AN: Another Saturday, another update. ^_^ Nothing much to saw in this
chapter except: we apologize it was so short, and we loved the reviews,
even though they were all about Kagome NOT dying. *waves and whistles, not
wanting to give the story away*
* * *
Inuyasha waved at Yura as he entered the kitchen, and found it deserted, save for her. "Just coming to get a salad," he said, already rummaging in the cupboards for some bread for a sandwich for himself. Inuyasha heard her move, but he was not aware of how close she was until her body brushed up against his seductively. He glanced at her. "Kindly remove your body from mine."
"Oh, but Inuyasha..." Yura pouted playfully as she pressed her breasts against his back and ran her hands up his chest. "You never use to say that... What's wrong? What's different?" Yura asked slyly, her big eyes looking almost innocent. But then again innocence was not something easily faked. "A salad? What happened to our carnivore?" Yura teased playfully.
"I never said the salad is for me. That's what the sandwich is for. And I did just get up. All I want is some food, and then I am going back to bed." He turned around to look at her, and was repulsed by her pout. Kagome looked cute when she pouted; Yura looked.. Stupid. "And the difference would be that Miroku isn't here, so you can keep your hands to yourself now that they aren't trying to make him jealous."
Yura narrowed her eyes. "Been spending a lot of time in bed lately, haven't we?" Yura asked meanly. "Anything special in your bed that I should know about...?" Yura teased, her fingers playing over his ears.
He began to cut a slice of bread, and shrugged, turning away from her. "There's a girl. I don't know if you would call that 'special', but it's different, that's for sure." Inuyasha cracked his neck, thus dodging his ears from her prying fingers. What the hell was it with women and his ears? "Then again, Yura, isn't what I do with my bitch my own business?" he demanded, hoping that she missed the skip his breath had taken between 'my' and 'bitch', Kagome's name about to have been spoken instead of some derogatory term.
Yura caught on. And narrowed her eyes menacingly. "A girl?" Yura questioned suspiciously, worried how she would report this to Captain Sesshomaru. Then again, when she left he had said he would take care of the girl. She just needed to distract Inuyasha long enough. "I don't remember a girl turning your head enough sinc-" Yura paused studying him. "Since Kikyo." She finished her sentence. "Not if it means us having to put up with a week full of screams in the night and the scent of rotting flesh raising from the belly of the ship." Yura spat at him. "So that's it? You got a fuck an- Are you bringing your bitch that salad?!"
"Well, if I'm going to want to have my way with her within the next few hours before we dock, she's going to need her strength, isn't she?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "Obviously you haven't heard all the stories going around the ship lately. She's been wearing thin, between being passed between Miroku and I. I can get a few more tumbles with her in the time we have left, and I want satisfaction."
Yura watched him thoughtfully. Moving away from him, she hopped onto the counter to his right and pulled her skull out and began patting it, her fingers sliding though its long thick hair. Her nails dying to nick one of Inuyasha's for her collection. "Been pounding at her, huh?" Yura asked, still stalling. Leaning over, she accidentally knocked the salad bowl over. "Whoops. Well, why don't you try feeding her something else?" Yura asked glancing down at his crotch. "Give her opening legs a break." Yura smirked and smacked her lips. Twirling a finger around one of the loose hairs she dropped it idly to the floor, and ordered it to crawl towards Inuyasha and latch on to him. "I imagine she'd satisfy you anyway, food or non. So, decided on a type of death yet? Since we will be docking soon after all. Will it be by hanging? Walking the plank? Or, OH! Hanging her on a hook and letting the sharks play with her?" Yura asked excitedly, before glancing down at the red skull. "Need a hairs help?"
"Walking the plank," Inuyasha said with a mild smirk, thinking of all their conversations over the past few days. He managed to let the smirk turn into a grin. "Although I'd be quite jealous of the sea getting to have her like that, all scared and her hands tight behind her back.." Inuyasha was halfway disgusted with himself at that thought. But only halfway. He unwound the hair from his ankle and began to pick up the salad she had dropped, something about the scenario making his skin crawl. Yura wasn't normally this clumsy..
Scurrying around like an insane fox, Shippo finally saw Inuyasha in the kitchen and leapt over Yura's head (her hairs nicking at him) and landed on Inuyasha. "Inuyasha!!" Shippo screamed forgetting formalities. "It's the Captain! He's... Kouga... Mate... Kagome..." Was the best Shippo could do for an explanation he was so out of breath.
Inuyasha stared at Shippo, and then glanced at Yura. She was trying to distract him. He snarled, and turned on his heels to run.
* * *
It was suddenly a question of who could last the longest. Her vision was swimming, and his arm was burning. Sesshomaru grinned, and pressed her against the wall, his grip loosening so that he could see her neck. The bite mark was still perfectly visible to a demon's scanning eye. Sesshomaru traced it with an elegant nail. His brother did clumsy work.
Stepping closer to her body, he was pleased to see her respond under his touch as he ran a fingernail down her stomach. "You see how it is? You may protest and fight me, but your body betrays you. You care for my foolish brother far too much. So even as you are repulsed by me because I am not him, your body is telling you that I am, and that I am even better. Because I am stronger than he could ever be."
'Actually, it's because of my talk with Sango, let's say I am with child, which of course I'm not, I don't want you touching my stomach.' Kagome thought to herself and coughed straight in his face. "You're confusing repulsion and desire." Kagome said and tried to swing at him with her fist. Missing, of course because he was too fast, Kagome felt her body pounded against the wall. Her vision swam even more and a sudden nausea ran through her. When her head banged against the wall again, she heard something crack and faintly wondered if it was the wall or her skull. Yet she refused to yell. To scream. Kagome didn't even cry. Closing her hands around his, she tried to pry him off. "Don't touch me!" Kagome shouted, panic betraying her voice. "I don't want you, let me go! I want Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled at him and sent another blast of energy through him. "This is for Kikyo!" Kagome added when she was about to send another blast through him, but instead found herself flying up, she hit the ceiling with a loud thud before falling to the desk and from it to the floor. Groaning, Kagome didn't want to open her eyes, forcing herself to, Kagome felt a sudden shift and once again was thrown, half flown against the wall, by a power she couldn't even figure out. Her eyes widened, Kagome stared at Sesshomaru, who stood there as dead and careless as a statue. Just how much power did he have that he managed to let out such powerful bursts without even losing of his ice-cold touch?
