K/S. In order to complete his revenge for Inuyasha, Sesshômaru kidnaps Kagome and does something unforgivable to her. When she is at last returned to her companions, however, Kagome is surprised to find that, rather than feeling hatred towards Sesshômaru, she now can't stop thinking about him…

Disclaimer: No, Inuyasha doesn't belong to me, unfortunately. T.T

Notes: This is definitely Kagome/Sesshômaru, though it doesn't seem to start out that way! But the title should give you a clue…And the reason this chapter has been reposted is that I found a few parts of this fic that I didn't like and smoothed them out, a few words used to often for my satisfaction, etc.

Rating: PG-13 for some suggested sexual situations...mwah?

Bittersweet

By Sango-chan

Chapter One

Sesshômaru, Lord of the Western Plains, waited patiently in the quickly fading sunlight. Dust motes drifted downward silently, momentarily illuminated by the last golden rays of sunlight. How strange it was that those bands of golden light were even more richly hued, so sweet that one's tongue strove to sample the delicate flavors, now that their death was assured. But all the beauty of the dying day was lost upon the yôkai. He had eyes only for the figures which rested a few meters away, unaware of his presence. Patience, he counseled himself. Patience.

Darkness struck suddenly upon Sesshômaru's half-lidded eyes, and a rarely seen smile lifted the corners of his mouth. Ah, revenge upon his halfling brother would be ever so sweet. His restless gaze roved around the camp of unsuspecting companions, and landed on the features of the girl, his brother's mate, and an actual chuckle escaped him, causing the ever-present Jaken to stare up wonderingly. Oh, yes, his revenge would be pleasurably sweet tasting, indeed…

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Kagome lay still in sleep, raven­ tresses tumbled over her face. Sesshômaru stood over her, savoring this moment, looking almost longingly upon the key to his long-awaited vengeance. This slip of a girl, this pretty little nothing—who would have ever imagined that she would serve his purposes so well? His golden eyes shot quickly in the direction of the slumbering Inuyasha, completely oblivious of the danger to his mate. But there was no time to waste in drawing out this moment, unless he wanted all his plans to be spoiled, and so Sesshômaru scooped the unconscious girl up in his arms, left the camp, and beckoned towards Jaken, all in one fluid motion.

A cold wind whistling past her ears finally caused Kagome to awaken. At first she thought she was dreaming, for this was nothing like the reality that Kagome had ever knew: the trees blurring past as she passed them at an impossibly fast pace, the liquid grace that somehow kept her movement so steady that half her senses were telling her that she wasn't traveling at all, and the strong arms that encased her. All of it seemed so illusory that Kagome was ready to close her eyes and simply enjoy this strange hallucination…until she glanced up at the face attached to the arms holding her up.

A soft gasp and the quickened thud of the girl's heartbeat against his chest alerted Sesshômaru of his prey's return to consciousness. He glanced down at her huge, frightened brown eyes and her mouth, opened for a scream. Quickly pressing a talon against the soft, vulnerable skin of her neck, his feral golden eyes flared menacingly and he hissed a cold command at her.

"Be still or I will cut your throat." The words were spoken softly and unhurriedly in Sesshômaru's rumbling baritone, but one look at his stern features told Kagome that they were not to be taken lightly. She instantaneously subsided, and Sesshômaru chanced a look backward. Of course they were far from her friends by now, but still...no sense in taking unnecessary chances.

Glancing down at the frightened girl in his arms, Sesshômaru removed his finger from her neck and traced it along her cheek, watching her flinch as a thin line of blood sketched its way across the ridiculously delicate human skin. His lips curled in a smile that conveyed no warmth at all.

An involuntary shiver shook Kagome. She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped beyond all hope that this was nothing but a nightmare, a simple fantasy that would end with the coming of dawn. However, when she opened her eyes, she was still in the dangerous presence of Sesshômaru. The tears that streaked down Kagome's cheeks and mingled with the blood from the demon's cut were swept away as quickly as they fell as she was sped away toward her kidnapper's home. West.

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"West?" Miroku's echoed, his brow furrowing dubiously.

Shooting him a glance of pure annoyed hatred, Inuyasha growled dangerously. "Yes, I said west! Where else would that bastard go to hide Kagome away!"

"Are you even sure that it was Sesshômaru?" Miroku ventured cautiously. "Kagome-sama may simply have wandered off for a morning walk."

