#i actually was at work and lady named her kid kagome

[dantexxorihara]

So yesterday I ordered from Pizza Hut and my phone rings and it’s the attack on Titan theme song and he recognizes it. Weebs are everywhere. Just imagine a President being an avid anime fan one day . Posters and figurines  in the oval office, Presidential Cadillac and Air Force 1 anime wrapped like those cars you see in front of  conventions  Then wearing a full Hatsune Miku suit and tie for a press briefing and being completely serious the entire time.  

[lavaffair]

Just Admit It

Inukag Fluff Week Prompts: Touch and Pining

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33211216

Having a crush on someone can be wonderful, but also incredibly unfair. The hours spent daydreaming about the person who gives your stomach butterflies seem to be more fun than having the actual crush. Experiencing this vulnerable feeling because of a person is actually quite terrifying and painful. Most of the time, crushes lead to heartbreak and letting go of the person who never gave you a chance.

Being in love with a person can be extremely intense, almost obsessive, and beautiful if done right. When someone’s feelings reach this level, it begins to cut deeper beyond the surface, into dangerous and uncharted territory. Especially if the person you are in love with has absolutely no idea of your true feelings towards them.

For Kagome Higurashi, her feelings towards her best friend Inuyasha Taisho went way beyond a crush. She was in love with her best friend, so in love that it hurt her, and she was too afraid to ever tell him about them.

The risk of ruining her lifelong friendship of 16 years was too scary to think about. Kagome could never think of her life without Inuyasha, he was always there to annoy her, get her angry, protect her, and support her whenever and wherever. When he yelled at the bigger kids for making fun of her name when they were five, or afterward when she pushed someone away from him when they pulled on his ears, they made a pack to back each other up. The friendship just blossomed after that.

Of course, they made more friends along the way, which included Sango and Miroku; whom they met in middle school, but their friendship never changed. They knew each other better than anyone else, and they have had the uncomfortable and awkward conversations that come up between teenagers, and so they have seen it all.

They have been there for each other when their hearts have been broken, when they had fights with others, and when they have personal issues. The bond between them was so strong that even the idea of it breaking caused Kagome a ton of stress. She could not do it and would not do it. At the end of the day, they will be in each other’s friend zone and they will die in the friend zone.

She was convinced that Inuyasha had zero feelings for her. He has seen her at her worst, and probably only looks at her like a sister. There was no way he could feel anything more for her.

This is why seeing him flustered and awkward about having to share a bed together did not raise any suspicions. It was obvious he was just a bit uncomfortable with the situation since it has been years since they have shared a bed with each other. They are both in their early twenties now, and sharing a bed was very intimate at this age compared to at 13.

“Yash, I could go downstairs right now and ask for another room. You look like you’re going to have a heart attack.” Kagome grinned at him, trying her best to suppress her shyness.

“Tch. We tried that already! That old hag wasn’t budgin’. This is the last time we let Miroku make hotel reservations.” He anxiously paced around the room.

“I can’t believe they don’t have any rooms with two beds. It’s not like it’s a special weekend or anything, it’s not even that busy this time of year.” She could not help but bite her bottom lip while watching him pace the room. His anxiety was getting to her.

“Well. We’re stuck here now, I tried all of my tricks but that lady wouldn't budge. We just gotta figure this out.”

He disappeared into the closet and pulled out an extra blanket provided by the hotel and placed it on the ground beside the huge bed. It was soft and fluffy enough to provide some comfort, but Kagome knew his back was going to hurt tomorrow and beyond that. They are staying at this hotel for the next few days, and until they can find a new room, they will have to make due.

“Inuyasha, we can just share the bed.” She tried speaking logic into him.

Inuyasha hoped she missed the way his body jolted at her offer because it was an intense one. Share a bed? With his best friend, whom he also harbored feelings for? Not a chance. Not when it was hard for him to even look at her without thinking about all the ways he could hold her.

He was down bad, he just refused to make it obvious. Instead, he played off his feelings for her by being extra rude sometimes. It helped mask his feelings and it was believable because he was naturally a huge jerk. Of course, he has gotten softer because of Kagome, but he turns it on when he needs it. Right now, he was too flustered to even pretend to act like a cocky bastard.

He and Kagome have not shared a bed since they were pre-teens, and that was before puberty kicked in. It took him a while to notice it at first, but when Inuyasha realized he had developed feelings for his best friend, he knew he had to shut it down immediately. He saw the changes she went through, and how she went from this annoying, loud, bossy little girl into this independent and beautiful woman. It was too much for him, and it happened overnight. He sucks at handling his feelings, he is not the best with women, and thus concludes him knowing he is not good for her.

Kagome deserved better, she deserved more than him. Some guy who can talk about his feelings and does not want to punch almost every frustrating person in the face. He was in love with her, so in love, he would sacrifice his chance of happiness just to see her happy with someone else. He will support her from the sidelines, like any good best friend, while his heart tears away at the idea of a love that did not get a chance.

Her friendship was enough for him. That is what he told himself every day.

“No.” He replied flatly. “You probably still kick in your sleep.”

“I do not kick!” He heard her shout.

He laughed, “Tell that to my legs. I think they’re still bruised.”

Of course, he did not miss the way she scoffed as she got the bed ready to sleep in. He could hear her breathing from across the room, her sweet, natural scent filling the space every time she moved around and it was intoxicating.

“Don’t be such a big baby!” She padded the pillows for extra fluff. “You’re a demon, my kicks don’t even hurt you.”

He poked his head out from the closet, looking for anything extra to put on his makeshift bed other than bath towels. “Half demon,” he corrected. “And yes they do.”

She blew out some air from her lungs and padded over towards him, her little feet tip-tapping on the carpet floor. “Inuyashaaaa,” she whined. “If I promise to not kick you, will you please sleep on the bed?”

He swallowed hard, his nerves getting the best of him as he cleared his throat. It took him a second to compose himself before exploding, and then he put on his best face. He raised an eyebrow at her, a smirk playing on his lips with a little fang poking out.

“So you admit that you do kick now. huh?”

Kagome rolled her eyes, immediately walking away from him with her arms crossed against her chest. “You’re impossible!”

After a few seconds of comfortable silence, he heard her zip and unzip her luggage and heave a sigh. “I’m going to change really quickly. I’ll be right back.”

He grunted in return and quickly changed into some sweats and a loose-fit tee shirt. His makeshift bed was as good as it was going to get, the fluffy comforter folded on the ground providing some back support. There were no more extra blankets, but Kagome always brought an extra for traveling, so he would just use hers to sleep in.

Little sounds were coming out from the bathroom and he knew she was doing her nightly routine of skincare and hair brushing. Out of all the women he has ever met, Kagome was the one always on top of her routines. He knew she had one in the morning and one at night, and the only reason why she was not taking her nightly shower was because of how tired she was after a long travel day.

The sound of clothes coming off and then rustling back on her skin was extremely distracting, so he decided to focus on the interesting floor lamp in the corner of the room. It had a rustic-colored body, with a cream-colored lampshade over the light bulb, and it was as boring as any other floor lamp in existence.

The door to the bathroom clicked open, and the sweet scent that was Kagome hit his nose instantly. It was never enough for him and he was so selfish he always wished for more. The citrusy scent mixed with vanilla was expected after she stayed in the bathroom for so long, but he did not expect his heart to skip a beat when he laid eyes on her in her pajamas. To anyone else, it would just be plain sleepwear, but seeing her in a pink tee-shirt and shorts set was driving him insane. There were little white stars decorating the entire ensemble, and Inuyasha could not believe Kagome could get any cuter.

“Nice PJs, what are you, five?” He teased, if only she knew he was dying inside.

She glared at him in return, “At least my pajamas are more fun. You’re in the same thing you always wear.”

“Kagome, you never see me when I’m going to bed.” He was trying really hard to stop himself from stuttering.

“You’re right, but I see you in the mornings when you’re a grump. You don’t change out of them unless you have somewhere to go.”

“I didn’t come here to get chastised for my taste in sweatpants, Kags.”

She giggled and it sent a jolt of electricity into his system. “That may be true, but when we get back home I’m buying you new pajamas. I’ll get some cute ones for you.”

The half-demon narrowed his amber eyes at her, “You’re gonna get matching onesies ain't ya?”

Shrugging her shoulders and shooting him a cheeky little smile, she skipped to her giant bed and left his question unanswered. Choosing to turn off the lights instead, and leaving the duo in the dark.

Cheeky wench he thought.

There was nothing else for either of them to do but get comfortable in bed to sleep. Everyone in the group had had a long day, and he was sure Sango and Miroku were already asleep in the room across from theirs. He was thankful the universe spared him from having to listen to anything that was not snoring.

“What time do you think we’ll all be up by tomorrow?” He heard Kagome ask from above him.

As he made himself comfortable on the floor with the fluffy pillow Kagome had given him he answered, “Hopefully not at noon. I’ll push you off the bed and bang on their door until yer all awake.”

She laughed, “You’ll get us kicked out if you do that.”

“Yeah?” Well, maybe we can find a hotel that has rooms with two beds.” He grumbled.

“Sharing a bed is not a big deal!” Kagome lied, because to her it would definitely be a big deal.

To the blushing half-demon sleeping on the ground, it was also a very big deal. “Goodnight Kagome.”

Kagome pouted, thankful that he could not see the disappointment on her face. “Fine, don’t be extra grumpy when your back hurts tomorrow.”

They flipped on their sides facing away from each other and attempted to sleep. Kagome was doing well, the giant bed was super comfortable and it would bring her to sleep in no time. Except, she could listen to Inuyasha shuffling over on the floor knowing he was trying to find a comfortable position.

A frustrated grunt had her fluttering her eyes open and groggy from sleep. She wondered how long she had been out, and she would ask Inuyasha but he was still tossing and turning on the floor. She rubbed her eyes and let out a tiny yawn before scooting over to the side to look at him.

At the moment, he was fighting with Kagome’s blanket and was one minute closer to taking the car keys and sleeping inside the car.

“Inuyasha?” he heard her ask. Her voice was soft and sounded small, she looked tired and in much need of sleep.

“Kags? Hey, sorry for waking you.” He said apologetically.

She shook her head with a little smile to show him she felt no animosity towards him. “Yash, you’re uncomfortable. Please come to bed.”

“You say that like it’s easy..” he muttered over his beating heart. She was so tired, and yet here she was still concerned over him and putting his needs before her own.

“It’s not easy.” She replied sleepily.

“What?” He sat up from his floor bed and looked at her. Her eyes were glossed over, and a little smile was painted on her face. “Kags, what do you mean?”

She shrugged awkwardly in her laying down position and yawned again. “I like you, so, it’s not easy for me to tell you that.. but you can’t sleep on the floor.”

Inuyasha’s face heated up instantly, a blush so red and deep that he could make tomatoes jealous of its color. There was no way she was telling him the truth. There was absolutely no way she was reciprocating his feelings right now, because this all seems too good to be true, and nothing this amazing ever happens to him. He was already lucky enough to call her his best friend, but for her to like him back when he had never told her was more than he could have asked for.

Her words processed rather quickly, and Kagome shot up from the bed. suddenly wide awake. There was absolutely no way she just said that to him. Every second that passed caused her to overthink everything, and she felt like her friendship with him was slipping out of her fingers the more time passed.

“I- I mean! Um.. no? Uh. I didn’t say that! Forget what I said!” She laughed nervously, “Haha funny joke!”

Her stuttering was going through one fluffy ear and out of the other because he was still trying to process what she said. He could see her better than she could see him, and her blushing face did not match the denial she was spewing at him.

“Would you laugh too if I told you I felt the same way?” His voice wavered during his confession while his stomach made flips.

“You…” Kagome paused and took a deep breath in a failed attempt to get herself to relax. “You like me too?”

“Yep.”

“..For how long?”

“Since I turned 13 and saw you in that one blue dress at the school dance.” There was no going back for him now.

She remembered that day pretty easily because it was one of her most cherished memories. It was the middle school dance, and everyone was super excited to find someone to go with. Naturally Kagome went with Inuyasha since they were so inseparable, and she wanted to surprise him and go in her new blue dress. That whole night Inuyasha was acting weirder than usual, but she thought it was because of the school dance, not because of her or her blue dress.

“What about you?” His question dragged her out of her thoughts.

“Around the same time as you, except it was after the dance. Yura cut off some of my hair because she was kinda obsessed with it, and mama had to even it out afterward. It was so short, and I hated it! But you came up to me when I was crying and told me I was pretty with my short hair, and then you yelled at Yura the next day.

“That’s when I sort of figured I liked you more than just as my best friend.” She admitted.

The two best friends stared at each other in bewilderment due to their confessions. The words they shared are still floating above them like small clouds. The fear of their feelings staying one-sided was nothing but a fluke now, because their feelings were reciprocated.

“Do you um..” Kagome coughed, “Wanna get off the floor and talk about it some more?” She padded the mattress for emphasis.

He was sure he looked like an idiot with how fast he got up from the carpet. Maybe she did not see it that way, but he sure did feel that way. He felt like he was floating even with his body now firmly on the large bed. He left a small space between them, on the off chance that he was reading into it too much.

It was quiet between them and sleep was still creeping onto them like a predator watching its prey.

“You know I expected my confession to you to be kinda dramatic.” Kagome laughed, “Like, we have a huge fight and we’re yelling at each other from across the room and then you say something stupid and I just kinda scream it out.”

The half-demon raised a brow at her in amusement. “You watch way too many movies, Kagome.”

She pushed on his shoulder in mock offense, “Don’t pretend like you don’t sit there and watch them with me!”

“That’s because you force me to watch them with you. How many times have we seen the Notebook? I lost count!”

“Okay, okay, first of all, we haven’t seen the Notebook since high school. I’ll admit we saw it too often, but not recently!”

“Yeah?” He grinned at her, his fang poking out only adding to the effect he has on her. “Doesn’t mean we haven’t seen similar movies.”

She huffed, “I’m a sucker for romance. You can’t blame me for that.”

Inuyasha watched as her lips turned out into a little pout and she puffed out her chest. Those same lips he has always caught himself staring too hard at, the ones he thought about kissing everyday but knew he never could. Well, here was his chance; and she was sitting right in front of him.

Before he could back out of it, he leaned in closer to her face and stared directly into her dark brown eyes. Her breath caught in her throat and the little gasp she let out echoed his ears. Her breath fawned over his lips as she realized how close they were to touching. Her eyes flicked from his golden ones to his lips, and then back to his eyes again.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked her breathlessly. He was totally enthralled by her and her full, parted lips.

She nodded in anticipation knowing that her voice would fail her if she tried to speak.

His lips were on hers instantly as he drank her in like water. They were as soft and plush as he expected them to be but they were also even more than that. Their lips molded against each other so easily it was strange to think about why he waited so long to do this in the first place. The kiss they shared was sweet and cautious but still electrifying. He did not want to scare her away in case she backed out of it, but little did he know she was savoring this moment between them.

Slowly, they parted ways as they tried to catch their breath. Inuyasha noted how cute she looked with pink-tinted cheeks, kiss swollen lips, and sparkling eyes as she looked at him. He could not stop the grin from showing up on his face after finally being able to kiss the girl of his dreams, the same girl that was a bit too far from him at the moment.

“Come ‘ere.” He slurred, his voice deep and rich with admiration. He extended his arms to her and beckoned her towards him with a blush still on his cheeks.

Without saying a word she crawled over to him and broke the remaining space they had between them. She fit into his lap so perfectly and she never wanted to live a life where she could not do this again. The butterflies in her stomach were eating her alive but she powered through the feeling and laid her head on his shoulder. His strong arms embraced her small figure and pressed her into him while he fought the nerves in his body to relax. This was still extremely new to the both of them, but suddenly they wanted to be as close to each other as possible.

They sat together like this for a few minutes until Inuyasha noticed that Kagome was starting to drift away into sleep again. Even the excitement of a love confession was not strong enough against the pull of sleep.

“Kags,” he whispered. “Let’s lay down. You need to sleep more comfortably.”

She protested, “But I’m comfy here.”

Before she could say anything more he quickly changed their position and laid down on the bed. With one arm still holding Kagome snuggly on him, he used the other to bring up the giant comforter to cover the both of them. He was glad they both decided to leave the lights off during the entire ordeal they had earlier so he did not have to get up and ruin her comfortable position.

Kagome was thankful for the lights staying off too because she was not going to let Inuyasha go even for a second. Miroku and Sango might be extremely confused tomorrow morning when they notice the change in dynamic but that will be tackled when they get to it. Right now, she is way more content with her head on his chest and his hand on her back.

Before she officially dozed off into slumber, she kissed his chin and snuggled into him. With her head on his chest, she could hear the erratic beating of his heart after her surprise kiss. He said nothing as he listened to her breathing steadily with every minute that passed until her grip on his arm went slack.

Inuyasha had not expected so much to happen between them in a span of a few hours. Their dynamic now changed forever. He was aware that they still had more to talk about, but for now, he was going to cherish this moment with her. He kissed her forehead one more time out of pure need and desire before settling in to catch some sleep.

He would never deny sharing the bed with her ever again.

[savethelastdan]

Yashahime Is Over Party: Contribution #2

“All right, all right!” 

The crowd of villagers quieted (some with a wince) as the high-pitched shout rang around the village entrance. Ten-year-old Moroha gave them one last warning glare for good measure. 

With, as her Great-Grandpa on the other side of the Well would say, “more gusto than should be necessary”, she then leapt upon the nearest height-offering surface - one of the tourists’ suitcases, emblazoned a dozen times on every side with “FRAGILE” - and began her welcome speech. 

“Shut your mouths and hold onto your butts, folks, because this is a real treat! The coolest village ever to exist in any timeline, on a sunny day! Since my big brother is at kitsune academy today, you all have the honor of yours truly acting as escort around this prime piece of feudal real estate!” 

Dramatic pause for emphasis. (Yes, she’d taken some liberties with the script that Shippo had left, and she didn’t quite know what ‘prime piece of real estate’ actually meant, but her cousin Towa agreed that it sounded fancy and fancy always worked with humans.) 

A soft-faced young woman glanced around the crowd self-consciously before raising a hand. “You mean, this is the village where priestess Kikyo - “

“Ahem!” Moroha held up the wooden sign hanging from her neck, tapping the carved-in letters spelling ‘Village Tour Guide #2” with one nail. “Are you wearin’ the sign?”

“Oh. Uh, sorry.” The woman blushed. 

After a moment, Moroha cleared her throat. “Okay, yeah, it is. But there’s a bunch of other super-cool people here, too! If you wanna meet them - follow me!” With that, she jumped from the suitcase to land solidly in the dirt. A few tourists reared back from the cloud of disturbed dust, putting them at the back of the moving crowd. 

“First up, the sister of the blah-dee-blah-famed-priestess-blah-dee-blah Kikyo - Lady Kaedeeeeee!” She swung both arms in a dramatic half-circle towards the healer woman’s hut; the crowd ooh-ed and ah-ed appropriately. “On days like these, she’s either healing a sick patient, birthin’ a new baby, or taking a long nap! Since she’s awfully old, the napping’s more frequent.” Hooking an arm around a teenage tourist’s shoulder, she hissed in a spooky tone, “Some say she’ll live forever, getting older and older until she’s like a living zombie-” 

“I heard that.” With a cross expression, Kaede leaned out of the window.“Don’t think I won’t curse you for those bad manners.”

Moroha waved the group on with a nervous chuckle. 

“And this is the home of the most famous demon slayer known to womankind - Sango!” Cupping both hands around her mouth like a bullhorn, Moroha drew out the last syllable of the woman’s name to emphasize her coolness. Several of the humans perked up with excitement; it wasn’t hard to imagine that they had themselves benefited from some of the woman’s work. 

“Her husband Miroku lives here too. He used to be a monk, but now he’s a family guy! My papa says -” She straightened, putting on a deep, gruff tone - “it’s a damn miracle -” Dropping the tone, she grinned cheerily at the group - “nobody will tell me why!” 

As if on cue, the door to the house opened to reveal a group of tall, bickering young adults. The loudest were two women with matching features, the only visible difference to a stranger being that one’s slayer outfit was trimmed in pink and the other’s in green. Behind them trotted a younger boy, also wearing a slayer outfit in red.  

“I’m taking the kusarigama, you’re taking the wakizashi!” The green-outfitted slayer said, ignoring her sister’s attempts to talk over her. “Otherwise you and Mom will have two long-range weapons, and that makes no sense!” 

“Plus that’s Uncle Kohaku’s specialty!” Their brother piped up; he dodged the twin elbows that swung back at him as easily as if they’d warned him. “She wants to impress him with it so he’ll take her on his trip to the mountains with Rin this summer!” 

Through the left-open door, came the sweet smell of treats baking - one of the many hobbies Miroku had taken up with his time, now that he wasn’t going to up and die (Moroha knew she wasn’t technically supposed to know about that. Or probably phrase it like that… But if her godfather Koga said it that way, why was it any different for her?)

The group of slayers stopped short upon seeing the crowd; with awkward bows, they quickly skirted their way around the gaping tourists. 

““That’s Sango’s kids; every one of ‘em demon slayer prodigies.” Slinging her arm around the same teen from earlier, Moroha shook her head with a dramatic sigh. “Makes me almost want another sibling. Except then I’d have to share my room, nooooo thank you!”

“Excuse me.” A mustached man in the middle of the group raised one arm curiously. “I heard one of those women mention Rin - is that the human who died twice and was resurrected by the sword Tenseiga?” 

“Huh? Oh, yeah. That’s Rin.” Moroha tapped her own head thoughtfully and muttered under her breath, “Was it really only twice…”

“Does she still live here?” The man’s mustache drooped in a frown. “Or did she go to live with that dog demon?”

“Dog demon? Ohhh, you mean Uncle Sesshomaru!” A smile stretched across her face. “I almost forgot about him! Nah, after she got married she decided to stay in town -” 

“Married?!” The group erupted in murmurs of horror. One kerchiefed mother clapped her hands over the ears of her daughter; the mustached man turned green.

Moroha’s face fell. “Well, yeah. She wanted to keep taking healer lessons from Kaede, and even though he travels a lot, she wanted to stay by Kohaku’s side when he comes home. Be a team, and all that.” 

“Ohhhh, so she’s Kohaku’s wife!” The human mother’s shoulders slumped with a sigh. “How lovely and age-appropriate.” 

Moroha wasn’t sure what that meant, but if it made the negative energy go away then she was all for it! “Rin’s super cool, anyway. She knows how to heal demons, not just humans, and she tells really good ghost stories, and she’s actually really good at arm-wrestling -” 

Suddenly she ducked her head to whisper, “She’s probably my favorite cousin, if I’m bein’ honest with ya.”

 “Do you have other cousins?” A man who appeared to look a thousand years old squinted in her direction. Perhaps in confusion, but it was hard to tell with all the wrinkles. “I doubt a full-blooded dog demon like that Sesshomaru fella would leave his legacy in the hands of a human girl.” 

“My mom would say that’s prejudiced,” Moroha said helpfully, causing the old man to blanche. “But Rin’s got two little sisters, who you can see riiiiiiight now!” 

With a dramatic twist, she whirled around to point in the opposite direction with both hands, adding a low growl that was meant to mimic the roar of an excited crowd. 

The moment was slightly underwhelmed by the confused looks of the tourists as they took a moment to figure out where exactly to look. That’s okay; she’d work on it. 

Down the road, her twin cousins leaned against the wall of a house (Moroha’s house, which she was saving for last because you always save the best for last). Towa was smiling and pointing out something up in the sky, while Setsuna wore a very predictable scowl. From this far away, the red streaks in their hair were little more than smudges. 

The extremely old man with an attitude problem made a weird hacking noise, most likely in surprise. 

“Did he adopt them like your other cousin?” asked a teenage girl. 

“Kinda!” Both hands landed on her hips; Moroha then modeled her expression on her Uncle - stoic, dismissive, oh-so-cool. “On a cool spring night, Uncle Sesshomaru walked into the darkest, deepest forest on the planet, waved his sword over a really old and creepy tree, and when he cut it open - there they were. Two lil’ hanyou babies.” 

Dramatic pause. 

“Just kiddin’.” Laughing loud enough to bring back the wincing from the group, Moroha slapped her knee. “They’re full demons. I can still take either of ‘em in a fight, though. Oh!” She pointed up in the air with a wide, excited smile. “There’s their mom right now!” 

Murmurs of confusion filled the air as the tourists moved their heads this way, that way; only when a chilling breeze morphed into flesh and bone, right before their eyes, did the group exclaim in collective understanding. 

Moroha waved. “Hi, Auntie Kagura!” 

“Yo.” Clearly taken aback by the crowd, the wind demon gave a tiny salute. The side of her neck bore a half-moon symbol tattooed on the skin; Moroha thought it was neat, even if her dad thought it was a dumb, archaic wedding ritual. “Do your parents know you’re doing this?” 

“Uh, duh!” She held up the sign with a cheeky grin. 

“Fair enough.” Upon spying her daughters across the way, Kagura’s expression softened a bit. “Well, I’ll see you later.” 

“No, wait! We’re actually heading the same way.” Gesturing to the not-moving crowd, Moroha repeated, “The same way. Meaning the best part of the tour - come on, folks, work with me here -” 

Kagura snorted, walking quickly as though to avoid the gawking humans and their nosy questions about how she had been resurrected or could still live now that Naraku was dead or got Sesshomaru to admit he had feelings much less have kids with her. A curt “none of your business” was all they’d get, no matter how much Moroha tugged on her sleeve and whined about “giving people their money’s worth.”

Luckily, once they reached Moroha’s house, it was easy to escape. After all, a much more awe-inspiring attraction awaited the group of lucky, lucky tourists. 

“And now! The Greatest Love Story Of Our Time!” With a winning grin, Moroha landed a kick on the door, sending it slamming open. 

“Oh.” Kagome blinked at the group from where she sat on a futon in the middle of the house, surrounded by magical artifacts. A scroll marked with ink rolled from her lap all the way to one side of the room. Behind her, halfway through helping her put her hair in a bun, Inuyasha froze “Uh, hello?”

“My parents! Dumdedumdummmmm!” The warmth of her pride felt like it was going to burst in her chest. It was the absolute best to come home to people who loved her! Whether it was tickle fights before bed, or her dad taking her and Shippo out on demon-tracking trips, or her mom humming a lullaby if she felt sick on the full moon night, Moroha was certain her family was the best of anybody’s anywhere. “One fell through time, and one fell -- fell, uh, for her -- sorry, I’ll work on it.” 

Inuyasha huffed in the way that meant he was going to complain later. Kagome just chuckled and waved. 

For once, the humans reacted exactly the way Moroha wanted them to - smiling, clapping, appreciating the wonder of her super-beautiful-and-also-hella-powerful mom and grumpy-but-still-amazingly-brave papa. She launched into the story she knew by heart, of how they had come to be together and saved the whole world while they were at it. Some parts were probably missing or misrepresented, from the laughter in her mom’s eyes, but she had enough of it right that half the tourist group was in near tears by the time she was done. 

“And now, they have one more accomplishment to add to the long list - parenting the greatest warrior this world has ever seen. Moro-uh, Beniyasha!” Swirling the ends of her fire-rat robe, she twirled. “The Crimson Slayer!”

“Slayer of my patience, maybe,” Inuyasha snapped, though he was unable to hide his smile as he marched over to grab her by the collar. “Come ‘ere, kid. You’ve got chores to do!” 

Tossing her over his shoulder, he waved dismissively at the group of humans. “Sorry folks, the show ends here. Yeesh...” 

Moroha cupped both hands around her mouth, screeching to be heard over her parent’s laughter before the door shut.

“Make sure to leave your comment cards in the box at the entrance!”

[miraculouscontent]

Ask Explosion #9:

Asks answering previous posts:

Sabrina, I have one word of advice for you...

R U N

“Chat, please stop talking.”

“But that’s my thing!”

“YOU JINX EVERYTHING!!”

Ayyyyyy~

Well, it’s something, I suppose?

Answered this here.

It absolutely did. Bless you, kind and hilarious citizien. ;P

I’m torn because... on one hand, I want to give proper mythology and such for like--anything that’d be put into the show, but on the other, I liked the idea that Alix’s brother was just sort of a conspiracy who thought of stupid stuff (which is why I kept the concept for MC Jalil Kubdel).

Zoe did it really well in Scarlet Lady where Alix knew the actual mythology and started blurting it out whenever Jalil got it wrong.

New Asks:

Considering “Ikari Gozen,” I imagine Alya and Kagami don’t get along as well. I agree with basically everyone that Marinette and Kagami not getting along is bad, but Alya and Kagami not really getting along makes more sense and is more tolerable.

Since Alya is Marinette’s “““BFF”““ (supposedly), I could see her kind of being like, “You’re competing with my girl over the same guy,” and keeping Kagami at arm’s length, worried that keeping Kagami close will allow Kagami to be closer to Adrien since Adrien is an extension of their friend group (kinda, sorta, not really, but Marinette calling him a friend so technically--)

You know, Alya trying to be a good friend and help Marinette with Adrien in more subtle ways. It’s the wrong way to go about it but she’s trying.

