Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Worth Waiting For
By : inumom
Category: InuYasha > General
Views: 6484 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.
Chapter List
- 11
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- 13
Disclaimer: I don�t own any of them, although I really like taking them out to play now and then.

I really enjoyed doing this part: Fluffy is so much fun to torture! And this is only the beginning�.

12. Girl Trouble

The youkai paced across the forest clearing, at his wits� end. His life had always been satisfactory and well-ordered. Now, though, things were anything but. What, he wondered, could have caused his eminently satisfying life to go so badly awry? He had questioned the palace staff at length, and had even threatened his personal servant with slow dismemberment in an attempt to learn what had happened to the child.
No one seemed to have any answers.
He bit back a truly vicious curse as his personal retainer scrambled into the clearing, interrupting his grim thoughts. With a tremendous effort of pure will, he kept his voice carefully level. �What is it?�
�A message from the palace--the entire household staff is threatening to leave if something isn�t done.�
The youkai considered the matter for a fraction of a second before answering. �Very well, Jaken. We�ll return to the palace immediately.� Without a backwards glance, the taiyoukai Lord of the Western Lands turned and walked off into the forest.
It was a short journey to the palace. He had, in fact, never actually left the grounds of his estate: he had simply gone slightly beyond the walls of the palace itself to escape the horrendous noise coming from the girl�s room.
Surprisingly, the youkai lord was met in the palace�s entry hall by a delegation of the six highest-ranking servants in the entire household. He glanced at the group of lesser youkai for a long moment. �Is there a problem?�
Maku, a golden-haired inuyoukai who acted as the head of the kitchen staff, had been chosen by her peers to speak for the group. �Sesshoumaru-sama, we would like to ask you if you could do something about that child.�
He sighed. This was not entirely unexpected. The fact of the matter was that the girl had been growing increasingly sullen, angry, and defiant. She tormented the household staff, was intentionally destructive of the furnishings, and had even gone so far as to disobey his own specific instructions. He nodded at the group in an attempt to be reassuring. �I will see to this matter personally.� As the others returned to their duties around the palace, he called to the toad youkai who had been waiting quietly by the door. �Jaken, we are leaving again as soon as I inform Rin. Taka and Seki will accompany us.�
Turning away from his personal servant, he ascended the staircase to the private living quarters on the next level. He opened the door silently, looking at the thirteen-year-old lying on the futon. She had grown considerably since she had come to live with him--she would be a woman soon. The thought occurred to him that he would be obliged to find her a mate before too many more years had passed. He looked at her again, removing the slightest hint of expression from his features. �We are leaving in thirty minutes. Prepare yourself.�
He turned and left the room, not at all surprised at the shout of �No! I won�t!� that erupted behind him.
He was not about to allow her to exercise her newfound independence at his expense. He would also not physically coerce her into obedience--that was what he had Taka and Seki for. Still, he decided, it was going to be a long trip.

*

They had been traveling for three days. Although he had not received any news regarding the whereabouts of his brother and his group, he had also not received any news of the hanyou�s death--in that case, the most likely place to find the bitch he sought was in the village near where his brother had been sealed for so long.
As he considered the matter, the solution was obvious. He was certainly not equipped to deal with an adolescent human girl. The only real option was to place the child in the care of someone who had the necessary experience. He had encountered his brother�s bitch often enough to understand that she was inherently kind and particularly generous--he had no concerns about being able to convince her to take on the responsibility.
The hanyou, on the other hand, was a completely different matter. In the youkai lord�s opinion, the only likely way to gain Inuyasha�s cooperation in this venture was to have the female so utterly convinced of the necessity that she would take care of the rest. He smiled coldly at the thought of his hanyou brother being slammed into the ground repeatedly by the magic that kept him under the woman�s control.
This could even be somewhat amusing, he decided.

