InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ After The End: New Beginnings ❯ Hot Spring Time Machine ( Chapter 22 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 22 – Hot Spring Time Machine






Feeling Kagome expose his stiffness, the cool air not doing much to sooth his heated flesh, Inuyasha didn't stop his wife as she began stroking him slowly with her right hand, his undone fundoshi clutched in her left. Instead, he removed his hands from where they'd been inching down her panties and used his left to firmly grasp her right breast while his right hand yanked back, not too hard, on a fistful of hair, tilting her head back as his lips and tongue attacked her throat.

She gasped, her hand automatically stopping its movement as she lost her ability to concentrate, although she retained her grip of him. She could feel him pulsing in her hand. He was excited, but rather than seeking out his own satisfaction he used his desire to fuel his assault on her, instead. Inuyasha knew by that point exactly where her most sensitive spots were, and it didn't take him long at all to hit every single one. Kagome shuddered and moaned, her eyes pinched tightly closed, another gasp escaping her as he carefully pinched her left nipple. He chuckled against the side of her neck, and then slowly began working his way lower, down her body. He trailed his tongue along her collarbone, down her chest, paying a good amount of attention to each breast, and then lowering himself to his knees, unfortunately putting his manhood outside her reach in the process, he teased her bellybutton before coming face to 'face' with her white cotton panties.

She barely had time to blink open her eyes and look down at him in puzzlement of why nothing was happening, before he swiftly buried his nose between her legs, inhaling deeply. She tried not to giggle, but the sensation was ticklish. His ears flicked at the sound of her muffled laughter, but he took no offense, smirking up at her. Then, his hands were back at the sides of her panties, his eyes questioning, and she gave him a silent nod to continue, which he immediately did, pulling the damp piece of cotton down her legs. She placed her hands on his shoulders for balance as she stepped out of them, and then resisting the temptation to stick his face directly in her curls, Inuyasha rose to his feet and took his fundoshi from her, placing both of their final garments aside on the log beside all their other clothing.

Watching Inuyasha's naked body as he moved about their small campsite, Kagome felt a fire burning from deep within, but despite her internal heat the air was rather chilly, the dappled light peaking in through the thick cover of the forest not providing much in the way of warmth. Their cooking fire was reduced to smoldering embers by that point. She thought about stirring the literal flames back to life, but then changed her mind, deciding their campfire could be revived later; it was time to fan their metaphorical flames, instead.

It was also time to get into the hot water, because internal fires aside, she was starting to get cold standing there in the damp shade.

Slipping slowly into the steaming pool, then, Kagome could feel Inuyasha's eyes burning into her from behind, his gaze on her body warming her up almost as much as the heated water. Making her way over to the large, smooth stone that had always been her favorite place to sit in this particular spring, she turned around and had a seat, and then it was her turn to stare. He still hadn't moved a muscle, standing naked on the shore, his eyes locking with hers as she turned to face him. She was just about to break the silence, to ask him what he was doing still just standing there and wave for him to come join her in the water, when he was suddenly the one who spoke first.

“So, in this hot spring fantasy of yours, you would be alone in the spring until I showed up, and then what?” he asked, and she couldn't decide if it was the look in his eyes or his raging hard-on that more accurately portrayed just how aroused he was in that moment.

Licking her lips, she quickly decided to answer his question.

“I would gasp in surprise, pretending I was startled by your presence even though you and I both knew I'd felt you coming, and then you'd tell me how you knew I wanted you, that you wanted me too and couldn't stay away a moment longer, and then I'd-”

“I know you want me,” he interrupted, the look in his eyes turning feral, “I want you, too. I couldn't stay away from you one moment longer.”

Kagome's eyes sparkled in the dappled light, her pulse quickening in her veins. Acting out what she'd just been about to tell him she'd always fantasized as her next move in this scenario, she rose from her seat, standing boldly in the waist-deep water, her nipples instantly hardening in the cool air as water droplets rolled down her breasts.

“Then come to me, lover,” she said, raising her arms out in a show of open invitation, “come and have me.”

