Chapter 3
This chapter did not turn out exactly as I had wanted, but, there are still some good moments in it.
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Miroku is walking through the forest, when the sound of trees falling draws him to Sango.
As he sees her, he stops and admires her.
She is knocking down a tree and then, using her giant boomerang, she breaks the trucks into smaller pieces. She does appear to be using more force than necessary.
After a minute or so, she pauses, twirls around and throws the weapon in Miroku's direction. "I don't like to being spied on."
Miroku ducks, avoiding the weapon, and he says, "I know. I wasn't spying. I just wanted to talk to you."
"I'm not having, you know . . . with you, perverted monk." Sango growls out as she catches her weapon.
Miroku moves over and sits down on one of the downed tree trunks. He sighs. "Keade has a point about harmony. I'll never force you into something you don't want to do, Sango."
"Then why are you here?"
"Keade told me to take a walk in this direction."
"And, as much as I admire her, I do not have to follow her orders or suggestions."
"I know."
"Then we have nothing to talk about."
A pause as Sango and Miroku stare at each other.
Miroku sighs, and breaking eye contact starts to stare at the ground. "In order to get in harmony, talking, communication is necessary." He reaches down and picks up a small broken branch. As he talks, he bends, twists and breaks the branch into smaller pieces, just as something to occupy his hands.
"Huh. And I don't want to talk right now."
"Awhile back, a friend of mine came to me for advice. He was having problems with a beautiful, brave, strong, forceful woman and wanted me to help him." Miroku says, as he speaks he continues to look at the ground and play with the stick in his hands.
He pauses and glances at Sango. Sango blushes. "And do I want to know the advice you gave your" she emphasizes the last word, "friend."
He looks back at the ground and he says in a very weak voice, "I don't know, Sango. That was his problem. He never knew exactly what to say to her."
In a lighter tone of voice he continues, "There would be times when he would say something simple and she'd react like she . . . cared for him. But, then, there would be times when he would try to be serious and she'd throw him out, without listening."
He pauses, staring at the ground.
She purses her lips and walks away.
Miroku lifts his head and he's about to say something. But . . .
After walking a couple of lengths from Miroku, Sango deliberately places her boomerang against a tree. She twirls around, staring him in the face. She sits down next to him on the trunk.
She breaks eye contact and starts to stare at the ground.
She licks her lips and says, "Before Naraku, I had a girlfriend who had problems with a handsome, intelligent, if perverted man. She asked me for my advice about him. She wanted to know, how could she talk to him seriously, without him taking that talk to mean something other than what she wanted to say."
Miroku's mouth twitches. "I see."
A pause.
It stretches . . .
"Sango." "Miroku." Is spoken at the same time.
They look at each other, mouths trying to twitch into smiles.
Miroku breaks eye contact and says, "Ladies first."
"Since when am I a lady."
He swallows and he says in a whisper, "you always are."
A pause.
Sango bends down and she picks up a stick, something to occupy her hands as she talks, "I . . . My friend just did not know what to do." Sango sighs, "There was times when her . . . " she glances at Miroku.
Miroku is paying very close attention to her, she glances away and she says, "boyfriend would say great things to her. Only the next minute he would grab her and be too pushy."
"My friend had a similar problem."
"My friend liked her. Boyfriend . . . A lot." Sango stares at the ground. "She even dreamed about . . . being perverted with him, many times." She blushes.
"My friend told me about many similar dreams."
"Pervert."
"My friend and I are men."
"And think that just because you have a penis you can stick it in any time you want."
"No Sango. I do not think that." Miroku states in an authoritative tone.
"You . . . Or rather, your friend, probably acted like that all the time." Sango glares at Miroku.
Miroku glances away and whispers, "What was your friends problem with being perverted with her boyfriend?"
Sango sighs, "She was caught up in a special quest." Miroku nods. "Having intercourse, to a girl, is different from a boy. For a man it is just a question of how soon before he can do it again. But for a woman getting pregnant is something she has to consider."
"I see."
"Until that quest was over, she did not want to get pregnant. And the only way to make sure that did not happen, is not to get perverted." Sango sighs, "And even if my friend did get pregnant, given the stress of her quest, she'd probably have a miscarriage before the child would be born."
"Was this the only problem?"
"Why did your friend always proposition any woman he meets?"
"I... My friend does not proposition every woman."
"Oh, I forgot, just the pretty ones."
Miroku sighs, "He . . . his family always found ways to die young. He wanted to make sure that the family would continue after his death."
"That's not the only reason." Sango says with ironclad certainty in her voice.
Miroku glances at her and looks away. "I suppose if I mentioned that he wanted to have sex for its life-enhancing benefits . . . "
"That's not a good enough reason. If it was, every man would say it."
Miroku pauses.
"Monk?"
"My friend enjoys sex, ok." Miroku whispers to the ground. "And wants to have it as often as possible."
"Pervert."
Miroku nods, "yes, my friend is."
Sango grins and giggles, "Always an excuse."
Miroku's mouth twitches, "Maybe."
Sango's face gets a serious expression on it. "Do you understand my friends objection to having sex with her boyfriend?"
Miroku looks at Sango. "Sango, please look at me?" he asks.
Sango looks at him.
Miroku sighs and nods his head, yes.
"Then you, your friend, wouldn't grab people anymore."
Miroku coughs, "I can't make that promise."
Sango glares angrily at him, "Why?"
"Because . . . Whenever I, or rather, my friend sees the woman he . . . cares about intensively." Sango blushes. "Rational thoughts vanish, scatter like the leaves of these trees into the four winds." He waves his arm to dramatize the point.
Miroku's mouth twitches into a smile, "there are times when my friend just does not know what his hands are doing."
"Like I'm going to believe that." Sango takes a deep breath.
"But, Sango, you never answered my question if your friend had any more objections to sex, then just the quest she was on." Miroku says before she can speak.
Sango releases her breath and glares at the monk. "My friend did not like to be grabbed in public, in front of strangers or even her best friend. She was raised to believe that sex was something that was to be in the privacy of a home, between a married couple. Not rutting in the woods like a pair of chance meet rabbits." Sango looks at the ground, after she finishes.
A pause.
Miroku slowly and with a delicate tone of voice says, "So, if my friend was to ask your friend, say in the privacy of a house, with just the two of them."
"She'd jump him." Sango interrupts with a miorkuish gleam in her eyes. "Provided the quest was over, of course."
"Of course." A pause. "That might be something to dream about. I've never thought about what it would be like if you were to do grab my clothes and throw me to the ground."
Smack!
Miroku rubs his cheek and asks, "What was that for?"
"Have you dreamed of taking me without my permission?" fires are burning in Sango eyes as she asks the question.
Miroku stares up at her. "No." His mouth twitches. "DID not you, just say, 'she'd jump him?'"
"Of course. I just would move first, you. My girlfriend's boyfriend would want it just as much as he does. She'd just go first."
"That was the same as my dreams, only I'd go first." Miroku reaches out and grasps Sango hands, "Lady Sango, by all that I believe in, I promise, I would never take you without your consent."
Sango looks into his eyes and nods.
Miroku moves next to Sango. He keeps her hand in his. "Besides how many men could take you without your consent?"
"In a fair fight?"
"Yes."
"Hmm . . . There are a couple that could probably knock me unconscious. But, I promise you, they would be in no shape to do anything to me. I'd hurt them at least that much." Sango says as she glares at Miroku's groin.
