(A/N: I hope everyone has had wonderful holidays! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.)

Beta: UNBETA'D at the moment, so please forgive any mistakes. I'm still waiting to hear back from my beta on this, and I got impatient. Sorry, Wiccan. But as soon as she finds time (no rush) to look this one over for me, I will repost the beta'd version.

Visions

Chapter Eight

The God of Evil

"Why do you always manage to make the worst enemies?" Miroku greeted her with a hug as they stepped into headquarters later that day. She could feel Sesshoumaru boring holes into the back of her head as Miroku didn't draw back fast enough, and apparently the monk felt the sense of danger. Miroku met Sesshoumaru's icy glance over Kagome's shoulder, and hastily let go of Kagome, miko and monk sharing a smile of amusement.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Kagome said loftily.

"Oh, really?" Miroku replied with a raised eyebrow that only males seemed to really be able to pull off perfectly. Well, males and stuck up bitches. Hmmm, maybe there was a connection. She considered the possibilities before Miroku's voice snapped her out of it. "Need I remind you of your previous cases? Those enough should prove your uncanny ability to get in the worst possible situations."

"That's not really necessary," she said hastily, beginning to walk quickly away. The last thing she needed was to dredge up old cases in front of Sesshoumaru. "Everyone is waiting for us, and we have a God to track down. Let's go."

"Let's see…there was that spider demon in Kyoto that who choked you into unconsciousness when you finally found him, and started to bury you into a cocoon…alive." Miroku continued without hearing her. Or refusing to. He was having way too much fun watching Sesshoumaru's gaze narrow on the miko.

"Miroku," Kagome said warningly.

"Or how about the water demon in Okinawa who drowned women and preserved their bodies as underwater statues? As I recall, he thought you would make a lovely final piece to his collection. Oh, and don't forget that nasty child molesting snake demon that you couldn't find for three months, and when you did, he—"

"Miroku," Kagome said, warning voice gone and replaced with something infinitely worse: sweetness. "Shut up."

She walked up slowly to the monk and flicked him lightly on the forehead…with her miko powers charged into her finger. The monk slammed back against the wall, and fell down, dazed. He tried to focus his wavering gaze as she knelt down beside him and looked at him with a slight, sweet smirk.

"Do I need to remind you what happened to all of those demons?"

"You hunted them down and purified the hell out of them?" he said, wincing slightly. His voice had made it into a question, but he knew for a fact that that's what she had done to all of those demons. She had found them, and made them pay for everything they had done to her and the people she had to be during her visions.

"Exactly," she almost purred. "So I see no reason to bring them up now when they are nothing but ashes. Right?"

"Right," he said, giving her sheepish smile.

She smiled tightly. "Good," she said, and gave him a small, friendly smack on the cheek. "Get up and let's go."

She walked away first, leaving the two males in silence.

"What was the purpose of that, monk?" Sesshoumaru asked in a cold, yet bland voice.

"Whatever do you mean, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Miroku said, dragging himself from off the ground and giving his head a little shake to clear it, which wasn't the best idea since it just caused a sharp pain instead.

"I'm sure bringing up her past cases wasn't for her benefit."

"I knew you were a sharp one, Sesshoumaru-sama," the monk said, allowing the demon a small nod of respect and a smile that the TaiYoukai almost snorted at. A flick from his claws would ensure that the monk would go through the wall instead of just crashing against it. He cracked his knuckles thoughtfully.

"Ah, hah, well," Miroku stuttered, realizing that his time of teasing was slowly dying a painful death. "I guess the point was for you to realize that she's been in danger before."

"And how is that beneficial to me?" came the glacial response.

"Kagome is not a piece of fragile china, no matter how much of us would wish she would treat herself like that," Miroku said, all traces of teasing gone from his voice as he met the demon's gaze head on. "She is a powerful miko, and can most assuredly hold her own in a battle."

"The point, monk," Sesshoumaru almost growled.

