyasha should have been there by now. He should have been able to catch her scent for a while now. She bit her bottom lip when another thought came to her mind; had she run into the unknown, assuming Inuyasha would have been there? She cringed, before feeling the urge to smack herself. How could she have been such an idiot?

At the time, it had felt like a smart idea, but now Kagome seriously doubted herself. She glued her lips together, and turned her head around frantically trying to identify her surrounding. Now, not only was she an idiot, but also she was also lost in the middle of the forest, all by herself.

It seemed that somewhere between running toward the shard, while assuming Inuyasha would be there waiting for her, and her horrible sense of direction, she had found herself in new territories, or at least unfamiliar ones.

At least she had her bow and arrows.

When reaching out and feeling the empty air behind her head, Kagome realized that with all this, she had forgotten her bow was in Kaede's hut. Damn it. Why did that sound so typical of her?

Great, as if she didn't have enough problems already, she was now an unarmed, completely alone, miko lost in the middle of the forest. Oh, and on top of that, she had absolutely no idea who or where her enemy was. For all she knew, this had been a trap to lure her away from her friends, and she had walked right into it.

She couldn't chase away the feeling that she was making a total fool of herself. She was more intelligent than this, she should have known better! Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of what could happen to her.

Kagome hated her current situation because she disliked how weak it made her appear. She knew how Inuyasha perceived her, or the way he would subtly compare her to Kikyo, and her amazing powers. It was true she had made an extremely bad first impression since she was the one who had broken the jewel, but still, since then she had matured.

She wasn't the little fifteen years old girl who fell down the well two years ago, who couldn't even shot an arrow. Kagome was now a grown woman, with more power, but what she did had no importance since it seemed Inuyasha would never see her as a powerful miko.

In his eyes, she would never be as strong as his Kikyo, and she would always require his protection, night and day. Even when she tried to fight on her own, he'd simply push her out of the way, or order her to move out of the way, and let him do his job. But of course, if the perfect Kikyo told him to get lost because she did not need his protection, he wouldn't argue with her twice, and he would simply give her all the room she required.

The woman was made out of freaking clay for crying out loud. Clay!

Kagome sighed heavily before slowly dropping down to her knee. The earth felt cool against the heated skin of her knees as she dug them deeper, her forehead resting against a hard tree trunk. Why did she hurt herself like this? Why did she let Inuyasha treat her like she was worthless?

She did sit him every time he was being a jerk, but somehow that wasn't enough. No matter what she did, she could not severe the link between him and Kikyo. What was it about that woman that he simply couldn't forget? It was as if once he had latched onto her, he had never been able to let go.

Before Kagome could stop herself, she felt tears stinging her eyes, threatening to fall. She had no desire to do this to herself; she had promised she wouldn't waste any more tears on him. Although she had grown up, her childish love crush on Inuyasha remained. It didn't matter how badly he treated her, she couldn't stop her feeling, and she couldn't prevent herself from loving him. She loved him with all her heart, but she knew Inuyasha would never feel for her as much as she did for him.

Too much of his heart belonged to a dead woman.

Although, all that pain didn't prevent her from putting up a strong facade, which she had successfully done for a couple years now. She was too afraid to let Inuyasha know just how easily he could crush her heart if he wanted too. However, not everybody believed her since most of them knew he was her biggest weakness. For Inuyasha, she would probably give her life away while his soul belonged to Kikyo. It was hardly fair but then again life wasn't. She couldn't help but be dedicated heart and soul to him.

Suddenly, Kagome was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of cracking branches. She immediately raised her head high, and scanned the area around her, trying to detect a familiar aura. Her miko powers were on high alert has she tried to pick up anything, even the shard.

Unfortunately, for her, the shard seemed long gone, and it was impossible for her to sense it. Kagome began to feel nervous as she wondered who was there; could it be Naraku? Made this was all part of his plan, to isolate her away from her friends, and bargain her life against the shards.

If it was indeed Naraku, she didn't have much time to make an escape. She immediately rose up to her feet as gracefully as she could ready to run away as fast as possible. The first time she had run towards the danger, but this time she wasn't as oblivious, and knew Inuyasha wasn't there to rescue her.

Also, she was well aware that she was in no way equipped to fight whoever was lurking in the shadows, and thus running was her only option. She could only hope that she would be able to make it to safety before whatever caught her.

Perhaps with some lucky maybe Inuyasha would actually be around this time.

