A shadow passed over the magazine’s glossy page. Kagome frowned. She pulled the headphones off her ears and called out, “Sango-chan? Is that you?” Absolute silence answered her. Scrunched brows lowered thoughtfully. “Kikyo-chan? Inuyasha-san?”

Leaves rustled from just outside the tent, and Kagome sighed. “Sango-chan, are you playing a joke on me?” Her friend was not a prankster, but maybe she was just in high-spirits? A faint outline became visible through the red fabric as the visitor moved closer to the tent, and Kagome felt her stomach drop.

That was not Sango, or anyone human that matter. Fur was distinguishable, as was the enormous girth of whoever crouched just outside. Mouth suddenly dry, Kagome swallowed to clear her throat of the sudden blockage. Inch by inch, she scooted to the door of the tent. Sango, please hurry back! she begged silently in fear. Surely her adventurous friend would know how to handle a wild animal in camp!

Snuffling noises were heard, and the paper-thin sidewall of the tent bowed in sharply as the creature sought the smell out the secrets of what hid within the tent. Kagome shrieked in fright at the sudden move.

An answering roar, the sound grating on her tense nerves, had her on her knees as she abandoned all subtlety of movement. Scrambling for the exit, she placed an unsteady palm on the open-faced magazine and slid forward. “Aaiyah!“ she yelled after landing painfully on her stomach.

Sprawled on the tent floor, Kagome’s head snapped up to stare in disbelief at the open slit when a new sound filled the small space. Growling low, fangs ‘chittering’ together almost playfully, a monster loomed overhead.

“Oh kami,” she whispered in shock. Kneeling, it had to crouch further to see inside the small tent. Red eyes gleamed while the bright light of the noon-day sun shined in from behind its massive, grotesquely bulky frame. Fur covered every inch of its body, the color indeterminable beneath the blood, grime, and gore than matted the coarse hairs into a muddy brown mess. Her eyes were drawn to each sharply curved claw, more a talon really, she realized as shock slowly transmuted into a heightened sense of keen observation. The third finger was missing, she noted, and the left ear hung at an odd angle, as if it had been broken but had not healed properly.

As she couldn’t detect any sort of genitalia, she was left at guessing the thing to be female. Not that she was any expert, Kagome clarified to herself on the verge of hysteria. A high-pitched giggle escaped at the unwarranted thought.

The beast cocked its head to the side at the odd noise. Kagome stole the opportunity to cautiously clamber to her knees. For a few seconds, precious moments that seems to tick by with infinite slowness, frightened blue eyes stared into curious red slits.

Unsure what to do, Kagome’s spine crawled in warning when the beast uncoiled from its non-threatening crouch to stand. She was left staring at the muscular thighs of the monster, wondering what was going on and what it was. Could it be Big Foot? She had read about it in the tabloid magazines she sold. She had scoffed at the notion of something running about the countryside undetected except for the few rare moments when a camera also happened to be conveniently present. Now though…But, she never recalled anything about fangs as long as her hand, or claws that were almost longer than her fingers!

Kagome’s panicked contemplations were cut short by a snarling addition to the meeting between the two. Racing across the small clearing, visible behind the legs of the female, a smaller creature raced toward the tent. The larger beast turned to growl out a warning.

Lashing out with claws, the female’s yowl of rage pierced Kagome’s ear drums painfully. The smaller monster dodged the deadly blow easily and ignored the warning growl that had built up into a earthshaking roar. Haunches coiled for optimum force, the intruder launched itself into the air, aiming for the throat with mouth agape while the long, grey tongue lashed its teeth with insane bloodlust.

On impact, the female grappled with the male, but fell back as she lost her balance. Flimsily built, the entire tent collapsed beneath the weight that had so abruptly crashed into it. Trapped in yards of fabric, unable to see anything, subjected to the terrifying reality of only hearing the thumps as the great lumbering beasts wrestled upon the ground-violence fed by her surging fear-Kagome screamed.

