"When was having sex or not having sex not a problem?"

Playing by Heart - Joan

Many hours later Kagome lay nestled against InuYasha's chest, her dark locks mixing with his silver as she gently caressed his pectorals; he was doing the same with the hand that had come to rest possessively at her hip.

She tilted her head up so she could meet his eyes and smiled warmly.

"You weren't kidding about the stamina. I'll be lucky if I can walk tomorrow."

He smirked, a little too self-satisfied for her comfort. She responded by pinching him. He yelped.

"Oi wench. What was that for?"

"Your ego was showing. I felt the need to tame it."

He grumbled but held her closer; she sighed and melted against him. They were quiet once more. Biting her lip she wondered if she should bring up what she'd been thinking as she lay here in his arms. She wasn't sure what his reaction would be and it would be a shame to ruin this nice afterglow.

She chanced a glance at him; he never been this relaxed in the all the time she'd known him. She worried her lip harder. She was loathed to cause tension between them now, but she had to know.

"InuYasha," she began, hesitant.

Yeah."

She cleared her throat. "Where do we go from here? I mean…we're mated now, right? I just wondered what…" She took a deep breath and gathered her courage. "I wondered what that means to you."

He stiffened slightly and made to pull away from her but she clamped her arms around his waist. She felt moisture sting her eyes but she refused to cry.

"No! No way buster! You are not going to run away from me now, not after we…"

He sighed and she felt it through her entire body and when he relaxed and gathered her close again she felt relief flood her. He started running a soothing had up and down her spine. She almost purred.

The turmoil her question had churned up in his gut hadn't left him and the need to flee was strong, but looking down at her and seeing the sheen of tears on her lashes he knew he couldn't leave her. Feeling her silky skin rubbing against his he cursed himself a fool. What did it mean now they were mated?

Mine, his mind screamed. It means your mine!

But he couldn't tell her that. Kami, he didn't know what he was going to say to her.

He settled with.

"I don't know, Kagome. I've never…" loved anyone the way I love you.

She sighed, slightly disappointed, but not enough to pull away from him.

"It's okay, InuYasha."

And it was, at least for now. If this was all he could give her right now, then she would take it. After all, it was more than they had before. Skimming her hand down his abdomen she wrapped her slim fingers around his member and stroked. He sucked in a ragged breath and rolled her under him, kissing her fiercely.

It's enough for now, her hazy mind added. Her heart…well, it disagreed, but she was willing to take the risk.

She just hoped her gamble paid off in the long run.

Sango walked through the village towards the mountain where she could see the outline of a magnificent castle and felt colder than she ever had in her life. A quick glance at Miroku confirmed that he was feeling just as uneasy about their surrounds as she was.

The villagers were watching them. It was almost eerie how closely, but where most would be whispering or commenting on the two strangers walking through their village, there was instead, dead silence. She suppressed a shudder.

The expressionless faces around her reminded Sango of the time Kagome had brought a portable picture box from her time. They watched something called a movie on it. Kagome said the name of the movie was Village of the Damned.

The people around her reminded her of those children, emotionless…dead

She instinctively shifted closer to Miroku and was pleased to note that the monk had done the same.

"What's wrong with them, houshi?"

He shook his head, frowning.

"I don't know, but the aura we felt yesterday is getting stronger."

She nodded and her hand tightened on Hiraikotsu's strap. They had reached the edge of Toyotomi's lands yesterday and the closer they got to the mountain his castle was nestled on, the stronger the choking aura of the place had become.

To their dismay it had the same feel as the aura that had possessed the kitsune they'd fought on the way.

"What's wrong with these people," she whispered. He narrowed his gaze and surveyed the village before responding.

"I don't know; it's as if…"

"…they have no souls," she finished for him. He nodded once and moved closer to her, his body language protective. She rolled her eyes but inside she was thrilled by the gesture. Not that she couldn't handle herself, it was just nice to be reminded how much he cared.

