Hair dark as night whipped wildly behind a young girl, no older than 13, her feet propelling her quickly through the forest. Her breathing erratic, she pushed her young body to its limits and beyond, trying to get further away from the beast chasing her. Branches reached out and caught her by her hair and snagged her, roots reached from the ground to trip her. In spite of it all, she continued at the swift pace; pushing herself farther than she had ever gone. Sharp pains assaulted her chest and lungs, her pace slowing with her slow, heaving gasps.
In her exhaustion her footing failed her and an exceptionally large root reached out and caught her foot, slicing into her ankle and sending her sprawling into a small clearing. Tears pricked her eyes, but the sound of dark chuckling made her wipe them away. She grunted, attempting to push herself up onto her feet, and stumbled away from the edge of the clearing. She stopped near the middle, her triangular shaped ears swiveled frantically atop her head and her eyes darted to the edges of the clearing, looking for her attacker.
A deep, evil chuckle sounded from all around the clearing, and a disgustingly deformed youkai stepped out from the tree line. Fear and panic froze her body and she knew she was finished. The creature stepped forward, reveling in the scent of her fear. “Ah, such a young, delicious smelling hanyou. Hmmm, how shall I eat you? Raw? I’ve always enjoyed the taste of virginal flesh.”
Stalking towards her, the youkai paused as movement flashed out of the corner of its left eye. Turning to face the new presence in the field, the youkai snarled; angry that its dinner had been interrupted, “How dare you interfere, pup? Has no one taught you the proper respect? Leave at once and I shall forget this unfortunate occurrence.”
Golden eyes narrowed at the obvious slight towards his parentage. The newest addition to the clearing had no love for hanyou’s, however; he did have a large amount of disdain for youkai who lowered themselves enough to become beasts. Flicking his moonlight, silver hair over his shoulder, the humanoid youkai lifted his chin a little higher, “Have you no senses? You dare address this Sesshoumaru in such a way?”
Eyes widening fractionally, the grotesque youkai stepped away from the young woman. He laughed loudly at the young, regal-looking youkai, “You, pup? You are the great and terrible Sesshoumaru? The Killing Perfection? Ha! You are no more th—“
The small girl looked up just in time to see the youkai’s head roll away from her, its tongue lolling to the side. She gasped, stumbling back and only stopping when she backed into a tree. Her eyes made their way from the dead youkai, to the pristine, glowing youkai across the field. His piercing golden eyes strayed from his prey to her, and she froze, unsure as to what to do. Within heartbeats he was in front of her, staring down his nose at her. She flinched and curled up into herself, afraid of what he could do to her. When she caught the sounds of cloth ripping, she looked up in shock. The inuyoukai was tearing strips of material from his haori to bandage her ankle. She stared in awe as he gently wrapped her ankle, stopping the bleeding.
Following him into a standing position, Kagome bowed as best as her ankle allowed, “Arigato Sesshoumaru-sama. If there is any way that I can repay you, please, allow me.”
He stood silently for a moment, before replying, “Hn. Do not wander in the forest alone. It is dangerous.”
She bowed again, “Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama.” The sounds of rustling silk and a slight breeze against her, carrying his woodsy scent, were her only indications of his movement. When she glanced back up, he was gone.
A/N: Hey there! Its been a while, I know, but this has been in the works for years... Still don't know where I'm going with it. Planning on it being a bit laid back for a while. Bear with me for a while, I'm still working out the kinks.
Please Read & Review!!!