His laughter was hollow as he stared at her. "Stupid human girl," he growled, his mouth barely moving as he spoke. "There's a reason for all things, including why I am supposed to be King. I have the most power. If my pathetic brother was able to kidnap you, don't you think I would also be able to contain you and your measly powers?" His hands began to peel off his shirt before he bent down, looking more like a pirate or a demon than Inuyasha ever could, even when his little brother tried. "And you can't even avenge a fellow priestess!" he snorted, a pleased look growing in his eyes. "Oh, I pray that Inuyasha only fucks up for a third time, so that I can punish him again. Did he ever tell you what I did to him? I snapped every bone in his body. But I don't believe that he would tell you what he did. He cried. He couldn't even handle the pain, he broke down and begged for me to kill him, as long as Kikyo lived. Yes, my brother can be quite noble when he wants. He sees you humans as his salvation, for a curse that lives in his veins. He kidnaps you and makes you care for him, this time even going so far as to tie your souls together. And then he lets you go, as if by undoing the noose he tied around himself he might find himself free again. But I won't be free until I draw his blood with my own hands. I hold the life of the world in my palm, lives are meaningless to me, yet I will take great pleasure in yours and seeing how long you will last." He grinned wickedly. "And listening to my brother cry once more."
Kagome stared up at him, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. "You're insane..." She whispered and felt an ominous crack at the side of her body. Moving her head as quickly as she could to the side, she saw he grasped her waist just above it, where the lowest ribcages bones were and was squeezing. The pain was paralyzing. "Stop it..." Kagome whispered, trying to fight against him but finally giving up.
His hands left bruises wherever they roamed, and her sides ached so Kagome wondered if she had any bone intact. She was crying now, she hadn't even realized it until she tilted her face up to look at him. Fighting against unconsciousness, she had to be awake. She had to. When her soul left, she wanted it to remain and avenge, how could it if she fell asleep?
"Your souls are purged together. It's time to remove the knot." Sesshomaru said, sliding his hand up Kagome's arms. Deep slices flowing in the tracks of his nails. Kagome let out a weak cry, it hurt when her skin sliced and it burnt when her blood ran over the wounded flesh. "Stop..." Kagome whispered, almost begged. But thinking of who this man was, what he had done, how Inuyasha would leave her for him. Kagome didn't faint and didn't make another sound even as her tears kept flowing. 'Inuyasha...' Kagome thought thinking how ironic it was that the man to take her life would look so much like the one she felt gave her a new life.
Above her now, Kagome stared at him and began praying out loud. Hoping that whatever divine powers that be fight him off. But when Sesshomaru's fingers dug into her flesh around the scar mark and bent beneath it, slowly ripping the mark off, Kagome realized just how worthless her attempts were. He had no soul to be fought against or purified.
"What the fuck is going on here?!" His voice was like thunder when it was compared to that of his brother's. Sesshomaru turned to find Inuyasha staring at them, his look one of utter fury. Even through Sesshomaru's tough skin he could feel the reverberations of those eyes. His brother's hands flew to the sword. "Back away from her right now or I'll take off your head!"
Sesshomaru slid into his normal stance. "Don't bother threatening me, brother. I was just leaving. I'm not as done as I wanted to be, but I can wait until later tonight to finish. I said that I would only let you keep her so long as it proved amusing to me. It is no longer amusing. Her presence causes fighting in the ranks. Your error was taking her upstairs, Inuyasha. Had she stayed in your room, perhaps she might have gone unnoticed and forgotten. Whatever prompted you to take her upstairs, I cannot fathom, but I will discover it eventually."
He didn't even look at Kagome as he passed over her. She was beneath him. But he did glance at Inuyasha. "Your bite is deep, boy, but it is not beyond my reach. When we land, she will be my prize, and I will remove all traces of you from her body, even I have to turn her inside out to get it. Don't be late for your shift tonight."
Slamming the door behind his elder brother, Inuyasha ran to Kagome and helped her up, his eyes searching through the blood to try and find the worst of her cuts to try and stop the bleeding. He brushed her hair and tried to cradle her, feeling tears sting his cheeks. "God, Kagome! What happened here?"
Kagome seeing him felt free to cry. Her tears pouring down her cheeks, Kagome just clung to him and cried. "We're never pulling it off..." Kagome cried and then began to cough, her hand going up to her black and blue throat. "This is all my fault," Kagome said her eyes looking down at her arms. "I.." Kagome ached all over. "Kouga, he tossed him..." Kagome said looking towards where he was. "Help him."
"Kouga's a demon! He's not bleeding and he can fucking well take care of himself! You're the one who looked like you got the crap kicked out you, and given who the attacked was, I'm surprised that you're still able to be telling me this!" He reached his arms around her and held her gently, grabbing yesterday's shirt to start patting up her blood. Before he could do that, he brushed her cheeks with his thumb and covered her face in worried kisses, mumbling apologies over and over. "It's not your fault, Kagome. It's all my fault. If I had insisted that you come with me or gotten here sooner, this never would have happened. I promised to protect you and you were hurt right here in my own chamber!"
"Am I a toy?" Kagome asked in a daze, watching Inuyasha tie strips of the shirt around her arms. "He tried to slit my veins.." Kagome realized and coughed. "I didn't mean to marry you after two days." Kagome said feeling Sesshomaru's evil words fester over the worries in her heart. "Are you going to throw me away?" Kagome asked, obviously suffering from loss of blood. "He hurt my ribs." Kagome cautioned.
"A toy.... bloody hell! What the fuck has he been telling you? You're not a toy, you're my wife! And I don't care if you ever planned on marrying, the fact is that we're husband and wife right now, and that's all that matters to me is the time that I spend with you! I'm never going to throw you away. If I had things my way I wouldn't even let you walk away from me." He sniffled loudly, like a little kid crying over something that was beyond his power to fix and who couldn't understand why. "Don't you dare start to become lucid on my, Kagome! Don't even fucking think about it! You have a job to do right now, and you can't leave them! And you can't fucking leave me, either!" He struck by a brilliant idea. She was suffering from blood loss, no? So then why not just dump his blood into her?
Kagome touched his lips. "He hurt my wedding ring." Kagome whispered touching her bite mark. The whole flesh was raised and hurt to the touch. "He said you were clumsy." Kagome said trying to remember the scene. Cuddling close to him, she was cold, naked and wounded leaning her head on his shoulder Kagome nodded. "Alright." She said wondering why she didn't fear Inuyasha when he broke into her house, but here she could hardly keep from fleeing her own skin. "Hey Inuyasha?" Kagome asked softly, "I love you." She whispered and finally let her body do what it wanted to do since she hit the wall and felt her wind pipe begin to collapse. She fainted into a blissful painless place.
"Kagome?"
Her name choked on his lips as he felt her body go weak. He placed her body on the ground. She seemed to have just fainted, but if the bleeding didn't stop. . . . He'd lose her, and Inuyasha knew that no matter what, he could never let himself lose Kagome.
