InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ New Moon ❯ Tangled Web ( Chapter 2 )

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

Disclaimer: char *owner = this.getOwner(); char *author = this.getAuthor(); // strcmp is Evil(TM) and has messed up return values if (! strcmp(owner, author)) { printf("Duck! Pork precursor incoming at 4 o'clock high!\n"); } else { printf("Just another day in the world of fanfic.\n"); }

---

Tangled Web

Kagome had fled the Sengoku Jidai after her tryst with Sesshoumaru, driven towards the well for shelter by an intense rainstorm that had swept in while she attempted to come to terms with what she had done. It hadn't been until she stood shivering and wet in the wellhouse that the idea occurred to her.

The rain would wash away any sign of what had happened in that forest clearing. And Inuyasha wouldn't come after her until the storm passed and the roads were dry enough to travel.

Spurred on by adrenaline she had run into the house, diving for the shower. Without her usual appreciation for hot running water, she had scrubbed herself pink, covering every inch of skin with heavily scented body wash and using her grandfather's dandruff shampoo on her hair. Ablutions over, she had thrown her clothing into the washer, then showered again, hoping to remove any lingering traces of her crime. It wasn't until her clothes were tumbling in the dryer that she let herself relax, and hope.

He wouldn't know.

What had she been thinking, she wondered frantically as she retreated to her room and collapsed on her bed, drained by the activities of the night and morning. Why had she done that with Sesshoumaru of all people?

She must be insane. That was the only explanation. Maybe it was catching, since the youkai lord had also apparently been suffering from some sort of mental short circuit, and he had touched her after all.

Her mind churned frantically, trying to figure out how to handle this, what she would say if any questions were asked.

She had sensed a youkai on her way to the well and run into the forest. Spent the night there. Come home dirty and wet just after dawn.

No lies. Just half-truths.

Inuyasha didn't need to know the full truth. She wouldn't let him know she had fornicated with his detested half-brother, the youkai who had nearly killed them more times than she could count. She couldn't hurt him that way. She would take that knowledge a secret to her grave.

Decided, exhausted, she let her eyes drift closed and slid into sleep.

His warm hands stroked over her soft curves, and Kagome arched into them, purring her pleasure as her lover plucked at her sensitive nipples.

"I love the way you touch me," she murmured, opening her eyes to see his golden gaze watching her assessingly, gauging the effects of his touch. Apparently satisfied with what he saw, he tugged her to her knees and turned her so she knelt facing away from him.

Kagome looked back over her shoulder and smiled at him, bracing herself for his possession. He knew she loved it when he took her like this, like the bitch he called her. She moaned and let her head fall forward as he drove forcefully into her, plundering her for both their pleasure. She rocked back into his thrusts, allowing him to go as deep he could. She felt his balls slapping against her swollen flesh as his hips hit her bottom and she moaned at the erotic impact. Her slick walls clenched around him as he began to withdraw, trying to keep him where she needed him, and he groaned and pushed back in roughly, his iron control beginning to unravel.

The tension coiling within her tightened another notch as one hand slid around to delve through the curls guarding her sex, searching for the spot he knew would send her over the edge. He found it, flicking her clit with his clawed fingers and Kagome jerked against them, trying to increase the pressure. He pinched her and she cried out as the sudden slight pain sent her over the edge into the glorious pulses of orgasm.

"That's it, bitch, come for me," she heard him say, and she was helpless to do anything other than obey , allowing the waves of ecstasy to rush through her, deadening her senses to everything except the feel of his body in hers and the pleasure he had given her. And as she felt his seed spill inside her, she couldn't help but call her lover's name.

"Sesshoumaru!"

Kagome woke abruptly, lunging to a sitting position as the last shivers of a climax rippled through her body. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what had happened. Her voice shook as she buried her head in her hands.

"Oh my god."

She was desperately trying to repress her memories of her dream when she heard movement outside her bedroom door.

"Kagome? Are you awake?" her mother's voice called, and for a second Kagome wanted to lie, to pretend that she was still lost in the oblivion she hadn't been able to find. But if she was going to build this tangled web, she needed to start now, so she could be ready when Inuyasha came for her. Besides, she thought amusedly as she slid off her bed, nothing chilled arousal quite as well as a parental figure.

"Yes, Mom. I'll be right out," she called back. First Mom, then the world.

Breakfast was every bit as difficult as she was expecting. She forced herself to keep a smile on her face as she told her half-truths to her family, and was nearly driven to tears by Souta's continual questions about his dog-eared hero.

