InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Time After Time ❯ Elementally Yours ( Chapter 25 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: kanna37 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 03.25.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 426 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 03.25.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 426 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 25: Elementally Yours
Yuuka stared at the sunset, hoping that Sugimi had found his miko, and that the next time she saw him, he would be mated. For so many years, the guilt she had felt at not being his one, had overwhelmed her, and alongside the loss of her parents, had been the only thing to cause her grief during her years with Daiki.
Now, however, that guilt was lifting, though she worried about what Kagome had thought upon seeing his reaction to her, Yuuka. It wasn't caused by any passion for her, she knew, and hoped he was able to articulate that to the young miko well enough to get her to understand.
She remembered full well what it felt like to recognize your other half, and though Kagome was human, and less likely to figure it out quickly for that, still, she was well aware that the young woman had strong feelings for Sugimi – she wouldn't have run if she didn't.
Sighing sadly, she prodded that place inside that still felt so empty – that placed where Daiki had lived within her. “For so long, love, I wondered – why I had to stay behind. But now I think I understand, and I only can feel joy at the knowledge of my impending death – for I will be able to be with you again, and my heart aches for that time to hurry. It was my destiny to fight at Sugimi's side, along with his miko.”
She laughed a little, imagining Daiki's expression when he found out that the daiyoukai's other half was a miko, of all things.
“Oh, Sugimi – you never could do things the easy way, could you? For all that you never looked at humans and saw inferior beings, still, I would imagine that even you never would have guessed that the one thing deadly to a youkai, was what your soul would sing for.”
Touching one of the trees in her little forest affectionately, her mind wandered back to her mate, and she smiled, excitement beginning to sift through her. Not much longer now...
She'd always known that there was some reason that she'd been forced to stay behind when her mate died – his feelings notwithstanding – it wasn't that that had kept her bound to a torturous life without her other half. But now that she knew what was going on with Sugimi and his quest, she understood. She was the key to the forest that Naraku was hiding within.
Yuuka was an earth elemental, with a strong affinity to plant life. Forests, trees, plants of all manners responded to her with love – be they malicious in nature, or benign, it did not matter. And of the forest surrounding the grave of the tree of ages, she knew enough to know that she would be needed.
And that was fine. Her time, now, was within finite limits that she could see the end of, and that made her ecstatically happy for the first time since Daiki had died. It gave her hope – she could see an end to the torment his death had caused.
There was a hope, however, within that hope – now that Sugimi had found his one, she prayed for both of their sakes that they would have a long life together, creating children and breathing new life into the Silver Inu clan. It had been too long since any pups had been born, and with Sesshoumaru the way he was, and Inuyasha, as well, it would be a long time before either of those two had any pups.
But she could see the light in Sugimi's eyes when his miko was mentioned, and scent the arousal that inevitably invaded his strong forest scent when he was around her – heck, even when her name was said. He could no more help his reactions to the girl than he could help breathing, and that proved to her that this Kagome, this future-born miko, was indeed, her best friends other half, his mate.
She understood, though, Kagome's fear and reluctance. After all, she could honestly say that if she had been subjected to Daiki's previous women in the way that Kagome had been, she, too, would not have been a happy woman. Daiki might have found his manhood being clipped, she giggled to herself, even as she watched the hanyou son of her best friend wander along the path through the gardens with an especially pained look on his face.
Slipping through the small gate leading to her little house, she moved to intercept him curiously; why did he look so unhappy? Had something happened between Sugimi and the miko?
“What does the unhappy look on your face presage, Inuyasha-sama?” she asked softly, and he turned around, surprised to see her there.
“Eh? Where'd you come from?” he asked.
She pointed. “Just there. See that gate? It leads to my house.”
He nodded. “Oh.” Then his face became melancholy again, and he turned to go back the way he had come. “Sorry. Didn't mean to bother you.”
She looked at him askance. “You aren't. These are the public gardens of the shiro, and you have as much right here as anyone else. Though, I thought the group was leaving today to attempt to meet with the guardians of the forest.”
He shook his head and sighed. “We were... but my father hasn't returned.” He said the word 'father' with a touch of sarcasm, and again, Yuuka looked at him askance.
“Why do you say that with such disdain in your voice, Inuyasha? Are you not proud to have such a strong father?”
“Feh,” the hanyou huffed, “I call him that loosely, and only because it's strictly a fact. He's the one that knocked my mother up with me. And then turned around and disappeared for the next two hundred years – only to reappear and take the only woman who ever loved me for me, away.”
And then, Yuuka understood, and shook her head, a bit angered at the fates. Did they always have to give happiness to one, at another persons expense? “You are in love with Kagome-sama,” she said, making it a statement rather than a question.