Miroku coughs, and says, "I think we've gotten away from where we needed to go." He says as he sighs.
Sango looks down at her hand, but leaves it in his grasp.
"Perhaps, Monk." She pauses. "But, until the quest is over, my friend can't allow herself to get pregnant, so that means no sex."
Miroku sighs, "Not quite, that means no intercourse, there are ways to pleasure each other without that."
"I thought that your friend only wanted a child, and I remember something about the beliefs of his family and intercourse."
Miroku nods, yes. "Your friend is correct. Normally my friend would only want to have sex with the idea of having a child. But . . . " Miroku pauses and then he whispers, "In this case . . . " his mouth twitches.
"You'd do it." Sango interrupts. Miroku nods.
A pause.
"Keade mentioned that having sex is good for a person." Sango says. Miroku nods and as he opens his mouth to speak, Sango covers it with her free hand.
"I know that you'll tell me that she's correct." Sango says as she looks into his eyes, "I'm going to ask Keade if I can borrow that scroll and I will examine it, myself."
Miroku nods. Sango can feel his mouth twisting beneath her hand. She blushes as she says, "Shush. After I do that, monk. Then. Only then, if I agree with the scroll, I might consider doing the health increasing exercises on the scroll with you."
She releases his mouth. Sango blushes, and says, "Provided it's a type of exercise that will not get me pregnant."
"Of course." Miroku smiles, but then his smiles fades.
"What?"
Miroku sighs, "I just thought of the one problem that neither of us considered."
"And that is."
"Naraku."
"I don't see . . . "
"Keade is correct in that his favorite point of attack is at relationships. Do you agree?"
"Huh, Yes. Of course. But."
"Right now, we don't have a real relationship and as such Naraku can't attack that which doesn't exist. But should we get closer, then a relationship will develop."
"And Nararku will attack it."
"Yes, if Kanna sees us sharing a futon, how long before Naraku tries to do something against us?"
Sango grimaces, "Not long."
"Yes. Now, once we've developed a relationship, then such an attack we could defend against. But, especially at first."
Sango interrupts, "At first we'd not trust each other enough, and he'd use that."
Miroku nods.
Sango sighs, "so a choice. Ignore that this conversation happened, or invite Naraku to attack."
Miroku sighs, "The safest choice and, perhaps the wisest, is the first."
"Perhaps the wisest?"
"My thoughts around you are not to be trusted."
Sango smiles quickly, then the smile fades. "Once we . . . take any real steps to begin a relationship, not just . . . sharing some thoughts about a couple friends. That is a road without a way back."
Miroku and Sango blushes, but nod at each other.
"So . . . You have a perverted friend, Miroku?"
"Of course, and you have a girlfriend that needs to have a greater appreciation for her body's natural abilities?"
"Yes, I do."
A pause. Miroku slowly gets up. "I think. I'll go into the village, now." He slowly walks away.
Miroku is about to reach the edge of the clearing.
"Monk."
HE turns around. "Yes."
"I do intend to study that scroll. And if I decide that it has techniques that will make me healthier or increase my abilities, I will need, a let's it call, a sparing partner."
Miroku bows to Sango. "I would be honored if you chose me."
"IF Keade is right and it's necessary for good health and such, that's all it will be for, you do understand that, you perverted monk. Nothing else."
"Of course, Lady Sango."
Miroku and Sango stare into each other's eyes for a timeless moment.
Sango blushes.
Miroku nods his head and turns to go to the village.
"Oh, Monk!" Miroku turns around. "I'll decide about the scroll in my own good time. Don't be pushy, all that will do is delay my decision."
Miroku nods, "I'll try, Lady Sango."
Sango picks up her boomerang. She still has to finish her chore. 'I wish my family was still alive, so I could ask them about what to do. I always expected to be able to turn to them for advice. Now . . . I'm having to make decisions on my own. And, while I trust Kagome and Keade, still they're not family.' She thinks. 'Hopefully I'm not making the wrong decision.'
Miroku looks at his cursed hand as he walks away. 'Do I continue to grab her, or not? Naraku will attack us, even if the sex is just for health purposes.' He grimaces.
'Finely she's left an opening, only am I too afraid of the consequences to act upon it?' He slowly shakes his head. 'There is still time. And there are other women out there.'
He flexes his fingers. 'Besides, when that happens again, I want to be able to concentrate on her and not have to worry about my back being attacked while we're in bed.' Miroku sighs. "Another reason to kill Naraku . . . " he says.
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Kagome looks up into a tall tree by the old well. She can only see pieces of his red shirt, as Inu-yasha hides in the leaves.
"Inu-yasha!"
Nothing . . .
"Please, Inu-yasha. I just want to talk."
Nothing . . .
'Fine. If he's going to be that way.' She thinks, her lips purse as she's about to speak . . . 'no. I wouldn't say it. All it'll do is make him mad, and I want to talk to him, not yell at him.'
She walks over to the large tree and looks up and down the trunk. 'Hopefully, I won't ruin this skirt.' She thinks as she begins to climb the tree.
At first, she tries to glance up, but climbing the tree takes all her concentration. 'Don't look down. Just keep climbing. Don't think about how you're going to get down. Just grab something and keep moving.' She thinks.
"Wench."
"Yikes!" Kagome yells! She almost loses her grip on the tree trunk, but quickly grabs it and hugs the tree in a death grip.
"You startled me!" She yells at him as she looks up at him.
"Why?" Inu-yasha's face and upper body is still hidden in the leaves above her and off to her right.
"I wanted to talk to you." She says. She starts to climb the tree again.
"I don't mean the shit in the hut. I mean this." Inu-yasha waves to the tree.
"I didn't want to say sit, boy . . . "
THUMP!
"Because you'd get mad . . . " She rather lamely finishes at she stares into the hole through the foliage that Inu-yasha has just made.
"YOU BITCH!" Inu-yasha yells from the ground.
"I'm sorry, Inu-yasha! I didn't mean to say it!" Kagome yells back down.
"I'll come down. Catch me?" Kagome asks.
"Feh. After that, no." Inu-yasha yells back at her. "You got up there on your own. You can get down by yourself."
"Ok . . . " Kagome looks around and starts to climb down the tree.
But . . .
'Great, my skirts caught.' She thinks and she starts to try to carefully pry her skirt out of the tangle it and the tree somehow made.
Her shoes lose their grip on the trunk and she slips and falls.
RIP! Goes the skirt.
"Inu!"
Inu-yasha catches her before she falls more than a couple of meters and lands in on top of a major branch, right next to the tree trunk. He lands hugging her and she's got a death grip hug on him.
"Thank you, Inu-yasha." Kagome whispers into his ear.
"Now you know why I don't wear shoes, wench."
Kagome's mouth twitches, "Yes, I should have removed them before I started." She says. She kicks her shoes off, now. They bounce to the ground.
They continue to hug each other. "I just want to talk, Inu-yasha, please." She begs in a whisper.
Inu-yasha sighs and slumps his shoulder. "I'm not good at talking."
"I know." She pauses, "I'm not. No. Inu-yasha, please. Can we at least try?" she pleads.
"Feh." He slowly releases her from the hug. "Do you want to get down?"
Kagome looks around. They are a good twenty meters off the ground. The leaves around them prevent her from seeing all that much. "No. Inu-yasha, let's stay up here."
"Huh?" Inu-yasha says with a surprised look on his face.
