Life Blood by hasu86

Tremble

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

–This is rated Mature for a reason. Consider yourself warned–

Life Blood

Chapter One – Tremble

...

He easily broke through the surface of her soft skin, felt the instant rush of sweet lifeblood fill his mouth and consume his senses as he fed the bloodlust swirling like a maelstrom inside him. Blinded by blood, overtaken by the power of his thirst, he tightened his hold on the convulsing young woman, crushed her harder against the brick wall of the dark alley and almost brutally thrust into her. He distantly heard her deep moan, sure that her eyes were tightly closed as the overwhelming euphoria took over her body, as bursts of white dotted the blackness of her vision, colored the back of her lids in a spectrum of bright lights.

Her small hands gripped his shoulders until they slowly started to slacken. Her breath gasped no longer, grew shallow with each passing second as her head lolled forward from the drain. He pulled away then, sensuously licked the punctures on the side of her neck and lowered her limp form to the ground, hunger and bloodlust sated for the time being by another anonymous stranger. He could hear her friends looking for her and in just a few more minutes they would come bursting through the side door in a drunken haze.

After slowly running the tips of his fingers across her brow, he blended in with the inky shadows, his footsteps a dull echo in the darkness of the alley and hair like fine silvery threads of silk. When she woke up, she would have no memory of him or what he took. There'd be no markings, no evidence that this had happened and that such a being as he actually existed.

...

"Haha-ue! Souta!"

And there was blood that painted the walls and dripped from her fingers, splashing across the floor of her world on fire. Everyone was gone, bathed and sleeping in the darkest red she'd ever seen. And then she was suddenly running, leaving all that she knew to the hungry flames and wondering if she'd ever escape the trappings of a past gone so horribly wrong...if the crimson stains of her family's blood would ever wash away...

...

Kagome jolted awake, sapphire eyes wide and unblinking as she inhaled a sharp breath. She felt something trickle down her cheek, went to wipe it away and realized she must've been crying in her sleep. Stilling her trembling hand, Kagome slowly got out of bed and walked into the bathroom, switching on the light and peering into the mirror.

Blue eyes stared back at her, sadder than usual and lined with a darker shade of pain. She hadn't dreamt about that for a long time, thinking she had put it all behind her. It'd been a decade of moving forward, of collecting the pieces of her shattered life and putting it all back together. But to be taunted and reminded once again...

"Chichi-ue...haha-ue..." She dragged her fingers down the mirror, remembering their faces and then curled her hand into a fist as everything was suddenly drowned in blood and engulfed by fire.

Kagome looked away and walked out, heard her machine pick up a call.

"Happy Birthday Kagome! How does it feel to be twenty!? Well, you'll probably still sleeping, but give me a call when you get this okay!"

"Yeah...happy birthday to me..."

She glanced out the window and saw the sun just starting to peek over the horizon. How Sango always managed to get up right at dawn was beyond her. Making her way to the kitchen, she pulled open the refrigerator door and grabbed the orange juice and a cup on the way to the open counter. Pouring herself some, she sat on the tall stool and watched the faint beginnings of a beautiful sunrise cast its morning rays upon the city of Tokyo.

And then quite suddenly, she felt a blinding, white-hot pain shoot across and all over her back as if someone was carving a pattern on her smooth skin with a jagged knife. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as the cup toppled over and its citrus contents quickly spread across the wooden countertop, spilling over the sides and onto the floor.

Bent over in agony, her vision blurred and lost focus. It felt like her skin was on fire and she could barely breathe, sucking in ragged breaths. And then a sharp prick of pain to the back of her neck and everything dissolved, felt as if her body had suddenly been thrown into a soothing cool bath of mint.

And before the world stopped spinning, before her eyes cleared and she was finally able to breathe again, Kagome was falling, hitting the floor in a sweaty heap and passing out with a gasp.

...to be continued...

A/N: Yes, this is what I've been doing for the past weeks (this and college started up again which has taken up a ridiculous amount of my time). This is the fruit of my labor (part of it anyway) and the reason why SM hasn't been updated and why I haven't been around. ::smacks head:: But I've always wanted to do a vampire fic and this just couldn't be stopped!

Inspiration and plot bunnies stem from a multitude of works I've read and seen. From Demon Moon by Meljean Brooks to Hellsing, I've picked and plucked various themes and ideas from them so to be on the safe side, I don't own any of that stuff either. All this of course amid my own originality.

This is just a teaser by the way. Just a small taste of what's to come, give or take a few weeks from now...

-hasu86