SMUIR

Sesshoumaru could almost count on one hand the number of times he'd been well and truly furious.

The first that came to mind… well that had been when he'd discovered that Tessaiga was meant for Inuyasha. An irredeemable insult. The second had been when Inuyasha had made some claims to grandeur and cut off the dragon's arm he'd procured for himself. Laughable, that a hanyou dared to stand at the same level as he. The third had been when he'd realized that the killing Tenseiga was also meant for Inuyasha. Demoralizing. And as for the fourth―

He didn't need to think too hard on it, especially when the catalyst in question was sauntering along behind him as if she had a right to.

His chest stung, the bite Kinjirou had dealt him far from fatal but deep enough to display a cracked rib or two. Sesshoumaru had returned the favor in kind and more, the taste of his cousin's blood still thick on his tongue, and it was a heady sort of pleasure to know that Kinjirou would be licking his wounds for days to come―for all the fury that raged at him to simply put the dog down and be done with it. That thought did rankle, that he'd held himself back, that Kinjirou would live to see another day, but it wouldn't serve for Sesshoumaru to go murdering his cousin, as much as the insolent brat deserved it. It would be the least Kinjirou deserved for the egregious little stunt he'd tried to pull tonight.

A test. That's all it had been. To prove that he wasn't his father. That he hadn't inherited the same predilections. A witty little insult.

It had worked, to be sure. But Kinjirou was lucky that he wasn't as clever as he'd thought himself to be, that he hadn't had the idea to go digging any deeper, to start asking questions, to follow the rumors. The human emperor's children were of no consequence to Sesshoumaru. But if his cousin had been any smarter, had found himself pawing through a human village to the east… Sesshoumaru would have torn his head from his shoulders and razed the castle to the ground without hesitation.

That thought had his blood boiling all over again, and it was only a small consolation that Kinjirou was sure to sulk around until the end of the festival with his tail between his legs. Hopefully his sister would be smart enough to do the same. But if not… there were always some casualties during the Hunt.

He'd only just been able to reign in that rage and bloodlust when he'd gone to revive those children, but now, alone and dealing with the ache and sting of his wound as he peeled his robes away from his blood caked skin, it was starting to bubble back to the surface. At least the steam was starting to bead and sweat on his skin, flaking off the blood and leaving tracks as it dripped down his belly and chest. He'd hoped that time alone with the monotonous rumble of the hot springs would allow him to cool his head, to wait until his flesh had knit back together before he went back out to face his family.

Evidently, the one woman he'd have preferred to avoid had other ideas.

The sound of her shuffling footsteps echoed down the tunnel, louder than the sound of the water cascading down to the floor, soft but almost deafening to his ears until her steps stopped just inside the little cavern and he could feel her gaze needling his naked back. He did not turn to look at her, not when his blood was running so hot, and left his soiled robe hanging around his hips. As it was, the electric scent of her was already invading the air, headier than the sticky humidity of the springs; even the mineral scent of the water, within arms reach, wasn't enough to dull it.

Heat curled along his spine the longer she lingered, silently watching him. She fidgeted: her fabric rustled, the paper of her fan crinkled, and he could only minutely pick up the soft sounds of her breathing. But still, she kept her distance and said nothing, until, with a growl:

"Go away, Kagura." He put as much disdain into his voice as he could, hoping that it would be enough to dissuade her.

"Hm, no." Of course not. "I don't think I will."

He turned, just enough to see her over his shoulder, only to realize she wasn't even looking at him, instead her eyes were on… Tenseiga, propped up against the far wall. She had her fan pressed against her lips, looking pensive, like she'd been passing through and stopped just stare at the damn sword. He sneered, if her mission was to piss him off further, she'd certainly done it.

"So…" Her face was too serene as she turned to look up at him. The beginnings of a trap. "Did you kill him?"

He hissed. "What does it matter?"

"Curious, is all." She quirked a brow. "I can't even ask you a question now?"

