DISCLAIMER: All Inuyasha goodness belongs to the amazing Takahashi-san!

Empty Threats

By MissKatt

The Half-Demon

Kagome felt as if she was reliving last night.

The Taisho men, the Sheriff and his friends, and Naraku were all at Shikon Saloon. Fortunately for her, word of the banker's hosted party spread throughout the town, filling the building with many men. The vast amount of people was helping her keep her distance from Naraku, and, unfortunately, her bandit. She hadn't even been able to take care of him, some other saloon girl serving them instead.

With a sigh, she picked up the tray of shots when Miroku set them down. "Thanks Miroku."

"But of course, Miss Kagome. How could I not be helpin' out when it is so busy?" He said with a smile. "Yer doin' quite well with keepin' yerself composed."

She gave him a smirk. "I suppose my nerves have dun drowned out my pain."

He looked at her sympathetically. "It'll be over soon."

"I know." She agreed before carrying the tray through the bustling crowd, passing out the shots.

"Miss Kagome."

The saloon girl jumped when someone touched her shoulder, the shoots of whiskey sloshing slightly onto the tray she carried. She tensed and very slowly turned around to see the male. She sighed in relief when she saw the sheriff giving her a curious look. "S-Sheriff Kouga, good evenin'."

"And to yah as well," He murmured as he looked over her appearance. She was wearing his favorite outfit, the light blue short dress that matched his eyes with a black trim. Her black hair was twisted up into a bun, a black feather tucked into the corner of it. "Are yah feelin' well, Miss Kagome? You don't look too good." He commented upon taking note of her pale complexion.

"A-ah yea, I be fine, Sheriff. Thank yah though," She replied with a shaky smile. She held up her tray towards him. "Would yah like another shoot? They be free for y'all policemen."

"Is that so? How can I refuse it then?" He asked with a sudden sloppy smile as he took one of the shots. "Thank yah, Miss Kagome."

"Of course, Sheriff," She said and then waited for him to finish the shot before taking the empty glass and putting it back on the tray. She blinked when she noticed him staring at her intently, his body swaying ever so slightly. Was he drunk already? "Sheriff?"

"Kouga, please, Miss Kagome," He insisted as he dipped his head in towards her. "Yah smell absolutely delicious tonight."

She blushed and leaned slightly away from him as his body drew closer to her, the tray wedged in between them. She couldn't help but glance over at Sesshoumaru's table, but his attention was drawn elsewhere. "Yer gonna make me spill," She muttered awkwardly as she turned her face away from his when he tried to kiss her. "Sher-Kouga, stop. Yer not thinkin' straight."

"I can't ever think straight when yer around me," He continued, pressing his nose to her temple. "Yah always smell so good." He repeated.

Her brow furrowed. Why did he keep saying that? She balanced the tray with one gloved hand and pressed the other against his chest, trying to push him back. "Kouga, why don't yah go and sit down? I'll go and fetch yah some water." Again, her eyes darted towards Sesshoumaru's table, but he seemed to be too busy talking to his father. Why wasn't he helping her?

"Miss Kagome." He purred, his hand going to her side to trace the curve of her body.

"Kouga!" She snapped, feeling very, very uncomfortable. "Stop it!"

"Ah, Sheriff, I do believe that Miss Kagome here has to go back to work, why don't you go and join your friends? I am sure Miss Kagome will join you later when she is not busy." A new voice said from behind Kouga.

She blinked when Kouga suddenly stepped away from her. She straightened up and watched as Kouga grinned and winked at her before wading over to Ginta and Hakakku. She turned to the person who helped her and immediately felt her stomach dropped as his brown eyes fell on her, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "M-Mr Naraku," She greeted. She suddenly wished Kouga was still next to her. "How can I help yah?"

His smirk widened. "You can't," He stated. "I came to help you. You seemed quite uncomfortable with the Sheriff's advances. He was almost like a wolf about to eat his prey."

"Ah-uh, I suppose, but alcohol can do that to a person," She murmured, her blue pools fixated on her tray. "W-well, enjoy yer night!"

He quickly caught her arm as she turned away. "But where are you off too? Surely, you can stay in my company. After all, I did just save you. How about you sit and relax with me? You have been working hard tonight and I haven't seen much of you."

