It was as if Dionysus himself had come down from the heavens and said: "Let's have a party!"

What ensued would go down in unwritten history as the largest celebratory display of debauchery ever known to feudal Japan. For one night, all principles of decency ceased to exist. In a large village west of Edo, morality flew out the entrance gates as if it were a drunk being flung out the door of a bar for not paying his bill. Left in its wake, corruption ruled just that one night with its foul, deceitful words of encouragement. Everything was wild, tantalizing, hell-bent on being lascivious, and absolutely sinful. It was the sort of unadulterated depravity that only those without a sound mind reveled in.

Zendou was a village known for its virtue. It birthed many well-respected monks and holy men; it presented women famous for their delicacy and virginal purity. Night travelers sought out the protection of its walls, as the danger lurking in the woods never dared to enter its threshold. Zendou was safe; it was pure and holy.

But tonight, Zendou reeked of sake.

Not even the pure reputation of the righteous village was immune against the thrill and exhilaration of what perhaps was the most vital victory ever to be won.

Naraku was dead. They celebrated.

"May I refill your bowl?"

A strange young woman smiled crookedly at the man as he approached and held out her empty bowl. Her blue, glassy eyes held a glazed quality tonight, clouded by the haze of drunken pleasure as she watched the clear liquid of the rice wine cascade down into the hardened clay and splash over the sides onto her fingers. She giggled unsteadily, swaying slightly on her feet.

"Th-sa-thsank yous." She grinned and tipped her head back, lifting the bowl to her lips and draining it. A good portion of the sake missed her mouth and ran down her cheeks as she drank. The bowl fell from her grasp when she finished. She wiped away the liquid.

The man watched eagerly as she downed the rice wine. This woman was utterly gone. In the morning she would have no recollection of her nighttime activities. Lust's mist filtered into his mind, and he reached out and took the young woman's hand. It would be no effort at all to convince her to come with him. Life indeed was good tonight. She would come with him, couple without hesitation, and in the morning he would be gone. He began stroking her palm with his fingers as his eyes took on a darker shade.

"Come with me."

"Go-go? With you?" The young woman looked confused. She lifted her hand to her head. "Dizzy."

He smiled. It was almost too easy. "Let's go somewhere where you can lie down. You'll feel better." He turned and gave her a small tug to pull her with him, but she resisted. Not to worry. He smiled slyly and decided to change tactics.

Coming much closer to her than before, he shifted one hand to her shoulder and rested the other around her waist. With only a slight pull, he moved her close enough to him to force her to look up at him. She giggled.

"Come with me."

"No, no." Another silly grin plastered on her face, she reached out and took the man's cheeks between her hands.

"Why not?" He sounded petulant.

Slowly, her left hand slid down to his shoulder, and she squeezed it gently before pointing her index finger behind him. "I don't think he'd like it."

"Who?"

Gone! Just like that. His possessive grasp of her body violently broke as he flew roughly to the side, landing hard in the dirt. He groaned and gingerly touched the left side of his ribcage. The bruises were inevitable, a few probably broken. Staggering to his feet, the man took a pained breath and looked once again at the woman.

But, instead of her sweet, drunken features, he came face to face with a pair of infuriated golden eyes. The man swallowed. The strange golden color seemed to churn with growing anger, deepening to molten amber as the owner's fury intensified.

The constricting sensation of an outraged hand clutched at his throat. He tried to breathe, but to no avail. Claws pricked at his flesh.

"Leave."

The hand released him. He inhaled sharply and risked a glance at his antagonist. Color drained from his face and he ran. Intoxicated or not, one knew not to ever cross a demon.

Two seconds later, he was gone.

"He not like you, InuYasha," the young woman said, looking at the man's rapidly retreating form.

InuYasha snorted in the man's direction. "I don't give a damn. But he liked you, Kagome. What the hell do you think you were doing?" His voice had risen.

Kagome flinched and pouted. "You're yelling."

"I'm not yelling!" InuYasha grabbed her by the shoulders and crinkled his nose. "You'redrunk!"

All Kagome could say was, "Sake?"

InuYasha made a look of disgust at the bowl she held to him and turned away. "I've had enough."

"No, I don't thinks you have. You not happy." She patted his cheeks. "You be happy if have enough."

"Please try to speak clearly, Kagome," he nearly begged. The celebration had begun in the early evening, and it was now well after midnight. InuYasha hated to admit his exhaustion, but he could not deny it anymore. He did not think he had to either. The celebration party had come too soon after Naraku's defeat. Had it only been mere hours before that they achieved their victory?

InuYasha sighed and took Kagome's arm. He had also had his share of sake. It would not take much more to reduce him to her state.

"Where. Are. We. Going?" Kagome's words were slow and forced, but at least she tried to do as he asked.

"To find Sango, Miroku, and Shippou," he muttered. He felt a headache forming. "We should have left with them hours ago."

"No!" She resisted his hold. "I want to stay!"

