Summary: After a serious of unexplained and gruesome deaths in the human world, Koenma's team is called in to investigate the strange phenomenon. After Yusuke and the others confirm that the deaths were not of the demon kind Koenma begins to suspect there is another sentient being on the move-vampires. He calls upon the Western coven leader, Kagome. She is forced to lead them through the evils of her dark world, all the while trying to keep her past under wraps. Who is causing the murders and why can't any of the spirits brought in remember anything about their deaths?

Rating: R/M

Feedback: Reviews please, constructive criticism will be considered, absolutely no flames. Both of us hate negative feedback, especially if it is not warranted.

Flamers will be severely reprimanded and treated in the same manner depending on the nature of the flame.

Characters: Yusuke, Kuwabara, Koenma, Yoko/Kurama, Kuronue, Kagome and anyone else we decide to throw in.

OC: There will be OC's.

Disclaimer: We would like to remind you that we don't own any characters from either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho, however any characters we make up are exclusively ours. We receive nada, not one iota, nor dime for this wonderful story.

A/n: This is a joint project between two authors and as a challenge to our readers (You), you get the pleasure of guessing who we are. Good luck!

In The Blood

By: Gemini

Prologue: Victim #1

There she was; young, ignorant, naive...entirely unaware of just how dangerous it was to be walking so late at night with the power he knew she possessed. She was an easy target, ripe for the taking. He could feel it calling him, her power, urging him to take it and make it his own, to bathe in the richness of her very essence.

The moon hung high and the stars dotted brightly against the backdrop of the black night and yet, there was something distinctly foreboding in the air.

The being encased in shadows could hardly stand the wait or the pressure as he watched his chosen prey stagger drunkenly down the street. A cruel smile flitted across his blood red lips, partially exposing a gleaming white fang, as the inebriated female was forced to right herself against a stone wall after stumbling over a small crack in the cement. The beautiful woman wobbled slightly on her feet before stopping and slipping off the spiky pumps, lifting a hand to free her ash-blonde hair from its tight knot at the back of her head, as it trickled deliciously down her exposed back. Running a long hand with deadly talons through her lovely locks she giggled tipsily as she resumed the long, cold walk to her nearby apartment.

How young she looked, how supple her flesh appeared in the gleam of the full moon. His eyes flickered to the creamy, white expanse of her swan-like neck as the woman's long, luscious legs continued carrying her unsteadily forward.

The roof top of a nearby building hid his presence perfectly as his crimson eyes continued following the woman's every move. From beside him two beings, looking very much like large beasts, paced back and forth, jaws snapping hungrily as they continued to eagerly watch the unknowing and unsuspecting victim. How tasty she looked. One of the beasts gave a low, tortured whine and looked up at his master, wondering why they hadn't attacked yet; why his master hadn't allowed him to go to her, to taste of her essence and drink of her life's blood was a mystery to him. The other, more patient of the two, stalked back and forth on powerful forelegs and hindquarters, the anticipation making his mouth drip with saliva and his stomach growl in hunger as his face continually flashed between that of beast and that of a man.

"Look at her," the dark creature hissed to his companions, "So weak...and yet she has no idea how rare and valuable she is to us." One of the beasts snarled again, the woman's blood hastening his paces, almost causing him to disobey his master and go after her himself. Catching him off guard, deadly nails came crashing down atop his slightly furry head, as a low growling moan emerged from his throat.

"Calm yourself, you sniveling beast, or you will give us away!" The beast coward behind his master like the lowly animal he was. The other simply sneered and walked calmly to stand beside his master.

The chill that suddenly swamped their bodies began slowly spreading across the rooftop, lowering the temperature drastically. The beast at his side shivered at the cold, while the dark being remained curiously impassive. Instead, he merely kept his senses trained on the unsuspecting female, eyes traveling over her lovely curves; if he had more time, he'd take her body as well...however her body was not what he sought. And thus, his thirst for flesh would go unquenched, at least until his business was complete.

He'd been watching her, silently stalking her for weeks on end, waiting for the perfect time, waiting to feel the rush of heat and power that was sure to flood his veins once he buried his fangs deep into her succulent flesh. Such a pathetic creature; she had no idea of the power running through her veins? For a creature such as her, she should've been aware of his presence, she should have felt him and the others weeks ago, but she hadn't which simply proved her inadequacy of that power, her weakness. She was undeserving. She didn't realize they were circling their prey, namely her, biding their time while growing hungrier and hungrier by every passing day.

