InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Art of Tea - ON HOLD ❯ The Art of Tea - Chapter 13 - A Melange of Tea ( Chapter 15 )

DISCLAIMER - The ownership and general brilliance that is the original Feudal Fairy Tale remains the property of its honored and rightfully revered creator Rumiko Takahashi without whose brilliance, we would not have fodder.

 

Reviews are fuel.

 

Namaste

 

By: ElegantPaws

 

Edited by: Meara the Celt

 

Chapter Thirteen A is dedicated to NoChic aka Animanga Maniac. For all the joy and uproarious, decadent laughter she has given me with her brilliant Poor Paul Series and others. They can only be found on her LJ unfortunately. Her insomnia produces the most amazing missives, wonderfully written. Beyond charming, humorous and terribly witty and did I mention, damn sexy too?

 

~~~~TAoT~~~~

 

~ “In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi human.  The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.” ~

 

-Edward Hoagland-

 

Chapter 13A - A Melange of Tea

 

Within the misty path they walked, the muted palette of light made their seclusion complete.

 

Only the musical flow of water accompanied their steps, ever upward on the moss-covered slope whose crest remained in fog.

 

Sesshoumaru had begun to compensate by slowing his long strides and dropped a little behind his guest. It was a subtle shift, but Kagome felt it nonetheless in the firmness of his grip as he attempted to propel her up the hill without her noticing.

 

She smirked.

 

“I can keep up, Sesshoumaru,” she assured patiently, squeezing his hand.

 

“Yes, but can you see?” came the bored retort with a hint of smugness.

 

“Smug is your middle name isn't it?” she answered flippantly, removing her hand and selecting the least damp boulder to sit on. Kagome patted the spot next to her and shifted slightly giving him more room to join her.

 

Kagome faced the expansive flat garden before her.

 

There it was, like a beacon in the silver-gray oasis, a sudden burst of energy that was clearly emanating from the male towering behind her. Sesshoumaru was somewhat perplexed. She turned and looked up into moderately cool irises which studied her.

 

“You don't always have to see the obvious, Sesshoumaru, to know it is there.”

 

He was affronted and what was more, Kagome felt it in the pulsing maelstrom that was his aura. It was a fact. Taishou Sesshoumaru had become someone she cared about; it was very disconcerting.

 

Closing her eyes, Kagome focused, refusing to give further credence to the obvious. She had a point to make. It was just a matter of mentally drawing a straight line to her goal, she told herself. Ignore the fine smelling, tall drink of water behind her.

 

She had no idea why this came so easily to her. From childhood, if Kagome focused on any object, she could detect where it was and go straight to it; it was another of her uncanny abilities that grandfather had fostered with unfettered glee.

 

Sesshoumaru sat, placing the ox blood-colored box at his shod feet, and waited.

 

~~~~TAoT~~~~

 

Miroku looked up over his spectacles at Inuyasha's silhouette and shook his head. The hanyou had been following their walk across the formal garden's slope through the windows of the study.

 

“You do know that's rude, right?”

 

The hanyou waved dismissively at his friend and squinted determinedly at the two silhouettes sitting.

 

“Don't even lie and say you're not curious as to what's up with those two? It's not as if they're knockin' boots or nothing out there.”

 

“Thank the Kami for small mercies,” the legal man snickered lewdly, riffling the papers in front of him distractedly.

 

`Contracts! What a way to spend a Sunday.'

 

He stopped abruptly, surrendering to curiosity. “Well, what are they actually doing?”

 

Inuyasha gave a confused shrug, his eyes never leaving the window. “Nothin' I can see yet. They're just sittin' on the rock overlooking the white shirakawa sand.”

 

Miroku sighed and got up to join him. “You mean the formal garden.”

 

“Yeah, whatever.”

