The Portal

Chapter 5 – Kagome’s New Friend

The group of unlikely traveling companions made their way through the jungles of this new place. Sesshomaru hacking away at the foliage, Naraku following uselessly, and Kagome heading up the rear, keeping her eyes on Naraku.

The heat in this place was proving to be a problem for Kagome. Her jeans were sticking to her and her bra felt like a fur coat wrapped around her breasts. She managed to pin her hair up in a high ponytail, gaining a much needed breeze on her neck. She was seriously debating on loosing the jeans and donning a pair of shorts. The path Sesshomaru left in his wake was delightfully wide and clear, and the usual pesky bugs that plagued dense undergrowth seemed to be absent. At least that was something in her favor.

“Um... Sesshomaru? Can we please take a short break?” Kagome asked, after finally getting up the nerve.

Sesshomaru ignored the miko for another kilometer, or two, before giving her the break she requested. He really wanted to shed some of his clothing. The heat and humidity of this place had him sweating like a human slave. How utterly disgusting. Sesshomaru noticed that Naraku had finally discarded his trademark baboon pelt. No doubt that thing was highly uncomfortable. Even now the hanyou was removing his haori. Perhaps he should discard a layer of clothing as well?

Kagome was relieved that Sesshomaru gave in to her request. No doubt, he was burning up as well underneath his layered ensemble. She noticed his sweat drenched forehead, before catching sight of Naraku stripping off his shirt. ‘If he wasn’t so disgusting, I’d actually have to say the guy has a nice chest.’ Kagome chastised herself for her naughty thought. ‘Ooo... Especially about Naraku!’

Pulling her pack off her back, she rummaged through for a pair of shorts. After finding her prize, she scurried around some thick brush and peeled off her soaked jeans. The air flowing over her damp, bare skin felt like heaven, and she couldn’t help but to moan in pleasure, before quickly slipping into her low hugging Levi shorts. ‘Now, to get rid of this Kami-forsaken bra!’ After promptly stashing the bra and jeans back into her pack, she rejoined her associates.

Kagome stood completely still, as she took in the sight of a half naked demon lord. Apparently he decided to be rid of his armor and shirts. Not that she would complain. His chest was unbelievable. ‘Does this guy work out every day?’ Quickly dispelling the image of Sesshomaru lifting weights at Golds Gym, Kagome suddenly became aware that he was staring at her, staring at him. She blushed furiously, and was rewarded by the hint of a smirk from the stoic demon.

The young girl immediately averted her eyes from Sesshomaru’s chiseled upper body, and found herself taking in Naraku’s muscular physic. ‘Well, Kagome, if ya got to be stuck in a jungle, at least the scenery is nice!’ Kagome chuckled at her own silly behavior, and muttered, “Maybe the heat has fried my brain.”

Naraku thought this quite amusing, and chuckled. So the miko finds this body pleasing to the eye? The knowledge made his ego swell a little more, but the thought that she also found the demon lord pleasing sent a sharp pain of anger through his chest. ‘This girl was supposed to be dead by now, and yet here she stands before me, taunting me with her flesh. Making me feel things that I do not wish to feel.’ His whole plot to rid himself of her had blown up in his face. Someone would pay for this. ‘Maybe I should torture Kagura for a few days when I return to my castle?’ That thought lightened his mood considerably, and he stood up to investigate the area, while the miko took a rest.

Sesshomaru felt much better after disposing of his haori’s. The air on his sweaty chest was delightful indeed, and he took a moment to revel in the feeling. His attention was then drawn to the miko, who had returned from the underbrush. She had chosen to change from her usual scanty clothing into clothing that was positively indecent.

He found that he couldn’t remove his eyes. They seemed to defy his orders to look away. Her long legs were bare up to the high curve of her shapely thighs. As if that weren’t enough, the wench had disposed of the binding covering her breasts. Said perky breasts, were now exposed through the thin white top for all to see. The caramel peeks, sitting atop firm round flesh, poked out as if to tease him. When a pretty pink blush crept over her features, Sesshomaru gathered his wits enough to look away, only to find Naraku’s lust filled gaze trained upon the girl. For some reason that thought didn’t sit well with him, and he caught himself before he let loose the growl that was building in his chest. Why should it matter to him if Naraku wanted the wench? She was nothing to him.

The taiyoukai turned away from his two traveling companions and decided to take to the trees. Hopefully from that height he could see something... anything... that would give them a direction with which to follow.

Kagome swallowed the lukewarm water greedily from her thermos. ‘What I would do for some ice cubes?’ she thought miserably. She caught movement from the corner of her eye and turned to watch Sesshomaru leap upward, high into the tall trees. She figured he must be trying to get a bearing on their location. Maybe he could figure out a solid direction instead of leading them around aimlessly. Why is it that men do that anyway? They will wander around for hours instead of stopping for directions... or climbing a tree.

A twig snapped behind her. Not close enough to panic, but close enough to go into alert mode. Whatever it was, was watching her. Kagome thanked the years of traveling the feudal era, for giving her nerves of steel. The initial spark of panic was quickly subdued, and she began to nonchalantly put her water away, before slowly and indiscreetly reaching for her bow and arrows.

