Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Sachi
By : Quillwing717
Category: InuYasha > General
Views: 18692 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.
Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Chapter 13: Mating Problem (tsume)
Somehow, the night in the attic led to a truce between them. From the moment they descended to the quiet snickering of the Sachi’s staff and the polite, overly-disinterested looks of their guests, it was as if they’d reached some sort of silent bargain. Somewhere in her head, Kagome marveled at it: she didn’t push InuYasha, and in return, InuYasha treated her with the civility that he treated -- well, that he gave to everyone else, at the very least. Though, sometimes, it felt like more. The tension, that vague, hyper-awareness of each other, remained between them, simmering low beneath the surface and deep in the recesses of their minds; but outwardly they had, by mutual unspoken agreement, decided to pretend it didn’t exist. And in its place, a small peace bloomed.
For the next few days, they worked together and lived in the same home with a degree of comfort between them that they hadn’t yet achieved. To Kagome, it almost felt as if they were….
Friends.
********************************************** *********************
Mr. Hidaka arrived with his wife the afternoon after they’d been stuck in the attic. He was a tall man, gangly and lean, with glasses and neatly combed hair. His wife, a much smaller but just as neat version of himself, fluttered in behind him, smiling politely and constantly fidgeting with her bun. Since Miroku had disappeared into Sounkyo for some unspecified errands early that morning, and InuYasha was busy with the long-neglected roof tiles project, Kagome, Kaede, and Shippou greeted them at the front door. Kaede got them signed in and told them the basic rules of the house while Kagome and Shippou helped them get their luggage to their room.
Kagome liked Mrs. Hidaka quite well. The older woman spent most of her time laughing and chattering on about the mundane details of their trip and the beauty of Sounkyo and the Daisetsuzan. Mr. Hidaka, however, made her nervous in the extreme. The moment he walked into the Sachi, his eyes fastened onto her and didn’t leave. She could feel him staring at her the same way she’d always been able to feel InuYasha staring -- except the sensation of his eyes on her body was nowhere near as pleasant.
As she and Shippou had maneuvered their way through the complicated halls of the Sachi, she’d been so disconcerted by his interest, that she’d nearly lost her way. Shippou’d had to redirect her course more than once, much to her mortification. After seeing them safely to their room, she’d bowed, given a quick, polite offer of assistance any time, and fled.
By the next afternoon, Mr. Hidaka had started coming to her with problems: little things, natural things, like help finding his way through the Sachi, or missing towels, or what time lunch would be served. And every time, the whole time, he would stareat her; his eyes made her want to squirm. She felt them frequently, brushing against her backside, lingered on her legs. She tried to make sure she didn’t walk in front of him, but he was very good at maneuvering behind her.
The second morning of their stay, Mr. Hidaka “accidentally” smoothed his palm along her hip as she served breakfast in the guest dining room. No else saw him do it, and he immediately bowed his head in apology, but the glint in his eyes made her uncomfortably aware that contrition was far from his true reaction. As it did later that day, when he brushed against her again in the hallway as he and a glowing Mrs. Hidaka followed Miroku (who had volunteered to guide them) out for a day-trip into Sounkyo. And that night during dinner, when his fingers not-so-accidentally made their way under her skirt and onto her bare thigh. And right after that, when he caught her alone and asked, in a low, slime-coated voice, if she ever got lonely living so isolated from the rest of the world.
Mr. Hidaka’s touches were nothing like Miroku’s light-hearted, harmless groping and indecent appraisals of the female form. Mr. Hidaka’s looks and strokes had a hard-edged lust behind them that made her skin crawl. Every time his eyes devoured her body from across a room, she had to clench her fists against the urge to do him physical harm for the violation. But he was a paying customer, and not just any paying customer: the Hidakas had booked the Sachi’s nicest guest room for a full two weeks, and were paying quite a bit extra for special perks -- things like a private hour in the baths, or a made-to-order meal delivered to their room. And even if that weren’t the case, she genuinely liked his wife, who went out of her way to be thankful and helpful. The thought of causing the older woman trouble by making a fuss over her husband’s behavior made Kagome feel guilty. Not to mention the trouble she’d bring to everyone else at the Sachi with such an incident.
She really, truly, and sincerely disliked Mr. Hidaka, though.
After some serious mulling, Kagome decided that, instead of being a nuisance, she would just handle it by herself. Why not? Despite her missing memory, she was still an adult, mature and capable enough of taking care of adult issues. So, on the fourth night, when Mr. Hidaka wandered (seemingly aimlessly) into the kitchen while she was washing dishes and asked for some hot chocolate, Kagome saw the perfect opportunity to let him know that his attentions were unwanted.
She dried her hands and, reluctantly, turned her back on Mr. Hidaka to get cocoa and milk. She wasn’t at all surprised when Mr. Hidaka’s long, bony fingers crept over her shoulder and rubbed in manner she supposed he thought was seductive. The only thing it made her want to do was be sick.
Instinctively, her body jerked out from under his grasp, and she whirled to face him. She kept her glare polite, but firm; the small of her back pressed back against the sharp, squared-off edges of the counter. “Hidaka-san, I’m afraid I’m going to have you to wait by the table while I make this for you.”
He smiled at her with thin lips, unfazed by her obvious rejection. “But I would like to watch you work,” he paused, “Kagome.” He tasted her name like a treat, licking at his lips as he said it.
She gasped in outrage. The guests who stayed at Sachi only heard her name once or twice (when she was introduced to them, or when one of the other staff members addressed her by name), and rarely did her relationship with them pass beyond calling her a most polite “housekeeper-san.” That this particular man would take the intimacy of her name and use it to imply a relationship that didn’t exist between them was unforgivable. Her lips tightened and she pointed her finger towards the open door, half-praying that someone would come in and his nonsense would end for the moment. Mr. Hidaka never acted inappropriately where anyone could see. “Housekeeper-san will do for you. Now, please wait over by the door, Hidaka-san, outside of my kitchen. I will bring you your chocolate there.”
Behind the wire-rimmed glasses, Hidaka’s eyes narrowed. “Now, now, Kagome. It’s impolite to refuse a guest. You wouldn’t want me to think you rude, would you?”
Every time he used her name, her skin itched so bad that she felt as if she should be shedding a layer of it onto the floor. I don’t care what you think of me, as long as you get away from me. Anger flared up, for herself and for his poor wife, who obviously didn’t know what a horrible man she’d married. “I must insist that you wait outside.”
Hidaka’s black eyes dropped abruptly, from her face to her chest. “But I must insist that I stay.” His long fingers reached out again, and this time they curled to brush the under curve of her breast through the thick barriers of her sweater and apron. “I believe we could have fun together, you and I. You could give me a detailed…tour…of your kitchen.”
Her eyes rounded, her throat closed in horror, and for a moment she couldn’t do anything but stare in shock. In that frozen moment, his thin lips curled into a leer and he swept his knuckles up to rub at the sensitive tip of her breast. Her stomach knotted in disgust, and her entire body tensed, rejecting the caress. Her body unfroze suddenly and she reacted on pure, unthinking, infuriated instinct. Unable to back away any further, she shifted forward instead, putting all her weight and insulted fury behind her knee as it rammed up into his vulnerable and very soft parts.
He made a sound, something faint and choked and whiny, and doubled over, stumbling backwards as he did. “You…bitch!” He choked it out, looking up at her through askew wire-rimmed glasses. “You’ll regret that!”
She glared back at him from against the countertop, sputtering, still too furious for words.
