InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Price of Vengeance ❯ Chapter Thirty-Five: Soul Bond ( Chapter 36 )

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of Rumiko Takahashi's characters or stories. This story is for private entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: Lemon! Do not read if under 17! (Edited Lime on ff.net) You have been warned!

Chapter Thirty-Five (Soul Bond)

"This is a flower from the east garden---" The little girl carefully laid a smashed wisteria on the table beside him, "---and this is a flower from the south garden." A rose the pale pink of a maiden's blush, as abused as the wisteria bloom, was just as carefully deposited to join its sister-flower in glorious tribute to the mildly amused Taiyoukai of the West.

"I picked the prettiest. For you." Rin smiled, the gap in her front teeth a bit smaller, as the adult tooth was finally growing in. There was a smudge of dirt across one rosy cheek, and generally he might have been irritated by it. But the Lord knew, by this time, that in the fight for cleanliness, Rin was a lost cause.

He nodded his head, once, golden gaze slightly warmer than normal. The girl, so attuned to his slightest mood, immediately picked up on it and her smile widened. Jumping at him, she flung her little arms around his silk-covered knees.

Gold eyes widened minutely, SesshouMaru's only reaction to the surprise of it---before a single hand came up to lightly touch the black tangles of the child's hair. Rin giggled at the slight caress, and immediately let go. She wasn't one to push.

Well---for most things.

"Stupid ningen! How dare you soil me lord's hakama with your dirty presence..." Jaken merely grumbled those words under his toady beak, but the Lord could hear him acutely. The imp forgot himself.

"Jaken." The name was a sharp growl of command.

The imp hopped to the Lord's side, his brown robes dragging on the stone floor after his hurried steps. Bowing deeply, he squeaked, "M-Master?"

"Give Rin her bath and see her to bed." He ordered, leaning back in his chair.

Jaken's beak wrinkled with distaste, but he had learned not to protest a direct order. "Whatever me lord desires."

"Wheee!" Rin clapped her hands, dancing from foot to foot. Her brown eyes were dancing just as much as her feet, and she spun in a delighted circle, before striking a pose. "Jaken-sama, I'll race you there!" With that pronouncement, she was away on bare feet, only pausing before the door long enough to add a flippant bow toward the Taiyoukai, saying gaily, "Good night, my lord!" and disappearing into the hall.

The imp's yellow orbs bulged with the ningen girl's awful manners, and he said pitifully, half to himself, "The indignities I suffer! The indignities we all suffer!"

"Jaken." The Lord's voice was cold.

"Yes, m-me lord?" Jaken blinked at the Taiyoukai.

"You will suffer Rin's companionship, and I will hear no more about it. Treat her with the respect I demand. She is your charge now."

"Wh-What?" Jaken squeaked.

The golden eyes were chips of ice. "She is the reason, the only reason, I still suffer your presence."

"M-Master!" The imp protested, huge tears welling up in the bloated yellow eyes.

"Silence." The command was like a sword stroke, and the imp trembled. "See to your charge."

"O-Of c-course, me lord! Right away!" Jaken bowed to the stone floor, and scuttled backwards toward the still-open door.

Golden eyes now turned to the fire, the Taiyoukai said over his shoulder, "Tell the other servants they are dismissed for the night. I will retire."

A subdued murmur of "Yes, me lord." was all he heard before the thick slam of the door echoed into the still rooms.

The Taiyoukai stared unseeing into the flickering light of the fire laid out on his hearth, and sat without moving for a long time as the flames slowly ebbed into glowing coals. As the light died, the growing shadows brought SesshouMaru out of his wandering thoughts, and he abruptly stood up. Striding into the adjoining bedchamber, he lazily unclasped the clothing from around him. Digging his claws through the long fall of his white hair, he allowed himself a slight stretch, rippled muscles moving under the firmed skin. Naked, he slid between scented sheets that were already laid back in preparation for his use.

Wrapping his tail up and around to use as a pillow, he settled himself, composing his mind for sleep. The golden glow of his eyes closed as his muscles relaxed, and he fell into the welcoming embrace of darkness...

