Disclaimer: Yeah…so, in case everyone didn't know, I do not own Inuyasha…or Sesshoumaru…dang it all…if only…

Chapter 2

"Sesshoumaru…" Inuyasha drew his sword. "Bella, get out of the way."

"Yes, human. Move aside."

Suddenly, she was infuriated. This Sesshoumaru guy made it sound like being human was a bad thing, like he was better than her. "No."

Bella had to suppress a laugh as she saw the looks on her new found friends' faces. Inuyasha looked stunned, and the rest of them seemed terrified.

"What did you say?"

"Oh come on, are you trying to tell me that you couldn't hear what I just said? Hmph…what kind of demon are you?"

A growl was her answer as a clawed hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "Insignificant, human wench!"

Only the sight of her insulter stopped Bella from replying to the harsh statement. Golden eyes, flickering red from anger; silver hair like Inuyasha's, but longer and more kept. His ears resembled elf ears, and his face was beautifully structured, with elegant features: A perfect nose, wonderfully defined cheekbones-with two reddish marks on either one-, a lovely mouth with perfectly shaped lips, a strong yet almost graceful-it seemed-chin, and some very cool-looking fangs. His hand was still in a ready-to-strike position.

Bella inhaled deeply. Dog demon? He sure doesn't smell like a dog…Ah! Stop it! The guy's about to rip your throat out and here you are mooning over him, Hmph…mooning…what a weird word…Man, he is so beautiful. No wonder he thinks he's better than me! Her self-betraying thoughts were interrupted by the almost amused look in the demon lord's eyes. "I…um…I…" Gosh, get it together, woman! "Uh…nice manicure…heh" Nice. Real nice. You probably shouldn't have said that, moron!

Sesshoumaru's head titled slightly to one side as he looked from her to the hand she was staring at. "What is this man cure?"

Against her better judgment, Bella laughed. "No, no, no. Man-i-cure. You know, nice…nails-claws-weapons of death…whatever you call them."

Almost. The Great Lord of the Western Lands almost smiled. This ningen was rather amusing. And her appearance, as well, intrigued him. Golden hair and emerald eyes? How odd. What human has such coloring? None that he'd seen in all his centuries-until now. He gave a low growl of frustration. No human should look this way! And how she speaks to me? Her lack of respect is evident. I should just end her pathetic life now and resume my plan to take Tetsaiga from my despicable half brother, Inuyasha! Yes, I think I will kill her now. But as this great demon looked at the young woman before him, a new idea came to mind. She must be of some importance to them. I can take her and offer her in exchange for my father's mighty sword. Then, after I receive what is rightfully mine, Inuyasha will die!

It had crossed Sesshoumaru's mind more than once to kidnap the little miko his brother had grown so fond of, but that…Kagome…was always so close to the half-breed that he'd never gotten the chance. She would probably just try to purify me anyway. He shuddered inwardly at that thought. No, this girl in front of him would be so easy to take, and she had no powers. Helpless, little ningen… "Girl, do you wish to die?"

"Oh yeah. I mean, it's what every woman dreams of, right? Getting sliced to bits by a demon in Feudal Japan. Yup, that's definitely what dreams are made of!" The blank expression on his face told Bella that he had no clue what sarcasm was. She rolled her eyes. "No, I don't want to die, okay. Geez…you people…"

In an instant, his hand encircled her wrist. She screamed. "Hey, what'dya think you're doing?"

Clinching his teeth together, Sesshoumaru leaned in. "Do not scream."

"Aw, does it hurt your little ears?"

He was standing so close to her now that she could feel his chest vibrate from the growl her question invoked. She supposed that it was meant to make her feel afraid, but fear wasn't the only thing Bella was feeling. Her face flushed at some of the thoughts running through her mind. What her problem? This guy obviously hated humans, yet her pulse raced for all the wrong reasons when he touched her. She had to get away from him-now!

"Could you either let me go or kill me?" Suddenly she found herself wondering what the others were doing. Why were they all just standing there? Was this demon that powerful?

