For the second time, Kagome ran her hand along the rough edge of the submerged stone. Wincing, she turned her dripping palm face-up, watching as the angry red scrape in the center smoothed and faded before her eyes. An anxious frown weighed at her lips. She’d suspected it earlier that day, but now there was no question: her body was mending itself at an abnormally accelerated rate.
As she continued to scrutinize her now-flawless palm, she heard the sound of the stream’s surface breaking behind her. Water rippled around her waist as Sesshoumaru approached her. Strong arms embraced her. The warmth of his chest against her back made her paradoxically shiver. Brushing her wet hair aside, he kissed her neck as he led her toward the grassy shore. She couldn’t help but remember the last time they had been together like this. From the way he was hardening against her, she suspected he was remembering it, too.
It was surreal to think that even then, she had been carrying his baby inside her. His baby. Kagome’s frown deepened. Remorse panged through her at the thought—at the mental attribution, accurate though it was. Briefly, her gaze fell to the thin, pale band of skin encircling her ring finger, before she dropped her hand and let him bend her over the bank again.
She clung to him afterward as he cleaned her, as he dressed her and fed her and fucked her and repeated the cycle all over again. Numbly, the days went by in this way, each one blurring into the next. When he wanted her, he took her. When he pleasured her, she came. When he wanted her to pleasure him, she complied with thoughtless obedience.
It was easier to comply, easier just to let him lead her along. Easier to submit to him than to resist him. Because if she resisted, then she would have to stop and question. She would have to examine that untanned line on her finger again. She would have to wonder about why she was healing faster than before. She would have to worry about the baby growing in her belly and what she was doing here in the first place—
She would have to think about what she had done.
Each act was a distraction, each release a momentary relief. But each one seemed to take a little more from her, leave her a little hollower than before. Each high felt lower than the one that preceded it. Yet she still found herself greedy for that feeling of untroubled lightness—desperate for any brief respite from the dark storm that seemed to be gathering around her.
She could feel him striving as well. The urgency had returned, and now there was no difference between this time and the last. The same hut, the same two accomplices. Only the reason for them being here, the goal that was supposed to justify it all, had been removed. There was nothing to strive for now. Nothing but empty want and fleeting satisfaction.
His frowns in the wake of it began to mirror her own. He turned to her more, fucked her harder—despite the fact that even those transitory sensations of bliss now seemed to elude her. Still, she felt the bite of his claws, the pierce of his fangs—and since that was something that seemed to reach her, he cut her again. And again—until she bled and she wept, and he cursed to himself as he finished alone inside her.
Within an hour, her wounds had healed, but she could still feel them hidden beneath her skin. From the bitter look in his eyes, it seemed that he could feel them, too.
There was no more pleasure to be found in this forsaken place. Even the lavish meals he brought to her tasted like ashes in her mouth. Lingering alongside her, he studied her in stubborn, brooding silence. She didn’t know what he was still doing here, what he was holding out for, if anything. She had retreated so far into her depression that he seemed to have given up on even trying to draw her out.
Yet still, he stayed. And when at last her numbness broke at the sight of the new moon rising, he licked her tears away as she cried.
When morning dawned on the seventh day, Kagome extricated herself from the cage of his arms. Golden eyes watched her as she dressed, as she padded about the hut collecting her scattered belongings. But when she picked up her yellow backpack and settled it onto her shoulders, he grasped her by the wrist and steered her around.
“Where are you going?”
She glanced away. “I can’t stay here any longer.”
His tone was guarded as he said, “Then we will leave.”
She looked at him. His jawline was flinty. His sharp eyes bore into hers. It took everything she had not to falter as she spoke.
“I’m going home, Sesshoumaru.”
“Home.” His grip tightened further. “To Inuyasha.”
Kagome’s gaze hardened. “Yes, to Inuyasha. He’s my husband, and he’s expecting me.” Wariness crept into her voice. “You know that.”
Sesshoumaru’s expression darkened. The naked aggression on his face made her take a step back—as far back as his iron hold on her would allow.
“Let him come for you then,” he said ruthlessly. “I have marked you. I have bred you. I have claimed you in every conceivable way. By all rights, you belong to me.”
His words and his glare transported her back. The years fell away like scales from her eyes. Suddenly, they were facing off against one another once more. She could see him for the creature he was—cold and calculating and covetous for what had never been his.
For what never would be his.
“I don’t belong to anyone,” she bit out. His claws smoked faintly as her reiki seared him. “Let me go.”
His features twisted in pain and fury. His palm and the undersides of his fingers scorched black as he finally released her. Turning on her heel, Kagome snatched up her ring from where it lay glittering between the floor planks. Slipping it back into place on her finger, she set a course for home.
Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi
Revised 9/21/22
I don’t quite get Kagome’s thought process. Does she think that Inuyasha is going to be all happy about her pregnancy when he finds out that the child actually belongs to his brother? Seems like she is a glutton for punishment and pain. Does she not think that he will be extremely angry when he finds out about all the lies and deceit behind his back regardless of what her initial reason for going down the route she chose. Will it all be worth the pain and misery, I wonder?
