InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Circumstances ❯ Worse than a Hangover ( Chapter 16 )

CHAPTER 16-WORSE THAN A HANGOVER

 

 

Kagome turned over once again on her cot in the small hut. Scenes from earlier were running through her head and keeping her from finding the sleep she so needed for training tomorrow. Sesshoumaru was going to start supervising the sessions, so Kagome understood that she was in for a tough workout.

 

How was she to act around him now? Was it going to be awkward or was he going to pretend that it never happened? She didn't want to pretend. The kiss had been wonderful; everything that a real first kiss should have been. It was passionate, it was tender, it was…perfect.

 

Kagome sighed and turned over again on her mat; now a little uncomfortable with the warmth in her belly she was feeling when she thought about their kiss. There was no way she was getting back to sleep tonight. She looked over at the empty space that held Sesshoumaru's gifted blanket and felt her shoulders drop a little.

 

Their kiss had started out wonderfully. His strong hands had framed her face in order to hold her to him and she in turn placed her hands on his hips. She knew he had been enjoying it, if the hardness she felt against her stomach was any indication. He had even groaned a bit in pleasure after he heard her moan, but all too soon he had torn away from her and left the hut without so much as word.

 

For an hour she had waited for his return, thinking that he may want to talk about what happened, but when he did not return she resigned herself to sleep.

 

That was almost three hours ago, and still sleep had yet to claim her.

 

`Maybe some tea will help me feel better,' Kagome thought to herself.

 

She removed herself from her mat and blankets and started out making some tea. There was a rustle of clothing coming from just outside the hut and thinking that Sesshoumaru had finally decided to come back and talk to her, Kagome went to greet him.

 

When she pushed back the mat to the door, the sight that greeted her was not what she expected. Before she had a chance to prepare, Kagome was pulled forcefully by her arm out of her hut and pushed roughly to the ground.

 

Many, if not all, of the villagers had gathered around her in an instant. Some of them had seen the demon leave her hut and they were beyond scared and furious that this priestess in training had openly invited a dangerous creature into their midst. Upon informing the remainder of the village, they had all set out to confront Kagome. The village had been living peacefully for years without intrusions from demons and witches or any other dark beings, but ever since this girl had come to them they had seen more than their fair share.

 

Tonight they would put an end to it.

 

Kagome hissed between clenched teeth as her knee met with a particularly sharp rock. She pushed herself up on her hands and looked up to see the ones who were treating her so roughly looking down on her with utter contempt in their eyes.

 

“What do you want?” Kagome voiced strongly, hiding the growing worry in the pit of her stomach at the sight of the mob that had gathered around her. She had a bad feeling about what was happening, and she had a pretty good idea why they were here. Still, it did not make the situation any easier to deal with.

 

One of the women whom Kagome had seen earlier at the festival quickly approached her and sent her foot into Kagome stomach. Kagome grunted and coughed as she tried to catch a breath after the kick. She barely registered through the pain as the woman proceeded to yell at her.

 

“Filth!” cried the woman. “How dare you bring that creature here?! I knew you were not to be trusted the moment you walked in this town with an entourage of demon friends!”

 

The crowd gave an agreeing cheer while Kagome was once again kicked, this time in her ribs. She tried desperately to raise herself up from her position on the unforgiving ground; she needed to try and placate these people before they did some serious damage to her.

 

“Ahh!” screamed Kagome painfully as her head was forced back by someone yanking her hair. She came face to face with an older man who did not hide his disgust for her.

 

“Yer ought to be `shamed of yerself; invitin' that demon inter ya hut! Yer nothin' but a demon's whore!” the old man yelled at her before he spit in Kagome's face.

 

Kagome retaliated the only way she could in that moment and flung her hands out wildly, successfully making contact with the old man's face. He staggered back a little, but another villager gently caught him under his arms to keep him upright. It caused a bit of an uproar and soon a couple more people made their way to Kagome to deliver blows to her prone form.

 

“Your demon friends are nothing but monsters and you're no better than they are!” someone shouted out.

