Sesshomaru could feel the blood boiling in his veins, could feel the heat from the desire rising in his body, could taste the need for blood. He glanced at the small child on Ah-Un. She was small and innocent, a tempting treat. He looked away, very much aware of the two-headed dragon's weariness of him as well as Jaken. He needed blood desperately. He turned from the path and began to walk away.
"Lord Sesshomaru, where are you going?" Rin asked innocently. Sesshomaru looked at her over his shoulder for a minute before saying, "I have business to attend to. I will find you when I am done." With that he disappeared into the woods, eager to put some distance between him and the easy meal.
Sesshomaru found the woods very relaxing. It wasn't enough to ease the pain and strain caused by the blood lust, but it was a start. The only true cure for his issue was fresh blood. At the moment, there was none, not even a suicidal woodland creature. Sesshomaru stalked through the woods, searching for something to relieve the pain in his body and mind. Something who's blood would run hot into his mouth.
Kagome trudged along at the back of the group, dragging her aching feet along with her.
"Inuyasha, can't we take a break yet?" she whined.
"No we can't take a break! We need to cover more ground before dark."
"But Inuyasha-"
"No break!"
"SIT BOY!" Inuyasha at this point became intimate with the ground and a very mad Kagome made sure to stomp on his back as she walked over to a clearing in the woods just off the trail.
"Yes, I believe a good, long rest would do us some good," Miroku said, smirking as he followed Sango over to the clearing. A loud slap echoed throughout the forest as his hand slipped a little further south than it should have. Inuyasha hauled himself up off the ground and jumped up into a tree to sulk.
Kagome got out a few packs of ramen and a pot to boil the water in. She felt relieved that they were getting a break so she could take care of the blisters on her feet. She was apparently not done growing and as a result her feet were now too big for her loafers. She sighed, wondering how long it would be before she would be able to go back to her own time and get some new shoes at the very least. She also noticed her skirt seemed to be getting shorter and her shirt seemed to be getting a little tighter around the chest area. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be much she could do about any of this until she could get home which wouldn't be any time soon judging by Inuyasha's recent attitudes.
"I'm going to get some firewood to build a fire," Kagome announced, already halfway to the woods.
"Would you like me to do that for you Kagome?" Sango asked. Kagome shook her head.
"It'll be good for me; relaxing. You could go get the water for me though," Kagome suggested. Sango picked up the pot and disappeared into the woods. "Hey! If there's a hot spring we could bathe later!" Kagome shouted in the direction that Sango disappeared into as she entered the woods herself. A faint 'alright' reached her ears. Kagome then turned back to her quest for wood to build a fire.
Sesshomaru could smell the scent of humans, demons, and a hanyou entering the woods.
'Blood, fresh blood,' his mind moaned, desperate for the blood pounding through the travelers' veins. Sesshomaru changed directions, heading for the smell of his chosen victims. The woods were dead silent as he glided through the trees, just above the ground, a predator intent on his prey. He came to a sudden stop as he came closer to one of the humans in the woods.
The human had long, raven black hair, soft, tanned skin, and wore clothes that were far from descent. A low growl escaped Sesshomaru's throat as he watched her crouch down for a piece of wood to add to the pile in her arms. She stood up suddenly and dropped the wood she was carrying.
'Damn! Does she know I'm here?' Sesshomaru thought as he watched her eye the trees and reach for the weapons that she had apparently forgotten. Sesshomaru froze, every muscle tense as he held perfectly still, hoping she wouldn't notice him there. She gave up and picked the wood back up off the ground, resuming her search. Sesshomaru followed her silently, watching her as she found and gathered up a full armload of firewood.
Sesshomaru's blood rang for hers, wanting to feel the hot liquid run down her hands and arms from his claws and her bloody body. He wanted to slaughter her and revel in the feel of it. Something else also seemed to nag at the back of his mind, something else he apparently wanted. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, so decided to watch her for now.
'I have all the time in the world to kill the wench,' he thought. 'For now, I shall content myself to watch.' Eventually the girl finished gathering her wood and headed back to the clearing she had emerged from. Sesshomaru followed her, keeping to the woods and hiding his scent from his half-brother in the tree not ten yards from him.
Kagome dropped the wood next to the stone circle Miroku had constructed while she was in the woods. The kindly monk offered to start the fire for her, but Kagome declined, wanting to practice herself. She set the medium pieces of wood up into a teepee shape, then put the smaller kindling into the opening created by the wood, making sure to leave air for the fire to feed off of. Once this was done she set down to using her flint to create sparks in the hopes of starting to fire. There was no spark to speak of. Kagome started again, hopeful of good results. No such luck. Kagome growled, glaring at the wood and flint in turn. Miroku stifled a snicker and turned away, knowing better than to offer his assistance again. Kagome continued to assault the wood and flint until Inuyasha got fed up with the noise and did it for her. Now Kagome's glare was directed at the hanyou who did not seem to notice as he went back to his tree. Kagome then proceeded to make their dinner.
As all of this took place, Kagome tried her best to shake the feeling she was being watched. It had started when she was in the woods, gathering firewood. She could have sworn someone was following her. No one seemed to be there when she looked, but still the feeling wouldn't go away.
The ramen was done so Inuyasha chose to come down from his tree and stop sulking for the moment. Everyone took their dinner and sat around the fire. Shippo sat next to Inuyasha, something he did every night. He secretly liked it when Inuyasha picked on him. He thought of him as a brother and Inuyahsa's constant teasing made it seem more realistic. Kirara sat next to Sango who sat a little closer to Miroku than normal. It seemed every night the gap between the two got smaller and smaller around the campfire. Kagome sat on the other side of Inuyasha and Miroku. She watched her little family enjoy their dinner and closely monitored Inuyasha's teasing of Shippo.
"Kagome, when I got the water I noticed a hot spring, we could go bathe," Sango suggested during a lull in conversation.
"Can I come too?" Shippo asked excitedly. He loved baths with Kagome and Sango.
"Of course," Kagome answered with a smile.
"Perhaps we could also be permitted to-"
"NO!" Kagome and Sango both cut the perverted monk off. He didn't seem to be offended to badly which caused great concern between Kagome and Sango as to how much privacy they would be allowed for their bath.
Once the meal was over the two girls and Shippo prepared to leave, ready to take their bath.
Sesshomaru watched as Kagome laid down the ground rules for Miroku and begged Inuyasha to keep an eye on the pervert. Both men reluctantly agreed, but Sesshomaru knew better than to assume that meant anything other than air was passing over their lips.
'I believe it's time to head to the springs…'
OK guys, that's the first chapter of this story. I know it's short, but I was in a hurry and wanted to get this out. Unfortunately for anyone who reads this, I can not guarantee when I will update, especially since The Truth of it All (my other story) is going to take precedence over this. I hope you like it. Please review and tell me what you think. Advice is welcome, but please, no flames. I'll cry like a baby.