InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Metamorphosis ❯ Frustration, Part 2 ( Chapter 25 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: King Baka 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.18.2009 | Updated On: 01.14.2011 | Pages: 6 | Words: 11.5K | Visits: 4.0K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.18.2009 | Updated On: 01.14.2011 | Pages: 6 | Words: 11.5K | Visits: 4.0K | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or any of the publicly known characters, plot, etc. I’m just renting them from Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc. I do own the plot of this story and any original characters I’ve created. I will make no money from this fic; I write for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers.
Fanfiction of the Week: “The Price,” by Fenikkusuken
A sincere thanks to youkaineko for bringing this story to my attention. I think I was completely hooked by the end of chapter 1. It’s now finished, and stands as one of my favorite AUs.
Frustration, Part 2
In retrospect, that first day hadn’t been so bad. He hadn’t gotten to kiss Kagome, but the others had apologized and everything had returned to normal. The second day was when things started to get a little weird.
*Day 2*
He had no idea how it happened, but sometime during the night he and Kagome had gravitated toward each other, ending up nestled together. He woke at sunrise to find her resting on his shoulder, one of his arms supporting her back and the other draped possessively around her waist. She was still in the sleeping bag, reminding him of that night they shared her bed in the modern era. Grinning contentedly, he settle back to enjoy the morning, breathing deeply to take in Kagome’s sweet scent. He grimaced as another less pleasant odor invaded his nostrils. Shit, I really do stink! He quickly buried his nose in Kagome’s hair. At least one of us doesn’t smell like a fuckin’ armpit.
“Do I stink, too?” she asked out of the blue, startling him. Apparently either his movements or the daylight had woken her. They turned toward each other at the same time, and Inuyasha was struck by the sheer happiness rolling off her. Her eyes sparkled with amusement, and he temporarily lost the ability to speak. A short shake of his head was all the response he could manage. Giggling at his stupor, Kagome laid her head back down on his shoulder, resuming her previous position. Neither hanyou was looking forward to getting up; both were too comfortable. They unknowingly shared the same thought: I could stay like this forever. Inuyasha blanched; he felt like such a sissy thinking something like that. It made him want to go do something manly for the rest of the morning, like chop wood or beat up some other men for no good reason. He wondered if Sesshoumaru was in the area, or better yet, Kouga. But even if one of them did happen to be nearby, he would still have the problem of not wanting to get up.
Kagome’s ear flicked at a fly in his line of vision, giving him an idea for something he hadn’t done in awhile. With only slight hesitation he reached up and gently grasped the fuzzy appendage between his fingers, massaging in slow circles. Kagome started purring almost immediately as nearly every muscle in her body wholly relaxed. She felt like a boneless blob of goo, her only contact with the real world that highly skilled hand on her ear. She wasn’t tired, so it didn’t put her to sleep, but a small nuclear device could have gone off nearby and she wouldn’t have noticed. Then, abruptly it was over, the delightful sensation replaced by insistent prodding on the backs of her shoulders.
“Get up, wench. The others are waking.”
Now that she was listening, Kagome could hear the sounds of their friends rousing inside the hut, but how the hell was that any reason to stop rubbing her ear? She could feel the tender appendage tingling, as if reminding her body of that wonderful feeling it yearned for.
“Why’d you stop?” she demanded, her irritation clearly conveyed.
“Feh. Can’t laze around all day, wench. We’ve got another full day of training ahead of us.”
Kagome grumbled about that, knowing the real reason Inuyasha was so insistent that they get up now. But she didn’t particularly feel like dealing with her friends’ teasing either, however good-natured it might be. Besides, she was damn hungry; all that physical exertion yesterday had built up quite an appetite. At breakfast, no one spoke of Kagome’s absence from the hut the previous night, but any mildly observant person could tell it was on everyone’s minds. Kagome worried about Shippou’s appearance; the kit had dark shadows under his eyes and appeared weary and listless. Even more alarming was the fact that he curled up on her sleeping bag to take a nap after finishing his meal.
“Is something wrong with Shippou?” she asked when she was sure the young fox was asleep.
“No,” Sango responded grimly, “he just didn’t sleep well last night. As a matter of fact, he didn’t sleep all that well two nights ago, either.”
Kagome felt a pang of guilt. Shippou usually slept with her in her sleeping bag, and from what she heard didn’t have too much of a problem when she was in her time. But apparently he was having difficulty sleeping by himself while she was on his side of the well. Sighing, she shot an apologetic look Inuyasha’s way. They both knew what this meant: no more sleeping together, just the two of them. Arrangements would have to return to the way they were before. Shippou was still so young, and an orphan to boot, so Kagome wasn’t willing to kick him out of her bed yet. Inuyasha shrugged and tried to look like he didn’t care, but even he knew he couldn’t pull off that kind of callous nonchalance anymore.
“Why does he need so much fuckin’ sleep, anyway,” he grumped. “He’s a youkai.”
“He’s also a child, Inuyasha,” Kagome argued, albeit reluctantly. “Kids need a lot of sleep. Just look at how much of a wreck he is now.”
Inuyasha snorted his displeasure, but grudgingly accepted Kagome’s decision. I swear, that twerp is the luckiest orphan who ever lived.
“So what’s the plan for the next few days?” Sango interjected, changing the subject. “Houshi-sama and I have to go perform a youkai extermination in a nearby village, but I don’t know how long it will take. Are you two going to stay here until we get back?”
Inuyasha shook his head. “Nah, we’re leaving first thing tomorrow morning for Totosai’s to get Kagome something to seal her youkai blood. Just meet us somewhere at the edge of his territory,” he advised, knowing the humans would be unable to handle the noxious fumes of the old youkai’s domain.
“Sounds like a plan,” Miroku replied easily. “Shall we go, my lovely Sango?” The taijiya took the offered hand and was helped to her feet, but did not comply with the monk’s gesture to precede him out the doorway.
“After you, Houshi-sama,” she said sternly. Miroku merely smiled mischievously in response.
“Ah, my dear Sango. You are not my wife yet, and even if you were I would not have you walking behind me.” (1) Sango flushed crimson, but did not move from her spot.
“Believe me, Houshi-sama,” she ground out through clenched teeth. “This has nothing to do with…that! I simply want your hands where I can see them.”
Miroku grinned wryly, heaving a dramatic sigh as he trudged out of the hut. “I am so misunderstood…”
This time Inuyasha began the countdown aloud. “Three…two…one…”
*Slap!!!*
Kagome burst out laughing at his perfect timing, and Inuyasha joined in whole-heartedly. “How does he always seem to catch Sango by surprise?” Kagome asked in between her giggles.
“Dunno. Alright, wench, let’s go. You’ll never get any good if we don’t practice.”
“Okay—hey! I’m already pretty good! I did hit you yesterday, didn’t I?”
“That was a fluke.”
“Was not!”
“Prove it.”
“Fine!” Kagome growled, grabbing Inuyasha and dragging him all the way to their field by his haori. She didn’t even wait for him to set his feet before pouncing. Unfortunately, he was far too quick and agile to be taken so easily. Still, she did manage to land a few hits in the next two hours. The problem was that for every successful strike, she received at least a few dozen back from Inuyasha, who was still showing remarkable restraint in pulling his punches. But even that horrible ratio was an improvement, filling her with a sense of accomplishment. At this rate, she would be able to defend herself proficiently in no time!
Of course, she still struggled with many things, including not going out of control on attacks. Inuyasha continually chastised her on that point, but each time she would revert to the bad habit after a few minutes of relative restraint. After viewing this self-defeating cycle one too many times, Inuyasha decided a more substantial lesson was needed. He waited until Kagome launched a particularly sloppy assault, then swooped in and bore her to the ground. She wound up lying on her front, both arms twisted and held behind her by Inuyasha, who was draped over her back.
“Bitch!” he growled in her ear. “How many fucking times do I have to te—ack!”
Kagome surprised him then, using a leg to roll them over until she was on top of him. Next she managed to wrench her arms free and scramble away before facing him and resuming a fighting stance. Inuyasha climbed to his feet slowly, all thoughts of admonishing her further long gone. He was very impressed.
“Heh, not bad, Kagome.”
She didn’t even grin at the compliment, but a small twinkle in her eye let him know that she was extremely happy to receive it. Still, she was sweating and breathing hard, and it was time to call a break. Being pressed up against her heaving, quivering body had done nothing to calm his own nerves, either. They both needed to cool down, for completely different reasons.
“Alright, wench, let’s work on your tracking. Hang on; I’m gonna go get us some prey.” He took off, dashing back toward the village. Kagome collapsed onto her back, sighing in relief as her heart rate slowed and her tired muscles finally relaxed. There had been something far too pleasant about being held down like that by Inuyasha, which was probably part of the reason she had been so motivated to break his hold. He had felt it too, if the faint scent of his arousal was any indication.
Inuyasha returned a few minutes later, a drowsy-looking Shippou riding on his shoulder. The kit quickly came fully awake as he realized the importance of his task. He puffed out his little chest, promising to do his best. Kagome thought the entire scene was too adorable for words, and Inuyasha just rolled his eyes. They sent Shippou into the forest and gave him about a ten minute head start. It might have been easier to just have Kagome track Inuyasha, but he couldn’t very well teach her anything about following scents if he couldn’t see what she was doing. It took only a couple minutes to disabuse Kagome of her incorrect notion that tracking was as simple as sniff-and-go. There were techniques involved, like what to do if you lost a trail or it became jumbled with other scents. She was really hoping to avoid prostrating herself on the ground and sticking her nose in the dirt like she had seen Inuyasha do many times before, but he insisted it was necessary. She could only pray she would never have to use that humiliating technique in the company of her other friends. At least Inuyasha had the decency to go down with her, teaching through example. Little did she know that the male hanyou’s actual motives were decidedly less noble; he just didn’t want to get caught staring at her ass.
After lunch, Inuyasha decided to give Kagome a real test, and the best way to do that was to have her track the stealthiest, nimblest guy in the area. No, he didn’t have an ego. He pulled out all the stops too, employing every trick he knew to throw her off. He zigzagged, leapt across streams, went up and down trees, backtracked, and tried any number of other tactics too. Eventually he stopped all that and simply worked his way back to the starting point. From there he followed Kagome’s trail to keep an eye her progress. He caught up with her easily enough, and kept to the forest canopy as he watched her work. He was not disappointed. Several times she almost lost the trail completely, but always managed to pick it up again. His tricks would confuse her for a few minutes, but then she would figure them out and continue her pursuit. She just kept plugging along; he wouldn’t use ‘fast’ or any of its synonyms to describe her technique, but it was effective nonetheless. It was clear she had taken his lessons to heart.
Periodically she would look around as if she could tell she was being watched, forcing Inuyasha to quickly duck behind a convenient tree trunk. But nothing ever came of it; she would shrug and return to her task and he would resume his observing. Though perhaps staring would be a better word. He was utterly transfixed by her lithe form and the subtle grace in every movement. Her clothes revealed just enough skin to tantalize and make him imagine what lay underneath. And since he had seen her naked on several previous occasions, he had a very good imagination. Was it a little hentai to be shamelessly ogling her like this? Yeah, but he didn’t particularly give a damn, not when she was making herself look so incredibly enticing. It was mid-afternoon by the time Kagome reached the area where he had stopped trying to throw her off. At that point, he dropped down from a tree directly in front of her, causing her to yelp and fall flat on her backside. She shot him a dirty look as he snickered at her.
“Inuyasha! Did you have to scare me like that?!”
“Just seeing if you were on your toes, wench.”
“I was trying to concentrate on following your scent. Hey! I found you!”
“Yeah, too bad it took for-fucking-ever.”
Kagome felt the veins in her forehead pop at that comment. That arrogant jackass! Where does he get the gall—easy girl, ‘osuwari-ing’ him will only make you feel a little better. And then he’ll just go pout for the rest of the day.