"Of course it was him. The stink of that bastard is hanging all around that area." Inuyasha clenched his fists and had to restrain himself from punching the monk. "Are we going to stand all day and debate this or are we going to find Kagome?"

"Don't get so mad at Miroku," Shippo interjected. "He's only trying to help."

Her face worried, Sango sighed and tried to be logical. "Inuyasha's reasoning makes sense, since that's where Sesshômaru lives. If we don't stop bickering about this subject, then Kagome-chan..." The demon exterminator bit her lip and looked away, unable to finish the sentence.

Sango's companions all fell silent as they imagined the damage that could be done by Sesshômaru. Shippo whimpered, the long, poisonous claws a bad memory. Without another word and without even looking back to see if anyone followed him, Inuyasha set off westward at a dead run.

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Kagome was awoken with an unceremonious thump as Sesshômaru dumped her to the ground. Rising unsteadily to her feet and stretching her stiffened limbs, the schoolgirl looked around at her new surroundings. The huge, richly decorated castle to her right contrasted sharply with the wild forest that stretched away from her left side for as far as the eye could see. The terrain was completely unfamiliar and Kagome had lost all since of direction by now. Squinting into the horizon, where a faint light was beginning to show, she recognized the rising sun and marked it as east.

Before the girl was given a chance to better familiarize herself with the new settings, Sesshômaru grabbed the back of Kagome's sailor fuku and brought her inside. Dragged was more like it, and a sharp stab of annoyance went through the girl as she heard a faint rip in the cloth. Even as she was pulled along like a bag of waste, the indignity gave her the courage to yell up at Sesshômaru.

"What do you think you're doing by dragging me out here? If you think you can get Tetsusaiga by doing this, then you're dead wrong! Inuyasha could beat you up with one hand tied behind his back, and he...ah!"

Kagome was forced up on her tiptoes as Sesshômaru grabbed the front of her shirt and wrenched her up until that they were face to face. He didn't want to admit it, but the girl's words had struck a nerve. His eyes gleamed hotly, and hatred shone in the normally emotionless features.

"Wench," he hissed softly through clenched teeth, "do you imagine that you know what I have in store for you? That worthless half-breed will be groveling at my feet by the time I'm through..."

Claws scraped over her skin and Kagome flinched involuntarily, expecting to feel the sharp caress of those long talons. Instead, Sesshômaru loosened his hold and she crumpled to the floor. Lowering her head so that her long hair shielded her face, Kagome felt cold fingers of dread trace their way up their spine. What can he possibly mean…?

The cold, bitter scent of fear rose up from the girl, and Sesshômaru smiled. I will certainly enjoy this, far more than I anticipated...

"Come."

She hesitated, then rose and followed, too afraid now to do otherwise. The demon lord led her into a round, circular chamber...a bedroom, sparsely furnished. There was only a bamboo-mat bed there, but it was cushioned with soft silks and cloths, all beautifully woven. Confused, Kagome spun around. What...what is this all about? First he kidnaps me, then he treats me like an honored guest?

Sesshômaru, however, had no intention of explaining anything to her. He was already at the door of the room, speaking to some of his castle's servants. As Kagome watched, he gestured toward her and then uttered a sharp command. The two yôkai courtiers nodded and bowed low enough for their horned and knobbly heads to scrape the ground, and Sesshômaru turned to leave the room. With growing apprehension, the girl watched the servants approach her and took a nervous step back. The disfigured faces of the scaly, reptilian yôkai leered menacingly at her. With one foot already the door, Sesshômaru paused and strode back in. His servants hurriedly cleared a path for him.

Pausing in front of Kagome, Sesshômaru commanded the demons, "Leave. I will attend to it myself."

Puzzled even more, Kagome forgot her fear for a moment and muttered, "What the hell is he doing...?" Too late, she remembered the uncannily sharp hearing of dog demons, but to her surprise Sesshômaru ignored her words completely.

When the courtiers were gone, the cold features of the yôkai took on an emotion that Kagome couldn't quite place, but it made her uneasy. Something about that expression boded ill for her. Her suspicions were only confirmed as Sesshômaru threw her onto the bed and casually raised his right arm, poisonous claws, fully visible now, above her throat, ready to slice.

Kagome threw her arms up to cover her head as the deadly talons slashed downward, but they offered poor protection. This is the end for me, she thought helplessly, eyes tightly shut.