"Your protective instincts are going to be screaming to keep her safe and out of harm's way if we come into the enemy's path, but you need to realize that Kagome is used to fighting her own battles. If you try to stifle her and keep her out of the loop and out of the battle, she is going to resent that part of you. It's like you would be insulting her abilities, and not having the trust in her to believe that she can take care of herself."

"You expect me to just let her run foolhardily into battle?" Sesshoumaru's voice was colder, if that was even possible.

"I expect you not to patronize her and treat her like spun glass. If you doubt her skill, I suggest you spar with her, but don't be surprised if you come away with a few marks of your own. You undermine her worth if you keep her on the sidelines."

Sesshoumaru let a small frown indent his eyebrows, but inside he was scowling ferociously. He wasn't an idiot. He knew that Kagome was powerful; she wouldn't have been able to reach the status of High Miko if she wasn't. What Miroku didn't seem to realize was that he didn't care if Kagome was High Miko or not (even if the fact of having such a strong mate made him proud). She was his.

His to care for. His to protect. Even if she hated him for it.

Kagome reappeared in the hallway. "Are you guys coming? I can feel the testosterone levels from the next room." She shot Sesshoumaru a pointed look that meant, 'meaning that I can feel you going caveman through the connection, so knock it off.'

"Well, this might have been a pre-mature conversation, anyway," Miroku said placatingly, moving down the hallway. Kagome gave him a confused look that was transferred to Sesshoumaru when he joined her at her side. Her eyes questioned him but he let nothing show on his face as he placed a clawed hand on her lower back to steer her the way she came.

Solemn faces greeted Kagome and Sesshoumaru as they took their seats at the head of the conference table. "I assume Inuyasha has brought you up to speed?" Sesshoumaru began, not really expecting an answer. "What else can you add to the information we have?"

"Unfortunately, not much," Inuyasha said glumly. "Of course there are legends about Amatsu, but not many people would notice they were in the presence of a God, so confirmed sightings of him are slim. He's been below the radar for thousands of years. He's like a fucking ghost."

"The legends that do mention him focus primarily on the time before his disgrace," Miroku picked up, noticing Sesshoumaru's growing irritation at what Inuyasha claimed they did not know. "His power was phenomenal. He was, or is, an expert swordsman. There are also rumors that he was able to influence dreams, planting dark suggestions of murder or war into humans, or twisting the dreams until the humans went mad."

"So we know that he is going after people with powerful souls," Kagome spoke up. "He killed a miko yesterday, and I bet if you do research on his former victims they will show significant amounts of spiritual power, whether they knew it or not."

"We already have," Sango said. "After Sesshoumaru-sama told Inuyasha what Bokusenou said about Amatsu's need to have powerful souls, we tried to find a common thread in the victims. Two men came from families who have history in the monastery, and one of the females came from a line of miko's and showed promise of entering training in high school, but she followed a different path."

"He is harvesting souls to gain power," Kagome mused. "How does this help us catch him? There are thousands of people in this city alone who show signs of spiritual power. Hell, even in this room, Miroku and I are targets."

"Kagome more so than I," Miroku added, casting a glace at Sesshoumaru, whose jaw had clenched. "I come from a family of powerful monks, but Kagome is a High Miko. My powers significantly pale in comparison to hers."

"My soul is different," Kagome said, turning everyone's attention to her. "The Medical Examiner yesterday warned me to watch my back. Bokusenou also said it would be likely Amatsu would target me to gain enough power to take his revenge."

"That could just be a supposition," Sesshoumaru countered. "As long as Amatsu knows nothing of you, you will be safe."

"Whether I'm safe or not isn't the point," Kagome said in exasperation. "In fact, it would be better if I were a target. That way, we'd find him faster."

"Don't get any ideas, Miko," Sesshoumaru growled lowly, reverting back to impersonal titles because just the thought of her trying to gain Amatsu's attention sent chills down his spine. He did not wait centuries for this woman only for her to target the wrath of a God and get her fool self killed. There was a flare in their connection as both of their emotions fought against one another, both conveying an admirable amount of stubbornness.

