InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Chronicles ❯ Jealousy ( Chapter 57 )

~~Chapter 57~~

~Jealousy~

 

Kagome stared at the calculus book without actually seeing the page as she masked her preoccupation behind the guise of being studious.

 

`Just ask him what's bothering him,' she told herself as she peeked over at the hanyou, hunkered down by the fire. Staring pensively into the flames, he'd looked like that all day. The few times she'd tried to speak to him, he'd either ignored her completely or had been so preoccupied that he hadn't given her more than an affirmative grunt in answer.

 

She sighed and blinked, widening her eyes as she focused her concentration on the book under her nose. `He won't tell me till he's ready, if he tells me at all. Sometimes I wish I could read his mind . . . .'

 

Giving up on her studying, Kagome closed the book and dropped it back into the bag. Turing her attention back to her companion, she sat up on her knees and cleared her throat before she began to speak. “InuYasha, do you really think Sesshoumaru will tell you anything about Norimitsu?”

 

InuYasha shook his head slightly then blinked as he glanced at Kagome. “What?”

 

“I asked if you really think Sesshoumaru will tell you anything about Norimitsu.”

 

InuYasha shrugged, his gaze returning to the fire. “Probably not, unless I hack at him a few times.”

 

With a stifled sigh, Kagome dug out a cup of ramen and filled it with boiling water. After waiting the requisite time, she took the cup and chopsticks over to the hanyou. “Here,” she said as she knelt down beside him. He took the cup without looking away from the fire. “You know, if you talk about it, it may not be so bad.”

 

He blinked absently. “What?”

 

Kagome shook her head and stood, retrieving her bathing supplies out of her bag along with a change of clothes. “I'm going to go take a bath,” she remarked in a very loud tone. “Did you hear me? InuYasha? Hello?” She sighed and shook her head, raising her voice to repeat again, “I'm going to take a bath, all right?” After a moment, she rolled her eyes and stomped off. He hadn't even acknowledged her words.

 

`Well, I told him. If he didn't listen, that's his own fault,' she thought as she followed the small path toward the stream.

 

She stripped off her clothes and, mesh bathing bag in hand, she waded out into the shallow stream toward the waterfall that cascaded from the high, jagged cliff above. `Come to think of it, he's been acting strange since he read that stuff in his mother's diary . . . . I wonder if that's what's bothering him?'

 

Unfortunately just remembering what was written in his mother's diary was something that Kagome couldn't even bring herself to mention to InuYasha without blushing, herself . . . .

 

She'd read the passage after she came back. He shoved the diary under her nose and had mumbled something about her finding it interesting. She'd barely been able to finish it. By the time she had, she worried that her face was going to remain in a constant flush for the next hundred years or so, or at least until she died . . . .

 

`Every month there are two times you can create a child. On the night of the new moon, your child would be completely human, completely mortal. On the night of the full moon, your child would be full hanyou, like you.'

 

With a soft groan, Kagome stood under the waterfall, letting the coldness seep into her skin as she tried to push the diary's words out of her mind. Easier said than done. Still, the water felt good even if a little cool. It had been a little warm today, and she was thankful for the relief afforded her.

 

She washed her hair and left the conditioner in while she took her time scrubbing her skin until it glowed in the blue moonlight. Squeezing her eyes closed, she tilted her head back, letting the water flow over her to rinse her hair and body, turning to catch the water as the foaming spray gathered around her hips.

 

She stepped out from under the water flow and ran her hands down the length of her hair to wring out the excess water. An odd choking sound drew her attention, and she gasped softly, dropping to her knees on the rocky riverbed, and with a wince, she didn't think as she opened her mouth and screamed the first word that came to mind, “Osuwari!”

 

InuYasha blinked in surprise and stared at her, his eyes flashing with irritation that only grew worse when she screamed `the word'. “Forget, did you? That don't fucking work anymore, bitch.”

 

 

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

 

 

`I know that scent . . . .'

 

Sesshoumaru shifted his gaze around the surrounding trees without moving his head as he looked for the origin of that unmistakable fragrance. “Come out, Ayamakita. I recognize you.”

 

The lynx youkai sauntered out of the trees, a small smile quirking the corners of her blood red lips. “Sesshoumaru . . . it's been a long time, hasn't it?”

