Kagome was having a hard time keeping her mind on task. Her night had been spent with a stoic Taiyoukai with serious anger issues and an even bigger proximity problem.
He had insisted on helping her with her reopened wounds after rudely pulling her coat halfway down her back which hurt, by the way. She had agreed to allow it for her mother’s sake. The elder Higarashi would have fallen to pieces to see her in such a state and probably would have never let her out of the house again. Sesshomaru’s offer had seemed like the only viable option at the time considering the fact that she wouldn’t stop bleeding.
After they had both eaten and showered, Sesshomaru had asked her to lie down on the bed. He had pushed her sweater up with care so that it did not upset the already raw flesh. She had to instruct him on how to use the antiseptic and the cream, but he got the hang of it rather quickly. The softness of his touch surprised her, but she kept her thoughts to herself. She had been so tired that her usual virginal quirkiness hadn’t reared its head, but it was back now with a frightful vengeance.
She had been half asleep lulled there by the softness of her bed, the quiet of the room, and the sweet blessed relief of her wounds being tended to when she could have sworn Sesshomaru licked her. At the time she giggled thinking it hilarious because he was a dog and then pushed the thought aside completely because Sesshomaru would never do something like that.
She fell asleep right after that and woke up this morning lying on the couch instead of her bed. Her back had been bandaged rather tightly, but efficiently, and she had silently praised him on what could have possibly been his very first medical application even if she was having a little trouble breathing.
Now, her mind was replaying the events over and over trying to discredit her suspicions, but the more times she looped the event, the stronger her conviction became that it had indeed happened. He licked her.
The feeling was warm and wet. Not cold like the antiseptic. The texture had been slightly rough and it tickled opposed to the drenched cotton balls he’d been using that stung. What possessed him to do something like that? Better yet, why had he insisted on treating her wounds at all?
Gah! She couldn’t even figure that out.
He hadn’t come down from her room all day and she wasn’t going up there anytime soon. Her mother had brought him breakfast and lunch on a tray and had reported that he was reading the library books Kagome had brought home the night before. Her mother had stored them on her desk in her fit of worry. They had been the reason that her back had reopened anyway and her little run in with a street thug had been the proverbial final straw. She was glad to be rid of them.
Her mother had changed her bandages before leaving to take her grandfather to his eye exam and seemed pleased with her progress. In fact, she claimed that they were almost healed sending Kagome into another dizzying mental somersault.
She had just reopened them. How could they be healed already?
She sat on the couch searching the internet for some form of an answer to their overall conundrum and found herself too distracted to focus on a single word.
Part of her itched to just go upstairs and ask Sesshomaru point blank what he had done, but that virginal side was too chicken to allow it. Kami, she’d been half naked, not even wearing a bra. How much had he seen when he wrapped her up? Would he even look at a lesser being in such a way?
Kagome shook her head and clapped her hands together before grabbing a cookie from a plate next to her. She crammed the sweet treat into her mouth and tried to bat away the images of Sesshomaru’s tongue parting his soft lips.
She shut the laptop and put it on the coffee table. She damned stupid WacDnald’s double bacon cheeseburgers and demon dogs altogether giving herself another idea.
She hadn’t played with Buyo much since she’d been back because he reminded her too much of Shika with his markings and through that it had reminded her of InuYasha and Shippo, then everyone else. It wasn’t fair to her beloved family pet that he be ignored because she was a wuss who couldn’t control her emotions.
Kagome stood up noticing how easy and nearly painless it was to move around. She brushed the thought away as soon as it entered her mind. She knelt next to Buyo’s toy basket and found his feather stick. She smiled. This was sure to please her lazy feline and set off in search of him fully prepared to make up for lost time.
Sesshomaru’s mind had been filled with a flurry of self-recrimination, doubt, reflection, and overall befuddlement. He had licked the Miko. Even in his head it sounded wrong.
Her wounds were just as bad, if not worse than the day they arrived. He had no idea she had been walking around this entire time with such horrific gashes. He thought she had healed or was close to it. In truth, he hadn’t given it much thought at all. It did not change the fact that they were wounds she had received in his stead and his instincts were telling him to relieve her of the discomfort.
It had been an experiment, a test if you will, or so he told himself, and it hadn’t been the first time he’d used his saliva on a mortal’s wounds. Rin had gotten many scrapes and cuts from their travels, most of them on her bare feet, and he used to use his youki to seal them to alleviate her distress. It had been his role as her caretaker and Alpha to ensure her well-being. The process had never been inappropriate in anyway, but his contact with the Miko had been vastly different.
He had enjoyed her taste which oddly didn’t disgust him nearly as much as he would have thought. In all realism, it had been so much more complex than just simple enjoyment and that is what vexed him. The moment her blood hit his tongue it was as if all the color in his world suddenly sprung to life.
