The Other Side of Kazaana

A/N Yes, some of you thought maybe this was lost to the winds of time, but no, the next chapter is finally up! HA! I cannot say that this is worth the long wait, but it will most definitely be long enough to show ya why, along with everything else, it TOOK so long. (26+ pages, baby!) Hope you enjoy it, and I apologize, as usual, for any errors. I just don't usually have a beta, and I'll be honest, on my third time through (26 pages now, remember!), I was just too exhausted to edit it any more. Especially as it was only 20 pages when I started editing! jeesh.

So, as usual, WARNINGS (you'll like this, I think): LEMON! a little n/c, oral moment, spanking moment (teeny little bit)

And since it's been so long since you last had an update, a brief summary:
Hmmm, Miroku finds out he and Inuyasha are mates, Inuyasha takes him back to Kaede's to discuss the matter and Miroku ends up getting screwed in the best possible way. Kagura shows up, we discover she is Sesshoumaru's mate and that she's been watching the ookami's children (and maybe others as well). She and Sesshoumaru have a lovely fight and then go off to find some time to themselves to have make up sex. Koug and Inuyasha discuss the concept of fighting and sex, Inuyasha expresses his opinion on Miroku's gentle nature and how he should be kept from any battles with Naraku and the ronin, and Miroku hears and bitch smacks Kouga and Inuyasha with his staff before storming off.

And then....


Chapter 19 – Miroku’s Punishment

Walking slowly away from Inuyasha and Kouga, Miroku grit his teeth to keep from bending over and gasping in pain. He was a fool to get so worked up over such juvenile idiocy as Inuyasha’s uninformed opinion of himself, but on top of everything else that had happened today, it was really the last straw. He couldn’t believe Inuyasha thought of him that way! If he weren’t careful, with that attitude, Inuyasha would have Miroku relegated to a velvet pillow inside some protected room of a castle. Inuyasha needed to understand that Miroku was a competent adult! He had to learn that Miroku could fight his own battles.

Hopefully, he was still on the ground, absorbing the first lesson.

Although if Miroku had used the mind he’d been gifted with, he would have taught Inuyasha in a manner that didn’t pain his side quite so much. Using his staff had affected him so badly that he’d started seeing stars. The stars seemed to take the shape of an odd amber haze every time he blinked, rather than the traditional white bursts behind his eyes, but the affect was a disturbing statement on his actual health. Although oddly familiar…

Miroku continued walking, his concentration shifting once again to planting one foot in front of another without falling to his knees. Doggedly, using his staff as much as he could, he pushed on until the fiery spear in his side faded to an unpleasant ache.

He wished his anger would fade as easily.

That…idiot! How could Inuyasha think that poorly of him? He thought Miroku never got angry? Was he blind? How many times had Miroku been angry since they’d met? Dozens, at least. Was he not paying attention, or had Miroku’s recent incapacitation made him forget who he’d been before the attack? Thinking he was some perfectly pathetic little princeling, that was what it had sounded like.

He felt his hands clenching around the staff again and he growled under his breath. Inuyasha had seen him fight, for Buddha’s sake! He’d seen him! How could he not realize that Miroku could fight for himself as well as any of their companions? Miroku knew that he hadn’t defeated either Sesshoumaru or the Ronin when he’d traded blows with them, but it wasn’t as though he’d flailed about like an incompetent! He was quite capable of defending himself, and others, and he’d worked damn hard to get that way. He’d been training almost since he was old enough to hold a staff!

He frowned to himself. He hadn’t trained with his staff since he’d finished making it. His mediation hadn’t faltered a single day, even with Inuyasha’s constant attempts to interrupt it, but his other training had been practically non-existent. If someone had asked when he’d last used a staff, he would have answered automatically: a few days, a week, right before he was injured. But his last memory of his staff as anything other than a walking stick was fighting with Sesshoumaru, and before that, not at all.

Why was that? He’d trained at least every other day when he and the group had been hunting Naraku. The threat of Naraku was most certainly NOT dead here, so why hadn’t he been training? He needed to keep his skills sharpened, possibly even more than he had in his previous world, especially as he found the Ronin much more of a disturbing enemy than Naraku had ever been. Was it the fact that his mind believed, deep down, that Naraku was already defeated? Was he too complacent about their eventual success in dispatching him?

Or…was it Inuyasha? That moment of relief when Inuyasha had interrupted Jaken from burning down the village, the deep gratitude when Inuyasha had led the way to retrieve him when the Ronin had kidnapped him – was he starting to rely on Inuyasha’s presence as some sort of safety net?

Was he doing just what Inuyasha had suggested and starting down the path to letting his friend fight his battles for him?

“Either way, it stops here.” His staff stabbed into the ground as he emphasized the thought and he winced as his side throbbed again. His lips pursed at his own idiocy. If he didn’t take more care than this with his injury, he was going to take twice as long to heal.

“What stops here?”

Hearing the small voice, Miroku looked down into Shippou’s dark, worried eye. He’d assumed he’d been followed, he’d simply forgotten for a moment. The kitsune looked on the verge of crying, his entire body moving without the small, nearly happy bob he’d developed lately, and Miroku felt an ache in an entirely different area.

Trying to reassure the little one, Miroku pushed his anger aside for a moment and smiled as he knelt down by him. “My own laziness, that’s what stops here. I have been far too lazy, lying in bed all day.”

With a small sniff, Shippou let Miroku run soft fingers over his head, the touch fluffing hair and skimming over the scar underneath near his lost eye. “It’s not… It’s not you and Inuyasha?” His voice was even smaller.

“Myself and Inuyasha?”

“You hit him. You’ve never hit him before. Don’t you… Don’t you like him anymore?” The anxiety on Shippou’s face tore at him.

“Of course I still like Inuyasha, Shippou. I’m just a little angry with him, that’s all. There’s nothing to worry about; we’re still…” Miroku paused. Just how much did Shippou know about Inuyasha and his relationship?

“You’re still mates?”

Miroku nodded. An embarrassed flush covered his face as he realized that even Shippou had known of his status within their group, while Miroku had been recovering in oblivious ignorance.

“Then I can still look out for you.” Shippou smiled broadly as Miroku nodded at him again. “Me and Inuyasha will both look out for you, Miroku”

Miroku tried to hold onto his smile as he ruffled the hair on top of Shippou’s head again. Even the little ones thought he needed their protection. Was there something to the idea that he was beginning to rely too heavily on Inuyasha’s greater strength? If he were, Inuyasha couldn’t be held entirely at fault for his assumptions about Miroku’s abilities. It made his pride quail at the idea that there might be something in his actions since he’d arrived in this world that was giving an impression of incompetence or weakness. He gripped his staff tightly as he stood and started moving again. Was it him? Was he responsible for everyone’s overprotective treatment of him? Deep in thought, Miroku continued walking blindly, Shippou trailing behind as they left sight of the village.

Inuyasha was still fuming, if mildly, when Kagome and Sango began cooking. He grumbled softly to himself as he ate, his eyes straying to the now well-worn path back to the village to try and catch the first sight of Miroku or Shippou. The food was almost gone when his mind started reminiscing over the time he’d spent making love to Miroku earlier in the day. But when the food was completely consumed, without Miroku making an appearance, Inuyasha gave up on waiting. Kouga looked up at him as he stood.

“Going to apologize?” Kouga’s voice was muffled from the last bite of meat he was still worrying inside his mouth.

“I – “ Inuyasha stopped, unable to answer. He’d never meant to make Miroku so angry, but the man was such a sweetheart, Inuyasha didn’t know if he could honestly take back any of his words. He could lie, of course, but how could he apologize if he still believed what he’d said? It would definitely come up again, and before long, Miroku wouldn’t believe a damn word he said if he pretended to apologize and still kept him from harm.

