Yes, this is early. Why? Because I like to watch the hit points rise and this is my only day off. And because tomorrow I have to work and I'd rather not be tempted to kill time at work on FFN. So unprofessional, ne? I do know this isn't early enough for some of you though. Get over it, I'm posting now.

A few things:

1) Inuyasha was not mounted by three males, not even one at a time. He was force fed a mixture of their semen, and he was sodomized with some other inanimate object. In fact, the three males in question wouldn't have even been required to touch at any point at all. This process is very clinical. This is their business in trade, though granted it is not often used as a punishment as this process is permanent (-ish). The important part is that Their scent is one the brat's breath and deep in his body, marking Inuyasha as sooo far beneath them in the food chain that he instinctively will never even attempt to usurp their authority over him. If Inuyasha were full youkai, he would even feel happy about it if they told him to.

2) KAgome is not the only breeding female in the world of youkai, but she is the most prolific breeder despite the fact she has only ever birthed children to Sesshoumaru. This does not mean that there were only 13 births (or less) that were not born to Kagome. It just means that none of the rest have a birth ratio of 1mother to 14 babes. Youkai aren't dying out that quickly.

3) We've seen the last of Inuyasha for this fic. Know that he is now in the same situation that he was going to put Kagome in. Know that this story was never about Inuyasha getting what's coming to him so much as to spotlight the progression of a relationship between Sesshoumaru and Kagome.

4) During this time, Sesshoumaru has been heavily sedated. That typed of drugging does not just suddenly evaporate, side effects and all when it's stopped bein administered. He is unaware of everything that has passed in the last two chapters. Let the fun begin!

I do not own: 1) Inuyasha, the characters or world therefrom. Those belong to Rumiko Takahashi. 2) the original idea that spawn this specific plot. That was borrowed from the first chapter of Fortunesque's Hot Salsa found on Dokuga.

Warnings: Mature content throughout. Possible Trigger content throughout. I warned you!

Waking Dream

Sesshoumaru stared numbly at the gaping portal before him. Beyond the open doorway stood a room filled with furniture he slightly remembered, though how he got here was a mystery. That was his living room, this was his front door. Why was he standing outside of it looking in when he could be inside with his sweet mate?

Amber eye's blinked blearily before a deep inhalation tested the scent of the air. There were familiar scents lingering in the space outside his open door. Scents he should recognize but couldn't place just now. Kagome wasn't there, but he really didn't expect her to be. The miko had no reason to stand outside her door long enough to leave a standing scent. She would pass right through having easy access to the space beyond. Sesshoumaru was pretty sure he normally would too, but he couldn't bring himself to move forward at the moment.

Something held him back, a terrifying anxiety over what would be found there. Another deep breath drew air from just inside the apartment. Why was he so nervous? He could find no scent that triggered the obvious alarms in his brain. No blood greeted his next breath, no saline coated his taste buds with the scent of salt. Death had not left its stench after robbing the life from someone he cared about. What held him stagnant on the threshold of his own home? What would inspire this stasis of movement?

Not one to stand for cowardice even in the face of confusion and unable to identify a threat that would require his continued caution, Sesshoumaru forced his stationary body to move. He took a step past the door frame, then a second before turning to close the oak door behind him. Automatically, he slid the bolt home and engaged the locking mechanism. Centuries ago, there would have been no need. Treasures were kept in locked cases and puzzle boxes designed to thwart theft. His mate would not have required such safe keeping. Ignorance of the masses as to the existence of his kind had eliminated the protection of his name and species. Well amongst human aggressors.

Being a secret business mogul wasn't as satisfying as being able to inspire fear with a mere glare. The advent of locks on his personal residence had marked the period in which there was reason to fear burglary and kidnapping of his most precious mate. There had been one incident where the scum of the earth had infiltrated Kagome's home while she was sleeping. The cretin had made it as far as the room in which she was resting while Sesshoumaru had temporarily left the dwelling at the behest of his neurotic retainer. A violent shudder racked through his body at the mere memory of how close he'd come to losing his mate.

The wish had made it so that he could keep her from death, prevent disease, and block aging. Physical injury required more energy than she could easily spend without Sesshoumaru's immediate presence and careful direction. Demanding that she immediately heal something dire enough could force her to starve to death. The human body, even aided by a careful wish had its limitations. And the would-be burglar had a six inch knife.

His shivering limbs convinced Sesshoumaru that he was dreaming. Fuzzy as his brain was, sluggish as the thoughts swept through his mind, only the loosed physical display of horror was indisputable proof. He would never allow that particular emotion visible expression awake.