*~*~*~*~*

~Tai...~

He felt as if he were floating in covering darkness, senses seperated and mind calmed in a pool of silent serenity. The call was faint, the urge to answer fainter. A mere whisper that eddied along the deep, still pool of his quiescent soul...

~...youkai...~

The whisper again. Part of him was annoyed at the intrusion; he was seeking the oblivion of darkness, the easement of new, disturbing realizations. Another piece of him felt the call tingle along his awareness, urging him to answer. The inu grumbled under it all, resenting the disturbance.

~SesshouMaru...~

The inu faintly growled, rousing his cognizance slightly even as his body curled in sleep. There was something there...close, familiar, desirable...

:Female.:

The inu within him brightened in recognition, the dull red glow of arousal hazing across his inner senses.

*Female?* His awareness roused lazily, a picture of young Rin floating across his mind, touching the slight familiarity of that faint whisper, grasping it in claws to bring it closer to him so that he might know the summoner.

*Miko...*

With a sudden lurch of realization, the golden mist enveloped the red of the inu, and he opened his eyes to stare in shock at the warm body that lay next to him.

"Kagome."

The name was an intense whisper against her skin.

The girl turned lazily in his loose embrace, and pressed herself along him, her legs tangling with his as her arms wrapped around his waist. Her head bowed into the curve of his broader chest, and she nestled sleepily against him.

"SesshouMaru..." Her breath was a feather of heat against his chest, and he felt the desire firming him to need as his arms tightened around her. The inu, now always restless and seething just beneath the surface, growled within and flashed red streaks through his glowing eyes.

:Mine.:

"What are you..." His voice was a low growl.

"Shhh..." A tiny finger came up to touch the firm line of his mouth, and the golden eyes narrowed on the girl, whose upturned face was a pale pearl in the midnight aura of her hair. The eyes were dark and compelling as the miko slithered up to press her soft lips against his.

Hunger tingled along his soul, and his body clasped hers tightly to him, bending the soft figure beneath his stronger one as he turned them slightly, his mouth crushing hers in the sudden demand of passion's ardor.

The inu within howled in delight at her uninhibited response, the soul claiming the right of affirmation.

Her soft fingers slid along the arch of his spine to lightly clasp his shoulders as his mouth worked over hers, summoning answer as she tilted her head and parted her sweet lips. Swift as a striking falcon, his tongue surged into the wet heat of her mouth, and their tongues dueled the battle of inflamed desire.

He left her panting and yearning beneath him, his lips brushing along the white column of her throat as she gasped and arched below him.

*Kagome...*

Her name was a hum of harmonic bonding along his lonely soul, and he almost crushed her small body in his strong arms as he sought to anchor her, forever, against him. His flesh burned with need, and red streaks crossed his vision as he growled over her.

Something flared against his chest, and he pulled back a bit to see the glowering pink outline of his mark, the crescent moon branding a claim on his soul as his golden eyes arrowed on it. He removed his right arm from around her waist to lightly trace the mark with a claw tip, careful with her delicate skin.

The inu youkai surged through his blood, calling out its claim in the beat of their hearts as the blood urge coursed through him and into her, willing the thrilling music of his senses to meld them together...

:Mine. Mine. Mine.:

He bent his head, and his tongue traced the path of his claws.

"SesshouMaru...." Her gasp of his name as she writhed against him made his soul sing.

"Mine..." He growled, and crushed her beneath him. Red streaks of hot desire fanned through the golden glow of his eyes, and his lips curled back, the gleam of white fangs making her shudder and cry out as the tips sought the edges of his mark, and bit lightly, drawing forth the claim of her blood to his.

Power seemed to glow around her, and he almost flinched when he felt the first burning touch of it against his own aura. The inu in him snarled in reaction, ready for the sharp denial of that power to his demon blood, but the power softened, and he shuddered as it flowed into him, filling him as his mouth filled with the taste of her life-blood.

Shaking against her, he withdrew before he took too much. She was so delicate and small, he did not want to hurt her...

"You could never hurt me..." She whispered to him, and he closed his eyes, hugging her fiercely, showing her with his body what he could not yet say with words.

Her fingers trailed up over his shoulders to frame the magenta-streaked cheeks, and she tugged lightly, directing his mouth to hers. Hardened for a moment, his body softened into hers as their lips fused, tongues melting together.

