Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Golden Gaze ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

Golden Gaze

By:

Goijh

Author's note: WOW! I got so many reviews for my first chapter! Thank you so much. I would respond to them right now but I'm REALLY tight on time and I thought that you guys would like a second chapter more than some responses. Am I right?

Promise to try to resond next chapter!

~Goijh

Chapter Two

Kagome's arm slid across the mossy ground in search of something it could not find. The girl whimpered slightly when her searching embrace was met with nothing but air.

Cold.

Emotionless.

Air.

Kagome's eyes fluttered open. For a moment she could not remember where she was. "Shippo? Inuyasha?" she called out timidly, looking around for any sign of her friends. Fear began to rise like a tsunami inside her, waiting to crash upon the defenseless shore and engulf everything in reach. Kagome jumped to her feet, scanning her surroundings desperately for Sango, Miroku, or Inuyasha.

Then she remembered.

Slumping back onto the ground one lone tear fell from her eyes.

It glistened like a diamond in the afternoon sun.

"Afternoon.." Kagome whispered to herself as she looked up at the peaked sun in the sky. She had slept for quite a few hours then. The rewards of her rest were noticeable. She was completely free of her exhaustion. But that also meant that her friends had been looking for her for hours.

And they had not found her.

A second tear slid down her face.

Furious at the offensive bead of moisture for daring to show itself, Kagome wiped it from her face, flinging it to the ground. She was not going to cry right now. No. She needed to be strong. At least that was what she was telling herself.

On the outside she appeared to valiantly compose herself and to be analyzing her situation. On the inside she was falling apart. What if her friends weren't really looking for her? What if they viewed her absence as a blessing? After all Inuyasha was always telling her she was a nuisance and a weakling. And if she were gone then Miroku and Sango wouldn't have to worry about her and would have more time to themselves. Shippo would be the only one that would miss her. But he was just a kit...He could easily forget.

Kagome shook her head angrily. How dare she doubt her companions. In fact right now that were probably upturning every rock and tree in an attempt to find her. Mentally she berated herself. They most likely would not have had to go through any trouble if she had just stayed where she was. But no, leave it to Kagome to think of the right thing to do when it was already too late!

The young woman sighed and adjusted her blouse. Her clothes were fithy and ragged. As soon as she got back to her friends she was taking a LONG bath. She would stay in there until she was as wrinkled as a prune. Outwardly she smiled as she allowed her mind to picture Inuyasha's reaction. He would probably yell and throw a tantrum like a little child, she would sit him, he would consent, she would bathe, he would complain. It was the cycle of life for her.

Still smiling, Kagome drifted gently out of her thoughts. She resurveyed the clearing she had slept in with the help of the days light. She came to the same conclusion. It was reasonably safe. Thankfully she still had her bow and a few arrows. After that nights rest she would be able to protect herself from any lower demons that tried to attack her. Hopefully she would also be able to get away from any stronger ones.

Kagome sighed and laid back down upon the mossy earth. It was still a bit damp from the previous nights rain, but she didn't care. Her clothes were already caked in mud, a little more wouldn't hurt. She giggled a little as she looked down at herself. She could only imagine what her face and hair looked like. 'Oh well.' she thought, 'This is as good of place as any to wait for Inuyasha. I might as well stay here. Besides...' she thought bitterly, 'He'll probably pay more attention to me when I'm filthy than he ever would if I was cleaned up!'

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Youko pulled himself almost reluctantly out of the water.

It had been almost half an hour since his battle before he really noticed that he was covered in blood. He had noticed during battle, but it hadn't really dawned on him. Not that he was slow or anything. He was one of the most cunning and intelligent youkai alive. He was merely distracted by his new found fascination with the shikon shard.

When he had noticed though, his delicate nose had wrinkled in disgust. He definately had to do something about that.

It hadn't taken him long to find a semi deep creek. The water was not nearly as cold as he had expected and he had found himself relishing the feel of the cool water over his silken flesh. The mild current had been exceptionally sensational. But he had been in there for almost an hour and it was time for him to resume his journey.

His spirit was once again resltess. It had found something else that it was yearning for, and it insisted on dragging Youko's body along. Not that the kitsune minded. He had a feeling that where ever he was going this time, it was somewhere where he would find some answers. Or possibly more shards. Grinning in spite of himelf he increased his pace.

Maybe he would find both.

Where ever he was going, he was almost there. If his soul had been a seperate entity it would have been jumping up and down in anticipation at the moment. Unable to contain its almost bursting excitement.