'There be a reason fer that!' She mentally screamed, her eyes once again looking at Sesshoumaru. Her chest warmed when those green eyes met hers. 'Finally he's lookin' at me!'

"Yeah, it seems everyone be thirsty this evenin'," She commented with a forced smile, trying to ignore how cold her arm felt from his firm hold on her. "And I'm sorry, Mr Naraku, but the boss would be upset if I go and slack off on a busy night."

"Nonsense, this is my party after all," He said as he released her arm to grab her tray and set it down the table after grabbing two shots. He handed her one. "Here, have a drink with me, Miss Kagome."

"Oh, no, boss would rather shoot his best horse than allow one of us to go and drink his whiskey." She couldn't believe he was still talking to her. Why couldn't he just leave her alone!?

"If I said it was okay, then I assure you that it is." He pressured, holding the shot up to her.

She panicked. "O-oh, but the night still be young and I think a drink would go and make me a bit tipsy. And I dun-"

His eyes flashed red as he stared at her. "Take the drink."

Fear stabbed at her gut as she saw his crimson eyes flash down at her, his voice suddenly cold. With a shaking hand, she grabbed the shoot and looked at Sesshoumaru once again, her brow furrowing at the glare marring his face. She forced a smile as Naraku suggested they make a toast.

"And what we be cheersin' to, Mr Naraku?" She asked hesitantly, her shoulders tight with nerves.

He leaned in towards her, his lips by her ear. "To demons coming out of hiding," He breathed into her ear. "Now, drink."

She paled as he knocked his glass against hers in a cheers, but did as told. She knocked the drink back and let the whiskey burn down her throat. "Ah, well, thanks for the drink, Mr Naraku, but I must be gettin' back to work." She murmured as she hurried to set the glass back on the tray.

She had to get away from him.

The way he said that; it wasn't right. It sounded like the promise of a threat. And the fact that he said demons meant that he knew that she knew about them. But how? And what did that mean for her? What did he get out of talking to her?

He caught her when she turned away and dipped his head towards her, his tongue lapping at the trace of whiskey at the corner of her mouth. "Oh, no, your work for the rest of the night is with me," He smirked and grabbed her upper arm once again. He looked over at the Taisho men and gave them a wink before walking towards the drunk Myouga.

"Mr Myouga, it is a bit stuffy in here so I am taking the lovely Miss Kagome out for a walk with me." He told him.

Myouga turned up his pointy nose to look at the two. "If yah plan on screwin' her, yah can do it upstairs."

He let out a laugh. "Oh, I plan on devouring her, but not here. It's much too crude for my tastes."

"Yah still gotta pay fer her." He snorted.

"Include it on my tab for the party." Naraku said as he hauled the girl towards the saloon exit, not caring for what he had to say afterwards.

*~~~Empty Threats~~~*

"Sesshoumaru!" Touga shouted as his son bolted up from his chair and headed towards the door. He and Inuyasha stood up and ran after him, trying to catch him before he did something stupid. Catching his son by the back of the coat, he brought him to a halt a few paces away from the Saloon. "Stop. Let's just think this through before we do anything hasty."

He shrugged him off. "I am done with doing things your way. You suggested she not serve us as to not draw attention to her and look were it got her." He growled, his eyes darting across the dark streets to try and figure out where Naraku went.

He sighed. "I thought I was protecting her by keeping her away from us. I did not think he would be so bold with his actions." He admitted.

Sesshoumaru glared at his father, his honey pools breaking through his guise. "And you stopped me from ripping the Sheriff to shreds."

"Again, where would that get us?" Touga asked with an irritated tone. "Really, Sesshoumaru, listen to yourself. You have never been this brash. You have always been composed and collected."

He tightened his hands into fists, but decided to not agree with his father. There was something about Kagome that made him throw all reason to the wind. "We have to find her."

"We will. This town is small and they could not have gone far." His father replied, his brow furrowing. Was it possible this woman was Sesshoumaru's potential mate? It would explain his behavior when it came to her safety.

Sesshoumaru remained silent as he kept his ears open, his keen hearing trying to pick up on Kagome's voice. His nostrils flared as he tried to pick up her scent. Suddenly the hair on the back of his neck stood on end as the familiar scent of her blood entered his nose. A deep growl vibrated in his chest as the unaccustomed feeling of fear hit him.