“Well I’m sorry for being a beginner and not having decades of experience. I guess I’ll never measure up to the mighty Inuyasha.” Her words dripped with sarcasm, but Inuyasha simply smirked and pretended not to notice.
“Probably not.”
“Jerk.”
“Bitch.”
Snarling, Kagome took a swing at him, forcing Inuyasha to leap back to avoid the blow. And as good as another sparring session sounded, he knew there were other areas in which she needed to train first. With this in mind, he turned and dashed off into the trees, Kagome in hot pursuit.
“Where are you going, baka!” she called after him. “Get back here!”
“Nope. You need to work on your running, wench.”
“Running?! How hard can it be?”
Ten minutes later, Kagome was singing an entirely different tune. “Running?! How hard can it be?” If that’s not the stupidest thing I’ve ever said. It wasn’t an issue of stamina; she was having no problem physically matching the speed Inuyasha was setting. That made her problem all the more daunting. Even at that relatively sedate pace, she could barely keep herself upright. Maintaining foot-eye coordination demanded all of her concentration, and still she would trip over tree roots that seemed to come out of nowhere and nearly clothesline herself on low-hanging branches. Her untrained mind just couldn’t process the incoming information fast enough to avoid every obstacle.
And then there was Inuyasha, just cruising along as if their current pace was no challenge at all. For him, it probably wasn’t. Hell, he didn’t even have to look where he was going, spending half the time looking back at her. He kept giving her pointers; for example, look farther ahead instead of focusing on the ground a few feet in front of you. (2) At first, that sounded like such a brainless idea. If I don’t look at where I’m putting my feet, I’ll fall for sure! But then, after nearly doing just that one too many times, she decided to try it his way. And wouldn’t you know, it worked. Looking ahead, she could spy the approaching obstacles and move to avoid them before they were underfoot. Idly she wondered why she hadn’t just listened to him in the first place. Probably because you’re as stubborn as he is, baka. It was gradual improvement, but she and Inuyasha were able to steadily increase their pace over the next couple hours. Fatigue was starting to set in by the time they decided to call it a night, but Kagome felt fairly confident about her running ability. Confident enough to throw caution to the wind and make an all-in bet when she probably should have folded.
“Well, you ain’t a total klutz anymore, wench. Congrats,” Inuyasha teased, carefully stoking the flames of Kagome’s simmering ire.
“Oh, yeah?” she challenged. “I bet I could outrun you!” She couldn’t tell if Inuyasha was more shocked or amused by that declaration.
“How ‘bout a race, then? First one to Goshinboku wins. Do you know how to get there from here, wench?” he asked patronizingly.
“Yes I know how to get there from here! Fine, let’s do this thing. Go!”
Then she was off, darting through the underbrush and leaving Inuyasha behind. Hey, if he was so smart he should have anticipated her quick start. At least, that’s how she justified it to herself.
It took Kagome under a minute to realize she was in way over her head. Not only did Inuyasha pass her, but he actually slowed down after he did so, cruising along about twenty feet in front of her. His eyes laughed at her as he effortlessly matched any speed she set. In doing so he dashed her hopes for a tortoise and hare scenario, where Inuyasha would get so far ahead he would relax and fall asleep. Or get knocked out by a falling tree limb; either would work just fine. But of course the hanyou just had to be difficult, forcing her mind to scramble for another way to finish first. She couldn’t let him win, not if she didn’t want to be reminded of her defeat every day for the foreseeable future. The most obvious course of action was to just ‘osuwari’ him, but that would be downright cheating. She needed something more subtle.
The idea came to her just after she stumbled and nearly fell flat on her face. Inuyasha faltered in his step as if he was going to come back to check on her. Kagome grinned deviously. Was it sneaky? Yes. Was it a little underhanded? Yes. Did she care? Hell no! She waited until Goshinboku was in sight before making her move. She purposefully lost her footing and crashed to the dirt, letting out a yelp that was in no way fake; that landing had hurt! Predictably, Inuyasha stopped and walked back to her, muttering to himself about clumsy wenches. Hmph, we’ll see who’s clumsy.
“You alright, wen—”
Suddenly she was gone, and it took Inuyasha a full second to realize what had happened. By then, it was far too late; Kagome was already halfway to Goshinboku and there would be no catching her in the short distance remaining. All he could do was sprint after her, watching as she reached the finish line and turned toward him wearing a sheepish, but victorious grin.
“Y-you cheated, bitch!!!” he bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at her.
“Hey! I didn’t make you stop, you know. You could have kept going.”
“That was a dirty fucking trick, bitch, and you know it!”
Kagome shrugged. “So sue me.”
“Huh?”
“Oops! Modern expression; it means too bad.”
At this, Inuyasha turned away from her, folding his arms over his chest, signaling the beginning of one of his classic full-blown pouts. He muttered quietly to himself, and Kagome was glad she couldn’t pick up all of the words. The ones she could make out were none too flattering.
“Oh, lighten up, Inuyasha. So you lost a race to me. Big deal.”
Apparently, the other hanyou didn’t see it that way, because Kagome didn’t even get a ‘feh’ in response. Fine, if he wants to be that way about it. Sticking her chin in the air with a harrumph, she strode purposefully toward the village.
“Where the fuck are you going, bitch?”
“To get my bathing supplies! Speaking of which, you stink like a dirty gym sock. You need a bath too.”
“Maybe I don’t feel like taking one,” he stated petulantly.
“Inuyasha,” Kagome said softly, her glower almost as formidable as the danger in her tone. “You are taking a bath, no matter how many times I have to say ‘the word.’”
Inuyasha grumbled, sorely tempted to refuse on principle alone, but the sad truth was that he wasn’t going to win this argument. He wanted a bath, too; he just didn’t want to take one under orders. Nodding, Kagome proceeded to gather her supplies from her bag and head down to a part of the river secluded in the forest, Inuyasha following along like some whipped puppy. It was the same place she had bathed with Sango the previous evening.
“You know, you don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to,” Kagome said as she set her soaps and shampoos down at the water’s edge.
“Believe me, wench, leaving you alone in the middle of the woods would be asking for trouble.”
“Hmph! Well, no peeking then.”
“Keh.”
Satisfied that he had his back turned, Kagome stepped out of her clothing and into the water, the cool liquid feeling positively wonderful on her heated skin. She checked on Inuyasha once more before closing her eyes and surrendering to the soothing lull of the river, submerging herself up to her nostrils. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Inuyasha to see her naked; if he jumped in this river right now and told her he loved her, she would be more than happy to do anything he wanted, and that included going all the way. But until then, until he admitted he wanted her, he wasn’t getting any free peeks. She wasn’t a slut, and she wasn’t going to give her virginity away on a whim. If she ever did have to leave him forever, maybe she would ask him to spend their last night with her even if he didn’t love her. She shuddered; hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
Now that the tranquil water was calming her agitated temper, she felt a little guilty for being so harsh with Inuyasha. Her stunt really had been a dirty trick, and she couldn’t blame him for his reaction. Then I threatened to ‘osuwari’ him if he didn’t agree to take a bath. And all he did was help me train all day. Yep, she definitely needed to make it up to him. But how? She folded her arms on the bank and rested her chin on them, gazing contemplatively at his rigid back. She frowned; he couldn’t be very comfortable over there, all sweaty in those fire-rat robes of his. Plus the flies were out, buzzing around his ears and forcing him to plaster them to his head. He smelled of irritation and anxiety. His appearance gave her an idea, one which she hurried to put into effect before she could question her sanity.
“Inuyasha, do you want to join me?”
He whirled around, staring slack-jawed at Kagome. He was actually glad he couldn’t see anything because of her position, because he was having enough trouble wrapping his head around her question and didn’t need anything else distracting him. He couldn’t have heard her correctly, could he? Did she really just ask him to join her in the river? No clothes. Bare ass naked. No barriers keeping them from… Hold on, Spiffy. She probably didn’t mean it like *that.* Still, he had to be sure.
“W-what?”
Given his astonishment, Kagome hastened to explain herself, waving her hands in front of her. “I didn’t mean…I just meant you could take a bath…at the same time as me. You looked so hot and miserable over there. I swear I won’t peek!”
Inuyasha mulled it over…for about half a second. It was a very easy decision considering how he felt about her. And when else might he get the chance to bathe with her, both of them naked as the day they were born? He would be a fool to waste such an opportunity, even if nothing came of it. He strolled slowly to the edge of the river, undoing the ties of his haori as he went. Kagome turned her back, both to avert her eyes and to preserve her own modesty. Inuyasha shed the rest of his clothes and waded into the water, allowing it to sap all the tension from his overheated body. He and Kagome hovered about fifteen feet apart, facing away from each other as the minutes ticked by.
“Thanks, wench,” he said at last, breaking the awkward silence that had settled between them.
“You’re welcome,” Kagome replied with a smile. Deciding to get down to business, she grabbed her soaps and started to wash. Inuyasha remained so still and quiet that she might have thought him asleep if not for the scent of attraction in the air. It was oddly comforting; at least she wasn’t the only one affected by their close, nude proximity.
“Do you want some soap, Inuyasha?”
“Got any that won’t make me smell like a flowery pansy?”
Kagome chuckled and shook her head. “Yeah, I have some unscented body wash. Here,” she called as she tossed the bottle, intending to have it fly over his head and land in front of him. Unfortunately, her aim was a little off.
*Bonk!!!*
“Ah! Dammit, wench! What the fuck was that for?!” Inuyasha yelled, rubbing his sore cranium. He turned to berate her further and stopped dead.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean it!” Upon impact, Kagome had risen out of the water in concern, and had never sunk back down. By the time she realized this, Inuyasha’s eyes were locked firmly on her chest and the air was becoming perfumed with his arousal. “Eep!” she squeaked before covering herself and submerging. Inuyasha looked away quickly as both sets of cheeks pinked.
“Sorry,” he muttered. Kagome could only nod in reply, not quite trusting her voice at the moment. The scent of Inuyasha’s excitement was doing funny things to her own body, causing her to squirm slightly in unfulfilled need. Perhaps this hadn’t been such a good idea after all.
Kagome took to lathering up her hair full of that berry-scented shampoo stuff, and Inuyasha waded downstream to catch the bottle of body wash before it floated too far away. Popping open the top, he took an experimental sniff. It wasn’t “unscented” as Kagome had promised, but the odor was benign enough to be compatible with his sensitive nose. He stood up, the water only covering him up to his waist, and started to scrub his upper body. It was weird, cleaning himself with something other than just water and his hands, but he decided that he could get used to it. He kept his back to Kagome, but when he heard only silence coming from behind him he dared a peek over his shoulder. She was staring at him, her hands poised in her hair as if her scrubbing had suddenly been put on pause, little rivulets of shampoo leisurely sliding down her arms to drip off her elbows. She caught herself with a start, meeting his eyes for a split second before doing a quick one-eighty, but he still glimpsed the mad blush staining her cheeks. Inuyasha smirked; at least he hadn’t been the only one caught staring. Granted, he saw a lot more than she did, but that was nitpicking.
Kagome was now even more mortified—and aroused—than before. His hair had blocked most of her view, and it had only been his back, but the way he held himself simply enchanted her. His muscular arms moved to and fro, reminding her of how it felt to be cosseted by them. She longed for that feeling every day, it seemed. It was the warmest, safest place she knew.
Inuyasha was still wearing a dopey grin as he rinsed himself off and started working on his lower body. He was happy to find that the body wash worked almost as well underwater, because there was no way he was sticking his ass out of the river. That would be asking for trouble. He nearly groaned as he cleaned the sweatiest, stickiest sections of his skin. Fuck…ball sweat: the bane of every man’s existence. Ass sweat was no cup of ramen, either. Satisfied that he no longer smelled or felt like a giant armpit, he resumed floating on his back, supporting himself with his feet on the bottom of the river.
“H-hey, Inuyasha?” Kagome called hesitantly.
“Yeah?”
