Friday, September 24, 2004

   inuyasha 7
Kagome stared up at Inuyasha with something akin to true horror as the hanyou wrapped his arms around his stomach, threw back his head and laughed so hard and so loud that she clapped her hands over her own ears to dampen the sound and cringed away from him. As she watched, he sank to his knees, tears rolling down his cheeks freely as his entire body shook from the force of his laughter. The numbness wore off slowly and Kagome moved with painstaking caution in an attempt to escape the laughing hanyou's attention. Edging towards the well, her only escape, she forced her shaking muscles to move step by wary step.

Inuyasha was rolling on his back now, knocking his head back against the ground and still his laughter rang out, making her ears ring from the sheer volume. She very carefully eased onto the lip of the well, her eyes still locked on his face. For a moment she just stared, half transfixed by the pure unadulterated glee in his expression and laughter while her other half stayed horrified at his reaction. She had to get away before he regained control and she caught the end of whatever he would wind down to.

Kagome shoved off quickly, closing her eyes and waiting for the silence that would indicate she was back in her time.

She had barely begun to fall when two clawed hands caught her beneath the arms and hoisted her up out of her only escape avenue. Still laughing, Inuyasha tossed her into the air, twisting his hold to turn her so that when she came back down he could catch her again under the arms... Facing him. His eyes were open now, glittering gold and showing the same excitement that filled his laughter.

Inuyasha still shook, his laughter bubbling over even as he made a very obvious, conscious effort to get it under control. The laughter quieted to a more bearable level, but he finally shook his head and stopped trying to silence it completely. He yanked her forward, his mouth locking onto hers in a hard, quick kiss that was over just as quickly as her stunned brain registered it had happened.

And then she was casually tossed over his shoulder as he turned away from the well and bounded off towards the village with dizzying speed.



***



Inuyasha burst through the door to Kaede's hut, 'still' shaking with laughter, but the sound had finally died down to a softer level. He held Kagome over his shoulder with an arm around her waist as he sauntered in, his eyes gleaming wickedly and wearing a smile so broad it was a wonder it didn't split his face in half.

His companions backed away nervously from this completely unexpected turn of events. Shippo's mouth gaped open as he looked from Inuyasha's face to Kagome's, taking in her rather shell-shocked expression. "Wha-what did you do to Kagome?" he squeaked out, his little hands fisting in the fabric of his pants.

Sango hadn't thought it was possible, but Inuyasha's grin grew even larger and he swept Kagome forward, setting her on her feet in front of him with exaggerated care. He took a quick step back as she balanced herself, folding his arms over his chest and very distinctly singing out, "Stay!"

Kagome instantly dropped into the cross-legged, sitting position, shooting him a fierce glare as stunned gasps filled the air around her. Her mouth opened to let him have it with his own spell, but Inuyasha quickly pressed a clawed finger over her lips. Smirking down at her, he started that deep chuckling again, "Not unless you want me to make up for two years in the next ten minutes, Ka-go-me."

Her brows lowered and she growled out, "Fuck you."

"Kagome-chan!" Sango's eyes went huge and she involuntarily lifted a hand in front of her open mouth as Kagome's response only served to set the hanyou off again.

Miroku cleared his throat, eyes wide as he stammered out, "A..a subduing spell? On Kagome-sama?!"

"How did such a thing happen?" even Kaede's voice was full of confused shock.

"I don't know," Kagome muttered irritably, refusing to meet Inuyasha's gaze as the hanyou sat down in front of her with a smug grin.

"Who cares?!" Inuyasha flung his arms out in an expansive gesture.

Kaede gave Inuyasha a dry look, "You don't want to know 'how' you can subdue Kagome?"

He shrugged, "I know what to say and that it works. Why should I care why? I obviously did something right!"

"Kagome?" Kaede shook her head at the hanyou and turned her attention to the blushing girl. "This is why you wanted to know if there was a way to break a subduing spell, isn't it?"

Kagome hunched her shoulders, her attention focused on her lap as she quietly admitted, "Hai."

Miroku was shaking his head, "Every time you fell... Inuyasha had said 'stay,' hadn't he? You just didn't want any of us to know you were being subdued as well."

She looked more and more miserable, but nodded once and said in an even softer voice, "Hai."