With his gaze almost piercing right through her, Inuyasha stalked slowly towards the water's edge at her words, stepping into the pool with purpose. Had her body and mind not both been so heated by a combination of the water and her desire for him that she'd lost most higher brain function then she might have wondered humorously at how it was that he could enter such a hot pool of water without so much as flinching. There was no way Souta had had the bath water any hotter than this spring. But the fact of the matter was, Inuyasha had visited this spring himself plenty of times over the last three years, so while he hadn't previously cared for hot water and her little brother had definitely surprised him back then with the intense temperature, he'd since gotten used to it. In fact he used to come here and think back to the times when she'd bathed in this spring during the shard quest. Getting naked in the same water where she had previously been naked, sitting on the same stone he knew she had used as her seat, had been as close as he'd been able to get to her at the time. He'd never actually kicked himself for failing to act on any real missed opportunities since Kagome herself had never in actuality braved sending Sango alone back to camp ahead of her, so Kagome had never in real life given Inuyasha such a setup to either ignore or act upon, but that hadn't stopped him from daydreaming over the last three years. Sometimes he sat in the water and pretended she had come back to him, a 'happy reunion' fantasy as Kagome had previously called it. Other times, he'd simply gaze down at the pool from one of the nearby trees and imagine her bathing within it, all by herself, as if it were still the shard quest days but the rest of their ragtag group was nowhere to be found.

Kagome's mind had gone on a similar journey in that moment, as they'd acted out a brief bit of dialog from her old daydreams. In that moment, it was as if she'd traveled back in time. Well, okay, so she had traveled back in time, through the well, but this was different. In that moment, in that hot spring, it was as if she'd traveled even further back, another three years on top of the last five hundred. It was like she was back in their quest days. In that moment, as she took in the scenery around her, it was easy to lose herself and make-believe they were still out collecting jewel shards, and that Inuyasha really had responded to the invitation she'd never quite been brave enough to give him. It was amazing how much had actually changed in just a few short years.

Why think back on old daydreams, though, when the real thing was right there? They were alone, just the two of them, naked in the spring together, and they were married. This was a much better scenario than her old fantasies, where a nosy kitsune or perverted houshi could have theoretically interrupted them at any moment. Inuyasha had similar thoughts, knowing that the reason the rest of their ragtag group was nowhere to be found was because they were back at the village, because it was three years later and he and his wife were here all by themselves.

Closing the gap between them, then, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a kiss so heated it made the water feel cool by comparison.

Kagome didn't hesitate to respond with gusto. While her higher brain functions had left her and Inuyasha alone long ago, telling her they'd wait for her back at camp, that in no way hindered her from remembering how to kiss, and she kissed her husband silly in that moment. Her hands did not stay idle, as she ran them all over his body, down the smooth, lean muscles of his chest and back. Finally reaching his bare buttocks she cupped his cheeks and squeezed, earning a deep, rumbling chuckle from her hanyou husband.

“You and my ass...” he commented offhandedly, clearly not bothered in the slightest.

“It's over three years in the making, but I finally have you just how I want you.” she said with a small chuckle of her own.

He pulled back enough to quirk a brow at her.

“Naked and wet?” he asked, teasing.

“Yup.” she teased back.

Releasing his backside, she reached down with her right hand, wrapping her fingers back around his pulsing manhood again, and he closed his eyes and hissed in pleasure at the contact, all thoughts of continuing to joke and tease fleeing from his mind faster than the steam rose from the water's surface. A surface that suddenly wasn't as smooth and transparent as it'd used to be, the movements of Kagome's hand causing ripples that, coupled with the low light of the canopy above, made it difficult to see what she was doing. Not that she really needed to see what she was doing in that moment, remembering vividly how to pleasure her husband in this manner, although pleasuring him by hand wasn't really what she'd had in mind this time around.

“Come're...” she murmured then, giving his manhood a playful tug that was strong enough to let him know she wanted him to walk forward, using his cock as a leash.

It was an appropriate analogy in his mind. He was already her lapdog; had been ever since she'd first released him from the Goshinboku, he just hadn't admitted it back then. Now, so long as she kept playing with his lap, he would follow her anywhere.

Stifling a giggle at the goofy expression on his face as he wordlessly complied with her request, Kagome walked him to a rocky protrusion in the spring's wall that was only a few inches below the water's surface, and more importantly, was only about a foot wide and long. It was the perfect little pedestal for her purposes.

“Here, sit up on here,” she said as she released him and gestured to the rock shelf, “legs on either side, like riding a horse.”

It wouldn't do her any good if she couldn't get herself in between his legs, after all.

Quirking a brow, but eager to comply with her wishes, especially if it had anything to do with her paying attention to his throbbing manhood, Inuyasha nodded and got himself up on the rock how she wanted him. The water only came up about mid thigh, his pulsing hard-on completely out of the water. Seeing the way her eyes immediately focused in on that specific part of him, he smirked, and tightened his own inner muscles, causing his erection to bounce. Her eyes darted up to meet his at the move, and they both laughed.