“Do you…do you want me to wash your hair? I have some unscented shampoo.”
Inuyasha thought her proposal over carefully. With their mutual state of undress, having her close enough to touch him was probably a bad idea. He frowned at the stupidity of that way of thinking. Why was it bad, because he didn’t want to grab her, kiss her senseless, and make love to her right here in the river? He wanted nothing more that those things! And really, what was stopping him besides his own procrastination and insecurities? Nothing! Well, that wasn’t entirely true, but the meddling humans were gone for a change, meaning he and Kagome were finally alone. He shivered in anticipation at the thought. But before he did anything too forward, he resolved to see what Kagome had in mind.
“Sure, wench.”
Kagome was surprised at his affirmative, almost enthusiastic answer, but extremely pleased nonetheless. Wading over, she settled behind him and pressed gently down on his shoulders until he got the message and sank under the surface. She started to work the shampoo into his luxurious silver hair, rubbing it tenderly into his scalp. They both tensed immediately as she accidentally brushed her hardened nipples against his back. The action sent a jolt straight to her core, and Kagome was amazed that such a simple touch could feel so good. The scent of her arousal in the air doubled, and Inuyasha’s seemed to rise to meet it. Kagome realized with a sinking feeling that they were on dangerous ground. They were both so worked up already that one wrong move, any slight contact could send them over the edge into something that Inuyasha might not really want. Kagome had to reiterate to herself that attraction and even lust didn’t necessarily translate to love. That thought was quite sobering, allowing her to regain some of her composure and continue washing his hair. Inuyasha didn’t relax so easily, but Kagome knew of a way to fix that. And since her hands were already right there…
This time Inuyasha did moan aloud as Kagome’s delicate fingers latched onto his ears. With her hands covered in the slick, silky shampoo, it felt as if the Kami themselves were worshipping the fuzzy appendages. Daaaaaamn…how is she so good at this? Somehow he managed to keep himself from purring. Just barely, and only because Kagome went back to washing his hair after a couple short minutes. The feel of her fingers running through his silken strands was almost as soothing as having his ears rubbed. And his stubborn manhood, which had been fully erect a few minutes ago, settled down to half-mast. Kagome pushed on his shoulders again and he went under, holding his breath as she rinsed the shampoo out of his hair. He expected her to wade back to the bank when he came up, but she surprised him by doing something completely different.
For Kagome, touching Inuyasha had proven completely addicting, and she wanted more. His back was directly in front of her, and she worked up the courage to do something she had heard her girlfriends gabbing about on a couple occasions. She hoped their advice would make up for her lack of experience with this. She placed both hands on his shoulders, feeling the strain of anxiety seize his muscles once more. She responded swiftly, digging her palms into his skin as she massaged his shoulders. It astonished her how quickly Inuyasha became putty in her hands. He had probably never received a massage before, but judging by his reaction this wouldn’t be the last time she gave him one. That was fine with her; any physical contact was more than welcome.
Inuyasha was anything but fine. Most of his body had been lulled into a blob of spongy goo by Kagome’s ever-talented hands, but a certain part of him was far from relaxed. He was hard as stone, for heaven’s sake! As far as he knew, he had never been aroused to the point of pain before, but he was now. It was incredibly bizarre, as if the blood was rushing out of the rest of his body straight to his engorged cock. (3) It wasn’t long, however, before his body began to heat up once again. He started breathing heavily, his arousal spiraling upwards until it filled the air around them. Kagome paused in her ministrations, unsure of herself, and Inuyasha reached a decision. I can’t take it anymore!
Kagome gasped at the speed at which he turned to face her, nearly sending her stumbling into the river. He caught her around the shoulders, setting her skin aflame where they touched. A matching fire danced in his eyes, and Kagome was nearly scorched by its intensity. Need, want, lust; these things dominated his gaze, demanding a type of submission she was unable or unwilling to refuse. But there was something else, a softness she didn’t dare try to rationalize. Whatever that emotion was, it rose rapidly as some of the blazing desire receded. It was still there, powerful as ever, but this new softness became dominant, making her heart flutter in a way that had nothing to do with physical arousal.
“Kagome,” he whispered as his right hand reached up and cupped her cheek. Inuyasha would never know how much that one word meant to her. It cast light were there had been shadow, and brought hope where there had been despair. Looking into his eyes in that moment, she couldn’t help but feel absolutely cherished, unquestioningly loved. Her heart swelled, and she took the initiative, placing her small hand over his and leaning toward him.
Inuyasha pulled away so suddenly that she lost her balance, tumbling face first into the water. She came up sputtering, more disappointed than she had ever been in her life. She sensed some of the same emotion from Inuyasha, but something else gripped him as well. His face was beat red, but not from embarrassment, and his entire body had gone rigid. He was furious, absolutely livid. His teeth were clenched so hard that it appeared they were about to shatter, and it looked like speaking would be impossible. Sniffing in the direction he was glaring, Kagome picked up a scent that made her want to bash her head against a rock. Inuyasha, who had been facing the bank, must have sensed the intruder somehow.
“Come on out, Shippou-chan,” she ordered in exasperation. The kit stepped out from behind a bush, and had the good graces to look contrite.
“I’m sorry, Kagome!” he pleaded. “I was just leaving, and then I stepped on a fallen branch.” Oh, Kagome thought, so that’s how Inuyasha heard him. I guess I was too out of it to notice. But then, Inuyasha had grown up having to listen to every tiny noise to survive, so she couldn’t blame him for being so attentive.
“What were you doing here in the first place?” she asked, trying to keep the irritation out of her tone.
“Kaede said you were taking a bath, so I thought I’d join you. I didn’t know Inuyasha was here, too.” Then, Shippou smirked, and Kagome knew what that meant.
Mischief.
“So, you finally took my advice, eh Inuyasha?” the kit drolled, earning an even harsher glare from the hanyou, if that was possible. “I told you way back when we first met that it’s more fun to bathe together.”
The snapping of Inuyasha’s temper was almost audible. “THAT’S IT!!!!” he roared as he leapt out of the river in a single bound. Shippou literally escaped capture by the fur on his tail, scurrying off into the underbrush as fast as his four paws would carry him.
“Come back here, you little shit!!! I’m gonna skin you alive!!!” Inuyasha bellowed, vanishing after him. Kagome sank back into the water, covering her flaming cheeks with both hands. She had just seen enough of Inuyasha’s naked ass to last her a lifetime. Well, maybe not a lifetime; more like a day. It was a very nice ass, after all. Kagome craned her neck further and leaned her forehead in her hands. Was she really going to have to content herself with just a look tonight? They had been so close! Dammit! She had been about to kiss him, and that look in his eyes… Could it have been love? Her heart had thought so at the time. And then there was the lust. She shuddered, tearing her mind away from such thoughts. Dwelling on that moment would only make it more difficult to cool down. Her body was all wound up, aching for something that only Inuyasha could give her. She shook her head; she should have been ashamed for wanting sex so badly, but couldn’t bring herself to care at the moment. No one could blame her for such desire considering the circumstances.
Sighing miserably, she heaved herself out of the river and dressed quickly for fear of Inuyasha’s return. With her arousal receding at an agonizingly slow pace, she was gradually switching back into ‘virgin mode.’ She considered grabbing Inuyasha’s clothes, but quickly dismissed that idea. If she did that, he would need to seek her out—stark naked—to reclaim them. That was the last thing she needed; she definitely wouldn’t get any sleep if she saw any more of him. She was already expecting a long night as it was.
Unfortunately, Kagome was right. It took her several hours to fall asleep, though not totally for the reason she predicted. It was so cold without Inuyasha’s warmth next to her. Who knew two nights nestled against him would make it so difficult to fall asleep otherwise? Shippou was certainly happy; he passed out as soon as his head touched her sleeping bag. Getting chased around by a nude hanyou would tire anyone out, unless of course you wanted to be caught… And there was that dirty mind of hers again, the other reason she couldn’t fall asleep. Eventually, however, the day’s training caught up with her, pulling her into a restless slumber filled with delightfully decadent dreams that always seemed to end before they go to the good part.
*End Day 2*
The following morning sucked for all parties. Inuyasha hadn’t slept so well himself, perched on the hard, lonely surface of Kaede’s roof. So naturally he was quite pissy, an attitude made all the more potent by lingering resentment at Shippou for his bad timing the day before. For her part, Kagome didn’t bear Shippou any ill will, but lack of sleep did sour even her normally bright mood. Fortunately, they weren’t training today; a journey to Totosai’s was on the docket. They set out after breakfast, and reached the old youkai’s cave by mid-afternoon.
“Oi, Totosai! You in there?” Inuyasha called.
“Who’s that?” came the curious reply.
“Get your wrinkly ass out here, you old geezer.”
“Inuyasha, be nice!” Kagome scolded. “We’re asking him a favor!”
“Feh! He still owes me for saving his sorry ass from Sesshoumaru.”
“You don’t think fixing Tetsusaiga was enough of a repayment?”
“…”
“I thought so.”
“Kagome?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up.”
“Why you…”
Luckily for Inuyasha, Totosai chose that moment to make his appearance, distracting Kagome from her mounting irritation with her hanyou companion.
“So, Inuyasha, what brings you and your foul mouth to my home?” the old man asked.
“Keh. Kagome needs something to seal her hanyou blood.”
“Kagome is a hanyou? I always thought she was human.”
“No, you forgetful bastard. Don’t you remember? She was a hanyou the last time we were here.” When all Inuyasha got in reply was a vacant look, he growled in exasperation. Kagome chose that moment to step in.
“Please, Totosai-sama,” she cooed, “do you think you could make something for me?” No man could resist that amount of feminine charm, not even one who was several hundred years old. Totosai was just happy to be spoken to respectfully for a change.
“Of course, my dear. Do you want a sword?”
“Uh, couldn’t it be something smaller…and less sharp?”
“Hm, sorry, but I’m a swordsmith. I don’t know how to make anything else. I suppose I could craft a short sword, something you won’t actually use for fighting.”
“That would be great! Thank you so much!” Kagome exclaimed, hugging Totosai around the shoulders. Inuyasha couldn’t help but feel a small pang of jealousy.
“Yes, yes,” the old youkai brushed off her gratitude, “come inside and we’ll get started.” The three of them went into the cave, and Totosai grabbed something from the back before settling down with the two hanyou. Kagome grimaced as she spied the dreaded tongs in his hands.
“How many teeth do you need?” she asked reluctantly.
“One should do it. Don’t worry, dear, I’ll make it quick.”
“It’ll still hurt like hell,” Inuyasha interjected, earning himself two annoyed glares. This whole situation tickled him greatly. Kagome had rolled her eyes at the fuss he’d made when Totosai pulled his tooth all those months ago, and now it was her turn. We’ll see who’s fussing over nothing now! He chuckled deeply.
“He he he—aaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” Inuyasha screamed. His hands flew to his mouth as he stared wrathfully at Totosai, who was now holding his left canine in the tongs. “Wh-what the fuck was that for!”
“Well, we need your tooth, don’t we?” Totosai replied. Inuyasha’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull. The worst part was that he couldn’t tell if the old man had really forgotten whose tooth he was supposed to yank or if the geezer was just messing with him.
“NO!!! Kagome’s tooth. KAGOME’S tooth!!!!”
“Oh…oops.”
“Oops ! Is that all you can say, you senile son of a bi—”
“Inuyasha!” Kagome shouted, cutting off his tirade. “Shut up,” she said with a slight smirk, throwing his words back at him. Inuyasha might have told her to fuck off, or something similar, but the dangerous glint in her eye told him he was on thin ice. An ‘osuwari’ was in his near future if he didn’t calm himself.
“I’ll shut up when I damn well feel like it,” he grumbled under his breath, folding his arms over his chest and pouting. Kagome rolled her eyes; she could let him have that small victory. She wasn’t an immature baka who didn’t have the patience to deal with old people.
“You know, Inuyasha-sama,” spoke a familiar voice, “we probably would have needed your tooth anyway.”