"HA!" Inuyasha rocked back on his heels with a delighted shout.

"Sit!" she barked out at him.

"Stay!"

"Baka!"

"Bitch!"

"If you're 'quite' finished...?" Kaede interrupted the pair before the fight could escalate further. Inuyasha's smile hadn't wavered and his voice was downright cheerful as he responded to Kagome. She didn't trust the outcome with Inuyasha looking so blatantly delighted and Kagome looking as though she'd do the hanyou serious damage if given the chance. The role reversal was unsettling and she wasn't sure how to handle this situation.

Satisfied when Kagome averted her face and Inuyasha just snorted, propping his chin on upraised hands and looking for all the world like the happiest man alive, she cleared her throat and looked at the grumbling girl, "Kagome, I have some questions for you."

She sucked in a breath, pondering for a moment whether or not to answer. After all it wasn't like they could force... Her eyes drifted to where Inuyasha smiled at her just a little too sweetly... 'Damn.'

She finally released the indrawn breath in a defeated sigh and nodded, motioning for Kaede to continue and sneaking another glare at Inuyasha when the hanyou started to giggle softly.

"How did this happen?" the old miko repeated her earlier question, her voice full of the authority given only by someone who would have nothing but the complete truth.

Kagome winced, but she was determined to keep at least a part of her secret. No need for anyone to find out about the oh-so incriminating tattoo, and definitely no need for Inuyasha to find out she'd been drunk, "I told Sango about the night I had out with my friends..." She shot Sango an almost pleading look not to speak up before looking back at her lap again, "I don't really remember what happened. There was just this... this shrine and an old monk or a priest or something. I remember meeting him, but the next thing I knew I was back out in the street as though nothing had happened and the shrine was gone."

Sighing, Kagome ran a hand through her hair, still refusing to look at Inuyasha, "I didn't think anything of it, but when I came through the well the first thing I heard was Inuyasha yelling. The first word I heard him yell was 'stay,' and all of a sudden my legs just went totally numb and down I went."

When Inuyasha snorted, she was practically growling at him herself. He just winked at her, mouthing "stay," and she immediately subsided. Kagome fidgeted nervously for a moment to see if he intended to follow through on his threat before she relaxed. When he simply motioned for her to continue, brows raised suggestively, she frowned and spoke again.

"I panicked," she shrugged. "I wasn't sure I was under a spell! I mean, I hoped I wasn't, but in case I was I had to ask and see how it could have happened. I don't have a rosary or anything so I wasn't sure how it could have been cast..."

"You asked about tattooing," Kaede reminded, watching Inuyasha's ears perk up.

"The spell's tattooed on? This just keeps getting better every fucking minute!" Inuyasha was instantly laughing again, trying desperately to smother it behind his hands and failing. He might have said he didn't care how it happened, but if Kagome was spilling her guts about it, he definitely wanted to hear it. And a tattoo would mean 'her' spell was permanent! Inuyasha could barely believe his good luck.

"No! It's not-! I don't-" Kagome tried several times and then threw up her hands in frustration and told an all out lie, "I have no idea how the spell is in me. It just is!" she growled, folding her arms across her chest and fighting the urge to smack Inuyasha upside the head.

Luckily, with the irritation in her voice and the fact that her blush had been present for nearly the entire conversation, no one thought to question it. Kaede simply sat back, looking thoughtful while Sango looked dizzy and Miroku had an almost pained look on his face. Shippo was shaking his head and sniffling, as though he was on the verge of tears.

"Kagome, if you can't 'sit' Inuyasha then who's going to save me?" the kitsune gave her a watery look before burying his face in his little hands. "I'm gonna die!" he wailed out miserably.

Kagome made a face and tried to reach out to the kit as best she could while her lower half was being held immobile from the spell, "It isn't that I CAN'T do it, Shippo, it's just-"

"It's just that now *I* can do it back," Inuyasha cut her off to exclaim smugly, catching her wrist with one hand to keep her from reaching Shippo. "AND... Now you can't go back to your stupid time unless *I* say it's all right."

The look Kagome gave him was coldly furious, "Inuyasha, that's not fair-!"