He finally managed to straighten, and took a step toward her, and she panicked, whirling and grabbing the nearest movable object before turning once again with weapon raised. Hidaka stopped, staring in disbelief at the teakettle ready to bash him over the head. He sneered at her from a safe distance instead. “You should be more accommodating to your guests, Kagome. Can you imagine how much damage it would do to your inn if word were to get around about the housekeeper that attacks her guests?”
His words cut through Kagome’s rage, and she sucked in a breath. “You --”
Hidaka saw, and smiled. A smug, leering, ugly smile. “My wife and I are very prominent business owners, you know. We’re successful and respected. And when we get back, I will make sure that every one of our acquaintances hear about your rudeness. About how unpleasant a stay you made for us. The reputation of this inn will be destroyed. Your employers will lose business and be forced to fire you. I promise you, it will be bad.” He stopped and studied her angry, shaken features, and the way her arm lost some of its height as anger gave way to dismay. His shoulders relaxed, and his leer melted into that awful, nauseating smile. “Unless, of course, you can find a way to make it up to me.” He took a small step forward.
Her heart clutched in her chest, and she raised her arm threateningly. “Come near me again, you disgusting --” But she couldn’t finish the threat.
What was she doing? She couldn’t ruin the Sachi’s reputation like this! All it would take was one bad story to have people steering away from the Sachi for a long time. And she knew they had money troubles, because Miroku was always muttering about it. They’d already been hurt by a late snow. How much worse would their season be if word of her attacking a customer got out? How would she forgive herself if she somehow ruined the business season for everyone who lived here? What if it was more than just a single season? What if Hidaka had the kind of power that could ruin a business entirely? Then what would she do?
Gods.
She gasped and pulled the teakettle against her chest, staring round-eyed at her still-wincing adversary. “You can’t do that to the Sachi! Everyone works so hard!”
Hidaka’s gloating expression told her he’d read her panic. He straightened all the way, and, to her surprise, turned for the doorway. “I’ve changed my mind about the hot chocolate. Keep it.” He paused in the doorway and sent her a look that had her lips curling in a grimace of disgust. “Start thinking of other ways to appease me, Kagome. Maybe I’ll keep this to myself if you do.”
And then he disappeared, leaving a sick and heavy feeling, like bile-flavored syrup, pooling low in her gut.
Dear gods. What just happened?
Her hands were shaking. She set the kettle back onto its normal spot and drew a deep, calming breath. Slowly, the deep, blinding fear receded just a little, just enough to make way for an anger that made her entire body, not just her hands, shake.
She whirled, strode over to outside doors, threw them open.
Her eyes, dark grey, turbulent and upset, glared out into the dark as the below freezing chill of night wash over her. It cut through her clothes, brushed against her skin, and she silently begged it to scrub the memory of that man’s touch from her body. Helpless rage bubbled up from deep within her, a gush of molten fury that carried through her lungs and into her mouth, leaving a sour, drab taste in the back of her throat. She tried to think: about how to deal with him, about how to avoid him, about his threat to damage the Sachi and the people who meant so much to her.
But all she could think was…how dare he? How dare that…bastard put her in such a position? He had no right to touch her, no right to demand that she give him any liberties with her person. Yet, what was she supposed to do? She, the imposer? She, the lost stranger with no memory, no resources, no anything outside of the Sachi and the people who had gone out of their way to help her?
Any way she looked at it, trouble was the result: if she told InuYasha and he did something, the Sachi and its crew would be hurt; if she didn’t tell and had nothing further to do with that despicable man (because letting him get anywhere near her again was simply not an option), the Sachi and its crew would still be hurt. And how could she do anything to harm the Sachi and its residents? They were nothing less to her than family.
Oh, gods. What if he blames me for provoking Hidaka? The moment the thought crossed her mind, she knew it was a stupid, irrational fear, but nothing about the situation she’d just found herself in felt rational. She felt trapped in a corner, unable to run, unable to ask for help.
How dare he?!
The scream burst from her throat, a pure, rough sound of defiance into the night, and her fingers bit into the doorframe. Then she just stood in the open doorway, slowly going numb beneath her clothes, breathing in the frozen air, letting it chill her lungs and soothe her heart. The peace of the forest surrounded the Sachi, encompassed it like a warm blanket, and she drank it in. Several moments of soft, soothing nature drifted by, and she started to calm.
But then an odd feeling crept out from the darkness.
Kagome blinked, shifted her stance, and rubbed at her arms through the heavy weave of her sweater. She frowned and shifted again, abruptly hyper-aware of her isolation and wondering why that made her so nervous. One of her slippers took a timid, defensive scoot backwards as the sensation grew, became an ominous presence veiled within the safety of the trees, red-hot and unfriendly. Then, like a strike of lightning, she identified the foreign sensation, and the comfort she’d just started to gather warped into horror as her heart stuttered madly in her chest, and a gasp of air strangled in her constricted lungs.
Anger. She felt huge anger. An unshakable fury, reaching for her, seeking her out.
Was someone watching her? Out there, beyond the trees?
Her eyes flicked up, searching out the shadows deep in the forest, seeking whatever it was that had just sent her body into fight-or-flight mode. No use. The overcast sky, combined with the backlight from the kitchen, made the forest impenetrable -- the perfect hiding place for the thick, creeping malice, a sense of death that scuttled closer through the black. The longer it went on, the more certain of it she became. She took another scooting step backwards, ready to flee, nearly in shock at the suddenness of it.
Someone was out there. Someone, or something. It was as if her scream had summoned a --
She heard the sliding whump of snow, then a heavy thud against the icy earth as a presence dropped to the ground in front of her. “Kagome! What --”
She jumped backwards, a shriek sticking in her throat. Her shoulder collided with the edge of the doorframe, and bruising pain traveled up her neck.
“Whoa! What the hell is wrong with you?”
Her head jerked up, wide eyes seeking and finding the gleam of silver hair as a figure stepping up onto the porch and into the kitchen light.
“InuYasha?” Relief, like a warm, refreshing breath of air, rushed through her. Unbidden, one of her palms pressed against her chest, trying to calm her heartbeat and still her breathing.
He moved closer and she saw the long, knit sleeves of his shirt, his bare feet, the harsh set of his expression. “I heard you scream and I thought -- are you okay?” His eyes, flickering with temper and concern, gilded gold in the warmth of the light, traveled up and down her body. They took in her fluttering breath and pale, frightened features before they jerked up to search hers. “Shit. What’s got you so damn spooked?”
Wait…he’d heard her scream? But she hadn’t meant to call him. Had she?
She could see his nose twitching, ever so faintly. “I -- I felt something. Out there.” Even as she said it, she knew it sounded bad. Like she was hysterical, seeing things. Internally, she braced for his derision. “It was -- I don’t know, dangerous.”
But the frown between his eyebrows grew more pronounced. The silver highlights in his hair gleamed as he turned; his gaze scanned the trees. “Something? In the forest?” He didn’t sound skeptical; he sounded blank, cautious.
She lifted an arm, was dismayed to see it trembling, and gestured at the dark shadows beyond the reach of the kitchen light. “I know it sounds a little…strange but something was there. It’s --”
“Tch.” His waving hand cut her off as he stepped out towards the edge of the porch, his nose in the air. “Stay here.” He disappeared into the dark, his bare feet seemingly oblivious to the layer of snow on the ground. In his wake, the night was quiet and still.
And Kagome realized that the presence, that driving hate that had frightened her only a moment before, was gone. Vanished as quickly as it had come.
The adrenaline that had kept her so alert and on edge crashed, her breath whooshing out of her. Her muscles went limp, and she slid down the wall, feeling physically and mentally exhausted, her body shivering. She wrapped her arms around her knees and sought out InuYasha’s form beyond the short reach of light, but couldn’t make out anything except dark shadows and much blacker shadows.
