Path of the Heart : 3 : The Dragon and the Blade Chapter 16: The Spoils, an inuyasha fanfic

A/N:.Last chapter! Fourth installment will be out soon, follow for more! :D Reviews always welcome :)

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The game lasted for several hours; by now Toutousai, Myouga, and Moumou had headed to Kaede's house, and Ah-Un had gone off to the side to let Jaken and Kagura rest against his large flank, where they slept soundly.

Now was a critical moment in the game, and would determine the course of the next few moves; Shippou paused and thought very carefully, his eyes roving over the board and glancing up at the taiyoukai who smiled at him from across the field.

"Ready to surrender, Shippou?"

"Not a chance," Shippou smiled, making his move.

And Sesshoumaru grinned and swept the board with his next maneuver, and Shippou was unable to recover after that, and swiftly lost.

"Well, I see you are the victor. Now what were the spoils?" Shippou asked, and Sesshoumaru smirked back at him.

"I can't claim my spoils yet. My Husband isn't awake anymore," Sesshoumaru snickered, and Shippou let out a nervous laugh.

"Oh, is that so? I uh-"

"Don't worry, she's rather easy to please. All she wants is to watch, at least at first," Sesshoumaru added with a devious gleam in his eyes.

"Really?"

"We talked it over...among other things we did. It intrigues her to consider watching, but it would be strange to her to be included. I think she still sees the child you once were, though she didn't say it in so many words."

"So she sees me as a child and would rather just watch you molest me than do it herself?"

"Well when you put it That way," Sesshoumaru blushed a furious red and ducked his head, and Shippou laughed at the reaction.

"I'm game," Shippou chuckled, breaking the awkwardness swiftly, "so long as Lady Mud Nose doesn't kill me for depriving her of opportunities to get her grandchildren."

"I can't believe you actually got Mother to tell you her name. She Is going to kill you," Sesshoumaru began to giggle again himself, still amused at her having fallen for it. In truth he himself had even fallen for that, for he hadn't known until the prank was pulled either.

"I know, I know. I'll have to fly Around her territory for the rest of my life," Shippou chortled.

Kagura stirred at hearing their laughter; they had been fairly quiet during the last hour of the game when she had dozed off, but now their tinkling chuckles tickled her ears, and rousing herself, she smiled pleasantly and blinked and stretched herself awake again.

"Oh dear, I must have dozed off. Are you finished with your game? Who won?" Kagura asked, and they both looked over at her, and then at each other, and smiled, and Sesshoumaru responded.

"I won, dear Husband," he snickered, "and as the victor, I have obtained our spoils."

"Oh?" she blinked again, still waking up, "Our spoils, you say?"

"Yes, Ours," he emphasized, and she smiled wider as he gestured at the kitsune with one slight nod of his head.

Shippou giggled and spread out his hands, his stance light, his tails at ease, his body language trusting, vulnerable, accepting.

"I guess I am to be spoiled," he said, then teasingly, "or is it, you're going to spoil yourselves at my expense? I can't exactly tell."

"Both," Sesshoumaru grinned as Kagura walked over to them, and the three of them smiled, and Shippou flicked both tails, and they made to go to the hot springs; for Kagura was awake and excited now, and Sesshoumaru was eager, and Shippou was willing, and his own eagerness grew...

As they got into the hot water, Shippou paused and took Sou'unga from his back, then laid it with a soft smile near where Sesshoumaru had leaned Tenseiga, next to his armor and Bakusaiga. A thought caught him, but let him go as swift as it had; shaking his head and smiling, he took off the last of his clothes and joined the two other youkai in the heated pool.

"So, Lord Sesshoumaru," Shippou began casually, "am I to learn a new technique from you now?"

"You used my title," Sesshoumaru smiled.

"That I did, Lord Sesshoumaru," Shippou replied, his grin growing wider.

"Hm, a new technique. Now what ever could you mean by that?" Sesshoumaru asked coyly, though he suspected he already knew, for he could feel the kitsune's heart in his own now, and the way it quickened in response, and the way it ached in want, and the way it throbbed in need...

"I think I have many things to learn from you," Shippou said softly, and he moved one hand to start scrubbing the one spot on Sesshoumaru's back that was so hard to reach in these human forms.

"Well, you've certainly learned this technique rather well," Sesshoumaru sighed pleasantly as he nudged backwards just slightly into that.

"I am honored that it pleases you, Lord Sesshoumaru."

"You're full of butter and honey, Shippou."

"Butter and honey? That must make me very sweet," Shippou chuckled.

"Sweet, and sly, and with a tongue as silver and smooth as any travelling merchant...hmm, I wonder if your tongue knows any other tricks."

