InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ It is you I have loved ❯ A Late Night Bath ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3

...'No!' A voice cried out from the dark forest. She was running. Running fast into the depths of the forest. She saw lightening flash…heard thunder rolling. Where was she going? `Please! Don't!' Heat, she felt her prickling at her skin.

 

 

Kagome eyes shot open. She sucked in a breath of the cool night air that tingled against her sweat-drenched skin. She sighed; it had only been a dream. Her heart was beating fast, which hurt her injured foot with each throb. Reaching up to wipe her hair out of her eyes, she felt just how covered she was in sweat. `Great' she thought. Kagome knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep feeling so sticky, so she decided she'd have to waste valuable rest to go clean up.

 

 

Not wanting to waste too much time, Kagome figured she'd just wash her body. So, she'd tied her hair up and grabbed some clean clothes and a towel. When the group had finally found camp that night, they'd at least been lucky enough to find one with a small pond near it. It wasn't as welcoming as a hot spring but it was still water. Kagome really hadn't been paying much attention to her surroundings. She'd walked sleepily to the pond and was about to undress before she even noticed that it was occupied.

 

 

“Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean-” Kagome had unwittingly walked in on the western lord himself bathing. She blushed from head to toe as she gathered her things. She'd dropped them all upon the shock of seeing a naked Sesshomaru. He was waist deep-thankfully-in the shallow pond and was staring straight at her when she'd finally noticed him. His chest was exposed to her and the beauty of it nearly stunned her. Each muscle that cut a line in his torso was perfectly toned. His shoulders were broad and his pecs were flawless “I'll-I'll just be going now” As she bowed and turned away, a voice called out to her.

 

 

“You need not leave. I am almost done.” Kagome shifted her weight on her feet, trying to decide what to do. She figured it best to listen to the menacing western lord and stay near the pond. She found a rock a few feet away and she sat on it, facing away from Sesshomaru. After a moment of silence, Kagome heard the distinct sound of bathing. She heard the water splashing and being pulled up only to trickle back down. In the relative silence, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about what she'd just seen. She'd never really thought about Sesshomaru as being in any other attire then his usual. And she had certainly never thought about Sesshomaru being naked. She must have just figured somewhere in the back of her mind that Sesshomaru never changed and never bathed. She knew that reasoning was absurd but then again, she's never seen him leave to go bathe. Always wanting to appear masculine, Sesshomaru must wait until everyone is asleep before going off to bathe. The thought of Sesshomaru bathing brought another rush of unwanted images to Kagome's mind. She needed to do something to keep her mind off his gorgeous body.

 

 

 

“uhm…I'm sorry, again.” Thinking talking would keep her mind from wandering into a land filled with hormones, Kagome had spoken to Sesshomaru. Though, this only served to increase her awareness that there was a naked man behind her when he spoke out.

 

 

“You are forgiven.” Another uncomfortable pause presented an opportunity for Kagome to ask a question that had been bothering and pulling at her since she saw him.

 

 

“Sorry, but why do you bathe at night? You know, when everyone's sleeping.” There was such a long pause after her question Kagome thought Sesshomaru was not going to answer her silly question. Possibly considering it offensive. But finally, he spoke.

 

 

“Simply because it is more peaceful. No one will bother me.” Kagome winced at that. She knew he had directed that last part at her. “Why, may I ask, are you out to bathe at night?” Kagome had completely forgotten about her reason for coming out here in the first place. Though she disliked lying, she didn't find telling Sesshomaru she'd had a bad dream and woke drenched in sweat a very likeable prospect. So, she settled for a half-truth.

 

 

“I couldn't sleep.” Sesshomaru did not speak again until he had finished bathing and Kagome heard the telling sounds of the Western lord leaving the pond.

 

 

“I have finished.” This was all he said before disappearing into the wilderness behind Kagome. When she thought it safe to look, Kagome turned around to face the pond and groaned inwardly at not being able to shake the image of a naked Sesshomaru in this very pond, that she was about to enter, from her head.

 

 

“Looks like another sleepless night for me…” She reflected, her now undressed form slipping easily into the chilly water.

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Sesshomaru was, to put in lightly, perplexed. He had never let anyone see him in such a vulnerable state, ever. Well, those who did, did not live to tell the tale. Why then, had he allowed that priestess, a human no less, to sit there, as he bathed? He allowed his thoughts to slip back to right before the Miko had discovered him. He had slipped away, after making sure everyone was asleep, to go bathe. Not wanting to show weakness, or let on to his brother that he would be momentarily in a vulnerable situation. When he had almost finished, he had heard her. She seemed to be mumbling to herself. He knew he could easily exit the pond and leave no trace of himself behind before she even got to the pond, she was still considerably far away from the spring and he was unnaturally fast, but he found himself rooted to the spot. When she'd finally reached the pond, she was still preoccupied. She'd even begun to look for a spot to set her stuff down when she'd finally noticed him, causing her belongings to be strewn about the mucky shore. In the blink of an eye, he'd taken it all in. The way she looked at him, stunned at seeing him naked and at how she liked seeing him that way. He'd seen the tiny beads of sweat that stuck her hair to her face in a most mesmerizing fashion. He noticed how the moon glinted in her large, perfect eyes and made her complexion seem, in a strange way, ethereal. Then a final wave of realization hit him with a considerably stronger force than anything else. She smelled different. She smelled so…so ripe. And then he knew, she was in heat. He'd never understood that much about human females. Heat happened once a year for all other females, animal and demon alike, but human females were different. They went into heat about twelve times a year. Once a month, like clockwork, from what he gathered. Human females were also different in another respect. Female animals going into heat signified that they were ready to be mated and pupped, or rather, this was their most fertile time. When human females went into heat though, it, from what information he'd gather, meant that they were the least likely to conceive then. This only served to interest him more as a completely warped and unbidden thought entered his mind. Less chance of anyone finding out or dealing with the consequences. Where had that come from? His mind jumped back to Kagome, as she was still staring at him. She finally looked away and began gathering her things. When she'd announced that she would be leaving his mouth spoke words that his mind had had not given it permission to.

