"Take off your armor and swords and sit here."

Kagome smirked devilishly at the way Sesshomaru lifted a sculpted eyebrow at her order. But hell, this was his idea, and she was going to be the one making a fool of herself, so he was just going to have to deal with it. When he still didn't move to her request, she gestured towards the well again, lifting one of her eyebrows in challenge…it didn't work very well, being that she apparently didn't possess the ability to lift only one eyebrow, but whatever, it managed to get the result she wanted.

Sesshomaru moved over to the well and lowered himself to a seated position on the rim of old wood before slowly beginning to relieve himself of his weaponry and armor. Satisfied that he was sitting and wouldn't impede her little show, Kagome turned away from him and quickly spread out her sleeping bag on the grass. The last time had been fun and all, but she could really go without the grass burns on her back this time around. Besides, it still wasn't evening, and she wasn't about to be caught in broad daylight with her pants down, literally, by some too-nosey-for-their-own-good person who was too dense to take heed of the dangerous swells of youki that were being released by Sesshomaru to ward others from this area…no names being mentioned, of course.

Once finishing spreading the blanket out on the grass, Kagome stood and turned back to Sesshomaru. Her eyes narrowed on him slightly when she caught the rather heated quality of his gaze, a gaze that she was certain had only moments before been completely enthralled by her swaying backside as she spread out her blanket. He really was a hentai…maybe even worse than Miroku. At least the lecherous monk made an attempt at looking innocent after indulging himself in ogling a female's derriere, but Sesshomaru didn't even bother to hide the fact that he was ogling her.

Well, she decided with a slight smirk, he could ogle all he wanted but… "No touching," Kagome informed him sternly. "You can only watch."

"Miko…"

"No." Kagome cut off his warning or his statement of 'this Sesshomaru can touch whatever his grabby hands want to touch,' or whatever, quickly. "That's the rule if you want me to do this. No touching, only watching." He narrowed his eyes slightly on her, but Kagome only laughed. "It's not so bad," she teased lightly. "You're not the one making a fool of yourself. And besides," she gave him a wink, "I hear that guys really get off on this sort of thing."

Well, that certainly got his attention. Though he couldn't quite understand how not being able to touch his female was going to be a good thing, especially since he had been denied her presence for a full two days and nights and he was being made painfully aware of her lacking presence by the fact that even his loose fitting silk pants seemed about five sizes too small.

But, if it was any consolation, and it was, the heated blush of embarrassment that was spread over the miko's cheeks, down her neck, and likely dipping even lower to flush the tender mounds of her breasts, seemed a good enough return for his momentary inability to touch her…and it would be momentary, because the instant she offered herself to him properly he was going to be on her, in her, taking her, slamming himself into her dripping centre, making her scream his name, call out as only she could to make his beast purr with sheer pleasure, driving himself into her until she exploded with consuming heat and radiant power…He was forced to bite back a groan as his drifting thoughts made him throb painfully in need. The miko really needed to get a move on things or he was going to end up forgetting about his desire to have her willing submission and simply fuck her until she was so exhausted and sedated that she couldn't offer her witty retorts or play any of her arousing games.

Kagome had seen the thin wisps of crimson fire that were bleeding into his eyes, and she had to bit her tongue to keep herself from laughing. He wanted her, even though he was making her go through this ridiculous display to appease his inner dog, he was punishing himself nearly as badly as her by forcing himself to wait. She smirked. And he would be waiting, and by the time she had finished with him, he would be nearly at the breaking point…that is, of course, if she could actually convince her nerve to show up so that she could start.

Forcing herself to swallow down the thickness in her throat, Kagome fumbled with her little MP3 player. She realized, a bit belatedly, that it would be very difficult to attach the thing to her clothing if she planned on taking it off. But she was quickly hit with inspiration. Lifting her hair into a sloppy bun, she used the headphone wires to tie the music player into her hair. Shaking her head slightly to make sure it would stay put, she nodded to herself in approval before setting the headphones in her ears.

