Chapter 17
Inuyasha and Kouga stood in the doorway of the library, disbelieving of what they saw. Sesshoumaru passionately kissing Kagome, his body pushing hers deep into the cushions of the sofa they lay on.
Inuyasha stormed into the room, eyes blazing. "You cheating son-of-a-bitch!" he ground out between clenched fangs. "You...you cheater! Kouga hasn't given you the go-ahead yet!"
Kagome was just now coming back to reality and realized with much embarassment that she was pinned to the couch by Sesshoumaru's heavy body. Her eyes moved reluctantly from Sesshoumaru's warm mouth to Inuyasha's furious eyes.
"Oh man," she groaned. Partially was from humiliation at being found in such a compromising position and partially was from Sesshoumaru's weight. 'He must weigh a freakin' ton,' she thought. Aloud she said, "Ano, could you please move?" She attempted to push him away.
Sesshoumaru, of course, did not budge. He actually enjoyed this position and wished for the other two to leave at once. Instead, he leaned down over her, propping himself on his elbows, and planting them on either side of her. "I think not. Where did you think you were going, koishii?" he asked her seductively.
The intense look his amazing, molten eyes stopped her from squirming beneath him... and not just that, either. Something hard and unyielded prodded her body...
Kagome's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "Okay, I'm not going anywhere. Nope, not gonna move one itty bitty inch..." Her face turned a brilliant shade of red. 'Oh man,' she thought with a groan. 'How DO I get into these situations?'
"That's better," Sesshoumaru remarked lazily, amused by her embarassment.
"This isn't right Sesshoumaru. The three of us were to have an equal chance!" The look on Inuyasha's face swung from hurt to furious.
Kagome felt bad for him. She hated to see her old friend hurting like this.
"All's fair in love and war, little brother. Live with it." He leaned down and gently nuzzled Kagome's neck.
"I won't allow you to do this, Sesshoumaru," Kouga put in, the anger evident in his voice. "The agreement was that we would each have a chance to press our suit."
Sesshoumaru chuckled softly, his breath warm and teasing against her already heated skin. She couldn't help an involuntary shiver that ran through her body.
"Her youkai still lives. That alone is enough to give me the right to court her first," he said reasonably. "I created the youkai within her. Once it remembers who I am, neither of you will have a chance anyway. It will not see you as her mate."
Kagome was stunned. Her youkai was still alive? But how was that possible?
"NANI?" Inuyasha cried. "You fucking kidnapped her during mating season! The right? You have no right to her!" He was livid with rage and his entire body shook.
As for Kouga, he merely glared at Sesshoumaru but said nothing.
Kagome managed to get her hands up to Sesshoumaru's rock wall of a chest and tried again to push him off of her. "So, you guys are fighting over me? For what? The right to court me? Well, what about MY right to decide for myself who I want? IF I should want anyone at all, which is getting less likely the longer you keep lying on top of me!" she snapped, glaring into amused amber eyes.
Reluctantly, Sesshoumaru got off of her and she quickly scurried out of arm's length.
Kagome smoothed her hands over her clothes and through her hair. "Now look here, you guys, I won't have you fighting over me like mad dogs."
Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha frowned at her words, but she paid them no mind. "I'm guessing that each of you wants a chance to take me out and try to woo me. Well, that's fine. I'm down with that. Since Sesshoumaru has very politely asked me out first, he will be the first to take me out. Next will be Inuyasha and lastly, Kouga. Any questions?"
Kouga nodded briefly. "I have one. Why am I last?" Hurt flashed briefly in his blue eyes.
Kagome smiled sweetly at him. "Because, out of the three of you, you have done nothing to hurt me. These two, " she pointed at the inus, "have MUCH to make up for."
Kouga gave her one of his sexiest, lopsided smiles. "Ah, I see. If I went first, they wouldn't have a chance."
She answered with a laugh and a nod before going over to him. Standing on her tiptoes, she gave him a light peck on the cheek. "Thank you for letting us use your credit card," she said, handing him the piece of plastic after digging in her back pocket for it. "Oh, by the way, I'm going on a ride with Yuki in a bit. Don't hold dinner."
Kouga nodded and touched her face, tenderly brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "Don't forget to wear a helmet, koishii. Ii?"
Kagome smiled up at him and was about to leave the library when Inuyasha stormed over to where she stood with Kouga.
"A helmet? Just what kind of ride is this that requires a helmet?" He glared angrily at Kagome.
"A motorcycle ride," a smooth voice interjected. Yuki had just come from outside and heard the hanyou's question.
Inuyasha immediately got in Yuki's face. "Oh, I don't think so, pal."