He huffed and blushed and looked flustered, but finally, his shoulders drooped, and he nodded. “Yeah,” he said gruffly. “Not that it matters, anyway. I should have remembered that I'm only a damn hanyou, and as such, am not allowed to have an other half. I guess it's my own fault I'm hurting right now,” he said, bitterness overflowing, “if I'd remembered my place in the scheme of things, in other words, at the bottom, then I wouldn't be in this mess. I can tell you, I won't be forgetting it again, that's for sure.”
“That's a load of bull,” she said bluntly, yet calmly, and he looked at her, surprised. “You just have to be patient. Sooner or later, you'll find her.”
“Oh, yeah,” he scoffed, “patient. Not like I haven't been waiting for several hundred years already.”
Eyes narrowed, Yuuka growled at him a little. “Do you know how old your father is, Inuyasha?”
Looking a little surprised at her brusque tone, he shook his head. “No,” he said slowly. “Why?”
“Well, I'll tell you. He's thirteen hundred years old. How do I know, you ask? I believe I already mentioned we were born at the same time. Now... for all of those years, your father has been waiting for his other half. Thirteen hundred years,” she stressed, as his eyes began to widen in dismay. “I would think he's got every right to receive his other before you, who is what, just over two hundred? You haven't been waiting for near as long. Don't be selfish.”
He swallowed heavily. “Oi, I probably won't even live that long, unlike you full youkai, I don't have that option. I can't afford to wait that long,” he protested.
“And you won't probably have to do so. It is very unusual that anyone waits that long. As for your life span, just remember this – your father's blood is very powerful, and it is highly likely that you will have a lifespan very close to a full inuyoukai – if not the same. And I know you inu – you're all very impatient, but you're going to have to deal with it.” She smiled at the sigh that came from the hanyou. “Besides,” she said, “I have a feeling you'll be meeting up with your one very soon, so you can stop pouting.”
It was quiet for a time, then, “He's really been waiting for Kagome for thirteen hundred years?”
She nodded. “Yes. And just consider – from what he told me, she's from five hundred years in the future. If it weren't for that well... he'd be waiting another five hundred years on top of that.”
Inuyasha shuddered at that thought. Being lonely was something he could well imagine, since he'd spent most of his two hundred years of life that way. In some ways, he couldn't blame his father for going for Kagome the way he had...
“She's really his soul mate, his other half?” he asked plaintively, and Yuuka chuckled.
“And there's the soulful puppy eyes you got from your father,” she said as she nodded, and he smiled almost unwillingly.
“Yeah, well... not that they've ever worked all that well,” he sighed, and the previous subject was dropped as Inuyasha shrugged and turned to head back indoors. “Maybe I'll just go bug Sesshoumaru. I'm kinda going crazy cooped up in here.”
“I think I'll accompany you. I would like to know when to be ready to go.”
She almost ran into his back when he stopped suddenly and spun to face her again. “Oi, wait a minute! Why are you goin'? We ain't conducting guided tours of evil forests, ya know!” he protested loudly.
Laughing, she poked his shoulder. “I'm going because I'm an earth elemental with an affinity for plant life of all types. I can get you into that forest, and by the time I'm done, it'll be worshiping you guys as gods. That's why I'm going.”
Inuyasha stared at her for a moment with his jaw hanging open, then he turned back towards the shiro with his long-legged stride, calling over his shoulder, “Well, come on then! What's the hold up?”
She jogged to catch up, the knowledge that her time on earth was almost done, a heady feeling of relief in the back of her mind as she followed the red-clad hanyou into the Western Shiro's vast halls.
~oOo~
Kana flared her aura looking for Sugimi's – and couldn't find it.
That fact pissed her off – she'd been looking for him since yesterday afternoon, and had been unable to find him anywhere within the Western Palace. And then, this morning, it was the same; was he perhaps 'visiting' Yuuka?
In all the time she'd known Sugimi, she'd never been able to get the truth of his feelings for the elemental from him. And neither had Satori, and that fact had always sent both of them into rages.
Irritated, tired, and sulky as all hell, Kana decided she was going to use her scrying fires, and to hell with Sesshoumaru and what he didn't want done in his shiro. Handsome as all get out, that one, but even colder than she herself was, he intimidated her more than any other, but with as peckish as she was feeling today, she didn't even care about pissing him off.
Igniting the prepared fire-pit in her room, she opened her arms to welcome the fire, and smiled as it began to move, going from the pit, to her, and back again. A person seeing her from outside would see flames dancing along every inch of her body, swaying and twirling around and burning higher or lower at her command, then moving through the air back to the pit, only to start the circle again. The flames mingled in her hair, flirting and twining with her red locks, lifting it until it resembled flames itself, making her look as though she herself was naught but a living flame.
In essence, she was, and as the fires began to burn to the cadence her body and will set, it all moved back into the pit, and then it steadied, becoming one tall sheet of flame, still and unmoving, though the crackling sound was still there.
She concentrated, drawing the whereabouts of Sugimi from the flames, and as the picture opened up on her scrying sheet, her shriek of rage alerted the whole palace that something untoward had happened.
