AUTHOR'S CORNER:
o.O Gomen for the lack of update! I've been trying for four days now, but document manager has been down...so you get TWO chapters today! Lil bit of fun in this chapter. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 16
Kagome lay on her bed staring at the ceiling; Buyo lay across her stomach alternating between purring and meowing irritatedly as Kagome stroked his back distractedly. The girl's thoughts were a mess. On one hand, she knew she was half to blame for the taiyoukai's behavior. She did challenge him openly and she knew the consequences of something like that. The miko had seen it numerous times in a hanyou who wasn't nearly as powerful as a full fledged dog demon, and yet, she couldn't seem to help herself.
On the other hand, he had hurt her badly. One hand rose to her throat involuntarily, a twinge running through the tendons in memory. Sitting up in frustration, Buyo went toppling to the floor with an annoyed meow. On top of it all, when the bastard had realized she was in pain and was having trouble, instead of trying to fix it he walked away and left her alone.
Tears threatened to fall. Damn him! Damn that arrogant bastard Suddenly a thought occurred to her. Why did he walk away? At first she thought it was simply because he didn't want to be in the presence of such weakness, but then she recalled seeing a flicker of something in his eyes before he turned on his heel without a word and left. Then there was the weirdly possessive way he was acting when he found her and Fubuki alone. Could he have been jealous?
Kagome forced herself to remember that any new feelings would be very confusing to the taiyoukai who is used to feeling very little. He may have walked off because he didn't know what to think or what to do. In retrospect he had been reaching for the back of her neck. Did he see something there that concerned him? Then he had reached for her again and she'd flinched again. Had she confused the demon that much? Then there was Fubuki. That brought a flush to her cheeks.
But then there was Sesshomaru's reaction to him. Anger rose up in her anew. How dare he be angry at Fubuki when he was the one kicking her around that morning as if his whole goal was to make her suffer as much as possible. Ok, that was an exaggeration, but still!
Realizing she was still in her bathrobe, she walked over to her bureau to get some clothes to change into. Nothing had been solved in her head and thoughts were still chasing one another around like idiotic ADD children on speed. Turning around she unexpectedly slammed into something hard.
Catching her balance, she glared at the obstacle in front of her, quickly realizing it was a very hard, masculine chest. A vein popped out on her forehead and she didn't need to look up to know who that chest belonged to.
"Damnit, Sesshomaru! You're supposed to knock before you enter a girl's room! What if I'd been naked?" Sesshomaru looked down at her with a blank expression. One eyebrow rose slowly and elegantly telling her more eloquently than words that he didn't care one way or the other. More veins. "What do you want?" she asked curtly, stepping around him.
"Miko Kagome, there is nothing suitable in this era that I have seen so far for this Sesshomaru to eat," Kagome stopped dead in her tracks. That's right, he hasn't eaten yet since he's been here! That's a whole week! Turning around, she looked up at him.
"How often do you need to eat?" she asked, all of her previous anger gone, replaced by curiosity. Sesshomaru's first reaction was to tell the ningen to mind her own business and that his eating schedule was not her concern, but he bit that back and responded differently.
"I require sustenance every two weeks," he looked down at her coolly as she sat down on the bed and looked up at him.
"Ok, I know you don't eat human food, so what do you eat?" she asked curiously. Sesshomaru resisted the urge to look at her as if she was dumb. He knew he'd angered her enough already that day.
"My true form is a large dog demon. I require large amounts of fresh meat," Kagome's eyes went wide. She'd forgotten about the fact that he wasn't actually the creature before her and was something entirely different. Sesshomaru was not human; he was a dog demon who stood taller than her own house. She'd personally seen the form only once, though she had been on the receiving end of those teeth and claws that were as big as her and she didn't care to do that again. A fresh wave of shame spread through her at this thought. She had purposefully angered such a powerful being. Damn.
"Ok, um…" Kagome guessed that buying meat at the store was out of the question. He would need larger quantities than they would be able to buy and she was sure the store bought meat wouldn't be appropriate for him anyways. Thinking quickly, she remembered that deeper in the forest they practiced in there were bear and deer that might work for him. Though it was supposed to be a reserve, she was sure they wouldn't mind the loss of one or two bear. After all, he wasn't a hunter. He was a dog. So she made the excuse that it was nature in a way.