Kagome didn’t have the faintest inkling what that sense of danger had meant -- but once again, she had the terrifying certainty that she should. Somewhere, in that part of her mind where she knew things without really knowing them, she was sure she should have identified it, and done something about it. Her fingers curled into fists against her jeans. She hated feeling so lost, so under-equipped by her lack of knowledge, and her helplessness made her chest tight.
All she’d wanted to do was calm down and think rationally about --
Hidaka.
She buried her head in her arms, fighting off a groan. Should she tell InuYasha? But, oh gods, wouldn’t that just cause a dramatic mess, with her at the center? She sucked in a shaky breath. Or would it? She honestly wasn’t sure what InuYasha would do. Maybe he’d tell her to ignore the bastard, to be strong and not let him get to her. Or maybe he would just blow it off as something normal in the hospitality business. Her chest constricted around the thought, but she forced the reaction away.
Maybe…maybe she could just wait Hidaka out. He and his wife were only supposed to be at the Sachi for another week. His threats could just be bluster. But how could she possibly risk it?
She didn’t hear him come back through the painful whirl of her thoughts, but she was suddenly aware of him standing next to her. A sigh passed her lips, and she lifted her head. “You didn’t find anything, did you?”
He was frowning down at her. “No. No trails, no scent trace, nothing. Whatever it was, it’s not there anymore.”
“I know.” She let her head drop against the wood at her back, feeling acutely foolish. “I can’t feel it anymore.” She closed her eyes and waited for what came next: he’d scoff, call her an idiot and a coward for being afraid of the dark, and leave. Probably all at the same time.
“Kagome….”
She felt the wood of the porch vibrate from a single, quiet thump and her eyelids flew open.
InuYasha stared at her from only an arm-length away, his face level with hers. He’d dropped down into a crouch, right in front of her; he had the elbow of one arm braced comfortably against his knee, and the fingers of the other just resting against the top of her slippers. The heat of his gaze, the only pleasant thing she’d felt all day, studied her expression. “You feeling all right? You don’t look so good.”
Kagome sucked in a breath and felt her eyes widen. He was so close, and his eyebrows had that hard, concerned curve to them. She curled her fingers against the sudden urge to smooth out the tense lines around his eyes. “I’m just tired.”
His body shifted forward, and one of his knees hit the porch. His fingers brushed at the bangs feathering against her forehead. Her breath stilled. Some of the tightness dropped from his features, softening the lines around his eyes. “Dummy.” The hand left her hair, but continued to hover in the air beside her face. Even if he didn’t touch her, she felt it. “If that’s all it is, why the hell are you still awake?”
She wanted to tell him about Mr. Hidaka and his troublesome behavior, but the words stalled in her chest. Something about the way he looked at her kept her silent. The way he sat, his body close and huddled almost protectively in front of hers, made her want to forget Hidaka even existed, or that she’d felt so horribly unsettled just moments ago.
I wonder what he would do if I put my arms around him now? He’s practically hugging me as it is.
Or what if she leaned forward and pressed her lips to the mouth that was hardly an arm’s length away? Tasted him the way he’d tasted her that night in her room? She wanted to -- oh, how she wanted to. She felt the pull from deep inside her, a ribbon of liquid heat coiling through her blood, as if it were the only right and natural course of action.
In his eyes, she saw the normal awareness flicker beneath the gentle concern, but for once he didn’t pull back. Tonight, he just sat there, still and almost expectant. As if he were waiting for her to move. The night closed in around them, thick yet subtle, hovering on the razor’s edge between resistance and surrender. All it would take was one small moment, the faintest touch, to tip it over.
Except, they had that unspoken truce between them and she was reluctant to break it. Kagome liked the easiness they’d had for the past few days. She didn’t want to destroy it by making him angry or by sending him running; she didn’t want to put that awkwardness between them again. She didn’t want to move at all, unless it was to curl into his body, to soak up the safety and warmth of him. And she couldn’t do that without breaking their truce.
Her lips pressed tight, and she dragged her gaze away from his and fixed it on the threshold beside them, struggled to regulate her breathing. “I’m sorry for screaming like that. I didn’t mean to…make you worry.” She started to unfold her body, afraid that if she didn’t leave now, she would end up making a fool of herself twice in one night. “I’ll go to bed n --”
His palm slammed against the wall beside her head.
Her head whipped back around, and she stared at him, wide-eyed and shocked. He was looking away from her now, and she couldn’t see his eyes through the shadows of his bangs. What she did see was the muscle working convulsively in his jaw.
His teeth gleamed through a twist of his lips. “I’ll look again tomorrow. For whatever it was that scared you. This is -- this place is my responsibility. If something was out there, I’ll find it, so….” He breathed out, and the arm pressed so stiffly against the wall near her cheek lost some of its tension. “Don’t worry about it, okay?”
For some reason, she was having trouble breathing again, and she had to swallow around a stinging ache that gripped her throat. She nodded and slipped out from the protective stance of his body, climbing to her feet and forcing them to take her away from him. “Thank you. Goodnight.”
And she left him, still crouched and braced against the wall outside the kitchen, while her heart beat -- heavy, frenetic, objecting -- in her chest.
That was…. He was….
He was always grumbling about it, but he never balked at taking care of her, and now she was certain that if she told InuYasha about Hidaka-san, he would just make the situation worse. After all that he’d done, she couldn’t allow something as ridiculous as a little harassment to hurt him. She had to disable the situation, somehow.
Tomorrow, she thought, taking a blind, automatic course through the Sachi’s hallways. Tomorrow, I’ll find a way to deal with Hidaka-san that doesn’t cause more problems for everyone.
She could do it. She just had to try a different approach.
Right?
**************************************************** ***************
Early the next morning, Kaede was sitting on the small porch of her little cabin, wrapped in several layers of coats and mufflers and sipping at a steaming cup of tea. Kagome was certain Kaede’s dark eyes had spotted her the moment she rounded the curve in the trail that hid it from the Sachi, but Kaede didn’t acknowledge her until she’d come to a shivering stop in front of the cabin’s wooden steps, her breath puffing white clouds of humidity in the still-pale light. The sun was just shy of making its sky-warming appearance, and all around them, the forest was beginning to stir with it’s winter daytime activities.
Kaede smiled at her, eyeing her bed-tossed hair and the dark circles under her eyes. “Good morning, Kagome. May I offer you some tea?”
Kagome managed a weak smile, fully aware of the sight she made. After she’d left InuYasha on the porch, she’d spent the majority of her night tossing, turning, and pacing around in the dark, seeking a solution to her problems. Sleep hadn’t even been an issue. “No, thank you, Kaede. I don’t have much time before I have to start breakfast.”
Kaede closed her eyes and savored another sip. “Very well. May I ask, then, to what I owe the pleasure of a visit so early in our day?”
“I --” Kagome hesitated, sighed. “I was…hoping to ask your advice.”
“Oh?” Kaede peered at her over the rim of her cup, a vague smile twitching at her lips. “What has InuYasha done this time?”
Kagome felt her cheeks go pink. “No! This isn’t about InuYasha…” she chewed on her lip, “…not directly, anyway. I’m having a problem with one of the guests, and I’m not sure what to do about it.”
Kaede lowered her tea and stared at her in surprise. “A problem with one of the guests? But everyone has been getting along so well. What sort of problem is it?”
Kagome glanced behind her at the Sachi. “I really don’t have that much time, but--may I sit?”
Kaede gestured to the edge of the step beside her.
