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Stolen Love

The Moon's Protector

Sesshomaru waited until kagome had left the clearing and then walked back and sat down. This place still smelled like her. He tried to get a grip on his emotions. The smell, the sight, the very essence of her being drove him mad. He had no idea what he had been thinking when he had kissed her.

He shook his head trying to rid himself of the memory of her soft warm lips. He brushed a finger across his own lips. He could still taste her. She was sweet like her smile and her skin was softer then anything he had ever felt.

Why did she have so much control over him? Even the memory of her was enough to set his heart racing. It was a whole new sensation, these feelings he was having. Sesshomaru searched his mind but could not recall ever feeling this way about anyone...ever...

He laid back against the grass and let the night air cool his fevered skin. He looked up at the stars and smiled slightly. He would never look at the stars the same way again. She had already changed him so much. He smiled more often, even if it was just to himself and he saw beauty in the world around him he had never noticed.

He wasn't sure he liked these changes. He couldn't just pass through this world anymore. He cared about things. Things he didn't want to admit meant something to him. A picture of kagome's face appeared before him. What was it about her that made him want to be with her, to talk to her, to kiss her...

He shifted his eyes to the silvery moon that stoodbeyond hisgrasp. An old memory surfaced in his mind. He and his father had been training late into the summer night. His father had spoken of the moon and how it would always hang there no matter what anyone did. Sesshomaru had stood and sworn to take the moon for himself. It would be his.

He smiled at his childish desires and sat up. Kagome was like the moon. Pale creamy skin and Raven black hair. She was as beautiful and perfect as the moon. How had inuyasha managed to pluck the moon from the sky? How had he been the one to full fill his childhood dreams.

Sesshomaru stood and shook his head. He must stay away from her. These emotions would onlybring torment tohim if continued to see her. He felt his heartsqueeze at the thought of never seeing her again. Her beautiful smile and sparkling eyes...

It was for the best. No one was meant to hold the moon. Not eventhe demon lord, Sesshomaru.

He turned to leave the clearing and paused. Demons. He could sense them. He turned back and faced the part of woods kagome had disappeared in. He narrowed his eyes and his face turned dark. They were after the shards she carried and inuyasha was probably to busy with his little clod of dirt to notice the presence of demons.

She was in danger. He could feel the white hot rage boiling in his blood again. He was shocked to discover that he was a little afraid of his own anger. His eyes turned a deep crimson, the color of pure rage and hate.

He would be the one to save her. Sesshomaru took off running as fast as he could letting her sweet smell guide him. He would be the one to save the moon.

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Kagome shivered and hugged herself tighter. The wind that was whistling through the trees had turned cold and brittle after she had left. She had found a small stream that would lead her back to the camp sight.

She didn't really want to go back, but shippo and sango needed her. She hated the idea of having to face inuyasha after what she had seen, after what she had realized. Tears threatened to spill over unto her cheeks but again she pushed them back. She refused to cry over what she had never had.

She looked down at the little stream and sighed. She had to face him some time and now was the best time for it. There was a rustle in the trees behind her and she froze. She turned slowly and stared into the shadows.

She didn't even have time toscream before a huge demon lunged at her. For a split second she could see its black eyes and thenshe had been knocked into the ground all the wind forced out of her. She couldn't breathe, couldn't thinkas she looked up at the demon. It snarled at her and she could feel her senses leave her and fear curl inside her mind.

"Help me..." she was surprised when sesshomaru's face streaked across her mind. Since when had she begun to really on him so completely? When had he envaded her thoughts so completely?

For a moment she had completely forgotten the demon above her until she felt claws at her throat and her air was completely cut off. She struggled as she was lifted into the air to dangle in front of the demon. It laughed at her pathetic attempts to free herself and squeezed her throat. She could feel the darkness closing in on her mind as she gasped for air. She was going to die. She would never see any of them again. She was going to die, andshe would never see him again...

"Sesshomaru..." The darkness finally closed in apon her and she fell into the blackness.

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Sesshomaru could sense it now. It reeked of blood. It was close enough for him to almost taste.

"Sesshomaru..." He could hear her gasp his name and he ran harder. He came into a small clearing and his heart stopped. Kagome body lay limp in the hands of a demon. His blood pounded in his ears and his whole body was set on flames.

His vision blurred and lightining streaked across his mind "Your life is now mine..." He whispered his voice was a hoarse whisper that carryed across the clearing with suprising force. The demon dropped kagome into the stream and tried to run. Sesshomaru pulled out his sword and with one swoop he incinerated the demon. "I told you your life was mine..."

His anger melted away and he turned to kagome. She lay in the stream, motionless. He knelt beside her and gently picked up her head. Hecradledher in his arms. He leaned over her and tried to make sense of the swirling emotions inside him. Pain. His heart ached and he couldn't describe the utter horror that gripped him. He reached up a hand and brushed away a tear. He had never cried in his life. Never had he felt such...

A heart beat. He could hearthe steady beat of a heart. She was alive. He breathed in a shaky sigh and held her close. He would never let her go...Ever...

"Drop Kagome you bastard!" inuyasha' voice called to him from the edge of the clearing. He turned and stared at his little half demon brother who was brandishing that sword at him.

"So you finally decided to show up did you, inuyasha." He let his disgust flow through his voice.

"I said drop her you Bastard!" Sesshomaru stood and gently picked her up, ignoring inuyasha. He climbed unto the banks of the stream and set her down on the grass. He turned back to his brother, who sneered at him. "Now get out of here before I hack you to pieces!"

"I'm not leaving without the girl." He had made up his mind. She would not be in danger anymore. "I will be the girls' protector."

"Sesshomaru..." He turned and looked down at kagome. Her eyes were open and they sparkled in the light of the moon. He knelt beside her and let a small smile escape.

"I will never let anyone hurt you." He touched her face and she smiled.

"Get your filthy hands off her!" Inuyahsa yelled and lunged at sesshomaru.Sesshomaru easily dodged his attack and hit him over the head.

"You're a pathetic fool inuyasha." Sesshomaru walked back to kagome and picked her up in his arms. "Inuyasha..." inuyasha looked up at him and snarled "your hands are covered in dirt and you reek of bones. You do not deserve to hold the moon in your hands." Sesshomaru Started to walk into the woods but stopped. He looked down at the young priestess in his arms. Her head was resting against his chest and her eyes were closed. A tiny smile crept across her face.

He turned back to inuyasha "I will be the girls' protector and I will love her." With that he turned and left inuyasha. He looked down at the sleeping beauty in his arms and kissed her forehead. No matter how hard he tried to deny it his heart was already hers...

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Sorry this one was kinda rushed! Anyway I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who reveiwed. You guys are the Best!

Oh yah and if you like the shippo and rin setup I have a story about them called " A Man's Love". Check it out if you want!

FireanIce17