*

Although it was only midafternoon, the young woman and her mate managed to find time to slip away from the rest of their household for a little privacy. Even though they both loved the others dearly, they still felt the need for occasional solitude, something that the others all realized would never disappear.
On this occasion, that solitude was used for pure indulgence. They lay beside the small stream that fed the waterfall dropping into their hot spring, simply enjoying each other�s company and the pleasure of not having to be wary of what others might see.
Despite their stated purpose in coming to this place simply to be alone, they had given the location a lot of thought. It should be possible to set up a series of nets across the small river to keep any fish in the immediate area. The nets would allow anything below a useable size to escape, permitting any young fish the freedom to travel through the area as well as allowing particles of food to travel to where the larger fish would be confined awaiting their turn as a meal.
The two did, however, spend only a brief time considering this plan--it would help to secure a more diverse food supply, and would give them an occasional opportunity to leave the immediate area of their home for a time. This was how they came to be lying on the grassy bank of the stream as it wound its way through the lightly forested area.
Looking at his mate lying at his side watching the few visible clouds through half-closed eyes, he thought briefly of the surprise he had in store for her. It should, he thought, be ready by the time they had been mated a full month--a bit more than a week from now. At present, it was at the village in the care of the humans� best metalworker. Fortunately, he had not chosen to alter the agreement even though the ultimate design of the project had been changed.
Listening to her peaceful breathing, the hanyou ran his claws lightly down her side, tickling slightly through the kimono she wore. She responded by pulling him to her, claiming his lips in a heated kiss that left him with no doubt that she wanted to escalate the level of their physical contact.
He returned the kiss with as much passion as he thought she could stand, sliding a hand inside her kimono to find that her nipples were already tight with anticipation. He smirked a little as he felt her shift her position, moaning against his lips. He withdrew slightly, pulling her back with him to rest her head on his shoulder. �You know, love,� he said, kissing the side of her neck as she shivered in his grasp, �I think I miss the chance to do this all the time. Maybe we shouldn�t have had the others come out here.� Even as he said it he realized that it was only talk: with a pup coming next winter they would need all the help they could get.
�Maybe not,� she said, agreeing with him to force him to think the matter through for himself, �But I�m glad we did. I was a little worried about having the pup and not being able to get help from the village if something went wrong. Besides,� she continued, �You�re still a little put out because Shippou caught us yesterday and you had to answer all those questions.� She laughed softly at the image of her mate trying to explain what they had been doing to the fox kit.
�Well,� he said, �Even if we are mated, that kind of interruption scared the hell out of me. A few more like that, and I could lose interest entirely.�
That sounded faintly like a challenge. Reaching both hands inside his haori, she inflicted the ultimate punishment: she tickled him until he could hardly breathe. She thought that as long as she had one of his arms pinned beneath her that she could proceed unimpeded, but had forgotten about his prodigious strength. With a single swift motion he flipped over, freeing his arm and settling his weight across her lower body as he grabbed her hands in his own. �Now, this,� he said with something suspiciously like a leer, �Has possibilities.�
�I think you�re right,� she whispered, trying to free her hands.
He transferred both of her small hands to one of his much larger ones. �Not this time, wench. This time you�re just going to lie there and take what I give you.�
She moved slightly beneath him, distracting him from his train of thought completely. �Can I take that as a promise?� she asked, almost pleading. He realized then that she too had been stressed by the introduction of other people into their idyllic life together.
Dropping his head to the soft skin of her throat, he lightly fastened his teeth there, leaving slight indentations in the surface. �Sounds good to me,� he murmured. Moving his lips down to the opening of her kimono, he continued, �We�ll have to remember this place--I�m sure we�ll be needing it again some time.�
She arched her back, pressing herself more tightly against him, moaning in her desire. �I don�t think I can take much more of this�.�
He silenced her with his lips, pulling apart the layers of fabric that covered her, touching her lightly. Pulling her hand away from his body, he stared at her in surprise--how the hell could she always be so ready for him? Climbing to his feet, he raised her to him in a heated embrace, crushing her fragile body against his chest.
Replacing her on the grassy surface, he raised her hips to him, lifting the hem of her kimono so that she was completely exposed to his attentions. He wrapped one arm around her stomach while he stroked the unbelievably soft skin of her rear, thighs, and lower back. Bending forward slightly, he placed soft kisses on the base of her spine, shivering at the sounds coming from his mate.
�Sorry, love,� he whispered. �I wanted to make this last, but I don�t think I can--this time.� With a single powerful thrust he was buried deep in the body of his mate. For a moment he remained motionless, reveling in the sensations of being so completely enclosed in her moist warmth. Then, with one hand holding her hip, he reached up with the other to pull the top of her kimono down to expose the scar on her shoulder. She gasped with pleasure as he began to move in her, slowly at first, then with more force. He rubbed his thumb across the scar on her shoulder, matching the rhythm of his hips, gradually increasing the pressure on the sensitive spot. Though it had only been a day or two since they had been able to really pleasure each other, that brief pause had created in both of them a level of desperation not unlike that of their earlier heat period. It took only a few moments before she screamed out in her release, her muscles clenching around his member like a fist as he deposited his seed deep inside her body with a low howl of pleasure.

