InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Menage Au Inu ❯ Down the Hatch ( Chapter 7 )

 

I do not own Inuyasha and Company, no matter how happy it would make me. Rumiko Takahashi does.

 

Chapter 7 - Down the Hatch

 

“Uh, guys, I think I'm gonna need your help to get up. My knees aren't going to want to straighten and even if they would, my legs have gone completely numb.”

 

Inuyasha turned from staring at the twin pools of blood on the stone floor to look at Sesshoumaru. “Well, that explains half of it.”

 

“Half of what?” Kagome asked, still unaware that anything was wrong, her mind spinning from the repeated pleasures brought upon her by the two males she loved.

 

“The scent of her arousal masked the scent of her blood until it became too strong to hide,” Sesshoumaru explained, answering Inuyasha's unanswered question.

 

“What blood?” she asked, this time paying a bit more attention.

 

“You really can't feel that?” Inuyasha asked with worry and concern.

 

“I don't even know what the hell you're talking about!” Inuyasha pointed and Kagome shifted her focus downwards. “Oh, wow. No, I can't feel that at all. Damn, how the hell…?”

 

“Kagome, I'm so sorry,” Inuyasha's voice was wracked with guilt, and just a glance told her that Sesshoumaru felt the same. “We should have gotten you a pillow or… or… or just not have made you kneel on the damn ground! How are we gonna…?”

 

“It's not your fault,” Kagome said gently. “If I didn't think of it I can't expect you to have either. I'll be fine. I'm sure it looks a lot worse than it really is.”

 

“The blood must be cleaned from the wounds before we can determine their severity,” Sesshoumaru said flatly.

 

“We'll have to put her in the hot spring. It's the only way to do it without hurting her.”

 

“Like hell!” Kagome declared loudly. “Putting me in the hot spring would hurt like crazy! No way! Absolutely not!”

 

Ignoring her protests, Inuyasha wrapped her upper body in his haori and Sesshoumaru lifted her from where she knelt in two oblong pools of her own blood, the hanyou making sure that her legs and feet didn't scrape along the stone any more than they already had.

 

“You are not putting me in a hot spring!” Kagome repeated, wriggling in the taiyoukai's arms.

 

“Calm yourself, Miko. I have no such intention. Cool, clean, fresh water is required to cleanse your wounds without causing undue pain.”

 

“And just where are you planning on finding it? We're not taking her outside like that!”

 

Sesshoumaru shot his younger brother an annoyed look. “There is a cold fresh water spring in the same chamber as the hot spring. You simply cannot sense it.”

 

Inuyasha let out an almost silent, “oh,” before following his brother into one of the two previously unidentified rooms. “Kagome, do you have any of your supplies with you? Maybe the little things you give Sango and Miroku when they're hurt?”

 

“No, it's all in my bag at Kaede's.”

 

“Damn it. She's gonna need something for the pain.” The hanyou disappeared from the room for a moment before returning with a large bottle of sake. “This'll have to do. It'll be better than nothing `til I can get her shit.”

 

He handed the flustered girl the bottle before taking her in his arms, both watching as Sesshoumaru fought back a hiss of discomfort as he lowered himself into the slow moving pool of cold water that flowed in from an opening cut in the stone at one end and out another at the other. The motion of the water kept it from growing stagnant, and Kagome couldn't help but admire the ingenuity with which it was made.

 

“Cold?” Inuyasha asked with a smirk.

 

“I am not drinking this! I'm not even old enough!”

 

The hanyou snorted. “Did you forget when you are, Wench? You're in my time, not yours, and in my time you're more than old enough. Besides, you're gonna need it.” When he could see the fight growing in her eyes he changed tactics. “Please, Kagome,” he pleaded. “I don't want you to be in pain. You know I hate it when you're hurt and just because you can't feel it now doesn't mean you won't feel it later. I'll go to the village like you wanted and tell them we'll be gone for a while, and I'll bring back your bag with all your supplies and then you can take your little `pills'. Until I get back, though, you're going to need something.”

 

Seeing the honest concern in his eyes, she sighed and gave in, pulling the cork from the bottle and tossing it over her shoulder, ignoring the plop sound as it splashed into the hot spring beside them, also carved into the stone floor. She steeled herself before taking a small swig, followed by a larger one once she'd determined that it wasn't so bad. She could handle the slight burning sensation in her chest if it meant that much to Inuyasha.

