InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Assassin's Seduction ❯ The Miko's Refuge ( Chapter 2 )

The Miko's Refuge

 

 

`Kagome?'

 

One word. One name. And yet to look upon it was to have the air stolen from her lungs and her heart ripped from her chest.

 

It was impossible, and yet it was there. Her name. He had spoken her name.

 

What had been euphoria coursing through her veins became fury, hot and unstoppable. What had been pleasure and passion became repulsion and hatred.

 

`You sick, twisted,fuck!' The words she typed could never convey her anger, could never express her hurt or the pain of such utter betrayal. `You seduce me,use my fantasies as your tools;all to hack my system, to steal my identity?! To what end?! What do you think you can gain by this, you fucking bastard?! I know you are a youkai,and so help me,I will hunt you down and see to it that nothing is left of you but dust on the wind!!'

 

`Then you do not deny it? You give yourself her name, her title; speak of things that only she could know. What are you? Another reincarnation? Has the Shikon been reborn again?'

 

`The Shikon…'

 

Time stopped moving in that moment. Always something just beyond her grasp, beyond her control; and yet in that moment it was time that was placed in her hands. Rewind. Go back. Back to the past. Back to the people she had left behind. Back to where her heart ached to be. There, it was there she was the Miko of the Shikon. It was there she was known as the powerful miko warrior. There. Only there. And only one who could cross time, one who knew the secrets of the world as she did, would ever be able to know such things.

 

It was so hard to believe. So hard. And yet she couldn't help but hope. Fleeting as the winds and all the more volatile, and yet she hoped, her heart made light to flutter in her chest at the possibility that maybe, just maybe…

 

`Who are you?'

 

Her hands shook. It was hard to see through the film of moisture covering her eyes. She held her breath. She waited.

 

`Answer the question!'

 

She gasped, a startled breath entering her lungs as she all but heard his anger in the words he spoke to her.

 

Why? Why would it be so important to him? Why would he care so much about the Shikon? Was this youkai friend or foe? Had the battle not ended as she had thought? Had she not defeated her enemy? Was she to face those horrors all over again, only without her friends and allies? Was she to make this stand alone?

 

But it was her sacred trust. The Shikon beat in her breast, her final sacrifice to have its evil become a part of her. Never again would it be released into the world. Its life now was tied to hers, and she would never again allow for its corruption to bring the chaos and destruction of so long ago to the land.

 

No. If she had to make a stand, she would make it proudly, knowing that even in death she would be the victor.

 

`I am Kagome, the Miko of the Shikon.So speak not of jewel to me, youkai. It is, and shall always be, beyond your grasp.'

 

`You spout lies, mortal wench. Kagome is dead.'

 

He spoke her name again, but this time, she understood.

 

`I once knew a miko. She is dead now.'

 

`He isn't after the jewel…' The realization was a heavy weight lifted from her shoulders. Her time of battles had passed, and she had no wish to see them brought back. But to know this only made her heart leap and her breath catch with another realization. `He wants me…'

 

`Why?' She couldn't understand. `Who are you…?'

 

But he could only be someone she had known, couldn't he? Why else would he have…?

 

Suddenly hit with the realization of what she had done with this youkai who so obviously knew her, Kagome squirmed in embarrassment. `Just my luck that out of the six billion people in the world I go and have cyber sex with someone I know!'

 

Still, she refused to let her squeamishness get the better of her. What was done was done; there was no going back now. But she could find out who this youkai was, and maybe, after all this time of longing for answers to the questions that had plagued her heart and mind since she had returned, he might be able to give her what she most desired.

 

`No,' she replied to his statement. `I didn't die. I simply came home.'

 

But even as she wrote, she realized that any of her friends should have known this, should have known that her home was in the future. So if not a friend, she wondered, then what was he?

 

`Impossible. You can not be her.'

 

It was almost as though he were begging her to say it wasn't so. Words on a screen they may have been, but she could almost hear the pain that would have cracked his voice had he spoken them.

 

Why? How could she mean so much to this mystery man and not know? Who was he?

 

`I am Kagome. And I can prove it. Ask me something, anything; something only she would know.'

