Well hellu again, it's been a while. About that, after I got over the unknown illness I suffered from a serious case of writer's block set in; even though I already have some of my story handwritten it was like I was afraid to type anything up. Weird? I think so. Any way, here's a question for yah: Do you find it easier to read when the type is in bold or does it hurt your eyes?
My sister says it hurts her eyes and I was just wondering if anyone else thought so too.
I'm going to shut up now so you can get on with the show but I would like to take this time out to thank Chiisai-tori for her wonderful reviews. THANK YOU !) I would also like to say: Chiiasai-tori, I would have said this to you personally but, after stupidly deleting and doing other equally dumb things to the email I was going to send you (three times), I got fed up and had to get off the computer for a while. Before I took my beating stick to it.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Kagome woke up first from a chill, her skin prickled from the breeze. Reluctantly she opened her eyes and realized why she was so cold. A single sheet covered her chest and was draped over her legs. Akage had the rest.
They were in a spooning position with his arms wrapped around her waist protectively. She looked over her shoulder to see his face and in the early morning rays his hair took on a silvery glow. Smiling sleepily she sighed, snuggled back into him and reached behind to pull some of the blankets over herself. Now covered she began to drift back to sleep.
He felt her stir and slowly began drifting in to consciousness until she moved causing him to become suddenly very wide-awake. His whole body tensed when her warm person cuddled closer causing their position to become a bit too comfortable. He thanked the gods that there were blankets between them.
When she had reached for more covers her touch and the feel of the material slide across his exposed skin, biting his lip was all he could do to keep from moaning from the unexpected pleasure. He held his breath until his face turned blue and he felt he would pass out. Thankfully she fell asleep quickly saving him from that particular out come. Although he got his breathing under control the color of his face deepened to an interesting shade of red. Utterly embarrassed he tried to calm his raging body down, which was becoming more and more difficult.
'I've got to control myself! This is WRONG!' He closed his eyes breathing in and out, catching the scent of her hair. He breathed the smell in deeply. His inner voice softened, 'but it feels so right.' He opened his eyes and watched her sleep, feeling the rise and fall of her body with the intake and expulsion of air. 'How can this girl do this to me? Why does she make me feel like this?' he puzzled over this until he felt her stir again. She turned onto her back and lay there for a few moments. He studied her face, which was slightly puffed from sleep. Her full lips were slightly parted with what looked like a smile hidden in the corners. Her long dark lashes contrasted greatly with her cream colored skin, which seemed to be emitting a faint glow. Her thick ebony hair pooled out beneath her adding to her goddess like appearance. 'My gods she's beautiful.' She then turned to him brining them into very close quarters.
Very afraid of what might happen if he couldn't control himself he tried to extricate his arm from her waist, which unfortunately brought them into yet a more comfortable position. He looked down at her in panic.
Her lips curved in a drowsy smile. She rested her hand on his chest, then with the weight of sleep, slowly slid her hand up to his face and tilted hers up to meet his.
He knew what was happening and as much as the practical part of his mind screamed for him to get up and leave his body didn't exactly feel like responding to that order. But the inability to listen to his mind or his waning ability to control his body wasn't what scared him the most - the fact that his heart ached because he wanted her so much was what had him trembling.
Her tender lips lightly touched his, curving again in a slight smile. She arched her neck deepening the kiss.
The silky touch of her lips sent his head spinning. He gripped the sheets; afraid if he touched her he wouldn't be able to stop himself.
'She's so innocent. You couldn't do that to her,' the familiar voice pleaded.
She opened her mouth slightly as an unconscious invitation; Akage's own recognized the gesture and hungrily obliged. His tongue caressed her lips, which parted wider in welcome. After that he used every ounce of his being so he wouldn't lose himself. A small, pained growl sounded in the back of his throat.
She broke the kiss after what seemed like a lifetime to Akage, and drew away glowing. With the small smile playing on her lips she laid back down with a contented sigh.
"Goh nigh Inu…" she mumbled drowsily as she fell back into oblivion.
Akage was in the process of gaining back as much control over his nerve wracked body as he could when his sensitive hearing picked up her breathy voice. That sobered him.
He looked down at her beautiful, peaceful, contented form her cheeks tainted a glowing pink. His heart felt like it was about to break.
He carefully removed her hand from his chest and managed to retrieve his arm without further incident and slipped out of bed. Some of the sheets had pulled down from his retreat exposing Kagome's chest. He looked down on her in sadness, then covered her up and went unsteadily to sit in the corner across from the bed.
He left about an hour later to fetch breakfast and to just do something to try and forget about what happened.
