Cursed

Inuyasha’s feet skidded as he landed hard on the forest floor. Abruptly he threw the woman to the ground, ignoring her whimper as she hit the dirt hard. “Bitch,” he growled angrily. “If you grab my hair one more FUCKING time, I’m going to beat the living fuck out of you. Screw Naraku and his damn jewel shards!”

Kagome pulled herself upright and didn’t look at him. “I’m sorry, Inuyasha.”

Worthless human bitch, he thought, reaching down to grab her arm and yank her roughly to her feet. He smelled her fear, damn but it was making him want her again. He had sworn, damn them, sworn he wouldn’t kill her until Naraku had what he wanted. For the life of him, he didn’t know how he’d ever let himself be talked into this bullshit. He just wanted to kill something, anything to release this frustrated hard feeling that rode in his chest like the bitch had been riding on his back.

She was refusing to look at him again, that made him angry. Just because it was fun, he slapped her again. Not that hard, but enough to make her reel into a tree. “Where’s this Koga asshole supposed to be anyway?”

Kagome swallowed hard and tried to shake off the burning sensation where he’d struck her again. Naraku had sent them out together in search of shards. More specifically, in search of Koga’s shards. Laughing, the mutant demon had told her exactly what he planned for them.

“The wolf demon has two shards in his legs,” Naraku said, walking slowly back and forth in front of them. Ranma had a nasty little grin on his face. “Too bad for the wolf.”

Naraku favored her friend with a pleased expression. “I see you comprehend, Ranma. However, I’m not sure where to find him. After Kagura slaughtered so many of their tribe, the wolf demon has been difficult to track.” Here Naraku paused and reached out a finger to touch Kagome’s cheek. She flinched away, hating him.

“This will be your bait,” he smirked. “I am aware that for some reason Koga favors this female. Her scent should be enough to draw him out of hiding long enough to kill him.”

Kagome bit her lip and looked away. What he said was all too true, if Koga thought she was in danger he’d probably come running right to her. She hated the idea of being used to kill someone she thought of as a friend.

“Good,” Inuyasha muttered, looking at the sky. “As long as I get to kill something. I’ll make sure there’s not enough left of that wolf to bury.”

“Exactly my plan,” Naraku smiled fondly. Kagome stared as the demon patted Inuyasha’s shoulder. The hanyou looked annoyed but didn’t otherwise react. Kagome shuddered. Her Inuyasha wouldn’t let Naraku within ten feet of him, not without Tetsusaiga drawn and ready. This Inuyasha had no idea what kind of manipulative monster he waalinaling with. She wished she was at home, safe in her own bed and dreaming only of math finals.

“Are you paying attention, bitch?” Inuyasha exploded angrily. By the gods, he was aching to beat her into unconsciousness. But he knew he’d never be able to hold back from killing her. She looked at him with fear and repulsion in her face. Flushing hard, the woman started to stammer. “I was listening,” she said in a tiny voice. “I honestly don’t know where Koga is, I already told you that.”

Cracking her head upside the tree sounded like a good idea. Fucking her senseless and then beating her brains in sounded even better. He sighed, looking away from her. What a pain in the ass, he wished it had been Ranma that got to go after the wolf instead.

“No,” Naraku told him. “It needs to be you. Koga will be suspicious of any stranger who accompanies this woman. You he knows and won’t suspect.”

Huh, looks like the bitch was telling the truth. She did know him somehow, that had to be why the scent of her tickled his nostrils so much. He leaned against the tree, watching her, letting her catch her breath. The girl moved a few inches more away from him, heading for a small stream to get a drink of water. “Stay where I can see you, wench,” he rumbled warningly.

He half hoped she’d make a run for it. Then he could have the fun of running her down, throwing her hard into the dirt and watching the despair and grief flood her face when she realized there was no escape. One way or another, she was his.

Naraku had said so. He wasn’t sure he trusted the demon, no he was sure he didn’t trust him. He trusted his brother, though. Even though this woman said Ranma wasn’t his brother, it felt like he was. Kindred spirits and all that crap. Blood didn’t make for brotherhood, blood didn’t count for shit other than the sweet taste of it when you licked your claws. Ranma wanted to know what was so goddamn important about this Shikon no Tama. He gathered it must make demons more powerful, otherwise why the hell would Naraku be after it in the first place?

Kagome knelt by the stream and splashed a little water on her face and tried to collect her thoughts. No choice at all was left to her, she had to help Inuyasha find Koga. Desperately, she hoped she’d be unsuccessful but she didn’t dare try to lie about it. Damn, she wasn’t even sure she’d be able to do it. All she could do was try and sense which direction he might be, she didn’t feel any shards nearby. And she knew her time was pretty limited. Inuyasha seemed barely able to contain himself from killing her outright. Silently, with her face turned away from him, Kagome felt a hot tear slip down her cheek. Oh Inuyasha, you’ve got to wake up!