Panic fought against rationality as he kissed her lips, brushing her away from her face. He'd give anything to ease all the marks Sesshomaru had inflicted off of Kagome's body and her soul. His bottom lip trembled, and his voice sounded painfully new as he called out her name again.
"You can't leave me like this!" Rage won out, filling him with strength, as if it were an outrage that she would drag him through Hell and then leave him because of a few scratches. "Damn it, Kagome! You can't fucking tell me that you love me and then leave me like this!"
Where was Sango and Miroku? What hadn't they heard anything and tried to stop it all? Sango had bandaged Kagome's hand! She would know how to fix this! Tears ran down his face. He knew that he didn't have the time to go and find Sango. He needed to stop the bleeding. . . .
Pulling her body close, he took his wrist and laid it opposite hers. As he brought down the edge of his sword, his only thought was of her. He didn't even notice the pain as his skin slit open, and his blood trickled out, darker than any other he'd even seen.
Even Yura's hadn't been that dark as he spilt it, trying to get past her so he could help Kagome.
He pressed his wrist against Kagome's, hoping that somehow the demonic powers of his blood might help her, might somehow heal her. Inuyasha dragged the sheets of the bed. God, they were still warm! How was it they were so warm when her body was already growing cold? He drew them over her, laying next to Kagome and keeping their wrists pressed together. He didn't bother drying his cheeks as his free hand dusted tears off Kagome's face. His voice sounded broken. "Please, don't leave me."
Groaning Kouga sat up and rubbed the back of his head then cursed. Hearing sniffing and smelling salt, Kouga's head automatically whipped up to action, but what he saw just shocked him. He sat there sprawled on his friend's floor and watched, well, he wasn't quite sure what he was seeing but it looked like something out of a horror movie. "Did the Captain." Kouga clamped his mouth shut and got up, his tail twitching over his short fur skirt. He couldn't believe the smelly pup was crying, but remembering Kagome standing up for HIM. a demon, who didn't even get off on the right foot with her. "So the rumors are true, everything Sesshomaru said. You mated with a Priestess." Kouga said no real disgust in his voice, though there was some bewilderment in his expression. Advancing forward, Kouga stopped not wanting to invade their space. "Is there anything I can do?" Kouga asked, not use to not being the one to take action, and having to stand now on the side. "She dead?" He asked without any tact.
"No. Not yet," he mumbled. Inuyasha took a deep breath, biting his lip apprehensively before he pulled his gaze away from Kagome to look at his friend. He didn't even bother to pretend that he wasn't crying. "Find Sango. Find Miroku's woman. Please." His plea came out as a sob, as he felt time slipping away from them.
Kouga didn't let the shock of seeing Inuyasha cry paralyze him, using his demonic speed Kouga rushed out the door in a tornado like storm. Going through the whole ship, Kouga finally found her and Miroku in the wine cellar. "You better come quick, Inuyasha's woman is dying." Kouga said then added, "Sesshomaru." Nothing else needed be said.
Licking her lips, Kagome tasted something spicy and hot running down her throat. Choking, Kagome opened her eyes and stared at Inuyasha. "You're hurt." Kagome coughed and reached out for his wrist. "What happened..." Kagome's mind was still too foggy to process most of it, but her eyes widened as she gazed up at him. Licking her lips, Kagome kissed his wrist. "Don't cry..." She begged. "I didn't mean to make you cry." She apologized, admitting that his tears warmed her heart.
Another sob escaped him as he stared into her eyes. He'd feared he'd never be able to look into her eyes again! He ignored her questions and statements and took her into his arms, sitting back up and holding her so tightly he could be sure that the God of Death could never try to take her away again. "You stupid, stupid girl! Don't you ever do that to me again!" he yelled, even as he kissed her all over her face, relieved to see her still alive. After giving her a long kiss that made his feelings about her return to the land of the conscious more than obvious, he scolded her again, still crying. "If my tears helped bring you back, then I don't care who sees them! Just don't you ever do that again! Promise me, Kagome!"
Sango burst into the room, Miroku and Kouga half a step behind her. She swore heartily and knelt beside them both, not missing the bloodied sword by Inuyasha's side. She knew not who Sesshomaru was, only that he had hurt Kagome, and her sense of urgency came only from the knowledge that her friend was injured. She sighed when she saw the bruises adorning Kagome's neck. She'd bloody kill this Sesshomaru!
With all the bedside manner of a well-practiced doctor, she looked under the sheets. Damn. If she didn't know better. . . . Sango bit her tongue to keep from saying anything. If Kagome didn't know, she wasn't just going to blurt it out, and this type of information was best not put bluntly after one had just gotten the life almost knocked from one's lungs.
"What did you do?" She asked, lowering the cloth back down, her eyes wide. She shook her head in a half-assed apology. "No, I mean, I don't think that you seriously did this to her or anything, but. she's healed. Almost completely. The bruises don't seem to be disappearing, but they'll go with time." She didn't bother saying how much of Kagome's body was covered by the black and blue marks. "But the wounds are almost completely healed, so what did you do?"
Inuyasha untangled himself from Kagome himself to show Sango their entwined hands, and how his damaged wrist had been pressed up against hers. Even though she said Kagome was healed, he couldn't remove his hand from hers. That would give fate a chance to pull them apart again, and he refused to let that happen.
Sango shook her head. Demon blood? That kind of explained it, but not a lot. She wondered if maybe Kagome's need for more energy had sucked the power right out of Inuyasha. The prince was, after all, looking a little pale, but it was obvious he'd been crying. She sighed again. "We'll leave you guys alone."
"Kouga?" Inuyasha turned around enough to see his friend. He smiled gratefully. "Before she passed out, she told me what you did. I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. If there's ever anything you ever need, ask for it, and I'll do my very best to help you." The offer wasn't much, as Inuyasha was his friend to begin with, and as his friend he would help Kouga anyway.
The other demon nodded and managed to smile a bit. "No problem. If anybody ever asks, I refuse to admit I said this, but I like her, Inuyasha. Don't let Sesshomaru drive you two apart." He shut the door behind him, as Sango and Miroku went through the side door into their own chamber. (Where they promptly press their ears against the wall to listen in!)
Inuyasha kissed her forehead, gazing down at her with a fierce and loyal intensity. "What in the world did my brother want with you, Kagome?"