 

`You spoke a name. What was he to you? A lover?'

 

`Lol!' Really, it was ridiculous. `Hardly! He tried to kill me more than once. He was a youkai Lord; fearsome, dangerous, deadly. But he was an ally as well, the elder brother of my best friend. He fought for our cause. No,' she shook her head at her own foolishness,`he fought for his own cause. But it was the right one, and for that I will always respect him.'

 

`Apparently, you would do more than respect him.'

 

`Hey!' Really, come on! She was trying to be nice! She didn't need his jabs at her little side-trip into fantasy land! But…She smirked a little to herself. She wasn't the only one that had indulged in that fantasy. `At least I'm not the one that got busted by the object of my fantasy XP'

 

`Lol. I wouldn't be so sure about that, miko.'

 

All the color drained from her face instantly. “No way,” she whispered to herself in horror. “No way!' Shaking her head sharply, trying desperately to dispel the nagging doubts that persisted on lingering, she reached for the keys again.

 

`Nice try, buddy. But keep dreaming.'

 

`I have been dreaming for far too long, Kagome; a dream that I thought could never be anything more than a fantasy. I think it is time that I stopped dreaming. Meet with me, make my dreams come true.'

 

`I don't think so.'

 

What? Did he expect her to just say yes? Come on! She didn't even know who the guy was for crying out loud!

 

`What's the matter, miko? Are you scared?'

 

`Pft! Come off yourself,buddy. Like I'd ever be afraid of someone like you.'

 

`Another lie. You should take more care, miko. You know I can scent these things, just as I could scent your fear every time you were near to me. But you would always be so bold, standing tall and proud even though you shook with trepidation. That is what I always found so compelling, and what made me hate you all the more. It just wasn't right. I should never have had such reactions to a mere mortal. But you were different, Kagome. You were not just an ordinary mortal. No. You were so much more.'

 

Kagome swallowed thickly. The things he was saying were hitting just a bit too close to home for her linking. But still, it was impossible. She knew it.

 

`You shouldn't say such things. I know you're not him.'

 

`And how is it you know this, Kagome?'

 

`Because…' She didn't want to say it, didn't want to have to admit to something like that; but she knew that it was the truth. `Because he would never want me.'

 

`Why not? You are beautiful, powerful, intelligent, wily, bold, caring, kind, and all that is forbidden for my kind to touch. Why wouldn't I want you? Or is it just that you spent too much time with that foul-mannered disgrace of a hanyou, putting up with his continual degradation of your character and loyalty as he philandered about with his imitation miko, that you can not see the truth of what you are?'

 

It was just too much. Too much to take in all at once. Forget what he had said of her, though flattering, it was the least of her problems. He had spoken of Inuyasha; her friend, her love. But not only that, he had done it as only one person ever could. No one could ever make Inuyasha feel as low as He could. No one could insult him more without ever having spoken a foul word. No one, except for Sesshomaru.

 

“Oh. My. God.” Staring blankly at the screen, Kagome finally realized what she had done, and, more importantly, who she had done it with.

 

`By your silence, I take it that you have finally realized to whom you are speaking, miko. But I would have more. Say my name.'

 

She didn't want to. By the gods, she really didn't want to! But she couldn't help herself. Her fingers moved over the keys as though they had a mind of their own.

 

`Sesshomaru…'

 

`So long I have been denied this pleasure. To know you are speaking to me, that you would call my name in such a way…Let's do it again.'

 

She hadn't even gotten over her shock, let alone be clear-headed enough to know what he was talking about.

 

`Do what again?' she asked in confusion.

 

`;)'

 

Instantly, she knew; and instantly she wished she hadn't. She flushed hotly, squirming with absolute mortification.

 

`I can't believe you just did that!' She didn't care that it was Sesshomaru that she was scolding. The guy was a serious perv! `How old are you, like five?!'

 

`Come a little closer, miko, and you can find out.'

 

`It is NOT going to happen!' And, really, it wasn't! No way!

 

`I think I could convince you otherwise…You're still naked, aren't you?'

 

Squeaking shrilly in shock, Kagome reeled back from her keyboard, wrapping her arms protectively around her very exposed chest. `Damn him!'