 

Grossly outnumbered, Kagome could only kick and punch from her position on the ground as the villagers all took their turns. She was able to hit a few people back but they were still coming to her in swarms. Kagome could feel trails of blood making their way down her face, but paid no heed to them as she continued to fight back.

 

Cries of `demon lover' and `traitor' sang across the air and Kagome tried to block out everything but her attention towards the rampaging villagers. Vaguely in the distance she could hear who she thought was Megumi trying to break up the dangerous crowd, but they were too far gone into their punishments to stop now.

 

In the back of the crowd Takahiro stood holding his breath. He hated to see what the villagers were doing to Kagome, but he couldn't help but think if they killed her then he wouldn't have to. He felt awful for those thoughts, but could not bring himself to help her otherwise. He had his wife to think about. He just got her back and he sure as hell didn't want to lose her so soon again. So with little reluctance, he backed away from the mob and went back to his hut.

 

Kagome could feel herself weakening but she tried to hold on. Unconsciousness threatened to claim her as the numerous kicks and punches took their toll on her fragile body.

 

“Se…sshoumaru,” Kagome called out weakly.

 

Somewhere towards the back of the crowd a frightening blood-curdling scream was heard. “Demon! It's a demon!”

 

The mob halted their assault on the battered Kagome and they all backed away from the terrifying sight that had snuck up on them. Most of the villagers could not muster the courage to even run away from the demon before them. Others bowed low to the ground and shivered in fear for their lives.

 

Kagome looked up between nearly swollen shut eyelids and into the crimson eyes of the massive white dog. His fangs were dripping with acidic poison as were his claws, and he was giving off a very intimidating and bestial growl. This however did not frighten Kagome. Instead when she saw him, she only felt relief and awe as she watched his massive frame tower over the village. He was here because he was protecting her.

 

“Please,” Kagome said to him, “don't hurt them. They're just lost.”

 

Sesshoumaru turned his eyes downwards towards her. He was not at all pleased with her request, but accepted it anyway. It was not him that had been targeted so his revenge would have to wait for another day.

 

Megumi ran over to Kagome to try and help the girl up but stopped cold when she heard the growl increase in volume. The old priestess looked up to see the large dog demon towering over her with a look of promised death in its eyes if she did not back away. Self preservation kicking in, Megumi took slow calculated steps backward and fell in line with the crowd who were still frozen in fear. They all looked on as the giant form dissolved in a flurry of flames and a powerful crackle of power until all that was left was the humanoid form of the demon some of them had seen earlier leaving Kagome's hut.

 

Sesshoumaru kept his stoic façade in place, but in his eyes his fury raged. He made it to Kagome's side in a couple of long steps and looked down at her. He wanted to cringe at the poor state that she was in, but instead bent down and scooped her up into his arms.

 

“Thank you for being here,” Kagome whispered to him. “I tried to fight back…but there were…just too many of them.”

 

Sesshoumaru nodded in understanding and then turned his feral gaze to the now silent mob.

 

“You call This Sesshoumaru and his kind monsters and yet you turn on your own,” Sesshoumaru spoke commandingly to them. “It would be wise to keep your distance from her from now on.” Sesshoumaru then turned from them with Kagome in his arms and walked quietly into the forest. He could hear as the villagers released the breaths they had been holding and began mumbling to one another about the events. He even heard as some people only just seemed to realize the travesty that they had committed and sneered at their weakness.

 

For an entire village to turn upon one person that had done nothing to them was beyond despicable. The humans and their cowardly actions only fueled Sesshoumaru's less-than-noble view of them.

 

He had only been gone a few hours and the woman he held in his arms had already managed to get herself into trouble. Sesshoumaru looked down at said woman and sighed.

 

“Forgive me Kagome.”

 

Kagome opened and closed her eyes a couple of times and then looked up to him. “It's not your fault this happened. People are frightened of things they don't understand and act irrational at times. It's partly my fault; I guess I wasn't very empathetic to their situation when I invited you into my home.”