Kagome looked up at him with a soft smile, her brown eyes warm. "Inuyasha.." She whispered the knowledge of him caring so much warming her heart to depths she didn't know existed in it. "You care." She whispered in slight awe, her eyes cast up to look at the ceiling. As much as she wanted to, Kagome could not lie though. "I only fainted," Kagome whispered hating the fact that she did after all faint. "But I can't promise you anything. I have a job to do and a duty to fulfill, once those are done, I promise you." Kagome said and winced a bit when his arms tightened around her. "It hurts." Kagome bit out practically feeling Sesshomaru's hands barely touching her and shattering her ribs.
When Sango burst in, Kagome smiled faintly. "Sango-chan.." She whispered and allowed the other girl to look her over. Feeling weak and tired, Kagome didn't argue much or speak up when Sango and Inuyasha exchanged words. She just leaned against him and enjoyed how her hand fit into his. Kagome was glad however to hear she was healed, or healing. Looking down at the cuts that had spread up her arm, there was only a thin pink line there now with blood tainting the white skin around. Her ribs were sore, but not broken, she could tell that much. As for the rest of her, there was just one part that didn't heal and it was her neck. It still felt like Sesshomaru's hands were in there, under the bite mark, as though her was still purging it out of her flesh.
When everyone left, Kagome looked up at Inuyasha. He didn't look too good either. "They're loyal to you." Kagome said wondering if Kouga and Shippo were listening outside the door as undoubtedly as Sango and Miroku were at the other.
Hearing his question, Kagome took her head, taking time to answer. Trying to remember Sesshomaru's words. They hurt her, she didn't want to think of the effect they'd have on Inuyasha, so she didn't want to repeat them to him. Instead, she decided to leave things out. The insane pleasure over the prospect of causing Inuyasha pain that seemed to glow cold in Sesshomaru's eyes, the cruel descriptions of what he had inflicted on his own brother and Kikyo, what words he said to her. "He just doesn't like me I guess." Kagome said faintly, "How did he know.?" Kagome asked her hand covering her bite wound, no more words needed to be uttered for her meaning to get through.
"Kagome!" he warned, her name a sigh. Inuyasha didn't know what to do or say to make it right if she wouldn't tell him. He took a moment to mull over her question. He knew? Sesshomaru knew? Inuyasha's surprise was nothing compared to what he felt when he heard her speak. 'You care.' Damn it all, of course he cared! Had his lies from before their last session of love making actually been enough to make her think that he was just using her? "Don't worry," he told her with a smile. "You won't have long to worry about it. You're getting out of here soon. Remember?"
"I'm a taint on your bloodline," Kagome explained in a rasp voice. She had to tell him enough to make him understand he was in danger. He had to understand that this wouldn't all end. "He knew about the blood, about the bite. That's why he tried to rip it out." Kagome explained moving to a sitting position, her back aching from all of the throwing that had been done to her body. "He's furious with us." Kagome whispered and then looked solemn and sad. "I'm sorry I ever offered you my blood, I never knew it would cause this much trouble. I only knew that demons valued it, I thought I could pay you for your protection.. I didn't realize. You're in danger if you stay. It won't be like with Kikyo, we've passed that, and he knows it and he'll surpass last time too." Kagome said, not getting into the details Sesshomaru had told her of the beating Inuyasha took. Instead, Kagome released her hand from their mutual hold. It hurt to hold him and know that he would suffer because of her. 'I smell like you,' Kagome thought remembering Sesshomaru's comment. 'I wonder if I am a toy, to be broken and then thrown to the side like he said.' Kagome let that little bit of self- doubt fester, though her heart fought her mind over that tidbit. "Maybe it would've been better had another demon just taken me." Kagome whispered then managed to get up to her knees. "Are we still on for later?" She asked, having to remind herself of what was really important- Those girls down below.
"Don't you ever say that again, Kagome!" Inuyasha snapped, his passion back though his worry was not yet extinct. "I don't care what my brother tries to do to me, I've accepted that my death may be at his hands for a long time. But to do die without ever having met you, I'd just consider that a waste." He nodded when he heard her question, but they didn't interrupt the steady flood of his words. "Because I don't ever want to die without ever having experienced what love is, and you're the one who made that possible!"
Kagome didn't dare breath for a moment before laughing. "I'm still unconscious, aren't I?" Kagome whispered and then shook her head wildly. "Don't say that." Kagome demanded of him, pulling the shirt that was on the floor over her head. "Don't..." Kagome whispered and flung herself at him. Much like the time she first realized she could trust his words, only this time she didn't kiss his cheek but captured his mouth.
Third times were a charm, weren't they? Kagome thought to herself deciding that she was disgraced enough, she might as well quench all self respect she had. "I don't want you to die, and not by his hands. Come with me tonight, and live." Kagome said holding onto him, as though the connection could convey her emotions and just how desperate she was. "Live with me, Inuyasha. We'll be in our own world always, we don't have to care about the rest." Kagome said thoughtfully and closed her eyes, a thin smile touching her lips. "We can experience love together, and life and the creation of it." Kagome went on in a rush, feeling as though this was her last chance and if she didn't try her best, she would hate herself forever. "I don't want any of it if it's without you." She finished her heart feeling little crack lines, like fine hairlines spreading through it and threatening to crack, if he turned her down... Kagome closed her eyes and clung on to him harder. If he turned her down. . . It really would be the end.
"Okay," he said, the word coming naturally to him. He blinked and then slowly smiled, repeating the word as if he had never experienced it before. He stared down at his beautiful Kagome and kissed her, mumbling the word over until he had almost forgotten what the question was. The part of his mind that had grown up on honor felt like he was being a coward, but the rest of him wisely pointed out that it was even more cowardly -and selfish- to deny what his heart was feeling. "Hey, Kagome? Remember how I said I hated you? I don't. I really, really don't."
"Yes you do," Kagome whispered kissing him, her whole being feeling so elated Kagome forgot about the pain and soreness of her body. "But you love me more." Kagome added triumphantly. Well, she had won again, but this time, Kagome felt that they had both won. Though selfishly, she knew she got what she really wanted though she doubted Inuyasha did.
'You're a toy.'
'A very treasured one.' Kagome thought back to the taunting voice.
'After only a few days.'
Kagome pulled back slightly, both physically and emotionally. "I don't want to make you. Are you sure?" Kagome asked wondering what would make her doubt that he'd want to spend his life with her rather then die painfully by his brother's hand. Maybe the torn flesh at the base of her neck was an omen to be read, how Sesshomaru's fingers dug in there and ripped out the scar. Maybe.
Miroku pulled away from the wall and look musing. Turning, Miroku made his way to the closet and pulled out his old monk robes. If a demon was going to live in this world with a Priestess, he could sure as hell fit in as well.
Sango watched him, and smiled when she saw what he was doing. She grinned, though it wavered when she reminded himself that just because he was thinking of staying that it didn't mean he was going to be staying with her. Her brown eyes narrowed as she pulled him over to the bed. She'd just have to make sure that she gave him a good enough reason to remain with her.
