DISCLAIMER: All Inuyasha goodness belongs to the amazing Takahashi-san!

Empty Threats

By MissKatt

Who She Is

"How yah feelin'?" Inuyasha asked his brother as he sunk into a chair at their kitchen table.

"As well as could be expected," Sesshoumaru responded back quietly. His body ached, in all honestly. He had spent the past two days asleep as his body healed itself, sealing shut the three gaping wounds in his shoulder and lower back. "Did I miss anything imperative?"

"What?" The hanyou questioned, the big word escaping his common knowledge.

He let out an exhale of irritation. "Anything important?"

"Ah, well, not really except yer saloon girl got arrested, but I'm sure she went and told them about us so she should be fine. I wonder when the Sheriff will come around lookin' for us," He answered, scooping up a spoon of rabbit stew. He looked at his brother as he chewed and then lifted a brow at his stiffened posture. He swallowed before looking at him seriously. "Yah really do care for her, don't yah?"

Gold clashed as he looked back at him. "Are we certain she told them of us?"

"Yer avoiding what I said," He pointed out with a deadpanned expression. "Just admit it."

He broke the prodding stare by looking off to the side. "She is different."

A small smile curved up Inuyasha's lips before it twisted into a smirk followed by a laugh. "Shoot, it's about time yah found someone!"

The moon bandit shot a glare at his brother before his eyes swiveled to the door as his step-mother came into the house in a hurry. Her deep brown eyes found his at the table as his father came into the house behind her, his face grave. "What is it? What happened?"

Izayoi frowned and looked at her husband before looking back at her step-son. "Sesshoumaru, the Sheriff announced that he's goin' to go and hang Miss Kagome at sunset."

His heart stopped in his chest as his back went rigid once again. "What?" He asked in a low, deep tone. "She did nothing."

"I know," Touga replied with a heavy sigh. "But they do not have any other leads. Think about it, son: she was found alone in the bank, covered in Naraku's blood, with a pistol in her hand. Who else would they convict?"

A silver brow furrowed. "She did not tell them about us?"

He shook his head. "It seems not."

He glared down at the table. Why? Why had she not just told the Sheriff about them? Why did she not tell them the truth? That he killed Naraku? Why wasn't she protecting herself? A low growl rumbled in his throat when he remembered how she diverted Naraku's attention for him, as well as tried to kill him. His gut then twisted uncomfortably when he remembered her caked in blood, her frightened blue eyes wide as she stared up at him.

Inuyasha looked over at his brother and saw his inner turmoil. "What are yah goin' to do?" He stated for him.

Sesshoumaru lifted his eyes to meet his brother's once again. "I am going to speak with her."

If he could convince her to tell the Sheriff the truth, then she would be saved. He, his brother, and father could run off when the Sheriff came looking for him. Sure, they probably wouldn't be able to return to the town for a few decades, but if it meant keeping her safe, then he was willing to do it.

But, after what he had put her through, would she even want to see him?

*~~~Empty Threats~~~*

Blunt, dirty finger nails picked at the brown crust on her arm. She watched it flake off and then pursed her lips together as little specks of it lodged under her nail to join the rest of the dirt. With a sigh, she leaned back against the cold bars of her imprisonment and winced as the pressure pushed against her scabbed lacerations.

With a frustrated groan, she leaned back forward and looked at the ground with distaste. Though Sheriff Kouga gave her the cleanest of the stalls, this one still had piss, and possible vomit, on the floor. She couldn't lay down on her back, and she refused to lay down on her stomach on such a filthy ground. She eyed the tiny bed in the corner and quickly looked away at the brown, muddled stains of the cot.

Sighing, she rubbed her hands down her face, not caring about how dirty they were. She couldn't believe her predicament. She was to be hanged. Of all the ways she thought she would die, this was certainly not one of them. And especially not for taking the blame for someone else. Still, what could she do? She just couldn't bring herself to tell Kouga the truth, regardless of his relentless prodding.

Kagome was sure he would believe her. In fact, she knew he already knew the truth. After all, he was one of them. If she told him the Moon Bandits were in town and that they were demons like him, she had no doubt that he would immediately go to Miss Izayoi's house and try to bring them in; if not kill them entirely.

And she just couldn't be responsible for that. She couldn't live in world knowing she was the reason her bandit died.

Closing her eyes, she rested her chin on her knees and let out another sigh.

"Harlot."