LUKANETTE IS AMAZING IN TERMS OF PROGRESSION KDJNGJDFG, I ADORE IT. Every episode they share together, we either learn something new about them or see more details on their relationship.

I think I was already all-in before “Silencer,” but man, that episode just sealed it even more. I was like well dang, why does the love square even EXIST???

jfdngjkfdjgfdg

Incredible. Only problem is that the creator doesn’t know how to use it properly.

You mean fourteen year olds aren’t perfect human beings???? :o

(no, but really, that’s me all the time; like, she’s barely a teen!)

He’ll believe it if it’s Chat Noir who’s doing it. If Marinette ever does it though, he’ll be sure to shut it down. ;P

Ugggggh, the worst part is that I have the same exact fear that they really are going to be like yeah Ladybug you silly fool Chat Noir has been with you since the beginning!

I mean, we’re already basically getting that with the New York special; Chat was supposed to protect Paris and then didn’t tell Ladybug that he “had to” leave for New York (and the New York thing is inadvertently Marinette’s fault and parts of the fandom actually did blame her for it even though it was Chat’s choice not to say anything), then Ladybug gets upset with him when she discovers it mid-battle, which leads to Chat being distracted and Cataclysming someone (another thing that Ladybug can be “inadvertently” blamed for), then Chat gives up his miraculous so Ladybug isn’t even allowed to be angry and cue the later line of “I can’t imagine being Ladybug without... him.”

So clearly that’s saying something. Adrien doesn’t get anything close to that level and Marinette is chewed out for not asking him to stay when Nino had already asked him too.

It’s like--Marinette chooses to go after Adrien and then gets either nothing in return, or humiliated by the narrative, and then in the New York special, she decides to do nothing and everything still goes wrong while Alya yells at her for it. The “damned if she does, damned if she don’t,” on display is stunning. The girl tries to confess and it’s like, “no, not allowed, but Chat is allowed to confess.”

I still don’t understand this logic of his overarching plot but also “there’s not much of a timeline.” I think the only solid thing we’ve ever gotten was something about all the episodes in one season coming after all the episodes in a previous one, but there are still things that don’t add up? The only thing the season 3 production order will give is making sure the hero debuts work out (so no Viperion or Pegase before “Party Crasher,” for example).

It’s not really reliable. I mean, like--I’ve been experimenting with timelines for a while, and stuff like “Miraculer” baffles me. It’s basically non-canon with no value whatsoever. All it does is make “Heart Hunter” look even more confusing and treats Marinette even more horribly for not picking Chloe when she explicitly told Chloe that she wasn’t getting it back.

I’m not familiar with that one! Is it any good?

(Okay, I actually was too curious and ended up looking it up; fancy! I couldn’t have guessed that it was a webtoon! I started reading the 1st issue and before I knew it, I was on the 6th! Oops~)

Lila is totally Rashta, 100% agree. The fact that the comments have a nickname of “Trashta” for her, equivalent to Liar Rossi, says as much ;P

Because lessons that involve telling someone that they’re valid and allowed to feel a certain way don’t apply to Marinette. Isn’t it nice? :3

Not that I know of? Though I also don’t look for that kind of thing, so it’s possible that it exists and I just don’t know about it.

Even if it did exist thought, I don’t see a problem with you doing your own regardless. Good luck if you do!

No. No I do not. ;P

GREETINGS FELLOW INTJ!

And yeah, I’m not really capable of not analyzing shows. There are some small exceptions, but they’re usually not full shows in the normal sense. If there’s an ongoing plot, my mind tends to be working at all times.

In terms of Miraculous, Season 1 was harmless enough where I was bothered but pretty quiet about it, but then it just got progressively worse. It really feels like one of those things you can’t unsee when it finally hits you, y’know?

I’m glad I was able to help you get that satisfaction you need (and appreciate Lukanette, of course ;3)!

Non-Miraculous Asks:

(some heavy Puella Magi Madoka Magica salt below)

Wow, this is a really dedicated ask! Nice!

Gonna go point by point here:

1 - Yeah, the whole thing with Homura not “being able” to save everyone... kinda questionable, and I didn’t really buy the arguments they used to explain it away. I think there was this one PSP game or something with Madoka Magica where you could kind of choose what happened (like, there were bad ends where Sayaka didn’t get her soul gem back in time and her body was partially decayed; ick) and I think there’s a good end where Homura saves everyone but--yeah, not canon.

I just don’t care for twisted stories like that unless there is actually a good end on the horizon (and I mean like “Everyone Lives and is Happy” good end). Angst is just so exhausting so the second I saw Mami’s head being bitten I was just like, “Ah, okay, so we’re doing this then.”

2 - Eugh, the sexism thing. It’s so... yeah, and especially this because the whole “girls are emotional” thing, I don’t really care whether or not the show is trying to “subvert” or “explain” anything, it just feels like poor taste and I don’t like it. (I also didn’t know about that Death Note thing because I didn’t watch it, but geez.)

3 - Wow, I’ve been away from the show for so long that I forgot what Mami’s wish was; I thought it was to “not be alone” or something (or maybe not die alone?? I really don’t remember), but either way, the fact that it follows some sort of genie wish logic is just--*sigh*--they’re teenage girls, come on (plus, the “genie wish logic” is really overdone to me anyway).

4 - The other thing about Sayaka is that it’s really predictable that she’d “die so quickly.” Basically everything was pointing to her just being annihilated at some point, and being Madoka’s best friend, it was pretty inevitable that she’d go.

((semi-unrelated, but someone also asked me which character’s name was lied about before episode 3 hit and they wondered if it was Sayaka’s; it was Kyubey’s))

Yikes. Sorry you had to experience that.

Anyway, I guess I’m not experienced enough in multiple fandoms to say for sure? If I was ever in a fandom, I would just blacklist the people/stuff I didn’t like, so I didn’t get to see a tong of “bad things” going on.

+ I try really hard not to generalize fandoms into one thing.

𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓝𝓸𝓻𝓶𝓼 𝓐𝓻𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓾𝓹𝓲𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓑𝓸𝔂𝓼 𝓐𝓻𝓮 𝓐𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓛𝓲𝓴𝓮 “𝓖𝓲𝓻𝓵𝔂” 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼

Oof, uhhh, shows, huh? That’s tough.

I think the main ship from Given (Mafuyu and Ritsuka) is really adorable (you might’ve seen the amusing video of their love being mutual before), and while I would’ve said the same thing for the kinda-sorta side ship, it gets--uh... really bad during the movie/rest of the manga, I’ll just say that much.

Mafuyu and Ritsuka though, totally adorable.

Inuyasha kinda? Though Inuyasha and Kagome are definitely not the kind of romantic chemistry that I lean towards (I find “the bickering couple” to be rather exhausting). Plus, Cardcaptor Sakura did the “male tsundere” better than Inuyasha did (though the Clear Card Arc was terrible, at least it’s not canon kinda-sorta? idk it seems like a mix of the anime and manga so...).

After that there’s...

uh

...

hm.

I mean, there’s probably a couple more examples somewhere, but--yeah, I’ve got nothing. Maybe if I thought back to all the generic children shows I watched when I was little (like those old Disney live-action shows; I had no taste when I was younger), there might’ve been something that satisfied kid me but idk.

I don’t remember what post inspired this, but I have no problem answering regardless, ahaha~

My main issue is Aang’s attitude about the whole thing. I’m not saying it was right of Katara to go out and get “revenge via murder” exactly, but I also think that Zuko had the right idea with allowing her to go and face the man who killed her mother so she could get some form of closure (also note that Zuko doesn’t express any sort of opinion when Katara decides not to kill him; he just wanted her to have whatever she thought she needed to heal).

It’s also the episode where Zuko directly confronts Aang on his “violence isn’t the answer” rhetoric which then goes completely ignored as Aang lionturtles his way out of the conflict. Aang is also not confronted on his point of “forgiveness is the first step to healing” (when Katara has a right not to forgive and Aang isn’t challenged outside of Katara commenting on it) and was permitted to ride his high horse when Katara “steals” Appa like, “It's okay, because I forgive you... that give you any ideas?” which is just--

reaaaaaally "holier than thou”-esque when Aang is like, ten, and Katara is a sort of motherly figure to him. The episode even has Sokka praise Aang for how “wise” he is and I groaned through the entire thing.

Another smaller thing is that it sort of makes the air kingdom look way too “perfect” by having Aang be the “source of wisedom,” especially when it’s like “violence isn’t the answer” while all the other airbenders are dead.

[sssuperbartola]

Head first Into Love

ok ok ok okokokokokOK, SO! Hear me out. There was this video on Instagram that had HUGE Inukag vibes, and I had to write something about it because come oooooon this is them, 100%.

So. I had this idea, right? Then it turned into a little one shot featuring our beloved OTP Inukag in that particular scenario and later on I decided to dedicate this as a late super incredibly God help me say how much I procrastinated on this bday gift for our beloved @keichanz aka Lusty, aka our Lady and Saviour The Queen Slut, and of cooooooouursssssee...I completely wasted 3 months into writing this thing AND LEMME TELL YA, it did took a lot of time, trying to find inspiration or just the will to live ya know?

BUT, it is finally finished!

And now everyone can finally indulge in some “best friends to lovers real quick” Inukag Modern!AU, featuring the come back of TikTok! YAAAAAAAY!

And again: HAPPY LATE BDAY @keichanz ! LOVE YA BELLA FENICE!

I’m outside

Kagome quickly sent the text on her phone and leaned back in her car seat. She made a point to turn off the car engine as soon as she parked right in front of her best friend’s house, already knowing he would not be ready on time, like usual. 

And people complain about women taking too much time to get ready! 

Obviously they never met Inuyasha. 

No matter how much effort he put into looking like “he just woke up like that”, that guy sure had his own beauty schedule - caring for his absurdly long silver hair and being on top of his list. Kagome had now learned every single trait about him, which only made it even easier for her to tease him whenever the occasion arose. Nothing wrong with a little self-care. Since his hair was such a huge part of his own persona it wasn’t unexpected from him; Kagome herself had lustrous hair to take care of. 

Still, she at least planned in advance, which he did not, and that was what she teased him about the  most. Speaking of which...

i hope u’re at least half way through ur hair, or i can just come back in 2 hours

She hit ‘send’ while biting her own lip in a futile attempt to restrain the shit-eating grin on her face. She could almost picture him, with a scowl on his face, and a long frown while looking at his phone. 

When he didn’t reply immediately she assumed he was indeed too preoccupied with his silver mane to answer her - or at least check for her message - which only further supported her theory. Really, Kagome couldn’t help but think about how much more comfortable they had become, to the point in which she could so openly joke with him and not fear him barking at her, like he did with other not-so-close friends.

Sure, it has never been that easy from the start. With them having almost completely opposite personalities their first meetings were mostly a back and forth of witty remarks. Primarily name calling - they were kids, what kinds of conversations were they supposed to have? - and generally, them ignoring the other’s presence. 

It wasn’t until a particular day, when both their parents were late to pick them up from Kindergarten, that they caved and spent some time talking to pass the time and to feel less lonely. Turns out, they weren’t all that bad, and were much better company than they had thought. The image they had for each other completely vanished and left in its place a friendship that still lasted to this day. 

Thinking back, Kagome couldn’t help the small smile that appeared on her face. The affection she held for that boy never ceased, but only grew stronger each moment they spent together, and Inuyasha never failed to remind her of the same. They had been together through thick and thin, talked each other up for important events, they confided in each other, had even their own arguments like everybody else… But in the end there was nothing that could break such strong bonds.

She sighed, absentmindedly looking around the nearby houses from her car window, once in a while glancing back at Inuyasha’s to see if the half-demon would appear at all. Of course, he was nowhere in sight, and that made her heavily sigh yet again, this time not just out of exasperation. 

Because there was still something Kagome had kept hidden from Inuyasha for quite some time now… And that was the huge crush she developed for her lifetime best friend. 

Clichè, true, but what can you really do about it? You can’t tell your heart who to fall in love with. 

To her credit, she did try dating a couple of guys already - with Inuyasha always there to encourage and support her, which only made her even more lovesick for the man. It left her unable to take things further with the guy she was seeing, because she only had one guy she truly cared about...And that was a certain stubborn, smug and - for quite a few years - devilishly handsome half-demon. 

She never found herself comfortable enough with other guys as she did with him, and while she did try to come to terms with it, thinking that it would never happen, something inside of her screamed to just come out with it already and be done. 

She couldn’t make these feelings fly away, so the least she could do was to put them on the table and see what happened. Because, let’s face it: Inuyasha had never been into “more than friends” - or at least that’s the vibe he went with for all these years - so she didn’t have that much to go with. Regardless, to be thoroughly done with this whole thing, Kagome had to act, and today was the day.

Looking back at Inuyasha’s house one more time to make sure she had time, she quickly unlocked her phone to open her latest discovery in technology: TikTok. 

Because if she had to blame anything for what was about to happen, that was this godforsaken app which, somehow, got her an idea on how to even do this whole confession thing better. After endlessly scrolling through the videos, she stumbled across a trend where people - ok, teenagers mostly - recorded their love confessions to their best friends and, from what she saw, most of them turned out pretty good. 

Everyone was happy and with their own happy ending and she would be lying if she said that she wasn’t a bit jealous of them. 

It looked so easy for them, and her heart beat faster each time she tried to imagine her and Inuyasha in one of those situations. And that’s where the idea came: ‘why don’t I record it?’ she thought. 

Because of course it wasn’t like he could’ve rejected her with a phone recording them, right? 

Nothing to be embarrassed about, right?? 

Best case scenario: she had the event saved and cherished on her phone forever, something she and Inuyasha could rewatch over and over. Worst case scenario: she would delete it and then shut herself in her room, never coming out again and remaining single forever. 

Yeah, that was a great plan.

She gripped the steering wheel and... she was shaking? ‘Oh great, anxiety is what I really need right now...’ Kagome mentally whined. 

What the hell was wrong with her today?! 

It’s Inuyasha we’re talking about! Her best friend. This was just a normal day off for them after a loaded week of work. They were going to take a stroll in the city, maybe grab some food, and eventually, she would force herself to finally tell the man she has known for more than a decade that she loved him. 

Who knows? 

It is just 4:30 pm on a Saturday - there are endless possibilities, right?

Suddenly, her phone buzzed, snapping her back to reality. It was a reply from Inuyasha. ‘At last, he’s alive’ she thought.

gimme more time woman, you came 2 early

Kagome snorted, rolling her eyes into the back of her head as if she could hear his half-assed gruff tone. She shot back:

i’m as punctual as i can b, now get ur hair done or we’ll b late

don’t tell my hair what to do

fine, ur butt then

don’t tell my butt what to do either :P

He was such a dumbass, and yet she was utterly, hopelessly, in love with him. Their little exchange did manage to calm her down a bit, but she couldn’t be too distracted right now. She needed to get herself together, damn it! She had a mission to complete. 

Kagome took a deep breath and prepared her phone. She opened the recording section on the TikTok app, put it on a holder, just above the AC and, as she saw a familiar white mane and a dashing carminic red t-shirt coming towards her, she pressed record, just before Inuyasha opened the car door and climbed in.

“Hey there,” he greeted with all the carefreeness in the world.

“About time, did you get your makeup done?” Kagome smirked.

“Dunno what ya talking about - I’m handsome by nature,” he shot back, a grin plastered on his face.

“Yeah, suuuure, I’ll pretend I didn’t have to wait for a full 30 minutes after we agreed to meet... Actually 30 minutes ago!” she replied sarcastically, shooting him a not-so-impressed look.

Inuyasha all but mimicked her expression. “Ya know you could’ve just come inside and waited for me there, right? It’s not like you’re relegated to the driveway.”

“Yeah? Well, ya know that...” and so they continued to get even more foolish and more ridiculous, to the point they busted out laughing, tears in their eyes. Even though they completely missed the whole point of their banter, Kagome couldn’t help but get happier and sillier every time she and her best friend engaged in roast wars. 

It was moments like this, when her chest was bursting with happiness, that she was reminded of how lucky she was to have met Inuyasha. 

It wasn’t until their laughter died and their breathing slowly evened that she remembered her phone was still recording. A quick glance to where it was discreetly hidden was enough to make her mind snap back to her original plan. 

The sudden moment of silence that followed forth was Kagome’s cue to act. 

It was her moment.

With one more furtive glance towards her phone, she felt her jaw set and her heartbeat furiously thunder in her chest. Then she turned to Inuyasha, first with her eyes, then with her whole head.

 She couldn’t have foresaw that Inuyasha was facing her as well, yet she could’ve sworn that he looked...nervous? Worried? 

She didn’t have time to process that.

It all happened in a blink of an eye, but it felt heavy as if in slow motion.

And then…

B O N K!

One second she was staring into those beautiful golden eyes...and the next she was holding her forehead with her hands in pain. Actually, her forehead and her nose, too, were throbbing with pain. She let out a long hiss in between her gritted teeth, already picturing a livid on her face next morning.

She held to them for dear life, trashing back and forth in her seat, and while she tried to regain some control, some violent shuffling on her right caught her attention, and after forcefully peering one eye open, she looked at her side.

And Inuyasha was there, face flushed red while his hands were tightly pressing on his nose, his whole body shaking because of...laughter? 

Was he laughing? 

Did she hit her head so hard she wasn’t seeing straight? ‘What’s wrong with-’

Then, something dawned on her. And she bursted out laughing too.

Because in the midst of her actions, to try and go for Inuyasha’s mouth, she hadn’t realized he had done the same thing. They synchronized their movement so well, that they ended up smashing their faces together, in a weird attempt to kiss each other.

The moment their eyes met, another fit of laughter overcame them, so strong that it had them both gasping for air, faces beetle red - both for the pain and the embarrassment - and completely trashed. A good while passed before they could even breathe enough air to make some sort of thoughts.

With tears in their eyes, it wasn’t long before they realized something incredible just happened.

“Did you just...tried to kiss me?” Inuyasha breathed, his chest still heaving as he tried to breathe. His expression was a good mix of awe and relief. Kagome took in his appearance, almost forgetting to answer the question.

 “W-ell, weren’t you also...trying to kiss me?” she timidly replied, unable to completely meet his gaze, but only managing to glance back and forth between him and her surroundings.

“That doesn’t answer my question, Ka-go-me” Inuyasha teased, the amusement in his voice barely hidden. 

Kagome finally swung her head so fast towards him, an expression of utter disbelief on her face. “Yeah well-! Y-you came onto me too! What does that mean then, Inu-ya-sha?” she all but sang to him, while also inching just a little bit towards him.

“I didn’t come onto you, I was leaning forward! You’re the one who smashed her face on mine!” “Oh, come on, it wasn’t that hard! You’re such a whiny baby!” she huffed.

“Correction: a whiny baby that you tried to kissssssss...” Inuyasha dragged out the words while never dropping his huge smirk. A smirk that Kagome wanted to wipe out of his face. Possibly with even more kisses- Anyway!

“Oh you! - wait... you were leaning towards me,” Kagome pondered out loud, her brows furrowed, “...you were... does that mean…?” she breathed the last part, chocolate eyes coming back to look at Inuyasha.

An impish smile tugs at his lips, “Keh!... I guess the cat’s out of the bag, uh?”. He set his eyes on her, his face still red as a tomato. Kagome searched through his eyes and could only see genuine tenderness in them, and it was enough to make her heart soar.

A stupid grin appeared on her face “...You really feel that way?”

Inuyasha can’t help but grin back at her. “Yeah, I do… And...I have for a long time, actually.”

Kagome couldn’t suppress the little gasp of surprise that came out of her as one small hand covered her mouth. There was a glint in her eye that made her whole face lit up even more, making her even more beautiful in Inuyasha’s eyes.

“I...me too” she murmured softly.

The hanyou chuckled, incredulous at her words. 

“Damn... all this time?”

She nodded. 

“Guess we’re both hopeless dorks.” 

He turned to face her fully, one of his hands making its way to tenderly hold her hand as they laid listlessly in her lap. He gently squeezed them, then tenderly whispered to her, “I don’t mind that in the least.”

Kagome squeezed his hands back, she felt as if her heart might escape her chest at any moment, the love she had for this man so strong.

Never in a million years could’ve she imagined that not only her best friend was indeed in love with her, but that he also had felt this way for such a long time.

She inched closer to him, firmly holding him in her gaze.

“Yeah, me neither.”

Golden orbs stared back at chocolate-brown ones, the silence between them never once awkward or too heavy. They basked in each other's presence, without the need of any futile comment or explanation.

Ignoring the soreness of their noses, they both leisurely leaned forward. One of Inuyasha’s hands snaked around Kagome’s neck, and his fingers wove into her long hair; she placed her hand on top of his smooth, solid chest - her fingers softly gripping his shirt. 

Soon their lips met in a delicate kiss, all the while Kagome’s phone silently recorded their magical moment.

[yamithediaperdork]

Blackmail is such a UGLY word (Inuyasha)

Blackmail is such a ugly word

Living in the era he did, and being what he was one would think that fox demon named Shippo had seen it all, double so considering all of the adventures he had been on with the half demon Inuyasha and the rest of their friends. And yet one would be wrong because at this moment Shippo was having to pinch himself from breaking into a fit of giggles and giving up his hiding place in a bush as he watched the big strong and bad ass Inuyasha crawl around on all fours dressed like a infant. Gone were the fire rat robes and in their place was baby blue mittens with white trim at the wrists on his hands, and baby blue booties on his feet that again had the white trim at the ankles,And a baby blue bonnet on his head with the the frills on the head that helped protect the baby once again white. those were cute enough, but it the was the blue plastic pants around his hips bugling from who knew how many layers of cloth diapers that had the kit biting down on his touage as Inuyasha babbled loudly and swung his massive diapered rear back and forth before plopping on his padded read and sucking on his thumb. 'I am SO glad I decided to follow him now!' the fox demon snickered in his head.

The last four times they returned to the village because Kagome had to go back to the modern world Inuyasha had declined to go with her and would instead insist he had some sort of secret training to go do off by himself. He also made it clear that a swift and brutal death awaited anyone who tried to follow him and after they had found Koga with the snot beat out on his and in just his undies tied to a tree, he was believed.   Of course there were rumors, it was just a small village after all and the most believed one (Because no one could see the half demon actually training himself that hard for the 2-3 days if not longer Kagome would take to come back.) Was that he had a lady friend out in the bushes that he met with. It would also explain the strange scents that came off of him when he came back. Well, If Inuyasha was being a two timing dog (Pun not intended) then Shippo was gonna catch him in the act using a funny little device Kagome had given him from the future that let him capture images and save them. With his camera in paw, he set out ignoring the warning from Sango and Miroku that if Koga had been caught.. "Please! I'm WAY smarter and more tricky then him! It'll be a breeze!" He had boasted. Well, it hadn't exactly been a breeze and more then once on the 3 hour hike he wondered what he'd gotten himself in and had almost been busted by Inuyasha.

The cabin they came up to was by the forest while not being in it, and next to a lake thankfully as Shippo might of forgotten his canteen in his rush to keep up with the dog demon. the grass was soft and green, or at least looked like it as Shippo had hidden himself in a wild berry brush to A) get cover and B) feed his rumbling gut before it gave him away and Inuyasha took one last look around, blushing now and then had gone into the one room cabin.(Again, this was a assumption on Shippo's part just based on it's size.) He'd been too busy pigging out to first notice when Inuyasha had came back out and it was only when a weird coo'ing and gurgling noise like a baby would make he zoned back in. 'Wait does he have a baby out here?' Was Shippo's first thought and then well...he kinda did!

Inuyasha coo'ed and giggled, he just loved his big baby time and how big and silly he felt during it. Getting everything he needed for it though had been a mortifying and humiliating endeavor and taken the better part of a year to set up. Thankfully the cabin had already been here and from the dust and smell of it had been long since ditched (or it's previous owner eaten) so He had THAT going for and he'd been able to set up a makeshift nursery in there having nailed part of a fence to either side of the cot and replacing the mattress. he didn't have a changing table per say but some soft blankets laid out on what had once been a dining table. Sure compared to the nursery's he'd seen in Kagome's time it was crap, but considering he was working with what he could trade for he felt pretty damn proud of himself. he flopped back on his back and sucked on his thumb, wishing he could get one of those little sucky thingies he'd seen babies use but he'd pushed his luck getting Kagome to get him a booklet on how to fold cloth diapers, stammering he wanted to be ready if he ever had a kid. She'd just rolled her eyes and Bam, Booklet and the end of leaky diapers and pin pricked thumbs. He was thinking about what Kagome would say if she ever found out about this and shut his eyes, picturing her taking picture after picture of him and for a second the image was so vivid he sworn he COULD hear the click of her camera..then tugged his thumb out his mouth and blushed crimson. "Wait a second.." he COULD hear it and narrowed his sense in on the source and growled, getting up and starting to charge over as best he could with his bulky diapies on and in his mittens and booties. "WHOEVER YOU ARE MAKE PEACE WITH YOUR GOD, YOUR DEAD!" He yelled.

Shippo was yelping and fumbling with the stupid camera, he had seen Kagome do it somehow where it didn't make noise and now wished he'd paid attention. Inuyasha was charging in like a bull and he tried to think of something, anything useful he could say because he was pretty sure just because they were semi friends didn't mean he wasn't about to have a messy end. 'Wait..wait..she said something..about clouds?' Shippo thought and then rolled out of the bush just as Inuyasha got then and stood up holding out the camera and wagging a finger. "Ah ah ah puppy! this camera is linked to Kagome's cloud!" he said, not even sure what it meant but it sure paused the rampaging baby. "The second it starts to get damaged all those BABY pictures I took of you get sent to her. AND only I can get rid of them. Kagome set it up for me so you wouldn't steal it." he added smugly, lying his tiny furry ass off but it DID sound like something she'd do. "Then I'll just leave the camera alone and smash YOU." Inuyasha growled, trying to look menacing but Shippo just started to laugh."WHAT'S SO FUNNY!?" "You DO recall how your dressed right now puppy wuppy. And give it up, you can either do as I say from now on, or EVERYONE finds out biggggg baddddd Inuyasha is just a cute baby butt." Shippo said and folded his arms. Inuyasha growled and snarled.. then hung his head and slumped. "This is blackmail you know.." "Blackmail is such a ugly word..I prefer to think of it as pup sitting a diaper wear dummy...Now sit boy." Shippo said, taking a perverse delight in his power of the big baby as Inuyasha plopped onto his diapered behind. "Goood boy~"

Crawling on all fours on the command of the brat was bad enough but Shippo had taken it a step further and so he was riding on Inuyasha's back and smirking. "You know, you don't make a half bad steed Inuyasha..if you ever wanna give up on the hero thing.." Shippo chuckled. "Watch it shrimp or I'll-" Inuyasha started to growl. "Do nothing but get yourself outed like a diaper wearing LOSER." Shippo said smugly. "By the way, from now on when it's just the two of us, you're gonna call me Master." "...isn't that a little much even for you?" Inuyasha asked, trying to temper his anger and word it in a way to make the fox demon think twice. "Well I was going to have you call me daddy..we can switch to that if you pre-" Shippo started with a giggle. "Master is fine! I like it master!" Inuyasha said quickly and almost face planted when he felt the fox pat his pampered bottom. "Good boy!" Shi- er Master said and Inuyasha whimpered, thinking about how much this was all going to suck.

Getting into the babies nursery Shippo put two hands over his nose even as he slid down. "What is that STINK!? Don't tell me you actually crap yourself!!" "I uh..well see..I.." Inuyasha mewed, on his knees and looking down, poking his index fingers together. "When did you even get time to do that?!? I followed you out here!" "I um.. didn't.. clean my diapies before I left last time Master." Inuyasha admitted sheepishly. Shippo made a disgusted face and then shook his head. "Hope you have a shovel here because your about to go outside and bury the treasure deep." Shippo said and then sighed at the blank look on the pup's face. "Go dig a hole dumb ass, and dump your diaper pail in it, then bury it. and dig deep." "But..but..I don't have a lot of spare diapers, so after I change out of these I;ll have to clean the dirty ones before I can get changed!" Inuyasha whined. "And that's MY problem how? get to it diaper butt before I decide this isn't worth my time and just ruin you!" Shippo demanded, deciding that he loved this feeling of power. what made it all the sweeter was when Inuyasha just nodded and mumble a soft yes sir and got to his feet and walked out with the offending pail. Shippo would of said something about how he should crawl but realized there was no way for him to get it outside then unless it was on his back and Shippo did NOT wanna risk those smelly things falling to the floor.

Mostly certain he was out of earshot of Master, Inuyasha whined and growled as he clawed at the earth (After of course removing his baby mitts.) This just wasn't fair! Why out of all the people who could of caught him and maybe let him play out his humiliation fetish for a bit before he throttled them did it have to be HIM!? And with that stupid camera thinge too! Inuyasha couldn't be sure the fox had said was true or not, he'd never really paid attention to all of that future crap Kagome had and he was paying the price for it now. 'Maybe I can ask her about it when she comes back.I can handle three days of this, and there's no way Master will risk bringing me back to town like this. if everyone see's me like this then he loses his control and I'll fucking end him!" Inuyasha thought and then smiled. he didn't realize it but as his plan formed in his head and he realized this was a temporary problem at best, his massive diaper rear had started to wag back and forthwith him semi half in the hole now. 'Heck, if this is only for a few days, I might as well sit back and try and enjoy myself even!' The Half dog demon thought, a silly grin on his face.

