DISCLAIMER: Don't own 'em. 'Nuff said.

In the Blood

Ch. 7

By: Lara Winner


There was an unusual bustle of activity in the kennel and Inuyasha listened to the shuffling feet and murmuring voices in the distance as he lounged in his cage, eyes closed and ears alert. The unyielding straw poked his skin through the cotton material of his shirt but he didn't bother changing his position. It wouldn't do much good. It was uncomfortable no matter how he twisted himself around.

Although having a nice, warm lap to rest my head on wouldn't be so bad.

Inuyasha growled softly at the thought as his musings once again started down 'that' direction.

Damn that pushy bitch.

He was getting soft. That stupid girl was making him think about her all the time. Not that there was much else to think about but it was getting annoying every time he caught himself trying to remember her scent by memory. So she smelled better than anything he could recall having smelled before. Why did that make her so fucking special?

Because the girl equaled food, plain and simple.

The hanyou's stomach rumbled as if to confirm that it agreed with his estimation. When the girl showed up she always brought something interesting to eat. Why she went out of her way to do it he was taking guesses at, but as long as she kept doing it he wasn't going to complain.

Only an idiot bites the hand that feeds you because then it don't feed you no more, he reasoned to himself with pride at his clever thinking.

But long ago Inuyasha had learned to expect the worst. If he thought the pain couldn't hurt anymore then someone would find a way to make him bleed a little more. Just when he thought fighting couldn't get any harder he was forced to take on someone faster and stronger. And when someone was nice to him it meant they wanted something.

He was stupid if he thought the bitch was going to stay. She didn't belong here and chances were she'd leave soon. Then he wouldn't get anymore food, no more soft lap to rest his head in, nobody to give a damn if he was thirsty when he couldn't get to the water himself… All those little things that were dangerous because they only hid her true motives.

It wasn't natural for someone to be that nice. It was almost scary. So he wracked his brain trying to think of what he had that she could possibly want.

Did she have money placed on his fighting ability?

No. If she had money she would dress like the master.

Maybe she was playing along with the guards just to fuck with his head?

No. The guards didn't seem to like her very much either.

Was she trying to get him in trouble?

No. She'd have told on him already.

Or was she an honest and kind person?

No. She was hiding something.

And so back and forth the ball bounced as it always did when he began wondering about the girl.

She was a mystery, he had to give her that. Whatever it was she was hiding she probably thought he didn't notice. But he could tell. She was as see through as the barred door that kept him imprisoned.

And she was bound to come soon with more food. Once again the hanyou's stomach rumbled as if urging the girl to hurry and arrive.


In the hall beyond the study, three figures stood over the miko's body wondering what to do next. To body's left stood a portly guard in his mid-forties. Beads of sweat trickled down his round face as he scratched at the shiny bald spot at the back of his head. Beside him was a second guard, this one tall and thin. The younger man kept his hands stuffed deep into his pockets as his expression betrayed his unease. Opposite them was the final member of the trio, a nondescript female youkai with a blank expression.

"So… watchya wanna do with her?" asked the first man.

"Master Naraku wants the body disposed of." Kana replied relaying the order given to her.

"Right." He squatted down to get a closer look at the dead girl. "Pretty little thing isn't she?"

The observation went without comment by his companions.

"Uh, any ideas?"

Kana shrugged.

The man thought for a moment, scratching his head again. Suddenly he brightened. "I got it. I'll bring her to the doghouse and use her for chow."

While his comrade paled, Kana nodded in approval. "Good. Master will be pleased."

Finally the younger man spoke up. "Come on Ray. Lets get this over with."

"Yeah in a minute." He kept his attention on the girl running a pudgy hand over her bare arm. "What a waste…" A lecherous grin curled his lips as his hand strayed over the girl's chest.

"Ugh! You're getting off on a corpse. That's sick!"

Reluctantly he withdrew his hand and said, "She doesn't have to be breathing so long as she's got all the important parts."

"You're a fucking weirdo!"

