AN: I’m not an Inuyasha hater, first and foremost. But life happens and feelings change - Inuyasha’s includes.
Beats: Ripples by Maximillian
Because life is better with music.
:OA:
The anger she felt was shocking, even to her. Especially to her. Sure, she had her moments of snide irritation, but she’d never felt such complete disdain in her entire life.
She’d sacrificed everything for him. Given so much. Given herself. Kagome had never felt so stupid and so incredibly humiliated.
They’d cornered her - Inuyasha and Kikyo - believing that presenting a unified front would somehow make it less painful for Kagome. They sat her down, told her that they’d tried to stay away from one another but that in the end it was impossible. They were meant to be and couldn’t ignore that.
And they wanted her to accept it as well.
Had Kagome had another choice, she would’ve just gone back home, her tail tucked between her legs, so to speak. But the well was closed to her, Shippo was at his fox school indefinitely, and Sango and Miroku had their own life and family now, rebuilding the ruins of the slayer village.
She had nothing and no one, save the clothes on her back and the items she brought through the well with her when she came back some years prior.
And that was the worst part. Inuyasha was well aware of this. He’d fed her his lines, made promises and she’d hung on his every word. Let him have her. Believed his lies. And now she was entirely alone in this foreign place.
The thought had her blood boiling once more and her body trembled with rage. In a moment that was completely out of character for her, she pulled back her fist and punched the wall, surprised by the way the pain dulled everything else.
She did it again. And again. Growling her rage as her knuckles split and blood rippled over her fingers to drop to the floor.
“I hate you,” she hissed, and in final retaliation, she took a steady, calming breath and willed herself to feel nothing at all, relieved when an apathetic nothingness settled into place around her soul.
Collecting her stuff, she shoved what she could into her bag and walked out the door, the flap slapping the wooden frame as it swung back into place.
She didn’t look back, following the setting sun into the forest and disappearing as if she were a wraith, blending with the shadows from the surrounding trees.
::OA::
He’d been wandering for some time, relieved to be free of the stuffy confines of his shiro. He’d done his duty for the time being and was free to roam, patrolling his lands as he preferred to do.
His mother and advisors could handle things elsewhere.
He desired his freedoms, craved them, and was always able to breathe easier when he wandered as a vagabond.
He’d never show it, but it was during these times that he was at his most relaxed.
So when he felt a familiar reiki approaching his location at a leisurely pace, he sighed softly in irritation. He didn’t feel like dealing with his brothers priestess at the moment. Though, he’d admit that it surprised him that she was so far from home on her own.
Irritation morphing into intrigue, he rose from his seated position and headed in her direction.
“Jaken,” he said, and the kappa knew without being told what his master expected of him.
“See you later, Lord Sesshomaru!” Rin called from where she was inspecting a mushroom.
“Do not eat that, Rin,” he called over his shoulder before disappearing.
She grinned wide at the place he’d just stood. Of course, she knew not to eat the fungi; she’d had extensive training on edible botanicals over the course of her years with him. But his care for her always made her happy, nonetheless.
She wished he could find happiness as well and mouthed another silent prayer to Kichijoten in the hopes that she’d offer her favor. Rin sighed softly when the sun filtered through the branches overhead, surrounding her in warmth.
Meanwhile, Sesshomaru was approaching the priestess, who’d stopped to await his arrival.
“Sesshomaru,” she said, offering a slight nod.
For a moment, he only observed her silently, questioning what his senses were telling him. She smelled the same. Looked the same. But her aura was notably different. Familiar, though different.
Darker. More dangerous.
Interesting, the lord thought.
Something had occurred to cause the pure woman he’d known previously to choose a darker path.
“You have changed,” he pointed out needlessly. “Why?”
“Oh, you know,” she shrugged a shoulder, a small smirk pulling at full lips. “A little of this, a little of that.”
“Has something happened to the hanyou?” He asked, choosing to ignore her obvious evasion of his question.
She laughed, loud and jovially, stunning him. It sounded right, yet felt wrong.
“Oh, for sure,” she said. “Finally found that happiness he’s been searching for all his miserable life.”
Sesshomaru was bordering on confusion and lifted a dark brow. Catching the look, Kagome shifted to lean against a tree, dropping her bag at her feet.
“He’s alive, if that’s what you’re getting at,” she said but then paused, tipping her head in consideration. “I guess. Haven’t actually seen him in a while. Could be dead.” Shrugging again she glanced in his direction, mimicking his raised brow. “Any other questions?”
“You still haven’t answered my first question.”
“What happened,” she murmured, tapping a finger to her lip and feigning contemplation. “What happened doesn’t matter. Not to me, anyway. Not anymore.”
“You are evading my question.”
“Nah,” she said, reaching down to grab her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. “Just don’t care enough to answer it. In the past.”
He studied her a moment. Her eyes held amusement in them, the smirk on her lips aiding her claim. Even her aura suggested she truly didn’t care.
He shouldn’t have been surprised. She’d relinquished her emotions as dark miko do. But she’d been so...well, emotional last he’d known of her. It was a drastic difference, to say the least, to see her so withdrawn from her sentiments.
Though, perhaps withdrawn wasn’t the correct word. She still seemed like herself, only not.
It was an intriguing concept.
“Do you travel alone?” He asked, though he didn’t sense any others around.
“Don’t you know the answer to that already?” The smile she gave him was almost sultry, teasing, and he couldn’t decide rather to be offended or amused. “Are you asking for some company, Lord Sesshomaru?”
::OA::
She’d been traveling with them for many months now.
Currently, they wandered leisurely through the ruins of an old monastery set up into a mountainous area.
“Do you feel that?” She asked, pausing in her tracks.
“Hn.”
Panther scum, he thought.
Turning back to glance at Jaken, he instructed him to watch Rin and he and the priestess strolled forward casually.
