InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Chronicles ❯ Food for Thought ( Chapter 49 )

~~Chapter 49~~

~Food for Thought~

 

“Stop pacing, you're making me nervous.”

 

InuYasha glanced over at Kagome but continued to stride the length of the plush library and back again. His feet didn't make a sound as he wandered over the polished marble floor. Kagome watched him for another moment then shook her head with a sigh.

 

Nibori hid his amusement behind a raised hand. He filled a glass with water and extended it to his uncle. “Here. Father said he will be right with you.”

 

InuYasha glowered at the glass. “Keh. I'm not thirsty.”

 

Nibori shrugged and lifted the glass to his own lips. “Did you think I'd poison my own uncle, Uncle?”

 

InuYasha gritted his teeth together in a vicious snarl. “Stop fucking calling me that, will you?”

 

Nibori blinked as he stared at InuYasha with a completely blank expression. “But you are my uncle . . . I should treat you with the proper respect—Father insists.”

 

“That bastard would,” InuYasha snorted. “Anything to piss me right off.”

 

Kagome sighed.

 

The doors opened, and Sesshoumaru, with Leikizu on his arm, swept into the library. As before, the youkai didn't even acknowledge his half-brother as he stepped over to a thick leather chair and sank down while his wife wandered over to the sideboard to pour her mate a drink.

 

“What brings you here, InuYasha?” Sesshoumaru asked, settling back in the chair and idly flicking his claws. Kagome gritted her teeth as his knuckles popped in an obscenely loud way.

 

InuYasha glanced over at her then grimaced—she could almost see the wheels turning in his head. He shot across the room and sank down on the floor in front of her, his meaning obvious: `Stay the fuck away from her.' She reigned in the urge to reach forward and rub his ear, figuring that he wouldn't be impressed with the show of affection at the moment.

 

“Good heavens, baka! Do you think that you're about to be attacked here? If I'd wanted you dead that badly I'd have taken care of that quickly enough the first time you were here.”

 

“Like I fucking trust you,” InuYasha snarled.

 

Kagome rolled her eyes and rubbed the ear. InuYasha shot off the floor and pinned her with a dark look but didn't move away. He reached over and tweaked her nose, drawing a chuckle from the oldest youkai in the room. Nibori's eyebrows lifted, and Leikizu simply smiled. Kagome frowned as she tried to look at the end of her nose then brushed at it, wondering if she had a speck of dirt or something stuck to it.

 

“What the hell's so funny?” InuYasha demanded, glaring at his brother.

 

Sesshoumaru deliberately lifted his glass to his lips before answering. “Not a thing. Was there something you wished to ask me, or did you simply miss your brother?”

 

“Keh! Fat fucking chance. Where's Katosan, and don't try to tell me you don't know `cause I ain't buying it.”

 

“Why would you wish to see Katosan?” Sesshoumaru countered amicably enough. “If he is here, in this time, then it would mean that he is still back there, in the past. Why not seek the one against whom you hold a grudge?”

 

“This one's more convenient. Just tell me where to find him.”

 

Sesshoumaru rubbed his forehead. “I cannot do that, baka. You've no need to see him in this time.”

 

“The hell I don't,” InuYasha growled. “He came to the shrine. He won't do it again or I'll rip his fucking head off. I might do that, anyway . . . kill him here and kill him there . . . .”

 

Sesshoumaru shook his head slowly and turned to stare at his mate. “Leikizu, would you mind taking the Miko and showing her around?”

 

Kagome shrugged and started to rise when Leikizu motioned for her to follow.

 

InuYasha growled, grabbing Kagome's hand. “No.”

 

“She's perfectly safe here,” Nibori remarked with a smile that was meant to reassure InuYasha.

 

“No.”

 

“It's okay,” Kagome said, placing a placating hand on InuYasha's chest. “I'll be fine.”

 

He looked like he wanted to argue with her but in the end, he nodded once and let go. “It's commendable, the way you watch out for Kagome,” Nibori remarked softly as the door closed behind the women.

