Blood's Broth

By: CagedRaven

Summary-

(A vampire story)What name he went by this time she didn't know, nor how he looked. The beating of her forgotten heart told her body her beloved was of age again. Now all she would have to do was find him…

Chapter Twelve

Kagura flew over tall buildings with colorful tops painted in different shades of red, green and touches of gold. She would have loved to look around but couldn't afford to. She had a job to do in a limited amount of time. Even though Naraku never quoted the hours he was giving her, Kagura knew the time that she was given was slowly expiring. If she didn't make it back in time… well, she didn't know what he would do exactly because she always made it back in time.

She moved her feather right, circling over a small city on the border of Russia. It didn't take her that long to get to the spot Kanna said the kid was at. The wind was blowing nicely today even if it was cold air, it still helped coming from behind.

Looking up and down all the streets and corners of the city, Kagura sighed in annoyance. How did Naraku expect her to find one kid in a cold, snowing city? When it was cold out, and every person in the world knew that Russia was cold, people tend to cover every part of their body.

She continued to search the city, ignoring the one or two people that saw her in the sky. She toyed with a paper fan she always carried around; it was as much her safety blanket as her weapon of choice. A wind demon only needed to make more wind to kill.

When she was just about to give up and head back to Japan, something caught her eye. In the back of a building were two demons. One, she could tell right away was a snow leopard demon. His dusty gray hair was thick and short. Through his light jacket she could see the muscle of his arms, and his legs were no different. She knew demons of the snow leopard clan were very much used to the cold weather, just like the real animal itself, so it wasn't something she found odd when she saw his jacket was unzipped.

Tension laced the air thickly, all coming from the larger demon. The teenager sat on what looked like an old empty box. His legs swung back and forth as he absently played with a lighter's switch. Kagura confirmed his appearance, knowing the kid was the one Naraku was looking for. But she wouldn't go down now and confront him; he was already in the middle of something.

Luckily, Kagura knew more than a bit of the Russian language and was able to overhear their conversation. The snow leopard demon was angrily yelling about a missing girl, a friend of his. How she conveniently went missing in that afternoon and how he found her dead body in the ally way; the smell of blood thick, and the scent on her just as clear.

Kagura watched closely, trying to hear the more quiet voice of the younger male. All she saw was a grin spread across his lips as they moved, forming words she couldn't hear. Whatever they were, the leopard demon grabbed him by the collar and slammed his smaller body into the wall of the building. The lighter landed on the snow covered ground, but his grin never vanished as the other demon growled in his face. Again they started to talk, threatening the other Kagura thought as she lowered her feather in an attempt to listen.

The teen grinned wider, shaking his head like a parent disappointed in a child, "Вы демоны никогда не будете учить.(You demons will never learn.)"

Kagura lifted an eyebrow, what had he mean 'demons'; wasn't he just a demon as well?

With movement barely seen by the naked eye, the teen had horribly marred off the leopard's arm which held his collar. He placed his feet on the ground, slowly and intimidating as he brought the blood coated hand closer to his mouth.

The leopard demon held onto his empty shoulder, wincing as the pain laced through him. "Черт возьми, когда сделали вы…? (What the hell- when did you…?)"

"Я всегда detested кровь через вену мужчины. Она никогда не пробовала как сладостной как женщины," (I have always detested the blood running through a male's vein. It never tasted as sweet as female's,) Both Kagura and the leopard demon watched as his lavender-gray eyes mixed with crimson "только отчаянные времена вызывают для отчаянных измерений (but desperate times calls for desperate measures.)"

The older male growled, showing his fangs while looking out from under his brow. He convinced himself that the kid just had speed on his side but the leopard clan had a great amount of speed as well. He would make it, so what he got a little hurt; he'd make it through. "Я убью вас в 5 MINUTах плоско для вы сделали к мне (I'll kill you in five minutes flat for what you did to me.)"

Kagura watched as blood was spilled as the two fought, still sitting on her floating feather in the sky. All she needed was popcorn or something it would be just like a movie. She wondered where all the citizens were and why they hadn't come running to the back of the building.

