#InuKag AO3

[lynazul]

椿

I was awake in the middle of the night and my ipad was very close by so...anyway!

I'll take this opportunity to invite you to my InuKag fanfiction "Graveyard Flowers", if you're okay with themes like love triangles, angst, miscommunication and all those tropes that a Hanahaki is usually placed in, I'll be very grateful if you give it a chance!

You can find me on AO3 :)   (fanfiction version will be ready soon)

Tnks!

--------------------------------------

Estaba despierta en la madrugada y mi ipad estaba muy cerca así que...¡en fin!

Aprovecho para invitarlos a mi fanfiction InuKag "Flores de cementerio", si te gustan temas como triángulos amorosos, angustia, falta de comunicación y todos esos tropos en los que suele ubicarse un Hanahaki, ¡te agradeceré mucho si le das la oportunidad!

Puedes encontrarme en AO3 :)   También estoy en FanFiction. 

¡Gracias! 

[clearwillow]

Happy birthday @brain-rot-hour, you absolute delight of a precious human being! 💚 I know you've been having a rough go of it and I wish I could give you a hug, but I'm on the opposite side of the country and my arms are short... I can offer a gift of spicy art though!

And it uh...is so spicy I had to draw clothes as a censor, but it's on AO3!

I really hope you have a great day and enjoy yourself, because it is long overdue for you to have some fun 💚

[inukag]

Inukag made it to AO3’s top 100 m/f ships of 2024 at number 72! The only Inuyasha ship to do so.

Credit: paulieponzie

[jewel-shard]

Fall

Written for @inukag-week 9th Edition

Artwork: @classysassy9791

Hi beautiful humans. This is my first Inuyasha fanfiction. I am posting a chapter a day for inukag-week. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: Yearning for you

Kagome's head rolled to the left, dust filling her nose and mouth.

He was there, she could feel him as the miasma thickened.

She sensed the streaks of power resonate out as the roar of the demon hoard grew.

It almost overwhelmed the ringing in her ears. Opening her eyes seemed like so much work. It felt like the weight of the settling dust on her skin was crushing her.

Warmth brushed her cheek, the grace of a claw on her lips. As her mind was consumed by darkness, her thoughts were of him; yearning for his touch.

Inuyasha.

^.^

He saw her fall. It was an impossible height. With the immense power of the hit, her piece of the jewel shard had shattered, and she had fallen off the edge of the steep canyon wall.

Demons scrambled around her, fighting over fragments as she tumbled. He saw only her. A cry of her name rang through the air as she found ground, landing with crushing speed.

Seconds felt like hours and it was lifetimes until he finally arrived at her side. The hoard swirled as he reached for her.

Kagome.

-.-

He had fucked up.

Again.

He watched her hair whip around her face.

He screamed her name; heard her bones crack against the earth.

He failed.

Her.

He had been so confident.

Said ‘shut up and let me protect you, stupid.’

Like he always did.

Her eyes shone with trust as she watched him leap down into the dry canyon.

He had seen only fear in her gaze as she fell.

He tried to reach for her.

Desperately using his claws to rip at the purple tendrils surrounding him. He had finally broken free just as Kagome's body was being lifted off the ground before she became consumed by a bright glow as it blinded him.

But not before he saw him.

Naraku.

[ssukidesu]

don’t be a stranger

Fandom: Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale

Pairing: Inukag

Rating: T

Inukag Week 2024 - Day 5: Personal Space

Summary: Kouga doesn’t respect Kagome’s personal space, and Inuyasha runs an experiment.

Read on AO3

Read below the cut

Evening came and went in a blur. Kagome’s eyebrow twitched at the sensation of golden eyes on her back as she cooked up some stew for the two of them. The others had gone back to the village, each for their own convenient reasons, but she knew that it was really because they, too, thought it best to leave them some time to resettle. They would be rejoining them after nightfall.

She sat on the opposite side of the fire he’d built to eat her serving of stew in peace, but as soon as he finished his own bowl, Kagome knew she wouldn’t be able to keep him at bay much longer.

Well, time to embrace the inevitable.

Taking her food with her, she pulled herself with a grunt to her feet, circled around the fire, and plopped right next to Inuyasha on his left side. He was leaning his back against the closest tree to the flames. He clearly still felt disgruntled about the day’s events, but he was long past growing angry with her about it, surely. All of his disdain was for the pushy wolf—and she appreciated that, at least. Alongside the disdain, though, there seemed to be something else bothering him.

Kagome leaned forward, bracing her arms over her knees, her own bowl still between her hands. It was warmer in her previous spot; she wasn’t as close to the fire now, and the wind bit through her clothes when it blew. She mused that she’d likely be more comfortable if she changed into her pajamas.

She’d been dreading when he’d finally start this stupid conversation, but the sooner it began, the sooner it’d be done.

The sudden sound of his voice wasn’t unexpected.

“So, you don’t like that kinda thing, huh?” he probed.

Kagome frowned, digging at a piece of cabbage stuck in her tooth with her tongue. “What kind of thing?”

After a beat, he spoke flatly, “Getting felt up.”

She cringed. Inuyasha was an all or nothing sort of man: either he would beat around a bush until he made himself dizzy, or he’d spit out something so blunt it made her dizzy. Right now, she wasn’t sure which she would have preferred more.

…

Kouga’s arm was crushing over her shoulder, more of a confining weight than a sweet affection. His words were equally heavy on her waning patience.

“Kagome, you don’t have to play shy—I know you’re only saying that ‘cause the mutt’s feelings will get hurt. Don’t worry about him.”

Her eyebrow twitched. “I’m not worrying about anything. I just don’t want your arm on me.”

“What, is it too heavy? I have been putting some muscle on recently—”

“It’s called personal space, Kouga. Can’t you respect mine?”

…

Kagome filled her mouth with a final spoonful of stew, chewed, and swallowed. Inuyasha was looking down at her expectantly, already having finished his bowl. She clunked hers on the hard ground.

“Didn’t you hear what I said to him?” she said, curling her lip. “Of course not. I like my personal space, thank you very much.” She straightened her spine and planted her hands on the ground behind her.

“Hmm. You sure about that?” he asked in a strangely calm voice. She turned her head to inspect him and found him gazing at her sideways. It wasn’t an accusatory look, but it did contain a clear serving of doubt.

…

“Bastard!” growled a familiar gruff voice before landing a hard fist to Kouga’s head.

“Ow!” cried her captor, who whipped around and cradled the wound with his free hand.