As the fires went back to their normal sleepy gnawing of the chunks of wood on which they fed, her dismayed shriek had alerted the Lord of this place that she'd been doing things she wasn't supposed to do in his domain...
She turned, face still a study in rage, and there stood Sesshoumaru, every inch of his body shouting ice-cold anger.
“I believe I told you that your tricks with fire would not be allowed in my Lands, many years ago, Kana. What made you think you could do it now?” he bit out, and her eyes flashed fire at him in her anger.
“Your father is fucking that bitch, Sesshoumaru! What are you going to do about it?!” she shrieked, beyond fear of him at the sheer inhuman rage of knowing that she had just been beaten out for something she wanted by a human miko.
She was left absolutely stunned by his response.
With a flicker of disappointment in his eyes, Sesshoumaru turned to leave her room. “That is unfortunate. I was rather hoping he'd made too much of a mess of his courtship of her, and that she would turn to me, instead. I suppose I will have to accept it.”
Eyes wide in her shocked face, she watched silently as he left her room, an, “I will deal with you and your disregard of my wishes in my own shiro later, wench. Pray that my anger lessens – though the news you gave me may well make it worse,” tossed over his shoulder as he disappeared.
Has everyone in this damn world gone insane? she thought agitatedly as she began to pace. Perhaps I should have taken the spider's offer and done away with that wench. Maybe there's still time – just because he was bedding her, doesn't mean that he marked her. If he didn't, I might still have a chance...
She smiled wickedly. Just because I said I would help them kill the spider doesn't mean that I can't kill her, and make it look an accident.
Yes... perhaps I will do this. Of course, if he has marked her, then he will die, too... but then, if he's marked her, he can full well die, and too bad, so sad for him.
If I can't have what I want from him, then no one else will, either.
~oOo~
Kagome blushed fiercely, shifting uneasily; Sugimi was still standing there, staring at her as though he'd never seen a naked girl. And as she knew that was far from the truth, she was beginning to get nervous – was he changing his mind? Did he not want her now that he'd seen the mediocre body she was stuck in?
At 5'4, she was a little bit taller than most Japanese girls in her time, and a lot taller than those in this time period – it was an odd truth that for some reason, subsequent generations of people were getting taller as time went on, and they still hadn't figured out the reason why. Not that it really mattered for the now cringing girl standing naked in a cave before the most gorgeous male that had ever walked the earth.
She supposed that her body wasn't really that bad, slender, curvy, she had good proportions, leaving her with an hourglass figure. It was, in her opinion, at least, probably her best feature, but still, with him staring like that... she began to wonder.
Was she wrong, and her body was not good enough?
Finally, unable to take his staring any longer, she started to cry, and picking up her clothing, prepared to get re-dressed, shame thickening in her scent until it marred her usual sweet smell.
The low growl startled her and she looked over at him, becoming a bit frightened. He stepped forward, his eyes flickering vermillion for a moment. “What are you doing, miko?” he rumbled. “Why do you redress yourself, and why do you smell ashamed?”
With a wince, she looked away. “Well... all you did was stare, and I thought you were displeased and had decided you didn't want me, but didn't know how to say it.”
He stared at her incredulously. “Did you not see my very noticeable reaction, Kagome? Does this-” he gestured at his unashamed erection, “-look as though I am disappointed?” he asked, unable to conceive of where she would get such an asinine idea.
At that, her eyes flickered downwards for a second, then back up, a deep flush on her cheeks and her eyes widening so much they were almost showing the whites. And then he understood – she hadn't let herself look down, too intimidated by such a thing to allow herself to just look.
He shook his head and sighed. “Kagome, you really must get rid of this low opinion of yourself. I was frozen, staring, because I couldn't help it – all I could think, was that I've never seen a female with as perfectly formed a body as yours... you're beautiful, woman. Beautiful. Never doubt that again,” he said, his tone of voice uncompromising, and embarrassed, Kagome nodded, but didn't say anything, still not meeting his eyes.
With a determined look on his face, he stepped forward, invading her personal space with a pleased expression seated firmly in his eyes. For several long moments more, he simply stared at her perfect form, and then he pulled her to him slowly, hissing as their bodies met for the very first time.
It was heaven, or as close as his demonic heritage could come to it, and as he pressed her more firmly against his very needy body, he closed his eyes in unspeakable pleasure – she conformed to him absolutely perfectly, and he knew why; because the kami had made them from the same mold. She was one half, and he was the other, and together, they formed a perfect whole.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her precious form to his own with an intensity that she picked up on; looking up at him with innocent blue eyes, she asked quietly, “Sugimi?”
Breathing her in, he sighed deeply, content just to hold her in this manner, but after a few moments, he responded to the question in her voice. “I am going to initiate the marking, Kagome.” He pulled away reluctantly, and led her back to the 'bed'.
