Friday, December 24, 2004

   InuYasha 34
Miroku watched Inuyasha silently from where he sat across the small campfire, a thoughtful expression on his face. He seriously doubted the hanyou was aware of how very telling his behavior towards the unconscious girl was, but he wasn't going to be the one to bring it to his attention. With Kagome still completely unresponsive to their attempts to wake her, Inuyasha was more likely to take his head off than to admit to the affectionate display.

Inuyasha was seated on the ground for once, leaning back against the trunk of a massive tree with his legs folded around Kagome to cradle her close. He'd positioned her in his lap so he could press her head against his chest, one hand absently stroking over her cheek or her lips as he glared alternately into the fire and away. His other hand was wrapped around her bent knees; his hand was splayed wide on her back and rubbing gently. Every so often he would dip his head and press his lips to her forehead or her temple before he went back to glaring at the cheery blaze.

"This wasn't like the last time," Inuyasha finally spoke, still refusing to make eye-contact with the rest of them. "She acted... different," his hands tightened at the admission.

"How?" Miroku inquired in the same quiet tone, his eyes on Kagome's pale face in contrast to the blood red of Inuyasha's kimono.

"Before her eyes were like they were when she attacked those two youkai," he answered, brushing her bangs out of her face. "This time... they just changed color, and she wasn't acting like she did when... when she fought last time."

"What did happen the last time, Inuyasha?" Sango leaned forward, her jaw set in determination. He'd barely told them anything about what had happened to Kagome when Kikyou had almost killed her, and even though she understood his reluctance to speak about it, they needed to know. It would take all of them to figure out how to break this spell, and the sooner he admitted that and shared all the information he had, the easier it would be.

Inuyasha sighed heavily, stroking her hair and looking off into the woods before he swore and responded, "Like I said, she was talking as though there was someone speaking with her, but I couldn't hear it. It had to be that second voice she told us about, but she seemed... detached from it. She was arguing with it, but this time, she was... excited, and she didn't seem to be hearing anything strange. It was only her."

Miroku frowned, folding his arms in the sleeves of his robes as he pondered what that could mean, "Kagome-sama said that she was told to stay near you by the first voice she heard. That she would be safe as long as she was within your aura, ne?"

"So? She never fucking left it and this still happened," he growled out, his hand fisting in her hair as he dropped his chin to the top of her head. "It didn't make any difference with her being with me," the muscle at his jaw jumped with the strain he was putting on it.

"But she did not lose her control to the extent you described when she was not in range," the monk pointed out. "It's likely your presence that protected her from that, Inuyasha."

"Keh."

Sango's brows drew together in concern at the flat tone of voice, sharing a look with Miroku before she turned her attention back to the hanyou, "Inuyasha, none of us know how to fully protect Kagome-chan from this spell. You can't blame yourself for-"

"It's my responsibility to keep her from getting hurt, Sango," Inuyasha cut her off with a grunt of irritation. He didn't need to hear that bullshit from them when they knew as well as he did that he had failed her again. He had more important issues to address before he was willing to hear their accusations, "What did you sense, bouzu? How many were trying to get inside her head this time?"

Miroku frowned in disapproval at the redirection, well aware Inuyasha was intending to wallow in guilt over this for a long time to come. The scowl on the hanyou's face warned him that he wasn't in the mood to argue it now, "Two."

"So two things were trying to control-"

"No, Inuyasha, there were only two magics around her at all," Miroku corrected, his hand tightening on his staff absently as he recalled the odd crackle of energy that had wrapped itself around Kagome before she attacked Kouga. "One of them was her own, but it was mixed in so completely with the second magic that it was difficult to sense anything else."

Inuyasha's head finally lifted to focus on the monk, his mouth set into a sharp frown as his eyes gleamed dangerously, "Two? Mixed together?"

"It happened after you took a pretty hard hit," Sango added as Inuyasha's hand moved from Kagome's hair down to her neck and began to lightly stroke along the curve. "She wasn't watching the fight, but when you were hit, she grabbed her chest. The aura around her changed when it happened, but it only became...ah, intense when she looked at you."

"That's when the magics flared up together," Miroku finished with a stoic nod. "The closer she got to you two fighting, the stronger the magics got. But they were not pushing against each other as they did the last time I sensed it. This time there were...interwoven."

"You had to notice she was moving like you," Sango shook her head, frowning when the hanyou looked startled. "You didn't notice?"

"Inuyasha, Kagome-sama is not a physical fighter," the monk moved back to sit against a tree in the same manner as Inuyasha, settling his staff against his shoulder easily before he closed his eyes. "However, when she became angry, even you and Kouga were having difficulties defending against her."

"We didn't want to hurt her," he grumbled, self-consciously lifting her higher against his chest so he could tuck her face into the crook of his neck.

"Of course not," Miroku leaning his head back, cracking one eye open to catch the faintly embarrassed expression on the hanyou's face before he let his lips curl in a small smile. "She'll be fine, Inuyasha. You should get some sleep."