“Keep your filthy hands to yourself,” Inuyasha spat.

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. At least this meant Kouga would probably let her go so that he could square up with Inuyasha.

He did just that. Lifting his arm from her shoulder, Kouga turned to face the half-demon, who had landed only a couple feet away. Kagome turned, too. She found Inuyasha not looking at Kouga, but at her. She sent him a look of tired gratitude before the wolf could steal his attention fully.

“Oh, you’re still around? That’s surprising,” drawled Kouga.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s just that there was hardly any trace of your scent on Kagome… I figured she finally got tired of you.”

…

Didn’t he believe her by now? It wasn’t like she hid her discomfort earlier. Even she could still smell the wolf’s unkempt stench on her shirt. How could he even think she was okay with it?

“Is that so hard to believe?” she grit out, clearly offended.

“Honestly?” he grunted. “I know for a fact you were lying about that.”

What the hell? Was he delusional? Was he that jealous? Kagome glared at him in pure horrified agitation—but his own expression, surprisingly, didn’t seem exactly angry.

…

Kagome grit her teeth. What was she, some kind of fire hydrant?

“What is she, your personal pissing post?” growled Inuyasha. It wasn’t the most gracious of phrases, but she appreciated the sentiment.

She thought now would be a good time to say so herself, too. For the hundredth time.“Kouga. My answer is the same now as it’s always been: I’m. Not. Going. With. You.”

“Come on, Kagome! You know I’d treat you better than this flea brain?”

“Kouga… how Inuyasha treats me has nothing to do with me going with you,” she said. In the corner of her eye, she saw Inuyasha’s expression tighten bitterly, but it was back to normal in a mere flash. She continued, “I just don’t want to. I don’t like men who touch me like that. It’s not complicated. Now please, get out of here before Inuyasha tries to tear your throat out.”

“Heh! As if he could!” scoffed the wolf. But he turned his back to them nonetheless and reared to go. “Catch you later. I won’t give up so easily.”

And then, he was gone.

…

“What could possibly make you think I was lying!?” she cried.

But when he elaborated further, Kagome realized that they weren’t precisely talking about the same thing: “I just think it’s not true, is all. You liking your personal space. In general.” He shrugged.

Their eyes locked.

“Huh?” she squeaked. “W-What do you mean?”

“Maybe just with him you do,” he went on. Then, to her growing horror, he smirked.

She tore her eyes from him and turned her head to the side to hide her rosy cheeks. She sputtered, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I wonder if you’re lying again,” he mumbled, and it almost sounded like a chuckle.

She was going to rebut him, but the sensation of fingers on her left elbow almost made her jolt. Somehow, she managed to keep still. She was staring at the fire now, waiting to see what he was about, and she felt his hand climb slowly up from her elbow to her upper arm.

When he scooted himself an inch closer to her, she finally lifted her head to look at him. His bent arm was pressed along her lower back. He’d halted for a moment—maybe to allow her the chance to respond—but all she could manage was to stare dumbfounded at his nervous but still altogether patient and watchful gaze.

He continued to elevate his arm, the action displacing her hair that was once on her back to drape messily over his bicep.

His face was pretty damn close now. But she couldn’t look away—she was fascinated by his own fascination, his own carefulness, his own daring expression. There was a slight tilt to his brow, as if his increasing confidence brought him to the cusp of amusement.

When the full weight of his arm was over her shoulders and behind her neck, he softly tugged her backwards the few inches it took to recline fully against the tree trunk.

They settled, and he stared down at her—waiting.

During the process, Kagome had been so focused on tracking his movements that once they stopped, her body caught up to her all at once: her heart began to pound in her ears and in her chest, and her face grew rapidly hotter.

His downturned chin was perhaps half a foot from her eyes, which were still gawking up at him. After a full ten seconds of her silence, she watched his lips curl into a smile that could only be described as pride incarnate.

Ah. So that’s what this is about, Kagome noted absently.

And of course he had to go and ruin it by opening his stupid mouth: “I thought you said you didn’t like this sort of thing, Kagome.”

She forced her throat to swallow, and she hardened her face into a weak scowl. She could tell by his continued smirk that her blush kept the expression from looking very intimidating, but there was nothing she could do about that, really.

She was going to say And I still don’t, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t like the feel of being under his arm—but she also didn’t want to just hand him a victory at her own expense. It was Kouga he wished to defeat in this endeavor—not her.

…Right? Right.

“You’re one to talk,” she managed evenly. “Kouga wasn’t wrong earlier when he said you had the affectionate instinct of a puffer fish.”

Yeah, that would work for now. Deflect, deflect, deflect—avoid the truth, but also avoid lying.

“Keh. That isn’t…” he began, surprised at finding himself on his heels in this conversation. She saw his struggle plainly: he wanted to tell her she and Kouga were wrong, but in doing so, he’d have to defend himself as being some kind of touchy-feely person—and even if he was (which she didn’t quite buy wholesale), he’d never admit to it.

She did somewhat pity his dilemma. “Well, I guess it’d be more accurate to say that you’re affectionate when it’s on your own terms.” She looked away as she spoke, and if she allowed a touch of dejection to leak into her tone, well… so much the better.

It worked.

“Hey,” he grunted, angling his head to stay in her periphery. “It’s just ‘cause—well…”

She hid her rolling eyes. He was so bad about leading himself into dead ends. He’d begin to say what he meant, and then once he came close enough to actually feel the sugary words on the tip of his tongue, he discovered he didn’t approve of their taste. He didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, after all.

When she turned her head back to him, he staggered his own back a few inches. She stared at him with a raised brow.

“You mean to tell me that you’re okay with receiving affection, too?”

He froze. “Uh…”

She scoffed and gave him a derisive look. “You’d rather jump off a cliff.”

Her words seemed to agitate him. “You’re wrong,” he said, returning to his closeness from before, expression obstinate.

Was she cruel? Maybe. It was his own fault for turning this into a competition between them instead of just between him and Kouga.

“That so?” she prompted simply.

Kagome brought her left hand up to tangle her fingers with his where they draped over her shoulder. She watched his face contort with first confusion and then embarrassment, which he just as quickly moved to quell.

He was a stubborn one.

The sky was at dusk now, and its gold only highlighted the matching tones of his eyes. She watched as he resettled himself inwardly.

She’d push a little more, then.

In one movement, without disturbing his arm or their joined hands, she twisted her waist and flung her legs over his lap.

