A/N: W-Wha...? What's this...? Can it be...an update? YES! It's an update a week from last chapter's update! WOOT! Guess what, guys? I'm not sick anymore! WOOT! But, sadly, I have pink eye instead... *deflates* Well, at least I'm in a better mood than last time!

Anymelon, thanks for your reviews, guys! They inspire me A LOT! KEEP IT GOING! AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WRITE LONG REVIEWS, I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH! :-D

Oh. My. Gods. Guess what time it is? Can you guess? It's time for...MY 300th REVIEWER AWARD! HURRAY! We're almost to 300 reviews for this story and I'm so proud because I have never gotten this far! Seriously, I never finish stories I begin 'cuz I get bored with them--this is the longest story I've ever written and my goal is to finish it! WOOT!

PRIZE INFORMATION: Alright, for you new readers out there, this is the deal since I love you all so much. If when you review and you notice that you're the 300th reviewer, I award you a prize! For the lack of being able to send you an actual prize... O.O The prize is getting to give me an idea for this story and I will try to include it no matter what!

Past winners: VlnVla2008--she wanted Inu, Kags, Sessh, and Rin to go to Portugal, and they did! fangremtom2--she wanted Inu and Kags to get fluffy moments with a bit of a lime...

Weeell...all I can say is that this is the final chapter dedicated to fangremtom2! I hope you like it! :-D

So, people, review to make me the happiest person alive and get a chance to dictate this story! You want Inu and Kags to finally do the do, then compete to be my 300th reviewer! Remember, I love you all anyway and I'm open to suggestions!

WARNING: Things get steamy in this chapter...LIME ALERT!

Enjoy the chappie!


Oh My Gods! 38


"Gah! Men are so annoying!"

"Um...Lady Rin, please—"

"I might as well be lesbian! Then I wouldn't have to deal with stubborn egotistical pigs!"

"Lord Sesshoumaru would not be pleased—"

"Hmph! I bet if I asked Meimori to marry me, he'd say yes!"

"Err...that's true, actually..."

"The nerve of that bastard! He just left! Who told him he could leave?!"

"Well...he is a prince, my lady..."

"HE SAID HE WAS GOING TO THE BATHROOM AND HE LEFT! COWAAARD!"

Jaken stared at his flea demon companion, who was attempting to assuage a certain cinnamon-eyed teen's increasing ire, and shook his head in pity. Myouga was failing pitifully—at this rate, Rin would just pluck him off the couch he was helplessly bouncing on, chuck him into a pot and make a stew out of him.

Hm...the stew would taste terrible...

The retainer sighed from his seat on the opposite love seat observing the furious teen's tirade with long since tired eyes. He didn't know what occurred between his master and his human woman ever since they returned from their search for the half-breed, but one thing was for certain: Sesshoumaru disappeared and Rin was angry.

And she was a bit hurt, if he dared to add.

Her bright cinnamon eyes, although blazing like fires from hell, were glistening with tears she tried desperately to keep at bay. The fingers clenched into fists at her sides constantly shook with frustration, and in order to keep from trembling without control, they would sometimes hide beneath the mass of obsidian hair on top of their owner's head. Anyone would feel sorry for the poor human...except for Jaken.

Truthfully, he didn't know what the problem was. So what if his master left for the immortal realm...perhaps never to return? At some point he would have returned since he was the future king of Makai—he couldn't just abandon his title for a mere human wretch.

He remembered when Rin was Queen of Makai in his past life...she was a benevolent ruler. But she had been incredibly weak because she constantly allowed her foster sister Rima to step all over her. And who would be stupid enough to conceive a child in the middle of a war? Hmph!

Then again...Lord Sesshoumaru was his kindest around the mortal... If his sadistic master was always in a good mood, then he wouldn't feel the need to inflict bodily harm on his loyal retainer, now would he? A smile appeared on Jaken's face, making his yellow eyes glow gleefully.

Sooo...why was he just sitting around again?

"What's so wrong about marrying me?! I mean...sure, I can be a bit weird, and I don't like ordering people around, but I can adapt to the royal life! I can!" Rin was despairing as she paced in the living, her eyes frantically staring at the walls, floors, and her two 'servants'. "Why can't he understand that my life here means nothing without him?"