"Well," Shippou blushed as his own mind raced to that thought and his own groin felt warmer and his pulse rapidly increased, "I'm sure that you can teach me, Lord Sesshoumaru."

"Yes, indeed. A new technique," Sesshoumaru chuckled just a bit darkly; just darkly enough to be enticing, and teasing, and authorative, and Shippou felt himself melting into a feeling of eagerness and, and...submission? Yes, that was it, he realized. He was urgent to serve the dog and watch him enjoy that service; the kitsune was almost desperate to begin already, now that it had been alluded to.

Sesshoumaru felt this urgency radiating from the fox, but smiling, he toyed even more slowly to tease with much foreplay.

"New techniques," Sesshoumaru began in what could be called a facetious lecturing tone, "have to be trained, you know, for a long time in some cases. They can take a lot of effort, and concentration, and practice. Lots and lots of practice. They often require proper form, and just the right kind of training for your breathing and your motions..."

Shippou scratched just a little harder against that spot in his back, and Sesshoumaru smiled, not giving in yet.

"Sometimes," he continued, dropping his voice into a sultry lower tone, "if you are very good, you can learn how to control even the tiniest twitches of your muscles, and create the greatest effects. Yes, some techniques are difficult to master...but they are well worth it."

"Teach me, Lord Sesshoumaru," Shippou breathed, his voice coming out in almost a pant of longing as his aching need arose at his waistline.

"You didn't say please."

"Please, Lord Sesshoumaru," Shippou's words floated up to his ears most pleasantly, and Sesshoumaru put on a large, mock-condescending grin as he deigned to respond regally.

"Very well. I shall teach you," and he took two steps back, gesturing for the kitsune to follow as he raised himself to the shallow end of the hot spring so the water no longer covered his waist. Shippou followed as if he were on a leash, and knelt and panted and began to try to explore this new concept, his motions hesitant but needy, his desire apparent but shy.

"Don't be so nervous," Sesshoumaru said after a moment, laying one hand gently on the kitsune's shoulder, "you'll figure it out easily, you are observant. Relax. Don't try too hard, you'll tighten your throat and close it off. When you feel like gagging, don't push against it like your instinct will want to at first, but swallow, and you'll get past it. Don't worry though, it's not Complicated," he reassured.

Thusly empowered to get over his nerves, Shippou relaxed and began to truly feel out these new things...

And as he was a clever fox, and eager, and a swift study, within the next hour he had learned that he could nearly ignore his gag reflex if he swallowed enough times, and that he could hold his breath for several minutes, and that he loved the taste of the dog on his tongue and wanted to have that feeling buried within him as deeply as it could reach.

And Sesshoumaru surprised himself when he was unable to halt the kitsune in time to slow himself; he'd meant to last longer, but the fox had resisted his pulling away and grabbed him by the hips at the last second, startling Sesshoumaru into losing his mental hold for just that one moment it took for his body to respond in full force.

And then, swallowing and swallowing more, Shippou was latched on as if drinking lifeblood, and this overstimulation made Sesshoumaru squirm and laugh and drag the fox off him damn near by force.

"You greedy kitsune," he chuckled as Shippou panted at him, eyes full of the desire for More.

"Lord Sesshoumaru..."

"You'll have to give me a minute now," Sesshoumaru smirked, then with a flippant gesture, "amuse yourself for a while, naughty nogitsune."

Nervous now, still a bit shy, Shippou slowly began to tease himself, his eyes roving over Sesshoumaru's body at first until he built up the courage to keep his eyes, finally, locked with the golden orbs of the taiyoukai's curious, intrigued gaze.

"You like all that choking, don't you?" Sesshoumaru began after a moment, and Shippou gasped as a hand swiftly reached to wrap around his throat, and he tilted his head back and groaned just a bit.

"I do, Lord Sesshoumaru," he whispered, and felt the hand tighten around his throat, and at this Shippou's own hand almost involuntarily tightened around his own member.

"Good," Sesshoumaru chuckled darkly, "I like choking you too. The way you make all those little noises...rouses my interest," and as he said that, Shippou made another such little noise, and felt Sesshoumaru's hand squeeze even tighter.

"Lord...Sesshou...maru," Shippou gasped, still able to breathe but just barely now, his leg beginning to tremble, "I want...to..."

"Patience, patience," Sesshoumaru hushed him, squeezing Very tightly just before relaxing his hold enough so the fox could breathe, which illicited a slight whine of bodily protest, "not yet, Shippou. Not until I permit it," he ordered, and the fox groaned and slowed himself, easily acquiescing to the dog's command despite his own urges.

"As you wish, Lord Sesshoumaru," Shippou felt the hand resting on his throat now, and panted, his passion-fever high, "whatever my Master commands, it shall be."

