**I did this chapter almost concurrently as chap 6 and i decided to upload it together.

Slightly violent and graphical content in here . I was inspired = Ooh i like this chapter alot. Yes i i do! But don't get me wrong folks...this isn't another kikyou (or an oc) vs kagome story...honest. Some fluff inside = **


EYES ON ME
-Chapter 7-

Even under the dimly lit alleyway, she could see the horrible figure crouched ahead of her, perhaps the very embodiment of Satan himself. Her eyes darted around, drinking in the fearsome sight even as she willed it to stay shut.

Aska watched on in wide-eyed terror as waves of fear coursed through her body. Legs unable to withstand her weight any longer, she sank to the ground, slumped against the dark scratchy cement wall. Her mind was swirling, the cries of some long-forgotten memory suddenly echoing within her, rebounding, increasing in volume until it was a roar, blocking out all other sounds around her.

"Such an incredible hiding place...even I...failed to see it."

"You bastard!!"

"The black pearl on the right, if I am not mistaken..."

Its silver-white hair danced wildly around its head, strands falling in front of its face, lending to its already devilish countenance.

"I enjoy the taste of your blood, fool. I can taste...fear. I thrive on this fear that is within you."

It had claws. Long, thick eagle talons, sharpening to an almost deceptively delicate point. Claws that were now dangling carelessly over the still, dead form beneath it, that of the rapist. Where once this...beast...had ravaged, shredding and tearing with no mercy. Claws that dripped with the thick, maroon liquid.

"My dokkasou will annhilate you, human bitch."

"Keep you hands off her! She has nothing to do with this!"

"I do not think so. Especially since she is with you."

Slowly, the figure turned its wild red eyes and looked up at her, lips peeled back in a vicious snarl to reveal glistening fangs, dripping with the same red liquid as its claws. Its face was a mask of contortion, twisted with wild, feral rage. She could see the maroon spots splattered like paint on a canvas across its face. Blood, she realized with the very remnants of sanity left within her.

Truly, had she been given a choice between being raped and facing this nightmarish creature and the way it had pounced on the rapist and gutted him, she would have chosen the former.

Mental and physical fatigue taking over, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed onto the ground.

***

"Keep your hands off her! She has nothing to do with this!"

"I do not think so. Especially since she is with you."

She could only gape in horror as the demon's beautiful but deadly claws reached in front of her, emitting such searing heat even from a distance. She clutched the precious sword to her chest as if it were somehow a kind of ward that would protect her from, and squeezed her eyes tightly shut, praying for even a tiny ray of hope.

"My dokkasou will annihlate you, human girl."

The claws were now close and its magical heat was strong, so strong that she could practically feel it eating away slowly and mercilessly at her tender flesh. Any moment now, they would reach her, sending her over to the 'other' side, to where her otosan was...

The scorching pain was increasing rapidly now, just like when you held your hand over a steam kettle for too long and the steam gets at you. Then suddenly, she felt it stop. The pain was there but it was decreasing, albeit a little slowly. But it was becoming bearable, so much so that she managed to pop open an eye. And see the beautiful face that was gazing icily at her.

"Kagome!!!"

"Kagome! Wake up, please..."

The face seemed to increase in sharpness until it formed into that of the silver haired woman. At first glance, she had thought that she was still in the dream. Fuzzily, she wondered why the beautiful demon had spared her life, and was now asking her to wake up. Worried gold eyes stared down at her, pleading silently, for what, she did not know.

She blinked.

Then, the gold eyes seemed to merge with insane red ones, and the angelic face once again contorted to the demonic mask of rage from yesterday's nightmare. And it all came flooding back to her, how the silver-haired woman had transformed and flew at the rapist, claws flying and fangs tearing, pushing him down then landing above him on all fours like a beast from hell. Silver hair flying crazily as she had plunged her razor sharp fangs into the man's neck and ripped chunks after bloody chunks of flesh out repeatedly, almost mechanically.

Clamping her hands over her eyes instinctively, Aska drew in a ragged breath, then another, willing with all her might for this demon to disappear, willing that all this was another just a nightmare, that she would open her eyes the next minute and find herself cosily wrapped in a blanket inside her room, her mother's concerned gaze hovering above her, calling for her to get prepared for school.

***

When she had dared to open her eyes again, the woman had disappeared. But she wasn't in her own familiar room. Rather, she was lying inside a distinctly traditional Japanese-style room...a tatami room. Beneath her, a soft white futon was spread, and a blanket was laid carefully above her for warmth, both free of any musky odor that seemed common of most bedding. Instead, they had a fresh scent, as it they had been put to wash recently.

More than curious, she sat up cautiously, holding the blanket against her, inquisitive eyes darting here and there, soaking in the rich Japanese atmosphere that surrounded her.