Did he want her to return to a normal life completely alone again with no one to call a true friend? Did he want her to continue camouflaging in the background at school to avoid socializing? Did he want her to finally decide her life was completely worthless being bullied and merely studying to prevent pain?

How could Sesshoumaru just leave without even saying goodbye?! Sure, saying goodbye was hard, but he was a freakin' man! Rin assumed men were brave, and Sesshoumaru just so happened to be gifted with facile emotional detachment! But he was a coward! Grr!

"Gods, look at me..." Rin placed her hands over her face and slowly sat down beside Myouga on the loveseat. She wiped her eyes a couple of times, yet refrained from breaking down in tears in front of people. "I'm a total wreck. No wonder he doesn't want to marry me...I'm so weak... He has to fight in a war and here I am almost bawling my eyes out."

If she desired to help lead a kingdom during trying times, her own emotional stability was required first and foremost. How could people believe in her to provide support for them when she couldn't stop crying because her fiancé disappeared? Rin didn't want to be dependent on anyone—not even Sesshoumaru.

Yet...it was impossible to deny how much she grew to need him...

Hmph, how ironic. At first, they attempted to avoid each other at all costs—hell, Sesshoumaru did it almost effortlessly. But even so, she still developed somewhat of a crush on him...but he decimated it to keep her at a safe distance. What changed between them? How in the world did they transverse from disliking each other to being inseparable?

Rin felt like she knew the dog demon her entire life—she had known him her entire life! Ever since she was little...about seven years old... She had a dream once, a few weeks ago, about their past lives and how they met. At the time, she hadn't known it was actually a long lost memory. Now the dream was held all the more dear in her heart.

The events in the dream occurred after one of her brutal beatings at the orphanage, when she was seven years old. Alone and bruised, she had cried to herself for the first time since her parent's death three years earlier. And like a glorious, mythical prince, a ten-year old Sesshoumaru appeared at her windowsill, curiously gazing at her...his expression blank...

...he claimed she called to him and he came. He asked her what she required of him.

But Rin hadn't answered—couldn't have answered because she was mute.

Yet, the young prince saved her. He became her friend. He whisked her away to his immortal world where she was protected by him and only him...where she met Inuyasha and Kagome, inevitably Meimori as well. The ensuing events—such as falling in love with him, Meimori meeting Rima, marrying Sesshoumaru, etc.—occurred in a chained sequence as a result.

I can't just give up on a history like ours, the teen mentally sighed, burrowing her head in her arms. He can't leave me like this! The past may repeat itself but I don't care! A whimper died in her throat—she wouldn't be so weak as to scream and cry her pain away.

"Come now, Lady Rin, Lord Sesshoumaru merely wishes to keep you safe," Myouga consoled from next to her, jumping onto her lap almost effortlessly. For once he set aside his lecherousness and seriously attempted to comfort his lord's lady. "Naraku is a terrible demon god—ruthless in every way possible. And you are his target, you know..."

"Yeah, but so is everyone else, especially Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha!"

"And what makes you think Naraku won't use you to hurt my lord for that reason?"

The flea demon had a point. "Why do I have to be the damsel in distress? I can fend for myself!" Sesshoumaru provided her with immortal energy and a demon-crafted weapon—what more could Rin ask for in order to be deemed strong? "Argh! What should I do, you guys? I...I-I can't live like this..."

Even though the possibility of her dying if she travelled to the immortal realm and resided there during the war was very high, Rin would prefer the probable fate instead of remaining here, always wishing to be by her fiancé's side. Thoughts of him entranced by another woman infiltrated her mind, and the teen shook them away.

No, they were bonded. Therefore, they belonged together. No one could separate them!

"Hmph, I don't know what you're whining about, you silly human." At long last, Jaken decided to have an input in the conversation!

Rin merely removed her hands from her face and glanced at the short green imp with her head cocked. Myouga mirrored her state. "Well, what do you suggest I do, toadman?" She was open to any suggestions at this point.

"You're not exactly proving that you truly want to be by Lord Sesshoumaru's side forever."

"Proving...?" The teen was astounded... Was Jaken attempting to insult her or help her? She blinked, confused. How do I prove such a thing other than screaming about it all day? "But I do want to be by his side." Forever. The simple word almost called a smile to her haggard face.

