InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Wicked ❯ To Covet Her ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 2: To Covet Her

“Tenseiga! That's how you healed her and gave her life!” Inuyasha smacked himself in the forehead. “I shoulda recognized it,” he glanced at Kikyou, blushing, “but I was a little busy, I guess.”

“Indeed. You were also too busy to note that your dead priestess being brought back to life caused the living priestess in father's arms a great deal of pain, you ungrateful whelp.” Sesshoumaru pulled no punches and obviously did not approve of what his father had done as he glared at Kikyou before turning to look at his father with a flat expression. “Do you intend to keep Tenseiga, then?” he asked, his voice suddenly neutral.

Mattaki looked down at Kagome. “Are you well enough to stand, nisou?” When she nodded, he stood and reluctantly let her go; Inuyasha looked away guiltily as he took in his brother's words, and her still slightly pained expression.

Inwardly growling, the inu Lord, now known amongst the group as Inuyasha's father, kept his gaze pinned to Kagome, his beast once more claiming her. You are mine, nisou, now and forever you will be tied to me. And I will not wait much longer to finalize my claim...

Forcefully wrenching his eyes away from her, he met Sesshoumaru's narrowed gaze with eyes just as narrowed, and handed the sword back to him. “No. Tenseiga is yours, as Tessaiga is Inuyasha's – though I am most displeased at your attempts to circumvent my will. They were my swords to give as I chose.”

“Then this one will leave now that it has been returned to me.” He sheathed the sword, ignoring his father's words and turned on his heel immediately, though he stopped next to his brother. “It is better that the dead priestess was brought back, for you did not deserve the loyalty of the living miko that has followed you for so long. Perhaps now she will be able to find one who is worthy.” With that, ignoring the shocked gasps of not only Kagome, but everyone else save his father, he flashed into his own orb form and disappeared once more.

Miroku whistled long and low at that, then turned to look speculatively at Kagome. “That was most interesting, was it not? What did he mean about you being able to find someone worthy now, I wonder?”

Inuyasha growled just as Kouga did, both glaring at each other in disdain. Kouga looked away first and moved towards Kagome, intending to enfold her into his embrace. He halted immediately, though, when a low, almost sub-sonic growl came from the Inu Lord standing next to her. Eyeing him uncertainly for a moment, he turned his head and glared at Inuyasha, and said, “He musta been talking about me, mutt, since I'm far more worthy than you'd ever be!”

Kagome blushed but shook her head with a sigh. “Will you two knock it off? I don't know why Sesshoumaru said what he did, but it really doesn't matter. It's late, and a lot has happened – shouldn't we be setting up camp for the night?” she asked, as she looked over at Kikyou, concerned that the woman had been so silent. “Are you okay now, Kikyou?”

Kikyou blinked, then focused on Kagome, and nodded. “I'm fine, I think, though I feel rather... tired. Since I haven't felt that since I died the first time, I'm really not used to it,” she said with a small laugh at her own expense.

At that, Mattaki spoke up, casting a side-long glance at Kagome, much to Inuyasha's and Kouga's displeasure. “Then setting up camp is a welcome idea – it is rather late.”

Everyone agreed, even the growling duo, and within minutes, they'd all left the hilltop and moved into a small copse of trees to make camp, quickly getting set up and food cooking.

Once everything had settled down for the evening, Mattaki found himself the focus of most of the group's eyes – all save Kagome's – as they looked at him questioningly. Kagome was busy staring into the fire – it was clear she had a lot on her mind, and the beast within Mattaki bared his fangs in a feral grin – he knew perfectly well what was on her mind.

Finally, when he didn't respond to the obvious curiosity in everyone there, Inuyasha spoke up. “So... mind tellin' us how the hell you came back to life? 'Cause it's obvious it wasn't the same way that Kikyou was brought back.”

Kagome looked up from her contemplation of the fire at that, as she herself was very curious about that particular detail as well. For some reason, since he'd held her after healing Kikyou, she'd not been able to stop thinking about him, to the exclusion of all else – including Inuyasha, and her now gone chances of ever having him for herself. Instead of being heartbroken, and needing to go home to get away and grieve in private, she didn't feel any pain at all. No, she was too busy being fascinated by the big inu that had just waltzed into their lives.

“I was brought back by desire. And no – it is not the same fashion as your priestess was brought back, as I am just as alive as I was during my first life.” It was Mattaki's turn to stare into the fire, though truly, it wasn't the fire he was looking at, but what sat on the other side of it.

With a frown, Miroku thought back to what had happened just before the daiyoukai had appeared. “Perhaps you could explain what all that was with Kagome's reiki, then?”

Kikyou nodded, confused, as she'd never seen anything like what had happened earlier, either – in either life.

