Disclaimer: See chapter 1.
Red Kitsune Flames – As always, thanks for your praise and support. I'm real interested in hearing what you think of the next few chapters after this one.
JadeStoneThe Younger – I'm glad you like the story! Nisou means priestess. I came across it in a word search and I loved the sound of it.
StaySee – Thanks so much for the kudos, you made me smile for hours! Hope I updated in time to save you…
MidnightTimberWolf – I agree with the character assessment. They're not quite OOC. I took their personalities and just delved a little deeper. And a confrontation with Inu-yasha is closer than you think….
Sarah H Puppyeyes - I like seeing Sessho-maru show his softer side too. But in this chapter he reveals his, uh….passionate side.
And thanks to everyone else who reviewed and sent their encouraging words. Every little bit does my heart good.
The Beginning And The End
Chapter 7
Kagome and Inu-yasha wandered around the forest, gathering firewood, not speaking. They had argued over who should go when Kaede had told them both to go so she could get some peace and quiet. Kagome let her mind wander to thoughts of Sessho-maru and when she would be able to see him again. It was becoming harder and harder to leave his side. She heard growling and looked up to see Inu-yasha trying to get himself free of a very nasty looking thorn bush.
"Stay still. I'll get it."
She dropped the wood she had gathered and stood behind the growling inu as she worked his clothes free of the thick, sharp thorns. She frowned as she fought with the bush.
"How did you manage to do this?"
Inu-yasha didn't answer. He wasn't about to tell her the truth and he didn't want to lie so he decided to just not speak. He silently cursed himself for being so stupid. He had been watching Kagome and not where he was walking and had walked right into the stupid bush. He had been thinking about trying to talk to her again about his feelings. She had rejected him before, but she really hadn't given him a fair chance to explain how he really felt. Maybe now was a good time.
"Kagome….I've been meaning to talk to you about something."
"What's that?"
"I wanted to talk to you about the kiss….from before." He not only felt her body stiffen next to him, but he could instantly smell her fear. "I wanted you to know how much Icare for you and that it wasn't just some---"
"Inu-yasha, stop." Her voice was commanding and she stood up with a sigh. "I told you before. I don't feel the same way about you. I'm sorry." Kagome started to walk away when an iron grip took hold of her wrist, turning her around. She turned to see Inu-yasha, clothes ripping on the thorns, looking at her intently. "Let me go Inu-yasha."
"Why are you so quick to dismiss me? Give me a chance to prove to you how much I care for you."
Kagome hung her head, "I don't doubt your feelings for me. But that doesn't change the fact that I don't feel the same way about you."
"Why can't you at least try?"
Kagome's head snapped up and she yelled, "Because it doesn't work that way, baka!" She wrenched her hand free and went over to pick up her discarded stack of wood. "I don't love you, Inu-yasha! Deal with it!"
Inu-yasha watched her walk off, stunned. He was torn between wanting to go after her and hold her and kiss her and make her understand…….and killing her. Both were very tempting. Once he decided which to do he took off, only to have half his pants leg ripped off by the thorns. The ripping noise distracted him from his mission and he cursed as he retrieved his clothes from the thorn bush, letting Kagome go once again.
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Ever since they'd regrouped in Musashi a month ago, the foursome had been tense. When Miroku and Sango returned to Musashi, they found Kagome and Inu-yasha not speaking to each other. According to Kaede, they had gone out to gather some firewood and came back angry and silent. They hadn't spoken to each other since.
"Did you get in another fight, Inu-yasha?"
Golden eyes rolled as Inu-yasha sighed and leaned back to lay in the grass. "Look, it's really none of your business, monk. Everything is fine so just drop it."
"It is my business you stubborn inu! You are both my friends and if we're going to defeat Naraku, we all need to be working together. And you two won't talk to each other. What the hell is going on?"
"I'm not going to tell you anything so just drop it. Go ask Kagome if you're so interested."
"I did."
Inu-yasha sat up, suddenly very nervous. "You did? What did she say?"
Miroku noticed Inu-yasha's sudden change in demeanor and decided to take a gamble. "She said to ask you to explain your actions because she had no idea what you were thinking."
"She didn't know! She's lying! She knows how I feel about her and she refuses to even give me a chance! How can I prove that I love her if she keeps pushing me away?"
"You're in love with Kagome?"
"Miroku! What did Kagome tell you?"
"Nothing. I haven't talked to her. Sango is right now." Miroku offered up his best winning smile and received a punch in the stomach. "That….was…"
"Deserved, you lying piece of shit!" Inu-yasha stomped off to hide somewhere until it was time to eat.
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Sango and Kagome sat at the river's edge, watching the fish swim with the rapid currents. "You want to know what happened with Inu-yasha, don't you?"