Kagome's lips tightened in annoyance, but now was not the time to argue with him. "Listen, even though we know what he is after, it doesn't really help us gain a starting point for where to look for him. As Inuyasha said, he's like a ghost. We can't just send out a warning to all those who might possibly have spiritual powers in the area. For one, it would cause mass hysteria which is the last thing we need right now with a soul sucker feeding on violent emotions. Secondly, it would let Amatsu know we're on to him and possibly cause him to leave the area. He might be traveling now, but I have a feeling he's not finished here."

"What it all comes down to is that we have jack shit on the guy. Or God. Whatever he is," Inuyasha said in frustration, ears on top of his head swiveling with restlessness. "All we can hope now is that Kagome has a vision where the victim sees his face."

"It's bound to happen sooner or later," Kagome said. "I've only been having the visions on him for a short time, and he can't keep to the shadows all the time. It's a waiting game now."

"Does that mean we get to go home?" Shippo asked hopefully. "We're not exactly getting much done here except for getting on each other's nerves."

Sesshoumaru considered. "I don't see a problem with it," he finally decided. It really didn't seem to do them much good staying together. If he were completely honest with himself, the only reason he suggested it in the first place was so that Kagome would be closer to him. "Miroku, you will stay with Inuyasha for the duration of your stay."

"What about you?" Inuyasha asked. "You can't really go back to that palace of yours on the outskirts of town. You would be too far away from the commotion, and I'm assuming you aren't going to just leave Kagome here."

Sesshoumaru would have liked nothing better that to take Kagome to his home, away from the center of the city and danger. But he could already predict her opinion on the matter and it wasn't accommodating to his urges. "Kagome and I will stay here. We'll call if anything happens."

There was a general murmur of assent from almost everyone, even if Miroku didn't look exactly thrilled of the prospect of staying with Inuyasha. Kagome was amazed at how easily everyone accepted Sesshoumaru's word as law. His status of Taiyoukai held considerable weight, even in the human realm. Surreptitiously, she studied him as he continued giving instructions to his team. He was born to lead. It was easy to spot in his calm face, ruthless and firm with the possibility of cruelty to those who crossed him. He exuded power like a second skin, as if the beast within him had too much to keep contained. From her lessons she remembered that the higher ranked the youkai, the more savage the beast. That Sesshoumaru could keep his under a tight rein without becoming the worse for wear of it was an incredible feat.

Then the fact that she would be staying at the penthouse headquarters, with him, alone, permeated her head and her heartbeat picked up. She caught his fleeting glance, but looked quickly away and willed her body under control. Kaede had said that they would need to be joined soon, that it would make them stronger. She would be lying if she said a part of her didn't look forward to that, to connecting with him in a physical way. He was like sex personified. But there would be no going back after that. She would give him her whole self in that moment, and that is what frightened her. Control was an important thing to her, having so little of it when it came to her visions. To give up that part of herself would be a monumental feat. He wanted her. She knew that without a doubt by the hot glances he sent her and the surges of arousal through the connection that always left her flushed and wanting. But a part of her always held back, not wanting to become more vulnerable than she already was.

But she had a feeling Sesshoumaru wouldn't let her hold back forever. For one, his demonic instincts wouldn't stand it. For all intents and purposes, they were almost like mates. The relationships of Inuyoukai mates were unique, even in the demon world. She had heard stories and tales during her miko training of the fierce protectiveness and possessiveness that Inuyoukai males were capable of. Cold and distant to the rest of the world, with their mates they could let down their guard. It was a place of honor and humility to be the mate of such a demon. Even though she didn't know everything about Sesshoumaru's world, she had no illusions that he would allow emotional distance between them. For now, he gave her space and time, but she knew it was just a consideration on his part. As he said in the hotel room, he would take her soon. And claim her. A shiver passed through her, and her nipples tightened involuntarily as her lower muscles clenched.

Again, Sesshoumaru glanced sharply her way, his jaw clenched as he broke off almost mid-sentence while talking to Kouga. His penetrating golden eyes became slightly hooded as she helplessly kept eye contact with him and a throbbing began in her body. She had to get out of there.