About a quarter of a mile past the ruins, Sesshomaru halted, his clawed hand rising and glowing a deadly green.
In the space of a breath, the pair were surrounded.
Glancing around, Kagome couldn’t help the thrill that ran through her. She’d had many run-ins since she’d left Inuyasha behind, and she was pleasantly surprised at the depth her reiki had grown since casting aside her emotional bonds.
However, since joining Sesshomaru’s mismatched group, she hadn’t had much of a reason to use her newfound skills. His aura was fearsome enough alone to keep troubles far, far away from them.
Typically.
Smiling winningly, she lifted her own hand, glowing vividly.
“What do we have here?” One of the panthers taunted while the others snickered.
“The great Lord Sesshomaru, aided by a miko?” Another snide remark. “My, how the mighty have fallen.”
Before Sesshomaru could say anything, the priestess cut in.
“Someone’s about to fall, alright,” she said, delight in her voice. “But it won’t be Sesshomaru.” Her smile widened. “And he most definitely doesn’t need my help, but since I’m here,” she trailed off with a nonchalant shrug.
Not waiting for another threat to be spoken, the tiny miko attacked, both shocking and enthralling the daiyoukai. Without further thought, he drew Bakusaiga and dashed toward another panther.
A second blast of angry energy flew from Kagome’s hand as she shifted her right foot and sprinted toward the panther who’d been mocking them.
The panther rose to the challenge alight in the mikos eyes and flashed in her direction. At the last second, Kagome spun around the panther to avoid his outstretched claws, an excited grin spread wide across her enchanting face.
And then everything stopped as she blinked out of existence.
Confused noses sniffed the air, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
A taunting laugh echoed around them and she reappeared in front of one of the panthers, stroking a finger across his cheek. Her finger burned a terrible path across his skin and he screamed, throwing himself back.
But it was too late.
The others watched in horror as their brother, trying futilely to stop the burning path trailing over his flesh, screamed in panic and agony.
Appearing beside Sesshomaru, Kagome looked at her victim - not a shred of guilt in her eyes. Sesshomaru watched her from the corner of his eye as her lips twisted into a grimace and with a small squeeze of her fist, the burning flesh of the panther spread over his body with lightning speed.
Bursting into ash a moment later, all was quiet and Sesshomaru used the advantage, the green of his whip lashing out faster than the eye could follow and cutting the nearest panther in two.
She didn’t even have a chance to scream her pain before her legs gave out, her top half sliding from her hips where it perched and hitting the dirt with a soft thump. Kagome watched in morbid fascination as the body twitched before refocusing on the three panthers still standing.
She stared blankly in their direction, her hand lighting once more.
A sick satisfaction grew in her when their eyes widened in fear and one of them took a step back from the fearsome pair.
Catching the signal to retreat, Kagome narrowed her eyes.
“Cowards,” she said softly. “You won’t get away from me.”
They ran for their lives, seeing the madness in the young mikos wild eyes.
Kagome was ready to give chase when Sesshomaru lifted Bakusaiga and brought it down in a wide slash, sending a violent wave of raw youki toward the retreating panthers.
“Score!” Kagome cheered when the panthers were blown to pieces. “We win.”
Looking over at Sesshomaru with excitement, the daiyoukai lifted a brow at her. He couldn’t figure this woman out.
She was a wild card. Even more so now than she’d been before with his half-brother.
Recalling the look of delight that came over her during the fight, Sesshomaru’s eyes hooded slightly with arousal.
He liked wild.
::OA::
“What...is that?”
Kagome looked up from where she’d been digging through her bag. Glancing at what held Sesshomaru’s attention, she snickered and grabbed the box of Kama Sutra she’d brought along with her.
Then, it was meant mainly for practice. She’d never been with someone intimately before and she was sure the same hadn’t been true for Inuyasha. Not wanting to be the only one in the relationship without experience, she bought the Kama Sutra and brought it to the past with her.
She’d come a long way since then, but she still had plenty to learn, she was sure.
Handing the box to Sesshomaru, she watched him closely as he lifted the lid, cycling through the different cards, smirking as he lifted a brow. His eyes lifted to hers and he handed the box back without a word.
He didn’t inquire as to why she had them. That was obvious enough. But he was intrigued by her knowledge of many of the positions he’d seen on her naughty cards.
“Need to borrow them?” She teased, her smirk growing as blue eyes darkened like a stormy ocean.
“I have no use for such things. I’m well versed and experienced in the ways of pleasure,” he scoffed.
“Oh?” Her brows rose and she stood, a slow smile spreading over her face, making her glow. “Bragging, are we? How unbecoming of a lord.”
Regarding her narrowly, he didn’t withhold his smirk, his eyes locking on hers.
“I’ve more than earned the right,” he said in a low voice, leaning toward her slightly. “I’ve been trained in the arts since I was young. I know well how to please a female.”
Pleased when her lids became heavier, his eyes were drawn to her lips as they stretched into a seductive smile.
Laughing suddenly, a secret sound meant for only him, she held his eye and leaned in close, her hand resting on his obi. Tugging gently, she whispered, her lips brushing his ear, “Prove it.”
Stilling her hand with his own, he wrapped his fingers around hers. Waiting until she pulled back to look in his eyes, he continued pulling his obi slowly, his fingers entwined with hers, until the purple and gold unraveled and fell to the ground.
The spell broke as the silk hit the dirt and suddenly Kagome was kissing him, claiming his lips as though they’d always been hers.
Somewhere in the background, Jaken squeaked in shock and ushered Rin onto Ah-Un’s back before fleeing quickly.
Barriers quickly removed, she shoved him down on their pile of silk and cotton and climbed atop him. Clawed hands gripped her waist, moving down over her ass before he ground his hips into her, pulling her body to meet his.
