The Portal

Chapter 7 – Climbing to the Top

Kagome finally stopped her investigation, and turned to the demons watching her.

“It’s a pyramid!” she shouted.
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“As in ancient Egypt?” Sesshomaru asked.

“Egypt is a desert. We are obviously not in a desert,” Naraku replied.

“Perhaps you have a better idea, Naraku?” Sesshomaru snapped.

“Actually no, but this jungle can not possibly be an Egyptian desert.” Naraku argued.

“There may be no desert now. We could be in the future. Perhaps we have traveled through time?” Sesshomaru snarled. Naraku seemed intent on arguing with every thing he had to say. He was growing tired of the hanyou’s insufferable attitude. This whole situation was raking his nerves. His patience was quickly waning.

Naraku could smell it. The acrid sweet smell of it. Sesshomaru’s poison was dripping lightly from his claws. ‘So he want’s a fight, does he? Not now, demon lord. Not now.’ Naraku stood and wandered off to further investigate this ‘pyramid’.

Sesshomaru watched the hanyou depart through narrowed eyes. His entire being called out for the bastard’s death, but the fates were too cruel to allow him the pleasure. His temper spiked and he turned it on the closest thing to him.

The crashing boom almost scared her to death! Kagome let out an ‘eeek!’ when the huge tree crashed down, bringing with it two smaller trees, all wrapped in a mass of vines and other tropical vegetation. She quickly switched her eyes to the culprit of the destruction.

“Sesshomaru!,” Kagome yelled. “Just what do you think your doing?! You almost frightened the life out of me!”

Sesshomaru cocked a delicate eyebrow up to accompany the smug look pasted on his perfect features. “And that would not have been such a tragedy.”

Kagome’s mouth fell open. ‘How dare he!’ She was about to protest further, but the offending demon did an about-face, and strolled off into the jungle. “Man. What’s his problem?”

Kagome blew off the moody taiyoukai, and returned to her archeological discovery. A real pyramid! She had read about them in school, and of course she had seen them on television, but she never thought she would get to see one in real life! This was just too cool!

Tala had come in quite handy after all. Kagome discovered that her new friend was pretty strong, and a fast learner, except when she tried to teach him NOT to attach himself to her thighs. In no time he was helping her scale the huge rocks. One level at a time she went up, until the forest floor was far below her.

Kagome was working to climb up the next stone. Tala was crouched below her ready to boost her to the next level. She stretched her arm out and grabbed for a spot to hold onto, when it moved beneath her hand.

Moved?!

Her eyes flew to the slithering spot, and Kagome let out a piercing scream that echoed through the entire jungle! It was a huge snake! A huge snake with a huge head!

Kagome fell. She completely missed hitting the stone she had been standing on and was hurling toward the level below. Something grabbed her. Her tightly shut eyes, braced for impact, shot open in surprise. Beautiful golden eyes met her gaze, and she realized that Sesshomaru had saved her from landing painfully on the weathered stone below.

His arms held her tightly to his very bare, and very hard, chest, and he did not release her right away. Her heart was pounding, from the fall, and from the warm tingle that was now washing over her body. He felt so strong, and he never broke her gaze. His tremendously long white hair danced about in the breeze, and Kagome couldn’t help, but to think that he was the most incredibly handsome man she had ever seen. If she wasn’t being held, right then, in his muscular embrace, she would have thought that he could not possibly be real.

He was real all right, and he was feeling something that made his body burn with desire for this young miko. She felt so perfect in his arms. He could hear her heart racing in his ears like a pounding drum. Her scent was surrounding him with its lightly intoxicating aroma. Her flesh was so soft and warm, and her eyes... her huge blue eyes... he could drown staring into those beautiful eyes.

Holding Kagome so closely, gave Sesshomaru insight to another interesting tidbit of information. She was un-marked and still innocent. Inuyasha had not taken her. Why? How? They had traveled together for years. He assumed that they were mates, or at least lovers, yet she remains untouched by a man.

How intriguing.

Maybe Inuyasha prefers males to females? That thought made his stomach churn somewhat, and Sesshomaru quickly thrust it out of his mind. Whatever the reason Inuyasha chose to not claim this woman, was certainly insight to the half-breeds slow wits. She was powerful, and very lovely, and she smelled so very nice...