“Well, ya gonna grab onto him or what, wench?” he teased, making it bounce a second time. “He's gettin' cold.”

“Oh...I'll warm him up, don't you worry.” she said, reaching out to grip the base of his cock with her right hand to hold him steady.

She contemplated him for a moment longer, and then bent over a little, lowering her mouth to him, and his eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected but wholly welcomed sight. He had just enough time to think Oh shit! and then her tongue was darting out, giving his mushroom tip an experimental lick.

“Oh fuuuuuccckkk...” he groaned at the simple yet deliriously wonderful contact, his eyes closing as his head tilted back, his claws digging into the rock wall behind him for support. He knew there was no way she would only lick him once and be done with it; he knew this was only the beginning.

He was not disappointed.

Grinning to herself at his reaction, Kagome immediately felt braver and ran her tongue along his length before closing her lips around him. Naughtily, she thought back to her practice days with large freezer pops, eating the summer treats by licking and slurping only, no biting. She'd only eaten them that way in private, of course, after participating in conversations with her three girlfriends where they'd mentioned doing the real thing, but now she was very grateful for the practice. If the sounds her hanyou husband were making were any indication, he was grateful for her practice, as well. He might not taste as good as a cherry freezer pop, but he definitely didn't taste bad, and for his sake, she would make believe he was the most delicious dessert of all time.

“Ho-oly f-fuck, h-how did you...oh!” he tried to ask brokenly, as she rolled her tongue delicately within the rim of his foreskin as she stroked him up with her hand.

“Hearsay and my imagination.” she answered, pulling away to smirk up at him, his eyes back open and head tilted down to stare at her in wonder. “You aren't the only one with animal instincts, you know.”

“I...” he started to say, whatever comment he'd been about to make immediately being ripped from him as she got back to work, his words turning into a canine whine, his hips gyrating wantonly, his grip on the rock tightening.

He managed to keep his eyes open that time, and he watched, transfixed, helpless, as she steadily pumped the base of his cock with her right hand while laving the top half of him with her tongue, licking him up and down as if he were a delicious treat. His excitement leaked from his slit, and using the tip of her tongue she flicked it away, and he whimpered, his legs shaking, abs quivering, as she slowly teased him closer to a type of release he knew would be like no other he'd ever experienced. In all the countless times he'd jacked off, and even when she'd done it for him, it had been in mockery of the real thing, of when he'd been joined with her, and at that time, when he'd lied with her, he'd thought that nothing could possibly feel better than the real thing, than real sex. Now, though, as impossible as it seemed, he was starting to question his assuredness of that belief. Real sex, even with as tightly as her hot wet walls had gripped him, had been your standard up and down, in and out motion. What she was doing to him with her mouth was insanity. Perhaps this wasn't better than sex, but it was different, and that was what made it better at least in that precise moment, because it was something else new he had still never before experienced. He hoped she'd never make him choose which one he preferred more, because that was a choice he didn't want to have to make.

Slowly getting more confident in herself and her abilities, Kagome began pumping him more steadily with her mouth, using her hand to hold his staff upright more than to stroke him as she moved her head up and down, although she never stopped the talented things her tongue was also doing to him, even when those things became hidden from view by her closed lips. Sometimes she pulled her lips away, allowing him to see her tongue as she flicked it rapidly back and forth over his swollen head, before swirling it around and closing her lips back over him once more, making loud slurping sounds that had his blood boiling in his veins. She knew he was watching her, could feel his eyes upon her, and so she was making sure to give him a show he'd never forget.

Then, Kagome tilted her gaze upward, her eyes meeting his even as she continued what she was doing, and as their eyes locked he nearly lost it right then and there. He'd lost the ability to speak long ago, the sounds coming out of him almost purely canine whines and whimpers. There were a few more human sounding gasps and moans thrown into the mix, but they were vastly outnumbered. Especially when she brought her left hand into the mix, delicately fondling his furry nutsack. He'd thought she'd been mostly kidding before about running her fingers through his fur there, but that was just what she was doing in that moment as she carefully rolled and squeezed the sensitive testicles within. He yipped in surprise and then groaned, and he just knew the faces he was making would have her laughing if it weren't for the fact that her mouth was so full; in that moment, he didn't even care.

