Proserpina
Afterglow
Sesshomaru needed all the time he could get to recover from his orgasm, which had contained the built-up pressure of the last hundred years. His ears were literally ringing. When Kagome tried to move away from him he snarled and pulled her back, keeping her on her hands and knees. He could see his own sperm trickling down her thigh - of course it was inert, since he controlled its potency with his yokai. As if he would risk a bunch of hanyou pups! Impatiently he pushed her legs apart to examine the result of his onslaught; as he expected, the flesh was red and angry-looking, and Kagome tried to flinch away from his touch.
Well, his bitch was dirty and sore. He would have to do something about that.
Without a word he got to his feet. Kagome had lost her shoes somewhere along the way, and her socks were torn; she could not walk, so he grabbed her around the waist and tucked her under one arm, ignoring her squeak of protest. Then he set off in the direction of water.
He followed his nose to the banks of a mountain stream, which bubbled merrily among the sharp rocks of the hillside. He hated to leave the protection of the pines, but it was early evening: he knew his half-brother and the humans would not be able to track them during the night. He smirked. The hopeless fools.
He pulled Kagome up to his chest as he stepping carefully down the rocks of the bank, and then, while they were both fully dressed, walked with her into the water.
“Oh!” she gasped, as the water reached her feet and then her ankles. “Cold!” She tried to kick away but Sesshomaru was implacable, striding further and further into the deepest part of the stream, his feet sinking into the rough sand at the bottom. He didn’t stop until he reached waist-deep, and then wordlessly, he plucked Kagome off of his chest and submerged her lower half in the icy stream.
She reacted like a cat, hissing and flailing; Sesshomaru allowed himself a slight smile. He held her easily and they both watched her skirt turn darker green as it absorbed the liquid. Kagome made unhappy noises as her skin pimpled with goosebumps.
Unexpectedly, he sat them both down in the water, keeping Kagome on his lap so that they were both drenched. “C-cold,” stuttered Kagome again, pressing back against his chest, which was still surprisingly warm. He wrapped a palm around each knee and pulled her legs apart, tipping her back so that she was off-balanced.
Kagome had begun to struggle and was right on the edge of panic. Not again, she promised herself, Not like this.
Sesshomaru turned them both so that they faced into the flow of the water. “Do not concern yourself,” he said, “I will not touch you again tonight.” He positioned her so that the current washed over the abused areas of her body, cleaning and cooling the burn there.
He was true to his word, holding her in silence as she recovered her peace of mind. She could feel him snuffling her neck but he made no attempt to touch her anywhere more sensitive.
Finally he got up, setting her back on her feet. “Wash your hair,” he ordered.
Kagome staggered downstream and peed into the current. God, she had had to do that for hours. Then she gingerly cupped water over her face and her hair, trying not to get any more wet than she had to.
“It grows dark,” said Sesshomaru. “Find your dinner before the light is gone.”
Kagome looked around helplessly. “What am I supposed to eat?” she wanted to know.
“Fish,” he replied, looking down his nose at her.
“But . . . I mean, I don’t even have a pole,” said Kagome. “How am I supposed to catch a fish? Never mind prepare it! Inu . . . Inuyasha does that,” she added, blinking back tears and continuing hurriedly, “or Miroku, or Sango. I just cook them.”
Sesshomru sighed. He had no idea how Rin procured fish, but she did it; apparently, Kagome was somewhat less resourceful. Examining her long, slender legs, almost blue-white in the evening chill, he was forced to admit that she did have her other advantages. “Remain here,” he instructed. “If you try to escape, I will overcome you and that will not be pleasant.”
Kagome believed him. She sank down on the bank of the river to wait.
It took Sesshomaru a few tries to correctly distinguish fish in the dark water and to snag them with his venomous claws, but he kept his back turned to Kagome so she would not witness his first faltering attempts. After all, he thought smugly as he brought two fat fish back for Kagome, it was not hard for a daiyokai to overcome lesser creatures.
“We have to . . . gut them,” Kagome whispered.
Quite a bloodthirsty little horde, humans, weren’t they? mused Sesshomaru. He may have been a demon but at least he didn’t live by the slaughter of animals. Nonetheless, he wordlessly twisted the head off the dead fish and pulled out the entrails.
“Not like that!” said Kagome, shocked. “You use a blade and insert it into the gills first, and then down to the stomach . . .”
“As if I would soil a good blade with the slime of this creature,” Sesshomaru sneered. “It is now acceptable, is it not?” He held out the disemboweled carcass to Kagome.
“Well . . .uh, yeah. But we now we have to cook it . . .”
Sesshomaru grunted. That, at least, was a good idea; Kagome was still cold from the water, and Sesshomaru knew from experience that humans had to be kept warm at night. Ah-Uhn would have returned by nightfall, and that would help. After repeating the preparation process on the other fish – Kagome eeped and looked away – Sesshomaru strode back to the campsite with both of his prizes. “Come,” he ordered, and Kagome, who was ravenous, scurried after him.
***
Kagome woke abruptly when her cushion, Ah-Uhn, got up from underneath her and walked away. She looked around fuzzily; it was morning. Last night’s fire had burned down to ashes, she smelled distinctly like pond water, and Sesshomaru was regarding her coolly from across the clearing. “Good morning,” she offered softly.
“You should prepare yourself to depart immediately,” he said. “We will be travelling all day.”
“Yeah, uh, about that,” began Kagome desperately. “I was kind of thinking, you don’t really want to take me along with you, do you? I mean, you hate humans! Maybe you could just leave me here . . . alright? . . . Please?”
“You will ride Ah-Uhn,” said Sesshomaru, as if she hadn’t spoken. “Stand up.”
Kagome scrambled to her feet. “Please,” she said, “you already had what you wanted.” She would not cry, she would not cry . . .
Sesshomaru came to stand behind her. “Close your eyes.”
Kagome did. “Please?” she whispered.
She felt him tie a blindfold over her face, tight enough to press againt her eyelids. “We will be travelling towards my lands, in the West,” he rumbled. “I will not restrain you today, but if you defy me by attempting to see our route, I will make sure to do so in future. Now, come.”
Kagome let herself be led, and then strong hands on her waist boosted her up and she was seated on the dragon’s back. Rather than making her sit astride, which would no doubt have been uncomfortable, Sesshomaru positioned her with her legs together, as though she were riding side-saddle.
“My family is waiting for me to come home,” she sniffled. She felt him wrap the mokomoko around her again.
“You exist only for my pleasure,” said Sesshomaru bluntly. His disembodied voice was apparently empty of any emotion. “You will never see your family again, and you will never be allowed to escape. Now, try and return to sleep. It will make the journey easier for you.”
Kagome felt the dragon lurch underneath her, and then settle into its familiar swaying gait. She couldn’t help thinking that, with every step, she was getting further and further from everyone she loved.