"Settle down Charlie. No need to get bent out of shape. She wasn't complaining." Ray laughed thinking his joke was funny as Charlie turned an unbecoming shade of green.

Having fulfilled the order given, Kana walked away leaving the humans to figure out on their own that the girl was still very much alive.


In degrees of black consciousness returned to Kagome.

Deep within the dismal, inky depths of oblivion her muddled senses awoke to the darkness and wallowed in confusion as fleeting notions of thought came and went from incoherent directions. Images, too abstract to identify, danced across the back of her eyelids, teasing her to remember something more than the comforting void. But around the edges her abyss was shrinking and growing brighter in hues of silver and gray.

Kagome's first taste of reality was the tingling that fluttered along her skin. It was no more than the barest hint of sensation but it bled into her numbness and like an incurable infection forcing her to heed its presence. Thus began the domino effect destroying Kagome's precious sleep as one by one her senses sparked to life feeding her faulty impressions she could not translate.

It was a few long moments of mental flailing, trying to grasp onto any thing that made the least bit of sense. She felt weighed down, as if her head was filled with murky water that distorted her thoughts. It was not a pleasant feeling and despite her confusion Kagome panicked.

Her heart began to pound in an erratic rhythm that sent adrenaline rushing through her veins like liquid mercury. It was a jolt to her system, one that threw Kagome from the haze that obscured her ability to focus and right into a state of full sensory overload.

Pins and needles pricked her limbs, gliding across her flesh in a patternless dance. In its wake a dull throbbing took hold of her muscles accentuating her weakened condition. Her stomach turned violently as the scent of mildew and old sweat filled her nose. She tried to swallow against the gag reflex but her throat was parched and scratchy. Something kept jarring her body and the movement only caused the pounding of her heart to echo inside her skull with the force of a sledgehammer that intensified to pure agony as she finally recognized the sound of voices.

"…rid of her."

"You heard what Kanna said."

"So what do we do with her?"

"Feed her to Taki. When he's done there won't even be bones left to bury."

The sound was coming from above Kagome and as the words and their meaning registered she realized that she was being carried. Carried to where she wasn't sure and before she could focus on summoning the strength to open her eyes and see, the moaning of rusty metal that came from a cell door's corroded hinges told her more than she wanted to know.

Kagome understood what guard had said, they were going to "feed" her to one for their creatures. She didn't want to die but the pain and disorientation left her feeling apathetic. The ground rushed to meet her and Kagome whimpered in pain as the guard dropped her onto the filthy straw that covered the packed earth of the cell floor. A low snarl, deep and menacing came from the right and Kagome forced her eyes open as she feebly attempted to edge away from the frightening sound.

Teeth.

Claws.

Blood red eyes.

Raw fear, unlike anything Kagome had ever felt before, welled up in her throat nearly choking her. To say the beast watching her from across the cell was large was an understatement. Even crouched down on all fours the ceiling of the cell was scraping its back. Shaggy gray fur, clumped with dirt and knotted, stood out at odd angles but it was not enough to hide the youkai's malnourished appearance. There was no reason in it's eyes, only insane hunger.

Kagome backed away from the mad animal until she reached the wall. The snarl coming from the youkai grew deeper as it moved toward her. Its lips curled back revealing pink gums and six-inch incisors that snapped together with a hollow thunk. Saliva dripped from the inu-youkai's jowls, glistening in the dim lighting.

Kagome searched about frantically for a way to escape but there was none. There was no way she could make it to the cell door without getting within biting reach of the creature and even if she could reach the door the two armed guards were watching with cruel anticipation to make sure the job was done. Yet she was still desperate enough to try if only her arms and legs would cooperate but she was too weak.

Tears born of fear, anger and overwhelming frustration stung her eyes. She didn't want to die this way. She wasn't ready. The inu-youkai felt differently and with a last snap of its jaws it lunged toward her, teeth first. Kagome froze, terrified.

