InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Til Death Do Us Part ❯ The Seclusion ( Chapter 12 )

Disclaimer: I only own the plot line, so don't sue.

AN: Hey guys. I'm finally back with the next installment. My high school career is finally over. :tears of joy stream down face: I'm so happy. No more school!…well until college begins in the fall, but I`m not even trying to think about that. And now that it's all over, I'll have more time to update and even post this story that has been plaguing my mind for some time now. - I only wish my mother would stop nagging me to get a job. I hate working. -- At least prom was fun, or would have been more fun had I not got a cold the day before and lost my voice. But it was still all good.

Anyway, thank people for all the wonderful reviews you have so graciously bestowed upon me. You really love me!…or my fic, but that's ok too! And I'm glad to say that I've edited some of the other chapter so this thing flows better than before. I would've posted review responses but I'm really busy preparing for graduation so I you'll have to bear with me. A special thanks to rash'n'sassy for allowing me to use her idea with the Kagome's yellow bag in this chapter. You guys keep reviewing and I'll keep writing. I love you all! So go on and enjoy the show!

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The Seclusion

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Ayame pranced merrily down the hall, a bright smile beaming on her face. Happiness exuded from her aura due to the overwhelming love and joy that overflowed within her heart. `It is such a beautiful day,' she mused humming to herself. Kagome had severed ties with Kouga, so Kouga was now free for the taking. Her taking to be more precise.

With her hypersensitive hearing, she had heard him awaken and go down to breakfast earlier. Figuring that he needed a little time to himself after Kagome's leave, she hadn't confronted him yesterday. But today was a new day and she wanted, no needed to tell him how she felt about him and finally get it off of her chest before it drove her to insanity. Admitting her love to him, and finding a way to break it to him, had weighed heavily on her mind a good portion of the night. And after hour upon hour of deliberation, she had finally decided just to be up front and forward, which was the way she preferred it. Now it was time for the telling.

His door was slightly ajar as she came to a halt outside of it, sounds of zipping and shuffling could be heard from within the interior. Ayame poked her head in to see what all the commotion was about. Suitcases and travel bags were laid out on his bed, some partially full, others packed to full capacity, their side bulging with his excess belongings.

A look of confusion flitted across her face. `He isn't planning on moving out since Kagome doesn't love him anymore, is he?' Her heart constricted painfully in her chest at the thought. `He can't be leaving, he just can't. Not when I'm so close to having him.' Shoes and various clothing items flew out of the closet and onto his bed alongside his suitcases, further inciting her curiosity as to why it looked like he was preparing to leave on some kind of trip.

Intent on her purpose of telling him her feelings and finding out where exactly he was going, Ayame knocked on the door before taking a hesitant step into the room. “Kouga? Can I talk to you for a moment?”

He continued to rummage through his closet, not even bothering to acknowledge her presence, a clear indication that he had not heard her or was choosing to ignore her. Ayame hoped for the former rather than the latter. “Kouga, I need to talk to you about something that's been on my mind for a long time now.” She suppressed her arising zeal when he his activities within the closet stilled.

Confident that he was listening now, she pressed on. “Ever since I first saw you, I've had the biggest crush on you. At first I thought it was just a growing fondness and would wear off, but as time wore on, each year my feelings for you grew. That's when I realized that they were not merely infatuation or puppy love, but something greater and stronger than anything I've ever felt before. And when you took Kagome as your girlfriend, I finally recognized tat I was head over heels in love with you. I couldn't bear the thought of you with someone else; it literally tore me up inside to see you with her everyday. And even though Kagome is my best friend, I couldn't help but feel jealous and wanting you all for myself.”

She chuckled at her forwardness. “Sorry if I seem a bit brash, but I felt the need to get this burden off of my chest for some time. I'm just glad that I've finally gotten up the nerve to say that. I was always afraid of how you'd react to all of this and now that you and Kagome aren't together anymore, I just figured that this would be a good time to express my love for you.”

Silence met her words. Ayame bit her lip nervously after a few moments went by and he still didn't respond. Maybe she had scared him with her boldness. “Kouga?”

The wolf youkai finally emerged from the recesses of his closet, his face a stoic mask of impassiveness, his remote, blue eyes betraying none of what he felt.

“Kouga? Are you ok?” she asked hesitantly when he walked over to his king size bed and commenced with his packing, neither reacting to her declaration of love or even sparing her a glance. Ayame felt tears burning at the backs of her eyeballs at his apparent rejection. `Maybe this was a bad idea. He obviously doesn't like me since he hasn't said anything by now.' She bent her head so her bangs would hide the stream of tears that made their way down her tanned face.