But dammit, Miroku shouldn’t have to fight!

Kagome and Sango exchanged looks and shook their heads at his silence. He started sputtering. “Hey! What- what’s that supposed to mean?”

“You should apologize.” Kagome told him, stepping up and pointing at his nose. “You know very well that what you said was insulting.”

“I wasn’t trying to insult him,” he growled. He hated when Kagome and Sango wore these ‘I know what’s good for you’ expressions. “Dammit, Miroku’s gentle! He shouldn’t have to deal with all the crap we might have to fight!” Even if he felt guilty about Miroku and what his mate might be feeling right now, he was sure as hell not going to share with the girls. Kagome always lorded that sort of crap over a person for freaking years.

“Don’t be dense.” Kagome’s foot began to tap as she put her hands on her hips. “You know very well you were being completely overprotective and condescending, Inuyasha! Honestly, look at yourself! You’ve never had problems when anyone else in the group has been forced to fight. Goodness, you had no trouble at all when I was in my first fight, and I hadn’t been in a battle in my life!”

Inuyasha stared at her with his ears flattened a little before he smirked slightly. “Well, I didn’t say experience was the issue, just that Miroku was gentle. I don’t think ‘gentleness’ is a worry I’ve every had about you, Kagome.”

Kagome took a swing at his head and he ducked, laughing. “See! No worries at all about you.”

“Jerk!” Inuyasha danced away from another swing. “Quit moving, you idiot! Kouga, are you going to let him get away with this?”

Kouga sighed and stood up, walking over until he stood directly behind Kagome. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling the back of her neck. “Let’s just ignore him, love. I have something that would be a lot more fun to do than beating up dog shit here.”

Kagome struggled for a moment, but her eyes slowly closed and her body softened as Kouga continued licking lightly at the back of her neck. She nodded faintly. He led her away, winking back over his shoulder at Inuyasha. With a shake of his head, Inuyasha turned and started back towards the village. Was there anyway he could apologize to Miroku without lying? He’d been going to apologize for getting a bit carried away and seducing Miroku even when the little one had said no; he still needed to do that, but after that? Really, all he’d said was…

Well…

…hell, had he actually said Miroku could step back and let Inuyasha fight for him? Fuck. That had probably rubbed the man’s pride completely raw, even if Inuyasha would rather that Miroku did just that. He didn’t want his mate getting hurt again. He’d had enough of that to last him for decades, if not longer. He could at least apologize for his words, even if he still believed the meat of them down deep.

He shivered, thinking of Miroku involved in a fight and being horribly injured or even killed. At the thought, however, his youkai took a moment to express his opinion. Inuyasha could tell the stupid ass viewed Miroku was an admirable warrior, and his youkai thought that sort of thing was sexy as hell. Combine that with the way Inuyasha’s loaned hakama revealed the thin lines of Miroku’s waist and the beginning slope of his ass, Inuyasha thought his damn youkai was living out a fucking fantasy.

He really needed to find Miroku another kesa. He didn’t want anyone to be able to see what the shape of Miroku’s body looked like but him; the little one was his only, dammit. The thought slipped away as his youkai flooded him with images of Miroku’s body in his new clothes. He could remember so many times when Miroku would pout slightly when the legs made him walk awkwardly, or startle when the cloth cup him between his legs and over his ass when he began to kneel down.

“Yes, he looks amazing AND cute in the damn things. I’m going to get him a kesa anyway, so shut up.”

Inuyasha grunted as he at least got the bastard in his head to acknowledge that they still shouldn’t allow Miroku to involve himself in any battle that revolved around the Ronin. Inuyasha was willing to allow that Miroku was adequate with the staff. With the staff and his spiritual powers, he was probably more than adequate, actually, as much as Inuyasha hated to admit it. It was just so odd thinking of him fighting. It seemed wrong. The man who laughed as children hung all over him was hard to picture in a battle.

Youkai provided an image of Sesshoumaru with children hanging off of him as well, and then Miroku leaping at Sesshoumaru with his staff whirling furiously. Inuyasha countered with his memory of Sesshoumaru holding Miroku by the throat, and his youkai subsided with a grumble of agreement. It didn’t want Miroku to be injured anymore than he did, as much as it approved of martial prowess. Inuyasha had to find some way to keep Miroku from their battle with the Ronin without insulting him. Not that it would change his mind if he couldn’t, because no matter how furious Miroku might get, Inuyasha refused to let him be in that kind of danger again.

He wished Miroku would understand. It wasn’t because Inuyasha didn’t respect him that he wanted him safe, it was because he… Hell, he cared about him too much to lose him now. He knew how wonderful a man Miroku was. His mate was smart enough that Inuyasha thought he was probably as intellectual as Sesshoumaru, and that was saying something. Give him the few hundred years that Sesshoumaru already possessed and Inuyasha thought that Miroku would probably be able to think circles around him.

So why didn’t Miroku understand that they were up against someone who was just as smart as he was, but without any sort of moral center? While Miroku might have skills as a fighter, Ronin had almost two decades more. Fighting a fucking bastard who was just as smart, had more experience as a fighter, AND had less scruples keeping him in check was too damn dangerous. As if that weren’t bad enough, Ronin seemed to have fixated on Miroku in a way that disturbed Inuyasha down to his soul.

He needed to find some way to get Miroku to comprehend what a dangerous position he was in. Fuck, his mate had fought the Ronin already and been overpowered both times! It scared the shit out of him that despite that, Miroku had no qualms about confronting his double again. Even though Miroku’s scent still grew strong with fear whenever the Ronin was mentioned, he’d been furious that Inuyasha would consider keeping him out of the fight.

He was such a beautiful, determined, courageous man.

His youkai purred inside his head at the reminder: strength, in body or mind, always did turn it on. “As long as you remember that he can’t use it to fight this particular battle, then we’re fine. Got it?” His youkai settled and he took that for a yes. Now all he had to do was go and apologize to Miroku so that he would come back to the camp. Miroku needed to eat by now. Besides, Inuyasha still had to introduce him to Kagura, and wasn’t that going to be fun. Out of all of them, she’d probably suffered the most at Naraku and the Ronin’s hands. From the bits and pieces she’d let slip, he was fairly certain that the Ronin had beaten her on Naraku’s orders more than once, possibly much worse than that, knowing how sick those two fucks were. It was likely the reason that Sesshoumaru hadn’t been more forthcoming on his long absence in his letters to her, now that Inuyasha thought about it. She would have probably either panicked or raged, and both scenarios could involved a significant loss of castle architecture and possibly lives.

He hoped she’d be mellower after she and Sesshoumaru screwed each other into oblivion. Sesshoumaru had probably taken that into account as well; he always was too smart for his own damn good.

Coming up on the village proper, Inuyasha took a deep breath and stopped dead. Miroku’s scent wasn’t as strong as it should be. Inuyasha had been breathing it in as he walked, and it only just hit him that the trail had been getting fainter for the last few minutes. It was still strong; Miroku had been here recently, but…it seemed fainter. Had Miroku not come back to the hut? Inuyasha sprinted the last few feet into the village and slammed Kaede’s door covering to the side as he reached it and looked in, already half-anticipating the empty room. “Where the hell did you go, Miroku?!”

He turned and started following the trail back to camp, his eyes shifting between red and amber. He shouldn’t panic. Everything was probably just fine; there were plenty of places close by that were safe. Miroku had probably just gone to the stream to wash off, or maybe he was playing somewhere nearby with the children to help him calm down a little. He did that a lot, didn’t he? Inuyasha’s nose twitched when he found the spot where Miroku’s trail veered from his usual route to and from the hut. Eyeing it, he started to growl. It wasn’t going anywhere safe. The only thing that lay in that direction was the well, and that was at the very edge of what the wolves patrolled. It wasn’t even close to being fucking safe!

