Inuyasha cornered her the next day, Miroku having held him off as long as he could.
"What exactly did you agree to do for that spirit bastard?" he demanded to know.
Scowling, Kagome straightened to her tallest, which wasn't as impressive as she might have wished. "I agreed to be his priestess, Inuyasha. Once the Jewel is complete, I'll return to him and fulfill whatever obligations he tasks me with."
"You idiot! You bound yourself to a being you just met! How the hell do you know he's not after the Jewel himself, huh? Seems a pretty smart way to get access to it."
Hurt flared in her at his words, as if all she was worth was the Jewel. Logically, she knew Inuyasha hadn't meant it like that, but he was always phrasing things in the most belittling way. Working her jaw, she tried to bite back her urge to sit him and the sting of tears.
"I can feel his soul, Inuyasha," she snarled. "He doesn't care about the Jewel at all, save for how it affects me. Thanks for the vote of confidence, though, that the only way I'd be able to find a patron is if they were after the Jewel."
Spinning on her heel, she stormed away. Sango got in Inuyasha's way and shook her head at him.
"Let her cool off, Inuyasha. You'll only make it worse if you go after her now."
Ears back, he relented and muttered about setting up camp before leaping into a tree. Miroku came up beside Sango, his eyes on the area of the woods that Kagome had gone into.
"Is she truly okay?"
Shrugging, Sango began making camp. "Yes. It's just a lot to adjust to."
He nodded. "I can imagine."
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Kagome slowed her determined, angry stride when she heard water running. It was getting dark, but she didn't feel like crawling back to camp just yet. Following the sound, she nearly stumbled when her necklace warmed.
"No way," she muttered, grasping it. They were nowhere near the Kohaku River, and yet…suddenly she was standing on its banks.
Blinking wide eyes, she stared out over it as the moon lit it in silver luminescence. Somehow, she wasn't shocked when hands found her waist and tugged her until her back was pressed against a strong chest.
"You've been troubled," Kohaku noted, sweeping her hair over one shoulder so that he had access to her neck.
Sucking in a breath, Kagome wondered how to explain with him dragging his tongue up her throat. Sharp teeth nipped her just hard enough to leave a mark, sending a bolt of heat surging through her, amplified when he tongued the area a moment later.
"I d-didn't mean to bother you," she stuttered as his power wrapped deliciously around her.
He'd loosened her clothes enough to be able to tug her top down one shoulder. "You are never a bother," he told her, lips against her skin. "I've hungered for you, my priestess."
She was so hot…she wanted to rip her clothes off and fall into his waters. Breathing heavily, she rolled her head to the side to look at him. In the moonlight, Kohaku was divine, his eyes a dark hunter-green that seemed to devour her.
"What are you doing?" she whispered.
His hand slid into her pants, making her tremble when he continued on past her panty line. Fingers touching her in a way no one else ever had, Kohaku watched her intently. Kagome gasped and arched into him when he pushed one digit inside her and stroked her languidly. Her arousal only flared hotter when he cupped her breast and rolled a nipple in a way that had her moaning.
"I'm touching you," he answered, his breath washing over her sensitive ear as he continued his torture. "Your waters call to me, Kagome. I want to taste them, to lose myself in them until we are one. Shall I claim you now?"
His tongue traced her ear just as he flicked the bundle of nerves between her legs. That, combined with their power twining and his soul calling to hers, gave her no other choice.
"Yes!" she pleaded. "Please, Kohaku!"
Turning her to face him, Kohaku kissed her deeply. Kagome threw her arms around his neck, letting him support her suddenly shaky form as she shyly responded to the kiss. She wasn't aware of their clothes falling away until Kohaku lowered them into the water. Even then, it was a brief, fleeting thought, as he claimed the entirety of her attention. In the water, it was almost a sensory deprivation and so everything that passed between them was heightened to unimaginable levels.
When Kohaku finally claimed her body as surely as he'd claimed every other part of her, Kagome was in a haze of pleasure she'd never find with anyone else. Kohaku made certain that she crested again and again, branding his name into every fiber of her essence. She knew with every gentle touch and tender caress that he wasn't doing this out of duty. He honestly was as enthralled by her as she was by him.
And the feel of him filling her so perfectly would never cease to amaze her. When he at last found his own release, Kagome wrapped her legs around him and cried into his neck. Kohaku shuddered and then held her just as fiercely.
"I have never shared pleasure with another," he told her, "but I do not think even Amaterasu could outshine you when you come apart for me."
The knowledge that they'd lost their virginities together had Kagome falling even more for her spirit.
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Sango arched a brow when Kagome dreamily drifted back to camp later that night. "Kagome? We were getting worried."
The priestess blinked and stared at her a minute before apologizing. "Sorry. I didn't think…well, I was just going to cool off, but my upset roused Kohaku enough that he came to me. Sort of. I came to him? His magic's really handy," she said on a girly sigh.
Miroku covered his mouth when Kagome eased onto her sleeping bag instead of just flopping as she normally did. Inuyasha was scowling down at her with his arms crossed.
"You stink of dragon," he growled.
"Kohaku doesn't stink," she glared at him. "He smells crisp and clean and wonderful," she ended on another sigh.
Sango and Inuyasha could only gape at her, having never seen her act so. Recovering first, Sango straightened and wondered if the thought she'd just had could possibly be true.
"Did you talk to him about what we talked about?" she had to ask.
A smile lit the other female's face with such satisfaction, Sango itched to drag her off for details.
"Trust me when I say, he definitely doesn't have a problem with it," she smirked. "And you were right. Sooooo right."
Grinning, Sango nodded. "I want to know everything."
Shippō was looking between them in confusion. "So do I! What happened, Kagome?"
"Kohaku cleared up some confusion I had," Kagome told him.
Miroku crossed his arms. "You must have been very confused, you were gone for hours," he had to say, violet eyes wide with innocence that fooled no one.
Kagome blushed brightly, but shot back, "He was very thorough in his explanation. I asked for clarification on a couple of salient points, too."
Choking, Sango hid her face as she tried not to laugh at Miroku's gleeful expression. Inuyasha and Shippō were looking at them all in bewilderment.
"I don't get it," the kitsune finally muttered.
Inuyasha huffed and leaned back. "The wench probably needed help getting back. She's got no sense of direction."
"Kohaku wasn't complaining," she stated archly.
Miroku cackled at that, finally unable to help himself. Inuyasha didn't know what had set the pervert off, but knocked him out just on principle.
"Stupid monk. Everything ain't about sex," he growled.
Kagome met Sango's eyes and had to press her lips together at the mischief she saw reflected there. Everything seemed so much lighter now and she wasn't even that embarrassed that two of her friends knew she'd gotten laid. It was Kohaku, after all, and she'd never be ashamed of him.
The scales around her soul fluttered, as if he was happy at her thoughts.
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Next Chapter: Final battle!