Target by aimee_blue [oneshot#76]
Title: Target
Author: aimee_blue
Prompt: Best Laid Plans
Words: 1,541
Genre: Romance,Mystery, Drama
Rating: T
A/N: A future chapter of In From the Cold where Sesshoumaru is on the run from a mysterious force, however, it is not necessary to read that first.
Summary: AU. Kagome is surprised by an intruder and Sesshoumaru is brought to the startling conclusion that his bolt-hole is no longer safe.
Methodically dicing vegetables, Kagome attempted to get lost in her task. Such was an impossibility though, when she could hear the rush of water that signified that Sesshoumaru was currently taking a shower. Thinking about the naked Adonis standing under a spray of hot water was very bad for the concentration and Kagome tried to shake herself out of it before she sliced her finger, again.
With a disparaging sigh, she gathered the diced vegetables in her hands and added them to the wok on the stove. She was absolutely exhausted, more tired than she could even remember being, but she was also ravenous and so, even though her knees threatened to buckle and her eyelids felt heavy, she was cooking.
Behind her, the floorboards creaked and she froze. She could still hear the pipes gurgling as they attempted to cope with Sesshoumaru’s shower. Which begged the question, who had stepped on the squeaky floorboard that led into the kitchen?
Tales of violent break-ins surged to the forefront of her mind and she lunged for the knife she used to dice meat.
But she missed the knife by mere inches as an unforgiving hand grasped a hank of her hair and tugged her back into a broad chest. Before she could fathom that she was being attacked, a calloused palm clamped down on her mouth, silencing the scream that had been brewing.
“Not a word,” a smooth, dark voice whispered into her ear, his breath rasping against her neck.
She wondered if she was supposed to be paralysed in fear, because, quite frankly, she was merely rather angry at the fact that this man had the nerve to break into her home. Fuelled by her indignant outrage, Kagome hooked her leg around one of her assailant’s knees and tugged.
The bewildered invader dropped like a ton of bricks and she shot to the other side of the kitchen. Her hands closed around the knife a fraction of a second too late as her attacker was already after her. This time he made no pretence of being peaceable and slammed the hand with the knife down onto the surface, forcing her to release it with a pained yelp, even as she remained struggling valiantly.
He cursed and grabbed the knife pressing it to the smooth skin of her throat. “Don’t move,” he whispered, his voice layered with a darker intensity, “little hell cat.”
Adrenaline still pumping, Kagome was reckless. “Bite me.”
With a low growl her attacker slammed her into the wall of her kitchen, forcing a pained cry from her chest as her back impacted with the wall. Once again he pressed the knife to her throat, this time leaning in with his hips to trap her against the wall.
It was the first time she’d been able to get a good look at her aggressor - he’d been surprising her from behind mostly. And she scowled heavily at the attractive man who held her at knifepoint.
Dark teal eyes stared at her from a tanned, handsome face. A blue cross tattoo was embellished on his forehead and lustrously long black hair was pulled into a thick braid that ran down his back. He dressed in a traditional pair of white hakama and a white haori with a blue patch on one shoulder.
“Where is he?” the man growled, eyes piercing as he looked down at her.
Kagome narrowed her eyes, fear irrationally gripping at her heart at the thought of this man wanting Sesshoumaru. The attacker appeared a little taken aback by something, prompting him to grab her shoulder and slam her back into the wall once more. “What have you done with him, miko-bitch?”
Dispassionately, Kagome realised she should be terrified, but she just felt tired and angry. A small smile made its way onto her nubile features, wrong footing her foe.
“Why the hell are you smiling?” he growled, pressing the knife against her skin so hard that a bead of blood fell, making its way down to the hollow of her throat.
“Because I can’t hear the water anymore,” Kagome answered with a chirpy grin.
The man appeared to question her sanity for a moment and Kagome kept right on smiling, her grin reaching gruesome proportions when the male’s eyes widened in shock.
So quickly that Kagome thought she might be sick, the man spun her so that her back was to his chest. Using her as a human shield even as he pressed a knife to her pulse.
Sesshoumaru stood in the bathroom doorway, a pair of hakama low on his hips. Beads of water ran down his naked chest and his saturated hair clung to his lithe back. Hi narrowed his eyes at the invader, drops of water clinging to his eyelashes. Apparently he hadn’t bothered to dry off after his shower.