He and his youkai both growled at the same time. Why was Miroku walking way the fuck out here where he was vulnerable? What the hell was he thinking? If the Ronin was watching, he might even try to take him!

His youkai raged and Inuyasha let it; he needed to get to Miroku as fast as he could, and if his youkai could get him there faster, then he was fucking letting him. Springing forward in quick lopes, his eyes darkened. Gods, what if it was already too late? What if the Ronin had already attacked and Inuyasha got there and Miroku was gone? As his sprint took him closer to the well, he grew more and more furious. What the fuck was Miroku doing, putting himself in a position like this? And…fuck, Shippou was with him! He could smell him. Miroku was putting himself AND their kitsune in danger like this?? Youkai growled fiercely. If Miroku wasn’t injured, if the Ronin hadn’t discovered him, Inuyasha was going to beat his ass red, he swore he was. And then he was going to hold on and never fucking let go and too fucking bad if it hurt Miroku’s pride, his mate was NEVER fighting the Ronin.

Miroku had better fucking be all right.

Miroku leaned back against side of the well with a sigh, then smiled when the sound was echoed in a higher pitch as Shippou lounged next to him. He stared up at the clouds, his lungs steadying as he deliberately slowed his breathing. His anger began smoothing out almost immediately as he automatically began to fall into the familiar pattern.

“Focus, Shippou.” That was all he had to say. He’d been meditating in the hut so often that Shippou had finally asked questions about it, and the little kit had absorbed everything Miroku had shown him like a dry sponge. More often than not now, the kitsune joined him when he needed to center himself. Miroku truly hoped that the practice would contribute to the little one’s steadily improving mental health. The Shippou from his world had never managed to stay still long enough to attain any sort of mental peace, but that wasn’t an issue with the kitsune on this world. He was often too still, in Miroku’s opinion, watching everything around him as though his safety was constantly in question. It made Miroku’s heart ache every time he saw it, and he knew it was why he sometimes made their meditation a bit more light hearted than was strictly called for.

Mushin would have had something to say about his sloppy, relaxed positioning, he thought with a fond smile. He wondered if there was a Mushin alive in this world as well any longer. Was he the reason the Ronin Miroku had turned out so poorly? Was the Mushin in this place beyond redemption as well? Nausea gripped him at the idea and he had to concentrate to erase it. A corrupt Mushin was…well, honestly, that would be the same as the man who’d raised him. An unkind or cruel Mushin, on the other hand, was infinitely more disturbing. He couldn’t stop an unpleasant twitch over the possibility.

Keeping his face skyward, Miroku withdrew from unpleasant thoughts and watched as a cloud floated by. As a reminder, it worked wonders. This was his new start. Lying in the bottom of the well when he’d first arrived, he could remember staring up with this same feeling of timeless drifting and peace before reality had come crashing down. He could feel memories and thoughts fluttering against the edges of his mind as they tried to gain entrance and distract him from his devotions. Inuyasha’s demeaning opinion of Miroku’s inner-self. Naraku’s desire to question him and the horrible, strange hunger in his eyes as he’d watched the Ronin on the verge of violating him. Shippou’s need to find joy in his life again. And the Ronin.

The Ronin’s sweet, smiling voice as he spoke of filth and insanity. His bright violet eyes that promised abuse and violation. The jerky swing of his braid as he’d slit Hachi’s throat. The hot, searing physical pain and crushing humiliation of being beaten to the point that Miroku had allowed the Ronin to touch him, even if it was only for a moment.

His fingers sliding against Miroku’s skin

Each thought moved through his mind like water in a river; swirling in and flowing out of his mind almost as quickly as he let himself remain as blank and open as a stone blossom.
One last thought trickled in, but he stopped and held it. With all the dangers and injuries he’d encountered since he’d come here, he should be miserable, even terrified. He’d rarely suffered this much in such a short time in his previous life… but he’d never felt this sense of peace, either. When he’d first joined Inuyasha and Kagome, he’d been a part of a group for the first time in his life. He’d loved everyone in their tightly knit group, and he knew that he’d been loved by them all in return. They were as close to him as if he’d been related by blood.

This wholeness had always eluded him, though. He’d watched Kagome and Inuyasha come to terms and seen their joy bloom. He’d seen Sango’s attraction to the man in her life grow as well. But as for himself… He had never felt that same connection to another.

Was he on the verge of finding it with Inuyasha now?

Maybe it was foolish, but he’d never thought such closeness to another would bring so much frustration along with it. It shouldn’t be a surprise: Inuyasha and Kagome’s relationship had been positively stormy. Why should his own relationship be smooth and untroubled when none he’d ever witnessed had been? Miroku tried to force his mind to leave thought behind again, but thoughts of Inuyasha wriggled into his mind in spite of his efforts.

He and Inuyasha were mates. He was with someone, mentally and physically, who he would be with for the rest of his life. He felt a little flushed, even a little panicked, when he thought of it. This was forever. What Inuyasha and he had, whatever it was, would be his existence now. If they were angry all the time, that would be his life. If they found a way to compromise and remain the friends that he’d come to believe they were, that would be what he’d have for his remaining years.

If they were physically intimate, that would be….something. His skin flushed as his body remembered Inuyasha’s kisses, the feel of his hands caressing his skin. He tried to bring his mind back to his meditation yet again, and instead was overwhelmed with the erotic burn of Inuyasha entering his body and taking him. His cock swelled. He remembered that sudden pulse of blinding pleasure that came every time Inuyasha thrust and he finally abandoned his meditation and pulled away from the well, panting slightly.

“Miroku?” Shippou patted his leg to get his attention and his nose visibly twitched. “Miroku, you smell…different. What’s wrong?”

Miroku was fairly certain his face was quite red as he tried to smile. “It’s nothing to worry about. Most men smell this way every once in a while. Once you’re grown, you’ll…uh…smell this way as well.”

Shippou’s nose wrinkled and he clambered up Miroku’s arm to sit on his shoulder, nodding to himself. “Yeah. Inuyasha smells like this a lot. Especially around the fire at Sesshoumaru’s camp.”

Everything inside Miroku froze for a split second. The moment Shippou had started the sentence, Miroku had been certain end he would hear was ‘around you.’ So positive the kitsune was making a comment about Inuyasha’s reaction to him, it was almost humiliating to realize how much his lover’s attentions had swelled his head. He’d thought it was he who was causing the lustful reaction. Instead it was….what was causing that sort of reaction? Was it someone else?

Miroku’s head clouded as he wondered. He hadn’t really had a chance to truly talk with Inuyasha about why he’d taken Miroku as a mate. He’d assumed it was some deeper affection on Inuyasha’s part – Inuyasha had made it clear the he enjoyed the sex - and it had given him a warm, flattered little flutter when he’d thought it. But what if there was some other reason? What if Inuyasha had no deeper feelings for him than friendship? What if the intimacy between them was simply due to that basic need for sexual companionship, and nothing more than that?

His skin prickling unpleasantly, Miroku almost missed Shippou’s next words. “Do you smell this way when you miss your mate?”

“Eh…I’m sorry, Shippou, I wasn’t attending. Could you say that again?”

“This smell; is it when you’re missing your mate? ‘Cause Inuyasha starts talking about you with Kouga, then he smells like this, and then he leaves.” When Miroku couldn’t form words to answer, Shippou nodded to himself. “That’s it, isn’t it? You should go find Inuyasha, then, if you miss him, Miroku. I think he would love to see you, too. Although he might be kind of mad that you hit him.” Shippou bit his bottom lip, thinking.

With his throat closed up and feeling an odd sort of relief that Inuyasha seemed to get aroused thinking of him, even while it didn’t rid him of the new worry over his ‘mate’s’ reasons for their attachment, Miroku attempted to find words to respond.