'She's a human you're a demon, a prince demon no less! All that was, was lust. It's just been a while since I've been with anyone and all this physical contact with this girl… I'm just reacting to instinct, that's all.' 'LIAR,' another part of his mind debated but he violently pushed that thought away.
He gathered their food and contemplated nonphysical training methods, 'Seeing how training has become our routine I don't want her to think that anything has changed. She was practically asleep, she may not even remember.' 'But you remember.' He wished that part of his conscience would give it a rest. Of course he remembered and with that memory came the realization that the possibility of Midori being Inuyasha's miko was very likely. 'Well I'm not completely certain. She should at least regain some memories so there's no mistake.' He pushed his doubting conscience away again and continued considering some non-contact training.
'Start her off with something simple. ARCHERY! Yes! Low contact, an effective weapon… Inuyasha's miko was said to be able to take a demon in one shot. Maybe she'll remember something.' He wanted to be pleased with himself for coming up with such a great idea that might help Midori, but his heart just felt heavy at the thought of her leaving.
"What's the matter with me," he muttered running a hand through his hair. Sighing as he arrived at her door he mentally shook himself and put on a happy face. He opened the door quietly incase she was still sleeping to find her doing up the last button of her shirt. She greeted him smiling seeming to beam with cheeriness.
'She's wearing her clothes,' he observed shocked. 'What if she gained back her memory?' He set down the food and asked cautiously.
"Why are you wearing those? I thought you hated them."
"What? I always wear this." She gave him a weird look and smiled. "So what's for breakfast, I'm starving." Feeling exceptionally chipper considering what happened the day before she figured she would enjoy the feeling until the serious questions started.
Famished, she went to the table to look over the food, then began dishing it out for the both of them.
Akage, unsure of what was going on sat down and ate in silence. Kagome, quite content downed her food while Akage just picked at his watching her warily. Becoming annoyed with his silence and his weird looks, Kagome decided it was time to get down to business. 'Seeing as that's obviously what Akage wants to do.'
"Will you stop staring and ask me something already."
Startled from the break of silence he looked down at his plate a bit embarrassed and contemplated what to ask her first.
"You remember what happened yesterday?" She nodded. "What were you doing at that well?"
Akage had been taking a long time getting the food so she went for a little walk. He never really left her alone while they were in the woods so she decided to take advantage of her temporary freedom. 'But it's not like you're a prisoner or anything.' She sighed, becoming lost in her thoughts until she came to a small clearing. She pushed aside a branch to reveal an abandoned well. She walked over to it getting an increasingly strange feeling and when she peered inside that's when it hit her, memories of her going through a well.
"The Bone Eater's well," she breathed, almost to herself. "Something special happens there, something that I'm part of." Her eyes had become far away, going back to the memory. A chill ran down her spin at the thought, she shivered and came back to reality, waving off his look of concern.
"Anyway. I guess I must live somewhere around there or something. Have you ever heard of it before? Do you know where it is?" she asked excitedly.
He shook his head. The excitement left her face only to be replaced by a look of determination.
"Well, we'll just have to go find it wont we." She stated her voice full of conviction. Akage frowned inwardly.
"I guess so but…"
"GOOD. Let's get going." She stood up.
"Hey, just wait a minute." He thought frantically of something to say to delay their departure.
"Before the both of us go anywhere I want to make sure you are completely capable of handling yourself incase we run into trouble and I alone can't hold them off." She glared at him offended.
"I can take care of myself! You said I've improved a lot and I know I can be of some help if something like that happens." She stopped glaring and the look in her eyes turned bright and mischievous. He raised his eyebrow in suspicion. She kneeled down next to him grinning slightly.
"Besides. You're a big tough guy. You can take what ever comes at us." She smiled charmingly.
"As much as I'd like to think so, I know I couldn't and I'm not going to act cocky, pretending that I can, putting you in danger in the process. It's not an option." He finished in all seriousness.
Touched at his concern for her safety she couldn't help but still be angry.
"Well what do you propose we do?" she asked mockingly. He brightened at this.
"I'm so glad that you asked. I've been thinking about it and I think it's time we moved on to something different, other than just fighting." He paused dramatically. "Weapons." He finished grinning ear to ear.
"Weapons. Well, what kind, swords?" she contemplated this skeptically. The picture she had of herself trying to sword fight didn't look too promising.
"No, something else." He paused again for effect. "The bow and arrow." He watched her reaction. To his dismay he was quite sure he saw a shadow of remembrance pass over her eyes.
At the mention of the bow and arrow it was like something in her clicked.
"That's great! When do we start." Her determination back full force.
