Hey, my lovely readers, chapter five is in the house! Woot! lol, a finally got another review, Yay!
Deds:
Nambyl - Thank you for your very encouraging review. Don't worry, I have no intention of leaving this fic unfinished; I will finish it, indefinately! I find it pretty easy to write about Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's relationship, so your fic shouldn't be too difficult to master. Good luck with it, I'll have to check it out!
Disclaimer: If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times! DON'T PULL YER SISTER'S HAIR!
Every Time We Touch
Kouga decided to start trying to win Kagome over when they stopped that night to camp. They were still in the canyon, which, he had informed them, used to be a riverbed but was now dry.
Two fires blazed in the dark as Kagome ran back and forth between the two, borrowing Jaken's staff to light her fire because her lighter was empty.
Inuyasha had gone to hunt, and Miroku, Sesshoumaru, and Sango had gone with him. He'd voiced his concern about leaving her behind with Kouga to Kagome, but she'd assured him she would be fine, and would do all in her power to fend him off, including purifying him, if it became necessary.
Satisfied, but still uptight, when they'd left, he'd smacked Kouga's head and said, "Touch her, and I'll have you fixed. Got that?"
Kouga just huffed and turned away, making sure Inuyasha saw him sit on the opposite side of the fire from Kagome, who didn't even look at him as he made himself comfortable.
When they'd gone, he remarked, "I don't know how you put up with such an arrogant prick, Kagome. You'd have been much better off with me."
He didn't look up while he said this. Neither did she. Shippo watched the whole scene intensely, and Rin yawned, not at all caught up in the drama, but kind of tired.
Kagome didn't respond, only continued to boil water for Ramen for the children to tide them over until the others brought back meat for roasting.
"Honestly, why are you two so close all of a sudden? I was getting a not-so-cuddly, I-hate-your-guts kind of vibe from you two last time we met. What's the deal?"
Kagome still did not look up.
"A lot happened." She offered nothing more.
He sighed. He was getting nowhere with this line of interrogation. Maybe he should be more subtle.
He was about to get up and re-seat himself next to her when Shippo beat him to it. He glared at the fox-child as the kit deliberately walked to his foster mother and crawled into her lap as if he belonged there, and never broke eye contact with the wolf while he did it.
Kouga growled low, so Kagome couldn't hear, but Shippo couldn't miss it. Shippo only smiled, and crossing his little arms, made himself comfortable. He wasn't leaving his new spot anytime soon.
Kouga got up and walked away, frustrated. That had not gone at all as he'd planned. He'd have to think this through more thoroughly.
He was still pacing an hour later when everyone returned, and after the boar they'd caught was spitted and turning slowly over the fire, a job Sesshoumaru had delegated to Jaken, who bitched and complained loudly, until Shippo assured him that turning the spit guaranteed him first dibs on the pig.
He worked diligently upon hearing this, but Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had exchanged a glance during that conversation that clearly stated bullshit.
Kagome and Sango had gathered up their Discmans once again and had gone off to dance, around a bend in the canyon wall. Taking a flaming stick from the already established cooking fire, they started a new one so they could see while they practiced.
Kouga got up soon after, and began to walk away, in the girls' direction, no less.
"Hey!" Inuyasha barked. "Where do you think you're going, wolf?"
Kouga stopped and yelled, "I'm going to take a shit, is that okay with you, mutt-face?"
"It's fine," he yelled back, "as long as you shit away from the women, it's more than fine!"
Snorting, Kouga came back and went in the opposite direction, as everyone watched him.
Sesshoumaru was amused by the fierce competition between the wolf and his brother for the woman's affections; was Kagome that special? He wondered if maybe he should put a dib in on her, just to make things a little more interesting, but decided he'd better not; an angry Inuyasha was the last thing he wanted to deal with.
Miroku, like Sesshoumaru, was also amused, but it was more amusement at Inuyasha's expense, not the situation he found himself in, though that was funny, too.
Inuyasha just didn't like that wolf, and didn't trust him as far as he could throw him. He was up to something, he just knew it, and he'd be damned if he let him get away with it!
Rin sat watching the girls dance, and clapped for a long time when they were done. Kagome and Sango thanked her, then Sango said, "Would you like us to teach you a few steps, Rin?"
"That would be a great idea!" Kagome concurred, and Rin practically screamed, "Yes! Rin wants to learn how to dance, too!"
"Okay," both girls said, and Kagome clipped her Discman to Rin's green obi, and pushed the little headphones into her ears. Turning it on, and adjusting the volume, so Rin could hear her and Sango, she let Rin first listen to the music and begin to move to the beat, getting her used to the noises coming from the tiny buds.
When she was getting into it, Kagome stood and, sharing one of Sango's earphones so she, too, could hear the music, they began to teach Rin to dance.
