Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, the Inuyasha universe, or the characters in said universe. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi - and I do not in any way make any form for profit on these stories. The story plot is mine though...

A.N.: Yo! This is just a short one-shot I wrote some time ago. Might be a little OOC, I dunno, but I like it, so I post it. It was just one of those things I had to get out of my system - you know how it is... ;)

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It wasn't normal. SHE wasn't normal!

Kagome chased through the thick forest, branches whipping across her cheeks as she plowed through the undergrowth. Blood trickled down her face in thin streaks from scratches she'd attained from lowhanging branches, the droplets moving in intricate weblike patterns across her cheeks thanks to the speed she was keeping.

She wasn't sure if this had been such a good idea after all…the youkai that was in hot pursuit of her was very intent on the hunt. She couldn't even remember, at the moment, why she'd thought it to be a good idea in the first place. It didn't really help that this youkai was Sesshoumaru himself…and Sesshoumaru had not many minutes ago received a reiki-infused rock to the back of his head by her doing. She'd only meant to distract him...maybe lure him away from the camp she and her companions had set up for the evening...she'd not thought she'd be running for her life...WHY had she thought he'd sit down for a civilised chat after she insulted his person? Damnit, Kagome...sometimes you need to THINK!

Kagome, Shikon Miko, future-born, was fortunate enough to have fully mastered her reiki not long ago, but this was the first time she used it to infuse her limbs to aid her speed as she ran. She considered herself a somewhat clever human being, but this recent act-before-thinking thing...had her seriously doubting her own intellect right now.

Whenever the aura behind her closed in, she swung around in a different direction, and continued running. The youkai had no troubles following her quick change of direction - she really couldn't shake him off her tail. Even if the reiki helped her speed, she really would have to work on her stamina; her lungs were burning, warning her that she needed to stop and catch her breath soon.

It's not normal.

To consciously demand the attention of a Daiyoukai and make said youkai chase her - she did realise that it had been abnormally foolish. It really wasn't sane. She would request her own head checked as soon as she reached civilisation. Ah wait, civilisation as she knew it was far FAR off in the future, wasn't it? Damn...there went that bight idea out the door. If she survived this, maybe her Slayer friend would be so kind to give her a smack on the back of the head...Miroku was more prone to grope, and Inuyasha wasn't always careful with his strength...

Ok, sorted. She'd request a smack to her head from Sango. But here she was now, running like mad, feeling like she had all the Hellhounds of the underworld on her heels. In true Kagome-style, her thoughts somehow managed to keep wandering off even though the situation was dire. Her life was at stake! Oh, look, a cliff...

"Woah, woah! Stop...stop!" She yelled, skidding to a halt just before she ran off the edge of said cliff. She caught a quick glimpse of the drop before she stepped away to stand away from the edge by a few feet.

She leaned forwards, bending at the hip so she could rest her hands on her knees while gulping air down into her lungs. Man! She had to work up her endurance and stamina if she was going to keep doing stupid things like this. She turned her head to the side, her long raven black hair cascading over her shoulders to frame her face, while her ocean blue irises locked on the youkai. He had stopped, too. Waiting. She could see how he measured the situation. To kill her now, or torture her first...

It's not normal.

Sesshoumaru had not thought twice about chasing after the insolent young human Miko who dared assault him with a PEBBLE! The insult! He chased the female he never had bothered learning the name of through the forest. No matter how fast he pushed his strong body, the female somehow managed to stay JUST out of reach. He very quickly realised she was actually using her reiki to manage that feat! That was...almost impressive - note; ALMOST! The anger almost blinded him at certain points. He wanted to tear into the disrespectful filth that was this human woman who dared think she could get away with what she'd done!

He smirked to himself in his inner mind as he heard the increasingly ragged breath of the woman. The Miko was tiring! How beautiful that idea was! it would not be long before he could sink his claws into his flesh and tear her apart! Not long until he could dispose of her like the wretch she was! Or maybe he would melt her flesh off her bones while she was watching...how delightful wouldn't her screams be to his ears? ...No, scratch that, he had heard this woman scream, and he was NOT intending on causing himself torment - the shrill pitch of that voice...

