InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Malice ❯ Interlude, Part One ( Chapter 28 )

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

Chapter 28: Interlude, Part One

It had taken most of a week to set the village to rights again, and surprisingly, even though Sesshoumaru had returned by the second day after the storm, he had not complained about the delay, saying only that he was content to wait.

Kagome privately thought that it had more to do with him gaining as much information from his spies as possible before they had to make a decision on where they went next, than that he was worried about the village, and when she mentioned that to the others, they all agreed with her.

Whatever the reasons, however, no one wanted to argue it, and so, the week went by smoothly, albeit busily, and by the time the work was mostly completed, they were all willing to take a day to rest and have a council of war, so to speak.

Sesshoumaru was very quick to bring up the information his people had gathered, and Inuyasha was wickedly satisfied when he heard what was said.

Apparently, his attack had left the spider far more broken than even he'd hoped; of course, no one else understood why the dark hanyou appeared to have gone insane, and it was left to him to enlighten everyone.

Kagome seemed to be a bit suspicious of him, as the story unfolded, she'd taken to looking at him, watching his reactions, and once Sesshoumaru finished speaking, he smirked, hatred rimming his expression as he looked back at what he'd done to the bastard.

"You're right, Kagome, I can see you thinking it. Naraku's been attacked, and I did it. And fuck yeah, I'm proud of it, too."

The group fell silent as Sesshoumaru barked out, "What did you do to the hanyou?"

"You remember what he tried to do to Kagome that night in her sleep - how he attacked her in her dreams? I did the same to him - and even though what I caused to happen to him was only a dream, for him, it may as well have been real - because that's how his mind sees it. It was real, and the damage done to that bastard was just as real. And I ain't sorry I did it, either."

Everyone was silent as they took that in, and then Kikyou looked over at him, a curious expression on her face.

"When did you do it, and why won't you say what you did?"

Inuyasha cast a quick glance in Kagome's direction, and then shook his head. "I have my reasons. Just know that it was horrible - the bastard is suffering. As for when I did it... well," here, he looked a bit guilty, "that's why I felt so bad when I saw the storm damage - you were right about it being Naraku's doing - it was that night." He shrugged. "My guess is that it was his youki's reaction to what was happening in his mind."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes thoughtfully on his brother, then flicked a quick glance at the miko. He was positive it was her he didn't want finding out about what he'd done to Naraku.

Whatever it was, from the power and rage of the storm, it had to have been horrifying, and could lead to either more problems for them down the road, or, on the flip-side, make their job easier by affecting the spider's state of mind beyond his ability to function.

He glanced again at the miko, and noted that she appeared to be lost in rather unpleasant thoughts. It seemed that she was more perceptive than Inuyasha realized; she might not know for sure exactly what he'd done, but she knew enough... and it was bringing back bad memories for her.

Nothing further needed to be said on that matter.

"I think that it does not matter exactly what was done - simply that there is now a weakness in the spider that we may be able to exploit. We should prepare to leave on the morrow - it is time to renew the hunt," Sesshoumaru said, knowing it best to draw attention away from the previous subject.

Inuyasha shot him a grateful glance, and scooted closer to Kagome, putting an arm around her protectively. "Fine by me - I still want to see that bastard suffer some more." He looked down at the raven head that lay against his shoulder. "Kagome?" he questioned, and she looked up, knowing what he was asking.

"Hai. I'm ready... it's time to get him." She looked around at the circle of faces and nodded, a determined expression settling on her features. "For all of us - he
still has a huge debt to pay."

"The rest nodded, agreeing, and Inuyasha said, "That's it, then. We leave at dawn. Until then, don't bother us, Kagome and I will find you all in the morning."

With that, he stood, pulling Kagome up after him, then picked her up, leaping off towards the village and leaving several bemused people behind him.

"Inu... where are we going?" Kagome asked, a confused furrow developing between her brows.

