InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ If only in my Dreams ❯ To Live In The Moment ( Chapter 23 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. Thanks to my editor and friend Azaleea for her wonderful skills, and I want to thank all for reviewing as I have had little time to thank each of you properly.I promise that I read each review and appreciate the effort each of you put forth in reviewing, and I feel guilty that I have not been able to thank each of you properly as I usually do. But please know...there are really good reasons behind this, though I prefer not to go into them, just know that I thank you all...and as soon as I feel better I promise to get back to addressing each of your reviews directly as I used to...
chapter 23
Kagome woke to Sesshomaru's voice, surprised by his presence, and even more surprised to hear of the new development in Inuyasha's human status. Vaguely, she pieced together the bits of the conversation.
She didn't like what she heard, and if she were a gambling woman she could make a small fortune on a bet that Sesshomaru was even less thrilled than she was.
She flinched as Inuyasha stormed off into the forest leaving her alone with Sesshomaru and instantly her barrier shot up to crackle defiantly against his aura.
“I will not harm you miko, you have no need of your defences” he stated regarding her casually.
“That's not how I recall our last meeting.” she replied gruffly, reaching to touch her neck softly; her eyes widened fractionally when she realised the wounds were no longer there.
“Kikyo...?” she whispered, her eyes meeting his in question. Pain ripped through her shoulder and she gasped..
“Dead” Sesshomaru answered .
Her eyes caught his.
“ I remember” she whispered. “How...?” she nodded indicating his new arm.
“ I do not know” he replied.
She struggled to get up, her pain escalating.
“If you continue to struggle, you will put undue stress upon the pup.” he continued.
“Drop your barrier miko, and allow me to assist you. I have already offered my protection to you and the pup until Inuyasha's demon blood returns.”
“ And how exactly do you feel about this?” she murmured. ? As I recall, you and I didn't exactly part on the best of terms."
He answered her question with one of his own.
“ Why did you put yourself in harms way to help Rin?”
“ She needed help. I couldn't stand by and let Naraku kill her. Your turn.” she muttered as she watched him, half expecting him to introduce her to another tree.
“It is a matter of honor.” he answered. “Now, will you accept my offer of help, or shall I leave?”
“Alright.” Closing her eyes she allowed her energy to recede. “What now?”she grumbled.
“We need to close the wound to your shoulder, then channel to the pup.”
“Channel to the pup...you're kidding right...shouldn't Inuyasha be doing that?” she questioned, her hand coming to rest protectively upon her stomach.
With a deep breath Sesshomaru resisted the urge to reach out and strangle the girl. His patience had been severely tested today, and after his brother returned he'd be taking a nice long walk to be clearing his head...and his sanity.
“Normally, yes. But until he is returned to his half demon status, I will be channeling for him. Now, let us begin. First, your shoulder.”
“Close your eyes” he ordered.
“Excuse me” she screached.
“It's best to get this over with while Inuyasha is not present. I had hoped to do this while you were sleeping as to avoid any discomfort, but it appears that cannot be avoided. Inu Demons are extremely territorial, regardless of pack mates, though it is semi acceptable in the case of siblings. My relationship with Inuyasha is hardly classified as anything other than hostile...It would be logical to have this process taken care of while he is hunting.”
“Explain.”
“My saliva has healing properties. But for it to work it must be applied directly.”he answered.
“Oh... I'll be closing my eyes then.” she muttered. “Inuyasha knows of this then, right?”?
“Indeed.”
With a claw he removed the shoulder portion of her strange clothing. Her shoulder remained blackened, its coloration sickening to look upon. He was impressed with her witholding of the pain. Sitting behind her, he noted her rigid posture; her skin had been torn through, its edges ripped and torn. Despite all that Kikyo had done the damage was profound; he wasn't even sure if he could repair it.
“Ready?” he questioned.
“As ever.” she answered
He leaned forward then, his tongue coating the roughened edges. He took in her hiss of pain, his hand raising to hold her from pulling away from him. He lapped at the the surrounding tissue until it began to turn a healthy pink, nudging it together until it merged into the whole piece it had once been. His nose twitched as the salt from her tearsassaulted his senses and yet he heard no sound from her. He knew that this process would be extremely painful for a demon, let alone a mere human wench. Her determination to control her pain brought about a newfound respect.
He stopped and moved to the front,waiting patiently as she rested.
Her head was tipped forward; for a moment he doubted she would be able to handle another round. He heard her take a deep breath before her head raised, looking him in the eye. He could see the tears she tried so valiantly to hide glisten softly.
Her body shook with pain, and yet her shoulders remained set with fiery determination. He could sense the stress the pup was under, but this had to be finished.
Inuyasha had done a fine job with keeping her wound clean, but given enough time it would become infected if it wasn't closed properly. The pup's health, and that of the miko's couldn't sustain another hit so soon after such an attack.
“Ready?” she asked shakily.
“ As ever.” he replied noting the small smile she gave in return. It was so unlike him to mimic anyone, and yet he had just done so. And in an effort to ease her tension. Why?
He steadied her as he leaned forward to begin healing the wound at the front of her shoulder. The pieces of her flesh had been pushed to far in on this side and he had to make more of an effort to pull them together. Her head fell forward to rest against his shoulder though he made no effort to push her away. She still did not cry out, but he could feel her small fists tightening around the cloth of his kimono; his shoulderwas becoming damp from her tears.
Once finished he allowed her a few moments to collect herself before moving away.
Her soft voice caught his attention as he shifted.
“Thank you, Sesshomaru. Thank You for helping me, for saving my pup.”