* * *
Inuyasha waved at Yura as he entered the kitchen, and found it deserted, save for her. "Just coming to get a salad," he said, already rummaging in the cupboards for some bread for a sandwich for himself. Inuyasha heard her move, but he was not aware of how close she was until her body brushed up against his seductively. He glanced at her. "Kindly remove your body from mine."
"Oh, but Inuyasha..." Yura pouted playfully as she pressed her breasts against his back and ran her hands up his chest. "You never use to say that... What's wrong? What's different?" Yura asked slyly, her big eyes looking almost innocent. But then again innocence was not something easily faked. "A salad? What happened to our carnivore?" Yura teased playfully.
"I never said the salad is for me. That's what the sandwich is for. And I did just get up. All I want is some food, and then I am going back to bed." He turned around to look at her, and was repulsed by her pout. Kagome looked cute when she pouted; Yura looked.. Stupid. "And the difference would be that Miroku isn't here, so you can keep your hands to yourself now that they aren't trying to make him jealous."
Yura narrowed her eyes. "Been spending a lot of time in bed lately, haven't we?" Yura asked meanly. "Anything special in your bed that I should know about...?" Yura teased, her fingers playing over his ears.
He began to cut a slice of bread, and shrugged, turning away from her. "There's a girl. I don't know if you would call that 'special', but it's different, that's for sure." Inuyasha cracked his neck, thus dodging his ears from her prying fingers. What the hell was it with women and his ears? "Then again, Yura, isn't what I do with my bitch my own business?" he demanded, hoping that she missed the skip his breath had taken between 'my' and 'bitch', Kagome's name about to have been spoken instead of some derogatory term.
Yura caught on. And narrowed her eyes menacingly. "A girl?" Yura questioned suspiciously, worried how she would report this to Captain Sesshomaru. Then again, when she left he had said he would take care of the girl. She just needed to distract Inuyasha long enough. "I don't remember a girl turning your head enough sinc-" Yura paused studying him. "Since Kikyo." She finished her sentence. "Not if it means us having to put up with a week full of screams in the night and the scent of rotting flesh raising from the belly of the ship." Yura spat at him. "So that's it? You got a fuck an- Are you bringing your bitch that salad?!"
"Well, if I'm going to want to have my way with her within the next few hours before we dock, she's going to need her strength, isn't she?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "Obviously you haven't heard all the stories going around the ship lately. She's been wearing thin, between being passed between Miroku and I. I can get a few more tumbles with her in the time we have left, and I want satisfaction."
Yura watched him thoughtfully. Moving away from him, she hopped onto the counter to his right and pulled her skull out and began patting it, her fingers sliding though its long thick hair. Her nails dying to nick one of Inuyasha's for her collection. "Been pounding at her, huh?" Yura asked, still stalling. Leaning over, she accidentally knocked the salad bowl over. "Whoops. Well, why don't you try feeding her something else?" Yura asked glancing down at his crotch. "Give her opening legs a break." Yura smirked and smacked her lips. Twirling a finger around one of the loose hairs she dropped it idly to the floor, and ordered it to crawl towards Inuyasha and latch on to him. "I imagine she'd satisfy you anyway, food or non. So, decided on a type of death yet? Since we will be docking soon after all. Will it be by hanging? Walking the plank? Or, OH! Hanging her on a hook and letting the sharks play with her?" Yura asked excitedly, before glancing down at the red skull. "Need a hairs help?"
"Walking the plank," Inuyasha said with a mild smirk, thinking of all their conversations over the past few days. He managed to let the smirk turn into a grin. "Although I'd be quite jealous of the sea getting to have her like that, all scared and her hands tight behind her back.." Inuyasha was halfway disgusted with himself at that thought. But only halfway. He unwound the hair from his ankle and began to pick up the salad she had dropped, something about the scenario making his skin crawl. Yura wasn't normally this clumsy..
Scurrying around like an insane fox, Shippo finally saw Inuyasha in the kitchen and leapt over Yura's head (her hairs nicking at him) and landed on Inuyasha. "Inuyasha!!" Shippo screamed forgetting formalities. "It's the Captain! He's... Kouga... Mate... Kagome..." Was the best Shippo could do for an explanation he was so out of breath.
Inuyasha stared at Shippo, and then glanced at Yura. She was trying to distract him. He snarled, and turned on his heels to run.
* * *
It was suddenly a question of who could last the longest. Her vision was swimming, and his arm was burning. Sesshomaru grinned, and pressed her against the wall, his grip loosening so that he could see her neck. The bite mark was still perfectly visible to a demon's scanning eye. Sesshomaru traced it with an elegant nail. His brother did clumsy work.
Stepping closer to her body, he was pleased to see her respond under his touch as he ran a fingernail down her stomach. "You see how it is? You may protest and fight me, but your body betrays you. You care for my foolish brother far too much. So even as you are repulsed by me because I am not him, your body is telling you that I am, and that I am even better. Because I am stronger than he could ever be."
'Actually, it's because of my talk with Sango, let's say I am with child, which of course I'm not, I don't want you touching my stomach.' Kagome thought to herself and coughed straight in his face. "You're confusing repulsion and desire." Kagome said and tried to swing at him with her fist. Missing, of course because he was too fast, Kagome felt her body pounded against the wall. Her vision swam even more and a sudden nausea ran through her. When her head banged against the wall again, she heard something crack and faintly wondered if it was the wall or her skull. Yet she refused to yell. To scream. Kagome didn't even cry. Closing her hands around his, she tried to pry him off. "Don't touch me!" Kagome shouted, panic betraying her voice. "I don't want you, let me go! I want Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled at him and sent another blast of energy through him. "This is for Kikyo!" Kagome added when she was about to send another blast through him, but instead found herself flying up, she hit the ceiling with a loud thud before falling to the desk and from it to the floor. Groaning, Kagome didn't want to open her eyes, forcing herself to, Kagome felt a sudden shift and once again was thrown, half flown against the wall, by a power she couldn't even figure out. Her eyes widened, Kagome stared at Sesshomaru, who stood there as dead and careless as a statue. Just how much power did he have that he managed to let out such powerful bursts without even losing of his ice-cold touch?