A scream of pain cut short filled the air, Kagura smirked. The kid had won in under five minutes, twisting the demons neck until it cracked. The body fell lifelessly to the concrete with a sickening smack; flicking the blood off his hands the teen picked up his lighter. He pulled a carton of cigarettes out of his pocket, selected one and lit it. Kagura lowered her feather further and touched her feet to the snow, "Aren't you a little young to be smoking?"

He eyed her, blowing out a cloud of smoke, "Aren't you too old to be a stalker?"

She let her feather shrink down to size and placed it back in her hair, "You understand Japanese. That's great; it takes me a while to speak Russian." She played with her fan as she babbled; completely ignoring the fact that he disrespected her. "First I have to think about what I want to say then I have to word it differently-"

"What do you want?" He asked, blowing more gray smoke in her direction. He sat back down on the empty box, swinging his legs as if the demon's body wasn't on the floor.

She closed her fan; that was a strange sight. One minute ago he was killing another, the next he was swinging his legs like a child while smoking a cigarette. He was a very strange kid and Kagura had a feeling she knew why.

"I came for someone else actually, he was interested in you."

"Ah, so he was the one following me around earlier." Flicking the butt away from him into the snow, he stood, shoving his dirty hands in his pockets. "Sorry but I can't help you or your friend."

Kagura didn't want to know what would happen if she went back to Japan without him, Naraku would surely have her head. So she followed the teen, muttering to herself about the time limit. She didn't know how much longer she may have but hoped it was enough to convince the adolescent to come with her. She sighed, "Why couldn't he just stick with the plan and Kagome?"

The teen looked over his shoulder, stopping his walk around the building. That name, it brought back memories he wish he could forget. Just at the thought of the woman, his eyes turned blood red again. "This Kagome you mentioned, does your friend know her?"

Kagura lifted a brow, "Yea, he does. Can't get his thoughts away from her."

The teen turned towards her, a hungry grin coming back to him. He was used to this empty feeling, he was always hungry. "So what if I do go and meet with your friend, what then?"

Kagura shrugged her shoulders, "He never tells me his whole plan, so I wouldn't know what would happen after that." She answered blandly.

He could hear the heartbeat of a woman close by. She was walking briskly, causing the beating organ to tease him even more. Grinding his teeth, he looked back over to the Kagura. "Wait here, I'll be right back. Then I'll go with you to Japan."

Kagura watched him walk away; how did he know she was taking him to Japan? She never let it slip, did she? Throwing her hands in the air the wind demon sighed, "Of course he knew, I was talking in Japanese."

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Snow was still falling and the sky was black making the white on the ground made it seem brighter. When he returned, his shirt and coat were stained with crimson and he made no sign of hiding it. Kagura heard him mumble something about still being hungry but didn't ask about it. He had been gone for a while chasing down 'food' but his eyes still held their red shade.

Kagura pulled out her white feather, enlarging it with her demonic powers. She climbed on and waited for him. The teen eyed the feather but didn't move any closer to it. "You don't expect me to get on that, do you?"

The wind demon rolled her eyes, "Yes I do, and I have a feeling were already behind schedule."

"What schedule…?" He asked, hesitantly climbing onto the feather. Kagura shook her head, muttering under her breath. Using the wind to move them, she guided the feather to Japan.

"By the way, what's your name?" Kagura called over her shoulder to the teen behind her. His eyes were back to their lavender-gray complexion, looking down at the people, demons, and the wonderful architecture of Russia.

He smirked, "You've been looking for me and don't even know my name?" He couldn't stop laughing at her stupidity. "It's Choukichi."

"Lasting luck, huh?"

He had always thought it was pretty ironic for his name to mean luck; he had yet to experience what the word truly meant.

It was quite and lonely, the leaky showerhead making ripples in the filled tub was the only sound heard. All by herself just as she didn't desire; she stepped out the warm bath water. Water laced her pale skin and dark hair as she grabbed a robe to shield her body from the cold air.

It was a cold night; the weather man had said there was a chance it would snow. The moon was out, she noted, maybe she would go out.

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She sat in a café, her black hair tied back at the nape of her neck and her brown orbs watching the small crowed of people either reading, writing, or just drinking a cup full of caffeine. It was peaceful, light music coated the air and the many different voices spoke here and there. She liked this small café; she would definitely come here again.