But no pain came and Kagome felt the air over her body shriek as claws missed her by a fraction of an inch. Cautiously reopening her eyes, she saw that the demon lord was standing in the exact same position as before, with that strange look on his face even stronger now.

A cold draft blew over the exposed skin of her stomach, causing goosebumps to rise. Wait...what? Rising up slightly to peer at her body, Kagome could discern that, indeed, there were no injuries. She could see that quite clearly, in fact, since all her clothes lay in tattered pieces on the silken sheets and every bit of her bare flesh was exposed. Blushing furiously, Kagome desperately tried to cover herself up with the blankets and save at least some of her modesty.

Embarrassed more than she could have thought possible, for lying nude before the calm gaze of this elegant, refined, demon was much, much worse than facing Inuyasha's stuttering apologies or Miroku's forthright perversion, it took a while for Kagome to finally wonder just why Sesshômaru had so deliberately undressed her.

Is he toying with me before he kills me, like a cat before it kills a mouse? Kagome had watched Buyo as he hunted one day, and had been shocked at the change in her sleepy, fat cat. She had watched for a few horrified minutes as Buyo rolled the squeaking animal around unmercifully, slashing at random with his sharp little claws. Finally, sick to her stomach, she had shooed her pet away and watched the poor mouse run out.

And Sesshômaru was no fat, plodding cat. She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. Before there had been apprehensive fear, and uncertainty, but now...if her fate was to be tortured like that mouse, to die after being reduced to a trembling, helpless lump...

Flushed with righteous anger, Kagome looked up iinto Sesshômaru's face, ready to give him a piece of her mind and demand an explanation. Her words died away as her voice froze in her throat. The yôkai's eyes gleamed, and he breathed quickly in sharp, excited pants. Now, at last, the girl recognized that expression on his face, the heated excitement combined with bloodlust.

"No...no...NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Whimpering, cringing, Kagome desperately threw herself backwards, crawling away from him, an all-encompassing panic closing down over her thoughts.

Inuyasha, please come!

The terror tore away all reason, rendering useless any plans at all for escape that the girl had formed.

Inuya...

If she had felt fear before, it was nothing compared to this. The shrouds that she herself had thrown over her naked body twisted around her legs, trapping her, and she felt back, sobbing brokenly.

INUYASHA...!

Sesshômaru knelt next to Kagome and raised fingers to touch her cheek. She froze at his touch, mind and body numbing. Almost tenderly, the yôkai traced the fading red scratch that he himself had marked her with earlier. His fingertips traced a path down her face, left a burning sensation down her neck, and then paused at the collarbone. Gently lifting the silken sheets that barely covered the girl's body, he threw them off and surveyed her body.

"STOP IT!" Finally shaken from her stupor, Kagome slapped the yôkai lord across the face, hard. He drew back, eyes wide, surprise written on his features. Breathing heavily, Kagome backed up warily, curling up slightly to hide her body.

Licking his teeth, Sesshômaru tasted blood where fangs had met flesh. So, still some fight left in the little wench, he mused, relishing the prospect.

Lunging forward, Sesshômaru grabbed the girl by the thighs in a grip so tight she knew there would be painful bruises for weeks. He threw her down again, and his strong fingers closed around her neck. She was trapped.

Eyes smoldering with a frantic, suppressed excitement, he paused and finally spoke.

"Now, I do wonder how Inuyasha will react to his ruined little mate, hm?"

Sesshômaru's fangs sank into her neck at the precise moment that his claws pierced Kagome's side. The pain flooded over her at once, unbearable, overwhelming, and she could feel her mind, unable to cope, begin to close down. She closed her eyes and sent up one last prayer.

Oh please dear god please come, Inuyasha...

End chapter one

AN: Heheh, so...what do you think? Nice little cliffhanger, isn't it? Oh, and if you think this is a little OOC for Sesshi, well, actually I do to! But then again, he WOULD be really frustrated by his inability to hurt Inuyasha, right? ...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...and, he is a DOG demon, so wouldn't he have some kind of instinctive idea of how to steal a 'mate' away from his brother? Yeah...a dog... :mentally envisions a demon-doggie Sesshômaru humping somebody's leg: Um...THAT is really weird...LoL

Oi, and I need reviews to continue! Ten good reviews...or I no go on! Yes, I'm an evil, picky, cruel author, but hey! I need inspiration!