"This is about the most privacy as we've ever likely to get." Kagome replies. Kagome moves to where the branch joins the tree trunk and sits down straddling the branch. Her ripped skirt hangs on both sides of the tree trunk. Her panties are visible to Inu-yasha.
"Please Inu-yasha. Could you please, you know, here." She pats on the tree branch in front of her, right between her legs.
"But..." Inu-yasha starts.
"With your back toward me, Ok."
Inu-yasha swallows hard and he sits down between Kagome's legs with his back pressing against her breasts and stomach.
"Thank you." She whispers into his ears, her breath causing the small hairs in them to move.
He shivers. She hugs him. "I don't know where to start, Inu-yasha."
"Why start at all?"
"Inu-yasha! If we're going to have any type of relationship, we have to talk."
"We haven't needed it before."
"Things have changed, after the festival."
"No. Things can't change."
"Why?" Kagome moans. The hurt in her voice causes Inu-yasha to shiver and tears to start in his eyes.
"Because of Naraku. If . . . if we, you know." Inu-yasha begins to say.
"If we do what Keade's scroll says."
"Yeah. He'll hurt you." Inu-yasha says. He swallows. "I don't want you to be hurt." He whispers.
Kagome's hug tightens. "I know. That's why I trust you." She whispers into his ears.
"What do we do, Inu-yasha?"
"We pretend that night didn't happen, that Keade's scroll doesn't exist."
"I don't want to." Kagome whispers.
"We have to." Inu-yasha whispers. "Kagome?"
"Yes, Inu-yasha?"
"What Keade said in the hut . . . " Inu-yasha begins but he trails off.
"About men and women and which is better?" Kagome asks in a soft voice.
Inu-yasha tenses up, but does not otherwise move. "Inu-yasha . . . that doesn't really matter to me. All I would want is you to respect me."
She sighs, "the scroll that was written by a man went to far one way, Keade scroll, probably, goes too far the other way, Inu-yasha. Something in the middle is right. I can fell that in my bones, but exactly where in the middle."
She shakes her head, rubbing her chin against the back of his neck, "I'll have to read both scrolls and experiment to find out."
"Grrr . . . " Inu-yasha growls. "No. the safest way is to ignore both scrolls."
"I don't want to be safe."
Inu-yasha twists around so he can look into Kagome's eyes. "Inu-yasha, If I wanted to be safe, I would have destroyed the well long ago."
Kagome's grins, "If I wanted to be safe, I wouldn't be up in this tree, would I?"
Inu-yasha swallows, "I'm going to protect you, even against your stupid ideas."
Kagome glares at him, breaks her hug and grabs one of his ears. "Inu-yasha . . . " she says in an angry tone.
Inu-yasha stares into her angry eyes. "I will decide about my life, Inu-yasha. Not you."
"But"
"Ssshhh . . . Inu-yasha. I know you care about me." He growls. "Quiet. You do. And I know you're protective of me. I'm not entirely sure if it's because you think I belong to you and you don't want me hurt because I'm your shard detector, or if you really do care about me as a person, but that doesn't matter right now."
The look in her eyes turns to affection. "Inu-yasha, your protectiveness one of the reasons I care so much about you. But, Inu-yasha, I'm not going to allow your overprotectiveness to change my life."
"I'm not overprotective."
"Oh? Then when you prevent Kouga from getting close to me. Is that jealousy, or protectiveness?"
Inu-yasha's jaws open and close a couple of times. "Protectiveness."
"Kouga is a friend. Nothing else, Ok, Inu-yasha." Kagome whispers, "You don't have to be jealous."
"I am not jealous." Inu-yasha says through clinched teeth.
Kagome's eyebrows raise, but she doesn't say a word. Inu-yasha blushes and turns to put his back against Kagome again. Kagome reaches around and hugs him.
"Inu-yasha, please, all I'm asking is that you don't automatically assume you know what's best for me, Ok?"
"Sometimes I have to."
"Yeah, in combat, I know and that's fine." Kagome snuggles up closer to him. "I don't mind that, it's just when I'm not in combat, Ok?"
"I don't like it."
"I'm not asking you to like it, Inu-yasha. And I expect you to argue with me when you think I'm doing something stupid."
Inu-yasha and Kagome share a small laugh.
"But, please, at least try to see things from my perspective."
A pause. Inu-yasha faintly nods and whispers, "I've never considered things from anybodies else point of view before."
"Yes, I thought so. Please, just try, Ok, Inu-yasha. You don't have to be right, all the time. I'm not asking for much, just try, please."
Inu-yasha slowly nods. He turns his upper body around and stares at Kagome's eyes, "Kagome, why don't you want to be marked?"
"I told you. I don't want."
"Shit, that's a lie. Tell me the truth."
Tears form in Kagome's eyes and she swallows hard, "Inu-yasha have you ever seen or heard anything about my father?"
A confused Inu-yasha answers, "huh? No."
"He left us, suddenly one night a couple months before Sota was born. I don't remember him, really. My mom has destroyed everything she can find in the house that mentions, shows and was owned by him. I think, grandfather might have a picture hidden, maybe, but otherwise he's not part of our lives."
Kagome sighs. "I heard rumors from neighbors and a couple of comments from my mom and grandfather, so I know that. My mother and my father did not get along."
She pauses and says, "Looking back at it now, it was a good thing that he left. It allowed my mom to raise Sota and I without having to fight her husband. So, Sota and I, at least had a mother to raise us. Not like a couple of my friends whose parents are two people that hate each other, but since they're not going to embarrass their families they will not divorce. They argue over how to raise kids all the time. That's a mess, and my friends have paid for it."
Kagome sighs, "Not that the adults will ever admit it, it's always the kids fault."
Kagome reaches out and grabs the necklace around Inu-yasha's neck. "I'm afraid, Inu-yasha. I'm afraid that if you decide to live with me and we are joined by some magical mark, I'm afraid, you'll change your mind and want to leave, but can't because of a mistake we made . . . " tears starts to fall down Kagome's checks.
"I just want you to be happy, even if that means leaving me." She finishes speaking in a whisper so low only Inu-yasha tremendous hearing could make out the words.
Inu-yasha reaches out and grabs Kagome and hugs her. "Kagome, I . . . "
"Don't say a thing, just hug me . . . "
They hug each other as Kagome wipes the tears away in Inu-yasha's hair.
Kagome whispers, "you know I have nightmares."
Inu-yasha nods.
Every member of the group has nightmares. They never talk about it, but they happen. Sango has them about her father and brother, Miroku and his hand. Shippo whines about his father and mother at night.
"MY worst nightmare, Inu-yasha, is everything is perfect. The jewel is rebuilt, Kikyo and Naraku are at peace," Kagome's mouth twitches into a semi-smile.
"I've even removed this." She runs Inu-yasha necklace through her fingers.
"We're about to jump into the well, to go back home and tell my mother, that her dream about you and me is about to come true."
Kagome pauses, "Then . . . then. We jump through the well. And only I get through it."
Tears fall.
Inu-yasha presses Kagome closer to him.
"That's why, Inu-yasha, I don't remove this" her fingers leave the necklace. "That's another reason why I don't want to be marked. The well is a magical thing. And adding or taking away any magic between us could change it."
Kagome buries her face in Inu-yasha's hair and whispers, "I don't want to do anything to lose you."
Inu-yasha whispers, "I don't want to lose you, either."
"You mean that?"
"Yes, Kagome."
A pause.
"Kagome, could you lighten up a bit, my ribs are about to break." Inu-yasha whispers.
