InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Curious Case of Kagome's Scent ❯ Orange Blossom ( Chapter 6 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Inuyasha had begun to notice the growing interaction between the miko and the taiyoukai and it was really beginning to get on his nerves. He tried everything he could think of to draw Kagome away from his evil half-brother, but he was failing miserably. No amount of yelling, threatening, or even begging could get her to treat Sesshoumaru the way the hanyou believed he deserved to be treated.

She still spent some of her time during their travels walking alongside Sango and Miroku. The slayer would mostly pump her for information while the monk made comments dripping with thinly veiled innuendo. More often than not, however, Kagome could be found walking with the taiyoukai, sometimes talking and other times just enjoying the companionable silence. They were getting to know each other more and more, every conversation giving insight into who they were and how they got that way.

Inuyasha spent most of his time at the front of the pack, seething with anger and/or pouting. However, much to his disappointment, it had absolutely no effect on Kagome. He still snuck off every night after dinner, the very behavior that gave her the strength to ignore his tactics and continue on doing what she wanted to. She figured he had no right to judge or try to control her actions when she didn't say a word about his repeated and blatant lies. He still acted like she belonged to him, even if he didn't want her, and yet he continued to steal away to see Kikyo every chance he got. His hypocrisy only fueled her defiance.

-

It was making him nuts again and his beast seemed intent on ensuring he couldn't get his mind off of it. Sesshoumaru had tried to ignore it, not wanting Kagome to think that his only interest in her was her ever-changing scent. It wasn't his only reason for desiring her, after all. There were so many things about her that drew him in. The puzzle of her scent was only a small part of it. Still, his beast was obsessed with understanding the various aromas surrounding her and had not yet given up the quest to experience her natural scent. It wouldn't let it go and Sesshoumaru felt the fight in him weakening. He knew he was going to cave eventually, so he might as well save the energy he would have spent struggling against it and just give in now.

They were sitting side by side under a large shade tree. They had just finished lunch and Kagome was getting in a little studying before they began their seemingly endless trek across Japan once more. At times like these, Sesshoumaru would either sit and think or flip through one of her other textbooks, soaking in the new information. Today had been one of those days that his thoughts were so loud he could not focus on anything else, so he'd just been sitting and staring blankly at the sky.

With a sigh, Kagome closed her book and tossed it aside. "I can't take any more."

Glad that he wouldn't be forced to interrupt her, Sesshoumaru focused on her face. "Kagome, there is something I have been curious about for some time."

"Yeah?" she asked with a yawn. Trying to study had done nothing but make her mind-numbingly bored, which in turn made her tired.

"Your scent..." He saw her frown and mentally scolded his beast for forcing the issue. Deciding the damage was done, he continued. "Your hair always carries a different scent than the rest of you."

"That's from my shampoo," she answered quickly. Why was he so focused on her scent? Was that all she was to him? A bunch of different scents that needed identifying?"

"Sham...poo?"

"Yeah, it's what I use to wash my hair. It's scented, like all my other bath stuff."

"I would like to see how this... shampoo... works."

"You want to watch me wash my hair?" she asked incredulously.

"Purely to satisfy my curiosity of course," he lied. He'd been tempted to drop in on her bath time more than once. "Would that make you too uncomfortable?"

"No..." Kagome answered slowly. What would it hurt? He wanted to see her wash her hair. She didn't have to be naked for that, and even if she was, she'd be covered by water. Besides, Sesshoumaru was an honorable demon. He would never do something inappropriate. She could trust him. "It's okay. I guess, the next time I take a bath, you can come along and I'll show you how it works."

-

Kagome had regretted agreeing to that ever since the words left her mouth. She hadn't expected to feel so anxious about it, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him she'd changed her mind. Instead, she'd simply been putting off bath time for as long as possible. Usually she tried to bathe at least every other day, though she preferred daily if possible. Now, though, it had been four days --- going on five --- since she last sunk into a relaxing hot spring and it was beginning to wear on her.

