InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Once Upon a Time ❯ Truth and consequences ( Chapter 23 )

Disclaimer: Still don’t own ‘em. Damn.

23. Truth and Consequences  

The first thing Inuyasha became aware of was the scent of the woman--his woman, he thought in a kind of daze--that slept next to him. Her scent was subtly different than it had been when they came up the stairs, still enticing but without the frantic urgency that had precipitated….

Without opening his eyes, he listened to the slow, steady beat of her heart which was right under his left ear. He remembered how it had raced earlier, and how he had muffled her moans and little cries with his own lips. He was pleased that he had apparently not disappointed her, although his hanyou senses had made it easier for him than it would have been for a male of her own kind: he had been able to detect the scent of her arousal and ultimate satisfaction, something that no human man could ever have done.

At one point, sensing that he might be hurting her, he had tried to stop things before they proceeded any further, but she had not let him--she had grabbed him with a strength he had not realized that she possessed, pulling him to her. Soon after that, he reached his own peak, collapsing at her side.

She stirred in her sleep, moving even closer against his side. Opening his eyes, he took in every detail of her sleeping face. How, he wondered, had his life come to this? He knew better than anyone that his past had not prepared him for the strange combination of passion and tenderness that he had just experienced. With a single clawed finger he traced the delicate line of her jaw, surprised when she awoke suddenly, eyes wide.

She shook her head in amazement. “Is it always like this?”

He was clearly puzzled. “Like what?”

She blinked back tears. “So beautiful, and warm, and happy.”

Understanding her question for the first time, he shook his head, the silvery hair falling forward. “I don’t know--I never did this before.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No.” For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out where she was taking the conversation.

“I’ve heard all kinds of stories about how most men are so interested in their own satisfaction that they don’t pay very much attention to whoever they’re with. With you, it was like you were an artist creating a masterpiece. You were so much…there that I didn’t think I could stand it any longer.” She gave him a look full of amazement. “And you say you’ve never done this before?”

He looked away guiltily. “I sometimes used to see humans in the forest before I was sealed. I noticed that some of them would fight afterwards--for exactly that same reason--and I never wanted it to be that way with us. I remembered some of the things that the more successful men did, and tried them. You didn’t seem to object.”

She stretched luxuriously. “Well, I’m going to go and grab a quick shower. You can go next, and then we can try out some of the things we bought on our shopping trip.” She slipped into her robe and headed for the door, leaving him to cope with the enormity of what had just happened as best he could. Before leaving the room, she turned. “There’s only one thing I want to know--why?”

The hanyou looked at her blankly. “Why what?”

“Why did you…?”

He suddenly realized that she didn’t have the slightest idea of her effect on him. “It was all you: your scent, like after a battle, when you’re all excited, and your eyes flashing, and the warmth of your hand as you brought me up here. It was all I could do to keep myself under enough control so that you would enjoy it too.”

“Well,” she said as she walked out the door, “Next time I’ll see if I can help you lose that control so that you can enjoy it as much as I did.”

Though it was warm in the room, the hanyou shivered with anticipation at the prospect.

When both of them had made themselves presentable once again, she helped him to try on the various things that she and her mother had bought earlier. Although he had a little trouble with the unfamiliar fastenings, he liked the feel of the loose-fitting jeans. They had managed to find a number of different styles of shirts in various shades of red--any other color just seemed wrong somehow--and he decided on a simple plain t-shirt. With the addition of a ball cap, dark tinted glasses, and some athletic shoes, the hanyou was gone, replaced by a relatively ordinary-looking boy only a little older than herself.

When Kagome presented her handiwork to her mother only a little later, the woman made no mention of the fact that it had taken them quite a bit longer than she had expected. She looked the newest member of her family up and down, nodding slowly. “I think it’ll work. You should be able to go just anywhere in the city like that, at least during the day.” She looked from one to the other. “I don’t think you should go out later in the afternoons, though--there’s too great a risk of running into some of Kagome’s friends from school, and I’d prefer that they didn’t meet you just yet.”

The hanyou bristled slightly. “Why the hell not?” he growled.

Realizing that he thought she meant to hide their relationship from the people who had been important in her daughter’s life, the woman shook her head. “It’s not like that at all. I want them to get to know you, but I think that it should be under conditions we can control. I think you should stay here for a few more weeks. I’m going to arrange a little ‘going-away’ party for Kagome. The timing,” she said, “Will be important.” She turned back to her daughter. “Remember when you were here last? You told me that Inuyasha takes on a human form occasionally. Do you know when that will happen next?”

She nodded briskly, understanding exactly what the woman had in mind. “At sunset on the night of the new moon.” Looking back at the hanyou next to her, she continued, “It’s a great idea! We’ll be having a party here on the night when you turn human so that you can meet all my friends. By then my leg should be as good as it ever was, so we can go home after that.”

Realizing that he had misjudged the woman, he nodded slowly. “That would probably be best. You’ll have a hard enough time explaining me to them anyway.”

The older woman shook her head. “I’ve been thinking about that. At first, we can explain you as someone who works for Kagome’s uncle--a friend she’s known all her life. After a while, we can let them know about selected parts of the rest.”

The woman glanced at the clock on the wall, making certain that they had sufficient time before Souta returned home from his friend’s house to begin the next part of the conversation. Trying to phrase the question as delicately as possible, she asked, “Have either of you thought about a family?”

She was surprised to see that both of the young people across the table were blushing. Clearly, the physical part of their relationship either hadn’t become an issue yet, or they hadn’t considered the possible consequences of those actions. She was even more surprised when both of them nodded. “Of course, we’ve thought about it,” her daughter said, “But I don’t think that this is the best possible time.”

