Authors Notes: OK guys, this is my last post for one week, I will post something next Friday, but until then, I have to study for my GED, I will be taking the practice tests from Monday through Thursday, which means I'm gonna be saying math equations in my sleep. But I have to do this for my future, I hope you all understand. Wish me luck.

Disclaimer: I own nothing Inu Yasha
Falls On Me

Chapter 15-Everytime we touch I feel the static

"What exactly did you tell her?" Sesshoumaru asked as he stared at the unconscious miko.

"Nothing you will not hear in a few days," Okibi told him in a dismissive tone. Though she did look at Kagome with some worry. Admittedly she hadn't expected Kagome to take the news in such a manner. Was she really so against marriage? Even to Sesshoumaru, who she had been intimate with on some level already?

"Okibi, I don't know what's going on, but perhaps you might tell me what you said to her," Sesshoumaru said with a growl.

"I told her about the women in the Room," She said, saying room in such a way as to make it seem important. Sesshoumaru of course, knew about the room. The servants called it the Room of Sorrow.

"Why did you tell her those stories? It has no bearing upon her," Sesshoumaru stated.

"More than you think, or are willing to admit at least," Okibi told him. She had no grudge against Akari's son, in fact she was a little fond of him. He was after all, Akari's memento, a sort of memory. But he was a stubborn, obstinate fool like his father had been. And she wasn't about to let him become the next evil Lord with a wife who's picture held the same story in that room. Not if she had any say in it. Century after century she had watched the women married to the Lords of this land wither away like flowers. With Akari's suicide, she had decided the cycle had to stop somewhere, and Sesshoumaru was the most likely candidate for that.

After all, he abhorred the kind of man his father had been.

"Okibi, if you'll tell her, why won't you tell me?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Because unless she wishes to tell you before then, it can not be considered any of your business," Okibi snapped. It was a lie of course. But she was almost laughing at the disgruntled expression on his face. No matter how much of a man he seemed, he was still only a youth, especially compared to her countless years.

"Oh, I just thought of something Sesshoumaru, when will you be sprouting that new t-" She began, knowing full and well his reaction. After all, he hadn't yet fully matured in youkai years. How old was he? He didn't like to be reminded of the fact he was still considered young by youkai standards.

"Let that subject lay old woman," Sesshoumaru snarled.

"Ah, so not for a while yet I suppose?" She asked sweetly. Inu youkai didn't reach maturity until they were close to four hundred. Calculating in her head, he would reach that rather soon.

"As you wish, I will not mention it again, young Lord," Okibi chuckled as she left the room. She expected the signs of his maturity to show within the next year. Perhaps sooner that that. And she wanted to be there more than anything. Besides, when those signs showed, he'd be pressured by the rest of the council to take a mate. How splendid it would be if it were to happen while Kagome was searching for a proper mate.

She just prayed Kagome never found out she knew how to make a conception potion. Ah well, the girl shouldn't be married to a drunkard like Inu Yasha anyways. Akari didn't want to see another woman fall victim to the so called curse of the western men.

"Kagome, Kagome, are you alright?"

Kagome opened her eyes and saw Sango and Miroku hovering over her. Her mind was fuzzy. What was going on? Where was she? And why was she in her bed? She was supposed to be helping Airon with the cooking.

Then everything that had happened hit her with the intensity of ice cold water. Reality seemed to turn into some sort movie.

"How do I end up in these situations?" Kagome groaned, closing her eyes again.

"Pardon Kagome?" Miroku asked. Kagome opened her eyes again, blushing when she realized just how her friends were looking at her. Looking at her like she had lost her mind.

"You didn't hit your head when you fell by any chance, did you?" Sango asked.

"I wish," Kagome grumbled. Then maybe she could forget about everything that happened. Briefly she wondered if it was possible to make a second wish on the jewel.

"Kagome, what's wrong? Okibi said you fainted while she was talking to you," Sango said in a concerned voice. Kagome looked to her friend. It was hard to believe Sango was only a year older than her, already mother to three children.

Children! She might be able to have them after all if what Okibi said was true! Kagome felt her spirit stir a little. Hearing Okibi say that made her feel happier than anything else had these past weeks.

"It's just something she told me. Where is Anei, by the way?" Kagome asked as she looked around her bedroom. The youkai seemed to be missing.