 

Sesshoumaru blinked slowly, staring at the lynx without changing his expression. “What is it you want?”

 

Ayamakita pouted. “You've always thought the worst of me, haven't you?”

 

“On the contrary. You cannot help being a faithless bitch. It was my mistake to think you could.”

 

“A lynx can't change her spots?”

 

“Do you wish for an answer?”

 

She ambled closer, reaching out, tracing his cheek with her long clawed finger. “Still as cold as you've always been, aren't you?” Leaning in closer, breath brushing over his ear. “But you were hot when you wished to be, Sesshoumaru . . . very hot . . . .”

 

Shifting his eyes to the side to stare at her, Sesshoumaru regarded her for a moment before answering. “Tell me what it is you seek, Ayamakita.”

 

“Do I have to have a reason to seek you out, Sesshoumaru?”

 

“Don't you?”

 

She purred as she caressed Mokomoko-sama. “You wound me. Not interested in rekindling that old flame? Not even a kiss for old time's sake?”

 

“How many others have you kissed with those lips, Aya? I care not for such tainted flesh.”

 

“Oh, great Sesshoumaru-sama . . . you used to burn for my lips.”

 

“Did I? I don't recall.”

 

“Let me remind you.”

 

She pulled him down, taking possession of his lips, drawing on him, a kiss meant to kindle his body as she traced his lips, his fangs, with her tongue. Coaxing him with an unspoken promise, her mouth burning under his, she kissed him softly with a measured seduction, demanding yet easily sucking as she drew on his bottom lip. Nibbling at him, harsh enough to excite but not nearly enough to draw blood, she held on around his neck, pressing her body into his, against his, wanton desire, maddening lust, closer, hotter, her blood seared her veins, and her contented purr filled the air.

 

Sesshoumaru leaned away, stared down at her with his bored gaze. The same kiss that used to fire his blood, and yet he felt nothing.

 

Ayamakita smiled insincerely, barely hiding her irritation that he didn't respond to her kiss. She laughed nastily as she said, “I hear you've been keeping company with a human and an imp . . . surely you get lonely? Even you have a heart inside that aloof shell, don't you?”

 

Sesshoumaru strode away, deliberately dismissing the lynx youkai. She glared at him. “Sesshoumaru . . . I'll be back . . . fight against it all you'd like. I know you still desire me.”

 

He didn't deign to answer as he kept moving. `She wants something,' he mused. A slow grin turned the corners of his mouth; an expression that didn't reach his eyes. `Ayamakita . . . what is your game?'

 

 

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

 

 

Kagome's soft gasp was audible. InuYasha blinked as he watched her. His body was so acutely attuned to her that even if the sound hadn't been heard he would have known. She shivered in the water, whether from the cold or as a result of his stare, he didn't know. A growl escaped him as he stalked forward into the stream, unmindful that he was fully dressed. He didn't give a damn.

 

“Explain yourself,” he demanded as she scooted backward, one arm trying pitifully to cover her chest while the other arm was helping her keep her balance as she moved.

 

“I was taking a bath, I told you—”

 

“Wouldn't it be better if I'd heard you tell me that?”

 

“Wouldn't it be easier if you'd listened to me?”

 

His growl told her that she'd apparently overstepped her bounds. He lunged after her. She scooted faster.

 

“Damn it, stop running from me,” he snarled as he grabbed at her and just missed.

 

She didn't listen. Darting past him and toward the shore, InuYasha turned just in time to see the silhouette of her shining flesh as she whipped her towel around herself.

 

`Claim her!' his blood singed his veins. Like a chant, like a mantra, InuYasha willed the papery voices out of his mind, willed his anger that she'd voluntarily leave his protection, willed the image of her, standing naked under the waterfall, from his mind before he lost the last tenuous hold he had over his self-control. The vision grew more vivid, brighter in his mind. The way her skin had shone, blue in the palest moonlight, the way her hair had glistened like a million stars caught in the strands . . . her scent had come to him on the feathers of the soft breeze. It wrapped around his body, and with a force of vengeance that he had never felt before, the hot surge of desire had nearly precluded his powers of reason. With a loud growl, he lunged toward shore—toward Kagome.

 

By the time he reached her, she'd somehow managed to struggle into her clothes while hiding under her towel. He grabbed her arm before she could dart away and swung her around to face him, bring her up against his chest as he glared down at her. She gasped again as her body pressed against his so tightly that it coiled his stomach in a tangible fire. “What the fuck were you thinking?” he demanded, his voice a quiet contradiction to the luster of his glare.