He clearly was struggling to suppress the coughs that came after he choked on his own spit, but his eyes grew fixed and firm on her face.

Her torso was adjacent to his now, and she could look straight up at him without having to turn her head.

Still holding it in, she mused. One more try.

Her right hand, which was free on her own lap, came to snake around his back and settle on his waist. She gripped his robe in her fingers. Then, she loosened her left hand from his and brought it to rest on his left leg, right beside where her own thigh was pressed atop his.

His fingers instinctively latched onto her shoulder. His expression was outright pained now, his own face beet red and a bead of sweat trailing down his temple. His eyes weren’t on hers—they were somewhere lower—and their expression was not a sweet one.

She wondered if what he did next was done out of spite or something worse. Proving a point could be a dangerous game—and he was quite competitive. He was growing vexed with her, clearly, but she knew better than to think herself the victor just yet. Especially after he leisurely brought his own right hand to sit on top of her thigh.

Her upper thigh. High enough that his fingertips would brush the fabric of her skirt.

She stopped breathing. Whatever look had been on her face, she hoped it was a pretty one—because it was now frozen there.

He saw her panic, and he smirked with notable strain.

Kagome wondered if she should somehow return them to the point that this was all supposedly about. She said the first thing that came to mind: “…I definitely wouldn’t like it if Kouga did this,” she admitted. She realized when the words were halfway out of her mouth that it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to say.

Inuyasha’s fingers tightened on her leg, the claw of his thumb pressing into the skin of her inner thigh. “As if I’d let him try.”

She gulped. “And what about you, huh? Don’t pretend like this is normal behavior for you. You can’t blame me for thinking that you didn’t like doing stuff like this. Or maybe…” she paused, flicked her eyes away, and mumbled her finish: “…maybe that you just didn’t like doing it with me.”

He brushed his thumb on her sensitive skin, and she returned her meek gaze to his.

His golden eyes softened. “You think I’d have you in my lap if I didn’t want you there?”

Her face heated again. His did, too. When her eyes lowered to his mouth, his head dipped an inch, and she felt his warm breath flutter against her lips. His arm tightened behind her neck, and he tugged her the rest of the way to him.

The first time they’d kissed, he’d been unconscious for most of it. When he’d awakened, he found his claws buried into her stiff shoulders. They felt different this time, his lips, when they met hers. They were firm, but not from a grimace; they were soft, and expressive, and thorough. She’d been afraid of his thickened fangs last time, but now, she almost wished he’d use them a little.

It was only half a minute they got before he smelled Kirara on the wind. When he pulled away, he sighed mournfully and told her this. She stole another kiss, which he gave generously.

They untangled from each other slowly and came to stand.

“Maybe don’t be such a stranger from now on,” she said with a timid smile. “Kouga did say he didn’t smell much of you on me. You want him to leave me alone, don’t you?”

His look grew weak. His fingers twitched at his sides.

He would have responded, but Miroku, Sango, and Shippo were greeting them from above, and Kagome turned her back to him to welcome them back.

[mayarab]

IT BEGINS!

What if the Shikon no Tama became part of Kagome when she was born? What if it was her heart?

In this Inuyasha Retelling, "those who possess the heart of the miko, possess the jewel".

Kagome has to learn to deal with the fact that not only her heart is something youkais want to consume, her blood can turn into shards that empower them, all the while adjusting to the fact that she just travelled 500 years into the past and is stuck with a very obnoxious hanyou.

[purplezeldana]

InuKag recs?

I'm looking for more InuKag fics to read while I wait for the WIPs I follow to update

I'm looking for fics where:

Inuyasha is a half-demon

There's no cheating and no love triangles

Canon, AU... I like them all

A bit of smut is welcome, but not too much. I'm not a fan of the porn with little plot trope

If you know complete fics like this, please share them with me!

[a-splendor-like]

InuKag Week 2024 Day 7: Contrast

@inukag-week

For the final day of InuKag Week, a story about Kagome's return to the Feudal Era.

