I wasn't going to go as far as I did in this chapter. I was going to make you all suffer. But I got death threats from my betas, all of whom, on normal occasions, love me very much and would never wish harm upon me.
So, enjoy the fruits of their threats. *laughs* Though this update is -quite- a bit later than I planned it to be. *sighs, winces* Sorry everyone~ Finals and work ate my time up. ^^; Props to Ophelia and Colin for helping proofread this. ^^
Also, for anyone who's interested, A while ago I posted a new one-shot smutfic up on my page. You can find it under the name "Down by the Water." It's a bit of a departure for me... the main pairing is not SxM, but rather NxS. *grins* I hope you all enjoy!
I swear I'll update SH very, very soon. Sorry again! *x.x*;;;
--==--
Miroku looked up from Rin to the impassive face of Sesshomaru. He loosened his grip on the girl, and she looked behind her, eyes going wide.
"Rin. Go inside to Jaken, and wait for me there." The youkai's voice was cold, firm. Miroku could feel her tense as she pulled away from his arms, bowing her head in silent acceptance before she ran back to the palace.
Miroku stood up, crossing his arms, as Sesshomaru watched the young girl make her way back to the palace. Finally, he turned his attention back to the monk, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Perhaps you did not understand me when I told you that you were not to leave the palace." His voice was dangerously soft and cold.
Miroku smiled pleasantly. He was not about to let the youkai scare him. "Oh, I understood perfectly. I just chose not to listen."
Sesshomaru blinked, momentarily off balance, and Miroku wasted no time in pressing his advantage.
"Really, what's the problem? I mean, did I try to hurt you? I could have you know, while you were sleeping, though I doubt I would have gotten far. Or maybe I tried to run away?"
Sesshomaru glared at him. "That isn't the point, human."
"Oh? What is the point then? Did I hurt Rin at all? Or endanger her?" Miroku leaned his head to the side, smiling faintly.
If it was possible, Sesshomaru's glare got icier. "Do not question my orders."
"Wait, what gives you the right to issue orders to me in the first place?" Now, they got to the crux of the problem.
"I brought you back." Miroku concealed a smile. Of course, he'd play that card, it was the only one he really had.
He walked past Sesshomaru, down to the edge of the pond, staring out over its motionless surface. "And don't think that I'm not grateful for that, but just because you restored my life, it doesn't mean that you own me. Don't you understand? Rin and I... we're not your possessions, we're people."
"You're humans. You're inferior beings."
"Alright, granted, we're not as strong as you, and I suppose you could call that an inferiority. But really, what was the point of giving me my life back if you don't expect me to live it?" He reached down with his good hand, scooping up a nice handful of the mud.
"You know what you need, Sesshomaru? You need to learn to live a little."
Quickly, he spun, flinging the watery mud towards the demon, smiling in satisfaction as it spattered all over the front of the demon's white kimono.
Sesshomaru looked down, slowly, eyes widening in shock. Miroku reflected that now would probably be an appropriate time to run. Instead he leaned down to scoop up some more mud, standing and smiling indolently at the demon.
When Sesshomaru growled and narrowed his eyes in rage, moving forward to seize him by the neck, he was ready, reaching up to rub the mud into the youkai's perfect hair. The demon raised his hands to his hair in shock.
Miroku grinned. Perfect. He quickly wrapped his arms around Sesshomaru's waist, taking advantage of the youkai's stunned state to kiss him softly, nibbling at his lower lip before he deepened the kiss.
Sesshomaru's hands closed over his shoulders, as if to push him away, but Miroku leaned into him more, rubbing his body against the youkai's, until the other man groaned slightly into his mouth, kissing him back.
He sighed happily. This was nice, nicer than it probably should have been, all things considered. But kissing was by far preferable to being strangled. Kissing someone who was incredibly attractive, discounting the fact that he was a rather unstable demon lord, was even better.
And hell, since he had to play the role of the concubine for now, he might as well enjoy it. Of course, that meant that a few things had to change, but he had complete confidence in his abilities to convince Sesshomaru that these changes would be a good thing.
He pulled away after a few head-spinning minutes, eyes drifting open lazily. "Hey... is there a hot spring nearby?"
Sesshomaru frowned. "What?" His voice was low and slightly breathless. Miroku smiled. It was good to see he hadn't lost his touch.
"Well, it's just that we're awfully dirty, and cleaning that mud out of your hair will be a bitch. Maybe we should... take a bath?" He leaned in to flick his tongue over the curve of the youkai's ear suggestively.
Sesshomaru was silent for several seconds. Then slowly, he nodded.
--==--
Sesshomaru's hair was amazing. Miroku smiled happily to himself as he ran his hands through it, untangling it idly. The mud -had- taken forever to wash out, but less because it was really a difficult process, and more because they had kept getting distracted.
