Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Inuyasha characters. Rumiko Takashi sadly owns them all.

-Miztaken4Beautiful

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 4

'So how was your day Kagome?' She wondered to herself. 'Oh, it was fantastic! I was kidnapped by an irate youkai and now I'm slung across his shoulder -which is digging into my stomach- like a sack of potatoes on my way to only god knows where, Oh and also, I have a wound in my shoulder, and another lost school uniform! Great right?' Kagome sighed. Kikyo had done some horrible deeds, but did that mean that as her reincarnation she had to repent for them all, had to endure the effects of her horrible karma! Seriously now, that was not fair.

'But what part of my life had ever been fair?' she mused. She was cursed to share the same face and soul as Kikyo; stuck with abilities and duties, just like Kikyo- except she couldn't have Inuyasha. He would only belong to Kikyo. So, she gets everything her past incarnation wanted to escape from, but not the arms she wanted to escape into. The only people to ever hold her close other than Inuyasha was Kouga and now, technically, Sesshomaru (despite the fact he could turn into a giant puppy) he wasn't exactly the cuddly sort.

It was amusing though, Kagome had to admit, that Lord Sesshomaru was allowing a 'pathetic human' to so much as touch him. Noticing the view from her position of 'hanging out' over his back, she had a nice view of the aforementioned arrogant ass's derrière.

Her face flushed scarlet and she realized what was covered, or lack thereof, by the skirt she was wearing. 'Oh, hell no!' She felt to the edge of her skirt and released the breath that she had been holding when it reached a decent length. She hadn't flashed feudal Japan after all. What a quaint thought.

Her mind began to wander back to places where it shouldn't. Back to another pair of amber eyes that she had long ago fallen in love with. She knew that she didn't have Inuyasha's love. He thought of her as a sister, and sure, she loved him and he loved her in his own way… but it would never be enough. She would never be the one to hold his heart. It really hurt.

Sesshomaru contemplated the girl for perhaps the hundredth time that evening. At first, embarrassment had begun to dominate her heady scent, and her body heat skyrocketed, but now, sorrow laced through her scent, and she kept sighing. It was a 180 degree turn around from her previous temperament, and Sesshomaru was not a fan. "Woman, what causes your grief?" He questioned, his ire reaching an all new plateau. Humans and their emotions… What was the point? To allow oneself to feel emotion was to promise oneself weakness and pain. Had they no self-preservatory instinct?

She stiffened. He almost sounded as if he was concerned about her. 'He did NOT just ask me what was bothering me.' She decided. 'Maybe all the blood rushing to my head-' "Wench, this Sesshomaru asked you a question." He stated nonchalantly. Okay, so she wasn't too far gone yet. Maybe knocking him into that tree had left him a bit brain damaged. Yes, that had to be it.

"Nothing is the matter, my lord." She whispered. "And by the way, I have a name you know! It's Kagome, Ka-Go-Me!" What was it with that deja vu sensation? Wait… Hadn't she said something along those lines to Inuyasha when they had begun traveling together? Strange. She was brought out of her ponderings when she noticed that her 'ride' for lack of a better term had ceased moving. 'That couldn't be a good sign.' And with the completion of that thought, Kagome found herself dropped unceremoniously back to earth.

"Bathe."

He said it so simply; it wasn't a request, but an order. She frowned. She decided that she liked his angry questioning over his monosyllabic commands. She looked around for some indication of where she would find the water, but had a crashing revelation. She was missing something vital. 'He left my backpack!' Her yellow monstrosity contained her school books, clothing, toiletries and everything else under the sun.

"Um…" How do you ask a favor from an arrogant demon lord after you nearly purified him and used his body as an instrument of war against the trees? Well when all else fails…

Stroke the male ego and ask nicely. "Excuse me… but we left my pack with all of my supplies." She looked away, allowing a hint of demureness to dawn upon her face. "Can I please retrieve it? Or, maybe you, such a powerful youkai could get it for me. You're so swift I'm sure you would be back in no time at all…" She plastered the most pleading face she could.

It was entirely his fault after all. He was the one who hauled her out of the well and walked away before she even had the chance to understand what was happening! The way Kagome saw it, this was the least he could do!