His laughter was hollow as he stared at her. "Stupid human girl," he growled, his mouth barely moving as he spoke. "There's a reason for all things, including why I am supposed to be King. I have the most power. If my pathetic brother was able to kidnap you, don't you think I would also be able to contain you and your measly powers?" His hands began to peel off his shirt before he bent down, looking more like a pirate or a demon than Inuyasha ever could, even when his little brother tried. "And you can't even avenge a fellow priestess!" he snorted, a pleased look growing in his eyes. "Oh, I pray that Inuyasha only fucks up for a third time, so that I can punish him again. Did he ever tell you what I did to him? I snapped every bone in his body. But I don't believe that he would tell you what he did. He cried. He couldn't even handle the pain, he broke down and begged for me to kill him, as long as Kikyo lived. Yes, my brother can be quite noble when he wants. He sees you humans as his salvation, for a curse that lives in his veins. He kidnaps you and makes you care for him, this time even going so far as to tie your souls together. And then he lets you go, as if by undoing the noose he tied around himself he might find himself free again. But I won't be free until I draw his blood with my own hands. I hold the life of the world in my palm, lives are meaningless to me, yet I will take great pleasure in yours and seeing how long you will last." He grinned wickedly. "And listening to my brother cry once more."
Kagome stared up at him, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. "You're insane..." She whispered and felt an ominous crack at the side of her body. Moving her head as quickly as she could to the side, she saw he grasped her waist just above it, where the lowest ribcages bones were and was squeezing. The pain was paralyzing. "Stop it..." Kagome whispered, trying to fight against him but finally giving up.
His hands left bruises wherever they roamed, and her sides ached so Kagome wondered if she had any bone intact. She was crying now, she hadn't even realized it until she tilted her face up to look at him. Fighting against unconsciousness, she had to be awake. She had to. When her soul left, she wanted it to remain and avenge, how could it if she fell asleep?
"Your souls are purged together. It's time to remove the knot." Sesshomaru said, sliding his hand up Kagome's arms. Deep slices flowing in the tracks of his nails. Kagome let out a weak cry, it hurt when her skin sliced and it burnt when her blood ran over the wounded flesh. "Stop..." Kagome whispered, almost begged. But thinking of who this man was, what he had done, how Inuyasha would leave her for him. Kagome didn't faint and didn't make another sound even as her tears kept flowing. 'Inuyasha...' Kagome thought thinking how ironic it was that the man to take her life would look so much like the one she felt gave her a new life.
Above her now, Kagome stared at him and began praying out loud. Hoping that whatever divine powers that be fight him off. But when Sesshomaru's fingers dug into her flesh around the scar mark and bent beneath it, slowly ripping the mark off, Kagome realized just how worthless her attempts were. He had no soul to be fought against or purified.
"What the fuck is going on here?!" His voice was like thunder when it was compared to that of his brother's. Sesshomaru turned to find Inuyasha staring at them, his look one of utter fury. Even through Sesshomaru's tough skin he could feel the reverberations of those eyes. His brother's hands flew to the sword. "Back away from her right now or I'll take off your head!"
Sesshomaru slid into his normal stance. "Don't bother threatening me, brother. I was just leaving. I'm not as done as I wanted to be, but I can wait until later tonight to finish. I said that I would only let you keep her so long as it proved amusing to me. It is no longer amusing. Her presence causes fighting in the ranks. Your error was taking her upstairs, Inuyasha. Had she stayed in your room, perhaps she might have gone unnoticed and forgotten. Whatever prompted you to take her upstairs, I cannot fathom, but I will discover it eventually."
He didn't even look at Kagome as he passed over her. She was beneath him. But he did glance at Inuyasha. "Your bite is deep, boy, but it is not beyond my reach. When we land, she will be my prize, and I will remove all traces of you from her body, even I have to turn her inside out to get it. Don't be late for your shift tonight."
Slamming the door behind his elder brother, Inuyasha ran to Kagome and helped her up, his eyes searching through the blood to try and find the worst of her cuts to try and stop the bleeding. He brushed her hair and tried to cradle her, feeling tears sting his cheeks. "God, Kagome! What happened here?"
Kagome seeing him felt free to cry. Her tears pouring down her cheeks, Kagome just clung to him and cried. "We're never pulling it off..." Kagome cried and then began to cough, her hand going up to her black and blue throat. "This is all my fault," Kagome said her eyes looking down at her arms. "I.." Kagome ached all over. "Kouga, he tossed him..." Kagome said looking towards where he was. "Help him."
"Kouga's a demon! He's not bleeding and he can fucking well take care of himself! You're the one who looked like you got the crap kicked out you, and given who the attacked was, I'm surprised that you're still able to be telling me this!" He reached his arms around her and held her gently, grabbing yesterday's shirt to start patting up her blood. Before he could do that, he brushed her cheeks with his thumb and covered her face in worried kisses, mumbling apologies over and over. "It's not your fault, Kagome. It's all my fault. If I had insisted that you come with me or gotten here sooner, this never would have happened. I promised to protect you and you were hurt right here in my own chamber!"
"Am I a toy?" Kagome asked in a daze, watching Inuyasha tie strips of the shirt around her arms. "He tried to slit my veins.." Kagome realized and coughed. "I didn't mean to marry you after two days." Kagome said feeling Sesshomaru's evil words fester over the worries in her heart. "Are you going to throw me away?" Kagome asked, obviously suffering from loss of blood. "He hurt my ribs." Kagome cautioned.
"A toy.... bloody hell! What the fuck has he been telling you? You're not a toy, you're my wife! And I don't care if you ever planned on marrying, the fact is that we're husband and wife right now, and that's all that matters to me is the time that I spend with you! I'm never going to throw you away. If I had things my way I wouldn't even let you walk away from me." He sniffled loudly, like a little kid crying over something that was beyond his power to fix and who couldn't understand why. "Don't you dare start to become lucid on my, Kagome! Don't even fucking think about it! You have a job to do right now, and you can't leave them! And you can't fucking leave me, either!" He struck by a brilliant idea. She was suffering from blood loss, no? So then why not just dump his blood into her?
Kagome touched his lips. "He hurt my wedding ring." Kagome whispered touching her bite mark. The whole flesh was raised and hurt to the touch. "He said you were clumsy." Kagome said trying to remember the scene. Cuddling close to him, she was cold, naked and wounded leaning her head on his shoulder Kagome nodded. "Alright." She said wondering why she didn't fear Inuyasha when he broke into her house, but here she could hardly keep from fleeing her own skin. "Hey Inuyasha?" Kagome asked softly, "I love you." She whispered and finally let her body do what it wanted to do since she hit the wall and felt her wind pipe begin to collapse. She fainted into a blissful painless place.
"Kagome?"
Her name choked on his lips as he felt her body go weak. He placed her body on the ground. She seemed to have just fainted, but if the bleeding didn't stop. . . . He'd lose her, and Inuyasha knew that no matter what, he could never let himself lose Kagome.