Watching from the window and seeing Inuyasha perk up, Shippo just shook his head even as he used something called 'video' to record the pampered pup's antics. 'Oh Inuyasha, give me some credit' He thought and chuckled out loud. 'I already have a perfect way to explain your diapers and it'll be your baby stuff that I'll keep to myself. One way or anther, you're never getting back out of diapers.' the 'treasure' so to speak was buried and Inuyasha waddled back as fast as he could and set the pail down, not noticing that the camera was still record on the table as he sat up on his haunches like a begging dog. "Did I do good master?" he asked, and oh god, his touage was hanging out of his mouth now. "-Snek-.. VERY good, Turn around from bum pats Loser." "Yes sir Master!" Inuyasha coo'ed and Shippo just looked into the camera shaking his head and jerking a thumb at Inuyasha then came over and rewarded the pup, patting and rubbing the slick plastic and Inuyasha went face down and ass up in delight. Oh yeah, this was gonna be fun.

The end.. for now

[cryysiswritesthings]

Emotional H/C || Draining Reality

Fandom: Inuyasha Rating: Teen and Up Warnings: N/A  Status: Complete  Pairing: KogKag  Summary: Kagome is having a shit day, and Kouga is at a loss of how to help.

Find it On: AO3

Tumblr Tags: #kogkag #inuyasha #hurt/comfort #modern au

“I'm sorry, what? What do you mean I haven't paid my bill?”

“Ma'am I'm looking at your account--”

“So am I. It says right here that I owed the hospital just under five hundred dollars, and now you're trying to tell me I owe them another thousand?”

“Miss Higuarshi, your first bill was for the hospital directly, not for the physicians and MD who took care of you.”

“I only had one physician, actually, and I had to sit around waiting for over five hours for her to come stitch me! And just to make it worse, she chose not to listen when I said she was still causing me pain and then had the nerve to tell me I hadn't said anything! Do the words ‘ow that hurts’ suddenly not mean anything?!”

“Ma'am I understand your frustration--”

“Clearly you don't! And who exactly is this Dr. Kimoto?! Why am I being charged for services by someone who never even saw me?”

“Dr. Kimoto was the attending MD on site Miss Higurashi.”

“And what does that have to do with me?”

“Your PA would have consulted with him about treatment options.”

“If she’s a god damned PA she shouldn’t need a consult on how to stitch someone!”

“Miss Higurashi there's no need to shout.”

“I'm sorry, do you have $1,000 just lying around in your house? Because if you do you are more than welcome to pay for this since I'm not going to!”

“Not paying your bills will result in them being sent to collections and have a negative effect on your credit.”

“I. Do. Not. Care. I'm not paying you people for making me sit around for five hours only to end up causing me even more pain than the cut did in the first place! You want me to pay for the five minutes it took for her to sew me up? Fine! But I'm not paying for hours of sitting around doing nothing, and I'm sure as hell not paying some random doctor who never even saw me!”

“Miss Higurashi there are clear notes in your file from the doctor stating that he saw you.”

“Oh really? Really? Describe him. Tell me what this doctor looked like. Was he the old lady who came in and cleaned out the cut? Or was it the young blonde guy who came in and re-did her work while doing a ten times better job? Or maybe it was the head nurse who came in and told me his name was Raito and to let him know if I had any concerns about my stay.”

“Ma'am, Dr. Kimoto is a middle aged, dark haired male with square glasses and a beard. I'm looking at his photo right now.”

“... You're kidding me. You have got to be kidding me. The random guy who walked into my room, didn't bother to introduce himself, unwrapped my hand and let it bleed for a good minute only to rewrap it and walk out typing on a computer? That guy is Dr. Kimoto, and you want me to pay him?”

“Miss Higurashi, I am sorry about your experience, but bedside manner aside--”

“This has nothing to do with bedside manner! He didn't do anything but make me bleed and you want me to pay him five hundred dollars for it?! Are you crazy?!”

“Ma'am--”

“No, you know what, screw that! Go ahead and send it to collections, and when your people write it off for their tax breaks, I'll be calling my lawyer and suing you and the hospital for personal and emotional damages. Good bye!”

Kagome Higurashi slammed the phone into its receiver and screamed her frustration into her hands. What kind of crap was this?

"So," her head shot up, staring at the tanned male leaning against her door frame. "That sounded like absolute hell."

"You have no idea," the girl groaned, dropping her head to her arms. She didn't bother looking up at the sound of the door closing, or at the ruffle of moving blinds. Folders dropped to her desk blew a gust of wind over her hair.

It was the warm hands on her shoulders that made her tense, the slow circles drawn over her back only making it worse.

“Kouga, now is really not a good time.”

“Kagome…”

“Please, not now.” He only wanted to help, she knew that, but her agitation wasn’t doing him any favors. “You’re trying to be sweet, but I’m in a horrible mood right now and the last thing I want is to accidentally take it out on you.”

Much as he wanted to argue, Kouga knew better than to stick around when she asked him not too. But that didn’t mean he liked the thought of leaving her alone. “Do you still want to come over tonight? I can pick something up.”

“I’ll call you and let you know?” She dug her teeth into her lower lip, back a line of tension.

He swallowed back a sigh, squeezing her shoulders once and releasing her. “Sure. Just let me know.”

Some of the stiffness in her spine relaxed, though it wasn’t much. Better than nothing though.

Knowing her well enough by now, he wasn’t going to wait for her answer. He allowed himself one brief, barely felt kiss to the back of her head, and saw himself out, locking the door behind him.

Relief was a balm against the pounding thrum in her body, but it didn’t last long. It was dark with her head down, but the room was too quiet. A stilled silence. If she didn’t do something, it was going to drive her mad.

Wincing as she lifted her head, Kagome gave her eyes a moment to adjust. The cord of her desk lamp rattled as she pulled it, shining on the wood with a soft, incandescent glow. The buzz from the electricity flowing through the bulb helped some, but it wouldn’t be enough.

She stood to flick the switch for the office light, casting the room with a warm, sheltering darkness. The desk lamp gave off just enough light to allow her to work, and when she retook her chair she pulled up the display settings for her computer.

A few adjustments tinted the screen, removing the harsh edge of its light. Satisfied, she pulled up a playlist of soft rock on her phone, setting the volume on low. Loud enough to make out the words if she wanted, but still able to fade into the background.

Perfect.

Her closed office door meant she wouldn’t be disturbed, and the click of her pen helped her focus on the work in front of her.

~

Kouga hadn’t seen his lover emerge from her office since he’d left her, and the worry was starting to gnaw. He’d watched her lights dim, and between the blinds he could see the gleam of her lamp’s yellow bulb. He could already picture it; leaning back in her leather chair, the warm light making her skin glow. The first few buttons of her blouse undone, exposing the warm skin of her throat. It wouldn’t take much to slide her skirt up--

Jesus Christ, he needed to get a hold on his damn libido. Friday’s were supposed to be the start of their weekly date night, leading up to a glorious weekend tumbling between the sheets. Thanks to the bastards at the hospital, he’d be lucky if she came over at all.

He might have to make a run down there and throttle someone.

But that wasn’t Kouga’s main concern right now. Claws tapped a rhythm on his plastic desk, trying to stop his frequent glancing at her door. How could he make this better?

Huffing a growl, a ‘ping’ from his computer told him he’d been messaged. Seeing who it was made him roll his eyes.

M.Bong: My friend, I am in dire need of help.

K.Wolf: What have you done now?

There was a stream of denials of any wrong-doing. Not bothering to try and insist otherwise, he interrupted the human male mid triad.

K.Wolf: Miroku I’m busy. What do you want?

Blue dots bounced while the other male typed. Kouga quirked a brow, unhelpfully amused as they disappeared and reappeared while Miroku debated his response.

M.Bong: It seems I have managed to incur Sango’s ire. I was wondering if perhaps you could ask Kagome to speak to her on my behalf.

K.Wolf: Absolutely not. Fix your own screw ups.

M.Bong: But it was all a misunderstanding! She simply walked in at an inopportune moment!

K.Wolf: Uh-huh. And does this ‘inopportune moment’ have a name?

M.Bong: Koharu, but that is hardly the point. I’m innocent!

K.Wolf: Sure you are.

M.Bong: I mean it Kouga! Koharu’s been after me for months, she refuses to back off! She’s almost as bad as Ayame was!

The thought of all the things his ex-stalker was capable of made him wince in sympathy.

K.Wolf: You sure you’re not just exaggerating?

M.Bong: She left lingerie in my desk drawer for Sango to find last week. What do you think?

… Holy shit.

M.Bong: I know I’m a womanizer, but I am not a cheat. I would never do that to Sango. She’s my everything.

M.Bong: And it’s not that she’s really frustrated with me personally, it’s the situation. We’ve gone to HR and they’ve promised to handle it, but that doesn’t help her feel better about it now and I don’t know what I can do to help.

That was a feeling he knew intimately. Kagome’s door pulled at him, heart clenching in his chest. Dammit all, he wanted to fix it but that wasn’t…

Wait a minute.

He was suddenly reminded of the conversation they’d had a few weeks ago. About guys always wanting to give solutions when a girl just needed to vent.

Clearly that wasn’t going to happen right now with Kagome feeling the way she was, but… That didn’t mean there wasn’t another way to help. Kagome had a gift for always knowing how to help someone feel better after a bad day, and they tended to revolve around the same thing. So maybe if he did for her what she did for him…

Kouga grinned.

K.Wolf: I think I’ve got an idea.

~

The quiet tinkling of her phone’s alarm pulled Kagome from her task. Blue orbs flicked back and forth across the room. Nothing was out of place.

Sucking in a shallow breath through her nose, Kagome linked her hands behind her back, stretching them above her head. Pops bubbled and burst through her spine, the stretch of muscles making her yawn. She’d been sitting in the same position too long.

Her sighed turned into another yawn, making her eyes water. Wiping them briefly, she started gathering her work together. While she’d gotten a head start on all of her upcoming projects, the hanging organizer on her door was bound to be filled with more. The office would be closed for the weekend, so she’d have to take it all home.

Chairs scraped linoleum floors, signaling the real end of the work day. And reminding her that she hadn’t spoken to Kouga since she’d asked him to leave.

Rising from her chair, Kagome slipped around her desk and peeked through the blinds. Kouga was still sitting at his desk, pen tapping rhythmically in agitation as he glanced repeatedly at his phone. Her poor wolf. She knew all he wanted to do was help, and her silence was only making him worry about her.

But she still wasn’t feeling like herself. Conversation was on the very bottom of the list of things she needed, and he’d want to talk about it and see how he could fix things. She didn’t honestly think she could handle it right now. Still…

Kagome looked back at the room, hugging herself. If Kouga was willing to… ugh, it sounded so selfish just thinking about it. How rude would it be to ask him to leave her alone while she was in his house ? She may as well not even bother going.

She missed him though. And she wouldn’t mind the company.

Biting her lip, she gave her arms one last squeeze and headed for the door. Nerves danced along her skin; she didn’t want to be out there right now. There were too many people, the fluorescent bulbs would be too bright, and the noises didn’t even bear thinking about.

But Kouga was waiting, so she was going to deal with it

She struggled briefly with the knob, kicking herself when she remembered he’d locked it on his way out. Embarrassment tinted her cheeks pink, but not enough to keep her from cracking her door to peek out at the floor.

Kouga looked away half a second too late. Even if she hadn’t seen it, the subtle lines of tension in his body would have given him away. She’d always been able to read him like a book.

Wetting her lips, Kagome slipped from her office, offering brief smiles to those passing. A break in the crowd let her make her way towards him; he was already standing by the time she reached him.

She stepped into his open arms, burying her face in his button down shirt. Large, warm hands moved slowly up and down her spine, and a soothing rumble hummed in his chest. She was letting him comfort her, and he was going to take full advantage.

She was so lucky to have him.

She made to pull back, but one of Kouga’s hands cupped the back of her head, keeping her there. Voices grew in volume as they chattered aimlessly, moving slowly down the hall and away from them. She was so, so grateful; even with the little things, he was still looking for ways to help her feel better.

Flushed and pleased, she turned just enough to leave a light kiss over his heart.

“How are you feeling?”

“Only a little better. Still not great.” Her fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt, clinging to him.

Her wolf dropped a kiss to her head, humming in thought. “How can I help?”

Kagome bit her lip, nervous though she knew there was no reason to be. Kouga could be ridiculously understanding when he wanted to be.

“I was thinking… I do want to come over tonight, if that’s okay.” She giggled quietly when he scoffed. “I just… I don’t really feel like talking much. At all, really.”

“But you still want to stay the night?”

“Mm-hmm.” She tilted her head up, searching his face worriedly. “Would that be okay?”

Cupping her cheek, he kissed her, lips soft against her own.

“Absolutely.”

~

When Kagome had left the office to head home and pack, Kouga booked it to his car and headed home. He finished a call on the way there, taking the steps two at a time to get to his apartment. He could have just taken the elevator, but the quick workout helped him clear his head.

Jacket hung and briefcase tossed to the side, he spent the next hour cleaning up his apartment. Dishes were done, floors vacuumed or swept, sheets on the bed changed, laundry started, fridge emptied of its few expired foods, trash taken out…

Standing back to admire his work, Kouga smirked. Perfect. Kagome would be around in another half hour or so, so he’d make sure to turn the radio on before she got there. Now all he needed was a shower and they’d be set for the night.

Kouga was in and out of the shower, drying off completely and tugging on some lounge pants before doing one last sweep of the place. He flicked the radio on as he entered the kitchen, pulling down some bowls and plates from the cabinet. He left them on the counter for now, fingers tapping impatiently against his sides. What else, what else… there had to be something he was missing…

It was the sunset that made him think of it. Lighting, that was what he was forgetting!

He flicked off the main switches, turning on lamps to illuminate the living room in their place. The kitchen light was more fluorescent than yellow, but Kagome likely wouldn’t be spending any time there. Not if he had anything to say about it.

As a passing thought, Kouga grabbed some pillows from his bed and threw them on the couch. Kagome’s favorite blanket he hung over its back, along with an extra comforter for himself. AC turned down was a little manipulative, but it might make her more willing to cuddle too…

The lock on his door turned while he was debating, the open door blowing Kagome's scent sweetly under his nose. She wore her favorite pair of sleeping shorts and overly large t-shirt, soft from years of use. She’d come dressed for comfort, slipping her flats off and dropping her overnight bag by the door.

She looked a little worn even freshly showered. Rather than say hello, Kouga simply held his arms open, closing them around her when she stepped into his embrace. Her sigh of happiness was a line of warm air across his chest, and kissed the top of her head, breathing her in.

They stayed that way for a while, Kouga holding her, Kagome allowing herself to be held. She was glad she’d made the decision to come over and see him. He wasn't pressing her to explain, wasn't trying to make her talk when she didn't want to. They stood quietly together, existing in each other's presence. It was exactly what she needed.

Kagome’s peace was interrupted by a chime from her wolf's phone. Pouting when he pulled it out, she snuggled more tightly against his chest, only making him laugh at her antics.

He released her with another kiss to the crown of her head and headed for the door. Curious, but unwilling to follow, she collapsed onto his couch, tugging the blanket over her head. She really should be getting started on the work she’d brought with her.

Only half listening, Kagome followed the sound of Kouga’s movement throughout his apartment. The slap of feet against tile made her look up curiously, peeking around the back of the chair to peer at the entryway of Kouga’s kitchen. Something smelled delicious. He’d had food delivered?

She made to sit up and stand, feeling nosey. Apparently he was paying more attention than she'd thought, because he poked his head out of the kitchen.

"Sit, you," Kouga told her, only half joking. "I'll be out in a sec."

"But--"

"Stay." Her huff was answered with a fangy grin, and he got back to work.

Sighing, Kagome let him finish… whatever he was doing. She arranged the blanket and comforter, shifting things around for them to be comfortable. The clinking of plates and silverware still kept distracting her, but she stayed settled on the couch. He was being secretive, but she'd find out soon enough.

Feet on the tile turned to padding on the carpet. Kouga was in front of her only a moment later, a glass of wine and a bottle of beer held in one hand with two plates balanced on his other arm.

“Kouga!”

“Ah! Sit.” His tone was disapproving as she made to stand. “I am more than capable of carrying a few plates.”

“I still could have helped.”

“Yes you could have, which would have defeated the point of me carrying them.” He wanted to kiss that annoyed pout right off her lips, but one wrong move and he’d drop everything. Better to stay focused.

She watched curiously as he first set the drinks down, wondering at the food on his plates. She was only half paying attention to him when she handed him a pillow to sit on as he sat across from her.

She didn’t have to look at him to know he was silently laughing at her, intent as she was on the dish in front of her. Why did… It hit her like a sack of bricks, and she looked up in dazed surprise.

“You ordered from Marrow’s.”

His smile was pleased. “I did.”

“They took this off their menu.”

“They did.”

“But you got it for me?”

“Looks like it.”

When she looked up from her plate, her smile was grateful, if a bit watery. “How…”

“I learned from the best.” Kouga’s eyes softened, and he covered her hand with his. Nerves whispered down his throat, worried but hopeful. “Did… does this help? I know it’s not an instant fix, but it works whenever you do it for me, so I thought, maybe…”

“It does.” Kagome’s sniffle was quiet, wiping at her eyes and releasing his hand to crawl over to his side of the table and into his lap. Her arms circled his neck and his her waist, hugging her to his chest. “It really, really does.”

A relieved sigh emptied his lungs, his grip around her tightening with gratitude. “I tried to set up the apartment a bit. To help, I mean.” Cupping her cheek, he pressed his forehead to hers. “I think I got it all, but if I messed up somewhere I can fix it.”

Frankly, it hadn’t really hit her why walking into Kouga’s apartment had relaxed her so completely. She turned now, taking the time to fully look around and see what he’d done. The dimmed lighting, the radio quietly playing, even the blankets and pillows. He’d turned his apartment into a haven for her to settle herself in.

New tears brimmed her eyes, and Kagome captured his lips with hers, kissing him with a smile. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

His thumb lingered over the soft skin of her cheek, sky-blue orbs gentle and loving. “I think somewhere along the way you might have agreed to marry me.”

Kagome leaned into his touch, warmth seeping into her heart. Her fingers closed lightly over his wrist, and her other hand pulled the thin silver chain hidden under her shirt into the open. On it hung a simple, elegant ring. “I did, didn’t it?”

“Mhm.” He brushed a kiss to her forehead, nuzzling her lightly. “Means you get all the perks of having me for a future husband.” Her laugh soothed the last of his worries. “The laughter’s free.”

“You’re too sweet to me,” she said with a sigh, laying her head against his chest.

“Nah.” Kissing the crown of her head, he pulled her plate over to his side, spearing one of her shrimp and holding it to her lips. “When it comes to you there’s no such thing.”

Biting her lip didn’t hide her smile, but she opened her mouth, indulging him. “If any of your guy friends heard you say that, they’d call you whipped.”

“I am proud to be whipped, thank you very much.” His fiancee giggled into his chest, so he took a bite of his own food.

“Think you can handle the teasing?”

Snorting, he held a bite of her food out for her. “They can tease me about it all they want. Doesn’t make it any less true. Hell,” Kouga’s lips quirked in a grin. “I’ll take whatever they want to dish out. Me being whipped just proves how much I love you.”

His woman shifted in his arms and pressed her lips softly to the underside of his jaw. The submissive gesture made his chest rumble in pleasure, and he tilted her head up so he could properly kiss her. Her eyes were soft as they parted, so he stole one more kiss, brushing his nose with hers.

“Now then.” Kouga’s lips quirked in a playful smile, holding out another forkful of food. “Think you love me enough to let me feed you?”

“Hmm,” Pretending to think about it, Kagome tapped her chin thoughtfully even as she settled back into his chest. “I’ll allow it.”

Snorting a laugh, he let his fingers dance briefly against her side, making her laugh. “Such an honor, Your Majesty.”

“You know it.”

They sat that way for a while, Kagome with her back to his chest, and Kouga alternating between feeding the two of them. Her glass of wine was untouched, his beer warming the longer it sat.

“Kouga?” He hummed, letting her know he’d heard her. “I love you.”

Smiling, Kouga hugged the love of his life to his chest. “Kagome?”

“Hm?”

“I love you too.”

[smmahamazing]

Cowboy Blues

InuKag

Word count: 5114

Rating: M for language

A/N: My gift for everyone this White Day!!! Haven't written fanfiction in 10+ years, so here's to hoping this isn't completely terrible LOL. This little fic was inspired by a song of Kesha's titled "Cowboy Blues", and I would recommend putting it on in the background for maximum effect!

_____________________________________________________

🎵“They say you know when you know, what do you do when it don't, they're saying ‘love it'll happen if it's meant to happen’, but what do you do when it don’t”.🎵

At least Kagome could say that she only has one cat snuggled up with her in bed, although Buyo was big enough to feel like three. She had been laying in bed for the past hour, the feeling of utter defeat pinning her where she lay. Her mind begged her to turn off the music playing through her speakers, but her body resisted any thought of movement. What did it matter in the end anyways? All the hard work she put into the last week and a half was wasted. And she had been doing so well! Up until today that is. As soon as Kagome had came home and crawled into her bed, turning on the music via phone app, she let down the walls she had been building up, giving in to every emotion she had shut away.

It had all started earlier in the day, after Kagome was done at work. She needed to make a simple trip to the gas station, a task that should have only taken her maybe five minutes, but some unseen force in this universe just wanted her to be miserable. Swiping her card at the pump, she jumped at an all too familiar voice calling her name.

“Kagome! Fancy meeting you here!”

‘Ugh.’

“Oh, h-hello Hojo.” Kagome had such a bad case of tunnel vision that she failed to notice her friend’s husband and old schoolmate pull up to the pump right beside her as she inserted the gas nozzle into her tank.

“How have you been Kagome? Ayumi and I haven’t heard from you in a while, we we're starting to get worried.”

“Oh, I’ve just been really busy with work and all, you know how it goes”, Kagome chuckled awkwardly, running her hand through her hair. This was the last thing she wanted to deal with today. And Kagome was pretty sure she was stationed at the slowest pump in all of history.

“Well, it's a good thing I ran into you here! Ayumi wanted to invite you to dinner with us tomorrow.”

‘Ab-so-lut-ely not.’ “No, that’s okay Hojo, I’m not about to put you guys out on Valentine's Day. Don't worry about me, and just enjoy your night together.”

Hojo looked like he was about to argue with her when the pump connected to Kagome's car clicked, letting her know her time at the gas station was finally up. ‘About damn time, too.’

“Well, I’m all finished up here, so I’m going to head out to beat the traffic. I'll talk to you guys later, okay!” Kagome spoke in one breath as she dived into the drivers seat and sped away, leaving Hojo behind looking confused, and mildly worried for his old friend.

Kagome had been avoiding everyone since the beginning of February. She knew that her friends and family meant well. She knew they only wanted to see her happy, but Kagome didn't know if she could do it; another Valentine's Day filled with people throwing her yet another elaborate pity party. If she didn’t know any better, it was like they thought she forgot that she was almost 30 and still single. But Kagome was determined that this year was going to be different. She figured that if she just ignored everyone and stayed home until Valentine's Day had passed that she could bypass all her own feelings of inadequacy and loneliness. And since the first week of February, she was nailing it. Kagome worked in the kitchen of a little diner, and since business is always a little heavier leading up to the holiday of love, she had signed herself up for some much needed overtime with the hopes that she would too busy for anything else. In addition to working extra hours to occupy her time, she had stockpiled her household with enough food and supplies to last through the week. And if she forgot something? Well, grocery stores will deliver to you now, so Kagome didn't have to worry about walking into her nearest shop, only to be surrounded by chocolates and candies and giant stuffed animals that served no purpose other than reminding Kagome of her unwanted solitude. Kagome had planned her last week so meticulously, giving herself little to no free time to think about the fact that she was still single, or to let anyone else remind her of that fact.

Kagome had always been a rather stubborn child. Kagome knew what she wanted, and if something didn’t live up to her expectations, then it was kicked to the curb. Unfortunately, this personality trait included all the men she dated. It wasn’t like Kagome had never been on a date, or been with a man sexually, but more often that not she found that no one could keep her interests in more than one area for more than a night.

When she was still in high school, Kagome had gone on a couple of dates with Hojo. He had always been quite smitten with her, and it wasn’t as if he wasn’t a nice guy. Hojo was always (and remains to be) one of the few good guys out there, but he was a little too….amicable for Kagome's tastes. His personality almost seemed fake in the sense that he never had any disputes with anyone and could never find anything bad to say about anything. It wasn’t as if Hojo's courteous nature was a bad thing per say, but Kagome always had a wild spirit, and she found it difficult to see herself settling for someone who couldn’t at least sometimes find themselves on her level. On their last date, Kagome had even tried to start a fight with him, just to spawn some other form of emotion from him, but to no avail. In the end, Kagome decided they were better off just being friends. Luckily, Hojo didn’t take the rejection too hard, and in the coming years, he found a cozy companionship with one of her best friends, Ayumi, and in no time at all had proposed to her. They were wedding number one that Kagome was a bridesmaid in.

After Hojo, Kagome dated a couple of other guys, but she quickly found faults in every one of them. Koga, an extremely forward wolf demon, was a great lay, but Kagome did not share in his views that she should just settle down to become his woman, which was just code for becoming a housewife who spat kids out faster than you could say ‘I do'. Kagome liked working, and she wasn’t about to just up and quit her job because some guy told her to. Meanwhile, Bankotsu, who worked at her old gym, ended up on the other end of the spectrum opposite Hojo; his whole life seemed to revolve around fighting and conflict, which was a lifestyle Kagome didn’t want to be apart of. Actually, Kagome was pretty sure he was in a gang. She switched gyms after their break up.

The last time Kagome had been on a real date was five years ago. Since then, she had seen all the rest of her best friends find their true love and get married. Even her most lecherous friend, Miroku, found a woman willing to put up with him. Kagome's mother tried to set her up on a few dates, mostly with the sons of the ladies she plays bridge with, but after a while Kagome just started to flat our reject them. She hated going on blind dates, no one could live up to her expectations. Because the one thing that no one else had known about was that about three months ago, she had met a guy. And he had completely flipped her world upside down.

~flashback~

It was November 1st. Halloween was officially over with, and Kagome had decided to head down to a local bar to celebrate the fact the she was still standing. Earlier in the year, the diner she worked at had started making seasonal desserts, so Kagome had spent the past week baking ghosts and pumpkins and bats on top of all her other cooking duties. Her days at the diner that week usually started far before dawn and ended far after dusk. To say she was tired would be an understatement, so what better way to treat yourself to a job well done than with a celebratory drink? Kagome found herself seated on the opposite end of the bar from the door, pulling out a thick hardcover book. She had not invited anyone else out with her, having no qualms with drinking alone. In fact, after the week she had, she preferred it. She would have a couple of drinks, read a little bit of the current fantasy novel in her hands, and head back home for a good night’s rest.

Kagome was only halfway through her first drink (a standard rum and cola) when a foreign hand suddenly engulfed her page, ripping the book from her hands.

“Excuse you!” Kagome exclaimed, a look of indignation washed over her face.

“You’re excused,” her book thief shot back, his face showing an indifferent look as he rifled through the books pages.

“Do you mind giving me back my book? And don’t lose my spot, either!” Kagome attempted to swipe the book from his hands, but the man merely held it over his head, just out of her reach.

“So tell me, who comes to a bar – alone – just to read a book? Can't find yourself a date on this day, after All Hallows Eve?”

“That is absolutely none of your business,” she squeaked, her face dusted with a slight blush. For a moment, Kagome was struck silent, unsure of how to respond to this stranger. But, for the first time in the maybe twenty seconds they’ve interacted, she finally took a moment to glance at the stranger who found themselves sitting next to her.

‘My GOD is he gorgeous!' were the first thoughts out of Kagome’s head, taking in his tanned skin and perfectly manicured nails. His long silver hair, which only seemed to shine despite the darker environment of the bar, went about halfway down his back and was pulled back in a low ponytail, two strands pulled loose on either side of his head. As her eyes roamed upward, she took in every aspect of his face, from the fangs held behind his smirk to the pair of fuzzy ears that sat on top of his head. ‘So he's a hanyou. I wonder how soft those ears are,' she thought, stifling her yearning to reach out and touch them. But what really took her breath away was his eyes. Golden in color, they glowed, despite the darkened environment. Amber, mixed with flecks of soft brown swirled together as they gazed down on her. He had to be at least a whole foot taller than her. A pair of black slacks accentuating his long legs, while a simple bright red shirt hugged the muscles of his arms and chest. Kagome had never laid eyes on a man more handsome than the stranger beside her, despite her irritation with him interrupting her date with a good book. 'Do I really care though?' she thought, licking her bottom lip slightly to relieve herself from her all-of-a-sudden chapped lips.