Two hours later Rin had mastered ten new steps, and Sango and Kagome were impressed. It had taken Kagome a month to learn them, and another month to teach them to Sango before she'd mastered them. The little girl's rapid progress was amazing to both women, and Rin couldn't have been happier.
"Oh, Rin, you're so good," Sango complimented.
"You think so?" she asked.
"Absolutely." Kagome agreed. "It took Sango and I a month each to learn all that, and it only took you two hours. I'd say that's pretty amazing."
Rin smiled; she could do something that Sango and Kagome could do, and it filled her with pride.
She decided not to tell anyone yet how good she was; she'd wait until the right moment to show them her talent.
"Kagome," she said after a moment of thought, "can we put on a little show for the guys? After I learn everything you can teach me?" She hopped up and down, excited.
Both girls laughed. "Sure, Rin," Sango said, and Kagome nodded.
"We'll give them the best night of their lives when we do our thang!" Kagome giggled, shaking her hips and bumping Sango's, and Rin said, "Did you just say thang?"
Sango clutched her gut, shaking with laughter. "She sure did, Rin," she said, gasping. "She sure did."
After dinner, everyone went to bed. Kouga leaned up against a tree and watched everyone settle in, and Kagome banked the fire for the night before she turned in.
Sesshoumaru sat on a nearby rock, watching the canyon in the darkness beyond, his nose twitching every so often, testing the air for danger.
Kouga had volunteered to watch the other side of the canyon, behind them. He wondered where Inuyasha was; he hadn't seen him for a while. He spotted him high up in a tree, watching Kagome as she washed her face in a basin of cool water.
Getting her hair wet, she flung it back over her head, and both demons and one half-demon took all this in with much interest.
Shaking her wet hair out, Kagome stood, and squirted some toothpaste in her mouth, used her finger to scrub her teeth, and spit it out into the shrubs below the tree Inuyasha was occupying.
Directly after, she crawled into her sleeping bag, zipping it up, but before she got in, she cast a longing glance in Inuyasha's direction.
Both demons' eyes moved to him; he smiled slightly in the firelight, and their eyes returned to the girl, who winked.
When she was quiet, Inuyasha came down from the tree. He walked silently to her, and, scooping her up, sleeping bag and all, he jumped away, up to the top of the cliff and out of sight of anyone still awake.
Sesshoumaru ceased thinking about them as soon as they'd gone, but Kouga could not turn off his thoughts so easily.
He jumped when Sesshoumaru's booted feet appeared in front of him a minute later.
"Are you going to keep watch or are you going to sigh like a love-sick cub all night?"
His penetrating gaze demanded an answer.
Kouga looked away, and brought his knees up to his chin.
"Sorry," he muttered, but Sesshoumaru did not leave. He stared down at the wolf for a long moment before Kouga finally snarled, "What?"
Sesshoumaru smirked. "You are pathetic." He turned and walked away. Kouga frowned. He was not pathetic!
He followed Sesshoumaru back to his rock.
"What do you mean, 'I'm pathetic'?" he asked, angry.
Sesshoumaru did not turn to face him when he spoke.
"I meant what I said, wolf; you are pathetic."
Kouga began to see red. Sesshoumaru continued after a pause, "You are pathetic because you refuse to see what is directly in front of you. You cannot seem to understand that you have lost; you have been defeated. She did not choose you, and like the immature pup you are, you are trying vainly to change her mind."
"So what if I am?" he replied, crossing his arms. "What do you care? I claimed her first, doesn't that count for something? Can you really blame me for trying?"
"Yes, I can," Sesshoumaru snapped, finally turning to look the wolf in the eye, which Kouga had to admit, was a pretty terrifying experience.
"There is no honour in resorting to trickery to gain another's love; you must earn it, and obviously you did not. Can you not hear it?"
Kouga frowned and listened; he didn't hear anything but the soft moans of the wind through the canyon.
"Hear what?" he asked irritably, and Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. The wolf really was stupid.
"He makes love to her as we speak; do not tell me you cannot hear her moans, or his growls," Sesshoumaru watched with frustration as Kouga glared up in their general direction, as if this trivial action would make them stop.
"You are no longer an obstacle," Sesshoumaru told him as he re-seated himself on the boulder, "and you will never be again. She has made her choice; the least you could do is respect it."
He was silent after that, and the breeze blew through his long silver hair, making it glint in the light of the crescent moon.
Kouga blinked; Sesshoumaru was right. He looked at the stoic Lord in a new light. Who knew the old bastard was so wise?
His words didn't make Kouga feel better, but they did spell out what he needed to do, and his heart seemed to die as he thought of leaving her behind forever.
His arms hanging loose and his chin on his chest, Kouga turned back toward his post.