 

But, since she wasn't about to let him get the better of her, she forced herself to ignore her nakedness and brought her fingers back to the keys.

 

`I never took you for the sucker type, Sesshomaru. But apparently I'm an even better actor than my friends take me for. I can't believe you thought I would actually do something like that.'

 

`Hn, playing hard to get again, are we? Well, all the better, miko. I shall use the time to my advantage.'

 

`Advantage?' Kagome didn't like the sound of that. At all. If she had learned anything in all her battles with and against Sesshomaru, it was you never wanted him to get the upper hand. Ever.

 

`What are you doing?'

 

`Looking for you.'

 

She hadn't really been expecting a response, but when she got one, she found herself wishing she really hadn't. She gulped. Hard. This was not good.

 

`Lol.' It was a good think she was typing, because she knew that if she had actually laughed out loud it would have been tight and forced, broken by her anxiety. `You could try, but there's over sixbillion people on this planet. You may be good, Sesshomaru; but you're not that good.'

 

`I find it had to believe you have even left the island. It would take me five days at most to locate a single scent in the whole of Japan without any obstacles barring my search. But such things are unnecessary. I only need to find one link. A birth notice. A school performance report. A…Well, well, well; what have we here? Higurashi Shrine. Family owned and run by the priest Souken Higurashi, seen here with his granddaughter, Kagome. Nice picture. How old were you; six, maybe seven?'

 

Anger flared up in her again, instinct kicking in and demanding she protect and preserve what was hers.

 

`You leave my family out of this.'

 

`Or what, miko? You know as well as I do that there would be nothing you could do to stop me.'

 

Yes, she knew. But that wouldn't stop her from fighting till her last breath to ensure their safety. But he would know this. He, of all people, would know this. And he would know what she was capable of. She, however, knew what he was capable of as well. She had seen him in battle, and she knew the cause for which he fought. No, he would not make good of such a threat. She knew it, as she knew him.

 

Fine. If he wanted to play this game of deception, she could play along.

 

`You would use them as a bargaining chip? That's low, Sesshomaru. I thought you had more honor than that.'

 

`Did you know that you are the only person that could ever manage to turn me on when you were telling me off? Fuck. I'm so fucking hard. I want you again. I don't care that it's only in words, to know that it really is you speaking with me is more than enough to make me go.'

 

`He can't be serious!' Like, really, come on! He goes from making threats to wanting to fuck?! The guy was a freak!

 

`You're absolutely depraved! Gods! It's a good thing you never opened your mouth in the past, because no one would believe that such a dirty dog could ever be a Lord!'

 

`Mmmm…say it again. Call me dirty. I like it. But then, so do you, don't you, miko? I bet you would be a real minx in the sac. You would probably do all sorts of naughty things. Oh yeah, I can just imagine you, wearing leather and spiked heels, cracking a whip to make sure I behave.'

 

`Would you cut that out already?! I told you, it is NOT going to happen!'

 

`Can't you see it? Come on, I know you can. You were with me all along, weren't you? You could feel my hands on you body, the heat of my skin on yours, and I know you felt me when I entered you, know that it was my name you called out when you fell over the edge into ecstasy and beyond. Yes, miko. I know you felt it too, just as I did.'

 

Kagome shifted in discomfort. Unfortunately, all her movement managed to do was remind her of her lacking state of dress, which only further reminded her of how much she had enjoyed it. She couldn't deny it, her experience had been incredible. The things he had said, the way he made her feel; she couldn't forget. And to know that all along it truly had bee him, that he was the one touching her as she imagined he had been, that he was the one setting her blood on fire, that he was the one to fill her, to give her pleasures she had never known; and that he had been thinking of her in turn, that it was her touch he so ached to feel, her face he saw, her voice he heard; she couldn't deny that it made her feel something…

 

But it wasn't just a fantasy any longer, no longer just a game or an indulgence. She couldn't do it.

 

`I can't. I won't.'

