AN: I always wanted to write a Kagura-centric fic. And have Sesshomaru as the SEXEY vampire lord… Excuse me, I have to go chain—I mean—calm my inner fangirl…ness.

Half Blood

Chapter One

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow, you're only a DAY A—

One fist connected with the radio in a shocking knockout; the radio sailed into the air and crash landed on the dank wall on the opposite side of the bedroom. The remnants of the object slid down the terrible paint job oh so slowly and gruesomely, like a murder on CSI.

Kagura cursed and rolled out of bed. Quite literally.

"Motherfu—" she was muffled by her pillows, "—ing…DAMMIT!" She stood up and kicked her pillows and covers away. It was a good thing she had bought those blinds or someone might've seen her in all her bare glory. After all, she slept in her birthday suit.

She groggily stumbled to her kitchen to check the only other clock in the house. 6 PM. Well, at least she'd gotten her beauty sleep.

Kagura sauntered into her closet and pulled out whatever she could find. She didn't exactly have a large closet, per se, so dressing up usually took less then five minutes. She washed her face in the bathroom, grabbed her keychain from the countertop, and strode out of her tiny apartment room. She did, however, remember to check her mailbox on the first floor.

Eviction notice, phone bills, second eviction notice, paycheck, third eviction notice… Hmm. She'd have to pay her rent soon.

Kagura trekked the short five minute trip to the local library and made it just before 6:15. Kagura bent her head down and barely avoided Kaede, the librarian manager. She could not, however, avoid her coworker.

"Kagura!" Kagome said, walking up to her from behind. "Where were you this morning? I was the only waitress at the café and you know Miroku took full advantage of that!" She said as she rubbed her sore butt to emphasize the point.

Kagura rolled her eyes and shuffled to the back. "I guess you're lucky my fever broke." She went into the storage room and slung an old duffel bag over her shoulder, Kagome doing the same behind her. "And why were you alone with Miroku? What happened to the other girls?"

"They all called in sick after that double murder last night." Kagome said nonchalantly, throwing the used books stacked high atop the shelves into her bag for either restoration or disposal.

"That was nowhere near the café!" Kagura laughed humorlessly.

"The victims were both waitresses."

"Waitresses who had nightshifts. The café closes at 5."

"Touché."

Kagura sighed when the girl finally quieted. Personally, she couldn't stand the optimism—it wasn't that the younger girl was rude or dismissive; it was simply the fact that they were complete opposites. Kagome was a happy 15 year-old with a happy family who lived on the happy-happy shrine and, though hesitantly, happily studied for the upcoming high school entrance exams. Kagura was a young adult who lived in an almost habitable apartment complex who always almost paid her bills on time and always felt bitter about ALMOST finishing high school.

Yeah. They were opposites.

"Kohaku forgot we changed his volunteer hours."

"He forgets a lot of things."

"Kaede's thinking about giving us a raise." Kagome said, launching into another gossip. Luckily for her this was something Kagura had wanted to hear.

"That's good. I got another eviction notice."

Kagome's brows furrowed. "Why do you live there? You could do so much better."

"With what Miroku and Kaede pays…uh, no."

"There's a new apartment complex opening near my shrine. I hear it's really affordable with 24-hr security."

"Affordable would be too expensive for me." And so they argued about what was affordable and whatnot for the next three hours. It was when Kaede was closing the building did Kagome ask something strange.

"Could you walk me home tonight?"

"…what?" Kagura whirled around. Kagome was never one to cower in the dark, as girly as she was.

"The murders happened really near the shrine…"

She rolled her eyes. "God, Kagome, if you're that nervous why don't you get," she pulled out her keychain to show a shiny object decorated with rubies, "a mace? Or a Taser?"

"Taser?"

"Yeah. My cell phone," Kagura pointed to the fake phone attached to her keychain. "It's weak, though."

"Did you buy it legally?"

Kagura ignored that. "Alright, let's get you home."