"Why?" Jaken asked as though he was interrogating a criminal; there was no sympathy in his tone of voice. His gaze narrowed and he crossed his arms, scoffing at the pitiful excuse of a woman in front of him. "All you're doing is whining and complaining. Why do you want to risk everything and follow an immortal into a dangerous place for mortals, hm?"

Usually human survival instincts kicked in and prevented a foolish being from venturing into the unknown...

"I..." Oh gods, he's right. I've been whining... And she hated people who whined. What a hypocrite... "Because I care about him...because we're bonded..." As she spoke, Rin's vigor returned with ferocity. "Because there's no way I'm going to live without him and he's not casting me aside so easily! I'm not weak—I was the Queen of Makai before and I will be again!"

Myouga's eyes were shining...he was so proud of his lady! Yes! Sesshoumaru needed a strong, assertive mate who was willing to fight by his side in the worse of battles, not a delicate flower always swaying in the direction of the wind! It was admirable in a human, and the immortal demon only hoped his master's brother would realize it soon.

Jaken cleared his throat while nodding his head in approval. He, too, shared Myouga's point of view...for once. "So why are you still here telling me this?" At this, Rin furrowed her eyebrows and beckoned him to explain. "You want to be by his side—go claim your husband and kingdom."

"Wait a second! I can't travel to the immortal realm on my own!" If she could, she wouldn't have stayed behind, duh! From what she heard, only Kagome had that ability and she was off training in the wilderness!

"Oooh, I understand now!" Myouga began to bounce on her lap in joy once again. Rin prayed to any higher entity listening to her that he didn't venture inside her shirt like last time... "My Lady, Jaken and I will be happy to take you! Lord Sesshoumaru will be angry, but it is worth it!"

"You're actually...taking me?" Rin couldn't believe her ears... "I'm going to go to the immortal realm and...?" Wow! Now Sesshoumaru couldn't run away from her! She'd prove to him once and for all that she wasn't just an eighteen-year-old mortal with a stupid crush.

No, she was Queen of Makai and the future wife of the most powerful dog demon in the immortal realm. She...

...she really cared for him...almost to the point of...of...

This isn't the time to think of what I feel for Sesshoumaru. I can figure that out later. The teen stood from the couch, her expression determined with her shoulders pulled back and chin high confidently. "Toadman, thank you very much. I really appreciate it."

"Yeah, yeah. I better not get beaten to a pulp for this..." Jaken muttered, even though he probably would be beaten in the end. It's not like I'm doing this for the girl in the first place. My lord's happiness comes first! Bah! Her tears and distress don't affect me! Sure.

"Well then," Rin began, genuinely smiling for the first time in an hour, "I'm ready when you two are." However, her eyes widened for a millisecond before she dashed into the kitchen. Jaken and Myouga stared after her in confusion, but gaped when the teen returned with an overly large skillet leaning in her hand.

The crazed glint in her eyes and the evil, psychotic smirk transforming her smile caused the two retainers to shiver in pure fear. They didn't even want to know what she planned to do with a skillet in the immortal realm...

"Now I'm ready to teach my fiancé a lesson," Rin said indifferently, as though she never noticed the weight of a huge black skillet dwarfing the size of her hands. "Let's go before it's too late! I will kidnap Sesshoumaru and force him to marry me by midnight—I swear it!"

Jaken and Myouga gulped. More like Lord Sesshoumaru was going to blast the shit out of them by midnight...


Dang it, who ever suggested training with an insane hanyou?! As if she, a mortal miko, stood a chance against him! Ha! He wasn't focused on training; he was focused on torturing her! And no one could say he didn't enjoy spinning her head round and round and round and round and...

Whoah...too many 'rounds'...

Anyway...this was her situation.

First off, her and her fiancé had been practically kidnapped by a stoic miko with a stick up her ass and forced to train for an oncoming war in the span of a month. Then, while being transported to Bankotsu's private training grounds, they became trapped in a void between dimensions and pestered by two phantom beasts. Luckily they managed to escape, but her fiancé suffered a grave injury she wished not to repeat.

And now they were stuck in a totally different dimension altogether—the place she dubbed 'the wilderness'.

Actually, Inuyasha knew where they were, he just wasn't telling her. Wonderful!