This girl was insane. First she berates him, verbally spars with him, resists him kicking and screaming, hurls him into a tree, and refuses to give him a simple answer, then proceeds into the silent treatment, and now she needs him to do her a favor? Funny. "Wench, I will do no such thing."

"Kagome." she quickly corrected him. So… He was immune to the puppy dog face. Wasn't that just ironic?

"Which way is the water then?" She asked. Seriously though, she was trapped with a guy who had more mood swings than Courtney Love on an acid trip. On a lighter note, she wasn't terrified anymore. Just exasperated. He looked over his left shoulder and Kagome took that as his signal and stood to leave.

He moved in front of her, his demonic speed making it seem as if he just blinked out existence for a moment and reappeared in front of her. "Do not attempt to escape. Until my curiosity is sated, you are mine." 'Mine? What the hell? He's delirious.'

"Wouldn't dream of it," She muttered walking in the vague direction he'd taken the moment out of his splendid time to acknowledge. "Where exactly are you going to be?" Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at that. Where did the wench think he would be? He had planned to get her pack. He would examine the contents before he returned it of course. It might offer some insight into who she was and why she knew him as well as she seemed to. But he would indefinitely check through it. Only an imbecile would give the strange power laden female unknown materials, and he didn't rise to power at such a young age by being a fool.

"It is of no concern to you." She watched him walk away. That simple –I am better than thou- walk. This would not end well. She just had that feeling again. She was really beginning to think that someone had it out for her. She was in the middle of nowhere, no means of protection, no Sesshomaru… No nothing. On that thought she turned back to the direction he said the water was. If she was going to be miserable, she might as well be clean, too.

'When am I?' That thought kept plaguing her. Obviously she was more than fifty years further back in time than she was used to. Kikyo hadn't sealed Inuyasha to the Goshinboku yet, but Sesshomaru was here. Conveniently located in the most inconvenient place he could occupy. With her. Kagome knew that Sesshomaru was older than Inuyasha, but how much older was he? What century was she in? More importantly though, how was she supposed to get back to where she belonged?

Kagome heard a tree branch snap and whirled around. Nothing was there. You know, except for all those horrible things she kept imagining. The forest was creepy. Why was it always the creepy paths she had to walk alone? Never the flowery, sun shine filled places. Nope. She only managed to be sent to the gloomy, horrible castles and the deteriorating trails. Not to mention she was injured. Her shoulder still dully ached, but it wasn't bleeding anymore. She was only worried that the blood would attract unsavory company.

If only she knew how right she was.

The leader of the pack growled and took off to the west. Hunger was glowing in the wolves' eyes, and their teeth had a peculiar luminosity; a vicious white in the twilight. Tonight they would feast. Their leader smiled in his humanoid form. He was far faster than the rest of the pack, so he preferred to hunt solo.

He would scout out the area and stalk their prey and bring it back of course. But what did he want the main course to be? He quickly picked up the scent of human blood. A grin split his face. Well now, that was easy.

You know that feeling you get when your hair stands on end, butterflies flutter nervously in your stomach, and you feel slightly sick? No she wasn't in love, stupid, she was being watched. She shuddered. She was being followed. She hid behind a tree, glancing out nervously. Sesshomaru had the worst timing; couldn't fate help her out just this once? Please? Nope. This was working out quite nicely the way Lady Fate viewed it; and what a sadistic lady she was.

Kagome cursed as she felt the aura of the demon approaching. It was strong. What were the chances that ANOTHER enemy would find her? Before she could bemoan her luck anymore, a figure stepped out of the shade. He had long black hair and emerald green eyes. He smiled at Kagome and she got the distinct impression that it wasn't a very friendly smile.

"Wench."

Monosyllabic. Why was everyone so goddamned monosyllabic? It was infuriating. And another thing, 'Wench' was it branded on her forehead? Why did everyone have to address her like that? Was Kagome too big of a word to remember with their chauvinistic egos taking up so much room?

She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "It's Kagome! Ka-Go-Me! Not wench, priestess, woman, or whatever else you deem to call me! How come no one can seem to remember my name! Is it too hard, or are you just so stupid that the best thing you can think to call me is wench! Is that it? Stop staring at me and answer!"

