As a Woman's
by: kokonimo
Author Note: I wanted to try a different style here and this was an... interesting concept that came to me one day. Seemed appropriate to knock both ideas out at once. If you're a watcher of anime (any anime, really), you'll probably get where the concept is derived from. Also, as disclaimer: I do not own the story Inuyasha nor its canon characters and I am not making any money from this literary deviation.
"Well, it's not as if I'm in any hurry to get anywhere. Go ahead, ask me what you're thinking. You want to know why I'm consulting you on this matter."
Naraku watched as the other male stalked around the encampment, possibly... sniffing out the area? It seemed like such a trivial, "beneath thou" action that Naraku didn't feel right trusting his gut instinct about what the other was doing.
Sesshoumaru was scenting the area.
Naraku wondered if the dog demon realized what he was doing.
"How presumptuous of you to suggest what you think I might ask," Sesshoumaru stated boredly, coming to a slow stop. He turned and faced Naraku.
"This is the most restless I've seen you, lord Sesshoumaru. Something the matter?"
"I don't trust your intention, is all."
"Ah, you do wisely to do that."
A shiver ran through Naraku as the demon lord smirked. The spider's baboon pelt managed to hide most of it.
"I... do not trust that is all you want. Surely you could have consulted elsewhere."
"Ah..." Naraku sat back in his pelt, shifting his legs and looking pensive. He sat quite at ease before the dog demon and he sincerely hoped the relaxed stature was grating on Sesshoumaru's nerves. "I think there's a core problem with your reasoning, lord Sesshoumaru."
That wiped the smug look off the dog demon's face, Naraku thought, pleased. He waited for the other to react against the insult, but the dog demon did nothing. To Naraku, he looked curious.
"The problem-and by all means, my lord, I mean no offense-is that you assume I have a wide network of acquaintances with which to consult on such a matter. That is not the case at all. My local haunt, so to speak, are these western lands where we currently dwell. I have no experience nor have I ever held any interest to pursue the lands across the sea to the south-until now, that is."
Naraku looked up, the dog demon had begun circling again. "And you, lord Sesshoumaru, a learned scholar and lord in your own right, must have some knowledge of the Yamato islands to the south. You are my best resource."
Sesshoumaru grunted, pausing to eye a particularly old tree. Naraku wasn't used to this strange behavior of his-he had never seen the demon so... mobile. He dare not say restless, but the dog was close to it.
Naraku cleared his throat, not surprised when the demon failed to acknowledge what he said. "Well? My earlier offer of information still stands. I've asked something of you, feel free to ask something of me. I'm all for equivalent exchanges."
The demon stopped. Time seemed to stand still, it was so long before Sesshoumaru did anything else. Naraku shifted uncomfortably; was he being dismissed? He had just laid himself bare! Who wouldn't jump at such an opportunity? Now would be the perfect time to ask him why he chose to pursue Inuyasha and his group in the first place, why he truly wanted the Shikon jewel, why Kikyo's simple existence was the worst reminder of his pathetic humanity.
"I have heard lore that the teat of a human male is that of a female, is this truth?"
It took Naraku a while to comprehend that one. A breeze blew threw the encampment, sending those wayward curls of his flying in all directions.
"What?"
Naraku could have sworn he saw the other stiffen, but maybe that was hopeful wishing on his part. He really hoped the other was as uncomfortable as Naraku would expect him to be after posing such a ridiculous question.
From the demon's blank face and renewed circling, Naraku realized that not only did the demon not like to be second-guessed, he was also completely, utterly, terribly serious.
"Forgive me, lord, but... what?" Naraku couldn't help but slightly laugh, his eyes lighting up considerably. "I wouldn't say it's as much lore as simply a fact of the human anatomy... but why does such a thing trouble you?"
Naraku didn't miss how Sesshoumaru's eyes sharpened. Alright, maybe the wrong question.
"Did someone tell you differently? Why... yes, human males have 'teats' as you so say, but probably-and regrettably-not as large as that of a human female. If the woman is so lucky, I suppose."
"Ah," it was barely audible, but Sesshoumaru acknowledged what Naraku said.
Naraku sat in silence, watching the other a bit longer before a sharp bark of laughter passed his lips. Sesshoumaru's eyes had narrowed once again.
"Forgive me, lord Sesshoumaru, but I'm having a hard time accepting this as a normal part of conversation." Naraku shook his head incredulously. "Why on earth do you ask?"
"Nothing a mere half-demon would understand, it seems," Sesshoumaru smirked once again. "It's not as if you were born of a demon-merely made."
