InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Because of Tomomi ❯ Mangled Harmony ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or the like. This story is for my own entertainment. (Well. You can be entertained by it too, I suppose.)

 

WARNING: This chapter contains material which may be offensive to some readers. Reading this chapter is of your own volition and the writer and website cannot and will not be responsible for any offense you may bring upon yourself while reading it.

 

A/N: ~huggles Shinrin~ I found a way to revive an old OC, ROFL. Also, this chapter contains a lime, meaning sexual situations, so I included the warning. Any and all citrus-y chapters will have the above warning. (If you don't know what “lime” or “lemon” constitute in the fanfiction world, you haven't read enough of it. ~heart~)

 

~==*==~

Because of Tomomi

Chapter Three

Mangled Harmony

~==*==~

 

Kagome bemoaned her fortunes. Kaede was gone for the next few days to stay with a pregnant woman who was due any day. Miroku and InuYasha were out “exterminating,” and Sango always had so much on her motherhood plate, especially after the addition of her little boy, who she named Shinrin. As if the twins Akemi and Kazumi weren't enough. They were so full of energy, but they were good kids, Kagome supposed. But even Shippo had been gone the past few days for his kitsune training. No one was around to help her around the house… or shoo away Mitsuo. While she pitied the man for his injury - which wasn't healing too well thanks to Tomomi the Pest - she didn't understand why he couldn't make his own lunch.

 

“Thank you, Kagome-sama,” he smiled at her when she handed him a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks. Kagome nodded, but said nothing. She needed to figure out how to tell someone off without guilt tripping herself later. Or maybe she could skip the guilt tripping altogether. Yeah, right, she admonished herself. Her manners were as difficult to drop as breathing, except when it came to InuYasha. She allowed herself to zone off, gazing into the smoldering fire pit.

 

Who knew what InuYasha was thinking anymore? She knew things between them wouldn't exactly pick up where they were left off, but damn if she'd thought they'd be awkward for so long. It'd been nearly a month since she came back to the Sengoku Jidai, and she and InuYasha hadn't had too much time together, alone. After the first week of InuYasha being stand-offish around her, she threw herself into her miko duties. After all, busy hands don't think. It continued for two more weeks, this awkward behavior of his. She just… didn't know how to broach the subject. She knew better than anyone that charging headlong into a meaningful or probing conversation with InuYasha was not the best way to go. More often than not it would just scare him away, or make him shut down. No, trying to talk to InuYasha was like pulling teeth when it counted.

 

Thankfully, Mitsuo was silent while he ate. Maybe she could just shove food down his gullet every time he started talking. Maybe eventually he'd take the hint and leave her alone. She allowed herself a little sigh. If only things could have been as easy as they'd been with Hojo.

 

Mitsuo put his empty bowl down, and beamed at Kagome. She'd hardly nibbled at her own. No, Kagome whimpered to herself. She knew that look, too.

 

“Do you feel alright, Kagome-sama?” Mitsuo worried. “You've hardly touched your food.”

 

She was spared having to come up with a response, because InuYasha chose that moment to enter the small house with something on a string slung over his shoulder. It was covered with a thin white cloth. He spared Mitsuo a withering glare as Tomomi scampered inside, also carrying something covered in white cloth on a string.

 

“Miko-chan, Miko-chan!” the girl crowed. She plopped down on her knees next to Kagome and lifted the white cloth. “Bunny for eating in winter!” She covered the meat up again and trotted over to where InuYasha was hanging the larger string in the back of the hut. Handing it off, she returned to Kagome. “Hentai-sama wins such neat prizes!” she laughed.

 

Kagome and Mitsuo both sputtered. “Hen… Hentai-sama, you said?” Tomomi nodded happily.

 

“She means Miroku,” InuYasha grumped, taking up a place next to the fire pit. “She heard Sango call him `hentai' just before we left and now we can't get her to call him anything else.” A fang peeked out of his smirk. “Poor bastard's mortified.”

 

“I imagine so,” Mitsuo breathed. Kagome wondered if he was in shock from discovering a young girl knew the word `hentai.'