"Ok, I think I know where we can go," Sesshomaru tipped his head slightly and listened. "Deeper in that forest we practice in should be some bear and deer, will those work for you?" he considered for a moment, "because I'm sure store bought meat won't work for you. The meat is processed and sometimes doesn't have all the nutrients of a fresh kill." Kagome surprised herself when she made that last comment. She would never know it, but she'd surprised the demon as well.
Sesshomaru nodded and turned to leave. Kagome had been hoping to go with him, but it appeared he wanted to go alone and her head dropped slightly in disappointment. Sesshomaru noticed it out of the corner of his eye and paused. He hadn't particularly wanted to take her with him for several reasons. One, he would need to be in dog form to eat, it was his true form and it made eating easier and faster. Also because he was a dog when he ate it was very bloody and carnal looking. Sesshomaru had never let anyone watch him eat. The last person who'd been present whilst he'd been eating was his father and usually they ate together anyway.
A thought occurred to him. If this miko was willing to accept him the way he was, she would need to accept all of him. This included his true form. From her expressions before he'd interrupted her, she was warring with herself over accepting the violent side that had hurt her earlier. Perhaps this would help show her that he wasn't all calm underneath. His beast was very real and was a force to be reckoned with. Studying the girl for a moment, he made up his mind.
"If you will meet me downstairs in a few minutes, I will take you with me," Kagome's head snapped up in surprise and her blue eyes were wide as she stared at him. After a moment she nodded once and he exited the room, closing the door behind himself.
Excitedly Kagome jumped up and got dressed. Though she was nervous about seeing his true form again, Kagome was so happy that he was letting her come. She saw this as Sesshomaru beginning to trust her a little bit more. True, she was still a little angry with him, but the mention of his demon form had put things a little bit into perspective for her. She was dealing with a massive three story tall dog that had teeth as thick around as her thigh.
Shivering a little in anticipation she finished dressing and hurried out of the room, completely forgetting all about the sword laying quietly by her bedside, irritation coming off it in waves.
Sesshomaru was standing outside waiting for her, his head was turned up and he was studying the sky. Kagome couldn't help but stop and stare at him for a few moments. The sun played across his unusually pale face, accentuating and highlighting his facial markings, his silvery hair blew behind him in undulating waves, guilded in sunlight. Sighing quietly to herself before stepping outside she realized part of what made him so intimidating was the very fact that he was beautiful in a god-like manner.
Sesshomaru looked over at the young woman as she stepped outside and smiled at him brightly. He of course had been aware of her presence the whole time, though he'd refrained from making comment, wondering what she was thinking when she looked at him. Shoving that train of thought away, he turned to her.
Kagome nodded at the unspoken question and he scooped her up and took off. Minutes later he settled her down in their field and stepped away from her a few paces.
"Stand over to the side," he commanded and Kagome ran back a few paces to stand near the edge of the forest. Briefly she felt a rising of power that made her miko energy stand on end. A whirlwind of youki erupted around the lone figure in the middle of the field, blowing his clothing around wildly and making his hair shoot straight upward with its force. His head tipped backward and his red eyes closed and she watched him, completely enraptured. His face was actually exhibiting an expression.
He looked genuinely happy, a hint of a smile on his lips as his power continued to build around him, eventually blocking him from view as the whirlwind built in power and size. Sesshomaru had looked almost relieved before he faded from view. Never before had she witnessed such an expression on his features and she wished keenly he would more so. He was achingly beautiful when he smiled. Briefly she wondered if it was a burden to maintain his human form when suddenly a massive white dog took form right in front of her.
Blue eyes traveled wonderingly up the massive white limb in front of her, up the furry and heavily muscled chest and neck to rest on the long snouted dog face that was regarding her with tapered red eyes. Kagome stepped forward hesitantly, trying to keep in mind that this was still Sesshomaru, that the mind of the human form was still within him, but this was simply a different appearance.
Her heartbeat quickened in memory of their battle in his father's grave over Tetusaiga and she shivered involuntarily. As if detecting her stress, he lowered himself to the ground, still watching her and 'whuff'ed at her. Staring at him blankly, it took another 'whuff' from him to make her realize that he couldn't speak in this form and he was encouraging her to come closer.
