InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Latex Blues ❯ Chapter 7

Part 7

'Kami in heaven!' Kagome thought in alarm, 'Too small?! Those were extra-large!'

"What's your problem?" Inuyasha asked, irritably. It was embarrassing enough that he had admitted that to her. Now she was staring at him like he was some kind of freak. 'Hmph.' he thought to himself. 'That's right. I am some kind of a freak. Damn. This is never going to work.'

"Oh!" Kagome exclaimed, coloring slightly. "Gomen ne Inuyasha!" "Don't mind me," she continued, waving her hand dismissively. "I was just…thinking about how happy I am that you actually came here to apologize!"

"About that…" Inuyasha paused. He would have to word this very carefully; she was already frightened, he could smell it on her. "I didn't really come here to apologize." Kagome 's eyebrows furrowed and anger lurked right at the edges of her eyes and mouth.

"Inuyasha…!" she grumbled, her voice dropping an octive.

"No! Wait a second!" he said, scrambling to his feet. "I already said I was wrong, didn't I? I meant that I didn't come here JUST to apologize."

"Oh." she said, then asked "Is everything alright, Inuyasha?" Inuyasha looked uncertainly at the girl before him. The towel had loosened itself from around her head and fallen to the ground, forgotten, as thick black tendrils of her still damp hair fell in long waves that framed a face full of emotion. He could always tell what she was feeling, even if he didn't know why she was feeling it. She wore her emotions on the delicate features of her face for the entire world to see, if they bothered to really look. He wondered, not for the first time, if this was what bound him to her. She was a puzzle to him, the fact that she could be so open and trusting with her feelings. She was still fresh, had never been persecuted or betrayed, had never had her heart so utterly shattered that she couldn't even find the remaining pieces, if indeed any remained. She didn't have to hide behind the affected mask of loathing and disdain that he lived behind. She was honest, and open and he knew that she cared for him. It was all right there for him to see, written as plainly as if painted in ink on her all too familiar face. Her face. It was the sweet, concern expression on that face that tore at his conscience. 'There's still time!' His mind screamed, 'You could leave right now, and things could just go on as they have…' Inuyasha steeled himself against his own doubting mind. 'No. I can't allow this to happen again.' Resigning himself, he sighed, then look into her troubled eyes.

"Kagome," he began, "When we were fighting the other day, and I said that…that you belong to me…well, I…I meant that."

"Inuyasha-"

"You have to understand, I can't have you running off with some man. I don't care who he is." he said quickly.

"Inuyasha, I already told you!" she protested.

"I know, you did. But that doesn't mean that things won't change!" there was desperation creeping into his voice. It intrigued and frightened her at the same time.

"Inuyasha," she said, placing her hand over her heart, "I swear to you on the souls of my ancestors that I will not leave until we have found all the shards of the Shikon no tama."

"What about afterward?" he asked quietly, his eyes downcast.

"Inuyasha, don't be unfair!" she scolded. "I deserve a life of my own, with someone to love, and marry. You'll be fine once we find the shikon no tama, you'll have…Kikyo." Just saying the dead girl's name pained her, but she forced her mouth into an unconvincing smile. "Let's not talk about this anymore." she said brightly, then motioned to the bed and said "Sit down, I'll brush your hair." He acquiesced, lowering himself to the ground by her feet. She sat on the bed and began to work out loose, wet tangles from his long, silver mane. Carefully avoiding his sensitive ears, she worked in small sections, taking her time. Any contact with Inuyasha's body pleased her, but it was very seldom that she was allowed to attend to him so intimately, and she was going to enjoy every second of it. Secretly, she had always loved the way his hair felt against her fingertips. It was thick and coarse, like animal fur, but it was so long, and in the moonlight it-

*Klunk!* the sound startled them both from their respective thoughts.

"Oops!" she said, giggling slightly. She had been so enraptured with his hair that she had dropped the brush. "Inuyasha, can you hand that back to me?"

"I don't see it." he answered. Was it her imagination, or did he sound funny? She couldn't see his face, so she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"It must have rolled under the bed." she said. "Hold on a sec, I'll get it. Don't move!" Kagome got down on all fours and peeked under the bed.

"There it is." She stretched out an arm, lowering herself closer to the ground to fit into the tight spot, when she suddenly felt weight on her back.

"Inuyasha?" she asked, confused, "What are you doing?"

"Kagome, you belong to me." He breathed into her ear, his voice deeper than normal. She couldn't see him, but it felt like he was panting. As she tried to sit up, his arms tightened around her shoulders and gently but firmly pushed her head down to the floor. "I have to make certain that no other man will touch you!" he said resolutely.

"WHAT!?"

"Hold still."

"Get the hell off of me now or I'll scream!" she threatened, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. She had to find a way to regain control of this situation.

"There's no one here. I'd smell them." he said simply.

