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Itty Bitty Pretty One

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There was no denying the scent. It was his. His and no others'. It was a curious thing. In a way, a part of him almost mourned the loss of his father's blood while a part of him was satisfied. If, by some trick of fate, the half-breed was reduced to a mere human then the sin of his existence was nullified. On the other hand, it was futile to retrieve the fang. The sword rejected him and that in itself, the loss of something so intrinsic to his father's memory being forgotten and made useless, bothered him more than he'd like to admit. It irritated him that he felt compelled to seek the half-breed out at all. But compelled he did feel. To see the annihilation of his father's blood with his own eyes.

Approaching the village, Sesshomaru paused slightly as he heard the half-breed's companions coming to cut him off before he came too close. As though he would sully his hands with human blood without cause. He may feel no remorse but it was beneath him.

"Sesshomaru!" the male's voice called out, "What business do you have here?"

"This Sesshomaru would speak with him," the daiyoukai replied in an even tone.

"He's not here," the woman clipped back before holding herself a little taller and ordering sternly, "Leave."

The woman had always been honorable and brave, Sesshomaru mused as his lip threatened to twitch upwards. Many things could be said about those humans who would dare associate themselves with the half-breed but lacking honor or courage was not one of them.

"This Sesshomaru is aware he is absent," the daiyoukai replied coldly, "He shall wait."

It wasn't as though they could truly force him to leave. They could try but they were intelligent enough to know how futile such an effort would be. All he desired as to see it with his own eyes. Just the once. And then he would be satisfied.

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"I can make it before morning," Emi whispered to herself as she increased her pace, "I've just got to warn them and then I'll head back. Kenji and grandfather should be fine for one night."

No matter how often she repeated her mantra, her instincts screamed at her to turn around and head back to her family. It had begun as a gentle nagging but now it was taking all of her self-control to continue barreling towards the village where the now human half-demon lived. It was her fault for even falling for such a trick. She should've been more aware or suspicious. This, this right here. That lack of thinking things through was exactly what had gotten that poor man into this mess in the first place. Whether it was from lack of experience or just general naiveté she wasn't sure but one thing was certain. She needed to warn them. And soon.

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"When do you think she'll be back?" Kenji sighed as he tossed a small blade of grass into the small fire, "She didn't say anything. You don't think she went back there, do you?"

"Your sister feels tremendously guilty," the grandfather sighed heavily, "I wouldn't doubt if she's seeking some type of cure at the moment."

"But…but there isn't one," Kenji opined with a huff of frustration, "And it isn't her fault that he got zapped. Plus his friends will protect him."

"Very true," the grandfather groaned slightly as he stretched out his limbs, "But there may be a cure or perhaps the boy will heal on his own. Either way, you are correct. It isn't her fault."

"Well, I just hope…" Kenji began before his head whipped towards the treeline and he paled visibly, "Did you hear something?"

Following the boy's gaze, the grandfather shook his head slowly before getting to his feet, "Stay here. Near the fire."

Scanning the tree line, the grandfather exhaled shakily. There was something there. A demon perhaps or perhaps merely an animal but there was something there in the darkness.

"Who goes there?" the grandfather called out with false bravado, "Be warned. We have protection."

Of that, he was confident. Wherever Emi had gone, she would never have left them unprotected and would undoubtedly be within earshot.

"Is that so?" crooned a sarcastic sounding female voice, "You talking about that girl who I saw running in the opposite direction? She's far, far away from you now."

Eyes widening in fear, the grandfather pulled himself up to his full height as his hand flew to the knife on his belt, "State your business."

"All I need is one of you," the woman crooned in a bored sounding voice, "Any volunteers?"

Releasing a shaky breath, the grandfather glanced over his shoulder at the young boy currently sitting paralyzed by the fire. It couldn't be Kenji. He, on the other hand, was old. He'd lived his life. But then, there was no guarantee that the demoness would keep her word.

In the end, it didn't matter. As the grandfather turned around, the last thing he saw was a small white child walking out of the forest with a mirror in hand.

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This was the best night of his entire life. Never, not in a million years, could he have ever imagined he could feel like this. Every fiber of his being sang as Kagome continued to assault his neck. Any thought that he might be making undignified noises had long since fled his mind as soft whimpers and moans escaped his mouth without permission. However, after a particular loud choked groan managed to escape that he gently forced her away and turned to face, his violet eyes dilated as he panted lightly before leaning forward to capture her mouth.

If either of them had the thought to slow down, neither acknowledged it as their hands began to wander towards more dangerous territory – their teenage hormones overriding all common sense as they clung to each other desperately. However…when Kagome's fingers managed to drift to the one part of this body throbbing with unsatisfied need, the last remnants of blood that lingered in his brain finally decided enough was enough.

"No, no, we can't," Inuyasha managed to choke after a strangled gasp when her nimble fingers managed to barely brush against his most sensitive region, "I just…I…"

Placing a gentle kiss against his lips, Kagome retracted her hand with a faint blush on her cheeks, "Sorry. I just…sorry."

"I ain't complaining," Inuyasha laughed shakily as he rested her forehead against hers – his chest still heaving slightly as he tried to catch his breath, "Just…just not yet."

"Well, there are, uh, other things we could do," Kagome offered sheepishly before her eyes widened in horror as what she said registered and she buried her face against his chest – completely mortified that something like that had escaped her lips.

"Is that so?" Inuyasha teased as he lifted her chin so she was looking at him once more, "Care to explain?"

"No," Kagome squeaked as she tried to burrow her face back into his chest, "It was stupid. Forget I said anything."

Blood was slowly returning to his brain as they lay there in each other's embrace. If she was offering what he thought she was offering, he wasn't very well about to tell her no. Hell, if they'd continued, he would've let her do whatever the hell she wanted to him – concerns be damned. Stupid human self. He never was able to regulate himself when he was like this.

"Well, if you want to touch me," Inuyasha began hesitantly, "I won't stop you this time."

"Is that so?" Kagome teased as she pulled away to look at him square in the face, "And who said I wanted to?"

Smirking at her, Inuyasha took a deep breath before pressing her lips urgently against hers once more in reply. As Inuyasha kissed her again, he couldn't help but realize that this was a turning point in his life. The pain of his past was over, the newfound happiness of his future was now at hand. His happiness that was Kagome.

Kagome tangled her fingers in his hair, rubbing her fingertips over his ear. As he moaned in pleasure and kissed her more deeply, he knew beyond any doubt that, no matter what happened, as long as he was with Kagome, everything would be all right.

Wait...running her fingertips over his ear?!