He glanced down at her, then looked back up. "We're gonna grab our stuff, then go off to be alone for the night. We won't have much of a chance for a long time after tonight to just spend some quiet time alone, ya know." He flushed slightly. "Or would you rather stay with the group?"

"She leaned her head back against his shoulder, snuggling into him. "Nope. Perfectly happy to be alone with you tonight - be even happier when we can spend all our nights alone together," she said, flushing slightly as he almost stumbled.

Inuyasha couldn't believe what she'd just said - and the images that came with her words had him stumbling - and swallowing hard. Gods... I can't wait 'til she's ready - I've wanted her for so long, and now, because of all this, and my own stupidity, she's been hurt. No... I can wait - it sucks, but I will wait, forever if necessary. Anything so that she never gets hurt again.

Voice husky with the want brought about by her words and his imagination, he said, "Me either, K'gome... me either."

He set her down immediately on reaching Kaede's so she could reach in and grab her bag, then frowned thoughtfully. Eyeing the westering sun, he considered for a moment.

"Oi, Kagome?" He waited 'til she turned, then said, "Do you think we should go back to your time and grab some extra supplies? Ain't no tellin' how long we'll be away..." he trailed off, letting her think about it.

"You know, we probably should, come to think of it. Good idea, Inuyasha. Let's go now... it shouldn't take long, since mom just went shopping a week ago - all those supplies should still be there." She grabbed his hand and led him towards the well, going through a mental checklist of what they'd need.

Inuyasha just shook his head and let her lead him, amused. "Keh. Making lists in your head again, wench, huh?"

She shot him a laughing look. "Someone's got to, baka, if it were up to you, we'd just grab lots of ramen and you'd call it good - but we do need other things besides the noodles, ya know."

He mock glared at her as they reached the well. "But ramen's the most important thing, woman, and don't forget it."

Kagome grinned at him as he grabbed her waist and pulled her into his chest, then hopped into the well. As they entered the time slip, she snuggled closer. Some things never change, I guess, and his love of ramen is one of those things.

"Oh, now I know why you say you love me, Inu... it's because I'm the only one that can provide you with ramen." She let out a chuckle as they landed on her side, then gasped as Inuyasha leapt out of the well and immediately pinned her to the wall.

"Don't you ever fucking say something like that again, wench, not even as a joke! The only thing that I couldn't do without from this side of the well is you, Kagome, got that?" he growled out.

Kagome stared at him, eyes wide, stunned. "I-inuyasha..." she trailed off, unable to even think of anything to say.

He stared into her eyes for a few more moments, the released her, though he kept her hand in his. "Keh. I don't want you thinking that kind of crap, woman, it ain't funny. Come on, let's go get this over with so we can get back."

With that he practically drug her out of the well house, still obviously a bit irritated, and Kagome followed along meekly, not wanting to upset him any further.

It didn't take long to gather what they would need, and Kagome packed the bag up quickly, then let her mother know that they would be gone for a while this time, and said her goodbyes to her grandfather and brother.

Inuyasha lounged in the kitchen until she was ready, then grabbed the bag, tossing it over his shoulder like it weighed nothing, once it was secured, he grabbed her, and set off towards the well house, intent on getting through and heading off for that private time he'd mentioned to her earlier.

Kagome didn't say one word the entire trip, content to go along with whatever he decided, and it wasn't long before he was setting her down outside a small opening in the cliff face he'd brought them to.

"Come on, then, wench, let's get inside and set up for the night."

She just nodded and followed him into the cave, glancing around as they did so, the late afternoon light just barely enough to see by once inside - at least for her. Apparently Inuyasha could see just fine, and it wasn't long before he had a nice fire going, and a snug little nest made up in the back of the sandy-floored cave.

"Hand me the bottles and I'll go get some water, K'gome - I'm hungry."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Let me guess... ramen for dinner, ne?"

He blushed just a bit, eyeing her for a moment. "Keh. It's quick, and tonight I don't really wanna waste time on food or anything else. I want to spend it concentrating on you."