He would show his miko affection. Only Kagome would see him completely relaxed enough to sleep beside her. He would worry over the things that left her anxious and show his sympathy, empathy when she needed it. But Sesshoumaru would never shake her faith in him by betraying such lasting trauma. There was little doubt that she knew about it without being told despite his careful masking. Mates with as long a history as they had learned to communicate things by subtler means than obvious tells.

Such unspoken communication was how he knew that Kagome was hoping for another pup this rut and Sesshoumaru was more than ready to sire it on her.

Until the council interfered.

Sesshoumaru had been prepared for the usual petitions to breed his miko. He'd been armed to counter them with the span of years spent putting up with such continued interference. He had shot down others before and won privacy during the occasional rut. Inuyasha had been a new wrench in the works.

Or rather, he was an old trouble maker, but it was new that the council would bother to listen to the boy. The shrinking numbers of youkai as a whole had apparently driven the ruling members to lower their standards severely. Especially if they'd chosen to ignore the scent of Inuyasha's lies. The hanyou had no claim to Kagome at the time they had mated. The boy was mated to Sango, and the slayer had conceived. The bastard son of a former lord was not allowed more than one mate even now. They weren't even allowed concubines or lovers until the required span of years for dissolution had passed or the death of the current mate.

Even Inuyasha knew that much, as he'd demonstrated by informing Kagome of the pending deadline five hundred years ago. But then, the hanyou only paid attention to the rules when it benefited him. Sesshoumaru could only suppose that the boy hadn't realized just how foolish mating for revenge was when it concerned his desire for Kagome, another human who was just as mortal and just as prone to aging. Well, she was back then.

If Inuyasha had wanted to jump Kagome's bones so bad, he shouldn't have mated Sango. Once mated, he shouldn't have worked so hard to keep rutting with the slayer. Failure to conceive was grounds for dissolution. Dissolution would have freed the hanyou to move on to Kagome. If she were willing.

Kagome had insisted even then that she had no desire to deal with Inuyasha in that context. She didn't want to deal with him in any context really. The male was abusive, debasing, and disloyal. He reminded Sesshoumaru rather of his terrible sire.

Funny that.

The boy never knew the male that fathered him, never knew his worst habits first hand the way that Sesshoumaru did. One would have thought, the chances of the boy turning out so similar to that particular beast would have been incredibly small. Exposure was more conducive to contamination of minds, habits, and character traits.

But then, Shippou had been exposed to Inuyasha and Miroku's less becoming traits and come out wholly worthy of the place he'd been allowed within the Western pack. None of Sessoumaru's own pups had turned out like Inuyasha, so it wasn't a genetic proclivity to be so vile.

Kagome insisted such behavior was linked entirely to unfettered selfishness. Which he supposed was a bald truth. But how had they gotten so selfish, these males who ruined everyone they encountered? There were theories that abounded in the human studies, nurture versus nature, though neither seemed an entirely accurate or complete explanation for the outcome that was Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's sire.

Shaking his head off the track his thoughts had taken, he turned to walk further into their shared home and stumbled. A quick glance down alerted him that a rug was missing from just inside the door. It's absence did not alarm him. Most of their shared possessions were transient. All the heirloom treasures were stored in vaults located in difficult to reach areas of the globe guarded by the best of their kind for the job.

There were youkai species who loved the guarding of treasures, theirs or the property of others. It had been prudent to hide away the things that held youki lest a dead youkai's possessions wreak havoc on an unsuspecting human world. All the other treasures, ancient antiques had found homes in various museums. Sesshoumaru did not begrudge the world tactile pieces of their history. Such pieces were meticulously preserved and cared for. It was respectful behavior he found no fault with. It didn't really matter to him if his personal chair was hundreds of years old or just purchased six years ago and made from inferior materials. His ass was not so very delicate, as Kagome had put it when one of the ruling class had protested the orders to makes such donations. Truly, no one's rump was so sensitive it could tell the difference between silk and less delicate fabrics through the fine clothing they wore. And that was just the cushions. The supports for the cushions were even less likely to be identified or felt. High end furniture was usually better made, though the craftsmanship of former days was lacking.

Sesshoumaru's amber gaze swept over the silent designer couches littering the first chamber. They were low and stream-lined, giving the room a pleasing look of manly sparseness. Kagome had rolled her eyes at the purchase, but since she'd allowed him to do the shopping this time around, hadn't said anything. It wasn't until he questioned why she never used the room that he learned the folly of his choice. His mate had told him to sit on the couches he'd chosen. Confused as to her meaning he'd done as suggested and learned that a large price tag did not automatically necessitate comfort.