Panic fought against rationality as he kissed her lips, brushing her away from her face. He'd give anything to ease all the marks Sesshomaru had inflicted off of Kagome's body and her soul. His bottom lip trembled, and his voice sounded painfully new as he called out her name again.
"You can't leave me like this!" Rage won out, filling him with strength, as if it were an outrage that she would drag him through Hell and then leave him because of a few scratches. "Damn it, Kagome! You can't fucking tell me that you love me and then leave me like this!"
Where was Sango and Miroku? What hadn't they heard anything and tried to stop it all? Sango had bandaged Kagome's hand! She would know how to fix this! Tears ran down his face. He knew that he didn't have the time to go and find Sango. He needed to stop the bleeding. . . .
Pulling her body close, he took his wrist and laid it opposite hers. As he brought down the edge of his sword, his only thought was of her. He didn't even notice the pain as his skin slit open, and his blood trickled out, darker than any other he'd even seen.
Even Yura's hadn't been that dark as he spilt it, trying to get past her so he could help Kagome.
He pressed his wrist against Kagome's, hoping that somehow the demonic powers of his blood might help her, might somehow heal her. Inuyasha dragged the sheets of the bed. God, they were still warm! How was it they were so warm when her body was already growing cold? He drew them over her, laying next to Kagome and keeping their wrists pressed together. He didn't bother drying his cheeks as his free hand dusted tears off Kagome's face. His voice sounded broken. "Please, don't leave me."
Groaning Kouga sat up and rubbed the back of his head then cursed. Hearing sniffing and smelling salt, Kouga's head automatically whipped up to action, but what he saw just shocked him. He sat there sprawled on his friend's floor and watched, well, he wasn't quite sure what he was seeing but it looked like something out of a horror movie. "Did the Captain." Kouga clamped his mouth shut and got up, his tail twitching over his short fur skirt. He couldn't believe the smelly pup was crying, but remembering Kagome standing up for HIM. a demon, who didn't even get off on the right foot with her. "So the rumors are true, everything Sesshomaru said. You mated with a Priestess." Kouga said no real disgust in his voice, though there was some bewilderment in his expression. Advancing forward, Kouga stopped not wanting to invade their space. "Is there anything I can do?" Kouga asked, not use to not being the one to take action, and having to stand now on the side. "She dead?" He asked without any tact.
"No. Not yet," he mumbled. Inuyasha took a deep breath, biting his lip apprehensively before he pulled his gaze away from Kagome to look at his friend. He didn't even bother to pretend that he wasn't crying. "Find Sango. Find Miroku's woman. Please." His plea came out as a sob, as he felt time slipping away from them.
Kouga didn't let the shock of seeing Inuyasha cry paralyze him, using his demonic speed Kouga rushed out the door in a tornado like storm. Going through the whole ship, Kouga finally found her and Miroku in the wine cellar. "You better come quick, Inuyasha's woman is dying." Kouga said then added, "Sesshomaru." Nothing else needed be said.
Licking her lips, Kagome tasted something spicy and hot running down her throat. Choking, Kagome opened her eyes and stared at Inuyasha. "You're hurt." Kagome coughed and reached out for his wrist. "What happened..." Kagome's mind was still too foggy to process most of it, but her eyes widened as she gazed up at him. Licking her lips, Kagome kissed his wrist. "Don't cry..." She begged. "I didn't mean to make you cry." She apologized, admitting that his tears warmed her heart.
Another sob escaped him as he stared into her eyes. He'd feared he'd never be able to look into her eyes again! He ignored her questions and statements and took her into his arms, sitting back up and holding her so tightly he could be sure that the God of Death could never try to take her away again. "You stupid, stupid girl! Don't you ever do that to me again!" he yelled, even as he kissed her all over her face, relieved to see her still alive. After giving her a long kiss that made his feelings about her return to the land of the conscious more than obvious, he scolded her again, still crying. "If my tears helped bring you back, then I don't care who sees them! Just don't you ever do that again! Promise me, Kagome!"
Sango burst into the room, Miroku and Kouga half a step behind her. She swore heartily and knelt beside them both, not missing the bloodied sword by Inuyasha's side. She knew not who Sesshomaru was, only that he had hurt Kagome, and her sense of urgency came only from the knowledge that her friend was injured. She sighed when she saw the bruises adorning Kagome's neck. She'd bloody kill this Sesshomaru!
With all the bedside manner of a well-practiced doctor, she looked under the sheets. Damn. If she didn't know better. . . . Sango bit her tongue to keep from saying anything. If Kagome didn't know, she wasn't just going to blurt it out, and this type of information was best not put bluntly after one had just gotten the life almost knocked from one's lungs.
"What did you do?" She asked, lowering the cloth back down, her eyes wide. She shook her head in a half-assed apology. "No, I mean, I don't think that you seriously did this to her or anything, but. she's healed. Almost completely. The bruises don't seem to be disappearing, but they'll go with time." She didn't bother saying how much of Kagome's body was covered by the black and blue marks. "But the wounds are almost completely healed, so what did you do?"
Inuyasha untangled himself from Kagome himself to show Sango their entwined hands, and how his damaged wrist had been pressed up against hers. Even though she said Kagome was healed, he couldn't remove his hand from hers. That would give fate a chance to pull them apart again, and he refused to let that happen.
Sango shook her head. Demon blood? That kind of explained it, but not a lot. She wondered if maybe Kagome's need for more energy had sucked the power right out of Inuyasha. The prince was, after all, looking a little pale, but it was obvious he'd been crying. She sighed again. "We'll leave you guys alone."
"Kouga?" Inuyasha turned around enough to see his friend. He smiled gratefully. "Before she passed out, she told me what you did. I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. If there's ever anything you ever need, ask for it, and I'll do my very best to help you." The offer wasn't much, as Inuyasha was his friend to begin with, and as his friend he would help Kouga anyway.
The other demon nodded and managed to smile a bit. "No problem. If anybody ever asks, I refuse to admit I said this, but I like her, Inuyasha. Don't let Sesshomaru drive you two apart." He shut the door behind him, as Sango and Miroku went through the side door into their own chamber. (Where they promptly press their ears against the wall to listen in!)
Inuyasha kissed her forehead, gazing down at her with a fierce and loyal intensity. "What in the world did my brother want with you, Kagome?"
Kagome looked up at him with a soft smile, her brown eyes warm. "Inuyasha.." She whispered the knowledge of him caring so much warming her heart to depths she didn't know existed in it. "You care." She whispered in slight awe, her eyes cast up to look at the ceiling. As much as she wanted to, Kagome could not lie though. "I only fainted," Kagome whispered hating the fact that she did after all faint. "But I can't promise you anything. I have a job to do and a duty to fulfill, once those are done, I promise you." Kagome said and winced a bit when his arms tightened around her. "It hurts." Kagome bit out practically feeling Sesshomaru's hands barely touching her and shattering her ribs.