He could not lose another female who managed to worm her way into his heart.

Many years ago, before Inuyasha was born, he and his father had gone out to raid a butcher shop who was supposedly selling human muscle as animal meat. When they reached the town, they quickly discovered that they had been set up. The demons had been waiting for them, trying to kill them off before they could shut down their business.

During the fight, Sesshoumaru had sustained a rather bad injury to his left arm. Taking advantage, the three demons turned tail and fled. He had told his father to go after them while he tended to his wound, knowing he would be somewhat useless with his arm in the condition it was in. He ventured out to the outer skirts of the town before he slumped against the wall of a shabby building, clutching his arm in pain as blood ran from the wound.

"Ah…"

His eyes snapped open, guise long gone as his concentration was broken. In front of him was a little girl, her large brown eyes wide with curiosity. He growled at her in warning when she kneeled down next to him. "Leave me."

She pursed her lips together, her eyes staring at his arm before darting back to his gold ones. She help up a finger to him before getting back up on her feet and running into the shack.

"Do not bother." He tried to tell her, but she was already gone. Another wave of pain washed over him causing him to close his eyes. Hearing the sloshing of water in a pail minutes later, he cracked open an eye to see the little girl dipping her apron in the pail.

She rung out the water and dabbed at his wound, ignoring his glares and growls for her to stop and go away. Once it was clean she tied a white rag around his arm. When she was done, she offered him a cup of clean water, which he turned away from. Regardless, she gave him a toothy smile before getting up to leave.

This process continued three times a day for three days.

His brow furrowed slightly as he stared off towards the dirt path that lead back to town. The little girl was usually skipping down the road by now, a large smile on her face as she approached him. Where was she? Did it have anything to do with the bruises she showed up with yesterday? Why wouldn't she just tell him where she got them from? Why did she just laugh and smile at him with kindness?

"Sesshoumaru! There you are." His father said as he approached him. "Have you been here this entire time? Did you kill the last demon?"

"What do you mean? I have been here for the past three days healing." He responded.

His father sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "One of them got away from me. I stopped following him, knowing that he would come back here where his business was. I thought that you may have finished them off."

Amber pools widened slightly. If the demon was back in town running his business selling human meat and the girl was late… No, he didn't want to assume that. But, why did he care? It wasn't like she held any value to him, right?

He got to his feet. "Let us finish it." He stated bluntly as he walked with his father back into town, both of them masking their auras and appearances.

The fresh scent of human blood hit him hard when they pushed open the door to the butcher shop. Immediately his gut dropped when her scent hung in the air. Ignoring his father's command, he kicked open the flimsy door that lead to the back of the shop and immediately snarled in rage. The little girl was laid out naked on a wooden table, large chunks of her flesh missing from her abdomen, thighs, and arms as if she were some sort of cow.

The demon dropped the skinning knife at the intrusion. He was halfway to turning towards the intruders when his head was severed from his body. Sesshoumaru kicked the head aside as he approached the wooden table.

"Ah…" Came her pained breath.

Gods, she was still alive. He stared down at her pained eyes before glancing down at her various wounds and knew there was no way to help her. She would bleed out no matter what. He met her eyes once again and cringed when she gave him a small smile. How could she still smile? Why did she still smile when she was in such obvious pain?

She didn't deserve to die like this.

"What is your name?" He asked gently. Her tiny hand reached towards him and he grabbed it, trying to offer her some comfort.

Another smile. "R-Rin."

"Do not let her suffer any longer, Sesshoumaru." Came his father's voice. How long had he been there?

He knew that. He knew he had to end it for her; had to show her to same courtesy. Still, he hesitated. Could he really take her life when she cared for him so selflessly? Keeping his hold on her hand, he lowered his free hand to her frail neck and enclosed his fingers around it. He met her now dull brown eyes and watched as she gave him another quivering smile. He gave her a very faint one back before he flicked his wrist, snapping the bone as if it were a twig.

His heart hurt at the sight of the small smile on her dead face.

Sesshoumaru shook his head as he came back from the memory, his chest tight.

Losing Rin was hard enough, he couldn't go through it again.