AN: Foremost, this chapter will contain explicit adult content, and therefore will not be posted in full on this website. The full version can be found on AO3 under the same penname ~ Elebelle.
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I know I missed one update a few days ago _ which was because my laundry was threatening to begin attacking me if I walked ny it again. However! I missed yesterday's update because this chapter took me two days to write. I doesn't seem nearly as long on FFnet as it does on AO3 though.
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Also, It is a massive pet peeve of mine that it seems like no one understands the concept of a hymen. Kagome is a virgin in this story, yes. There is no mystical barrier of skin that covers or divides or what-have-you. SO! For those of you who don't know, and may be surprised or confused by some of the goings-on in my scenes, here's a short impromptu sex-ed lesson to justify two lines of written conversation.
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The hymen is not that different from the weather-stripping on your car window. It's a thin but resilient flap that spans the upper and side portions of the birth canal- the interior vagina. The first few experiences CAN be quite painful and bloody due to IMPROPER knowledge and care when first becoming sexually active. A woman's inner workings are similar to… say, a rubber band. It's stiff and unforgiving at first- almost brittle. This is what causes pain for the woman if she is not fully aroused or prepared. During arousal and with some attention, blood will fill the area- both internal and external; JUST like a man's body. Then, just like that rubber band, once warmed and worked carefully, the woman's areas become accommodating and yielding, stretching easily to welcome her partner.
Going back to the weather-stripping example- the hymen itself actually curls and recedes with constant use. Like any other part of the body. If you wear a tight corset every day, your waist will hold that shape eventually. If you pierce your ears and constantly wear earrings, the holes will retain that shape and not seal over. If you wear a wedding band every day, you will eventually have an indent in its shape on your finger. And FUN FACT, just like the rest of the body, if that constant presence is lost, it will return to its previous state. It takes between three to seven years for women to "regrow" their hymen.
It never goes away, it is not ever broken, and it only TEARS when someone is not doing it right.
In fact, though women might not realize what they're feeling, there is a very real and very noticeable sensation in certain amorous positions and angles where the hymen will catch on the indent between the head and shaft of a man's length. It's a pretty strange sensation, honestly. Makes a weird clicking noise that can SOMETIMES be audible, but is always felt, and sort of… tugs.
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We all know that Miroku is supposed to be experienced and that's part of him in my fic, so.
Well, it's apparent in this chapter.
SO!
There's that.
Just saying. Peeve.
*cough*
And on to chapter twenty-one we go. Again, explicit scenes. As FFnet does not allow full adult content in its terms of service agreement, see Elebelle at AO3 for full content if you are of age for such content. *coughblushcough*
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Paradigm Shift
Chapter Twenty-one: Steam
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Standing outside of Nozomi's home, Miroku and Kagome looked at each other, chagrined at the actions of the little inuyoukai trainer.
"Did Tatsuo just scold us and send us to our rooms?" There was a hint of laughter in Kagome's voice.
Miroku chuckled and began to walk along the path that led from the humble cottage toward the center of the grounds.
"I do believe so. We've been shoo'd away to bed in the middle of the day by a frustrated parent."
Kagome grinned and jogged up to Miroku's side.
"I, however, fully intend to bathe and then enjoy a light mid-afternoon meal." His tone was playfully haughty and he stuck his nose in the air with a blank face to accent the air of arrogance. Only his poorly repressed smirk betrayed the act.
"Yeah, I don't think that I could sleep now anyway. Don't get me wrong, I'm still sore from yesterday's training." She made a face and held up her arms, hunching over. "I stink though. Eugh."
Miroku wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled Kagome into his side roughly. It made her squeal softly in surprise.
"I don't mind." He teased, gracing her with that familiar playful smirk.
Kagome smacked his chest with the back of her hand in response, but didn't move from under his arm. She reached up her right hand and wrapped the hem of his white juban's sleeve around her finger. They walked like that the whole way to the bath house where Miroku opened the door and gestured her inside with an exaggerated flourish and bow.