“Don't bother wasting your tears here, they won't do you any good,” Kouga spoke up, his words tinged with rancor and spite, his back still turned as he neatly placed his shoes inside of one of the suitcases. “Are you done with your speech, because quite frankly I was getting tired of hearing you drone on and on about your little obsession with me.” He ignored her gasp of surprise and carried on. “I don't know how Kagome managed to put up with your manic fixation with myself and if you weren't one of her best friends, I'd make damn sure that you'd never come around here. Ever. I don't know what goes on through that twisted mind of yours and I sure as hell don't want to find out. But I do know this.”

Regarding her hurt and tearful expression with little concern, Kouga stepped up to her in 3 long strides, burning anger simmering deep within his cobalt eyes. Ayame shrank back from his intimidating form, her mind, body, and soul at the breaking point, but she withheld from letting all the pain and anguish she felt show. She was stronger than that.

“Because of you, Kagome was forced to lie about her feelings about me,” he growled in a low voice, his blazing eyes never leaving her own. “Because of you, I was dumped by the woman I loved for four fucking years because of the covetous and greedy intentions of her neurotic little friend. Because of you, my heart was practically ripped out of my chest when my Kagome denounced her love for me.” Ayame found herself pinned against the wall, trapped under Kouga's hard body and ensnared in his heated stare.

“K-Kouga,” she stuttered in bewilderment and hurt as her tearful eyes stared up into his, confused as to why he was blaming her for his and Kagome's breakup, “what are you talking about? Kagome decided on her own free will to end you two's relationship.”

“Only after you told her about your obsession with myself,” he growled in a low, guttural tone.

A streak of pain shot through Ayame's heart. Kagome had said that she was obsessed with Kouga? Why was it that the pain of the betrayal of a fried hurt more so than the pain of a love lost? Kagome. Her long time best friend since forever, had actually lied to him about her? How could she do something like that? Lost within the turbulence of her own thoughts, Ayame failed to notice Kouga had left her side until he reappeared by the door, bags and suitcases in hand.

He stopped on his way out, his spine stiff with resentment, his eyes pointedly ignoring her pleading ones as he stared out into the hallway. “Stay away from me. I don't want to see your pathetic hide until you have gotten some kind of psychological aid to help you with your unhealthy fixation on myself. I think it would be in your best interest to follow through and do as I say because if I do catch you trying to stalk myself or inflicting any kind of emotional or physical pain upon my woman, I won't hesitate to notify the local authorities and have you locked up in a mental institution.”

Without another word, he left, leaving a heart broken and confused wolf youkai in his wake.

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Kagome sighed and tugged at the stuffy kimono that her mother had to forced her to wear. She hated getting dressed up, especially to one of her parents' stupid gala events that called for the entire family to participate in. She would much rather be at home watching TV or playing video games. Even helping the maids do laundry was sounding nice about now. `Anything would be more fun than sitting here and listening to these boring adults chatter' she thought disdainfully looking out upon the masses of people from her accommodation as they talked and laughed about things that weren't in the least bit interesting to her.

Squirming restlessly in her seat, Kagome reached over and tugged her the sleeve of her mother's olive colored haori, who was sipping on her tea with grace that only a woman of proper standing could achieve. “Why are we here again?” It was a stupid question that she no doubt already knew the answer to, but it was better than sitting in boredom with nothing to do other than thinking about things she wanted to do.

Arching an inquisitive brow at her 8 year old's inane query, Hitomi paused mid sip to answer. “Because sweetie, this is a family affair among business people. This gives us a chance to check out some of our competitors and who we'll be running up against in the corporate industry,” she responded matter of factly, her brown eyes slanting a casual glance over the crowd while mentally assessing and storing information about her opponents that would be useful in the long run.

“This is stupid,” Kagome muttered under her breath, a scowl deeply set on her childish features. It was cruel and unusual torture for her parents to subjugate her to such inhumane affliction when she had much better things to be doing right about now, like having a life. It was mean of them to make her sit there and act like the pleasant daughter of the owners of Higurashi Corporations and greet other prominent businesspeople like she was glad to make their acquaintance. In all truthfulness, she could care less about these social functions her parents persisted in dragging her to.

“Kagome.” Her father's coaxing, yet commanding voice momentarily disrupted her thought process and inevitably brought her back to the land of the living, much to her disappointment. Upon noticing that her father had brought yet another couple to introduce his family to, she automatically assumed the usual standing position beside her already upright parents.

“Kagome, I'd like you to meet the Takeda's. They are the owners of one the top technological innovating companies in Japan, whose products rival even our own. Megumi, Inutaisho, I'd like you to meet our little girl, Kagome,” Ryo introduced proudly.

“It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance,” she said with the customary bow to show respect to the couple, her voice dripping with just the right amount of sweetness and sincerity. She had been bowing so much today it was a wonder she wasn't permanently stuck in the position.

“Oh, she is just a little cutie,” the woman squealed.