"He went out. Something about being told to guard Inu Yasha. He was smiling. Ten to one he's going to fight him," Sango said. Kagome nodded.

"Well, is anyone else here?" Kagome asked.

"I am my lady," A voice said. Kagome looked around and saw Yotogi and Shisou poking their heads inside the doors. Unlike Anei and Sesshoumaru, they knew everything that Okibi had told Kagome. Not that they had any intention of telling anyone anything of course. They had just chanced to be in the right place at the right time. Mainly saying that Anei had been busy trying to talk to Sesshoumaru, and they were Kagome's guards in his stead.

"Oh, well, hi," Kagome said. It was obvious she wanted to talk to her friends in private. They quickly closed the doors and sat outside. Their hearing may not have been as keen as Sesshoumaru's, but they still heard most of the ensuing conversation.

"Guys, Okibi said the council is going to annul my marriage to Inu Yasha," Kagome whispered.

"That's wonderful!" Sango exclaimed. It was of course, very rare for a marriage to be annulled, but it was sometimes done if a woman proved barren or a husband impotent and the station of either one demanded heirs.

"Actually, it gives us another piece of information. Inu Yasha will not be executed," Miroku said thoughtfully. Kagome looked at him, startled. She hadn't thought of it that way! Widows didn't need their marriages annulled, their husbands were dead!

"In any case, why would they annul her marriage?" Sango asked.

"The council has determined that there has to be someone to guard the shikon jewel after me, an heir I guess," Kagome said in a quiet voice.

"I see Okibi must have said something about hanyou's potency," Miroku muttered. Perhaps he should have said something earlier, at least if that's what had made Kagome faint.

"Well, she told me about that. But, I don't want to marry some guy just to have a baby!" Kagome suddenly moaned, oblivious to the looks her friends were giving her. For a moment she wanted to just run as fast as she could back to the well and never come back to this place, but Rin and Shippou's face appeared in her mind's eye, reminding her quickly why she couldn't just up and leave.

"Kagome, what do you mean?" Sango asked, curious.

"Okibi said the council will give me one lunar month to find a new husband," Kagome moaned. Her situation seemed really bad to her. Of course, she refused to consider the fact that most women of this era rarely married for love. In fact, it was an absurd notion to most people in this time. To some people in her time as well.

"I see. That makes things a bit more difficult. What will they do if you have not found a husband after one month?" Miroku asked.

"They'll pick one for me," Kagome said.

"How barbaric," Sango huffed. She was lucky, her village ad never been one to arrange marriages. In fact there hadn't even been a matchmaker. Her parents had married for love, and so had she.

"If you think about it, it is a necessary action in the council's eyes. If the shikon jewel has no guardian, it could fall into the wrong hands and begin another plan like Naraku's, or even worse, wars could start over it. Don't you see? The council is taking a precaution as the keepers of their lands," Miroku stated.

"It still doesn't make it any less barbaric. How is Kagome supposed to find a decent husband in one month?" Sango asked, her voice rising. Kagome blushed, remembering Okibi's last words. Suddenly she remembered another little fact.

These rooms had belonged to Sesshoumaru's mother. Why had he put her here anyway? It seemed kind of weird; to know he would put her in a dead woman's room. Were the beautiful kimono Akari's too? It disturbed her to be in a dead woman's room and to possibly be wearing a dead woman's clothing. Then again, properly cared for kimono could be handed down for several decades, sometimes more. And in a castle this size and age, no bedroom had held an occupant who was not dead by now, Kagome reasoned with herself. It still didn't take the edge of creepiness off the idea though.

"It can't be helped. Kagome has to find someone. And it shouldn't be too hard to find someone. After all, she is known to be a powerful miko who guards the jewel. The problem will be finding a kind husband who isn't after her for the jewel," Miroku sighed.

"Gee thanks Miroku. As if I don't have enough to think about," Kagome muttered.

"I'm being honest with you Kagome. You have to think about these things," Miroku told her. "And think of Shippou. He needs a good father, someone who will accept him."

He was right. But what about little Rin? If it wasn't for her, Kagome would try to go back through the well with Shippou. If she married someone outside of the castle, Rin would no longer have a mother figure. Unless one of two things happened. Sesshoumaru became her husband or he took someone else as a mate.