“If you must know,” she started, looking slightly down across the bar rather than in his general direction, “I’ve had a hard week and decided to treat myself to a drink and a good book. If that’s okay with you?”

“By yourself?” he said incredulously, slightly lowering his arm that held her book. It gave her just the distance to snatch it back before he could defend against her.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Well, when it comes to celebrations, no one should be alone.” He motioned to the bartender. “The lady and I will have another round, on me,” he spoke the second part of that sentence facing towards her, causing Kagome to blush even more.

“Here you are buying me a drink, and I don’t even know you’re name.”

“I could say the same thing about you,” he smirked, a lone fang poking out from his lips. It was outlandish, in Kagome’s mind, how that one simple facial expression could make her go utterly speechless. She really wanted to throw out some witty, sarcastic quip just to see what kind of expression she could get out of him, but the only word she could seem to utter was her name.

“Well, Ka-go-me,” he said quietly, the bartender handing them two new drinks. The way he enunciated each part of her name sent a small shiver down her spine. “Shall we make a toast then?”

“A t-toast? To what?” she spoke in a hushed voice.

“Hmmm…” he paused, dramatically taking his chin in his thumb and index finger and sporting a most reflective look which made Kagome giggle. “To the rest of tonight. The name's Inuyasha.” He raised his glass in front of her, his eyes glazing back and forth between their drinks. Kagome wasn’t sure what was happening, the room felt like it was spinning, and she barely had anything to drink yet! A part of her was reluctant towards him. She had not planned to talk, let alone meet, someone tonight, but she couldn’t deny she was a little lonely. And he was really hot. ‘So fuck it,’ she thought, and raised her drink up to delicately clink their glasses, a beginning to what would become one of the greatest night’s that Kagome had experienced in a while.

Minutes soon turned to hours. One drink together turned into two. They spent hours playing pool, loser buying celebratory whiskey shots, and when their fill of competitive playfulness had been satiated Inuyasha and Kagome found themselves laughing and dancing the rest of the night away next to the jukebox.

The atmosphere in the little bar that night was perfect. There were just enough people in the bar to make the place feel welcoming without the claustrophobic ambience that a normal club or more popular bar would have. Kagome couldn’t remember the last time she had as much fun as she did that night. Inuyasha was….perfect. They talked about a variety of subjects throughout the night, mostly about the little things, like what their favourite food was or what reality television show was their most guilty pleasure. Work, of course, was another topic they came upon. Kagome talked about her passion for cooking, how it was stemmed from time spent in the kitchen with her mother after her father passed away, and Inuyasha talked about his job as a mechanic. He was definitely a textbook definition of a “car guy", Kagome was pretty sure he could have talked all night about engines and tires and….torque? Kagome didn’t have a clue what he was talking about most of the time, for the most part nodding her head at the appropriate times, but for some reason she found it endearing when listening to Inuyasha talk and all she could do was smile brightly at him.

Despite their steady drinking, he was a perfect gentleman. There was never any instigation to do anything more than have a fun night out, which Kagome found utterly refreshing. One of the reasons she hated going to the more populated bars and clubs was because most guys wanted (and almost expected) something more from her months bedroom department. And while she did not consider herself to be chaste, she was not a fan of sex on the first date – or meeting for that matter.

~present~

‘It was the most perfect night,’ Kagome mused, the music pulling her from her memories as she tried to will her body to become one with her bed.

🎵“Did I fuck my whole life up? Did I miss my one true love? Was he right in front of me at the dive bar? Was that you with the cowboy blues?”🎵

With an aggravated huff, Kagome finally found the nerve to turn the damned music off. She didn’t need any more reminders of her romantic failure. Kagome had thought about that night long and hard. At no point in their celebrating did she feel weird around Inuyasha, and the more time went by, any misgivings she might have had in the beginning about him dwindled to nothing. What could have happened to make everything that was good about their evening go so wrong?

'My drunk, dumb ass is what,' Kagome thought, taking both her hands and pulling them through her hair in frustration.

Kagome was not a lightweight when it came to alcohol for the most part. She rarely went out in that kind of setting, but when she did the necessary precautions were taken to pace herself and keep hydrated. But between their mixed drinks and shared whiskey shots, Kagome had drank more than she could handle, and about an hour before the bar was to officially close for the night, she proclaimed (louder than she probably would have liked If she was sober) that it was time for her to head home. Any other man she could have been with would have taken this opportunity to “escort her home", with the possibility of a night cap, which would have been easy in her inebriated state. It wasn’t like she hadn’t let her mind wander at all that night, especially sit the way his ass looked in those slacks. But ever the gentleman, Inuyasha simply called her a cab, paid the driver, and sent her off on her way.

If Kagome hadn’t been so drunk, she would have asked for his number. Or maybe his social media account. Hell, she would have been content to just get his last name! But at the time, there was no way Kagome could think straight, and with barely a “Goodnight Inuyasha!”, the taxi cab had whisked her away before Inuyasha could even begin to maybe put his own number in her phone.

For a week, Kagome tried her hardest to find any sign that Inuyasha existed since that night. She thought it would have been easier with such an unusual name, but without knowing his last name, her internet searches came up blank. There were surprisingly more ‘Inuyasha’s out there than she ever would have thought. He didn’t seem to have a social media account, so that became her first dead end. She tried looking up all the mechanic shops in the area to try and find some sign that Inuyasha worked there, which proved to be a very daunting task. About halfway through her search, Kagome had then come to a startling hypothesis; What if Inuyasha didn’t live in the area? He could have been visiting from out of town, which means searching through local mechanic shops could be a wasted venture. The thought only made Kagome more frazzled in her search. She even attempted to go to the bar, going on the same day of the week the had met, but after about a month and a half of light drinking and fending off the desperate men that tried hitting on her, Kagome had finally given up. Hell, for all she knew, her mind had probably imagined him up. It’s not like perfect men like him exist anyways.

Soon enough, Christmas and New Years had flown by, filling Kagome with a sense of emptiness. They had only spent a few hours together, but she felt as if she had known him for years. There was this feeling in Kagome that she couldn’t quite verbalize. She felt such a longing for a man she barely even knew, and it killed her inside to know she may never get to indulge in it again. The end of January had brought about a wistful demeanor in Kagome, which conjured up many questions amongst her friends and family. They may not have known about her night with Inuyasha, but it wasn’t difficult to see that something considerable was weighing on Kagome's shoulders, causing her to fall into a dispirited state.

Hence Kagome's need to throw herself into work and not have any contact with anyone she knows until Valentine's Day was over with. Except it didn’t work, and Kagome still ran into Hojo, pulling her back into her own self pity. Why was life so unfair? Did Kagome do something to earn such dreadful luck?

“God, I need a drink,” Kagome muttered as she pushed her cheeks up with her hands. She wasn't scheduled to work tomorrow, although Kagome had planned to go in anyways, but running into Hojo at the gas station had unleashed a barrage of emotions in her and for the first time in a week, Kagome realized just how tired she was. Maybe taking tomorrow off wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

‘Well, in that case, I might as well get out of this house to drink my sorrows away,’ she thought, as she stood from her bed and walked towards her closet. Kagome found herself dressed in a comfortable pair of yoga pants matched in an enormous, bright red hoodie. About two weeks after her night with Inuyasha, Kagome had found the hoodie hanging in a window display at the mall, and without missing a beat she had walked inside and purchased the first one she could get her hands on. She wasn’t an airhead, Kagome knew exactly what pulled her to buy a piece of clothing such as this. She knew it reminded her of him. After religiously wearing the hoodie to bed for months, Kagome had tucked the hoodie away into her closet when February began, knowing that one piece of clothing would never let her forget about him. Thus, she found it fitting now to don the oversized sweater, since there was no use trying to not think about him anymore.

Soon enough, Kagome was out the door, heading down an all too familiar path to the bar. Kagome, in fact, lived practically walking distance to the bar. She could walk from her apartment to the bar in about twenty minutes, and in the car that time was basically nothing. Because she lived so close, Inuyasha could have just as easily helped walk her home that night instead of calling a cab. They could have spent more time together than parting ways at the bar. Maybe he would have had the time to ask for her number. Hell, maybe he would have come inside. Kagome felt a pang of guilt when thinking about just how drunk she got. If she were less intoxicated, she could have had a clearer mind to ask him out again.

A chill breeze swept against her face, causing a light shiver to run down her body. Kagome picked up her pace slightly, desperate for the warmth the incandescent lights above the bar would bring. There was no point in dwelling in the what-if's of the whole situation at the moment; there would be plenty of time for that with a spirituous drink in her hand.

Before long, Kagome had finally reached her destination, the tinkling of the small bell above the door floating through the air. Absentmindedly, she meandered towards her usual seat on the opposite side of the bar. Luckily, it was a Thursday night, so there wouldn’t be too many people around with a clear view of her imminent sour thoughts.

“Kagome! Long time no see!” Looking towards the voice, Kagome spotted the small wildcat demon child, who hopped onto a protruding ledge on the employee side of the bar. Well, ‘child’ was a relative term here. Kagome was sure that despite his small stature, he was probably older than her. Wildcat demons weren't known to get very big.

“Hello Bunza!” Kagome said with a light smile on her face. “How are you this evening?”

“I'm doing alright I guess. It’s been pretty slow tonight, and Totosai gave me this HUGE list of chores to do before we close,” Bunza sighed with a dejected look on his face. “But don’t worry about me Kagome, did you want your usual?”

Kagome giggled slightly at his less-then-enthusiastic attitude towards his duties. He might be older than her, but in the demon world he was still a child, and what child likes to do chores? “Not tonight Bunza, how about making me a Cosmo?”

“Coming right up!” Bunza grinned and set off to work as she sat down, hanging her purse on the hook in front of her legs.

It had been a shock to Kagome the first time she had seen Bunza working the counter. Sometimes, she had to remind herself that the demon world worked different when it came to certain things, such as a child like Bunza working at a bar. Kagome had learned, from her many visits, that Bunza had worked there for about five years. His parents died in a fire when he was very young, leaving him an orphan. Totosai, the actual owner of the bar, was a family friend and agreed to take Bunza under his wing. Of course, this meant he would spend many a night at the bar, working his way up from just sweeping and keeping the bar relatively clean to actually making drinks for patrons. Totosai had actually installed a ledge along the bar for Bunza when he started learning how to make drinks so that it would be easier for him to interact with the customers sitting on the other side of the bar. Many people who came in would comment on his age, about how he was too young to be put to work, but Bunza would just brush them off. It was plain for anyone to see, if they truly tried, that despite the work Bunza was happy to just not be by himself after his parents death. Totosai made sure he had a roof over his head and warm food in his belly, which was more than he could have asked for.

A few minutes later, Bunza set down the finished Cosmo in front of her. “Let me know if you need anything else Kagome!” he said, hopping down from the ledge to pick up where he had left off with his chores. Kagome had always enjoyed talking with Bunza, but her heart just wasn’t in it today. Sighing heavily, she slumped her shoulders, trying to release all her tension from the week. With a few turns of the neck, Kagome grabbed her drink and took a sizeable sip.

“You better be careful, take any more drinks like that and I’ll have to call you another cab.”

Kagome almost choked on her drink at the unexpected voice behind her. Coughing as she tried to take in huge gulps of air, she felt a hand brace her back, patting it gently, the other hand gripping the bar. The motions of the man brought him into her sight, although Kagome didn’t actually need to see him to know who was behind her. If the past week had taught her anything, it was that there was no force on this planet that could possibly make Kagome forget anything about Inuyasha. The deep baritone of his voice. The way his eyes bore into her own, as if he was trying to memorize every bit of her own visage. The velvety texture of his snow-white hair that would tickle her cheeks if he bent his head near hers. The way he always seemed to smell like fresh pine and sandalwood. No, there was no possible way for Kagome to forget him, not that she'd want to anyways.

“I-Inuyasha…” she stuttered, her face starting to burn from the embarrassment of it all. He wasn’t suppose to be here! She hadn’t taken the time to get herself dolled up on the off chance she would see him again. Not that Kagome wasn’t happy to see him, she just wished she was more prepared. She currently held the appearance of a troll rather than a lady. She thought so anyways.

“Well damn, Ka-go-me, didn’t know you were that drunk already,” the way he enunciated her name, yet again brought shivers down her spine. His deliciously plump lips twerked upwards in an all too knowing smirk. She knew he was teasing her, and under normal circumstances she would have huffed in indignation at his ever apparent satisfaction of picking on her, but Kagome had waited months for this moment. There would be plenty of time for pointless bickering later, and by God she would make sure there was a later. The smirk on his face transformed into a wide smile, and Kagome couldn’t help but tilt her lips up to try and imitate his own. She was about to change her own fate.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Kagome said all in one breath. Inuyasha squinted his eyes at her slightly, his smile remained wholeheartedly.

“What’s the rush?”

“I didn’t get a chance to eat dinner yet. It’s been a long week"

Inuyasha snickered. “You’re just always having a bad week, aren’t you wench?”

“Only preceding when I see you, apparently. Maybe it’s a sign?”

“A sign of what?”

“That I should see you more,” Kagome muttered, breaking her eye contact for just a moment before gazing at him with hopeful eyes. His face held an emotion that Kagome couldn’t quite place. Relief? Awe? Contentment? She continued on, afraid any pause in her plan would spell disaster.

“There’s a really great ramen shop not too far from here. If you don’t mind walking.”

His eyes lit up at the word ‘ramen. “You just said the magic word,” Inuyasha said, backing up somewhat to give her enough room to stand. Kagome could not contain the smile on her face as she dug into her purse. Kagome had let Inuyasha get away once, and she wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. Once she found her wallet, she placed some bills on the table and turned to walk out the door with Inuyasha. The night had turned even colder with the sun having been fully set, but Kagome and Inuyasha hardly noticed. Every look that they would pass back and forth would keep them plenty warm.

It was too bad the sun had already gone down though. Kagome had always envisioned she'd find him one day and they'd ride off into the sunset together.

'Oh well, another day.'

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Higurashi New 2 | Wandering Witch 2 | Moriarty 1 | Taiso Samurai 1 | Kamisama 1 | Munou na Nana 2 | Golden Kamuy 3 1 (25) | Yashahime 2

I’m trying a seasonal challenge this time...so that means I have to leave some Crunchyroll anime to the side. That’s why I’m putting in the tags now.

Higurashi New 2

Apparently, now this Higurashi is called “Gou”…I dunno what that means in the context of this series, but *Saitama face* OK.

Is this girl…Rika? Or this Hanyuu girl I heard of on ANN? Update: Wait a bit from that point. You’ll get your answer.

Do they ever examine why the girls in Higurashi are what they are? Rika seems to have something supernatural going on, but Rena…is just a psycho girl right now, so it’s hard to care.

LOL, I was wondering where this “nipah” Rika meme came from, but it is present in the dialogue.

I predicted that Gilligan cu-er, transition far too easily…

Why is that kid’s face so tanned (?) in comparison to the rest of him???

How did these girls get up the building so fast??? (LOL?)

Wow, the cicada noise was pretty loud there, so…props to the sound guys for making that sound stifling.

Can we really trust what Mion is saying about Tomitake…?

I thought we were going to see Watanagashi in ep 3, but…okay.

Satoko speaks rather formally. She says kochira de gozaimasuyo! instead of kocchi! or kochiradesuyo!.

Who’s that blonde lady? Someone from Umineko?

The bright colours really help to sell the ominous nature of this ED and anime. I don’t think I understand everything that’s happening in said ED, though…

Gonna pause it here because I heard you need to watch the OG and Rei to understand this, now that the new Higurashi is operating under its “proper” name.

Wandering Witch 2

…Elaina’s a bit full of herself still…

…what the heck was that instrument playing over the titlecard? Bagpipes…?

LOL, it’s the Attack on Titan world!

Did Elaina lose her hat when she fell? That must be a very stable hat indeed.

Ooh, particle effects! However…there’s CGI here, although it’s only kinda noticeable.

Have you never heard of money…?

Wait, witches get discounts???

It seems Saya comes from Japan.

LOL, this is basically Quidditch without a snitch!

I like mushrooms, so I don’t get why people kick up such a fuss about them.

Saya seems to act like this is yuri bait…*sigh*

Saya’s crying like her sister died…c’mon, it’s not that bad!

I’m hitting pause. If this is actually how the series is, then it’s primed for a drop, but I can’t help but keep it on for the spectacular visuals and the fact it’s basically anime Harry Potter.

Taiso Samurai 1

I keep swearing I’ll finish my old simulcasts…but then new ones pop up like daisies…(I guess it’s better than having no anime to finish, right?)

I just realised how pretty Jotaro’s eyes are…! The fact he just sort of splats and then doesn’t get up shows how weary he is, unlike Sakura from Moon Land, who would’ve probably gotten up and never tried doing gymnastics again if he were in the same position.

Just by glancing over the results when I google for this Montreal gold, it seems it was done by a Kouhei Uchimura, but I might be wrong on that front…oh wait, there are 3 golds, so it’s not necessarily just that one…

You can tell this is 2002 because of that flip phone.

Intai Zamurai…it’s constructed the same way as the anime’s title. Two characters and then “samurai”.

BB (Big Bird) on the side there is so goofy, he’s…kind of distracting. <- Note the official website refers to Big Bird as BB, hence my use of it.

I was wondering if Rei was the daughter or the wife…so it’s the former.

Kinugawa Ropeway…it rings a bell, somehow. Maybe the Boueibu crew went there as DVD/BD extras.

…does everyone know that a ryokan is like a mini hotel with a traditional set-up?

*snorts* LOL, Keanu (Reeves, obviously).

That montage was a bit worrying…maybe the CGI took out part of the budget? I was a bit worried when I could tell there was CGI in that one starting segment.

…LOL, wut. Agent Smith (from the Matrix)?

Yamakasi seems to be a parkour thing which has its own movie.

…I’m sort of wondering: was that ninja a woman? If Jotaro gets another wife…I dunno if I’ll like the anime as much. Things could become far too dramatic if he did. Update: You do find out later in this episode.

I think – from lip reading – the ninja used -de gozaimasu. I remember getting it drilled into me that people don’t use that these days, but in the time of ninja and samurai, they did.

…another anime set in Ikebukuro. I knew from the station, but…’bukuro must be a nice place if people are reppin’ it all of a sudden.

Was Tomoyo an actress…?

“Kinugawa, as in the river where ogres get mad?” – See, that’s the pun I made about Boueibu’s Atsushi years ago…

This Takizawa guy’s so expressive, LOL.

Gotta love a man in a suit, yes…

…they keep building up to this retirement, only for him to not retire??? Which is it?! (LOL) That declaration works better in Japanese because the -shimasen goes at the end of the sentence so the weird sentence structure in the English translation actually makes Jotaro look like he really messed up due to nervousness speaking in front of crowds. Update: He just sounds like he stopped in the middle of a sentence in Japanese, which he obviously did.

There’s no time travel for sure, but there are ninjas! Plus dudes in jumpsuits!...plus, of course, gymnastics! It could still work, but I keep swearing there’s something supernatural coming around the corner for this…Also, this “gymnast trying to retire” thing seems to be drawing me in because of my whole current lack of direction in basically everything, much like Rikuo of Sing Yesterday for Me.

Kamisama 1

Hmm…Kamisama ni Natta Hi…it doesn’t say the subject stating this became a god, so the pronoun could be “she” or “you” rather than “I”, which seems to be the current standard for it. Update: It says on the title card “I”, so it should have an I then…I guess(?)

There’s a fish on the logo.

…this girl, I already know her name is Hina. That’s the 2nd Odin this season (the first is in Sigdrifa…or however it’s spelt)…she’s gonna be annoying, isn’t she…?

What’s this about a date…?

There are two Izanamis this season, too. The second is Hifumi from HypMic.

Looks like there was an accident, according to one of the signs.

…This feels exactly like a visual novel. I’m surprised it’s an original.

I was wondering why “Key Ramen” (Kagi Ramen) sounded weird…then it hit me. Key! You motherf**kers!!! *shakes fist* You were hiding right under my nose all along!

Hey, Potato-kun! (I know his name is Youta, but…eh, aside from having a possible girlfriend candidate and being a Nice Guy, he’s still a Potato-kun.) Stop staring in disbelief and do something!

…Why Potato-kun, anyway? Is it because his name means “become god”???

…This Izanami is so emotionless…it’s hard to imagine her cheering, Youta was right on that front.

…that style in Hina’s background…I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it for Sailor Moon Crystal, but I’ve forgotten what the artist’s name is (the one that inspired that artstyle)…

I almost expected Hina to interrupt the confession, like Leo from Taiso Samurai.

I kinda just shrugged near the end of the episode and finished it just to see if the confession would be interrupted, so…big fat drop there. I must not like much Key beyond Angel Beats (and even then, it’s only okay because it’s the relic of a time gone by).

Moriarty 1

I’ve been picking up Sherlock-related things left and right ever since I was a fan of Detective Conan…not Sherlock, Elementary or that Robert Downey Jr. movie, but the stuff Conan Doyle had his hands in. (I’d also like to keep an eye out for that Miyazaki movie, but I don’t know if I can/should go out of my way for it.) Therefore, I was a pretty easy mark for a bishonen Moriarty.

Who’s this “El” guy anyway?

…That OP is basically Black Butler all over again. I admit I went, “Oh, stuff this” for a second when I saw Rasmus Faber’s name on credits – when I went to entire series for him, they always ended badly for me – but I couldn’t stop watching the episode (since I skipped forward to the actual episode due to background noise), so this might be the anime to change everything.

I’ll be real with you – aside from Japan, America and China (the former two of which I’ve gone to and the latter I’ve technically gone to Hong Kong, which I have stronger ties to anyway), I honestly don’t have anywhere on my bucket list. That said, anime (obviously, the London arc from DC was a big factor) and this one movie called What a Girl Wants have been pretty instrumental in making Great Britain…almost make the list of places I want to go to. Key word: almost.

…I want a dub. With accents like Princess Principal.

Also, I forgot Soma Saito was our Moriarty…LOL.

“…for Man of Standing” (sic).

Turn the other cheek, Mr. Tailor.

The eyes really tell you everything about a person in this anime.

Ooh, this has absolutely no holes in its logic. It’s a strong contender!

Yashahime 2

Holy s***, is that Kagome’s brother?(!) He kinda reminds me of Takagi from Detective Conan for some reason…

Come to think of it…writers like Takahashi don’t normally have androgynous leads like Towa, do they?

That was…not the best fight scene, man.

Ooh, naginata. I’ve read a bit about them, but I’ve never really seen one used in an anime before…not to my memory. Not even the naginata in Touken Ranbu (plural) can help with that.

…this Rainbow Pearl business reminds me of Sailor Moon’s…uh, whatever they’re called…Rainbow Crystals, that’s right.

There’s something oddly comfy about predicting the “it won’t be my crying face, it’s yours you’ll get!” line, as bad as that sign may be for predictability on the whole.

I’ve felt in the years leading up to now, the progressive nations are slowly causing the entire gender binary to unravel. The more I think about my own relationship with my concept of gender – I accept gender-neutral third-person pronouns because initially I wanted to be anonymous on the internet, but now I’m just generally fine with it, for instance – the more I can agree and yet also disagree because of the progress the LGBTIQ+ community has made in recent years.

Munou na Nana 2

Ah-hah! People were calling it that the enemies of humanity were actually the superpowered kids and this proves it.

Ah, I think this Shibusawa is Masuda. I was here for him, so here he is.

Nana just says konnichiwa, which is the most basic of Japanese greetings. I don’t think it was phrased as a question, so…why did the subbers go with that?

Nana keeps breaking her chopsticks by leaving a bit at the end.

Lemme guess…Shibusawa’s talent is actually reversing time, not stopping it.

Is…that Shibusawa Nana’s giving flowers to…?

Golden Kamuy 3 1 (25)

If this is episode 25, was this always planned as a split-cour with season 2? I wonder…

Lingonberries! Oh, lingonberries! They’re those berries Ikea puts into their jam, right? (I’ve never tasted a lingonberry, but…yeah. That’s how I know of them.)

The sign says “Hurep Honpo” (backwards, as some older Japanese/Chinese things do), so it really just says “hurep” (since “honpo” = main shop). Update: Hurep actually means “lingonberry” and not the berry wine like I thought it did here, so it says “hurep wine” after all.

Thank goodness for 2D bears! (LOL)

Ratel?...uh, honey badger! That’s what they’re called in English!

…uh, and then it turns out to be a wolverine. I don’t know my Mustelidae, it seems.

There’s nothing like someone throwing a wolverine to know this is Golden Kamuy…(as weird as that sounds.)

…what was that random line about boobs about…? (Maybe it was just said to be random…?)

…ohhhhhhhh. These yellow eyes work much better than the standard red eyes you see in Munou na Nana or Moriarty. They’re so sinister.

Why did it suddenly change to an interview style…? Weren’t we waiting for a fight? Update: Seems the answer is “padding”. Not that I mind, I think it was interesting actually. Do more of that if you can.

[dyaz-stories]

5. One night stand and falling pregnant Inukag

Here you go! Sorry it took me such a long time to write this. I don’t know I feel about this, Inuyasha feels a bit OOC but then the situation’s very particular, and the ending feels a bit abrupt but I mean this could be a full fic… Ah, I hope you will enjoy it anyway :)

Oh, also: I borrowed their kid’s name from the great Tiny Miracle series by the great @lenbarboza and Inuyasha working as a mechanic comes from @keichanz‘s mind (and more specifically her story Just Go With It because I reread it recently)

Kagomewasn’t one to plan for things. She liked to watch things happen,and enjoy them as they did. When she was fifteen for example, she hadjumped on an occasion to go travel around the world with some friendsof hers thanks to a program — and had miraculously passed her examsanyway. Then, after high school, she had unexpectedly dropped hermedical studies to start training as a priestess, which had just feltbetter to her. Like it was the right thing to do.

Pointwas, she didn’t mind it when things took a surprising turn.

Still,she would rather have liked nottoget pregnant with a stranger’s child after a one-night stand. Ithad been bad luck, really. She was on the pill, but sometimes thesethings happened. She had decided to keep the child without too muchof an internal struggle. She knew she could count on her family tohelp her, she could still practice, and the child would be loved nomatter what.

Aftera very, very long and painful delivery that left her absolutelyexhausted, it took an unusually long time before someone handed herthe child. She barely noticed the judging glances she received, untilthe child was laid on her chest.

Thenshe could only stare in disbelief. The short silver hair and thegolden eyes were one thing, but the puppy ears? Her mind went back tothe man with whom she had shared a very, very pleasant night. He wasdefinitelyhuman, or she would have felt it. She remembered the dark hair, thepurple eyes, he was no doubt…

Ahalf-demon on human night.

Okay,wow. That was… That was a surprise. So she had a partially demonson. But before surprise, shock or anything else could make its wayinto her heart, she felt only acceptance, and most of all, love.He looked beautiful, so peaceful, and there was nothing she could doabout that new emotion, the strongest feeling of love that had everrun through her.

Shevaguely felt a tear roll on her cheek, and she wanted nothing but tofocus on the moment, on him,on herson.

Butthen, someone coughed.

Shelooked up, startled and feeling like this extraordinary moment wasbeing stolen from her. Her eyes met the doctor’s, and this time sheimmediately noticed his frown.

“MissHigurashi,” he said, insisting, maybe involuntarily, on her status,“you could have toldusabout the father. We would have handled your pregnancy differently.”

Ifshe hadn’t been so tired, anger would have filled her immediately.She could hear the judgement in his voice. There was no way he couldknow about the night of the conception, and it was certainly noneof his fucking business,but she didn’t deserve that attitude. Not when she had just givenbirth. And certainly not when they both knew that women who hadchildren with demons often purely and simply weren’t received bydoctors.

Sheglared at him silently. Not a word left her lips, and she waiteduntil he quietly stepped back.

Onlythen did she go back to her son who was staring up at her with hisbeautiful, warm, golden eyes, and her thoughts drifted to his father.The man had only given her a first name. Yasha. She had tried to findhim again once she had found out about her pregnancy, at least toinform him, to let him know, but she had been unable to. Now she feltlike she would need him for entirely different reasons, but shepromised herself then that she would find him.

Nomatter how long it would take.

“HeyInuyasha, there’s a lady who needs you to take a look at her car!”

“Sowhat?” the half-demon mumbled from under the car he was currentlyworking on ”Just send her i—”

“Ihave a date with Sango, actually, so I’m heading out, but I toldher you’d see her when she’d get there. You don’t have anythingplanned, do you?”

Inuyashagrowled as an answer. Miroku knew damnwellthat he didn’t have anything planned, though he knew Miroku hopedhe’d say yes whenever he asked — he wasn’t trying to behurtful.

“Nah,don’t worry. I’ll see her. Did she say—”

Butthe door had already slammed behind the young man, and Inuyashacouldn’t find it in him to be mad. Sure, it was unprofessional ashell, but Miroku had been talking about that date all week long, andInuyasha didn’t want to hear another breathabout the stuff he had planned.