 

“She's my responsibility,” InuYasha answered.

 

“Just a responsibility?” Sesshoumaru countered.

 

InuYasha didn't answer.

 

Sesshoumaru's eyes shifted to lock with InuYasha's. “As for Katosan, if you killed Katosan now, then went back to your time and killed him then, the only person who would remember this would be you because you killing him in the past would erase his existence in the future.” At the confused look on InuYasha's face, Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. “You can only kill someone once, baka. Don't be dense.”

 

InuYasha crossed his arms together. “I'd still remember it twice, so it would count.”

 

Drumming his claws against the thick arm of the chair, Sesshoumaru nodded once. “I will ask Katosan to stay away from the shrine. Isn't that what you wanted?”

 

InuYasha wasn't satisfied. “Hell, no. I want his ass.”

 

Sesshoumaru slowly shook his head, gaze narrowing on his brother. “This I cannot allow.”

 

“Why the hell not?”

 

“Because I am Inu no Taisho, and as such, I am the one responsible for making certain that the rest of the world never learns that youkai still exist. To sanction your actions would undoubtedly draw notice . . . or were you going to sully your hands with a modern firearm? Slayings via mechanical weaponry barely raises an eyebrow in this day and age. If you were to hack Katosan up with Tetsusaiga I guarantee that would draw more attention that any of us are willing to deal with. Do you understand me?”

 

InuYasha glared at Sesshoumaru. “I'm not a fucking pup,” he growled.

 

“Then do not behave like one.”

 

“Do you know what that rat-bastard threatened to do?” InuYasha asked, his voice quiet despite the deadly serious set of his features. “He threatened Kagome. He threatened to rape her. He has no fucking honor. He deserves to die.”

 

Sesshoumaru leaned forward, glaring toward his brother though not at his brother. “Then by all means, go after him, if you feel you must. But you must do so in the past. Do you understand?”

 

“I should have known you were still a complete bastard,” InuYasha remarked. “Fine. If you won't tell me where he is, I'll find him on my own.”

 

“I said I would tell him to stay away from your miko.”

 

InuYasha rounded on Sesshoumaru, drawing Tetsusaiga in one fluid motion as he leveled it at his brother's heart. “Not fucking good enough.”

 

Sesshoumaru stared from his brother's face to the sword then back again. “Put that away, baka. I will not fight you here.”

 

“Uncle . . . ?”

 

InuYasha's glare shifted to the side to meet his nephew's interested expression. Staring at Tetsusaiga with a fascinated glint in his eyes, Nibori shook his head. “Tetsusaiga . . . .”

 

“Keh, it's blue,” InuYasha snorted. “So what?”

 

“What have you done to the Sword of the Fang?” Sesshoumaru asked mildly.

 

InuYasha rolled his eyes. “I ain't done a damn thing.”

 

Sesshoumaru stood slowly, completely ignoring Tetsusaiga. “So you don't know why it's blue then. I see.”

 

InuYasha dropped Tetsusaiga back into the scabbard with a dissatisfied growl. “Totosai did something to it,” he snarled, knowing Sesshoumaru was trying to bait the information out of him and unable to stop himself despite that.

 

“Ah, Totosai. That makes sense . . . .”

 

InuYasha had the distinct feeling that Sesshoumaru knew exactly why Tetsusaiga's blade had turned blue. He gave a mental snort. `Damned if I'll ask him . . . .'

 

 

::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::

 

 

“So Waku's dead,” Leikizu said as the two wandered through the mansion to the sunroom beyond the kitchen.

 

Kagome nodded. “Did you know him?”

 

Leikizu shook her head as she sank down in one of the lounge chairs and gestured to another for Kagome to do the same. “Not at all. He was dead by the time I was born.”

 

Kagome frowned as she sat down beside the female youkai. “You sound as though you should have known him.”

 

Leikizu shrugged. “He was my brother.”

