All familiar properties belong to the owners of Yu Yu Hakusho and Inuyasha. I'm just futzing with their ideas.
Everyone who put this on their alerts and favorites are too kind. The people who took the time to review, even more so. Thanks to: yue no rei, Shiori Mayonaka no Yume, Maistyria, The Path of Supreme Conquest, BookFinder, ultima-owner, Spastic Freak, Silversun XD, Raelin Thaon, dxlamo, CloverBabe, fallingyuki, dancingfingers, Youko's Befuddled Fox, maranjade, a Guest, Sesshomarus'Luver, fredisagirl, Avarianna, charlielou1998, zero25, Foxluna and Kesshichan; for dropping me a line.
Again sorry for the delay. But I've been getting so many alerts from this story in my email, I was motivated to update. Hope you enjoy and I hope you all had a happy Valentines Day yesterday and a happy Cheap Candy Day today!
oOo
Kagome was a bit unsure what expression was on her face as she stared into the hole that held her brother. But she could feel how her nose scrunched up to indicate her disgust and how her mouth hung open in shock and how her eyebrows were hidden behind her bangs and-
"What?" She coughed.
Inuyasha laughed wildly. Even Genkai cracked a smile at the flabbergasted Kagome. Souta peered up at his sister with a sheepish smile. He would have rubbed the back of his neck, but it was currently… in use.
"H-He made friends with it!" Inuyasha chuckled. "All that time I was so pissed at you for making friends with everything, and now you know what I feel!"
Kagome's expression turned stony and she brought up her palm to face Inuyasha. Without a second's hesitation, her 'stop' sign clamped onto his face and pushed him back in a move very reminiscent to Genkai's. He did not go very far but he stopped gloating in Kagome's vicinity and decided to gloat a little farther away.
"Souta…" She demanded.
Her brother chuckled nervously. "Well I was pushed in here and I saw this little guy and I just thought 'Wow, I'm stuck in here, he's stuck in here; it sucks to be us, you know?' So I tried talking to him and I found out he was a she and that she was cold in the dark and as long as she didn't bite me or try to scratch me again, she could… um…"
"She is a snake, Souta." Kagome stated in a way that she thought was very rational and calm.
It took him a couple of seconds to think of a good response. Finally, he found one:
"…Yes."
"Said snake is wrapped around your neck."
Souta accidentally blurted out his response before taking the time to censor it for his sister. "But she's not squeezing-" The coils of scales moved slightly, making him wince. "-hard," he wheezed.
Kagome took in a deep breath, ready to let out everything she thought of this situation, but a warm hand on her back and the scent of roses in her nostrils made her freeze. Kurama, seemingly unaware of the barrier he had just crossed, leaned over and peered into the hole.
"Oh," he stated calmly. "You made a friend, Souta-kun."
If Inuyasha still had his beads, a good 'sit' would be the perfect way to make him stop sounding like a hyena.
Apparently, all the commotion interrupted the snake youkai's nap. The coils shifted again and loosened as a dark head of long, shiny hair appeared behind Souta's head. The snake was thin and small for a youkai. In fact, Kagome would have mistaken her for a regular snake if not for the fact that the demon had a humanoid upper torso.
Her face was covered in long, disheveled hair but as she slid away from Souta's neck, she slipped into a long yawn. Kagome clamped a hand over her face at the youkai's state of undress. Her embarrassment was exceeded only by her brother's, as evidenced by his extremely red face. So that's how he found out he was a she.
"Master Genkai," the snake drawled lazily and rested her arms on the crown of Souta's hair. "You didn't tell me the walls were impossible for me to climb. I'm cold without sunshine."
"You look pretty comfortable to me." Genkai raised a brow. "Tell me you at least tried to scratch him."
She yawned again, revealing a wicked looking set of fangs. She flexed tiny fingers in which she had claws that looked like needles. Her tail tightened momentarily around Souta's neck.
He gagged. "Hey!"
"I did what I could, Master Genkai." The snake nestled deeper into his hair.
Genkai snorted. Inuyasha jumped into the hole.
"C'mon, Squirt. Let's get you outta here before Kagome has a fit."
"Too late." She mumbled into the hands covering her face.
Kurama, who had pulled away, but was still too close, chuckled. As Genkai turned to head back to her shrine and Inuyasha settled a dirty Souta on higher ground, Kagome gave Kurama a bit of side-eye.
"Where's Hiei? I don't sense him anywhere anymore."
Kurama fell into step beside her as they slowly trailed behind the rest of the party. He smiled widely.
