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Forks, Washington State, USA
Bella hunched over, feeling shivers creep up her spine as she glanced around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but she didn't let down her guard. Charlie had made it clear to her that an animal was causing all of the recent deaths in the area and she knew she would be easy prey for it.
And despite being with Jacob, the feeling simply did not get any better.
'Could it really be vampires?' She thought with a light frown, not noticing how Jacob pulled her closer to his body – his burning-hot body – and shrunk into herself, 'Was Edward lying to me? Maybe they aren't really 'vegetarians' as they claim to be.' Bella scrunched her pale face, feeling hurt build in her stomach because the thought was painful.
"Where is it? Where is it?" Jacob muttered over and over, sweating profusely as he glanced around wildly. He was unsure why he felt so... animalistic at the moment, but whatever was following them was on his territory and threatening his potential mate.
He couldn't let it play its game anymore...
"Come out! Now!" Jacob suddenly snarled, his eyes dilating as Bella gasped with fright at his sudden rage. He merely pushed her behind him in response, hunching over protectively as his wild eyes darted around the woods, seeing trees and nothing much more than that.
However, both tensed as a feral laugh sounded from above them, from within the branches of the tree. Bella whimpered as a large figure dropped down from them, vaguely noticing that he wasn't a vampire because he had cobalt-blue eyes instead of the various shades of black, yellow, or red that vampires possessed.
"Who the hell are you?" Jacob struggled with his words, almost wanting to fall down and just collapse because he just felt so very sick. His hands were shaking uncontrollably and his temperature rose even more, "And why have you been following us?"
Bella grasped Jacob's shirt so hard that it hurt when the rather attractive man smirked viciously at them; his cobalt eyes seemed to be focused completely on her, "Is that the best you can do?" The man spoke in a fierce voice, though it sounded largely uninterested, "Threaten me with petty words, pup?"
"I-is it you?" Bella spoke up, despite the obvious crack in her voice, "A-are you the one killing the hikers?" She demanded with a slight stutter, clenching her fingers when the male simply laughed at her in a very mocking way.
"And if it was?" The male grinned darkly, "What could you possibly do about it?" He snorted, his long ponytail swinging around, "I could kill you two right here and nobody would ever find you." The man revealed his hand, in which his fingers were tipped in sharp-looking claws.
Bella gasped again and Jacob panted, groaning as something just seemed to snap within his chest, "Show me your true form, pup. I want to see it." The mysterious male demanded, disappearing with a fast blur.
Clothes ripped, russet fur appeared, and a howl shook the forest.
Bella fell to the ground in shock as she stared into intelligent eyes that screamed 'Jacob'.
A wolf took his place...
"Really now," Kagome sighed with annoyed exasperation, "It's not necessary to come and visit me all the time. You aren't responsible for my accident." She snorted, lazily flicking through the channels on the television and didn't even bother to glance at Edward to see if he was listening.
Edward ran his hand through his messy hair in that human-like gesture, "I told you," He gritted out, a bit frustrated with this girl's attitude. She was nothing like Bella, who was attracted wholly to him and just couldn't seem to stay away. However, with this girl – she was the complete opposite; she wanted him to stay away for reasons he did not yet understand, "I'm... interested in you." He admitted again, ignoring how the human rolled her unique eyes at him.
"Is this considered stalking?" Kagome wondered out loud, and Edward froze at the word because it reminded him of invading Bella's room at night without her permission just so he could watch her sleep. The past memories filled him with disgust and he felt his hatred for himself grow even more, "Relax, I'm kidding." She added blandly, seeing his darkened face and grew wary of it.
"Alice... would like to see you," Edward changed the subject quickly, "Jasper as well. Is that all right?" He asked, though it sounded much more like a demand to the miko.
"I suppose so." Kagome said carefully, cursing herself internally. She didn't come here to make any friends and yet these Cullens', especially Alice, just seemed so pushy that it was hard to refuse. If the circumstances were any different, then perhaps she and Alice could have been very good friends, but it just wasn't.
She couldn't put anyone at risk because of her selfish behaviour and desire to have companions once more...
"She'll be here, no matter your answer." Edward murmured, reading his adopted sister's mind as it wasn't too far away. In fact, she was already in the hospital, along with Jasper. He ignored how she sighed and slumped down her pillow even further, 'Did you find anything?' The vampire demanded, linking his mind with Alice's and communicating that way, 'At the library?'
'Did you really expect us to?' Alice's amused voice answered, 'The library isn't exactly stocked on Japanese legends and mythology. And I couldn't find anything useful in Esme's collection. We'll just have to go to Seattle or Port Angeles to see if we can find something. I want to see Kagome first, though!'