Her brown eyes looked up to the person standing in front of her; she rolled them and picked up her cup of tea.

"May I?"

"No,"

"Thank you." He sat down at her table with a fresh cup of coffee and a small pile of papers. She eyed them, spotting a few words at a time but didn't think too hard on it. It was nothing really, just a bunch of papers to make him look like a college student or something.

"Kagome, I came to see if you would join me again," he whispered, hoping not to be overheard.

"Oh really Naraku, after you tried to kill me, you want me to join you," the vampire sarcastically said, spinning her tea around absently.

"I only told her information, I did not brainwash her." Naraku took a sip, testing the coffee's heat, and then continued, "She simply followed what she already believed. I've known you to do the very same thing."

She glared at him, "Yes, I have… why are you still here Naraku, I told you no."

He smiled, finishing his cup. He stood with his cup and papers, saying one last thing before he left. "Oh, just enjoying my coffee but I also wanted to wish you… luck. With your beloved and all that, you know."

Kagome frowned her brows in puzzlement, watching his steps toward the exit where he threw out his cup and unneeded papers. She shook her head, why had he emphasized 'luck'? What did it mean? She turned around, tapping on the female sitting behind her. "Can I borrow a pen and some paper?"

The blonde handed it to her with a smile, turning back to her table and friends after Kagome thanked her. On the top she wrote the word luck in big, bold letters. It was getting under her skin. What had Naraku meant by that one simple word…? She wrote down all the words related with luck, how anyone could or would use it. She stopped when the page was full of her handwriting; nothing, she couldn't think of anything.

"Chameleons," the female teacher talked loud to be heard in the back of the class, holding the small green animal in her hands that she was discussing. "Vary in size and body structure, with its total length approximately one inch. Like this little guy, to thirty-one inches in a male Furcifer oustaleti; I hope you are all taking notes."

Inuyasha toyed with the pen in his hands, his daydreaming mind on anything but his science teacher. She went on, giving information about her new classroom pet, "Chameleons have a long tail that is able to curl up," She pointing to it after placing it back on its artificial tree branch. "It is used to balance on tree limbs and sometimes as a weapon. Its tail is almost like a fifth leg."

Waking up from his own world, the hanyo listened to her words as the bell was minutes away from chiming.

"All Chameleon species are able to change their skin color. Changing color is an expression of physical and physiological condition of the lizard. The color also plays a part in communication." The class oh-ed and ah-ed as the small creature blended in with its tank. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, he felt like he was in grade school again.

The bell rang and his science teacher quickly yelled out pages in a text book she wanted to be done. Inuyasha made it his priority to be one of the first out of her class. None of his close friends were in that class and besides, the teacher was insane.

He walked into his homeroom where Miroku was already sitting and talking with another guy. During this day the raven haired boy was lucky because he didn't have to switch classes. "Hey Miroku,"

"Hey Inuyasha, did you hear?"

Said boy shook his head.

"Were getting a new classmate today; man I hope it's a chick."

"And I hope when Sango kills you it will be quick and painless," the hanyo teased, sitting in his seat when the teacher entered the classroom. Miroku smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay class…" with many failed attempts the man finally settled his classroom. Inuyasha remembered why this class was so easy to fall asleep in, the man sounded so bland and dry when he gave notes. "We have a new student today, you can come in now."

Miroku crossed his fingers and closed his eyes when the door opened, praying for the new comer to be a female. "Hey, you can open your eyes now," the hanyo laughed, "It's safe."

His dark blue eyes glanced to the front of the classroom, surprised to see a female. "My luck is getting better, no?"

"Hello," She grabbed everyone's attention, she sounded very annoyed and had her arms crossed. Her short black hair was tied back in a high ponytail, her red eyes matching her red lips and blending nicely with her slightly tanned skin. "My name is Kagura."

The class was silent for a few moments waiting for the rest until the teacher asked her for a last name. She nearly bit his head off, "I don't have a surname. I have no need for something such as that to tie me down, I am the wind and go where it takes me."

Inuyasha barely contained his laugher as he whispered over to his friend, "Maybe you should be more specific when making a wish."