Kagome’s breathy moan encouraged him and he looked at her through heavy lids. For a human, she was surprisingly attractive. Fully formed in adulthood, her breasts were neither large nor small, but rather they were well-suited to her body.
The swell of her hips drew his eye as he ran velvet fingers over soft skin.
“Fuck me, Sesshomaru,” she breathed as she watched him admire her body.
Adjusting herself, she reached between them and a moment later she was sliding down his length as he entered her.
“You have a foul mouth, priestess,” he grunted softly as she found her rhythm on top of him.
“You haven’t heard anything, yet,” she whispered before dragging her tongue up his neck to his ear. Taking his lobe between blunt teeth, she bit down gently, feeling herself grow wetter at his responding growl.
Wrapping an arm around her waist, he flipped them with speed she could never hope to achieve, and moaned appreciatively as he lifted one of her legs to fill her more completely.
“Yes,” she breathed, her head falling back in pleasure, Sesshomaru’s eyes bleeding red as he watched her with rapt attention.
Some time later, after she was certain she’d tried at least half of the positions she’d recalled from her Kama sutra cards, she was spent, her body draped over his.
Both panting and sweat covered, neither were inclined to move and soon Kagome was drifting off into a comfortable sleep beneath the noonday sun.
When Jaken strolled carefully into the small clearing to see if they could rejoin, he balked, bulbous eyes nearly popping from his head. For a moment he remained frozen, rooted to the spot, jaw unhinged.
His esteemed lord lay silently, a miko curled against him. Striped arms were propped behind a silver head and amber eyes shifted to the kappa.
Remembering himself, Jaken cleared his throat and fell into a low bow, not daring to look upon his lords nakedness again.
“Forgive me, my lord,” Jaken said, quiet for once. “I noticed that things had...uh...quieted down, and came to see if it was safe to return. I will let Rin know we will be gone some time longer.”
“Hn. Return at sundown.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Glancing down at the peacefully sleeping miko, he finally saw a glimpse of the girl she’d been before. Not for the first time, he wondered what had led her to her current path.
Unwilling to press her for answers she clearly had no interest in giving, he shut off his mind and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth the sun - and miko - provided him.
::OA::
“You vanished during our fight with the panthers,” Sesshomaru said as the group sat around a fire one night. “How?”
Kagome nearly laughed. He was oddly curious given the length of time he’d been alive - one would think he’d know all by now.
“I thought it was the cat that curiosity killed,” she said with a taunting smirk. “But it may just be the dog.”
“How dare you abandon my great and powerful lord during a fight and then deign to threaten him now!” Jaken sputtered in outrage, rising to his feet. Which put him exactly three and a half feet below her eye-level. Hardly intimidating.
“You’re about four feet too small to be intimidating, toad,” she said, cutting her eyes to him.
Rin hid a giggle behind her hand and pat the kappa on the head. “Don’t worry, Jaken. Kagome isn’t threatening Lord Sesshomaru.”
Kagome smiled like a snake but said nothing in response to Rins vow.
“Your explanation, priestess.”
“I learned that entirely by accident,” Kagome told the daiyoukai. “But I’ll spare you the boring details. Really, it’s just a trick of the light. As long as you can understand how light works in relation to ones ability to see, it’s easy enough to accomplish.
“I used my barrier as concealment then shaped it with the light, bending it just right so that it was no longer visible. And since I was on the other side of it, I was no longer visible either. I mask my scent as well so that doesn’t give me away.”
“Wow, Kagome! That’s incredible,” Rin complimented.
“It is, isn’t it?”
“Bragging, priestess? How unbecoming.”
“Hilarious, Sesshomaru. You’re so funny that I forgot to laugh.”
Despite her snarky words, he could see the amusement in her eyes and in the twitch of her lips.
“I’ve earned the right to brag. Do you know another human who can disappear?”
“I can make any human disappear, should I wish to.”
“Yes, the perfect assassin.”
Her eyes flashed and she smiled at him. He caught her meaning right away and his thoughts returned to the previous night.
Wrapped in each other, limbs tangled and sweat pooling. Breaths mingling, and hearts racing.
Kagome has just done something to him he’d never thought to experience and he was mind-blown. Before he had time to recover, she was on him, her body rocking seductively, lips and tongue working up his abdomen to his ear.
“Tell me,” she repeated, but his ears were ringing and hadn’t heard her previous request.
Seeing his confusion, she bit his nipple lightly in reprimand.
“My pussy is premium. Say it.”
He laughed aloud at that, fangs gleaming in the light of the full moon above. Claws lifted to trace over the back of her thighs and up to her ass where he squeezed, pulling her tightly against him.
“Your pussy is premium,” he said, giving in to her demand.
“Yeah it is,” she moaned, grabbing his hand and moving it to her breast, squeezing. “Use it, baby. Fuck me like you hate me.”
He complied, with pleasure, and soon she was moaning about how he was the perfect assassin for more than just the obvious reason.
And when he could feel her reaching her peak, he sat up, pulling her close and claiming her lips. He swallowed her cry of pleasure, feeling her muscles strain against him. He pulsed inside of her, nearing his own climax. Shoving her to her back, he pulled out and emptied himself across her stomach with a satisfied groan.
His eye caught movement, and he watched intently as she swiped a finger slowly over his come before bringing it to her mouth, tasting him.
Lifting his eyes to hers, he swallowed and took a deep breath at the heat he found there.
Looking at her now, across the campfire from him, that heat had returned and a slow smirk spread over her lips. Her eyes begged him to touch her, take her, dominate her and fuck her like she was his bitch.
Like she was his.
The idea crossed his mind out of nowhere and everything else faded to the background. He frowned slightly as he considered his thought.
Did he want that? Did he want her?
But she was human. She wouldn’t last.
Eventually, she’d die.
Standing fluidly, he began to stroll away from the group, unhurried as usual.
