The Portal

Chapter 10 – A Quick Dip

They could hear the waterfall before they were able to see it. The sound of it sent a shiver of anticipation through Kagome. Waterfall equals bath! She felt like an inch of sweat and dirt was caked to her skin. She started to ask Sesshomaru if he minded if they stopped for a swim, but then she decided that she didn’t need his approval. She would get a bath whether he liked it or not.

Sesshomaru could feel the miko’s resolve strengthening through the sudden change in her scent. She suddenly went from rather bored to excited to stubborn. At least, that’s what he was guessing. He wondered briefly what it was that caused the girl to suddenly feel like being defiant. She had been rather quiet all morning, which he was certainly grateful for. However, not speaking continuously was also very out of character for Kagome, and that could only mean one thing... she was ‘thinking’. That would most certainly lead to trouble. The taiyoukai began to slash through the vegetation with renewed gusto, as he awaited the inevitable altercation.

‘Ooh, it looks so inviting!’ Kagome sang, when she got her first look at the hidden lagoon beneath the spectacular falling water. The water was crystal clear! Why, she could even see the sandy bottom! It was absolutely picture perfect, and there was no way she was going to pass this opportunity by.

Sesshomaru, however, made no move to stop. He just continued hacking away at the thick growth, making a trail toward the closest of the three pyramids. Kagome considered saying something. She considered it, she really did, but on second thought, she decided not to. Instead, Kagome let Sesshomaru keep right on hacking away.

Kagome slipped her clothing off, and jumped into the pool of cool water, as soon as Sesshomaru and Naraku were out of sight. She knew they would figure it out eventually, but in the meantime she would scrub the grime from her body. It wasn’t like they could kill her or anything, so they would just have to deal with it.

The water was pure heaven as it flowed against her skin. Kagome dove under the water and swam for a ways. It was amazingly crystalline, and even underneath the surface she could see everything clearly. Kagome swam to the rock that held her shampoo and soap. She quickly poured a dollop of shampoo in her palm and began furiously scrubbing her scalp. She couldn’t remember a time when shampooing had felt so wonderful. Afterwards she lathered her cloth and began scrubbing her body. It was a little hard to do, submerged mostly under the water, but she would take no chances that her companions would return and catch her standing there nude. With the last satisfying scrub, Kagome turned and dove back down into the water, rinsing the suds from her hair and body. It felt great to be clean again.

‘Damn that stubborn wench!’ Sesshomaru cursed as he and Naraku headed back to the waterfall. He was sure that’s where she was. He had thought that perhaps she was just lagging behind, or maybe stopped briefly to re-fill her water bottle, however it soon became apparent that the miko was not going to catch up any time soon.

Sesshomaru hated insubordination, and this girl was definitely a defiant, irresponsible, though somewhat appealing, wench indeed! His normally light footsteps were replaced with angry pounding of feet as he made his way back through the path that he had just cut. Naraku lumbered behind him, but had not spoken. He would do well not to, for the time being.

As Sesshomaru rounded the corner, he caught sight of her. Unfortunately, that’s all it took to quell his anger. He stopped dead in his tracks, and quickly turned to his annoying shadow, “Naraku, stay put.”

Sesshomaru slipped into the vegetation, and made his way around the pool of water where the miko was finishing her cleansing ritual. Between the thick growth, and tree trunks he could see her splashing in the lagoon, as if she had not a care in the world. He finally emerged near a thick patch of bamboo, where he waited for her to catch sight of him.

She moved like a fish in the water, reminding him of the fairytale water nymphs in the stories his mother read to him as a child. Never had he witnessed a human move with such grace, and agility. Her long raven hair flowed out around her as she stopped, hovering there above the deepest part of the pool. The waterfall itself was just beside her, and no doubt the sound drown out all others.

He watched to see what she would do. He didn’t feel that he could stop himself. When she began to search the forest for signs of movement, he actually found himself stepping backward in to the lush greenery. ‘Now what possessed me to do that?’ he asked himself.

Once Kagome was sure no one was watching her she carefully climbed her way up over the huge rocky edge of the lagoon. She wanted to see if there was a cave behind the falls. She was almost positive that she spotted an opening back there.