Sniffing disdainfully at the standing reminder of his mistake, he drew in the scents lingering in the room and was surprised to find a swirling pool of Kagome's essence. The brightness of her purity sparked his curiosity. It was rare for her to let such loose within the city. She risked damaging concealed youkai accidentally in such close quarters. The miko must have had reason. Reason he felt inadequate to not have prevented.

Like many youkai, Kagome had grown more powerful with the passage of time. Her reiki grew in magnitude with each passing year. There were not many youkai who could compare, not even ones older than Sesshoumaru. They were all just lucky that his mate was so generous with their ridiculous demands of her person. Though, he was worried as to how this situation would turn out. Kagome was not the most passive about being ordered around, more so when the ones ordering her around failed to acknowledge her as anything more than a breeding machine.

This latest insult could go any number of ways. None of them would be precisely what the Youkai Council wanted. She would never breed with another male by Sesshoumaru's own will. And she would never bed down with a male against her own choice. That was where his uneasiness came in.

Sesshoumaru knew that Kagome claimed she didn't want Inuyasha. That she hadn't wanted him sexually or romantically longer than Naraku had been dead. He'd always been forced to accept her word on trust, comfortable with it so long as there was no risk that her words could have simply been a result of anger, hurt or lingering bitterness. She had loved Inuyasha first, far longer than the hanyou's abuses should have allowed for.

Kagome was far too resilient for her own good. In some ways this was good since Sesshoumaru had benefited a few times from her resilience. World War II had certainly proven that. Many youkai females would have left him after such events. Miscarriage may have been common but it could have been avoided if he had actually listened to his mate and been at least near enough to her to ease her concerns. Then he had further failed to prevent the death of their youngest pup by continuing to ignore her warnings, becoming dreadfully ill himself. There were few youkai that would have stayed with him to nurse him back to health, fewer of those were female. Death of a viable pup while in his keeping was grounds for a female to dissolve even a long standing mating. Failure to do his part to prevent issues during gestation, as could not be contested due to their long separation prior to miscarriage could have been further grounds for her to leave him. Prolonged illness as further proof of his weaknesses and lacking value as a mate only cemented her case had she chosen to pursue separation from himself as he well knew.

Sesshoumaru had certainly feared that was her intention when she'd insisted on getting a job of her own outside his corporation. It left him anxious, fearing her forays beyond the safe world he provided was merely a preliminary step towards creating true geographical and emotional distance between them. Such anxiety explained his habitual appearance on her various breaks those first few years she worked away from home. He'd even considered pupping her that first rut following her new career bent, but eventually decided against it. She hadn't been ready to try again and he honestly hadn't been ready either.

Momoko's horrible end had threaded through years of his sleeping visions. The view of her pale sickened and then deadened face haunted him. He would never forget how she had died, overcome by the toxic radiation that had nearly claimed him as well. She was so precious and so very gone. As was that other life that Kagome should have birthed after her. Both losses were his fault, though he knew Kagome blamed herself for the loss of their unborn pup. Her guilt was compounded by his unwillingness return to her side immediately following that sad event. He should have raced to her, but Sesshoumaru was ashamed.

It was not often that he had cause to feel such. Sesshoumaru had not handled it well.

In essence he had attempted to hide from her sadness and pain and the growing chaos of the world. Like the proverbial ostrich, he'd stuck his head in the sand and refused to face that his world was anything less than the joy it had been previously. His mate was still pupped and this war was not riddling the world. His escapism had been as detrimental as his quest to retrieve a sword not meant for him.

Pushing past the living room and the memories of his last great failure as a male, Sesshoumaru followed Kagome's trail through the kitchen where she made so many of her meals. It was often enjoyable to watch her there. Her moves were practiced and efficient working to create the things that helped to keep her healthy and whetted his apetite for things that held no nutritional value for youkai. It had taken her a long time to perfect the court grace needed to avoid the condescending comments of youkai ladies she was forced to endure, but the grace she had in her own kitchen was natural and a great deal more appealing to him. Such was probably why he seldom could stand to let her complete her efforts without molestation. Her domestic elegance simply inspired him to carnal games. Homely though the tasks were, they always reminded him of her completion of such tasks in effort to nurture their various pups through time.

