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Something Real	By : Angelica Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > InuYasha/Kagome Views: 38003 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
Something Real

By Angelica Pierce

Okay, notes. Absolutely necessary:

1) You need to have a working knowledge of the basic scenario and main
characters of the IY series. I won�t be coddling you by doing a recap of the
early-canon every other page.

2) Sisyphus is a man in a myth that is condemned to forever roll a boulder
up a hill.   Whenever he gets close to the top, however, it rolls back down and
he must begin anew.

3) Events that occurred in the movies have not happened in this fic.

4) Not only is the age of consent in Japan 13, NOT 18, but Japanese TV is
uncensored. That means anyone with a remote control and a reception has
probably seen porn. A 5 year old could be flipping to Kodocha, and see �Eyes
Wide Shut� � the uncut, subtitled version on the way. So think to yourself
about how much the average Japanese teen would know about sex.

5) Claimer: I own Inuyasha.
[In accordance with AFF's new announcement, I need to tell you all that I am lying... Sorry.]

6) Please note that
SoutasSister seriously kicks major ass when it comes to editing!! Thank you,
Love, you are as fabulous a beta as you are an author. ^___^ (Yes, the fic has
been revised. Mostly grammar mistakes and crap like that, but SoutasSister also
helped smooth out my style in a few parts as well. Again, much love for her�)

Enough Notes.

Suggested Soundtrack for �Something Real�:

   Evanescence � Anything For You

   Michelle Branch � All You Wanted



�I can�t play with you anymore.�

The young raven-haired girl shifted her weight from one foot to the other,
unable to bring her eyes to meet his. Even the loose ribbon that held back her
hair drooped a bit more with every hurtful word. It was not in her nature to be
cruel, even to one such as him � that was assuming that those around her spoke
the truth as far as his underlying nature was concerned.

There was no sound but silence from the boy across from her as he struggled to
digest the blow that had been imparted. Portions of the girl�s soul had prayed
that he would be angry and call her callous names. It would make it easier if
he were outwardly mean. She was brought no solace, however, from his stagnant
vocality.

The boy�s tiny clawed hands shook, bringing him to drop the ball he carried. It
bounced unceremoniously at his feet, rolling slightly to the side. His mother
had given it to him not even a week prior to replace the last one that had been�
lost; and his hopes at being able to try it out for the first time with someone
else began to crack and crumble faster than he could make repairs. �It�s okay,
Hanako. We don�t have to play with the ball. We could go to the river
instead. I�d have to ask my mother, but��

�No, it�s not that.� Hanako cut him off. Why did he have to make this harder?
�I can�t play with you at all. Okaa-san told me that you�d hurt me if I played
with you. She said I�m not allowed.� Still unable to look her would-be friend
in the face, she turned her back on him.

�Wait!� Inuyasha cried out in sheer desperation, running into her path to
prevent her exiting just yet. �What if I talked to your mom? I�m not going to
hurt you, I promise.�

Hanako did meet his gaze now and seemed to ponder his suggestion. Light
rekindled in the young hanyou�s eyes; he would convince her mother, or
maybe his mom could talk to her... However, the flame of optimism was quickly
squelched when Hanako once more grew serious and turned her eyes to the earth.
�Even if she said yes, the other kids wouldn�t play with me anymore. I�m
sorry.�

Before any further arguments could be made, the girl side-stepped the boy and
headed in the direction of the other children. Inuyasha dimly heard them asking
her what she was doing talking to �the freak�.

Oh, that�s right� He was the freak. The half-breed. Somehow beneath them and
dirty in comparison; born with more than his fair share of sin. He had allowed
himself to forget for a few precious moments this reality. Once again his hopes
had risen, that he might have actually found someone to accept him. His ears
wilted at the recollection that no decent being would ever accept one of mixed
blood such as himself. Why did he entertain the possibility that it could be
otherwise?

Reality blasted him like a tidal wave � emotionless; without malice, but
complete in its destruction all the same. The waters held no ill-will. They
carried with them nothing more than blaring truths and swept away the barriers
that concealed his raw pain. It would forever be this way. No person would
ever look upon him in love who was not required or otherwise obligated to do
so.

It was in that dark second of recognition that a part of his soul died. He
shrouded this part away with haste, rebuilding much stronger walls around it
that would never be torn down or broken. It was the tattered and dejected
ambition of opening himself to those that would hate him. Never again would he
wish for the splendor of friendship with his peers. It was a lost cause that he
could not afford to keep fighting for. He had nothing left worth the effort, so
he acknowledged defeat and simultaneously refused to mourn the loss of his
childlike innocence.

Crossing to the ball, he brushed it off as he caught the familiar scent of his
mother who, as it naturally turned out, wasn�t far.

The look on her face told him right away that she had seen the whole exchange.
His brow winced involuntarily at the sight of the only person in his life that
didn�t welcome distance from him. He was emotionally weathered beyond his few
years and he silently wondered if this woman knew of the internal decision he
had just reached not a moment before. Did he look different somehow? He
lowered his gaze, not wanting to see the shame in her features. Shame at having
a lowly half-breed as a son. Even at this slight age he knew his life tainted
her and a part of him hated himself for it. His presence caused her pain. He
wished for once that she could be proud of him; that he could make the others in
the village see that she was someone worth respecting.

�Inuyasha�� she spoke softly. He went obediently to her and allowed her arms to
settle around his shoulders. �Inuyasha,� she repeated, a bit more harshly.
�Osuwari.�

--

�Gyah!� A grown up version of that same boy cried out as he was introduced face
first to the roots of the tree he had been napping in.

�You were napping, weren�t you, Inuyasha?� a perturbed miko questioned him,
hands strategically on her hips to exude the highest annoyance factor possible.

Grunting in frustration, he lifted himself from the Inuyasha-shaped dent in the
ground. His amber eyes slanted in anger, telling his charge that he was not
amused the tiniest bit by her liberal use of �the word�. Finally managing to
stand, he brushed himself off and turned up his nose in defiance.

"Keh! I was not. Only you
weak-ass humans sleep during the day.�

Kagome sighed. She could have countered this obviously lie with ease, taking
into account his comatose response to the first few dozen times she
called. However, unlike the boy before her, logic held sway in her decisions
and she was more than aware that when he was in one of his moods, fighting would
do no good, no matter how much solid proof one had. He�d be in denial until the
cows came home � and then he�d be in denial about the cows. It was best to just
shove this incident into the �stubborn hanyou� file, which seemed to be growing
impressively pregnant of late.

�Okay, fine. Are you
ready? We have to hurry if we want to catch up with Sango-chan and
Miroku-sama.�

�Well maybe if you didn�t have to stop to take a bath every ten minutes, they
wouldn�t have had to go on ahead of us!�

�Well if YOU were more careful when you wave around that sword of yours, I
wouldn�t have been covered in youkai guts!� she huffed in defiance.

�Hey, I was in the middle of a battle. I don�t have time to make sure
your weird-ass kimono doesn�t get stained. Maybe YOU should be more careful
where you stand, and stay the hell out of my way when I tell you!�

It was only then that Inuyasha took note of the fact that Kagome was no longer
sporting her usual one-size-covers-nothing attire. Although he�d never admit
noticing such a thing to her, the clothing really had suffered more than its
fair share of demon innards in that last fight. She had clearly reached the
same conclusion and was giving the garments a break. Kagome now reluctantly
wore the standard fashion of a Shinto priestess. �Must have been stained pretty
bad for her to actually wear the clothes Kaede gave her. She hates those
robes,� he silently reasoned.

Seeing the look of contemplation on his face, Kagome turned her face away. She
knew how much he despised seeing her in the miko garments. �I really wish I had
brought more clothes with me this time�� she privately berated herself,
beginning to reconsider the equally unwelcome notion of changing into her
pajamas � the only other current option.

�Well, let�s go.�

Inuyasha�s command snapped
Kagome from her melancholic train of thought. She jogged to catch up with him,
noting that he had swung her bag over his shoulder, indicating that she was to
walk beside him in lieu of traveling on his back as per their usual
arrangement.

She exhaled a ragged breath
knowing without any puzzling the reason that lay behind his desire not to make
physical contact. Once again thinking of changing clothes, she eventually
dismissed the idea for fear of raising the hanyou�s ire even further. Parade in
front of him in this and then delay their trip further? Not the best
plan she�d ever come up with.

The pair walked in silence along the path toward the mountain range that had
been rumored to have developed a strange jyaki over the past weeks. Thinking
that it might be the work of Naraku, the group had set out immediately to
investigate the first lead they�d had in what seemed like ages.

In keeping with tradition,
their journey was not without incident and no sooner had the group broke camp
this morning, did a youkai decide to attack. Unfortunately, said creature was
unusually messy, and had left Kagome with the intense need to bathe. Staying
behind to insure her safety, Inuyasha had sent Sango and Miroku ahead. It was
either that or leave Kagome in the care of Miroku� And considering the activity
she�d be partaking in, he didn�t really deem that as �protecting� her.

Back in the present, it did not take long for Inuyasha�s thoughts to drift back
to his recent nightmare � or daymare, as it were. The hanyou hadn�t thought
back on that particular incident in quite some time. He rarely revisited such
memories willingly. Why would his subconscious dredge it up now?

A low, subtle growl emanated from his throat as though scolding his treacherous
dreams. Even his own body couldn�t let sleeping dogs lay. It was bad enough
having to deal with humans and their stupid prejudices during the day. Keeping
past slights from his mind was practically a full time job in itself being
around the irritating mortals as much as he was these days. Didn�t he deserve
some peace?

He glared accusingly at the human girl by his side. �Damn her.� He cursed to
himself. Kagome was the only human currently in his company, and as such was
the representative of her entire species at the moment. She looked pensive,
only serving to make the half demon curious, which naturally caused him to
become irritated that she would dare make him curious. Who was she to presume
to be changing his emotions? And why the Hell was she always so mysterious? He
often wondered what conniving plots she was hatching in that little brain of
hers. After all, it must take her hours of preparation to be so damned
successful at getting under his skin. What with the rosary, and the crying, not
to mention the way she could change his entire mood without saying so much as a
syllable� It was truly a stroke of wicked genius, especially when her eyes were
taken into account. They were so innocent! Too innocent. Big, brown,
gorgeous orbs that revealed the depths of her soul. Set perfectly next to that
flawless porcelain skin that covered�

�Damn it! When did I become so fuckin� weak? I can�t even insult her properly
anymore!�

His glare deepened. �How did she do that???�

Another growl erupted from Inuyasha causing Kagome to pay more attention to his
mood than where she was placing her feet. Just her luck, a slight protrusion on
the path caught her foot and sent her stumbling. She managed to regain her
balance by instinctively reaching for her protector and grabbing hold of his
haori. The action caused her traveling companion to whirl on her.

�What the hell you touchin� me for, Bitch!?�

Kagome jumped slightly, surprised at just how harsh he had been over a simple
falter. Quickly getting past her shock, she narrowed her eyes. �Well EXCUSE
me! Next time I�ll just fall and make you wait for me to recover. Is THAT what
you�d prefer?�

�Feh. Stupid humans. Can�t even walk without help.�

The miko sighed. �Inuyasha, if the robes upset you that much��

�Who the fuck said anything about your clothes? I don�t care what you wear!�

Kagome returned to her anger, an emotion that seemed to get a lot of mileage
when she was around Inuyasha.

�Oh, really? Then why are
you so angry with me?�

�Because you�re irritating!! Always pressing my buttons and lookin� for ways to
manipulate me. Well, I got news for you, Kagome. Your eyes aren�t enough to
defeat me!�

�My *EYES*? You mean this is about my ability to see the shards?�

�Shards!? Where?�

�There are no shards, Inuyasha��

�Then quit tryin� to change the subject!�

�What *IS* the subject!?�

�Miko-sama!�

Their arguing was abruptly quashed as a few men approached them from ahead. It
took Kagome a moment to realize that they were speaking to her. She just wasn�t
used to being recognized as a priestess, much less called �Miko-sama�. That
title was usually reserved for�

�Oh, great. There will be no living with him for the next week after this!�

�Um, hello. Is there something I can do for you?� Kagome offered once the men
came to a halt before them.

Inuyasha growled a warning
at the mere proximity of the males to his charge, even though his stance gave
the appearance of impartiality.

�What do you want?� he demanded without charm, evoking a reflexive twitch from
Kagome�s brow.

The three men regarded Inuyasha with a certain wariness as he tucked his hands
into the sleeves of his haori, but eventually proceeded to speak with Kagome.

�My name is Yasuo, and these are my companions Jiro and Hiroshi. We live in a
village not too far up the road. My wife has recently given birth to our first
born, and if it is not too much trouble, I would humbly ask that you pay a visit
to my home to bestow a blessing upon him.�

Kagome blushed. She had never been asked to perform a task such as this. Could
she even give a proper blessing to a newborn? She had seen Kaede impart
blessings upon babies born in the village, and it didn�t seem too difficult. If
nothing else, she could always ask Miroku to stop by upon returning from their
journey to make certain she had done it correctly�

�Keh. Kagome ain�t that kind of��

�I�d be honored to bless your son.� Kagome bowed ever so slightly, effectively
silencing the hanyou beside her. For the moment, anyway.

�My thanks, Miko-sama. I must finish this errand, but if I could meet you in
the village shortly��

�Of course,� Kagome replied before the men took their leave.

Although nervous, Kagome found herself excited by the prospect of performing an
actual priestess� duty. Purifying demons was all well and good, but mikos
shouldn�t be so constantly consumed by violence. It would be nice to help
someone without needing to dodge attacks for a change.

�We don�t got time for this, Kagome! We have to catch up with the others.
Besides, you�ve never done a blessing! You�ll end up turning the kid into a
goat or something.�

�Thanks ever so for your confidence, Inuyasha,� Kagome seethed. �I can get
through a simple blessing! Not only have I seen Mama do it a thousand times,
I�ve seen Kaede back in the village. Not much has changed in 500 years so I
should be able to do a proper one for this era. And Sango and Miroku will be
fine without us a bit longer. They�ll probably even be pleased that we stopped
to help someone in a clean, non-fatal way.�

Inuyasha was inclined to continue the argument, but begrudgingly realized that
he had upset her with the goat comment. If he protested much further, he was in
for a sitting, and that was something he would very much like to avoid.

For once listening to his brain before his mouth got the better of him, he
settled for an exasperated �Keh�, and began walking with her in the direction of
the village.

--

A deep sigh escaped him as he shut his eyes and leaned back against the wall of
the relatively small hut. He shifted uncomfortably, pulling Tessaiga from his
side and resting it in his lap. The movement of his weapon did not go unnoticed
by the women in the back of the hut who were there to witness the blessing.
More whispers drifted to his ever-vigilant ears, and not for the first time he
wished that he didn�t have such adept hearing.

�Is he preparing to attack? Do you think he�d hurt the baby?� the younger of
the two questioned her companion.

�Not with the miko here,� she replied. �We best watch what we say though. I
don�t know if he can hear us.�

Inuyasha did not wish to give away his advantage, so he remained immobile, never
casting so much as a glance in their direction.

�Do you really think he has such good hearing? He�s only a half-breed,� the
first girl argued.

�Well, he must have some power. After all, why else would the miko travel with
such a creature as her �protector�?�

That�s right. He was merely the miko�s guardian. Upon entering the village,
Inuyasha had been immediately analyzed by the locals. Kagome happily explained
Yasuo�s request, and the elders had seen fit to invite her into their community
with open arms. However, Inuyasha was not so easily welcomed. One of the
elders had questioned why a hanyou was traveling with her. For lack of a better
explanation, Kagome had told them that he was her protector. They resisted
still, at which point Inuyasha had declared that he wasn�t looking for their
approval. The miko scolded him for being so abrupt.

Didn�t she understand that he was just defending himself? Sure, it was all well
and easy for her. SHE wasn�t the one being accused of malice just because of
the way she looked. What of THEIR behavior? Why couldn�t she ever take his
side? He would have taken his leave of the situation, but in a new place with
unfamiliar people, he didn�t trust Kagome not to get herself into trouble.

Begrudgingly, the villagers had accepted the miko�s reasons and had put up no
fight when he accompanied her to Yasuo�s home. However, to say that he was
welcomed would be reaching.

�You mean you actually believe that he�s her guardian? If she wanted
protection, why not get a real demon?�

�She probably chose him on purpose. If he gets out of line, she can purify him
without killing him � his human side would just take over for a short while.�

�Ah. Kind of like a leash.�

�All he needs is the collar to match those ears of his.�

At that, Inuyasha did open his eyes and turn his face directly towards the two
gossiping females. They gasped and immediately avoided eye contact, making
their way behind a few of the elders should the hanyou decide to make good on
his unspoken threat.