Kagome settled in, and told the older woman everything that had happened in the past few days, starting with the Hidakas’ arrival several days before. Kaede listened quietly, her expression going from serene, to curious, to frowning. When Kagome told her about the previous evening’s encounter (sans the incident with InuYasha), Kaede’s demeanor went to downright displeased.
She placed her cup down, her tea forgotten. “Kagome, you must inform InuYasha.”
Kagome bit her lip again. “I was afraid you’d say that. If I do that, won’t it only cause a scene? The Hidakas are wealthy, influential guests who have the ability to hurt the Sachi’s reputation, and that’s the last thing I want. I don’t want to be a burden.”
Kaede’s expression softened, and her hand reached out to rest against Kagome’s. “Kagome, no one here considers you a burden. Not even InuYasha,” her voice went as dry as her expression, “despite how he may act. You should realize that by now.”
Kagome shook her head stubbornly. “If we tell InuYasha, he’ll do something to make Hidaka-san mad. I’ve been trying all night to come up with a way to solve Hidaka-san’s behavior, but the only thing I can think of is to avoid him. But that might not work because he’s been deliberately seeking me out.”
Kaede frowned again. “I can see your concern. Very well. Miroku is adept when it comes to handling the customers, so perhaps asking him is the better option -- though you must understand that even if you ask Miroku, the chances of InuYasha not discovering the situation are very low. And I am certain he will not be pleased that you did not come to him.”
Kagome sighed and looked down at her hands, folded on her lap. “Maybe the best option is to avoid Hidaka-san after all. That way no one gets hurt.” She didn’t relish the thought of running and dodging her way through her duties for the next week, but if that was what it would take to keep the situation from getting out of control, then she would.
Kaede’s dark eyes searched her miserable features, then turned to seek out among the trees and their burgeoning details as the sky brightened. “You came to me because Hidaka scares you, did you not?”
Kagome bit her lip, but didn’t answer.
Kaede nodded and patted her hand. “If you truly do not wish for anyone to know, I will do my best to help you quietly. However, if InuYasha finds out about Hidaka-san’s treatment of you in some other manner, his reaction will be probably be quite extreme. Consider telling him first. He’s not unreasonable.”
The look she shot the older woman was so skeptical Kaede chuckled. “Very well. InuYasha has the ability to be reasonable under the correct conditions. If you approach him now, then you may find it easier to work out a calm solution to Hidaka-san’s inappropriate behavior.” Kaede smiled again, this time softly. “Trust is as important as friendship in a situation such as ours, Kagome. No one here does anything alone. This is the way we live.”
She stood, slow and lumbering, to her feet. “Come. If you can help me along this path, I shall help you with breakfast.”

************************************************** *****************
InuYasha was having a hard day. It was his first really bad one since the night in the attic, and he wasn’t taking it well. He was tired, deeply pissed, hungry because he’d missed most of breakfast and all of lunch, and frustrated as all hell.
And it was all. Her. Fault.
He gave a mild curse and swung himself down from the roof. The box of roof tiles beneath his arm and his tools, placed carelessly in the box, rattled ominously as he landed with a jarring thud on the porch. He crouched to set the box down, then picked up one of the top tiles and turned it over in his hands, scowling and checking for cracks. He still had two other areas of the roof to check and patch if necessary.
Everything had been going so well. Something about her still put him on edge whenever she was around, in spite of their night in the attic, but he’d been doing such a damn good job of hiding it for the past few days, he could almost pretend it wasn’t such a bed thing. He’d even gone so far as to admit that it was kind of nice; besides that whole edgy undertone, life had abruptly gotten a whole lot more comfortable after their night in the attic. It was a hell of a lot easier having her around when she smiled so effortlessly whenever she saw him. Meals were a hell of a lot more pleasant (tasted better, too) when she wasn’t pissed and freezing him out, and everyone else wasn’t glaring death at him. Even the aggravation of wanting her had settled into a kind of hesitant acceptance, like a constant background hum that made everything from waking to sleeping a little more vivid and interesting.
But last night had ruined it.
When he’d heard her scream. Gods. He’d panicked.
The ferocity of it had stunned him. He’d been half-asleep, on his way to bed when he’d caught the low, desperate echo of her voice through the trees. At that moment, he hadn’t stopped to think or wonder; he’d just reacted on instinct, rushing out into the night to trace her scent. His mind had been a confused mix of hot fury that anything would produce such a sound from her, and a guilt-ridden pang that he hadn’t stopped it from happening. When he’d finally found her, she’d been terrified.
In that one instant before she’d known it was him in front of her, the smell and sight of her had actually pained him, like icy fingers spearing through his heart. He hadn’t felt such an awful sensation in years. Five years, to be precise, and it was just as unpleasant now as it had ever been. Not being able to find what had induced her fear, his failure to pinpoint and eliminate it, had irritated him almost as much as reliving it.
He didn’t doubt her, even though he hadn’t found anything, not even after searching again once the sun had come up. Something dangerous had already happened to her once. It made sense that the threat might find her again. And given the situation that had brought him to the Sachi, he’d be an idiot not to investigate any potential threat.
And then he almost hadn’t been able to let her go. Afterward, on the porch, sitting with her in the shadows, he hadn’t pulled back, hadn’t been able even to consider leaving her alone. He’d been gripped by tension, his mind fogged with irrational relief, adrenaline, and longing, so strung he could have snapped. If she’d kissed him -- simply leaned forward a fraction and brushed her lips against his -- it would have been the end of their stupid little dance. He would have taken her to his room, to hell with the past, the risk, and the consequences, and they’d probably still be in there now.
They’d been so close. Even now, he could almost taste her.
His entire body tightened. In a fit of temper, he threw the errant tile and listened, with very little satisfaction, as it hit the edge of the roof and shattered, its sharp-edged pieces falling softly into the snow. What the hell! Everyone around here already thought he was fucking Kagome -- everyone except for all his friends, and theythought he should be fucking her. So why was he putting himself through hell avoiding it? It no longer made sense to him.
He surged to his feet.
He was a healthy male. She was a healthy female. They were attracted to each other. So why weren’t they --
“InuYasha?”
He twitched as the voice of the woman he’d just been contemplating making scream his name…spoke his name from behind him. His hands clenched at his sides, but he didn’t dare turn around. “What the hell do you want?!”
Silence.
Offended silence.
He winced. Oh, hell.
Feeling vaguely guilty, he forced himself around to face her, pushing out a sigh he hoped would help his shoulders loosen up. He nearly winced again at the look gracing her features, then gentled his voice, hoping to avoid any potential blow-up. “I -- what?”
Kagome stared at him with wide gray eyes and stiff features, as if she was trying to decide whether or not to be angry with him.
InuYasha stood impatiently, tense and anxious to get away from her until he managed to straighten out the common sense that last night’s encounter had scrambled. The night before seemed to hang between them in the silence, an unfinished, unspoken landmine just waiting to explode.
His endurance lasted for a grand total of five seconds. “You got something to say, or you want to stand here all day?”
Abruptly, she jerked her gaze away and started fidgeting. “Oh, um, actually….”
Her hair was loose around her shoulders today, and she was wearing worn-looking jeans and a sweater, but the sweater wasn’t the bulky type. It was soft and feathery, vaguely loose in that clingy way the emphasized curves instead of hiding them. He shifted uncomfortably on his bare feet and tried to remember buying that particular item for her. Instead, he found himself confronted with the vivid memory of swelling breasts and sheer white cotton. His fingers itched with the sudden urge to reach out and touch, to smooth over the material covering--
He jerked his eyes away, suppressing a growl.
She drew a deep breath. “Would you like some tea?”
His eyes went back to her. “Huh?”
