Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Unexpected Dilemma
Sesshomaru flicked a small bit of gore from his boot, eying the remains of the dead youkai that had been fool enough to attack him. The lesser demon had obviously not been of sound mind; no sane being engaged a daiyoukai in battle without provocation – especially a creature so far beneath him. Add to that the fact that he'd been slavering at the mouth and shrieking unintelligible nonsense, Sesshomaru could only assume that another force was at work here.
Kneeling next to the sundered torso of the youkai, he pressed two fingers deep into an open wound across the fallen male's chest, shifting them searchingly until they touched against something small and hard. Pinching the splinter between his claws, he withdrew from the laceration, staring disdainfully at the shimmering purple shard he'd obtained.
He'd been correct in his assumption; this foolhardy creature had stumbled across a fraction of the cursed Shikon jewel, and had been driven mad by the power it had granted him.
Scoffing, he wiped his hand on the dead demon's garment, cleaning the thick, vile-smelling cruor from his fingers. He stood and tucked the little sliver away, thinking it best to be rid of the bothersome thing sooner rather than later. If he chose to keep it on his person, all manner of nuisances would be coming out the woodwork to attempt resting it from him. While none would succeed, it was sure to become immensely annoying in a very short amount of time.
His musings about the jewel drew his thoughts to its guardian, the feisty, raven-haired priestess who travelled with his tiresome sibling. His loins tightened as his mind revisited memories of their last encounter, her lush, rose-tipped breasts and firm, high backside. He could almost feel her slender legs wrapping securely around his hips and her welcoming heat engulfing his throbbing need.
Shifting as his flaccid member twitched to life, the daiyoukai decided perhaps now was a good time go find his brother's little band. It had been some time since he'd last met with the girl, after all. Yes, it had been too long - far too long since he'd last seen the miko.
Behind him, he could hear the quick, shuffling footsteps of his retainer as he approached, supressing the urge to groan as the imp began the usual string of useless drivel.
"Lord Sesshomaru! I see you have dispatched the worthless creature that dared to-"
"Enough, Jaken."
"Y-yes, milord."
Turning to regard the little imp from over his shoulder, the daiyoukai directed, "Guard Rin."
"Y-you are leaving, milord? Again?"
Quirking a brow at the foolish inquisition, Sesshomaru admonished, "Do not question me, Jaken. Do as you have been instructed."
The small, green demon nodded vigorously, watching as his Lord took to the skies with an effortless bound and a swell of youki. Lord Sesshomaru had been separating from the group far more often as of late, and – not for the first time – he wondered who had ensnared the great daiyoukai's attention. While his nose was not nearly as sensitive as an inu's, he had picked up the faint scent of a woman on his Lord, but was unable to ascertain who it belonged to. His Lord wasn't very forthcoming with the details of his comings-and-goings, so he was left to guess.
Turning, he began heading back toward the camp where Rin and Ah-Un awaited his return, wondering when – or if – he would meet this female. Usually the daiyoukai would lay with a partner only once before moving on to another, which meant this one had to be special in some way. She was likely a demon of great power and beauty to have ensnared his Lord for so long.
'Has milord finally found a female worthy enough to take as a mate?' His bulbous eyes watered with joy at the notion.
Kagome sighed, looking forward to setting up camp and settling in for the night. This past week had been hectic, demons attacking them one after another in almost constant succession. Hopefully tonight they would get to enjoy a quiet, uneventful evening, one that didn't involve fighting of any kind.
Up ahead of her, Inuyasha tensed, feeling a familiar power signature in the distance.
'What the hell does he want?' the hanyou wondered sourly. As of late Sesshomaru had only been approaching Kagome during her moments away from the group, not showing himself to the rest of them in some time. Not that he could complain; he didn't want to be anywhere near the bastard… even if the thought of those two together still made him somewhat nautious. So, then, if he was approaching now… what could it mean?
He placed a clawed hand on Tetsusaiga, not knowing what to expect.