His nasty glower had been more than enough to subdue them. �Keh. Who�s on a
fuckin� leash now?�

He noticed that an elder had caught on to the little exchange between the hanyou
and the girls. Concern crossed his features and he moved to stand beside them,
shooting what was probably meant to be an intimidating glance at Inuyasha.
Deeming the elder unworthy of battle, Inuyasha resettled himself and closed his
eyes to wait for the stupid blessing to be over and done with. The sooner they
got out of the presence of so many humans, the more comfortable he would be.

�Inuyasha, it�s finished.� Kagome spoke softly, a smile playing across her
lips.

The hanyou cracked open one golden eye to make sure he wasn�t hearing things.
Indeed, Kagome stood before him, beaming however modestly at her
accomplishment. The blessing had obviously gone well, and the hanyou took in
the happy expressions of Yasuo and his family. Despite himself, Inuyasha felt
his lips curl into a smirk; he couldn�t help but feel a sense of pride for the
girl.

�Miko-sama, I�ll show you to your rooms.� The elder that had challenged him not
long ago had approached Kagome, and she nodded appreciatively.

�Thank you, Keiji-san,� she responded with a small bow.

�Wait, rooms?� Inuyasha blurted out, now on his feet towering over the
priestess. His outburst caused the whole room to become silent, save for the
gurgling noises coming from the newly-blessed infant. He hadn�t even been that
loud�

�Yes. It�s almost dark, Inuyasha, and Keiji-san has offered to let us stay in
his inn.� Kagome informed him, no longer sporting her good mood. Inuyasha
wanted to argue, but not here in front of so many unfamiliar people. Relenting,
he nodded his consent to be led to their accommodations, wherein he would be
free to yell at Kagome in private.

On the way to their rooms, Inuyasha realized that this village was larger than
he originally guessed. Thick forest surrounded them, save for a relatively
narrow passage through the trees that lead to an entirely different section of
the same community. It was there that he caught site of the inn that the elder
no doubt owned. It wasn�t as nice as some of the lodgings that Miroku managed
to snag for them over their months of travel, but overall it wasn�t bad.

Long hallways led to the back of the establishment, wherein Kagome was shown her
room. Much to the horror of Keiji, Inuyasha stepped in beside her, making
certain to inspect everything around the room. It was sparse, but comfortable;
a futon against the far wall, a fire pit, and a privacy screen in the corner as
well as a small table.

�This way, Hanyou.� Keiji called from the door.

Inuyasha turned to glare at the obtrusive individual. �Keh! There�s no way I�m
leaving her alone with you people around.� His fingers instinctively drummed
against Tessaiga to make his point before crossing his arms in his signature
fashion.

�What he means to say is that we are used to sharing. We travel quite a bit and
make due with rooms not nearly this nice. It isn�t necessary for you to trouble
yourself with two,� a blushing Kagome �translated�. �Would it kill him to learn
some manners?�

�It is no trouble, Miko-sama. Besides, it would not be proper for him to share
a room with you,� Keiji articulated. The man clearly had an inherent fondness
for the priestess, but did not understand her choice in traveling partners. He
hoped that the inference of impropriety would be enough to force her to relent.

�I thank you, Keiji-san, but I�m afraid I must insist. Inuyasha is here to
protect me, and he can�t do that if he�s not nearby. Really, I assure you, this
is normal for us,� Kagome tried. She really didn�t care to give the impression
that she was desperate to sleep in the same room with Inuyasha, but she did feel
safer when he was nearby � especially in foreign towns.

�Very well,� Keiji sighed, showing no small amount of discomfort about the
arrangement. �You will at least allow us to provide you with a second futon?�
he questioned.

�That would be appreciated. Thank you,�Kagome smiled.

�But I don�t sleep on��

Inuyasha didn�t get the chance to finish before Keiji unceremoniously shut the
door on the two. The hanyou growled, dropping Kagome�s bag off his shoulder and
resting Tessaiga beside it so that he could speak with Kagome without worrying
about being hindered by the inanimate objects.

�Honestly, Inuyasha. You could *try* to be polite,� Kagome admonished the
inu-hanyou.

Inuyasha gaped before snorting. �Me!? They�re the ones who keep acting like
assholes!�

Kagome let out her breath in defeat. His temper was exhausting. �Forget it. I
don�t want to argue. Just don�t say anything when they bring the second futon,
okay? They already probably think there is something going on between us
because I insisted that you stay in my room.�

Inuyasha winced at her words and turned away to cross to the other side of the
room. Of course she would be embarrassed if people thought they were involved.
They looked down on her for just being in his company! What would they do if
they had reason to think they shared a bed?

Unwelcome images of Kagome tucked against him filled his mind. A dream that
would never be realized� Kissing those sweet lips of hers, trailing his mouth
down her neck as she�d make little sounds of joy. She�d hold him close, lay her
head on his shoulder, and trust him completely as his hands learned her body.
He didn�t often think of touching her � it was hard to imagine when he didn�t
know what to think of. He had seen glimpses of her nude form, but his eyes had
never really been given the opportunity to focus. By the time he�d think to
look away from her face and commit her body to memory, he�d either be sat,
caught, or too embarrassed to keep staring. No. It was much easier to imagine
Kagome�s hands on him � carefully placing those tempting lips on his neck while
her hands moved across his hardened flesh below. Sometimes she�d wind her hands
in his hair and pull his face to hers, locking him in a searing kiss, delicate
fingers eventually sliding down his neck and shoulders and across the heated
skin of his back. Her body, pressed against his, whispering words to him that
he�d never hear as he�

His reverie was shattered as two servants entered the room with �his� futon. At
first he was enraged by the interruption, but that dissipated as soon as he
remembered that he shouldn�t be thinking those things in the first place. Not
only was he a �dirty half-breed� that dishonored Kagome by just thinking of such
actions, but the girl in question was standing not three feet away!

He inwardly cursed his body for responding to his wayward ideas. All thoughts
of objecting to their stay were forgotten and he resigned himself to the
realization that he would have to wait to get out of this torture-chamber of a
town for a while longer. Why didn�t his friends ever seem to understand why he
avoided the villages? He pushed the ire at their ineptitude aside. Now his
mind focused on his more immediate need. He couldn�t very well take care of
this �problem� where he was.

He crossed the rest of the room to the door that led outside. He slid it open
to feel the cool breeze rush over his face. It was dark now, but luckily he
didn�t need much light to see. The porch which extended all the way down the
length of the building held a few torches on its walls so that the occupants
would not be walking around blind in the darker hours. This illumination was
more than enough for Inuyasha to see the open area which led to the forest. He
stepped out and readied himself to leap.

�Inuyasha? Where are you going?� Kagome�s soft voice stopped his exit. He
growled.

�I need some air,� he bit out. He really didn�t want her questioning him on
this. He was humiliated enough as it was. Besides, it was her fault that he
was in this state to begin with!

Without further discussion, he bounded from the tavern and into the safety of
the immediate trees. He couldn�t afford to go far from the room considering
that Kagome was now left alone to the mercy of whatever might decide to attack.
This would have to be quick and not as well hidden as he would have liked. But
desperate times�

�Well, at least the quick part shouldn�t be much of a problem,� he thought
dourly. The images from before had managed to get him awfully worked up. It
wouldn�t take much additional stimulation for him to bring an end to this bodily
crisis.

Suddenly, Kagome was there with him. Her finger tips traced the swelling under
his hakama before working it free and exposing it to the night air. A thumb ran
over the tip as soft, feverish kisses passed between their mouths. He gasped as
she pressed herself against him, moving her head slightly to the side to nip at
his neck. They were naked and vulnerable, their bodies caressing one another.
She worked her hand around his hardened shaft, pulling and tugging at the
perfect pace to bring him over to a place of completion. She whispered his name
loud enough that it could almost be called a whisper, and he responded in kind
to her plea.

�Kagome�� he moaned into her ear.

And then it went black.

A few seconds later, Inuyasha steadied himself just before another blow came to
the back of his head. This time, however, it didn�t stun him. It merely hurt.
He turned angered eyes to see Keiji and a small number of village men standing
behind him. His groin ached with unfulfilled release, but that would clearly
have to wait.

�Beast!� Keiji seethed. �You would think to defile her in such a way!� The man
raised the object he had struck him with before to do so again. Inuyasha
grabbed his hand to keep him from doing so, only to be pounded upon by a few of
the other surrounding him. He reached for Tessaiga only to realize that it was
back in the room with Kagome. He would have to rely on his claws � not
something he was necessarily opposed to. It was just that Inuyasha hadn�t
actually intended to fight with these humans. Tessaiga would have intimidated
even the most courageous of mortals, thus preventing a brawl. He knew he
couldn�t kill the villagers, which made the fight that much harder to do with
his claws. One wrong swipe and they�d be easily cut down.

His body bore the blows under protest, but luckily humans didn�t really have the
strength to cause much more than shallow bruises. He crouched to the ground and
darted through an opening to get clear of the circle his attackers had formed
around him. He was free, and he would have stayed that way, but one of them
slapped an ofuda to his back, rendering him basically immobile.

One of the men sneered in accomplishment, tapping the ward with his weapon. The
villagers had no doubt acquired youkai wards due to their lack of a spiritual
leader. It was something most villages without a local monk or priestess did.
Inuyasha cursed himself for forgetting this.

The blows continued, but not for long. Soon his arms were raised and he was
dragged back to the tavern. Inuyasha wanted to cry out to Kagome to come tear
this thing off of him (and bring Tessaiga while she was at it), but he couldn�t
even bring his voice to obey him. �Damn powerful ofuda,� Inuyasha bitterly
mused.

Luckily, they seemed to be
taking him in the direction of her room anyway. He snickered inwardly. Wait
until Kagome found out what they did� They only knew the pleasant side of the
girl � they had never seen her angry! And when she saw what they had done to
him�

His relief was short lived, overwhelmed by panic and horror at the situation.
They were going to tell Kagome what he was doing! More importantly, they would
tell her whose name he had said.

�You would think to defile her��

A thousand or more ugly thoughts ran through his mind at once, summoning a
tenseness that penetrated even the powerful ofuda. He was still held utterly
immobile but this did not speak for his mind which was racing more powerfully
than it had since the moments before he was sealed to Goshinboku. His pulse
throbbed in every inch of his body creating a pounding in his ears so loud that
he could no longer hear the conversations of the villagers dragging his inert
form back to the priestess.

Scenarios came to his mind�s eye faster than he could register them in their
entirety. In each and every one, his worst fears came to pass. The look of
sheer disgust she would wear when she found out. He could feel the heat of her
hatred for him baring upon his soul already. He had survived countless battles,
been locked in a dark abyss for over fifty years� But this? He would never
recover from this.

The vision of her smiling face shattered before him. Never again would he feel
her gentle caress as she tended his wounds. She wouldn�t grasp his waist with
her thighs as she rode his back, the sound of her cheerful laughter and innocent
admiration of the beauty, which she saw in everything that surrounded them. He
would be labeled worse than the bouzu for nothing more than a dream. A ghastly
mutt that should have been drowned at birth had no right to have such
disgraceful fantasies about a miko.

His desire to flee was awe-inspiring, but his useless limbs would not respond to
their owner�s commands. Full-blown terror coursed brutally through every fiber
of his being. If only he could struggle� He had to get away! Get away and
never return. It would break him to leave her but anything would be better than
to see the heartbroken look in her eyes � the devastation of having been
mentally molested by the likes of him.

Anything would be better than this.

Altogether too soon, he was dropped on the floor of the room. He could hear
Kagome�s startled gasp and her footsteps as she came to kneel beside him. The
scent of smoke assaulted his nose which in turn prompted his eyes to water. The
girl had clearly started a fire in his absence to ward of the chill of the night
air. Silly girl, always so fragile�

�What have you done to him!?� Kagome demanded, the venom behind the question
overpowering. He felt a hand on his head, and screwed his eyes shut. This
would surely be the last time he ever felt that soothing touch. What would she
do when she found out? Would she even bother to remove the ward? Or would she
just abandon him where he was? Perhaps she would subdue him with words, as only
she could, until his body simply gave out. He wanted to tell her� something.
He wanted to have something to say or do that would make all of this go away.
But it never would, and he knew it. So he waited � and that alone was nearly
his undoing.

�We caught him in the forest, Miko-sama. He was degrading you with his
disgusting actions.�

There was quiet for a moment, and the hand that had been stroking his hair
stilled. �Degrading me? What actions? What are you talking about? What could
he possibly have done to deserve��

�Stupid Bitch!� Inuyasha cursed Kagome�s naivety. Did they really have
to spell it out for her??

�Forgive us, Miko-sama. We realize that you are pure and probably do not know
of such sinful acts. He said your name as he pleasured himself. He was
imagining��

�Get out,� Kagome commanded softly, cutting off any further explanation.
Inuyasha fell into confusion, debating whether or not to consider this a good
turn of events. On one hand, she had put an end to this humiliation by not
allowing the man to continue his explanation. Not only that but she seemed
oddly calm � her voice lacking any emotion except for a small waver in tone. He
would have liked to take this as a sign that she wasn�t as angry as he assumed
she would be, but the shaking of her palm told him otherwise. She was angry.
VERY. At them or him, or perhaps both, he wasn�t sure.

On the other hand, he worried that once the men left he would be in for the
sitting of his life, not to mention the fact that he�d have to face the full
brunt of her wrath. He could just imagine the revulsion she would hold in her
eyes when she looked at him from now on. Things would never be the same between
them. He could never take it back, not that he was even sure he would if given
the chance. His dreams were all he had. Fury filled the hanyou as he lay
static on the cold floor, still bound by the ofuda on the back of his haori. If
those fucking men hadn�t followed him, none of this would have happened. Kagome
wouldn�t hate him, and he wouldn�t be in the most embarrassing situation of his
life.

He knew why they followed him. After that incident with those two bitches back
at Yasuo�s hut, they had undoubtedly assumed that he was a danger and should be
watched. Those girls� prejudice� The hatred that humans held for half-breeds�
They were to blame for the circumstance. Never before did he find himself
wanting to kill humans quite as badly as he did now. But at the same time, he
hated himself. A small portion of his soul still longed for acceptance; and it
would be that portion that was the death of him in the end. He didn�t want this
� to be dirty. He never asked to be what he was. Who would? He cursed his
mixed heritage silently for the infinite time in his head. Why did he have to
be born a freak? An abomination? Born with more than his fair share of sin, he
would never be clean.

�Miko-sama�� one of his captors protested. Inuyasha recognized the voice as
that of Keiji. �It�s not safe for him to be left with you. He should be��

�Just leave it,� Kagome spoke once more, this time her voice brokered no
dispute. There was no sound of argument, only the loud shuffling of feet and
the closing of the door as the villagers exited.

�It�, Inuyasha�s eyes went wide before squeezing them tightly closed.
�She doesn�t even think of me as alive anymore!�

In actuality, Kagome was reeling from what just occurred. Her command had been
to drop the situation; they had truly done enough damage as it was. The
villagers had assaulted her best friend because of his fantasies? Her pulse
beat with ire, that they would hurt him for no other reason. He hadn�t done
anything to anyone and yet they left him so injured that he was unable to move.

Had he been in any other state, she would have been elated � flattered perhaps
that Inuyasha thought of her as more than a friend, even if it was just a dream
version of herself. However, the rational part of her would have quashed the
euphoria upon the realization that he had probably been thinking of her past
incarnation and that the villagers had jumped to assumptions. But the way he
just lay lifeless on the floor terrified the young miko, so none of these
thoughts had time to manifest. The fact that he hadn�t made so much as a growl�

�Inuyasha, why aren�t you moving?� she asked, her voice shaking violently. She
could barely get out the words.

She took inventory of his appearance, moving from his head and limbs to the
center of his back. She had been so preoccupied making certain that there was
no blood that she had completely missed the ofuda that held him immobile.
Making a small sound of understanding, she quickly reached forward and ripped
the ward off of the hanyou.

The second he regained control of his body, Inuyasha launched himself into the
darkest corner of the room, curling against the walls and hiding his face from
view. He could still feel her eyes looking at him; detesting him and what he�d
done. He couldn�t bring himself to meet those eyes, nor gaze upon any part of
her. Why did the earth never open up and swallow you when you needed it to?

Kagome sat stationary, not having the slightest clue what to do. He was
embarrassed, hurt, and angry, which usually meant violence. She should just let
him be, but she needed to know that he wasn�t seriously injured, and she
couldn�t help but feel like they should talk about�well, what he was caught
doing, and more specifically, if it was her that he imagined or perhaps a
certain other miko.