With a deep breath and a silent prayer that all those nights at the clubs with her friends would pay off for her, Kagome turned on the music. She smiled at the way Sesshomaru's eyes widened slightly when the light beat filtered into his sensitive ears, gave him a wink, and then started moving to the music.

At first the beat was slow, and she rocked her hips rhythmically, her hands caressing over her curves as she moved through the seductive dance. She had closed her eyes to him, enveloping herself in the sound of the music, in the beat and the movements of her body, and in the heat that was building in her that drove her onwards. She could feel his eyes on her, and it excited her more than she could say.

When finally the pace of the song began to pick up, she turned away from him, dipping herself down to the ground only to pull herself up again slowly. Looking over her shoulder, she could see his eyes trained on the tight curve of her back end, the crimson fires having long ago taken over the placid gold, and she smiled with wicked glee. As she straightened herself, she caught her hands on her shirt, pulling it fluidly over her head as she continued with the dance.

She heard the low growl from behind her when her skin was finally reveled to him, and she smirked, tossing her shirt over her shoulder. So distracted by what she was doing, he just barely managed to catch it before it hit him. He growled again, but the angry vibration to it was quickly cut off when she began slinking her jeans off her hips.

She felt so naughty! But it was so exhilarating! She couldn't help herself; she wiggled her way out of her tight fitting jeans slowly, pausing every once in a while to keep in beat with the music, to tease him with another piece of flesh. When she finally moved to pull the denim from her legs, she did so with lazy, languid motions, taking her time with each leg, running her hands along her creamy skin, and reveling in the low rumbles of his appreciation she could hear from behind her.

Only when she was down to her undergarments, did she turn back to him. Her body still swaying and rocking with the music, she stepped towards him. Sliding a finger between her lips, she moistened it with her tongue before letting it slip down over her chin. Her head tilted back, fully revealing her neck as she continued trailing her finger over her skin, leaving a light line of moisture behind.

Having ticked off one point on her list of things that needed to be done for his doggyness, Kagome lowered herself slowly into a crouch in front of him. Her hands settled on his knees, applying light pressure to make him spread his legs slightly to give her room to move. He gave her that, but when she leaned into him, brushing against him seductively as she arched her back to bring her to a standing position again, his hands caught her hips.

Freezing in her dance at the sudden intrusion, Kagome narrowed her eyes angrily. Without giving him any more opportunity, she leaned in quickly to his ear, taking the fine tip between her teeth and biting down as hard as she could. His breathing caught on a ragged snarl, but it was quickly replaced with a light whining sound, and he reluctantly let his hold on her tender skin slip away.

What was she doing to him? Sesshomaru hadn't even known he could make such a pathetic sounding whimper. She had punished him, and he hadn't been offended in the slightest, had even gone so far as to whine out his apology, telling her he would be good. Good? Since when was he good? And since when did he care what a female wanted from him, let alone let one punish him?

He was reminded of exactly when this change had occurred though when the miko finally released her hold on his ear and promptly turned away from him, leaving him the urge to call her back. He just barely managed to contain the light whimper that wanted to escape him. How fucking embarrassing! She was turning him into a whimpering little pup. Though, thankfully, she couldn't really understand what he was saying. She did, however, seem very pleased with herself, and he could only imagine what she was reading from the noises he was making. Great Kami! When she had told him she would concede to his request, he had thought it was going to be her that was left feeling subdued. Apparently, he had never been more wrong.

Seeing her slowly strip away her clothing, her body rocking and swaying to the beat of the music she was playing, watching as her hands traveled over her skin, was driving him insane with the desire to have his hands replace hers, for him to be the one feeling her tender body, to be the one to give her pleasure. She was driving him mad with her sinful dance. His breathing was already labored, coming out in short pants, and the only thing keeping his hands restrained from reaching out to her was the tight grip he had on the wood of the well beneath him…but, if this went on much longer, the poison beginning to drip from his claws was going to eat through even the enchanted wood.

