Dinner went off without much incident. While Kagome was more used to others preparing dishes for her and eating from a plate, she had to admit, there was a bit of satisfaction in helping cook her own dinner. Sure, it wasn't all that complicated, with Inuyasha having done the dirty work of killing and cleaning the rabbits, and Shippo made the fire, but she enjoyed her little moment of self sufficiency as she ate the primitive way with her two companions.
And now, she was carefully cleaning the fox child's dirty face despite his protests that he was old enough to do so on his own. She had attempted to pick his hair apart with the chopstick from her own, but it simply wasn't needed. It wasn't tangled and matted like hers, but almost composed of a soft fur, denser and not as silken as Inuyasha's, but free of troublesome knots all the same.
The boy scrunched up his face and she pulled the scrap of fabric away from him nodding, "There, I think you're all set." Shippo shook his tail out and smiled at her.
"Thanks, Kagome," He says, "I suppose I do feel a little better now that I'm clean." He yawned and Kagome lifted back the folded over sheep's pelt, warm and soft inside.
"Do you think you're ready for bed?" She asks, "Inuyasha will likely want to set out early tomorrow," She glanced at the haphazardly covered door, her husband having trudged out when the storm let up a little to gather firewood to keep the makeshift cabin warm through the night. The fox child curled into the soft pelt, and she gently laid it over him. She started to get up, but his small voice stopped her.
"Can you stay back here for a little while, Lady Kagome?" He asked rather timidly, and she slowly nodded, smiling, "Just until I fall asleep of course. I know you have to keep Elder Brother company." Kagome carefully adjusted her legs into a lotus position and used the wet rag from Shippo's face to start cleaning her cut feet.
"Why do you call him that?" She asks, "Elder Brother?" The child's green eyes blinked at her, a little surprised by the question. But then again, to a human it must not seem so obvious.
"Dog Yokai are cousins to Kitsune," he replies, "When you said you wanted to care for me, and he took me into his pack, he became closer family. And by avenging my father, he became my elder brother." He looked at the small wounds on the soles of the mortal woman's feet. "That looks like it hurts."
"It isn't so bad," she says softly, "I just have to keep the wounds clean, and they'll heal." She grabbed onto one of the tears in the black skirt she wore and carefully tore the hem away, making a long strip of relatively clean cloth.
Shippo lay his head down and watched intently as Kagome began carefully binding the wounds of her injured feet, almost making a sort of tabi of black cloth. After finishing one, she tucked it back beneath her tattered skirt and pulled another strip to begin on her second foot.
She was just tying it off when an especially loud clap of thunder caused the fox child to leap up and crawl into her lap, whimpering.
"Oh Shippo," Kagome replies gently, stroking his flame-colored hair, "Why didn't you say you were afraid of storms?" He looked up at her from where he clung to the snakeskin of her binding, his eyes filled with tears.
"I'm not really, but the, the, thun-" The sky outside flashed again and a rolling boom shook the chamber again. Kagome nodded in understanding and grabbed the sheepskin up again, wrapping it tightly around the kitsune child.
"I know, Shippo. I know," she says softly, tucking the wool close to his head against his ears.
"That, won't work, Kagome," He says, "I'm a kitsune. I can still hear it." Kagome frowns a little before something she used to do for Sota when he would sneak to her rooms after a nightmare would occurred to her.
"That's okay," She says, "I'm closer than the thunder, so you can hear me better right?" He nods slowly and she just carefully brushed his cheek, "So just listen to me and you won't have to worry about that pesky storm bringing up the scary memories, okay?"
"Will you sing to me?" Shippo asks and Kagome just giggles.
"I can try, though I'm not very good at it," She admits, "Is there anything specific you want me to sing?"
"Do you know any lullabies? Papa always told me that mortal princesses know all the best lullabies, since they are usually taught to be good mama's when they marry."
"Well I don't know about that," She says, turning a little red, seeing as she was quite often given music lessons when she was young, and taught many lullabies for that exact reason.
"I think you'd make a really good mama someday, Kagome," He says, making her turn redder and she just shakes her head as she holds him a little tighter. He lets out a small yawn and she just chuckles.
"Shhh," She says quietly, "Just close your eyes and I'll try to help you sleep." He nodded, his eyes already drooping as he cuddled into her chest.
The mortal woman thought a moment before a soft melody came to her, one written on one of the song scrolls from her castle library. Humming for a moment and carefully tucking him against her, Kagome began the soft lullaby.
Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul
*****
Inuyasha ducked into the chamber and out the storm. He was soaked all the way through his clothes and upon setting down the load of relatively dry wood he'd found in a sheltered place, he crouched and shook himself, splattering drops of water on the open floor. He could hear Kagome singing softly to the fox child in the dark, well protected corner behind the tapestry where she must have tried to set him up.
"Stubborn Wench, he needs to learn to cope with it, not be babied about it," he thought as she continued her song, moving the wood a little closer to the fire so the heat might dry it out before he needed to use it. He felt a calm washing over him as the melody of the lullaby rang in his ears and he lifted his head to glance at her back. he could see the small tuft of red hair and the blue ribbon tied in the kitsune child's head as he rolled a little in her arms and she shifted her bundle, and he couldn't help the vision that creeped in.
The tattered skirt she wore was replaced with that pale green yukata she often wore to bed and her curls were more defined and less matted in the firelight. The tattered, musty ram's pelt was a thick, midnight blue swaddle with stars embroidered in it, familiar and warm. The child's hair was instead a dark black, sheened in silver and the tie was the red of fire rat fur, a totally different child from the one who knew she currently held close to her warmth, whose scent was a milk laced, soothing mix of Kagome's and his own.
He quickly scrunched his eyes shut and shook his head to try to get the image out of his mind. He could never have that. He had promised himself, and her nearly each night, that he would never tarnish her by getting her truly involved with his life. She deserved better and he wished each night he could have taken her up on her offer of trying to dissolve the marriage and allow her freedom back.
Inuyasha damned the fact that his human heart had decided for him to make such a thing unthinkable. That he could never trust her with such a dangerous lure as that damn jewel to be able to live out her life somewhere else, somewhere she could be happy. That he was so severely drawn to protect the young woman that he couldn't let anything happen to her, let alone let her out of his sight.
As he crouched by the fire, a flocked ear twitched, involuntarily trying to focus on the soft sound of Kagome's voice over the harsh popping of the wet firewood and rain dancing on the surprisingly solid roof. She certainly wasn't the most talented singer, but her voice was nice and soothing, like her scent.