"If you'd like, we can watch over Kagome-chan," Sango offered quietly, lifting one hand in his direction in an absent gesture.

Inuyasha made a rude sound in his throat at the suggestion, sliding his arm down to catch Kagome behind the knees as he shot upwards into the high branches of the tree he'd been leaning on. Sango blinked in surprise at the sudden motion, looking up to where she could just barely make out Inuyasha's silhouette as he settled himself and Kagome for the night.

"Or not," she muttered, shooting him a dry glare before moving to bed down for the night.

She sighed and leaned down to scoop up the sleeping Shippo before settling herself against Kirara's curled form to get some sleep. With Inuyasha so attuned to everything around them, it was always easier for them to relax at night and with Kagome still unconscious, she doubted the hanyou would sleep at all.

"Don't even think about, houshi-sama," she muttered the moment she heard the faint rustle of clothing to her left. There was a regretful sigh, followed by the sound of him returning to his original position and then only the regular sounds of the night around them.

Inuyasha watched Sango and Miroku fall asleep dispassionately, his hand resting lightly over Kagome's heart to feel it beating with his own. The spell had saved Kagome's life once, in a way, making her heart beat in time to his when it should have stopped from her injuries. Following his heart's directions, she'd said, the voice telling her that his soul wouldn't release it, release her, even though she had healed enough to survive without the guidance.

Damn right he wouldn't release her, he thought with a scowl, his claws flexing at the thought and lightly piercing the fabric of her shirt. Kagome belonged to him, and there was nothing some future monk or strange voice could do or say to take what was his.

**

Kagome's eyes opened as though she'd never been unconscious at all, blinking rapidly with the rush of disorientation not entirely due to the fact that all she could see was white. She remembered kissing Inuyasha, or rather, Inuyasha kissing her as though branding her even more completely than the tattoo. Then Kouga had appeared and she felt... she felt so angry at his presence that something in her mind had been urging her to attack him, force him as far away from her as possible.

When he'd hurt Inuyasha, she'd felt that nagging anger increase into full blown rage that he'd dared hurt...hurt someone who belonged to her? 'God, I really am starting to sound like Inuyasha,' Kagome shifted, closing her eyes for a moment to recall what she had done after that.

It had felt so good, the strength flowing through her even as her mind filled with images and directions, everything she needed to attack the wolf youkai. The sensation had been so incredible that she had avoided all Inuyasha's attempts to catch hold of her, not wanting to lose that warmth and power. She'd accidentally hit him once, feeling a jolt go through her at the contact and then the bastard had subdued her, she frowned in irritation. That had made her want to keep her hold on the energy even more.

But then Kouga had grabbed her, sending pain rushing through her until she felt the familiar strength of Inuyasha's arms coming around her. He called her sneaky, but he was the one tricking her into getting caught! How was she going to prove she was strong enough to mate-?

She gasped in shock at her own thoughts and arched back, only to have a familiar hand catch her by the back of the neck and keep her from moving any farther.

Inuyasha looked down at her face, one brow arching in speculation at the light blush on her cheeks and the confused look in her wide eyes, "What is it?"

Kagome's eyes slid down to his mouth before they dropped to his chin in embarrassment and stammered out, "Ah... How long was I asleep?"

The tension in his body slowly flowed out of him and his lips pulled back in an arrogant smirk, his hand lifting to brush lightly over her cheek, "All afternoon."

His smile grew at the shiver that went through her, turning into deep throated laughter when she squirmed and let out a soft shriek of surprise, "Dammit, Inuyasha, why am I in a tree?"

"Shh, you'll wake the others," Inuyasha pressed his finger to her lips to silence her before he slid both hands down to her shoulders. "Do you really want them to see us up here?" he taunted quietly.

Kagome bit the inside of her cheek to keep from yelling at him, her eyes down on the others much farther below them than she'd expected. She let out a squeak and instinctively pressed closer to him, her arms going around his neck even as she realized he'd set her legs on either side of his hips again.

"You're safe with me, Kagome," he leaned forward, rubbing his cheek along hers and letting his hands slide down her back. Careful to keep his claws away from her skin, his hands moved to her hips and flexed as he pulled her closer. "You know I wouldn't let you fall," Inuyasha smiled softly when she let her grip soften, turning her face towards his neck.

"I would have preferred knowing I was this high off the ground," she muttered, unaware of the effect her lips moving against his throat was having on him.

Inuyasha's eyes slid closed, "Where did you think I would be?"

"On the ground? In the sleeping bag?" Kagome grumbled, her hand lifting to absently toy with a gleaming strand of his hair. "Like we usually do?"

He was quiet for a moment, his eyes opening as he turned to look down at her, "Like we usually do?"

Kagome turned her face to press it against his shoulder, wishing she'd kept her mouth shut instead of letting that slide out so casually. When had it become so natural for her to have Inuyasha sleeping next to her that she would say something like that in front of him? Hell, he was bad enough about her saying they were engaged and now she admitted she thought of them together in the sleeping bag was their "usual" way.