“Myouga?” Sure enough, the flea leapt up from the floor onto Inuyasha’s knee. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Tell me, Inuyasha-sama, why do you think the Tetsusaiga seals your youkai blood?”
He shrugged. “Because it’s made from Oyaji’s fang?” (4)
“Precisely. If Tetsusaiga was made from just your fang, it wouldn’t restrain your youkai side at all. You need outside help to do that.”
“Why is that, Myouga?” Kagome inquired curiously.
“Well, think about it. If you had the power to control your youkai blood, you wouldn’t need a sword to do it, would you?”
“Oh, I see. So Inuyasha needed the strength of his father. Does it have to be a blood relative?”
“Normally, yes, but your case is unique. Your family is human, so their teeth won’t help at all. The youkai you are most closely connected to is Inuyasha-sama. Even though you two aren’t actually related, you share a powerful bond. And Inuyasha-sama is strong, so the strength of his youki shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Will it work?” Kagome asked, flushing slightly at Myouga’s blunt description of her relationship with Inuyasha.
“There’s no way to tell for sure, but I believe it will.”
“That’s good enough for me. Do you still need my tooth?”
“Yes, I think it would be helpful if we blended your two teeth together.”
“Wow, Myouga’s actually being useful for a change,” Inuyasha interjected sulkily, still annoyed with Totosai.
“Inuyasha-sama! I am always at your service.”
“Yeah, right! I guarantee you won’t be around the next time we need you.”
“Hmph!” Myouga snorted indignantly. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”
“Keh. Why the hell are you here anyway? Weren’t you just at Daichi’s?”
“I had an unpleasant run-in with Sakura,” the flea stated embarrassedly, causing Inuyasha to grin in amusement.
“She almost eat you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Inuyasha’s reply was forestalled by a small cry from Kagome. He looked over to see her holding her cheek, one of her fangs noticeably missing.
“Wow,” Myouga observed, “Kagome-sama barely made a sound.” Four sets of amused eyes, including Shippou’s, turned to Inuyasha at this, who could only stutter.
“I-I wasn’t expecting it!” he yelled defensively.
“Of course,” Myouga assured, though it was pretty clear he was just humoring the hanyou. Growling, Inuyasha made a grab for the flea, but to no avail; Myouga hopped off and made his escape. Standing swiftly, Inuyasha held out his hand to Kagome, more to drag her out of the cave than to help her up.
“Come on, wench, we’re leaving. Totosai, when will you have it ready?”
“Have what ready?”
Grrrrrrr. *Bonk* “The sword you’re making for Kagome, dumbass!”
“Inuyasha!” Kagome admonished. “Punching him in the head isn’t going to help his memory.”
“Feh! Answer the question, you old fart. And you’d better not tell me you forgot again.”
“Hmmm,” the elderly youkai contemplated, scratching his chin. “Well, it’s small, so come back tomorrow. Maybe I’ll have it done by then.”
“Good,” was the irritated hanyou’s only reply before he stormed out of the cave, Kagome in tow.
“Thank you, Totosai-sama!” she called before vanishing from view. Myouga reappeared once the coast was clear, hopping up onto Totosai’s shoulder and shaking his head.
“Well, at least he made the right decision in the end.”
“Still a hothead though,” Totosai answered.
“No doubt about that.”
Sango took Kagome to train the following morning, saying that she wanted to show her a few things. The problem was the taijiya made perfectly clear that his was a “girls only” training session, which left Inuyasha stuck with a certain lecherous monk who wouldn’t leave him alone. The monk gathered that something had happened in his absence, and wasn’t about to stop bugging Inuyasha until the latter spilled the beans. Then that idiot fox kit blurted out the hot spring incident. Needless to say, it was a stressful morning for Inuyasha, and it was no better for Kagome. She got in her question first, asking Sango about Miroku’s behavior. As it turned out, the monk had started flirting with the village girls but ceased immediately upon receiving an icy look from his betrothed. Though he made no further attempts to womanize, Sango still wondered if he would behave himself if she weren’t around. But it was progress; Miroku never used to care who was around when he flirted. Kagome was glad to hear the monk was making some effort to control himself.
Of course, now Kagome was obligated to answer Sango’s questions regarding her experiences in their time apart. Reciprocity was indeed a bitch. So she described the fiasco in the hot spring in embarrassing detail, not even bothering to pretend she regretted anything up to Shippou’s interruption. Sango was just floored that Kagome had the guts to invite Inuyasha to bathe with her in the first place. The funny thing was that both girls were left absolutely certain that the other’s relationship would work out, and less sure about their own.
When afternoon came, Inuyasha and Kagome retrieved the latter’s new seal from Totosai. It was a plain silver short sword, about half a foot long, with no guard and no decorative markings of any kind. A casual observer would have no idea the sword was special in any way, but Kagome felt a spark of power the instant she touched the handle. She probably wouldn’t use it in battle, much preferring her arrows, but she guessed that it might help control her youkai blood. She sheathed it and placed it on her hip. Feeling grateful, she coerced Inuyasha into helping her prepare Totosai a hot bath when the old youkai started dropping hints that he needed one. Inuyasha was none too happy about that, and as a result he grumbled the whole time.
“Hey, Kagome,” the wolf prince greeted cockily as he skidded to a halt before her. He did not, however, grab her hands like he usually did. In fact, he seemed almost put off by her appearance. “So…you’re still a hanyou?” he questioned, doing a very poor job of concealing his disappointment. Before Kagome—or Inuyasha—could answer, something else caught the wolf’s attention. “Kagome, what the hell are you wearing?” It was a little chilly today, so Kagome had chosen to wear the kosode and hakama with the green, white, and blue swirling pattern. To her knowledge, it was the first time Kouga had seen her in anything besides modern clothes, so she supposed it was only natural to wonder where she had gotten something like this. Still, to be so harsh about it…
“Heh. Looks good on her, don’t it flea-bag,” Inuyasha replied. Kouga could only stare in shock. Did he just compliment her? And why is she looking at him like he recited love poetry?!
“Kagome looks incredibly beautiful in whatever she wears,” he answered smoothly. He frowned when Kagome didn’t even glance in his direction. What the fuck?! Hadn’t his flattering been better than that unrefined cretin’s?
“That’s the smartest thing you’ve ever said, wolf,” Inuyasha responded. “Now beat it.”
What the half-breed did next infuriated Kouga to the point of seeing red. Having intercepted Kagome’s endeared look, the bastard had the audacity to loop his arm around the girl. Kagome was his woman, dammit! He would not stand for some dog’s claim on her, no matter how informal it was at the moment. What really concerned and incensed him was that Kagome didn’t seem to mind; she actually appeared to enjoy the half-breed’s embrace. Growling viciously, he lunged forward and forcefully separated the two of them, baring his teeth at Inuyasha, who just smirked at him. The hanyou was practically oozing confidence for some reason, and it made him nervous.
“Kouga! What—” Kagome started, only to be cut off. It was not lost on the wolf that Kagome had not used “-kun” when addressing him. When had he lost the privilege of being referred to with an honorific? It was all Inuyasha’s fault; of that he was certain.
“Where did you get those clothes, Kagome?” he ground out through gritted teeth, trying not to take out his anger on his woman. Kagome narrowed her eyes at him, not liking his possessive behavior one bit. And given his past and present reactions to her hanyou metamorphosis, she was no longer in any kind of mood to be nice. So, for the first time ever, she was rude to Kouga.
“It’s none of your business, but if you must know, Inuyasha got them for me.”
Well, at least Kouga now knew why the bastard had complimented her. Inuyasha’s head was stuck too far up his ass to realize just how truly special Kagome was, and how lucky he was to have her. But he doesn’t have her! She’s mine! Somehow he wasn’t as convinced of that fact as he used to be. He took a deep breath to calm himself, laying on the charm thick when he spoke.
“Kagome, if you wanted new clothes, you should have come to me. I’ll get you garments made of the finest furs, and you’ll never want to wear anything from that half—him ever again.”
Nobody missed Kouga’s near slip, though no one commented on it directly. For Kagome, it made it even easier to finally stop placing the wolf on some sort of pedestal and treat him like the prejudiced jerk he was. She was going to stay a half-breed, after all.
“That’s not necessary, Kouga; I love Inuyasha’s gifts.”
And there was that look again, that special smile that Kouga so longed to see directed at him. But it was once again aimed at the mutt, and Kouga began to wonder if that would ever change. He quickly banished that thought. When I make her my mate, she won’t be wearing any of that shit anymore, that’s for damn sure. I’ll burn all of it if I have to!
“But Kagome,” he protested, “you should be dressed in only the finest furs and silks. Once you become human again, you won’t have any need for peasant clothes like that.”
Kagome was tempted to tell him off for making the pitifully false assertion that Daichi’s products were ‘peasant clothes,’ but his comment contained a more important issue that needed addressing.
“Kouga, I’m not changing back. I’ve decided to stay a hanyou…forever.”
Kouga went slack-jawed for a second, but then his brow furrowed in fury. He had tried for so long to avoid putting his foot down with Kagome, but there was no avoiding it now.
“No, you’re not.”
“Excuse me?” Kagome inquired incredulously.
“You’re my woman, Kagome, and you’re changing back to a human.”
“Why you…you arrogant prick! What gives you the right to boss me around?! I’m not your property!”
“But you are my future mate, and as such, you have to listen to me.”
At this point, Inuyasha could no longer hold his tongue. “She ain’t never gonna be your mate, bastard!”
“Shut the fuck up, Inu-kurro! You want her to change back too!”
“Not anymore! That was a mistake,” he finished softly. Kagome placed her delicate hand on his shoulder, rubbing soothingly as she favored him with a compassionate look. Kouga was enraged and sickened by the entire display. Inuyasha seemed to regain his confidence from Kagome’s comfort, and he turned fiery eyes back towards the wolf. “I’ll stay with Kagome no matter which form she chooses. And at least I had good reasons for wanting her to become human. I wasn’t just being a selfish bastard!”
“My reasons are selfless too!” Kouga retorted with some conviction, though doubt easily worked its way into his tone.
“Bullshit! You claim to care about her, you fucking bigot? If you really loved her you wouldn’t ask her to change for you!”
“And what would you know about loving Kagome?” Kouga smirked at Inuyasha’s hesitation. Heh, that’ll shut him up.
For Inuyasha, time slowed to a crawl, as seconds seemed to take hours. His father’s words came back to him. “There will be times in every man’s life when he must do or say the right thing, or lose the ones he loves.” This was one of those times. How could he deny his feelings now and then confess them later? If he announced that he didn’t love Kagome now, he could lose her forever. Still, his nerves and insecurities struck him hard, forcing him to reach a compromise within himself.
“Maybe…maybe I know more about that than you think.”
(1) For those who don’t know, it is customary in Japan for women to walk behind men. “Ladies first” has very little place in Japanese culture. For more good info from someone who has been to Japan, read this really good piece from Ai Kisugi. Anyone who is going to write a fanfiction taking place in Japan should probably read something like this, or at least make sure they have some background on Japanese culture.
Here’s the link: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_ch.php/159521/559252#fic_c
(2) This takes me back to my teenage years and learning how to drive. Why was it so hard to tear my eyes off the road directly in front of me? At least I wasn’t the worst student-driver in my family. My sister blew a tire on a grave marker in our church cemetery. In my car!!!
(3) I can verify all this through personal experience. My ex-girlfriend used to give me these amazing massages, and you can fill in the rest.
(4) “Oyaji” is a slangy, disrespectful term for “father” in Japanese.
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Fanfiction of the Week: “The Price,” by Fenikkusuken
A sincere thanks to youkaineko for bringing this story to my attention. I think I was completely hooked by the end of chapter 1. It’s now finished, and stands as one of my favorite AUs.
Frustration, Part 2
In retrospect, that first day hadn’t been so bad. He hadn’t gotten to kiss Kagome, but the others had apologized and everything had returned to normal. The second day was when things started to get a little weird.