A hard hand grabbed her by the back of her shirt. “Enough water, bitch,” he said irritably. Holding her in front of him, he stared pitilessly down into her eyes. Sniffing slightly, he caught the scent of salt and grinned. “Are you crying, Kagome?” he asked sweetly.

She shivered at the coldness of his tone, not daring to struggle away from him. “I’m just scared of you,” she whispered.

Now that seemed to make him happy and his fingers loosened on her clothing. “Good,” he said, smiling. He almost looked like himself now, she thought and dropped her eyes.

“Let’s go find that mangy excuse for a wolf,” he said cheerfully. “If you’re good little girl I won’t make you watch me disembowel him.” She caught her breath, a harsh sob wanted to escape from her chest. He heard it and smiled again, even nastier if that was possible.

“Oh, does that upset you, wench? Does it bother you that you’re the one who’s going to lure him to his death? I think that’s fine, makes it even more fun for me.”

Kagome’s hands balled into fists, she was getting angry herself now. “Just go ahead and try,” she snapped, glaring at him directly now. “Koga’s not that easy to kill.”

He thought he heard something in her tone under all that defiance. His eyes flicked over her, watching her chest heave angrily, noting the scratches that graced her slim legs. “Why do you say that?” he asked in a dangerous tone. He drew closer, staring down at her with a light behind his eyes. “Does that fucking wolf mean something to you, bitch? Are you in love with him or something?”

“No,” she retorted. “I’m not in love with Koga, don’t be stupid.” Oh, that might have been a mistake, she thought, looking away from him when she saw a flush of anger cross his face. “Stupid?” he asked in a deadly tone.

“I didn’t mean that,” she stammered, backing away from him. Shit, now what? His teeth gleamed in the shadows of the forest and suddenly she noticed that everything around them had gone deadly still. Even the birds had stopped chirping, reacting to the menace that was radiating off Inuyasha’s body.

“I think you’re lying,” he said softly. “Maybe you aren’t in love with him. Then again, maybe there’s more to it than Naraku knows. Are you his mate or something like that?”

“Of course not,” she said, blushing a little. Just don’t ask Koga that, she thought. The wolf demon might not be the brightest demon she’d ever run across, but he was sure one of the most persistent. “It’s not like that,” she began.

His hands seized her shoulders and lifted her off the ground. Kagome couldn’t help but cry out when those claws dug hard into her arms and punctured the skin. She smelled her own blood and saw the scent of it reflect in his eyes with a kind of madness. He shook her hard, making her head snap back weakly on her neck. Her fingers plucked at his sleeves weakly. “I think you’re lying to me again,” he growled.

“I’m not,” she whispered. He pulled her close to him then, his nose twitching as he drew in the scent of her terror again. He clasped her against him now, holding her so tight she thought her ribs might crack. “Inuyasha!”

“I like the way you say my name,” he muttered, sounding almost drunk. “Tell me the truth, you love the wolf, don’t you? Tell me the truth and I won’t hurt you.”

She couldn’t answer, he wouldn’t let her draw a breath. All she could do was tremble helplessly against him, feeling his arousal growing hard against her stomach. Oh please god, she thought, beginning to panic. Her vision was starting to blur.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said thickly. “You’re mine, bitch. I think it’s time we finished what we started earlier.”

“No,” she whispered, her forehead pressed into his chest. “Please don’t do this, Inuyasha. Remember what Naraku…” He laughed suddenly, catching her off guard and threw her on the ground. “To hell with Naraku,” he growled happily. “I won’t kill you, wench. You’ll still be useful when I’m done.”

Swiftly, he knelt down, grabbed her arm and wrenched her up again. Kagome screamed, feeling her shoulder dislocate under his rough handling. White hot pain flooded her arm and her fingers suddenly felt numb. He stopped for a second. “Uh, sorry about that,” he told her in a mocking tone. “Guess I don’t know my own strength.”

Oh god, he’s going to kill me, she screamed in her mind, biting hard on her lips to keep from shrieking again. He’s going to rape me and kill me, I’ll never see my mother again or my little brother. She couldn’t help it then, she started crying, sobbing harder as he reached to lift her hips and turn her so she was lying on her stomach. Kagome’s breath caught in her throat when he gripped her hair, pulling her head back harshly so he could lick her cheek. “Cry all you want, slut,” he hissed. “There’s no one going to save you now.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” An icy voice interrupted the half demon’s plans and even Kagome stopped sobbing, shocked to silence when she recognized that voice. Sesshomaru, she thought wildly, hardly believing rescue would come from such an unlikely source.