Fear-tremors traveled the length of her body. Fingers froze clutching fistfuls of tent fabric, and her breath came in thin, reedy whistles when the sudden silence upon her scream lifted the fog that had overtaken her brain in the suffocating darkness. She could feel moisture pooling in the corners of her eyes, and had to push back the instinctual need to urinate as her bladder threatened to empty when her innards crawled and cowered in fearful recognition of what that awful silence heralded.

Ripping through the intermittent quiet, claws tore gashes through the fabric. Loosened from the moorings holding it taunt, the fabric proved more resilient than had been assumed. Sharp talons snagged, and Kagome struggled to free herself from the confinement that promised to be her shroud if she failed.

Before she had wormed an inch forward, the world tilted on its axis.

The beast had grown impatient, and had moved to rip its claws free. Instead, it had underestimated its strength and had thrown the entire tent, Kagome inside, over its muscular shoulder. It howled as the claw was torn from its finger; a stream of crimson liquid gushed as a reminder to its stupidity.

Drawn by the scent of spilled blood, the second beast struggled to rise to its feet. The scream had distracted it so that the smaller male had been able to surprise it with a claw to the throat. Now, dying, a river of blood pumping without mercy from its torn jugular, it would seek vengeance as the male turned feral eyes on the crumpled tent laying haphazardly near the smoldering pile of wood.

It latched onto the ankle of the male with an unbreakable grip. Eyes dropping in confusion, the male wrenched its ankle to free itself, but to no avail.

Distracted from the promised meal, he swiped at the fallen female only to stare dumbly as she moved with unexpected speed. Fangs latched onto his wrist and bite down with enough force to sever flesh and crush bone. With a jerk of her head, she ripped off the male’s hand and swallowed it whole in a single gulp.

He reeled back, yowling in pain and anger as the female slowly rose to her feet. “Die,” she hissed out, disappointed that it would end this way, but so far lost to the heaviness that threatened to slow her down with each pump of her heart and the inevitability of her coming death that she didn’t care to examine the miracle of the vaguely rational emotion entering her garbled thought processes.

Forced into a more lucid state by the misfortune of his birth, he snarled in reply, instinctively unwilling to submit to the demand when he had the upper hand. He was the runt and had years upon years of abuse and bitterness to discharge. He had disobeyed the call of the hunt to instead challenge the greatest of them in a moment of insane clarity. And when the female fell, he would feast upon the flesh of his sister, gorging on the knowledge that he was mightier than she.

Hyped by the adrenaline that flowed through his system, assured by the testosterone flooding his brain with false bravado, he snarled once more before moving in for the kill, unwilling to wait until his prey was slowly drained of life. Wary of her former speed, he was careful to avoid her snapping fangs. Instead, he moved around her craftily, feet sliding in the fallen leaves as he circled his prey.

Lured in by the slumped shoulders, he was further assured when she suddenly fell to her knees and feebly attempted to crawl forward in the dirt. Piteous whining issued from her torn throat until, finally, her heart stopped beating completely. Still, her mind fought to function as her body began to seize with death.

The male threw its head back. Blood streamed from it’s gaping maw as it howled the victory to the uncaring sky. Lusting for a taste of blood still warm from a fresh kill, he didn’t waste time on celebrating his victory before dropping beside his kill and ripping into the muscled underbelly. Pained by the loss of his hand as he was forced to make due with only one, he settled in for a feast.

Twitching eyelids betrayed the dying female’s movement as she watched her brother swallow handfuls of her innards with gluttonous abandon. Vision dimmed to a pinpoint of light, she lashed out one last time. As his head lolled to the side, spine visible as the skin flopped uselessly in the cool breeze, she closed her eyes while a contented smirk twisted bruised lips.

The almost decapitated corpse of the male fell into the embers of the dying campfire, and soon the scent of burning flesh and hair joined the rusty tang of blood in the air.

From beneath the tent, hair mussed beyond immediate repair, Kagome finally managed to pull herself free of the tent. She had been thrown at least ten feet into the air. Most of the tent’s flapping material now covered the bushes near her landing, but heavier than the material, she’d weighed down the corner to hit hard ground. Hip bruised from the bone-jarring landing, she immediately knelt and vomited up her breakfast upon sighting the carnage before her.

