Before She Was...

He gave it to her through a kiss and a claw. After all, only those of power should be allowed such an honor. It was a symbol, much like his own crescent. But that was the past. This was now and the girl beneath him was perhaps the sweetest conquest in his young immortal life.

Her powers were still dormant when he found her, claimed her, and caused her to love him, dearly. She had to love him. That was the key. Humans, regardless of what they could become, had that one constant weakness. He had every intention of exploiting it.

oOo

Three years earlier…

"Who are you," she asked, alarmed and thankful that she hadn't dropped her water bucket. She had never seen anyone so beautiful, ethereal. He had to be Kami.

"That's not important right now," he finally answered.

They stared at one another from across the river. She by the banks of her village; he by the banks of the misty forest. She was just a child, but she already knew that he was anything but a man and something within her began to slowly awaken. A tugging in the deepest recesses of her mind. Too innocent, she didn't know what to make of it.

"I've never seen you before," she stammered out, hating the long silence between her and this perfect being.

"Of course not."

She could have sworn she saw a hint of amusement flicker across his eyes. Too soon, she heard the voices of the other villagers coming towards the quiet river.

"Will you be here tomorrow," she questioned, wondering if he'll say yes, hoping he won't say no.

With the slightest of nods, he answered and departed back into the mist. The little girl found that she could not move. Her heart was beating far too fast. What was this…feeling?

oOo

Skin against skin. Sweat glistening across mortal flesh, causing sparkles to shine against the light of the moon. Changing positions, he held her to himself and sat against a tree and made her fall upon him. She grimaced for a moment before following their previous tempo. After too many times of coupling, she finally was accustomed to his incredible girth. He didn't even smell blood this time, only the pungent odor of feminine arousal. An aphrodisiac that easily spurned him on. But that was the whole point of this: Her blood.

Grabbing her hips and increasing her thrusts with his own, he pressed her heated flesh against the cold, hard grass. He was close. Hell, she was close again. If he knew that it was this easy to excite a human female, he may have taken this up years ago. No. This would never happen again. She was a means to an end, nothing more. Speaking of which…

Feeling her muscles within tremble, he instantly bit down on her soft neck taking in her power and building his own. Too delirious with pleasure, the girl didn't even notice.

This was it, he thought, this was a taste of what he always wanted: Conquest and power. He was another step closer.

oOo

Three year earlier…

"I told Mother about you," she stammered, balancing from one foot to the other.

Not at all surprised, he said, "and what did she say."

"That you're a demon," and then, "I should stay away from you."

"Is that what you want?" Sarcasm was dripping from every word.

"No, no I guess not, but," she hesitated, "what do you want with me?"

He gently brushed his claws through her soft, thick hair. Though the gesture was completely alien to him, he knew that she needed it.

"I desire you."

"Desire?"

"But not now, not yet." His fingers fell from her frayed ends. "You're not ready."

"Ready?"

Ignoring her confusion and the rest of the conversation, he lifted her chin, stared straight into her eyes, and kissed her. Too shocked to respond, she froze and the feeling within her mind quickened and screamed. Something's wrong was her last coherent thought.

oOo

It hurt; gods, it hurt. He said it would hurt, but this was too much. She felt broken and sore and dying. He didn't move; he waited. He reminded himself that he couldn't let her die now. It was too early for that.

oOo

Earlier…

“I have a gift for you.” No sooner had he said the statement when a white and flaming ball of fur and fire came crashing into her. Instantly giggling at the small demon’s antics, she couldn’t help but thank him. He gave her his usual response. Nothing.

oOo

"Look at me."

She couldn't stop her tears or her trembling. She could barely breath, but she looked at him.

"S-Sesshoumaru-sa…it hurts!!"

For her, a human, her eyes were mesmerizing, like a pale mist in the night sky, even more so with unshed tears brimming on the edges. He practically felt her virgin blood surround him, which only increased the blood rushing into his groin. She hissed. He had to distract her; he kissed her. And for some reason, that act seemed more intimate than anything else they were doing.