Taking note of her friend's wary posture, Kagome expanded her senses and immediately took note of the demonic aura heading their way… very quickly.
'Sesshomaru? What on earth…?'
He came upon them suddenly, dropping gracefully from the sky and landing neatly at the head of the group. They stopped, looking in askance at the pale daiyoukai now blocking their path. His eyes swept instantly to the miko, and then – just as quickly as he'd appeared – he was gone…
… and so was Kagome.
The priestess spluttered in confusion as she was placed on her feet, blinking up at her abductor with wide, anxious eyes.
"What's going on?" she asked worriedly.
He quirked a brow.
She shuffled on her feet, shrugging as she elucidated, "You just kinda showed up outta nowhere. You don't usually come when we're all… you don't usually come unless I'm alone. Is something the matter?"
Understanding the cause of her distress and confusion, he assured, "Nothing is amiss. It has merely been some time since our last meeting."
Her expression went from concerned to comically shocked in an instant, comprehension snapping on like a light bulb.
"You came because of that?" she hissed, eyes narrowing as she fisted her hands on her hips.
He was a trifle confused by her sudden upset. This was far from their first meeting, so why was she acting so strangely? How was this any different from their other engagements?
"You are distressed."
"Well yeah!" she snipped in an obnoxious tone, staring at him as though he should know why, exactly, she was so distressed.
"Why?" he asked.
Huffing and throwing her hands up in exasperation, Kagome clarified, "Now, when I go back, I'll have to explain to the group what you came for!"
He frowned. "The others are aware of our arrangement."
Lips thinning, she mumbled, "Yes, but usually you come around while I'm alone, and I don't have to… talk about it. It's just sort of an unspoken understanding we all have! Now I'll have to talk about it in front of everyone! Inuyasha is going to get all grouchy, Sango and Shippou will be too embarrassed to look at me for the rest of the evening, and Miroku won't stop looking at me – wearing that stupid, perverted smile! It's-it's just embarrassing!"
This was the cause of her upset? He nearly rolled his eyes. Humans were such unnecessarily emotional creatures.
"Aside from that, "Kagome ploughed on, "just showing up out of the blue like that is disruptive! We might have been in the middle of something important!"
"Were you?"
She tensed her shoulders, pouting as she admitted mulishly, "Well… no, but that's beside the point! We could have been! We've been really busy lately, so you can't just start showing up whenever you please for a booty call!"
Sesshomaru contemplated her words, supposing they held a measure of truth. However, he was never one to deny himself what he wanted, and – unless he was in the direct vicinity – how was he supposed to know when she was alone and unoccupied?
The daiyoukai decided he would ponder it later. He had other matters to attend to at the moment.
He recalled the shard he'd collected, thinking perhaps it could be used to cool her ire. Reaching into the folds of his garb, he retrieved it, pulling it out to display it to her.
"This one also believed it would be pertinent to give you the shard he obtained."
Kagome looked down at the little shard in his palm, feeling her temper die as he offered it to her. She plucked it from his hand, peering up into his eyes somewhat sheepishly. She felt a bit guilty for having laid into him so harshly.
"S-sorry. Thank you… for bringing me the shard."
He gave a soft 'hn' at the whispered apology, watching her tuck the now purified sliver away with the others she carried .
Pulling a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she cleared her throat and said firmly, "However, I meant what I said before; you can't just be popping in whenever you feel like it. You need to make sure I'm not busy with anything important… and preferably alone."
"We are alone now."
She flushed hotly. "Yeah, but that's because you-"
"I brought you a shard of the jewel," he reminded her, giving a mental grin of triumph when she huffed and nodded grudgingly.
"Fine, fine! Just… don't take too long."
He gave a consenting nod. It was an acceptable condition considering the suddenness with which he'd arrived. After he was finished here, he would need to take some time to think about how to solve this little problem. It would not do for him to be denied if he came at an inopportune time.
Yet, for now…
Golden eyes focused intently on the priestess, and he stalked forward with obvious intent and swept her into his heated embrace.