The longer he sat there, listening, he realized he recognized the song. It was song he used to hear a lot, a long time ago. One he had always liked hearing, paired with the smell of herbs and a soft summer breeze blowing across his face, rustling the leaves around him as he dozed in a tree.
It was her song.
Sure, Kagome's voice was different, not as poised and disciplined, but then again, neither was his wife. A few words were changed too, but he was quite sure of it the longer he listened, knowing the soft, gentle tune by heart even if he hadn't heard it for over fifty years, he was sure it was the same song the priestess used to sing.
But how would she know an old peasant village lullaby like that? More important, he found himself growling silently, why of all people did she have to be the one singing it?
Kagome finished singing softly, humming the melody over a few more times as she carefully moved the sleeping kitsune from her arms and onto the soft ferns she had managed to drag in as extra cushion before the storm started. He mumbled a little, but only tucked himself deeper into the warm pelt and settled into a comfortable position.
She slowly stood and turned around, mildly surprised to see Inuyasha once again leaning against the chamber wall, the futon of fern fronds and bed of old pelts laying at his feet. His eyes were trained on the fire, though she did notice the way one of his ears was trained on her, flicking a little at the sound of the floor creaking beneath her feet.
"You shouldn't baby him so much," He grumbles, and she moves to sit on the furs beside him, "Kid's gotta learn to stand on his own two feet."
"That's just it though," She says, "He's a kid, a child who just lost his parents right in front of his face. I'm not going to ignore him if there's something I can do to ease his suffering." He glanced past her at the plumy fur of the fox cub's tail sticking out from inside the pelt he'd been wrapped in and scoffs.
"You're just too easily swayed by cute fluffy things," he grumbles and the young woman at his side gently gripped the edge of one of his pointed ears.
"Obviously, seeing as I deal with you rather well, eh Puppy Dog?" She says and he turns away from her, brushing her hand away with the back of one of his own, "Besides, you didn't really resist all that much when he tagged along. I honestly expected more of a fight on that, knowing you."
Inuyasha just stared at the fire and Kagome could see a small part of the stone façade he often wore breaking away, a sadness seeming to flow out like unshed tears. The sadness of a fellow orphan who was aware of Shippo's pain.
"He reminds you of yourself, doesn't he?" the princess says softly, and he narrows his eyes at her, a slight anger burning there.
"What are you getting at, Wench?" He asks and she glances over at the Inu-yokai covered trunk that set on the edge of the fire, mud still clinging to the corners.
"You haven't told me much, but I know Lord Toga died when you were an infant and that you lost your mother when you were a child," She says, "And I'm guessing from the way you've been acting ever since I mentioned taking him in for being an orphan because it was the right thing to do and I know you weren't, you were probably around his age." Inuyasha frowns and narrows his eyes at the fire, making Kagome look down at her hands.
"No," He says, making her raise her head to look at him, "I was younger."
"Do you want to talk about-"
"No," He growls, "I really don't, so drop it."
As she takes in the form of the silver haired man, she wished she could figure out a way to talk to get more out of him. But he seemed so guarded, even more so than usual. It was like he was a different person, a certain façade crumbling further as she mentioned his abandonment by the world, both hers and that of the yokai, and he was doing all he could to hold it together. The rumpled way that his fire rat coat clung to his form made him seem smaller, less the ethereal being she thought him to be when she met him.
More like the lost child he must have been when his mother died and left him alone in the world.
How cold and lost he must have been, she wondered, hugging her body as she started to feel a bit of the night's chill despite the fire in front of them.
Off put by her silence, Inuyasha shifted in his seat. He could see the firelight dancing off the chest near the corner, making the Inu-yokai look like he was moving across the once red painted wood. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the way Kagome had her arms tucked around herself, rubbing at her shoulders.
"Are you cold?" He asks and she shakes her head, looking at the fire.
"I'm fine," she replies quickly, her head bowed. She had caused him enough trouble today already. It seemed like she almost always did thanks to the Kami forsaken Shikon Jewel that was entrusted to her.
There was nothing to do about it, the scant pelts that she had made into a futon nowhere near big enough to actually use to wrap around her as well as his admittedly warm suikan being soaked from his journey out in the storm.
"Liar," He grumbles, though there was a hint of a good-natured smirk at the corner of his mouth, "Didn't I tell you that you don't need to be getting yourself sick?"
"I'll be fine as long as I stay near the fire," She says, "I'm not so frail that I'd get sick that easily." He ignored her and got up, trudging over to the old trunk still sitting in the middle of the floor, near the fire pit. Crouching down, he yanked hard on the metal lock, breaking in and making the old wood under him creak with the force.
As the lid creaked open, Inuyasha closed his eyes a moment, overwhelmed with the scent of its owner, locked deep in the earth for so long. He let out a soft noise as he reached in and ran his fingers across the soft fabric of the junihitoe, as though he was able to reach inside and feel his mother's warmth once more.
Opening his eyes the firelight seemed to glow off the floral pattern on the pink outermost robe he always remembered cuddling into as she held him. It hadn't faded, hadn't aged at all from the day he hid it away like some sentimental fool. Everything was still there, the combs from her hair, her fan, even some of her makeup that he had managed to collect as the servants cast her things away the night she'd died. Undamaged and safe as he had hoped it would be.
"What is it?" Kagome asked softly and Inuyasha carefully lifted his head, shaking away the thoughts about his mother. Carefully folding the pink outer robe over and grabbing the next one, a deep green one with swirling branches and leaves.
"It, uh," The mortal woman carefully stood and walked over to him. She could she a gathering of fine, beautiful silks inside it. A red patterned fan and smaller trinket box lay nestled in them, and Kagome gently lay her hand on her chest as she looked as she realized what it must be.
A twelve-layer silk kimono, a junihitoe. Only the most noble of women, like himes, would have been allowed to wear such an extravagant garment. The very height of fashion 200 years ago.
"Your mother's clothes," she whispered softly, and her husband just looked at his hand and the deep green color she seemed to always glow in.
Inuyasha opened and closed his mouth a few times, being not so gifted when it came to words. Grumbling at himself under his breath, he got up with the green kimono carefully gripped in his fingers. He just held it out to her, and she tentatively took a step back.
"Inuyasha," she replies and he just kind of tilts his head at her, confused why the shivering woman would deny the warmth of a clean silk robe, "I couldn't. These are precious and I'm-." She looked down at her grime covered body. She could smell herself, which meant that she could only imagine how much she might reek of sweat and dirt to his sensitive nose, "unclean to say the least."