She looked down, a shy smile lighting her face. "Oh... okay." Handing him a couple of empty bottles, she watched as he stalked off outside, disappearing for a few minutes.

He moves like a predator... but it's beautiful to watch. She chuckled then. Of course, it wouldn't be so great if he was stalking me, but...

Then again... her cheeks heated up as he came back in and certain thoughts slipped through her mind. Stalking...

"Oi, what's with that blush, K'gome?" he asked, brow raised.

"Oh, nothing!" she said, almost frantically waving her hands in front of her. "Hand me the water, would you? The ramen will be ready in just a few."

He chuckled at her attempt to change the subject. Fine. I'll let it go - for now, woman.

But after dinner...

Kagome ate slowly, watching Inuyasha from the corner of her eye. He was everything to her, he always had been - from the moment she'd seen him pinned to that tree, she'd belonged to him. Heart, mind, body and soul - if he'd chosen Kikyou, she'd have gone to her grave untouched and cold, because she could never fathom being with anyone else.

When she really thought about it, what Naraku had done to her hurt - but more because he had taken something that should only ever have belonged to her hanyou - her Inuyasha. That pained her more than all the harm he'd caused her personally... and made her feel even more unworthy of him in her own eyes.

That was the ironic thing about all this - Inuyasha had always thought of himself as filthy because of his half-breed status, he'd believed that he would never be worthy to be loved by anyone. Yet, she had never seen him that way. To her, she was the unworthy one - she could never be worthy of him.

And that had only been made worse after what Naraku had done to her.

The fact that he even wanted her to begin with, let alone after what had happened was astonishing beyond belief, and despite the fact that she knew that they were soul-mates now, sometimes, she still felt as though one day he would wake up and realize she wasn't worth his time.

It would take time for her to fully accept that he really did love her - that he didn't think she was tainted.

Inuyasha knew she was watching him, and just let her do so without calling her on it. He couldn't read her mind, per se, but he could get a pretty good idea of what she was thinking, and it made him angry.

Oh, not at her - never at her, but at the bastard that had hurt her so badly... and at himself, because he was one of the bastards that had hurt her so badly - and he knew it. That she would ever think of herself as unworthy - even after what had happened, hurt something inside him so much that he knew it was a pain that would never go away.

It hurt more than anything else that had ever happened to him - because it was so wrong.

And the worst part of it was that he knew the only thing that could heal her of that wrongness was time... and a lot of it.

That was why he'd brought her out here, away from everyone else. To spend time with her... it was a start on that healing, and he'd take every chance he had to do it, because he couldn't stand anything that hurt her.

She was his everything, his whole world - and he wanted to show her that, drown her in that knowledge, in his love for her... so that she would finally come to understand that nothing that anyone could ever do would change how he felt for her.

She was, simply stated, his.

Always.

"Oi, woman," he said, softly, waiting for her to look up before finishing, "come sit with me."

Kagome nodded slowly, a serious look on her face, and moved over to him, letting him settle her into his lap. She sighed, contentment seething through her as she lay her head against his shoulder and stared into the fire. She snuggled closer as he tightened his arms around her, a slight smile lighting her expression as he did so.

"I know what you were thinkin' 'bout earlier, woman... that you aren't good enough for me. You know that's bullshit, right?" He spoke quietly, serious, intent, but not angry, and she sighed again.

"It's... hard, Inu. My head knows that what you're saying is right... but my heart - well, I guess, it's like... to me, you're everything. No one is really good enough for you in my eyes, my sweet koinu... it's just not possible to be." She blushed a little, glad that he wasn't actually looking at her. She didn't know if she could have said that so easily if he was.

"You've got to be kidding me," he scoffed. "You're the one that's too good for anybody, wench, not me." He chuckled then, as did she, and they realized together just how absurd they sounded. "Keh. Looks like we're both bakas, ne?"