"Sorry." Kagome loosens her hug.
Inu-yasha looks away from Kagome, and whispers, "I want to know something else."
"Yes."
"Why this?" inu-yasha wiggles his hand between them and touches her groin. "You've never acted as if, this" He presses his hand against her. "Was important, why the change?"
Kagome blushes and moves her hand over Inu-yasha's. "Because I loved the night of the festival." Her mouth twitches, "even if I hurt the next day. Maybe Miroku's suggestions have gotten to me." Inu-yasha growls.
"One of these days I'll cut off that hand of his." Inu-yasha growls.
"Inu-yasha! Don't you dare!" Kagome says.
Inu-yasha says, "Feh. It might be the only way to save his life, bitch."
Kagome blinks in surprise. "Yes, it might. I wonder if he's thought about it?"
Inu-yasha shrugs, "Don't know. It's not needed right now, so I haven't really thought about it." He presses his hand against her again. "You still haven't told me the truth."
Kagome sighs, and says, "My brother reads a lot of manga." She sees the confusion in Inu-yasha's face and adds, "It's storytelling, OK." Inu-yasha nods.
"He used to just be interested in manga that was full of fighting."
"I thought he was a good kid." Inu-yasha mumbles.
"Inu-yasha! Humph. Anyway, ever since you started coming over, he's started reading romance mangas."
"So."
"So, every time I come back crying or angry because of you, he shows me stories from the manga that are similar to ours."
"What! Somebody from the future is telling you what's going to happen?" Inu-yasha yells!
"No! No! Inu-yasha. Just stories of a boy and girl and them getting together, even though thing's stand in their way."
"Feh. But why the change?"
"Because in most of them, after the boy and girl" she blushes, "do what we did, everything works out beautifully." She finishes in a whisper. "And I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, it might work the same with us."
A pause while Inu-yasha tries to determine how he's suppose to reach to that.
Kagome bends over, and with her mouth brushing against his ear, she whispers, "and because you enjoyed what we did also, and I thought you'd want to do it again."
Inu-yasha shivers, "I do." He closes his eyes, "But I can't, Kagome."
"Naraku?"
Inu-yasha nods.
Kagome sighs and pushes him away from her. They separate, but only by a few centimeters. Any more and one of them will fall out of the tree.
"I think you're wrong about keeping us apart because of him, Inu-yasha." He growls. "But, I'm not going to force you to something you don't want to do."
She sighs heavily, "So, no matter what I do or feel for you, and no matter what you do or feel for me, we can't get close until Naraku is dead."
"Yeah."
A pause. "Could you, please help me down, Inu-yasha? I want to go through the well."
"Through the well! I thought you were staying on this side!" Inu-yasha yells at her.
Kagome glares at Inu-yasha. "I'm going to call my friend Tendo Akane and have her teach me some self-defense and combat moves." She breathes deeply, "I'm tried of being the girl you have to protect all the time, it's time I learned some things."
"Combat training?"
"Yes. You remember Ranma and Akane, right?"
"Yeah." Inu-yasha scratches his head. "Just her?"
"Yes. I have no intention of getting caught up in Ranma's mess."
"How long?"
Kagome shrugs, "This time, probably only a couple of hours. Just so we can talk and set up some sort of schedule, not that we'll be able to maintain it, given the confusion in our lives, but, Akane and I will try. Later on, I probably will have to stay after school more often, so she and I can spar." Kagome blinks, "you know, I wonder, would Sango be interested in learning some techniques?"
Inu-yasha says, "Miroku and you need them more."
"You are probably right. But I'll ask and see what I can bring through the well."
"If it's just for a couple of hours, and you are just doing this to help with the hunt for the shards, then ok." Inu-yasha with very visible reluctance says.
Kagome bends over and gives him a quick peck to the check. "Thank you, Inu-yasha." She blushes.
He blushes, "Don't do that! WE can't be friends!"
Kagome sighs, "Will you help me down?"
"Feh. What I said earlier . . . you can get down on your own." Inu-yasha says after a slight pause.
"Inu-yasha. You stubborn." Kagome takes a deep breath and lets it out and starts to climb down the tree.
Kagome thinks, 'Even if we aren't going to do what Keade said, this is still a day I want to remember. We've never had as long or as good a conservation as that. Hopefully, next time, I can ask him a couple of questions. Perhaps I might even ask about his nightmare.'
Kagome shivers as she remembers the last time Inu-yasha was human and he woke up from a nightmare screaming 'not the cage!'
Kagome thinks as she climbs down the tree. 'Now to call Akane and learn how to defend myself. We've wasted enough time with Naraku and Kikyo. What was that phrase I heard when I was listening to Sota go on about American football. Oh, the best defense is a good offensive. It's time to see if that's true.'
'Damn that was close . . . ' Inu-yasha looks down on Kagome as she climbs down the tree. 'If she'd have felt my groin . . . I don't think I would have been able to stop myself. And we can't do that. Not now.' He adjusts the clothing in front of his groin.
He looks around, 'she was right, though. Where else would we have privacy?' he shakes his head, 'stop thinking about that. Think about how to torture Naraku to death.'
___________________________
The end
Hmmm . . . For readers that might think I'm going slow with the groups relationships . . . This is Rumiko Takahashi's fourth major series. In only 1 series, Maison Ikkoku, did the major characters actually get married. (And that took years of soap opera before they received their happily ever after ending.)
So . . . a few new points in the groups relationships with each other, but nothing major.
Sango, if it's under her control, will accept a physical relationship with Miroku. Of course, Miroku is going to keep pushing, so.. He'll still get slapped. Inu-yasha is still using Naraku and the quest as an excuse not to do anything with Kagome. Kagome . . . well . . . She's beginning to get tried of the wait and when that happens you try new things . . .
The next Spring Fertility festival spin-off will be either Kagome & some village girls talking about husbands, or something else. But I want to do the next A shard in Kyoto chapter. Then . . . we'll see . . .
For writers that might want to write lemons, but not use the obvious terms, here a few different terms . . .
[Technical meaning Literal translation
Cervix Inner Gate, Jade Terrace, Precious Pearl, Seed,
Yin Bean
Clitoris (frenulum of) Lute strings
Clitoris (prepuce of) Divine Field
Cunnilingus Sipping the Vast Spring
Fellatio Blowing the Flute
Intercourse Clouds and Rain, Firing the Cannon, Friendly
Relations
Homosexual sex (female) Rubbing Mirrors
Homosexual sex (male) Splitting the Peach, Dragon Yang
Relations
Labia minor Wheat Buds, Red Pearls
Mound of Venus (mon veneris) Sedge Hill
Orgasm (female) High Tide, Tide of Yin
Orgasm (male) Lose Essence, Leak, Surrender, Die
Penis Jade Stem, Jade Implement, Yang Peak, Yang Weapon, Turtle Head, The Ambassador
Penis (erect) Arisen, Angry
Penis (flacid) Dead
Urethral orifice (female) Vast Spring
Urethral orifice (male) Gate of Life and Death
Vagina (orifice) Jade Gate, Jade Door, Cinnabar Cave,
Child Gate, One Inch Square
Vagina (lower vestibule) Little Stream
Vagina (middle) Deep Valley, Hing Place, Path of Yin
Vagina (upper) Celestial Palace, Valley of Solitude
Vulva (upper) Golden Gully
Vulva (lower) Jade Vein
Uterus Child Palace, North Pole, Vermillion Chamber]
thank you for reading
jeff shelton
This chapter did not turn out exactly as I had wanted, but, there are still some good moments in it.