 

She swallowed hard, her eyes sparkling in the wan light of the moon. “I told you,” she said again, her voice quivering as her bravado failed, “I was—”

 

“Keh! Damn it! You deliberately left my protection! Do you know what could have happened to you?”

 

She nodded as angry tears clouded her eyes, as they glistened like diamonds on the spiky ends of her lashes. “Yes, nothing, because—”

 

He smelled the salt of her emotion, and the scent served to fuel his burning anger. “You can't take those kinds of risks! Don't you know that I'd—”

 

Jerking out of his hold, Kagome stumbled back but caught herself. “I told you where I was going! I said it loud enough for you to hear! It's not my fault you were too wrapped up in your own thoughts to hear me! Don't you blame this on me! Don't you dare!”

 

He shot forward, caught her with a hand around her waist, brought her up against him once more. His fury scorched her aura, forced back the calm that tried to quiet her, overwhelmed her as she tried to stand her ground. “It was entirely your fault!”

 

Without giving her time to react, he claimed her lips, kissed her roughly, bruising her with the crush of his mouth. The tide of redirected passion became an ache, a pulse, a beacon of light, a spiral of darkness. She trembled in his arms, quaked under his touch, yielded to his desire as he overwhelmed her. Arms pinned between their bodies, her hands pushed against his chest. The battle of wills added fuel to the raging burn, the thirst for conquest whetted as he bore down on her.

 

He pulled her closer, flush against him, her scent smothered him, driving him mad, mindless, controlling him as he gently raked his claws over her back, against her sides, pushing her shirt up, dragging it off her. Casting it aside as he dragged her back against him, the shock of her flesh against the roughness of his haori wrung a gasp from her as he swallowed her noise. Her fragrance shifted, deepened, flooded into something else, something that made him want to possess her even as she leaned against him, her tremulous hands pushing aside his haori and undershirt. The electricity as flesh met flesh was almost too much, forcing a predatory sound from him as she whimpered softly.

 

Dragging his mouth away to dip his head, to explore the revealed skin bathed blue in the light of the night sky, he devoured her without mercy, without relenting. As though something else drove him, the need to claim her became an obsession. Desire ran over, gushed hot, flowing from her and drawing him closer. Clawed fingers closed over the heat of her flesh, an insistent tug as he forced his hips against hers. He unleashed a growl, entirely primitive, wholly instinctive, echoing through the trees, reflecting off the water. He brought his mouth back to hers, all traces of tenderness gone. The kiss he gave her was the kiss of mating, the rampant lust that controlled his mind precluded his understanding. He wanted her, all of her, and he could tell from her scent that she wanted him, too.

 

Pure and untainted, wild and thick, emotion stretched like a wire, as his control snapped with the flood of need. Claws tearing delicate fabric, the sound of her clothes tearing away was enough to shock her. With a cry, a gasp, a breathy groan, Kagome tensed against him, her entire body suddenly pulling away, retreating. She turned her head to the side, breath harsh, spiked. “In—InuYasha . . . I'm scared,” she whispered.

 

Her words cut at him, tore at an already ragged soul. He let go of her and turned away as Kagome sank to her knees, arms crossed over her breasts as she struggled to breathe.

 

InuYasha turned his face to the sky, to the light of the nearly full moon. A savage understanding came to him, a miserable realization that he wanted to ignore. `You're the very thing you protect her from,' he mind screamed. `She'll hate you . . . what were you thinking?'

 

“Come on,” he mumbled gruffly, unable to look her in the eye as he started away. He heard her follow. It was enough. With every step he took, a little bit of his heart fell away.

 

Kagome remained silent as she put her things away, as she crawled into the safety of her blankets. He sat with his back to her, alone with his thoughts with her within reach. Somehow she felt so far away, and her words echoed in his head painfully. `I'm scared . . . .'

 

“InuYasha?”

 

He didn't answer. He didn't dare.

 

She sighed softly. He heard her sit up. “When I said I was scared, I didn't mean of you.”

 

That got his attention. He turned to stare over his shoulder, eyes intent, focusing on her as she stared at her hands that clutched her blanket tight. “Kagome . . . .”