�Inuyasha� Did� Did they? Did they hurt you?� she questioned as carefully as
possible. If he would tell her that he was uninjured, then she swore to the
Kamis that she�d let the rest be. She�d leave him alone until he was ready if
he would just be okay. If he wasn�t? Her mood shifted to that of revenge. If
they�d hurt Inuyasha simply because he was dreaming, they would pay.
Painfully. Preferably with sharp objects and over long weeks.

Inuyasha was astonished at the question. He�d been all but emotionally broken,
and she had the nerve to sit there and ask him if he was okay!? His entire life
had been one big rejection after another. Taunts and barbs at his expense, for
no reason besides his existence. He wanted to return in kind, but his stupid
human conscience wouldn�t let him. Why was it that the very thing that
condemned him in their eyes also saved their necks? The children that wouldn�t
play with him, the adults that would torment his mother and whisper behind their
backs. The people that spat in his face and the demons and humans alike that
tried to expunge him from the Earth. That was why Kagome never took his side
when people treated him badly. Deep down she knew they were right. She was
just too kind-hearted to do it herself.

And now the wench wanted to know. How was he? Oh, he�d tell her.

The boy sneered. �Did they hurt me?� he growled out. �Nope, just fine,
Kagome. Not a scratch, thanks for asking.�

Kagome winced at his tone, but stood and started to cross to her futon,
satisfied that he didn�t need medical help.

�Oh wait, did you mean hurt as in humiliate me the same way everyone does
every fucking day of my life?�

Kagome turned back around, eyes wide as he continued. She hadn�t expected him
to say more. He never so much as admitted that he had any pain, much less talk
with her about the cause.

�Did you mean, �Did they piss you off with the way that you couldn�t even step
foot in their precious village without soiling it with your filthy half-breed
hands? Did those bitches mocking you during the blessing bother you, Inuyasha?
Was it terrible to hear that you should be on a leash rather than treated like a
person? Do the cuts still sting from when your own brother tells you that you
have no right to share his father�s blood?� Or maybe you meant the way every
single time I walk into a crowd of humans that they shrink away in disgust or
fear! No friends even as a child because their parents was afraid you�ll hurt
them. No one wants to play with a foul mutt, or spend time with a monster.�

He was standing now, no longer really addressing Kagome. He was pacing the
room, directing his commentary toward the walls. He looked angry enough to
murder � not to kill, but to seriously wrap his hands around someone�s neck just
for the pure bliss of feeling it crack beneath his fingers. Kagome covered her
mouth with her hands to keep from making a sound. She didn�t believe that he�d
harm her, but the smallest sound might bring him down to Earth, and he clearly
needed to vent. Had he ever let any of this out? Talked about these things
with anyone? How did he live feeling like this every day?

Tears formed in her eyes and made their way down her cheeks in streams. She
wouldn�t make a sound though. She wouldn�t cry out. No whimpers or ragged
breaths. She�d be silent if it killed her to do so.

��Never have friends. Never have family. Hanyous don�t get to have parents or
mates or children of their own. Who would choose to spend their life with
someone that doesn�t belong anywhere? Someone made up of two halves that equal
nothing. They�re not supposed to exist. They�re impure and tainted, and they
do nothing but drain the life from those around them. They don�t deserve to be
happy. They don�t deserve any of it. They should be drowned as soon as they
slither from their mother. It would save everyone time and suffering not to
have to look on such ugly abominations. Such unnatural freaks that don�t
deserve to breathe the same air as the rest of you.�

She had to snap him out of this, but she didn�t know how. She would have
normally run and put her arms around him and held him close until everything
dark and ugly was gone from his thoughts. But she didn�t think he even realized
she was there anymore. He would surely attack her if she reached for him now
simply because he wouldn�t recognize her in time. Although, she dare not argue
with him either, that would only make things worse. Years of pent up rage were
now coming to a boiling head, and she didn�t have the knowledge or the power to
convince him that the things he was spewing weren�t true. And most of all, she
didn�t want to cry. Then he�d feel even worse for making her upset. It would
only confirm all of his beliefs. She knew him. He�d feel guilty and then there
might be no helping him.

��What exactly makes me so different, damn it!? So different that they can�t
even let me have my dreams. Not even my dreams, which is all I�ll ever have.
I�m not allowed. My thoughts are unclean. They�re not supposed to exist and
the fact that they do is��

�You�re right.�

Inuyasha stiffened and his eyes flew wide. Kagome had been there the whole
time? He sniffed the air and could tell she was crying. He turned to face her,
only to find her face hidden beneath her bangs. Her silky purple pajamas
vibrated with their owner�s shaking, causing what little light the room had to
the bounce off of her in ripples.

Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn�t for her to say that. He stood
astonished and motionless; to think that she�d so bluntly agree. That even
innocent Kagome wouldn�t raise her voice to comfort him. It was because he
defiled her. He was no longer worthy of her help to make him into anything
worthwhile, and as such no longer worth defending. After a long minute, she
finally lifted her face to reveal her eyes. They were blurry with unshed tears,
but no stains adorned her face. She must have wiped them clean before speaking
because he could smell the salty liquid in the air.

�You�re right, Inuyasha. That is what this world thinks of you. These people?
They hate and fear you because of what you are. They don�t care whether or not
you�re evil. You�re a half-breed. Why would they give you a second thought?�

She was insulting him, and yet she sounded so calm. Ever-forgiving Kagome was
condemning him and it was no less than he deserved for what he did. But still
he wondered how long she had been holding such opinions inside. Her voice was
eerie and the words it produced wrenched the heart in his chest. He had always
held onto foolish hope that maybe Kagome saw him differently � she was the only
one who didn�t try to hurt him at first sight. Everyone he now considered a
�friend� started out hating him. Except her. And now he knew for a fact that
she did hate him, the same as the others.

His hopeful delusions about her acceptance crumbled and he could feel his
insides collapse upon themselves and die. As much as he�d like to, he knew he
couldn�t blame her for the loathing that she harbored. She had begun to walk
towards him, and though his instinct was to flee, his feet wouldn�t move. He
was a captive audience as she closed the short distance between them. She now
stood directly in front of him, her face upturned to look him in the eyes as she
spoke.

�I guess that�s why I�m not from this world,� she softly mused, seemingly almost
to herself although her eyes continued to penetrate his without waver.

Inuyasha reset his jaw to stop trembling and took a gulp of air, having it
suddenly occur to him that he hadn�t breathed in. �Wait. Did she just�?�

Kagome broke eye contact to look down between them before returning to his
face. Gently, she reached forward and placed her hand just behind one of his
ears. He jumped at the contact but made no move to stop it.

�You hate it when people
touch your ears,� she reflected, even as she stroked the downy fur. �You hate
it because they are the most noticeable difference between you and others. But
I can�t count how many times you�ve heard me scream for you and you�ve come
running to my rescue. These ears you hate made you hear me; they�ve saved me.�

The hand left his ear to trail across the side of his face. Her open palm
flexed before contouring to the curve of his cheek. A small smile presented
itself on her face. �Your eyes are a different color. But in my time? People
pay good money to have their eyes look like yours." She seemed to get lost in a
small reverie for a moment before snapping herself back, the serious expression
replacing the grin. �They see better than humans do. But not as well as a full
youkai, I suppose. But you use them to keep people safe, and to scout out
danger. Beautiful golden eyes see so much prejudice, and yet they welled with
secret tears when you thought your friends had left you. I can�t imagine a
youkai like your brother showing such brave compassion. And a human couldn�t
have held themselves together long enough to save us. Your demon blood gave you
the strength while your human side gave you the motivation. We�re alive because
of both your sides.�

She reached for his trembling hand with her own, curling fragile digits around
his calloused and clawed hands. She lifted the palm up so that he could easily
see it. �Claws that could slice through me in a second if you wanted to hurt
me. You could kill me right now, Inuyasha. I wouldn�t be able to stop you�
And yet you don�t think like that. Instead you use them to catch and prepare
food for the people you care for.�

She hummed and gave a slight giggle. �I remember the first time you brought
back a rabbit for us to eat. It was whole and still had the fur on it, and I
remember crying because it was dead. And to comfort me, you told me I was a
moron, and that the animals were there to be eaten. I knew you were right, but
I still cried. And rather than force me to get used to such things, you haven�t
brought any animal back to camp that you haven�t already prepared for cooking.
You did that just so I wouldn�t be sad. Here you were nourishing me � doing me
a favor; keeping me alive, and I never thanked you for that meal. And
rather than hold a grudge as you would have every right to do, you decided to
shelter me from the harsh realities that I should have to deal with on my own.�

His brow creased in thought. He never realized that Kagome noticed his change
in behavior towards his kills. It hadn�t really been a question with him.
Death upset her, so she wouldn�t see death. Simple as that.

She pressed his clawed palm to her cheek, smiling as his thumb caressed the
flesh of its own volition. �Everyone here thinks that you�re this product of
something unnatural, and that it makes you dirty. But to me? To me, it makes
you amazing.�

His eyes widened and shook in confusion, not understanding her meaning in the
slightest. �Your mother and father loved each other so much that they looked
beyond social norms and the �proper� way of things. It took so much courage,
and such strong feelings to come together, but they did. They did because of
how true and earnest their love was for one another. And you are the product of
that. Inuyasha, you are walking, talking, living proof that there is
true love in the world, despite all the evil and corruption. You give me hope,
Inuyasha. Your existence isn�t filthy, it�s miraculous.�

A small sound like a whimper escaped his throat although his eyes held no sign
of tears. �And I hate the fact that this world doesn�t appreciate you like it
should. These people have no right to look down on you. You�re the best of
both races � with the strength and assets of a youkai, with a human heart and
conscience. The truth of it is that you�re better than any of us, Inuyasha.
You�re better than those men, those kids that were mean you. You�re better than
the people you save who show you nothing but hatred in return. You�re better
than me��

She closed the distance between them even more, their clothing barely brushing
against the other�s. His hand slipped from her cheek and came barely into
contact with her back, for lack of a more appropriate place to put it. �Your
whole life, people have deceived you into thinking you�re a lesser being. But
it was lies. All of it, Inuyasha. You�ve never had anything� No hope to hold
on to, and no truths to make you see through the deceit. But if you let me� I
want to give you something real.�

Kagome let her eyes drop to his lips. Normally at this point she would shock
herself out of what she was contemplating. She�d back off, too frightened to
follow through. She feared rejection and even if he did accept her, she worried
that he�d be wishing she was someone else. She was nervous that someone like
her could never have the affection of someone like him. He was so close to her
on a daily basis, and yet he remained teasingly out of reach.

But now wasn�t the time for her to worry about such things, and she didn�t. The
possibility occurred to her that he might not want this, but he would have to
stop her. He needed to be wanted, and after months of longing, she knew that in
this moment she alone could truly give this to him. So she put her own needs
aside; the need to be comforted and soothed, and to be told that she was more
important; the need to be told that she was loved and cared for by him� All of
it she pushed aside without even realizing it for the simple reason that the man
who stood before her would be better for it.

Tentative fingertips came up to faintly caress his lips. His mouth parted ever
so slightly upon contact and the mere fact that he didn�t pull away was taken as
a sign that it was okay to continue. The digits moved to the side as she rose,
and she hesitated for a part of a second after every inch of progress made. Her
throat ran completely dry, making her breath come harsher to her, even as her
heart steadily increased its tempo from sheer and unmitigated excitement.

Her eyes drifted semi closed just as her sensitive lips came into the briefest
of contact with his. It was as though she didn�t want to admit that it was a
kiss right away. She tilted her head slightly to allow a second brush against
him, this time actually managing to get the smallest taste of him on her mouth.
She opened her mouth to breathe, brushing a third time before finally puckering
to complete the action.

At long last, her lips rested upon his, and to her relief, he pressed back. It
wasn�t much of a movement on either of their parts, but it was enough to melt
the surrounding world away. Her fingertips began to pull his face a bit more
firmly toward her as she tilted her head once more, breaking the kiss for a few
seconds before resettling with a bit more force. Her other hand began to make
its way up to rest on his chest and she sighed with relief when she felt his
arms begin to tighten around her form and lift her up towards him. A gentle
fist grabbed his haori for support � and unlike earlier today, this time it went
without reprimand. Her eyes closed completely, followed in suit by his own, as
she again moved her head to a different angle.

Their mouths met more insistently, breath escaping loudly through their noses
when air was not an option any other way. Inuyasha began to adjust his own
position as their kisses broke and began anew over and over. His heart pounded
remorseless in his ears, the organ attempting to press against the delicate hand
fisting his clothes. His throat tightened as his human emotions ran unbridled
across the surface of his mind. It was the highest contradiction; to feel so
vulnerable and powerful all at once. He could be undone by the girl in his
arms, and yet she had come to him not only willingly, but urgently.

There was no discernable pattern to the length of their meetings. Sometimes
their lips would barely touch before moving, and yet in others neither partner
would pull back for long, unashamed seconds. The hand on his haori came up to
sweep over his neck before passing to tangle in his long silver tresses.

She let out a small sound of appreciation when she felt his hands start to
wander to new places on her back and shoulders in an effort to hold her even
closer. It was as though he thought she would disappear, and she wanted him to
know that she wasn�t going anywhere without him. His fingers gripped and
soothed her through the silky material of her clothing.

Her diminutive cry did not go unnoticed by him, and his being ached in
response. The sound sent a shiver�no, more like a burning throughout every last
part of his being. He wanted this � needed her � to continue. He felt frantic
and yet oddly in command of himself as his lips once more sought to meet with
hers. Her scent surrounded him, and appeased him, while simultaneously setting
him ablaze. If he was coherent any longer, he wasn�t sure, but he was
pleasantly surprised to find that he didn�t care. The wounds she had inflicted
on his heart earlier began to heal under her care. And even more extraordinary
than that, he could feel the older scars start to fade.

More confidently, her hand came to rest on his cheek as she made to deepen the
kiss. Her head was swimming with passion � his masculine flavor intoxicating
her senses. She was content with what she had and yet needed more. Cautiously,
she slipped her tongue across his bottom lip. The action clearly caught the
hanyou by surprise as his next intake of breath came ragged to his lungs. She
drew it back before resuming their previous motions. They had all the time in
the world, and she planned to use every second of it to her advantage. She
committed the feel of his taut form to memory, to allow her to relive these
moments when they had passed.

Again she tried to take their kisses to the next level, happy to find that this
time he went without apprehension. Instead, he resolved that this was possibly
a good idea, and moved his own tongue to massage hers. The sensation sent
another jolt through him although the first had yet to subside. A low growl
rumbled in his chest as his eyes slit open to take in the sight of the girl in
his arms.

Her face was flushed and beautiful, eyes contentedly closed. A visage of
complete trust and abandonment, as well as abundant pleasure. A hand carefully
nested itself in her silken hair, successfully earning him another whimper from
her. He rewarded her with one of his own, a brief but unmistakable sound that
caused Kagome to intensify their kisses even more so. His body hardened and the
straining from the earlier non-release had returned to him ten-fold. Whatever
he had imagined her kisses being, it was a pale imitation to the treatment he
was currently indulging in.

Finally, passion overwhelmed them and their kisses stopped being butterfly light
and gentle, turning into something deeper and far more primal. Heatedly, the
two pressed together as though they would die if parted for a solitary second.
Both of her hands stroked and held the sides of his face, alternating between
caressing his cheek and stroking his hair and scalp. His hands roamed her back
and shoulders once more, pulling her impossibly close as his fingers danced
across her covered flesh to further tease and secure her.

His mouth crashed against hers over and over in an attempt to devour and bring
to life her essence. Her tongue pushed its way into his mouth and battled his
before he found himself wanting to be the aggressive one. He forced her back
into her own mouth and followed, swirling to learn the insides of that warm
cavity. She tasted how she smelled � a flavor all her own. He may not know as
much about anatomy as the girl he held but he knew enough to appreciate the fact
that the senses of taste and scent were closely linked. And being of inu-youkai
blood, these two senses were very crucial to daily survival. The fact that she
delighted these two senses in particular carried more meaning than she knew, and
he could feel himself growl in approval.

His hands moved her head to grant him a better angle to explore what she was
willingly giving. For a split second he pondered whether or not he was being
too rough in his advances. It was a question that passed in no time at all,
however, because Kagome returned his fervor equally. She would be trying to
break away if she minded, not further deepening the vigorous kisses and
encouraging his ravenous hands. Surely she wouldn�t be clinging to him as
though he were her last remaining lifeline�

When he felt his knees ready to buckle beneath him, he moved his head sharply to
the side to break contact with her sweet, tempting mouth. He drew in a
desperate breath as she did the same. His face returned to hers, their foreheads
pressing together, even as their hands obstinately refused to cease their
roaming. Kagome was the first to crack open lust-filled eyes, but found quickly
that she was not ready to keep them that way. She closed them once more before
taking exaggerated blinks to regain her senses, and she was surprised when she
met his dilated amber gaze.

