InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tainted Love ❯ One-Shot

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

Inuyasha, and the characters therein, are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I am in no way affiliated with Takahashi, or VIZ Productions.


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~ Tainted Love ~






Sitting against the base of the Goshinboku, Inuyasha was relaxing, listening to the distant sound of Shippou playing with the village children. They were taking a quick break from hunting Naraku, considering there had been absolutely no sign of him for over a week now. It was only a matter of time before the dark hanyou came to them, so Kagome was using the opportunity to stock up on their supplies, not to mention cram in some studying for her high school entrance exam. For once, Inuyasha hadn’t given the future-born miko a hard time about going home. He honestly felt sorry for the girl, pulled into such a harsh destiny, ripped away from everything she had ever known, and now that Kikyou was dead, the responsibility of purifying the Shikon no Tama rested solely on her shoulders. That had to be rough. While he wouldn’t admit it to anyone out loud, the hanyou knew that she deserved to return home from time to time. While he didn’t really get what was so important about her school or those dumb tests, he would at least concede that she deserved the right to visit with her family. Hell, Kagome was lucky she even still had a family. Hers was the only family that Naraku hadn’t managed to destroy. Nobody begrudged her for it, and he for one was secretly glad that the young miko’s life hadn’t been made any more miserable than necessary.

The light jingling of Miroku’s shakujou pulled the hanyou from his musings as he opened lazy, golden eyes to spy the monk’s steady approach. Inuyasha said nothing for a long time as Miroku took a seat a few feet away from him under the shade of the god tree. Finally, it was the houshi who spoke first.

“Beautiful day.”

“I suppose.”

“A day as peaceful as this one can almost make a man forget there are still deadly responsibilities lingering on the horizon.”

“Keh, I ain’t never gonna forget about that bastard. I won’t be able to truly relax until after he’s slain once and for all.”

“I find that I concur with your sentiment, my friend.” Miroku agreed, though a playful smirk graced his visage a few seconds later. “And once Naraku truly has been brought to justice, to the victors go the spoils.”

Inuyasha merely shrugged. “I guess.”

“Have you truly given the matter no thought, Inuyasha?” Miroku asked in mild curiosity. “I find that my dreams of what a Naraku-free future shall hold are what keeps me striving endlessly towards my goal.”

“Keh, I just care about revenge. That bastard deserves to die for what he’s done, and I will be the one to give him what he deserves.”

“Be careful that you do not allow your hatred to consume you fully, my friend. Revenge is a powerful desire, and if you allow the feeling to cloud your vision, then you will not see all things clearly.”

“Quit it with the Buddhist mumbo-jumbo, all right? I ain’t gonna lose myself to no dark desires or whatever the hell you’re yammerin’ on about. You can’t blame me for wanting Naraku’s head, but I would never like…sacrifice the life of an innocent person, if he were there and I could kill him but he had a hostage or somethin’. Okay? I ain’t heartless, I just want justice.”

“That,” Miroku conceded, “Is a perfectly understandable, and reasonable desire.”

It didn’t take long for his grin to turn more perverted in nature a second time. “And once Naraku has been dealt with, and I make the lovely Sango my wife…”

“Uh...” Inuyasha interrupted with an uncomfortable face, a light dusting of pink on his cheeks as he squirmed in his seat. “I don’t need to hear whatever dreams are helping you strive for Naraku-free days. Just knowing that the bastard’s dead is the only future I need to look forward to.”

Miroku looked mildly surprised at that, though his voice was clearly teasing as he asked, “Why, Inuyasha, do you truly harbor no fantasies of your own?”

Looking even more uncomfortable than before, Inuyasha turned his head away to look in the other direction, muttering something about lechers under his breath just barely loud enough for Miroku to hear.

In their moment of distraction, neither man noticed the brief flare of magic coming from the direction of the well.

Laughing good-naturedly at his friend’s flustered state, Miroku thought to tease his companion for a moment longer, not truly seeing the harm, as surely Inuyasha would merely storm away once he’d had enough.

“Somehow, I find that incredibly hard to believe…” the houshi continued then. “I know that for myself, I cannot wait until I have the lovely Sango all to myself. I will take my time loving her slowly, showing each part of her body the proper praise for which it deserves.”

Inuyasha’s cheeks and nose were now nearly as dark as his fire-rat kimono, but still, he made no move to walk away. Secretly, he knew he couldn’t really fault the monk for his fantasies. Miroku really wasn’t the only one who had dreams of Naraku-free days, though in Inuyasha’s opinion Miroku was the only one between the two of them whose dreams were bound to eventually come true. He had already proposed to Sango, after all, and the taijiya had already said yes. Provided nothing horrible happened during their final confrontation with Naraku then Miroku would get his happily ever after. And speaking of Miroku, the monk was becoming so lost in his own fantasy in that moment that he no longer cared about whether or not his hanyou friend was embarrassed by his words as he continued to speak of the things he would very much like to do to Sango once the two of them were wed.

Neither man noticed the near silent approach of somebody traveling through the forest along the path that led from the well.

“I will take my time stripping her of her clothing slowly, pausing in my work to worship her breasts once they are bare to my hungry gaze. And hungry I will be, I can assure you, as I lean forward to capture a pert nipple between my teeth.”

Inuyasha moaned softly despite himself, earning Miroku’s curious gaze shifting his way, the holy man chuckling in amusement at his friend’s obvious embarrassment over finding his words arousing.

“Damn hentai…” Inuyasha grumbled, desperately trying to get his own imagination back under control. Of course, it hadn’t been the monk’s future wife that he’d seen in his mind’s eye. He could almost smell Kagome’s scent surround him, he’d gotten himself so worked up listening to the houshi’s words.

What he didn’t know was that by that point, Kagome was very real, and standing only a few feet behind them. Hidden behind a tree, the miko’s eyes were large, a light blush staining her own cheeks. She could hardly fault the men for having a private ‘guy talk’ moment of such things, considering it was a similar pastime shared by she and Sango on rare occasion, but Kagome knew that if Inuyasha knew that she was aware of such a conversation between him and the monk, it would only embarrass him, and then herself. So deciding to remain still in that moment, since they were obviously not yet aware of her presence, the miko prayed that their conversation would soon fade off into other topics, at which point she could then make her presence known as if she’d only just then arrived.

Unfortunately, it didn’t appear as if Miroku would be done with his storytelling any time soon. Instead of taking pity on his uncomfortable companion, the houshi merely continued with, “Yes, I will lave her nipples with my tongue, one after the other, until they pebble roughly under my touch.”

Taking a moment to adjust his robes as he shifted his position ever so slightly, Miroku grinned back in Inuyasha’s direction, smirking at the hanyou’s dark glare. The inu-hanyou might not feel too comfortable with this type of talk, but nothing was stopping him from walking away if he were truly that disgusted by it. So Miroku continued then, asking Inuyasha conversationally as one pal to another, “You know how when a woman is aroused, and she-”

But that was as far as he got. Not because Inuyasha had suddenly bolted to his feet and taken off, or even because he had snapped at him to shut up and stop talking such perverted nonsense. No, instead it was the hanyou’s sudden, harsh demand of, “How the hell would I know?!” that had the houshi stilling his tongue.

Inuyasha immediately seemed even more embarrassed as soon as the words left his lips, causing Miroku to raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Do you mean to say, Inuyasha, that you have never known the pleasures of a woman?”

His voice was not teasing. Miroku’s tone was full of genuine surprise, perhaps with a mild touch of guilt for bringing up such a delicate topic to begin with. But he hadn’t realized just how uncomfortable the subject would truly make his friend feel. Why would he have suspected Inuyasha to be inexperienced in that regard?

Then again, why did I assume he was experienced?

Now that he thought about it, Miroku realized that with the type of life his hanyou companion had led prior to the forming of their little group, it was highly unlikely that he had ever found himself genuine companionship prior to Kikyou. She, he knew, was not a factor in this equation. There was simply no way, from the stories he had heard, that he would ever believe the former Shikon miko would have allowed herself to bed a hanyou. But of course, with the world Miroku was more familiar with, he also knew that there were plenty of women out there who would gladly share a night with a man of half youkai origin, so long as the price was right. However, he should have realized that Inuyasha was simply not that type of a man.

Instead of stammering something in his humiliation like how it was none of his business, Inuyasha surprised Miroku for the second time in as many minutes by speaking rather bluntly in that moment as he answered the monk’s question with, “In case you’ve forgotten, bouzu, I’m a hanyou. No woman, youkai or human, would ever want to have anything to do with me.”

In her hiding place several feet back Kagome nearly gasped in surprise at such a harsh proclamation, just barely managing to hold it in from her need to stay silent. That wasn’t really how he saw himself, was it?

What about Kikyou? Kagome mentally questioned then, knowing that he and her preincarnation had quite the history. True, she knew they had never actually done anything, but they had loved each other, and he had obviously known of Kikyou’s feelings for him. Didn’t that disprove his belief that ‘no’ woman would ever want him?

Miroku unknowingly echoed Kagome’s thoughts in that moment, deciding it best to avoid mention of working girls, as he instead asked the hanyou, “What about Kikyou-sama?” Wishing to elaborate, he added, “While I am certain you two never consummated your relationship, the feelings were certainly there. You cannot say that she didn’t want you.”

“As a hanyou, I can.” Inuyasha answered defiantly. “Yes, Kikyou loved me, but her duty came before her heart. She wanted me only if we could use the jewel to turn me human, purifying my youkai taint while getting rid of the jewel in the process. Not only did I have to be human before she would touch me, but she could no longer be a miko, either. We both had to be ordinary humans in order for us to be together. Miko are not allowed to tarnish themselves with such things.”

Hearing him speak of his former love so dejectedly had Kagome’s guilt for being unable to save Kikyou’s life return tenfold, though she commanded herself not to cry in that moment, knowing that Inuyasha would be able to smell it. Actually, it was amazing that he hadn’t smelled her at all, yet. The wind must be on her side.

Because she didn’t truly consider herself a miko, at least not in any formal sense of the term, Inuyasha’s possible double meaning didn’t dawn on her until after Miroku’s next question.

“Is that why you have not yet approached Kagome-sama regarding your feelings for her?”

Kagome did gasp that time, but by a miracle of the kami the noise went unnoticed to Inuyasha’s ears when he snorted at the exact same time.

“I could never defile her in such a way.” the hanyou answered then, his voice quiet, causing Kagome to strain her hearing to make sure she caught every word. “Whether she was raised to be one or not, Kagome is a very powerful miko. I…I can’t interfere with her destiny.”

“Have you never paused to consider the possibility that you are her destiny?”

Inuyasha merely snorted again, so Miroku continued.

“She is Kikyou-sama’s reincarnation, do not forget, and while I know that Kagome-sama does not appreciate being reminded of such things, it is true, in a way, that Kikyou-sama’s wish was granted, to become an ordinary woman. That wish has come true within Kagome-sama, who lived the first fifteen years of her life in a world where there are no youkai, where the power of the Sacred Jewel had merely been a legend, a story told to children. She got to experience what it was like to grow up with normal hopes and dreams, without feeling the pressure of knowing from such a young age that the world had placed a heavy burden upon her shoulders. But of course, one simply cannot out run destiny, and so that is why, at the appropriate time, Kagome-sama was brought back into our world, to continue her duty as the Shikon miko. Yes, it is true that she is tied to the Sacred Jewel, much like Kikyou-sama had been, but I do not believe that you are not meant to be a part of that equation.”

“So, what? After the jewel is completed we’ll get a second chance to settle down? Kagome would never want to use the jewel to turn me human.”