“I will return. Remain here. All of you.”
Kagome didn’t miss his meaning and stayed seated with a shrug. Turning, she began to chat with Rin, enjoying the young ladies flighty ideas.
She only spared Sesshomaru a fleeting thought before falling asleep looking into the flickering red-orange flames of the fire.
::OA::
He was a damn fool.
How could he, of all beings, have fucked himself so thoroughly?
It wasn’t just that he’d fallen into the same tangled web that he’d condemned his father for. No. It was much worse than that.
Not only had he developed some sort of...affection for the priestess, he’d done it knowing damn well that she was in no position to return the sentiment.
She couldn’t. She’d cast off her emotions for some reason or another and because of that, she’d never be available to develop any true affection for him.
Sighing deeply, he leaned back against the cliff side, glancing at the steep drop off to his right. Drawing his knees up, he rested his elbows upon them.
“What the fuck is wrong with me?”
Letting his head fall back against the rock, he cursed himself for his own stupidity, letting his eyes fall closed.
How humiliating, he thought.
Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing that she was unable to feel. He’d be able to keep her close without ever having to expect a commitment. Or perhaps her lack of feeling will eventually become a turn off and he will snap out of this absurdity and send her far away from himself.
Though, neither changed the truth of her humanity nor his current predicament.
He wondered, with no small amount of anxiety, how he could have allowed this to happen.
Did he dare move forward with her?
Consumed by thoughts, he didn’t see her coming. Didn’t feel her closing the distance between them. Didn’t even sense her until she was upon him, her fingertips brushing his cheek softly.
Eyes flashing open, he stiffened, readying himself for a fight. But he should’ve known it was her. No other could sneak up on him, he was certain.
“Kagome,” he mumbled, calming as she looked at him.
“Rin is worried about you.”
“She often worries needlessly.”
“Jaken seemed concerned, as well.”
“Jaken is dramatic.”
“You’re brooding,” she felt the need to point out, brow raising in question.
“I do not brood, miko.”
“Had me fooled.”
Dropping to her knees between his legs, she took him in.
Unhindered moonlight washed over him, making him glow. Silver hair spilled over his shoulders, pooling on the ground at his waist. Amber eyes watched her intently, waiting to see what she’d do.
Something squeezed in her chest and she shoved it away violently. She was safe as she was. Safe from heartache. Safe from doubt and suffering.
She was no fool. She could see the way he’d come to enjoy her presence, her touch. But she also knew very well that that is as far as they could ever reach.
She couldn’t allow herself the luxury of emotion. Not again. She wouldn’t. Not for something that had no guarantee.
“I’m certain I told you to stay with the others,” he said quietly, his eyes never leaving hers.
“You’re not the boss of me.”
“Such a juvenile thing to say.”
“How dare you,” she teased, narrowing her eyes.
“How dare I, indeed,” he said softly, as if to himself.
Do I dare...with her...
Do I dare? He asked himself, seriously.
Her brows pulled together, drawing his gaze. She blinked and amber met blue. Licking her lips, she opened her mouth to say something, but she’d never get the chance.
In the blink of an eye, his lips were on hers, hot fingers wrapped around her dainty wrist, pulling her into his arms. Her heart quickened at the feel of him.
Stop.
Her hands moved of their own volition, reaching up to twist into his hair as she leaned further into him.
Don’t.
Strong arms held her securely, and the feeling of safety fleetingly pulsed through her before flickering out like a flame extinguished. She moaned softly as his hands traveled slowly down her back to her ass and her breathing quickened.
Please.
Please don’t stop.
“Please,” she gasped.
And he pretended not to hear the emotion behind that single word as he claimed her body once more.
::OA::
It was unexpected.
Well, mostly unexpected. Sesshomaru had scented panthers in the area for quite some time now, and he’d stayed on guard, awaiting their attack.
But it never came.
The day wore on, the sky beginning to darken to welcome night and still no attack came.
Sesshomaru began to relax. This was his first mistake.
He allowed his group to wander a little further ahead of him, just out of his reach.
This was his second mistake.
As soon as the sun started to dip behind the mountains peak, blinding them, a roaring began both in their ears and beneath their feet.
Pausing, everyone looked around, trying to figure out what was happening. Glancing up Kagome nearly choked. The mountainside was coming down on top of them.
“Landslide!” She yelled before turning to look at Rin whose face was a mask of horror.
Without a second thought, Kagome reared back and smacked Ah-Un’s tail end with everything she had.
Yelping loudly, the two-headed dragon lifted to their hind legs before shooting off into the sky, Rin and Jaken safely on their back.
Swallowing, she turned to face certain death just as the massive amount of rock was right overhead, the force of it sending a blast of wing that blew her hair and clothing around violently.
At the last second, she shifted her gaze to Sesshomaru, wanting her last sight to be something prettier than rocks and dirt.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that. Her eyes met his as he seemed to assess the situation. She saw it the moment he realized she was going to die.
He’d never make it to her in time.
His eyes widened in what could only be described as a moment of unrivaled panic - a look she’d never seen on his handsome face before.
Even knowing she’d die within the next few seconds, all she could seem to think about was how...wrong it felt to see the look on his face.
Then, in a move that rightly shocked her, he was running toward her so fast she lost sight of him before he was slamming into her, shoving her violently to safety.
The breath left her lungs in a painful rush and she was flying backward through the air. If the rocks didn’t kill her, this sure as hell might.
Bracing for impact, she tried to protect what she was certain was a cracked rib, and crashed to the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop. Pain burst through her shoulder but she had no time to worry about that before the most awful sound she’d ever heard crashed over her ear drums. The sound of thousands of tons of rock slammed into the base of the mountain, the earth shaking in response.
Covering her head with her arms, she cursed loudly, waiting for it to be over.