 

 

“You need not leave. I am almost done.” Visibly shocked by the words, Kagome just gaped, shifting her weight, most likely trying to decide whether she should listen to the western lord. Giving in, she found a rock and sat down, facing away from Sesshomaru, for which he had been extremely grateful. Seeing her hair so disheveled, her skin glistening from a thin coating a sweat, adding to the fact that she was in heat, had done something to him. Physically, his body had showed just how he felt about the situation. The fact that he could feel a trace of arousal floating from her, not being able to keep her mind off the naked Sesshomaru, fluffed his male ego, but didn't help his body in not showing its reaction.

 

 

“Uhm…I'm sorry, again.” He said the first thing that came to his mind after Kagome's apology.

 

 

“You are forgiven.” This was all too much. Why was he reacting this way? He'd been around her when she'd been in heat before and it hadn't even fazed him. Though he had to admit, with each time Kagome was in heat, something deep inside him had stirred a little more than the previous time. He was completely unlike himself, he hated himself right now. How was he letting this human get to him? When, exactly, had he let his guard down so much? Why could he barely form coherent thoughts? Wait, she'd spoken, she'd said something. He thought hard, what had she said? He answered what he hoped had been her question.

 

 

“Simply because it is more peaceful. No one will bother me.” Sesshomaru had felt Kagome tense at his words. He hadn't meant them to be pointed at her but, though as his coherent mind struggled to regain control, he thought, she should feel bad. How dare she interrupt me! His mouth again spoke without his permission, asking her the same question. When she'd answered he thought back to when he'd left the camp. She'd been tossing in her sleep and had smelled anxious. Was this why she was covered in sweat? She'd had a nightmare? How childish. He mused. Finally, realizing he needed to leave while he was still in semi-control of his actions, he announced he was done and had walked away from the girl, slipping into the forest so she could not accidentally gaze upon him again and further torture him with her reaction. He'd not strayed too far from the spring, in fact, unwittingly, he was still within his range of sight to see the pond. Her human eyes would not be able to see him so far away, in the dark, but he could still see her. He watched helplessly and she pulled off her clothes and slid into the water shivering slightly. He noticed to his annoyance, or pleasure, though which one he couldn't decide, that her human body reacted in such an interesting way to the cold. Her perfect pink nipples were hard against the cold night air and tiny goosebumps erupted across her stomach and arms as she let out a quick gasp. He then noticed that his hand settled on his hakama, perfectly placed above the ever-tightening evidence that his body wanted her. He huffed at his weak, human-like reaction and walked deeper into the forest, possibly to guiltily relieve the ache that was beginning to burn in him. His thoughts did not venture again to any words he'd spoken that night, thinking them unimportant as he settled his night to a close. Though he had not know it at the time, and would not know it for a while, by speaking those few innocent words that allowed Kagome to stay while he bathed, he had sealed his fate.

 

A/n: The majority of this was written really late at night (or rather, I could say, early in the morning-about 2:00) and with my neck hurting from trying to hold my head up so it didn't fall forward onto the keyboard. So, sorry if some of it doesn't quite mesh. Also, because of the late-night writing, this poor story doesn't really get much more of a once-over skim as a “proofread” if you could even call it that. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up. I'm getting ready to go to college in a month, going to work, and trying to work on my book; so unfortunately, this story is a little lower on my priority list than those things. If I still have writers block for my book and I feel like writing, the next chapter could be up tomorrow, if I get caught up, like usual, in the real world (not the show, my own life) then it could be a little longer than that. Comments are always appreciated They might even get chapters up faster :p (tehe, I'm such a brat) oh btw this chapter would have been up a lot later if not for the person that subs “Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro”. I know that sounds weird but here's the story: Since MTNN is a fairly new series I have to wait a week or so in between watching the episodes because they have to be subbed (I only understand a few Japanese phrases X3 so I need the subs ) anyway, the subbing was up to episode 17 and the thought of the show popped into my head as I was writing this. So, I thought, if episode 18 is subbed, I'm gonna force myself to finish this chapter before I can watch the episode, and sure enough it had been subbed. So here I am all excited then I realize I made a promise with myself. Cursing my hatred of promise breakers and myself for making a promise, I wrote the rest of this chapter. So enjoy and know that this time, Nougami Neuro, Demon detective, had a hand in this chapter :p wow….I'm kind of a loser aren't I…oh well.