You’re damn right I wouldn’t…

“Ah, but that is precisely the point.” Miroku pointed out. “If one is to believe that Kagome-sama’s soul was given a second chance to correct the mistakes of her past life, then among those mistakes is certainly Kikyou-sama’s disregard for your youkai half. True, miko Kagome-sama may be, but she was most certainly not raised to be one, nor does she agree with the fundamental philosophy most miko are taught from childhood. This time, her soul has been left untarnished, uncorrupted.”

Inuyasha almost looked slapped at Miroku’s words.

“You…you think miko training is corruptive?! That Kikyou’s soul had been tarnished?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Miroku attempted to explain. “We are all taught, as humans, that all beings of youkai blood are inherently wicked, although I personally chose to disregard such foolish childhood lessons when I first met and befriended Hachi. You believe that it is joining with your hanyou flesh that would taint Kagome-sama, but I believe that it is being exposed to prejudice and hate that is what truly taints and corrupts what was once innocent and pure. Miko follow a path of righteousness, purifying evil, and it is not my intention to blacken Kikyou-sama’s memory because it is true that the youkai she fought were evil, but is it not also true that the only reason she refrained from killing you in the beginning was because you are half human?”

Inuyasha didn’t have an answer for that one, knowing it was true. Kikyou had openly said so herself, that it was his human half that had prevented her from being able to kill him, because it would have been like killing a human, which was wrong, but killing a youkai was not wrong and had he not been hanyou she wouldn’t have hesitated to slay him. He wasn’t evil, he’d merely been after the jewel to increase his power because he was tired of being a weakling in the eyes of full-blooded youkai. How many other weak youkai who had only wanted to better themselves had found their end by her arrows? It was true that all of the youkai that had been after the jewel that he’d seen with his own two eyes were nasty, evil little shits that he’d even helped her fight once their friendship had developed, but he knew now that that large collection of nasty youkai after the jewel had grown in such intensity because of Naraku’s influence. It hadn’t been that bad back in the beginning, back when he’d first found her himself. What if there were innocent youkai that had met their end that he’d never even known about? How would Kikyou have reacted to say…Shippou? He too had been a youkai after their shards at first, after all, but only so that he could avenge his father. Kagome…she’d seen the good in him, seeing a little boy who’d lost his father rather than a monster just after more power. Miroku was right.

As if sensing the hanyou’s line of thinking, Miroku continued in that moment with, “This time, with Kagome-sama, there has been no such manipulation, and her soul is more pure than any I have ever previously encountered. She does not despise you your half youkai status, nor does she pity you and wish to save you from yourself. In her eyes, you are not a hanyou, but merely Inuyasha. You are merely yourself, a person no different from any other where it truly counts. I do indeed believe that were she given a legitimate opportunity to use the jewel to turn you human, even under the pretence of the main goal simply being to the rid the world of the jewel itself, she would outright refuse to do so.”

Nodding in determination to herself from her hiding place within the trees, Kagome found that she honestly didn’t mind being spoken of as Kikyou’s reincarnation in the way that Miroku had done. She was Kikyou’s reincarnation, after all, so it would be pretty foolish to deny such a blatant truth entirely. She was mature enough to not clamp her hands down over her ears and sing ‘La La La’ anytime somebody mentioned her preincarnation’s name.

Focusing her attention back on Miroku in that moment, Kagome’s ears were tuned just in time to pick up his closing statement of, “She loves you just the way you are.”

Straining her ears to pick up Inuyasha’s reaction to Miroku’s words, Kagome was startled when, instead of a gasp of surprise or splutter of denial, it was a resigned sigh followed by the words, “Yeah, I know…” that softly left the hanyou’s lips.

“So then…” Miroku asked with all seriousness, “What’s the problem?”

Staring at the monk incredulously, Inuyasha tossed his hands up into the air, pointing hatefully at his ears. “Are you blind?” he asked Miroku with no small amount of disdain in his voice. “I thought we already established this. I’m a hanyou. I get what you’re saying about Kagome, but so what? Even though she can see past my youkai blood, the rest of the world sure as fuck wouldn’t.”

“And since when do you care what the rest of the world has to say?”

“Since it would involve her.”

Sighing dejectedly, Inuyasha slumped his shoulders, before finally speaking back up with, “Look, I do know how Kagome feels about me, and yeah, I…I feel the same way…but there just ain’t no way that it could ever work. She is a miko, whether she acts and thinks like one or not. Her responsibility is to the jewel, just like Kikyou’s had been. Even though she loves me, I’m sure she knows, just as Kikyou had, that there can never be anything between us so long as the jewel exists, so long as her responsibility as a miko is so great. And how do you know that…that being with me wouldn’t taint her? Everyone’s always said that miko have to remain pure.”

“Kagome-sama’s spiritual powers are no different in origin from my own.” Miroku answered matter-of-factly, as if that ended the argument right there. Actually, in terms of debating over whether or not physical purity held any influence over spiritual powers, that did kind of end the argument right there.

But Inuyasha wasn’t so easily swayed.

“Unless at least one of the women you’ve been with was a youkai, then that’s not really the same thing.” he argued, conceding, “Maybe…maybe normal physical relations with a human wouldn’t corrupt her, but again…hanyou.” Pointing to himself by jabbing a clawed finger into his chest, he added, “There are magics at work that would have to be considered, too, my demonic aura versus her purifying one. Her aura could view what was happening as an attack if my youki started to stir while we were…uh…in such close proximity.” He blushed despite himself but plowed forward with, “We could accidentally hurt each other.”

“You never seem concerned whenever she rides on your back.”

“That’s different and you know it.”

“I don’t buy it.” Miroku stated bluntly. “There is absolutely no way that either of your auras would rise up to attack the other person during intimacy. Your feelings for each other run far too deeply. It would kill you inside to hurt Kagome-sama in such a way, and we all know she feels the same way about you, so you cannot convenience me that you are truly worried about your auras conflicting. Try a different excuse.”

Sighing, Inuyasha rubbed at the back of his head, thinking for a moment.

“Okay…even supposin’ everything went fine, and she didn’t lose her powers, there’s no way I could subject Kagome to that kind of a life. Yeah, she doesn’t think differently of me for being a hanyou, but she’s the only one. Everywhere we went, she would be called a youkai’s whore. Nobody would accept her as a miko any longer, and anyone who found out she still had her powers, supposin’ she did, would call her a kuro miko. She would be hated, possibly even feared.”

“Should choosing such a life in order to be with the man she loves not be Kagome-sama’s decision?”

“No!”

“Why?”

“Because she would say yes!”

“You’re damn right I would!” said miko shouted, unable to stay hidden any longer.

Inuyasha and Miroku both jumped to their feet at her unexpected announcement, the former flushing a deep crimson as he spun around to face her.

“K-Kagome?!” Quickly growing defensive in his embarrassment, Inuyasha harshly barked out, “Just how long have you been spying on us, bitch?”

“Osuwari!”

“Gah!!”        


Crashing face first into the soft, grass-covered earth that surrounded the base of the Goshinboku, Inuyasha had to admit that it was one of the most forgiving surfaces to get subdued on, and while she’d been trying really hard not to abuse the rosary as of late he could also admit, at least to himself, that he probably deserved it that time. Though that didn’t mean she was off the hook for spying!

“Miroku-sama, if you will excuse us.” Kagome stated sternly while Inuyasha was down, and the hanyou’s ears folded back at her tone. Something told him she was pissed off about more than just the bitch remark.

Her expression was stern, allowing no room for argument, and sensing the storm that was about to let loose the houshi quickly collected himself.

“Of course, Kagome-sama.” he stated hastily before making his retreat.

Keh, coward… Inuyasha mused from his spot in the dirt. He was surprised when the miko suddenly crouched down beside him, tenderly running a hand through the hair between his ears.

“Oh, Inuyasha…” she sighed, her ire fading rapidly. “How long have you been bottling all that up inside?”

Pulling himself away from her touch once the subduing spell finally released him, Inuyasha climbed to his feet and crossed his arms, glaring daggers at the girl who rose to her feet beside him.

“I asked you first.” he stated bluntly. “Just how long were you spying on us?”

“I…it wasn’t intentional.”

Rolling his eyes, he amended, “Fine, then how long were you unintentionally spying on us?”

Blushing darkly, Kagome sheepishly admitted, “Since Miroku-sama was expressing his fantasies about Sango-chan.”

Jaw dropping, Inuyasha’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“I didn’t mean to!” the miko defended quickly. “I was just on my way back, but then when I heard what you two, or at least what he was talking about, I figured that neither of you would’ve wanted me to walk in in the middle of that…so I thought that if I waited just a minute, you were bound to get him to change the subject. I didn’t know the subject was going to shift to your feelings for-”

“Stop right there.” Inuyasha interrupted her. “It’ll be better for everyone if you just pretend you didn’t hear any of that.”

“What about you?” she asked him softly. “It wouldn’t be better for you.”

“All that matters to me is your well-being.”

“But…not my happiness?” Kagome asked him then, causing the hanyou to sigh before looking away.

“Kagome, if…if you really heard everything I said, then you know my reasons.”

“I do know your reasons…” the miko acknowledged, before adding, “Just as you know me. You’re right that I don’t care what the rest of the world would say.”

“But I do.” he insisted.

Kagome opened her mouth to offer further protest but was unexpectedly cut off by the joyful cry of “Kagome!” as Shippou rushed up to them from the direction of the village. “What did Inuyasha do this time?” he asked her sarcastically, noting the distinctly Inuyasha-shaped crater in the ground.

Now normally, back in the day, if they were in the middle of a heated discussion that was yet to be resolved, such as Kagome demanding more time to spend in her world and Inuyasha trying to deny her request, Shippou making an impromptu appearance would’ve been met with a harsh command of ‘Beat it, runt’ or something along similar lines from the hanyou, as usually in the past whenever Shippou had unknowingly interrupted an argument between them it invariably meant that Kagome got her way as a result. But such was not the case with this particular ‘discussion’ and Inuyasha was actually grateful for Shippou’s timing. Now they could drop it.

Kagome, mentally rolling her eyes but not wanting to take out her frustration on the child, resisted her own urge to tell Shippou to get lost in that moment and instead answered his question with a semi-honest, “He called me a bad name, Shippou-chan, but it wasn’t really his fault because I accidentally startled him.” Meeting Inuyasha’s exasperated gaze with a knowing look of her own, she smiled and added for Shippou’s benefit while keeping her eyes locked on Inuyasha’s, “We forgive each other so everything’s okay now, we’re not angry any more.”

“Okay!” Shippou replied with a huge grin, scurrying back towards Kaede’s hut with a cry over his shoulder of, “C’mon Kagome! I wanna show you my new drawings!”

Sighing, Kagome shot Inuyasha a look that said their conversation wasn’t over yet, to which he silently replied with a look of his own that said yes, it was, but ignoring him she hefted her bag higher on her shoulder then as she responded verbally to the kitsune’s summons with a call of “I’m coming!” as she jogged to catch up to the boy, Inuyasha trailing slowly behind.

Damn…it’s going to be hard getting him alone now… Kagome grumbled to herself as she neared Kaede’s hut.