"It had crossed my mind. I mean, you guys haven't spoken to each other for what? A month now?"
"I….I just don't know what to say to him, Sango."
"What happened?"
Kagome looked at her friend, thinking maybe it was time she talked to someone about everything that had been happening in her life. She could trust Sango. She took a deep breath and relayed everything from Sessho-maru saving her to Inu-yasha kissing her and professing his love and trying it again when they were gathering firewood.
"It was awful, Sango. One minute I'm tending his wounds, the next he grabs me and kisses me and keeps saying I should just give him a chance to prove his love. I feel terrible about everything, but I just don't love him. I'm not even attracted to him. And I'm shocked that he brought it up again when we were gathering firewood."
"Do you think that if Sessho-maru wasn't in the picture, you might feel differently about Inu-yasha?"
Kagome shook her head and stared down at the flowing water. "No. I'm happy we've built our friendship back up again, but that's all he will ever be to me."
"Don't you think you should tell him about Sessho-maru?"
"I keep rolling the idea over in my head, but every time I get up enough guts, he turns around and acts crazy and I chicken out. I'm sorry about all of this Sango. I promise I'll try and work things out with Inu-yasha. I know this can't be easy for you and Miroku."
"It's ok, Kagome. Now that I at least know what's going on, I'm not worried as much. It's always better to know what the problem is, right? You and Inu-yasha work this out for yourselves. My lips are sealed." She saw the question in Kagome's eyes and she smiled, "Even to Miroku."
"Thank you, Sango."
The two women sat in silence for awhile and then Sango asked the question that she had been dying to ask ever since Kagome had told her story. "So. Does he have any markings underneath those clothes?"
Kagome laughed and blushed at the same time. "I'll never tell."
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Inu-yasha watched the two women sitting by the river, wondering what Kagome was telling the slayer. He knew they were close, but he wasn't sure if Kagome would talk about this. I hope she doesn't tell Sango. I don't want to have to face Sango's reprimanding looks. Gods I hate that look! She thinks she's so superior when she has that look on her face. I don't know how Miroku puts up with her.
Kagome looked like she was spilling her guts. Shit! He sat here, waiting to see the slayer's reaction. She seemed very calm. Not angry at all. Maybe Kagome didn't tell her. They sat there for awhile, not saying anything. He thought Kagome looked relieved, but he couldn't be sure. Suddenly they were laughing and that just served to confuse the half demon even more.
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Sessho-maru was sitting on the small hillside, looking up at the stars, missing Kagome. This was the place they had made love for the first time. She hadn't wanted him to claim her then and she still didn't. She didn't want his mark on her unless he was willing to give himself entirely to her. His body and soul. His life. And she would give the same to him. He sighed as once again his heart and mind debated Kagome and what she meant to him.
"What are you doing out here so late?"
Rin smiled as she heard the voice reach out to her in the darkness. She could barely see where she was going, but he had sensed her several yards away. "I came to ask the same of you, my Lord." She sat down next to him and he put his arm around her, keeping her warm. "You've been very withdrawn lately."
Silence.
"Is it because you miss Kagome?" The young girl saw the raised eyebrow of the inu youkai and chuckled. But when she spoke, her voice held all the concern she felt for her guardian. "If you miss her so much, why don't you go see her?"
"Things are becoming complicated."
"What's complicated? You love her and she loves you. You both want to be together. Seems pretty simple to me."
Sessho-maru looked down at the girl cuddled next to him. Was it really that simple? Was Rin's simplistic view of life really the answer? "I don't…love…Kagome."
Rin sat up abruptly and turned shocked eyes on her guardian. "You don't?" She studied the demon before her and slowly, she smiled. "Oh, I see now. You don't realize yet."
"Excuse me?"
"You obviously care for Kagome, yes? You want to be with her. Not just physically either. You enjoy her company, and I know you worry about her safety as she's looking for the jewel shards."
""I know all these things, Rin."
"But what you fail to grasp is that all these things add up to one conclusion. You love Kagome." She waited and gazed into the golden eyes, until finally, she saw the recognition.
Sessho-maru brushed back some of Rin's hair behind her ear and smiled at her. "How did you get so smart about such things?"
"One of us has to be, my Lord." He lightly pushed her away and snorted at her comment, Rin giggling at his reaction. "So you're leaving, right?"
Sessho-maru gazed up at the stars. "I suppose I am."
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Sessho-maru waited a safe distance away, waiting for Kagome to wake up and go for her ritual early morning walk. Once he'd decided he was willing to give Kagome what she wanted, he'd raced out into the night to find her. It didn't take him as long as he thought and now he would have to sit for several hours and wait for her to wake up and it was driving him crazy.