It killed her that she had to run away like a coward, but there was no way she could risk fighting with bare hands. It was true that she did possess some kind of purification powers, but she never had a chance to train them. On the opposite matter, she had master the bow and arrows, but unfortunately, she did not have that weapon at the moment.

The bow had been much easier to learn, than her actual power, which require much time, practice, and meditation; she didn't have the time for any of these. But, she always had a chance to try to shoot an arrow.

As she ran, Kagome turned her head, looking back to try and catch a glimpse of her opponent. If only she could stumble onto a familiar face -heck even Kouga! The knowledge of someone else being around would make her feel safer. Since Kagome wasn't looking in front of her, she became distracted, and her coordination greatly suffered from her lack of attention. As expected, she suddenly tripped over a branch.

The impact came quickly and painfully, and before Kagome could protect her head, it was smashed against a rock. The hit had been so unexpected that for a second, Kagome did not feel it. She had to blink a few times for the pain to make its way to her brain. Her head was violently throbbing, before she managed to get on four. Her vision was so blurry now, thus it was the best she could do.

She succeeded in raising her shaky hand to her head, rubbing it slightly as she could feel a headache coming. Slowly, her vision cleared up, but the pain refused to cease.

As she removed her hand from her forehead, she felt something thick going down her arm. She yanked her arm around, panicked for a little while, before she realized it was blood. No need to panic, its just blood. You've seen blood before. She pulled her arm closer to her body and saw the huge amount of blood on her palm, going down her wrist, down to her elbow.

She had worst injuries on her arm in the past, causing her to still be extremely calm. The resolution to not panic left her mind quickly though when she felt the blood going down her cheek.

How hard did I hit myself?

Obviously, she was a little more worried about her head injury, than the wound on her arm. Nevertheless, neither of these were her priority at the moment since her situation had just gotten more complicated. The scent of her blood would surely attract youkais, and she needed to leave now, or they would turn her into their midnight snack.

She scrambled around for a few seconds before she managed to make it on her own two feet. Even though she still felt extremely dizzy from the hit, she immediately started to run again; there were no time to waste.

In addition, she could see ahead of her that the forest was ending soon, and Kagome was aware that she would be safer out there. Once she took the first step, she took conciseness of the pain in her right leg.

A sharp, breathe-taking pain ran through her whole body, giving her cool chills, as she put down all her weight on her injured leg. The wound from her head had distracted her from any other kind of pain, so she had failed to notice the state of her leg. I can do this. Kagome winced at every step she took, but she kept on running -well wobbling.

She needed to push her pain aside, or she might not make it; her adrenaline was the main reason why she could still run.

Kagome felt extremely relieved when she began to get closer to the end of the forest, hoping to be safe. After all, she couldn't be that far from Kaede's village. If she could only last a few more minutes, she would mostly be out of harm ways. If not, well she would still be in a good enough distance for her friends to hear her scream.

Of course, all of this was before she ran into a brick of wall.

It was only once her ass hit the ground, for the third time in the last five minutes that Kagome reminded herself that she was in the Feudal Era, and in the middle of the forest, which meant there was no brick wall.

Her lips tightly glued together, Kagome raised her up, terrified, only to see the last person she would ever expect -Sesshomaru.

She blinked a few times, just to assure herself he was the one standing in front of her. She knew for a fact that Sesshomaru wasn't regularly coming around this part of the lands, and running into him was a rare occurrence. To be honest, they hadn't seen him and his pack in months.

Also, for her defense, he did look quite different from usually. His eyes were the first change she noticed; they were crimson, and seemed much larger than what she remembered. Also, there was a purple fume surrounding him, and his aura was much different. It didn't smell nor feel as though it was him at all.

His prominent fangs were sticking out of his mouth, and she couldn't chase the feeling that he was looking at her as if she were a piece of meat. “S-Sesshomaru?” She managed to inquire, hiding her surprise.

She gazed around, trying to see whether Jaken and Rin were with him - he was alone.

Unfortunately for her, Sesshomaru did not reply, he simply kept staring at her, which against her will crept her out. She was aware that Sesshomaru had never been the talking type of youkai, but there was this different look about him, which was why she had been hoping to get an answer from him. It was so unusual for Sesshomaru to be in the middle of the forest at this time.

Surely he hadn't sense the same shard she had, so, could it be that he was after Naraku?

Come on say something, she thought when the silence kept on stretching.