___________________________________
Miroku is walking through the forest, when the sound of trees falling draws him to Sango.
As he sees her, he stops and admires her.
She is knocking down a tree and then, using her giant boomerang, she breaks the trucks into smaller pieces. She does appear to be using more force than necessary.
After a minute or so, she pauses, twirls around and throws the weapon in Miroku's direction. "I don't like to being spied on."
Miroku ducks, avoiding the weapon, and he says, "I know. I wasn't spying. I just wanted to talk to you."
"I'm not having, you know . . . with you, perverted monk." Sango growls out as she catches her weapon.
Miroku moves over and sits down on one of the downed tree trunks. He sighs. "Keade has a point about harmony. I'll never force you into something you don't want to do, Sango."
"Then why are you here?"
"Keade told me to take a walk in this direction."
"And, as much as I admire her, I do not have to follow her orders or suggestions."
"I know."
"Then we have nothing to talk about."
A pause as Sango and Miroku stare at each other.
Miroku sighs, and breaking eye contact starts to stare at the ground. "In order to get in harmony, talking, communication is necessary." He reaches down and picks up a small broken branch. As he talks, he bends, twists and breaks the branch into smaller pieces, just as something to occupy his hands.
"Huh. And I don't want to talk right now."
"Awhile back, a friend of mine came to me for advice. He was having problems with a beautiful, brave, strong, forceful woman and wanted me to help him." Miroku says, as he speaks he continues to look at the ground and play with the stick in his hands.
He pauses and glances at Sango. Sango blushes. "And do I want to know the advice you gave your" she emphasizes the last word, "friend."
He looks back at the ground and he says in a very weak voice, "I don't know, Sango. That was his problem. He never knew exactly what to say to her."
In a lighter tone of voice he continues, "There would be times when he would say something simple and she'd react like she . . . cared for him. But, then, there would be times when he would try to be serious and she'd throw him out, without listening."
He pauses, staring at the ground.
She purses her lips and walks away.
Miroku lifts his head and he's about to say something. But . . .
After walking a couple of lengths from Miroku, Sango deliberately places her boomerang against a tree. She twirls around, staring him in the face. She sits down next to him on the trunk.
She breaks eye contact and starts to stare at the ground.
She licks her lips and says, "Before Naraku, I had a girlfriend who had problems with a handsome, intelligent, if perverted man. She asked me for my advice about him. She wanted to know, how could she talk to him seriously, without him taking that talk to mean something other than what she wanted to say."
Miroku's mouth twitches. "I see."
A pause.
It stretches . . .
"Sango." "Miroku." Is spoken at the same time.
They look at each other, mouths trying to twitch into smiles.
Miroku breaks eye contact and says, "Ladies first."
"Since when am I a lady."
He swallows and he says in a whisper, "you always are."
A pause.
Sango bends down and she picks up a stick, something to occupy her hands as she talks, "I . . . My friend just did not know what to do." Sango sighs, "There was times when her . . . " she glances at Miroku.
Miroku is paying very close attention to her, she glances away and she says, "boyfriend would say great things to her. Only the next minute he would grab her and be too pushy."
"My friend had a similar problem."
"My friend liked her. Boyfriend . . . A lot." Sango stares at the ground. "She even dreamed about . . . being perverted with him, many times." She blushes.
"My friend told me about many similar dreams."
"Pervert."
"My friend and I are men."
"And think that just because you have a penis you can stick it in any time you want."
"No Sango. I do not think that." Miroku states in an authoritative tone.
"You . . . Or rather, your friend, probably acted like that all the time." Sango glares at Miroku.
Miroku glances away and whispers, "What was your friends problem with being perverted with her boyfriend?"
Sango sighs, "She was caught up in a special quest." Miroku nods. "Having intercourse, to a girl, is different from a boy. For a man it is just a question of how soon before he can do it again. But for a woman getting pregnant is something she has to consider."
"I see."
"Until that quest was over, she did not want to get pregnant. And the only way to make sure that did not happen, is not to get perverted." Sango sighs, "And even if my friend did get pregnant, given the stress of her quest, she'd probably have a miscarriage before the child would be born."
"Was this the only problem?"
"Why did your friend always proposition any woman he meets?"
"I... My friend does not proposition every woman."
"Oh, I forgot, just the pretty ones."
Miroku sighs, "He . . . his family always found ways to die young. He wanted to make sure that the family would continue after his death."
"That's not the only reason." Sango says with ironclad certainty in her voice.
Miroku glances at her and looks away. "I suppose if I mentioned that he wanted to have sex for its life-enhancing benefits . . . "
"That's not a good enough reason. If it was, every man would say it."
Miroku pauses.
"Monk?"
"My friend enjoys sex, ok." Miroku whispers to the ground. "And wants to have it as often as possible."
"Pervert."
Miroku nods, "yes, my friend is."
Sango grins and giggles, "Always an excuse."
Miroku's mouth twitches, "Maybe."
Sango's face gets a serious expression on it. "Do you understand my friends objection to having sex with her boyfriend?"
Miroku looks at Sango. "Sango, please look at me?" he asks.
Sango looks at him.
Miroku sighs and nods his head, yes.
"Then you, your friend, wouldn't grab people anymore."
Miroku coughs, "I can't make that promise."
Sango glares angrily at him, "Why?"
"Because . . . Whenever I, or rather, my friend sees the woman he . . . cares about intensively." Sango blushes. "Rational thoughts vanish, scatter like the leaves of these trees into the four winds." He waves his arm to dramatize the point.
Miroku's mouth twitches into a smile, "there are times when my friend just does not know what his hands are doing."
"Like I'm going to believe that." Sango takes a deep breath.
"But, Sango, you never answered my question if your friend had any more objections to sex, then just the quest she was on." Miroku says before she can speak.
Sango releases her breath and glares at the monk. "My friend did not like to be grabbed in public, in front of strangers or even her best friend. She was raised to believe that sex was something that was to be in the privacy of a home, between a married couple. Not rutting in the woods like a pair of chance meet rabbits." Sango looks at the ground, after she finishes.
A pause.
Miroku slowly and with a delicate tone of voice says, "So, if my friend was to ask your friend, say in the privacy of a house, with just the two of them."
"She'd jump him." Sango interrupts with a miorkuish gleam in her eyes. "Provided the quest was over, of course."
"Of course." A pause. "That might be something to dream about. I've never thought about what it would be like if you were to do grab my clothes and throw me to the ground."
Smack!
Miroku rubs his cheek and asks, "What was that for?"
"Have you dreamed of taking me without my permission?" fires are burning in Sango eyes as she asks the question.
Miroku stares up at her. "No." His mouth twitches. "DID not you, just say, 'she'd jump him?'"
"Of course. I just would move first, you. My girlfriend's boyfriend would want it just as much as he does. She'd just go first."
"That was the same as my dreams, only I'd go first." Miroku reaches out and grasps Sango hands, "Lady Sango, by all that I believe in, I promise, I would never take you without your consent."
Sango looks into his eyes and nods.
Miroku moves next to Sango. He keeps her hand in his. "Besides how many men could take you without your consent?"
"In a fair fight?"
"Yes."
"Hmm . . . There are a couple that could probably knock me unconscious. But, I promise you, they would be in no shape to do anything to me. I'd hurt them at least that much." Sango says as she glares at Miroku's groin.