Kagome approached the massive dog carefully and slowly, completely aware of the eerie red eyes following her movement. Coming up on his shoulder, she went to extend a hand, but pulled it back suddenly, her eyes meeting his questioningly.
"May I?" she asked tentatively. A nod and another 'whuff' and she reached forward with both hands. His fur surprised her with how soft and silky it was. Her hands ran across his shoulder freely, burying them to the middle of her forearm in the thick, soft fur. Distractedly she stepped forward and leaned up against him, resting her head on him and rubbing her face in his fur.
Sesshomaru, unbeknownst to her, was having trouble containing himself. He hadn't anticipated that he would react so strongly to her little hands running through his fur. Berating himself, he realized it was because his beast was so close to the surface in this form. His eyes became slightly hooded when she lowered herself to his shoulder and pressed herself up against him, obviously thoroughly enjoying the feeling of his fur.
Shaking himself mentally, his hunger pressed against him harder in this form, returning his thoughts to the present. 'Whuff'ing at her once, he caught her attention and she extricated herself from his fur. He stretched around with his nose to where she stood and motioned his head upward before lowering his nose so she could step on it. It took a moment for Kagome to grasp what he was trying to tell her, and when she did, she blushed and nodded.
Carefully, she climbed onto his nose and held onto the soft fur. He was happy that she didn't just step on his nose like he'd thought, but her position was causing him a serious amount of problems. The girl had decided to wear one of those obscenely short skirts that day and a little short sleeved shirt to match. Of course, sitting on his nose and facing him, he had a nice close up view of her entire front and because his nose was round, she found herself almost straddling him in order to hang on while he raised her up and deposited her on his back. The inside of her little thighs had pressed against him as she'd held on and sent absolutely inappropriate thoughts running through the demon's head before he was able to get her off his nose and on his back.
His nose was also ten times more sensitive in this form and he could clearly smell everything about her, including her innocence. It was kind of hard not to with her straddling his nose like that. Unbidden a wave of heat settled itself in his stomach and it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he was hungry.
Snorting once to clear his nose, he glanced at the girl on his back to make sure she was ready. Kagome sat right between his shoulder blades, straddling his back and clinging to his soft fur. Turning forward, he took a few warning steps before taking off at a run.
Kagome 'eep'ed once when he leapt forward before catching her balance and leaning forward with his movement. Looking around herself in amazement she realized then just how fast the demon was. The trees were a blur as they raced past, she could hear Sesshomaru breathing deeply through his nose, obviously trying to scent out his prey. Turning sharply, he took off in another direction. If Kagome hadn't been holding on with a death grip, she probably would have fallen right off.
Instead of watching the dizzying display of trees whizzing past, she instead focused on the dog beneath her. Massive muscles bunched and extended under where she sat and the fur was decidedly longer up here, burying her legs completely. She stifled a giggle before letting her eyes travel upward to Sesshomaru's head. Briefly, her eyes traveled to the side to study what could only be described as his 'mane.' It started somewhere between his front legs, traveled just like his tail in human form up over his right shoulder to wrap around his back somewhere behind her and then back under his belly to meet the part between his front legs somewhere underneath him.
Returning her attention to his head, she again had to stifle a giggle at the sight of his fairly long ears swiveling back and forth as he hunted, listening for any sign of his prey. Amazingly, though he was massive in size he moved almost silently, his paws making very little sounds as they touched down and were lifted again. After a few more moments he slowed to a stalking pace and became absolutely silent. The easily distracted miko was intrigued by the way the shoulder blades moved underneath her as he stalked slowly forward.
Suddenly he lunged ahead with a rumble in his chest that she felt vibrate right up through her butt making her giggle at the sensation before falling silent when another growl answered Sesshomaru's followed by a loud almost strangled roar and then silence. Momentarily the smell of blood reached her nose and she leaned to the side to see around the massive dog head blocking her view.
Sesshomaru had stopped walking and turned his head slightly, revealing to Kagome a very dead, very bloody and very large bear in his maw. The dog demon set his kill down and went to lower himself to let Kagome off but she stopped him first.