It's amazing to me that people are still making InuKag content all these years later. Inuyasha started airing when I was in middle school. It ended while I was in high school, and Adult Swim happened to rerun episode 1 the night of my high school graduation. I was lucky to be studying abroad in Japan while there was a Rumiko Takahashi exhibition at Kyoto Station, and I watched The Final Act the night before my college graduation. These kids raised me, y'all!

~~~

Two Houses (2386 words) by DrPearlGatsby Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Additional Tags: InuKag Week 2024, Canon Era, Marriage Proposal, Fluff, lightly suggestive at the end but fades to black Summary: “I think I still don’t understand why you built two houses,” she says with a laugh. Inuyasha’s expression is grave, a little of the light in his eyes dimming. “Some days, I wasn’t sure you’d come back,” he says. (Kagome returns to the Feudal Era for good.)

[inusmasha]

Mountain Miko on A03

Summary:

In a secluded mountain village run by a society of mysterious women, Kagome, a young initiate, embarks on a transformative journey under the mentorship of their highly esteemed miko, Kikyo

Prologue – A Dark Fairytale 

In the beginning, within a realm where ancient magic held sway, there once lived a man renowned for his ability to weave spells that brought good fortune to those willing to pay. His performances were nothing short of captivating spectacles, drawing in many who gasped in the grandeur of his rituals. Over time, growing more and more powerful by the day, his glittering magical displays began to draw in the curiosity of wealthy patrons far and wide. 

"How do you do it?"

"You need only to give voice to what you desire." 

Over the years the man turned sorcerer grew proud and prouder still, having forgotten what humble beginnings he crawled out of. He wore his wealth on his body, he adorned his beard with sickly sweet smelling oils and lined his fingers with ostentatious rings. In the era of spell making, the Sorcerer had made this life by his own hand...a hand in possession of a certain Jewel. A small nothing looking bead that was easy to miss even though it hung in plain sight. It's presence barely felt, barely a whisper, only a quiet gnawing at the bottom of his being. 

In the dark night, the heavy shadow of some blackguard, from some dying noble house, made its way to the Sorcerer with big news. A big problem that required a big idea. This truly fair and noble family was harboring a plot to unseat the current emperor and had come to him for help to remedy the issue. 

"What you ask is treason."

"What I ask is to entertain possibilities."

Truth be told; if they had the coin then it did not matter what the request was. He would entertain their hypocrisies. They can keep their dull innocence, keep their hands clean, while he did the unseemly. Though it was dangerous to play with this sort of magic, it's practically what it was there for. 

"What say you, Sorcerer?" 

...it has to be you.. only you could do it.. wish maker ..wishmaker.. wish-

A sinister alliance was forged that night, and he sought to orchestrate their rise to power through sinister rites. 

 His displays of enchantment evolved into bloody ceremonies with costly offerings, ranging from the most humble of creatures to majestic beasts. First a sparrow, a snake, a cat, a wolf to lions, tigers, and- it wasn't enough! To ensure their success, the sorcerer needed more potent sources of power, and he turned to darker methods. He began raiding graveyards for human bones, believing that spirits of the deceased would grant him greater strength. However, he soon realized that live human sacrifices to the Jewel would yield even stronger results. 

Of course! 

Yes, there was a war. 

There was an empty seat in an empty dank room. 

Once the new emperor assumed that cold throne for his own, he called for the Sorcerer to come join him at his royal court and to squat on the lap of luxury. That's what those savage acts were for.. but that damn cursed gnawing hunger never left. It wasn't enough. 

And then...Their paths crossed that fateful evening when he was summoned to perform before their Lord. This was it! Oh! His journey had led him to the fair maiden with black silk for hair. The Sorcerer's infatuation with the woman was relentless, an unquenchable burning within him. Her every word, her every glance, fueled this insatiable longing. He wanted her as his bride. 

But alas she did not want him for her heart belonged to-

It did not matter. He would take her.

In his desperation to possess her he believed that the Jewel, his divine potent resource, could make her love him. The Jewel, fatter still, fed on his fixation. He hated her. He loved her. He hated her. He loved her. The Jewel had never tasted something so sickly sweet. 

"You need only to give voice to what you desire." 

He wished for the woman.

In a final, frenzied act, he sought to give the Jewel a tangible form, giving it arms and legs in which to carry out the deed. Not as some caricature but as something living, with blood and bones. 

"..This flesh is your flesh, these hands your hands!"

At the altar, with great suffering, he relinquished what little was left of his human to the bloody pearl. This was the deep dark material in which miracles sprang forth. He would conjure heaven.. but in the morning there was nothing but the cold dank air, and ash. The fate of both he and the now missing maiden was shrouded in mystery. The ending to this story is always the same.

Now, the Jewel, revered and closely guarded, rests within the new emperor's grasp. It's true nature forgotten. Though the emperor may hold suspicions about the Sorcerer's demise, he chose to remain oblivious of the perils. The relic remained concealed, subject to constant study that often exacted a grim toll and a long list of names never to be spoken of. The Jewel passes from one ruler to the next, as an heirloom of both great power and who's hunger continues to shape the endless road of petty human conflict. 

And we exist in its consequence.   

Many generations pass and eventually the one named Midoriko is born.

[kstewdeux]

@inuvember | Inuvember 2024 | Prompt Miroku | Ao3

Miroku frowned as he turned the textbook page back and forth, back and forth, back and-

“Kagome-sama, query,” he finally called out and Kagome glanced up from whatever stew she was working on, “The war of the world. It says the country of Japan was involved.”

“Ah, yup,” Kagome chuckled awkwardly as she stirred a few herbs into their dinner, “Japan was indeed involved in that.”

Miroku marked the pages with his hand and opened to the map that was printed behind the cover.

“So we had battle with the continent and lost,” Miroku surmised - looking rather perplexed and like that wasn’t surprising at all, “I will say the demons we’ve encountered from that region have been rather impressive and if it is how you say, that there are no monks or priestesses in your time, no demons, the defeat must have been rather sound.”

Kagome sucked on her teeth and watched as Inuyasha gracefully got up from where he’d been pouting beneath a tree for no reason.

“Let me see that,” Inuyasha huffed as he stormed over and took the book out of the monks hands, “What page were you on? Where was the battle?”

Miroku sighed in annoyance and yanked the book back. After a minute, he found the section he was on and Inuyasha plopped down with a scowl.

“So the continent killed all the demons,” Inuyasha mumbled before raising irritated eyes on Kagome who was ignoring them, “Oi! Kagome! The continent killed all the demons, right?”

Kagome let out a controlled breath. Of all the days for Sango to go repair her weapon, it had to be the one the boys decided to actually take an interest in what she was learning.

“Demons were not involved in World War II,” Kagome sighed and both men’s head whipped up.

“Two?!”