“It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Higurashi Kagome,” the man's booming tenor startled her back up to attention again and she blinked, as if for the first time actually seeing them. Kagome stared in awe at the tall domineering figure of the inuyoukai in front of her, his distinctive golden eyes locked on to hers, amusement and mischief dancing in them. Long, silky strands of silvery white hair were pulled back into a low ponytail at the base of his neck. Magenta stripes were wrapped elegantly around his strong wrists, a blue crescent half moon adorned the center of his forehead, which was half shrouded beneath wisps of silver bangs.

But his appearance wasn't as nearly as baffling as something else that seemed out of place. Cocking her head to the side in an inquisitive manner, she gazed up at his wife fascinatingly as she conversed with her mother. She didn't look like a youkai. Megumi-san had neither the markings of a demon or the pointed ears that her spouse possessed. “I thought youkai didn't take humans as their mates because they think we`re inferior,” Kagome blurted out with no consideration whatsoever.

“Kagome,” Hitomi hissed, half ready to drag her daughter back to the car and leave her there for the remaining duration of the event for her outright discourtesy. “Apologize for your blatant rudeness to the Takeda's.”

“No, no, an apology isn't needed. Kagome shouldn't be reprimanded for being curious,” Megumi reassured the other woman with a smile before turning her attention to the crestfallen girl. “Not all youkai think humans are inferior, which is one of the reasons I married Inutaisho. He believes that humans and demons alike should put aside their differences and work together to create a peaceful, more harmonious world.” Her brown eyes brightened as she came across an idea. “Let me introduce you to our sons.”

Kagome waited patiently as the taiyoukai signaled for his sons to join them and moved aside when they arrive so she could meet them. She tried with much effort not to let the shock she felt as her eyes swept across each boy, whom could have been mistaken for twins if not for the height difference and the subtle differences in appearance. Although both had inherited their father's stark silver white tresses and golden eyes, the oldest of the two, with his refined and almost feminine features, studied her in a cold, calculating sort of way that made her feel insignificant under his heavy gaze. The magenta markings clearly displaying that he was in fact, an exact replica of his father, save for the stoic mask that concealed any emotion that he might have been feeling at the moment whereas his father`s aura was exuding warmth and friendliness.

A small smile upturned the corners of her mouth as she drank in the sight of the snow white puppy ears that adorned the crown of the other boy's head. Unlike the apathetic demeanor of his brother, whose frosty stare could have frozen her to the spot had she not shifted her attention, the younger brother reeked of irritability and simmering anger. With his amber eyes narrowed at her in annoyance and his arms shoved deep within the sleeves of his red haori, he looked like an angry puppy whose favorite chew toy had been taken away.

Kagome inwardly giggled at the thought.

“Kagome, I'd like you to meet my sons. Sesshoumaru is the eldest and Inuyasha is the youngest. Sess, Yasha, I'd like you to meet Higurashi Kagome and her parents, Higurashi Ryo and his wife Higurashi Hitomi,” Inutaisho introduced one to the other.

Taking this time to get a better glimpse at what had captured her attention from the start, Kagome treaded softly over to the spot where Inuyasha stood in boredom, muttering a barely audible hello, more to her parents than herself.

Inuyasha's spine instantly stiffened when he felt a pair of soft hands tweaking his ears. Amber orbs focused in irritation on the girl beside him, who was having such a good time playing with his ears that she failed to notice that she was starting to piss him off. “What do you think you are doing?” he ground out through clenched teeth.

Kagome stopped petting his ears, pink spreading across her cheeks at the fact that she had been caught in the act of doing something that would be considered rude by the standards of her mother. “Umm, sorry, I just wanted to see if they were real,” she apologized with a sheepish smile.

“You're so stupid. Of course they're real. This isn't a costume party is it?” he snapped.

Anger instantly replaced the embarrassment she had been feeling only a moment ago. And her mother complained that her behavior was appalling. “You don't have to be a jerk about it!”

“I wouldn't have to be a jerk about it if you weren't so dim-witted! Didn't your parents teach you any manners?”

“You're nagging about me not having any manners and you're the one screaming at me like the big baby that you are!”

His amber eyes alighted with fiery indignation at the accusation. “I don't nag! And I'm not a baby, ugly!”

“Idiot dog!”

“Stinky wench!”

This was the part when Kagome preceded to tackle the unsuspecting hanyou and begin pummeling him with her small fists, outraged at being called stinky. She had always prided herself with her cleanliness and aromatic scent and to have it debased by some lowly dog eared boy was more than any little girl with the highest in hygiene morals could take.

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Yawning, Kagome shifted uncomfortably on the gritty sand beneath her, the billions of infinitesimal grains of rock clinging to her entire body not being the greatest feeling in the world when trying to sleep. Unable to return to the blissful world of nothingness with the sweltering sun burning her to a crisp overhead and the itchiness that came with sleeping on the dirt like substance below her, Kagome reluctantly opened her eyes to the world, shielding them with a draped arm before the pervasive rays of the sun began their brutal assault upon her already hazy vision.