They definitely had more to discuss, such as Inuyasha’s open admittance to sharing her feelings, for starters, not to mention openly acknowledging that he knew of her feelings for him in the first place. While Kagome had suspected that Inuyasha felt the same way about her, and could easily admit that her love for him was probably fairly obvious, it just didn’t make any sense to her that he would go on knowing of their mutual feelings for one another while at the same time denying them what they both so obviously wanted. Even from his reaction to Miroku’s words that had brought the conversation around to the two of them in the first place, Kagome could tell that Inuyasha actually found it rather upsetting to know that ‘no woman would ever have him’ as he was, as a hanyou. To then turn around and admit that he did know she would be willing to be with him, but at the same time refusing to allow it to happen because of her ‘duty as a miko’ was just plain stupid in her eyes. Although it would have broken her heart, she could have accepted it if he honestly just didn’t feel the same way about her. If Miroku had pointed out that she would be willing to be with him, and Inuyasha had acknowledged that he knew of her love for him but had then also stated that he just couldn’t see her that way, for whatever reason, crushed though she would have been it would have at least made sense why they couldn’t be together. Honestly, she would have probably fallen in love with him even more for not being willing to use her obvious feelings for him as a means to an end, taking advantage of her love for him simply to get laid.

Of course, I love him so much that even if I did suspect he was only using me for sex, if he ever actually approached me, I would probably go along with it anyway.

Did that make her pathetic, that she would openly sleep with the man she loved even knowing that he didn’t feel the same way and was only using her to get off? Probably, but since he did return her feelings that was fortunately not an issue Kagome had to think about too seriously. What she did have to think about, however, was how to go about cracking that thick shield of ‘honor and duty’ he carried with him wherever he went. Shouldn’t it be her job, as the supposed miko, to deny him if she so chose?

I bet if Kikyou had suddenly announced that she was willing to bed with him right then and there he wouldn’t have told her no… she grumbled, before quickly shaking off that negative line of thinking. She had to put on a pretty smile for the others after all, since she had now reached Kaede’s hut.

“I did this one yesterday!” Shippou chimed in the instant she pushed the doormat aside, nearly tripping over the boy who was standing right in the middle of the doorway, holding up one of his drawings with a huge grin of pride on his face.

“Wow, that’s very good.” Kagome praised sincerely as she scooted around the kit, nodding a silent greeting to Kaede and Sango as she dropped her bag off her shoulder before having a seat.

There was no point in wasting time pondering hypotheticals. It didn’t matter what it would mean for her character if she were willing to sleep with Inuyasha even if he didn’t love her and only wanted her for sex, because he did love her, and in fact he apparently loved her so much that he was willing to ignore his desire for sex for the greater good, believing in his heart that they couldn’t be together. It also didn’t matter what Inuyasha’s reaction would have been had Kikyou suddenly approached him with the offer of sex, because Kikyou never would have done such a thing, and even if she would have, Kagome knew that Inuyasha’s feelings for Kikyou had changed over time. It wasn’t fair to compare his reaction to her now to his would-be reaction to Kikyou fifty years ago. Even before the undead miko had met her fate the second time, Kagome believed that Inuyasha’s love for her preincarnation had become more like that of a cherished friend than a would-be lover, and she wouldn’t hurt Inuyasha or tarnish Kikyou’s name by addressing such a stupid hypothetical out loud. After all, wasn’t she the one who always hated being compared to Kikyou? Inuyasha continually insisted that he knew she was her own person, and so she would believe him on that; this matter was between them, it didn’t involve Kikyou.

Still, though, the deceased miko’s name had been brought up, from a comparative standpoint in that just like how Kikyou had been previously bound to the jewel, so too was she now, needing to take over where Kikyou had left off. Kagome knew that, she wasn’t stupid; she had made a promise to Kikyou and she had every intention of keeping that promise. But what the hell did her being with Inuyasha have to do with her being the guardian of the Shikon no Tama? Did Inuyasha honestly believe that being with him would physically corrupt her, robbing her of her ability to purify the jewel?

He also said that the rest of the world wouldn’t accept us being together, but I bet that’s mainly just an excuse. Miroku-sama’s right, since when does he care what the rest of the world thinks? That might be a real concern, in part, because like Inuyasha said it does involve me, but I bet the major hang up is really his fear that he really would corrupt me. He really went on about that one for a minute, and even though I think he knows that it ‘might’ not be true, he seemed unwilling to take the risk.

Well, Kagome smirked to herself in that moment, she would just have to take the risk for him, now wouldn’t she? There was zero doubt in her mind that sleeping with Inuyasha could actually tarnish her in any way, shape or form. Miko were supposed to remain pure and unattached, yes, but it was a cultural thing, for religious purposes. A miko’s duty had to be devoted to being a miko, exclusively, but since when did she say she had any intention of being a miko? She had spiritual powers, and she could purify youkai and the Sacred Jewel, but that didn’t mean she wanted to dedicate the rest of her life to a shrine. That had never been her intention, even back before getting pulled down the well on her fifteenth birthday. She hadn’t been planning on becoming a miko when she grew up, even already having spent her entire life growing up on a shrine in her own time. She’d always had every intention of getting married and moving away someday, spending many a night fantasizing about what her future husband might look like or what he’d do for a living. Souta was the one who was going to take over the Higurashi shrine after her grandfather. Her desire to be with Inuyasha wouldn’t really change the plans she’d always had ever since she was little. Her future husband was just more…exotic, than she’d originally envisioned.

Not that that’s a bad thing

No, it wasn’t a bad thing at all, and Kagome knew she couldn’t let it go until the two of them had had a nice long talk on the subject. Her family was away right now visiting relatives up north; a trip they took every year that she’d opted out of this year for obvious reasons. They still weren’t due back for two more days yet, and in that moment Kagome got a rather wicked idea. Yes, perhaps talking was a way in which she and Inuyasha could resolve their little misunderstanding, but actions spoke so much louder than words… She would take the risk, for Inuyasha, removing the burden from his shoulders by telling him up front that he could blame it on her if she was wrong. Nothing would happen to her powers, and as far as the rest of the world viewing her as a ‘dark’ miko went, to hell with ‘em.

As the hanyou of her thoughts finally made his own way inside Kaede’s hut, Miroku trailing behind, Kagome set her rapidly forming plan into action, reaching for her backpack which she immediately started digging through, as though she were looking for something.

“Oh darn it, I forgot it!” she declared suddenly, earning curious gazes from her other companions while Inuyasha instead eyed her suspiciously.

“Forgot what, Kagome-chan?” Sango asked from her position beside the fire-pit, a kitten-sized Kirara resting peacefully in her lap.

Thinking quickly, the unofficial-miko answered with, “My pocket mirror. I’d taken it out of my bag to clean it, and I must have forgotten it on my dresser, I can’t find it.”

Inuyasha wasn’t sure what Kagome was pulling, but he could smell her deceit and was just about to call her bluff by offering to look for it for her, reaching a hand out towards her bag, when she quickly snatched her bag back up while rising to her feet before he had the chance.

Sending him a seemingly pleading look, Kagome said to Inuyasha in that moment, “I really want my mirror, so I want to go back for it, if you don’t mind.” Her expression shifted then, ever so slightly, and his eyes widened at the hidden meaning. She wasn’t asking, she was telling. “You can come with me if you want, to make sure I don’t ‘dillydally’.” she added then, deliberately using a phrase he used a lot himself whenever she wanted to spend time in her time.

Sneaky wench… Inuyasha mentally grumbled. He supposed he could spoil her plans by brushing off her ‘concern’, telling her he trusted her to not take too long. How long could it take, after all, if she merely needed to retrieve something she’d forgotten in her room? But he knew she was lying, he knew she was just trying to get the two of them alone so that they could finish their ‘conversation’, and he also knew that if he didn’t suck it up and go along with it it would only be that much worse for him in the long run. Kagome was even more stubborn than he was, when she wanted to be. If she was willing to pull this stunt, then she obviously had no intention of letting it go.

“Keh, knowing your mom, she’ll probably try to get me to stay for dinner, but whatever, let’s get this over with.” he stated then, thinking ahead to buy them some more time since he had a sinking suspicion this discussion wasn’t going to be concluded all that quickly.

I hate talkin’ ‘bout emotional junk! Casting his eyes Miroku’s way as they left the hut, he knew the houshi knew when he saw the man gulp at the death glare he sent him. This is all your fault, bouzu!

Heading towards the well Kagome remained silent, and for that he was grateful at least, just in case Shippou or somebody else was trailing after them, curious to overhear part of their conversation if her little charade hadn’t been as clever as she’d thought. As far as he could tell, though, Sango, Kaede and Shippou had all been fooled by her ruse, and he knew Miroku wouldn’t fill the others in on what was really going on; they’d already had that discussion, which was why it’d taken the two of them so long to join the others in the hut.

Emerging on Kagome’s side of time, the miko cringed at the stiff way in which Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her to launch the two of them out of the well. Usually she could feel from him that he actually kind of enjoyed the excuse to hold her, but in that moment he seemed to have more of his wall up than usual. Not surprising, considering he knew her ruse about the pocket mirror had been a lie to get the two of them alone.

“My family’s not home right now,” she told him quietly as they exited the well-house, explaining, “So you don’t have to worry about anybody overhearing us.”

Take that however you want to. Kagome mentally snickered.

“Yeah, I know.” he answered quietly, surprising her a little until she glanced his way to see him tapping his nose.

Oh yeah.

Sometimes she forgot just how good his sense of smell actually was, but then again, she quickly thought that she could probably use that to her advantage in another few minutes here, once they made it inside.

Entering the genkan and removing her shoes, she smiled tenderly as Inuyasha did his best to wipe off the bottoms of his feet before following after her into the rest of the house and then up to her room. Entering after her and passing her as she stayed by the doorway, he sighed overdramatically as she softly closed the door before locking it.

“Look, Kagome…” he started right away, and she remained silent, letting him have his say first. “I…I really appreciate what you said, acknowledging that you wouldn’t care whatever anybody else might say or think…about us. That really means a lot to me, so I don’t want ya thinkin’ I don’t care, because I do. It’s just…that’s just one of several reasons why we can’t be together, Kagome, at least right now. I mean, maybe after Naraku is defeated and the Shikon no Tama is no more, then it wouldn’t matter as much, and we would be more free to be together, but right now, it just isn’t…it won’t work.”

Sighing herself, Kagome lowered her head for a moment before peaking back up through her bangs to meet Inuyasha’s eyes.

“At least…at least now you know without question that you were wrong, when you said that no woman would ever be interested in you as a hanyou. If you don’t want us to be together while Naraku and the jewel are both still out there, from some misguided sense of obligation, then that it is your decision, because that’s what you want. I think, especially with how great a threat Naraku really is, that it would make more sense to live life for the moment, enjoying every minute to the fullest.”

Shaking his head in denial, Inuyasha tried to keep his voice calm as he ground out, “You just don’t get it. We can’t be together now, it’s not about what I want.”

Raising her head, he took a step back at the unexpected, predatory gleam in her eyes as she retorted with, “No, you don’t get it. It’s all about what you want.”

With those words she literally threw herself at Inuyasha, who opened his arms wide to catch her on reflex, shocked immobile as she fisted his sidelocks with both hands and yanked his head down to her level, kissing him fiercely.

What the fuck is she doing?! he questioned frantically, even as the answer to that was fairly obvious. He couldn’t suppress reacting for much longer, he knew, the guy in him clawing at the back of his mind to respond with gusto, and then suddenly, the bitch shoved her tongue in his mouth.

Kami, the taste of her. Melting into the kiss, then, he wound his arms around her tightly, eagerly engaging her tongue in a battle for dominance. Kagome mewled against him, and he groaned at the sound, a long-suppressed part of him desperately longing to hear whatever other noises she could make.

Pulling her in closer and deepening the kiss, Kagome accepted him fully, and Inuyasha did not hesitate to take advantage when she surrendered her mouth to him, diving his own tongue into her mouth, tasting her, exploring her, burning every inch of her to memory. Kagome explored him in turn with equal fervor, her tongue still dueling with his for domination before veering off to test the length of his fangs. That she could kiss a man with fangs without showing the slightest sign of fear or disgust had Inuyasha’s heart soaring to even greater heights.