*Day 2*
He had no idea how it happened, but sometime during the night he and Kagome had gravitated toward each other, ending up nestled together. He woke at sunrise to find her resting on his shoulder, one of his arms supporting her back and the other draped possessively around her waist. She was still in the sleeping bag, reminding him of that night they shared her bed in the modern era. Grinning contentedly, he settle back to enjoy the morning, breathing deeply to take in Kagome’s sweet scent. He grimaced as another less pleasant odor invaded his nostrils. Shit, I really do stink! He quickly buried his nose in Kagome’s hair. At least one of us doesn’t smell like a fuckin’ armpit.
“Do I stink, too?” she asked out of the blue, startling him. Apparently either his movements or the daylight had woken her. They turned toward each other at the same time, and Inuyasha was struck by the sheer happiness rolling off her. Her eyes sparkled with amusement, and he temporarily lost the ability to speak. A short shake of his head was all the response he could manage. Giggling at his stupor, Kagome laid her head back down on his shoulder, resuming her previous position. Neither hanyou was looking forward to getting up; both were too comfortable. They unknowingly shared the same thought: I could stay like this forever. Inuyasha blanched; he felt like such a sissy thinking something like that. It made him want to go do something manly for the rest of the morning, like chop wood or beat up some other men for no good reason. He wondered if Sesshoumaru was in the area, or better yet, Kouga. But even if one of them did happen to be nearby, he would still have the problem of not wanting to get up.
Kagome’s ear flicked at a fly in his line of vision, giving him an idea for something he hadn’t done in awhile. With only slight hesitation he reached up and gently grasped the fuzzy appendage between his fingers, massaging in slow circles. Kagome started purring almost immediately as nearly every muscle in her body wholly relaxed. She felt like a boneless blob of goo, her only contact with the real world that highly skilled hand on her ear. She wasn’t tired, so it didn’t put her to sleep, but a small nuclear device could have gone off nearby and she wouldn’t have noticed. Then, abruptly it was over, the delightful sensation replaced by insistent prodding on the backs of her shoulders.
“Get up, wench. The others are waking.”
Now that she was listening, Kagome could hear the sounds of their friends rousing inside the hut, but how the hell was that any reason to stop rubbing her ear? She could feel the tender appendage tingling, as if reminding her body of that wonderful feeling it yearned for.
“Why’d you stop?” she demanded, her irritation clearly conveyed.
“Feh. Can’t laze around all day, wench. We’ve got another full day of training ahead of us.”
Kagome grumbled about that, knowing the real reason Inuyasha was so insistent that they get up now. But she didn’t particularly feel like dealing with her friends’ teasing either, however good-natured it might be. Besides, she was damn hungry; all that physical exertion yesterday had built up quite an appetite. At breakfast, no one spoke of Kagome’s absence from the hut the previous night, but any mildly observant person could tell it was on everyone’s minds. Kagome worried about Shippou’s appearance; the kit had dark shadows under his eyes and appeared weary and listless. Even more alarming was the fact that he curled up on her sleeping bag to take a nap after finishing his meal.
“Is something wrong with Shippou?” she asked when she was sure the young fox was asleep.
“No,” Sango responded grimly, “he just didn’t sleep well last night. As a matter of fact, he didn’t sleep all that well two nights ago, either.”
Kagome felt a pang of guilt. Shippou usually slept with her in her sleeping bag, and from what she heard didn’t have too much of a problem when she was in her time. But apparently he was having difficulty sleeping by himself while she was on his side of the well. Sighing, she shot an apologetic look Inuyasha’s way. They both knew what this meant: no more sleeping together, just the two of them. Arrangements would have to return to the way they were before. Shippou was still so young, and an orphan to boot, so Kagome wasn’t willing to kick him out of her bed yet. Inuyasha shrugged and tried to look like he didn’t care, but even he knew he couldn’t pull off that kind of callous nonchalance anymore.
“Why does he need so much fuckin’ sleep, anyway,” he grumped. “He’s a youkai.”
“He’s also a child, Inuyasha,” Kagome argued, albeit reluctantly. “Kids need a lot of sleep. Just look at how much of a wreck he is now.”
Inuyasha snorted his displeasure, but grudgingly accepted Kagome’s decision. I swear, that twerp is the luckiest orphan who ever lived.
“So what’s the plan for the next few days?” Sango interjected, changing the subject. “Houshi-sama and I have to go perform a youkai extermination in a nearby village, but I don’t know how long it will take. Are you two going to stay here until we get back?”
Inuyasha shook his head. “Nah, we’re leaving first thing tomorrow morning for Totosai’s to get Kagome something to seal her youkai blood. Just meet us somewhere at the edge of his territory,” he advised, knowing the humans would be unable to handle the noxious fumes of the old youkai’s domain.
“Sounds like a plan,” Miroku replied easily. “Shall we go, my lovely Sango?” The taijiya took the offered hand and was helped to her feet, but did not comply with the monk’s gesture to precede him out the doorway.
“After you, Houshi-sama,” she said sternly. Miroku merely smiled mischievously in response.
“Ah, my dear Sango. You are not my wife yet, and even if you were I would not have you walking behind me.” (1) Sango flushed crimson, but did not move from her spot.
“Believe me, Houshi-sama,” she ground out through clenched teeth. “This has nothing to do with…that! I simply want your hands where I can see them.”
Miroku grinned wryly, heaving a dramatic sigh as he trudged out of the hut. “I am so misunderstood…”
This time Inuyasha began the countdown aloud. “Three…two…one…”
*Slap!!!*
Kagome burst out laughing at his perfect timing, and Inuyasha joined in whole-heartedly. “How does he always seem to catch Sango by surprise?” Kagome asked in between her giggles.
“Dunno. Alright, wench, let’s go. You’ll never get any good if we don’t practice.”
“Okay—hey! I’m already pretty good! I did hit you yesterday, didn’t I?”
“That was a fluke.”
“Was not!”
“Prove it.”
“Fine!” Kagome growled, grabbing Inuyasha and dragging him all the way to their field by his haori. She didn’t even wait for him to set his feet before pouncing. Unfortunately, he was far too quick and agile to be taken so easily. Still, she did manage to land a few hits in the next two hours. The problem was that for every successful strike, she received at least a few dozen back from Inuyasha, who was still showing remarkable restraint in pulling his punches. But even that horrible ratio was an improvement, filling her with a sense of accomplishment. At this rate, she would be able to defend herself proficiently in no time!
Of course, she still struggled with many things, including not going out of control on attacks. Inuyasha continually chastised her on that point, but each time she would revert to the bad habit after a few minutes of relative restraint. After viewing this self-defeating cycle one too many times, Inuyasha decided a more substantial lesson was needed. He waited until Kagome launched a particularly sloppy assault, then swooped in and bore her to the ground. She wound up lying on her front, both arms twisted and held behind her by Inuyasha, who was draped over her back.
“Bitch!” he growled in her ear. “How many fucking times do I have to te—ack!”
Kagome surprised him then, using a leg to roll them over until she was on top of him. Next she managed to wrench her arms free and scramble away before facing him and resuming a fighting stance. Inuyasha climbed to his feet slowly, all thoughts of admonishing her further long gone. He was very impressed.
“Heh, not bad, Kagome.”
She didn’t even grin at the compliment, but a small twinkle in her eye let him know that she was extremely happy to receive it. Still, she was sweating and breathing hard, and it was time to call a break. Being pressed up against her heaving, quivering body had done nothing to calm his own nerves, either. They both needed to cool down, for completely different reasons.
“Alright, wench, let’s work on your tracking. Hang on; I’m gonna go get us some prey.” He took off, dashing back toward the village. Kagome collapsed onto her back, sighing in relief as her heart rate slowed and her tired muscles finally relaxed. There had been something far too pleasant about being held down like that by Inuyasha, which was probably part of the reason she had been so motivated to break his hold. He had felt it too, if the faint scent of his arousal was any indication.
Inuyasha returned a few minutes later, a drowsy-looking Shippou riding on his shoulder. The kit quickly came fully awake as he realized the importance of his task. He puffed out his little chest, promising to do his best. Kagome thought the entire scene was too adorable for words, and Inuyasha just rolled his eyes. They sent Shippou into the forest and gave him about a ten minute head start. It might have been easier to just have Kagome track Inuyasha, but he couldn’t very well teach her anything about following scents if he couldn’t see what she was doing. It took only a couple minutes to disabuse Kagome of her incorrect notion that tracking was as simple as sniff-and-go. There were techniques involved, like what to do if you lost a trail or it became jumbled with other scents. She was really hoping to avoid prostrating herself on the ground and sticking her nose in the dirt like she had seen Inuyasha do many times before, but he insisted it was necessary. She could only pray she would never have to use that humiliating technique in the company of her other friends. At least Inuyasha had the decency to go down with her, teaching through example. Little did she know that the male hanyou’s actual motives were decidedly less noble; he just didn’t want to get caught staring at her ass.
After lunch, Inuyasha decided to give Kagome a real test, and the best way to do that was to have her track the stealthiest, nimblest guy in the area. No, he didn’t have an ego. He pulled out all the stops too, employing every trick he knew to throw her off. He zigzagged, leapt across streams, went up and down trees, backtracked, and tried any number of other tactics too. Eventually he stopped all that and simply worked his way back to the starting point. From there he followed Kagome’s trail to keep an eye her progress. He caught up with her easily enough, and kept to the forest canopy as he watched her work. He was not disappointed. Several times she almost lost the trail completely, but always managed to pick it up again. His tricks would confuse her for a few minutes, but then she would figure them out and continue her pursuit. She just kept plugging along; he wouldn’t use ‘fast’ or any of its synonyms to describe her technique, but it was effective nonetheless. It was clear she had taken his lessons to heart.
Periodically she would look around as if she could tell she was being watched, forcing Inuyasha to quickly duck behind a convenient tree trunk. But nothing ever came of it; she would shrug and return to her task and he would resume his observing. Though perhaps staring would be a better word. He was utterly transfixed by her lithe form and the subtle grace in every movement. Her clothes revealed just enough skin to tantalize and make him imagine what lay underneath. And since he had seen her naked on several previous occasions, he had a very good imagination. Was it a little hentai to be shamelessly ogling her like this? Yeah, but he didn’t particularly give a damn, not when she was making herself look so incredibly enticing. It was mid-afternoon by the time Kagome reached the area where he had stopped trying to throw her off. At that point, he dropped down from a tree directly in front of her, causing her to yelp and fall flat on her backside. She shot him a dirty look as he snickered at her.
“Inuyasha! Did you have to scare me like that?!”
“Just seeing if you were on your toes, wench.”
“I was trying to concentrate on following your scent. Hey! I found you!”
“Yeah, too bad it took for-fucking-ever.”
Kagome felt the veins in her forehead pop at that comment. That arrogant jackass! Where does he get the gall—easy girl, ‘osuwari-ing’ him will only make you feel a little better. And then he’ll just go pout for the rest of the day.
“Well I’m sorry for being a beginner and not having decades of experience. I guess I’ll never measure up to the mighty Inuyasha.” Her words dripped with sarcasm, but Inuyasha simply smirked and pretended not to notice.
“Probably not.”
“Jerk.”
“Bitch.”
Snarling, Kagome took a swing at him, forcing Inuyasha to leap back to avoid the blow. And as good as another sparring session sounded, he knew there were other areas in which she needed to train first. With this in mind, he turned and dashed off into the trees, Kagome in hot pursuit.
“Where are you going, baka!” she called after him. “Get back here!”
“Nope. You need to work on your running, wench.”
“Running?! How hard can it be?”