The youkai leaned against him, eyes half-closed, breathing slowly, almost completely relaxed, and Miroku nuzzled into his hair a bit, inhaling deeply. He didn't think he'd ever get over the fact that the demon lord Sesshomaru smelled like plum blossoms.
Or how quickly his emotions changed. He had been in a near-rage this morning, and now... he was positively docile. So far, they had spent almost the whole day together. And it had been... pleasant. Fun, even.
It made him look forward to tomorrow.
Which, in and of itself, was amazing. A day ago, he had wanted nothing more than to be free of this, and now he was actually enjoying it. Why?
After a moment of lazily groping after the answer, it came to him. Rin.
The child was so happy here. Perhaps she chafed slightly under Sesshomaru's restrictive rules, but she clearly thought the world of him. And she wasn't truly mistreated in any way that he had seen.
Of course she wasn't the entire reason, but she was a big part of it. Really, it was impossible to feel threatened around the youkai when he saw how well he treated the child.
He sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head against Sesshomaru's. He didn't understand it of course. Why was Sesshomaru doing this? He constantly professed to hate humans, so what purpose did it serve for him, raising humans from the dead and taking them into his home and his life? It was eerie.
It was almost as if he was creating a family.
Miroku smiled slightly at that thought and suppressed a chuckle wondering what the demon would say to it. Nothing good, he was sure, but still it was an interesting thought.
It was also a thought that could wait. It was getting dark, the gold-green sunlight of the forest being replaced by shadow, and the air was starting to cool off. He leaned down to press a light kiss right above Sesshomaru's ear.
"Perhaps we should be getting back?"
The demon shifted in his arms, fluidly, muttering something unintelligible under his breath and cracking open an eye.
"It's getting late." Miroku smiled at the disheveled Sesshomaru, reflecting on how pretty he was, all mussed and eyes heavy with sleep. Positively pounceable.
He ruthlessly smacked that thought down. That way lay sleeping on the forest floor all night, and he was too addicted to comfort to sacrifice it to his impatient desire. He could make Sesshomaru writhe (again) when they got back to the palace.
Sesshomaru slid off of him, standing up gracefully, then reached down to help Miroku to his feet. He could feel the youkai's strength - potentially dangerous, but tempered with gentleness.
He smiled at Sesshomaru in the dying light, and somehow knew that everything would turn out right.
So, enjoy the fruits of their threats. *laughs* Though this update is -quite- a bit later than I planned it to be. *sighs, winces* Sorry everyone~ Finals and work ate my time up. ^^; Props to Ophelia and Colin for helping proofread this. ^^
Also, for anyone who's interested, A while ago I posted a new one-shot smutfic up on my page. You can find it under the name "Down by the Water." It's a bit of a departure for me... the main pairing is not SxM, but rather NxS. *grins* I hope you all enjoy!
I swear I'll update SH very, very soon. Sorry again! *x.x*;;;
--==--
Miroku looked up from Rin to the impassive face of Sesshomaru. He loosened his grip on the girl, and she looked behind her, eyes going wide.
"Rin. Go inside to Jaken, and wait for me there." The youkai's voice was cold, firm. Miroku could feel her tense as she pulled away from his arms, bowing her head in silent acceptance before she ran back to the palace.
Miroku stood up, crossing his arms, as Sesshomaru watched the young girl make her way back to the palace. Finally, he turned his attention back to the monk, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Perhaps you did not understand me when I told you that you were not to leave the palace." His voice was dangerously soft and cold.
Miroku smiled pleasantly. He was not about to let the youkai scare him. "Oh, I understood perfectly. I just chose not to listen."
Sesshomaru blinked, momentarily off balance, and Miroku wasted no time in pressing his advantage.
"Really, what's the problem? I mean, did I try to hurt you? I could have you know, while you were sleeping, though I doubt I would have gotten far. Or maybe I tried to run away?"
Sesshomaru glared at him. "That isn't the point, human."
"Oh? What is the point then? Did I hurt Rin at all? Or endanger her?" Miroku leaned his head to the side, smiling faintly.
If it was possible, Sesshomaru's glare got icier. "Do not question my orders."
"Wait, what gives you the right to issue orders to me in the first place?" Now, they got to the crux of the problem.
"I brought you back." Miroku concealed a smile. Of course, he'd play that card, it was the only one he really had.
He walked past Sesshomaru, down to the edge of the pond, staring out over its motionless surface. "And don't think that I'm not grateful for that, but just because you restored my life, it doesn't mean that you own me. Don't you understand? Rin and I... we're not your possessions, we're people."
"You're humans. You're inferior beings."
