InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Facets of the Living Jewel ❯ Amor est vitae essentia ( Chapter 15 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the other characters. Ms. Takahashi does.

 

Fonts for thoughts:

[Inuyoukai]

(Inuhuman)

`Inuyasha'

 

 

Amor est vitae essentia

By Licentia poetica

 

In the relative quiet of the city just before dawn Inuyasha held Kagome close as she slept, gazing into her serene face.

 

`It's become a habit; watching her.'

 

(Yeah, but we've never been able to be this close to her before.)

 

Her face had been peaceful most of the night, though sometimes he could tell that she was dreaming. A few of the dreams were obviously frightening and he had thrummed his Pack Call to her. It had never failed to calm her, and as she stirred once more in the wan light he rumbled the Call quietly in response. She gave a sigh a settled back into his arms, bringing a cocky smile of satisfaction to his face.

 

`The Pack Call, huh?'

 

[That is the name for those sounds.]

 

He frowned slightly and glanced up at the house before returning his gaze to the slumbering woman. `Sango and Miroku seemed to respond, too. They wanted to sit near me.'

 

(I don't understand why it worked on them, too.)

 

[They are our Pack.We are alpha and have the power to Call them.]

 

`So that Yourei Taisei bastard might have had some good ideas.'

 

(We can already feel the difference in the Tessaiga.)

 

[Not to mention that acting like a true alpha male is having other benefits.]

 

He stared down at the beautiful, sleeping woman lying so trustingly in his arms. She gave a quiet sigh and pouted softly, drawing his gaze to her full lips.

 

[Taste her.]

 

(Oh, hell no!)

 

`Keh!' He shifted uncomfortably as his body responded to her warm scent and averted his gaze. `Think about something else!'

 

The Tessaiga's saya made a rasping sound as he leaned backwards, away from the temptation of her relaxed, pouting lips.

 

`The Tessaiga.'

 

[We must master ourselves to master it. Taking our rightful place as the male alpha of our Pack is part of what is required.]

 

(Yeah, well we'd just piss her off!)

 

She nuzzled against his chest and gave a deep, contented sigh. His body responded and he desperately sought another train of thought.

 

`Shit, think about the Tessaiga and the exercises!'

 

(We pissed off Yourei Taisei, too. So much for mastering the Tessaiga.)

 

`Keh. So the old man knows how to handle a sword! That still don't make him my Sensei.'

 

He frowned and, careful to not disturb the woman in his arms, took a deep breath to inhale her comforting fragrance while concentrating on the sights and sounds of the surrounding city.

 

`He had some good ideas, but I'll be damned first before I go ask him for help. He didn't tell me shit about Pack Law.'

 

[We must remember Pack Law.]

 

(He thought we would know it.)

 

`My mother taught me, but only the human knowledge. I had to find my own way.'

 

[Myblood was held in check. Why?We have met other hanyou on our travels, young ones who live without a barrier to their youkai blood.]

 

(Did father think I was so weak?)

 

`Bastard. Too bad he wasn't around to see me beat the shit out of Ryuukossei.'

 

He ran his tongue over the tip of a fang as the fight with the youkai who had mortally injured his father flashed through his memory. The weight of the Tessaiga had made it nearly impossible to use and, when Ryuukossei had ripped it out of his hand while smashing him through a mountainside, he had begun to lose awareness of the world around him.

 

`When I came back into consciousness, the Tessaiga responded to my slightest finger twitch.'

 

[Iknew we needed the katana. The fact that we were in agreement is what helped ease the burden of our father's fang; when we act together as one,the youki in our fang bonds the youki of the Tessaiga. When we act as one,we are more powerful.]

 

(So why the hell was the youkai sealed?)

 

`Ah, fuck it. I'll never figure my old man out.'

 

He breathed in the dawn air, savoring Kagome's sleeping fragrance.

 

Both voices spoke in his head simultaneously. [(We must tell her how we feel. She is human, and won't understand.)]