Bath time was her relaxing time and she needed it to keep from sitting Inuyasha to death, something she was becoming increasingly tempted to do. Not only that, but she absolutely stunk. She was filthy, coated in dust and dirt from the road, and her hair was an oily mess. Still, she was putting it off, unsure how in the hell she was going to be able to bathe in Sesshoumaru's presence without losing her mind.

-

He knew she was stalling, but he wasn't sure why. She had agreed easily enough. Did she regret it? He felt a little guilty for having asked such a thing of her, knowing that it would offend her modest nature, but he refused to allow her to back out. He wanted this far too much to give it up. Once the opportunity to catch even a glimpse of her nude body presented itself, his mind and beast had latched onto it and had given him no peace since that very moment.

He needed to find a way to force her to take a bath without being too obvious. The solution to his problem was so kind as to walk right out in front of them on their path through the forest and he couldn't keep the devious smirk off his face.

Yet another weak demon in pursuit of the jewel shards Kagome carried. It was too easy. You couldn't even call it a battle. Sesshoumaru swept past Inuyasha, for once not to show him up but because he had a plan. That didn't stop the hanyou from cursing up a storm, but the taiyoukai didn't even hear him, far too focused on his goal. The demon's death was unnecessarily violent, but purposely messy, and Sesshoumaru's smirk grew as a shower of blood rained down over the miko's head. Everyone else had been able to avoid it, but not Kagome. She'd been dead center and hadn't had a chance. Now she would have to bathe!

Kagome shrieked in indignation as she shook the nasty red fluid from her hands before running them through her now wet and sticky hair. "That was completely unnecessary!" she yelled at anyone and everyone. "How in the hell did that even happen?!"

Sesshoumaru sauntered over to her, fighting back the genuine smile that wanted to show on his face. "This Sesshoumaru would happily escort you to the nearest spring so that you may cleanse yourself. I am terribly sorry that you were caught in the downpour."

"Yeah," she said snidely, no longer afraid to speak to him in any tone she wanted, "sure you are, and sure you will. You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

"What the hell, Wench? Even I know that's stupid. Why would he try and get you dirty, like you weren't dirty enough! Now we have to sit around and wait for you to take a bath, and we all know how long that takes."

"Inuyasha," she growled through tightly clenched teeth, " sit!" The hanyou slammed painfully into the ground and Kagome nodded her approval at his prostration. "Fine," she said while digging out her bathing supplies, rather impressed that he somehow managed to get blood all over her but not a drop on her pack. "Lead the way, but don't think for a second that I don't think you did this on purpose. You just couldn't wait until I took a bath on my own, could you?"

Sesshoumaru pointed in a direction, watching as Kagome stomped away. His long strides allowed him to easily keep pace with her angry, hurried steps. "Did you not desire to bathe anyway?" he asked, carefully monitoring his tone. "It has been several days, more than you usually like to wait."

"And of course you know that. Okay, here's the deal. You can only stay close while I'm washing my hair, not for my whole bath. You have to promise to look away while I undress and get in the spring, and if I catch you peeking, the deal is off. Once I'm done shampooing, you can stay in the area to make sure no one attacks, but not within watching distance. And no pervy comments."

"You confuse this Sesshoumaru with the monk. I would never stain my honor by looking upon you without your permission, and I certainly would not insult you in any way by commenting." A smirk pulled at his lips. "Though I may find it necessary to compliment your beauty."

Kagome's cheeks flushed bright red and she looked at the ground. "I still don't know why you care enough to have to watch me wash my hair."

"I am simply curious about this product of yours and how it works."

"Sure you are," she growled, trying to keep her anger up to cover her nervous embarrassment.

Once she reached the spring, she ordered Sesshoumaru to turn around, and he immediately obeyed. The temptation to peek was great, but the fear of angering her and thus pushing her away from him was greater. He waited anxiously for her permission to turn and when it came, the sight that greeted him was entrancing.