Miroku coughs, and says, "I think we've gotten away from where we needed to go." He says as he sighs.
Sango looks down at her hand, but leaves it in his grasp.
"Perhaps, Monk." She pauses. "But, until the quest is over, my friend can't allow herself to get pregnant, so that means no sex."
Miroku sighs, "Not quite, that means no intercourse, there are ways to pleasure each other without that."
"I thought that your friend only wanted a child, and I remember something about the beliefs of his family and intercourse."
Miroku nods, yes. "Your friend is correct. Normally my friend would only want to have sex with the idea of having a child. But . . . " Miroku pauses and then he whispers, "In this case . . . " his mouth twitches.
"You'd do it." Sango interrupts. Miroku nods.
A pause.
"Keade mentioned that having sex is good for a person." Sango says. Miroku nods and as he opens his mouth to speak, Sango covers it with her free hand.
"I know that you'll tell me that she's correct." Sango says as she looks into his eyes, "I'm going to ask Keade if I can borrow that scroll and I will examine it, myself."
Miroku nods. Sango can feel his mouth twisting beneath her hand. She blushes as she says, "Shush. After I do that, monk. Then. Only then, if I agree with the scroll, I might consider doing the health increasing exercises on the scroll with you."
She releases his mouth. Sango blushes, and says, "Provided it's a type of exercise that will not get me pregnant."
"Of course." Miroku smiles, but then his smiles fades.
"What?"
Miroku sighs, "I just thought of the one problem that neither of us considered."
"And that is."
"Naraku."
"I don't see . . . "
"Keade is correct in that his favorite point of attack is at relationships. Do you agree?"
"Huh, Yes. Of course. But."
"Right now, we don't have a real relationship and as such Naraku can't attack that which doesn't exist. But should we get closer, then a relationship will develop."
"And Nararku will attack it."
"Yes, if Kanna sees us sharing a futon, how long before Naraku tries to do something against us?"
Sango grimaces, "Not long."
"Yes. Now, once we've developed a relationship, then such an attack we could defend against. But, especially at first."
Sango interrupts, "At first we'd not trust each other enough, and he'd use that."
Miroku nods.
Sango sighs, "so a choice. Ignore that this conversation happened, or invite Naraku to attack."
Miroku sighs, "The safest choice and, perhaps the wisest, is the first."
"Perhaps the wisest?"
"My thoughts around you are not to be trusted."
Sango smiles quickly, then the smile fades. "Once we . . . take any real steps to begin a relationship, not just . . . sharing some thoughts about a couple friends. That is a road without a way back."
Miroku and Sango blushes, but nod at each other.
"So . . . You have a perverted friend, Miroku?"
"Of course, and you have a girlfriend that needs to have a greater appreciation for her body's natural abilities?"
"Yes, I do."
A pause. Miroku slowly gets up. "I think. I'll go into the village, now." He slowly walks away.
Miroku is about to reach the edge of the clearing.
"Monk."
HE turns around. "Yes."
"I do intend to study that scroll. And if I decide that it has techniques that will make me healthier or increase my abilities, I will need, a let's it call, a sparing partner."
Miroku bows to Sango. "I would be honored if you chose me."
"IF Keade is right and it's necessary for good health and such, that's all it will be for, you do understand that, you perverted monk. Nothing else."
"Of course, Lady Sango."
Miroku and Sango stare into each other's eyes for a timeless moment.
Sango blushes.
Miroku nods his head and turns to go to the village.
"Oh, Monk!" Miroku turns around. "I'll decide about the scroll in my own good time. Don't be pushy, all that will do is delay my decision."
Miroku nods, "I'll try, Lady Sango."
Sango picks up her boomerang. She still has to finish her chore. 'I wish my family was still alive, so I could ask them about what to do. I always expected to be able to turn to them for advice. Now . . . I'm having to make decisions on my own. And, while I trust Kagome and Keade, still they're not family.' She thinks. 'Hopefully I'm not making the wrong decision.'
Miroku looks at his cursed hand as he walks away. 'Do I continue to grab her, or not? Naraku will attack us, even if the sex is just for health purposes.' He grimaces.
'Finely she's left an opening, only am I too afraid of the consequences to act upon it?' He slowly shakes his head. 'There is still time. And there are other women out there.'
He flexes his fingers. 'Besides, when that happens again, I want to be able to concentrate on her and not have to worry about my back being attacked while we're in bed.' Miroku sighs. "Another reason to kill Naraku . . . " he says.
**************************
Kagome looks up into a tall tree by the old well. She can only see pieces of his red shirt, as Inu-yasha hides in the leaves.
"Inu-yasha!"
Nothing . . .
"Please, Inu-yasha. I just want to talk."
Nothing . . .
'Fine. If he's going to be that way.' She thinks, her lips purse as she's about to speak . . . 'no. I wouldn't say it. All it'll do is make him mad, and I want to talk to him, not yell at him.'
She walks over to the large tree and looks up and down the trunk. 'Hopefully, I won't ruin this skirt.' She thinks as she begins to climb the tree.
At first, she tries to glance up, but climbing the tree takes all her concentration. 'Don't look down. Just keep climbing. Don't think about how you're going to get down. Just grab something and keep moving.' She thinks.
"Wench."
"Yikes!" Kagome yells! She almost loses her grip on the tree trunk, but quickly grabs it and hugs the tree in a death grip.
"You startled me!" She yells at him as she looks up at him.
"Why?" Inu-yasha's face and upper body is still hidden in the leaves above her and off to her right.
"I wanted to talk to you." She says. She starts to climb the tree again.
"I don't mean the shit in the hut. I mean this." Inu-yasha waves to the tree.
"I didn't want to say sit, boy . . . "
THUMP!
"Because you'd get mad . . . " She rather lamely finishes at she stares into the hole through the foliage that Inu-yasha has just made.
"YOU BITCH!" Inu-yasha yells from the ground.
"I'm sorry, Inu-yasha! I didn't mean to say it!" Kagome yells back down.
"I'll come down. Catch me?" Kagome asks.
"Feh. After that, no." Inu-yasha yells back at her. "You got up there on your own. You can get down by yourself."
"Ok . . . " Kagome looks around and starts to climb down the tree.
But . . .
'Great, my skirts caught.' She thinks and she starts to try to carefully pry her skirt out of the tangle it and the tree somehow made.
Her shoes lose their grip on the trunk and she slips and falls.
RIP! Goes the skirt.
"Inu!"
Inu-yasha catches her before she falls more than a couple of meters and lands in on top of a major branch, right next to the tree trunk. He lands hugging her and she's got a death grip hug on him.
"Thank you, Inu-yasha." Kagome whispers into his ear.
"Now you know why I don't wear shoes, wench."
Kagome's mouth twitches, "Yes, I should have removed them before I started." She says. She kicks her shoes off, now. They bounce to the ground.
They continue to hug each other. "I just want to talk, Inu-yasha, please." She begs in a whisper.
Inu-yasha sighs and slumps his shoulder. "I'm not good at talking."
"I know." She pauses, "I'm not. No. Inu-yasha, please. Can we at least try?" she pleads.
"Feh." He slowly releases her from the hug. "Do you want to get down?"
Kagome looks around. They are a good twenty meters off the ground. The leaves around them prevent her from seeing all that much. "No. Inu-yasha, let's stay up here."
"Huh?" Inu-yasha says with a surprised look on his face.