Her grandfather and brother seemed to accept her tales at face value, but she caught her mother watching her with solemn eyes. Unwilling to linger and risk questions she didn't want to have to answer, Kagome fled as soon as she could, grabbing up her schoolbag and running down the steps of the shrine. As her foot hit the concrete of the sidewalk, she felt almost free for a moment, only to come crashing abruptly back to earth as she saw Eri and Ayumi waiting for a light at the corner.

Her friends hadn't given up on getting her together with Hojo, even though he was now a student at the nearby university, and she didn't know if she would be able to stand their silly babbling about the older boy today.

Pasting on a determined smile, she waved at the other girls and broke into a jog.

"Eri, Ayumi, wait for me!"

The school day was as unpleasant as she expected. Classes were fine, and she thought she had even managed to pass the surprise test that had been given in Math. Her teachers were sympathetic to her frequent 'illnesses', and gave her packages containing her homework for the next month just in case she came down with something else.

It was the breaks that were hell.

The walk to school hadn't been too bad. Eri had just got a new boyfriend and was eager to share all the details of their first date. Ayumi had teased her about her crush, as had Yuka, who joined them half-way.

But between classes ...

Oh god, between classes.

Apparently Eri had raptured herself out during first period English, and now she was dead set on making sure that Kagome found a boyfriend so that she would know how wonderful it was to be in love. Kagome was not amused.

"Look," she said patiently. "You know there's this other guy right? The one I've been talking about for years?"

Yuka made a face. "You mean the violent, jealous two-timer? You know what we think of him Kagome. You deserve better."

Eri nodded. "You deserve someone who wants you, Kagome, and only you."

"I mean really," Ayumi added, "how much can he care if he won't decide between you. He has to know how much it hurts you when he goes off to the other woman."

Eri nodded again. "If he really cared, he'd choose. Maybe it'd be the wrong choice, but it'd be a choice, and whoever he didn't pick could get on with her life. Instead, he's just stringing you both along to make his life easier."

But Kikyou doesn't have a life anymore. She died for him, Kagome thought, faced once more with the gap that existed between her and her friends. There was no way she could explain the bonds of love and honor that tied Kikyou, Inuyasha and Kagome in their seemingly endless triangle. Not without getting myself committed, anyway.

"Just think about it Kagome, really," Yuka told her as the teacher stepped into the room and the class fell silent.

As the instructor began his lesson, Kagome found herself drifting back to her memories of the previous night. Golden eyes, staring down into hers. Well, Sesshoumaru had wanted only her, she was sure of that. She'd never heard even a rumor of him having a consort.

It was kind of nice. I didn't have to wonder if he was thinking about Kikyou.

She shook her head and tried to pay attention. She needed to concentrate if she wanted to graduate at the end of the year. It was a minor miracle she'd made it this far.

The intricacies of Japanese drove her relationship troubles out of her mind until the next break, when her friends resumed their badgering.

"You know what you need to do?" Ayumi asked, a mischevious glint in her eyes. "You need to cheat on him."

"What?" Kagome and Yuka gasped, while Eri merely looked thoughtful.

Ayumi tipped her head to one side. "Well, maybe cheat is the wrong word. But look. You, Kagome, are in love with this guy."

Kagome nodded, wondering what, exactly Ayumi had in mind. And if she wanted to know.

"Ok. And he's not the greatest guy. He's got another girlfriend he's always running off to see, and he's violent and verbally abusive." Kagome opened her mouth to protest, but Ayumi shook her head. "You know it's true Kagome. In your own words. Maybe he's nice sometimes too, but you can't deny you've told us all of those things." She stared at Kagome, who nodded reluctantly.

"So what you have to do is date other people yourself. You don't have to dump the jerk, but since he's two-timing you, there's no way he can complain if you decide you want to do the same."

"That's brilliant!" said Eri, her eyes glowing with excitement. "You can find somebody else you like and go out with them! You'll realize what it's like to be the one, you'll get over the jerk, and you'll dump him flat. It's perfect!"

"But ... but ..." Kagome stuttered, completely flabbergasted. Any reply she might have made vanished when the math teacher and the students once more fell silent.

First time I've ever been thankful for Calculus, she thought happily.

Throughout the lecture, she caught her friends sneaking sideways glances at her, and she found herself wondering if she shouldn't just fake an illness and sneak out before they could resume their assault. No one would think it exceptional.

But I can't afford to miss any more school than I have to, she sighed mentally, bracing herself as the teacher finished handing out the assignments and left the room. Sure enough, Ayumi immediately turned to face her.