 

“I guess it'll be alright. I do need a bath anyways. I'm kinda…” Kagome blushed as she reached down and ran a finger along her inner thigh, finding it slick with her arousal. “…messy.”

 

“Trust me, Wench. If you weren't hurt, that wouldn't still be there.” Inuyasha laughed as her blush darkened.

 

Trying to ignore her embarrassment, Kagome turned her attention to Sesshoumaru, who stood in the water looking rather annoyed. Inuyasha could have at least waited until he got her in the water before all that! He wasn't in the most comfortable place to be waiting around. “Is it cold?” she asked hesitantly.

 

He smirked at her. “It is snowmelt, so yes, it is cold,” he said in an almost playful tone. “Would you prefer the hot spring instead?” he asked, knowing the answer already. He reached up for her and Inuyasha took a few steps closer to the edge.

 

“No, hell no. The sulfur in the water… no. Fine, if I have to do this, then can you at least do it fast? Dunk me under, head and all, right away, okay?”

 

“Why would you…”

 

“I've had my share of baths in cold water in this time. It's just easier that way. Please?”

 

Sesshoumaru nodded and Inuyasha knelt down to place her in the taiyoukai's arms, sliding his haori off her body and setting the bottle near the edge. The demon kept her just out of the water and kissed her forehead softly. “Are you ready?” She sucked in a breath and closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself for what was coming before signaling with a nod. Just as she requested, Sesshoumaru quickly submerged her entire body, along with his own, in the freezing water, the clear liquid instantly tinged red with her blood.

 

When they broke the surface, Kagome gasped loudly. “Cold! Cold, cold, cold, cold, COLD!” Both brothers chuckled, causing her to glare at them. “You know, I wasn't angry. I didn't blame you for this. Do you want me to change my mind?”

 

“We apologize,” Sesshoumaru spoke for them both.

 

“Yeah, sure you do,” Kagome mumbled under her breath.

 

Sesshoumaru carefully arranged her in his arms until he could sit on the underwater stone ledge carved in the pool with her on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close in an attempt to keep her as warm as he could with his own body heat. Inuyasha handed Kagome the sake and then arranged himself into his usual seated position. Humoring the hanyou, she continued to drink from the bottle, enjoying it a little more with every sip. No one spoke as both brothers tried and failed to ignore the overwhelming scent of her blood in the air.

 

Burrowing his face into the side of her throat, Sesshoumaru tried to focus on her usual scent, desperate for a distraction. He wanted more than anything to taste her blood, to lick her wounds clean while reveling in the flavor of her, but he couldn't. She was human and he was painfully aware that humans tended to frown on the consumption of blood. She knew he was a demon, an inu, but still he feared that she would be disgusted by his more animalistic instincts and desires. The last thing he wanted to do at the moment was give her a reason to prefer his only half demon brother.

 

The taiyoukai didn't know if Inuyasha's instincts were as strong as his own, never having taken the time to wonder before, but his own control was being pushed to its limits. The inu hanyou could be ignoring them, or hiding and fighting them, or there was a chance that he simply didn't have them. No one had been around to teach Inuyasha about his demonic side, so it was possible he didn't even know what he was feeling or why, if indeed he was at all.

 

Taking a minute to examine his half-brother, Sesshoumaru decided that he would have to speak with the hanyou at some point in the future, to better understand him. For the moment, though, he had the answer he needed. Inuyasha looked like he was barely holding on, his head lowered, his bangs hiding his face as he rocked back and forth almost compulsively. How his brother had managed to stay at Kagome's side for so long, especially considering how strongly he cared for her, through all the times she'd been injured, without ever doing anything, Sesshoumaru would never know. Perhaps Inuyasha was stronger than he'd given him credit for.

 

“You think I could get out now?” Kagome asked with a giggle, shifting in the taiyoukai's lap, surprised to find him very aroused despite the frigid conditions.

 

Both brothers glanced at the water, seeing that it had nearly run clear, only a light tinge of pink remaining. Sesshoumaru lifted her to sit on the edge, Inuyasha once again draping her in his fire rat haori, and the taiyoukai carefully straightened one of her legs to study the damage. It wasn't as bad as he'd feared, but it wasn't good either. Scrapes covered from her knee, down her shin, across the top of her foot and all the way to the tips of her toes. Some appeared to be superficial, but some were deeper, and Sesshoumaru silently cursed his inattention to her safety as he found the same on her other leg.

 

“I thought this bottle was full!” Kagome said louder than necessary.