Setting her down on it, he directed her to lay back, and with another blush, she did, feeling more vulnerable in that moment than she ever had in her entire life – yet safe, while feeling that vulnerability. Barely breathing in anticipation, she followed his directive, not surprised when he climbed over her, and once again pressed their bodies together.
This time, however, there was an almost electric feeling building between them, an intensity in the feel that she'd never experienced before. Not, of course, that she'd been this way before with anyone else, but she knew what she was feeling now was not normal. No normal man and woman felt this way while having sex, and she was almost giddy as she wondered what else was going to happen.
Her answer came as he pressed their foreheads together, and with his eyes boring into hers, he began the marking ritual.
Her first thought was that it was the most intimate thing that anyone could do with another – forget sex, this was beyond something as mundane as that. For as he allowed his aura to come up and draw hers with it, she was drawn into him, literally – she was looking down into her own blue eyes from his golden ones. And she could see him in her gaze.
It was disorienting at first, and she blinked, trying to clear her head, and realized that she was still seeing things the same. She was inside a male body, and feeling everything that he felt.
It was wild, and her eyes widened in shocked surprise – in that moment, she was Sugimi, and he was her. She'd never thought to get a taste of what it meant to be a guy, and it was nothing like she could have ever thought it would be.
Things were different. Emotion was there, but it had less of a hold on him than more logical thinking, and because of that, he was able to see things with more of a detachment - that a woman couldn't, because she saw things with emotion coloring everything. It was much harder for a woman to remain aloof than it was for a man.
And how they saw sex! For a woman, sex was something sacred that had to involve emotion. No matter if they never used emotion outside of the bed, a woman wanted a man to have emotion while in her bed. It was based on heart.
For a man, it wasn't the same – most of the time. Sex was just that, a pleasant pastime that brought about physical pleasure, and ensured that his genetics were passed on to the next generation. For them, sleeping with a woman meant nothing beyond just that, and they could sleep with any attractive female, and then forget her five minutes later.
That's not to say that they couldn't have sex, mixed with emotion. However, the sex act was separate from the emotion. A man could have sex with no love involved at all, and it meant absolutely nothing to him, or he could meet his one, and never have sex again with anyone but her quite happily.
Kana was the first part of that statement, and he could think back and say, sure, the sex was good, but could he remember any particular time he was with her? Nope, and he didn't care to. It was good for a while, but now it was over and he didn't want to do it again. Kagome, on the other hand, was the second part of the statement, and he knew perfectly well that give a few years, and he could quite happily recall any instance he'd had sex with her.
It made things easier in terms of understanding, that was for certain, because Kagome could feel his reaction to her, and the thought of having her, of taking her body for his own.
It was the same for Sugimi.
As she looked at herself through his eyes, he did the same with hers, and was amazed at the emotional overtones that she saw the world with. It looked very different from his view of the world, and he was fascinated by it. Emotion literally colored everything, and he had to admit – her view of it was certainly much more vivid and interesting.
He could also feel how she felt about him – and his harem.
She felt inferior, and he felt it, too, because he felt everything she did. He was also made firmly aware of just how low her opinion of herself was, and he didn't know how to go about getting rid of her serious disbelief in herself.
They stayed that way for several minutes as they each became accustomed to the way their partner saw everything, what they believed, and who they each were. Finally, several minutes later, they once more reverted to themselves, and Kagome shivered – she would never be alone inside her skin again – because he lived inside there with her.
Closing his eyes for a moment, then opening them again, Sugimi waited for what would happen next – if they were, indeed, mates, some part of him would manifest in Kagome, and vice-versa.
He was rewarded just a few seconds later as a stark ebony lock of hair began to have the black leached from it, bleeding silver instead, and when it was done, she carried a lock of his hair within the black, from scalp to mid-back it mingled with her ebony locks, and he smiled, enchanted, at how she looked wearing a part of him.
Kagome's eyes were locked onto his, and she smiled, bemused at his change. While his eyes were still gold, the outer rim had turned her own cerulean blue, making his eyes almost look green. It was beautiful, and she smiled up at him, uncertain why that had happened.
“That, my love, is the marking. We take on an element of our other half, signaling to all those around that we are mates, and off-limits.” He smiled at her, eyes filled with pride. “You look good with my silver in your hair, love, and carrying my scent.”
She nodded, still staring at his eyes.
“What of you do I have, Kagome?” he asked, suddenly curious.
“My eyes,” she said, “you've got a blue rim around your golden eyes, almost making them look green. It's beautiful,” she breathed.
He grinned, pleased with their marks, and her bewitchment of him... he felt drunk on her presence, and knew it was time to initiate the next part of the ritual – the mating itself.
My favorite part, he thought gleefully, as he bent to his task with pleasure, remembering how she, as a female, saw and felt about sex, and knowing that from this day forward, he would also view sex as she did. He could now understand the differences between mated males, and unmated males.