With difficulty, she wrenched her eyes away from his intense stare and focused on Sango. "Sango, could I see the information on Amatsu? I think it would be beneficial to me to learn all I can about him."

"Sure, Kagome," Sango replied, searching through her stack of papers until she found the one that she wanted. "This is just a preliminary report, but it's all we have of him."

"Thanks," Kagome said gratefully, taking the papers from the slayer's hands. "I'm going to find an empty room and zone out for a while with these. Find me if you need me."

"Will do."

Kagome wandered down one of the hallways, wanting to find a quiet place to sit down and regroup. The penthouse/headquarters were quite large, allowing for several sleeping areas in one wing, and several conference rooms in another, in addition to a small living room type area and a kitchen. She picked one of the farthest conference rooms, only feeling a faint twinge of separation from Sesshoumaru through their bond, and claimed it as her own to get some work done.

The first thing she did was spread all of the information they had gained about Amatsu onto the table so she could look at it collectively. Sadly, there wasn't much there. Most of what they did have centered on legends and folklore. Her gaze rested on an old painting that one of the team had found, studying it with a critical eye. "The God of Evil," she murmured out loud, letting the title roll around in her head. The man drawn on the page had a sense of chaos and frenzy surrounding him, causing his bright red hair to fly up around his stationary form as if electrified. Almost as long as Sesshoumaru's the crimson locks looked like blood streaks on the page, and the image made her uncomfortable. His skin was pale, almost ethereal, much as one should imagine a God's to be, but the artist had not drawn his eyes. Instead, there were two pits of fire streaking out of the face of the God, lending him a violence that Kagome assumed gave him justice. In his hand there was a wicked looking, curved sword that seemed to glow with an evil aura, and the features of the demon were captured as unrestrained viciousness. A gleeful feral quality showed in his mouth, which featured two exaggerated fangs bared in challenge. Kagome looked away from the disturbing image and focused on the information.

Hours later, she felt no closer to any answers than she had when she started. Amatsu remained just as much of a legend to her as before except for the fact that, in some inexplicable way, she knew him. She had felt the sense of evil, of wrongness emanating from him as either he or his henchmen killed their victims, and underlying it all was this growing sense of dread at the power he was consuming. Bokusenou had said that he might be close to gaining his powers back. Could they even find him before that happened? Even more important, could they stop him?

The young dead miko's face flashed before her eyes and she dropped her head down. They needed to stop him. There was no question in her mind. She would give everything in her to stop him, to stop more cold bodies from lying on the morgue's table. Even if it meant she became a target too.

Wryly, she thought that Sesshoumaru wouldn't be too happy with her if she offered herself as bait. Their little tiff in the conference room was proof of that, and she could tell that he would dig in his heels, bond or no bond. Tough. She was just as stubborn. If setting herself up as the next victim would get them closer to Amatsu, she was willing to do it. She could deal with an angry Taiyoukai later.

Speaking of Taiyoukai's, she hadn't seen hers in a while and it was starting to make her antsy. It would still take some getting used to, these feelings for Sesshoumaru. She went from only vaguely knowing about his existence to practically mating the demon in the span of one week. Her human sensibilities were having a hard time keeping up. He had told her that there was a difference in their species, and that he had no such qualms at the speed their relationship was going. If he had his way, she'd be sure she would have been technically mated to him the night he accepted the bond. It was only for her that he was reigning himself in.

For that, she could only be grateful. After dealing with so many extreme emotions in her vision, it was hard to accept that the extreme emotions were now hers. She felt attraction for once in her life. And not just any simple attraction. Soul-shattering, intense, hot attraction for him. She wanted to know what it would be like to kiss him again. To have those claws on her, and his fangs scraping over her sensitive skin. It was a side of herself that she hadn't known existed, and it frightened her. But despite all of that, she still wanted to be close to him. She yearned for him. Could she really let go of her reservations?