Sesshomaru smirked when she rose from the water. Her body was bared to him, and the water droplets glistening in the suns rays made him wish to run his hands over her skin to wipe them away. Her long raven hair clung to her back, falling into a vee that ended just before her perfectly rounded bottom.

He couldn’t help the reaction his body was having, and he felt as if he had betrayed himself once more over this mortal woman. That made no difference, however as his feet began to move of their own accord. Soon he stepped behind the falling water.

Kagome was checking out the neat little cave she had discovered. The sand rose from the water to cover the floor of the cave, between moss covered rocks. It was a little dark, but there was a crack in the rocks on the left side of the wall, which graced the little hideaway with a sliver of light. It really was beautiful here, and she found herself longing for Sango more than ever. Her friend would have loved it here.

Kagome sighed deeply; she missed her friends, and wondered if she would ever really get home to see them again. They probably thought that she was dead. That thought saddened her a great deal. She never wanted to bring them pain.

Movement from the corner of her eye brought her swinging around in fright. “Sesshomaru!” Kagome said breathlessly when she caught sight of the pale taiyoukai. “You scared me to death!” Suddenly Kagome became acutely aware of her lack of clothing. “Oh my God!” She shrieked and made a vain attempt to cover her nakedness from the demon lord.

He watched as the flush covered her body from head to toe. Her heart rate immediately began to race, as she realized her dilemma. Sesshomaru smirked with amusement, and took a step forward.

“NO! Just stay where you are you hentai! I would have expected this from Miroku, but not you!” Kagome yelled, as she looked around desperately for something to cover herself with.

“Surely you do not compare this Sesshomaru with that lecherous monk friend of yours?”

Kagome would have shaken her finger at him in indignation, but at the current moment one hand was wrapped over her chest to hide her breasts, and the other hand was splayed out in an attempt to hide the small dark patch of curls between her legs. “Why you...! Get out of here!”

“I will not. Had you not chosen to take leave of our group, I would not have had to come collect you,” Sesshomaru stated, although Kagome could have sworn his normally emotionless voice held a hint of laughter.

“You think this is funny, don’t you?!” Kagome accused in frustration.

“Perhaps... and perhaps I am simply losing my patience with an insolent ningen wench, that thinks she can defy the Lord Sesshomaru without reprimand,” the taiyoukai said flatly. He watched her reaction, and was not disappointed when his words sent her into a fury.

Kagome was highly pissed now! ‘How dare that arrogant son-of-a...’ She completely forgot about her nakedness as she stepped up to the demon. She pointed her finger up at his face and let it fly, “Why you arrogant snobbish bastard! Just because you’re a youkai doesn’t mean that you can just go bossing other’s...”

He cut her off right there. With one swift movement he pulled her hard to his chest and captured her pouting lips with his own. Sesshomaru worked her mouth until she slightly parted her full lips, then he greedily went in to taste her. He fought against her wet tongue and traced her moist cavern as he memorized every secret it held. He sucked on her fleshy tongue and enjoyed the moan that escaped her throat. Her flesh was cool and damp as his fingers traced along her back and around to her hips. She did not even try to fight against him, and he placed that tid-bit of information away for future use. If this were all it took to remove her defiance, then he would not hesitate to use it against her.

Her tiny hands began to trace the lines of his chest, until they came to rest upon his nipples. He was surprised when she startled him by pinching the nubs between her slender fingers. Sesshomaru devoured her mouth with his, and slowly worked his right hand up to cup her firm breast.

Reality hit like a ton of lead, and Kagome jumped back with a sharp gasp! “Oh! I... Uh...” Well, she wasn’t sure what to say. She was standing here in an extremely romantic, tropical paradise, naked and making out with Inuyasha’s older brother who had tried to kill her once. What the hell could she say to that?! Kagome shook her head ferociously to clear the cloudy bliss still swimming there. ‘What to do?’ She was panicking. Sesshomaru was just standing there... all bare chest'd and looking delicious, and staring directly at her body. Yes, staring at her body as if he wanted to continue what he started!