My mate, he sighed inwardly as he leaned down and kissed her.
Mine.
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Yuuka stared at the sunset, hoping that Sugimi had found his miko, and that the next time she saw him, he would be mated. For so many years, the guilt she had felt at not being his one, had overwhelmed her, and alongside the loss of her parents, had been the only thing to cause her grief during her years with Daiki.
Now, however, that guilt was lifting, though she worried about what Kagome had thought upon seeing his reaction to her, Yuuka. It wasn't caused by any passion for her, she knew, and hoped he was able to articulate that to the young miko well enough to get her to understand.
She remembered full well what it felt like to recognize your other half, and though Kagome was human, and less likely to figure it out quickly for that, still, she was well aware that the young woman had strong feelings for Sugimi – she wouldn't have run if she didn't.
Sighing sadly, she prodded that place inside that still felt so empty – that placed where Daiki had lived within her. “For so long, love, I wondered – why I had to stay behind. But now I think I understand, and I only can feel joy at the knowledge of my impending death – for I will be able to be with you again, and my heart aches for that time to hurry. It was my destiny to fight at Sugimi's side, along with his miko.”
She laughed a little, imagining Daiki's expression when he found out that the daiyoukai's other half was a miko, of all things.
“Oh, Sugimi – you never could do things the easy way, could you? For all that you never looked at humans and saw inferior beings, still, I would imagine that even you never would have guessed that the one thing deadly to a youkai, was what your soul would sing for.”
Touching one of the trees in her little forest affectionately, her mind wandered back to her mate, and she smiled, excitement beginning to sift through her. Not much longer now...
She'd always known that there was some reason that she'd been forced to stay behind when her mate died – his feelings notwithstanding – it wasn't that that had kept her bound to a torturous life without her other half. But now that she knew what was going on with Sugimi and his quest, she understood. She was the key to the forest that Naraku was hiding within.
Yuuka was an earth elemental, with a strong affinity to plant life. Forests, trees, plants of all manners responded to her with love – be they malicious in nature, or benign, it did not matter. And of the forest surrounding the grave of the tree of ages, she knew enough to know that she would be needed.
And that was fine. Her time, now, was within finite limits that she could see the end of, and that made her ecstatically happy for the first time since Daiki had died. It gave her hope – she could see an end to the torment his death had caused.
There was a hope, however, within that hope – now that Sugimi had found his one, she prayed for both of their sakes that they would have a long life together, creating children and breathing new life into the Silver Inu clan. It had been too long since any pups had been born, and with Sesshoumaru the way he was, and Inuyasha, as well, it would be a long time before either of those two had any pups.
But she could see the light in Sugimi's eyes when his miko was mentioned, and scent the arousal that inevitably invaded his strong forest scent when he was around her – heck, even when her name was said. He could no more help his reactions to the girl than he could help breathing, and that proved to her that this Kagome, this future-born miko, was indeed, her best friends other half, his mate.
She understood, though, Kagome's fear and reluctance. After all, she could honestly say that if she had been subjected to Daiki's previous women in the way that Kagome had been, she, too, would not have been a happy woman. Daiki might have found his manhood being clipped, she giggled to herself, even as she watched the hanyou son of her best friend wander along the path through the gardens with an especially pained look on his face.
Slipping through the small gate leading to her little house, she moved to intercept him curiously; why did he look so unhappy? Had something happened between Sugimi and the miko?
“What does the unhappy look on your face presage, Inuyasha-sama?” she asked softly, and he turned around, surprised to see her there.
“Eh? Where'd you come from?” he asked.
She pointed. “Just there. See that gate? It leads to my house.”
He nodded. “Oh.” Then his face became melancholy again, and he turned to go back the way he had come. “Sorry. Didn't mean to bother you.”
She looked at him askance. “You aren't. These are the public gardens of the shiro, and you have as much right here as anyone else. Though, I thought the group was leaving today to attempt to meet with the guardians of the forest.”
He shook his head and sighed. “We were... but my father hasn't returned.” He said the word 'father' with a touch of sarcasm, and again, Yuuka looked at him askance.
“Why do you say that with such disdain in your voice, Inuyasha? Are you not proud to have such a strong father?”
“Feh,” the hanyou huffed, “I call him that loosely, and only because it's strictly a fact. He's the one that knocked my mother up with me. And then turned around and disappeared for the next two hundred years – only to reappear and take the only woman who ever loved me for me, away.”
And then, Yuuka understood, and shook her head, a bit angered at the fates. Did they always have to give happiness to one, at another persons expense? “You are in love with Kagome-sama,” she said, making it a statement rather than a question.
He huffed and blushed and looked flustered, but finally, his shoulders drooped, and he nodded. “Yeah,” he said gruffly. “Not that it matters, anyway. I should have remembered that I'm only a damn hanyou, and as such, am not allowed to have an other half. I guess it's my own fault I'm hurting right now,” he said, bitterness overflowing, “if I'd remembered my place in the scheme of things, in other words, at the bottom, then I wouldn't be in this mess. I can tell you, I won't be forgetting it again, that's for sure.”