This felt extremely weird, and uncomfortable; Sesshomaru wasn't quite known for his way to put people at ease, and truth was, he scared her a little. Almost every time she had been in contact with him, he had threatened her life, or Inuyasha's, which wasn't exactly the best way to be friendly with someone.

Then, he emitted what sounded like a growl, but a blood thirsty one.

Surely, Sesshomaru wouldn't eat her right? They weren't friends - or anything that came close to it - but still. He hadn't tried to kill Inuyasha in years, so why would he waste his time on her? He was just angry about something, and he stumbled onto her, right? She was just what you call at the wrong place at the wrong moment…. Right?!

Maybe he was hunting? That would surely explain his eyes, and his behavior; the only other time she had seen him with eyes like this, it had been in his father's tomb, seconds before he transformed into a giant dog. The red eyes situation was probably a demon thing that happened when they were hunting, or when all of their senses were on alert.

Sesshomaru growled again, much louder this time.

After a few seconds, in which he did nothing but stare at her, this feeling crept up inside of her, and Kagome just knew she had to go for it, so while she was still on the ground, she turned her back to him, and managed to crawl away from Sesshomaru. According to her, the more distance between them, the better.

Kagome was unable to stop the gasp from escaping her lips as se felt him pull her back by yanking her leg.

Maybe this had been a bad idea after all. The thought that the position she had been in might have tickled his senses never crossed her mind. The only thing that had been on her mind was escaping him. It seemed her brain was prone to stupid decisions today.

Afterwards, everything went too fast for her to take conscience of what was happening.

That was except for the pain, since he had pulled on her injured leg. One second she was on the ground, and the next she was trap between a tree, and Sesshomaru's chest. It was so tight; she could feel her own chest being compressed far more than it should. Her eyes were tightly close as she was trying to breathe, but unfortunately for her, he was making it impossible.

Kagome was afraid that if she opened her eyes, she would see a blood thirsty monster ready to rip her head off and eat her. Come on you can do this. Without further thoughts, she opened her eyes.

It took only a few more seconds for their eyes to lock in, as if he had been longing for her to glance at him. Although he still had that killer look in his eyes, Kagome couldn't help the blush that decorated her cheeks. She had never been close like this with Sesshomaru before, and well, it was embarrassing. She never really had any kind of proximity with a male before, and she couldn't help it. This was what she called to close for comfort.

Kagome, this is not time to have these kinds of thoughts.

What was wrong with her? She couldn't possibly be focusing on the proximity right now, when he was seconds away from killing her! She could agree that he looked decent, but it she was in no way interested in Sesshomaru. Maybe if he had cute ears like Inuyasha. He was cold-hearted, and usually didn't give a damn about humans, nor other living being.

Soon, she was brought out of her thoughts as she held her breath when Sesshomaru slightly tilted his head, and approached his face from hers. Oh Kami, don't tell - no he wouldn't. Sesshomaru would never kiss me. It must be the hit to my head. He despised humans; she was surprised he was this close to her to start with. Usually, he would stay feet away, and look down upon them -except for Rin.

But, Kagome was right; Sesshomaru wasn't going for her lips. Something else was tempting him, and causing his beast to come out in such a savage manner. He put one of his hands on the side of her head, and turned it slightly, to give himself better access. Kagome closed her eyes, waiting for him to rip her head off, or take a bit out of her. I should have stayed home.

Then, Kagome felt his warm tongue licking the side of her head.

Sesshomaru was licking the blood on her head?

She wasn't even sure what her reaction was supposed to be; this was unexpected. However, Kagome was quite happy her head was still attached to her body, and that no body part was missing. She was about to sigh of relief when she realized that if he were after her blood, it could lead to nothing good for her.

Oh Kami, I don't want to die.

She knew the wolves used to eat humans, but did all youkais do so? She doubted Sesshomaru ate humans; after all he had Rin under his care. He wouldn't keep a human so close if they were his source of nutrients. She was simply worrying over nothing, like usual…

Sesshomaru seemed to be completely ignoring her and her dilemma, as he kept lapping her blood. After a few more licks, he pulled away from her, and she noticed the look in his eyes had grown angrier, or at least, the color in his eyes had intensified. Kagome tried to wriggle out of his hold, but it was useless; his hold on her was steel. No matter how much she tried to move, he was tightly keeping her in place, completely trapped. She knew she could probably try to use her Miko powers, but it would lead her nowhere.

Kagome would maybe consider it as a last minute resort if he did attempt to kill her, but for now, she would not. After all, she didn't have great powers yet, and she probably couldn't even harm a youkai as powerful as him. She imagined he would feel a small tingle, but nothing else.