But it wasn't the cause of her current dilemma. Nope. It was the fact that after two days of playing it safe in the forest and finally resting, the hanyou she deemed her future mate decided he wanted to train and hone his battle skills. Hmph, he truly meant to torture her.

But geez! He had his wings ripped off and he pranced around like he only scraped his knee! And he became moody and pissed off when she asked him if his golden appendages were going to grow back or not! Men these days were too testy!

I should threaten to castrate him like Sango does to Miroku. It works quite well, actually. She'd love to see the look on Inuyasha's face if in the middle of the night he awoke to see her holding up a knife to his 'dignity'. I'm sure his balls will fall off if I beat him with a stick long enough, too... Mhm...and she was allegedly sane.

Kagome suppressed the urge to growl like a rabid dog and concentrated on not making a single sound. Inuyasha had derived a drill more difficult for her than for him; she was supposed to bear her own against him in close quarters combat. What the hell was wrong with his brain?! Did she look like an up-close fighter?!

Hmph! He even took away the beautiful ebony wooden bow he lent her!

But the jerk wasn't even standing in front of her awaiting the first move. No, he was hiding in their surroundings, perhaps stalking her from a tree trop. She sighed and pondered his whereabouts. He had warned he was going to surprise attack and she was to prepare for it, but how?!

Ok, I'm a miko—I can sense demonic auras, right? The miko doubted in her ability to distinguish his presence in the forest by solely locating his youki. She was certain Inuyasha was aware enemies might sense his powerful youki and probably practiced for years attempting to conceal it. Yes, immortals possessed that enviable ability. I don't like the fact that he's watching me right now...I can feel it.

And she was just standing around like dead meat...waiting to be attacked...yeah.

Her grip on a long wooden staff—Inuyasha decided it was fair to fight with sticks and not bladed weapons, hmph—tightened considerably when she heard the recognizable snap of a twig nearby. Kagome shifted her gaze to where she thought the sound came from, but was unable to see or sense any mishap.

Why am I the prey being hunted? She inwardly grumbled, turning around in a circle to take in the small forest clearing she stood in. He's stalking me...I now officially hate stalkers. Definitely.

Snap!

The miko barely refrained from exclaiming in surprise and turned around again only to be met with the normal sight of trees and adorning bushes. There was no sign of a silver-haired hanyou wearing a black battle outfit yet. I wish I was still wearing my breastplate. It made her feel safe; however, Inuyasha once again thought it would be fair to take off their metal armor.

Grr! Since when was he a follower of good ethics and fair play?! He wasn't being fair by using his demonic traits to his advantage!

Alright. This is actually good practice if I think about it. A lot of enemies surprise attack and I have to be ready for it. It was what her fiancé was trying to ingrain into her brain: not all people were honorable and warned of a looming attack. She then attempted to open her senses again and focused on Inuyasha's familiar tangible red youki.

Nothing. So, she tried another method.

The forest was completely bare of outside disturbances such as forest animals and birds—in quite contrast to the forest at night. Therefore, she concentrated on irregularities in life energies around her.

Snap!

Damn those twigs! Inuyasha was stepping on them on purpose just to freak the crap out of her! And as Kagome was mentally ranting about how inconsiderate he was, her sixth sense suddenly alerted her to a presence behind her and—

Clash!

"Heh, I thought I'd be able to knock you out."

Kagome narrowed her chocolate eyes at her amused fiancé and used all her inner strength to push against his wooden staff with her own. They were locked in a stalemate with neither side overwhelming the other, yet the miko was aware that if he desired to, Inuyasha could easily disarm her, perhaps single-handedly.

"S-Shut up!" He wasn't going easy on her—that was for sure! Her left foot, which was two feet in back of her right one as she pushed against her fiancé's weapon, was slowly sliding backwards, shifting her weight. Maintaining this position would be difficult but she didn't have the strength to win this lock! "Don't assume I'm helpless!"

"Oh yeah?" Inuyasha scoffed without mirroring Kagome's strain and flushed face. "If you can beat me in a fight, wench, then I'll answer any question you ask for the rest of the day."

"What?" The notion was enticing since there was still so much Kagome wanted to learn about the hanyou, yet knew he would recoil and recluse himself if she inquired. Now she would be able to ask without feeling guilty about upsetting him afterwards! "You're trying to trick me! You know I won't win!"