“Maybe I should.”

He hadn’t meant to say that, surely? He was still quite angry… Miroku searched himself and realized that wasn’t the case. Meditating had at least done that much; his anger over Inuyasha’s comments and opinions was much smaller and less consuming. A few more minutes and it would be completely gone, he was sure. Unfortunately, now, physical arousal and mental concern were what gripped him.

“Maybe I should go see Inuyasha. We should…talk.” The knowledge of how their last talk had ended, just a few hours before, was not lost on him and he flushed terribly as he realized he was growing more aroused thinking that the upcoming conversation might have the same finale. “Dear Buddha, I truly am the most disgusting lecher,” he muttered under his breath.

“Miroku?” Shippou patted his cheek to get his attention. “What’s a –“

“MIROKU!”

They both jumped at Inuyasha’s bellow, and the sight of him charging from the forest, red eyed and obviously furious, had Miroku on his feet, pushing Shippou behind him and holding his staff before he could stop himself. His first thought, that Inuyasha had lost control, was immediately followed by the realization that such a thing had a completely different outcome than it had in his past. But if Inuyasha had felt the need to embrace his youkai, had something gone wrong?

“Inuyasha, what’s happened?!” His staff lowered as he took a step in Inuyasha’s direction. He began to wish he’d held on tighter as Inuyasha’s charge brought him to Miroku in moments. Inuyasha slapped the staff out of his hand, sending it spinning into the air. He stared down at Miroku, breathing heavily, and his eyes flickered into gold as he glanced at Shippou.

The little kitsune was staring at him from behind Miroku with his mouth open wide, but he shut it with a quick snap when Inuyasha’s low voice was aimed at him. “You know better than to come this far from the village without protection, Shippou.” The growling words had Shippou’s shoulders drooping.

“I- Miroku was…”

“Miroku is injured. You really want to protect him, then you remind him that he shouldn’t come this far out by himself. And if that doesn’t work, you come get me or Kouga, or even Sesshoumaru. You could have both been killed if the Ronin had attacked you here!”

Shippou’s eyes filled with tears and he nodded jerkily while his lip began to tremble.

“Inuyasha, don’t be ridiculous. It is not Shippou’s responsibility to –“

Inuyasha grabbed both of Miroku’s shoulders, gripping them so tightly that Miroku was surprised into stopping.

“Be. Quiet. I have a few words to say to you too, Miroku.” Inuyasha looked away from him for a moment to peer the edge of the field. “Hey, you wolves! I need one of you to go with Shippou back to Sango and the others!” There was a pause, and then one wolf stepped out of the thick greenery and trotted over.

“Shippou, you stay with this mutt ‘til you get to Sango…”

“N-not Kouga?”

“He’s busy. Sango and the others are in Sesshoumaru’s camp. You go and you wait there until we get back. I expect you to do better the next time you’re alone with Miroku.”

“Y-yes, Inuyasha.” Shippou began to walk away from the well, looking small and forlorn as he walked next to the large, chestnut colored wolf.

Inuyasha and Miroku both watched until they’d left, and then turned back to each other with similar angry looks.

“That was uncalled for Inuyasha. It is not Shippou’s job to look after me! You can’t put that sort of responsibility on a child’s shoulders!”

“He wants to protect.” The deep growl crept over Miroku’s skin, but it was the return of crimson eyes that made him shiver. “He will be careful with you, and that will keep HIM protected as well if you try something this foolish again.”

Inuyasha’s hands were clutching Miroku’s shoulders tightly for another moment and then he pulled him into a tight embrace as he growled again in his ear. “You should not have come here! You know this is not safe, not for you or the kit! You will not put yourself in such danger again, Miroku!”

The feel of Inuyasha’s body surrounding him felt like a sweet buzz in his mind, but the words penetrated long enough to light that small, remaining flame of temper. Miroku’s jaw firmed as he grit his teeth. Whether or not Inuyasha had a point, the fact that he was speaking to Miroku with the exact same tone he’d just used for Shippou was NOT the way to try and approach him. “Inuyasha, I am not some child…”

He was pushed back as Inuyasha resumed his grip on Miroku’s shoulders and stare hard into his eyes. “Debatable, little one.” Inuyasha youkai stared at Miroku’s obstinate features and snapped out an order. “You will come back to the village, and you will stay there unless myself or one of the other adult youkai are there to escort you elsewhere.”

Anger and disbelief colored Miroku’s face a vivid pink. “I will do whatever I deem appropriate! I have an adult’s mind and an adult’s training: I do not need to be cared for like a helpless invalid. And don’t you think for a moment that trying to dictate these ridiculous rules will gain you one iota of obedience, Inuyasha!”

Inuyasha moved, and Miroku was suddenly flush up against his body again. He tried to ignore the warmth of Inuyasha’s chest and groin as he looked up and glared at him.

“You are my mate!” The sounds from Inuyasha’s mouth were closer to rocks grinding together than an actual voice, and Miroku’s eyes widened at the bared fangs Inuyasha showed him as he spoke. “I will not risk you this way, in some vain attempt to prove yourself stronger! I will enforce your compliance if I must, Miroku, but you will not like the outcome if you force me to do so.”

Gaping, Miroku couldn’t believe he’d heard rightly. This couldn’t be the same Inuyasha who’d teased him with falling leaves in his hair or fleeting touches as Miroku rested on his lap. This…this overbearing, dictatorial… Miroku’s mind took that moment to remind him of the last time he’d felt exactly this way. Inuyasha treating him like some child who needed instruction and protection. Right after he’d interfered when Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha had fought, when he’d thought Inuyasha had needed his help.

When Inuyasha had threatened to spank him.

Inuyasha had been so solicitous since then, he’d managed to put that behavior behind him. Obviously, he shouldn’t have.

“I don’t care if I AM your mate, Inuyasha,” he finally ground out. “I will not allow you to make decisions about my life this way!”

“It is my right.” Inuyasha’s firm tone, the absolute belief he obviously had in that one statement, made Miroku see red in more places than just Inuyasha’s eyes.

“I am not in bondage, damn you! Mate or no, you have no rights to try to rule me, Inuyasha. Release my arms. I can’t talk with you like this.” Miroku grunted as one of Inuyasha’s arms moved from his shoulder to wrap completely around the upper edges of his waist, trapping his arms down by his sides before he realized what had happened. Miroku stomped on Inuyasha’s foot without noticing any effect, and he wriggled, barely able to move, as he tried to find a good position to hurt him. He couldn’t move too much or he’d injure his damn side again, but he wasn’t putting up with this!

Although maybe he could force Inuyasha to let him go as he’d done last time, with the threat of hurting himself…like someone who was too weak to fight back. Damn, he hated being injured and he hated feeling helpless like this, especially when right now all he wanted was to get free pound some sense into Inuyasha!

“There will be no more arguing.” Inuyasha’s flat expression continued to ignite Miroku’s anger.

Miroku stopped squirming and trying to kick in favor of glaring at Inuyasha. He was so frustrated and angry he thought he might explode. “Let. Go. Now.”

Inuyasha’s other hand moved and tugged purposefully at Miroku’s waist, undoing ties with nimble fingers. Miroku felt his hakama starting to slide down his legs and his hands clutched at the fabric to keep it from falling past his thighs. He felt Inuyasha’s cock grow larger against his belly and his mate’s thinking that they might have anything even remotely resembling sex when he was acting like this made Miroku even more furious.

“Inuyasha, what are you doing?! Damn you, stop this!” Miroku tried to ignore the flush of arousal that was creeping over him at the feel of cool air where the cloth had fallen away.

“I told you that if you put yourself in danger again, I would blister your ass.” Inuyasha gave a yank around his mate’s thighs and Miroku’s hakama was jerked from his hands to fall down to his ankles.