Why he had ever thought for even a moment that she might have a problem with his appearance was beyond him. Watching as his dark pink flesh disappeared inside her hot, wet mouth, her eyes smiling as she continued to hold his gaze, the hanyou knew in that moment that this was true love. Even if he hadn't already known she loved him, this act alone would have spelled it out for him. This went way beyond 'wifely duty' and there was no way to ignore just how much she was clearly enjoying it. She was enjoying it; she wasn't just doing it because she felt like she had to or that he wanted her to, but because she wanted to. She wanted to do this for him, to pleasure him, because she loved him. He just knew she was getting off on all of the various sounds he was unable to stop himself from making, just as he'd enjoyed listening to all of the sounds she'd made back when their roles had been reversed. Oh, he was definitely going to pay her back for this, big time. She would lose her voice, he'd make her scream so loud. In the meantime, though, it was all he could do to force himself to gasp out a broken semblance of warning, just in case she didn't want to swallow his release. He wouldn't take it personally or hold it against her if she didn't.

“K-kag-g...Mmm 'G-gome I...I'm gonna...ahh...”

Still looking right at him, her only response was to hum an affirmative “MmmHmm...” against his flesh, indicating she'd already known his release was fast approaching, and the vibration from her humming was the final straw right then and there as his hips locked tight, his eyes pinching shut as he threw his head back and howled.

Kagome had been mentally psyching herself up. She'd heard conflicting stories, some people saying how gross and horrible it was, while others had said it was no big deal. She hadn't been worried that he'd feel insecure if she pulled away, as if the reason for her desire not to do that final act had anything to do with his mixed heritage, but even so, she'd told herself that if she loved him, and especially because she'd volunteered rather than him having asked her to, that she could do this for him. She wanted to do this for him. As she both felt and heard him completely lose himself, his howl echoing loudly throughout the surrounding forest, she felt his release hit the back of her throat and she tried her best to swallow the salty, slimy substance. This was why she'd wanted to wait until they were at the hot spring to try it. Pulling back after a moment, trying not to gag, she gargled and spat a few mouthfuls of water. Inuyasha was still too far gone to pay any attention to what she was doing right then, every nerve in his body tingling merrily as he slumped against his rock seat, prying his claws out of the stone behind him, panting heavily.

By the time he tilted his head back down and cracked his eyes open to peer at her through heavy lids, Kagome was smiling playfully at him, blinking her eyes innocently, and he broke out into a huge grin at her expression, laughing stupidly. Pulling himself off of his rock seat almost drunkenly, Inuyasha sloshed into the water and pulled his wife into a tight hug.

“Only you could give me that kind of an innocent face after doing something so dirty.” he backhandedly complimented, and it was Kagome's turn to laugh at his words.

“I didn't hear you complaining.” she said after a moment, sounding smug.

He pretended to look shocked.

“Complain?! Hell no!”

They both laughed.

“Hell, woman. You can do that whenever you want.”

She smirked seductively, and retorted, “So can you.”

It was his turn to adopt a seductive expression.

“Oh, I intend to.”

That said, his hands were tight on her hips, and the next thing Kagome knew she was hoisted out of the water and lying flat on her back in the dirt, her legs still dangling in the pool at the knees. Her back was instantly muddy, but that was nothing another dunk in the water wouldn't fix. Right in that moment, lying dripping wet in the dirt and grass was the last thing on her mind, as her demonic husband went to town between her legs.

It was several orgasms later before he let her wash the mud off.

Retrieving her bar of soap once the fun and games came to a close, hanyou and miko then enjoyed the simpler pleasure of washing each other. Kagome at first playfully lamented not having any shampoo, unable to wash her hair properly, but she quickly decided it wasn't nearly that important after all when Inuyasha told her he'd never really liked her scented hair soaps because they masked her natural scent. They'd smelled pretty enough, they hadn't really bothered his nose per se, but they'd prevented her from smelling wholly of Kagome. She quickly decided she was glad there hadn't been any leftover shampoo or conditioner in her backpack.

Finally deciding to get out of the water before Kagome's human skin turned into one giant wrinkle, they each washed their own undergarments and laid them back out to dry, the newlyweds passing the next several minutes basking in the cool afternoon as naked as the day they were born, lying beside one another on Kagome's opened sleeping bag, staring peacefully up at the leaves.

“This is weird.” Inuyasha said after a moment, breaking the silence.

Kagome turned her head to glance his way, inquiring, “What? Just lying down enjoying the peaceful day?”

