Reluctantly, she conceded that Kaede had been right. Inuyasha had lost more of his marbles in the final fight than Kagome had initially been willing to acknowledge. Not only was he distant towards her, but he also seemed ominous - potentially dangerous. It was distinct from the times he had fully transitioned into his demon form before. Now, he wasn't in a frenzied state of survival; instead, he displayed a calmness and level of calculation she had never seen in him. At that moment, he felt like a stranger to her, yet she could not abandon him. She knew Inuyasha was still present within that changed form. If enduring a few insults meant she could eventually reach him, she would nurse him back to health and wait patiently for his demon side to recede, returning him to her once again.
Kagome hauled a heavy bucket of water into the hut, having filled a wooden tub to the brim that she had managed to bring inside. Before fetching the water, she had organized bathing supplies such as cloths, soap, and a sponge on the hut floor. Exhausted from her strenuous efforts, she seated herself next to the demon, wiping her forehead with the sleeve of her yukata. Damp strands of her dark hair stuck to her cheek. "That should be more than enough for you to get cleaned up," she affirmed.
Gently, she helped him sit upright. "I'll help you take off your bandages." As she reached for his shirt, his hand halted her progress. Puzzled, Kagome looked at him. He released her hand, his claws lightly grazing the back of her hand. "You will bathe first," he commanded, his tone making it clear it wasn't a request.
Kagome blushed, uncertain how to respond to his request. "W-what!" She stuttered, reflexively drawing her hand to her chest defensively. "There is no way that I will… do such… with you in the room." Her voice trailed off as she finished her sentence.
Unruffled, the demon countered, "You've seen me undress on many occasions. It feels uncomfortable being exposed in such a way. Unless you do so first."
Kagome stared at him, taken aback by his blunt logic, shooting him an irritated glare. She couldn't imagine the demon being embarrassed about his nakedness, nor did she want to consider the alternative—that he simply wanted to see her undressed to get off by. His remark about the water cooling down during her hesitation reminded her of the urgency of the situation.
Kagome sighed in frustration. If this was any ordinary situation, she'd simply leave and tell him to wash by himself. However, the importance to clean him properly—firstly, to prevent his infection from worsening, and secondly, because his reek was making her eyes water—superseded her embarrassment. She guessed the demon was trying to undermine her control over his weakened state by placing her in such a compromising and embarrassing situation. That way, he wouldn't feel vulnerable under her care if he first made her feel humiliated.
"Fine," she muttered quietly, losing every counter argument she had formed for herself.
Turning her back to the demon, her hand trembled slightly as she began untying her obi. She tried to emotionally detach herself from the situation and will her hands to be steady. As she removed the first item of clothing, a hoarse voice asked her to turn around. She felt anger rising within her and was about to yell at the demon for taking things too far when she saw the sternness in his eyes and decided to stay silent. He would see her undress regardless of her position. The humiliation could not be escaped, although she would have preferred it to be lessened.
Thankfully, he didn't ask her to maintain eye contact. She was too embarrassed to look at him, even if her life depended on it. Once her obi was off, she slowly removed her other garments, being very mindful in how her fingers worked on the clothes. She didn't want to prolong the situation, per se, but rather hoped that he would have had enough and ask her to stop before she was completely undressed. She wondered how she appeared to him in that moment, blushing, averting her eyes, biting her bottom lip – the epitome of a bashful virgin – as her clothes slid down her body. Or perhaps she seemed more like a trembling object of ridicule.
She was left in her undergarments – a bra and panties. They were a matching pair of light blue, comfortable and practical rather than sensual. She was reluctant to move her hands behind her back to unclasp her bra. Her face burning with a mixture of anger and mortification, she fixed her gaze on the wall beside Inuyasha. "Isn't this enough already?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"All of it," he responded after a pause. His voice sounded strained and hoarse, but Kagome couldn't bring herself to look at him, despite her curiosity about the expression accompanying his voice.
Shifting her weight from one foot to the other and rubbing her shoulders uncomfortably, Kagome found herself feeling not cold, but increasingly hot the more she undressed. She finally admitted defeat, slowly moving her hands behind her back. After a few tugs, she felt her bra loosen around her chest. She clung to the last remnants of her modesty, praying silently as she let the garment fall with a soft thud on the floor. She didn't try to cover herself with her hands. He undoubtedly wanted her shame to be complete, and she had given him just that.
Finally, she bent over and pulled off the last piece of clothing that protected her modesty.
There she stood, under the relentless gaze of the beast. She finally dared to take a peek at his face. The demon's eyes were dark and shrouded by something that ran deep as he stared at her nakedness without restraint. Kagome felt a horrifyingly hot throb inside herself.
"You may help me undress now," the demon spoke, jolting her from her frightful confusion.
The girl shakily walked over to the demon as if compelled by some devilish force, bereft of her own will. She knelt next to him and quickly began to undress him. It had to be done efficiently, unfeelingly, like a medical procedure. There was nothing more to it, even if the demon found twisted amusement in the situation.
Once she had removed his upper clothing, she contemplated whether she should undress him completely before advancing to remove his bandages, or should she take the bandages off first? Her gaze met his hot, deep, crimson eyes. He looked famished in a way that made Kagome flush to the core. The corners of his mouth curled into a hint of a smile—an arrogant, complacent grin as he leaned back on his arms and pulled his shoulders down, making his chest appear broader.
He was taunting her and succeeding at it.
Kagome quickly grabbed a small knife from her pouch of medical tools that she had placed next to his futon. She drew the knife across his bandages, precise and swift with her hands even though everything else in her shook.