He surveyed the camp, calculating his chances of sweeping in and kidnapping her. Miroku and Sango could be easily bypassed. They were snuggled together and didn't possess any demon awareness. But Inu-yasha…..he would be able to sense and smell Sessho-maru. But what if Kagome came to him?
Sessho-maru took up position and tossed the first of three nuts at the sleeping priestess. The second one brought her out of sleep and she sat up looking around. The third nut was wrapped with a few strands of his hair and he made sure to toss it when she was looking in his general direction.
Kagome held the nut in her hand and looked back in the direction in which it came. Sessho-maru. She silently got up and walked away from camp. As she walked through the forest looking around, strong arms grabbed her from behind and whisked her away.
They came to a stop a few miles away at a cave Sessho-maru had previously scouted before waking Kagome. He put her down and pinned her against the wall, his lips crushing hers. She responded immediately, her hands roaming over his back, soft moans escaping between kisses. He had planned on this going slower, wanting to make love to her, worship her, let her know physically how much he loved her. But once he had her in his arms, he lost all control. He kissed down her neck as he expertly released her miko attire with a few tugs. Kagome was working on Sessho-maru's shirt when she felt the teeth graze her neck. She gasped and tried to pull away from Sessho-maru, but the demon only held on tighter and brought her down on top of him as he landed on a pile of bedding he'd placed there. He held her face in his hands, holding back her hair and gazing into her brilliant green eyes.
"I told you I would not mark you until I could give you everything you wanted." He saw the tear slide down her cheek and he wiped it away with his thumb. "I love you, Kagome. I pledge all that I am to you. You have my heart, my body and my soul. You have become my life."
Kagome tried to hold back the tears, but one managed to escape. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Aishiteru, Sessho-maru."
He pulled her lips down to his and rolled over, loving the feel of her under him. He kissed and licked down her neck, the taste of her erasing all coherent thought. He let his fangs graze the skin at the base of her neck and he felt her shudder beneath him. He licked her once more before letting his fangs pierce her skin. Kagome gasped and clutched at Sessho-maru, arching her body up to his. Sessho-maru licked away the blood and growled as he took complete possession of Kagome, and giving all of himself to her in return.
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Kagome was wandering along the stream's bank, enjoying the early morning peace and quiet. She was looking forward to getting back to Musashi and some well-earned rest. They'd been traveling through the eastern territory for over a month now and they were all worn out.
Kagome found a good place to stop and bathe and she quickly stripped and waded in until she was waist deep in the cold water. She washed her body and began to wash her hair when she heard a noise coming from the shore, somewhere close to where her bag and clothes were. She raised her head and looked around, but didn't see or hear anything else so she went back to cleaning her hair. Once she finished rinsing off, she waded back to shore and as she reached for her towel, she saw a white blur out of the corner of her eye and before she could register what was happening, she found herself in a vise grip being carried off into the trees.
Kagome screamed but she soon found a hand clamped firmly over her mouth. Everything was moving so quickly, she didn't know who or what had her. When they came to a stop, she opened her eyes to find herself pinned against a tree, staring into the smiling golden eyes of Sessho-maru.
"Baka! You scared the----"
Sessho-maru ended her tirade before it could start with a deep kiss. When he ended the kiss and pulled back, he saw no signs of her anger. "It was kind of you to be waiting for me naked and wet. Very convenient too." He let his grip on her upper arm go and slowly slid his hand over to cup her breast.
Kagome held the demon's gaze and let out a small gasp when he pinched her nipple hard. "What are you doing here?"
Sessho-maru leaned in and whispered into her ear, his deep velvety voice a caress all its own, "I thought that was obvious."
Kagome smiled and brought her hand up to his hip, the other still pinned against the tree. "I've missed you too." She nuzzled his cheek and he turned toward her again and kissed her, the telltale low growl beginning in his throat. Kagome tried to talk to him through the kissing, "Let my other hand go. Let me hold you."
Sessho-maru pulled back, a smile on his face, "No. As a matter of fact..." He reached down and grabbed her free hand from his hip and pinned it behind her back with the other using one hand, his other hand free to do whatever it pleased. "Much better."
Sessho-maru kissed the priestess and let his hand slide down her body until it reached the warm mound between her legs. Kagome moaned and began to squirm from the pleasure. She felt his lips and tongue trail down her neck, his fangs lightly grazing her flesh, sending shivers down her spine. "Sessho-maru…" Her voice was pleading, and she heard Sessho-maru's deep chuckle.
"You're not going anywhere, nisou. Not until I'm done with you."
And suddenly he entered her without warning and Kagome cried out. Sessho-maru growled and kissed her again, his desire fed by her whimpering and feeble struggling.
They were both so caught up in the pleasure, neither noticed Inu-yasha's approach.
To be continued…