She gestured at tools and the forgotten box of tiles. Her shoulders looked a little straighter, and she’d stopped fidgeting. “You’ve been up on the roof all morning, and you missed lunch. Why don’t you take a break? I have some sandwiches in the kitchen.”
He scowled. Going anywhere with her right now was a bad idea. “I don’t --”
“Please.” She still wouldn’t quite meet his eyes, but her voice had a forceful edge.
Confusion and surprise knit his eyebrows, and he caved before he thought better of it. “Okay. Sure.”
She gave a tight nod, then whirled and walked away, heading for the kitchen without another word. His eyes went straight to the sway of her hips without his consent, and for a brief moment he considered taking it back, telling her that he had other chores to do and that missing a meal wouldn’t hurt him. And he would have, if weren’t for the fact that she obviously wanted something else -- something serious, because it was making her nervous. What it could be was beyond him. As far as he knew, the only problems they had at the moment involved intense frustration and sleepless nights. And most of that might be more his problem than hers.
Though, come to think of it, she did look a bit tired today.
The only other thing he could think of was her lost memory.
He blinked and his heart gave a momentary trip over its own beat. Oh, shit. She hadn’t remembered something, had she? His feet started moving on their own, following her despite the vague foreboding gnawing at his stomach. Had last night jarred something? Maybe she remembered her name, or what she’d done before, some clue that might help them find where she’d come from.
And then what? Would they be expected to drop everything and start searching for whatever life she’d had before? Right, because she’d obviously had such a great thing going. A bullet in the head was always a sign of a happy life. Never mind the people here who already depended on her -- the stupid kit would mope around for a year if she tried to leave now. And just how the hell would she take responsibility if it somehow brought more problems to their door?
He nearly snorted, irritation making his teeth ache. Damn woman, always causing trouble. Couldn’t she just be happy with what she had right in front of her?
They were halfway to the kitchen before he realized he was actually worrying about her remembering something from her previous life. He paused for a long moment, then started moving again out of pure, dumb consternation, shaking his head. Since when the hell did he not want her remembering her past? That was dumber than the stupid sexual fixation he couldn’t seem to shake.
They reached the kitchen and Kagome slipped her socks back into her house slippers before she stepped into the kitchen. He watched her silently, still feeling confused and a bit pissed off that he seemed to be missing something, as she rounded the counter, grabbed some already-heated water from the stove and poured it into the two mugs sitting in wait. She grabbed both mugs and carted them over to the table -- where, he noticed, a plate piled with triangular finger sandwiches had already been placed out for whoever wandered in hungry. Frowning, but not in the mood to deny himself the lesser pleasure of relieving his empty stomach, he walked over to the table and stuck one of them into his mouth.
Then he noticed that the inside kitchen doors were closed. That was…rare. The kitchen usually stayed accessible to the guests at all hours of the day.
The door they’d just come through scraped softly as Kagome slid it shut.
He almost choked on his sandwich. Both guests and staff knew one of the Sachi’s cardinal rules: never just walk into a room with closed doors. Now they were alone, isolated together in a room where no one would interrupt them without warning.
What the hell is she doing?
He glared at her, but she didn’t even do him the courtesy of noticing as she shuffled slowly over to the table and sat down across from him. Struck again by the feeling that he was missing something important, he sat as well and crossed him arms, staring at her expectantly.
She wrapped her hands around her steaming mug and chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before she looked up at him. Her gray eyes were serious. “I need to ask you something.”
He blinked. “So ask.”
“It’s about last night.”
The fingers against his biceps curled into a fists as guilt slammed into him once again. “I couldn’t find anything.”
She seemed startled. “What?”
His ear gave a short, harsh flick and he avoided her gaze. “I looked again this morning. I couldn’t find it. Whatever it was, it’s gone.”
“Oh.” She pressed her lips together and, for a moment, seemed lost. “Um…that’s okay, this isn’t about -- no, I mean, that’s not what I…need --” She stopped, sighed. “I need your help with something.”
“Help?” He looked up, but this time she was avoiding his gaze. “With what?”
Her fingers fidgeted with the handle of her mug. “I have a problem. It’s…something that’s been bothering me for a while now. I thought I could deal with it on my own, but after what happened last night --” Another sigh, and her eyes lifted to his, wide and soft and pleading. “I don’t think I can anymore.”
Last night.
She wasn’t talking about the thing in the dark, the thing he hadn’t been able to protect her from. But, the only other thing that had happened last night was --
The breath slammed out of his lungs all at once, and that clenching, insistent heat started spreading through his body. He sat in stilled, stunned silence. She was coming out and asking him to do something about it? What the hell was she proposing, anyway? That they simply give in to the erotic pull that had been tugging at them from the moment she opened her eyes and looked at him?
Panic, a different kind from the one last night, tightened his throat. No. Hell no. She wasn’t allowed to just ask him like that. It was against the damn rules.
Because if she came out and asked, he wasn’t sure he could tell her no.
She didn’t seem to notice his reaction. Her fingers still fiddled with her mug handle. “The situation wasn’t bad at first, but it’s been getting progressively worse.”
Damn right. She didn’t have to tell him that. A small part of him perked up a little at the news that she’d been suffering as much as he had for the past few days.
“And it’s gotten to the point where I can’t just ignore it. It’s interfering with my work. Even with the way I deal with the guests.”
Yeah. Yeah, okay, he knew how that went. He didn’t deal much with the guests, and Kagome’s role was much more involved when it came to interacting with the people who stayed at the inn, but he knew exactly what she meant. It still had been interfering with his work, and after last night the tension was making it almost impossible to concentrate.
And she did have a point, didn’t she? Wouldn’t it be better if they just got it out of their systems? Wouldn’t life be so much easier if they didn’t have to fight their way through every moment around each other?
“I’m not sure what to do.”
I am.
His jaw clenched, so tight he was afraid it might break. No.
“I’ve never had to deal with anything like this before --”
I have. His breath returned in a hiss of air. And it almost destroyed me.
“-- but I thought if you --”
He slammed his palm into the table, making Kagome jump. “No.” He bit it out through clenched teeth, forcing each word.
No, it wouldn’t be easy, or simple, or anything like that. He knew that from experience, didn’t he? So all this other stuff was just a distraction anyway. What gave her the right to offer him something he wanted so badly when he’d already decided he couldn’t have it? It wasn’t just him he would be putting in danger this time. He had other people to protect, too. Including her. What the hell gave her the right?
Her eye rounded and she sat back. “What? But you haven’t even listened to --”
“Don’t say anything else.” Because he could already see himself giving in to her, and just then he wanted nothing more than to carry the visions plaguing his brain through into reality. He scowled, infuriated that he had to fight himself for every second of refusal. “This whole conversation is pointless and stupid. We can’t. Just deal with it.”
She just stared at him, stock-still, her spine straight. A strange expression crossed her face, something he couldn’t quite identify; it seemed hurt and angry and sad at once, but went deeper than all that, and he thought she might cry. Everything inside him cringed. For a moment, he wasn’t sure which to feel more: anger, guilt…or relief.
He didn’t do tears; if she cried, he’d do anything to get her to stop.
But she surprised him. Her expression smoothed out completely and she stood so that her chair shoved out behind her. In the enclosed kitchen, the scrape of wood and against wood sounded hollow and amplified. “Fine.” She was already turning away from him as she spoke.
The flatness of her tone made him uneasy in a way he definitely didn’t like. His eyes narrowed as they followed her across the room to the sliding doors that lead outside. She didn’t say another word to him, just threw open the door and stepped outside. In her house slippers.
Wait. After all that she’s just walking away?