They continued on in silence and kept their guard up, unsure what to expect from these people. Even when the cleared the village they found they couldn't relax. The village gave way to eerie thick dark forests and they continued on the path.

"It's too quiet. How can it be this quiet?"

Miroku didn't say anything, she was right and it reminded him uncomfortably of another forest. They didn't speak for the rest of the way, each one too amped on adrenaline to waste time with idle conversation. It was almost anti-climatic when the broke through the forest and found themselves at the foot of a mountain.

They looked at the well worn path and back at each other. Miroku smiled.

"Ladies first."

She snorted. "Such a gentleman, you're going to feel bad if something eats me, you know."

A mischievous twinkle danced in his indigo orbs and he leaned forward to whisper in her ear. She sucked in a gasp and stifled a groan when she felt his hot breath on her skin.

"My beautiful Sango, the only thing that is allowed to eat you…is me, and I assure you that I will not let anyone or anything else have that pleasure."

The image of his dark head bobbing between her pale thighs flashed in her brain and she turned a shade of crimson that would turn the darkest cherry green with envy.

"Houshi…this is not the time for you to be perverted!"

He shrugged, unapologetic. "A leopard can't change its spots, and besides the thought is much more pleasant than the others I've had today."

She went even redder. "You are impossible."

"And you're turned on, but you're right, we can't do anything about it right now, but still…"

She yelped when his arm snaked out and wrapped around her waist. She had only a moment to wonder what he was doing when his lips crashed down on hers and his tongue plunged deep into her mouth.

He was practically raping her mouth and all she could do was moan and try to shimmy closer to him. When he pulled away she almost whimpered. He didn't look to steady either, but he was smiling.

"Ready to enter the demon's lair?"

"What?" She questioned, a bit stupidly.

"Toyotomi? Remember the Shogun?"

She'd shook herself when his words registered. Kami, he'd almost made her forget why they were about to climb up this damn mountain.

That man's a drug, he should be illegal, she groused.

"R-Right, let's go." She started forward and Miroku's smirk could have shamed the devil. Without turning around she bopped him on the head with Hiraikotsu. He stumbled back, a bit dazed by the blow.

"I saw that, houshi," she grumbled. Miroku's laughter chased her up the hill and she quickly brought her hand up to cover her own giggles. It was nice to let out some of the tension and he was still smiling when he caught up with her.

The lingering mirth, however, couldn't last, as the tension crept back into them. They were both tight as a bow string by the time the reached the gate. Sango stood there for a moment looking up at the intimidating structure and almost jumped when Miroku grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Ready?" he whispered. She frowned and squeezed his hand back.

"As I'll ever be." She brought her free hand up and cupped it near her mouth, using it to project her voice.

"Hello the house."

A sentry came up to the gate, flanked by two others.

"Who goes there?"

"I am the taijiya Sango and this is my companion the monk Miroku. We have business with your master. He is expecting us."

The sentry narrowed his eyes but nodded curtly.

"The Lord told us you would be arriving. Come, we will see you to him."

Miroku squeezed her hand once more and let her go. She straightened her shoulders, nodded once, and prepared to enter.

It begins, she thought, just as the creaking gate swung open. Miroku and Sango exchanged a look and then both step forward into the lion's den.

She just hoped they both made it back out alive.

Isamu was worried. He watched critically as the villagers went about their various assigned tasks. A number of men were at the walls and he could hear the steady pounding of mallets as they fortified the supports. On the other side men, women, and a few children sat in a circle making arrows out of blessed youkai bones.

The projectiles were ten times as strong as wooden arrows and would better pierce the leathery hide of a demon. Others were seen moving supplies into store houses and fortifying the dwellings.

He couldn't help but think that it might not be enough. His gaze drifted to the group of men and women training together. They were the ones that had learned the art of war and demon slaying from him and Lady Sango. He frowned.