One moment there was hot dog breath close enough to brush her neck and the next a brief flash of violet that sent the creature rearing back with a yelp as it pawed at its snout. The scent of singed fur permeated the small space as the guard's chuckles rang in her ears. Frantically she tried to summon more energy but it was a futile attempt. What little miko power she retained was temporarily exhausted.

It was wrong move on Kagome's part. The youkai turned on her in a fury. With nowhere to run, all she could do was curl up and squeeze her eyes shut as the maddened animal went in for the kill. Its teeth pierced her flesh like a warm knife through butter.

Kagome screamed.


It was time for Naraku to try you his new weapon.

The door to study swung open and the wind youkai, the woman he'd been forced to marry and the most painful thorn in his side, walked brazenly into the room. One dark brow arched curiously as Kagura pinned him with her ruby stare.

"Yo. You sent for me?"

He rolled the jewel around his palm absently. "Yes love."

Kagura frowned, as the endearment did not go unnoticed. "Are you all right?" Hesitantly she stepped closer.

"Never better."

While his smile did not reach his eyes it did alight his gaze with a cruel sparkle. He was enjoying this. As the first test of his power it was only fitting that he bestow the honor on his lovely bride. While a wise man kept his enemy close, only a masochist married her. The harpy deserved a horrible death and then some but he was content to liberate himself from her money grubbing clutches once and for all.

Kagura tapped her ornate fan against her thigh as she suspiciously contemplated her husband's malicious nature. She was not a fool and as expected she sensed that something was amiss. Her cleverness on provoked Naraku to resent her more.

So he smiled, flashing her his pearly whites.

Kagura gave a dry laugh. "I take it your plan was a success?"

"Of course. Would you like to see the finished product?" he reached out his hand and opened his palm exposing the mystic jewel to her inspection.

"Hmm…" She remained unimpressed. "Somehow I was expecting bigger."

"Then allow me to give you a personal demonstration."

Naraku focused his will on the jewel as Tsubaki had instructed and let his desires flow into the charged gem. He could feel the subdued power gathering to do his bidding. The stone itself seemed to hum with the force of it.

Yet nothing more happened.

"It glows." The wind witch mocked. "An impressive demonstration, I must admit."

Naraku reveled in the pure hatred that filled him at Kagura's scathing tone and let it absorb into the jewel turning the lucent stone an inky black.

Kill her, he willed the jewel. Destroy her.

Kagura. Die.

But for all of his concentration the stone remained charged yet dormant in his palm.

"Why…?" even as he asked Tsubaki's warning echoed through his head scorning his expectations.

"One opportunity to take the girl's power… Designed to extract her life force… Disruption happen… The child will have joint control over the jewel…"

But could that happen? He had done everything as directed by Tsubaki herself. The spell had taken. The glowing jewel was ample proof, as was the dead girl being disposed of.

"Not have access to her energy without her physical presence…."

"Shit!" he cursed vehemently. Struggling to maintain his cool he called out to the nothing youkai confident that she would come when bid. "Kana!"

For a single moment all was still. Then the air shifted, becoming thick and substantial. Out the vast empty space the pale youkai began to emerge, ever poised and wrapped in a cloak of apathy. "Yes Sir?" she asked.

"The girl, what did you do with her?"

The nothing youkai answered with care. "I had her brought to the kennel for termination and disposal."

"Termination? She was still alive?"

"Yes."

"Fuck!" he hissed, turning to Kana with the fire of hell burning in his eyes. "Listen to me carefully Kana. Retrieve the girl and bring her to me at once. I need her alive. If she dies I will personally send you back to the nothingness you came from. Understand?"

"Yes Sir."

The youkai faded away back into the air as she had appeared. Kagura watched the entire exchange with an amused smirk. "Well, isn't this interesting."

"Leave me Kagura." Naraku sighed, struggling to maintain the fragile hold on his temper. When Kagura made no move to obey he reached out and grasped her by the throat. With a string of curses he backed her to the door, opened it and pushed her out into the hall. "I gave you an order. Do not make me repeat myself."