“No,” he answered, “doing it naked.”

She giggled.

“Yeah, I guess that is kind of weird.” she agreed, propping herself up on her elbows, gazing down first at her own nakedness before shifting her eyes sideways, openly appreciating the view of her equally nude companion lying beside her. “But it's a good weird, no?”

He sat up, and nodded, looking her way with a happy smile that quickly turned more predatory, the look in his eyes becoming hungry.

“Yeah, it's a good weird, but I think it's gonna be a long while before seeing you naked doesn't affect me.”

What he was referring to was making itself quite known, standing up at full attention between his legs.

“Well I would certainly hope so.” Kagome replied, before getting up and crawling towards him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a kiss.

Several minutes of making out, touching and exploring later found them trying yet another new position for the first time. Kagome was lying flat on her back, flushed and panting, an equally passionate Inuyasha just about to join with her missionary style, when she stopped him with a hand on his chest.

“Wait,” she said, “I want to try something different.”

The look in his eyes told her he didn't really want to stop, but that so long as whatever she wanted to do still involved sex he was willing to comply...as long as it didn't take too long!

She giggled as she got up, as if reading his thoughts. Perhaps the way he'd whined in disappointment as she'd shoved him away had clued her in.

“Funny you should make that kind of sound now,” she said, calling him out on the dog noise, “because I have a feeling your canine half will like what I have in mind.”

Before he could question what she meant, or even begin to contemplate the absurd possibility that she was mocking him in some way, which he knew she'd never do, Kagome maneuvered herself onto her hands and knees, facing away from him. Turning to look his way over her shoulder, she wiggled her butt at him and asked with a playful laugh, “Well, what are you waiting for?”

His eyes widened comically once he realized what she was implying. No, not implying. Actually asking for. She was asking for it, presenting herself like a good bitch...although he knew better than to tell her that part out loud. He knew damn well what that word meant for human females and he'd be lying through his teeth if he tried to convince her he'd meant it in a canine fashion all the times he'd used to call her that. In fact, this was the first time the canine term had ever popped into his head in regard to Kagome, because she wasn't inu-youkai and he knew that, and generally speaking he'd always tried to act out the desires of his human heart where she was concerned, hence his stick up his ass about wanting a house for their first time. But she'd gotten him good and over those insecurities, now. He understood now that she was more than fine with the fact that her husband was half canine, and she was more than fine with her husband acting like it. That still didn't mean he was going to call her a bitch, though. He wasn't stupid. He chuckled quietly, then shook his head free of the thought. Approaching her from behind, then, he stood on his knees and grasped her hips tightly, but not tight enough to hurt her with his claws. Molding the globes of her ass for a moment, he openly admired the view.

“Damn, woman,” he groaned, “I...yeah, I like this, a lot.”

Grabbing himself with his right hand, it didn't take much to get himself aligned, and with both hands on her hips again he slowly slid forward, both of them moaning at the sensation.

“You all right?” he asked, worried she was still feeling some pain. This was only their third ever joining, after all.

“More than all right,” she answered, “it didn't hurt at all. You can go ahead and start moving.”

He sighed in obvious relief.

“Thank kami.”

Immediately, he retracted himself before pushing back in, over and over, moving at a pretty good clip. Kagome gasped at the sensation, but it was a sound he knew meant she was enjoying it, and so he wasn't detoured as he maintained his swift tempo. It didn't take long at all to feel his release sneaking up on him, and Kagome knew it was upon him when he suddenly slammed his hips forward and stayed there, a low, fierce, rumbling growl vibrating deep in his throat and chest.

It was nothing like a cat's purr.

He stayed like that for a minute longer, and then retracting his hips, he flipped Kagome back onto her back and paid her back, jokingly stating he refused to be in her debt, in reference to the joke she'd made two mornings prior. Kagome of course didn't bother pointing out how statistically, she was actually the one in his debt now after their time in the water. She wasn't going to complain. He enjoyed what he was doing, and she quite thoroughly enjoyed letting him do it. Afterwards, he was hard again, and she was back on her hands and knees, this time stretching herself out with her arms resting on the sleeping bag from elbow to wrist, ass in the air. He growled excitedly at the sight and mounted her again without even the need to guide himself in with his hand.

It was sometime later in the afternoon when they were again lying peacefully beside one another, Inuyasha's temporarily sated state allowing him to remain flaccid in her presence, that the growling of her stomach alerted them both to the fact that they'd skipped lunch.

