Out of sight of the wolves, Rai sighs and opens the front of her armor, letting her breasts relax. She closes her eyes and exposes her breasts to the wind and the sun's warmth. "What are you doing up there?"
"Thought we'd never get out of there. Can't I just have a moment?" She rolls her neck, as she becomes soothed.
"You know we don't have to go back just yet. I know a place we can swim. It's nearly summer now. It's in a lake close to the sacred tree. What do you say?"
"Take me there." Shippo nods and swerves in mid-flight, heading towards the direction of the lake. She searches the shoreline for a perfect spot.
"There's a place. It's sandy there, too. Well incase you're interested in sunbathing."
"But we have nothing to wear unless…ooh I get it. You just want to be naked."
"Yeah, but no sex this time. We do that too often, we might get bored. I'm also a day away from my fertile stage. What if we do it today and I get knocked up tomorrow? Not to say it's ever happened. You're my first."
"I get it. I'm not interested in fathering a child, especially this soon. I want to get to know you first."
Shippo swoops down and lands on the sandy shoreline. Rai leaps off and dashes towards a rocky out crop on the beach. She stabs the ground with her Naosusaiga then cites a spell in her mind. "There, now my things won't be carried off or blown away. If you put your clothes next to this sword, they will be guarded as well."
"My clothes? I don't have anything else to wear," Shippo replies right after transforming back. Rai smiles at him and starts undressing. Shippo blushes bright red.
"I don't have anything either. That's the point. Besides we're all alone."
"That's easy for you to say. You're a girl. Girls look good naked."
"So do you, hot guy. Like I keep telling you, yours looks pretty. You should be proud of what you've got. Too often guys look like they're trying too hard. Some guys look like they stole it off an elephant or some old fart. One of my classmate looked like he stole a pig snout and stuck it on his crotch." Shippo laughs at her. "When I see you naked, it's like you copied it from this Roman statue I used to look at back in Kyoto. Some artist named Michelangelo made him. Someone was selling small replica sculptures made of him. I bought one and put in my room at the dojo. David's body looked hot. That's what you look like to me. It's like someone sculpted your body with perfection. Just like David, it looks like your penis goes with your body."
"Really?" Shippo blushes, "Wow. Nobody's ever complimented me about how great I look. I've grown up, but I feel like a kid still. I know they don't mean to, but Kagome and Sango, well even the guys, still see me as a kid. You however see me as a man. But not just a man, more like a god."
"Not quite. You're a wonderful man who knows how to keep his youthfulness without acting childish. You try to improve yourself to impress your friends. You have impressed me. You're a caring person, kind to anyone you meet. You're still a bit of a coward, but you hide it by acting mature and don't let anyone see your cowardliness. You face your fears, even to the point of killing whatever's causing your fear. And above all you protect the woman you love, even if it might cost your life. You're able to stand strong, yet you're not afraid to show your emotions. You even cry if things get too rough or you're afraid you've lost someone you love. These are the real qualities of a true man. You looking like a god or that David statue, is just added bonus. That and you're the sexiest guy that I've ever met. I don't care if you're a demon, human, or hanyou like me. You are a real lady killer."
Rai strolls out naked into the water. She wades until her body starts to submerge, then glides under, tucking her ears back. She dives deeper, swimming through the water like a fish. She cuts back up and breaks her head out of the water. She looks back at the shore and watches Shippo enter the water nude. He covers himself with his hands at first, searching the area for peeping toms. Finally he flies out and dives into the water beside her.
"Careful! The water's still shallow here. I'm standing on the rocks yet."
He reemerges, shaking water from his head. "I saw you standing like that, so I controlled my descent."
Rai places her hand on Shippo's head. "Sakana iki o suru." Soon tiny slits appear on both Shippo and Rai's necks.
"What are these? What did you do?" asks Shippo, touching both sides of his neck.
"I gave you temporary gills. They attach directly to your lungs. These will help us breathe under water. The instant you step out of the water, they will disappear. Now we can swim and play underwater as long as we want like fishes."
Rai dives back under the water, gliding her way through water. She touches her legs with her hands. They straighten instantly and turn to scales. Soon she creates a mermaid's tail out of her legs. Shippo looks at her with amazement. "Mermaid?"
Rai touches his legs, transforming them and his fox tail into a tail similar to hers. "More fun. Besides you're still shy about being completely nude. At least if Kagome or Sango were to see you, they'd be warm to seeing you as a merman."
"Why are they close by?"
