Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: So did y'all like the lemon? Nothing like a little citrus in the summer. Now, back to our regularly scheduled plot…
VII. Dreams
The circumstances leading to the young girl's appearance would forever remain a mystery. But despite his seeming disregard for humans, Kagome realized that Sesshoumaru would not have willingly brought the child to any battlefield.
Luck, it seemed, was going to have her hand in this affair, and Kagome was beginning to fear that Fortune favoured the wrong side.
Kouga-kun was down. She wasn't sure whether he was injured or dead, but the field was littered with the corpses of his pack brothers.
Sango-chan was valiantly holding her own while trying to tend to Kohaku-kun, but her compromised position meant that she could offer no help with the offensive. Miroku-sama aided in the defense of the pair, his kazaana rendered useless by the poisonous saimyoushou.
Naraku's wily maneuvers had thus far enabled him to evade the unceasing attacks of the sons of the late Inutaisho. But the small girl's appearance tipped a delicate balance. Although the ethereal youkai appeared to ignore the girl's plaintive cry, he was seemingly caught unaware by the indiscriminate power of Tessaiga when Naraku dodged yet another wave of the relentless Kaze no Kizu. The force of the impact sent the elder brother hurtling through the air, skidding to a motionless stop several hundred feet away.
At the same moment, Naraku landed a hit in his feint. As he withdrew the tentacle with which had impaled Inuyasha, he savoured his handiwork. The situation looked bleak for their small group.
Kagome had utmost faith in the strength of her hanyou companion, but given the circumstances she feared for his life. Disregarding his barked order to stay down, she ran towards him while seeking an opening for her purifying arrow. She made an easy target without any effective cover. Like a cat with a mouse, one tentacle flicked lazily to send her sprawling. She heard the snapping of bone as pain seared through her leg.
Naraku gloated at his imminent victory, but his moment was stolen as hiraikotsu severed the arm that held the complete shikon no tama. The glittering jewel rolled across the hard-packed earth as his flesh hit the ground with a sickening, wet thud.
Then salvation came.
Distracted momentarily by the taijiya that had dared such a hopeless attack, Naraku didn't notice as the elder brother's small charge picked up the coveted jewel that rolled to her feet. The sudden flash of immense spiritual power sent Kagome's senses reeling.
"Kagura." Not completely sure what had just happened, Kagome noted the unspoken command in Sesshoumaru's voice. The wind youkai grasped the small girl, fleeing the battlefield on her feather as Sesshoumaru flew at Naraku, Toukijin in hand. Inuyasha added the strength of Tessaiga to the assault. Acting on instinct, Kagome grabbed for her weapon, feeling the purifying charge as she nocked, aimed, and drew. The arrow released a split second before another tentacle sent her careening through the air.
Kagome heard his anguished cry of defeat, her mind registering the fact that they had won. As the earth rushed up to meet her head, she instinctively prepared for death's embrace. Yet oddly enough, her final thought hadn't been one of her family, her friends, or Inuyasha. Instead, Kagome had wondered at the difference one small child could make.
She jolted upright with a sharply indrawn breath. A dream… it was just a dream. The jarring impact that had claimed her consciousness after their battle had not come. But it seemed so real. She could almost feel the residual of the intense focus, the spiritual power of her purifying arrow. It seemed as if the power was just beyond her grasp.
"Oi, Kagome, are you alright?"
She glanced up at the sound of the rush curtain scraping against the doorframe. She could see only the silhouette of her hanyou poking his head in through the door. As her senses tuned in to her waking environment, she became aware of the sound of the kids in the yard.
"Hmn, Inuyasha, I'm fine. It was just a dream. I'll be out in a few minutes."
His ears squeaked. "Shippou and Kohaku caught some fish for breakfast." With that, he was gone.
She stretched slowly, tentatively seeking any twinges in her body, surprised that there were none. She had been awakened at dawn by the frisky, silver-haired hanyou. Spooned against her back, wrapped around her body, he had proved to her twice that youkai mating habits weren't so very different after all.
She had been relieved to learn that he wasn't any … bigger in his hanyou form – that possibility had worried her, had even had Sango-chan squirming, no less. But her mate had been more self-assured in his hanyou form, more vigorous in his attentions. And it had felt good. She wouldn't have traded their first night together for anything in the world, but most of her pleasure had come from being so close and sharing with him. It seemed this morning that her body was adjusting to his presence, beginning to discover the physical pleasure that could come from the delicious friction of their union. She hadn't yet experienced any mind-numbing completion, but he had pleasured her with his tongue after he was done. Satiated, she had drifted back into sleep… and into dreams.
Kagome dressed for the day in loose miko robes. Inuyasha had escorted her into the woods last night after their lovemaking, so that she could answer nature's call. She had realized then that sex was messy, but it seemed that sex with a hanyou was messier still. Kagome yearned for a bath, but settled for a quick wipe-down. Breakfast first, there would be time to bathe later. Besides, she liked the smell of Inuyasha on her skin.
Inuyasha's nose twitched as he settled down to roast the fish. The skin on the back of his neck still tingled, the fine hairs standing on end. It felt sort of like when a miko's arrow whizzed by too close. Must've been some damn dream.
Deeply engrossed in a game of tag, Shippou tried to evade his friend by climbing up over Inuyasha's shoulder, seating his bushy-tailed ass on the hanyou's head. A clawed hand reached up, grabbing the scruff of a tail and lowering the kitsune to meet a pair of golden-hued eyes.
"Listen brat, I'm not a stool. No squatting here."
"Inuyasha, you have to protect me," he pleaded.
"Sorry, kiddo. You're it." He dropped the kitsune into Kohaku's hands.
Kagome stepped out from Kaede's hut, gracing him with the most glorious smile he had seen in weeks. The brat flew into her arms, snuggling against her chest. His tail twitched madly as he shot Inuyasha a dirty look.
They settled around the cookpit to enjoy their breakfast of grilled fish. Kohaku-kun and the kitsune regaled the couple with stories of the night's adventures. Kagome laughed at their antics, enjoying their animated retelling more than the stories themselves.
Inuyasha watched as Kagome turned her face to the sun, glowing as she basked in its warmth. Her soft voice was dreamy when she spoke.
"Inuyasha, will you take me to the hot spring? I'd really like a warm soak." The thought of bathing with Kagome sent a frisson of delight down his spine, awakening his seemingly insatiable desire once again. She didn't have to ask twice.
As she retreated to the hut to collect her bathing supplies, the kitsune taunted the unusually mild-mannered hanyou with a saucy tone.
"No wonder you're acting so nice today!" His voice dropped. "It's about damn time."
Kagome returned with her beach bag. She didn't remark on the lumps that had suddenly sprouted on the brat's head.
Nope, nothing was going to spoil this beautiful day.