“Blister my…are you saying you plan to spank me?!” Rage and lust hit Miroku in equally potent waves at the thought and he began squirming as best he could, thinking of what pain he could inflict on Inuyasha: knees, toes, face…groin. He sucked in his breath at the thought, feeling that member pressing against him, still hard. One look up into Inuyasha’s face, furious but watching Miroku hungrily, made him try to kick at him again. Inuyasha thought he was going to punish him? Damn him for a stupid, stubborn, controlling ass!

“There is no way in hell I will allow you to do this to me, Inuyasha!” He tried to twist to the right, flinched as his side protested, and Inuyasha’s arm pulled in tighter until he could barely move. He stared up at him and hoped every last bit of damage he wanted to do to Inuyasha showed on his face.

“Obviously, you will,” youkai Inuyasha said with a little bit of a smirk as he lowered his face towards Miroku’s. His nostrils flared as he inhaled and he shuddered, licking his lips in anticipation. “Although you are not healed enough to put you over my knee.” The fabric still covering Miroku’s bottom shifted, and the trailing end of his under kimono was transferred to the hand constraining his arms. Miroku was much less concerned with his bare ass than with the revealing of his partial arousal that was trapped between their two bodies. Inuyasha’s widening smile as Miroku flushed had him wriggling impotently again before he stopped, panting with effort.

It wasn’t working. He couldn’t break free without hurting himself, which he’d had quite enough of. He might be able to do some actual damage to Inuyasha if he’d had his sutras, but he’d lost all he’d made when he’d lost his last kesa, and he hadn’t made more yet.

He couldn’t break free, and Inuyasha was about to… No, he wouldn’t really do it. Inuyasha was just threatening him, trying to embarrass him until he agreed to obey some dictatorial stricture. Inuyasha would never spank another full grown adult.

Would he?

Would his youkai?

A trembling, anticipatory shiver hit him and he spoke quickly. “Inuyasha, you said it was dangerous here. It’s not well enough protected, isn’t that right?”

“When you’re alone. You cannot move quickly, even when the wolves give warning, but I can get us both to safety in mere seconds, Miroku. You won’t avoid punishment that easily.”

“Inuyasha, release me! This is ridiculous!”

“You’re in no position to demand anything, mate.”

Inuyasha’s free hand reached down and palmed half of Miroku’s ass, squeezing with a slow grip, and Miroku’s cock finally stood fully upright, responding almost instantly. His arousal mixed with his anger until Miroku felt enflamed with molten heat.

Inuyasha‘s youkai smiled wickedly as he scented the air. “Such a lovely little bottom you have.” His voice dropped to a whisper, his blue pupils huge within his red eyes. “I think I’ll give you your wish, little one. Punishment can wait; I want to taste you. .”

Miroku stared at him, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Don’t you dare, Inuyasha.”

Inuyasha’s hand moved and a small slap against Miroku’s backside would have made him jerk with stunned surprise if his body had that much leeway to move.

“Disrespect is not allowed right now, Miroku.” Inuyasha youkai’s head dropped completely forward until Miroku could no longer see his face, just the silvery hair covering his head and one twitching ear. He was considering biting it sharply when Inuyasha pulled down the neckline of his haori, exposing his shoulder.

Miroku almost panicked until he realized that he was safe. Inuyasha couldn’t do anything, Miroku assured himself. Miroku was too close to his chest; he’d have to be miraculously flexible to actually get his mouth all the way to the front of Miroku’s neck. Thank the Gods. Because if Inuyasha started touching him there…

Lips nuzzled at the curve where his shoulder met his neck and tingles skittered over his skin. His knees buckled.

“L-let me go, Inuyasha.” He couldn’t move. The youkai’s lips moved over his skin like he was playing some exotic instrument and all Miroku could do was lean against him while he did. He had to break free. Inuyasha had just smacked his bottom; there was no way he was going to remain standing here for his pleasure. For both their pleasure. Oh Gods, but soft, slick heat was moving along his neck and he could barely even breathe! How was he supposed to move when he couldn’t think?

Inuyasha’s mouth slipped down to the hollow of his throat, one arm still restraining Miroku’s arms while the other returned to his ass. Miroku moaned quietly.

“Aaaaah, p-please…”

Inuyasha murmured in between small, nibbling bites up his neck. “You’re so aroused your body reeks of it, little one. I didn’t know your neck was so sensitive.” He licked along the small reddened marks and Miroku moaned again.

“I’ll…nnnnn…f-fight you over this, Inuyasha,” he managed to whisper even as his head arched a little under Inuyasha’s red eyed kisses.

A low growl vibrated against his throat and his hips pushed upwards and against Inuyasha’s thighs.

“You will accept this. I let you say no before. Not again.”

“I won’t do… what you want.” Miroku wasn’t sure if he was speaking of confinement in the village or sexual submission at this point. “I will not follow orders like some l-lackey”

“You need to learn to be safe!” The warm hand left his bottom and a sharp sting spread across the other cheek as Inuyasha brought his hand down again.

“Stop!” Another small slap while Inuyasha sucked against his throat had him gasp, and he was completely mortified to feel his body responding to the combination in a totally unexpected way. His cock was straining so eagerly against Inuyasha that it was begging.

Inuyasha ran his teeth across Miroku’s collarbone, scraping it gently as another small, stinging smack hit Miroku’s bottom. Miroku bit his lip, barely resisting the urge to push his hips into Inuyasha until he came. The youkai’s warm hand rested against his bottom again, kneading it with a small, pulsing pressure. Miroku panted, his eyes wide and staring at the sky above them as Inuyasha’s mouth molested his neck and throat ceaselessly.

Inuyasha chuckled, licking another sensitive spot on Miroku’s neck before sucking it gently into his mouth and letting go. His lips moved up to Miroku’s jaw line, twirling his tongue against it while Miroku writhed. “You’re utterly ready to be taken. And even with a heated bottom, hmmmm? Do you like that feeling, little one?”

“I don’t.” Miroku whispered, trying to get his melting bones to obey his wishes and move.

“Are you certain? A small bit of pain, and a lot of pleasure…your body is sweating with need.” Inuyasha nipped at the underside of his jaw again and let his fingers drift down behind and in between Miroku’s legs, running his fingers along Miroku’s seam. Miroku finally managed one pathetic wriggle, mortified to hear himself whine at the same time. “No moving. Your injury needs more time to heal.”

“L-leave me alone and it will heal just f-fine.” Miroku had to clear his voice before he could speak. His skin practically cried when Inuyasha’s mouth hovered near his skin without touching it.

“No. Not again. No stopping this time, when your body is as ready as mine.”

“I won’t be f-forced.” Miroku got out. Gods, let Inuyasha just put his mouth back. He wanted that hot pulse that spread from his throat and fired his entire body. He wanted it!

“I won’t be denied.” Youkai murmured against his neck still. He drew back to look into Miroku’s flushed face. “You want this; I can smell it on your skin. You want this as much as I do. You want me inside of you. You want to be taken.”

Miroku opened his mouth to deny Inuyasha’s statement again and only managed to moan slightly as the hand between his legs cupped him carefully.

“So beautiful.” The hoarse growl preceded Inuyasha’s face descending. Miroku’s lips were completely devoured: bruised and invaded. Miroku pulled his head back, but Inuyasha youkai simply followed, lips pressing against his own, tongue pushing aggressively into them until Miroku opened his mouth to accept its invasion and sucked on it as it plunged in. Inuyasha’s hand moved from between Miroku’s legs to barely slap his bottom one last time and Miroku sucked harder as soon as he felt the slight pain. When the hand left his bottom again, he tensed in expectation.

