InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Allies with Benefits ❯ Will This Still Be Enough ( Chapter 13 )

Allies with Benefits

Chapter 13: Will This Still be Enough?

“Does he make you happy?”

“Huh?” Kagome looked up baffled. This was not what she'd been expecting. She'd been watching the water swirl below her, unwilling to watch her friend's face contort with fear as she left her forever. But Sango merely stood there, watching Kagome intently as she waited for an answer.

“You never answered my first question,” Sango said, hands on her hips as she watched her. She looked frightened, but there was something else there too. “Does he make you happy?”

It was as if the floodgates had opened. Kagome rushed to her friend, enveloping her in a bone crushing hug…until she remembered they were both naked and awkwardly jumped back, slipping on a rock in the process. When she resurfaced from her impromptu dip, Sango was smiling.

“I was so afraid you were going to hate me,” Kagome confessed.

Her friend merely shook her head, chuffing slightly at her friend. “I could never hate you. He's not exactly my first choice, but I know you're not stupid. And it's not like he's really our enemy anymore. So, how did it start?”

As she explained how everything had started, Kagome realized just how much she'd missed this, and found herself wondering how she'd ever thought Sango would hate her. Unlike her other friends, Sango was the one she could always confide in without having to worry about being looked down on for her choices. She reveled in her friend's laughter as she described her first encounter with Sesshoumaru and their many attempts to elude Inuyasha.

“So, then,” Kagome giggled, “Sesshoumaru dove down to the bottom of the hot spring just as Inuyasha burst through the trees. I was so sure we were caught that time! Inuyasha refused to leave so I could change and I refused to get out of the spring until he did. And the whole time, Sesshoumaru was licking my feet!”

Sango's laughter rang out through the forest. “No way! I would have been so nervous! I'm surprised Inuyasha has never smelled him though.”

“Well, Sesshoumaru actually found a way for me to purify his smell from me,” Kagome said, pausing in lathering her hair to demonstrate. “It's pretty simple actually.”

“That can't be making Sesshoumaru too happy,” Sango said, frowning as she watched her friend purify her own body.

It was Kagome's turn to be confused. “What do you mean?”

“Kagome, use your head.” She sighed in exasperation as Kagome continued to stare at her in confusion. “Think about what type of youkai he is. Smell is the most important sense to an inu. It's how they claim their territory and how they mark their intended mate. His instincts will be pushing him to touch you as much as possible to ensure everyone knows you're taken. Most inu can't stand smelling another male on their mate. They're very territorial.”

“Oh,” Kagome mumbled, wracking her brain for instances that backed this up. Sesshoumaru had definitely taken as many chances as possible to touch her while they were at the fortress, but everywhere else he'd shrugged it off. If it was so important to him, why wasn't he being more insistent about it? Her mind suddenly jerked to the side, realizing something. “Wait, is that why Inuyasha has started touching me so much?”

Sango nodded. “He knows you're seeing someone and he's jealous.”

Suddenly nervous, Kagome glanced into the trees where she knew Sesshoumaru was hiding. Sango followed her gaze and smiled knowingly.

“How long as he been watching us?”

“Since I got back,” she replied automatically, turning back to Sango with a blush.

“I figured.”

Furrowing her brows together, Kagome regarded her friend curiously. “Sango, why aren't you more upset by this? I mean, yes, Sesshoumaru's technically not an enemy, but I mean…”

“Well, actually,” Sango interrupted, dunking underwater briefly to rinse her hair, “I've suspected it was him for a while now. I just wasn't sure.”

Kagome's eyes widened to that of saucers. “Wha? But-but how?”

Sango gave her friend a “Come on, be serious” look. “He was hanging around just a little too much. I know you're not interested in anyone in the village, and we haven't met anyone else really except for other humans, and they wouldn't be able to follow us around. It had to be a youkai, and there was only one I knew of that we were allies with that could follow us around without being noticed. Not to mention, the last time we saw him, his eyes never left you.”