"Back to what we were discussing, " she grinned. "Kagome doesn't even need to find a new boyfriend she likes. She can just find a really hot guy and fuck his brains out until she can't remember why she liked the jerk in the first place. And who knows? Maybe it'll scare him into making up his mind. You know ... when he's forced to stop assuming she'll put up with him forever."

"It's a nice thought, Ayumi, but ... " she started, hoping to shut the conversation down quickly, only to be interrupted by Yuka.

"No. Kagome, be honest. Can you truly say that there's never been another guy you've been attracted to?"

Golden eyes staring deep into blue as his body thrust into hers. The memory flashed out of nowhere and Kagome blushed a deep crimson.

"Well there you go." Yuka nodded, reading her lack of response as a positive answer. She was quickly echoed by the others. "And since every guy at school thinks you're hot, I'll bet he'd be willing to 'spend some time' with you."

Kagome was convinced. Whatever it was that had infected Sesshoumaru and her was contagious, and she'd given it to her friends. She needed to stop this now. Or run. Who needs Calculus in real life anyway?

And so it went, through lunch, the breaks between their afternoon classes, and the walk home. By the end of the day, Kagome was just about ready to go home, jump through the well, and seal herself in the past forever.

She was met in the courtyard by Inuyasha, with his customary greeting.

"Oi wench. You done here yet? Miroku heard another rumor, so we need to get going." He asked before stopping and sniffing the air.

"No. I still have to pack," she told him, walking past him into the house before he could say anything.

He followed her up to her room and stood watching her carefully as she started loading the backpack. His gaze was making her nervous, so she tried to distract him.

"Inuyasha, could you go ask my Mom for the food? She said she was going grocery shopping, so there should be ramen and candy somewhere." To her amazement, her voice stayed level, and he left without a word. She breathed a mental sigh of relief.

Maybe she would get away with it.

The others were waiting for them on the other side of the well. As always, Shippou flung himself into her arms as though he had been afraid she would never return. And demanding candy. Kagome dug some out of her bag and they set off in the direction that rumor claimed might lead them to a shard.

As they set out, Shippou tugged at Kagome's sleeve. "Kagome?"

"Yes, Shippou?" she asked, looking down at the kitsune. In some ways, she was glad this quest had dragged out as long as it had, if only for Shippou's sake. She knew the young youkai saw her as a foster mother, and it would hurt her when she had to leave him behind forever.

"You smell different," he grumbled, licking at the lollipop she had given him.

Kagome froze for a second before she forced herself into motion once more. "I used a new soap," she told him, hoping he would accept the explanation. He did.

"Oh. OK."

It was late May, so they were able to travel for a few hours before the sun went down. Sango and Miroku filled her in on the rumor they had heard as they traveled. A traveller passing through Kaede's village had told them that the inhabitants of his village were fleeing a youkai that had suddenly begun devouring their children. The man had a young wife and child with him, and they were travelling to her family's home in the hope of escaping. The youkai was one that had plagued the village for years, but it was only recently that it had switched from stealing the occasional chicken and started going after children. And the exterminators the village had hired had failed to destroy it, and had instead been killed themselves, where before it had easily been driven off by the farmers themselves.

After the news had been relayed, they all fell silent as they concentrated on making the best time possible. If the youkai was indeed using a shard, they needed to get there and retrieve it before Naraku did. Shortly after sunset, they made camp. As they settled in for the night, Kagome caught Inuyasha staring at her.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" she asked, hoping it was anything but what she expected.

He shook his head before leaping into a nearby tree.

"Nothing."

For the first time in their relationship, Kagome had absolutely no desire to prod him into telling her the truth. She curled up next to Shippou on top of her sleeping bag and hoped she wouldn't dream tonight.

Kagome leaned back against the water-warmed rocks, letting the heat of them sink into her sore muscles. Ah, this was heaven. For a seeming eternity she floated in the spring, letting the hot water and the silence of the forest seep into her and work miracles of relaxation.

How long she had been drifting there, she didn't know. It might have been minutes, it might have been eternity. But all good things must end, and a subtle shift in the atmosphere drew her out of her haze, recalling her to the world around her.

Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, and let them wander around the clearing, curious about what had disturbed her peace. A flicker of white drew her gaze, and she twisted in the water, turning to face the intruder while carefully keeping herself under the water.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she realized who she was facing.

Sesshoumaru.

His cold golden eyes trapped hers, and she found herself wondering what lay under their unreadable surface. She wanted to speak, but was afraid of provoking the youkai lord.