Kagome winced and continued stirring her stew.

“There were two wars of the world. Two?” Miroku hissed in disbelief as he began flipping pages until he got to a map - he ran his finger over the page, “But Japan looks so small comparatively. Your book said-“

“Look, I do not have the time or the patience to catch you two up on centuries of history that hasn’t even happened yet,” Kagome huffed, “Japan attacked. We pissed everyone off. Lots of battles. Big bombs go big boom. We surrendered. The end.”

Miroku made a face whereas Inuyasha seemed oddly defensive.

”Why would we have attacked-“

“We started the fight then surrendered?” Inuyasha scoffed in disgust, “No way Japan surrendered. We’d fight to the death.”

“Yeah, yeah, that was kinda what happened then the other side dropped big bombs and wiped out entire cities in minutes,” Kagome supplied, “Ash. Nothing. Just gone. So the emperor surrendered to prevent everyone dying. Good job Japan.”

“So you think we should’ve kept fighting,” Inuyasha asked curiously.

“That isn’t what I said,” Kagome groaned, “In the grand scheme of things, Japan was one of the aggressors. We did bad things. We were one of the Narakus of the world.”

“Well, we’ll change it. That’s what the quest is, right? We stop him. No Naraku. No world war,” Inuyasha concluded and Kagome gave him an incredulous look.

“Naraku wasn’t involved in World War II,” Kagome replied slowly, “That’d be four hundred years from now.”

“I’m just saying no one would be stupid enough to invade the entire world unless it was Naraku,” Inuyasha huffed with an eye roll, “We kill him. The war of worlds never happens. Problem solved.”

“It would still happen because it wasn’t Naraku,” Kagome insisted, “It was-“

“Emperor Hirohito,” Miroku supplied with a frown before he abruptly flipped back several pages, “I’m not particularly well versed in the world of politics but we have an emperor now, do we not?”

Kagome’s eye twitched at the non sequitur nature of this conversation.

“Yes. Yes, we have an emperor. The dynasty goes back to the 7th, maybe 5th or 6th, century-“

“Dynasty? So the line of succession has been unbroken?” Miroku breathed in awe, “That’s-“

“What number are we now?” Inuyasha interjected as he yanked the book back, “Kagome, what number century-“

Miroku gave his friend a withering glare and stole the book back.

“What does it matter what century?” Miroku clipped, “The upper classes have always preyed on us and if this book is correct, that continued until it nearly destroyed the entire-“

“That why you prey on them?” Inuyasha surmised, “Bitter about class inequality?”

Miroku scowled.

“For a fellow member of the low born class, I would think-“

“For the record I am not low born on either side. I’m high born,” Inuyasha humphed pettily. Miroku looked nonplussed and raised a single brow.

“How is that working out for you? Well, I presume?”

Inuyasha’s face contorted in anger.

”How about I shove that-

The poor miko closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

“Neither of you need to worry about the freaking World Wars. If anything, just keep an ear out for the name Nobunaga,” Kagome muttered and Inuyasha gaped like Kagome just slapped him.

“The rejected toad prince guy?!”

Kagome sat back and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“How do you remember that?”

“Because I’m not stupid,” Inuyasha scoffed in annoyance, “You saying I should’ve killed the toad guy? Why didn’t you tell me? Look what you did! Now we get world wars.”

“No, no, I am not saying we should’ve killed the toad guy! He had nothing to do-“

Miroku glanced between them with a somewhat amused smile.

“Was I present for the Nobunaga toad man?”

Inuyasha sighed in annoyance and rolled his eyes.

“Don’t remember a gross comment about the naked women in these bubble things so-“

Miroku’s eyes widened in interest.

“In bubbles, you say?”

“Oda Nobunaga was a shogun who unified Japan. The ‘Great Unifier’. It was not the poor kid who came to save the frog princess,” Kagome interjected before this conversation could devolve further into madness.

“And the emperor is the leader of Japan, right? So Nobunaga becomes the emperor,” Inuyasha concluded incorrectly, “We kill him. No world wars. Problem solved.”

“I would like to revisit the bubbles,” Miroku hummed with a wicked grin, “Specifically-“

“No,” Kagome snapped at the monk before turning her irritation onto Inuyasha, “And no. No, Nobunaga was not and is not the Emperor. Just a very-“

“So who’s the Emperor then?” Inuyasha cut in.

“Hirohito,” Miroku supplied unthinkingly, “So about the bubbles, were they-“

“Can we stop talking about the bubbles!?” Kagome screeched before cursing softly when her stew began bubbling over. She quickly began trying to move it off the flames, “And no! No, Hirohito is in four hundred-“

“So if the war of the freaking world didn’t kill demons, what killed demons?” Inuyasha interjected like that was the most important part that kept getting skimmed over, “Because I’ve been to your time. There aren’t demons.”

“Well maybe they just all moved or got sprayed with demon pesticide. I don’t know,” Kagome hissed as she tried to keep their food from getting ruined.

“Pesticide?” Miroku asked curiously, “What is pesticide?”

Kagome barely stopped herself from screaming.

“Spray that kills bugs on crops,” she ground out as her annoyance hit critical levels, “Look, I am trying to save our food-“

“That would make a difference,” Miroku hummed with a wise nod.

“Oh like you’re a farmer who’d know,” Inuyasha scoffed before rounding in Kagome, “When did demons stop showing up in your books? Because look around, they’re everywhere right now. When did they-“

Breathing heavily, Kagome turned irate eyes on them both before getting to her feet and storming away. The boys watched her go for a minute before Miroku gave Inuyasha a side-eyed glance and a playful smirk.

“Out of curiosity, how many bubbles were there?”

Inuyasha fidgeted as he watched Kagome head into the treeline - probably to scream.

“Dozens,” a faint blush, “Not gunna lie. It was kinda awesome. You know, except the toad demon eating their souls bit.”

Miroku made a soft ‘hm’ sound and nodded sagely.

“That would put a damper on things, yes.”

[serial-doubters-club]

Happy birthday, @shnuggletea!!!

I'm sorry my gift is a little late <3 Thank you for being an important part of the fandom! I hope you had an amazing day!

~IY Birthday Crew <3

Rest in Pieces

Rating: G

Words: 616

Summary: Just when Inuyasha had started cozying up to modern technology, it betrayed him.

[memethebum]

Had a Inukag fic sitting in my wip pile for a while now, so I decided to shoot it out before I completed forget about it again lol

———————————————————————

Kagome hadn’t realized how marriage would give her a heightened awareness of almost every thread which wove between her relationship with Inuyasha and the domestic life they’d carved out for themselves after three long and agonizing years of being separated.

She was sure that the soft caresses her hands would massage into Inuyasha’s bare skin would offer some sort of new understanding for the man she’d chosen to wed, but the weight seemed to be much more real and heavy than anything the miko-in-training could’ve imagined.

The realization came in slow waves, like the way her eyes would dart towards the scarred skin around her husband’s heart while she worked her lips along his collarbone or how her thumbs would silently trail through a fresh cut he’d gotten from working in the fields.

He trusts me enough to see what his life has been like, both before and after being sealed on that tree Kagome sighed to herself as she laid within Inuyasha’s grasp during a breezy spring evening.

“Hm, what ya’ thinking about Kagome?” Inuyasha questioned, causing the young woman to tilt her head up and regard him a gentle smile.