 

Sesshoumaru fixed his gaze to the trail ahead. `How could she possibly be blaming herself for anything that happened tonight?' Sesshoumaru thought angrily to himself. Those fools in the village acted unreasonably and yet she still protects them. He kept his silence for a while as he continued on his way. His brooding was cut short by Kagome's weak voice.

 

“Um, Sesshoumaru?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Where…where are we going?”

 

“To the springs,” Sesshoumaru answered nonchalantly.

 

Kagome's face reddened a bit at his answer. He didn't honestly think he was coming with her there did he? “Um…are you…do you…why?”

 

“Do you wish to remain caked in your own blood?” Sesshoumaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

“…no.”

 

Sesshoumaru nodded his head at his small victory. He heard Kagome let out a sigh and decided to try and calm her nerves.

 

“You may leave your clothing on if you so wish,” he stated smoothly.

 

His declaration only made Kagome's blush deepen even further. She couldn't help herself! Thoughts of Sesshoumaru watching her bathe, and possibly joining her, were wreaking havoc on her imagination.

 

`I think I've spent too much time with Miroku,' she thought exasperatedly to herself as another image came unbidden across her eyes.

 

Kagome started to adjust her position in Sesshoumaru's arms but let out a hiss when she accidentally hit one of her many bruises. Sesshoumaru looked down at her and relaxed his hold a little so that she could get comfortable. He hadn't missed the small spike in her scent, but chose to ignore it to save her a bit of embarrassment.

 

He still felt partly responsible for what happened to her tonight. In all honesty he had been arguing with himself ever since he had kissed her. Ever since he had met her he had been intrigued with her. A small human woman had pulled a much coveted sword from a stone that even he had failed to retrieve. She had shot him with her sacred arrows and stood up to him on a number of occasions. He had always looked down on those who let their emotions determine their actions, and tonight he became one of those people.

 

Sesshoumaru had been angry with himself that one small gift could make him feel as such. It was merely a blanket, but the fact that Kagome had gone out of her way to get it for him with no hidden agenda for it, coupled with the ever growing attraction he felt for her, sent him over the edge. And gods if it wasn't magnificent.

 

He had never felt something so sensual in his long life and the fact that he had experienced it with a woman who had been following his half-brother for the past three years did not sit well with him. So he had left; with every intention of not coming back until he had his wits about him. Sesshoumaru had made it quite a distance from the village and the young priestess before a sense of uneasiness came over him. Never one to ignore his gut instinct, he had turned back towards the small village and back towards Kagome.

 

The sight that met him was not one he was expecting.

 

Sesshoumaru had seen red then and he did not think twice about showing the offending people what happens when one crosses him and those under his protection. He looked down once more at Kagome and noticed she was on the verge of sleep once again.

 

“If the elder priestess has taught you anything about healing yourself, I suggest you do so,” Sesshoumaru said softly.

 

Kagome nodded weakly and did her best to place herself in a meditative state. Megumi had taught her how to heal herself, but Kagome had never actually needed to do so until now. She could feel a warm tingling starting in her fingertips that quickly spread through her body until it reached the tips of her toes. Her body gave off a soft glow that would not have been visible to anyone who was not so near to her as Sesshoumaru was.

 

As Sesshoumaru watched he could see the few bruises that were observable to him slowly fade away. He was impressed, but not nearly as much as when he saw that her swollen eyes were beginning to shrink back to their regular size and the blackness around them had disappeared. In a month's time, this young priestess had realized a lot of her own powers and was now able to properly heal herself on command. Unbidden, a swell of pride overtook Sesshoumaru at that thought.

 

“I think I've done all I can,” Kagome said with a little more strength in her voice. “I got the major stuff; I think I even healed a couple of cracked ribs.”

 

“Very well, we have arrived at out destination,” Sesshoumaru answered, trying not to sound too impressed.

 

Kagome sighed at the wonderful sight ahead of her. Granted she had just been at the hot spring earlier, but after everything that happened tonight it was a welcome sight indeed. Already she could feel the heat from the spring rising up to greet her and she `eeked' in surprise when Sesshoumaru began to set her down. He kept a firm hold on her as she regained her balance.

 

“Thanks,” she said meekly. “Umm, would you mind turning around?”