Until Sesshoumaru, her views on sex were dismal at best. She had told him once before when describing her visions that there were many ways a woman could be hurt by a man. She had been violated before in her visions, and the thought of letting Sesshoumaru enter her in the same way those bastards had forced their way into their victims frankly made her sick. Instinctively, she knew it would be different with Sesshoumaru. He had already shown her the possibility of how it could be between them between his touches and his kiss. But always, the image of a sweaty, heaving demon thrusting his dick into her while she screamed for mercy remained in the back of her mind. It wasn't fair to Sesshoumaru to bring that baggage along with her.

Groaning softly, she laid her head on the cool table. In the end, she didn't know if she would be able to resist. And there was a strong part of her that didn't want to, despite her bad experiences in the past. Those were the victims, not her. She was still physically untouched. Would Sesshoumaru be able to erase those images? Could he give her only pleasure instead?

That all depended on her and if she was going to continue to shy away from him. Did she have the courage to put her past behind her and start fresh? Maybe, just maybe.

Taking a deep breath, she lifted her head and gathered her papers to her. She needed to put all of these questions aside for now and focus on the important thing: finding Amatsu and stopping him. Venturing out into the hall, she noticed the darkness and noted the late hour it had become. Everything was quiet in the business area of the suite, so she decided to go into the living space to see if she could find life.

Kagome wandered into the small living room area, finding only Sesshoumaru sitting on one of the chairs, reading through a sheaf of papers with more at his side. "Where is everyone?" she asked, hesitating in the doorway.

"They have all left," he replied, taking his eyes off of the paper for a brief moment to look at her. "Most of them were anxious to sleep in their own houses tonight. We will reconvene tomorrow morning after everyone is refreshed."

"Oh," she said, drinking in his features. She hadn't seen him for several hours and just seeing his face again calmed something within her. A longing began in her; she didn't try to ignore it or block it out this time and just followed her heart. All thoughts about Amatsu left her mind. Maybe it was time to start answering some of those questions she had put aside.

She could feel through their bond the slight shock Sesshoumaru felt when she plopped down on the floor between his slightly spread legs, her back facing him, as she nonchalantly gathered some of the papers she hadn't gotten around to and began reading in deliberate silence. It was the first time she had ever initially gone to him first of her own free will, and the shock she felt through him slowly diminished into what she could only guess was contentment.

"What are you working on?" she asked, keeping her voice deliberately light even as she felt the heat of his legs on either side of her, warming her inside and out.

Sesshoumaru gazed down at the dark head between his thighs, though lamentably not in any sexual sense, and felt at peace for the second time that day, the first being when he woke up with her in his arms. The fact that she had come to him this time did not escape his notice. In fact, he relished in it, and hoped that it indicated that she was becoming more comfortable with him and their bond. "I am reviewing prominent families in the city who have shown and affinity for spiritual powers. Perhaps we can be a step ahead of Amatsu if we have an idea of who he is going after." And then, because he really couldn't help himself, he placed his hand lightly on her head, long tapered fingers stroking through her hair. Instead of shying away like he half expected her to, she leaned into his caress, and a fierce triumphant feeling rose in him.

"Hmmmm," she murmured, lulled by those magic fingers slowly running through her hair, sending tingle throughout her scalp and down her spine. It was an intimate moment, despite the simplicity of it, and she felt the same contentment from him spread throughout her body. "I think it's a good idea, but I kind of gained the impression today that most of his attacks are random acts of opportunity. He either sends his lackey out to find him a body, or finds one himself. It doesn't seem to me like his sidekick is especially gifted in the intelligence department and wouldn't really know what to bring him. It seems as if they are just wandering around and taking whatever soul feels good at the time. His only objective is to gain power, no matter how long it takes."

He thought about it for a moment, and then silently agreed with her. There didn't seem to be any deliberate stalking of prey on the God's behalf…that was usually reserved for the predatory demon species, such as his own. It would be harder to catch him if he were just randomly choosing prey at his convenience, but Sesshoumaru felt like he needed to be doing something, damn it. The fact that they were only waiting for Kagome to have another vision was chafing at him. He didn't want her anywhere near this bastard, even if it was only in a vision. He was brought out of his darkening thoughts as Kagome shifted slightly on the floor, and her head brushed against the inside of his upper thigh, sending a bolt of heat through him, and he hissed quietly under his breath as his body was brought to taut attention. The fingers in her hair tightened involuntarily, tensing as a wave of pure arousal ran through him.