The first thing that she noticed was the faint aroma that filled the room—the light scent that was sweet and slightly musky when entering the nose. Then there was the gentle yellowish glow that cast a light shadow of square panels, which came from a beautiful shoji lamp with black bamboo canes and white rice-paper that had bamboo shoots painted delicately on. On the left of her was a sliding door or shoji, made of a light yellow wood and cream coloured rice paper panels. Behind her, a slightly smaller sliding door was situated, probably making room for the oshiire, which would store the blankets when they were not in use. The room was decidedly bare of other furniture, but had a sort of simple elegance about it nonetheless. And on further inspection, she noticed that the clothes she had worn previously was now folded in a neat pile and placed just beside her.

Which brought to her attention what she was wearing at this moment.

Pulling the blanket away from her chest, she glanced down and saw that she was indeed clad in a light blue yukata with beautiful prints of cranes and cherry blossoms embossed on it.

She breathed a sigh of relief, only to be faced with the abounding question—who had changed her attire for her?

Looking around, she decided dryly that this would be an answer she would probably not be getting so soon, and even then, would not have had the desire to find out.

Curiosity finally satiated, she laid back down on the tatami with a sigh, determinedly pushing the horrifying images of yesterday's scene to the very back of her mind and just now's dream. She had had enough of these things and she wasn't about to taint her current peace because of them.

Suddenly, she was aware of a pair of eyes watching her. Her heart started pounding again, as she turned her head slowly to face the owner of those eyes. Her wide blue pupils dilated. Something inside of her snapped.

The next moment, a piercing scream erupted from her mouth.

***

In a flash, Sesshoumaru was by her side, hands clasped firmly over her mouth, powerful arms wrapped tightly around Aska's squirming body. His heart ached when he saw how her head thrashed from side to side, attempting in vain to fling his hands off her, cries of mindless terror muffled by his grasp; how her body writhed and squirmed violently, desperately trying to escape his grip, and especially how those darned tears seemed to flow endlessly from her tightly squeezed eyes, somehow entering his heart like an icicle and cutting and stabbing into it over and over again.

It hurt, kami-sama how it hurt.

"Shh, everything is alright, hush now, please Kagome." He kept repeating to her desperately, over and over again, helpless to do anything else. He held her tightly but gently, trying without success to rest his cheek over the top of her head firmly, hold her still without exerting too much force that would have hurt her even a tiny bit.

The old Sesshoumaru would have knocked her unconscious in an instant, unconcerned at all about her welfare. The old Sesshoumaru would have thrown her a cold, careless gaze then left her there to die for all he cared.

But he wasn't the old Sesshoumaru, he wasn't! The demon she had seen last night, the one who had gone mad with rage upon seeing her on the verge of being raped, the one who had murdered the rapist in front of her, and traumatised her to this extent, wasn't him at all...it wasn't him...Without realizing it, a pink-tinted tear made its way down the youkai-lord's proud, chiselled face. He was crying.

As the single tear drop fell onto Aska's cheek, a tiny miracle seemed to happen. Aska's violent tossing and turning seemed to ease, bit by bit. Slowly, she started to calm down. Her body ceased its struggling, her hands lost their tight grip over Sesshoumaru's arms in a previous attempt to loosen them and her legs gradually stilled.

***

Finally, she collapsed limply against Sesshoumaru's body, exhausted by all the exertion. With a tiny, defeated sigh, Aska laid her weary head against his chest, her eyes relaxing, the creases easing away from her forehead and eyebrows gradually. Her aching arms hanged uselessly against her body, legs stretched straight in front of her.

Her yukata was in a disarray, revealing more than she would have cared to, if she had cared.

But at this moment she was beyond caring, beyond reasoning, barely conscious. All she knew was the familiar voice that had repeatedly called out to her and beseached her to be still, that voice filled with so much unspoken pain and agony, that had somehow touched her mind even when it was on the verge of insanity, lulling her into a dimension of quiet peace and tranquility. Finally, as the adrenalin rushed out of her just as quickly as it had entered, she crumpled, succumbing to her physical exhaustion and that soothing, low voice.

When she had finally calmed down, she felt the warm, protective arms circled around her and the steady heartbeat in her ears. The body that she laid upon was hard yet infinitely comforting, radiating warmth, giving her strength once again.

Slowly, she curled up her drained body into a tight ball and snuggled up against Sesshoumaru.

***

Gazing down on her peaceful sleeping face, Sesshoumaru cursed himself for the hundredth time to have caused her so much pain. He realised at that moment, that perhaps she wasn't the Kagome that he had known. That Kagome was strong and had such endless willpower. She had suffered, and had shone through like a radiant pearl in the dark depths of the ocean. But this Kagome, was different.

Pushing a wavy strand of hair gently away from her face, he realised that she was quite the opposite.

With more than just a stab of pain, he recalled the utter look of mortified terror that had warped her normally sweet expression into one which was heart-wrenching and awful to look at, after he finally had that all that unleashed savageness under control.