Kagome grabbed a fistful of his shirt, laughing, and pulled him in front of her, holding the door open with one foot as she shoved at his back to push him into the building before her. Miroku grinned and tilted his head back to look at her upside down, leaning his weight into her hands and making her laugh even harder. She planted her head into his back and pushed him forward with her hands on his hips. They were both laughing boisterously as they entered the building.
"You're heavy!" Kagome grunted as Miroku bent his back even more and threw his arms out to the sides.
"I have faith in your strength, my dear Kagome!" He shouted dramatically. "Don't give up!" He stopped moving his feet to help Kagome as she pushed him toward the massive bathing area. He slid along the floor though, slick as it was from condensation.
Miroku's almost lost his limited balance and flattened Kagome as she gave his back a great shove and twisted around, letting him fall onto her own back. She crammed the heels of her hiking boots into the crevices of the tiled floor, able to push him forward more easily and quicker.
After only a few steps, Miroku started digging in his own feet, though. Trying to prevent her from pushing him further.
"Kagome!"
"Move!" Kagome shouted playfully in between laughs. "We stink! Bath time!"
"Kagome! We're already-
Miroku's words were cut off with a loud splash and then Kagome was falling backward, stumbling as she was betrayed by her own efforts to push him along, and another loud splash as they both fell into the water.
They broke the surface of the water, gasping, and Miroku was laughing harder than ever as he saw Kagome scrambling to the edge of the pool and trying to lift herself out. He waded over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back away from safety.
"Miroku! This is silk!" She was bent in two, arms flailing and hands paddling at the water to escape him fruitlessly.
"Now, now. You only have yourself to blame!"
"Miroku!"
"Kagome!"
She pried at his fingers clasped around his forearms, imprisoning her.
"Let me out!" But she was smiling and biting back laughter, herself.
Their clothes floated and billowed about in the water when she was finally released. She huffed and slammed her hand into the surface of the water, splashing Miroku's face as she waded back to the edge of the pool and pushed herself up, turning and plopping down on her rump, dragging her legs out of the water and staring at her boots in dread.
"It's going to take ages for my shoes to dry out." She grumbled in frustration, untying the laces and pulling them off. She twisted and set the sodden boots behind her when she felt Miroku's fingers on her ankle.
"It was worth it." He said, smiling and peeling her modern pink socks from her feet. He tossed them near her boots and looked at her as he grasped her ankle and pulled.
Suddenly her sopping clothes didn't matter anymore, because Miroku was hanging her knees over the bends of his elbows and pulling her to him at the edge of the water. Her toes went in and out of the water behind him as it rippled, swishing back and forth from their previous flustering.
Kagome put her hands behind her, leaning slightly on them to keep herself upright as Miroku dragged her right to the very edge and against his upper chest. She flushed when his head bent, eyes still on hers, and his lips pressed against the top of her left thigh.
His hands crept up her legs, bending her knees and lifting her thighs higher- closer to her own body as he leaned forward and hooked his fingers in the top of her hakama. He stilled, not moving, just watching her. She hesitated when his cheek pressed into her inner thigh, searching his serious face, glancing to his parted lips, back to his eyes, seeing him watching for her reaction in askance.
She shifted her weight slightly, bringing one hand around to the ties that held her pants in place, and slowly, gently, pulled at one end of the string; loosening it for him. She bent forward and moved a wet lock of hair from Miroku's face. Those beautiful, unique eyes watched her carefully as he tugged at the folded silken waistband, loosening it.
Kagome smiled a small smile and pushed up on her hands and her knees that were still around his elbows, lifting herself. Her head fell back, wild dark hair falling behind her and pooling on the tile; save for the few wet strands that stuck to her shoulders and chest, dripping water into the already sodden haori. The silk peeled from her skin sinuously and slowly, exposing her- exposing the thin, blue, lace panties she wore- exposing the creamy pale expanse of her thighs, and sending a rush of warmth through all of her as his fingers trailed along behind the wet silk.
When her hakama were bunched around her knees, Miroku let her legs slip from atop his arms and ran his palms up over her calves and back to their task. He dropped light kisses just above her knee as the hakama were totally pulled away and she was freed.