 

`You can, miko. I know you can. Modesty will not serve you now, not when you have already been so intimate with me. Just imagine it. Put me in chains, bind me with that power that is yours and yours alone, drive the beast mad with unquenchable desire as you force my blood to flow. Can't you feel it, the hot spike of my burning powers as they rise up to fight against the sharp currents of your own? Can't you imagine yourself feeling that kind of control, knowing how much power was at your disposal, and at your mercy?'

 

A tremor shook through her body, washing her with waves of heat. She groaned, though in exacerbation or exhilaration, she wasn't sure. She couldn't do this. Not again. Not knowing it was him. But the problem was she could see it. She could imagine him being bound, seeing the perfect pallor of his skin marred with streaks of crimson by her hand; imagine the rips and snarls that his beast would release as she forced him into submission. She could imagine it, could already feel the exhilaration of her powers surging in response to the wild fairing of his. It was incredible, sinfully addictive. She wanted more.

 

But she couldn't. She knew she couldn't.

 

`I do not have to sit here and listen to this!'

 

Because she knew if she did, she might end up falling into his game again, only this time there would be no saving her from the beast's wrath, or its desires.

 

`True. I could always come make a house-call, and then we could really heat things up.'

 

`You deluded, sick, twisted, perv! It is NOT going to happen!'

 

`Why not? I know you want me.'

 

`GAH!! You are soooo full of yourself!'

 

`I would rather be filling you with my hard cock.'

 

`*-groan-* Not this again! Seriously, get a new line!'

 

`How about I say that I have dreamt of you for centuries, that the only thing keeping me sane when I would see those girls trouncing around in their short skirts, showing off far too much leg as you always would, was to touch myself and imagine it was you who would give me such pleasures, you who would call out my name in ecstasy. What if I told you that the second I realized it really was you speaking to me, that I nearly fucking came again just because I knew that you were here, so close, and that finally, after all these long years of waiting, I would be able to find that beautiful, heavenly scent that has eluded me for all this time.'

 

Yeah…that would probably do it. But still…

 

`I can't. I'm sorry, I just can't.It isn't right.'

 

`What is right, Kagome? Is it right that you are here now, alone, away from all of the ones that had loved you in that past of so long ago? Is it right that I, who would have done anything to keep my distance from you, would be entrusted with your care by my only brother's dying wish? Is it fair that I searched for you even though I saw you die with my own eyes? So long I searched, so long that one day I woke up and realized that a century had passed and that even had she lived, the girl I was searching for would have been long dead.'

 

She felt like crying, but tears simply wouldn't come. She could only read his words in muted sorrow, her worst fears being played before her eyes in the unforgiving black ink upon the screen.

 

`Inuyasha…He's…He's gone.'

 

`Yes, miko. After you were gone, he finally allowed himself to fall. The wounds from the battle with Naraku were too much for him. For whatever compelled me, I thought to tell him I would bring him back. But he would have none of it. He had obligations to the dead, after all. He gave me Tetsusaiga, told me that you were the only one that could aid my hand in using it; and that should I find you, I would find what I was looking for without ever knowing. When I told him you were gone, dead, he laughed as though he knew something I did not. I suppose I understand now.'

 

`What about the others?'

 

`The monk was a loss, but you knew this. The slayer boy, as well, was beyond my reach. The girl, the one you called Sango, I found her near death. It was Rin who begged for her life, who said that Kohaku would have wanted his sister to live. And she, she stayed with her, telling me that she knew now where she was most needed and that I would find her again if she was ever lost.'

 

`So that's it…?' It just seemed like it wasn't enough. They were more than her friends, they were her family. How could she accept that it could end this way?

 

`What more can there be, miko? I am an immortal. I have lived for countless centuries, and will live for countless more. This is my world now. That past is nothing more than a memory, the people in it nothing more than a dream. All except you, for you shall no longer be a dream, no longer be only a fantasy. Meet with me. Let me see you. Let me know you as I never could then.'

 

`I don't think that's such a good idea.'

 

She couldn't help it. Seeing him, knowing what they had done, knowing what he still wanted; she wasn't sure she could deny him, wasn't sure if she would want to when knowing that he was the only link she would ever have to that part of her heart so long lost to her. It wasn't right; not for him, not for her. She just couldn't do it.

 

`You are afraid.'