“Bankotsu,” the name rumbled from Sesshoumaru’s chest, striking out across the room in an almost physical fashion.
“Sesshoumaru-sama,” Bankotsu greeted, his voice deceptively calm. “It is good to see you well.”
Furrowing her brows in confusion, Kagome glanced up at the man holding a knife to her throat. Was this man the enemy or not? He was certainly talking to Sesshoumaru rather casually.
“Release her, or I will gut you where you stand,” Sesshoumaru’s monotone was somehow more furious than if he had shouted the words.
Bankotsu’s eyebrows arched incredulously at the larger male’s demand. “You...” he paused as if seeming not to believe the words coming out of his mouth. “You care about the miko?”
“I do not repeat myself,” Sesshoumaru took a measured step forwards, eyes glinting.
Kagome gasped as Bankotsu dropped the knife from her throat, releasing her from his grasp. Turning to look at him as she put a little distance between them, she debated kicking him in the crotch.
“Don’t,” Sesshoumaru rumbled, his disparaging glance enough to tell her that he knew exactly what she’d been thinking. Rolling her eyes, she continued across the apartment to Sesshoumaru. When she reached his side, the silver-haired Adonis reached out calmly with an arm and tucked her into his side. Kagome nestled into his warmth, uncaring that he was still wet from his shower.
Bankotsu watched the exchange with a blatantly disbelieving stare on his handsome features. “I thought that the miko had captured you,” he admitted lowly.
Sesshoumaru’s eyebrow twitched at the admission. “You liken me to a weakling to even consider that I had been captured,” he hissed, eyes narrowed and deadly.
Holding his hands out, palms up, Bankotsu backed off a little, even though he was already across the apartment from the livid male. “My apologies, but I had been told you had been branded.”
“Tch,” Sesshoumaru flipped his hair a little arrogantly. “None can contain me entirely, and the assailant missed.” Sesshoumaru exposed the side of his neck demonstratively.
“There’s nothing there,” Bankotsu informed him shortly, looking faintly bemused.
Sesshoumaru’s eyes widened fractionally as he pressed his thumb to smooth skin. Days ago, it had been livid with a brand to bind his power. This was impossible; you didn’t remove a bind, the person who bound you had to die or lift the enchantment. Which meant...
Kagome eeped as Sesshoumaru picked her up by the tops of her arms as effortlessly as if she was a toddler, bring her to eyelevel.
“Sesshoumaru?”
Golden eyes scoured the side of Kagome’s neck and he growled low and irately. His golden irises became haloed in red.
“You took it,” he murmured, both incredulous and exasperated at Kagome’s sheer untrained might as a miko. It took a lot of power to take a binding mark and transfer it... and the ridiculous woman had transferred it onto her own neck! This was why his father had warned him away from untrained priestesses; they always meant well and ended up bring about well-meaning calamities. All of his best laid plans had not included this eventuality.
“Huh?” Kagome touched the side of her neck self-consciously, her feet still dangling above the wooden floor. The raised skin made her eyes widen in a way that would have been comical under different circumstances. “You mean I took your brand?” she exclaimed explosively. “I guess it explains how tired I’ve been.”
Sesshoumaru put her back on her feet and dipped his head so that his forehead rested against hers. “Woman...” he ground out exasperatedly. She grinned at him.
“Which brings me to the fact that up until late last night, I couldn’t detect your presence,” Bankotsu interjected, “Your mother was worried.”
Sesshoumaru snorted. “No, she was gleeful at the chance of a scandal,” Sesshoumaru ground out.
“He knows your mother?” Kagome asked, befuddled by the development.
“He is my mother’s...” Sesshoumaru’s lip curled, “pet assassin.”
Bankotsu saluted Kagome and she waved back, a little flabbergasted at the weirdness of the situation. She’d just waved to an assassin for crying out loud. This was getting weirder by the second.
Sesshoumaru continued blithely, eyebrows furrowing. “And, since the brand is now on Kagome, her powers are being bound...”
Kagome blinked a few times, a feeling of dread creeping up on her. “Which means?” she prompted.
“Your power is no longer enough to shroud Sesshoumaru’s youki. Which means; we’re sitting ducks.”