“Just how much I love…you know all this ,” Kagome responded, eliciting Inuyasha to give her a loving gaze of his own before rubbing his palm along the skin of her back.

Their lips then reached towards each other in a silent tandem, serving as the only gesture she needed to lull herself into sleep.

————————————————

“It’s almost ready,” Inuyasha called before Kagome hummed from her cocoon within the blankets on top their futon.

She then let out a steady sigh while shedding the covers and raising her arms in a stretch.

“What were you cooking again?” the young woman asked Inuyasha as she began a lethargic crawl towards their fire pit.

She recalled him mentioning that it was a dish his mother used to cook frequently for breakfast, which caused her to bask in the fact that she was continually being gifted more information about the highs and lows which made up his life before meeting her.

“It’s kinda like a stew. My mother…would say it’s usually made with spices, but she obviously ain’t add those in because I wouldn’t like it,” Inuyasha elaborated as Kagome finally reached the warmth radiating from the fire pit and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

“It smells delicious,” Kagome added before planting a small kiss on her husband’s earlobe and then gently raking her fingers through his silky hair.

The young woman couldn’t help but smile to herself while watching Inuyasha’s ears begin to slightly twitch in content, prompting her to split his hair into two parts in an attempt to loosely braid it for him before they both had to go tend to the fields.

Kagome’s eyes then wandered from the base of his scalp to the start of his tanned neck, causing her to let out a gasp at what she saw.

“Hm, what’s wrong Kagome?” Inuyasha immediately questioned as he shifted his weight in order to meet her eyes, which remained glued towards his neck.

“Inuyasha, h-how long have you had these?” Kagome murmured before gliding a finger over the faded maze of scars that outlined the entirety of her husband’s nape.

She usually found a very vague explanation behind each of his scars, but the area before her had never served as a juncture for a story that could only be told through bated breaths and tight embraces.

“Heh? Oh, probably some demon tryin’ to grab me back when I was a pup. Damn thing never got me though, so I’d say- hey are you crying?” Inuyasha then exclaimed before angling his head to the side once more, causing Kagome to vigorously rub at her eye sockets.

“Ugh, you know these things get me emotional,” the young woman rebuffed while gently waving her husband away, only to stop in her tracks when he suddenly cradled her hand within his own.

“I know, I know. Wasn’t trynna make fun of you woman,” Inuyasha murmured before gently placing his lips against the back of Kagome’s hand, eliciting her heart to flutter within her chest as he circled his arms around her figure and let out a low sigh.

“I won’t deny that the memories still sting but…being able to talk through each of the scars with you is all the healing this hanyou needs really,” the young man mumbled, probing Kagome to gently rest her forehead against the smooth surface of his kimono and let out a sweet hum in understanding.

A comforting silence then passed between the two until an aromatic smoke began to waft it’s way through their home, forcing Kagome to tilt her head upwards after feeling Inuyasha’s hands begin to trail along her ribs.

“Fuck, hope it ain’t burnt,” her husband exclaimed before loosening his hold upon her with a small peck to her forehead, crawled across their creaking floorboards, unclasped the lid ontop the large metal pot situated within their fire pit, and let out a boisterous aha! as the aroma of a rich stew began to waft around the room.

The miko-in-training couldn’t help but let out an airy giggle at the domestic nature of the moment, only for her grin to widen even further when Inuyasha looked back at her with a serene smile in understanding.

[anyara]

Ao3

ERO

Eng https://archiveofourown.org/works/56525611/chapters/143657170

Esp https://archiveofourown.org/works/56525419/chapters/143656558

Ilust: LEN Trad: @DezartVn  (twitter) #inuyasha #inukag #犬夜叉 #かごめ 

[dawnrider]

To continue with the distractions from work rage, I got the next chapter of A Life in Your Eyes edited!

Bells Chp 6 on AO3

[jewel-shard]

Kirara the Nekomata

Written for Day 1 of Inukag Fluff week 2024

"You smell nice."

Part 2 of The Moments Between series

Summary:

Kirara has been around along time. She has seen the rise and fall of great warriors, the power of friendship, and a certain hanyō learn to believe in true love. Kirara, after all, is the fluffiest.

Beautiful artwork by @tefeckincraicen

[ssukidesu]

a better method

Fandom: Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale

Pairing: Inukag

Rating: T

Inukag Week 2024 ( @inukag-week ) - Day 3: Bickering

Summary: After a messy fight, Kagome offers to clean the beads of subjugation. She has every intention of putting them right back on afterwards, but Inuyasha's not so willing.

Read on AO3

Read under the cut

Kagome was bent over, towel in her hands, ruffling her hair dry. The smell had taken forever to get out. The very memory of it made her stomach curl in nausea, and she shoved the thought away hastily. Sango had borne the brunt of it; it was hiraikotsu, after all, that sliced the pig demon into pieces. Its blood and entrails were flung absolutely everywhere—and all five of them had been drenched. Luckily, there was a river nearby, and they were able to clean themselves of the worst of it. Sango had been grateful for the shampoo and soap, which was equally strong with its floral aroma.

The girls had gone first, of course; currently, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo were making use of the river, though Kagome doubted it would do them much good; she and Sango had used up all of her soaps during their cleaning, and the boys would unfortunately be going without. Not that she thought Inuyasha in particular would have used her perfumed shampoo… but still.

The girls were working together to get a fire going for dinner when the men and Shippo returned. They at least looked better, Kagome noted immediately. She would make sure to purchase some unscented soaps whenever they passed the next village. The soap of this era was far less offensive to demonic senses, at least.

Fifteen minutes later, and they were all sipping on venison soup, thanks to Inunyasha’s successful hunt earlier that evening. It smelled glorious, and they were all grateful for the additional refreshment to their olfactory glands.

But afterwards, when they were settled around the fire to ward off the dropping autumn temperatures, Kagome got a whiff of that terrible scent again. It happened right as Inuyasha plopped down next to her—and she immediately roamed her eyes over his figure.

“What?” he accused sharply.

“That smell. Where’s it coming from?” she said, getting right to the point. “Your clothes look fine.”

He grit his teeth. “It’s this stupid thing,” he said, gripping the beads around his neck. “It’s impossible to clean. Too many crevices.”

“…Oh,” she said, rather stupidly. She shared a look with Sango, and then Miroku. They both shrugged at her. Inuyasha was picking something from under his claws when she returned her wary gaze to him. “Do you… want me to clean it?” 

His fingers stopped their twiddling. “Huh?” His eyes widened briefly before narrowing. “Are you messing with me?” he charged.

Kagome swallowed, solidifying her decision. “N-No. We can take it off for a minute,” she said.

“Yeah,” he scoffed. “Right. Go ahead, then!” His tone was sarcastic as he dramatically leaned his head down, as if he was daring her. 

Kagome took one last look at her friends. Apart from Shippo, they seemed… relatively okay with the idea. They were probably having the same sort of doubts she was—that he’d be a little insufferable for a bit, but that he’d surely do nothing too diabolical.