Her head snapped up and she blinked once, then twice. That was it, she was going crazy. Sitting in this cell for two days had finally drove her mad. She was imaging his voice, much like she had dreamt of him coming to save her the past few times she actually managed to get some sleep. She let out a groan and used her dirtied fingers to rub the bridge of her nose, dirt smudging along the smooth skin.

"I wonder if my craziness will go and kill me off first-" She opened her mouth to let out a scream when warm fingers grabbed her shoulder from behind, but soon found that same hand covering her mouth to muffle it. She turned her head around as the hand forced her to and widened her eyes when they fell on her bandit.

"Can I trust you not to scream?" His deep voice asked in a low tone. When he saw her head nod once, he slowly removed his hand. He watched as she twisted her lithe body towards him, her hands gripping the cell bars as she sat on her knees. He quickly her looked over, internally wincing at all the dried blood covering her slightly tanned skin. He met her eyes and saw the mix of emotions there. "What are you doing?"

"What do yah mean?" She asked, brow instantly furrowing. She wasn't exactly sure how she should be feeling at the moment. She was angrier than a just-branded calf at him leaving her behind and letting her rot in this cell. But, she couldn't deny the flush of pleasure that warmed her body upon seeing him.

Sesshoumaru dropped to one knee so that he was more at her level. "Why are you letting yourself be a prisoner? You are innocent."

She snorted. "Innocent? Well, ain't that the biggest lie?" She gripped the bars tighter and have him a dead-panned expression. "I'm a saloon rat paying off her family's debt by sleepin' with customers. I ain't innocent, Bandit; just used goods."

A brow twitched down into a furrow as he listened to her self-loathing. He remembered her speaking about herself in such a crude manner before and he didn't like it any more than the first time. "You did not kill Naraku. Why not tell them the truth and set yourself free?"

"Free? I'll never be free, Sesshoumaru. Yah think the people 'round here care about the truth? People hate me 'cause of what I do. That's why I'm gonna get hanged tomorrow. They'd rather be rid of some dirty rat than learn the truth. They think their husbands are gonna go and stay home with them if they ain't no longer stickin' their meat in me and-" She was cut off with a wince as his hand shot out a roughly grabbed her jaw.

"Silence," He growled, green eyes flickering to red-tinted amber ones. He bared his fangs at her as she put her dainty hands on his wrist and tried to pull him away, her blunt nails digging into his skin. "Kagome!"

She stilled in her movements and clenched her jaw, feeling her muscles flex against his fingers. How did he do that to her? How could the sound of her name on his lips rip away all her anger? Why did it leave her feeling so raw? Her fingers relaxed until they were just resting on his skin.

Her cerulean eyes pooled with tears as she looked down at the soiled floor. "Don't…" She mumbled brokenly.

The demon's eyes softened, the red receding, but the gold gleaming as he watched the girl break down before him. "Do not, what?" He asked quietly, his hand relaxing slightly, but not relinquishing its hold.

"Don't go and treat me like a person," She whispered, the tears rolling down her cheeks before she could stop them. "I'm not a person. I ain't nothing more than property- No, I'm an object. Nothin' more than a thing that be used for other people's needs," She tightened her now trembling hands on his warm flesh, her eyes meeting his brilliant ones. "Yah ask me why I don't go and tell the Sheriff the truth? It's 'cause yer life be more valuable than mine, Sesshoumaru." She choked on a sob and let her hands drop to the floor to brace herself as she hunched forward and shut her eyes tightly as she revealed her deepest secret. "I don't wanna live like this anymore…"

He watched her crumble in front of him and he didn't know what to do. He was not good with emotion, whether dealing with someone's or his own. Feelings were complicated, and he did not do complicated. Still, as her words echoed in his head, her quiet sobs ringing in his ears, and the scent of her tears tickling his nose uncomfortably, he knew he had to do something- anything- to stop it.

Kagome flinched when she felt the weight of his large hand on her hair. The tears continued to come and she felt the dribble of snot form on the inside tip of her nose, but she didn't care to wipe any of it away. She felt his hand slide from her hair to her cheek to cup it gently. At the same time, she heard the echo of booted steps and a jingle of keys heading towards them.

"Remember what I told you." She heard him whisper before his touch vanished. She looked up, and blinked to see him missing. She quickly turned her head and saw Kouga walking towards her with a frown pulling down his lips.

"Miss Kagome, are you alright?" He asked, dropping his fake accent for her ears only. "I thought I heard you talking to someone."

She sniffled loudly and sat back on her butt, drawing her knees to her chest once again. "I was talking to the Lord." She lied, closing her eyes and resting her forehead on her knees. Yeah right, as if He was listening to her. He didn't before, so would she keep trying? She gave up asking for His help a long time ago.