She frowned suddenly, reflecting on the dream, or rather flashback of the past that had recently taken place within her subconscious. It had been of the first time that she had met Inuyasha, but the reason to why she was dreaming of an encounter she had long since put behind her was a mystery. That had been one of those events that were best left within the recesses of one`s mind. `Great, this heat is making me delusional. Now I see him when I'm sleep as well as when I'm awake. Oh joy.'

The soft crunch of sand a little ways above her lying form alerted Kagome that in a few moments she would no longer be alone. Figuring that she'd rather be alone with her thoughts than alone arguing over trivial things with Inuyasha who would undoubtedly intensify her already heightened state of frustration at being stranded on some godforsaken island, she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. Maybe if he saw that she was still snoozing, he would go away and leave her at peace by herself.

Despite the fact that someone's shadow was towering over her lithe frame, graciously blocking out some of the penetrating beams of the sun, Kagome refused to acknowledge his presence and remained still. Something heavy was released with a loud `plop' beside her dormant form, producing a startled squeak and irritated glare from the girl was supposed to be asleep. “Do you mind?” she snapped with mock petulance, completely disregarding the article that was placed before her.

“I know you weren't fucking sleeping, so drop the act,” Inuyasha snorted disdainfully crouching down alongside of her, consequently allowing her a better view of his bronzed physique since his profile was no longer shadowed by the sun.

Kagome's eyes widened appreciatively as she took in his outward appearance. Already adequately tanned, Inuyasha had shed his shirt and pants and was now squatted before her wearing nothing but Spongebob Squarepants boxers, which left little to the imagination. His dripping mane of silver hair clung to his back and various parts of his face and neck, droplets of the liquid ran freely down his toned torso and muscular thighs and legs in a manner similar to familiar pictures of sexy male models she and her friends like to gawk at.

“Oi, are you even listening to me bitch?”

Her eyes narrowed at his all too proverbial line, shattering any thoughts of naughtiness that had been previously running through her head. “I am now. What do you want?” `Damn him for looking like some kind of bronzed Adonis that just stepped out of the show-' Kagome left her mental thought incomplete at the sight of her yellow book bag he had carelessly thrown in front of her only moments. “Inuyasha! Where did you get this?” she gasped, utter euphoria evident in her voice as she hurriedly sat up.

The hanyou's eyes rolled in annoyance at her ignorance, but couldn't help but feel smug at his discovery and her elation over it. “Well while you were dead to the world, I walked along with shoreline and found this baby bobbing a couple of miles from here, so I swam out, picked it up and brought it back.”

A grin spread out across her face. “Inuyasha, if I were any happier I would jump over this bag and give you a kiss right now,” she said, too distracted with opening the bag to notice the crestfallen façade of the hanyou the moment her words spilled from her mouth.

Choking back his disappointment that he would not be receiving that aforementioned kiss, he put his usual scowl back in place and crossed his arms while she busied herself with digging amongst the things inside the bag. “I hope that there's a cell phone or handheld computer in that ugly piece of crap you call a book bag,” he announced impatiently.

Kagome stopped rummaging through her things, a sense of foreboding settling upon her soul. `He's not going to be very happy when he finds out I don't have any of the above in here. And after he did all that work trying to get it.' She bit her lip, placing her textbook and first aid kit back within its depths. “Umm, Inuyasha?”

“Aw hell, you don't even have any type of communicator in there do you?” he growled, assessing by her sheepish countenance and fidgety movement that she had bad news to deliver.

She shook her head sadly.

“Fuck woman!” He suddenly shot to his feet in indignation, his anger soaring to innumerable heights. “I swam all the way out in the damned ocean for nothing! What the hell do you keep in that thing anyway!” Ignoring her protests, Inuyasha snatched the bag from her arms and emptied its contents in front of them. Incredulity interchanged with the irritation on his face as textbooks on marketing strategies and economic profitability, a first aid kit, some packages of Ramen, and other miscellaneous items tumbled out of her bag onto the sand.

“What did you go and do that for?” Kagome snapped coming to her feet and seizing the empty bag from his loose grasp. “Does it look like I want to have my belongings filled with sand?”

Discounting her irrelevant gripes about her things getting dirty, the hanyou picked up one of her books, his visage darkening considerably, and not because of the sun. “Thanks to you and your stupid obsession with pleasing your damned folks, we are stuck out in the middle of nowhere with no means to survive or anything to contact anybody with!” he snapped at her as if it were all her fault.

