(AN)---this is NOT the end, my friends, but it will be coming soon. i'm thinking about writing a sequel, but i want to see what people think of this one (and its ending) before i do any work on another part. i might do it anyway, but i dunno. depends on how inspired i get. ^_^ (i.e. REVIEW!)
Reviewers, how i love thee...*dreamy sigh* Thanks to all those who reviewed! It really helps. I mean that.
Ah, yes. The infamous Inuyasha-dream-sequence makes another appearance! i couldn't help myself. my apologies ahead of time for those who think it's too racy. but...it's just a dream. ^_^
Three Times a Lady
Chapter Three:
Bad Dog!
Inuyasha crawled around on his hands and knees. Not exactly knowing why, but knowing it was expected of him. And he had to do what was expected of him. He paused as two dainty feet appeared in his line of vision, white against the grass' green. He slowly lifted his head from staring at the ground, and his gaze crawled over long, shapely legs, thighs and hips veiled in a strange green kimono that teased more than it covered. Kagome, he thought, but the girl that lowered gracefully down to kneel before him was older, more mature in face and body. An older sister, but no, a past incarnation.
His first love.
Kikyou smiled at him, a sweet, warm curve of lips that instantly spilled the tension from his body. She smoothed her hands over her knees, tucking the short skirt down modestly, even as the gesture spoke invitation.
Inuyasha leaned forward on his hands and knees, eyes staring at the willing line of her mouth, the stare seeming to reel him in. Almost, almost, just a little further and he could taste her again.
Suddenly, his reach jerked to an end. His head snapped up, bowing the line of his neck painfully. The prayer beads circling his throat were pulled tight, and he rolled his gold eyes back to see Kagome standing over him, a leash wrapped firmly around her hand. She pulled it taut until it sang in one long line of tension. The gesture oddly resembled the care with which she drew her bow.
Inuyasha strained against the leash, annoyed, but oddly excited at the same time. Kikyou shoved to her feet so fast that it was nothing but a blur of motion, the sweet, warm look snapping into haughty derision. Her hand flicked out, and a long, pink band of light lashed the air before his face. Not striking, but letting him know that it could. He flinched, whimpering low in his throat.
"Still disobedient, Inuyasha?" Kikyou tsked at him, being patronizingly girlish about it. "And after all that Kagome and I have worked so hard to teach you!"
"He's a bad dog," Kagome remarked, jerking on the leash as if to accentuate her words. The prayer beads ground into his skin for one long moment.
Kikyou glanced at Kagome consideringly before looking down her nose at him. She knelt once more, an intimidating facsimile of her previous modesty. "Are you a bad dog, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha, unsure of how they wanted him to respond, stared up at her silently. Kikyou smiled at his obvious confusion, reached up and softly, soothingly brushed her fingers through his silky hair. She grabbed a handful and yanked him forward, so that her sneering face hovered over his. "I said, 'are you a bad dog, Inuyasha?'"
He nodded quickly, wordlessly, anything to appease her. But it did not help. Kikyou glared down at him in complete disgust and bit out, "Say it."
Kagome, so freshly scrubbed that her hair was still wet and heavy with water, stood beneathe the tree Inuyasha was sleeping in and glared at him. Daggers were not sharp enough for the look she was giving him. So this is what was keeping him so busy!?
Kagome slapped her hands onto her hips and snapped out an impatient, "Inuyasha!"
The oblivious hanyou twitched in his sleep, turned upon the branch so that one of his clawed hands hung down limply. He mumbled something just loud enough for the annoyed miko to hear it, though not understand it.
Bad...dog? Kagome cocked an eyebrow at him, then shook her head. She did not have time for this.
"Inuyasha," she said, closing her eyes, "Osuwari."
The bough broke, and down came Inuyasha, tree branch and all. Kagome calmly stepped aside as he crashed into the ground.
Seconds passed as the Inuyasha-shaped crater smoked and steamed, the half-youkai sprang to his feet, the abruptness of his movements causing Kagome to spring back away from him in surprise.