Kagome licked her lips and fell back onto her forearms, eyes still glued to Miroku's as he caressed every part of her smooth legs that he could reach.
She was so aware, so utterly drawn to every detail of him as he moved. The contrast of soft and rough across his bare palm where skin was marred by callouses. The beads of his rosary and the water dripping from his glove; dripping down her skin. The thin but coarse, masculine hair that covered his strong arms.
She sucked in a breath and stilled his hands with one of her own when his fingers slid under the blue lace at her hips.
The fingers retreated to the edge of the tiled floor and he thrust himself out of the water, towering over her. She scooted back to make room for him as his knee settled between her legs, just barely touching her heated core.
Then he was covering her, his knees on each side of her left thigh, his hands on each side of her face, his clothes streaming cold water over her heated body.
Kagome's hands came up around Miroku's neck and she walked her fingers over the white fabric, pushing it into her palms and dragging the back of the juban up. When he bent his head forward, she pulled it over and dragged the wet cloth down his arms. He freed one hand and used the other to toss the shirt aside, lowering his lips to hers in a gentle brush of velvet as he discarded it.
He tried to lift his head away to look at her again, but it fell to her shoulder with a groan when she lifted her thigh to shyly brush against the insides of his legs.
Encouraged by Miroku's reaction to her, she moved her small hands up his forearms, elbows, biceps, feeling him tense and release and twitch under her timid ministrations.
Her fingers brushed over his shoulder blades and down, dipping into the valley between hard muscle where his spine bent, moving down that length and slipping under the waistband of his own pants. Scalding air hit Kagome's neck as Miroku sighed against her; his face cradled between her throat and shoulder.
She mimicked his actions from a few days ago and followed the line of the waistband around his hips, back and forth and back and forth with her fingers on his skin and her palms flat against him and her thumbs hooked over the cotton.
"Kagome."
The sound of her name from his lips, wrapped in desire made her eyes close and roll back in pleasure as she moaned softly next to his ear. Her own voice full of the same desire made his arms pull in, squeezing her tightly and his fingers dig into the balls of her shoulders as if he was clinging to her for dear life.
He fisted his hands in the silk that covered her still, tugging at it fervently.
"Off. Please. Take it off." He pleaded, the sound deep and breathy; sending shivers through her.
Kagome wrapped her arms tightly, pulling herself flush against his bare chest in a desperate embrace. When she lowered herself back to the tile, she pushed against him to make him lift away from her reluctantly.
She took the bottom of her haori in her hands and pulled it up, calmer than she had ever thought she would be as inch upon inch was revealed to his hungry gaze. There were twin echoes of satisfaction when he touched the newly exposed flesh; following the path of the silk upward as it was peeled away.
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"Kagome… Do you realize…?"
Both strong hands, so gentle, pressing against that soft spot under her navel. His face was so full of concern and awe and she almost hated the word that she had to push out. Almost regretted the fact that she had to quiet that awe and deny him this.
"Miroku. I…" Against all of her rational judgment, she felt the prickle of tears in her eyes.
"Oh, Kagome… I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't… we haven't even talked about…
But her hand covered his mouth,
"I can't, Miroku." She rushed ahead as his brow furrowed in confusion. "I mean, I can. Just not right now." He turned his head, freeing his mouth from her hand.
"What do you mean?"
"Medicine. From…" Again she hesitated, waving her hand in the air.
"From home?"
"I… From… the other side of the well." Her nose crinkled at the oddness of the description. "The future." Not any less odd. "Uh. From… there. But this is home, Miroku. You. Here With you."
Miroku's eyes closed and he smiled at her words.
"Come here." So she did, laying back down on his chest as he hugged her so tightly. "Not that I'm complaining, but don't you think this is all going awfully fast?"
"Not fast when it's so right." She mumbled against him.
Kagome giggled in surprise when he lifted his hips and she bounced in his lap.
"Up! Up you go, now."
"Don't wanna. Comfy. Happy. Love you."
He tightened his arms around her again for a moment.
"And I love you, but you do need to move."
He laughed heartily at her whine.
"Noooo."
"Yeees."