She had brought her hand up behind her, pausing only for a moment to make sure he was watching, and then proceeded to unlock the clasp on her bra. The dammed things were expensive, and he had already ruined one. She was hoping that he would at least get some of the idea through his clouded mind on how to remove the undergarment without tearing it to shreds.

And though Sesshomaru may have, possibly, noted how the garment was removed, any further thought about her clothing was swiftly swept from his mind when he was greeted with the sight of her fully bare back. And any thought at all was promptly ripped away from him with a shudder of desire when the miko inched her way back towards him and lowered the luscious curve of her backside to brush against his throbbing cock as she continued swaying her hips to the music.

He groaned deeply, his hips thrusting upwards despite his best efforts to keep himself still. Kami, this was killing him! Though, he decided as she pulled herself away and started to tease at the light layer of cloth that was the only reaming barrier left on her body, there were definitely worse ways to die.

Kagome's hands were shaking when she finally began to pull down her panties. It was strange, she thought, that her nervousness would return now, but it was there nonetheless. Forcing herself to take a few deep breaths, and taking a moment to let the beat of the movement to take over the motions of her body again, she fought back her nerves and finally pulled the soft material away from her body.

Her heart was pounding as she slowly lowered herself onto the blanket she had stretched out on the ground, but she forced herself to keep going. Crawling slowly on her hands and knees, she tugged the wires from her ears before finally brought herself to a stop. With a deep breath, she looked over her shoulder to him, but what she saw made her breath catch in her throat.

He was standing behind her. His eyes were burning with such intensity that it made her shiver. The lines of crimson streaking his face had been twisted and contorted to jagged paths ripping across his skin. And all around him, dark currents of energy were whipping in a chaotic dance, sending his long mane of silver hair carelessly into the chaos.

She watched wide-eyed and completely in awe as he slowly lowered himself to his knees behind her. His hands reached out to brush against her hips, touching her so softly and so delicately that her whole body was taken over by a trembling shiver. It was as though he was worshiping her, his touch so light as his fingers brushed across her skin it felt like a feather being pulled across her heated flesh, setting every nerve ending on fire. He traced every inch of her, never applying more than the barest hints of pressure and making her gasp and moan with the sensation.

When his fingers finally brushed against her aching centre, she shivered so violently that her arms gave out beneath her and she was forced to drop down onto her forearms, releasing a tiny mewling sound of desperate need.

The Inu above her rumbled his appreciation to her in a low purr, the beast completely enthralled by the noises she made for him. He had thought that when she offered herself to him properly that he would want to take her immediately, thrust into her forcefully and consummate everything she had offered to him; but something within him held him back. He knew that she was still uncertain and that her mortal knowledge did not allow for her to understand fully what she was giving to him by submitting as she had; so he had taken his time to show her his appreciation, to tease her body and heat her senses, to give over his appreciation for her actions in his tender touch.

She was so receptive to him, every touch, every caress, her body responded. He wanted her so badly it hurt, but he was holding himself back because he found that her pleasure meant more. But when she had dropped down onto her forearms, any restraint he had left was ripped away. He moved closer to her, settling himself just outside of her slick entrance, feeling her pulsing heat radiating from her core that was calling out for him to fill her tight passage.

Leaning over her, collecting her body to his as he wrapped his arms around her, he pulled her gently back up and brought his lips to her ear.

"Mine."

His voice broke through the cloudy haze of her lust-fogged mind and she shivered at the intensity of it. He was claiming her, telling her that she belonged to him. But he was still waiting, holding himself back. And she understood.

"Yes," she breathed out as she turned her head slightly to see him, "Yours."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Leaning back languidly against the sculpted chest of her demon lover, her arms slung carelessly across his thighs with her fingers stroking absently through the silken fibers of his tail, and draped in his oversized shirt to ward off the chill of the deepening night, Kagome watched the stars blink into view as she recounted the story told to her on the other side of the well.

"Would you cut that out," she scolded, an irritated scowl marring her features as she swatted Sesshomaru wandering hand away from the fine brush of hair rising above her womanhood. She huffed slightly when he simply replaced the hand she had swatted away with his other one, basically feeling his amused smirk from behind her. "I'm being serious here and you can't keep your wandering hands to yourself!"