She had already dunked her head under the water, rinsing the worst of the filth and blood from it. Her wet hair clung to her neck and he could clearly see her bare shoulders, as well as the swell of her breasts that bobbed just under the surface. He cursed the cloudy water for blocking his sight, but knew that it did a lot to make her more comfortable. Suddenly the guilt overwhelmed him. She wasn't comfortable with this and here he was, forcing her to be nude in his presence! What kind of man was he?!

Kagome distracted him from his sudden outrage at his own behavior. "Okay, here it is." She held up a bottle and then snapped the lid open. Immediately he could smell the same sweet aroma that her hair always carried, only much stronger. He took the offered bottle and sniffed it before reading the characters printed on it.

"Orange blossom," he said softly. "It suits you."

"Give it back and I'll show you how it works." He immediately returned the bottle and watched as she squeezed some into the palm of her hand before closing it and setting it aside. She smeared the thick looking stuff onto her hair, moving it around until her head was covered with a white lather. "See? Put it on, rub it in, and then rinse it off. Easy."

"Can... May I?" he asked hesitantly, sitting right behind her head.

She turned to glance at him in confusion before nodding and turning back around. "I guess, if you want to. Just try not to slice off all my hair with those claws of yours, huh?"

An uncharacteristic smile showed on his face for a moment, though she couldn't see it, and he burrowed his hands into her foamy locks. He'd never really touched her hair before, besides a few times during a passionate lip lock when he was clearly focused elsewhere, and he was surprised by how soft and thick it was. He took it upon himself to massage her scalp while continuing to wash her hair and was thrilled by the soft moans she released for him. After several minutes, she pulled away and he found that he was very disappointed that it was over.

"Now I rinse," Kagome said, her tone somewhat distracted. She'd had no idea it would feel so good to have the all powerful demon lord washing her hair, but it was. It was incredible and she had wanted it to last forever.

He watched as she slipped under the water, her hands moving through her hair while bubbles rose to the surface. When she came up again, he was prepared to leave her as agreed, but then she grabbed another bottle he hadn't noticed before that looked very much like the first.

"What is that?" he asked quietly and much more calmly than he felt. The sounds she'd made, had gone straight to a certain part of his body, waking an even stronger desire for her. There she was, naked and right in front of him, and he couldn't do a thing about it. This was more torturous than even her absence had been.

"Conditioner. You use it after the shampoo to keep your hair soft and healthy. It's also great at getting rid of tangles."

"Could I?"

Kagome smiled brightly. Oh yes, he was more than welcome to bury his fingers in her hair again. Hell, he could do it any time! "Sure, I guess." It was difficult not to sound excited, but she did her best. The miko turned slightly and squeezed the appropriate amount into his hand before giving him her back once more. She fought to keep from moaning as he once again massaged her scalp in the most heavenly of ways, but she couldn't win. The sounds escaped her without permission as she slipped into a very relaxed state.

He noticed that this one didn't lather like the first, but it didn't matter. He was enjoying himself and it was obvious that she was as well. He was committing to memory every little sound she made, just in case he never got the opportunity to hear them again, all the while fighting to keep himself from slipping into the spring beside her and seducing her into giving him far more than she'd intended. He didn't doubt his capabilities and was sure it could be done. He just didn't know how she would feel about him afterwards. The possibility that she may hate him for taking advantage of her wasn't worth the risk. No, he would have to wait and slowly work his way up to it, so that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

She seemed content to let it go on forever and he had no intention of stopping, but finally, after more than five minutes, Kagome interrupted his motions and rinsed. While she was under water, she mentally scolded herself for allowing it to go on for so long. He probably thought that it was supposed to take that amount of time and had no idea she'd been taking advantage of him because it felt good. She'd practically melted right into the spring! Still, she couldn't regret it. She'd never been so relaxed in all her life.

By the time she reached the surface, he was gone, though she could still feel him a short distance away. He had abided by her rules, but she couldn't help but be a little disappointed. Maybe he'd want to do this again? She could only hope.