Then Youko Kurama caught the scent.

Ningen...

He stopped dead in his tracks. Not even skidding on the ground. Raising his nose to the wind he sniffed silently. The ningen was a girl. No. A young woman. He inhaled the enticing fragrance deeply, rolling it over his senses. She smelled good, her aroma was unlike any he had ever come upon before. It stirred something inside of him that he had never known a ningen could.

His undying curiosity was stirred. He had to find her.

His spirit apparently agreed as it tried to race ahead and see what was so unique about this girl. Whoever she was, she was a new puzzle.

Youko did not run. For some reason he did not want to startle her. He walked sensually towards a clearing ahead of him.

That was where she was.

Unlike other youkai, Youko did not hold humans in particular disdain. Some of them were abhorrent yes, but so were some demons. He found the weaker species to be all together fascinating. They were like toys that he could never grow tired of watching. They were a constant array of fluctuating emotions. They followed the strangest customs and laws, not to mention the fact that they were for the most part crude and unpredictable.

Yet none of them had ever called out to him that way that this one was.

He licked his lips as he strolled boldly onward.

He couldn't wait to see what made her so different.

He made his entrance into the clearing.

There in front of him was a young woman, as he had smelled (um..yeah..o_o), with raven locks. Her clothes were the most outlandish things that he had ever seen, and they were not in very good condition for that matter. It appeared as though she had just sparred with hell and lived to tell the tale. Her ebony hair that he had earlier noticed was tangle and matted with dirt. Streaks of mud were blatantly visible even from where he stood. Yet something about her awakened a physical lust inside of him. He had never reacted this way to a ningen before. Especially not one that he had never even seen the face of.

The desire to know just how she was evoking such foreign emotions in him was becoming unnervingly impossible to resist. And Youko prided himself on his control.

He was not surprised when she made no sign of noticing his prescence. He would have been surprised if she had. Many youkai couldn't even tell when he was there. It was a trait that he was proud of. It was also a great help to him when it came to stealing.

He stealthily advanced upon her like a predator, oblivious to the fact that she was staying abnormally still. All he was interested in was seeing exactly who she was.

Kagome had noticed the moment that he had come within 5 yards of the clearing. She did not sense he was a threat, but she wasn't taking any chances. She could tell by his aura that he was a powerful youkai. Powerful without the aid of the shard in his possession. Careful not to show any signs of visible movement, Kagome had strung an arrow, and pulled back, preparing to roll over and shoot when the right moment came.

She had to resist the urge to gasp when she felt him coming forward. His aura was emmitting forth some kind of...Libido? That couldn't be right...Could it? Well, whatever it was, it was sending butterflies into her stomach.

He was certainly taking his time attacking her.

He was attacking her right?

Kagome bit her lip, giving herself a small nick, as she waited. One drop of blood oozed from the small cut that she didn't even notice.

Youko noticed though.

He had been about ten feet away from her when he smelled her blood. The scent was intoxicating. It captured his interest like nothing before. Unable to control himself he rushed forward and reached out to grab her.

Zap!

He was met with some kind of barrier, that upon his touch, sent him flying back into a tree. Groaning under his breath he stood and brushed himself off. That had been foolish of him. He should have noticed that barrier before. He raised his head and closed his eyes.

His molten amber orbs popped almost immediately back open.

Kagome had felt him stop. She could almost here him sniff the air. 'Why?' she thought. She wasn't in heat or anything like that. Was she? No. If she was Inuyasha would have been acting strange around her. Well...stranger than usual.

Then suddenly he had been almost upon her! He was faster than even Sesshomaru. She had gasped and instincively closed her eyes when she felt it.

She felt the little shock that went through her body when he tried to reach through her miko shield. She knew that it was nothing compared to the bolt of energy that had just coursed through him. She heard him hit something solid and jumped to her feet, dropping her arrows and rushing to his side.

Concern filled her features as she saw him stand and close his eyes. Timidly she reached out and touched his shoulder. His eyes shot open. She gasped. It was then that she really saw him.

Her eyes wandered shamelessly, but innocently over him. She had never seen anyone so..so...alluring before. Kouga was fine. Inuyasha was hot. Sesshomaru was even handsome. But this youkai...he was beyond all that . He was in a class all of his own.

She felt her heart skip a beat as she hesistantly looked up and met his gaze. His eyes were the same shade was Inuyasha's, but they burned with something she had never seen in Inuyasha's eyes before. It was a powerful emotion, unknown to her. But it sent a delightful shiver down her spine.