A clawed hand startled him by caressing his cheek before Inuyasha‘s youkai drew his mouth away to lick his own fingers. Inuyasha made sure not to break eye contact with Miroku as he inserted two fingers into his mouth and drew them out, glistening and wet. His red eyes gleaming, his lips smiling seductively, Inuyasha simply watched Miroku’s face as he put the hand back on Miroku’s bottom, sliding in between the cleft there to press against him intimately.

“You want this.” Inuyasha’s youkai growled quietly.

“N-no, I don’t.“ Miroku bit his lip before he could contradict himself.

Inuyasha growled lower, his finger moving in small circles, gliding over Miroku’s hole with firm pressure without entering. “Say it. You want this.” When Miroku pressed his lips together, the youkai leaned forward again and kissed him hard, plunging into his mouth. Every time his tongue thrust, his finger pressed the slightest bit, never hard enough to do more than flirt and tease. The edges of Miroku’s lips were licked softly while his bottom was touched just as gently, before another near thrust, and withdrawal. Inuyasha continued until Miroku’s entire focus was on his mouth and the over sensitized entrance to his body. The need to feel Inuyasha finally shove himself into Miroku was growing too overpowering to ignore.

But how could he let him…?

Inuyasha was acting like an ass! He was domineering and overbearing and the fact that he had some complex about protecting Miroku when he was perfectly capable of doing it himself was so frustrating he wanted to scream.

Fingers flittered just on the verge of sliding in, then pulled out and rubbed small circles in between the cheeks of his bottom. Gods…he wanted to scream!

Miroku’s hands clenched as he buried the need to pull Inuyasha’s head closer even while he half wanted to get his staff and hit him again. His mate’s warm, hot tongue entered just enough to give him something to suck on as Inuyasha continued his hands’ small, erotic, frustrating little circles. Miroku sucked more frantically, a little embarrassed that he wasn’t able to keep his hips from arching backwards just slightly to try and force Inuyasha to move a little faster. He shouldn’t do this, but all Miroku’s body wanted was suck on him so hard it felt like he was punishing him back. He felt the urge to grip that pale body with desperate hands and feel Inuyasha between his thighs. Inuyasha pulled his head away again, breaking contact with his lips, and his fingers played around Miroku’s anus and up to his balls.

Hot air washed over Miroku’s face as the youkai stared at him intently, speaking in an almost unheard whisper. “Am I forcing you now? Do you want this?” Miroku shivered at the hand caressing him so intimately, and as much as he wanted to yell at Inuyasha for holding him there, he could be honest with himself and admit that if Inuyasha’s arm around his body wasn’t anchoring him to his side, he would still be standing right where he was at this point. He wanted to finish this more than he wanted to show Inuyasha just how wrong he was.

They could work it out later. Right now…

“I want this.” Miroku whispered, and his body shifted to an entirely different level of pleasure when he saw the expression on Inuyasha’s face. He’d expected a triumphant little smirk, like the youkai had won the battle of wills between them both, but what he saw was sheer, unadulterated pleasure. Joy that Miroku couldn’t resist, or that he enjoyed it in the first place? As Inuyasha’s arm around his body loosened, Miroku’s arms were freed and Inuyasha’s hand went to the back of his head.

“You’ll enjoy it.” Inuyasha murmured kissing Miroku on the lips and finally giving Miroku what he wanted as he slid a heavy finger into him at the same moment. Miroku gasped against his mouth, shuddering at the feel of something inside of him. It felt so large, his muscles felt tight as he stood in Inuyasha’s embrace and felt that small, hard heat inside and…ohhh Buddha, bending. Inuyasha pulled the finger out and two entered on the next thrust, the tighter sensation startling Miroku so much that he squeaked, his hands coming up to clutch at the waist of Inuyasha’s hakama while his hips pressed forward.

“Don’t move, little one. You’re still healing.” Inuyasha’s arm came back around his waist again, avoiding his arms now as it anchored him to the youkai’s body.

He sucked against Inuyasha’s mouth frantically. He just wanted to take right now. No seduction, no exploration of his lover’s body, just something to consume the confusion and lust and frustration in one hot conflagration. He wanted to take Inuyasha’s tongue and his hands and his body and milk him so dry that Inuyasha couldn’t move for a week. He wanted that feeling of Inuyasha inside of him again. He wanted it.

Gods, he wanted to be taken so badly…

Hand clutching his bottom and arm still holding him close, Inuyasha broke contact with Miroku’s face and looked around on the ground, lifting Miroku up a moment with his fingers still inside of him. Miroku’s hakama slipped from his feet and fell unnoticed to the ground. Miroku’s hand’s carefully slid up Inuyasha’s body until he clutched at Inuyasha’s neck and he bit it so hard it almost drew blood. Inuyasha’s body was the one to jerk this time, and he bent forward, cradling Miroku as he laid him down underneath him on the soft grass. Miroku moaned, his lips rosy and bruised, as fingers began moving inside him again. Inuyasha youkai watched him avidly as Miroku’s head began to shake back and forth in time to the motion of Inuyasha’s small thrusts.

Miroku’s body was suddenly empty as Inuyasha’s hand left him and fumbled with something on his own body. Trying to move, he shifted helplessly as Inuyasha pulled at his haori. The ties snarled and Inuyasha growled. He sliced through the front, pushing it to the side until Miroku’s chest and stomach were bare. One finger ran over the red scar along Miroku’s side. He leaned down to kiss it with exquisite softness before raising his eyes. Miroku thought he heard purring.

“Don’t move.” Only a moment later, Inuyasha’s body was pushing his legs open, devouring his lips again while a hand caressed down to lift Miroku’s hips just as Inuyasha’s oil covered cock thrust into him.

His wailing gasp was muffled against Inuyasha’s mouth, his body singing with the sharp sting of shocked pleasure that plunged into him with every penetration. Youkai’s lips sealed themselves to Miroku’s and kept his aroused throaty cries nearly silent.

It was quick, and hard, and Inuyasha came inside Miroku’s body with a sharp snap of his hips before Miroku was ready for it. He kept moving, his mouth gentling against Miroku’s while Miroku sucked and licked and tugged frantically at his hair until the blinding ache inside built in jerking, blinding waves and he came in between their bodies with a small muffled scream. His body spasmed against Inuyasha. He saw crackling lights in front of his eyes and panted and gasped as Inuyasha finally released his lips, licking him lightly on the chin.

Miroku stared up at the blue sky above him, still panting, while Inuyasha slowly withdrew from his body and moved down his chest.

“I-Inuyasha?” That had been… He didn’t have words, or he didn’t have the mental power to form words; it wasn’t clear to him which. He simply couldn’t speak, and barely managed a surprised ‘urk’ as a long, wet lick slashed across his stomach.

“You need to be cleaned.” Inuyasha growled, looking up at Miroku’s stunned face with still-red eyes as he licked the white fluid smeared across Miroku’s stomach.

“Ah, I can g-go to a stream…aaaah.” Inuyasha continued to lick his stomach languidly, tasting every small muscle and curve before he reached Miroku’s cock and took it into his mouth without a pause. “Inuyasha!”

Miroku’s hips bucked, the ache in his side made itself known again, and Inuyasha sucked hard all at once. He released Miroku with one last lick and shook his head, smiling at him fondly.

“Why can you not stop hurting your wound, little one? Be still now.”

“I wouldn’t be hurting at all if you hadn’t just, well, if we hadn’t just…been intimate.” Miroku could feel his voice getting weaker throughout the sentence as Inuyasha’s looked up at him with one eyebrow raised. “You’re as much to blame for any injuries as I am!”

The youkai didn’t stop smiling. “I know.”

Miroku stared as Inuyasha crawled up from his hips and kissed him again briefly with an odd bitter taste to his mouth. Miroku wasn’t sure what to do when Inuyasha pulled away and he realized the taste was his own essence.

Inuyasha laughed. “That was, I think, better than last time.”

