DIAMOND DOGS

Monster

There was a deep chuckle just behind her ear. He knew she was scared.

Shit.

The youkai laid a hand on her shoulder. That meant she wouldn't be killed outright, that they wanted to play with her first. They were clever, the Dogs. They knew a miko would never be scared unless she was defenceless.

"Oh dear," crooned a Dog who had jumped off a roof to land by her side. "Are we all alone, Miss Miko?"

"Silly, silly, silly…when you sing our song, we come to say hello. It's only polite, after all." This was the one with the vice-grip on her shoulder. She ducked away from him, and he let her go. There were rules to this game, you see. Number one was, wait for all the players to arrive. There were four surrounding her at the moment. She'd been herded along to the more open area, and she stared ahead, trying not to panic.

The last of them was stalking up the alley towards her. He was tall, pale, dressed in ancient-style kimono as most of the older youkai did. It was white and edged in red with a honeycomb pattern, beneath sturdy armour and a huge, bright sash. Over one shoulder was an immense downy pelt, draping down his back and past the long platinum hair. Over the other shoulder, a taut chain stretched from his fist and into the distance behind him.

Gold was a warm colour, yet his eyes were icy. Thin purple slashes were tattooed onto his cheekbones; a crescent moon adorned his brow. He was almost too perfect to be alive. A mannequin brought to life, just as described in the song.

He was Sesshoumaru, the Dog Lord, the only one who could hold the monster in check. The one who held the other end of the leash. That would be the chain in his hand.

Oh no. Why him? Bad enough the Diamond Dogs, but their boss? I'm going to die. Kikyou, you cow, I'm going to die.

Sesshoumaru was only human shaped. Otherwise, he was the epitome of a youkai. A demon with a thirst for human flesh. A killer, always cold-blooded. They said ice melt ran through his veins in place of blood.

Suddenly he was right in front of her, the sheer power of his aura like a punch to the gut. His tone was cool, but his breath was unexpectedly hot on her face.

"Another idiot for the gauntlet? How did you anger Kikyou, for her to send you out tonight? How humans overestimate themselves…do you wish you hadn't come?"

Deep down beneath the impassive expression, Kagome could sense an intense hatred for her kind. For the weak, puny humans with the ability to fight back, and win.

"Answer me. You thought you might escape? Succeed? Live to squash us down another day, when you have your arrows and spells and beads?"

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" She couldn't see the speaker, Sesshoumaru filled her vision. She had to say something. If she'd thought she could handle this date and this route, then she should prove it.

"I heard you could dodge arrows, easily. Are you weaker than they say?" Clever. Piss him off, and he might kill you quicker. No one wants a messy death.

He moved away. A different Dog spoke, this one a woman.

"Don't ignore rumours, sweetie. Many of them are true."

"Like the one which says you have some crazed youkai to fight for you, because you can't win your own battles?"

The leader smiled and jerked on the chain. His smile was worse than any anger she could imagine. "You're not a battle, miko. This is only a little fun." The links chinked and clattered, falling slack as the thing behind him advanced. Kagome clenched her jaw and inched backwards. I'm so stupid. So, so stupid.

Rule two; don't show all your cards. The monster stopped just behind its master, keeping out of sight. She'd edged away too far, and a youkai shoved her forwards. Another, the female, checked her nails carelessly and asked, "Who's playing today? We won't all get a go, the girl is a weakling."

The Dog with the malicious voice suggested himself. Another suggested they all attacked at once. The woman mocked him. "You're a fool, aren't you? Miko should be savoured, as rare and delicate foods. Most of them aren't as dumb as this one, and don't get caught unarmed."

Vice-grip grinned at his companions as though they were sharing a private joke. "Why don't we let her go? With a little message for her friends…" His claws flashed out behind her and slit shallow gashes down her arm. Blood welled from the cuts, soaking the fabric of her coat. She hissed in surprise.

"Perhaps. Those miko are getting far too uppity. Would you like to live, sweetie?"

"I know that one," babbled the human girl; "I'll get so far and you'll all hunt me down and tear me to shreds and…" Belatedly remembering her plan to stay calm and bluff, she kicked herself mentally for being so stupid. Stay calm when their very presence was like slime under her skin? Bluff when they could tell she was scared?

Ridiculous. You either fought or you died. Kagome braced herself.

"I won't die so obediently. Not yet."

"Of course not," replied the Dog Lord, raising his eyebrows slightly. "You want to see the monster first." Whatever terrified expression crossed her face must have been what he desired, for he graced her with another deadly smile.

"Sweetie, I can taste your fear. Sesshoumaru really hit the spot," gloated the female Dog. The others laughed raucously. What was so funny, Kagome couldn't tell.

Sesshoumaru tilted his chin, gesturing for his minions to clear the area around their victim. It would be fun to watch her attempt to outrun their creature. She trembled, closing her eyes briefly. When they reopened they were wet with tears. She didn't want to die. But she had no way of channelling her power, of retaliating. Now she could see all of the Diamond Dogs, a tiny fraction of the whole. Gazing blurrily at the Dog Lord, a sob escaped as he tugged once more on the thick chain.

There was a moment of complete silence. Then the youkai struck, digging a maelstrom of teeth and claws and insanity into her fragile body, tearing her apart –

Except…no, he hadn't. She couldn't stop herself from looking. On the end of that dreaded leash was no monster.

