No More Lies

I turned around slowly to face the monster I had created.

I had always sworn that I would help Inuyasha control his demonic side, but I had been the one responsible for its release this time. All because of my experiments; all because I refused to stay in the dark; all because I needed to understand what I had done.

When I could finally see his face, when I saw the jagged, twisted markings cutting deep paths across his skin and the glowing crimson of his eyes; I realized the full horror of what I had done.

Tears spilled freely from my eyes, but even my tears would not be able to save me now, he was too far gone.

"Kikyo."

He called her name again. There was no one else but her in his mind, nothing but what he would do. She was his mate, and he had come to claim her in her heat.

Unfortunately for Inuyasha, I am not Kikyo. I am not his mate. I have been marked by another, and I am now certain of that.

Inuyasha took another step towards me, but no sooner had he moved than he was thrown away by an incredible force. I was not surprised when Sesshomaru seemed to materialize before me. He glanced back at me, apparently discerning my condition, and then turned back to face Inuyasha, who was already on his feet.

"Mine," Inuyasha growled out as he looked past Sesshomaru to where I stood. He released a frightening roar a charged forward towards his brother.

"I think not," was the detached reply from Sesshomaru before he too took off to confront his sibling.

Inuyasha's attacks were determined, but they were wild and erratic, and easily avoided by Sesshomaru. I watched the fray with mild interest. I had good reason to believe who would win and that there would be no serious injuries resultant from the encounter, so I did not carry too much concern over the battle. Besides, my mind was preoccupied with fitting all of the answers gained by this experiment into the whirlwind of questions that had been generated from my last use of the sex pheromone.

I had just finished putting the last of the riddles in order when Sesshomaru finally managed to knock Inuyasha out, and I was none too pleased.

"SESSHOMARU!"

I screamed out at him, making him turn away from Inuyasha's unconscious form to me. Before he had even completely turned his head, it hit. The surge of miko powers arisen within me due to my possession and use of the Shikon jewel.

I had only felt this kind of power upon my first arrival to the feudal era when I used it to push away mistress centipede. It felt so right; it made me feel so complete. For so long, I had thought that it was the piece of my soul now carried by Kikyo that made me feel so empty inside, but in that moment I knew that wasn't it. It was the jewel. I had invoked the power of the jewel, not only to erect a barrier or to project my spirit in the experiment, but to transmit my powers in a surge of energy towards Sesshomaru.

I did not feel intimidated by it, nor did I feel it trying to sway me or pull me in any direction but my own. I felt whole, and powerful, and above all; I felt like me. I felt as though there was nothing I couldn't do, nothing I couldn't accomplish. I had been given back that part of myself that was missing and I was ready to take on the world again; starting with one inuyoukai who had not left me alone for the past four days.

The blast surrounded him, but I knew that such an attack would never be enough to bring him down; that wasn't what I wanted anyways. I had questions and he was going to give me answers.

The brilliant blue of my blast was immediately confronted with burning red. I couldn't help but smirk. He hadn't used his sword, and I knew why. All there was left to do was make him admit it. The clashing powers slowly died away, leaving him glaring at me with unsuppressed anger. But still I was not deterred.

"What am I to you Sesshomaru?" I demanded from him.

"You are nothing but a bitch that will not live to see another day."

He darted forward towards me, but I was ready for him. I had erected the barrier again, wrapping my body in its seal of power and protection. When his claws connected with the barrier, I felt the heavy impact within my very soul, but still I kept it up. He tried to force his way through, his poison burning through in some places before I could reseal the breaks, and the acrid stench of it burning in my nose and lungs.

He was showing aggression I had never seen him display, but still I was confident I knew what I was doing.

"No more lies!"

I screamed as I sunk to my knees from the effort of maintaining the shield. My body was covered in sweat, and no matter what I did, I could not stop the tears from spilling down my face.

"You will tell me Sesshomaru! I will not be forced to play your games any longer!"

My breath was coming out in panting gasps, and I could barely hold myself up, but still I didn't break eye contact with him. He stepped back from my barrier, but he wasn't finished with me yet.

"Submit."

One word, one command, one choice; I closed my eyes, released the weakening barrier, and turned my head to bear my neck and submit to him yet again.

That was the last thing I remember doing before the world around me faded into nothingness.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Warmth; it was everywhere, surrounding me in its comforting embrace.

I had been drifting, floating in a sea of darkness, not aware of anything; but it was the warmth that called me back. I began to feel my body again. I felt weak, drained of energy. I was unable to move, unable to even open my eyes. I could do nothing but feel.

The heat soothed me; calming and tranquil, it enveloped me. I could feel the soft brushing against my skin, and the tender caress that brought the warmth to me again. Somewhere deep in my mind I recognized the feeling of water flowing in trickling waves over my body. Somewhere just beneath my consciousness I knew the heat was not only from the water, but I could not focus clearly enough to know where it was coming from.