Adate. Keh. He’d have liked that. It had to be nice, to be human. Orto be a full demon, for that matter, instead of this stupid place inbetween. Not belonging to either world.

Sure,there was his human night, once a month, and he gave it a shot, everynow and then, with humans, but there was no building a relationship.Still, to be able to have some contact was nice.

Heknewthere were women who weren’t bothered by his status, but, well, hehadn’t had the best experiences and— he forced all the thoughtsabout his ex out of his mind. Miroku would killhim if he destroyed something else here.

Heheard a car stopping outside, right in front of the garage, and hemoved out from under the car. Probably the woman Miroku hadmentioned.

“Excuseme?”

Thevoice sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t recognize itprecisely. The smell was unknown though, and he trusted his nose morethan his ears, so he shrugged it off.

“Coming!”he yelled, grabbing a cloth to wipe his hands and his face.

Thatsmell was strange though, he thought as he walked out. Human,clearly, but there was something else on top of it. She had to havebeen with a half-demon recently, but that specificsmell, it was— What—

Hiseyes fell on the woman as he stepped outside, and he recognized herimmediately, making him stop dead in his tracks.

Kagome.

Shelooked up at him, and he fell in her bright blue eyes, in which he’dwished he could drown forever when he’d met her. Of course hehadn’t recognized her voice nor her smell, he’d hadn’t knowneither under this form. He swallowed. He looked completely different,there was no way she’d—

“Yasha?”

Therewas disbelief in her voice, and he couldn’t fault her for that. Hefelt horrible, caught in that situation. What was he supposed to do?

“Thename’s Inuyasha, actually,” he said, his voice sounding distantand hoarse to his ears. “You’re Kagome. Pretty good eyes yahave.” Beautifultoo.

Shetook a step towards him, lips parted, and he resisted so he wouldn’tto step back immediately, letting her examine her as he waited, bodyentirely tense. He couldn’t help but notice the way her eyestrailed to his broad shoulders, and to his partially visible chest,instead of his hair, his eyes or his ears. That… had to be good,right?

Hecleared his throat. “You… You recognized me immediately?”

Kagomelooked up, and he would have loved to tease her on how focusedshe had seemed on his muscles, but he was way too worried for thatnow. Hopefully he’d get another shot at that. She let out a softlaugh that surprised him.

“Well…”

Therewas a cry from inside the car, and Inuyasha practically jumped back.Kagome moved back to open the back door and with soft reassurances,pulled something out.

Somethingthat turned out to be a kid with silver hair, small triangular ears,and golden eyes. Something that stared at him defiantly and leanedforward as though to sniff him. Instinctively, Inuyasha gave him hishand, allowing the kid to discover his smell. He looked young, butdemons grew pretty quickly at that age, so he couldn’t make aprecise estimate though— Who the fuck was he kidding? That hadto be from the night when…

Heresolutely didn’t look at Kagome, though he felt her eyes on him,examining him cautiously.

“It’s…He’s mine, right?” It wasn’t a great question, but he hadto make sure. Who knew, maybe his brother had gotten insane and spenta night with a human, though the thought of Sesshomaru with Kagomemade him retch. A very dog demon reaction. Feeling possessive of awoman he’d spent onenight with.A wonderful night, no doubt, and she was probably one of the kindestpersons he’d ever met, and he would have lovedto be able to have more than one night then, but still. He had noright to that sort of thought.

Kagomechuckled again. “Yeah. No doubt on that. I… I tried to find you,you know,” she added softly. “But I only knew your name and…”

Hefrowned when he felt the child’s still toothless mouth around hisfinger, and he hooked to make sure he wouldn’t hurt himself on hisclaw. Huh. No teeth, no fangs. Had to be really young.

“’msorry,” he said, still not looking at her. “If you’d known Iwas a half-demon…”

Hesaw her shrugging from the corner of his eye. “I… don’t thinkit would have changed much, honestly. Maybe I would have prepared hisbirth longer, but…”

“Yashould get him gloves or somethin’. He’s going to have clawssoon,” he warned. “Might hurt himself at night. He’ll healquick, I guess, but, y’know, might not want the blood on thesheets.”

Shegasped, horrified, and he looked up at her in surprise as sheprotectively hugged her baby tighter, though she didn’t try to pullthe child away from him.

“That’shorrible!”she protested. “Of courseI don’t want him to hurt himself!” She sounded almost outraged.“What— What would be resistant enough?”

Hismind immediately travelled to his dad’s old robe, which his mom hadused for that sort of things. He…

“Ihave stuff for that. Erm… Y’know, I… I don’t have much of aright to anything, but I can… I can help, y’know. For shit — ifyou need money, or help, or…”

Ideally,he would have liked her to let him see the child. He had grown upwithout a father, without a demon parent, and he would have givenanythingfor that back then, but he didn’t want to just ask her that. He hadto admit, knowing she had been taking care of a half-demon child fora while, and apparently truly loved him and cared for him made himtrust her instinctually, but he didn’t to force her into anything.

Shegave him a bright smile, and he had the feeling his heart wastightening in his chest.

“Ohthat would be great! There are so few resources to take care of ahalf-demon out there. I’ve gotten in touch with a few other momsthrough the Internet, but there is a huge difference based on thefather’s species, so I wasn’t able to get that much… And I—Ithink it’d be great for Hoshiki if you were— you know— around.So he could see someone like him.”

Shemoved as to touch his shoulder, but hesitantly pulled back, andInuyasha nodded briefly. Yeah, he was confused as to the distancethey should put between each other too. He’d been fascinated by heron that night, but he felt that even more now.

“So,erm, I should call my mom,” she mumbled, glancing away from himagain, making him realize she’d stopped talking and the silence wasindeed getting awkward. “I was told I was to leave the car here?She’ll come pick me up and—”

“Well,I could— I mean, feel free to refuse but— I was about to close upanyway so, I could take you home? Maybe? The two of ya?”

Therewas a hesitation from Kagome, that seemed to last for an eternity.She looked at him in the eye, and saw the hope shining there, as wellas the fear of rejection. It didn’t take her long. She wanted totrythis. For her son, for theirson, and, well, for herself too.

Soshe nodded.

“I’dlike that very much, yes.”

Inuyashasmiled hesitantly at the child who was still chewing on his finger.He felt like he was a bit late to everything, even though the kid wasclearly very young. He would have wanted to be there for her, and bethere for him earlier. This wasn’t the beginning he would havewished for, just like it wasn’t the beginning Kagome would haveplanned for, had she had the chance.

Butit was a beginning nonetheless, and he would take it.

Andfor once in his life, he decided to let himself hope that somethingbeautiful could come out of this.

[sesskag1postchallenge]

Ch8 - Operation Grandpup Drop (A SitBoy Discord Crack Fic)

Warning this story is M bordering NSFW Chapter 8:

 Stormie Like Weather08/15/2019

InuKimi lifted her long leg, and with one angry stomp, she laid out the foolish servant, "Jaken, you know your place. Do not force me to remind you a second time." Her darkening gold tinged eyes glared down at him, promising suffering, "I allowed you to come here for entertainment, not for disturbances. Now." She clapped her hands together and Juken suddenly appeared, "Your betrothed wishes to copulate, take him away before you no longer have a future husband." 

Juken's eyes filled with little hearts and stars. "Yes, Lady InuKimi. It will be my pleasure."

InuKimi kicked him through the doorway, and he slid until he met Juken's bare pink painted webbed feet claws. InuKimi, allowed her poison to drip over the fake staff of two heads, "You no longer need this ridiculous weapon." 

"Very precise My Lady, I do not intend to allow Jaken to leave our love next for many weeks to come." She began dragging his concussed body theough the halls and down the stairs. "The chains are ready my love!" 

She hadn't been kidding. The 'love nest' looked more like a torture chamber. Before he could resist, Naraku as Jaken found himself hog tied with a mask on that blinded him and allowed very little room to breathe. 

"There." Juken stepped back from her work, "Just how you like it, Jakey Wakey."

Walter20508/15/2019

As many times as he had gotten drunk and absorb poison or miasma through his wind tunnel Miroku had built up something of a resistance, meaning that he was the first to awaken of the three in the room. 

 "Oooh my head...Naraku!" yelled Miroku as his memories returned alongside his wit. He was up and about in a moment looking for the toad but all he saw was Kagome largely naked in the bed and Sango topless on the ground besides him. He inspected his love and his anger grew as he saw that she had been partially undressed by someone who obviously had short small hands. 

 After laying Sango in bed with Kagome and covering the both of them with a sheet he locked the bedroom door behind him and stalked through the Sealed Castle, finally hearing toady sounding voices in a small chamber near the kitchens. He busted into the room ready for action but instead found two toads, one being Naraku Jaken tied, bound, and naked and then the being earlier identified as Juken, wearing some kind of a revealing black garb (Miroku doesn't know about spandex yet) and holding something akin to a whip in one hand, with chains and other torture devices. 

 Juken chastised Miroku for interrupting the two of them but noticed Jaken becoming increasingly agitated at the presence of the monk. His agitation seemed to increase tenfold with eyes going wide when the monk raised his hand, clenching prayer beads. 

 Miroku knew his mind would forever be haunted by what he saw and decided that it all had to go. He opened his wind tunnel and sucked in everything; Jaken, Juken, the chains, the whip, the torture devices, it all went bye bye. He went to close down his wind tunnel after the room was clear, only to notice his wind tunnel shrinking until it went away entirely. 

 'Huh, so that was the real Naraku then?' Miroku wondered in surprise, before vomiting a big jet of black blood as his eyes rolled up into the back of his head.

 Stormie Like Weather08/15/2019

InuKimi had only been gone a moment to gather new clothes for her guests, yet when she arrived the door was locked. Sensing only the Slayer and Kagome inside, she decided to meddle elsewhere.  With a pounding headache, Kagome decided she  must have gotten drunk at some point. Something soft rested against her cheek. She kept her eyes closed against the painful light and held her throbbing temple, burrowing her face into the softness for comfort. Only did she open her eyes when a soft moan came from someone other than herself. "Ah, Kagome if you were interested I wish you would have mentioned it before I married the monk."

 Walter20508/15/2019

Inukimi arrived at the largely vacuumed room where she had left the two toads, finding the Monk unconscious on the floor next to a pool of foul smelling blood. Knowing what had been in the room beforehand and seeing that the Monk's cursed hand had been cured, she was quickly able to come to a conclusion that resolved the confusion concerning the events she happened upon in the other room earlier. 

 She carried the monk like a purse as she summoned Inuemi to hurriedly clear off the dining room table, before depositing the Monk there on his back and stripping him down to reveal the burn scars along his arm and chest. Using the powers of her inter-dimensional necklace once again, she reached into the pocket dimension that Miroku's Wind Tunnel had used and brought back Jaken, Juken, Naraku, and the completed Shikon Jewel back into this dimension. Instantly the burn marks disappeared and Miroku started to heal, as Inukimi suspected the poisonous nature of the Jewel was responsible. 

 When she brought the beings back, Naraku was bound in sealing chains, while Jaken and Juken were brought back in their normal attire, all three now sitting or restrained in the dining room chairs. Because Naraku had died a legitimate death (versus faking his death in at least one previous occasion) Miroku's Wind Tunnel was thankfully still gone. He awoke, before declaring Naraku's name again as he got into a fighting stance, before Inukimi whacked him upside his head with her fan. 

 "Tsk Monk, I thought I made my rules very clear. We are here only for mating and mating only, no killing or otherwise harming of the Castle Occupants is permitted. Is that clear?" asked Inukimi as she glanced between both Miroku and Naraku before the two of them nodded, Naraku realizing just how much more powerful Inukimi was that she was able to bring him back from Wind Tunnel Purgatory. 

 "Good. Now I shall hold on to this," she indicated the Jewel, "And whoever wants it may fight over it after they leave."

 imjaneees08/15/2019

Meanwhile with Kagome, she was lamenting over how her life has turned out the past few hours. Her eyes turned up, "What did I do to deserve this?"

High above, beyond human comprehension, a woman glared heartedly at her brother, who fidgeted on his feet.

"When you told me you wanted a mate for your greatest masterpiece as a birthday present, I generously had her made. A few hundred years in the future yes, but I made sure she would find her way to him. And THIS is how your creations treat her?" the beautiful woman hissed.

Tsukiyomi raised his hands in a human gesture of surrender," Hey, hey, hey, it's not my fault you made her too perfect and now everyone of my children wants her!"

Amaterasu's eyes narrowed to slits," So this is my fault then?!"

Back down to earth, Kagome sneezed the mother of all sneezes. She reached for a cloth to wipe her nose," That's one hell of a sneeze. I wonder who's talking about me."

Only the cloth turned out to be a sleeve and she nervously looked up to just whose clothes she wiped her snot on.

 Walter20508/15/2019

"Thanks, Kagome," muttered Sango. She had been putting her top back on, but now that it was drenched in snot she chose to take it off entirely and discard it off to the side of the bed. 

 "Sorry Sango I...when did you get in here?" asked Kagome dryly, as she was now suffering from the effects of repeated miasma exposure. 

 "Uhh, me and the Monk had gotten drunk and were trying to find someplace to get...sloppy...when we stumbled in here and found you and...Jaken...," Sango recalled, realizing that she was no longer drunk or tipsy. Had so much time passed or was it a side effect of inhaling the miasma? 

 "Oh god, thank you thank you so much for stumbling in here. I don't know what was up with Jaken?" wondered Kagome after profusely thanking their accidental intervention. 

 "I think he might've been possessed, I remember hearing Miroku mention something about Naraku and his evil aura before we were doused with miasma from the toad's staff. Oh Kami, I wonder where the houshi is, I have to get back to him," said Sango as she started to get up to leave. 

 "Wait Sango! Before you go, I'm sure Miroku is fine with Sesshomaru and Inukimi in the Castle. Actually, I wanted to ask you a few things concerning...mating...and demon rituals...if you knew anything about them...," said Kagome, jumped up to grab her arm before casting her head down with a growing blush while making her request. 

 "Huh, oh sure I...wait are you thinking of? Heh, well here's what I know, first thing you don't let them push you around, as the female you have all of the power...," Sango explained as she got excited while sitting in bed with Kagome, the monk now completely forgotten as Sango thought of the prospect of Kagome and Sesshomaru.

 Stormie Like Weather08/15/2019

Having left to run off some of his wooing Kagome stress, as soon as Sesshomaru reentered the Shiro, a growl rumbled from his chest and he ran to where he could smell both Naraku and Kagome's scent. The door collapsed from his youki alone, the angry energy lashed out like flames around him. The scene before him however instantly quelled it all. His mind blanked.  There before him, the object of his desire was tweaking the nipples of the Slayer and asked, "Are you sure men like this too?"

 Walter20508/15/2019

The two of them glance up and shrieked before gasping at the sight of Sesshomaru standing there, eyes glowing red, surrounded by his red demonic aura, sword held at the ready. For some reason he was perspiring heavily and was not only armor less but also shirtless as well, wearing only his hakama. Sweat glistened off of his bulging abs, pecks, and bulging shoulders, causing both women to almost immediately start drooling. 

 "Mate...Naraku...Trouble...Come...Slay...Find...Friend...Sexy...Mate," Sesshomaru growled out loud as he dropped his sword on the ground while advancing towards the bed. He seemed to have considerable troubling controlling himself as a very noticeable bulge formed down under and Kagome looked to her friend in sudden alarm. 

 "Sango, run, go get help!" Kagome urged her friend while pushing her off the bed. She was the one Sesshomaru wanted (and honestly, in this moment she wouldn't mind having him as well) but he wasn't in his right state of mind. 

 The Tajiya ran out of the room still half naked, Sesshomaru letting her go with only a side glance before reaching the foot of the bed. 

 Although she was now more inclined towards Sesshomaru, she was still 50/50 on the whole mating issue. Still, from when she had talked with Inuemi earlier, she knew Sesshomaru in his current state of mind would instantly cut down any male that came into the room and any female would be in danger as well, which is why she had told Sango to run get help, just to get her friend out of harm's way. 

 She had hoped for better circumstances, but it looks like decision time was now. Gingerly, she held out her hand for him and he grasped it as he jumped into bed with a single leap. Behind him the door slammed close. 

 On the other side Inukimi placed several locks, a few lengths of chains, and about a dozen seals and barriers over the door.

 Stormie Like Weather08/15/2019

"As the female I have all the power..." Kagome reminded herself. Instead of feeling intimidated by the beast of Sesshomaru, she urged him forward, staying just out of his reach but not acting as prey. Small steady hands caught his shoulders. He felt rigid beneath her touch. She did the only thing she could think of, and nuzzled the side of his jaw until he grew less tense. He hadn't shaved since that morning, his prickly jaw teasing her lips as she moved her mouth over his skin and to his ear. "Lay down Sesshomaru." Her fingers ran down his arms, catching his hands so that they maintained contact, and he couldn't grab her, she helped him follow her wishes. His eyes flashed gold for a moment, and she hoped what she was doing would work as she straddled his waist. Only his hakama kept them apart, but it was enough. She leaned down and held his face in her hands as his captured her hips. "I will not be mating you at this time Sesshomaru, not with you so out of control, but I don't mind helping you calm down." And with that she helped him in ways she'd never touched another man.

 Walter20508/15/2019

His breathing return to normal along with his eyes as Kagome moved off slightly to the side after helping him to calm down. 

 "Hnn, that was...I've never met, known, or heard a female that could or would do something like that," he whispered in an (for once) awed voice.

 For her part Kagome was no longer as thirsty but now had the lingering taste of salt in her mouth as she cleaned her fingers with her lips, much like a cat. 

 "It's decently common where I'm from," she replied softly, as she waged an inner war with herself, a battle to jump him now that he was back to his old self versus saving herself for a more suitable time. Sesshomaru saved her the trouble by suddenly pulling her over to him and flipping her end for end. 

 "Now Mik...Kagome, I shall honor your wishes not to mate at this time, but know this, I shall not let your favor go unreturned on this day," said Sesshomaru before his mouth became preoccupied. 

 Soon enough Kagome found herself to be thirsty all over again, along with growing increasingly hoarse.

 Stormie Like Weather08/16/2019

Chest bouncing, Sango rushed into the dining hall for help. InuKimi was trying to peel an man, that looked just like Naraku, from her legs as she hissed, "I do not care that you think you are powerful, I've seen nothing impressive from you in the past and you will not be getting into my skirts." 

"Uh, help?" Sango blinked over at the sight of Miroku staring into his palm, the one that usually was covered and sealed... "Miroku!?" She ran to him, her breasts flopping about as she caught him in a hug and grabbed his open hand. "The tunnel is gone!?"

InuKimi used her fan to slap Naraku away, the thin scratches it left in its wake were already healing, "I have a room to seal." She snapped, stalking off. When one thing went her way, something was bound to go the opposite, like Naraku's sudden infatuation. Hmph.

 imjaneees08/16/2019

Inukimi inwardly grimaced. Oh the things she did for her dream of having grand pups. She could still faintly smell the blood on her claws when she killed the witch she commissioned for the lust incense she had put up in hidden corners of the Palace. Idiot thought she could swindle the Western Lady. Amateur. The incense might have been a tad too strong though since everyone but her seemed to be affected. Children these days, such low endurance. 

Suddenly there was a crash and in came Kagome with nothing but her strange white neko undergarments. In her hands were a fistful of the incense. She pointed an accusing finger at Inukimi, "You! YOU!" Were the only words the poor miko seemed to be able to form. 

Inukimi sighed, "I was hoping you would not notice until after you have been pupped. I suppose I would just have to try harder in my next attempt then."

 Walter20508/17/2019

With Naraku taking up residence within the Sky Castle the Band of Thirteen ended up arriving back there as well since they had been wanting to take out the pestering spider hanyou for their groundbreaking first mission together. 

 Inukui was the first to enter, declaring that she was no longer a part of the Band of 13 and that wasn't what she had in mind when she signed up for the adventuring group. Everyone in the welcome home party was bewildered as to what she meant until in walked Inuyasha with a swollen belly, accompanied by Kouga and Bankotsu. 

 "I keep telling you it's mine. You were with him only twice whereas I took him nearly every night!" exclaimed Kouga as he laid a hand on Inuyasha's left shoulder. 

 "You wish! It'd only take one night for me to pup anyone's belly, that's just how great I am. You're probably too impotent as a scrawny wolf," countered Bankotsu with a hand on Inuyasha's right shoulder. 

 "Keh, guys it doesn't really matter, we'll all be raising my pups, together," Inuyasha replied to the both of them as he patted his belly affectionately before patting each of their hands in turn. 

 Later, now that the whole group was together again, the girls ended up having a girl's night out at the artificial Castle Hot Springs. Inukimi was still banished due to her Inucense Incident but everyone else was present and having fun with fruits, cheese, spirits, and fun times. 

 After everyone started getting bombed they start with the silly contests, with the older of them (Inuemi, Inukui, Kagome, Sango, Ayame, Kikyo, Hitomiko, Kagura, Yura, Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi) comparing chest sizes first thing, with the two Inu sisters coming out on top (Inuemi) and bottom (Inukui). 

 For her part Kagome was just having a great time, her anger over the Inucense forgotten since Inukimi allowed her to use her Inter-dimensional Necklace to bring her friends over for a visit.

 Stormie Like Weather08/17/2019

After a rousing game of 'who can bounce the most cherries into Kagome's mouth off thier boobs', again InuEmi being the victor, Kagome finally thought to ask the question that had been on her mind throughout the entire evening, "I wonder what Sesshomaru is up to?" While none of the ladies there knew, on the opposite end of the Shiro, Sesshomaru was being berated for letting his half brother become a father first.

 imjaneees08/17/2019

Sesshomaru, with his fce still stuck in the default setting, wondered idly if his choice of resurrecting his father's side hoe was a good idea for the nth time. His father was there, which is a plus, less work for him, but at what cost?

Toga, for his part, was wondering just where Sesshomaru got his perpetually indifference countenance. "Boy, just what is it that's the problem? We both know you desire Kagome, you're practically spelling it out for her. What isn't working? Do you need some pointers?"

Sesshomaru sighed, at what cost indeed.

 Stormie Like Weather08/17/2019

As Sesshomaru remained quiet, Toga took his silence to mean he needed all the tips of the trade. Beginning with how he'd won over InuKimi, the three nearby villages' woman, all the mermaids of two of the coastlines, Izayoi, and ended with how he'd managed to bed all the female oni of the underworld. "It's just that easy, son." Inuyasha shouted from his belly rubbing groupies, "There ain't nothing to it! I don't know how you could suck so badly asshole!"

 imjaneees08/17/2019

Sesshomaru took a deep breath, "Unlike either of you, my miko is neither a brazen hussy nor a vulgar cretin. She.... Cannot seem to comprehend my signals."

Back in the spring, Kagome sneezed.

 Stormie Like Weather08/17/2019

Inukui put her hand to Kagome's head, "You don't feel especially hot for a human..." Shrugging it off, Kagome sighed, "It must be allergies. I'm not sick, and there's no way this many people are talking about me." Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi splashed their way over, "What if they are!?" Eri giggled, "Yeah, there are so many guys here!" Yuka and Ayumi both spoke at once, "And just what is going on between you and the 'killing perfection guy'? He sounds so dreamy!!"

 imjaneees08/18/2019

Kagome's lips pursed up in thought, "I'm sure that's not it. I mean, sure he's gotten more physical with me in the past few hours than in the entire years I've known him but maybe it's just the season? I mean, some youkai are affected by the season right?"

 Walter20508/18/2019

The four of them were interrupted for the ever increasing next round of naughty games. Now they were having a breast milk judging contest, seeing who had the best tasting milk between those who were currently lactating, the contestants in this instance being Kagome, Sango, Inuemi, and Yuka (who was now married with a child in the present). All of the contestants were blushing madly while the "tasting" phase was going on, with Kagome thinking it was a very good thing that everything below her waist was in the water. 

 In the end Kagome won surprisingly enough, the others chalking it down to her miko powers causing her to have 'Pure tasting milk'. 

 "Well we wouldn't know anything about youkai or mating seasons," replied her friends who had only been in the past for a few hours now, "But you two seem to have some real chemistry between you two. Y'all seem like a great match."

 "You really think so?" asked Kagome as she gave her friends the gauging side eye with a little blush.

 Stormie Like Weather08/18/2019

Eri nodded, "Much better than that two timing bad boy you were after before!" At this, InuEmi's eyes widened, "You were into someone other than my brother, Kagome!?" "Well... not exactly..." She sputtered and took another drink of sake.

 Walter20508/18/2019

The peace and quiet of the party was interrupted when Bankotsu suddenly burst into the private spring, causing most of the ladies present to scream and cover up their chests. He had to dodge a few dance of blades, strands of lethal hair, and a wind scar from some of the quickly armed ladies before he could make a placating gesture. 

 "Ladies I'm really sorry for the intrusion, but Inuyasha has gone into labor and we need some of the towels in here," explained Bankotsu as he grabbed a few of the rags and ran back the other way, closing the doors in his wake. But now Kagome was curious along with some of the others so they hurriedly dressed in towels and went to see the commotion for themselves. 

 When they arrived in the dining room several of the men were seated there, including Kouga (who was wringing his hands), Sesshomaru, Jaken, Juken, and a few others. 

 "What's going on?" asked Kagome as she came to stand dripping next to Sesshomaru. 

 "Exactly as it looks. We were enjoying steaks and games when Inuyasha crapped his pants. We thought it was an upset stomach but it turned out to the male version of his water breaking. He's in labor now with Toga acting as the head nurse with Inukimi, Bankotsu, and Naraku providing backup as midwives," Sesshomaru explained, just as Toga himself burst out of the room. It must have had a sound barrier placed over it because as soon as the door opened they all could heard Inuyasha's pained cries and yelling along with his accusations at both Kouga and Bankotsu. 

 "I hate to neuter my own son, but we're going to have to do a scrotarium section to get those pups out of there," he said as he wiped blood and poop from his formerly white apron and surgical mask, "Sesshomaru, excuse me for a second but I'm going to borrow Tensiega in case things go south. Naraku, I'll need another spritz of miasma before making the insertion...,"

 Quietly, Kagome and the other girls headed back to the hot spring party.

 imjaneees08/18/2019

Naraku pinched the bridge of his nose, "And you people ask me why I rarely visit."

Still thinking it bizarre to have Naraku around without something or someone dying, Kagome went back to their hot spring party, still as confused as ever.

High above, the Gods weren't fairing any better with both Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu now wondering where it all went wrong because nothing is happening as it was went to and Kagome still wasn't anywhere near getting mated to the youkai she was made for.

 Stormie Like Weather08/18/2019

"Inuyasha... Are you sure you didn't mate with any..one else?" Toga asked his youngest as he pulled back his mask. "I'd never betray the Band of thirteen!" His Father's brows rose, "You're going to have to come up with a better lie than that, son." He chuckled, showing the singleton half in hanyou half worm to his son, "You're going to have to do some explaining..." Inuyasha'who eyes were wide than they had ever been. Naraku, who had been assisting the birth, burst out laughing as he pulled the privacy curtain back and shouted to InuKimi, "Darling! My grandchildren are much cuter than yours!" InuKimi shoved him to the side, "I am not your darling! Now what is this about!?" There wriggling in Toga's arms was a large pink crying work with furry dog ears.

 imjaneees08/18/2019

Peeking out of the hotsprings, sensing imminent dismemberment, Kagome reached out and grabbed Naraku by his hair, "Okay, you've got some explaining to do, starting with what the hell you're doing here and how anyone hasn't tried killing you yet." Never mind that she's dragging the hanyou into an all girl's hot spring. Her want to answers is more important than her modesty at the moment.

Inukimi, on the other hand, was giving Toga a long, hard look. "Toga.... What is the meaning of this?"

 Walter20508/18/2019

"Why my dear Kagome, I've come here to sow my wild tentacles. Haven't you heard? This is the hottest mating party this side of Honshu," replied Naraku as his hair grew and wrapped around her grabbing arm in return. 

 "He...Hey!" Kagome exclaimed in protest as he moved closer to her vulnerable form. 

 "Now supposedly I'm to look for a suitable mate in the last female available for the Inu family, that being Inukui, but I'm just as interested in anyone that meets my fancy, including Kikyo's half-witted hair-brained copy. If Sesshomaru rejects you, then you're fair game," Naraku said both sarcastically and seductively as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, his tentacles coming out of his back to nearly engulf her as he embraced her in a hug. 

 "Stranger...Danger....," gasped Kagome as Naraku was bear hugging the breathe right out of her. 

 "Once you settle down, perhaps I can take you to a back room so we can become more...intimately acquainted with one another?" Naraku asking that was the last thing Kagome heard before she blacked out under his squeezing embrace. 

 Moments later, Sesshomaru saw Naraku carrying Kagome bridal style into one of the back rooms. He knew something was up immediately as she wasn't moving, but when he caught up to them the door to the room was locked and barred from the other side, leaving him growling.

 imjaneees08/18/2019

When Sesshomaru managed to finally bust the bloody door open, which was a few hours or so later, the sight that greeted him wasn't what he was imagining. He had expected either blood everywhere or something of the sort but not....this.

