"I-Inuyasha." Kagome lowered her bow completely, apprehensively taking in the full human version of the dog demon she'd come to know so well. The longer she stared, the more his blush deepened, until he strode forward and grabbed her by the hand.
"Come on." He barked, pulling her swiftly along behind him until they had come to an unoccupied shrine on the outskirts of the village, far from most other huts. The structure was hardly a complete building with only three walls and a roof housing a small well and an offering pot, but there was ample room to stretch out and this Inuyasha did as he gripped his sword and sank down to hide himself within the limited space. He had let go of Kagome somewhere around the threshold and she followed along, sitting down next to him with quiet acceptance of the situation.
He sighed, realizing she was likely waiting for him to feel comfortable enough to begin, so as quickly as possible, he rushed through the details.
"Each new moon, I turn full human." He looked away so she couldn't see his face, only hoping that what he may find on hers wasn't disappointment. "I didn't want you to know, or anyone to know, so keep it to yourself." Before she could interrupt, he snapped, "Every hanyou has a worthless night. This is mine. Just another reason that the jewel granting my wish could help me fight how difficult this world truly is for someone like me."
"If a demon found out, you would be targeted." Kagome patiently measured, listening to the absent chirp of grasshoppers surrounding the shrine as she weighed the severity of the situation.
"If anyone found out." Inuyasha seethed, still unable to look at her face, instead staring at the ground with contempt. "Like I said, even you knowing is a danger to me. If you told anyone-"
"I would never!" Kagome spun to face him, quickly targeting her companion with the earnestness of her widening eyes, but he cringed away in humiliation.
"Well, either way, now you know how weak I truly am." Inuyasha's voice dropped to a sullen snarl, "You have to see me here, hiding like a coward. Running from my problems and my enemies. I wouldn't have to do this as a full demon."
At a loss, Kagome bit her lip while his anger trembled through him, shaking the very floorboards beneath them. She absently reached out and touched his shoulder, even after he flinched beneath her fingers, slowly running her hand along his tense back until her arm wrapped around him and her head leaned instinctively downward, held up by the support of his body. He softened beneath the weight of her embrace, curious how it made him feel to be held by her. The curve of her delicate arm felt comforting and sweet, a grasp that could never hurt him, but instead lulled his tepid body to let go of some of the pressure that held him rigid. Becoming languid under her touch, he finally turned to look at her. She smiled, seeing some warmth return to his eyes.
"You could never be weak, Inuyasha." She dropped her arm as he shifted to face her, finally giving up on his childish pouting and allowing his body to run parallel to her own. She looked up to continue sharing an endearing smile that fought to tame his helplessness, and to his surprise, he found her winning the battle quite easily. Preoccupied for a moment and gazing into his locks, Kagome delicately wrapped a tendril of his hair around her finger, babbling absently as she inspected it, "It's so strange seeing you with black hair. I love your silver hair, but you pull this off, too. It looks good!"
"How would you know?" Inuyasha grumbled, catching her hand and her eye at the same time, stopping her words as they rose in her throat. She reddened as he held her hand airborne, then slowly lowered it from between them to get a full view of her stunned expression. His remained stern, and she knew he wasn't talking about his change in hair colour. He cradled her hand in his and closed his eyes, leaning forward to breath in vividly. Though his scenting was far below its regular ability, as it usually was around this time, he could still make out the fragrance that Kagome naturally wore with her, and he was instantly soothed. When he opened his eyes, his face was inches from hers, her eyes still wide and fearful with the sudden gruffness of his voice.
"I know you'll never be as weak as I am." Kagome laughed timidly, trying to shake off the seriousness of his tone, but found herself falling into the memories of her own weakness instead. The demon in the forest, her issue with Hojo, and the jewel half at her throat conjuring images of Naraku; she gulped uneasily just thinking about him. Inuyasha, noting the way her face fell, let her hand go to run his palms comfortingly up and down her arms. The burn of his grasp as he tenderly rubbed her skin etched its way into her memory as she forced herself to go on, "Th-that's for sure. I'm still surprised you'd rather be betrothed to me at all, most would just take the jewel and run. And why not?" It was her turn to look away, sullen.
"I think you're wrong." Inuyasha stopped to wrap his fingers around her wrist before pulling shortly, tugging Kagome off balance. She came tumbling toward him and he caught her around the waist with his free arm, allowing her body to crash into his, her face into his neck and her legs into his lap.
She struggled to right herself, slipping on her knees against his to try and find her way backward but his arms pinned her to him. Instead of further away she found herself straddling his lap, the situation becoming ever more precarious in her attempt to remove herself. His arm still wrapped around her in support and the other held her wrist, effectively drawing her body toward his own. She raised her face to beg his assistance and apology, only to find him looking down at her with a very human expression, one she knew well, but one that seemed to radiate with a demon like hunger. She swore though he had no fangs, she could still make out the glint of his teeth sharply assessing their desire from behind his waiting lips.