"What did you expect, miko?" he questioned silkily, his fingers trailing in soft brushes against her as he traced the soft curve. "You branded yourself with my markings; such gives me free reign to touch you."

Huffing again, Kagome gave up trying to get him to stop tracing faint growth of her pubic hair. "That's the last time I shave anything for you," she mumbled, a faint pout pulling down on her lips.

"Hn, not if I have anything to say about it," he muttered absently, his focus concentrated on tracing the path around the crescent moon she had shaved on herself, following it down to the lower tip to brush his fingers across the inviting dip that began the separation of her folds.

He hadn't noticed earlier, being that the miko had been too embarrassed while giving him her dance to face him as she slipped out of the remaining layers of her garments, and he had been quite distracted once she had finally presented herself to him. But once they had finished and he had pulled her back against him as he leaned against the wood of the old well, he had finally been given the chance to have her bare body to his lazy scrutiny as his hands roamed every inch of her skin, memorizing her curves and the feeling of her in the groggy afterglow of their joining.

He had wondered briefly about her absence of hair before, but being that he didn't make a habit of looking at naked human women aside from when he was guarding his young ward in her bathing, he hadn't given it all that much attention. He did, however, find it a most fascinating point the moment his hands had brushed across the faint regrowth from where she had shaved herself clean upon their first meeting.

But when he saw the shape which she had chosen to define her feminine growth, his mind had frozen in shock so acute he had hardly recognized the movement of his own hand as it cupped around the full mound of her tender flesh, his fingers slipping into her still-dripping centre in the most possessive hold he had ever placed upon another. The low rumble of claim built in his chest without thought, spreading through the miko's little body as she leaned against him and making her shiver. It had only been her light giggles and taunts about his insatiable nature that had managed to break him free of the nearly overpowering urge to take her again, to bury himself in his rightful place within the one marked of his own brand.

When he had finally snapped out of it, he couldn't believe his own actions. Such a marking, usually, was reserved for mates of high-status youkai, or given once a child reached their maturity, females upon their first heat, and males upon completing their trial of battles. A mixture of magic, poison, and ink marred the skin of even a youkai with permanent scores unless they should choose to remove the mark in blood.

That the miko, who knew nothing of such customs, was bearing a marking upon her body that was shaped in the crest of his house; he should have been offended, angered, incensed at the fact that she would have the audacity to insult his noble house in such a way…but he had not. He had been filled with hard possessiveness, with raging desire, with unstoppable ferocity that demanded him to assert his claim over what was his.

And she was his. He would never let another touch her, never allow her to be taken from him.

Biting back a sigh of pleasure at the soft stroking of Sesshomaru's fingers, Kagome willed herself to take focus on what she was saying, ardently ignoring the heat pulsing through her body. "I told him I've made my choice."

Stilling his light petting to take focus on the miko's words, Sesshomaru turned his eyes to find hers. "And what have you decided?" he pressed, his voice pulled slightly with a strain that he couldn't place.

Kagome's breath caught, the words refusing to surface when locked with the intensity of his gaze. She forced herself to turn away, lifting her eyes to the sky above her, though not seeing any of the stars. "Once everything is over, when Naraku is brought down and I've found the way to destroy the jewel; I'm not going back to that time. I'm staying here…where I belong."

Though her words were heavy with the pain that saying them brought her, Sesshomaru couldn't help but be relieved by her decision. Two days without her after first feeling the addictive qualities of her radiant light and having her tender body at his leisure had been painful enough, loosing her forever after having only shared a short few moments in his eternal life with her was unacceptable.

He was more that willing to spend every moment he could with her, to feel her with him, to have her brilliance and her light bring warmth and passion to his own immortal existence. Perhaps it was that she would not live as long as he, but such things were so distant, and he was not willing to part with her simply for the knowledge that one day he may not have a choice.