"Argh, this is too complicated! I just want to be a normal teenager for one day!" Kagome shouted.

"Kagome, this is a time that is still somewhat foreign to you I suppose, despite how long you've been here. Don't you realize, marriage is normal for a teenager here. The only abnormal things about it is the fact you're getting an annulment and that you can pick your husband. A noble woman is very rarely presented that choice, don't you know that?" Sango asked.

"It's not fair! I used to dream about going to school and then to college! God why did I ever stay here?" She sobbed. Her two friends looked a little hurt by her words, but it was lessened by the fact that they realized how frustrated she was.

"But you are here Kagome, and you have to make the best of it. The council meets in less than two days. Then you have a month. It is a short amount of time, but perhaps you will find someone you can at least be content with and learn to love," Sango said. Kagome sniffled and accepted Sango's embrace.

"And I'm sure Okibi will take your feelings into consideration. She seems like a nice person," Sango tried to assure her. Miroku nodded his agreement. That helped Kagome somewhat.

"Hey guys?" Kagome asked.

"What?" Miroku replied.

"How about we just have a private dinner here tonight, with Rin and Shippou and the babies?" Kagome asked.

"I think that can be arranged," Miroku chuckled as he stood and went to go talk to the two foreign youkai outside of the door.

That night Kagome wandered, alone, out in the gardens, unable to sleep. It was obvious why, to her at least. Sadly, she had no one to talk to about it though. Who could understand her, at least who would understand her that she could talk to at this moment. Maybe other girls were forced to take a husband, and they probably feared marrying a violent man. But Kagome feared it even more. She wasn't sure she could survive another marriage like the one that would soon be over.

How had the council members come up with such a decision anyways? Kagome was sure Okibi had a very large say in that for some reason. Maybe because she had seen Akari's spirit slowly die. And hadn't Okibi mentioned something about the council members not communicating, at least officially? Did that mean they had communicated otherwise? Did Sesshoumaru know about their decision? He was part of the council, so he should.

Sesshoumaru, one of her biggest problems. At least, sort of. Her dreams, her reaction to him, his reaction to her. All one huge problem. And he still hadn't spoken to her. In fact, it seemed almost like he was avoiding her, and in turn she tried to avoid him and all mention of him. Though it didn't seem to help much.

"Only a little more than twenty-four hours left until my world is changed again. How many times can my world change before I change?" She asked herself. Throughout everything she had wanted to stay her normal optimistic self. But somehow, she couldn't.

"What are you doing out here, alone?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"I need to think," Kagome told him.

"We've had this conversation before," He told her. Kagome sighed.

"And if I keep coming out here without a guard? Sesshoumaru, I honestly don't care what happens at this point. It's the whole lesser of two evils, only in this case, all the choices are bad, and there is not one that is more appealing than the other," She told him. "So if a youkai comes and picks me up and tries to use the jewel, fine, whatever."

"That's extraordinarily selfish of you. Think about the effect it would have on Shippou and Rin," Sesshoumaru said. He sounded like he didn't care.

'Bastard probably doesn't care. He just wants to be able to kill things. He'd most likely welcome a war or something. Any excuse to go hunting,' She muttered inwardly.

The display of her emotions across her face amused him. One moment she seemed forlorn and the next she seemed like a spitting wildcat.

"Did Okibi tell you?" Kagome asked.

This was his chance. He could take advantage of the situation a find out just what Okibi had told her to make her pass out.

"Yes. It is the decision of the council," Sesshoumaru told her. He knew it was wrong, but he had been left out of the loop, and not for the first time.

"And you? You agreed to this ludicrous idea?" Kagome asked, eyeing him as if he was the very devil himself. Possible he supposed.

"I was neutral on the idea. The other three decided," he told her.

"Neutral? You were neutral about me having to find another husband in a month?" She exploded. "After what you did the other day you're just neutral?"

Okay, so she could have delivered in a less blunt manner, and certainly not shouting at him. Either way he found himself shocked. Kagome would have to find another husband? What the hell were they thinking?

"Well, I-" He began. But he was at a loss for words. How was he going to get out of this one? He had one very, very angry miko standing in front of him that had come close to knocking him unconscious twice now. He really didn't want a repeat of those two times. He moved slightly, turning his groin area away from her.