Edward frowned, a bit disappointed that Alice didn't find anything useful as of yet, "Is she coming now?" Kagome asked with that same bland tone that got on Edward's nerves. Weren't humans supposed to be the same or really similar to each other? Was this girl only different – like Bella – because he couldn't read her mind?
'No, it's different than that,' Edward thought, closing his eyes and lightly took in Kagome's appealing scent, 'This girl – she's even more different than Bella is. I don't know what it is yet.' The vampire frowned, finding that was the reason why he was so interested in Kagome.
He wanted to find out her past secrets.
"Yes, she is here." Edward answered shortly, observing as Kagome sighed, as if she were resigning herself to something and he didn't blame her. Alice could be overwhelming to anyone, and even come off as demanding and freakish – he got tired of her too, sometimes.
"Ohh ~ Kagome!" The door suddenly opened and Alice sang out her name in the most annoying tone possible, though the miko couldn't bring herself to be irritated or angry, "I came to see if you are all right! Jasper did, too!" The petite vampire smiled appealingly, tugging along the slower Jasper.
"Hey," Kagome lazily acknowledged, flicking her eyes back to the television, "You didn't really need to trouble yourself. I'm fine." She gave a strained smile, though she felt the very opposite.
Damn – she wanted to go home right now...
"It's no trouble at all!" Alice waved it away, sitting down on the edge of the plain bed with grace that no human would possess, "Are you in any pain?" She asked with concern, giving a subtle whiff of the air and scenting the captivating blood.
'Can you do anything?' Edward demanded mentally of Jasper, who merely pursed his lips tightly and stared dully back, 'Make her feel any better?'
'No,' Jasper calmly replied back, not even attempting to do so after his last try, 'There is something completely blocking the girl. It would seem that none of our powers can affect her – even Alice has trouble seeing her future.'
'But you could manipulate Bella's emotions; why not hers?' Edward felt like sighing, yet held it back. He watched as Alice held a mostly one-sided conversation with Kagome, slightly amused as Kagome seemed wholly uninterested with the whole process.
'I do not know,' Jasper gave a simple answer, 'You have to remember that all humans are not clones of each other, no matter how much you conditioned yourself to believe so.' The blond gave Edward a blank stare and the vampire glared back, releasing the link that connected Jasper's mind with his.
"When you get out, would you like to come shopping with me?" Alice immediately pounced on the chance to get to know the miko better, "There isn't too much in Forks, but we could always go to Seattle or even Port Angeles if you like! I'll even buy for you if you're not willing to spend any money!"
"No, I couldn't impose on you," Kagome was quick to respond, determined to distance herself from Alice and the rest of the Cullens', "I have plenty money of my own." The miko's smile was strained again, 'But I definitely can't waste it on clothes because I have a psychotic female dog demon after my life.' She finished mentally, sighing as pain shot up her body once more.
"Nonsense!" Alice wouldn't have it, "Shopping should take your mind off of things!" She lowered her voice, "I'm sure you have a lot to think about." She added softly, much to Kagome's unease.
'Did I talk in my sleep again?' The miko thought, remembering that Edward knew about Inuyasha's existence because her of sleep-talking. She didn't want to reveal any more of her past to them, "Yes, I do," Kagome nodded, giving them a dull look, "I'm tired."
"Oh ~ well! I'll come back to visit you later when you get bored!" Alice stood up with the same grace, grabbing Jasper's arm with her dainty hands, "Come on, Edward! I'm sure you've annoyed Kagome enough today!" She snickered at Edward's irritated expression and Kagome's amused one.
"I'll see you later." Edward promised with a low tone, hesitantly touching Kagome's hand with his ice-cold one; very aware how she jumped slightly at the contact.
"Yeah." Kagome berated herself mentally and turned back to the channel she was watching while trying to forget what had just happened.
She couldn't be drawn in by them.
"What do you think?" Shiori asked seriously, her violet eyes looking darkly towards Shippou, "Do you think my idea holds potential?" She glanced back down at the body, frowning at the lack of blood.
"Well," Shippou sighed, his tails twitching with agitation, "I've actually never come across this species before, not like you have," The fox sniffed the air, scrunching his nose at the scent he was coming to despise, "But I'm definitely not arguing with you – you're the expert." Shippou grinned at her in a perverse way that caused her to look back at him in disgust.
"Hardly," Shiori huffed, rolling her eyes at the sex-addicted kitsune, "But, do you think that Sakuya is possibly sending these vampires – if that's what is causing this – after Kagome-sama?"
"I doubt it," The red-head shook his head, glancing back at Shiori with serious green eyes, "I'm not sure about a vampire's abilities, but I think the bitch would most likely look down on such creatures." Shippou huffed with disgust at the thought of Sesshoumaru's mother, still almost unable to believe that she would actually attempt to kill Kagome.