"It's just an old piece of cloth serving no purpose inside an old trunk," He says matter of factly, "You're fine to use it, unless you'd rather tromp around in what you're wearing now." His amber eyes seemed to bore into her, making Kagome avert her eyes to the beautiful green fabric he held out to her. As she gently took it, he stuffed his arms back into his suikan and walked back over to the small fur bed, plopping down beside it and resting Tetsusaiga back against his shoulder as though he hadn't moved in the first place.
She carefully opened the robe and draped it around her shoulders, feeling its gentle embrace as she pulled her hair free, despite the small twinge of pain that came as she moved her shoulders. She glanced back at Inuyasha, who had his head down and aimed at the fire with that unreadable expression. Moving so her back was facing him once again, she removed the black obi of her wrap skirt and allowed the tattered, torn fabric to pool on the floor as she folded the green robe around herself and tied it closed.
Inuyasha's ear twitched a little as he heard the rough wood creaking under her feet and watched as she bent and picked up the soiled black fabric. She carefully made her way over to the water she had previously been using to clean Shippo and tore the fabric down the middle, soaking and wringing it out a few times.
"What the hell are you doing now?" He asks and she looks back at him, standing with the moist cloth.
"I'm going to take a look at your wounds," She replies softly, and he rolls his eyes.
"I'm fine," he grumbles as she comes to kneel on the soft fur of her makeshift bed, "I ain't some weak little pip- OW!" He glared at her as she jabbed her tiny little finger through the hole in his suikan and into his barely knitted flesh. She pulled her hand back upon his cry, looking without the smallest twinge of disgust at his tainted blood streaked on her finger.
"You're fine are you?" She says and he lets out a low growl, "That was quite the cry for fine."
"I didn't ask you to dig your damn finger in it!" He snaps back and she shushes him as she glances back at the shrouded corner she had tucked Shippo, "All you did was cut me open again to prove your point."
"Will just stop being so stubborn and let me take a look at it?" She asks, sounding completely exasperated. An ear twitched in annoyance, and he rested his head against the wall with a groan. "Look, I know I'm just a frivolous princess to you who has no business on the battlefield. And maybe you're right, but even before I was betrothed to you, I was intended to be married off to a warrior and taught to tend wounds my husband might receive."
Inuyasha started banging his head back against the wall in frustration, nearly at his limit with this woman.
"I know a thing or two about healing injuries. So if you think I'm gonna just drop it when you're in-"
"If I let you look at it, will you shut up and leave me alone?" Inuyasha asks, completely out of the energy to argue with her. Kagome's eyes lit up and she clasped her hands together, nodding.
"Uh huh!" She says and he rolled his eyes as he untied his wet robes and shrugged off his suikan and kosode, wincing a little as he felt the healing bones in his shoulder move against one another. His clothes made a smacking sound as chucked the wet cloth away and he looked up to see a deep blush cross the princess' cheeks.
Kagome wasn't expecting him to strip everything off, but the next thing she knew, there he was, bare skinned to his waist. His body was lean, but firm with muscle that she knew for a fact was much stronger than it appeared. The golden skin shown in the firelight, the slashes from Hiten's pike reduced to thin, red scars that she had no doubt would be gone by the time the sun rose.
As she traced the planes of his abdomen upward and onto his chest, she felt her bottom lip slip between her teeth. The lock of hair upon his left shoulder was becoming stained red with blood that seeped from his shoulder wound. It looked bad, probably not as bad as she was imagining it to be, but still pretty bad.
Even so, he still made something stir in her belly when she looked at that well-muscled body for the first time. Her cheeks flamed and she shifted a little in her seat.
He was definitely something to behold, even injured.
"What's the matter, Wench? I thought you were gonna dress my wounds?" He teased before instantly regretting it the moment the dreaded nickname left his lips, and she was broken from her trance and reached forward, grabbing onto his arm and brushing the bloodied hair away so she could get a better look at the injury.
Kagome carefully studied the deep wound through his shoulder, running her finger over it as he let out a hiss of discomfort. Her blue eyes flicked up to him a moment before she moved a little closer and started wiping some of the blood away.
"How could you possibly just shrug something like a hole through shoulder and think I wouldn't care?" She whispers and his ear flicks in her direction with irritation from her nagging.
"Keh!" He scoffs, looking away from her.
"Don't 'keh' me!" She snaps back. "I can tell by the way your arm is hanging, your shoulder is completely wrecked from not only today, but what was still healing underneath from Yura's strikes."
"So?" He grumbles, "It'll heal like it always has before."
"I understand that" She says, wringing out the black fabric and starting to gently clean the bruised skin around the wound, "But I'm sure that even you feel pain."
"Because I'm a pathetic half-demon?" He asks, glancing out of the corner of his eye at her and she grabs a handful of his hair, yanking harder than she probably should have and he quickly turned, glaring at her.
"Because you're a person, you Dough Head!" Kagome yells in a hushed voice, still putting up an effort not to wake Shippo up, "How many times do I have to tell you that being a hanyo doesn't matter to me." She looks back at the wound noticing a small scar next to it. "You're my..."
"Your what?" He asks and she looks up at him, finding it hard to meet his eyes as she leans over him, a deep red covering her cheeks.
"Friend, I guess," She says nervously, and he tilts his head at her, looking very much like the puppy he was.
"Friend?" Inuyasha asks and she shrugs, quickly turning her attention back to the wound, carefully beginning to bind the wound together with the other half of the black cloth. Not ideal, but she supposed it would work.
"It's the simplest word, since our whole situation isn't," She admits, "What I mean to say is that I care about you, and I don't like that you're in pain. I want to do what I can to ease it." She looks down at her hands a moment, ringing out the rag she had been using on his wounds. "I am the one who caused it after all. I'm the reason any of these battles keep happening."
"Kagome," her companion murmurs and she lift her head.
"I'm trusted with the most dangerous item in Japan, and I can't even begin to fight my own battles, so you're forced to," She replies, wringing her hands together. "I couldn't even get a shot off on a target as large as Mantan was and I was kidnapped for my efforts and forced you into a fight of two against one. Do you have any idea how pathetic that makes me feel?"
"Don't beat yourself up so much," Inuyasha replies, and she lifts her head, "You were just trying to help the kid. I can't say I agree with that kind of blind stupidity, but I get it." He pulls his injured arm back into his lap and flexes his claws. "I may be a selfish bastard, but I know you ain't and you went out of your way to try to help an orphaned child. I may have been pissed when you ran off, and even more pissed that you went and got caught doing it, but I get it, why you ran off." She gives him a small smile and he blushes, looking away again.