He sensed her pausing, as if holding her breath, and unconsciously, he held his own, waiting to see what she would do. Visions of her turning that dark head around and burying it in his lap ran rampant through his head, and his cock hardened to full mast so fast it hurt.

Then, deliberately, slowly, Kagome leaned her head back and shifted again. This action caused her to rub against him, against the full hardness that throbbed for her, and the breath he exhaled seemed to echo in the quiet room. Tension, sexually charged, filled the air around him, and he greedily inhaled the slight scent of arousal she was emitting as she squirmed slightly on the floor, moving the back of her skull softly against his hardness. His claws became embedded in the soft arms of the chair as he fought to control his limbs from grabbing her and fucking her senseless. They had been dancing around each other for a few days and it was wearing on his control. He wouldn't do anything until she was ready, but dear God he hoped it was soon. Another twitch of her head sent an answering one to the head of his cock and he shuddered.

Kagome herself was not faring any better. She didn't consciously want to start something like this. All she had wanted in the beginning was to be close to him, but after she accidentally brushed against him and heard his breath rush out, she couldn't seem to help herself. It felt so deliciously naughty to rub against him with the back of her head, to feel the light twitches of his manhood brush her hair and to feel his hunger for her through the bond. A heady sense of feminine power filled her head as she brushed against him one more time and slowly turned her head to look at him.

He was unmoving in the chair, every muscle tensed and coiled as if about to strike and capture her, and his eyes had turned red. They stared at her, unblinking, like a panther about to leap and devour its prey. She felt a gush of wetness between her thighs and her panties became soaked, even as her mind screamed for her to back away. She had gone farther than she had meant to, and prodded his beast. She saw his chest rise and fall on a slow, inhaling breath, and his eyes drifted down sleepily to the secret place between her legs, and instinctively, she got shakily to her feet, wanting to flee the hunger in his gaze only because it made her feel more than she ever thought she could feel.

"I-I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru," she stuttered out softly, and his eyes snapped back to her face. "I didn't m-mean to go so far."

She watched in breathless anticipation as his eyes narrowed at her and his breathing began to become slow and measured. His knuckles were white, she saw, clenching the arm rest, causing the poor upholstery to be ripped and shredded under the wrath of his claws as he calmed himself down. After a moment that lasted for an eternity, he rasped darkly at her, "Go."

Turning, she practically bolted out of the room, but paused at the doorway. No matter how far she had taken things and how much her own desire of him scared her, she didn't think she could sleep without him. Not when the nightmares were too close. "Um…will you be join--"

His eyes, which were slowly fading back to gold, flared red once more. "Go!" he barked, and she started. With an effort, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. God, didn't she know how close he was to losing his control already? How every muscle in his body was tensed in preparation for grabbing her and throwing her to the nearest floor and mounting her like his beast was prodding him to do. Hell, the nearest wall would do. He could imagine the sound of her back thudding against it rhythmically as he pushed himself into her over and over and over…He needed to breathe again. Slowly, he allowed oxygen to fill his lungs and he exhaled, still feeling the pain of unfulfilled lust, but also scenting her fear in the air. That alone was enough to gain back his control. When he opened them again, they were back to gold and his voice was gentler. "Go, Kagome. I will join you later."

Biting her lip uncertainly, she nodded, and finally, finally, left the room. Every muscle in Sesshoumaru's body, which had been rigid throughout the whole encounter, finally loosened until he slumped back into the ruined chair. Great Kami above, he thought with an almost desperate wryness, she is going to kill me.

(A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, please leave a review. I'm not a review whore or anything like that, but I do like to hear if people like this story so I feel motivated to write. If you enjoyed it, leave a note! I appreciate each and every one.

Mujitsu)