That silenced Naraku for a second, his eyes wide and wild as he realized his mockery had been turned back on him. It was clear from his speechlessness that he hadn't been expecting the retort.
"My mind fails me at the moment, now, what is it I do not understand?"
Sesshoumaru's momentary smirk was gone, replaced with an expression of mere boredom. It was Naraku's turn to feel as though he were the butt end of a joke.
Naraku should have known that he wouldn't have received a response. He had no idea why he put so much faith in the other individual. He crossed his arms.
Then it struck him. He bit his bottom lip as his eyes became alight once again, this time with recognition.
"I see. Either you have not had a chance to gaze upon a naked human male... or, you don't have any?" he was having a hard time hiding his confusion. Naraku automatically assumed the latter wasn't a viable conclusion as it made no sense. The demon in front of him was as humanoid as could be, of course he had to have a chest!
The white haired male absentmindedly gripped his sword, as if to indicate his resignation. The spider didn't seem to be getting what he was getting at, and Sesshoumaru was already too involved in the conversation not to get the answers he wanted. "Surely you know all creatures that walk the earth have some semblance of a... 'chest'..."
"Yes," Naraku nodded, encouraging him to continue, "that's why I'm not follow-"
"Even this Sesshoumaru does not know if all creatures that walk the earth possess a teat in both sexes."
"Ohh!" Naraku nodded again, this time in understanding. "That I'm not sure... wait, are you referring to 'nipples'?"
"Yeesss, Naraku," Sesshoumaru drew out, the uncharacteristic vocalization making Naraku feel more like an idiot than he ever thought possible.
"Well, now, this is quite the revelation. You'll have to excuse me, lord Sesshoumaru. Usually, anyone that I can have a conversation with in my native tongue I would assume to be in the possession of 'nipples'. This... is quite a finding."
"You mock me."
"Only slightly," Naraku piped up. They seemed to be on equal footing again as Naraku had visibly relaxed. It wasn't long before Naraku's posture changed again. "So... have you ever seen a human man's nipples? No, no, of course not, you wouldn't have asked."
"This Sesshoumaru has seen many human corpses in our day, Naraku. We simply felt it not a fruitful investment at the time to visually inspect them." The deadpan way in which the dog demon said it made Naraku chuckle, his eyes twinkling.
As Naraku's laughter died in the night air, the encampment became quiet once again. It was a comfortable silence. Naraku had gotten used to Sesshoumaru's manner and style of speaking. Not much could be deciphered from the other male, but when he did dare to emote, it was genuine. This is why he had sought the dog demon out. He rather enjoyed his company so long as he wasn't on the other's bad side and, to his knowledge, he had not been as of late. Naraku smirked dismissively to himself. Was this what humans normally did, chat amongst themselves? He had forgotten. Ever since his transformation, he had been exclusively in the company of demons, none of which were very talkative for the sake of just talking. He had learned that pretty quickly. And now, this lone spring night, he had learned yet another tidbit.
Male demons didn't have nipples. Or, more specifically, Sesshoumaru did not. He could care less about the other belly-crawlers.
"Now might not be the most advantageous investment-" the rest of Naraku's sentence was cut off by him shrugging out of his baboon pelt. He shifted the fur down his shoulders to the elbow.
Not a hint of emotion was shown in the dog demon's face as the spider half-demon essentially exposed himself to him. Again, Naraku was at a loss as to what he thought he expected the dog demon to do.
"I have only seen human offspring feed from the females. Do they also feed from the males?"
Naraku's eyes stretched at the preposterousness of the dog demon's query, but then he thought about it-Sesshoumaru simply didn't know.
So the dog was curious. Naraku made it a point to memorize this fact; it'd come to be of use to him in the future.
"No... not at all. It has not been my experience, nor have I ever heard of a human male with the ability to do such a thing. Now, of course, my human experience is a bit foggy as I've not been human in such a long tim-long to me," Naraku corrected when the dog demon snorted at him. "Still, I do not recall ever hearing of such a thing."
"Hearing is not knowing," the white dog demon seemed to shrug. "In your experience, how is the biology used if not to nourish offspring?"
Naraku drew a blank to that and it was evident on his face.
"Well..."
Sesshoumaru lifted a slender brow, waiting for Naraku to continue. The spider half-demon seemed pensive, mischievous.
"They are quite handy at deciphering temperature changes. They also respond to touch. They harden with stimulation, you see, and in its void, they soften. Would you care to see?"
The dark haired half-demon waited for the dog-demon to react-a grunt, a sneer, a fallen eyelash to the eyeball, anything-but a reaction never came. Thus, Naraku concluded, he'd show him anyway.