He should have been relieved.
She’s just walking away?!
The uneasiness grew to unsettling levels. He shot to his feet and followed after her stomping tread, fists clenched at his side. He was having a hard time controlling his breathing -- the anger that brewed in his chest was getting in the way. “What the fuck does fine mean?”
She didn’t even pause to look back at him as she made her way along the porch. Her voice was quiet, still flat, and clipped, and it rasped across his already frayed nerves. “It means I can’t believe I ever thought talking to you would be a good idea. If you won’t help me, then I’m sure someone else can and will,” she said, then stopped and looked out across the tree-line. “Miroku is helping Kaede at the cabin today, right?” Without waiting for a response, she stepped off the side of the porch and started traipsing through the snow in those stupid fucking slippers that wouldn’t protect her stupid fucking feet on a stupid fucking beach.
And all he could do was stare at her, speechless, as she got farther and farther away. He couldn’t be hearing her right.
Miroku?
She could not honestly mean what he thought she meant. His chest tightened as she drew closer to the thickness of the trees that would very quickly hide her from his view. That bitch could not seriously be considering what she sounded like she was considering.
Miroku?!
Deep in the pit of his stomach, something coiled and burned. Kagome was just going to…give herself to that damn pervert?! She was going to let him touch her… Taste her…. Let him see what she looked like when she --
The animal inside him reared up in protest and snapped viciously, pushing and churning at the boil in his blood until all he saw was red.
Like hell!
The snarl that had been clawing at his throat burst from his lips and in the next instant, he was across the distance, catching her at the tree line, ignoring her cry of surprise as he pinned her to the bark of the nearest tree. His lip was curled and his fangs were bared as he pressed into her, full body. His knee slipped between her legs, pushing them apart and pressing up, lodging firmly against the sensitive juncture between them.
Her head dropped back, gray eyes rounded in shock. A shallow breath rushed past her lips, pushing the softness of her breasts through the stupid clingy sweater into his chest. His claws wove into her hair and tightened in the loose strands against her shoulder, his grip not painful, but present. “I won’t let you….” His face was inches from hers, and he breathed it into her face, rough and barely discernable through the growl that accompanied it. “Bitch.”
He felt her body tremble against his. Anger and the beginnings of desire had brought pink to her cheeks. Her eyes flashed at him, filled with challenge and defiance that made his body heat with anticipation.
“InuYasha!” She sounded outraged and breathless, and her chest heaved against his, betraying her anxiety. “What are you --”
“I won’t let you waste yourself on that pervert.”
“Waste myself? What are you talking about? How --” Her eyes narrowed. “Wait. You think I’m going to --” She froze beneath him, for an instant became as still as the tree against her back. Her lips parted to let out a tiny breath of sound. “You think that’s what this….” She inhaled, her body rebelling against his dominance, the expression in her eyes growing dark and turbulent. “Well, I offered to waste myself on you, but you’re obviously not interested. What’s a girl supposed to do?”
His nostrils flared in reaction to the scent of her anger mixed with the growing thickness of lust. The only thing that might have stopped him was fear, and she had none of that. Not even a trace.
He spoke through gritted teeth. “Fine. I accept.”
The fury that exploded onto her face should have worried him, not sent hot bolts of excitement prickling all over his skin. “You bastard!” Her free fist hit his shoulders with surprising force, and her voice nearly cracked with rage. She started squirming, violently trying to dislodge herself from his full-body press. “You can’t just change your mind like that! It doesn’t work that way! I’m not a plaything that you can--”
“I said I accept.” He grabbed her fists in his own and relied on his body to keep hers in place against the tree. The blood rushed in his head, and his breath came in harsh, ragged inhalations. She bucked against him, and he managed to slide further between her legs, pushing them far enough apart to allow him to settle against her. A growl rumbled in his throat, his teeth flashing fangs as the hard ridge in his jeans nestled between the perfect cradle of her thighs.
She moaned, and her teeth caught at her bottom lip as her feet lifted, snow flying from the damp fuzz of the slippers, wrapped around his waist, pulled him in tighter. He could see the pounding of her heart in the furious throb of the vein in her throat.
Her arousal hit him nearly as suddenly as his own had, a thick, heady ache in her scent that told him how hot and damp she had to be for it to be so strong. His immediate reaction was to grind against her, flattening her against the tree while his head bent forward to mumble inanely against her lips. “I accept.”
“Gods.” Her eyes glazed over, flush warming her cheeks, desire whittling her voice down to a whisper-moan. “Then what are you waiting for?”
Nothing, because his mouth was crushing hers almost before she’d finished speaking, and his tongue met hers in a battle of ferocity. She bit down hard on his lip. He pulled back a fraction to growl at her, but she’d used the distraction to pull her hands free, and her fists in his hair tugged him back to meet her lips at a better angle. The kiss went deeper the second time, her tongue encouraging instead of fighting, scraping and slipping between teeth and textures. He tasted the uniqueness that was her scent, her desperation and eagerness. Her need, wild and sharp and urgent. Just like his.
The claws of one hand scrabbled with the rough bark of the tree. The other snagged at her sweater, tugging the looser material out of his way and bypassing the underlying shirt to push at the soft roundness beneath the bra, to cup and weigh and caress. His thumb grazed the puckered nipple through the cotton, and he instantly wanted to taste there, too, to savor the feel of her skin against his tongue. His licked at the roof of her mouth as he intended to do the straining point beneath his thumb.
She mewled into his mouth and thrust her hips against his, mimicking sex, rubbing against the thickness of his arousal through the frustrating numbness of their clothes. Her fingers slipped from his hair, moved down, loosened his jacket and burrowed into the warm knit of his shirt. The erotic scratch of her nails through the woven fabric made the breath hitch in his lungs and his muscles tighten and strain. Her fingers moved lower, fumbled with his buttons, tugged clumsily at his zipper, getting the material loose enough to slip inside. And then….
He groaned, loud and long, and broke away from her mouth, dragging a searing trail over her jaw and behind her ear as the chill of slim digits worked around him to grasp tightly, to trace and stroke over hot, rigid flesh.
Down her throat. A nip here, a lick there, long laves over smooth, sweet skin. Move the damn sweater out of the way, the collar of the shirt underneath. She whimpered again, and he moved back up to feel the vibrations against his lips. His hands abandoned her covered breast for more interesting territory. Lower, wriggling beneath her waistband -- careful, don’t scratch -- to slide several fingers below the thin material beneath the jeans. One finger, just so, slipping through soft curls…tender, delicate skin….
Gods.
Her back arched, her breasts molded tight to his chest, and she let out a highly satisfying half-scream. Her grip on his erection tightened, and he thrust against her fingers, suddenly unsure if he could even make it inside her before he came.
Wet. Soft.
He nearly bit her, he was so damn excited and frustrated at the same time. He craved the fierce, slick clench of her muscles on his body. Needed to feel it wrap around him, needed the fury and freedom of thrusting into her. Now. Here. He throbbed with it, pulsed against the maddeningly restricted stroke of her fingers.
She pressed her neck against his mouth. Her head rolled against the bark in a helpless gesture, and she stared at him with half-lidded eyes, her lips parted and swollen and glistening with moisture. “InuYasha.”
A snarl ripped from him at the agonized way she said his name, at the look in her eyes as she focused solely on him. He could taste it -- her pleasure, his -- floating on the very air between them, and he didn’t have even the briefest thought of denying either of them.
“Please. Hurry.”
Too many clothes. Too much in the way. He pulled his hand free and her protesting moan stroked at his ears. His fingers tore at the button on her jeans.