"Sesshomaru wait," the dog stopped his movement and glanced over his shoulder at her, a silent question in his red eyes. Now Kagome felt stupid, but it was too late. "Um… I was wondering, could you growl again?" a blush spread across her cheeks as he continued to regard her coolly. "It felt funny," she said giving him a goofy smile.
A low rumble started in his chest that built into a full fledged growl and Kagome giggled madly, the vibrations going straight through her butt and into her spine. Sesshomaru couldn't believe he was humoring this woman, but he was.
"Oh!" Kagome's face went white for a moment before a deeper flush than he'd ever seen before parked itself on her features and spread down her neck and disappeared into her shirt. It took a moment for him to realize what had happened, but then a smell reached his sensitive nose and he wanted to laugh out loud. The girl was turned on! Kami! She'd been turned on by the vibrations! Hmm… need to remember that for future reference. Mentally he shook himself, why would he need to take note of that! He didn't even care about the girl, of course not. Right?
Before he allowed his thoughts to go places they shouldn't, he lay down and tipped himself to the side allowing the woman to slip off his back and touch down gently on the ground. He gave her a sideward glance before standing again and returning to his food. If she wanted to see him eat that badly, then he wouldn't spare her any of it. He had to admit, it was messy, which is part of the reason he ate in dog form.
Kagome was still too flustered to notice the dog demon at first; she couldn't believe her body had reacted that way. The vibrations had caused her to be aroused! How embarrassing! She hoped ferverently that Sesshomaru hadn't noticed, but the chances he hadn't were slim to nothing.
Turning an embarrassed glance to the demon, she realized he had begun to eat. Her eyes widened and she watched in morbid fascination as the demon bit huge chunks out of the large bear he'd killed. His front teeth ripped the flesh, allowing him to chew on appropriately sized chunks, though she quickly realized he didn't really chew. He would pull off those chunks of flesh, then tip his head up slightly and bite the chunks further back into his mouth before swallowing them and returning down for another bite. Blood oozed freely from between his teeth and down his massive maw to drip onto the ground.
No wonder he refused all of our meals, she thought, he needed something completely different from what we could offer him. She continued to watch as the bear disappeared bite by bite. The little miko had to turn away when the bear's stomach broke open and Sesshomaru continued to devour everything. Oh she thought detachedly, he eats all of it. I should have guessed. After a few moments she peeked back and was relieved to see he was almost finished, the bear was almost completely stripped down to bare bone, and he was busy gnawing on them to get the last of the meat.
Thinking they were almost ready to go, she took a few steps forward, only to be stopped by a sickening crunching sound. It took a few moments before she realized Sesshomaru was chewing on some of the bones.
"Ugh," she said, earning an annoyed glance from the demon, "I know you're a dog and all, but why are you doing that?" a bone hung half chewed from his mouth. Dropping the bone he pulled back his jowls showing her his usually pristine fangs which were now covered in gore. Turning back to the bone he'd dropped he turned his head and chewed on it for a few moments, filling the air with gross crunching sounds before picking his head back up and revealing his fangs to her again, though this time the teeth he'd used on the bone were much cleaner.
"Oh," she said, realizing it was his way of brushing his teeth, "at least you're hygienic," she said giving him a look. He regarded her in annoyance before huffing at her and turning back to his bones. Kagome sat down and decided to tune out the crunching sound and think about what had happened that day. Looking up at the sky she realized it was only early noon and groaned to herself. It had been a very long and confusing day and she was ready for it to be over.
Sesshomaru watched her out of the corner of his eye as he continued cleaning his teeth. Truth be told, he could actually talk in this form, but not well and it was rather scary to listen to. Dog mouths were not meant to form words and often the words didn't come out right. His voice was also deep and gravely in this form, sounding more like a growl than a voice. This was the reason higher demons had a human form because most of the time they couldn't speak in animal form.
He was capable of communicating telepathically in this form with other youkai, however, he wasn't sure it would work with the miko. She wasn't a demon and on top of that she was a miko, so forming a mental connection might not work.