 

`Yes…' But she couldn't tell him that. `Of you? Never.'

 

`Then perhaps you only need to be convinced of my desire for you. I want you, Kagome. Even thinking about you makes me throb with painful longing. Gods, I have been cursed with this longing for so long I can't remember what it was like to know pleasure without seeing your face, without hearing your voice, having your scent in my senses, knowing your sweet touch. Would you deny me still? Would you make me suffer all the more knowing that you are so close to me and yet still so far?'

 

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. He was practically begging her. It wasn't right. He was too proud to beg, to strong to be reduced like this.

 

Her eyes narrowed as she read the text again. No. It wasn't right. He was lying.

 

`Sango once told me that there are two things which will appease a youkai beast. One is sex, the pleasure of the flesh, the carnal calling of lustful fever. But you would know this, wouldn't you? And you would also know the other outlet for the beast.'

 

`You think I would kill you, miko? You think I would relish in the spilling of your blood?'

 

`I wouldn't put it past you.'

 

`Always the cunning one, Kagome. How easily you see through my directives. It has always been this way, and I have always hated you for it. I hear you call my name, the bold decree as you shout across the battlefield, and it would be my most elated pleasure to hear your voice calling my name as your final breath left you. Yes, it would be my pleasure. Yours is the power that defeated the wretch Naraku. Yours was the hand that took from me my prey. It was you, miko. And I would have had your life for it.

 

`I knew it…' She knew that it had been too good to be true. But even as she resigned herself to that fact, her eyes were drawn back to the screen as more words appeared.

 

`But then, the years would pass, and I would wonder in the moments I was alone, where the shadows of night played across my senses and whispered things of the forbidden; what more pleasure could come of me taking your innocence, ripping into your little virgin body with my heavy cock, making you scream in pleasured pain. I don't know when it started, but with every passing year, the urge to have you in such a way became more than a passing thought, more than a simple fantasy. You became my lust, my desire, my every fantasy. And then you became more. You became my need as well.'

 

`He…' It was so hard to believe. This was a creature of such power, such will, such incredible might. How could he have fallen to a fantasy, a dream? No. She couldn't believe it. Not him. He would never fall. Not like that. It was desire. It was lust. It was a twisted, perverse method of coping. He didn't want her, not really. He was simply giving his beast an outlet for its anger and wrath for having been denied the pleasure of the hunt and the kill.

 

`It's not enough.' And it wasn't. It never would be. `You speak of need, of desire, of lust; but it's not enough. Not for me.'

 

`And I know this as well. But you know, as I do, that there could never be any love between us. For I am incapable of love, and you, my sweet miko, could never love someone so cold. But it matters not, because I would give all of my wealth, all of my power, just for one night with you. And you, you would give this to me because I am all that is left of your past, and you know it.'

 

He might as well have ripped her heart from her chest with his claws. Yes, she knew how cold he could be, knew that he was ruthless beyond his killing blade. But he was using her, and letting her know it. That was beyond cold, beyond vengeance and wrath.

 

`I will never give you what you want.'

 

She couldn't understand why it hurt so much to say those words.

 

`You will. It is only a matter of time. For now, however, I will content myself with playing our little game…Are you still naked?'

 

“That's it!” Standing stiffly, her entire being burning with outrage and fury, Kagome marched her way to her closet and pulled out a sleeping yukata. Though a far stretch from her usual sleeping apparel, she kept it around for those times when she wanted the feeling of silk on her skin and the easy comfort it offered. A small shiver danced across her skin as the light material floated around her, but she resolutely ignored the feeling, forcing herself to tie off the simple robe in a final gesture to conceal her body, and cover her sins.

 

Once she was finished, she hesitantly turned back towards the computer. Its soft glow that illuminated the darkness of her room was deceivingly innocent, because she knew that somewhere out there He was looking onto a similar monitor.

 

It still seemed impossible, even though she couldn't deny that she now knew it was fact. But he was here, in her time, where she thought he past was lost forever. He was here, speaking with her, telling her he wanted her, that he needed her.

 

How was it that it was so easy to forget his harsh words, his cold defense against her accusations, and so impossible to forget that he was out there, yearning…

 

She closed her eyes, sighing softly into the dark.