"I'm sorry, this will hurt," she apologized and began to peel the bandage from his chest. The cloth was blackened by his blood and had crusted over where the blood had dried. The smaller gashes had healed nicely, leaving only faint scars, but the deeper wound was rotting away. The festering flesh discharged yellow pus. Intestinal fluids had seeped out from the gaping wound and hardened on his skin. The sight was almost as revolting as the stench. Kagome removed the last of his bandages and neatly piled them on the floor.
The reason his wounds took so long to heal was likely due to his mixed heritage, the girl pondered, arriving at the same conclusion as the demon earlier. And his wound was inflicted by dark powers, which must have been why it was decaying the way it was.
When the earlier strange tension had dissipated, Kagome felt composed enough to help the demon stand up and remove his trousers. She made sure to focus her attention on the ceiling as his lower garments were discarded.
She supported him on his good side, and they limped to the tub. He steadied his steps by grabbing onto Kagome's waist. His claws mere inches away from her... every imaginable delicate place.
When they reached the tub, Kagome assisted him into the water, maintaining her chaste gaze firmly on the ceiling until everything questionable had been submerged. She sighed and sat on the floor next to the demon's tub.
"So, I'll leave you with the cleaning supplies, and I'll come back after you're finished with your bath," the girl explained, brandishing a sponge and a bar of soap.
"No," he simply replied, sweeping his eyes over her body in a critical manner. "I said you'll bathe first."
The small hairs on her neck and arms stood up with ire. She bit her lip, almost desiring to taste her own blood. That had been the original agreement, but she had hoped he had already tired of her embarrassment.
"What are you waiting for?" A low query resonated in the air as the demon made no move to begin bathing.
She scooted closer to the tub and, after a moment of hesitation, took the sponge, clutching it so tightly that her knuckles went white. After dunking it in the bathwater, she quickly pulled it out and raised it to her body, squeezing the liquid onto her shoulder. Trails of water snaked down her back, chest, belly, all the way to her thighs. After drenching herself, she proceeded to apply the soap. She held the tablet in her hand and began making small circles with it. Foam started to gather on her body, shrouding her chest and arms in dense clusters of bubbles.
As the sponge felt more like a cheese grater, she didn't want to scrub her skin too harshly. She moved it softly along her skin, acutely aware of and disturbed by the eyes that followed every movement of her hands.
After sufficiently cleaning herself, Kagome reached for the sponge again. This time, she first doused him with the soaked sponge, then gently rubbed his skin with the bar of soap. "This will probably sting a little," she whispered, moving the soap over the wound under his chest. He didn't react, but she knew it most likely burned intensely.
His skin felt smooth and taut under her fingers. After he had lost weight, she could clearly see the muscles beneath the skin. His abdomen was particularly well-defined and felt hot under her hands. She allowed herself to linger a bit longer than necessary on his stomach, exploring his hard body with her touch. But it felt wrong. She shouldn't look at him like that. He was still sick.
Kagome was painfully aware that his hungry gaze followed her every action, traced every curve. Whatever was building up inside her was making her feel restless.
She was self-conscious, knowing the demon could hear her racing heart. Could sense whatever she was feeling. Kagome scolded herself for the sensations sweeping through her body in waves. She was making a fool of herself in front of him, just as he had intended. Her eyes trailed downwards on his trunk. Below those sculpted muscles began a trail of silver. A glimpse of something forbidden.
She handed the sponge to him, "Here, you can clean your own privates. You can surely manage that much."
Inuyasha looked at her, and she saw, or at least imagined seeing, a glint of enjoyment in his eyes. He lazily reached for the sponge, making sure to graze her hand with his touch just a bit more than necessary. Kagome swiftly pulled her hand away as if she had received an electric shock.
Following their bath, Kagome, now dressed, was finishing up bandaging the demon. She reached for the knife to cut off the excess cloth. The young woman was relieved that his worst wound was no longer bleeding heavily, and overall it looked healthier in color. Inuyasha calmly watched her work, an expression on his face that Kagome could only interpret as boredom.
However, his shoulder felt awfully itchy, and he reached to scratch it. Kagome attempted to swat his hand away because she didn't want him irritating the sensitive, scarred skin, but his demon reflexes caught her hand mid-air. Kagome looked into Inuyasha's eyes and blushed. She tried to retract her hand, but the demon was holding her firmly in place. He tilted his head curiously at the reddish tint on her cheeks, "Are you fearing or rather hoping that I will take you?"
Kagome tore her hand from his grip and stared at him aghast, "Wha-what did you say?"
The demon let out a joyless, foreign laugh and replied, "I could smell it on you earlier. The heat. You were reeking of it as we bathed. But you seem to be apprehensive of being touched by me. You fear you won't be able to control your urges?" Inuyasha's smile widened into a predatory grin, "I must admit that your scent wasn't completely ineffective. I even had trouble containing myself. After all, your body does please me, and I do believe fucking you would—"
"Shut up!" Kagome shouted and stood up. She paused to take a deep breath and continued in a low tone, her voice on the verge of breaking, "I'd never want you. You are not the man I love."
The demon seemed genuinely amused, and he nonchalantly cocked his head, "Ah, you may not love me, but you certainly do desire this body." He teased her and made sure to sweep her whole body with his heated, famished gaze, leaving a trail of burn in its wake.
"I wasn't planning on taking you until later, but if you continue to tempt me, I might have to act sooner than I initially intended."
Kagome's whole body trembled with resentment. She was horrified by his words. Never had he spoken to her in such a demeaning and offensive way.
"I'd never give myself to an animal like you."
Her eyes burned, but she defiantly continued to stare him down. Before she lost the last of her remaining composure, she left, slamming the fusuma shut behind her.
Kagome hurried out of the house and walked all the way up to the river nearby. There she slumped to her knees on the grass and allowed the tears to flow down her face. God forgive her, but she had… She had wanted him.