*

The youkai lord had been following the stream for nearly a full day now, and seemed to be growing closer to the destination the villagers he had questioned had hinted at. Although none of them had known the precise location of the hanyou�s home, they had been able to point him in the general direction. He knew that he was getting close to his goal when he began to detect traces of his brother�s scent all over the general area--obviously, this was a region that he passed through frequently. There was, however, something else in the air, something unfamiliar but tantalizingly compelling all the same.
Shaking his head to clear it, he realized that that fool of a hanyou had recently been in heat--and had actually found a mate. His curiosity piques as to what sort of creature could finally tame his wild sibling, he proceeded in the direction of the strongest concentration of the scent, stopping at the faint sounds that reached his ears. The first of these sounds strongly resembled that of humans screaming as they died around him, although there was a tone in this shriek with which he was not familiar. The second was a sound he had not heard since the death of his father--the howl of a mating inuyoukai.
Deciding that asking his brother for a favor would be much easier if he did not interrupt such an intimate moment, he retreated into the trees to allow the hanyou a little time to recover from his exertions before making his appearance.
He wondered briefly how the human bitch had handled things when his brother had taken a mate. Had she become violent in a jealous rage, or had she simply gone quiet, sinking into a depression of tears and grief over what she had lost? And what kind of mate had his idiot brother chosen? A youkai bitch would never have accepted him, as mating with him would reduce her own power. Would he have had the gall to have chosen a human mate? The youkai remembered hearing some long ago rumors about the hanyou and a miko, but he had heard that the miko had been killed immediately after sealing Inuyasha. Of course, that doesn�t always mean anything, as he had seen that very miko with his own eyes. Obviously, she had been revived somehow. Could his long-lost love be the mate that the fool had taken?
Somehow, that didn�t seem right--he had met the miko himself, and she had seemed to him to be a cold bitch. He didn�t think that she had it in her to scream in pleasure while mating as he had heard in the forest ahead. Perhaps his brother had found a hanyou mate, although they were extremely rare. Hunted down by both humans and youkai alike, it was nearly impossible for a hanyou to survive to maturity unless it was both exceptionally strong and exceptionally fortunate.
His curiosity aroused, Sesshoumaru realized that nearly an hour had gone by while he had been contemplating the sounds he had heard in the forest. It was time, he decided, to have his curiosity satisfied.