 

Inuyasha frowned and took it from her hand. “It was full, Wench. I can't believe you drank the whole damn thing so fast! You are gonna feel like shit in the morning.”

 

“So?” she laughed. “I feel just fine right now!”

 

The hanyou looked at his brother. “She's totally drunk!” Slowly realization crept into his eyes. “She's not going to remember a thing.” Without another thought, Inuyasha slid into the water opposite Sesshoumaru with Kagome between them. He took hold of her leg and leaned down slowly to trail his tongue over one of the larger wounds, purring in ecstasy as the taste of her blood reached his sensitive taste buds.

 

Kagome giggled. “That tickles!”

 

Seeing that she had no intention of pulling away, Sesshoumaru, still holding her other leg, followed his half-brother's example. After a moment's silence, two pairs of golden eyes met before looking away. It didn't matter to either that the other was present. It didn't matter that the water was clear enough that each had to know what the other was doing. Nothing mattered except the taste of her blood on their tongues, tingling with her power. Kagome was oblivious as she lay on her back, laughing and every now and then moaning softly at their sensitive touches, while both brothers stroked themselves quickly to completion in the cold spring water.

 

They avoided looking at each other as they pulled themselves out of the pool, Inuyasha gathering Kagome in his arms before following Sesshoumaru into the main room. He watched as the taiyoukai searched the shelves, finally retrieving several long lengths of cloth to be used as bandages. Each focused only on their task as they carefully wrapped her legs while Kagome lay comfortably on one of the large pillows, half asleep.

 

“Her wounds will now heal faster than they would normally, but she will still need her supplies.”

 

“If I go now, maybe I can be back before she wakes up in the morning. Not only are her legs gonna hurt like hell, but she's gonna have a killer hangover.” Inuyasha dressed quickly, now determined to leave as soon as possible, despite the fact that he was still uncomfortable leaving her alone with his brother. Her needs were more important than his insecurities. “Kagome,” he said softly. “I'm gonna go to the village, get your bag, and tell the others we'll be gone for a while like you wanted. I'll be back as soon as I can.”

 

Kagome opened her eyes and smiled. “Be careful, huh? And stop worrying. I'll be just fine.”

 

The hanyou studied her face for a minute before sucking in a deep breath. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips before whispering in her ear, “I love you.”

 

Her smile widened and her hand came up to caress his cheek. “I know. I love you too.”

 

Inuyasha started to leave but was stopped by his brother's voice. “Do not forget your haori. She would not wish you to leave without its protection.” When it looked like the hanyou intended to protest he continued. “This Sesshoumaru has things that she can wear. You know I am correct. Kagome would worry if you did not have it.”

 

Nodding, Inuyasha accepted the garment held out by his brother, taking one last minute to admire the beauty he was leaving behind.

 

“I shall erect the barrier once you have passed. This Sesshoumaru will sense when you have returned.”

 

The two locked eyes and Inuyasha smirked. “Take good care of her `til I get back.”

 

“It will be my pleasure.”

 

- - - -

 

Several miles downstream, a demon knelt beside the slowly moving water, quenching his thirst from cupped hands. His eyes narrowed as he detected a slight change in the water. He took several more long drinks, reveling in the sweet taste of female arousal and blood, before suddenly spitting violently as he detected an additional ingredient or two.

 

Focusing closer on the diluted scent, deep blue eyes bled red upon identifying the donor of the blood he'd just been enjoying. It was Kagome's blood, and a lot of it, and the scents it was mixed with disturbed him greatly. He had to find her. He had to save his Kagome from that disgusting, filthy half-breed. How dare Inuyasha swear to be her protector and then hurt her like that?!

 

He'd known that one day the hanyou would lose control, but he'd always prayed Kagome would be safely out of the way when it happened. How could he have been stupid enough to leave her with him? Yes, she said she wanted to stay with the half-breed, but now he knew he should have ignored her wishes and taken action anyway.

 

Following the scent upstream, Kouga set off in search of the love of his life, his mate to be. He begged the Kamis that when he found her she would still be alive and not just a body, broken by the hanyou's vile abuses and left in the river to rot. She deserved better than to be attacked and raped by one who she thought was her best friend, her protector and ally, and now she wouldn't stop him when he decided it was time for Inuyasha to die. If she was already gone, the half-breed would follow, and if she still lived, well then she would be on his side now. She would agree that the abomination she once called friend deserved everything Kouga could dish out.