She felt herself grin a reassurance to them both that this had been a good
experience. His mouth returned her gesture in what was more a cocky, satisfied
smirk.

How very like him to choose a moment like this to look that conceited.

Finally having her lungs once more, she made to speak. She meant to tell him
that she enjoyed herself. That he was her one and only, and that she loved him
more than he could ever know. She wanted to further soothe his uncertainties
after years of constant rejection from the world he lived in. To drive home a
few more points as to why he mattered and that she didn�t care what anyone else
had to say on the issue of his worth. All of this she poured into a speech, a
look, a caress of her hand as she at last located her voice and forced it to the
surface.

�Kiss good.�

Satisfied that she had articulately conveyed all of her points, she grinned as
his smile widened and a low chuckle sounded in his chest. One of his hands came
to her face, and pushed the hair away from the side and back with the rest
behind her. His palm returned to her back, rubbing up and down passively.
Their foreheads still rest against each other, and he closed his eyes as he let
her words sink in further. A signature pride-filled laugh escaped his lips, and
he reopened his gaze to hers. �Yeah, Kagome. Kiss Good,� came his husky
teasing assent.

Kagome allowed her head to fall to his shoulder and slid her arms around his
back. Her eyes drifted closed once more as she inhaled his scent and nuzzled
the side of his neck. A relatively stable hand came up to comb through her
hair, an altogether soothing motion, and she let herself relax completely, a
sigh of relief and contentment, a gift from her all-together relieved lungs.

Inuyasha placed his jaw and the side of his face against the top of her head.
He too closed his eyes, holding her steadily against his body. Although
happiness and ease flowed through his veins, he found the trauma from earlier
begin to take hold. He knew that this was real. Kagome wasn�t just kissing him
to prove a point. She had wanted this � wanted him, as much as he wanted her.
And yet what would happen when they set foot outside this room? Would she
pretend nothing had changed when they were around others, gracing him with her
engaging kisses only in private where the rest of the world would not see that
she had affection for a lowly hanyou?

Despite her words, that was how the world saw him. The last thing he wanted was
for them to look down on Kagome the same way they scorned him. Such a pure,
beautiful creature she was. She deserved the best that the Earth had to offer,
and he couldn�t give her that perfect life. After all, she had been the
one to make the first move. That wasn�t the way it should have been. She
shouldn�t have had to comfort him and use her body to alleviate his
embarrassment over something that he shouldn�t have been doing in the first
place. Kagome would run terrified of him if she knew what sinister lust he had
for her, and rightly so. She was kind and innocent.

Although, come to think of it, where DID she learn to kiss like that?

He had never felt anything quite like what Kagome had given him. He had pressed
his lips to exactly one other person, and even then his lips did nothing more
than put the tiniest amount of pressure upon his partner�s. Kagome�s kisses
were hot and moist, causing friction with the tilts and angles of her face.
Breaking apart only to find one another again, her lips occasionally capturing
one of his between hers, sucking back ever so slightly. And that thing with her
tongue? Was that normal? Did other people do that? Or was it something
she invented? Regardless of the answer, his mind raced as he recalled how
wondrous it had been to explore her mouth. To taste her fully, tongues
massaging and dueling. He recalled that she had slipped over one of his fangs
and shivered in delight, of all things, against him; unafraid of the monster
that now held her even tighter � desperate to not let the closeness end so soon.

He would not hold it against her if she chose to keep their interlude a secret
and any future excursions away from meddling eyes. In fact, it would probably
be best that way for her safety as well as her dignity. And if this was all he
ever received in the way of tenderness, it was more than he ever expected or
deserved. If only time would stand still for him so that he might never let go.

As though sensing his change in mood, Kagome began planting modest kisses on his
neck where she was tucked securely against him. Her hanyou clearly needed more
proof of her affection. Or perhaps he just needed to lose himself for however
brief an encounter. He had carried the massive weight of prejudice for his
entire life, and the miko wanted to allow him to set the burden aside. In that
second, she made it her goal to steal Sisyphus� boulder, or perhaps help him to
finally push it to the top.

Inuyasha flexed his neck in a silent appeal for her to continue her attentions.
She answered his call, and ran a thumb across his opposite cheek as the rest of
her hand cradled his tilting head. A soft moan proffered from his lips,
encouraging her to make her way upward before retreating back down to the hem of
his haori. She paused to suckle the tender flesh, her mouth opening to
accommodate her tongue. A second moan as well as a brusque intake of breath was
her reward and she took thorough pride in it.

Her unoccupied hand decided that she did not have enough of his skin available
to her and sought to remedy this inconvenience. Fingers tugged at the hem by
his collar bone, pulling the fabric aside and almost off his shoulder. His
shoulder blade and some of his chest now stood exposed to the air. A slight
chill ran over his heated skin before Kagome�s mouth and hand rushed to take the
place of the garment.

He was startled by the action at first. He had believed their encounter to be
finished but it seemed Kagome had other ideas. The resemblance was uncanny to
his earlier fantasy with her scorching lips upon the flesh of his neck and
chest.

Her attentions continued along his shoulder blade and she grumbled in
frustration as she once again encountered the resistance of his haori.
Wordlessly, she rectified the injustice of it all, the hand which had been on
his cheek escaping down to the front of his chest where the ties to his clothing
took residence. With impossibly quick movements of her fingers, she had the
clothes at her mercy, sliding them open and then completely off his muscular
torso.

His eyes snapped open at her brazenness, and turned his head to take in the site
of his �innocent� little miko hungrily lapping at his body. When did she get
this aggressive and confident? He must have stiffened or ceased his instinctive
movements across her back because her glazed eyes opened to look into his,
questioning without a sound whether or not she was free to continue her
uninvited assault on his upper body.

She must have decided that he needed convincing because her mouth quickly sought
his, her fingers roaming the newly exposed expanse of his chest. Her middle
finger encountered a quickly hardening nipple, and she brushed over it a second
time before taking it between her thumb and index. He cried out suddenly into
the kiss, hands clamping down on her arms and shoulders. She would have taken
this as a bad sign but his mouth told a different story. His tongue urgently
pushed between her lips to battle and dominate hers. She pinched the flesh
between her fingers once more before moving to simply run her fingers and palm
across it.

That hand worked its way around the back of his neck as the other concluded that
his opposite nipple deserved the same attention. He harshly broke the kiss to
draw a ragged breath but immediately returned to her as soon as his lungs were
sated. �That�s it, Inu. Let it go�� she encouraged him within her own
mind. Inuyasha hauled her against him, no longer leaving room between them for
her wandering hands but having her crushed to him once more was almost worth the
loss.

Kagome knew that her legs were becoming all but useless and felt the strong
impulse to move this endeavor elsewhere. Briefly, she contemplated her options
on how to accomplish this. She didn�t want to leave this open for discussion.
Surely if she allowed for that, he would say something that would cause her to
lose her nerve. She was blissfully avoiding all the arguments her mind would
normally come up with against this sort of licentious activity. But Inuyasha
had a knack for saying the wrong things and she just knew he�d find a way to
snap her reasoning back into line with the habitual status quo.

After a few moments of inner debate, a course was chosen. Her hands gasped his,
moving to place them on the sides of her face and twisted in her hair, a
position that was entirely agreeable to him as he continued to plunder her mouth
unchecked. Now moving her own arms around his waist and across the firm expanse
of his back, she contracted one of said arms to indicate that she wanted him to
rotate with her.

Quick footwork accompanied her arms� efforts and Inuyasha, through his hazy
lustful thoughts, acquiesced. She backed him up a few steps, realizing that he
was about to come out of his daze. Without further delay, she locked one of her
legs behind his and brought it upward to push against the back of his knee.

Already unstable from pleasure, Inuyasha allowed the leg to give without protest
and the other bent to accommodate. He was surprised to find that he now sat
quite comfortably on the softness of the extra futon that the horrid tavern
owner had provided. How Kagome had been able to accomplish that complex a
maneuver in the midst of such high passion was truly a feat but he didn�t have
much time to contemplate it.

Kagome strategically moved her leg from behind his just as he settled onto the
futon, grinning against his mouth triumphantly that her mission had been
accomplished. She now kneeled on the futon between his bent legs and she moved
her hands back to his sinfully fit chest. Relocation complete, she lightly
shoved her hanyou onto his back, her mouth not breaking from his until
necessary.

His eyes reopened when his head came into contact with a pillow and his back
settled against the soft cushion beneath him. He didn�t think he liked the fact
that his kisses had ended but his objections was short-lived. Kagome�s illusive
pink tongue flicked the first nipple she had raised moments before triggering
shots of fire to course through his body. The lurch of his neck caused his head
to be thrown back in bliss at the sensation, his eyes shutting instinctively
before opening wide to mimic his gasping mouth. How was he to guess it would
feel like this? To have her do this to his body without question or apology.
He was well aware he could stop this at any time and knew she also held this
knowledge. Such a powerful feeling to be wanted� She desired him so forcefully
that she had pushed aside her own need to know she would not be refused.

He probably would have pondered that fact further but the feeling of her hands
playing with the ties of his hakama snapped him out of wonderment.

�Kagome�� he managed to rasp, drawing her attention from his remaining clothes
to his features. A guilty expression greeted him and a coy smile worked its way
from corner to corner of her lips. Without reply, she crawled up his body in
what would have been a predatory stalk had she not been so tender and nervous.
She lay her weight slightly upon him, and drew questioning lips to her own
before pulling back.

Fingertips touched his cheek and he opened his eyes to meet hers, not really
sure when they had closed again. Her gaze was understanding and purposeful but
also betrayed her anxiety. She searched his golden depths before ultimately
tracking down her lost voice.

�Inuyasha. Let me do this for you. Unless you�re uncomfortable, I want to,�
Kagome whispered her plea.

His eyes narrowed contemplating her possible meaning. �Wha-� he started, not
sure of his ability to speak coherently. �What are you going to��

Her hand stroked his face with a bit more firmness and she closed her eyes,
pushing her forehead to his. Gazing at his bewildered expression again she
answered his unfinished question. �It�s okay. Trust me. I�d never hurt you,�
she told him.

�Like you could,� he stated with a certain air of indignation. That she
would think he�d be frightened of someone as fragile as her� Feh! Clearly that
wasn�t the issue, he was merely curious � not to mention hesitant toward the
idea that she�d be seeing� and touching� well, there. It was far more
a matter of whether of not he wanted to risk her being disgusted. He didn�t
exactly think much of his body, and that part in particular wasn�t necessarily
attractive, per say. He had on occasion seen other males in a state of
undress (namely Miroku), so he knew he wasn�t terribly disfigured or different,
but would Kagome know that?

Eventually his mind reasoned that she would considering she seemed to have some
sort of plan formulated in her mind. He always knew that sneaky wench was
plotting something. He really never fathomed it would be this,
but he narrowed his eyes in accusation and new found awareness all the same.

Reaching the verdict that he�d allow her to proceed, his hands cupped her face
and brought her in for a gentle, reassuring kiss. Kagome took this for the
consent that it was and crawled her way back down his body before sitting up
between his powerful thighs. She was relieved that he hadn�t said more. Her
bravery was beginning to waver and she needed to re-surrender herself to lust
soon before it drained too terribly low. She forced eye contact with the hanyou
as she worked the top button of her blouse loose.

When she first left his mouth in favor of scooting further down his body, he had
tensed, still wary but making no move to stop her. In his mind he saw a time
when he had been bathing in the company of his mother. A couple of the village
children and their own mother had seen him. The exact words of their repugnance
hadn�t been engrained on his mind. Only the disapproving scowls and the fact
that his mother had said nothing to defend him for fear of retaliation. In
private, she had told him to heed not their words. What if Kagome suffered the
same revulsion � believing herself to be brave enough to handle it, but proving
herself wrong upon actually seeing a completely exposed �freak�? The girl often
times did act without thought and as a result habitually landed herself in
unfavorable situations.

And come to think of it, Kagome had seen him naked before� Twice, to be exact.
Once he was in a hot spring and the heat had gotten to him. The miko had come
at the sound of Miroku�s and his outcries; they had seen Sesshoumaru�s youkai
mule above and assumed the inu demon was close by. She had screamed upon
finding him collapsed and spread-eagle, and he was not surprised by her
resounding shriek of appall. The other time had been not too long after in her
era. The little brother had taken him to bathe in the house but the water was
scalding hot. Souta had tried to tell him it was a normal temperature, but
�virtually boiling� was not natural at all! He had broken free of the horrid
water with its odd bubbly surface and run to his comfort zone: Kagome. The girl
had promptly thrown everything within her reach at him, screaming to get out of
her bedroom.

These thoughts weren�t exactly comforting. If it came to a similar experience,
Inuyasha was not certain what he would do. He could always just push her away
and run out to the solitude of the surrounding forest. Although he wouldn�t
willingly leave her, he may have no choice�

However, these thoughts screeched to a dead halt as he fixed upon her
movements. Inuyasha�s breath caught, eyes gaping in anticipation. Delicate
digits took their time slipping each button from its constraint, giving him a
sight to truly behold as she slowly worked her way down her own body. He hadn�t
ever really given much thought to anything like this. The few times that he had
seen Kagome add to or subtract from her clothing, it had been a hurried process
of necessity. Never was she looking directly into his eyes, fully conscious of
the fact that he was watching. Never did she use such cautious and sensual
movements. And never did the wench take so damned long to get so few buttons
undone!

Her agonizingly slow pace served only to arouse him more; an achievement that a
few moments ago he would have proclaimed impossible. But as his eyes met with
supple skin and teasingly calculated movements of her fingers, the stiffness
inside his hakama became that much more unbearable.

Finally, the last button was unclasped, and Kagome broke her gaze with him, in
favor of the futon at her side. Had he any real concept of seduction, he would
recognize that she was purposefully baring her neck to him. Unfortunately her
subtlety was lost on the hanyou, although he had to admit she was quite the
enticing vixen at the moment. She opened the shirt soon after her work was
complete and allowed it to slide down her shoulders, to her arms, and then
finally to the floor.

He cursed inwardly as he realized that she had been wearing something
underneath. It was not a lot of something, but he had been expecting to see
those tempting vivacious curves of hers unhindered. Then she had the nerve to
smile coyly towards the ground before returning her eyes to his.

�I didn�t want my sleeves getting in the way,� she mused, now sitting before
Inuyasha in a thinly strapped tank top of the same silky material as the rest of
her bedclothes.

Well, one positive aspect of this new apparel was that he could now
straightforwardly see her plump, distended nipples pressing against the fabric
when she moved. The top was still too loose for his liking as it did have some
give and didn�t cling steadfastly to its owner�s skin, but he resolved to enjoy
whatever show she was planning to give.

To facilitate his efforts, the hanyou reached back and to the side of him,
gathering the pillows that lay within arms reach to push them behind him,
elevating his back to a slightly inclined position. Whatever Kagome had dreamed
up in that sexy little head of hers, he�d be damned if he was going to miss a
second of it. Now half-way sitting up, thoughts of earlier imagery flashed
through his mind. Her fingers stroking him, pulling at him, and making those
delicious mewls of desire in his ears. Perhaps he was setting himself up to be
disappointed, but he dismissed the thoughts as quickly as they came, reasoning
that if she was, after all, in a wholly virgin state of mind that he would
simply have to teach her. That thought alone was enough to make him close him
eyes in ecstasy. Showing her not only willing but eager hands how to bring him
to the heights of pleasure was a strict taboo even in his dreams and he had only
indulged in that particular forbidden a handful of times.

Once more, decisive fingers toyed the hakama ties. All together too slowly, the
knots came loose and the material fell slack. He lifted his hips briefly to
accommodate the removal of the last garment he wore, now sporting nothing but
the rosary around his neck and his skin.

Kagome tugged the pants off of her would-be lover, shuddering at the erotic site
of his legs being bared to her. There was something about her own hands having
been the cause of the sight that made it sinfully exquisite. She hadn�t dared
to let her gaze trail further than his thighs for fear of the unknown. She
wasn�t exactly one to usually panic in the face of something new (after all,
here she was time traveling to a time where vicious demons roamed the planet�),
but this was different. It was Inuyasha. And as excited as she was by the
prospect of finally putting an end to her deduced imagery, there was a certain
amount of nervousness associated with seeing a naked man for the first time; at
least one that was actually there, in her presence, that she was not only
permitted to but was expected to touch. However once his clothing was
successfully cast aside, she found herself unable to avert her eyes any longer.

Her heart thudded in her chest, seemingly dropping out of place for a second
before eventually working back up. The pulse sent an ache to tips of her
nipples causing the already aroused buds to stiffen even further. Her head
tilted to the side and she licked her lips unconsciously, suddenly finding her
mouth lacking of any moisture at all. And that was something that simply
wouldn�t do for what she had in mind.