"Inuyasha, don't do this to me!" she pleaded.

"I have to! I have to!" he cried, his voice breaking slightly. "If I don't, then someone else will claim you!"

"You can't claim me! What about Kikyo?" she cried, trying to reason with him.

"Kikyo IS DEAD!" he yelled. "SHE'S A WALKING CORPSE! How am I supposed to love that? How am I supposed to have a life with that? She's not even real! The woman I loved is dead, and all that remains is an empty shell! I would die for her, if it would bring her back, but it won't!"

"But you chose HER!" Kagome insisted.

"To die with, yes! But I need you!" That was the end of the discussion. He grabbed her hips and pulled them upward until she was resting on her knees. Then he pulled down her sweatpants, and she felt his hands fumbling behind her.

"Inuyasha, you can't, this isn't fair…" she begged.

"Please, Kagome. Dammit!" he cursed, fumbling with the waist ties of his hakama that stubbornly would not come undone. He sat back on his heels and grabbed the sash with both hands. He was so intent on what he was doing that he didn't notice that Kagome was now free from his grasp. The second she felt his weight move off of her body, Kagome was away. She quickly scooted to out of range, then said the magic word.

"Osuwari!"

"OW!" Inuyasha cried as he hit the ground. Some of his more excited parts had been driven into the floor. "Oh shit! Owowowowowow! That hurts!"

"Good!" Kagome cried, turning on him. "Serves you right! I knew that you were violent and selfish, but this! This is unforgivable!" To Kagome, it seemed that only a few brief seconds had passed when the spell began to wear off. As Inuyasha sat up, she prepared to 'Osuwari' him again, but all he did was sit where he had landed, rubbing the dull ache between his legs.

"I didn't have a choice." he said miserably.

"You didn't- Don't be ridiculous!" Kagome yelled at him, roughly seizing one of his ears and tugging at it violently. "Of course you had a choice! You could have ASKED me!"

"OW! If I had asked you, you would have said no!" he protested, leaning into her to relieve some of the pain on the ear that she was pulling.

"Well NOT asking isn't the answer either! What were you thinking?" she demanded.

"I was hoping that once I got started, you wouldn't mind." Kagome released the ear, then stared at Inuyasha, dumbfounded.

"Where is all of this coming from?" she asked quietly.

"I just don't want you to leave." he admitted.

"Do you mean that?" she asked, taking a small, almost unnoticeable step closer to him. Inuyasha nodded, self-consciously, his eyes fixed on his lap.

"I said it, didn't I?"

"Inuyasha," she said, her voice filled with emotion, "I don't think I could ever leave you." She reached her hand out and gently touched the top of his head.

"You will." he said grimly, rising to his feet. "All girls eventually come of marrying age, and they leave their friends behind. Remember Nobunaga and that hime, Tsuya? She left him behind to marry the warlord. But if you let me, I'll claim you as my own and you won't have to go."

"Inuyasha, things are different now." Kagome explained gently. "No one arranges marriages anymore. I can choose any man that I want, when I'm old enough, that is. In my time, women can choose a man for love, and no other reason." She stepped closer to him, resting her fingers on the exposed part of his chest that had been bared when he had taken his coat off. His skin felt hot beneath her fingers, and her touch sent a shiver of electricity through his body.

"And I love you, Inuyasha." She tilted her chin up, looking deep into his eyes. They shimmered with an unspoken question, and seemed to search hers for the answer. Without another word, she stood up on her tip toes and brought her mouth up to meet his in a small, chaste kiss. After a few seconds, when she tried to pull away, he grabbed her in his arms, lifting her off the ground, continuing the kiss. Surprised but not unhappy, Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and twined her fingers through his hair. Inuyasha made small noises of appreciation as she gently tugged at his silver tresses. Encouraged by his reaction, Kagome slowly stroked upward until she reached the base of his ears. She knew that she had reached her destination when their lips parted and he let out a low moan, dropping her to her feet.

"Kagome…" he said huskily, his lips parted and his eyelids droopy with lust. His white inner-kimono had fallen mostly off of his shoulders during their tussel, revealing his broad shoulders and the long, wiry muscles of his upper arms.

"I meant it." she said simply.

"So did I." he answered, his face suddenly intensifying. What she saw there was both beautiful and terrifying.

"Inuyasha, y-you don't mean, …even after what I said?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"More than ever." he replied. He took a step forward, and she instinctively took a step back. Unfortunately, her feet got tangled in the fire rat coat, which he had left on the floor. She stumbled, then fell onto her back across the bed. In an instant, Inuyasha was above her, straddling one of her legs, propped up on his hands.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, her voice edged with fear.

"I am going to claim you." he said, giving her a look that said it should have been obvious.

"Because I belong to you?" she asked bitterly.

"Because I love you." he answered gently.