"I think so," Kagome put in airily. "Yuki, let me get changed, okay?"
Yuki smiled and nodded.
As soon as Kagome disappeared down the second floor hallway, Sesshoumaru came over to Yuki, shoving his brother out of the way. "If ANYTHING happens to Kagome on this ride, I will personally end your pathetic little life, elf," he growled ominously.
Yuki couldn't help but laugh. "Seriously, if you even THINK that I'm the least bit scared of you, you are sadly mistaken...your highness." He gave a mock bow before turning and leaving.
Ten minutes later, Kagome came tripping happily down the stairs. She wore blue hip hugger jeans, white t-shirt, a black leather jacket and black Doc Martens. Her lustrious black hair was pulled back into a low ponytail at the nape of her neck.
Kouga beamed at her. "My, my, sweetheart, you look great," he remarked, kissing her forehead.
She gave him a quick grin. "Thanks," she replied, zipping up her jacket.
By this time, Yuki had returned to the foyer. He took one look at Kagome and whistled. Damn, she looked good! No, HOT was a much better word. He too, had changed his clothing. Black jeans, black t-shirt, black boots and leather jacket completed his look. He knew he looked good and he could see the attraction in Kagome's beautiful eyes as she studied him from head to toe. He also knew that Sesshoumaru was giving him that famous "Killing stare" he'd heard so much about.
Ignoring the irate inu brothers, Yuki held out his hand to her. "Shall we dance?" he asked, smiling at her.
Kagome came over to him and put her hand in his.
They left.
Kagome finally decided on the red motorcycle. It had been a hard choice but she came to realize that if they rode the Interceptor, she'd be practically laying on his back. Without realizing she was doing so, she thought that Sesshoumaru wouldn't like that at all. She felt guilty for thinking that when she was going out with another guy.
She started and blushed like mad. Now why was she thinking like that? It wasn't as if Sesshoumaru owned her. She could do whatever she wanted with any guy she wanted to!
But secretly, she wished it WAS Sesshoumaru she was riding with. Sure Yuki was beyond gorgeous...but Sesshoumaru was a refined sort of gorgeous. Yuki was wild, every inch the bad boy.
Sesshoumaru was just...perfect. There was no other word to describe him.
Kagome got on behind Yuki and pulled on her borrowed helmet, flipping down the visor.
He started the engine and they took off. As soon as they hit the streets, she automatically put her arms around his waist.
Feeling her arms go around him, Yuki smiled into the wind. He really enjoyed her touching him.
Kagome, however, wasn't thinking about Yuki. Her mind went back to the silver-haired inu taiyoukai and the incident in the library. If Inuyasha and Kouga hadn't come in when they did, she would have attempted to undress his sexy ass, starting with that silk shirt he was wearing...
She was brought out of her daydream when Yuki made the bike swerve to the right. Kagome unconsciously tightened her grip on Yuki's body, laying her helmeted head against his back. She prayed to Kami that he wouldn't get them into an accident. Kagome felt a warm hand covering hers, reassuring her. She managed to calm down a bit after that and raised her head, looking at the scenery rushing past them.
After awhile, they were heading out into the country.
Kagome wondered where they were headed. She lifted the visor and asked him.
Yuki turned to the side and he shouted back, "You'll see!"
Kagome frowned slightly. She felt Yuki scooch back towards her, almost snuggling into her body.
She giggled. It was cute how he did that, seeing how much smaller she was compared to him. Feeling a little naughty, Kagome let one of her hands roam along his side, wondering if he was ticklish or not. After a few moments, she hit the jackpot. She rubbed a spot just beneath his ribs, going towards his back.
He squirmed suddenly and she laughed. She vaguely wondered if Sesshoumaru was ticklish. Probably not, but one day she'd try to find out.
They turned off the highway and on to a country road. The countryside was beautiful in the late afternoon sun.
After about half an hour, they came to a river. Yuki brought the bike to a stop and shut off the engine, putting the kickstands down.
"Well, here we are," he announced, getting off the bike.
"Where's here?" Kagome asked removing the helmet and shaking her hair out.
"My favorite place in all of Japan." He helped her off the bike.
She looked around again and then smiled up at him. "Wow, it's so pretty here!" she exclaimed softly. She walked to the river's edge and looked down into the water. The water was so clear she could see straight to the bottom.
Trees crowded around the river bank, creating a wall of sorts from the little road they had just turned off of.
Yuki took her hand. "Come, I want to show you something," he said, gently pulling her along.
They walked along the river until they came to a bridge. They crossed it and when they had made it to the other side, Kagome noticed a small shrine by the river bank.