 

“Not tonight,” she told herself in a soft whisper drawn with exhaustion.

 

She just couldn't take any more tonight. She was so tired she couldn't think straight any longer. She needed rest, needed the clarity that came with the light of morning. She needed time.

 

Slowly making her way back to her computer, she resigned herself to logging off.

 

`Kagome?'

 

His last message. Her lips twitched into the beginnings of a crooked smile. Yeah, he wanted her. He would have thought she left, and she couldn't help but wonder what that would have made him think. Would he have been angry? At her for leaving? Or at himself for chasing her away when after all this time he had finally found the one he had been searching for?

 

But as she sat down and reached for the keys, the smile playing on her lips grew warmer.

 

`I'm still here.'

 

`I thought you had left.'

 

`I know. But it's late. I need to go to bed.'

 

`Ah, sleep: the curse of mortality. Then pleasant dreams, priestess. I know mine will be. But tell me first, what does tomorrow bring? Will you speak with me again? Or would you allow me to come to you?'

 

She bit her lip as she tried to figure out her response. There was a part of her that would have been more than happy to see him again, but there was another part of her that simply feared too much what such a meeting would bring.

 

`I'll talk to you tomorrow.'

 

`Only talk? I could think of something far more gratifying.'

 

`I'm sure you could. But we'll talk tomorrow.'

 

`Very well, Kagome. Until then.'

 

`That's it?' She felt a little cheated. After all the things he had said and done, all she gets is an `until then'?

 

She supposed it was her own fault for having said she was going to bed, but she just couldn't bring herself to leave just yet.

 

`Sesshomaru?'

 

`Yes?'

 

`You're wrong.'

 

`Wrong? About what?'

 

`I...' She felt a little silly saying this, but she knew she would never have the courage to say it to his face. `Inever did fear you. It was the fire that I feared. So unbelievably hot, it burned me beyond my mortal flesh, searing into my very soul. I feared it. I feared it for what it did to me, for how small and fragile it made me feel. I feared the way it called to me, taunting me with its maddened dance. But you were so cold, like ice bearing down upon the unrelenting burn. And it was you that made me bold, that gave me courage; because the fire could never control you. But still I feared.Because even though I knew how powerful Ihad become;I knew that no matter the power I possessed, yours would always be thething that could destroy me.'

 

She tried holding her breath as she waited for his answer, but it left her in a frustrated huff when that answer became noticeably lacking.

 

`Sesshomaru?'She pressed him for a response.

 

`Lol. That was fucking close.'

 

`…What?'

 

`You had me so shocked that for a minute I forgot I was flying. Colorado just about got a new lake to add to their landscape.'

 

`Colorado? What are you doing there?'

 

`Making pretty good time, if I say so myself. I only left Manhattan, what, fifteen minutes ago?'

 

`What? How? I mean, you're still talking to me.'

 

`The marvels of modern technology.'

 

`Okay…' she answered slowly. `Then what were you doing in Manhattan?'

 

`I work there.'

 

`Stock market?' Yeah, she could totally see him as some business tycoon.

 

`Actually, I'm one of New York's finest.'

 

`You're…a cop?' There was just something highly disturbing about that image.

 

`Who better to track down criminals than someone with a nose for crime?'

 

`Huh…Now that you say so, I guess it does make a lot of sense. But that still doesn't explain what you're doing in Colorado.'

 

`Actually, I think I just crossed into Utah.'

 

`Would you just answer the damn question!'

 

`Don't you know, Kagome? I have been away for far too long. I'm coming home.'

 

`Sesshomaru…' She knew what he was coming back for, but she just couldn't. Not yet. `I can't…'

 

`Hush now, little miko. Our time will come soon enough. For tonight, sleep, and dream of what tomorrow will bring.'

 

She smiled then, because for the first time in a long time she could actually believe that her dreams would be good ones.

 

`Goodnight, Sesshomaru.'

 

`Goodnight, Kagome.'

 

Her smile never left her, even as she reached for her mouse and moved it to close out the screen. It was soft and warm with affection; but it was knowing as well, because he had been wrong about something else, too.