"I guess... seems kinda funny that we both see each other in the same way, but maybe that's the way it should be," she said, a smile spreading across her face. "I'll always love you, Inuyasha. No matter what happens."

He turned her in his lap as she said that, and stared into her eyes, his own completely open for once, and she shivered at the love and desire that she saw in them.

Deliberately holding her gaze, he said, "I know that what's happened is going to take a while to heal, Kagome, and I wanted to tell you again that I'll wait as long as it takes." He stopped, hesitating for a moment, then continued awkwardly.

"What you said the other day... about me not wanting to touch you because of all of what happened - like I said then, you're wrong about that, but since I don't know what you are ready for, and what you aren't - well, I'm gonna let you decide."

She cocked her head at him, a bit confused at his fumbled words. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, 'bout... touching and... stuff. Feh," he looked away, red sweeping across his cheeks, "you know what I mean."

At that, she blushed, but laughed. "Oh... in other words, you're gonna let me set the pace."

"Yeah... that." He shook his head and sighed. "Keh. All this mushy stuff is embarrassing."

"Oh, Inuyasha," she was still laughing, "I really do love you, you know. And you look good in red - guess that's a good thing, seeing as you're wearing so much of it," she teased.

"Oi! 'Nuff with the teasing, wench." He growled playfully and bent his head, nuzzling his nose against hers. "Guess I'm gonna have to teach you your place, huh?"

Kagome stared into his eyes, the playful mood slowly draining from her, and something else taking it's place. "Long as that place is beneath you, Inuyasha." Then she moved closer, closing her eyes, she touched her lips to his, and just like that, the air between them changed from teasing to passionate.

That was all the invitation Inuyasha needed, and he took control of the kiss immediately, pressing her to open to him, and he growled approvingly when she instantly complied.

Mine, his youkai growled, and his human half agreed. "Mine..."

"Yours," Kagome moaned, pulling away just slightly to answer him. "Yours, always..."

He ran his hand down her arm, stopping there, unsure once again, and she reached over with her other arm and shyly guided his hand to her breast. "Please," she whispered. "Touch me, koibito. I don't fear you." She raised her eyes to his again, and he could see her sincerity in her eyes.

There was no fear in them, and his heart suddenly raced at that knowledge.

"Kagome," he said slowly, holding her gaze, "are you... sure? If we start this, I will finish it - we'll leave this cave fully mated, and I don't know if you're really ready for this. Maybe it's best if we stop now." His voice was pained, as it was more than obvious that he was highly aroused, and Kagome grabbed his hand, stopping him from pulling her up and out of his lap.

"No, Inuyasha. You said it was up to me, and I want this." She pulled away, then, uncertainty crossing her face for a moment. "Unless it's really that--" she stopped when an angry hand was placed over her mouth.

"Don't! I already told you that's not true, wench!" He deliberately ground his arousal against her bottom. "Does that feel like I don't want you? Shit, Kagome, you should know better than that."

Sitting up a little in his lap, she met his gaze head on, despite the slight blush at the feel of his hardness poking her in the rear, and said, "Then stop talking, Inuyasha, and finish this." She sighed softly and caressed his cheek, fingers tracing the crests beginning to writhe into existence.

"Tie us together, Inuyasha - I want to be yours, in all ways. Now. Tonight. Please... don't turn me away," her eyes pleading with him.

He held her gaze for several long moments, and then, with a low growl, he gave in, lowering his mouth to hers with near desperation. The need in him was too high, too out of control this time - he wanted her just too damn much to deny her and himself any longer.

And as her mouth met his, he could feel the same desperate longing in her...

It seemed that the time had come to finalize the joining of the hanyou and his miko...

Finally.

A/N: Just to let the readers know, that some things are coming up in my life that will mean updates will be few and far between for a month or two, probably starting in Jan. I don't want to leave you all hanging here, though, since I kinda did leave ya'll a cliffie, so I am planning to have the second part of this Interlude up sometime this month. Hope everyone enjoys...

Amber