He tilted his head to one side, arching one brow mockingly, "Oh really? I'd say this is as fair as it gets, Kagome. Now I don't have to worry about you using the fucking spell on me," he was grinning again, idly toying with the rosary. "I can say yours just as easy as you say mine."

Kagome started getting to her feet, "Inuyasha-!"

"Stay," he closed his eyes and sighed happily when she dropped right back down again. "Ah, sorry, Kagome, but I just couldn't help myself," his shoulders started shaking again when she started cursing beneath her breath, biting her lip in an effort to keep from screaming out a long line of "sits."

'He's right, he has two years that he'd just love to make up for,' Kagome scowled at him before closing her eyes and reaching back to rub the small of her back. 'There is no possible way this day could get any worse for me.'

Kagome's eyes went wide when she felt herself being lifted again, "What the-?! Hey! Inuyasha, what do you think you're you doing?!"

Inuyasha grinned at the rest of the group, tossing her back over his shoulder and turning to go with a wave, "Kagome and I have a lot to talk about. I just came here to show you what was going on so you don't worry. We'll be back sometime later, so don't bother coming to look for us."

"I refuse to talk to you until you stop that goddamn laughing!" she hissed at him as he was once again out the door and bounding off towards the woods, leaving behind a hut full of very shocked humans and a sobbing baby youkai. When she felt his chest and shoulders vibrate with his laughter again, she smacked him on the back with her palm, "I mean it, Inuyasha, I'll say it!"

"You do and we both fall," he responded with a shrug that had her grabbing onto him in fear of a sudden tumble. "Ease up, Kagome, I'm not planning on dropping you," he reached up with his free hand and patted her leg in what she imagined was supposed to be a comforting gesture.

"You just want to drag me off somewhere private before you break my spine," she grumbled, pouting as she watched the treetops pass by in a blur.

"Did I say that?" Inuyasha questioned, his voice once again taunting and smug. "I have something completely different in mind. You and I are going to sit down and talk for once, and if you get mad and 'sit' me or try to run off, I'm using mine. Neither of us is going to go anywhere until we've cleared up some things that have been bothering me."

"I hate you," she tugged on a lock of his hair in a pique.

"Mmm, I'm sure you do," she could feel him smile when he leaned his head against her leg. "Probably just as much as I hate you."

Kagome let out a grunt when Inuyasha dropped rather abruptly from the sky, coming to an easy stop in a small clearing of the forest. He'd purposefully picked a place far enough away from both the village and the well for his own peace of mind, despite his newfound control. This confrontation had been years in the making and he was taking no chances on getting interupted before he was through.

Inuyasha slid Kagome down his chest, smirking at the sudden jump in her heartbeat, but wiping the expression off his face before he again held her beneath the arms and said, "Stay."

Kagome sucked in a breath sharply, supported only by Inuyasha's hands as the hanyou eased her down to a seated position in the thick grass before he took up a similar position directly in front of her. Frustrated and suddenly feeling infinitely weary at the whole complicated mess, Kagome just propped her elbows on her knees and let her head drop into her hands. Shoulders slumped and looking utterly defeated, she spoke in a flat tone, "What do you want to know, Inuyasha?"

He was quiet for a long moment, just watching her and letting the tension sweep out of him. Two long years of walking on eggshells around her, never knowing when she might take offense to something he said and drop him with the damn rosary so she could go running home. It would never happen again.

Suddenly everything made sense.

Kagome refusing to "sit" him no matter what he tried and instead taking 'his' usual avenue of responding. He tried to remember how many times she'd fallen only to say she tripped and fought the urge to chuckle. So now she knew what it was like to be rendered totally helpless with a casual word... He couldn't say he felt bad for her, on the contrary, now he felt better than he had in ages. Like he had absolutely nothing to worry about. He might still be under the rosary's spell, but dammit, if she let him have it, she was going to get it right back just as much!

That brought his thoughts back to the one "sit" she actually had given him last week, the one that had been unexpected and, as he thought, totally undeserved. He'd just dropped her for what had to have been the tenth time that day without knowing it and she'd snapped. He did smile as he reached out and tucked a long lock of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingered a moment to feel the silky texture, "I'm surprised you didn't bite off your tongue."

"It was a near thing," Kagome looked up at him, supporting her chin in her upturned hands and trying to ignore the way her heart pounded at his fingers gently grazing her skin.