When Sango burst in, Kagome smiled faintly. "Sango-chan.." She whispered and allowed the other girl to look her over. Feeling weak and tired, Kagome didn't argue much or speak up when Sango and Inuyasha exchanged words. She just leaned against him and enjoyed how her hand fit into his. Kagome was glad however to hear she was healed, or healing. Looking down at the cuts that had spread up her arm, there was only a thin pink line there now with blood tainting the white skin around. Her ribs were sore, but not broken, she could tell that much. As for the rest of her, there was just one part that didn't heal and it was her neck. It still felt like Sesshomaru's hands were in there, under the bite mark, as though her was still purging it out of her flesh.
When everyone left, Kagome looked up at Inuyasha. He didn't look too good either. "They're loyal to you." Kagome said wondering if Kouga and Shippo were listening outside the door as undoubtedly as Sango and Miroku were at the other.
Hearing his question, Kagome took her head, taking time to answer. Trying to remember Sesshomaru's words. They hurt her, she didn't want to think of the effect they'd have on Inuyasha, so she didn't want to repeat them to him. Instead, she decided to leave things out. The insane pleasure over the prospect of causing Inuyasha pain that seemed to glow cold in Sesshomaru's eyes, the cruel descriptions of what he had inflicted on his own brother and Kikyo, what words he said to her. "He just doesn't like me I guess." Kagome said faintly, "How did he know.?" Kagome asked her hand covering her bite wound, no more words needed to be uttered for her meaning to get through.
"Kagome!" he warned, her name a sigh. Inuyasha didn't know what to do or say to make it right if she wouldn't tell him. He took a moment to mull over her question. He knew? Sesshomaru knew? Inuyasha's surprise was nothing compared to what he felt when he heard her speak. 'You care.' Damn it all, of course he cared! Had his lies from before their last session of love making actually been enough to make her think that he was just using her? "Don't worry," he told her with a smile. "You won't have long to worry about it. You're getting out of here soon. Remember?"
"I'm a taint on your bloodline," Kagome explained in a rasp voice. She had to tell him enough to make him understand he was in danger. He had to understand that this wouldn't all end. "He knew about the blood, about the bite. That's why he tried to rip it out." Kagome explained moving to a sitting position, her back aching from all of the throwing that had been done to her body. "He's furious with us." Kagome whispered and then looked solemn and sad. "I'm sorry I ever offered you my blood, I never knew it would cause this much trouble. I only knew that demons valued it, I thought I could pay you for your protection.. I didn't realize. You're in danger if you stay. It won't be like with Kikyo, we've passed that, and he knows it and he'll surpass last time too." Kagome said, not getting into the details Sesshomaru had told her of the beating Inuyasha took. Instead, Kagome released her hand from their mutual hold. It hurt to hold him and know that he would suffer because of her. 'I smell like you,' Kagome thought remembering Sesshomaru's comment. 'I wonder if I am a toy, to be broken and then thrown to the side like he said.' Kagome let that little bit of self- doubt fester, though her heart fought her mind over that tidbit. "Maybe it would've been better had another demon just taken me." Kagome whispered then managed to get up to her knees. "Are we still on for later?" She asked, having to remind herself of what was really important- Those girls down below.
"Don't you ever say that again, Kagome!" Inuyasha snapped, his passion back though his worry was not yet extinct. "I don't care what my brother tries to do to me, I've accepted that my death may be at his hands for a long time. But to do die without ever having met you, I'd just consider that a waste." He nodded when he heard her question, but they didn't interrupt the steady flood of his words. "Because I don't ever want to die without ever having experienced what love is, and you're the one who made that possible!"
Kagome didn't dare breath for a moment before laughing. "I'm still unconscious, aren't I?" Kagome whispered and then shook her head wildly. "Don't say that." Kagome demanded of him, pulling the shirt that was on the floor over her head. "Don't..." Kagome whispered and flung herself at him. Much like the time she first realized she could trust his words, only this time she didn't kiss his cheek but captured his mouth.
Third times were a charm, weren't they? Kagome thought to herself deciding that she was disgraced enough, she might as well quench all self respect she had. "I don't want you to die, and not by his hands. Come with me tonight, and live." Kagome said holding onto him, as though the connection could convey her emotions and just how desperate she was. "Live with me, Inuyasha. We'll be in our own world always, we don't have to care about the rest." Kagome said thoughtfully and closed her eyes, a thin smile touching her lips. "We can experience love together, and life and the creation of it." Kagome went on in a rush, feeling as though this was her last chance and if she didn't try her best, she would hate herself forever. "I don't want any of it if it's without you." She finished her heart feeling little crack lines, like fine hairlines spreading through it and threatening to crack, if he turned her down... Kagome closed her eyes and clung on to him harder. If he turned her down. . . It really would be the end.
"Okay," he said, the word coming naturally to him. He blinked and then slowly smiled, repeating the word as if he had never experienced it before. He stared down at his beautiful Kagome and kissed her, mumbling the word over until he had almost forgotten what the question was. The part of his mind that had grown up on honor felt like he was being a coward, but the rest of him wisely pointed out that it was even more cowardly -and selfish- to deny what his heart was feeling. "Hey, Kagome? Remember how I said I hated you? I don't. I really, really don't."
"Yes you do," Kagome whispered kissing him, her whole being feeling so elated Kagome forgot about the pain and soreness of her body. "But you love me more." Kagome added triumphantly. Well, she had won again, but this time, Kagome felt that they had both won. Though selfishly, she knew she got what she really wanted though she doubted Inuyasha did.
'You're a toy.'
'A very treasured one.' Kagome thought back to the taunting voice.
'After only a few days.'
Kagome pulled back slightly, both physically and emotionally. "I don't want to make you. Are you sure?" Kagome asked wondering what would make her doubt that he'd want to spend his life with her rather then die painfully by his brother's hand. Maybe the torn flesh at the base of her neck was an omen to be read, how Sesshomaru's fingers dug in there and ripped out the scar. Maybe.
Miroku pulled away from the wall and look musing. Turning, Miroku made his way to the closet and pulled out his old monk robes. If a demon was going to live in this world with a Priestess, he could sure as hell fit in as well.
Sango watched him, and smiled when she saw what he was doing. She grinned, though it wavered when she reminded himself that just because he was thinking of staying that it didn't mean he was going to be staying with her. Her brown eyes narrowed as she pulled him over to the bed. She'd just have to make sure that she gave him a good enough reason to remain with her.