“As I said, I was brought back by desire. Kagome desired to help Kikyou, and stop Inuyasha from hurting,” his eyes flickered as Kagome blushed at everyone's knowing gaze, “and her reiki reacted to the presence of my youki, allowing me to use it as a power source to catapult myself back into the land of the living.” He didn't mention the true desire that had brought him back – the desire for a certain young woman, or the rest of the equation – it wasn't necessary for them to know... yet.

Inuyasha glanced at the male that he was sired by, and growled a bit. “Wait a minute. In order for that to happen, you had to have been following us. What the hell was up with that?”

Mattaki cocked a brow, blandly examining his son as though he were a curiosity the older male had never seen before, then flicked a glance at Kagome – one that was noticed by everyone in camp – everyone except the object of it. He looked back up as he heard the irate growls of his pup, and the wolf. “Yes, I have been following your group for many months, Inuyasha – for reasons of my own. They do not concern you-” he glanced warningly at his son, then moved his gaze over everyone save for Kagome, “-nor anyone else. My reasons will certainly become apparent soon, that I promise you.”

Kouga really didn't like the vibes he was getting from this large, powerful male, nor the constant glances he kept flicking at Kagome. He was uncomfortably certain that whatever the reasons behind his return were, they had everything to do with Kagome, and at that thought, he stood, and approached the object of his affections.

When she looked up, startled, as he called her name, he asked, “Kagome... can I... talk to you? Alone?” His hackles rose at the growls that came from two throats, though he didn't back down.

Kagome blinked up at him, then shook her head to clear it of the haze it was in. “Oh, um, sure, Kouga.” She stood up, smoothing her skirt down, though she winced at the pull of the damaged skin on her scraped knees. She followed behind her friend as he left the circle of fire-light, wondering what he could possibly want – for about half a second, and then her thoughts drifted right back to the silver-haired god sitting back in the camp.

She was so lost in her thoughts of him, that Kouga had to reach out and grab her arm to stop her from walking right past him when he came to a halt, and he frowned at her, concerned. “Oi, Kagome, are you okay? Are you sure letting that piece of your soul go didn't hurt you more than you're letting on?”

She shook her head. “No, I'm fine, Kouga, I just have a lot on my mind. So what did you need to talk about?”

He eyed her suspiciously for a moment, then shrugged. “Well, if you're sure you're okay...” she nodded, and he continued. “I'm going to be heading back to my tribe tomorrow, now that the shards are gone from my legs. I want you to come with me, Kagome – you know how I feel about you, and it's obvious that nothing is going to happen between you and Inuyasha now.” He flushed at her expression. “I'm not sayin' that to upset you, it's just the truth.”
Kagome sighed, feeling distinctly uncomfortable, though knowing that this day had to come sooner or later. It didn't matter that she would never be with Inuyasha now – she still had no feelings for Kouga besides friendship, she never would, and she wouldn't settle for less than love.

Eyes shining with regret, but still firm, she said, “I'm sorry, Kouga, but I can't. I care for you as a friend, but... it will never be anything else, and it wouldn't be fair to either of us to go into a lifetime commitment like that with less than love on the part of both of us.”

He clenched his fist hard at the rejection he'd really known, deep-down inside, was coming, and nodded, his expression miserable for a moment before he masked it. “If that's how you truly feel, then... I suppose there's nothing more to say. It would probably be best to go back to camp, now,” he finished flatly, and he escorted her back to camp, not meeting anyone's eyes as they arrived back.

Feeling bad that she'd hurt Kouga, but knowing that there was no other way that scenario could have played out, Kagome also refused to meet anyone's gaze as she went about setting up her bedding, and then retreating behind a tree to change for the night. Within minutes, she'd mumbled her goodnights, and slipped into her sleeping bag, still completely unaware of the golden eyes pinned to her – though everyone else was aware, as the big inu made no effort to hide the direction of his gaze.

It got quiet fast, no one wanting to call him on it with Kagome right there and trying to sleep, though Inuyasha's narrow-eyed glare, despite the presence of Kikyou at his side, didn't shift from his father once. Kouga also didn't like it, but he'd been turned down and had no right to say anything, his jealousy notwithstanding.

Mattaki smirked inwardly. That's right, you two can be jealous all you want, it will do you no good. She is already mine, though she knows it not. She will soon, though, make no mistake.

He sat and watched her all night, feeling no need to sleep, and every need to touch her with his eyes.

At least until he could touch her with something... other.

-wWw-

Kagome woke slowly, her mind unusually hazy and her body tingling. She couldn't truly remember what she'd dreamt, but she knew it was about the inu Lord that was Inuyasha's father, and she felt her body flush in reaction just to thinking about him. She whimpered, completely flustered; she knew that all the demon noses in the camp would be able to scent her arousal, but she didn't know how to fight it off. She'd never felt this way before, and so had no experience with her body and how it would react.

But she was certain that she didn't want the humiliation of him knowing what he was doing to her...

