His long legs carried him to the bank in but only a few strides. There was an absolutely horrid smell in the air, and the closer he got the more it affected his keen senses. Strangely, though, while he could classify the scene as 'death', it was something all together more.

In fact, it almost reminded him of...dirt. Dampened soil; mud, even. Whatever it was, it was utterly rancid, and if it were left to fester, the whole area would surely reek of the horrible smell for some time to come. And the Lord of the Western Domain did not want his territory to give off such a vile stench.

His fierce gaze was captured by a peculiar glint on the water's surface. Tufts of red emerged from between the river rocks and thrushes, offset by similar clips of white and onyx. The putrid odor seemed to center in this area, so he bit back his disgust and made his way over to investigate.

He came to the cleft in the bank and knelt, cautiously removing any offending flora from his way. His fingers raked through strands of matted obsidian and tore at cloth of crimson and snowy hues. It was a human female, and a familiar look one at that, though he could not place the clammy and horror-struck face.

His eyes removed themselves from the woman's body and trailed up the canyon, where she had surely fallen from. The terrain did not appear all that harsh and the woman was outfitted in the garb of a miko, so it struck the Western Lord as odd. Even stranger still was the lack of blood. But no matter, why one such as herself fell to her death did not concern him.

He rose, briefly dusting the debris that had collected on his pant legs off. He would have Jaken come dispose of her later. Turning to make his leave, he was noticeably startled to detect movement from behind him.

Standing stark still, with his hands at his side, Sesshoumaru waited. His ears picked up more movement, and the lapping water further gave her true condition away. His orbs narrowed in the closest thing to confusion his arrogance would allow him to muster. So, the human miko was not dead.

Or, at least, she was not dead in the purest sense. For while her repulsive scent gave her away to him, she still walked among the living. Curious, this creature was, though he did not find it worth his time to linger too much longer. He thought to ask her 'Who are you, and why do you dare tread upon my land? but before he could do so, he was hit with a startling realization. "You're my filthy half-brother's wench, are you not?"

"If you speak of Inu-Yasha," her tone was icy and apparently so was her gaze, for he felt it boring into his back, prompting him to turn around, "Then you are sorely mistaken,"

Sesshoumaru quirked a brow, as he was now face-to-face with the young human woman. It irritated him how she dared to challenge his knowledge, for she indeed bore the scent of his brother, but he decided to tolerate her insolence, at least for now, for he wanted answers. "Am I now?"

She chose not to answer, at once angering the young Lord. "The lover of that dirty-blooded hanyou should show some respect for his true-bred half-brother and answer his questions!"

Frowning, she only responded with, "I know not of whom you speak. There is but me, a wandering shrine maiden by the name of Kikyou,"

Cold fury entered his voice as he spat, "It would do you good to speak only truth, wench. You reek of death and that half-breed,"

"That may be so," she countered, "But I still must insist that Inu-Yasha is no longer my lover, and therefor I may politely ignore such interrogations,"

Sesshoumaru stiffened. "You are no longer his woman, then?"

It was Kikyou's turn to regard her questioner with irritation. "That is correct. Inu-Yasha is far too busy traipsing around with my reincarnation,"

He thought back to all the times that he had confronted Inu-Yasha. Sure enough, he recalled seeing a woman who oddly resembled this Kikyou. However, if he cared for the reincarnation so, then...

The makings of a plan began to form in his mind. "Then you would not care if I my half-brother were to be slain?"

It seemed, he observed with inward amusement, that this was not the right thing to say. Her whole demeanor changed, and while she remained stoic, she was clearly livid. "Inu-Yasha's life is mine alone to take," she nearly hissed. 'If you dare interfere, I'll kill you too,"

Without a word more, the miko brushed past Sesshoumaru, water dripping from her and her clothing with every step. He was clearly annoyed that she spoke to him with such impudence, and even dared to suggest that she, a mere human could hurt him, Sesshoumaru, a great youkai lord.

There was something strange about her though, and he surely would not classify her as weak. While it was strange for him to even admit other youkai were strong, he found himself having no trouble questioning her strength. Surely she was no match for him, but she was strong in her own rights, and it would be best if kept an occasional eye on her. Especially when despite what she said, he knew she was in league with his pathetic half-brother.

If he acted out the plan that had formed while conversing with this human woman, maybe he could finally slay Inu-Yasha and take the Tetsusaiga as his own. Kikyou's threats did not have him worried, and he was determined to not let Inu-Yasha's humiliation and bitter end come by her hand.

A/N: Second chapter. I relaxed the style a bit, but it's still pretty, so I'm happy. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I kind of liked it, though I really thought the end was lacking. Kikyou and Sesshoumaru's meeting was short-lived and filled with tension, but you can be sure they'll cross paths once more! ::cackles evilly::

Well, duh, actually. Of course they will, it is a Sesshoumaru/Kikyou pairing after all. -_-...

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