Unlike most human couples, despite the foreplay starting in any room of their home, it always ended in their overly large bathroom. There were few materials capable of withstanding Sesshoumaru's amorous discharges the way Kagome now could. Loving in the kitchen, living room or even the bedroom usually ended in having to replace whatever furniture was exposed and no few holes in the floor. Having to call for replacement flooring as often as they pursued coitus would quickly raise suspicion. There were no viable explanations to require new tiles, carpet, or hard wood that often.

The bathroom had been designed with their games in mind. It wasn't warm and the surfaces weren't particularly soft and comfortable, but it was a necessity if they wanted to keep his nonhuman status from coming under suspicion. There were enough crazies in the world who believed in all sorts of things that exposure was always a risk.

Such was the reason that Kagome and Sesshoumaru relocated after every rutting season. She didn't age. Those who worked closely with her would start making comments about her continued youthfulness or demand her beauty secrets. Then the various rumors would start about the various nefarious ways his miko could be keeping her youth.

It was better to just forestall it all by moving and setting up house elsewhere.

Sesshoumaru moved beyond the kitchen to meander down the hall. Following the habitual route of their nightly routine, he skipped the bedroom and headed for the bathing room.

Kagome loved her bathing amenities, so they had the most exotic shower money could by. The fixtures were elegantly sleek and spot free. The colors were tastefully muted throughout, but Sesshoumaru had insisted on a simple, traditional tub. Nor whirlpool jets, no fancy faucets, just a tub in which the water could be reheated and occasionally drained. If he wanted anything fancier, he could afford to go elsewhere for it. In his home, traditional was his staple. As far as bathing and soaking went.

Kagome hadn't argued. The greater luxuries would only encourage her to linger longer than she already did, which was already plenty long enough as the time she spent soaking in hot water was time she wasn't interested in playing with him.

Sesshoumaru knew that if he came home of an evening and found her in the tub, it was not the time to play their games. Typically it meant that her charges had run her off her feet and she was exhausted. Occasionally it meant that she wasn't feeling well, which he could easily fix but still wouldn't end with coitus of any kind. Less often now than formerly it was a sign of sadness or lingering depression. Once again sex was not in the cards, but cuddling in the hot water was a greatly enjoyable option. All were usually followed by cuddling in bed until his miko fell asleep. Most would later find her waking in the middle of the night willing to submit to his efforts to start something amorous and generally landed them both back in the bathroom for some light loving.

Usually he didn't mind it over much, Kagome didn't often resort to the tub before he got home. The tykes were seldom a match for her increased stamina. Illness seldom got past the safeguards he kept in place for her health and the lingering depression or episodes of sadness were increasingly rare with the passage of time. Still, there were nights when her bad days coincided with his more stressful ones, days when all he wanted was to throw his dominance of his mate sexually when being so thwarted was mildly enraging.

At this moment, spotting his lovely mate soaking in the tub was off-putting for another reason entirely, as she often wound up in the tub following some of their more gymnastic love-making. Given the knowledge that his mate was being subjected to council sanctioned advances of his hanyou brother and the possible end that would follow if Kagome wanted to allow Inuyasha the intimacy he wanted. There was little doubt in Sesshoumaru's mind that if given half the chance to release five hundred years of sexual desire on his miko, Inuyasha would be quite aggressive.

The thought angered him a bit, even though he knew this was a sleeping vision and therefore subject to his whims. No one was allowed to touch his mate but him. In reality he may have to pretend to allow it, to give Kagome right to allow any one of the males sanctioned by the council, but in his own head, he was king and the rules were of his own making.

Kagome was leaning against the edge of the tub, her arms folded over the lip with her chin resting on her crossed wrists. Her eyes were watching him as a smug grin taunted him from the bath. She looked rather like the cat that ate the canary, and he hated cats. Kagome never looked that satisfied with herself in the bath. She was usually exhausted, serene, or searching for peace. That smile was a dare.

She was challenging him to act in his own damn dream. It was so, Sesshoumaru smirked in response, apropos. He always did love her best as the defiant woman that had typified the hunt for Shikon no Kakera, the one he had to fight in order to mate five hundred years ago. Sesshoumaru loved that spark even if it did cause him no few insecurities. She was a magnificent female that many wanted but only he had.

Never one to back down from a challenge, the inu youkai strode forward and hefted the miko bodily from the water, straight up and over the side of the tub. One the way back down his mouth latched on to one wet nipple, laving the aureola and the youki marks swirled around it with slick personal heat.

Right now, he just wanted to play. With her body.