“Well if I would have known that our pilots were going to go AWOL and our plane was going to collide with the ocean, I would have packed a survival kit and a handheld in my book bag!” she hissed stooping down to angrily shove the stuff he so smartly dumped out back into her bag. “Oh, and you know what else I could've added? I could've added a filter to purify the salt water so it would be drinkable! Or maybe I could've added a tent so we would have something to sleep under at night! Oh, and you know what would be really good? Bug repellent! Because no sane person in their right mind would dare to step out into the wilderness without some good ole bug repellent to ward off those mosquitoes and spiders that are bound to bite the crap out of us!” So caught up was she in her tirade that she failed to notice her oppressor kneel down and slowly assist her in gathering her belongings that were strewn about on the sand.

Inuyasha inwardly cringed, his anger having long since lessened to a simmer, as she continued to rant about things she could've done to make their current predicament more enjoyable, knowing full well that it was his fault for insinuating that she was solely responsible for their quandary. “Kagome,” he sighed whilst helping her place the last item in the bag.

“-And of course we can't forget a miniature television because I know how much you love to watch those anime shows! And while I'm at it, how about a microwave since that's the only piece of equipment in the kitchen that doesn't require the use of the few brain cells that you do possess-”

“Kagome!” He shook her shoulders to snap her out of whatever state of stupor she had entered and cupped her chin in the palm of his hand, bringing it up to his face so that they were eye level. “What the hell's the matter with you?”

Snapping back to reality, Kagome blinked, her anger and frustration faltering slightly. “Nothing's the matter with me,” she recovered awkwardly, shrugging off the hands that encompassed her shoulder and jaw but still held his gaze with fading anger. “I just don't take well to wild accusations.” Her stomach chose this moment to announce its desire to eat with a loud rumble. A faint blush stained her cheeks in embarrassment. “And I'm kind of hungry.”

“Keh, you're always hungry,” Inuyasha quipped taking a seat on the beach. “How about we eat some of that instant Ramen and then go bobbing for our luggage in the ocean. Maybe we'll find more bags that might actually have something that may be of some use instead of this useless crap you have in here.”

“If my crap is so useless you can go find food elsewhere,” Kagome smirked, grabbing her yellow bag and pulling it out of his reach.

“Ok, ok, ok. Not all of it is entirely useless,” the hanyou beseeched, semi frightened that she wouldn't share some of those wonderful instant noodles with him and he would be stuck having to eat raw rabbits and fish.

Half an hour later after a meal of instant noodles was consumed and digested, the couple commenced with their search of more belongings that might be wading in the ocean.

Inuyasha frowned as his keen vision scanned the surface of the seemingly endless body of sparkling blue water. Not even his eyesight could pick up on anymore floating bags that could have drifted to the top of the ocean after the crash. “I don't see anything. Most of the stuff is probably lying at the bottom of the ocean floor right about now along with the wreckage of the plane.”

Kagome, not liking where this conversation was headed, put her bag down and joined her companion by the water's edge. “You're not thinking about diving all the way to the bottom, are you?”

“Of course I am.” He grinned and reached for her hand. “And so are you.”

“Wait a sec pal,” she said slowly backing up away from him. “I like to swim in pools and all, but shark infested waters are in a different league altogether. I'll just wait until you come back. Good luck.” She put on her best encouraging smile to show him that he had her support for his endeavors.

“Oh no you don't.” Inuyasha pulled her back toward the shoreline, apparently unaffected by her attempts to sit this one out. “You're not just going to sit here like a lazy bum while I do all the damn work. Your ass had better get out here and help me look this crap. So come on and strip already.”

“Sit boy!” Kagome, whose face had turned an impressive shade of red at the very suggestive demand, glared at him as he spewed colorful phrases from his facedown position at her feet. “Really Inuyasha. I see that this accident hasn't done anything to calm down your raging libido.”

“Stupid bitch! Stop taking everything I say the wrong way!” He leapt to his feet heatedly as soon as the subduing spell wore off, his mouth decorated in an unappealing display of caked grit. “I meant for you to take off that hot ass shirt and pants so you wouldn't be weighed down by the heaviness of them when we go under.”

“I knew that,” she replied guiltily as he spit out sand that had gotten into his mouth. She had put on her bikini before they left the house. The first thing she had wanted to do when they arrived in Hawaii was to take a refreshing dip in the pool. “At least have the decency to turn around.”

“Its not like you have anything I want to see anyway,” he grumbled crossing his arms, but willingly complied with her wish, not in the mood to be sat yet another time for because of her self consciousness. He turned his back to her so that he faced the ocean and waited impatiently for her to hurry so they could begin the hunt for their belongings within the depths of the ocean and hopefully get off the damned island. Inuyasha tilted his head toward the sun in an attempt to perceive what time of day it was and judging by the sun's position, it had to be close to 3 pm. A pensive scowl marred his features. Where the hell was the rescue squad? It shouldn't take this long for someone to notice that their plane never landed.