But a human…

He looked to be her age or a little older, and he glared darkly at the Dog dragging him around on the lead. A thick fall of black hair, messy fringe, sparking onyx eyes. She couldn't see much of his face, for it was hidden behind a half-mask from the bridge of his nose to his chin. The leash was connected to a heavy pair of manacles around his wrists, fused together and looped around his neck on a short chain. He couldn't speak or lower his arms, only stagger on bare feet and strain his weight against the chain. He wore an old-fashioned haori and loose trousers in a vivid shade of scarlet. He seethed with rage.

This wasn't the monster! It was a human, a human they were keeping like a slave. Some unlucky teenager who'd wandered into the District and been trussed up as if he were some rampaging youkai. A joke.

"Our berserker is feeling poorly tonight," jeered Vice-grip. "So we got this pathetic moron of a human instead. He couldn't kill a wet paper bag."

"You were nice and scared, sweetie," purred the woman, her green eyes flashing. "I may have to keep you, just to frighten every now and then." She made a great show of smacking her lips. But now it had all changed. Kagome had lost her panic at some point. The youkai were still terrifying and deadly, but their fearful monster had been a fake, and any other threat they gave her would feel cheapened. It didn't even matter that the beast was real and out there somewhere, because he wasn't here and couldn't touch her.

The fear was over. The fury was just beginning.

"Fight her, moron. You're supposed to be scary!"

"Death at such weak hands will be very, very, slow;" commented Sesshoumaru. His eyes narrowed and he raised one hand. It glowed a sickly yellow, a long ribbon of light beginning to extend from the first two fingers. Known as a poison whip, Kagome had heard of demons being flayed to shreds within seconds by its burning, slicing touch.

He lashed out at the boy's feet. The human attempted to dance away, jumping out of its path but crashing into the ground at the third attempt. The whip flashed out, passing within a hairsbreadth of his neck; coming close enough to burn Kagome's leg when the Dog Lord flicked it back. She shrieked in pain, stumbling out of range. You cocky bastard, do you think you'd get away with this if I had my bow? Her anger was building, and seeing their treatment of that poor boy made her temper spark.

She was a miko. It was her life's calling to defeat youkai, and save humans. If they thought they could just kill her, they had anoth-

She screamed. Vice-grip, thinking she was trying to escape, had once again dug his claws into her shoulder. This time they slid deep into the flesh, human skin having no resistance to those razor sharp nails. She screamed in pain and in rage.

"Let her run," snapped Sesshoumaru. "It's been a time since we last hunted. The filth, here," he rattled the chain; "will just lie in the dirt until we return. It's not like he can keep up, even on a good day."

The Diamond Dogs regrouped, circling around her until the way forwards was clear and the way back was blocked. Some took their other forms, white hounds, breedless, untouched by human selection as actual dogs were. They bayed and yapped, snuffling her scent-trail, shivering in anticipation, slavering after her blood. And the ones who stayed human-shaped, cool and arrogant; had sparks of hunger in their amber eyes.

Sesshoumaru looped the chain through the grating of a drain. Standing straight, he glared at the miko who had turned to face her hunters. He growled, low, rumbling; his eyes reddened and lengthened in bloodlust.

"Run," he barked. "Run!"

"I am not so easy to kill;" whispered Kagome, closing her eyes. "The one running…should be you…"

Concentrating hard, for her life depended on this, she imagined a bow. Her bow, tuned to her strength, a powerful recurve with perfect weight and balance. The smooth varnish of the grip braced against one hand, a flawless arrow in the other. Standing side-on to the gang, she nocked the arrow to the string, smoothly raising her arm and sighting down the invisible shaft. She drew the cord back to her chin with three fingers, in a well-practised movement. Her arms held the strain, knowing it so well there was no need for a physical resistance.

There was no arrow, nothing to move towards them when she released the imaginary arrow. But if she twisted round to face them, thrust her arms out like this, with the gesture of purification; if she shoved the brunt of all her power and sent it blasting down the dingy alleyway…

She could already feel the sickening auras diminishing. She opened her eyes and they glittered in the light of her magic. A white comet streaked away from her, larger than she'd have guessed, burning after-images into her vision. It filled the small space, though the youkai tried to scatter. The boy took the moment of chaos to roll onto his back, swiping his legs round so that they connected heavily with Sesshoumaru and knocked him off his feet.

Idiot! If the light misses him…

The dogs howled piteously, yawping strangely as their bodies dissolved in the purifying blast. Those who had not morphed loosed inhuman shrieks, vanishing without trace. The Dog Lord roared, his arm nearly torn off by her power. He glowed suddenly, condensing into a sphere of light and shooting into the moonless sky like a vast firework. In an instant, the Diamond Dogs were eradicated.

Kagome crumpled to the ground. Gasping for breath, she stared at the man she had rescued. He was pallid with shock, as if wondering why he was not dead as well. After watching each other for a moment, they both looked away. Fatigue swamped the miko. She allowed her eyelids to droop, and he became nothing more than a distant red blur. Let me sleep…

Just let me rest…

(-)

(-)

(-)

I forgot to disclaim! I don't own Inuyasha and I don't own Beck's version of Diamond Dogs. Which was half the inspiration for this fic. The other half was episode 46 with Juromaru and Kageromaru. (The detachment with the snake/mantis thing in its belly.)

Two or three people have voted for this to be long, none for it to be short. It was meant to be a one-shot, har har. Thank you everyone that reviewed, I love you!

Don't stop now! Keep hitting that shiny button. Go on, you love purple…