But ignorance is bliss, especially when knowledge is so damn frightening. The young female he had his eyes on had never bothered to notice the many eyes that trailed her nor the lust-filled gazes of his other brethren.

Licking his lips he began ambling along, black cape swirling around his legs, eyes trained on the ground and long sooty black hair falling around his pale face. Deep red eyes glared out from behind jagged bangs and if anyone bothered to notice, they would have seen the light scar tissue that sloped across his right eye, down the side of his cheek, almost reaching his neck. He and his deadly companions jumped down effortlessly from the high altitude to land quietly and swiftly behind their prey.

Almost subconsciously the deadly being clenched his fingers and began to growl as the streets began to flood with an icy vapor that seemed to encase his entire body. It was because of her. It was because of her that he and the others had to search for their food here. It was she who had forced their kind away, she who had forced out each and everyone of his own kind, leaving them to fend for themselves. It was she who condemned them to walk alone without protection and aid from any of the elders. He both despised and admired her. Such power, such beauty and such grace. She was one of the great ones and she would fall. They all would.

No longer would they listen to that woman. No longer would they be forced to live in disgrace. Soon, very soon, power would descend upon him and his kind, power unlike anything the others had ever seen before. He and his kind had discovered a rare and deadly secret that not even the oldest members of the sect knew about.

In front of him his prey stopped suddenly, it seemed she was now aware of him and the others, many of them appearing behind him as if they were shadows themselves. She tilted her head up and glanced around warily. In her weakened state she had failed to notice them earlier, this would be her ultimate downfall.

She took off, foolish move---they, after all lived for the hunt; the adrenaline pumping through their veins, driving their blood lust to an all time high. They were turned on by the blood pulsing through her veins as she picked up the pace and sped off.

"Now...now," a voice hissed, hunger in his every word, distinctly more beastly then possibly human. "Can we take her now?"

The being who was obviously the master turned to the faces of his brethren and smirked at their eager faces. No one needed to ask, they had their answer.

Ba-bum.

She could feel them.

Ba-bum...ba-bum.

She could sense them now.

Ba-bum...ba-bum...ba-bum.

She could almost taste their breath, but she couldn't see them. Why couldn't she see them?

She cursed herself once again for having drunk to much sake, her senses were dulled and because of that her body moved more sluggishly than normal. All she heard was the pounding of her heart and the short, sharp jarring breaths in her haste to flee from the dangerous adversaries. She didn't even have the right state of mind to regulate her breathing. She hadn't seen anything but the blood red eyes, as they'd appeared out of nowhere and begun chasing her. And because of her panicked foolishness, her thoughts were now irrational, unable to process anything tangible. Once again she cursed her inability to hold her liquor.

A howl sounded out from the nearby vicinity and she cried out in fear as she desperately raced towards her home. She would be safe there, she just had to be. After all, your home is the safest place to be. Surely those following her would never think to actually follow her into her home...would they? Adrenaline raced through her veins as her mind blocked everything out but the task at hand. Running as fast as her nimble legs could carry her, her speed was still slow and helpless compared to the monsters that chased her. Although no longer inebriated, the alcohol still pumped through her blood, keeping her at a ridiculously slow pace.

When she could no longer hear their horrible cries the woman knew she had to stop and rest, otherwise she would never make it home. She slipped into a nearby, blackened alleyway in hopes of hiding, hoping against hope those dark creatures would not find her there. However, she knew not what these creatures were, and before she knew it, they were upon her again. Only this time, out of the dark came nothing but a simple man...No, not a man...something else. What was he? A...a demon? Well whoever or whatever he was, he was certainly playing with her, stalking leisurely out of the shadows to stand directly in front of her wearing nothing but a smirk upon his cool, placid features.

Suddenly she knew; she didn't know how she came to this stark realization, but she knew. It was feeding time, and she was the prey.