Kagome happily followed the older woman out, remembering to wave to Kaede before exiting, and trotted down the dark street with a large smile plastered on her face. Then a thought hit her. "Wouldn't the serial killer attack us since we're a pair?"

"Since when was the murderer a serial killer?" Kagura snapped.

"There was that double murder in Yokohama. And the other one in Kyoto."

"Do you have some sick obsession with the murders?" She was beginning to regret escorting the young girl.

She grinned. "I've watched Saw and Saw II, if that's what you mean."

"There you go, then."

"Hey, what is—" Kagome's eyes bulged and she froze mid-step. Kagura turned to follow her gaze.

She didn't see anything strange. All she saw was a white-haired man sleeping under the only streetlight on the block with his legs outstretched. Kagura briefly thought he was a homeless man: A well-dressed and not-so-bad-looking hobo. Until she saw the blood covering half his face and right shoulder. That was certainly strange.

"Kagome," Kagura helplessly called as the schoolgirl rushed to the aid of the bloodied man. The naïve girl was never one to pass on the needy, but this was no laughing matter; the man was sitting in his own blood. He was probably already dead, no less. Kagura felt sick, wondering if she was looking at a corpse, when Kagome suddenly cried.

"I can feel his pulse! He's breathing, but it's shallow. We have to call 911!"

Kagura reached for her cell phone and—oh, right. Taser.

"I'll go find the payphone." Kagura weakly said and turned. Only to freeze yet again.

"Kagura, what are you—" Kagome looked up from the wounded man. In the distance a tall form stood just visible in the abnormal darkness, his white-as-snow hair and clothes a stark contrast to the shadows. Kagome squinted and made out a sharp face with two golden orbs where the eyes should've been.

Even time seemed to stand still as the two women stared at the unknown figure. Unable to move or speak Kagura stood glued to the ground. Those eyes. Those eyes…

His voice broke the spell cast over Kagome and Kagura.

"Step aside." Was his short command. "You're in the way."

As if on cue the streetlight gave up, engulfing the four in darkness.

Kagome screamed and Kagura spun on her heels.

It was when she took a step to where she guessed Kagome was did she hear the flutter of clothes, the brush of fine fabric, and the scent of grass after the rain. Instinctively, as if she had expected this all along, she blindly grabbed for the sleeve. Unexpectedly, the unseen form compliantly stopped. Kagura could picture the surprise on the unknown face; it had happened all very fast.

The voice spoke again. "Human, you will let go of This Sesshomaru."

Well, haughty, aren't we?

Kagura reached for her mace and…

Something hit her head. "OW!"

"Sorry!" came Kagome's apology, "Bad aim!" Another shoe flew their way and Kagura stepped back, releasing the silk sleeve as she did so. She realized her mistake the moment she heard Kagome scream. It had taken all but a second for the man-in-white to reach Kagome and the bloody body.

Kagura ran after him and wildly sprayed the mace around her, shielding her eyes with her other arm. A moment later she heard an annoyed, "Die." She tripped on an outstretched leg before she heard something crack, saw something flash, and felt a hot pocket of air brush the top of her head. Kagura didn't know it yet but, against all odds and against the likeliest of outcomes, the melee attack had missed her.

There was a thunderous crash and the ground and heaven seemed to tremble in unison. Her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness just as she turned to see the streetlight descend. "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

Kagura wildly grabbed for Kagome's forearm and instead found herself being dragged off the ground. As the women ran away the streetlight toppled to the ground (not without taking a chunk of a nearby roof and causing extensive damage to the house's backyard).

"Help me with him," Kagome gasped out and held out something for Kagura to hold. It was a cold hand. Apparently Kagome had gathered enough strength to lift the bloody man off the ground and onto her back.

Kagura pulled the arm over her shoulder and the two women escaped with the limp body between them, their body running purely on adrenalin and maddening fear.

And, for some bizarre and twisted reason, they were not followed.

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AN: Next chapter—Kagura goes to wait tables at the café and meets an unexpected customer…