Akage cleared off the table and went to get the necessities. He returned with another tribe member who was helping with the load. After they arrived at their designated practice area and got everything set up, Kagome was trying her best not to pester Akage too much about getting started; he was a bit worn out from the rigorous activities of carrying and setting up. But as soon as he realized that she wasn't going to let up he decided to start the training. 'She's RELENTLESS!'
To his surprise she didn't pick up the bow and start shooting like a pro, she was having quite a bit of difficulty. He went over to help her when it struck him.
'OH SHIT! NO!'
He stopped arms frozen midair, his eyes growing large.
Kagome turned around. 'I thought he was going to help me.' She was alarmed when she saw the look on his face and tensed.
"What is it?" she urged, thinking they may be in some kind of danger.
Immediately after seeing the fear in her eyes he dropped his arms and his face lit ablaze. He laughed nervously and sifted through his clouded mind for an excuse.
"Uh, s…sorry Midori, I um, I stepped on something. It uh, it really hurt." He finished hitting an all time low in lameness, his face somehow growing brighter. He averted his eyes.
"Are you sure your ok?" she reached out to him but he moved away nervously.
"You're sure?" she asked again unconvinced. 'Why is he acting so weird? It's like he's embarrassed or something.'
"Uh yeah, I'm fine." Still not meeting her eyes he moved passed her to his bow and grabbed an arrow. "See, this is how you do it," he instructed her shakily. She was still concerned but imitated his position none the less.
He looked over to make sure she was doing it right and was extremely relieved to find that she was also a quick study in this as well. He gave her a few quick pointers before saying he had to leave.
"Why don't you go to the fall and bathe and I'll send Hitomi to escort you back to your room and bring you your meal." He spouted hurriedly, then paused. " Actually, I'll take you back to your room ok?" he didn't sound to sure of himself so she didn't question him. 'With the state he's in he doesn't look like he could really give me a coherent answer let alone a truth full one. What is the matter with him?'
He still wasn't looking at her and didn't notice when she came up behind him.
He was preparing himself so he could take her to her room, so when her arms slid around his neck his whole body stiffened. He was completely still, unmoving, unbreathing, his heart wedged in his throat.
When he finally allowed himself to relax and breath he felt it was the biggest mistake of his life. His senses were immediately overwhelmed by her scent and he had the distinct feeling that he was going insane.
Slowly he knelt down gathering his wits about him when she slid her legs around his waist and pressed her body against his back, her quick puffs of breath caressing his neck. He shot upright causing Kagome to hold on tighter.
"You've got to get off," he managed in a somewhat pained tone.
She immediately let go thinking she had hurt him.
"Akage, are you alright? Did I hurt you?" she looked him up and down very concerned.
"Yes." He tried to calm himself down. 'Your scaring her!' the sensible part of his mind rather viciously chided. He cleared his throat but still didn't look at her.
"It would be better if I carried you in my arms. You uh, being on my back hurt my foot." He lied unconvincingly.
"Oh. Why don't you let me look…" she didn't get to finish her sentence because he abruptly lifted her into his arms and took off like a bat out of hell.
The trip back was completely awkward for Kagome. Akage was clutching her so tightly she was sure there would be bruises the next morning. 'And this bow and quiver aren't helping either.' She glanced up at her ride and desperately wanted to know what was going on with him. 'He couldn't have just hurt his foot, he looks like he's in some deeper amount of pain.'
She was right he was suffering; his body was going crazy, his mind not too far off. He had hoped that the wind would get rid of her scent: with Kagome on his back it wouldn't have been a problem. 'But the way her curves were touching, the way she would have moved with me during…' The impending knowledge of how it would feel was just as bad as the feel of her at that moment. So, he grabbed her into his arms thankful that she had the extra luggage, which prevented their positions from getting too near.
His mind was racing trying to make sensible decisions as to what he was going to do once they stopped. 'You'll be at her room…' his mind wandered off following the direction of his instincts. 'NO! I've got to get away for a while, far away. But what am I going to tell Midori?' Then the rational part of his mind somehow got through all the mess. 'If she's in heat and your reacting like this how will the other males in the tribe react?'
By the time that obstacle presented itself they had already reached their destination.
Forcing his instincts at bay, he pushed open the door and rushed over to the bed, dropping her down on it unceremoniously.
The now angry Kagome threw aside the bow and quiver and got up indignantly.
"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!" barely able to keep her frustration in check.
He had moved over to the door not trusting him self to be in such a close proximity with her and the bed.
"I've decided to go find out information on the Bone Eater's well alone. You need to stay here and practice." He rambled.
"I want to go with you! I'll be able to help. I might even start to remember something."
"Hitomi and some of the other females will accompany you everywhere." He hadn't heard a word she said he was concentrating so hard on what to say. "No matter what, you don't go anywhere with out the females with you, GOT IT!" She was standing there glaring at him furiously, her hands on her hips.