"Did you mean it?" Inuyasha inquired curiously, softly, searching her eyes for any hint of deception. "When you apologized, I mean. Did you really mean you were sorry or were you just doing that because you knew I would find out about this sooner or later and you were hoping I wouldn't go crazy with it?"

She shook her head, her lips briefly quirking in a regretful smile, "I meant it."

He folded his arms in the sleeves of his kimono and continued to watch her with that piercing gaze, "Why? I want to hear it from you."

Kagome started to turn her face away, but Inuyasha was faster, catching her chin in his hand and turning her eyes back to his. He shook his head at her, not relinquishing his hold, "Talk to me like this, Kagome, or I'll use it again. I already told you, I have two years worth of 'sits' that you have against me and unless you want me to use them all now, you have to do things 'my' way."

"Keh," she snorted, immediately shutting her mouth and blushing as she realized she'd just made a very Inuyasha sound in front of what had instantly become a very amused hanyou. He was chuckling again, low and comfortable this time, but no less amused than he'd been previously.

He squeezed her chin lightly, eyes twinkling as he smirked, "Damn, Kagome, just how much *did* you pick up from being around me?"

Her blush deepened and she grumbled, "All the bad things apparently."

"We'll get to that," Inuyasha promised in a tone that almost had her flinching again from the depth of promise in it. He nudged her chin up again to get her to open her eyes, waiting for her to do so before removing his hand and giving her an imperious nod, "Why are you sorry, Kagome?"

She sighed, reaching out to lightly touch his knee, "Look, Inuyasha, I just... I never stopped to really think about what it had to be like. It was just something to make you leave me alone or... or get me home before you caught up."

"Or whenever you decided you were annoyed," he made a face at her.

Kagome nodded, "Or even then. I hadn't realized it might actually hurt."

His brows rose when she rubbed the small of her back again, "Sore, are you?"

"I suppose you know just what that feels like," she gave him a dry look when he smiled again. "I don't have any idea how you don't hate me. You don't even want to know some of the things that have gone through my mind about you lately."

"Apparently fucking myself is one of them," he bit his lip in an effort not to laugh out loud again at the very disgruntled look on her face. Every word out of her mouth was lifting his spirits, making him almost euphoric as the helpless feeling he'd always seemed to have around her melted away. She was honestly apologizing. He hadn't needed to bully her or threaten or anything! It just took a couple weeks of him unknowingly subduing her to realize what sorts of hell she put him through on purpose. They were suddenly on equal footing.

'And you kissed her,' a little voice reminded him, drawing his eyes down to lips that were turned ever so slightly downward in a guilty frown. He sucked in a breath, eyes widening as he remembered, 'Holy fuck, I... I did, didn't I? I kissed Kagome! I wasn't even thinking about it, it just... it just seemed so... natural. She...felt good.'

"I'm sorry about that too," she had blushed again, not noticing the sudden stillness that came over the hanyou as he was wrapped up in his own thoughts. "I was so angry at you for saying what you did, but I just couldn't bring myself to say...you know. I figured you were just being you." A thought struck her and she looked up at him suspiciously, "Were you actually trying to trick me into saying it?"

Inuyasha blinked rapidly, clearing his throat as he tried valiantly to swallow his own blush from not only the reminder of his "plan," but the thoughts presently chasing around in his head, "Maybe..."

Kagome stared at him in disbelief before shaking her head and letting out a tiny laugh, "God, you probably didn't know 'what' to think. Did I really say it that much before?"

"Fucking constantly," he growled, grabbing the rosary and giving it a little tug.

She arched one brow and eyed the necklace meaningfully, "Don't think I'm taking that off you, Inuyasha."

He flashed her a grin, the laughter again dancing just below the surface and lighting his eyes, "Why not? Don't you know that I just might be more inclined to be lenient if you took it off for me? You ought to placate me now for all those times you slammed me into the ground."

Kagome reached out and grabbed the necklace, twisting it once in her fist to put a stop to the false sugar-tone in his voice, "If I'm going to be fucking subdued with a word, then so are you."

Inuyasha burst out laughing again, pressing his hands gingerly to his chest as he managed to get out, "I think...I'm breaking... my...own... ribs!!"