I tentatively tested moving my limbs, but a soon as I managed to produce any movement from the leaden appendages, I found myself held fast in an iron hold.

"Be still."

The silky voice whispered in my ear was enough to break though the haze surrounding me. I instantly knew where the heat was coming from, and it was not the water I was immersed in. I snapped my eyes open, and started frantically pushing against his sculpted chest to try and free myself from his grasp. But he only tightened his hold one me, effectively trapping my flailing limbs against his hard body.

"Kagome," there was a sort of urgency in his voice that made me still my movements and look at him. When my eyes met his I could see the dangerous wisps of red swirling through his amber eyes. "You must be still. This is…difficult."

Difficult! Difficult! How would this be difficult for him? I was the one sitting on his lap in the water with NO CLOTHES ON! How would it be difficult for him to be sitting there…also with no clothes on?

Oh no. I couldn't help but to groan. How is it that I always manage to get myself into the worst possible situations? I tried to tell myself that this was not happening. I was NOT sitting naked in Sesshomaru's lap while he is equally naked, and he was NOT becoming aroused by my movements. But no matter how many times I told myself that, I knew it wasn't the truth.

"Please," my voice was nothing but a pathetic whimper, "please just let me go."

"I can not. You are too weak, and the scent must be removed."

He was right, of course. I was still covered in the pheromone, as well as the mixture I had created to mimic Kikyo's scent. If Inuyasha were to pick up scents, his beast might be released again. And obviously, the pheromone was still affecting Sesshomaru as well. But the logic in what he was doing was lost on me in that moment.

I felt trapped by him again, only this time I was exposed to him in a way that I never thought I would be. I was mortified, and self-conscious, and afraid. I managed to stifle the sobs that threatened to escape me, but I could not stop the tears that welled in my eyes and dripped down into the water of the spring to create spreading ripples in their wake.

"I will not hurt you."

Though I found myself trusting him in his word and soothed by the tenderness of the tones he used, I did not trust my voice. I nodded slightly to him and then closed my eyes to what was happening. I retreated into myself, trying to escape the feeling of his hand running along my skin and the heated wake left by his caress. But no matter what I did I could not escape the feeling.

His motions were strong and steady. He lifted one handful of water after another to massage away the lingering scent. I could feel his hand as it traveled over my body. He started with my arms, spreading downwards along the length of my legs, then slipping upwards again to smooth across the stiffened muscles of my back. When he was done there, he shifted me so that I was no longer propped up against his muscular chest but laying across his legs to allow my head to dip into the water.

His long fingers slipped through my hair, gently pulling through forgotten tangles and sending appreciative shivers through my body. From my hair he moved to my neck; tracing carefully the line of my collar bone before his hand began to slip lower again. I inhaled a shuddering breath which caught in my throat as he passed through the valley of my breasts. But he did not move to take hold of them; instead he passed over the newly sensitized area to settle his hand on the flat of my stomach.

"Do you know what it is about your scent that attracts so many youkai?" He was leaning over me. I could feel the heat of his body meeting with the burning heat of my own. "It is your purity, Kagome. So strong and powerful it is, that even a wild beast can fall victim to its allure and become tame in the wake of its sweet coursing melody."

I opened my eyes to look at him then, but instead of meeting with glowing amber, I was met with burning crimson. Still, despite the eerie redness of his eyes, I was no longer afraid. He was straining against his own urges, holding himself back to respect me and my body, to preserve the purity within me that he had been captivated by. I knew then that I could trust him to do more than protect me as a member of his pack. I knew then that he had begun to see me as more than that as well.

I reached up and brushed my hand gently across the jagged lines streaking his face and watched with curious awe as he closed his eyes and allowed himself to truly feel my touch. I was still weak, and the effort to keep my arm raised caused my hand to tremble. He must have felt the shaking in my limbs as I strained against the effort, because no sooner had it begun than he pulled me out of the water and secured me against his chest again.

"Rest priestess, you will need your strength."

Vaguely, I realized that he had moved us from the water. I could feel the chill of the breeze as it blew softly across my skin, but the coolness was a soothing relief from the burning of my body. My eyes slipped closed of their own accord, and before long I had drifted back into a deep healing slumber.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Well that was…not nearly as informative as I wanted it to be. –Sigh- I guess I got a little side-tracked. LOL yeah side-tracked with a very naked Sesshomaru - Oh well. There's always next chapter. You know I think there are only about three or four chapters left to this story. –Sniff- Whatever will I do once it's over? Hmmm, maybe I'll get back to that life I've been neglecting for the past two weeks while my brain has focused on nothing but this story…then again maybe I'll be hit by inspiration again and start a new one ;) who knows.

Until next time

ShadowsWeaver1

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters I am about to weave into my web of chaos. Any and all definitions have been taken directly from Wikipedia the online encyclopedia because I am far too lazy to do any further research to support my Inuyasha obsession.