 

Sesshoumaru did as she asked and gave her the privacy she needed. He did not turn around until he heard a hiss come from her between clenched teeth. He looked quickly over his shoulder and watched as she slowly lowered herself into the water, catching a glimpse of her lithe form as she did so. Images of her earlier bath flooded his mind and he turned back around and closed his eyes in an attempt to stop the visions.

 

Why was he feeling like this? Why was this one woman making his head spin with feelings he had long ago accepted would never come to him?

 

“Sesshoumaru?”

 

He turned towards her and locked eyes with her in a silent gesture for her to continue.

 

Kagome cleared her throat and fought the rising blush that was threatening to overtake her face. “Why…why are you being so nice to me? I'm a human; I thought you despised humans.”

 

“I do not despise humans,” Sesshoumaru intoned flatly. “I despise all things that are weak and lack control over their emotions.”

 

“Oh. Well, thank you for helping me tonight. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't shown up when you did.” Kagome gave him a soft smile and then rested her back against the side of the spring. She knew nothing she said would ever begin to describe the gratefulness that she felt towards him, so she didn't even try. Sesshoumaru probably wouldn't have accepted much more from her anyway.

 

“This feels wonderful,” Kagome moaned as she slipped a little deeper into the water. With her eyes closed she could feel the tendrils of sleep wanting to take her over, but a soft rippling of the water had her lazily opening her eyes.

 

He didn't know what had gotten into him, but seeing her there in the spring with only a thin layer of water covering her had him acting on his baser carnal instincts. Sesshoumaru quickly stripped of his clothing and silently made his way to the spring to join Kagome. He knew as soon as he hit the water that she knew he was there. He watched as she looked up at him from her resting place and draw in a sharp breath.

 

Kagome was battling with herself to not gawk openly at Sesshoumaru's form, but was failing miserably. She arduously moved her eyes from his to follow a path down to his nose, then his lips. Kagome shuddered a little, remembering the kiss they had shared earlier. She reluctantly removed her gaze from his lips to trail further down to his neck and even further to the well defined muscles of his chest. She unconsciously licked her now dry lips, but started when she heard him chuckling. Kagome's eyes shot up to his once more to see clear amusement racing across his own eyes.

 

“See anything you like?” Sesshoumaru asked her seriously. While she had been openly giving him a once over, he took the chance to do so as well; not that he hadn't seen everything she had to offer already.

 

Sesshoumaru heard her mumble something about `arrogant dog demons with nice muscles' while the blush on her face ripened to the color of a tomato.

 

“What are you doing anyway? Don't you have the decency to give me some privacy?” Kagome said with a raised chin.

 

“I am not one to pass up an opportunity to cleanse myself. I have no need to be modest and neither do you.”

 

“Whatever. Just, stay on your side of the spring.”

 

Kagome cupped some water in her hand and ran it over her other arm. While she was able to heal the majority of her major wounds, she was unable to completely heal the small ones. So with clenched teeth and eyes screwed tightly shut, Kagome drug her hand over her arm to clean what she could of the blood away. She released the breath she was holding and cupped more water into her hand to repeat the action. She hadn't realized how badly the villagers mangled her, but it was quickly becoming apparent with each painful sting.

 

“Ow…” she whispered to herself; although Sesshoumaru easily picked up on her distressing declaration.

 

With little thought, he crossed the small spring to stand beside her.

 

“Wha-what are you doing?!” Kagome exclaimed.

 

“Be silent, I am merely assisting you,” Sesshoumaru commanded softly.

 

Despite her better judgment Kagome closed her eyes and nodded her acceptance to his aid. Sesshoumaru brought up her arm and took in the many cuts and scrapes that littered her skin. He then smoothly brought her arm up to his mouth and closed his eyes.

 

Kagome jumped when she felt a warm, wet appendage snake across her skin. Her eyes flew open and towards Sesshoumaru who was too busy “helping” her to notice her gaze was directed towards him.

 

`He's licking me!” her mind supplied. `Sesshoumaru is licking me!'