Fingers combed the long white hair off of his shoulders, and he moaned against her, his desire steeling along the soft brush of her shifting thighs. The midnight tangles of her hair were fanned out and over the furry curve of his tail, and the end came up to brush her arm delicately as she sighed softly, her body straining up, against his. The hardened tips of her breasts were making their own mark of fire against his chest, and he slithered down her frame, seeking the peaks of her desire with the wet heat of his mouth.

When he found the first bud, he sucked the nipple hard into his mouth, and she gasped, her deeply brown eyes snapping open with the sudden shock of it. She was so innocent, her responses so spontaneous. She held nothing back from him.

"SesshouMaru..." She cried out, her back curving as her fingers tangled into the silver-white threads of his hair. She clasped him to her as he suckled and nipped, her gasps of delight making him flex his hips against her thighs, one knee coming up and sliding between her legs to open them.

His lips left a sensuous path across the valley of her breasts, and she sucked in her breath as he attacked the second mound, drawing the aching bud into his mouth and scraping a fang across the burning center. Her hands trailed through the long strands of his hair that poured over his shoulders and down his back to fan across his buttocks and the tangled silken sheets that they lay upon. Muscles tightened over back and hips as her fingers feathered over them, flicking his hair away as her exploring hands slid over the sharp curve of his upper thigh.

He tensed under her exploration, and then lifted his hips slightly, desiring the sweet kiss of her fingers against his most intimate flesh. He could feel the blush heating along her cheeks, and he nuzzled her breasts, murmuring encouragement as the inu youkai in him demanded appeasement. Tightening his control, his eyes glowed golden against her skin as his gaze sought hers, compelling her to touch him.

Her fingers hesitated, and a low growl welled out of him. The blush intensified, and her eyes darkened as her hand suddenly moved to clasp him. His hips flexed wildly, and he crushed his groan into the quivering skin of her breasts as his whole body shook over the innocently fragile hold she had of him.

"Kagome..." He bowed his head into the valley as her fingers tentatively explored him, her own eyes widening as she measured his length with her small hand. Her thumb brushed the tip, and he could feel the bead of his essence that was called forth as desire stormed through his senses and firmed the velvet steel held in her grasp.

The demanding call of the inu was too powerful to deny, and he pulled her hand away from him with a sharp jerk of tightening claws on her tiny wrist. Pulling both her hands above her head, he growled, unable to wait any longer.

With a practiced motion, he slid down only long enough for his knees to force her thighs apart. Confusion flashed through her eyes, and he kissed her hard, quickly, in reassurance as the roar of his blood filled his ears and demanded release. He freed her wrists to grasp her thighs, his claws curving over the soft silk of her skin. Her center was dampened with desire, and he wanted to feel that moist heat surround him, all of him.

She was small, and concern filled him as his fingers tested just how small her flesh was.

*Tight...*

He growled in urgent need against her mouth as he shuddered over the very thought. He worked her, his fingers hard and demanding in her flesh, and she cried out against him, her muscles flexing as her sweet honey flowed over his fingers. Pulling free of her swollen flesh, he used his hands to pull her thighs up, so that her knees rested against the firm slope of his shoulders. She was opened beneath him, readily claimed, and the inu surged against him, snarling for completion.

"Kagome." He said, his voice deep with hungered need.

Passion-washed brown eyes opened, soft lips, bruised with his kisses, parted to smile sweetly at him. The drum of his heartbeat swelled as the blood sang through him, his soul clawing forth to claim her as the inu chanted once more its right of possession.

:Mine. Mine. Mine.:

"You are mine." Reddened eyes narrowed over her as his hips flexed, seeking her heat with his own.

"I..." She gasped against him, eyes jeweling as tears sparkled in the dark depths. He moved again, and she moaned, body bowed beneath his with need, thighs trapped under the hard weight of his heated presence above her. Her lashes fluttered, and she almost sobbed out as desire set her shuddering, "I am yours!"

:MINE.: His body surged forward, his manhood delving deep into her folds. Muscles tightened around him, but he forced his way through, his hips arcing as he slid in to the hilt, his ardent claim sinking home.