"Well, I don't want to stay!" he shot back.

"More sake makes you happy!" Kagome retorted.

"I don't want more sake!"

"I want you want more sake!"

"You can't even talk right!"

"I no need too!"

"We're leaving!"

"Drink!"

"Fine!" InuYasha felt his last nerve go with their argument. He was tired, still broken from the battle, had had too much to drink, and now had a woman yelling at him. Cringing, he knew that he would have done nearly anything at that moment to keep her happy and quiet. He took the sake, which a passerby had refilled, and downed it in one swallow.

"Happy?"

Kagome was jubilant. "I happy, and now you happy too!"

In truth, he was not happy. He remained unhappy when the bowl was refilled just a minute later and he drank it, and he still remained unhappy as it filled again and he drank more. The pit of his stomach churned with the potent brew. His gaze became unfocused, his movements lethargic. His headache became worse.

"See?"

InuYasha looked through bleary eyes at Kagome. "Still not happy."

"You're no fun."

"Not having fun."

He felt dizzy. Hands reaching blindly behind him, InuYasha sunk to the ground. Around him, the swarms of people mixed with the firelight and became nothing more than a wavering blur. The noise in his ears echoed painfully. InuYasha shook his head and tried to focus of the girl positioning herself next to him. It was easier to see up close.

Kagome sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. "Long day."

"Long day," he agreed.

They remained silent together for a while, simply sitting in each other's presence and listening to the sounds of the celebration around them. It had yet to weaken. The night continued on wildly around them while they sat in their own silence. Laughter, arguments, the sounds of drunken debauchery—all of these filled the night air.

Kagome subconsciously drew closer to InuYasha when the noises drew too near. At some point, his arm came to rest around her protectively. The night moved on and Kagome grew steadily closer, her hand eventually entwining with his. He did not protest and laced his fingers with hers. His protective arm became possessive.

"How long until dawn?"

InuYasha thought for a moment, the alcohol causing his mind to function more slowly than usual. "Three hours."

"Too much time." Kagome snuggled closer.

InuYasha tensed and suddenly pulled out of her embrace. He did not move far but merely separated himself from her. Immediately, he regretted it. The hurt in her eyes bore straight through he had not been drunk, he probably would not have even attempted to apologize right away, but he was and he tried. However, as soon as InuYasha opened his mouth to speak, he stopped. Time stopped, and he stared.

Never before had InuYasha noticed how quickly Kagome's eyes could change. The hurt melted to confusion, and for a moment she seemed lost. Anger suddenly leapt into them as quickly as a wildfire spreads, and she fixed her fire on InuYasha.

He was surprised, but he glared back.

"Asshole."

"Bitch."

"Bastard."

Kagome glared angrily when she found herself suddenly pinned to the ground. She yelled, kicking her legs at her captor who was smiling snugly from his position above her. Pulling with all her might, she tried to free her arms. His grip held like iron. It was not painful to her, but it let her know that she would not go anywhere without his say so. One successful kick cracked against his shin. If he felt it, he did not show it.

"What was that?" InuYasha casually rested his weight lightly against her to stop her thrashing legs.

Drunk or not, Kagome turned red and howled in outrage. "Get off of me!"

"Don't think so."

"This is harassment!"

"You were name-calling."

"Jerk!"

"And you're doing it again."

Kagome freed her right hand and slapped his face.

InuYasha's eyes darkened. "Bad move." His full weight crashed down on her.

Her defeat screamed in her ears. Other than her arm, her body was rendered completely immobile. Kagome slapped his shoulder for good measure and finally gave up, rolling her head to the side to watch the celebration. At least everyone else in the village appeared to be having fun.

"Now what do we do?" Kagome asked miserably.

No answer.

When she looked up, InuYasha was looking at her strangely. His face seemed peaceful, yet perplexed. The iron-like grip around her wrists slackened. One of his hands moved underneath her head.

Her body moved on its own. She did not remember when the loud noises around them drowned out or when his face suddenly drew closer to hers. She only knew that he kissed her, and she kissed him back.

All the time they had known each other forced itself into that one moment. Their experiences, their secret thoughts, their dreams—all of it. It was as if nothing from their lives together would remain hidden that night. All of their locked up emotion came out in one moment, and it came with revenge.

She vaguely remembered seeing her clothing lying next to her and then his. It was cold but at the same time warm. It was exhilarating, confusing. One moment the cold earth pressed against her back, the next something soft lay beneath her. Sound disappeared. People disappeared. Everything vanished, leaving them alone in that one moment in time—a moment that would change everything forever.

A/N: Thanks for reading. If by some miracle you recognize the story from before, kudos. I swear, it's me. And, yes, I know it's been years. Read the explanation on my profile to see why this is being reposted (nutshell: lost email to sign in, Fanfiction admins will not respond to requests for help, wanted to finish story, so starting over here). Please review if you enjoyed. The second chapter is done, and I will post it after I get enough reviews to merit continuing the effort. Later!