"I've been smelling Kagome's scent ever since we entered the water. She's close by, and heading in our direction."
Shippo reemerges from the water and sniffs the air. Rai follows behind him to the surface. "Yeah, I smell Kagome and Sango. InuYasha was with them, but has taken off in the opposite direction, possibly heading back to the village."
"Don't get out to greet the two women, or both spells will wear off. I don't think you're ready to show your nudity to Kagome, nor are you interested."
Shippo shakes his head and flips back under the water. 'What else are you going to guess about me? Are you a mind reader, too?'
Rai catches sight of Kagome dressed in a bathing suit. Rai splashes the water, grabbing her attention. Kagome watches her, and then widened her eyes to see Rai's tail splash the water, as Rai dives back into the water. "Did you see that?"
"See what?" asks Sango.
"Mermaids!" chimes Kagome.
"Here? In this lake?"
Rai smirks and chases after Shippo through the water. He glances back and charges further under the water. Rai catches up to him and cuts him off. Shippo tries to flee, but is forced to surface. He breaks the surface, twenty feet from the shore. He tries to search for either Rai or Kagome, when he's yanked back under by Rai.
"What was that for?" Rai grins at him with an evil stare. She entices him to chase her, backing away from him. "You're going to get it," he pretends to threaten. She screams playfully, trying to flee from him. Rai swims as fast as she can, dodging and weaving through the water like a fish. She backs up, searching for Shippo, preparing for an ambush. Suddenly she feels hands behind her. "Ah, you sly fox! You thought you could…" Rai turns around and sees Kagome behind her. "Sorry…uh…Oba(san)."
"Please stop calling me that. That makes me sound old." Kagome stares at Rai, hesitating to touch the mermaid tail. "Is this real? When did you become…? I saw two mermaids in the water."
"It's one of my spells. I gave Shippo a mermaid tail as well."
"What's wrong with your neck? Did you get injured?"
"That's another spell. It allows for underwater breathing. If I give them to you, you can stay under like a fish." Rai touches Kagome's legs, turning them into a fish tail, too. Rai touches her head and produces gills for her.
Kagome giggles, dancing through the water, splashing playfully with her new tail. "I wish InuYasha could see me now."
"Yeah but if you leave the water, both spells will wear off." Suddenly, Rai is grabbed and pulled under the water. Rai screams with laughter. "I'll make you pay for that." She sees Shippo trying to swim away, but catches up to him.
He tries to break away from her grasp. But she holds him by his arm, tickling his stomach with her other hand. He backs off, freeing himself from her grasp. He splashes away, bolstering his way through the water. He spots Kagome playing just under the surface. He swims to the bottom of the lake, just underneath her, preparing to strike her. Rai swims up beside her. She watches Shippo crawling around the rocks and water grasses.
"So where did InuYasha take off to? I lost his scent after awhile."
"When it comes to finding a place to relieve himself, he's as nitpicky as Inazuma. He's probably hosing down a tree now. He'll come ba…EEK!" Kagome gets pulled down. "Shippo! Why you!" Rai chuckles at Kagome's protest.
"Got you! Good work, babe," Rai winks at him.
"Well, you were both on this prank. Just you wait until he comes back."
"Who comes back?" taunts Shippo, "Can't rely on him for everything."
"Where's Sango?" asks Rai.
"Sunbathing on the shore."
"Well I might do that too. Swimming like a fish is enough of a workout."
"You were in the water first."
"Shippo, are staying in or coming out?" asks Rai.
"I'd better stay, especially with these two here." Rai nods then swims back to shore.
"Why is he staying in?" asks Kagome. Rai crawls back onto the sandy shore. Instantly her tail transforms back into legs and her gills disappear. Kagome crawls back out too and reverts back to normal. She looks at Rai's naked body.
"Because we were both naked when we entered the water. Are you that interested in seeing Shippo's penis?"
"Oh. Not really. That's for your eyes only," laughs Kagome.
"Well I think it's the prettiest one I've ever seen on a man."
"Of course you do. You're his girlfriend. When I started getting serious with InuYasha, his was beautiful. Still is too."
Rai and Kagome walk over to where Sango is sunbathing. Rai looks at two extra beach towels next to her. "What are these weird things?" Rai asks, kneeling beside the first towel she comes to. She picks up the top end of the carpeted cloth, feeling it with her fingers. "It's got some sort of green silhouette of a palm tree and it smells salty, like sea water."
"They're called beach towels," informs Kagome. "They're from my era."
"From this Tokyo place, I guess."
"Something like that. You want to know how to use it?"