He could hear her tiny, sleepy giggle as if she were shouting and his eyes were able to see the fine, nearly transparent hairs on her skin with full clarity. His senses had returned and for a moment, just a moment, he was able to smell every layer of her being, could feel her very existence, the strong rhythm of her heart and the blood rushing through her veins. For that fleeting point in time, he was himself again, but the second he pulled away, it all faded.
He had long since deserted his thoughts on his strange behavior the day before for this peculiar subject and now it was bordering on obsession.
He did not know how his treatment truly affected her wounds, but he continued his experimentation after she fell asleep too enthralled in the glorious sensation of his youki coursing through his being to stop. He even went as far as to wipe the salve from her back so as to not place an unwanted barrier between him and his prize.
He discovered that the more of her blood he tasted, the longer his senses remained intact and he was even able to conjure a small amount of venom to his fingertips. It eventually waned leaving him disappointed, but not without a grand measure of hope and an equally guilty conscience.
He had taken advantage of her in a vulnerable state and had compromised his own honor and beliefs in the process. He had told himself days ago that he would not lower himself to sniffing a human. The irony of his situation was not lost on him.
He had wrapped her wounds carefully after reapplying the salve making sure her shirt remained in place throughout the entire process. He fastened the bandages snugly to ensure they wouldn’t slip, not entirely certain he was doing it correctly. She never stirred. He replaced her clothing and carried her downstairs. He situated her on the couch so as to not raise unnecessary questions.
It was clear that their dealings with the bandits were to be kept a secret and he had no wish to upset Akira any worse that she had already been. It was a reasoning that he did not fully understand, but a logical one none the less. Her hospitality had been…pleasing.
Sesshomaru did not sleep at all. Instead, he picked up the books on myths and the ones on magic Kagome had borrowed. He read chapter after chapter exhausting every single bound reference finding absolutely no relevance to his troubling experience.
Noriko had been a priestess with significantly different powers, ones that he had not been able to discern fully through the bouts of purification that continuously swept over him. It had most definitely been a spell that rid him of his youki, but his interaction with Kagome’s blood had proven that it was only suppressed not banished like he’d initially presumed.
His theory and knowledge had concluded that only a Miko would have the ability to undo what had been done, which was not too far from the truth, only he thought that it would have to be the witch herself. Kagome had just verified that to be wrong.
However, there had to be more to it than just her blood to break the curse. It was evident that it was only a temporary fix, but he didn’t have the proper knowledge on the subject to figure out what he would need. He did know that to understand the spell he would have to know the ingredients used to create it which he didn’t.
Sesshomaru growled in frustration and stood to pace the floor. He’d been thinking none stop for hours. The only breaks he had gotten were when Akira had brought him food and still he was no closer to a solution. Magic and spells were his mother’s forte and without her guidance it might just as well be impossible to accomplish.
He was left with only one option; to confess his controversial discovery to Kagome and see if she would be willing to assist in this venture.
He opened the door to the room and walked out. He cleared the flight of steps in seconds, sheer determination fueling his focus. He found her on her knees with her rear in the air manipulating a purple feather on a stick in front of the swatched feline who was expertly ignoring her. Her position caused his discomfort to soar to an unbelievable level. He averted his eyes quickly.
“Come on, Buyo. Didn’t you miss me just a little bit?” Kagome asked dejectedly as she rose up to sit on her heels.
Sesshomaru took the opportunity to gain her attention. “Miko.”
She jumped and clamped her hand over her mouth turning to him with overly large eyes.
“Don’t do that.” She said breathlessly covering her chest with the hand that had stifled her scream and immediately averted her eyes as a rosy hue began to tint her pale skin.
“I have a…request.” He began feeling uncertain for the first time since he entered the room with her.
The forgotten concerns of the day before began inching their way to the forefront of his mind with more quickly adding to the chaotic mess, but he suppressed them. There were far more important matters that needed to be dealt with.
“Okay, what is it?” Kagome asked staring at his bare feet.
“I wish to treat your wounds again, but in the traditional inu way.” He said feeling a tension knot deep in his gut.
“Inu way meaning like in a dog way.” She surmised her voice barely audible.
“Yes.” He replied relieved that she understood saving him an immeasurable amount of humiliation.
“You licked me last night.” She squeaked and allowed her bangs to fall into her face hiding it from his view.
“Yes.” He didn’t bother to deny it though he was reluctant to explain how far that had actually gone.
“Why?” She asked.
“Your wounds were this Sesshomaru’s responsibility and your human methods were inadequate.” He explained and she shot to her feet.
“I’m sick of hearing how inadequate and insignificant humans are. My back was doing just fine until I had to lug around fifty pounds of books through town and fight through the massive crowd that you purposely put between us. Now, you want to lick me until I get better. That’s creepy, Sesshomaru, and so not gonna happen.” She exclaimed her face the color of the hexagons on his haori.