Dry heaves accompanied by panting gasps soon filled the clearing that had been silenced by the grisly reality of death.

“Oh Kami,” she prayed mindlessly. Kagome rocked back and forth on her heels after wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket. The smell, oh, the smell! Kagome covered her nose with her hand, but couldn’t escape the malodorous smoke that drifted to her on the breeze.

Unable to take in what had just happened, she floundered for reason in the aftermath of the horrifying encounter. A faint chuckle, oddly muffled, crossed her ears. Frightened that there were others, something that had come to finish her off, Kagome frantically searched for a weapon. The discarded machete, dropped carelessly beside the tent’s former location, jumped out at her searching gaze. She scrambled for it on all fours through the dirt and debris of the forest floor.

Clutching it in both hands, the hardened plastic handle reassuring in her white-knuckle grip, Kagome slowly approached the brush covered in red fabric. “Who’s there?” she asked harshly, voice made strident with fear.

There was no reply, but a soft tickling in the back of her mind told her not to disregard what she had heard. Given recent events, she was not about to ignore what little help her instincts could render. She was alone in the forest, at least fifteen miles away from the car as it had taken almost all day for her and Sango to hike here, and then at least fifty miles from the nearest town using said car. She was, until someone else showed up, on her own.

A shaky hand reached out and grabbed a corner of the tent. Allowing herself no chance to hesitate, she swiftly pulled it off the bush. “Sesshoumaru!” she gasped in a mixture of surprise and shock.

Falling to her knees, she was stalled from action by indecision. He stared blankly into the distance, skin and clothing torn as if he had been drug through the forest by his hair. Eyes picking out the twigs and various insects crawling in the lank mass, Kagome was left the believe that, that was exactly what had happened. “Are you okay?” she heard herself ask lamely. She could see with her own eyes that he was most definitely not okay. The sleeve of his jacket was torn away, along with it most of his arm! Baka! she further chastened herself.

“Um…” Glancing about, Kagome tried to find something to help him with. What should I do? she wondered. She’d spent her life in a city, not learning how to administer first-aid!

He didn’t move a muscle beneath her regard. “Leave me.” He would rather die honorably defeated by that foul beast than live, knowing he would owe his life to the insipid human before him. She had been spared by fate’s intervention; whereas, he had been denied such impartial mercy. He could hate her for just that.

“Excuse me?” she asked incredulously. “You’re hurt! If I just leave, you will die!” Was this guy crazy? She knew he had issues, but this was insane!

Sesshoumaru glared into the outraged eyes that snapped with indignation. “I said, leave me. Now. Or shall I ensure that you share my fate, you filthy human?” All thoughts on dying in peace, his final moments unsullied by the presence beside him, he didn’t notice the slip of his tongue.

Kagome bowed her head. His words bit into her heart as cruelly as those that had taken his arm. He would rather die than suffer her help, she realized with perfect clarity. “I know you hate me. Why, I don’t know,” she whispered softly, head still lowered as unseeing eyes stared at the shiny blade in her hand as it reflected his legs, the blue slacks soaked in his blood. “And I really don’t care. Not any more. But I’m not leaving you. You want to die.” Her eyes rose to stare resolutely into his own. “I want to live, but I cannot do so knowing I abandoned you here.”

Sesshoumaru pushed against the pain clouding his mind to snarl, “I care not for your needs, girl! Leave me be to die in peace!” The potion would wear off eventually, his blood loss hurrying the demise of the spell holding his blood at bay. It would be too late, however. Even as they spoke, he could hear the scurrying of other beasts, their legs tearing up the distance between them and the feast the fallen bodies of their comrades promised.

Kagome stiffened in reaction. “You are pathetic,” she hissed out in reply. His eyes flashed, but she didn’t care as she rose to her feet to tower over him. “You could fight to live, you could try! Instead, you sit there like a child, pouting and whining and lashing out at me, who did nothing but desire to help you! Now, talk all you want, but I am going to help you, and you are going to accept it!”