No...she was fragile, delicate, an innocent, untainted soul in this the cruel world. Her purity remained the same but unlike the Kagome from before, he had witnessed for himself first hand, the devastating effect violence had on her. How she had been so tormented by that scene which would have seemed so normal in the past, at least to that Kagome.

What had caused her to change so much?

Uncertainty flashed across his brilliant gold eyes as he bent closer to her and studied her features carefully, inhaling her sweet scent so familiar even after five hundred years. That was the very scent that had captivated him, held him entranced even as they had fought and clashed with each other long ago in the Sengoku Era.

He recalled images, so vivd and tangible as if they were just yesterday, how she had stood before him, shielding him from the shattering blast that Naraku had unleashed upon them, how she fell lifeless into his arms when everything was over.

He remembered the very first stirs of longing for her when he had held her unconscious form that night under the starry night sky, the first time she had surrendered herself so willingly and sweetly to him, how their bodies had been entwined sensually as passion swallowed and consumed the two lonely souls until they were one.

"You're not evil at all, Sesshoumaru. No matter what they all say..." He remembered her tender whisper as she had caressed the red markings on his face, simple words that had touched his once frozen and discompassionate heart.

"I am. Do not be naive, woman." He had replied flatly even though, inside of him, he had felt something unfathomable and inexplicable.

With a sigh, he turned his attention back to the sleeping Kagome. Could he really have been mistaken? He knew that, during the final battle with Naraku, Kagome had been magically transported back to her own time, that which she had called the Modern Age, Tokyo. Or so it seemed. Could it be that during the process of that mystical phenomenon, something had happened that had warped Kagome, so that even though she were the same person physically, her spiritual being had metamorphosized itself into another completely different girl?

Hissing in confused frustration as a sudden surge of ire bolted through him, he stood up briskly and spun around on his heels, silver hair whipping behind him, leaving the room and that enigma which was Kagome behind.

***

"No...no...okasan...ojiisan! Souta!"

Jerking upright on the tatami, Aska clutched at the neckline of her katana, one hand braced against her forehead. Her breath came in quick, broken gasps as tiny beads of moisture rolled off her temples and fringe, dripping onto the blanket which had become entangled with her legs.

"What...what was that all about..." she frowned as images of the nightmare slowly faded away into the deepest recesses of her mind. Desperately, she tried to supress the primal fear that was threatening to burst deep within her. And that confusion! Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, she tried to shut out the whirlwinds inside her head. She had to get a grip on herself, all this really was happening--the dreams, the flashbacks...her almost being raped and that woman...she knew that the last thing she should do was to avoid it...

And inhaling the subtle aroma which filled the room was playing a definite role in soothing her nerves.

"You're awake."

Snapping her head towards the source of that low, husky voice, she finally noticed the still figure which was seated cross-legged in a corner of the room, bright gold eyes focused intently on her.

Instinctively, she stifled the cry of fear that was threatening to escape and scuttled backwards on all fours, putting distance between her and the woman. She could feel the whirls of confusion within her mind once again coming alive, throbbing and pushing behind the thin film of protection she had desperately put up to keep her sanity intact. Mouth slightly open taking in small painful gasps, she was petrified, almost, but not quite, to the point of being scared senseless.

***


The fear in her eyes was painfully obvious to him. He didn't even need his senses to tell him that. He was relieved that she had recovered from her previous state of delirium--the calming incense was working as he had wanted it to, but even this was far from the reaction he had longed for...a reaction he hoped would prove that little voice in his mind wrong, that she really was Kagome indeed.

He watched as she pulled herself into a tight ball, knees clutched protectively to her chest, eyes frantically scanning the room for something he did not know. His sensitive ears took in her quick breathing, the frenzied beating of her heart. But at least she wasn't wild with hysteria, and for that he was glad.

"You killed him..."

It was the barest of whispers, so faint that he would have missed it completely if not for his supernatural sense of smell. He cast his gaze bitterly to the side, realising the full irony of the situation. But he didn't try to justify himself.

"Who...who are you...what are you?"

She was withdrawing from her shell at last. Probably drugged by the lulling effects the incense had on her. Or maybe not...

"I am Sesshoumaru."

***


"My lord."

"You may speak." The 'evil' stared at the crystal wine-glass in his hand, tilting it this way and that so that the glistening liquid contained within it was constantly threatening to spill out.

"The human...failed. Sesshoumaru was efficient. He rescued his woman just in time..."

The 'evil' paused, contemplating the words of his servant. "Is that so...humph that would have been expected." Then, he smiled, a bone-chilling smile of smug satisfation. "She will recall eventually. It will take some time, but she will remember her past...Aska...this new identity of Sesshoumaru's woman. It will not hold for long..."

"But he does not know it yet, my lord."

"Ahh of course he does not, Yoshi. Of course he does not...He is confused. Kagome and Aska, Aska and Kagome..."


-end chapter 7-