“Ok, I'm done.”

The hanyou turned back around edgily. “Finally. It took you long…”. He stopped mid sentence as he beheld the figure of the exquisite creature before him. Looking as though she was some kind of swimsuit model that had just stepped off of the front cover of Vogue, Kagome, unaware that she had an audience, bent down to put her clothes into the bag, consequently providing a nice view of her backside. Inuyasha hungrily drank in the erotic form of his supposedly arch nemesis, his eyes roaming from her long shapely legs up to her body to the thick curtain of wavy hair that was languidly draped across her back and spilled over her shoulders to frame her face. He struggled to maintain his usual façade of nonchalance when she turned around to face him, but found it increasingly difficult to control the rampant hormones that begged him relentlessly to take her where they stood and deny nothing to her as his youkai side raked furiously within him to be released.

Kagome frowned in concern as she witnessed the almost feral battle for control flitting across the hanyou's evidently troubled face. “Inuyasha? Are you ok?”

“I'm fine,” he barked in a deep, husky tone that had Kagome jumping back in alarm. “Lets go.” Inuyasha pivoted on his heel and made his way into the shallow depths of the salt water, thankful that he had finally gotten control of his primal urges. What the hell was wrong with him? His youkai side had never reacted so strongly before and he had never felt such an adamant craving to have sex in his life. `I am so fucked right now,' he inwardly groaned in despair while diving in, the coldness of water taking away some of the intense heat that had engulfed his body only moments ago.

“Great, leave me here to fend for myself while you go swimming with the fishes. Thanks a lot Inuyasha,” Kagome grumbled plaintively while watching his tanned form disappear beneath the surface. Grudgingly, she followed his lead, bracing herself every time the biting waves crashed into her body, expecting piranhas to start gnawing at her legs anytime or sharks to appear and start devouring her whole.

“Stop it Kagome,” she chastised herself for her foolish thoughts, “there are no sharks. There are no piranhas. There is just you and this big ass body of water. Now get a hold of yourself.” Taking a calming breath to stabilize her erratic breathing, Kagome continued to wade further into the sea…that is until something grabbed her legs and dragged her underneath.

Screaming and in taking water at the same isn't the smartest thing to do. It was a shame Kagome didn't figure this out as she went down below. An unwelcome surge of salty water infiltrated her nostrils and mouth as she flailed desperately to swim back to the surface, her lungs burning from lack of oxygen. Suddenly, the hold on her legs was released, allowing Kagome to claw her way back to the top. No sooner had her head broke surface when Inuyasha head popped up in front of her, a mischievous twinkle in his amber eyes as he laughed at her while she sputtered and gasped for the air her lungs were in need of.

“Y-you jerk!” she screamed at him upon recovering from her near death experience. “I don't find scaring me half out of my wits funny asshole!”

His laughs waned to chuckles as he attempted to get a hold of himself and answer the angry, red faced women in his line of sight. Payback was a bitch. “I thought it was fairly comical,” he sniggered.

“It just goes to show what a twisted, conniving, sadistic bastard you are. I could have died.”

Inuyasha scoffed, a smirk playing on his lips. “Stop being so melodramatic bitch. I wouldn't have let you die. Then what form of entertainment would I have to amuse myself?”

“I'm going to entertain my foot up your ass if you do that again,” Kagome said using his classic threatening method with a menacingly glare and splashed water in his face for emphasis of her point.

“As much as I'd like to see you try, I have more pressing matters to attend to and so do you. So stop playing around and help me find our stuff.” He dived back under before she could splash more water in his face.

“Stupid hanyou,” she muttered even though her anger had already faded away. It still annoyed her to no end the way she allowed him to get under her skin like that. Putting aside her irritation for her husband for the moment, Kagome waded out a little further, aware that sooner or later she would have to dive under and begin the search. She had always hated going underwater. Drawing a deep breath, she prepared herself to go under when she felt something brush against her thigh.

Kagome rolled her eyes. “Inuyasha. I'm not falling for your ignorant games this time so you can just give it up.” She waited expectantly for him to comeback with one of his smart aleck remarks and frowned when he failed to surface. “Inuyasha?”

The crashing of the waves was all that could be heard. After looking behind her and not seeing his familiar face pop up, Kagome shrugged. `Must have been my imagination.' She turned back around, and froze at the sight that greeted her. A rather large gray fin, which was almost certainly linked to a relatively large shark, approached her from the left. Kagome swallowed hard and remained still. If there was one thing she had learned out watching marathon after marathon of Jaws on TV, it was that if you started screaming and splashing and making a whole lot of noise, you would get eaten. Hoping and praying that she wasn't wrong, Kagome watched as the shark circled her, as if it was unsure of where her exact location was, yet certain that she was there.