Inuyasha pinched her hip, grinning when she jumped in surprise, "C'mon, koibito, I want to hear you say that again."

Her brows lowered in annoyance and she tried to push away from him, but Inuyasha simply moved his arms up to hold her pinned to his chest. Growling in an almost perfect imitation of his own, she lifted herself enough to bite his neck in retaliation before muttering, "You can be a real jerk, Inuyasha, you know that?"

When she got no response, Kagome began to get a little nervous, more so when she felt the tattoo give a particularly strong lurch and heat curl outward from it in a steady stream. Slowly, half worried he wouldn't let her, she leaned back to look up at his face, "Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha's arms slid down limply, his chest rising and falling in a precise, even motion while his head was lowered to allow his bangs to hide his eyes. His nostrils flared when Kagome leaned closer, her hand lifting tentatively to his cheek and trying to urge his face up. His heart was thudding heavily in his chest, eyes closed and fangs bared as he fought with the instinct that had gripped him the moment he felt Kagome's teeth against his skin.

He knew the moment she felt the growl rising in his chest, her hand stilling against his face and her breath hitching in her throat. Inuyasha lifted his head, his eyes glowing as they locked onto hers and held her gaze on his as surely as if he held her face in his hands.

"I...I'm sorry, Inuyasha, I didn't think-!" Kagome somehow managed to stammer out with her throat gone dry from the sheer heat in his gaze, but his face gave away nothing. Her words choked off when she felt him shift, on hand lifting to clench over the throbbing tattoo while the other moved to fist in the hair at her nape.

She wasn't exactly sure what she had expected. However, Inuyasha's mouth fastening over hers as his hands ground her up against him hadn't been one of the possibilities going through her head.

The growl vibrated through her from head to toe as the hand at her nape twisted her head so he could position her for an even deeper kiss, nipping lightly at her lips before sweeping his tongue deep into her mouth. Kagome went stiff for all of two seconds before that encouraging rumble had her actively moving against him, her own hands sinking into his hair to hold him to her.

Inuyasha felt the muscles in her thighs tighten as she shifted against him, squeezing against his hips as she rocked forward to kiss him back with the same heated desperation spiraling through him. Before it had always seemed unattainable, holding Kagome like this and losing himself in the heat of desire he'd felt for her for what seemed like forever. He'd looked, and he'd lusted, but there had always been something holding him back. Some fear that she would refuse him and run back to her time, never to return.

One spell.

One fucking spell and here he was, Kagome crushed against him so tightly he wondered if they would be permanently fused together. They were both burning hot enough for that, and he was maintaining his hold on rationality by the barest of threads. If she made that noise in the back of her throat one more time, though, he wasn't going to be held responsible for his actions.

Kagome wasn't even aware when his hand moved to the small of her back and then farther to cup the curve of her backside, her thoughts having scattered long ago. All she was aware of at that moment was the strength in Inuyasha's arms, the heat radiating off his body, and the intense longing humming through her with every stroke of his tongue across hers. Her hands moved down over his chest, flexing against the muscles of his chest when she heard the growl drop an octave lower. He released his hold on her hair, dropping his hand down to her waist and without a hint of the hesitation he'd shown previously, slid his palm up her side until he reached the underside of her breast.

Kagome sucked in a sharp breath when Inuyasha's hand eased under her bra to press his hand against bare flesh, kneading gently as he let out a low moan and urged her closer again. His mouth slid away from hers to trace a path down her throat to the juncture of her neck and shoulder, his teeth nipping almost enough to break the skin. She let out a soft cry and his ears twitched to catch the sound as he smiled and used his hands to lean her away just enough for his mouth to move down to her breast.

Kagome's mouth fell open even as her arms curled around his head to hold him close, fingers lightly brushing his ears as stars dancing in the blackness behind her eyes and she felt herself melt into him. She was absolutely certain she would have slid right off his lap and out of the tree had he not wrapped an arm around her hips to hold her still.

Inuyasha was growling again, his heart racing and his breath in pants from all the sensations arrowing through him at her response to his touch. He was elated, feeling sweat glide down between his shoulder blades at the heat moving through him with the nearly blinding wave of desire. She was finally accepting this, and in reaction to that realization, he was moving to curl his legs beneath them so he could take her into the privacy of the woods around them.

"Kagome?" the hesitant voice from far below somehow cut through the blind haze of emotions, snapping them apart so quickly Inuyasha cracked the back of his head sharply against the tree and Kagome nearly tumbled from the branch.

They sat together, Kagome's eyes huge on his as she sucked air into her burning lungs, her face flaming at the thought of not just what they had been doing, but getting caught like this, "...Shippo-chan...."

Inuyasha pressed his forehead to her with a low groan of frustration and the untimely interruption. He could feel her heart pounding against his, her shirt and bra askew, and her panting breath against his lips as he snarled out, "That does it. That fucking brat is dead."


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