Then again, the idea of kissing her again didn't seem unappealing.

"You asshole! I bet you did this to get rid of me, right? Sort of like revenge for not letting you get any further. You're a cruel bastard Sesshoumaru," Kagome spat.

"I didn't decide!" He finally shouted.

Kagome looked at him, stunned. Her thoughts racing through her head. But his angry expression soon chased her confusion away, replacing it with fear.

"Don't you ever call me that again woman," He snarled. Before she knew it Kagome was pinned against the ground. Sesshoumaru's eyes seemed angry and dazed at once.

'You're a cruel bastard Inu Taisho.'

His mother's words coming from Kagome's lips. Repeating over and over like a broken record. He didn't notice his hand clenching her upper arm so tightly, or the blood beginning to stain the fragile silk of her kimono.

"I- I'm sorry Sesshoumaru. Please stop," Kagome begged quietly as she winced. He snapped out of his reverie and looked at his hand in horror. Almost immediately he released her. He had despised men who hit women for some time. He even avoided it as much as possible. Some women were strong enough to fight him. He still hated the idea. Some women wouldn't stop. He still despised it. But Kagome had done nothing to seriously threaten him, and he had hurt her more than once. Was his father's blood that strong? Was violence towards the weak something passed down by blood?

"Please forgive my rudeness," He said in a stiff tone. His movements were quick as he began to move away, but she caught the sleeve of his happi coat.

"Sesshoumaru, did you really not decide?" Kagome asked.

Time to come clean.

"Kagome, I didn't know until you told me. I tricked you. Forgive me. Okibi said I would have to wait until the day after tomorrow unless you chose to tell me. Forgive my behavior," Sesshoumaru stated. His voice was just like his posture. Cold and stiff. His face was a blank mask. However, Kagome saw the odd look in his eyes. It seemed as if his mind was going a mile a minute.

"Sesshoumaru, I'm sorry, for what I called you. I thought for a moment…" She trailed off.

"What?" He snapped. She still hadn't let go of his sleeve, and he'd be damned before he hurt her again, which might happen if he yanked the coat from her grasp forcefully.

"I thought maybe you wanted to get rid of me," She whispered.

If he had it would have been for the best. If he forced her to marry another, it would be for the best. If he forced her to go back to her own time it would be for the best. Anything but having her near him was for the best.

At least his mind was telling him that. His body however, was reacting to her statement. No, how she had said it. How the tears began to fill the air with the sharp scent of salt.

"I do not wish to get rid of you," He stated, trying to stop her tears. He would not be the man his father was. But how to do it? How was he supposed to comfort a woman, when he had only tried to comfort his mother before, and failed miserably at that? Damn it, he could not change how he had been for centuries!

"Really?" Kagome asked, looking at him skeptically.

"God woman, would I have kissed you if I didn't want you near me?" He snapped suddenly. He hadn't meant to say those words. In fact, his mind was a blank. He had no internal dialogue for the moment. His emotions had temporarily taken over.

"But, I, I," Kagome began. Before she could finish however, he was kissing her again.

Salt. Tears. Honey. Cinnamon. She tasted like some sort of warm treat. No, like the sweet tea he had drunk during the winter when he was a child. Sweet with just a little bit of tartness. Something to savor.

She moaned into his mouth. A groan answered her in return. Innocence. Everything was a swirl in his mind. Only his body controlled him now. He had been denied so long. Her scent all over his sheets every night had driven him mad. The dreams had been worse. Dreams of her crying out and throwing her arms above her head, exposing her body to him with wanton abandon.

His hand roamed her smooth curves. Moans excited him. They never stopped kissing. Once he bit her lower lip gently. She moaned exquisitely. Only seconds later she followed his example.

Their kiss was broken. Her gasps mixed with moans as he kissed down her neck.

"I never knew," She moaned while arching her back. His hands were cupping her breasts.

"Knew what?" He asked in an equally raspy.

"That it could feel this good," She gasped as he pinched her nipple slightly through her kimono.

Reality hit him full force then. The heat in his blood cooled slightly. Had she never achieved pleasure? Had her husband truly been that much of a brute?