Of course no one knows the future but a little common sense and self preservation would be nice on her part, not just throw oneself into the fire (like jumping from the frying pan into the fire, so to speak). smh
I think “frying pan into the fire” sums up the situation nicely… D:
Thanks so much for sharing your take, Cheryl! 😊❤️
i hope she does the right thing and tells inuyasha what she’s done. it’s not like she can put it off or anything like that. yasha has a great sense of smell. he’s gonna’ know and when he does-woah i don’t want to be there. sesshoumaru is gonna’ have to do something drastic to keep her and his pup safe. i can’t wait to see what’s the outcome will be when they finally come face to face. keep up the great writing. c’ya’
Thanks, candace! I agree that Kagome *should* tell him – but then he is Inuyasha lol
Happy you’re excited to read what happens next!!😊❤️
The fact that Sesshoumaru is ready to fight puts me a little on edge. Sesshoumaru couldn’t care less about human marriage and whether Kagome likes it or not he views her as his, wholly. I can’t see this ending without a massive amount of bloodshed and at least one of them dying.
I’ll just be over here sipping my tea while Chaos Goddess Char works her magic.
Chaos Goddess! Lol that’s awesome 😆
Thanks, Nicole! – you hit on some key points there 😊
Hope you enjoy the next chapter…!❤️
It seems to me that sesshomaru has sincere feelings for kagome and she’s going back and forth between playing the victim when she was the one who basically coerced him into this situation of creating his first child only to have her pretend it’s his hated brother’s kid. That’s asking a lot of an instinctual creature. I hop the kids born with the cresent moon on it’s forehead and see her attempt to explain that away!
Yeah, too bad Sesshoumaru isn’t the type to vocalize what he really wants and means by his actions. He just “does”.
Haha yeah that could be a tough thing to explain! 😊
Thanks for sharing, Klee!! ❤️
Oooooh! I’m sensing a fight in the future. Char, you’re so devious! Keep up the awesome work! I love where you’re going with this!
Thank you, Cookie!! Yep a fight seems inevitable lol
Glad you’re excited to see what happens! 😊❤️
dun dun dun!
culture, gender, & personality differences split our kagome once again!
sesshou thinks he’s so smart, but boiiiii, it’s gonna take more than a few words amist the throes of passion for her to understand the depth he’s treading here. he never has been a youkai of many words & the few words he does say – without thought – come off assholish. from the mild panic i can see setting into our fav demon, he’s throwing any and everything he can at her to make her stay. he knows just how loyal she is and he’s freaking the fuck out. too bad sesshoumaru doesn’t realize that the word “own” isn’t as romantic as most guys think lol. and kagome here can be a little dense sometimes, just like inuyasha. that’s what makes her such a bull-headed, loyal, loving person! all of these moments between them have been so subtle, she’s just now catching on to the fact that sesshoumaru has been after her for YEARS.
the fact that he was never very forward until now has me believing that he carried a certain amount of respect for their choices up until a certain point that he decided was unworthy of such. whether he knows something about inuyasha that we don’t or if he took the knowledge that kagome would stoop so low as to fake a baby with his brother just to keep the peace… something happened that snapped his resolve to keep the distance. i’m shitting a brick because i knew sesshoumaru would never let kagome walk away with his baby. that’s his BABY!! ack!
now he’s fucking snarling & drooling with obsession cause he’s a loyal motherfucker too, you know!
i hope ‘gome will come to her senses. sesshoumaru will be an animal with her, he loves it, she can submit to a youkai who’s worth it and he can give her what she wants out of life.. he wants to travel the world with her…. BABY, I GOT WHAT YOU NEEEeEeED
just do it, kags. just do it. don’t be miserable anymore. TAKE LIFE BY THE HORNS AND RIDE THAT BITCH.
my bad, he said “belong” not “own”. i’m sticking with what i said tho. it really is interesting how male and female are different in this aspect. in most cases, the nature of a man, especially a territorial person such as sesshoumaru, to own or belong or to have really just boils down to the act of wanting something. he has something to protect. although most women don’t like the terminology backed with such aggression, i’ve come to understand it’s really the only way most men can express their need for something.
although the word property is a whole other word in itself.
Yep this has been my experience with guys too 😆 they just can’t help it!
❤️
Waaah! I love it!! Take life by the horns – hell yeah!! 😈
But seriously though, amazing to hear your analysis of the events thus far! “sesshou thinks he’s so smart” – lol, man that one got me. So true haha
Really appreciate you taking the time to share, evelyn!! Hope you enjoy how the story unfolds… ❤️❤️
As usual this Kagome doesn’t think far ahead.
Does she believe Inuyasha will do nothing? He threatened and choked her when he thought she was skanking around. Now that there is proof – pregnancy, bite marks – that she did cheat on him, does she think he won’t kill her? And in that era, the community will back him up. At the very least, she will become a pariah.
Didn’t she tell Sesshoumaru to take everything a couple chapters ago? She submitted fully to him, now she is running back to her cuckold of a husband. I hope Inuyasha cheated on her too so there will be no more sham of a marriage to keep up. Her wishy washiness is so annoying. She has a kid to think about now, not just herself.
Grow up Kagome. You have to deal with the consequences of your actions.
lol yeah indecision is a bitch…seems Kagome has lost her bearings 🙁
I suppose she got caught up in the moment with Sesshoumaru. But I agree, she needs to grow the hell up!
Thanks for sharing as always, Doug!! ❤️