"Beasts"

viealle

Summary:

Sacrificing herself for her friends resulted in Kagome being changed forever.

Rated: M

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, blood loss and injury, broken bones, animal attacks

Notes:

SessKag Annual Falloween Event (SAFE) Submission

Prompt: "Monster Transformation: Werewolf"

Challenge: Kagome is turned into a werewolf.

Level: Human (1000-1800 words)

[[COMPLETE]]

Kagome was running as fast as she could through a darkened forest. Only the light of the full moon hanging high above the trees provided some vision. However, even in its current state, Kagome's eyes did not do much to help her. Branches swiped at her bare skin, leaving bloody scratches in their wake. In her haste to get away, she ignored the pain biting at her. She had to get away from her injured friends for their sake. She was leading that thing away from them. There was no time to lose.

She thought of the man who started this cascade of events. He had come into their camp site just as Inuyasha's hair began transitioning to black. The man begged the group for help. He seemed as if he was in a significant amount of pain. The two women of the group tried to nurse him, but his screams only worsened as the sun continued to run away from the burgeoning full moon. Eventually, his groans gave way to the sickening sound of bones cracking and shattering. As the stranger fell unconscious, the group looked at each other in concern. It seemed as if the man finally had a moment of peace.

The calm was short-lived as a sizzling sound erupted from the man's body. His skin melted way for a pelt of dark brown fur. His bones restructured, leaving his body resembling a 4-legged beast. A wolf. Struck in fear by what they saw, the group stared as the wolf lifted itself into a standing position. It began to growl, leaving thick threads of saliva hanging from its jowls.

With Inuyasha human, the others did their best to fend off the wolf. It wasn't like one of Koga's wolves. It was deadly fast and taller than their standing height. The man-turned-wolf had made quick work of the monk and hanyou, leaving deep, claw marks across their bodies. It snapped Hiraikotsu cleanly in half almost as quickly. As the only threat left, the wolf rounded on Kagome. In her haste, she ran into the forest, leading the giant wolf away from her friends.

Fear coursed through Kagome's body as she came to a sudden halt. Reminiscing of the terrible night almost sent her headfirst into a wall of stone. Her shoes dug into the soft earth of the forest floor, which provided little resistance to her change in momentum. Her head swiveled around as she took in her surroundings. The edge of the cliff stood menacingly in front of her. The trees swayed gently in the night breeze and only provided intermittent rays of moonshine. Instead of relying on her vision, Kagome tried to listen for any movement in the darkness all around her. All she heard was the quickened thrum of her heartbeat.

She couldn't climb the wall of stone in time or retrace her steps if she was being chased. Courage bloomed in her chest as she turned her back to the stone wall and drew an arrow. She aimed it towards the way she came. 'Please work…' Kagome begged. Her breaths came in shallowly as her newfound courage battled for dominance over her fear.

A twig snapped to her right. Kagome instinctively turned her aim and sent her arrow towards the sound. A bright pink flash of reiki illuminated the trees with sparkling light. The form of the enlarged wolf shone menacingly in front of her before her world was plunged into darkness.

She only heard the sound of gnashing teeth as her consciousness gave way to nothingness.

Kagome brought a shaking hand to her abdomen. It slipped as it touched a thick, wet substance. Bile rose in the back of her throat and nausea overwhelmed her. Kagome looked up to the full moon and cursed it. Now fully in the sky, its bright light shone down upon her as if it were mocking her failure.

She took a deep, shuddering breath before lifting her hand to her face. It was covered in blood, and a lot of it. 'I'll die before anyone can find me.´ Kagome lamented to herself silently. Tears slipped down her dirtied face as she cried silently. Her friends were too injured to come find her now.

The miko groaned in pain as a burning sensation spread throughout her body. Dizziness overtook her. It felt like she was spinning out of control and her limbs were being torn from their sockets. She let out an agonizing cry before rolling unceremoniously on her abdomen, leading debris from the forest floor to coat her large wound.

Kagome curled in on herself in an attempt to stop the pain she equated to being quartered. The pain throughout her whole body became too much and her body voluntarily released the evening's dinner contents in the spreading pool of her blood.

"Ugh." Kagome moaned pitifully. Her pain and nausea were only worsening. She was on the brink of losing consciousness again.

"OW!" She cried out, taking in short gasps of air as the sounds of bones creaking filled her ears. Her limbs shot out in weird angles as her bones continued to crack and restructure. Her tears continued to fall as her only proof of pain. Her voice could no longer relay what she was going through.

Her breaths continued to come in short bursts as the smell of roasting meat filled her nostrils. Her nausea came back in full force as she realized what she was smelling was her own body. She shook in pain and fear at the smell assaulting her senses.

Everything faded to nothingness once more as one final crack of her spine left Kagome unable to bear the physical assault any longer.

The stench of stale blood surrounded Sesshoumaru as he traced the edge of his Western territory. It was customary, during the times he did his rounds, to come across the days-old remnants of hunts. But this was different.

As he toed the edge of the cliff where the stench wafted from, his eyebrows furrowed in irritation. It was the night of a full moon. No demon would dare hunt in his presence, especially as he traced his territory. Who would defy their demon lord?

He took a deep breath as he attempted to sort through the differing scents, trying to decipher which demon dared such an inconvenience. His golden eyes narrowed as their focus shot towards the clearing at the bottom of the rocky edge. His curiosity heightened as he determined whose suffering he'd happened upon. There was no mistaking it. It was the gentle fragrance of lavender…

The daiyokai quickly leapt down and landed quietly on the entrance to the darkened forest. His eyebrows rose minutely as he studied the scene in front of him.

In the middle of the clearing lay an ebony wolf, undisturbed and seemingly, peacefully unawake. Its fur shined blue in the moonlight, save for the parts matted with blood surrounding an injury on its soft underbelly. Sesshoumaru's eyes softened as he took several steps towards the lithe beast in front of him.

Once again, there was no mistaking it. It was the hanyou's traveling companion. The miko. Only now, she was now a beast like him.