Miroku shared the hanyo's chuckles, "She should become an actress if she could come up with lines like that right off the top of her head."

The hanyo looked back over to her, the happiness leaving his amber eyes as they zeroed in on her neck. She had it covered with bandages but he smelled the blood. It was fairly new, this wound, but why did it seem like he was the only one that could smell it, see it? Inuyasha looked at all the other demons in the class; their faces showed no signs of it, instead they were more worried if she was going to sit near someone else instead of them.

"Takahashi, raise your hand. You can sit by him."

'Oh wasn't that just perfect,' he thought, lowering his hand with a frown. She walked by other desks until she reached the empty one behind him. 'That scent… ' his eyes widened, 'It was old, just like Kagome's but it wasn't hers. It smelt more of blood and burning wood.'

Unfortunately his actions didn't go unseen. Kagura saw his eyes look, his nose twitch. Only the beloved of a vampire could see, smell the strange aura surrounding one who was bitten without the title of 'beloved'. Kagura remembered, it had been when she was bringing him to Japan.

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They were still floating, now over Japan. They hadn't really been talking, Kagura was controlling the movement and he was looking down at the tiny people. Kagura spotted the building Naraku had taken a liking to and gently landed them on it. She drained the feather of her demonic powers when they were off it, slipping it back in her hair. That was when she noticed his eyes were red again, matching the dry blood stains still on his person.

"What's wrong with you?"

His eyes slowly moved to hers, "I'm hungry."

His eyes had been too intense for her liking. He was planning something and she had a pretty good idea of what it was. Before she could say anything he had grabbed her and slammed his fangs into her neck.

It was painful, she remembered, and a little shell shocking. She couldn't do anything and could feel her blood leaving fast. Those were her last thoughts before she passed out.

She awoke up in the same spot on the roof. He sat next to her smoking a cigarette while watching the empty streets. "Why didn't I hear your heartbeat like all the others?"

He knew she was awake; she sat up slowly, leaning her heavy head on the bars around the edge. "My 'friend' has it for safe keeping." She said sarcastically.

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He hadn't closed the wound his fangs caused, nor did he ever apologize for his rudeness. Kagura didn't make a big deal out of it; she had bigger things to worry about at the time. They were late; she could see it in Naraku's eyes.

She wouldn't forget what he had said about Choukichi though. Naraku couldn't use his body to make his all the more better. The teen was dying from the inside out. That was why he was always hungry and could never satisfy his thirst for blood, he either didn't have a beloved to drink it from or he refused to drink their blood.

Kagura sighed, all that work she did finding him and Naraku calls him useless behind his back. She sighed again, forgetting she was in a classroom; the poor kid was starving to death.

"I hope you know how much you have interrupted my day," the demon looked across the desk at the older demon. "Father."

The parent waved off his son's words, "Nonsense, it's lunch time. You should stop working through your breaks and rest that brain of yours."

Sesshoumaru laced his fingers together over his desk, "Unlike you, I take my job very serious-"

"Too seriously!" the dog lord stood, pacing around his son's office while he spoke. "You don't talk to me anymore…" Sesshoumaru blinked, confusion taking over his mind when his father looked at him like he was really hurt.

"…Sorry…?"

The day had gone pretty fast, the moon was out and tiny snowflakes fell from the heavens to cover the dirty asphalt. Many still roamed the streets, either going home or going out for some unknown reason, but the snow kept the rest inside their warm homes. It was cold out, as it usually was whenever it snowed. The pure white of it brought back ugly memories of the night when everything had started. The night she killed her mother…

Kagome refused to watch the featherlike flakes fall and slowly pile up, instead choosing to hide from the world behind someone else's words. The book was about three hundred pages so it wasn't that long, and she was close to finishing it. The romance novel was just like all the others, the couple would marry in the end, possibly have a child or the woman would just be pregnant. They never told the true fights one went through just to keep that love going forever.

Sick of reading how someone else's life was so perfect, Kagome closed the book, giving up two chapters before the final page. Why did she always do this to herself, these books –just like everything else- only reminded her of how different she was. A lot of parents tell their offspring that different was good, but that was a lie, really. Different was good, but to a point. Even in a world as crazy and un-expecting as earth, there were still things classified as normal. A vampire wasn't one of them.