Eventually needing to pull apart for air, Inuyasha leaned forward slightly, resting his forehead against Kagome’s with his eyes closed, panting heavily. Finally getting his frantic heartbeat back under control, the hanyou pulled away from the woman he loved completely, staring at her puffy lips with a lingering euphoric grin until the reality of the situation came crashing back down upon him.

“Uh…”

“Don’t.” she stated in a clipped tone.

He blinked.

“Uh, don’t what?”

“Don’t say you’re sorry, and don’t say we should act like that kiss never happened.”

“I…” Sighing, Inuyasha raised his right hand to rub awkwardly at the back of his head. “I don’t think I could pretend that kiss never happened even if I wanted to.” he admitted sheepishly.

“Good.” Kagome purred, shoving gently on the center of his chest until numbly, he allowed his body to collapse at her command, taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

Kagome then crawled herself on top of him, and Inuyasha tried to open his mouth to offer protest, but she quickly took advantage and kissed him again.

“I love you…” she murmured softly against his lips in between kisses, “…and I want to be with you.”

Inuyasha blinked in surprise a few times, staring dumbly at Kagome’s closed eyelids before his own eyes eventually drifted closed, his body giving in to the feel of her in his lap as he wrapped his arms back up and around her body, holding her to him.

“Do you…do you really mean that?” he panted when her mouth broke away from his to trail her tongue along the side of his throat. Kami, of course she meant it; the scent of her arousal was a heavy perfume that permeated the air.  

“Of course…” she promised, both hands working their way to the knot of his belt, hoping to work his robes loose before he noticed. She did have a good measure of experience untying his robes, although it’d always been in a less than favorable setting until now. She would much rather enjoy his body than wrap it in bandages.

“But…” he started to protest, his hands still on her back, still holding her to him. He hadn’t noticed what she was doing yet.

“Shhh…” she soothed, pulling away from suckling his throat to meet his eyes with a look of sincerity. She knew what his main hesitation really was.

“I love you as you are, Inuyasha, as you know, and while yes, I am a miko, physically at least, I am not Kikyou. I don’t mean anything insulting by that, it’s just that her priorities were different from mine. I do know that I have a responsibility to the jewel, of course I do, but in my mind my feelings for you, and my duty to the jewel and defeating Naraku, can coexist. There is no reason why physically expressing my love for you would suddenly destroy my ability to purify the jewel, and as far as it not being ‘allowed’ under the rules of being a miko, well…to hell with the rules.”

He chuckled a bit despite himself at her tone, but then shaking his head in denial, it wasn’t so much ‘to hell with the rules’ in his mind as those rules being there for a reason.

“But…but a miko has to remain pure.” he stated dejectedly. “And you are a miko, Kagome.”

“I think…” Kagome started slowly, leaning forward to tease the side of his neck with her tongue once more. “I think that is a misconception.” she explained, smirking against his skin when he audibly groaned at her ministrations, his hips rocking gently beneath hers. It felt like she wasn’t the only one getting turned on by her actions.

“The statement that miko have to remain pure is more a matter of honor and duty, I think, that a miko is supposed to be devoted to being a miko, exclusively, with no distractions of a personal relationship. Surely a person with spiritual powers can’t just up and lose their powers one day. If purity were actually required to maintain spiritual powers at all, then there would be no such thing as kuro miko, now would there?” Kagome continued then, continuing to gently pluck at his obi with her right hand while trailing her left hand up to his right ear, carefully rubbing the fuzzy, tender flap of skin between her fingers. He leaned his head into her touch, eyes closed in bliss.

“But while it is true, in a way…while purity in some sense is definitely required in order to perform a task such as purifying the Shikon no Tama, because a kuro miko uses her powers for evil and would therefore darken the jewel, I do not believe that demonstrating my love for you would constitute an impure act.” she stated matter-of-factly, successfully untying his obi.

Removing her left hand from his ear, she used both hands to push his robes open, exposing his bare chest. It took Inuyasha a minute to register the sensation and realize what she’d just done, but by that point Kagome was teasing his left nipple with the thumb and index finger of her right hand.

“Kagome…” he groaned, rocking his hips against her a second time. She could easily feel his growing excitement, and the realization that she was actually turning him on, that he was actually aroused by her and what she was doing, heated up her own body all the more. From a sense of honor he might not have wanted to be with her, believing that keeping his distance was the right thing to do, but as a man, he wanted her; it was very apparent what at least one part of his anatomy thought about the idea of being with her intimately.

Still, physical reactions aside, that didn’t mean he was mentally so easily swayed. It would take a few hours of soaking in an icy cold river to get his body to cool back down after this, but he had to put a stop to what she was attempting, for both their sakes.

“But what…what if you’re wrong?” he questioned hoarsely, somehow muscling up the strength to reach for and stop her hand. “Miko have to remain pure, in every sense of the word. Kuro miko are a different breed, their powers are dark. You need to keep your pure powers in order to purify the jewel, so losing them altogether, or turning into a kuro miko, that wouldn’t matter.”

She met his eyes with soft understanding, knowing that his rejection was coming from a place of fear, knowing that if, just if sleeping with him really did ruin her he would never be able to forgive himself, not to mention the fact that if she lost her powers they were all pretty much screwed. And not the fun kind of screwed, either. Honestly, if Kagome thought there was even the slightest, remote possibility that it could be true, she wouldn’t be so foolish as to gamble with their lives in such a way, but she knew it wasn’t true. It couldn’t be.

“Kuro miko have dark powers because they have dark souls, because raw spiritual energy is impartial and can be used for good or evil. My powers are pure because I’m a good person at heart.” Smiling, she asked him, “Why should the status of my body be so important, honestly?” Her tone wasn’t rhetorical or sarcastic, but more as if she really wanted him to think about the answer. “After all,” she added, hoping he wouldn’t take offense at this next part. “Kikyou’s second body was, in reality, nothing more than a clay doll made from graveyard soil and ground up bones, made to house a deceased person’s soul by a youkai’s magic spell. If she could still maintain a pure light within her aura, even from within a false body that was born from nothing but evil magic and evil desires, then you cannot convince me that merely expressing my love for you would darken my soul.”

Inuyasha blinked at Kagome in surprise, and she was surprised by his surprise. She was expecting another denial, not shocked silence.

Had that honestly never occurred to him? Kagome wondered at the look in his eyes.

She knew why Kikyou had wanted to use the jewel to turn Inuyasha human, and it hadn’t had anything to do with the fact that sleeping with him as a hanyou would’ve destroyed her miko powers. Kikyou had simply been forbidden, within her own mind at the very least, from allowing herself a relationship of any sort while her duty was to guard the Sacred Jewel. Truly, all she had wanted was to free herself of its burden, and…it was also true that thanks to her miko teachings, she had believed Inuaysha’s youkai half to be impure. Using the jewel to turn him human was a means to an end, killing two birds with one stone. She had still loved him as he was, never having possessed the ability to kill him because he was half human. Inuyasha had a human heart, and Kikyou had been able to see that, falling in love with the man underneath despite her miko teachings. But despite her love for him, she still had not been able to be with him while she was in charge of guarding the jewel. The fact that he was half youkai had made it that much worse from a social point of view, Kagome was sure, but ultimately even if he had been human from the beginning Kikyou wouldn’t have allowed herself to be with him so long as the jewel remained intact. In her mind, offering to turn him human had been a genuine gift, wanting to rid him of his filth, but Kagome did not think that even Kikyou had truly been disgusted by Inuyasha’s hanyou status. Having loved him, she had wanted to gift him with the ability to no longer be hanyou, something that he himself had even openly despised. True, his original desire had been to become fully youkai, but of course she never could have permitted his use of the jewel for that, and they both knew it. With Kikyou by his side another future had then been possible, and so she had offered him an alternative, a way out of his solitude. Ultimately, all Inuyasha had wanted was to no longer be alone…and to be loved. Using the jewel to turn him human would have probably purified the jewel out of existence, too, something that Kikyou had hoped would happen as an added bonus. If so, it would’ve meant they were then free to express their love, together, as two ordinary humans, because without the grand responsibility of guarding the Sacred Jewel Kikyou could have chosen to retire from being a miko. Yes, Kagome did understand, and she no longer begrudged her preincarnation for her foolishness. Perhaps, in another life, she would’ve made the same decisions.

Kagome inwardly smirked at the irony of such a thought.

Snapping herself out of her stupor, it took the miko a moment to realize that Inuyasha was still openly gawking at her, though his expression was a little more…joyful…than it had been moments prior.

“What?” she asked, a touch of a laugh in her voice.

Shaking his head, Inuyasha stated in amusement, “Nothing, I…just never realized how much thought you’d put into this.”

Chuckling lightly, Kagome explained, “In my time miko don’t have real powers any more, at least that I know of, but the whole ‘purity’ thing is definitely not as big a deal any more.”

“Ah-hah…” he responded, his tone slightly teasing. “Maybe miko don’t have any powers any more because they lost their powers up the line from generations of impure acts.”

Kagome shot him a deadpan stare.

“Oh yes, we bred our powers out of ourselves by breeding, silly us should have stayed celibate instead, because then the next generation would’ve been born with powers, that makes sense.”

He laughed.

“Okay okay, but maybe the girls born in your time with powers who could become miko aren’t getting caught by other miko in time and then they end up losing their powers when they get a man because it’s become a lost art with no sensei to guide them.”

Well…that one could theoretically be true, but…

“I thought even you conceded that ‘normal’ relations wouldn’t tarnish me but it was just you being half youkai you were worried about?” Raising a skeptical eyebrow, she reminded, “Let us not forget about dear ol’ Miroku-sama, after all, and his shining examples of virtue.”

Snorting, Inuyasha just shook his head again, conceding defeat for that particular branch of the ‘argument’.

Keh, if this is how she wants to argue from now on I won’t mind our fights at all anymore… he thought as a mild wave of pleasure washed through him as she shifted position in his lap. He could feel the heat of her core scorching his hardened flesh, and considering that it was through the protective barrier of fire-rat cloth, that was really saying something. That she was just sitting there, openly straddling him with his very obvious arousal pressing up against her, while carrying on a semi-normal conversation, said something, too.

 “You’re something else, ya know that?” he stated then, chuckling mildly.

“Hmmm…” she started, as if giving the matter some genuine thought. “I’ve been called a lot of things since I first started traveling to your world, mostly by you, but ‘something else’ is one I don’t think I’ve heard before.”

“Yeah, well…you’d be called a whole lot worse if we actually…ya know.”

To emphasize his point, he gave his hips a little raise, his erection pressing snuggly up against her core.

“Let me guess…” Kagome started with an amused tone of voice, ready and willing to address this next concern of his, now that the possibility of her losing her powers was apparently a closed discussion.

Inuyasha’s eyes widened even further in surprise as the miko in his lap proceeded to run down a list of dirty names.

“There’s slut, whore, youkai’s whore, traitor, traitorous bitch, freak, abomination, kuro miko, demon lover…am I forgetting anything? How about betrayer? Beast fucker? Am I getting warmer?”

“I…” Shaking his head, Inuyasha was having a hard time accepting the fact that she was not only aware of all he was trying to protect her from, but she honestly, openly didn’t care.