"My colleague is most likely on his way back to Makai."
"Oh, he's not going to stay?"
He sent her an inscrutable look. "He'll want to pout in private."
Kagome pursed her lips but decided not to ask.
oOo
"I'll need the Prince to help me put the soccer star through his paces." Genkai announced once they returned to the shrine. "I'd give you something to do in the meantime, but I think the fox wants to take a look at your wound."
Kurama inclined his head. "As astute as ever, Master Genkai." His eyes carefully tracked the miko in question as she pulled Souta and Inuyasha away from the group to speak with them in harsh whispers.
"Whatever. Your words won't be as flattering when I'm kicking her ass in training later."
He was amused despite himself. "There is a difference between tearing a person down to remake them and simply intending to destroy them."
The old woman leveled him with a sharp glare. "Will you be able to tell the difference?"
She was so close to getting under his skin, but he refused to lose control to a mere human. His smile remained polite. "Yes. And I will not hesitate to step in."
Genkai pulled back, let out a sharp bark of laughter and proceeded to call Kurama some very unflattering names.
"The only person who needs to stand up for Priestess, is Priestess herself. I won't stop until she tells me she can't handle it. And even then, I'll push her past her limits."
"As long as she is not irreparably harmed, I am not concerned."
The small woman rolled her eyes. "I don't care that you're sniffing around her, but if she gets so starry eyed that she can't focus on training, I'm coming after you, Fox."
Kurama's eyes strayed to Kagome and stayed there. "…It might end up being the other way around."
There was a pause as Genkai tried to come up with a retort but failed. She ended up snorting in her approximation of hilarity.
"Never thought I'd see you twisted up over a girl of all things. Suspected you were a eunuch, actually."
Kurama pulled himself to his full height. Out of all the names she taunted him with, eunuch was a little much. "She makes a good prize." He defended.
"The kistune in you just gets hot over the idea that she can purify you at any time. Playing with fire is your specialty, Youko." Genkai's expression turned stony. She blinked once, languidly, before releasing her last missile. "She's too pure for a demon with an identity crisis."
Kurama's annoyance had been growing during the whole conversation, but this was too much. He sent her a dour look and without a word, headed over to collect Kagome. The priestess in question clamped her mouth shut as soon as she saw him heading their way. Souta appeared confused, Inuyasha somber.
He lightly grasped Kagome's elbow and leaned close to her ear. His eyes predatorily tracked Genkai as she made her way to collect Souta.
"Will you permit me to treat your wound?"
Kagome's eyes widened as she lightly touched the bandage. "Oh, um, I had pretty much forgotten it was there. Sure, if you don't mind."
He waited until Genkai's back had melted into the tree line before he turned his full attention to her. He could feel the ice in his eyes thawing. "Of course I do not mind."
With confident and quiet steps, he led her into the dim kitchen. Inviting her to sit down while he worked, he rifled through cupboards, set a pot of water to warm on the stove and washed his hands. Instead of choosing a seat at the small table in the corner, she hopped onto the counter instead.
Kurama raised a brow and she shrugged.
"This way we're even." She responded, placing her hand on the top of her head and sliding it through the air to brush against the crown of his head, indicating their heights.
"Ah."
He watched her as he reached into his hair and pulled out a seed. How would she react to the display of his power? With a careful infusion of youki, the plant grew quickly, stretching out the exact number of soft leaves he needed.
Kagome watched with the appropriate amount of awe that he wanted and a little bit of wonder that he did not anticipate but appreciated nonetheless. He preened a bit.
"How do you do that?" She breathed. "Like, I know it was youki, but… how?"
"Youko's clan is gifted in this manner. I have always been able to communicate with nature. Learning how to manipulate the growth of plants took a bit of time in this human form, but it's been worth it."
"Oh!" Her eyes widened. "That's that green thing you were holding in the forest."
"Hnn. My rose whip." He grinned.
"Roses?" Kagome laughed. "You beat people up with roses?"
Unable to help himself, Kurama reached once again into his hair. It returned holding a blooming rose. He inspected the velvet petals while he carefully pinched off the thorns. It was good work, if he did say so himself. He held it out to the miko.
"They have certain qualities that I am drawn to."
She blushed a little at his direct gaze but took the flower. She smelled it obligingly and proceeded to laugh. A little put off, Kurama raised a brow.
Did she not like it?
He was flirting and she found it amusing?
Kagome waggled her eyebrows. "I bet you give roses to all the ladies. You're just way too smooth."