Miroku flushed, but he nodded just briefly. It had been. Rougher, and harder, and definitely not with a beginning he would have sought, but…

Inuyasha was good.

Or Miroku was becoming even more attached to Inuyasha than he’d ever imagined. He blinked as Inuyasha’s eyes slowly faded to golden and his friend chuckled again.

“Damn, I can’t believe Kouga was right,” he murmured, stretching forward to kiss Miroku on the nose as his hand carefully pushed some of Miroku’s hair off of his face.

‘Kouga?” Miroku swallowed. Kouga was right about what?

“He likes sex after a good fight. Says it’s even better than normal.”

“Ah…did he?” Inuyasha and Kouga discussing sex, especially Inuyasha having sex with him, was a little uncomfortable to examine too closely.

Inuyasha’s voice lowered to a deep rumble, “Guess I’ll have to spank your little butt more often. It pisses you off and gets you hot, all at the same time.”

Miroku flushed and he scowled. “Inuyasha, you had better not even think of –“

A quick pounce and a hard kiss along his neck interrupted him and he came out of it gasping like a fish, glazed eyes staring at Inuyasha until his mate suddenly hugged him tightly

“Inuyasha?”

“Don’t ever scare me like that again, got it?” Inuyasha muttered fiercely against his hair and Miroku froze. Scare? “Gods, when I thought that damn Ronin might have gotten to you…”

“You were worried about me?” That was what had caused all this?

Arms withdrawing as he sat back, Inuyasha looked at Miroku’s confused face in surprise. “Of course I was worried about you! Why did you think I was so angry? It was a stupid damn thing to do, Miroku. We’re lucky the Ronin wasn’t nearby or he could have fucking had you, and he likely would have killed Shippou too, just for the hell of it! Why the hell did you go this far out?”

“I- “Miroku took a deep breath. He was still dealing with the idea that all of this was Inuyasha’s fear speaking, more than some desire to dominate him. Not that he hadn’t tried…well, temporarily succeeded…in dominating him, but he’d been frightened? “I’m sorry you were so worried,” he finally said quietly. He reached out and ran his finger across Inuyasha’s cheek, drawing back quickly as he realized what he was doing. They might be mates, they might have just had sex - quite amazing sex – but…

Inuyasha still had a lot to answer for. He’d tried to punish Miroku as though he had the right. Not acceptable. Miroku tried to formulate the right words to express his outrage and ended up sighing and lying on his back while he stared at Inuyasha’s flushed face. Summoning up the willpower to focus a suitable rage seemed beyond his sated body’s capacity at the moment. How was he supposed to do anything when his entire body felt soaked in heavy satiated languor? He blinked slowly as he watched Inuyasha, and suddenly shook his head. That golden after-image was bothering him again.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

“You’re frowning. Is it your side? Dammit, that damn youkai hurt your side, didn’t he? I shouldn’t have let him have his way. I knew he’d bee too rough!“

“Inuyasha, it’s nothing. I’m not hurt.” He pushed at the arm that reached over to check his scar. “I’ve just got a slight after-image in my eyes, that’s all. It will pass soon, I’m sure. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“After-image?” Inuyasha worried, eyebrows furrowing, and then his eyes cleared as he obviously remembered something. “My aura. You’re seeing my aura.”

Miroku knew he must look thoroughly confused, and Inuyasha’s indulgent look wasn’t helping to clarify things. The odd glow was something Inuyasha knew about; what did that mean? “Your aura. And that is?”

“The mating bond allows us to see each others aura: your essence. It’s much clearer after we’ve been intimate.” Inuyasha smirked at Miroku’s slight flush. “I can see yours as well, you know. Very purple and…hn. Fiery.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Just…how did I miss fiery…” Inuyasha’s fingers began to run over Miroku’s chest in distracting circles as he stared at him and began to mumble. “I would have kept a better eye on you if I’d noticed…”

“A better eye on me??” Miroku felt his temper flicker somewhere deep in his stomach as it tried to get out.

“Never mind, little one. You don’t have to worry about it. I’m sure you’ll be staying closer to the village now, won’t you?” Inuyasha’s voice was so casual that Miroku couldn’t believe he’d heard him right. Inuyasha was still trying to order him around? And after they’d just…

“Inuyasha, we are not going through this again! You can’t simply tell me what to do.”

Inuyasha’s eyes narrowed, he blinked as though seeing something, and then mumbled irritably under his breath. “What the hell am I going to do with you? Temper and pride and… Hn.”

With a yell, Miroku found himself looking up at Inuyasha as his mate suddenly straddled his body and pinned his arms to his sides.

“Inuyasha!”

“Quiet.” Inuyasha took a deep breath and when he spoke again, his words were slow and careful. “I can’t stand having you in this much danger, Miroku. I’m sorry, but it’s impossible! I might as well cut off both my arms, dammit. And if you’re still hurt enough that I can pin you like this, can’t you at least admit that you need a little help? For now? Until you’ve fully healed, and then…”

Inuyasha struggled for a moment and took another deep breath. “Maybe…if Sesshoumaru trained you… “

Miroku stared, as stunned as if a tree had fallen on him. Was Inuyasha actually trying to compromise?

“If Sesshoumaru trained me, then you would accept my presence when we are in combat?” It wasn’t acknowledging his abilities, but perhaps it was a middle ground that they could meet at. Honing his skills, and with one of the most deadly youkai he’d ever met, could do nothing but help him, in the end. Even if the situation itself was still frustrating.

And he really wasn’t in any shape to fight yet, he admitted. It had been stupid to come this far from the others.

“If- if Sesshoumaru thinks you’re ready, I’ll bite my tongue and suck it up. Usually. I’m not saying that I won’t get you the hell out of there if it’s too dangerous, though, Miroku!”

“Inuyasha, then what is the point…”

“Look, even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could. If it’s too much for you, I think my youkai would take over and get your little ass too safety, anyway!”

Inuyasha looked frustrated and upset on top of him, and Miroku tried to view it objectively. It all came down to fear, didn’t it? Inuyasha, both sides of Inuyasha, were afraid for his health. Taken by itself, that was actually comforting. You didn’t fear for someone unless you cared about him, did you?

“I won’t stray too far from the village until I’m well, Inuyasha,” he said, his body quiescent and still until Inuyasha nodded and crawled off of him to sit cross-legged on the flattened grass. Still feeling a little shaky, Miroku pushed himself up, his ruined haori sliding off his arms. He sat and faced Inuyasha, for once feeling rather comfortable to be nude in front of him. Inuyasha cared for him, but how much? There was still so much about this new ‘mating’ between them both that they hadn’t spoken of at all.

His eyes fell from Inuyasha’s and he fiddled with the ragged bits of his haori on the ground. “Inuyasha…why did you take me as your mate? You never said.”

Inuyasha cleared his throat, and Miroku peered back up at him. “I wanted to.”

“You… Why?”

“Because I wanted YOU. I think I’ve wanted you since I first stripped you and stuck you in that field.” Miroku’s breath hitched at the heat coming from his mate’s eyes. Inuyasha chuckled. “You always seemed so surprised by that. So damn innocent.”

“I haven’t been an innocent in years, Inuyasha. I don’t see how I could have realized that… that a good friend had… There was no way I would have known at the time.” Miroku’s cheeks pinkened as Inuyasha chuckled again.

“Miroku, you are absolutely the sweetest, most oblivious, blind… Didn’t you ever wonder why I used to touch you all the time? Why I brought you food? Why I kept you close? “ Miroku’s mouth opened and closed again, his face confused and thoughtful. “Hell, didn’t you ever wonder how I got there so fast when Sesshoumaru attacked you??”

Looking at him, Miroku shook his head thoughtfully. “I never thought about it. It was over so quickly, and then you…” He flushed, and Inuyasha smirked slightly.