If it was true that being with him wouldn’t rob her of her powers, and she was ready and willing to face the world head-on with regard to strangers’ reactions to learning of their relationship, then why, exactly, did they need to wait until after Naraku and the jewel were gone? His primary concern for the here and now had been tainting her with his filth, but if both Kagome and Miroku were insisting that being with him like that wouldn’t destroy her powers then he would defer to their wisdom. His secondary concern, which would have become his greatest hesitation after the Shikon no Tama had been purified, was that Kagome didn’t really comprehend what it would mean for her to be with him, from a social standpoint. So what if she wouldn’t technically lose her powers? She would be dirty in the eyes of the world at large. It would still ruin her as a miko, at least socially if not literally. A human who willfully consorted with youkai…they were lower in society than butchers and leatherworkers. Hell, they were lower than undertakers! Kagome would be beyond eta, someone even the hinin would be within their rights to look down upon. But maybe Miroku was right; maybe choosing such a life, in order to be with the man she loved, needed to be Kagome’s decision.

As if sensing Inuyasha’s thoughts, Kagome continued in that moment with, “I know that things are different now that we have Shippou-chan, Miroku-sama and Sango-chan traveling with us,” explaining, “But while my hearing is nowhere near as good as yours is, I’m not deaf, and I do recall the whispers we would earn in strange villages back when it was only just the two of us.”

Oh man…

His ears lowered at that one. She’d heard that, had she?

“And you didn’t get upset?” he asked in bewilderment.

“Of course I was upset!” she stated, her sudden raise in volume catching him off guard. “It took every ounce of willpower I had to not march right up into the face of the first offender I saw and tell ‘em what’s what! But…”

Sighing, Kagome visually calmed down, leaning her forehead against his and closing her eyes as she continued with, “Even with as naïve as I was when this whole thing got started, I wasn’t stupid, and I knew that one fifteen-year-old girl against an entire village wasn’t very good odds. With the way you felt about me and our whole mission back then, I also figured that since you weren’t reacting, you were either just completely ignoring them, like you didn’t care, or were at least ignoring them for my sake ‘cause you thought I couldn’t hear them, and…well, either way, I didn’t want to upset you by causing a scene.”

“Oh, yeah?” he asked her with an amused tone of voice, raising his right hand from its place on her back to rest gently on the back of her head, his eyes closed as they continued to touch foreheads. “Is that why you told the Thunder Brothers that you were my woman?”

“Hey!” she declared defensively, pulling back enough to meet his eyes with her own, both of his hands dropping to rest casually on her hips. “That was different! I was scrambling to come up with anything I could think of to save my life!”

“Yeah, well…” Tightening his hold on her hips, Inuyasha held her steady as he rocked up against her gently, moaning at the torturously blissful sensation while the woman in his lap hissed, the scent of her arousal getting stronger. “It did buy you some time, so good thinking I guess.” he finally conceded.

Kagome didn’t respond, or at least not with words, wrapping her arms up and around his neck before pulling him in for another kiss, which he eagerly returned that time without hesitation. Finally pulling apart for air, Inuyasha was the one that time to breathlessly rest his forehead against hers, taking a few deep breaths through his nose to savor the scent that was literally right under his nose, as she continued to sit with her legs open, straddling him.

“Kagome?” he finally managed to croak after a moment, still out of breath.

“Hmm?” she replied lazily, eyes closed.

“Did you…did you really mean what you said? That you…would say yes? If…if I asked you if you would be willing to be with me, to live that kind of a life…you really would?”

Opening her eyes, she backed her head away just enough to meet his gaze.

“What do you think this is all about?” she asked him playfully, grinding against him again.

He hissed, tilting his head back as his hips raised up to meet her stroke.

“I’m serious…” he gasped out.

Suddenly feeling a gentle tug on his forelocks, Inuyasha allowed Kagome to pull his head back forward once more, and meeting her eyes, she had the most sincere look shining in her chocolate orbs that he’d ever seen.

“If you want me, Inuyasha, to spend the rest of my life with you, to be your wife, the mother of your children, even if it means living in exile as outcasts from the rest of the world, that is a choice I would gladly make. I love you, my place is with you.”

Kagome didn’t even see Inuyasha move, his actions too quick for her human eyes to keep up with, but the next thing she knew, she was lying flat on her back across her bed with his body lying on top of hers. His voice was almost feral as he all but whispered in her ear, “Be sure, Kagome. Even though the local villagers are nice enough, even though they practically worshiped you when they first realized you were Kikyou’s reincarnation, even they would probably turn against you if they found out we were together, and they would run me out for ‘tainting’ you.”

“Inuyasha…” Kagome breathed, “I would live with you in the forest if I had to. We could build a little hut, just for us, out in the middle of nowhere for all I care. Besides, not everyone would turn against us. Miroku-sama, Sango-chan and Shippou-chan…and I bet even Kaede-obaa-chan, they would all approve of us being together. Then don’t forget about my family…”

His ears lowered at that. He had forgotten about her family. What right did he have to take Kagome as his without her grandfather’s permission? Her Jii-chan would never approve of them being together.

Backing away from her suddenly, Kagome blinked up in surprise for a moment, wondering at the sudden lack of weight against her stomach, until she realized that her would-be lover was once again sitting on the edge of her bed, his back to her.

“Inuyasha…?” His ears flicked back but he didn’t otherwise acknowledge her, and she quickly realized what she must have said that had triggered such a reaction in him.

“Inuyasha, my family loves you, and I happen to know for a fact that Mama will approve of me being with you. She’s known how I feel about you for a while now. That’s what I meant when I mentioned my family, that they are more people who would accept us.”

“But…your grandfather-”

“Cannot make the final decision for me.” she interrupted. “Things are different in my time, Inuyasha, and Mama is my guardian, not Jii-chan. Women are not forced to obey the eldest male of the family any longer. It might still be considered a dishonor on my part, at least a little, if I were to so blatantly go against his wishes, but I can do whatever I want. He couldn’t really stop me, and besides, I’m sure he would give his permission, anyway.”

He glared at her over his shoulder, his expression clearly disbelieving.

“What makes you so sure?”

She merely shrugged.

“The same reason he’s never tried to stop me from traveling through the well after you broke through his ‘seal’ the first time, because it’s my destiny.”

“Kagome-”

“Shhh.” the miko shushed, crawling up behind him. Reaching for his shoulders, she eased his opened robes back and off his arms before then tugging them out of his hakama, amazed but also relieved when he didn’t resist her, allowing her to divest his upper body of his clothing.  

Tossing his suikan and kosode aside, she reached for his bare shoulders next, beginning a soothing, gentle massage. He immediately relaxed into her touch, exhaling slowly.

“I…want to be with you, Kagome. Honestly, I want to be with you a whole lot.” he admitted with a chuckle that she echoed. “I just can’t help still worrying over how badly it’ll screw everything up. Am I freaking out for no reason?”

“Yes.” she answered with a snicker, to which he laughed again.

“Inuyasha,” she continued then, “I love you, and I’m willing to put up with whatever life might throw at us in order to be with you. Hell, I’m even willing to cuss to get my point across. I don’t give a fuck what the rest of the world might have to say about you and me being together.”

Chuckling at her boldness, Inuyasha playfully tsk’d. “Twice in one day? My Kagome’s getting quite the naughty mouth.”

“My mouth can get a whole lot naughtier if you let it.”

Eyes widening, Inuyasha choked a bit at her words, a result of gasping and laughing at the same time. Even so, his inner hentai couldn’t help but conjure up all sorts of nifty little images to go along with that statement, all of which had him groaning soon after, his eyes drifting shut once more.

“Damn…” he muttered, shaking his head slowly. There was a teasing edge present in his voice as he stated, “See, I’ve corrupted you already.”

Adopting a sultry tone, Kagome purred, “Well, if I’m already corrupted, then we needn’t worry about tainting me any further, now do we? What’s done is done, so let’s get dirty.”

“Well when you put it that way…”

Allowing his words to trail off, he smirked when Kagome wrapped her arms around him from behind, kissing the side of his neck. Teasing his right nipple with her right index finger, Kagome trailed delicate circles around the hardened bead of flesh before allowing her hand to trail lower, her fingers meticulously tracing his abs before venturing even further south. He stiffened a bit in what she imagined was most likely anticipation as she finally reached her destination, going plenty slow enough that he could have grabbed her hand to stop her at any time if he wanted her to stop. Receiving no such resistance, she wrapped her fingers firmly around the bulge in his pants, and he immediately hissed at the contact, his head tilting back to allow her more access to his throat.

“Kagome…” he moaned, cracking his eyes open in a desperate search for her. Finding her, he tilted his head more, meeting her lips in a half sideways, half upside down kiss.

Reaching up with his right hand, at first he was just randomly reaching for her, but by a blessing of their current positions his hand immediately made contact with her breast, and he kept his hand right where it was, then, his own fingers molding and squeezing her cloth-covered flesh.

Quickly growing unsatisfied with her handful of fabric, Kagome soon released her grip of him, though only so she could snake her hand within the open side of his hakama. Even as she brushed her fingertips against his bare hip and thigh as she made her way within his pants, even as she continued to kiss him, feeling his own hand gently cup and mold her sensitive breast through the fabric of her shirt and bra, there was a little part of Kagome in the back of her mind that was squealing helplessly, almost unable to comprehend what was happening. Saying to the man you loved that you loved him was all fine and good, Kagome knew, but sticking your hand down his pants to wrap your fingers around his fundoshi-clad erection was something else entirely. Despite this having been her plan all along from getting him alone in her house, wanting to seduce him to put a stop to his insistence that they couldn’t be together, a part of her still couldn’t believe that this was actually, really happening, that it wasn’t a dream. But of course it wasn’t lost on the miko that similar thoughts were most likely running through Inuyasha’s mind, as well. She didn’t know how often he pleasured himself, or in truth if he ever actually engaged in such an act at all, but either way, she was sure that knowing that it was her hand touching him in such an intimate way was a truth almost as hard for him to convince himself of as it was for her to accept that she was actually touching him in such a way. And they still hadn’t had any skin-on-skin contact yet.

Closing her fingers around the bulge in his fundoshi, Kagome wasn’t surprised when Inuyasha’s hips flexed a little at the contact, rocking him into her hand. Tracing the shape of him within the straining wrap of cotton, it didn’t take Kagome long to notice the spot of moisture at his tip, and gently pressing her thumb against it, he groaned before suddenly jerking his hips up even faster. She pulled her hand back out of his hakama, then, but only so that she could start working on untying them. Pulling herself away from his touch, she tugged gently on his shoulders until he conceded and lied back for her, his legs still dangling off the edge of the bed at the knees as he lied across the bed sideways. It didn’t take her too long to get his pants undone, and folding back the top flap of his hakama to reveal his dampened and straining fundoshi, Kagome could feel Inuyasha’s eyes on her and so she licked her lips hungrily for show, the sight of her staring at him as if he were a feast to quench her appetite the most arousing thing he’d ever seen in his entire life.

Kneeling beside him on his right, Kagome reached for his fundoshi with her right hand, turning her head to meet his gaze as her left hand cupped his right cheek. He was just staring at her in wonder, as if in total shock that this was happening, and she smirked, giving him a little squeeze, the reaction of which she could see in his eyes as his face grimaced in agonized pleasure though he desperately tried to keep his eyes locked on hers. Leaning forward, she kissed him languidly, her tongue dancing with his slowly and tenderly, while she continued to stroke the fundoshi-clad phallus in her hand, his hips rocking slowly. Breaking away from the kiss after a moment, she offered him a playful wink and then leaned over his chest, swirling her tongue around his right nipple before venturing even lower, following the same path her fingers had taken before.

“Kagome…” he managed to pant out, “You don’t really have to-” he tried to tell her as a courtesy, but he never got a chance to finish his sentence as she quickly yanked the folded over flap of his fundoshi aside, exposing his naked erection that sprang to life immediately upon being freed, only to find instant confinement once again within the hot, wet prison of her mouth.