His sneer grew, his lip curled over his fangs. She looked so nonchalant, so utterly comfortable, with a self-possessed cock to her hips and one arm folded over her chest, bloody red eyes glowing in the dim light. She gave him a long once over, as if she was assessing him, his injuries, maybe, and he felt the heat rising on the back of his neck, but was unsure whether it was due to the sweltering steam catching up with him or because of her stare.

"How long have you had that sword?" A stupid thing to ask.

"What does it matter, Kagura?"

"Answer the question."

"I don't owe you one."

"What a shame." She tsked and the serenity fell away from her face, replaced with an irritated quirk in her brow. "And here I thought we could still be friends."

Friends was the furthest from any of the things they'd ever been. From anything they could be. With a roll of her eyes she moved, stepping over to where Tenseiga leaned against the rock, his eyes followed her movement until she paused, staring down at the sword until she finally reached out to run her thumb along the fabric of it's hilt. A step too far.

"Kagura―"

"How long have you been able to raise the dead?"

Sesshoumaru nearly bit his tongue, surprised by the line of questioning. What did any of it matter? He'd already made it clear that he had no intention of pursuing an affair with her, he knew better than to entertain any notion of something like friendship, and his blood was already running too hot, from the fury and the thrill of battle, from the steam wafting off the springs. Standing still too long left him a little lightheaded, blood loss catching up to him and numbing his fingers and the ache of his wound―

"You had your hand on your sword…" She turned her head slowly, meeting his gaze. "That day. In the meadow."

He blinked. The implication of her words taking a little longer than usual to catch up with him, to make the connection, to remember―the meadow, white flowers stained with blood and miasma, a smile, and a complete failure―

"I was in pain, but I noticed that much," she said, "I'd almost thought you'd come to finish the job. But even you aren't that cruel."

―He didn't need reminding. If she wanted to make her own conclusions she was more than welcome to it. Just―not here, not now, not when her scent was as heavy as the steam and he could hardly think straight. He didn't need to dwell on the past. A snarl curled his lip and Kagura merely tilted her head.

"Tell me why."

No. He couldn't hold the growl, not with her looking at him like that. He turned away, braced himself with a hand against the wet rocks. An act that felt like cowardice.

"I'm not in the mood, Kagura."

"You're never in the mood," she hissed. Anger bubbled up in her voice, finally an emotion he could anticipate. "What is your problem? You might be too scared to reject me to my face but I ain't fucking stupid, I know where I'm not wanted." Then why― "The least you could do is tell me the truth. It was my life after all."

It had been. And he'd spent months ruminating on that little fact. Feeling like a failure. Feeling the misbegotten guilt. The shame of proving her right. That he'd been too weak to do anything, so caught up in his own ego. His wound stung, fire spreading across his chest so hot that he nearly gasped and had to dig his claws into the wet stone to keep himself steady.

Hold on. She'd called him a coward.

"I will not be some toy for you to amuse yourself with," he hissed. If she wanted a rejection she could have it, it was easier to voice than any of the other things thundering around his head, the memories. The thought of speaking them into existence was more severe than the pain that wracked his belly. "You can have your fun with your gods and the bear king. I'm not interested."

There was a beat of silence, the wind holding its breath, the only sound the water pouring into the earth. Then Kagura inhaled.

"Is that what―that's what you're upset about?!" Her voice echoed in his ears, full of disbelief and indignation. She paused, took a deep breath and muttered to herself before her volume rose again. "Are you fucking… I never thought you were this damn dense, Sesshoumaru. You think I'm fucking my―?!" She snarled, an almost impressive sound accompanied by the staccato of her feet stomping up behind him. "Would you fucking look at me?"

She snatched his right arm, above the elbow and pulled. He allowed her to spin him around, but only so far before his other hand snapped up to grab her wrist, squeezing just hard enough to get her to release his arm. He'd already made his little vow, he'd be sore to break it now but Kagura hardly flinched.