 

~~~~TAoT~~~~

 

 

Sesshoumaru gave the female seated next to him a lingering glare, turning away quickly as she turned to glimpse his thoughts.

 

“It's there. I'm telling you. Go look. I'll wait here.”

 

“No, you will accompany this Sesshoumaru.”

 

The severity of his expression caused Kagome to smile from ear to ear before responding.

 

Sesshoumaru felt his heart lurch at the sight. `Her eyes are so bright with unfettered joy at so inconsequential a thing. Nothing is allowed to dim them in this Sesshoumaru's presence.'

 

He cleared his throat.

 

“Your failure will prove an excellent lesson in humility. Something, woman, you are sorely lacking.”

 

“Pot…Kettle,” she snickered, raising one long, elegant digit to his lips to silence him.

 

“I was just trying to allow you to save face, Mister Taishou. See by the time you got there that glacial thing you've got going with your face would be set and I would be none the wiser that you were pulling your hair out and gnashing your teeth in annoyance.”

 

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as he moved like a zephyr, lifting her onto his lap with a frigid glare.

 

Kagome blinked in confusion, barely maintaining her balance as she clutched his broad shoulders and stared back into molten gold that was none too pleased with her existence.

 

There was slight pressure being applied to her rib cage by tapered fingers, thumbs grazing the soft underside of her breasts.

 

“Do not take this Sesshoumaru lightly, bitch,” he warned, warm breath ghosting over her lips. Kagome's breath caught as the searing heat of his thumbs penetrated the thin material of her top and warm lips took her own.

 

“Mmmmm….you…”

 

kiss…

 

“did”

 

…kiss

 

“not”

 

…kiss…

 

“just”

 

…kiss

 

call me,” …kiss and a nip to a generous lower lip that had the misfortune of looking more edible by the minute.

 

Never one to miss a tactical opportunity when presented, Sesshoumaru struck. She had just bitten him after all and he would disabuse her of the notion she was in control of this game.

 

A long, rough tongue delved between her lips, effectively silencing the little moaning female, whose hands coiled into cool strands at the base of his skull. Her lashes tickled his cheeks as they fluttered closed.

 

~~~~TAoT~~~~

 

Inuyasha was the color of a fully-ripened tomato.

 

Miroku, on the other hand, looked like what he was: a licentious, orally fixated, lover of all things female.

 

Both males stepped away from the window, allowing the two soon to be lovers some much needed privacy. It was Miroku who spoke first, amethyst eyes still glazed with passions promised and a fair bit of pride in Sesshoumaru. He couldn't have done better himself.

 

“I think lunch might be a bit late today,” he said with a smile just this side of obscene.

 

The hanyou scratched the back of his head.

 

“Yeah, probably. I'm gonna take a shower.”

 

Miroku, seasoned sex-a-holic that he was, understood perfectly.

 

“Might just want to give Kikyou a call too while you're at it. I don't think she knows your back in town yet.” The pillow almost connected with the back of the lawyer's head, caught just in time with a lazy grace.

 

“Make it a cold one.”

 

Miroku grinned like the cheshire cat and carelessly tossed the pillow back to its original position on the couch before returning his attention to the paper work in front of him.

 

Inuyasha growled threateningly before slamming the door closed behind him, rattling the chandelier above. Miroku's eyes slowly travelled upward, looking at the crystalline structure with a wry smile.

 

`Hide in plain sight,' the elderly man had said that day. `Only she will be able to detect its presence.'

 

Miroku palmed his tired eyes. He either needed sleep or to get laid or both.

 

His little black book might come in handy later. Then again, he had left it in the other jacket and he did try never to give the same woman the pleasure of his company twice. How had he forgotten to remove it last night?

 

Strange.

 

The words on the contract before him merged into nonsensical scrawl as he remembered her scent and the feel of her skin below his lips and hands. For a seeming cold fish, she was passionate when aroused.

 

`Wonder what she's doing later?'