Incensed by the insults, enraged by the fact that she dared to look down upon him, Sesshoumaru, he struggled to his feet. His nerve endings fired, reminding him of the grievous wound he had received, and he slumped back to the forest floor. Drained.

“It is no use.” For once, his words held nothing of disdain, but only the truth as he knew it. He could literally feel her hesitation before she dropped to the ground beside him.

“Can I see?” Kagome asked hesitantly. When he made no reply, she tentatively moved aside the shreds of the jacket’s sleeve. The glint of bone, surrounded by ragged muscle and flesh, wet with blood and dirtied with pebbles and bits of plant matter, forced her to swallow her rising bile. “Um, okay,” she tried for an optimistic tone, “We need a, ah, tourniquet. Do you have a belt, Sesshoumaru-san?” They sold “The Outdoorsman” at her stand, and she’d been bored enough to read it one day. There had been an article about a man surviving a deer goring by using his belt to stem the blood flow. Maybe that would help Sesshoumaru?

He glanced pointedly at his belt-free waist. “They are a hindrance.” If the woman wanted to help him, so be it. She would die soon anyway, and none would know of his surrender to her whims or words. Even if they had the power to sting a conscience he had long thought dead.

Wondering what he meant, she merely shrugged before biting her lip in thought. She sucked on her bottom lip for a second before shrugging out of her jacket and flannel shirt. This not being a time for modesty, she then pulled her tank top off to reveal a simple, white sports bra. Hastily, she pulled her clothes back on, leaving the tank top off while he watched tiredly.

“This will hurt,” she warned before wrapping the cotton shirt around his arm and knotting it carefully. She pulled the fabric tight, and he manfully refrained from betraying just how badly it hurt by howling and simply frowned. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” she asked after ensuring the knot was secure and tucking the ends into the tautly pulled fabric.

“Why?” he asked rather than answering her. Why was she helping him. Why bother? He had been justifiably curt with her, had planned on using her for his own entertainment-even if she was as of yet unaware of that singular plan-and had growled and snapped at her for offering her aid. Why did she even care? She was human; they were inferior at best, and twice as cruel as he could ever hope to be by nature. Why, in this life-threatening situation, did she care enough for him, a stranger, nothing to her, to risk her chances of survival to help him?

Falling back to her heels, she simply stared at him in thought. Why, indeed. She didn’t have to think long. “Because I can.” And, because if she didn’t, she would never be able to look at herself in the mirror again. He was hurt, she was not. It was her obligation to herself to help him. What if it were Souta? Or Mama? Would they be left behind by an uncaring individual more concerned for their own skin than helping a fellow being? Granted, he had been mean to her. But that did not mean he was less deserving of life than she was.

The simple honesty in her eyes echoed the words that had slipped from her lips. And for once, Sesshoumaru took the words of a human at face value. “Help me to stand,” he ordered roughly. “There are others coming. They will be here within minutes.”

Lost by his sudden change of heart, Kagome shrugged it off for later contemplation. Fear returned at his words, and she cast about for something to help their escape. “How many, and how do you know that they are coming?” A sturdy sapling looked promising, and Kagome began to chop away at the base while awaiting an answer.

It snapped in half before she was answered, and she realized that he would not reveal his source or give any further knowledge. Sighing in aggravation, she held the makeshift crutch out to him. “Here, to help support your weight if you feel feint.” Loosing blood could make him weak, as had been proven already, and she didn’t think she could carry him out of here.

He paused for a second before taking it. Then, with her help, he managed to regain his feet and stayed there by leaning on the strong wood and her slender frame. Kagome made sure he was steady before kneeling to rifle through the tent frame. She grabbed her pack and slipped in on before standing again. “Which way?” she inquired since she had no idea where to go, and apparently, he knew more than she did.

Silent, he forced his legs to obey him and headed north. At his side, Kagome gripped him about the waist to help support him. He suffered her touch, knowing full well that he needed it, no matter how badly his pride twisted in agony at the realization.

If she had such faith that she could survive this, then he would ensure that he did so as well. It they died, it would be together. He would not let it be said that she, a human, was more capable than he. Even if she knew not that the one she so readily aided was a demon-the same breed that had sired those that hunted them.