InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Prize ❯ 8. Late Lunch ( Chapter 8 )

The Prize [NC-17]

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and give thanks to its creator; it's such a wonderful series.

 

8. Late Lunch.

 

They did not eat at the castle's large dining table. Instead, they were to sit at a much smaller, round and intimate one.

 

Kagome noticed that Sesshomaru had instructed Rin and Jaken to eat elsewhere. She also observed that he had ensured that no servants entered the room. As a result, he began to serve her plate. She was stunned all around but this… she couldn't believe that she was being served by him. But then again, she realized that this would be one of many shocks that she will have to learn to get used to.

 

While he was serving her plate he noticed how she was deep in thought once again. He decided to bring her out of her reverie and said, “Previously, you wanted to talk.”

 

“Yes, that's true,” she said.

 

As he sat down with his plate full he picked up his cup of sake and brought it to his lips savoring the warm liquid.

 

“Speak.” he said and started with his meal.

 

She tried to ignore his commanding tone. Instead, she recalled the question that had been lingering in her mind ever since he took her. She saw her cup of sake and realized that a bit of courage from it wouldn't be a bad idea. She took a sip and smiled. It was exquisite.

 

He acknowledged her approval and said, “One of my best, for you.”

 

“Thanks,” she said quietly. Then she shook her head, “Ah, I guess we can talk after the meal.”

 

He said, “Perhaps during dessert.”

 

Then she realized that no, it had to be now. Knowing what he meant by dessert they would never talk. It was now or never.

 

She asked simply and directly, “Why?”

 

He looked at her while chewing; she did not dare say anything more.

 

He swallowed his food. With eating sticks held in his fingers he slanted his hand to the side asking, “Why what?”

 

She sighed and put her sticks down. She needed to focus.

 

“Why did you take me?” She clarified.

 

He had just placed another serving in his mouth and paused. He later continued chewing and with a sip of the sake he washed down the meal. All this felt like eternity to Kagome.

 

That was when she saw his shiny lips say, “I decided that you were to be my mate since my sad excuse for a brother did not claim you.”

 

She felt the world crash on her.

 

“That! That is the reason?!?” She was shocked. “Just, j-just because he is now with Kikyo?” she continued.

 

It was evident that she was not pleased. He realized that the meal had to wait and he set the sticks aside. He looked at her directly and saw a tear flowing from the candle light's reflection.

 

“Mate, look at me,” he commanded.

 

She slowly raised her gaze and saw him through blurry sight. He knew that her mind was far away from everything once again, thinking about Inuyasha.

 

He walked to stand next to her. She was not receptive to his approach. He pulled a chair beside hers and his knee accidentally touched her hand. She immediately jumped and retracted it. This did not go unnoticed and with a growl he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lap forcing a connection.

 

They sat there in silence.

 

He finally said, “Kagome, do you know how old I am?”

 

She then looked at him with restored interest.

 

“Although I am told to look to be 26 years of age I have roamed on this planet for well over 200,” he said. “How old are you?” he asked changing the subject.

 

“Nineteen,” she replied quietly.

 

Amber and dark blue eyes remained connected for a few moments.

 

“In my lifetime I have never had any interest in claiming someone to be my mate.” He said. “I have only been interested in the protection of my territory.”

 

He continued, “I did witness, however, the countless times that you defended and saved your friends, how you assisted in Naraku's defeat, and indirectly assisted in the protection of my territory,” he paused and observed her eyes, shiny and intelligent. “I despise humans and yet, you earned my respect.”

 

She looked at him in disbelief.

 

“It was contemptible to find you alone and vulnerable in the forest; you were as easy as prey.”

 

Kagome smiled faintly. “I see. So you took me not out of pity but out of what you think is fair?” She asked wiping away her tears.

 

Sesshomaru leaned back and looked away, “As my mate you will not only have more power than you have ever imagined but you will always be in a place of honor.”

 

She sat there stunned into silence. She would have never imagined these thoughts about her coming from him. Slowly, another layer of the lord demon revealed itself to her. It was a much rare, secret and, dare she think it, empathetic side of him.

 

She gave a quick squeeze to his hand. He looked at her and saw her smiling. She tried to talk but she was overcome by his words. She managed to say in an unsteady voice, “I…” she looked at his profound gaze, “I think I understand.”

 

After another pause and after she was able to regain her composure she said, “Thanks for thinking that I deserved to be honored.”

 

They held their gaze comfortably.

 

Then in retrospect she asked, “Wouldn't it have been better if you had told me about this before taking me like that?”

 

He sat there not moving an inch. He then made a point to face her completely and said, “Kagome, you would have never accepted me. I had to resort to the Youkai way of convincing.”

 

“Eh!? Come again?” she questioned.

 

With a slight smirk he said, “The Youkai way is to seduce the female to a point that she realizes that she has no choice but to accept him. And in so doing, she would also accept that he won't hurt her. I dare say that it worked very well.”

 

She looked so shocked, her mouth was open and she was rendered speechless. He leaned his forehead against hers. She closed her mouth.

 

“There is nothing wrong with my methods Ka-go-me,” he enunciated each syllable of her name seductively.

 

She was trying not to swoon from the effect he had on her.