“There is more to it than simple healing.” He started trying to piece his words together in his mind so to not dissuade her further.
“This I’ve got to hear.” She replied placing her hands on her hips.
“The curse that was placed on me is temporary.” He started motioning to the couch.
“And you know this because you licked me?” She asked snarkily as she perched on the edge of an overstuffed cushion.
“Yes. My senses returned, but it was only for a short time.” He explained further, sitting himself beside the obviously offended Miko.
She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips, her expression one of disbelief. Her insolence irked him to no ends, but he would not back down from this. He refused to let her ignorance come between him and his revitalization. He bent over and pulled up his hakama leg showing her his fully healed knee as proof.
“And you want to try again?” He nodded and she sighed her face turning thoughtful for a moment.
He smoothed out his attire and waited for her answer finding himself to be quite apprehensive.
“Mom said that they were almost completely healed.” She said and he felt his hopeful attitude diminish.
He could feel Kagome’s eyes on him as he tried to figure out what to do with this new revelation. She was healing and that was a good sign for her, but problematic to his plans. He refused to ask her to harm herself for him to regain a teasing glimmer of youki, though he did not rule out the need for her blood later on should he discover the appropriate counterbalance to the spell.
“We could try anyway, if you want.” Her voice was barely above a whisper and her face was turned away from him.
Her hair was twisted messily atop her head giving him an unobstructed view of the blush rising to her ears and neck.
“That would be acceptable to this Sesshomaru.” He answered in his usual monotone.
He shut the door to the bedroom and Kagome fiddled with the hem of her overly large sweater until the collar slid down her bare shoulder. Her face was still stained crimson and hadn’t let up since she had agreed to his appeal downstairs.
It was clear she was uncomfortable with all of this and it made him wonder what kind of experience she really had with any type of intimacy. Now, that thought should have bothered him immensely, but instead he was fighting the urge to smile. Perhaps he could find some amusement in this procedure after all. He could do with a bit of a distraction.
“Um, how do you want to do this?” She squeaked nervously.
“The acceptable manner would be for you to disrobe and lie on the bed.” He said with a smirk and she glared at him.
“Pervert! I’m not taking off my clothes!” She yelled in indignation.
Sesshomaru left her fuming near the door and sat on the bed adjusting his position until he was quite comfortable.
“Come here, Miko.” He commanded.
He watched her eyes narrow and her coloring darkened, though he suspected it was more out of anger this time than embarrassment.
“I am not a dog.” She spat and he lifted an eyebrow.
“You assume dogs will come when they are beckoned like single-minded imbeciles?” He asked his mood shifting to annoyance.
“That’s not what I meant. It’s an expression, but your little comment proves what you really think about me. Now, since that’s all cleared up, I’m going back downstairs to heal on my own. Figure out another avenue to take regarding your mortality. As far as I’m concerned, it suits you.” She growled incensed and he abruptly stood crossing the room in three quick strides.
“Watch your tongue, onna.” He snarled down into her face and she glowered defiantly.
“Maybe you should watch yours. This is my house, you pompous ass.” She seethed in return.
Sesshomaru could feel his blood boiling and his fingers twitched at his side. It was taking a considerable amount of concentration to keep them immobile. This was not how he planned this event to unfold. She was insufferable.
“It is your fault I’m here at all.” He bit out through clenched teeth.
“We’ve already been over this. The legitimacy of your statement has been acknowledged and dully noted, but that doesn’t change the fact that you look down your nose at everyone. I am not one of your faithful followers,
Lord Sesshomaru. You are in a human home and we like to use common courtesy. You should try it.” She said icily and made to leave.
He grabbed her arm and jerked her away from the door. Her shoulder crashed into his chest, the rest of her body following suit until she was flush against him. Kagome stood there glaring up at him challengingly, every muscle in her body tense.
“Let me go.” She said darkly.
“No.” He retorted in kind.
“So help me…” She warned.
“I have.” He responded smartly.
“Sesshomaru…” Her voice dropped an octave.
“I dare you, Miko.” He antagonized with a smile.
Her eyes flew wide, her mouth thinned, and she slapped him right across the face propelling it to the side with a burst of silver hair following. The echo of the harsh impact reverberated around the room along with her sharp inhalation of breath. He held onto her completely stunned for a moment.
She struck him. No female had ever had the gall.
He felt a trickle of blood seeping from his lip and licked it away finally focusing on the girl he held against his person. Her blue eyes were huge and her face had gone pale with her offending hand fisted over her heart, her lips curved into a surprised ‘o’. It seemed she had shocked herself as well. He couldn’t believe he was admitting this, but her actions were…admirable.
“Please, Miko.”
It was the two most excruciating words he had ever uttered in his long life.
A/N: Thank you Shyneamor & Luminari_Lilium for their reviews and to all the readers & voters as well.
~scattered-dimensions~