He was so wrapped up, so blind and deaf and numb to any sense that wasn’t her, that he almost missed it. He thought the faint trembling in the ground was just a reflection of the trembling in his own limbs. But she felt it too; her body gave the smallest of warning jerks, even if her consciousness didn’t seem to register it, and he snapped to awareness, his body moving before he fully realized why it should.
His fingers abandoned their fumbling and his arms clamped around her waist as he sprang backward. They broke away from the solidness of the tree as the huge, worm-like body of a youkai plowed through where they had just been standing. They landed in a heap of tangled limbs several feet away, snow soaking into their clothes. The tree-trunk, splintered almost clean through near the base, tumbled over with an ominous crash that ricocheted through the trees.
Swearing, disoriented, InuYasha disentangled from soft arms and slim legs and stumbled to his feet, already bracing himself for another attack. His body shook, screeching in protest against the interruption, against the loss of drugging feminine warmth, but he gritted is teeth and ignored it, forcing his senses to focus on the threat. His gaze found the deep depression in the snow left by the heavy body, took in the damage it had done to the landscape around them.
From the other side of the felled tree, the youkai -- large and offendingly pink -- bent both ends of its thick body at him , and he swore again at the yawning mouths and protruding rows of teeth that dominated either end. It was as big as a fucking semi truck, and carried the damp, pungent reek of decay. He didn’t see any eyes, which meant the damn thing was blind and had some other way -- smell or touch -- to follow its prey’s movements.
A quick glance behind him told him Kagome hadn’t been as quick to shake off her bewilderment. She still lay sprawled and vulnerable in the snow.
“Ugly son of a bitch!” His knuckles cracked, and the fury of frustrated lust swirled like a fog through his brain. He moved away from her, hoping to draw the youkai’s attention onto himself. “Kagome! Get up and get the hell out of here!”
Her head came up, and he heard her gasp in alarm, her subsequent scramble in the snow, but he didn’t have time to feel relieved. The damn thing charged after him. Too fast. He had to jump to avoid it.
“InuYasha!”
Her muffled shriek had him shooting a mid-air glance to his right. Kagome was still on her butt on the ground, her feet and hands planted firmly in the snow, her body as frozen as the landscape around them. Her eyes, large, round, shocked, focused on a point of distance deeper into the forest. He followed her gaze, and in the split-second of change where his body stopped gaining air and started dropping, he saw it: another youkai, smaller -- though still larger than he or Kagome -- round and pink, squirming a fast trail around the trees toward them. Its teeth chattered and clicked loudly at it cut a messy swath through anything that managed to get in its way. A chill touched his spine, cooling his rage a fraction.
Holy fuck, there were two of them.
A mated pair, then? A parent and offspring? Fuck, fuck, fuck! Did that mean they had a nest somewhere around here that he’d somehow missed? In his territory? Right under his fucking nose?! He snarled again and just barely managed to pull his concentration back to hit the ground in a crouch behind the bigger one, his left hand breaking convulsively into the icy ground as he tried to keep an eye on Kagome and the two youkai at once.
The larger one stopped it’s forward lunge and reversed directions, making a second charge with its opposite end of mouth and sharp teeth.
The damn things moved too fast. Once again, he had just enough time to dodge, not enough time to attack or move any closer to Kagome.
Damn! Which one was the male, the larger or the smaller? It didn’t matter; if he took out the larger one, the smaller one would probably turn tail. It shouldn’t be too hard. The bastards’ bodies didn’t look to have any natural armor apart from those blasted teeth. But first he had to get around the ugly fucker in front of him and get Kagome behind him. No way could he attack properly if she was in the way. And that other one was too damn close for comfort.
He opened his mouth to yell at her.
Somewhere closer than it should be, another tree hit the ground with a creaking, echoing crash. Kagome let out another choked scream and suddenly started scrabbling backwards -- away from the worm coming in far too fast from the trees, and away from him, damn it!
His attention divided, he didn’t move fast enough away from the larger one’s next charge. Its teeth skimmed his side, slicing flesh and drawing blood, and the impact threw his rough dodge off mid-air. Somewhere in the background, Kagome screamed his name. The pain forced his breath out on a hiss, but he twisted, taking advantage of the proximity, and raked his claws along its pink, unprotected side. The skin was soft and porous, and his claws sank deep. His hand came away thick with a sick-yellow liquid that had to be the nasty bastard’s blood.
He landed on his back a few feet farther than he’d intended and rolled to his feet in a crouch. A sharp, ripping ache seared into the muscles along his side every time he moved, but he ignored it, his eyes going desperately over to Kagome. The other youkai had broken through the heaviest of the trees to join the bigger one so that both formed a solid blockade separating him from Kagome.
His chest closed up in a tight growl and he practically had to spit out his next breath. How the hell was he supposed to protect her if she kept getting farther away from him?! “You idiot! Get back to Sachi!”
She struggled to her feet. “How?! I can’t get around them!” Still, she edged backwards, putting some distance and trees between her and the youkai. Of course she’d end up on the forest side of the damn things.
InuYasha swore again, kicking himself for moving so far away from her. “Just get back!”
At least he’d managed to get a good hit in on the bigger one. Its huge mass wriggled violently in snow that was stained and slippery with yellowish pools of its own blood. It let out a painfully high-pitched squeal as the smaller one joined it. The smaller one gave an even higher-pitched response, and he winced back, his ears shivering in agony as the sound ricocheted through his brain.
But then it turned on Kagome, teeth gnashing, saliva dripping through the cracks.
InuYasha’s nose twitched at the scent of severe hunger, of anticipation, thickening the air.
FUCK.
“Kagome, run!”
She gave him a panicked, wide-eyed look just as the smaller one charged. The trees in its path snapped like twigs as it ate up the distance between itself and its prey. A growl burst from InuYasha’s throat, and he sprinted forward, frantic to reach her first. But the larger one was still moving, and it took advantage of his distraction. A huge mouth, filled with teeth, snapped at him as he tried to get around it.
“Shit!” He threw himself to the side, narrowly missing getting a chunk taken out of his shoulder. He hit the ground hard and rolled, raking his claws through the open wound in his side as he did. He came up flinging power. “Hijin kessou!” Blood red blades slammed through the ugly thing’s body, shredding it into spattered pieces of flesh and yellow slime, but InuYasha didn’t bother to make sure it was dead. He whirled around, intent on putting himself between her and danger.
He already knew he hadn’t been fast enough.
Kagome.
The youkai hadn’t even noticed its companion’s destruction. It was in a mindless, instinct-driven race towards food. She was running, weaving and skirting around tree trunks, but the obstacles didn’t seem to be slowing it down. She didn’t have a prayer of escaping the hurtling mass of muscle and teeth.
He wasn’t moving fast enough!
“Kagome!” He was running, but he wouldn’t make it. His hands went instinctively, unconsciously, to his side, reaching for a sword that wasn’t there.
Shit!
At the sound of his voice she turned; her back slammed into a tree. He literally saw the breath rush from her lungs. The youkai was almost on top of her, and she’d come to a jarring stop.
His heart filled his throat and everything inside him contracted under an aching, horrified pressure. No. He wouldn’t watch her get ripped apart. He wouldn’t. He gathered himself for a jump. Maybe, just maybe, if he came down on top of the thing he could stop her from getting killed.
He saw her eyes, still glazed from the impact, widen. Saw her hands lift as if to protect her face. Heard her shriek.
And then, like some terrifying myth come to life, his incredulous eyes saw the burst of brilliant pink energy flash from her palms.
He knew what it was, recognized the familiar hum of purifying power as it moved towards him. He didn’t want to believe it.