 

She shook her head, shoulders rising and falling as she struggled to find the words to make him understand. “I . . . I'm not scared of you,” she said again. “I'm scared of the things I feel.”

 

He went to her, pulled her into his arms, settled her against his heart. Her pulse fluttered wildly, faster and stronger as he tried to soothe her. Pressing his lips to her forehead he sang the song to her. In whispers and breaths of the gentle night, she fell asleep in his embrace.

 

Laying her down in the security of her blankets, InuYasha tried to ignore the sudden emptiness of his arms. The savage jolt that rocked through him drew a whine from his soul. Stretching out beside her, he pulled her back against him, one arm wrapped around her. She sighed and relaxed in her sleep. `I'm scared of the things I feel . . . .'

 

He winced as his arm tightened around her. He'd nearly lost control of himself . . . if she hadn't stopped him when she did, he would have taken her, and as much as he knew she wanted that too, there were some things that were worth waiting for. She was one of those things, and she deserved better than a quick mating with a mindless animal. She deserved tenderness and patience; she deserved to feel completely loved. His feelings had been so overpowering, so strong, so fierce that he'd frightened himself.

 

He knew exactly what she meant.

 

 

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

 

 

Kagome awoke to the serenade of birds. Speaking to her with their happy songs, she closed her eyes and tried to savor the feel of InuYasha's arms around her. Unsure if he was awake or not, she lay perfectly still. The pleasant warmth of him in the chill of the morning air was a beautiful feeling.

 

“Gonna lay there all morning, Kagome?”

 

She smiled and turned her face, burying it against his arm. “I was trying to,” she admitted.

 

“Keh. Lazy wench.”

 

“Nothing lazy about it,” she argued. “I like waking up with you.”

 

He hesitated before answering. “I wasn't sleeping.”

 

She shrugged and sighed. “You don't have a romantic bone in your body, do you?”

 

“Nope,” he agreed lightly as he got up and stretched. “Now hurry up. If someone had been awake sooner, we could have been at Sesshoumaru's by now.”

 

Kagome scampered out of her sleeping bag and made quick work of rolling it up. “Oh, you can't blame that on me. If you'd wanted to leave earlier, you could have woken me up sooner.”

 

“Keh! Not with your snoring . . . .”

 

“I don't snore!” she gasped.

 

He laughed at her outrage. “No, you don't. Can't take a joke, wench?”

 

“That wasn't funny,” she remarked. “That was just plain mean . . . .”

 

“You gonna pout all day?”

 

She snapped her mouth closed. “I don't pout.”

 

“Keh.”

 

Digging out a granola bar, Kagome offered InuYasha a bite. He made a face and grabbed her bag. “Come on, wench. The faster we get done, the faster we can go back.”

 

The two set out, immersed in their teasing banter. Whatever it was that had preoccupied InuYasha seemed to be gone, or at least pushed aside in his mind. Back to the arrogant and surly hanyou she knew best, Kagome didn't question what had brought about the change in his demeanor even though she had to admit that she was glad for whatever had sparked it.

 

“Do you think we've seen the last of Katosan?”

 

InuYasha snorted. “Hell, no. He'll be back, bastard that he is.”

 

“It's odd, isn't it? I mean, your mother seemed to think that he was trustworthy.”

 

“Mother trusted too easily.”

 

Kagome fell silent as Katosan's words came back to her. `I did not cause her death . . . nor did I seek to prevent it . . . . Could I have? Yes. Should I have? Possibly. Would it change the warning I give you now? Not at all.'

 

InuYasha sensed her change in mood and stopped to wait for her. “Don't worry, Kagome. If he comes anywhere near you again, I'll cut him down before he can blink.”

 

He swung her up into his arms when they reached a small ravine. She held onto him as he leaped over it, and even after he'd landed, she didn't seem to want to be put down. He rolled his eyes but grinned just a little as he kept walking. “You're not seriously going to make me carry you all day, are you? What if we get attacked? How am I supposed to fight when I can't reach my sword?”

 

“I can get it for you,” she remarked with a giggle. She reached beneath herself, feeling around for the sword, and she brushed against his thighs. He stopped and smothered a groan.

 

“Sneaky wench,” he mumbled, setting her back on her feet as her cheeks blossomed in a deep flush. “You're walking.”