"Nu-uh!" She shook her head against him, failing to suppress her own laughter.
His hands left their place around her and she whimpered. Protested again when he pushed himself and her atop him upward, sitting with her in his lap, clinging to him with her arms around his neck and legs around his waist.
"Still not moving!"
He just chuckled and twisted them around. Laughed outright as he knelt on hands and knees over her and she clung tighter, just hanging there without him supporting her.
He sat up again and stood, struggling a little to pull them both from the floor. Wrapped his arms under her buttocks, lacing his fingers together to hold her weight, and moved over to the stairs that led into the water. The ones that they hadn't had a chance to use earlier.
The sight of their clothes strewn around and his sandals floating in the water both amused him and made him thankful for the yukata that most communal bath houses provided. The shock of the cool water on her skin finally dislodged Kagome from him and she put her feet under her, standing there with her arms wrapped around her middle, exaggerating mighty shivers.
Miroku just kept on smiling and walked backward into the water with one hand held out to her.
"Come on, beautiful. As much as I love the thought of you wanting to keep me inside of you, everyone else who lives here is youkai." He waggled his eyebrows at her. "Unless, of course, you want them to smell everything we've just done together?"
Kagome waded quickly over to him.
"I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or not, now." He said.
Kagome laughed and shoved at his chest with a fake glare.
Miroku took her Kagome's hand and led them over to the dividing wall where her plastic bottle was perched. Her eyes weren't following their progression, though. She pointed off behind him instead.
"Miroku!" Her hand covered her smile. "Your shoes!"
"Shh! They look so peaceful floating there. So relaxed."
Kagome rolled her eyes and moved through the water, plucking them out of the water and tossing them over to the floor on the far side of the bathing pool.
Miroku couldn't stop smiling through it all and was gratified to see that Kagome was the same. He grabbed the bottle and went to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind, one hand holding the bottle of soap to her abdomen and the other slipping down between her legs.
Her hand rested on his wrist ad he rubbed her softly.
"You're insatiable!"
"Hmm. I am. But that's not what I'm doing." He shook off her wrist, covering her hand with his and pulling it down to where he had been moments ago. "Feel?"
It was slick, even in the water; slippery. It brought a blush to her cheeks, reminded her of the passion they had just shared. Touching herself like this in front of him, because he had guided her there, embarrassed and exhilarated her. Their fingers worked together to clean their mixed essence from her.
Miroku poured some of her soap into his palm in front of her and then let go of the bottle, allowing it to float there in the water until Kagome confiscated it.
She started as she felt his hands begin working the soap into her hair.
"What are you doing?"
"Washing you."
It just made her blush more. It felt just as intimate, if not more, than having him bring her so much release. He pulled her head back and worked the soap into a lather, holding his hand out for more and spreading it over her neck, shoulders, and chest when she complied.
Miroku cupped both of her breasts, making her sigh in contentment as he continues to clean her. He lifted her bridal style and carried her to the wall, setting her on the little ledge there, continuing until she was covered head to toe in a white layer of bubbles.
Kagome grinned and hopped down, plunging under the water to rinse all of it away. She surfaced to see him already slathering the soap over himself.
Miroku watched as she made her way over to the stairs and climbed out. He ducked under the water himself and smiled when he made his way out of the water and to the towel she held out for him. He found it both erotic and endearing when she held out the yukata, still unclothed herself, obviously wanting to help him shrug into it. Something about the sight of her closing the thing, wrapping the obi around his waist and tying it for him made him stand half-erect again.
His hand between her shoulder blades brought her close and he leaned over to steal a last taste of her right breast. She was pliant against him, making him want to take her again right let her go when she stepped away to put on her own yukata.
They shot each other heated, knowing looks as they went about gathering their wet attire.
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AN: This chapter dropped from over 7000 words down to about 3500 words with the removed content. Whew.
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Nevalyn24: I'm glad you like it! Thanks for the time you took to review!
Iammegzhearmegrr: I'm beyond flattered by your comments. It's a privilege for me to know that Paradigm Shift has had such an impact on you. I'm honored. Thank you.
~Ele