"Hai, mistress!?" He said quickly, his eyes not quite focused yet. His face was very open and expressive, oddly, reminding her of a puppy eager to please and starved for affection.
The look scared her so utterly that she reacted to it without thinking, clenching her fists tight at her sides and screaming, "OSUWARI!!!"
"OWWWW! BITCH! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"
Hearing the familiar bark, Kagome visibly relaxed, a relieved smile coming to her face. "I'm back, Inuyasha!"
Inuyasha's ears twitched, flattening against his head as he peeled himself off the forest floor. "I see..." Then he paused, "Wait a minute, I know I didn't sleep for three days!" Not that he probably would have minded.
"Well, uh, they canceled the tests---so I came back early!" She nodded to herself, deciding that her story was believable.
Inuyasha didn't particularly believe her story, knowing full well that he always had to pay hell to get her to come back once she went 'home'. But he wasn't in the habit of thinking too deeply about things that worked to his advantage, or anything else for that matter, so he let it go.
"Good. We'll set off in the morning and see if we can't find any rumors about Shikon no kakkera." Inuyasha leaned against the tree and crossed his arms behind his head. Ah, it was good to be leader.
"NANI!!?"
"Huh?" He ungracefully tripped, though common sense pointed out that he hadn't been walking at all, and thus, shouldn't have.
"Don't you care that we have a mission, Inuyasha!? While we waste time around here, evil youkai could be out gathering the rest of the shards! Oni could be eating poor, defenseless children! Naraku could be putting his next plan into action! And you wanna sit here and do nothing?!!"
*SLAM* "GODDAMN BITCH!"
Kagome's hands flew up to cover her mouth. "Oops! Gomen nasai, Inuyasha!"
Inuyasha, having been 'sat' three times in a matter of minutes, took an untransformed Tetsusaiga from his side and used it to climb to his feet. He leaned on the sword heavily and glared at the girl grinning sheepishly before him.
"It'll be dark in a couple hours, let's just wait until morning."
Kagome immediately switched gears, shooting into plan b. Actress Kagome, begin! She stiffened her shoulders, widening her already wide blue eyes at him.
Inuyasha, still resting against Tetsusaiga, did not see Kagome's subtle cues.
Kagome glared hotly at him, then blanked the look from her eyes. I said...She gasped loudly, hugging her arms tight across her stomach and shuddering.
"What is it, Kagome?!"
For a moment Kagome felt guilty about the very real concern in Inuyasha's voice, but she shoved it aside. It was for the best. "I sense a shikon no kakkera!"
That perked him up. He stopped using Tetsusaiga as a cane and brandished it as the dangerous weapon it was. She could very nearly see him stretching his senses out to try and catch any sign of what they would be facing this time.
Nothing, I lied. But we have to go now!
"Which way?" he demanded in full serious-mode.
Kagome pointed in the opposite direction of the well.
"Let's go!" With that, Inuyasha pulled her onto his back and took off, a bright red streak through the trees.
Sesshoumaru saw stars when he opened his eyes. Real stars. It was like he was staring up a long tunnel. The open well showed him bright flecks of light, and a night that was deep in contrast. Had he really been out that long? How unusual. A soft breeze shook the vines and leaves that edged the mouth of the well, one leaf broke free and floated lazily down to rest in his hair.
A mere human miko, and she has escaped this Sesshoumaru, not once, but twice! His eyes narrowed as a familiar perfume wafted across his sensitive nose. The well was full of her scent! But not just that, it was closer. As if...She...touched me? His attention dropped from the pretty evening sky to fall on his chest, and the slightly askew collar. A scar tinted the skin to mark where her arrow had struck him.
Confusion, a hint of emotion in his otherwise empty eyes. He stared at the scar and did not know what to make of it. And he did not like that. To strike your prey down then not move in for the kill, what kind of game was the miko playing? Was she deliberately toying with him? He had always thought her the weakest of her group, the one to hide with the kitsune child and watch from the sidelines as the rest of them struggled. But in a matter of hours she had out-maneuvered him twice...