 

“Be still,” Sesshoumaru said interrupting her thoughts. He was having a hard enough time concentrating on healing her wounds without her wriggling around.

 

Kagome drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes again in an attempt to relax. He had worked his way up from her forearm to her shoulder using long, slow strokes. It wasn't so bad, him running his tongue over her arm. In fact it felt sort of…nice. Really nice.

 

“Mmm…” the moan came out reflexively. Kagome did not even make an effort to cover up her slip. She tilted her head to the side and enjoyed the feeling of his lips and his tongue caressing the sensitive skin of her neck. She wasn't even sure there were any cuts there, but she didn't care at the moment. He was making small steady circles on her shoulder and all thoughts that she had flew the coup when he sucked lightly on her skin.

 

Sesshoumaru nearly groaned when he heard her moan, but stopped himself from doing so. Her skin was soft and moist from the steamy water and her holy powers that resided just below the surface left a tingling sensation on his tongue. Exquisite. That was all he could think of. Her skin became alighted with small bumps, due to either the weather or his ministrations he did not know, nor did he care, and it made her even more divine.

 

The small flesh wounds were healing nicely under Sesshoumaru's attentions, but they were the furthest thing from either of their minds. He began to work his way downward across her back and Kagome could feel a heat rising up in her abdomen. She turned towards him more as he worked his way to the other side of her neck and gasped lightly when she felt his hands starting to caress her hips. “Oh gods,” she breathily whispered.

 

Sesshoumaru moved his hands over her hips and turned her in his arms, never taking his mouth off of her as he did so. He wanted to stop himself, he knew he should stop himself, but could not. He lifted his head up a bit to see that her eyes were glazed over and her face was flushed. Her lips were slightly parted and she was breathing hard just as he found he was.

 

Kagome moved her eyes to his lips; those wonderful lips that were doing such wonderful things to her. She leaned forward and barely touched her lips to his before pulling away. Sesshoumaru kept one hand on her hip and brought the other behind her head to bring her forward and kissed her again. It started out slow with them caressing each other lightly, but soon started to heat up with fervor.

 

Kagome parted her lips for Sesshoumaru and he took the chance to slip his tongue into her mouth. She followed suite and soon both were searching out the other's mouth, memorizing what they could with their tongues. Sesshoumaru lowered both his hands to her bottom and pushed her up against him so that she could easily feel the effect she was having on him. Her eyes widened and she broke the kiss panting heavily, hands resting on his chest.

 

“We-we have to stop,” Kagome said almost urgently. “You…I've never…Oh gods this is embarrassing.”

 

Sesshoumaru steadied his breathing as his senses came back to him. There was something about her skin and blood on his tongue and lips that made him lose all conscious thought and it worried him a bit. He was never one to lose control but in less time than it took for him to kill an enemy; he had easily succumbed to the young priestess's charms.

 

He looked down at her red face and brought his hand under her chin to tilt it upward. Going against his thoughts earlier, he placed one last chaste kiss on her lips.

 

“Do not be embarrassed; we will stop now. Your wounds are healed,” Sesshoumaru told her quickly.

 

Kagome brought her arms up in front of her to inspect the wounds that were no longer there. Her eyes widened when she saw that there were not even traces of scars on her skin and she smiled brightly. When she looked up to thank Sesshoumaru, she found him out of the spring and already half dressed. With a frown she made her way to the edge of the hot spring and waited for him to finish donning his armor.

 

“Um, will you turn around so I can get out and get dressed?” Kagome asked shyly.

 

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her. She was still so modest even after their little happenings; he found it almost endearing. He scoffed at himself after that thought and turned away from Kagome so that she could get dressed. He did not find things endearing; it just wasn't his way.

 

Kagome made quick work of getting dressed and soon they were both headed back towards the village where the events of tonight had started. She was a bit nervous now to face them, but if Sesshoumaru was there, then she wouldn't have to worry.

 

“We train tomorrow,” Sesshoumaru said. “You and your instructor shall meet me after your instructions with the elder priestess and we will begin then.”

 

Kagome nodded her acknowledgement. There was no rest for the weary, as they say.