“Fuck!” he gasped out, his ass raising off of the bed as his entire body arched at the sensation.

Keeping her right hand wrapped around the base of his shaft, she pumped him at a steady pace, taking as much of him as she could fit into her mouth. All of the sounds he was making were music to her ears, never having thought she would ever have Inuyasha at her mercy in such a way, writing and whimpering in pleasure below her. It was beyond erotic, seeing her big, tough hanyou reduced to a moaning, subservient sex object.

He didn’t stay that way for long, though, as his right hand found its way to her head and fisted in her hair. Kagome thought he was just about to get a little more rough with her, guiding her movements, which would have been just fine with the miko, so she was understandably surprised to instead find herself suddenly yanked away from him completely. Before she could blink, Kagome once again found herself lying flat on her back along the bed, this time with Inuyasha’s naked form towering over her fiercely, the hanyou having ripped his hakama and fundoshi away from himself during the maneuver to kneel before her completely nude. She blinked up at him with mild confusion and worry at the way he held his right hand up menacingly in front of her face, fingers bent in a way that showcased his claws. Then he snarled.

“Clothes off before I tear them off.”

Laughing despite herself at the desperate and almost crazed look in his eyes, Kagome eagerly reached for the buttons on her blouse, working them loose as quickly as she could. His hands did not stay idle, though he was much more gentle than his empty threat had suggested he’d be, as with a playful smirk he helped expedite the removal of her clothing by reaching for and untying the red scarf around her neck while she finished with the buttons.

Unable to stand her teasing any longer, and not wanting to risk finishing in her mouth, Inuyasha had finally decided to hell with all his worrying. He wanted Kagome and he wanted her now. Helping her out of her shirt, he couldn’t help chuckling a bit at her eagerness as she sat up only enough to virtually rip her shirt off her body once all the strange toggles were unhooked. She tried to lie back down, then, but he wouldn’t let her, not after catching sight of the chest wrapping she wore. As strange and admittedly erotic as her futuristic chest binding was, he wanted it gone.

“That too.” he told her, pointing his index finger at her bra.

Without offering protest, Kagome folded her arms behind herself. He wasn’t sure how the device fastened but it was obviously something the girls from her time didn’t require dress maids for as she unhooked it easily. Seeing the way her ‘bra’ as he knew she called it went loose, he eased her back down on her back then with a gentle hand between her breasts, not unlike how she had originally coaxed him into sitting on the edge of her bed when they had first been standing in her room. Looking back on it, he couldn’t really believe they’d gone from standing and arguing about why they couldn’t be together, to him lying on top of her naked and possessively ridding her of her own clothing, but he wasn’t about to stop himself now. Waggling his eyebrows at her, he leaned forward then, capturing her bra between the cups with his teeth and gently backing away to pull it off of her. She giggled but raised her arms to assist him, pulling them out of the straps as he backed away with her bra in his mouth.

Shaking his head, he flung her bra across the room, and then immediately he was back on top of her, laving her right breast with his tongue. Moaning, she arched her back at the sensation, shoving more of her breast in his mouth, while her right hand made its way to his left ear. He growled low at the contact, a playful sound that vibrated throughout his body, and the sensation sent shivers straight through her nipple and down to her core, but it wasn’t enough.

“Enough foreplay…” she moaned, rocking her hips up against him in invitation. “I can’t get any wetter than I already am. I want to feel you inside me.”

He growled possessively at her words, and quickly lowered his mouth from her breast, making his way down to her skirt. That one was easier to figure out, as she showed him where the zipper was. Pulling the zipper down and open, he then backed away from her further while reaching for the top edge of her skirt with both hands, tugging it down and off her legs. Crouching at the foot of her bed, paying no heed to the way his throbbing erection was on full display, he reached for her socks next, wanting to get her as equally naked as he was. Finally clad only in white cotton panties, Kagome made to tug her underwear down her hips herself, hooking her thumbs into the waistband, but suddenly Inuyasha’s hands were cupping her own, and as he lowered his nose to her crotch she couldn’t help the light giggles that intermixed with the gasp that escaped her at the sensation of him burying his nose between her legs. Sticking his tongue out, he licked the damp center of her panties, and moaning at the teasingly light contact, Kagome raised her hips in a silent plea for more.

Hooking his own fingers within the waistband of her panties, ever mindful of his claws to not accidentally scratch her soft skin, Inuyasha tugged the last article of Kagome’s clothing down and off her body. Then resuming his previous posture, he stuck his nose back between her legs, and she gasped again at the feel of his tongue experimentally sticking out to stroke her bare womanhood. Rumbling possessively in the back of his throat, it didn’t take long for the taste of her to erase everything from his mind except the aroused bitch lying before him, as he lapped at her greedily like the dog he was, his hands coming forward to pin her legs open, and Kagome suddenly found that she could do nothing but hold on for the ride as the inu-hanyou between her legs literally devoured her.

He couldn’t believe how good she tasted! Thinking was a waste of energy, and he spared himself only enough thought process to pay attention to her reactions as he licked at her in different ways, quickly learning how she liked it best. She was a good bitch and she deserved to feel as much pleasure as humanly possible. Even more than that! So it was a good thing he wasn’t human and limited to their weaknesses. He was operating fully on his inu instincts for the time being. Perhaps if a larger part of his human mind had still been functioning he would have felt self-conscious about how he was acting all of a sudden, though there was really no need; the miko wasn’t complaining, she wasn’t complaining at all.  

Though Kagome was in shock, and for a couple of different reasons. One, it was a huge surprise for the relatively timid – at least when it came to anything sexual – hanyou to suddenly be licking and slurping at her sex so boisterously. Where had this side of him come from? Two, what he was doing felt so fucking fantastic that she couldn’t even think straight! She was no stranger to sexual pleasure, though her past experiences were limited solely to her own fingers, and Inuyasha’s tongue was – no pun intended – ‘hands down’ way better than her hands. She knew she would never want to go back to pleasuring herself again after this, though hopefully she wouldn’t have to.

Her own thoughts left her then, as she felt the telltale sign of her pending release creep up on her none too slowly. It was only a matter of seconds when she felt the dam break, the most powerful orgasm of her life ripping through her and threatening to shatter her very soul. The miko screamed her release, desperately trying to shove Inuyasha away from her over sensitized clit, though he refused to let go, growling in the back of his throat in a way that sent the vibrations shooting straight up into her weeping pussy, causing a second scream to tear from her throat as blinding pleasure started bordering on pain. “Ah! Stop!” He didn’t. In a last-ditch effort at ceasing his torture she charged up her powers within herself, only ever so slightly, offering him just the tiniest of jolts, the mildest of sparks hitting his tongue like static electricity. He immediately pulled away from her then, the shocked and slightly embarrassed look on his face quickly morphing into one of unbridled amusement, to which Kagome sighed in relief, having feared for the briefest of seconds that he was going to be angry with her for using her powers against him, even playfully.

He was far from angry. Besides the fact that she had just proven that what they were doing wouldn’t hurt her miko powers, not that he would have been willing to go forward with coupling with her if any real doubt on that subject had still remained in his mind, he just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tease her about what she’d just done as he met her eyes before barking out a laugh and declaring, “Didn’t know you could channel your powers through that.”

Her face turned beat red at his words, and reaching behind herself, she grabbed a pillow that she threw at him while muttering “Shut up.”

He laughed some more, but it was clear from the expression on his face that he wasn’t really making fun of her, he was just happy, and to see that look in his eyes, such total and pure happiness, it made her heart soar.

Though that didn’t mean he was above being teased on the subject as well.

“I couldn’t think of anything else, you were going all feral on me so I had to bring you back.”

Her huge grin told him she was being playful, so being playful back he smirked before stating confidently, “I didn’t hear any complaints.”

She blushed a little but gave him a sultry grin nonetheless, admitting, “No…no complaints here.” He chuckled again. “Now, I want to feel you inside me.” she added in playful command, reminding him of her earlier request when he had decided to ignore her in favor of more foreplay anyway, though she definitely didn’t have any complaints. But fooling around with each other wasn’t the same thing as actually uniting as one, and she wanted to experience that with him. She wanted to make love to him.

“I don’t know…how do I know I can trust that thing?” he teased, even as he crawled over her body and settled his member between her legs.

“Who knows, you might like it.” Kagome teased back, earning another bark of laughter from the demonic man above her.

“I think you have me confused with the bouzu. I’m pretty sure he’s into pain, with as often as he gets Sango to slap him.”

Kagome snorted a laugh at that one, and promising with a playful wink that she wouldn’t zap his penis, Inuyasha proved he wasn’t really afraid of such an outcome as he reached down between their bodies to align himself at her entrance.

“Kagome, I…” he started, the humor in his eyes quickly fading to be replaced with a sincere look of love. Slowly, he began pressing himself inside of her. “I know I haven’t said it back yet, but you deserve to hear it.” he admitted, “I…I love you, too.”

Below him, Kagome’s eyes welled up with tears as she gazed up into his golden orbs, though for once Inuyasha understood the difference between ‘sad’ tears and ‘happy’ tears, and didn’t panic as if he’d somehow done something wrong. As he continued to gradually inch his way inside her tight, unused channel, however, he did momentarily worry that she might be in pain.

“You okay?” he asked her roughly as he seated himself fully within her, his voice strained because he was most certainly not in pain, but he wouldn’t move until she gave him the okay.

Kagome shifted and wiggled a little in experimentation. Truthfully, Inuyasha pressing inside of her hadn’t been the most pleasant sensation in the world, but it definitely hadn’t hurt anywhere near as bad as some of the horror stories she’d heard at school, and what discomfort there had been as he’d first entered her was already fading, like the initial burn of a hot tub before your skin adjusts to the temperature. She felt incredibly full, but she also felt…complete.

Smiling up at him, her gaze was reassuring as she told him, “I’m good, you can move.”

He was really glad to hear those words because her wiggling around like that had not been helping! It was taking every last ounce of willpower and restraint he contained to remind himself that she was human, and therefore fragile. Letting his human heart guide his movements, he slowly retracted his hips, continuing to study her face with his eyes locked on her own, a silent demand in his golden orbs for her to tell him the instant she needed him to stop, if she needed him to stop. He knew he’d ignored her before, but that was because he’d gotten lost in the pleasure he was giving her. If she were in pain that would be different, obviously. Kagome understood the look in his eyes, and in return, the look she was giving him told him that not only was she not in any pain, but that he could move even faster. Chuckling quietly then, he complied, gradually picking up his tempo until he was moving at a fairly regular pace. It did occur to Inuyasha that there hadn’t seemed to be any sort of a barrier he’d needed to break through, though he quickly decided to ask her about that later, assuming he was going to be brave and/or stupid enough to bring it up at all. He knew she had never been touched by another, he would have smelled it on her, not to mention she was so fucking tight, and their entire argument about whether or not miko needed to remain pure would have been pointless if she’d already bedded someone else in the past; she could have just admitted that and then that would have closed the discussion right there. He would have still wanted her; he would have needed to know the name and location of the other man so that he could hunt him down, slice off his dick and shove it so far up his ass he choked to death on his own sperm, but he would have still wanted her. Shaking those kinds of thoughts free after a moment, Inuyasha focused on the here and now, on the beautiful sight of the woman lying below him, her breasts bouncing playfully in time with his thrusts. Barrier or no, she had never been touched by another; he was her first, and he would be her only.  