The youkai dissolved. It’s body broke into tiny pieces that scattered away into particles of pure air. The residual wave of it caught him off guard, and it was only instinct that had him throwing up his hands to protect himself before it tossed him backwards into the snow. He heard the sizzle, caught the whiff of burning flesh as the purifying power raked over his palms.
Then the glow faded out, and the warmth of the sun filtered peacefully through the branches.
Breathing hard, completely stunned, he lifted his hands into the air above him. The skin was raw and red and blistering, like a terrible sunburn, but they’d taken the brunt of it and saved his face from a similar burn. They hurt like hell, too, but pain was a tertiary concern at the most.
She purified it.
Off in the distance he heard shouting, and pounding footsteps coming closer. Miroku, Kaede. Shippou. Frightened guests gathering on the edges of the Sachi’s porch. Slowly, he dropped his hands into the icy comfort of the snow and forced his body to move, pushing his protesting muscles into a sitting position. Kagome sat collapsed against the foot of the tree where she’d collided, looking weak, pale, and just as stunned as he felt.
She purified it.
Her eyes lifted to his, and their dull gray pleaded with him, threaded through with fear and confusion. He just sat there, staring back as the cold seeped through his clothes, into his skin, and deep in his chest. The yelling drew closer, and the voices became more distinct, calling out to them in panic.
She purified it.
Kaede came lumbering into view with Shippou on her shoulder, moving as fast as he’d ever seen her, worry written into the harsh lines of her face. She crossed the devastated forest area to kneel by Kagome’s side.
Miroku came running up to him, his expression hard, alarmed, astute. Miroku was no fool. He’d taken in the churned earth and the littering of trees; he recognized a battle ground when he saw one. And he couldn’t have missed the flare of pure power. “InuYasha, what happened?”
He felt as if he’d shut down, somehow; he heard it in the monotone of his voice. “She purified it.”

********************************************************* **********
They corralled the guests back into the Sachi. The simplest explanation that they could come up with -- a wild animal attack -- was also the closest to the truth without going into uncomfortable detail. Miroku reassured the guests that it had been a freak occurrence, that the area around the Sachi was actually quite safe, and that the animal had been killed and the problem solved. He encouraged the guests to return to whatever they had been doing before the incident.
In the meantime, Kaede took Kagome to the kitchen to examine her. InuYasha stood in the hallway outside and waited, scowling at his hands as the burned skin began to heal -- slowly, because an injury from human spiritual powers was a serious thing for a youkai. After Miroku had managed to restore a semblance of peace and quiet to the Sachi, he joined him, leaning against the wall across from him and crossing his arms.
“Kaede makes a balm that might help with that.”
InuYasha waved him off without even a snort of reaction.
Miroku studied him, his brows troubled. “You know what this means, right?”
“Tch. I’m not an idiot. I know.”
“Do you know what you want to do about it?”
InuYasha glared at him. Miroku met it with a level stare.
The kitchen door slid open with a rough wooden thud, and Kaede stepped out into the hallway. They watched her as she shuffled over to them.
She sighed and viewed them both through eyes both dark and grave. “Kagome is exhausted, but in perfect health otherwise. She’ll need rest to regain her full strength, but that will only take a day or two.”
Miroku’s brows lowered a bit, and he walked past Kaede, over to the open kitchen door to peer inside. He kept his voice low. “We are not mistaken in what happened earlier?”
InuYasha felt his lip curl. “No mistake. She purified it.” He still felt numb from the shock. Kagome had purified the youkai right in front of him, and that meant spiritual powers. And that was one coincidence too many.
Kaede nodded. “Reiki,” she said. “It’s what Miroku and I have been sensing since she arrived. She has strong spiritual powers.”
Miroku frowned. “But why didn’t we know? You and I, at the very least, should have been able to measure them from the start.”
Kaede shook her head. “I am unsure. I suspect it has something to do with her injury and her loss of memories. Somehow, she’s been suppressing her own powers.”
“Suppressing?” Miroku sucked in a breath. “But that’s not -- was it a deliberate deception?”
“It is not a normal talent, but the human mind is capable of remarkable things. It may be that a strong enough desire coupled with the trauma of her head injury allowed this kind of effect.” Kaede frowned. “But the desire to live is also very strong. The threat to her life was probably enough to call out her hibernating powers.”
InuYasha stared at the hallway floor and felt a cold, hard ball form heavy in the pit of his stomach. His hands clenched, despite the pain it caused. A strong enough desire? Desire to what? Keep the truth from them? Hide from whoever had hunted her? Did she not want her powers, or did she just not want them finding out about her powers? What was the difference, anyway?
A grimace turned his mouth. “She’s strong, isn’t she?” he asked Kaede.
“Incredibly strong. They have to be, to have purified the way she did. Not many miko can channel power so directly like that without taking significant damage to their own bodies. ” Kaede hesitated, her black eyes leveling a meditative look at InuYasha. “Fully unleashed and controlled, I believe her powers will rival even my sister’s.”
He’d expected as much, but hearing it was still like taking a medium blow to the gut. He winced. “Fuck.”
Kaede nodded. “Something else that will be of interest to both of you. I haven’t tested the extent of her knowledge yet, but I believe she’s had to have extensive training with the control she demonstrated today.”
Miroku shifted, his fingers rubbing thoughtfully against his temple, as if to sooth a headache. “This goes beyond mere coincidence. This is…unbelievable.”
InuYasha grunted. “I know.”
Miroku sighed and glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. “He needs to know about this, InuYasha.”
They both looked at him expectantly, but he didn’t move.
Why? Why now, when he’d just decided to change things? His mind couldn’t let it go, couldn’t forget the image of her flushed and pinned between him and that tree. And then the one of her purifying the rabid youkai about to end her life. She hadn’t done anything wrong, yet he still felt like he’d been betrayed.
She was a miko. The similarities were too much. How could they just accept this? How could he just dismiss it as nothing, no matter how much a part of him wanted to?
Strong powers. Extensive training. Just like….
Slowly, he walked over to join Miroku in staring through the open kitchen door. Kagome sat at the table, smiling wearily at Shippou, who had his face turned up her in abject adoration. Neither one of them looked over or seemed aware of the somber group outside the door.
He wanted nothing more than to cross the distance between them and put his nose in her hair, run his hands over her body. He wanted to make sure for himself that she was unharmed, rather than take the word of the old bat, or even trust his eyes.
The frozen, twisted knot in his stomach was starting to make him sick. He knew he should feel relieved that he’d discovered this about her before he’d finished what they’d started in the forest. But he couldn’t just dismiss the camaraderie they’d developed in the past few days, and ignoring her after what they’d done in the woods would be damn near impossible. He hadn’t realized how much he’d come to trust her until that trust had been called into question.
“Well?”
He stared at her a few moments longer, fighting the confusion of emotions that tightened his chest. “Fine.” He bit it out through clenched teeth. “Contact him. Maybe he can tell us who the fuck she really is.”
Then he turned his back on her and left the room.
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A/N: Okay, so it took me a little longer than I wanted to finish the last section, but I did it. Finally. And after all, I’ve been looking at it for so long, and going over it so much that I’m afraid it will never look right to me. So, please feel free to let me know if it sucks, and any possible grammar/typo/sentence structure flaws.
Any way, I’m at home, still celebrating a particular birthday and the little time I have left with my family this weekend. Enjoy it if you can. (I’m quite afraid I’ve messed it up somehow. If it’s too unbelievable, I may have to go back and re-write later.)
~ Quill (yep, that’s me.^__^)
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Sachi	By : Quillwing717 Category: InuYasha > General Views: 18692 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Sachi