 

~~~~TAoT~~~~

 

How exactly both bodies, clothing disheveled, had found themselves on the wet moss was anyone's guess.

 

At the moment, the cool dampness made very little in the way of lasting impression on the dark-haired woman sprawled beneath the ardent male, who had developed a marked fixation on the nipple of her left breast. She was quite sure his undivided attention had ripped the lace of her bra, but just at the moment, that was not a priority.

 

Kagome squeezed her eyes closed and arched into the not so gentle nip, moaning softly.

 

The sound of her breathy groans only served to further embolden the Taiyoukai who continued his graceful descent, kissing a wet trail down her stomach, discovering in his travels a navel peeking at him suggestively. He struck an immediate proprietary acquaintanceship with it causing the female to giggle and squirm.

 

A playful bat to the back of his head made Sesshoumaru look up in surprise; not quite the response he had anticipated, but it would suffice.

 

Kagome smiled down at him shyly. “I'm ticklish,” was her answer to the well-arched silver brow and handsome visage that was making the return journey from navel to her well-kissed lips for round two.

 

His eyes looked peculiar in this light. They appeared actually pink and his features for that matter had shifted, casting dark, feral marks along his well-defined cheek bones. Even his breathing had grown harsher as he hovered over his prize, sniffing her neck.

 

Kagome shivered and closed her eyes. Rational thought finally made its way to the surface of her lust-addled brain and reinforced the precariousness of the current position she found herself in: her body stiffening under his.

 

`What the hell has possessed me? I'm in the middle of nowhere with a man I have known for exactly two days!'

 

His body shifted, returning to its previous hovering stance on his elbows.

 

She carefully opened her eyes as she felt the familiar cool silken canopy caress her cheeks. Dark pools were looking into hers intently, pupils almost eclipsing pale pink-rimmed amber. He looked intoxicated from this angle as he drank in her facial expression and eyed her lips, licking his.

 

`No' Kagome thought, intoxicated was definitely not the right word. The way he looked down at her reminded her of a starving beast who had found his next meal and she was it.

 

Rational thought fled as pale lips descended and he nipped the pulsing vein along at the base of her neck with a satisfied purr against her skin.

 

Kagome's spine and other vitals turned to gelatin under his renewed assault. Long feminine fingers carding through his hair, as warm lips sucked wetly at the thin abused flesh of her throat.

 

“Kami help me, I know I'm going to regret this, but...”

 

Sesshoumaru raised his head with a grunt of irritation.

 

“In case it has escaped your notice Miss Higurashi, this Sesshoumaru is making love to you. Cease the interruptions, immediately!” he barked at the prone female, who blinked up at him.

 

It was the work of a moment for him to hoist her over one shoulder and set off towards the house.

 

“Ahhh Sesshoumaru….” Kagome adjusted her shirt and pointed at the abandoned box that was fading from her view rapidly. She was jogged in an undignified manner while he adjusted her rear with a large palm and swiftly turned and retrieved the box before stalking to the main house.

 

“Sessssshhh…”

 

“Not. One. Word, ” hissed the infuriated and sexually frustrated Western Lord as he mounted the stairs carefully that lead to the back entrance of his private quarters, passing his garden.

 

Kagome snickered behind her fingers. In another reality she was sure she would have belted him for his machismo and presumptuousness, but not today. Anyway, he was walking funny, and trying his best to hide it. She took pity on him and was more curious about the undulating golden glow that she saw from her current position over his shoulder.

 

Sesshoumaru could feel the brightening of her aura. It was no longer agitated and miffed but radiated joy. `This female is changeable to the extreme. Perhaps not the best candidate for a concubine,' the western lord scowled. He had such plans.

 

`Then what am I to do with her?'

 

“Butterflies, oh Sesshoumaru, look at them, thousands of them.”

 

The memory of uproarious laughter echoed in the White Prince's ears. `It has never been my goal to make you human, Lord Sesshoumaru, but to make you live for a reason. She needs one too.'

 

Author's Note

 

Yes, this is where the chapter wished to stop. Yes, yes, I know. Evil personified.

 

See you VERY soon. We cannot have Kagome dying of frustration and curiosity and Sesshoumaru's noble chaps, slowly going blue, is just unthinkable. *Big Grin*

 

EP