Authors note:
Thanks to everyone who is reviewing! It's a huge confidence booster to me. People like it so far so let's hope it stays that way. And I don't own Inuyasha! Jackasses.

HEART BEFORE BLOOD: CHAPTER THREE

it was warm. She could feel the rays of what she presumed to be the sun shining down upon her still wet form. But she didn't dare open her eyes. For she remembered the tumble into that old well and that strange light. What if there was a horrible monster waiting for her when she opened her eyes? What if that fall had killed her and she was dead?

After a few moments of wiggling her limb to find they still worked and another few minutes thinking that this really wasn't getting her anywhere, she decided to brave the unknown and open her eyes.

She was immediately greeted with the site of a wonderfully blue sky. Small white puffy clouds floated carelessly over top, letting the bright mid day sun shine through. It took Kagome by surprise, because she had at least known it should have been raining. And she definitely knew there was a shack above her when she fell.

"Did I really hit my head that hard?" Kagome whispered out loud, and found she was rather startled by the sound of her own voice.

Still dazed, she pulled herself up into a sitting position once she noticed that she had been laying on her back, with her feet sprawled rather ungracefully into the air. Glancing around her, she was met with four small dirt walls. Obviously, a pit. But not the same cold stone one she had fallen into. So, where was she?

Kagome stood with a bit of effort, rubbing the nape of her neck where she felt a light twinge of pain. Ignoring it for the moment, she did her best to pull herself out of this 'pit' and up onto what she hoped to be her ancestor's burial grounds. But upon doing so, she was taken back but the new land.

There were no cracked tomb stones. There were no overgrown stone walls. Instead, there stood a clear grass opening surrounded by tall, aged trees. There leaves were turned towards the sky, and a soft breeze convinced the branches to sway with a small sigh.

She knew every little of where she was, and what she was seeing. But she knew one thing for sure. As she numbly tried to wring the water from her uniform and close her gaping mouth, Kagome knew she was no longer home.

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Trees were whipping past his expressionless face. His poison claws extended, his mind set. Birds flew in every direction to avoid him. Small worm demons and others of the sort scattered across the ground looking to escape. He paid no attention. He was after something much bigger. The sent had caught his attention. As it did all of the other larger youkai in the area. It was a human scent. One he was not familiar with. On a normal occasion he would have paid no mind to such a trivial thing but it had appeared so suddenly and it was mixed with a different scent. The scent of power. He was compelled to it. Almost as if something was forcing him. But he had resisted. He was not some weak hanyou like his ignorant half brother that had no doubt fled towards it like a fly to a flame. Surly, one who can not resist a simple demon call was weak. No, he had come of his own will. He was, after all, the lord of the western lands. He was Sesshoumaru.

Ignoring all of the other youkai who were answering to the call, he took another deep breath of the scent. She was female. She also reeked of fear and confusion. But the power was there. Only slightly faded. Again, he continued his movement. Trees passed his vision as he got closer. He was almost upon her. Then, stopping as he reached a clearing, he simply stared ahead of him. Standing there, her back towards him was the cause of the forest distraction. Allowing his silver hair to be brushed away from his face by the breeze that had picked up, he glanced over her unawareness of him.

She was weak. That was obvious. Only the lingering scent of power convinced him this was his target. It had all happened so fast. One moment he was hunting in the lands west of his primitive brothers forest, and the next he was chasing after this unknown source of power.

His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings. Other demons were gathering around the edge of the forest, battling there craving for this girl and there fear of him. There many eyes were gleaming with anticipation and hunger, almost unable to control themselves.

Once again, pathetic.

He knew not where this power had really come from, or why it had erected such a craving in the pit of his stomach, but either way this distraction could not be ignored. Such a power that could make him react in such a way. He would rather turn around and not be bothered with this human breed. But he also knew if he did not claim this power, some one else would. And that was simply not acceptable.

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It had been a rather uneventful day. He was no closer to the lands he desired. He was no closer to the goals he had established.

But something happened then that shocked him out of his trance.

There he was, sitting quietly in his private abode, meditating away what was originally a very boring day, when he felt it. Rather suddenly, there came a surge of want. His entire body ached in that moment for something he could not place a name to. He was almost forcibly compelled into the western direction. And mixed with this sudden surge of feelings, was the unmistakable scent of power.

Had he been a normal demon, he would have leapt into the air like a rabid bore and charged into the said direction without a second thought. But he was above that. The only effect left was a lingering uneasy feeling and a curiosity that he burned to quench.

Puzzled, and yet highly intrigued, he stood from his comfortable sitting position and made his way into the next room, and continued his way through the house towards the front gates.

"Lord Naraku?" came an innocent voice of a confused servant as he made his way past the shield barrier rather quickly and into the thick, dark forest before disappearing completely.

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A.U: interesting, no? Review and let me know what you think. I have high hopes for this story. The more reviews, the more I write. Ja ne.