She rushed forward to examine it, sinking to her knees as she did so. "Is this shrine to a river god?" she asked quietly.
Yuki laughed softly. "Not exactly. It was built in honor of my mother."
Kagome turned and stood, looking at him. "Is she buried here?"
Yuki shook his head. "No. The people who once lived here built it, hoping to win her favor and bless them with her gift. She was an elemental elf. Her gift was water."
"Oh." Kagome looked down at his hands. "Is that your gift too?" she asked.
Again, Yuki shook his head. "I take after my father. My gifts are fire and earth. Hiro's gifts are water and air."
"I see," Kagome muttered. "Do all elves have two gifts like you and Hiro?"
"No. Hiro and I...well, we're sort of special. Most elves just have one gift. We have two and that made us stand apart from everybody else."
Kagome smiled at him. "Show me," she requested. "I haven't seen your gifts yet."
Yuki happily obliged. He cupped his hands together in front of his body. Flames burst out until his hands appeared to be on fire. Then he parted his hands, making motions as though he dropping something. The fire fell to the ground and shot upwards, creating a wall in front of him.
Kagome's eyes widened. How cool was that? she thought.
With a wave of his hand, the fire vanished. No trace of the fire was visible, not even on the ground where the fire had been.
Next, Yuki bent down on one knee and put his hand on the ground. All the grass and flowers in the immediate area turned greener and more fragrant the longer he touched the earth.
Kagome was completely in awe. She clapped like a child when she saw dead flowers come to life before her eyes.
Yuki decided to have a little fun with her. He dug his fingers into the soil. A tree root shot out of the ground behind Kagome, heading for her side.
Kagome felt something tickling her side. So, she turned and saw a black, slimy thing shoot forward and wrap itself around her waist.
She screamed with laughter when it began to tickle her sides. Just barely managing to turn around and look at Yuki, she saw he was holding a fistful of dirt and laughing at her.
The root picked her off the ground and brought her forward, to where he was kneeling. Letting go of the dirt, he rose and dusted his hands. "I'm sorry Kagome. Are you ticklish?" he asked in amusement as the root lowered her to the ground.
She nodded, feeling suddenly very shy around him.
Yuki touched her face gently. "You may have noticed, but I've begun to have feelings for you, little one," he said quietly.
Again she nodded. She felt torn. A part of her wanted him to kiss her, but the other part, presumably her youkai, did not want him to come near her.
'We do not belong to him,' it said piteously. 'We belong to another.'
Yuki drew closer and she began to panic. She knew he was so attractive, and she really wanted to know what his beautiful, smart-ass mouth tasted like, but it was wrong. She belonged to another...
Those thoughts were lost as he closed the gap between them. Her body felt as if it was going into overdrive. Her soul felt as though it was being ripped apart.
Yuki couldn't help himself. The pull of the Shikon and her enticing little mouth was just too strong to resist. She was North to his South.
He pulled her into his arms and deepened the kiss. But something felt odd. Something was digging into his arms...sharp things were digging into his arms.
He lifted his head and turned to see was embedded in the thick leather of his jacket. Kagome's hands were holding on to his arms. Her newly done nails were no longer nails. They were claws.
Jerking his gaze to her face, Yuki saw that her eyes had turned a horrible shade of red. Fangs protruded from her mouth.
"Please...please, Yuki! Get away from me!" Her voice was altered as though something else was talking on top of her own voice. This other voice was low and rough.
"But why, Kagome? What's happened to you?"
"I don't want to hurt you! WE don't want to hurt you!" she cried before dropping to her knees before him. "You are not our mate! You must not touch us!"
"Kagome..."
"Iie! He'll come for me and he'll kill you for touching me," Kagome said, desperately trying to push her youkai back. "I won't give him a reason to hurt you, Yuki."
Yuki said nothing and she went on. "Why do I want you? Why? I feel drawn to you and Hiro, but mainly to you. What's wrong with me?"
Yuki sighed. "The elves are attracted to holiness. It's like, an aphrodisiac to us. The Shikon that is carried by holy mikos makes elves desire her. Likewise, the miko herself becomes enchanted by the elves, usually her protector."
Kagome's eyes had slowly turned to their normal brown color and she nodded her understanding. "I see. So basically, I want you and you want me because of what we are."
Yuki nodded slowly.
As for Kagome, she sat down in front of the shrine and stared at it. Yuki came and sat next to her.
'So,' Yuki thought sadly, 'her youkai knows it has a mate already. It won't be long now before it remembers.'
Yuki slipped his arms around her and pulled her to him. She leaned against him. They sat in silence for a long, long time.
