Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine; they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. The following story is for entertainment and not profit.

Chapter 18: Consummation

Naosu watched the vaulted hallway pass by as she found herself carried forward by an unfamiliar feeling. She had only seen the passing of twelve years before fate had violently deprived her of both parents, the first real blood on her hands. Being the only child of a cursed family, and a hanyou, Naosu had found herself alone and hated by those around her. Still young by human standards, still a baby in demon years, she had learned to live on her own and not let it bother her. Then one day she suddenly found herself whisked off to her great-grandfather's time, by the infamous hanyou himself, and dumped into a life with people she had only known through her ingrained genetic memories. Kagome, Sango, Shippo, Miroku, they all thought of her as someone to be trusted, perhaps even a friend. And there was him. Cool, calm, and powerful. It had been his death that had tore at her the most over the years, his blood that still fought being devoured by what remained of Naraku with in her. It was the memory of him that she credited with giving her the strength to survive on her own. She knew that she would gladly abandon her heart to him if she thought for a moment that he might accept it.

And so here she was, wandering down one of the many long hallways of his home thinking about how much her life had changed. Sesshomaru had left to make sure that they had not been followed, Rin had fallen asleep, and Jakken was far too irritating for her to want to spend time with, but for the first time since the loss of her parents Naosu didn't want to be alone. The thought of it made her anxious and uncomfortable.

Heaving a nervous sigh, she turned into the room she had been looking for only to find herself face to face with a red, inu shaped wall. "What'd you want?"

Naosu bit back her initial impulse to do physical harm to the unwelcome figure in her way. "A have come to see Sango and Kagome."

"Why?"

With another deep breath to help her remain calm, Naosu leaned to one side to look around the current obstacle and direct her answer to the women she was seeking. "To see if they would like to join me in the hot spring for a bath."

A wistful smile spread across Kagome's face, "Mmmm…hot bath…"

"We would love to." Sango smiled. Giving her still fragile brother a reassuring glance, she stood and pulled the daydreaming miko to her feet. As they moved to leave the red sleeve of Inu Yasha's fire rat haouri shot out to bar the way.

"I'm coming too. To watch." Inu Yasha realized too late his badly chosen words and before he could take it back or explain he found his face slammed up against the cool stone of he floor.

"You know he didn't mean it like that. Miroku would have, but not Inu Yasha."

Kagome nodded lethargically at Sango's comment. "I know, but he still deserved it." Her voice was soft and faraway. She let her eyelids drop as the warm water around her continued to sooth her tired body. Sango too, found herself giving in to the relaxing warmth. After the emotional stress of losing first her brother and then Miroku, followed by the excitement of getting them both back, a soak in some hot water was just what she needed.

Naosu, however, was not at ease. The unguarded nature of he other two women made her feel uncomfortable and out of place. How could they be so trusting of someone they had known for so short a time? Someone they knew was hiding things from them?

"I don't know… Miroku seems different somehow. I mean the other night he just held me, no groping, no inappropriate comments, nothing. It was great, but I have to ask… What did you do to him, Naosu?"

The exterminator's question caught her off guard. "What do you mean?" She had only just learned that she had any sort of real power a few days before; the idea of side effects hadn't even crossed her mind.

"I don't think it is anything Naosu did…" Kagome piped up, pulling herself into a seated position, "I think that dying just made him realize how much he loves you, Sango."

"What makes you think he loves me?" the blushing exterminator let rush out.

"Oh, I don't know." Kagome shrugged giving her a sly look. "But I think you should ask him. What do you think?"

Naosu found herself smiling. Their attempts to draw her into conversation were transparent, but effective. "I agree… and I know just the place."

Inu Yasha sat by the doorway, waiting. He had tried for almost half an hour to find the girls but his brother's scent was so strong everywhere he went that he couldn't pick up anything else.

"You know, Inu Yasha, a life of lechery will only lead you into trouble."

"You're one to talk, monk!"

"Perhaps," Miroku shrugged, "but I like where trouble gets me."

Inu Yasha just snorted as the monk's smirk grew.