Inuyasha studied her reaction intently. At first it didn�t seem that she wanted
to look at him. Perhaps she had caught a glimpse and was repulsed? But before
he could react to such negative thoughts, the miko had glanced down at what his
body had to offer. A smirk presented itself upon his lips as Kagome�s breath
shook and her eyes filled with primitive lust. Taking note of the rest of her,
she had noticeably tensed, her body excited and her now even more taut breasts
strained against the fabric of her shirt. Clearly the girl before him didn�t
hate what she saw.

Inuyasha wasn�t as outrageously huge as some of the men were in her time, but he
was certainly larger and notably thicker than most she had seen. And this was
the first one she had seen displayed for her so closely� The skin of his
erection was a shade or two darker than the rest of him, though that could just
have been due to the increased amount of blood that flowed beneath. A
miraculous individual he was and she felt her lower body throb in yearning. She
would have to deny her body�s request, however. This wasn�t about her, and she
knew it. Still, she all but shook with anticipation for what was to come.

Not meeting his eyes, Kagome�s fingers splayed over the surface of his outer
thigh. Her head dipped and eyes closed and she placed lingering, wet kisses
along the inner flesh of the same leg. She swirled her tongue over the heated
skin, occasionally pressing her teeth against him as well. It was not enough to
be called a true bite or even nip, but merely enough pressure to give a less
pliable gesture than her tongue could provide.

Fingertips teased and massaged the opposite leg, not wanting to leave it
ignored. Her greedy hand molded the muscles beneath, making her mind reel at
the power his legs possessed. She was extremely aroused and a large part of her
wanted to skip right to the end of her plans. She resolutely fought against
these urges, however. She intended this to last a good long while. She might
have been in a playful mood; she wasn�t entirely aware of her own emotions at
the moment � not really able to give the feelings a name. She just knew that
she was going to savor every last second with him that she could or she would be
damned trying. It would be a more pleasurable experience for him if his release
was prolonged, and that was, after all, the whole point. Inwardly, she
grinned. And he thought her �osuwari�s were torturous�

Her mouth continued to work towards the center of him and she noticed a slight
change in the feeling of his skin. It was no longer as giving, the skin
becoming more firm, and yet softer and a bit smoother to the touch. At the apex
of where his thigh met his torso, Kagome leaned in and sucked with her lips.
Long, demanding pulls meant to drive the hanyou beneath her crazy.

Even as she did this, she shut her eyes as she felt herself finally give into
her mind�s demands. The hand that had previously been playing with the ignored
thigh came down to place butterfly strokes across his hardened shaft.

At the sight of her mouth on his leg, Inuyasha�s head rolled back. He hadn�t
ever imagined kissing someone there, believing until now that the mouth never
ventured lower than the chest, and that was only supposed to be on females. But
that delusion was quashed effectively as her tongue came out to dance across his
thigh. Licking and suckling her way down� He thought he would die from the
torment, the stiffness between his legs protesting loudly at being left
unattended. Her hand moved to his other leg, leaving no part of him
unsatisfied, save for the one part that truly needed satisfying.

When her mouth began to suck on the junction of his leg, his hips bucked
involuntarily as his shaft twitched in rejoinder. Kagome didn�t seem to mind
his loss of control over his lower extremities. She didn�t even cast him so
much as a scolding glace, so he figured his reaction hadn�t been unwelcome. The
sight of Kagome working his lower body made him reel and keen both physically
and emotionally. Her dark hair gathered behind her shoulders, eyes shut in
concentration. Those sly hands of hers playing the role of an expert seductress
on his self. He found his voice calling to her, lost behind incoherency and a
cloud of rapturous agony. His eyes fought to stay open but it was a battle he
was defeated in several times. He didn�t want to miss the sight before him but
his body was working against him in this. Hands fisted the sheets of the futon
at his sides as he struggled for a semblance of control. He needed her to touch
him there, and while he tried to form the words, they stubbornly wouldn�t
come. Again and again he thrust his hips modestly upwards, praying she�d get
the message. But either his pleas were going ignored or she didn�t understand
because she made no move to quell the throbbing ardor between his legs.

He was ready to reach down and tend to the issue himself. Perhaps she was
nervous and didn�t know� Now granted his mind wasn�t thinking quite that
clearly, but that is what it broke down to � she wasn�t doing it, so he would.
His body was coming apart at the seams and if she didn�t hurry�

That was when she finally touched the part of him that needed her attention the
most. It was so different to have someone else � to have Kagome � stroking
him. Her touch was little more than feathery brushes with the pads of her
fingers. Still, it was better than anything he had ever done to himself. His
ears took in the sounds of his own moaning, instigating him to wonder just when
that had started. He was barely lucid, but he managed to spread his legs wider
in the hopes of encouraging her new actions.

It must have worked because Kagome�s hand now circled around his shaft. Much to
his frustration she had yet to make contact with the head, and it throbbed in
startling need. He noticed for the first time just how much it had changed
color, the blood rushing beneath the skin tinting him almost purple. He threw
back his head once more in an attempt to tell her what he needed. If she didn�t
touch the tip soon, he was going to go insane with unfulfilled craving.

�Ka � Kago � me... So� Need� Ah fuck!�

The hanyou knew that this was not his finest hour word-wise. The vibration of
the miko�s responding giggle only served to bring him closer to the edge. His
eyes found her face, desperately hoping that she�d see in them what he wanted.
However, Kagome wasn�t looking at his face at the moment. She was preoccupied
with laving the surface of that apex. Her tender lips, still swollen from their
earlier kisses moved carefully back up his thigh and her hand slid up and down
his shaft without putting any real pressure into it. Her eyes finally met his,
and he begged her with them and a pathetically raw whimper to understand, his
own hands flexing and re-fisting in the blankets.

Responding to his unspoken plea, she never broke eye contact with him. She
moved her hand upward dramatically so that he could clearly view it in the
peripheral and gave his tip a sudden, firm pinch.

He screamed. He released. His neck heaved back his head as he spilled his
desire out through the place that she still held in her finger tips. He was
scalding, his body roaring � heart raging with satisfaction of the peak. He
briefly wondered if she had known this would happen but couldn�t bring himself
to concentrate on any one thought. His mind was full of Kagome. Sweet little
Kagome riding his back, sucking his thigh, asleep in her bed, on that bicycle,
cooking him ramen, and gasping his name in ecstasy. That was it. She was his
undoing. They both knew this now. A simple squeeze had proven it beyond any
shadow of doubt.

Finally, he came down from his orgasm and he tended to his lungs, providing them
with much needed oxygen. The warmth of Kagome left his lower body and his eyes
slit open to locate her. She was hunched over her bag, digging within its
depths. He allowed his head to crash back on the pillows once more, deciding
that he didn�t care what she was doing at the moment.

Indeed, Kagome had been surprised when Inuyasha came but not for the motives he
assumed. She hadn�t even finished what she had been building to. She had often
heard the insults thrown around about premature ejaculation. At this moment she
realized how stupid the barbs truly were. Inuyasha had been consumed by a
torrent of passion. She managed to excite him to such heights that he reached
his orgasm with relative ease on her part. The thought was thrilling, not
disappointing, that she could drive him to the brink of sanity by mere touch
alone � exciting him in ways no one had done before. She was sure that her
predecessor would have never performed such an act even if she knew it existed.
She would see it as lowering herself or demeaning to do such a thing for a
tainted hanyou.

But Kagome couldn�t see it that way even if she tried. She had done what she
could to prove to him that he was important. And she didn�t regret a second of
it. Hell she was proud of herself for bringing him over the edge as
quickly as she did. Gazing upwards, she couldn�t stifle a grin. The most
beautiful boy she had ever laid eyes upon was stretched out before her naked and
glistening, his head rolling from side to side as he refilled his lungs with air
and attempted to find the ground beneath him. Kagome determined herself to be
deliciously satisfied that she had done this and that no one else in the world
had ever seen the normally callous and guarded hanyou so openly vulnerable.

She reluctantly made her way to her pack, searching for the washcloth she
carried with her to cleanse her face. Inuyasha�s gasps and small grunts of
satisfaction still rang in her ears. Several times he had tried to form words,
mostly syllables that resembled her name. It made the ever-raging pool in her
abdomen tighten, and she could feel the dampness between her legs. She recalled
that his knuckles had turned all but white and even took pleasure in the way he
had driven his hips upward in primal instinctive necessity. She swallowed a
groan of her own remembering the vision he had made, spreading himself wide in
complete trust and devastating need as she had moved her tongue across his
sensitive flesh.

Finding the cloth relatively quick, she returned to her position between
Inuyasha�s legs. She wiped the sticky fluid from her fingers before going to
work on him. He stirred when he felt her touch, her hands causing his sex to
spasm once. She was surprised to find him still hard. Then again, the poor boy
had been driven to the brink without release just a short time ago. It was
little wonder that his body would be left hungry for more.

She wet the edge of the washcloth with her tongue before sweeping it over his
tip. Dizzy eyes met her gaze and she smiled reassuringly, if not a bit shy. It
was one thing to touch him in the throes of passion, but this was different.
They were both (more) coherent, and her movements were that of necessity rather
than that of seduction. She could feel the blush on her cheeks as she rubbed
the surface and went back to avoiding eye contact and focusing on the task
before her.

To think that she�d be shy after doing what she did was a bit of a
contradiction, but she couldn�t help but wonder what he was thinking at the
moment. She moved the cloth over and down his shaft, collecting the rest of his
release.

Inuyasha�s body was slack, despite the fact that he could still feel strong
desire burning within. He could never remember coming quite that powerfully.
He had certainly given his priestess quite a show, that was for damn sure. He
wasn�t good with manners, but he knew he should say something along the lines of
thanks. However, how do you phrase such a thing? He tried his luck. �Damn�
Kagome� That was� You�re��

�Not done,� she completed for him. At this, half-mast eyes popped to attention.

�More!? What more is there�?� �What?   You�re� Ahh!�

He never got to finish whatever sentence he was trying to start. Kagome had
returned her now more confident fingers to his shaft and was tugging with more
force than before.

Whatever ache had waned in the wake of his orgasm, now returned to his body. He
stiffened and lengthened beneath her hands, feeling hot and parched. His skin
hummed, and he couldn�t stifle a sex-induced groan from escaping his lips � not
that he bothered to try to keep it in. Finding that he was in a bit more
control this time, he watched with rapt attention as Kagome pleasured him. Dear
Kami, the sight of one of those small hands wrapped around him, squeezing and
pulling, and drifting over him� Her other hand came down between his legs as
well, but bypassed his shaft to cup and knead the tender sacs below. There was
a place behind them as well that Kagome sought and found, pressing a knuckle
firmly to it. �Holy shit, Woman!� the hanyou exclaimed, wondering where on
Earth she learned to do this. She was doing things that he had never even done
to himself!

A pang of jealousy ran untamed in his heart and mind as he thought of her having
done this to another male. Sure, it would have been in the past, but he still
didn�t like the idea�

His envy of his unknown predecessor was instantaneously forgotten when he felt
her tongue on his head. He couldn�t believe what he was seeing, much less
feeling. Her searing, wet mouth encased the top of him, her tongue lapping at
the tip, pressing into the tiny opening at the center. The movements of her
tongue were fast and firm. If that wasn�t enough, she began to suck back
simultaneously, forcing his hips to lift towards her.

The hand that had been fondling him lower came to hold him down as she
continued. She maneuvered her body so that she was sitting sideways to him,
knowing he was watching and she wished to grant him a better view. Men were
very visual creatures, and Inuyasha would be no different despite his demon
blood.

He watched more of his shaft disappear past her lips, only to be brought out
again. Her tongue continued its sweet torture, and one of his legs kicked
forward in reply, his heel digging into the futon for sanity. His head was
thrashing from side to side, wanting to watch, but not able to physically summon
the strength to keep his eyes trained on any one thing. A hand made its way to
the top of her head. He knew better than to force it down, but he had to have
some contact with the girl! He settled for fondling her scalp, his moans
telling her the rest.

�Ungh. Kagome� Oh Kami, yes,.� his voice barely above a whimper. The girl
between his thighs stroked one of his legs in an assuring manner as she
continued to pleasure him.

Suddenly a thought occurred to him that hadn�t before. �Is this what I
haven�t been able to imagine us doing? Is this what it is?�

He wanted to ponder the question more, he truly did. But the feeling of her
mouth wrapped around him� Her tongue. Her breath. Her hands alternating
between thighs, shaft, and sacs� He was consumed and bewildered. He had never
imagined anything this powerful. He felt vulnerable and commanding
simultaneously, despite the irony. She was his and she was servicing him;
but he was utterly at her mercy.

�So fucking good. Kagome� Oh!�

Her fingers came up above his length to tease the dark patch of hair that
started somewhat below his navel. She had been surprised by the color at first,
realizing for the first time that she had unconsciously assumed it would be
silver like his mane of hair. However upon further thought, his eyebrows were
black, so it did in fact make sense. She wanted to giggle, but her mouth was
quite full at the moment. Such strange thoughts to have at a time like this�

Her hands seemed to be everywhere at once. Cupping his sacs, massaging his
thighs, and wrapping around the exposed portion of his shaft. All the while,
the girl�s anguish-inflicting tongue swirled around and pressed firmly into
him. It did not take terribly long under this treatment for Inuyasha to
approach his next peak. She slid her lips up and down his length, sucking back
hard and then not at all. She took a breath through her mouth, allowing chilled
air to rush over him before engulfing him in sweet warmth once more. He called
her name and tried to tell her with his hand that she needed to stop. He was
about to explode, and he didn�t think she�d appreciate him doing so in this
position.

But Kagome�s only response was to look him dead in the eye, letting him know
that she heard and understood. With another swirl of her tongue and suck back,
she fondled him lower and on his thighs once more. He screamed for her a second
time that night. His body shook and burned as he released into her mouth. His
eyes burst wide when he realized that she was drinking him. Her eyes gleamed
with feral satisfaction before she closed them again to focus on her current
undertaking.

His form went slack, no longer bucking wildly beneath her. The stiffness
between her lips declined as he finished. She removed him from her mouth and
coughed lightly, rubbing her chest with her hand. She hadn�t expected the
flavor to be good, but she didn�t know it would burn going down. She wiped her
lips as she caught her breath, glancing up to the now very sated hanyou. She
smiled to herself in spite of the bitter flavor � this was the second �duty� she
had never done before today. And this turned out to be ever so much better than
the first.

She crawled up beside Inuyasha, and pushed his bangs from his sweaty brow. His
eyes took in her change in position before shutting once more, a grin splaying
over his features. His arm pulled the girl close and onto his chest and he
placed a lengthy kiss on her forehead before indicating that she should settle
herself against him.

She didn�t want to argue, taking joy in his afterglow, loving the feel of his
arm wrapped securely around her. She threw one leg between his, mindful of
where her knee landed, and nuzzled into his chest. Her fingers traced invisible
designs across his skin and he sighed with ease. His unoccupied hand came up to
pull her into a complete embrace and used it to begin stroking her hair. He
studied his claws for a moment as they passed through the raven tresses.
Kagome�s eyes had closed, and she cooed softly clueing him into the fact that
she enjoyed his attention to her hair.

He lay there taken aback - she truly didn�t mind that he was a hanyou and could
rip her to shreds. In fact, she was taking little pleasures in his normally
deadly claws combing through her silky locks. He allowed his second hand to
drop to hers, halting her patterns on his chest. He brought the delicate digits
to his lips and began to kiss each one, followed by her palm and wrist.

Still paying his respects to her fingers, he decided this was as good a time as
any to voice his questions. Although he didn�t want to spoil the peace that had
fallen over them, he wouldn�t be able to get the image of Kagome with someone
else out of his head until he knew for a fact what had occurred to make her so
damn good at all this.

He continued his small loving upon her hair and hand. �Umm, Kagome��

�Hmm?� he heard a quiet hum signaling that he had her attention but that she did
not presently have any intention of moving from her current arrangement.

�What is his name?�

Kagome made a sound of confusion in her throat. �Huh? Whose name?�

�The name of the guy I�m gonna have to kill.� He popped one of her digits in
his mouth and licked the tip, emulating her previous actions on a very different
part of his body.

She sighed in an almost whimpering fashion at the attention he was giving her
fingers. �We killin� someone?� she questioned him lazily.

Inuyasha realized that his ministrations were hopelessly relaxing the girl in
his arms. He couldn�t help but smile at this newfound power. Now he knew what
to do whenever she was ready to �osuwari� his face into the ground.

