InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity ❯ Claimed ( Chapter 42 )

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

Kagome stared out over the pond, her head leaning to the side as she half-dozed in the bright sunshine. The history textbook that she was supposed to be studying lay forgotten in her lap. With a quick shake, Kagome turned her attention back to the book. She needed to finish her assignment. Trouble was that it was one of the last nice days left of the year, she was sure, and she didn't have the will to remain inside to study for the upcoming test.

It was too easy, too nice, too comfortable to think about InuYasha. `Better to think about him than to study for a test,' she thought with a guilty sigh. He encompassed her without smothering who she was, added to her sense of self and still encouraged her to rely on him, completed her soul without demanding that she lose her identity. He was her balance, her center . . . `And,' she thought as she caught sight of her history book again, `my reason for failing history.' With a sigh, she forced her attention back onto the book once more.

Her attention wandered again. Gaze drawn upward as though by an invisible force, Kagome stared out over the water as she let her head rest against the tree trunk. Dammit lay near the water's edge. The dog lifted her head to glance at Kagome before she returned to her drowsing. A quick trip to the vet had confirmed Kagome's suspicion. The dog was pregnant, due in about a week. Her belly was grossly distended, and Dammit didn't run around the yard with InuYasha in the evenings like she used to. Kagome smiled. `It's the small price you pay,' she supposed, `to have pups . . .'

Deliberately ignoring the ache that welled up whenever she had such thoughts, Kagome dropped her attention back on the book in her lap. `Focus, Kagome! This test is important!'

All too soon, though, her attention waned, her eyes wandered. The warm breeze of autumn rippled over her, and she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She loved being outside. The scents, the sounds, the magnificent colors of fall . . . they all reminded her of InuYasha . . .

"You call that studying?"

She smiled vaguely but didn't turn her head. His voice, soft yet gruff, a primitive sound that suited him completely, ebbed over her with invisible fingers, playing at the edges of her emotions with a will all their own. "I didn't hear you get home."

He knelt behind her, resting his hand on her side, over the scar where the Shikon no Tama had been torn from her body. His fingers twitched slightly as they lingered there as his other hand smoothed her hair. `How can one gesture be so soothing and yet altogether unsettling at the same time?' she wondered, her mind rapidly coming undone as he casually stroked her hair.

His claws barely grazed her neck. She shivered but didn't jerk away from his touch. "Cold?"

"N-N-No."

He chuckled. Hot breath, the heady feel of grazing fangs . . . She gasped softly. Along the arch of her neck, he teased her unmercifully. Kagome melted against him, her head falling further to the side as his other arm reached around her, offering her support as he continued to destroy the last semblance of coherent thought she possessed. His growl was a familiar thing. As though he was trying to pacify her, he continued the low resonance as she tried to relax, to savor the feelings erupting inside her. Along with a delicious heat, she felt as though he was somehow enveloping her, drawing her into himself. The thought was inane; it brought a half-smile to her lips.

"What are you . . . doing to . . . me?" she whispered, her voice constricted.

Her answer was a gentle brush of lips over the hollow of her collarbone. She whimpered as his lips returned to the spot, his tongue flicking out, and the gentle draw on her flesh. He pulled her closer, nestled her to him, offered her comfort that warred with the consuming intensity that flowed between them.

The textbook slipped off her lap and lay forgotten as InuYasha turned Kagome. Lying in his arms, cradled against his chest, eyes half closed, she waited.

And then he kissed her.

As though everything had been a dim foreshadowing of the emotion to follow, she gasped softly as his mouth drew on hers. The sound was muffled by his lips, lost in the veil of an autumn afternoon that no one else could share. Time and place fell away, leaving Kagome with nothing but a name to hold to, a knowledge to cling to. `InuYasha . . .'

But the ache that started as nothing more than an afterthought was escalating into something with more of an urgency. It built inside her with every moment, with every kiss, with every touch. Her soft whines went unheeded; her incoherent half words were ignored. He deliberately provoked her. She knew it and yet was powerless to stop it. He kissed her cheek, her jaw, nibbled on her ear, bathed the hollow behind with his tongue. She shivered, her nerves as tight as a wire ready to snap. "Please . . ." she murmured, unsure exactly what she meant but positive that he would understand.

InuYasha let his hand ride over the softness of her sweater. Tracing her contours while he assailed her mind, clouded her thoughts, she arched into his hand only to be frustrated when he pulled back. Light touches, lingering kisses, and the one word that echoed through her head was, `please' . . .

