InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Embracing Ice ❯ This Heart Taken ( Chapter 20 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

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Embracing Ice

Written By: Yabou

Chapter Twenty: This Heart Taken

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"Mother," he whispered, kneeling behind her at the edge of the koi pond with a hint of desperation tinting his voice. "Did she speak the truth?"


Lady Bishou sighed deeply and bowed her head. "The answer lies within you."


A small growl passed through his lips. "She will not speak with me. She refuses to leave the confines of her own room! Why does she hide herself so?"


"Losing one's heart is the greatest fear of all, my Sesshoumaru."


He stood in a furious movement. "I want answers! She has been in that room for two days! Why does she refuse me if she feels differently?"


Bishou smiled weakly at the fish in the pond. Images had been appearing in her Mind's Eye like a treacherous storm since Kagome had bound herself in her suite. Figures danced in a pool of color - some holding steady while others flashed for a moment's time before draining into the swirl of chaos. The unstable viewings were causing her inner power to steadily diminish, and she was almost at the end of her rope. "I am sorry, Sesshoumaru." Her words came out in a low rush as she attempted to control her breathing. "You must hold strong to the Red String of Fate that binds us all to this world. Please, have patience, my Son."


Sesshoumaru sighed and placed an arm around his mother's shoulders. "You know that I am my Father's son." He squeezed her gently and softly kissed her cheek.


"More and more so everyday." She gave a low, rumbling laugh. "And as such, you do not hold a single strand of patience within your body when it comes to matters of much importance."


Nodding slowly, Sesshoumaru nuzzled into her shoulder. "Your pain is great. Why do you hide it so?"


"There are more important matters to be seen to at this moment, my Dearest." She replied, stroking a hand through his hair.


"Let me take away some of this pain, Mother." He whispered.


She shook her head. "No, Sesshoumaru, I cannot place this burden upon you."


"Please, Mother, let me help you. Your pain is my pain. I can feel the power that it holds over you. This strength is unbearable. Do not cause yourself such injury." He softly pleaded. "Let me help you now that I am able."


"Oh, Sesshoumaru," she smiled and embraced him. "I know that you are able. I would never deny your abilities."


"Then why do you refuse me?" He knew what her answer would be. She had been responding in kind ever since he first offered to take away some of the pain she felt nearly five days ago.


Lady Bishou paused. "Do you believe that I can see your future, Sesshoumaru?"


"Of course." He responded. "That is the gift of Sight."


"Ah, but you also possess this gift."


Sesshoumaru frowned. Surely, she was testing him. "Yes, but, while I do hold Sight, my Gift only manifests through the possession of emotions. And, you know that I cannot, yet, clearly separate those emotions into individual forces to find where they lead."


"That is your key, Sesshoumaru. You cannot control what your Sight gives you. You have not yet mastered that skill. This is why I am unable to lay my burden upon you - for surely it would crush your soul."


Sesshoumaru remained silent.


“Do not fear, my Son. These visions are weakening. Kagome will return to you soon.”


- - - - - - - - - -


“Come on, Kagome. You can do this. ” The young miko stood with one hand placed against the shoji screen trying to force her body outside. “This is stupid. There’s no way that Sesshoumaru understands how he is in the future, and I’m not going to tell him!”


She pulled her hand away and turned her back to the door. “But he’ll ask. He’ll want to know.” ‘What can I do? He’s so...different. What made him so cold?’ “He deserves to know about Inuyasha.” Her eyes widened at her own train of thought. “What am I thinking? There’s nothing to tell. Why would Inuyasha and I be any of Sesshoumaru’s business. It’s not like...I...It’s not that...we...I can’t...He doesn’t...” ‘Oh, Mama, I wish you were here. You always know what to do with this kind of stuff.’


Her eyes began to fill with water as she slouched back onto the bed roll. “Inuyasha...Sesshoumaru...” A wry smile twisted on her face. “Now they’re both going to have a chance to break my heart.”


She sighed. ‘Inuyasha, I think you’ve finally lost me.’


And then, all of her breath flew out of her mouth in a sudden ‘swoosh.’ “Oh my gods, I like Sesshoumaru.” Her eyes got wider by the second. “I really, really like Sesshoumaru.” An insane giggle escaped her lips as she whispered a silent tune. “It’s the end of the world as we know it...”


A sudden banging on the door signaled the arrival of a very unhappy guest. “Kagome, come out here.”


“Sesshoumaru?” She lifted an eyebrow at the anger in his voice.


Patience was definitely not his strongest virtue. “You are leaving this room now, whether you like it or not.”


Kagome slid back the screen and smiled. “Okay.”


Sesshoumaru gave her a flabbergasted look. “Surely, you jest.”


“Huh?”


“That is all that was required to obtain you?”


Kagome gave a little laugh. “Come on, Sesshoumaru. Take me for a walk and forget all this, okay?”


“But,” he objected.


She gave him a sad smile. “We’ll talk about it later, okay? Just not now.”


He smiled back. “O-kay.”


Her smile increased, and after a moment, she changed the subject. “So, where are you taking me?”


“You shall see.” He responded mischievously.


“Oh come on, tell me!” Kagome whined.


“No, now close your eyes, and give me your hands.”

Kagome sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she replied, allowing him to take her arms and closing her eyes. In the next second, she felt the ground being replaced by a silken fur. “Eep. Sesshoumaru, what are you doing?”


A slight yip was her only response.