"I'M NOT SOME CHILD YOU CAN BOSS AROUND! I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!"
He closed the distance between them in seconds grabbing her by the shoulders and gave her a shake.
"DON'T GO ANYWHERE WITH OUT THEM, UNDERSTAND!" he searched her eyes frantically for an indication of some understanding. Her eyes were wide with confusion and fear but he tightened his grip on her so she would respond.
"GOT IT!" It hurt him to hurt her but she needed to understand. 'The others might not be able to restrain themselves.' He was still having a hard time restraining himself.
Kagome whimpered as his clawed finger's bit painfully into her arms coming dangerously close to piercing her delicate skin. The fear in her growing along with the weird sense of déjà vu.
After she whimpered he lowered his hands only to wrap his arms around her in an almost painful embrace. 'You scared her! You can't leave with her scared. MAKE HER FEEL SAFE!' his muddled mind demanded.
So he hugged her hoping that it might help calm her because it definitely was not helping him. She fit into him so perfectly, her curves fit in all the right places and the fact that his did too was pressed upon him making him ever more aware.
He could feel her heart race beneath her breast and his own wildly beating heart somehow sped up in response.
Her smell was intoxicating. His body, though roused before began to burn; he would have given anything to take her right then and there.
Trying to push all instinctual thoughts away he let go of her and went to the door.
"I'm sorry," his voice strained. "I've got to go." And with that he ran off up the path with the feeling of shame dominating over the many emotions that ran rampant through his mind and body.
Kagome was stunned and when she finally pulled her eyes away from the door she was surprised to find that her cheeks were wet.
Feeling exhausted and confused she submitted to the drowsy feeling that now blanketed her. She crawled into her bed and fell into a restless sleep.
By the time Akage reached the main area of the castle grounds, he had cooled down significantly but her alluring scent still lingered.
Almost unwillingly he breathed her scent in deeply. His body began tingling again and with this painfully sweet reminder her image was brought for as well. His face heated up instantly. It suddenly occurred to him that her scent was a little too real to be a memory. He stopped dead in his tracks and took a big whiff of his current apparel. To his immediate dismay he realized that he could smell her on him, though only faintly. 'I can't have any of the others 'catching wind' of her before I leave, it would be like giving them a taste of forbidden fruit.' He bristled at the thought of one of the other males just feeling what he felt.
Emitting a low growl he quickly changed his course to go the long way around to his room. As soon as he got there he threw off his clothes, shoved them in a bag and washed himself rigorously. With that out of the way he prepared himself for the journey and for the confrontation with his father. 'He's got to know so he can keep an eye on her for me. I hope.' He was none too sure that his father would even consider doing such a thing, their last real conversation still fresh in his mind.
He wanted to get on his way as soon as possible. 'The faster I leave the faster I can be back. Hopefully I'll be able to control myself by then, or if I'm lucky her course will have already started.' Though he did have his doubts.
'The only reason I reacted so fiercely was because I was caught off guard, plus what happened last night,' he tried to lay the blame on something. 'But why was it so overpowering? I've been around the other females when they were in heat and it never effected me that much.' He wracked his brain trying to come up with a feasible explanation, choosing to block out everything the sensible part of his brain offered until he reached his father's quarters.
"Father."
"Son." He raised his brow quizzically, a faint smile touching the corner of his lips. "Finished the lesson already?" As Akage approached him he could see that he was clearly frazzled and again lifted his brow.
"Listen." Akage all but spat, already annoyed at his father's mocking expression. "Midori has remembered something and I'm going to check it out." He stopped but obviously had more to say. His father waited for him to go on with that same mocking expression. He hated when he did that. Frustrated with the whole situation he gave up trying to be calm about it.
"Midori's in heat and I need you to make sure nothing happens to her while I'm gone, NOTHING. I'm almost certain that she is the miko but just need to confirm it before I take her to whereever it is she belongs.
"Send some of the females to take care of her and don't let any of the males around her. She'll most likely stay around the area of woods near her room, the fall and the old training area. Station female guards to keep watch, and make it known that there will be serious repercussions if my orders are disobeyed."
"I am impressed with you decision Akage." Now understanding why his son was so agitated he was very impressed with his decision to get away from the girl.
"You seem to handling the situation quite well, son." The mocking smile left his lips and he became serious, as if he were addressing a leader instead of his son. "I will inform the tribe members of your demands and make sure they are not undermined."
"I am grateful. Argiato Father." He bowed, turned and left. He missed the slight bow his father gave in return, proud that his son was exerting a militaristic style of handling difficult situations. 'He has the potential to be a great leader.'
Hope you liked it! Now review damn it!!!