"You are in my territory, wench," he informed her bluntly.

Kagome swallowed heavily. This could be trouble. She straightened in the water, figuring the youkai wouldn't care about her nudity, and that grovelling might just save her.

"I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama, I didn't realize." She bowed deeply, hands crossed in front of her, and prayed that he would accept the apology.

"That you were unaware is irrelevant, you are still an intruder. But ... " his voice trailed off and Kagome kept her head bowed through the minute of silence that followed. It was broken by the sounds of clothing being removed and she tensed.

"Perhaps I will allow you to redeem yourself, human," he told her. "Stand up."

Reluctantly, Kagome obeyed. Her eyes locked on his face, and she swallowed again as she realized he was staring at her bare breasts. She wanted desperately to cover herself, but she couldn't risk angering him.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" she asked in a wavering voice, hoping that he wasn't thinking what she thought he was thinking. His eyes came up to lock on hers, and she saw a new heat burning in them. He let his hakamas drop, revealing that he was indeed thinking what she feared.

Kagome pressed instinctively back against the partially submerged boulders as Sesshoumaru smiled ferally and took a step into the warm water. Oh, Kami, she thought, but she couldn't help but let her eyes trail over his muscular form. He was gorgeous. And he was less than an arm's length away from her.

"Well, wench?"

Keeping her eyes locked on his, she nodded her acceptance. He reached out with his hand and caressed one soft breast. Kagome closed her eyes and moaned at the sensation. She hadn't known a touch could feel so good.

Kagome jerked awake, sending Shippou tumbling from her chest as she sat upright, trying to shake off the dream. This is NOT good, she thought with a silent groan, not good at all.

She looked around, wondering what time it was. The sky in the east was glowing slightly, and for a moment she thought it was sunrise before realizing that it wasn't nearly bring enough. But then what? she thought, only to notice that Inuyasha was missing from his resting place in the tree.

Missing hanyou, glowing lights ... Kagome could put the clues together. She felt a stab of pain, then wondered what right she had to feel this way after what she had done the previous night. Inuyasha was at least going off to someone he loved. Kagome had had no such excuse. She wanted to go after them, to make sure Inuyasha was all right, but guilt held her frozen in place.

Suddenly Ayumi's voice rang in her mind. She can just find a really hot guy and fuck his brains out until she can't remember why she liked the jerk in the first place.

And as Kagome stared off into the distance, towards where Inuyasha and Kikyou were hidden by the forest, a rebellious thought crossed her mind. Well, maybe I should!

Appalled at herself Kagome lay back down and snuggled Shippou against her. She would go to sleep, and not dream, and in the morning she would forget she had ever had that thought. She lay there pretending to sleep for over an hour, until Inuyasha returned and returned to his customary perch in the tree. Only once he had resumed his vigil did she manage to relax and slip back into slumber.

She woke with the dawn the next morning. Inuyasha was already up, preparing a fire. He looked over at her as she sat up, stretching and trying to convince her body that it was morning, and that she needed to get up now. It wasn't working very well, probably because she'd had so little sleep the last few days, but she staggered to her feet anyway.

"Good morning," she chirped, heading for her backpack. If Inuyasha was already up, he would want food. She froze when she heard his question.

"Who was it?"

"Wha...?" Kagome tried to feign confusion. And on second thought, she was confused. Inuyasha wasn't known for his patience. If he had suspicions, he would have brought them up yesterday. So what was this?

He looked at her bedroll significantly and his lips quirked in a subtle grin. "Who were you dreaming about?"

Kagome blushed a furious red as she realized that he must have smelled her arousal during her dream last night. "None of your business!" She wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. Come to think of it, that would solve her problem, wouldn't it. "Oh, god, I can't believe you just ..." humiliation led to temper, and temper lead to "Inuyasha, SIT!"

She grabbed her bag and stormed off towards the nearby stream, needing to get away from the now flattened hanyou. How could he? Arrgh. Had he no sense of decorum? Well, the answer to that was well known, wasn't it. She supposed he might have been trying to flirt with her; after all, they had been growing closer lately, but still. And he'd been with Kikyou the night before.

She groaned. Things were getting way too complicated.

The gods must hate me.

She hadn't really calmed down by the time she returned to the camp, but the others were up and ready to travel so she fell in behind them, not wanting to delay them any longer. She glared daggers at Inuyasha's back, but he seemed impervious as he leapt from tree to tree ahead of them, watching for any sign of trouble.