There Kagome was, on the hanyou's lap, but not in the sense it was meant for. The girl was bawling her eyes out as Naraku handed her what seemed to be the 20th piece of cloth judging by the amount on the floor. She accepted it and blew her nose.

Kagome sniffed, "And, it's like, all i ever wanted was for someone to love me for me, you know? Not because of who I was before and all that shit, or because of what I can do for them? Is that too much to ask? I mean, I don't look that much like her do I? Like my face is rounder, my eyes are blue," she looked down at her chest," and I'm pretty sure these things are already a cup bigger than hers and I'm not even a full grown adult yet!" and thus more tears ensued and the dark haired hanyou rubbed her back in comfort.

 Walter20508/18/2019

"My poor Kagome, all Inuyasha ever wanted you for was a replacement for Kikyo and all the others ever wanted you for was for a shard hunter. Even Sesshomaru just wants you as a pup factory, using your powers as the Shikon Miko to grant himself powerful offspring," soothed Naraku as he rubbed the miko's back. 

 Truth be told, all he wanted her for was to find where Inukimi was hiding the Shikon Jewel from him at, but Kagome didn't need to know that just yet, not before he had converted her over to his side. 

 "Yes yes it's all true I'm so worthless they don't want me for me they just want a detector and a pup factory and a replacement," Kagome sobbed even louder now as she blew her nose on one of his tentacles, which used its suction feeder to absorb the snot. Naraku noted that it had a particular taste, sort of like vanilla yogurt. 

 "There there. Hate them, it's only natural, a normal human reaction. You used to hate me back in the day so you should hate them all now, don't feel bad about it. Hate them, Hate them, Hate Them," Naraku whispered in her ear as he used his fabled St Hakushin conversion method. 

 Sesshomaru had enough has he stepped forward into the room. 

 "That's a lie, while I do want Kagome to help produce powerful offspring for me, I love her for who she is, not just what she can do for me. I've had such feelings ever since she had the courage to stand up to me alongside my brother and those feelings have only grown over the years. Since spending the last two weeks with her I've become convinced that those feelings are not misplaced," declared Sesshomaru loudly and boldly. 

 Naraku was sneering and jeering at his declared attempt to thwart his conversion but Kagome was staring at Sesshomaru wide eyed with her lips trembling.

 Slayer08/18/2019

"I believe  I can meet all of your requirements Ka Go Me." Sesshomaru  said as he walked up to the pair. He pulled Kagome off Naraku's lap and bent her back in a breath stopping kiss.

 Slayer08/18/2019

"Stability  marriage and love? Yes, I shall have the monk marry us you cant get more stable than me and I love you Kagome." He whispered against her lips.

 imjaneees08/18/2019

Naraku was starting to feel all weird with all affection in the air-he summed it up as some form of indigestion -and wondered idly where this sudden very open version of the Western Lord is coming from, but then his eyes landed on the side window and he almost felt sorry for the young, pretty, blue eyed miko.

"Eyes to the window Sweetheart, apparently you missed a few," because there, sitting innocently, were some of the incense Inukimi had commissioned.

[mythicamagic]

Swimming in Silk - Chapter 14

Training in front of her, engaging her in conversation and now lending her his clothes…Kagome is starting to suspect that Sesshoumaru is trying to gain her attention.

Sesskag - Romance, Humour, Drama, Angst

Rated M - As always you can read this story on Ao3, fanfiction.net or Dokuga

Chapter One - here       Chapter Three - here    Chapter Five - here

Chapter Two - here        Chapter Four - here       Chapter Six - here  

Chapter Seven - here    Chapter Eight - here    Chapter Nine - here          Chapter Ten  - here    Chapter Eleven - here     Chapter Twelve - here

Chapter Thirteen - here  Chapter Fifteen - here

Vulnerable Visages ~

Sitting at a low table, Kagome leaned over a map, dressed in the clans signature red and white silks. Her legs were bare, the robes left slightly parted. Sesshoumaru sat closed by her side in only his white hakama pants, mokomoko sprawling around them. After quickly bathing, the two had thoughtlessly dressed before glancing over the situation.

"So you have alliances with a bunch of clans, but you need more in case they don't show up to fight. Sensing some mistrust there. Oh, you're on good terms with the Bears right? Aren't they already on your team?" Kagome asked, using colourful terminology to try and make the whole thing less tedious.

"Hn, we trade with the Northern or Southern Bear clans."

Kagome's brow crinkled, and she tapped her finger on the map next to a brown marker. "Okay then, can't you ask for help from them?"

"They do not fight battles unless the East and West join them. And they do not fight battles aligned with the Tanuki. If we want those Bear clans to join us then we must drop-"

"The Tanuki. Who knew Racoon Dogs could be so controversial to be buddies with," she sighed. "You can't drop them or they might close that trading route through that Dragon-ridge mountain path. Wow, I can see why this is so frustrating." She felt like pulling her hair out already.

Sesshoumaru gave a dusty chuckle, appearing far more jadedly amused by the work. "And that is not even counting the subdivisions of youkai in those lands that are not affiliated with the central clans."

"I think I remember a few of those from helping you with those invoice scrolls and messages a while ago. Those Northern Horses were nice, but the smaller clan from Eternal Falls really seemed to hate you."

He hummed, not seeming surprised. Lithe fingers reached out, combing through her locks distractedly. "Conquering lands through battle and massacre is so much easier than negotiating," he muttered almost longingly.

Kagome fought a smile. He sounded like a kid. A murderous, blood-thirsty kid. She then looked towards the mountains, further behind Edo's location. "Wait a sec, there's no alliance marker for the Eastern Wolves."

Sesshoumaru arched a brow, "no. Wolves keep to their own."

Quickly shaking her head, Kagome leaned closer. "I'm good friends with the Prince of that tribe. If you send for aid, Kouga will answer, so long as he knows I'm your uh...Lady," she said, cheeks warming slightly. "At least, if he's still around."

The thought of him also being gone weighed uncomfortably heavy in her chest. Kouga, please not you too...

The demon beside her inclined his head, "from what I know, he is Chief."

Blue eyes brightened. "That's great then! Ask him for support in battle, or open up trading- just break bread. He'll definitely respond," she grinned. Sesshoumaru hummed, placing a pending marker on the wolf tribe area. Kagome wrote down the names of various tribes, clans and associates they could also contact. "There's the Hyakkikoumori on this shore, I hear that Shiori gained some followers and leads them. Oh, and this is where we met-"

She rambled a little, but Sesshoumaru listened, able to imagine her adventures vividly since she painted vibrant pictures of them. He could tell from her enthusiasm that she spoke not out of nervousness, but happiness. His claws flexed through the dark strands that fell down her back. Kagome blushed and got the picture to refocus, though he did not chastise her.

They then lost themselves in work for a time, until Kagome touched a lone red and white marker on the map.

"These are your forces," she murmured, noting the distance between it and the Western Stronghold. "What are they doing so far from the main House?"

"Guarding Bokuseno," he replied in low tones.

Her heart skipped a beat. "H-how many are guarding him?"

"20." He blinked when her jaw hung open. "...Too few?"

"Too many!" She squeaked with exasperation.

"This one has plenty of troops on stand by here, I see no issue."

"You've already stationed some with the Foxes," her voice became thin. Where Shippo is.

Her heart warmed at the realisation, despite herself. Looking at him, she noticed his mouth had thinned into a firm, grim line. "This one will not risk your elixir being lost before I can claim it."

He won't risk my ticket to immortality being lost. Kagome eased closer, reaching up and pressing her lips to a striped cheek. He exhaled, blinking, but she only offered a smile. "You're really sweet, but...at least lower it to 5 guards?"

"15."

"10 then," she grit out.

"Done." He had no actual plans to follow through with their agreement, however.

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Mhm. I'm sure General Kaito will be more than happy to tell me if his soldiers still haven't moved from guarding a tree."

Golden eyes narrowed. "He has been loyal and respectful since that stint 30 years ago. I am confident he would not question me, even though he does not know the tree's use."

She rose a brow, shifting to sit on his lap for no particular reason other than she wanted to. Leaning back into his warm bare chest, she lazed her legs over his crossed ones. "Speaking of... He told me that there was a barrier over the Western Stronghold, but now its broken? What happened?"

Sesshoumaru hummed, pulling her closer and using the hollow of her shoulder as a chin rest. "Humans came, thirsty for revenge. Apparently one of their men had been killed by someone of my House. Others joined their cause, who were survivors of armies I decimated in the past. It seems they all banded together in their hatred. We triumphed but they succeeded in breaking the barrier. A few escaped our wrath, which has led to this unrest and bad blood."

Kagome thought for a moment. "Sesshoumaru... If I told you who killed that human who started this mess, would it help anything?" She asked carefully, trusting he wouldn't explode with questions or anger.

Pale lashes lowered, "I suspect I know who it was, and it would be best if you do not say."

Her brows drew together, but she nodded with understanding. Generals like Kaito were probably sorely needed in these times, especially for morale. Kagome felt her mate relax behind her, hearing his breathing become quieter. She patted his hands that were resting on her stomach.

"Time for sleep, my Lord," she murmured, shifting off and gently guiding him toward the pile of awaiting furs. His hand encircled her wrist, tugging her down and moving so that she was trapped beneath him.

"I have little need for rest. It would be wasted hours," his voice came low. "The bed has been far too cold without you."

Kagome smiled, hands sliding over his ears to brush the pointed tips. "Don't be stubborn-"

"You are forbidden to leave," he cut her off, pressing hard kisses to her neck. "Understood?"

Her smile became tremulous. Surely he understood that she never wanted to go? His hands glided over her body, and Kagome shuddered, before his head dropped to her shoulder, the kisses slowing. His muscles slackened. Tired eyes had dropped shut, obviously struggling to stay conscious.

Kagome huffed and wrapped her arms around him, shifting him so that he wasn't squishing her and sliding her fingers through the long strands of silver. "Sleep, Mr. Fancy Feet," she said gently, but with an undercurrent of firmness. He must have been pushing himself to stay awake all this time.

His breathing evened out, body weighing more heavily onto the side of hers. Kagome stared at the ceiling above. Remembering her conversation with Shippo, she breathed out uneasily.

She had to say it, just once, out loud. Then she could lay the subject to rest unless it actually occurred. "You know if...the bed is too cold while I'm gone, you can-" she swallowed. "You can hold someone else, to keep you warm." The words came slow, worming their way out of her insidiously. "And if she turned out to be someone who can make you happier than I can- if you liked her...I-I would..."

Behind...

Her heart thundered with distress. "I would wish nothing but the best for you. I would wish for your happiness."

I'd be left behind-

Nothing but quiet breaths answered her, but that was alright. Because Kagome was not brave enough to say them to a conscious Sesshoumaru. He'd be angry if he heard them, she was certain. He'd wonder if she doubted him- which she didn't. But somehow, losing him had become her worst fear. Her only anchor in the storm of confusion. She was supposed to worry about finding a job. Her education. Being his Lady. What to buy him for his birthday- not whatever this had become. Worrying about not being there for a lonely demon.

She turned her head and looked at the low desk. It looked so busy. She could imagine him in his chambers, spending day after day working. Maybe he'd take breaks. But it wasn't like he socialised. No, her demon probably just opened the sliding doors to let the breeze in and call it 'getting fresh air.'

Kagome stroked the crown of his head, biting her lip.

Even in sleep, he seemed to sense her emotions, letting out a soft rumble from his chest. Lips mindlessly pressed to her shoulder, arms holding tighter. A part of the miko felt possessiveness take hold of her, the bitemarks pulsing on her shoulder. Like his presence lingered inside the scars, snarling at the notion of being separated.

"Foolish, mule-headed wench..." he sighed, words slightly muffled.

Kagome arched a brow. He hadn't called her that in a while. She'd graduated from wench, to miko, to her real name over time. Are you dreaming about something from years ago?

Smiling gently, Kagome rested her cheek against the top of his head, breathing out slowly and drifting off. That's enough...that's enough worrying now. I'm yours for as long as you want me.

After a few days spent on further organisation, Sesshoumaru had dragged himself in a foul mood to a war meeting. Naturally, he understood it was pivotal to their success but it hadn't stopped him from claiming Kagome twice in one morning.

Kagome padded across the courtyard, tugging at her clothes. The dumb Lord had left too many hickeys and marks. It felt like the material caught on her raised skin. Turn about was fair play though.

Smirking to herself, Kagome paid a visit to Ah-Un in the stables, picturing the hickey on the nape of Sesshoumaru's neck that was hidden by the heavy fall of hair.

Patting the dragon's hide and giggling when Un nudged her insistently for food, she heard a small gasp.

Turning on her heel, she spotted a small face peering out from behind an open stable door. Small deer horns were visible, sprouting from a nest of dishevelled brown hair. Kagome smiled and knelt down.

"Hi, don't be afraid," she said amiably. "I'm Kagome, what's your name?"

"You're human," the boy grimaced, shying further away.

Shock thrummed through her, a bubble bursting. He continued to glare at her distrustfully, "Mama said we're being moved from the Western Lands soon. Humans are coming, humans like you-"

"Not like me," she said gently. "I'd never hurt you. Not every human hates demons, I promise."

"Mama said not to trust humans. They're all liars."

Sitting back on her heels, she thought for a moment. "Hm. You know I don't think I've ever really been scared of all demons as a whole species. I became really good friends with a Hanyou and mated a full demon, but that doesn't mean there aren't evil or mean ones. Have other demons ever been mean to you?"

"Mn...my friends, sometimes." He allowed, voice cautious.

"See? It's similar. So, maybe just try and see humans the same way. I know it's hard. They're probably a scary threat you've only ever heard bad things about, and I'm sure they've hurt a lot of your family members. But...this human would like to be your friend, at least."

Seeing no answer forthcoming and not wanting to confuse him, Kagome stood. Turning on her heel, she smiled to show there weren't any hard feelings.

Leaving, she absentmindedly passed a hand over her eyes, sighing. She supposed that kind of prejudice was only natural if her species were now actively trying to wipe demons off the map. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything. Hearing shouts, she blinked and raised her head, wandering across the courtyard. Bypassing the barracks, she continued on to where the troops usually trained in combat, seeing a crowd had formed around one of the sparring rings.

"Gah!"

Oh no. She knew that voice from the grunt of frustration alone. Squeezing between two beefy soldiers, she forced her way to the side of the ring, placing her hands on the fence and gaping as Inuyasha grappled with Kaito.

The two had dug their bare heels into the dirt, trying to throw the other's weight. The soldiers all shouted, calling out encouragement to their General. Kaito's body shook with effort as he pushed forward- sending Inuyasha back until the Hanyou snarled, abandoning his hold to hit him in the ribs. Hands-free, Kaito punched him in the jaw. Inuyasha's head snapped to the side and he swayed.

Kagome frowned as she noticed the state of their bodies. They'd obviously been at this for a while. Blood coated Inuyasha's upper lip. He was shirtless, and she noticed his red sweater had been placed by the ringside with his sneakers.

"He's going to lose. Hand-to-hand combat without claws is too tricky for a Hanyou."

Glancing down at her side, she noticed the deer-boy from the stables had joined her, watching the fight.

"You don't know that," she muttered.

The shouts around them became deafening. "Get the Hanyou! Get the Hanyou!"

Another few hits made half-demon blood be shed into the air, only seeming to invigorate the crowd. Gritting her teeth, Kagome decided she'd had enough. Lifting her foot and standing on the lower fence, she cupped her hands to her mouth. "YOU CAN DO IT, INUYASHA! Beat that guy! Make him sorry!"

The soldiers quieted and she sensed their stares, but she didn't stop cheering, raising her fist and shaking it. The deer-demon at her side gaped. Inuyasha's ears twitched once- dodging the other fist that came swinging his way. Dropping back, Inuyasha landed on his palm, swinging his legs through the air and landing a kick directly into Kaito's throat.

The General wheezed, staggering back. Inuyasha swung himself up to land on his feet, hitting several times in succession and finally kicking his opponent's feet out from under him. Kaito landed in the dirt on his side, kicking up dust.

Everything lapsed into silence. Inuyasha breathed heavily, staring with wide eyes. Kagome grinned and cheered loudly, waving her arms. A slow clap joined her cheering, and she paused.

Looking up at the balcony a ways from the ring but within view, Inukimi stood, smiling with amusement.

Kagome smiled and glanced back at Inuyasha in time to notice him offer a hand to Kaito. The General stood on his own, brushing by him without a word. Wincing, she slowly sobered, offering a weak smile when her friend glanced over. The worst part, she decided, was that he seemed far too used to the reaction. The soldiers all muttered amongst themselves, dispersing from the ring. A few bowed to her, but Kagome couldn't exactly appreciate it.

"Hisao! Hisao," a voice called out.

The deer-demon at her side turned as Chiyo raced over, taking him by the shoulder and bowing deeply to Kagome. "I-I'm so sorry, My Lady. I hope my son wasn't being a bother."

"O-oh, no, of course not." She forced a smile. 'Mama said not to trust humans,' hadn't that been what the boy had said? It...hurt a little to think Chiyo also saw her that way. Kagome glanced at Hisao, "we were just watching the fight together."

"Mhm! Mama, that Hanyou beat General Kaito! It was really amazing," he breathed. The boy then quieted, as though realising what he'd said. "Well...a little amazing, a-anyway."

Chiyo laughed nervously, and Kagome smiled, dismissing her before the servant fainted from nerves.

Turning back to Inuyasha once they were gone, she sighed. "You can't go very long without giving me a heart attack, can you?"

"Shaddap, I was gettin' restless. We've been hanging around here for days. That bastard better let us go to the village tonight."

"This one did agree to it, did I not, Inuyasha?" A familiar silky voice reached her ears.

The Hanyou glared, crossing his arms. "Decided to show your ugly face, huh?"

"Indeed. Yours is worse than usual, or do I usually overlook the hideous crookedness of your nose?" Sesshoumaru arched a brow, stopping by her side.

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty." Kagome sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "The New Moon is tonight, right Inuyasha? So we can start heading out towards the village in the late afternoon."

"Not alone, this one is coming with you."

She looked up at him sharply, heart skipping a beat. "But it's dangerous without a disguise."

His eyes had turned hard. "That is my condition. Take it or leave it. This one refuses to hide the marks of my clan."

"Tch," Inuyasha tossed his head but didn't argue.

Kagome sighed, nodding with acceptance.

Far off in the distance, lanterns were starting to be lit, appearing as small orbs of light. From where they stood on a few thick tree branches, Kagome could see that the tiny village she once knew had expanded, spreading further than she'd anticipated. It now resembled a respectable feudal town.

Kagome exhaled, trying to form the words, but Inuyasha's small, gravelly voice beat her to it.

"It's...changed so much."

She looked at him, brows together when she noticed the stricken expression on his face. His eyes were wide, breathing escalating. The dark hair that now fell into his lashes only made him appear paler. He always seemed more vulnerable and open as a human. Reaching out, she took his frozen hand in her own and squeezed.

Sesshoumaru stared at the village without expression, as though he'd gotten used to the sight.

"I uh...I wanna go closer," Inuyasha muttered quietly.

Kagome shared a look with Sesshoumaru. He subtly seemed to tense when her eyes hardened.

"No," his voice became steel. "He may, but you-"

"I'll be fine. It's not like they'll know I'm yours unless they see the mark," she soothed but refused to back down. She was going.

Golden eyes narrowed, shifting to the village once more, as though considering. Inuyasha didn't wait, instead lowering himself from the tree-branch and dropping to the floor. Once straightened, he padded away into the night-drenched forest.

"Inuyasha," she called with concern, gracelessly trying to climb down the same way. She dropped, landing like a retired gymnast and definitely pulling a muscle. Hurrying after the dark-haired boy, she glanced over her shoulder at the branch, finding it empty.

After catching up with Inuyasha, she stole glances at him until they broke the edge of the treeline. The village up close looked far more developed than Kagome had been willing to admit. The orange glow coming through the windows lit their way as they padded through. The pathways hadn't changed much, but the number of houses felt slightly staggering. The roof-work had become more intricate, the structures of the huts becoming impressive little houses.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked quietly.

Inuyasha grunted, dark eyes swinging around at the unfamiliar sights. His nose twitched. If he had his dog ears back, she figured they'd be flattened. A few men lifting goods from a wagon paused to look at them.

"Uh, hello," Kagome greeted with a small wave when their gazes become wary. "We're travellers. We were just looking for a place to stay for the nigh-"

"Keep moving, strangers."

She blinked at the gruff dismissal. It felt a little like a slap in the face, though she should have expected it. Edo had just always felt like a place they'd be welcomed. Inuyasha sneered, automatically groping for his sword- which wasn't there. He seemed to forget that detail often.

"You wanna explain why? We got as much right to be here as you, if not more." He growled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

When one of the men started to inch toward his sickle propped against the wall, Kagome quickly grasped Inuyasha's arm. "Nothing at all~ we'll be going now. Sorry for the trouble," she beamed. Pushing him away, she ignored his protests, glancing at the tense men.

They didn't stop until they reached the border of the village, where Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. "Was it just me, or did the whole place feel tense?"

"Tch, usually happens to places that have been hit bad by bandits. Guess that's why," Inuyasha grumbled. He padded out of her reach, folding his arms while glaring at his red sneakers. "If I'd stayed here, I coulda protected them."

"It's not your fault-"

"I know," he cut in bitterly. "I know exactly who to blame. Bastard," harrowed eyes squeezed shut. "But it doesn't do me any good now, does it? So...I'm gonna save this punch," he curled his hand into a fist. "And I'm gonna deliver it to him one day. For doin' this to me, to us. Ripping us away from Sango and Miroku. But...for now anyway..."

Kagome listened quietly, easing forward and placing her hands on his shaking fist. "Do you want to see them?" She asked softly.

Startled, he quickly glanced at her. Giving a quiet huff, he nodded silently, not trusting his voice.

The graves still appeared to be in good shape. She wondered who attended to them now that Kohaku had probably passed. Laying some flowers down for her friends, Kagome smoothed her clothes as she straightened.

A slight breeze tugged at Inuyasha's dark hair, hand's balled into fists. She could practically taste all the emotions welling up inside him. Placing her hand on his tense shoulder, she leaned in and hugged him. The Hanyou hid his face in her hair, trembling a little as his fists remained at his sides. They gradually unfurled, and he embraced her fully.

They stood for a long while, and she felt every shake and tremor in his frame. Knowing he probably needed to let it out- and he clearly wasn't doing that with her there, she patted his black hair.

"I'm gonna go for a short walk, okay?" Kagome murmured. Pulling away, she noticed him duck his head sharply, hiding his eyes. "Take your time," she added gently.

"Yeah, whatever," he cleared his throat, tenuous voice wobbling until he gave a harsh cough.

Kagome smiled weakly, squeezing his shoulder once more before padding off, leaving him alone by the graves.

Venturing away into the cover of the trees, she navigated instinctively through Inuyasha's Forest. Heading toward Rin's grave and only stumbling a few times, she set her hand on a tree once she reached a clearing. The grass was bathed in the slight light cast off the new moon. Her eyes were naturally drawn to the heavy fall of silver hair soon enough.

"What are you doing here?" She whisper-hissed, hurrying over to Sesshoumaru's side. "You might be seen."

He said nothing, staring down at Rin's aged grave. Another had been buried next to her, and something yanked on her heartstrings. Kohaku lay beside his wife, the gravestones touching shoulders.

Kagome's stomach twisted, and she looked up at Sesshoumaru's placid features, slowly grasping his frozen fingers. She smiled gently, "guess we're both still stubborn, huh?"

Shadowed gold slid to her, warming with faint amusement. "Hn, that much will never change."

Kagome nestled a little closer, feeling like it had been an achingly short amount of time since she'd first discovered him standing at Rin's grave. The memory of his ghostly features, so withdrawn and frozen, still haunted the back of her mind. Now Inuyasha looked much the same.

I never want to see that look again. Today...I want this to be the last day I see a look of grief on their faces.

Making such a wish was wretchedly naive, especially with the curse of her time-travel jumps, but Kagome clung to the Daiyoukai's hand all the same. After a little while however, that hand tensed.

Sesshoumaru raised his head. "Blood."

"What?"

Suddenly a whirlwind of confusion rocked her senses as she felt herself be lifted up. Soon they were moving. Fast.

When the motion finally stopped, Kagome swayed in his arms from the momentum, gasping when her eyes refocused. The men from before were attacking Inuyasha, five on one. While her friend tried to hold his ground, she noticed one of them swing a staff- hitting him over the back of the head with it. The men then quickly took to kicking and stamping on his crumpled form.

The sound that escaped Sesshoumaru's throat drowned out all other noise. Kagome felt it shudder out from his chest- and watched as the men turned- doing a double take and staring with abject horror.

Sesshoumaru sped in close, dropping her to the floor at his feet as he swept in and cleaved one man in two. His blood landed on Kagome's cheeks.

It felt warm.

She stared as the other men were dispatched in much the same way.

"You...idiot," Inuyasha wheezed out, sprawled on the floor as his black hair matted with blood. "That could have been- Sango- and Miroku's- gn...kin."

Sesshoumaru straightened, flicking the blood off his claws. "Do not be foolish. I knew from scent it wasn't them." He turned on his heel, "Kagome are-"

Her form was sinking through the floor, image wavering out of existence. Her eyes were wide as she reached toward him, then also toward Inuyasha with panic. The blood on her face glowed pink as the scent of Time caught in her hair.

Sesshoumaru's body turned ridged, quickly blurring in the air- clawed fingers stretching wide and plunging into the ground after her outstretched hand. His palm met nothing but earth, cracking the surface on impact.

A noise of grief ripped itself from his lips.

Falling to her knees, Kagome sucked air into her starved lungs. Registering the museum she sat in, dripping water over the polished floors, Kagome shakily pushed herself to stand.

Inuyasha, her eyes dimmed. She supposed he had to actively follow her in order to time travel. Her heart sank, resting heavily in her chest.

Ignoring the startled stares from a few bystanders, some who asked where on earth she'd come from- Kagome raced from the room.

She didn't stop until she reached Higurashi shrine, leaning against the tori-arch at the top of the stairs as she caught her breath. She scrubbed at her face, still feeling the blood. Her legs ached from the sprint, heart pounding. Forcing herself on, Kagome slipped her soggy shoes off once more and trailed wet footprints inside.

"Mama?"

Hearing a 'clank!' in the kitchen, rapid foot-falls signalled her mother's presence, before Mrs Higurashi stopped in the hallway. "Oh, Kagome. Thank goodness. Shippo told us you'd be back soon but wasn't sure when."

Guilt tugged at her, and taking a breath, Kagome padded forward. She then hugged her mother tight, burying her face in her shoulder.

"K-kagome?" Soft arms wrapped around her, encasing her in warm, homely smells.

"He didn't come back with me," her voice wobbled.

"Who, honey?"

"Inuyasha."

There was a beat of silence, before a light, comforting touch settled on Kagome's head, stroking her hair. The tense muscles in Kagome's shoulders relaxed, and she wallowed in the safety of her mother's embrace for a long while.

When she'd recharged, she rubbed at her cheeks. "I-I know it's not fair on you, Mama, but I have to go back again as soon as I can. He was hurt, and Sesshoumaru is alone. A-and Inuyasha is going to grow old if I wait too long. Maybe he won't have aged too much- maybe he can still live with us. Besides, Sesshoumaru's stronghold isn't looking too good, and-"

Mrs Higurashi silenced her with a gentle shush, poking her side. "Remember to breathe, honey. I'll call Shippo over, sound good? While you're here though, please eat something."

Kagome opened her mouth to reply that she wasn't hungry, but a look from her mother sent her into the kitchen.

Shippo arrived within the hour, baby-food mixture dotting his blue shirt, which had tried to hide with his jacket.

"You didn't have to come if you were busy," Kagome chastised, grabbing a napkin and wetting it- dabbing at the material.

He yawned, running a hand through thick red hair, "believe me- I needed a break. Try watching a baby kit who already knows magic, it'll take it outta ya." He yawned once more, briefly showing a fang.

"Ah...Shippo, your disguise-" Kagome pointed out weakly, smiling despite herself.

"Mhm, I'll fix it later. No point hiding around family," he said, rubbing his eye. He didn't seem to notice the effect his words had on her, as Kagome's heart warmed. Shaky happiness bloomed in her chest, and for some reason now tears decided to prick her eyes.

She finished up cleaning his shirt and eased away. "Mama told you on the phone, right? I need a new item right away."

Green eyes glanced around carefully. "She said Inuyasha had been left in the past. That the stronghold wasn't in great shape."

Kagome wished she could pry into his thoughts and know what exactly would happen to her loved ones. She could see him pick and choose entirely what to say and how to answer. "Do you know where I can find one?"

He exhaled, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I've got one," he admitted. "But I'm not giving it over until after you've rested tonight. You're also gonna take your arrows this time, got it?"