Youko could smell the woman getting slightly aroused. He himself did not want to admit what her innocent touch to his shoulder was doing to him. No one had ever dared touch him before without his permission. Yet he was not sure if he wanted to push her away or have her remain there.

Unfortunatley before he could come to a decision he was snapped out of his blissful revere by a gentle voice.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

Youko hid his surprise at her inquiry. She was a ningen. She should fear him - shouldn't she? After all, she had no way of knowing that he wouldn't attack her. And she hadn't even known he was there. His eyes narrowed a moment. Had she?

His gaze moved from her, to where she had been laying. He noticed the notched arrow and bow and couldn't hide the shock that flashed like lightning in his eyes. There on second, gone the next. She had known he was there. She had been ready to defend herself had he attacked her.

No one ever knew when he was there unless he wanted them to...

How?

"Hello?" Kagome asked again. She took a step away and stared up into his face. His eyes quickly returned to her and she felt herself growing nervous under his scrutinizing stare. It was like he was trying to read her soul like an open book.

Her nervousness was quickly replaced by annoyance though when he still did not answer. He just continued to gaze at her, almost as if she weren't really there. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you its rude to stare!?" she demanded as she placed her hands on her hips and attempted to look intimidating. Youko's eyes flickered briefly in surprise but returned to normal almost before she could catch the change. Taking a step closer to her he did not answer her. His stare instead became more heated and he grinned rakishly down at her.

Kagome didn't move. She could feel her eye twitching in pure annoyance as she stared up at him. Despite all his grace and sexiness she wanted to slap him. Anything to make him stop staring at her like she was a piece of meat. He seemed to sense what she wanted, and smirking at her one last time, averted her gaze and began to walk past her.

That wasn't exactly what she had had in mind, but she couldn't hold back the relief that washed over her when his stare had been removed. It had been so intense..she had felt like she was trapped. She was half tempted to gasp for air now that she was free of it though she knew that doing so would only prove ridiculous.

She whirled around when his latter action finally registered in her mind. Why was he walking away? This didn't make sense. She couldn't hide the confusion she was feeling as she watched his retreating back in bewilderment. Only a moment before he had been trying to...Well she wasn't sure what he was trying to do. But it sure as hell was not along the lines of leaving her alone.

Wait a minute!

He was still ignoring her!

Anger replaced uncertainty as Kagome's hands fisted at her sides. From where Youko was standing, a good ten feet away from her now, he could feel the rage rolling of her, directed at him.

He smirked.

This was...different.

"Hey you!" Kagome hollered a bit louder than was neccessary, especially considering his enchanced hearing. "Why won't you answer me! Just who do you think you are that you've deemed yourself so much higher than everyone else?"

Youko couldn't help but feel proud of himself when he didn't flinch at her shrill yell. The frown that had obscured his eyes during her brief tirade was once again replaced with a haughty grin. This girl was intriguing him without end. She was an boudless store of surprises showing concern one moment, confusion the next, and then proceeding to fluctuate seemlessly between annoyance and anger. This was one challenge he couldn't wait to solve!

He ceased his walking, but he did not grant her the luxury of seeing his face as he spoke.

"I speak not to you because what you ask is none of your concern," he drawled in a fairly bored tone. "If you must know though I am called Youko Kurama."

Kagome clenched her fists tighter, trying not to stare at the good sized stone by her feet.

The oppurtunity coupled with the urge was just too tempting.

Youko was not sure what he was expecting her to do at his words, but it was certainly not what happened. He stood tall, still refusing to turn, awaiting her next course of action, when he had heard it. The slight whistling sound that always preceded...

BONK! (Hee hee! Kewl word!)

If he was in his wolf form, his fur would have been bristinling to no end. This ningen had the audacity to chuck a rock at HIM?! Did she not know that he could easily tear her limb from limb and not even increase his heart rate? Didn't she hear him when he said his name? Or could she truly be that stupid as to not know that he was an immediate danger to her person.

Growling he spun on his heel. In a rare show of anger, he snarled at her, baring his fangs. His threats were cut immediately short though when she merely smiled at him.

"That's better!" she said cheerfully, turning her back on HIM as she moved her weapon and sat on the ground. "At least you're not ignoring me now."

The look of shock that covered the kistune's face almost made her double over in laughter. He quickly hid it though behind that stoic mask of his and walked over to her. The only emotion that was readable on him was a fire burning deep within his eyes.