After a moment, everything was silent and Kagome quickly lifted her head to observe the damage. Right away she noticed one very important fact.
Sesshomaru was nowhere in sight.
“Sesshomaru?” She yelled, looking around frantically. “Sesshomaru!” She screamed, pulling herself to her feet and stumbling over to the large rock pile.
Before she could get close, the pile began to rumble, rocks shifting once again before they burst through the sky in every direction.
Gasping, Kagome threw herself to the ground to avoid being hit by projectiles. Looking up from her place on the ground, she’s overwhelmed with relief when she sees ungodly amounts of silver fur, towering over her.
Sesshomaru, in his true form, shook his head as if to clear it and looked around dazedly. Spotting her, he limped over to her, trying to withhold a growl of pain but unable to entirely.
Once closer, he transformed again, becoming the smaller version of himself. Standing tall before her, he took her face in his hands, almost reverently.
“You’re safe,” was all he said before his head dropped to her shoulder and his legs gave out from beneath him.
“Oh, god!” She panicked, catching him in her arms before he could hit the ground. “Oh, god. Oh, god.”
Laying him gently on the ground, she quickly felt for a pulse and breathed a relieved sigh when she felt a steady beating, if a bit fast. Patting over his body with shaking hands, she tried to figure out if he was injured somewhere.
“Of course he’s injured, you idiot!” She hissed at herself, her eyes blurring in a way they hadn’t in a long time.
He was just crushed!
Finding no visible injury that would cause him to die immediately, she looked up at his face at a complete loss.
He looked like he was sleeping, if it weren’t for the blood running slowly down the side of his face.
Feeling a tear roll down her cheek, she reached up slowly to wipe it away. Collecting it on her fingertips, she looked down at the moisture in shock.
For so long, she’d been so carefree, so unhindered by the world and it’s rules. She’d felt alive and free for the first time in her life - or so she’d thought.
When, why or how it happened, she’d never know. That it was Sesshomaru didn’t even surprise her.
It was that she believed, if she’d let herself, she could be truly happy with Sesshomaru.
But he was injured because of her.
“Please don’t die,” she begged him, her hands grasping his face, and her forehead touching his gently. “Sesshomaru, please don’t die!”
Her tears ran freely from closed eyes, falling to land on Sesshomaru’s cheeks as if they were his own.
Trembling, she sat back and with shaky hands, she tried to recall Kaede’s lesson on healing. Taking a deep breath, she focused entirely on Sesshomaru. She lifted her hands and placed them over his head and heart, closing her eyes and feeling.
Feeling his body, his heart as it beat a continuous tattoo with each contraction. Feeling his blood as it pumped through his veins and arteries wildly. Feeling his lungs as they expanded with a painful breath. Feeling his bones as they mended themselves back together.
Feeling his every injury, she reached within the well of her powers, pulling on them deeply until they swelled within her like a raging storm.
And with only a moment to wonder if this was a good idea, she sent a massive burst of reiki through him with intent to heal.
She instantly grew dizzy, the world spinning around her. Before she could blink, the world faded from her vision and she passed out, slumping on top of Sesshomaru’s still unconscious form.
::OA::
Kagome awoke to the warmth of a fire. As her eyes focused, she remembered what happened and sat up quickly, looking around for the daiyoukai.
“He’s here, Kagome,” Rin said, watching Kagome closely. “He’s fine. He’s alive.”
Kagomes eyes drifted from Rin’s worried face to Sesshomaru’s figure. Lying on his back, his hair was pulled to one side and lay over his shoulder and down his chest.
“He’s okay?” She asked, needing reassurance.
“He’s okay. Thanks to you. Jaken said whatever you did you saved his life.”
Kagome breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank god,” she whispered, falling back onto her bedding, a shaky hand coming up to touch her forehead.
“Rest, Kagome,” Rin said gently. “Jaken said you drained yourself trying to heal Lord Sesshomaru. You need to regain your strength.”
Turning her head to look over at the profile of Sesshomaru’s face, she asked, “When will he wake up?”
“His youki is nearly at full strength once more,” Jaken intoned, grasping the staff of four heads loosely in his hands. “It won’t be much longer before he wakes.”
“How long have we been asleep?”
“Not long. A few candle marks, at most.”
Nodding, Kagome’s eyes remained trained on Sesshomaru, his chest rising and falling reassuringly.
He’d nearly died. Because of her. This man, this demon...too many counted on him, relied on him. He was the proud Lord of the West.
And he’d nearly died.
Her mind went back to the look of panic that crossed his face as she stood beneath the oncoming landslide.
He’d never have been in this situation if it wasn’t for her.
He risked his life; for me, she thought with trepidation.
He wouldn’t do that for just anyone. There was no doubt about that in Kagome’s mind. He hadn’t done that out of the goodness of his heart.
He cared for her. It was the only thing that made sense to her.
And that made what she had to do now all the harder for it.
With one last, lingering look, she shoved her feelings down, rolled over and closed her eyes.
::OA::
She woke again at dawn and looked around the camp.
The fire was out but the air was warming quickly as the sun rose.
Jaken slept in a pile of leaves away from everyone else but nearest to Rin who slept in the protective circle of Ah-Un’s body. Only Ah-Un remained awake, keeping steady watch over their pack while they slept.
They eyed her a moment before their attention drifted elsewhere.
Sesshomaru was still asleep, just out of her reach. She watched him for a minute, taking comfort in his steady breathing. Lifting herself slowly to her feet, she grabbed her bag and quietly rifled through it for a pen and paper before shifting it into place on her back.
I’m sorry.
-Kagome
Leaving the note on top of Sesshomaru’s armor, she hesitated a moment before kneeling down to brush her fingers gently over his forehead, pushing his fringe aside.
His brows pull together slightly and dazed amber eyes crack open, quickly becoming clear as his memories return to him.