The only sound that accompanied his outburst was the slamming of the study door.


Inuyasha smelled the miko the moment she entered his underground hell. Amidst the stench and decay that surrounded him her scent was like a sweet breeze. It drifted on the air, light and effervescent bringing the faintest hint if a smile to his lips.

His ears perked forward waiting to hear her footsteps approach. But the easy footfalls he had grown accustomed too the last few days never came. That wasn't right… Slowly his golden eyes opened as he strained to hear something.

A whimper, so soft that it was almost drowned out by incessant snarling, made the hairs on the back of Inuyasha's neck stand on end. He sniffed the air again to judge the girl's proximity and growled in anger as he recognized the tang of fear and the sickly odor of death that had interwoven itself into her unique scent.

"What the fuck?" he muttered as he moved closer to the cage door, his ears trained forward and listening intently. What was the girl smelling half dead for? When she'd left him last she'd smelled perfectly healthy. He shouldn't care one way or the other. What happened to the dumb bitch wasn't his problem. But he was part human and his human heart wanted to help the girl like she had helped him.

A loud yelp echoed down the long corridors and Inuyasha stiffened just as a bloodcurdling scream filled the tense air. It was her voice, that much he knew and for some reason it made his hold on his humanity slip. Rational thought teetered precariously, threatening to fall into the recesses of his mind as the edges of his vision turned red.

There was no time wonder why he was reacting so strongly or why the need to find the girl was making his youki rise. It really didn't matter why when he drew in another deep breath the thick scent of her blood washed over him. As more screams carried down the halls he knew he had to find her.

There was only one way out of the hanyou's cage and he'd tried it enough times to remember exactly how painful it was. Inuyasha sucked in a deep breath and braced himself for the white-hot burning as he slipped his hands through the bars. His very skin felt on fire as he tried to unfastened the latch. The pain coursed through his trembling hands and his grip on the lock slipped.

He'd almost had it, just a little more…

Inuyasha bit down on his lip hard enough to draw blood and whined unable to keep silent as his flesh blistered and began to peel away. Abruptly the girl's cries fell silent and determination drove him to push harder. Finally the latch pulled free and the barred door swung open.

Clutching his burned wrists to his chest, Inuyasha ignored the pain and took off down the corridor at a dead run. He followed his nose and the scent of blood that hung low like a fog. With every step he took the hold he kept on his control grew shakier and the rage that fueled his youki grew stronger. It was then he noticed the two guards arguing.

"Damn it Ray! Why didn't you to make sure the Boss wanted her dead!"

"Well how was I supposed to know he'd change his fucking mind! I was just following orders."

"Yeah well if she's dies you're on your own. I'm ain't getting my balls busted for this shit."

In a blur of white Inuyasha rounded the corner sparing but a glance to take in the scene before him. Two guards stood just outside of the cage caught in a glaring match and oblivious to the hanyou barely three yards away. The short stocky fellow grumbled incessantly as the taller lanky man held the lifeless body of a young girl in his arms. But what made Inuyasha's gut twist were the crimson stains that covered the girl's clothing and steadily dripped onto the ground.

Blood.

Sweet, intoxicating and fresh from the source.

Inuyasha's vision was clouded by a red haze as his humanity regressed allowing his powerful youki to take control. The horror and compassion brought forth by his human nature neutralized into an apathetic curiosity as the righteous anger that shadowed his heart succumbed to a senseless rage that unleashed an inner cruelty long since ingrained into his psyche.

He stalked his prey with his eyes, not moving a muscle or even daring to breathe. Slowly, soundlessly, he prepared to make his move.

The guards never saw him coming.

In a blur of movement too fast for the average human eye to discern, Inuyasha dashed down the corridor catching the squabbling men unawares. He reached the short fat one first and with a well-aimed swipe of his talons, split the man's balding head down the middle.