*

He lay alongside his mate, watching the cloud cover moving in. Sniffing delicately, he thought that he could smell rain in the air, as well as something else--something that invariably meant trouble. He reached out to stroke the sleeping woman�s cheek gently. �Time to go, love. There�s rain coming.�
She opened her eyes and he could see the desire that--if possible--had grown even stronger after they had satisfied themselves earlier. �Do we have to?�
He nodded sharply. �It�s not that warm yet. There�s rain coming, and I don�t want you getting chilled--it wouldn�t be good for the pup.� He had already figured out that appealing to her own well-being usually wouldn�t make her change her mind, but that invoking the health and safety of their pup would make her reconsider every time. In a way, it was as powerful a weapon as the spell he wore around his neck, though he was careful not to abuse the power it gave him.
Deciding that it would be useless to argue with him, she allowed him to hoist her to his back and start heading for their new home. He had barely made a step in the direction of the trees when a smooth, expressionless voice stopped him in his tracks. �Surely you�re not leaving so soon--after all, I�ve only just arrived.�
Releasing his hold on his mate in case he had to fight, he turned to face the arrogant youkai. �What the hell do you want, Sesshoumaru?�
The impassive youkai raised his hand in a conciliatory gesture. Had he possessed two hands, he would have raised them both. Of course, the arm he had lost to his brother�s sword would regenerate in time, but the process would take a number of years at best. �I am not here to fight, brother. This time, I am here to talk--to both of you.�
The woman began to shiver in the light drizzle that had started to fall. �Could we do this somewhere else? It�s getting chilly out here.�
Two sets of eyes turned to the hanyou. The golden, disdainful eyes he essentially ignored, but the dark eyes filled with love and promise decided the matter for him. �Come on then. It�s not far.� He lifted the woman into his arms, leaping away into the trees as he raced back to their home.
He was glad to note that the others had all decided to go into the village for the day--if there was going to be trouble with Sesshoumaru, it was better that they not be in the way. Gesturing for the youkai lord to find a seat in the large common room, the hanyou disappeared into a passage at the rear of the chamber with the female. When he reemerged, he was alone.
He looked at the youkai who had made himself quite at home on the fur rug and decided to get right to the point. �All right, Sesshoumaru. What do you want?�
�Where is your bitch? This is for both of you.�
A sudden flicker of amber eyes in the direction of the passage caused the youkai a certain amount of amusement. �She�ll be right back. She needs to change her clothes--she got wet out there, and I don�t need her getting sick.�
�Of course not.� The cold amber eyes flickered with something unfamiliar, and the smooth voice continued, �I see that congratulations are in order�and that I was right from the first.�
The hanyou had to think about that reference for a moment, then remembered that the first remark the youkai had ever made involving Kagome had been to the effect that it was appropriate that his brother had found a human mate. He nodded, a crooked grin spreading across his features. �I guess you were at that.�
Sesshoumaru had been watching his hanyou sibling with great interest. He had changed. He was no longer the insecure little mutt who did nothing but go out of his way to pick fights in order to prove how strong he was. This Inuyasha, he realized, was strong, confident in himself, his mate, and those around him.
�You�ve grown.�
Nodding slowly, the hanyou found himself in agreement with his brother, something he could not remember ever happening before. �You�re right. I�m not the same little kid you used to scare the hell out of. Now,� he said, noticing the silent figure emerging from the passage behind the youkai, �Why are you here?�
�Come here, bitch.� Though the tone was as cold as always, she took no offense at his choice of words. She had long ago learned that that particular term meant something very different to inuyoukai than it did to humans: to them it meant a mature female worthy of consideration as a mate. It was a source of secret pride that the hanyou had never referred to Kikyou in that way.
She stood in front of him without the slightest trace of fear. �What is it?�
He stood up facing her. �It appears that you have mated with my brother. As head of the family, it is my responsibility to be certain that all is in order. Have you been marked?�
Immensely glad that he had explained the importance of the mark to her, she nodded. �Of course.�
�Show me.�
With a look at her mate to stop him from doing anything rash, she loosened her kimono, lowering the right shoulder so that he could examine the first mark that had been placed on her by her mate. He moved closer, examining it closely, then rubbed a thumb across the small scar, almost smiling at her shiver of revulsion at his touch. He lifted the silk of the kimono back into place, turning again to the hanyou. �Correctly done, brother. When is the pup due?�
The grin broadened with his rush of pride. �In the winter, some time around the solstice.�
�Will you require any help?�
Although the hanyou had half expected the question--this was a family matter, after all--the human woman stood there in absolute shock: Sesshoumaru was asking them if they needed help? Still, the hanyou shook his head slowly. �I don�t think so. We�re already starting to prepare, and we have others living here. We also have communication with the healer in the human village.� He couldn�t prevent the next question from slipping out. �Is that why you�ve come here?�
�Well,� he said, a hint of an unholy glee flickering in his eyes for the briefest of moments, �I wished to determine the exact source of some unusual sounds I heard in the forest near here a short time ago, but that was not my original purpose in coming here. I require your assistance, and especially that of your mate.�
Kagome finally found her voice. �What kind of assistance?�
�Am I correct in assuming that you have seen the human child that travels with me?�
A mental shifting of gears, and Kagome clearly recalled the little girl she had seen with the youkai on a number of occasions. �I remember her. What�s happened?�
�Nothing. At least, I don�t think anything has happened. She has recently passed her thirteenth year, and is becoming difficult. She is defiant, rude, and generally unpleasant. She will also become a woman soon, and I will be obliged to find her a suitable mate. Unfortunately, neither I nor my servants are able to teach her what she must learn in order to be the kind of woman who would bring credit to her mate.� He shook his head in something very like confusion. �Can you help?�
There was a quick look exchanged between the two, and Kagome nodded. �Of course. There are a couple of things, though. She�ll have to stay here, for at least a year or so. If I�m right about this, the reason she�s being so irritating right now is because she�s starting to mature physically, but she hasn�t had time to mature mentally yet. That will take a while. The other thing I�ll need you to do is to provide some things for her--a futon, for instance, and a couple of changes of clothing: nothing fancy or elaborate. Whatever you use for your female servants would be appropriate, or you could trade for something in the human village.� Seeing the look of concern flitting across the youkai�s features, she continued, laughing, �Don�t worry. We�re not going to make her a servant or anything. You must remember that she�s been living in a palace, probably ever since she can remember. If we�re going to teach her how to do things for herself and her future mate, we have to put her in the situation of having none of the luxuries she�s grown used to having. This way, if she wishes to eat delicious food, she will have to learn to help prepare it--if she wants beautiful clothes, she will have to learn to make them and to keep them in good repair. I know it sounds harsh, but if you want her to become a good mate to someone some day, this is necessary.�
The youkai nodded: it seemed perfectly reasonable to him. �There is one other thing. If it is possible, would you be able to arrange for her training in some area with which she could support herself should her mate die or she otherwise have need of it?�
She thought for a few moments. �The group living here has a variety of skills. She could learn basic healing, how to hunt for herself if necessary, how to make, maintain, and use a variety of weapons, some gardening and farming chores--and whatever else we can think of. Even if she is someday without the protection of a mate, those skills should allow her to survive in reasonable comfort. Is that the sort of thing you had in mind?�
�It is. Of course, if there are any among you who possess skills in metal crafting, woodworking, or any other marketable field, that would also be useful.�
The sudden flick of the hanyou�s ears went entirely unnoticed by the others. Perhaps he would be able to spare a little time to help the child learn some of what he had discovered as an unexpected talent for furniture-making. He would be able to tell more after he retrieved the slab of wood from the village metalworker�s care in two days. If the piece came out anything like he hoped it would, he would not only be able to furnish their home, but could bring in some welcome income to the household as well as teaching the child a useful trade.