Fortunately, by the time they stopped for lunch, Kagome was too tired to be angry. They had made good time, and should reach the village they were headed for by mid-afternoon. Sango and Miroku kept stealing glances at their friends, and Kagome wondered what the monk and taijiya were thinking. She found out shortly after they resumed walking.

"Kagome?" How had she known Shippou would be the one to bring it up?

"Mmm," she replied, trying to discourage what she knew was coming. It was futile, as she knew it would be.

"Why are you mad at Inuyasha this time?" the child youkai asked. He could be frighteningly perceptive sometimes.

"Because he said something he shouldn't have." Kagome shot a weary glare at the red-clad back ahead of them.

"But he's always doing that. Why are you mad this time?" Shippou persisted.

"Because it was worse than usual," she told him, wondering how and if she could divert him before...

"Oh. What did he say?" Too late.

"That's private, Shippou." She wasn't going to try to explain this in terms she thought acceptable for a child.

"Aww." The kitsune sulked for a minute before bounding off into the woods. He would keep up with them, Kagome knew, but she still felt a twinge at letting him out of her sight. She worried about him, more than any of the others in their group. He was still so young...

"Do you want to talk about it, Kagome," came Sango's voice.

Kagome shook her head emphatically. "Nope. Don't even want to think about it."

"C'mon guys, we're almost there," Inuyasha called from ahead of them. He was poised in a tree looking at something only he could see.

"Are there any signs of the shard?" Miroku asked Kagome, and she frowned in concentration before shaking her head.

"No. I don't sense anything."

"Let's go talk to 'em then," said Inuyasha, leaping down from his perch.

The rest of the afternoon went routinely, if hunting for monsters in a time five hundred years before you were born could be considered routine. Miroku charmed the village miko into giving him the information they needed, and flirted with her apprentice. Sango whacked him over the head. The villagers stared at them, Inuyasha growled back. Shippou rolled his eyes. Kagome leaned against a fence and watched the show through tired eyes.

She was on the verge of falling asleep when she felt it.

"I sense a shard. It's coming this way fast." She unslung her bow and nocked an arrow to it, pointing it in the direction of the approaching disturbance. For a second, there was silence, and nothing moving. Until she noticed something burrowing towards them underground. "Inuyasha!" she pointed at it, and he unleashed a blast from the Tetsusaiga, the wind blades shearing the dirt away to expose a giant mole youkai.

Free of it's protective layer of dirt, the youkai roared and lunged for Kagome, sensing the shards she carried. After that things happened fast.

Sango knocked her out of the way, sending them both sprawling. Inuyasha dove at the creature, knocking it back and away from the two women, giving them time to stagger to their feet. As Inuyasha slashed and hacked at the creature, driving it back, away from the village, Kagome drew her arrow and let it fly, the purifying blast obliterating the raging form, leaving nothing but a small crystal shard.

"Is it just me, or was that way too easy?" she asked casually as she walked over to collect the new piece of Shikon, purifying it and merging it with the others.

"Mole youkai are not particularly dangerous," Sango told them. "They are prey animals, and not very efficient predators, even as youkai." She shrugged. "I'm not complaining."

Any further discussion of the aborted fight was broken off by the excited cheers of the villagers, who were pouring into the central square to thank their saviors. Kagome let herself be dragged off by the local miko, who wanted to fete such a powerful visitor.

Things rapidly turned into a party, with the relieved villagers thanking them repeatedly for having destroyed the youkai that had been stalking their young. Food that had been put aside against a time of need was brought out and prepared, and a giant bonfire lit the night as singing and chanting rang in the air.

Despite the rejoicing going on around her, Kagome felt depressed as she listened to a middle-aged woman who had lost a daughter to the mole-youkai thank her for having set her child's spirit to rest. The woman was weeping, and Kagome wondered not for the first time what this quest of hers was doing to her mother. Sometimes when she was home, she saw the same pain that haunted this woman's eyes in her mother's, and she felt a deep need to do something to ease it.

But there wasn't anything she could do for this woman, and she knew her own mother would be horribly disappointed in her if she gave up the quest and left the field to Naraku. All she could do was hope that she managed to survive, and remember to tell her mother that she loved her.

All the thinking left her melancholy, and wanting nothing more than to go home and be a little girl once more. She left the party early, retiring to the miko's hut and seeking solace in oblivion. She didn't dream.

The next morning they woke late and headed back for Kaede's village. Neither Kagome nor Miroku had come up with any new leads on Shikon shards, and Kagome decided that since they didn't have a better destination in mind, she wanted to go home. Inuyasha disagreed, vociferously, but his lack of a better solution and his unspoken worry about Kagome's still subdued demeanour won out, and they set out.