Youko strode steadily forward. He could tell that she was a little afraid of him, though she was very good at hiding it. She boldly met his golden gaze and he couldn't help but feel a grudging respect for her. He would let the whole rock incident go...

This time.

Kagome smiled brighlty almost immediately after he came to this conclusion. It was as if she could sense his inner resolve and was giving thanks for its mercy. Still smiling she patted the ground next to her in invitation. Youko raised a brow at her silent request and refused it.

Her smile did not fade.

For a moment they remained there, unmoving. Not speaking. Each waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally Kagome surrenderred. She was not about to be drawn into an egotistical battle of the wills. Youko Kurama inwardly rejoiced at his triumph when she cleared her throat softly.

"So..." she began as she traced an invisble pattern on the ground, keeping her eyes downcast. "Why is it that you, a youkai, have a Shikon shard but do not use it?"

As she finished speaking, Kagome brought her eyes up to meet his. She didn't understand why she wasn't really afraid of him, or why she was being so daring in his prescence. Call it a sixth sense if you will, but for some reason she had the feeling that he was not going to harm her, and that lent her some well needed confidence.

Youko remained impassive for a moment, debating whether or not to answer her question.

'Wait!' his mind cried to him, 'How did she know I possess a shard?'

He stared at her intently for a second or two before, without warning, he plopped himself on the ground next to her. Satisfied that she was meeting his gaze he regarded her curiosuly.

"And how is it that you are so sure I possess one of these Jewel fragments?" he inquired cooly, never breaking his stare.

Kagome smiled a little as she returned his rather rude glare. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of beating her in a staring contest. "I asked you first." she taunted as she smirked up at him.

Youko hid the look of surprise that once again she aroused within him. She was no longer afraid of him. And she was taunting him! 'This ningen must really be more than she seems if she can dare to speak to me so.' he thought to himself.

'Don't forget the fact that she knew you were there when you were approaching her!' offered a small voice.

'Or that she had a powerful barrier erected around her that you couldn't even sense!' added another.

'AND she knows that you have a fragment of the Shikon jewel.'

On the outside, Youko seemed to be contemplating whether to kill the young woman for her impudence or answer her question. Inside he was madly chasing the many voices, attempting to murder them so that he could rid his head of their interruptions and unwanted opinions.

Finally he turned his molten orbs to the girl and captured her in their depths. She gasped lightly under her breath when he did so, but he could hear it. For some reason it brought a touch of pride to him.

"I slayed some lesser demons that happened to interfere with my plans this morning. They had a shard of the Shikon jewel which they treasured. I took it."

Kagome looked at him for a moment, returning his own impassive mask, but seemed to accept his answer. "So why don't you use it?" she asked, her brows furrowing slightly.

"Uh uh uh." Youko scolded her lightly. "Your turn to answer my question."

Kagome smiled at the hint of amusement in his voice. "So it is possible for you to show some kind of emotion." she murmered under her breath as she looked away. Youko raised a brow at her comment but decided not to pursue it. The young woman inhaled deeply and absently raised a hand to play with a necklace she was wearing.

Suddenly she turned back to him. "I don't know why," she began, "But for some reason I feel that I can trust you. Though its probably quite foolish of my to do so.." she added with a little laugh.

Youko Kurama was about to interrupt her with a comment about how indeed she was stupid to think that she could trust him when he caught a glimpse of something on her necklace. Without really comprehending his movements, he leaned his face quite close to her chest to get a good look at what it was. He drew back quickly when he finally saw.

It was made up of about thirty shards.

He looked at the girl to demand an explanation when he noticed that she was regarding him with some confusion and surprise. It was then that he backtracked and realized what his actions must have caused her. After all, he had practically lain his head upon her breasts. He allowed for a small smile to play upon his lips at the thought of the discomfort she must be feeling.

"Well..uh..anyways." Kagome sputtered, clearing her throat a little to break the uncomfortable silence that her visitor let hang there. "To answer your question, I can sense the jewels. I won't tell you how though!" she said turning once again to meet his eyes. "So don't bother yourself asking. But I can sense them and along with some companions of mine, I am collecting all of them so that I may make the jewel whole once again."

Youko raised a delicate eyebrow again (he's doing that a lot I know..but think of it this way - He's REALLY sexy when he does! ^_~), and the smile that he allowed her to see grew a little. His playful kitsune nature was surfacing for some reason with this girl. "Well," he told her with a bit of a mocking lilt to his voice, "I won't be giving you this shard of mine."