 

She stood slowly, her fingers still reluctant to leave behind the connection she had to him. But she forced herself away. He was right; their time would come soon enough. But not tonight.

 

Turning to her bed, she was just about to get in when something gave her pause. She looked to the window, through it to the world beyond.

 

Maybe it was habit, maybe it was wishful thinking, or maybe it was just that she wanted to believe in something; but for whatever reason, before she got into bed, she went to the window and undid the latch, leaving it open just a crack as she always would have for Inuyasha.

 

- - - - - - - - - - -

 

It was strange.

 

He had thought he would have been elated to find her scent after all this time. But he wasn't. He wasn't even sure he knew what it was he was feeling.

 

Her scent was there, and yet, he had found the scent of another as well.

 

Inuyasha. It had been just as long since he had been this close to his brother. Though he knew that the scent was fading, that it had been some time since the hanyou had last been here, the fact remained that he had been here and he hadn't even known. But then, what does one say to the dead? Even if it was his own blood, his own brother, there was nothing he could have said or done to change what was, and nothing he would have done or said to make it seem any different. It was just the way things were, and he had always believed that, deep down, Inuyasha knew it as well.

 

But the hanyou had always known more than he liked to let on. He always appeared foolish and brash, and he was, to some extent anyways. But sometimes, some very select times, the hanyou would find a way to surprise him. He had done it when he handed Tetsusaiga over to him, and again when he told him that Kagome was his now to protect. He had known, even though it was impossible that he could. Maybe he thought that it was the time that would change him, maybe he thought that it would be her; but then, maybe he knew all along that he could never really have harmed her.

 

And standing now just outside of the shrine grounds, knowing that she lay sleeping within, he thought he finally understood the boy's final words to him. Because he had found what he was looking for. He had, and it had nothing to do with the fang that he had left behind in his haste to return to this land of his ancestors.

 

He had hardly realized he wasn't standing any longer, his feet bringing him closer almost of their own accord. He knew she wasn't ready, knew she wouldn't allow it; but he couldn't help himself. He needed to see her. With the stealth only a predator could attain, he made his way closer, following that sweet scent that called to him as nothing ever had or ever would again.

 

He would have almost been surprised to find her window open and inviting as it was had it not been for the lingering traces of Inuyasha's scent. It was ludicrous that he would be reduced to the same filthy habits as that mongrel half-breed; but he just couldn't find it in himself to care any longer. She had left this invitation for him, and he would not let it go to waste.

 

Slipping silently into the darkened room, it actually took him a moment to bring his urges back into line when he was assaulted by the full potency of her luscious scent. By damn, he was practically purring with pleasure when he found the lingering traces of her arousal and completion in the air…not to mention hard as a rock in two seconds flat.

 

He closed his eyes, knowing that if he saw her now that the image of her would break through whatever lingering resolve he had to keep away. Willing his breathing back under control, he focused on taking in long draughts of the air, tasting her scent upon it and savoring it as fine wine.

 

“You cut your hair.”

 

It was nothing more than a whisper, but it cut through the silence of the night like a sharp blade. Startled, his eyes snapped open and he turned towards the voice, only to loose himself again. Watery and drawn from sleep, still her sapphire eyes were the most beautiful thing he could remember having ever seen.

 

He couldn't find words. Couldn't do anything more than look at her. She: this mortal child, this angel of man, his priestess, his goddess.

 

She smiled at him, a warm, tender smile that made his chest feel light.

 

“I know,” her soft whisper was music to his ears. All this time, and he could hear her voice and know she was speaking to him. He could see the way she shifted, see her pulling back the blankets covering her; but his focus was held by her sparkling sapphire eyes and the soft curves of her face as it was heated with the timid blush rising on her cheeks. “If you promise to be good you can get in.”

 

Suddenly shocked out of his daze, his eyes widened marginally in understanding before being taken over by a wicked gleam.

 

Good? Since when was he ever good? It was actually difficult to control the smirk that wanted to rise on his lips. `Your innocence will be your undoing, miko,' he thought with dangerous anticipation. `Or should I say; your deflowering?'