“That's a load of bull,” she said bluntly, yet calmly, and he looked at her, surprised. “You just have to be patient. Sooner or later, you'll find her.”
“Oh, yeah,” he scoffed, “patient. Not like I haven't been waiting for several hundred years already.”
Eyes narrowed, Yuuka growled at him a little. “Do you know how old your father is, Inuyasha?”
Looking a little surprised at her brusque tone, he shook his head. “No,” he said slowly. “Why?”
“Well, I'll tell you. He's thirteen hundred years old. How do I know, you ask? I believe I already mentioned we were born at the same time. Now... for all of those years, your father has been waiting for his other half. Thirteen hundred years,” she stressed, as his eyes began to widen in dismay. “I would think he's got every right to receive his other before you, who is what, just over two hundred? You haven't been waiting for near as long. Don't be selfish.”
He swallowed heavily. “Oi, I probably won't even live that long, unlike you full youkai, I don't have that option. I can't afford to wait that long,” he protested.
“And you won't probably have to do so. It is very unusual that anyone waits that long. As for your life span, just remember this – your father's blood is very powerful, and it is highly likely that you will have a lifespan very close to a full inuyoukai – if not the same. And I know you inu – you're all very impatient, but you're going to have to deal with it.” She smiled at the sigh that came from the hanyou. “Besides,” she said, “I have a feeling you'll be meeting up with your one very soon, so you can stop pouting.”
It was quiet for a time, then, “He's really been waiting for Kagome for thirteen hundred years?”
She nodded. “Yes. And just consider – from what he told me, she's from five hundred years in the future. If it weren't for that well... he'd be waiting another five hundred years on top of that.”
Inuyasha shuddered at that thought. Being lonely was something he could well imagine, since he'd spent most of his two hundred years of life that way. In some ways, he couldn't blame his father for going for Kagome the way he had...
“She's really his soul mate, his other half?” he asked plaintively, and Yuuka chuckled.
“And there's the soulful puppy eyes you got from your father,” she said as she nodded, and he smiled almost unwillingly.
“Yeah, well... not that they've ever worked all that well,” he sighed, and the previous subject was dropped as Inuyasha shrugged and turned to head back indoors. “Maybe I'll just go bug Sesshoumaru. I'm kinda going crazy cooped up in here.”
“I think I'll accompany you. I would like to know when to be ready to go.”
She almost ran into his back when he stopped suddenly and spun to face her again. “Oi, wait a minute! Why are you goin'? We ain't conducting guided tours of evil forests, ya know!” he protested loudly.
Laughing, she poked his shoulder. “I'm going because I'm an earth elemental with an affinity for plant life of all types. I can get you into that forest, and by the time I'm done, it'll be worshiping you guys as gods. That's why I'm going.”
Inuyasha stared at her for a moment with his jaw hanging open, then he turned back towards the shiro with his long-legged stride, calling over his shoulder, “Well, come on then! What's the hold up?”
She jogged to catch up, the knowledge that her time on earth was almost done, a heady feeling of relief in the back of her mind as she followed the red-clad hanyou into the Western Shiro's vast halls.
~oOo~
Kana flared her aura looking for Sugimi's – and couldn't find it.
That fact pissed her off – she'd been looking for him since yesterday afternoon, and had been unable to find him anywhere within the Western Palace. And then, this morning, it was the same; was he perhaps 'visiting' Yuuka?
In all the time she'd known Sugimi, she'd never been able to get the truth of his feelings for the elemental from him. And neither had Satori, and that fact had always sent both of them into rages.
Irritated, tired, and sulky as all hell, Kana decided she was going to use her scrying fires, and to hell with Sesshoumaru and what he didn't want done in his shiro. Handsome as all get out, that one, but even colder than she herself was, he intimidated her more than any other, but with as peckish as she was feeling today, she didn't even care about pissing him off.
Igniting the prepared fire-pit in her room, she opened her arms to welcome the fire, and smiled as it began to move, going from the pit, to her, and back again. A person seeing her from outside would see flames dancing along every inch of her body, swaying and twirling around and burning higher or lower at her command, then moving through the air back to the pit, only to start the circle again. The flames mingled in her hair, flirting and twining with her red locks, lifting it until it resembled flames itself, making her look as though she herself was naught but a living flame.
In essence, she was, and as the fires began to burn to the cadence her body and will set, it all moved back into the pit, and then it steadied, becoming one tall sheet of flame, still and unmoving, though the crackling sound was still there.
She concentrated, drawing the whereabouts of Sugimi from the flames, and as the picture opened up on her scrying sheet, her shriek of rage alerted the whole palace that something untoward had happened.