A slight smile graced his features for a brief, almost nonexistent, moment, which was a definite sign that he had no intention of letting her go. Swallowing was something Bella was finding difficult, as was breathing. So, now I know what perfection looks like, and what it does…it kills. Hey, that's what his name means…I think…no wait…yeah... What the…I'm…I'm... "Put me down! PUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWN!"

"Would you stop screaming, you insolent child?"

Looking down at her feet, she realized that she wasn't exactly on the ground. "Oh crap!" Without thinking, Bella clung to him for dear life. "Please don't put me down!"

Sesshoumaru stared at the girl in annoyance. Why must these ningens always be so fickle? "This Sesshoumaru did not go through the trouble of seizing you simply to let you fall to your death, wench."

The callous tone of his voice gave her goose bumps. "Well…if you don't mind me asking…Why the crap did you 'seize' me?"

He growled. "If I wanted you to know, you would know."
"Hmph… 'If I wanted you to know, you would know,'" She echoed, making her voice deeper than usual in order to imitate the tai-youkai.

"You dare to mock this Sesshoumaru, ningen!"

"Geez…what is with you and all the unnecessary questions, huh? I mean, you already know I was mocking you, so why bother asking, huh?"

Golden eyes narrowed at her, "Perhaps I should simply slice you in half right now. It seems you may be far more trouble than I had first expected."

Bella looked up into the face of perfection and smiled innocently, "Trouble? Me? Whatever do you mean, oh Great Lord of the….um…where are from exactly?"

"Pathetic," The demon spat, "I am the Lord of the West."

"Ah…okay…Great Lord of the West…" She looked down again, satisfied that her insult was now complete. Man, the ground was really far away. What's he flying on …a cloud? And where are Kagome and Inuyasha and the rest of them? Did they never even try to help me? Ugh…everything happened so fast that I don't have a clue…Hey, this guy's only got one arm…and it's still around my waist. He's surprisingly warm for being such a cold-natured person…err…demon. Gah…focus…he just threatened to kill you…twice… "Anyway…I'm no trouble at all, really. You don't have to go, uh…slicing me in half or…"

Sesshoumaru smirked inwardly. So she is afraid of me. Good. Fear is good. "What would you have me do then?" He asked, leaning in to whisper into her ear. "Drop you? Swipe my poison claws across your face? Break your fragile little neck?"

"Uh…" Oh, he's so close. If he wasn't threatening to brutally kill me then I would be excited that his beautiful face was so close to mine. What am I saying? I'm excited anyway. Ugh...I am officially perverse. Do I like pain or something? I never thought I did. I mean, if I get cut I don't like it right. So I definitely wouldn't like it if he raked his sexy claws down my back or…Gah! This is driving me insane. Just admit it Bella, you want him. It doesn't matter that he's a heartless, murdering, kidnapping demon…you want him. "No, I don't want…" She stopped just in time to see the tai-youkai raising an eyebrow at her. Oh crap… "I don't want you to do any of those things."

Red tinged those golden eyes as he studied her. "Then perhaps you should keep your mouth shut." I wonder what she was thinking. He growled at his curiosity. Why would I bother myself with her petty mind?

"Yeah. Sure thing. Mouth is being shut as I speak…Oops, I'm still talking…Heh…shutting up…"

Then this little, insignificant ningen did the unthinkable. She rested her head against the Lord of the West's chest. He stared down at her in disbelief. The girl's eyes were closed and she appeared to be sleeping. What does she think she's doing? This wench must be completely mad. No one touches this Sesshoumaru in this manner. No one. Still, against his own mind's protests, Sesshoumaru didn't try to move the girl. Why bother? If I wake her she'll simply annoy me further. He looked down at her. She was pressed against him, with one innocent, little hand placed beside her head on his chest. The demon lord sighed inwardly. Yes, why bother?

Okay, so does Sesshoumaru seem too out of character? I'm trying really hard not to make him that way.

I'm not sure how long it will take me to finish or to update for that matter…I guess it depends on how often I think about it. (Reviews might help, but I won't stop writing simply because no one reviews….although I really wish people would. Criticism isnice...constructive criticism, that is. And positive feedback is good, too. Really good.) Okay, I'm through rambling now. Thanks for reading!

DemonicObsession