�Yes. I have to kill the one who taught you all of this. I don�t want some
other guy walkin� around with the same memories I got.�

At this, Kagome did stir and laughed outright. She turned over so that she was
on her side facing him, his arm now resting across her stomach and his mouth no
longer pleasuring her fingers. He decided it was worth the sacrifice to get the
name, but didn�t take too kindly to the fact that she thought it was funny. His
hand began to rub her belly possessively, a slight scowl adorning his
countenance. �Well, then you�re going to be killing a lot of people, Inuyasha,�
she informed him with a broad toothy smile.

Inuyasha�s eyes nearly popped from his head before narrowing as he
growled, �What!? How many?�

She giggled again. This whole laughing thing was starting to irritate him.
�Well, I learned some of this stuff from watching TV and movies, other things I
read in books, some I had to learn in school, and the rest came from talking to
my friends. So that�s quite the list��

�You�ve done this with those people in the box!? I thought you said you didn�t
know any of them! And this is what you go to school for!? That�s
what�s in those books you�re always reading!? I knew I shouldn�t be letting you
go back to that world of yours!� he declared. She was staring at him in shock,
her mouth attempting to form words. Then a horrifying realization hit him. �Is
this what those �test� things are that you�re always taking!?�

Confusion and anger adorned him. She didn�t quite know what to say to all of
this. On one hand it was endearing that he was being possessive. On the other,
he was calling her a slut. However, she couldn�t stay angry with him for being
upset by her possible promiscuity and she smiled tenderly before stroking the
sputtering hanyou�s cheek. His incoherent ranting dulled at her touch.
�Inuyasha, I�ve never done this with anyone before. I just know a lot about
it. In my era, it�s kind of hard not to know about these things.�

He regarded the girl suspiciously, finding a tiny inner-calm. �You mean, you
did all that with no practice? I�m the only one?� He had to confirm it bluntly
� the girl was far too confusing in her answers.

She nodded her head, still resting on his torso. �Yes. You�re the only one,
Inuyasha. You�re the only one I would do this type of thing with.�

He grinned conceitedly, satisfied that he was without opponents. As usual,
however, his heart and mouth conveyed two differing emotions. He turned up his
nose and closed his eyes. �Feh. I better be.� Now for the question that had
been nagging at him. �Is this what it is?� His face grew serious and
his eyes reopened as a sigh escaped him, but he did not stop caressing her
stomach. He returned his other hand to her hair, marveling at the content
exhale and the way her whole being surrendered to the simple touch.

Kagome rolled her eyes but didn�t respond in kind resolutely deciding to enjoy
the feel of his hand restarting its paths on her scalp rather than argue about
his arrogant comment.

�Kagome� I have to ask you something else,� he informed her.

She hummed her permission for him to continue. He wanted her eyes to be open so
that he could gage her sincerity but at the same time maybe it was best that she
not see his blushing expression. �Was what we just did� When I was in your
mouth� and I� Did we� Was that�?� He couldn�t get the question out and he
hated it.

Her eyes slid open to consider him. He sighed. �Did we just mate, Kagome?�

She seemed stunned at the question but he felt some relief that at least she
wasn�t laughing. He decided he best explain. �No one taught me anything.
About this. About� women. �You� And I know that I have to be inside when I�
release. And I was� I thought it would be different, but��

�No. It wasn�t sex. Well, I guess it is oral sex�� she muttered the
last part more to herself. She looked into his eyes realizing that she had only
confused the poor boy more. She hadn�t been at all anticipating such a
question; up until today she thought that maybe he had even done this sort of
thing before� Perhaps with more than one person. But this question certainly
put that misconception to rest efficiently.

�What we did? It�s something that people do to pleasure each other. It�s not
done for any other reason. It�s not �mating�, but it�s similar, I guess.� She
paused searching for more words. �When people are going to have sex, they do
this sort of thing to get ready, but they don�t always have sex afterwards.�

Kagome knew she wasn�t explaining it well, but she didn�t know how to explain
the concept for foreplay. She hoped she had put his fear to rest, but she could
see something in his amber gaze that told her he wasn�t completely satisfied
with the new knowledge. �Inuyasha� I wouldn�t have had sex with you without
talking to you or asking first. That wouldn�t be right� Understand?�

At that he nodded. Before her excursion on his lower body, Inuyasha had always
figured that he knew enough about sex to get by. He assumed that it had to do
with the areas on her body that always remained hidden by her clothes� But when
she had taken him into her mouth he was frightened that perhaps he was
completely wrong or that maybe there was more than one way to mate. He needed
to know one way or the other and as such was satisfied with her answer. The
hand behind her head urged her to move toward him, and he met her mouth with a
burning kiss, tasting his own residual flavor. �Thank you, Kagome. For doing
pleasure on me.�

She giggled inwardly at his choice of words, meeting his lips again before
resettling on his chest. She laid against his warmth, listening to the steady
thrum of his heart almost as though she was preparing to sleep. But while she
was very comfortable, she knew she wouldn�t be sleeping anytime soon. After
this encounter, she wasn�t sure she�d be able to sleep for a few days, at the
very least.

With Kagome no longer stimulating his body, Inuyasha�s skin began to feel the
cold of the night. It made him wonder just where his hakama had gotten to but
he was reluctant to give up such a nice position. Perhaps if he made the excuse
about her, she would be more likely to come back to him. �Kagome, do you need
to go get some water? That stuff ain�t exactly ramen,� he offered.

Kagome laughed out loud, smiling brightly at him. �You wouldn�t be offended? I
was worried you�d think I was accusing you of tasting bad.�

He smirked even as he growled at the statement before attempting to look
extremely affronted. �Well when you put it that way, fine. You'll just have to
suffer now.� His arms wrapped tightly around her to emphasize his point, and
his forced frown only serving to increase her laughter.

He let her go and she rolled up and off of his chest allowing the cold night air
to sweep over the warm skin she had been occupying. Growling softly at the
chill, he reached down to the bottom of the futon where he spotted his pants.
Kagome was busy rifling through her ridiculously oversized satchel before at
last procuring a water bottle. He was somewhat relieved that she wouldn�t see
him redressing. His mind was unknowingly mimicking Kagome�s own thoughts from
earlier. It wasn�t as though she hadn�t seen all he had to offer, but there was
a clear difference between typical and gratification-induced nudity.

Hakama successfully in place and retied, he sat up and stretched his limbs.
Kagome may have driven him to new emotional and physically gratifying heights,
but when it came down to it, all he really did was lie there. His eyes caught
sight of the girl replacing the drink in her bag. The shirt she wore was far
too scanty to be worn without a cover. His lips curled at the memory of her
little strip tease � emphasis on tease. He had long wanted to see what lay
under those weird clothes of hers without interruption or fear of being
subdued. After all, now she had explored every last crevice of his body; it was
only fair that he be allowed to return the favor in kind.

She stood and pivoted back to the futon, noticing with slight disappointment
that he was once again dressed, at least half way. Although proper ladies
weren�t supposed to revel in the sight of a naked man, she had proudly found a
loophole in the argument. She wasn�t just looking at a naked man. Inuyasha was
a naked hanyou. Thus, her lustful fascination was entirely justified. Inwardly
her conscience groaned that she would make such an argument in spite of the fact
that she had just spent a great deal of time and effort proving that she didn�t
think of him as being different. But she steadfastly told that voice to go
screw itself for the time being.

She stretched her arms above her head concluding that her body was clearly
unaccustomed to being on all fours. The part of her brain which had been
clearly corrupted by Miroku-sama made the argument that it was a feeling she
could get used to. She ran a hand absent mindedly through her hair prompting
her to return to her bag and find her brush. The snarls developing would not be
kind in the morning if left unattended and she didn�t fancy having bald spots.

Upon grasping the desired object, she stood once more and began to get herself
un-matted.   Kagome cried out softly in surprise when an arm caught her own
mid-sweep.

Inuyasha was a genuine predator. He hadn�t made a sound, his new position
behind her only made known when she had felt the contact. She allowed the
clawed hand to remove the brush from her grasp.

She gave him free access to the back of her head by turning without being told
or prompted. She briefly wondered if he would know how to do this considering
she had never seen him care for his own hair. However, it quickly became clear
that her concerns were unfounded, and her eyes closed in contentment.

The comb sent shivers down her spine now that it was under the control of the
object of her most wanton fantasies. There was something unmistakably erotic
about having someone else stimulating your scalp. Her body swayed in time with
the motions of the brush and she couldn�t stop a gasp from coming when his free
hand grazed her back with his claws while securing another section of her hair.

Inuyasha had watched the miko do this act hundreds of times. Kagome�s grooming
habits were overly meticulous in his opinion. The girl�s obsession with being
clean, playing in the water in nothing more than a �bathing suit�, and scrubbing
down at the smallest sign of dirt. It seemed ridiculous and unreasonable that
she should strive for such faultlessness. It just wasn�t a practical
expectation while on a quest such as they were. More than once he had been
irritated by her incessant need to preen and wash as her baths tended to be long
and it slowed them down. And since Sango had joined their little troupe he had
an even harder time saying �no�. The girls would always band together and
insist. Not that the monk was much help� He�d take any opportunity to try to
see a naked female. And though Miroku did on occasion succeed, his victories
were short lived thanks be to the equally frequent well-placed Hiraikotsu.

As much as he hated to admit it, perhaps Miroku wasn�t so far off the mark after
all. Thoughts of naked Kagome assailed him and his longing to explore her body
only grew. He didn�t fathom that he had become nearly as perverted as the
bouzu, but perhaps he could understand the other man�s desire a bit better now.
Of course he would never admit to such thoughts. His friends would never let
him live them down. Besides, it wasn�t just �any random female that past by�s
body that he wanted to see; it was Kagome�s.

Had she not been standing, it was quite possible that Inuyasha�s brushing could
have put her to sleep. She was languid and pliable and she was fairly certain
she�d give up no less than the Shikon no Tama itself to stay in this lazy
state. Her follicles tingled and it sent a ripple effect over her entire
being. Her lips parted to take in breath. How long had she been holding it?

All too soon, Inuyasha was done with her hair, the brush clattering into the bag
from which it came.

Strong arms snaked around midriff, pulling her back against a hard chest. She
sighed yet again with satisfaction at the feel of him surrounding her. She
hadn�t really hoped for this change. Under normal circumstances, Inuyasha was
not one for physical contact. And yet here he was going out of his way to
create opportunities to touch her. She dismissed the possibility that this was
a lasting change, attributing his shift in habit as remnants of earlier
closeness.

Hot breath blew over her ear as a hand came up from her torso to run along her
shoulder blade. Masculine fingers started to push aside the relatively loose
and skinny silken strap that held her tank top in place. The small scrap of
silky material slid down her arm, stopping where the fabric of the top started.
Clawed fingers danced across her flesh before a kiss took their place.

Reflexively, Kagome stretched her neck to the side, exposing her collar to the
hanyou behind her. She felt rooting tension at the initial move of the strap,
but was just as quickly relieved when her top remained in its proper place.
Such a soft growl that it was practically a purr rumbled in his chest, conveying
his approval of the alteration in her position. His tongue teased her as he
placed scorching kisses up to her jaw-line before stopping to nip at her ear.

His hand hadn�t stopped its own appeasing gestures. He massaged the muscles of
that shoulder and continued feathery strokes over the skin. A single claw drew
across her neck and down to where the strap now rest. It was a test of sorts;
he could have sworn he heard the tiniest of moans when his claws had
inadvertently grazed her during his attention to her hair. Not disappointed,
Kagome arched toward the claw, encouraging the contact, the same sound as before
again gracing his ears. He wanted to hear her, he realized. He wanted to hear
her cry out and moan and scream for him.

His hands then switched positions, the one on her torso remaining in the same
basic place, but now crossing her chest to grip her shoulder. The arm which had
been toying with her skin now pulled her back against him having snaked around
her lower abdomen once more. �So now� How do we do pleasure on you?� he
questioned without reservation and with an unmistakable amusement laced in his
otherwise husky voice.

�W-What? Me?� Kagome repeated his question in her head as her body stiffened in
response. He wanted to�

�Yes, you. Who the fuck else would I be talking to?� he replied, loosening his
hold on her ever so slightly.

Kagome�s head spun. He was really asking to do this? She didn�t know how she
felt about it. Sure, she had just done it to him, and turn about was fair play
and all, but� Well, she loved him! He could have been uglier than Jaken and
she still would have found him sexy. �Well, okay, maybe not Jaken�� she
corrected herself.

Then again, he didn�t know that she loved him. Well, he might, but she
had never said it in so many words. She thought it was painfully obvious to
anyone who cared to look. But had he cared to? It wasn�t the same thing. She
was looking for such assurances over the past months without fail and all she
found were conflicting reports and mixed signals.

He sensed her unease and panicked, thinking he asked too much. It was one thing
to give him pleasure, but to be touched by him was different. Kagome surely
didn�t want a tainted hanyou to know her body that way�

Feeling him tense under assumed rejection, the miko turned to face him in his
arms so that she might make eye contact. However, once pivoted, she found she
couldn�t meet his gaze and ask her question. A solitary finger ran itself down
the expanse of one side of his chest in contemplation as her other hand came to
rest over his heart. �You�d actually want to?� Kagome asked him quietly.

A noise of confusion caught in his throat. �Eh? Why wouldn�t I?�

He cocked an eyebrow at her skeptically as she actively avoided his gaze. The
gentle blush on her cheeks did not go unnoted, and he wanted to �Keh� at her
expense for being so shy after such events.

She chewed her lip nervously, trying to find the words. �Um� It�s just that�
Well, you�ve always gone out of your way to tell me you didn�t� like� me� my
body and that I � or it� didn�t interest you like that. And I didn�t think
you�d want to� do things� if you weren�t attracted to me like��

His lips crushed hers in a searing kiss, effectively cutting off anymore of that
nonsense. He let his tongue indulge in wrestling hers for a minute before
finally pulling back. This time, he voiced his thoughts aloud.

�Keh! Baka.�

�Ah, my doubts have melted��

�Wench! For crying out loud. This whole thing started because I was out in the
woods fucking myself thinking about you and that body of yours. Of course
I�m attracted to you!�

If she could have brought herself to meet his gaze, she would have seen his eyes
narrowed in his trademark fashion. He had a way to look so annoyed and yet so
comforting at the same time. But she couldn�t meet said gaze. Her cheeks turned
deep crimson at the stark bluntness. �Oh� You really were thinking about me?
I thought they misheard��

�Silly woman,� he mocked her notion. Honestly, she could be so stubborn.
�Misheard�� he mumbled to himself in contempt.

The fire crackled behind them, drawing his attention away from her momentarily.
It needed more wood. Unceremoniously, he broke contact with her and went to
rectify the issue. Grabbing another log from a pile by the pit, he threw it on,
earning a frenzy of sparks that scattered about the surrounding air. Satisfied
that it would be fine for the time being, he returned to Kagome who had rotated
to watch his movements.

He noted with satisfaction that she hadn�t replaced the strap he had moved from
her shoulder back into place. The small change in her appearance shouldn�t have
meant much, but somehow it did. That she had chosen to stay the way he left
her� How was it that everything this woman did managed to play his
heartstrings? Inwardly, he berated himself for admitting that he had
heartstrings. Even if it was only an inner monologue�

Both hands rose to her face pulling her gently upwards to facilitate his
purpose. He brushed his lips softly over hers, mimicking their first kiss which
had happened such a short time and yet so long ago. Her fingers came to rest
against his chest, her head tilting from side to side as her eyes flitted
closed. Inuyasha�s were drawn into tiny slits, unable to keep them open but not
wanting to miss the look of rapture on her features.

The kisses remained light but the heat between them grew heavy. After a few
moments of teasing her lips, the hanyou led her by the hands back to the futon
they had previously occupied. The bedding was still warm from their previous
activities allowing a cocky grin to present itself on his face. His body
settled into a sitting position with his legs in front of him and knees slightly
bent. He directed her legs to stand on either side and once done he pulled her
into his lap.

It was unclear to Kagome whether or not he understood the full significance of
her thighs straddling his hips, but she didn�t have much of an opportunity to
ponder it. Once again, arms surrounded her and hands splayed over her back.
This time there was no over-shirt to keep her arms from his fiery touch and his
fingers took full advantage of the extra exposed skin. Lips descended on hers
and she thrust her tongue into his mouth hungrily. She couldn�t imagine him
minding a more aggressive exploitation and his favorable growl proved her to be
correct.

Boldly, his hands moved to her sides, starting to curve around to the front of
her. At first she expected him to go directly to fondling her breasts and her
nipples extended at the plain thought. But he avoided them in favor of dropping
to massage one of her thighs, while the other stayed by her neck. Long
passionate kisses tapered off to sweet meetings of their lips. Inuyasha pulled
her close as his mouth began to work down the side of her neck.

Her palms cradled the back of his head to her body, seeking out his ears which
she had carefully avoided until now. She didn�t want to upset the balance by
touching them, but as her impending exposure grew near, nervousness took hold
and she desperately needed to make him reachable. If he would let her fondle
the triangular appendages without complaint, perhaps she too could get past
unreasonable body qualms.