Kagome carefully adjusts the bandage, tying it off in hopes that it will steam the bleeding and help the wound heal faster. She wished so desperately that she might have had some kind of herb to help ease the pain. She could tell he was in far more pain than he showed that he had to be from the unnatural, swollen appearance of his shoulder blade. But he didn't mention it any further and neither did she.
As her hand moved away from the bandage, the small scar came into her vision again. It was paler than the rest of his skin, and raised slightly, about the length of the first half of her index finger. It was strange, seeing as he had no other marks on him from their battle the day before.
She wondered; what kind of injury could leave a scar on a being like him. Somewhere in the back of her mind remembered it, knew it was supposed to be there, but she couldn't figure out why. After all, she had never, in the entire time she knew him, seen his chest before.
But when she blinked, for a brief moment she saw something. Nothing she could truly focus on, like there were only bits and pieces, as though she were someone else, somewhere else for a heartbeat. She saw flames, red, and a stream of pale, pink light like that of a purifying arrow, turning the red gold as it hit its mark.
Inuyasha shivered a little and a clawed hand came up, grabbing onto her own, making her remove her hand, the flurry of images flashing away as suddenly as they had come. She looked at him and when she expected some kind of anger at her perceived prying, but she didn't.
Instead she saw, sadness. A sorrow that sunk into her heart, making her heart clench. She glanced at their joined hands, flexing her fingers slightly and he shook his head, letting her go quite suddenly.
"I think, you'll be okay," She murmured, not sure what else to say in the situation.
"I could have told you that," He grumbled, crossing his arms which was nowhere near as dramatic without the billowing sleeves of his suikan. She settled a little, sitting back of her legs once again, her fingers still tingling from whatever had happened when she touched his scar and was drawn into whatever she had seen, "What about you?"
Kagome looked up, confused, "Huh?"
"Are you okay?" He asked, amber eyes shining in the firelight as he clutched his sword. "They didn't," He looked away from her and she noticed the way his ears were starting to try to sink against his head, his cheeks red in embarrassment, "do anything to you, did they?"
Kagome's own face flushed with the implication. Vague as his words were, she still got the gist of what he meant. He wouldn't be so nervous if he were asking about something as simple as a wrenched arm. She looked down at her hands and shook her head.
"I, don't remember much, so I really don't know," she replies, "My legs are a little sore from when Mantan caught me with his lightning. I got a decent bump on my head and woke up covered in a tablecloth." Her arms suddenly wrapped around herself and Inuyasha looked at her as she paused in her recollection. "Mantan was beside a large caldron, making some kind of potion. A maiden was the missing ingredient, so he said something about making sure I still was. But I don't know what he did after he undressed me. I was unconscious and nothing," She quickly shook her head, not wanting to think about it anymore, "Nothing hurt any worse and seeing as he still, I don't think he did anything if he needed me to be untouched for his potion." Her fingers gripped the silk of the robe tied around her body.
"I," Kagome looked up at Inuyasha as he spoke, his eyes still looking away from her, "He didn't. I would have been able to smell it on you if either of them had done something like that."
"Hiten wanted to," She says, "Once I convinced them who I was, proved to them by telling them things only I would know, he thought to take me as well as the jewel. Some way of getting back at the Inu-yokai by sullying the woman the half demon wasn't man enough to take." A low growl sounded, and she glanced at him, seeing his grip on Tetsusaiga become fiercer, angrier. His bangs hung in his face and his teeth were gritted. "Inuyasha?"
"I'm sorry," He says, and she shakes her head, her long black hair falling over her shoulder.
"Like you said, they didn't end up doing anything to me," She says, "I ended up making it part of the deal. Me for the jewel, as long as I remained untouched. That you hadn't taken me yet because you were about to reach a zenith in power and wanted to ensure that was when I conceived our heir and would not give up the treasure if your chosen had been tainted."
"That's the stupidest thing I'd ever heard," He says, looking at her angrily and she narrows her eyes at him, "That was the story you were betting your life on? That they'd have enough respect for a deal made with a human that they would ever uphold it is laughable."
"Look, it was the best I could come up with the smoldering body of Hiten's mistress laying ten feet from me!" She snaps, "I was standing in front of two strange men I'd never met covered in nothing but a tablecloth. Give me a break!"
Inuyasha just looks at her and noticed the way she still clutched her sides, looking so small and fragile and he was reminded of how bad it had been. How close he had come to losing her. The story was ridiculous, but it had worked, and he was grateful that.
"You must have been scared," He says, and she surprises him by shaking her head, her hand moving to her chest.
"No, not really," She admits, and he sat up from his slouched position, setting his sword to the side. "What?" He studied her face, trying to discern the faintest speck of dishonesty.
"No?" He asked and she just shrugged, "How the hell could a sheltered little thing like you not have been scared?"
"I," she felt her cheeks trying to grow red, but she just shrugged, "I knew I was just feebly buying my time, but I knew you would be coming for me. They could do what they wanted, could go against their word to me, but they wanted the jewel and had bought that I was the only one who knew where it was hidden. They wouldn't risk killing me as much as they wanted and," She looks down at the hand clutching the Shikon Jewel, "I knew that whatever happened, you would come for me. You promised to protect me and haven't given me any reason to think you wouldn't, so I just had to by time and whatever they'd do to me, you'd be coming for me and make them pay."
The hanyo prince's glowing, sun-like eyes just stared at her. His lips parted slightly, having no idea how he would be able to respond to her. This mortal girl, this woman, she believed in him, had faith that he had never had in himself. She knew he would come for her, hadn't cared what might happen because she believed he would make sure that those who wronged her would face justice.
And more than what she was saying, what she had done in the battle. He had seen it, that belief strong and unwavering in her stormy blue eyes as she had grabbed his arm and kissed his cheek. This girl, this foolish wench actually had faith that a weak half-demon could win against not one, but two full yokai.
Before Kagome could comment on the growing, tense silence as he stared at her, his uninjured arm reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to his chest. She felt warmth rush her as he held her to him, his injured arm cradling her head and the other having moved to hold her body to him.
"Inu-"
"I was afraid," Inuyasha admits, and she glanced over, trying to find his face but only feeling the soft mane of white hair brushing against her cheek as he tucked her shoulder under his chin. Her arms slowly moved from where they were pinned between them and embraced him back, resting her head on his shoulder.
Her gentle scent tickled his nose as he buried his face in her hair. His inner demon, that beast that had paced, around his heart, was letting out soft, contented noises at the feeling of her thinly clothed body pressed against his bare chest. After all, he too, a yokai that should be without fear, was in agreement with the rational, more human mind that was his consciousness.