"Serves you right," she stuck her tongue out and started to rise.

"Stay."

Right back down again.

"What the hell?! I didn't 'do' anything!" Kagome tried to lunge at him, but Inuyasha pressed a hand to her chest and gave her a little shove. Kagome gave a shriek of surprise and toppled back, her legs still crossed, but the rest of her lying flat on the ground.

Inuyasha leaned over her with a smirk, one brow arching in an obvious taunt, "You know, now I think I understand why you said it so often."

"Sit!" her brows lowered at his amusement.

Not having taken Inuyasha's position into account at the time, Kagome was unprepared for the wind getting knocked out of her when the hanyou came crashing down half on and half off her. Kagome was quite literally frozen in place, not just from him slamming into her, but for the fact that Inuyasha's face was hidden at her throat, his chest flattening hers, and one of his legs between her own. And from the way his chest was shaking, he was still laughing his head off at her expense.

"This isn't funny, Inuyasha!" she ground out, trying to ignore the shock of contact and what exactly it was doing to her insides. Feeling him smile against her neck, her eyes went wide and she tried to work her hands under his shoulders, "Get the hell off me!"

"Can't," he shrugged, his voice thick with suppressed amusement. "You should know that, it's what you used to run away all the time. I'm stuck here until it wears off."

"What if someone sees us like this? They'll think we... Ah, that you and me..." she hissed at him, shoving at his shoulders a little desperately when she couldn't bring herself to complete that thought out loud. "Dammit-"

"You really shouldn't swear so much, Kagome," Inuyasha lifted his head and grinned down at her.

Her entire body went so stiff Inuyasha was sure she would crack her own spine any second. She was dying to scream at him, he knew it, could practically taste it radiating from her. But Kagome took several deep, shaking breaths and very quietly said, "You really are a sonofabitch, you know that? Who do you think I learned it all from, hn?"

Inuyasha's lips compressed in a thin line and the laughter won out again as he choked out, "I had no idea I was such a great teacher."

Kagome gave up, smacking him upside the head with a sour look, "This *isn't* funny! And stop enjoying it, you baka!"

"I don't know what it is to you, but this is damn hilarious for me!" he lifted his torso, bracing his weight on his forearms and patiently waited for the feeling to return to his own legs. He didn't trust Kagome to not attempt to do him some damage with as much as he was teasing her. "Hell, Kagome, do you have any idea how great I feel right now?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes and nodding before admitting hesitantly, "Yeah, I... I think I do."

"Really? Tell me," he propped his elbows on the ground and again rested his chin in his hands and looked down at her curiously.

Kagome searched his eyes, her own narrowed as she looked for something she apparently didn't see, because she sighed and forced her tense muscles to relax, "Well... Think about this from my perspective. Before now, that is. I mean, for two years all I had to do was say one word and you went down. 'The great Inuyasha.' It..." she blushed and looked away from his eyes. "It felt good to..."

"Have that kind of control?" he arched one brow, laughing softly when she blushed again. 'The great Inuyasha, hn? Is that how she thinks of me?'

"I'm not exactly the strongest person that ever lived," she muttered, embarrassed. "And you're... well you're you! You already know how powerful you are."

Inuyasha shook his head and sighed, reaching out to trace her cheek with one claw, "I still would have protected you, Kagome."

Stunned, Kagome's eyes went wide as she froze, transfixed at the unexpected and completely uncharacteristic action, "I-Inuyasha?"

He flashed her a cocky grin, knowing now that she was too surprised and probably confused to notice that the spells had worn off. That meant he was going to stay right where he was, "Maybe not at first, but don't you trust me now? Be honest," he growled lightly, a stern warning, when she opened her mouth.

She snapped it shut again, frowning at him for a moment before she huffed in irritation and grudgingly admitted, "I always have."

Inuyasha nodded, satisfied and relaxing even more, but...he wanted Kagome to relax too, and she was having some trouble with him laying on top of her. Regretfully, he pushed himself up, sitting calmly as he tried to read the emotions flashing in her dark eyes. Finally, he just shrugged and reached out a hand to help her sit up as well, "How about we come to some kind of an agreement about this whole thing."