She had no idea what possessed her to do such a stupid thing, but before she even knew what was happening her hand had come up, catching the being off guard as her nails raked down his face. She expected to draw blood, but the beast only snarled, red eyes gleaming as he held a hand to one closed eye while she took off again, determined to defeat this foe and escape with her life.

Turning down what she thought was a road she cursed her luck when it turned out to be one of the many dead ends in the back alleys. Inhaling sharply, she whirled around in an attempt to dart out of the alleyway. It didn't work for they were already upon her. Before she could so much as take a breath she was pinned to the hard, filthy ground, her body dragged ruthlessly across the hard cement, tiny chips of rock digging painfully into her back, drawing lines of blood down the exposed skin of her exposed back. Struggling she lashed out with carefully manicured nails in a feeble attempt to protect herself, hoping against hope that the same trick would work on them again.

Little did she know...

Suddenly, with her hand frozen in midair, she found herself unable to move. The temperature dropped so suddenly and drastically that her body broke out in shivers, yet she seemed unable to produce any body heat. Her life's blood flared to life, struggling to make her move, to make her flee, or to wake her up from this horrible nightmare--too bad this was not a nightmare she would or could wake up from. She lay still as struggling seemed pointless, giving into fate as she stared helplessly up at the stars, wondering why she had to die on such a lovely night. Staring straight up, the creatures appeared out of nowhere, exactly like they had before.

Out of the shadows this time, three figures emerged, eyes gleaming with lust--lust for what? Her body…her blood? The last thought caused great fear to flood her veins. She tried in vain to keep her fear at a minimum. She knew now, these creatures fed off her fear, it was like candy to them--addicting. She was sure they would soon feed off of her body, much like her fear. Why her? Why were these creatures after her? There were so many of her kind that inhabited this world? Why out of the entire world had she been singled out this night? She let out one long, bellowing scream as they fell upon her like a pack of starved, ravenous wolves. Ripping the barely there dress suit from her body they dug in as their nature demanded. Screams and groans roared through the night in fear and anguish as the creatures began lapping at her skin, nipping lightly, before taking bigger bites each time they dove in.

One of the creatures bit deeply into her femoral artery, dragging a ragged, wet moan from the victim, another bit into the crook of her neck drawing forth a choked gasp and the last sunk his teeth into the soft flesh at the bend of her arm. Within moments the beautiful woman became a beautiful corpse as the creatures allowed her one last gasp of pure, sweet air before crushing her throat beneath their ravenous jaws.

It was over...

Her pure blue eyes stayed wide with fright even in death. Not a drop was left in her body as it lay cooling on the hard, condemning ground.

The three monsters rose from their prey, the leader staring down at the cooling body with silent disgust before an eerie blue light surrounded the female's body as it began to freeze from the inside out until all that was left behind was an ice statue of the once glorious creature. A slight prick to the girl's frozen body from the dark creature's claw was all it took for her to crumble into unidentifiable shards.

No one would be able to identify her now, nor would they be able to discover the truth of her vicious death. Her case file would simply disappear with time, lost in the basement of the cold case files where she would simply exist as a missing person. After all ningen police were not privy to the supernatural. It was all hocus pocus to them; foolish ningens.

Turning the trio melded back into the shadows as if they were never there. After all they were satiated on this night, the blood from the young maiden filling their veins with ample power, aiding them in their quest to accomplish their goals.

Victory was approaching.

Nothing would stop them.

Not even…them.

A/n: As we posted at the beginning of this chapter, this is indeed a working story between two authors. If you've read the beginning and you're wondering who we are, good we've capatured your attention! We though it would be more fun to keep our identities a secret as we are quite well known on this site and many others.

And so we'd like to pose a challenge for all you readers who truly enjoy this story, to review after reading and make an educated guess as to who we are. Even if you don't know who we are, we do sincerely hope that this story has caught your attention and that you continue to read as the rest of the story unfolds. We'll eventually let you know who we are, but for now think of this as a game.

The pairings will indeed be Yoko/Kagome/Kuronue and they will not be changed. We'd also like you to know that we will be introducing a number of our own other characters. As of now, we do not know how often we will update as we both have numerous projects that we're working on seperatly. But keep in mind that reviews are inspiring and if many of you come to like this story, we'll continue updating as long as you guys keep those reviews coming.

Thank you,

Gemini.