"You're jealous, is that it? You're just another dog getting possessive over a piece of meat―" a snarl curled his lip, "―don't want a toy that someone else's been playing with? The great Sesshoumaru-sama too fucking good to share―"

A growl ripped out between his fangs, to hell with his promises, he dropped her wrist in favor of her throat, bodily moving her until he'd pressed her up against the damp rocky wall. The water seeped into her robes, making the fabric cling to her shoulders.

"Shut up."

"Not my fault you want to hurt your own fucking feelings," she spat, her hands came up to press against his chest, a hand going flat against his injury but not quite hard enough to be painful. A threat. He could feel the stirrings of her power against the broken flesh, knew that he was nothing more than a body just like the corpses she puppeteered. That she could invade him if she chose―

"You've been staring at me like you've been itching to get between my legs for weeks―" he snarled again, "―but someone else sticking their fingers in your honeypot is too much for you?" Beyond the burning ache of his wounds he could feel her squirm, her hand going slick with his blood. "Get―get the hell off me, you son of a bitch. Fucking―territorial dog―"

―Then again, she already had. Dizzying, with her pressed so close, the steam misting his skin and her scent heavy in the air, she continued to squirm against him, not quite pushing him off, but making her intentions clear, that if he didn't release her she'd twist the proverbial knife, that if he did nothing he would never get to know what the hollow of her throat tasted like. Eyes like fire burned him, hazy in their intensity, anger and indignation and lust flushing her face―he could feel it all thrum beneath her skin, her pulse hammering against his palm, he wanted to scrape his teeth against it, feel that flutter against his lips, his tongue―

Kagura hissed. "You gonna' kill me or fuck me?"

"Is that what you'd have me do, Kagura?" His snarl was loud even to his own ears. "Rip out your throat? Throw you down and force myself between your legs?"

"Try it. At least then I'd know which one you're lying about."

Her chest heaved and her pulse still thrummed rapidly under his hand but her face betrayed nothing of fear, the only thing he could read was the challenge in her eyes, the expectant little quirk to her brow and set to her chin…

It felt like an easy decision, and all it took was a shift in his weight, letting go. Kissing her wasn't hard, at least it got her to stay quiet for once, the only thing left in her throat a shocked little squeak muffled against his lips. Different from the last time, when she'd been hesitant and soft, unsure of his reaction, and he'd been too shocked to push any further. This time he pushed her back, moved his hand from the hollow of her throat to grasp the back of her head and press himself closer. She'd asked him for violence, and he supposed he delivered when a fang nipped her lip and he could almost taste the salt and metal of her blood, his tongue quick to follow and delve into her mouth, lavishing in the taste of her.

Water trickled down his chest, condensation from the steam and what splashed off her hair and robes, soaking them both. He wondered if angering him had been her goal all along when his wound began to ache, the pressure of her hand moved up his chest, leaving smeared red handprints along his skin until she found a lock of hair and pulled―but pressed so close, surrounded by her scent and the taste of her, he could almost ignore the pinch.

He pulled away, to catch his breath and alleviate the itching pressure on his wound. Kagura leaned her head back, a satisfied smirk on her messy lips and victory twinkling in her eyes. She reached up and roughly rubbed her thumb across his bottom lip. "You never answered my question."

He hissed, and both hands went to her hips, pushed her under and through the waterfall, the water beating down on her head not enough to deter her open mouthed laughter even as it drenched her. The sound was intoxicating, echoing in his ears even as he pressed her back against the slick steps, a toothy smile still plastered on her face as he leaned over her and went for her throat, the space just under her jaw―why had he decided against this? He couldn't quite remember, not with his nose pressed against her pulse, inhaling her scent―something about jealousy? A denial of desire because it would only end in drama and disappointment, but… he wondered why he'd thought he could deny himself this now that she'd pushed him, as he pressed himself against her thigh, all he wanted to do was insert himself between her legs and―

He paused, realizing a slight problem. A growl bubbled in his throat.