His hand slipped under the sweater, resting on the scalding flesh of her belly. Her fists tightened on his shirt, wrinkling the fabric with a force that she couldn't control. As if being spurred on by need alone, she kissed him back, telling him what she wanted—needed—from him. He growled fiercely as she captured his tongue, drew on it, pulled him in, tried to make him understand what he was doing to her.

She heard the dull sound of ripping material though it made no sense to her. Then suddenly, blessedly, his hand covered her breast, and her head fell back with a moan. She could feel the barely-contained gentleness in his stroke, reveled in the way his fingers shook as he touched her . . .

It wasn't enough. Spurred on by the flames of what he did to her, Kagome fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. His breathing was ragged, and he strained under her fingers. He wanted to help her, she realized through her haze. Yet he let her do it on her own, pacifying himself by kissing her, touching her, kneading her flesh in his palm, rubbing the pad of his thumb over her until she was ready to scream.

His skin was burning to the touch, as though a fire was engulfing him from the inside out. Hesitantly at first, then bolder as he shuddered under her exploration, Kagome touched his chest, fingertips etching the hollows and arcs of flesh, the outlines that she had seen before but never felt, at least, not like this. His body was a paradox, soft skin over muscle, unyielding yet forgiving, too.

Dammit growled, a savage sound that cut through InuYasha's senses with a sharp twist. He pulled his hand out of Kagome's sweater, head shooting up, ears twitching.

"What . . . ?" Kagome muttered, controlling her irritation as best as she could. InuYasha gently moved her off his lap and slowly stood.

"Get Tetsusaiga," he murmured in her ear as she stood.

Kagome frowned. "Tetsusaiga? Why?"

"Now."

Something in his tone, something in the way he stood there, staring into the forest beyond, struck Kagome as odd. She didn't ask any more questions but broke into a dead run toward the house, toward the Tetsusaiga. What was it that he sensed? Why did he want Tetsusaiga? These questions plagued her. But she stood on tiptoe to yank down the sword before racing back outside.

"Stay there!"

She skidded to a stop at InuYasha's order. He only used that tone with her when he was deadly serious, and she knew it. Dammit stood before her, staring in the same direction as InuYasha with her teeth bared and a vicious growl.

"I know you're there. You might as well come out," InuYasha called as he edged sideways, trying to get close enough to reach the sword.

The bushes on the edge of the clearing shook. Kagome gasped as the panther youkai stepped out of the foliage. "We meet again, oh Prince of Dogs. What is your name again? Ah, yes. InuYasha, is it? How befitting."

Kagome tried to step forward, to close the distance and give InuYasha the Tetsusaiga. Dammit turned slightly and growled a warning at her.

"What do you want, Hyou?" InuYasha demanded.

Hyou chuckled. "I've come to claim the miko, of course. Since you're obviously in no hurry to mark her, then she's fair game."

InuYasha snarled. "You're not going to fucking touch her."

"Do you care so much, Prince of Dogs? If you do, then you really should have marked her long ago, don't you think?" Hyou slowly, deliberately, stepped closer to Kagome. Dammit growled again. The panther youkai didn't even spare her a second glance.

InuYasha didn't answer. But he did stride forward and snatched Tetsusaiga out of Kagome's grip. "Stay back."

She nodded. If she had a bow and arrow, she could probably take Hyou down, herself. She bit her bottom lip as InuYasha stepped away from her, Tetsusaiga transforming in his hands.

He moved so quickly that Kagome gasped. InuYasha lunged at the panther, cleaving an arc with Tetsusaiga. Hyou managed to dodge the blade, and he laughed. "Your clumsy fighting skills are no match for my speed, Prince of Dogs."

"You'd be surprised at my skills," InuYasha growled, swinging again but missing.

"Don't make me laugh, hanyou. You really aren't worth the effort." In a blur of movement, Hyou raced forward and slammed his fist into InuYasha's jaw. InuYasha staggered back. Hyou took advantage of the moment to kick Tetsusaiga out of InuYasha's grip. The sword landed blade down in the earth and transformed back. InuYasha shook his head and lunged for it. His hand stilled before he could reach for it, though, when Dammit's yelp echoed in the clearing followed by Kagome's gasp.

Kagome wasn't sure how it happened. The only youkai she'd ever seen move that fast before was Kouga, and that was only because he had jewel shards embedded in his legs. But it registered in her mind as Dammit's body skidded across the ground that Hyou had come close enough to grab her just as she felt the needle-sharp claws at her throat. She didn't have the chance to struggle. When InuYasha's gaze met hers, she saw the momentary flash of red. `Get Tetsusaiga, InuYasha!'

