[AU, rated R] Dog's Body 2/? Predator/Prey Relationships

[Smarty Cat]

<B><U>Chapter Summary</B></U>: Insert basic monster movie chase scene followed by a one-on-one-fight-for-you-life-against-a-berserker-canine-Inuyasha battle and complimentary light show! Run, Kagome, run!

<I><center>Crystaltear, this one's for you! I love my anime pimp!
</I></center>
<B>Dog's Body
</B>by
<B>Smarty Cat
</B>smartycat9383(at)yahoo(dot)com

---------------------------------------------------------------------
<B>Chapter 2: <I>Predator/Prey Relationships </I>
</B>---------------------------------------------------------------------

<I>~Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog.
--Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles~
</I>
"Late, late, late, late! I can't believe I let it get so late without noticing! That was so stupid of me!" Kagome muttered under her breath as she jogged steadily over the dirt path. As her legs scissored in a strong, untiring rhythm she was almost grateful for those late-running cheerleading practices. Without the grueling and sometimes nearly torturous training the coach had put her through she would have never had the endurance to maintain such a brisk pace for an extended period over rough terrain.

<I>Of course, if it wasn't for practice I wouldn't be in such a situation anyway.
</I>
Her feet pounded in an even tempo on the trail, and her huffed breaths rang loudly in her eyes. Too loudly. The hair rose on the back of the girl's neck as the peculiarity of her present situation slammed into her consciousness. The forest was void of the usual night sounds, the birds and small animals rustling in the undergrowth, all the noises that terrified her with visions of lurking youkai . . .

<I>Wait a minute . . . Youkai?
</I>
Foreboding and cold fear washed over the girl, and her stride faltered.

<I>It's too quiet!
</I>
She screamed when the large pale form erupted out of the trees beside her, shattering the illusion of calmness, the expectant hush, that had fallen over the forest. Kagome dived to one side in an instinctive attempt to dodge its lunge, overbalancing and toppling to the ground as it sailed over her. She spit leaves and dirt from her mouth, bracing her hands against the ground and attempting to rise. High pitched bloodthirsty snarls and the sharp cracks of breaking branches rang in the air as the creature spun around, and she snapped one foot out at its head in reflexive defense. Her foot struck something solid, and she used that leverage to surge up from the ground in a dead run.

Kagome crashed heedlessly through leaves and brush, all her previous hope of stealth gone, her traitorous panicked mind forcing her to acknowledge that it had never really been an option. Branches raked across her skin leaving stinging red welts and snagged in her clothes, but she ripped out of their grasp without regard to the additional damage she wreaked on herself. Nothing mattered but escape.

Escape and the nameless terror gaining ground behind her.

Rhythmic puffs of air that were not her own screamed in her ears as she rushed headlong for the safety of her family shrine. The thinning trees no longer impeded her movement, and she pushed herself faster, the air burning in her lungs and a sharp twinge erupting in her side. Kagome burst out onto the concrete walkway leading to the well-lit park entrance and the street beyond it, the street where her shrine was located. Her eyes focused on the warm yellow lights that marked people and safety to the exclusion of all else as she focused the entirety of her will and energy into one final sprint.

It was not enough.

A heavy weight slammed into her back, hurling her to the pavement. Kagome gasped and choked as all the air was forced from her lungs, pained tears pricking her eyes, but still she fought, twisting and squirming, ignoring the blackness shading the edge of her vision. Death lurked in that blackness just as much as it raged in the creature above her, and she knew it. Sharp teeth grazed her skin painfully, accompanied by the sound of ripping cloth, as she thrashed desperately. Kagome felt cool air wash over the heated skin of her newly exposed upper back and in her renewed surge of panic somehow managed to roll over.

Fear washed over the schoolgirl's mind when she saw the dim shape looming over her, paralyzing all other functions but the voice in her head screaming to get away. Claws stabbed into her shoulders as she sprawled helplessly on her back, and the sting snapped her out of her daze. She removed one arm from its protective position around her head and struck out blindly with her fist. Pain erupted across her knuckles as her hand connected solidly with the creature's teeth. A strangled snarl reached her ears over the pounding of her own heart, and Kagome felt the weight on her body shifting. Seizing the brief chance, she bucked and wrenched her torso violently, kicking up with her legs. Her attacker was flung off.