Blue eyes widened in fear as its entire body finally emerged from the depths of the ocean, giving her a clear view of just how big the fish was. Long jagged white teeth projecting from the gaping jaws of the great white, pieces of half masticated flesh dangling from its mouth. The almost thirteen foot beast looked unseeingly with its beady, unfocused eyes as it tried to pinpoint her position. Its massive body generated powerful ripples as it enclosed dangerously near the spot where Kagome treaded water, making it exponentially difficult for her to remain still when moderately powerful waves collided into her.

She bit back a shriek when it bumped into her. `Inuyasha, where are you when I need you?' she thought as fear swelled and tightened in her chest.

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Inuyasha's head jerked up from where he had been probing along the floor of the ocean, his instincts screaming at him that something was out of place. And his instincts were never wrong. `Shit, Kagome.' Moving as smooth and fluid as any fish, Inuyasha swam past the reef and back towards where he had left her fuming only a few minutes ago. He felt the oxygen practically being forcefully compressed out of his lungs as he caught sight of the giant fish that circled perilously close to the spot where Kagome waded in silent fear.

Fury was immediately substituted for the panic that had first consumed his entire being. His mate was frightened for her life and he had let this happen. He should have been more careful and thoughtful than to let her come out into the open ocean without his constant protection. He would make sure that it would never occur again. If something were to happen to her, he'd never forgive himself.

Using a speed that only those of youkai heritage were able to exercise, Inuyasha swam swiftly over to where his mate was being endangered, an indescribable desire to kill, no maim, the enlarged fish promptly taking hold of him in such a rage that to some extent it actually alarmed him. With eyes aglow with red, burning, craving to mutilate and elongated fangs protruding from his mouth, the shark didn't know what hit it until it lay upside down on the ocean floor with a sizeable gash in its side.

Kagome hesitantly opened her eyes, confused as to why she wasn't dead yet. But the scenario that was playing before her wasn't quite what she had been picturing in her mind. Somehow, she had been expecting to be the one whose blood was shed, not the other way around. Red water surrounded her on all sides, the crimson color unfurling out as far as the eye could see. Kagome yelped when she felt deep vibrations reverberating against her skin from beneath the ocean depths and screamed for all she was worth when a mutilated shark head emerged and began bobbing up and down beside her.

“Kagome,” an all too familiar voice said from behind her.

Relief flooded her mind, body, and soul as she turned around to face her rescuer. “Thank God you're al-” The fear she had pushed aside after seeing that she was no longer in danger rose back again. She felt her heart hammering agonizingly against her ribs. This wasn't Inuyasha. Her Inuyasha didn't have completely red eyes whose purple pupils could burn holes into her soul with their intensity, or was bathed in blood and reeked of death, or had jagged magenta stripes running across his cheekbones. Her Inuyasha didn't set her instantly on edge just from being in his presence. So who was this intruder that was imposing as such?

She stiffened when he treaded over to her, his passionate gaze never leaving hers as he closed the gap between them. She felt her breathing hitch as he ran a steady, blood stained claw down her cheek and to her neckline and shuddered when she felt the warm sweep of his breath when he inhaled her scent as he rubbed his nose affectionately against her neck. After making what looked like a quick assessment to verify that she was indeed ok, he turned around so that his back was facing her. “Get on,” he growled in a completely throaty tone that made shivers of something race up her spine.

Without questioning his authority or even his sanity, Kagome obligingly clambered atop of his slick back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Inuyasha secured her place by hooking his arms under her legs then swam back to shore, effortlessly hauling her on his back while gliding across the ocean like some kind of water nymph. As soon as he strode upon the shallow area of the beach, Kagome hopped off of him like he had developed a case of leprosy and backed up slowly, unsure of how to deal with this new dilemma.

Inuyasha growled lowly as she backed away from him, his scarlet orbs fixated upon hers hungrily as he pursued after her in an unhurried manner. “Mine.” He had no intention of letting her out of his sight after this. His mind was clouded with a dark possessiveness and a need to touch her to assure himself that she was alright and to lay claim to what was his. Nobody would ever harm or put a hand on her again. He would make sure of it.

“I-Inuyasha,” Kagome stammered retreating from his daunting form. “The shark is dead. I'm alive and well. So snap out of it already.”

The dark hanyou continued to stalk after her, giving no indication that he had heard a word she said.

Kagome opened her mouth, the subduing spell on the tip of her tongue and ready to be expelled. She gasped when she saw the teeth marks from the shark bleeding freely from the side of his torso, the rich, red fluid trickling down his body and creating a pool of the substance where he stood. Disregarding any thoughts of fear she may have had for him before in light of this new development, Kagome rushed over to her yellow bag and pulled out the first aid kit, unconscious to the fact that the hanyou had come up behind her until she turned around and collided into him.

“Inuyasha, you need to stop moving around so I can tend to your injuries,” Kagome scolded him. “Now si-…have a seat so I can get a better look at those gashes.” She caught herself just in time.