Author: aimee_blue
Prompt: Best Laid Plans
Words: 1,541
Genre: Romance,Mystery, Drama
Rating: T
A/N: A future chapter of In From the Cold where Sesshoumaru is on the run from a mysterious force, however, it is not necessary to read that first.
Summary: AU. Kagome is surprised by an intruder and Sesshoumaru is brought to the startling conclusion that his bolt-hole is no longer safe.
Methodically dicing vegetables, Kagome attempted to get lost in her task. Such was an impossibility though, when she could hear the rush of water that signified that Sesshoumaru was currently taking a shower. Thinking about the naked Adonis standing under a spray of hot water was very bad for the concentration and Kagome tried to shake herself out of it before she sliced her finger, again.
With a disparaging sigh, she gathered the diced vegetables in her hands and added them to the wok on the stove. She was absolutely exhausted, more tired than she could even remember being, but she was also ravenous and so, even though her knees threatened to buckle and her eyelids felt heavy, she was cooking.
Behind her, the floorboards creaked and she froze. She could still hear the pipes gurgling as they attempted to cope with Sesshoumaru’s shower. Which begged the question, who had stepped on the squeaky floorboard that led into the kitchen?
Tales of violent break-ins surged to the forefront of her mind and she lunged for the knife she used to dice meat.
But she missed the knife by mere inches as an unforgiving hand grasped a hank of her hair and tugged her back into a broad chest. Before she could fathom that she was being attacked, a calloused palm clamped down on her mouth, silencing the scream that had been brewing.
“Not a word,” a smooth, dark voice whispered into her ear, his breath rasping against her neck.
She wondered if she was supposed to be paralysed in fear, because, quite frankly, she was merely rather angry at the fact that this man had the nerve to break into her home. Fuelled by her indignant outrage, Kagome hooked her leg around one of her assailant’s knees and tugged.
The bewildered invader dropped like a ton of bricks and she shot to the other side of the kitchen. Her hands closed around the knife a fraction of a second too late as her attacker was already after her. This time he made no pretence of being peaceable and slammed the hand with the knife down onto the surface, forcing her to release it with a pained yelp, even as she remained struggling valiantly.
He cursed and grabbed the knife pressing it to the smooth skin of her throat. “Don’t move,” he whispered, his voice layered with a darker intensity, “little hell cat.”
Adrenaline still pumping, Kagome was reckless. “Bite me.”
With a low growl her attacker slammed her into the wall of her kitchen, forcing a pained cry from her chest as her back impacted with the wall. Once again he pressed the knife to her throat, this time leaning in with his hips to trap her against the wall.
It was the first time she’d been able to get a good look at her aggressor - he’d been surprising her from behind mostly. And she scowled heavily at the attractive man who held her at knifepoint.
Dark teal eyes stared at her from a tanned, handsome face. A blue cross tattoo was embellished on his forehead and lustrously long black hair was pulled into a thick braid that ran down his back. He dressed in a traditional pair of white hakama and a white haori with a blue patch on one shoulder.
“Where is he?” the man growled, eyes piercing as he looked down at her.
Kagome narrowed her eyes, fear irrationally gripping at her heart at the thought of this man wanting Sesshoumaru. The attacker appeared a little taken aback by something, prompting him to grab her shoulder and slam her back into the wall once more. “What have you done with him, miko-bitch?”
Dispassionately, Kagome realised she should be terrified, but she just felt tired and angry. A small smile made its way onto her nubile features, wrong footing her foe.
“Why the hell are you smiling?” he growled, pressing the knife against her skin so hard that a bead of blood fell, making its way down to the hollow of her throat.
“Because I can’t hear the water anymore,” Kagome answered with a chirpy grin.
The man appeared to question her sanity for a moment and Kagome kept right on smiling, her grin reaching gruesome proportions when the male’s eyes widened in shock.
So quickly that Kagome thought she might be sick, the man spun her so that her back was to his chest. Using her as a human shield even as he pressed a knife to her pulse.
Sesshoumaru stood in the bathroom doorway, a pair of hakama low on his hips. Beads of water ran down his naked chest and his saturated hair clung to his lithe back. Hi narrowed his eyes at the invader, drops of water clinging to his eyelashes. Apparently he hadn’t bothered to dry off after his shower.