“We must channel. You can sleep now miko, Inuyasha is returning.”he replied. No one was around to witness his gentleness, and he doubted she'd remember much, much less say anything if she did. Her body fell limp against his, finally losing its battle with fatigue and she fell unconscious.
She was a proud woman, and an honorable one at that. Inuyasha had chosen a suitable mate, even though she was human. He held a lot of respect for this ningen.
He laid her back gently, his hand cushioning her head before moving to rest upon her stomach. He channeled some energy to the pup, his hand remaining still until its heart beat steadied to a more normal rhythm. Standing up, he moved a small distance away and watched as Inuyasha made his way into the clearing carrying a few rabbits with him.
Dropping them not far from Kagome he knelt at her side before nuzzling her mate mark tenderly, before taking note of her shoulder. In his human form he was less concerned with his show of affection. He could care less what his brother thought.
Standing he made his way to stand before Sesshomaru.
“You fixed her shoulder?”he asked gruffly.
“Indeed.”Sesshomaru replied never taking his eyes off the skyline.
“Did she wake?”
“She did.”
“I didn't thank you properly for helping with the pup...and with Kagome. So thanks.” Inuyasha replied before turning and making his way back to his mate.
“There is a spring just to the North of here. We'll take her there when she wakes.” Sesshomaru stated as he made his way through the tree line.
“Where you goin?” Inuyasha asked.
“This Sesshomaru does not need to advise you of his whereabouts.” And with that he disappeared leaving Inuyasha grumbling to himself as he prepared his mate her breakfast.
X“Inuyasha.”she murmured.
He was at her side in an instant. “I'm here, how do you feel?”
“M...hungry, I think your pup is gonna have an apetite.” she grinned. She reached to place her hand to his cheek. His deep browneyes gazing lovingly into her own.
“I'm so sorry...” she whispered. “I shouldn't have sa..um...you know...I shouldn't have left...and I'm so sorry about Kikyo...I'm so, so sorry.” She lowered her gaze, tears gathering to fall softly into her lap.
“Look at me Kagome.” He took her chin between his fingers bringing her tearful gaze to meet his own. “It wasn't your fault. Things happen for a reason, and I'm just thankful I still have you and our pup...I don't know what I would have done if I would have lost you. I was so scared... I thought I had...lost you .” He reached for her then, careful of her shoulder as he wrapped her in a gentle embrace.
“I love you so much Inuyasha, so very much.”she cried. She kissed his neck, his jaw line before making her way to his mouth taking his lips in a gentle kiss.
“I was so afraid I'd never see you again.”he murmured between kisses, scattering them gently upon the skin of her cheek, the bridge of her nose, each closed eye lid. His hands raised to caress her face lovingly.
Her eyes opened, her gaze taking in the raven length of his hair. Midnight tresses draped his shoulders beneath the light of the early afternoon sun. All thought fled, nothing mattered but the need to remember the love that existed between them. Inuyasha bent to lift her gently before turning to carry her into the seclusion of the forest. Standing her before him, he kissed her gently before he moved to turn away. But she stopped him.
“Stay.”she whispered. “ I need you.”
“You're hurt Kagome, we shouldn't.” he whispered. Kami, she was killinghim with the longing in her eyes.
Standing on her toes she caught his lips in another tender kiss.
“ Remind me that we' re alive Inuyasha, I need to know that...”
Unable to deny her he reached to gently remove her shirt, its buttons falling victim to his impatient hands. He, too, needed to remember her tender flesh. He needed to feel her alive and warm beneath him. He needed to convince himself that she was still here to share his life with him.
Carefully he touched her shoulder, its bruises still dark upon her skin. His finger tips traced light patterns upon her arms, her breasts. He eased her skirt from her hips, his mouth and tongue following the path his fingertips had created. Butterfly kisses passed over her flesh and for moment in time she thought for sure she had indeed crossed thethreshold into heaven.
He eased her down until they were kneeling before each other and helped her remove his clothes when she grumbled her irritation at being unable to use both her arms. Lying the material on the forest floor he was surprised to find himself lying flat on his back upon them, his mate straddling his waist.
She gazed upon him. Sunlight streamed through the trees to fall in broken beams across his bare skin. His raven hair was splayed beneath him. His deep, loving eyes stared lovingly up at her as she bent to take his mouth in a kiss that demanded his soul- he gave it...more. His hands caressed, and each reacquainted themselves with each other. He raised himself until he sat before her, his chest brushing against hers intimately.
Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist as their bodies joined, her head falling back as a soft gasp of pleasure passed her lips. Hot, open mouthed kisses made their way along the front of her throat until she brought her head back up, her eyes open to gaze lovingly into his own as their bodies continued to dance intimately. She kissed him urgently, their passion increasing until they could swear they were among the stars that graced the heavens.
This was what it was like to live in the moment...to live solely for the love of another.
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I hope you all liked this. I thought it might be time for a lemon, though it wasn't real graphic...I like to leave some things to the imagnation though a few of my lemons have been a bit more...shall we say...spicy...I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, but please feel free to click on that little button on the bottom left and let me know what you thought...I am more than proud of the success this story has had and the response you all have given me, I am however worried that if I continue it too much further it might lose what has made it what it is so far... though don't let this panic you...there are still chapters coming for this story...I am just currently debating what I wish to do with the story line, whether I want to add another twist to the plot, or not...and as soon as I've made up my mind, you all will be the very first to know. I apologise if the story seems to be trudging along, but I want to take my time with the decisions I am making ..Thank you all again...Neisha