There weren't enough of them. His gaze turned towards the forest and the black mass withering beyond the horizon.

They were there, waiting. It was disconcerting and demoralizing and a fearful reminder that they were outnumbered almost ten to one.

They had InuYasha and Tetsusaiga, but even with the fang's awesome killing waves they still might not survive the upcoming battle.

To say that Isamu was not optimistic about their chances was a gross understatement. He was suddenly glad that Chie was safely tucked away with Lady Kaede, at least now he didn't have to worry about his only child. Still, it was only a small comfort.

How had it come to this? He had thought once the war was over that he might finally be able to put blood shed and death behind him, but it seemed that the gods had other plans for him. Isamu didn't often allow himself to look back on the path of his life. Chie and the future were the only things that mattered, but every so often he would find himself lost in his reflections.

"Arisu," he whispered and closed his eyes. His late wife, Kami how he missed her, and Chie looked and acted so much like her. His daughter had the same fire, the same strength. It was that spark that had first caught his attention before his disgrace. She'd been just a servant girl but she was so graceful, and courageous.

Although she was barely eighteen winters she had become the protector of the rest of the female servants, and many of the children. She was the one who challenged the palace guards when they got to grabby with the help and she was the one who took the brunt of the beatings.

He hadn't known what kind of master he served when he first met her, and he hadn't been able to figure out why she was so cold towards him, or why her eyes held such hatred for the samurai.

He, and two others, had been part of the dowry agreement for his new master's new bride. The marriage had been a political one, used to unit two rich, but small shogunates and increase their power, and Isamu's former master had been a wise and decent man.

He slowly learned that the shogun he'd come to serve was not wise, nor could he ever be considered decent by any stretch of the imagination. He'd first learned that particular lesson on the day he'd stopped some of his fellow samurai from whipping an old man who'd spilled the sake he'd be serving on the captain. Arisu had seen him do it and she'd also witness his fellow soldiers stripping him and whipping him in the servant's place.

She'd come to him that night to treat his lash marks, and that was the instant he fell in love with her. Their relationship grew even though both knew they could get into serious trouble with the shogun for their actions.

The problems began when Arisu caught their master's attention. Isamu shuddered. He'd almost been too late that day the bastard had dragged her to his bed chamber, but luckily he'd gotten there in time.

He could still remember the screams and the feel of the blood pouring over his hands. He half remembered Arisu grabbing his blood soaked sleeves, urging him to flee with her, and he would never forget the sight of his master's glassy eyes staring up at the ceiling.

He'd felt no love for the man but ingrained with-in every samurai is the code by which they lived, and he'd known that he'd committed an unforgivable sin.

Arisu had been the one to save him, yet again. She found him when he wandered into the woods from their campsite and stopped him from falling on his own sword. It would have been an honorable death but she had not seen it that way. She'd thrown herself on top of him, begging, beating on his chest, had called him every form of idiot she could think of, and finally she'd kissed him.

It had been the kiss that had broken him.

When it was all over Isamu had decided that if he was to be a ronin than he would think of her as his shogun, and it had worked. When she'd died the title of shogun had been transferred to Lady Sango, even though he wasn't completely conscious of the fact.

A samurai lived and died by a code and no matter how far from his old life he'd come, he was still samurai. Lady Sango was his master, and this village was his shogunate. He would not let it go with out a very bloody fight.

His eyes opened and he surveyed the land again and this time his gaze settled on Riko.

She was directing some of the older children this way and that, telling them were to store the bandages, medicinal herbs, and such that she would need on hand when the battle broke out.

Here was another reason why he would buy the safety of these people with his blood. He would give all that he had, all that he was, and all that he could be to keep her safe, to keep her child safe. His lips quirked into a rueful smile.

Kami, she was gorgeous. She could make his pulse dance with something as simple as a smile. It was too bad that more often than not, she was scowling at him.