"Yours." She sobbed again as the pleasure washed through her, making her cry out with abandon as the white heat swamped over them both, their souls entwining as their bodies did likewise. The inu roared its conquest as his soul bound hers in the embrace of passion...

*~*~*~*~*

He snarled as he felt the unwelcome presence beside him, the soft, exploring hand on his thigh. Eyes opening, fangs flashing, he lurched off the bed, his single hand flashing out and curling around the throat of the intruder even as his tail whipped out to hold the smaller youkai's arms to its side as a whiff of a scream hissed out in reaction to the sudden capture.

The female cowered, her mildly pink eyes whirling with the red streaks of alarm. Her scent was one of pure terror, and the Lord had to fight his inu blood, which snarled over the intrusion. Gold ice warred with red rage, and his eyes narrowed on the trembling female held against the far wall of his room by the hard circle of his clawed hand on her convulsing throat.

"What are you doing?" He hissed, the growl of the inu heating his hard voice.

The youkai gasped, her pearlescent skin draining to a grey-white blanch of fear. "M-My lord!" She gasped.

"Akemi." He recognized her suddenly, as one whom he had used in the past, a maid most eager to satisfy his needs when no other opportunity presented itself. The youkai's silken yukata was pooled around her waist, and the points of her breasts were hardened with fright, not desire, as she shook in his tight grasp.

He flung her to the side, the disgust overwhelming him. "Leave me." He commanded her, his voice harsh and full of ice. The youkai fell to her knees, bowing, before fleeing his presence in terror. His claws curled into a fist as stared at the rumpled silks on his bed.

*Kagome...*

Had she been real? Or was it only a dream?

He felt the soft aura that had surrounded him, and nostrils flared as he detected a sharply feminine scent that had nothing to do with the youkai maid he had just dismissed from his chamber. The slight fragrance was of spring and flowers, ripening and growing, and the boiling reaction of his inu blood was oddly calmed by the faint trace of her scent.

Closing golden eyes, he froze, the sweat running down him, making the long strands of his hair cling silkily to the heightened senses of his skin. Growling softly, he bowed his head, breathing in the faint scent with long, shuddering breaths.

*~*~*~*~*

The girl moaned softly in her sleep, whimpering into the curve of her arm as her head twisted restlessly on the pillow and disturbed black tendrils brushed across her cheek and neck.

Sleeping close to his adopted okaa-san, Shippo's green eyes popped open with the unsettled movement, and he blinked back a sleepy yawn as Kagome sighed, a lost sound as if something had abruptly left her.

"Kagome?" He whispered softly, a paw tentatively stretched out toward her. A scent spiked across his nose, and he wrinkled it back with confusion. The reaching paw snapped back as he saw his Kagome turn over, the black curtain of her hair sweeping aside to reveal the bright glow of the half-circle mark on the crook of her neck and shoulder. The crescent shape blazed a brilliant pink, streaks of fuchsia and magenta swirling in the rosy glow of sacred powers and Jewel shards.

*He calls her.*

Shippo huddled into his little blanket, frightened at the thought. Why would he call her? Why should he call her? Hadn't he done enough? And she was answering him. Did she even know that she was?

Could...could SHE be calling HIM?

Biting his lip nervously with his fangs, Shippo wanted to hide his little head in his fluffy tail and deny it all. But THEY could not.

The mating mark was true, and THEY would not be able to deny its powerful pull for long...

*Oh, Okaa-san!* He wailed in his mind, tears spilling out of his tightly clenched eyes, wishing fervently that he had never, ever seen that betraying mark of the Western Lord claiming his mate. *What will this mean to all of us?*

******************************************

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Vyncent, who really spurred me on with ideas, and to all the other reviewers who requested more Sess/Kag. Thanks again to everybody who posts/emails, truly appreciated! Wicca, you gave me a case of the giggles, and Blacktigress, please email me at "Inufansha(at sign)aol.com", I had questions concerning your post on ff.net...(muse?). I believe aff.net is again up and running, but I have not been able to log in, so this new chapter will only be posted to S'Spark and lime-version on ff.net. Thank you w?w?su for your complimentary review, and Feminafures, I am so glad I can comfort you with my writing! =) Warms the soul!