The landscape sped by beneath them. She felt the wind rushing through her hair as her hands dug deeper into his fur. With her eyes closed, she could almost smell the shifting of the area. The heavy musks of the forest began to die away, and salt tingled under her nose. Sesshoumaru’s thick locks of hair tickled against her bare thighs underneath her kimono.


And she laughed. This was the feeling of perfection. This was the feeling of leaving your worries behind. It was a feeling of...of... ‘I’m not alone anymore.’


The body beneath her began to shrink and change, and in the next instance, she was wrapped in his arms. She felt the way his arms surged with strength and power, but still, he held her so gently. As if she were important. As if she was almost...treasured.


“Open your eyes, Kagome.”


And she did. And, her breath caught in her throat at the way he looked at her. No one had ever looked at her that way. It almost appeared as if the past two days had left him empty inside. As empty as she had been.


She saw his gaze trail to her slightly open mouth, and she saw his head sweeping down toward hers.


‘Is this what it feels like?’ She asked herself as the rush of butterflies erupted in her stomach. ‘I...I want this.’ Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pushed up on her toes, meeting his lips halfway.


A fire made its way down her spine as she kissed him. She could feel the world stop and revolve around them for a moment’s time.


He rested his forehead against hers, and she kept her eyes closed - just enjoying the feeling of his breath fanning across her face as he held her close.


“Open your eyes, Kagome.” He told her again, pulling away a little.


Her breath caught again. They were standing on the edge of a sandy beach watching the waves crash against the rocks. She heard his low laugh rumbling behind her as she made her way to the water. “This is beautiful, Sesshoumaru.”


He nodded. “A storm is coming.”


Kagome starred out into the violent waters. She watched as the shoreline pulled back only to surge a few moments later. The sky was streaked with shades of blue and purple that signaled the coming rain. “It’s beautiful.” ‘A beautiful storm,’ she thought, turning to look at Sesshoumaru. ‘Like you. So calm from a distance, but you’re raging on the inside.’


A white blur flew passed her and dove into the water. “Sesshoumaru?” She questioned curiously, but he was no where in sight. A bobbing white head of hair appeared out in the ocean. “Sesshoumaru?” She called, her mouth hanging open in shock. “Is that you?”


He laughed louder. “Come in, Kagome.”


“Are you joking?” She stuck her tongue out at him. “I’ll drown. Do you know how much these things weigh?” She pointed down at her kimono.


“Well, remove the weight.”


“What?!” She flustered. “I’m not going in there naked!”


Her eyes nearly bugged out when Sesshoumaru began approaching her. His chest was bare. ‘Is he...’ His hakama were pulled low on his hips because of the extra water weight. ‘Oh my...what a nice view. Breathe, Kagome. Breathe.’


In the next instant, she was drenched. “Agh! Sesshoumaru!” She fumed, attempting to return to the shore.


“Now, you have no choice.” He told her.


She frowned at the slight upward twitch to his lips. “You are not nice.”


“Ah, but I am.” He responded, swooping down and giving her a quick kiss.


She sighed. There was no fighting it. No one else was around, and its not as if she would be really naked. Peeling off the damp layers, she placed them on rocks in hopes that they would at least be somewhat dry by the time they left. ‘If it doesn’t start raining first...’


Now was definitely the time to be thankful that Ikris had been teaching her how to sew again. It would have been very hard to swim in a sort of medieval underwear. Clad in only her bra from the future and a pair of shorts-style underwear that one of the local seamstresses had helped her make, she jumped into the water in pursuit of her attacker.


Sesshoumaru decided the moment she began to take off her clothing that swimming had definitely been a very, very good idea. He didn’t know what she was wearing, but he liked it very, very much.


She ran at him laughing and launched herself into his arms. “Caught you.” She smiled.


“It would seem so.” His arms wrapped around her, and he pulled them both beneath the water as a wave rushed over their bodies.


Kagome came up sputtering. “Meanie.”


He chuckled. “I know not of what you spea-.”


Kagome giggled insanely as she forced his head under the water. “Ha!” He grabbed a hold of her foot and began to pull. Her eyes widened. “Oh no! No, no, no, no! Ahhh-!”


He gave a quick jerk that submerged her completely.


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Lady Bishou sighed deeply as she rested against her mate.


“Have they stopped, Bishou?” Lord Konton ran his hands through her hair in a soothing gesture.


“Yes,” she gave him a tired smile. “Her heart is beginning to settle. She was much stronger than I anticipated.”


He frowned. “What do you mean?”


“She has such a big heart. Even though her heart lost once, she is still able to pick up the pieces and begin again. Not many are able to do such a thing.”


He nodded. “How does she feel for him?”


“You shall see.” Bishou smiled again. “You shall see.”


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Kagome sighed deeply as she rested against Sesshoumaru’s warm body enjoying the feeling of his clawed hands running through her hair in a soothing gesture. “Thank you for a wonderful day, Sesshoumaru.”

He smiled down at her. “Think nothing of it.”


“The rain will be here soon.” She commented, finally getting to her feet. “We should go.”


He nodded. “Yes. We should.”


“Can we,” she blushed. “Can we stay just a little longer?”


“As you wish,” he took her hand and watched the sun as it slipped completely beneath the water.


“I wish this day could last forever.” She mumbled.


Her hand squeezed his. “As do I,” he replied. “But, there will be many other days such as this.”


“Really?” Her voice was no more than a whisper now.


“Yes.” He turned to face her. “If you will allow it to be so.”


She smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I don’t think I could stop it even if I wanted to.”


He leaned down and kissed her slowly. She felt her body melt against his and closed her eyes.


Not even the rain could get her heart back now.


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A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for the long wait.