Ah. She was playing with him. A smirk played around the corners of his lips as his heartbeat picked up in anticipation. He could deal with this.
Plucking the leaves off the medicinal plant in his left hand, Kurama peered up at her from under lowered lids. "Only two worthy women have ever received roses from me. My mother is one," he moved over to the stove, brushing past her knees. "You are the other." He stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "It displeases you?"
Kagome spluttered. "O-Of course not! It's gorgeous, Kurama-san! I didn't mean-"
Point: Kurama. He laughed, discarding his wounded appearance and pulled out the mortar and pestle he discovered in his earlier search.
Realizing she had been had, Kagome huffed. With a scowl, she refused to rise to the bait again. Silence fell over the kitchen as she waited.
Soon, water was added to the powder. With the paste made, Kurama brought it over. Resting the pestle by Kagome's thigh, he addressed Kagome.
"If you could please move your hair away, I will apply the medicine. It will stop the bleeding and prevent scarring."
Her brow wrinkled. "I can put it on myself, it's no trouble."
"It is no trouble for me, either." He softly but forcefully argued.
The silence was less comfortable this time. Tension lined Kagome's frame. Her blue eyes pierced him as she tried to size him up. He kept his own body language loose and inviting. It would not do to scare her away now. If they were to be anything, she had to be comfortable with him.
She shifted further onto the counter until the back of her knees were pressed against the corner. Kurama did not move closer even though he wanted to. He was close enough to see how her soul lit up her eyes and close enough to smell the fragrance of her soap.
That was enough. For now.
With slow movements, she gathered her hair and draped it over the shoulder opposite to the wound. She watched him like a scared doe. Kurama pushed some of his hair away from his face, exposing more of his expression to her scrutiny.
His regard slipped away from her eyes, down her face and to the gauze pad she haphazardly taped to her neck. He was momentarily glad his nails were the blunted ones of a human as he carefully peeled the gauze pad off her neck.
The wound was caked with dried blood. He retrieved a paper towel, wet it in the sink and cleaned the area with the lightest touch possible.
Kagome flinched a bit. He pulled away quickly.
"Did I hurt you?"
She gave an apologetic smile. "It's cold. No big deal."
"Ah." He quickly finished and discarded the towel.
Leaning close, he inspected the wound before it could start bleeding again. It was clean, long and a very precise cut that severed the skin almost to the muscle below.
He was glad that he had an opportunity to see to her needs. If he had his way, she would never go without anything she needed or wanted, ever again.
Long fingers dipped into the salve and he dabbed it on with his fingertips. When Kagome hissed, his face was so close to hers that he needed to pull back a bit to see her eyes.
Her smile was less apologetic this time. "It stings."
"My apologies, but that's a good sign."
She sighed and tilted her neck as far as she could before the action pulled on the cut. "Let's get this over with."
Kurama pinched the flesh inside his mouth with a pair of his canines. He was so close now. He wanted to know if she would shiver if he were to bury his hand into his hair and gently scratch her scalp with his human fingernails. He wanted to know what the inside of her mouth tasted like.
He wanted to claim but he had not yet been invited to do so.
But he understood the need for self-control. Like tripping over a trap wire, if he stomped through her boundaries, he might damage whatever chance at a relationship they had.
Taking a deep breath to calm his blood, Kurama pressed his tongue against the back of his teeth and resolutely turned back to her neck.
"Kurama-san?" Kagome whispered.
"Yes, Kagome-san?"
"I…" She hesitated. "Why me?" Her fingers idly played with her hair.
"… You would rather I not treat your wound?"
Her spine, which had relaxed, straightened once again. She let out an indignant huff of breath. "That's not what I mean and you know it."
He could not help his fond smile. Trying his luck, he leaned forward and blew on the salve.
She shivered violently and reared back to glare at him.
"It needs to dry." He defended innocently.
Kagome placed a hand on his chest and firmly guided him back an arm's length away. He let himself back away because he was pleased with his earlier win.
"Minamino." She warned.
He conceded, considered and revealed his hand. "I'm very good at plans. My plan was to finish my obligation to my human family and return to the Makai. I never looked at a ningen woman because they had no place in my plan; no understanding of my status as an avatar."
As a commander, he understood when to push forward and when to pull back. Kurama had pulled back only moments before but now he quite literally pushed forward. Stopping when her kneecaps were lightly pressing against his stomach, he tried to make her understand.
"As a demon, Youko was very arrogant. It's taken a while for me to understand humility. While there is nothing wrong with being proud of your accomplishments, the important part is to remember the help of others that aided you in your endeavor."
