The Shikon no Tama was complete. Sesshomaru knew what Kagome was going to wish, and he knew it was a mistake, so in trying to stop her he accidentally trapped them inside the wicked and despised item. [Written for Dokuga_Exchange 2011]

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha
Beta Reader: Lillian (at Dokuga). Lillbit (at FFnet)

Atrapados

Chapter 8:

The next few days were busy. Midoriko was using her blade to keep youkai away from Kagome while Sesshomaru trashed everything in Bakusaiga's path. Kagome paid her share with the usually amiable Tenseiga, who would wake up once in a while and help her get rid of a mass of youkai.

So far things had worked out between them. They were not friends, though Sesshomaru and Kagome had a peaceful companionship, but they weren't enemies either. It was a fickle 'pack' but it was a pack none-the-less.

They had killed more youkai than they even thought possible, and they only came back looking for more…or were they new ones? They knew this was going to take a while, but seriously, this was taking longer than expected. "Midoriko," called Kagome, her tone bordering on a whine, "How many more are there?"

Midoriko looked back at Kagome but kept walking behind Sesshomaru. "Eh?" she asked quizzically. "I'm not really sure."

Kagome huffed in exasperation, and her shoulders slumped dejectedly. "Stories say you were trapped inside the Jewel with the youkai you had been fighting," commented Kagome. Her blue eyes strayed to their surroundings, checking for more youkai.

"Ah," said Midoriko and then hummed. "That makes sense…I knew they were familiar."

Kagome pouted, unable to comprehend how a single miko could fight against so many youkai. She wasn't sure she even wanted to know more. Compared to this the Feudal Era and her quest with Inuyasha was like a child's game. The silence of their walk ended when Kagome's stomach rumbled hungrily.

Kagome tried to keep up, hoping no one heard the embarrassing sound, but as fate would have it nothing passed Sesshomaru's notice.

"Miko," he intoned authoritatively from the nose of the pack, "You are hungry."

Kagome's lips came down, displeased at the place where he put her every time he asked, and this time she complied resignedly. "Yes, Sesshomaru-sama."

"Hn," he stated and turned to glance at her, "Come here," he said as he stopped.

Kagome squared her shoulders and tried not to look at Midoriko as she scurried away towards the taiyoukai in order to remain as oblivious as she could as to what was about to happen. Knowing Sesshomaru was waiting, she sighed and moved closer to him. "I'm not that hungry Sesshomaru-sama," she tried lamely.

When she reached his side, Sesshomaru slit his wrist open and presented the bleeding limb to her. He watched as her lips frowned and fidgeted for a moment. "Miko," he said warningly.

With another sigh, Kagome took the offered limb and pressed it against her mouth. Then she began to suck in the spicy, youkai blood. It wasn't as she imagined it would be. Though it tasted like blood, it didn't taste as bad as hers did. She didn't like it as though she were a vampire eating a meal, but it did manage to sustain her somehow. How so, she was unsure, but she preferred not knowing. She kept at it for almost a minute before releasing the already healing cut.

Sesshomaru eyed her in his unreadable way, and after that he placed his hand atop her ebony hair reassuringly. After a nod, he turned away and began to walk again. Kagome followed at a slower pace: in fact, Midoriko quickly caught up and passed her. However, she didn't care about that. Her attention was on the taste of blood lingering on her mouth, and she kept rolling her tongue inside it, trying to catch every single drop available.

She didn't know why this happened, or why she thought the things she did, but there was single truth. Sesshomaru's blood was exquisite.

"Kagome," Midoriko's inquiring voice startled the young miko and she locked eyes with the older one, "do you hate youkai?"

Kagome frowned and started to walk a little bit faster, hoping to catch up with the older miko. She slowly replied, "No. Do you?" This situation with Midoriko was going to come back to bite them at the end of this journey. She knew it.

"Hmn," Midoriko scowled guiltily. "How was your training?"

Kagome flinched involuntarily. Maybe she thought it was the training she received, but it wasn't. Couldn't be. She knew many miko still harbored the resentment and hatred towards youkai that Midoriko did. The ones that didn't were usually considered dark miko. "I was never trained."

Midoriko's eyes widened. "Then how did you end up being the Keeper of the Jewel?"

The idea seemed very farfetched, and it was…if the Shikon hadn't been inside her body. Kagome shrugged. "I was born with it inside."

The brown-eyed priestess frowned again, getting more confused with every answer to the questions she asked. "How's that possible?"

A low growl erupted from Sesshomaru's throat and both miko reached for their sword. They had come to learn the sound Sesshomaru made every time youkai approached, and they learned to react to it as well as any other inuyoukai would.

"Many?" asked Kagome again, an edge of tiredness in her voice.

Midoriko was the one to answer, "Many."

"This Sesshomaru will choose a prey," he said suddenly, earning both of their attention. He had never said such a thing before. "You two will eliminate the rest."

Kagome was about to ask why, but the swarm of youkai was already upon them. They waited until Sesshomaru moved against one youkai, and after landing a few hits, began to drag the huge youkai away from the battle. As he did, both Midoriko and Kagome began to purify the rest. While the group was big, it wasn't as big as others they had encountered so they didn't have as much trouble getting rid of them all.

After the battle ended, they sheathed their swords and turned to Sesshomaru. Bile rose in Kagome's stomach, and she pressed her hand against her mouth. It helped some, but it didn't do much against the bloody images of the different scenarios playing in her head.

Sesshomaru was crouching over the fallen, crying youkai and eating it while it still kicked, trying to save itself. The taiyoukai's eyes were lit with pleasure and his eyes seemed to be an intense golden color. The way his bloody red lips grinned every time he took a chunk out of the youkai's body was the most sickening thing Kagome had ever seen.

Lost and utterly disgusted, she turned to watch Midoriko's reaction. To her surprise, the miko wasn't even flinching and was looking at Sesshomaru in a very normal manner. This made Kagome freeze. All thoughts of bile and blood and eating flew away when Midoriko's guarded eyes met hers. "Welcome to reality, Ka-go-me."

To be continued...

JeniNeji's Note:

Chapter 8/15! We are half-way!