 

With a soft gasp, Kagome stared in disbelief at Leikizu. “I'm sorry,” she said, wincing when she realized that she was just as responsible for the youkai's demise as were Miroku—and InuYasha.

 

Leikizu smiled wanly and turned her gaze out the huge windows that lined the room. “Don't be. Waku chose his own path, and Waku made his mistakes. My parents were saddened by the loss, of course. But by the time he'd died, Waku was no longer considered their son.” Intercepting Kagome's shocked expression, Leikizu sighed. “From what I've gathered, Waku had poor judgment in choosing his friends.”

 

“He was looking for InuYasha.”

 

Leikizu nodded. “Yes . . . he'd fallen in with Norimitsu.”

 

“Norimitsu . . . .” Kagome shuddered as she remembered the cold eyes of the black haired youkai, the feel of his claws pressed against her throat. “He tried to snatch me that night, too.”

 

Leikizu sighed, a sudden look of sadness coming over her features. She shook her head slowly, and Kagome wondered why the woman seemed so forlorn. “Did you know Norimitsu, too?”

 

Leikizu shook herself out of her reverie and blinked a few times as her eyes focused on Kagome once more. “He's Sesshoumaru's uncle.”

 

Kagome gasped. “Sesshoumaru's . . . ?”

 

“It's a long story. There is no love loss between them, in case you're wondering. Sesshoumaru never met him until the day he showed up to challenge the Inu no Taisho. He didn't know then that Norimitsu was his relation.”

 

“If he's Sesshoumaru's uncle then Norimitsu was his mother's brother?”

 

Leikizu nodded. “Exactly. Norimitsu blamed the Inu no Taisho for his sister's death, and then despised him for mating a human. That they'd chosen to have InuYasha . . . well, you can imagine.”

 

“So that's why he was after me . . . to get to InuYasha . . . .”

 

“It wasn't simply InuYasha. Norimitsu comes after Sesshoumaru to this day. He appears, they fight, and he leaves again after Sesshoumaru bats him around a few times.”

 

Kagome shook her head slowly. “But why? If Sesshoumaru is his nephew . . . ?”

 

Leikizu chuckled softly. “Norimitsu sees none of his sister in Sesshoumaru, and since Sesshoumaru bested him in their initial meeting . . . Norimitsu sees only the Inu no Taisho in Sesshoumaru.”

 

Kagome sighed. If Norimitsu had lived through the five hundred year span, then how many times would he come after InuYasha?

 

 

::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::

 

 

“ `You posed an interesting challenge to me. On the one hand, you were the child I adored, with the depth in your eyes, the strength in your heart, you were a wonder to me. On the other hand, you were obstinate to a fault, and from early on, you possessed your father's temper. He told me once that it had taken him centuries to learn control over his fury, and the man I knew had that control. But in you, I saw what your father was like in those earlier times. As much as I adore you, InuYasha, I also hope you learn to manage this aspect of yourself. Fury and rage, when controlled, can be a great asset. Running around in a constant state of anger, however, can be a disability.' ”

 

Kagome leaned back to stare up at InuYasha. Eyes closed with a completely blank expression as he leaned against Goshinboku's trunk, he appeared as though he wasn't listening. She knew better. “Hear that, InuYasha? You've got to learn to control your temper.”

 

“Keh. You'd better quit wiggling around or you're going to fall, and I'm not catching you.”

 

She reached up to tug his ear. He leaned to the side and flicked her nose. “You wouldn't let me fall, and you know it,” she shot back with a grin, turning enough to better stare at the hanyou.

 

“Try me, sneaky wench.”

 

“If you let me fall, I'd hurt myself, and if I hurt myself, then I couldn't kiss you.”

 

“You're not kissing me now.”

 

She caught the hint of sulkiness in his tone. With a giggle, she kissed his cheek before turning her attention back to the diary again.

 

He heaved a sigh.

 

“ `Your father told me of the habits of the youkai before he died. Many nights he sat up, explaining things that he said I should know because he wanted to make sure that I knew everything so that I could pass the information to you over the years to come. I'm glad he did this.