"From what Sango's doing with it. I guess you lay on it. It's like a bed." Rai lies down on the towel on her back.
"Are you planning to sunbath nude?" asks Kagome.
"That's what I really came here for. As soon as I left Koga's place, I couldn't take being clothed. That armor is great protection and comfortable, but I don't like to wear it all the time, especially in this heat." "Besides that, I feel the most relaxed when I'm not wearing anything."
"I'm surprised to hear that from a woman, especially in this lawless era of Japan. There are so many guys itching to snatch a sexy woman, especially girls your age."
Kagome lies on the towel between Rai and Sango. "I just don't make myself approachable. If any stranger pervert sees me naked, I can just cast one of the nightmares into his mind. Even wide awake, he's made to think something awful is happening to his body."
"What if it's someone you know, like Miroku?"
"If it's Miroku, he won't get far," sighs Sango, "I'll give him something he won't like."
"Normally though I sniff out familiar scents and know whose approaching. Like right now, I can smell InuYasha approaching this area. Now Miroku's in this area too. He must have known we were swimming out here." "Oh, since you're both here, I supposed you closed the shop for the day."
"We did have several customers stop by. Your strawberry rice balls were a hit. You sold that more than the other breakfast items. The tea was also good. Peppermint tea with that white berry stuff."
"Your fellow villagers were suffering terrible stomach illnesses, so I wanted to brew something to relieve the nausea. Haha-ue has the same type of flu, so I asked Chichi-ue to bring those white berries to her."
Rai closes her eyes and breathes in the sun's warmth. She sniffs more and smells something like ointment. "Kagome, what's that smell? It's like your wearing this stuff that smells like horseradish."
"It's sun block. When I'm in the sun like this, I burn. My skin gets red and painful. With this stuff, I only get a tan." "Do you want me to put some on you?"
"Thanks, but the heat from the dragon's energy and the sun's sort of cancel each other out. I only get a small portion of the sun's rays." "If I do burn, all I do is replenish the old burned skin with clean new."
"With your powers?"
"Don't think it's like I stole them from someone or learned them from Jii-chan or sensei. Sorcery is just something I must have been born with. Same with telepathy and clairvoyance. I think Jii-chan was a sorcerer in his life. The ability must have just skipped a generation, because Chichi-ue doesn't seem to have the ability. Or if he does have those abilities, he's hiding it well."
"So you're instinctively a sorceress, that's hanyou with a dragon's soul mixed with her own, who's a trained samurai, who ages like a human and is mature, and who's mastered that weird cave under Mount Hiei. Is there anything you can't do?"
"Flying long distance is one of my weaknesses. I can fly in battle, but if I have to be somewhere, I need someone who can take me where I have to be. Like just this morning, I had to visit Koga and tell him why going to that cave is something I doubt he could do. Shippo was nice enough to accompany me to his cave. Good thing too, because Nakuhebi sent a look-a-like henchman, along with his serpent brigade. And those snakes love to invite area demons to a fight."
"So you've met him. Is he anything like Naraku?"
"He's much more cunning than Naraku. Besides Nakuhebi is from the Jomon era, over 10,000 years ago."
"Oh my, so Naraku would have been a child by comparison. I wonder why we never crossed paths with this Nakuhebi."
"Because he was laying dormant while Naraku was ruling this land. He waited until Naraku was dead. However Chichi-ue kept the Crimson Jewel of Life from either demon's grasp. He shattered the jewel when Sesshaku was born, as well as a false jewel. He ordered the fake stone to be made by the son of Hosenki."
"Where were these jewels?"
"In a place nobody knew, except Jii-chan, who told it to me. The jewels were in his stomach. He coughed them up for Sesshaku to find, but then he found out Sesshaku was more human, like Haha-ue and can't tell what jewel is real. Then I was born two years later. Chichi-ue and Jii-chan both say I'm mostly demon with a few human traits."
Rai's nose twitches. "Something foul is headed this way."
"Demons?" asks Kagome.
"No, they're human, but they stink like thugs."
"Should we move? Why isn't InuYasha here already? Can't take that long for him to pee."
Rai closes her eyes, starting to doze off. "We won't have to move," she yawns, "They will leave us." Quickly, Rai falls asleep.
"Oh no, she's asleep! She smells trouble. Sango, what are we going to do?" Kagome starts freaking out.
"There's not much we can do," sighs Sango. "If it was just us two, I would be screaming for help too. I don't know, though. Rai doesn't even seem phased by this. Look at her, she's sleeping calmly with an evil smile on her face."
