Disclaimer

I do not own any of the characters from Inuyasha - they belong to their respective owners

Chapter Four

HATE

He hated her.

Kagome Higurashi. Who the hell did she think she was? She'd been standing before him, clearly terrified; she should have been knelt on the floor, begging for her life, praying that he would spare her from a gruesome death.

Instead, she'd escaped, without the slightest scratch. His insides had been the only thing to turn to mush.

God, she was irritating. She was so fragile and delicate - if he swiped his claws through her, she'd probably shatter into pieces - yet so careless and bold. She smelt...great, but that wasn't the issue here.

Inuyasha leapt from tree to tree, revelling in the glorious adrenaline of freedom. This was incredible. His power had been contained for so long...the prospect of quick movement was like a drug to his demon. His leg muscles sprung with gracious ease, as he landed back on the ground, only to pounce onto another branch. Running in a direct line would be faster, but he had all the time in the world. It felt like he was hunting again.

He was looking forward to hunting his enemies.

He longed for the odour of fear, again. The slayer girl's change of aura always smelt so enticing. Demon slayers were seldom frightened: it was a rare sight to behold if one was frozen in terror.

Kagome's aura always smelt the strongest: when it formed into distress, he thought it would smell heavenly. But to his shock, it burnt. It hurt his nose, he would have done anything to dispel the smell.

That confused him. Nothing like that had ever happened before. Not even when he could smell the fear of a demon.

Realizing that he'd paused on the ground, he straightened his back and glanced around. The forest was quiet, eerily quiet. Strange, considering this place was rumoured to be filled with demons.

He snickered into his hair, which was over-hanging his face. They were scared of him. Oh, it was good to be back.

Inuyasha's tongue ran over his fangs. The village wasn't far ahead; the scent of humans and their cooked food was wafting in his direction. He grinned as the memories returned. He'd been here before - this was the first place that had worshiped him. Naturally, he would start his triumphant salvation from here.

He smirked at the flashback. Those people had thrown themselves at his feet, fanning him and praising him. Admittedly, the pickled vegetables weren't his idea of a delicacy, but he wouldn't been eating it for long. He'd be able to have meat...and lots of it.

But he couldn't get any of that ninja food without asking Kagome...

The yokai shook his head, treading towards the village. They'd rejoice at his return, the return of such a highly-regarded and indestructible fighter. After all, not only had he chosen their village to be worshipped at, he'd also 'saved' them from those god-awful monkey sprite things, a while ago.

Still, if those fucking monkeys were hanging around and decided to mess with him, he'd have no trouble in tearing them limb from limb.

With an indecisive frown, Inuyasha sniffed at the air. He couldn't recognise any of the human scents - his former entourage hadn't chased after him. Just as well, really; things would be difficult if they kept popping up and distracting him.

But they wouldn't stay silent forever - they would be back, with some new tactic to render him helpless. He'd tried reasoning with Kagome and she clearly wouldn't back down on her pathetically-human views.

He would need a goddess to rule beside him...

With a wince, he shook the thoughts away. What an insane idea! What depths of his brain had conjured that stupid suggestion?! As if he would share his power and authority with anyone else! Least of all, Kagome!

It was true, she would be able to maintain order and would probably be popular with the people. But she didn't have the courage, nor the ruthlessness, to make decisions for other people. Besides, he'd earned his power through blood, sweat and tears. No one had the right to split that with him.

Why had he even considered the prospect?

Vaguely wondering if any other deranged thoughts were lurking in his subconscious, Inuyasha strutted out of the forest and journeyed through the edges of the fields. They looked remarkably healthier than before. Good - he'd chosen a place for his kingdom that had some prosperity.

Steadying his breath, he clicked the bones in his hands. He almost didn't know how to act - he was a future god and this would be a memorable day for years to come. He couldn't just saunter in. He needed to make an entrance.

Where were all these insecurities coming from? He'd never had a problem with his pride before - he had the power to make any of his actions justified. He could do whatever he pleased! "Fucking humanity..."

The cause of it had to be Kagome. It had to be. Granted, he'd never had this much control over his demon - but facing Kagome had set him back. He should have killed her back there! Why the hell didn't he cut the problem at the very beginning?!

Right. Something had stopped him. And it was going to continue to stop him - unless he killed Kagome!

It wasn't as if he hadn't thought about it. He'd intended to do it from the very beginning - from the very moment that the Tessaiga had been snapped and he had been awakened. He'd killed the demon responsible for his blade's destruction; he'd glanced back; he'd raised his claws towards her.

And then something fought back. Something attacked his gut - he couldn't move.

He couldn't allow that to happen again. He needed to address the problem. Or perhaps he could find someone else to kill her for him...?

It would save a lot of time. After all, Naraku was his main priority at the moment. Once that bastard had been dethroned and beheaded, no one would have any grips on Inuyasha's future dynasty.

It would all work out, perfectly. He needed to establish control and draw Naraku out of hiding - both of which could be accomplished by conquest.

This village was just one of many that he planned to convert and take charge of.

Inuyasha had reached the heart of the village, yet he was still mildly hidden and out of sight. One of many houses lay in front of him, as an idea burrowed into his mind. His ambition and imagination were racing as he leapt onto the house's roof.