"Keh! My mother taught me to always have faith in myself—you should borrow some of her insight." At long last, much to the raven-haired teen's relief, Inuyasha briskly jumped backwards, breaking their lock. He smiled at the sigh passing her lips. "How about it? You up for a challenge?"

Kagome lifted her gaze and fought the urge to return his somewhat excited smile. One looking at him now would never guess that his wings had been ripped off two days ago—he was the spitting image of young and reckless. The playful glint in his amber eyes along with the matching smile accented his boyishly handsome and announced his good mood.

How it arose after all he had suffered through, the miko was unsure.

"Well, this is an offer I can't refuse," the teen said, emulating her fiancé's current smirk. She grabbed her wooden staff with two hands and poised it diagonally in front of her. "Come on, dog boy, give me your best shot."

"Hells yeah! That's more like it, wench!"

The two opponents circled each other, calculating their next actions and trying to discern the other's first moves. Finally, Inuyasha charged forward with his staff poised perpendicular to Kagome's chest, yet the teen was able to move out of the way in the nick of time. To her surprise, however, a staff was forcibly brought down inches away from her head and would have impacted her skull had she not ducked!

Great, what was I thinking? Kagome jumped when the hanyou attempted to sweep her off her feet and managed to stumble backwards as he raised his weapon in a slicing motion. He's hell-bent on winning! By placing her staff vertically in front of her, she was able to stop another slashing attack, but only momentarily.

She continued to dodge him at every interval possible, just barely surviving against his determined pursuit and relentless calculated attacks. It was like he read her mind and already knew her every move! If the miko decided to attempt an offensive attack and strike him in the neck, he was one step ahead—she couldn't get near him!

He moves too swiftly to find a weak point, Kagome noted during another lengthy lock of weapons, one in which the two sparring partners merely glared at each other as though will alone would grant them victory. She narrowed her gaze and gritted her teeth. But there must be a way to— "AH!"

THUD!

Kagome landed on the ground with a loud thud and groaned when a dull pain settled in the middle of her side. No bones were broken at least, but her arms were covered in scrapes. Again, nothing serious. She glanced up only to see the sharp end of a staff pointed at the jugular vein on her exposed neck...

One cut there and she was done for.

"You took too long to recover," Inuyasha admonished, retracting his weapon as he took a few steps away from the miko. She rolled her eyes at his negligence to help her stand. "If you're hit and you fall, at least roll out of the way in case you get stabbed."

"Why of course your Majesty," Kagome grumbled as she stood on her shaky limbs, ignoring the pain in her side for the moment. She wiped the dirt on her long black dress and retrieved her fallen weapon. "Well, I guess lost." That was totally worth while. "So, now wha—HEY!"

THUD!

Once again Kagome landed on the ground, but this time on her back. She winced, sitting up, and noted that unlike her other fall, this one left some lasting pain. "What's wrong with you?! Jerk-face!"

"Keh! It's not over unless I say it's over!" Inuyasha huffed in annoyance. "Do you think your enemy is going to wait for you to stand back up? Hell no! Get up quick and prepare for another attack! Stop whining about everything like a little girl and fight!"

"Fine!" Kagome heeded his advice and wasted no time to charge forward, nearly catching the hanyou by surprise. However, she failed to hit him because he back-flipped out of the way before she descended upon him. He smirked and his eyes lit in pure wonder.

The miko didn't give up there; she continued to charge forward instead of retreating and slashed countless of times at the defensive hanyou. She bore her teeth as she harnessed all her muscle strength to lift her staff high above her head and swing it down on her opponent; yet, he sidestepped it and elbowed her in the back.

Kagome crashed on the ground for the third time. At this point, she considered herself pitiful, but she wasn't about to let Inuyasha know that! She was going to prove she wasn't a pansy! So, she pretended she was in grave pain while keeping her back to the hanyou, groaning to keep up the illusion.

She opened her senses and focused on Inuyasha's brimming aura—it was hesitantly approaching her, almost fearful. Inwardly, she prepared for an attack, cryptically gripping the handle of the crude staff in her right hand, still pretending she was in pain.

That's it, come closer you stupid jerk... The miko waited for the perfect moment to strike... He was stepping closer and closer... Finally, he was only a foot away from her.