She returned her gaze to him. He was peering up at her now, seemingly convinced that she wasn’t actually going to do it. But when she lifted her hands to grip the beads, his breath stuttered, and his eyes widened. She lifted and lifted, detangled some hair, and then lifted the rest of the way. 

He was gawking at her. She lifted her hand and closed his mouth. “You’ll catch flies ,” she snapped before flipping her still-damp hair and walking away.

He immediately turned to look at his friends, who were staring at him tensely, and he couldn’t help himself. 

He hooted. 

Kagome expected something like this, that the first thing he’d do is scare the kit a little. As she tinkered near the campfire to boil some water, she heard Inuyasha chasing Shippo around with terrible laughter, and she felt an inner peace take her. Of course he would be harmless. He didn’t even have it in him to actually catch Shippo; he just wanted to mess around. If he was good, maybe she wouldn’t make him put it back on until tomorrow. She grinned at the thought.

The thing really was filthy. Not just from the pig demon, either; it had needed a good cleaning for months, most likely. The plaque and grime was disgusting, even after letting it soak in the boiling water for ten minutes. She decided she could spare an old toothbrush and used it to scrub the thing bead by bead. Before she knew it, she’d been working on it for an hour. 

Inuyasha gave her no more time than that; he was ready to set off toward their next destination. She tried to convince him to let them keep that campsite another night, but it seemed he was… a little too confident in his newfound freedom for her mere pestering to work.

She didn’t think much of it. He wasn’t wrong to be in a hurry; there was a lead to follow, and it would be risky to linger. So they indeed set out. 

After a rather… bothersome three hours of walking, night finally fell. Inuyasha graciously allowed them to stop, and they ate some leftover soup for supper. 

It looked like he would make it to tomorrow without having to put it back on, after all; Kagome still wasn’t done scrubbing it, and she was too exhausted to pick up where she left off before. 

“Don’t go crazy from excitement, Inuyasha,” she told him as she crawled into her sleeping bag. “I’ll finish cleaning it tomorrow, and then it’s back to real life.”

She heard him scoff from the tree he’d chosen as his resting place. “Yeah, right,” he laughed.

Her stomach sank a little at this. Kagome did worry a little that he’d fight her about it, and if she was being honest, she didn’t quite know how she would go about winning that argument. But she told herself it would work out, somehow. She wouldn’t worry about it just yet.

But in the morning, after they had broken their fast and she had completed her cleaning job, she found herself at the moment she’d feared sooner than she expected. He was lounging in a low branch of a thick tree, eyes closed. The others were closer to camp, trusting the task to her.

She cleared her throat. “I’ve finished, Inuyasha.”

“Hmm.”

Well, that wasn’t a helpful response. 

“Come on down so I can put it back on,” she tried with a forcibly normal voice.

“No way,” he said simply.

“…What do you mean, ‘no way’?”

“I mean what I said. I already told you I wouldn’t let you put it back on.”

Her stomach hardened into a knot at that. This was going to be more difficult than she’d hoped…

When she threw a pebble at his head, she at least succeeded in getting him out of the tree. 

He landed roughly on both feet, growling. “What was that for? You tryin’ to start something?” he said, glaring down at her.

“That’s my line. Stop being childish and put it back on,” she said, lifting it up with her hands. 

He instantly stopped the movement by gripping the beads with his own hand, tugging and holding it back down with a strength that humbled her own.

He was smirking. “You couldn’t do it if you tried.”

Her mouth was agape. 

“Don’t look at me like that. You’ll catch flies,” he said mockingly.

“Inuyasha,” she scolded, keeping her temper down. She tried tugging the beads, but they didn’t budge from his grip. 

His smile was more cruel than playful, and she’d be lying if she said it didn’t scare her a little.

“Are you being serious?” she tried.

“Of course. You’re an idiot if you think I’m gonna let you put that thing back on me,” he goaded.

“Hey,” she huffed, mask slipping. “Don’t call me an idiot. It doesn’t have to be a big deal.”

He chuckled bitterly. “You’re not the one who kisses dirt because of it.” Releasing the beads, he pressed two fingers into her shoulder and gave her a weak shove, though it was enough to jostle her back a step. “You can’t make me,” he grinned savagely.

She saw that he was playing… sort of. He was smiling, for sure, but there was something resentful behind the facade of banter. He seemed genuinely vengeful. 

She wouldn’t show her growing fear—no matter what. Better that she acted the same as always, right? If she acted the same… maybe he would, too.

“Come on,” she badgered. “I’ll get you more ninja food next time I go home.”

“Nice try, Kagome,” he spat, towering over her with a puffed chest. “Admit it. You messed up. Stupid,” he drawled.

She would not let the tears form. Yes, she was growing terribly frustrated, but she couldn’t let him see. She’d have no shot of convincing him after that; she had to stay level-headed. Had to keep her reins in her own hands. She couldn’t reveal that she was getting embarrassed at her own naivety, and she certainly didn’t want him to know he was succeeding likely more than he meant to in intimidating her. Kagome didn't like thinking that her confidence in him depended on his wearing the beads; the thought made her feel dirty, like she had broken some sacred unspoken part of being his friend.

But then, he went a step further. And a physical step closer.

“Say it,” he taunted.

She scowled up at him, weighing whether to try and surprise attack him. But she knew he was too quick for something like that to work. “Say what?”

“Tell me to sit. I just wanna hear you say it.”

“Why would I?” she fumed. “It wouldn’t work.”

His smile was less of a smile and more like a smug way to remind her of the sharpness of his teeth. “Exactly.”

The sight was not ineffective. Her heart began to race, and not for entirely pleasant reasons. 

“You’re being mean, Inuyasha,” she said in a desperate attempt to regain herself.

He didn’t falter. If anything, his expression grew in vitriol. “I’m a demon, Kagome.”

“I know,” she yelled, rising to her toes. Her fist clenched around the necklace at her side.

“Then maybe you should start acting like it,” he growled. He was seething now, and Kagome realized that he had probably wished to say this—to reestablish his pride as a demon who wasn't leashed by a little human girl—for a very long time. In his view, the beads had been a sign of humiliation. Kagome had always known this, but she had come to believe that he didn't take himself so seriously as to be genuinely offended by it. The revelation of her mistake was no less than discomfiting. Yes—of course she knew he was a demon. But when he had the beads, this fact had seemed... unimportant. And as it turned out, an unfettered Inuyasha was a little more overwhelming than she'd expected.

What had she done?

“You’re—” she stuttered, and she wondered if the moisture gathering on her lash line was real or imagined. “You’re so…”

She watched the muscles in his jaw clench, watched his pupils grow to slits. Her ears stopped working; her eyes were blurring.

And when he lifted his hand toward her face, she couldn’t help herself.

She flinched. 

And it was quite dramatic. No way to hide it if it ends with your feet tripping over each other and your butt landing on the filthy ground. No way to cover it up when your breath is still recovering from a gasp like that. 