Kagome grinned, remembering the day with ease. It had been shortly before the gathering. Sesshoumaru had waltzed into the clearing as if he hadn't realized they were there, insulted Inuyasha, and, giving a pointed look to Kagome, vanished. Inuyasha had torn after him and hadn't returned until morning.

“He um,” Kagome mumbled, remembering how intense he'd been that night, “He hadn't wanted to wait on soul collectors, so he led Inuyasha on a wild goose chase.”

Sango laughed. “Well, I guess I should go before he gets tired of waiting.” She waded to shore and got her things, glancing briefly at the trees where Sesshoumaru hid. “I'll try and delay Inuyasha.”

She'd barely disappeared before Kagome felt the water ripple behind her. Closing her eyes, she leaned back against his firm chest and sighed. “Mmmmm, I missed you.” He dipped his head to kiss her neck and she shivered as his hair feathered down her arm. “Thanks for watching over me today.”

“I'm sure I don't know what you mean.”

Kagome chuckled, willing to allow him that. “So, that went well I think. She's going to help.”

He gave a soft `hnnn' and continued his exploration of her neck, his lips now paying homage to the sensitive area just behind her ear.

“She said, um, she said that Inu…”

“Yes,” he interrupted.

Kagome struggled to pull her mind from the haze his ministrations were causing. “Yes what?”

“Yes, that is why he keeps touching you.” He leaned further into her, his lips ghosting across her ear as he growled. “And yes, I wanted to rip his arms off for touching what is mine.”

She shivered again. “So, why?” She was having trouble remembering what they were discussing. His presence was doing intense things to her and she wanted to melt into him.

“Why what?” His lips were suckling the mark on her shoulder now and Kagome felt her sanity slipping.

“Wh-why…”

His fingers found her nipple and Kagome promptly forgot how to breathe.

“We're wasting time,” he growled, turning her in his arm to kiss her. She nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lifted her legs to his waist. He lowered her slowly, both of them groaning as he entered her.

“So good,” he whispered, thrusting roughly. She mewled in response, savoring the feel of him against her. But, he'd barely begun his thrusts when Inuyasha's voice rang out over the trees.

She dropped her head to his shoulder. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

Sesshoumaru growled, his entire body tensing around her. “Remind me why I can't kill him.”

She chuckled, sliding reluctantly back to the ground. “You better go; he'll be here in a minute.”

He growled again and pulled her against his chest tightly. “The fortress is but a word away.”

She smiled, having been seriously considering it herself. “We can't.” She traced a path over his cheek, loving the way he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch as she outlined his stripes before she pulled his face to hers for a searing kiss. “Now go.”

With a snarl, he exited the spring and gathered his clothes. She watched him go, wondering why she wasn't following him.

In the beginning, she'd relished the secrecy of their relationship. Traveling in a group left little time or opportunity for secrets and it had been nice to have something she didn't have to share with the others. Plus, at the time, she hadn't been expecting their relationship to ever move past the physical. Now though, as she watched him disappear into the trees, Kagome knew she'd reveal every secret she'd ever kept if it meant he'd come back.

Even though they had a new ally in Sango, Kagome knew it still wouldn't be enough. Now that she knew what it was like to be near him 24/7, there was no way these stolen moments would ever be enough. The few hours she'd been away from him today had been sheer torture. And now that she understood how important scent and touch were to him, she found herself hesitant to fizzle it away as she usually did.

She had a feeling the only reason he wasn't making a bigger deal about scent lied with her.

“He's waiting for me,” she whispered, feeling as if a cloud had lifted, clearing her vision. He knew she was afraid of Inuyasha's reaction, so he was letting her set the pace. She felt her affection for the taiyoukai grow even stronger as she realized how hard it must be for him.

But as Inuyasha's voice rang out once more, she had to admit, this was not the time. With a silent plea to Sesshoumaru to forgive her, she called on her reiki and fizzled his scent from her body.