"What's wrong now? I―Oh." She sucked her lips between her teeth and glanced down when he pulled away. She looked like she was fighting a laugh, he couldn't rightly blame her for it, but it still chaffed.

"...I've lost too much blood." The truth, but it felt like an excuse.

She nodded, slowly, still biting her lips to keep from giggling as she sat up. Sesshoumaru pulled away, a growl rumbling in his chest even as he stepped back and away from her. Healing the wound would do nothing for the blood loss, not if it was so severe to―embarrassment didn't begin to cover it.

"Oh, don't look so grumpy," Kagura cooed. She adjusted her soaked robes, her eyes still bright and appraising him, knowing that no matter what: she'd won. That she'd broken his resolve. "I'm sure you aren't the first."

He sneered and turned away, going back to the falls. The heat of the water would do little for his boiling blood and racing pulse, but at least it would wash away the grime and hasten the process of healing. The wound had already begun to itch before he'd stepped under the water, a good sign, but it wouldn't hurt to make use of it, though it stung something awful.

Kagura fixed herself up and stepped past him, heading back towards the tunnel. With things as they were, he supposed she would return to her friends, and they would resume things in a few hours. If he hadn't regained his sanity by then. Though suddenly the logic of it mattered less than it had only a few minutes ago.

"I'll see you in the morning." A promise. She could do with it what she liked.

"Hn?" She turned, one brow raised. "What are you talking about?"

He blinked, water droplets weighing down his lashes. "Aren't you going?"

"Oh." She laughed. "You thought I was done?" She shook her head, laughing softly to herself as she placed her fan down on a solid rock, plucked her feathers from her hair and then leaned down to peel off her sopping wet socks. "You should know I take advantage of any opportunity I'm given."

He watched as she placed her socks out to dry on another boulder and straightened, reaching for the lapels of her hanten and slipping it off her shoulders. She didn't make it very far before she noticed his stare.

"Aren't you going to join?" she asked, giving him one long once over.

He took a deep breath and suddenly found a little more willpower, more energy to force into his healing. A little amused by her apparent anticipation. "I'd think you'd be a little more cautious about… being with someone who already rejected you once."

"Hn, maybe you're right, but," she shrugged and shot him a smirk as the hanten dropped to the floor with a wet slap, "I think I've learned it takes more than one try with you."

The belt around her waist came next, coming loose as she slowly undid the tie until it joined her robe on the floor. Her kosode almost fell open, the layers of fabric still thick and clinging to her skin, without the belt her collar widened to reveal a stretch of flesh from the hollow of her throat to her belly. She stopped there.

"Well?"

He knew what she wanted, and with the state he was in he almost refused, but his pride would not allow him to suffer another embarrassment or even the pretense of it. So with sure fingers he reached for the ties of his hakama and swiftly undid the knot, letting the fabric fall away from his hips while never breaking her gaze.

Kagura tilted her head, her smile turning malicious as she nodded at his hips.

"That, too."

And so the fundoshi was the next thing on the floor.

She gave him a long appraising look, her eyes roving over his skin, from the top of his head and down to his feet, pausing at his hips and then finally back up to meet his gaze as she grinned.

He knew it was some game, a power play; that she wanted him to prove himself. He kept his posture straight and his own gaze steady, refusing to cow to hers, but he couldn't help but stare as she pulled the first layer of her kosode away and very carefully laid it on the rocks beside her fan. Each movement was painstakingly slow, each punctuated by a glance in his direction, making sure he was paying attention. It might not have bothered him so much if not for his nerve endings finally coming to life, fire erupting along his side as they mended together. He hissed and placed a hand over the wound, found that it had closed over, now nothing more than an angry red divet in his skin. At least it was no longer in danger of reopening, he wouldn't need to worry about the bleeding. He stepped out of the water's spray and Kagura looked up, pausing at the second robe.

She watched him expectantly, chin raised as he approached, her grin had shrunk to that same sly little smirk as before, but it was no less potent, especially combined with the victorious glint in her eye. He stopped just out of her arm's reach and raised a hand to her cheek, lightly trailing his claws along her skin until his thumb brushed against the brass that hung from her ears.