"K-Kagome...?" At the moment, guilt wasn't registering that she was playing with his emotions. Well, it was his fault! "Are you—argh! DAMMIT!"

Just when Inuyasha was directly behind her, Kagome grabbed her staff and rammed its end point—the one not sharpened—into his gut. Now that he was off balance, she quickly stood, turned, and slammed him to the floor shoulder-first, sending them both crashing to the grassy ground. While straddling him, she lastly disarmed the hanyou prior to panting heavily, grinning in victory.

"Heh, keep your emotions out of battle—you're not supposed to feel bad for hurting the enemy," Kagome muttered as she regained her breath, still beaming in pride, and her ego boosted just a bit. Inuyasha didn't reply, but she hardly wondered why.

Wow, I won... It numbed her mind so much she was no longer paying attention to her captive. I can't believe I just did that... I should apologize but I don't feel like it. Ha ha! Apologize?! She would never apologize to the enemy! Err...actually, she would, depending on the matter at the given moment. Well, I— "Oomph!"

However...victory was claimed too soon since Inuyasha apparently wasn't defeated yet. He turned the tables...or more like switched their positions so that he was on top of the raven-haired teen, pinning her arms above her head incase she tried to outsmart him again. His knees were braced on either side of her thighs, and his free hand grasped her neck tight enough to threaten, but lose enough not to cause pain.

"Damn conniving wench," Inuyasha mumbled under his breath, shaking his head at her absurd ideas, "you thought you won me? Pssft, yeah right. Victory isn't claimed until the opponent is dead—and you only disarmed me."

"You have to admit I had you there." Kagome would have said more had a lump not settled in her throat, and a smile died on her lips. Their current position increased her body temperature and her head felt like mush... Hell, the flush blooming in her cheeks was probably hot enough to fry an omelet.

The hanyou smiled in her place and slowly nodded in concession. "You're still not getting that prize..."

"Shoot...I was so determined to win."

"Too bad."

Arrogance was soon wiped from his expression, however; his face was presently unreadable. It relaxed enough to make him appear his actual age of eighteen years instead of an edgy, pessimistic warrior. Kagome only just realized how young he was...and to think he had to become a king in a short period of time...

"Inuyasha...?" His golden amber eyes, molten in a meld thicker than honey, smothered her, and she lost the ability to speak once more. It was like a magnetic pull enveloped them, charging the air around them to render it tense and hard to inhale. Kagome swore not enough oxygen was getting into her lungs and it was the reason why she felt lightheaded.

The warm hand on her throat also relaxed, and it rubbed the place where it had grasped, massaging her sensitive skin as though apologizing. Kagome bit her lip—if only Inuyasha knew his 'innocent' act almost made her moan...gods! She would have died of embarrassment!

But...was it so innocent?

"I never touched you like this, have I?" It was more of a statement than a question, so Kagome merely swallowed and didn't respond. His tone of voice was soft and mellow, somewhat contemplative... A faraway look in his eyes told her his mind was in the past.

And his hand soon travelled lower...past her throat...to her collarbone...and beyond...

Kagome's arms twitched, but the hand mercilessly pinning them to the ground refused to grant them freedom. What was Inuyasha doing?! He was torturing her! So what if he hasn't touched me?! I don't care! No, no, she did care...

It was totally unfair that Rin, a teen a few months younger than her, got more action with Sesshoumaru in the span of two minutes than Kagome ever did in her entire life!

Apparently, Inuyasha also realized this. "Tell me when to stop." His right hand resumed its path of torture, sliding down the length of her upper body, along the smoothness of her silk dress.

She was forced to sharply suck in a breath of air when her fiancé came upon the mounds of her breasts; all the while, his gaze penetrated her, sought to see inside of her. What he was trying to prove, she didn't know. Did he think she would tell him to stop?

Truthfully, it would be the safest route. But...

...Kagome couldn't deny this wasn't something she longed for...his touch...

The exploring hand embraced the swell of her left breast and the miko arched her neck, biting down on her bottom lip hard. His fingertips grazed the sensitive flesh, testing her limits, discovering the wondrous components of her curves... They teased the nubs they encountered that were fighting against their black silk bindings, and their excitement reflected the way Kagome was trying with her best efforts not to moan out loud.