‘I’ve gotta get out of here!’ Kagome screamed to her self. ‘Move girl, move!’ Once she managed to break free of his spell, she took off in a run. As soon as it was clear, Kagome dove straight through the pouring water. For a brief moment she felt the warm air, as she broke through the falls, then the cool water of the lagoon met her as her body sank into it’s depths. Kagome resurfaced minutes later and began the swim back to her backpack... and clothing.

Sesshomaru stood there momentarily in shock. The woman had dove right through the falls to escape his advances. He had certainly had his fair share of women doing strange things to GAIN his advances, but never had one went to such extreme measures in order to break free from them.

Kagome was certainly an enigma.

“Now what could have happened between the great Lord Sesshomaru and the fearless miko to have caused her to flee in such a manner?” Narau pondered from his perch. He was fortunate enough to get a glimpse of his miko just before she stepped behind the falls. Then the taiyoukai followed. They were out of his sight only moments before the girl came bursting out of the waterfall.

It certainly did not take a genius to figure out that the inuyoukai wanted her flesh, and that thought made his blood boil in anger. ‘How dare he touch what is mine.’ Naraku sat perfectly still, as he watched Kagome quickly hoist herself from the water. She pulled on her clothing with great haste, and Naraku found himself wishing she had taken her time. If only he could touch her skin. It was sure to be as smooth as silk.

Naraku was shaken violently from his pleasant daydream by the voice of the one that dared touch his miko. His black eyes flashed red as his sights fell on Sesshomaru, who demanded he follow him. He hated the inu bastard with all of his being. The only one who held a higher position was the taiyoukai’s mutt brother, Inuyasha.

Inuyasha, for once, was not here to interfere with his plan to make Kagome his. Naraku clucked at the thought of the inu-hanyou. ‘Too bad Inuyasha. If only you and she had died, as I planned. I would have been free of your threat, and free of this cursed obsession over this miko bitch.’

Naraku stood to follow Sesshomaru over to Kagome. ‘Now that she has lived, and I have had the pleasure of smelling her arousal, I do not wish to be rid of her. Now I find that I want her even more. Her and her sacred jewel shards. Unfortunately, you, Lord Sesshomaru, now stand in my way. Kagome will be mine.’

Kagome had pulled out the only clean clothes she had. They really were not fit to wear in front of anyone, and she couldn’t believe she was being forced into wearing them now. She normally slept in these clothes, making sure that Miroku never got a glimpse. She looked down at the light blue baby doll shorts. They were way short, and on the butt was written ‘princess’. The tank top was white with spaghetti straps, and just a little too short, since her breasts had grown so much since she bought it last year. “Oh well, it’s better than being naked,” Kagome huffed before gathering her dirty clothing to wash.

“Not much better,” Sesshomaru interjected. He almost laughed at the surprised look on the miko’s innocent face. Her huge cerulean eyes met his and he saw a flash of anger there. He liked that spark in her eyes. “No wonder my little brother follows you around like a puppy in heat. Your clothing is utterly indecent”

“Oooohhhh, why you... you... PIG!” Kagome snarled as she turned to stomp off. She only made it two steps before she tripped over Tala.

Sesshomaru stood watching her fall, and almost let the event play out to completion, however, he was pleased with her newfound cleanliness, and wished for her to remain so for the moment. He reached out to grab her arm. Once he steadied her, she looked up in realization.

“Uh... arigato, Lord Sesshomaru,” Kagome said, but her attention was diverted when Tala began patting her leg. She looked down and he held up a handful of fruit, which highly resembled figs. Kagome smiled warmly at the creature and rubbed his head. She took a bite, and was overjoyed. It was figs! Huge ripe figs. Sesshomaru lost interest, and she watched him stroll away. She devoured her gift, and thanked her new friend. “Wow, Tala, I don’t know how to act! I’m clean and full all at the same time.” After quickly scrubbing out her dirty clothes, she turned with a little giggle and ran to catch up with her unlikely companions.

Tala smiled at the young human woman. He knew who she was, and he would do anything for her.