The shame of the moment had not hit her yet; she was still reeling, still refilling her lungs, still blinking her vision clear. She kept her head bowed, stuck on her lap. 

When she heard her name on his lips, she began to sense her mistake. But before she could fully decipher it, his hands were on her, under her knees and behind her back. She was in the air. She clung to him as he bounded through the trees, not even remembering the beads still wound around her fingers, until he found one he liked and burrowed them there within the branches.

Her hands were plastered to her face even after he released her. 

“Kagome…” he said, voice dangerously low. “Are you really…?”

Pounding. Her heart was pounding. She knew she was being stupid, but she had lost control of her body—and all she had was instinct, instinct, instinct when she saw him bring his fatal fingers toward her neck. Luckily, when he made the same motion this time, her eyes were shielded from seeing their approach. His hands pulled her wrists down, freeing her mortified face. She stared down at where he gripped her.

“Hey,” he said, jostling her hands. “Look at me.”

He didn’t continue until she obeyed. Kagome wondered if she looked as terrified as he did in that moment, and it encouraged her to attempt a calming breath. His voice, however, retained its anger from before—though its direction had changed. 

“I would never hurt you. Got that?” He shook her again, desperation taking over his features. “Burn it into your damn head. Beads or no beads, you’re—" he halted abruptly, black brows still drawn taut in the middle. “To hell with it,” he growled to himself. He loosened her wrists and gripped her shoulders instead, bringing himself closer. His golden eyes bore into hers. “You’re everything to me. The only person who’s in danger if I don’t have the beads is any person who’s stupid enough to lay a finger on you.”

Her tears streamed outright now, but she didn’t even notice. She was staring at his mouth, which was snarled in an angry frown. She licked her dry lips and said meekly, “I’m sorry, Inuyasha—I shouldn’t have doubted you. I don’t know why I…” she trailed off, the risk of her voice breaking too great to ignore.

“Keh,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Give it to me.”

Eyes widening for only a second, Kagome managed to nod her head before she loosened the beads from around her fingers. His right hand unlatched from her shoulder, and he placed his palm in the air to receive it. She lowered it onto his skin, the beads clacking quietly against each other as it collapsed from gravity. 

She supposed it wouldn’t really change anything for him to break them. He hadn’t lost control of his demonic blood in a very long time, and she figured the beads had lost their edge against him in such a form, anyway. Tetsusaiga was far more effective. And she supposed she technically didn’t sit him nearly as often nowadays, either. His behavior today would prove an outlier, she told herself; he was just readjusting to his freedom. It would be fine. She believed this firmly now, and she was ashamed that she didn’t from the start.

But Inuyasha did not break them; instead, he pulled them right back over his head and let them drop with a loud clatter around his neck.

“Wait, Inuyasha—“

“Shut up,” he snapped, but his remaining hand on her shoulder was gentle, and his eyes were, too. His voice remained firm, but he softened it for his next words: “I don’t ever wanna see that look on your face again. And if this is what I gotta do to prevent it, then I’ll do it.”

“Inuyasha…” she winced. “I’m sorry. Really, I trust you—you don’t have to wear them anymore.” Kagome pushed herself onto her knees and lifted her hands to grab the necklace, but his own hands were faster: he gripped and halted her wrists against his chest. She froze, eyes locking onto his from a mere foot away. 

His eyes flashed in warning. “Leave ‘em,” he scolded. “I’m not letting go until you say you won’t try to take them off.” He punctuated his words by a quick squeeze of her wrists, which were still pinned to his firm, warm chest. 

Kagome gulped, half dazzled and half annoyed. “…Only if you promise you believe me when I say I trust you.”

He looked at her, hard. She wondered at how his anger, for a moment, seemed to sharpen. Then, in one fluid movement, his hands shoved hers off of his chest and backwards—back, back, back until her wrists were pinned behind her against the thick trunk of the tree. She had lost her balance on her knees in the movement, and she fell back on her rear. He was leaning over her now, face even closer than before, close enough to feel his hot breath on her face.

“Do you trust me, Kagome?” he said doubtfully.

Kagome’s breath caught. “Inu—”

“Prove it. Don’t sit me.”

Before she could question him, his nose was at her throat. He opened his mouth—she could feel his heavy sigh—and he grazed his teeth against the skin there. “I don’t blame you for being afraid of me without them,” he said bitterly. “It’d be easy for me to kill you.”

“You would never,” she whispered, eyes clenching shut at the feel of him on top of her, at the strength of his hands, at the edges of his teeth. 

Something like a whine escaped him. “Sit me,” he said.

“No.” She angled her chin toward him, cocooning him even closer to her throat. 

“Do it,” he begged, hands tightening around her wrists.

“Inuyasha,” she crooned.

Her tone was more effective than that damned word ever could have been. He tore himself from her neck and stared down at her with an expression so pained that her heart ached. Their eyes met with an intensity he wasn’t ready for—and when she broke away to look at his mouth, he looked like he was going to lose his godforsaken mind. 

As a final nail in his coffin, she tilted her head up to brush her nose against his. “I trust you,” she said again, and he was off of her in a flash. 

Chest panting, he watched in awe as she sat up, brushed her fingers over her neck, and eyed him sadly. 

“Kagome, I…” He trailed off, the apology sitting on his tongue. 

“It’s okay,” she said. “I know you didn’t mean it.”

She was wrong, though. He did mean it. He meant everything he had done. Maybe not everything he’d said, but… there was something depraved inside of him that enjoyed hearing her heart beat insanely beneath him. Whatever it was—whether it was the demon inside of him, or the man even deeper within—he knew that whatever it was that gave him pleasure at seeing her flustered and heated and pliant was what the beads were really for. 

He would never hurt her—he knew that. He prayed she did now, too. But he also knew that there were different kinds of pain, and while he knew he would never hurt her with his hands, he couldn’t say the same about his words… or about his mouth, in general. 

And it was for days like today, when temperatures were running a little too hot, when words were flying a little too sharp, that he needed that extra incentive to stay in line. To not push her (or himself) too far. To remember that she was still just a girl, and he was almost fully a man, and that that might matter even more than the fact that she was human and he was not.

Maybe one day it would be different. Maybe one day, she would be ready to take those beads off of him—to keep him in line the way that he wished she would, with different words and a different method. A better method.

But in the meantime, he supposed they could just keep bickering like they always have, as if petty little arguments were really the worst thing he could do to warrant a kiss to the dirt.

“Inuyasha,” she said, pulling him out of himself again.

With just a look, he understood her, and he gathered her onto his back. They were back at the outskirts of camp before the others even noticed they were gone.

But what they did notice was Kagome’s commanding voice as she let fly one resounding word, and the loud crash (and wince) that followed immediately after. 

They also noticed that he didn’t even complain about it.