"Get your fucking hands off her," he growled, jerking the sword out of the ground and stalking forward.

"Come any closer and I'll rip open her throat."

Kagome cried out as Hyou's claws pierced her flesh enough to draw blood. InuYasha smelled it immediately, and Kagome was shocked to see his eyes flash red again despite Tetsusaiga, held tightly in his grip. `No . . . !'

"Let her go. Deal with me," InuYasha said though he came no closer.

Hyou's free hand moved up and down, not touching Kagome's body, as though searching. He hesitated over her side then laughed. "I see . . . I've found the place. How odd that she should be marked on her side? No matter . . . Care to watch, Prince of Dogs? Once I mark her, she will belong to me, and you'll never have her."

InuYasha looked as though he wanted to attack. The claws already dug into Kagome's neck tightened. She whimpered again as InuYasha flinched. His glower darkened even more as he stared above her head at Hyou's smug face.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Hyou's hand draw back, meaning to strike, as InuYasha's words came back to her, `There's a lot of blood involved in it. I'd have to cut you deep, and you'd lose much of yours. When your heart slows then I have to give you my blood.' Hyou meant to do it.

His hand sliced through the air so quickly that Kagome could hear the whistle of the manufactured wind. She didn't think as she reacted, shoving against the youkai as she held out her hands to warn him away. "No!" she shrieked as a blinding flash of pinkish-white light filled the clearing, and she crumpled to the ground.

InuYasha raised his arm to shield his eyes from the burst of Kagome's miko energy. When he lowered it, the first thing he saw as the light faded was Kagome, unconscious on the ground. Hyou was sprawled not far from her, and though InuYasha's first instinct was to check her injuries, he had to deal with the youkai first.

He compromised, sticking Tetsusaiga into the ground before lifting Kagome and carrying her out of the way.  Then he snatched the sword, transforming it, and smacked the flat of the blade against the panther youkai's cheek to rouse him. Hyou awoke with a start and started to sit up. InuYasha lifted the sword, pointing the blade at Hyou's throat. "You'll kill me, then?"

"Keh! Like that was ever even in question." InuYasha taunted, jabbing Tetsusaiga's razor sharp point into the youkai's neck enough to draw blood. "Now get up and fight."

Hyou's eyes narrowed as he stared at InuYasha. "You will let me fight you?"

"I don't kill women, children, or pathetic youkai," InuYasha snarled. "Now get up or I may change my mind."

Hyou slowly stood. "You're a bigger fool than I thought, Prince of Dogs."

InuYasha didn't answer. Hyou lunged at him. He sidestepped the youkai and swung his sword instead. Hyou hissed as Tetsusaiga's blade caught his side . . . the same side as the one he'd tried to rip open on Kagome. He stared down at the blood flowing from the wound. InuYasha didn't move.

Hyou threw his head back with an ear-splitting yowl of pain and fury. He hurled himself at InuYasha again. "Kaze no Kizu!" InuYasha yelled, bringing Tetsusaiga slamming down into the path of the panther. With a furious screech, Hyou was engulfed in the flames of the Wind Scar attack. When the flames died away, the youkai was gone. Black ash blew up in a sudden gust of wind and was carried away.

Without a second thought, InuYasha dropped the Tetsusaiga and ran over to Kagome, dragging her into his lap as he examined her for injuries. The punctures on her neck weren't deep and had stopped bleeding, and with a heavy sigh of relief, InuYasha saw that she had prevented Hyou from touching the delicate skin of her side. He drew her up against his cheek, rocked her gently in his arms.

"Inu . . . Yasha . . ." Kagome moaned, her eyelids fluttering as she struggled to open them. She lifted a fragile hand to her forehead. "Ohh," she moaned as her hand fell away. "What happened?"

He closed his eyes against what had almost happened and breathed a sigh of relief even as the edges of panic gripped his heart. It had been close---too close. "Nothing, Kagome. You're safe."

She smiled at his reassurance. "I knew you'd protect me," she whispered.

His frown deepened as she fell asleep in his arms. He . . . He hadn't done it, had he?  Hadn't protected her at all . . . No, she had protected herself, and as proud as he was of her and her abilities, the nagging reminder still echoed in his head.  Sesshoumaru was right. His unwillingness to harm her had very nearly gotten her taken from him. As loath as he was to cause her pain, the alternative was so much worse . . .

He pulled up the sweater that covered the spot, drawing his claws back slowly, closing his eyes against what he knew he had to do.