“You’re alive,” he said quietly, lifting his hand to touch her face.
She stopped him half way there, her fingers circling his wrist, knowing that to allow him to touch her would make it that much harder for her to leave.
And she had to leave.
If she left, he’d have one less reason to put himself in danger. It went without saying that leaving also protected her from being hurt as well.
If she stayed...she’d fall even more in love with him.
Kagome wasn’t stupid. She knew they would never be a matching set. Human and demon. Reiki and youki. The purest and the deepest dark.
They were completely opposite.
Not to mention his title as lord, which basically hit the final nail in the coffin. They could never be together. No matter how they might care for one another.
And so she had to leave. If not to protect him, then to protect herself.
“Listen,” she started, putting on an apathetic front. “It’s been fun, Sesshomaru, but I think it’s time for me to move on.”
Freezing in place, the daiyoukai observed her critically.
“You are leaving,” he said with a soft sigh, lowering his eyes to focus on her hand where she touched him.
“It’s time,” she repeated, taking a subtle breath to calm herself before releasing him and rising to her feet.
But his hand shot out, fast as lighting, long fingers wrapping around her wrist stopping her.
How dare she. How dare she turn her back on him. Walk away from him.
After making him feel the things he’s felt. Seeing him in a way no one else ever has. Becoming an essential part of his life.
Making him love her.
After all of that, how dare she walk away from him.
His finger tightened around her wrist slightly in his desperation but she refused to look at him, keeping her gaze down.
Slowly lowering his own gaze, he hid his eyes behind his fringe to cover a sudden rush of feeling. It tightened his chest painfully and he felt a stinging in the back of his nose he hadn’t felt since he was a pup.
“Don’t go,” he said quietly, pride be damned.
She nearly gave in right then. He’d never asked anything of her in all the time she’d traveled with him. Giving this one thing would be so easy. Too easy.
Gritting her teeth, she steeled herself and looked up at him.
“You’ll be just fine on your own, Sesshomaru. You’re almost done healing. You don’t need my assistance anymore.”
“It’s not your assistance I need, Kagome,” he breathed, lifting his eyes to her face.
Avoiding his eye, she remained silent and he sighed in frustration.
“Stay with me. I’ll give you everything you’ll ever desire. Treat you like a Goddess.”
“I don’t need any of that, Sesshomaru. You should know that well by now,” she said, finally looking at him with a raised brow. “If that’s all, I’ll be on my way.”
“I love you,” he said, almost urgently, refusing to release his hold on her wrist until she heard him.
Two gasps sounded behind her and for a moment she’d completely forgotten that they weren’t alone. But she was shocked, looking at him with wide eyes, feeling too much to feel anything at all.
Uncaring of his audience, and encouraged by her silence, he tugged on her arm and, losing her balance she fell into his lap. Suddenly they were face to face and she couldn’t avoid him any longer.
Nor could she avoid the burning heat in his amber gaze, so intent on her she thought she’d catch fire beneath it.
“Don’t leave,” he repeated in a whisper, cupping her cheek in one hand. “I love you.”
Pulling her into his lips, her eyes widened as a shock went through her entire being before she felt herself melting into his deceitfully strong body.
Her heart shuddered to life in her chest at his words and at his touch and she told herself to pull away, that it could never happen, that it didn’t matter how he felt - he was still a lord who was held to higher expectations.
Pull away, Kagome, she thought, before it’s too late.
::OA::
“No!” She said, forcefully shoving herself away from him - not that she went very far with his vice like grip on her. “We can’t do this, Sesshomaru.”
“Why?” He asked outright, trying to understand her thought process. “Is it because of Inuyasha?”
As much as he was loath to ask, he had to.
“Don’t you get it?” She whispered in frustration, feeling her heart begin to break a little and she forced the pain away. “You and I could never work. You’re the Lord of the West. A youkai. A daiyoukai. There are expectations that come with those titles,” she paused and her bottom lip began to tremble. “And I’m not included in them.”
She blinked as her eyes began to burn.
Seeing the strain in her face and hearing the quiver in her voice as her eyes became glossy, he realized what he’d somehow missed since waking up.
She was feeling. Sniffing the air around her, almost eagerly, he picked up all the scents she carried.
It was a joyous moment for the daiyoukai, despite her fear of the unknown.
Of course, she was correct. Being who and what he was, there were certain expectations of him, but he’d be damned if he’d ever let anyone take from him what he’d found in her.
Never before had he felt so impassioned by someone - so perfectly suited to another being.
“I must thank Inuyasha,” he said, amusement in his words as he pulled her close once again, marveling at her lack of resistance. “Giving you up was the worst thing he could’ve done for himself,” leaning closer, his lips were almost upon hers. “But the best thing he ever could’ve done for me.”
“Wait,” she whispered just before their lips touched. “Sesshomaru, please. I don’t - I’m afraid.”
“Look at me, Kagome,” he instructed, leaning away from her slightly. “Whatever expectations you believe are required of me, they don’t matter. None of them. Not as much as you do.” His fingers threaded through the hair at her nape and he pulled her forehead to his. “And should you stay with me, priestess, you will never be afraid again.”
The breath left her in a controlled shudder and she looked into his eyes, reached for him with her reiki.
Does he mean it?
“You...Do you mean it, Sesshomaru?” She asked, still hesitant. Her voice, her face so innocent and open and rightly terrified that his body reacted before his mind could and he felt himself harden.
“I mean every word,” he growled, almost seductively and she gasped at the sudden heat in his eyes. A blush rose to her cheeks and it was so incredibly endearing that it took willpower to refrain from taking her right then.
But he would do nothing, act on nothing until he had her approval, her promise to remain with him.
Feeling the change in his body, she glanced down between them, her eyes widening slightly, unsure of rather to be flattered or irritated. This was, after all, a rather serious conversation taking place.