Resisting the urge to touch her, he placed his hands on the counter on either side of her hips. He basked in her warmth and the feel of her aura pulsing against his. He succumbed to the lure of her eyes and memorized the sound of her breath as it frantically pushed past her parted lips.
"And if I have an excess, you have a lack. Your self-esteem is too low. Instead of humility, you believe your accomplishments belong to everyone else and never to you." He did succumb to his more animalistic needs. He leaned forward, ignoring the trembling knees that dug into his stomach and affectionately pressed his cheek to hers, luxuriating in her mere presence.
Kami. He did not understand the feeling welling up behind his breast. It was solid and warm and if she told him to kneel, to beg, he would do so. His arrogance be dammed. Before, he thought he could own her like one of his treasures, but now he was finding that he would be blissfully happy if she would claim ownership over him, instead.
He would do anything for her, if she asked.
"There may be women who have your facial features or act similar to you or have spiritual powers. But your experiences have made you singular." He continued. "Only you are the time-traveling Shikon Miko. Only you can be ambassador to the two worlds or be a pack mate to the strongest Inu pack in the Makai. And you are the most powerful miko to have been born in centuries. So-" he pressed his smile against her hair. "Why not you?"
She shuddered and let out a loud sob. Kurama made to pull back, but she kept him in place. Shifting her still-closed knees to the side so they were not in the way, she draped an arm around his shoulder and pressed her hand to his hair over the base of his neck. He wished she would dig her hands into the strands and touch the tender skin and the hidden core of his being underneath, but he would not be greedy.
This was more than enough. One of his hands supported her back as she strained and nuzzled closer to him. Her crying was making her shake all over but he hoped her cries were more therapeutic than anything.
Kurama sighed quietly and prayed that she healed.
"I am willing to make up for what you lack." He declared reverently.
Her words were barely distinguishable due to all her sniffling and the low volume but he caught them.
"I would never ask you t-to."
He smiled. That was why he was willing to become hers. "We'll bring balance to each other's life."
She did not respond, but she did not have to.
oOo
When Inuyasha came to pick her up, he wasn't pleased.
"You've been crying." His nostrils twitched as he inspected her scent.
Kagome, with a freshly washed face and sporting a new gauze pad, felt tired but emotionally better. "I'm okay now, Inu."
He glared at the redhead standing behind her. "Did he make you cry?" He growled.
She laid a hand on his bicep and squeezed lightly to get his attention. "I made myself cry."
The poor hanyou could not quite understand. "Damn it. How the hell did you manage that?!" He exploded.
Kagome giggled. Over six-hundred years old and he still had no idea when it came to women.
"It takes a lot of skill." She retorted, feeling more energized already.
Inuyasha clearly wanted to argue some more but said nothing. He used her grip to walk with her to the courtyard where Souta, Genkai and a strange woman were standing. The woman was dressed in a simple blue kimono and her hair was even longer than Kagome's. Her eyes were sharp, with her pupils in the same vertical slit as Inuyasha's. Her mouth seemed a bit too big for her face.
"Souta?" Kagome asked.
He blushed.
The woman's mouth opened, revealing a set of very large and very sharp teeth. She hissed at Kagome and she grabbed Souta's arm and curled around it. Those teeth seemed familiar somehow…
Genkai smirked. "It seems Souta has a fan."
Souta grimaced and tried to detangle himself from the shape-shifting snake but she was persistent. And strong, if his wince was anything to go by.
Kagome found herself at a legitimate loss for any kind of appropriate reaction.
"You know Kagome," started Inuyasha, "I thought it was just you who was a youkai magnet, but I think it's just a Higurashi thing."
Kagome blinked slowly. "… I think… we might have to blame Miroku for this one. His, erm, 'friendliness' might be hereditary."
"Good point."
oOo
Note: The snake lady hanging out on Souta's head is a nure-onna. They don't have human torsos, just a female head, but they're also supposed to have claws and I couldn't figure out how that one worked out without a torso so... Their mythology is pretty interesting. They pretty much prey on people who like babies haha.
Anon Review Replies:
A Guest (BlueFrost is that you?): Oh that's a good observation! Like, it's just built up over time? I like it. As much as I write romance, I'm actually a huge sucker for friendships and I think Kagome and Inuyasha have a really strong one. Ah, well they're not mine, but I'm glad the characterization works for you! Thank you so much for reviewing (and the Christmas wish)!
alice: Erm, I don't understand French, I'm sorry.