"This is about the most privacy as we've ever likely to get." Kagome replies. Kagome moves to where the branch joins the tree trunk and sits down straddling the branch. Her ripped skirt hangs on both sides of the tree trunk. Her panties are visible to Inu-yasha.
"Please Inu-yasha. Could you please, you know, here." She pats on the tree branch in front of her, right between her legs.
"But..." Inu-yasha starts.
"With your back toward me, Ok."
Inu-yasha swallows hard and he sits down between Kagome's legs with his back pressing against her breasts and stomach.
"Thank you." She whispers into his ears, her breath causing the small hairs in them to move.
He shivers. She hugs him. "I don't know where to start, Inu-yasha."
"Why start at all?"
"Inu-yasha! If we're going to have any type of relationship, we have to talk."
"We haven't needed it before."
"Things have changed, after the festival."
"No. Things can't change."
"Why?" Kagome moans. The hurt in her voice causes Inu-yasha to shiver and tears to start in his eyes.
"Because of Naraku. If . . . if we, you know." Inu-yasha begins to say.
"If we do what Keade's scroll says."
"Yeah. He'll hurt you." Inu-yasha says. He swallows. "I don't want you to be hurt." He whispers.
Kagome's hug tightens. "I know. That's why I trust you." She whispers into his ears.
"What do we do, Inu-yasha?"
"We pretend that night didn't happen, that Keade's scroll doesn't exist."
"I don't want to." Kagome whispers.
"We have to." Inu-yasha whispers. "Kagome?"
"Yes, Inu-yasha?"
"What Keade said in the hut . . . " Inu-yasha begins but he trails off.
"About men and women and which is better?" Kagome asks in a soft voice.
Inu-yasha tenses up, but does not otherwise move. "Inu-yasha . . . that doesn't really matter to me. All I would want is you to respect me."
She sighs, "the scroll that was written by a man went to far one way, Keade scroll, probably, goes too far the other way, Inu-yasha. Something in the middle is right. I can fell that in my bones, but exactly where in the middle."
She shakes her head, rubbing her chin against the back of his neck, "I'll have to read both scrolls and experiment to find out."
"Grrr . . . " Inu-yasha growls. "No. the safest way is to ignore both scrolls."
"I don't want to be safe."
Inu-yasha twists around so he can look into Kagome's eyes. "Inu-yasha, If I wanted to be safe, I would have destroyed the well long ago."
Kagome's grins, "If I wanted to be safe, I wouldn't be up in this tree, would I?"
Inu-yasha swallows, "I'm going to protect you, even against your stupid ideas."
Kagome glares at him, breaks her hug and grabs one of his ears. "Inu-yasha . . . " she says in an angry tone.
Inu-yasha stares into her angry eyes. "I will decide about my life, Inu-yasha. Not you."
"But"
"Ssshhh . . . Inu-yasha. I know you care about me." He growls. "Quiet. You do. And I know you're protective of me. I'm not entirely sure if it's because you think I belong to you and you don't want me hurt because I'm your shard detector, or if you really do care about me as a person, but that doesn't matter right now."
The look in her eyes turns to affection. "Inu-yasha, your protectiveness one of the reasons I care so much about you. But, Inu-yasha, I'm not going to allow your overprotectiveness to change my life."
"I'm not overprotective."
"Oh? Then when you prevent Kouga from getting close to me. Is that jealousy, or protectiveness?"
Inu-yasha's jaws open and close a couple of times. "Protectiveness."
"Kouga is a friend. Nothing else, Ok, Inu-yasha." Kagome whispers, "You don't have to be jealous."
"I am not jealous." Inu-yasha says through clinched teeth.
Kagome's eyebrows raise, but she doesn't say a word. Inu-yasha blushes and turns to put his back against Kagome again. Kagome reaches around and hugs him.
"Inu-yasha, please, all I'm asking is that you don't automatically assume you know what's best for me, Ok?"
"Sometimes I have to."
"Yeah, in combat, I know and that's fine." Kagome snuggles up closer to him. "I don't mind that, it's just when I'm not in combat, Ok?"
"I don't like it."
"I'm not asking you to like it, Inu-yasha. And I expect you to argue with me when you think I'm doing something stupid."
Inu-yasha and Kagome share a small laugh.
"But, please, at least try to see things from my perspective."
A pause. Inu-yasha faintly nods and whispers, "I've never considered things from anybodies else point of view before."
"Yes, I thought so. Please, just try, Ok, Inu-yasha. You don't have to be right, all the time. I'm not asking for much, just try, please."
Inu-yasha slowly nods. He turns his upper body around and stares at Kagome's eyes, "Kagome, why don't you want to be marked?"
"I told you. I don't want."
"Shit, that's a lie. Tell me the truth."
Tears form in Kagome's eyes and she swallows hard, "Inu-yasha have you ever seen or heard anything about my father?"
A confused Inu-yasha answers, "huh? No."
"He left us, suddenly one night a couple months before Sota was born. I don't remember him, really. My mom has destroyed everything she can find in the house that mentions, shows and was owned by him. I think, grandfather might have a picture hidden, maybe, but otherwise he's not part of our lives."
Kagome sighs. "I heard rumors from neighbors and a couple of comments from my mom and grandfather, so I know that. My mother and my father did not get along."
She pauses and says, "Looking back at it now, it was a good thing that he left. It allowed my mom to raise Sota and I without having to fight her husband. So, Sota and I, at least had a mother to raise us. Not like a couple of my friends whose parents are two people that hate each other, but since they're not going to embarrass their families they will not divorce. They argue over how to raise kids all the time. That's a mess, and my friends have paid for it."
Kagome sighs, "Not that the adults will ever admit it, it's always the kids fault."
Kagome reaches out and grabs the necklace around Inu-yasha's neck. "I'm afraid, Inu-yasha. I'm afraid that if you decide to live with me and we are joined by some magical mark, I'm afraid, you'll change your mind and want to leave, but can't because of a mistake we made . . . " tears starts to fall down Kagome's checks.
"I just want you to be happy, even if that means leaving me." She finishes speaking in a whisper so low only Inu-yasha tremendous hearing could make out the words.
Inu-yasha reaches out and grabs Kagome and hugs her. "Kagome, I . . . "
"Don't say a thing, just hug me . . . "
They hug each other as Kagome wipes the tears away in Inu-yasha's hair.
Kagome whispers, "you know I have nightmares."
Inu-yasha nods.
Every member of the group has nightmares. They never talk about it, but they happen. Sango has them about her father and brother, Miroku and his hand. Shippo whines about his father and mother at night.
"MY worst nightmare, Inu-yasha, is everything is perfect. The jewel is rebuilt, Kikyo and Naraku are at peace," Kagome's mouth twitches into a semi-smile.
"I've even removed this." She runs Inu-yasha necklace through her fingers.
"We're about to jump into the well, to go back home and tell my mother, that her dream about you and me is about to come true."
Kagome pauses, "Then . . . then. We jump through the well. And only I get through it."
Tears fall.
Inu-yasha presses Kagome closer to him.
"That's why, Inu-yasha, I don't remove this" her fingers leave the necklace. "That's another reason why I don't want to be marked. The well is a magical thing. And adding or taking away any magic between us could change it."
Kagome buries her face in Inu-yasha's hair and whispers, "I don't want to do anything to lose you."
Inu-yasha whispers, "I don't want to lose you, either."
"You mean that?"
"Yes, Kagome."
A pause.
"Kagome, could you lighten up a bit, my ribs are about to break." Inu-yasha whispers.