Sesshoumaru growled, realising they were nearing the coast, and he knew that where there was the possibility of a coast...there was...a cliff.

He came to an elegant halt, and watched the Miko struggle to catch her breath. She had cast a barrier around herself to prevent immediate death at his hand - foolish girl. She had to be delusional if she thought that would save her! His eyes bled red around the edges, and he growled menacingly. His strong, lean muscles flexed under his skin. The chase had done nothing to wear him out. He could run longer, he could run for days. This thought brought him great satisfaction. This cocky little bitch wouldn't last against him in the long run!

Kagome wheezed slightly and took one final, deep breath, before her body prepared for a sprint again.

"Don't be foolish!" He heard the cold voice belonging to the Youkai Lord, and the young woman glared at him.

"Well, with the situation being what it is, I will call on the right to be foolish..." Kagome threw back at Sesshoumaru, smirking ever so slightly as she saw the flash of rage in the other's eyes. Oh yeah, she could tick him off! Hah! Wait...that wasn't something to cheer! Focus, Kagome!

"You can either run off this cliff, or be impaled by This One's claws...from where This Sesshoumaru is standing, those are your options.." Sesshoumaru's sneer was far from friendly, nor was it even close to convincing Kagome that this male really was giving her options - he would do both. She knew he could break her barrier with his sword, whip and...well...claws, anything really! The psychological torment had already begun. Sly dog!

Straightening her back, Kagome stood her full height, and gave Sesshoumaru a level look. As the Lord of the West took one step towards her, Kagome made sure to take one away from him. The cliff's edge was still a few feet away, she had plenty of room! Her thoughts raced - considering her options carefully. She weighed her choices mentally. And as she thought, a frown marred her striking features.

Obviously Sesshoumaru had to think her thoughtful expression meant she was distracted. But when he took another step towards her, the future-born Miko proved to be quite aware of him, enough so to take another conscious step backwards, away from him.

Kagome raised her hand, signalling the other to stop, still frowning. Sesshoumaru couldn't believe the nerve of that human wench! How dare she...

"Hang on, I'm thinking!" She snapped, catching the flash of death's promise in the Inu Youkai' golden eyes.

How dare that idiotic girl think that telling him to stop would buy her time?! Sesshoumaru was, by now, fully enraged! How dare she think that she could order him around!?

His clawed hand struck at Kagome's face, but she surprised him yet again when she threw her left hand up, a pink void swirling in her palm. Sesshoumaru's hand disappeared into the void in Kagome's hand, and the Miko could see the shock gleaming in the golden eyes. How...?

It's not normal.

"I said, I was thinking!" Kagome repeated shakily, but strangely calm for someone whose hand had just swallowed another person's hand. Wow, it had worked...she hadn't thought it'd work... Her fingers locked around his wrist, keeping it trapped there.

Sesshoumaru's brows knitted together as he tried to work this out in his mind. He hadn't lost his hand, he could still feel it, he could flex his fingers, but inside the void...it was cold, freezing...

"...well, be quick about it then!" The Lord snapped heatedly, and Kagome hissed at him. If she kept the void open too long it could end up with both him and Sesshoumaru getting swallowed by it and disappear into nothingness...This wasn't a Wind Tunnel, like Miroku had. She had just...made it up out of desperation.

"Back off..." Kagome finally said, as calmly as she could muster, and she relinquished her grip on Sesshoumaru's wrist. As he complied, she swiftly pulled her left hand from his, revealing his hand to be unharmed. The swirling pink void in her palm disappeared and she curled her fingers tightly into it while watching as Sesshoumaru flexed his hand several times, curling his own fingers and extending them. It really did feel like his hand had been frozen...yet not...and it was cold...

When the golden eyes looked back up from his hand, he spotted the Miko sprinting along the cliff's edge. Damnit...he'd allowed himself a distracted moment! Sesshoumaru growled and broke into a sprint himself, his strong muscles and youki allowing him a burst that Kagome couldn't match, no matter how much reiki she possessed! He moved in a flash, and the snarled victoriously as he lunged and clashed into Kagome's back, his strong arms locking in a death-grip around the female' arms to prevent her from throwing another surprise attack at him.