'That's it, the world is turning upside down,' Kagome just stared at Inuyasha blankly. 'Inuyasha is being calm and reasonable! Ah hell, of course he is. He's back at the advantage and loving every minute of it.'

"I'll try not to say yours if you promise to do the same," he offered, nodding proudly to himself even as he snagged her arm and dragged her possessively under the curve of his shoulder. Holding her there with an arm wrapped around her shoulders, he continued with his terms, "And absolutely NO sneaking off to your time or else I'll definitely say it. As many times as I have to until you stop." He halted her quickly forming protest with a grunt and an upraised hand, "You want to go back, you have to convince me first. AND I go with you. No exceptions."

"But-" she started to protest.

"That part isn't open for discussion," Inuyasha shook his head, his arm tightening around her shoulders. "I'm not going to lie and say I'm not happy about what happened 'this' time you went alone, but what if it had been something else? Something that wanted to hurt you?" He sighed, absently squeezing her shoulder at the dark imaginings trying to make their way into his thoughts, "No. I go too, or you don't go at all. End of discussion."

Kagome tried to shrug off his arm, but he held tight, growling at her when she lifted her hands to try to shove it away. She finally gave up, folding her arms over her chest and voicing her previous observation, "You're loving this, don't deny it."

"I won't," he admitted with a heart-stopping grin that had her staring up at him as though she'd never seen him before. "Now I have a much better way to keep you close; where you belong. Whether you like it or not, that spell means you're bound to me. Just like I've been bound to you. I finally don't have to feel so fucking helpless around you."

Kagome's brows drew down in confusion, "Helpless? You? You have to be kidding..."

"Keh, how the hell do you feel knowing I can open my mouth and send 'you' to the ground with a word, hn? It's serious enough that you haven't tried to run off even once yet and 'that' has to be some kind of damn record with the two of us." He chuckled when she bit her lip and looked away with yet another blush that had his mind momentarily wandering. He shook off the distraction with a bit of a rueful chuckle and chastised his overactive imagination, 'Okay, Inuyasha now is not exactly the best time for these kind of thoughts.'

"Now imagine what it would be like if you didn't have 'sit' to use against me, but I still had st- ah, I still had mine," he suggested, quickly biting off the end of the word that would have sent her to the ground again. 'Wow, that "is" kinda hard...' he frowned briefly at the panic on her face before it relaxed into a thoughtful expression to show she was obediently making the effort to see things his way.

Her eyes widened slowly and she shot a quick look up to his expectant gaze, "Oh...."

"Exactly," the smile he gave her this time had her sucking in a breath sharply. Warm and genuine and...and all for her. "And," he reached up and tapped her forehead once, "now you 'have' to stay."

Kagome swore when she slumped into him, barely catching herself with her hands on his thighs with Inuyasha unsuccessfully trying to smother his laughter even as he patted her back, "Sorry! Sorry! That slips out a lot easier than I thought!"

"No kidding," she growled, but after a tense moment, just sighed and gave up without responding in kind. Inuyasha covered his smile by hiding her face against his chest, things were definitely looking up for him.

'I had no idea it meant that much to him for me to be here,' Kagome's mouth opened, but she closed it again when she couldn't think of what to say aloud. 'Is he really this excited just because he can do the same thing to me that I do to him?'

Inuyasha dragged her up into his lap, hoping that her lack of resistance wasn't just due to the subduing spell. He tucked her head beneath his chin, closing his eyes and letting a feeling of peace go through him. He was back in control... For the first time in two years, and it was restoring his confidence and pride as nothing else could have done. Not just that, but Kagome was bound to him now. He'd find out exactly how eventually, but for now it was enough that some higher power had obviously decided to show her what he had known from the first time he'd protected her.

Inuyasha smiled gently, wrapping both arms around her and pressing her into him until he could feel her heart beating strongly against his chest. He sighed, reaching up to stroke a hand through her hair, knowing he was probably shocking her out of her wits with as much as he was touching her.

'That's too fucking bad, she'll just have to get used to it,' he thought, reveling in the way she was slowly giving in, leaning back into his embrace. His chest rumbled again with soft laughter, but this time, Kagome just relaxed into him even further. When her arms tentatively circled his waist, his smile widened.

Kagome belonged to him.

And soon enough, she'd know it too.


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