Finishing cleaning his teeth, he stood up straight and shook himself off, his long pink tongue lapping up the last of the blood from his maw and making sure he was absolutely clean. Kagome looked up to watch him when something caught her eye. Looking more closely, she saw that on his chest almost hidden by his mane was a discoloration in the fur and what looked like a burn mark. Letting her eyes travel down his left leg she saw the same discoloration on the inside of his foreleg and again on the opposite shoulder.
Determining to look at it more closely when he changed back, she stood and approached him, smiling brightly and meeting his eyes as he regarded her. He knew she'd seen something that disturbed her, but he wasn't sure what. She stopped before him and smiled.
"Are you satisfied now? Ready to head back?" she asked cheerfully and he nodded his big head before crouching down again and lowering his nose. Kagome carefully climbed up onto his nose again, but this time she scooted forward, surprising the demon and arresting his movement. Eventually he couldn't watch her anymore without crossing his eyes and the sight of her smooth thighs so close greatly disturbed him, so he focused on the trees behind the vision of the tiny miko instead.
A few moments later he felt her lean forward and her small hands rubbed the furry crescent moon on his forehead. Still curious as to what she was doing, he let her continue and didn't bother her or try to stop her. After a few moments he felt his eyes droop slightly at her ministrations and he panted lightly. Kagome giggled a little when she felt him make a rumbling sound in his throat that sounded strangely a lot like purring. For some reason she felt a little freer with him in this form. He was more animalistic and she could forget that he was the disturbingly beautiful creature she had begun to have feelings for. Eventually she sat back and smiled down at the pair of red eyes regarding her.
"Gomen, Sesshomaru. I couldn't resist. We can head back now, if you'd like," the demon was slightly disappointed she'd stopped as her hands had felt wonderful on his head, his moon being a very sensitive spot for him, but he refused to let her know any of that. He deposited her gently on his back and took off.
As Sesshomaru carried her home, thoughts flew through his head. She wasn't afraid at all of his demon form, despite the fact he'd almost killed her with it only a year ago. Perhaps there was hope then that she would learn to trust his human form again.
Arriving back in the field, Sesshomaru didn't set Kagome down like she'd expected. Suddenly she was surrounded by hurricane force winds and she cried out involuntarily. After a moment the dog beneath her was gone and she felt herself falling before she was caught by strong arms. She barely had the chance to take a breath before he took off with demon speed toward home.
Once home, he set her down gently outside the house and they silently went inside. A sudden thought occurred to her and she grabbed the demon by the hand and led him upstairs, the demon in question eyeing her warily and following behind. Oh, how the mighty have fallen… this Sesshomaru is being dragged around by a mere slip of a ningen. Inwardly he sighed as she pulled him into his room and turned to face him.
Tenderly she picked up his left arm and flipped it over revealing welts that were still angry from the burns he received that morning. Drawing in her breath sharply she realized his body couldn't heal these as quickly because they were holy burns. It was the one thing which he had no real defense against.
Sesshomaru watched her as she took his hand with gentle fingers and examined the burn mark. Scowling at it, he frowned slightly. Normally a burn so small as that would have been gone in half an hour, but holy burns dealt a demon a lot of damage, purifying the youki and creating lasting burns. It takes time for the youki in that area to regenerate and then heal the broken skin.
The demon's head snapped up when the smell of tears reached his nose. The miko was crying, but she wasn't just crying for no reason, she was crying for him.
Kagome let go of his arm and gingerly took hold of the bottom of his shirt, pulling it up tentatively. Sesshomaru was uncomfortable with this, but let her do as she wished. The little miko pulled the shirt up past his ribs to reveal the normally smooth planes of his chest and let her breath out in a hiss at what she saw.
The last blast she'd dealt him and hit him square in the chest, burning the pale flesh making it an angry red and slightly blackened in areas. Painful looking welts and blisters had formed across his chest muscles and tears spilled down her cheeks freely.
He watched her face in fascination. The thought hadn't occurred to him that she would be upset by the damage she'd caused, and she obviously didn't know the damage would be lasting. Placing small fingers on his ribs where the skin finally faded back to its beautiful alabaster color she avoided touching the burned area.