"I was afraid I was going to lose you."
Kagome felt her heart racing, as her fingers brushed through his hair to the warm body underneath. He had never embraced her like this. She was always the one to rest an arm on him, to touch his arm in passing. Even the one night that he had allowed her to cuddle up to him, it was as when he carried her, with her arms draped around him with his back to her.
The warm security he was offering, even as he was clearly the one seeking some kind of comfort from her, was something she had never experienced before. And she didn't want it to end, despite the way her eyes watered against the feeling of tiny shards of splintered wood being pressed deeper into her back as his arm flexed and held her tighter.
Inuyasha's nose twitched smelling the salty tang of her teary eyes. His heart sank. She didn't want this, was simply enduring it like every other aspect of being married to him. But the way she was holding him back as he started to move away confused him and she let out a soft noise as his arm moved against her back and the faint scent of her blood suddenly came through the fog of simply having his face buried in her hair.
"That's right," He thought, "Her blood was on the quiver the brat showed up with. She's injured and was so fussy about tending to me, I forgot to pay attention to how bad she might have been hurt."
"You're hurt," He whispers, and she shakes her head.
"It's just a couple splinters from when my bow snapped," She says, pulling away and looking away, her cheeks red, "It can wait we get back home, and Sango can get them." He tilted his head at her and reached for the edge of her robe. "What are you-"
"You were sitting here fussing over a wound that will be healed over in a day when you're injured," He says.
"Really, it's nothing," She says, straightening her hair but winching a little as a particularly painful twinge traveled through her back.
"Just let me take a look at it," He says, and she looks up at him from under her long, dark lashes as he tries pulling the robe off her shoulder and she continued to feebly hold onto the silk. "Damn it, Wench. I'm not trying to get in your skirt. I just want to see if I can help ya!"
Kagome raised her head a little and sighed, her fingers moving from the death grip on the kimono's collar to the black obi she had tied around her body. As it loosened, the oversized robe slid down under its own weight and rested in the crook of her elbows.
Inuyasha blinked at her, his eyes wide as her pale skin reemerged from the dark silk, the pallor of the golden binding she wore blending in and making her appear fairly bare. She crossed her arms around herself and frowned.
"What's wrong?" He asked and she looks away, her cheeks flaming.
"The wound is on my back, not my chest," she whispers, and his cheeks flame the same red color as his hakama. He scoffs and starts moving around behind her.
"If you think I was looking you're imagining things," he grumbled as the literal horn dog of his inner demon wagged his tail, projecting just what he thought of the mortal woman's physique and causing Inuyasha a great deal of embarrassment at his body's reaction to such thoughts.
"He says one thing, but his face certainly seemed to think something else," Kagome thought as she felt him settle behind her. She started to reach to move her hair out of the way, but winced, her pinched nerves and tender skin screaming at her not to move that way. The hanyo's ears twitched as she made a soft, almost whelp like whimper.
"If it hurts that bad, why the hell are you acting like it's no big deal," He growls at her, a clawed hand coming up and gathering the matted black curls for her. Kagome shivered a little from the unexpected touch.
"Because it's not," She says, "Not compared to someone who actually fought." His fingertips were warm and rough, his claws smooth and cool as they gently trailed the top of her shoulders, brushing her hair up and pushing it out of his way.
"Keh!" He scoffs, mostly to himself, "You act as if you just cowered the whole damn time." He looked at her back , noticing the feverish glint on it, a slight redness of irritation creeping up from under the snakeskin binding. "I know damn well where that arrow that threw that flying bastard off balance came from."
"One reiki arrow versus taking on an armed yokai bare handed," Kagome sneers sarcastically, "It's hardly a comparison and you know it. I just drag you down." A low growl rumbled in Inuyasha's chest, and he pulled away from scenting the mild infection already trying to take hold in the dirty wound he couldn't see.
"You saved my life, Idiot!" He snaps, "And that ain't something I take lightly. If that's dragging me down, then Sesshomaru's my best friend. So take the damn compliment and hold still so I can take a look at this stinking thing!"
"You call that compliment?" Kagome asks, "Calling me an idiot?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes and reached a claw to start pulling the binding down and she flinches, "What are you doing?"
"Well I can't very well do anything if I can't see what I'm dealing with," He says matter of factly, and Kagome looks over her shoulder at him. Her eyes were narrowed, accusing, but she softened as she saw the matter of fact, innocent concern on the grumpy hanyo's face. She sighed, her fingers clenching into a nervous fist against her chest.
"Sorry," she says, "You just surprised me. My ears aren't as sharp as yours, especially with the rain, so I didn't realize how close you were," She turns forward and he tilted his head a little, still extremely confused by the young woman's actions. She wasn't angry to have him touching her, but because she was frightened by the sudden movement, "You uh, might be better off just cutting it away."
"Cu-" Inuyasha started stuttering pulling his hand back and making her look at him, "You mean you want me to cut it off?" They both flushed as their eyes met and she just kind of shrugs.
"Well, I mean, I was barely able to tie it on, and I certainly am not interested in reaching around and unwinding it," She says, "And now that you've given me something else to cover up with, I'd rather not be wearing a dead snake yokai's skin any more than I have to, so-" She looks down and turns away, "I get it if that's too much to ask. Like I said, I just figured we'd be better off without it in the way. Forget I said anything." She turned and he smelled her eyes watering slightly as she reached to try to shimmy the scaly skin down her body. A clawed hand reached up and slowly touched her left arm, stilling her.
"Wait," He said softly, "I, if you're sure it's okay, I can cut it. I just, I didn't think you'd want me ripping into something so close to-"
"I don't fear your claws, Inuyasha," Kagome replies. "You only want to help me. I'm letting you."
Her head kind of hung forward and the hanyo carefully moved up her arm grazing over her shoulder in a remedy of the start he gave her earlier. Her feverish skin shivered a little at the contact, but there wasn't even the smallest sliver of fear scent coming off of her.
"Hold still," he says, and she nods as his fingers come to the top edge of the binding. With great care not to cause any further damage, he moved his thumb to the bottom edge of the golden scales and flicked upward as the rest of his fingers held the binding tight.
Kagome heard the barely audible sound of the slice and felt as the golden skin came loose, her fists clutched against her chest and catching the glowing Shikon Jewel before it could fall away and resting it in the furs beside her. Her right arm reflexively came to cover her exposed chest, despite the fact that she was facing away from him, her left nervously clutching the green silk that still covered her from the waist down.