Kagome growled (impressively for a human) and felt them both lose balance, tipping over the edge of the cliff.

"Stupid!" She yelled at Sesshoumaru as they plummeted towards the rocky stones down below. It would greatly injure them both if they landed on those jagged rocks, if it didn't kill them! Why didn't Sesshoumaru fly off on his cloud!?...oh yeah, he was trying to kill her, wasn't he...

Kagome inhaled, having one option to spend, and she slinked her body so she was face to face with Sesshoumaru, and she wrapped her arms and legs around the bigger male, projecting a full-body barrier around them both. Nano-seconds later they bounced off the rocks unharmed, but the barrier broke right after - sending them sprawling across the lesser jagged rocks, until they simply rolled onto the smoother rocks of the beach, both coming to a stop near the water.

Sesshoumaru was shaken by the impact, feeling slightly stunned and disoriented at first, but he was the first one to his feet. This was nothing. He would've survived just fine if he HAD hit the rocks...His head felt like it was spinning after the quick drop and the sudden stop, however, though only for a short moment. He regained his composure all too quickly and glanced towards the deadly rocks at the base of the cliff. He cringed inwardly... He'd have survived, but he'd have been in a bad shape...He'd been careless. He had no intentions of injuring himself!

He bared his teeth in a vicious sneer, as he caught sight of the unmoving Miko. He walked over quickly, glaring down at the small form, and then carefully poked her with the tip of his boot. Kagome was laying on her side, her hair covering her face. Still unmoving. Not even when he flared his aura and youki did she move. Had she truly died? It seemed...too easy...he'd had such plans for her torment!

Sesshoumaru frowned slightly when he got no reaction from the girl, and crouched down gracefully, and turning Kagome onto her back. Another, much deeper frown (proving that his skin was NOT porcelain) marred his features. Blood pumped from a fresh, deep cut across Kagome's left temple. That meant she was alive. The woman was merely knocked unconscious...

The Inu Youkai tilted his head, his features smoothing out slightly, and he ran his thumb over the bleeding wound. Well….the Miko had saved them both from a very cruel impact…it was perhaps more foolish of her than trying to outrun him, but he'd give the girl a point for her quick thinking.

But alas, now she was powerless to defend herself against him. While he pondered the irony of the situation, Sesshoumaru licked the blood off his finger, forcing himself to stifle the purr that wanted to escape him at the vibrant taste. The way it coated his tongue, the faint electric sting of her reiki caressing the roof of his mouth and throat... So fresh, so wild... So this was what the purest of magic tasted like...

He leaned down further, brushing his nose against her hairline, licking the blood off her temple, it was quite an addictive flavour, he had to admit!

It's not normal...

"Perv!" Kagome snapped, catching the Youkai Lord off-guard by throwing her arm out, hitting the male right between the legs - having boosted her punch with her powers while he was distracted. By the sound Sesshoumaru made, and the way he for a second was curling up on himself, Kagome estimated that she had at least 5 seconds to get a head start! She rolled to her feet and despite her fuzzy eyesight and punching headache, she ran. She proper legged it!

Sesshoumaru snarled. Oh, it didn't matter how good that female tasted...she was going to die! Ugh...later. He was going to kill that female! Later...

...damnit, that Miko had a very mean punch...Sesshoumaru winced almost unnoticeably, at that moment not sure if he'd be able to feel his male parts again in the near future. He smirked despite his pain, his sharp canine fangs resting on top of his lower lip. He had the female's blood-scent now...and the taste of it lingering in his mouth. There was no way the woman would be able to hide from him again...he would find her. And she would pay...

This is NOT normal. Not at all. But it was something...

Just you wait, Miko - you don't know what kind of beast you've awakened.

~~~O~~~

A.N.: Since the comments so far imply that another chapter/sequel might be wanted for this storyline, I will take it into consideration... IF this one-shot gets more than 20 comments, I will write a follow-up - but I must be absolutely certain that it is truly wanted XD Thank you all so much for reading!