Sesshoumaru stopped him mid-stride with one last piece if advice:
"If you really love her and you truly desire her happiness, you'll let her be."
Kouga nodded silently as he walked away, to think over everything Sesshoumaru had told him, and to mull over what he would do when morning came.
Kagome moaned softly as Inuyasha kissed a trail over her stomach and disappeared between her legs. When he reappeared she was sweaty, hot, and ready for him. She clung to his haori and ripped it off, placing it behind her head as a cushion.
He smiled at her as she kissed him, giving him the green light to push inside of her. He growled loudly as he went further and further, until he had nowhere to go.
As he began to move, she moaned quietly, enjoying him and his warm breath on her neck, mouth and face, their breaths rising in white puffs into the cool night air.
It was freezing, but she was sweating, and he was, too; their combined efforts kept them burning.
When they'd both reached their climax, he lay atop her, panting. She ran a hand through his hair, and held it back off his sweaty forehead. He smiled, and nibbled her neck, then whispered in her ear, "I love you."
She smiled back, a true smile of affection for him. "In the words of Nelly Furtado: 'Promiscuous boy, you already know that I'm all yours; what you waitin' for?' "
He chuckled, and said, "I haven't heard that song yet."
She laughed, and kissed him. "You will soon enough; you'll definitely like it."
He nuzzled her neck and she rubbed his ears, making him purr, and he wrapped his arms around and under her, holding her tight.
"I love you, Inuyasha, more than you'll ever know," she whispered, and she fell asleep against his smiling face.
Miroku awoke the next morning to the usual round of gas that seemed to plague his butt, and Sango punched him in the head, effectively silencing his behind.
Kagome and Inuyasha returned to the group, his haori wrapped around her head like a towel.
"Have a bath?" Sango asked wistfully, and Kagome smiled. "Yeah, there's a spring at the top of the cliff, up there." She pointed.
"Must've been nice." Sango sniffed her pit. Yikes!
Kagome smiled dreamily at Inuyasha and replied, "Oh, it was…it really was." She waved to him, and he grinned back.
Sango smiled at her friends, amused. She wished she could have as close a relationship with the monk as Kagome and Inuyasha had with each other, but he was just so damn aggravating…maybe she should try something new on him, she thought, maybe she should try returning his overtures, and feel his butt when he felt hers!
She giggled to herself; it sounded like a plan to her.
"Hey," Kagome said, glancing around for the first time, "where's Kouga?"
Sango herself looked around, but didn't see the wolf anywhere.
"I don't know," she said.
"He is gone."
"Gone? What do you mean, Sesshoumaru? Why is he gone?" Kagome's shrill voice rang out in the quiet of morning.
Sesshoumaru stared calmly back in the face of panic. Had he misjudged her? Was she the two-timer?
"I mean what I said," he sighed, exasperated. "He had some revelations last night and he is gone now. I believe he will return in a matter of days."
"What revelations?" Inuyasha frowned, barging into the conversation and wrapping a supportive arm around Kagome, who turned into him and buried her face in his chest.
"Oh, Inuyasha, we've driven him off, and right when we really could've used his help," she whispered, guiltily.
Kagome felt a platonic vibe when around Kouga; he was like another brother to her, like Miroku was, only not as touchy-feely. Sure, he said he loved her, but unlike Inuyasha, he abandoned her all the time. Not when she was in danger, of course, but he didn't spend as much time wooing her as he would if he truly loved her.
Inuyasha spent almost every waking minute he had with her until she went home, and in turn they had become very close, though he was loath to display his feelings for her publicly. She was fine with this; she believed it was a defence mechanism he'd developed while growing up alone to protect himself and those he loved. She could deal with that as long as she got to experience all he had to give when they were alone together.
He rubbed her back now as she clenched her fists, opening and closing them. She sniffed loudly.
"Well, he'll come back. Kagome, we can get along without his help, you know." Inuyasha almost sounded wounded when he said this, as if he didn't think she believed in him.
She looked up at him and smiled. "I know. I just feel bad, is all."
He kissed her, long and sweet. "Feel better?" he asked.
"Mm-hmm," she murmured, "much better."
Sesshoumaru raised a brow as everyone pretended to look at something else. He noticed the kitsune watching intently, though.
"Well," Miroku said, getting up and rubbing his sore head, "let's blow this popsickle stand, shall we?"
"What did you say?" Jaken asked, and Rin laughed discreetly behind her hand.
"He said let's move," Inuyasha bellowed through a grin, and hugged Kagome tight around her shoulders with his right arm, his left hand, she noticed, resting firmly on Tetsusaiga. Had he smelled something? she wondered.
Sesshoumaru nodded in agreement, kicking dirt over the fire. Grabbing Ah-Un's reins, he led the dragon forward around the bend in the canyon ahead, everyone following silently behind.