"Kami Wench," Inuyasha grumbled as the scraps of gold fell to the bed between, revealing the shallow scrape from jagged wood lashing across her back, causing deeper scratches that were crusted with her blood. The area was littered with shards and splinters of willow from her broken bow, some just stuck to the dried blood, most embedded in tender, torn flesh. He sniffed it, his nose wrinkling against the pungent scent of sickness already starting to develop in the angry, open wounds.
"Look, I know there isn't a whole lot to do about it," She says, "That's why I didn't want to say anything. Like I told you, Sango can take care of it once we get back home. So really, don't worry. I'll be fine."
"Feh!" He scoffs, "It's already sick."
"You mean infected?" she asks, glancing back at him. He kind of nods.
"Yeah. It smells sour," Inuyasha replies, "It'll only get worse if I don't at least get the pieces out."
"But we don't have anything to do that," Kagome points out as a clawed thumb and forefinger come into the corner of her vision, the narrow points clicking lightly together, "Oh, I suppose that could work."
"Yeah, but it will probably hurt like the hells, just to warn ya," he says but she shrugs.
"Probably not any more than it already does when I try to reach for something," She replies, "Besides, I'm pretty sure I'd rather a pair of sharp claws doing it. They won't hurt near as much as a pair of blunt chopsticks prodding around or a knife cutting them out later."
Inuyasha looks at her, not even sure where he could start. Her skin radiated heat as it staved off the infection that was turning her sweet-smelling blood unpleasant. Moving his hand carefully, he took a piece that stuck out a little farther than the rest and plucked it away, her breath catching for a brief moment, but no further tears came so he decided to continue.
Kagome felt the light, barely there touches as he worked on removing the tiny pieces of wood from her tender skin. Every once in a while, his claws dug too deep, and she would have to bite her lip to prevent a small cry. However, she must have winced more than she thought because his left hand grabbed her arm through the bunched silk.
"Hold still," He grumbles.
"I'm sorry," She says, and a white furred ear twitched at the sound that left her lips as he pulled another particularly stubborn shard from her tattered skin. He could smell fresh blood and sure enough, a small line of crimson began to run down from her wound.
His body acting on instinct alone, he moved his face closer to the wound and lapped the blood away, grazing gently over the source. The yokai beast let out a content growl as her scent, as well as the rich taste of her blood, washed over him. The hanyo's golden eyes closing for a moment as he savored it.
Kagome shivered at the sudden contact of something warm and rough running against her right shoulder, just below her injury. As it reached her wound, she prepared for the coarseness of what she presumed to be his thumb trying to stop the blood, but instead the piercing little pain was soothed over, and her lips parted in a small whimper of contentment.
Inuyasha's eyes shot open, and he quickly moved away from her, his cheeks bright red. He couldn't believe he'd just done that, just licked her wound! He wasn't a dog, at least, he didn't want to act like one any more than he already did.
Sure, for years on his own, without the convenience of having anyone to help him care for an injury, he'd resorted to cleaning a wound with his tongue at the suggestion and urging of that senile old flea.
But to do so on someone else, on her wounds, was humiliating. He hated being treated like a dog, He grew up being teased about being a half breed, a mongrel, no better than the slobbering creatures that begged for scraps outside tanneries and the like. And now here he was, acting like one in front of the one person in this world who didn't seem to automatically see that when she looked at him.
"Inuyasha?" he heard her voice ask her body shifting a little as she turned to face him, her green clothed arm still covering herself with an oversized sleeve, "Did you just, did you lick me?"
The inu-hanyo's ears folded down, sinking against his head in embarrassment. He waited for the disgust, the revulsion. Or even worse, the laughing in his face at his indiscretion, at acting like the creature everyone thought he was. The idea that he had completely lowered himself to such a thing in a moment of weakness...
"I-" He looked down, unable to meet those stormy blue eyes as they ridiculed him, "I'm sorry. It just..."
Kagome looked at the way he gripped the worn, wooden floor, his eyes downcast in shame. Was he, scared she'd be mad about what he did?
Why on Earth would she? Sure, it wasn't at all something she expected, but he was a hanyo, a yokai descended from the divine canines. He offered to treat her wounds and, well, in the absence of training she was sure he didn't have, it was simply what his instincts told him to do after scenting sickness trying to take hold in the wounds.
After all, when she had cut her finger in the garden on the night they met, he had immediately licked the blood away soothed over the sharp little pain before wrapping it up. Why should she have expected anything different?
"Why are you sorry?" He heard her say, making his golden eyes glance up at her face from under his long, silver hair, "It was just a question. It isn't like I'm mad or anything. I just wanted to know why the little pain stopped so suddenly."
"You, you ain't?" He asked and she just gives him a small smile, making his heart pound heavily in his chest.
"Of course not," She says, "You offered to take care of my wound and I'm letting you. I just didn't realize you could heal wounds over like that, but I suppose it makes sense. Your father was an inu-yokai, one so powerful he was able to forge a fang from his mouth into a sword that heals instead of wounds. Of course you could inherit such things from him."
For a few heartbeats, the only sound that could be heard was the rain beating on the roof. The young man, well young in yokai terms anyway, stared at young woman a few mere steps from him. She was barely clothed, smelling absolutely radiant despite the grime that covered her. Her words, so kind and caring, were the first that he could remember that didn't dismiss one of his dog like quirks as disgusting or shameful, but as a part of him she was openly accepting.
Moving closer, Inuyasha felt a newfound confidence rising in his chest as he looked at her. As though an unspoken agreement was come to, Kagome turned back to the wall and he looked over the feverish, angry red wound that was once again in front of him. The piece of willow he had just removed was the last large, easily plucked piece. The rest were painful splinters embedded in tender flesh.
"If you're sure you're okay with it, it honestly might be easier to get the splinters out if I uh," the hanyo's ears flicked a little as he tried to find the words.
"If it hurts less than cutting them out, I'm all for it!" She replies and he blinks at her, nodding even if she couldn't see it. He slowly moved his right hand to rest on the bare part of her arm to kind of brace himself as he leans over her.
A clawed thumb gently grazes the edge of the princess' injury and she let out a tiny groan which seemed to be all the nervous hanyo needed. She was in pain and if this simple thing, shameful as he had thought of himself doing it in the past, brought her comfort and eased her pain, he would not allow embarrassment to hold him back.
Kagome shivered a little as she felt what she now knew for sure was his tongue beginning to lap at her aching wound. It was rough, but not unpleasant as it ripped away tiny wooden barbs from her skin as well as the crusted blood and dirt. It was rather soothing, and she felt her whole body relax under the steady, rhythmic strokes.