“Bankotsu,” the name rumbled from Sesshoumaru’s chest, striking out across the room in an almost physical fashion.
“Sesshoumaru-sama,” Bankotsu greeted, his voice deceptively calm. “It is good to see you well.”
Furrowing her brows in confusion, Kagome glanced up at the man holding a knife to her throat. Was this man the enemy or not? He was certainly talking to Sesshoumaru rather casually.
“Release her, or I will gut you where you stand,” Sesshoumaru’s monotone was somehow more furious than if he had shouted the words.
Bankotsu’s eyebrows arched incredulously at the larger male’s demand. “You...” he paused as if seeming not to believe the words coming out of his mouth. “You care about the miko?”
“I do not repeat myself,” Sesshoumaru took a measured step forwards, eyes glinting.
Kagome gasped as Bankotsu dropped the knife from her throat, releasing her from his grasp. Turning to look at him as she put a little distance between them, she debated kicking him in the crotch.
“Don’t,” Sesshoumaru rumbled, his disparaging glance enough to tell her that he knew exactly what she’d been thinking. Rolling her eyes, she continued across the apartment to Sesshoumaru. When she reached his side, the silver-haired Adonis reached out calmly with an arm and tucked her into his side. Kagome nestled into his warmth, uncaring that he was still wet from his shower.
Bankotsu watched the exchange with a blatantly disbelieving stare on his handsome features. “I thought that the miko had captured you,” he admitted lowly.
Sesshoumaru’s eyebrow twitched at the admission. “You liken me to a weakling to even consider that I had been captured,” he hissed, eyes narrowed and deadly.
Holding his hands out, palms up, Bankotsu backed off a little, even though he was already across the apartment from the livid male. “My apologies, but I had been told you had been branded.”
“Tch,” Sesshoumaru flipped his hair a little arrogantly. “None can contain me entirely, and the assailant missed.” Sesshoumaru exposed the side of his neck demonstratively.
“There’s nothing there,” Bankotsu informed him shortly, looking faintly bemused.
Sesshoumaru’s eyes widened fractionally as he pressed his thumb to smooth skin. Days ago, it had been livid with a brand to bind his power. This was impossible; you didn’t remove a bind, the person who bound you had to die or lift the enchantment. Which meant...
Kagome eeped as Sesshoumaru picked her up by the tops of her arms as effortlessly as if she was a toddler, bring her to eyelevel.
“Sesshoumaru?”
Golden eyes scoured the side of Kagome’s neck and he growled low and irately. His golden irises became haloed in red.
“You took it,” he murmured, both incredulous and exasperated at Kagome’s sheer untrained might as a miko. It took a lot of power to take a binding mark and transfer it... and the ridiculous woman had transferred it onto her own neck! This was why his father had warned him away from untrained priestesses; they always meant well and ended up bring about well-meaning calamities. All of his best laid plans had not included this eventuality.
“Huh?” Kagome touched the side of her neck self-consciously, her feet still dangling above the wooden floor. The raised skin made her eyes widen in a way that would have been comical under different circumstances. “You mean I took your brand?” she exclaimed explosively. “I guess it explains how tired I’ve been.”
Sesshoumaru put her back on her feet and dipped his head so that his forehead rested against hers. “Woman...” he ground out exasperatedly. She grinned at him.
“Which brings me to the fact that up until late last night, I couldn’t detect your presence,” Bankotsu interjected, “Your mother was worried.”
Sesshoumaru snorted. “No, she was gleeful at the chance of a scandal,” Sesshoumaru ground out.
“He knows your mother?” Kagome asked, befuddled by the development.
“He is my mother’s...” Sesshoumaru’s lip curled, “pet assassin.”
Bankotsu saluted Kagome and she waved back, a little flabbergasted at the weirdness of the situation. She’d just waved to an assassin for crying out loud. This was getting weirder by the second.
Sesshoumaru continued blithely, eyebrows furrowing. “And, since the brand is now on Kagome, her powers are being bound...”
Kagome blinked a few times, a feeling of dread creeping up on her. “Which means?” she prompted.
“Your power is no longer enough to shroud Sesshoumaru’s youki. Which means; we’re sitting ducks.”