"True enough," Shiori replied grimly, sighing as she stood up from her crouched position, "Do you think we should warn Kagome-sama about these vampires?" The bat-hanyou asked, watching as Shippou adopted a thoughtful expression to his boyish face.
"She's pretty hurt right now," He admitted, worried about the miko, "I don't think we should worry her anymore; it would just cause her more stress. Let's just keep quiet about this until we can absolutely confirm it – and just hope we can take out these vampires before Kagome can catch on," The fox also stood up, glancing down at the nekomate, "Kirara – you should go back to the hospital and watch over Kagome just in case."
The pair watched as Kirara transformed into her human-child self in a blaze of fire, giving one mew before pouncing off gracefully after her former mistress' best friend.
"And where are you going?" Shiori raised a brow and watched as Shippou concealed his fox-like features using his suppressing spell, "Leaving me all alone?" Her tone changed into a teasing manner.
"Sure, come if you want." Shippou purred darkly, bounding off quickly as Shiori followed him rather easily. He glared at nothing; his darkened eyes flickering back and forth between red and green.
'Kouga's already on his job by trailing after those wolves he sensed,' Shippou thought, flying through the trees at a pace that would only appear as a quick blur to human eyes, 'So, it's my turn to do what I should've done first thing.' The fox's eyes finally settled on a deep-crimson red.
'It's time I confront those Cullens... and kill them!'
Rome, Italy
"I can't believe that bitch just left us here!" Ayame growled, huffing as the strange creature beside her didn't respond at all, "Aren't you angry as well?" She demanded, finally catching Hojo's attention, "I mean, you are after Kagome, aren't you?"
"Yes, I would like to see Higurashi-san again," Hojo admitted, wondering what exactly this girl standing beside him was. Another demon perhaps? He would really like to know what type, but was too polite to ask, "I haven't seen her in a while long." His attractive smile turned into something longing and even slightly bitter.
"Hmmph, that bitch is stealing my Kouga!" Ayame snarled, unable to come up with a reason as to why Kagome seemed to attract so many, "But, I think we could work something out between us if you're willing to take Kagome away." The red-headed wolf purred, smirking as Hojo's surprised face.
Hojo didn't say anything, unsure how to react because he didn't know what to do, "Who's Kouga?" He asked instead, "I think I have heard Higurashi-san use that name before."
"Whatever," Ayame rolled her brilliant eyes, already irritated with this male. She ignored his question for now and grew determined to bring Hojo on her side so she could mate with her Kouga and push that miko out of the picture, "Let's just go and find this 'Volturi' so we can get out of here faster." She muttered, not willing to disobey Sakuya because she was the current Lady of the House of the Moon.
It just wouldn't be very wise to deceive the western dog pack and she liked her life.
"All right," Hojo sighed, flipping on the hood higher over his head to avoid the direct contact with the sunlight (as he had figured out a rather interesting feature about his new... abilities when in sunlight). He ignored how the girls glanced at his attractive pale face from underneath the hood with very visible interest and how they tried getting his attention in various ways (some of them outright... slutty, in his humble opinion).
Hojo allowed a determined expression to appear on his stony features, ignoring everything around him and focused his mind on only two tasks.
Find this Volturi and then find Higurashi-san, no matter the cost.
She was the only one for him – he would allow no other.
London, Great Britain
"Only one more flight and we will arrive," Sakuya purred, giving a sly smirk to Kohaku and Souta, at which, the former glared at her heavily. She easily ignored it, being used to the taijiya-pup's anger directed towards herself, "And we will be able to find your sister." She said in a false kindness to Souta, who looked rather uneasy at her attention.
"So," Souta eagerly turned away from Sakuya and to Kohaku, "How's your name Higurashi?" He asked, and Kohaku was glad to hear that Souta used no condescending tone, it was only filled with curiosity.
"I was the original six who began the Higurashi line over five hundred years ago," Kohaku said simply, "The others were my sister, Sango, and her husband, Miroku; a kind old woman named Kaede; a little girl named Rin," Souta immediately noticed how Kohaku's hardened features softened at the mention of Rin, "And of course, your sister, Kagome-sama."
"Yeah, but..." Souta looked away at his next question, "That was five hundred years ago! How are you still alive if you're only human?" He asked quietly, not looking when Kohaku glanced down at him.
Kohaku's smile was blank once again and didn't reach his dulled eyes.
"My life is directly connected to Kagome-sama's spiritual powers because she sustains me. If she dies, then I will die as well."
I'm sorry this took so long again! But I admit that I lost a lot of interest in this because of my dislike of many Twilight characters now... however, I will continue on because so many of you like this story. So, I would really appreciate any words of encouragement from you, please take the time to review if you can!