 

“ `One of the first things he told me was about youkai discipline. Because youkai in general are stronger and given more to violence when goaded, it had become a trait of the youkai to accept minimal corrections in dealing with children, and so long as the punishment was understood to be such, then it worked. Through the passage of time, the standard practice became instinctive, and as such, youkai young recognized the reprimand for what it was right away. Generally administered to children or even to one's mate, the curious form of punishment was actually more of a sign of disapproving affection that actual displeasure with the errant one. Amusing, now that I think about it. You were taunted and yelled at by the villagers so often and never shed a tear even when they hurt your feelings. When I would tweak your nose with the index finger, however, it always—always—made you cry and rendered you inconsolable for hours afterwards. Consequently, it was a punishment rarely warranted but one that I did have to use with you from time to time.' ”

 

Kagome stopped reading as a thoughtful frown surfaced on her face. Slowly she turned to face the hanyou as a mounting sense of suspicion grew. “You've been disciplining me?” she demanded with a scowl.

 

InuYasha shifted uncomfortably. “Keh.”

 

She saw right through his bravado as her eyes narrowed. “You have!”

 

“Not intentionally . . . I didn't know . . . .”

 

She shot him a dark look. “Didn't know, huh?”

 

He sat back, grabbing onto the branch below to steady himself, unsure what to say, and for some reason, he had trouble meeting her gaze. `I didn't know what that meant,' he thought with a frown. `It just, I dunno . . . it seemed like the right thing to do . . . .' He shook his head slowly. “What's the big fucking deal? It didn't hurt, did it?”

 

Her shoulders slumped, and she stared at her hands in her lap as her cheeks reddened slightly. “No, but you did that in front of Sesshoumaru and his family, and they thought it was funny . . . and Kouga, too, like I'm a child.”

 

“Keh! You're hardly a pup, wench.”

 

He felt her eyes rise to stare at him. He felt himself blush, too. Suddenly, she giggled. “And here I thought it was a show of affection,” she remarked.

 

His cheeks reddened a little more as his mother's words came back to him, `Generally administered to children or even to one's mate, the curious form of punishment was actually more of a sign of disapproving affection . . . .'

 

“InuYasha? Why are you blushing?”

 

“Keh! I'm not,” he maintained stubbornly as his cheeks felt the burn.

 

Kagome gasped softly as she obviously remembered Izayoi's words, too. The burn became an inferno. “It was, wasn't it?” she asked softly.

 

“Was what, wench?”

 

She scooted closer as the scent of her filled his senses. He gripped the branch tighter. “InuYasha . . . you love me?”

 

`Monk-in-pain' morphed into `fire-rat-haori'-red as he stubbornly lifted his chin a notch. “Keh! You love me, too, remember?”

 

He was knocked back against the tree trunk as Kagome launched herself straight against his chest, arms circling around his neck as her lips locked on his.

 

The touch of her mouth on his was like a bolt of lightning shooting straight through his body. The impact hit him hard, rattled through his mind and body as the sudden vulnerability brought on by the admission gave way to a heady sense of power. Her mouth breathed against him, sucked him in to a place where sensation overrode coherent thought, where the only word he dared to utter was her name. The young woman, the frail human, the soul with the heart that was as large as the sea encompassed him, overshadowed him. Suspended in a place where tears were an unknown force, locked in the arms of the woman he protected, he let her defend him against the swelling tide of tormenting passion that ripped through him and left him bleeding.

 

Rising up on her knees to scoot forward enough to straddle his thighs, Kagome arched against him, held his face as she kissed him. Powerless to stop her, InuYasha wrapped his arms around her, held her close, pressed against her through the irritating barrier of clothing. She moaned, letting the sound be swallowed by his mouth as he growled low in his throat. His body strained against hers, willing her to understand what she didn't give him a chance to say as she rained kisses down on him. Her tongue licked at his lower lip, and he shuddered. She gently sucked on his lips, and he groaned. Her daring grew as his control waned, her hands shoved aside his haori, his undershirt, and suddenly his arms were free in the gentle spring warmth of unconfined air.