Inuyasha whirled away from his prey and stared hard at the stranger. A demon, he thought, his eyes narrowing. He caught the scent and felt anger course through his body. Whoever he was, he hated him on sight. “This doesn’t concern you, asshole,” he said menacingly.

Sesshomaru looked disgusted. “I would normally agree with you, Inuyasha. I have no interest in what you do with your,” his lips curled contemptuously, “friends. I am not here to watch you defile some female. I have come to kill you at last.”

“How do you know my name?” Inuyasha demanded hotly. “You want a fight, you’ve got it, bastard!”

“You don’t recall your older brother?” Sesshomaru smirked. This was indeed amusing, apparently the humans had been correct. His dear little brother had fallen under some kind of spell and lost his wits. Which, Sesshomaru reflected, was no great loss to demonkind. It mattered not that his brother had no memory of him or that he was acting under some kind of delusion. Sesshomaru was livid over the death of Namichi and her men. He required blood to slake that anger and the blood of the one responsible for their deaths was the only thing that would appease him.

Drawing Tokijin from his sash, he faced his brother with a faint smile. “Draw your sword, Inuyasha. It’s time for us to settle our grievances.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Inuyasha snarled, quite forgetting the injured girl in front of him. He whipped Tetsusaiga from its sheath, grinning as the rusty blade pulsed to life and transformed in his hand. “Brother, my ass,” he snapped. “I’ll cut your fucking head off just for smelling bad.”

“Insults now?” Sesshomaru raised an elegant eyebrow at the hanyou’s presumption. “How entertaining. I should have finished this a long time ago before you learned to speak.”

Inuyasha grunted. “You always talk this much, asshole?”

Sesshomaru stepped back, raising Tokijin in a strange, compelling gesture. “No.” Bright blue flames shot from the sword and burst around Inuyasha. Kagome shrieked, covering her face with her one good arm as the hanyou swung his own blade in defense, blocking the frenetic youki energy. The blast tore at his hair, but for the most part he was able to turn away the raw power of Sesshomaru’s blade. “Nice trick,” he growled at last, panting just a little. “It’s about time I met someone worth my time. You might just be a match for me.”

Sesshomaru’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Do not compare yourself to me, filthy half breed! I will always be your superior. In battle or anywhere else and you will not forget it.”

Stung, he charged at Sesshomaru, snarling incoherently as he swung the Tetsusaiga in a rapid fire series of blows. Kagome winced as each contact rocked the small glade, tearing at the air as the blades clashed over and over. A cold feeling invaded her heart suddenly, just as she wondered why Inuyasha hadn’t bothered to use any of Tetsusaiga’s powerful attacks. He doesn’t remember, she realized in stunned hurt. He had no idea what that sword could do, how to access its power. It would be like a child using a toy popgun against an automatic weapon.

Sesshomaru was going to kill him.

Kagome had to do something, otherwise she knew she’d never had the chance to save him. “Sesshomaru!” she shouted.

The icy demon lord didn’t bother to glance her way, easily fending off another of Inuyasha’s lightning strike attacks. “Why, little brother,” he murmured. “For once you’re actually fighting like a real demon. I must say it will be a pity to destroy you now that you’ve actually learned to cross blades like a civilized creature.”

“Fuck you,” Inuyasha panted. Goddamn, where did this guy get his energy from? He should have been lying in pieces on the ground by now. All the youkai and humans he’d managed to slaughter were nothing compared to this combination of skill and power. It made him angry, he wanted to taste this asshole’s blood now, grind that unruffled face into the dirt. He’d forgotten everything except this moment of battle. Nothing else twitched in his consciousness. Focus, damn you, fight this bastard off. Or at least make him take so much damage that he gets to join you in hell.

Snarling, he jumped into the air, flinging himself down on Sesshomaru so fast that even the demon lord couldn’t compensate and they crashed hard into the ground. Sesshomaru growled angrily, using the hilt of Tokijin as a blunt weapon against his younger brother’s skull. With an easy agile grace, he gained his feet first and kicked Inuyasha in the head with all his considerable pure youkai strength. It was enough, his brother’s body jerked reflexively and then stilled, laying face down in the grass as Tetsusaiga abruptly untransformed back into its sleeping form.

Sesshomaru shook off the tremors that would have been undignified for him to display. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, they had very nearly been matched in this fight. Gone was his brother’s clumsiness, there was nothing but ruthless intent behind those blows. Somehow, Inuyasha had managed to overcome his half blood inferiority to meet his brother like a true demon. Something was definitely wrong. He sniffed the air delicately, detecting no change of scent about his brother’s person. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully, not liking the implications of what he’d discovered.