Ten minutes later, Kagome was singing an entirely different tune. “Running?! How hard can it be?” If that’s not the stupidest thing I’ve ever said. It wasn’t an issue of stamina; she was having no problem physically matching the speed Inuyasha was setting. That made her problem all the more daunting. Even at that relatively sedate pace, she could barely keep herself upright. Maintaining foot-eye coordination demanded all of her concentration, and still she would trip over tree roots that seemed to come out of nowhere and nearly clothesline herself on low-hanging branches. Her untrained mind just couldn’t process the incoming information fast enough to avoid every obstacle.
And then there was Inuyasha, just cruising along as if their current pace was no challenge at all. For him, it probably wasn’t. Hell, he didn’t even have to look where he was going, spending half the time looking back at her. He kept giving her pointers; for example, look farther ahead instead of focusing on the ground a few feet in front of you. (2) At first, that sounded like such a brainless idea. If I don’t look at where I’m putting my feet, I’ll fall for sure! But then, after nearly doing just that one too many times, she decided to try it his way. And wouldn’t you know, it worked. Looking ahead, she could spy the approaching obstacles and move to avoid them before they were underfoot. Idly she wondered why she hadn’t just listened to him in the first place. Probably because you’re as stubborn as he is, baka. It was gradual improvement, but she and Inuyasha were able to steadily increase their pace over the next couple hours. Fatigue was starting to set in by the time they decided to call it a night, but Kagome felt fairly confident about her running ability. Confident enough to throw caution to the wind and make an all-in bet when she probably should have folded.
“Well, you ain’t a total klutz anymore, wench. Congrats,” Inuyasha teased, carefully stoking the flames of Kagome’s simmering ire.
“Oh, yeah?” she challenged. “I bet I could outrun you!” She couldn’t tell if Inuyasha was more shocked or amused by that declaration.
“How ‘bout a race, then? First one to Goshinboku wins. Do you know how to get there from here, wench?” he asked patronizingly.
“Yes I know how to get there from here! Fine, let’s do this thing. Go!”
Then she was off, darting through the underbrush and leaving Inuyasha behind. Hey, if he was so smart he should have anticipated her quick start. At least, that’s how she justified it to herself.
It took Kagome under a minute to realize she was in way over her head. Not only did Inuyasha pass her, but he actually slowed down after he did so, cruising along about twenty feet in front of her. His eyes laughed at her as he effortlessly matched any speed she set. In doing so he dashed her hopes for a tortoise and hare scenario, where Inuyasha would get so far ahead he would relax and fall asleep. Or get knocked out by a falling tree limb; either would work just fine. But of course the hanyou just had to be difficult, forcing her mind to scramble for another way to finish first. She couldn’t let him win, not if she didn’t want to be reminded of her defeat every day for the foreseeable future. The most obvious course of action was to just ‘osuwari’ him, but that would be downright cheating. She needed something more subtle.
The idea came to her just after she stumbled and nearly fell flat on her face. Inuyasha faltered in his step as if he was going to come back to check on her. Kagome grinned deviously. Was it sneaky? Yes. Was it a little underhanded? Yes. Did she care? Hell no! She waited until Goshinboku was in sight before making her move. She purposefully lost her footing and crashed to the dirt, letting out a yelp that was in no way fake; that landing had hurt! Predictably, Inuyasha stopped and walked back to her, muttering to himself about clumsy wenches. Hmph, we’ll see who’s clumsy.
“You alright, wen—”
Suddenly she was gone, and it took Inuyasha a full second to realize what had happened. By then, it was far too late; Kagome was already halfway to Goshinboku and there would be no catching her in the short distance remaining. All he could do was sprint after her, watching as she reached the finish line and turned toward him wearing a sheepish, but victorious grin.
“Y-you cheated, bitch!!!” he bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at her.
“Hey! I didn’t make you stop, you know. You could have kept going.”
“That was a dirty fucking trick, bitch, and you know it!”
Kagome shrugged. “So sue me.”
“Huh?”
“Oops! Modern expression; it means too bad.”
At this, Inuyasha turned away from her, folding his arms over his chest, signaling the beginning of one of his classic full-blown pouts. He muttered quietly to himself, and Kagome was glad she couldn’t pick up all of the words. The ones she could make out were none too flattering.
“Oh, lighten up, Inuyasha. So you lost a race to me. Big deal.”
Apparently, the other hanyou didn’t see it that way, because Kagome didn’t even get a ‘feh’ in response. Fine, if he wants to be that way about it. Sticking her chin in the air with a harrumph, she strode purposefully toward the village.
“Where the fuck are you going, bitch?”
“To get my bathing supplies! Speaking of which, you stink like a dirty gym sock. You need a bath too.”
“Maybe I don’t feel like taking one,” he stated petulantly.
“Inuyasha,” Kagome said softly, her glower almost as formidable as the danger in her tone. “You are taking a bath, no matter how many times I have to say ‘the word.’”
Inuyasha grumbled, sorely tempted to refuse on principle alone, but the sad truth was that he wasn’t going to win this argument. He wanted a bath, too; he just didn’t want to take one under orders. Nodding, Kagome proceeded to gather her supplies from her bag and head down to a part of the river secluded in the forest, Inuyasha following along like some whipped puppy. It was the same place she had bathed with Sango the previous evening.
“You know, you don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to,” Kagome said as she set her soaps and shampoos down at the water’s edge.
“Believe me, wench, leaving you alone in the middle of the woods would be asking for trouble.”
“Hmph! Well, no peeking then.”
“Keh.”
Satisfied that he had his back turned, Kagome stepped out of her clothing and into the water, the cool liquid feeling positively wonderful on her heated skin. She checked on Inuyasha once more before closing her eyes and surrendering to the soothing lull of the river, submerging herself up to her nostrils. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Inuyasha to see her naked; if he jumped in this river right now and told her he loved her, she would be more than happy to do anything he wanted, and that included going all the way. But until then, until he admitted he wanted her, he wasn’t getting any free peeks. She wasn’t a slut, and she wasn’t going to give her virginity away on a whim. If she ever did have to leave him forever, maybe she would ask him to spend their last night with her even if he didn’t love her. She shuddered; hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
Now that the tranquil water was calming her agitated temper, she felt a little guilty for being so harsh with Inuyasha. Her stunt really had been a dirty trick, and she couldn’t blame him for his reaction. Then I threatened to ‘osuwari’ him if he didn’t agree to take a bath. And all he did was help me train all day. Yep, she definitely needed to make it up to him. But how? She folded her arms on the bank and rested her chin on them, gazing contemplatively at his rigid back. She frowned; he couldn’t be very comfortable over there, all sweaty in those fire-rat robes of his. Plus the flies were out, buzzing around his ears and forcing him to plaster them to his head. He smelled of irritation and anxiety. His appearance gave her an idea, one which she hurried to put into effect before she could question her sanity.
“Inuyasha, do you want to join me?”
He whirled around, staring slack-jawed at Kagome. He was actually glad he couldn’t see anything because of her position, because he was having enough trouble wrapping his head around her question and didn’t need anything else distracting him. He couldn’t have heard her correctly, could he? Did she really just ask him to join her in the river? No clothes. Bare ass naked. No barriers keeping them from… Hold on, Spiffy. She probably didn’t mean it like *that.* Still, he had to be sure.
“W-what?”
Given his astonishment, Kagome hastened to explain herself, waving her hands in front of her. “I didn’t mean…I just meant you could take a bath…at the same time as me. You looked so hot and miserable over there. I swear I won’t peek!”
Inuyasha mulled it over…for about half a second. It was a very easy decision considering how he felt about her. And when else might he get the chance to bathe with her, both of them naked as the day they were born? He would be a fool to waste such an opportunity, even if nothing came of it. He strolled slowly to the edge of the river, undoing the ties of his haori as he went. Kagome turned her back, both to avert her eyes and to preserve her own modesty. Inuyasha shed the rest of his clothes and waded into the water, allowing it to sap all the tension from his overheated body. He and Kagome hovered about fifteen feet apart, facing away from each other as the minutes ticked by.
“Thanks, wench,” he said at last, breaking the awkward silence that had settled between them.
“You’re welcome,” Kagome replied with a smile. Deciding to get down to business, she grabbed her soaps and started to wash. Inuyasha remained so still and quiet that she might have thought him asleep if not for the scent of attraction in the air. It was oddly comforting; at least she wasn’t the only one affected by their close, nude proximity.
“Do you want some soap, Inuyasha?”
“Got any that won’t make me smell like a flowery pansy?”
Kagome chuckled and shook her head. “Yeah, I have some unscented body wash. Here,” she called as she tossed the bottle, intending to have it fly over his head and land in front of him. Unfortunately, her aim was a little off.
*Bonk!!!*
“Ah! Dammit, wench! What the fuck was that for?!” Inuyasha yelled, rubbing his sore cranium. He turned to berate her further and stopped dead.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean it!” Upon impact, Kagome had risen out of the water in concern, and had never sunk back down. By the time she realized this, Inuyasha’s eyes were locked firmly on her chest and the air was becoming perfumed with his arousal. “Eep!” she squeaked before covering herself and submerging. Inuyasha looked away quickly as both sets of cheeks pinked.
“Sorry,” he muttered. Kagome could only nod in reply, not quite trusting her voice at the moment. The scent of Inuyasha’s excitement was doing funny things to her own body, causing her to squirm slightly in unfulfilled need. Perhaps this hadn’t been such a good idea after all.
Kagome took to lathering up her hair full of that berry-scented shampoo stuff, and Inuyasha waded downstream to catch the bottle of body wash before it floated too far away. Popping open the top, he took an experimental sniff. It wasn’t “unscented” as Kagome had promised, but the odor was benign enough to be compatible with his sensitive nose. He stood up, the water only covering him up to his waist, and started to scrub his upper body. It was weird, cleaning himself with something other than just water and his hands, but he decided that he could get used to it. He kept his back to Kagome, but when he heard only silence coming from behind him he dared a peek over his shoulder. She was staring at him, her hands poised in her hair as if her scrubbing had suddenly been put on pause, little rivulets of shampoo leisurely sliding down her arms to drip off her elbows. She caught herself with a start, meeting his eyes for a split second before doing a quick one-eighty, but he still glimpsed the mad blush staining her cheeks. Inuyasha smirked; at least he hadn’t been the only one caught staring. Granted, he saw a lot more than she did, but that was nitpicking.
Kagome was now even more mortified—and aroused—than before. His hair had blocked most of her view, and it had only been his back, but the way he held himself simply enchanted her. His muscular arms moved to and fro, reminding her of how it felt to be cosseted by them. She longed for that feeling every day, it seemed. It was the warmest, safest place she knew.
Inuyasha was still wearing a dopey grin as he rinsed himself off and started working on his lower body. He was happy to find that the body wash worked almost as well underwater, because there was no way he was sticking his ass out of the river. That would be asking for trouble. He nearly groaned as he cleaned the sweatiest, stickiest sections of his skin. Fuck…ball sweat: the bane of every man’s existence. Ass sweat was no cup of ramen, either. Satisfied that he no longer smelled or felt like a giant armpit, he resumed floating on his back, supporting himself with his feet on the bottom of the river.
“H-hey, Inuyasha?” Kagome called hesitantly.
“Yeah?”
“Do you…do you want me to wash your hair? I have some unscented shampoo.”
Inuyasha thought her proposal over carefully. With their mutual state of undress, having her close enough to touch him was probably a bad idea. He frowned at the stupidity of that way of thinking. Why was it bad, because he didn’t want to grab her, kiss her senseless, and make love to her right here in the river? He wanted nothing more that those things! And really, what was stopping him besides his own procrastination and insecurities? Nothing! Well, that wasn’t entirely true, but the meddling humans were gone for a change, meaning he and Kagome were finally alone. He shivered in anticipation at the thought. But before he did anything too forward, he resolved to see what Kagome had in mind.
“Sure, wench.”