<I>Need a weapon, need a weapon, need a weapon!
</I>
Her hands groped the area around her, searching for a stick, a rock, anything, but her seeking hands encountered nothing but rough concrete. Choked sobs wracking her throat, Kagome scrabbled desperately for the ofuda in her pocket. Any hope of protection, even a slip of paper, was better than none. A keening wail escaped her when she pulled out two slender jagged strips. She curled into a ball, clutching the torn ofuda and futilely covering her neck and head with her hands, too tired to run or fight anymore.

<I>Mama, Jii-chan, Souta, I'm sorry . . .
</I>
It was hopeless.

Hopeless.

<I>But I don't want to die!
</I>
The shift in air pressure that marked a new assault raised bumps on her skin, and she could not hold the scream vibrating in her throat back any longer.

<I>"No! Stop it!"
</I>
Warm, moist, rank air fanned across her bare arms and interlaced fingers . . .

But the stabbing pain of fangs sinking into her flesh and the darkness of oblivion never came.

Brilliant light flared in an expanding circle around her body, and power surged through the air bringing with it the sharp smell of ozone. The attacking beast was thrown backwards in midair with a startled yelp only to rebound and slam itself forward into an invisible barrier. Sparks erupted in the air out of nothing, and the stench of burning flesh and fur filled Kagome's nostrils.

When sharp teeth did not rip into her skin she uncurled herself enough to stare in disbelief. Her mouth fell open as horror mingled with stunned awe in her mind. The shimmer of pink light that curled and danced in a protective sphere around her body illuminated a feral face twisted in rage.

Long fangs that were bared all the way back to their raw red gums dominated that terrifying visage, and gold eyes blazing with hate stared unblinkingly into her own above twin purple slashes. A crazed gleam appeared in those hard amber depths as the creature relentlessly hurled itself into the shield.

<I>No, not gold eyes. Blood red and a blue like the heart of a flame. How could I ever think they were gold?
</I>
Kagome realized with an odd sense of detachment that she must be in shock, and the last thing she saw before slipping into blessed unconsciousness was a pair of white, triangular ears perched atop that disturbing head. The formless terror that had pursued her through the darkness now had a face, and it would remain permanently seared in her memory.

<hr>

Hours or moments later, she was not sure, Kagome's eyes slowly fluttered open. She shifted slightly on the hard ground, wincing at the stiffness in her limbs. She was cold, very cold and wondered vaguely where her clothes had gotten to before the memories of the night came crashing back down on her. She shot up with a gasp, frantically checking her surroundings for any sign of the creature. Nocturnal birds flitted along on their business with reassuring chirps, and she relaxed fractionally. The park was calm. For the moment, she was safe.

<I>I have to get home! Mama must be so worried!
</I>
The girl struggled to her feet, clutching the tattered remains of her uniform to her body more out of ingrained modesty than for the meager warmth they provided. She staggered out the park entrance into the road, uncaring of anything else, her only goal to make it to the safety of the shrine and its wards--wards whose power she had never fully believed in but which had suddenly proven themselves to be very real and very useful.

<I>And if an ofuda could do </I>that<I> I wonder what real wards could do . . . It was like containing lightning, having it bend to my will. There's no way my nonexistent powers could have protected me from such an attack.
</I>
Even in the legends of the great miko that Jii-chan was so fond of reciting over supper Kagome had never heard of ofuda responding so strongly when activated. She had also never heard that they could retain their power after being torn, but that defensive, burning bubble of light could only be attributed to the small pile of ashes clutched in her hand and slowly trickling through her fingers to scatter in the breeze.

Every step was slow, laborious torture. Needles traveled up her leg from a wrenched ankle, and her breath came in short, agonizing pants. Kagome did not believe that any of her ribs were broken, but they were certainly sore. Numerous small cuts and abrasions covered her skin from her flight through the forest and her tussles with the creature, and she whimpered softly as her abused skin stretched with her movements.