A gang of men on horseback surrounds the shore. All the men in the gang wear samurai uniforms, with baldheads, and wielding spiky clubs. "Would you look at that? Three lovely wenches just for us," taunts one of the men.
"Aw and look, one of them has undressed herself. She must have known I wanted to do her."
"You get out of here!" shrieks Kagome.
Shippo dashes out of the water and zips over to Rai. He transforms fur around his waist, and stands beside Rai.
"Wait, boss. There's someone down there with them."
A man with long black hair and a beard approaches Shippo. Shippo growls at him with an angry stare. "Out of my way, pal!"
"No you leave! You're not going to have your way. Rai is my woman, and you'll be damned if you lay one hand on her."
"Siro, take him down for me."
"No, ugly boss, you fight me!" sneers Shippo.
"It's okay, Shippo. I'm handling him," replies Rai, talking in her sleep. Suddenly a red aura cloud seeps out from Rai's body.
Suddenly, Rai's eyes spring open and glare bright red. Her claws lengthen and she flips onto her stomach. The boss watches her approach him, on all fours, with her fangs poised to kill. Suddenly she pounces on him and bites off his arm. Blood gushes out, and the man screams in fear and agony.
Rai remains seated on his horse, eating his arm like a chicken leg. She tears clumps of meat from his arm. "This is good, but there's not enough meat on this arm." She tosses the arm away and breaks off one of his ribs.
"You idiots! Get her off of me. Monster wench she is!"
Other gang members look at him with confused looks. "Boss, what are you talking about? What monster wench?"
"She's eating me alive!" he screams, wetting his pants. A blank stare sweeps across his face, almost into a catatonic state. The boss slumps over his horse, as he starts to pass out.
"Can't you idiots see your boss isn't feeling well?" steams Shippo. "You better get him out of here, incase you want him to suffer more."
"Shippo, you mean you can see what she's…" Kagome starts to ask.
"She's showing me this dream now. I'm glad you're not watching, because you already got done with tossing your cookies yesterday. This scene will make you do that again." Shippo shoots the vision over to a gang member. The man watches Rai eating his boss. He sees her tearing off his boss's second arm.
She looks up from her bloody feast and sees the gang member looking at the scene in horror. "Mm…I'm sorry I'm making such a pig out of myself. Here, you can have this arm." She tosses it to him, and then pulls out the boss's liver and starts devouring it. She looks up at the gang member again with the liver hanging from her mouth. He sees her face covered in his boss's blood. She claws through the body, disemboweling it.
The gang member clamps his hand over his mouth. "Take me somewhere, guys. I gotta hurl. Quickly!" Two of his buddies hustle him off his horse and run him to a tree in the forest.
"Let's get out of here!" shrieks another man, "I don't want to get sick."
"I'm going to die. Devoured alive by this monster. What a terrible way to go. That's okay. I don't need to live," the boss utters in delirium.
"You heard what that half-naked man just said. Let's leave here at once!"
The gang members flee with their horses. Two members drag their boss and his horse with them. All that remains is the one guy throwing up in the forest with his buddies guarding him.
The gang leaves just as InuYasha enters the area. "Yeah! You idiots better run!"
"Too late to do anything. We were almost kidnapped!" steams Kagome.
"Sorry. Took me forever to stop pissing. What did Rai put in that tea?"
"InuYasha, you went back for three helpings on your own," argues Sango, "Don't go blaming Rai for something you did."
"Will you all hush?" scolds Shippo, "Rai's still asleep."
"It's quite all right," Rai stretches herself.
"Would you put some clothes on?" demands InuYasha.
"Let me think here…I will after a while, but not now."
"No you'll do it now. If you don't, so help me…"
"InuYasha tameru!" Instantly his body freezes.
"I was about to say oswari," Kagome replies, making him collapse to the ground, "when you said that."
"I like both incantations," laughs Shippo. "I understand now that Rai can take care of herself. She doesn't need a man to protect her."
"Shippo, I need you because I love you. You're protecting what's most important. Our hearts are the most precious things."
"But you don't need me to guard you. I'm useless to you."
"Shippo, why do you think that? You protected me from being captured. I protected you from being killed by them." "Besides I almost lost you once today. I don't want to experience that again." Shippo kneels beside her and holds her. Rai holds onto him, weeping on his chest.
"Rai, I was more worried about you. I couldn't help but protect you from those evil men. You're my woman and I won't let anything happen to you or let any other guy have you."