“Um... Sesshomaru? Kagome said softly. “Um... arigato, for catching me. You can... um... put me down now.”

Her voice snapped him out of it. He couldn’t believe he was actually entertaining sexual thoughts about this mortal girl! He was surly tainted with his father’s defective blood. Sesshomaru immediately lowered her to stand on her own, and swiftly reached up to the ledge above them, and snatched the huge slithering beast from its resting place.

It was a snake, but not an ordinary snake. On its head were antenna, and one quarter of the way down it’s body were two small fin-like appendages on either side. The muscular snake wrapped its huge bulk around his arm, squeezing tightly. It was some type of constrictor, to be sure. A strong one. Sesshomaru easily shrugged the snake off his arm and hurled it into the forest below.

Kagome was deep in thought. Her mind was still in a daze from being held so close to Sesshomaru. Her body reacted in such an overwhelming way. She couldn’t help herself. That thought was a frightening one. She had known this taiyoukai for years, but only as Inuyasha’s half-brother. A full demon, who loved to spar with his brother, in the most viscous ways. Inuyasha had nothing nice to say about Sesshomaru, and Sesshomaru had nothing nice to say about Inuyasha. He was feared by all and loved by only one. Rin.

She had never been so close to him before. Well, that first time he tried to kill her he was pretty close. Too close. The second time he tried to kill her he was pretty far away. Kagome watched as the taiyoukai rid himself of the snake. Her mind suddenly kicked in and she blushed three shades of red. ‘How could I be thinking of him like that?! Inuyasha would never forgive me!’

Sesshomaru turned his attention back to the miko, and just before she quickly turned away he caught the bright flush that swept over her beautiful face. ‘She’s feeling embarrassed by her reaction to my touch. How femininely delightful.’

Kagome turned to continue her climb upward. Tala was still sitting on the ledge above her with a curious look in his huge green eyes. Kagome wondered once again, just how intelligent he was under all that fur.

Sesshomaru watched as she again struggled to pull herself up. She was such a strange human. Despite her obvious flaws, she never seemed to give up, and she never asked for help. She was certainly an oddity among mortal females, that he was sure of. She and Rin had that in common.

Sesshomaru watched silently and unmoving, waiting to see if she would ask for his assistance. She stretched her tiny frame beyond what he thought possible of the human body, in her attempt to grab hold of a good spot with which to hoist herself up. Her struggles were entertaining, and the view was rather extraordinary. She possessed such a nicely rounded bottom, and slender waist, and he soon found himself pressing against it, as he finally gave in. He slipped his large hands around her waist, taking his time while enjoying the curve of her hips. Sesshomaru almost did not want to release her, as he deposited her onto the ledge above. The little gasp she let out at his touch actually made his heart speed up. How strange?

Now she was sure he ‘copped a feel’. Her mind was spinning with this new revelation. She never in a million years would have expected that the Great Lord Sesshomaru would lower himself to touch a human woman. ‘Even though I am kind of cute.’ She giggled at herself. She thought about giving him a good slap upside the head, like she would have done if Miroku had pulled a stunt like that, but thought better of it. She might draw back a nub. For some reason it wasn’t a perverted feeling when Sesshomaru ran his hands over her hips. Actually it was kind of nice.

‘Bad Kagome! Bad!’

Sesshomaru decided that she was taking to long. It would be nightfall before she ever made it to the summit. Without asking her opinion, or preference, he stepped up and wrapped one arm securely around her waist. Again she gasped in surprise. ‘Nice... that little intake of breath’. He then gave her a look that said ‘hold on’, and up they went.

Two leaps later, Sesshomaru released her. They had broken through the canopy of trees and were now standing at the peek of the pyramid looking down on the forest below. Kagome looked at Sesshomaru, who was staring off in the distance. His long hair was blowing out from his body and his white silk hakama’s flapped in the breeze.

“Beautiful,” Kagome said.

Sesshomaru turned his golden eyes on her. “Yes, it is.” The taiyoukai was unaware that she was not speaking of the lush tropical jungle scene. He wondered why she blushed when he looked at her, but ignored it as he returned his gaze to the horizon.

In the far distance there were three more pyramids, all forming a huge square.