Title: Work-A-Holic
Author: Tsubasa Kya
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha characters, though I am often tempted to string one or two from the ceiling fan in Hiei's living room. What the hey, it's not like anyone would notice anyway... it's so loaded with ink stains that a few blood stains would be overlooked.

Chapter two: Self-Defense

Kagome turned her head to look behind her—of course it would be behind her! Her fairy tale was filled with all-things-cliché!—and watched as a dark figure came out of the shadows. She gasped at the blood that covered it, but despite the wounds the man harbored, when they saw her they plunged for her.

Years of self-defense classes—used purely as a distraction at the time—kicked in and she could not be more grateful to have taken them than at that moment as she removed her hands from her pockets and threw the horned man over her side, watching them tumble to the ground. The intent to kill her came from him in waves so that she thought she would choke on it if she wasn't careful.

But she gave in to the distraction the horned creature provided as the desire for self-preservation found it's way into her soul. She felt as cold as the shower had been that morning and used that icy emotion inside her to her advantage, keeping her face a liquid smooth grace. She refused to be anything less than perfection, and this man... no, she couldn't call him a man when she clearly saw he was a demon... he was ruining her perfection.

She could feel his blood on her. She could feel her clothes soiled by the blood, which meant she would further have to deviate from her usual routine and go back to her apartment to shower and change again before work. That meant another icy shower. A shiver ran down her spine as she saw the man's desire as he realized what she was. Not who, but what.

Everyone felt that way about her if they could sense it. Everyone craved the power she could give them, even if she refused to do so. Her wish had made her powerful, and in turn, her wish had made her desired by those who could sense it. "I will devour you and take your power for myself!"

How many times had she heard those words ten years ago, shortly after she returned from the other side of the well? It was when demons searched her out. But after she moved, she had changed how she lived and who she lived. She wasn't Kagome Higurashi, because demons knew her name and sought it out.

She was Aiko Soruisa to everyone else. But a demon that came in close quarters with her like this one could still sense her power and want it for them self. She was bait that attracted all fish in the sea. She was bait that fought back. She was bait with a desire to live, despite the fact that she was drowning in the water with little chance of survival.

Kagome let a bitter chuckle escape her lips as she skipped to the side of the demon's charge. It seemed likely that demons as wounded as he would just pass out from lack of blood and she wouldn't have to do anything. She could just leave him to die. Ten years ago she would never have even allowed the thought to cross her mind, but then again... it had been ten years.

"Stand still, woman, and face your fate! I will devour you!" The demon bit out his blood freezing in the cold air and sticking to his body. She could see from the lightening gloom of the atmosphere as the sun tried to rise behind the winter sky that he was covered in swelling burn marks and the wounds he had on him were created by a sword.

"I take orders from no man." Kagome told him, her blood boiling at the order. Inuyasha had ordered her around so many times. Even after ten years, she wanted to see his face again. She couldn't remember what he looked like anymore, but at the same time she could and it haunted her. She couldn't remember what he looked like without all the blood to cover him.

She would have left this demon to chance before but now she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to press down the disgust she felt at being ordered around, even if it was just a small one. There had been a time when she would have just repressed the urge, but with this fatally wounded demon, she found she could not.

Despite the fact that he was indeed wounded, she could tell he was still very able-bodied. She began to whisper the words that began all of her spells and the wind picked up in the little wooded clearing. The light snow picked itself up off the sides of the path and flowed up like a tornado, spinning and braiding itself together.

The demon knew better than to waste time and thought it would be able to stop her from completing the spell. She knew better than to stay in the line of fire while the demon charged at her. Unlike ordinary priestesses, she did not need to remain motionless to complete a spell. She formed her base around herself instead of an inanimate object around her.

She jumped to the side, but her footing landed badly and her fall to the ground destroyed her concentration. The braided snow fell around the clearing and the wounded demon looked at her with power-hungry eyes. She briefly wondered who he had been fighting before he stumbled upon her.

She was facing death and she knew it. But what should she do about it? That she didn't know. For the first time in ten years, she had no idea what she was doing or where she was going. This fact bothered her beyond words.

But just as the demon was nearing her and the thought crossed her mind that she would have no time to create a new spell and she had landed awkwardly making any number of self-defense classes useless, the demon suddenly split into several pieces, it's blood spraying all over her like rain.

When she looked away from it's pieces, she saw a spiky haired, crimson eyed male staring at her. He was wounded, and Kagome guessed he had been the one who fought the demon before. "Thank you." she whispered.

"I didn't do it to save you. You humans read to far into things." He stated bluntly. He was very harsh sounding, but as he fell forward, she couldn't help but go to his side. He had saved her after all, so she thought he deserved some help.

That's just crazy. But sexy crazy. Haha!