Delicate digits circled and flitted around the sensitive appendages. She wasn�t
sure what type of a reaction she was expecting, but the one she received did not
disappoint. He moaned against the side of her neck repaying her gentle touch
with a nibble on her own ear. Her hands moved down to massage his scalp and she
whimpered for him to let him know that the attention he was giving her ear was a
very welcome thing.

Too soon for her but at long last for him, the back of his hand brushed against
her belly. He had maneuvered beneath the bottom of her shirt, and she felt
herself tense at the unexpected direct contact. His other hand joined the first
and together they pulled the bottom of the shirt up and eventually over her
head.

His eyes remained locked on the fabric until it was removed from her body. He
looked down at the now topless miko, only to see her hair still blocking his
view. He made to move the impeding locks, but Kagome leaned forward before he
had the chance and rest herself against him.

It wasn�t that he didn�t thoroughly enjoy the feeling of her newly bared flesh
pressed against his. Nor did he mind the way her arms came to move over his
back and through his hair. And her head tucked against his shoulder in the
crook of his neck gave him access to the sublime aroma of whatever that stuff
was that she used when washing her hair clean.

But damn it, he wanted to look at her!

He was at an impasse when it clicked inside his mind exactly what was
occurring. It wasn�t often that he found himself able to read between the
lines, as it were, but in this case the revelation was more than appreciated.
He snickered in spite of himself. �Oi. You�re hiding aren�t you?� he
accused, far too entertained by this for his own good.

The girl against him coughed and blanched as her arms stiffened. He knew that
he had caught the devious little wench in his embrace. She had thrust herself
against him for no other reason than to keep him from seeing her chest. After a
moment she replied. �� Maybe�� a tiny voice confirmed begrudgingly.

As much as he wanted to examine her body, he couldn�t help but drag this out.
She was so shy for someone who knew so much about these exploits. �What�s
wrong? Are they deformed?� amusement running thick in the question.

Kagome bristled. �What!? Deformed? No they�re not deformed!�
she proclaimed incredulous.

�Do you think that I�ll ruin them by playing too much?� he snickered.

She faltered. �Well I do now!� she replied sarcastically. He chuckled
aloud.

�Are they just ugly, then?�

A scowl came to her. �How should I know? I can�t judge whether or not they�re
attractive!�

�Then let me see. I�ll tell you�� he offered happily, stroking her back and
relishing the feel of her skin against his. He may not be getting exactly what
he wanted when he wanted it, but this was an alternative he�d choose any day.

�Okay,� she replied matter-of-factly.

He waited for her to pull back. After a long moment he spoke again. �Are you
planning to move so that I can?� he questioned drolly.

�Of course, Inuyasha,� came her answer as though she was stating the obvious.

Another pause. She still wasn�t going anywhere.

Stubborn girl.

His first instinct was to simply rip her out of his lap and slam her pliant body
into the pillows so that he could explore until his greedy eyes were satisfied.
However, something told him that his new Plan A would not go over terribly
well. He would probably end up pissing her off, and he really didn�t want to be
sat at the moment. In addition, she might not let him examine her upper body at
all if he wasn�t mindful of her �feelings�. He exhaled dejectedly, presuming
that his banter most likely wasn�t helping the situation. For whatever reason,
she was nervous and he would have to make her feel at ease before he�d get his
way.

Claws and fingertips made circles on the miko�s back. Her skin was so soft and
smooth. Overhearing discussions between Sango and Kagome, he knew that the
soaps she brought from her era were at least partly responsible. Her recalled
his earlier discovery and combed his claws through her hair in an attempt to put
her back in that lazy, flexible state.

Arms tightened around her body once more and he petted her head, nuzzling the
side of her face with his cheek. He growled almost inaudibly for her,
initiating a steady vibration in his chest that he hoped would help soothe her
tension. Moving his hand from her back to grasp one of hers, he restarted
pleasuring the pads of her fingers with his lips and tongue. Perhaps if he
couldn�t get her to completely relax, he could excite her enough to desire
stimulation above protecting her secrets.

His plan must have worked because no sooner had he attended to a third finger
that she moved her hand away from the enticing lips to bring his face to hers.

The couple began to kiss, both of them fully aware that Kagome had moved away
from him enough so that if they broke apart, he could see her if he wished. And
wish he did. Not wanting to come across too gruff for fear of further
hesitation, he continued the kisses for a short while before finally drawing
back and using his arms to support the weight of her torso so that she could
comfortably lean back for him.

He knew he was staring but he couldn�t find it in himself to care or stop. Hair
and proximity no longer obstructed his view and he was finally free to
scrutinize her upper body. Perhaps months of insults had done her a truer
disservice than he realized for her to feel the need to hide the way she had
been. In reality, he didn�t think it was possible to look much better than she
did. A lower part of his anatomy obviously agreed and he felt a reflexive
twitch at the visual stimulation. The curved flesh was virtually flawless and
boasted a color modestly lighter than the rest of her perfectly toned skin.
They appeared to be a size that would just about fit in his hand and he found
his palms aching to test their weight.

His mouth ran dry and he swallowed uncomfortably, the bulge in his pants
beginning to strain against the material. Nipples sat somewhat inclined in the
center of the smooth orbs that shivered under his intense inspection. They were
a medium shade of brown in the center and became lighter as they joined with the
rest of her skin. He had always expected them to be pink like his own and
wondered to himself whether or not all females were this color, and males like
his. He spied the buds as they became taut, prompting his mouth to respond by
no longer being dry but practically salivating at the concept of sampling their
flavor.

He came out of his stupor due to unexpected motion. Inuyasha growled as the
girl moved to cover herself. His own hands freed themselves from supporting her
since she was now sitting up on her own and pushed the arms away before she
could re-conceal her chest. He looked up to her face to see an extreme blush
and he once again wondered why in hell she was so timid. He meant to be
soothing but in classic manner, he found his voice harsher than intended. �Oi!
Quit with the hiding, wench,� he commanded as her arms were once again at her
sides.

The blush intensified � an achievement that a moment ago he would have thought
unfeasible. She shut her eyes as her nose crinkled in agitation. �Well it�s
weird having them just looked at! I have no idea what you�re thinking!�

�What is it with you and always needing to know what I�m thinking? Besides,
I�ve never been allowed to see any before, and if you think I�m going to
rush... Well, I don�t know what. I just ain�t gonna rush!�

Kagome didn�t quite know how to respond.

�After all the work I did getting you to this point I intend to enjoy it. Now
just shut up and let me work at my own pace.�

Now that Kagome did know how to respond to. Had she been a hanyou like the boy
in front of her she would no doubt have released a menacing growl or three.

She had been watching him contemplate her body for minutes on end and she was
nervous beyond all hell that he didn�t like what he saw. His unreadable
expression did nothing to sooth her misgivings and the fact that he sat there in
uncharacteristic stoicism only added to her discomfort.   She couldn�t help the
fact that she was self-conscious. She just wasn�t accustomed to letting men
study her breasts on demand. And the fact that it was Inuyasha who was judging
her made the butterflies in her stomach flutter all the more. Not that she
really wanted anyone else to be doing it, either. But if he disapproved, she
was quite certain that she�d never get over it � at least not until she was able
to afford a plastic surgeon.

Although she was angry at his comment, and horribly embarrassed, she did also
find herself a bit amused. The thought that he considered being able to see her
topless as a prize or privilege was something she hadn�t been expecting. The
way he spoke of being �allowed� made her feel like she was granting him
something he�d wanted for a long time; like a child finally getting that piece
of candy they have been drooling over.

Before she found the words to tell him that she wasn�t going to just shut up and
let him have his way with her, he effectively cut her off. �I thought they
would be pink. But this is a better color. Are all women like you?� he
questioned quietly. She was caught off guard by the softness of his inquiry.
It was a rare moment indeed that Inuyasha exuded innocence. He was, after all,
this era�s equivalent to a bad boy. Had he been born in her time, he�d probably
have five tattoos, a dozen piercings, and a motorcycle. She would never have
guessed that the fierce warrior that battled countless youkai would bother to
mull over something so particular.

She shook her head. �No. Everyone�s different,� she answered equally soft.
Surprised or not, she was happy that he approved of her, at least in part. His
eyes reflected interest and appreciation, even if his eyebrows were narrowed.

One of his fangs protruded over his bottom lip. He was lost in considering the
rise and fall of her chest in time with her breathing, and the way it made her
breasts quiver almost imperceptibly. As such he didn�t expect to feel her hand
touch one of his, and was even more shocked when she moved his palm to cup one
of the curves he had been studying. She held him there, forcing his fingers to
contract and causing them both to catch their breaths. Her dilated,
pleasure-filled eyes met his and one of her hands moved to his face. �You are
allowed to do more than look, Inuyasha.�

He already knew this, but the way she said it sounded infinitely sexy. She was
giving him permission � hell, she was asking and encouraging him. She had
physically moved his hand to the current position, and he couldn�t help but
squeeze again. Both her body and expression responded to the simple gesture.
Her breath caught, her muscles tensed, and her chest arced to further encourage
him. Her half-open gaze shut completely and lips parted to accommodate her
gasp. It was thrilling to know he was solely responsible for the look of bliss
that she wore and he wanted to do it again.

As though afraid she would shatter, Inuyasha laid Kagome back against the pile
of pillows he had rested upon earlier. He took a second to drink in the sight
of her unclothed body and expressive eyes, open and trusting. He stretched out
beside her, supported on his elbow, laying on his side so that he might continue
his explorations. His free hand reached out for her and he noticed with pride
that this time she did not tremble. Masculine fingers came to rest in the
center of her chest. Even this had a ripple effect through Kagome and she
closed her eyes as a contented sigh escaped her lungs. He journeyed to the
previously untouched breast and familiarized himself with it, taking the
opportunity to mold and knead the soft tissue.

The nipple on the mound rose to meet his curious touch. It quickly hardened
into a stiff pebble and he smiled at the sounds she was emitting for him. He
moved to cup the breast from the side so that he could pinch the desperate
little bud between his fingertips and was rewarded by her entire form arching to
meet him.

Strangled gasps for air assailed his ears. She was so responsive! He felt
massively powerful and entirely dominant that he could bring this girl to such
heights. For the first time he realized that this must have been how she had
felt while working her magic over his body.

Recalling the events of his second release, he leaned over her body and used the
same hand to bring the breast he had been teasing to his lips. Kagome�s eyes
had opened with the movement of the hanyou beside her and he locked his gaze
with hers as his mouth descended on the aching nipple.

Their eye contact did not last long. The minute his lips tugged at the
sensitive flesh her head was thrown back. �Inuyasha��

The sound of her calling his name in ecstasy did nothing to quell his growing
ego, nor his growing stiffness. He had always wanted to make the girl call to
him; to have her beg him to pleasure her. This was better than he imagined and
more than he ever truly expected to get. His fantasies were being realized and
he pondered for a moment whether or not she was fully aware of this fact.

His now free hand came up to the un-suckled peak and he ran a flat palm over the
expanse. By the end of this night, he wanted her body good and memorized so
that he might recall it later in private when physical contact would be
unachievable for one reason or another. Her arms wrapped themselves around his
shoulders and a delicate hand came to cradle the back of his head. Her fingers
entwined in his hair and stroked his ears, warranting her a growl for her
trouble.

The growl created a vibrating sensation against the nipple, which was sweetly
encased by Inuyasha�s mouth. Her eyes snapped open and she managed to study the
sight of the half-youkai latched onto her breast. She couldn�t remember a
stronger wave of passion ever sweeping through her being � the sight before her
the most erotic she had ever seen with the possible exception of her hanyou
sprawled out in ecstasy beneath her. Feeling her watching him, his eyes re-met
hers and he grinned wryly against her, pulling back somewhat before flicking his
tongue out of his mouth to tease her breast.

The devil. He was giving her as best an eyeful as he could and she knew it.
She tweaked one of his ears in punishment and gratitude before he switched to
the orally ignored twin. He set to work, but not before taking note that his
suckling had caused the first nipple to change ever so slightly in color. Now
added to the enticing brown, there were traces of deep pink.

Having been enclosed in his hot mouth, the bared pebble turned ever more
inflexible now that it was re-exposed to the chill of the room. His index and
thumb came over the soft swell and descended on the tightness, pinching and
pulling, his ears delighting as Kagome�s moans increased.

Now that he was practically on top of her, he began to take notice of the way
her legs involuntarily opened every so often, in rhythm with his treatment.
Perhaps it was time to explore the lower half of the miko beneath him.

He kissed his way to the middle of her chest before coming up to take her lips
in his. The girl responded desperately, her hands still tangled in his silver
mane. He concluded that he could certainly get used to this kind of contact and
further resolved that they should partake in such activities far more often.

His mouth moved around her face and down to suckle her neck. Knowing that the
girl in his arms responded to spoken declarations, he picked a thought and
voiced it. �You�re so soft, Kagome,� he whispered against her ear, proud to
feel a corresponding shiver run through her. They met again for kisses, taking
the time to let their tongues wrestle one another. He was pleased when her
hands moved down to his lower back before returning. Even when she was
receiving pleasure, she seemed to want to give back to him.

�You know,� he started between meetings of their lips, �You don�t. Have any.
Thing. To be. Shy. Over.� She giggled into the kiss.

�It�s. Not. That simple,� the miko replied. Inuyasha settled his weight upon
her a bit more as he came down for a longer more affection-filled kiss.

�Oh yeah? Then how is it?� he asked, slightly cocky due to his advantageous
position over her. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear mindlessly as he
waited for her to answer.

�Well, in my time it�s far more common to see people wearing next-to-nothing, if
not nothing at all. So even if you�re a virgin, you have all these images of
what you and your partner should look like. And some of those images are
hard to live up to,� she explained carefully. She didn�t really feel the need
to educate Inuyasha on the fashion industry and its �Barbie-girl� perception of
women, but how could a girl not be self-conscious in her era?

�Well, I�m not from your time. And I don�t see anything wrong with what you
have. I told you I�d tell you if you were ugly. And you�re not. So quit with
the shy stuff and knock off the whole �comparing yourself� thing while you�re at
it.� After a moment of incredulous thought, he posed a question, �What would
these people have you change, anyway?�

Kagome blushed at the compliments, but also at the idea of telling him that she
believed her breasts were too small. She didn�t get the chance to respond
however because Inuyasha claimed her mouth once more. �Forget it. I don�t want
to know what they�d change. Fucking people making you feel ugly��

She laughed outright. �Oh sure! When they do it, it�s wrong, but so long as
it�s you calling me ugly, it�s perfectly justified.�

The boy over her growled. �Oi! I can�t go around telling people that they�re
attractive. I�m a hanyou. I�d be chased out of town!� His voice softened in
thought. �Besides, you never took me seriously did you?�

The fact that he almost sounded concerned made her heart flip. She was angsty
and swooning all at once and she couldn�t decide whether to scream at him for
lying, or kiss him senseless for being sweet (for once). In the end, she chose
middle ground. �How should I know what goes on in that head of yours? For all
I know, you could have the hots for Kaede.�

�Kaede!? Now there�s a cock stopper!� Inuyasha declared.

�How is it that you claim to know nothing about sex and yet you know all the
crude terms in the world?� she huffed at the vulgarity that issued endlessly
from his vocal chords.

He shrugged. �I guess because people have no problem using foul language around
a hanyou, but they don�t often invite me in to watch them have sex.�

A small feeling of sadness came over her. How horrible his life must have been
� to have been called so many awful things for merely existing. Well, as long
as he was with her, she was determined that she�d look out for him from now on.
He may not have said it in the past, but the words of ignorant villagers
apparently did hurt him, despite all his claims to the contrary. Perhaps she
had truly believed that he remained unscathed, but she couldn�t deny that the
larger part of her had always known better. She had been willing to accept his
lies of well-being because the alternative was too hard and too ugly for her
dwell on for long without tears. She cursed herself for being weak in this
regard and resolutely decided to make it up to him. She smiled and ran a finger
over his lips. �Hmm. Point taken,� she mused before bringing his face down to
hers. She might not have the power to erase all of the pain in his life, but
she would certainly try.

This time their kisses were tender, Inuyasha attempting to use his mouth (in a
way other than words) to tell her that he was sorry for making her feel
unattractive. Whether or not the message was exactly conveyed he wasn�t sure,
but the feel of her now moistened and substantially tightened breasts pressed
against his heated chest was enough to make him forget his good intentions.

She whined in protest when his body moved off of her, exposing her to the cold.
A grin graced his features as her nipples became rigid at the sudden temperature
shift. Inuyasha had rolled back to her side and now slid a hand down to caress
her inner thigh through her pants. Her knee was bent and she now resembled the
position he had been in for her exploration.