"Sorry." Kagome loosens her hug.
Inu-yasha looks away from Kagome, and whispers, "I want to know something else."
"Yes."
"Why this?" inu-yasha wiggles his hand between them and touches her groin. "You've never acted as if, this" He presses his hand against her. "Was important, why the change?"
Kagome blushes and moves her hand over Inu-yasha's. "Because I loved the night of the festival." Her mouth twitches, "even if I hurt the next day. Maybe Miroku's suggestions have gotten to me." Inu-yasha growls.
"One of these days I'll cut off that hand of his." Inu-yasha growls.
"Inu-yasha! Don't you dare!" Kagome says.
Inu-yasha says, "Feh. It might be the only way to save his life, bitch."
Kagome blinks in surprise. "Yes, it might. I wonder if he's thought about it?"
Inu-yasha shrugs, "Don't know. It's not needed right now, so I haven't really thought about it." He presses his hand against her again. "You still haven't told me the truth."
Kagome sighs, and says, "My brother reads a lot of manga." She sees the confusion in Inu-yasha's face and adds, "It's storytelling, OK." Inu-yasha nods.
"He used to just be interested in manga that was full of fighting."
"I thought he was a good kid." Inu-yasha mumbles.
"Inu-yasha! Humph. Anyway, ever since you started coming over, he's started reading romance mangas."
"So."
"So, every time I come back crying or angry because of you, he shows me stories from the manga that are similar to ours."
"What! Somebody from the future is telling you what's going to happen?" Inu-yasha yells!
"No! No! Inu-yasha. Just stories of a boy and girl and them getting together, even though thing's stand in their way."
"Feh. But why the change?"
"Because in most of them, after the boy and girl" she blushes, "do what we did, everything works out beautifully." She finishes in a whisper. "And I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, it might work the same with us."
A pause while Inu-yasha tries to determine how he's suppose to reach to that.
Kagome bends over, and with her mouth brushing against his ear, she whispers, "and because you enjoyed what we did also, and I thought you'd want to do it again."
Inu-yasha shivers, "I do." He closes his eyes, "But I can't, Kagome."
"Naraku?"
Inu-yasha nods.
Kagome sighs and pushes him away from her. They separate, but only by a few centimeters. Any more and one of them will fall out of the tree.
"I think you're wrong about keeping us apart because of him, Inu-yasha." He growls. "But, I'm not going to force you to something you don't want to do."
She sighs heavily, "So, no matter what I do or feel for you, and no matter what you do or feel for me, we can't get close until Naraku is dead."
"Yeah."
A pause. "Could you, please help me down, Inu-yasha? I want to go through the well."
"Through the well! I thought you were staying on this side!" Inu-yasha yells at her.
Kagome glares at Inu-yasha. "I'm going to call my friend Tendo Akane and have her teach me some self-defense and combat moves." She breathes deeply, "I'm tried of being the girl you have to protect all the time, it's time I learned some things."
"Combat training?"
"Yes. You remember Ranma and Akane, right?"
"Yeah." Inu-yasha scratches his head. "Just her?"
"Yes. I have no intention of getting caught up in Ranma's mess."
"How long?"
Kagome shrugs, "This time, probably only a couple of hours. Just so we can talk and set up some sort of schedule, not that we'll be able to maintain it, given the confusion in our lives, but, Akane and I will try. Later on, I probably will have to stay after school more often, so she and I can spar." Kagome blinks, "you know, I wonder, would Sango be interested in learning some techniques?"
Inu-yasha says, "Miroku and you need them more."
"You are probably right. But I'll ask and see what I can bring through the well."
"If it's just for a couple of hours, and you are just doing this to help with the hunt for the shards, then ok." Inu-yasha with very visible reluctance says.
Kagome bends over and gives him a quick peck to the check. "Thank you, Inu-yasha." She blushes.
He blushes, "Don't do that! WE can't be friends!"
Kagome sighs, "Will you help me down?"
"Feh. What I said earlier . . . you can get down on your own." Inu-yasha says after a slight pause.
"Inu-yasha. You stubborn." Kagome takes a deep breath and lets it out and starts to climb down the tree.
Kagome thinks, 'Even if we aren't going to do what Keade said, this is still a day I want to remember. We've never had as long or as good a conservation as that. Hopefully, next time, I can ask him a couple of questions. Perhaps I might even ask about his nightmare.'
Kagome shivers as she remembers the last time Inu-yasha was human and he woke up from a nightmare screaming 'not the cage!'
Kagome thinks as she climbs down the tree. 'Now to call Akane and learn how to defend myself. We've wasted enough time with Naraku and Kikyo. What was that phrase I heard when I was listening to Sota go on about American football. Oh, the best defense is a good offensive. It's time to see if that's true.'
'Damn that was close . . . ' Inu-yasha looks down on Kagome as she climbs down the tree. 'If she'd have felt my groin . . . I don't think I would have been able to stop myself. And we can't do that. Not now.' He adjusts the clothing in front of his groin.
He looks around, 'she was right, though. Where else would we have privacy?' he shakes his head, 'stop thinking about that. Think about how to torture Naraku to death.'
___________________________
The end
Hmmm . . . For readers that might think I'm going slow with the groups relationships . . . This is Rumiko Takahashi's fourth major series. In only 1 series, Maison Ikkoku, did the major characters actually get married. (And that took years of soap opera before they received their happily ever after ending.)
So . . . a few new points in the groups relationships with each other, but nothing major.
Sango, if it's under her control, will accept a physical relationship with Miroku. Of course, Miroku is going to keep pushing, so.. He'll still get slapped. Inu-yasha is still using Naraku and the quest as an excuse not to do anything with Kagome. Kagome . . . well . . . She's beginning to get tried of the wait and when that happens you try new things . . .
The next Spring Fertility festival spin-off will be either Kagome & some village girls talking about husbands, or something else. But I want to do the next A shard in Kyoto chapter. Then . . . we'll see . . .
For writers that might want to write lemons, but not use the obvious terms, here a few different terms . . .
[Technical meaning Literal translation
Cervix Inner Gate, Jade Terrace, Precious Pearl, Seed,
Yin Bean
Clitoris (frenulum of) Lute strings
Clitoris (prepuce of) Divine Field
Cunnilingus Sipping the Vast Spring
Fellatio Blowing the Flute
Intercourse Clouds and Rain, Firing the Cannon, Friendly
Relations
Homosexual sex (female) Rubbing Mirrors
Homosexual sex (male) Splitting the Peach, Dragon Yang
Relations
Labia minor Wheat Buds, Red Pearls
Mound of Venus (mon veneris) Sedge Hill
Orgasm (female) High Tide, Tide of Yin
Orgasm (male) Lose Essence, Leak, Surrender, Die
Penis Jade Stem, Jade Implement, Yang Peak, Yang Weapon, Turtle Head, The Ambassador
Penis (erect) Arisen, Angry
Penis (flacid) Dead
Urethral orifice (female) Vast Spring
Urethral orifice (male) Gate of Life and Death
Vagina (orifice) Jade Gate, Jade Door, Cinnabar Cave,
Child Gate, One Inch Square
Vagina (lower vestibule) Little Stream
Vagina (middle) Deep Valley, Hing Place, Path of Yin
Vagina (upper) Celestial Palace, Valley of Solitude
Vulva (upper) Golden Gully
Vulva (lower) Jade Vein
Uterus Child Palace, North Pole, Vermillion Chamber]
thank you for reading
jeff shelton