Yet...Inuyasha only stared at her struggle with herself...increased her torture until he noted the places she longed to be touched...where she wanted to be satisfied. His hand moved on, at last, and Kagome held her breath, awaiting its next destination. It followed the slender dip of her narrow waist and the width of her slender hips, but returned to the center of her flat abdomen, flattening right under her bosom.

Oh gods, what is he doing to me?! The teen cried in her mind, wishing to be able to move and return the pleasure she was feeling in every corner of her body, but she couldn't! She was solely accepting his slow, tedious exploration of her body as though he never laid eyes upon a woman in his entire life.

What terrified her was that she hardly minded... Oh my gods, oh my gods... She was supposed to be stopping him like any normal eighteen-year-old virgin waiting to have sex after marriage! Hell, this never should have started! But no words spewed from her mouth! Can someone die from pleasure-overload?

Her nerves were nearly exploding underneath her clammy skin...

Lower...his hand crept even lower...lightly massaging her abdomen as goose bumps littered her arms... Inuyasha ventured to the beginning of the slit of her dress...right in the middle of her thigh... His eyes never left hers, still silently observing every gasp she attempted to hide, every arch of her neck or back, every flutter of her eyelids...

"Tell me when to stop..." He repeated, but received no reply. Therefore, his right hand continued...played along the hem of her stocking...the tip of the slit's triangular peak...

That was, until his hand grew bored and moved to seek a greater warmth, the warmth encased between black silk and burning skin...

All Kagome could think was, Oh. My. Gods.

His fingertips brushing against the sensitive skin of her thigh left behind a trail of searing scorch marks, yet it only increased her arousal, heightened her awareness of one area of her body in particular hidden in the apex between her thighs. Kagome couldn't believe what was occurring; never in her life had she imagined her and Inuyasha in this position!

He was too innocent!

Too...too...argh!

She gasped, however, when his hand stroked the outside of her thigh, though crept closer to her inner thigh, where the heat of her body was originating from. Instantly, muscles she never knew she had in this region tightened as tension invaded them, awaiting his sweet caress in delight...

The miko felt as though nothing in the world would alleviate the ache that had settled in her core long ago other than the fullness of him, the sensation of him entering her completely and marking her with his own heat. Kagome hadn't thought about...well, going so far with him before.

Inside of her...becoming one with her...sharing one body, one mind, one soul...it sounded enticing.

Yes, it was very enticing, indeed. At least her foggy mind thought it would be the best solution to the ache in her body... A human's first instinct was to alleviate and avoid pain, right? Therefore, she had a viable excuse to yearn for him...to allow him to aid her release her body's tension...

"I-Inu...ahh...yash..." His name resulted in a moan rolling off her tongue, and her voice, husky and breathless, sounded foreign to her own ears. But for some reason...she just couldn't tell him to stop. The words wouldn't pass her mouth.

And she wondered...how far he would go...or how far she would let him go until it became too far...until it resulted in...

Luckily, the hand halted its voyage, and Kagome's arms were no longer pinned. However, instead of a reprieve, a pair of lips hungrily descended on her own, aggressively devouring them, muffling her shocked exclamation. The miko blinked but responded to the assault with as much vigor, wishing to return the pleasure and torture he instigated. She fisted her hands into his hair and pulled him on top of her roughly, parting her lips to taste him and to allow him to taste her in a voracious cycle pleasing them both.

Kagome's hands caressed every bit of skin they could find—the hanyou's flushed cheeks, his neck, his back... Without even noticing, she found herself accommodating him between her legs as she wrapped them around his waist, only serving to press him closer, harder on top of her.

Was this how it felt like to long for someone, to desire someone so badly one lost all reason and rationality? All that registered was how much she wanted him...how she couldn't think of anyone else except for him... The solid ground beneath her wasn't picked up by her senses; the open air around her was not pestering her.

She just wanted him to kiss her, touch her, desire her, love her...

...and she just wanted to do the same to him.

Kagome moaned against the searing mouth avidly moving against hers and arched her back at the friction rubbing against her painful ache, grinding it, soothing it as the body above her growled deeply. Inuyasha migrated to attack her neck, nipping at the delicate skin he found there, sucking when he desired a better taste, reveling in the moans grazing his twitching ears.

But when the pressure of his instinct to mate became too much...too overbearing...