Kagome was surprised at his affirmative, almost enthusiastic answer, but extremely pleased nonetheless. Wading over, she settled behind him and pressed gently down on his shoulders until he got the message and sank under the surface. She started to work the shampoo into his luxurious silver hair, rubbing it tenderly into his scalp. They both tensed immediately as she accidentally brushed her hardened nipples against his back. The action sent a jolt straight to her core, and Kagome was amazed that such a simple touch could feel so good. The scent of her arousal in the air doubled, and Inuyasha’s seemed to rise to meet it. Kagome realized with a sinking feeling that they were on dangerous ground. They were both so worked up already that one wrong move, any slight contact could send them over the edge into something that Inuyasha might not really want. Kagome had to reiterate to herself that attraction and even lust didn’t necessarily translate to love. That thought was quite sobering, allowing her to regain some of her composure and continue washing his hair. Inuyasha didn’t relax so easily, but Kagome knew of a way to fix that. And since her hands were already right there…
This time Inuyasha did moan aloud as Kagome’s delicate fingers latched onto his ears. With her hands covered in the slick, silky shampoo, it felt as if the Kami themselves were worshipping the fuzzy appendages. Daaaaaamn…how is she so good at this? Somehow he managed to keep himself from purring. Just barely, and only because Kagome went back to washing his hair after a couple short minutes. The feel of her fingers running through his silken strands was almost as soothing as having his ears rubbed. And his stubborn manhood, which had been fully erect a few minutes ago, settled down to half-mast. Kagome pushed on his shoulders again and he went under, holding his breath as she rinsed the shampoo out of his hair. He expected her to wade back to the bank when he came up, but she surprised him by doing something completely different.
For Kagome, touching Inuyasha had proven completely addicting, and she wanted more. His back was directly in front of her, and she worked up the courage to do something she had heard her girlfriends gabbing about on a couple occasions. She hoped their advice would make up for her lack of experience with this. She placed both hands on his shoulders, feeling the strain of anxiety seize his muscles once more. She responded swiftly, digging her palms into his skin as she massaged his shoulders. It astonished her how quickly Inuyasha became putty in her hands. He had probably never received a massage before, but judging by his reaction this wouldn’t be the last time she gave him one. That was fine with her; any physical contact was more than welcome.
Inuyasha was anything but fine. Most of his body had been lulled into a blob of spongy goo by Kagome’s ever-talented hands, but a certain part of him was far from relaxed. He was hard as stone, for heaven’s sake! As far as he knew, he had never been aroused to the point of pain before, but he was now. It was incredibly bizarre, as if the blood was rushing out of the rest of his body straight to his engorged cock. (3) It wasn’t long, however, before his body began to heat up once again. He started breathing heavily, his arousal spiraling upwards until it filled the air around them. Kagome paused in her ministrations, unsure of herself, and Inuyasha reached a decision. I can’t take it anymore!
Kagome gasped at the speed at which he turned to face her, nearly sending her stumbling into the river. He caught her around the shoulders, setting her skin aflame where they touched. A matching fire danced in his eyes, and Kagome was nearly scorched by its intensity. Need, want, lust; these things dominated his gaze, demanding a type of submission she was unable or unwilling to refuse. But there was something else, a softness she didn’t dare try to rationalize. Whatever that emotion was, it rose rapidly as some of the blazing desire receded. It was still there, powerful as ever, but this new softness became dominant, making her heart flutter in a way that had nothing to do with physical arousal.
“Kagome,” he whispered as his right hand reached up and cupped her cheek. Inuyasha would never know how much that one word meant to her. It cast light were there had been shadow, and brought hope where there had been despair. Looking into his eyes in that moment, she couldn’t help but feel absolutely cherished, unquestioningly loved. Her heart swelled, and she took the initiative, placing her small hand over his and leaning toward him.
Inuyasha pulled away so suddenly that she lost her balance, tumbling face first into the water. She came up sputtering, more disappointed than she had ever been in her life. She sensed some of the same emotion from Inuyasha, but something else gripped him as well. His face was beat red, but not from embarrassment, and his entire body had gone rigid. He was furious, absolutely livid. His teeth were clenched so hard that it appeared they were about to shatter, and it looked like speaking would be impossible. Sniffing in the direction he was glaring, Kagome picked up a scent that made her want to bash her head against a rock. Inuyasha, who had been facing the bank, must have sensed the intruder somehow.
“Come on out, Shippou-chan,” she ordered in exasperation. The kit stepped out from behind a bush, and had the good graces to look contrite.
“I’m sorry, Kagome!” he pleaded. “I was just leaving, and then I stepped on a fallen branch.” Oh, Kagome thought, so that’s how Inuyasha heard him. I guess I was too out of it to notice. But then, Inuyasha had grown up having to listen to every tiny noise to survive, so she couldn’t blame him for being so attentive.
“What were you doing here in the first place?” she asked, trying to keep the irritation out of her tone.
“Kaede said you were taking a bath, so I thought I’d join you. I didn’t know Inuyasha was here, too.” Then, Shippou smirked, and Kagome knew what that meant.
Mischief.
“So, you finally took my advice, eh Inuyasha?” the kit drolled, earning an even harsher glare from the hanyou, if that was possible. “I told you way back when we first met that it’s more fun to bathe together.”
The snapping of Inuyasha’s temper was almost audible. “THAT’S IT!!!!” he roared as he leapt out of the river in a single bound. Shippou literally escaped capture by the fur on his tail, scurrying off into the underbrush as fast as his four paws would carry him.
“Come back here, you little shit!!! I’m gonna skin you alive!!!” Inuyasha bellowed, vanishing after him. Kagome sank back into the water, covering her flaming cheeks with both hands. She had just seen enough of Inuyasha’s naked ass to last her a lifetime. Well, maybe not a lifetime; more like a day. It was a very nice ass, after all. Kagome craned her neck further and leaned her forehead in her hands. Was she really going to have to content herself with just a look tonight? They had been so close! Dammit! She had been about to kiss him, and that look in his eyes… Could it have been love? Her heart had thought so at the time. And then there was the lust. She shuddered, tearing her mind away from such thoughts. Dwelling on that moment would only make it more difficult to cool down. Her body was all wound up, aching for something that only Inuyasha could give her. She shook her head; she should have been ashamed for wanting sex so badly, but couldn’t bring herself to care at the moment. No one could blame her for such desire considering the circumstances.
Sighing miserably, she heaved herself out of the river and dressed quickly for fear of Inuyasha’s return. With her arousal receding at an agonizingly slow pace, she was gradually switching back into ‘virgin mode.’ She considered grabbing Inuyasha’s clothes, but quickly dismissed that idea. If she did that, he would need to seek her out—stark naked—to reclaim them. That was the last thing she needed; she definitely wouldn’t get any sleep if she saw any more of him. She was already expecting a long night as it was.
Unfortunately, Kagome was right. It took her several hours to fall asleep, though not totally for the reason she predicted. It was so cold without Inuyasha’s warmth next to her. Who knew two nights nestled against him would make it so difficult to fall asleep otherwise? Shippou was certainly happy; he passed out as soon as his head touched her sleeping bag. Getting chased around by a nude hanyou would tire anyone out, unless of course you wanted to be caught… And there was that dirty mind of hers again, the other reason she couldn’t fall asleep. Eventually, however, the day’s training caught up with her, pulling her into a restless slumber filled with delightfully decadent dreams that always seemed to end before they go to the good part.
*End Day 2*
The following morning sucked for all parties. Inuyasha hadn’t slept so well himself, perched on the hard, lonely surface of Kaede’s roof. So naturally he was quite pissy, an attitude made all the more potent by lingering resentment at Shippou for his bad timing the day before. For her part, Kagome didn’t bear Shippou any ill will, but lack of sleep did sour even her normally bright mood. Fortunately, they weren’t training today; a journey to Totosai’s was on the docket. They set out after breakfast, and reached the old youkai’s cave by mid-afternoon.
“Oi, Totosai! You in there?” Inuyasha called.
“Who’s that?” came the curious reply.
“Get your wrinkly ass out here, you old geezer.”
“Inuyasha, be nice!” Kagome scolded. “We’re asking him a favor!”
“Feh! He still owes me for saving his sorry ass from Sesshoumaru.”
“You don’t think fixing Tetsusaiga was enough of a repayment?”
“…”
“I thought so.”
“Kagome?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up.”
“Why you…”
Luckily for Inuyasha, Totosai chose that moment to make his appearance, distracting Kagome from her mounting irritation with her hanyou companion.
“So, Inuyasha, what brings you and your foul mouth to my home?” the old man asked.
“Keh. Kagome needs something to seal her hanyou blood.”
“Kagome is a hanyou? I always thought she was human.”
“No, you forgetful bastard. Don’t you remember? She was a hanyou the last time we were here.” When all Inuyasha got in reply was a vacant look, he growled in exasperation. Kagome chose that moment to step in.
“Please, Totosai-sama,” she cooed, “do you think you could make something for me?” No man could resist that amount of feminine charm, not even one who was several hundred years old. Totosai was just happy to be spoken to respectfully for a change.
“Of course, my dear. Do you want a sword?”
“Uh, couldn’t it be something smaller…and less sharp?”
“Hm, sorry, but I’m a swordsmith. I don’t know how to make anything else. I suppose I could craft a short sword, something you won’t actually use for fighting.”
“That would be great! Thank you so much!” Kagome exclaimed, hugging Totosai around the shoulders. Inuyasha couldn’t help but feel a small pang of jealousy.
“Yes, yes,” the old youkai brushed off her gratitude, “come inside and we’ll get started.” The three of them went into the cave, and Totosai grabbed something from the back before settling down with the two hanyou. Kagome grimaced as she spied the dreaded tongs in his hands.
“How many teeth do you need?” she asked reluctantly.
“One should do it. Don’t worry, dear, I’ll make it quick.”
“It’ll still hurt like hell,” Inuyasha interjected, earning himself two annoyed glares. This whole situation tickled him greatly. Kagome had rolled her eyes at the fuss he’d made when Totosai pulled his tooth all those months ago, and now it was her turn. We’ll see who’s fussing over nothing now! He chuckled deeply.
“He he he—aaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” Inuyasha screamed. His hands flew to his mouth as he stared wrathfully at Totosai, who was now holding his left canine in the tongs. “Wh-what the fuck was that for!”
“Well, we need your tooth, don’t we?” Totosai replied. Inuyasha’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull. The worst part was that he couldn’t tell if the old man had really forgotten whose tooth he was supposed to yank or if the geezer was just messing with him.
“NO!!! Kagome’s tooth. KAGOME’S tooth!!!!”
“Oh…oops.”
“Oops ! Is that all you can say, you senile son of a bi—”
“Inuyasha!” Kagome shouted, cutting off his tirade. “Shut up,” she said with a slight smirk, throwing his words back at him. Inuyasha might have told her to fuck off, or something similar, but the dangerous glint in her eye told him he was on thin ice. An ‘osuwari’ was in his near future if he didn’t calm himself.
“I’ll shut up when I damn well feel like it,” he grumbled under his breath, folding his arms over his chest and pouting. Kagome rolled her eyes; she could let him have that small victory. She wasn’t an immature baka who didn’t have the patience to deal with old people.
“You know, Inuyasha-sama,” spoke a familiar voice, “we probably would have needed your tooth anyway.”
“Myouga?” Sure enough, the flea leapt up from the floor onto Inuyasha’s knee. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Tell me, Inuyasha-sama, why do you think the Tetsusaiga seals your youkai blood?”
He shrugged. “Because it’s made from Oyaji’s fang?” (4)
“Precisely. If Tetsusaiga was made from just your fang, it wouldn’t restrain your youkai side at all. You need outside help to do that.”
“Why is that, Myouga?” Kagome inquired curiously.
“Well, think about it. If you had the power to control your youkai blood, you wouldn’t need a sword to do it, would you?”
“Oh, I see. So Inuyasha needed the strength of his father. Does it have to be a blood relative?”