"Master? That's a new one from you," Sesshoumaru chuckled, pleased with himself, "but it works for me," he agreed with a none-too-subtle influx of depth and devilishness in his tone now.

Shippou hadn't realized it until he'd said it, but it had felt good and he liked it, and so now, he shuddered at the deepness of the voice of the taiyoukai; but it was not a shudder of fear, rather it was the anguish of delay, a shudder of anticipation.

"Master, how long must I await your command?" he breathed, caught in a swell of desire.

"I'll tell you when," Sesshoumaru chuckled darkly, "but I think you'll be happy to know that I'm ready to plunder my spoils now. Get your hands on the bank and get your tails out of the way," he demanded, and Shippou eagerly obeyed, his breaths ragged as he felt the dog sidle up behind him, moving both tails to the side to bare his back and entering slowly at first.

The initial discomfort was still there, but only slightly so; this time, though, Sesshoumaru wasted no pretext on mercy. He knew Shippou was too eager to care, and began forthwith near as soon as he was aligned.

Shippou gasped, and squirmed; and then relaxed himself forcefully, and swiftly began to groan in pleasure, the bit of pain that went with it he found only heightened the pleasure by contrast, and it was a beautiful feeling; and he felt himself getting close-

"Not yet," Sesshoumaru leaned over and growled softly in his ear, his husky voice now almost musical, "don't you dare let yourself go until I tell you to, Shippou. You have declared me your Master, and now you must obey. You understand?"

"Yes, Master," Shippou breathed, and Sesshoumaru smiled and resumed, and would pause and coo in the fox's ears, or run his hands teasingly along the kitsune's spine, or tug at his long hair, or yank on his tails to pull him snugly for a moment...

And two hours later, Shippou was trembling, shaking, and begging for release.

"Please, Lord Sesshoumaru, please Master, I...I don't know how much longer I can take this," he whimpered.

"Is that so? Do you dare to defy me?"

"No, Master, I, I wouldn't dare to," Shippou whined, his body tensed from the exertion of stopping himself, "but I, I..."

And Sesshoumaru, laughing, reached his hand around and pressed his chest against the fox's back.

"You have been a good little uke, Shippou. I shall give you release at last," he declared, and his own hand moved down and with one swift motion, he grasped and bucked his own hips at the same time, and surprised, Shippou shuddered and spent himself, feeling the dog's other hand snake up beneath his arms to grab his throat and throttle him while he did so.

It was an explosion in the kitsune's mind, and he felt as if he were about to swoon into unconsciousness for a minute; reeling, panting, he kept himself braced on the rocks as his whole body trembled, barely cognizant enough to even register that Sesshoumaru was swiftly finishing inside him at that moment also.

For a long few minutes afterwards, Shippou just panted and grinned, finally sitting himself down slowly as his body still trembled slightly.

"My, you really did enjoy yourself," Sesshoumaru looked rather pleased as he looked first at Shippou, then Kagura, who had been silently but oh so intently watching and enjoying herself quite a bit, though she had deigned not to bemoan her own expressions.

They both smiled back at him, and he felt ten feet tall, and his Mokomoko-sama floated lazily to the side, not covering much of any part of his body, save the shoulder it was currently attached to.

Off to the side, two swords glowed faintly, unnoticed for their subtlety while the youkai bathed and cleaned themselves off.

Further out a ways, their friends all slept soundly, assured that all were home, safe and sound, and all was well with the world for now.

Outside Kaede's hut, Moumou stirred as Kirara nuzzled up to her, in her small kitten form, having come back from a perfunctory patrol.

The cow mooed softly in response to a drowsy meow. Kirara curled both tails up to her nose and snuggled in, content with that answer.

In the near distance on top of the knoll, Ah and Un both felt a slight stir, and Ah asked Un, and Un asked Ah, and Un raised his head while Ah kept his eyes shut, and chuffed into the wind, and snorted once.

She knows more than she lets on, brother.

Always, brother.

It's not over yet, is it?

Will it ever be?

I don't know.

I don't know either.

And they went back to sleep, content with the knowledge that another day would yield another story, perhaps, one that might yet be told at another time...

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Alright, there's the close of the third installment. Stay tuned for the fourth coming soon! Gotta get chapter-chopped and edited. I promise the next one is even better than this one ;D

"Your promises are foul things, wrapped around unholy intentions and laced with venom and spite."

"Uh-"

"Furthermore, I despise the very air you breathe, your existence is an affront to life itself."

"Ehm-"

"I detest the next story. It makes me wish to annihilate you."

"..."

"You heard me."

"It feels like you Meant it this time though..."

"I Do."

"..."