"That's…thank you." Rai embraces him harder, pressing her breasts against his sturdy chest.
Kagome smiles blissfully at Shippo with Rai. 'This is how you were, InuYasha, when you fell in love with me.'
Rai stands up and hoists up Shippo. Suddenly she widens her eyes and rushes him into the water. "What are you doing?"
"You were coming apart," Rai whispers. He looks down and guards himself. Rai transforms his legs back to a fish's tail. She returns the gills to his neck.
He flips into the air and dives into the water. InuYasha stares out in curiosity at Shippo. "What the hell did you do to him?"
"Can't you tell?" chimes Kagome, "Rai turned him into a mermaid."
"Mermaid? You mean one of those hanyous who's half human and half fish?"
"The mermaid look is neat. She even let me be one."
"I want to be one too," whines Sango. Rai leads Sango into the lake and touches her legs.
Miroku crosses into the clearing in time to see his wife's transformation. "What's this? Sango was an ordinary woman when I saw her this morning."
"It's a lot of fun. She can change you into a temporary mermaid," giggles Kagome. Sango splashes into the water, showing off her new tail.
"If only Chichi-ue could see me now. All those times of swimming like a human." Sango squeals in delight. She flips out of the water, and then dives back in.
"Give me a try," chimes Miroku. He undresses himself and hurries down to the shoreline.
Rai looks away at first, flinching. Sango sees her avoidance. "Sorry you had to see that, girlfriend."
"Shippo's is much prettier." Rai transforms Miroku's legs into a fish tail and gives him gills on his neck.
"What's the matter? You've seen naked men before. You like seeing Shippo naked."
"Because to her, Shippo looks like a god," informs Sango.
"So, what does that have to do with anything?"
"Miroku, you look like you're trying too hard," snuffs Rai, "Yours looks like an overstuffed egg roll."
"That's because it is an overstuffed egg role," laughs Sango.
"Why's that funny?" he whines, "Making fun of a man's pride." He splashes through the water, pouting and feeling shunned.
Shippo looks at him all silent. "What happened to you?"
"Our women got to me. How do you deal with it, man?"
"You've been with Sango longer than I've been with Rai, and you're asking me? Hell if I know, old man."
"I'm not old. I'm only in my 40's. Mushin was an old man. He died ten years ago at the age of 94."
"Oji(san), do you want to try?" asks Rai.
"I'll pass. I'm already a half-dog. I don't need to be turned into a damn fish."
"What's the big deal? All you get is a tail and gills. When you leave the water, both spells wear off and you turn back to normal."
"Rai, he's always been a stick-in-the-mud," sighs Kagome. "Besides he probably still mad you disobeyed him."
"I only obey when it's vital. Neither Chichi-ue or Sensei made me do things that felt unnatural."
"You're just as free-willed and independent as Sesshomaru. In this era, for a woman, that's not typical at all," replies Kagome. "You almost seem like a man."
"What do expect when you're whole martial arts class are all boys except for you? I tried as hard as I could to not stick out, and became like one of the guys. I even went so far as to fashion a fake penis and used it when we had to bathe in shifts or to pee out of. The sensei didn't force me to do this, either. I made myself do this. When I started developing into a woman, I would strap my boobs."
"They did have to know eventually, right?" asks Kagome.
"By the time I couldn't hide my true gender anymore, I was fourteen and by that time the guys already accepted me as one their own. Some even said I was a guy with a female body. Some guys even sat to pee so I wouldn't feel left out. They made fake breasts too, just so I wouldn't feel like I was the only girl."
"Did they even care you were hanyou?" asks InuYasha.
"That never was a problem. Besides there were a few hanyous in the group." Rai shakes her head. "Enough about me. I could go on forever. But I want to swim. Will you join us, Oji(san)?"
InuYasha shakes his head. He walks across the shore and starts staring at her sword. "Don't touch it!" Rai warns.
"You won't obey me, and you expect me to obey you?"
"Fine. Touch it and find out why."
InuYasha touches Naosusaiga's handle, only to receive a sharp kinetic shock in his hand. "What the hell?"
"I told you don't touch it."
InuYasha starts picking up her other sword, and gets his had burned. "What's the deal?"
"They aren't yours, InuYasha. Hands off," scolds Kagome.
"If you try to lift up my armor, or even Shippo's things, they'll weigh as much a two-ton boulder. Only the owners find them weightless."
"What for? Not like I care," pouts InuYasha.
"So it won't be blown away, or carried off by monkeys. I smell them in the area."