Although she was once again nervous about taking the next step, she decided
she�d rather get the initial exposure over with. Before he could even react,
Kagome raised her hips upwards and hooked her fingers in the top of her pants
and underwear, tugging them completely off her body in a matter of seconds.

She discarded the material to the side of her that Inuyasha did not currently
occupy and she spread her legs and re-raised the knee of the limb he had been
feeling.

He was certainly shocked by the action, but by no means ungrateful. Kagome now
lay completely naked and open to his perusal. A dark tuft of hair still left
her center a mystery to him from his position, but the fact that she wasn�t
hiding this time encouraged him.

Despite his overwhelming compulsion to inspect her, he made the choice to stay
where he was, laid out beside her. There was just something to be said for
having the length of her body lying close to his and knowing that he could place
his hands wherever he damn well pleased without consequence. He scooted closer
to her body before returning his hand to her thigh. He stroked her knee and
back up her thigh again, wondering how her entire form felt so velvety to the
touch. It was little wonder to him now why Miroku�s hands were constantly
wandering to sample the flesh of females. If they were anything like Kagome, it
was like caressing silk. Only silk didn�t moan and gasp your name when you
handled it.

Inuyasha moved the arm supporting his weight under Kagome�s neck to cradle her
and bring her ever closer. He locked his legs around the one he had been
stroking, pulling her a bit wider for him in an attempt to gain better access.
Finally, his fingers danced over the flesh of her inner thigh and moved to the
apex between her legs. When he cupped it, he caused a body-wide spasm to course
through her. He glanced at her face and drank in the sight of complete ecstasy
that she plainly wore on her features. He began to rub over the surface and
soon found that he could part the flesh on top to reveal a moist center. The
leg not encased between his fell to the side and moved to further open her core
and encourage his exploration. He ran his fingers the length of the newly
exposed channel, and was pleasantly surprised when his name once again came from
her mouth. However it was no longer a clear version of his name � it was broken
and passion-overwhelmed.

Her hand came to grip the arm behind her head as she keened and her hips bucked
up toward his hand. He pressed against her with more force and found a place
that he could sink into. Thinking he could hurt her if he pushed too
far, he stopped his movement and returned to simply running along the delicate
flesh.

When he brushed against a small nub between the folds, she went wild, abandoning
any hope of dignity, willing to do anything to make him continue. Her leg broke
free from his and she swung it over his entirely, spreading herself open further
to his gentle prodding. He was surprised by the abrupt movement but as soon as
the shock tapered off he grinned all the more. The woman was desperate
for his touch!

His fingertips took their sweet time exploring her, thoroughly enjoying the new
sensations presented to him. She was impossibly soft down there despite the
fact that the hair was a courser version of what lay on her head. The flesh was
thin and delicate and he pondered his claws for a moment. He could easily hurt
her if he wasn�t careful. He looked to her face once more before realizing with
no small amount of awe that she didn�t seem to be thinking the same thing. She
was lost in the feel of his touch and the revelation of just how deep her trust
in him ran hit him full force. He had taken her prior nervousness to be about
him; he didn�t comprehend that her fear was of herself and whether or not
her body was good enough to please him. But the fact that she had opened such a
fragile part of her body to such a dangerous part of his spoke more forcefully
to him than any words ever could.

She was saturated in both moisture at her core and the scent of arousal. The
liquid didn�t feel the same as the substance he expelled when he reached his own
climax. He decided to perhaps ask her about it later. At the moment, she was
in no condition to explain much of anything besides �how to make really arousing
sounds�. He smirked at his power and at her surrender to his ministrations.

Now he felt the need to bring her to the edge of sanity, but was unsure how to
do so. He had been putting pressure on the small hood of flesh that seemed to
send her reeling, but he must have been missing the exact spot because she
wasn�t responding as powerfully as before.

�Show me how, Kagome,� he beseeched her in a whisper against her ear. Without
responding, the hand that had become embedded in the sheets beside her came down
across her body and directed him back to the place he had pulled away from. She
pushed on his fingers to indicate that he should press down, and he did, still a
bit concerned that if he pressed too hard he would somehow hurt her. But as her
hand moved to his wrist and held him steady he found that the further he
pressed, the less �in pain� she seemed. He had been watching her face so
intently that he didn�t realize until he looked down that two of his fingers
were now inside of her.

Experimentally, he drew his hand back and thrust forward again. Her hips
responded to this by rising to meet him and he assumed that she was enjoying the
feeling. Suddenly, it clicked that this was where he would be if they
were to mate. His resurfaced erection throbbed a reply at the imagined
sensation of being encased in such a hot, tight, wet place. He always assumed
it would be at about the same place on her body as his own, but earlier
activities had cast doubt upon his knowledge. But he never really imagined what
that place would be like � he hadn�t known where to begin his imagination.

With these epiphanies, he found he was no longer able to deny his need to study
her with his eyes. He carefully extracted his arm from behind her, but kept his
fingers buried deep within the place she had shown him. Upon arriving between
her thighs, he pressed a searing kiss to the inside of her knee before lowering
himself further to truly look at where his hand lie.

The skin was a darkened pink and he felt himself become hopelessly rigid at
witnessing his fingers being concealed inside her. He took in the scent of her
arousal, ever stronger the closer he was to the source, and found his mind
simply intoxicated. His fingers moved in and out of the opening to her center.
It was then that she spoke to him again. �I-Inu� Please�� she begged him.

�Please what, Kagome?� he questioned, stilling his movements.

The cease brought a groan and a pathetic whimper of loss to come from her
throat, but it did allow her to form words. �Press up� Inside.�

Fingers still buried inside, he pressed the pads of the digits upwards, and she
nodded to him to let him know he was right. �And for the love of Kami, don�t
stop,� she demanded all at once. It was the most hurried sentence he had ever
heard her utter. It came out in a single breath, like she had to summon all her
strength just to form the words. He grinned; she probably had.

�I wasn�t planning to stop anytime soon, Kagome,� he replied in a deep, throaty
voice. She hummed intensely in reply, letting him know that she heard and also
approved of such a pledge. He moved in and out now, as well as up and down when
inside the tight walls. She cried out his name a third time and it drew his
attention up her body.

His eyes nearly popped from their sockets. Kagome was displayed completely
exposed and released to him, losing herself to ecstasy and calling to none other
than him. Legs spread and skin flushed with erect nipples and her head tossing
from side to side. Her expression was raw and her knuckles had turned almost
white from gripping the pillows next to her face. He felt himself release a bit
of fluid at the mere sight and took a silent vow that he would never let anyone
else see this. He wouldn�t let anyone have this part of her. In that moment,
he grew even more fiercely possessive of this miko and would gladly kill any and
all that stood in the way of his new pledge.

�Mine!� a primal facet of him growled as he moved his thumb up to the nub of
flesh that had caused her to thrust against his hand before. He found it and
she grabbed the pillows by her face. He couldn�t help but feel a sense of
abundant pride that he was the one to make her react this way.

His motions continued, and the words she attempted to speak were lost to the
cries of pleasure that refused to stay within her. Her entire form thrust and
arced in time with his hand. Finally, she screamed his name, or something that
was supposed to be his name and her toes curled as the rest of her locked in
tension. He could feel her inner walls constrict around the two fingers he had
inside of her and noticed that she also released fluid when she came. It coated
his hand even more than it had already, and he felt compelled to sample the
flavor.

Withdrawing, he brought one finger to his lips and tasted. The flavor was tart
and salty, but sweet and musky all at once. Could something taste
musky? Well, obviously it could because this did. It wasn�t a bad flavor
necessarily, but it wasn�t exactly delicious. He decided he could get used to
it seeing as how it was an erotic flavor if nothing else. He took a moment to
consider the flesh usually hidden from him. With his hand out of the way, his
view was completely without obstruction. He found himself surprised that she
hadn�t immediately gone back to hiding herself after his withdrawal, but then he
reasoned she was too far gone from reason to be embarrassed. Still the fact
that she trusted him enough to let herself be that lost in a haze in his
presence managed to warm his heart. As the flavor on his tongue subsided, his
mind drifted to what she had done for him and briefly worried about the fact
that he hadn�t done the same. He glanced up to his charge and found the answers
he was looking for; even if he hadn�t done something he could have, she
obviously enjoyed what he had done�

Kagome had beads of perspiration on her skin that reflected the firelight as he
crawled back to her. He wiped his hand on the sheets before pushing her now wet
bangs off of her forehead just as she had done for him. His lips placed a kiss
there before he lay beside her once more, moving so that he was half atop her, a
leg thrust between hers and an arm around her waist. His face rested on the
pillows next to her and he waited for her to find breath. If nothing else, he
had done his job of pleasuring her successfully, even if it hadn�t been
completely without mistakes.

The hand over her waist began to journey across her skin in a calming manner.
It stroked between and over her breasts, down to her legs and across the
junction between. It ran up her sides and finally to her neck before pressing
his palm to the side of her face and simply rubbing her cheek back and forth.

Finally she opened her eyes and turned her gaze to his. She smiled lazily which
in turn made him grin. She panted a few more times. �Wow,� she stated
breathily. This caused his smirk to grow. She didn�t care. �That was new.�

His head tilted in confusion and his brow rose. �New?� he parroted back.

She sighed and nodded. �Yea. New. I�ve never had an orgasm before.�

This seemed to shock him. �Never!?� he demanded, incredulous. �How do you deal
with� frustration?�

Kagome shrugged, about to tell him that she simply lived with it, but then got a
wicked idea.

�Cold baths.�

The hanyou gaped. That was why she washed so damned often? No wonder
she didn�t want him peeking!

At his startled expression she laughed. �I�m kidding, Inuyasha. For the most
part anyway� Sometimes a cold bath helps, but usually I just live with it.�

He scowled at her teasing. �But doesn�t it� hurt?�

Kagome looked to contemplate him a few seconds before understanding hit her.
�Oh. It doesn�t feel the same for girls. It aches, sure, but it�s not
extremely painful if we don�t release. At least not most of the time.�

He grunted in understanding. He glanced down her body and nodded in the
direction of his eyes. �So, that�s where I�d have been if we�d mated,� he
stated more than asked. Kagome nodded an assent regardless of his apparent
surety. �So, are you always that wet?�

She was beginning to feel like a sex ed instructor, but she was in such a haze
that she couldn�t find it in herself to mind. Besides, it was Inuyasha. And he
had never been taught. It was only natural that he�d have questions�

�No. Girls only get wet when they�re excited. Most of the time it�s just a
little bit moist because it hurts if the skin down there gets completely dry.�

He didn�t bother to hide his grin. �Guess I really excited you then,� he mused
conceitedly.

Kagome glanced over at the hanyou with a glare. There would be no living with
his ego from now on. Deciding to counter rather than respond, she reached her
hand out to grip him through his hakama. �I�m not the only one,� she reminded
him dryly.

His eyes flew closed and he groaned and growled. �Wench. No fair.�

�Hmm. It seems like someone enjoyed himself a bit too much,� she teased as she
continued to taunt him with her fingers. He had become rock-hard again and now
they both knew it.

His breathing was erratic, but he still managed to hold onto cognizance. He
growled. �I blame you. Screaming my name like that��

Kagome laughed. �I never said it was a problem, Inuyasha,� she
whispered, carefully punctuating his name allowing her voice to lower an octave
as well.

His hips thrust against her teasing hand. �Okay, you asked for it,� he groaned
back.

He practically tore his hakama off and moved lightning quick to settle between
her legs. Kagome found herself panicking beneath him even as his lips descended
on hers.

Some foreplay was one thing, but was she really ready for sex? Inuyasha didn�t
love her, or even if he did he was more in love with someone else. This
had been to prove to him that she didn�t find him disgusting. But if she
rejected him now, all of that would be shot to Hell and back. She wanted and
loved him more than anything and would give herself to him in a second if she
were sure he returned at least part of her affection for him. But she didn�t
know how he felt. Was this just lust or something real? It was real for her,
but she couldn�t be sure for him.

She tried not to let him see her hesitation. She had to think fast, so she kept
him kissing her as long as she could. He would have to move slightly to
position himself correctly, so as long as she kept him from moving, her
virginity was safe. Not that she really considered herself a true virgin
anymore�

Her eyes opened and she watched the boy over her. His eyes were closed in bliss
with a surreal look of peace that she had never seen on his features before.
She knew in that moment that she had succeeded in her efforts to quash the
furies for at least this night for him. If she pushed him away, it might break
him and she�d sooner die than risk that.

She could live with the loss of her innocence, but she would never forgive
herself for hurting him so deeply. The repercussions of her choice may one day
haunt her� But in this time and in this place he was her world. He was all
that mattered. And in years to come she�d know that she had spent one perfect
night with the man she loved more than life itself. She would be complete for
this short time and take comfort knowing that she helped heal his wounds with
her body and soul. That she was able to finally help and give true, lasting
comfort to her protector � her best friend.

A solitary tear rolled down her cheek as she allowed him to move. One of his
hands came to fondle her breasts between them, and she moaned for the one she
loved. �Inuyasha��

A few more kisses and she felt him get into place. The feel of his length
between her folds but not at her opening was bliss enough as it was and she
cried out for him again, knowing now that he loved to hear her scream his name.
�Inuyasha��

�Osuwari.�

--

The hanyou came crashing down to earth from the tree he had been residing in.
With dismay, he realized that the front of his pants were horribly tight. He�d
have to find a place to relieve this problem.

Sango and Miroku had stopped gathering up the supplies and looked over when
Inuyasha had made his landing. Kagome stood before him with her hands placed
strategically on her hips for ultimate conveyance of ire.

�You were napping again, weren�t you?� she hotly accused.

He growled. �Well, can you blame me?� he hollered back. Then in a lower voice,
�It�s not like either of us really slept last night,� he added strictly for her
benefit.

Kagome�s cheeks flushed bright red.

�Really? Pray tell, what were you two doing that kept you so occupied?� the
monk shouted loudly. Inuyasha bristled. He thought he had spoken softly enough
to keep his comments out of the pervert�s hearing range.

The question only caused Kagome�s already crimson blush to grow even hotter.
Luckily, she was facing away from camp so only Inuyasha had a view of her
rampant embarrassment. �Well, we weren�t having sex, if that�s what you mean!�
she bit by way of retort. �Sly, Kagome, very sly��

Well, it wasn�t a lie, exactly. Inuyasha and she had been ready to complete
their act when a well-fated scream had pierced the night air. The man above her
had sputtered and cursed, but located his hakama and Tessaiga just the same.
The youkai hadn�t been difficult, but it was enough to spoil the mood. Upon his
return to the room, Inuyasha found Kagome asleep on the futon, redressed in her
shirt and underwear. Inuyasha, deciding he had efficiently worn her out,
allowed her to sleep. He joined her in rest after ogling her nearly-nude form
for a while wondering exactly how long it would be before he would see it again.

The group was startled by Kagome�s flagrantly lewd reply. Besides, it wasn�t
everyday you heard someone dressed in Shinto Priestess garb yell the word
�sex�. Luckily Shippou chose that moment to return and begin asking loads of
questions about their mission. Crisis averted for the time being, the couple
heaved a unified sigh.

Kagome�s heart thudded in her chest. Whether or not they completed the act was
irrelevant at the moment. She had given herself wholly to him last night, no
holds barred. He held all that she was now. He knew her inside and out. He
could make or break her, and the thought was both thrilling and frightening. It
was like a rollercoaster and she had just reached the top. Whether or not she
would plunge into oblivion or soar to even greater heights was completely up to
Inuyasha. She would be heart broken if he left her now. But then again,
wouldn�t she have been lost without him even before this? Last night had really
changed nothing, but at the same time she couldn�t help but feel a stronger bond
with him. She could only pray that he felt the same. Only time would tell if
her love went unrequited.

Dark thoughts of possible futures assailed her mind. She resolutely pushed them
back, of course, the way she always did. Last night� It wasn�t about her. It
was about healing the man that she loved. And no matter what happened or how
her heart would shatter after this, she would never regret the plain and simple
fact that she had done all she could.

It was strange, she realized. She was getting used to being comforted and
terrified all at once. She glanced over at the half-youkai that was the cause
of this new feeling.

Things wouldn�t be boring, if nothing else�

--

The End

--

Sex is one of the nine reasons for reincarnation - the other eight are
unimportant.

--Henry Miller

I thought this was a particularly applicable quote considering Kagome�s status
as a reincarnate.

Have had this fic on my computer for months now, but never got around to
publishing it. Well, I guess that's been fixed now. Thanks to DQBunny for the MAHvelous advice!

Want a sequel? Drop me a line.
angelica@rebel-muse.net. Or just review. ^_^

Much love to you for reading!
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