"Take these off."

She blinked at him, and when she didn't react right away, he pinched the thin metal between his thumb and index finger and yanked.

"Asshole!" she hissed, one hand snapped up to clutch her lobe while the other slapped at his chest with a solid thump. He crushed the loop in his fist and tossed the mutilated metal away.

"I won't have you wearing another man's gifts."

"You don't have to be such a bastard about it!" she snarled. She pulled the other hoop from her ear and threw it at him, it hit him square in the chest before bouncing off to clang against the floor. Sesshoumaru merely shrugged and turned away from her, heading back towards the steps and up to the top pool. Kagura continued to mutter and curse behind him, and he wondered if she would reconsider now, but when he turned back to enter the pool, her last two layers were already on the floor at her feet.

She looked up at him, a challenge in her eyes, but he hardly noticed, too busy giving her the same treatment she'd given him, his gaze roving over every curve and divet, the jagged shard of glass that hung between her breasts…

"Like what you see?" She nodded at him as she reached up to pull the tie from her hair, letting it fall around her shoulders in loose curls.

He huffed. "As if it isn't anything I've never seen before."

"Oh? So you committed it all to memory?"

He tsked and tore his gaze away to a chorus of her chuckles as he stepped into the pool. The heat briefly shocked his skin, almost hot enough to numb his nerves, but he acclimated quickly enough, sinking into the water slowly until he found a comfortable seat facing her direction.

Kagura reached for the chain around her neck, hesitating for the briefest second before she pulled the shard from her neck and placed it on the rocks beside her fan and socks, a subtle twist that gave him a fairly good view of the rest of her. It had hardly been the time or the place or the circumstance to commit it to memory the last time, but now he was certainly going to take his time to. Especially when she turned back to him and started to make her way up the steps: there was a swing to her hips, a bounce in each slow step that made the spectacle of her climb almost agonizing; he tried not to let it show on his face, but judging by the quirk to her lips she was well aware. She dipped her feet into the pool but didn't go very far, instead she sat down at the water's edge, her thighs squeezed together tightly as she leaned back, the arc of her spine pushing her chest forward―

"You gonna' stay over there the whole time?" She raised her brows. "Come here."

He considered it, chafed under the apparent order, but he supposed he could tolerate it when the reward was already on display. He made his way towards her, only emerging from the water when he was close enough to lean forward and place his hands flat on either side of her hips. That damned smirked was still on her lips and he had a mind to wipe it away when a hand on his chest stopped him.

"Aren't you still healing?" she asked, twirling a finger around a damp lock of his hair, gently tugging down… "I think you should stay in the water, no?"

Ah. He hadn't been thinking quite that far, and felt foolish for not catching on sooner. She opened her legs around his hips and gently pressed down on his shoulder, pushing him back into the water. He went willingly, fought the press of her hand only enough to lean into her just below her chin, taking the time to trail his nose along her throat, the length of her collarbone and down… his nose to take in her scent, lips and tongue to taste her skin as he went, and a hand to trace every line and curve, to touch and remember the things that made her twitch; the gentle trace of a brown nipple, down and down until the scent of her sex was nearly overwhelming, heady and sweet. He slowed just below her navel, tracing odd spiraling patterns with his nose until he came to the crease between hip and thigh, darted a tongue out to taste, to prolong it before he found himself between her thighs, inhaling deeply and reveling in the scent of her and―she was laughing.

"What's so funny?" He meant the question to be dangerous, a threat, but it came out breathy, just a little raw and low. He rose up, crawling up her body until he hovered above her. She pulled her lips between her teeth, and he couldn't help but follow the motion.

"I was only thinking," her voice wavered on a chuckle, "you really are a dog."

A growl rumbled in his chest at the insult as he rose, crawling up her body until he could raise a hand to grasp her chin and press his thumb against her lips. He pressed and she opened for him, taking him in until the clawed digit lay flat on her tongue.