...Inuyasha stopped before he was completely claimed by his inner beast and pulled back.

At first, his expression was of a deer caught in headlights—he looked to be stricken by horror. But before he could stand and curse himself into oblivion—and in the future avoid any contact with her whatsoever—Kagome grabbed the sides of his face.

She tenderly caressed his cheeks while smiling profoundly, her eyes blissfully dazed...

The hanyou blinked, somewhat confused...but leaned in to press his lips against hers in a chaste message...a message imploring her to wait to take their relationship to the next level. Kagome merely sighed and nodded, yet beckoned the hanyou to lie beside her on the ground. Together, the couple gazed at the pieces and bits of the sky they could see beyond the looming treetops, unperturbed by anything else.

I wouldn't give this up for the world, Kagome mused after her heightened senses returned to their normal levels and arousal at last exited her system. I never felt this way for someone before. And I don't think I ever will. It was why she couldn't afford to lose her hanyou.

No. She couldn't.

Kagome grasped her fiancé's right hand in her left one, rubbing her thumb over his palm reassuringly. She wasn't leaving him, not even when he was going to fight in a war and possibly lose his life to an obsessive bastard like Naraku. Hmph. She would be there fighting beside him—she would learn how to fight for his sake, or at least enough to ensure her safety.

Heck, she knew she sucked at fighting, but for the sake of a life eternally bound to him, she was going to make sure she knew how to defend herself properly. It was the least she could do in remuneration for his efforts assimilating in the mortal realm.

And yes, even though she would have to make a great sacrifice...Kagome was certain she would remain by Inuyasha's side, which meant...

...living in the immortal realm.

The revelation made her feel giddy inside, and she grinned, sighing once more in bliss. Inuyasha softly snorted from beside her, probably wondering what she found so amusing. Yet...nothing could ruin their relaxing moment...not now...

...or at least that was until...

"Grr! How the hell am I supposed to survive in a stupid forest by myself and find food and all that other crap?!"

Inuyasha and Kagome bolted upright in surprise and shared an incredulous glance. Someone, a female, was heading towards them in the clearing...and they both recognized the voice immediately...although they wished they hadn't.

"What the fuck is she doing here?!" The animosity laced in the demon god's voice proved Kagome's theory that a certain someone he hated was amongst them. He cursed under his breath and stood to his full height; all the while, he glared straight ahead of him.

Any remnants of peace and relaxation soon ebbed away in a split second.

"I have no clue... How did she even get here?" Kagome followed her fiancé and stood, but she inwardly noted the slight curl of his upper lip and the bestial, aggressive gleam in his eyes.

He feels threatened... Of course, he hated her. It was only natural he would feel uncomfortable with her oncoming presence. "But we can't leave her to fend for herself..."

He never replied.

"Shoot! I hate this stupid outfit! Argh! I hate mud! I hate forests! I hate my life!"

Seconds later, an eighteen-year-old high school student stumbled into the clearing. She scowled at her new surroundings, but when she lifted her stormy blue-gray eyes...she gasped and smiled. "Kagome! Inu-freak! I'm so glad to see you!"

Kagome, however, lacked the auburn-haired teen's enthusiasm and relief. "Hey...Yuka." Someone, anyone...just kill me now. Painfully.


A/N: END! OMG WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?!?! You must all hate me right now...how are there going to be steamy Inu and Kag moments if Yuka's around?! Hehehe... Inu is so cute--never touched a woman before. Yes, Inuyasha, Kagome is a woman--her boobs are real.

At least I hope so...

Next chapter: Hm...let's see...well, Sessh is gonna get a big surprise... Inu kinda forgets once again that he's only half-demon... A little birdie finally tells Meimori that not everything is what it seems... O.U

Sooo...why the hell does Inu want to wait to have sex?! Will Sessh be happy to see Rin? Who will help Meimori realize he's a big fat idiot? WHAT THE HELL IS YUKA DOING IN THE IMMORTAL REALM?!?! How did she get there?! Isn't anyone kinda suspicious? And will Kagome end up living in the immortal realm as planned?

I don't know cuz I'm kinda evil, so... REVIEW! REMEMBER, COMPETE TO BE MY 300th REVIEWER! I wonder who's gonna be my 300th reviewer... :-D