“Damn, I'm going to need to remember to feed you. I get distracted so easily.”

Kagome laughed, clearly not bothered by what he believed to be a lack of consideration on his part. He obviously wasn't too bothered, either, if his goofy grin was anything to go by.

“This getaway wasn't really about food, now was it?” she retorted, although another growl from her stomach suggested her body was protesting that notion.

Kagome looked down and playfully swatted at her stomach with her right hand.

“Quiet you, I didn't ask for your opinion.” she said to her own belly. They both laughed again.

Remorsefully getting dressed, with the playful promise that he'd get naked again as soon as he got back, Inuyasha took off into the woods in search of something that'd function as both a late lunch and early dinner. Kagome wrapped her kosode around herself but otherwise remained undressed, bow and arrow at the ready although she sensed no threats anywhere nearby. Inuyasha's was the only demonic aura she could sense in the entire area.

When he returned a little while later, kill in hand, he surprised Kagome by actually keeping his word and getting undressed. A promise was a promise, he said with a wink. She was inclined to agree, and divested herself of her kosode. It was the most interesting dinner of her life, roasting skewered meat over their campfire in the buff.

“Never thought we'd become nudists.” she laughed as they ate.

“Nudists?” he inquired, ripping off a piece of meat with his teeth from the big chunk he held in his hands.

“Oh, men and women who feel perfectly comfortable naked, who hate wearing clothing, and who go around completely naked whenever they can get away with it.”

He snorted.

“Well that can't be too often, can it? I mean, we can only be naked in private, like this.”

“I imagine there aren't any nudist colonies in this time period, no.” she said with a laugh. “But in the future, there are some special places, like special hot spring baths, and some countries even have marked off pieces of beach at the ocean, that are designated for nudists, where they're allowed to be naked in public. Hundreds of people together sometimes, men and women and even families, all naked. Nothing sexual, just going about their day-to-day lives, cooking food, playing games, talking...naked.”

His eyes widened at this bit of information, his nostrils flaring.

“No way. No other man is allowed to see you naked, just me. Don't care if they wouldn't have sex on the mind. Your body is for my eyes only.”

She was not the least bit surprised or offended by his reaction.

“I have no intention of ever being naked in front of any other man besides you. Sango and I might still have the occasional girl time in a bath, but that'd probably be more because she needed the getaway than me.”

He snorted again.

“Yeah, those brats of theirs, they keep her on her toes, that's for sure. But they're good kids. Sango's a good mother, and surprisingly, Miroku's a good father.”

She could tell he'd been teasing about the 'surprisingly' comment. She just smiled, shaking her head some.

“All this talk about being naked is making me aware of how cold it's getting.” she said, scooting a little closer to the fire.

“Well then get dressed. I've seen enough to go off memory for a while.”

She snorted a laugh at that, and threw a bone at him, which he effortlessly deflected, laughing as well.

That night, they slept cuddled up in each other's arms, Inuyasha slightly on his left side with Kagome at his left, the miko slightly on her right side as she snuggled up against his chest, his arms wrapped around her protectively, his left cheek resting on the top of her head. The next morning, after a peaceful albeit quick breakfast, even though they didn't really want to, they packed up their camp and prepared to head home. There was construction work on their new house Inuyasha knew he'd probably need to help with, and even if they didn't really need him, he wanted to be present for it, anyway. There would be plenty of opportunities over the next few weeks to revisit this hot spring, he promised, and even in the months beyond that, at least until he was able to procure Kagome's bathtub. Maybe even then, if the two of them ever just needed to get away for a day. This hot spring made for a fabulous vacation destination whenever they needed to get away from it all, and it was all theirs. He'd visited the place off and on over the last three years and his nose told him that nobody else had ever made use of it even once in all that time. He wouldn't be opposed to sharing it with Sango and Miroku, but it was a non-issue because without Kirara, who was with Kohaku, the monk and slayer didn't have the means to travel to and from the spring in a reasonable amount of time. It was much too far from the village to travel to on foot; an inn with a good bathhouse for married couples made more sense in their case. Maybe after Ichirou was off Sango's milk he wouldn't mind babysitting for two or three days, now that he'd have Kagome to help him. He was sure she wouldn't mind it; she'd probably like the practice.

That thought brought a goofy grin to his lips, but when Kagome asked him what he was thinking he merely shook his head and told her he'd tell her later. They needed to get back before it got any later. Kagome agreed, and climbing on his back, they were off.