Incidentally, she was also his first, but Inuyasha was pretty sure Kagome knew that from the conversation she’d overheard that had started it all. He had been completely honest with Miroku when he’d expressed his belief that no woman would ever want to be with him as he was, as a hanyou. Yes, he had known that Kagome loved him, but she was a miko and her duty was to the jewel, or so he’d convinced himself, and so therefore Kagome hadn’t counted in that equation, because she couldn’t be with him either way. And since nobody else could ever possibly find it in their heart to care for a hanyou as she did, then that had meant that he was pretty much screwed…and not the good kind of screwed. How cruel fate was, to give him a woman who actually, miraculously loved him, only for her to be unavailable to him because of her birthright. It would have been less vicious for life to have left him the way he’d always been in the past, alone and despised, than to dangle the fanciful possibility of love in front of his face only to snatch it away again.

Perhaps that had been fate’s plan, because he was still a firm believer in the rest of the universe having it out for him, though apparently at least one of the gods had decided to take pity on him because the one and only woman who would ever be willing to accept him the way that he was, who supposedly couldn’t be with him because she was born to be a miko, had so aptly declared to hell with the rules, and he couldn’t have agreed more. Continuing to slide in and out of her, loving all of the little sounds she was making as she moaned and grunted below him in what he could tell was far more pleasure than pain, Kagome wasn’t the only one making any noise as he also groaned and panted, gasping and shuddering when a few extra powerful waves of pleasure washed through him. A couple of times he had to stop his hips for a moment, shaking his head to clear away how close he’d come to losing control, but then as soon as the rush faded he began moving again, quickly picking up the pace until he was right back where he’d started.

“Damn…that was close.” he grunted more to himself during one such pause, holding still for a moment longer this time as he buried his nose in the crook of her neck, slowly breathing in her calming scent.

He supposed she probably thought from his words that he’d nearly come, but that actually wasn’t what he was trying to keep at bay. Oh yeah, his orgasm was close, but it was what his pending release was trying to get him to do that he was trying to prevent. Why couldn’t his release just wash through him like a normal man and be done with it? Stupid youkai half…

Her gentle voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“You don’t have to hold back on my account.” Kagome murmured tenderly, running her fingers through his hair. “You’ve already made me feel so wonderful, now it’s your turn.”

“Trust me, this feels wonderful.” he admitted with a light chuckle. “Although I’m glad you said that because I don’t know how much longer I can control myself.”

Feeling a gentle tapping on the side of his face, Inuyasha realized Kagome was trying to get him to look at her, so raising his head he met her eyes in that moment, the look in her own mildly amused, but also understanding and loving.

“Let it go.” she told him then. “Let yourself go.”

A surge of pleasure washed over him from her words alone, something deep within his core stirring to life at her permission, but still, he hesitated.

“Kagome…I…” He didn’t know what he was trying to say, but fortunately Kagome could easily see from the look in his eyes what he needed to hear.

“Inuyasha, have you forgotten that I can sense demonic auras, including yours? I can feel your youki rising before you push it back down, and I don’t want you to think you have to do that. I love you just the way you are, Inuyasha, as a hanyou. I love your human half, and your youkai half. I know that because you are in fact half human, you have human emotions, and love me with a human heart, but there’s also a youkai side to you that desires me with a demonic passion. I know that because you just showed me that side of yourself a few minutes ago, and I want to see it again. I think you worry too much sometimes, that I won’t understand or won’t approve, and I don’t want you to feel nervous about obeying your youkai side in front of me, if it’s calling out to you. Be yourself, Inuyasha. Whatever you feel, whatever you are, be you. I love you.”

Gasping in surprise at her words, he pinched his eyes shut, his whole body trembling as his aura flared to life around them, his youkai half refusing to be held back a moment longer from her words of encouragement.

Keeping her eyes locked on him, Kagome could almost swear she heard the sound of Inuyasha’s control shattering, and she was half surprised when he opened his eyes to stare down at her that his gaze wasn’t crimson. He hadn’t transformed, of course; the strain on his youkai side wasn’t that severe, but his youkai side was definitely much closer to the surface now as he stared down at her hungrily. Without saying a word he slammed his lips down on hers, taking possession of her mouth, and the lingering taste of herself on his tongue only proved to fuel her own arousal all the more.

Sniffing and catching the spike in her scent, Inuyasha groaned against her mouth, increasing the fervor of his kiss. He hadn’t lost his mind; there was no sort of Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde transformation that had happened within him. A much closer analogy to what had just happened would be the old fashioned cliché of a man caught in the middle with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, each side telling him what to do. He lived with that kind of split desire every day of his life, and most of the time, at least where Kagome was concerned, the human side of himself always won out. It was the human angel on his shoulder that always got him to agree when she needed to spend time in her time to study for school, or when she wanted to help villagers victimized from a youkai attack that didn’t even involve Naraku or the jewel in any way. It was even his human side that led his anger most of the time, at least when his anger was really a mask for fear, like if she disobeyed his command to stay out of the way in a battle and almost got hurt because of it. But thanks to Kagome’s words of encouragement, just this once, he had decided to let the demon in him take over. This was the real him, in a way, the side of himself that Kikyou had feared and that he’d feared Kagome wouldn’t accept either. This was his passion; the side of him that led his battles, the side of him that wanted to tear Naraku’s fucking heart out and squeeze it in his fist until it exploded.

Kagome was right, of course; he desired her with his youkai passion. She was one of the few things in his life that his human side and youkai side were actually in complete agreement on, which was why he had thought it was so necessary to keep his youkai lust suppressed when it came to her. After all, he hadn’t thought, until today, that he could ever actually have her, and he hadn’t wanted to offend or disturb her with the knowledge of how badly he actually wanted her. His human heart was powerful enough that he could easily suppress his youkai desires…at least most of the time. He’d just found out the hard way – no pun intended – that having his rock hard cock shoved fully up within her insanely warm, tight and inviting pussy made controlling his animalistic desires vastly more difficult.

And then she gave him permission to stop trying.

Feeling a growl of passion bubble up from deep within his chest, Inuyasha didn’t hold back, snarling almost viciously as he continued to devour her lips, his hips no longer motionless as he began thrusting in short, rapid strokes. Accidentally nicking her bottom lip on a fang, the faint sound of her whimper followed by the distinctive taste of blood was enough to get him to pull his head back to look down at her in guilt and worry.

“It’s okay…” she assured him breathlessly before he could even apologize. Leaning back down to her mouth he licked the blood from her lip, murmuring a quiet “Sorry…” before he pulled away and out of her.

Before Kagome had time to protest, fearing he was entering another rejection mode from the knowledge that he’d carelessly drawn her blood, his hands were around her waist and rolling her over like a rag doll before gripping her hips tightly and yanking up until she quickly realized he wanted her on her hands and knees. Instantly, he slammed back home within her, and she cried out at the sudden intrusion, though the sensation was anything but painful.

“Kami!” Kagome gasped, her hands fisting the blanket below her as she desperately tried to anchor herself while his hands wrapped possessively around her, his entire upper body draped over her back as he clung to her, humping her in short, rapid thrusts that had her seeing stars as that angle had him brushing up against her G-spot with every pass.

“Holy fucking…gah!” Those words came out of Kagome. “Don’t stop! Whatever you do, don’t stop!”

“Fucking yeah, you like that, don’t cha bitch? Take it!” he rumbled low, his voice noticeably more demonic than she could ever recall hearing before, not counting his transformations, and it succeeded in turning her on all the more.

Pulling out almost all of the way he slammed himself back inside of her, holding himself buried as deeply within her as he could go for a moment or two as he ground himself against her, flexing his groin muscles so that his cock jumped inside her pussy. Pulling nearly all of the way out again, he repeated the move three more times before resuming his more rapid, shallower thrusts. The break in momentum had been needed to hold his orgasm back; there was no way he was going to let himself come now without taking her over the edge with him. Most men didn’t give a damn about their woman’s pleasure, wanting only to take for themselves, but this was something else both of his sides were in complete agreement on. His human heart wanted to make sure that Kagome enjoyed her encounter with him because he wasn’t most men; he honestly loved her and he refused to just think of himself when it came to sexual gratification because of that love. On the other hand, his youkai side desperately wanted to feel how much tighter her tight little pussy would get as it clamped down around his shaft in orgasm. Ultimately, it was win/win.

“Touch yourself.” he growled low in command, the tone of his voice offering no room for argument.

Did somebody say something? Who’s talking?

Kagome’s mind, or what was left of it, could barely remember to breathe let alone how to process language, but somehow finally managing to understand his command, Kagome didn’t even bother to think about how she’d only so recently more or less vowed to herself that she’d never resort to touching herself again. Immediately reaching for her swollen and throbbing clit, the miko began stroking herself with gusto, knowing this was different. This was touching herself while Inuyasha had his cock buried deep inside her pussy. Somehow they’d gone way past the ‘making love’ she’d wanted to experience with him, because this wasn’t making love, this was fucking, but she had asked him to let his youkai side go and she didn’t regret that decision. It only took a few seconds of rubbing her clit in combination with his rapid thrusts to push her over the edge, her entire body seizing up under the pressure as light exploded behind tightly closed eyelids, her inner muscles contracting so tightly around the foreign object buried deeply within her body that the hanyou behind her actually whimpered, forcing three more strokes against the increase in friction until suddenly with a loud cry he was falling over the cliff with her.

Kagome felt it as jet after jet of hot liquid shot deep inside her body, and she found herself grateful she’d had that talk with her mother a couple of months back. The unopened box of condoms was scolding her from its place within the small inner-zipper section of her backpack, but fortunately, the unopened pack of morning after pills beside it was reassuring her that everything would be okay. While she would love to have Inuyasha’s child, one day, he’d made a valid point regarding the importance of their current mission and her need to devote herself to defeating Naraku and purifying the jewel. While Kagome wholly believed that she could have a relationship with Inuyasha at the same time, juggling parenthood into that mix would be much more difficult, and dangerous.

Inuyasha’s thoughts would have been along similar lines, had he been capable of processing thought at that moment in time, letting out a bestial whine as he emptied himself within her. Nuzzling where her neck met her shoulder, Kagome couldn’t help shuddering in lingering delight as he stuck his tongue out to draw it lazily across her skin. Finally, with one last gentle rocking of his hips, Inuyasha allowed them both to collapse to their sides with his back to the wall, his slowly softening member slipping out of her as he wrapped his arms more firmly around her middle, pulling her into a spooning embrace on their right sides as he continued to nuzzle her left shoulder.

The couple lied together like that for neither of them knew how long, silently basking in the peaceful afterglow of their joining. Wrapping her arms over Inuyasha’s arms, which were still wrapped around her stomach, Kagome drew lazy circles on his skin with the tip of her index finger, gently brushing through the baby-fine silver hairs that sprinkled his forearms. The moment was so peaceful that Kagome almost found herself falling asleep, until suddenly, without doing a single thing differently or opening her mouth to speak, the hanyou behind her stiffened up, and not in a desire to reprise certain events. She knew unsure awkwardness when she felt it; apparently Inuyasha’s mind had come out of the hazy afterglow induced by their coupling. Instead of waiting for him to say something stupid like what a mistake they’d just made, she quickly decided to nip that possible line of thinking in the bud.

“You haven’t ruined anything, you know…” she murmured sleepily, knowing she couldn’t really allow her sudden tiredness to dominate her since they both needed to get up and dressed to return to the past.

“But what if you-”

“I still have my powers, I can feel them.” she interrupted.