 

Tomomi tilted her head at Kagome. “Why is Miko-chan so stressed?” she bubbled.

 

“Oh!” Mitsuo exclaimed. “Forgive me for intruding so long, Kagome-sama. Please allow me to rub your shoulders as an apology!”

 

“What?” InuYasha shouted. Mitsuo was already standing and walking toward Kagome.

 

“Someone's going to lose his fingers,” Tomomi giggled quietly to herself.

 

“Shoulder rubs are indeed good for stress and should be administered—“

 

“I'll do it then!” InuYasha countered, shoving Mitsuo out of the way. The other man stopped awkwardly.

 

“Oh… well,” he stammered. He missed Tomomi eying the spot she knew his wounds were concealed with a sort of sick excitement. He fled with a squeal when the girl jumped up and came after him with her index fingers extended, aimed for his injured ribs. As soon as the two were out the door and a decent way down the road - evidenced by Mitsuo's fading shouts of “No! Leave me alone! Aaaagh!” - InuYasha heaved an exasperated sigh.

 

“Aw,” Kagome half-pouted. “Why'd you stop?”

 

With a blink and a non-committal mumble, he started rubbing her shoulders again. With his full attention this time, Kagome melted under his touch. She let her head fall forward as he worked at her tense muscles. She rocked slightly, in tandem to the pressure InuYasha applied to her back. Very suddenly InuYasha realized that he was touching Kagome, and he was also aware of just how long it'd been since he'd done so. And he'd never really touched her… like this. He'd never felt her slender shoulders, feeling their delicate strength through the cloth of her kosode. He wondered and marveled at her body, and under the pretense of massaging her, he let his hands fall lower, to her shoulder blades, splaying his fingers and rubbing in small circles, concentrating most of the pressure on his thumbs. He continued with his thumbs down the sides of her spine, small circles, small circles, to the small of her back. Keeping his thumbs in small circles, he let the rest of his fingers curl around her form. His fingertips just touched the top of her hips, and for just a moment he let his touch stay there, stilled.

 

Shaking his head before Kagome could question him, he returned his ministrations to her shoulders and worked his thumbs up her neck. She gave a small, pleased groan, and InuYasha had to stop to breathe. “It's okay, keep going,” Kagome said, since he'd taken his hands away from her neck. He cursed himself. His mind was thoroughly in the gutter, but he couldn't bring himself to stop for too long. He couldn't keep his mind from turning this contact into something sexual. If he rubbed right there, she'd sigh, and this spot here earned him a groan, and just there would make her shiver. He swept her hair over one of her shoulders and tried to focus on coaxing the tension out of her little muscles. Unable to help himself, he let his thumbs slip under the neck of her clothes, wanting to touch more of her skin. He was startled when she loosened her robes and let it fall over her shoulders.

 

He didn't dare to breathe as he explored her skin, abandoning his small circles for broader strokes from the bone of her shoulder to the base of her neck. He watched her skin bunch and roll under his fingers, then slide back to place. His attention earned him delicious sighs that made him shiver in response. He worked his way down her back, and tried to hold his heart in check as Kagome let her kosode slide lower and lower, always just before he would touch the fabric. She wore that “bra” thingy from her time, and he wondered at its “elastic” bands before continuing his exploration downward. She was almost doubled over on herself by the time he got to her lower back again. She'd stopped holding her clothes closed altogether, and held her sleeves in front of her chest to preserve her modesty.

 

“Haa,” she breathed, arching her back when he slid his thumbs at the back of her spine. She was so completely unraveled under his touch, she barely wondered just what had gotten into her. InuYasha gulped as he stilled his hands just as he had before. Tentatively, he put pressure on his fingers instead of his thumbs, stroking her sides at the hip and working his way up again from there. When he started on his way down her back, being mindful of his claws, he slid his fingers between her skin and the strap of her bra. She scared him half to death when she reached behind her back and undid the clasps. Gods, what am I doing, she thought distantly. She didn't bother to cover herself any more. Never one to do things half-way… His throat worked convulsively as he massaged the previously covered flesh, with shallow grooves where the elastic had pulled. He edged his way to her sides and started down to her hips. Kagome was veritably squirming under his touch, as if she wanted him to do something but wasn't going to tell him.