But then, perhaps, he would not have to loose her at all. "The Shikon can not be destroyed," he repeated the words told to him by the ancient. "It was born of death, only life shall bring its reign to an end. That you are its guardian, born of its magics, perhaps it intended for you to forever be so. A life born of its light to seal away the darkness forever."

"I don't know," Kagome replied hesitantly. "There has to be more to it than that. No jail is impenetrable, no imprisonment can be forever. Even if I was to live many lifetimes, using the power of the jewel to sustain my body, there would be no guarantee that I wouldn't fail in my mission to keep it safe. There is always someone or something hungry for the power the jewel could give them, desperate enough to commit atrocities just for the chance to see their deepest and darkest desires come to fruition."

She sighed and shook her head. "No, there is a way to destroy the jewel, to lay the spirits sealed within to rest. I just have to find it."

Only she could turn away from the lure of immortality simply to walk the path of righteousness. Only she could be so strong, could accept a fate that no other had been able to accept without resentment and hatred marring their heart and corrupting the jewel even further. Only she could feel pity for the creatures of darkness trapped inside the jewel. Only she would want as much for their freedom as she did for their power to be sealed forever.

To her, there was no struggle to great, no price too high, so long as she knew she had lived every moment as her heart would make her. She cared nothing for power, nothing for position, for wealth, for recognition. If others would remember her after her time, it would not be in tales of battle or in the lands she had conquered or the titles she had won; she would be remembered by the people who she so willingly gave herself. She would live on, because her love would never die.

'That I sleep with the trees, does such make me one of them?' Bokutsenon had not been speaking of himself; he had been referring to the miko. She was human, but she was not. She was the child of light born of the Shikon. 'Is it my power which holds them to me, or is it their own?' Was her life truly bound to the jewel, or was it that she was the power, that she was the light, that her life was the immortal reincarnation of the jewel's power? 'Only time will tell.'

But what was time to one such as him? What meaning was there to the passing of so many long years? She was human, her time so definite; but she did not morn such things, she lived every moment to its fullest, never stopping to think that she could not accomplish her mission, that time would not favor her course. She walked ahead with determination, with conviction, always following the calling of her pure heart.

But how was this to help her? How was this knowledge to allow him to understand the way to negate the jewel's power?

"Perhaps you already have…" Sesshomaru's voice was soft and distant, repeating the words spoken to him out loud in hopes that they could find more meaning.

Turning her head slightly so that she could see him, Kagome drew her eyebrows together in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

Blinking to bring his gaze back into focus from his distant thoughts, Sesshomaru repeated the cryptic statements of the old nettle tree. "When I asked Bokutsenon of the jewel, he told me that the answers could only be found within the pure heart." His eyes shifted to find Kagome's. "He spoke of you, priestess. But he also said that life was the only way to atone for such deaths, and that I could never understand without someone to show me the way. I believe that his meaning was together we would be able to destroy the jewel. What is troubling, however, is that he implied we had already found the means by which to accomplish such."

"Well, that's just silly." Kagome brushed off his words with a slight wave of her hand. "We never did anything but fight each other until a few days ago when we…" She froze. Blinked. Took in a short, quick breath. And then let it out again as she breathed out one word, "No..."

Life to negate death. A child born of the light, and one of the dark fires. A miko and a youkai. Returning the balance from what had been taken. Releasing the curse from the jewel that had too long carried an impossible burden.

Sitting up quickly from her resting position, Kagome tried to squirm out of Sesshomaru's embrace. He, however, had come to the same realization as her and quickly tightened his hold on her.

"Sesshomaru…" She whimpered quietly, her eyes closing tightly, refusing to look at him, afraid to see his anger or resentment for the knowledge that if it would truly bring an end to the jewel's curse she would carry a youkai child, and that should he wish to keep his claim over her that that child would have to be his, born of a mortal woman, the race of beings which he had so long despised. "I didn't know…"

"Hush, little miko," he soothed her gently as he turned her to face himself. "I am not angry."