Kagome smiled at him brightly. "Oh I'm not expecting you too. You can keep it for now I suppose. But keeping it means its a sure fact that you and I shall meet up again." She winked playfully at him. "And that means that someday soon I'll have to take it from you."

Youko couldn't believe that the ningen girl had...winked! At him! She was practically flirting with him and for some reason or another he was enjoying it. Not many youkai let alone humans, flirted or talked with Youko Kurama this way. Most were too busy cowering in fear or begging for their lives. Though he had had many lovers, it was always out of basic need or due to the fact that he was a very sensual creature at heart. There had never been any 'getting to know each other.' as the ningen's termed it. It was all right to the point and a one night fling.

He was so busy with these thoughts running through his head that he almost didn't catch the rest of her words. Her! Steal from him! The greatest thief of all time! He had to resist the urge to snort in laughter at her preposterous assumption. As if THAT would ever happen!

Deeming it best to ignore her last sentence, he instead found himself wanting to toy around with this young woman. For once he wanted to get to know one his objects of fascination and learn about them. It was then that he realized, he didn't even know her name.

"Well then," he said in a seductive purr as he leaned closer towards her, grinning inwardly when he saw her shiver and tense, "I shall most definately have to hold on to it to make sure that we meet again." Kagome's eyes grew wide. She had only been teasing him, even though he was REALLY good looking. But it sounded like he was..serious?!

"Um..ahh..well.."Kagome stutterred incoherently as she tried to back away. Youko saw how nervous she was and couldn't withhold a light chuckle. He watched with delightful amusement as her sapphire eyes grew wider. 'Such an unusual color for a ningen.' he noted as he moved away from her personal space.

Kagome just stared at him, completely lost. She did not get this youkai at all!

The confusion was quickly replaced by frustration though when she saw the obvious pleasure he was deriving from teasing her. Jumping to her feet she put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath , preparing to give him a piece of her mind. Just as she was about to yell at him though, he disappeared!

"Why You..! Wha?!?" were the only words that left her mouth as she stared at the vacant spot on the forest floor that he had occupied only a second ago. 'Where'd he go?!' her mind yelled as she tried deperately to sense him. Then she caught his aura from behind her and whirled around, anger renewed.

Youko was enjoying himself, watching how flustered she was getting with his disappearing act. Interacting with this human was MUCH more fun that just simply observing her.

She surprised him once again though when after only a few seconds she spun around and met his eyes. How was it that she seemed to know he was there?! He hadn't masked himself completely but no ningen should have been able to sense him!

He saw her open her mouth once again to yell at him, but deciding to take pity on himself and his ears, he used his youkai speed to rush forward and stop her once again. "Who are you girl," he snarled a little harsher than he had meant to, "That you can sense my presence and that of the shard and not fear me?" It was beginning to hurt his pride a little that she was not as common as he had first assumed. And that was proving him wrong in his opinion. He hated to be wrong.

The young woman looked up at him in surprise. It never ceased to amaze him that humans could express so many emotions with just a glance. When it seemed that he had shocked her beyond the point of answering, he opened his mouth to repeat the question. A small delicate hand placed itself firmly in front of his face.

"My name is Kagome." Was all she said.

"Kagome.." he repeated, testing the name upon his lips. He rather enjoyed the way that her name rolled around in his mouth. He was about to repeat it one more time when he realized what he was doing and stepped back from her.

This girl was getting him to reveal more about himself in these past few moments than any one ever had for QUITE a long time. It was beginning to become slightly unnerving. Especially because with every moment that he spent around her, he found his innocent fascination growing to the point of fascination. He had to get out of there for now.

"I will be leaving now. I shall warn you to be careful though before I do." he said, consenting to let the small smile stay on his lips. "I may just take something of yours. Those shards are quite tempting."

Unconciously Kaogme's hand flew to her neck to make sure that her necklace was still there.

It wasn't.

She gasped in shock, which was greeted with a small chuckled as he tossed something to her. The object shimmered in the light for a moment before it came to rest in her outstretched hand. It was the shard necklace, completely intact.

She raised her sapphire ors to look at him curiously only to find that he was at the opposite edge of the clearing.

"By the way," He called to her as he turned to leave. "There's a creek about half an hour from here. You might want to bathe!" The taunting tone in his voice was unmistakable.

Kagome blushed in embarressment for a moment when she remembered what her appearence looked like before raising her head to yell something insulting at him.

But he was gone.

Or so it seemed.

Turning to look at the necklace she noticed that there was one more shard than usual.

His shard.

She would no longer be able to sense him.

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