Something wormed its way inside her stomach, an insidious worry. Kagome straightened her spine and forced herself to act normal. She arched her brow and quirked her lips, "isn't that kind of advice cheating, Shippo? I mean, now I know something's waiting for me when I get back."

The fox laughed, ruffling her hair to obscure her vision and hide his expression. He was more masterful at the art of masks than her. "Sometimes it's good to bend the rules, otherwise things get dull."

The hand atop her head pressed down a little when she tried to look up at him. "Just...be careful."

"I will," she promised, forcing strength into her voice.

With no other plans forthcoming, Kagome settled in for the night after showering and bidding goodbye to Shippo, who passed whatever item it was on to Mrs Higurashi. Pulling the covers up to her chin, she turned to look at the empty futon on the floor beside her bed. Her heart gave a squeeze, and she glanced at Tetsusaiga by the wall.

"I'll take you back to him tomorrow," she muttered, closing her eyes. Turning over, she drew her knees up, touching the mating mark on her shoulder. She'd gotten into the habit of touching it in her sleep, feeling like a part of her were lacing fingers with the demon lord.

She wondered if he were out there, doing the same thing she was.

After dressing in easy to move clothing and sliding her bow and quiver of arrows over her shoulder, Kagome tied Tetsusaiga to her waist, resting the sword at her hip and breathing out. She'd gotten a good few hours sleep at least.

She soon found herself standing before Mama and waiting. With an accepting, but tired smile, Mama grasped her hand and pushed something small into her palm.

Kagome lifted it up for inspection, finding a simple Higurashi shine stamper. It was aged, of course, the image of the sunset barely intact. But she knew instinctively that it was the same one.

"You consider me...yours?"

"Thank you," Kagome breathed, clutching the stamper close.

Soon she was swimming through pink-tinged waters, kicking her legs hard while making a beeline for the surface. Moving her arms, the lungs in her chest protested, demanding air. Forcing herself to push through it, Kagome made a noise and squeezed her eyes shut. Breaking the surface after a moment- she gasped, sucking in harsh gulps of air.

A strange, sharp smell assaulted her senses- burning and choking. It caught at her lashes and made a cough shudder out of her.

Kagome blinked her eyes open, heart plummeting into her stomach. Off in the distance, a brilliant plume of thick black smoke towered high in the air. Following its progress down, she watched as flames roared from the Western Stronghold, licking its rooftops. On lower ground, closer to her position in the river, cries and shouts from human and demon alike sounded out, mingling with the ash coated air.

The miko watched as swords, claws and youki ripped into flesh, sending blood flying. Her heart thundered like that of the horse's hooves as men dispatched demons, slaying as what seemed to be Priests immobilised their foes.

Lifting herself out of the water, Kagome steeled herself, before drawing her bow.

[akitokihojo]

Manipulation -part one

Hey so uh... I’m just going to apologize in advanced for this shit.

I got so unnecessarily carried away with this fic, and like... I don’t know guys. It’s a rough one. I was just experimenting with my angst writing and... jesus... yikes... This one got away from me real fucking fast.

It’s a little brutal. Kind of graphic. Look, I’m gonna be frank... some shit is said, alright?

There’s only two parts to this. Plus an epilogue. I’ll be posting the rest tomorrow.

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

Kagome grunted hoarsely as she was tossed to the floor, the side of her body colliding against the hard wood below her kidnapper’s feet. She glared up at her foe currently towering over her, his muscular build casting a shadow around her body on the ground from the small torch high up on the wall behind him. He stared back at her with his pitch-black eyes, not a sliver of emotion on his face as she corrected her body positioning slightly, easing her bruised hipbone away from the hard surface it dug into.

“Are you ever gonna tell me who you are?” Kagome spewed, slowly inching away from the demon who hadn’t spoken a word since abducting her from the village she had been assisting. He’d appeared out of nowhere, startling the children that helped her pick herbs in the field, smirking daringly at the priestess as she quickly pushed the young girls behind her and pulled an arrow out of her quiver to align with her bow. The weapons were quickly smacked from her hands and Kagome had barely dodged his attack before she was grabbed by the waist, yanked over the demon’s shoulder, and whisked away.

His thin eyebrow cocked upwards at her question and he stepped forward to fill the gap Kagome had created, his lips slowly and menacingly curling upward into a grin, baring his sharp teeth at her.

“What does it matter? This information won’t be of any use to you if you’re dead.” He replied, his dark eyes boring into her soul, seemingly seeing every secret she held within. His skin was pale, his ears long and pointed like you’d imagine a fairy’s to be. He wore a dark green yukata, the material appearing thinner than a robe should be as the seasons changed from autumn to winter, and he wore his long, dark hair in a high ponytail, small strands of hair hanging loose around the edges of his hairline. There was no sclera to his eyes. All Kagome could see was the blackest of black gazing down at her menacingly, causing her lungs to hitch uncomfortably. She balled her fingers into fists, keeping her own stare fixed on his face, refusing to look away from the demon that had too much nerve for her to respect.

“Well, I’m not dead yet. I think I deserve to know who my attacker is and what, exactly, I did to become your target.” The amount of danger Kagome was in was beginning to settle into her gut. This wasn’t her first time being abducted. Not in a long shot. But Kagome was witty and could usually argue to stall her attacker, or even fight back, herself. Something was telling her that she was up against something or someone very different than anything she’d ever encountered before, and she just hoped she could stall long enough until Inuyasha could get there.

This was, admittedly, a slim chance of happening. She was nowhere near Inuyasha when the dark-eyed demon appeared. He was back in their village and she had agreed to aid another a few miles off, watching some children and teaching them about herbs and their remedies. He was too far to hear her scream, so Inuyasha showing up was merely a hope she could cling to in order to keep fighting. And she would keep fighting. She’d get herself out of here on her own if she had to.

“Oh, it’s not you I hold the grudge against.” The demon smirked, taking another step closer and kneeling before the priestess. Kagome quickly adjusted herself at his movements, sitting up completely and bracing her hands along the floor behind her, her knees folded up to her chest while her thighs tensed together protectively.

“Don’t tell me it’s my husband.” She warned, shaking her head and huffing as he cocked his head slightly. A rumble of confirmation emitted from his chest, the dark lids over his even darker eyes lowering halfway as he looked over her stiff form. “So, you took me to get back at him?”

“And, doesn’t it work out beautifully?” He laughed, his fangs shining brightly from the saliva pooling behind his lips, and he crawled closer to her. Kagome scooted backwards, focusing in on the items in her peripheral vision to see if any were close enough to use against the demon. “I planned on killing you quickly and maybe hanging your corpse out to dry so that Inuyasha could be greeted with the sight of your mutilated body, but maybe instead I’ll have some fun. At least to start. I’ve never laid with a priestess before.”

A blisteringly hot rush of fear doused Kagome’s body, starting at her cheeks and coursing through her veins down her neck, arms, torso, legs, and ending at her toes. She’d never been threatened this way before, and the way the monstrous demon licked his lips and inhaled her scent as he inched closer to her body that was agonizingly close to being backed against a wall had her inclined to believe that he was one to hold true to his plans. What the hell had Inuyasha done to piss this guy off so bad?

Kagome couldn’t sense the demon’s energy. If she weren’t staring directly at him as he crawled almost animalistically toward her, she’d never know he was actually there. It was like a nightmare where the only relief of him was closing her eyes and plugging her ears. His demeanor seemed overly-confident and bold. His stare, though hard to tell, seemed fixated not on her but inside of her. His eyes reminded her of demons you’d hear about in the present day; the ones that rose from hell and wreaked havoc on the innocent, threw things, screamed, were unseen to the common, and if possible, killed. The growl that emitted from his throat shook her to the core and had her fingers trembling so badly that she clenched them into fists once again, swallowing tightly and holding her breath in an attempt to seem stable and strong.

“Have some… “ Kagome started, biting back the twitch in her voice. “Laid with?”

“Could you imagine the half demon’s reaction to knowing I’d made you mine? It would enrage him entirely!” The demon seemed delighted as he explained. “And then I would kill you in front of him! I’d make him watch you bleed out onto the floor, and he’d understand he should have never crossed me!”

“Who are you!?” She asked through gritted teeth, feeling a fire flicker and burn inside of her.

“You still want to know? My name is Akiro.” He smiled, nuzzling his jaw into the crook of her neck. His hot, moist breath licked at her sensitive skin and she flinched as he finished his statement. “And you, Kagome, are my prey.”

 ~

The quickly-approaching children could be heard from nearly half a mile off, Inuyasha’s ear flicking in the direction of the dense forest ahead of Kaede’s hut. He stood up straight after swinging the axe in hand one last time, the small log cut in two and falling in different directions to the grass beneath it, and took in the sound of the stomping feet smacking the earth at a fast pace. The smell of their thick sweat hit his sensitive nose and he could hear their panting and whimpering as they told each other to just keep going, they were close so just keep running, she had to live around here somewhere, keep running. His curiosity was peaked. There were two kids, one of them a little clumsier than the other. The speed of their bare feet hitting the dirt was slowing, and he could only imagine how exhausted their small legs had to be from the wheezing that emitted from their throats.

His golden eyes turned to the clearing in the trees just as the young girls burst through the shrubbery. Even from where he stood, he could tell their faces were bright red and slick with sweat, their hands barely able to hang onto one another anymore. And once their eyes landed on Kaede’s hut, the taller child in the lead yanked the smaller one into their final sprint, their high-pitched yells for the old priestess becoming louder and clearer and more panicked as they got closer.

Inuyasha dropped the tool he held immediately, running over to the kids as Kaede pushed the entrance mat to her home aside and rushed out as fast as her aging body allowed her to.

“Lady Kaede! Please, we need your help! Lady Kaede, hurry!” Their screams were broken and weak, and he could only imagine how badly their throats and lungs burned.

“Woah, woah, woah!” Inuyasha began, urging the two to stop and kneeling at their feet. “Slow down! You guys look like you’re about to pass out!”

“No, you don’t understand!” The older one declared, her bright blue eyes boring into him. “We’ve been attacked! The priestess Lady Kaede sent us was taken from our village! Lady Kaede, oh thank goodness!” She cried as the old woman hobbled closer. Inuyasha felt the air leave his lungs entirely while the muscles in his chest lost the ability to expand for more. Dread sunk and settled into the pit of Inuyasha’s stomach, burning at the walls of the organ and causing an indescribably dull pain.

“Lady Kaede, Lady Kagome is gone!” The younger one squeaked, her chest heaving up and down as she dropped the other girl’s hand and stepped closer to the priestess. “She was taken by the most terrifying creature! You must help save her! Where is her husband? Her kin? We have to alert them all!”

“Where did this happen?” Inuyasha instinctively asked, swallowing the burning fire that boiled and rose through his throat. His claws bit into the palms of his hands and he was seconds away from damning their explanations and running off to follow the girls’ scents back to the village they had come from.

“Inuyasha, wait!” Kaede demanded knowing full and well from plenty of past experiences that he intended to chase blindly after Kagome. “You must be rational in a situation such as this. It could possibly be much simpler to locate Kagome if you listened. You don’t know what you’re up against yet.”

“Or I could be wasting time!”

“Inuyasha?” The older girl inquired, her voice small and shaky from the nerves. Her curious eyes widened as they shot his way once more, the drumming in her chest beginning to calm slightly. “She spoke of you. You’re her husband?”

“Please, Inuyasha, hear what they have to say.” Kaede spoke lucidly from beside him.

“I don’t have time for this shit!” He fired, rising to stand.

“You cannot help her if you don’t know the circumstance, you stubborn fool! You should know by now that you could make matters worse!”

The hanyou let out a rumbling growl from the depths of his chest, muffling it behind his barely-parted lips and burying his desire to race off into the darkened forest, the last of the light in the sky disappearing behind the distant mountains and tree lines. He could feel his heart beating violently behind his ribcage, but he clenched his abdominal muscles to keep himself stilled, sighed out a ragged breath, and knelt before the little girls again.

“Yeah, I’m her husband, kid.” He finally answered, keeping his tone as cool as possible. “I need you to tell me what happened.”

The older girl huffed incredulously and fearlessly grabbed his calloused hand; her grip on his palm surprisingly strong as her little fingers pulled him to follow her, her other hand snatching the younger girl’s. “There’s no time for that right now! We can explain on the way! Come on! We’ll take you back to our village!”

Inuyasha, slightly taken aback by the girl’s determined demeanor, quickly brushed the feeling aside and took the incentive as it was, standing up tall to stop the older girl in her tracks and grabbing her by her waist. He pulled her over his head and allowed her to slide down in between his shoulder blades where she was able to comfortably cling to his shoulders, her legs just long enough to slightly wrap along his rib cage. He grabbed up the smaller child and hooked her in one arm as she curled the small fingers of one hand along the hem of his fire rat to anchor herself to his chest and pointed in the direction they’d come from.

“Hang on tight!”

He took off in a sprint, not running as fast as he would have had he been alone in case it endangered the children, and followed their cues, listening when either of them recognized a landmark and knew it was time to make a turn. He couldn’t help but notice the distance between his village and theirs as he ran, creating a stabbing pain in his gut. The further he got from home, the more he realized how far Kagome was from him to begin with, and even more so now as he focused on how long it must have taken the two tiny kids clinging to him to run the distance in order to retrieve him. How could he have let her go alone? How could he have let his defenses drop? He’d always hated when Kagome went away to help distant villages, but she’d convinced him months ago to let her start going alone. She claimed she was trying to better herself as a priestess and she couldn’t do that with someone constantly looking over her shoulder. She claimed it was her duty to help, and he couldn’t always be there in case he and Miroku were needed elsewhere to slay a demon. And for months now, things had been fine. She didn’t leave too often, but when she did, she always came back in one piece. So, Inuyasha began to relax. He enjoyed missing her while they were separated, because when either of them came back home, the reunion was sweet and intimate, and he could bask in her tender back strokes and joyful smile for the rest of his life.

The half demon cursed himself for being so goddamn selfish. His carelessness was what got his wife kidnapped. He’d hardly even asked how far this village was from their own. He didn’t get the details he should have. He’d helped her pack up a few essentials, made sure she had her bow and arrows for protection, and kissed her goodbye a few feet inside the forest line. That was it. If she was hurt, it was his damn fault.

Inuyasha could smell burning wood at different angles ahead and hear the villagers in the distance shouting names and orders, men checking in with the others and women shouting replies and demanding their children stay inside.

“I can see the clearing up ahead! Can you see it, mister Inuyasha?” The little girl in his arms asked, pointing her chubby finger once more as he pushed his legs to go just a little faster, knowing the kids could endure it for a short distance.

“The field is to your left!” The older one commanded as they came out onto a wide dirt road. He followed her lead, ignoring the shouts from the frantic villagers, changing his path and running straight into the field of cold, damp grass that wild plants populated. Inuyasha took in a breath through his nose, picking up on that familiar, warm and sweet scent that had become his home, noticing how weak and distant it was as he ached to breathe more of Kagome in. His pace slowed, the dark field hard to see in as he used his nose to guide him, the child on his back letting go and sliding off as she stumbled around his side and grabbed his free hand. She pulled him forward, guiding him to the area they must have been in before and he finally caught the strong and wonderful aroma he’d been searching for, creating a shaky pant to leave his lungs.

“She was sitting right here when the demon came out of nowhere!” She exclaimed, pointing to the spot she stood over. “And when she tried to protect us, he hit her!”

Inuyasha could feel the heat of anger quickly bubbling up through his abdomen, his heated, amber eyes wandering around the field in search of something, anything, that could be a clue as to who took Kagome. He stuck his nose out just an inch further, taking minor sniffs of the air to get a whiff of the bastard, but there were too many fragrances polluting the area. The weeds, the flowers, the herbs, the children, and the soot from the approaching burning torches clouded his senses.

“Her bow, mister Inuyasha! Her bow is there!” The little one in his arm shouted, making no motion to be separated from him, and pointing into the thick grass a few feet ahead. He closed the scant distance between them and the weapon, fighting back the deep and guttural growl that built up in his throat, but before he could kneel to pick it up the villagers jerked his attention their way.

“Papa!” The small one shouted excitedly, still not pushing out of Inuyasha’s hold.

“Where have you been?! We’ve been looking everywhere for the two of you!” The man in front demanded, swiftly passing his torch to a young boy next to him and crouching down in front of the older girl, grabbing her tightly by her upper arms so her eyes were focused on him and only him.

“We had to go get-“

“A demon attacked! You don’t just run off with your sister when that happens, you know better!”

“I know, papa, but we had to-“

“You’re just children! Your sister is only five and you eight! You could have been killed; you have no means to protect yourself! Do you have any idea what your mother has been through tonight?”

“Do you have any idea what Lady Kagome has been through!?” She snapped, her face bold with defiance. “She saved us, papa, and she was abducted! If we ran home, who would save her?”

The man’s eyebrows furrowed together, and his lips twitched downward before he turned his attention to the half demon holding his youngest daughter. “You have my deepest apologies.” He stated, the deepness of his voice still rough, standing tall and retrieving the torch from the young man. “How may we aid you?”

“You’ve done enough.” Inuyasha replied a little too quickly, eager to get back to his search for Kagome. He took a step forward to meet the man that stood only a few inches taller than he, passing off the small girl into her father’s free arm.

“You will save her, won’t you?” She asked as she settled into the crook of his elbow. “Lady Kagome will be okay, right?”

“She’ll be okay, kid.” He replied as confidently as he could. “I’ll save her, and I’ll let her know who her real heroes are.”

“Please hurry,” The older girl picked up the bow, holding it out to Inuyasha with both hands. He walked over to where she stood, clutching the item in his fingers. “He took her that way.” She stated, her head turning to face the dense trees.

Still, Inuyasha couldn’t catch the lingering scent of a demon and it pissed him off even further. How could he smell his wife and not the bastard that snatched her? It didn’t make any sense.

“Hey, can you tell me something?” He began, not looking away from the thick darkness inside the forest.

“Sure.”

“What did he look like?”

“He was tall and white! Super white!” The youngest proclaimed from her father’s arms.

“He had terrifying, black eyes and sharp teeth. Like yours. Um… He had long, dark hair that he tied up. And he was dressed in a green robe. He didn’t carry any weapons.” The older child specified.

Inuyasha ground his jaw, feeling the muscles below his temples flex and tighten, allowing the picture of his wife’s captor to become clear in his mind. Pale skin and black eyes was almost all he needed… He’d recently faced a demon like this on an excursion with Miroku. They were called to a village where men, women, and children were being taken in the night and killed just outside the village walls. This wasn’t the first report they’d received on the incident, either. Several villages before the last they’d visited told them of similar incidents, all of them claiming to hear a horrifying growl rip through the air just before a blood-curdling scream stilled the nights.

The demon was named Akiro. It took Miroku and Inuyasha months to finally track the guy down because he left no scent behind, and could only rely on rumors along with the monk’s strong ability to out-smart others once he caught onto a pattern. When they’d finally found their demon, he applauded them like the arrogant asshole he was. He openly explained that his strength lied in his mind’s capability to trick whoever he wanted, apparently even able to fool people from miles away. He made it so the most common things demon slayers searched for were hidden completely. So, his fowl aura and stench were basically nonexistent, even when Miroku and Inuyasha were less than a yard away.

They had failed to kill him. He was bold and cocky, but Inuyasha had realized it was literally only his tricks that he relied on. Akiro never made an effort to physically fight the two of them, mostly because he’d made it impossible for them to come at him, so he wouldn’t have to. Or so they thought. It was a fucking hoax, and once Miroku had wormed his way out of it, he made to attack. Inuyasha wasn’t too far behind and thrusted his Tetsusaiga into a powerful windscar. Akiro barely dodged it, his arm and shoulder damaged by the attack and bleeding profusely, the blood staining his paper-white skin as it dripped down the length of his arms, down his twitching fingers, and onto the dirt below his feet. He used another mind trick to stop them from pursuing as he ran away, and villages had been silent about his attacks since.

If Inuyasha hadn’t have failed that damn mission, if he had kept attacking and didn’t concentrate on how absolutely mind fucked he felt, he could have ended it right then and there. He could have killed the twisted bastard that left bodies mutilated and battered for friends and family to find outside of the village borders and he wouldn’t have to face the reality that Akiro now had Kagome in his possession, while he was doing who-knows-what to her.

“Thanks, kid.” Inuyasha forced himself to say through his stiff jaw, giving the two a small glance behind him. He could see the worried look etched into the older one’s features as she hardened her stance and stepped closer. “Hang onto this for me, would ya?” He held out the red bow to her, and she quickly went to take it back.

“I’ll keep it safe until you come back.” She stated firmly, clutching it close to her chest. Inuyasha jumped into the trees, using Kagome’s lasting scent as his guide. The demon was smart, sure. He covered his tracks. But he wasn’t smart enough to cover hers, and that would be his undoing. Inuyasha would make sure of it.

~

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Kagome shrieked, throwing a large, ceramic vase at the demon a few feet from her with all the strength she could muster up in her slightly spent body. Her hair was disheveled, the unruly waves falling around her face while her thick bangs stuck to the sweat along her forehead. She felt heat pooling under the skin at the corner of her bottom lip while the puffiness of the area provided a dull numbness where her mouth closed, the harsh, copper liquid coming from the open wound seeping both down her chin and along her tongue. Her cheek was sore from the slaps Akiro had served her, his fingers eventually curling as he grew more and more frustrated from her never-ceasing struggle to remove herself from underneath him, the stinging strikes evolving into three solid punches along the bone just below her eye. He stopped when she’d whimpered and stilled, breathing shallowly along the cheek he’d bruised, and giving her the open opportunity to buck him forward with a powerful thrust of her hips, allowing her to scramble across the small room and distance herself from him.

His pale arms were scraped from her nails digging into whatever skin she could find, streaks of red decorating his forearms, small speckles of blood prickling out along the scratches. His mouth curved downward while his top lip twitched along with his boiled growl.

“Insolent wench.” He cursed, baring his fangs and clenching his fists. Kagome took another step back, pressing her back firmly against the wall behind her, her eyes wandering around the room for anything else she could defend herself with. “You’ll regret defying me.”

“I don’t think I will.” She declared, eyeing a smaller vase in the corner across the room. Other than that, she was out of options. There was nothing more around that she could utilize. She’d already pushed the table towards him -her first line of defense- when she’d wormed her way out of his clutches. It was heavier than she’d initially thought, and she’d only managed to bump him, but it created a small distraction as he pushed it aside and Kagome was able to grab the four sitting cushions around and toss them his way with every ounce of strength her arms and shoulders harbored. Cushions, alone, would hardly do damage, but with enough force they could provide a sting and give her time to get towards the large, ceramic vase she thought she could do some real damage with. Kagome was hardly able to pick it up over her head and chuck it towards her attacker, her muscles trembling under the weight of it, the item falling short and missing him by an inch or two.

“I’ll make sure you do!” Akiro snarled, launching at her. Kagome pushed off the wall, ducking as his arm swung, his fingers catching in a tangle at the end of her dark strands. She could feel the tear from some of the hair leaving her scalp as his nails came free, the force of the yank causing her to stumble forward, losing her balance and crashing to the ground.

Something about this demon was off. Aside from his missing aura and pitch-black eyes, something seemed completely unnerving about her opponent. He was clever. He had a knack for saying the crudest and most disturbing things in order to get under your skin, painting vivid images in your mind of torture and death. He knew how to make you feel hopeless and empty and like everything was already gone as he threatened to take it away. It wasn’t amusement he got from a person’s terror, though. It was uncensored and disconcerting bliss. Kagome was practically watching the man get off as he held her down and described in full detail every brutal act he promised not only on her, but on Miroku’s daughter after he’d finished with Kagome’s body. He even specifically stated he would only murder one of the twins, so that whenever Sango and Miroku looked upon their living, little girl they’d be reminded only of the one that was taken from them.

Akiro was sick, twisted, perverted, grotesque, and undeniably evil. But he wasn’t wise. His arrogance seemed to blind him and that was how she was able to eventually escape his grasp. He wasn’t necessarily as strong as your typical demon either. She’d playfully wrestled with Inuyasha before, and even then, she was no match in the strength department. So, given he was a half demon and she didn’t stand a chance, how was she able to put up a fight with the demon she faced now? Kagome wouldn’t say he was entirely weak, physically. He was, after all, able to carry her for miles over his shoulder, throw her down with quite a bit of force, and unabashedly pin her to the ground. He was just weaker than any other demon, half blood or not, she’d personally encountered.

So where did his real strength reside? Kagome was more than willing to settle on his sharp tongue and daring talent for mind-numbing manipulation. That couldn’t be all, though. She was missing an important detail. There was something more to her foe that she just couldn’t put her finger on.

Akiro quickly followed Kagome’s path as she tried to crawl backwards and away from him with her elbows, feeling the hard floor and the bones of her forearms collide together uncomfortably. He threw himself to his knees in an attempt to straddle her hips once more, but she quickly curled up her legs, turned them away and pushed to her hands and knees in order to climb to her feet and run. His long fingers swiftly wrapped around one of Kagome’s ankles and jerked her back to the ground, her chin colliding with the floor and her upper teeth crunching down on the already-swollen lip she sported. She reached forward with an arm as Akiro slowly dragged her backwards, outstretching her fingers as far as she physically could just to graze the small vase with enough force that it wobbled and tipped, the long neck of the ceramic pot landing in her direction. The demon turned Kagome over, achieving his goal and pinching the sides of her hips to pin her in place with the thick muscles of his thighs.

“I’m going to kill you, Kagome.” He growled dangerously, his hot breath burning the sensitive and thin skin of Kagome’s lips as he held his face only inches above her own. “I’m going to fuck you, and then I’m going to kill you, and I’m going to do it all so slowly and satisfyingly you’ll wish you’d sat here and taken the beating like the good, little girl you ought to have been.”

“No.” Kagome whimpered.

“It would have been quick! It could have been over with by now!” Akiro laughed, a bit of drool dripping from his teeth and onto her cheek, searing Kagome’s sweat-dampened flesh. “Now look at you. You just had to be the hero, didn’t you? No, you can’t hurt their child. I won’t let you.” He was mocking her, hitching his voice to a higher octave and loosening the top of her kosode to easily drag his nails along the length of her sternum. “As if you could do anything to stop me. The half breed and monk didn’t stand a chance, so what makes you think you do? You’re weak. You are nothing. And you will die.”

“I…” Kagome’s hand continued reaching above her, extending further to graze the smooth ceramic while using her free hand to push Akiro’s face away from her own, the heel of her palm pressing aggressively into his high cheekbone. She reached even further, gritting her teeth and flicking her middle finger along the neck of the vase until her index was able to feel it too, the muscle at her shoulder blade cramping painfully. “…am not weak!”

Kagome clutched the pot within her trembling fingers, swinging it forward and shattering the hardened clay along the demon’s forehead, slivers falling along her cheeks and the floor beneath her. He stilled, his wide, black eyes staring off to the side of her, and Kagome watched the thick, red blood seep from the new wound on his head. It glided around his brow bone in different directions, curving along his nose and temple, dripping down his cheek, stilling where gravity had it pool, and then dropping onto the bruised flesh just below her left eye.

She gasped, the high-pitched, breathy sound echoing in her ears as the room was silent and he seemed to wobble above her. She used the opportunity to push him off, his lower half sinking down while she wriggled and squirmed her way out. He collapsed to the floor, eyes half-lidded, and his chest rising and falling slowly.

She wanted to take a moment to gather herself, her body shaking uncontrollably from the amount of shock and adrenaline coursing through her veins, but she knew she didn’t have time to sit around. Kagome needed to go. She needed to find her way out and run as far as she could, as fast as she could. A lump formed in her throat as she resisted the urge to curl into herself, wiping the sticky blood from her mouth on her white sleeve and gently sucking on her bottom lip. She took her other sleeve and hastily ran it over her face in an attempt to get Akiro’s blood off of her, ignoring the painful ache along her left cheekbone.

Kagome curled her legs beneath her, steadying herself in a tabletop position before rising to her feet. She peered down at her attacker one last time to make sure there were no changes in his condition, and then slowly made her way around his body, stepping carefully over the broken shards of decorated clay. Noticing a large, pointed piece along her path, Kagome stopped to pick it up, holding and adjusting the jagged would-be weapon to make sure it fit properly in her small palm. Nodding approvingly, she held it close and made her way out the sliding doors, silently shutting it behind her.

The halls were quiet and still. It was exactly what you’d imagine a haunted home to feel like; distant from civilization, empty, run down, eerie, and cold. Kagome tried to stay rational, reminding herself that the seasons were changing. Autumn was quickly turning to winter outside, and she could tell the sun had set long ago. The night had anchored in and temperatures were, naturally, going to drop. As for the unsettling feeling Kagome got from the home, it was something she was just going to have to deal with. Akiro was creepy, therefore his house would be creepy. It only made sense.

Kagome tiptoed down the hallway, listening for any signs of life from inside the rooms as she searched for a way out. She didn’t remember the halls being quite so long when she was brought in over Akiro’s shoulder. In fact, she didn’t remember the halls, period. Nothing around looked familiar, and Kagome couldn’t pinpoint how many lefts and how many rights she’d taken to get to the room Akiro laid unconscious in now.