 

Making an attempt to control his breathing, he slid his fingers past the bone of her hips to her belly and began massaging up her abdomen, hesitating when he touched her bra, which hung uselessly from her shoulders. She slipped her hands out of her robes and bra and everything. Very carefully, testing her reaction, he ran a single claw over the underside of her breasts. She squirmed for sure that time, exhaling heavily. He shifted closer, not daring to hope yet holding his breath for it. He did the same thing with his fingertips, and when she moved into his touch, he took her entire breasts into his hands and pulled her against his chest, bowing his head over her shoulder. He kissed her neck and squeezed, making her gasp. She tilted her head to the side to surrender her neck to him, and he greedily accepted the offer. He nuzzled and licked and kissed and nipped her skin, all the while kneading and squeezing her chest, rubbing his thumbs over her nipples so that they stiffened. She panted his name and he pulled her tighter against his chest, but kept her from touching his hips or what was hidden there.

 

Half-wild, Kagome pulled away from him enough to turn around and straddle his thighs, keeping a tantalizing distance between their bodies. InuYasha was mesmerized by her eyes, all dark and inviting. With one hand on her waist, he raised the other to her face, rubbing his thumb over her cheekbone. His smoldering gaze slid to her lips, and ever so slowly, he pulled her closer, stretching his neck to meet her half-way. When they were only a breath apart, they both hesitated, realizing what was about to happen. Realizing it would be their first real kiss. Then the moment was gone and their lips met.

 

The kiss was gentle, chaste. They pulled away only fractionally, then kissed again, this time with more confidence and more heat. Kagome moaned against his lips, and pulled away a second time. Their gazes locked for a long second, long enough for Kagome to marvel at the intensity of InuYasha's honey-gold eyes and wonder at the emotions there, before they snaked their arms around each other and kissed once again, this time all passion and fire. InuYasha rubbed his hands heatedly down Kagome's back, wondering how an innocent massage had gone so awry. Kagome pulled open his haori and underlying kosode to touch the bare skin of his chest, his abs, his shoulders, his back, his arms, his neck, anywhere she could reach. He released her only long enough to slip his arms out of his sleeves, then he was holding her tightly again.

 

She shifted her hips closer to his. InuYasha gripped her ass and ground her against himself, letting out a low, pleasure-ridden hiss. Kagome dipped her head to nibble at his neck, her breathing heavy as she tormented his flesh with her attention. One of her hands came up to rub the base of his ears, the other wandering his exposed skin like a hot ghost. InuYasha gasped and growled, thrusting his hips against hers and making her cry out. The sound was delicious and he ached for more. He worked one hand between them to tease one of her breasts. Both hands occupied and still more curves to explore, he lowered his head and captured one of her nipples in his mouth, teasing it relentlessly with his tongue and pinching its twin with his fingers. Kagome's shout was guttural, unchecked, and made her arch her back.

 

“InuYasha,” she whispered desperately. It gave him no small thrill to hear her say his name that way. His name. Not some - Hobo's.

 

She must have caught his hesitation, the way he opened his mouth as if to speak, before he kissed her again, because she pulled away to ask what was wrong. “Nothing,” he growled, trying to sound gentle.

 

“No,” she insisted. Her heart pattered hopefully in her chest, wondering what he stopped himself from saying. “What were you going to say?”

 

He didn't want it to kill the mood, but fighting with her would do just that anyway. “I… wondered if you'd kissed Hojo while you were away.”

 

A white-hot silence consumed them, and InuYasha braced for what he knew was coming.

 

Wondered if she'd--? How dare he! She was off him in a split second.

 

“Osuwari!” she half-screamed. InuYasha went face-first into the floorboards of Kaede's hut with a loud and painful “thunk.” She was near tears with her frustration as she righted her clothing.

 

“What the--?”