 

Inuyasha blinked. `You're both in agreement? About Kagome?'

 

(Kagome was in such pain yesterday…we can't do that to her.)

 

[We made the decision to ask her to be our mate yesterday. She will not understand.]

 

`I made the decision to ask her to be my mate, but I gave my word to be there for Kikyou, to protect her against Naraku.'

 

(We can protect Kikyou. Haven't we learned that we love Kagome?)

 

`There it is. That fucking word.'

 

[We showed her how we feel.]

 

(Doesn't matter. Humans need words.)

 

She stirred again in his arms, restless in the increasing light and swelling city noises of the early morning. He gazed into her sleeping face. `My beautiful Kagome.'

 

[Our mate.]

 

He sighed and amended, `My mate, if she'll have me.' He closed his eyes and shook his head, at a loss. `Shit! How can I explain how I feel? I still have to keep my word to Kikyou. Hell, I don't even know how I'll fucking react to Kikyou the next time I see her!'

 

Miroku's words repeated themselves in his head. “Kikyou sealed you to this tree. She didn't follow you to hell; she kept you from ever moving on and left. No hell, no nirvana, just an endless, timeless nothing. It was a vicious act, and if it weren't for Kagome your soul would be frozen still.”

 

(Miroku's usually not that blunt, but he was right.)

 

`What did I do that made Kikyou hate me so much? I don't think I'll ever understand.'

 

Kagome stirred and her scent began to change, indicating that she would wake up soon. He began to feel a bit nervous, but as he looked down into her face he calmed almost instantly. `Her beautiful face…her beautiful scent.'

 

[She cares for us. She stays by our side and supports us, but an alpha female needs an alpha male.]

 

(She needed us last night when she came to us in the dark.)

 

`I'm a hanyou! What if she doesn't…ah shit! Somehow I'll find the courage to tell her.' He gave a soft growl of frustration. `All I can do is hope.'

 

He placed a feather-light kiss on her forehead and watched the changes in her face as she began to wake up.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kagome was in a blissful dream.

 

Inuyasha was holding her on his back and they were racing through the tops of the trees, nearly flying. It was her secret that this way of traveling was her favorite; the bike was a poor substitute.

 

Then with the strange abruptness of dreams she was in front of Inuyasha, staring up into the elongated fangs and slanted markings of his full youkai form. She stiffened in his arms but he glanced down at her, smirking, and she gaped at him. His eyes were golden!

 

“Oi, Kagome,” he said, and cocked an eyebrow at her. His arms surrounded her and she could feel the heat of his body on her breasts, stomach, and the front of her thighs. Her breath caught in her throat.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Inuyasha was captivated by the expressions flitting across Kagome's dreaming face. She wasn't having a bad dream; actually it seemed to be quite the opposite, but he began to thrum the Pack Call anyway.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kagome heard the thrum in her dreams. In another abrupt change, she found herself in the tree, sitting back against Inuyasha's strong chest as his fangs caressed her neck and he made the deep rumbling sound that curled her toes with arousal. She wanted to kiss him and turned around, only to find that he was still in his youkai form. As she brought her lips close to his, she realized that she wasn't afraid at all—that she wanted the youkai's kiss. She pressed her body against his, craving his touch.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Inuyasha swallowed hard as Kagome's body moved sinuously in his arms.

 

[Her scent…she is aroused.]

 

`What is she dreaming about?'

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kagome's dream self reached up to kiss Inuyasha, but as their lips touched a childish voice screamed her name.

 

“Mama!”

 

She woke, stared straight into the eyes of the real Inuyasha, and blurted out, “Shippo!”

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: In Inuyasha volume #190 the youkai form of Inuyasha walks to the Tessaiga and places his hand on the tsuka. Yes, I know, most readers interpret this as the hanyou form taking control over the youkai blood; however, I choose to take poetic license and allow the youkai form some sense and intelligence.

 

Translation:

Amor est vitae essentia: Latin; love is the essence of life (Mackay)

 

Thank you RPW The Hun for editing…commas!