The Chase

The evening sky was cloudless, the air full of wonderful scents of the wild life. Kagome would love to sit upon the soft grass and just enjoy herself, but she couldn't.

A howl - a too-close-to-her-location howl - tore through the tranquility of the forest, causing the birds singing in the branches over her head to froze silent.

There was a predator on the loose. One hunting.

And the miko was his prey.

Kagome didn't bother looking back, she just speed up, trying not to lose her footing as she ran through the thick forest, pushing past the bushes and ducking under branches. There was no time to dawdle, there was no use to cover up her tracks.

There was nothing she could do to mask her scent and the predator hunting her had a superior sense of smell. All her hope was in reaching an unassuming dry well...

Kagome ran out of the trees and into a wide meadow where colorful flowers swayed on the breeze. The glade housing the well was close.

"Ka-Go-Me!" and so was the predator. With a cry of distress the girl doubled her efforts. The sound of her pursuer calling her name like that made her heart beat faster.

But alas, as she was almost to the other end of the meadow, a red blur came to block her way. Kagome skidded to a stop, her wide eyes taking in the visage of her pursuer - the wild mane of white hair, red robes concealing the lean muscles of his body, clawed hands outstretched to grab her...

"Now, wench," his inhuman eyes glowed from behind his bangs. "Be a good girl and quit running. You know you can't win..."

Kagome gulped and pressed her hands to her chest, before jumping to her left, hoping against all hope that she could outrun the dog hanyou.

Inuyasha didn't move for a second, but his eyes flashed. Then he pounced.

"No!" Kagome exclaimed as she went down, pushed into the soft, fragrant grass by the hanyou that landed on top of her.

"Inuyasha!" called Miroku from somewhere far behind them in the forest.

"I think he got her!" came Shippou's cry.

"Hurry!" Sango sounded urgent.

Kagome was panting after her run, trying to shake the hanyou off of her back. She felt him move and sit straddling her waist. Then he howled again, the sound of victory, of captured prey, of exhilarating chase and his prey down.

Her heart skipped a beat when the melodious song of a wild dog, that shouldn't be possible with normal human's vocal cords, tore through the forest that bore his name.

"And now, miko," he said when he finished his proclamation of victory. "You know what I want. You knew I'll come after it from the very start..."

Kagome squeaked and tried to hold the thing she held in her grasp closer to herself, as if it could help her. Two strong hands grasped her shoulders and she was laying on her back in no time, looking up at the man she loved so dearly as he pried her fist open. His smile was a mix of a boyish grin and a wicked youkai smirk, his ears perked up, his eyes fixed on her hands...

Kagome tried to struggle against him, but she was too weak and their friends were too far to be of any help. Soon the white-haired boy held his prize high above his head. He carefully brought the round object close to his face to inspect it. Then he grinned and quickly devoured it.

A rain of crumbs fell on Kagome's face, the miko watching the expression of pure bliss and pleasure on his face. Golden eyes lashed playfully as he glanced at her, as if challenging her, his lips quivering before a wide, real smile spread across them.

Kagome found herself unable to scold the gluttonous boy for eating the last oreo. Not when he looked at her like that.