Inuyasha was very slowly starting to enjoy himself as well. He was very tentative at first, but at the urging on of his own instincts and the soft scents coming off of her each time the soured taste disappeared and was replaced with heathy, healing flesh and blood, the hanyo became more, eager to say the least. Content rumbling was rising in his chest, fueled and echoed by the beast as he groomed and healed his intended.
At one point, he found himself lapping a trail along the line of her spine and she straightened, groaning as her scent became stronger and his injured arm griped her wrist to steady her, a soft growl escaping his lips. He was becoming lost in his own instincts, in the pleasure an animal took in grooming his mate, his youki subconsciously rising and caressing the young woman in the way he secretly desired.
Kagome's entire body seemed to vibrate from the tingling sensation that was so familiar to her, yet at the strongest she had ever felt it. Her heart thudded heavily in her chest, and she felt her body shift a little as she tried to soothe the ache her heated body was started to suffer somewhere other than her back.
It was a though she could feel the golden dog she witnessed rise over Inuyasha during the battle was rubbing against her, coaxing her to continue her positive responses as he made her body tremble.
This was crazy! He was doing this because he wanted to help her wound. It wasn't like he was showing an actual affection for her. He was simply healing her, so he didn't have to have guilt over her injury and the pain she had obviously been in. That was all.
But if that were entirely true, why did she feel like this, the yearning for him and his surprisingly gentle touches. Was there may be more to that terrified look that filled his eyes as he gazed upon her surrounded in foxfire than just concern for a friend. Did he too feel this odd pull in his chest towards her as she did for him?
Inuyasha groaned as he felt his body responding, his instincts urging him on to pull her closer and properly hold her as more and more of the wound healed over for him. If he had any rational thoughts left, he might have wondered why her skin wasn't losing the fever as the infection was repressed and washed away. In fact, she almost seemed to be on fire from his gentle ministrations and she let out a soft moan that made him roan in response, the hand gripping onto her shoulder slipping downward, resting on the soft flesh of her belly
Kagome hardly seemed to notice save for a soft shiver and her head leaning back as a few stray curls came lose and tickled his ears. Her fingers continued to clench and unclench in the soft silk around her, her mind unable to make much sense of what was happening to her at the moment. And she didn't care, as long as it didn't stop.
All around the princess, a soft blue glow unseen to either being began to immerge from her body, her spiritual power slowly taking form as the caressing golden glow of the hanyo's youki called out to his chosen. Inuyasha felt the power, the purifying energy that would usually feel like a threat, but all his instincts seemed to relax against like a gentle warmth being wrapped around him, refusing to rise against her.
The golden aura that had immerged from the young prince rumbled as he rubbed against the blue light as though marking it with his scent. The reiki seemed to steady, solidifying and becoming a feminine blue reflection of the inu-yokai, rubbing her head under his chin, two opposing forces embracing as though they didn't have every tool to destroy one another.
The souls were mimicking their physical bodies' movements, the male carefully grooming the wounded female as she let out soft noises.
Inuyasha's clawed fingers were grazing her clothed wrist, moving upward as he sought out her hand, intertwining her fingers, his right hand smoothing over her soft belly and moving even closer to her as she tilted her head to the side, exposing her pale neck. His eyes opened slightly as his head breached her shoulder, groaning as he witnessed the pulsing of her lifegiving artery, and the vein that led to her heart.
He swallowed nervously, despite his complete loss of human inhibition to primal instinct. He could hear it, the rapid beating of her heart as she breathed heavily and unwittingly submitted to him. She smelled so strong, so sweet and perfect. He could smell her arousal and feel the slight movements she made as she leaned back into his touch, letting out a soft noise.
The youki purred as her reiki mirrored the mortal woman and bore her neck. Inuyasha rested his cheek against her shoulder pressing a soft kiss just below where every instinct and fiber that held him together was demanding he claim her, make her his and him hers by leaving a sliver of his soul in place of a piece he would take. He inched forward and Kagome tilted her head a little further as he pressed soft kisses to her freshly healing skin, the soothed wounds already more than taken care of.
The princess gripped onto his hand, letting out a shaky breath as she felt his lips against her neck. This definitely wasn't the subtle affection he was showing her moments earlier, but something stronger, a true feeling flowing between two beings. He hadn't so much as ever held her at night, and now here they were, all but in a lovers' embrace. She could feel both their energies flowing through her body and she felt his silk like hair brushing just below her ear.
"Is he...is he going to mark me?" She thought, a sudden rush of nervousness flooding through her. She knew that it was supposed to eventually happen, but was this really the time or place to think of such things? So many words, thoughts, feelings left undiscussed.
It was moving too fast, too uncertainly on both their parts even as the beast inside her husband urged him on, pushing him towards the veins of life and death.
A suddenly, especially large clap of thunder broke the spell that had seemingly fallen over the two, flashing with light and rattling the shack like shelter they were in. Both of their eyes shot open, and Inuyasha quite suddenly pulled away as Kagome covered herself up, the pain from her injuries gone save a dull ache as the robe came back over her shoulders.
Inuyasha shook his head, cursing his human weakness for falling under the spell that was her pure, calming scent. He had pushed too far, let his guard down as he groomed her, not realizing that was just what he was doing until he was already too far in to ever want to stop. If the storm hadn't picked that exact moment, he might have even...
The fox child in the corner let out a soft noise and both adults looked over at where Shippo lay, curled up in soft, off-white fur. Kagome felt her cheeks pale. They had almost... oh Kami the was a child with excellent hearing and sense of smell right there! She quickly tightened the robe around herself and moved to her feet.
"I'm gonna check on him," She whispers, looking over at Inuyasha, who only flicks an ear to show he heard her but refused to look at her. He just got up and moved to the pile of wood he had left just inside the door, adding to the fire that had dwindled as the two had become distracted. He saw her crouch down next to the kitsune cub and he shook his head.
He couldn't believe that he had been so weak, that he nearly sunk his teeth into her despite the scent of fear that had started creeping up on her skin. What kind of monster was he, to let such desires cloud his mind at a time like this. She deserved better, deserved more than to be subjected to a life like the one his mother had lived.
Inuyasha had promised her, and himself that he would be the one to protect Kagome. He just hadn't expected to have to protect her from himself as well.
After ensuring Shippo was indeed still asleep, Kagome got up, moving carefully back over to Inuyasha. He glanced at her, and she gave him a nervous smile before spotting the balled-up pile of his clothing laying a few feet from the fire. She walked over to it and pulled them apart, shaking her head as she spread them out on the floor so they would dry. She noticed the way he tensed at her approached, almost like when he had first realized that he'd licked her.