Little did she know, her reaction was just what he wanted. He'd had to fight himself almost all night long as the scent of her arousal had wafted gently around him; knowing what she was dreaming of only made it worse. He'd spent most of the night with his eyes completely red, and his beast so near the surface that it would have only taken the tiniest push to bring him fully to the fore. It was a good thing the ookami had chosen to sleep away from camp and downwind of Kagome, he thought, a snarl echoing through his mind. He wanted no one to ever catch that entrancing scent but he, himself.

Flustered at the thought of anyone knowing what she'd been dreaming of, she practically leapt from her bed and grabbed her bag, running off with mumbled excuses to bathe and dress. Sango, Miroku, Kikyou, and Shippo all stared after her, startled, but Inuyasha pinned a very angry gaze on his father, instead.

Mattaki merely looked back, quirking a brow at his son. “Is there something you wish to say to me, boy?” he asked.

Inuyasha growled at that appellation. “Oi! I ain't been a boy since my mother died and left me to try to survive alone, so don't fuckin' patronize me. I'm grateful enough that you healed Kikyou, but I really think you had an ulterior motive for that, didn't you?” he asked shrewdly, though not happily.

With a light chuckle, Mattaki said, “Perhaps. As I stated last night, my reasons will become apparent in time-” a smirk touched his mobile mouth as he thought about Kagome's reaction, “-though possibly much sooner than I had originally thought.”

Crossing his arms over his chest with irritation, a pout forming on his lips, Inuyasha glared at his father. “And let me guess,” he started sarcastically, “you're planning on traveling with us, right?” Kikyou shot him a sharp glance, wondering what was really passing between he and his father, for it was apparent that something certainly was.

Dark amusement danced in Mattaki's eyes, then, as he watched his pup sulk. It was very clear that the boy had not yet taken in the fact that he had made his choice, and now Kagome was free game. He was still reacting like a jealous rival - it was time to put a stop to that. “Yes, Inuyasha, I will be traveling with you. After all,” he said mockingly, “you have a woman to protect, now, and that leaves the young miko without – so I will be taking your place as her protector.”

It was a bold declaration; shocked silence fell in the camp as everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the large male. There was no question as to his abilities, or his power – Naraku would have no chance against one such as he, so he could certainly protect her far better than Inuyasha ever could.

That didn't matter to the hanyou, though – his mind had fried out at that statement, and he jumped to his feet, ready to attack his own father, when Kikyou grabbed his shoulder. “Inuyasha, don't. He's right – you can't protect us both.”

“Step back, Kikyou, and stay out of this. I ain't lettin' him just walk in here and take over – let alone leave Kagome in his hands. He might be my father, but that don't mean I trust him – ain't like I even know him.”

“Very wise of you not to trust me, Inuyasha – but in this case, it makes no difference whether you do or do not. I always get what I want, and you will certainly not stand in my way.” A dark hunger flashed though his eyes as he spoke, and Inuyasha reeled back almost drunkenly as he realized exactly what his father wanted.

“No! You can't have her!!” he shouted. “I see what you want from her in your eyes, and I won't allow it – Kagome's too good, too pure, too young, and too innocent for the likes of you and your black desires, and I will not let you use her!” There were shocked gasps from everyone in camp as his words were taken in, and Mattaki suddenly found himself the focus of all eyes.

He let his gaze touch on each person there as he stood and sauntered almost casually towards his son, coming to a halt right in front of him. “You know nothing of what I want, boy, so keep your opinions to yourself – or else. I will have her, and there is nothing you can do to stop the events that I have already set into motion-” his gaze once more swept over each person warningly, “-nothing that can change the outcome that is already assured. She is already mine.”

Every adult in the camp was aghast at the words of the powerful Lord, but none more so than Inuyasha himself. “What have you done to her?!” he hissed, fearful and enraged. “What sick spell have you put on her to make her want you?!”

“No spell. She wants me because she cannot help herself - her blood and scent call to my youkai, and he calls to her. It is the way of things. I would have already had her mated, marked, and bound to me were she youkai herself and understanding of our ways, but she is not, and I will wait for her to understand and be ready; her human sensibilities are well understood by this one. That does not mean, however, that I will not... hurry... her own understanding along,” he said, a feral light flickering in his gaze.

It was in Inuyasha's eyes in that moment – understanding, and loss. Because it was finally hitting him that Kagome was not his... and never would be. It was not his place to interfere any longer. The moment she'd given up part of her soul permanently to bring Kikyou back, he'd been tied to the older miko irrevocably.

That didn't mean it didn't hurt, because it did.

Mattaki eyed him narrowly, then looked at the ookami who was still hanging around, watching, then moved to the others in camp as he weighed their silences. After a moment, he asked, “Do any of you wish to challenge me on this matter?”

When no one said anything, he nodded. “Then do not interfere. It is not wise to come between an inu and what he desires.”

No one said anything. After all, what could they say? This was something beyond the understanding of any mortal... or even a half-demon.

This was all about the beast within all youkai – it was dark, and primal.

Wicked.