"Does it hurt?" she asked so quietly that even he almost wasn't able to hear her. Sesshomaru simply continued to stare at her. It had never occurred to the young woman that she would actually be able to hurt the demon, he'd always seemed so indestructible. He'd taken the blows so well and she simply didn't realize.
"Gomen na sai, Sesshomaru," she whispered, hiccupping slightly, "gomen gomen gomen," though her powers hadn't fully recovered she took her little hands and held them above the worst of the burn on his chest. Before he could move to stop her, her hands glowed a light pink and he felt a cool sensation spread through his chest. Looking down at his chest he saw the worst of his burns disappear and new skin replace the welts. Kagome didn't have enough power to heal him completely, so she stopped a moment later completely drained, but looking at his chest in satisfaction. The skin didn't look quite so irritated and the angry welts and blisters were gone, though it would take him a little more time to heal.
"Gomen," she whispered again before completely shocking him further by stepping forward and wrapping her arms gently around his ribs, pulling him into a hug. His arms hung limply by his side, uncertain what to do. She solved his dilemma for him by stepping back and away from him, wiping her face and sniffling slightly. Sesshomaru's skin felt cool now that her body was no longer touching his and he found he missed the warm sensation of her up against him.
Once her face was scrubbed dry, she timidly straightened his shirt, keeping her eyes hidden from his view. His curiosity was too much for him. He cupped her chin in his fingers and tilted her face up to look him in the eyes and studied her for a moment. It's a wonder this woman is still alive, you can see her entire soul right there in her eyes. He found himself feeling strangely lacking while looking into the face of such an overwhelmingly loving and large soul. The feeling was new to him and quite disturbing.
"I damage you to the point that you bleed and have to hide your injuries from your mother, I bruise you so badly that you are incapable of healing it all at once, and I hurt your person to the extent that you flinch away from me, and yet you weep at a few burns on the very youkai's chest who hurt you. Why?" Kagome wanted to clap. That was undoubtedly the longest sentence he'd said to her yet. Instead she took a steadying breath and gazed into golden pools that beckoned her to lose herself in them. She realized then that his expressions had not changed much, she was just capable of reading them better.
"Well… I… I realized while we were out just now that it was rather stupid of me to challenge you so openly like I did. It's like poking a sleeping dragon… or dog in this case," he gave her an annoyed look but she ignored him, "and honestly, I count myself lucky now that I got off so lightly." She looked off to the side thinking before continuing. "However, though I do realize now that what I did was rather stupid, what you have to realize is that I am not a submissive female and I will never be," her eyes looked up into his sincerely, "I will not be controlled, manipulated or treated as being lesser than what I am. I am not a woman from your era and I don't have to be. I am an educated woman, I think for myself and I have my own opinions. You may not be used to this, but you're going to have to be if you're going to be around me at all and not have us kill one another."
Sesshomaru studied the woman before him while she spoke and afterward for a long time. She was asking for equality which was a completely new concept to him. A man proved his equality in a fight, and though she was not a man, she had certainly earned a good amount of respect from him during their own fight. His first reaction was to scoff at her for her words, but coming from this particular woman, they made some sense. Thinking about it, he knew she would never be submissive, like she said. She was too free of an individual for that. Unfortunately for Sesshomaru, this only succeeded in making his beast clamor in his chest harder for the female.
She was strong willed, strong of heart, had strong miko powers and was a force to be reckoned with, but at the same time had a huge soft heart that loved everyone and defied all rules. The woman was the perfect mate… except for the detail that she was human. Sesshomaru wanted to sigh.
Kagome watched as a frustrated look crossed his eyes briefly before it was gone, but she wasn't sure if it was because of her little speech or something else. Then Sesshomaru shook his head lightly.
"Miko, you will not be harmed if you do not challenge my beast so openly. If you do it again, I cannot guarantee anything," honestly in his mind, he wouldn't have her any other way. It excited him when she challenged him and as long as she didn't upset his beast, they were ok. "However, I am a male and therefore dominant. As long as you do not challenge my beast, he will remain quiet, but I will not. I will simply find other ways of making you submit," he said, his golden orbs burning into her own deep blue ones, extremely pleased with himself as a flush spread itself across her cheeks. She was so easy to bait.
Kagome sputtered once and he resisted the urge to grin. This was going to be fun.