There was a second of shocked silence from the skinny man. He blinked and blinked again snapping out of his stupor as the round face of his partner oozed a seam of scarlet down the center before shifting sickeningly and falling apart gushing blood and brain matter everywhere. A horrified scream choked in the guard's throat at the gruesome sight before him and he dropped the girl he held onto the floor preparing to make a run for safety.

The guard was panicked and didn't stop to see where the white blur that had attacked had gone. All he knew was that it was behind him somewhere and he needed to flee. Inuyasha used the man's terror to his advantage and gave him a three step head start before effortlessly catching the man by the back of the neck and jerking him backward, pinning him to the wall.

The transformed hanyou felt much like the cat that caught the canary as he savored the fact that his prey was alive and duly afraid. The man blubbered and pleaded shamelessly but the only reaction his antics received was a smirk full of feral delight. The furry white triangles atop Inuyasha's head to flicked back and forth and his nose wrinkled as the sharp odor of urine and human waste filled his nose.

He could almost taste the guard's fear and he reveled in it.

The demon driving Inuyasha wanted to play with his squirming toy but there was no time. He noticed the man reach for the gun holstered at his hip and only grew more enraged. Years of abuse teased the edges of his thoughts and like a cornered animal he lashed out with a snarl sinking his bloody claws into the man's throat and jerked downward effectively gutting him and spilling his entrails.

The corpse fell from Inuyasha's slack grasp and hit the packed earth with a wet plop. He was satisfied with carnage he'd created but it was far from done. There was one more still alive and he could hear her lungs rattle with every shallow breath she took.

The hanyou sank to his knees beside the girl. His youki flared feeding off of her weakened state and those contrary instincts that Inuyasha could not fathom stirred, staying his hand from finishing her off. A territorial growl rose in his chest and burst forth as the scent of multiple males assailed his sensitive nose emanating from the girl's body. It agitated his youki to no end but even worse was the unsettling way the bitch reeked of death.

It wasn't right. The sweet tang of her blood was supposed to smell inviting, not ill with impending decay. It completely ruined the allure of her wounded body. The bitch served him no purpose if she was dead.

The fact that the bleeding bite marks were not his didn't sit well with his youki either. His fingers twitched with the urge to gouge the offensive markings out of her skin.

And Inuyasha would have done it but the soft click of a gun's safety being removed made him pause, swivel his ears and look to his right. Only a few yards away and blocking the only escape from the corridor were more guards, one in particular aiming a firearm designed for tranquilizer darts. They had the advantage. It was too late.

A loud bang ricocheted off the walls as the tranquilizer gun was fired. The hanyou's reflexes were good but not quite good enough to dodge moving bullets, still he tried throwing himself to the side but the bullet-like dart hit its mark impacting with his shoulder. He snarled in pain but even more so in rejection to the numbness that was beginning to seep from his left shoulder and into the rest of his body with every beat of his heart. The concentrated drugs took effect immediately. He tried to fight the effects but even his demon blood was susceptible to the mixture of undiluted morphine and novocain.

Like a puppet with cut strings, slowly Inuyasha slumped to the ground. His mind raced frantically warning of the impending punishment for the mutilated corpses that lay beside him. But oddly he felt no trepidation. It was as if his mind was somewhere else and he was only observing his own thoughts. But even that feeling didn't last and within a matter of second he succumbed to the drugs that rendered him unconscious.


A.N. – So how was that for an over-dramatic chapter? That was why I decided to make two chapters out of the original rough draft. Thank you for being patient, I know that was an evil cliffy I left you with last time and it seems that this chapter was hardly much better.

I do not know if you can mix novocain and morphine without having a fatal reaction so don't try it home, or in hospital, or anywhere esle you might come across the stuff. Okay.

I did warn readers form the beginning that this was a dark fic. Gore, violence and even grotesque/perverted behavior will occur so if you have a weak stomach or are offended easily then you are reading this at your own discretion. I don't want to get penalized by FFN because it upsets some little kid. The rating is R for a reason.

Other than that... uh, yeah that's it. Until next time, thanks for reading!