“Normally, yes, but your case is unique. Your family is human, so their teeth won’t help at all. The youkai you are most closely connected to is Inuyasha-sama. Even though you two aren’t actually related, you share a powerful bond. And Inuyasha-sama is strong, so the strength of his youki shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Will it work?” Kagome asked, flushing slightly at Myouga’s blunt description of her relationship with Inuyasha.
“There’s no way to tell for sure, but I believe it will.”
“That’s good enough for me. Do you still need my tooth?”
“Yes, I think it would be helpful if we blended your two teeth together.”
“Wow, Myouga’s actually being useful for a change,” Inuyasha interjected sulkily, still annoyed with Totosai.
“Inuyasha-sama! I am always at your service.”
“Yeah, right! I guarantee you won’t be around the next time we need you.”
“Hmph!” Myouga snorted indignantly. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”
“Keh. Why the hell are you here anyway? Weren’t you just at Daichi’s?”
“I had an unpleasant run-in with Sakura,” the flea stated embarrassedly, causing Inuyasha to grin in amusement.
“She almost eat you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Inuyasha’s reply was forestalled by a small cry from Kagome. He looked over to see her holding her cheek, one of her fangs noticeably missing.
“Wow,” Myouga observed, “Kagome-sama barely made a sound.” Four sets of amused eyes, including Shippou’s, turned to Inuyasha at this, who could only stutter.
“I-I wasn’t expecting it!” he yelled defensively.
“Of course,” Myouga assured, though it was pretty clear he was just humoring the hanyou. Growling, Inuyasha made a grab for the flea, but to no avail; Myouga hopped off and made his escape. Standing swiftly, Inuyasha held out his hand to Kagome, more to drag her out of the cave than to help her up.
“Come on, wench, we’re leaving. Totosai, when will you have it ready?”
“Have what ready?”
Grrrrrrr. *Bonk* “The sword you’re making for Kagome, dumbass!”
“Inuyasha!” Kagome admonished. “Punching him in the head isn’t going to help his memory.”
“Feh! Answer the question, you old fart. And you’d better not tell me you forgot again.”
“Hmmm,” the elderly youkai contemplated, scratching his chin. “Well, it’s small, so come back tomorrow. Maybe I’ll have it done by then.”
“Good,” was the irritated hanyou’s only reply before he stormed out of the cave, Kagome in tow.
“Thank you, Totosai-sama!” she called before vanishing from view. Myouga reappeared once the coast was clear, hopping up onto Totosai’s shoulder and shaking his head.
“Well, at least he made the right decision in the end.”
“Still a hothead though,” Totosai answered.
“No doubt about that.”
* * *
Shortly after departing, Inuyasha and Kagome reunited with their friends, who were waiting at the edge of Totosai’s domain as promised. Sango seemed happy enough, so Kagome deduced that Miroku must have done something right. After dinner, they went to bed in normal camp sleeping arrangements, with Inuyasha up a convenient tree. Again, both hanyou had trouble falling asleep, but not as much as the night before. Sango took Kagome to train the following morning, saying that she wanted to show her a few things. The problem was the taijiya made perfectly clear that his was a “girls only” training session, which left Inuyasha stuck with a certain lecherous monk who wouldn’t leave him alone. The monk gathered that something had happened in his absence, and wasn’t about to stop bugging Inuyasha until the latter spilled the beans. Then that idiot fox kit blurted out the hot spring incident. Needless to say, it was a stressful morning for Inuyasha, and it was no better for Kagome. She got in her question first, asking Sango about Miroku’s behavior. As it turned out, the monk had started flirting with the village girls but ceased immediately upon receiving an icy look from his betrothed. Though he made no further attempts to womanize, Sango still wondered if he would behave himself if she weren’t around. But it was progress; Miroku never used to care who was around when he flirted. Kagome was glad to hear the monk was making some effort to control himself.
Of course, now Kagome was obligated to answer Sango’s questions regarding her experiences in their time apart. Reciprocity was indeed a bitch. So she described the fiasco in the hot spring in embarrassing detail, not even bothering to pretend she regretted anything up to Shippou’s interruption. Sango was just floored that Kagome had the guts to invite Inuyasha to bathe with her in the first place. The funny thing was that both girls were left absolutely certain that the other’s relationship would work out, and less sure about their own.
When afternoon came, Inuyasha and Kagome retrieved the latter’s new seal from Totosai. It was a plain silver short sword, about half a foot long, with no guard and no decorative markings of any kind. A casual observer would have no idea the sword was special in any way, but Kagome felt a spark of power the instant she touched the handle. She probably wouldn’t use it in battle, much preferring her arrows, but she guessed that it might help control her youkai blood. She sheathed it and placed it on her hip. Feeling grateful, she coerced Inuyasha into helping her prepare Totosai a hot bath when the old youkai started dropping hints that he needed one. Inuyasha was none too happy about that, and as a result he grumbled the whole time.
* * *
So there it was. Between badly-timed interruptions, annoying interrogations, missed opportunities, and two days without any opportunities period, Inuyasha had every reason to be pissed off. It was now the fifth day since his night with Kagome in Goshinboku, and they were on the road again, heading to Daichi’s place because Kagome had expressed a desire to thank him for her new clothes in person. Inuyasha wasn’t particularly happy with any of his friends; they were all in his dog house for something. Sango and Shippou for trampling on ‘the moment,’ Miroku for being a hentai, and Kagome for being so damn enticing that he couldn’t think about anything else! Well, that wasn’t entirely true. The foul scent on the breeze certainly took his mind off Kagome, as his thoughts turned to how nice it would be to tear a certain wolf a new asshole. In light of Kouga’s attitude during his last visit, maybe Kagome would let him get away with picking a fight this time.“Hey, Kagome,” the wolf prince greeted cockily as he skidded to a halt before her. He did not, however, grab her hands like he usually did. In fact, he seemed almost put off by her appearance. “So…you’re still a hanyou?” he questioned, doing a very poor job of concealing his disappointment. Before Kagome—or Inuyasha—could answer, something else caught the wolf’s attention. “Kagome, what the hell are you wearing?” It was a little chilly today, so Kagome had chosen to wear the kosode and hakama with the green, white, and blue swirling pattern. To her knowledge, it was the first time Kouga had seen her in anything besides modern clothes, so she supposed it was only natural to wonder where she had gotten something like this. Still, to be so harsh about it…
“Heh. Looks good on her, don’t it flea-bag,” Inuyasha replied. Kouga could only stare in shock. Did he just compliment her? And why is she looking at him like he recited love poetry?!
“Kagome looks incredibly beautiful in whatever she wears,” he answered smoothly. He frowned when Kagome didn’t even glance in his direction. What the fuck?! Hadn’t his flattering been better than that unrefined cretin’s?
“That’s the smartest thing you’ve ever said, wolf,” Inuyasha responded. “Now beat it.”
What the half-breed did next infuriated Kouga to the point of seeing red. Having intercepted Kagome’s endeared look, the bastard had the audacity to loop his arm around the girl. Kagome was his woman, dammit! He would not stand for some dog’s claim on her, no matter how informal it was at the moment. What really concerned and incensed him was that Kagome didn’t seem to mind; she actually appeared to enjoy the half-breed’s embrace. Growling viciously, he lunged forward and forcefully separated the two of them, baring his teeth at Inuyasha, who just smirked at him. The hanyou was practically oozing confidence for some reason, and it made him nervous.
“Kouga! What—” Kagome started, only to be cut off. It was not lost on the wolf that Kagome had not used “-kun” when addressing him. When had he lost the privilege of being referred to with an honorific? It was all Inuyasha’s fault; of that he was certain.
“Where did you get those clothes, Kagome?” he ground out through gritted teeth, trying not to take out his anger on his woman. Kagome narrowed her eyes at him, not liking his possessive behavior one bit. And given his past and present reactions to her hanyou metamorphosis, she was no longer in any kind of mood to be nice. So, for the first time ever, she was rude to Kouga.
“It’s none of your business, but if you must know, Inuyasha got them for me.”
Well, at least Kouga now knew why the bastard had complimented her. Inuyasha’s head was stuck too far up his ass to realize just how truly special Kagome was, and how lucky he was to have her. But he doesn’t have her! She’s mine! Somehow he wasn’t as convinced of that fact as he used to be. He took a deep breath to calm himself, laying on the charm thick when he spoke.
“Kagome, if you wanted new clothes, you should have come to me. I’ll get you garments made of the finest furs, and you’ll never want to wear anything from that half—him ever again.”
Nobody missed Kouga’s near slip, though no one commented on it directly. For Kagome, it made it even easier to finally stop placing the wolf on some sort of pedestal and treat him like the prejudiced jerk he was. She was going to stay a half-breed, after all.
“That’s not necessary, Kouga; I love Inuyasha’s gifts.”
And there was that look again, that special smile that Kouga so longed to see directed at him. But it was once again aimed at the mutt, and Kouga began to wonder if that would ever change. He quickly banished that thought. When I make her my mate, she won’t be wearing any of that shit anymore, that’s for damn sure. I’ll burn all of it if I have to!
“But Kagome,” he protested, “you should be dressed in only the finest furs and silks. Once you become human again, you won’t have any need for peasant clothes like that.”
Kagome was tempted to tell him off for making the pitifully false assertion that Daichi’s products were ‘peasant clothes,’ but his comment contained a more important issue that needed addressing.
“Kouga, I’m not changing back. I’ve decided to stay a hanyou…forever.”
Kouga went slack-jawed for a second, but then his brow furrowed in fury. He had tried for so long to avoid putting his foot down with Kagome, but there was no avoiding it now.
“No, you’re not.”
“Excuse me?” Kagome inquired incredulously.
“You’re my woman, Kagome, and you’re changing back to a human.”
“Why you…you arrogant prick! What gives you the right to boss me around?! I’m not your property!”
“But you are my future mate, and as such, you have to listen to me.”
At this point, Inuyasha could no longer hold his tongue. “She ain’t never gonna be your mate, bastard!”
“Shut the fuck up, Inu-kurro! You want her to change back too!”
“Not anymore! That was a mistake,” he finished softly. Kagome placed her delicate hand on his shoulder, rubbing soothingly as she favored him with a compassionate look. Kouga was enraged and sickened by the entire display. Inuyasha seemed to regain his confidence from Kagome’s comfort, and he turned fiery eyes back towards the wolf. “I’ll stay with Kagome no matter which form she chooses. And at least I had good reasons for wanting her to become human. I wasn’t just being a selfish bastard!”
“My reasons are selfless too!” Kouga retorted with some conviction, though doubt easily worked its way into his tone.
“Bullshit! You claim to care about her, you fucking bigot? If you really loved her you wouldn’t ask her to change for you!”
“And what would you know about loving Kagome?” Kouga smirked at Inuyasha’s hesitation. Heh, that’ll shut him up.
For Inuyasha, time slowed to a crawl, as seconds seemed to take hours. His father’s words came back to him. “There will be times in every man’s life when he must do or say the right thing, or lose the ones he loves.” This was one of those times. How could he deny his feelings now and then confess them later? If he announced that he didn’t love Kagome now, he could lose her forever. Still, his nerves and insecurities struck him hard, forcing him to reach a compromise within himself.
“Maybe…maybe I know more about that than you think.”
(1) For those who don’t know, it is customary in Japan for women to walk behind men. “Ladies first” has very little place in Japanese culture. For more good info from someone who has been to Japan, read this really good piece from Ai Kisugi. Anyone who is going to write a fanfiction taking place in Japan should probably read something like this, or at least make sure they have some background on Japanese culture.
Here’s the link: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_ch.php/159521/559252#fic_c
(2) This takes me back to my teenage years and learning how to drive. Why was it so hard to tear my eyes off the road directly in front of me? At least I wasn’t the worst student-driver in my family. My sister blew a tire on a grave marker in our church cemetery. In my car!!!
(3) I can verify all this through personal experience. My ex-girlfriend used to give me these amazing massages, and you can fill in the rest.
(4) “Oyaji” is a slangy, disrespectful term for “father” in Japanese.
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