The street remained barren and deserted as she limped down its center, as it always had during her nightly walks home, as it probably always would once twilight fell, but the emptiness had never struck quite so keenly at her heart before.

<I>Even if I had screamed for help no one would have come. No one would have heard me.
</I>
It was sobering, frightening, that she could have been killed so close to her home and no one would have ever known what had happened to her.

<I>Never again. I won't let it happen again.
</I>
By this time she stood at the foot of the shrine steps, and she felt her newfound determination fade rapidly as she stared in dismay at the ordeal ahead of her. The ascent was more horrible than she had anticipated. Kagome practically dragged herself over the worn blocks of stone, and no matter how many she climbed they seemed to stretch above her endlessly. She had also never quite realized just how tall and steep each of the individual steps was, even though she stayed squarely in the middle where the thousands of people who had climbed there over the centuries had worn them down.

<I>How can Jii-chan travel up and down these things every day at his age and still be so energetic?
</I>
She finally stumbled onto the level ground at the top and weakly grabbed onto one of the torii's supporting columns. Her body sagged thankfully against the cool, smooth wood, and she wanted nothing more than to just day there and rest.

<I>"Kagome!"
</I>
Her mother's alarmed scream penetrated the haze in her brain slowly. She raised her head with great effort to see her mother rushing from the bright warmth of the house with a panicked expression. The smaller, crouched form of Jii-chan appeared in the doorway as Kagome's arms loosened their grip on the column. She swayed on her feet, the bitter taste of bile rising in her mouth as her head swirled with sudden vertigo.

<I>Fall forward, fall forward, don't fall down the steps. Please don't fall down the steps. That would be really painful.
</I>
Her mother reached her at that moment, catching her daughter's crumpling body in her arms and gathering her close protectively. Kagome collapsed into her embrace with a sigh of relief, burrowing into the soothing warmth and familiar smell of the woman who had always kept all of her childhood demons at bay.

A flash of white and purple, terrifyingly large fangs, and hellish eyes lit by encircling sparks intruded on her disjointed thoughts, and she whimpered in her mother's arms.

<I>But what can Mama do against this demon?</I>

[Sissi]

Nice chapter! I like the action sequence here, along with Kagome feelings, very nice written ! Aww, so it is over for now? Need to wait a lot for the next chapter? *glomps* I hope not ^^.

Yeah, I agree wi6th you, this forum is too bare to my taste. Need more fics here !!

Great job here, Smarty cat.

Sissi

[TigerQueen]

Wow!!!!! I definitely like it! You absolutely MUST post the next chapter soon, though...I can't stand having Inuyasha mean for 2 solid chapters (the preface doesn't count)...hurry, hurry, hurry!

OK, I know none of us has a lot of time. Ignore me & my "update now!" demands...update whenever you're happy with it! You're doing such a fantastic job *shivers* and the horror of it really does the original manga justice. Gorgeous!

[hirouie]

hmmmm. i ponder this. i really like this post very good. the chapter is very nice too. kagome is very well potryaed here. i love it.

[dark-angel]

Keep writing what's going to happen keep writing.

[Kanya Barton]

I can't wait for the next chapter! This is a really good story! Please try and post it as soon as you can!
Peace out!

[Pearly-chan]

Please hurry up with the next chapter!!

[SimplyTurquoise]

Lovely...

Oh! By the way... when are you going to update this... this was the last post.... yes? Feb... er... have you posted other chapters elsewhere?

[dark-angel]

I loved this chapter but please write more

[Smarty Cat]

Oh! By the way... when are you going to update this... this was the last post.... yes? Feb... er... have you posted other chapters elsewhere?

Eheheheh...technically the last true update was in November... I just didn't get around to posting it here until Feb. BUT! I am scribbling away. Revised 1 and 2 should be up either later today or tomorrow, and a brand spankin' new ch. 3 will be up by the end of the week. I promise and do solemnly swear and all that stuff. It will be here. You can burn me in effigy if it's not.

Smarty Cat