As the fires went back to their normal sleepy gnawing of the chunks of wood on which they fed, her dismayed shriek had alerted the Lord of this place that she'd been doing things she wasn't supposed to do in his domain...
She turned, face still a study in rage, and there stood Sesshoumaru, every inch of his body shouting ice-cold anger.
“I believe I told you that your tricks with fire would not be allowed in my Lands, many years ago, Kana. What made you think you could do it now?” he bit out, and her eyes flashed fire at him in her anger.
“Your father is fucking that bitch, Sesshoumaru! What are you going to do about it?!” she shrieked, beyond fear of him at the sheer inhuman rage of knowing that she had just been beaten out for something she wanted by a human miko.
She was left absolutely stunned by his response.
With a flicker of disappointment in his eyes, Sesshoumaru turned to leave her room. “That is unfortunate. I was rather hoping he'd made too much of a mess of his courtship of her, and that she would turn to me, instead. I suppose I will have to accept it.”
Eyes wide in her shocked face, she watched silently as he left her room, an, “I will deal with you and your disregard of my wishes in my own shiro later, wench. Pray that my anger lessens – though the news you gave me may well make it worse,” tossed over his shoulder as he disappeared.
Has everyone in this damn world gone insane? she thought agitatedly as she began to pace. Perhaps I should have taken the spider's offer and done away with that wench. Maybe there's still time – just because he was bedding her, doesn't mean that he marked her. If he didn't, I might still have a chance...
She smiled wickedly. Just because I said I would help them kill the spider doesn't mean that I can't kill her, and make it look an accident.
Yes... perhaps I will do this. Of course, if he has marked her, then he will die, too... but then, if he's marked her, he can full well die, and too bad, so sad for him.
If I can't have what I want from him, then no one else will, either.
~oOo~
Kagome blushed fiercely, shifting uneasily; Sugimi was still standing there, staring at her as though he'd never seen a naked girl. And as she knew that was far from the truth, she was beginning to get nervous – was he changing his mind? Did he not want her now that he'd seen the mediocre body she was stuck in?
At 5'4, she was a little bit taller than most Japanese girls in her time, and a lot taller than those in this time period – it was an odd truth that for some reason, subsequent generations of people were getting taller as time went on, and they still hadn't figured out the reason why. Not that it really mattered for the now cringing girl standing naked in a cave before the most gorgeous male that had ever walked the earth.
She supposed that her body wasn't really that bad, slender, curvy, she had good proportions, leaving her with an hourglass figure. It was, in her opinion, at least, probably her best feature, but still, with him staring like that... she began to wonder.
Was she wrong, and her body was not good enough?
Finally, unable to take his staring any longer, she started to cry, and picking up her clothing, prepared to get re-dressed, shame thickening in her scent until it marred her usual sweet smell.
The low growl startled her and she looked over at him, becoming a bit frightened. He stepped forward, his eyes flickering vermillion for a moment. “What are you doing, miko?” he rumbled. “Why do you redress yourself, and why do you smell ashamed?”
With a wince, she looked away. “Well... all you did was stare, and I thought you were displeased and had decided you didn't want me, but didn't know how to say it.”
He stared at her incredulously. “Did you not see my very noticeable reaction, Kagome? Does this-” he gestured at his unashamed erection, “-look as though I am disappointed?” he asked, unable to conceive of where she would get such an asinine idea.
At that, her eyes flickered downwards for a second, then back up, a deep flush on her cheeks and her eyes widening so much they were almost showing the whites. And then he understood – she hadn't let herself look down, too intimidated by such a thing to allow herself to just look.
He shook his head and sighed. “Kagome, you really must get rid of this low opinion of yourself. I was frozen, staring, because I couldn't help it – all I could think, was that I've never seen a female with as perfectly formed a body as yours... you're beautiful, woman. Beautiful. Never doubt that again,” he said, his tone of voice uncompromising, and embarrassed, Kagome nodded, but didn't say anything, still not meeting his eyes.
With a determined look on his face, he stepped forward, invading her personal space with a pleased expression seated firmly in his eyes. For several long moments more, he simply stared at her perfect form, and then he pulled her to him slowly, hissing as their bodies met for the very first time.
It was heaven, or as close as his demonic heritage could come to it, and as he pressed her more firmly against his very needy body, he closed his eyes in unspeakable pleasure – she conformed to him absolutely perfectly, and he knew why; because the kami had made them from the same mold. She was one half, and he was the other, and together, they formed a perfect whole.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her precious form to his own with an intensity that she picked up on; looking up at him with innocent blue eyes, she asked quietly, “Sugimi?”
Breathing her in, he sighed deeply, content just to hold her in this manner, but after a few moments, he responded to the question in her voice. “I am going to initiate the marking, Kagome.” He pulled away reluctantly, and led her back to the 'bed'.
