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For the Shikon no Tama! For the broken pieces I must carry on my journey. For the broken pieces of the—?
I know that's not it anymore.
There will always be broken pieces; I have a feeling we will be on this hunt for a huge portion of our lives. There will always be past lovers; Kikyo has proven that to me. And there will always be two separate sides—two separate times—to the Bone-Eating Well. But often we choose not to consider these things. Often we just feel. And what we feel is what counts, because it's real.
Inuyasha just woke me up with the annoying tickling sensation that always accompanies his presence. His huge gold eyes are the first thing I see, too close for comfort.
I whack him in the face. "Inuyasha…" I croak out, half irked and half pleased. "You came for me? Is anything wrong?" I sit up in bed, and blink dazedly at the golden light pooling across my bedcovers.
He rubs his nose. "Feh! You sleep too much. The sun is really high up."
I stretch and yawn. "Mm. Well it's good when I get to sleep in my own bed, and not on the ground."
"Huh. What's wrong with the ground? I sleep on it all the time."
"That's because you're more built for it—being a hanyou I mean—and you're used to it. I've slept in this bed my whole life! Even the pallets in the nicest villages we've stayed in during the Warring States era are nothing like…my bed!" I fluff my pillow lovingly.
Inuyasha shoots one dark brow up skeptically. "It looks too squishy. It can't be safe." As if for emphasis, he prods the side of the mattress with his clawed toe.
"Ha! What would you know? You've never slept in one!"
"Why would I want to?"
"Right, because you sleep in trees!"
"Kagome." His tone changes and he turns on his hind legs to face the window. "Isn't it time you came back?"
"But I just got home!" I can feel my temper rising at the idea that just as I get home I have to leave again, just as I have the prospect of a bath and my mother's food and even…homework!
Inuyasha seems to shrink at my tone, his white ears jumping back against his shaggy head. "I know that…" He looks so sad for a moment, I falter. It's almost as if he's pouting. Then something hits me in the pit of my stomach, and shoots warmth through the rest of my body.
"Inu-Inuyasha…are you here because you…?" Miss me that much?
He peers up at me suddenly from beneath his snow-white bangs, his golden eyes turned sweetly dangerous.
I smile, and blush, and reach down for his hand.
In a moment he's beside me on the bed, and he doesn't seem to mind that it's squishy. He leans in with his nose against my neck—smelling me! I'll never get used to it—and puts his hand in my hair. I really think that it's only his human side that enjoys kissing me, because that's the only side that knows what it means to kiss someone. His other side just wants to smell and touch and…once, he licked me. What scares me is that I was shocked, but later I kind of liked that he had. Remembering it is…pleasant. I wish I hadn't had such a strong reaction to it. I remember his ears flattening and his eyes hiding behind his hair, as if he were ashamed at having had such a base and animal reaction.
I bring his lips to mine. The first time we kissed I remember being surprised at how soft they were…mostly at the inner corners. The hard outer line of his mouth hides the pink insides, lined with the rows of his sharp white teeth, the long canines curving dangerously. When I think about it I feel a tickling shudder. Fear? Attraction? But he's never bitten my lip or my tongue, and he's so careful not to flex his jaw when I dare to trace my tongue along the inside of his lips, so that those formidable canines don't pierce me.
He smells my breath while he's kissing me, the puffs of air from his nose hitting me in the upper lip and along my cheek as he moves to sniff my hair. He bunches it in his hands as if he enjoys the feel. He has told me he can smell everything my body does. He doesn't even know what a frank statement that is, and is confused when I blush. I should have known he could, though, with such a powerful nose. I know he can smell it when that strange heat pools in my belly, because his panting quickens and his grip tightens. But I often shiver and pull away.
"Kagome." His voice is so sweet, less guttural now but still deep. Comforting. I'm safe. His hands tug in my hair, his nose in that space below and behind my ear. I'm melting. Time to go.
"I'll come back." I whisper, trying not to react to his soft nuzzling behind my ear. "Inuyasha…" I'm trying to tell him I'll come back with him, that we can leave now, that we…
"Kagome." He seems not to have heard. He runs one hand out of my hair and down to the small of my back, and pulls me in. I can smell him now—really smell him. My nose is weaker, but it picks up grass and road dirt and musk. I know that doesn't sound alluring, but it's become that way. It became the scent of protection, and has since become a source of attraction.
"Kagome, why do you use so much shampoo?" His voice is muffled.
I smile. "Because, I don't want to be dirty. And I thought you like the way I smell!"
"I do. You smell good. The shampoo ruins it."
I'm too warm to be really offended. "I'm not going to stop bathing…"
He laughs, a puff on my neck. "Fine. And I'm not going to use shampoo."
I pull away, trying to scowl. His ears flatten, but his eyes are still hooded and electric. It's hard to stay strong.
"Once a week!" I barter.
"Feh. Once every moon."
I sigh. "Good enough." At least he'll be cleaner than normal. Normally he won't even go near a river unless he's thirsty or I need to bathe.
"Inuyasha…" I let myself drown in his eyes again. His ears are twitching, wondering if it's safe to stay in an upright position. I gently raise my hand to run my fingers through one of his forelocks. Gradually, slowly, I work my fingers up until they are in that spot that I love, but that is so much more effective on him: below and behind the ear. His eyes droop, nearly closed. He sways, his shoulders lowering dramatically. His mouth opens a fractional amount, hot breath running across my arm. His toes even curl. I love doing this to him. I'm playing with fire.
When I run my fingers back down into his hair, his eyes open again. Heat. I'm in deep, deep trouble.
But he doesn't move. He just looks at me, hovering, panting. Is he afraid? Or is he frozen by the intensity, just as I am? I don't know if I want him to move or not.
"Kagome!" My mother's voice breaks the imaginary barrier between walls. We have really got to go.
His huge pupils shrink and he darts away from me to the floor, almost like an animal too close to a nearing freight train. He is immediately apologetic, sneaking a kiss from me before leaping out the window like a red shadow. My mother enters the room not seconds behind. "Kagome…oh, dear, what's wrong darling? You look flustered!"
"Ano…nothing mama! Did you need me?"
"No. I only wanted to see if you wanted to take any food with you? I've made quite a lot!" She smiles brightly.
"Take with me…?" I didn't tell her we were leaving.
"Oh, well, I saw that sweet strange boy sneaking around outside, and I figured you might be leaving soon. I had Souta put some extra air in your tires."
What can I say? I smile, warmth filling me at her consideration. "Thanks, mama!"
"Mm." She leaves me alone in my room, allowing me to fully experience the delayed dissatisfaction my body is feeling in Inuyasha's absence. Oh, wow…what are we going to do with ourselves!
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SEQUEL IN PROGRESS.