Sighing a little, Inuyasha tightened his hold around her belly and mumbled, “I believe you, but, that wasn’t…”

Letting his words trail off, he was unsure of how to voice his concern, mentally kicking himself for not having even thought of the possibility of her becoming with-child during all of his earlier protests. Shouldn’t that have been the number one reason why they couldn’t be together, even before the possibility of her losing her ability to purify the jewel? He had only been thinking about himself, about the two of them, as if they were the only two people who would be affected by this decision. Lying peacefully and holding her in his arms, he had never felt more content, and his mind, still buzzing with pleasure as it had been, had been thinking along the lines of Kagome’s side of the argument. To hell with the rest of the world, he had the woman he loved, who loved him, and that was all that mattered. They’d defeat Naraku, there was no way that bastard could stand up to the two of them together now that they’d come clean about their feelings for each other. Surely, getting rid of any lingering awkwardness between them regarding ‘should they or shouldn’t they’ would now make them an even more powerful force to be reckoned with. And if the rest of the world didn’t approve of their joining, then fuck ‘em. He would take Kagome up on her offer to live in a little hut in the middle of the woods, just the two of them. He could certainly be happy with that kind of a life, Kagome as his wife, mother of his pups, the pitter-patter of little quarter-youkai feet running around…and that had been the thought that had promptly ripped him out of his fantasy and slammed his mind back into the here and now.

What have I done? he thought forlornly. Kagome couldn’t become with-child now, and screw the argument about whether or not she could even carry a child of demonic origin without it screwing with her spiritual powers. How the hell was she supposed to traipse across the countryside searching for Naraku with a baby growing in her belly?

Quickly picking up on the hanyou’s worries with the way his left hand was suddenly rubbing at her stomach, Kagome tightened her hold on his arm before assuring him, “Inuyasha, first I just want to say that after my duty to the jewel is over with, after Naraku is defeated, I will gladly have your children, so if part of the reason for your worry is the whole ‘hanyou’ thing then I want you to knock that off right now. But…” she added, sighing a little herself, “I do agree that now is not a good time. Fortunately we have very powerful herbs in this time that I can take that will prevent me from getting pregnant.”

He instantly relaxed at her words, and she couldn’t help squirming around a little bit as he nuzzled the side of her neck again, kissing her softly before inquiring, “How hard is it to get these herbs? You probably have to take them really soon, right?”

Blushing a little, and grateful that Inuyasha was presently behind her so that he couldn’t see it, Kagome hesitantly confessed, “I…actually already have them.”

Suddenly feeling a shadow overcome her, Kagome tilted her head sideways a bit to notice Inuyasha’s form towering over her, his gaze meeting her own with a thankfully amused expression. She hadn’t been sure how he’d react to hearing that. Confessing then how she’d had a talk with her mother a couple of months back about her feelings for him, confirming why she had made the earlier statement of knowing for a fact that her mother would approve of them being together, because the elder Higurashi woman had actually already given them her blessing, Kagome then went on to explain how the contraceptives had been her mother’s idea. Mrs. Higurashi had confided in her daughter that she knew all too well what it felt like to be a teenager in love, and that she would rather Kagome be safe and prepared than to order her to not do anything, knowing that in the heat of the moment something was bound to eventually happen either with or without precautions. Ideally they should use the condoms, which Inuyasha agreed to for possible future encounters once Kagome explained to him what they were. While he wasn’t necessarily thrilled with the idea, she also explained how the morning after bill wasn’t designed to be used as regular birth control and the condoms were definitely the less risky of the two. Of course there was also a third option, regular birth control pills. Mrs. Higurashi hadn’t wanted to put Kagome on those unnecessarily, partly because of the side effects, but also the inconvenience factor of having to remember to take them, and having to keep track of how many she had as a whole should they end up being too far away from the well during the heat of a pursuit to make it back in time to renew her prescription, though now that they were sexually active it might be worth it if Inuyasha was vehemently against the idea of using condoms. After hearing the pros and cons, though, the hanyou agreed that the condoms were probably the best way to go, at least for now. Besides, it wasn’t as if he was a horn dog like the letch who would insist upon sex everyday now just because they had consummated their relationship.

“There are also other…non-risky things we can do if the urge becomes too great.” Kagome cooed suggestively, earning a low growl of desire rumbling through Inuyasha’s chest.

“I was right…I have corrupted you.” he teased, before rolling her onto her back and capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.

Giggling into the kiss for a moment, Kagome quickly got lost in the feel of him, wrapping her arms up and around his neck. Neither of them let things get too far, though, Inuyasha pulling away after a moment with the woman below him in complete agreement. They needed to get cleaned up, and then they needed to get back to the past.

Seeing no point in being self-conscious about her body after all that they’d shared, Kagome gently cupped Inuyasha’s hand in her own and escorted him down to the washroom completely naked. The hanyou’s only faint murmur of protest came in the form of worrying that her family might come back and catch them together, a worry that was quickly put to rest when Kagome explained that they wouldn’t be back for another two days. Playfully, Inuyasha then suggested that Kagome could tell the others she’d forgotten about another test she had to take, to buy them more time alone in her house just the two of them, but then shrugging it off, Inuyasha wasn’t one to want to waste time when there was an evil hanyou in need of slaying. Kagome was in complete agreement; while a mini-vacation with Inuyasha, almost like a honeymoon of sorts, would certainly be wonderful, it would also be irresponsible, all things considered. The longer they spent lazing about, the stronger Naraku could be becoming. She understood that all too well, which was why she only ever came back home these days to quickly take a required test at school, and to restock their supplies, and then she always immediately returned to the past. She never visited with her friends any more, she never went to the mall or to a movie or even WacDonald’s, but actually, as she thought about it, that was all right with her. Kagome didn’t even really feel like she fit in any more, in her world. Her place was with Inuyasha, in his world; that was where she was meant to be, and that was where she wanted to be.

Still, even knowing they couldn’t really lollygag around, that didn’t stop the couple from having a bit of fun in the bathroom, washing each other, lavishing each other’s bodies with soapy fingers. Under those kinds of circumstances it didn’t take long for Inuyasha to get hard again, and Kagome immediately demonstrated how they could satisfy each other without risk of pregnancy by once again taking him into her mouth, and this time, he didn’t pull her away as he felt his release slowly start to build up, allowing her to finish him with her mouth. He immediately returned the favor, of course, and this time he obeyed when Kagome told him no more so that she wasn’t forced to zap him again to get him to back away. Chuckling about it, though, Inuyasha assured Kagome again that he wasn’t angry with her, and after they were dry and heading back to her bedroom to get dressed he actually asked her to focus and channel her powers for a moment, just wanting to feel her aura for himself. With an understanding smile Kagome complied, allowing her powers to flare to the surface as if she were about to channel them into an arrow before then quickly letting them recede back into her body so that it was safe for him to touch her. After they were each fully dressed Inuyasha pulled Kagome into a fierce hug, kissing her one last time before the duo prepared to head into the past.

Taking the first two of her four emergency contraceptive pills, Kagome warned Inuyasha that they might make her a little sick, but also that she’d do her best to work through it and not let a little wooziness slow her down. She just wanted to give him the heads up so that in case he noticed she wasn’t feeling like herself he wouldn’t embarrass them both by asking her openly in front of the others what was wrong. Grateful for the warning, though also feeling guilty that he’d forced her to take an herb that was going to make her sick, it took Kagome a moment of playful ear rubbing to get him to smile again, as she vowed over and over that she didn’t regret a single thing that had to do with their joining. It had been far better than she’d been expecting.

That comment encouraged him to hesitantly, very hesitantly, bring up his curiosity regarding her lack of a maiden barrier, quickly rushing to assure her that he wasn't accusing her of anything. Laughing at his panicked expression, Kagome gave her lover and future husband a brief biology lesson, explaining what the hymen actually was and how, considering the roughness of their traveling and her general lifestyle since their mission had begun, it was no wonder why she had lost it at some point. With pink cheeks, he felt foolish for having to ask her about something that was apparently common knowledge for the people of her world, though he still also felt relieved, grinning lopsidedly when Kagome clearly recognized his relief but took no offense, knowing he was from a world of limited understandings when it came to such things.

Pausing inside the well-house before jumping through the ancient time portal, it was then Kagome’s turn to hesitantly breach a delicate subject, as she asked Inuyasha how he wanted to handle their newfound level of closeness in front of the others. She understood that he was a very private person, and also that discussing ‘emotional junk’ was embarrassing for him, but hesitantly, the miko confessed that she didn’t really want to have to lie to their friends, acting as if nothing had happened. Sighing, Inuyasha pointed out how Miroku already knew, anyway, because of the conversation she’d walked in on, and he was positive the monk knew her excuse about forgetting her mirror had been complete BS, wanting to get the two of them alone so that they could discuss things further. That didn’t mean, of course, that the monk knew they had actually done anything more than ‘discuss’ their feelings, though knowing the lecher he’d probably tease him about it as soon as they were in private, and knowing himself the way he did, Inuyasha feared his blush would give him away before his stuttering even had a chance. Reluctantly, then, he agreed that they could let the others know that they had discussed their feelings for one another and had decided to officially be ‘together’, just as Sango and Miroku were promised to one another after the defeat of Naraku. That didn’t mean anyone had to know what had actually transpired between them on a physical level, it was nobody’s business after all, and if the houshi suspected and teased him about it anyway, Inuyasha would deal with that when it happened. Kagome also pointed out that even if they had only kissed Inuyasha’s reaction would probably be the same, if Miroku teased him about it, asking him with a waggle of his brow just what had happened between them. He would blush and splutter regardless, so Miroku might realize that something had happened but that wouldn’t mean he’d know everything that’d happened. Blushing a bit even in that moment Inuyasha reluctantly admitted that Kagome was right, and so yeah, the bouzu would probably end up figuring they had kissed and hugged, but he’d be damned if he let the bouzu know it’d gone any further than that.

Kagome didn’t really understand why Inuyasha was so adamant against the others knowing, but then again on the other hand it was a different time period with a different set of morals, and there was also the whole ‘miko’ thing and he was probably still mildly worried about how the villagers would react should their level of intimacy become public knowledge, not to mention the fact that he was simply a very private person and sharing such details would horribly embarrass him. The miko conceded, then, that she would play things by ear and not immediately go against his wishes to share ‘girl talk’ with Sango about it. An unspoken truth was not a lie, so she would tell Sango only that they’d had a talk about their feelings and had decided to be together after the defeat of Naraku. The slayer wouldn’t even ask her if anything physical had happened between them, because her personality didn’t work that way, and Inuyasha agreed that telling Sango of their ‘talk’ was all right with him, because he knew it wouldn’t be fair to ask her to keep it a secret, and really, considering that Miroku already knew at least that much, it really wasn’t fair to keep it a secret from Sango, anyway.

Shippou was another concern, since he was a youkai and would be able to smell their intimacy, but whether or not the kit would understand what the scents meant, and whether he would blab about it were also questions that couldn’t be answered until they actually made the jump through the well. Grumbling good-naturedly, Inuyasha knew that eventually, everyone would probably end up finding out everything, anyway, but so long as they didn’t turn against he and Kagome because of it, then he supposed to could survive the embarrassment. The rest of the world would probably view their love as tainted, but Inuyasha felt confident that Kagome was probably right in that their friends wouldn’t. Miroku at least for sure wouldn’t say anything negative, since he had actually already been trying to convince Inuyasha to give Kagome a chance before the miko had interrupted them, and Sango, Shippou, and probably even Kaede would much more likely be happy for them then scold them that their relationship was dirty. Scooping Kagome up into his arms with a quiet promise that he’d stand by her no matter what ended up happening, he dropped the two of them down into the well, and the unknown, a crooked smile revealing a fang as he held the woman he loved tight against his chest. Everything would work out just fine in the end, he could feel it in his heart, and one day Kagome wouldn’t need to worry about taking pills that made her sick or keeping a supply on hand of those little rubber sheaths for his man-sword. They couldn’t kill Naraku fast enough.



~ Fin ~







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