She could have sworn she actually could hear it breathing. Either that or her heart was pounding harder than she originally thought, making the rush of her blood sound amplified. Kagome wasn’t sure what she was dealing with, since this was a jungle. She hoped it was just a gazelle or possibly an antelope, instead of a panther or tiger. Just in case, she reached, ever so slowly, into the side of her pack and pulled out her long knife. She rarely used the thing except for preparing food, but the blade was sharp and Sango insisted she keep it with her. She slipped it through the waistband of her shorts, and listened carefully, in hopes that the creature had decided to move on. No such luck.

Kagome wasn’t about to sit with her back to whatever was out there. It was close. A quick glance around proved that her demon companions were no where to be seen. Again... just her luck. When you don’t want a demon they’re everywhere, and when you need one, you can’t find one anywhere!

With careful movements meant to not show aggression, Kagome rose to her feet. Feeling a little less vulnerable, she raised her bow and aimed into the underbrush. “You’d better come on out!”

What came out, was not at all what she expected.

A monkey?

No.

A deformed human?

Um... No.

Kagome kept the arrow pointed on the fur covered creature. It was dappled beige, and covered in coarse hair. Possibly half of her height. It was crouched low to the ground in fear, yet it was obviously curious about her. It had a long tail, like that of a monkey. The strangest thing about it was the extra pair of arms. It had four arms, and two legs. The beasts face was similar to a humans, but covered in fur. The huge emerald eyes looked almost intelligent. Further study brought her to the extremely long fingers, which ended in bulbous tips. It was grunting meekly, in its nervousness.

Kagome was astounded. There was no creature like this in Earth! No. She was absolutely positive. Nowhere, during no class, had she ever been introduced to this species. It was not a demon. She could tell that easily enough. It certainly wasn’t human, though the eyes made her wonder. She was so shocked, that she began to lower her bow. Whatever it was, meant her no harm. That, she was sure of. A miko just knows these things.

Suddenly Kagome caught a flash of white, just before the solid form of Lord Sesshomaru swiftly snatched the creature up by its throat, and pinned it to a nearby tree with a dangerous growl.

The creature was taken off guard, and once it realized its predicament, began to scream in terror. The sound was piercing and primal, sending chills through Kagome’s entire being. The long bulbous fingers pushed against its attacker, only to stick to Sesshomaru’s skin, revealing that the bulbed appendages actually had suction cup like tips. This fact did not please the demon lord, who had no wish to be suctioned by this foreign beast. He raised his razor sharp claws to rid himself of this annoyance, but was stopped by the additional screams of the miko.

“Stop! Please, Lord Sesshomaru, don’t kill it! It means us no harm!” Kagome cried in protest.

Sesshomaru halted his death blow, and turned his head to the woman. The screams of the beast were deafening, and he wished nothing more than to remove its head from its body. For some reason the miko was pleading for the hellish beasts life. She found it to be no threat. Fine. Anything to be rid of that noise.

When Sesshomaru dropped the creature, it immediately ceased its screaming and promptly scurried underneath Kagome’s feet, almost succeeding in knocking her to the ground. Sesshomaru smirked at her. He obviously found that quite amusing. Kagome ignored him and knelt down to pat the terrified creature in an attempt to restore its trust in her. It was trembling in fear, and staring at Sesshomaru as if he were a fire breathing dragon. Kagome found herself glancing up to the taiyoukai, just to make sure he wasn’t one.

Sesshomaru was leaning against the same tree he had the poor creature pinned to. He was relaxed, and appeared to be quite enjoying the show. Kagome had the strangest feeling that he was watching her legs more than the alien creature cowering at her feet. ‘Nah... couldn’t be.’ She shook off that silly idea, and turned her attention back on the thing at her feet.

“I’m sorry about that, Kagome cooed, he’s just an old meany. He won’t hurt you, I promise.” Kagome said softly, as she stroked the coarse fur. She glanced back to the taiyoukai who now had one elegant eyebrow raised as he looked at her.

“Do you propose to call this Sesshomaru, an ‘old meany’?”

Kagome shot him a glare. “I most certainly do. You scared the poor thing nearly to death.”

Sesshomaru grunted. “One would think, woman, that you would be more grateful to those attempting to save your pitiful human life.”

Kagome rolled her eyes at him. She kept her voice calm, so as not to further frighten the beast. “Well if I had actually needed saving, I would have thanked you.”

Sesshomaru was about to reply to that, but at that moment Naraku chose to show up. He had almost hoped the hanyou would stay gone. He then reminding himself for the one hundredth time since they arrived in this hellish place, that they possibly needed him alive, in order to return home.

“What do we have here?” Naraku asked from behind Kagome.

The creature at her feet flipped over onto its back and up again to stare at the new comer. It began shivering frantically all over again. Kagome signed deeply, as she once again attempted to calm the frightened creature.

“It appears Kagome has picked up a stray,” Sesshomaru replied to Naraku.

Naraku chuckled and said, “Kagome seems to do that quite often. First Inuyasha, then you, and now this creature. At least her tastes have improved.”

Kagome’s mouth hit the floor. Naraku just cut Sesshomaru pretty deeply with that one.

Sesshomaru seen red for a moment, then let out a deep warning growl to the hanyou, before regaining his composure. One good turn deserves another. “Of course anything is better than filth such as you. Correct Kagome?”

She couldn’t believe that they were even having this conversation! She’s stuck in... wherever the hell they are... and these two idiots want to drag her in the middle of some male rivalry thing! ‘Such is my life!’