As soon as he was seated relatively comfortably on the sand, Kagome opened the kit and retrieved some bandages and ointment to help reduce the chance of him getting an infection and set right to work. She frowned at the nasty flesh abrasions. They didn't look deep enough that any vital organs could have gotten punctured, but they were still severe nonetheless and required immediate care, so she got right to work.

The red in his eyes gradually faded along with the purple streaks across his cheek, her soothing ministrations and calming scent helping his demon blood recede to back whence it came, leaving Inuyasha feeling disorientated and in a hell of a lot of pain. He hissed when she wrapped the last of the bandages around his waist.

Kagome looked up into his face in confusion. “That hurt? You hadn't said anything up until now.”

“I wasn't conscious up until now,” he muttered, wincing slightly at his throbbing side.

A smile spread across her face. “Inuyasha, you're back.” She flung her arms around his neck carefully and hugged him, mindful of his injuries and grateful that her hanyou was back to normal.

“What do you mean back? I never left. And what the hell happened?” His brain was a befuddlement of haze and pain, inhibiting him from deciphering what exactly had just occurred only moments ago. The last thing he remembered was being at the floor of the ocean looking for wreckage of the plane.

Kagome retracted from the one sided embrace and stared at him incredulously. “You mean to tell me that you don't remember turning all youkai on me back there and saving me from the jaws of that great white?”

“My demon blood took over?” `So that's why I can't remember. Ever time it happens I black out.' He snapped to attention, much to the displeasure of his burning injury, his amber eyes right away doing the once over on her. “I didn't hurt you or do anything to you did I?” he asked, his voice laced with concern and worry. “Are you hurt?” He glanced down at the smeared blood on her hands and abdomen and immediately assumed the worst.

“Let me take a look. Lie back. Shit, look at all this blood.” He crawled over and turned Kagome on her back to make sure that none of her wounds were fatal.

“Inuyasha, I'm fine. All of the blood is either yours or the shark's,” Kagome reassured him as his claws deftly roamed the contours of her stomach and up to her face, his gentle touch sending involuntary tremors throughout her body in response.

Inuyasha bended over top of brought his nose down to her skin and subtly sniffed every inch of her to make sure that she wasn't lying and was relieved to find that only his blood and that of the fish lingered on her skin, faintly obscuring her scent much to his dismay. Breathing a sigh of relief, he brought his attention back to her face once more. “Are you sure that you're ok?”

“I believe I said yes the first time though I think its rather endearing of you are so worried about me,” she said with mock cynicism though a faint blush colored her cheeks at the attention he was bestowing upon her in an uncharacteristic display of concern. It was only a matter of time before he reverted back to his old scowling and growling self.

He smirked and continued to hover above her, enjoying the feel of her lithe form beneath him and unwilling to give it up so soon. “Keh woman. Of course I worry about you.” He nipped her earlobe playfully. “Who else will fix my meals and do my laundry while we`re here?”

“You wish, you lazy bum. Now get off me so I can wash this crap off of me.” She tried fruitlessly to push him away but he refused to budge, an amused glint dancing within his amber depths.

“And if I decline,” he murmured softly into her ear, shifting his body so that his legs enveloped her on either side, further trapping her in a cocoon of warmth and security. Feeling confident when she made no attempt to protest against their current stance, Inuyasha nuzzled the crook of her neck, ignoring the smell of shark blood and concentrated on her alluring scent of jasmine. She smelled so delicious.

“I-I'll…” she trailed off, partly unsure of what she would exactly do if he did refuse and partially distracted by the fingertips that brushed along the naked flesh of her abdomen, making the butterflies in her stomach go all aflutter. He planted tiny kisses down her jaw line headed toward her mouth, each kiss adding to the fire that had been ignited within her body.

`We can't do this,' Kagome thought frantically, though her body begged to differ as her body unthinkingly arched against his as if they were magnetically charged. He was so warm, so muscular, so handsome, and his kisses and his hands were driving her to the brink of insanity. She wanted him like no other and yet, something was holding her back. They would never be able to move on and take their relationship to the next level until the things done in the past were rectified.

Inuyasha's mouth hovered dangerously close to hers, so close in fact that he could practically feel the softness and warmth of them against his own. But he stopped when he noticed her abrupt stiffness and mentally cursed himself for losing control. He wanted, no needed this as much as she did and knew what was holding her back, what was holding them back. Swearing and using every bit of willpower he could muster, the hanyou virtually tore himself from her body and sat up and winced at the sharp jolts of pain in his abdomen. “I'm going to go wash off,” he said in a gruff voice, futilely attempting to hide the underlying bitterness and anger at that the fact they were back to square one before coming to his feet and striding to the water with teeth clenched and fists balled.

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End.