Setting her down on it, he directed her to lay back, and with another blush, she did, feeling more vulnerable in that moment than she ever had in her entire life – yet safe, while feeling that vulnerability. Barely breathing in anticipation, she followed his directive, not surprised when he climbed over her, and once again pressed their bodies together.
This time, however, there was an almost electric feeling building between them, an intensity in the feel that she'd never experienced before. Not, of course, that she'd been this way before with anyone else, but she knew what she was feeling now was not normal. No normal man and woman felt this way while having sex, and she was almost giddy as she wondered what else was going to happen.
Her answer came as he pressed their foreheads together, and with his eyes boring into hers, he began the marking ritual.
Her first thought was that it was the most intimate thing that anyone could do with another – forget sex, this was beyond something as mundane as that. For as he allowed his aura to come up and draw hers with it, she was drawn into him, literally – she was looking down into her own blue eyes from his golden ones. And she could see him in her gaze.
It was disorienting at first, and she blinked, trying to clear her head, and realized that she was still seeing things the same. She was inside a male body, and feeling everything that he felt.
It was wild, and her eyes widened in shocked surprise – in that moment, she was Sugimi, and he was her. She'd never thought to get a taste of what it meant to be a guy, and it was nothing like she could have ever thought it would be.
Things were different. Emotion was there, but it had less of a hold on him than more logical thinking, and because of that, he was able to see things with more of a detachment - that a woman couldn't, because she saw things with emotion coloring everything. It was much harder for a woman to remain aloof than it was for a man.
And how they saw sex! For a woman, sex was something sacred that had to involve emotion. No matter if they never used emotion outside of the bed, a woman wanted a man to have emotion while in her bed. It was based on heart.
For a man, it wasn't the same – most of the time. Sex was just that, a pleasant pastime that brought about physical pleasure, and ensured that his genetics were passed on to the next generation. For them, sleeping with a woman meant nothing beyond just that, and they could sleep with any attractive female, and then forget her five minutes later.
That's not to say that they couldn't have sex, mixed with emotion. However, the sex act was separate from the emotion. A man could have sex with no love involved at all, and it meant absolutely nothing to him, or he could meet his one, and never have sex again with anyone but her quite happily.
Kana was the first part of that statement, and he could think back and say, sure, the sex was good, but could he remember any particular time he was with her? Nope, and he didn't care to. It was good for a while, but now it was over and he didn't want to do it again. Kagome, on the other hand, was the second part of the statement, and he knew perfectly well that give a few years, and he could quite happily recall any instance he'd had sex with her.
It made things easier in terms of understanding, that was for certain, because Kagome could feel his reaction to her, and the thought of having her, of taking her body for his own.
It was the same for Sugimi.
As she looked at herself through his eyes, he did the same with hers, and was amazed at the emotional overtones that she saw the world with. It looked very different from his view of the world, and he was fascinated by it. Emotion literally colored everything, and he had to admit – her view of it was certainly much more vivid and interesting.
He could also feel how she felt about him – and his harem.
She felt inferior, and he felt it, too, because he felt everything she did. He was also made firmly aware of just how low her opinion of herself was, and he didn't know how to go about getting rid of her serious disbelief in herself.
They stayed that way for several minutes as they each became accustomed to the way their partner saw everything, what they believed, and who they each were. Finally, several minutes later, they once more reverted to themselves, and Kagome shivered – she would never be alone inside her skin again – because he lived inside there with her.
Closing his eyes for a moment, then opening them again, Sugimi waited for what would happen next – if they were, indeed, mates, some part of him would manifest in Kagome, and vice-versa.
He was rewarded just a few seconds later as a stark ebony lock of hair began to have the black leached from it, bleeding silver instead, and when it was done, she carried a lock of his hair within the black, from scalp to mid-back it mingled with her ebony locks, and he smiled, enchanted, at how she looked wearing a part of him.
Kagome's eyes were locked onto his, and she smiled, bemused at his change. While his eyes were still gold, the outer rim had turned her own cerulean blue, making his eyes almost look green. It was beautiful, and she smiled up at him, uncertain why that had happened.
“That, my love, is the marking. We take on an element of our other half, signaling to all those around that we are mates, and off-limits.” He smiled at her, eyes filled with pride. “You look good with my silver in your hair, love, and carrying my scent.”
She nodded, still staring at his eyes.
“What of you do I have, Kagome?” he asked, suddenly curious.
“My eyes,” she said, “you've got a blue rim around your golden eyes, almost making them look green. It's beautiful,” she breathed.
He grinned, pleased with their marks, and her bewitchment of him... he felt drunk on her presence, and knew it was time to initiate the next part of the ritual – the mating itself.
My favorite part, he thought gleefully, as he bent to his task with pleasure, remembering how she, as a female, saw and felt about sex, and knowing that from this day forward, he would also view sex as she did. He could now understand the differences between mated males, and unmated males.
My mate, he sighed inwardly as he leaned down and kissed her.
Mine.
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