He wondered if he should just tell her he was in love with her and get it over with. Frankly, the odds of them surviving were not high and well, perhaps it was something that he'd held onto long enough.

He smirked. He could just see her face. She'd probably hit him too. For a healer she could be awfully violent.

Isamu watched as she ducked inside her hut and his feet of their own accord followed her. She was bent over a basin, splashing water on her face and didn't see him. When she turned, she jumped in fright. Her hand coming up to clutch her heart and she scowled at him.

"Kami, don't sneak up on me like that."

She brought her hand up and rubbed her neck, wincing slightly.

"You all right?" She nodded and winced again.

"My neck is just a little sore."

Not knowing what possessed him; Isamu crossed over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. She jumped.

"W-What are you doing."

"Massaging your neck," he said, gruffly and dug his hands into her soft flesh. The minute those callused palms started kneading she let out a throaty moan that he felt through his entire being; he closed his eyes and wondered again, what the hell he thought was doing. Unable to stop himself he worked the tension out of her tight shoulders and slid his right hand up her slime neck, under her hair. Riko leaned forward, boneless and made another pleasured sound that had parts of him straining.

He moved his other hand down her back and over her spine, she shuddered.

"Isamu?" She whispered. He groaned and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. He leaned over and murmured into her ear.

"What are we doing Riko? Why do we keep dancing around each other?" She pulled away from him, he let her go, and he watched her hug herself.

"You know why." Her voice was barely audible. He frowned.

"I'm not him, Riko." She smiled, but there was no mirth in it.

"And I'm not her."

He turned away. "I don't need you to be her. Yes, I loved Arisu…she was my light, and part of me will always love her." He paused and regarded her intently. "But that doesn't stop me from loving you any less."

Her eyes went wide and she starting shaking her head, 'no.'

"Y-You don't mean that, Isamu. You don't love me."

He exploded in frustration. "Dammit woman, I know my own heart!"

She flinched and he cursed, but his tone turned gentle. "I hate it when you do that. Don't you know I would never hurt you? That I would cut out my own heart first?"

Shame washed over her and in penance she walked up to him and placed her hand on his forearm.

"I-I know. I know you'd never hurt me…old habits I guess."

She could feel the tension of his muscles under her fingers and he forced himself to push down the anger burning in his gut. If her husband hadn't already been dead Isamu would have gladly killed him. When she'd first told him the story he'd been furious. He'd wanted to rant and rail at the heavens. He'd wanted to dig the fucker up and kill him all over again, but that's the thing about the dead…they are beyond revenge.

"Riko, life is too short to live in the past. That's something I've learned the hard way and this battle…it could go badly, and I just…I needed you to know."

She smiled sadly. "Perfect timing as always, baka."

He grinned and pulled her into his arms. This time she came willingly and rested her head against his chest, she sighed.

"So what do we do now?"

"Well we could go into your bedroom and make love until we can't move, or we can stay like this for a little while and then go back to preparing the village."

She pulled back and whacked him playfully on the chest and he grunted in mock pain. He parted his lips to make a sarcastic comment and then froze when his eyes caught hers. Awareness snapped between them and Isamu growled.

"Aw hell." He kissed her, his lips moving over hers sensually and Riko melted into him. The next thing he knew her tongue had snaked out and she ran it along the seam of his lips. He opened them and gave her entry, moaning when the tiny pink appendage darted in.

He deepened the kiss, following her retreating tongue and tangling his with hers. She moaned into his mouth and he felt himself grow hard.

Riko felt like she was drowning. The moment his lips met hers she knew that she was gone and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she wanted him. As if they shared one mind Isamu continued kissing her and they moved into her bedroom. He wretched away for a moment to growl.

"We do this and that's it Riko, your mine….and I'm yours."

She worried her lip and then gently brushed her lips against his jaw.

"I know. But I'm not about to stop now. Make love to me Isamu."

He placed a kiss on her pulse point and said.

"Your wish is my command."