Kagome tried to shake the negative thoughts out of her head, but they always floated but to the front of her mind. She sighed, standing from her chair and walking into her bedroom where she fell into the mattress. She could still smell Inuyasha's scent in the fabrics; she smiled and closed her eyes at the thought of her own love story.

The hanyo lay in his bed, his mind fading into a dream world filled with blood, fire, screams, and so much pain. His plan had gone wrong, horribly so. His other self had died in an exploded building, his father had left him all alone, and worst of all he had hurt her. Kagome shook her head, tears running down her blood and dirt stained cheeks. It was all out now; she knew he had wanted her dead from the very mention of the blessed trinket.

The jewel of four souls resided behind that right eye of hers.

Inuyasha awoke with a start, the jewel… of four souls, he had heard of it once or twice. If Kagome did have it, if she did have it, would he become just as insane as Ryo to try and take it? The hanyo didn't like the feeling of uncertainty that filled him, or the feeling of not being himself. It all started with these weird dreams with John and now Ryo; what was next? He was already losing who he really was, his personality, so what could be next…?

Tonight was just like that night, just as cold, just as wet, and just as white. He remembered sitting in the snow covered street, its whiteness was painted with crimson red along with himself. He remembered being unbearably hungry, just as he was now. His insides slowly devouring themselves even though he had just eaten; his eyes glanced at the bodies on the ground. He couldn't remember what happened… and that's what scared him the most.

No, that was a lie, what scared him the most was the pure animal need he felt when seeing their blood splattered on the snow. The hunger got worse when the smell of it filled his senses and the dirty taste of it was on his tongue when he greedily drank it down. That was what scared him.

He remembered trying to run away before someone saw him in the sea of blood. He remembered barely making it before he heard people screaming at the sight before them. He hid behind a wall; his face in his knees as tears came falling down. He remembered wondering why this had always happened to him, why his parents had to die when he was born... Had his new mother seen what he truly was? Why the God hated him so much he couldn't even step into a church…?

A woman had followed his bloody footprints, spotting him covered in the same red liquid. He remembered feeling terrified, his fingers lost within his thick mane of hair. But this woman brought him into a tight embrace, whispering to him that everything would be okay. It was clear she didn't know it had been him that caused the bloodshed; he didn't have courage to tell her the truth, so he continued with the lie. Many believed it had been the work of demons, claiming he was the only survivor.

He remembered the war this lie had started, demons killing humans and humans killing demons. All the blood running down the streets, how much he wanted it, just to taste it again. He remembered losing control that night too; hunting down anything that moved. It became clear to everyone what was true and what had been false. Unfortunately it was discovered too late. He killed many humans that night, some demons, and was badly hurt himself. He wasn't worried though, he knew his young body would heal quickly.

He felt hot tears rolled down his pale, bloodstained cheeks. His face close to the snow and his unmoving body had cuts so deep one could see bone. He remembered trying to move, stopping when he heard footsteps. It was a woman, her dress was a dark blue and it wasn't dirty, he recalled, so she hadn't been in the war zone. Her brown eyes held pity, his own, anger. He remembered hating that woman from first glance; he hated her when she brought him back to her town and into her home. He hated her even more when he found out she was a demon, but then she offered him blood like she knew all about his problems. He didn't take it, didn't even look at it in fear he would want it.

He lived with that demon for a while, her constantly trying to offer him a cup of the deep red liquid. He always refused it, turning up his nose at it and her signs of affection. He didn't want anyone's love, he didn't deserve it.

He remembered, a year later, it was snowing again. His tenth birthday was drawing near, and nothing had change in the female demon's household. He continued to show no emotion, he continued to ignore the warm cup she offered him twice a day, and he continued to pretend to be human. That very lie was his downfall in this town.

He remembered walking to the big lake when the sky was dusk, how his skin burned from small rays of sunlight still seen. He ignored it, it was just another reminder he wasn't who he wished he was. Just as the lake was, he had no reflection to watch. Why him, he thought over and over again, every day. Why did he have to be this evil child? He clutched his stomach in pain, the unsatisfied hunger he possessed trying to take over again. He recalled falling to his knees and into the snow covered grass, the dirt collecting under his finger nails while he gritted his teeth, holding back the howl of pain… and then the world went back.