She shuddered as his grip on her tightened, and her body reacted as though on its own accord to snake her arms around his neck. Her chest flattened into him, and they couldn't get any closer if one were a wind tunnel. She already felt sucked forward, the black hole of their magnetic link dictating her movements as she readily leaned her head back for him, just as his lips connected delicately with hers.
At first his mouth was feather light, moving along like a cloud and only growing in headiness as she pressed into him, granting his moves for approval with a low lick of her tongue dissolving any barrier of question between them. Sliding his hands ravenously up her waist to hold her securely by the ribs, his kiss deepened into a devour. He lifted her completely off the ground and leaned into their meld, her legs wrapped around his waist to secure their fastened bodies. This was only to last so long before he towered over her, gently inclining down until she lay with her back flat on the floor of the shrine, legs still wrapped around him and his hands at her hips gently caressing from the softness of her upper thigh to the inward curve of her waist. The short skirt of her kimono fell back so he was granted access to the warm and blushing skin, which he gratefully palmed in the groping passes of his hand. He felt goosebumps on her as he grasped, somehow grabbing at the same time as he stroked. His hand moved to enjoy the swell of her hip and the dip of her waist, his tongue warmly tasting hers.
He gazed down at her, breaking their kiss for a brief second to gauge her needing and approving face, before smothering her with his lips again, running his hands up to her chest this time. Her back arched knowingly, almost offering herself to him as he ran his hand along her ribcage to the swell he desired, feeling his blood pooling to one distinct place. He shifted to hide the hardening mass between his legs, forced to break their ongoing connection to keep her from noticing, or god forbid grazing her with it. With his hand frozen in place, he clenched his teeth and fought against himself to relax but found he couldn't calm the veracious rush of his instincts. Taking a deep breath, he leaned down once more, raising the hand that lay just below Kagome's perfect breast and lifted it to caress her face instead as he lightly pressed a gentle and final kiss to her lips. Collapsing into the well of her neck, he thought to himself, not while I'm human, a novel emotional instinct the only thing stopping him before he went over the edge and lost all respectability.
"Being human makes me… this weak." Inuyasha panted, his harsh incoming breaths matching Kagome's exerted gasps. They lay in that way, Inuyasha holding Kagome closer with his arms around her, his face pressed into her neck, and Kagome cradling his head with her fingers in his black human hair. As their chests rose and fell, the desire between them abated only by Inuyasha's urge to control himself, he tried to subdue what still raged through him in an uncomfortable and inexperienced torrent.
He wondered at himself and the strange surge of willpower until it hit him, he wanted her to accept him as he was. As a half-demon. Running his fingers down her neck and delighting in the way she shivered at his touch, he felt his heart hammer and the whirlpool in his stomach slosh insistently.
It was Kagome who spoke next, her quiet voice laden with something so sincere and smooth, he found it waking in him a wanting so unnerving he had to bite his lip, hard.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with some weakness." She breathed, rolling a tendril of hair around her finger in a way that made every nerve ending in his scalp scream for more contact. "This, I don't seem to mind. I wish you felt this way as a hanyou."
He sat up gingerly, helping her body to come to a rest rather than falling from the arms he held beneath her as he removed them, so she didn't thud to the floorboards. When he had removed himself from her without repercussion, she sat up as well, looking to him with a sad and abandoned expression, one he quickly remedied by pulling her back into his arms. This time allowing her to rest fully in the cavern of his body, he leaned against the shrine wall, hand on his sword, his heart still beating with a noticeable racing thud matching Kagome's as it fluttered in her pulse. She snuggled into the layers of his fire rat robe as they spilled out over her and spread her arm over his secure and strong chest, knowing that human or not, she felt safe in a way she had never felt before when she was with him. He held her easily over top of his body, eyes as always only halfway shut. Even in his human form, he sought to stay awake and watch over her, arms draped around her waist and his breathing returning to an even rhythm.
She was almost reaching the edges of sleep when his husky response washed over her, alighting her anew with a blazing wakefulness that burned through her being. He tightened his grip as he murmured into her hair,
"I do, Kagome. I've felt this way since the moment I met you and knew who you were." She swore she felt his lips move, a small pressure against her head like the softest stamp of affection. "But you were already so afraid, and I didn't know how to proceed. At the time, I just wanted the jewel. But now… I don't know what happened. You just changed things for me."
"Yeah, I broke the jewel. That's a hell of a change." Kagome wondered if she may be spending too much time around the hanyou the way she sarcastically tore herself down, but she felt Inuyasha's arms around her and the comfort of his chest beneath her face and knew that wasn't what he implied.
Together they fell asleep, neither one wishing to venture further into what lay in wait of them, sensing as they did the impending danger of their mission. Especially as a human Inuyasha thought as his mind gave up to his needs and allowed him a moment to go under. Better this new moon happens now than when we find Naraku. I can't let anything stop me from destroying him. Not even this stupid curse.
On top of him, Kagome shifted. Before falling into sleep, he wrapped his sleeves around her carefully, securing the material from the wind.