"Alright, granted, we're not as strong as you, and I suppose you could call that an inferiority. But really, what was the point of giving me my life back if you don't expect me to live it?" He reached down with his good hand, scooping up a nice handful of the mud.
"You know what you need, Sesshomaru? You need to learn to live a little."
Quickly, he spun, flinging the watery mud towards the demon, smiling in satisfaction as it spattered all over the front of the demon's white kimono.
Sesshomaru looked down, slowly, eyes widening in shock. Miroku reflected that now would probably be an appropriate time to run. Instead he leaned down to scoop up some more mud, standing and smiling indolently at the demon.
When Sesshomaru growled and narrowed his eyes in rage, moving forward to seize him by the neck, he was ready, reaching up to rub the mud into the youkai's perfect hair. The demon raised his hands to his hair in shock.
Miroku grinned. Perfect. He quickly wrapped his arms around Sesshomaru's waist, taking advantage of the youkai's stunned state to kiss him softly, nibbling at his lower lip before he deepened the kiss.
Sesshomaru's hands closed over his shoulders, as if to push him away, but Miroku leaned into him more, rubbing his body against the youkai's, until the other man groaned slightly into his mouth, kissing him back.
He sighed happily. This was nice, nicer than it probably should have been, all things considered. But kissing was by far preferable to being strangled. Kissing someone who was incredibly attractive, discounting the fact that he was a rather unstable demon lord, was even better.
And hell, since he had to play the role of the concubine for now, he might as well enjoy it. Of course, that meant that a few things had to change, but he had complete confidence in his abilities to convince Sesshomaru that these changes would be a good thing.
He pulled away after a few head-spinning minutes, eyes drifting open lazily. "Hey... is there a hot spring nearby?"
Sesshomaru frowned. "What?" His voice was low and slightly breathless. Miroku smiled. It was good to see he hadn't lost his touch.
"Well, it's just that we're awfully dirty, and cleaning that mud out of your hair will be a bitch. Maybe we should... take a bath?" He leaned in to flick his tongue over the curve of the youkai's ear suggestively.
Sesshomaru was silent for several seconds. Then slowly, he nodded.
--==--
Sesshomaru's hair was amazing. Miroku smiled happily to himself as he ran his hands through it, untangling it idly. The mud -had- taken forever to wash out, but less because it was really a difficult process, and more because they had kept getting distracted.
The youkai leaned against him, eyes half-closed, breathing slowly, almost completely relaxed, and Miroku nuzzled into his hair a bit, inhaling deeply. He didn't think he'd ever get over the fact that the demon lord Sesshomaru smelled like plum blossoms.
Or how quickly his emotions changed. He had been in a near-rage this morning, and now... he was positively docile. So far, they had spent almost the whole day together. And it had been... pleasant. Fun, even.
It made him look forward to tomorrow.
Which, in and of itself, was amazing. A day ago, he had wanted nothing more than to be free of this, and now he was actually enjoying it. Why?
After a moment of lazily groping after the answer, it came to him. Rin.
The child was so happy here. Perhaps she chafed slightly under Sesshomaru's restrictive rules, but she clearly thought the world of him. And she wasn't truly mistreated in any way that he had seen.
Of course she wasn't the entire reason, but she was a big part of it. Really, it was impossible to feel threatened around the youkai when he saw how well he treated the child.
He sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head against Sesshomaru's. He didn't understand it of course. Why was Sesshomaru doing this? He constantly professed to hate humans, so what purpose did it serve for him, raising humans from the dead and taking them into his home and his life? It was eerie.
It was almost as if he was creating a family.
Miroku smiled slightly at that thought and suppressed a chuckle wondering what the demon would say to it. Nothing good, he was sure, but still it was an interesting thought.
It was also a thought that could wait. It was getting dark, the gold-green sunlight of the forest being replaced by shadow, and the air was starting to cool off. He leaned down to press a light kiss right above Sesshomaru's ear.
"Perhaps we should be getting back?"
The demon shifted in his arms, fluidly, muttering something unintelligible under his breath and cracking open an eye.
"It's getting late." Miroku smiled at the disheveled Sesshomaru, reflecting on how pretty he was, all mussed and eyes heavy with sleep. Positively pounceable.
He ruthlessly smacked that thought down. That way lay sleeping on the forest floor all night, and he was too addicted to comfort to sacrifice it to his impatient desire. He could make Sesshomaru writhe (again) when they got back to the palace.
Sesshomaru slid off of him, standing up gracefully, then reached down to help Miroku to his feet. He could feel the youkai's strength - potentially dangerous, but tempered with gentleness.
He smiled at Sesshomaru in the dying light, and somehow knew that everything would turn out right.