“Yeah. A little slap on the behind seems to really fluster you, doesn’t it?”

“Inuyasha, that is not –“

“I was spying on you.”

“Excuse me?”

“You were going to take off your clothes and wash the mud off of them, remember? I was supposed to head back to the village, and instead, I was damn well spying on you from the bushes.”

Miroku shook his head. “Why would you do that?”

Inuyasha huffed and crossed his arms over his bent legs. “Don’t be dense. You told Sango you used to do it all the time. Really, why does anyone spy on someone naked?”

Miroku smiled a bit at that, and his mind looked back over the first few weeks he’d spent in this reality, remembering all the small oddities he’d chalked up to Inuyasha’s slight difference in personality. Maybe he’d been noticing Inuyasha’s amorous touch recently, but from the beginning? “You were attracted to me?” he asked in a cautious voice.

“Hell yes! Damn, do you know how hard I tried to seduce you before I got the chance!?”

Miroku shifted a bit as previous musings were confirmed, and exceeded. He had been trying to seduce him. Miroku had actually been desired, pursued…wanted. Miroku started to smile, the edges of his lips tilting in increments until he knew he must be grinning like a simpleton.

“Well…. Hnn.” Miroku bit his lip to try unsuccessfully to stop smiling. “I suppose… I suppose you were happy that you finally…caught me.”

“Yes I was!” Inuyasha blinked as he registered Miroku’s smile and the tension around his eyes slowly melted from his face. He slowly smiled back, his face settling into happier lines as his voice softened. “I really was. I’m very happy that you’re mine now, Miroku. Gods, you have no idea how much it means to me.” His voice choked.

“Oh.” Warmth flowed over Miroku’s skin and he continued smiling.

Whole. This was the feeling again. He felt so completed.

“What about you?” Inuyasha blurted out, watching him closely.

“Hmm?”

“What about you? How do you feel about…all this? The…the mating. I know you didn’t get to… I- Dammit, are you okay with this, Miroku?”

Miroku was silent a moment before he responded. “I…think I could be happy about this as well.”

Inuyasha nodded. He didn’t seem all that happy, and after a few minutes he looked to the side as though he were upset. His shoulders hunched a little, and Miroku was a slightly amused to see him biting his lip. He supposed that hadn’t been the most reassuring of answers, had it? Miroku reached out and laid his hand on Inuyasha’s thigh, gently stroking until Inuyasha looked back into his eyes.

“You can be infuriating and frustrating, don’t get me wrong, Inuyasha. And I’m sure there will be a number of things to work through, but I’m content with this. I’m not…unwilling. To be with you, I mean.”

He almost regretted his words when Inuyasha’s eyes brightened. Inuyasha smirked, looking a little smug, and Miroku was instantly suspicious. What… What had just happened here? Had he just been tricked into revealing what he felt?! He reviewed it in his head: averted eyes, the nervous body language, the lip biting. Dammit, Inuyasha never bit his lip, did he? He’d tricked him!

Miroku flushed. “Inuyasha, you – Why the hell did you do that! I said I was happy with this!”

Now Inuyasha’s hand was the one to reach out until he brushed his thumb over the pulse point in Miroku’s neck, smiling broadly as it instantly aroused Miroku before Inuyasha drew away. “It wasn’t a very resounding confession of your feelings, little one. I just had to know how you really felt, and since you seemed a little nervous, I figured you’d like to take the lead.” He picked up Miroku’s rather crumpled hakama from the grass and Miroku grabbed it from him with an irritated grumble.

“Take the lead…I’ll show you taking the lead when this damn side heals up, you deceptive hanyou! ” Inuyasha laughed, Miroku started to dress, and Inuyasha grabbed his own hakama to pull them on slowly. Looking at the torn halves of his haori, Miroku was wondering what he was going to wear now when Inuyasha cleared his throat. “I’ll replace them, Miroku. Don’t worry.”

Inuyasha’s eyes roamed over Miroku’s bare chest and the tight-fitting waist of his hakama. He frowned. “Do you want to go to the stream to wash up?”

Miroku concentrated on his ties as he answered. “I thought you already took care of that.”

“Wouldn’t hurt to do it again. And once you’re closer to the village, I can leave you alone and get you another haori.” Miroku would swear he heard a mumbled ‘before anyone else can ogle you’ at the end.

Ogle him? Miroku smiled to himself after a few moments’ thought. Inuyasha didn’t want anyone to see bare chest? This was familiar ground. He had plenty of experience with possessive jealousy from when he and Sango had still thought they might have something between them. He’d never gone out of his way to rile someone up, though.

Considering what Inuyasha had just pulled, though, before intercourse as well as his teasing afterwards…

“No, I feel quite clean, Inuyasha. I’d rather head back to camp. Shippou could use some comfort right now, I’m sure.”

Inuyasha grumbled to himself and Miroku began to walk. He was happy to notice that his side was a little tender, but still seemed to have survived everything without any major damage. His staff was lying on the edge of the clearing and as he reached it, he paused a moment before he picked it up. If Inuyasha was feeling jealous, maybe he could play with him a little more? Should he? He glanced at the staff and worried his lip. It seemed like such a womanly thing to do, but at the same time, he knew that Inuyasha thought of his…bottom…quite a bit. He’d talked about it more than once today, hadn’t he? Miroku knew how much HE liked to watch that part of the body, so if Inuyasha did as well, would he react like Miroku usually had in the past? Taking a deep breath, Miroku hesitantly bent over without bending his legs, picking up the staff as slowly as possible. He heard Inuyasha groan behind him and chuckled nervously under his breath. It was somewhat embarrassing to be flaunting a part of himself this way, but it felt…powerful. He could just imagine Inuyasha behind him, watching and wanting. But this time, Miroku was the one in charge. He was the one making overtures – of a sort- and after everything his mate had put him through today, it was a little thrilling and sooo satisfying to get a little bit of revenge at the same time.

He was actually teasing Inuyasha. Sexually. He was getting his hanyou hot and bothered and then he was going to let him suffer for the rest of the evening.

“This could be fun,” he murmured. As he finally stood all the way up, he yelled as Inuyasha came up from behind him and scooped him up.

“I heard that, Miroku.” Inuyasha mock growled as he looked down at him. “You were doing that on purpose!”

Heat rushed over his cheeks at being caught at it, but then Miroku smiled at the almost admiring twinkle in Inuyasha’s eyes, and he finally started to laugh. “You deserve it. After what you’ve done to me today?”

Inuyasha blinked and then smiled himself. “Oh, were you hoping for a third time? We should definitely go clean up then. Kagome has this strawberry soap her mother gave her…”

He wasn’t supposed to respond like that! “No, for the love of… Inuyasha, put me down.” Inuyasha took a few more steps. “Inuyasha, I know you’re not going to do anything.” He kept walking. “Inuyasha! Dammit,” Miroku flushed slightly and looked away. “I’m sore.”

Inuyasha put him down right away, his fingers feeling along Miroku’s scar. “Youkai did hurt you! I knew it.” Miroku slapped his hand away.

“Not there!” Miroku’s face continued to get brighter as Inuyasha looked at him.

Light dawned, and Inuyasha reached behind Miroku and palmed his ass. “Poor little one.” He ran his fingers up to the naked skin of Miroku’s back. “I could warm up some water for you if it really hurts.”

“Shut up, Inuyasha.”

“Maybe I should tell Kagome what the problem is. I’m sure she has something in her first aid kit that-“

“Don’t you dare!”

Inuyasha started laughing as Miroku continued to blush.

“Maybe Kaede…”

“That’s not amusing.”

“Would you like a pillow to sit on when we get back?”

“Inuyasha, drop it!”

Chuckling, Inuyasha slid his arm around Miroku’s waist and continued to tease him as they finally started back to camp.