Perhaps his plan would kill three birds with one stone. Kagome and the others would surely come after him, upon hearing about his take-over. Naraku might even kill them or, in a world of miracles, they might succeed in killing Naraku. Watching all of them battle would be incredibly captivating - especially knowing that he could destroy them in several seconds.

Admittedly, he wasn't knowledgeable about Naraku's form - but Naraku wasn't aware of his form, either. Boy, he was in for a lovely surprise.

"Look!"

"Oh my gosh..."

"Is that...?"

"The Dog God?"

"I thought he vanished!"

"No, no! He denied being a god. He's not a god! He's a mere half demon!"

"Not this again, Gramps..."

"Is he here for revenge?"

"Maybe on those Monkey Sprites? I heard that they stuck his hand to a rock,"

"But, we all pay respects to the Monkey Shrine! Why has he come?"

"Salvation!" Inuyasha called, silencing the crowd, with a flicker of a grin on his lips, "Of the highest standards,"

"Salvation?"

"I don't think he's a half demon...look at his eyes!"

Damn his past. He was never going to be able to let it go. Damn his father and damn his mother! If she hadn't been human, he would have been a god long before now! Still, he wasn't backing down now, "I am no half demon! I am much more than that!"

"What do you want from us?!"

"It's not what I want. It's what you need," He'd planned this speech on his way here. Finally, he would be able to verbally recite it, "Your current lives are unfulfilling and pointless. You don't work towards anything - you only work towards survival. These demons could attack at any time. Your lives are carried out in weakening fear,"

They remained silent.

"But, if you had a protector, you would not have to worry about this. Someone who could guarantee that you are safe. Someone who can protect you from those who wish to harm you. From those who wish to harm the natural balance,"

"And why would you put your neck on the line for us? What do you really want in return for this so-called protection!?"

Inuyasha glared at the youth. He would be troublesome; he might have to be dealt with, "In return, I would expect what any deity expects: respect, followers and absolute loyalty,"

"No way!"

"You wanna be some kind of god?!"

"Get lost!"

He could feel his anger rising. No second chances. He'd explained his expectation - if people opposed it, they would be dealt with accordingly. Someone needed to be made an example of. That youth would be perfect - the one who was currently cursing at Inuyasha.

"Alternatively," Inuyasha sprung off the roof, perfectly landing next to the rebel boy. The villagers screamed and darted backwards, helplessly watching as Inuyasha clutched the youth's neck, "I could level this village to the ground and kill every inhabitant,"

The boy's heartbeat was strong underneath the yokai's fingertips. It would be simple to slice his jugular and leave him to dry out - his blood would make a pretty stain on the ground.

The villagers didn't move, waiting for Inuyasha's action. None of them seemed to have the courage to save their fellow villager. The lack of loyalty disheartened Inuyasha, but he knew that fear was a strong motive.

He felt spurred on by his lack of killing so far. There was an undeniable desire to prove himself - being unable to kill Kagome had worried him. In the back of his mind, there was a nagging fear that he was becoming soft. Maybe he was undeserving of his claims?

His claws tore through the youth's skin, sending blood everywhere. The boy screamed and immediately went life-less, even as Inuyasha dug deeper into the neck. A mixture of screams and sobs echoed around the village, as everyone witnessed in horror. The demon thrusted his hand straight through the boy's body, rooting about until he grasped onto the chosen organ. It pumped, frantically, in his hand, but laid still as Inuyasha ripped it out into the air.

The corpse of the villager thumped to the ground, creating yet another silence.

The boy's heart rested in Inuyasha's hand.

Inuyasha glanced about, relieved as he felt no symptoms of guilt or remorse. He'd been foolish to doubt himself. Kagome must have confused his mind into an insecure mess - but his body still obeyed with fascinating cruelty.

"Let's try this again," The demon stepped forward, chuckling as the humans flinched and huddled together, "Anyone who still does not want to obey me, speak now. If you're lucky, you might get to see the boy again,"

No one spoke. Excellent. Now the real fun could begin.

"Good. Be thankful, humans. Your gracious and powerful Dog God has returned for you," Inuyasha grinned at their faces: an emotional blur of terror, despair and general weakness, "Now, bow down and worship me,"

Kagome Higurashi.

There was no possible way that she could defeat him. She'd only witnessed a glimpse of his power. She couldn't even begin to imagine the extent of his capability.

He loved her senselessly naïve hope.

He was going to destroy it.

As the villagers fell to their knees, muttering shaky prayers to him, Inuyasha squeezed the boy's heart. It burst, seconds later, only shrinking to a bloody pulp and painting his hand a crimson red.

Kagome's heart would be next.

A/N Many blessings of gratitude to DarkKnightShiva, Fanficqueen306, Keira Higurashi9, nane-chan, Shelley and ihavetoriblenews! It's so heart-warming to hear what you think and I take all reviews into account when writing these chapters! Judging by recent comments, I think you're going to enjoy what I have in store for Inuyasha ;) So, don't forget to leave a review and, in return, I'll update as quickly as I can! ~B.O.I