Naraku swiped a thumb over his left nipple, massaging it in soothing circles. The tissue reacted and Naraku felt his breast tighten.
"See? They do that. And as you can see, the one I touched looks completely different than the other."
"And is that the extent of it?"
"Yes, it is."
Naraku's eyes met Sesshoumaru's when the dog-demon made a half-attempt to laugh. It was more a stuttered breath than anything, but Naraku knew the other was amused.
"Now, seeing as this may be the only opportune time that you might view a 'human' male in such close quarters," Naraku laid a palm to his chest, rising from his seated position, "I'll let you see for yourself." He walked obviously to the dog demon, not wanting the dog demon to misconstrue his intention and turn to attack him.
Of course, the dog demon's stature did not change in the slightest, even as Naraku advanced upon him. Naraku stopped about a foot away from Sesshoumaru, his skin taut with anticipation at the thought of being in striking range of the male demon. Perhaps this was too much a gamble. Never the matter, Naraku reasoned, even if this body was destroyed, he'd just regenerate another. He could take a chance for the sake of amusement.
Naraku lowered his head, trying to catch the eyes of the only slightly shorter male who seemed to be staring at his breast. "Do you see what I was referring to? The other is smooth expanse of skin. If you touch here," Naraku gestured with his hand, "it will do as the other."
"You mock me, half breed," Sesshoumaru growled, raising his eyes slowly to meet Naraku's fierce crimson eyes. "It is the same as a female's."
"Ahh, but you see my lord," Naraku quipped, holding a finger in the air, "you wouldn't know that for yourself, considering it's your first time witnessing the strange phenomenon in such close detail. We already know they do not perform the same functions."
Naraku kept his features schooled, but he was thoroughly enjoying what could potentially be the dog demon's confliction. He watched as the dog demon's lips slightly parted and his eyes sink back down to look at Naraku's right breast. Naraku felt telling him, "go on," would be well-placed encouragement in the situation, but he wasn't too fond of flirting with danger a mere foot's width away.
Naraku thought he had been watching closely, thought he had been analyzing the dog demon's every move in an attempt to wring some sort of emotion out of the masked creature, but it wasn't until he opened his eyes that he realized they had been closed. He took in a sharp breath.
He had lost sight of the dog demon, who had bent down level with his right breast and had swiped a pointed tongue over where his nipple should be. The area responded and then crested canines grazed past-this, yes, this is where his eyes had shut, Naraku realized-as Naraku's right nipple began to harden. Then, the sucking-this, too, Naraku realized was the cause of his altered breathing-it had all been too much. He had been caught off guard by such an unfathomable turn of events that he had dared to relax in front of his enemy. Enemy? It was the appropriate name for the other, but Naraku was finding it a hard name to suit.
Enemy.
Naraku's freshly opened eyes jerked down violently to see the dog demon's full lips (full lips... he hadn't noticed this before...) suckling at his breast as if it were a swollen teat. The gentleness mixed with sharpened fangs was confusing the poor spider-demon so that it was taking all he had not to push the dog demon as far away as he possibly could.
That was when the dog demon, still suckling, still bent down, raised his eyes and gazed up at Naraku through his eyelashes. Eyelashes, his eyelashes were long and almost clear. Naraku had never noticed this before, had never been so close. Naraku imagined his confused expression must have been a sight in and of itself for he felt Sesshoumaru's mouth quiver and finally he pulled away-slowly. The hardened nipple was the last to leave Sesshoumaru's mouth and Naraku felt as if he'd fall forward with the withdrawal. He stared hard at Sesshoumaru, so many words, so many questions.
The dog demon straightened, his eyes having dropped back down to Naraku's breasts. He looked between the two of them before raising his eyes back up to Naraku's.
"Just like a woman's," Sesshoumaru seemed to reason (and Naraku thought that reason was a long awaited guest at this party) and quipped an eyebrow at Naraku as if to invite Naraku's disagreement.
Naraku continued to stare at Sesshoumaru. For once, his delightfully crass tongue had gotten the better of him and now it had simply given up the fight and died in his mouth. When Naraku failed to continue the conversation, Sesshoumaru ended it by taking a step back and turned around to leave the encampment.
"Use the information that was divulged to you as you will, Naraku... as this Sesshoumaru will use the information divulged to us." Naraku watched as the dog demon walked gracefully away.
The dog demon was just beyond the trees and beyond Naraku's sight when he heard Sesshoumaru's voice as clear as nighttime thunder: "It might do well to cover yourself if you are as cold as you most certainly appear."
Owari