Twice...
His amber eyes grew wide. He couldn't seem to stop it. Twice she has fought me and lived, I cannot let this be. In one movement he was up and out of the well, not even stirring the leaves as he passed.
Kagome nestled against Inuyasha's back, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. It wasn't nearly as cozy as she pretended it was---Inuyasha's long hair kept whipping into her face, and if she tried to push it aside he whined about her pulling it. She sighed and pressed her cheek against the soft hi-nezumi fur. It gave her a pretty good view of her companions. When dog-boy's hair wasn't in her eyes.
Miroku had started out the evening running full out behind them, but as the trip stretched on, Sango had taken pity on him and pulled him onto Kirara's back. The lecherous monk repaid her act of kindness with a light pat on her butt. Just as Kagome had predicted. Shippou had shaken his head in a gesture almost too knowledgeable for a child as the enraged exterminator literally picked Miroku up and threw him off the neko-youkai.
Miroku was running behind them once again, a vivid hand-print contrasting nicely with his violet-blue eyes. He never could leave well enough alone, especially where the taijiya was concerned. In an odd, creepy way it was gaining a certain amount of romance in Kagome's mind.
The mark resembled Inuyasha's right cheek, and she wondered if he had got hurt with how many times she had sat him earlier. She usually didn't say it that many times.
"Hey, Inuyasha!" she called into the rushing wind. "What happened to your face?" she paused for a moment to have a very disturbing thought. "Oh no, tell me you're not picking up Miroku-sama's ways?!"
Inuyasha twitched, so small that had she not been smooshed up against his back, she probably would have missed it. "Shuddup!"
Kagome blinked, she was no stranger to Inuyasha telling her to shut up. She, however, was not used to the nervous and awkward tone with which he spoke this time. She rose up, digging her knees into his sides to help steady herself. But before she could pry deeper, goosebumps broke out in a wash of shaky sensation on her body.
She turned her head, and the world seemed to be moving in two speeds. Slow and fast, with her caught at normal speed between. She watched the streak of muted colour fly through the trees to their right, bouncing from branch to branch, but not stirring a leaf. It moved ahead of them, as her friends sped on obliviously, then rounded back to the middle of their path. When it stopped the world seemed to right itself again.
Though that was only a clever illusion.
Kagome gasped, which was quickly followed by Inuyasha. A quarter of a mile more on the path, and the branches of the trees parted, spilling moonlight into the small clearing. Sesshoumaru was a mix of shadow and bright silver light.
Inuyasha skidded to a stop, and Kagome slid from his back. Though he put a hand back to keep her near him, his other hand automatically dropped to Tetsusaiga's hilt. Kirara landed in a backwash of air beside them. Still in full-battle-form.
"SESSHOUMARU!" Inuyasha barked out. Kagome tucked herself tighter and smaller against his back. It was her guilty imagination that made it seem like the full-blooded youkai was glaring at her. That's all.
Sesshoumaru said nothing. He calmly drew Toukijin and held it down at his side. One step forward, and then another. The youkai lord slowly slipped into a run, picking up speed with each step he took.
Inuyasha shoved Kagome away from him, swinging an already transformed fang threateningly at his brother. Sesshoumaru 'disappeared', and Inuyasha instantly swung out, painfully aware of his brother's uncanny speed. But Tetsusaiga met nothing but air.
Kagome yelped as a face suddenly loomed in front of her, she threw herself back, and the blur that was Sesshoumaru sprang in the other direction, abandoning his attack.
She would not catch him off-guard again.
Sesshoumaru landed in a tree-branch above his vile half-brother's mismatched band. A monk, a demon hunter, two youkai, and her. They all stared up at him, but he ignored them, glared down at the miko coldly.
To Be Continued...
so, did everybody like? no? don't bother reading author notes? why do people do that, i wonder? skip AN, that is. i always like to read them 'cuz you can get information that may be relevant to the story. hmm, it's something to think about.
one last thing...REVIEW! please?
thanks! ^_^
*bows*