"Any other time, I'd give you something useful to do with that smart mouth of yours."

She smiled, closed her mouth around his thumb to idly lick and suck, tasting him. His lips parted, gaze stuck on the image of hers wrapped around him. She chuckled low in her throat and reached up to gently pull his hand from her chin and raised her own to gently stroke his cheek, running her thumb along his stripes.

"'Lay with dogs and get up with fleas', isn't that right?" she said as she tugged his face down to hers, "I doubt anyone has ever told you, but you are quite cute, Sesshoumaru. You might be a dog, but I think I'll take my chance with fleas just this once."

"Fleas…?" He no longer had it in him to be angry, not when she had him between her legs, her warmth against his thigh, all the rage from only an hour ago had trickled away, replaced with a different sort of heat. In fact, he found himself doing something he only did when there was sure to be a great deal of bloodshed.

Sesshoumaru smiled.

It shocked even her, the smirk fell from her face. "What…?"

Before she could finish he'd sunk down between her thighs again, and within the next breath had his lips around her sex.

Kagura gasped and threw her head back, not yet ready for such an assault, but he had little sympathy―this had been what she'd wanted, after all―lips and tongue teasing and sucking at her, darting inside when he grew tired of repeating the motion. He had to use his hands to keep her hips still, claws lightly pricking her skin as she twitched and squirmed, he pressed her back down when she raised her hips in an attempt to move him, to spur him on, trying to follow a phantom rhythm when he returned to her center with his tongue. Her hands came down around his head to try to pull him deeper in, she gasped and mewled, moaned when he slid a hand up her belly to caress a breast, ghosting his claws over her skin to taunt and tease.

Generosity was something he usually reserved, but for once he supposed he could let her have her way. Her pulling on his hair increased, almost hard enough to seal his lips to hers as he intensified his ministrations, he moved quicker, squeezed and pressed just a little harder until her body went taught for a breath before a violent tremor wracked her, and she was gasping anew, eyes screwed shut as she rode through her pleasure, his tongue still lapping lightly at her core until it had passed.

She released her grip on him, her legs going limp on either side of his head as her breathing slowed, her chest heaved with soft little pants as he crawled back up her once again. Her eyes were still closed but she had the back of a hand rubbing gentle circles against one and she raised her brows to acknowledge his presence, but it was several long seconds before she opened them again. Hazy and satisfied, she smiled, one he hadn't seen her wear before, a softer curve to her lips than her usual troublesome smirks or conceited grins. Kagura reached out to his face, lightly tracing the marks on his cheeks, still a little boneless.

His wound healed, he took her by the bicep and hauled her up, she muttered a complaint but her limp body went willingly, leaning into him when he pulled her against his chest and sunk back into the water. Kagura loosely draped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder, lightly mouthing at his skin as he sat back with her slumped against his chest, her legs around his hips and her heat on his thigh. Sesshoumaru trailed his hands over her skin, one loosely gripped her backside, while the other found traction on the rough skin between her shoulder blades.

Kagura flinched at the touch, but he merely tightened his grip and pressed his nose to her temple until she settled. He inhaled, reveling in the scent of her, her satisfaction, and finally letting the fatigue of the fight, of healing, catch up with him. Her weight on him, accompanied by the steam and the heat, the sound of her breathing and the rumble of the falls was soothing enough that he felt his eyes drifting closed, the fight and the energy exhausted in healing his wound taking its toll…

Suddenly, Kagura pulled away, her eyes still a little clouded, she reached up and flicked his nose with a watery smile. "So."

"What?"

"...You never answered my question."

He growled and pulled her to his lips, swallowing her laughter as she kissed him back.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I would highly HIGHLY recommend reading this chapter on AO3 because the lovely luvenlu-arts did some amazing piecs for this chapter that you should really check out! Also go find her on tumblr because her art is beautiful

Anyway I'm probably off to disappear for a month again, byyyyyyeee