 

“Osuwari!” She didn't want to hear him talk. She didn't want to be around him. He thought that she'd--? With another man? Hojo of all people? “Osuwari, osuwari, osuwari!” She ignored his shouts of pain and stormed out the door, nearly knocking someone over.

 

“Miko-chan!” Tomomi chirped happily, as usual.

 

“Are you supposed to be out on your own so much?” Kagome snapped, brushing past her. Tomomi's face fell.

 

“Miko-chan,” she called. “Mi-iiiko-oooo-cha-aaan!” She chased after Kagome, unknowingly leaving InuYasha alone with his face in the ground, bodily frustrated, confused, and thoroughly angry.

 

~*~

 

“I found you, found you!”

 

Dammit, Kagome swore in her mind. She'd thought she lost the crazy girl a while back, but no. She found her way through the forest to her hiding spot where two great trees had fallen against a boulder, creating a small cave just big enough for Kagome to lay down in. Not that she was laying down now. She was as far back as she could get, hiding in the shadows of her spot. It was all for naught though, as Tomomi crawled in after her.

 

“Why is Miko-chan mad?” Tomomi asked. Kagome's only answer was a little huff of air. “Ohh,” the girl nodded. “Miko-chan can be grumpy youkai too!” Copying Kagome's sound, she huddled her knees to her chin and glared out into the forest. She even tried growling, but it turned out an angry purr instead. Keeping a straight face proved too hard, so Kagome chuckled despite herself. It made Tomomi light up again. It didn't last long, though.

 

“Miko-chan,” Tomomi frowned, her eyes losing their focus. She seemed to talk from very far away. “Why are you mad at Inu?” Kagome bit her lip.

 

“Because he's a jealous prick,” she said.

 

“Of course,” Tomomi snorted. Kagome was startled. She didn't have that childish lilt to her voice. Suddenly the gangly girl seemed much older than before, and Kagome wondered if this was her being sane. Or Kagome was going insane and understanding her. She wasn't sure which was more likely that night. The two sat in silence for a while, Kagome running through her afternoon of insanity with InuYasha, wondering just how she'd let herself get so out of control. Wondering how she'd let herself ruin it all. She covered her face with her hands and slouched. Tomomi put a hand on her shoulder, but Kagome didn't know what to do.

 

“InuYasha is selfish,” Tomomi announced. “And he isn't confident.”

 

It was Kagome's turn to snort, since she refused to laugh again. “You haven't known him all that long,” she mumbled.

 

The reply came with a shrug. “I know him well enough.” Now Kagome turned to look at her. Still the girl stared into the forest. “He's easy to understand if you try.”

 

The comment stung. As if Kagome didn't know InuYasha at all. As if Kagome didn't know how he could be all balls and sass on the battlefield, and then turn skittish and squeaky once confronted with tears. As if Kagome didn't know that he was rude and stand-offish when he was uncertain. As if—

 

She slammed her forehead into her knees. She flew off the handle at him again. She was so puffed up by her indignity at his inquiry that she'd refused to see his hesitation and uncertainty. Gods, she was horrible. InuYasha was always jealous, and she never really did anything to soothe that. With three years between them, and InuYasha so wary of any affections, how could he not be curious about how she'd spent her time? If Kikyou had been around, certainly she'd have a few insecurities of her own. He didn't have any other suitors, whereas Kagome still had one in the era InuYasha was barred from.

 

She and InuYasha were both half an idiot, but at least together they made sense after all the stupidity.

 

She had to tell him just what happened with Hojo. She'd been sworn to secrecy… but she and InuYasha couldn't have any secrets if they were going to work things out. And she so desperately wanted to have something with the hanyou.

 

Tomomi got to her hands and knees and peeked out of their hiding spot when she saw something fall to the ground. She looked to the sky and promptly recoiled and blinked. “Rain!” she exclaimed. Kagome sighed with half a smile. Tomomi was back to normal. The girl turned and looked at her, surprised. “Miko-chan?”

 

Shaking her head, Kagome took Tomomi's hand. “Let's go home,” she said. “Before the rain really gets going!” Tomomi nodded and got to her feet. They raced through the forest, in a mad dash to beat the rain to the village.