He was embarrassed of what had happened? What was she kidding, of course he was. They still hardly knew one another. They had never even kissed and all of a sudden he was sucking and kissing on her neck like she was the most precious thing in the world.
There were clearly a lot of things that the two needed to talk about it and knowing the closed off hanyo she had only just started to get to open up to her the night before, that was not something that was going to be resolved tonight or any time in the near future, a sturdy wall once again having rose up around him that she had no way of understanding how to breach.
"I, I think I'm gonna go ahead and lay down," She says softly, and he glances at her. She was giving him a small smile and he just shrugged and looked away from her, scoffing.
"Feh! Do whatever you want," He grumbles and Kagome crouches next to him, "What?"
"I told you before, with the new moon in a few days and all the injuries you've been taking, you need rest," she says, "Why don't you come with me?"
She felt her face turn down at his stoic silence. Half of her had hoped he might refute what she said, a pained panging of her chest when he didn't. Nodding mostly to herself, she leaned over, kissing his cheek as she had during the battle and standing up so she could move over to the fur pile she had fashioned into a bed, easily large enough for two people if they lay close.
She picked up the sacred jewel that lay glowing on the dark fur. The ribbon that was used to tie it around her neck was frayed but could still be tied and slipped over her head, As she did, she realize that she no longer felt whole as when it had been handed to her by the Emperor of the Western lands. In fact, that feeling was miniscule compared to what she had felt with Inuyasha's arms around her.
Kagome let out a soft, sigh as she decided that she needed to lay down. Inuyasha would no doubt want to be gone at first light if the storm had subsided. She curled her feet up under the long kimono and lay down on her side, using her arm as a pillow. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on her exhaustion and not the rising feelings she was having for the stubborn hanyo beside the fire.
Inuyasha glanced back at her after a while, noticing the way she had tucked her feet up, and under her skirt in an uncomfortable looking attempt to keep herself warm. She shivered slightly, the silk kimono warm to the touch, but nowhere near thick enough to properly keep in her body heat.
He glanced at the wooden trunk that still hung open by the fire. Leaning over it, he dug around inside it once again, searching underneath the clothing for what he hoped his mother had selfishly held in there among other, more useless keepsakes from his childhood. As he felt the sudden softness touch his fingers, he smirked and carefully pulled the large blanket up, smiling.
It was a deep blue, woven with silver and gold stars and constellations. Thick and warm. Much better than a decorative robe at least. He glanced over at Kagome and got up. She was shifting a little in her sleep and he crouched next to her, draping the dark fabric over her. Her face relaxed a little and her blue eyes opened, glancing up at him.
"Inu-yasha?" She whispered and he sat down, crossing his arms and legs.
"I..." He looked down, still not sure what to say to her, "I didn't mean to wake you." The princess shook her head, lifting herself up a little.
"I don't think I was really sleeping," She says, "I mean I'm tired but," She just kind of shrugged, "Today was, a lot, to say the least."
"Yeah," He admits, staring at the fire, "I think I know what you mean." Kagome sat up and looked at him, the blanket gripped in her nervous hand. His chest was still bare despite his air of aloofness, she could see tiny shadows of goose bumps on his arms.
"Aren't you cold?" She asks and he scoffs, leaning against the wall with his sword.
"I ain't some weak little human like you who gets cold," Inuyasha insists, and she sits the rest of the way up, yawning, "Lay back down and stop worrying about me. I'll be fine."
"I can't!" She says. "I've been trying since I came over here, but I still can't!"
"Why the hell not?" He says, "I'm right here, it ain't like you got anything to worry about."
"Because" She grabs onto the Shikon Jewel, closing her eyes. "I keep feeling like I'll wake up somewhere I don't recognize. I mean, I know it's stupid, but I just really don't want to be alone." She glances at him, shaking her head as she lays back down, facing away from him. "F-Forget it. It's stupid. You've already done more than enough and I'm grateful."
Inuyasha blinked at her as she turned away, shifting a little as she tried to get comfortable. His ears drooped as he smelled the tears welling in her eyes. She was, crying? Did she really still want her close to him after what he'd done, how he'd slobbered all over her?
When she asked him to come lay down, he'd thought she just meant near her. But she had expected him to share her bed, to crawl in next to her and maybe, hold her? Part of him was jumping up and down at the very idea, but another was scared, conflicted about how this could make things so much worse than it already had been today.
Kagome made a soft noise and he leaned over her, groaning. Yes, this was definitely a terrible idea, but she was clearly distressed. If this was really what she wanted, what would make sure she got some rest...
The princess felt the blanket Inuyasha had laid over her lift up and then the warmth of another body as he laid down behind her. She smiled to herself and cuddled back into him, a small noise of contentment leaving her lips as a warm arm wrapped around her and held her close, a head resting atop her own.
As the rain danced upon the roof of the ancient castle ruins, two souls meant to someday fell into peaceful slumber under a hanyo's baby blanket.
~~~~~
Song Notes:
So, I chose the Vincent cover by Elle Goulding for the lullaby (Attached in the header), which in case you guys didn't pick up on in the context was the same one Inuyasha remembered a certain person *cough cough* singing during his dream/nightmare in 4. In my cannon though, the two mentions of Vincent by name are changed because obviously, as much as I adore him, he won't have been born for about 200 some years and also, you know, we're set in Feudal Japan.
So: Reflect in Vincent's eyes of China blue = Reflect in Children's eyes of China blue
And:
But I could've told you, Vincent This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you = But I could've told you, Koibito/beloved This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you
(Not that any of this matters, but it matters to me, okay.)
~~~~~
Trope Talk:
I have always liked the trope of the healing power Inuyasha would have even though it isn't cannon for either the Manga (Which I am leaning on more heavily) or the anime, so I wanted to approach it in a way that seemed more canonically plausible, that he is embarrassed of how animalistic it is and that he can but chooses not to due to being taunted so much of a connotation he had to deal with as a child.
Obviously, the whole aura embrace is also heavily used in Fan Fictions, but I also wanted this take to be a little more unique. I obviously love animals and their representation, so demon auras were obvious taking forms in this story and as such, I came up with the idea that even though Kagome isn't a yokai, the person she feels for is and her shapeless reiki takes a complimentary shape to his when intimate moments happen, and they are physically and spiritually connecting.
I hope it isn't coming off too cheesy, but like I said, this scene is the one that was always one that was going to be in this story, and I always envisioned the idea of their auras embracing like this and reflection the humanoid bodies like this.