That was the pattern for the next month. Kagome would go home for a day or two, Inuyasha would come to fetch her, they would go in search of a shard, and the process would repeat all over again. Kagome was somewhat quieter than usual, her cheerful demeanour subdued, and Inuyasha watched her through saddened golden eyes.

Any progress that might have been made in their relationship was reversing itself. Kagome was too guilty and too tired to try anymore, and since most of their rapprochement had been at her instigation, now that she had stopped they were drifting apart.

And the dreams kept coming. And the unruly thoughts. It had been nice, for once, to know that it was she, Kagome who was wanted. And somehow, now, hoping that someday, if she was lucky, Inuyasha might be hers wasn't enough anymore. And the guilt that thought made her feel pushed her farther away from him.

It was the night of the new moon once more, and Kagome was sleeping restlessly in her own bed. Suddenly, she opened her eyes, having been once more driven from sleep by her fevered dreams.

She groaned and buried her head in her hands before sliding out of bed. She wasn't going to get back to sleep for a while, and she felt the need to be out in the cool night air. Quickly dressing in jeans and a tshirt, she slipped on some sandals and crept carefully down the stairs. Leaving the house, she headed for the well. She might need to be outside, but the past, even with it's youkai threat was safer than Tokyo at night for a girl alone. Besides, there were more stars there, and the air was cleaner.

She jumped into the well, welcoming the blue magic that came up to envelop her and spirit her away to the past. It was a cool, soothing feeling, and sometimes she wished she could stay in it forever. But forever ended and she found herself on the floor of the well. Carefully, she scrambled up the rope ladder. As her head cleared the edge of the well, she could feel herself relax. The night air was redolent with the scents of late summer, and a gentle breeze lifted her hair and her worries from her shoulders.

For a while, Kagome simply sat on the edge of the well, relaxing in the quiet of the night. It was so different here in the past. There were no sounds of cars, no planes, no radios or televisions to silence the night creatures. There were only the crickets and frogs and the occasional swish of a hunting owl.

After a while, she got up and began to wander through the forest, marvelling at how different it was from her time. A part of her hoped that when her quest was over the well would stay open, and she could spend part of her time here in the past. Often over these last few years, she felt more like she belonged here than at home. The raw beauty of the past appealed to her as much as the advances of the future, and she had friends here, friends she would dearly miss if she never saw them again.

Her idle footsteps lead her on, never noticing the direction. It wasn't until she felt it that she realized where she was.

She was in the clearing where it had happened, and so was someone else, someone whose aura was far to familiar too her.

He stood behind her, the sheer power of his presence keeping her immobilized. She could feel the body heat radiating from him, familiar already, but somehow still unexpected given his usual icy demeanor. His breath brushed her hair as he bent to place his mouth at her ear. "Why are you here?" he whispered.

"I wanted ..." her voice trailed off. That was the essence of it, wasn't it? She wanted.

She had replayed their coupling in her dreams every night of the last month. But worse than the memories were the fantasies her sleeping mind imagined, depraved pleasures that made her waking mind recoil. But while the good girl Kagome had been raised to be was appalled by the images her sleeping mind conjured, her newly awakened body fully approved, and every morning she awoke aroused and desperate for his touch.

Tonight she had dreamed, and awakened, and gone out into the moonless night to try to walk off the need that pulsed inside her. And she had been drawn here, to the clearing in the woods.

Only to find that Sesshoumaru was also there.

"Why are you here?" she whispered back, frozen on the edge of hope and fear.

He made her wait for nearly a minute, drawing out the tension for one last beat before answering.

"I ... wanted."

---

A/N: Argh. I warned you there would be plot later. I just wasn't expecting it this soon. I hate this chapter, so apologies for any spelling or grammar errors. I write in an HTML editor without spellcheck, and I don't like this chapter enough to do a serious edit on it. But it gets me where I want to be, so I'll live with it. Feedback about how I could fix it to make it better appreciated (ie review already ;).

And now a request: if anyone out there can give me some insight into Kagome's mind, I'd really, really appreciate it. I have a vague notion of where she's coming from, but it just won't congeal. I can write Sesshou pretty easily (I'm all over emotional dissociation, misanthropy and being an ice queen), but Kagome is a mystery to me: she's pretty much my complete opposite, except for the studiousness (which doesn't really help me figure out who she is, dammit). email me, please: miara2003@yahoo.com