"You smell monkeys?" asks Kagome.
"Don't worry. I put a spell on your stuff. That way they can't steal it."
Rai touches her own legs and neck and dives into the water. "Kagome, what's the real reason InuYasha doesn't want to be transformed into a merman?"
"No real reason except…" Kagome smirks.
"Don't start with me!" warns InuYasha.
"Oh I get it. He's got a 'personal' reason. Is it big, small or weird looking?"
"Why do you think Tetsusaiga is so big?" Sango smirks to Rai.
"A man is only as big as the sword he carries," chuckles Rai. "How big is it, Kagome? Three inches or four."
"Three and a half. I've measured it."
"Shippo's got five at least."
"That's a nice size."
"It also looks like this David statue replica I've got."
"Really? Statue of David's piece is nearly perfect," ponders Kagome.
"What are you girls talking about?" asks InuYasha. Rai giggles and swims towards Shippo. She whispers in his ears.
"Yeah InuYasha's is that tiny. No wonder he refused to have you change his legs into a fish tail. What about mine?"
"Perfect size. Not too big, not small at all, fully developed. It's like you were sculpted."
"Of course it is."
"It also feels great going in," Rai whispers. "Just not tonight, because nine months later…"
"Yeah I know. Not interested in that now." Shippo swims off with her to the bottom of the lake. He leads her into a cove, away from the others. They watch Miroku swim by, racing a pair of Koi fish. Another school of fish zips out from a hollow cave, being chased by a Japanese bass.
"Did you see that huge guy?" asks Rai.
"Yeah. How is it we're not drowning?"
"Those gills filter the oxygen from the water. All your lungs are getting is the oxygen, rather than oxygen and water. It's just like how a fish breathes. If only InuYasha would let me transform his legs and give him gills. It doesn't even hurt."
"Yeah but you must understand, he's so stubborn, he won't let you do anything to him. Kagome has to entice him for sex or force it on him. They'll have sex whether he wants it or not."
"That's not very romantic. Is that really the only way?"
"With Sango and Miroku, he's the one seducing her. He just tries every trick until she gives in."
"Your friends aren't naturals. That's strange. Both couples have been together for thirty years and treat sex like a chore. We've only been together for two days, not counting that first day in Nagasaki, and we have sex because it's fun, natural, and feels good."
"And you let me play with you," reminds Shippo.
"You let me play too, and we both enjoy it. By the way, I need your hands, now." Shippo swims up to her and squeezes her breasts. She rolls her head, becoming soothed by his gentle touch.
"Even underwater, this feels good."
"Where can I feel good?" asks Shippo. Rai guides his hand down the front of his tail.
"It's where you normally have it."
"Good because I'll need to know after a while."
"I see. You can use that cave or go behind that wall of water grass."
"Well not now. I'm fine now."
"Then hold me next to you." Shippo sits above the mouth of the cave with Rai. "Second thought, go now. I want to make out without you stopping halfway. Besides you're in water. The pressures here are different than on land."
"You sure?" Rai nods and Shippo swims into the mouth of the cave. Rai lies on her stomach, pressing her breasts against the roof. She stretches out, letting three yellow fish nibble at her.
"Could one of you chew on my back? I need your teeth." One of the fish complies and nibbles down her back, until she asks it to stop on the end of her shoulder blade. "That's it, buddy. Just keep it there." The fish chews on her back with its teeth, relieving her of the itch. "No I'm not by myself. My boyfriend is down in the cave. There's a monster fish living there? Shippo's a big boy; he can handle it." "How's it going down there?"
"I'm in position, but just not feeling it. Maybe I don't have to." Rai hears him sighing. "If nothing happens then I'll just…oh wait I've got it. Now it's coming. It maybe I'm just not used to having my lower half as a fish."
"We aren't really mermaids, guys," Rai explains to the fish. One of the fish swims in front of her and she gently rubs her hand over its scales. The fish blows bubbles at her, soothing her face.
As she pets the fish, Miroku swims by. "That's amazing. These little guys are just letting you touch them. It's like you're a natural with animals." Three more yellow fish swim up to inspect him. "Curious little guys."
"Shippo's down there in this cave and these guys were telling me a scary monster fish lives there."
"A demon? I didn't sense one."
"To them he'd be a demon. Japanese bass live in this lake. There's one inside this cave yet. Think it's the mate of the one that passed you earlier."
Shippo swims back up to Rai. "Well that was quick," comments Rai.
"I had to force it. There really wasn't much."
"Well despite being surrounded by water, did you have any to drink?"