Kouga ran. He ran so far that soon he found himself at the coast, watching the waves crash against the shore. He sat down, tired, but numb.
He couldn't believe what Sesshoumaru had told him; he still could not quite grasp Kagome's defection from him - though, if he really thought about it, Sesshoumaru was right. She never really had been his; sure, he'd put in a dib on her, but he knew as well as the next guy that a woman isn't yours until she returns your feelings for her to you. He sighed. Kagome had never told him she loved him. She never kissed him, the way he'd seen her kiss the mutt. He closed his eyes, and imagined he was Inuyasha, kissing Kagome…he shook his head, frowning. It wouldn't come; he couldn't imagine it. He wanted it, but he began to wonder if he wanted the illusion; did he want what Inuyasha had, or who Inuyasha had?
He decided again that Sesshoumaru had been correct, and last night had been the clincher, even though the dog demon had had to point it out to him, for he refused to see it. It had been right in front of him for so long, he realised, they just seemed to belong to each other. Inuyasha and Kagome, Kagome and Inuyasha. No matter which way he looked at it, it was obvious there was no room in her heart for him, and he began to wonder just how long he'd been acting so stupid. It must have been obvious to everyone else but him; even those two idiots, Ginta and Hakkaku, had seen the fool he was making of himself. But he'd refused to listen, and now that it was all clear to him, he felt absolutely miserable.
Pulling his knees up to his chin, he watched the sun rise over the horizon, reflecting off the waves like thousands of tiny orange diamonds, winking at him a happiness he would be a long time in feeling.
When night fell on the group, they'd finally reached the end of the canyon, which had been a sheer drop-off where a waterfall had once flowed. Sesshoumaru had flown down to check it out, but was back a moment later; there was no way down.
Looking around, Rin had spotted a path up the canyon face around them, cut from the rock by the water that had once flowed by.
"Lord, Sesshoumaru, look there!" she cried, pointing to the wall. Everyone turned to look, and a round of smiles broke out. Kagome mussed Rin's hair and said, "Good eye, Rin."
Rin smiled in return. Praise from Kagome felt almost as good as praise from Sesshoumaru. She glanced at him, and was happy to find a small, indulgent expression on his pale face.
They moved as a group to the path, for it was dark and the climb would be treacherous.
Lighting a torch, Miroku grasped Sango's hand, and she blushed before turning her attention the task at hand.
Sesshoumaru led the way, lifting Rin onto Ah-Un's saddle and looking for Jaken, who stood at his feet. He could see in the dark, so he automatically took the lead so the humans could concentrate on where they stepped instead of where they were going, for he would lead them safely.
Inuyasha picked Kagome up on his back, and she rested her chin on his shoulder, her hair tickling his sensitive ears. He smiled; she was soo his tonight!
It was a slow, daunting trek up the cliff. Miroku, who brought up the rear with Sango and the torch, Shippo clinging to his arm and Kirara on her back, swore as the torch began to sputter and die.
"Damn it!"
Inuyasha looked back, past a sleeping Kagome.
"That's not very pious language, for a monk." he remarked, and shifted Kagome. His arms were falling asleep.
"I'm sorry, but the torch is done, Inuyasha, which means Sango and I can't see back here. I can't even make out Sesshoumaru's white shirt in this blackness."
Just then the torch went out completely. Sango unconsciously clung tighter to Miroku's arm, bringing a small smile to his lips that she'd never see in this dark lest she slap it from his face.
There was a rustling ahead, and a grunt. A groan followed from who Miroku assumed was a still-sleeping Kagome, and suddenly he felt something heavy, long, and cool in his hand.
"Here," Inuyasha said from right in front of him. Sango jumped.
Miroku felt around and found something soft; he pushed it. A beam of white light shone into Inuyasha's eyes, and he blinked, brought a hand to shield his eyes, and yelled, "Damn it, Miroku! Shine it right in my damn eyes why don't you? For crying out loud!"
Miroku giggled, but swung the beam away, saying, "Oops, so sorry Inuyasha, I didn't see you there!"
Inuyasha growled. "Your senses aren't so bad that you didn't already know I was there, you dumbass," he turned and walked away, picking up Kagome and her bag, which was still strapped to her back. She mumbled something when he picked her up, and Miroku and Sango watched as he ran a hand through her bangs and murmured for her to go back to sleep, nothing was happening.
Sango smiled up at him, and he winked at her. They continued to follow the pair ahead of them until they reached the top of the cliff, Shippo snoring contentedly from his perch on Miroku's shoulder.
Well, that's chapter five. Was there lemony goodness? I don't remember! Oh well, there will be...sometime. Don't lose hope, it'll come! Don't forget to review before you leave, angels!