 

Yes, this was the same girl from all those long years ago. She hadn't aged, hadn't lost her youth or innocence. She was the same girl, exactly how he remembered her. And she would be his. She was already.

 

Without needing any more encouragement, he immediately shrugged off his jacket and stepped out of his shoes. His hands were just working at undoing the buttons of his shirt when her voice stopped him.

 

“Don't even think about it,” she told him through a yawn. “Or you'll be sleeping on the floor.”

 

He couldn't help it. He smirked as he moved closer, kneeling on the bed so that he could lean over her and trap her smaller frame beneath his. “Who said I had any intentions of sleeping, Kagome?”

 

`Yes...' He knew that look, knew it to be her anger and her fury, and by the gods it was the sexiest thing he had ever seen.

 

“I did,” she ground out, though her voice was still hoarse and cracked by sleep. Then, to his surprise - surprise stemming from the fact that there really was something she could have done to make him even hotter for her than he was in that moment - she turned stiffly away from him, offering him her back as she came to rest on her side. “Don't make me ask you to leave.”

 

Leave? Oh hell no. There was nothing with power enough to take him from her side now that she was finally within his reach.

 

But, for now, he would give her this.

 

Stretching himself out to lie beside her, he let himself settle into her bedding; but not before wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. She drew in a startled breath, but he would not let her go. Not now. Not ever. Gradually, she relaxed again, leaning into the heat of his body and the strength of his embrace.

 

A soft sigh of contentment left her, and the sound was more a drug than anything that could ever be found on the bad streets. The reaction couldn't be helped. His hips thrust forwards against the lush curve of her backside, pressing hard against her the evidence of what she did to him without even trying.

 

Of course, he realized after he had done it that he likely should have showed more restraint; but that didn't stop him from growling lowly in displeasure when she reached behind her, swatting at his thigh like it was some pest, and telling him in a voice tight with agitation to, “Stop that.” But she didn't react in fear. No, not her. Instead, she giggled playfully upon hearing the dangerous vibrations. “I thought you wanted me to punish you for your naughty ways.”

 

`Oh fuck me…' If she was looking to have a savage beast tearing into her without restraint, she was about one taunt away from having it happen. His hold on her tightened, pulling her little body flush against his own as he shifted his hips to press against her again with his throbbing cock.

 

“Perhaps,” he whispered darkly in her ear, “But not until I have shown you unquestionably who is in control.”

 

She stiffened, and almost instantly, he could smell her fear.

 

Forcing himself to pull back, he repressed a sigh. No, he wouldn't have her in this way. He would have her with him willingly. He would have her wanting him as he wanted her. And it would happen. It was just a matter of time.

 

“Go to sleep, Kagome,” he told her quietly. “I will respect your wishes…For now.”

 

But even as she settled back down, the scent of her fear fading away behind the soft tranquility of her slowing breaths, he couldn't stop himself from pulling her closer again, dipping his nose to bury it in the soft curve of her neck and breath in that perfect scent that he had gone for so long without.

 

“You know,” her words were hushed and drawn, “It's awfully hard to sleep with you doing that.”

 

“Hn,” he murmured against her skin. He just couldn't help it, she smelled too damn good. His tongue snaked out of his mouth to drag across the creamy expanse of her delicate neck, savoring the flavor of her with a low, lustful growl. A shiver coursed through her petite frame, and it only left him yearning for more.

 

“Would you say it?” he whispered against her.

 

Her heard her soft sigh, felt the way her body sagged against his with exhaustion. “Will you let me go to sleep if I do?”

 

If she would say it, he would give her the world. “Yes.”

 

And so she spoke the words he had been waiting an eternity to hear.

 

“I am yours.”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Okay, that really is the end this time. I know, there wasn't any smut or sex or even anything terribly naughty; but at least it has the feeling of an ending for all of you who thought that I left you hanging in suspense. I really did think about it for a long time, taking into account both the many, many requests to see more and the few who told me they thought the ending was perfect after the first chapter; but in the end, this was what I decided on.

 

So, I hope everyone enjoyed. Drop a review on your way out to let me know what you thought.

 

Cheers. Here's to happy endings :)

 

Shadow.