His eyes were fixated on the woman before him. He had a dumbfounded expression on his handsome face, he was sure of it. She had yelled at him. She had the nerve to yell and insult him, and strangely, it was attractive. Huh. Maybe he had some masochistic tendencies?

The wench was lovely though. Bright eyed with clear complexion and killer curves. He decided that he quite liked the way she yelled at him, and he wanted to make her yell more. He moved towards her, a smile curving his lips. "I was always told not to play with my food, but I think I'll make an exception on your behalf, Kagome." He sneered at her, and Kagome snapped. Before the demon had a chance to react, there was a loud thwack and a red hand print across his face. Looks like all that practice on Miroku was finally paying off.

The demon had gone still. A variety of emotions were playing across his face, and Kagome got the distinct impression that she didn't want to be there when he finally settled on one. Noting her disadvantage in the situation, she did what any self-respecting modern woman would. She ran like hell. She was just passing through the clearing Sesshomaru had dropped her in when she tripped and fell; projecting herself face first into the earth, arms outstretched to break her fall. The landing was rough, and she had skinned her palms. Looking behind her she saw what had surely brought about her demise.

'Damn those tree roots!'

Sesshomaru looked at the contents of the "backpack" as the woman-child had called it. It contained two more of the indecently short outfits, a cooking pot, strange packaging made of an unknown material that read 'Ramen', another strange shiny item which contained water, bottles of unknown substances (he didn't like these…), a hair brush, a mini-hair brush, an odd line filled book, a blue and unnatural stick, and a strange article of clothing that read, 'jeans.'

Aside from the bottle labled "Love Spell," nothing looked like it had any straight-forward magical properties, but that didn't mean he had ever seen the like before. Was she a foreigner? He had, after all, traveled around this entire country searching for Tetsusaiga, he had been to the continent. Overall, Sesshomaru was a very cultured Youkai. Yet he'd still never seen anything like it. The wench had refused to answer any of his questions. It would seem that he was going to have to use alternate means in order to get answers out of her.

Kagome looked up at her newest suitor.

He had "Claimed" her as Kouga would in some amount of years in the future. 'Great.' He smiled at her, all charm and confidence. He stated proudly, "I am Hasuko, leader of the wolf demon tribe, and you are my chosen mate." Did he even consider the fact that five minutes ago she was food? 'I guess not.' Did the youkai race have something out for her? Specifically the damned canines? Two wolves claim her, one dog, and another dog just harasses the hell out of her.

'And to think, I always felt that I was a cat person.'

Approaching the clearing, Sesshomaru felt the presence of another youkai. He had some claim to power, but it didn't even compare to his own. He caught the scent of Kagome's blood and felt his hackles rise. She may have been a prisoner, but she was his prisoner, and as such it was his duty to ensure her safety. At least until he got answers. His annoyance was pricked, but he prepared for the worst when he passed through the tree line.

Hasuko had sensed an encroaching presence. He had assumed that it was another demon looking for food or entertainment, maybe even a little bit of both. He released a warning growl and stepped in front of Kagome protectively. She was after all his mate to be. A powerful force had entered the clearing wearing flawless clothing and an expressionless face. "Stay behind me," he commanded, keeping a close watch on the intruder. "This guy isn't your everyday youkai."

Kagome knew this was going to be awkward. She remembered Inuyasha's reaction to her gaining suitors, but that was probably just because she looked so much like Kikyo. She sighed. "Hey, Sesshomaru," She muttered. He merely cocked an eyebrow at her. 'How does he do that?' she wondered, taking a second to try to imitate the motion. 'How come I can't!' She mentally pouted. She tried to move away from Hasuko, but to no avail. His arm snatched out and entwined itself around her waist. "I have laid claim on you, female, you are mine." He paused a moment. "Kagome." It was almost an afterthought.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. "The wench is accompanying this Sesshomaru to wherever I see fit. She belongs to me for as long as I require her. To stake a claim on the female will be your life." 'Property!' Kagome fumed. Was that all she would ever be? Someone's property? She started to walk towards Sesshomaru, anger radiating off of her in waves. She sent the mighty Taiyoukai a look that would've made the devil himself tremble. Trip the lights fantastic, all hell was going to break loose.