Moreover, that might anger him, and she wanted to avoid that at any cost. Yes, it would be a very last resort. Maybe just enough to distract him, so she could try and…outrun him?

Sesshomaru completely unknown to her internal struggle moved his hands down and then wrapped his arms around her waist, and lifted her up so that her knees were up to his face. He buried his nose in the crook of her knee, and sniffed in the smell of her blood, the crimson color in his eyes deepening. She could feel the vibration going through his chest as he growled.

Kagome was shaking slightly, but surprisingly it wasn't from fear. She wasn't quite sure where the feeling had originated from, but she couldn't help herself. She was so inexperience, and this was truly affecting her hormones, or just her body at least.

Again, she felt Sesshomaru's tongue on her cool skin, and she threw her head back slightly, feeling a rush of blood going to her face. This was not happening.

He started to lick all the blood that was on her leg, from her knee all the way up to her high thigh. She heard him growl as he reached the cut, and felt him slightly sucking the blood out of it. Then, his warm tongue, kept working his way up, looking for more blood. The more Sesshomaru tasted her body, the redder her cheeks became. She was too shock to make any kind of movements.

Kagome held her breath as she felt his tongue getting closer to her womanhood. Her blush only grew wider; she had never had such an experience with a man before, and Kami she'd never thought it would be with Sesshomaru, especially when he was in such a state. She bit her bottom lip, praying he would stop; this was in no way her idea of a first experience, especially not if it involved him.

She was usually so eager to yell, and fight her way through everything, yet she found herself extremely powerless at the moment. She almost blamed it on her shock. This was so out of character coming from him that she was almost wondering if she weren't unconscious from the hit to her head.

Kagome almost pondered if there was something she could do; she wanted to push him away, but it would be in vain. On top of that, her body was slightly frozen in place. These actions had come across has such a surprise, that her body didn't know how to react. She wasn't even sure he was aware of his own actions, because if someone would never get involve in such a way with a human, it was him. Kagome was well aware that he rather die than pick up his father's trait about humans.

“Sesshomaru?” She tried, but again, no response, just a growl.

Then, the unexpected happen; Kagome felt Sesshomaru bury his nose in her core, through her underwear. Kagome gasped in surprise, as her eyes grew more widely, the feeling causing a throbbing throughout her whole body.

Oh my freaking God. Her blush was covering her whole face, and she felt her body heat up, as she wondered how she found herself in such a situation. Although she was shocked, the growls coming out of his throat were causing a vibration, and it wasn't unpleasant.

“Mine.”

Kagome knew for a fact this wasn't Sesshomaru's usual voice. She realized she should be scared, but she couldn't help the feeling of arousal that took over her body.

There is no way I'm getting excited by Sesshomaru.

She had to come back to her senses! Her body was simple a little affected by the situation, because she surely had no feelings at all for him. He was the last person she would ever wish to be with.

Kagome needed to focus and try to find a way out of this situation. The more it went on; the more awkward it was. This wasn't Inuyasha who was trying to get more familiar with her body, but the Ice King, himself. This was wrong in every way imaginable.

Again, she tried to wriggle free, but nothing happened. All her thoughts went down the drain when she felt his tongue pressing on her core, wetting her underwear. As he kept licking, Kagome bit her bottom lip, trying to refrain herself from making any noises she'd regret. This is not happening.

Then, she felt Sesshomaru's claw on her skin, working its way up, and she shivered in pleasure. He put his digit inside her underwear, so he could lift it and slide a finger under the material lifting it slightly. When his claw brushed against her sensitive clit, Kagome couldn't stop the moan that escaped her lips. Tears stung her eyes, as she felt shameful for her own body's reaction.

Then time froze, and Sesshomaru stopped moving.

Kagome, who was still breathing fast, looked down at him, wondering why he had stopped, only to find two amber eyes looking back at her. If that wasn't enough to scare her, the trance look he had about him was also gone. Before she could even open her mouth, she felt herself being dropped to the ground -her ass was getting sore. When she opened her eyes, after blinking for a mere second, Kagome found herself staring at nothing.

Sesshomaru was gone.

Confused, and her body still a little hot from the encounter Kagome, ran her hand through her hair. The miko could feel the blood under her fingers, which had dried in her hair, making it crusty. It seemed the great Sesshomaru has missed a spot. Kagome simply remained in her sitting position, more confused than ever.

Now just what in the world had happened?

-B-