“I apologize,” he said right away, his voice silky smooth as he turned up his allure to high. Human priestess she may be, but he knew his affect on the female. “Your blush is endearing,” he paused to brush a finger over her pinked cheek. “So unsettled in the face of so much. You’re uncertainty spoke to a darker part of me. Please, think nothing of it.”
They both ignored the choking noises happening behind them. Jaken could shove it.
Kagome allowed her gaze to drop, trying to focus on anything other than his seductive voice and the warmth that pulled deep within her belly. But knowing his touch made it difficult to ignore and when she looked back up at him she could see in his eyes that she’d failed to contain her own desire.
The look on her face practically begged him to take her. Then and there, audience be damned.
It would hardly be the first time they’d caused their traveling companions to run off, he thought with a mental shrug just before attacking her.
Pushing her down, he leaned over her, trapping her beneath his weight. Finding her lips, he hungrily devoured her and she immediately responded, eager for his touch. Moaning into his open mouth, she arched her back into his sculpted chest, her breasts brushing against him in the most pleasing of ways.
He could take her now, he knew, and she wouldn’t fault him for it. But he recalled their conversation and the same uncertainty that had turned him on quickly calmed him.
Never did he want her to be uncertain about her worth. And especially her worth to him.
Pulling back just enough to look her in the eye, he waited for the blue to show as she slowly opened them. Dazed, she looked up at him curiously.
“I mean it, Kagome. All of it.”
Said with such deadly seriousness, Kagome couldn’t not believe him. And anyway, is this something he’d willingly admit to? Lie about? If he didn’t feel this way, he’d never say it.
Of that, she was certain.
And like flame flickering into existence, it all suddenly became so clear to her.
Neither of them paid any attention to the other members of their group hastily picking up and leaving. Jaken was surprisingly silent the entire time, too shocked to form coherent thought, but Rin smiled widely the entire time, thanking the goddess for answering her prayers.
“Say it,” she pleaded, blue burning into amber with an intensity he’d never witnessed from her.
Dipping his head, he drew his tongue, long and languid, up her throat, tasting her before his lips claimed hers for a brief but sensual press of his lips.
He looked into her eyes, his own holding every intention, every desire and emotion. He let her in. Let her see his soul.
“I love you,” he said with feeling, and though the words were foreign to them both, they sounded exactly right. So he said it again. “I love you, Kagome.”
His lips trailed a path over her cheek to her ear.
“I love you,” he promised.
Overwhelmed with emotion, she blinked back her tears and allowed him to continue touching her, feeling her, soothing his soul and hers in return.
She’d been wrong. So very wrong.
Denying her emotions may have protected her heart for a time. It may have opened her up to new potentials as a priestess. It may have closed old doors and opened new ones.
It may have brought her to her current path, to laying beneath a certain demon lord she’d never have imagined herself laying beneath. And she’d never regret her choices. But it closed her off to so much.
Being able to feel his love - and her own - seemed so much more important. He’d slowly worn her down. Thawed her frozen heart. As she’d seemed to do for him.
Sesshomaru adjusted above her, fitting himself perfectly between her thighs and she gasped into his mouth as he ground demandingly into sensitive flesh.
And the only other thought she could manage before he took her, was that she was glad she’d brought her Kama Sutra along.
And then she was thanking Sesshomaru over and over, his name leaving her lips with reverence steeped in desire.
::OA::
It had been some time since Inuyasha had had contact with his brother. The fact that he could feel the bastards aura, nudging against him like a summons, was something he hadn’t been expecting, to say the least.
“What is it?” His mate asked from where she took stock of her herb supply.
“Sesshomaru.”
She tilted her head in quiet contemplation.
“Yes, I thought I felt a powerful aura approaching.”
“I wonder what he wants.”
Rising from where he was seated on the chabudai, he glanced at Kikyo before heading for the door.
“Would you like me to come?”
“No, stay with the pup. I’ll be back soon.”
With those parting words, he grabbed Tetsusaiga from where it leaned against the wall of their hut and wandered out into the forest to meet his brother.
“What do you want?” The hanyou demanded without preamble.
“Delightful as alway, Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru sneered slightly.
Adjusting his blade, Inuyasha unconsciously took a defensive position, widening his stance.
“I asked you a question,” Inuyasha remarked, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.
The breeze changed direction at that moment and a scent reached the hanyou; one he hadn’t smelled in a while.
“Kagome?” He said to himself, sniffing the air with more enthusiasm before glancing around warily.
He could smell her clearly yet she was nowhere to be seen.
Sesshomaru shifted, his scent carried to Inuyasha on the breeze. Along with Kagome’s.
Suspiciously, Inuyasha looked at his half-brother.
“It’s you. You smell like Kagome.”
“Do I?” The Lord of the West questioned, amusement turning up a corner of his lips.
“What have you done to Kagome?” Inuyasha growled. He may have wronged her, but that didn’t mean he wanted her harmed.
She’d disappeared one day and he hadn’t seen or heard from her since. Of course, he’d worried but he couldn’t spend the rest of his life looking for her. He had to move forward.
“Wording, brother,” Sesshomaru smirked. “There isn’t much that I haven’t done to Kagome.”
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
Silence reigned between them, Sesshomaru’s smirk growing as realization failed to dawn on the hanyou.
“I simply came to thank you, as hard as that is to believe,” Sesshomaru explained with a very slight bow of his head. “Had it not been for your hasty rejection of the priestess, I would not know what I do now.”
“Which is what exactly?” Inuyasha asked with no small amount of irritation in his voice. For some reason he felt as if he’d been robbed.
“Fear. Confusion. Weakness,” Sesshomaru started, strolling leisurely closer to his half-brother. “Obsession,” he paused, perhaps for dramatic affect, perhaps because the word was still so foreign to him. “Love.” He stopped in front of him, only feet between them. “Call it whatever you like; others do.”