 

In a normal voice he continued, “We wouldn't be talking like this if it weren't for my seducing you. At any rate,” he resumed straightening himself into his seat, “this way is much better than debates.”

 

She replied with an “Humph!” and crossed her arms.

 

He leaned into her and kissed her nose.

 

That unexpected yet endearing move dissolved her irritation.

 

Then she thought out loud, “Said methods however, were not fool proof as we experienced downstairs.”

 

He replied, “It would have worked had we not run into Jaken.”

 

She responded, “Lust does not waive fear permanently. But I guess that it does have its role in the process.”

 

He held her gaze and then stood to place his seat back at its place at the table. She discretely blew her nose with the napkin; a feeling of relief suddenly surrounded her. As she tried the lamb, her eyes widened at how exquisite it tasted despite it now being cold.

 

She was famished and continued eating the meal along with the vegetables and starch. Sesshomaru was pleased to see her healthy appetite.

 

“I am eating so much, I bet that I look just like Inuyasha when he eats ramen,” she laughed.

 

Sesshomaru stilled his arm as he was returning his drink to the table. He looked at her and noticed how her laugh had died abruptly. He could see the wheels on her mind working again.

 

He finally placed the cup on the table and commanded once again, “Speak.”

 

She looked at him and she said, “He knew!”

 

He raised his eyebrows not giving away whether he followed or not.

 

She then placed her eating sticks back on the plate and put her hand on her lap. “Inuyasha knew about your intentions when you took me,” she said quietly.

 

Sesshomaru straightened back onto his seat. He said, “Although at first he tried to prevent it, it is apparent that he did recognize that my taking you was the best solution.”

 

Her demeanor changed, she was not pleased.

 

He stated his evidence. “First, he did not chase us when I took you.”

 

She recalled the feeling of emptiness when she noticed this too.

 

He resumed, “And second, I have had my guards watching the border of my territory. There has been no sign of him.”

 

She smiled absently and said, “He has no reason to come after me, his world is Kikyo after all.”

 

“As you are now mine,” he said snapping her back to her reality.

 

Startled, she looked back at him His words had struck a chord within her. It struck at that little something that she had been ignoring since before. Once again, she refused to face it and succeeded to block it. Instead, the sting of Inuyasha and Kikyo together reappeared on her mind.

 

“Sesshomaru,” she sighed and hated herself for doing this but she had to be honest, “I don't think that I will be able to replace Inuyasha with you in my heart. After all, he is my first love ever since I was fifteen. He was my first kiss.” She paused and ended saying, “He has always been on my mind.”

 

Sesshomaru looked at his cup of sake and one elegant eye brow rose slightly in annoyance. He said evenly in his deep voice, “Understood.”

 

She looked at him and found it difficult to see him like that. She saw his lips and reminisced at how they kissed for the first time, it was so different from the kiss that she shared with Inuyasha at the castle beyond the looking glass.

 

He was observing her intently and said, “You said that Inuyasha gave you your first kiss.”

 

She looked at him a bit startled by the coincidence of his comment. She said, “Yes, I was sixteen.”

 

“You do realize, of course, that was the kiss of a boy.” He said looking back down at his cup.

 

She became annoyed and said, “It is still very special to me.”

 

“I, on the other hand,” he continued, “Have given you the feel of my tongue,”

 

He paused.

 

“….and the scrapes of my teeth,”

 

He then looked at her directly.

 

“….against your mouth….your neck….your breasts… your stomach… your arms ….your legs… your ass,”

 

He paused.

 

“…. deep…between…your legs…”

 

She could not tear her eyes off of him; she was aroused and had difficulty breathing.

 

“I have given you the kiss of a man.” He rumbled defiantly.

 

He then said with a growl, “Rest assured that I plan to continue doing so until you are convinced that your place is with me.”

 

She was already taken aback by his words, and now by this declaration.

 

“Don't misunderstand me,” she paused visibly affected but she managed to step up to the implied challenge, “as incredible as this whole experience has been for me, I have accepted that my place is with you.”

 

He raised his chin and swallowed.

 

“But,” she continued, “It will take a lot for me to stop thinking about Inuyasha as I have in the past.”

 

She noticed how he clenched his jaw and noticed a gleam sparkle from his eyes.

 

Because of his determination and because she could not shake off the effect his words have had on her, she could not deny the longing she felt for him.

 

As she recognized all of this within her she admitted, “However, I believe that my heart is large enough to include you. Perhaps time and getting to know you better will show me that you and I are indeed meant to be.”

 

His defiant stance softened. She saw him relax into his chair and could tell that his eyes gave a hint of relief.

 

“In fact,” a smirk graced her lips, “I hope to be proven that to be true,” she finished.

 

He raised his cup and waited for her to raise hers. As soon as she did he said, “We are mates and as such we are meant to be.”

 

Despite her slight pause in reaction to his resoluteness, she joined him as they took a sip of the sake without loosing sight of each other. She put her cup down but noticed that he continued drinking.

 

As he finished he said, “Enough, I'm ready for dessert.”

 

To this she blushed and clearly settled on her seat saying, “Ah no! This is my first real meal in two days and I am not going to leave this seat until food oozes out of my ears.”

 

His gaze changed from lust to amusement in a heart beat.