"Not much. I'm not parched though. I'm getting a little hungry."
"Can you hold out? There's not much around here, just fish. After swimming with them, eating them feels so wrong."
"Suppose it would. It's not like I'm starving."
"I'll head back to Sango," informs Miroku.
"We'll be the last to get out," replies Rai.
"Kagome asked me to tell you if you can pass through the well, for you to have lunch with her. You've got an hour."
"Tell her I'll take her up on that." Miroku nods and swims off.
"We've got an hour," shrugs Shippo, "What takes an hour?"
Rai grabs Shippo's arm and thrusts him on top of her. "You want to find out?" She wraps her tail around his and rolls him to the edge of the cave roof. She kisses him, roughly.
"Rai," Shippo says between heavy kissing, "I want to try something. Can I suckle?"
"My breasts? They're dry."
"Doesn't matter. Since we swore off sex for now, I want to do something else intimate."
"I guess. Be gentle and don't bite hard. I don't want to explain bloody nipples to Kagome."
Shippo lifts her left breast with his hand close to his mouth. He closes his mouth around the nipple and rolls it around with his tongue. Rai giggles. "That tickles." Shippo holds it gently with his teeth and licks his tongue across the nipple. Rai's eyes close and she holds his head close to her chest. "Mmph, that's feeling so good. You teeth are like a massage." "Do the other one, please? That one needs attention, too." Shippo complies and starts suckling the other.
Rai returns the intimate gesture by nibbling on his ears. He returns from her breasts and nibbles her neck, close to her gills. She returns the favor and bites him.
In the commotion of their intimacy, Rai rolls Shippo off the roof of the cave, sinking them towards the bottom of the lake. "Wait. We can't go into the cave. That's where…"
"Shippo, you're underwater. Your pee dilutes the second it comes out."
"So, that's still nasty."
"What's the big deal? I was going while you were sucking my tits. Did you feel anything then?"
"Not really. Why didn't you say anything? Or why did you make me go in the cave?"
"Because you men have to be so secretive. Besides I'm not interested in watching."
"You think we should head back?"
"By the time we go back to the shore and get dried off and redressed, it'll be forty-five minutes to an hour. Are you coming with me through this well?"
"Can't. I don't have the power to pass through it. I'll wait until you return. I might even ask Inazuma if I could help him incase those serpents pass through the village."
Rai nods then swims boldly the water, followed close behind by Shippo. She glides through the water, until she reaches just below the shoreline. She pokes her head out of the water. "Coast's clear. It's just Kagome."
"That wasn't nice," laughs Kagome, while sitting on the beach, fully clothed. Rai hauls herself out of the water, reverting back to her normal two-legged, gill-less body.
Rai walks over to her sword and starts dressing. "Kagome, you might want to cover your eyes. Shippo's approaching the shore and he was nude from the start."
"Rai, I'm really not put off. I've seen Shippo naked before. However…"
"Last time was when he was a child. I know."
"I won't look, if it bothers you that much."
"You kidding? Hell I'm going to look." Rai sits beside her sword and gazes out at the lake, watching Shippo crawl out.
He stands up slowly, trying to regain his footing. Rai rocks back and forth with excitement. Shippo blushes at seeing Kagome sitting on the shore. Rai quickly rocks back up to her feet and walks boldly over to Shippo. "Shippo, don't be so shy. It's just the three of us." Rai looks directly at Kagome, while draping her arms around Shippo's shoulders.
"Oh my. He looks good. Very attractive," compliments Kagome.
"See. Broad shoulders, strong barrel chest." Rai bends his elbow. "Nice thick muscles, strong muscular legs, and there's that sturdy five-inch trunk I told about. That slides inside perfectly for me. The tail's sturdy in the back and those paws on his feet are so strong, and yet flexible." Rai rubs her hand around on his chest.
"What about my ass?" asks Shippo.
"That's the only thing you're lacking, dear. You don't have an ass. What's there is behind your tail." "Just be proud of what you do have, because it's gorgeous."
"Certainly is," comments Kagome, "Wow, Shippo, no wonder Rai fell in love with you. Very hot. If I met you at this time of your life, or if I was Rai's age now, we might be rivals for you."
The pair walks back and Rai finishes dressing first. She pulls her Naosusaiga out of the ground, disabling the spell she placed on it. She immediately resheathes it and helps Shippo finish dressing.
"Wow, you don't have much to put on. You're almost ready now. I'll comb your hair for you." She extends her claws and applies heat from her hands to comb through his long red hair.