"Have you never been pleasured?" he asked. Kagome was mewling and arching into his hand wantonly. He supposed her words and actions were answer enough. Inu Yasha truly had been a fool.

He wasn't a fool though. And though he had no clue where they were going, what their actions might lead to, he didn't want to quit. Not now. Maybe not ever.

So with infinite care, he pulled her into his embrace and quickly ran to the wall and jumped over, once again in his private garden. Kagome was looking at him questioningly. He merely laid her down on the ground that was covered with tall grass. They might as well have been invisible. She opened her mouth, only to have any words she might have said cut off by another kiss. Before she lost her desire, he began to build it back up to it's former heat, and beyond.

Then he began to kiss down her neck, nipping gently. His hand grasped her breasts gently. Then he began to move his hand lower and lower, until it was reaching into the opening of the kimono and under robe. A startled gasp as one clawed finger began to stroke the outer folds of her womanhood.

Male triumph filled him as he stroked her, reveling in her scent, in the dampness of her core. It was hard to control the instinct that wanted, no, demanded he claim her. She would most likely be scared. He couldn't scare her. Instead, he wanted to pleasure her, as no man had ever done.

He began kissing her again, just before he pushed his finger into her. The moan he felt beginning in her throat turned into a scream by the time it ended in the kiss. Her body arched into his sharply, seeming like she would snap her back in two. His pride surged through him as her hands clawed at his back through his clothing. Despite the shield the cloth offered, he knew there would be some sort of mark, even if it would fade within minutes.

He pulled his lips away from hers, taking the time to look at her as she climaxed. A flushed that started at the tops of her breasts went all the way to her cheeks, and her eyes were closed. Kagome's breath came in short gasps that intermingled with keening sounds coming from her throat as she rode her orgasm. Sesshoumaru withdrew his finger and licked her juices off of it, savoring her taste.

Several minutes her body stopped trembling, and she opened her eyes, only to see him looking down at her, his expression unreadable, but his eyes filled with…Something. It seemed like he was trying to restrain some inner urge. Then it hit her. A blush graced her cheeks.

"That was…Wow," Kagome finished lamely. "Thank you," She added. What else could she say? Most of the time people said something like 'I love you', but that wouldn't be right. And she couldn't exactly just up and leave after all. She was in his private garden.

"You're welcome, Kagome," He said her name like it was some sort of delicacy, something exotic. It made her shiver.

Minutes passed, and now that they weren't, well, occupied, the silence seemed stifling. Kagome's thoughts raced. What did this mean? Would their relationship change now? Would he ask to marry her when her marriage was annulled? If he did, would she accept. Too many questions without answers. What would happen now?

"You need to get back. Your guards will probably realize you're gone," Sesshoumaru said. He stood and Kagome followed his example, quickly fixing her kimono. Her arm smarted a little, but it would be okay in a few days.

Willingly going into his embrace, once again he jumped over the wall and set her down gently. She smiled, feeling very shy. Before he could say anything, and before she lost her courage, she kissed him gently on the cheek. Her blush deepened and she quickly walked away, but turned once, to wave and smile at him brightly. Her blush had not mellowed in the least. He merely smiled and jumped back over the garden wall.

'I won't look at this as a bad thing. I can't. I am not a whore, no matter what anyone thinks. It just happened,' Kagome told herself in an almost stern tone.

Suddenly she realized why women would betray their vows. Especially women with husbands like Inu Yasha. Before, she had felt a slight connection to Sesshoumaru because of their shared kiss. Now that connection seemed more intense, deeper somehow.

Perhaps the novel idea of someone giving her pleasure without demanding anything in exchange was playing with her mind, confusing her. It even crossed her mind that he was setting her up for something. But she realized he wouldn't have been…Well, gentle, if he had wanted something, or if he was setting her up.

Refusing to dwell on her doubts, she walked into her room. Shippou and Rin had decided to sleep in their own rooms tonight. Quickly she shed her clothing and pulled on the sleeping robe, then crawled into bed.

Her last thoughts were on the amazing sensations she had felt for the first time tonight, and the youkai that had made her feel them.

Authors End Notes: Once again, last post till next Friday. Thank you everyone, who wished me luck in the last chapter for my ged. And thank you all for reviewing! It keeps my spirits up and makes me smile!