*

The youkai disappeared for a short time, presumably to gather the requested supplies and to break the news to the child. When he returned, it was in the company of a girl on the verge of womanhood. Even though she still retained some of the pudginess of childhood, it was clear to Kagome that she would be a great beauty one day, provided she could rid herself of the disdainful expression. Her hair had grown long and thick, although it was tangled and unkempt. Though still slightly shorter than the older woman, her arms and legs had begun to lengthen, hinting that she would eventually be taller than Kagome.
The youkai�s deep voice, though neutral as always, held a faint hint of impatience. Apparently, it had been a bit of a struggle just getting the girl here. �Rin, you remember Kagome-sama. You�ve met her before. You will be staying here with her, her mate, and the rest of their household. I will return in a year�s time. If you have grown to become fit company for civilized society, you will be permitted to return home with me until I can find you a suitable mate of your own. If you remain an unpleasant child, you will remain here for another year, and another, and another, until you have learned what these people can teach you. Is this understood?�
The girl stared from one face to the other in disbelief. She had never really believed that he would carry out his threat. Her lower lip trembled, and tears gathered in her eyes. �Yes. I understand.�
Kagome motioned to the girl. �Take your futon through the reed curtain at the rear of the chamber and place it and whatever other things you have in the third room. After that you can return here.�
As the girl carried her few possessions through the curtain separating the common room from the rest of their home, Kagome smiled up at the youkai. �You handled that just right. At her age, girls start to feel like adults, but they aren�t really ready to be treated like them. They need to know what the situation is, and what the rules are. Try not to worry.�
The youkai shook his head. �I will check on her progress occasionally, but only when I am certain that she will not know. This,� he said, turning away from the woman, �Will be more difficult than I expected, but must be done if she is to someday find a mate who is good enough for her.�
The human woman nodded. �I think she�ll be all right. She�s always had a very sweet nature. With a little time and hard work, I think we�ll be able to bring it back.�
�If you can do that, then you will have earned any reward in my power to grant.�
At that moment, the girl returned, rendering any further conversation useless. The youkai looked down at the top of her head. �Do not cause these people trouble, Rin. They have agreed to teach you what you need to know to become a find woman and a good mate. Also,� he continued, seeing a sudden slight tensing in her muscles, �Do not attempt to leave this place without permission. You will be caught and punished. In case you were not aware, the woman who will be teaching you possesses the powers of a miko. Her mate is a hanyou with my own speed, strength, and senses. This place is also home to a youkai taijiya, a monk with a powerful weapon of his own, and two youkai. Each of them will be able to teach you. Learn well, and return home quickly.�
Without another look at the child, Sesshoumaru turned and left.
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Worth Waiting For	By : inumom Category: InuYasha > General Views: 6484 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Worth Waiting For