He sighed softly. "Please, Kagome, just tell me the truth. I don't care what anyone will say; I will protect you from them. Please, I don't want you to die." The wolf pleaded gently, reaching out through the bars to touch her, but she was just barely out of his reach.

"That makes one of us." The saloon girl murmured, but as she did, Sesshoumaru's words rang through her head.

'Remember what I told you.'

Which part exactly? He had told her so many things and often thought of all of them, but she couldn't exactly pinpoint what he meant.

With another sigh, he rose to his feet and looked out the small, barricaded window as the sun began to slowly dip down towards the horizon. "Sunset is coming, Kagome."

"Good." She muttered, keeping her forehead on her knees. "Do yah want to take me now?"

He suddenly glared at her. "Knock it off! Your life is more valuable than death! You're worth so much more!"

Blue pools widened as she suddenly remembered Sesshoumaru's words, 'You are so much more.' Tears welled in her eyes again. How did someone she only knew for a few days know her better than the people in the town she grew up in? He didn't see her as everyone else did; didn't see her as some used trash. He saw her, Kagome, not the saloon rat everyone saw her as.

She pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes, her bottom lip trembling as new sobs threatened to come out. Why couldn't she have met him years ago? Before her family died from that God awful disease? But, if she had met him long ago, would she have stayed in down and perished with the rest of her family?

For years she blamed herself for traveling to the next town over, leaving her family alone while she searched for medicine for her grandfather. At that time, they thought it was simply an elderly person sickness since he had fallen sick over night while the rest of them were fine. She left that next morning on horseback, her brother too little to go out on his own and her mother too worried about her father-in-law. She had found the medicine in question in the neighboring town, but had to stay there for three days due to a horrible thunderstorm. She had tried to make the horse venture through it, a sinking feeling of dread filling her stomach, but the horse refused, the thunder spooking it.

She wish she would have forced the animal to do it.

Maybe then she would have been able to see her family before they died.

By the time she returned home, her entire family had perished from the disease called Cholera. She remembered throwing the medicine she had bought onto the ground, watching the bottle shatter and the contents seep into the ground. Her entire trip had been in vain. Even if she had arrived back in time, it wouldn't have done anything to help her grandfather; wouldn't have able to keep her family alive.

"You're really not going to tell me the truth?" Kouga asked quietly as he stood and unlocked her jail cell.

She wiped at her eyes one more time and forced herself to her feet. She met Kouga's blue eyes with a stubborn glare. "No," She replied, balling her hands into fists. She may want to live on with the only person who saw her for who she was, but she wasn't willing to risk his well-being. "I killed Naraku."

A growl rumbled in his chest, reminding her of Sesshoumaru, "You don't have to admit the truth, but don't lie to me either."

She shot him a look before holding out her hands for him to shackle. Once her wrists were bound in front of her, she followed behind Kouga as he led her through the Sheriff's office and towards the end of the town. As they stalked along down the dirt street of the town, more and more people slithered in behind them, whispering to each other about the dirty saloon girl who had killed her customer.

She stalked up the steps to the scaffold behind Kouga and glanced down below to the trap hole, frowning at how the sunset light painted the dirt below a dark orange color, the few stains of blood becoming dark red.

'Like the flames of hell.' She mused humorlessly as she stepped onto the trap.

With slightly trembling hands, the wolf demon slid the noose over her head and tightened it around her frail neck. He stepped away from her and looked over at the large crowd that gathered. He could spot Ginta and Hakkaku, their faces showing him pity. He then focused in on Sango and a few of the other saloon girls that knew Kagome, tears sliding down their cheeks as they hugged each other.

He cleared his throat and put on his fake accent before speaking, "Here be Miss Kagome Higurashi, standin' here for the crime of killin' Mr Naraku Kumo. With no other suspect or proof, she's been found guilty and will be hanged for her crime." He turned towards her, his eyes pleading with her one last time. However, all he found was defiance and stubbornness.

She swallowed against the rough twine of the rope and looked back at the crowd as Kouga moved towards the lever that would spring the trap door. She glanced over at the spiteful faces of the crowd, their hate for her palpable in the air. She gave them a 'screw you' smirk and then looked at her best friend. She gave her an apologetic smile as she cried and then looked at the horizon. She closed her eyes and took in a sharp breath when the floor suddenly gave out beneath her.

A/N: THIS FIC DOESN'T WANT TO END! –slaps Empty Threats- Stop it! Just end already! You were supposed to be over 5 chapters ago! –cries-