Everything was a blur from the moment she was abducted, and Kagome blamed the amount of adrenaline currently surging through her body. It was like electricity, the way it caused her fingers to tremble and her legs to feel unsteady, yet her knees never buckled, and her mind was surging at a mile a minute. She couldn’t feel the pain under her eye, her split lip, or any other part of her body that Akiro had manhandled. All Kagome could think about was getting out. It was tunnel vision. She couldn’t concentrate on details like direction, time, or even the distance between where she stood and any nearby village. Her brain would only drag her back to focus on her feet that moved of their own accord, stepping as quickly and quietly as she possibly could. Her eyes flicked from wall to wall, homing in on doors in the distance. Her ears rang with her own voice urgently demanding her to find safety, get the hell out of this place and hide, run and don’t stop, find the way out and book it.

Kagome approached a sliding door, pressing her ear to the side of it in order to hear if anyone was on the other side. Silent. She gripped the wooden border of it at the middle, sliding one side of the door open just enough to see through. Another bedroom. With each bedroom she checked, a dull ache began to grow within her stomach, cramping and churning. It seemed there were an endless number of bedrooms in the godforsaken place, but not a single exit to the outside world. Sighing out a shallow breath of disappointment, Kagome braced herself to keep moving when the distant sound of fevered stomping caught her attention. It was like a small stampede heading her way, getting louder and louder as she stood there wondering from which direction the guards seemed to be coming.

Her fight-or-flight response kicked into high gear, the danger she was in suddenly palpable, and Kagome stepped behind the door she’d opened and silently slid it shut, rushing over to a closet and climbing to fold herself on top of the blankets on the shelf before shutting the small door and waiting in total darkness. Kagome covered her nose and mouth with her hand, trying to slow her heavy lungs and breathe as quietly as possible. Her heart pounded violently behind her ribcage as she listened to the approaching men outside of the room, weapons clinking about. A deep, boisterous voice she didn’t recognize ordered for guards to check all nearby rooms, barking about the importance of retrieving the runaway they were searching for. Kagome attempted to flatten herself more, imagining herself becoming smaller and smaller along the musty-smelling blanket she curled up on, her muscles cramping as she fought the quivers her body gave. The doors to the room Kagome hid in opened noisily, the wooden borders slamming along the outer edges of the gliding rails, and she swallowed her breath, her chest muscles tensing and tightening. There were at least two guards inside, walking about the room and checking behind and underneath the few items they could. Kagome fought the urge to shut her eyes and wish them away, knowing they were bound to check the closet next. She took the lesion on the side of her bottom lip into her mouth, reopening the clotted wound with the aggressive suck, swallowing the taste of copper and holding back the snivel that built up as the fear boiled and rose within her.

It happened so quickly, Kagome hardly had time to process what could be taking place out in the hall. Running, loud cursing, metal clanking against metal, men screaming and dropping to the floor, then silence. She waited a moment, desperately trying to hear through the stunning quiet and assess the situation just outside the doors she squatted behind. And then hope began to reenter her veins at an alarming rate and she opened the closet door as she wriggled herself out from the second shelf, dancing along the tips of her toes of one foot until she got the other one free.

There he stood, clad in all red and smiling warmly at her from his place at the entrance to the room, Tetsusaiga in one hand while he held his other out to her.

“There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.” Inuyasha calmly stated, taking a couple of steps towards her once she gained her bearings.

“Inuyasha!” Kagome practically sobbed, wanting to run into his warm, safe arms and never let go, but her feet stayed frozen in place. There was a sinking feeling in Kagome’s gut that she knew she’d never be able to describe in words if she ever recounted this moment to another. Her mind was telling her home and security stood only five feet away, but her abdomen kicked and screamed that something wasn’t right and to stay put. Her brain and her gut were battling ferociously, and the sickening feeling paralyzed her. That didn’t stop the tears from brimming at her lids and burning her brown eyes or stop the grin on her face from growing wider as he took one more step in her direction, or stop the enthusiastic half laugh, half sob that emitted from her throat.

“Are you okay, Kagome?” He stood in the center of the room now, the warm smile never fading from his handsome face.

“I’m fine.” She replied, hoping she didn’t look as bad as she imagined, still glued to her spot just outside of the closet. She placed her hands along her stomach, the bubbling feeling behind her flesh making it seem as if she was going to puke so she swallowed thickly as a precaution to keep everything down.

What could be wrong? Inuyasha was here but neither of them moved to touch the other. She was supposedly safe, but as her gut began to win the war against her head, she no longer believed it. Her dark eyes shifted around the room, the guards she’d heard earlier gone and probably either dead or unconscious in the hall. No sounds stood out, and she couldn’t feel any negative energy nearby. Everything seemed to be okay, so what, exactly, was throwing Kagome off?

“Kago-“

A burning sensation abruptly soared through Kagome’s veins, a hot sweat prickling out along her hairline and down her spine. Her lungs contracted, and she nearly choked on her painful gasp as Inuyasha’s golden eyes widened and stared to the ground. The half demon stumbled forward slightly, his jaw hung open, and his torso curled over as he clutched his abdomen. He lifted a hand to look at his palm and Kagome could see the dark red liquid that trickled between his knuckles and down the backside of his hand. The spear that pierced his stomach from behind was dyed crimson, and Kagome watched as the guard behind Inuyasha twisted the rod to increase the agonizing pain, causing the hanyou to scream and encircle his hands around the sharp bladed in an attempt to stop the brutal attack, blood spilling and pouring around his fingers.

“Inuyasha?” She didn’t know why her voice came out so small when she really wanted to scream. She didn’t know why she didn’t move from where she stood when she really wanted to simultaneously hold her now-wounded husband while telling him everything would be alright, and attack the wretched being who’d hurt him. All Kagome could manage to do was release weak, trembling gasps and watch as Inuyasha wiped the blood that leaked from his lips and tried to regain his composure as best as he could with a spear stabbing through his gut.

“Found you.” Akiro’s familiar, taunting voice sang from the doorway, his arms folded over his chest and a crooked smirk curving his lips upward, the blood that stained his face curling along the lines from his smile. Four men stood beside and behind him, all with swords, knives, and spears in hand. He clicked his tongue in disappointment, slowly crossing the room towards Kagome whose eyes quickly shifted between the terrifying demon and Inuyasha.

“You bastard!” Inuyasha growled, the man firmly gripping the spear through his abdomen to make sure he didn’t launch at Akiro.

“Now look what you’ve gone and done, Kagome.”

“You stay the hell away from her!”

Akiro spared a small glimpse at the half demon in front of Kagome, a faint look of disgust tainting his features before swiftly looking back at the priestess. Inuyasha attempted to move toward them but the guard twisted the spear once more, pulling him back and causing the hanyou to release an anguished cry.

“Stop! Stop it! Inuyasha! Let me go! Inuyasha!” Akiro’s arms were wrapped around Kagome now, holding her back as her legs suddenly remembered how to move and she struggled to get to the bleeding hanyou.

“You did this, Kagome! It only had to be you that died, but you were too selfish! Now look what you’ve done to your precious Inuyasha!” The demon laughed, his voice growing deeper and more vicious with each word he spoke. Her vision blurred as Kagome blinked rapidly through the spilling tears, shaking her head and fighting against Akiro’s hold. “No? Still don’t think you’re to blame, priestess?”

“Kagome!” Inuyasha shouted as the men in the background stepped closer, their dark, shadowed eyes trained on the demon that began to crumble from the pain of the sharp rod through his stomach.

“Inuyasha! No! Inuyasha!”

“Stop fighting, Kagome! Stop fighting and watch your beloved half demon die!”

The men raised their weapons high in the air, holding them there for a moment as Inuyasha and Kagome locked eyes one last time. Dark liquid seeped from Inuyasha’s open mouth, dribbling down his chin and to the wooden floor beneath him. The black pupils in his amber eyes dilated, and his body dropped to the ground completely as the guards repeatedly pierced his thick skin with their sharp blades.

Kagome screamed Inuyasha’s name as his eyes went dull and became half-lidded. She screamed it over and over, trying desperately to get his attention, because there was no way Inuyasha would ever die so easily. Ever. She’d seen him get through hell and back with hardly a scratch on him, so this couldn’t be happening. He wasn’t dead. He wasn’t dead. She didn’t realize that she was fighting against Akiro so hard that he now held her by her waist, her body lifted in the air so that she couldn’t use the ground as leverage any longer. She swung her feet back and forth, attempting to crash her flailing heels with any part of the demon holding her, and dug her nails along with the side of the shard into the pale skin of his forearms as hard as she could. He cursed under his breath and demanded she stop, but Kagome kept it up. She kicked, and she clawed, and she pushed, and she screamed for Inuyasha as loud as she possibly could until her throat burned, and her voice croaked and cracked, but nothing worked. He didn’t flinch as she called out to him, begging him to get up. He didn’t flinch as the men removed their weapons from his torso. He didn’t even flinch when two of them grabbed him by his feet and dragged his limp body from the room, a thick trail of crimson left behind where he once laid.

[ggungabyfish]

Moment to Myself

@teamvanessacloud wanted an Inuyasha piece. And if it's one thing I like to write, it's about my favorite grumpy half demon.

----

I got used to being ignored as a kid.

After all, I had no father to speak of. And I was a mutt.

So I didn't make very many friends. I didn't mind it as much; I got to be by myself and I could make up my own games.

But then I met Hoichi.

He was named for the blind musician because even at the young age of 10, he was an exceptional biwa player.

And he was also blind.

He lived in my mother's palace as the son of one of the chefs. Despite his blindness, he could move about with great ease.

He found me one day crying in the garden. I don't remember what I was crying about. I suppose I made enough noise that he found me--and enough that I didn't hear him approach.

"Hello."

I jumped, nearly falling over. I whirled around to see him smiling at me, pale eyes shining. He had his biwa strapped to his back.

"Who are you?" I asked, wary of this person who showed up out nowhere.

"Name's Hoichi. I heard you crying and wanted to see where you were."

I wiped my nose on my sleeve and stood up. "Well, you can go away and leave me alone!" I said in the voice I used when I wanted people to leave the son of the lady alone.

He just smiled and sat down next to the pond. "Ah, I know who you are. You're Lady Izayoi's son Inuyasha."

"So?" I said, crossing my arms.

"Well, d'you mind if I sit here and practice?" He took his instrument and began to tune it. "I've been working on a new tune."

"Like I care! Do what you want!" I turned to walk away. I'd only gone a few feet when he began to play.

I stopped and looked back at him. I'd never heard anything like it before. Something about the music made me stop and listen.

Somehow I found myself sitting next to him. I watched as his fingers plucked the strings as delicately as my mother's maids wove their cloth.

When he was finished, I couldn't help but say "That was amazing!"

He laughed. "Thank you, young sir."

"So...me being who I am doesn't bother you?"

He furrowed his brow. "Being what?"

In answer I took one of his hands and brought it to where my dog ear was.

He suddenly laughed in delight. "Wow! Those are amazing!"

I couldn't help but grin. "Thanks."

"Hey, since you've got such big ears, why don't you help me walk around here?"

"All right, you got a deal."

And so it went. Every day I would walk with Hoichi listening for anything he might bump into. Most seemed actually amused by the two of us: the blind cook's son and the half demon wandering around.

Mother was happy I had a friend. Whenever we would visit her, Hoichi would impress her with his playing and good manners. She told me that "a boy like Hoichi is a good friend to have."

It went on like this for a year. Then he turned eleven and I turned eight.

Then he had to leave; his father was hired by another lord's family.

On the day he left, I hugged him and begged him not to go.

"I'll be okay, 'Yasha." He was the only one who called me that. "Soon I'll be old enough to start playing professionally. And then I can come back and visit you."

I sniffled and wiped my eyes. "You promise, Hoichi? You'll come back and see me?"

"Of course I will."

I had no idea that I would not see him again for years. We lost contact after a few letters.

----

Now I stand in front of the hut, my whole body shaking. It's been so long. Would he even remember me?

I take a deep breath and knock.

"Who is it?" Says a voice that is aged yet is so familiar.

"Hoichi, it...it's me. Inuyasha."

There's a shuffling sound, and then the door opens...

Hoichi looks old. And tired. Yet he seems to be able to look as if he's still young on the inside.

"Inuyasha?" He says, his pale eyes quivering with tears.

I grin, take one of his gnarled hands and place it on my ears.

"'Yasha!" He yells, hugging me suddenly. "I can't believe it! I'd heard rumors that there was a half demon who roamed the countryside but I never--"

I laugh and hug him back. "Well, believe it. I missed you old friend."

"So have I."

" I want to introduce you to someone." I take his hand and guide him outside.

Tenderly I take my wife's hand and place them together. "This is Kagome...my wife."

----

And there we go! I hope you like it, Vanessa!

[fantasyandromancelover]

Dark Shadows Chapter 3

That very same night Miroku was outside working in the garden. Well he was supposed to be anyway but instead he was up in a tree spying on Sango through her bedroom window, waiting for her to get undressed for bed.

"That's it." He whispered. "Come on. Take off the shirt."

She started to but then stopped, picked up her evening clothes, and went into the bathroom to change.

"Damn it!" Miroku cursed.

He then slid down the tree and started digging holes in the garden to plant vegetable seeds in tomorrow afternoon. As he dug he came upon numerous things. A few rocks, some old tree shots, a couple animal bones, nothing out of the ordinary that is until he hit something extremely hard and difficult to dig up.

"What the hell is this?"

He began to dig into the spot and brushed away the dirt until he uncovered an iron coffin covered in chains.

"This coffin belongs in a proper graveyard not here. I better bury it in the cemetery so the poor soul in there can rest peacefully."

But as soon as Miroku removed the coffin from it's spot it began to shake rapidly and insanely until the chains broke and the coffin door flung open. Miroku was knocked back and watched as a young man with long white hair, fangs, claws, and red eyes rose from it. Most people would've been petrified with fear or run away screaming but Miroku knew what this man was and how to deal with him. You see before he became Kaede's groundskeeper he prevoprevi worked as a highly trained exorcist, dealing with vampires, witches, evil spirits, and unholy forces of the devil.

Miroku quickly pulled out a crucifix from his pants pocket and held up while also pulling a holy Bible from his back pack.

"In the name of the holy father I command you to cease living in this world and find peace in death!"

But to Miroku's surprise the crucifix had no effect on the vampire man. He glared down at Miroku and sized him by his throat.

"Nice try." He said in a terrifying voice with his red eyes blazing. "But those crucifixes don't work on vampires like me."

He looked down at Miroku's neck, he could hear the man's heart beating rapidly with fear and could feel his blood run cold. It made him lick his fangs as he felt extreme thirst. He pinned Miroku down, climbed on top of him, and prepared to drain him dry when something fell out of Miroku's pocket. He picked it up and examined it. It was a photograph of Miroku with Kaede, Sango, and Shippo, laughing and smiling. This man had a family that he loved and seeing it caused the vampire to soften. He got off of Miroku, released his throat, and helped him to his feet. Then his red eyes turned gold.

"Listen if you answer my questions truthfully then I won't harm you and I'll know if you're lying. Now who are you?"

"My...My name is Miroku." The groundskeeper replied trembling.

"Why did you unearth me?"

"I...I didn't mean to. I found your coffin while I was digging in the garden. I was going to move you to the cemetery tomorrow so you wouldn't be disturbed."

"What is the year?"

"1972."

"1972? Damn! I've been in there for a long time!" He looked back at Miroku who looked like that he was ready to pass out from fear.

"My...My cross didn't work on you...How?"

"Because I'm not all dead yet."

"What does that mean?"

"Okay let me guess you're an exorcist right?"

"Yeah."

"So you're aware of vampires right?"

"Yes."

"And you know how humans become vampires right?"

"Yes. If another vampire kills them with a bite then they come back as those undead monsters."

"Actually there are two ways. One is what you just said and the other is through witchcraft in which humans become vampires when they're still alive. So since I'm not undead crucifixes and holy water will do nothing to me."

"Oh crap."

"But I can still die by sunlight, garlic, and that whole wooden stake through the heart mess."

"I've...I've seen you before or rather someone who looks like you. They were in one of Kaede's old pictures but the hair and eyes are a totally different color."

"Black hair? Brown eyes?"

"Yes."

"That was me. Or rather it was me two centuries ago when I was human."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Inuyasha and I once owned this mansion."

"What do you want?"

"I'm not going to hurt you. You got me out of that underground hell hole so I'm in dept to you."

"It's not my life I'm worried about." Miroku said eyeing the picture of in Inuyasha's hand.

"Oh yeah your family I'm not going to hurt them either."

"Well they're not really my family but they're very important to me and I swear if you hurt either of them-"

"I won't."

"That's what you say but I know you're kind. I've fought vampires before and they kill without mercy."

"Some but not all. I don't kill needlessly and I don't kill the innocent."

"But you do kill?"

"Just to live but believe me I target mostly animals and occasionally criminals but I swear to you I will not harm anyone innocent or dear to you. I just want to live in my home again."

"Well I don't know about that because it belongs to Kaede."

"Kaede? She's still alive?"

"You know her?"

"She was the younger sister of a woman I knew years ago. Before I was sealed away I wrote a will saying that she and her family would inherit everything I owned including the house and my business."

"Then I think you're referring to Kaede's great, great, great, great, great...You get the idea. Grandmother who she was named after her."

"Oh so she's dead and this is just one of her descendants."

"I don't know if I should trust you."

"I figured you might say that. Would it help if I drank from a live animal in front of you?"

"No! That's disgusting!"

"Look I haven't killed you yet so that must prove something right?"

"I suppose. You promise not to hurt anyone in that house?"

"I swear not to harm anyone you love and care for."

"Fine."

"Good and one more thing. Don't tell anyone who or what I am."

"Deal."

The next evening Inuyasha arrived at the mansion introducing himself as a distant descendant of the previous family that lived there and all this time he had been living in a distant country. At first Kaede and the others weren't convinced until they saw that he was a dead ringer for the man in the portrait above the fireplace.

"I don't recall the first Inuyasha ever having any children." Kaede said. "We were told his family line ended with him."

"Well he did have an older brother and I believe he did marry and start a family." Inuyasha said.

"What up with your hair and eyes?" Shippo asked.

"I...I have a very rare medical condition."

"How rare?" Sango asked.

"Extremely. A genetic disorder which caused me to be born with unsual hair color, eyes, and an allergy to the sun."

"Goodness how awful." Kaede said.

"Why are you wearing clothes like that?" Sango asked.

Inuyasha looked down at his apparel.

"What's wrong with them?"

"He uh just came from a costume party when it started raining and he lost his luggage. Yeah that's it." Miroku said.

"Hey how old are you kids?" Inuyasha said.

"I'm eight." Shippo said.

"I'm sixteen almost seventeen." Sango said.

"And you're not married yet?"

"Of course not she's much too young." Kaede said.

"Where he comes from girls get married real young." Miroku said.

"Well here young ladies wait until they're at least eighteen before they marry." Kaede said. "So tell me Inuyasha what brings you here?"

"Well I would like to move into my ancestoral home and help out in the family business."

"Good luck with that." Sango said. "Our trade business has been in a rut for years. We lost it to a rival company."

"Well I'm sure that I can change that. So do you mind if I stay here? Technically it does belong to me but I'm not going to kick anyone out."

"I don't see a problem." Kaede said. "So you've met me, Shippo, Sango, and Miroku. Let me introduce you to Kagura and Kagome."

"Kagura went out to buy more booze." Miroku said.

"Again? I swear if she wasn't the only therapist we could afford I would fire her. Inuyasha, Kagura is our live in therapist who has a huge alcohol problem and Kagome is Shippo's governess. Miroku fetch her will you?"

"Yes ma'am."

Miroku went upstairs to tell Kagome about their new guest. Inuyasha felt as if all time stopped when Kagome entered the room. As soon as he laid eyes on her, it was like he had seen a ghost because she looked identical to Kikyo the woman he loved and lost so many years ago. At first he thought that she was Kikyo who had come back to him by some miracle but as soon as he smelled her scent he realized that this was a different woman.

"Hello I'm Kagome. I'm the governess here, it's very nice to meet you."

She held out her hand to shake. At first Inuyasha was stunned. Why did this woman look like Kikyo? Was this some kind of cruel joke that fate was playing on him?

"Why do you look like that?" He asked her.

"I beg your pardon." She said.

"Nothing... Nothing except I don't find how you're dressed very appealing."

"Excuse me?!" She said feeling insulted.

"Sorry I would have complimented you but I'm not supposed to lie."

"How rude!"

"Inuyasha what's wrong with you? That's no way to speak to a lady?" Miroku scolded.

Inuyasha knew better than to be so insulting but he was very angry right now. Angry at fate for creating a woman who looked like the woman he loved. How dare they pull such a cruel and unfair twist. He grabbed Miroku and pulled him aside for a private conversation.

"Miroku keep that woman away from me." He told him.

"Why?"

"Nevermind just do it. Make sure she never ever comes near me."

"Alright."

"Good now if you'll excuse me I'm going to get a drink."

[lacyjaybird]

Prompt: "So there I was,like, COVERED in hot oil.."

Pt. 3 of @mustardyellowsunshine ’s wonderfully invigorating writing prompts is another sentence challenge. Once again. I will be delving into the world of my Ballet! AU. Simply because you guys seem to like it so much! this time im aided by a delicious cup of wine and come soothing music. Please forgive the rambles. *cracks knuckles* Lets get this show on the road!

@inunanna @grapefruitwannabe as always, i write for you two beautiful ladies. 

Enjoy!

Inuyasha sat with his back against the glass in the ballet studio, a cool bottle of water in one hand and a small towel in the other to wipe his brow of sweat, listening intently to the story being told to him. A gentle smile gracing his lips as its teller waved her hands around animatedly.

“Yeah, I had to go on stage wearing this GOD AWFUL feathered headdress and Sango was in this little-bow-peep style dress and a bonnet and next thing I know, one of the live sheep goes crazy and mows over Hojo, like straight up takes out his knees, and takes a dive straight into the crowd!” Kagome laughed, unscrewing her own bottle of water and taking a sip.

Inuyasha let out a snort and fiddled with the towels corner as he pictured the ridiculous situation. “Does stuff like that always happen at the French Ballet?”, Inuyasha asked, looking up to take in Kagome’s relaxed figure. She was sitting cross-legged in the center of the room, gently massaging the tops of her feet. Surprising enough, her feet weren’t terribly calloused or red. She seemed to take great care of them to ensure comfort in the pointes. “Uhm the proper name is The Opera National de Paris and.. actually yes. There were two other incidents in similar nature while i was there.” She giggled, shaking her head as a smile spread across her lips as she recalled far away memories. “Do you speak french?” Inuyasha asked, toying with his water bottle cap. He had noticed the proper inflection she used on the words and wondered if her year spent in Paris had yielded any reward. 

For some reason he wanted to keep hearing her talk. Usually he avoided any and all communication with humans and demons alike. But with her, in this moment, it felt magical. Here she was, like a celestial being, her skin baring a slight glint from their impromptu dance session. And her voice rubbed against his canine ears like a soothing balm to his soul. He didnt want to leave and break the spell. So the best way was to keep her talking.  

“Juste un peu. Assez de passer.” Kagome smirked, holding up her thumb and forefinger an inch apart and squinting her eyes for emphasis. “Did you just say you had to go poo? Cause we just officially met and thats hella nasty.” Inuyasha joked, cocking an inky brow in her direction and allowing a playful grin to dance on his lips. At that Kagome burst into laughter, the sound dancing between them like a dandelions seeds in the wind. Kagome raised up her arms, stretching, and allowed her body to be taken back until she rested on the floor, her legs still crossed. “Do you know anything other than Japanese?” Kagome asked, turning her head to look him in the eye, her stormy grey meeting his honey irises. “I had to learn a little bit of Swedish when I worked at a spa for a while..” Inuyasha shrugged, shivering at the memories of having to clean the onsen and public showers and change the linen in the massage rooms. The oils had always given him the worst headaches. “Well do you remember any of it?” Kagome asked, her own eyebrow conveying her interest. 

Inuyasha sighed and straightened his back, his eyes falling into a disinterested half-lid. “ En unge spydde i badet igen. Var är desinfektionsmedel?” He asked, obviously drawing on past irritations. “What does that mean?” Kagome asked, a playful laugh bouncing on her words. Inuyasha watched for a moment as her ribs moved gently with her breaths. “Well..” Inuyasha groaned, scratching his head, “It means ‘A kid threw up in the bath again. Where is the sanitizer?’ Unfortunatly it was something i had to ask quite often..” he growled, shaking his head at the memories. 

“My mom took me to a spa for my 18th birthday while I was on holiday from competition.” Kagome sighed, shaking her head, her bangs shifting side to side as she recalled the event. Inuyasha watched intently, nervously picking at the towels corner. He knew how emotional he tended to get when talking about his own mother, and if had known his story would lead her to talk about her own then wouldnt have brought it up. “I didnt mean to-” he started, fumbling over his words. He was cut off by her hand waving in his direction. Her eyes were now closed as she recalled the story. “Its fine. I remember my mom and Sota and even Kawaguchi-sempai in positive tones. I honor them by talking about them. They impacted so many people. They deserve it..” Her voice was a whisper now as she drew her legs into a bent position, allowing her to reach her shin and touch the thick scar that reminded her of the day two years ago that nearly destroyed her. 

“Any way. I was freshly 18.” Kagome started, a new happy tone in her voice as she chuckled. “I was young and shy. I had only been touring for 6 months with the NNT” She acknowledged Inuyasha’s cocked brow in question and continued,” Thats short for the New National Theatre in Tokyo. Anyway, I still wasnt super comfortable with my own body in public. Hell, at the time i could barely change in the dressing room without turning beet red! But I agreed to go with Momma. I was only in town for a week and had never been to a spa before.”

She re-adjusted to sit up and look at him, her knees bent up to her chest as she absent mindedly rubbed her scars. “So first thing they do is take us to our own rooms, yeah, i didnt even have mom in there. And the guy, YES A GUY, gave me a sheet and told me undress and lay on the table. So he leaves and i look around the room and its got all sorts of curtains and candles and stuff with mood-lighting. 18 year old me is coming out of her skin at this point but Momma payed for it so I got undressed and got under the sheet and put my face in the little holder thing and just tried to not die from embarrassment,” She stopped momentarily to take a sip of her water and Inuyasha leaned forward, listening intently to this slice of her past. 

“Next thing I know, dude comes back in and he’s super awkward about it now. Later I found out that he had been told I was traveling with the NNT and wanted to relax and the pressure of massaging a ballerina git to him because as soon as he gets in there he is stuttering when trying to explain to me what to do. And that makes me nervous because I don’t know what to do. So he grabs the oil and is massaging my legs when he goes around to my feet without telling me and his sleeve hits my foot and I jerk and scare him.. and his elbow hits one of the candles and wax splashed all over the curtain and goes up in flames. So he’s freaking out and throws water on it.. and it explodes!” Kagome shook her head as she chuckled at the sheer hilarity of it.

Inuyasha’s eyebrows were raised in curiosity, this really did sound crazy. He watched intently as Kagome sighed and covered her eyes with her hand, readying for the best part of the story. Her other hand gestured limply to the side,“ and so I’m screaming and the guy just sprints out of the room yelling ‘fire, fire!’ And so I just grab the sheet and run out of there. Well running and oily feet dont mix so i end up slipping and busting my ass and tailbone. The fire alarm goes off and everyone is outside and i see mom and the other patrons and I notice they are all in robes.. and I’m in a sheet. And then I notice a different kind of burning. The dude has apparently grabbed a heating oil… so there i was ,like, COVERED in hot oil and wrapped in a sheet and the media shows up. I get a microphone shoved in my face and cameras are flashing next thing I know I’m on every tabloid this side of Tokyo with a shot of very unflattering side boob and a whole ass cheek completely covered in oil..” Inuyasha burst into laughter at that because he suddenly recalled that exact picture.

It had been less than flattering because of the flash on the oil and her shocked face paired with the large purple bruise on her butt. Not to mention her hair had looked like a birds best from the bun. The article had read “Local ballet prodigy from the New National Theatre Ballet, Higurashi Kagome, gets herself into a slippery situation while on Holliday”

” I looked like a bruised oil slick.” Kagome groaned, flopping back onto her back remembering the PR nightmare the week following the incident had been.

Inuyasha smiled gently and took in the woman infront of him who had opened up to him tonight. Usually she held herself with such poise and grace. Her stoic demeanor in the studio seemed intimidating to those unaware of the carefree and gentle woman beneath the surface. But he looked at her now, laughing and blushing at an embarrassing memory and saw so much more. He wanted this. He wanted the carefree easiness that came when talking to her. He wanted her to laugh, because damn it if it didn’t brighten his world. Taking a breath, he readied himself for his next words. His heart fluttered in his chest and his cheeks and inner ears reddened as he shrugged his shoulders, averting his eyes.

“…a cute bruised oil slick.”