“Just as well, little brother,” he said softly. “Ordinarily, I would not slay you in such a fashion, I would prefer to let you wake and continue our battle. However, I have an obligation to fulfill, a debt that can only be cleansed by your blood.” He raised Tokijin, feeling the sword’s delight that he was about to deliver a killing blow. “For them, I must make sure end your life this moment.”

“No!” A frantic cry stayed his stroke momentarily. Sesshomaru held an impassive expression as the human girl struggled to her feet. She was injured, he smelled her blood, detected the harm done to her shoulder. Still, she struggled toward them, reaching for his contemptible half brother. “Please,” she said, meeting his expressionless golden eyes with her desperate dark ones. “Sesshomaru, please don’t kill him?”

“Are you mad?” he inquired pleasantly. “If I am not mistaken, he was only moments from taking you against your will. You still seek to protect him.”

“It’s not his fault,” Kagome said, hoping like hell there was some part of Sesshomaru she could reach with her words. “Naraku did something to him. Didn’t you see he couldn’t remember who you were? He doesn’t know who he is!”

He hardly needed a measly human wench to point out the obvious. “It does not matter.” Sesshomaru was finished with annoying humans and half demons. Tokijin swung down again, ready for death. Kagome swallowed hard and followed the blade, moving between it and his brother. “Please,” she whispered again.

Tokijin’s menacing aura flowed from its blade, threatening and corrupt with hatred, but Kagome stood her ground anyway. “Don’t do this,” she pleaded again.

“Move.” His order was hard, expecting nothing less that absolute obedience. “I did not come here to slay you as well, human. Do not think I will ask again twice. I will not spare him, not after the crime he has commi.
.

The realization came like a flash to Kagome. Without so much as flinching, she stared Inuyasha’s brother straight in the eye. “He didn’t kill Namichi.”

No reaction from the demon, but it seemed like the menace of Tokijin’s aura seemed to fade a bit. “You lie.”

She shook her head, her hair whipping across her face. Kagome forgot the pain in her shoulder, forgot her fear and horror. Carefully, she made sure he couldn’t mistake her words. “He did not kill Namichi. I was there. They fought, but he did not take her life.”

Sesshomaru frowned slightly, sensing no deception in her words. Very slowly, he backed off, letting Tokijin’s power bleed away into the atmosphere like a rancid mist. This was unexpected. As much as he had desired to kill his brother, he was not about to allow himself to be manipulated into doing so. “Who is responsible then?”

Kagome hated herself for what she was about to do, but she didn’t dare lie and Inuyasha was in no condition to defend himself. Say the wrong word and she knew she’d find herself equally dead beside the hanyou. Taking a deep breath, she answered him. “It was Ranma.” Oh Akane, forgive me!

He hesitated for a moment before replying. “The inuyoukai who was traveling with you. The foolish pup who dared to challenge me in a duel. He is the one who murdered Namichi and her men?”

“It’s not his fault either,” she said quietly. “Naraku is the one to blame, he did something to them. Made them full of hate, made them forget who they were. It had something to do with that old woman in the mountains. We went to her to try and find a way to seal Ranma’s demon power. So he could go home, so he could be normal again. But the amulet she gave him didn’t work.”

Sesshomaru turned away from her, slipping Tokijin back into his sash with an easy grace. Kagome stared hard at his back, not quite believing the demon had actually understood her story and was going to spare Inuyasha. It was too much to hope for.

He paused, glancing back at her. “I understand now,” he said softly. “That does not mean I am not going to hunt down and kill Ranma. Just because you claim he is not responsible for his actions does not release him from my wrath. For Namichi’s sake, I must destroy her murderer.”

“Wait,” she cried, holding tight to her injured arm. “You can’t just leave now. What if he wakes up and he’s still under Naraku’s spell? I don’t know how to stop him.”

A faint, bitter smile held his lips as the demon lord turned away. “That is not my concern. If you have any intelligence, girl, you will put as much distance between my brother and yourself as possible.”

He left her standing there, staring blankly into the forest as if answers or assistance was somehow just beyond her reach. Her shoulder was throbbing, Kagome’s head was aching with stress and the aftereffects of Inuyasha’s abuse. Right now, she couldn’t have put distance between them if she tried. She gave herself a dozen or so steps before she’d collapse from shock and exhaustion. Her cheeks were wet again, she hadn’t even realized she was crying until now. Staggering, she turned back to Inuyasha, still lying face down on the ground. Her knees gave out then and she fell limply across his back, burying her face in the familiar scent of his hair and sobbed until sleep overtook her at last.