 

She touched him, running her small hands all over him as he struggled to regain her lips that she was using to ignite little fires along his collarbone. He whined softly as she traced the contours of his chest, of the shallow vale over his heart. Her tongue flicked out to taste his skin as he tugged at the zipper that held her blouse closed, silently thanking every entity he knew for the simple fastening. Buttons would have driven him insane . . . . She arched back, head falling, eyes closed as his palm closed over her breast, the thin fabric of her bra the only barrier against the heat that radiated off her skin and captured him. He dragged her forward, mouth fastening on the silky flesh at the base of her neck, sucking lightly, fangs grazing gracefully over her. She clutched his shoulders, her nails biting into him. He nipped at her but instead of the gentle reprimand that was intended, her nails dug in more fiercely.

 

The blood in his veins burned hot, fierce. The singe of his inner youkai called to her. Her blood answered as her pulse quickened even more. Through the trace remnants of conscious thought, InuYasha knew. `She's my mate . . . she's my heart.' Seconds later, his mouth dropped against her, tracing the rising swell of her breast. The satin bra held the heat of his breath as Kagome's body erupted in shivers, in waves of heat that rushed at him, fused with him, burned him. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes she surged against him, pressing herself even closer as her scent spiked. He paused for a moment, long enough to gain control of his baser instincts, long enough to subject his desire to his will when all he wanted to do was claim her.

 

She pushed on his shoulders, pushed him away. A moment's confusion was forgotten as she pressed against him, her flesh meeting his as she leaned up to kiss him. Tender, soft, gently giving, Kagome had the power to transform a simple act into something far more beautiful than InuYasha had ever imagined. Lost in the sweetness of that one kiss, he held her to him, afraid to let her go.

 

His head spun with the effects of that kiss. Her lips were swollen, quivering, yet she demanded more as she accepted his tongue. Trying to remember to breathe, fighting a losing battle with inner will, InuYasha gave himself up to sensation, a delicious wash of flowing heat as he slowly felt himself coming undone. The sweltering concentration of her kiss coupled with the movements of her body against him drew a visceral growl, a sound borne of necessity, of desire, of the bending of his will to hers.

 

The shocking sensation of falling did little to dispel the haze around his mind, did nothing to quell the ache in his body and soul, did not make sense to him since Kagome was still kissing him. Landing, though, did put a stop to that kiss, and InuYasha grunted and groaned as he landed hard, flat on his back, with Kagome safely atop his chest. She moaned, too, but didn't move right away.

 

InuYasha blinked in confusion as the haze receded and the grim realization sank in. “Fuck! We fell out of the tree?”

 

Kagome's giggle quickly escalated into a full-out laugh as she sat up and slid off him.

 

He wasn't nearly as amused as she was, and he pushed himself up on his elbows with a grimace of pain—and frustration. “I think I broke something,” he muttered.

 

Kagome laughed harder. InuYasha gulped, staring at her breasts, heaving against the flimsy satin bra. He sat up the rest of the way, and, with trembling fingers, he fumbled with her zipper. He couldn't get the bottom of the contraption to line up properly. Finally she took pity on him and gently pushed his hands aside to fasten the blouse herself. “I can't believe . . .” she gasped out, “that we fell . . . out of . . . Goshinboku!”

 

“Keh! I told you trees weren't made for. . . that,” he growled but smiled anyway.

 

She suddenly turned serious as she stared at him for long moments. He tried to figure out what she was thinking but the odd look eluded him. “Next time,” she finally said, her voice a husky whisper, “maybe we should try that on the ground.”

 

He groaned, long and loud, as Kagome scampered to her feet and snatched his shirt and haori off the ground, dropping them on his chest before she blew him a kiss and ran into the shrine.

 

 

 

 

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A/N:

 

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Chronicles): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~