It was just as before, the white and red colors that hunted his dreams turning them into nightmares. The screams of humans and demons as he tasted one drop of blood at a time. It was all him, it was all him. He stood in the middle of the town the female demon had brought him to, the main street was covered in snow and that coated with the deep, warm, red liquid he knew was blood. His hands were stained with the same dirty broth every living thing held.

He was scared and ran to the only one who ever showed him such kindness, even after knowing what he truly was. His fear grew as the blood trail went up to her home, past the front door, and into her kitchen where her body lay. Tears rolled down his cheeks, chanting he was sorry over and over again to her lifeless form. He shook uncontrollably, his lavender–gray eyes still running over with tears. He remembered sitting outside the house, coated in different scents of blood. He dried his face, stood and decided to go far away from every living thing.

He would live alone, he thought on the night he burned down the town, he would make it somewhere else were this hunger wouldn't hurt anyone ever again. He couldn't help but laugh at that thought; he had hurt so many people since then. It was much later that his life had changed forever.

Tonight Choukichi sat in a park, smoking his cigarette while his mind ventured from memory to ugly memory. His sixteen year old body protested against any movement if it wasn't for food, so he watched the snow fall genteelly to the ground like a feather.

"I knew I could find that scent easily,"

Choukichi let his cigarette fall to the floor, his newly found grin glued to his face. Pushing his pain aside, he stood, glaring at the male before him. 'This is prefect,' he thought, 'It was absolutely perfect.' He was so hungry; he didn't care if it was a male or female anymore. Choukichi could hear the male's heart pumping, the wonderful sound of his blood moving around his veins. He could all but taste the bitterness on his tongue.

With those thoughts, his wonderful eyes revealed a new shade, a red that seemed to glow in the darkest night. The other male didn't step away, he stood where he was with his hands still in coat pockets, and his hair that matched the snow so well didn't stand on end. His amber eyes had held the same pity as that female demon that had helped him out all those years ago, and he hated it just as much.

"You're hungry even though you fed earlier?"

Choukichi scowled, "What do you know, half-breed?"

"Kagura is in my class," he said, waving off the insult. "She carried your scent. She is your beloved right?"

Choukichi laughed at the thought of someone loving him, the evil child without a soul. He pulled out another cigarette, not offering the other male one, and breathed out a cloud of smoke after lighting it. "I don't have a beloved; she never returned my feelings when I tried," his red eyes looked into amber ones, "But you must be Kagome's. What's your name?"

"Inuyasha Takahashi,"

He nodded, flicking the cigarette away. "I'll remember that, it'll be easier to kill you that way."

Inuyasha lowered his brows, "What do you have against me?" Inuyasha didn't even blink, but never saw the others movements. He was standing right before him, his red eyes staring up into his amber. He grinned, flashing big fangs that waited to be buried into flesh. The hanyo could smell all the blood on his person, but could also sense the air of unhappiness and tension surrounding the vampire.

"You, I have really nothing against you, I suppose. But," He breathed in the scent Inuyasha carried, "That vampire, I do hold something against her." And just like that he was gone, no name given or any other information. The teenage looking vampire was gone, and Inuyasha knew deep down he needed to talk to Kagome.

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Inuyasha walked through the snow; it was really starting to pile up, he pulled out his cell phone. He would call his mate, making it easier for himself then walking all the way back to her home. The hanyo heard the rings, waiting for her to pick up. He knew she was awake.

"Hello Inuyasha." He could all but see the smile on her face.

"Hello Kagome."

TBC...

Translations from site, if they're wrongI apologize. Speaking of which, I'm trying a new approach to the translations. Instead of them being all the way at the end of the chapter I'll just type it up in (Italics) so its easy reading.

The information on chameleons I got off Wikipedia though I wish I really had one. There's just something about chameleons I find fascinating. I just can't do the bugs (one of the main reason I don't have it), I fear they would get out and hop all about my room. And I'm sorry for it being short, but tell me what you think. R&R

-CagedRaven-