"You're…not?" she asked weakly as she finally cracked her eyes open to look at him. "But I thought you…"

Placing a finger against her lips, Sesshomaru stopped her words. "I am not entirely certain such beliefs hold merit any longer, Kagome. However, there is still much time before any decisions must be made. We will seek more knowledge regarding the jewel. It is possible that our analysis is incorrect. Though…" He paused, a small smile lifting on his lips at the look of wonderment and gentle longing swirling in the depthless blue of his little miko's eyes. He leaned into her, brushing his lips against hers in a tender kiss. "I do not like to be unprepared for any eventuality. Perhaps we should engage in a steady routine of practice."

Kagome was flabbergasted, caught between the fluttering in her chest at the idea of having a steady relationship with Sesshomaru which he admitted to having the potential of turning into a real family, the pulsing heat that enveloped her body at his eluding to more acts of mind-blowing sex, and the twinge of deviousness that arose within her that was happy to point out that her little puppy was letting his mind wander in the gutter and should be punished accordingly.

It was the latter that won out in the end, and she smirked wickedly. "Practice?" she asked suspiciously, biting her lip to keep herself from snickering when he lifted an eyebrow at her curiously. "I think you need practice on how to keep your hands to yourself." Gesturing absently to where his hand had found its way back to rest against her sex, Kagome winked at him. "I could help you with that, you know."

Sesshomaru was presented with a dilemma. Curiosity mingled with hesitations. On one side, his little miko was about to partake in one of her devious little games, games which he found to be quite enticing, not to mention incredibly arousing. But on the other hand, he really didn't want to let go of her, especially considering what exactly he was holding and that all he had to do was shift his finger minutely and he could immerse himself in the glorious heat of her core.

"Come on now, puppy," Kagome teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she slipped her hand down the inside of his thigh, her fingers teasing his skin in a feather-light caress as she inched her way closer to his stirring arousal. "Don't tell me you're scared."

With a low growl, Sesshomaru tightened his hold on her, pressing two fingers fully into her slick heat. He leaned down to her, his body trapping hers completely from where she was rested between his legs. The long moan that slipped from her lips and the way her head fell back against his shoulder to reveal to him clearly the full expanse of her delicate throat, only enhanced the feeling of the power he held over her.

"Do not forget to whom you speak, miko." His voice was hard, edged with a cold layer of ice. The miko trembled in his arms, a strained whimper leaving her lips as his mouth opened over her throat, scraping along her tender flesh with his deadly fangs.

"You shouldn't either, Sesshomaru," Kagome returned, her voice thick with desire. She reached her hand out, wrapping her fingers around the pulsing heat of his hardened length and squeezing tightly. A soft moan left her lips as it throbbed strongly in response to her touch.

Biting back on groaning at the sensation of having her tease against his aching cock, Sesshomaru responded to her taunts by shifting against her, his fingers slipping out of her slowly, only to be thrust back into her slick heat with force as he captured the lobe of her ear between his teeth and nipped at it gently. "Perhaps you should refresh my memory, Kagome."

His velvet voice rumbling in her ear made Kagome shiver, but it only fueled her inspiration. Her lips pulled into a coy grin. "It would be my pleasure."

Forcing her body up, Kagome latched her teeth against the smooth skin of his neck. The ripping snarl that broke out of him, she could feel vibrate angrily against her teeth as she increased the pressure. But when her hand shifted, pulling hard along his length to make his body surge with a wave of heated desire, the dangerous sound was curbed behind the low groan that spilled from his lips. His body relaxed, hunching forward slightly as he gave himself over to her demands.

Only for her, for his female, his miko, because he was helpless against her tender touch but craved it so intensely that it took over everything in his mind.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I was going to keep going with this chapter until the end, but it's been taking a while so I thought I could give a little teaser before I wrap this up. Yes, the end is coming for this story, sad as it is. Probably next chapter. So enjoy while you can kiddies.

And for FFN readers, again, I have cut out a rather large section of this story for sexual content. The full version is available on my ASS account. The next chapter, however, being that it is the finale of this piece, is getting posted here despite the content. I figure I can get away with a little bit of mature content with an 'M' rating, so I'm going to just go with it.

Later

Shadow