Sniffing the air meaningfully, Inuyasha’s eyes widened impossibly, jerking back as if he’d been struck.
“Holy shit. You’ve been sleeping with her. She’s been...sleeping with you?”
“Oh, it’s so much more than that, hanyou,” the elder brother said with a casual sweep of his arm. “Much more than you’ll ever know.”
Still unable to understand, Inuyasha bared his teeth with a growl.
“You come here to taunt me then? Is that it?”
“On the contrary. As I said, I’ve come to thank you. By letting her go, we found much in one another, her and I. My thanks is long overdue.”
“Did you...are you mated then?”
The secret smile Sesshomaru afforded Inuyasha with was unsettling, but he didn’t get an answer to that question.
Heaving a deep sigh, Inuyasha relaxed his stance.
“How is she?”
“Reaching her full potential beautifully.”
“Is she happy?”
“You’d have to ask her that, but if I gave my best guess, I’d say I’ve never seen her happier.”
Nodding slightly, Inuyasha stepped back.
“Good. I’m glad she’s happy,” he said honestly. He’d always regretted how he’d handled her. Adding, almost as an afterthought, “I looked for her. Please tell her. And tell her...I’m sorry. For how things ended.”
“Tell her yourself hanyou. I’m not your errand boy.”
Inuyasha’s lips twisted with irritation but before he could bite back, the demon lord dug in his sleeve, pulling out a piece of parchment.
Handing it to Inuyasha, Sesshomaru watched as the hanyou eyed the scroll. Rolled loosely, it was sealed with wax and stamped with his seal. A piece of red silk was tied into a bow around it- Kagome’s personal touch.
“Open it,” the daiyoukai commanded.
Eyeing the older youkai suspiciously, he reluctantly broke the seal, unraveling the ribbon and unrolling the scroll. His eyes run over the words slowly, though it’s obvious right away what it was.
Running his hand through his hair, Inuyasha sighs, looking up to meet his brothers eyes.
“Never expected this. Not in a million years,” he said honestly.
“That makes two of us. Will you be there?”
Amber eyes lowered to the ground in shame.
“I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”
“She wants you there. Though, that’s not for lack of trying to convince her otherwise.”
“Loyal to a fault,” Inuyasha said softly. “Fine. But I’m bringing Kikyo.”
“As you should.”
With nothing more to say, the great and terrible youkai turned on his heel and walked away.
“Don’t forget to tell her what I said!” Inuyasha yelled after him, but he was gone in a flash of light.
Lifting the invitation to eye level again, Inuyasha marveled at it.
You are graciously invited
To the joining of two
As they become one
And further down:
Inuyasha,
Please come. It’d be good to see you.
-Kagome
::OA::
“Mate.”
Kagome turned to look at Sesshomaru over her shoulder, adjusting the bow of her red obi.
“Yes, my love?”
Flashing her a sultry smirk, he ran his tongue over the point of a fang.
“Undress.”
“What? But! I just got dressed.”
“I never said you could do that.”
“Oh, is that so?” She taunted, pursing her lips and turning fully to look at him. “Well, thank goodness I don’t take orders from you. Otherwise, I’d be naked permanently.”
Shrugging, he reached out for her, large hands gripping her waist and pulling her down to the pile of furs surrounding him. Screaming, she fell on top of him with a laugh.
Trapping her in strong arms, he brushed his nose over a soft cheek.
“You are light. And air.”
“Hm? What else?”
He smirked against her throat, pressing his lips against her pulse.
“The yang to my yin,” he teased.
“Why do you get the be yin?”
“Simple. Yin is the darkness of the mountain and valley, while Yang is the light that washes over them with the rising sun.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d never believe you were as poetic as you are,” Kagome teased, a smile on her lips.
“You will refrain from telling a single soul. It would ruin my image,” he growled, but his amusement was palpable in the little nook they’d found beside a lazy stream.
“Your image as the terrifying daiyoukai? The perfect assassin? The killing perfection?”
The willow swayed in the breeze, bowing toward the water as if in worship.
“Seems you understand. I expect you to comply.”
Kagome rolled onto her back beside him, staring at the light filtering through the branches overhead.
“Hmm...what’s in it for me?”
Amber eyes slid to her, regarding her from the corner of his eye.
“You get to keep your limbs.”
Pretending to think about it, she tapped her chin.
“Pass. Limbs are overrated.”
“You’d rather lose your limbs than keep my most important secret?”
“That’s your most important secret?” She asked skeptically then immediately changed her mind. “Must be. Your court is as boring as you said it’d be.”
“Our,” he corrected gently, curling an arm around her and pulling her into his side.
“Our.”
Her smile lit up her face as she turned toward him.
“What is it?”
She shook her head, her smile becoming tender. Her hand lifted from her side to caress his cheek.
“Thank you, Sesshomaru.”
“For?” He asked, brows raising.
“Everything,” she said seriously. “You probably saved my life. You did save my life.”
“I’d do it again. Every day.”
“I know. And that’s what makes you so wonderful,” she paused a moment before continuing. “You’re more selfless than I am.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
Laughing, she bent and pressed a kiss to his lips.
“Regardless, thank you.”
“Anything for you, mate.”
“I love you, Sesshomaru.”
Grinning widely, he grabbed her waist again, pulling her to straddle him. Grabbing the tail of her obi, he tugged on it.
“Prove it,” he said saucily, amber eyes darkening with the pleasures he knew were to come.
Her joyous laughter rang out, caressing his soul and, not for the first time, he struggled to breathe.
And as small fingers expertly touched his skin, he thanked every god he could remember to name for the greatest gift he’d ever been given.
_______________
Thank you for reading.
For the Lil' Dickey quote: Dave, S1E3: Hypospadias
That’s one funny dude.