As they walked back from the underground hot spring Sango could no longer contain her question, "Naosu?" the weight in the one word bringing the other two to a stop.

"Yes?" she answered causiously, fearing what was to follow.

"I have to know…why are you doing this for me?"

Naosu stood unblinking as one of her grandfather's childhood memories washed over her. She could see a distraught Sango with lips pulled tight, never a smile on her face, and in the dark of the lonely nights he broken woman starting awake screaming with hot tears running down her cheeks. A child's thin arms wound their way around his mother's neck in an attempt to comfort, knowing there were many things that could be bringing her pain. She could still hear the heartbreak of the words that come to her grandfather's tiny ears, "Miroku, I love you…please come back."

She knew these were not memories that she could share with the strong, happy woman she had come to know, but she couldn't hide the sorrowful smile that came over her face. "I want those around me to have a chance at the kind of love I'll never get." Quickly composing herself, Naosu rushed on, " I better get everything ready. You get Miroku and meet me there." Before either of them could stop her, Naosu moved off down one of the branching corridors.

"I suppose we have no choice then. You ready?' Kagome took hold of Sango's arm and continued back to their room.

"Did she let on as to why Lord Sesshomaru would wish to speak with just us?"

Sango shook her head slightly, causing light to ripple in waves down her loose flowing hair. Miroku had been in awe when the girls had returned from the spring. Something about Sango had seemed different. She had seemed to be carrying herself with a new kind of confidence and yet seemed strangely shy. The aura it had given her coupled with the loose kimono she wore had forced him to remain seated until the flow of his blood had returned to normal.

"Explain to me again why you felt the need to borrow such a kimono for a simple meeting with our host." Last time he had attempted to ask about it Lady Kagome had been quick to change the subject. A little too quick, in fact.

Sango stood unmoving, her hands gripping the stone railing of the balcony, as she willed the last rays of sunlight to burn away the lingering fear in her heart. "I must be honest with you…Lord Sesshomaru has not asked to meet with us." She felt his questioning gaze moving over her in search of the reason for her deception. "I needed to talk to you away from the others."

She inhaled deeply and swallowed the nervous lump that had formed in her throat. She had come face to face with at least a hundred demons over the years as an exterminator, all looking to kill her if given half a chance, and yet none had scared her as much as what she was preparing to do.

Miroku watched, transfixed, as the beautiful woman before him began to move slowly and deliberately. One of her hands reached out to take his as the other tugged the sash at her waist free from its knot. No longer being held closed, the flowing fabric moved to reveal smooth skin.

She felt the cool night air hit her as the robe Naosu had provided for her fell open. Sango's mind raced with a million reasons why she should not be doing this and only one that she should. She could not stand to lose him again, not without knowing the truth. She couldn't help but smile as she saw Miroku's body responding to her. 'Ever the letch,' she thought, 'but Kami help me if I don't love him for it.' It had taken the other girls quite a while to convince her that tonight was not the time to worry about being subtle, but they had finally found a course of action that didn't make her want to call the whole plan off. Sango played it all through her mind one more time before taking one last deep breath.

Miroku gave no resistance as the glowing vision before him guided his hand forward, placing the warmth of her breast firmly on his possession. Sango felt an excited shiver race through her at the intimate connection. If it went no farther she would at least have this. Closing her eyes in fear and anticipation, she braced herself for his rejection. Her eyes flew open as his other hand brushed her cheek. Her lips parted as he leaned in to silence her with the kiss she had been hoping for. The hand that was hold her breast slipped lower and around to the small of her back, pulling her into a warming embrace.

Sesshomaru looked on in disgust from the shadow of the doorway as the humans on his balcony grasped at one another in a fumbling attempt to satisfy the basal needs that overwhelmed them. What sickness had infected his mind, he wondered as he turned from the increasingly disgusting scene, that had allowed him to agree to being displaced from his own chambers for a night for this. 'I'll never be able to get rid of the smell.' Content that his possessions were safe from the lowly humans, and no longer being willing to put up with the over-powering scent and intimate sounds, Sesshomaru moved off into the deeper recesses of his hidden home.