He flipped them so that she lay on top. He held her close and refused to let her break their contact.

"Shh, calm yourself." He whispered, "This will pass."

For awhile, nothing happed. The Taiyoukai looked into the dark sky splattered with the light of distant stars and vaguely wondered if this was a mistake. He smiled maliciously and knew that perfection like himself was incapable of such things.

oOo

Present…

"Tell me you love me."

"I love you."

"Give me your heart."

"You have it."

"Your soul."

"For always, it was always yours, Sesshoumaru."

He pushed her against a tree. He didn't need to be gentle with her anymore. He tore her raiment and removed his own. And instantly impaled her onto himself. The coupling was frantic this time. He buried himself so roughly against her that the leaves from above seemed to fall quicker than usual. But the Taiyoukai already knew that she was not a weak human. Already he could feel her powers humming just below her skin. She was close. She had shed the body of a child long ago, yet her eyes spoke of the paradox to that.

She released with such euphoric bliss that she didn't even realize what he was doing. His dark powers began to surround them and turned day into night. Grey clouds from the East covered the sky. Lightning flashed in the West, and the sound of thunder was echoed in all directions.

He bit down: This time hard. Whatever she felt instantly dissipated and was replaced with a pain that seemed to rip out her very soul.

Her blood flowed down his throat and made him glow momentarily pink. He shuddered at the intensity of his orgasm. He could have sworn that he was one with the Divine, that he understood the preciousness of the one in his hold. No quicker than he felt it, it was ripped away. He had no right to such knowledge. Demons of his caliber never did.

This time, never before, and never again, he said her name that spoke of fresh rain, goodness, and everything he was not.

oOo

Three years earlier…

“At what lengths are you willing to take to gain power, Sesshoumaru.”

“Only what is necessary,” he replied calmly.

“Your powers could destroy such innocents,” he sagely warned, “are you willing to take that risk.”

“It is no risk to me. I have too much to gain from such a trivial matter.”

His father sighed. For the first time in his long life, he started to feel old, too old. His son was too much like her. And that made Sesshoumaru dangerous, even by his standards. Silently, the Great General, not for the first time, wondered, was there a way for his only son to understand the importance of compassion? If it meant for his son to understand, he would willingly give up an arm for him.

oOo

She didn't hear the call of her name spoken softly from his lips. The blackness of his powers made her shut down. It was done. He was immune to all things miko. Oddly enough, it was not as satisfying as he thought. Slowly, he pulled out of her and laid her on the ground. Night had firmly settled and in the distance a shower of falling stars skimmed the edges of the sky and faded. Quickly he dressed, looked back for a moment, and left.

Compassion indeed, he thought, what was the use.

oOo

She was dreaming; she knew this easily. Dreams always felt like this: distant, alone, abstract, passion.

She knew; she knew, and she was crying. The bitter tears felt acidic to her already fragile face. She didn't know how long she was crying or what exactly she was crying about, maybe everything. It was in this moment that she finally understood what her mind was telling her, warning her: Stay away from him. Her soul felt hollow, empty, like he took apart of it with him.

She cried more.

She could hate him. But even now, she knew that she wouldn't. Her heart was far too forgiving. Her love had no conditions. Like her, its intentions were pure.

Great sorrow, she continued weeping.

She made a mistake. She knew this, but she willed herself the courage to face it and, one day, him. She would not judge all demons by only one, but she would be cautious nonetheless. Time seemed to flow past her. She didn’t care.

With a final tear, she forced herself to awaken.

oOo

She woke up in pain. That was no surprise. The despair of already knowing he wouldn't be there was almost overwhelming. She made herself stand. Gazing at twilight, she found herself momentarily stilled by the falling stars. Like her state of mind, the light was falling away. In the darkness, she prayed for strength.

She never actually expected an answer. But what she got was something completely unexpected.

Suddenly, in that moment, someone, something within answered. Voices so familiar, connected to her very being, awakened her, and nothing was the same again. With an intimate whisper, they proclaimed destiny and said,

"Midoriko."

Finis