"You ready?" asks Kagome.
"Where is this well of yours? Not far, I take it."
"It's only half a mile up this hill. There's a huge tree not too far from the place."
"I can walk you up there," offers Shippo. "I've been to the Bone-eater's well hundreds of time."
"Just never inside, strange," comments Rai.
"It's true. He can't pass through."
"Can't or you don't want him to?" asks Rai.
"No, I've tried to get into Kagome's world before, but never succeeded."
"Well time apart couldn't hurt," suggests Kagome, "Since you've been dating, you haven't been separated at all. Love builds stronger when you're not seeing each other every single moment."
"I suppose, besides when I get back, we'll be able to make love again if you want. My three days of being human will be over by then."
"What happens when you're human?" asks Kagome.
"That's when I'm fertile. If Shippo had sex with me while I was human, the chance of getting pregnant increases. I've never had it happen before. If it did happen, Shippo would the first man that made it happen."
"So Shippo's your first and only man."
"Chichi-ue's already thinking of half-dog/ half-fox grandchildren."
"That's an interesting concept, Sesshomaru as a grandpa that is," sighs Kagome, faking a laugh.
"I didn't think I'd be in love like this with his hanyou daughter, so why's is giving him a grandkid any weirder?" asks Shippo.
"We all have our own disbeliefs in what fate brings us. However I don't believe things just happen. We mortals may not fully understand what will happen. Kagome, you probably couldn't foresee yourself falling for my uncle, InuYasha. Nor could Sango see herself in love with the monk. But someone much higher than us, call it Buddha or our elders looking out for their own, directs us in the path we take in life. Whether we follow his advice is of our own accord." "Perhaps Buddha is pointing us in the direction we were supposed to take. He saw you, Kagome, and knew to bring you to this era to meet InuYasha. Both of you arrived at the right time of your lives for something to develop."
"It took awhile for us to fall in love. We hated each other at first."
"But would it have been better if you never met? You might have been happy, but then you'd miss out what fate had in store for you. The riches of a man's heart, willing to risk it all for your sake. The ability to marry him and bear his children is added bonus to what Buddha probably had in mind."
"Wow, saying it like that…I don't know. Is that how you feel about Shippo?"
"Yes. I've got the feeling when we met back in Nagasaki, then here two months later, that someone had his hand in our meeting. It might have been Buddha, or most likely Jii-chan, since he knew my wishes long before I did. He's probably not the only one. I've got no doubt your father is responsible."
"Chichi-ue is responsible. Both are dead. How would they…?" asks Shippo.
"The dead are more in tune to our hearts than sometimes we are to each other. Perhaps your father's trying to make sure you have a wonderful life. Maybe we were betrothed, but by ghostly hands alone. Your father wants you to be happy, and he's not letting being dead interfere with his son's happiness."
"Did your grandpa tell you that or did my father tell you?"
"Nobody told me, at least not directly. However sometimes I don't need words to get someone's meaning. That's true of both the living and the dead."
Shippo, Rai, and Kagome arrive at the top of the hill and approach the well. Rai gazes at the well and closes her eyes. "I sense the powers pouring out of this well. They don't seem that difficult to cross over."
"Really?" asks Kagome. Rai holds her hands over the basin.
"There is a spirit here. I think it knows I mean no harm to travel through it."
"So this is the place we part," sighs Shippo.
Rai rubs his face. "Please don't say it like that. I'll come back. I can't be parted from you forever. Please give me three days." Rai embraces him as hard as she can. "I love you, Shippo. You've got my heart, that should be enough of a keepsake." Rai removes the furry stole from her shoulder and places it around his shoulders. "That should keep you warm. I want this returned."
Shippo reaches into his pocket and pulls out a spinning top. "When I was a child, this toy was my weapon. Now I hang onto it for nostalgic reasons. My father gave me the toy shortly before he died. I want you to keep it while on her side. Would you bring it back to me, when you return?" Rai nods and sees tears dripping down Shippo's face. Rai cries too and embraces him with the toy in her hand. Rai kisses him deeply, reluctant to part from him.
They hold a kiss together for what seems forever. Slowly they part and watch each other, as Kagome and Rai sit over the edge of the well. "I love you! Come back to me when you return, Rai!" shouts Shippo, letting the entire forest know his feelings.
"I love you too, Shippo!" Rai shouts, "I'll keep my promise and return!" Rai shows off the toy and both she and Kagome leap into the well. Rai stares back, looking at Shippo, looking in the well.