 

“Sorry,” she muttered, her head bent down as she stared at the dim trail. If she had managed to look at him, she would have seen that he was as red in the face as she was.

 

Suddenly, he stopped. “Kagome,” he said, drawing her attention with the silent warning in his tone. She stopped, too, as he surveyed the forest.

 

“Youkai,” she whispered. He didn't answer.

 

“I know you're there,” InuYasha called warily, hand resting on Tetsusaiga as he waited for the intruder to show himself.

 

“You must be InuYasha . . . am I right?”

 

He blinked in surprise as the lynx youkai sauntered toward them. When she stood still, she blended in with the foliage well enough. He pulled Kagome back, hiding her from the lynx's casual assessment. “So?”

 

The lynx smiled, her tongue flicking out to lick her red lips as she widened her gaze as though proclaiming her innocence. “What a darling you are! No wonder Sesshoumaru sees you as competition.”

 

“Keh. What the hell are you talking about? Who are you?”

 

“Oh, my, my . . . short tempered, aren't we? Want to play, puppy?”

 

Kagome made a noise almost like a growl. InuYasha shot her a look meant to silence her. The miko growled a little louder.

 

“And is this your miko? The one I've heard tell of? Such a sweet little thing, isn't she? Too bad she's just a mortal . . . No fun, is it? She'll grow old and die, and you, InuYasha, shall be all . . . alone.” As she spoke, the youkai reached over and trailed her claws along InuYasha's jaw. He jerked away from her and bared his fangs in a vicious snarl meant as a warning. The lynx ignored it.

 

“Leave her out of this. What the fuck do you want?”

 

Ayamakita chuckled, shaking her head in mock confusion. “Two brothers: one so cold he might as well be ice, and the other one a passionate little puppy . . . why don't you come home with me, puppy? I could teach you a thing or two that your miko might even enjoy later . . . ?”

 

Kagome grabbed InuYasha's arm. He winced inwardly as her misguided miko energy burned his arm under the haori. Drawing Tetsusaiga, he leveled it at the lynx and growled. “I'll ask you again. Who are you and what do you want?”

 

The lynx youkai pouted, hands on hips as she shifted her weight to her right leg. “I am Ayamakita, and I simply wished to meet the other Brother of the Fang . . . . I'm not here to challenge you . . . why don't you put that away? It's a bit distracting, having such a large sword pointed at me . . . .”

 

InuYasha tightened his grip on the sword. “All right, you've met me. What do you really want?”

 

“I told you . . . I wanted to meet the hanyou that defeated Naraku . . . and the miko they say will be his mate.”

 

“Stay away from Kagome.”

 

“I've no intention of harming your miko, young one . . . you're the one who interests me.”

 

“Stop staring at him like that,” Kagome demanded, standing on tip toe to look over InuYasha's shoulder.

 

He reached back and tweaked her nose.

 

Ayamakita laughed. “Young love is such a beautiful thing . . . I must be going now . . . I'll see you again, InuYasha . . . I look forward to it.” Before he could stop her, she sidestepped Tetsusaiga and licked his cheek. With a low growl, he wiped it off on his shoulder as the lynx youkai disappeared into the forest. He dropped Tetsusaiga back into the scabbard as he turned to see what had gotten into Kagome.

 

She glared at him, arms crossed over her chest, a mulish set to her expression. “I didn't do anything,” he remarked, not trusting that look at all as he stepped back in retreat.

 

“You tweaked me,” she accused.

 

“I told you to keep quiet,” he countered but backpedaled again.

 

“Did you like her?” Kagome demanded quietly.

 

“What? Fuck, no!”

 

“She licked you!”

 

“I didn't ask her to! I didn't even want her to!”

 

“You didn't stop her!”

 

“How could I stop her? I didn't know she was going to—”

 

Kagome stomped off. InuYasha stared after her with open-mouthed confusion. `What the . . . where'd that come from? Why's she acting so fucking weird? I'm the one who got licked, damn it!' He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand for good measure.

 

With a marked frown, he followed her, rubbing his arm where Kagome had accidentally burned him.

 

 

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A/N:

 

Mokomoko-sama: The FLUFF . . . muahahahahahahahahahaha …

Note about Blue Tetsusaiga: I believe it has retained its blue color, even when Kagome wasn't there. Wonder what that means . . . . . . . . . . .

 

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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~