The older woman nodded. “I agree. You see, I’m not entirely sure how things are handled in the other world, but here Kagome is still considered little more than a child--far too young to be starting a family of her own. Since it’s obvious that you two will be…intimate, I think that we should make sure that no accidents happen.”

In some ways, the hanyou was more sophisticated than the human girl. “That’s no problem. I have a good nose--I can tell when women are in heat. It’s easy enough to be careful about that.”

The woman sighed in something very like relief. She didn’t doubt for a second that the boy would do everything in his power to care for her daughter. “I do have one request.” At his expectant look, she continued, “If you two should ever decide to separate, I want you to swear to me that you’ll return my daughter to us.”

The hanyou turned an utterly shocked expression to the woman. “It can’t happen.”

She nodded in understanding. “I know you feel that way now, but sometimes people’s feelings change over time.”

He shook his head. “You don’t understand,” she said. “My kind mate for life--once we are mated, I couldn’t leave her no matter what happened.”

Later that night, Kagome turned to the hanyou next to her. “You never told me about that.”

Completely confused, he simply looked at her blankly. “Nani?”

“That you wouldn’t ever be able to leave me. I would have given things a little more thought if I’d known that.”

He looked up sharply. “You would have chosen differently if you’d known?”

She suddenly realized that he was more afraid of losing her than she had been of losing him. “No. I just don’t much like the thought of holding you against your will.”

He laughed softly, a sound that was largely unfamiliar to her. “That’s why it took me so long to speak--I wanted to be sure that you were the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But,” he said, turning serious, “Your mother brought up some interesting points earlier today. About us starting a family, I mean.”

“What do you mean?” She sat on the edge of the bed, leaning against him. Even if the conversation was getting serious, there was no reason why they couldn’t be as comfortable as possible while they were having it.

“It could be dangerous for you.”

“How could it be dangerous? I’ve always been really healthy.”

“I don’t mean that!” He was growing agitated, a sure sign that she was getting close to the truth of the matter. She simply waited, giving him the time he needed to bring himself to the point where he would be able to say the things she had to know.

“It’s the people in the village.” At her surprised look, he continued, “You know how they think of creatures like me. What do you suppose they’d think of you if you were to give me pups--kids, you know?”

The source of his anguish was suddenly painfully clear--she remembered the way Jinenji had been forced to live, and Shiori and her mother. “You know,” she said, a rebellious fire burning in her eyes, “I really don’t think I care all that much. I don’t think we have anything to worry about--Kaede-baachan likes you, and she has a lot of influence with the villagers.”

“She won’t be around forever, Kagome. What will happen then?”

She shook her head. “Remember Sazuni? By the time they had their son, she was thought of as an ordinary part of the village--nobody gave the matter a second thought. Trust me,” she said, reaching up to pull his head down to rest on her shoulder, “We’ll be okay.”

Despite his lingering reservations, Inuyasha reached around her to pull her closer. At that moment, he didn’t care very much either.

Those were the good times. Together they explored the city by day and each other by night. Each learned the things that pleased the other the most. He learned that Kagome loved having her back rubbed, and she learned that her stroking of his ears was--to him--incredibly erotic. They learned of each other’s likes and dislikes, and began to make the small adjustments that people make when sharing their lives. Although Inuyasha was not fond of shopping in the city, he endured the marathon sessions because she enjoyed it so much. Kagome stopped using any perfume because he found her natural scent so much more compelling.

In addition, they spent a lot of time planning their life together back in the village. After several sometimes heated discussions, they decided that rather than living inside the village itself, they would instead construct their home on the edge of the forest a couple of miles outside the village boundaries. Although it would mean a short walk to visit with their friends, there were advantages: if any of the villagers happened to take a sudden dislike to them, particularly as their family began to grow, they would not be so close that they would be an easy target. The site he had in mind was roughly in the center of a triangle formed by the old miko’s home, the well that would be their gateway between the worlds, and the holy tree under which they had first met. In addition, the immediate area possessed two features that he considered absolutely essential: a large cave nearby that could be used as a storage space or a shelter in case of trouble, and a small hot spring.

Although it would require a certain amount of work to prepare the partly wooded site for building, the land itself was relatively smooth and level, requiring only the removal of a sufficient number of trees to not only provide the necessary framing materials but to also create adequate open areas for the small house, a couple of outbuildings, and gardens for vegetables and herbs.

Making certain that she was deeply asleep, the hanyou got up. He pulled an extra blanket over her in the hope that she would not notice his absence until he returned. He grabbed the sheets of paper on which they had been drawing up their plans and stuffed them into his haori. Sliding open the large window, he stepped out into the night.

When he returned a couple of hours later, Kagome was still sleeping, although that sleep was becoming restless. Damn, she was perceptive, he thought--even in her sleep, she knew that something was not quite right. Sliding under the covers, he ran a hand down her back, pulling her closer so that his slightly warmer body temperature could reach her. With a deep sigh, she drew even closer, almost as though trying to burrow into him.

Breathing slowly and deeply, he tried to return to his own sleep. Her scent had changed over the past few days, taking on some compatible elements of his own--evidence to anyone with a good enough nose to tell the difference that they were mated. There were times when he could barely stand being in the same room with her: if her scent had been inviting before, it was demanding now--he couldn’t not respond to her.

He would, he decided, have to be careful when they went home: he didn’t even want to think about the ribbing he would get if he suddenly started acting like a lovesick schoolboy--or worse, some kind of sex fiend. Still, he didn’t really think that that would be much of an issue, at least with Miroku. It seemed that he and Sango had finally reached a sort of understanding of their own.